Wei Ni

I am actually inferior to Xiahou Zhiquan? !
And you still don’t know it?
As soon as he heard this, Sima Shi's heart was like a huge wave rising from the ground, and he couldn't calm down for a long time. Especially since the person who made such an assertion was his father who had always admired his talent.

However, he still looked calm.

Ever since he was imprisoned in the Vanity Fair case, he has managed to keep his emotions under control, and whenever something happens, he immediately puts himself in the shoes of an outsider.

Therefore, he just nodded slightly to Sima Yi, then lowered his eyes and thought.

Sima Yi didn't say anything either.

He just turned around, leaned against the battlement of the city wall, and set his eyes on the suburbs outside Chang'an City.

Standing on the city wall of this old capital of the Han Dynasty and looking down, the scenery and characters are basically the same, but the feeling is different every time.

Sometimes he would feel heroic, as if he could hold the 800-li Qinchuan Plain in his hand; sometimes he would feel that time had passed and things had changed because of the sparse figures. But Sima Yi's feeling in the past one or two years was that he always had a sense of crisis, as if he was walking on thin ice.

The reason lies not within the State of Wei.

But it was because the one from Shu Kingdom left.

When the stars fell at Wuzhangyuan, Emperor Cao Rui and the ministers in the court all breathed a sigh of relief, and the soldiers of the Yongliang tribe also celebrated. However, his situation became increasingly embarrassing.

Hey~
This is the fundamental reason why he must return to Luoyang.

It was also where he pointed out that Sima Shi was short-sighted and inferior to Xiahou Hui.

"Father, I am stupid."

Sima Shi pondered for half a minute, and finally bowed and asked, "Father, please solve my doubts. I can't understand why you say that I am inferior to Xiahou Zhiquan."

"My son is not stupid, he is just not in the right position."

Sima Yi, who was still holding his head high to face the wind, smiled as he glanced over, "My son, take another look at the letters between Shuda and Shi Zhongrong. Hmm..." Having said this, he paused slightly, pointed at the towering arrow tower and added, "After you finish reading, climb up and stay there for a while, then come down and tell your father what you feel."

"only."

Although he didn't understand the meaning, Sima Shi did it without thinking.

The contents of the letters between Sima Fu and Shi Bao were roughly the same, both describing in detail what had recently happened in Luoyang.

The difference is that Sima Fu stopped there after he finished speaking, while Shi Bao added something at the end of the letter, claiming that there had been a lot of drizzle and heavy dust in Luoyang recently, and it was not suitable to travel.

The only difference is that Shi Bao put it more explicitly about seeking benefits and avoiding harm.

So Sima Shi looked carefully again, but couldn't find anything different, so he followed his instructions and climbed up the towering arrow tower.

You can see farther from a high place.

The wind from high above feels faster and colder when it hits your body.

Of course, there is also the view of the world from a high place.

Sima Shi, who was sitting quietly on the arrow tower, was eliminating the answers one by one in his mind.

Because if you want to see farther, small steps add up to a thousand miles.

If you want to feel the cold wind and rain at high altitudes, just revisit "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Book of Han".

It was even easier to see the smaller powers in the world. These days, he often accompanied Sima Yi in inspecting the troops and farming. Although his father never used ceremonial guards to clear the way, people along the way would spontaneously give way or bow down to him.

So, what is the metaphorical meaning of "Afu"?

Feeling the cold wind rushing up from the gaps between the wooden boards under his feet, Sima Shi, who had no fear of heights, glanced below the city wall and felt a slight tightness in his calves.

It was an instinctive reaction.

Because I am used to the sense of reality when I step on the earth.

Are you prepared for danger when you are in a high position?
However, if we do not return to Luoyang at this time, wouldn’t it be just like staying out of the matter and not standing under a dangerous wall as Shi Bao said?

Sima Shi was thinking in his mind, and he climbed down the ladder using his hands and feet. But after only a few steps, he seemed to remember something and stopped suddenly. He hung on the ladder in a daze for a moment, and then climbed up again.

When he came down again, he roughly understood his father's intention.

Essentially, it's a matter of danger.

But it was not the danger of avoiding the investigation of the scholars, but the danger of losing the "hope of the court".

Sima Yi said that he was "not in the right position". This position did not refer to Sima Yi's official position and titles such as regent, but that he would inherit the "hope of the court" in the future, but had not yet stood in this position and had not learned to look at problems from this position's perspective.

This was also the reason why Sima Yi asked him to read the letters between Sima Fu and Shi Bao again.

The reason why Shi Bao gave advice was that he was just an outsider who was attached to the Sima family, and there was a possibility that "the monkeys scatter when the tree falls" in the future; and Sima Fu had no suggestions because he was a family member, and no matter what decision Sima Yi made or what outcome he faced, he would not and could not change his family.

Yes, Sima Yi returned to Luoyang at this time to show his attitude to those dignitaries and noble families who regarded him as the "hope of the court" and to stand with them in adversity.

You must bear the responsibility when you are in the position you hold.

Since everyone follows your lead, when something happens, you have to stand at the front without hesitation, regardless of whether what they do is wrong or not.

Otherwise, why would others depend on you and lift you up?
If you are irresponsible and unwilling to take the lead, they can abandon you and choose another person to take the lead.

The human heart is so subtle.

In many cases, there is no distinction between right and wrong, no question of good or bad, it only matters the stance.

To put it bluntly, Sima Yi returned not only to protect the interests of the powerful and the noble families, but also to protect himself. And he would not lose anything if he was involved in this muddy water.

As long as he spoke up for the powerful and the aristocratic families and fought hard for them, if they still could not protect their interests, it was because Emperor Cao Rui was too harsh, and the blame could not be put on him.

On the contrary, they will learn from their mistakes, and out of the desire to stick together and to protect their future interests, they will become more determined to stay close to Sima Yi.

As for the reaction of Emperor Cao Rui.
Indeed, the affairs of the Shijia military farms were under the jurisdiction of the Taiwei Mansion. After he returned to Luoyang, some people would certainly use this as an excuse to petition the emperor to allow him to replace Wei Zhen in coordinating the Shijia investigation in accordance with the responsibilities of each department.

In this way, he would have disrupted the emperor's plan. Would that make the emperor feel resentful?
No need to worry.

Relinquishing military power and returning before expected was a sign of loyalty and bravery.

Emperor Cao Rui did not need to disappoint his old ministers because of a small "carelessness".

Besides, didn’t the prefect of Hongnong ask to resign?

How determined was Emperor Cao Rui to investigate the gentry at this time? How long could he continue to do so despite the persuasion of all the ministers?

Maybe, if he returns at this time, it will be exactly what the emperor wants.

Just on the grounds that each department had different responsibilities, he was asked to coordinate the investigation of the scholars' families, so as to appease the chief officials of the military farms in various places and maintain stability in the court and the country.

This possibility is very high.

Didn’t you see that during the investigation by the Luoyang Department of Agriculture, they simply recovered the occupied land and that was the end of it?

Doesn't this mean that Emperor Cao Rui also had concerns about this matter and his stance was not firm?

Until things are concluded, anything is possible.

After thinking all this through, Sima Shi also realized where he was inferior to Xiahou Hui.

Xiahou Hui knew his position and worked hard to consolidate his foundation: as a native of Qiaopei, no matter what he did, he always considered the interests of the Wei family and the country. As a result, he was highly regarded by Emperor Cao Rui and stood out from many other clan members and heroes, consolidating his foundation as the number one among the Xiahou and Cao clans.

"Father, I understand. It is time to return to the capital."

Walking over quickly, Sima Shi said with a sincere feeling, "Father, you are very thoughtful. I am not as good as you."

"Don't belittle it, just understand it."

Touching his beard with one hand, Sima Yi nodded slightly, feeling very pleased.

Although he knew that his son's intelligence was not inferior to his own, and that what he lacked was only experience, he still thought about it and asked out loud, "Since Ziyuan claims to have figured it out, then I will test you. What will I do after I return to the capital?"

"Advise the emperor to investigate the affairs of the scholars and take your time."

"What if the emperor doesn't listen?"

"Whether it succeeds or not is up to you, not your father. Just do your best."

"Well, what if the emperor listens to advice and lets my father take charge?"

"I am paid by the emperor and I am loyal to him. It is my duty as a father and I cannot shirk my duty."

"How should we take charge?"

"Just follow the law."

"Ok?"

"If the emperor makes his intentions clear, then we will obey his orders; if the emperor has no other intentions, then we will work hard to bring peace to the court and the country."

"If Your Majesty wishes to act as Xiahou Zhiquan does, what should my father do?"

"Follow it."

"Aren't you afraid of being resented by others?"

"It is difficult to disobey the will of the Lord. Father has no choice but to do this. Just be sincere and show your true feelings. How can others complain?"

"good."

The capital, Luoyang, the office of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Xiahou Hui, who had rushed over from Shiquan Songlin, had just finished listening to Ding Mi's analysis of the resignation of the Hongnong prefect when he was taken to the palace by the eunuch sent by Emperor Cao Rui.

The location is in Kowloon Hall.

Emperor Cao Rui was already seated in the hall, and sitting with him were the left and right servants of the Secretariat, Pei Qian and Wei Zhen.

Xiahou Hui was not surprised that Pei Qian, who had never been involved in the matter, was summoned to discuss the matter, which was obviously a plan to investigate the families of scholars.

Not only because Pei Qian had served as the military advisor to the Grand Marshal and the Minister of Agriculture.

Moreover, when he was serving as the Lieutenant General of Agriculture in Weijun and Yingchuan in his early years, he had submitted a memorial to the imperial court, facilitating the acquisition of the same rights for advancement as the people in the counties and prefectures (historical records show: the memorial was passed for the imperial examination, which was comparable to that in the counties and prefectures, and thus the path for agricultural officials to advance into officialdom was smooth). He was the first person in the State of Wei to fight for the rights of the low-status soldiers and civilians in the settlements.

I just don’t know what his attitude is today?

After entering the hall and paying respects according to the order, Xiahou Hui was still thinking this as he sat down.

The emperor and his ministers must have discussed this long ago. As soon as Xiahou Hui took his seat, Emperor Cao Rui asked directly, "Zhi Quan must have known that the governor of Hongnong asked to resign due to illness. What do you think we should do now?"

Xiahou Hui, who had carefully considered the matter on the way here, did not answer directly, but replied, "If Your Majesty allows, I will go to Hongnong today. With just a few words, I can let Hongnong Governor Bingtai stay in office." (End of this chapter)