Cao Rui smiled and pointed at Liu Ye, deliberately keeping a straight face: "Liu Qing is used to making me happy, are you going to be a flatterer?"
Liu Ye knew that the emperor was joking, so he smiled and bowed his hands and replied: "I don't know whether I am a flatterer or not. I only know that I am a loyal minister."
Looking at Xin Pi who was full of questions and confusion, Cao Rui pointed at Liu Ye and said, "Liu Qing, please talk to Xin Qing."
Liu Ye spoke briefly and concisely to Xin Pi. After hearing so much news, Xin Pi fell silent.
"What does Xin Qing have to say?"
Xin Pi thought for a moment and uttered a few words: "I think your majesty's decision is good."
Cao Rui thought Xin Pi would say a few more words, but he only heard this one sentence, so he asked in confusion: "Xin Qing, don't you have any opinions?"
Xin Pi shook his head and said, "I don't have any opinion. Just as your majesty said to the ministers in Youbeiping, Youzhou is too remote. If we go to Yecheng, even if something really happens, we will have time to deal with it."
Cao Rui said: "Xin Qing is a pragmatic person."
"Let's not talk about this matter. I still have other things to ask Xin Qing." Cao Rui looked at Xin Pi: "Perhaps Xin Qing doesn't know yet, when I was evaluating the merits of all the ministers in Xiangping City, Liaodong, Liu Qing was ranked first, General Wen Qin of the Left Winged Guards was ranked second, and Xin Qing was ranked third."
After that, Cao Rui smiled and pointed at Liu Ye with his right index finger: "Liu Qing was first sent as an envoy by my order, then served as the governor of Youzhou, and also served as the general of Guo Liao to lead troops to war, and now he has become the right supervisor of the Privy Council."
"You two both served as my imperial attendants, but Xin Qing has not been sent out for the past few years. Today I would like to ask Xin Qing what his plans are and what position he would like to hold."
Xin Pi was silent for a long while, then he sighed softly and said, "I am your Majesty's subject, serving the king loyally, and I do not ask for a position. I am willing to continue to serve as the Minister of the Court."
Is it better to be a Shizhong, Jiuqing or a Provincial Governor?
At the moment in the fourth year of Taihe, there is no obvious answer. The provincial governors of various places were sent out because of the emperor's trust. Examples such as Huang Quan, Chen Jiao, Yang Fu, Liu Ye, Sun Zi, and Jiang Ji all prove this point.
If we seek from the fundamental point of view, of course, it is better to be by the emperor's side. But unlike Liu Ye, who was in his early fifties, Xin Pi was already in his sixties. In the evaluation of this era, he was already considered a standard old minister with high moral character.
Whether it is from the perspective of his life before or after his death, Xin Pi should have thought more about himself.
Cao Rui shook his head and said, "Xin Qing can say this, but I cannot say this. It would be too harsh to Xin Qing."
"Let me ask you one more question. Do you really have no idea? Considering your merits in the many expeditions, I can grant you the title of governor or general."
Cao Rui's words were naturally sincere, and Liu Ye and Xin Pi in front of him also believed in the emperor's sincerity.
Regardless of any topics like feelings, just from the perspective of his style of doing things, the emperor, who has always been generous, is capable of doing such a thing.
Xin Pi still shook his head: "I am your Majesty's subject. How can a subject ask your Majesty for an official position? I hope your Majesty will not ask again."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Well, I know what Xin Qing means."
"Minister Xin Pi, listen to your orders!"
Cao Rui suddenly raised his voice and said this. Liu Ye and Xin Pi both stood up, and Xin Pi even knelt down and bowed.
Cao Rui said: "Xin Qing has served as the Minister of the Interior for a long time and has worked hard for the emperor. Now I appoint Xin Qing as the Minister of the Imperial Guards to show my appreciation."
Weiwei? Isn't the current Weiwei Dong Zhao? If he becomes Weiwei, where can Dong Zhao go?
Xin Pi was about to refuse, but as soon as he looked up, he saw the emperor's serious gaze. He was startled and then bowed his head to accept the order.
After Xin Pi stood up, Liu Ye asked curiously, "Your Majesty, isn't the post of Weiwei held by Dong Gong of the Western Pavilion? Then what should Dong Gong do?"
Cao Rui replied casually: "Since I have called him 'Dong Gong' for a long time, it is time to promote him to the rank of Three Dukes. After returning to Yecheng, I will issue an edict to promote Hua Taiwei to Hua Taifu, and Dong Zhao will become Taiwei." Liu Ye nodded and said: "Dong Gong has served the king for a long time and is old and virtuous. He deserves this reward. Your Majesty is wise."
Cao Rui nodded.
When Cao Rui first ascended the throne, the three ministers were Zhong Yao, Hua Xin, and Wang Lang. Four years later, Zhong Yao and Wang Lang passed away one after another, and Hua Xin was also suffering from illness and his days were numbered.
The appointment of these three people was mostly determined by the likes and dislikes of the previous emperor Cao Pi. Old officials like Dong Zhao, who had a bad relationship with the people of Yingchuan and whose advice during the Jian'an period was not satisfactory, naturally stepped aside.
If Dong Zhao took office, the three highest officials of the Wei Dynasty would become the Grand Marshal Dong Zhao, the Prime Minister Chen Qun, and the Minister of Works Sima Yi.
Although the promotion of Dong Zhao was a little beyond the ordinary, whether it was the somewhat flattering Liu Ye or Xin Pi, who was famous for his uprightness, how could they offend Your Majesty because of such a thing?
On the contrary, I couldn't wait to applaud and praise him in my heart. Your Majesty is so loyal and righteous, and will reward those who have made contributions. If I am 70 years old in the future, will I also be able to take the position of the Three Dukes?
The three gentlemen take turns to sit at my house today?
……
Cao Rui stayed in Quanzhou for only one night before continuing to lead his troops south along the official road and canal.
As Cao Rui continued to march every day, he was exposed to more and more information, and there was news almost every day.
Empress Wuxuan, also known as Bian, was buried in Gaoling, west of Yecheng. Yecheng also held a large-scale sacrifice ceremony, with the Secretariat and the Privy Council, as well as the Cao clan members and officials' families who remained in Yecheng all present to pay their respects.
Concubine Su, who was far away in Luoyang, gave birth to a prince for her. Although the baby was a little light and looked a little weak, it was still a happy event after all.
Seriously speaking, this lady Su Huan was born into a prominent family in Jingzhao. She was also related to Su Ze, the minister during the Huangchu period. There is also an interesting story about Su Ze.
In the early years of Huangchu, Dong Zhao also briefly served as a minister. Once, when Dong Zhao was on duty, he wanted to sleep with his head on Su Ze's knees, but Su Ze pushed him away mercilessly, accusing him of "Su Ze's knees are definitely not a pillow for a flatterer."
This also verifies the reputation of Dong Zhao, the minister of the Western Pavilion, from another perspective. After all, how could a person who consciously helped Cao Cao in his plan to establish a kingdom in the late Han Dynasty not be considered a "flatterer" in the eyes of traditional scholars?
It can only be said that times have changed, and the old ministers who sympathized with the Han Dynasty have almost died out, and even the "flatterer" Dong Zhao could become one of the Three Dukes.
This is simply a question of stance.
In addition to the two incidents involving Empress Wuxuan and Concubine Su, the two subsequent incidents made Cao Rui even more worried.
One is flood.
The heavy rain that started near Xuchang in early August gradually spread to the entire Yuzhou, Sili and Jingzhou.
Judging from Sili, the closest city to Yecheng, the water level of the Yellow River is getting closer and closer to the riverbank, rising a little every day, and it is still unknown when it will overflow the embankment. The Yishui and Luoshui rivers, the two rivers closest to Luoyang, are already full and about to overflow.
The situation in Yuzhou was even more serious. As of the latest report, the Bian River, Ying River, and Wo River were all overflowing, and there was no sign of stopping. The Xuchang city wall, which had been in disrepair for many years and had never been renovated on a large scale, had more damaged areas.
The report from Jingzhou came a few days earlier, but it was not optimistic at all. The docks of the Jingzhou navy camp, located west of Fancheng and beside the Han River Bay, were almost all submerged by floodwaters. The Han River had already begun to overflow the river channel, and it seemed that it was heading towards the land.
Floods are natural disasters after all. If they come, they come. We just need to accept them passively and try to reduce the losses.
The letter from Dong Zhao sent from Luoyang made Cao Rui even more worried.
Huang Quan, the governor of Yuzhou, impeached the governor of Yingchuan, Dong Zhou, and sent the impeachment document to Dong Zhao in Luoyang, almost provocatively. Dong Zhao did not hesitate at all and directly submitted a letter of resignation, and even wanted to let his son Dong Zhou go to Youzhou to guard the border!
In Cao Rui's opinion, both Huang Quan and Dong Zhao were somewhat out of touch with the times.
It took Cao Rui more than seven days to reach Yecheng, a distance of one thousand miles from Quanzhou. By the time he arrived in Yecheng, it was already September 4th.
Four thousand extremely exhausted cavalrymen of the central army, the equally exhausted emperor himself, and a group of officials such as the Shizhong, Privy Councilors, and Sanqi, arrived ten miles outside the east gate of Yecheng at the evening of September 4.
Cao Rui stopped his horse and asked Xin Pi and Liu Ye beside him: "What do you two think? Was it right or wrong for me to come back in such a hurry?" (End of this chapter)
