Wei Ni

The intelligence agencies of Cao Wei were established very early.

After experiencing events such as the Yanzhou Incident and the power struggles of loyal Han officials, Emperor Wu of Han, Cao Cao, began to prepare for the establishment of the Han dynasty.

Their primary duty was to monitor the movements of military commanders and prevent them from defecting to other forces or rebelling internally. Originally called "Spy Officials," they had various titles such as Right Spies-Official, Spies-Official Clerk, and Spies-Official Registrar.

For example, Xiahou Heng's earliest official position was that of a censor who investigated traitors.

In addition to the spies, there was another department called the Inspectorate, which was responsible for monitoring civil officials and the common people.

However, as the power of the Imperial Censor grew increasingly excessive, to the point of bullying other officials, Cao Cao executed Lu Hong, Zhao Da, and others to ensure internal stability and renamed the Imperial Censor as the Commandant of the Army. During the reign of Emperor Wen (Cao Pi), in order to have the officials endorse the Wei dynasty's claim to the Mandate of Heaven in place of the Han dynasty, the Commandant of the Army's authority was reduced.

But this is only what's on the surface.

Many of the dismissed military commanders were transferred to secret posts, under the guise of military affairs.

For example, key leaders such as Shi Er and Chen Liu all had identities such as palace guards and idle personnel in the inner court as cover.

Xiahou Heng had already been transferred to another official position.

However, under the instruction of Emperor Wen (Cao Pi), he was still responsible for the construction and reorganization of the secret government affairs. It was not until Emperor Wen died and Emperor Ming (Cao Rui) ascended the throne that he requested to relinquish his duties, saying that everything was in order.

This story was told to me by Wang Yi, the head of the Imperial Academy, who was also the old eunuch.

When Ding Mi was sent to visit the Beimangshan Manor.

This also prompted Xiahou Hui to fulfill his promise to his eldest son, Xiahou Yi, to go on a spring outing to the outskirts of the Beiman Mountain Manor.

The old eunuch dispelled all his doubts by recounting the past—this force, which was only responsible to the monarch and hid in the shadows, could not possibly make peace with Cao Shuang and was about to disband on its own.

The reason is very simple.

The young Emperor Cao Fang is not capable of controlling this power.

Moreover, maintaining the daily operations of an intelligence agency requires a continuous and substantial investment of financial and material resources. Previously, Emperor Ming (Cao Rui) supported him with the imperial treasury, but now Cao Fang doesn't even know what's in the imperial treasury!

The reason the old eunuch took the initiative to seek out Xiahou Hui was because of Emperor Ming Cao Rui's instructions before his death.

It was not Cao Rui who instructed them to temporarily serve Xiahou Hui.

Instead, they were instructed to select some key personnel to remain in hiding, and to ask Xiahou Hui to keep an eye on them so that the authorities would not mistakenly dismiss or transfer them elsewhere, so that they would have informants to use when Emperor Cao Fang grew old and took control of the imperial treasury.

Xiahou Hui naturally had to obey the late emperor's arrangements.

However, his personal visit to meet with the old eunuch was more of an attempt to persuade the schools that were about to disband to continue operating.

There's nothing I can do about it~
He is now a general, but Xiahou Heng has yet to comment on the private intelligence agency he asked his elder brother to establish years ago! Judging from this, his elder brother probably won't hand over this authority to him.

Another consideration was that he was beginning to lay the groundwork for eliminating long-standing problems.

He has largely achieved his goal of entering officialdom.

Given his position as Grand General, as long as he worked diligently, or even simply followed the established rules, he would not have triggered the Gaopingling Incident or the southward migration of the elites as originally dictated by history.

As for Cao Shuang's power struggle.
He is ambitious but incompetent, nothing more than a clown, and not a threat to him.

Therefore, his desire to remain in these school affairs was not for personal gain or power, but to fulfill his original aspiration—to do something for the ordinary people, as insignificant as dust, when he could.

The officials selected by the late emperor almost all settled in or around the capital, so Xiahou Hui would regularly provide them with a fixed amount of money for their household expenses. He only needed them to remember their old profession in their daily lives after the association was dissolved and they returned to civilian status, and to pay more attention to the officials such as the prefects and magistrates of their respective counties, as well as the powerful and tyrannical local magistrates.

If they discovered any acts of lawlessness or bullying of the people, they would anonymously write a letter to report it to Xiahou Hui.

After the matter was verified, Xiahou Hui used the pretext of officials and commoners submitting letters to the "Letter Pot" to report the matter, so that officials in the court or local authorities would be ordered to rectify the situation, so that ordinary people would suffer less and have more food to eat.

As for how effective such actions will be...
It won't have any effect if you don't do anything, but let's try it out with the mindset of doing good deeds first.

Naturally, this matter also requires the cooperation of the old eunuch.

Xiahou Hui doesn't even know how many school affairs there are or where he is hiding, let alone how to order them around.

But would the old eunuch be willing to cooperate?

The answer is beyond doubt.

Not only because he currently needs Xiahou Hui's help, but also because he is a eunuch.

The Classic of Filial Piety begins with the words, "Our bodies, hair, and skin are received from our parents; we dare not damage them. This is the beginning of filial piety." If one were not born into poverty and forced by the necessities of life, who would willingly endure castration to become a rootless and childless eunuch?
Having secured protection and benefits for his former subordinates, and with the opportunity to keep them vigilant as spies, Emperor Cao Fang could easily consolidate his power later without needing to train new agents; he could simply recall them. Therefore, why should he refuse? Besides, Xiahou Hui's request wasn't unreasonable.
The same is true.

When passing by the Beiman Mountain Manor, the old eunuch who had learned of the news in advance was waiting outside. Xiahou Hui got out of the carriage to greet him and chat. In just a few words, the two sides reached an agreement and then parted ways.

Ding Mi, however, accompanied them to the manor.

He still needed to discuss some details with the old eunuch.

Xiahou Hui had previously asked him to come to the manor on his behalf, but now that the matter has been settled and is a closely guarded secret, who else but him could handle it?
However, Xiahou Hui did not get to steal half a day of peace as he had hoped.

Upon arriving at the picnic location, Xiahou Hui took Xiao Qu for a walk and successfully flew a bamboo kite for him to play with. Then, he and his assistants busied themselves preparing the picnic ingredients.

He also brought along Deng Ai, Wu Gang, and other staff members who arrived in Luoyang later to take up their posts to enjoy the festivities together.

It's a way of showing affection.

Therefore, personally grilling the pork belly is an essential step.

The difference is that the person assisting him today is Xiahou Jun, the eldest son of his fourth brother, Xiahou Wei.

He wasn't actually doing the work; he was simply relaying his father's words in a low voice—Xiahou Wei didn't want to take on the position of Central Protector General, and his memorial rejecting the appointment was already on its way.

"Sixth Uncle, Father asked me to relay some of his words in person."

Xiahou Jun was an introverted person. He had been serving in the government for three or four years and had little contact with Xiahou Hui. Therefore, when he relayed this matter, he was very careful in his expression and tone. “This is what my father said: My Xiahou family has enjoyed great honors and shares weal and woe with the country. Now my sixth uncle has been entrusted with the care of the young emperor and has been appointed as the Grand General. Therefore, he does not want to accept the post of Protector of the Army and return to the capital. There are three reasons for this.”

"Firstly, it was my uncle's arrangement for my father in his early years."

“When my father was young, he was chivalrous and had a good relationship with Emperor Wen and Prince Chen Si. Therefore, my uncle arranged for him to serve in local prefectures and counties, hoping that he would have political achievements and reputation in the local area to benefit the family. This changed our family’s name to one of relatives who were appointed.”

"Secondly, my father believed that his return to Luoyang to take up a post would not be of much benefit to my sixth uncle."

"My sixth uncle is currently the Commander-in-Chief of all the armies, both inside and outside the capital, and the position of the Central Protector General is also under his command. If he were to accept the position, it might further tarnish his reputation for nepotism. Therefore, I believe that my sixth uncle should choose someone from among the sons of Xiahou Cao or Qiao Pei Yuan. In this way, the new ruler will not forget the merits of his founding father, and my sixth uncle will also gain the favor of the nobles of Qiao and Pei and further strengthen his power."

"Finally, my father is also quite concerned about personnel changes in the court."

At this point, Xiahou Jun glanced furtively at the staff of the General's Office not far away before continuing in a low voice, "Father claims that Sixth Uncle served in Huainan in his early years, but now various departments in Huainan are undergoing adjustments, such as Wang Wenshu being appointed as the Prefect of Yangzhou. Father believes that the Emperor is young and foreign enemies are still defiant, so if Sixth Uncle wants to stabilize the situation, it would be easier to secure the country from within the borders under the pretext of entrusting the young emperor to a regent; and outside the capital region, only Second Uncle is in Liaodong, and the war in the north is about to end! Therefore, Father wants to stay and serve in local prefectures and counties, not because he does not want to return to the capital to assist Sixth Uncle."

Xiahou Hui remained expressionless after hearing the retelling, but felt somewhat annoyed.

He forgot to write a letter to his fourth brother before submitting his application for an official position, informing him that he had left the position of Commander of the Central Army to Cao Zhao.

This also led to his fourth brother, Xiahou Wei, refusing the offer.

While Xiahou Wei's concern that "the troubles are not within his own grasp" was not without merit, he was unaware that his true purpose in wanting him to return to the capital was to have him oversee the capital region, allowing him to focus his energy on developing the local prefectures and counties.
For example, if there is a war in Jingzhou or Huainan in the future, I can take advantage of leading troops to provide relief to adjust the deployment of local troops, but there must always be someone with sufficient status and ability, and someone I can absolutely trust, watching over things inside and outside the capital.

Of course, Xiahou Wei's memorial rejecting the appointment is already on its way, so there's no use in him being upset.

The only option is to go with the flow and think about whether it's possible to mend the situation after the fact.

There's really nothing to think about.

Among the sons of the Xiahou and Cao families, only Xiahou Xuan and Cao Yan, who is stationed in Chang'an, are qualified to serve as the Central Protector of the Army. He is not familiar with any of the other sons of meritorious officials from Qiao and Pei.

So, is Cao Yan suitable?

But as early as when Xiahou He got married, Huan Yu, who was then under Cao Yan's command, vaguely mentioned that he was very friendly with Sima Yi and his son!

Furthermore, Cao Yan was an "outlier" among the Xiahou and Cao families.

The gun is easy to hide, and the dark arrow is hard to prevent.

If not, let's give this position to Xiahou Xuan, so that we can "take it as we wish"?
After all, Sima Shi had already been appointed as the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

It seems that Cao Shuang will soon be requesting official positions for Xiahou Xuan and He Yan.

Rather than leaving these two people in uncontrollable positions in the Ministry of Personnel or other posts, it would be better to simply put them in charge of the Central Guard and keep them under our watchful eyes.

"Yes, I understand."

Xiahou Hui, who had been pondering for a while, looked up at his nephew, who looked uneasy, and gave him a reassuring smile. "Fourth brother has thought things through thoroughly. Changrong should strive to do the same. The roasted meat is ready. Changrong, please distribute it to everyone for me."

"Yes." (End of Chapter)