Wei Ni

The core of the dynasty is the capital, the core of the capital is the palace, and the core of the palace is the main hall of the dynasty.

The Taiji Hall, which was rebuilt on the basis of the North Palace of the previous dynasty with the employment of 30,000 to 40,000 people, was the largest main hall for imperial courts in history. The East Hall and West Hall, which were arranged in parallel with it, were used as places where Emperor Cao Rui handled daily state affairs and lived.

However, the grand court meetings held in this solemn and magnificent main hall often fail to decide some sensitive matters.

Just like the report on the merits of the war against Liaodong.

The eunuchs with shrill and high-pitched voices had been reading for a long time, and the emperor Cao Rui also asked in a deep voice, "What do you think?" After letting all the officials discuss for quite some time, there was still no unanimous opinion in the main hall.

Sometimes too many people is not good.

Different standpoints, different thoughts, taboos and so on make things complicated.

Moreover, it was impossible to tell whether Emperor Cao Rui was happy or angry in his voice today, and his eyes and expression, obscured by the crown and jade, could not allow the ministers and officials to get a glimpse of his thoughts.

Therefore, as time passed, Cao Rui also became tired.

He directly named several old ministers to go to the Kowloon Hall to discuss the matter, while he himself returned to the East Hall to take care of miscellaneous affairs.

This is also customary.

The Grand Court is a process for raising issues, while the Inner Court is where real decisions are made.

Those who were named included Liu Fang and Sun Zi from the Secretariat, Wei Zhen, the Right Prime Minister of the Shangshutai, Chen Jiao and Lu Yu, the Shizhong, Jiang Ji, the General of the Guard and Shizhong, and He Qia, the Minister of Rites.

According to common sense, this kind of recording of merits has nothing to do with Taichang, and Heqia does not need to be involved in it.

But the Grand Commandant Sima Yi was still serving as the Governor of Yongliang, and the three ministers, namely, the Minister of Rites, the Minister of Fortune, and the Minister of Defense, had been under the command of the Grand Commandant since the previous dynasty, so he was considered to be a conscripted man.

He doesn't care about it.

I feel like I'm just going through the motions.

But everyone was delighted with his unexpected participation and looked forward to him being a "mouth replacement".

Because they all felt that Xiahou Hui's recommendation of Ding Mi's contribution to the expedition was really abominable! It was also too embarrassing for them!

It's just difficult.

Whether the imperial court would record Ding Mi's merits and how to reward him involved the vital interests of many people.

The first to be affected are all those whose careers have been restricted by the Vanity Fair case.

To be precise, it is the parents of these people.

For example, Liu Fang, Sun Zi and Wei Zhen who are currently involved in the plan.

They all enjoyed the emperor's favor, played an important role in the government, and were able to participate in almost all military and national affairs, but their sons were also imprisoned.

So for them, the result of today's discussion is an opportunity.

If Ding Mi could be released from his confinement, it would mean that their son could also be released - with their authority, what Xiahou Hui could do would only be a piece of cake for them to imitate.

Yes~
Liu Fang and Sun Zi, who were a little more selfish, were actually very happy about what Xiahou Hui had done, but they couldn't show their feelings.

They even have to avoid suspicion, so that people won't criticize them for putting selfishness above the law.

Therefore, after the two of them entered the Nine Dragon Hall and sat down, they remained silent, waiting for others to give their opinions and seeing everyone's reactions, and then they weighed the pros and cons and gave suggestions.

However, Wei Zhen, who had always been very upright, was not very happy.

On the contrary, he felt that Xiahou Hui's behavior was really ridiculous.

Si Tu Dong Zhao, who instigated the Fuhua case, had just died of illness not long ago, and Xiahou Hui submitted a petition to request credit for the imprisoned people. What was his intention?

Having been immersed in the court for a long time, he certainly would not think that Xiahou Hui was deliberately causing trouble for the court.

It's about two possibilities.

First, Xiahou Hui was considering his own interests and was testing the emperor's intentions.

Emperor Cao Rui wanted to promote members of the royal family and the sons of the heroes of Qiao and Pei, and now there was internal discord among the Xiahou and Cao clans. These two things were already open secrets in the eyes of those who were interested.

If the imperial court agreed to his request and awarded Ding Mi with honors and a position, it would be a silent declaration that Xiahou Hui, who had conquered Liaodong, was extremely favored by the emperor, and the emperor was even willing to change his previous will to show his favor.

This also means that the other Xiahou Caos cannot compete with him.

But was Xiahou Hui, who was called a "rough man in the court" in his early years, really so cunning? Was he already a master at taking advantage of the situation?

Wei Zhen thought it was impossible.

Or, in other words, having had contact with Xiahou Hui in his early years, he knew that Xiahou Hui was a bit reckless and had a rather rigid character, but he had never shown any desire for power for himself.

He is not the kind of person who is proud of his achievements and has no sense of propriety.

Furthermore, in the internal power struggle among the Xiahou and Cao clans, Xiahou Hui has always been passive!

How could one risk angering the emperor by playing such a shameless trick?
In this case, another possibility becomes obvious - perhaps Xiahou Hui's action was privately instructed by Emperor Cao Rui?
Judging from the fact that Xiahou Hui was previously exiled to Liaoxi, but was actually sent there in advance to prepare for the attack on Liaodong in order to conceal his true intentions, it is very likely that the two of them were acting in cahoots.

If this is true, it would be very interesting.

What did Emperor Cao Rui want to do?

The emperor let the influence of the Fuhua case dissipate with the death of Si Tu Dong Zhao, which was also a disguised way for the emperor to win over and show favor to old ministers such as Sima Yi. After receiving the favor, what should the old ministers do for the emperor?

Support the reform of the Shijiazhuang?

No longer refute the fact that the emperor's disciples were given the responsibility of supervising and assassinating traitors?
Or, the emperor wanted to change some of the measures formulated during the reign of the previous emperor Cao Pi, so he needed the support of the old and important ministers?
It's hard to say, all of them are possible. It's even possible that the emperor just wanted to test it out.

I want to see if anyone has the idea of ​​changing the outcome of the Fuhua case after Situ Dongzhao's death.

After all, in the past year or two, the emperor has been very different from before.

He has changed from a wise ruler who was willing to accept advice, worked diligently, and treated old and important ministers as his own heart, to an emperor who refuses to listen to advice, is extravagant and licentious, sometimes neglects his duties, and whose moods are unpredictable.

With this thought in mind, Wei Zhen, who was always outspoken, did not say anything.

It was not just for risk avoidance, but he was also worried that if he spoke rashly, the situation would go against the emperor's expectations.

The attendants Chen Jiao and Lu Yu were much more calm.

Needless to say, Lu Yu had the least experience among everyone in the palace, having been promoted to the position of Shizhong only two years ago.

So he regarded himself as a guest, and thought that Emperor Cao Rui asked him to participate in order to cultivate him and let him take this opportunity to learn how others dealt with such difficult problems.

no way.

There are also differences between Shizhong and Shizhong.

For example, Chen Jiao, who was transferred from Shangshu Ling to Shizhong, was a candidate to fill a vacancy of one of the Three Dukes based on seniority!

But Chen Jiao didn't say anything either.

There is no other reason.

After the victory in Liaodong, Emperor Cao Rui privately explained to him the reason why he had appointed his second son Chen Qian as the Sima of Zhenhubu - to help Xiahou Hui lead the reform of the Shijia in the future.
Therefore, he could also guess the reason why Emperor Cao Rui asked the ministers to discuss whether Ding Mi should be rewarded for his merits.

It was simply that the emperor was planning to take some action in the court soon, but was worried that things would get out of control, so he took advantage of Xiahou Hui's move and used it as a test.

The person who also had a vague sense of this was Jiang Ji.

But unlike Chen Jiao, his basis was that he had guessed that he would soon step down from his post as Central Guard General.

The reason was that after the death of Si Tu Dong Zhao, the emperor Cao Rui was very sad and once said to him, "Since Dong Gong left me, there are fewer people who can help with state affairs. You should encourage yourself and do your best."

Asking him to emulate Dong Zhao was to formally put him among the candidates for the Three Dukes.

Jiang Ji could naturally understand such a clear meaning.

He also knew that he would, like Chen Jiao, resign from the lowly but powerful post of Central Guard General and be promoted to the position of Shizhong based on seniority.

At that time, he had been thinking a lot about who would take over as the Central Guard Army.

Now it seems that the emperor is interested in Xiahou Hui!

Let me ask, wasn't Xiahou Hui's commendation of Ding Mi's merits just to win the favor of the important official whose nephews were imprisoned?
And if the emperor announced at this time that he would promote him to the position of Central Guard General, would those old ministers still refute it by saying that he was young and had a reckless character?
Therefore, the current Emperor Cao Rui would never let them discuss whether Ding Mi should be rewarded for his merits!
It's clearly a way to build momentum for Xiahou Hui!
Therefore, Jiang Ji had already made up his mind and agreed that the court should reward Ding Mi for his merits.

But he would never be the first to do so.

His nephews and nephews were not imprisoned, so it would not benefit him much if the incident happened. If Sima Yi, the Grand Marshal with whom he had a good personal relationship, was also in the palace, he might have expressed his position first.

But the people in the hall were Liu Fangsun Zi, who were already at odds with him. Why was he in such a hurry?

Selling favors also requires knowing the right timing.

Therefore, when the Nine Dragon Hall fell into silence for a long time, everyone's eyes fell on Taichang Heqia, who was conscripted into the army for no reason.

He He, who had closed his eyes to rest since entering the hall, opened his eyes in this eerie and silent atmosphere.

Immediately, he frowned in confusion.

Because he suddenly discovered that everyone in the hall smiled at him at the same time.

"Lord He, Lord Sun and I both have unworthy sons who are involved in the same case as Ding Mi, so we need to avoid suspicion. Therefore, Lord He will have to speak more about the matters that His Majesty has asked us to do."

These are Liu Fang’s words.

The smile was so bright that the wrinkles on his face gradually appeared.

Sun Zi did not say anything, but after Liu Fang finished speaking, he nodded and bowed to him.

"I previously opposed the strategy of attacking Liaodong, believing that war would be difficult. Now I am too embarrassed to discuss the matter of awarding merits, and my son is also involved. I can only hope that Brother Yangshi can share your worries."

Wei Zhen was not polite at all, and was also less hypocritical.

Chen Jiao didn't say anything.

He just smiled at He Qia, bowed his hand, and then drooped his eyelids to rest.

Lu Yu lowered his posture, bowed to the crowd, and smiled, "Gentlemen, I am not as good as you, I am willing to pick up the missing parts and fill the gaps."

The most amazing one is Jiang Ji.

He asked He Qia cheerfully, "What do you think, Mr. He?"

What insights!?

My job is to serve as Minister of Rites. What does recording merits have to do with me?

As everyone was trying to shirk responsibility, He Qia just laughed out loud. (End of this chapter)