Chapter 15: Guards Power After being led by Xu Chu to visit the Wuwei Camp, several people came to the lobby of the Wuwei Camp. "Who are you talking about? Chen Qun?" Cao Rui asked in surprise. Xu Chu's eyes widened slightly and he looked at Cao Rui with a puzzled look. It was obvious that he didn't know why the Emperor was so surprised. Xu Chu said, "It is Chen Qun. Since the fifth year of Huangchu, General Chen Qun has been in charge of the Central Army. Doesn't Your Majesty know?" The general hall of the Wuwei Camp fell into a strange silence at this moment. The weather in the summer afternoon changed very quickly. Outside the hall, wind and clouds suddenly arose, and the dark clouds pressed down. The wind blew the central army's flag, making it flutter. Cao Rui, who was sitting in the middle, narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the sky outside the door, as if he was thinking about something. Xu Chu, who was standing beside him, looked at the emperor, then at Huang Quan and Zhong Yu standing opposite, and couldn't figure out what was going on. Facing the silent emperor, Xu Chu's poor EQ made him a little confused. He had just knelt to greet the emperor, showed the emperor around the camp, and inspected the soldiers. Everything was going smoothly. Why is the emperor suddenly silent now? The captains and soldiers in the audience were even more clueless. When they saw their own General Xu Chu first talking to the emperor and then the two of them fell silent, they thought these bigwigs were thinking about some military and national affairs. Huang Quan had already noticed something was wrong, and immediately looked Xu Chu in the eye and said, "General Xu, why not let the captains and the soldiers return to the barracks first."
Xu Chu reacted and quickly chased the officers and soldiers out of the hall. Now, only Cao Rui, Xu Chu, Huang Quan and Zhong Yu were left in the hall. Although Zhong Yu was smart, he was still young and not yet able to understand these things. Cao Rui noticed Huang Quan's actions and sighed inwardly. The reason Cao Rui sighed was that there were so many ministers in the country, including the Shizhong, Zhongshu and Shangshu, why didn't anyone remind him? Cao Rui looked at Huang Quan and said, "General, do you know what I am worried about?" Huang Quan was obviously a man of the world. In his early years in the Eastern Han Dynasty, he worked as a county official in Baxi County, which made him familiar with the customs and sentiments of the people. Later, as the chief clerk of Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, he managed all the affairs of Xichuan for Liu Zhang. Not to mention that he later moved between Shu and Wei, and served Liu Bei and Cao Pi successively, which made him an experienced political veteran. What could the emperor worry about? What could make an animal of power like the emperor worry must be power, and not just ordinary power. The answer is already very obvious, that is the military power of the central army. But Huang Quan understood that this was not the best time to mention this matter. Huang Quan cupped his hands and said, "I know what your Majesty is worried about, and I am here to advise your Majesty that this matter should be considered in the long run." Cao Rui understood that what Huang Quan said was very right. The emperor's life and property came from the Central Army. How could such a sensitive matter as military power be discussed in the lobby of the Wuwei Camp? Cao Rui immediately stood up and prepared to leave. Xu Chu next to him was even more confused and hurriedly took a step forward and asked. "Your Majesty, did I say something wrong? Why are you leaving?" For a loyal yet stubborn general like Xu Chu, the sensitivity and complexity of power was simply beyond his comprehension. In Xu Chu's worldview, Xu Chu is a loyal minister of Wei, and General Chen Qun is also a loyal minister of Cao Wei. The late emperor ordered us to listen to Chen Qun, and Chen Qun listened to the emperor. What's wrong with that? Cao Rui sorted out his troubled thoughts and tried his best to put on the most sincere face. Cao Rui held Xu Chu's hands with both hands and said, "General Xu, you have guarded Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen for many years, wearing armor and carrying weapons without any complaints. You are a true hero of the country. Now you are guarding me again, I can't wait to reward you." Cao Rui turned to look at Huang Quan again and said, "Minister, General Xu Chu is now a Tinghou, right? Thinking of General Xu's contribution in protecting my father and grandfather, I think General Xu should be granted the title of Xianghou." Huang Quan smiled and said, "That's right. General Xu has been loyal to the Wei Dynasty for thirty years and deserves this reward." Since there was a reward, Xu Chu had no time to think about it and knelt down quickly: "Your Majesty, the late emperor gave me the title of Tinghou, and I felt that I had no regrets in my life, which was enough to comfort my ancestors. Now Your Majesty has given me an additional title. Even if I die, I can never repay Your Majesty's kindness."
Cao Rui smiled and helped Xu Chu up: "I only hope that you will obey me and protect my safety." Xu Chu patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have been loyal to Cao for thirty years. As long as Xu Chu is still alive, no one can touch Your Majesty in the slightest." Cao Rui nodded and patted Xu Chu's shoulder gently. On Cao Rui's way back to the palace, the sky had become increasingly gloomy. Compared to when he came here, this time when Cao Rui returned to the palace, Xu Chu personally led a team of soldiers to clear the way, and flags were set up on both sides of the road. Cao Rui listened to the thunder coming from far away, the sound of flags blowing in the wind, and the dull thud of the brigade's horses' hooves hitting the dirt road, and asked Huang Quan who was beside him. Cao Rui asked, "Does Shu have similar things?" Huang Quan replied, "I have never heard of anything like this. Zhuge Liang is now in charge of the military power of Shu Han, but the imperial guards are led by Xiang Chong, and the capital guards are led by Li Yan. Zhuge Liang has not interfered in any way." Cao Rui sighed softly: "Is that what everyone is hiding from me?" Huang Quan thought for a moment and said, "I think that the ministers probably take it for granted." The most fearful thing in this world is to take things for granted. If Cao Wei is compared to a company, then this company has two major shareholders who have supported it since its inception, and these two shareholders now hold important positions. The first shareholder was a person from Qiaopei. Since Emperor Wu Cao started his army in Chenliu, the clans headed by Cao and Xiahou were Cao's die-hard supporters. Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Xiahou Shang, Cao Zhen and others were all close friends and respected at the time. They made great contributions to the country and made great contributions. In addition to the Cao Xiahou, Wei Zi, Dian Wei, Le Jin, Xu Chu, Ren Jun and others were all born in Qiaopei. These capable and skilled generals were the biggest help for Cao Cao to conquer the world. But guns alone are not enough, we also need pens. The second shareholder, the Yingchuan scholars who held the pen, became even more important after Cao Cao established his regime. The most outstanding representative of Yingchuan scholars was Xun Yu. Born in the Xun family of Yingchuan, Xun Yu joined Cao's camp and recruited many talents from Yingchuan for Cao Cao, including Zhong Yao, Xun You, Chen Qun, Du Xi, Xi Zhicai, Guo Jia, etc. He could be called Zhang Liang of Cao Cao. Let’s look at these Yingchuan scholars. Zhong Yao was the Grand Marshal, the head of the Three Dukes, and Chen Qun was the Recorder of the Secretariat, the head of the civil officials. No one will say anything about these appointments. Qiaopei is good at military affairs, while Yingchuan is good at culture. This has become a theorem in Wei. People would be surprised if the head of the civil officials was not from Yingchuan. But now you tell me that Chen Qun controls all the imperial guards? A leader of the Yingchuan scholars took control of the imperial guards of Cao Wei? Did the ministers take it for granted? This is so creepy! (End of this chapter)