Fourth month eight, Luoyang, the palace.
The important office venues, the Western Pavilion and the Eastern Pavilion, have also been established for some time.
For over a month, most of the military affairs of the Middle and External Armies of Da Wei have been concentrated at the General Headquarters in Luoyang.
Routine military affairs are naturally handled by the officials at the General Headquarters. However, important military matters requiring the emperor and the General Commander's attention, or those of a somewhat urgent nature, are first sent to the Central Ministry and then forwarded to the Western Pavilion in the palace for processing.
Administrative affairs are also quite ordinary.
All officials from the General Commander's Mansion and the Ministry of Ceremonial are forbidden entry to the palace, and everything must be communicated through the Ministry of Rites.
Cao Zhen, Dong Zhao, Sima Yi, and Wei Zhen have all gradually become accustomed to this. The high-level officials in Luoyang have also gradually understood the role of the Western Pavilion and the Eastern Pavilion.
At this time, a yellow door stood outside the Western Pavilion, stretching its head in and looking inside.
"Is the General Commander in?" the yellow door official whispered.
Cao Zhen heard the voice and subconsciously looked outside. What palace's yellow door official is that? Why don't they just come in directly?
Cao Zhen spoke in a deep voice, "What is it?"
The yellow door official stepped slowly into the Western Pavilion, bowed to Cao Zhen, and said, "Report to the General Commander, the Empress Dowager has a letter for you."
"Queen Guo?" Cao Zhen frowned: "There's a letter delivered, why does it seem like a thief?"
The yellow door official presented the letter to Cao Zhen with both hands, then with a self-deprecating smile, stepped aside and stood bowing.
Both the Western Pavilion and the Eastern Pavilion are located next to the emperor's study. There are no officials or servants on duty, nor any yellow door officials or guards stationed outside.
Outside the house there was no one, so inside there were only Cao Zhen and Dong Zhao.
Dong Zhao, sitting on the other side, obviously saw the scene as well, but Dong Zhao remained as usual silent, neither looking at it nor stopping his annotations.
After a careful reading of the letter, Cao Zhen asked out loud, "Have you sought out the Ministry of Works?"
The yellow door official replied: "Not yet."
"The letter is just this one, isn't it? Leave it here for safekeeping," Cao Zhen nodded, placing the letter on the desk: "Go to the other side and have both the Minister of Works and the Commander of the Imperial Guard summoned over."
The yellow door official hesitated for a moment before promptly agreeing.
As a yellow door official from Empress Dowager Guo's palace, he couldn't help but feel nervous when entering the emperor's palace. The elderly yellow door official who was executed by imperial order last month for passing a letter to Cao Hong was considered the father figure of many young yellow door officials in the palace.
After the yellow door official replied, he promptly went to the other side to summon Sima Yi and Wei Zhen.
At this time, Cao Zhen also looked up and smiled at Dong Zhao: "Master Dong, the Empress Dowager has something to seek from both of us. What do you think it might be?"
Dong Zhao slowly raised his head, put down the brush in his hand, and shook his head, saying: "I do not speculate."
Cao Zhen said, "Master Dong, aren't you making it boring? Since there are only the two of us here, can't we joke around?"
After thinking for a moment, Dong Zhao said, "If we must guess, the only matter that the Empress Dowager could discuss with the General Commander and the Minister of Works would be matters concerning the emperor's household. Moreover, since someone has been sent directly here to deliver this letter, it seems that the emperor is also aware of this matter."
Cao Zhen laughed, "Master Dong is truly a wise man!"
"The Empress Dowager wants me and the Minister of Works to discuss candidates for the emperor's harem, to enrich it. Moreover, a few days ago, the emperor himself agreed to it."
"Oh?" Dong Zhao nodded lightly: "Matter concerning the household of the emperor is also national matter. It is only natural for the Empress Dowager to take the lead in this matter."
"Where should we select them from? How many girls should we bring into the palace?"
"Select twenty girls to enter the palace," said Cao Zhen. "After Sima Yi and Gong Zhen arrive, I will explain everything in detail."
After hearing what Cao Zhen said, Dong Zhao closed his eyes and began to meditate. For a man in his mid-seventies who visited the palace every day, every bit of energy was precious and not to be wasted.
After a moment, Sima Yi and Wei Zhen walked in at their own pace.
Upon entering, the two men took their accustomed seats on the chairs beside them.
Sima Yi opened his mouth and said, "How should we proceed with this matter specifically?"
Wei Zhen's gaze also fell upon the letter. The letter had been placed by Cao Zhen, and the yellow door official who had summoned them had only given a vague explanation.
"This time, we are to select twenty women to enter the palace," said Cao Zhen, not passing the letter to Sima Yi but rather reciting it aloud.
"From the four categories of noble families, military officers, officials, and common people, each select five," said Cao Zhen, looking at Sima Yi: "The emperor himself agreed to this."
Sima Yi looked slightly puzzled: "General Commander, is this the Empress Dowager's intention or the emperor's?"
Cao Zhen said, "It's mostly the Empress Dowager's idea, but the emperor also gave his approval."
"The Empress Dowager said for us two to select some for the emperor first, then report it to her for final selection, and the emperor would personally choose it."
Sima Yi recalled the day several months ago in Shouchun when he had suggested this matter right in front of the emperor's horse.
Sima Yi asked, "With twenty people to choose from... If we were to select them, it would be the easiest with military officers and officials. Let the Minister of Personnel's E Department go through the files and select women of age from the families of officials across various regions. Then a rough selection can be made at the Western Pavilion and Eastern Pavilion."
Sima Yi very meticulously mentioned 'the Western Pavilion and Eastern Pavilion', indicating that he was including Dong Zhao and Wei Zhen in this as well, compared to Cao Zhen's earlier 'you and I'.
"But for women from noble families and common people, this matter will be slightly more complicated."
Sima Yi looked at Cao Zhen, "Since this is the Empress Dowager's instruction, does the emperor have any suggestions or requirements?"
"There is none," Cao Zhen shook his head, "I have not heard that the emperor has a particular preference for the type of woman."
Sima Yi thought for a moment and said, "What we should consider most is age. The Empress Dowager and the emperor have said to select from four categories, so we do not need to worry about family background and other things."
Dong Zhao interjected from the side, "What is the use of discussing this here?"
The other three people looked over at Dong Zhao, and Dong Zhao spoke slowly: "The Empress Dowager's ability to handle this matter is definitely due to the emperor's authorization."
"Instead of guessing the emperor's wishes here, it would be better to go out and ask him directly. No one is stopping us from asking."
Cao Zhen and Sima Yi exchanged a glance and both burst into laughter.
After a while, the four people and the on-duty eunuch reported to the study, and they all entered together.
Even within the palace, it is necessary to inform the emperor before approaching him. Cao Zhen and the eunuch official were very clear about their intention to find the emperor to ask about enriching his harem.
Emperor Cao Wei smiled at the group and said, "Is it that the Empress Dowager sent someone to find the General Commander and the Minister of Works?"
Cao Zhen nodded in agreement: "That's right. We couldn't figure out Your Majesty's thoughts, so we came to ask."
"Please have a seat," Cao Wei said casually. "The Empress Dowager and I said that this time we need to select twenty women to enter the palace together. Therefore, I also divided them into four categories to select. There was trouble last month, so I let the Empress Dowager seek out the General Commander and the Minister of Works to avoid further misunderstandings between the inner court and outer court."
"Since all of you are in the palace, it doesn't really count as inner and outer court communication."
Cao Zhen said, "Although these twenty people are divided into four categories, do you have any specific criteria, Your Majesty?"
Sima Yi also chimed in, "For example, age and region."
Emperor Cao Wei thought for a moment, then said seriously, "As for age, let's limit it to girls who are 18 years old."
Sima Yi said, "That would be girls aged 14 to 18, wouldn't it?"
Cao Wei shook his head: "The Minister of Works is wrong. I said to be at least 18 years old."
Sima Yi was slightly surprised and unsure why the emperor would have such a restriction.
Just then, Sima Yi thought of Emperor Wu Cao Cao and quickly refocused: "Your Majesty, at present, girls are able to marry at the age of 14, and most of them are married between the ages of 16 to 17."
"Girls who are 18 years old but still unmarried are indeed a minority."
Cao Zhen, Dong Zhao, and Wei Zhen also turned to look at him, showing some confusion.
Cao Wei furrowed his brow and asked, "Is it really that difficult to find?"
Sima Yi said, "If we consider only the aristocratic families, it should indeed be difficult to find."
"That's good," Cao Wei said, "try to find women who are 18 or older. If it's really difficult to find, we can consider those who are at least 16 years old."
"Your Majesty, we will comply," Sima Yi looked at Cao Zhen and then asked, "In the four categories Your Majesty divided, it is easy to find literati and officials. For military officers and common people, we really don't know how to choose."
Cao Wei replied, "For military officers, we should select them from the leaders of the Central Army and the External Army who hold a salary of two thousand grains of rice per month. For common people, we can choose one each from Hebei, Mengchuang, Qingxi, Yangzhou, and Jianghu to ensure diversity."
Sima Yi said, "Then let us initially select ten times as many, organize the information and portraits, and then present them to Your Majesty for selection?"
Cao Zhen wanted to ask from the side, but he opened his mouth but did not say anything.
Cao Wei noticed Cao Zhen's slightly unusual expression and smiled, "What do you think, General Commander?"
Cao Zhen cleared his throat and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, what the Minister of Works just said are only general guidelines."
"During Emperor Wu's reign, both I and Zhongda were still young. After the ascension of the late emperor, selecting concubines for the palace was never left to our subordinates."
"Now that Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager have entrusted this matter to us..." Cao Zhen hesitated and said, "There is no precedent for us to follow, from family background to age and then to the details."
"Also," said Cao Zhen, "We don't know what type of woman Your Majesty prefers, whether outgoing, introverted, or virtuous and polite. We really don't know how to proceed."
"Ha ha ha." Cao Wei laughed a few times: "Having the General Commander and the Minister of Works handle this task is putting too much on your shoulders. How about letting the Shoufu department do it?"
Cao Zhen quickly shook his head to explain, "It's not that I am shirking my responsibility; it's just that I don't know what Your Majesty's intentions are."
"Your Majesty nodded in agreement: 'I have already said that the age. As for family background, who can compare with my family background? We don't need to consider it too much, but being knowledgeable and reasonable is still necessary.'"
"But when it comes to virtuous and polite women..." Cao Wei asked, "Which do you believe more, the words of Mencius or Xunzi?"
Cao Zhen was momentarily puzzled. This was about selecting concubines for the emperor's harem, wasn't it? Why did it suddenly come to Mencius and Xunzi?
Sima Yi intervened from the side, "Is Your Majesty referring to Mencius' saying, 'The nature of human beings is good, just as water flows downwards,' and Xunzi's theory, 'Human beings are inherently evil, and their goodness is artificial?'"
Cao Wei smiled and nodded. (End of this chapter)
