Cao Shuang looked at Cao Jiong's theory of the Six Dynasties with complicated thoughts. This table also states that since Emperor Wen of the Wei Dynasty, the children of the royal family and clan with the same surname were sent to remote areas and were not given military power. Nowadays, powerful ministers with foreign surnames occupy high positions. As a clan member of the Wei Dynasty, they feel worried. Therefore, Cao Jiong requested that the kings of the Cao family be given real power to "consolidate the foundation of the state."
Not only that, he also said: "Looking at the current situation, the kings do not have the title of a ruler of land, and the clans are running around in the alleys. There is no deep-rooted and unbreakable roots inside, and there is no help from the rock-solid clan alliances outside. This is not how to stabilize the country and provide for the future. Industry."
Cao Shuang nodded, what Cao Jiong said was very good. Nowadays, there are indeed too many talents and famous generals in the clan who have been buried. If they can be used, they can indeed effectively suppress the family, which will have many benefits for the Cao family.
Unfortunately......
There was a wry smile on Cao Shuang's lips. This smile contained a bit of helplessness, a bit of hesitation, and a bit of vague confusion.
"If you talented clan members, princes and princes are allowed to take over the power, then how can I, the chief minister of a distant clan and the first-rank general Wu'anhou, do it?"
Cao Shuang thought this in his heart, and he threw the memorial aside and ignored it.
But after Cao Shuang thought for a long time, he felt vaguely uneasy in his heart. After thinking for a long time, he took out a pen and paper and personally replied to Cao Jiong, the head of state, with a letter full of encouragement. In addition, he also He Yan, the Minister of Rites in charge of the election, wrote a letter of recommendation.
After writing the two letters, Cao Shuang felt a little calmer. He thought to himself that after all, Cao Jiong was a rare talent. Even if he did not adopt his suggestion of making great use of the clan, he should not ignore him. It happened that there was a vacancy in Hongnong County, and with Cao Jiong's talent, he could take this position. A county chief should not be a problem.
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Changlinghou Mansion.
Xia Houxuan has been busy with military and official duties for more than half a year since he took office as the Central Protector. After finally waiting for the day of rest, Xia Houxuan was busy revising his "Xia Houzi", and it was rare to get together with many friends.
As for Cao Xi's mid-level camp, since it gained the three capable commanders Niu Sheng, Wang Cheng, and Han Qianwei, there have been a lot less chores. It's just that he has to follow Shangshu He Yan to compile "Analects of Confucius", so naturally he doesn't have much free time during these days.
As for Xia Houxuan's brother-in-law He Gui, although he served as the governor of the fifth school, the five captains under his command were all directly responsible to the emperor, so he was relatively free in comparison. This day happened to be Xiahou Xuan's holiday. He specially invited Cao Xi, Xiahou Feng, Yu Huan, and Xiahou Xuan's right-hand men Qian Jia and Qian Hong to visit Xiahou Xuan's mansion.
In the year since Yu Huan became General of Xiaoqi and took charge of Xiaoqi's camp, he has been extremely busy with military affairs. However, he still took the time to take a day off when he heard that all his friends planned to visit Xiahou Xuan Mansion together.
Cao Xi and Yu Huan hadn't had a good gathering for more than half a year. When they suddenly saw Yu Huan, they realized that he had changed a lot compared to before.
"Tiger, you have lost a lot of weight this year."
Yu Huan chuckled and said:
"Although I seem to have lost a lot of weight, I can now draw a three-stone bow!"
When Cao Xi and several others heard this, they were filled with admiration. Even Qian Hong, who was the most skilled in martial arts among the few, could only shoot a two-stone bow. Unexpectedly, Yu Huannian and Weak Guan had such magical power.
Yu Huan has indeed been tempered well in the military this year and has grown a lot. At the same time, Xia Houxuan personally taught him the meaning of the classics in the early years, and he did not delay. In the past year, Yu Huan cultivated his literary and military skills, and he had the demeanor of a generation of Confucian generals. If the two generations of Yishouting Marquises Yu Jin and Yu Gui were still alive and saw such young heroes from the descendants of Chengzuo Sijue, I am afraid they would be extremely impressed.
The brothers hadn't seen each other for a long time, and Xia Houxuan even took out several jugs of fine wine from his collection. Seeing several friends, Xia Houxuan was naturally very happy, but at the same time, he suddenly missed his friends such as Zhuge Dan, Guan Qiujian, Chen Ben and Chen Xiuyuan who were guarding the border and serving outside.
Xiahou Feng had been living in Xiahou Xuan's mansion for many years, and he had the deepest friendship with Xiahou Xuan. After Xiahou Xuan inherited the title of Marquis of Changling, he was given another 300 households, which gave him tens of thousands of money every year. With the tax income, he was able to start a family and start a business independently and occupy a place in Luoyang City. Xiahou Feng's respect and love for Xiahou Xuan is naturally unquestionable. This time his father Xia Houru encountered a three-way siege by the Wu army in Jingzhou, which was an unprecedented challenge. Xia Houfeng was naturally very nervous and uneasy. At present, he could only let Xia Houxuan analyze the battle situation in Jingzhou for him to calm down. Anxious hearts feel calmer.
During the dinner, Xia Houxuan had already noticed Xia Houfeng's expression. Coupled with the recent war in Jingzhou, Xia Houxuan naturally guessed what Xia Houfeng was thinking. He understood that Xia Houfeng was afraid of spoiling everyone's excitement for the long-awaited reunion. So he didn't speak for a long time.
After three rounds of drinking, Xia Houxuan finally spoke:
"Brothers, it's rare that we all take some free time today to come and gather with Xuan. My brothers are very happy today. However, with the country's affairs going on, Xuan also has some worries and doubts in his heart, and I would like to ask you for advice."
Upon hearing this, Xia Houfeng immediately understood what Xia Houxuan meant and cast a grateful look at Xia Houxuan.
Hearing this, everyone present temporarily put down the lacquered ear cups in their hands. Xia Houxuan clapped his hands and called Gu Ting. After whispering a few words, Gu Ting got the topographic map of Jingzhou. Xia Houxuan unfolded the map, hung it up neatly, and then handed it over and said:
"This time when Wu thieves invaded, there were four armies in total in Jingzhou and Yangzhou. Yangzhou only had Quan Zihuang's army, so it was okay to fight back. However, Jingzhou was attacked from three sides. My uncle Junlingong guarded Jingzhou and resisted the three-party encirclement with his own strength. Although my uncle is well versed in military affairs, and the imperial court has dispatched the Grand Tutor to personally lead the rescue force, Xuan is still a little concerned because of the rapid changes in war plans on the battlefield."
In fact, Xia Houxuan had already calculated the situation in Jingzhou, and he did not have much anxiety in his heart. These words were actually said by him on behalf of Xia Houfeng. Let the brothers present analyze the battlefield situation to your cousin on your behalf, I believe he will feel much more at ease.
Yu Huan heard this and said:
"In my opinion, your majesty and the general sent Sima Zhongda to lead the army to rescue this time. However, the Wu army in Jingzhou has been fighting with our elite Jingzhou troops for half a month without gaining an inch of land. Their anger has been exhausted. Duke Junlin only needs to hold on. Waiting for reinforcements, the thieves will be defeated without defeat."
Xia Houxuan, Cao Xi, He Kuan, Qian Zhao, Qian Jia and others listened to Yu Huan's opinion and secretly admired it in their hearts. It seems that Yu Huan is no longer a brave man now. After three days apart, he should be treated with admiration.
He Kui also nodded and said:
"What the Tiger King said is true. Not only that, I heard that as early as the year before last, Soochow was carrying out large-scale construction projects to build Shaxian City. Corrupt officials and officials spent countless money and food in Jiangdong. Moreover, since the winter of the year before last, the barbarians in Soochow Shanyue have been in rebellion. Soochow Jiang Mi, the general sent to crusade against the barbarians, instead of following the order to suppress the bandits, led his commander Liao Shi to rebel. He killed Yan Gang, the prefect of Linhe in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, and called himself General Pingnan. Together with his brother Jiang Qian, he attacked Lingling and Guiyang, and The shaking disrupted the counties of Jiaozhou, Cangwu, and Yulin, and tens of thousands of thieves gathered under his command. Sun Quan sent generals Lu Dai and Tang Zi to attack together. It took more than a year to defeat the brothers Jiang Mi and Jiang Qian. . At a time when the civil strife in Soochow has settled down and its vitality has not yet recovered, it is really not a wise move to launch a large-scale army to invade our borders. In my opinion, Soochow is advancing in four directions, and no one can win the favor! "
After hearing this, Cao Xi drank a large glass of wine and said loudly:
"What Brother He said is absolutely true. And since the first month of spring last year, in order to appease the hungry people in Jiangdong who were displaced by war, floods and droughts, Sun Quan issued an edict to open warehouses for disaster relief and provide amnesty to the world. As a result, the treasury was a lot empty. I heard that in the first month of spring this year, A rare heavy snowfall that was three feet deep on the ground in Jiangdong froze to death countless birds and animals among the people. Now that people in Jiangdong have not yet settled down, Sun Quan cannot hold himself back, and if he continues to fight, he will definitely not be able to do what he wants!"
After listening to the words of his three friends, Xia Houfeng smiled happily and started drinking happily.
A group of friends were chatting and drinking. Gradually the sun was setting and everyone was drunk. Xia Houxuan then withdrew the wine and ordered his servants to make sobering soup and melon and fruit water for his friends to sober up and protect their stomachs.
After everyone sobered up, the stars began to rise. Cao Xi felt stuffy after drinking, so he suggested that the melon and fruit table be moved to the court so that everyone could enjoy the cool weather and gather together. Everyone unanimously agreed.
Everyone took advantage of the summer breeze to enjoy the moonlight and stars while enjoying fruits and vegetables, which was quite elegant.
At this moment, He Kui suddenly discovered a star above the Yangzhou boundary in the southeast corner of the sky. It was red in color, with its horns exposed, flickering bright and dark, and teetering on the verge of falling. He understood that among the people, only Xia Houxuan was proficient in astrology, so he hurriedly asked:
"Look, Taichu, there seems to be something abnormal about the stars in the sky!"
In fact, Xia Houxuan had already noticed the changes in the stars, but he observed more carefully, so he did not inform everyone for a while. Xia Houxuan discovered that in the sky above the Yangzhou divide in the southeast, in addition to the crumbling red star, the front star was also dim.
After a while, Xia Houxuan looked solemn and said word by word:
"In the division of Yangzhou, the general star is crumbling, but the former star in the east palace is also dark and lackluster!"
Cao Xi, He Gui, Yu Huan, Qian Jia and Qian Hong were shocked when they heard this. There was a war going on in the southeast, and the generals of Wu and Wei gathered together. Wang Ling, Sun Li, Quan Cong, Zhu Ran, Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Ke, etc. were all famous generals in the world, but I didn't know which general the red star should be on. The Emperor of Wei was still young, so he naturally did not have the Crown Prince of the East Palace. The Crown Prince of Wu, Sun Deng, and the Crown Prince of Shu, Liu Xu, were both young and vigorous. So which crown prince was the former star on the verge of falling? ?
[Note 1: The ancients believed that the images of emperors and generals corresponded to the stars in the sky, and the general stars were the stars that symbolized generals. Dianyuan's "Three Kingdoms" Volume 35 "Book of Shu·Biography of Zhuge Liang" In August of that year, Liang fell ill and died in the army at the age of fifty-four. When the army retreated, King Xuan went to his camp and said: "He is a genius in the world!" Pei Songzhi of the Southern Song Dynasty quoted "Jin Yang Qiu" as saying: "There is a star with red horns, flowing from the northeast and southwest, and throwing it into the Liang camp. Three throws and then return, the bigger one is still the smaller one. The enemy is bright and the soldier is dead." Volume 19 of "Book of Sui Dynasty" "Astronomical Records: Jingxingzhonggong" The Twelve Stars of the Heavenly General are in Loubei, in charge of the military. The central star is the general of the sky. The little star outside is also an official. The general's star shakes, the army rises, and the general comes out. "Han Shu·Five Elements Chronicles": "The heart (referring to one of the seven constellations of the Canglong in the East), the big star, is the king of heaven. The former star is the prince; the back star is the concubine." The latter reason is that the former star refers to the prince. . Liang Chenyue of the Southern Dynasties wrote in "Yin Ya": "The former star shines brightly, and the clone has a long life." Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dynasty, one of the "Congratulations to the Crown Prince on Acceptance of the Book": "The sky is shaking with the glory of the former star, and Huang Li represents the auspiciousness of the wheel." King Yu of the Song Dynasty "Important Chen Wang's Judgment of the Kaifeng Mansion System": "Gentleness comes from natural talent, courtesy and courtesy are due to the habits of the times. The stars in front are dying, the arches are extremely bright, the jade leaves are fragrant, and the branches are straight and can be supplemented." "Second Quarter" "Surprise at the Case" Volume 5: "Shenzong's star is not yet shining at this time, and what is urgent is the matter of giving birth to a child."]
