Chapter 34 4. Knock the mountain and shake the tiger

This morning, as soon as Sima Yi entered the prime minister's compound, he saw Cao Laosan tied up under the pillar of the porch, dejected like an eggplant beaten by frost, no longer the pride and frivolity of the past. Sima Yi casually called a servant and asked, "Uncle Cao, what's wrong?" "He...sneaked into the 'Mumendong' alley in the east of the city last night to buy some privately brewed wine to drink, but he never thought he would be caught by the servants of the Jingzhao Mansion." The servant gloated, " No, people from the Jingzhao Mansion kidnapped him and sent him to the Prime Minister's Mansion early in the morning, saying that he was to be dealt with by the Prime Minister who issued the prohibition order. It seems that Cao Laosan encountered a catastrophe this time... "

After hearing this, Sima Yi changed his mind, and walked slowly to Cao Laosan, and asked with concern: "Uncle Cao, what's wrong with you?" "Oh! It's Master Sima." Cao Laosan looked up, and immediately burst into tears, "Master Sima, save me! Master Sima, I bought it with the three hundred copper baht you gave me." Bootlegged and drank, ended up being arrested..." "Ah! That day the Japanese saw you working hard at guarding the gate, so they gave you copper baht to buy melons, pears and peaches to eat - who would have thought that you would actually use it to buy other people's privately brewed wine to drink!" Sima Yi paused. He sighed, "This time, you have violated Prime Minister Cao's 'Prohibition on Alcohol'. I'm afraid no one will be able to save you."

"Lord Sima! Sir Sima! You are a gentleman who has read the scriptures, and you are the one who loves the poor and the elderly the most..." Cao Laosan cried until his voice became hoarse, "I think it is because of the friendship between you and the old man who lived in the same house for many days Above all, save this old man. My family will definitely enshrine you like an ancestor, and your grandchildren will remember your great kindness!" Sima Yi frowned, and thought: You old man, you usually gossip behind me, have you learned your lesson today?snort!You also have a day to ask me.He made up his mind, pretended to sigh reluctantly, and said, "Forget it! I'll talk to Xin Changshi right now."

At the entrance of the Changshi Hall, Sima Yi quietly called out Shi Xinpi, the head of the prime minister's office, and said to him: "I have seen Cao Laosan's miserable appearance just now. After all, he is an old servant of the Cao family who served Master Cao Song." , you don’t have to bring this matter to the prime minister. Just teach him a profound lesson, what do you think?” Sima was busy arranging the construction of the back garden at that time, so he didn't have time to think about it, so he replied immediately: "Okay! Okay! Please ask Mr. Sima to go and deal with Mr. Cao. Xin has something to do. busy."

After receiving Xin Pi's words, Sima Yi turned around and went back under the pillars of the courtyard. Seeing that Wang Chang was also comforting Cao Laosan at the moment, he walked over, stood in front of Cao Laosan, and said solemnly: " Cao Laosan, I just asked Xin Changshi that you violated the prohibition for drinking too much and should be severely punished. However, after many persuasions by this seat, he just gave you a lighter punishment for the sake of serving the old Captain Cao for many years. " "Thank you, Lord Sima! Thank you, Lord Sima!" Cao Laosan was overjoyed when he heard that, and kowtowed on the ground like a chicken pecking at rice, "I am willing to accept the punishment."

"Xin Changshi said, either you will deduct all your salary this year and confiscate it, or you will slap yourself 150 times." Sima Yi said calmly, "You choose!" "I...I am willing to slap myself a hundred and fifty times on the mouth." Cao Laosan muttered for a while before nodding his head. Sima Yi called a servant and ordered: "You untie him and just stare at him and slap yourself on the mouth a hundred and fifty times. If you don't hit enough, don't let him go!" Then, with a flick of his robe sleeves, he went to work in the Dongcao Office.But I saw Wang Chang running up quickly, and after turning around the long corridor, he said to him with a smile: "Your Excellency, you have a good way, and you have taught everyone Cao Laosan, a talkative villain, so very happy." !"

Sima Yi didn't turn his head back, but said indifferently: "Why did I ever want to embarrass a villain like him? It's just his own fault..." Even though he said so, no one saw it. A look of pride flashed by. In the lobby of the Dongcao Office, Sima Yi and Wang Chang buried their heads in the pile of papers, brushing like flying in their hands, and they don't know how many official letters they reviewed, let alone how long it took.It wasn't until Sima Yi's wrist holding the pen barrel was so sore that he couldn't lift it up that he put down the pen, stretched his wrist and elbow, sat up straight and was about to take the teacup.

At this time, he glanced over, but saw that there was no one at the entrance of the hall, and he couldn't help saying to himself: "Hey! Why hasn't this Uncle Cao come back to watch the door? I slapped myself a hundred and fifty times on the mouth, it's worth it." Is it that long?" While he was talking to himself, there was a sudden roar of loud laughter from outside the hall: "Well, you Sima Zhongda! Thank you for thinking of it, let Cao Laosan slap himself in the mouth to cure him!" Hearing this voice, Sima Yi straightened his face in horror, then got up and left the table without hesitation, took Wang Chang to the boxwood floor on the left side of the entrance of the hall, and knelt down respectfully.

I saw more than a dozen armored warriors entering the hall with swords and swords, lined up on both sides.In the middle is a red lacquered chariot carried by eight people, and an old man in his sixties with a high crown in black robes and a beard sits proudly on the chariot.He is not tall, his hands are on his knees, his waist is straight, his gaze is like a torch when he is looking forward, and his aura is like a tiger when he is looking up. "My subordinates are waiting to see the Prime Minister!" Sima Yi and Wang Chang hurriedly shouted in unison. Cao Cao was carried straight into the hall by the crowd, and without getting off his chariot, he just sat in mid-air, looked down at Sima Yi who was kneeling on the ground, and said slowly, "Sima Zhongda, you just found Xin Pi interceding with Cao Laosan?"

"That's right." Sima Yi raised his head, met Cao Cao's sharp gaze, and replied fearlessly, neither humble nor overbearing, "My subordinates think that although Cao Laosan violated the prohibition by greedy drinking, his crime is not worthy of death. Serving the old Lieutenant Cao’s hard work, so I begged Xin Changshi to punish him a little bit." "Well... If you were in normal times, there would be nothing wrong with you doing this. But today, he was captured and kidnapped by Yin Jinyi from the Jingzhao Mansion and sent to my prime minister's mansion. Everyone in the capital is staring at the truth. Let him go! You're good, you only fined him a hundred and fifty mouths." After listening to Sima Yi's answer, Cao Cao's face suddenly became condensed, and he said coldly, "If you want to protect him, no one will do it. I can’t sell you anymore. By the way, Cao Hong sent someone to chop off his head and send it to Jin Yi just now. Now, Jingzhao Mansion has nothing to say, right?”

"What... what?" Wang Chang was so startled that he lost his voice for a moment, almost collapsing to the ground, "You...you cut off his head?" Seeing that Cao Cao was still sitting on the chariot, looking at Wang Chang paralyzed on the ground with cold eyes, he almost dismissed the answer, with an understated expression as if he had just crushed an ant to death, and suddenly asked leisurely: "What? Do you think the handling of the truth just now is a bit inappropriate?" When Sima Yi heard Cao Cao's words just now, his whole body trembled violently, he closed his eyes tightly, his face was full of pain, he gritted his teeth secretly, but he bent down, kowtowed his head and said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency is stern and selfless!" , The law enforcement is like a mountain, and it is a model for all officials in the world. Who dares to disobey inside and outside the court? Who dares to object? It is the subordinates who have not thought carefully about this matter, and they are soft, and I hope the prime minister will forgive their sins!" Cao Cao sat high on the chariot, listened carefully to Sima Yi's answer, but was silent for a moment, then glanced at him with great interest for a long time, and then said lightly: "What do you say, forgive me?" Forgive me, this statement is a bit false. Cao Laosan was just a little unlucky, and happened to be in this season. Forget it, let's not talk about him. "Sima Zhongda, in fact, I came to your Dongcao office today to ask you a few things. I heard that Mr. Xun Ling is planning to transfer you to the Shangshutai to take up the post of Duzhi Shangshu. For the real two thousand stones, it is much better than you are now in my prime minister's mansion as the Tocao genus of the two thousand stones, but you actually rejected him—why is that?" Sima Yi didn't expect Cao Cao to overhear the private conversation between himself and Xun Yu in the Yuxian Hall, and he couldn't help being shocked as if being shocked by an electric shock. He calmed down, and then slowly replied while thinking: " Since my late father was alive, our Sima family has always been loyal to Prime Minister Cao, and the love of dogs and horses in our hearts will never be separated from any external temptation. Moreover, our subordinates and elder brother have lived in the prime minister's mansion for many years, and have long been deeply I deeply understand that it is safer to stay under the Prime Minister to do any errands than to go outside to be any high-ranking official." "Very good, very good. It's very rare that you didn't make up some empty words like 'Ming Gan Wu Nei' and 'Great kindness' to fool the truth." Cao Cao nodded deeply and waved his hand as a gesture.All the warriors and attendants understood, hurriedly and slowly lifted the lacquered golden chariot, and put it down on the right seat in the lobby. Cao Cao still couldn't get up, but sat facing south and north, staring at Sima Yi from a distance, and slowly said: "The 'safety' you mentioned, this is the point. What is 'safety'? The truth Governance and law enforcement have always been the most vigorous, upright, impartial and selfless. This is "safety". You all know that Cao Laosan is a distant relative of the real family. He has served the old Taiwei diligently for decades. The truth was also raised by him when he was a child—" At this point, Cao Cao didn't know which string was plucked in his heart, but he was actually moved, his eyes were full of tears, and he was slightly choked up, "However, in order to protect the imperial court No matter how much I can't bear it, I have no choice but to exterminate my relatives! There is also Zhang Xiu, who not only endangered the truth repeatedly during the separatist regime in Wancheng, but also murdered the eldest son of the truth, Cao Ang. However, later He suddenly came to his senses, surrendered to the truth, and took refuge in the court. The truth did not care about his old enmity, but asked the court to reward him as a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households. You have all seen all this. Although the truth is full of power, it is powerful. Bahuang, this is nothing to be admired or envied. What is admired and envied is that the Grand Duke who is in charge of punishment and rewards in this world follows the outline of ordering chaos in this world. Who can you follow more safely than following the truth? '?" After all, he straightened his figure, his eyes flickered sharply, stared at Sima Yi and Wang Chang, and said solemnly: "The truth is here today to tell you straight, stay in the prime minister's mansion to do business, sure It’s a bit harder than outside. Whether it’s done well or not, people outside will inevitably gossip. But as long as you don’t neglect the errands in the mansion, the truth will not let you down. Follow the truth and work hard You have a bright future. As long as you are doing common affairs, as long as you do your best, you will definitely have purple waist and gold in the future. As long as you are a military officer, as long as you do your best, you will not be short of feudal lords. The truth is, not only will you not be rewarded with a penny of copper baht, but you will also be punished for your crimes, stripped of your status, stripped of your clothes, and dispatched to the villages of Bingzhou, Youzhou and other places to suffer !" Sima Yi lay on the floor and listened quietly. He didn't expect that his simple answer would attract such a lengthy speech from Prime Minister Cao.He was muttering to himself in the bottom of his heart, when suddenly a flash of light flashed in his mind. It turned out that Prime Minister Cao's long speech was not just for himself, but for himself to resign from the position of Minister of the Ministry of Finance, to talk about it. To all the officials in the prime minister's mansion.Right now, the city of Xudu looks calm on the surface, but there is an undercurrent of turmoil in the dark.If Cao Cao hadn't acted in time to "knock the mountain and shake the tiger", there would be no guarantee that the people in the mansion would fluctuate and the overall situation would be messed up. He seemed to be a little tired after all the nonsense, and leaned on the back of the chariot for half a cup of tea, and then asked seriously after he had a rest: "Now let's get down to business. Sima Zhongda, did you have a meeting yesterday?" Tiao Chen said that he wanted to conduct a "watching and inspection" of Sifang Prefecture and County in the Central Plains. The truth is that I came here today to ask you, what kind of "wind" do you people from the Dongcao Office want to observe in Sifang Prefecture and County? What are you patrolling? check'?" When Sima Yi heard Cao Cao's words, he was so cunning and fierce that he didn't dare to be careless. After thinking about it for a while, he still talked with the scriptures according to the reason he had prepared earlier: "My lord, The function of the Dongcao Office is to judge and select talents for use by the country. There is a saying in ancient books: "The foundation of governing the country lies in obtaining talents, the foundation of obtaining talents lies in judging, the foundation of judging lies in verifying the truth, and the foundation of verifying truth lies in impartiality." 'The subordinates think to themselves that they have no other advantages in their lives, but they can only admire the noble character of the prime minister, and imitate your "public" character and work hard to serve the country." Hearing his words, Cao Cao couldn't help but see a flash of light in the depths of his eyes. He raised his head slightly to glance at him, and said indifferently: "Since you are thinking about the word 'gong' wholeheartedly, it is naturally the best. However, you Why do you have to go to Sifang Prefecture to "watch the wind and inspect" during this time of war? Are you really not afraid of any accidents on the way?" "My lord Prime Minister reminded me, I am waiting to thank you for your concern. However, under the governance of your lord Prime Minister, the counties in the Central Plains have long enjoyed a happy life for the people, peace and prosperity, orderly, no robbers and bandits, and a revival. The prosperous weather in Shengping. I will go to watch the wind and inspect it, so it will be very safe." Sima Yi thought for a while, and then replied with great respect, "According to my subordinates, the prefects and governors of Sifang prefectures and counties, He is an official who is close to the people. He obeys the decrees of the prime minister and the hundreds of thousands of people in the pastoral area. He can be called the cornerstone of our country. There is a saying: "If the foundation is not strong, the whole house will be uneasy." Dongcao Office follows the convention, It is supposed to go deep into the states and counties of various states and counties on a regular basis to "observe the wind and inspect", timely observe the talents and abilities, reward the good and eliminate the evil, and prevent the erroneous. Enlightenment, discipline, raising the people, training military equipment, and supplying food. These five subjects are the five-handed 'measurement ruler' to measure the achievements of the governors of the states and counties in guarding the soil. Those who have made meritorious deeds will be recorded by the Dongcao Office and returned to the prime minister. Your Excellency praises it; if there is something wrong that can be seen, the Dongcao Office also puts it on the record and returns, and still asks the Prime Minister to demote it. The subordinates are just the heart of the people, and the eyes and ears of the people as the prime minister. Your Excellency is just judging the case impartially, how dare you act recklessly with selfish motives?" Cao Cao listened carefully, thinking over and over in his heart, and felt that what he said was reasonable and restrained, and he couldn't find any flaws for a while.He pondered for a while, and finally made up his mind. He stood up, looked straight at Sima Yi, and said slowly: "Well... I am planning to choose an opportunity to conquer Sun Quan recently. In order to avoid my worries, let you Dong Cao go down and deal with the Quartet It's good to have a "watching and inspection" in the prefectures and counties. When you go this time, you must remember that first, don't disturb the people, and second, don't disturb the officials. You should seriously be the eyes and ears of the truth, and take what you should see , Everything that should be heard, nothing is missed, and it is just brought back to the truth verbatim." "My subordinates would like to obey the orders of the prime minister." Sima Yi and Wang Chang hurriedly knelt down and preached. As if thinking of something again, Cao Cao stretched out his hand and brushed off the dust that was not on his black robe, and said casually: "That Nanyang prefect Zhu Hu has done some beautiful things recently. The truth checks him out and sees what he is capable of. But don’t listen to one side or believe it. Some Nanyang gentry also wrote something to accuse him of being dishonest. The truth will let Simpi tell The things they wrote were forwarded to your Dongcao Office. You should also check them against each other, so as not to deceive others, it will damage the knowledge of the truth.” "Your subordinates will obey your orders." Sima Yi and others replied respectfully. While listening to Sima Yi and the two's answers, Cao Cao walked over slowly with his hands behind his back, and came straight to stand in front of them.He suddenly sighed leisurely, and said in a calm manner: "There is an matter in the court today, which is related to the way of doing things. Let me tell you about it. Mr. Xun Ling...Of course you all know it. He You all have to learn from that loyal and meticulous heart towards the imperial court! "During the early court today, His Majesty was worried about the epidemic in Bingzhou, Yuzhou and other places, so he took out a large box of rhino horn powder from the harem, and with Yilang Hanji as the special envoy of the imperial envoy, he led special personnel from the household department and the imperial hospital to transfer the rhino horn powder Send it to the homes of the sick people in the plague-stricken area to take food and cure diseases. Hehehe... Rhino horn powder is a rare and rare detoxification spirit! It is said that His Majesty put the rhino horn belt he wore, the rhino horn comb used by Empress Fu and all the concubines. They were all donated, developed into medicinal powder, and specially given to the common people to treat diseases and detoxify. The most regrettable thing is that he also gave a rare treasure "rhinoceros horn cup" that has been handed down since the time of King Xuan of Zhou to the people. It's smashed... Your Majesty doesn't care about the dragon body, but he always cares about the common people in the world - he is really the king of benevolence and virtuousness! The famous scholars and bureaucrats in Xudu city heard about this and loved him even more It’s a layer of deepening, thinking that he will definitely be able to rejuvenate the Han Dynasty..." Speaking of this, Cao Cao's words couldn't hide a little bit of complicated meaning, there was not only faint ridicule, but also a little bit of jealousy.There was a sudden pause in his voice, his eyes sank, he glanced at Sima Yi's face, and said slowly: "Later, I heard another saying that this 'rhinoceros horn cup' was actually an ancestral cup from the residence of Lord Xun Ling." Treasure, he offered it to His Majesty on his own initiative to help the common people. Take a look, how sublime and ingenious the way of Xun Lingjun's serving the emperor is! The ancients said: "When the bud is not moved, and the signs are not seen, Clearly seeing the opportunity of survival, the key to gain and loss, and preventing the lord before it happens, the one who makes the lord stand in a place of glory and make the world beautiful is a holy minister.' According to the truth, what Xun Lingjun did was just Be worthy of the reputation of being the number one holy minister in ancient and modern times! You should learn from him diligently, you must not neglect it, and you must also be the 'holy minister' in my prime minister's residence!" Hearing Cao Cao coming slowly, Sima Yi's heart skipped a beat, and his face changed slightly.It turned out that Xun Lingjun actually dedicated the ancestral "rhinoceros horn cup" he gave to his majesty, which made his majesty the reputation of "the king of benevolence and virtuousness"!It seems that Prime Minister Cao already knew that it was he who gave the rhino horn cup to Xun Yu... No wonder the atmosphere was a little off when he entered the Eastern Cao Office today, and he must be secretly dissatisfied with himself.Thinking of this, Sima Yi secretly raised his eyes and saw that Cao Cao was staring at him fiercely. He knew that if he didn't express his position at this moment, the consequences would be unpredictable, so he bowed his head on the ground and knocked heavily with a "bang". With a ringing head, he shouted loudly: "Sima Yi always remembers the orders of the Prime Minister, and will definitely learn to be a 'holy minister' in the Prime Minister's mansion wholeheartedly. Seeing Sima Yi's sincere and terrified look, Cao Cao thought to himself: This Sima Yi, say he is loyal, and he has a teacher-student relationship with his political opponent Xun Yu in the court, and he has been parting with him; Soon after, he rejected Xun Yu's invitation to serve as Minister of Duzhi and stayed in his own mansion to serve—does he still want to step on two boats between my Cao family and the Han Dynasty?But judging from his usual wisdom and wisdom, he shouldn't have such a stupid move, right?But then again, Xun Yu's Confucian style and sage's talent, even he is deeply impressed, let alone Sima Yi?How can one who does not respect his teacher be loyal to his master?From this point of view, it is understandable for Sima Yi to act like this.Alas... Sima Yi's heart and mind are unpredictable, but there is no turning back when he speaks and behaves.He had no choice but to let him stay in the mansion to see the effect later.Thinking up to this point, he stopped thinking, turned his body around, and let out a series of loud laughter that shook the roof tiles, and instead of getting on the chariot, he raised his sleeves and stepped out as if no one else was around. Tang Shi went away. Sima Yi and Wang Chang hurriedly fell to the ground respectfully, not daring to utter a word, until Cao Cao and his party had gone far away, then slowly stood up. Looking up at the courtyard outside the hall gate, Sima Yi stood quietly like a stone statue, motionless.After a long time, he turned his head, his eyes were full of desolation.He said to Wang Chang solemnly: "My lord, go and prepare some fruits and incense candles. I will make a good sacrifice to Uncle Cao later... Also, go to Sifangzhou County to watch the wind and inspect. Set off!"