Wei Ni

Following the discussion among the ministers, Tian Yu's petition to resign his military power was finally approved by Emperor Cao Rui.

As for what position he would be assigned to, Cao Rui asked him to return to the capital to report on his work before making a decision, but the important officials in the court all guessed that the emperor had actually made the decision.

Because the so-called return to report was actually Cao Rui letting Tian Yu make his own choice, whether to stay in the court or go to the front line to fight against the bandits Wu. And according to Tian Yu's personality and the past that he was framed before, he would definitely not want to be in a high position in the court.

If nothing unexpected happens, he should go to the second-tier cities of Xuzhou, Yuzhou or Yanzhou.

After all, there are currently no vacancies on the Huainan and Jingxiang fronts.

As this matter came to a temporary end, Emperor Cao Rui also decided on the candidate to take over the command of the Bingzhou troops and garrison in Hetao, and finally chose Qin Lang.

This was the most ideal candidate, but it was the choice made by Cao Rui out of frustration.

However, when he went to the Beimangshan Manor for fun, he invited Qin Lang, Cao Shuang, Cao Zhao and Xiahou Xian to accompany him, and mentioned this matter during the fun and chat. He claimed that this advice was from Xiahou Hui, and mentioned that Xiahou Hui would not go and the benefits of supervising the town, and then asked everyone to express their opinions.

Cao Zhao, who was always the most lively and outgoing at the banquet, was unsurprisingly the first to speak.

He first praised Xiahou Hui's proposal, saying it was good for the Wei Dynasty and the people, and then volunteered to leave.

Such words are to be expected.

Cao Rui is now in his prime, and he will be stationed in Hetao for no more than four or five years. When he returns, he will stand out among the crowd. How can one not be excited by the weight of the stakes?

Cao Shuang, who spoke next, recommended himself without hesitation.

Qin Lang, who had always been cautious in his words and deeds, did not argue or fight for it. He passed it off with a sentence, "My talents and strategies are ordinary, and I am a man who obeys orders. If Your Majesty does not think that I am stupid and entrusts me with the responsibility of supervising the town, I will wait for Tian Yu to return to the court and come to you to seek advice, hoping that Xiao Guicao will follow suit, before I dare to take up the post."

Xiahou Xian, who spoke last, directly declined.

He said that he had just been appointed as the governor of Henan Province and his duties had changed frequently, so he was not familiar with the court laws and regulations, and he could not bear to see the emperor being questioned by court officials about his nepotism.

These seemingly thoughtful remarks greatly disappointed Cao Rui.

Because Cao Rui only had two candidates in mind, the second choice was Qin Lang, and the first choice was him.

Cao Shuang and Cao Zhao were not considered because Cao Rui felt that these two people were not capable of taking on the important task.

Needless to say, Qin Lang was selected because he was suitable in terms of emotion, reason and talent. He was also one of the only two candidates that Cao Rui consulted on state affairs before Cao Zhen died.

And Xiahou Xian was selected and was the first choice~
Among all the royal family members and Qiaopei youths, the person Cao Rui looked forward to the most was him!

Not only because he and Cao Rui are cousins, but also because Cao Rui trained him like Xiahou Dun~
As the first general of Wei State, Xiahou Dun’s military achievements were unremarkable, but why did Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao, value him the most and entrust him with important tasks?

Isn’t it because Xiahou Dun is prudent and can provide security in the rear?

When the Western Han Dynasty was founded, rewards were given according to merit. The best example is that Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, ranked Xiao He, who guarded the rear, first, and Cao Shen, who conquered countless cities, second.

Xiahou Xian, who had previously served as the commander of the central army, was appointed as the governor of Henan. He could not understand the deep meaning behind the change of official position and ignored Cao Rui's earnest expectations!

In this case, how could Cao Rui not be disappointed.

And what about nepotism?
This is really ridiculous! If people were appointed on their merits, with your abilities, how could you be appointed as the governor of Henan, where the capital is located?
At the end of the incident, when they returned to the palace after having fun, before everyone said goodbye and left, Cao Rui seemed to unintentionally reminded Qin Lang, asking him to remember his achievements in the past when he conquered Kebineng of the Xianbei. Out of consideration for human relationships and harmony among ministers, he should go to Tian Yu's house to express his gratitude after his return.

When the words fell into everyone's ears, they knew that the person chosen was Qin Lang.

Qin Lang was neither sad nor happy about this, Xiahou Xian did not care about the matter, Cao Shuang and Cao Zhao felt a little regretful, but seeing that Cao Rui looked bored, they did not dare to say anything more.

Cao Rui was indeed unhappy.

He suddenly felt that among the royal family members and Qiaopei scions of this generation, none of them shared the same aspirations as him and were willing to share the same concerns as him.

Yes, all.

Xiahou Hui, who had made many achievements and often spoke frankly about gains and losses, was no exception.

The difference is that Xiahou Xian and others made Cao Rui lament their lack of talent, while he felt sorry for Xiahou Hui because he was inflexible and could not see through what the monarch really wanted.

Take the fact that he felt it was inappropriate for Xiahou to offer up Zhenhetao.

The reason was that he was worried that his father Xiahou Mao was greedy and might induce the slave trade in Bingzhou, which was already impossible to prohibit, to become more and more serious and become a shame for the people of Qiaopei.

However, this reason underestimates him as the emperor.

Xiahou Mao and Xiahou Xian were both ministers, and their honor, disgrace, life and death depended on Cao Rui's decision.

Before Xiahou Xian took up his post, Cao Rui only needed to give him a stern warning, and even if Xiahou Mao was salivating over the profits of the slave trade, he would not dare to get involved or overstep the line!

Furthermore, we must seek truth from facts in everything and not deviate from local realities.

For the stability of the northern border of Wei, the slave trade in Bingzhou could not be eradicated. For example, when Liang Xi served as the governor of Bingzhou in his early years, he cracked down on the powerful and the wealthy, cleared up the discipline, and made the people live and work in peace and contentment. But why could the slave trade not be stopped?

This is because the most ruthless person who sold slaves was the Hudi chieftain and the tribal leader!
In order to maintain the foundation of their rule, prevent their people from growing stronger and seizing the throne, and ensure that the limited fields and pastures would not produce enough food, these tribal leaders sold the surplus population as cattle and sheep.

The Bingzhou government cracked down severely on this issue through decrees, but needed to be cautious when implementing it.

The reason is clear if you think about it.

If slave trading was not allowed, and the tribesmen were too many and could not get enough food, how would they solve this problem? According to the custom of nomadic peoples, they would have to transfer conflicts to other places and send troops south to plunder counties, right?
From the perspective of the country and the government, which is more serious, border unrest or the harm caused by the slave trade?

Xiahou Hui, who is inflexible, does not understand the cause and effect of this matter.

There was also the previous investigation into the military farms of the scholars.

Why did Cao Rui send Guanqiu Jian back from thousands of miles away just to warn Xiahou Hui that "governing a large country is like cooking a small fish" before the investigation? Why did Cao Rui make the decision after the investigation of the Luoyang Department of Agriculture, even though he knew that the investigation would become a formality if the Taiwei Mansion was transferred to take charge?
Was he a confused and foolish monarch?
Of course not.

On the contrary, he was wise.

We must also praise Sima Yi for his investigation which was based on the truth and showed his deep understanding of the emperor's mind.

The reason is that in the perspective of the emperor who is shepherding the people, "scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, the foundation of the country" have different responsibilities.

The term scholars originated from the hereditary aristocracy system.

After the collapse of the pre-Qin system of hereditary aristocracy, it gradually evolved into a system based on officialdom.

After the Han Dynasty, the gentry pursued the tradition of passing down poetry and books, which was essentially a desire to have someone in the family become an official and control power from generation to generation, thus becoming a "hereditary noble" in disguise.

As the emperor, Cao Rui knew that before Wei achieved great unification and proved that it was destiny to replace the Han Dynasty, it would need to compromise with the scholars on many issues.

Moreover, the power of the saying "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers born of different races?" cannot be offset by the divine right of emperors that was traced back to Emperor Yao by Emperor Gaozu of Han Liu Bang, or by Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che.

The Han Dynasty succeeded the Qin Dynasty, and the Cao Wei Dynasty replaced the Han Dynasty. People in the world would not be surprised that the Cao Wei Dynasty would be replaced one day.

Therefore, for the stability of the country and effective rule, Cao Rui had to compromise with the aristocratic families.

The farmers and workers, collectively referred to as the common people, were like cattle and sheep in the eyes of the emperor. The weak ones worked in agriculture and mulberry to provide food and fodder, while the strong ones rushed to the battlefield to defend the country.

Merchants are like pigs kept in captivity.

Allow them to grow bigger and fatter, and when the treasury is empty or natural disasters or man-made calamities affect tax collection and it is impossible to collect food and fodder from the people, they can be slaughtered as an emergency measure to get through the difficult times.

This perspective is the fundamental reason why Cao Rui chose to condone some illegal activities when investigating the military farming system.

In this world, only black and white are clear, there is no such thing as good and evil that cannot coexist.

There is no essential difference between the royal family's demands on the people and the corrupt officials' extortion under various pretexts; only the methods are different.

One is to boil the frog in warm water through sustainable taxation and corvee; the other is to directly rob with brutal violence.

Therefore, emperors of all dynasties would tolerate the existence of these corrupt officials.

Not only is it so that when necessary, a few people can be picked out and killed or exiled to quell public anger; it is also because if such people are eradicated, the people will find the source of their suffering and point the finger at the royal family.
That was the unbearable burden for Cao Rui and the Wei Dynasty.

Xiahou Hui, who was bent on eradicating all evil, still couldn't understand or comprehend the benefits of Cao Rui's heart-breaking words of "It's hard for me too".
Or in other words, it is impossible for Xiahou Hui to understand it fully.

Cao Rui had felt from him more than once that "the king is the least important, the people are the most important, and the country is second."

The difference in ideas was the reason why Cao Rui distorted or overturned Xiahou Hui's advice on many issues, and even took tough measures to force him to obey.

He hoped that one day Xiahou Hui would understand the emperor's mind as well as Sima Yi.

But today's great disappointment with Xiahou Xian made him draw inferences and realize that some people and some things are destined to be unable to be forced.

Ugh!
Since ancient times, wise rulers have known people and appointed them to the right positions.

Cao Rui, who has always regarded himself as a wise ruler, now feels that he can only take advantage of Xiahou Hui's strengths and it is better not to get involved in some things.

East of the capital Luoyang, on the southern foot of Shouyang Mountain, Xiahou Hui, who had no idea that Emperor Cao Rui had already made a judgment on him, was riding his horses under the scorching sun with Ding Mi and Xiahou He.

Xiahou He followed his instructions and specifically asked Mu Xiu to accompany him.

The apparent reason was that Xiahou Hui asked him to visit Chen Tai, who was in mourning.

The truth is that Wu Ying had found Ding Mi yesterday and told him who was behind Shi Jian's attempt to find a rift. So after careful consideration, Xiahou Hui decided to ask Chen Tai if he knew about this. (End of this chapter)