"What? The Tianjia wants to set up a Tianhuo Xiaowei Department around Luoyang, and also wants to rely on the Hutian Xiaowei Department to rebuild the twenty-level nobility system. They also want to invite Sima Jiangong of Hanoi to serve as a Tianhuo Xiaowei?"
In Luoyang, in the general's palace, Cao Cao, who was "preparing" to send troops to attack Wancheng later in the year, immediately realized the seriousness of the problem after listening to Zhong Yao's report. Putting down the tortoise shell and copper coins he was using for divination, he looked at Zhong Pushe in front of him - Cao Cao was ready for everything except divination! There have been a lot of gods in the Han Dynasty recently, and boss Cao has to do some divination. No matter what, he has to predict a good fortune before he can send out troops.
But he couldn't get a satisfactory divination for several days, so the dispatch of troops was delayed... But before he started divination, Zhong Yao brought him two big news.
It's nothing to just have a field-protecting school captain, but to rebuild the twenty-level nobility system and ask Hanoi Sima Fang to come out is a big deal. Cao Cao was a great military strategist. He not only annotated "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, but also wrote two volumes of "The Continuation of Sun Tzu's Art of War", ten volumes of "Summary of the Art of War", and nine volumes of "The Summary of the Art of War", totaling more than 100,000 words. With his theoretical level, he certainly knew that reconstruction and the twenty-level knighthood system meant the revival of the "military knighthood" system!
And a military merit system that can effectively reward farming and fighting is actually the most brilliant military strategy!
If an army is dedicated to meritorious service from top to bottom, has a high fighting spirit, and is not afraid of death, even if it has no military strategy and just fights stupidly and fiercely, it can still win every battle. If an army is full of people trying to make ends meet, such as Cao Cao's Qingzhou soldiers... no matter how high the strategy is, it won't work very well.
So Cao Cao himself also wanted to restore the twenty-level nobility system, but the problem was... the conditions didn't allow it!
The land in Yanzhou and Yuzhou was concentrated in the hands of aristocratic families, and Cao Cao's power had to rely on these aristocratic families. The previous rebellion of the Yanzhou gentry against Cao Cao was partly due to Cao Cao's Qingzhou Army invading the interests of the Yanzhou gentry in the field in Yanzhou.
Land engraving and farming have caused such a big mess. If Cao Cao wants to achieve military honors in Yanzhou and Yuzhou, I am afraid that even his die-hard Yingchuan faction will have to turn against him!
The situation on the side of Emperor Liu Xie is very different from that of Cao Cao, because Jingzhao, Zuo Fengyi, and You Fufeng among the seven counties of Sili are now completely controlled by Xiliang warriors and have been ravaged for many years. The gentry and common people are not running away. The road is to starve to death. The situation in Hongnong County was slightly better, but it was also devastated by the Xiliang warriors and the Black Mountain bandits who came from Hebei. Although Henan Yin was recovered by the "imperial court", due to Dong Zhuo's previous atrocities, it is now "the middle and wild areas are desolate and uninhabited". And Hedong County has always been the territory of the Baibo Army. These Baibo and Yellow Turban thieves are not used to the rich families!
The aristocratic families in the above six counties have either perished or gone into exile. Of course, they are willing to use the land that has long been no longer theirs to gain military merit. Only by recovering these six counties can they have a chance to get back the benefits they previously owned.
Among the seven counties of Sili, there is also Hanoi County, which is ruled by Zhang Yang. It has been relatively stable in recent years, and the aristocratic families in Hanoi have also maintained a certain strength. Among them, the Sima clan, a famous family in Hanoi, became the leader of Hanoi's gentry because of its large number and strength.
If the emperor succeeds in recruiting Sima Fang, the leader of the Sima clan in Hanoi, to serve as the captain of the field guard, then he can bring in the more powerful Hanoi nobles to divide the land of the other six counties... Then the little emperor will be in the Sima clan. The efforts to rebuild military honors in the six counties are very likely to succeed.
Once the emperor reestablishes the twenty-level nobility system in Yinjiu County, Henan Province, which is under his jurisdiction, it will be possible to recruit 20,000 elite soldiers who can fight and dare to fight. With this amount of troops, it is possible to march into Hedong, Hongnong and even Sanfu.
Moreover, the emperor could also unite the exiled Sili gentry and common people through the twenty-level nobility system and "land-dividing painting cakes", and work together to fight back to their hometowns!
Thinking of this, Cao Cao's face became more and more gloomy!
"Mr. Cao," Zhong Yao saw Cao Cao's disapproving expression at this time, and knew that this "treacherous hero" was a little unhappy, so he quickly enlightened him, "Every advantage has a disadvantage, and the twenty-level nobility system is to cater to the officials. The laws of the gentry can be regarded as good governance for the gentry in Bingzhou and Liangzhou. But for the gentry in other places in the world... it is not a good thing!"
Zhong Yao is now a typical two-faced man. On the emperor's side, he is a minister who "fleeed from the dragon" and also made contributions in the Battle of Luyang. He is a hero! The status is comparable to that of Yang Xiu of the Hongnong Yang family.
If Yang Xiu is the leader of the "Sili native faction" around the emperor, then Zhong Yao is undoubtedly the leader of the "expatriate gentry"!
He is Shang Shu Pu She! He is the one among the four "recorded men"! How can people like Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang, Gan Ning, and Huang Zhong compare with him?
Yesterday morning, Zhuge Liang came to him to "ask for instructions" and the issue of the twenty-level nobility system. His words were very respectful and he thanked him for his support to Zhuge Xuan. He obviously regarded him as the leader of the faction. After getting his consent, Zhou Yu came to discuss with him in the afternoon the issue of allocating fields to outsiders and courtiers. The two discussed together until late at night before saying goodbye.
Look... Without his nod, neither Zhou Yu nor Zhuge Liang dared to do anything without permission. It can be seen that the foreign nobles around the emperor were headed by Zhong Yao of the famous Zhong family in Yingchuan!
On Cao Cao's side, he was a member of the Yingchuan faction and the "Yuan Cong" among the courtiers who joined Cao Cao with Ding Yi. Ding Yi is Cao Cao's "foreign relative", and Zhong Yao's status in Cao Cao's group cannot be lowered.
So now he has both ends and his future is bright!
And the methods he used to deal with Xini were also very powerful, and even Cao Cao felt that what he said made sense.
It is indeed possible for the emperor to win over the Sili gentry by establishing a twenty-level nobility system, but the gentry in Yuzhou and Yanzhou will definitely be wary of the emperor and unite around Cao Cao! It is very beneficial for Cao Cao to consolidate his own group.
But the emperor's power will indeed be strengthened by this...
"Zhong Pushe, was the suggestion to restore the twenty-level nobility system the emperor himself, or was it Yang Dezu's suggestion?"
Just as Cao Cao was weighing the matter carefully, a young man who was kneeling beside him and looked somewhat similar to him suddenly interjected.
"Zixiu, it is of course the Hongnong Yang family's idea to restore the twenty-level nobility system. The emperor is also a little undecided, so Zhuge Liang and Zhou Gongjin came to seek my opinion."
The young man named "Zixiu" by Zhong Yao, whose surname was Cao Mingang, was Cao Cao's eldest son. This year, Chen Deng, his father, Pei Prime Minister Chen Gui, had just promoted him as a filial and honest man. He came to Luoyang in the past two days to accept the post of a Langguan.
Cao Cao turned to look at his precious son, as if waiting to hear his opinion.
Cao Ang did not put forward any point of view, but continued to ask Zhong Yao: "Then whose intention is it to summon Sima Jiangong to the court?"
"He is the emperor." Zhong Yao answered truthfully - "truth" as Zhuge Liang said!
Is Zhuge Liang still a "child"? It's normal for him to remember some things wrongly. In his "memory", restoration and the twenty-level nobility system were what Yang Xiu meant! The introduction of the Hanoi Sima family to check and balance the Hongnong Yang family was of course the emperor's intention.
Although this is just a small "memory confusion", the nature of the matter is completely different.
This shows that the emperor does not trust the Hongnong Yang family very much, and the Hanoi Sima family will become the emperor's tool to check and balance the Hongnong Yang family... For the Cao family, help the Hanoi Sima family who are friendly with them to fight against The marriage between the Hongnong Yang family and the Yuan family in Runan seems to be a very good deal.
Moreover, although the Sima family is known as a famous family in Hanoi, it is still a famous family with a family background of two thousand dan. Not to mention Hongnong Yang and Runan Yuan, even the Cao family and Ding family in Pei County cannot compare with the Sima family.
Can such a family background be transformed?
Cao Ang seemed to have heard the expected answer, and he cupped his hands towards Cao Cao without saying anything else.
Cao Cao also nodded and said: "Sima Jiangong recommended me to the court more than once. Now I can't block the Sima family's upward path. I originally planned to recruit Sima Boda as an official in the general's palace!"
Sima Jun, Sima Fang and his son have a very good relationship with the Yingchuan gentry, so it seems to be in Cao Cao's interest to let the Sima family, a Hanoi rich family with two thousand stone, check and balance the Hongnong Yang family of the fourth generation and the third prince.
"Father," Cao Ang suggested at this time, "in this case, you might as well recommend Sima Jiangong as a favor."
Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction: "My son is still thoughtful! Well, in three days it will be the Yuan Day Festival. As usual, the court will have a feast for the Nuo people. By then, you and I will have to go to the palace to see the Emperor, just in time to pay homage to the Emperor. Recommend Sima Jiangong of Hanoi."
The Nuo banquet was a ritual to celebrate the New Year in the Han Dynasty. To perform the Nuo dance was to put on a mask and dance with the gods, which was called a Nuo opera...a bit like "Spring Festival Gala".
A banquet... that is, everyone gathers for a meal at the end of the year. This custom has been maintained for more than a thousand years.
Of course, the etiquette for court gatherings to watch theaters and have meals must be more complicated. Moreover, the exorcism and banquet held on the first day of the second year of Jian'an was the first time since the imperial court returned its capital to Luoyang. Of course, the general Cao Cao, who was the assistant to the prince, could not miss it.
So he planned to leave Luo after finishing the Yuan Day banquet, and go to his new main city of Xingyang to prepare for the campaign against Zhang Xiu of Wancheng.
In the few remaining days of the first year of Jian'an, there were no more disturbances in Luoyang. The officials headed by Yang Biao were busy preparing for the Nuo opera and the Yuanri Banquet, while Cao Cao and his advisers planned They were thinking about how to fight Zhang Xiu, while the young emperor Liu Xie, along with Yang Xiu, Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang and others, were busy allocating land to the soldiers and civilians under the jurisdiction of the Hutian Xiaowei Department... This is a major national event!
Thinking of this, Cao Cao picked up the turtle shell and copper coins and started today's divination, and finally divined a good fortune!
Time flies so fast, and it’s the first day of the second year of Jian’an in a blink of an eye!
Early that morning, Liu Xie put on a brand-new imperial robe and sat in the newly decorated main hall of Luoyi Palace, waiting for the ministers and officials to come in batches to pay him New Year greetings. Among them, the generals Cao Cao and Sangong went to the temple to worship one by one, and they could also bring a few nephews with them to "visit" the emperor.
Among them, Cao Cao brought his eldest son Cao Ang, Cao Zixiu and nephew Cao Shun Cao Anmin to the palace.
Under Cao Cao's recommendation, the two young men made a bow to the kneeling emperor. They were about to accept the emperor's routine praises or official gifts when they heard the little emperor speak: "Cao Zixiu, Cao Anmin, you come up." Come here, I want to see your faces!"
Hearing this, Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat!
Last time he gave the Emperor a "Emperor's Appearance"... This time it's Cao Ang's turn? You won't look like a "prince", right?
Although Cao Cao was very reluctant to let his son come forward, the court had its own laws, and there were many ministers present in the hall to accompany him, so he couldn't stop his son and nephew!
So Cao Cao could only watch as his son and nephew took small steps to get five steps in front of the emperor before kneeling down again.
But Liu Xie's words after he spoke shocked everyone present: "Zixiu, Anmin... I see that your faces are dark, and there is a faint black energy around the top of your head. There may be something bad in the near future." There is a bloody disaster!"
