After returning to Wu'an Hou Cao's mansion, brothers Cao Shuang and Cao Xi suddenly felt waves of fear in their hearts.
Cao Shuang knew in his heart that after this thrilling "battle" in the court, he and the camp of Xiping Guo's relatives, represented by Queen Mother Guo, had completely forged a relationship.
Nowadays, although the power of the government is basically in his own hands, over the years, he has always pretended to consult Queen Mother Guo on everything, no matter how big or small.
In the past, the Imperial Guards in the hands of Queen Mother Guo's brothers were not a concern, but now that the Guo family is becoming more and more important, they hold many Imperial Guards in their hands. Therefore, Queen Mother Guo's voice is obviously more effective than before.
Now that Liang Zi has been forged, if he still lets it go, he is afraid that something big will happen sooner or later.
After Cao Shuang thought about this matter clearly, he immediately wrote a personal letter to Cao Yan, Cao Zhaoying, the fifth brother Sanqi Changshi who was accompanying the emperor.
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"You mean, let me get rid of the Queen Mother and be in charge of government affairs from now on?!"
Cao Fang was shocked after hearing what her clan uncle and good friend Cao Yan said. He was raised by the Queen Mother Guo since he was a child. Since he ascended the throne when he was eight years old, he has been handling government affairs under the supervision of the Queen Mother Guo. Although he has joined the Yuanfu, he is still only a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old after all. Cao Fang felt really panicked if she was suddenly far away from her mother. After thinking for a long time, he finally refused:
"Zhaoying, I understand that the general and you want me to not be restricted by my mother and personally preside over the reform plan. But my mother raised me after all. Now that I am still young, for the time being... I can't live without you. After opening my mother, let’s put this matter aside for now!”
[Note 1: Cao Yan’s pseudonym is unknown, Zhaoying is the author’s name based on “The Lamb Qiu is Yanxi, and the Three Yings are Charming” in "The Book of Songs Zheng Feng·Lao Qiu". His son is the leader of the country. 'Fabricated. 】
"His Majesty......"
Seeing that the emperor was undecided, Cao Yan planned to persuade him again, but Cao Fang waved his hand and left the east hall of the Tai Chi Palace.
At this moment, Cao Yan, who thought he was very familiar with the emperor, suddenly felt a trace of doubt and panic in his heart: Is your majesty afraid of his eldest brother?
After the news came back to the General's Mansion, Cao Shuang suddenly felt a sense of fear in his heart. The emperor relied so much on the Queen Mother. As time went by, the Queen Mother's authority would inevitably increase.
And now that he plans to change the world system, he will definitely offend many clan members. If your opponent spreads some unfavorable words to the people at that time, I am afraid that the people who are unaware but already hate the superiors will also accuse themselves. Now that I have offended the Empress Dowager Guo who is inseparable from His Majesty, I am afraid that sooner or later, I will become a A lonely minister who everyone shouts to beat!
Thinking of this, a fierce look flashed in Cao Shuang's eyes. It seems that I must think of a complete strategy as soon as possible.
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On Ding Mao Day in February, a piece of news that caused Xia Houxuan a headache reached Zhengxi Mansion: Nan'an County, which was not rich to begin with and might have been invaded by Shu invaders, was hit by a sudden earthquake and tens of thousands of houses collapsed!
When Xia Houxuan learned the news, he was having lunch in his mansion, but after listening to Le Fang's report about the disaster in Nan'an County, he slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand.
It’s really raining all night when the house leaks!
Now, Jiang Wei, Wang Ping and other enemy tiger generals and elite soldiers are watching the south of the border. The vitality of Yongliang and Liangzhous has not been recovered since the defeat of Luogu. It doesn't matter. He fought against all opinions in the court and barely had the right to speak for the reform. As a result, he offended many clan members and relatives of the Zhen family and Guo family who were originally neutral in the court. Now this earthquake has given these political opponents a perfect opportunity. Defamation excuse.
You must know that since Dong Zhongshu in the previous dynasty proposed the theory of heaven and man's induction, any natural disaster can easily be explained as being caused by the misbehavior of the monarch or the ministers and ministers.
Such a big trouble happened in Nan'an County under his jurisdiction. How could Xia Houxuan survive?
After hearing the news, Xia Houxuan pondered for a long time before speaking to Le Fang:
"Let's go, follow me to the grain depot to order and store grain, so that I can arrange disaster relief in time."
"Yes, Grand Governor!"
After Le Fang replied, he stood aside respectfully, waiting for Xia Houxuan to put on his coat and put on his 'Quality' sword, and then followed Xia Houxuan towards the location of the large granary in Chang'an City.
Not long after, Xia Houxuan arrived at the official warehouse of Chang'an. After Cang Cao took the key, he immediately led Xia Houxuan and Le Fang to the warehouse.
After Xia Houxuan carefully checked the grain hoards one by one, he found that there was still a lot of grain that had been confiscated from the powerful landlords in Yongliang and Liangzhou. Xia Houxuan saw that the grain hoards were solid and had no signs of rats and insects. The distribution is well-proportioned and the heat dissipation is good. He couldn't help but nodded towards Cang Cao Peng behind him:
"Very good. You manage the warehouse well and saved me a lot of trouble. You are a capable official!"
After hearing Xia Houxuan's praise of himself, Cancao Peng suddenly felt a surge of joy in his heart. He hurriedly bowed and saluted:
"Thank you for your compliments, Commander-in-Chief. These are humble duties and should be done well!"
After hearing this, the admiration in Xia Houxuan's eyes became stronger and stronger. While stroking these plump and precious grains in his hand, he nodded and said:
"It's a good job and should be done well. If all the officials and generals in the Wei Dynasty have this intention, why worry about the unrest in the world?"
After Xia Houxuan checked the grain in the warehouse, he left the official warehouse and returned with Le Fang towards the Zhengxi Mansion Yamen. Along the way, Xia Houxuan looked worried. After a while, Xia Houxuan said:
"This food is enough to send to Nan'an County for disaster relief. But..."
After hearing this, Le Fang immediately knew why Xia Houxuan was worried:
"Are the Governor-General worried that the military ration reserves needed for the decisive battle with the Shu captives will be insufficient due to this disaster relief?"
Xia Houxuan nodded:
"exactly!"
Regarding this matter, Le Fang had no power to correct the situation. After all, both the army and the victims needed to eat, but this was the only food in the warehouse.
Just when the two were hesitant and didn't know how to make a decision, a burst of cheerful children's music came from the street. Le Fang looked up and realized that it was his eight-year-old son Le Guang.
Xia Houxuan also noticed this child who often ran happily in Chang'an City. He smiled at the child and waved, but unexpectedly the child ran directly over.
"I have met Governor Xiahou. Father, it turns out you are here too."
Xia Houxuan was surprised to see that he knew his identity, but when he heard the child call Le Fang his father, he suddenly realized. He saw that the child was lively and cute, so he squatted down and He gently pinched the child's cheek and smiled:
"It turns out that you are Le Canjun's child. My uncle has a question that he wants to ask you. What if one day, several hungry people who are about to starve to death suddenly come to the house, but the remaining food in the house is what you are about to go on a long journey. What will you choose to keep?"
After hearing this question, Xiao Leguang frowned slightly, tilted his head and thought for a while, then immediately started to smile again:
"Of course I need to take out some food first and save these victims first! Solve the immediate problem first, so that you won't have to worry about the future. Besides, I saved their lives, even if there is not enough food left at home. , wouldn’t it be enough to ask them for help when I travel far in the future? Besides, if you ignore the hungry people who come to your door, I’m afraid they may even commit suicide in order to survive. !”
After hearing Xiao Leguang's words, Xia Houxuan's worries were instantly relieved. He touched the top of Xiao Leguang's hair, patted Xiao Leguang's shoulder, took off a piece of beautiful jade from his waist, and handed it to the child. In his hand, he laughed heartily and said:
"You are right! Thank you for helping my uncle resolve his doubts. This piece of jade will help you become a wise and benevolent gentleman in the future. Please accept it!"
"Guang'er, you have no merit and no reward, how can you accept such a precious jade from the Governor?"
Le Guang's family was poor and he had never seen such a precious jade. Although he liked it very much, he looked up at his father's serious eyes and timidly returned the jade to Xia Houxuan. Xia Houxuan smiled slightly and put it back again. Meiyu placed it on the child's palm, and then said seriously:
"You helped my uncle answer his doubts, so what's the point of it? And this jade is a priceless thing to help scholars cultivate their character, and it is not a gift to you. You should concentrate on polishing yourself, and you will definitely become a good person in the future. A piece of fine jade!”
After hearing Xia Houxuan's words, Le Fang naturally did not dare to stop him anymore. Le Guang finally accepted the jade pendant happily. After rubbing it for a while, he held the jade in his hands respectfully and came to his father's side. :
"Guang'er is young and is afraid of accidentally abandoning the treasure. He also hopes that his father will keep it on his behalf."
Seeing this, Xia Houxuan smiled and nodded:
"Okay, let's go play!"
After the child bowed respectfully to the two of them again, he jumped up and ran off to look for his little friend in the distance.
Le Fang bowed to Xia Houxuan and apologized:
"This kid is innocent. I hope the Governor will forgive me."
Xia Houxuan smiled and said to Le Fang:
"I think Guang'er is handsome and handsome, and he will definitely become a famous scholar in the future. Although your family is poor, if you can make him concentrate on his studies, this son will definitely be able to build up your family in the future!"
Le Fang was flattered and excited when he saw that Xia Houxuan, a famous figure in the current dynasty, valued his child so much. He controlled his trembling body and hurriedly saluted Xia Houxuan respectfully:
"Thank you, Grand Governor. Fang will do his best to train this son and not let the Grand Governor down!"
Xia Houxuan bowed and helped Le Fang up, and then said seriously:
"You can quickly pass on my order to go to the granary to collect one hundred thousand grains of dendrobium, and then personally escort them to Nan'an County. Remember, you must not let the evil villains greedy for money and make the people of Nan'an County suffer!"
After listening to Xia Houxuan's order, Le Fang firmly promised:
"Please rest assured, Grand Governor, my subordinates will do their best to deliver the food to every disaster victim safely and completely!"
Xia Houxuan nodded, leaned over and bowed respectfully towards Le Fang:
"The safety of Yongliang Prefecture is up to you!"
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Soon after, Queen Mother Guo suddenly persuaded the emperor and issued an edict on personnel appointments and removals:
Liu Fang, the doctor of Guanglu on the left, is the hussar general, and Sun Zi, the doctor of Guanglu on the right, is the general of the guard!
This subtle signal made Cao Shuang feel a hint of danger again. Suddenly, an idea arose in Cao Shuang's mind: On the grounds that the emperor had already taken the imperial robe and performed the crowning ceremony, and the harem was not allowed to interfere in politics, Empress Dowager Guo would be placed under house arrest in Yongning Palace forever!
However, since he had just offended someone in the court, it was not appropriate for him to act rashly for the time being. Cao Shuang planned to wait for a suitable opportunity before doing this.
In order to further speed up the pace of his reforms, Cao Shuang met with the emperor again, and the emperor and his ministers unanimously decided to hold a sacrificial ceremony in Taizu Temple. In order to increase Cao Shuang's power, Cao Fang specially sacrificed 21 heroes who served as ministers, headed by the late Sima Cao Zhen. After this sacrifice, the emperor personally expressed his support for the restructuring, so the dissatisfied voices from all over the court were suppressed for the time being.
After the emperor offered sacrifices to his ancestors in the temple, Sima Yi, the Taifu who had always been strong and strong, suddenly seemed to collapse and had to use crutches to even walk. Cao Shuang couldn't tell whether Sima Yi was really going to fall, or whether he was just pretending to show his dissatisfaction with the restructuring.
All preparations are finally in place. Cao Shuang knew that the time for his formal restructuring had come!
On this day, the emperor issued an edict to hold a meeting the next day for all the civil and military ministers of the fourth rank and above in the court. Even the ill Taifu Sima Yi had to go to the palace in public to participate in this great meeting.
That night, Cao Shuang, who was in Luoyang, was excited and nervous, so he couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He stayed up until midnight and finally felt a little sleepy.
The next day, Cao Shuang got up at nine o'clock. Under the service of his servants, he put on the general's long-distance travel crown and the court uniform with nine chapters. Then he and Cao Xi rode a chariot along Tongtuomo Street. Go to the palace to the north.
After almost half an hour, civil and military officials who were a little further away from the house came to wait outside Sima Gate in twos and threes.
Not long after, Lang Guan, who was in charge of Sima Gate, saw that the time had come, so he opened the palace door. After the ministers lined up according to their shifts, they walked towards the Tai Chi Hall in the north under the leadership of the waiter.
When the sky turned white, Emperor Cao Fang finally appeared from the Danqi behind the Taiji Hall with a loud shout from Zhang Dang, the imperial official.
"Long live, long live, long live my emperor!"
Cao Fang, who has become more and more adult-like and mature, said with his slightly magnetic voice:
"Everyone loves you!"
After the ministers stood up, they each stood in their fixed positions. General Cao Shuang and Taifu Sima Yi glanced at each other inadvertently. After smiling awkwardly and politely, they turned their heads again.
Cao Fang saw that all the officials had arrived, so he got straight to the point and told the first important event of the court meeting:
"Previously, Guanqiu Jian, the governor of Youzhou, defeated hundreds of tribes from the eight kingdoms of Liaodong in one fell swoop. Han Naxi and dozens of other envoys from the heads of the kings of the Xinxi tribes have surrendered and professed their vassalage. The envoys have arrived at Luoyang Guanyi to stay. Mr. Wang's Mansion, please contact us regarding the reward. Let us consider it together and take full responsibility."
Wang Guan and Wang Weitai of the Shaofu immediately spoke out:
"I respectfully obey His Majesty's holy instructions!"
Cao Fang nodded and said the second thing about today's meeting:
"A few days ago, I saw the slaves and maids being sold in the market, all of whom were over seventy years old. Some of them were frail and sick, and some had physical disabilities. They can be said to be the poorest people in the world. Besides, my government is Because they were old and weak and useless, I sold them again, which can be said to be a useless effort. I decided to restore the status of these slaves and good people. If there are any who cannot support themselves, the counties where they are from will provide relief. Take care of me. In addition, before I left the palace to offer sacrifices a few days ago, I had already seen the people repairing the roads several days in advance. Every time I think about the small number of people and the large amount of labor in the world, I feel ashamed. Hugh! Roads are only meant to facilitate transportation, but I have heard that there are officials who strive to be extravagant when building roads. They whip the young and old who serve because the roads are not beautiful. The people in the world are exhausted and displaced due to hard labor. How can I feel safe walking on this road? Come on, go praise your virtues in front of the ancestral temple?! From now on, all departments and departments must give clear orders to save the people's power in road construction, and there must be no mistakes!"
Several elderly ministers were deeply moved when they saw that the emperor loved the people so much, and they wiped their tears with their sleeves. All the ministers bowed and said:
"Your Majesty's sage is truly a blessing to our great Wei!"
Seeing that all the minor matters had been taken care of, Cao Fang winked at Zhang Dang, the chief minister beside him. Zhang Dang understood and immediately took out the imperial edict that the emperor had prepared long ago and promulgated an order in the main hall:
"The emperor issued an edict: The imperial college and the schools in various states and counties are ordered to use the "Book of Changes" written by the late Situ Wanglang as the teaching material for students' class examinations. Officials of all sizes in Luoyang and various states and counties are also required to take class examinations every quarter!"
As soon as this decree came out, the ministers and workers in the main hall immediately started talking quietly.
Anyone who understands can see that this decree is actually the emperor's powerful help in restructuring Cao Shuang and weakening the Zhongzheng officials.
In the past, the selection of talents was solely determined by the senior officials of the court or the official officials of local families. Now Cao Fang personally formulated the "Yizhuan" course examination method precisely to gradually shift the country's electoral power from these families. Take it back in your hands.
As early as the time of the late emperor, the shortcomings of the nine-level Zhongzheng system had already been reflected. Therefore, the late emperor adopted the suggestion of the late Situ Dong Zhao and issued a test method for Lang officials: "Only after Lang officials have learned a lesson, can they be appointed as herdsmen; In the doctoral class examination, those who promote themselves to high positions should be promoted urgently; those who are flashy and do not follow the true principles should be dismissed."
The late emperor also ordered Liu Shao, the regular servant of Sanqi, to prepare seventy-two articles for the Duguan Examination, and submitted these seventy-two articles to the officials for discussion. Unfortunately, no results were reached. These seventy-two articles were used for the Duguan Examination. Ultimately it was not implemented.
Nowadays, Cao Fang's "Yi Zhuan" course test method is just to make up for the imperial examination method that Emperor Ming failed to complete.
