Cao Zhi sighed, "Perhaps the emperor does not know that in the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, while I was arrayed against Liu Bei's faction in Chang'an and Wu Di was in Han Zhong, there was also a literary debate."
"Scholarly debate?" Cao Rui asked, puzzled.
"Two armies were in stalemate, and Wu Di and Liu Bei exchanged letters and engaged in scholarly debates. At that time, a scholarly debate essay I wrote, 'On the Two Founding Fathers of Han Dynasty,' was sent by Wu Di to Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang also wrote me a reply letter."
"And is this possible?" Now it was Cao Rui's turn to be astonished: "What did Zhuge Liang and Uncle say?"
Cao Zhi tried to recall, then said, "At that time, I discussed Han Gaozu and Han Guangwu with Ding Yi, and thus wrote this essay for discussion."
Cao Rui was curious and asked, "Which one is better, Han Gaozu or Han Guangwu?"
Cao Zhi smiled and said, "In my youth, I believed that Han Guangwu was superior to Han Gaozu. Gaozu lacked in the meticulous details, while Guangwu was well-versed in rituals and laws. Gaozu seldom exhibited the demeanor of a gentleman, whereas Guangwu seemed like a sage king."
Cao Rui then asked, "What did Zhuge Liang say?"
Cao Zhi shook his head: "Zhuge Liang and I are largely similar in our views, but he thinks that Han Gaozu's capabilities were rough and not as good as Guangwu's. He merely relied on the merits of Zhang Liang, Han Xin, Chen Ping, Zhou Bo, and others."
"And Han Guangwu had far-reaching plans and strategies, surpassing Gaozu. The generals and strategists were also similar to Zhang, Han, Chen, and Zhou."
Cao Rui originally intended to leave, but upon hearing Cao Zhi discuss old matters, he turned around and sat back down in his seat.
Cao Rui spoke softly, "Guangwu respected scholars and treated the strong favorably, was as steady as Mount Tai, and not like Gaozu who often faced arrows and stones."
"And then there's the 'miracle' of the Battle of Kunyang." Cao Rui laughed, "Uncle Liu and Zhuge Liang both seem to prefer Han Guangwu more, and I suppose that's only natural."
"However, today, what do you think, Uncle Liu? Which of the two is better, Han Gaozu or Han Guangwu?" Cao Rui asked in return.
Cao Zhi sighed lightly: "Gaozu rose from humble beginnings, purged the country, wiped out Xiang Jue, personally suppressed feudatories. All these things, Guangwu was unable to do."
Cao Rui nodded, "So in the end, it's because both Uncle Liu and Zhuge Liang were young back then, not understanding the difficulties of national affairs."
"Guangwu sent generals to conquer all directions, governing central Luozhong while unifying the whole country. Perhaps at that time, both of you thought that conquering the world should be just like Guangwu."
"But Gaozu personally led troops to fight, using Ying Bu, Han Xin, Peng Yue, Liu Jia, and others to fight in separate directions as naturally as if they were his own hands and feet. This was actually inferior."
Cao Rui shook his head: "Not to mention the issue of dividing power and authority. Just look at Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang. They only divided Guan Yu, and his Long Zhangzhong became just a dream. Only after facing setbacks did they realize the difficulties of the world."
"I roughly think that at this point, Zhuge Liang would definitely be more appreciative of Han Gaozu."
Cao Zhi silently nodded.
Over the past ten years, neither Cao Cao, Cao Pi, nor Liu Bei and Sun Quan have been able to fight battles as great as those of Han Guangwu or Han Gaozu.
When discussing the two hundred years versus four hundred years ago, and who is better and who is worse, now there is actually more envy than anything else.
Cao Rui stood up and walked out, turning back to look towards the room as he reached the door: "This matter requires Uncle Liu to weigh every word carefully; there are not ironclad circumstances within Shu!"
Cao Zhi bowed his hands and bowed: "I understand, I will definitely submit it to the king in a timely manner."
Cao Rui nodded and then left with Jiang Wei.
