Wei Ni

Following the advice of court officials that "the Three Dukes should not remain in their posts for too long," after the position of Minister of Works had been vacant for nearly half a year, Emperor Cao Rui appointed Wei Zhen, the Minister of Works, as Minister of Works, and Cui Lin, the Commandant of the Capital Region, as Minister of Works. After the two ministers took office, Emperor Cao Rui, citing the lack of a commander for the various tribes of Yong and Liang, ordered all officials to jointly elect a candidate to lead the expedition against Shu.

It was called a public nomination, but it was really just a formality.

When the officials expressed their preferred candidates, Liu Fang, the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and Sun Zi, the Grand Secretary, who were like the emperor's mouthpiece, both recommended Zhao Yan, the Grand Minister of Agriculture. A consensus was quickly reached in the imperial court.

To be fair, Zhao Yan is indeed very suitable for this position.

As a veteran minister during the reign of Emperor Wu, he held various positions and was knowledgeable in military affairs. For example, during the Battle of Xiangfan, he went to rescue Cao Ren with Xu Huang, and his predictions were all correct. Later, he also served as the military advisor to Cao Xiu's General Who Conquers the East and the Grand Marshal.

Even though he had the stain of being criticized as a "wild woman," no one could question his ability to rule Yongliang.

The only drawback is that he is getting old, soon to be seventy, a rare age in ancient times. Xin Pi, Chen Qun, and Du Xi, who were once as famous as him, have all passed away. Nowadays, he suffers from minor ailments and often has his attendants carry medicine with him.

In Xiahou Hui's view, this was probably the main reason why Emperor Cao Rui wanted him to go to Yongliang.

After all, Emperor Cao Rui was not worried that an old minister of this age would still covet power. In fact, after several years, he would recall him and hand over the power of Yong and Liang in the name of old age. Not only would the minister not complain, but he would also be grateful to the court for its consideration for his old age!
Of course, after making some adjustments to Yongliang and Longyou, Cao Rui, who was well-versed in the art of imperial power, did not forget to appease Grand Commandant Sima Yi, to show that he still had no doubts and respected him.

Based on the earlier "accidental" revelation by Sima Fu that Sima Yi was no longer preventing his second son from taking office, the position of Agricultural Commandant concurrently held by the Prefect of Hongnong was separated and transferred to Sima Zhao.

This is a last resort.

Currently, there are no vacancies in any of the prefectures or counties near the capital. Furthermore, granting Sima Zhao an official position outside the capital would fail to demonstrate Emperor Cao Rui's appeasement of the Grand Commandant. Moreover, the Ministry of Agriculture is still under the jurisdiction of the Grand Commandant's office, implying that Sima Zhao's achievements during his tenure must be outstanding, and he would be able to transfer to a higher position quickly.

However, the appointment did not materialize.

Grand Commandant Sima Yi vehemently opposed this, submitting a heartfelt memorial stating that the Agricultural Commandant, already under the jurisdiction of the Prefect of Hongnong, should not be separated again, as this would disrupt the court's overall agricultural deployment. Furthermore, as Grand Commandant, he should set an example for other officials and not allow his second son, Sima Zhao, to serve under him, lest it set a precedent for favoritism and corruption. Therefore, he implored the Emperor to rescind the decree. He added that he would rather his second son never pursue an official career than allow such an illegal act to occur.

Since he had already said so much, Emperor Cao Rui naturally had no choice but to give up.

He then made a verbal promise to him, claiming that after the year-end accounting and the assessment of the magistrates of the surrounding counties, a vacancy would be left for Sima Zhao.

It could be said that Sima Zhao's career path, starting as a county magistrate, was predetermined.

This time, Sima Yi did not refuse and directly bowed to express his gratitude.

Because he deserves it.

Given Sima Zhao's family background and achievements, if he had reached the age of thirty, he could have started his career with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain measure) without being criticized by others.

The second year of Jingchu, the intercalary ninth month.

On the day of Gui Chou, the moon offended the central star of the heart, causing some noise in the city.

The reason is that whenever the celestial phenomenon of the moon encroaching on the central star of the heart occurs, an emperor or a general or minister will die within the month or a year.

While it's true that the death of a monarch or high-ranking official could occur even without the celestial phenomenon of the Moon encroaching on the central star, such an explanation is far-fetched and absurd. However, since the founding of the Wei Kingdom, figures like Emperor Wen of Wei (Cao Pi), Empress Wende (Zhen Ji), Duke of Shanyang (Liu Xie), Grand Marshal Cao Ren, Minister of Works Dong Zhao, Minister of Public Works Chen Qun, Minister of Public Works Chen Jiao, and Minister of Public Works Han Ji all seem to fit this description.
The world is ultimately made up of ordinary people.

With the reliance on prophecies and apocryphal texts from the Han Dynasty still deeply ingrained, many people are privately speculating that the newly appointed Minister of Works, Wei Zhen, might be the one to be associated with this.

It's not that people have any prejudice against Wei Zhen.

However, the first two officials, Situ Chenjiao and Han Ji, served for a very short period of time.

Wei Zhen disdained these trivial matters of everyday life.

However, after learning the truth, Xiahou Hui, with doubts about who the central star of the moon corresponds to, sat alone in his study for a long time and finally made a decision that went against his original intention.

This decision also signifies that he has officially begun his transformation into a powerful figure who views those below him as insignificant as ants.

The story begins when he was still studying in his hometown of Qiao County, before he entered officialdom.

During the three years he lived in seclusion in his hometown, he and Uncle Sun would travel and roam in the autumn and winter. Along the way, out of compassion, they adopted some orphans and beggars—this was the beginning of his later practice of secretly raising children.

The first group of children adopted numbered more than ten. They were all raised as servants in Qiao County and were all under the care of Sun Kan, the eldest son of Sun Shu. Now they are all over twenty years old.

Those who were strong and healthy became servants guarding Yangquwu Fortress, while those who were weak stayed in Qiao County as tenant farmers for the Xiahou family. A few clever ones became managers of caravans trading with the Qianshan barbarians.

Gan Ping was one of the managers.

He was originally from Licheng County (established by Cao Cao from Donghai County, which was later abolished), and his father was a soldier in the county.

With the family's hundreds of acres of fertile land and his father's salary, they could have made a living and even managed to scrape together enough money for his early education.

However, Cai Fang's support for Tang Zi's rebellion in the prefecture completely changed the course of his life. His father did not participate in the rebellion, but was falsely accused by a village headman with whom he had a long-standing grudge, and was killed by the army sent to suppress the rebellion. His family was also confiscated and made into slaves.

His mother was frail and unable to bear the heavy labor, and due to unforeseen circumstances, she died soon after.

Her sister was selected to go to Xuchang Palace because of her dignified appearance. It is unknown whether she became a servant in the music bureau or was sold to a powerful family as a concubine or maid.

He was only nine years old that year when the government assigned him to be a shepherd.

His only concern was the return of his elder brother, Gan Xingneng, who was already sixteen and traveling as a knight-errant.

Gan Xing did not return until five months later, in the spring of the following year.

Because his father had some prestige in the village, the clan elders, knowing that he had been wronged, told Gan Xing the whole story. They gathered some travel money and, on the grounds that he was outnumbered and outmatched, advised him not to rush to take revenge, but to secretly take Gan Ping away to avoid trouble.

Teenagers in their teens are full of vigor and passion. When they suddenly hear bad news, how can they listen to good advice?
Immediately, Gan Xing, along with several young knights, took advantage of the torrential rain to break into the house of the village headman in the neighboring village and killed all eight members of the family, young and old.

The government will not tolerate the massacre of an entire family in broad daylight.

Moreover, since the rebellion had only been quelled a few months earlier, and the government and local troops were still on high alert against bandits, they quickly dispatched troops to suppress it, leaving Gan Xing, who had no choice but to flee in panic, no time to even reach Gan Ping.

Fortunately, the minor official in charge of guarding the family members of the traitor who had been punished as slaves had a conscience. After learning about the matter, he found Gan Ping, gave him three wheat cakes, and told him that Gan Xing had committed a crime and had fled west. He urged him to flee for his life to avoid being killed by the relatives of the village head.

However, how could Gan Ping, who was only ten years old and had never left his hometown, find his brother?
After fleeing westward for several days, starving and catching rats and insects to gnaw on tree bark, he finally gave up his hope of reuniting with his brother. Relying on his memory and holding onto his last bit of strength, he returned to the stream behind the village, waiting to be reunited with his parents after death.

Perhaps it was just his destiny to survive.

A woodcutter from the village found him, who was almost frozen to death.

They took him to a dilapidated temple outside the village to hide him, lit a fire for him and left him some dry food before returning to inform his clan.

After that, he survived on the charity of his clan, sometimes eating a meal and sometimes not. He was a fugitive, and his clan dared not risk being punished by the government to take him back.

Later, Xiahou Hui and Sun Shu, who were traveling, encountered him in a dilapidated temple.

After learning the whole story, Xiahou Hui took pity on him and adopted him. He also left his family's address in Qiao County with the elders of his clan, so that his brother Gan Xing could come to Qiao County to reunite with him if he had the opportunity to return to his hometown in the future.

Gan Xing was not found until three years later in Qiao County.

Because his father was labeled a traitor and the execution of his entire family had such a significant impact, the government pursued him and his accomplices with great intensity, even sending messages to Yanzhou and neighboring counties in the west.

Therefore, he and his party had no choice but to cross the river and flee to Hebei.

After many twists and turns, he finally fled to Wangwu Mountain to hide, and joined the bandits with his ruthlessness, making a living by extorting merchants and travelers traveling between Zhiguan and Xing.

Once he had gained a foothold, he returned stealthily, remembering his younger brother.

After failing to get an answer from the minor official, he secretly returned home to pay respects to his parents and learned from the elders of his clan that Gan Ping was now in Qiao County.

After he found Gan Ping in Qiao County, he did not take him away.

He did not accept Sun Kan's offer to stay, but instead asked Sun Kan to pass on a message to Xiahou Hui, who had already entered the capital as a Gentleman Attendant, saying that if he was needed in the future, he would send someone to Wangwu Mountain to inform him that he would never refuse.

No matter what it is.

Later, as Liang Xi, the governor of Bingzhou who had defeated the Xianbei, began to crack down on powerful local strongmen, he joined forces with the Sili Commandant and the governor of Jizhou to quell the bandits in the eight passes of Taihang. He also accepted the offer of the governor of Henan along with that group of bandits and was settled in Bo County as a farmer.

At that time, Xiahou Hui had already begun to secretly raise children and planned to keep them in the capital region.

So later, Uncle Sun also took Gan Ping to meet him and left his children at his home to be raised.

Yes, he has some reputation in Bo County.

The reason was that after he was registered as a resident, he often worked as a servant for wealthy families and was hired as a guard for merchant caravans. The great-grandfather of one wealthy family took good care of him and even acted as a matchmaker for him to get married. Later, when that great-grandfather went to visit relatives in his hometown at the foot of Wangwu Mountain, he was injured by bandits and died a few days after returning.

After offering his prayers, he went to Wangwu Mountain alone.

They returned nearly two months later, leaving several more heads in front of the old man's grave.

After this incident, he became well-known in the prefecture and county, and even Sima Zhao from the neighboring Wen County wanted to recruit him as a follower.

This was the thought that Xiahou Hui had been pondering in his study that day. (End of Chapter)