Wei Ni

The fifteenth day after returning to Luoyang.

The wind stopped and the snow stopped, the sky cleared up for a rare time, and the warm sun was high in the sky.

A long convoy of cars came out from Lingzhi Marquis's mansion and slowly went out of the city.

Apparently, the Zhenhu General, who had caused a commotion in Luoyang City with a petition dissenting from the merit list, was going to the Shiquan Pine Forest outside the city to wait for the arrival of the fifth year of Qinglong.

Yes, Luoyang has been very noisy lately.

Emperor Cao Rui did not expect that his intention to let the matter ferment for a while would give the idle people who hid in winter a good topic of conversation. Every time they sat at a banquet, it was used as a focus of debate, and many scholars rushed to express their opinions. However, their opinions, whether supporting or refuting Xiahou Hui, were mixed with their own interests, making the air in the whole city of Luoyang smell of hustle and bustle.

However, this situation is understandable as everyone in the world is seeking profit.

But what Cao Rui didn't know was that as the emperor, he did not make a dictatorial decision on the matter, which led others to choose to ignore him.

No one remembers anymore that he is the final decision maker.

If in the end the court agreed to Xiahou Hui's request, people would think that this was won by Xiahou Hui's struggle, rather than Emperor Cao Rui opening a window for those who were imprisoned.

By analogy, those who have seen the dawn of liberation from confinement will no longer be grateful to the emperor.

If Ding Mi still failed to be granted the title of nobility in the end, people would feel that the laws of the court could not be changed, and that Emperor Cao Rui was strict and had no mercy at all, and could not even tolerate a person who admitted his mistakes and corrected them.

Another result of the continued fermentation of the matter was that Xiahou Hui's reputation improved a little.

At least, the previous accusation that Xiahou Hui's move was intended to gain fame and win people's hearts is no longer mentioned.

No matter what, the fiefdom can be passed on to future generations, but Xiahou Hui directly gave up three hundred households!

The Wei Kingdom, which had experienced the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty and had not yet conquered Shu and Wu to unify the world, had a small population and was very cautious about enfeoffment and fiefdom. How many people were willing to give up 300 households? Those who accused Xiahou Hui of seeking fame and reputation should have offered 300 households to win people's hearts if they had the ability!

This generosity is something not everyone can do, so it is particularly precious.

There are many benefits to having a better reputation.

The most obvious one is that many thorns were thrown into the mansion.

Everyone who had submitted the letter of inquiry knew that Xiahou Hui rarely socialized or attended banquets, so they also attached a visiting card filled with tiny handwriting, most of the content of which was to recommend his talents by elaborating on offensive and defensive strategies and people's livelihood management.

To put it bluntly, they all saw how Xiahou Hui treated his staff with kindness, so they wanted to become the second Ding Mi.

At first, Xiahou Hui was quite happy.

He asked his steward Sun Lou to deliver their visiting cards one by one and he personally looked through them carefully. However, only two days later, he asked Ding Mi to handle them.

no way.

Not to mention the talented people who meet his requirements, there are not even many who are of average talent.

Think about it.

They are just a bunch of sycophants. How can we have any hope for them?
Furthermore, even if a truly talented person is trying to curry favor with others, he or she will pay attention to timing and skills. How can he or she recommend himself or herself in this way?

Instead of spending time reading their ridiculous strategies, Xiahou Hui might as well go play with Xiao Quji.

As time went by since he returned, Xiao Quji, who was no longer a threat to other children, finally made him feel the joy of being a father.

This boy is really brave as Wang Yuanji said.

For example, when they went to the palace of their maternal family before, Xiahou Hui and his followers were riding horses. When he saw this, he started to make a fuss and wanted to sit on the horse's back.

The Xiahou family is a family of generals, so there is no reason to refuse such a request.

From then on, Xiahou Hui had an additional daily task, which was to support the little guy on horseback and walk around the courtyard twice every morning and evening.

Well, he had nothing to do lately.

The Town Protection Department had been disbanded, and the new official position had not yet been appointed. Moreover, he had nothing to do with the social relationships of other powerful families. The only thing he needed to do personally was to reply to his old friend in Huainan.

People like Jiang Ban, Jiao Yi, Deng Ai, Gou Quan and Wu Gang would write letters every year, even when Xiahou Hui was in Liaoxi County. The content of the letters was generally about military affairs and the current situation of the bandit Wu, which was a disguised way of saying that they did not forget the kindness they had received in the past.

Xiahou Hui, who knew all this, also responded carefully one by one.

They also included some of the latest official developments in the letters so that they would be able to keep track of what was going on while serving in remote places and avoid getting caught in the crossfire when handling certain matters.

Therefore, after replying to the letters in two or three days, and when Fu Gu told him that Yu Song had been very busy recently and almost always slept in the government office at night, and that he would have to wait until spring to make friends with him, the bored Xiahou Hui took his family to spend the winter in the pine forest of Shiquan.

There's no need to stay in Luoyang and be a monkey for others, right?
Another thing is that he planned to let the craftsmen continue their research on woodblock printing.

The reason was that he was stimulated by Fu Gu's words "Given Zhiquan's current reputation in the court, a direct visit may be counterproductive."

Yu Song is nothing more than a clerk now!

As a general who had just returned from conquering Liaodong Gongsun, he wanted to condescend to visit, but Fu Gu was actually worried that he would be disliked? With such a reputation in the literati, even if he had great power in the future, what could he accomplish! You know, even He Jin, who was born as a butcher, could get Yuan Shao, who was a minister for four generations, to give him advice~
Furthermore, it would probably take another three to five years to achieve a technological breakthrough in woodblock printing and successfully print books. By then, the hidden dangers mentioned by Ding Mi would no longer exist.

Even if he is lucky enough to get it out when he is one or two years old, he can just hide it for the time being and wait for the right time to take it out.
The right opportunity always comes by chance and is difficult to control artificially.

But if you prepare in advance, you can grasp it just right.

Yongzhou, outside the east gate of Chang'an City.

Two people, surrounded by a group of followers, were walking slowly, leading their horses.

From the fact that one person is wrapped in a cloak and the other is wearing Yanfu, we can guess that this is a scene of seeing off a friend.

The shorter man with ordinary looks is none other than Sima Yi's eldest son, the current Grand Commandant and Governor of Yongliang. As the eldest son, he sets out for his hometown today to take charge of the year-end ancestor worship ceremony on behalf of his father.

The man who came out of the city to see him off was Shi Bao, a man eight feet tall and with a very beautiful appearance. However, he soon ceased to be one.

In Sima Yi's report to the court at the end of the year, he specifically mentioned him, praising his talent and claiming that he was qualified to be a Shangshu Lang.

Since the Grand Marshal personally recommends talents, Emperor Cao Rui and other officials in the court will certainly not be dissatisfied.

Anyway, Shangshulang is not a very high official position.

But what they didn't know was that Sima Yi was not very satisfied with Shi Bao's character. He thought that he was lustful and immoral and was not fit for important tasks. He never thought of letting Shi Bao's name appear in the memorial.

However, after several recommendations and requests from his eldest son, he finally agreed to select the talent "for the country" with great reluctance.

When he was selling iron, he was appreciated by Sima Shi and recommended as an official of the Three Dukes. A few years later, he was recommended to the imperial court by the Taiwei and served in the Secretariat. Shi Bao was deeply grateful for this kindness and was willing to go through fire and water for Sima Shi.

Sima Shi also treated him as his confidant and often discussed secret matters with him.

Now, their conversation was about what was happening in Luoyang.

In addition to introducing the personalities of the various secretaries of the Secretariat and reminding them of some taboos in the court, Sima Shi also turned the topic to Xiahou Hui's request for permission to grant Ding Mi a title of nobility by dividing his household.

"Zhongrong, in your opinion, is Xiahou Zhiquan doing this out of public interest? Or is it that after returning from his great achievements, he knew that he would have a seat in the government, so he began to have the selfish intention of consolidating his power, so he extended his favor to the people and built up his reputation?"

That's what he asked.

There was a bright smile on his face and his tone was calm, but there was a certain depth in his eyes as he looked towards the distant mountains.

"I have never met Xiahou Zhiquan in person, but I have a general idea of ​​his behavior over the past few years from hearsay, so I can only give a general answer to Ziyuan's question."

After smiling and speaking modestly, Shi Bao carefully considered his words and said, "In my opinion, it's both. Although Xiahou Zhiquan is known as a rough man in the court, he is a thoughtful person as evidenced by the fact that he defeated Gongsun of Liaodong in one battle. In addition, I heard that Ding Mi was known for his scheming in his early years. Now he is Xiahou Zhiquan's staff member. Maybe this matter was suggested by him."

"Well, Zhongrong has a point."

Sima Shi nodded slightly and smiled, "However, based on my understanding of Ding Mi, I can conclude that this matter has absolutely nothing to do with him. Ding Mi is a calm and resolute person, but also proud. When it comes to his own title of nobility, he will never speak to Zhi Quan for advice."

After saying that, he cast his gaze to the distant mountains, and continued with a sigh as if he was reminiscing, "Before the Fuhua case, I often socialized and feasted with people in Luoyang, and I had a general understanding of their talents. For example, Xiahou Xuan, He Yan, and Li Sheng are more famous, but Ding Mi is the best in terms of strategy. And Xiahou Zhiquan only chose him as his staff, which shows that he is a child of Qiaopei and has made great contributions to the country. His future achievements may be beyond our reach."

uh~
Why do you feel a little wary of Xiahou Hui in your emotion?

Moreover, since you are sure that Xiahou Hui will become powerful in the future, why don't you think about getting along with him, benefiting each other, and assisting the emperor in governing the world together, just like the previous marriage between the Taiwei and Xiahou Shang?
On the contrary, he is lamenting that it will be difficult to "match" him in the future?
Could it be that Xiahou Hui has a grudge against you?
But, the Grand Marshal has been in office for many years, and he has always been respectful and kind to others. I have also never heard of any encounter between you and Xiahou Hui!

Where does the opposition come from?
In a moment, Shi Bao's mind was in turmoil, full of doubts, and he was secretly awe-inspiring.

But he quickly put these doubts aside.

He is a humble person promoted by the Sima family. It is enough to know this and there is no need to figure out too much.

So, he hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Ziyuan, I'm sorry I can't agree with what you said."

Huh?
As expected, Sima Shi's attention was diverted, and he turned his head and asked with interest, "What do you mean, Zhongrong?"

"Haha, there are two things I cannot agree with."

With a light laugh, Shi Bao said slowly, "First, the Fuhua case implicated many people, including Ziyuan. Now he claims that Ding Mi is the one with the best strategy? Could it be that Ziyuan is deceiving me because I am stupid and cannot even distinguish between the good and the bad?"

"Hahaha~"

After a slight pause, Sima Shi smiled and waved his hand, "Zhongrong, don't flatter me. Let's talk about the second part."

"The second one is Ziyuan's statement that he is afraid he will not be able to rival Xiahou Zhiquan in the future."

"I have heard that Xiahou Zhiquan once said in his early years, 'A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; a pile that stands out on the shore will be washed away by the current; a person who is superior to others will be criticized by the crowd.' Now, Your Majesty has generously promoted him and shown him great favor, and he has also conquered the Gongsun of Liaodong. He can be said to be a tree that stands out in the forest! It is also the time when 'the wind will destroy him'!"

"But Ziyuan, instead of keeping a low profile and being modest, he submitted a petition to the emperor to object to the officials' recording of his achievements, adding to the accusations of arrogance. How unwise! From this, we can see that he is not a person who sticks to his nature! Once he succeeds, he forgets his unstable foundation and does not know how to work hard to achieve great things. It is not difficult to match a person with such a temperament!"

This time, after hearing this, Sima Shi restrained his expression and lowered his eyes to think.

If it weren't for Shi Bao's words of comfort that soothed his anxiety, he wouldn't be so superficial.

Instead, it was Shi Bao's words that touched upon the confusion in his heart.

In his early years, he had known Xiahou Hui through letters and talked about everything. He thought he knew Xiahou Hui very well, so he was very puzzled by Xiahou Hui's behavior - why was Zhiquan so aggressive this time? Could it be that, as Shi Bao said, he was so proud of his achievements that he lost his mind?

Well, the possibility is almost zero.

If Zhi Quan was so weak-willed, it would have been revealed after Qin Lang covered up his achievements during the previous expedition to Bingzhou and after he attacked and killed the rebel Wu general Sun Shao in Huainan.

Perhaps, he has other plans, so he took advantage of this incident to make the officials in the court still regard him as a "ruthless man in the court" so that he can act without fear in the future?

Alas, it cannot be stopped.

It seems that I have been away from the capital for too long, and it is difficult for me to even get a glimpse into other people's minds.

After a moment of silence, Sima Shi shook his head in self-mockery, raised his head slightly and looked at Shi Bao and said softly, "I know what Zhongrong meant by his advice. I am not a person who underestimates myself. I said just now that I may not be able to match Zhiquan's words, not because of self-deprecation. In his early years, Zhiquan was just a young man, and he returned to his hometown to study, while I was still pursuing fame and fortune in the capital at that time. It can be seen that he has already surpassed me. Moreover, Zhiquan, who was not yet twenty years old, did not pursue fame. Now he is almost thirty years old, and he will not be arrogant. He must have other plans. And I can't see the truth, so I feel that he is better than me."

Well, that seems to be true.

But why do you keep picking on Xiahou Hui?
Is it because Zhiguan is of the same generation that he is unwilling to be inferior to others and is happy to see the prey?
Or what do you think of him?

This time, Shi Bao also remained silent.

He vaguely felt that of his two guesses, the latter was more likely.

So he didn't know how to start.

Not only did he not want Sima Shi to know that he had already vaguely guessed what he was thinking, but he also suddenly remembered that Xiahou Hui and Sima Shi had different backgrounds. (End of this chapter)