When Cao Rui came to the throne, he did not think about weakening the family.
Divided the four major auxiliary ministers, restored the five-baht currency, strengthened the court's control over local areas, appointed the selfless Sima Zhi to attack the powerful and powerful in Luoyang, and even investigated "glorious cases", etc., all for this reason.
Over the years, I don’t know whether the Shu captives did it intentionally or by coincidence. Every time Cao Rui’s imperial power status showed signs of stability, problems always appeared on the Shu-Wei border.
Forced him to once again rely on the power of powerful families to maintain the stability of Wei.
As time goes by, I can only watch helplessly as the influence of the noble family in the court becomes more and more important.
Difficulties both internally and externally, as well as many difficulties, gradually gave Cao Rui a sense of powerlessness.
The ambitions he had in his early years were constantly being wasted. In the past few years, he became more and more fond of indulging in women to numb himself.
Not only did additional guards be assigned to guard the palace gates, but except for close confidants, other ministers rarely had the opportunity to enter the palace to see the emperor.
Even female officials were set up in the harem, with different grades like those in the outer dynasty, allowing them to organize official documents and assist in handling official affairs.
In other words, Cao Rui was somewhat autistic.
Tingwei Gaorou also advised Cao Rui to send away the redundant women in the palace, but Cao Rui just ignored him.
On the second day after Cao Rui fainted, news came out from the palace that His Majesty had woken up.
Many ministers in the court wanted to enter the palace to see them, but they were all blocked.
Only Cao Zhao, son of Cao Xiu, who was the captain of the cavalry school at that time, Cao Shuang, son of Cao Zhen, who was the general of the military guard, and Cao Yu, king of Yan, could enter.
When Liu Fang and Sun Zi heard about it, they were even more worried.
After duty, Sun Zi made an excuse to come to Liu Fang's house.
The two of them were already secretaries when Cao Cao became Duke of Wei.
After Cao Pi usurped the throne, he was also in charge of the province of Shu.
Until now, the two people's official titles have been continuously rising, but the positions of Zhongshu Supervisor and Zhongshu Ling have always been held by two people and have never changed.
It can be said that the two of them have been in charge of the secrets of the Wei State for more than 20 years, and they can be regarded as sharing weal and woe.
Over the years, there has been a gap in the talents of the clan, and Cao Rui has relied more and more on the veterans left behind by Cao Cao.
Liu Fang and Sun Zi not only took care of daily government affairs, but also carried out large and small matters such as dispatching troops and deploying troops.
Even when the imperial court decides on major matters, they have the right to decide what is right and wrong and act as they choose.
Nowadays, many officials hear the name "Zhongshu" and dare not violate it. This shows the great power of Zhongshu Province.
The two people who made the officials of Wei State change their expressions upon hearing this, now had ugly expressions.
The reason is that someone quietly sent a message to the two of them from the palace:
Today, after Cao Zhao came out of His Majesty’s bedroom, he saw a chicken perched on a tree branch in the palace. He pointed at the chicken and blurted out:
“It’s been a long time, how long can it be restored?”
It means that this thing has been sitting around for too long. I want to see how many more days it can keep bouncing around?
Cao Zhao's words were incomprehensible, and others could not understand what he wanted to express.
But who are Liu Fang and Sun Zi?
After three dynasties, the old man has not only remained standing, but has even become more powerful. Will he be a fuel-efficient lamp?
Not to mention that Liu Fang and Sun Zi have mastered the secrets of the Wei State for more than 20 years. Not to mention anything else, just in terms of analyzing intelligence, the two of them are the best in the Wei State.
Since Cao Rui ascended the throne, Cao Yu, Cao Shuang, Cao Zhao, Qin Lang and others can be said to be emerging favorites.
There was originally Xiahou Xian, but after the Xiahou clan fell out of favor, Xiahou Xian resigned from office and returned home.
There are only so many places around the emperor. If you occupy more, others will naturally occupy less.
Cao Zhao and Qin Lang had long been dissatisfied with Liu Fang and Sun Zi. They believed that they served the emperor every day and held great power. They had been in power for more than 20 years - they had occupied key positions for too long.
It was precisely because of the conflict between the two sides that when Cao Rui was on his way to conquer Chang'an, Liu Fang and Sun Zi took advantage of the loss of Longyou and transferred Qin Lang away from Cao Rui and asked him to guard Qian County.
I just didn’t expect that Qin Lang’s talents were indeed outstanding. In the end, he not only protected Cao Dasima from the battle of Xiaoguan, but also defeated Kebineng.
Now Cao Zhao is serving at home, Qin Lang is leading the army outside, and the internal and external echoes have already vaguely overwhelmed Liu Fang and Sun Zi.
Coupled with the fact that His Majesty's physical condition was unknown, what Cao Zhao said in the palace immediately frightened Liu Fang, Sun Zi and others.
“Your Majesty’s health may not be too optimistic.”
In the secret room of the Liu Mansion, Sun Zi had no scruples and said this directly with a gloomy face.
Because if His Majesty is in good health, then the status of the two of us will not be shaken.
Although His Majesty is a little too trusting in appointing people, he still knows who can be used and who cannot be used in terms of the overall situation.
Since Cao Zhao said these words, it means that His Majesty may have already selected a candidate for the auxiliary minister.
Liu Fang's face was even gloomier than Sun Zi's, and his tone was like ice scraping across the ground:
“Your Majesty most likely intends to let Cao Zhao assist the government.”
The two of them looked at each other and saw the worry in each other's eyes, as well as...a trace of fear hidden deep inside.
“Qin Lang and Cao Zhao are both disgusted with me and Jiang Ji, and they have also written to Your Majesty, saying that Zhongshu Province has the disadvantages of evil officials and monopolistic power.”
Sun Zi’s face began to tremble a little when he said this.
Qin Lang and Jiang Ji are now leading the army. If Cao Zhao is appointed as the auxiliary minister again, they no longer dare to think about what will happen next.
"No, we can't let Cao Zhao take power so easily, otherwise, we may not be able to get a burial place if we want!"
Sun Zi’s eyes flashed with evil, “We must find a way to stop His Majesty.”
Liu Fang was also a little irritable:
"Now His Majesty lives in a deep palace and we are not allowed to enter, but Cao Zhao can come and go at will, so we have nothing to do."
As veterans of three dynasties, it was not that they were unwilling to be loyal to the Wei Dynasty and had to start internal strife at such a critical moment.
It’s just that the situation is too critical.
According to the conflict between himself and Cao Zhao and others, if he really let the other party come to power, not to mention their two lives, I am afraid that the family would be implicated.
To be loyal to the Wei Dynasty, you must first have a life before you can be loyal, right?
How can you be loyal when your life is gone?
The two of them have mastered too many secrets. Even if they want to retreat now, others cannot rest assured - in fact, they have no way out.
Liu Zi stood up and took two steps back and forth:
“Although we cannot enter the palace, it does not mean that others cannot enter.”
At this point, he stood still and looked at Liu Fang.
After a moment of silence, two voices sounded at the same time:
“King Yan?”
“Cao Shuang?”
“Cao Shuang is the son of Cao Zhen, and he and Cao Zhao come from the same clan and royal family. How could he be biased towards us?”
"At least Cao Shuang has no prejudice against us now." Liu Fang glanced at Sun Zi and said, "According to the practice of the Wei Dynasty, among the auxiliary ministers, there must be clan members."
"In this case, rather than letting Cao Zhao take over, it is better to let Cao Shuang take over. Moreover, Cao Shuang is weak in nature and lacks strategy. Even if he comes to power in the future, he will have to ask us for advice."
The lesser of two powers harming each other, Cao Zhao and himself are mortal enemies, but not necessarily Cao Shuang.
“What about King Yan?”
"King Yan?" Liu Fang sneered, "Not to mention the identity of King Yan, in accordance with the laws of Wei and the rules set by Emperor Wen, King Yan himself should know what he should do."
The so-called King of Yan is Cao Yu, the son of Cao Cao and Mrs. Huan, the uncle of Cao Rui, and the uncle of the future prince.
Make your uncle an auxiliary minister and assist the emperor’s great-nephew?
Your Majesty is confused about this kind of thing. Could it be that King Yan is also confused?
Even if King Yan is confused, he and others, as senior ministers of the Wei Dynasty, cannot be confused.
"The King of Yan has always been respectful and gentle, he should know what to do." Sun Zi said a good word for Cao Yu, "If it doesn't work, let me go and test it out to see what his plan is."
To be fair, although Jiang Ji said that Zhongshu Sheng was suspected of having "the power of evil officials", Liu Fang and Sun Zi had always done a good job in managing secrets.
General Man Chong of the Eastern Conquest offended many people because of his strict law enforcement. In addition, he was at odds with Wang Ling, who was from a noble family, so he was often slandered.
After a lot of slander, Cao Rui once had doubts about Man Chong and even called him back to Beijing for a time.
Sun Zi often argued for Man Chong and made his interests clear in front of Cao Rui to protect his reputation and protect him from being framed.
On the contrary, when Sun Zi was slandered by others, he did not defend himself. Later, after the other party requested reconciliation, he was willing to marry him.
This kind of character is considered very strong in the eyes of many people in the court.
So if Sun Zi came to see Cao Yu in person, I believe Cao Yu would not miss him.
As for whether Cao Yu can tell the truth, you have to try to know. If you don't try, you will always have to guess.
Hearing that Sun Zi was willing to take the initiative to find Cao Yu, Liu Fang nodded: "That's good. Let's see what King Yan really thinks and we can respond accordingly."
"Since Yanlong went to find King Yan, then I will go to find Cao Shuang."
Liu Fang's eyes flickered, "If King Yan really knows how to advance and retreat, and we try to drive a wedge between Cao Shuang and Cao Zhao, the matter will be mostly settled."
“Who doesn’t want the position of Assistant Minister? I don’t believe that Cao Shuang would be willing to give it to Cao Zhao.” Sun Zi also nodded in agreement, “Even if they are both Assistant Ministers, there is a sequence.”
Compared to sharing power with Cao Zhao, Sun Zi believed that Cao Shuang would rather hold power alone.
Even if you cannot hold the power alone, at least you should have as few people as possible.
As long as someone can help Cao Shuang realize this, they believe that Cao Shuang will make the right choice.
At this point in the discussion, it is almost settled.
The two of them were silent for a while, but no one got up and left.
After a while, Sun Zi said hesitantly:
"Now the most prestigious person in the Wei Dynasty is none other than the Great Sima. I feel that the Great Sima should be informed of what happened in Luoyang these days. What does Ziqi think?"
Hearing this, Liu Fang suddenly exhaled: "That's true."
After reaching an agreement, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at each other and smiled.
Man Chong was already favored by Sun Zi. If he could get the support of Da Sima again, even if Jiang Ji and Qin Lang, who were leading the troops outside, could not deal with him, so what?
“After Sikong (Chen Qun) left, your Majesty’s auxiliary ministers were the only one left, the Grand Sima. Of course, it is necessary to notify the Grand Sima of such a major event.”
“That’s right.”
Luoyang, an undercurrent began to surge.
Feng Jishi, who had been guarding Linfen to accumulate strength and wanted to deal a head-on blow to Jiang Ji at any time, naturally did not know what happened in Luoyang.
One day, he suddenly discovered that after several hesitations, Jiang Ji led the army to turn around and retreat.
It seems that he really wants to defend Zhiguan.
Even though Feng Jishi was ready to pounce, Jiang Ji retracted so decisively, which still made him a little depressed, as if he was punched in the air.
“Your Majesty, what should we do now?”
“Cold salad!”
As the commander-in-chief, Governor Feng naturally could not let himself fall into emotions for too long. After complaining, he quickly re-examined the current situation and responded at the same time:
"In this case, I will lead three thousand troops to find General Guan, and you will continue to lead the army and stay in Linfen."
Jiang Ji looked like he was shrinking back, but he had to be careful that he was playing tricks with him.
“Ah, Lord, this...”
Governor Feng waved his hand: "Just do as I say. I have my own plan. Just stay in Linfen and don't worry about the rest."
Yang Wanwan and Li Qiu could only nod in agreement.
If they really want to lead the army into battle, the two of them may not be able to convince the proud and powerful generals of the Liangzhou Army.
But if they were allowed to lead the army and guard Linfen, they would still have some prestige.
Yang Wanwan and Li Qiu can be regarded as the younger brothers who called Feng the governor "brother" earlier.
Liangzhou Army, many of the grassroots backbones are descendants of Nanxiang or Yuexi.
The most elite group of veterans should give face to both of them even if they don’t give face to anyone else.
These veterans even came out of the Nanxiang Workshop Guards at the earliest. The one with the worst luck is now also the commander of the Centurion.
As for Li Qiu, when he was in Nanxiang, he also personally participated in the "Military Drill Code" training, and could barely be called their old boss.
At present, the only threat to Linfen is the army led by Jiang Ji in Zhiguanxing.
It’s just that after waiting for so long, if Jiang Ji really dared to come out, he would have come out long ago, and he wouldn’t wait until now.
So Governor Feng was not worried at all.
After the arrangement was completed, Governor Feng led three thousand cavalry troops and passed by Wenxi in a big way.
There was no movement at Zhiguanxing in the east of Wenxi County.
Without any hesitation, Governor Feng led the army to bypass Anyi County and swept along the Su River towards Pubanjin.
Hedong has completely become a battlefield where the Han cavalry is roaming freely.
Knowing that Feng Jishi was coming, General Guan, who was stationed at Pubanjin, was not in a hurry to cross the river.
Anyway, according to the current situation, even if she wanted to force the crossing, with the few men and horses on hand, most of them would probably fill the river.
Several years of planning, thousands of miles of raids, making false claims to the east and attacking in the west, crossing seas and hiding from the enemy, sneaking into Chencang, falsely attacking Guo...
Everything that can be used has been used.
All that can be done has been done.
The rest is up to God’s will.
General Guan, who was standing by the river, was deep in thought when he suddenly heard the sound of thunderous hooves.
She turned around and saw an iron cavalry approaching in the distance.
After seeing the flag clearly, General Guan, who had always been extremely cold, suddenly smiled.
Although she was dressed as a man, her smile actually gave the illusion of bright spring in the weather that was already beginning to feel like autumn.
“Put up the flag!”
“The prince has an order, raise the flag!”
The huge flag with the word "Feng" rising slowly, roaring fiercely against the autumn wind blowing across the river.
Under the flag, General Guan's eyebrows are like sharp swords and his eyes are like autumn water. Looking at the dusty Feng Junhou, his red lips parted slightly:
"coming?"
Feng Junhou looked at General Guan in front of him, his eyes and face were full of smiles, and there was also uncontrollable joy, but he saw him nodding: "Here he comes."
PS: Hedong situation map, please click to comment, the first floor has not been simple since ancient times.