Xin Pi usually speaks little, but this time, when he defended Jia Hui during Sun Zi's speech, he gave the emperor a reminder.
Sun Zi was a person who, during the time when Cao Ren was bedridden as the emperor and Liu Fang and Sun Zi manipulated power, replaced the ministers of government with Sima Yi and Cao Shuang.
During the period when Cao Rui ascended the throne, Sun Zi handled official affairs in a rigorous and organized manner, was obedient and easy to use, almost causing Cao Rui to ignore his attention to Sun Zi's temperament.
Sun Pi should be credited with a great merit, but Cao Rui did not wish to show his feelings about Sun Zi to Sun Pi.
Sun Zi had already left, and Cao Rui asked Xin Pi: "Master, what is the cause of the resentment between Cao Xiu and Jia Qi? Please explain it to me in detail."
Xin Pi paused for a moment before saying: "Your Majesty, this matter began when the first expedition against Wu was launched during the Yellow Years."
"At that time, the Grand Marshal was still the General of the East, and the late emperor granted him the power of the imperial yellow jade scepter, supervising over more than twenty armies including Zhang Liao, Zang Bao, Jia Qi, and Wang Ling, to attack Wu from Guangling. At this time, Governor Jia of Yu was under the command of the Grand Marshal. The two had a difference in opinion regarding their strategy for sending troops across the river."
"And the Grand Marshal sent Zang Bao with a million men across the river, but they were then defeated and driven back to the north by Wu troops. Governor Jia of Yu believed that the Grand Marshal's deployment was incorrect and reported this to the late emperor."
"And Governor Jia of Yu was likely to have angered the Grand Marshal at this time."
"When the late emperor embarked on his second southern campaign and intended to grant Governor Jia of Yu the power of acting commander, the Grand Marshal, citing Governor Jia's temper as fierce and his disdain for subordinates, talked the late emperor out of it. Governor Jia did not receive the power of acting commander either."
Xin Pi explained the quarrel between Cao Xiu and Jia Qi in a concise manner.
It was essentially Jia Qi who blamed Cao Xiu for his incompetence, and Cao Xiu stumbled when it came to Jia Qi's request for the title of acting commander, and the two have had a grudge ever since.
At this time, Cao Xiu was holding an edict that did not explicitly order the mobilization of Yuzhou's troops. If Jia Qi did not find some procedural mistakes to irritate Cao Xiu a bit, it would be quite unusual.
Cao Rui stood up, slowly pacing in the study.
There were no other ways to handle it. Cao Xiu would have to be soothed and reassured that an order would be given to send troops to Shoushun. Jia Qi would also have to be soothed and assured that the previous edict had not included details, and a new edict would be issued.
Otherwise, would one be expected to reprimand Cao Xiu or demote Jia Qi? With a formidable enemy at hand, anyone with a little sense wouldn't make such foolish actions.
After the confrontation between Sun Zi and Xin Pi, Cao Rui was no longer overly concerned about Cao Xiu and Jia Qi. People like Sun Zi, who appeared to be loyal to their duties on the surface but were secretly inserting their own interests in small but significant ways, are the ones that should be watched closely.
That evening, after Xin Pi returned home from his duty, he talked with his son Xin Kang casually about what had happened in the palace during the day.
However, Xin Kang was quite worried about his father: "Father, now Liu Fang and Sun Zi, with their important positions and deep favor from the emperor, are being fawned upon by everyone in the court. Even if Father cannot tolerate Sun Zi, why would you contradict him in front of Sun Zi?"
Xin Pi looked at his son, whose abilities were ordinary: "According to your view, what should I do?"
Xin Kang thought for a moment and said: "Father, of course, he can give advice to the emperor when Sun Zi is not present. This way, he can both avoid offending Sun Zi and fulfilling his loyalty to the emperor. It's a win-win situation."
Xin Pi shook his head: "Tai Yong, this is not the way a man with integrity should behave. How can you be truly loyal if you're afraid of offending powerful ministers? I intend to speak directly to the emperor in front of Sun Zi, so that Liu Fang and Sun Zi will know that not everyone bends to their whims."
Seeing his father so resolute, Xin Kang, as his son, did not dare to say much more about the matter. Instead, he brought up his father's career prospects: "I fear that in the future when you are promoted, Sun Zi will surely try to obstruct it in some way."
Xin Pi seemed to be unconcerned: "Even if Sun Zi tries to hinder me, what can he do? The current emperor is wise and wise, but he simply prevents me from becoming a three-guo official. Can he prevent me from becoming a nine-guo official?"
"No more about such words."
As his son, Xin Kang could only agree.
However, after a moment, Xin Kang seemed to have thought of something else: "Father, as you said before, the Ni concubine has been sent to the cold palace. In the past few months, there hasn't been any news of the emperor taking anyone into his palace. Isn't that to say that the emperor now has only one concubine?"
Xin Pi was somewhat surprised by his son's wandering thoughts and was momentarily dumbfounded: "Indeed, that is the case. The emperor now has only one concubine in his harem, Mao Pei, and she is pregnant as well."
Xin Pi quickly added: "The fact that Mao Pei is pregnant is known only to the officials. I have never mentioned it to anyone else, and you must not tell anyone either."
His son Xin Kang naturally nodded and said: "So is the emperor short of women in his harem?"
Xin Pi sternly looked at his son: "What do you mean by that?"
Xin Kang continued his thought-wandering: "Father, my brother-in-law Yang Dan has a brother named Yang Tan. The daughter of Yang Tan's family, known as Yang Huimiu, counts as my niece according to the family line!"
"The girl will be thirteen years old in a month, can she be taken into the palace?"
Xin Pi was now slightly angry: "I have had you read books, study classics, and teach you about court affairs, not to make you think about the emperor's harem!"
"Are you suggesting that I should go and find women for the emperor? This is something I cannot interfere with!"
Seeing his father angry, Xin Kang could only apologize to his father in succession.
...
At the same time, in Chang'an city.
As the Anxi General and Supervisor of Military Affairs in Guanzhong, Xiahou Mogu was sitting among several concubines, drinking. Though surrounded by beauties on either side, Xiahou Mogu was now suffused with a look of worry.
Two matters were troubling Xiahou Mogu:
Firstly, his wife Qinghe Princess had presented a tab to the court, accusing Xiahou Mogu of slandering the emperor. The emperor had ascended the throne for several months, and Xiahou Mogu had not had the chance to pay homage to him.
Xiahou Mogu and the late Emperor Cao Pi had a good relationship, but he had heard that the relationship between Emperor Cao Pi and the current emperor was also very poor. The current emperor received the memorial, and Xiahou Mogu didn't know how he would be dealt with.
Secondly, Xiahou Mogu owed his wife a debt. In Chang'an, Xiahou Mogu had kept several concubines, and his relationship with Qinghe Princess was even more nominal than the name. If this were taken into account, it was not strange for Xiahou Mogu's wife to resent him.
What was more critical was that the idea to have his wife file a memorandum to defamed Xiahou Mogu was proposed by Xiahou Mogu's two younger brothers for his sister-in-law!
This was like several family scandals piling up on top of each other, making the family scandal even worse.
Here, Xiahou Mogu drank his sorrows, and began to give up on himself. He thought that it would be better to directly apologize to the emperor, saying that he had spoken falsely about him.
As the son of Xiahou Dun, could the emperor still execute himself?
Xiahou Mogu pondered further, his intoxication deepening. But no matter how much he struggled in his mind, the carriage to Luoyang was already prepared, and by the early morning of the next day, he and Qinghe Princess would set off for Luoyang.
