Chapter 50: Zhongshu Xiaoshi (Seeking follow-up reading) Luoyang, Beigong. Cao Rui leaned on the recliner, holding a newly made feather fan and fanning himself slowly. He didn't know whether Prime Minister Zhuge was wearing a feather fan and a scarf at this time. The recliner did become more comfortable. Under Cao Rui's instructions, the cushions of the emperor's study recliner had gone through several iterations. The first version was covered with tiger skin, but it was quite hot to sit on. The second version was made of rabbit skin, which was too slippery. The final version used deerskin, which was not bad. Since there is tiger skin, there is tiger meat. The Imperial Household Official once asked the emperor if he wanted to try the taste of tiger meat, but after learning that the imperial chef had no experience in cooking tiger meat, Cao Rui smiled and refused. At this time, the Minister of the Central Secretariat Sun Zi was standing in front of the emperor's recliner, reporting to the emperor the intelligence collected by the Ministry of Education in recent days. The School Affairs Office was a secret service agency created by Cao Cao. The main responsibility of the School Affairs Office was to spy on the officials and monitor the political trends of the noble families for Cao, so most of the officials in the School Affairs Office came from humble backgrounds. The person in charge of the School Affairs Office was called the Fujun Duwei. Although his official rank was equivalent to that of a two thousand stone official, he was despised by most ministers at that time. During Cao Cao's reign, Lu Hong and Zhao Da, the two people who were in charge of the school affairs, attracted the attention of the court and the public by spying on the officials. At that time, a saying was widely circulated: "I am not afraid of Cao Gong, but I am afraid of Lu Hong. Lu Hong is fine, but Zhao Da will kill me." This is roughly the power of the School Affairs Office.
In the imperial court, the specific leaders of the Fujun Duwei were originally Cao Cao's secretarial system. Since Cao Pi replaced the Han Dynasty with the Wei Dynasty, the secretarial system was changed to the Zhongshu, and the Zhongshu Jian Liu Fang and Zhongshu Ling Sun Zi also took over the internal intelligence work of Cao Wei. Just based on the two facts that they were in charge of confidential matters and intelligence, it was not excessive for Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui to trust Liu Fang and Sun Zi. Sun Zi was in charge of confidential matters, and his daily work included reporting to the emperor. He was already very familiar with the emperor's study. It was no surprise to see the emperor leaning on a recliner to listen to reports. Sun Zi held the scroll in his hand and asked, "Your Majesty, this is the briefing from the School Affairs Office within three days. Can I report it now?" Seeing Cao Rui nodded, Sun Zi slowly said, "The Hebei school reported that General Zhenwei, the acting governor of Hebei, Wu Zhi, was drunk at a banquet in Yecheng recently and openly insulted Weijun prefect Zheng Hun, saying that Zheng Hun's family were dogs of the Yuan family." Cao Rui's face looked a little unnatural: "How could Wu Zhi be so drunk and crazy? Zheng Hun is at least a governor of a 2,000-stone rank, can he be scolded to his face?" Sun Zi said: "Zheng Hun's brother is Zheng Tai. When Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, Zheng Tai, who was then a secretary, also followed Dong Zhuo to Chang'an, and later went south to join Yuan Shu." Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shu were not good people, but Wu Zhi's insults were too harsh. Seeing Cao Rui's confusion, Sun Zi immediately explained, "Your Majesty, Wu Zhi has always been arrogant because of his favor. When the late emperor was alive, Wu Zhi boasted that he was favored by the late emperor and even dared to insult General Cao Zhen at the wine table." Cao Rui was not angry, he just felt it was new, he had never seen such a crazy person before: "Wu Zhi dared to scold Cao Zhen? How did he scold him?" Sun Zi recalled for a moment, then said, "Wu Zhi had always been on good terms with the late emperor. When Wu Zhi was in Hebei, the late emperor had written to Wu Zhi many times to discuss literature." Cao Rui nodded, indicating that he knew this. Sun Zi said: "In the fifth year of Huangchu, Wu Zhi returned from Hebei to the court. The late emperor ordered all the important officials to have a banquet at Wu Zhi's house, and also ordered the palace official in charge of food to send wine and food to Wu Zhi's house." "Wu Zhi has always been a bad drinker. There were many people at the table that day. Wu Zhi saw that Cao Zhen was fat and Zhu Suo was thin, so he asked the entertainers to come and judge the fatness and thinness of the two men." "This..." Cao Rui was speechless. Cao Rui asked: "Can Cao Zhen endure this?" Sun Zi shook his head. "Cao Zhen was the general of the upper army and the commander of all the internal and external military forces. Compared with Wu Zhi, he was also a relative. How could he tolerate it? Cao Zhen got angry at that time. Cao Hong and Wang Zhong, who were standing beside him, persuaded Cao Zhen to sit down." Cao Rui nodded: "Wu Zhi is indeed overdoing it." Sun Zi hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty, this matter is not over yet. Cao Zhen was so angry that he drew his sword at Wu Zhi, saying that if he dared to speak so frivolously again, he would kill Wu Zhi. But Wu Zhi put the sword on the table and cursed Cao Zhen instead." "I didn't mean to remember this incident, but... it's just that this incident is too explosive, and I just can't forget it."
Cao Rui was listening with great interest. He took a sip of water and said, "Hurry up and tell me, hurry up and tell me!" Sun Zi continued: "At that time, Wu Zhi cursed Cao Zhen: 'Cao Zidan, you are not meat on a butcher's table. Wu Zhi swallowed you without shaking his throat and chewed you without shaking his teeth. How dare you be so arrogant by relying on your power!'" Cao Zhen boasted of his power and status, while Wu Zhi was proud of his favor, and neither of them was willing to give in. This old melon is still quite interesting to eat. Sun Zi said: "Zhu Suo stood up to persuade Wu Zhi, but was scolded by Wu Zhi again. Zhu Suo was so angry that he chopped the ground with his sword, and everyone at the banquet left unhappily." Cao Rui was also quite speechless at this time. Wu Zhi relied on Cao Pi's favor to insult Cao Zhen in front of everyone. He was indeed arrogant because of his favor. The relationship between Cao Pi and Wu Zhi was indeed good. Unlike Chen Qun, Sima Yi, and Zhu Shao, Cao Pi and Wu Zhi had a lot of spiritual communication. Cao Pi was essentially a literary youth. When he felt depressed, he would often write letters to Wu Zhi, who was also a literary man. The two often discussed literature and human nature. With such deep spiritual communication as a basis, it is no wonder that Wu Zhi became arrogant and spoiled. However, after all, he scolded Zheng Hun, a 2,000-stone official, in person. Zheng Hun had done a very capable job in Wei County, and Cao Rui would compensate him in the future. After this episode was over, Cao Rui looked at Sun Zi and said, "Sun Zhongshu, please continue." Sun Zi continued, "The spies of the School Affairs Office in Shu Han reported that after the attack on Nanzhong last year, Shu Han began to sell Shu brocade to Shan, Panyue, and Tianzhu through Yizhou and Yongchang counties." Cao Rui raised his eyebrows slightly. Could it be that Zhuge Liang had already started international trade at this time? The Silk Road was now under the control of Cao Wei. It seemed that Shu Han was selling Shu brocade from Yunnan to Southeast Asia and India. There is still something. Cao Rui asked: "How did our spies know about this?" Sun Zi replied, "Your Majesty, this is not a secret. There are many people weaving brocade in Chengdu, both in government workshops and in the homes of ordinary people. People at that time called Chengdu Jinli and the river where brocade is washed Jinjiang." Chengdu! Cao Rui certainly knew it well. He had been to several famous scenic spots in Chengdu and even visited the Wuhou Temple. Shu Han raised military funds through foreign trade... After making a note of this, he motioned for Sun Zi to continue. Sun Zi cleared his throat and said, "A few days ago, Xun Can, the youngest son of Xun Yu, came to Luoyang from Yingchuan to debate with Fu Gu, who was known as a child prodigy in Beidi County. Hundreds of students from the Imperial College watched." "Yesterday, He Yan and He Pingshu gathered many people at the Imperial College and invited Xun Can, Xiahou Xuan, Sima Shi and others to debate together." Cao Rui was slightly puzzled: "Xun Yu has been dead for more than ten years, right? How old is his son?" Sun Zi replied: "Xun Can is only sixteen years old. Fu Gu is only seventeen years old." Cao Rui shook his head: "They are just teenagers, what are they talking about?" Sun Zi replied hesitantly, "I am also quite confused. If what the schoolmaster said is true, the doctrine they are talking about is called 'metaphysics'." Thank you for reading, book friends. This is the first time I write a book, and I am in the critical period of recommendation. Friends who have votes are welcome to cast an extra vote to support me. If you don’t have a vote, you can just read it. Thank you~
(End of this chapter)