Wei Ni

People don't care about things they don't yet have.

Only after you possess something will you care about its beauty or ugliness, its good or bad, and weigh the gains and losses it brings to you.

Sima Shi, from this perspective, held views on how to deal with the current situation that differed greatly from those of his father, Sima Yi.

The Nine-Rank System had only been in effect in the Wei Kingdom for a mere twenty years.

Whether it was selecting talents in local prefectures and counties or recommending and appointing officials in the capital, it still could not compare with the deeply rooted recommendation system, and it did not even have the power to influence the career paths of the descendants of scholar-official families.

For high-ranking officials, preserving their official positions and leaving behind a good reputation is the greatest legacy they can leave to their descendants. Even if family background is not a factor in determining rank, local governments and the imperial court will always give priority to their descendants when recommending talents, and there will be some bias based on the achievements of their fathers and grandfathers.

For officials who have not yet assumed important positions in the imperial court, whether or not the Nine-Rank System should be reformed is even less of a concern.

In any case, they can no longer enjoy the benefits of judging people based on their family background.

Therefore, in Sima Shi's view, Xiahou Hui's desire to reform the state's talent selection system actually faced little resistance.

Because there will be a lot of help!
First of all, even among the scholar-official families, there wasn't a united front.
During the two periods of partisan persecution in the previous dynasty, many scholar-official families cheered for the eunuchs! What psychological burden do some scholar-official families have now chosen to attach themselves to the regent General Xiahou Hui?

Another reason is that everyone in the world is driven by profit.

The number of privileged groups who enjoy special benefits is inherently smaller than the number of groups that do not receive such benefits.

These officials who had not benefited from the establishment of the Wei state were eager for Xiahou Hui to create this situation, so that they could replace the vested interests and share the profits.

After all, people only care about who gets to share the meat and how much they get once they have the chance to eat it.

In their early years, Sima Shi and Xiahou Hui frequently corresponded and talked about almost everything. They were very familiar with each other's talents and personalities. After anticipating that they would become adversaries in the future, he paid close attention to Xiahou Hui's every move. He would also put himself in Xiahou Hui's shoes and consider the reasons behind her words and actions, as well as the goals and effects she wanted to achieve.

Therefore, he vaguely felt that Xiahou Hui was now imitating Jiang Taigong's straight hook fishing and waiting for willing people to take the bait: that is, he was building up his power and gathering people's support!

Xiahou Hui, who is both famous and real, now only lacks popular support.

With enough supporters and officials backing him, he can suppress the voices of senior officials and thus decide on matters large and small.

As for the flock of followers gathered in this way, they will inevitably be of varying quality and character.
What kind of problem is this?

People have different strengths and weaknesses; they should be placed in suitable positions and allowed to perform to their fullest potential.

Even Lord Mengchang once escaped danger thanks to a thief who crowing at chickens and stealing dogs!

Xiahou Hui only needed to conduct a selection process. Those with little talent but high moral character could be used to maintain appearances, while those with practical abilities could be promoted without regard to background. The sharp-tongued and mean-spirited could be sent to the censorate system, and those with both virtue and talent could be placed in the ranks of the noble and incorruptible. Even the most hopeless cases could be thrown into the offices of opposing officials as subordinates, waiting for the opportunity to investigate their "incompetence in managing subordinates."
With power in hand and the ability to judge and approve, making the best use of everyone's talents is a piece of cake.

Anyway, there are countless opportunities to make mistakes.

With such foresight in mind, Sima Shi put forward a view contrary to his father's: Xiahou Hui must not be allowed to calmly gather popular support!

Otherwise, even if Emperor Cao Fang were to assume personal rule and try to rely on senior officials to check Xiahou Hui, figures like his father Sima Yi would be powerless to change the situation.

After all, by that time, Xiahou Hui had already become powerful and his henchmen were all over the court.

Just like Huo Guang of the Former Han Dynasty, he took the initiative to mention more than once that he would return power to Emperor Xuan of Han, but Emperor Xuan of Han never dared to accept it until Huo Guang died and he finally took control of the imperial power.

Another reason that caused Sima Shi such anxiety was that he could not afford to lose the respect of his own people.

Just as Sima Yi, when he was still serving in Guanzhong, returned to the capital ahead of schedule after learning that the investigation of the Shi family in Luoyang's Ministry of Agriculture had been completed: as a hope of the court and the people, one must be prepared to step forward at critical moments.

Otherwise, why would anyone else become a supporter of the Sima family?
At a time when many officials and nobles are worried about the future and unsure of what lies ahead, the Sima family should step forward to guide them and reassure them.

Human nature is the most fickle thing, and this is even more evident in one's career.

It's necessary to maintain the fanbase from time to time to prevent them from feeling disheartened.

Furthermore, it has not been long since the late Emperor Cao Rui entrusted his son to the emperor and Emperor Cao Fang ascended the throne. The situation in the court has not yet reached the point of extreme turmoil, so the vast majority of officials still maintain a neutral attitude.

Some of them adhered to their duties as subjects, remaining loyal to the monarch and the state; others practiced self-preservation, caring about themselves and the inheritance of their families. They all observed the power struggles among the regents and whether Xiahou Hui's actions were perverse and would shake the foundations of the state, and were extremely unwilling to be drawn into the power struggles.

In this situation, if the Sima family continues to remain inactive and do nothing, it would be tantamount to pushing these neutral officials to Xiahou Hui's side. After all, it's a choice between two options: one is sharpening their knives, intending to bring prosperity to those who follow and destruction to those who resist, while the other is feigning innocence and only concerned with protecting themselves. Anyone in that situation would know which choice to make.

Of course, Sima Shi did not allow his father to directly confront Xiahou Hui openly.

He merely wanted to gain his father's approval to cause some trouble for Xiahou Hui and delay the time it took for him to gain popularity, which would not bring any danger to the Sima family.

The method is simple: use someone else to do the dirty work.

Needless to say, Cao Shuang, who had already broken ties with Xiahou Hui, was the obvious choice for this knife.

Moreover, all the officials knew that Cao Shuang, who had been behaving himself for most of the year, was about to clash with Xiahou Hui again.

The reason is that the battle in Haidong has entered its final stage.

The reason for such a swift victory was not only due to the government's generous support for the war effort, but also to strategic adjustments made.

For example, the original strategy for Xiahou Ba's campaign southward to the Three Han states was to have Tian Yu mobilize the already subjugated Yemaek tribes to advance together and completely annihilate these three small states. However, due to unforeseen circumstances at court, the plan was changed to ordering the states of Chenhan and Byeonhan to pay tribute and send hostages, and to send troops to cooperate with the Wei army in suppressing Mahan, which had a marriage alliance with the Gongsun family of Liaodong.

There were frequent instances of mutual attacks among the Three Han states.

Faced with the Wei army's menacing grin and the promise of becoming vassals, both Chenhan and Byeonhan readily accepted, displaying great enthusiasm and mobilizing their troops to lead the Wei army.

With the three sides attacking, Ma Han's fate was sealed.

After the two fortified mountain fortresses fell one after another, the Wei army, along with the troops of the two Han states, besieged the capital of Mahan for over a month. Despite the city running out of food, the offensive continued unabated. When the King of Mahan's surrender was refused, he committed suicide in despair. The capital fell, and the remaining mountain fortresses and towns within its territory were pacified by proclamation. Mahan was utterly reduced to dust in history. Less than four months after the army's departure, the King of Mahan's head was preserved in lime and sent by sea to the capital, Luoyang, as a report of victory.

The smooth progress of the southern campaign also affected the progress of the eastern campaign.

Without needing to leave troops to monitor the two Han states, Tian Yu led the troops of the Yemaek tribes northward from Bunai Castle, forming a pincer movement with Guanqiu Jian's personally led army to attack Goguryeo from the east and west.

Furthermore, the King of Goguryeo was unable to escape north.

Goguryeo bordered Buyeo and Shinseok to the north.

Among them, Buyeo had a conflict with Goguryeo over the ownership of border territories in the past, and had even sent troops to assist Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang in attacking Goguryeo. It is even less likely that Buyeo would feel the same way now.

Conversely, when Guanqiu Jian sent envoys to Buyeo to ask them to provide military provisions as a vassal state, the King of Buyeo complied without hesitation.

As for the Shensu Kingdom, being a fishing and hunting tribe, it had long-standing trade relations with Goguryeo, and the relationship was quite harmonious.

However, Shen Su had already recognized the Central Plains dynasty as the legitimate dynasty during the Zhou Dynasty, and had even taken the initiative to offer tribute to the Wei state during the reign of Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui. At this critical juncture, he would naturally not make a mistake and incur the hostility of the Wei army.

Therefore, they not only directly rejected the Goguryeo king's request for help, but also took the initiative to send envoys to visit Guanqiu Jian, claiming that their country would deploy troops in the north in accordance with the duties of a vassal state, and would never allow the Goguryeo king to continue to escape from the north.

With a massive army pressing in but the kingdom isolated and without any support, and with no strategic depth remaining, the King of Goguryeo was determined to gather all his loyal followers for a desperate battle.

Courage is commendable, but it can't change anything in the face of absolute strength.

He was killed in battle, and his head was pickled and sent to the capital Luoyang only two months later than that of King Mahan.

By early August, the war in Haidong would be over. After a short period of time to appease the local people and establish rules and regulations to maintain order, all the soldiers who had gone on the expedition could return home.

Judging by the time, they should arrive in Luoyang around mid-to-late October.

This means that with the return of Guanqiu Jian, Cao Zhao, and many other commoners who had followed the army, Cao Shuang and Xiahou Hui will once again clash over what rewards and official positions to bestow upon these people.

Sima Shi wanted to ask his father, Sima Yi, to secretly provide some support to Cao Shuang at this critical juncture.

This would allow Cao Shuang to hold out longer in the power struggle.

Yes, he wouldn't be foolish enough to think Cao Shuang could win.

However, he also knew that it wouldn't be easy for Xiahou Hui to completely overthrow Cao Shuang, who was also a regent and a descendant of a meritorious member of the imperial clan. If his father, Sima Yi, had used his connections in the court to help him, Cao Shuang might have been able to hold out until Emperor Cao Fang took over the reins of power.

However, his father, Sima Yi, directly rejected his proposal.

"This action will surely disrupt the state; do you think I am a treacherous villain?!"

Sima Yi gave these instructions with a very firm attitude.

There's no other reason than that this man, a veteran minister of three reigns in the Wei Kingdom and entrusted with the care of two monarchs, still possesses unwavering loyalty to the Wei Kingdom at heart, and is a model of loyalty widely praised throughout the land. Moreover, he has long since reached the pinnacle of his position and is already old; all he desires is to retire gracefully at the height of his career, so that history will not hesitate to praise his posthumous reputation.

How could they accept Sima Shi's suggestion, which would exacerbate factional strife and power struggles within the court?

Undeterred, Sima Shi opted for a less drastic solution, proposing another method that seemed to have no impact on the state.

Xiahou Hui is currently carrying out a disguised campaign to rectify officialdom, right? Everyone says that a clean and efficient bureaucracy is conducive to the stability of the country, so he will "kindly" help him go further on the road to rectifying officialdom.

For example, He Zeng, who is currently observing mourning for his mother, had already submitted a memorial to the late Emperor Cao Rui when he was serving as a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, suggesting that local officials be reformed to bring peace to the people. Sima Shi, wanting his father's approval, arranged for someone to unearth this already sealed memorial.

There was also Xiahou Xuan.

Due to his relationship with Emperor Wen of Han (Cao Pi), Sima Yi had a good personal relationship with Xiahou Shang in his early years.

Even after Xiahou Hui, who later married into the Sima family, passed away and the two families lost all connection, Sima Yi still cherished their old friendship and valued Xiahou Xuan highly.

Therefore, after retiring to the position of Grand Tutor, when he encountered Xiahou Xuan by chance, considering that the imprisonment for the "Extravagance Case" had been lifted and that Xiahou Xuan would inevitably be granted an official position by the court, he showed the care of an elder by asking him about current affairs, aiming to allow him to demonstrate his talent and win the praise of the officials.

Xiahou Xuan also mentioned three points.

These measures are: "restricting the power of the Zhongzheng official, eliminating redundant officials, and reforming the dress code."

Sima Shi now intends to send someone to spread Xiahou Xuan's three suggestions so that everyone in and around the capital region knows about them.

At that time, his two requests still had not been approved by his father.

Sima Yi, having navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for many years, was acutely aware of his eldest son's underhanded trickery.

Why would someone who had never been close to Cao Zhao, who was about to return to the capital, dig up his old memorial at this time? Wasn't it just an attempt to drag Cao Zhao into the conflict between Cao Shuang and Xiahou Hui, adding unpredictable variables to the situation?
Moreover, given Sima Yi's foresight, it is highly unlikely that Cao Zhao would side with Xiahou Hui or form his own faction. He is more likely to choose to align himself with Cao Shuang.

The reason is very simple.

If Cao Zhao, who did not hold the position of regent, were to become involved in the power struggle, he would inevitably consider how to maximize his own interests.

For Xiahou Hui, whether or not he had Cao Zhao's assistance was irrelevant. Therefore, even if Cao Zhao joined him, he would not gain much actual benefit or influence.

But it's different for Cao Shuang.

Cao Zhao, who had already been appointed Commander of the Central Army, had connections in the court. Moreover, Cao Zhao's younger brother, Cao Zuan, was currently the Prefect of Lujiang, and the Prefect of Anfeng was Xu Yun, whom Cao Shuang had recommended. In addition, Cao Shuang was actively trying to win over General Wang Ling, who was in charge of the Eastern Expedition. It can be said that if Cao Shuang could persuade Cao Zhao, he would have gained the support of the Huainan war zone and had the strength to barely contend with Xiahou Hui.

Therefore, Cao Shuang, who was at a disadvantage in the court, was never stingy in forming an alliance of interests with Cao Zhao on an equal footing.

What choice will Cao Zhao make?
Furthermore, if he insists on choosing Xiahou Hui or remains neutral, would those who are loyal to him, such as Zeng and Bi Gui, be willing to do so?
As for the suggestion to promote Xiahou Xuan...
Sima Yi could also see through the intentions, and for the first time in his life, he experienced the ruthlessness of such methods from his eldest son. (End of Chapter)