Seeing how decadent and stubborn his eldest brother Cao Shuang was, Cao Xi couldn't help feeling sad and angry. He snatched the flute from a musician and threw it to the ground.
"Get out of here!" Cao Xi shouted angrily at the musicians and dancers.
These musicians and dancers had just entered the palace not long ago, and they didn't know the temper of the third son, Marquis Anxiang. Therefore, Cao Xi shouted angrily, and everyone was startled. The musicians, dancers, and dancers all recognized each other and put away their homes as quickly as possible. He picked up the piano, flute, silk and bamboo, picked up the long sleeves of his skirt, and hurriedly walked out of the attic cave.
He Yan, Deng Yang, and Ding Mi who heard the movement hurriedly walked in. They saw two brothers, Cao Shuang and Cao Xi, one standing and the other sitting, glaring at each other.
"Marquis Anxiang, please don't be impulsive..." He Yan was afraid that the two brothers would do something extraordinary when they were excited, so he carefully pulled Cao Xi's sleeves to break up the fight, while winking at Deng Yang and Ding Mi. Let them take away all the weapons from the house.
Cao Xi, who had always had a gentle personality, seemed to be a completely different person at this moment. But in fact, he was very uneasy at the moment. He silently wished in his heart:
"My father is a hero. If Xi'er contradicts my eldest brother today, I only hope that my father can bless my two brothers to reconcile and let my eldest brother cheer up from now on."
When Cao Xi thought of his father, he became more courageous. He strode forward and grabbed his eldest brother by the collar. He grabbed his unconscious eldest brother who was almost drunk and cursed:
"Cao Shuang! Look at how decadent and cowardly you look now! You disappoint us so much!"
He, Deng and Ding did not expect Cao Xi to have such courage. They were stunned for a moment and did not know how to persuade them at this moment.
Cao Shuang, who had always been self-centered, became furious after hearing what Cao Xi said. He was so angry that he pointed at Cao Xi's nose and was about to curse, but he passed out due to the alcohol and blood surge.
Cao Xi picked up his eldest brother Cao Shuang on his back and walked out of the house. He Yan, Deng Yang, and Ding Mi rushed out immediately, but Cao Xi turned around and said coldly: "You three should not follow me. Please inform the coachman." , tell him to quickly prepare a carriage covered with curtains!"
He Yan saw that Cao Shuang had fallen asleep and Cao Xi had regained his composure. It seemed that there would be no major conflict between the two brothers, so he nodded and went to prepare the carriage.
Cao Xi placed Cao Shuang in the carriage, while he himself drove the carriage, raised his whip and supported his father, and drove towards the north of Jinyangmen Street outside the mansion gate.
After passing Jinshi, he turned around and walked eastward for half a mile, then continued northward, straight out of Daxia Gate, and headed towards Beimang Mountain.
Not long after, Cao Xi drove to the grave of the late Grand Sima of Beimang Mountain and the Yuanhou of Shaoling, Cao Zhen and Cao Zidan.
Cao Xi stopped his horse, turned around, carried his eldest brother out, and placed him in front of his father's grave, while he knelt beside his eldest brother.
Cao Xi took out the water bag and poured cold water on his eldest brother's face with a "swish" sound. Cao Shuang suddenly sobered up a lot.
"Brother, do you still remember what my father said to you and my brother when he was dying, and the way he looked at you and my two brothers?"
Cao Shuang looked at his father's tombstone, which looked like pig iron, and felt a sense of guilt in his heart. He bowed his head and knelt in front of the grave without saying a word.
Cao Xi will never forget that when his father was dying, he looked at himself and his eldest brother with eyes full of expectation and sorrow.
My father was clearly telling his eldest brother and himself that they were the descendants of the Cao family. They were born as Cao family members and died as the ghosts of the Cao family. They would sacrifice their blood to serve the Cao family's country in all their lives!
He has not forgotten that on the day of his father's funeral, after he bowed down in mourning and burned incense in front of his father's soul, he made a promise word for word: In this life, he will support the Cao family with his blood, be loyal to the king, assist his eldest brother, and never die. Chongqing!
But now, the eldest brother has become so decadent, extravagant, and unreasonable because of a defeat and a few rumors from those who were interested in the court.
"Brother, ask yourself, how can you be worthy of your father like you are now? How can you be worthy of our status as a descendant of the Cao family?!"
The third brother's loud retorts and questions were like a heavy hammer hitting Cao Shuang's heart. Looking at the moss on the stone tablet in front of his father's grave, he could no longer control the pain in his heart and lay down in front of his father's grave. started to mourn.
"Father, I'm useless... I'm really afraid... of the verbal criticism of those veterans, and even more afraid of the people's dissatisfaction with me..." Cao Shuang, who was in his thirties, was lying in front of his father's tomb, crying like a mess. He is like an ignorant young man.
Cao Xi couldn't help but feel soft when he saw his elder brother in pain. He patted Cao Shuang on the shoulder and comforted:
"Brother, isn't it just a defeat? When my grandfather swept across the world, there was still the humiliation of Chibi and the defeat of the army, not to mention you and my descendants? We can still make up for the debt we owe to the people. As for those old ministers, we have been looking forward to it for a long time. With us completely defeated, how could eldest brother fall into their trap?
Since everyone in the world doubts your ability, then you should prove to them with facts that you, Cao Zhaobo, are not mediocre. This is what a man does! We have just become worthy of our father’s lifelong reputation! "
After listening to Cao Xi's words, Cao Shuang's cloudy eyes gradually regained some vitality.
"Yes, I should prove it to the world and let them know that I, Cao Zhaobo, am not a mediocre person!"
Cao Shuang turned around, bowed deeply to Cao Xi, and said sincerely:
"Third brother, it's my eldest brother's fault that has caused you trouble these days."
"Brother, don't blame yourself. My elder brother has done something wrong. Brothers should naturally help correct the situation. I also hope that eldest brother will not blame Xi for being rude today."
"Third brother, from now on, you and I must work together to defend our Cao family until death!"
"Okay, let's work together to defend our great Wei until death!"
Brothers Cao Xi and Cao Shuang, with tears in their eyes and clasped hands, made an oath in front of Cao Zhen's tomb.
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In the General's Mansion, He, Deng and Ding, together with Wang Ji, Xun Xu, Pei Xiu, Wang Chen, Wang Bi and others, were dealing with the government affairs documents sent by the various states and counties with a sad face.
Because the three people who presided over the overall situation had different opinions from time to time, many matters could not be decided with unified opinions, so they were backlogged and shelved.
Without the person who makes the decision, it is indeed difficult to move forward. The three of them have worked very hard in the past few months, and even their hair has grown a lot of white.
If possible, they really want to send these annoying Lao Shizi to the Taifu Mansion.
Suddenly, everyone in the General's Mansion seemed to notice something. They looked up at the same time, and sure enough they saw General Cao Shuang and Anxiang Hou Cao Xi brothers standing at the door.
But at this moment, compared to the drunken man he was before going out, Cao Shuang's back was straight and straight, and he was obviously much more energetic, and even his eyes became bright again.
After a long while, He Yan finally realized what he was doing. He hurriedly bumped Deng Yang's arm and said, "What are you still doing? Move the article to the general's study!"
Deng Yang and Ding Mi were overjoyed when they heard this, and hurriedly started preparations with He Yan, Pei Xiu and others.
In the shogunate of the general's study, several people worked together to wipe out all the government affairs accumulated in the past few months in less than three days.
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Cao Shuang, whose will was firmed up again, was now full of ambition.
He thought that if he wanted to avenge his past humiliation and re-establish his prestige in the court, he must do something important for the empire that would last forever and benefit generations. To achieve such an effect, the only way is to reform the system and inject fresh blood into the empire.
Since you can't make achievements on the battlefield in person, then completely wipe out the unreasonable system in this world!
The Nine-Rank Officials' Law is also known as the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System.
At that time, Emperor Wen had just replaced the Han Dynasty and established the Wei Dynasty, and he urgently needed the support of scholars to stabilize the country. Therefore, he adopted the suggestions of Chen Qun, who was the official Cao Shangshu at that time, established the method of selecting the nine-rank Zhongzheng, and selected a large number of scholars to enrich the empire. Temples and prefectures and counties.
This selection system mainly promotes those officials in various states and counties who are knowledgeable, famous and good at identifying talents to become Zhongzheng officials. They are tasked with the task of visiting and evaluating people in the states and counties, and are responsible for dividing these talents into superior, superior, and superior officials. There are nine grades of upper middle, upper middle, upper middle, middle middle, middle lower, lower upper, lower middle and lower lower, which are used as the basis for the appointment of officials.
Since the death of the Ming Emperor, Sima Yi, as a Taifu, in order to further consolidate the power of the gentry, added the Great Zhongzheng to each state. From then on, there was a distinction between large and small Zhongzheng. This system gradually evolved into selecting officials only from famous families, resulting in a situation where "there are no poor families in the upper ranks, and no noble families in the lower ranks." Today, the disadvantages of this nine-rank Zhongzheng system are actually very obvious.
Cao Shuang felt that the ninth-grade official method could not truly achieve the effect of selecting talents from all over the world. And he wants to re-inject fresh blood into the Wei Empire through restructuring, so that Wei will become more glorious in his own hands. If he can really complete this move, then he will become Shang Yang of Qin, Shen Buhai of Han, and Chu Such a glorious figure as Wu Qi through the ages!
Cao Shuang couldn't help but feel extremely excited when he thought of this.
He thought that although Taichu had already left behind three national policies: cutting down the middle official, removing important officials, and changing the service system, if the restructuring was really to be carried out, a detailed plan must be made. Taichu had always been more concerned about government affairs. There should be many deeper thoughts. It's just that he is now the governor of Yongliang and needs to be stationed in Chang'an all year round, so he cannot interview him.
It seems that I have to find time to write a letter to Taichu and ask him to help me come up with ideas.
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This year, Cao Mao, the youngest son of Cao Lin, King of the East China Sea, turned three years old and was conferred the title of Noble Township Duke of Tan County by the emperor. As for the shocking plan that King Donghai and Marquis Wuyang agreed on many years ago, no one is still aware of it.
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Yongzhou, Chang'an.
Although there is a different kind of beauty here, in Xia Houxuan's opinion, it still lacks the prosperity of the imperial capital Luoyang.
The cool moon is like a hook. Next to the Weiyang Palace, the old palace of the Han Dynasty, in the palace of Yongliang Governor and General Zhengxi, Xiahou Xuanzheng was sitting in front of the case, writing something with a pen.
He was replying to a letter from his friend Ruan Ji.
"My brother, Si Zong, sees words like his face:
It's been a long time since we last had a farewell banquet at the General's Mansion in Luoyang. I wonder if my brother is well?
Recently, Xuan has been busy with government affairs and tired of writing papers. He feels very depressed. Every time he thinks about the meeting in the bamboo forest, he longs for it. However, Xuan cannot help himself and cannot escape from the world. He often travels with his brothers. If we can meet again someday, , I will have tea, wine, poetry and sword dancing with my brother again. I hope this time is not far away. "
Xia Houxuan finished writing the reply and sealed it with fire paint.
He put his pen down and looked out the window, feeling in a trance.
I wonder if my mother, Mingyue, Xidi, and Amo are all okay.
Su Mu and Yan Zi got married not long ago. I wonder if the young couple were quarreling?
He found his long-lost brother for Brother Lu Zhongxiong. Brother Lu should be extremely happy when he heard the news, right?
In the blink of an eye, winter is coming again, and by the way, there is also Tuoba Desert Khan, the sworn brother I met in Xianbei back then. If there is a chance, I can get together with him to drink and make peace with each other...
In this way, Xia Houxuan looked at the lonely moon on the horizon and slowly fell into one beautiful dream after another.
[Note 1: "The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms: Zhu Xia Hou Cao Zhuan Ninth": "...shuang, food, carriages, and clothes were prepared for riding in the chariot; Shangfang treasures were used to fill his home; his wives and concubines were abundant in the backyard, and seven or eight talented people of the late emperor were secretly taken from him. , as well as thirty-three generals, teachers and workers, advocates, and children of good families, all thought they were playing music. They faked the edict and sent fifty-seven talented people to Yetai, so that the late emperor Jieyu could teach them how to play music. They were good at taking Taiyue instruments. The army was banned from the arsenal. A cave was built, and the surroundings were sparse. Shuu and Yan and others met in it to drink and have fun. Xishen felt that it was a big worry, so he admonished him to stop it. He also wrote three chapters about the overflow of Chen's arrogance and adultery, which led to disaster and defeat. The purpose was very serious, and he did not dare to rebuke Shuang, so he asked his brothers to show Shuang a warning. Shuang knew that it was his own fault, and was very unhappy. Sometimes Xi would not accept the remonstrance, and burst into tears..."]
