Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhi and said, "I do not know military affairs, so during my southern campaign, there were over a million troops around me. I never personally commanded any troops in battle."
"And Uncle Huang," Cao Rui shook his head: "If Uncle Huang were capable of leading troops, he would have done so long ago during the time of the Jian'an era. With Emperor Wu's favor towards Uncle Huang, why didn't he take up the command as a 'commander of a school' then? Why should he come to discuss with me today?"
Cao Zhi's expression also gradually turned dark. He had indeed had such an opportunity, but he had wasted it by himself. He had held it in his hand, but it slipped through his fingers.
In the 24th year of Jian'an, Cao Reng was besieged by Guan Yu at Xiangfu. In a hurry, Emperor Wu Cao wanted to dispatch Cao Zhi as the South China Squadron Commander, acting as the General of the Siege-Lurker troops, and commanding his most elite seven troops to march south in order to rescue Cao Reng.
However, Cao Zhi was unable to accept the appointment due to being drunk. At a critical moment of the front-line battle, Cao Cao was forced to send the non-surnamed general Yu Ban to lead troops south.
Later... Later... This refers to the stories of Guan Yu's water-submerging seven armies, Yu Ban's surrender in a crisis, and Pang De's unwavering resistance.
A wave of lamentation surged in Cao Zhi's heart.
The emperor's words just now were sharp, but they were not without reason.
Firstly, I have no experience in leading troops in battle. The court cannot take the lives of soldiers as a trial to prove my ability to lead troops during war.
Secondly, I am a 'suspected person' who has competed with the late emperor for the throne. I should not ask for even one soldier's command right from the court.
Both of these matters are something that Cao Zhi actually understands, but he still finds it hard to suppress his desire to be appointed. He couldn't help but repeatedly submit memorials requesting for an appointment.
Just like everyone knows the big picture, how many people can actually live a fulfilling life?
Cao Zhi, with a somewhat melancholic expression, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, this is reported to you by the subject. I understand that I will no longer seek this matter from the court."
"I know," replied Cao Rui. "I have some official matters to attend to this afternoon. Uncle, rest for a while first, and tonight I will dine with you."
After bowing, Cao Zhi withdrew.
And Cao Rui stood with his back to Cao Zhi, watching him walk away, as if deep in thought.
By nightfall, the Chenliu Palace had prepared a banquet.
Although it was a banquet, there were only three people at the table: the current emperor, Uncle Cao Zhi, Prince of Yongqiu, and the emperor's confidant Wei Jian.
Emperor Cao Rui naturally sat at the highest seat in the hall.
Uncle Cao Zhi sat on the right side, and Wei Jian's table was smaller, located on the left side and a bit lower, serving as a secondary attendee.
Cao Zhi and Wei Jian arrived at the hall early. They could not take their seats as the emperor had not arrived, so they stood in the hall exchanging pleasantries.
When the emperor arrived, Cao Zhi and Wei Jian, one after the other, bowed to the emperor.
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Uncle, Zhong Gong, please take your seats."
After the emperor took his seat, they also sat at their respective seats.
The attendants entered in a line, placing eight exquisite dishes at each table, of course, accompanied by fine wine.
Cao Zhi was a connoisseur of wine, which was well-known throughout Wei.
Cao Rui pointed to the wine on the table beside him and said, "Uncle, try this wine. How is it today?"
The attendant beside him had already filled the wine jar. Cao Zhi picked up the jar and took a sip, revealing a trace of surprise in his face and said, "Your Majesty, if I'm not mistaken, this should be Qiao County's Jiǔniàng Chūnjiǔ."
Cao Rui nodded with a smile: "When I returned from Shoushan to the north, I passed by Qiao County. The Cao clan relatives offered this wine to me."
Cao Zhi said with a hint of sentimentality, "This wine is not easy to make, and I haven't had it for many years."
"I remember that the wine must soak the yeast in running water in early December, with 30 lbs of yeast and 5 carts of running water. Starting from January, every three days a bushel of rice is added, following a rotation of nine times, and only then can it be enjoyed in February," Cao Zhi said.
Cao Rui said, "This is the wine newly brewed in February. Drinking it now is just right."
"Uncle, how much is this wine worth?"
Cao Zhi saw Cao Rui ask and smiled and said, "Since this is a wine personally presented by the emperor, it can fetch ten thousand strings of money per bottle."
Cao Rui nodded: "A golden cup of clear wine costs ten thousand strings, and a jade plate of delicacies is worth ten thousand."
Cao Zhi's eyes widened slightly: "Is this a poem written by Your Majesty? This is wonderfully said!"
An outstanding writer can sense the beauty of a good poem from a few words.
Cao Rui shook his head and smiled: "I don't have such literary talent. This poem was written by Li Taibai, and I merely quoted it."
"Cao Zhi asked, 'Li Taibai... I have never heard of this man, where does he come from?"
"Probably from the Western Regions," Cao Rui said casually: "He also loves Uncle Cao's poetry and calligraphy. Let's begin the meal, Uncle."
The emperor did not wish to elaborate, and Cao Zhi could not insist: "The subject is grateful for the banquet of Your Majesty."
When the banquet began, it was not appropriate to discuss important matters.
After three rounds of drinking, Cao Zhi took out a roll of Zuo Bo paper from his pocket: "Since Your Majesty likes the subject's writing, I have an essay that I haven't shown anyone in the past few years. Today, I would like to present it to Your Majesty."
It would be better if it were a poem. But when it comes to fu (an ancient Chinese form of prose poetry), couldn't it be that famous piece, the "Luo Shen Fu" ("The Song of the Luo River Goddess")?
Wei Jian walked up to Cao Zhi's table and took the essay, then walked over to the emperor's table to present it.
Cao Rui opened it up and saw the largest three characters on the right side, clearly and distinctly written as "Gǎn Yuán Fù" (The Sensation of Yuán).
Cao Rui focused his eyes on it, muttering softly, "In the third year of Huang Chu (220-221 AD), I traveled to the capital and returned to Luo River. Ancient people say: The spirit of this river is called Mei Fei..."
Isn't this the "Luo Shen Fu" (The Song of the Luo River Goddess)?
Cao Rui of course knew about this public case. Some later generations speculated that Zhen Shi was named Zhen Mi, and that Cao Zhi's writing about the Fei referred to his sister-in-law, etc.
However, the current Cao Rui clearly looks absurd, as such rumors and gossip did not exist in this era! Moreover, the Empress Zhao, known as Xuanzhao Zhen, had nothing to do with Mei Fei!
Cao Rui continued to read: "My appearance resembles the thin clouds that obscure the moon, and my movements are like the swirling snow swept back by the flowing wind..."
Cao Rui did not continue reading. Instead, he folded up the Zuo Bo paper with the "Luo Shen Fu" on it and placed it aside.
Cao Zhi slightly disappointed, thinking that the emperor didn't like the essay. Since writing this essay in the third year of Huang Chu (220-221 AD), Cao Zhi had always kept it precious and never shown it to anyone.
Today, Cao Zhi hoped to show his writing talent to the emperor in front of him to build up a little goodwill. However, did the emperor really dislike it?
Cao Rui picked up the wine jar with his right hand: "When reading your uncle's essay, one should drink a jar of wine. Come, Uncle Cao, lift your cup!"
The two drank the wine together in a toast.
Cao Rui, after drinking the wine in his jar, tapped lightly on the table with a hint of intoxication: "Uncle Cao wrote about his grievances towards the late emperor through Mei Fei, right?"
Cao Zhi, also somewhat tipsy, replied: "I dare not! Mei Fei is just Mei Fei; she has nothing to do with me."
Cao Rui smiled: "I have read all of the poems of the late emperor, and I have also read Uncle Cao's grief-stricken poems. Will you listen to me compare the two?"
Cao Zhi said: "The subject is honored to listen to the imperial will."
Cao Rui pointed to the sky with his finger: "The late emperor's banquet poems are often about turning joy into sorrow, starting with narration before expressing emotion. Uncle Cao's banquet poems, while also turning joy into sorrow, always start with describing the scene before expressing emotion."
"Unlike the late emperor's poetic expression of wife's complaints, in which the poet speaks as a wife, expressing her grievances and expressing his own feelings, such as 'The humble wife lives alone in an empty room, worried about you and dare not forget, the tears flow down unconsciously' are literally about the emperor's lack of trust in himself."
"However, Uncle Cao's poems of wife's complaints always compare himself to beautiful women. And in this 'Gǎn Yuán Fù', isn't it the same, comparing himself to the Luo River's Empress Mei Fei?"
"Today, I present this 'Gǎn Yuán Fù' to the emperor, but it is also saying that you are not used by the emperor."
Cao Rui laughed a few times and pointed to Cao Zhi and said: "Uncle Cao, I am saying it, isn't it?"
Cao Zhi had just stood up to bow, but was stopped by Cao Rui: "We are drinking with Uncle Cao. Why stand up again? Sit down quickly!"
Cao Zhi, unable to resist, sat on the seat and bowed his hands: "The subject has no such intention, but only to present this essay to the emperor."
Cao Rui thought for a moment: "Uncle Cao, your essay is about the Luo River Goddess everywhere, not about the city of Ju where you are. I'll rename this essay; remove 'Gǎn Yuán Fù' and call it 'Luo Shen Fu' instead!"
Cao Zhi bowed his hands and said: "The subject thanks Your Majesty for the name! 'Luo Shen Fu' is indeed more appropriate than 'Gǎn Yuán Fù'."
Cao Rui nodded and said: "Can Uncle Cao have another drink?"
Cao Zhi replied, "Of course I can drink. Whatever amount Your Majesty asks me to drink, I will naturally drink that much."
Cao Rui looked at Wei Jian and said, "Zhong Gong! Go fetch some wine for Uncle Cao Zhi."
"Yes." Wei Jian stood up, bowed his hands in salute, and then knelt down to the side of Cao Zhi's table. He chased away the previous attendants.
Cao Zhi looked at the emperor in confusion: "Your Majesty, what does this mean?"
Cao Rui smiled slightly and said, "Uncle Cao said that Your Majesty would let you drink as much as you want."
The words were his own just moments ago, so he couldn't avoid it: "Your Majesty, it was the subject who spoke just now."
Cao Rui nodded: "Very well, Uncle Cao. I'll ask you a question, and you must drink a jar of wine. If you answer it correctly, I will reward you accordingly. If you don't, I have my own way of dealing with it."
Cao Zhi, who had already drunk half the jar, also had some alcohol in him. With courage induced by the drink, he said, "The subject is honored to comply. Please ask your question, Your Majesty."
"Good!" Cao Rui said with a smile: "Uncle Cao, each time you drink a jar of wine, I will also drink one with you!"
Cao Rui fixed his gaze on Cao Zhi's eyes: "At the end of the Han Dynasty, why was there a lack of royal family members protecting the Liu clan during the chaos?"
Cao Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Lacking talent, power, and troops!"
"Lift the cup!" Cao Rui raised his right hand and took a drink with Cao Zhi.
Cao Rui asked again, "Should the royal family of our great Wei Dynasty lead the troops?"
Cao Zhi replied, "Like me, a suspect person, it is naturally not suitable to lead the troops. But people without suspicion may be suitable."
The two drank another jar of wine together.
Cao Rui continued to ask, "Should the royal family reside in their fiefs or be under supervision in Luoyang?"
Now Cao Zhi didn't answer as quickly. After thinking for a moment, he raised his cup and sighed: "It should be in their fiefs! But if they are under the same supervision, I would rather be in Luoyang."
Cao Rui gently shook his head: "I cannot drink this cup, Uncle Cao, please drink it yourself."
Cao Zhi did not hesitate either. He held up the cup with both hands, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go. After finishing, he even turned the cup over to show that he had indeed drunk it.
Cao Rui stared into Cao Zhi's eyes and asked, "Should officials be appointed to those of the royal family with talents and knowledge?"
Cao Zhi thought for a long time and sighed deeply: "This matter is entirely up to the superior's intention, and I cannot speak."
Cao Rui said, "I still won't drink this cup, and you, Uncle Cao, also don't need to drink it."
Cao Rui slowly stood up, looked at Wei Jian, and said, "Zhong Gong, do you have ink and paper? Let you write!"
Wei Jian bowed and answered: "The subject has already prepared it." He then sat down at the corner of the hall in front of a small desk, and with his right hand, he picked up the brush properly.
Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhi's face as he slowly spoke: "Order the Ministry of Ceremonial Affairs to establish the Supreme Academy of Literature in Luoyang City, to show the meaning of 'honoring Confucianism and valuing learning,' and 'taking classics as the priority'."
"Set one chief priest and two deputies. Have the renowned Confucian scholar Gao Tao Long serve as the chief priest of the Supreme Academy of Literature, summon Uncle Cao Zhi to the capital for official duties as the deputy chief priest, and leave one vacancy for future appointment."
Cao Zhi was first surprised, and then his face lit up with joy. After a few moments, the joy turned into relief, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Cao Zhi got up and knelt in the middle of the hall. This time, Cao Rui didn't stop him, and even accepted the bow without hesitation.
Truly "Seven years of imprisonment, and now the release. One moment of entering the court!" Cao Zhi cried and bowed, let him go!
May I be the southwest wind, long gone into your embrace. — Cao Zhi, "Seven Lamentations"
While writing these chapters, I searched for a lot of Cao Zhi and Cao Pi's poetry, and it is this sentence that moves me most.
(Chapter ends)
