At the moment Cao Rui was about to rise, Sun Zi mentioned another matter: "Your Majesty, Princess Qinghe has sent a memorial from Chang'an, stating that Xiahou Mao has spoken slander against Your Majesty."
Cao Rui raised his eyebrows: "Xiahou Mao? The Xiahou Mao who is the Viceroy of Guanzhong? Why would he slander me? I have even never seen him."
Although he heard Cao Rui's question, Sun Zi did not respond. The most important thing when dealing with imperial affairs is to keep your mouth shut and not get involved where you shouldn't. Especially in this kind of rotten business involving the Cao clan.
Princess Qinghe is the eldest daughter of Cao Cao and the elder sister of Cao Pi.
Talking about Princess Qinghe, she and Cao Ang, the eldest son of Cao Cao who died in the battle at Yancheng, were siblings from the same mother, both born to Cao Cao's Liu mistress.
"Xiahou Mao..." Just now, Sun Zi mentioned Xiahou Mao's defamation of him, and Cao Rui's attention was drawn to Xiahou Mao.
But then he thought for a moment, the one who reported Xiahou Mao was Princess Qinghe, which was like a wife reporting her husband. Moreover, it was Cao Cao's daughter reporting Xiahou Dun's son.
According to the law, slandering the emperor is a crime that can lead to imprisonment. Why would Princess Qinghe want her husband sent to prison? There must be something more complicated than what it seems on the surface. There must be some unclean reason behind it.
Moreover, Xiahou Mao is a noble general stationed in Chang'an, responsible for supervising the military affairs of Guanzhong, a position of utmost importance.
Cao Rui thought for a moment and asked, "What made the late Emperor appoint Xiahou Mao as Anxi General and supervisor of military affairs in Guanzhong?"
Sun Zi's expression showed a hint of hesitation: "Your Majesty, this matter involves the late Emperor. I don't know whether I should speak up or not."
Cao Rui gently waved his hand: "Speak without concern, I will not hold a grudge against anyone for their words, let alone when it's me asking you."
Sun Zi nodded: "Then, Your Majesty, I will attempt to explain the chain of events surrounding this matter."
"To begin with, let's talk about this matter. It all started when the late Emperor ascended the throne as King of Wei. At that time, General Xiahou Dun was stationed in the southeast, and the forces under his command were the largest among all generals."
"After the late Emperor ascended the throne, he immediately appointed Xiahou Dun as the Grand General. However, after becoming the Grand General, Xiahou Dun passed away from illness within less than two months. Therefore, the late Emperor tasked Xiahou Mao, the son of Xiahou Dun, with supervising the military affairs in Guanzhong."
"The late Emperor had a very good relationship with Xiahou Mao since his youth."
Cao Rui took a deep breath, Xiahou Mao had a very good relationship with Cao Pi, and indeed Cao Pi was quite generous to his friends.
Cao Rui looked at Sun Zi and said, "I recall that the one who was in charge of military affairs in Guanzhong before was Xiahou Yuan. The Emperor also referred to him as 'He walks the Battlefield of Guanzhong and leads without hindrance'."
"I am aware that Xiahou Yuan died in the Battle of Dingjun Shan. My question is, who was in charge of military affairs in Guanzhong between Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Mao?"
Sun Zi said without showing any emotion, "It was Rencheng King Cao Zhang."
At this moment, Cao Rui felt speechless. It seems that Cao Pi's appointment of Xiahou Mao as the supervisor of military affairs in Guanzhong was another blurry account of appointing relations.
As the saying goes, "National affairs are big and the appointment of key positions is crucial; it is not simply a matter of promoting someone based on their capabilities." The use of close relatives and friends is an effective and reliable instinctual choice.
Is Cao Zhang capable? Of course, he is strong.
Cao Zhang, as the General of the North Middle Army, led his troops northward to northern Gaoyin Prefecture and quelled the insurrection of the Wuguan tribe. He also made Kebi Neng surrender. Even Cao Cao, when faced with Liu Fan's challenge on Mount Hanzhong, first thought of his "Yellow-bearded son" Cao Zhang.
Such a capable general, wouldn't it be suitable for him to garrison a region? However, as a close brother of Cao Pi and potentially competing for positions, Cao Zhang had to retire to his fief and later 'died of illness' several years later.
Is Xiahou Mao capable? Xiahou Mao is just a middle-ranking army officer, without any notable achievements. After Cao Pi became the King of Wei, he was suddenly promoted to the position of Anxi General and sent to Chang'an as the supervisor of military affairs in Guanzhong.
Who can I reason with?
Cao Pi himself made the appointment, so Cao Rui could only grit his teeth and accept it.
Cao Rui asked again: "Qinghe Princess is my aunt, but I have never met her. Sun Zhi, do you know anything about Qinghe Princess?"
Sun Zi responded: "I know a bit, but it's still related to the late Emperor."
"Go ahead and speak," Cao Rui sighed. "Say whatever comes to mind."
Sun Zi nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Sun Zi explained, "During the time of Emperor Wu, he once wanted to marry Qinghe Princess to Ding Yi of Qiuxian County and inquired about it with the late Emperor."
"The late Emperor suggested that since Ding Yi had small eyes and might not be favored by Qinghe Princess, Emperor Wu should instead betroth her to Xiahou Mao, the son of Xiahou Dun."
"Ding Yi was unable to marry the princess, so he harbored deep resentment towards the late Emperor and instead supported Mengqiu King Cao Zhi."
This is yet another event that is truly hard to believe.
During the struggle for the throne between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, Ding Yi was one of Cao Zhi's most trusted generals, and at his most powerful, he even caused the death of two important officials, Cui Yan and Ma Jie.
It directly caused an almost endless feud between Cao Pi's faction and Cao Zhi's faction.
"Ah..." Cao Rui sighed. In this world, where does enmity come from without cause? Whether it was Cao Pi's dissatisfaction with Ding Yi before or Ding Yi's resentment towards Cao Pi afterward, the enmity between the two men indeed grew larger and larger.
Just two months after Cao Pi ascended the throne as the King of Wei, he planned for Ding Yi to commit suicide in order to apologize. When Ding Yi refused, he was even more ruthless and killed both Ding Yi brothers and their entire male family.
Any emperor, their hands will not be free from blood.
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, let Princess Qinghe and Xiahou Mao both come to Luoyang. I want to question them in person."
It's reasonable to question whether Xiahou Mao, who serves as the supervisor of military affairs in Guanzhong, is suitable for the position of protecting against the Shu Han and guarding against Zhuge Liang. Cao Rui had been considering replacing him for some time, and this is a good opportunity to have Xiahou Mao come to Luoyang.
Regarding Xiahou Mao, Cao Rui also recalled an ancient case in history: During Zhuge Liang's first northern expedition, Wei Yan proposed that he personally lead 5,000 elite troops and 5,000 provisions personnel through Zi wu Valley to raid Chang'an within about 10 days.
Wei Yan's strategy was certainly rejected by the cautious Zhuge Liang, and the reason for his rejection was simple: Wei Yan's assumptions were too many and too numerous.
To satisfy Wei Yan's strategic goals, Wei Yan himself "must" pass through the Zi wu Valley within ten days, while Xiahou Mao, who Xiahou Yan considered to be incompetent, "must" abandon the city and flee, and the Wei country "must" take over twenty days to send aid after Xiahou Mao abandoned the city, Zhuge Liang also "must" travel through the Xiegudao Valley within a month to reach Chang'an.
These 'must' events were almost all Wei Yan's fantasies. In history, Cao Zhen's expedition to Shu through the Zi wu Valley took him a month to walk half the distance. Zhuge Liang later led his northern expedition through Xiegudao Valley, taking a total of two months.
Regardless of the situation, Xiahou Mao needs to be replaced! Can one really expect Xiahou Mao to resist Zhuge Liang?
At this time, Sun Zi asked, "Your Majesty, if Xiahou Mao returns to Luoyang, who will be responsible for Chang'an?"
Cao Rui glanced at Sun Zi: "Sun Zhongshu, do you think who can take up the task of supervising military affairs in Guanzhong?"
