The day after Cao Jue's birthday banquet, Wang Yuanji, the second son's wife, who was ten months pregnant, gave birth to a son. Since the birth of the child coincided with New Year's Eve, it was the day when every household hung peach charms to ward off evil spirits, so Sima Zhao gave himself The second son was named "Taofu" in small Chinese characters.
In the blink of an eye, the head of the family, Sima Yi, was already a sixty-seven-year-old man with white beard and hair. He had always been hard-hearted, but now that he saw another grandchild being born, his face actually gained a bit of rare kindness and joy. color.
"The Kun hexagram of the Book of Changes says: 'A gentleman will go to You', so why not name this child You!"
Perhaps Sima Yi was in such a good mood at the moment that he actually named the child himself. You know, even the name of his eldest grandson Sima Yan was only decided by Sima Zhao.
Sima Yan, who was accompanying him, had a complicated mood at the moment. On the one hand, he really felt that his newly born brother was very cute, but his grandfather's excessive attention to his brother made his mood not so clear.
Sima Zhao was even more excited when he saw that his father had personally named the child, and he nodded hastily and agreed. At this moment, Sima Yi, who had other considerations, moved his eyes to his eldest son, Sima Shi, who looked a little forlorn.
One month later, Wuyang Hou Sima's Mansion and Lanling Hou Wangfu held a glorious full moon banquet for Xiao Taofu.
After all the guests gave away their gifts, they all sat down to enjoy the banquet, and the entire Sima Mansion was filled with joy.
Just as the guests and hosts were enjoying themselves, Taofu's grandfather, Guangluxun Lanlinghou Wangsu, came to the table, clapped his hands, and then a dozen servants holding trays came into the hall.
Everyone saw that the more than ten trays were all covered with red silk cloth, and they did not look like they were about to serve food, and they were all curious. Even Sima Yi didn't understand his family's intentions for a while, so he asked in confusion:
"Ziyong, what are you doing?"
Wang Su stroked his long beard, then laughed and said:
"Zhongda, have you ever heard that during the Qin and Chu periods, there was a custom of sages 'testing children'?"
"Try?"
Although Sima Yi also read poetry and books, Wang Su had been a disciple of the great Confucian Song Zhong at the age of eighteen. His Confucian knowledge had already been perfected, and he naturally knew a vast number of allusions. Therefore, Sima Yi may not necessarily know what Wang Su knew.
Wang Su smiled and said:
"That's right, Zhongda doesn't have to wonder, just watch how I try out Taofu's future fate!"
Sima Yi, Sima Zhao and his son, as well as all the guests present, were very surprised when they heard Wang Su said that they could try out Xin'er's fate, so they all observed with concentration and breathlessness.
Wang Su ordered more than a dozen of his servants to take off the red silk covering the tray. Everyone looked around and saw that the items on the tray were a jade seal, a volume of the Analects of Confucius, a volume of the Tao Te Ching, A wolf hair, a small bow, an abacus, a five-baht coin, a box of rouge, a plate of cakes, and a plate of soil.
After seeing these things, some of the guests said "Oh" and suddenly understood, while some others were still confused and didn't know why.
Wang Su clapped his hands again, and the nanny in the house took out the little Taofu. All the guests were amazed when they saw the child's eyes like stars, the sky round and the earth wide, and his noble face.
"let's start!"
After listening to Wang Su's words, the wet nurse held the peach charm and walked past the servants holding the trays. After seeing the peach charm passing the plate with the jade seal, he babblingly stretched out his With his chubby little hand, he grabbed the jade seal in one hand. Seeing this, all the guests were amazed. Sima Yi and Sima Zhao, father and son, also had strange thoughts in their hearts when they saw this.
At this moment, something unexpected happened. The jade seal rope in Taofu's hand suddenly loosened, and the precious jade seal fell straight to the hard stone floor!
At this critical moment, ten-year-old Sima Yan, with quick eyes and quick hands, rushed towards the falling jade seal!
When everyone hurriedly went to look, they found that Sima Yan had fallen to the ground in a state of embarrassment, holding the jade seal in his hand. Only Sima Yan could discover that there was a crack on the jade seal.
Sima Yi had no expression on his face at this moment, but Sima Zhao, who was attentive, could see that his father's face had a gloomy look. After he glanced at his father's eyes, he shuddered involuntarily.
After the jade seal of Taofu fell to the ground, he immediately burst into tears, but the wet nurse quickly coaxed the little Taofu. Taofu was also well-behaved. After crying for a while, he moved towards the wolf hair pen again. He stretched out his hand, and just when the guests were about to praise and praise the child who would become a calligrapher in the future, Taofu actually stretched out his left hand and grabbed the small bow. He saw that Taofu's wooden bow in his left hand and the wolf hair in his right hand were directly on the plate of soil. Start painting on it!
After seeing the Taofu first touch the jade seal, then hold the pen and bow, and then divide the soil, the guests present felt truly surprised.
"This kid is grasping the wolf's hair, he will definitely be a calligrapher in the future!"
"In my opinion, this kid is holding a bow in his left hand. If he is not a general in the future, he must be a great Sima!"
"Didn't you see the child painting dirt? Doesn't this mean that he will split the earth and become the king?"
"Hush, be quiet, there is no king with a different surname in this dynasty, don't talk nonsense!"
Sima Yi, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, Sima Yan, father, son, and grandson listened to the chattering words of the guests, and the expressions on their faces changed involuntarily. It's just that the subtle changes in their expressions are different.
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On the first day of February, the cold wind is still biting.
When General Cao Shuang's restructuring was in full swing, a solar eclipse happened to make the sky dark and the earth dark.
This solar eclipse actually did not last more than half an hour from front to back, but in this half hour, Cao Shuang fell into a bottomless and pitch-black abyss.
The veterans in the DPRK were already very repulsive to Cao Shuang's restructuring. Now that a solar eclipse happened, they would naturally use this matter to make a big fuss and attack Cao Shuang.
Since the time of Dong Zhongshu in the previous dynasty, the world has been adhering to the theory of "reception from heaven and man". Any wind, rain, thunder, lightning, lin, phoenix, auspiciousness has become a warning or encouragement from heaven caused by certain actions of the monarch or ministers.
At the Taiji Hall court meeting, the emperor specially gathered all the ministers together, intending to deal with this matter thoroughly.
This is not because the emperor is targeting Cao Shuang, on the contrary, Cao Fang intends to completely silence those who oppose the reform.
If Cao Fang or Cao Shuang blame themselves this time and admit that the eclipse is caused by their own mistakes, then even if the reform can continue, then any disturbance, lightning and thunder will naturally be the fault of Cao Fang and Cao Shuang. , it will be a matter of time before the reform fails.
But if Cao Fang and Cao Shuang are firm this time and use a tough attitude to defeat the criticism of the officials, then such celestial events will no longer affect the reform in the future.
"On the first day of the second lunar month, the Heavenly Dog eclipses the sun. What do you think this means?"
Cao Fang was not in a panic at this moment, but took the initiative to ask this question to the ministers in the palace.
Taiwei Jiang Ji thought that this was a good opportunity to oppose Cao Shuang's restructuring. He had made up his mind and immediately went out to report:
"Your Majesty, the solar eclipse is a natural change, but it can also occur due to human affairs. Today, the two thieves have not been eliminated, the soldiers have been exposed to the border for decades, men and women are resentful, and the people are poor. It is precisely the struggle with Wu and Shu. Is it the time for reform and restructuring? I believe that only a great talent can amend the country's laws and regulations so that they can be used by future generations. How can it be easily changed by middle and lower officials such as Deng Xuanmao and Ding Yanjing?
I believe that the restructuring carried out by the general is not conducive to the governance of the country and only hurts the ears of the people. Your Majesty should ask the civil and military ministers to abide by their duties and lead a peaceful administration. Then peace and auspiciousness can be inspired by your Majesty. In the event of a solar eclipse, Bad omens can also be eliminated! "
After hearing Jiang Ji's extremely lethal words, the ministers of the Taifu Party were filled with ecstasy, while the ministers of the General's Party were filled with sullen anger. However, although both parties were excited, they did not make any noise, so the hall became somewhat silent for a while.
Facing this emperor who was already fifteen or sixteen years old and had always been studious and intelligent, the ministers did not feel much contempt at this time.
Although Jiang Ji's words expressed the feelings of these Taifu Party ministers, after all, the restructuring implemented by the general was approved by His Majesty. If he accidentally offends the emperor and offends the general Cao Shuang, then when the time comes, , maybe no one can save themselves. Therefore, no one knows whether to agree with Jiang Ji at this moment.
After a period of silence, Cao Fang finally spoke again:
"I have made up my mind regarding the restructuring, please don't say more, Jiang Qing!"
When Jiang Ji opened his mouth to speak again, he inadvertently saw the emperor's piercing eyes. He suddenly felt an unexplainable fear in his heart, so he swallowed what he was about to say and silently returned to his shift.
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After Cao Fang left the morning court, she immediately went to Yongning Palace to pay her respects to her adoptive mother, Queen Mother Guo.
Queen Mother Guo has naturally heard about what happened in Chaoshang. She has always been conservative and is not optimistic about the restructuring implemented by General Cao Shuang and his party. In addition, the Sima family has been trying to win over her own clan recently, so she decided to take advantage of this opportunity. The next solar eclipse is a good opportunity to advise my son again.
"There has been a solar eclipse recently. Has Your Majesty heard about it?"
"The child already knows."
Queen Mother Guo nodded, she slowly picked up the tea cup in front of the case, took a sip of tea, and then said slowly:
"Your Majesty, the Ai family believes that this is a commandment from heaven!"
"oh?"
Cao Fang frowned slightly after hearing what Empress Dowager Guo said:
"I wonder what kind of sign my mother thinks this is?"
"Your Majesty, the eclipse of the sun is naturally a warning from heaven. The Ai family believes that the restructuring carried out by the general should be stopped immediately!"
"Even the queen mother thinks so?"
After Cao Fang finished speaking, the displeasure on his face could no longer be concealed. He frowned, his eyes turned cold, he stood up and said:
"Mother, this matter will be discussed later. I'm tired, so I'm going to rest first. I'll come back to say hello to my mother another day!"
Queen Mother Guo looked at the stubborn back of her sixteen-year-old adopted son and couldn't help but sigh slightly. This child has finally become more and more like a real emperor in the past two years.
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Soon after, Empress Dowager Guo's opposition to the restructuring reached the ears of General Cao Shuang.
"Hmph! This old woman led troops in the main hall to threaten Gu Gu last time, and this time she brags in front of His Majesty. It really makes me angry!"
Seeing that Cao Shuang was so angry that he couldn't hold back his words, He Yan immediately tried to persuade him:
"General, calm down. Queen Mother Guo opposes the reform. Although it is very troubling, she is still canonized by the late emperor himself. She still has the guardianship and responsibility for His Majesty. If we completely break up with her, I am afraid there will be more trouble......."
Before He Yan could finish his sentence, Deng Yang, who was always eager for quick success, retorted loudly:
"Since there are constant troubles, why not just throw this big trouble away so that she can no longer interfere with major matters? Wouldn't it be unclean?"
After hearing Deng Yang's words, Cao Shuang had a thought in his mind and asked hurriedly:
"I wonder if Xuan Mao has any clever ideas?"
Deng Yang chuckled and then said:
"Under the system of this dynasty, the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. Although the Queen Mother Guo has the right to guardianship of Your Majesty, Your Majesty has already been given the imperial robes and crown ceremony, and now that he has passed the age of adulthood, why does he need any more guardianship? Doesn't it matter, General? Didn't you see that the relatives of the previous dynasty were in power and brought disaster to the country and the people? Therefore, Yang thought that she would simply send a confidant forbidden army and secretly put Empress Dowager Guo under house arrest in Yongning Palace. In this way, she would naturally not be able to speak to His Majesty every day. Let’s blow some wind!”
He Yan was shocked when he heard Deng Yang's almost crazy plan and hurriedly tried to dissuade him:
"General, Yan thinks this matter should not be rushed. I hope the general will think twice before taking action!"
After hearing what the two said, Cao Shuang had no idea for a moment, so he turned his attention to Ding Mi, who had been silent.
After Ding Mi thought for a long time, he said:
"Although this matter is risky, looking at the current situation, it must be done! However, the general still needs to wait for an opportunity!"
After hearing this, Cao Shuang hurriedly asked:
"I wonder what the timing was when Yan Jing said it?"
Ding Mi added:
"Waiting for an opportunity for a complete break between Your Majesty and the Queen Mother!"
After hearing this, everyone present also understood. This matter must have the emperor's natural consent in order to minimize the risk.
And they had long heard that His Majesty had long aroused the dissatisfaction of Empress Dowager Guo because of his excessive doting on the beauties Zhang and Yu Wan, the noble Xing, and the two Paulins in the palace, Li Hua and Liu Xun.
[Note 1: Baolin, a female official in the palace during the Han and Wei dynasties, usually a concubine of the emperor or a prince. Among the female officials in the Han Dynasty palace were Wujuan, Gonghe, Yuling, Baolin, Liangshi, and Yezhi, all of whom held positions of hundreds of stones. 】
However, although His Majesty got closer to these concubines, he did not neglect Empress Zhen after all. As the emperor, this behavior was actually normal. However, Empress Dowager Guo did not know why, but she could not see it. Therefore, the relationship between mother and son , naturally there are some contradictions.
[Note 2: This Queen Zhen was also born in the Wuji Zhen family of Zhongshan, and was the grand-niece of Queen Wen Zhaozhen, the mother of Ming Emperor Cao Rui. 】
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On this day, after Cao Fang saw off several ministers at the Shangshutai, he held a banquet by Tianyuan Pool in Hualin Garden and had a banquet with Zhang Meiren, Yu Meiren, Xing Guiren, Li and Liu Baolin. stand up.
In the past two years, Cao Fang has gradually realized the joy of being in power, and his character has become slightly rebellious. Although the Queen Mother Guo repeatedly warned him not to have banquets with these beautiful female officials, Cao Fang felt that as the Supreme Lord of the Nine-Five-Year Plan, he could not deal with it. After the government is over, it is understandable to invite the concubine to accompany you.
Queen Zhen did not come to the banquet because she was ill.
Cao Fang told his beauties about his ambition to reform the system and destroy Wu, Ping and Shu. The beauties were naturally full of admiration for the young emperor in front of them.
Cao Fang was treated as a child by the civil and military ministers in the court, and was controlled and taught by the Queen Mother Guo every day in the palace. Therefore, he could rarely experience the joy of being the emperor. Only at this moment could he clearly realize and feel it. , I am the only one in this world!
It's a pity that outsiders have difficulty understanding his intentions, and they only think that he is just greedy for beauty.
Gradually, the night got late, and Cao Fang, who was very drunk, was sent back to the Jiafu Hall, the dormitory, to rest by a group of concubines and servants.
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The next day, at three o'clock in the morning, the repeated sound of mourning drums in the palace and the faint ringing of the salvation bell in the White Horse Temple in the distance woke up the king who had not yet completely sobered up.
When Cao Fang was wondering, she suddenly remembered that the Queen Mother's mother Heyang Jun was not feeling well some time ago, and she suddenly thought to herself: Could it be that Heyang Jun actually died?
At this moment, a reckless palace maid stumbled into Jiafu Palace. Cao Fang, whose mind was blank, did not scold her. Before Cao Fang could ask questions, the palace maid said with a trembling voice:
"Your Majesty, something bad has happened. Lord Heyang passed away. The Queen Mother couldn't wait for Your Majesty to come to Yongning Palace to offer condolences. She was furious and said that the concubines and officials around Your Majesty were a disaster because of their beauty. She only wanted to bewitch Your Majesty all day long. That's why she just... Just now..."
Cao Fang had sobered up a lot at this moment. He had a bad premonition in his heart and asked hurriedly:
"What happened just now?!"
The palace maid continued to panic and said:
"Just now, the Queen Mother called her uncle Guo Xiaowei, mobilized the soldiers from Changshui Camp, and... sent Zhang Meiren, Yu Meiren and the others... and executed them on the spot!"
When Cao Fang heard this, he suddenly felt a cramp in his heart. He was so excited that he grabbed the water bowl next to the couch and smashed it on the wooden pillar in the hall. He heard a crisp sound, and the jade bowl suddenly shattered into pieces. Countless residues.
A few days later, Cao Shuang went to the palace to petition the emperor to move the Queen Mother Guo to the Yongning Palace, and secretly sent confidants to isolate the news inside and outside the Yongning Palace. Cao Fang, who was furious, agreed to Cao Shuang's request without hesitation.
The prestigious Queen Mother Guo was suddenly isolated in Yongning Palace.
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In the Wuyang Marquis Mansion, Sima Yi, who heard about the drastic change in the palace, really did not expect that Cao Shuang would do such a trick and even dare to put Empress Guo, who was personally canonized by the late emperor, under house arrest in Yongning Palace.
"Father, now that the Queen Mother Guo is under house arrest, and all the relatives of the Guo family and the Zhen family have basically lost power, do we no longer need to curry favor with the Xiping Guo family from now on?"
After listening to Sima Zhao's words, Sima Yi glared at him coldly, and then gave him a stern lesson:
"Confused! No matter how much the Guo family declines, it is still the descendant of the late emperor. Even if it has no real power, it maintains the Guo family and has a natural reputation and reason for doing many things. Don't you understand such a simple truth? ?!”
After hearing his father's severe criticism, Sima Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead:
"What my father has taught me is that now our Sima family is helping the Guo family in times of crisis, so that we can truly gain the support of the Zhen family. It was the child who failed to consider it!"
After hearing this, Sima Yi's eyes softened a little, and he moved his eyes to his eldest son, Sima Shi:
"The previous time Nianrong married Zhen De, unfortunately she died young. Zhen De and Zhen Yansun had deep connections with the two descendants of the Guo family and the Zhen family, and they were considered stable people. But now we and his It's not okay to have lost contact. Master, Yirong, I think it's time to marry someone..."
After listening to his father's words, Master Sima felt slightly moved. Before he could speak, a determined voice came from outside the house:
"I won't marry!"
The person outside the room is naturally Yirong himself.
Sima Yi, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao and his son couldn't help but change their expressions after hearing Yirong's words.
Yi Rong, who had always been obedient and well-behaved, now boldly broke into the study of the head of the household, which his father had warned against entering.
Before Master Sima could stop him, the furious Sima Yi strode forward and slapped Yirong hard!
Seeing this, Master Sima subconsciously protected Yirong. Sima Zhao also hurriedly supported his father.
"Yirong, why don't you apologize to Weng Weng!"
Master Sima felt great fear in his heart at this moment. He instantly remembered the heavy rain day in the second year of the late Emperor Qinglong's reign, that is, twelve years ago. At this moment, deep down in his heart, he was afraid that his father would kill his granddaughter Yirong in a rage!
The strange thing is that Sima Yi is not as arrogant as Master Sima imagined at this moment, and his originally gloomy face gradually regained its calm at this moment.
"It doesn't matter, Yi Rong is so resistant. Even if she gets married, it will cause trouble for the Sima and Zhen families. It's better not to marry!"
After listening to his father's words, Master Sima finally felt at peace. But at this moment, Sima Zhao suddenly said:
"Father, at Taofu's full-moon banquet, the unscrupulous daughter Hai'er met Zhen Yansun and seemed to have a good impression of Zhen Yansun..."
"Um...you mean, let Lingtan marry Zhen De. Lingtan is only thirteen years old. Is she too young?"
Sima Zhao's eyes were bright and he said firmly:
"My child thinks that this is completely feasible!"
After hearing Sima Zhao's assurance, Sima Yi did not object anymore. After pondering for a long time, he finally nodded.
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Wu'anhou Mansion.
In the Wagtail Pavilion, several new faces were added at this moment.
Ying Ju, one of the seven sons of Jian'an who was famous all over the world at that time, his younger brother Ying Xu and Ying Xiulian were recommended by He Yan to become the general commander Shi under Cao Shuang's shogunate.
Zheng Chong and Zheng Wenhe, who had always been talented in literature and knowledgeable, also served as the chief lieutenant of the General's Mansion.
Later, the famous scholars Xun Rong and Xun Boya came here because of their fame and became a soldier in the General's Mansion.
In the general's shogunate, Cao Shuang was sitting in front of the case, discussing with He Yan, Ding Mi, Deng Yang, and his brothers Cao Xi, Cao Yan and others about the next step of withdrawing from the county.
"Everyone, county officials from all over the country are now familiar with county government affairs, and the power of Zhongzheng officials has been greatly reduced. Coupled with His Majesty's "Yi Zhuan" course examination method, the power of appointing officials and selecting scholars can be considered to be in the hands of Your Majesty. . So we can move on to the next step!”
"What the general said is true."
Minister Ding Mi stood up and said:
"Now, it's time for us to officially carry out the plan to withdraw from the county!"
"Um."
Cao Shuang nodded, thought for a while and then said:
"But the abolition of the county level is not a trivial matter. I wonder if you all here have any thoughts?"
Everyone was also frowning in thought.
After a while, Cao Shangshu He Yan seemed to have an idea. He stood up and said:
"General, Yan has a plan, but I don't know if it is feasible."
"Oh?" Cao Shuang smiled and said, "Uncle Ping has any good ideas, please tell me quickly."
"General, today, the Wei Dynasty occupies ten states, and each state has no less than ten counties. Although we have implemented the buffer policy of decentralizing county officials, if we forcefully withdraw the counties at this time, I am afraid that There will still be strong opposition from local county governors.
Therefore, Yan thought that the general might as well plan it slowly and divide some large counties into several small counties. After the situation stabilized slightly and the areas of counties and counties were about the same, he would then directly define all counties in the world as counties, and the county governors would become counties. County magistrate, in this way, the state and county level two will be feasible! "
After hearing He Yan's plan, Cao Shuang beamed with joy and said with a smile:
"Uncle Ping's plan is very far-sighted. Do you have any other opinions?"
"The prince-in-law's strategy is feasible, and there is no objection to the humble rank."
"Okay, then I'll start working on dividing the counties on that day."
Cao Shuang's eyes flashed with excitement. He felt that he was not far from his goal. He would eventually become a famous minister like Shang Yang and Wu Qi who would shine through the ages!
In the fifth month of summer, at the suggestion of General Cao Shuang, the emperor issued an edict to divide the ten Fenbei counties in Hedong County into Pingyang County, and began to make the final preparations for the withdrawal of the counties.
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Yongzhou, Chang'an City.
A scout holding a command flag flew into Yongmen in the west of the city:
"Urgent report! Urgent military situation at the border, urgent report!"
