In the world of Thirteen States, the Wei Kingdom occupies nine states.
Such an enormous number of officials, even if only for some key positions, still requires a lot of work that Cao Rui alone cannot complete.
Before granting a reward to a minister, it is necessary to examine his age, origin, career history, merits and demerits. In addition, an assessment of personal ability and conduct should be made. Not only should various records be consulted, but also a detailed summary should be compiled.
Therefore, this grand reward was jointly crafted by the emperor and four ministers of the court inside the North Palace. They worked overtime for three consecutive days before completing all the tasks.
This not only serves as a reward, but also provides a comprehensive review and reflection on all officials holding key positions.
In the North Palace a few days ago, Prime Minister Xin Pi initially thought that such a reward was inappropriate. In Xin Pi's view, rewards should be bestowed upon ministers for their great contributions to the state. If everyone gets a share like water being sprinkled around, isn't it too cheap?
As early as when Cao Pi succeeded the throne, Xin Pi felt that it was inappropriate. When Xin Pi wanted to advise the emperor, he was directly stopped by the emperor.
This does not refer to a literal act of plugging the mouth, but rather that before the emperor allowed the ministers of the court to study the rewards for officials in the outer court, he had already determined the rewards for the four ministers of the court and two editors.
What was originally a Marquis of the Interior has now become a Marquis of the Pavilion; what was originally a Marquis of the Pavilion is now a Marquis of the Village.
When the award fell on his own head, who would argue with that title? Although Xin Pi's ancestral home was in Longxi, he was born in Yancheng, Yingchuan. From Guangping Pavilion Marquis, he became Yingshang Marquis. Just the 'Ying' character alone was enough to buy Xin Pi.
When Xin Pi tentatively asked the emperor why he was rewarding the officials, Cao Wei laughed and said, "I promoted your rank as Prime Minister of the Court first before thinking of the officials throughout the court. They all need to thank you, Prime Minister Xin!"
Faced with the emperor's such jokes, Xin Pi could only feel at a loss for words.
Cao Rui had a large screen made by the court eunuchs, covered with Zuo Bo paper. The first step was to select the list of rewards, and the second step was to determine the specific rewards. It is obviously clearer and more direct to draw on the screen than on paper.
Although most people's rewards were granted quite smoothly, there were still some extremely rare cases of rewards that were questioned.
For example, Meng Da.
Seizing opportunities is a skill that applies not only to personal conduct but also to official life. Meng Da is a master at timing his opportunities.
Not long after Cao Cao's death, and while Cao Pi had just become the King of Wei and had not yet been crowned as the emperor, Meng Da led his troops of more than 4,000 households to defect to the state of Wei when Cao Pi was in dire need of prestige and achievements.
At that time, what Cao Pi needed most was prestige. Submitting to the four directions and having foreign generals surrendered were all big gains in terms of both face and material gain.
When Meng Da arrived in Qiao County to meet Cao Pi, he entered with grace and elegance, and his wit and eloquence outshone others. Everyone was captivated by him. Even when Cao Pi went out for a drive, Meng Da rode alongside him in the same carriage, and Cao Pi would even joke with Meng Da by holding his hand and asking: "Would you not become an assassin for Liu Bei?"
Meng Da gained the favor of Cao Pi, who not only appointed him as the Attendant-in-Advisory and General of Military Affairs, granting him the title of Marquis of Pingyang Pavilion, but also merged the three commanderies of Fangling, Shangyong, and Xichéng into a new commandery called Xincheng. Cao Pi then appointed Meng Da as the Governor of Xincheng Commandery and entrusted him with responsibilities in southwest regions.
However, after Cao Pi's death, the current emperor Cao Rui knew very well what kind of person Meng Da was. He could be summarized in four words: fickle and petty.
When discussing Meng Da's reward, Liu Ye first expressed opposition.
Liu Ye addressed the emperor as follows: "I believe, Your Majesty, that Meng Da is a man who has repeatedly surrendered and betrayed. Moreover, he relies on his talent and prefers cunning methods. Such a person cannot be influenced by rewards. Besides, Meng Da is stationed in Xincheng. If he were to turn against us, it would be very harmful to Xiangyang and Jingzhou."
Cao Rui was also quite surprised. Liu Ye's ability to see and understand people was indeed precise. In the original history, when Zhuge Liang first led the invasion of Wei territory, he managed to persuade Meng Da to defect to Wei instead of reverting to Shu Han, which surprised Meng Da himself.
But at the end of the Yellow Initial Seventh year, when the new emperor ascended to the throne, he hadn't even changed the year's title. If we evaluate Meng Da's current state, it should be quite stable.
Cao Rui then asked Huang Quan, who had once served in Shu Han, "What do you think? Should we bestow a reward on Meng Da?"
After thinking for a moment, Huang Quan said, "I am quite familiar with Meng Da."
"Meng Da is from Fufeng. His father, Meng Ta, obtained the position of Gongchang Prefectural Administrator through bribing Zhang Rang. Meng Da's behavior in later years was very similar to his father's, and he tended to be opportunistic."
"Meng Da, along with Fa Zheng, lured Liu Bei into Yizhou. However, Meng Da was only appointed as the Prefect of Yidu. Fa Zheng, who also planned this matter, was treated as a close confidant and appointed as the Prefect of Shu Commandery and General of Yangwu. He received the highest level of rewards from Liu Bei, along with Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei."
"Liu Bei appointed Fa Zheng as his chief strategist to conquer Hanzhong. After Liu Bei was crowned King of Hanzhong, he made Fa Zheng the Secretary of State and General of the Guard. At this time, Meng Da was still stationed in a remote and relatively obscure place called Shouchong."
"Meng Da has known Fa Zheng for several decades. The disparity between Meng Da and Fa Zheng led Meng Da to be quite dissatisfied in his heart. Additionally, during Guan Yu's campaign against Anyang, Meng Da, together with Liu Fuan, refused Guan Yu's request for an army. After Guan Yu's death, Meng Da constantly feared being punished, and had a strained relationship with Liu Fuan, who took away Meng Da's drums and banners. Consequently, Meng Da chose to lead his troops to defect to Wei."
Huang Quan himself had also defected from Shu Han, so having a defector comment on another defector did feel somewhat strange. However, Huang Quan had no hesitation in his speech, expressing his disdain for Meng Da without any concealment.
It is most interesting about Meng Da that, before he defected to Wei, he actually wrote a personal letter to Liu Bei!
At the end of Meng Da's personal letter to Liu Bei, he wrote: "I am indeed a small person and cannot remain steadfast." He also said: "Every time I hear that after the relationship ends there should be no ill will, when I leave I have no complaints."
It roughly means that, while I, Meng Da, am a small person, you, Liu Bei, are a gentleman! Although I have defected to Wei, I'm sure you won't hold me to the same standards as yourself, right? It's extremely sarcastic.
Finally, Huang Quan summarized: "If Your Majesty wants to ensure the safety of the three eastern commandery, it would be better to summon Meng Da back to the capital and appoint someone else to govern the three eastern commandery instead of rewarding him and allowing him to become arrogant."
After hearing Huang Quan's words, Cao Rui smiled slightly: "Huang Zhongshou, you are indeed a gentleman. This is an interpretation of a small person's actions from the perspective of a gentleman. But I believe that if I were to grant rewards to the officials and issue an imperial decree inviting Meng Da back to the capital, do you think Meng Da would immediately rebel upon receiving the imperial decree?"
"How should we proceed?" Huang Quan furrowed his brow and asked, "Is it that we can only continue to bestow rewards upon Meng Da?"
Cao Rui laughed and shook his head: "Since Meng Da is undoubtedly a small person, he should neither be loyal to me nor be loyal to Shu. If Meng Da were to vacillate between Wei and Shu, it would only be because he sees which party offers a higher price."
"Oh, what about Zhao Yun, the general of Shu Han? What is his current title?"
Liu Ye, who had studied a lot about the people of enemy states, spoke up at this moment: "Your Majesty, if I'm not mistaken, Zhao Yun should have been granted the title of Marquis of the Pavilion after Liu Chan succeeded to the throne."
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Zhuge Liang is also only a town marquis, isn't that correct?"
Liu Ye nodded in agreement: "Exactly as Your Majesty said."
Cao Rui said with a smile, "Now I have it clear in my mind. Make a note of this: promote Meng Da from Marquis of the Pavilion to Marquis of the Village, matching his rank with that of Zhuge Liang. Also, grant Meng Da the title of General of the West from Xiahou Mao."
"Liu Feng once took away Meng Da's drums. So I will give Meng Da drums again to show that I have not forgotten him. You, Huang Quan, write another private letter to Meng Da for me."
"I do not believe that Zhuge Liang's offer to Meng Da will be more lucrative than mine."
Liu Ye echoed at this moment, "If Your Majesty does so, there will be no need to worry about Meng Da for the time being."
Cao Rui said: "Yes, it's fine to have no worries for the moment. Everything is done in the end for the southeastern war."
