Nine Ministers
Wang Xiu was attached to the Ministry of Works, and appointed as Superintendent of Treasury Officials, working with gold and silver instead of grain. In 212, following a memorial to Cao Cao complaining that his life was too easy, Wang Xiu was appointed as the Administrator of Wei Commandery. After Cao Cao's enfeoffment as the Duke of Wei in 213, he appointed Wang Xiu as Grand Minister of Agriculture (), one of the Nine Ministers, among the highest civil positions in the bureaucracy. Following an exhortation against the establishment of corporal punishment, Wang Xiu moved laterally to the post of Minister of Imperial Ancestral Ceremonies (), another of the Nine Ministers.