Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

For the people of Luoyang, the imperial court's campaign against Shu was a foregone conclusion; the only question was when it would begin. The people of Luoyang were used to the infighting and changes in the court, and whether they won or lost, it would not interfere with their normal lives as citizens of the capital.

But for the concubines in the Northern Palace of Luoyang, the emperor's travels were of paramount importance. During the Taihe era, constant warfare meant that the emperor spent barely more than half the time in Luoyang.

The last time the emperor left Luoyang was at the end of the seventh year of the Taihe era, and he did not return until the beginning of the tenth year of the Taihe era. During those three years, although the emperor did not travel far, he went south to Xiangyang, west to Chang'an, north to Taiyuan, and as far east as Qingzhou... Everyone knew that the campaign against Shu was the last major battle for the court, and Shu was located far in the southwest, so the concubines had many speculations in their hearts.

For the past two months, the emperor has been busy in his study and the imperial court with various tedious affairs and personnel arrangements before the military campaign, and has even visited the inner palace less often.

The concubines discussed the matter privately for a while, and finally asked Consort Mao to come and properly inquire about His Majesty's situation.

April 12th, Beigong, study.

Theoretically speaking, the entire Northern Palace of Luoyang was the emperor's daily residence, while the Southern Palace was where court assemblies and government offices were usually held. Although the concubines never came to the study, Cao Rui never forbade this behavior.

"Greetings, Noble Consort." The eunuchs serving at the door bowed in unison; they were the most familiar with the inner palace. The Tiger Guards followed suit, making the young officials on duty in the Secretariat seem somewhat slow to react, bowing their heads and paying their respects only after a while.

Unfortunately, the harem's familiarity with the court was so low that the court did not even establish a system of etiquette for officials to bow to the empresses and concubines.

The study courtyard was not large. Three years ago, after Cao Rui returned to Luoyang, he changed the layout of the place. The east side was the Inner Cabinet, where the four Attendants-in-Ordinary and Cabinet Ministers were on duty. The west side was the office of the Secretariat, where the Director of the Secretariat, Yang Fu, and the Chief Secretary, Lu Yu, took turns on duty.

Hearing the noise outside, Pei Qian put down the document in his hand and stepped out. From a distance of more than ten steps, he loudly bowed and said, "Greetings, Noble Consort."

The Chamberlain was considered an inner court official, and Consort Mao recognized Pei Qian's face, so she nodded slightly and calmly replied, "So it's Lord Pei. I've come here today to see His Majesty."

Pei Qian was taken aback at first, then pointed towards the study: "Please enter, Consort."

Mao Yan smiled and said, "I have never been here before. I am afraid of making a mistake in the rules, so please inform Lord Pei."

"Your Majesty, I will go immediately." Pei Qian bowed and entered, returning a few moments later to say to Mao Yan, "Consort, His Majesty is discussing matters with officials from the Ministry of Personnel..."

"Since we're discussing business, I'll head back now." Mao Yan smiled, but Pei Qian reached out to stop her.

"Please wait a moment, Your Highness, I haven't finished speaking yet." Pei Qian bowed with a hint of helplessness: "His Majesty said that Your Highness may enter."

Mao Yan thanked Pei Qian and walked towards the study amidst the glances of the Tiger Guards and eunuchs in the courtyard. They all knew the rules and none of them looked directly at her.

"Yan'er is here?" Cao Rui hurriedly looked up, waved to Mao Yan, and pointed to the side beside him: "Come sit here. I still have some matters to attend to. Please wait a moment."

Before Mao Yan could speak, Cao Rui called out softly, "Zhong Hui! Get a chair over here!"

"As you command." A slightly timid voice rang out from the corner, bowed, and then moved a chair from the side of the study.

After returning to the capital in the tenth year of the Taihe era, four Gentlemen-at-Arms—Zhuge Xu, Chen Ben, Yu Jun, and Li Xi—were assigned to the Secretariat and the Privy Council, and the Gentlemen-at-Arms serving alongside Cao Rui were subsequently replaced.

Cao Rui selected Wei Guan, son of Wei Kai, Du Yu, son of Du Shu, Yang Hu, younger brother of Yang Huiyu (a concubine of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang), and Zhong Hui, son of Zhong Yao who was over seventy years old, from the Imperial Academy.

Among them, Du Yu's father, Du Shu, served as a Gentleman Attendant and is currently the Prefect of Wu Commandery. Zhong Hui's elder brother, Zhong Yu, also served as a Gentleman Attendant and is currently the Magistrate of Jiangning County.

They are all people with connections.

"Greetings, Noble Consort." Everyone stood up and bowed.

Mao Yan nodded slightly, then sat down next to Cao Rui and stared blankly at the pile of documents on the table.

"Please sit down." Cao Rui waved his hand to indicate that he was not yet finished with the previous topic: "I am not worried about the logistics of the eastern route. The river is calm and there are enough ships. The waterway from Yangzhou to Jiangling is unobstructed. But we need to speed up the grain transport route in the north."

"Minister Li, you are not needed to manage the affairs of Luoyang for the time being. You will leave in two days, a little earlier, and go to Chencang to see for yourself how the transportation capacity is there, and conduct a thorough inspection."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Li Yan stood up, cupped his hands, and replied, "If I go first, I request to inspect the route along the way. The first is Shanxian in Hongnong Prefecture, where the Yellow River is impassable by boat, requiring a change of land transport to the west side before boat transport. The second is Huayin, where Yellow River transport boats will switch to Wei River transport boats. The third is the area from Chencang to Sanguan, where Wei River transport boats will switch to land transport. The fourth is the ancient riverbank south of Sanguan, where land transport will switch to the ancient river transport."

"Yes, these are the four places. He Qia and Du Xi both said that they have been verified. You are the Minister of the Court, so go and check them one last time." Cao Rui said slowly, "If there is any forgery or insufficient transport capacity, report it in time. I also grant you permission to handle it on the spot, as long as it does not delay important court affairs."

"Minister Huang issued a document to Minister Li, ordering Du Xi and He Qia to assist him throughout the process without fail. He also instructed Liu Fang to go to Hongnong and stay there."

"Your subject understands." Li Yan bowed respectfully.

"Your subject obeys the decree." "Go now, I will call you again if I need anything." Cao Rui waved his hand, and Huang Quan, Li Yan, and Wang Ling bowed and left.

As the figures of the group gradually disappeared, Cao Rui pointed at Zhong Hui and said, "You go out too, and the Tiger Guards will also wait outside."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhong Hui bowed carefully and tiptoed out with the Tiger Guards.

Only then did Mao Yan speak: "Your Majesty, I have disturbed your affairs of state by coming here today. I am truly guilty."

"What offense?" Cao Rui shook his head and chuckled. "It's nothing more than coming to see me. Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I last visited you in the inner palace."

Seeing that no one else was around, Mao Yan stood up and stood beside Cao Rui, whispering, "It's not just been a while! His Majesty hasn't visited the harem for two months, citing his busy schedule with state affairs as an excuse. The ladies in the palace are uneasy, not knowing when His Majesty will lead the army on a campaign, so they pushed me here to bother His Majesty..."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "So that's what it is. Perfect timing, I've finished dealing with all my urgent matters today, why don't you come with me for a walk?"

Mao Yan chuckled, then bowed respectfully as the ministers had done, saying, "I will obey Your Majesty's decree."

"You," Cao Rui reached out and twisted Mao Yan's side, causing Mao Yan to gasp in embarrassment.

"Where does Your Majesty intend to go?" Mao Yan asked in a low voice.

"Go to the school." Cao Rui asked, "Is Qi'er at the school now?"

Mao Yan nodded: "It's only Shen Shi now, so Qi'er is naturally studying in the school. Qi'er has been working hard on his studies lately, and he has already studied the Book of Poetry and the Book of Rites. Recently, the Grand Master of Ceremonies has been teaching him the Zuo Zhuan."

Cao Rui nodded slightly: "I know Wei Taichang very well. His scholarship in classics and calligraphy are both first-rate, but he is somewhat honest and foolish. It would be excellent for me to appoint him as Taichang to manage some rites and inscribe plaques, but he is not suitable for any real position."

Mao Yan slowly reached out and took Cao Rui's arm, whispering, "Qi'er is only twelve years old. It's enough for him to learn some principles. Why does he need to learn anything else? I think Wei Taichang is teaching him quite well."

Cao Rui chuckled and dropped the matter.

At the tenth year of the Taihe era, Cao Rui had eight sons.

Consort Mao Yan gave birth to the eldest son, Prince Ye, Cao Qi; the fifth son, Cao Kai; and the eldest daughter, Cao Wei. Consort Sun Luban gave birth to the second son, Prince Chang Le, Cao Yan; and the third daughter, Cao Fu. Consort Su Huan gave birth to the third son, Prince Shou Zhang, Cao Shou. Consort Jia Cheng gave birth to Prince Bo Ping, Cao He. Consort Chen Yi gave birth to the second daughter, Cao Qian.

Between the tenth and thirteenth years of the Taihe era, Cao Rui spent more time in the palace, but his harem only had three more children.

Sun Luyu, nicknamed "Little Tiger," was favored by the emperor more often. At the end of the tenth year of the Taihe reign, she became pregnant, and in the autumn of the eleventh year, she gave birth to the fourth princess, Cao Ruo. She was promoted from Consort Sun to Consort Sun. For a time, the sisters Sun Luban and Sun Luyu were referred to as "Big Sun" and "Little Sun" in the palace, and the two of them accepted this as a matter of course.

Yang Huiyu gave birth to the sixth prince, Cao Ke, in the early twelfth year of the Taihe reign. Like Sun Luyu, she was promoted from a fifth-tier beauty to a fourth-tier concubine. Wen Fang, from Qixian County, Taiyuan, gave birth to the fifth princess, Cao Ran, and was also promoted.

The palace layout remains largely unchanged from many years ago. The Empress's position is vacant, with Mao Yan holding the rank of Noble Consort, Sun Luban the rank of Consort of High Rank, several consorts who have given birth to children and the sole exception Guo Yao holding the rank of Consort of the Imperial Concubine, and the rest holding the rank of Beauty. Mao Yan, being the highest-ranking consort, is always in charge of mediating palace affairs. If Mao Yan is not present, Sun Luban and Guo Yao take charge, and things proceed in an orderly manner.

Of course, the empress's position had been vacant for many years, and the cabinet had advised Cao Rui on this matter, but Cao Rui stopped them.

Similar to the inner court, with the successive deaths of Dong Zhao and Chen Qun, the positions of Grand Commandant and Minister of Works, ranking first and second among the Three Dukes, became vacant. After the national mourning this year, the Ministry of Rites discussed this matter and requested that, based on the past appointment of the Three Dukes, the Minister of Works Sima Yi be promoted to Grand Commandant, and two capable ministers be selected from the court to fill the positions of Minister of Works and Minister of Works.

The matter sparked heated discussions both within and outside the imperial court in Luoyang, and the cabinet even proposed appointing Man Chong as Minister of Works and Wei Zhen as Minister of Public Works. The two men's statements were remarkably similar.

Man Chong went so far as to cause a ruckus in the cabinet, calling the Three Dukes "officials who sit and discuss principles," and stating that if there were virtuous and experienced ministers, they could be appointed, but if not, they should be left idle. Man Chong also coldly asked Pei Qian and Wang Su if they wanted to transfer him back from Jingnan.

This reaction was quite intense.

Wei Zhen declined, citing his own pre-existing official position and the inappropriateness of holding concurrent posts, and publicly requested the emperor to select a more capable candidate.

To be honest, during the Huangchu and Taihe eras of the Wei Dynasty, the Three Dukes had no real power. It was reasonable for Man Chong and Wei Zhen to take the real power while avoiding the empty one. However, this put Sima Yi, who was still the Minister of Works, in an extremely awkward position.

You seized real power in the MLB, shirked your responsibilities, and left me to languish in the heat of the moment?

Therefore, Sima Yi followed suit and went to the Ministry of Rites to make a scene. He directly rebuked Kan Ze, the Minister of Rites, for being ignorant and incompetent, saying that the Grand Commandant was the head of the Three Dukes, and only virtuous and senior officials in the court could hold the position. How could Sima Yi meet any of these requirements?
Subsequently, Sima Yi also came to the palace and asked Cao Rui to resign from his post as Minister of Works. However, Cao Rui kindly persuaded him and appeased him by jokingly mentioning that his family had many members and needed rice for their stipend.

As a result, no one mentioned establishing the Three Dukes, and no one dared to comment on the matter of establishing an empress. Even the proposal already drafted by the Privy Council to adjust the generals' titles before the expedition was stillborn.

Liu Ye wasn't about to go looking for trouble. (End of Chapter)