Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

The relationships among court ministers are complicated, and often there is a lot of entanglement between them.

Take the four cabinet ministers for example. Cao Zhen and Sima Yi were both former followers of Cao Pi and had a very good relationship. If we look at the relationship between Sima Zhi and Dong Zhao's younger brother Dong Fang, Sima Yi and Dong Zhao can be considered to have some kinship. Cao Zhen and Dong Zhao were both in the West Pavilion, but Dong Zhao was nearly 80 years old, 20 years older than Cao Zhen, so there was no competition between the two. Sima Yi and Chen Jiao were also good friends for many years.

Although the four members of the cabinet are harmonious, they have different positions on many issues.

Nothing in the world is black or white.

While Chen Jiao was still with Xu Xuan of the Ministry of Rites, Sima Yi arrived late and entered the cabinet duty room while the rain was gradually subsiding.

The two chatted for a while, and Sima Yi asked casually: "Dong Gong and Ji Bi haven't arrived yet? They came later than me."

Cao Zhen said, "Mr. Dong is old, so it's okay if he comes late. But Chen Jibi came earlier than you, and he must have gone to the Secretariat by now. The heavy rain just now has less severe damage now."

Before Sima Yi could ask, Cao Zhen took the initiative to bring up what had just happened with a smile: "Ji Bi's second son Chen Qian wanted to become an official. He mentioned it to me, so I recruited him to serve as the chief clerk in my mansion."

"Oh? That's a good thing." Sima Yi responded, "The general is so kind-hearted, is your mansion still in need of a chief secretary?"

Cao Zhen raised his eyes to look at Sima Yi: "Why, has your Ziyuan been in the Shangshutai for a long time? Although he is talented, he is not suitable to be a chief secretary. He is not old enough and has not enough experience. He can barely be a military officer."

"My son Ziyuan has a bright future. You don't need to worry about him, General." Sima Yi smiled and said, "Do you think I can do it?"

"You? Why don't you come to my house and guard the door?" Cao Zhen smiled and rolled his eyes at Sima Yi, then laughed a few times: "I can't invite a great god like you to my temple. How is Zishang (Sima Zhao) doing in Yecheng?"

Sima Yi laughed a few times and said, "Zi Shang is supervising grain in Ye County, which is a job that requires work. Let him temper his character in Hebei."

Cao Zhen asked again: "I remember that when you asked Ziyuan (Sima Shi) to take up an official post, you directly made him a warehouse official under Jiang Zitong. Why did Zhongda favor one over the other?"

Sima Yi replied: "It's not that I favor one over the other, but Zishang's talent is not as good as Ziyuan's. If I promote Zishang too much and let him take an important position like a secretary, it would be harmful to him."

"Why is Ji Bi looking for you at this time?"

Cao Zhen calmly replied, "How should I know? If he wants to look for me, that's his business. When your Majesty returns tomorrow, the cabinet will go to the other side of the ferry to welcome you."

"Okay." Sima Yi nodded lightly.

In the evening, Sima Yi left the cabinet and went to the Shangshu Tai to inspect the various departments.

Since Sima Yi always had the power and responsibility of recording the affairs of the Shangshu, although he was nominally in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War, Sima Yi would still take a look at each of them.

When passing by Xu Xuan of the Ministry of Rites, Xu Xuan looked up and saw Sima Yi walking in. He waved his hand to let the officials who were reporting to him go out, stood up, and closed the door himself.

"Baojian, is there something wrong?" Sima Yi stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Xu Xuan quietly.

"Please sit down, Sikong. I do have something to say to you." Xu Xuan extended his hand.

Sima Yi learned from Cao Zhen that Chen Jiao had come to the Secretariat in the morning. Seeing Xu Xuan's condition, he had a rough guess in his mind. He nodded silently and then sat directly in Xu Xuan's main seat.

Seeing that Sima Yi had taken his seat, Xu Xuan was not embarrassed. He stood in front of Sima Yi with his hands raised and said slowly:

"Sikong may not know that when Chen Pushe came to Taichung for inspection this morning, he looked very happy. When I asked him what was going on, he said that he had asked the general to recruit his second son as the chief clerk."

Sima Yi nodded calmly: "The general also told me what Baojian said."

Xu Xuan continued, "Then Chen Pushe asked me about the inheritance of the title. Did the general and the minister of work tell me about it? Chen Pushe wanted to pass his title of Marquis of Dongyang County to his second son instead of his eldest son. The title is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, so Chen Pushe came to test my opinion."

Marquis of Dongyang County was a new title bestowed by the emperor when Chen Jiao was summoned to the cabinet. Chen Jiao was from Dongyang County, Guangling Prefecture, and being given the title of Marquis of his own county was a standard reward and courtesy for cabinet officials. Before that, Chen Jiao was only a county marquis.

Sima Yi's eyes widened slightly, and he glanced at Xu Xuan, then burst out laughing: "I said he would say these things in the fall and winter, and I really waited for it."

Xu Xuan nodded and said, "That's a good idea, Sikong!"

When Sima Yi first arrived in Shouchun at the beginning of the year, he made a move on Xu Xuan's behalf. Today, he finally reaped the benefits. Xu Xuan is an interesting person. His early experiences overlapped greatly with Chen Jiao's.

Chen Jiao was from Dongyang, Guangling, and Xu Xuan was from Haixi, Guangling. The two were actual fellow townsmen.

But being from the same hometown does not necessarily mean a good relationship.

For example, among the "Four Scholars of Yingchuan", Xin Pi, Chen Qun, Du Xi, and Zhao Yan, Zhao Yan and Chen Qun did not have a good relationship. Xu Shu was born in a poor family in Yingchuan and had never interacted with the Yingchuan officials in the court.

The relationship between Chen Jiao and Xu Xuan in their early years was not good enough to be described as "bad", and could even be called enmity. Although the two were not on good terms, they both fled to Jiangdong and both responded to Chen Deng's call to serve in Guangling County. After the two joined Cao Cao's army, Xu Xuan spoke ill of Chen Jiao many times.

Chen Jiao's original surname was Liu, but he was adopted by his uncle's family, so he changed his surname to Chen. But Chen Jiao's wife was from the Liu family, so it could be considered that Chen Jiao married a relative of his own family. If you are not a fellow villager, you generally won't know about this kind of private matter. Xu Xuan had a quarrel with Chen Jiao, so he often told others that Chen Jiao was immoral. Chen Jiao lost face and could only go to Cao Cao to cry and resign.

Cao Cao had no choice but to issue an order saying that since the end of the Han Dynasty, the moral code has been lost. After all, it was a chaotic era and everything was a mess. No one was allowed to mention the past before the fifth year of Jian'an. Anyone who mentioned it would be punished.

Cao Cao took sides and then took the initiative to reconcile the two. Only then did Xu Xuan and Chen Jiao become harmonious on the surface.

The hatred made in youth is hard to forget even when we grow old.

Chen Jiao had his own power in the court, and he had good relations with Sima Yi, Chen Qun and others. But Xu Xuan also had his own friends, such as Wei Zhen, Huan Fan and others, who had good personal relations with Xu Xuan. In addition, Chen Jiao had been in office for many years and could not be seen, so he maintained a sense of security.

Chen Jiao had no choice but to ask Xu Xuan questions this time. Although he was the Shangshu Pushe, he was only in charge of these three ministries temporarily. The official Shangshu Zuo Pushe Xin Pi was still inspecting Guanxi, so he could not handle the matter himself.

This was the opportunity that Xu Xuan seized.

As for Xu Xuan and Sima Yi, Sima Yi was Xu Xuan's old boss, and the two had known each other for many years. Among the four ministers of the previous emperor, only Sima Yi was always at the center of power. If Xu Xuan wanted to take sides, he would naturally know the importance of it.

Sima Yi sat in silence for a long time in the hall, stroking his beard and not saying anything. After an incense stick of time had passed, he slowly said, "Baojian, you are the Minister of Rites. All matters concerning titles in the Wei Dynasty are controlled by you. There is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and between the old and the young. You are the Minister of Rites. If even you cannot stand firm, then all matters concerning titles in the Wei Dynasty will be in chaos."

"I understand the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children." Xu Xuan stared into Sima Yi's eyes and asked, "If I stand firm, how can I stand firm?"

Sima Yi said calmly: "The pen is in your hand, you can write the memorial yourself, you don't need me to teach you. By the way, I have another piece of news to tell you."

Xu Xuan nodded.

Sima Yi said, "Your Majesty should have seen the statistics on the appointment of a crown prince in Xiangfan. Among the four cabinet ministers, I, the general, and Lord Dong all stand in the same position and support the appointment of a crown prince. Only Chen Jibi agrees to delay the appointment."

Xu Xuan thought for a moment: "Mr. Dong is the tutor of King Ye, so he naturally supports the establishment of King Ye. The princes are all young, and although there are differences in age, there is no sign of their potential. The Minister of Works and the General both supported the late emperor and opposed King Yongqiu in the past. They have the same stance, so they can naturally come together..."

"That's it." Sima Yi nodded: "If the court wants to discuss etiquette, then we can discuss it properly. Regardless of others, you already understand the cabinet's position."

Xu Xuan smiled. He was also a man in his sixties. If he rushed to do this for Sima Yi, he would naturally need some benefits. "Sikong, if His Majesty blames me, what should I do? I can't just resign, can I?"

Sima Yi said: "You are not the only one. At least three of the six departments of the Shangshutai will agree with you."

Three? Xu Xuan calculated silently.

Li Yan of the Ministry of Civil Affairs has always been a cautious person. He only does his job and doesn't ask about anything else. Huang Quan of the Ministry of Personnel is like an iron plate. He is so stubborn that he doesn't even respond to Dong Ge's words. He only listens to the emperor in personnel matters. If these two ministries don't respond, then Sima Zhi of the Ministry of Works, Wang Ji of the Ministry of War, and Xu Miao of the Ministry of Justice will respond?
Xu Xuan was secretly shocked, but his face remained calm. He nodded and said, "I already know what Sikong said. Please rest assured that I won't delay anything."

"Okay." Sima Yi smiled and stood up to leave.

Seeing this, Xu Xuan quickly stood up, walked to the door and opened it for Sima Yi.

It was evening now, and the rain that had been falling for half a day had stopped. The setting sun shone through the clouds, looking exceptionally bright, casting a golden glow on the ground.

At this time, the two of them had not yet left the house. Xu Xuan whispered, "This is the day when the clouds are clearing and the sun is shining."

"Baojian can be the left servant." Sima Yi patted Xu Xuan's shoulder, then walked out slowly with his hands behind his back, and was heading towards the duty room of Xu Miao, the Minister of Justice.

Xu Xuan had always known about the relationship between Xu Miao and Sima Yi. Sima Zhi was Sima Yi's cousin, and if Sima Yi took a stand, Sima Zhi would certainly follow him. But Wang Ji had been the left chancellor of the Shangshu before, responsible for personnel and discipline in the Shangshutai, and he was always strict in his work and never smiled. How did he get in touch with Sima Yi?
Xu Xuan shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He stared at the sunset for a long time before walking back into the house. (End of this chapter)