Chapter 15 2. "Empty shell" shield

The sun had not yet set, and the fog had already filled the Luoyang Imperial Capital.The wet mist became thicker and thicker, covering the sky and covering the earth, covering the last sunset glow without a trace. It's time for a dinner in Sima's Mansion. Today, although Sima Yi is in control of the military and is an extremely powerful minister, there are still only three dishes on the table as before: a plate of dried beef, a bowl of pea soup, and a bowl of vegetable soup.This is the dietary habit that Sima Yi developed after he became an official.Before he entered the official career, it was impossible for him to eat that plate of jerky beef, and he usually had a plate of shredded radish as an appetizer.Sima Yi's simplicity and frugality are well-known among the ruling and opposition parties.

Even when he was having dinner, Sima Yi didn't take a break - he raised his chopsticks to eat, while listening to Zhang Chunhua sitting beside him and reporting various things inside and outside the mansion and all kinds of news and intelligence from the court. "After your husband has made great achievements in suppressing the rebellion this time and was promoted to the rank of General Hussars, almost all the officials in the court sent you congratulatory gifts in private." "Oh? Almost all of them have been given away? Who else hasn't given away?" "Except for that old monster Hua Xin, all the other ministers have given it away, even Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu's family have given it to you."

"Well... Some of the gifts they sent are worthy of being taken seriously, while others are not. You must have a sense of proportion in your heart, and don't think that once others give gifts and show favor, they will really do something to you Yes. However, you must write down the names of those who give gifts to your husband, no matter how high or low they are, in the future we will find opportunities to thank them ten times, one hundred times." "Okay, I remember it. However, the gifts from some colleagues seem to be very special, and we can't return it for a while..."

"Oh? What kind of special method is it?" Sima Yi stopped delivering food to his mouth, looked up at Zhang Chunhua and asked with great interest, "Tell me and listen..." "For example, Jia Mu, the heir of the former Taiwei Jia Xu, the prefect of Beihai County, sent a gift, but claimed that it was specially instructed by his father when he was dying that year. After the first actual battle, I will give it to you as a gift." "Bring that gift to my husband." Sima Yi immediately put down his chopsticks and sat up straight. Zhang Chunhua smiled lightly, pushed a long brocade box from behind, and opened it gently, and inside was a scroll of silk pictures.

Sima Yi picked up the scroll and shook it: On the top of the towering hill, a mighty, majestic, vivid white-fronted brocade tiger with hanging eyes raised its claws and swung its tail to climb up. It turned its head and roared. The red sun is rising! "What a picture of a 'Tiger Climbing the Mountain Looking at the Sun and Crying'!" Sima Yi stared deeply at the silk picture, "It can be said that Taiwei Jia knows my heart well—this painting was collected for my husband's triumphant return. Best gift I've ever received!" After finishing speaking, he slowly rolled up the silk picture and put it back into the brocade box.After a while of silence, he said quietly, "Jia Mu has been serving as the prefect of Beihai County for almost two or three years, right? Chunhua, remember to promote him to the position of Qingzhou Biejia at the end of this year! This can be regarded as the best of my Sima family's heart to repay his Jia family!"

"Your husband never forgets the old kindness, you are truly a loving and righteous man!" Zhang Chunhua couldn't help but praise deeply. Sima Yi picked up his rice bowl from the table again: "What's the latest news from the court?" "My concubine found out from Mrs. Xun in Chen Sikong's residence that Chen Jiao is going to take over the post of Shangshu Pushe, who was resigned by you, and the third brother will be transferred to the post of Duzhi Shangshu that Chen Jiaokong gave up...Third brother The Minister of the Ministry of Officials was vacated, but Lu Yu, the prefect of Guangping County, came to take over."

"Lu Yu? Is that the youngest son of Lu Zhi, the famous prince in the former court?" Sima Yi asked in a deep voice, "During the early years of Huang Chu, he once contradicted the late emperor because of his reasoning and outspokenness, so he was demoted from the imperial court by the late emperor for four or five years. His Majesty is really a generation of Mingjun, and he was promoted back without thinking about the past, it is really commendable!" While he was saying this, he was thinking to himself: This Cao Rui really has some tricks. When he ascended the throne, he used his new favorite to quietly grab the officials and control the power of appointing and dismissing officials. Just in time to carry out his general plan of "establishing authority and upholding the position" as the new king!

How clever Zhang Chunhua is, he immediately understood the hidden worry in his words, and said with a smile: "Your husband, there is no need to worry too much. The relationship between Lu Yu and the third brother has always been good. The third brother once suggested to the court when the late emperor was alive. Taking him as the Minister of the Ministry of Officials——so, Lu Yu's promotion to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Officials should not have too much impact and influence on the personnel structure previously set up by our Sima family." Sima Yi frowned slightly: "It will not have a big impact on the personnel structure that our Sima family set up earlier, that's for sure. However, if our Sima family wants to intervene in the appointment and removal of officials in the future, wouldn't it be difficult? Hmm...Let Wei Fu take some time to think about it carefully, you have to solve this difficult problem skillfully...you can continue talking!"

"Also, Steward Yin got the news from Sun Zi: Emperor Taizu Wu's military planner, Runan prefect Man Chong, is about to be promoted to Yangzhou shepherd; Guo Biao, the younger brother of Queen Mother Guo, finally got the imperial palace. The position of the general of the middle base; Cao Shuang, the eldest son of Cao Zhen, was also promoted by His Majesty to serve as the general of the military guard; It's my job..." Sima Yi didn't say a word, but listened to these words very seriously, while holding the dried beef with bamboo chopsticks and chewing slowly in his mouth, he was thinking deeply.

"By the way, Hua Xin, an old man, blindly obstructs and suppresses you, husband. You are deceiving me too much!" Zhang Chunhua also knew what made things difficult for Hua Xin in the court that day, so he couldn't help saying angrily, "I am a concubine. See, why don't you tell Steward Yin to find some capable dead men and get rid of Hua Xin without leaving a trace, lest he hinder the great cause of our Sima family..." After hearing this, Sima Yi paused for a while, put the bamboo chopsticks on the table, looked at Zhang Chunhua, and said slowly: "Madam, you and Steward Yin care so much about your husband, and I am very grateful to you from the bottom of my heart. But the Taoist words There was once a clear commandment, "The great disadvantage of being a human being is that you only know and then don't retreat, you only know what is blocked but don't know how to get rid of it, you only know what is there but don't know this." From my husband's point of view, Hua Xin must never be killed! As a husband, he is an obvious political opponent who can deal with it. This will make the royal family of Cao Wei think that the situation of "mutual control of officials and balance of power" has not been destroyed, so they are complacent and self-proclaimed. Husband, relax your vigilance and vigilance... If you wait for the opportunity to assassinate him, no matter whether you leave traces or not, all overt and secret suspicions will eventually point to Husband! This will put Husband in a very disadvantageous position... ..."

"Ah! Your husband is right!" Zhang Chunhua immediately realized, clapping his palms together, "The concubine cared too much about her husband for a while, and almost made a big mistake!" Sima Yi's heart was moved for a moment, and when he looked up and saw a few silver threads slightly exposed on her temples, he was filled with mixed feelings for a moment, and his voice was a little choked up: "Chunhua—you don't have to worry about your husband so much! Don't worry, Emperor Taizu Wu back then Such a shrewd and cunning character, he didn't care about his husband--he is just Hua Xin, how can he make a name for himself?" But Zhang Chunhua didn't notice his emotional reaction. He sat there, twisted his skirt slowly with his hands, and said in a deep thought: "Husband, someone in the court is trying to harm you, how can I be at ease?! As the saying goes, "I'm not afraid of thieves coming to steal, but I'm afraid of thieves thinking about it!" As for Hua Xin, if you can't get rid of him, why not lure him to my Sima's house? There is another strategy here—Dr. Dong Zhao's Mrs. He and his concubine Speaking of which, she and Mrs. Gao in Hua Xin's mansion have been friends since childhood, why not ask her to come forward as a matchmaker and tell Hua Xin's beloved daughter, Hua Ning, to Zhao'er as his wife!" "This seems a little inappropriate: Hua Xin is an 'old dog' specially used by Cao Cao and Cao Pi to monitor Wei Husband. If Wei Husband is uncharacteristically married to him, it will definitely arouse the suspicion of the royal family of Cao Wei... It's better to leave him there and let him become an "empty shell" shield for our Sima family. The royal family members of Cao Wei are very happy to see Hua Xin and his husband "dog bite dog" and tear each other down! Since they If you want to watch a play, hehehe... As a husband, you should seriously cooperate with Hua Xin to perform this good show for them in a down-to-earth manner!" Zhang Chunhua looked at him quietly for a while, and then said in a quiet tone: "My husband, the Hussar general and the governor of Zhennan, is really struggling every step of the way - facing that Captain Hua Xin, he can't kill him, dear." You can't even kiss, you won't fight back when you hit me, and you won't fight back when you scold me... This skill of 'spitting on your own face' is really difficult for my husband, how did you get it?" Sima Yi stared at the deepening twilight outside the window, and said nothing: When Cao Cao was the prime minister and his power was all over the court, he couldn't hold back for a while, he couldn't "be tempted and forbear, restrain himself and control his anger", so he killed him with a knife. Kong Rong, the doctor of the Taizhong, who he "singed against the tune", exposed his ambition to usurp the Han prematurely, which caused him endless troubles. How can I repeat his mistakes today?