As soon as Cao Rui said this, the room immediately fell into an eerie silence. Liu Fang slowly raised his head and looked at the emperor, then glanced at Sun Zi from the corner of his eye. Sun Zi stood there with his eyes wide open, his eyes unconsciously looking at the ground. As for the three attendants, Xin Pi seemed to be deep in thought, Chen Jiao frowned, and Yang Fu had a blank expression. It was obvious that they all had their own considerations. In just a few moments, a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on Sun Zi's forehead, his heart in his chest was beating violently, and a buzzing sound was heard in his ears. Sun Zi had been an official for decades and boasted that he had seen many stories of ups and downs of officials. But when it was his turn, he couldn't help but panic for a moment. Is there something wrong with the school, or is there something wrong with me? Sun Zi pondered this question in his mind. For more than ten years, he had been trusted by Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen, and held important positions in the Secretariat and the Central Secretariat. How could there be something wrong with him? It must be a school issue! Sun Zi made this judgment almost instantly, and then suppressed his body's instinctive reaction, forced a smile, and said, "Your Majesty is wise. The Secretariat is in charge of the court's confidential affairs and is extremely busy. I may have made some mistakes in handling these matters." "I agree with your majesty. The School Affairs Office should be separated from the Secretariat." Cao Rui was somewhat surprised that Sun Zi was so willing to hand over the power of the School Affairs Office so readily. Cao Rui said: "Then Sun Qing, why don't you tell me in detail what the Great Wei's School Affairs Office looks like now?"
Sun Zi cleared his throat and said, "Then I'd like to talk about the personnel arrangement of the school affairs office first?" "Okay." Cao Rui simply said two words. Sun Zi said: "Your Majesty, the total number of Wei's school officials is about 2,000..." Cao Rui interrupted Sun Zi and said, "About 2,000 people? Isn't there an accurate number?" "Your Majesty, wait a moment." Sun Zi turned around and took out a bamboo scroll from the shelf. He unfolded it and read it carefully: "As of April of the first year of Taihe, the total number of school officials was about 2,187." "Among them, Luoyang Schoolmasters are in charge of the supervision of Sili, Yongliang, Yanzhou, and Jingzhou, with a total of 936 people." "The Yecheng Schoolmasters are in charge of the supervision of Jizhou, Bingzhou, Youzhou, and Qingzhou, with a total of 460 people." Sun Zi paused for a moment. Last month, Zhao Qu, the school commander of Yecheng, committed suicide, so there should be one less person. "Xuchang Schoolmasters are in charge of the supervision of Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Yangzhou, with a total of 597 people." "The remaining two hundred or so people are scattered throughout Wu and Shu as spies." Cao Rui stretched out his hand, and Sun Zi quickly handed the bamboo slips to the emperor. After taking it, Cao Rui looked up at Liu Fang and said, "Mr. Liu told me before that the information on school affairs in various places can be sorted out in half a month. Now it has been half a month, and I have to come here myself to see it." Liu Fang was much calmer than Sun Zi: "It was my negligence. Sun Zhongshu and I had planned to present it to Your Majesty after the court meeting." Compared with Sun Zi, Liu Fang is more decent. After taking a quick look, Cao Rui asked, "Zhao Qu of Yecheng is dead, but I have never asked about the school affairs commander of Xuchang." "The commander of Luoyang's school affairs, I remember his name is Liu Ci, right? Where is he now?" Sun Zi bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, Liu Ci has been in Luoyang all this time. Do you want me to go and call him?" Cao Rui waved his hand: "No need, let him stay, I don't have time to see him now."
"Since I ascended the throne, I have hardly used school affairs, and I am not familiar with them." "Minister Xin," Cao Rui turned to look at Xin Pi, "Did you know Liu Ci when you were with the late emperor?" Xin Pi was silent for a moment, then he looked up at the emperor and said, "I have heard a little about the name of the school lieutenant Liu Ci." "Tell me about it." Cao Rui said. Xin Pi cupped his hands and said, "There is one thing about Liu Ci that almost everyone in the court knows." "From the first year of Huangchu to the fourth year of Huangchu, Liu Ci, the Luoyang schoolmaster, reported tens of thousands of officials and civilians in Luoyang, causing great panic in the court." "At that time, Gao Rou and Gao Wenhui, as officials in charge of law enforcement, had urged the late emperor to review the cases reported by the school, and many unjust cases were corrected. Gao Wenhui was promoted to the position of Tingwei." The officials in charge of censorship and law enforcement were below the Chief Censor. The Chief Censor is now the highest official in the Censorate. In the early Han Dynasty, there was a position of Chief Censor, but in the later Han Dynasty it was changed to Minister of Works, which is the position held by Sima Yi now. In the late Han Dynasty and the Wei Dynasty, the Three Dukes had no official powers, and what Sima Yi was doing now had nothing to do with the Censorate. Cao Rui smiled and said, "Is this how Gao Tingwei became Tingwei?" Xin Pi smiled and said nothing. "Did the late emperor deal with Liu Ci later?" Cao Rui asked again. Sun Zi rushed to say: "What Liu Ci did was also within his duties. The late emperor never punished him." Cao Rui had a guess in his mind. Was the so-called reviewing affairs to let him monitor all officials to prevent any real incidents from happening, or was it to let him do things frequently to judge the ministers' stay or departure according to the emperor's wishes? This is another philosophical question of black gloves and white gloves. Cao Rui nodded and said, "Since the previous emperor did not punish Liu Ci, I will not punish him for past events either." Looking at the three attendants beside him, Cao Rui said with a smile: "Xin Qing, Chen Qing, Yang Qing." Xin Pi, Chen Jiao and Yang Fu hurriedly bowed in response. Cao Rui said: "I will now transfer the authority and responsibility of the School Affairs Office from the Secretariat to the Palace Attendant." "The three Shizhong will lead the school affairs in Luoyang, Yecheng and Xuchang respectively. Do you three have any choice to make?" Xin Pi pursed his lips and was about to speak when Chen Jiao cupped his hands and said, "We are here to share your majesty's worries, so how can we choose our positions? Wherever your majesty asks us to lead, we will certainly do our best to fulfill your orders." Cao Rui laughed and said, "Is that what Minister Chen thinks? What about Minister Xin and Minister Yang?" Xin Pi, who was used to seeing the emperor's "weird ideas", naturally had no objection. Yang Fu had just been promoted to the position of Shizhong and now had the power of school affairs, so how could he be picky? Xin Pi and Yang Fu both said they had no idea, so Cao Rui assigned them accordingly: "Then it will be like this. Minister Xin will be in charge of Luoyang, Minister Chen will be in charge of Yecheng, and Minister Yang will be in charge of Xuchang." "Sun Qing, would you mind handing over the three attendants within the next two days?" Cao Rui looked at Sun Zi: "Is three days enough?" Sun Zi was carefully wiping the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt, and when he heard the emperor's question, he quickly said, "Don't even mention three days, one day will be enough." Cao Rui nodded and said: "After the handover is completed, Sun Qing will serve as an external official. After staying in the central government for a long time, it would be good for him to go out and do some activities." "The governor of Yanzhou is still in the Central Plains and close to Sili." Cao Rui looked at Sun Zi with a smile: "Are you satisfied, Mr. Sun?"
Liu Fang and the three attendants all looked at Sun Zi. Sun Zi was half-sitting on a chair, and his back, which had been slightly hunched just now, straightened up a little. He looked obviously much more relaxed. Today, when His Majesty mentioned that he wanted to separate the School Affairs Office from the Secretariat, Sun Zi had been worried. When the Emperor blurted out the words "Yanzhou Governor", Sun Zi was finally relieved and no longer afraid. It can be said to have landed safely. Sun Zi smiled and bowed, "Your Majesty, please don't say that. Serving Your Majesty and the court is my duty. How can I be satisfied or dissatisfied?" "Since Your Majesty wants to use me as the Governor of Yanzhou, I will definitely live up to your grace after I take office." How could Sun Zi dare not be satisfied? Being able to be a provincial governor was already a pleasant surprise. When Sun Zi was talking, he couldn't help but think of his good friend Jia Kui. Rather than staying in the palace with the emperor and worrying all day, it would be better to be exiled and happy! At this moment, Sun Zi only thought about his contributions over the years. But the emperor opposite him did not think so at all. Sun Zi was a very talented person, otherwise he would not have been able to hold the central government secrets for more than ten years with Liu Fang. However, unlike Liu Fang, Sun Zi sometimes smuggled private ideas into his conversations with the emperor. Although it is not a sin, it can still make people feel disgusted. For example, when Sun Zi discussed the dispute between Cao Xiu and Jia Kui, he tended to defend Jia Kui. In addition, before Wu Zhi returned to Luoyang, Sun Zi also slandered Wu Zhi several times in his words. Cao Rui could certainly demote Sun Zi, but after thinking about it, he did not want to cause unrest in the court as Wu and Shu were the powerful enemies at the doorstep. Less internal friction, more stability. If Sun Zi was a waste, then he would be demoted. But his talent was outstanding, and at this time of needing people, using Sun Zi as a governor of a state was a good use of his talents. It also takes into account the dignity of the court. Seeing that Sun Zi was happy to accept the order, Cao Rui smiled and said, "Sun Qing, do you know the current Yanzhou Governor Wang Chang?" "I vaguely remember that you two are from the same hometown." Sun Zi nodded and said, "I am from Taiyuan. When I first started my career, I was recommended by our county's Minister of Civil Affairs, Wang Yun." "Wang Chang and Wang Wenshu are also from the Wang family of Taiyuan. I only had some contact with Wang Chang when I was in Yecheng, and I haven't seen him for several years." Cao Rui said: "When I was on the southern expedition, I met Wang Chang in Shouchun. He is a man of considerable talent and knowledge. He also served in the late emperor's court." "Mr. Liu," Cao Rui looked at Liu Fang, "I will transfer Wang Chang to the Secretariat and make him the 'Secretary of the Secretariat' to serve as Mr. Liu's deputy. Is this okay?" Liu Fang smiled and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty's arrangement is naturally excellent. I have long known about Wang Wenshu's talent. Letting him join the Secretariat will be a good opportunity to bring his talent into full play." Cao Rui smiled and nodded. In fact, Cao Rui's original intention was good. Sun Zi was not suitable for the post of Zhongshu because of his private goods, but he was not guilty either. It was reasonable to send Sun Zi to a post outside the capital to make full use of his talents while sorting out the school affairs. The emperor wanted to retain some dignity for the court, but his ministers did not think so. Cao Rui and the guards returned to the study first, and the remaining three attendants sat with Sun Zi to take over. After leaning back on the recliner, Cao Rui called Zhong Yu over and asked him to pass on the matter to the West and East Pavilions. (End of this chapter)