Wei Ni

The banquet ended with the guests enjoying themselves, and even Zhong Yu, who had been somewhat resistant, was quite pleased.

The reason was that during the banquet, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning current affairs, only talking about their own experiences and joys from long-awaited gatherings, and discussing ancient sages, philosophers, and schools of thought. Moreover, the banquet did not last long.

But they all achieved their goals.

For Xiahou Hui, he had already used Chen Tai and Xun Yi as examples to demonstrate his goodwill in wanting to unite with the entire Yingchuan literati and seek consensus. Whether Zhong Yu was willing to join them or not could be decided slowly; there was plenty of time to consider it. At least until he stepped down as the Prefect of Wei Commandery and returned to the capital, Luoyang, he did not need to give an answer.

Zhong Yu's attitude had already been evident.

Knowing that Xiahou Hui was among the invitees, he still came to the banquet, which was to show that he would not do anything contrary to the scholars of Yingchuan; but during the banquet, he only talked about fun and games and the classics, which was to say that he only wanted to be a loyal minister of Wei and did not want to be involved in the disputes of power or system.

I want to stay out of it.

Xiahou Hui quite liked these court officials who wanted to stay out of things.

Those who maintain the status quo are the least threatening.

Such people lack the courage to gamble with the future, so they also lack the courage to stand up and oppose. What is there to worry about?

And doesn't his family also have an "extraordinary person"?
Although Zhong Hui is too young to fight on the battlefield of power, Jia Chong can be sent to make contact first. Once the situation becomes clearer, a way out can be given, and the Zhong family will naturally take advantage of the situation.

On the way back, Wu Gai wisely used the excuse of long separation to stay behind and sleep next to his friend Chen Tai, while letting Xiahou Hui accompany him with his confidants Fu Gu and Xun Yi.

Fu Gu didn't mention anything.

Several days before attending the banquet, he had already discussed the matter with Yu Song, Ding Mi, and Xiahou Hui. They reached a consensus to observe the situation and let the rumors continue to circulate for a while.

Xun Yi, however, was different.

Having not sat down for a conversation with Xiahou Hui for a long time, he knew he had not yet officially entered the core of decision-making, so he cleverly used a pretext to say, "General, Uncle Lin has come to see me recently."

Who is Uncle Lin?
Xiahou Hui, riding slowly, gently pulled on the reins.

After a moment, he remembered that it was Shi Jian, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, who had provoked him at the funeral of the late Minister of Works, Changwen Gong. He then roughly guessed why Shi Jian had gone to find Xun Yi.

It was nothing more than seeing that he had recently shown signs of reforming the bureaucracy, and thus worrying that he might be framed and imprisoned by those who had curried favor with him.

Petty people are always worried.

And in today's world, such a thing is indeed very likely to happen.

Xiahou Hui couldn't help but smile, and said softly with a hint of meaning, "If Jing Qian hadn't mentioned her, I would have forgotten about her."

Forgetting means no longer caring or having any desire for revenge.

Xun Yi could naturally understand this, but his intention was not to speak on behalf of Shi Jian.

After nodding in acknowledgment, he continued, "At that time, I also tried to comfort him, but it had little effect, and he was still uneasy. In my opinion, if the general were to send him away with some trivial matters, perhaps he would no longer doubt himself."

Hehe, are you trying to send him away with trivial matters, or are you trying to probe my intentions?

Xiahou Hui, who understood Xun Yi's intentions perfectly, did not expose them. Instead, he asked with a smile, "Hmm, what Jingqian said makes sense. But for the moment, I don't know what to do with him. Why don't you teach me, Jingqian?"

"I dare not presume to teach."

Xun Yi quickly lowered his voice and said modestly, “Uncle Lin comes from a poor family and has almost no relatives or friends in the capital. Therefore, in his spare time, he often visits the Imperial Academy and Chongwen Temple, and has a good reputation among scholars. Now, the discussions about governance during the Taichu and Yingkao examinations are making a fuss in the court and among the people. It would be better to send him to secretly rally the poor students and complain about the officials in the prefectures and counties demoting the poor students when they are evaluating their ranks.”

Guiding and manipulating speech is not entirely unacceptable.

In any case, even if things were exposed, Shi Jian would have to take the blame himself and wouldn't dare to implicate himself or Xun Yi.

After silently urging his horse forward for a moment, Xiahou Hui, with droopy eyelids and stroking his beard with one hand, raised his head. He didn't comment on Xun Yi's words, but instead turned to Fu Gu and asked, "Lan Shi, Lin Bo has been a court official for quite some time now, hasn't he? How has his performance been evaluated?"

Fu Gu, who had been serving as the Selection Officer of the Minister of Personnel for several months, did not yet have any real power, but he had a general understanding of the resumes and assessments of the lower-ranking officials in various departments.

Therefore, upon being asked, he silently recalled his childhood and replied, "It seems he was over five years old. He cherishes his reputation and is fond of power and fame, so he is meticulous and reasonable in his work, and his performance evaluation is excellent. He is known as a capable official."

"At five years old, it's time for him to change jobs."

Nodding, Xiahou Hui looked at Xun Yi and said softly, "Since Jing Qian mentioned the matter of Shi Sheng, let Jing Qian take charge. There is no need to inform me of the outcome."

"only!"

Xun Yi, whose wish had been fulfilled, readily agreed, "I will certainly not fail the trust of the General, and I also thank the General on behalf of Shi Sheng."

After finishing their business, the three chatted about interesting anecdotes before parting ways upon entering Luoyang.

Along the way, Fu Gu, who was usually sparing with words, watched Xun Yi's departing figure and remarked with considerable emotion, "Since your passing, the spirit of the Xun family of Yingchuan has gradually faded." But one can't entirely blame him.

Having missed the "spoils-sharing ceremony" during Emperor Wen of Han's usurpation, it would be difficult for the Xun family of Yingchuan to revive if they insisted on following the right path without resorting to opportunism or engaging in cutthroat competition.

Having answered in his heart, Xiahou Hui defended her, saying, "Jing Qian is not old and her character is not bad. Lan Shi's judgment is premature."

"No. Did Zhiquan not see Xunzi at the banquet in the thatched cottage?"

Fu Gu bowed and took his leave. As he turned his horse and rode away, he explained, "When we were talking, he was quite obsequious, but his uncle Zhong Zhishu was there, so he dared not say a word."

Did Xun Xu have an intention to flatter?

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Hui raised his eyebrows slightly.

During the banquet, he was so focused on observing the Zhong brothers that he didn't pay much attention to Xun Xu.

However, this is also a good thing for him.

Since both Xun uncle and nephew are determined to restore their family's glory, they will likely work together on many matters. Therefore, would I not need to instruct Jia Chong, and would Xun uncle and nephew proactively approach Zhong Hui and help win over Zhong Yu?

Well, let's hold off on this for now and wait and see how things develop.

Early winter, late October.

As the meritorious soldiers who had fought in the conquest of Haidong returned to Weijun in Jizhou, the situation in the capital Luoyang became increasingly unpredictable.

Everyone knew that rewarding these people for their merits would be the fuse that would completely ignite the power struggle between Xiahou Hui and Cao Shuang; but no one expected that the first thing to raise the smoke of battle would be intelligence from Sun Wu in Jiangdong and a memorial from Yang Fu, the Grand Minister of Agriculture.

Grand Minister of Agriculture Yang Fu has once again requested to retire due to old age.

As early as when Emperor Ming of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Cao Rui, was engaged in large-scale construction projects, he had repeatedly and earnestly advised against it. However, Emperor Ming did not heed his advice and he became disheartened, requesting to resign on several occasions. When Emperor Ming first issued an edict appointing him to oversee the investigation of the abuses of the military farms in Luoyang, but the investigation ultimately failed, he again resigned to take responsibility. Even when the second thorough investigation of the military farms by the military farms went smoothly, he resigned on the grounds that he was too old to handle the matter and that the state already had capable and healthy people.

Of course, the late Emperor Cao Rui refused all his requests.

But now that the matter has been raised at this critical juncture, both the regents and the officials feel it is time to grant this upright minister's wish.

There's no other reason than that a new emperor brings a new court.

No matter how many changes occur in the imperial court, it is still necessary to retain a certain percentage of veteran officials and senior ministers. When he retires and returns to his hometown, one less person needs to be replaced.

The appointment of the Grand Minister of Agriculture was quickly decided within the East Hall.

Because Cao Shuang proposed the appointment of Huan Fan, who was unemployed at home, without waiting for everyone to speak up and make a public recommendation.

All the officials in the court knew that the Huan family and the Xiahou family were related by marriage, and Cao Shuang's move was sowing discord between the two families, so they wisely kept quiet.

There's no way around it, it's like gods fighting in public!
If they were offstage or behind someone's back, they might whisper about Cao Shuang's intentions or claim that there were more suitable candidates than Huan Fan, but who would want to confront the hothead who was assisting the General of Chariots and Cavalry to his face?
Xiahou Hui originally intended to join Huan Fan.

After all, this pretentious and self-important old man had already hinted at his desire to return to court at the beginning of the year.

Who would have thought that Cao Shuang would beat him to it?

After a brief moment of surprise, he nodded under the gaze of the assembled officials, making the proposal the final word.

It's impossible to oppose Huan Fan's election, isn't it?
And he didn't care about such a low-level divisive tactic.

Any relationship that can be sown apart is inherently unstable from the start. Even if Huan Fan were truly made to doubt himself by this incident, he would at most choose to remain neutral.

The intelligence from Sun Wu led to a direct confrontation between Xiahou Hui and Cao Shuang.

This intelligence was crucial for Sun Wu to appease the people of Jingnan; Grand Master of Ceremonies Pan Jun had died of illness this month.

Sun Wu, who in his early years repeatedly attacked Jingzhou to avenge his father and later betrayed his allies to seize the lands of Jingnan, was not popular among the gentry and commoners of Jingnan. Even with the efforts of Pan Jun, a local scholar, rebellions occasionally occurred; now that Pan Jun has passed away, a new rebellion is naturally brewing.

Perhaps this is why Sun Quan chose Lü Dai, the General Who Guards the South of Wu, to replace Pan Jun—since Lü Dai entered the service of Sun Wu, he has either been suppressing rebellions or on his way to suppress rebellions.

Upon learning of this news, the Wei court's first reaction was to order Jingbei to prepare for war, such as inventorying military supplies and stockpiling grain, in order to prevent Sun Wu from launching a northward attack.

This is related to the military system and court ecology of Sun Wu.

Sun Wu implemented a system of private retainers where sons succeeded fathers, and an unspoken rule that after punishing the ringleaders of rebellions, young men from the rebel ranks could be selected as retainers. This made local rebellions something many people welcomed. Who was fortunate enough to accompany them in suppressing the rebellions depended on their willingness to contribute to the country: by providing provisions, supplies, and troops to support Sun Wu's northern expeditions!
Therefore, it was almost foreseeable that Sun Wu would invade the following year.

They might even extend the alliance by inviting Shu to send troops to Yongliang, forcing Wei to fight on two fronts.

The conflict between Xiahou Hui and Cao Shuang erupted because they both wanted to use the pretext of preparing for war to expand their influence into the Jingxiang and Yongliang war zones. (End of Chapter)