My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 503: Pretending to be a Han Prime Minister, but Actually a Han Traitor

Sima Lang got inspiration from his second brother. After reporting for duty at Sikong Mansion the next day, he discussed it with Mao Jie. He felt there was no problem, so he excitedly went to Cao Cao to offer advice.

When Cao Cao met Sima Lang, he was in a good mood. It might be because the New Year was approaching and he knew that he would soon become the prime minister, so he asked Sima Lang to sit down and talk in a casual tone.

"Boda, have you come here to make any progress on that matter?"

Sima Lang did not dare to hide anything and spoke frankly about the key points, including the method of letting Zhao Wen recommend Sun Quan and then Xi Lu impeaching Zhao Wen.

After hearing this, Cao Cao's eyes lit up slightly: "...This is a good idea, Boda, did you come up with it yourself? It seems that you are also good at making plans."

Sima Lang knew what kind of image he had in Cao Gong's mind.

He also knew that Cao Gong was suspicious, and if his talents and endowments suddenly changed, beyond the other party's expectations, then the other party might suspect that he was hiding his incompetence and deliberately keeping a low profile.

That would be counterproductive, so it's better to speak out openly.

So Sima Lang confessed very straightforwardly: "Sir, please understand! I still have to apologize to you for this matter."

Cao Cao then asked curiously in a playful tone: "What crime has Boda committed in sharing my worries? Just tell me what you want to say!"

Sima Lang: "After I returned home these few days, I have been thinking about countermeasures every day, but I have not been able to come up with a plan. I was anxious for a while and muttered to myself, and my brother heard it. Although my brother is not calm, he is more quick-witted than me. After some discussion, we came up with this idea. Please forgive me for discussing official business with my family privately."

Cao Cao listened and waved his hand generously: "What's the big deal? Although we should distinguish between public and private affairs, it is common for brothers to discuss government affairs with each other. Would Liu Bei mind Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang's private plots? Am I not as broad-minded as Liu Bei?"

Sima Lang quickly said he didn't dare. Cao Cao raised his hand to signal him not to be so reserved, and then asked casually:

"Your brother's courtesy name is Zhongda, right? Your Henei Sima family is quite interesting, with eight brothers, the Sima Bada. When I recruited him to serve in the government, it seemed that he was not feeling well and delayed his appointment for a few years? Now he is willing to work sincerely for the court?"

Sima Lang: "My brother was indeed suffering from rheumatism at first, but he recovered completely in just two or three years. I really dare not deceive you, Sikong."

Cao Cao: "Relax, who said he was deceiving? Even if some people come, but their hearts are not there, and they don't give advice to the court, then it's useless. It's a good thing if they are willing to put their heart into it."

This was also the first time that Cao Cao remembered Sima Yi's true talents, and he decided to give him more opportunities to make suggestions in the future and to gain experience.

……

After listening to the suggestions of Sima Lang and Mao Jie, Cao Cao immediately began to implement them.

A few days later, at the end of December, Sima Lang went to visit Si Tu Zhao Wen with Cao Cao's private hint.

Zhao Wen will be seventy years old after the Chinese New Year, and will celebrate his seventieth birthday in May next year.

(Note: In ancient times, people celebrated their 70th birthday on the birthday that was 69 years old (70 years old)

When Zhao Wen heard that Sima Lang was coming to visit, although he knew that the other party was only a chief clerk of Sikong, he still met him in the main hall of Situ Mansion.

When Zhao Wen appeared, he was leaning on a cane, his body was hunched, and he was very old and frail. He needed maids to support him on both sides.

Sima Lang waited until Zhao Wen sat down before signaling with his eyes, and Zhao Wen had to dismiss the maids.

Sima Lang then explained his purpose: "... In this troubled time, the court should employ people in a flexible manner. Cao Gong's son-in-law Sun Quan is kind, filial and courageous. Although he has an important position, he has no real power.

Cao Gong wants to use him, but is afraid that he is too young and not very popular, so he wants to ask the Minister of Education to recommend him as a talented person. The New Year is coming soon, so the Minister of Education should not have decided on the candidate for the position of talented person to be recommended next year, right? "

Zhao Wen was somewhat suspicious after hearing this, but he did not think of it as a frame-up. He just felt that this matter was a bit unreasonable: "My dear nephew Boda, this matter seems a bit against the law of the court. Since ancient times, I have never heard of people who have already held official positions in prefectures and counties being recommended again.

"The highest rank that the Han Dynasty could recommend for local officials was the county magistrate, and that required the governor or provincial governor to recommend him. Sun Quan's original position was already above the county magistrate, so why would he need to be recommended?"

Sima Lang: "This is a different time. Although Sun Quan holds a high position, it is only an honorary title and has never been granted. This special situation has never been encountered before, so we have to deal with it in a special way. It is precisely because Sun Quan's honorary position is so high that it is not possible for local officials to recommend him, so the Three Dukes must come forward. In the current court, who else can do this except the Minister of the Interior?"

According to the laws of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Dukes, provincial governors, and inspectors could all recommend outstanding talents, but county governors were not eligible and could only select filial and honest people.

Because Sun Quan held a vacant position, local officials could no longer control the situation and could only turn to the Three Dukes.

In fact, only Cao Cao and Zhao Wen were left among the Three Dukes. Yang Biao had left long ago, and the position of Grand Marshal had been vacant for six or seven years.

According to this logical reasoning, Zhao Wen is indeed responsible.

Being pressured by Sima Lang like this, Zhao Wen could no longer refuse and avoid the matter. After thinking it over, he could only sigh and agree.

Sima Lang also breathed a sigh of relief: "In this case, I'll have to trouble you, Situ. After the matter is done, Sikong will remember this favor. I'll take my leave now."

Watching Sima Lang leave, Zhao Wen had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem, he just felt that he had lost his moral integrity.

"Alas, in order to curry favor with Cao Cao, he asked me to recommend Sun Quan, so I had to recommend Sun Quan. What a disgrace! If you want to use him, just use him directly! You have the final say in the court, but you have to use me as a cover!"

The more Zhao Wen thought about it, the angrier and more helpless he felt, and he could only sigh.

...A few days passed in a flash, and in the blink of an eye it was the New Year of the eleventh year of Jian'an.

Before the fifth day of the New Year, the entire court had a holiday and everyone could celebrate the New Year with peace of mind.

Emperor Liu Xie did not bother his subjects, and even if there were sacrificial ceremonies, they would most likely be postponed to the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

After the fifth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Wen was also at his residence, asking his chief clerk to help him write the memorial recommending Sun Quan as an outstanding talent.

When the first court meeting after the beginning of the year came, he submitted the memorial according to the procedure.

The emperor accepted the memorial but did not approve it immediately. He just put it aside for discussion.

This kind of small matter was just like a stone falling into a lake, which temporarily caused a little ripple and was soon forgotten. The court officials all thought it was just a small episode.

Two days later, Ma Teng and Pang De came from Xiliang and arrived in Xudu.

Cao Cao personally went out of the city thirty miles to greet him with great ceremony. Si Tu Zhao Wen and other important officials in the court were also among those who went out to greet him.

Such a grand occasion really made Ma Teng, who came from a humble background, feel flattered, and the worries in his heart were mostly resolved.

For the next three days, Cao Cao hosted banquets to entertain Ma Teng, and many ministers from the court accompanied him. It goes without saying that they drank and flattered each other.

On the eleventh day of the first lunar month, another court meeting day, Ma Teng entered the palace to meet the emperor and saw Liu Xie in person.

Liu Xie was like a puppet. According to Cao Cao's wishes, he officially announced the appointment of Ma Teng as General of Cavalry.

At the same time, Cao Cao was also commended for his noble character of voluntarily giving up the high position of General of Cavalry.

Four days later, it was the Lantern Festival. Cao Cao was kind enough not to let Xi Lu launch an attack before the Lantern Festival, which finally allowed Zhao Wen to have a peaceful year.

However, Zhao Wen's good days ended there.

Six days later, it was the twenty-first day of the first lunar month.

At a routine court meeting, Cao Cao pretended to be "busy with affairs and had just recently heard that Prime Minister Zhao had recommended my son-in-law Sun Quan as a talented person." He again submitted a letter of humility, saying that Sun Quan's talents and virtues were not worthy of such high praise, and helped Sun Quan decline Zhao Wen's recommendation.

Zhao Wen was caught off guard and was stunned for a moment at the court meeting.

Poor old man in his seventies, his reaction was slow to begin with. He thought to himself, this was clearly something Cao Sikong asked me to do, so why did he turn his back on me?
Zhao Wen couldn't figure it out for a moment and wanted to expose the insider trading at the court meeting, saying that it was Cao Cao's chief clerk Sima Lang who hinted at him.

Seeing that he was so ignorant and even wanted to resist, Cao Cao shouted at him in the court to stop Zhao Wen from talking nonsense.

Zhao Wen finally realized that there were some things that could not be said. If he said them out loud, he would only die a more miserable death. He had no choice but to swallow his anger and accept the fate.

Liu Xie was sitting on the throne, watching Cao Cao bullying his old ministers. He was so angry that his fists were clenched.

But he had no choice. He even sold out Dong Cheng and Concubine Dong. What could a mere Situ Zhao, who had followed him for more than ten years, do to him?

As the court was dismissed, Zhao Wen's energy and spirit were drained out of him. He was depressed and fell ill when he returned to Situ's house. It was not his fault that he was narrow-minded. He was just bullied too badly. In the original history, Zhao Wen also died of anger after being framed by Cao Cao.

After all, he is an old man in his seventies. Who can bear to have his reputation ruined by being slandered?

Five days later, on the twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month, the grand court meeting took place. Cao Cao's lackey, the Minister of the Court Xi Lu, began to follow the procedure:

Zhao Wen was impeached for corruption and attempted collusion. Fortunately, Cao Sikong was selfless and upright, and refused Zhao Wen's solicitation and corruption.

Therefore, he requested to remove Zhao Wen from his post as Si Tu.

Liu Xie only struggled a little, and Xi Lu used the same arrogance he had used a few years ago to force him to kill Concubine Dong to put pressure on the emperor. In the end, Liu Xie compromised again and swallowed his anger to approve the request.

At this point, the last of the Three Dukes in the Han Dynasty court, except Cao Cao, was completely removed.

A few days later, at the grand court meeting on the first day of February.

A memorial led by General Ma Teng and signed by nearly thirty court officials and local governors and inspectors was delivered to Liu Xie's desk.

The content of the memorial, of course, was to persuade the emperor to recognize the great merits of Sikong Cao and his noble character of resigning and resigning, and that Cao Cao should be promoted to prime minister.

Since the three highest officials no longer existed, there was no obstacle to establishing a prime minister, so Liu Xie naturally approved this idea.

Therefore, on the first day of February, the Han Dynasty court officially re-established the position of prime minister, and Cao Cao was appointed to the position.

In the city of Xudu, large-scale construction began from that day on. The former residences of the three dukes were requisitioned to build the Prime Minister's Palace.

The news that Cao Cao had taken office as prime minister gradually spread throughout the world within the next one or two months.

(End of this chapter)