Xiahou Fengming, you really are a beast!
So Xiahou Xian thought to himself.
It was because he had suddenly realized he had counted his chickens a little too soon.
Only after discreetly asking about the Wang family's young daughter did he discover that Wang Yuanji was only twelve.
In Great Wei, girls could undergo the "hairpin ceremony" at fifteen, signifying adulthood, and some daughters of aristocratic clans married at thirteen or fourteen.
But to Xiahou Xian, a man from the modern age, she was nothing more than a little child.
Wang Yuanji was developing quite quickly, but she was still only twelve. In the twenty-first century, what would it feel like to marry a girl who had only just started middle school?
Perhaps I should wait a few more years?
With his head a muddled mess, Xiahou Xian went to the Eastern Hall for duty.
Xiahou Xuan had the day off, so at last there was no endless torrent of words in his ears, and the building was exceptionally quiet.
But that very quiet made him want to sleep.
Wang Su was still observing mourning and probably would not return anytime soon.
Mao Zeng sat silently as always, though with Xiahou Xuan off duty today, he seemed considerably more relaxed than before.
In fact, there was one other person in the hall.
That person was Du Shu.
He was the son of Du Ji, the deputy director of the Imperial Secretariat.
Xiahou Xian found him rather aloof and disinclined to speak to others. Even at their first meeting, he had simply introduced himself and said nothing more.
Fine, neither of you wants to talk, so I won't talk either!
Sitting around doing nothing was frustrating, but at least it was leisurely, with nothing to trouble him.
About an hour later, a junior eunuch walked in.
"His Majesty summons Attendant Gentleman Xiahou Xian to accompany him."
Good, something to do.
Xiahou Xian accepted the command and left.
Accompanying the emperor meant that the mounted attendants went out with the Son of Heaven, whether to hunt or to attend to affairs of state.
This time, it was clearly the latter.
Xiahou Xian waited at the Hall of the Supreme Ultimate, then followed closely behind the emperor's carriage back toward the Eastern Hall once the court deliberations ended.
They finally arrived at the administrative office in the Eastern Hall.
Attending to affairs of state, for him, meant listening and nothing more.
This was an important opportunity for the Son of Heaven's mounted attendants to gain experience. By sitting in on policy discussions, they could gain some understanding of state affairs, which would greatly benefit them whether they were later assigned to local posts or served at court.
Another point worth mentioning was that the mounted attendants Cao Rui selected actually had different duties.
Wang Su, for example, was an eminent scholar of the classics, so his principal duty was to teach the emperor about them.
Xiahou Xuan was one of the pioneers of Great Wei's school of metaphysical learning. Although Cao Rui disliked it, he still had to make a show of it for the gentlemen at court.
Du Shu, meanwhile, was a simple and honest man by nature. He was well versed in the law, never formed factions for personal gain, and handled matters impartially. Cao Rui greatly appreciated such men, just as he liked Qin Lang, who took people's money without doing anything for them.
But it was merely appreciation; he had no intention of truly entrusting him with power.
After all, his father, Du Ji, had been recommended by Xun Yu. Ever since Xun Yu opposed Cao Cao's assumption of the title of king, the Cao clan had gradually begun distancing itself from and dividing the aristocratic clans of Yingchuan.
By extension, talented men recommended by the Xun clan would not be entrusted with important posts either.
As for Xiahou Xian, thanks to his outstanding performance in Longxi, Cao Rui considered him quite knowledgeable in military strategy and had therefore recruited him.
As for Mao Zeng...
Perhaps he was a mascot.
Cao Rui simply did not want the aristocratic clans and the imperial clan to grow any more powerful, so he used various means to allow commoners of humble origins to gradually acquire some standing.
Clearly, Empress Mao was one such person.
The same was true of his favored consort, Lady Guo of Xiping.
Upon entering the administrative office, they found two elderly men before the Son of Heaven, Cao Rui.
One was Liu Fang, supervisor of the Palace Secretariat, and the other was Sun Zi, director of the Palace Secretariat.
Under Great Wei's nine-rank assessor system, these two little-known figures were in fact the principal men directing Great Wei's government.
Xiahou Xian was assigned to listen in.
They seemed to be discussing the transport of grain and fodder in Yu Province and Xu Province.
Hmm?
Is there fighting in those two places?
Xiahou Xian was somewhat puzzled.
A short while later, Palace Attendant Liu Ye entered the Eastern Hall's administrative office, and Xiahou Xian suddenly understood.
War was about to break out in the southeast!
Wei State's southeastern defensive line lay in Yang Province, but Wei State held only two commanderies there.
Thus, whenever war broke out, the neighboring provinces of Yu and Xu had to supply Yang Province with carts, horses, money, and grain.
A moment later, Palace Attendant Liu Ye also arrived at the Eastern Hall.
Sure enough, just as Xiahou Xian had guessed, Liu Ye grew agitated the moment he heard Sun Zi and Liu Fang speak. "Your Majesty, those rats of Jiangdong are treacherous and cunning. The Grand Marshal must not fall for Wu State's wicked scheme!"
By this point, Xiahou Xian was almost certain that this was the Battle of Shiting.
The story went that Zhou Fang, Wu State's administrator of Poyang, feigned surrender, and Grand Marshal Cao Xiu suffered a crushing defeat at Lu Xun's hands at Shiting.
From an omniscient perspective, Cao Xiu looked very foolish. Wu State frequently used feigned surrender as a stratagem, so how could he have believed it so easily?
But that was not actually the case.
The truth was that Zhou Fang was a native of Yuzhang Commandery, and Yuzhang had always been a very complicated region.
This was an area where the Sun clan had cooperated in earlier years with Taishi Ci, a former subordinate of Liu Yao.
Strictly speaking, Yuzhang Commandery, which Taishi Ci guarded, was a vassal territory of the Sun clan.
After Taishi Ci's death, the man who actually took over Yuzhang was Sun Ben, the older cousin of Sun Ce and Sun Quan.
He did not get along well with Sun Quan, the ruler of Wu. They belonged to two different factions, and grievances between those factions were inevitable.
This time, Zhou Fang had been berated by Sun Quan for no reason and even forced to cut off his hair. In this age, how could a man suffer such humiliation without thoughts of rebellion?
Thus, it was entirely understandable that Grand Marshal Cao Xiu believed his offer of surrender.
Xiahou Xian did not know how Cao Rui currently judged the matter, but from his discussions with Sun Zi and Liu Fang, he seemed to have tacitly approved it.
Yet Liu Ye continued to remonstrate bluntly. "Your Majesty, although the Grand Marshal has fought a hundred battles, he lacks strategic ability. I believe this southeastern campaign will be fraught with peril."
Sun Zi and Liu Fang both stopped speaking, while Cao Rui looked thoughtfully at Liu Ye.
Liu Ye had a fault: he liked to attack people he did not get along with. Although he would not deliberately frame them or fabricate accusations, and most of what he said was true, Cao Rui greatly disliked this trait.
"Minister Liu, the Grand Marshal is one of the four chief ministers the late emperor left to assist me. Naturally, I must place sufficient trust in his decisions."
"Moreover, the Grand Marshal has spent many years in Yang Province and is thoroughly familiar with Wu State's military situation. You should have faith in him, Minister Liu."
"But..."
"If you have not come to discuss our plans for advancing, Minister Liu, then please leave." Cao Rui's gaze suddenly turned cold, leaving Liu Ye unable to say another word.
Liu Ye's expression was ugly, and he held his tongue.
Although he was a veteran minister who had served three Cao Wei sovereigns, he was, after all, a legitimate relative of the Han imperial house, and fewer than ten years had passed since Cao Wei replaced Han.
For someone of his background to reach such a high position in Wei State was no easy feat.
No one would heed him if he attacked a senior general of the Cao clan in front of a Cao emperor.
"Your Majesty, I believe Lord Liu is entirely correct. Eastern Wu must be feigning surrender!"
The speaker was none other than Xiahou Xian, who had remained silent all this time.