Hearing the emperor's question, Zhen Xiang replied, "I know the name of Wang Shuzhi."
Cao Rui nodded slightly, then turned to look at Sima Yi behind him: "Does Sikong know what I mean?"
Sima Yi bowed and said, "Wang Shuzhi is indeed a loyal man. His son Wang Ning was appointed as a doctor by the late emperor in the first year of Huangchu. He currently lives in Yecheng and has not been actually appointed."
Cao Rui knew that Sima Yi had guessed what he meant, so he raised his whip and pointed forward: "Let's go, let's go to the Bronze Sparrow Tower first and then we can talk."
The white horse moved forward slowly, and a group of officials followed behind.
Yecheng covers a vast area, seven miles long from east to west and five miles wide from north to south. It faces the Zhang River to the north. There are three platforms in the northwest of the city from north to south: Bingjing Platform, Tongque Platform, and Jinhu Platform.
The Bronze Sparrow Tower is ten zhang high, with pavilions and towers on it, from which one can have a general view of the whole city of Ye and the view of the Zhang River.
After entering Yecheng, Guanqiu Jian's Zhongling Army Camp took over the city defense, and the remaining 10,000 infantry of the Xiaowei Army, the Yulin Left Army and the 15,000 cavalry of the Five Colonels Camp all remained outside the city.
Although the two emperors had never been to Yecheng from the first year of Huangchu to the fourth year of Taihe, Yecheng was one of the five capitals of Wei after all, and the maintenance of the Bronze Sparrow Tower was still carried out on a daily basis, without any sense of abandonment.
Cao Rui pulled the reins and slowly dismounted, climbing the long steps along the slope in front of the stage. The cabinet ministers, the ministers, the left and right supervisors of the Privy Council, and the remaining five ministers followed behind.
There are also three others: Zhen Xiang, Lü Zhao and Zheng Hun.
The main hall on the Tongque Terrace is called Feiguang Hall, which faces south and is opposite to the Jinhu Terrace not far away. It was the beginning of February, the weather was getting warmer and the breeze was cool, making the corners of the robes flutter slightly.
After closing his eyes and feeling for a few moments, Cao Rui said, "Sikong, tell the ministers about Wang Shuzhi's affairs."
Sima Yi bowed and said, "As you wish."
The conversation between the emperor and Sima Yi left everyone present confused and unable to understand what it meant.
On the way to the Bronze Sparrow Tower, everyone followed His Majesty. When His Majesty talked with Zhen Xiang and mentioned Wang Shuzhi, everyone heard it.
Those present were the Nine Ministers, Provincial Governors and Prefects. Why would they mention an old minister who had passed away during the Jian'an period?
Man Chong stared at Sima Yi thoughtfully for a few moments, and had a rough guess in his mind, but he was not sure if this was what the emperor meant.
The two kings of the Privy Council just stood there with their hands in their hands, and the ministers all stared at their immediate superiors, pretending to listen attentively.
No one spoke.
Sima Yi walked in front of the crowd and bowed slightly: "Do you remember Wang Changshi from the Prime Minister's Mansion?"
Wang Changshi refers to Wang Bi, the chief secretary of the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao.
When Cao Cao first served as governor of Yanzhou, Wang Bi was a provincial official. When Cao Cao was given the title of general, Wang Bi was the chief clerk. When Cao Cao became the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, Wang Bi became the prime minister's chief secretary, which was equivalent to the position of chief of staff.
A most important minister among important ministers, a most trusted one among trusted ones.
When Lü Bu was captured by Cao Cao and hesitant about whether to kill or keep him, it was Wang Bi who suggested that Lü Bu beheaded.
After the Central Plains was pacified, the Han emperor lived in Xuchang for a long time, while Cao Cao lived in Yecheng for a long time, not living in the same city with the Han emperor. As the chief secretary of the prime minister, Wang Bi was stationed in Xuchang for a long time to "guard" the emperor, with great power and responsibility.
Since we are talking about Wang Bi, the purpose of talking about Wang Xiu and Wang Shuzhi becomes very clear.
Man Chong's pupils dilated slightly, but after a few moments, he sighed imperceptibly.
Why can Sima Yi understand His Majesty's mind so well?
This is a skill.
A skill that is extremely rare and important in the court.
Sima Yi said slowly in front of everyone: "In the 23rd year of Jian'an, the rebels Ji Miao, Geng Ji, Jin Yi and others set fire to Xudu, and Wang Changshi died of his wounds while suppressing the rebellion."
"After the matter was completed, Emperor Wu summoned all Han officials to Yecheng, and ordered them to stand in position right here, at the Bronze Sparrow Tower."
"When Ji Miao set fire in Xuchang, those who put out the fire stood on the left, and those who did not put out the fire stood on the right. Most people thought that those who put out the fire were not guilty, so they all chose to stand on the left."
Having said that, Sima Yi raised his head slightly and looked at the emperor as if asking for instructions.
Cao Rui nodded slightly.
Sima Yi said: "Among all my colleagues, more than half of them served in Yecheng at that time, and most of you have heard about what happened later."
"Emperor Wu believed that anyone who put out the fire was helping the enemy, and anyone who did not put out the fire was certainly not helping the enemy, so he killed everyone standing on the left."
Cao Cao was furious and took advantage of Wang Bi's death to "clean up" many Han officials in Xuchang City.
Although it was a bit horrifying to hear, for the ministers standing in front of Sima Yi, they were all ministers of the Wei State at that time and the disaster did not affect them, so they just let it go with their feelings.
But when Sima Yi brought up the matter again today, and this place was the Bronze Sparrow Tower, it was inevitable that people would think more about it.
Seeing that the emperor did not stop, Sima Yi continued: "Three months after this case, there was a thief in Yecheng named Yan Cai, who led a group of thieves to attack the palace gate because of dissatisfaction."
"After hearing the alarm, all the officials in Yecheng stayed in their own houses and did not dare to go out. Only Wang Shuzhi led his officials and rushed to the palace gate on foot to rescue them."
"At that time, Emperor Wu was on the Bronze Sparrow Tower. He saw from afar an official coming to rescue him, and he concluded that it must be Wang Shuzhi."
"Taifu Zhong asked Wang Shuzhi why he went against the old rules that prohibited him from leaving the country. Wang Shuzhi replied that he was prepared to face danger."
After saying this, Sima Yi bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I have explained Wang Shuzhi's affairs in full."
Cao Rui withdrew his gaze from the layers of clouds in the distance, and looked at Liu Fang with his hands behind his back:
"Wang Xiu was a loyal and righteous minister, but because he died young, he was not rewarded by the Wei Dynasty. Secretary Liu will draft an edict later to posthumously confer the title of Marquis of Ting on Wang Xiu, with a fief of 400 households, and to pass the title on to his son Wang Ning." Liu Fang bowed in response.
Cao Rui then said to the crowd: "It has only been three months since Wang Bi's case, and all the officials in Yecheng were too frightened to leave the palace. Only Wang Xiu, a civil official, led the officials to rescue him."
"Although this is the duty of the military guards, why can Wang Xiu act and behave like this?"
"I posthumously conferred the title of Wang Xiu and publicly promoted the commander of the Yueqi Cavalry, all for the purpose of explaining this principle to you all on this Bronze Sparrow Tower."
"Do you feel anything, do you gain anything?"
Sima Yi had just spoken. Man Chong, another minister present, took a half step forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
Cao Rui nodded: "General Man, please speak!"
Man Chong said: "The state has ethical principles, and the ruler and his subjects have the obligation to die together."
"Since I have been fed by the emperor, I should share his worries."
"In ordinary times, sharing the emperor's worries means being loyal to one's duties, working diligently for state affairs, and doing one's best."
"As the traitor Yan Cai is causing chaos in Yecheng, this is an extraordinary time. In extraordinary times, there should be extraordinary principles. We should not stick to the usual system, but should strive to serve the king and the country and die for it, so as to maintain our loyalty and righteousness."
After that, Man Chong bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for my carelessness. This is how I feel."
Cao Rui nodded and looked at the nearly twenty ministers in front of him: "General Man has said it, what do you think?"
"I will choose one person from each of you to answer."
"Minister Yang, you say!" Cao Rui stretched out his right hand and pointed at Yang Ji.
Yang Ji said: "To serve the country, do not fear difficulties; to resist evil, do not fear death!"
Cao Rui named again, "Minister Lu!"
Lu Yu clasped his hands and replied: "Don't worry about good or bad, just do it according to righteousness!"
Cao Rui looked at Zhong Yu again: "Come, Uncle Zhi!"
This was the first time that Zhong Yu had experienced such a scene. His father, Master Zhong, was also the background board for Wang Xiu. The young man was obviously a little nervous: "I think Wang Shuzhi is a loyal minister and can be a role model for the world!"
Cao Rui ignored what Zhong Yu said and pointed at Lu Zhao: "Mr. Lu is an official from outside the court. If there are people causing chaos in the court, what should we do?"
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lü Zhao actually prostrated himself on the ground and answered loudly: "If there are traitors in the court who endanger the country and your majesty, the foreign ministers should also work hard to eliminate the traitors for the country!"
Just as Sima Yi was speaking, the commander of the army, Guanqiu Jian, hastily arranged the defense of the city and rushed to the Bronze Sparrow Tower.
Listening to the opinions of many people present, Guanqiu Jian stood on the outermost side and kept nodding in agreement.
Cao Rui, of course, saw Guanqiu Jian coming and asked, "What does Zhong Gong think?"
Guanqiu Jian bowed his hands and said: "I am a minister of limited experience. I will not mention others, but only myself. If you are in danger, I will die for you!"
Cao Rui nodded slightly and looked at Zhen Xiang: "Zhen Qing, you will be under the command of General Guanqiu for the time being. This is your first time commanding an army, so learn more about how to be a good person and do things well."
Zhen Xiang bowed in response, then walked to stand behind Guanqiu Jian in front of everyone.
In July of the second year of Taihe, Cao Rui fell ill in Chencang and was unconscious for several days during the crisis.
At that time, Cao Zhen, Guanqiu Jian, Sima Yi, Yang Fu and others all made different responses. Whether for the country or the monarch, they were all reasonable.
Only Xiahou Xian was at a loss and went with the flow, so the disappointed Cao Rui exiled him to Youzhou.
Today, I was touring Yecheng and talking with my ministers, and we were talking about this kind of political ethics that would never be recorded on paper.
Cao Rui looked at everyone and nodded, saying, "Those on the Bronze Sparrow Tower today are all the ministers I rely on."
Cao Rui pointed to the crowd and said, "Two cabinet ministers, three attendants, four cavalrymen, five secretaries, and four people from the Central Commander, Jizhou, Weijun, and Yueqi."
"I think what you said just now is not without reason. But among them, only the Minister of Works and General Man are the ones I value the most, one of whom understands my intention and the other can see the general situation."
"General Man's summary is pretty much complete. I'd like to say a few more words to you."
Everyone saluted and said, "We are listening to your Majesty's instructions!"
Cao Rui said: "Performing duties conscientiously and doing things with all their heart is what ordinary officials in prefectures and counties should do."
"You are all important officials of the imperial court who are able to stand before me. The power in your hands should not be underestimated. You should not only do your job well, but also do your best to maintain the order of the court when the country and the king are in danger."
"This is the great righteousness between the ruler and his subjects, not the small righteousness between the ruler and his subjects."
Sima Yi and Man Chong stood at the front and looked at the emperor's face seriously.
Cao Rui said: "I have not been to the Bronze Sparrow Tower for a long time, but because I miss the loyal ministers of the country, I have talked to you a lot."
"The strong wind knows the strong grass, and the rough wind knows the sincere minister."
"Gentlemen, try your best!" (End of this chapter)
