The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 357 Fate's Will, Not Mine

Because of Tian Yu's disruption, the number of guests attending the banquet was less than half of what was expected.

Even so, the Sima father and son still treated their guests with the utmost hospitality.

As dusk fell, they went out again to see each of them off.

Smiling and courteous.

The smiles on the father and son's faces only disappeared after the last guest had left.

Sima Shi glanced at his father, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Sima Yi, without needing to turn around, guessed his son's thoughts and said calmly:
Do you know why Tian Guorang has come to provoke his father today?

Sima Shi blurted out, "He's worried."

Sima Yi: "What are you worried about?"

Sima Shi: "I am worried about the future of Youzhou and my own future."

Sima Yi: "If you have worries, why not resolve them?"

Sima Shi thought for a moment and said:

"It's not that he's unwilling to help, but that he's incapable. Now that Ji County is in your hands, all the counties of Youzhou follow your lead. He can only indulge in empty words; how dare he come with real weapons?"

"From this perspective, my family has indeed established a firm foothold in Youzhou."

Sima Yi showed a satisfied expression on his son's face.

Sima Shi then seized the opportunity to ask:

"The court has now sent Xu Yuanzhi to replace the governor of Youzhou, which shows that they are already wary. How will you deal with this, sir?"

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi sighed slightly, gestured for his attendants to leave, and then said:
"Now that things have come to this, there's nothing between us, father and son, that we can't talk about."

"I foresaw years ago that the decline of the Wei dynasty was inevitable, so I came to Youzhou early to plan for the future."

"Subsequent events all came true, so there is no need to elaborate further."

"From now on, my family will only have two futures."

"First, we should emulate the Sun family of Jiangdong, who carved out border regions and relied on their strategic location to observe the changing situation of the world."

“If the Central Plains were to change hands in the future, one could establish oneself on this foundation, either as a regional lord or by offering land to secure a high position in the imperial court.”

“Our Sima family of Hanoi is a large and powerful family. No matter who becomes the ruler in the future, we will have to appease them.”

"These are the foundation for your brothers' future survival."

Sima Shi nodded in realization:
"No wonder you've been dealing with the border tribes all these years. Besides winning over the hearts of the people of Youzhou, it's also to avoid a direct confrontation with the Han army and making too deep a grudge."

"Hehe, it's good that you know."

Sima Yi chuckled lightly and continued:
What I just said is the best course of action.

But things rarely go as planned.

"If Youzhou cannot be defended in the future, then we will go to Liaodong and seize the Gongsun family's territory."

“That place is extremely dangerous and remote, enough to stand on its own for twenty or thirty years.”

"However, this is a desperate defensive strategy, which cannot preserve our lives and our clan for long, so it is a poor choice."

Upon hearing this, Sima Shi's doubts were dispelled, and he felt much more at ease and relaxed.

sidewalk:

"Sir, you've only mentioned the two best strategies. What about the middle strategy?"

He was just joking.

Unexpectedly, Sima Yi looked up and remained silent for a long time before finally saying:
"The middle strategy is naturally to seek fortune and wealth amidst danger."

"My father served three generations of the Cao family, and it took a lot of effort to elevate our family to a high and noble position, the so-called 'superior people.' How could we be willing to change our allegiance and abandon all our previous efforts?"

"Whether this plan succeeds or not is up to fate, not me. There's no point in saying more."

Having said that, he turned to his eldest son and said:

“Xu Yuanzhi is a self-serving and petty man. In addition, we have a past relationship. If things are handled properly, it will not be difficult for me to stay in Youzhou while I am ill, thus delaying the inevitable.”

"But the current emperor has the appearance of a powerful ruler, and his suspicions cannot be ignored."

"Master, you are my eldest son. Would you be willing to go to the capital as a hostage in place of your father?"

Sima Shi trembled slightly upon hearing this, but still firmly replied:

"When I go to Yecheng, I will serve the lord with utmost care and do my best to relieve his worries and troubles!"

"If there is an opportunity, I will definitely send my two younger brothers, Zhao and Zhou, to Youzhou to serve you, sir!"

"Good son!" Sima Yi patted his eldest son's shoulder heavily, his satisfaction growing even more.

"With your words, I can now entrust Youzhou to you with peace of mind."

Sima Shi trembled again, and it took him a while to react: "My lord, are you going to Ye City in person?"

Sima Yi scoffed softly:

“That man is a powerful ruler; how could he be dismissed by a mere hostage? Father must go to Ye City himself.”

Sima Shi said urgently:

"Ye City is a den of dragons and tigers. Why don't we send Zhao and Zhou to Ji County, and have them accompany you to the capital? They can serve you faithfully!"

Sima Yi shook his head and said:

“Your brothers are either too young or not as steady as you. I can’t rest easy entrusting Youzhou to them.”

Sima Shi felt a mix of emotions.

He was touched by his father's reliance on him, but also worried about the safety of his family and the future.

Sima Yi, however, had no time to attend to his son's feelings and continued explaining his plans:
“After I leave, Xu Yuanzhi will definitely seize power, but he is not good at military affairs and has no prestige in the army. He cannot suppress arrogant old generals like Tian Yu.”

"According to the system of our dynasty, the quota for Protector of the Wuhuan is one, and the quota for Protector of the Xianbei is two."

"The former has already been occupied by Tian Yu, while the latter has become vacant because Qian Zhao went to Yanmen to serve as the governor."

Upon hearing this, Sima Shi understood:

"Does Your Excellency intend to arrange for me to be appointed as a Protector of the Xianbei, so that I can cooperate with Xu Yuanzhi to win over the hearts of the soldiers and rely on each other?"

Sima Yi nodded, then reminded him:
"As for the other Protector of the Xianbei, Jie Jun, although his rank and position are not as high as Generals Tian and Qian, he is, after all, a veteran general of Youzhou. You should go to Changping more often to get to know him; you never know when you might need him..."

Afterwards, Sima Yi carefully explained some details about staying in Youzhou to his eldest son, and only rested late at night.

A month later, Xu Shu's carriage arrived in Ji County.

Sima Yi had already packed his bags and, amidst the belated spring colors of the north, spurred his horse southward.

……

Spring of the fifth year of Jianxing (230 AD).

The most attention-grabbing event in the world was not Cao Rui's sudden replacement of the garrison commander of Youzhou.

It was not that Lu Xun, Zhuge Jin, and other remnants of the Wu Kingdom suddenly supported Sun Lu, the Marquis of Jianchang, as the King of Wu in E County, Jiangxia.

Instead, the Han emperor suddenly departed from Chang'an, heading east through Tongguan Pass, to visit another old capital, Luoyang.

Liu Shan's sudden surge of power was certainly not due to an inflated ego caused by the sight of the Shu Han dynasty's impending dominance over the entire country... although there was a degree of that inflated ego.

But more importantly, it has been six years since the Shu Han dynasty took control of Chang'an.

In the past five or six years, three of those years were spent in seclusion to allow the people to rest and recuperate.

Although there were military campaigns during those two years, they were all offensive wars against external forces and did not directly affect the interior of China.

Therefore, the people of Guanzhong actually enjoyed nearly six years of peace.

As a result, people gradually came to support him.

This is the main reason why the Han emperor dared to temporarily leave Chang'an.

In addition, Liu Shan also had his own unique insights:

“Xiu Zhao, it’s not that I’m tired of the dilapidated old palace in Chang’an, but that I always yearn for the magnificent halls in Luoyang.”

"But the longer I stay in Chang'an, the more I notice one thing."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yun, who had already been promoted to Attendant-in-Ordinary, glanced warily at the emperor and asked in a deep voice:

What did Your Majesty notice?

Liu Shan chuckled and said:
"I have discovered that this palace, this government, this Chang'an, and even this entire country, can be steadily maintained as long as the prime minister, the ministers, and the generals govern it."

"As for me, I am neither good at literature nor martial arts. One more or one less makes no difference. So what does it matter whether I am in Chang'an or not?"

Upon hearing this, Dong Yun instinctively wanted to refute.

Even if the emperor does nothing, his role as a legitimate ruler in pacifying the people and stabilizing their hearts is still indispensable.

How can you say it's alright?

But before he could even open his mouth, Liu Shan had already guessed what he was thinking:
"I know what you mean, and that's what I think too."

"Although an emperor who does nothing can actually accomplish anything, he can still put on a show to appease people's hearts."

"Looking at the present, with the Prime Minister stationed in Chang'an, there is no need for me to do anything more."

"But this land of Henan has just been annexed, and the people's hearts still need to be appeased... Isn't it more in need of me than Chang'an?"

"So I came."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yun realized that he had no way to refute the emperor.

After holding it in for a long time, he finally mumbled something:
"Your Majesty should not underestimate yourself!"

(End of this chapter)