Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"Do not refuse." Cao Rui nodded lightly, but made no attempt to get up and help Cao Zhen and Lu Xun up: "The Emperor and the court want to confer titles of kings upon the three of you, firstly to reward your merits, secondly to establish a new system, and thirdly to encourage future generations."

"How could I take back the promise I made nine years ago on the banks of the Luo River? If the merit of destroying a country does not deserve to be made a king, what merit in this world deserves to be made a king? In the end, the titles of king and duke are exaggerated in people's minds and are not the same as in the Han Dynasty."

Cao Zhen and Lu Xun remained silent, heads bowed, listening intently to the emperor's words. At this moment, Cao Zhi, sitting opposite them, appeared somewhat awkward, unsure whether to sit or stand, and could only look down at the food and wine on the table.

The two were quite apprehensive, but Cao Zhi had indeed been a prince for many years. A princely title... was merely a symbol. Before His Majesty, what difference was there between a princely title and a marquis? His own release as the Prince of Yongqiu, his gradual rise to power, and the lifting of the restrictions imposed on Emperor Wu's sons—all of this was just a matter of a word.
In other words, if His Majesty were ever dissatisfied with him, sending him back to his fiefdom with a single edict and then sending over officials such as the Regent or the Assistant Magistrate would be as easy as breathing.

Ultimately, only those who have never been kings would value this title so highly… Frankly speaking, if Cao Zhi could relinquish his title in exchange for unrestricted official rank and power, he would undoubtedly agree without hesitation. Even if he were no longer a king, could anyone truly strip him of his status as Emperor Wu's son and the late emperor's brother?
Just as Cao Zhi remained silent, Cao Rui continued:

"The Zhou and Han dynasties each had their reasons for enfeoffing princes. The things that Great Wei will do in the future will not stop at the two campaigns against Wu and Shu. Rest assured, if Great Wei only enfeoffs the three of you as kings, it would make me, the emperor, look incompetent and unable to lead my subjects to achieve merit. Politics, military affairs, border expansion, reforms... the title of king will be the highest, but not a regular, reward given by the court to meritorious officials in the future. It may be a real title or not."

"Since the title of King is of such high rank, I have proposed three methods for bestowing the title of King, which I will share with you three for your consideration." Cao Rui glanced at the two men still kneeling on the ground and said, "Both of you, sit back down. I have important matters to discuss."

"Yes."

"According to the order."

The scene returned to normal, and Cao Rui continued, "The first type of enfeoffment is like that of the King of Yongqiu before you. The fief is managed by court officials, and the king himself goes to the court to serve from his fief... I call this a nominal enfeoffment."

"Of course, I won't hide anything from you here. The honorary title is a method I use to confer titles upon members of the imperial clan, and it has nothing to do with meritorious officials." Cao Rui paused, as if recalling something interesting, and shook his head and laughed: "I won't honorary titles upon meritorious officials. If it were possible to honorary titles upon meritorious officials, and then create a situation where a certain prince is appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, it wouldn't be much different from when Emperor Wu appointed the Prince of Wei as the Chancellor."

Cao Rui could laugh, but the other three were momentarily embarrassed, unsure whether to respond or nod. Cao Rui then looked at Cao Zhi opposite him:
"Today I will speak frankly and say a few words of truth to my uncle. If a member of the imperial clan who has been granted the title of king wants to become an official, the highest that can be achieved is a ministerial post, a privy council, or a general commanding 10,000 troops."

"Your Majesty, I understand. I only wish to serve the Great Wei and have no desire for fame or power." Cao Zhi quickly stood up, bowed, and expressed his loyalty.

"Sit down." Cao Rui gestured for Cao Zhi to sit down again and continued, "The second method, which is the real fiefdom, I have thought about it and it can be like the system of the Later Han Dynasty, where each king establishes a kingdom and takes up residence in his fiefdom. The court selects royal tutors and prime ministers to assist in governing the country. Within the fiefdom, princes and dukes can be established and guards can be selected. The etiquette is the same as that of the princes."

"This..." Cao Zhen found it hard to accept for a moment: "Your Majesty, I am not old yet and can still fight for the Great Wei. If I were to be enfeoffed in my fiefdom and live in the prefecture without ever seeing Your Majesty, how would that be different from exile?"

“This is called taking up a fief.” Cao Zhi, who rarely spoke up, explained to Cao Zhen: “As a subject, how can one have both a noble title and a powerful position? To have even one of them is already a rare blessing. A subject is a subject. Once a subject is granted a princely title, there is no reason for him to hold any more power.”

Cao Zhen remained silent. "I haven't finished yet. There is a third method, which is to emulate the Zhou Dynasty." Cao Rui smiled: "The Zhou Dynasty was located in the heart of the country, and it enfeoffed its members and meritorious officials in various places throughout the country, firstly for protection, and secondly for expansion. In other words, the feudal lords of the Zhou Dynasty were both rewards and pioneers for territorial expansion."

“This is to follow the ancient rites,” Cao Rui said. “Now that the Great Wei has just pacified the Wu region, there are still many places in Jiangzhou, Yangzhou, Jiaozhou and so on that have not yet submitted to the king’s rule. If we can establish kingdoms and enfeoff kings in these places, just like the vassal state of Yingzhou in Liaodong, it will surely stabilize the region and appease the border to prevent chaos.”

"Among the three methods of enfeoffing kings that I have mentioned above, meritorious officials will certainly be granted real titles and will certainly be required to take up their fiefs. Of course, it is not that I am in a hurry to drive you away. General Yu and Boyan, after you two are enfeoffed as kings, when I allow you to lead troops, it will not be based on military rank. Your positions as General Yu and General Who Conquers the East will be revoked. Instead, you will be appointed as imperial envoys such as Attendants-in-Ordinary, holding imperial insignia and leading troops. This will be outside of your formal military rank, not a permanent position, and will not interfere with the national system."

"Did you two understand?"

At this point, Cao Zhen's tense face relaxed a little. He stretched his legs under the table and said, "As long as I can do things, it doesn't matter whether I have the title of Grand General or not. I'm just afraid that if I am made Queen, I will become estranged from Your Majesty."

"Not at all." Cao Rui smiled. "Alright then, which of these two would you like to choose?"

Cao Zhen cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty's orders will be obeyed."

"I am like the Grand General, and I humbly request Your Majesty's designation."

Cao Rui shook his head: "I am asking you, but since you don't answer, I will decide for you. Before the Shu region is pacified, you two will be enfeoffed as I have suggested, according to the second method. After the Shu region is pacified, we will consider enfeoffing you in the border regions."

"As for the fiefdom..." Cao Rui first looked at Cao Zhen: "I intend to grant the Hejian Commandery to the Grand General, the King of Hejian. What do you think of this place?"

"It is entirely up to Your Majesty's decision; how could I possibly have any say in this matter?" Cao Zhen said with deep emotion, "I remember more than twenty years ago, I accompanied the late Emperor on a hunting trip from Ye City and stayed in Hejian for several days. Time has passed, and I never imagined that Your Majesty would bestow Hejian upon me..."

Cao Zhen bowed down once more: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your divine grace!"

Cao Rui nodded slightly, then said to Lu Xun, "Boyan, I hereby enfeoff you as king of Chencang County. In addition, I intend to enfeoff Lord Dong as king of Xinye County."

"Your subject Lu Xun kowtows in gratitude for Heaven's grace!" Lu Xun, like Cao Zhen, immediately bowed his head in thanks. (End of Chapter)