Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Chapter 89 Rare
There is always someone willing to eat the peach first.

Seeing Fu Gu stand up and salute, Zheng Cheng said loudly: "The scholar must first report his name, origin and age."

Fu Gu showed no fear, and said with a cupped hand: "I am Fu Gu, a student from Beidi County, and I am seventeen years old."

Fu Gu is the "child prodigy" who debated with Xun Can before! Cao Rui heard this from Zhongshu Ling Sun Zi.

Cao Rui raised his hand slightly to show that he heard Fu Gu's words. Zheng Cheng said, "What questions do you have for your Majesty?"

Although Fu Gu was a little nervous, his mental quality was visibly good. After adjusting himself for a moment, he asked, "Your Majesty, this year is the seventh year of Huangchu. According to convention, the reign title will be changed next year. What reign title Your Majesty would like to choose, and what are your expectations for the country?"

Cao Rui smiled when he heard Fu Gu's words. He really deserves the title of "child prodigy" for asking such a tricky question.

When a new emperor ascends the throne, the reign title must be changed. The meaning of the reign title will naturally be auspicious. Fu Gu's question not only did not involve any substantive national affairs, but also livened up the atmosphere in the room, which can be regarded as a bit of quick wit.

When Sima Shi saw the emperor nodding to Fu Gu with a smile, he couldn't help but regret it in his heart. Asking about the reign title is not only safe but also in line with the emperor's wishes. Why didn't he think of it? Instead, Fu Gu got there first!
Cao Rui smiled and said, "I discussed the issue of the reign title with the three ministers and other great scholars last month. Now it is December and the change of the reign title is imminent, so I will announce it here to all the scholars in advance. Dr. Zheng, you are also involved in this matter, so you can speak."

The emperor came to the Imperial College to ask questions about government affairs. As the head of the Imperial College, Zheng Cheng naturally did not want any students to ask any offensive questions. Fu Gu's question was a good start, and Zheng Cheng was quite satisfied with it.

Zheng Cheng stroked his beard and said, "After the discussion of the three ministers and great scholars, and reported to Your Majesty for approval, the new year will be changed to 'Taihe' on the first day of the first month."

“The word ‘Taihe’ is taken from the Qian Gua in the Book of Changes.”

"The changes of the Dao of Qian are to correct one's nature and destiny, to maintain harmony and peace, and to benefit from righteousness."

Zheng Cheng looked at Fu Gu and said, "Fu Gu, do you know the meaning of this hexagram?"

The Book of Changes is one of the Five Classics, and the Qian hexagram is the first of the sixty-four hexagrams in the Book of Changes. How could Fu Gu, a "child prodigy", not know this?
Fu Gu thought for a moment, then said, "I think the meaning of this sentence is that the operation of all things must conform to the will of heaven. Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, governs the world, and the subjects follow the will of heaven and perform their duties, so that the country is harmonious and peaceful."

"I think this is the meaning of the word 'Taihe'."

Cao Rui nodded and said: "Changing the reign title is a major national event. I want the world to be harmonious. Fu Gu's words are exactly what I meant."

The students sitting in the audience looked at Fu Gu with envy. Fu Gu was born in a famous family and was ranked in the first rank, but he could ask such questions and answer them fluently, which was not something that ordinary students could have.

I believe Fu Gu will have a future from now on.

Zheng Cheng coughed lightly and motioned Fu Gu to sit down. Fu Gu bowed and saluted, and after sitting down, he was quite calm, but his head was tilted higher.

Zheng Cheng continued loudly: "The first question has ended, and now it's time for the second question."

Before Zheng Cheng finished speaking, a scholar hurriedly raised his hand, stood up and saluted the emperor.

Cao Rui naturally smiled when he stood on the stage, but Zheng Cheng looked slightly displeased at this time.

Zheng Cheng said: "Why are you so impatient? Tell me your name, origin and age first."

The student bowed to the emperor and said, "I am Han Lin, a student from Jingzhao, and I am twenty-one years old this year."

Zheng Cheng nodded and said, "Han Lin, what questions do you have for His Majesty?"

Han Lin was already nervous when Zheng Cheng stared at him, and his voice was trembling: "Student...student wants to ask Your Majesty, in addition to classics, do you like writing?"

Obviously, Han Lin's level of questioning was obviously lower than Fu Gu's. Han Lin probably wanted to take advantage of Fu Gu, but he misjudged the opportunity.

There are only three opportunities to ask questions to the emperor. The first question is enough to warm up the audience, but why continue to warm up the audience with the second question?
This is somewhat out of touch with the times.

However, since he was asking questions about politics at the Imperial College, Cao Rui had already been prepared for the immature and even inappropriate questions from the students. Although Han Lin's question did not involve reality, it was at least related to culture.

Cao Rui did not let Zheng Cheng speak at this time, but took the initiative to answer.

Cao Rui said loudly on the podium: "Literature is a great cause for governing a country and an immortal event. Life has an end, and honor and happiness are limited to one's life. These two are inevitable, but literature is infinite."

For four hundred years during the Han Dynasty, the so-called writing of books by scholars was often to annotate and explain Confucian classics, but they did not attach much importance to writing articles.

If what Cao Rui just said is true, it is obvious that the sentence was written in the signature, and it was elevated to the level of "the great cause of the country" and "an immortal event", which was never mentioned by people in the Han Dynasty.

Seeing that everyone was listening, even the two doctors Zheng Cheng and Gao Tanglong standing nearby, as well as the two attendants Liu Ye and Huang Quan all showed thoughtful expressions. Cao Rui smiled and continued.

"I did not say this, but the late emperor mentioned it in the book "Classics". But my opinion is the same as the late emperor's."

"I think that if one can write a book or an article with sufficient talent, one must think deeply, think far ahead, and aim at the right target. A good article will contribute no less to literature and education than a great scholar."

Han Lin saw that the emperor had answered the question, and he bowed to express his gratitude. But Cao Rui thought for a moment, looked at Gao Tanglong and continued, "Dr. Gao Tang, since you mentioned literature, I think we can carve the late emperor's "Classics" on stone and hide it in the Imperial Academy to show my respect for literature."

Gao Tanglong bowed and said: "Your Majesty, what you said about the article is a judgment I have never heard before. It is refreshing. I have never read the Classics and Talks. Please give me a copy. I will order someone to print it right away."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "This is the article written by the late emperor. I guess I am the only one who has read it. Minister Liu, you and Doctor Gaotang will handle this matter together."

Liu Ye bowed and agreed.

Zheng Cheng motioned Han Lin to sit down. Han Lin was among the students in the B-rank, and it was almost the last question. Zheng Cheng didn't want the last question to be insignificant, so he looked at the students in the A-rank.

When Xiahou Xuan saw Zheng Cheng looking at him, he looked at Zheng Cheng with a smile and then raised his hand.

It’s Xiahou Taichu.

If Fu Gu was only envied for his intelligence, then Xiahou Xuan was admired in all aspects.

Xiahou Xuan stood up and saluted to the emperor standing on the podium.

Cao Rui naturally knew Xiahou Xuan, so he asked directly: "Taichu, what do you want to ask?"

Seeing how relaxed Xiahou Xuan was in talking to the emperor, everyone was somewhat envious. But can this be achieved through envy? Not everyone has a father with the surname Cao or Xiahou.

Xiahou Xuan bowed like the two students before him and said, "I have a question about the Nine-Rank System."

Unlike the previous two students, Xiahou Xuan holds the title of Palace Attendant, but he does not have to be on duty like Zhong Yu, so he can be a vassal.

Cao Rui nodded. Finally someone asked about a topic related to national affairs: "Taichu, go ahead."

Xiahou Xuan cupped his hands and said, "I have met many officials and scholars in Luoyang. Although it is natural for scholars to be enthusiastic about their careers in government, the current system makes the scholars who are facing the selection of officials quite confused."

"In terms of convention, in the pre-Han Dynasty and up to now, the system of recommendation is practiced, with the provincial governor recommending outstanding talents and the prefecture governor recommending filial and honest officials. After the outstanding talents and filial and honest officials are sent to Luoyang, they are evaluated by the three offices and appointed as palace officials. The Ministry of Personnel then discusses their future prospects."

Seeing that Cao Rui was listening attentively, Xiahou Xuan continued, "In my opinion, the system of selecting candidates relies on the opinions of the prefectures and counties, and the focus of the prefectures and counties' opinions is on classics and filial piety. Under the Nine-Rank System, the evaluation that was originally conducted by the prefectures and counties' opinions was changed to that of the prefecture-level officials."

"I think that although having the county and state officials evaluate the scholars can prevent the so-called 'famous scholars' from interfering in the selection of candidates, it also creates other problems."

Listening to Xiahou Xuan's speech, Zheng Cheng couldn't help but frown again. He was afraid that the student's questions would be poor, and he was also afraid that the student's questions would be tricky. However, Xiahou Xuan was a relative of the emperor, and Zheng Cheng didn't know whether he should interrupt him.

Xiahou Xuan said: "I think there are three inappropriate aspects in this matter."

"First, when there was only the system of recommendation, if the prefect of a county recommended a filial and honest person, or the governor of a state recommended a talented person, there would be something wrong with that, and the prefect and the governor would be held accountable by the court. But now, the officials in each county evaluate the scholars, and if the evaluation is correct, they are selecting talents for the country, and if the evaluation is wrong, no one will blame them."

"Secondly, the system of recommendation was originally for the counties and states to actively select candidates. If a scholar was not selected, there was nothing else to say. But now the Zhongzheng evaluation is done, and if the evaluation is wrong, the scholar will never be able to recover in his life."

"Third, in recent years, the influence of Zhongzheng evaluation on scholars has become increasingly greater. From what I have observed, it has already affected the selection of officials by the Ministry of Personnel. I am worried that if this continues for a long time, I am afraid that the Zhongzheng system will compete with the Ministry of Personnel for power."

"The above are my questions. I hope Your Majesty can answer them."

Xiahou Xuan's question is fundamentally different from Fu Gu and Han Lin's, as they discuss the fundamental talent system of the 'Nine-Rank System'.

Cao Rui stood on the stage and listened to every word Xiahou Xuan said.

In fact, Xiahou Xuan’s problems can be summarized as follows:
First, if a prefect recommends a filial and honest person, and the court finds that the person is not good enough, the prefect will be held responsible. However, when Zhongzheng evaluates scholars, there is no one to examine them, and it all depends on Zhongzheng's sense of responsibility, which can cause big problems.

Second, the current Zhongzheng system only evaluates each scholar once, which can easily lead to false and wrongful convictions.

Third, Zhongzheng was gradually encroaching on the authority and responsibilities of the Personnel Department of the Shangshutai.

Cao Rui was in a high position, so it was self-evident from his perspective that there were problems with every system. The Nine-Rank System naturally also had its shortcomings.

The focus of Cao Rui's actions now is not to reform and improve every system immediately, but to make changes gradually while ensuring the normal operation of the Cao Wei court.

What impressed Cao Rui was not the sharpness of Xiahou Xuan's questions, but the fact that Xiahou Xuan was the one who could ask such questions.

As a member of the Xiahou family and living in Luoyang with such outstanding talents, he naturally did not have to worry about his future and fate. However, Xiahou Xuan was able to empathize with the emperor and asked such a question on behalf of the scholars and students of the world.

Is there such a person among the Cao and Xiahou families? It is really rare and precious.

(End of this chapter)