Wei Ni

The entanglement between Liu Fang, Sun Zi, and Xiahou Hui evolved from mutual exploitation to mutual understanding and reliance.

Initially, after returning from the campaign against the Xianbei in the southern desert, the triumphant Qin Lang inadvertently looked down on Liu Fang and Sun Zi. As a result, after discovering that Emperor Cao Rui valued Xiahou Hui highly, they began to try to curry favor with him and try to win over some of the Xiahou and Cao family members.

For example, when Xiahou Hui shot and killed Sun Shao of Jiangdong, the court recorded his merits and transferred him to the title of Marquis of Bochang, which was his father Xiahou Yuan's original title. This was orchestrated by them. Later, when Xiahou Hui returned to the court, he also dealt with them with a feigned attitude, but did not collude with them.

It wasn't until the war against Gongsun Zan in Liaodong that relations between them became harmonious.

The reason was that Emperor Cao Rui hinted to Liu Fang and Sun Zi to support Xiahou Hui; and Xiahou Hui only discovered after entering the court that their "exclusive appointment" was actually deliberately indulged by the emperor, just like the eunuchs of the previous dynasty, used to balance the power of scholars and ministers.

In a sense, the sons of the Xiahou and Cao families stood on the same side as Liu Fang and Sun Zi.

Therefore, when Xiahou Hui concurrently served as the Palace Attendant, the mutual restraint and understanding between them quickly warmed up their relationship, which led to Sun Zi's earlier wishful thinking that "Zhi Quan should be able to protect us in the future."

Liu Fang, however, did not think so.

They even felt that Sun Zi was not just taking chances, but was deceiving himself.

"Hehehe~~"

So, in the face of Sun Zi's persuasion, he simply raised his cup again and continued to laugh self-deprecatingly, his laughter hoarse like a broken gong, very jarring and unpleasant to hear.

Although Liu Fang seemed to be disdainful of answering, Sun Zi did not take offense.

He has been in the government for decades, how could he not know that it is unreliable and ridiculous to entrust one's fate to the whim of another?

Furthermore, it is true that Xiahou Hui currently has no conflict of interest with them and is quite friendly.

But times have changed.
Soon, Xiahou Hui's status and position will undergo a dramatic change. Their status will also plummet after losing the protection of Emperor Cao Rui. Will Xiahou Hui still be friendly with them then?

Those who offer help in times of need are always a very small minority.

Let alone in the context of official career.

After a moment of silence, he added, "Lord Liu, Zhiquan is not the kind of person to kick someone when they're down." As if convincing himself, he emphasized again, "I'm certain he would do that!"

"Ah~"

With a deep sigh, Liu Fang put down his wine cup, composed himself, and said softly, "Lord Sun is still stubborn. I am not worried that Xiahou Zhiquan might change his mind, and I am certain that he can do something to protect us, but I feel that he is not up to the task. Could it be that even with Lord Sun's wisdom, he does not understand why His Majesty is so weak, yet he has been so slow to establish a crown prince and appoint a minister to entrust the young emperor to?"

In order to wait for Qin Lang to return.

More accurately, they were waiting for someone who could restrain Xiahou Hui to return.

Sun Zi silently gave himself the answer.

Yes, Emperor Cao Rui did not value Qin Lang exceptionally much, but after Cao Zhao was unable to return from Pingzhou and Xiahou Xian had already been expelled, Qin Lang became an indispensable person on the list of ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor.

The reason is also very simple.

Prince Cao Yu of Yan was kind and gentle, and had almost no personal prestige or any powerful allies in the court.

Even though he has been appointed as a Grand General and designated as the heir apparent, he will still be unable to suppress Xiahou Hui in the future, and there is even a great possibility that he will be led by Xiahou Hui.

This was not because Emperor Cao Rui believed that Xiahou Hui harbored treasonous intentions.

Rather, he knew that if the two were to truly clash in the future, in terms of popularity, intelligence, strategy, and trusted henchmen, Prince Yan Cao Yu would be no match for Xiahou Hui!

Or perhaps Emperor Cao Rui was being overly pessimistic. Why would he suspect that Xiahou Hui would vie for power and clash with King Cao Yu of Yan? Can't we see from his past deeds that Xiahou Hui is a person who prioritizes the state?
But Emperor Cao Rui's concerns stemmed precisely from this point.

Because he knew that Xiahou Hui was more loyal to the state of Wei than to him, the current emperor and his successor.

His guiding principle has always been that the ruler is less important than the state. If the ruler is secondary, then the fact that even the Prince of Yan, Cao Yu, who was ranked first, has yielded is even more concerning.

Cao Rui's deeper consideration was that the ruler was young and the country was in turmoil.

The King of Qin and the King of Qi are both children under ten years old. It will be a long time before they can truly rule and control the court. During this period, the ministers entrusted with assisting the young king should advocate tranquility and inaction, prioritizing stability above all else, and must not engage in any acts of attack or reform of long-standing abuses.

These two things will bring great prestige to the ruler who has been entrusted with the care of the young emperor, thus creating numerous difficulties for the new emperor to take control of the court in the future.

Just look at Huo Guang of the Former Han Dynasty.

Before Huo Guang's death, Emperor Xuan of Han was almost unable to accomplish anything.

Moreover, the idea that the Han dynasty was born with the Mandate of Heaven had already taken root in people's hearts at that time, while the Wei dynasty has only been in power for a few years now.

Not to mention the rebellious states of Shu and Wu!

Cao Rui did not want his successor to rule, and after reaching adulthood, he only nominally assumed power.

Therefore, he chose the kind and gentle Prince Cao Yu of Yan as the Grand General and placed him at the head of the regents—to reduce the assistance and uncertainty of the regents returning power to the new emperor in the future.

Therefore, he also had to arrange for a capable advisor to Prince Cao Yu of Yan. He could only wait for Qin Lang to return and instruct him and Cao Shuang to wholeheartedly assist Prince Cao Yu in governing the country, in order to ensure that Cao Yu could suppress Xiahou Hui in the future.

no way.

Xiahou Hui was a man of great strategic acumen and decisive ruthlessness, and he always harbored the desire to eradicate the long-standing abuses in the imperial court.

This was a good thing when Emperor Cao Rui was still alive, but it became a source of turmoil when the successor was young and unable to control the court.

Moreover, Xiahou Hui was upright (to put it bluntly, stubborn) and always sought to eradicate evil. Once he took power, he would inevitably cause turmoil in the court and might follow in Huo Guang's footsteps. Cao Rui did not want his successor to have difficulty ruling, nor did he want Xiahou Hui to suffer the fate of "extreme posthumous honors and the extermination of his descendants."

He was barely clinging to life, ostensibly waiting for Qin Lang to return, but in reality, he wanted to do his last bit of effort to reduce turmoil for the Wei dynasty.

Both Liu Fang and Sun Zi could see this.

That's why Liu Fang said that even if Xiahou Hui wanted to protect them, he was powerless to do so.

Because Emperor Cao Rui mentioned Cao Zhao in his instructions to Prince Cao Yu of Yan! Given Prince Cao Yu's character, he will surely give Cao Zhao an important position in the future.

Cao Zhao, Cao Shuang, and Qin Lang were very harmonious in their early years.

Under Emperor Cao Rui's dying instructions, he would certainly stand firmly behind Prince Yan, Cao Yu.

This presented Liu Fang and Sun Zi with a problem—

Because of the close-knit, interdependent relationship among these four individuals, Qin Lang and Cao Zhao's dissatisfaction with their authoritarianism would extend to all four of them. Xiahou Hui alone could not possibly reverse the decision they had made together.

Not to mention, Qin Lang and Cao Zhao were not the only ones who wanted them to be labeled as treacherous officials; many other officials in the court also wanted them to be labeled as such.

For example, there was Jiang Ji, who submitted a memorial in his early years criticizing them for abusing their power and "appointing officials arbitrarily," and there were other officials, like the late Sinpina, whose promotions were ruined by their words.

They have been the target of public criticism for many years.

Therefore, once Emperor Cao Rui passed away, they didn't even have the opportunity to voluntarily abdicate, resign, or return to their hometowns to live out their retirement.

After all, with a new emperor newly enthroned, it was impossible for them, as high-ranking officials, to directly request to resign. Such an action would be no different from disapproving of or unwilling to support the new emperor. Once the imperial court officially announced the change of reign title and the handover of power, the purge of them would begin, and they would not be given the opportunity to resign.

"Now that the snow is raging in Bingzhou and the ground is covered with snow several feet deep, Qin Lang may not be able to return on time."

After remaining silent for a long time, Sun Zi offered a flimsy excuse to persuade Liu Fang not to be too pessimistic and to always assume the worst possible outcome.

"Hehe! What if something unexpected happens?"

Liu Fang laughed again, his tone laced with sarcasm, "Master Sun, have you forgotten that Qin Lang is not a pampered playboy? In his youth, he traveled extensively, and later His Majesty repeatedly appointed him as a general to command troops. A mere snowdrift is hardly an obstacle for him. Moreover, the Emperor has sent envoys several times to urge him on; how could he not know that the situation has reached a point of no return? In my opinion, when he returns, he should have changed horses but not riders, and slept on the saddle. Hmm, at most five or six days, he will be back in the capital."

What does "what if something unexpected happens" mean?
What can I do if something really happens? Am I supposed to send someone to intercept and kill Qin Lang?

If anything happens to you or me, I'll just have to wait to be executed!

Upon hearing this, Sun Zi, who felt ridiculed, couldn't help but feel a little annoyed and secretly retorted a few words.

But he also knew and was used to Liu Fang's domineering personality, and the two were in the same boat; it wasn't good to quarrel at this time. So he took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and said again, "The matter is urgent now, Lord Liu, please don't be so quick to argue. What should we do according to Lord Liu's opinion?"

"Nothing more than self-preservation."

Having finally received the answer he wanted, Liu Fang apologized first before saying in a low voice, "Lord Sun, the late emperor issued an edict that vassal kings are not allowed to assist in government."

"You...you want to..."

Immediately, Sun Zi stared at Liu Fang, speechless, and stammered for a long time without being able to utter a complete sentence.

Liu Fang, however, remained calm and composed, ladling a cup for him. After he put his hand down, he slowly asked, "Besides this, does Master Sun have any other methods?"

It seems there aren't any left.

At least for now, I can't think of any other examples.

Sun Zi silently shook his head.

Because he also understood that Liu Fang's radical approach was the safest option.

Only by removing Prince Cao Yu of Yan from the list of those entrusted with the care of the young emperor and allowing Xiahou Hui to take his place could they avoid worrying about the future: even if all the officials in the court criticized them in the future, Xiahou Hui would protect them for the sake of his reputation for gratitude.

But despite understanding the suggestion, Sun Zi remained silent on whether to approve or disapprove.

Because Liu Fang's actions were tantamount to treason.

If they fail, they will not only be branded as traitors, but will also face the calamity of being exterminated by their own people. (End of Chapter)