The Voice of the Minister of Works

After the passing of Xun Yu and Xun You, Zhong Yao became the leader of the Henan gentry. He had been successively promoted by Cao Cao to Minister of Justice and Chancellor of State, only to be dismissed last year due to his involvement in the Wei Feng case. Now, Cao Pi had reinstated him as Minister of Justice.

Zhong Yao held a lofty position among the Henan gentry, and with Sima Yi's entire clan wiped out, he felt compelled to take a stand. Seeing the others in the hall debating the authenticity of the letters, he ignored the awkwardness of his recent return to office and, acting the elder, spoke up: "May I see the letters? I do not believe Zhongda (Sima Yi) would betray the state. Furthermore, Shuda (Sima Fu) and the others have died unjustly; this matter is not as simple as it appears."

Seeing Zhong Yao's imposing presence, Hua Xin and Chen Qun decisively handed the letters over. Cao Pi, too, wanted to see what insight the man might offer.

There were over a dozen letters on the table, but their contents were concise. After a quick scan, Zhong Yao divided them into two piles.

"These so-called proofs are all incoming letters; not one is a letter written by Zhongda himself that serves as evidence of collusion. The letters on the left claim he colluded with Ji Miao, Geng Ji, Wei Huang, Guan Yu, Hu Xiu, and others—this is undoubtedly a frame-up by those with malicious intent. As for the accusations regarding Yang Xiu, the loss of Xiangyang, the execution of Lv Chang, and even the failure of the late King's southern campaign, these are all utter nonsense. Although Zhongda was the Military Sima of the Chancellor's office, he had no authority over troops. How could