In the Taiji Hall of Luoyang City, on the nine-level Danchi Long Road, the emperor is sitting firmly on his throne. At this moment, his face is filled with confidence and pride that he has never seen since he ascended the throne.
Zhuge Kongming, the powerful enemy of Western Shu who invaded the north for many years, finally died in the autumn wind of Wuzhangyuan. From now on, the southwest border of the Wei Dynasty should never be under such great pressure again.
The Sixth Border War initiated by Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty was eliminated invisibly due to the power of his own dragon boat expedition to the south and the concerted efforts of the border soldiers. In Cao Rui's eyes, this move can be regarded as a A feat that shocked Jiangnan.
Not only that, the capricious and brave Xianbei leader in the north, Fuyi Wang Kebineng, had also been assassinated and died. The Xianbei royal court once again fell into internal fighting, and Mobei's national power was once again greatly weakened. From then on, , the Northern Territory of the Wei Dynasty also has no worries.
Cao Rui even felt that to a certain extent, even his father's achievements in quelling Jianghuai Qingxu could not compare to his achievements now.
"Congratulations to Your Majesty, congratulations to Your Majesty!" Under Danqi, the Grand Situ Dong Zhao, as well as Chen Qun, Zhen Xiang, Jiang Ji, Liu Ye, Liu Fang, Sun Zi, Gao Tanglong, Gao Rou and other officials all knelt down in front of the hall. , shouting long live: "Your Majesty, the Wei Dynasty will live forever!"
The corners of Cao Rui's mouth, the space between his brows, his eyes, and even his gestures all showed the joy and complacency that he couldn't hide in his heart at this moment.
"My dear friends, stay safe!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Different from the high-spirited and high-spirited emperor of the rank, those veterans who are at the forefront of the rank, with gray beards and hair, and rickety backs, such as the great Situ Dong Zhao, Dong Gongren, the great Sikong Yinhou, Chen Qun, Chen Changwen, and Da Honglu Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang and others found it extremely difficult to even bow down and pay homage to the mountain, a ritual that these ministers had not stopped doing for decades.
Among the veterans, especially Da Honglu, the leader of the three dynasties, and Liu Ye and Liu Ziyang, the Marquis of Dongting, looked weakest.
This is not just because of his old age.
At this moment, Liu Ye's thoughts had already drifted thousands of miles away. For no reason, he remembered that decades ago, when he was still a young man, he had received Xu Shao's four-character comment "The Talent of the World" in the Yuedan Review; he also remembered I thought of myself back then, when I was a brilliant strategist who often came up with clever plans for Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen.
Similarly, he also recalled the nightmare of that year. In that year, he was impeached and accused of being double-dealing and disloyal to the country, which caused him to completely lose the trust of His Majesty!
Liu Ye, as the well-known figure in charge of the two dynasties of Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen, was actually trusted by Cao Rui at the beginning. However, everything like this dream was broken that summer six years ago.
[The past is vague]:
Six years ago, it was the fourth year of Taihe in the reign of the emperor of this dynasty. In that year, the emperor was drunk by the Tianyuan Pond and planned to attack the Shu Han. Faced with the emperor's plan, the ministers in the dynasty thought about it again and again, and most of them still thought it was impossible. OK.
In his heart, Liu Ye actually agreed with the emperor's policy of conquering Shu. However, Liu Ye had other ideas in his mind at the beginning. He tried his best to persuade the emperor to decisively conquer Shu in private, but he told the courtiers at the Shangshutai's political affairs office. The strategy of conquering Shu has too many hidden dangers and is absolutely unfeasible.
What confused the emperor and the courtiers later was that Liu Ye had sufficient reasons and a "firm" attitude towards his views on whether the strategy of conquering Shu was feasible or not. But no one mentioned Liu Ye's opinions in front of the emperor at that time. Naturally, the emperor would not inexplicably tell Liu Ye's thoughts to the ministers in the court. Therefore, Liu Ye's move neither offended the emperor nor caused discord with his colleagues. It had the effect of flattering him on both sides!
But paper cannot cover the fire after all.
At that time, Yang Ji, the leader of the Central Army, was favored by Cao Rui, and this man had always respected Liu Ye, a veteran and important minister. At the court meeting that year, he was also one of the ministers who was most opposed to the invasion of Shu. When Liu Ye and Yang Ji were discussing , had told him that Shu could not be conquered. When Yang Ji saw Liu Ye's plan, he naturally believed that Liu Ye would definitely support him at the court meeting.
But later, when Yang Ji and the emperor discussed the conquest of Shu in Tianyuanchi, Yang Ji once again stubbornly warned that Shu could not be conquered. Cao Rui became furious on the spot and accused Yang Ji in a bad mood: "Sir, sir, How do you know about military matters?"
Yang Ji was worthy of being Cao Rui's favorite. He did not show off to the emperor, but chose to continue to speak tactfully. He thought to himself that as Liu Ye was a distinguished veteran of three dynasties and a first-class counselor in this dynasty, the emperor would not fail to consider his words. So he opened his mouth and said:
"I came from the last period of Confucianism. Thanks to your majesty's great love, I was selected from among the ministers and placed on top of the six armies. In order to repay your majesty's great kindness, how could I dare not to say everything when it comes to state affairs? But my words are not sincere. Liu Ye was the late emperor's most valued advisor, and Liu Ziyang often told his ministers that Shu could not be conquered. I hope your majesty will think twice before doing so!"
What Yang Ji didn't expect was that when the emperor heard this, his expression suddenly changed:
"How can this happen? Liu Ye once told me personally that Shu could be conquered! Why did you say again that Liu Ye said that Shu could not be conquered!"
After hearing this, Yang Ji was surprised, but he did not lie, so he would not panic. Yang Ji's face remained calm and he said loudly:
"Your Majesty, Liu Ye can be summoned and confronted in court. If what I said is untrue, Your Majesty can only hold you accountable!"
In this way, Cao Rui summoned Liu Ye with a verbal edict. What made Cao Rui strange was that no matter how he asked Liu Ye, Liu Ye always remained silent.
Naturally, the emperor would not let this mystery continue to ferment in his heart. He still believed that Liu Ye was a thoughtful person, and he believed that Liu Ye must have his reasons for doing so.
In this way, Cao Rui gave Liu Ye enough face and summoned Liu Ye alone again to listen to Liu Ye's explanation.
Sure enough, Liu Ye's eloquence did not disappoint the emperor:
"Conquering a country is a big plan. When I hear about the big plan, I am always afraid that the secret will be leaked in my dreams, so how can I dare to tell others lightly? The soldiers are deceitful. Before the military is launched, they should keep their secrets. Your Majesty has obviously exposed it now, and I am afraid that the enemy country has already heard about it!"
After listening to Liu Ye's words, how could the emperor know the true and false intentions of Liu Ye?
In this way, Liu Ye lost the emperor's trust and became an idle Taizhong doctor, Da Honglu.
Liu Ye, who had countless plans in his mind, and a counselor who knew all his plans, turned out to be an idle doctor who was just waiting to die. How could Liu Ye accept this?
Later, he was so smart that he went crazy because of this, but even so, the emperor still would not forgive him for being a villain who "flattered both sides"...
[Note 1: This paragraph can be complementary to the content briefly mentioned in the previous Chapter 113: By the Tianyuan Pool, the Emperor’s Southern Expedition, Chapter 1, the Sino-Korean Meeting. 】
At this moment, a clear voice broke Liu Ye's ethereal thoughts.
"Your Majesty, this time the general led the elite troops of Yongliang to fight against the bandits of Western Shu, and they should be well rewarded." Liu Fang, the supervisor of the Zhongshu, came out of his squad and stood in the palace and said.
"I second the proposal." Zhongshu ordered Sun Zi to come out and agree.
The two of them understood that this was the moment when His Majesty was in a good mood, and it was only natural to give Sima Yi a hand at this time. The entire court would not feel inappropriate, and His Majesty would naturally not suspect that the two of them took the opportunity to make friends with the party. friend.
Cao Rui pondered for a while and then said: "This time the general has indeed made great achievements in fending off the enemy, and his contribution is indispensable. The Secretary has given him 2,500 households as a reward."
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
When Liu Fang and Sun Zi heard this, they were very happy. Their status in the court could be said to be becoming more and more important.
Already retired.
Cao Rui saw that the newly built Lingxiao Tower had been completed, so he was very interested and wanted to go up to the tower to see it. So Gao Tanglong, the official of Sanqi, Liu Fang, the supervisor of the Zhongshu, and Sun Zi, the Zhongshu Ling, accompanied Cao Rui towards the tomb. Xiaoque walked away.
Cao Rui was already in a good mood. At this time, he boarded the newly built tall tower and looked at the endless stream of tourists and people in the city in the distance. He was even more in a good mood. He couldn't help but feel inspired by poetry again and thought in his heart. After a while, he began to recite his new poem:
"Heaven and earth are infinite. Human life has an end. Make meritorious deeds and become famous. Actions are based on bowing. Sages and sages can measure them. One must be on the right path."
[Note 2: Emperor Ming Cao Ruizhi's "Moon Cycle". 】
Naturally, Liu Fang, Sun Zi and others would not miss this opportunity to flatter each other, and they quickly praised the new poem.
When Cao Rui was in the East Palace, he was quite studious, and he often compared his poems with those of his grandfather Cao Cao and father Cao Pi.
In fact, although Cao Rui's poems are acceptable, they are obviously not as good as those of Emperor Wu Cao Cao. They are also slightly inferior to those of his father Cao Pi. As for the poems of Chen Wang Cao Zhi, he is even more difficult to compare.
While Cao Rui was reciting a poem, he suddenly noticed something strange in the sky above Lingxiao Tower.
When everyone took a closer look, they discovered that there was a group of magpies hovering over the newly completed Lingxiao Tower.
The omen of magpies has always been uncertain among the people.
But Cao Rui was in a good mood at this time, and he already believed that this was a good omen.
"My dear friends, what do you think this means?"
Liu Fang and Sun Zi quickly took the opportunity to flatter him, saying that God must have seen that the Wei Dynasty had the luck to encompass the whole world, so it sent this auspicious sign as an encouragement.
Since Dong Zhongshu of the previous dynasty established the theory of "influence between heaven and man", people have often described some auspicious omens and natural and man-made disasters as rewards and punishments from heaven.
Gradually, this view became deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, even the emperor was no exception.
Cao Rui was very satisfied after hearing the two people's flattery. He turned to Gao Tanglong and asked, "What do Gao Tangsheng think?"
After Gao Tanglong saw these magpies, his first reaction was the handwritten letter from Xia Houxuan that he received yesterday from the Changling Marquis Mansion.
The letter said that now that the general situation of the world has been basically determined, and Sima Yi has controlled the elites of Yongliang, he is frightened every time he thinks about Emperor Wu's dream of "three horses in the same trough" during his lifetime. You are your Majesty's ears, eyes and arms, so you should be your Majesty's. Deeply abstain from it.
He originally thought that Xia Houxuan was just unfounded worries. Although Sima Yi had the power, he never did anything out of the ordinary. But when the scene in front of him appeared, he couldn't help but become a little suspicious, thinking of the aloofness that Sima Yi showed from time to time. , and the vague ambiguity between him and the emperor's important ministers and favored ministers Liu Fang and Sun Zi. At this time, Gao Tanglong realized more and more clearly that maybe what Xia Houxuan said was not groundless.
After hearing the emperor's inquiry, Gao Tanglong did not follow the words of Liu Fang and Sun Zi to flatter Cao Rui. Instead, he poured cold water on Cao Rui's face with a solemn expression. He replied seriously:
"To report to Your Majesty, the poem says, 'Wei magpie has a nest, and Wei dove lives in it'. Nowadays, a palace is built, a mausoleum is built, and a magpie nest is built. This is a sign that the palace is not yet completed and the original owner cannot live in it!"
Gao Tanglong's words were shocking. As soon as he said these words, Cao Rui's face darkened, while Liu Fang and Sun Zi remained silent.