Wei Ni

"Ah! I didn't expect Zhiquan to remember today that he still holds the position of Zhongshu Shilang!"

Just as Xiahou Hui was sitting there with his eyes closed in deep thought, he suddenly heard a mocking voice. He opened his eyes and saw the Minister of the Central Secretariat Sun Zi walking slowly into the room with a smile on his face.

Didn’t the fake assistant just now say that it would take about half an hour? How come Sun Zi came back in less than a quarter of an hour?
"Meet Mr. Sun."

He quickly stood up to greet Xiahou Hui, shook her hand and bowed, "Sun Gong, please don't tease me. I am not untrustworthy and have ignored the agreement with Liu Gong and Sun Gong. It is really... Alas, I am helpless!"

After making a statement with a smile on his face, Xiahou Hui asked Sun Zi to sit down and added a flattering remark, "Besides, with the abilities of Lord Liu and Lord Sun, what difference does it make whether I come to the office to report or not?"

"It's a breach of trust. No matter how many excuses Zhiquan makes, what's the point?"

Sun Zi, who was sitting carefree, still joked relentlessly, then he put away his smile and said in a low voice, "Besides, if Zhiquan doesn't come to the office, it means that Lord Liu and I are going against the instructions of His Majesty!"

Is this contrary to your majesty's instructions?
Could it be that the emperor is reprimanding me for not reporting for duty?

Hearing this, Xiahou Hui also sat up straight, with a solemn expression and bowed his hands to ask for advice, "I am a stupid person, please don't hesitate to explain it to me, Lord Sun."

"Um"

Sun Zi was very pleased with this humble attitude. He stroked his beard and explained in a low voice.

It turns out that Cao Rui asked him to take on the position of Secretary of the Central Secretariat not simply to accumulate experience, but also to let him do practical work.

The Zhongshujian nowadays is not only limited to handling the secrets of the imperial court, but also has to take care of every detail. Cao Rui told Liu Fang and Sun Zi not to treat Xiahou Hui as a subordinate to assist him in handling matters after he took office, but to select some more important matters and put them in a red-striped box on the desk, so that Xiahou Hui could review them and give suggestions on how to deal with them.

Moreover, this proposal must be sealed before being submitted, and only the emperor will be allowed to review it, and not shown to others.

This was Cao Rui's request.

As for whether the suggestion will be adopted by Cao Rui, no one knows.

Therefore, as soon as he heard it, Xiahou Hui's heart was once again filled with gratitude towards Cao Rui.

This allows him to directly participate in political affairs and also have the right to make private reports!
This shows how much favor he had.

No wonder, when I first came to the Secretariat, Sun Zi gave me a show of force!

It turns out that I really have the potential to threaten you and Liu Fang's authority~
"When Zhiquan came to take up his post last time, Lord Liu and I did not inform him of this matter. We planned to wait for Zhiquan to come back to the office to handle general affairs, and then tell him about the urgent matters and ordinary affairs. However, we did not expect that Zhiquan only knew the Central Guard Office and forgot the way to the Central Secretariat. When Your Majesty asked me and Lord Liu a few days ago about the whereabouts of the book submitted by Zhiquan, we were speechless and could not prove that we did not block Zhiquan's way of speaking."

Sun Zi was just explaining, but he pretended to be angry and made such accusations.

"Oh, it's my fault! It's my fault!"

Although he knew that Sun Zi was just complaining casually, Xiahou Hui was still very tactful and immediately stood up and bowed, and apologized repeatedly with a very sincere attitude, "It was not my intention to cause Lord Sun and Lord Liu to be misunderstood by Your Majesty. So, I will go to the palace to ask for an audience with Your Majesty and clarify the reasons for Lord Sun and Lord Liu."

"Oh, no need."

Sun Zi's smile became brighter, and he waved his hand generously, "Zhi Quan, please sit down. Your Majesty is very busy, so Zhi Quan should not bother you for such a small matter."

"only."

After finishing his performance, Xiahou Hui took his seat as he was told and continued to act cute, "Mr. Sun is magnanimous and I admire him. But no matter what, he was wrongly accused because of me. Well, let's put it this way. If Mr. Sun or Mr. Liu needs me in the future, I will not refuse."

"Oh?"

Sun Zi's eyes suddenly sparkled, and he pretended to be serious and asked, "Do you really mean what Zhiquan said?"

No!

Your hair and beard are all white, can't you understand that I'm just being polite?

Why are you still taking advantage of the situation?

Furthermore, with the power you and Liu Fang have now, if something really happens, just let it slip and there will be no one to rush to do it!
Xiahou Hui secretly complained, and was wary of Dasheng, but he said calmly, "If a person is untrustworthy, how can he survive in this world with dignity? Why does Mr. Sun doubt me?"

"Hahaha, don't be so anxious, I was just joking."

Sun Zi laughed happily for a while, and his expression softened. He stroked his beard quietly for a moment, and then said slowly, "After hearing what Zhiquan said, I really remembered that I have a private matter that I want Zhiquan to discuss."

uh~
So you had anticipated my behavior, so you set a trap for me from the beginning~
For a moment, Xiahou Hui felt that he was being outwitted by his opponent, so he had no choice but to continue pretending, "If Lord Sun doesn't think I'm stupid, then I can say it."

"It's not a big deal, Zhiquan, don't be so serious." Sun Zi, who was full of wisdom, smiled kindly and amiably to comfort him, and then talked about business, "Zhiquan has always been known for his knowledge of military affairs. At the age of twenty, he could predict that the late Grand Marshal's attack on Shu would not go smoothly; after being exiled to Huainan for just a few years, he was able to accumulate merits and be awarded a title, and became famous among the bandits of Wu; not long ago, he even defeated Gongsun of Liaodong in a battle, and his achievements were recorded in history. Therefore, I would like to ask Zhiquan to discuss this. If he joins the army as a commoner, where can we in the Wei Kingdom quickly accumulate merits?"

White body?

Accumulate merits?

Oh, I see.

You want your second son, Sun Mi, who was imprisoned in the Fuhua case, to become the second Ding Mi.

Suddenly realizing it, Xiahou Hui also let down his guard and answered without hesitation, "When Sun Gong asked, Liaodong is the first choice, and Youzhou is the second."

But it was this thoughtlessness that made Sun Zi a little uneasy. He frowned and asked again, "Why doesn't Zhiquan think about it? What I said is not a joke."

"May I ask, Lord Sun, do I dare to deceive Lord Sun?"

Of course you wouldn't.

However, what kind of war is there between Liaodong and Youzhou nowadays?

After Xiahou Hui's question, Sun Zi dispelled his doubts and lowered his eyes to think carefully in his mind.

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Ah, right.

When the court decided to relocate the people of Liaodong and resettle them, Xiahou Hui also mentioned another solution in his memorial. The biggest reason was that he claimed that Goguryeo had made peace with the bandit Wu and would definitely invade Liaodong in the future.

At that time, both the ruler and his ministers in Luoyang and the governor of Youzhou, Guanqiu Jian, disagreed with this proposal.

Think about the tiny country of Goguryeo, a barbarian country, which was repeatedly attacked even when Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang successively dominated the East Sea. Now, how could they have the courage to provoke the Wei State, which even destroyed the Gongsun family in Liaodong?
But Xiahou Hui is still very sure of what he said, and he won’t just give me a perfunctory answer on this matter, right?

Is it possible?
Sun Zi thought about it for a while, but still couldn't understand. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Although I don't doubt what Zhiquan said, why not Huainan or Yongliang?"

Let’s not talk about Yongliang.

Don’t you know about Yongliang’s battles against Shu in recent years?
Sima Yi, who recently captured Meng Da, had to defend passively, not to mention that he will be back soon. What achievements can your second son Sun Mi achieve if you go there now!
As for Huainan
Don’t you know what kind of person Man Chong is?

Will I show you some mercy?

Even I was punished to guard the city gate for a month under the protection of Li Changshi!
Your second son Sun Mi is leaving. Not only will he not be able to gain military merit, he may not even have a chance to guard the city gate!
Faced with this question, Xiahou Hui was speechless for a moment.

Fortunately, Sun Zi did not mention Jingxiang where “the army had no food for a hundred days”, otherwise he would have to re-evaluate whether the position of Zhongshu Ling was just a title.

"Huainan is easy to attack and defend, and General Man has always insisted on waiting for the enemy to tire out. As for Yongliang, they had previously launched military campaigns against Shu for years but all failed, and they have lost their strength and are unable to continue. This is why General Sima submitted a petition to request to return to the capital. Therefore, I think it will be difficult for Huainan and Yongliang to achieve success."

After a moment's silence, Xiahou Hui made up a reason that roughly made sense to himself, and then explained vaguely, "As for why I recommend Liaodong first and Youzhou second, it's because I've been to Liaodong myself. If Mr. Sun has doubts, why not gather the opinions of others and seek a better solution. However, let me say one more thing. If Mr. Sun thinks Liaodong or Youzhou is worth going to, it's better to go sooner rather than later."

It's a private matter, how can I gather everyone's ideas and make it known to everyone?
As for the sooner rather than later~
Are you emphasizing that the emperor will not let Guanqiu Jian stay in Youzhou for too long?

Sun Zi was also somewhat speechless. Although he still had doubts in his heart, he also heard that Xiahou Hui did not want to continue to argue. So he nodded with a smile and stood up, "Why do I not believe Zhiquan's words? I just wanted to chat with him, so I asked one more question. Well, thank you Zhiquan for your consultation. I have other things to deal with in the office, so I will go and deal with them first."

"Yes. I dare not keep Lord Sun for too long, lest it interfere with state affairs."

After getting up and sending Sun Zi out the door, Xiahou Hui returned and sat for a while. After thinking for a while, he went to the Shangshu Terrace to find Wei Zhen.

Of course, when he left, he did not forget to tell the guard on duty that no matter whether he was in the office or not, he should go to Sun Zi or Liu Fang every day to ask for important documents and put them in the red-striped box. And if there were too many documents, he should go to the Central Guard Officer's Office to inform him.

The Shangshu Tai and Zhongshu Jian were both within the palace, not far away, and could be reached on foot in a short while.

Xiahou Hui stopped a passing clerk and asked where Wei Zhen's office was. He went there, but was told by the clerk on duty that Wei Zhen was not there at the moment. He also claimed that he had been summoned by the emperor to accompany him in recent months, so he only came to the office once every three or four days. If Xiahou Hui had any urgent business, he could send a visiting card to Wei's house.

The emperor summoned Wei Zhen so frequently. Was it related to the change of the reign title or the investigation of the scholars?
Xiahou Hui, who had just returned from the Secretariat, was thinking about it secretly.

If the former is fine.

If it was the latter, based on Wei Zhen’s previous warning, he would definitely not allow himself to act recklessly.

Moreover, his opinions were very important to Cao Rui.

Because when Cao Pi sentenced Concubine Zhen to death and Cao Rui was imprisoned in the palace, Wei Zhen had been a close friend of Cao Rui, and was the only important official who did not hold a position in the palace but tried his best to protect Cao Rui. (End of this chapter)