Chapter 37 4. Sima and his son discuss the general trend of the world

The previous character "Yuan" on the signboard of Sihai Building has been wiped clean and changed to a big "Guan" character - indicating that the largest luxury restaurant in Hanoi County has really become Hanoi County The official property of the government office. On the day Du Chuan, Du and his uncle and nephew were beheaded for public display for corruption and bribery, Wei Zhong was also transferred away by an imperial decree. Cao Ren, Cao Sikong's confidant general, was sent here as the new prefect.As soon as Cao Ren took office in Hanoi, together with Liang Guang, the county lieutenant, he completely changed the settings of all military fortresses in the county, re-arranged the defense line of defense, and stepped up his guard against the Yuan family in Jizhou in the north by ten times.At the same time, Sima Yi was also promoted to the position of county magistrate, and took care of the logistics of the county government for Cao Ren in an orderly manner.Everything in Hanoi County presents a fresh look that is not what it used to be: in the past, the servants of the Yuan Mansion and the servants of Du Zhai walked on the streets of the county city like jackals and dogs, and the common people all looked sideways at them. And the line - now, such a situation is gone forever.Even the guards in the county mansion, when patrolling the market, were much more friendly to the common people than before.

That night, Sima Yi hosted a banquet in Sihai Tower for Liu Yin, Zhang Ershu, Tian Wubo and other representatives of the Yuzhou refugee clients. During the banquet, cups and cups were intertwined, laughter was endless, and everyone drank happily.Now, Cao Ren, Sima Yi, etc. have finally implemented the national policy of the imperial court to garrison the fields and calm the people: each household of the refugees has been allocated more than 20 mu of fertile land, and their identities have also changed from tenants of the Yuan family to clients of the government. Naturally, the burden of paying taxes has also been greatly reduced.Everyone is happy and only thinks about the beginning of spring in the coming year, throwing away their arms to grow food and mulberry, and actively earning a living by themselves.

"Lord Sima..." Second Uncle Zhang bowed to Sima Yi with a smile on his face, holding his wine glass, "You are truly the most upright official we have seen in a hundred years! Back then we didn't leave Hanoi County and went to other places to make a living, just because we believed you would It can save our livelihood. Sure enough, in less than a year, you drove away two Yuan Tigers, got rid of two Du corrupt officials, and gave us fertile land... We are really good at it Even a horse can't repay your great kindness." Speaking of emotion, he actually raised his wine glass above his head and knelt down to Sima Yi on the spot with a plop!

When he knelt down, Tian Wubo and other representatives of the other customers also burst into tears, kneeling and thanking him together! "No way! No way!" Sima Yi waved his hands with glistening tears in his eyes, and hurriedly left the table to help him, "Fathers and folks! You really killed me by doing this! I just did it a little It’s all about fulfilling your duties as an official, how can you accept this great gift? Please get up quickly! Otherwise, I will have to kneel with you all!” After all, he also bent his knees and knelt down, not daring to get up. Seeing this, Uncle Zhang, Uncle Tian and others hurriedly walked over on their knees to support him - Niu Jin could see clearly from one side, his mood was very agitated, and he thought to himself: Look at the appearance of the second young master. The feeling of being a good official is quite different!To be able to win the heartfelt gratitude and admiration of others with one's own character and talent, such a wonderful taste is probably incomparable to any gourmet delicacy in the world!

After Sima Yi returned the presents, he turned his head and saw Liu Yin watching him silently with tears and a smile at his table—a sudden movement in his heart: during this time, Liu Yin was working for himself in various refugee customer groups. He spied information on Yuan's mansion and Du's house and actively went through the needles secretly, and made a lot of credit for himself to grasp the criminal evidence of the Yuan brothers and the Du family's uncles and nephews.Moreover, judging from Liu Yin's performance, he is also quite down-to-earth, pragmatic, agile and flexible, and he is a very capable talent!Thinking of this, he suddenly had the idea of ​​storage and use in his heart.

"Liu Jun! This time you were able to cut off the powerful and capture the treacherous officials. You have contributed a lot!" Sima Yi stepped forward to raise his glass to Liu Yin, "The county government is going to recruit you as a warehouse manager, in charge of money, food and taxes. The general affairs of preserving the reserve—would you like it?" After Liu Yin heard this, an unusual respect appeared on his face, and he lowered his body and replied: "Mr. Sima——Actually, Yin doesn't care whether he should be a Cao Cao. Yin knows that Mr. Sima will definitely be able to do it in the future." You are a peerless genius who rides the clouds and rides the wind, and the dragon soars to the sky! Brother Yin is willing to follow you to create a great cause like Junior Brother Niu Jin!"

Sima Yi's face moved slightly like water waves, he didn't answer his words immediately, but slowly put the wine in the glass to his lips and sipped it one by one.Then he said softly: "Liu Jun, you don't know something. My father once made a rule that the close personal people used by my Sima family, apart from family friends and old servants, must have the surname 'Sima'. You, You'd better go to Ren Junfu Cang Cao Cao..." "No. Liu Yin is willing to change his name to 'Sima Yin' from now on, to become a brother and sister with Sima Jun, and to worship his uncle as a foster father!" Liu Yin blurted out without hesitation, "Liu Yin's parents now Both of them died, and they were alone in exile, so no patriarchal law and etiquette can be restrained."

Sima Yi stared at him for a long while, and then said deeply: "Liu Jun, do you know that there will be great suffering, great danger, and great calamity in the future with Yi, can you bear it all? You also I have seen Yi fight against the treacherous official Du Chuan, his uncle and nephew, and the tyrannical Yuan brothers—how can you compare the complicated situation and dangerous turmoil in the officialdom that you and I will be in in the future? What you have seen and heard these days can be compared? Besides, Yi may not be able to give you any special favors." After finishing speaking, he gave Liu Yin a deep smile, turned around and was about to leave the table - however, as soon as he moved, Liu Yin suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve corner, as if grabbing all his hopes There is an unshakable determination in his eyes: "Sima Jun, Yin will trust you all his life! Since that day when he roasted wild pheasant meat with you by the cable bridge in Linglong Valley, Yin has believed in you!— —No matter whether it is going up the mountain of swords or going down the sea of ​​fire in the future, Yin has no complaints or regrets."

When Sima Yi heard this, Liu Yin's cry on the cable bridge that day suddenly sounded in his ears: "Senior brother, something is wrong! I burned your wild pheasant meat..." He turned around slowly He turned his face, looked at Liu Yin, and smiled deeply. "Father! In fact, this mediation and negotiation will be a complete success," Sima Lang said to Sima Fang with some fear in his face, "My boy was not 100% sure before, and these days, my boy's hands have been clenched in cold sweat. " "Brother, why did you say that?" Sima Yi sat on one side, looking a bit puzzled, "Even if the mediation between the Yuan and Cao families fails, Yuan Shao may not dare to attack rashly."

"Oh! Second brother! You live in a prefecture, and what you see is only the external appearance of the political situation in Xudu's court!" Sima Lang shook his head slightly, sighing, "In fact, Xudu's city is full of hidden currents and internal troubles. Both Sikong and Xun Lingjun can be described as 'standing under a dangerous rock, sitting on a pile of eggs'." "Hmm... how could it be like this?" Sima Yi frowned, "Xu Du's government is well-organized and people are harmonious, and everything is prosperous—how can the situation be so critical?"

Sima Fang picked up a black chess piece and slowly played with it, his face was as calm as an abyss, and then he interjected and said: "Could it be that the dispute between the palace and the inner court during Wang Mang's time started in the court of Xudu?" When Sima Lang heard what his father said, he couldn't help but startled, stared at his father, and after a long while, he hurriedly fell down on the table and sighed in astonishment: "Father is really a man of God who sees thousands of miles and knows the future!" "The dispute between the mansion and the inner court?" Sima Yi was taken aback, "The outer mansion is respected by Cao Sikong, and the inner court is dominated by Lord Xun Ling—how could they fight?" Sima Lang glanced at him, and said meaningfully: "Second brother is wrong - the outer government respects Cao Sikong, but the inner court is dominated by His Majesty..." "Oh... When it comes down to it, the inner court is of course dominated by His Majesty." Sima Yi was still a little confused, "I heard that His Majesty is benevolent and wise today, how could there be any gap with Cao Sikong who is dedicated to helping the Han Dynasty?" "Second brother, do you really think that the whole court of Xudu is as monolithic as you see outside?!" Sima Lang sighed heavily, "During the days when my brother left Xudu, the whole court Wen and Wu have already made a fuss about a sudden incident, and the only reason is that Cao Sikong's misconduct has been exposed..." "Traces of wrongdoing? No way?" Sima Yi shook his head, with a disapproving expression on his face, "In my opinion, why is Cao Sikong so stupid? Now that Yuan Shao is watching and waiting for an opportunity, how could Cao Sikong be so stupid at this time?" Damage the general idea of ​​"respecting the king to calm the chaos, and helping the Han Dynasty to save the world"? Such a foolish act of falling into injustice, no matter how stupid a person is, they will never do it rashly." "Is there any truth to what my brother said? This news was reported by a letter from my confidant and secretary Lang Sunzi Feige who stayed in the Sikong Mansion!" Sima Lang said solemnly, "He told my brother that a few days ago, Your Majesty Hunting in the outskirts of Xudu, accompanied by hundreds of officials. Cao Sikong suddenly borrowed the carved bow and golden arrow held by His Majesty, leaped forward and shot a deer himself. All the ministers thought that His Majesty had shot the deer, so they congratulated in unison ——Unexpectedly, Cao Sikong rode his horse in front of His Majesty, and proudly faced all the officials to receive his congratulations, with a look of pride on his face. His move attracted Taiwei Yang Biao, Situ Zhao Wen, and Zhang Fu Wan , Chariot General Dong Cheng, Taizhong doctor Kong Rong and other senior ministers, nobles and clans were all angrily denounced——Cao Sikong still didn’t care, and left. Alas! Cao Sikong’s move was really disrespectful. Can it prevent the scholars and people of the world from dissenting?" "Did Xun Lingjun participate in the field shooting this time?" Sima asked Sima Lang unexpectedly. Sima Lang thought for a while, and shook his head: "My son said in the letter from Sun Zi that Xun Lingjun was so busy preparing for Yuan Shao's military rations for the Northern Expedition at Shangshutai these days. How could he have that share?" Do you want to accompany His Majesty and Cao Sikong to go hunting in the suburbs at leisure?" "Hmm..." Sima Fang nodded lightly, thoughtfully, but didn't say anything more. When Sima Yi heard what his elder brother said just now, he was startled at first, stared in thought for a while, then gradually understood, and finally couldn't help sighing: "Cao Sikong's move in the suburban hunting is really a very risky step. A strange move. Now that Yuan Shao's 800,000 troops are gathering in the north, Cao Sikong will soon choose an opportunity to attack—but he is very smart, and he intends to "behavior and make his own enemy when the victory is not clear." , self-inflicted injustice' to test the reaction of the nobles and important officials in the court, in case they are on the front line and the backyard is on fire. If there is no change in the group of officials, everything will stop; if there is a change in the group of officials, he will It can also be cut off! Unexpectedly, Cao Sikong would make such a powerful move of "putting him to death and then reborn"! Yi really admires it!" "Hehehe... It's not that Cao Mengde wants to come up with such an unimaginable and dangerous move, but that Cao Mengde's nature is rebellious and fierce, and he insisted on doing such an unruly act! No matter what Cao Mengde's intentions, he actually used His Majesty as a The tools he can use to detect other people's reactions have actually faintly shown that he does not take His Majesty seriously. At this time, no matter whether it is someone else fanning the flames or His Majesty himself harbors a secret hatred, there may be no way for the inner court and the outside world. There has already been a suspicion in the government..." Sima Fang glanced sideways at Sima Yi, holding the black spot between his fingers and kept turning it around, "If my father guessed correctly, his risky move will surely It was done without authorization by Xun Wenruo (Xun Yuzi Wenruo) - if Xun Wenruo had known in advance, he would have tried his best to dissuade him from doing this wrong thing! With Xun Wenruo's deep insight, rigor and carefulness, it is even more ingenious Cao Mengde's strategy is to appease some noble relatives and important officials in the court to plot against Cao Mengde, but why use Cao Mengde's dangerous trick of "making his own enemy and trapping himself injustice"? Alas... In Xudu City, there are strong outsiders The enemy is waiting for each other, but there are sudden changes inside——Cao Mengde only wants to hit his own tricks, and directly stimulates the lurking enemies in the court to attack ahead of time, but Xun Wenruo has to go to great lengths to smooth out his troubles." "My lord father and my second brother's analysis is very subtle." Sima Lang couldn't help nodding his head repeatedly after hearing this, "Cao Sikong does have many potential enemies in the court of Xudu—I can't blame him for taking the blame from the officials. Carry out this dangerous move of 'putting them to death and then reviving them'! Moreover, some political enemies are hidden so deeply that it is absolutely impossible to guess!" "Oh? Do you know who among those people is hiding extremely deeply?" Sima Fang's eyes flashed, and he asked him, "Tell me, let Weifu listen." "Father, you should know the royal uncle, Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, the shepherd of Yuzhou?" Sima Lang thought about it for a while, and then answered politely, "When he was not attached to Xudu, even Doctor Kong Rong praised him. "Extraordinary heroism, rare benevolence and virtue"; however, after he entered Xudu, he had no sharpness, behaved well, and seemed to have nothing extraordinary. I remember that once Liu Bei and Cao Sikong ate at the same table, He was so frightened by a thunderbolt out of thin air that he couldn't cover his ears, and all the officials and people laughed at him for his false name... However, it was such a cowardly person who, according to Cui Yan's secret talk to Hai'er, was actually in the near future. During the time, I have been in secret contact with Yuan Shao in Jizhou, plotting to wait for the opportunity to launch an attack, and take Cao Sikong and replace him!" "Liu Bei? I have heard of him as a father. This man has Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other powerful generals under his command, and he has used their deadly power. Based on this alone, is he a man who has lost his chopsticks after hearing the thunder?" Sima Fang's face tightened when he heard this, and he couldn't help pinching the black spot in his palm tightly, "His tricks of concealment can't be hidden from Cao Mengde. Cao Mengde won't expose him for the time being, I'm afraid he also hopes to use his great talent and magnanimity." Let him finally be convinced and willing to use it for himself? Hehehe... It seems that Liu Bei didn't follow him, but conspired with Yuan Shao in Jizhou to assassinate him. Cao Mengde was indeed surrounded by enemies in Xudu City, and there was no danger. test." "That's right! That's why Hai'er said that just now. This time, Hai'er has been secretly sweating in the mediation and negotiation between Yuan and Du!" Sima Lang sighed. "Then, my lord father, in the face of such a complicated and ever-changing situation in Xu Capital City, what should our Sima family do in order to settle down and establish a career?" "Hmm... Why should our Sima family be so smart and choose otherwise?" Sima Fang gently placed the black spot in his palm on the table in front of him, watching it glow faintly under the flames of the lamp, "In the city of Xu Xun Wenruo's every move is a unparalleled lesson for us to act accordingly: follow his steps closely and continue to support Cao Cao as the main focus, we will definitely not make mistakes."