Wei Ni

Although they had never met before, Xiahou Hui still knew about Zhuge Dan.

In his early years, when he was still a Shangshu Lang, he and Du Ji were ordered to supervise the construction of the imperial ship. During the water testing, they were drowned due to wind and waves. When Huben came to rescue in a small boat, he asked Huben to save Du Ji first; however, he fainted and floated to the river bank before being rescued. As a result, his good name spread and his career went on a rapid rise.

When he was dismissed because of the Fuhua case, he had already reached the position of Shangshu.

But what Xiahou Hui admired about him was the words "I have no regrets for dying for Zhuge Gong" -

The original historical trajectory was that Zhuge Dan led an army in Shouchun to fight against the Sima family. When he was defeated and killed, hundreds of his men were captured. When they were executed, they were lined up in a row. Every time one person was beheaded, another person was recruited to surrender, but no one surrendered.

Winning the hearts of the people is like Tian Heng in ancient times.

Being in a different place, Xiahou Hui felt that he might not have such ability.

For such a person who wanted to come to visit, Xiahou Hui would naturally be willing to say "I have guests, I will play the harp and the flute".

And from Ding Mi's words, Xiahou Hui could also guess that the purpose of Zhuge Dan's visit was nothing more than that after learning that Sun Zi sent his son to Youzhou, he also wanted to go to Liaodong.

Yes, he just wanted to go to Liaodong.

If he wanted to go to Youzhou, given his experience of serving in the capital for more than ten years, he could just go directly to find Guanqiu Jian and there was no need for him to come looking for me.

Therefore, Xiahou Hui remained silent for a while.

It's not that I don't want to have a good relationship with him, nor is it that it's difficult to do so, but I'm hesitant.

There are two reasons.

Firstly, his second brother Xiahou Ba was a stubborn person, and Zhuge Dan was also quite proud. The two of them might not get along well with each other, let alone be able to control each other as easily as one would an arm.

Another reason is that Zhuge Dan has always been friendly with Xiahou Xuan, Deng Yang and others.

Everyone in the capital Luoyang knew that Cao Shuang had fallen out with him and severed his ties with Ding Mi.

Even his clan member Xiahou Xuan was forced to make a choice, so why did Zhuge Dan ignore this?

Didn't he know that once he came to visit Lingzhi Marquis's mansion, not only would Cao Shuang no longer be friends with him, but even Xiahou Xuan would avoid him and distance himself from him! If he wanted to emulate Ding Mi and seek military merits to be awarded a title, he could ask Xiahou Xuan or Sima Shi to speak up for him and go to Yongliang or Jingxiang to seek military merits!

Why did you choose the path of breaking off with old friends?

Xiahou Hui pondered for a moment, unable to understand, so he asked Ding Mi what he thought about it.

"Those who have little power are lost!"

He must have thought about it long ago. Hearing this, Ding Mi spoke without hesitation, "If Gong Xiu wants to gain military merit, Yongliang and Jingxiang are both impossible to achieve. Only my second brother Zhiquan is in Liaodong! Zhiquan, have you forgotten that I was able to be made a marquis because of his two memorials to the imperial court to argue with the dignitaries?"

I haven't forgotten this, but the precedent has been set!

As long as Zhuge Dan can win military merit, given his reputation, can the officials in the court turn a blind eye?
Xiahou Hui was still confused, so he raised his head and eyebrows slightly to signal Ding Mi to continue to explain.

"A man should have the ambition to be a noble, to bring honor to his family and benefit his descendants."

Ding Mi explained this more bluntly, "Everyone is eager to be granted a title of nobility. I would like to ask Zhiquan, if you and I were not related, would we have submitted two memorials to the court to argue? Zhuge Gongxiu is now a commoner, with no connections in Yongliang or Jingxiang, and no help in the court. It is not easy for him to win military merits!"

It turned out to be the case.

Suddenly, Xiahou Hui understood.

If Zhuge Dan asked to go to Yongliang or Jingxiang, Xiahou Ru and Guo Huai would naturally not refuse.

But as he had just arrived, he would not be entrusted with any confidant.

Therefore, even if a war broke out and the commander-in-chief submitted a petition to the imperial court to request merit for the soldiers, none of the merits worthy of being made a marquis would be given to Zhuge Dan - the distribution of military merit is originally a situation where there are too many people and too little meat, and even the trusted generals who fought at the front with their lives would inevitably not get any share. How much merit could Xiahou Ru and Guo Huai give to be credited to Zhuge Dan, who gave advice in the rear?
Sun Zi sent his son to Youzhou because he was the Minister of the Central Secretariat!
Regardless of whether Sun Mi achieved anything in Youzhou or how much Guanqiu Jian wanted to win over his subordinates, he could still get a share of the credit.

For Zhuge Dan, who was not regarded as a confidant in the local area and had no one to fight for him in the court, it was nothing but a foolish dream to want to be granted a title of nobility.

Therefore, he decided to take a gamble and placed his hopes on Xiahou Hui.

Because he felt that Xiahou Hui was willing to fight for him.

First, it is a pragmatic choice.

Anyone with a discerning eye knew that with the favor and trust of Emperor Cao Rui, Xiahou Hui, a native of Qiaopei, was a rising star in the Wei court.

In other words, the new upstarts in the government are those who are not yet fully grown and have not yet established a solid foundation.

It also means recruiting talented people as your trusted henchmen.

With Zhuge Dan's reputation and talent, even Sima Yi, the most prestigious general in Wei State, was willing to recruit him with sincerity, so Xiahou Hui would naturally not turn him away.

It is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

He now took the initiative to come over and show goodwill, which was like timely help to Xiahou Hui, and it was full of sincerity, so he would definitely be valued and felt that it was worth pulling. Secondly, both sides got what they needed.

The timing of his wanting to go to Liaodong was very clever.

After Xiahou Hui led his troops to conquer Gongsun of Liaodong, the imperial court, in order to prevent the possibility of Liaodong's separatist regime from reappearing in the future, removed the firewood from the bottom and relocated many scholars and commoners back to Qingzhou and the west of Liaoxi Corridor (Banhai Road). In response, Xiahou Hui wrote a letter to dissuade him, saying that Jiangdong and Goguryeo might send troops to attack Liaodong in the future.

It’s a pity that neither the Emperor Cao Rui and the other officials in the court, nor the Deputy General of Liaodong Guanqiu Jian agreed.

Now Zhuge Dan wanted to go to Liaodong, which showed that he supported Xiahou Hui's vision and was willing to gamble his future. Therefore, if there was a military event in Liaodong in the future and he succeeded and achieved merit, Xiahou Hui would definitely fight for the due reward for him in the court.

The reason was not because Xiahou Hui thought of his foresight in supporting him, but because he was the wood that "moved the wood to establish trust"!

Just think, when he returned to Luoyang after completing his mission, when people saw and talked about him, would they mention Xiahou Hui's foresight?

He gained benefits and Xiahou Hui gained prestige.

Why wouldn't Xiahou Hui want such a win-win result?

Even if Xiahou Hui didn't understand this, his aide Ding Mi would definitely make this happen with his scheming.

Secondly, it is to show sincerity.

With the story of Cao Shuang and Ding Mi breaking off their ties, with his intelligence, he certainly knew the consequences of taking the initiative to visit Lingzhi Marquis's mansion.

It was precisely because he knew this that he came here.

Asking Xiahou Hui when he would have time to spare through Ding Mi's mouth was actually just testing the waters.

The underlying meaning is to ask whether Xiahou Hui is willing to accept him at the cost of breaking up with his old friends; whether he is willing to lend him a helping hand so that he can get what he wants under Xiahou Ba's command.

Finally, he became anxious.

During the reign of Emperor Wen, Cao Pi, he was appointed as the magistrate of Xingyang as a Shangshu Lang.

Now he has entered his forties, older than the current Emperor Cao Rui, so he has neither the patience nor the time to wait for the restrictions on his official career to be lifted.

What if he can’t wait until his lifetime?
As a descendant of the Zhuge clan of Langya, his career was indeed much worse than his two cousins ​​from Shu and Wu.

Especially now, although the world is divided into three parts, Wei is the dominant one!

The Shu Kingdom trapped in Yizhou and the Wu Kingdom in a corner should have no hope of conquering the Central Plains.

Even if he didn't care about his own career, he should at least consider his clan and strive to add some good reputation when they were classified according to the Nine-Rank System.

"Looking at Zhiquan's expression, he should understand the connection."

Just as Xiahou Hui's face showed a look of realization, Ding Mi could not help but ask, "In Zhiquan's opinion, when is the best day to let Zhuge Gongxiu come to visit? I think it would be best to do it within three days, before the emperor issues an edict to let Zhiquan investigate the families of scholars. Although I know Gongxiu is a decisive person and will not change his mind after learning of the edict, it is always better to be cautious."

He asked directly what day the time would be, instead of asking if it was possible.

Because he knew that Xiahou Hui would not refuse Zhuge Dan's proactive visit.

If he guessed wrong, then the dissatisfaction and resentment towards Emperor Cao Rui that Xiahou Hui had just "inadvertently" revealed in his words would be inexplicable.

However, after a little thought, Xiahou Hui really refused.

"Yan Jing's worry is not without reason. However, I think I should ask Yan Jing to tell him that I don't have the time to visit Zhuge Gongxiu."

He said this, which surprised Ding Mi.

No, why would you refuse?
Others are willing to show their sincerity at the cost of breaking up with old friends, which is considered condescending. If you don't accept it, it would be naked contempt and will make you enemies!

Don’t you understand such common ways of the world?
In a hurry, Ding Mi didn't care about the hierarchy and asked angrily, "Zhi Quan is already a person who has established himself in the government, but he doesn't know the consequences of rejecting Zhuge Gongxiu? Gongxiu was previously praised as one of the 'Eight Smarts', his talent is no less than mine, and his reputation is even better. Even if Zhi Quan doesn't want to be on good terms with him, I can negotiate on his behalf and find other reasons to reject him tactfully. How can I draw the line so bluntly!"

"Hahaha, don't worry, Yan Jing, wait for me to finish."

Smiling and waving his hands, Xiahou Hui stood up and went to the storage box to get the silk cloth while explaining, "I will write a letter to recommend Zhuge Gongxiu to my second brother who is far away in Liaodong. However, when Yan Jing refuses Gongxiu on my behalf and passes the letter the next day, remember to remind him to wait for a few days and decide whether to take this letter to Liaodong after the new imperial edict is issued."

uh~
He seeks it with trust, and I demonstrate it with sincerity?
Ding Mi hesitated for a moment, but soon figured out the key and couldn't help but applaud.

"It is a great move by Zhiquan to help others achieve their goals without sharing them with others. He is a man of great experience in human nature! Hahaha~"

He stood up and read the content of Xiahou Hui's recommendation. He seemed to have thought of something and added, "Since Zhiquan is considering him and not contacting him openly, it may not be appropriate for me to go directly to him the next day. How about this, I will also write a letter and find a smart follower to deliver it."

"what ever."

"Okay." (End of chapter)