Wei Ni

Courage is not something that everyone possesses, so it has long been praised by people.

However, Xiahou Hui did not feel much joy when faced with Zhuge Dan, who came to visit him with great courage and determination.

He is no longer a rookie in the officialdom.

For example, the problem he is considering at the moment is that Zhuge Dan, for the sake of his future, has resolutely broken with his old friends such as Xiahou Xuan through practical actions today; then in the future, when he faces such a choice again, will he also resolutely break with himself?
There is no answer to this question.

Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors, while Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne.

But Xiahou Hui had a vague answer in his heart.

Because in the original historical trajectory, among the three rebellions in Huainan, only Guanqiu Jian could be called a loyal minister of the Wei Dynasty.

What’s more, Zhuge Dan and Sima Yi are relatives!
Because of this relationship, he was trusted by Sima Yi when Wang Ling started his army, and was granted the title of General Zhendong and Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of Yangzhou. Otherwise, in terms of achievements and resume, how could he be compared with Wang Chang and Guanqiu Jian?
But he eventually rebelled.

He raised his army in the name of suppressing the Sima clan's usurpation of power, but first sent his son to Wu to pledge his allegiance.

This is a way of rebellion.
When a crow lands on an old sow, does it matter which one is darker?

Therefore, after having a preconceived impression, even though he knew very clearly that it was biased to define the present by things that had not happened, Xiahou Hui was unwilling to trust him.

They were too lazy to even follow the basic etiquette of hosting a banquet.

Well, he traveled to many places today, and it was almost dusk when he returned to the mansion.

If he held a banquet, it would have to be delayed until the city's curfew. Now that Zhuge Dan was not an official, he was not qualified to walk around the city at night.

Giving a banquet is equivalent to staying overnight.

Xiahou Huike had no habit of sleeping side by side with strangers.

Fortunately, Zhuge Dan is also quite tactful.

When he saw Xiahou Hui returning, he came straight over to greet him without waiting for Ding Mi to introduce him.

He first apologized for being rude by coming without notice, and then claimed that the purpose of his coming here was because he was going to leave for Liaodong the next day, so he came to express his gratitude before leaving, and then he said goodbye.

Straightforward and without any delay.

Xiahou Hui didn't say a word and was busy seeing the guests off.

Well, he and Ding Mi were very polite in trying to keep him by offering to host a banquet to chat with him, but Zhuge Dan was determined to leave, so they just went along with it.

The main thing is that they all knew that Zhuge Dan came personally and waited for half an hour just to say thank you. This seemingly rude and absurd behavior actually said it all.

They were not familiar with each other, and his attitude had shown that staying for a drink and a chat was meaningless. If we really wanted to increase the trust and affection between each other, it would take practical actions and the test of time to achieve it.

This changed Xiahou Hui's impression of him.

Although, there is nothing new under the emperor's feet.

But this morning Emperor Cao Rui had just issued an edict to investigate the families of scholars, and he had already gone to the door to wait for him in the afternoon.

Judging from the time, he did not weigh the pros and cons too much.

Moreover, Ding Mi witnessed his departure and told Xiahou Hui with emotion that he had held a banquet yesterday to invite friends and old acquaintances, and announced that he would go to Liaodong and live under Xiahou Ba in order to seek military merit.

Such an attitude is rare and precious.

Perhaps, this is the family tradition of the descendants of famous officials.

Xiahou Hui sighed in his heart and no longer paid attention to this little episode. He just stayed at home for the next few days, waiting for the news of his ordering the 700 cavalrymen to rest to spread, and for the reactions of various people after they learned about it.

First is Emperor Cao Rui.

He didn't react at all.

His lack of reaction was actually a statement to the powerful and aristocratic families who had encroached upon the military farms. He acquiesced to Xiahou Hui's handling of the matter.

Therefore, starting from the third day, Shi Er began to send back news one after another.

For example, the military farms opened up by Wang Chang in his early years were mostly distributed from Pingxian to Yanshi (on both sides of the eastern section of Yangqu Canal). Many manors have been built in recent years, but now that most of the fields enclosed by these manors have been plowed in the spring, the tenants who farmed the fields have begun to migrate with their families.

Moreover, they only took away valuables, and many farm tools were left behind in neatly stacked items.

Just as they left, the Shi family sent by Linghu Yu, the General of Agriculture in Luoyang, arrived and moved directly into the manor to continue taking over the spring plowing work.

The cooperation between the two sides is very tacit.

However, in Gucheng, where agriculture and animal husbandry coexist, a misunderstanding occurred.

One of the nobles, whether it was because he had a change of heart or because he was afraid of having taken too much before, not only did he keep the cattle and sheep in the pen when he moved the tenants away, but he also asked the family steward to transport a lot of grain and fodder from the city and build a granary in the most conspicuous place in the manor. Later, when the garrison official who brought the Shi family to take over the manor saw it, he actually asked the Shi family to load the grain and fodder onto a cart and drive the cattle and sheep back to the noble family.
Although, in the end, the manager stopped the clerk halfway and resolved the misunderstanding.

But the news still spread, and even the county soldiers stationed in Gucheng were interested in talking about it as a topic of conversation, not to mention the hustle and bustle of the streets of Luoyang.

When they heard this, Xiahou Hui and Ding Mi were overjoyed.

He was so stubborn that he asked Shi Er to find out which powerful family was so shameful.

Well, I mainly want to know who is so powerful that the grain, fodder, cattle and sheep were clearly illegally embezzled, but the small officials in the military farms disregarded the law and took the initiative to help return them.

Shi Er returned soon.

Or, after this powerful family became a laughing stock, they became familiar to the scholars and common people in Luoyang.

It turned out to be Cao Fu, the youngest son of the late General Cao Hong, the Viscount and Marquis of Lecheng.

It also made Xiahou Hui fall into silence for a long time.

He finally understood why Emperor Cao Rui disagreed and why he wanted to enforce the law strictly. He also felt firsthand the basis for the officials' words "the country should not be in turmoil"!
Cao Fu is a member of the royal family of Wei!

Following the founding heroes of Emperor Wu Cao Cao, they all dug up the foundation of the Wei Dynasty.
I would like to ask, once the news spreads, how will Emperor Cao Rui save his face? And how will the descendants of the Xiahou and Cao, who always claim to defend the country, feel?
The reason why Cao Fu transported grain and fodder from his home and stored them in the manor is also easy to understand. Given the past experience of Cao Hong being demoted to a commoner, Cao Fu did not dare to take any chances and gamble on whether Emperor Cao Rui would show leniency.

It's just a self-defeating move.

After the misunderstanding, the common people in the court and the public would analyze the reasons why he did so while teasing him. They would also recall the injustice Cao Hong had suffered before, and then realize the harshness and ingratitude of the Cao Wei emperor: even the royal family lived in fear.

I don’t know how Emperor Cao Rui would feel when he learned about this.

Ugh!
However, everything has its pros and cons.

Just as Cao Fu became the topic of conversation among the common people, many powerful and wealthy families hurriedly transported grain and fodder from their homes and sent them to the abandoned manors to build granaries for storage.

Even Cao Fu, who was of noble status, had to transport grain and store it to avoid being punished, let alone them?
When you do something wrong, your attitude is crucial.

Since someone has already taken the lead, if you pretend to be deaf and dumb and don't follow, then don't blame others for favoring one over the other. Besides, Xiahou Hui is also a Qiaopei boy.

What if this action of Cao Fu was secretly instructed by Xiahou Hui?
After weighing the pros and cons, no one would take a gamble on such a thing just to save a little food and fodder.

Of course, there are also those who won’t give up until they hit the wall.

Xiahou Hui was going to lead his troops to station at the Luoyang Diannong Department the next day, but according to Shi Er's report, there was still a manor outside the city of Henan whose tenants had not been relocated.

The manor was not big, probably covering more than ten hectares of fertile farmland.

But it is also where the Gu River flows into the Luo River and below the Yang Canal. It is convenient for irrigation and has fertile soil. The output is twice that of other places, and water-based pestles can be used to pound rice.

According to Shi Er's vague report, this small manor belonged to a merchant from Guangzong, Anping County, Jizhou.

But this businessman has not appeared in Luoyang for several years.

Obviously, he is just a figurehead.

How could a mere merchant be qualified to seize military farms in the capital Luoyang?

Ding Mi, who had been in Luoyang for a long time, thought about it for a moment and asked Shi Er in surprise, "Didn't it say before that Guanjin Marquis Guo Biao would return the embezzled land?"

In response to this, Shi Er hesitated for a moment, nodded first, and then cast an embarrassed look at Xiahou Hui after a moment.

Okay, Xiahou Hui understood.

Guo Biao, Marquis of Guanjin, was the nephew of Empress Wende Guo.

He is talentless and greedy.

For example, when Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Cao Pi, was on an expedition to the east to defeat the rebellious Wu in his early years, he was ordered to garrison in Qiao County. Despite the fact that most of the food and fodder for the expedition relied on water transportation, he actually planned to block the tributaries of the grain-transporting river in order to catch fish.

Fortunately, Empress Dowager Guo stopped him at that time.

Now that Empress Dowager Guo has passed away and there is no one to restrain him, it is not surprising that he would do such a thing.

And the more likely possibility is that he is so stupid that he was used as a gun by others.

He thought that since he had the status of a relative by marriage and was being controlled from behind, Xiahou Hui would not make things difficult for him because of a dozen hectares of land. Therefore, after others promised him benefits and instigated him a few words, they left a small farm as a touchstone for Xiahou Hui to enforce the law.

"Mr. Shi, I will go to this manor the next day after meeting with the Luoyang Diannong Zhonglang Jiang."

Xiahou Hui ignored Shi Er's look and said calmly, "If Mr. Shi can find out the details of this small manor, I will be very grateful. If Mr. Shi is embarrassed, I will not force him. I can only ask His Majesty to send someone else to investigate."

Asking the emperor to replace someone, how is this different from saying that he is incompetent?

As a school official who knows many secrets, he knows the consequences of incompetence.

Shi Er was awed and dared not hide it any longer. "General, as far as I know, the merchants who own this manor are servants of Marquis Guanjin. Marquis Guanjin originally planned to move the tenants of this manor away, but for some reason, those tenants were stopped by the new steward sent by Marquis Guanjin before they could pack their bags. The reason for the change seems to be that someone visited Marquis Guanjin during this period."

"who?"

"I don't know. The school official didn't witness this incident."

Shi Er lowered his head and spoke in a low voice, "Later, I secretly visited the mansion and the neighbors said that the man looked unfamiliar. But it was confirmed that the carriage occasionally went in and out of the Henan Yin's office."

It turned out to be Xiahou Xian~
No wonder Shi Er is so secretive about it.

You must know that before Xiahou Hui emerged as a rising star, among the many descendants of Qiaopei heroes, Xiahou Xian was the most favored and respected by Emperor Cao Rui.

Xiahou Hui understood the situation and said nothing. He just nodded and waved his hand, letting Shi Er leave.

First it was Cao Fu and then Xiahou Xian. Perhaps the collapse of the military farming system was the smallest problem for the Wei Dynasty.

And who shall I go home with?

"A five-day delay is enough for Your Majesty to know Zhi Quan's intentions."

After a short silence, Ding Mi, who didn't know what Xiahou Hui was thinking, thought that he was worried about the emperor misunderstanding him, so he analyzed, "Zhi Quan only needs to enforce the law, and there will be no other worries."

"Yeah. I understand."

Xiahou Hui responded without explanation, but his eyes became sharp.

Initially, he intended to show that his knife was very sharp, but after being obstructed by Emperor Cao Rui, he had no choice but to use very gentle means to investigate. Now someone is so reckless that he has been given the opportunity to establish his authority, and he is overjoyed!

The next day, Mao Shi.

Xiahou Hui, dressed in military uniform, came to Xuanwu Temple with Ding Mi and Yu Song, surrounded by his followers.

There was no need for any passionate speeches to mobilize. Xiahou Hui just asked his troops to show their tokens and then rode away to the Diannong Department in Luoyang. A Luopan and Zuo Junbo also spontaneously led the 700 infantry and cavalry who had been waiting in formation and followed slowly behind.

It was only dawn now and the sky was still dark.

But there were already quite a few pedestrians along the way. Judging from their attire and the way they looked around, they must be servants sent by the various powerful families to watch the fun. Especially when Xiahou Hui called Zuo Junbo halfway through the journey and whispered a few instructions to him, he led the 500 infantrymen under his command to turn around and go to Henan City. There were faint exclamations from the pedestrians, and some of them turned around and left.

After a short time, he went to the office of the Ministry of Agriculture in Luoyang.

Linghu Yu, the General of Agriculture, who had been prepared, led his subordinates out of the camp to meet them.

From his slightly haggard face and bloodshot eyes, it can be seen that he has been very busy and tormented these past few days.

Yes, how can it not be tormenting?

Emperor Cao Rui restarted the investigation of scholars' families, obviously in order to save face, and he was the first to bear the brunt of the consequences.

Who made it so that the place where Yang Fu returned in defeat was the Diannong Department in Luoyang?
But to be honest, he was also quite wronged.

The collapse of the military farming system and the encroachment on the land of the scholars in Luoyang were not caused after he took office, but he was forced to bear the blame alone!
After all, his predecessor was Guanqiu Jian, and his predecessor had already passed away.

There is no reason to let someone who has been dead for many years share the blame, and if the blame is put on Guanqiu Jian, he was not stupid enough to seek death.

Guanqiu Jian was recalled not long ago. Isn’t the meaning obvious?

If he dared to say that Guanqiu Jian was also guilty, the emperor Cao Rui would say, "The previous emperor said, 'How foolish Jun is!' Why don't you die now?", indicating that he should commit suicide.

His only hope was Xiahou Hui's decision to release Mu Xiu, one of the 700 infantrymen - since he was not going to investigate the wealthy and powerful who had encroached on the military farms, should he also let him off the hook?

However, the first words Xiahou Hui said when they met made him feel hopeless.

"On the way through the ditch, I happened to see a fish in a cow hoof pit. It's very strange! May I ask General Linghu, how long can this fish live?" (End of this chapter)