Sima Shuda? Isn’t this Sima Yi’s younger brother, Sima Fu, who is currently serving as the Duzhi Commandant in Liang Province? Everyone's eyes were focused on Sima Yi's face, as if Sima Fu's position as governor was something he had asked for by his elder brother. Sima Yi had no choice but to stand in the hall with a stern face and remain silent as if it had nothing to do with him. Since Sima Fu himself was not present, Cao Rui only informed the ministers and did not say much. But the emperor's next words shocked the ministers in the hall. Cao Rui said in a clear voice: "Perhaps you have all heard that last year, Gao Rou, the Minister of Justice, took the initiative to propose to sort out the method of evaluating officials in the court." "Just yesterday, I received Gao Tingwei's first draft. After reading it, I was generally satisfied." "The so-called examinations are nothing more than the court, the army and the local areas. I have also discussed with the general and the prime minister. Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice will be used as pilots, and in the army, Yangzhou, which is supervised by the Grand Marshal, will be used as a pilot." "And in the local areas." Cao Rui looked at the ministers in the hall: "Liangzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou will be used as pilot areas." …… As several major personnel changes were announced by the emperor, the newly appointed Qinzhou governor Chen Jiao sorted out the new policies of Qinzhou, and the first court meeting of the Wei Dynasty in Longyou ended.
Generals such as Zhang, Guo, Lu, and Xiahou were all promoted, and the two governors Chen and Yang had recently taken office, which completely changed the top-level structure of the Guanxi area of the Wei Dynasty. This kind of top-down reform would have been extremely difficult to implement if the emperor had not led the central army to Longyou in person, or if he had not used the excuse of establishing the new Qinzhou and just sat in the North Palace in Luoyang. This is even more true for the examination method. After all, the examination system was a way for Gao Rou, the Minister of Justice, to "escape" after he was held accountable by the Emperor last year when he suggested abolishing the school system. During the Huangchu period, and even earlier during the Jian'an period, the court's supervision of local areas was often limited to the supervision of counties by the governors, rather than the court's direct top-down control over the states. In other words, the governors of each state had considerable autonomy in how they governed. But after Gao Rou's examination method was proposed, there were top-down evaluation standards for governors and prefects of each county. After the court meeting, the newly appointed Qinzhou governor Chen Jiao took the initiative to visit Sima Yi. dong dong dong. After three knocks on the door, Chen Jiao opened it without thinking: "Zhongda, are you free now?" Sima Yi looked up at Chen Jiao and put down the bamboo slips in his hand: "Is Ji Bi here? Please take a seat." "Why are you looking for me?" Chen Jiao raised his lips slightly, and said with a cupped hand: "There are some things I don't understand clearly, and I would like to ask Zhongda to teach me." "Why do we need to be so polite to each other? If there is anything unclear, just tell me." Sima Yi answered calmly. Chen Jiao used to be the Shangshu Ling in the Shangshutai, and was Sima Yi's direct subordinate. The two had worked together for many years, so there was really nothing to worry about. Chen Jiao sat down and sighed, then shook his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty appointed me as the governor of Qinzhou. I was indeed very happy when I first accepted the appointment, but after leaving the court, I changed my mind and realized that all the things in Qinzhou are quite difficult to handle." Sima Yi glanced at Chen Jiao and nodded slightly, motioning Chen Jiao to continue. Chen Jiao said: "What I am worried about is nothing more than the relocation of Qiang and Hu people, the expenditure of food and fodder, and the management of the various counties." Sima Yi glanced at Chen Jiao with a strange expression, knowing that Chen Jiao would definitely not come to him to ask questions about such trivial matters. After all, he was the Shangshu Ling who was in charge of the world's miscellaneous affairs in the past. How could he not handle the affairs of a state well?
Chen Jiao seemed not to notice and continued to speak: "According to your majesty's previous instructions, the area from Ji County to Shanggui, Qishan Lucheng, and from Lintao south to Dazhong, the number of Qiang people needed for these three places is 200,000." "In addition, we need to relocate the Qiang people from Longyou to Guanzhong, which will amount to another 100,000 people." Spreading his hands, Chen Jiao sighed, "That's three hundred thousand." Sima Yi nodded casually and replied: "This is about relocating the Qiang people. What are the other two items?" "Let's talk about the food expenses first." Chen Jiao swallowed his saliva: "When I was in charge of the army's food and grass in Lueyang, most of the military rations we used were transported by land from Guanzhong, which was quite difficult." "And now we are going to send troops on multiple fronts. I have roughly calculated that the food in Longyou and Guanzhong can only support the army for less than half a year, and this does not include the losses along the way." "Yes, that's indeed the case." Sima Yi responded softly. Chen Jiao continued to ask: "Now that there are so many Qiang people living in Qinzhou, should the farming be handed over to the counties or prefectures, or should it be under the unified management of the prefecture? This is another difficult issue." As soon as Chen Jiao finished speaking, Sima Yi burst into laughter. "Ji Bi, Ji Bi, you used to be in the Shangshutai, and you always heard others talk to you like this, right?" Sima Yi pointed at Chen Jiao and scolded with a smile: "Now you come to me to complain too!" "Well, the affairs of the prefectures and counties are not as important as those of the Shangshutai, right?" Chen Jiao smiled awkwardly: "Zhongda, please forgive me for making fun of you. It is different from Taichung." Sima Yi thought for a few moments and then responded: "Ji Bi, I can only agree to two of the three things you mentioned." "Which two?" Chen Jiao's eyes widened slightly. "Of course it's the first and third items." Sima Yi said in a deep voice. Chen Jiao showed a happy expression: "That's enough, thank you Sikong for your support!" They were all scholars who had very good relations with each other. In private, they addressed each other by their given names, and only in official matters did they address each other by their titles. When Chen Jiao said this, Sima Yi pretended to be angry and cursed: "You, Chen Jibi, fought for power, but now you want to spare me!" "Thank you, Zhongda." Chen Jiao smiled. Sima Yi shook his head and sighed, "I don't have time to chat with you about this. What do you think? I will go to His Majesty to help you get power." Chen Jiao's expression slowly became serious: "The so-called migration of the Qiang people cannot be done without the central army in Qinzhou!" "In the past, Emperor Wu moved people from Wudu and Hanzhong to Longyou and Guanzhong. It took nearly three months to resettle 100,000 people." "Now, it will take longer to migrate from Liangzhou to Longyou and then from Longyou to Guanzhong. In my opinion, it will take at least half a year!" Sima Yi pondered and said, "There is a time limit for relocating the people, and there is also a time limit for food and fodder. So the two things you mentioned are almost the same thing." "Do you know Deng Ai, the man who transported grain for Qian Zhao and was appointed by His Majesty himself?" Chen Jiao responded, "How could I not know? This person's merit in changing luck is quite powerful. If it weren't for the fact that his merit has not reached this level, even I would want to ask for credit for him." Sima Yi said calmly: "You are too late. I was also present when His Majesty summoned Deng Ai to an audience yesterday." "The grain in Longyou cannot last long. If the imperial court continues to station a large army in Qinzhou, it will have to transport grain and grass from Guanzhong. The Longshan Road is too far and the Weishui Road is too rugged." Chen Jiao interrupted and asked, "So we have to take the Chencang Road to Wudu?"
"Correct!" Sima Yi said with emotion, "This man is only thirty years old, but he has such insights into food and fodder, and military farming. It's really a young man to be feared!" Chen Jiao did not hide his intentions and said in all seriousness: "The current strategy is to send a large army to attack Wudu. Only by occupying Wudu can we transport the grain from Guanzhong from Chencang to the southwest via the old waterway to Wudu County!" Sima Yi imitated the emperor and tapped the table lightly: "If the Shu army has retreated, then there is nothing to say. If the Shu army has not retreated, then we must attack urgently." "I will discuss this matter with His Majesty." "As for whether the Central Army can stay in Qinzhou for half a year, I will talk to His Majesty about it. It should be feasible. Now that the Shu Army has temporarily withdrawn, it still depends on the military developments." "The central army is in Qinzhou, and your majesty may also be in Qinzhou." Sima Yi looked at Chen Jiao: "Ji Bi, your majesty has not yet separated from the central army." Chen Jiao sighed and said, "I was thinking the same thing. This matter is beyond my ability, so I still need to ask Sikong for help." "Do your best!" Sima Yi then asked, "Then how do you plan to deal with the issue of military farming?" "The right of the Qiang people to cultivate land shall be taken into the state!" Chen Jiao gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty has only made a rough division, and many specific rights and responsibilities are still unclear." "It is said that the Qiang people are being sent to farm. If they are ordinary Qiang people, then they are under the jurisdiction of Lu Xun. If they are military settlements, then Zhang He will definitely be in charge." "But Lu Xun is a traitor and a flatterer, and Zhang He is a warrior who acts in a rough and careless manner. It is not appropriate to hand them over to them." Chen Jiao put his hands on the table and leaned forward: "The two hundred thousand Qiang people who are cultivating the land must be handed over to the state to manage!" "Zhongda, you must fight for me. We cannot let such power fall into the hands of those warriors. Qinzhou only has 30,000 to 40,000 households. If I cannot manage these 200,000 Qiang people, then this governor will only exist in name only." Sima Yi sat solemnly at the table, thinking for a long time before saying, "It all depends on the strength of the state. It is difficult to manage with these stupid officials in Longyou. If it is handed over to those warriors, the situation will probably be even worse." "That's good." Sima Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty has been worried about finding a job for the students who graduated from the Imperial College last year." "How about this? I'll go and ask His Majesty to designate the Qiang people as civilian settlements, and then keep all the 100-strong Imperial Academy students in Qinzhou to help you manage the settlements. How about that?" "My teacher once studied in the Imperial Academy, so I also learned a lot about the Imperial Academy's courses." Sima Yi said, "In short, these Imperial Academy students are much more capable than the officials recommended by ordinary states, and most of them are descendants of local big families." "It depends on how you grasp it!" Chen Jiao stood up from the table with a look of surprise and bowed: "Zhongda, this has helped me a lot! I need no thanks for your kindness. Chen Jiao will definitely repay you in the future!" Sima Yi looked at Chen Jiao with a hint of amusement for a while, and then he burst out laughing: "Jiang Zitong went to Yangzhou, and now you, Chen Jibi, are in Qinzhou again." "I fought for the rights to the important lands in the east and west for the two of you, all out of public interest. How could I be greedy for your rewards?" "No need to say more!" Chen Jiao and Sima Yi looked at each other and said, "Zhongda is right. There is no need for us to say more!" (End of this chapter)
