Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 372 Gaoping Xi Family
Huan Wen's behavior is really ugly. After all, before he wrote this memorial, Xie Shang's condition had not worsened. This behavior was like looking forward to Xie Shang's death.

But he couldn't care about so much, Yuzhou was too important.

Since the civil strife in the Later Zhao Dynasty, Xie Shang surrendered and accepted the rebels. Yuzhou has been restored from a prefecture and county established by overseas Chinese. As the territory of the Eastern Jin Dynasty gradually expanded northward, except for Yingchuan County which was merged into Sizhou by Huan Wen, Yuzhou has returned to what it was during the Western Jin Dynasty. area.

Ling Liyang, Ruyang, Ruyin, Xincai, Yiyang, Xiyang, Huainan, Lujiang, Anfeng, Qinjun, Matou, Jinxi, Runan, Qiaojun, Liangjun, Beinandun, Dongjun Wait for seventeen counties.

If Huan Wen could control the seventeen counties of Yuzhou, he would be able to control the Jiangdong court more easily.

It can weaken the power of the imperial court and strengthen itself, so why not do it.

Without Huan Wen's memorial, Sima Yu and others could have discussed a suitable candidate behind closed doors with the young emperor Sima Dan, and that was exactly what they were prepared to do.

But now Huan Wen came to the table. The opinion of this powerful Duke of Chu could not be ignored or ignored.

Who will succeed Xie Shang as the governor of Yuzhou is not something that a few of them can decide behind closed doors. They must hold a court meeting and summon the officials to discuss.

After all, once Huan Wen became angry because of this, he naturally did not dare to vent his anger on the young emperor Sima Dan. However, he claimed that Sima Yu, Wang Tanzhi, and Wang Biao had deceived the emperor and wanted to raise troops to clear the emperor's side.

Hmm. If one day I can control the court in my own hands, that would be fair to say.

Sima Yu and others understood the little emperor's anger, but they could only persuade him to calm down.

"Your Majesty, the plan for now is to select a candidate who is loyal to the court but also acceptable to Huan Wen."

Wang Tanzhi was from the Wang family in Taiyuan, and Wang Biaozhi was Wang Xizhi's cousin.

Wang Xizhi, the general of Wang Youjun, resigned from the post of Internal History of Kuaiji two years ago and went into seclusion, but now he is actually only fifty-four years old and can definitely resume his official career.

"Your Majesty, I would like to recommend someone to you. I wonder how Wang Youjun is doing?"

Even though Sima Tan wanted to go beyond the court meeting, the three of them still stopped him forcefully.

Everyone was silent after hearing this.

It can only be discussed among the ministers. Most people feel that Xie Yi is not a suitable candidate. Even if he rejects Huan Wen's proposal, Huan Wen will not be able to vent. It cannot be said that the whole dynasty is full of treacherous ministers.

In the last years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Er Zhurong, after going south to control Luoyang, claimed that the treacherous ministers in the court had brought the country into chaos. He eventually massacred more than 2,000 princes and hundreds of officials in Heyin, basically wiping out all the high-ranking officials in the central government of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Although Huan Wen did not dare to kill the ministers wantonly, he still had the ability to force the young emperor to kill several of them under the banner of Qingjun.

Huan Xi's power base was the Han and Tibetan soldiers in the north.

Wang Biaozhi said frankly:
"Reporting to your majesty, my brother neither wanted to betray the imperial court nor quarrel with his old childhood friends. He felt that he could not choose between the imperial court and the Huan family. He was forced to resign twice.

Huan Wen was able to successfully take over as the governor of Jingzhou because he had already worshiped the governor of Xuzhou, was the uncle of the emperor, and had a close personal relationship with Yu Yi.

Er Zhurong can do this kind of thing, and Huan Xi can do it if he doesn't care about his reputation. After all, Er Zhurong's power base is the Qihu people of his own clan, and the six-town Xianbei soldiers who were recruited by him and opposed the imperial court.

However, this proposal attracted fierce opposition from Wang Tanzhi and Wang Biaozhi.

Wang Tanzhi muttered:

There are very few such people, and they must have the qualifications to take over as governor of Yuzhou. It is even more difficult to find a suitable candidate.

Wang Xizhi once served as the governor of Jiangzhou. This qualification was enough for him to succeed Xie Shang as the governor of Yuzhou.

Only Huan Wen could not follow suit, because he had cooperated with the nobles in the south to be able to take the position of governor of Jingzhou. If he slaughtered all the princes and officials in the court, it would surely lead to rebellion in all parts of the south.

After a while, Sima Yu was the first to suggest:

"I sincerely request your majesty to choose someone else. Otherwise, if my brother is appointed as the governor of Yuzhou, once Huan Wen spends all his money and becomes happy, I will only fear that my brother will make a mistake and be unworthy of the ancestors of the Jin Dynasty."

The reason why Wang Biao spoke out to prevent Wang Xizhi from becoming the governor of Yuzhou was because he did not want to drag his cousin, who had finally escaped, into this quagmire again, making Wang Xizhi difficult to live with.

Moreover, as he said, once Huan Wen stepped up his efforts to show favor to Wang Xizhi, it would be difficult not to ensure that Wang Xizhi would completely fall to the Huan family.

Although Sima Dan was young, he was not ignorant. Since even Wang Biaozhi came forward to reject Wang Xizhi's request, he naturally would not consider Wang Youjun, who was famous for his calligraphy.

"Do you have any other candidates?"

Sima Dan asked.

Because the conditions were too harsh, he had to be loyal to the court, Huan Wen couldn't refuse, and he had to have the qualifications to serve as an official governor. There were not so many candidates in a short while.

Just when Sima Yu and Wang Biao were at a loss what to do, Wang Tanzhi thought of another person because of Wang Xizhi:

"Your Majesty, I think that Xi Fang Hui may be able to take on this important task." Sima Yu and Wang Biao suddenly became enlightened after hearing this.

Xi Fang returned to Xi Min, the eldest son of the late Taiwei Xi Jian and the brother-in-law of Wang Xizhi.

This man entered the officialdom as Menyin, succeeded to the title of Duke of Nanchang County, served as the Minister of Zhongshu in the court, and successively served as the commander-in-chief of the hussar general of He Chong and the commander-in-chief of Chu Pei's general in charge of the Northern Army.

He Chong was the one who advocated sending Huan Wen out to control Jingzhou, and Chu Pei was the father of the Queen Mother.

Of course, the reason why Wang Tan was certain that Huan Wen would not object to Xi Min being appointed governor of Yuzhou was because Huan Wen's mastermind, Xi Chao, was Xi Min's son.

For Xi Chao's sake, Huan Wen would probably hold his nose and admit it no matter how reluctant he was.

Although Xi Min's son served as an official in the Chu State, Xi Min himself was a loyal minister of the Jin Dynasty. Since the Huan family revealed his ambition, Xi Min and Xi Chao's father and son had not had contact with each other for many years.

Moreover, another important reason why Wang Tanzhi recommended Xi Min was because he wanted to win over the Gaoping Xi family on behalf of the young emperor.

Although Xi Min's father, Xi Jian, has passed away for eighteen years, his influence is still there.

Xi Jian served concurrently as the governor of Yanzhou and the governor of Xuzhou, and the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of the three states of Xu Yanqing. He also oversaw the military affairs of eight counties in Yangzhou. He participated in pacifying the Wangdun Rebellion and the Su Jun Rebellion. He rose to the rank of Taiwei and was very popular in the government and the public.

Now Xi Min is appointed as the governor of Yuzhou, which is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate. At least Huan Wen is not willing to antagonize the Gaoping Xi family because he prevents Xi Min from resurrecting.

Xi Jian had been in charge of Xu and Yanzhou for a long time, and the Xi family in Gaoping had a deep influence in the local area. Huan Wen knew this best.

After all, he once served as the governor of Xuzhou and the military commander of the three states of Xu, Yan, and Qing. However, he only served for a short time and did not have time to let the soldiers and the people forget Xi Jian's legacy.

Seeing that both Sima Yu and Wang Biao agreed with Wang Tanzhi's suggestion, Sima Dan stopped thinking about it and prepared to re-appoint Xi Min to replace Xie Shang as the governor of Yuzhou.

Xi Min was only forty-five years old. After Chu Su's death, he served as an official in the court for several years. Soon he resigned due to illness and lived in seclusion in Zhang'an County (now Zhang'an Town, Taizhou, Zhejiang).

This person does not seek official status, otherwise, based on his father's legacy, Xi Min would have been a prince long ago.
As for whether Xi Min can be invited to come out again, Wang Tanzhi, Wang Biaozhi and others are not worried at all.

The nobles are well versed in the art of cunning rabbits. Wang Biao of the Langya family is loyal to the court, and Wang Xizhi and others are ambiguous with the Huan family. The same is true for the Xie family of Chen County. Xi's wife.

Now that the position of governor of Yuzhou was placed in front of Xi Min, Wang Tanzhi was certain that he would take it without hesitation.

After all, Xi Chao, the son of Xi Min, got too close to Huan Wen and Huan Xi, and got too deep. If the Huan family fell like Wang Dun, Su Jun and others one day, just as Xie Shang worried about the Xie family in Chen County, Xi Xin also had to worry that Xi Chao would bring disaster to the clan.

The appointment as the governor of Yuzhou was a gift from Wang Tanzhi and others, which allowed the Gaoping Xi family to bet on both sides.

People live their whole lives just for fame and fortune.

Xi Min served as the governor of Yuzhou and worked hard for the Jin Dynasty, leaving a reputation for loyalty in Qing history.

Even if Xi Min was always against Huan Wen, and even if the Huan family succeeded the Jin Dynasty, maybe Huan Wen still wanted to execute Xi Min because of his grudge.

Looking at the Buddha's face without looking at the monk's face, Xi Chao devoted himself to the Huan family and worked diligently for so many years. Huan Wen could not convict his father no matter what.

He will not be angry with Xi Chao because of Xi Min's behavior.

Since he had no worries, how could Xi Min refuse the imperial conquest.

To others, the governor of Yuzhou might be a hot potato. He would be caught between Jiankang and Xiangyang, making it difficult for him to be a good person. He would suffer from both sides. This was why Wang Xizhi resigned as the governor of Jiangzhou.

However, Xi Min could express his loyalty to the court without any scruples, but Huan Wen could not object.

The next day, early in the morning.

Sima Dan held a court meeting in the main hall to discuss who should succeed Xie Shang as the governor of Yuzhou.

The ministers who were pro-Huan naturally cheered for Xie Yi because of Huan Wen's memorial, but Xie Yi was unanimously opposed by the ministers who were pro-Jin.

When everyone was at loggerheads, Sima Yu, the king of Kuaiji, came forward and recommended Xi Min, who was currently taking care of his old age, to come out again. He immediately won the approval of many ministers close to the Jin Dynasty, including Wang Tanzhi and Wang Biaozhi.

The opposition from the ministers who were pro-Huan was not as fierce as when the other party opposed it.

After all, Xi Min seemed to be the most suitable candidate based on emotion and reason, and he was also the one Huan Wen had to accept.

After a dispute among the officials in the palace, the voices supporting Xi Min to succeed Xie Shang finally gained the upper hand. Sima Dan made the decision and issued an edict on the spot, sending envoys to Zhang'an County to summon Xi Min to the court and confer him an official position.

The ministers who were close to the Huan family also sent people to Xiangyang as soon as possible after going to court.

The emperor has made a decision, which they cannot object to. The next move must be decided by Huan Wen himself.

(End of this chapter)