Wei Ni

Taichang and Qia quickly calmed down.

Because he suddenly thought of one thing. He was called here to participate in the discussion without any reason. Perhaps Emperor Cao Rui had already guessed this situation, so he allowed himself, an irrelevant outsider, to speak frankly and impartially.

Yes!

Those sitting in the Nine Dragon Hall are all the emperor's close ministers. They accompany the emperor on a daily basis, so they are used to trying to figure out the emperor's intentions in everything, and then combining their own standpoints before finally giving suggestions.

With more concerns, people will naturally become more cautious, and the advice they give will not be pertinent.

He Qia himself is different.

Taichang was the head of the Nine Ministers, in charge of ancestral temple rituals. He was noble and honorable but rarely involved in mundane affairs.

He should be sincere in serving ghosts and gods, be upright in serving the monarch, and strictly abide by the rules and laws when handling matters without personal emotions. So now he feels that the emperor asked him to come here to express his position and remind these close ministers to judge things according to the law.

In this way, there is nothing to be angry about being forced to speak by everyone now.

"Have you noticed something?"

He Qia was silent for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his face. "It has been several years. From the former Imperial Guards to the current Protector General, Xiahou Zhiquan has not changed much!"

uh~
As soon as the words fell, everyone in the hall showed a look of enlightenment.

Although He Qia's answer seemed irrelevant, he had actually made his meaning clear.

In the past, when Xiahou Hui roared in the court and angrily rebuked the minister Wu Zhi, what he did and said was out of loyalty to the country, right? Was it intended to curb the unhealthy trend of slander and attack among the ministers in the court?

But what about the results?

He was still demoted to Huainan.

Emperor Cao Rui did not think that he did anything wrong, but that the majesty and laws of the temple could not be violated.

The same is true today.

Ding Mi participated in the Liaodong expedition as a commoner, and made contributions in participating in military affairs and handling miscellaneous affairs. However, since he was deposed and imprisoned by the emperor's imperial edict, he could not be released without a clear imperial edict of amnesty!

Cannot be reinstated or granted an official position!
Merits are merits, mistakes are mistakes, and we cannot ignore the laws of the court and turn a blind eye to them.

Of course, in order not to discourage the common people from serving the country, it would be acceptable to commend Ding Mi in the name of the court and reward him with some money.

"What you mean is very kind!"

Jiang Ji, who was asking the question, clapped his hands immediately and said, "Merits and faults cannot be offset, the rules of the court cannot be changed, and the words of the wise and prudent in planning for the country are indeed like this!"

After hearing what He Qia said, he suddenly felt that his previous guess might be wrong.

For example, Emperor Cao Rui did not make a royal decree on this matter because he did not want to personally refuse the request of Xiahou Hui, who had just made great contributions, so he asked these people to find a reason to refuse on his behalf?
Someone expressed his opinion, and his reasons were very reasonable, so the result of the palace discussion became one-sided.

In particular, Chen Jiao and Lu Yu participated in it with an indifferent attitude, while Wei Zhen did not want to dwell too much on this matter because he had previously opposed the expedition to Liaodong. Therefore, even if Liu Fang and Sun Zi wanted to take this opportunity to loosen the restrictions on the Fuhua case, they could not go against public opinion at this time.

Inevitably, Jiang Ji, who was the first to speak in agreement, became even more hateful in their eyes.

It would be fine if Taichang Hehe discussed the matter at hand, but how dare you, Jiang Ji, say that "merits and demerits cannot offset each other"?
If you really look at it, your merits and demerits cannot be offset. Previously, you took advantage of your duty of selecting low-ranking military officers for the Central Guard Army to amass a large amount of wealth and accept bribes. The whole capital was filled with rumors. If it weren't for the emperor's protection, you would have been taken away by the court to be questioned!
Bah, shameless.

Liu Fang and Sun Zi looked at each other and agreed with a smile on their faces.

The matter was concluded and everyone went home.

When the results of the discussion were sent to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Cao Rui had just finished his general affairs and was about to move to the West Hall for a rest.

After seeing the small words on the silk cloth, "National laws cannot be abolished, you can give them money and peace to praise their hearts," he just nodded slightly, waved his sleeves and said, "Approved. According to your wishes, let the officials record the merits and determine the rewards."

His nonchalant reaction did not mean that he had anticipated the conclusion, but that he did not care at all.

Because he knew that no matter what the final advice of the gentlemen was, as long as Xiahou Hui returned to Luoyang, things would develop in the direction he hoped.

He knew Xiahou Hui's character too well.

During the previous evening conversation between the emperor and his ministers on Shoushan Mountain in Huainan, when Xiahou Hui asked for his opinion on bringing Ding Mi as his aide to accompany him on the expedition, he knew that Xiahou Hui wanted to help Ding Mi get reinstated by sharing the credit.

Now, Xiahou Hui is just showing off his achievements and has not shared the credit with Ding Mi!

So things have just begun, there is no need to rush to draw conclusions.

Given Xiahou Hui's stubborn character and his disposition not to care about his official career, it was inevitable that he would confront all the officials in the court about the matter of Ding Mi.

As long as Xiahou Hui fought hard with the ministers, his goal would be achieved.

After all, his expectations for Xia Houhui have never changed~
A lone minister!

The king's vanguard!

Today, Xiahou Hui has a place in the court in terms of status, official position, achievements and other aspects. He has even taken the trouble to find helpers. It is time for him to serve as a pioneer for the monarchy.

Isn't the essence of rectifying accumulated problems and reforming the system to ensure long-term stability and prosperity for the Wei Dynasty?

Isn’t the premise for the stability of the country to safeguard the power of the monarch?
This is how Cao Rui understood it.

And he was also sure that Xiahou Hui would not let him down in defending the Wei Dynasty. It was the beginning of December in late winter.

Xiahou Hui, who had already returned to Heyang County, Henei Prefecture, once again ordered the Zhenhu troops to rest on the spot.

The river was frozen, and the ferry from Mengjin on the other side was difficult to dock, which also caused the ferry to become crowded, and the soldiers had to board the boats in batches to cross the river. On the other hand, when he led the troops back to Yecheng, Jizhou, the imperial court sent envoys to reward the troops. Now that they have crossed the river and entered Luoyang, the camps of the Zhenhu Department will be dispersed and stationed in various places around the capital according to the order.

The Heyi Camp led by Le Liang went to Yanshi.

For example, the troops led by Xu Yi first marched to Gucheng.

The four commanders of a thousand men in Zhenyue Camp were sent to Hulao, Huanyuan or Yique passes.

The Zhenhu Department was originally established by selecting and adding troops from the central army in order to conquer Liaodong. Now that there is a war, it is natural that it will be split up.

After all, there are only 4,000 imperial guards guarding the imperial city. How can the garrison troops be gathered outside Jinyong City?

No matter how much Emperor Cao Rui trusts Xiahou Hui, the officials in the court will not turn a blind eye!

Moreover, Xiahou Hui also knew that after crossing the river and returning to Luoyang City, he should be transferred to another position and no longer serve as the General of the Garrison.

The reason was that when the imperial court was rewarding those who had conquered Liaodong, Emperor Cao Rui also transferred the commander of the Central Army, Xiahou Xian, to the position of Governor of Henan and continued to serve as a Palace Attendant.

Of course, Xiahou Hui was not naive enough to think that the emperor wanted Xiahou Xian to make room for him.

It is even more impossible for him to retain the post of Zhenhu General, which is above the Xiaoqi, Youji, Hu Ben, Wuxiao, etc., and make him the highest commander of the entire Luoyang Central Army in disguise.
If nothing unexpected happens, he should succeed Jiang Ji as the Central Guard General.

Cao Rui mentioned this matter more than once, and General of the Guard Jiang Ji had stayed in this position for too long and it was time for him to give up his position.

Of course, Cao Rui appointed him as the Central Guard General only to let him preside over the selection of low-level military officers and rectify Jiang Ji's previous injustice of "selecting talents based on wealth", but he did not give him the authority to "command all the generals".

So he didn't care whether his guess was right or not.

Anyway, judging from the recent performance of Shu and Wu, they will not launch a large-scale invasion within a few years, and the Luoyang Central Army will not rush to support the battlefield, so it doesn't matter what official position the emperor lets him hold in the army.

He was really concerned about two things.

First, does the previous statement by Emperor Cao Rui, that he should return from the war and take charge of the reforms of the Shi family, still count?

If it still counts, what position should he be asked to take up so that he can be the person in charge legitimately?
Another thing is, what positions does the emperor intend to assign to Chen Qian, who is the Sima of the Zhenhu Department, and Fu Gu, the Attendant of the Central Army?
Should he be granted a central position, or continue to serve as his subordinate?

He discussed these two issues with Ding Mi privately.

But neither of them had a clue.

They had been away from the capital Luoyang for nearly two years, and had lacked the opportunity to gather clues from the situation. In addition, the emperor had changed a lot in the past two years, making it impossible for them to guess the emperor's true intentions.

However, one thing is certain.

Emperor Cao Rui will definitely have very important arrangements for him.

Because the person sent by the emperor to Yecheng to congratulate the troops was actually General Qin Lang, who was in charge of the imperial edict.

He and Qin Lang had been at odds with each other for a long time.

However, when Qin Lang came to reward the troops, he also bluntly pointed out that his contributions had been concealed during the previous campaign against the Xianbei. He apologized to him very solemnly and vowed that he would never have any grudges against him again in the future.

If you say that there was no emperor mediating, Qin Lang would have a "change of heart", and even a three-year-old child would not believe it!

Therefore, Xiahou Hui realized that his good days might be over after returning to Luoyang.

Cao Rui would not do something without a purpose.

It is natural for a person who claims to be the only one in power to demand things from his subjects.

The more you value someone, the more you demand.

Now, first Xiahou Xian was transferred and then Qin Lang was sent to apologize. Such great efforts were just to tell him clearly that he does not need to worry about the constraints from the Xiahou Cao in the future and can focus on other aspects.

In which aspect.
As an aide to him, Ding Mi couldn't guess what was going on, but he was certain that it was not a good thing.

However, Xiahou Hui had a vague understanding.

"Before, at Shoushan in Huainan, Zhiquan had proposed this, and I agreed to it. Now that it is not being carried out, it is not because I made a mistake, but because all the officials in the court think it is not possible!"

This was Cao Rui's oral instruction that was privately conveyed to Qin Lang and others by an accompanying eunuch when they came to Yecheng to reward the troops.

It seemed to be explaining why Ding Mi was only rewarded with some money and property for his merits.

But in fact, he was implying that the failure of this matter was due to the objections of the officials in the court, not because he, the emperor, was unwilling. If Xiahou Hui fought hard after returning to Luoyang and left the officials with no reason to object, then he, the emperor, would do as Xiahou Hui wished.

Therefore, Xiahou Hui roughly guessed it.

Cao Rui felt that his knife had been sharpened enough and it was time to unsheathe it.

As for who the blade is pointed at
He is a descendant of Qiaopei, destined to be the one who defends the Wei Dynasty. (End of this chapter)