Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Chapter 55: On Name and Reality (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

In fact, the conversation between the emperor and his ministers also requires the right occasion and opportunity. Only by using emotions and scenes can the conversation enter a deeper level.

Inside the east warehouse of the Luoyang Arsenal, the three treasures placed on the altar and the various weapons on the densely packed shelves in the warehouse are enough to create a solemn and serious atmosphere.

What can the ministers talk about with the emperor? They can only talk about specific state affairs and specific personnel matters. How many ministers are willing to discuss such issues of name and reality with the emperor?
For example, among the employees working in a company, how many people would be willing to take the initiative to find the chairman and point out that there are strategic problems in the company's current development?
Most people would rather do less than more.

Dong Zhao mentioned name and reality, talked about Wang Mang's head, and talked about the legal theory of replacing Han with Wei. These deepest political topics were what the emperor rarely heard from his ministers.

At least for Cao Rui, Dong Zhao was the first.

Dong Zhao was indeed the chief strategist for the State of Wei. He planned the entire process of Cao Cao's advancement to the Duke of Wei, the establishment of the Duchy of Wei, and later his promotion to the King of Wei and the Kingdom of Wei.

Dong Zhao persuaded Cao Cao at that time: "Since ancient times, no minister has achieved such success as today. And no minister has been able to maintain his position for long."

The general idea is that since ancient times, there has never been a minister who has made such great contributions as you, Cao Cao, but is content to be a minister. Boss Cao, you can either establish yourself or wait to be killed. There are only these two ways, there is no other way!
Dong Zhao was the only one who persuaded Cao Cao in this way, which shows Dong Zhao's decisiveness and strategy.

But Cao Rui was also full of vigilance at this time. He didn't know what Dong Zhao would say and had to be extremely alert to respond and think.

If Dong Zhao can say something useful, he and his descendants will be rewarded. If it is just some bragging, then let Dong Zhao stay in the position of Weiwei and live out his life.

Cao Rui looked at Dong Zhao and said, "Master Dong said that I don't need fame, I only need reality. What does this mean? What do these two terms refer to?"

Dong Zhao bowed and asked, "Your Majesty, do you know what is nominal and what is real when Emperor Wu is in power?"

Cao Rui was silent for a moment and then said, "The position of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty is in name only, but the position of the Overlord is in reality."

Dong Zhao shook his head slightly: "Your Majesty is absolutely right, but not completely right."

Cao Rui was indeed somewhat confused. Wasn't Cao Cao's name 'serving the emperor to command the disobedient' as proposed by Mao Jie?

Seeing the emperor frown, Dong Zhao continued, "There is a huge difference between the early and late reigns of Emperor Wu."

"When Emperor Wu was the Minister of Works and Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, he indeed used the name of the Han Dynasty to rule the four directions and recruited capable officials from the gentry to serve as Han officials. This is the reason why Xun Yu was appointed as the Minister of the Chancellery. This was the reputation of Emperor Wu at that time."

"The armies commanded by the Xiahou and Cao clans all obeyed the orders of Emperor Wu alone. This was the reality of Emperor Wu at that time."

Cao Rui nodded. Apparently this was Cao Cao's state before he was awarded the Nine Gifts and became Duke of Wei.

Dong Zhao continued, "After Emperor Wu was crowned Duke and established the State of Wei, the State of Wei and the Han Dynasty began to oppose each other. The name of the Han Dynasty that Emperor Wu had previously held and the name of the State of Wei at this time began to be incompatible. The State of Wei, not the position of Prime Minister, was the name of Emperor Wu."

"At this time, the officials under the control of Emperor Wu were called the Ba Fu, but in fact, the Ba Fu was just an institution used by Emperor Wu to control the army. The Ba Fu and the officials of Wei, such as Zhong Yao, Chen Qun, Sima Yi, etc., were all after the name of Wei and could not be relied upon."

"The real power of Emperor Wu is still the army controlled by the Xiahou Cao." Cao Rui was still thinking, but he nodded and asked Dong Zhao: "Is the real power of Wei only the army? Is there no ministers loyal to Wei?"

Dong Zhao stood opposite the emperor. Although he was already in his seventies, he still walked steadily, and his eyes were still sharp and shrewd.

Dong Zhao was born in the second year of Yongshou during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty. He was only one year younger than Cao Cao, so they should be of the same age. At this moment, Dong Zhao looked at the emperor who was as old as his grandson, and a series of past events flashed through his mind.

Emperor Xian, Zhang Miao, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Cao Pi... these past events are still vivid in his mind. It was Dong Zhao who personally planned the Wei State, and Dong Zhao did not want the Wei State to go downhill.

When the emperor asked whether Wei had any loyal ministers, Dong Zhao snorted, "Forgive me for being blunt, but everyone in the court witnessed the late emperor's ascension to the throne. Those who were willing to die for a family and dynasty, all of them died in the Han Dynasty!"

"The world has been in chaos for a long time. The Wei Dynasty replaced the Han Dynasty. Cao family did it. Can't the world learn from it?"

Dong Zhao originally thought that this sentence would arouse Cao Rui's sense of crisis about power and status. He thought Cao Rui would feel angry because of this, but there seemed to be no obvious change in Cao Rui's expression.

In Cao Rui's memory, Wei usurped Han, Jin usurped Wei... In the two thousand years since the Han Dynasty, ambitious creatures have been the most tenacious species in history. They appear one after another and cannot be killed or eliminated.

Cao Rui looked at Dong Zhao and said, "If the Cao family can do it, then naturally everyone in the world can do it too. Who doesn't want to be the emperor of Luoyang? It's just that the Cao family is the strongest."

"Ever since the late emperor replaced the Han Dynasty and said, 'I know the affairs of Yao and Shun,' who doesn't know what the throne is all about?"

"Mr. Dong, let me be frank with you. If I were not the emperor, I would fight for this position if I had the chance."

Dong Zhao was actually quite surprised that besides him, who was recognized by the world as a "flatterer" who helped the Cao family usurp the Han Dynasty, Emperor Cao Rui could also say such words.

Dong Zhao nodded and said, "From what I have seen, the Wei Dynasty actually doesn't have many loyal ministers. The one who has loyal ministers is Emperor Wu, because Emperor Wu started his army in Chenliu and led them to quell the chaos and use military force everywhere."

"The late emperor also had loyal ministers, because he gave people high positions, generous salaries and good titles. But the late emperor's loyal ministers were not as direct as Emperor Wu's. The late emperor's connection with the army was much weaker than Emperor Wu's, so naturally the late emperor had less to rely on."

"As for the generals, the virtue of Emperor Wu in pacifying the world has been greatly depleted by the time it was passed on to the previous emperor, and the generals in charge of the army, Xiahou Cao, are gradually becoming dull. In addition, the previous emperor launched three expeditions to the Eastern Wu without any success, so the previous emperor's actual achievements that he can pass on to Your Majesty are even less."

"In short, your reputation is more important than your reality. This is wrong. Your Majesty should personally organize military affairs to grasp the reality."

Cao Rui has been sitting on the throne for nearly half a year.

Cao Rui had always vaguely felt that his power was unstable, but no one had ever explained the matter so thoroughly to the newly enthroned monarch as Dong Zhao had.

Although Cao Rui had some information gaps in his memory, he had made rapid progress in governing the country in the past few months. However, he still needed someone like Dong Zhao to point out the problems so clearly.

The sound of wind outside the armory grew stronger. Cao Rui glanced outside and saw that the sky covering Luoyang City was gradually filled with wind and clouds.

There is another chapter, issued at the same time


(End of this chapter)