In the Chongwen Temple, the young emperor was reading poems and books accompanied by Xia Houxuan, Guo Zhi, Zhong Yu, Xun Yi, Sima Jun and other casual knights and ministers.
After Xia Houxuan was re-employed, a group of nobles led by Sima Yi were naturally not to be outdone. They arranged for Dingling Marquis Zhong Yu, who was originally serving as Huangmen's minister, to have a casual knight as a regular servant, and Taiwei Sima Yi personally recommended Xun Yi to Cao Fang , Xunyi not only became a Cavalry Captain and was granted the title of Marquis in Guannei, but he also found a minister who specialized in teaching classics to the emperor.
As this was not enough, they used the reason that the emperor was young and lacked a accompanying son, so the eight-year-old Sima Jun, the seventh son of Sima Yi and the son of Mrs. Fu, also served as the regular attendant of the Sanqi.
You must know that Cao Zidan, Cao Wenlie, Xiahou Shang, Xia Houmao and others who were companions in the Wen Dynasty were all important ministers of the country who later guarded one side. The companions in the Ming Dynasty, such as brothers Guan Qiujian, Cao Zhao and Cao Zuan, He Zeng and others have also been famous for a while, and even remain in glory to this day.
If Sima Jun, the youngest son of the Sima family, could form a sworn friendship with the emperor, then the status of these noble clans would only become more stable in the future. The premise of all this is naturally that the nobles must surround Sima Yi closely.
When Empress Dowager Guo saw a general and a lieutenant in the court so tightly arranging their own personnel in front of the emperor, she was naturally a little panicked as she was not the emperor's biological mother. She also arranged for her elder brother Shui. The school captain Guo Zhi also served as the regular attendant of the Sanqi.
In this way, many up-and-comers suddenly gathered around Cao Fang, the child emperor. However, it is unknown how many of these people really want to assist the emperor.
The little emperor who used to be unable to put his hands down looked a little extra irritable today.
He threw down the bamboo slips in his hand with a crash. His enlightenment master Xia Houxuan happened to be beside him, so Cao Fang couldn't help but ask Xia Houxuan:
"Taichu, are the great principles stated in these books all false? My father once told me that Emperor Wen's "Classics" is an immortal motto, but yesterday in court, it was clear that ……well......"
Cao Fang said, feeling depressed again and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"His Majesty."
Xia Houxuan looked at the little emperor with furrowed brows and doubtful eyes. A trace of affection flashed through his heart. He said to the emperor seriously:
"You have to remember that even the "Poems" and "Books" and other classics written by sages of previous generations are not necessarily infallible. However, reading can reveal people's wisdom. Your Majesty is still young, so it is absolutely necessary not to read. But Your Majesty must also understand that the truths in the book, no matter how reasonable they are, are just the opinions of a family and a temporary statement. You are the supreme person in the world. You must not only know how to personally distinguish the authenticity of the book, but also use these Learn the wisdom from books and use it in practice to distinguish between loyalty and evil in the court and between good and evil in the world!"
Xia Houxuan's voice was like a jade pestle striking a jade bell, clear, sweet and refreshing.
Cao Fang, who originally looked confused, brightened up again after hearing Xia Houxuan's words.
——————
In the shogunate.
Cao Shuang is planning court affairs with his cronies and brothers.
Cao Shuang was a young man. At this time, sitting on the throne, wearing a long-distance royal robe and a sword hanging from his waist, he looked very majestic.
Under the seat, many staff members were scattered in all directions. A cursory look showed that among these staff members, there were both middle-aged people with gray hair on their temples as well as young people who were still childish. They were all gathered together, which was quite a lively place.
Among them, in addition to old friends such as Ding Mi and Bi Gui, there are also young talents recently recruited by Cao Shuang, such as Xun Xu, Pei Xiu, and Wang Bi.
When Cao Shuang saw all the officials arriving, he cleared his throat and said:
"Everyone, I am highly valued by the late Emperor. Although I am now in the position of chief assistant, my qualifications are still young and not enough to convince everyone. Although I have great power, I have to ask Sima Taiwei for instructions in everything. I cannot use my hands and feet, and everything is affected. I wonder if any of you here have any good ideas to change this situation?"
[Note 1: During the Three Kingdoms period, the positions of Marquis and Three Dukes could all claim to be Gu. 】
"General Qi, I have a plan."
At this time, a middle-aged Confucian scholar with a goatee bowed his head to Cao Shuang.
Cao Shuang knew the Confucian scholar and had a good relationship with him.
His name was Ding Mi, also named Yanjing. He was a native of Qiao County, Pei State, and the son of Ding Fei, a fierce general under Emperor Wu.
The Ming Emperor once heard that Ding Mi had the demeanor of his father Ding Fei, so on his own suggestion, he appointed him as a doctor of Duzhi.
As General Wuwei at the time, because of his good friendship with Ding Mi, he praised Ding Mi many times in front of Emperor Ming and suggested that Emperor Ming reuse this person. However, at that time, the DPRK was vigorously suppressing the trend of glitz. Ding Mi, his friend Li Sheng and others were all implicated, so they have never been reused.
Not long ago, Ding Mi was promoted to the rank of Sanqi Shilang under his own promotion.
"Oh? If Yan Jing has any good ideas, you might as well tell him."
"General, the Taiwei is now in a highly prestigious position and is deeply supported by hundreds of officials. If you want to directly seize power from the Taiwei, it is tantamount to setting yourself on fire. Therefore, I think that the General can use the method of ascending and descending covertly."
"rising brightly and falling darkly?"
Cao Shuang perked up after hearing these four words.
"That's right." Ding Mi stroked his goatee and said eloquently: "If you want to take it, you must give it to him first. The general can go to His Majesty and ask for the promotion of Taiwei to Taifu, so that he can cut off the hair that belongs to the Taifu. The power of Wei to record the affairs of the minister. In this way, the general will not need to ask Sima Zhongda about any matters big or small in the future."
"Wonderful, Yan Jing's plan is very clever." After hearing this plan, Cao Shuang couldn't help but clasped his hands and laughed: "Third brother, please help me quickly write a memorial to ask your Majesty to be promoted to Taiwei and Taifu."
"Yes, General." Cao Xi is the quickest thinker among the many brothers. Therefore, if the brothers in the family have a memorial to write, Cao Xi will usually write it for them. After hearing what his eldest brother said, Cao Xi immediately went to the study to write an essay.
Seeing that Ding Mi's advice was successful, Bi Gui naturally did not want to lag behind.
Bi Guiben was an old friend of the Ming Emperor when he was in the East Palace. He had already assumed the important position of governor of Bingzhou in the Qinglong Year. However, because he was defeated in the war of prostitution and was involved in glitz, he was idle in these years.
Now that his old friend Cao Shuang has become the auxiliary minister, Bi Gui has made a comeback again. Although he does not have any important official position at this time, his rise to prominence is naturally just around the corner.
"General, Gui Shang has a plan."
Seeing that Bi Gui wanted to offer advice again, Cao Shuang smiled from ear to ear:
"Oh? Zhaoxian has any good ideas, please tell me quickly!"
Bi Gui stood up and smiled:
"General, there are countless important officials in the court who have good relations with the Sima family. From what I see, just being promoted to Taiwei to Taifu is not enough."
After hearing this, Cao Shuang felt convinced and asked again:
"How come I don't know about this, but I don't have any countermeasures? I don't know if Zhaoxian has any clever plan?"
Bi Gui continued:
"Now in Tai Pavilion, Pei Qian and Pei Wenxing are headed by Shangshu Ling. There is nothing wrong with Pei Wenxing being on good terms with us. But among the five Shangshu, only Sun Li, the Shangshu of the Fifth Army, was appointed by the late emperor to assist him. Candidates for generals. The other five people, such as Duzhi Shangshu Sima Fu, Li Cao Shangshu Lu Yu and Lu Zijia, Ke Cao Shangshu Wang Guan and Wang Weitai, Zuo Min Shangshu Zhao Yan and Zhao Boran, either do not deal with us, or they are all She is a member of the Sima family, so the general must put more effort into Taige. In addition, Shangshu's right servant Sheweizhen Wei Gongzhen's beloved daughter is the general's sister-in-law, and this person may be able to win over. After the death of Shangshu Zuopushe Xu Xuan and Xu Baojian, the important position of deputy chief of the Taiwan Pavilion has been vacant. I think the general can seize this vacancy first, and as for other places, he should take care of it slowly."
When Cao Shuang heard this, he agreed and asked again:
"Zhaoxian's words are very popular with me. However, this person who is qualified to serve as Minister Zuopushe and thus restrain the five ministers of Cao makes Gu Gu feel a little embarrassed."
At this time, Pei Xiu, the son of Pei Qian, stood up and said:
"Li Feng and Li Anguo have always been well-known for their talents, but they have not been reused in these years. Now they are only serving as the idle post of Yongning's imperial servant. In my opinion, the post of Minister Zuopushe belongs to none other than Li Anguo. "
After hearing this, Cao Shuang suddenly felt enlightened and nodded. He suddenly remembered something, so he asked again:
"Zhongshu Province is also an important place. I wonder if it needs to be reorganized?"
Pei Xiu continued:
"Although Zhongshu Ling Sun Zi and Zhongshu Supervisor Liu Fang have ulterior motives, it is not advisable to make any big move for the time being. In addition, the former chief of Shizhong Temple, who was in charge of many regular attendants, after the death of Chen Jiao, the attendant, his duties There is also a vacancy for the time being. I think He Zenghe Yingkao can be put in charge of Shizhong Temple together with Sun Yong. Although Tingwei is a tall and upright person, he has a deep friendship with the Sima family, and Sima Yi has a sharp eye, so he arranged it. His nephew Sima Qi has been appointed as Tingweizheng. Everyone in Tingwei's house is now a member of the Sima family, so we can't get involved for a while."
"What Zhaoxian said is very reasonable. Guhui will send someone to deal with it immediately."
Cao Shuang saw that the three major pavilions of Shangshutai, Zhongshusheng and Shizhong Temple were temporarily sorted out, so he began to think about what was lacking in other places. After thinking for a long time, he said:
"Nowadays, although Gu is a general who oversees all the Chinese and foreign military affairs, the local generals and governors still try their best to arrange our people more safely. In Jingzhou, Xiahou Junlin [Xiahou Ru] is in charge, and in Youzhou, Wuqiu Zhonggong , don’t worry too much. In Yongzhou, they are all Sima Yi’s party members. Don’t rush. In Bingzhou, I will help people win over Zhenbei General Lu Zhao and Lu Zizhan. As for Yangzhou, I think Sima Zhongda will be promoted to Taifu. After that, the vacancy of Taiwei can be replaced by the veteran general Changyi Marquis Man Boning. For the defense of Yangzhou, Wang Ling and Wang Yanyun can be temporarily appointed as the general to conquer the east. As for the governor of Yangzhou..."
Originally, although Wang Ling was loyal to the Wei Dynasty and although he held the position of general, he was only a junior at best. It was still unclear whether Wang Ling would truly return to his heart. Now that he lacked manpower, he asked Wang Ling to guard him. Yangzhou is a last resort. As for the position of governor of Yangzhou, Cao Shuang understood that no matter what, he had to have a reliable and talented person to guard it. But at the moment, he couldn't think of anyone who could be qualified for this important position, so he fell silent.
At this moment, an extraordinary young scholar stood up and stood in the hall. When everyone went to look, they found that this man had become famous in recent years. He was said to be "clear and intelligent". He loved Lao Tzu and was good at eloquence. Wang Bi, a little famous scholar who spoke of his words.
At this moment, Wang Bi spoke seriously to Cao Shuang:
"For the post of governor of Yangzhou, I think Zhuge Gongxiu can be appointed!"
After listening to Wang Bi's words, Cao Shuang thought for a long time, but he was still a little hesitant. After all, he still lacked manpower in the capital, and there were still many vacancies that he had not arranged. Not only that, Yangzhou was close to Soochow, and there were frequent wars. Zhuge Dan had always I have no experience in leading troops, so I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to take up the post so hastily. Cao Shuang thought again, even if he wanted to temper Zhuge Dan, he couldn't hand over a state to him as soon as he came up. If something went wrong, he would not be able to step down. How to use Zhuge Dan, he was still a little hard to make a decision. .
"Rong Gu, think about it carefully..."
Seeing Cao Shuang's hesitation, Xun Xu immediately stood up and remonstrated:
"If the general feels something is wrong, I think that the post of governor of Yangzhou can be filled by General Shi and Shangshu Sun Li and Sun Deda!"
When Cao Shuang heard that Xun Xu recommended Sun Li, he frowned slightly at first, but after thinking about it more carefully, he felt that Sun Li was a talent left to him by the late emperor. Although this person was somewhat inconsistent with his personality, he was transferred out of the capital without seeing it. After all, I can't give up easily after all, and His Majesty has recently ascended the throne. Soochow will definitely be watching and coming to offend him, so it is an idea to let Sun Li temporarily take over this tough nut. As for Zhuge Dan, Cao Shuang thought that he could temporarily go to Yangzhou to lead troops, and he could also contain Sun Li. After thinking through this section, Cao Shuang finally nodded:
"Okay, then according to the words of Gong Zeng [Xun Xu], Sun Deda can be appointed as General Fubo and Governor of Yangzhou. As for Zhuge Dan, he can be appointed as General Zhaowu and go to Yangzhou with Sun Li to take office! "
"The general has made a clear decision!"
Xun Xu was secretly happy when he saw that his opinion was adopted, but Wang Bi, whose opinion was not adopted, felt a little unhappy and lonely in his heart at this moment.
——————
A few days later, Zhuge Dan, his beloved wife Zhong Changqin, and his three-month-old son Zhuge Liang, surrounded by General Zhaowu's halberd and ceremonial guard, headed southeast in high spirits.
Zhuge Dan, who was standing near the end of his life, lifted up the brocade by the car window and looked back towards the gradually blurring outline of Luoyang City, with a bit of reluctance in his eyes. But when he glanced at the vast southeastern world ahead, a pile of blazing flames suddenly ignited in his heart.
Zhuge Dan couldn't help but think back to the scene of the cocktail party he had with his friends on Mang Mountain when he was a boy studying at Imperial College. He thought to himself that today's trip to the southeast might give him a chance to realize the ambition he had made when he was a boy.
