Wei Ni

After all, as a person who has experienced ups and downs, Ding Mi quickly forced himself to calm down.

He even began to wonder what was going on with the inexplicable excitement in his heart: Could it be that because of what happened to his clan, he had always been resentful of the Wei Dynasty without realizing it?
However, he soon stopped worrying about it.

Considering the current situation of the Ding family in Qiao County and himself, this answer is neither important nor meaningful.

He had been attached to Xiahou Hui for a long time, and had long been regarded as a follower of Xiahou Hui by the government and the public. Without saying anything else, just based on the fact that Xiahou Hui had twice submitted petitions to the imperial court and spared no effort to divide his own fiefdom to fight for a title for him, if the emperor Cao Rui or the imperial court put Xiahou Hui in prison one day, they would definitely not forget to implicate him.

Therefore, his top priority was to find out what Xiahou Hui was thinking.

And in his opinion, Emperor Cao Rui's request was not excessive and there was nothing wrong with it!

Today, Shu and Wu are still strong, and Wei, with its larger territory and denser population, is the one that has been repeatedly defeated in military battles. In such a situation, isn't it the right thing for Emperor Cao Rui to prioritize maintaining stability in the court?

Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans all have their own responsibilities.

The scholars were originally the ruling class, while farmers, workers and businessmen were all cattle and horses that the state demanded food, taxes, soldiers and labor service from them. How were the scholars of a lower level any different from the slaves whose life and death were controlled by others?
How could Emperor Cao Rui cause the gentry to become alienated just for a group of slaves!
The fact that he restarted the investigation of the scholars' families and accepted Xiahou Hui's advice of "not damaging the farming season" already demonstrated his benevolence as a king. Why did Xiahou Hui demand more?

Is it worth it for a mere scholar family?
To put it more clearly, look at the Qin and Han empires for hundreds of years. Which emperor did not try his best to strengthen the imperial power and exploit the common people with all kinds of high-sounding reasons? If the wealth is hidden among the people, where will the food, clothing and daily expenses of the meat-eaters come from?

And Xiahou Hui himself is also a meat eater~
Ding Mi calculated quickly in his mind, but the more he thought, the more confused he became.

Because Xiahou Hui's sudden change of mind was completely groundless and illogical!
It is understandable that Emperor Cao Rui is concerned about his reputation and wants to save some face for the royal family, but why would he let Xiahou Hui suffer so much and feel resentful?

When he thought of this, Ding Mi suddenly had an idea in his mind, as if he had suddenly realized something.

He felt that he had found the key to the matter - the reason why Xiahou Hui felt disillusioned and resentful was that he saw through the Emperor Cao Rui's lack of responsibility, so he wanted to save himself.

It’s right to try to save yourself!
Since he became his aide, Xiahou Hui regarded him as a scheming man and sought his advice on all matters, no matter how big or small.

Therefore, he also knew what position Xiahou Hui held in the eyes of Emperor Cao Rui.

Previously he inspected the various departments of the central army and criticized the low-level generals of the central army. Now he is about to be entrusted with the task of investigating the accumulated malpractices among the scholars. It is obvious that Xiahou Hui is a chess piece used by Emperor Cao Rui to break the deadlock.

As a chess piece, isn't the biggest worry that the superiors will not take responsibility and end up being abandoned?
Or, in other words, now that the great generals of the Wei royal family have died out and the heroes of Qiao and Pei are in a lack of successors, why should Xiahou Hui, who has already made great contributions in facilitating the emperor's memorial to the emperor, have such worries?

This is not just nonsense, it's just like worrying about nothing.

But Ding Mi felt that Xiahou Hui’s worries were right!
Because there are precedents.

Let’s not talk about the fact that his Ding family lost their status as foreign relatives, let’s just look at Xiahou Yuan and Bao Xun.

Xiahou Yuan's status and achievements are both top-notch in the State of Wei, right?
As the brother-in-law of Emperor Wu of Han, Cao Cao, he first guarded the rear and then went out to quell rebellions five times. When he was supervising the battle in Yongliang, even Cao Cao sighed, "I am not as good as the tiger in Guanyou." But after he died in Hanzhong, he was nailed to the pillar of shame by Cao Cao's words, "Yuan was not good at commanding troops. The army called him 'General Baidi'."

Bao Xun was even more wronged. His father Bao Xin died saving Cao Cao, but he was just speaking out against the emperor, but Cao Pi took advantage of the opportunity to take revenge and unjustly killed him in prison!
From this we can see how mean and ungrateful the kings of Wei were!

Let me ask, how could Xiahou Hui dare to believe Cao Rui who said, "I have laid the foundation for three generations of yours"?
If the monarch treats his subjects as his own hands and feet, then the subjects will treat the monarch as their own heart and soul; if the monarch treats his subjects as dirt, then the subjects will treat the monarch as their enemy.

Now that Cao Rui has shown signs of "crediting the achievements to the superiors and blaming the mistakes to the subordinates", it is understandable that Xiahou Hui has started to make preparations to protect himself, right?
That must be the reason!
Ding Mi felt that his inference was very appropriate, and he was in high spirits and began to think freely.

Because he thought of the fact that Xiahou Hui spared no expense in letting craftsmen study woodblock printing and worked hard to transfer Xiahou Ba to Liaodong to take up a post.

Once we succeed in studying woodblock printing and promote it, it will promote culture and education, which will benefit future generations.

Naturally, this would also allow Xiahou Hui to gain endless praise from the people all over the world.

Now it seems that this is a means of protecting oneself with a good reputation, right?

And transferring his second brother Xiahou Ba to Liaodong should be a preparation for the worst outcome.

Liaodong is almost isolated from the Central Plains, and is the most likely place for separatist regimes. If one day, Emperor Cao Rui intends to abandon Xiahou Hui, he must also consider whether he can afford the consequences of Xiahou Ba directly letting Liaodong break away from the territory of Wei. Moreover, Xiahou Ba participated in the war to destroy Gongsun clan throughout the whole process, and he was well aware of the pros and cons of the struggle between Liaodong and the Central Plains!

No wonder, when Zhi Quan was in Liaoxi County, he treated all the border army commanders of Youzhou with great courtesy and sincerity, and also kept his subordinates Wei Shu and Lu Fan in Youzhou to serve.

correct!correct!
After the Liaodong region was pacified, when the court officials decided to relocate the people of Liaodong back home, Xiahou Hui submitted a petition to argue against it despite Guanqiu Jian's dissuasion. It was obvious that he was worried that if the people of Liaodong were relocated, Liaodong would not be able to defend itself!

That's it!

He had planned all this in advance.
This guy is not even thirty yet, but he is already so cunning, and his plans are as cunning as an antelope hanging its horns, leaving no trace. It's really scary! I am much worse than him!

It's funny that I always think I'm more calculating than others, and I often give him advice on my success and failure in person.
Alas, I am ashamed. Ding Mi, who was unable to extricate himself from his assumptions, was overwhelmed with emotions, his heartbeat accelerated, and his face flushed.

He didn't realize that Xiahou Hui had called him several times.

"Yan Jing!"

He suddenly woke up when he heard a loud noise and was pushed on the shoulder.

Looking up, I saw Xiahou Hui frowning and looking serious. She asked in a slightly reproachful voice, "Yan Jing, are you wearing the medicine?"

Should I take the powder?
No, Uncle He Ping and I have been strangers for a long time, so why would I take something he recommends?
Oh no.

Didn't you ask me about my measures to investigate the military farms of the scholars? Why did you bring it up with the Hanshi Powder?
Ding Mi was puzzled and quickly denied it.

But what he got in return was a look of disbelief on Xiahou Hui's face.

After all, Ding Mi had just returned from a banquet, and he reeked of alcohol. After entering the study and listening to Xiahou Hui's story, he was dumbfounded for a moment, his face turned pale, sweat appeared on his forehead, his eyes were blankly in a trance for a long time, and his face began to flush again. He didn't respond after being called several times, which made Xiahou Hui suspicious.

"Well, that's good. Hanshi Powder is a good remedy for illness. If you take it when you are not sick, it will hurt your body."

After carefully staring at Ding Mi for a while and making sure that he looked normal, Xiahou Hui was willing to believe it and then asked the question just now, "What did I ask just now, what is Yan Jing thinking?"

Is this something that needs to be considered?
The emperor has already determined the outcome, you have made a promise, what else is there to discuss!
Isn't it enough to just make a big deal out of a small matter, be confused when necessary, end the matter hastily and then submit a petition to the imperial court to make everyone happy?

Ding Mi gave the answer in his mind without hesitation.

But just when he was about to start speaking, his expression paused, he glanced at Xiahou Hui without leaving a trace, and closed his mouth again.

Well, he, who is particularly good at playing dirty tricks, started to interpret himself again.

He didn't think the answer was obvious, and with Xiahou Hui's wisdom, he still needed to find him to fill in the gaps.

Therefore, if you ask a question even though you already know the answer, there must be a deeper meaning behind it.

Well. If it's not surprising, Zhiquan should be asking me about my feelings in a subtle way, right?

He first pretended to inadvertently reveal his longing and resentment towards Emperor Cao Rui, and then asked me about this matter. Wasn't he asking me to express my true feelings?

Taboos are never spoken out loud.

Didn’t you see that when Kuai Tong was advising Han Xin in the past, he also used the art of physiognomy as an excuse to say, “If you look at the emperor’s face, you can only be made a marquis, but it is also dangerous; if you look at the emperor’s back, the honor is unspeakable”?
However, his hesitation to speak caused Xiahou Hui to misunderstand.

Thinking that he had noticed something taboo, I couldn't help but ask, "Yan Jing hesitated, but what's the difficulty in speaking?"

Difficult to say?

Nothing!

You and I have shared weal and woe for a long time, so there is nothing to be difficult about.

If you did something and I claimed that I was not involved and had no knowledge of it, I guess even the greyhound raised by the merchant three miles away from the Sili Xiaowei office would not believe it.

"It's not hard to explain."

Ding Mi rolled his eyes and said in a low voice with a smile, "With the power of the emperor, lead the troops to station in the Luoyang Department of Agriculture and let Linghu Yu submit a petition to apologize. What I am thinking about is whether to send troops to take back the land previously abandoned by the Department of Agriculture. Can we postpone it for a day or two? Zhiquan knows that the family that occupied the land has relatives, and the emperor has a bad temper."

It was just to give Emperor Cao Rui some time and privately hint to that relative to leave early to avoid embarrassment!
Xiahou Hui knew it well, and said frankly, "There are no outsiders here, Yan Jing can speak frankly about this kind of thoughts, there is no need to be shy. Well, forget it, since I can't complete the task, I will follow Yan Jing's advice and wait for a day or two."

Yeah!
There are no "outsiders" here, so there is no need to be shy!

Ding Mi nodded repeatedly, smiling broadly, and suddenly remembered something, "Oh, Zhiquan, I attended a banquet at the residence of the Minister of the Central Secretariat today. The second son of the Minister of the Central Secretariat will go to Youzhou, and I was invited to go with him. After the banquet, someone came to me and asked when Zhiquan would be free, so that he could come and visit."

Sun Mi will go to Youzhou. It seems that Sun Zi has listened to my advice.

"Who wants to see me?"

"Zhuge Gongxiu is from the counties of Langyayang." (End of this chapter)