The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 128 Machine
Sima Zhao looked at the inner room in the distance.

His face was full of confusion.

He took a few steps forward, but suddenly stopped, gritted his teeth, turned around, and walked back, but after a few steps, he stopped again.

Just as he was pacing back and forth, hesitating to approach the inner room, a soldier walked up quickly and saluted him.

"General, the general has ordered you to come in."

"Oh okay... okay."

Sima Zhao then had no worries and quickly walked into the inner room.

Sima Shi knelt in front of the desk, with memorials and documents piled up like snowflakes in front of him. These things almost filled the entire room, leaving no place to stand.

Sima Zhao widened his eyes, hurried forward, took off his coat and put it on Sima Shi.

"Brother, why are you up again? It's freezing cold. Hurry up and get up. Shouldn't Zhong Shiji be responsible for these things?"

"Okay. I'm fine now."

"what?"

Sima Zhao was shocked, "Are you fully recovered?"

"Why, you don't seem happy?"

"Hahahaha, no way!! Hahahaha!!"

"Brother is healed! Brother is healed!!"

Sima Zhao was extremely excited. The depression he had been feeling for these days disappeared without a trace in an instant. The heavy feeling in his heart suddenly became clear, as if a mountain that was pressing on him suddenly collapsed. Sima Zhao could not describe his feelings at the moment. He just laughed like crazy, venting his inner depression to his heart's content.

“Great!! Great!”

"Brother! You don't know, these bastards are too bullying. That Gao Rou actually threatened me, saying he would defect to Guanqiu Jian!"

"The Queen Mother is actually hanging out with Cao Mao!"

"Cao Mao dares to teach my son!"

"Zhuge Dan met with Guanqiu Jian in private!"

"Rebellion breaks out in many parts of Hebei!"

Sima Shi's face turned pale, but he quickly calmed down.

Sima Zhao no longer looked like a typical outsider. Although he was not young, he acted like a child of seven or eight years old. He was complaining to his brother about the hateful behavior of these people and wanted his brother to stand up for him.

When Sima Zhao finished speaking these things, Sima Shi was silent for a long time.

"Now that my brother has recovered, why should I worry about them?"

"Just now I was worried about upsetting my brother, and was debating whether or not to come in. Brother, what should I do?!"

There was a gleam in Sima Zhao's eyes, no longer as decadent as before. He was full of fighting spirit and very confident. This change was entirely due to a word from Sima Shi.

Sima Shi said, "Please tell us one by one. Let's start with the Queen Mother. What happened to her just now?"

Sima Zhao hurriedly told his brother the truth about what Guo Li had just seen him about.

Sima Shi listened to his words calmly, but a huge storm was brewing in his heart.

He knew better than Sima Zhao how much influence the Queen Mother's identity could have. After hearing Sima Zhao's arrangement, Sima Shi nodded approvingly.

"You did a good job. Let Guo Li keep an eye on the Queen Mother. It works."

"The Queen Mother is a timid person, how could she suddenly become so tough? The Emperor alone is not enough to give her such confidence. Go and find out which ministers have paid their respects to the Queen Mother recently."

"Perhaps a minister saw that I was failing and wanted to sell me for a good price."

Sima Shi muttered, and suddenly asked, "Did Wang Xiang go to see the Queen Mother?"

"I don't think there is, but I don't know."

"Well, let me ask first."

Sima Zhao asked, "Do we need to do anything else?"

Sima Shi said coldly: "Your Majesty is too close to the Queen Mother. This is not a good thing. The palace needs someone close to you."

"What do you mean, brother?"

"Find a queen."

"it is good!"

Sima Zhao clapped his hands and asked seriously, "Brother, what do you think about letting Qian marry Cao Mao?"

Sima Qian was the daughter of Sima Zhao and the sister of Sima Yan.

Sima Shi's right eye flashed with a trace of loneliness, and he shook his head, "No. Qian, you can't be the queen."

Sima Zhao frowned and sighed. He really liked his daughter, but she was born with a disability and was blind. She could not become the queen because of her disability.

Sima Zhao said helplessly, "We can't let Yuan marry him. We have already made arrangements for her. My daughters are all married."

Sima Zhao pondered for a moment and asked, "How about finding one from the rest of the clan?"

Sima Shi shook his head. "It's best to be one's own family. What do you think?"

"what???"

Sima Zhao was stunned. This Sima Li was none other than Sima Shi's youngest daughter, Guo De's wife. After Guo De was killed, she had returned to the General's Mansion and stayed indoors, unwilling to come out and meet Sima Shi again.

"Brother, she just lost her husband." Before the Southern Song Dynasty, people's awareness of chastity was not strong. It was common for the emperor to marry a widow, and people did not require women to remain widows. Remarriage was very common, including Cao Pi's queen. Cao Rui's mother, Empress Wen Zhao Zhen, was originally someone else's wife. It is worth mentioning that Empress Zhen was also executed by Cao Pi, and Cao Rui followed suit.

Although this kind of thing is very common, the problem is that Sima Shi had just killed her beloved not long ago. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to send her to the palace now?
"Brother, she doesn't want to see you now, why do you want..."

Sima Zhao was somewhat confused about Sima Shi's thoughts.

Sima Shi said calmly: "Her age is suitable, and she has children."

"Yeah. She even has a child, how about that? Brother is saying..."

"Even if it's my own daughter, if she marries Cao Mao, she will easily become a member of the Cao family. Even if it's your daughter or my daughter, it's the same."

"But Li is different. She loves her son very much. She would risk her life for her child."

Sima Shi spoke indifferently, but Sima Zhao felt a chill on his back and his whole body began to shiver.

He finally understood what his brother meant.

Choosing other people might make them stand on Cao Mao's side, but Sima Yi would not, because she has a child. As long as her child is left, he can use the child to threaten her and control her.
But that child is your grandson.

Sima Zhao looked at his brother with disbelief in his eyes. For a moment, he even felt a little creepy.

"Zhao, are you scared?"

"No, no, brother, I...why would I be afraid?"

Sima Shi said seriously, "Zhao, you must remember. For the great cause, nothing is unsacrificable, including myself. At this point, it's either advance or die. There is no third option. In your hands are not only the lives of your family, but also the lives of millions who have placed their hopes in you. If you can accomplish the great cause, then these people will all live. If you fail to make a choice, everyone will die with you."

"Those in power must learn to make choices, not care about the opinions of others, and not be misled by others. If sacrifice is necessary, sacrifice the least valuable."

Sima Zhao nodded without saying anything.

Sima Shi continued, "Although I have recovered, the important tasks ahead will still be yours. You must familiarize yourself with these matters as quickly as possible and try to resolve them on your own. Don't be afraid. If you make a mistake, I will naturally intervene. Just go ahead and do it."

Sima Zhao nodded dully.

The two brothers discussed for a long time, and after getting advice from his elder brother, Sima Zhao hurriedly left.

As soon as Sima Zhao left, Sima Shi immediately bent down with a ferocious look on his face.

The immense pain prevented him from straightening his back, so he collapsed on the edge of the bed, curled up in agony.

After the operation, his tumor no longer hurt, but his left eye began to hurt terribly. Sometimes, he even felt that his eye was about to burst.

This piercing pain lingered in him all the time, making him feel like dying.

Sima Shi used his trembling hands to support his body and tried hard to sit up.

Blood flowed from his left eye again, seeping out from the cloth and leaving a terrible bloody mark on his face.

"Father, please bless me. I don't ask for much. Just half a year. I can handle everything in just half a year."

"Guanqiu Jian"

Zhuge Dan

"Cao Mao."

"Queen Mother."

"Wang Xiang."

"Hahaha, your business has been settled!"

"Start preparing now. Tomorrow, you will head to Huainan!"

Gao Rou sat in the carriage in a good mood.

Sure enough, although he was tricked once, the ministers still gave him face and let his son become the prefect without much trouble and it went very smoothly.

Gao Guang was sitting next to Situ Gong at this moment, but he was not as happy as Gao Rou. He was very worried about the days to come.

"Father, why are you in such a hurry to go to Huainan?"

"You have to go, the sooner the better."

"Otherwise, by the time the Sima family jumps out, it will be too late."

Gao Rou said this and returned to her own mansion with her son. After the carriage entered the mansion, Gao Rou carefully analyzed for her son what to do after going to Huainan.

"You can start writing now. Write to Guanqiu Jian and tell him you're going to Huainan. Say something nice, but don't be too obvious. Guanqiu Jian is a very smart man. He will understand what you mean and won't make things difficult for you."

"When you arrive in Huainan, go and pay your respects to Wen Qin first, and then to Guanqiu Jian."

"This is because Wenqin is far less tolerant than Guanqiujian. If you go to see Wenqin first, Guanqiujian will definitely not blame you. But if you go to see Guanqiujian first, Wenqin might be dissatisfied."

The father and son got out of the carriage while talking.

When they got out of the car, they fell silent.

The situation in the mansion had already changed.

In the distance were fully armed soldiers, holding powerful crossbows and staring at them with cold eyes.

Not far away, a middle-aged man who looked like a withered skeleton was standing on the steps of the study, with his head lowered, staring at the father and son.

"General"

Gao Rou murmured, but her legs suddenly began to tremble.

(End of this chapter)