Chapter 481 Forty Years
Cao Rui followed Liu Xie's gaze and looked at his two trusted ministers. Guanqiu Jian was better, but Liu Ye already had beads of sweat dripping from his forehead:
"I hope Bohe can give me some advice."
After saying that, Cao Rui turned around and walked back to his desk. After sitting down, he glanced at Liu Ye's embarrassment and said, "No one is saying anything to you. Wipe your sweat."
"Yes, sir." After receiving the order, Liu Ye quickly wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeves.
Liu Xie, who was sitting opposite Cao Rui, also said, "There were many powerful officials in the Han Dynasty, but only Meng De and Zi Huan were able to change the dynasty. Yuan Zhong, do you know why?"
Cao Rui said: "The divine weapon changes, the way of heaven is constant, this is the common sense of the world, only people with virtue can do it."
"Then what is virtue?" Liu Xie asked.
Cao Rui chuckled: "To be able to command the army, govern the people and bring peace to the world is virtue."
As soon as he said this, Cao Rui's eyes narrowed: "Bohe, please continue. Please don't say anything more."
Liu Xie had been lonely in Zhuolu City in Shanyang County for ten years. Cao Rui's visit today and the respectful chat during the banquet gave Liu Xie great spiritual enjoyment, which was not worth telling to outsiders. At this moment, Liu Xie was finally willing to share his "insights" that he had summed up.
Liu Xie said: "There were countless powerful ministers in the Later Han Dynasty, but only Meng De and Zi Huan were able to change the dynasty. Does Yuan Zhong know Liang Ji?"
Cao Rui nodded: "Liang Ji, the domineering general, I know this man."
Liu Xie continued, "During the Yuanjia period of Emperor Huan, Liang Ji wore a sword at his waist when he went to court. Zhang Ling, the secretary at the time, scolded him in public, and the tiger guards in the palace took away Liang Ji's sword, and Liang Ji was eventually fined one year's salary."
After Liu Xie finished speaking, he paused for a few moments and looked at Cao Rui, as if wondering whether Cao Rui could understand the meaning of his words.
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said with a sigh: "Emperor Huan could do this to Liang Ji, but Bohe would not dare to do the same to Emperor Wu."
Liu Xie nodded: "Even though Liang Ji was so domineering, he still couldn't defy the imperial power in Luozhong. But Meng De and Zi Huan looked down on the Han Dynasty. Rather than being a powerful official, it's more like a warlord like Dong Zhuo."
"I agree with this." Cao Rui said, "If Dong Zhuo hadn't been there, the dignity of the Han court wouldn't have fallen to this level."
Liu Xie said: "The first person to make clay figures, will he have no descendants? In the Han Dynasty, powerful officials were still able to respect the imperial power, but with Meng De and Zi Huan, if the Wei Dynasty also had powerful officials in the future, they would naturally follow suit."
Cao Rui looked slightly unhappy: "I agree with that."
Liu Xie glanced at Cao Rui's expression and continued, "Yuan Zhong may not know that when Emperor Huan executed Liang Ji, the Weiwei and the five schools of the Northern Army were all controlled by Liang Ji's family. Emperor Huan used the thousand men under Guanglu Xun and the soldiers of Zhang Biao, the Sili School Lieutenant, to surround Liang Ji's mansion, and Liang Ji committed suicide."
"Even Liang Ji could not control all the troops in Luozhong." Liu Xie was a little excited when he said the good advice he had dug out from the pile of old papers: "At that time, the troops in Luozhong included the imperial guards led by the eunuch Huangmen, the soldiers of the Guanglu Xun who were responsible for the palace guards, the soldiers of the Weiwei who were responsible for the palace gates, the soldiers of the Luozhong patrol led by the Zhijinwu, the soldiers of the five schools of the northern army, the soldiers of the Sili Xiaowei, and the soldiers of the city gates led by the Chengmen Xiaowei, and these troops were not under the command of each other."
Liu Xie took a deep breath and said, "Yan Zhong's central army in Luoyang is a whole from top to bottom. If you look at it in detail, it is just the Central Commander, the Five Schools, and the Left and Right Yu Lin, which are only a few people."
Not only did Cao Rui change his expression, but Liu Ye and Guanqiu Jian also became solemn. After Liu Xie finished speaking, he lowered his head and looked at the ground.
The last emperor of the Han Dynasty spent ten years summarizing these words, and Cao Rui, the second emperor of the Wei Dynasty, was also quite shocked when he heard them.
Liu Xie had said so much. If Cao Rui still didn't understand, he could just jump into the Yellow River.
The powerful official controls all the troops in the capital, which is the basic condition for acting like Cao Cao and Cao Pi.
Compared with previous powerful ministers, Cao Cao not only gained contempt for imperial power due to the turbulent times, but also gained all military power due to the turbulent times.
The imperial power was despised and disenchanted. This was a bad example set by Cao Cao and Cao Pi who learned from Wang Mang. Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. Cao Rui was unable to change it at all and could only let it go.
And the entire military power of the capital is the core issue that Liu Xie and Cao Rui talked about.
The Wei Dynasty was established less than ten years ago. In order to ensure smooth command or out of trust in the loyalty of its subjects, almost all the military forces in the capital were concentrated in the central army.
During the reign of Emperor Huan, there were still officers such as Zhong Huangmen, Weiwei, Guanglu Xun, Sili Xiaowei, Five Schools of the Northern Army, and Chengmen Xiaowei who could command troops without being subordinate to each other.
The emperor could use imperial seals and envoys to mobilize one or more armies independently, without the rest of the army being aware of it. However, during the Wei-Han era, the Zhonghuangmen disappeared, the military power of the Weiwei, Guangluxun, and Zhijinwu was taken away, the five schools of the Northern Army were merged into the Central Army, and the Chengmen Xiaowei became a supervisory position. All military power was concentrated in the Central Army.
In the fourth year of Taihe in the Wei Dynasty, if Xige, as the emperor's "adviser", wanted to mobilize troops, he would naturally pass the order to the Privy Council, which would make the mobilization.
Then the problem is coming.
If there was a powerful official like Cao Cao in the future who wanted to take control of all the military power in Luoyang, he would not need to place his cronies in high-level positions at the level of Zhong Huangmen, Guanglu Xun, Weiwei, Sili Xiaowei, and Zhijinwu. He only needed to send one person to be the Right Supervisor of the Privy Council.
It's really terrifying.
When the military of the capital was highly integrated into the hands of one person, once a powerful minister appeared, the emperor would not have any means of counterattack and could only resort to sneak attacks, assassinations and the like.
There are too many such records in history to count.
Everything has its pros and cons. Cao Rui only then realized the disadvantages of such centralized command of the central army from Liu Xie's words.
Dong Zhao, Sima Yi, Liu Ye, Man Chong, Wei Zhen and many other wise men in the court, but no one could point this out to him. The scenery you can see is completely different depending on the height you stand at.
After all, he had been an emperor for decades, and during these lonely, long and patient years, he had finally accumulated some real gold.
Liu Xie's words made Cao Rui's trip worthwhile.
Cao Rui took a deep breath, stood up and bowed to Liu Xie: "I came to Shanyang today and received your teachings. Lord Shanyang, please accept my greetings."
Liu Xie had never expected Cao Rui to bow to him. In addition, Cao Rui had just addressed him as "I", and his status had been restored to that of monarch and subject. Liu Xie also hurriedly stood up from his seat and bowed back:
"Your Majesty treats me with sincerity, and I treat you with sincerity in return. How can I accept your Majesty's courtesy?"
Cao Rui nodded: "Stand up."
"Today I came to Shanyang and talked with the Duke of Shanyang for a long time. It is getting dark, and I will go back to the camp to stay. I will return to Luoyang tomorrow morning. Does the Duke of Shanyang have any requests? If it is not excessive, I can agree to it."
Liu Xie stood up straight after hearing this, and said with his hands clasped, "I am already fifty years old, and I have no other wish but to preserve the ancestral temple in Shanyang County and continue the incense. Emperor Wen has promised me before, and today I have the honor of seeing your Majesty, and I hope to ask for your grace."
Cao Rui nodded slightly: "After I return to the camp later, I will ask the Secretariat to draft an edict and have it engraved on gold and stone. The etiquette of the two kings and three kings cannot be abolished even if it lasts for ten thousand years. The fiefdom and ancestral temple of the Duke of Shanyang will not be moved for ten thousand years."
"I thank your majesty for your grace." Liu Xie knelt down as if relieved of a heavy burden: "Your majesty's words are enough for me to live the rest of my life in peace without regrets."
"Get up." Cao Rui looked at Liu Xie's face. Although Liu Xie was only fifty years old, he looked pale and his eyes were swollen. In addition, he was also a doctor. There was no better explanation than that he was too worried.
"If Duke Shanyang is free, I would also like to assign him a task to do."
Liu Xie stood up and his eyes widened slightly. This was the umpteenth time that Liu Xie was surprised tonight. "Your Majesty, are you asking me to do something for you? I am a suspect, how can I serve you?"
"After I return to Luoyang, I will give you the position of a scholar at Chongwen Temple and send four more scholars to Shanyang County." Cao Rui looked at Liu Xie and said with a smile, "Shanyang Duke was the emperor for several decades before abdicating. No one else can see the events of the last years of the Han Dynasty from the same perspective as Shanyang Duke."
"Please ask Lord Shanyang to record his life here so that future generations can remember him. Let's call it 'The Records of Lord Shanyang'. When the records are completed, I will come to Zhuolu City in Shanyang County and have a feast with Lord Shanyang."
Liu Xie stood there, wondering what was going on in his mind. Cao Rui did not urge him, and after a long while, Liu Xie finally responded with a folded hand:
"Since the sixth year of Zhongping, when I was made the Emperor of Han by Dong Zhuo, until the first year of Yankang, a period of more than thirty years, I have experienced various events and met different people. I should indeed record them. Without your Majesty's guidance, I would not have had such an idea."
"I understand your majesty's intention. Once your majesty sends someone here, I will complete this record as soon as possible and present it to your majesty for your review."
Cao Rui nodded: "This matter that I asked Duke Shanyang to do is not urgent. Take your time to think about it and write it down. There is no need to rush."
"Forty years of my family and country, eight thousand miles of mountains and rivers. Phoenix pavilions and dragon towers reach the sky, and jade trees and branches are covered with mist. Write slowly, I am waiting for your masterpiece."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Liu Xie bowed respectfully, and then looked at Cao Rui's back as he slowly walked out, and couldn't help but burst into tears.
(End of this chapter)
