Chapter 7 4. Brother Sima leaves the troubled place in Kyoto

The curtains on both sides of the galloping carriage were drawn down and tied tightly to the bottom frames of the windows, no matter how violent the road was, they could not shake them.Pedestrians outside naturally have no way of observing everything in the car. At this moment, in the carriage, brothers Sima Yi and Sima Lang were sitting opposite each other, talking in low voices. "Second Brother, what do you think of Dong Zhuo?" Sima Lang looked directly at Sima Yi and asked slowly. "Hmm... In my opinion, although Dong Zhuo is rough and uneducated, he is not lacking in insight and tyranny -- it's just that he doesn't seem to have the talent for quick wit..." Sima Yi frowned for a moment, and greeted him. Seeing the sharp gaze projected by the eldest brother, he replied unhurriedly, "After listening to his self-report just now, he was quite sincere. It's a pity that he arbitrarily arbitrarily abolished the establishment as a military general, and his virtue and talent , His position is not as high as that of Huo Guang, an important official of the former Han Dynasty, and he presumptuously carried out Huo Guang's extraordinary actions, causing the world to blame, and severing himself from the famous scholars and officials of the Manchu Dynasty. It will not last long."

"Oh! The second brother has less history. After all, he is too honest. How can Dong Zhuo's self-reporting words be taken seriously? He just hopes that we brothers can become his mouthpiece, and use his rhetoric to confuse his father. Your Excellency, Doctor Yang, Wang Situ and others are all that’s all. Now that the Kwantung princes are attacking by Daxing rebels, if he doesn’t do everything possible to stabilize his own rear and the inside of the court first, how can he spare his hands to calm down the foreign enemies? So, for him There is absolutely no need to pay any attention to the pretentious words." Sima Lang shook his head slightly, and pointed out sharply, "Moreover, judging from his deliberate hypocrisy, he himself has nothing in his mind to deal with the enemies outside the Kanto. The odds of winning are very good, so I have to flatter all the famous scholars and officials in order to stabilize the rear, so that I can retreat to Chang'an and protect myself. In view of this, in my brother's opinion, this Dong Zhuo is already in internal and external troubles at the moment, and he must act improperly and kill himself time!"

"Brother is very discerning, and younger brother admires it." After hearing this, Sima Yi couldn't help being shocked, nodded deeply, and suddenly seemed to be thinking, and said in a deep voice, "By the way! Brother, I heard Miss Diaochan's hint just now. Thinking about it carefully, it seems that Dong Zhuo's demise is just around the corner. Why don't we wait and see? Why are we really in such a hurry to return to Wen County, Hanoi County for refuge? It is indeed where Dong Zhuo's Xiliang soldiers and Kwantung armies met The place of war...is more dangerous than Chang'an City we were forced to move to..."

Sima Lang was listening silently opposite him, and suddenly raised his right hand, interrupting his speech, his eyes swept across his face, staring at him so that he lowered his head slightly, and then said lightly: "Second brother! Could it be that you really Do you think my father wants us two brothers to go back to Hanoi County at this time of the year just for the sake of refuge? Alas! You are still very naive...Father actually has other intentions in doing this. ——He wants to make our Sima family In the future, we can smoothly cope with changes in the current situation and plan ahead.”

"Father, is he planning for a rainy day?...Could it be that he really wants us to go and seek refuge with that Cao Cao?" "Sigh... Brother Wei's meaning just now is very clear: If it is really for refuge or to seek refuge with Cao Cao, why would my father not take the opportunity to escape from the city with us? Why is he still staying in the court by himself? Actually, my lord Let us return to our hometown in Wen County, Hanoi County, not because we want us to be idle, but..." When Sima Lang said this, he suddenly seemed to realize something, and immediately closed his mouth, no more words.

"But what? Big brother, you just finished talking..." Sima Yi was listening intently, but he didn't expect his big brother to be silent all of a sudden, and couldn't help urging a little anxiously, "Your half-spoken words make people listen Very unhappy!" "Well...my brother has already told you too much," Sima Lang leaned his back on the wooden wall of the east chamber, closed his eyes slightly, and calmed down as if no one else was there. At the end, he only left a paragraph for Sima Yi to be alone. Sitting on the opposite car seat, he was puzzled like Zhang Er King Kong, "When you need to know something, Father and Brother will let you know...Why are you in such a hurry?!..."

The carriage "rumbled" for a while, and suddenly a shrill and unpleasant voice like a night owl pierced through the thick window curtains of the car, and reached the ears of Sima Lang and Sima Yi: "Slave! Slave! ! One for five hundred baht, two for nine hundred baht..." "What... what? Selling slaves?" Sima Yi heard it clearly, and couldn't help being taken aback. He looked at Sima Lang in surprise, "Brother! Didn't the imperial court order that private slaves be sold?" "Alas... troubled times are approaching, no matter how good the law of the big man is, it is nothing more than a piece of paper..." Sima Lang raised his eyes to stare at the roof of the carriage, and sighed, "Forget it... let's get out of the car and take a look. !"

Sima Yi was eager for his brother to say this, so before he could think about it, he hurriedly shouted through the curtain to Yu Meng, the coachman who was driving in front of the carriage: "Uncle Yu! Stop! Stop!..." Yu let out a long cry, pulled his wrists together, and quickly reined in the reins. The carriage hadn't come to a complete stop yet, and Sima Yi lifted the curtain of the carriage, got out, jumped down from the shaft of the carriage, and followed the sound of peddlers to look around! In the pen that was originally used to sell cattle and horses, twenty or thirty ragged people were crouching like livestock!

Among them were men and women, old and young, all tightly bound by hemp ropes as thick as thumbs, and curled up in the heavy dirt of cow dung and horse urine.At first glance, they looked like mud monkeys and earth dogs. If it weren't for the lonely and pleading feelings that only human beings can have in those eyes, Sima Yi couldn't believe that they, like himself, were the spirits of all things. "people"! His eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe what he saw with his own eyes! "Young master, all the slaves I sell here are very good. If you want a man, you will be as strong as a cow, and you will not be tired after doing many jobs for you in a day; if you want a woman, you will be as beautiful as a flower. Guaranteed Can serve you comfortably..."

The shrill voice full of flattery and boasting came closer and rang in Sima Yi's ears.He turned his head and saw that on an earthen platform next to the row of cattle and horse pens, a rogue-headed trader was leaning over to greet him. "You...are you talking to Xiaosheng?" Sima Yi was a little surprised. "Of course! The villain will know that you must be a rich and wealthy man from a famous family just by looking at your clothes. How about it? How about you pick a few to buy back and use?" "You... are you really selling these people?" Sima Yi felt the blood rushing to his ears, and his face was flushed.He clenched his fists sharply, his gaze was as sharp as a sword, and he shot coldly at the trafficker: "You boss, haven't you heard from the book of sages and sages: 'The nature of heaven and earth is the most precious'? We are the same 'people'! How can you sell them like cattle and horses?"

"Human? Are these things considered human? Hahaha! Young Master, don't you just talk nonsense when you're drunk? They are slaves! Of course slaves can be bought and sold!" "Xiaosheng only heard that the imperial court only allowed the sale of prisoners of war from the Xiongnu and Xiqiang." Sima Yi's expression turned serious, and his tone was so cold that the trafficker could not help but shudder secretly, "However, there is no law of the big man that allows you to sell the big man. sold into slavery by the people." "Hey!...My lord, why are you questioning so much? Don't talk nonsense, the villain didn't sell these slaves without authorization!" He said, "Go and ask them - which one of them didn't cry and kneel and beg the villain to sell them in this cow and horse pen?" "How could such a thing happen?" Sima Yi frowned, turned his head to look at the servants, and sure enough, none of them complained. "Young master, think about it! Who would be willing to ask someone to sell themselves?" The trafficker jumped off the earth platform when he was excited, and went to Sima Yi's side, chattering, "They are all from the Yuzhou area in recent years. The refugees who suffered from the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Locust Plague did not sell themselves to others as slaves in order to get a bite to eat, how could they be so foolish as to starve to death?!" "Alas... natural calamities and military calamities... really hurt people!" Sima Yi slowly shook his head, looked sideways at the high and far sky, and let out a long sigh from the depths of his chest. "What's there to sigh about?" The human trafficker chuckled, seemingly indifferent, lowering his voice and said to Sima Yi, "Just wait and see - this business of buying and selling slaves will continue to flourish for several years. Right now, Grand Master Dong Aren’t you just about to go to war with the princes in the Kanto region? As soon as the battle starts, I don’t know how many good people will sell themselves as slaves. At that time, a famous noble like you can buy as many as you want.” Sima Yi stared coldly at the trafficker's face, gritted his teeth secretly, and said solemnly: "The sages once said: 'Do not do to others what you do not want done to you.' You boss, don't you know that the world is in chaos and the world is impermanent—— Who is the master and who is the slave? If one day you fall into the situation they are today, will you still be able to say what you just said? You are rich and unkind, and you are born in troubled times. I am afraid that you will suffer a great disaster Uncomparable!" "Heh... you son, the villain didn't offend you very much!" Hearing what he said, the trafficker jumped three feet high as if stung by a wasp, and immediately shouted, "Why don't you Can you say such ugly words to curse the villain?! You have to be reasonable!" "Reasonable to you?! Heh! According to Xiaosheng's temperament, I wish I could twist you and send you to the official now!" Sima Yi raised his eyebrows, and a fierce and menacing aura rushed towards him, and he stared at the trafficker with his head on his head. Shrunk, took three or four steps back, and for a long time was still trembling with fear, like a tiger avoiding breasts. He knew that this young Confucian scholar was not young, so he didn't dare to play tricks lightly. After standing still for a while, he put on a wry smile, shrugged, spread his hands, and said in a low voice, "Master, you want to send the villain away. Seeing officials... Little do they know that this world of turmoil and vagrants is precisely caused by those big and small officials who stir up trouble! As the saying goes: "The grievance has its head, and the debt has its owner." They are the ones who have harmed these Limin people The chief culprit who has been displaced and sold himself into slavery!——What are you and a villain, a small trader, doing to argue and care about these things?" Hearing what the trafficker said, Sima Yi was at a loss for words, and didn't know how to refute him for a moment, but glanced at the old and young, men and women curled up in the fence, and couldn't help but sigh deeply. "My lord, the villain sees that you have a kind heart, and you must be a real man who cherishes beauty and beauty." Seeing this situation, the human trafficker rolled his eyes, and with a flattering smile on his face, he came closer and said, " You don't care about the mysterious and mysterious truth of "the nature of heaven and earth, man is the most precious", don't talk so much, buying these slaves and saving them from starvation is because you have accumulated a lot of sinful virtue It's piled up." As he spoke, he turned around and took a look at the servants in the pen, ran a few steps to a pottery jar next to the earthen platform, scooped up a large scoop of icy cold dirty water, approached the pen to look inside For a moment, he pointed to one of the young slave girls curled up in a ball with dirt on their face, and said with a sharp laugh: "My lord, I assure you that the slaves you bought are cheap and good. Here, this girl looks quite lovely." Let's just let this villain let you see clearly." "You...what are you going to do? Don't...don't..." Seeing his actions, Sima Yi knew that he was going to do something bad again, so he hurriedly stopped.Before he could finish his sentence, the human trafficker raised his right hand, and the water in the wooden ladle splashed over the head of the teary-eyed young slave girl who was curled up like a puppy! "Ah—" The girl was shocked by the sudden splash of cold water, and couldn't help but let out an exclamation, and at the same time raised her face, glaring at the trafficker bitterly. The ladle of cold water washed most of the mud off her face, revealing her pale as snow cheeks, and the brows and eyes looked even more elegant and elegant, which was quite pretty. "What are you staring at? It wasn't your uncle, I gave your sister 300 baht to sell her body, and your starving parents haven't been buried yet!" The trafficker yelled at the slave girl viciously, " Don't stare at me like a female ghost! Stare at your uncle again, and I will beat you to death with a whip!" A younger slave girl curled up next to the girl saw the ferocious look of the trafficker, hurriedly stretched out her hand timidly, gently pulled her arm that was on the ground, and clung to her side, weakly persuading her : "Sister... Sister, forget it... just give in!" After hearing this, the girl looked sideways at her sister, clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and finally lowered her head slowly. "Give me some energy, sir! Look at you looking like you are not alive! No wonder my business has been deserted today, sir, who wants to buy your sloppy things!" The trafficker was afraid that he would The slaves couldn't be sold, and they were so anxious that they grabbed a long leather whip, danced it with a whoosh, and whipped it fiercely at the slaves, "It's okay! Let the master Let me give you a refresher!" There was only the sound of the whip crackling and the whip falling, and for a while, there were screams in the cattle and horse stables, which was unbearable to hear! "Hey! Why are you so vicious?" Sima Yi stepped forward, stretched out his hand and tightly grasped the left wrist of the trafficker's whip, "They are not beasts for you to beat!" "Oh! Young Master, do you feel bad?" The trafficker looked at Sima Yi's face and said dumbfoundedly, "If you really feel sorry for them, just buy them. Don't stare at the villain like this again. Way, villains also rely on selling them to earn money to support their families!" "That's all! Second brother, don't blame the boss anymore!" A deep and forceful voice suddenly came from beside Sima Yi, "We will buy all these slaves!" The human trafficker was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly looked up in surprise, only to see a young Confucian scholar who was as tall as the young man in front of him came forward.Sima Lang took out three gold beads as big as sparrow eggs from his sleeve, held them in his palm, handed them to the trafficker, and said calmly: "Boss, Xiaosheng didn't bring so many copper baht when he went out this morning. Is one gold pearl enough to buy these twenty or thirty slaves?" "Enough! Enough! Enough!" The human trafficker's eyes were almost dazzled by the light of the golden bead, and with a flattering smile on his face, he said repeatedly, "The villain has long known that you The son of a famous family must be very rich when he makes a move. The son just teased the villain for fun. If you want to buy it, buy it as soon as possible. Why bother to play tricks on the villain! You apologized..." "Brother..." Sima Yi ignored his flattery, and just stared at Sima Lang blankly, as if something was stuck in his throat, making him speechless. "Second brother, didn't you just look down on these gold, silver and jewels in the Grand Master's Mansion just now? I know that the second brother always regards them as dung." Sima Lang looked at him, with a smile on his face, but his words came naturally. Extremely sharp, "But, if you don't have the gold, silver and jewels given by Miss Diaochan, can you save these people?" "Brother..." Sima Yi lowered his head slightly, and replied shyly, "Why are you mocking me so much?" "Second brother, you are wrong. Brother Wei understands your feelings at the moment and empathizes with you." Sima Lang fixed his eyes and said slowly, "Actually, Brother Wei just wanted to tell you through this matter: just this one It is far from enough to save the world and the people with the heart of helping the world and calming the people. You must have the real resources to save the world and the people in order to truly save thousands of people who are struggling like them in this troubled world. The people of the Li people... otherwise, everything is empty talk—" "The capital of helping the world and peace of the people?" Sima Yi listened quietly, with a hint of bewilderment in his eyes.