The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 307 Let the Emperor Suffer a Little

It's quiet at night.

Sima Zhao sat in his study and couldn't help but look up and sigh.

Since his brother passed away, all the pressure and responsibilities fell on Sima Zhao.

Everything has become different.

He thought he had a sure win, but now he found that those ministers who used to obey him turned against him just as quickly.

Even Hu Zun, the Sima family's most trusted confidant who had followed his father all the way to the top, was now constantly struggling with himself.

Sima Zhao had originally placed high hopes on him, believing that he would definitely stand on his side.

But after Hu Fen met him, the situation was not as he had imagined.

Hu Zun expressed his willingness to stand on his side, but he had many conditions.

People want Hu Fen to take over his position.

People asked Sima Zhao to negotiate with his ministers and not to do anything that would make foreign enemies happy.

Sima Zhao knew that these were definitely not the old man's final two conditions.

Once you bow your head, he will have more and more demands in the future.

Furthermore, his second condition, is this support for me? Asking me to take the initiative to compromise with the ministers, is this also support?

Hu Zun's performance made Sima Zhao extremely disappointed, but Sima Zhao still had another support, Wang Chang who was far away in Jingzhou.

Wang Chang was both civil and military, he once defeated the State of Wu and even had an alliance with Sima Zhao.

Sima Zhao felt that this person could be trusted.

However, this person's performance is still very disappointing.

He did not set a price like the warrior Hu Zun, but he also did not clearly state his position.

When the people sent by Sima Zhao arrived in Jingzhou, Wang Chang met the envoy while lying on his bed.

Wang Chang said that his health condition was very bad.

He said that he would definitely support Sima Zhao, but due to health reasons, he was unable to send troops.

When Sima Zhao received the reply, he was stunned.

One is standing on the other side to support himself, and the other is lying on the bed to support himself? ?

Sima Zhao originally wanted to send someone to contact Zhuge Dan, but the performance of the first two generals made Sima Zhao give up this idea directly.

If even the two generals close to him were like this, how could Zhuge Dan be any better?
As for Chen Tai and Sima Wang in the northwest, Sima Zhao did not bother them. Those people should just focus on resisting Jiang Wei's invasion. If they were dragged into the water, Yongliang would be in big trouble.

The two major reinforcements that Sima Zhao expected were nowhere to be found.

This made Sima Zhao somewhat relieved. Fortunately, he followed Yang Zong's advice in time and took away the military power of He Zeng and Chen Ben.

Otherwise, judging from the performance of the foreign generals, these two people might not necessarily stand on his side.

Sima Zhao sighed again.

Now he is on a completely new path, and he cannot foresee the ending.

Before Sima Shi died, he instructed Sima Zhao on many things.

He asked Sima Zhao to bow to the emperor and take the initiative to become the emperor's right-hand man. He first worked together to solve the problems of the ministers, retain his own power as much as possible, and then place his hopes on Sima You and other young talents.

Perhaps in Sima Shi's view, his clan has a large population, and many talented people will emerge in the future. If they continue to exist as the first family, there is hope that sooner or later they will be able to fulfill the long-cherished wish of several generations.

However, Sima Zhao did not choose the path left by his brother.

He really couldn't bow to the young emperor. He also thought that if the emperor took the initiative to come forward, he would definitely agree to join forces and follow his brother's ideas.

However, the emperor did not send anyone to find him. The only few times he did so were when he wanted to use him to do things.

Sima Zhao was very dissatisfied.

He never thought that it was Cao Mao and his ministers who defeated him and his brother.

My brother was defeated by the disease, not by these insects.

Especially that Cao Mao, who is he? If we hadn't agreed, would he have been able to sit on the throne?
A person who can be crushed to death with just a flick of the wrist actually has to bow his head?

wishful thinking!

Sima Zhao might have wanted to prove himself to his brother, or he might have simply been unwilling to live under someone else's roof. In short, he was doing things according to his own ideas.

In fact, his younger brothers did not quite understand Sima Zhao's thoughts.

First leave Luoyang, let the ministers fight with the emperor, and then return to Luoyang with an absolutely superior military force to put down the chaos in the temple in one fell swoop.

Now, he is only one step away from success.

As long as he can successfully capture Luoyang this time, all his plans will come true.

I must let my brother see that I don’t have to bow to the little emperor in order to survive!

Sima Zhao suddenly looked towards the door and shouted, "Go and ask Yang Gong to come see me!" After a moment, the personal guard walked in helplessly and reported, "General, Yang Gong has been taking medicine and drinking, and is not sober at the moment."

Sima Zhao frowned immediately.

He really hated the habit of his subordinates to take medicine. Sima Zhao had never touched this kind of thing. Yang Zong started taking medicine and drinking at this critical moment. Although Sima Zhao was unhappy, he didn't say much.

After Du Yu left, the only counselor he could rely on was Yang Zong.

Let's wait until he's sober to discuss this matter.

He pondered for a moment and then said, "Then let Cheng come in."

After a while, Cheng Chen appeared in front of Sima Zhao.

Cheng looked a little tired, with a sleepy face.

Seeing his appearance, Sima Zhao felt a little distressed.

"Cheng Jun, come, sit down, sit down. You've been through a lot these days!"

"It makes you run back and forth!"

Sima Zhao is not very confident about the officers under his command at the moment, mainly because he led four battalions from the central army, two of which are biased towards aristocratic families, and the army in Hebei is not Sima Zhao's own people.

Therefore, Yin Damu, who was born a family slave, and Cheng Shi, who had followed his brother for many years, became the more reliable candidates in his mind.

The most important task of going out to investigate the enemy's situation was also given to Cheng Xian.

When Sima Zhao saw Cheng Chen's tired look, he trusted him even more. He was very dedicated in his scout work.

Cheng Chen sat in front of Sima Zhao tiredly.

He took out a number of documents and placed them on the table. "General, these are the information I have gathered. They include the deployment of the Central Army in various locations, as well as the routes we can attack."

Sima Zhao hurriedly picked up the document, his eyes full of surprise.

He checked it carefully, but Cheng was secretly groaning in his heart.

It is not very tiring to conduct reconnaissance and find out the enemy situation.

After all, this is Cheng's job. He is a military general who has truly fought his way up from the bottom. He cannot be said to be of commoner origin, but he can be considered a man who has risen from a humble background. He has followed Sima Shi for many years, made many contributions, and revitalized the family.

What made him feel tired was the need to write about the enemy situation.

He couldn't tell Sima Zhao the real enemy situation. He couldn't say that the enemy's elite cavalry was ready to move, preparing to cooperate inside and outside, and that several enemy battalions were surrounding us, ready to carry out a decapitation operation?
If you can't tell the truth, then you have to write a lie.

He began to write about the enemy.

The distribution of enemies in each city, the number of enemies, and the situation on each road
This made Cheng exhausted and miserable.

I'm a warrior who charges into battle!

The battle report submitted by Cheng was very limited in content. It tried its best to discredit the combat effectiveness of the central army and described their defense line as useless.

But in fact, there are quite a few questions that even Cheng Shi may not be able to answer if asked seriously.

Fortunately, Sima Zhao's military proficiency was not that high either.

He had not yet experienced the three rebellions in Huainan and had no military experience.

From the document submitted by Cheng Shi, he saw only what he wanted to see: the opponent was weak and had improper defense, and his chances of winning were extremely high.

Looking at these things, Sima Zhao's mood immediately improved a lot.

He couldn't help but laugh.

"It seems that the ministers still haven't been able to fully control the central army. Their strength is insufficient!"

"The central army has my men and the emperor's men. Even if the ministers take over the central army, how much strength can they retain?"

"It's almost impossible for them to defend all directions with such a small number of troops."

Cheng remained silent.

Until now, the general didn’t even understand what happened in Luoyang. Can such a person really win the final victory?
Cheng was once again glad that he had not chosen the wrong person.

Cheng Shi was promoted by Sima Shi, and he was relatively loyal to the Sima family. However, Sima Zhao's behavior completely angered the general.

Sima Zhao placed his younger brother next to the emperor and instructed him to choose the right time to take action.

Isn't it obvious that he wants to use himself as a knife?
After doing something like this, how could the two brothers survive? How could their clan survive?
Cheng was furious. I have risked my life for your family and worked so hard, and you still want me to die?
In this dissatisfaction, Cheng asked his brother to contact the emperor. From then on, he also found a new path. He witnessed the rise of the emperor's power with his own eyes, and his evaluation of the emperor and Sima Zhao in his heart was also completely different.

Sima Zhao's smug look at this moment made Cheng Chen look down on him even more.

This person is impatient and arrogant when he is proud. He is far inferior to the general!
Sima Zhaobing didn't care about Cheng's expression. His face was full of smiles. He was already imagining the beautiful scene of himself entering Luoyang and all the officials bowing down to him.

What Hu Zun, what Wang Chang, when I completely control the government, will you still dare to treat me like this?
And the little emperor in the court has probably been imprisoned by his ministers by now. When we meet this time, I want to see whether you will bow your head or not.

You could have solved the problem by coming to me, but you insisted on being stubborn. Now let me see what has happened to you.

Once we catch him, we can't let him die too easily. We have to make him suffer!

(End of this chapter)