The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 185 Split
Sima Shi sat in the upper seat with a hunched back.

Sima Zhao and others sat in front of him, waiting for his orders.

Sima Shi's face looked extremely ugly, and he was staggering all over, as if he was about to fall down at any moment.

His health was already very bad, extremely bad. Through Cao Mao's unremitting efforts, the general finally couldn't bear it anymore.

The ministers suddenly launched an attack, and the power was no less than Wen Yang's charge.

Although the ministers did not freak out, Sima Shi could hardly stand up.

At this moment, he was sitting in the upper seat and didn't even have the strength to move.

He looked at the people in front of him calmly.

After seeing his brother wake up, Sima Zhao finally put away his temper and became rational again.

The other ministers all lowered their heads at this moment, feeling very nervous.

Sima Shi is now the pillar of the entire family. If he falls, I don’t know how bad the situation will be. Everyone has seen Sima Zhao’s performance just now.

If everything goes smoothly, it would be fine if he behaves like this, but facing such a predicament, what good will come of following him?
Sima Shi probably also saw that people's hearts were unsettled.

Among the crowd, only Sima Fu was still staring at Sima Shi, his brows furrowed and his eyes full of worry.

In this situation, Sima Shi cannot afford to fall.

Sima Zhao seemed magnanimous, but he was actually wary of both himself and Zhong Hui. He simply couldn't believe that once Sima Shi died, the Sima family would fall apart.

Sima Fu was just thinking about it when he saw Sima Shi turn his head and look at him.

"Zhongfu, are you satisfied now?!"

"Ok?"

Sima Fu was stunned.

Sima Shi said coldly, "At the beginning, I said I suspected Lu Yu and others were plotting something bad and asked you to send people to keep an eye on them. What did you say?"

"You insisted that these people were all wise officials in the court and that we shouldn't act rashly. It's because of your words that we have the result today!"

"Today I realized that Zhongfu has never been on the same page with me."

"No wonder Zhongfu has suddenly become so close to me these days, contacting me all the time. So this is what he's up to!"

"Uncle Zhong, my father asked you to take care of us. Is this how you take care of us?"

Hearing Sima Shi's words, Sima Zhao was stunned for a moment. In front of his brother, he was no longer so irritable and his rationality returned instantly.

He suddenly jumped up and looked at Sima Fu in the distance angrily, "So that's it!"

"you"

"Why are you doing this?!"

Sima Zhao's face flushed red, but he resisted the urge to curse. After all, he was his elder, and he couldn't insult him in person.

Everyone in the room was stunned. Several confidants stood up and stared at Sima Fu with narrowed eyes.

Sima Fu just remained silent at this moment.

There was some surprise in his eyes, but he soon became clear-headed and looked at Sima Shi in front of him again.

He practically grew up before his eyes.

I still remember that when he was young, he always complained to himself that his brother was very strict with him, even to the point of being heartbreaking. Sima Fu would then secretly give him some toys.

After he grew up, relying on his handsome appearance and profound knowledge, he traveled around with Xiahou Xuan and He Yan. He was unrestrained and called himself one of the Three Sages of Luoyang. He was the object of admiration of all young celebrities. At that time, Sima Shi was extremely sunny and radiated a burning light.

Whenever he and his friends got drunk and didn't dare go home, they would hide in their own house.

He didn't know when it started, but he never saw a smile on his nephew's face again.

Perhaps it was after his wife's sudden death? Or perhaps it was when he went on a killing spree against his former friends?
In short, the nephew became more and more strange and terrifying.

Even Sima Fu, who watched him grow up, couldn't help but tremble when he saw him.

Now, on that gloomy and terrifying face, one can no longer see the demeanor of the elegant celebrity in the past. His eyes are so calm that even when facing death, he does not seem to be moved at all.

He no longer looked like a human being. He was the embodiment of the Sima family's ambition for power, a political machine created by human power, deprived of all human emotions.

For some reason, Sima Fu hesitated and just stared at Sima Shi in the distance.

Sima Shi was stunned and asked again in a cold voice: "Why are you so dismissive, Zhongfu? Didn't you hear what I said?!"

Sima Fu's lips trembled as he said, "General, the ministers merely put forward their own ideas. How can that be considered treason?"

At this moment, everyone in the room was in an uproar.

Except for Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, those confidants all widened their eyes and almost jumped up.

Zhong Hui half-closed his eyes and said nothing.

Sima Shi didn't say anything else. Sima Zhao pointed angrily at Sima Fu in front of him, "What are you talking about?! These ministers are clearly taking advantage of my brother's illness to usurp power! They are putting forward their own ideas? Are they planning to destroy the Wei Dynasty?!"

"If we follow their advice, evaluating officials based solely on their background, levying taxes only on commoners, and not enforcing criminal laws against the wealthy, how can the Wei Dynasty last?!"

Sima Fu said seriously, "The government is full of wise men. They must have their own ideas when they propose such policies."

"General, Duke Xuanwen saved the country by eliminating treacherous ministers like Cao Shuang and stabilizing the Wei Empire. But you, however, have disregarded Duke Xuanwen's will and acted recklessly, killing wise officials at court and making them afraid to speak out. Now, you are treating them as traitors just for their advice!"

"By doing this, are you worthy of the spirit of Duke Xuanwen in heaven?!"

"The Sima family is not just yours!!" "If the general insists on acting recklessly, even people from the same clan may not be willing to continue following him!"

"You!! How dare you!!"

Sima Zhao was so furious that he jumped up in anger.

The two men were arguing with each other, but no one present dared to get involved. This was an internal matter of the Sima family. No matter how close they were to the family, they were still outsiders and could do nothing.

"All right."

Sima Shi interrupted his brother.

He looked coldly at Sima Fu in the distance, "Today, it's all because of my father."

"Zhongfu can leave now."

Sima Fu slowly stood up and looked at Sima Shi in the distance. "General, the people's hearts are the most important thing in the world. Please don't make mistakes."

Sima Shi did not answer.

Sima Fu continued to look at his nephew, staring at him seriously for a long time.

"Take care, General."

Sima Fu turned around and left. After he stood up, three people immediately stood up and followed him away.

The people who left were Sima Quan, Marquis of Dongwucheng, Sima Sui, Marquis of Wucheng Township, Sima Mu, and the Attendant Censor.

They didn't even dare to look at Sima Shi, but just lowered their heads and quickly followed Sima Fu in the distance.

Seeing them leave together, Sima Zhao flew into a rage, "They are traitors."

He cursed under his breath.

Everyone present was feeling very complicated at the moment. They had never expected that such a powerful Sima family would actually split up one day. Sima Fu's words just now were obviously meant to distance himself from Sima Shi.

It was already a time of crisis, and the Sima family was split into two. What should they do?

The study was unusually quiet. Perhaps noticing everyone's lack of interest, Sima Shi waved his hand and said, "You may all leave for now."

Everyone stood up and bowed to say goodbye.

Sima Zhao and Zhong Hui did not move, they stayed.

After everyone had left, Sima Zhao finally put away the anger on his face and said, "Brother, has it come to this?"

Sima Zhao murmured.

No matter how suspicious Sima Zhao was, he would never think that his father would stand on the side of the ministers to deal with his own family. He just thought that his father might seize his position.

He knew that his brother was using the escape route left by their father and was preparing to cut ties with Sima Fu and others.

In this way, even if they were destroyed, Sima Fu could lead the rest of the clan to survive.

Sima Zhao was no longer afraid of Sima Fu. If even his brother felt that things had come to this point, who would still want his position?
He could even imagine that after Sima Fu left, he would actively collude with those ministers and sell out the interests of the Sima family in exchange for their recognition. After all, a Taifu of the current dynasty was a position second only to the general, and there were many people from the Sima family following him.

The ministers would not refuse such help.

This is what Xun Xu reported, asking the Sima family to give up their great cause and become a noble family again.

Unexpectedly, my brother finally adopted his method.

However, the idea was not fully adopted. Sima Fu was only allowed to take some people to join the ministers.

While Sima Zhao was still daydreaming, Sima Shi looked at Zhong Hui standing beside him.

Sima Shi said calmly, "Yes, you can go out later and release Guanqiu Dian."

"You can take him to see the emperor."

"Let the two of them talk alone."

Sima Zhao's eyes widened as he looked at his brother and then at Zhong Hui. "Huh?"

Zhong Hui nodded, "Okay, I'll do it later. What about His Majesty?"

"Just come forward yourself. If it's urgent, there's no need to ask me. You can make the decision yourself."

Zhong Hui nodded again, "I understand."

"Brother? Are we really going to form an alliance with the Emperor?!"

Sima Zhao couldn't help it at this moment, and he asked.

Sima Shi finally looked at his younger brother and said, "Send people to seal off Luoyang now. The whole city is under martial law. No one is allowed to enter or leave."

Sima Zhao was overjoyed, thinking it should have happened long ago.

He quickly stood up, "Wei!!!"

"Yes, go and release Guanqiu Dian now and talk to him about the important matters in the palace. I entrust this to you."

Zhong Hui stood up, saluted Sima Shi again with a solemn expression, then turned and left.

Only the brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao were left in the palace.

Looking at his trembling brother, Sima Zhao hurried forward and helped him lie down on the bed.

"Brother, from now on, you should just rest and recuperate. Don't think about anything, don't do anything. Leave everything to me. I will definitely not let you down!"

(End of this chapter)