The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 187 It’s Your Majesty’s Fault

The General's Mansion.

The courtyard on the westernmost side of the front yard is the most special place in the mansion. The courtyard is surrounded by soldiers guarding it day and night, and the guarding force is even greater than that of Sima Shi's courtyard.

The courtyard was not very big, with only two houses facing the gate. The warehouse and toilets were all left out. In the empty courtyard, there were seven or eight fully armed soldiers standing. At this moment, they looked quite embarrassed.

I saw that the door of the room opposite was open, and a man was sitting inside, holding a book and reading aloud.

"A ruler with ten thousand chariots is unprepared, and a family with a thousand chariots will inevitably be at his side, diverting his power and ruining his state! Thus, treacherous ministers multiply, and the sovereign declines! Therefore, the enlargement of the princes is a harm to the emperor, and the excessive wealth of the ministers is the downfall of the monarch."

The soldiers looked at each other, not daring to say anything more.

At this moment, someone pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard.

The person who came was Zhong Hui.

Seeing Zhong Hui, the soldiers did not dare to stop him and quickly retreated to the sides.

Zhong Hui swaggered into the courtyard, raised his head and looked towards Guanqiu Dian, a smile appearing on his face.

"Good, good! As expected of Lord Guanqiu, even in such a situation, you still have such a strong voice. Even in the general's bedroom, you can hear your deafening voice!"

Zhong Hui clapped his hands and walked into the house with a smile.

Guanqiu Dian stopped reading, slowly put away the book, tilted his head, and looked at Zhong Hui very rudely.

Since the day he was "recruited", Guanqiu Dian has never left the General's Mansion. He was detained there and was not allowed to go out. However, Sima Zhao was not too bad to him. He also ordered the soldiers not to make things difficult for him and to try their best to fulfill his requests.

Guanqiu Dian stayed here all day without going out and without suffering any hardship, but he actually gained a lot of weight.

He was also not polite and asked for some good meals every day.

At other times, he would ask the soldiers to bring him books and he would sit in the mansion to read.

Zhong Hui smiled and sat down in front of him. He glanced at the open door and asked, "Master Guanqiu, it's freezing outside. Why did you open the door?"

Guanqiu Dian sneered and said, "If I close the door, it will definitely arouse the suspicion of the villains, so I opened the door so that they can see clearly!"

Zhong Hui looked at the soldiers and said unhappily, "Who gave you permission to spy on Guanqiu Jun? Don't you know he's a distinguished guest of the general?!"

The soldiers dared not say a word. Zhong Hui snorted coldly and shouted, "Get out! Don't come here again!"

The soldiers were overjoyed. They didn't want to keep an eye on Guanqiudian. This person was stubborn and would not listen to any words or tricks. He would curse at them from time to time and make many demands. It would be good if they could leave. They didn't dare to delay and left the place in a hurry.

Guanqiu Dian was a little surprised. He watched the soldiers leave and then looked at Zhong Hui in front of him.

He already knew what kind of person Zhong Hui was.

Why did he let the soldiers leave?
What kind of trick is this?
Guanqiu Dian sneered and whispered, "Mr. Zhong, I respect you as a distinguished scholar. If you're here to persuade me to betray my father and surrender, then you'd better leave. I don't want to insult you."

Zhong Hui's eyes lit up. Guanqiu Dian said so much, but he only heard one sentence: "I respect you as a famous scholar."

He smiled and said, "Guanqiu Jun respects me as a famous scholar, and I respect you as a gentleman of integrity. How dare I ask a gentleman to do the things of a villain?"

Guanqiu Dian asked thoughtfully, "The imperial court issued an imperial decree to my father, asking him to come and serve as the Grand Marshal. Is that true?"

Zhong Hui nodded, "That's right."

Guanqiu Dian laughed, "Then what did my father say?"

"We don't know yet, but he's stockpiling food and fodder."

Guanqiu Dian suddenly relaxed all over, as if he had been relieved of some heavy responsibility.

Zhong would see him and laugh.

"Why are you laughing?"

"The massive stockpiling of food and fodder suggests the general's imminent death. Father is preparing to switch from offense to defense and buy time with the general."

Guanqiu Dian looked at Zhong Hui in front of him and said, "Even when I was captured, I was ready to die. I was afraid of delaying my father's important work, so I didn't dare to die. Today, we have finally broken off relations, so there is no need for me to wait any longer."

"Don't think you can use me to threaten my father. In his eyes, I was already dead when I was caught."

"Mr. Zhong!"

"I've heard that everyone has to die, and some people's death is heavier than Mount Tai, while others are lighter than a feather."

"We, father and son, are willing to die for justice and sacrifice our lives for justice!"

"Your father also ate the salary of the Wei army, so why would you ruin your own good reputation?! Sima Shi is a traitor who usurped the throne and has done nothing good for the country! Sima Zhao is even worse. To be his pawn is to seek your own death!"

"I've heard that when a dying person is about to die, his words are kind. Mr. Zhong is a noble man, so I hope you can think carefully and not leave a bad reputation for eternity!"

Guanqiu Dian spoke loudly and slowly stood up.

"I do not want to be humiliated. Please give me a sharp sword!"

Zhong Hui looked at him in a trance. Just as he was about to reach out and untie the sword at his waist, he suddenly remembered his purpose and quickly stopped.

"Wait a minute, Guanqiu Jun! I'm not here to kill you!"

Guanqiu Dian was stunned. "Then why are you here, sir?"

"I'm here to release you."

Zhong Hui smiled and said, "What you said just now was so moving that I almost forgot why I came here. Come, Guanqiu Jun, please sit down and listen to me explain in detail."

Guanqiu Dian didn't quite believe what he said. "Come and release me?" "What kind of trick is this? Are you trying to pretend that I've surrendered? Or are you trying to ruin my father's reputation?"

Seeing Guanqiu Dian so vigilant, Zhong Hui smiled bitterly. "Even if you don't trust the General Zhengxi, you should trust me. Sit down and listen to what I have to say."

Guanqiu Dian sat down doubtfully.

Zhong Hui then recounted in detail what had happened recently.

"The general is seriously ill, the Sima family is divided, and they are no longer able to fight the general who guards the east."

After Zhong Hui finished speaking, he looked towards Guanqiu Dian.

Guanqiu Dian was full of disdain, "I don't believe it!"

The Sima family's reputation was truly awful, and Guanqiu Dian couldn't believe such a thing would happen. He'd already prepared to commit suicide, and now you come in and say Sima Shi wants to make peace with his father? How could such a thing possibly happen?
Do you know that my father wanted to skin Sima Shi alive and pull out his tendons?
Zhong Hui was not angry. He smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, you can go with me to see the emperor."

"Are you trying to frame me for regicide?!"

Guanqiu Dian became alert again.

Looking at Guanqiu Dian who was in disbelief, Zhong Hui rubbed his forehead.

This is the result of having such poor credibility that no one believes it at all.

Zhong Hui stood up and said, "Forget it. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. Anyway, I've already told you what I want to do. You can go wherever you want. As long as you don't leave Luoyang, you can go anywhere within Luoyang."

"That's all I have to say. Goodbye!"

Zhong Hui was not going to continue persuading Guanqiu Dian. It was a complete waste of time. No matter what he said, he felt that there was something fishy about it.

Zhong Hui really left here.

Guanqiu Dian hesitated for a long time before walking out of here. Sure enough, there were no soldiers outside.

Guanqiu Dian was not afraid either. He immediately packed up his things and strode out.

Along the way, the patrolling soldiers ignored him, and some even took the initiative to open the door for him. Guanqiu Dian finally walked out of the General's Mansion.

When he turned around, the soldiers had already closed the door.

Guanqiu Dian stood there in a daze. Could it be that what Zhong Hui said was true?
But in just a few months, how many things happened in Luoyang?
After staying there for a few months, as soon as he left the house, the general even wanted to make peace with his father!
"His Majesty!"

"Secretary Zhong Hui is here to pay his respects!"

Zhang Hua saluted Cao Mao and then spoke.

"Oh? Where is he?"

Zhang Hua was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Outside the palace. Does His Majesty wish to see you?"

Cao Mao scratched his head. Now, if Zhong Hui wanted to see him, he had to wait outside the door and send someone to ask. This was really not something he was used to.

In the past, Zhong Hui would go directly to the West Hall, and even to the Zhaoyang Palace.

It seems that he was blocked outside the palace gate by Gao Dan today.

Cao Mao stroked his chin, lost in thought. Zhang Hua then spoke up, "Your Majesty, Zhong Hui is a man of great talent and strategy, deeply trusted by the general. With all the upheavals in the court right now, he must have been following the general's orders. Why don't you meet him first before making any plans?"

"Okay! Let's do as Mr. Mao said! Let him in!"

Zhang Hua was stunned, then saluted Cao Mao again and turned to leave.

At this moment, outside the palace gate, Gao Dan was looking up at Zhong Hui in front of him with a very rude look, his eyes full of disdain.

Zhong Hui's power came entirely from the favor of Sima Shi. In terms of official position, he was only a Zhongshu Shilang, on the same level as Huangmen Shilang like Zhang Hua and Wei Shu, or even a head lower.

Gao Dan didn't give him any face at all and didn't kick him out directly, all because of his brother Zhong Yu's face.

Among all the ministers in the court today, Zhong Yu is one of the few important ministers from outside the Sima family who continues to support the Sima family.

Gao Rou and Lu Yu both wanted to win this person over.

Zhong Hui's face became very gloomy.

"Your Majesty has ordered the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Zhong Hui, to appear before you!"

Zhang Hua brought out the emperor's edict, and Zhong Hui walked past Gao Dan with an expressionless face and entered the hall.

Gao Dan cursed in a low voice, "Let's see if this fellow can continue to be so arrogant! Who doesn't have a father who is one of the Three Dukes? You follow Sima Shi around all day, bowing your head and bending over. Sooner or later, I'll break your dog legs!"

Zhang Hua glanced at Gao Dan, said nothing, and quickly caught up with Zhong Hui and walked behind him.

"Oh! Zhong Shiji is here!"

Cao Mao stood in front of the door and couldn't help but exclaimed.

Zhong Hui saluted Cao Mao, and this time, his attitude was much more respectful.

"His Majesty!"

"Shi Ji, it's been a while since we last met. Are you all right? If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared a banquet in advance. Today, we will drink and have fun, discussing famous people, and we won't stop until we're drunk!"

Zhong Hui looked calmly at the young emperor in front of him.

"Your Majesty, you are greater than the state."

(End of this chapter)