Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 438 Sima Zhongda's Evil Heart
After listening to Sima Yi's report, Liu Bei stood up and said with a smile: "It seems that Zhongda has mastered the method of governing the Hu people and no longer insists on killing them. I am very pleased."

Sima Yi smiled awkwardly at these words, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, there is no need to talk about the past. I was a little extreme, but I am fortunate to have your teachings, and now I have changed my mind."

At that time, the Huns had surrendered not long ago. He saw the enemy's weakness and immediately wrote a letter to the King of Han. In order to avoid the increasingly serious threat from the Huns in the future, it would be better to find a crime to attack the Huns directly, kill them all and force them to withdraw from Bingzhou.

When the Southern Xiongnu entered Han territory, there were only 34,000 households and more than 237,000 people.

Now, exactly a hundred years have passed, and I heard that the population has almost doubled. In addition, the Xianbei in the north also want to migrate to Bingzhou, forcing the Xiongnu to continue moving south. Although Bingzhou is a prefecture of the Han Dynasty, the total number of Hu people still exceeds that of Liangzhou.

Sima Yi had previously witnessed with his own eyes the Huns plundering the people as slaves when he was at home in Wen County, Hanoi. He was then sent by the King of Han to Youzhou and Guanzhong, and finally returned to Hedong as a county magistrate. Along the way, he saw a lot of chaos caused by the Hu people, most of which were caused by language barriers, different customs, and crimes committed on horseback.

So Sima Yi thought about it and came to the conclusion that the most crucial difference between the Hu people and the Han people was that they had horses to graze, unlike the common people who did not need to move around unless they performed corvee labor and only needed to stay in the countryside or near the county town.

By grazing, one can easily understand the strength and weakness of the guards in the surrounding counties and prefectures. In addition, since they are not of our race, their hearts must be different. They will rebel when the harvest is poor. They will be afraid and submit when the Han army arrives, and will rebel again when the Han army leaves.

Instead of repeating this over and over again, it would be better to use bows and crossbows to directly migrate the Rong people in the opposite direction, and move them out the same way they moved in in the past.

Moreover, with the strength of the Han Dynasty, it is entirely possible to do so. As long as the land measurement in each state and county is temporarily suspended, the whole country can work together to force the Xiongnu and Xianbei out of the north of the Great Wall.

At that time, the imperial decree to register the Xiongnu tribes had not yet come down, so Sima Yi wrote a 3,000-word memorial to the emperor on the relocation of the Xiongnu tribes, suggesting that the emperor take advantage of the Han Dynasty's strength to get the job done, so as to at least save his descendants from a hundred years of worry.

It also caused heated discussions in the court, and Sima Zhongda's name became known to all court officials along with the memorial to the emperor about moving the army.

As he became famous, he also received infamy. An official angrily said, "This man is called Han Dynasty, but he is actually harming the country. Once he starts to move the Xiongnu and Xianbei, the Han army in the north will have no place to take off their armor, and their horses will not be able to take off their saddles."

"Even the emperor cannot sit firmly in the capital, and will end his life as a horse-riding emperor like Emperor Gaozu."

"Your Majesty has led the army to victory in every battle, but the grassland is different from the Han territory. It is not about going to war, but about searching for the enemy. If the army conquers the outer frontier and gains nothing, even if the Central Plains is rich in food and grass, it will not last long."

"Even if Wei and Huo come back, the Northern Expedition can gain cattle and sheep, but it will be unbearable for the people of the world."

"Sima Zhongda has no mercy at all. If he becomes an important official in the future, the people of the Han Dynasty will suffer."

When Sima Yi heard such sharp attacks in Hedong, he immediately became unhappy.

He immediately frowned and sent someone to find out who said that. He knew that if such words reached the ears of His Majesty, he would be able to work as a county magistrate for decades longer.

Life is like a fleeting white horse, time is fleeting. Why are you targeting me specifically? Do you want to become mortal enemies with Sima family of Wen County?

As a result, when someone was sent to inquire, it was found out that it was Luoyang's Lu Taifu who slammed the table and cursed on the spot, scaring the other officials so much that they dared not respond.

Upon hearing the news, Sima Yi broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly called back his followers, and then wrote a letter to the emperor and Duke Lu, carefully explaining the matter of moving the troops.

At the same time, letters from his father-in-law Sima Fang and his brother Sima Lang arrived in Hedong one after another. In particular, Sima Lang scolded Sima Yi harshly in his letters.

He used the stern tone of an elder brother who was like a father: first he scolded himself for being too negligent in discipline, then asked Sima Yi to resign and go to Youzhou, letting him lead by example. Seeing that things were about to get worse, Liu Bei in Guanzhong issued an imperial edict in time to help Sima Yi and turn the page.

He also called Xun Yu to the Bamboo Palace to discuss the matter all night, and began to reorganize the Secretariat the next day. Everyone knew why such an important Han decision-making memorial was leaked.

Even if the memorials were not sealed, the more than 700 officials of the Shangshutai were not qualified to leak them. When they saw memorials involving military strategies, they should immediately transfer them to the Zhongshutai.

What's more, Sima Yi's memorial was sealed. Who had read it and leaked it?

As a result of this incident, not only did Xun Yu's position as Shangshu Ling become Shishu Ling, but even some of the Shangshu Tai's powers returned to the hands of the six ministries.

The Si family had no control over the changes in the court in Guanzhong, but that did not affect Sima Yi's gratitude to the emperor for saving his life and saving his career in time, otherwise he would have to go to Youzhou to hide for several years.

……

"Your Majesty..." When the other officials finished their reports and left, Sima Yi deliberately lingered and walked last. Suddenly, he saluted and said, "The Xiongnu in Hedong are just dogs that have lost their homes, so they are easy to subdue. However, the Xiongnu nobles in the seven counties of Xihe, Beidi, Shangjun, Shuofang, Wuyuan, Yunzhong, and Dingxiang are still powerful."

"Although the old kings of the tribes stayed in Guanzhong, they also chose new kings, such as the Zuoguli King, the Youguli King, the Riju King, the Wenyudi King, and the Zuo and You Zhanjiang Kings."

"These new kings are different from the old kings who are old and weak and depressed. On the contrary, they are full of fighting spirit. I am afraid that the Xiongnu will change under pressure. It is better to send a general to garrison Fuping in Beidi County and contact the nearby Qiang and Dingling to resist the invasion of Xiongnu cavalry."

"Send another general to lead the troops to station in Fushi, Shangjun, to strangle the enemy's throat."

"Then order the governor of Hexi to continue to defend Lishi and prevent the Xiongnu from invading Sili. When Your Majesty enters Jinyang, you can also order the General of the Northern Expedition to station troops in Yinguan, Yanmen County, and station them in Mayi to the west to provide support."

"In this way, even if the Xiongnu rebel, we can strike them at their vital points with lightning speed. Seeing that the Han army is well prepared in many places, the Xianbei will not dare to take the opportunity to go south to respond to the Xiongnu."

Ever since Sima Yi heard that the emperor was going to Jinyang, he had been thinking about it. He instinctively felt that the news he had obtained from the Huochequan tribe was tricky.

The old Xiongnu king was not a stupid person. He had arranged for his sons and nephews to succeed him before going to Guanzhong. Moreover, the Xiongnu in Bingzhou had rebelled against the Han Dynasty before, so facing the approaching Han army, it was easier for them to unite in their hearts.

In Sima Yi's view, if he wanted to subdue the Xiongnu in Bingzhou and deprive their aristocrats of their power, a war between Han and Xiongnu was inevitable.

The Bingzhou Xiongnu, who had never fought with the Han army, would not compromise, and the emperor would not compromise with the Hu people.

Moreover, the large-scale mobilization of the central army is definitely not a good way to use troops. Your Majesty must be setting a trap for the Huns.

Sima Yi, who had suffered from the trouble caused by his mouth, could only think to himself.

But suggestions still need to be made. If he does not boldly offer advice and suggestions, who will remember him, Sima Zhongda, after a long time?

(End of this chapter)