Wei Ni

"I was just about to talk to Yanjing about this."

After using up the General's Seal, Xiahou Hui took out two letters from his sleeve and handed them to Ding Mi. "I couldn't take them out just now because Chief Clerk Sun was here. Chen Xuanbo and Xun Jingqian have both replied. Yanjing, please take a look first."

After speaking, he took the appointment letter, got up, walked to the entrance of the office, and handed it to his attendant Han Long, instructing him to send it to Cao Fu, the Grand General and regent. As a high-ranking official, he was granted the special privilege of summoning his subordinates by imperial decree.

It was almost the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM).

Perhaps because we're about to enter the second month of spring, it hasn't snowed for the past few days.

The warm sunshine not only made people feel cozy, but also lit up the horizon with blooming sunset clouds, making people yearn for the gentle breeze and sunshine when the ice and snow melt and greenery climbs up the treetops.

Xiahou Hui stood with his hands behind his back, looking up slightly at the sunset on the horizon.

It wasn't that I suddenly felt any particular emotion; I simply wanted to let my ambition for power relax and allow me to take a break.

I haven't been home for over a month. My family must be eagerly awaiting my return.
Just a few days ago, Yanjing was saying that Xiao Quji was pestering him to come to the General's Office. Knowing his personality, he probably made quite a fuss when he couldn't have his way, haha.

Sigh, it must be tough on my wife.

I had just given birth and still had to deal with Xiao Quji's constant nagging, and I wasn't home during either of her two pregnancies.

I wonder if my little Qing'er (my daughter's name) is walking steadily now, still learning to walk with her unsteady gait; also, my two newborn sons are already a month old, I wonder how much they resemble me. Oh, and by the way, what names should I give them?

His thoughts wandered for only a short time before being interrupted by Ding Mi's greeting.

“Childhood rights”.

Having already read the two letters, he invited Xiahou Hui into the office and asked directly, "Chen Xuanbo and Xun Jingqian both recommended talents in their letters, but Zhiquan didn't ask me to draft the appointment documents just now. Do you think their recommendations are inappropriate?"

Xun Yi and Chen Tai's replies were sent together.

This suggests that they must have discussed the matter privately before responding, and this can be seen from the content of their response.

When Xiahou Hui asked Xun Yi if he had any capable people to recommend, Xun Yi first spoke some polite words in a humble tone, and then recommended Yu Jun as his clerk.

Yu Jun was the nephew of Yu Yi, a court official.

Yu Yi had previously interacted with Xiahou Hui, and together they had consulted on the formulation of the "Methods for Assessing Officials in the Capital" for Liu Shao. He was also on good terms with Xun Yi. Therefore, his recommendation was tactful an indication that he was willing to be in a subordinate position in the future.

Chen Tai's letters, on the other hand, are very long.

After expressing gratitude and appreciation for the high regard he was given, he declined Xiahou Hui's offer, citing a similar reason to Yu Song: his official career was short, having only served as a Gentleman Attendant. He claimed that even a position as Attendant Gentleman of the Palace would be met with much criticism, let alone the position of Commander of the Army. However, in his letter, he recommended someone, claiming that his talent and experience were sufficient to serve as an aide to the Grand General—his old friend, Wu Gai, the current Prefect of Xiapi.

Wu Gai, courtesy name Yuanxia, ​​was the son of the late Commandant of the Guards Wu Zhou and Qiao Pei Yuan Cong, who followed Emperor Wu in establishing the dynasty.

He gained fame at a young age, and elders in the same county once praised him as having the talent of a prime minister.

Of course, after Xun Yu, anyone who is praised as having the talent to assist a king is being overrated.

At the end of the letter, Chen Taiyou added a heartfelt remark.

He made no attempt to conceal his claim that Xiahou Hui had spent his early years away from home and had no real connections in the capital, Luoyang. Now that he was serving as the assistant to the Grand General, he should recruit some virtuous and respected individuals to enhance his prestige; and that positions such as Sima and Attendant Gentleman should not be given to relatives and friends.

"No. I will not ignore their kind intentions."

Xiahou Hui, having returned to his seat, replied softly, “Regarding Xun Jingqian’s recommendation, I would like to first speak with his uncle, Yu Yilang, to show respect. It just so happens that Yu Yilang is usually in the Southern Palace, so it won’t be troublesome. As for Wu Gai, whom Chen Xuanbo recommended, it’s not that I don’t trust Chen Xuanbo, but Wu Gai is a descendant of meritorious officials from Qiao and Pei. I have never met him, so I would like to first ask Yan Jing if he has any dealings with other sons of meritorious officials.”

Understood.

Are you worried that Wu Gai might have some connection with Xiahou Xian, Cao Shuang, or Xiahou Xuan, who were exiled?
"You can rest assured about this minor issue."

Knowing this in his heart, Ding Mi smiled and said, "Back when Wu Yuanxia was still a court official in the capital, I once dined with him. Although we weren't very close, I knew that those who were on good terms with him were all from aristocratic families, not members of the imperial clan from Qiao and Pei."

Having said that, before Xiahou Hui could speak, he picked up his brush and drafted the edict, continuing, "Let me draft the edict first. Zhiquan can send it out whenever he wants."

"Well, that's fine too."

After responding, Xiahou Hui said nothing more.

His thoughts then turned to whether or not to recruit Huan Fan as Sima.

In fact, he didn't need to ask Ding Mi to know that, given Huan Fan's age, experience, and somewhat arrogant nature, he would never again be willing to die for anyone.

The best example is his previous act of feigning illness to resign from office simply because he was ashamed of being subordinate to others, even at the risk of offending Emperor Cao Rui.

In the original history, Cao Shuang respected him and even promoted him to one of the Nine Ministers, but he always treated Cao Shuang with indifference and never considered himself a close confidant. However, he was still grateful and chose to stand on Cao Shuang's side at the most crucial moment, only to be betrayed and killed, resulting in the extermination of his clan.

Xiahou Hui is now considering the pros and cons of bringing Huan Fan into the General's Office.

The advantages go without saying.

Huan Fan was not lacking in talent and learning, and he was trustworthy in critical moments.

However, there are many drawbacks. For example, Huan Fan is a senior official and comes from a prominent family in Qiao and Pei. He is inherently arrogant and overbearing, which may make it difficult for him to get along with his colleagues in the future. He may even bully his colleagues and cause internal discord.

For example, Huan Fan was very arrogant and thought he was very talented.

If he were arrogant in private, that would be one thing, but he often wore his contempt for others on his face and revealed it in his words, which is why he was not well-liked in the court.

This was also the biggest factor that made Xiahou Hui hesitate.

He now has both the "name" and the "reputation," but his only disadvantage is that he has a shallow foundation in the court.

What we are doing now is to cultivate harmonious relationships, so we don't want to ruin the opportunity of recruiting Huan Fan into our office.

Thinking about this, he felt a strange irony.

When he was involved in formulating the examination system, he kept urging Emperor Cao Rui of the Ming Dynasty to appoint officials based solely on their talents!
Now that he's in charge, he prioritizes loyalty and morality above all else, while talent and learning are relegated to the back burner or even disregarded. It's truly a case of "where you stand determines where you stand"—a crude but valid point indeed.
"Yanjing, do you still remember Huan Yu?"

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Xiahou Hui, who had made up his mind, said, "Draft another letter of appointment and appoint him as an aide."

Drafting another decree is not difficult.

The content is pretty much the same anyway, they've just changed the names.

Upon hearing this, Ding Mi pondered silently for a moment before continuing to write. After finishing the draft and placing it on Xiahou Hui's desk, he asked softly, "If Huan Fan is not chosen, to whom does Sima Zhiquan intend to appoint?"

"Let's just pretend."

"Huh?"

"Let Le Liang take over the duties of the Commander-in-Chief, while continuing to lead his own troops; let Xu Yi, Deng Ai, and Ren Ye each command a thousand men, which will suffice."

With this arrangement, the entire General's Camp, consisting of five divisions, only has four thousand men, while the original four garrison battalions had nearly ten thousand infantry and cavalry. Could it be that Zhiquan is planning something?
Ding Mi, who seemed to have a vague understanding, tilted his head and silently looked at Xiahou Hui.

"Yi Quan has been promoted by the Emperor, which should be within the next few days. I just don't know if the Guo family of Xiping will act faster, or if Grand Commandant Sima will react first. Zhao Bo should not be aware of it."

Xiahou Hui gave him a smile, left those words, and then walked to the eaves, looking down at the horizon with his hands behind his back.

Ding Mi thought to herself, "Just as I thought," and smiled silently. She then stood beside him and, mimicking his posture, raised her head to gaze at the fiery sunset.

Only at this moment did he fully understand what Xiahou Hui wanted; he also understood that what Xiahou Hui had said a few days ago, going to great lengths, was not simply to remove the restrictions on his official career, but was not just polite talk.

The water clock indicated that it was already the hour of You (5-7 PM).

The sun, about to be embraced by the mountains, was a rosy red, not at all dazzling, but it still tried its best to paint the clouds with its red light.

In Xiahou Hui's eyes, this scene was an infinitely beautiful sunset.

He felt that he would soon be able to finish his political maneuvering and return home to see his wife and children.

But in Ding Mi's eyes, it was as if, after feeling that the sunset was infinitely beautiful, one should add the phrase "it's only near dusk."

Yes, it's almost dusk.

The sun, which is not at all dazzling, is Emperor Cao Rui, who has already rested in peace at Gaoping Mausoleum; the sunset is his afterglow, which is about to dissipate; while the still young Emperor Cao Fang is the sun of the next day.

Sunset and sunrise are separated by a long night.

This night will be dominated by the moon, which shines brightly by reflecting the sun.

The ministers of Wei are now pondering how to survive this dark night, while a few are thinking about how to become the moon that dominates it. Xiahou Hui, who has the most advantages, is already planning how to shine.

Will I become one of the seven stars of the Big Dipper?
I think so.

Huh~
Three days later, in the second month of spring.

Among the candidates recommended by Lu Yu, the Minister of Personnel, for the vacancy of the Governor of Henan, Emperor Cao Fang selected Liu Jing, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Furthermore, he took the opportunity to issue another imperial edict.

Xiahou He, a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, was transferred to the position of Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate and Commandant of the Changshui Cavalry, overseeing 3,000 Imperial Guards to garrison the palace. Zhen De, a Gentleman Attendant of the Central Guard, was transferred to the position of Imperial Tutor. Xiahou Gong, a commoner, was summoned to the palace to serve as a Gentleman Attendant, with the same duties as the Imperial Tutor.

There was no need for confirmation; all the officials and nobles knew in their hearts that this edict was facilitated by the Guo family of Xiping as a way of repaying General Xiahou Hui.

After all, Xiahou He's promotion could be considered normal, and he was under the command of Xiahou Hui's imperial guards. But to link Zhen De and Xiahou Gong together was tantamount to protesting too much.

This is enough to prove that the Guo family of Xiping wanted to get along well with the General.
After the edict was issued, Xiahou Hui submitted a memorial requesting that the number of troops in the four garrison battalions that had been assigned to the five divisions of the Grand General's camp be reduced.

Only two colonels (thousand men each) of the Crane Wing Battalion under Le Liang's command, the Vanguard Battalion under Xu Yi's command, and the Zhenyue Battalion were retained; the other two colonels and the Huyue Battalion were disbanded and their units were reassigned to various units of the Luoyang Central Army.

Upon receiving the report, Emperor Cao Fang immediately summoned Xiahou Hui to the Nine Dragon Palace; when Xiahou Hui took his leave to return to the Southern Palace, his petition was also approved. (End of Chapter)