Wei Ni

Beimangshan Manor.

The sky is clear, the trees are shady, and the birds are singing.

Since the Wei State established its capital in Luoyang, the population has gathered more and more, and the area inside and outside the city has been designated as a garden by the emperor, which is why there is a pleasant green scene.

Xiahou Hui, who rode over early in the morning, looked at the lush forests and couldn't help but think of one of the long-standing problems of the Luoyang Diannong Department: When Wang Chang first served as the General of Agriculture, Luoyang was still covered with trees; so he set an example and led the scholars to reclaim many abandoned fields, but today, most of these fields no longer belong to the Diannong Department.

Firstly, as Luoyang gradually became prosperous, arable land became increasingly scarce and valuable, and was therefore gradually seized by dignitaries.

The other was the royal family's abuse of the labor of the people in the military farms, which exacerbated the Ministry of Agriculture's loss of control over the land.

Since the reign of Emperor Wen, Cao Pi, there had been a practice of forcing the scholars to build palaces and engage in business for profit; during the reign of Cao Rui, large-scale construction projects were carried out year after year, and high-ranking officials were given high positions for their favorite ministers.

For example, Xiahou Hui's current mansion was built by Cao Rui who ordered his family to do the construction.

In just this period of less than twenty years, the Luoyang Diannong Department evolved from "the people suffering from hunger and freezing" to "the people suffering from starvation and freezing to death."

Starving to death is a very intuitive phenomenon.

The Luoyang Diannong Department was different from other military farming areas in that it also planted additional "Xincheng Japonica Rice" specifically for the royal family and nobles.

"Only Changsha in the Jiangbei area is famous for its good rice. How can it compare with the japonica rice from Xincheng? When the wind blows from above, the fragrance can be smelled five miles away."

This is a sentence from Cao Pi's "Letter to Court Officials on Japonica Rice", and it is also a true portrayal of the later division of land to allow the Luoyang Diannong Department to grow Xincheng rice exclusively for the royal family and increase extra labor.

With the manpower fixed, if additional labor is added, the fields of the Ministry of Agriculture will naturally be unable to have a good harvest due to insufficient labor.

But the key point is that the allocation amount between officials and civilians remains unchanged, and the food and fodder for the central army in Luoyang must not be insufficient.

Therefore, the poor harvest had to be borne by the scholars.

Frozen to death is a phenomenon that is covered up.

As Cao Rui's construction projects intensified and his extravagance in the harem became more and more unscrupulous, the national treasury was depleted. In order to satisfy his own selfish desires, in addition to imposing heavy taxes on the people, he also required the scholars to bear the burden of hunting and fur trading in the royal forests, leaving them with no free time all year round.

In an era when dignitaries still complained that "fox furs were not warm enough and brocade quilts were thin", the cold weather at the end of each year would take the lives of many people.

The scholars who had no time to go out to collect firewood had no firewood to keep warm and no mats made of mountain grass and branches to keep out the cold, so naturally countless of them froze to death.

This is the fundamental reason why Yang Fu was unable to investigate further.

The source of everything must be traced back to the two generations of monarchs of the Wei State, rather than the excuses made by the chief official of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Of course, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture must have done something illegal.

However, these illegal acts were passively or actively entangled with the monarch's faults, making people hesitant and unable to take action.

You can't just catch the little mice that steal food in the dark and ignore the big tigers that blatantly rob and rob, right?
Recently, as Xiahou Hui read more and more of the files of the Luoyang Department of Agriculture, he became more and more confused about the mentality and motives of Emperor Cao Rui.

I even had this suspicion:
After Yang Fu returned in defeat, Cao Rui, who already knew the truth, still insisted on investigating the reasons for the malpractices of the scholar families himself. Perhaps it was not because he wanted to change the unfair situation of the scholar families, but because the number of scholar families continued to decrease year after year, which made him begin to worry that the supply of food and fodder for the central army in Luoyang might be unsustainable in the future.

This idea has also been confirmed today.

Today is already March 11th, which is beyond the agreed time limit.

If he was not summoned for the meeting again, Xiahou Hui would have to leave Wei Zhen behind and go to the palace to ask for an audience alone.

Well, it was yesterday afternoon when Shi Er came to tell him that he was coming to Beimangshan Manor.

I also told him in a rather strange way that if he had nothing else, he could come earlier.

You know, today is the court day, and Emperor Cao Rui and Wei Zhen will both attend the grand court meeting in Taiji Hall. What's the point of him coming here early?
Can we discuss things alone?

But Xiahou Hui still came early as instructed.

There is no other reason.

He had already vaguely guessed that asking him to come earlier was probably the reason why Cao Rui had delayed the discussion for these days.

So, what is the change here?

What was going on that required Cao Rui and Wei Zhen to leave the table and let someone else come and tell him?
Familiar with the route, he rode his horse slowly to the front of the manor.

The soldiers and stewards of the manor must have been instructed, so they didn't ask any more questions. They just bowed silently, led his mount to the stable for him, and allowed him to enter freely.

The interior of the manor remains elegant as before.

There are many corridors, pavilions and terraces, and deep courtyards.

The only difference is that the number of servants in the manor is much smaller, and it is so quiet that even the chirping of insects in the rockery and flowers can be clearly heard.

Xiahou Hui walked slowly along the corridor, turned through the moon gate of the outer courtyard, and came to the first pavilion. From a distance, he saw a man standing with his back to him and his hands behind his back.

The man was wearing Yanfu clothing but no hat, and was looking at the changing world with his head slightly raised.

Xiahou Hui, who was good at archery and still young, had good eyesight. He could see that the man had some gray hair and his body was not very straight, so he should be around forty years old.

What surprised him was that he felt that the back figure was vaguely familiar.

But for a moment, I couldn't figure out who it was.

Perhaps he heard the footsteps, so he turned around and greeted, "Zhi Quan, how are you?"

When he saw the man's face, Xiahou Hui paused, smiled bitterly and said nothing, and then he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh in his heart.

A sigh full of disappointment.

Because that person was Guanqiu Jian.

He is a minister in the palace of the current emperor Cao Rui, and the only minister in the palace who was trained by Cao Rui as an important official in the temple.

He was also one of the chief officials of the Luoyang Department of Agriculture.

Therefore, Xiahou Hui understood why Cao Rui delayed the meeting time.

I could only respond with a wry smile.

That day he asked Shi Er to transfer the clan files of the Ministry of Agriculture to Luoyang. It was impossible for Shi Er not to report this to Cao Rui. The time of more than ten days coincided with the time when the messenger went to Youzhou to privately summon Guanqiu Jian back. Cao Rui knew him too well and knew that he would never protect anyone when investigating the malpractices of the scholars. Therefore, he was worried that Guanqiu Jian would be implicated, so he summoned Guanqiu Jian back to meet him in advance.

This is the reason why Xiahou Hui was extremely disappointed.

He knew Cao Rui too well.

Considering Guanqiu Jian's character, even if he made some mistakes when he was in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture in Luoyang, it would never be a serious mistake that would have an impact on his official career!
Being implicated is nothing more than a little hardship!

Cao Rui actually summoned him back from thousands of miles away for a matter that could be resolved with just a petition of apology?!
what does this mean?
Isn't this implicitly telling Xiahou Hui that when he conducts the investigation, he can only catch small mice and must not mention the big tigers!
Cao Rui wanted to save face, so he asked Xiahou Hui to remember that no matter how many mistakes he made, the king was always blameless.

There can't be any.

If this cannot be guaranteed, then there is no need to investigate the Luoyang Department of Agriculture, and even the investigation of the scholar families will not be restarted. "Brother Zhong Gong, actually, you don't have to come back."

Xiahou Hui smiled at Guanqiu Jian, came over and sat down. He was silent for a long time before he finally uttered this sentence.

It was half a complaint, half a hint that the two of them were still as open-hearted as they were in the past.

It also made Guanqiu Jian, who was originally smiling, fall into silence.

"Ah~"

After a long time, he finally spoke, "Actually, I don't want to come back either. But Zhiquan also knows that as a subject, I should obey the king's orders."

His tone was full of fatigue.

Some of it is physical fatigue from days of hurried travel, and some of it is mental fatigue.

Xiahou Hui heard it.

A faint hope was aroused in my heart, and I was about to ask him to help persuade Cao Rui, but his next words discouraged me.

"When your majesty sent an envoy to summon me back, he wrote me a handwritten letter to explain the whole story, and attached two sentences. One is 'When the water is too clear, there will be no fish'; the other is 'Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish'."

"I know Zhiquan well, and I also know that a serious illness requires strong medicine. But some things involve too many things, and if you act rashly, you may get the opposite result, not to mention that it will affect your Majesty's reputation. The king is the foundation of the country. When we, the ministers, do things, we should not only be loyal and faithful, but also keep the king's secrets."

"The sun sets and the moon rises, yin and yang complement each other. Since the Wei Kingdom replaced the Han Dynasty, there has been no shortage of good policies, and there have inevitably been some shortcomings, but the national strength is still growing day by day. The shortcomings of the scholar families are just minor problems. Zhiquan is a son of Qiaopei, and he shares the joys and sorrows with the Wei family. He should put the country first. If Zhiquan takes his time, he may succeed."

"Furthermore, Your Majesty is now in his prime, and you have not yet established your power. Since the ruler and his subjects are in harmony and both are willing to rectify the current problems, if you persist in doing so, and take small steps every day, then little by little, you will be able to accomplish something. And..."

At this point, Guanqiu Jian paused, turned his head and looked towards the courtyard, and whispered as if talking to himself, "And the will of the emperor cannot be violated. If Zhiquan insists on not doing what Your Majesty wants, well, even now there has been no imperial decree to restart the investigation of the scholars' families, and the officials in the temple do not want to see such an imperial decree."

ok~
as predicted.

Emperor Cao Rui did not give Xiahou Hui any room to refute.

When investigating the accumulated malpractices among the scholars, either he should act according to his wishes or there should be no investigation at all.

But it’s okay to think about it.

It was impossible for Cao Rui to allow his prestige to be damaged for the sake of a mere scholar family.

If he had this sense of responsibility, he would not have engaged in large-scale construction and extravagance.

However, if he follows his mind, exaggerating small things and only making a fuss about the details, what good will it do? How can he convince others? What can Xiahou Hui do when he is confined to a small place?

Of course, Xiahou Hui had no intention of damaging Cao Rui's prestige.

He also understood that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish.

He just thought that after the matter was thoroughly investigated, Cao Rui could issue an edict to abolish the palace service of the scholars and not take away the farming time. He set an example by himself and set an example of a wise ruler who promoted good governance and corrected the accumulated malpractices, and then he could call on the court officials to move towards a clean and honest administration.

Knowing mistakes can be corrected, and doing good things is great.

Isn't this great?
Can it be considered as damaging the king's prestige?
King Wei of Qi was happy to hear criticism, and he is still praised today!
Xiahou Hui couldn't understand why Cao Rui made such arrangements, and even Guanqiu Jian came to persuade him.

But he also knew that he could no longer argue.

Guanqiu Jian has come back from a long distance, and Cao Rui's mind will not change.

Therefore, the outcome of the investigation into the accumulated malpractices of the scholars is doomed to be a failure. Should I continue to do it?
It seems that it is unnecessary.

It is better not to do something at all than to do it hastily.

However, now that I have offended the Emperor Cao Rui, will he still be regarded as a key figure and be entrusted with important tasks in the future?

Judging from the emperor Cao Rui's temperament and character, it should be difficult, right?

In silence, he quietly asked himself, weighing the gains and losses.

Guanqiu Jian, who was sitting opposite him, did not urge him. He looked at the changing clouds outside the skyline and waited quietly for the answer.

As he said just now, he didn't want to come back either.

But since we have come back irresistibly, we must be loyal to the emperor and try our best to carry out and do well Cao Rui's instructions.

Things in the world are as changeable as the clouds and the sky.

No?
There was a long silence.

“Ha, ha, ha~”

Xiahou Hui, who was bowing his head and closing his eyes in deep thought, suddenly laughed for some reason.

He suddenly realized that his entanglement was meaningless.

Because Cao Rui seemed to be very gracious and gave him two choices to do or not, but in fact it was not the case - he was sure that Xiahou Hui would definitely choose to do it!
Even if he set more rules, Xiahou Hui would do it.

A gentleman can be deceived.

This method is also applicable to loyal ministers.

Yes, how could Xiahou Hui not do it?
If we don’t do it, how can we maintain the emperor’s favor and lay a solid foundation for having the authority to do greater things in the future?

He was not as good at singing and dancing as Cao Zhao or He Yan, and had a very beautiful appearance.

However, what Cao Rui might not have expected was that Xiahou Hui, who found himself without a choice, also remembered an old incident.

That was in his early years when he had just entered the palace to serve as a Palace Attendant. He had talked with Cao Rui all night long, and advised him to use the emperor's special examination to alleviate the drawbacks of the Nine-Rank System, and to use the corruption of Jiang Ji, the Central Guard General, to rectify the atmosphere in the capital. However, in the end, Cao Rui regarded these as old things to add to his power.

If nothing unexpected happens, Cao Rui's plan to clean up the malpractices among the scholars should be just a sword dance like before.

I just don't know who the "Gong of Pei" is that he is pointing his sword at this time.

For Xiahou Hui, it doesn't matter who it is.

The important thing is that Cao Rui is still the same Cao Rui, but he is no longer the same person.

It is also impossible to pin hopes on others as we did when we gave advice.

Once you understand something, your whole life will become clear.

So he laughed abruptly, but also heartily.

But it made Guanqiu Jian nervous.

He knew that Xiahou Hui was a man of upright character, stubborn and reckless, so he thought that he was laughing out of anger, or that he was laughing madly because he hated that his passion for serving the country had been wasted. (End of this chapter)