Jinting Han people

Chapter 205 Two Letters (4k)

Sima Yi placed the two letters in front of him. After a moment's thought, he placed Sun Xiu's letter and Liu Xian's letter in his hands, as if to weigh them.

Liu Xian's letter was far lighter than the other. Sima Yi looked puzzled. Although he had told Liu Xian that he intended to judge the weight of government affairs by the heft of official documents, that had, of course, been a joke. As clever as he was, he naturally knew that the weight of words couldn't be measured by weight. Back then, Emperor Gaozu Sima Yi had conquered the world with nothing more than a light oath sworn by the Luo River.

However, there seemed to be significant differences between the two letters, which puzzled him greatly.

Sima Yi read Liu Xian's letter again, which roughly said:

Sun Xiu, the Chief Secretary of the King of Zhao, was a greedy and cunning man. He showed no interest in anything except women and money, and was inherently evil. Whether raising taxes and exploiting the people, or collecting beautiful women and bullying his subordinates, he was extremely disgusting. This particular battle was particularly egregious. Sun Xiu not only marginalized Zhang Gui, the former commander of the Western Expedition Army, but also deserted the army twice, causing the entire army to suffer unnecessary losses. Countless children lost their fathers, and countless wives lost their husbands.

Throughout history, the only treacherous ministers who could compare to him are probably those like Zhao Gao. While Sun Xiu's current threat isn't as great as Zhao Gao's, that's because he hasn't yet fully gained power. For the sake of the people and the nation, he should be dealt with as soon as possible. Currently, officials in Guanxi are buzzing about Sun Xiu, and Yongzhou Governor Jie Xi has already decided to submit a petition to impeach him. I believe that Your Highness, the Crown Prince, who is the people's hope, should also agree. Find a way to take down Sun Xiu, and the people of Guanxi will be grateful for Your Highness's kindness.

That was the content of the letter. As soon as Sima Yi read the letter, Liu Xian's resolute face, especially his fiery eyes, suddenly appeared before his eyes again. The suggestion in the letter was simple: it wanted Sima Yi to help take down Sun Xiu, but when Sima Yi read it, he couldn't help but feel a little unhappy.

The reason for his displeasure was that Liu Xian's letter had set a very high tone, implying that if Sima Yi refused to agree, he would not be complying with public opinion and therefore ineligible to be crown prince. While Liu Xian maintained a low profile, his underlying message left Sima Yi without any choice. To a man as intelligent as Sima Yi, this was a subordinate imposing his will.

Of course, Sima Yi was also very clear that Liu Xian was such a person. He would pretend to be accommodating on the surface, but he could not hide his sharp edge. He must have considered many things before and after, but in the end he would always make choices based on his instincts, doing only what he believed was right, without any malicious intentions.

But Sima Yi still didn't like communicating with such people, because it often made his life uncomfortable. He thought:
Even though he spent a month in the imperial prison and three years in Guanzhong, the ambition of this Prince of Anle remained unchanged, but became even more determined.

Sima Yi put down Liu Xian's letter and picked up Sun Xiu's letter to read again:
I'm sure His Royal Highness has heard of my past actions. They are truly unforgivable sins, and I deserve death for them. But I'm not a natural person. Three years ago, I accepted His Royal Highness the Prince of Zhao's request to curry favor with Duke Lu and the Empress. I had no other choice. Duke Lu and the Empress have been forcing me to pay tribute of tens of thousands of gold each year for years, and I was forced to do these wrongdoings. Thinking about it now, I'm filled with deep shame, yet I can do nothing about it.

Not long ago, Her Majesty the Queen ordered me to fight the enemy. I was terrified, yet I couldn't refuse. I ended up committing two blunders, resulting in successive casualties for my subordinates, leaving me heartbroken. I realize that if I continue to persevere in this misstep, I'm bound to commit countless sins. Although I, Sun Xiu, am incompetent, I know right from wrong. I understand that the empire ultimately belongs to His Majesty the Crown Prince. While the Queen serves as regent, she is in reality a scoundrel who is causing chaos and ruin for the nation.

I intend to abandon my evil ways and join the service of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, vowing to fight this vile woman to the bitter end! I beg Your Highness to grant me a chance to redeem myself. Even if Your Highness orders me to raise an army immediately to defend the throne, Sun Xiu will do it! However, in my opinion, Your Highness would be wiser to continue conserving his strength and avoid alerting the Empress. Within a month, I am willing to deliver ten thousand rolls of silk to Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will take good care of it. If there are any shortages, please write to me. For the sake of the Jin Dynasty, Sun Xiu, how dare I not do my utmost?

Sima Yi looked up from the letter. Sun Xiu's letter contained more content than Liu Xian's, but its tone was far more humble. It contained no requests, merely a plea to defect from the Empress's faction to the Crown Prince's. He also uttered what Sima Yi wanted to say but dared not, cursing the Empress. He even offered to donate ten thousand pieces of silk, a significant sum. Most importantly, Sun Xiu had given him the power of arbitration and selection.

"Sun Xiu is such a slippery person..."

Sima Yi had never met Sun Xiu before, but he had only heard of his reputation as a rising star in recent political life, adept at pleasing others. This was Sun Xiu's fifth letter, and as their correspondence grew, Sima Yi had come to appreciate his talent for pleasing others. However, judging by Liu Xian's letter, it seemed Sun Xiu was only capable of offending others. Which side was truly telling the truth?
Logically, this was an easy question to judge. After all, Liu Xian's moral standards were undoubtedly much higher than Sun Xiu's. However, Sima Yi still hesitated to make a judgment, because correctly understanding a person has nothing to do with morality. It's like a blind man touching an elephant. If he touches the leg, he thinks it's a pillar; if he touches the ear, he thinks it's a fan. These are all true, but only when all are combined can the truth be revealed.

"Sun Xiu wants to switch to my sect?"

Sima Yi smiled. He felt that Sun Xiu was at least a clever man. He had said so much in his letter, essentially because he had gathered information and knew someone was planning to impeach him, most likely through his own connections. That's why he had even sent the letter at the same time. But should he ignore this matter? He had indeed heard about the various events in Guanxi.

If no countermeasures are taken, chaos will break out in Kansai.

This incident made Sima Yi uneasy. Guanxi, and especially Guanzhong, was the Sima family's birthplace and foundation. If the chaos in Guanzhong were allowed to continue, it would indeed leave many hidden dangers. Sima Yi was, after all, the crown prince and the future emperor, and he did not want to take over a country so fraught with dangers.

However, Sima Yi wasn't entirely sure whether participating in Sun Xiu's impeachment was a sound strategy. He had been dormant for a long time, and as Sun Xiu had said, continuing to dormant was the only way to avoid alerting Jia Nanfeng. A hasty move, disrupting this state, would undoubtedly bring many uncertainties to the future. However, the fact that there were indeed divisions within the Hou Party was a factor that could not be ignored.

"The discord within the Hou Party is indeed a matter that deserves attention."

Sima Yi fell into deep thought again.

It was an autumn rainy day, and it was very dark outside. Sima Yi sat alone in his room, which was as dark as night.

The Crown Prince's left guard, Liu Bian, knelt at the entrance and informed him:

"Your Highness, Jiang Xima is waiting outside."

Sima Yi nodded and immediately walked out to the corridor. The Crown Prince's groom Jiang Tong was kneeling in front of the door. Due to his hasty arrival, his clothes were still wet with raindrops.

"Ying Yuan, what are you doing here?"

Sima Yi walked to the corridor and reached out to catch the late autumn rain.

"I want to ask, Your Highness, what is your opinion on Huai Chong's letter?"

Sima Yi glanced at Jiang Tong. This letter was delivered by Jiang Tong yesterday. He didn't expect that he would come here in the rain today just for this matter. He said slowly:
"You take this very seriously?" "Your Highness knows I've always been concerned about the Hu people, so I also attach great importance to Guanxi." Although Jiang Tong hadn't yet written his immortal essay "On the Migration of the Rong," with its astonishing statement, "Those who are not of my race must have different hearts," his views were already well known. Sima Yi was aware of his thoughts, but the Hu people weren't the most important thing on his mind right now.

"This isn't something we should discuss right now." Seventeen-year-old Sima Yi poured out the rainwater in his hands, stared at the cold puddles on the ground, and said slowly, "I think we should be considering what's wrong with the Hou Party now."

"The Hou Party is losing support." After a moment's silence, Jiang Tong leaned forward and continued Sima Yi's words, "For years, the Hou Party has controlled government, allowing Jia Mi and his group to manipulate personnel and mess around. Many people are already dissatisfied. The princes and relatives have always supported Your Highness, needless to say. Even many of those who originally belonged to the Hou Party are now disloyal, and many are trying to contact Your Highness or the princes. Sun Xiu has caused such a disaster this time, so many officials in Guanzhong are dissatisfied, and it is understandable."

Sima Yi closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "You're right. The Queen and Jia Changyuan are digging their own graves by being so rampant. I shouldn't interrupt them, or at least not show it myself. I should let them continue their revelry and madness."

"Then how exactly does Your Highness plan to deal with this matter?"

Sima Yi smiled. Jiang Tong was familiar with his expression, a teasing smile. He said, "Of course, I want to see Sun Xiu's determination."

Seeing Jiang Tong's confusion, he explained, "Sun Xiu wrote a lot of words in the letter, talking about risking his life and so on, but he is a smart man. He knows that I won't use him in this way and will most likely continue to lie dormant. So he just wants to buy neutrality."

"But now that I think about it, I do have a request for him, which is to let him reconcile with Liu Huai Chong. What do you think?"

"Ah? Let him reconcile with Huai Chong?" Jiang Tong was utterly astonished upon hearing this. The news of Liu Xian and Sun Xiu's fight in Xiayang was well-known not only in Guanzhong but also in Luoyang. Although no one knew the specific details, the fact that both sides had led their troops to fight each other had been revealed, and Jia Mi was taking the matter very seriously, so it was certainly impossible to keep it secret.

All in all, these two people are now a pair of recognized enemies, and there is also the influence of Duke Lu Jia Mi. It sounds incredible to want Liu Xian and Sun Xiu to reconcile.

Seeing Jiang Tong's expression, Sima Yi burst into laughter, his cynicism fully reflected in his laughter: "Hahaha, I think this is a very funny thing, isn't it?"

"If Sun Xiu wants to show his sincerity, he must at least deal with the trouble with Jia Changyuan. Secondly, he must also make him express his stance towards the stubborn Liu Xian. Only in this way can we avoid chaos in Guanzhong. And this way, I don't have to do anything, and I can let the impeachment of the Jie faction continue, which is guaranteed to be a good show for the Hou faction, right?"

Jiang Tong immediately expressed his admiration for Sima Yi's wisdom: "Your Highness's plan is brilliant, and I feel I am far inferior to him."

But he immediately raised a question: "But there are some things that Sun Xiu can't accomplish just by working hard."

"You mean to deal with Jia Changyuan?"

"No, I mean that he and Huai Chong should reconcile. What if Huai Chong is unwilling to do so?"

"Hmm..." Sima Yi pondered for a moment and sighed, "You're right. Liu Huai Chong is such a stubborn person. He's not even afraid of the imperial prison, but he's afraid of violating the principles of being a human being. Asking him to reconcile with Sun Xiu would probably be more painful than killing him."

"Well, let me be extra cautious. As long as Sun Xiu agrees, I'll send someone over to mediate."

"Send who?"

"Of course, we should send someone that Liu Huai Chong knows and whom he cannot refuse." Having said this, Sima Yi smiled mischievously again, as if he found the scene funny.

Seeing that the Crown Prince was unwilling to speak openly, Jiang Tong did not say much. He simply reminded him, "Your Highness, even if you are keeping a low profile, you still have to care about the feelings of others. Everyone regards you as the sun of the Jin Dynasty."

But Sima Yi didn't care much. He was just feeling a little bored and wanted to quickly part ways with Jiang Tong so he could do something else. Yesterday, he'd bought a yak from the Western Regions. Its appearance was very different from the common yellow cattle of the Central Plains, and he was eager to dissect it himself to find out what made the yak so unique.
However, at this time, the Crown Prince's Left Guard Liu Bian came again to report, informing Sima Yi: "Your Highness, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is here."

"King Qi? What is he doing here?"

"As usual, he said he wanted to play chess with His Highness."

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi had no choice but to abandon his schedule and complained to Jiang Tong beside him, "Alas, if there is no fun in these days, when will it end?"

Jiang Tong remained silent. He greatly admired the Crown Prince's quick wit and had no objection to his keeping a low profile. After all, the power of the Empress Dowager's faction was undeniable. But as he spent more time with him, he noticed that the Crown Prince had developed more and more bad habits. It seemed that after spending too long in a dull world, he had gradually lost touch with the ordinary joys and sorrows, and had to resort to strange, even unbelievable, methods to unleash his energy.

The current situation is gradually showing some bad signs. Looking back at the history of the past, whether it is a prosperous era or a chaotic era, there will always be some bumps before it. But will it lead to a smooth road or a cliff?

Jiang Tong didn't dare to think about this. He watched Sima Yi's receding figure, shook his head slightly, and set out on the road back home. He was just a scholar. If his fate was already determined, all he could do was watch and record it.

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(End of this chapter)