Wei Ni

Immortal reputation?!
Emperor Cao Rui, who had originally seemed somewhat uninterested, suddenly had eyes that sparkled.

Xiahou Hui did not wait for him to ask, and continued to speak generously, "In the past, the Emperor of Qin unified the track of wheels, the writing system, the customs, and the system of measurement, thus achieving the will to unify the world; Emperor Wu of the former Han Dynasty conquered the four directions and conquered the borders, so he was praised for expelling the four barbarians and expanding the territory. Now Your Majesty has recovered the lost land of Hetao and the four counties of Liaodong. If you also take the land of Goguryeo and Hanye into the territory, future generations will certainly write about Your Majesty's achievements and compare them with those of the Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han!"

In response, Cao Rui remained silent, but his gaze became more and more fiery.

Although he knew that what Xiahou Hui said was biased and exaggerated, that was not the point.

The point is, this move can really make him go down in history!
And it must be a good reputation!
The passing geese leave their voices, and the passing people leave their names.

For Cao Rui himself, it was his duty as the emperor to carry forward the legacy of Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen and to recreate the great achievements of Qin Shihuang in conquering the world; and what he longed for was to have the achievements of Emperor Wu of Han in conquering the border areas and surpassing all other kings.

Perhaps because he was in high spirits, he raised the wine cup and drank it all, then stood up and paced back and forth in the hall.

In response to this, Xiahou Hui stopped making noise and just waited quietly.

He knew it was settled.

Or in other words, people who have lived in a dark room for a long time cannot resist the temptation of a beam of light suddenly entering the room.

Emperor Cao Rui was the one trapped in the dark room.

Since he ascended the throne, Wei's achievements in foreign wars were lackluster, which made him realize that he would not be able to conquer Shu and Wu in his lifetime. In addition, his descendants died one after another, and he was helpless because he had the whole world but no one to look forward to. Just when he felt bored, a ray of light suddenly came, an achievement that would make him famous in history and was within his reach.
How could he refuse?
How can I resist the temptation?
"Hu~~"

After a while, Cao Rui, who had let out a long sigh, finally returned to his seat, complaining, "Why didn't you say it clearly when Zhiquan returned from the expedition and submitted a memorial?"

Uh, is it my fault?
How could I have the desire to please the king at that time?

And I didn't realize at that time that you were a person who valued your own interests more than the Wei Dynasty!

Although he was secretly complaining, Xiahou Hui also knew that the emperor was actually asking: times have changed, and the people of Liaodong have been relocated back to the Central Plains. If he wants to propose the establishment of the Haidong Protectorate, will it be difficult to carry it out?
"I was not thoughtful enough before, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Therefore, he apologized without any panic, and then smiled and said, "But Your Majesty, I think it is not too late now. The rebel nations of Goguryeo and Hanye invaded our Wei State without reason, defying the majesty of the heaven. We cannot vent our hatred without attacking them! Your Majesty should raise an army to attack them, and set up the Haidong Protectorate in the name of King Xuan. I am sure that all the ministers in the court will have no objection!"

Hey~
It is true that there is no resistance in the court.

Cao Rui raised his eyebrows slightly, smiling, but he still did not forget to instruct, "You brat! You played a game about state affairs, how can you talk about fraud! Hahaha~"

Just after scolding, he burst into laughter.

After a while, he asked again, "Since the Haidong Protectorate was proposed by Zhiquan, they must have thought about the candidate for the position. Who do you think can take on the position?"

Who do you ask?

Isn’t this obvious?

My second brother has both status and loyalty, and is more than capable of ruling Goguryeo and Hanye. Why do you turn a blind eye to this?

Or is it because Liaodong is devastated by the war between Wu, Goguryeo and Han Ye that you think my second brother is not capable of taking on the responsibility?
However, in the final analysis, the mistake you and other officials made in deciding to relocate the people was the reason why my second brother was unable to make a living and Liaodong was devastated by the war!
My second brother is still faithfully leading the troops to fight and recover the lost territory. Are you planning to make him a scapegoat?
Xiahou Hui was slightly stunned for a moment and had no words to say.

"Don't worry too much about your childishness."

Perhaps guessing what Xiahou Hui was thinking, Cao Rui waved his hand and said softly, "If the four counties in Hexi are safe, then the Office of the Chief of the Western Regions can be safe. If we set up the Haidong Protectorate, it will be based on this."

That's it!

In my eagerness, I even ignored such a simple truth.

"A firefly to the bright moon is like your minister's kindness to Your Majesty."

After a sincere compliment, Xiahou Hui pondered in his heart and replied, "Your Majesty has already chosen someone, why bother asking me? In the early years, Gongsun was a traitor who rebelled against Wei and was granted a title by Wu. Your Majesty intends to attack him by land and sea, and who can do it has already been decided."

Tian Yu?

Hearing this, Cao Rui lowered his eyes and stroked his beard with one hand.

After thinking about it for a while, he felt that there was no one more suitable than Tian Yu.

Firstly, it is due to political power.

Since he planned to let Xiahou Ba continue to guard Liaodong to restrain the Haidong Protectorate, the candidate for the Protectorate could not be other clan members of Qiaopei or descendants of heroes, so as to avoid mutual constraints or inability to restrain each other.

Another reason is Tian Yu's tough attitude towards foreigners. Tian Yu, who had guarded the border for decades and made many achievements, was capable and would not have made Cao Rui worry that the Haidong Protectorate could not be implemented. What was even more valuable was that he always adhered to the policy of dividing and suppressing the strong towards the Hulu tribes.

For example, when he was the commander of the Wuhuan Guard, he often tried to sow discord between the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes outside the Great Wall, causing them to fight among themselves and leaving the border less disturbed.

To put it bluntly, in his eyes, the weak and non-threatening Hu Lu tribes were good neighbors of the Wei State.

Therefore, if he were to be appointed as the Protector General of Haidong and implement the strategy that Xiahou Hui had just advised, it would be truly a case of "everyone has his own specialty"!

Finally, it is Cao Rui's thoughts that matter.

Tian Yu's initiative to resign and return home was a manifestation of loyalty and indifference to power, and Cao Rui should have shown him favor as a reward.

But now there are no vacancies in Huainan and Jingxiang fronts. Sending him to Haidong at this time not only allows Cao Rui to fulfill his promise of "Governor of Pingzhou" in his early years, but also reflects Cao Rui's "granting power to others without doubting meritorious officials"!
With such great benefits, why not do it?

"With Yu's ability, I can rest assured that I won't have to worry about the affairs of Haidong."

Cao Rui nodded slightly and said with a smile, "However, he has not yet returned to the capital. Whether he will be elected or not will be determined after I ask him about the Liaodong affairs."

Well, Tian Yu is now in his hometown, Yongnu, Yuyang County.

Because when Cao Rui approved his memorial, he also granted him three months to return home and gave him a high ranking in Luoyang as a favor on the grounds that he had been in the army for a long time. Therefore, he had no choice but to return to his hometown and bring his family to Luoyang to settle down.

no way.

Such a favor is something that a general cannot and dares not refuse.

After the important matters were settled and Xiahou Hui chatted with the emperor who was in a good mood for a while, he stood up and took his leave.

But before he left, Cao Rui seemed to have remembered something and called him back, asking with a smile, "The post of Central Guard Commander has been vacant for more than a month, why hasn't Zhiquan recommended a candidate?"

I'm waiting for your assignment.
Suddenly, Xiahou Hui couldn't help feeling depressed.

Because he knew that Cao Rui's sudden question about the candidate for the Central Guard General was just like his previous question about the Hongnong Prefect. It was because his response made Cao Rui feel close to him and loyal, so he granted him the position with grace.

But Xiahou Hui has no suitable candidate to recommend!
No matter how you promote talents based on personal relationships, you can't throw out your seventh brother Xiahou He, right?
Therefore, he could only smile bitterly, cup his hands and say shamefully, "Your Majesty, I have no one to recommend me, so it is difficult for me to share your worries."

"No progress at all. Forget it, just go back."

"only."

Xiahou Hui walked out of the palace leisurely, still feeling depressed.

It was not just because he once again felt the weakness of his own foundation. When he had the opportunity to expand his own power, he was as useless as a eunuch in a brothel.

Moreover, it was because he once again felt the emperor Cao Rui's straightforward and willful character.

For example, when I asked about the selection of the Sima of the Central Guard Army just now, to put it nicely, it means that the minister is loyal to the emperor and will not be stingy with his favor; but to put it bluntly, it means that he is misusing public resources for personal gain and acting recklessly!
It's okay to do it once in a while, but how can you do it all the time?
Or, it could be said that since the Wei Dynasty was still stable, it would not be a big deal if Cao Rui was a little willful.

However, Xiahou Hui deduced from this that his previous unreserved evaluation of Sima Yi as "like a resurrected saint" had been ignored by Cao Rui!
The reason why he had such a clear understanding was that a few days ago, when he was on duty in the Secretariat, Sun Zi took time out of his busy schedule to come uninvited and chat with him.

Perhaps he saw that his second son Sun Mi had a chance to make meritorious deeds. To express his gratitude, Sun Zi also recounted the words Sima Yi and Jiang Ji praised him in the East Hall that day. He also claimed that Emperor Cao Rui was very happy about this, and reminded Xiahou Hui not to forget to return the favor if he had any business with Sima Yi or Jiang Ji in the future.

In this regard, Xiahou Hui was humble and accepted the advice, but secretly he disagreed.

The reason is, of course, known. Sima Yi was not really praising him, but was just trying to remind the emperor Cao Rui again - since the clan members of Qiaopei had all grown up, he was a loyal minister who had asked to resign from his military power for three dynasties. He was too old and not worthy of the emperor's fear.
It was natural for Jiang Ji, who was so close to Sima Yi that they could wear the same pants as each other, to join in the fight.

So, what is there to be grateful to these two?
On the contrary, he was too late to regret. With Cao Rui's straightforwardness and with the support of Jiang Ji, whom he trusted, how could he feel fearful of Sima Yi's submissive attitude?
Another reason that made Xiahou Hui depressed was that his second brother missed the opportunity to be the Protector General of Haidong.

As the first year of Jingchu was halfway through, he began to prepare for the future.

A big part of the reason why he encouraged Cao Rui to set up the Haidong Protectorate was that he wanted to be prepared for any eventuality. He thought that if he lost power in the future, his second brother would be a backup plan for the Xiahou family.

Alas, nothing goes right.

With this thought in mind, when he returned to the Central Guard Officers' Office, he suddenly felt that he had not brought his wife back to his hometown for a long time, which seemed a bit inhumane.

After all, the wife's family is also one of the three families. (End of this chapter)