Chinese New Year

Chapter 573 Wait

"The grain tax this year is pitifully small." A group of scholars in gorgeous clothes were outing on the bank of the Bian River. When they saw the sparse grain boats, they all said.

There were three leading scholars, namely Sima Que, King of Xincai, Sima Pi, King of Donghai, and Sima Li, who finally became King of Fanyang after some twists and turns.

These three people are actually cousins.

Sima Que was the son of Sima Teng, Sima Pi was the son of Sima Yue, Sima Li was the son of Sima Mo, and Yue, Teng and Mo were all sons of the former King of Gaomi Sima Tai.

The status of the three people seem to be similar, all of them are princes, but that is only on the surface. In terms of the inside, Sima is indeed a little better than them.

Sima Que was originally the governor of Xuchang. Later, he surrendered under the persuasion of Concubine Pei and served as the military supervisor of the Yanzhou Shogunate.

It may sound a bit outrageous, but Sima Que, the shogunate's military supervisor, was actually stronger and more powerful than Sima Pi, the nominal master of the shogunate, because Sima Que could actually supervise each camp, while Sima Pi could only supervise his own hundred or so guards.

As for Sima Li, he was even worse. He was just a rich man who lived on the land and farmhands of Liuhuayuan.

"If the Prince of Langya gets more support from the scholars of Jiangdong, he will send less grain to Luoyang." Sima Que said something that was not very pleasant to hear but hit the nail on the head.

Sima Pi and Sima Li sighed after hearing this.

Well, in fact, they didn’t know why they sighed, maybe because they were saddened by the scene.

But how to say it, in history, Sima Que had been dead for four years (killed by Shi Le in Nandun), Sima Pi had been dead for four years (killed by Shi Le in Ningwei Cang), and Sima Li had been dead for four years (killed by Liu Can in Chang'an). Now, every extra day lived is earned.

If Sima Que survived thanks to the "peaceful liberation" of Xuchang, the latter two were able to live until now because their mothers were devoted to Mr. Chen.

As they were sighing, Deng You and Mi Zhi came over and saluted the three people.

Deng You was originally the Right Sima of the Yanzhou Shogunate. Later, he was dismissed from office and arranged a position in Guanzhong, but he did not go and stayed as a retainer of Sima Pi.

"Your Majesty, this is a letter from Donghai." The Shogunate Governor Mi Zhi handed a letter to Sima Pi.

Sima Pi was stunned at first, then he remembered that this was a letter written to him by Mi Huang, the internal historian of Donghai. He immediately took it and asked while opening the envelope, "How is Donghai doing?"

The Donghai State originally had four counties, but some of them were captured by Zu Ti. Now only Donghai and Lanling counties are left, and it is not yet complete.

"The troops mobilized by Mr. Chen have arrived at Lanling, and the vanguard Liu Hedu's troops have entered Donghai." Mi Zhi replied.

"What about Pengcheng? Failed to get in?" Sima Pi asked.

"Envoy Xun, close the city gates tightly." Mi Zhi said.

Sima Pi looked up, a little surprised, then lowered his head to continue reading the letter.

"Closing the city gates tightly" means being neutral. You can fight as you like, but I won't get involved and I won't help anyone.

Deng You watched silently from the side.

Sima Que and Sima Li looked at each other and walked away, not wanting to get involved in these matters.

Some things, knowing them may not be a good thing, but may lead to death. Do you really think Shao Xun is a good person? Has he ever respected the Sima family?
"Mi Zihui!" Sima Pi's face immediately turned red after reading the letter. He said angrily, "My father trusted him so much and always said he was loyal and brave. Now that things have come to this, is this how he repays my family?"

Deng You coughed and reminded Sima Pi to control his emotions.

Mi Zhi was a little annoyed.

His father Mi Huang was indeed loyal to the former King of Donghai, but he was not that loyal. All his wealth and glory came from Lord Chen, so he could not bear it.

"Your Majesty, my father is doing this for your own good." Mi said expressionlessly, "Don't mention the affairs of the country again."

Sima Pi was frightened by Mi Zhi's attitude and swallowed back the words he was about to say.

"It's fine if the General of Zhenjun is not allowed to do it, but can't the King of Donghai do it too?" Sima Pi muttered.

"It is a rule that the princes of the clan should not go to their own country, but should stay in the capital to be governed." Mi Zhi said, "It was the same when the former Prince of Donghai was in power. The princes of the clan followed the army in the Northern Expedition to Yecheng, and when they were sent to guard the outer vassal states, the princes of the clan also accompanied them."

To put it bluntly, as the victor of the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, Sima Yue tried his best to control all the princes.

In the Battle of Dangyin, he brought the emperor and princes with him, but most of them were captured by Sima Ying in the end.

When he was stationed in Yuzhou and Yanzhou, he also brought the princes with him, and would not let them leave their countries even if it meant keeping them for nothing.

Mi Zhi brought up Sima Yue's practice, which choked Sima Pi for a moment.

After being stunned for a long while, he could only ask: "What did mother say?"

"The Queen Mother should let the King study with Deng Bodao. If he is really bored, he can travel around, but he is not allowed to take medicine." Mi Zhi said.

Sima Pi snorted coldly upon hearing this and muttered, "There is not a single good person in such a huge palace. Mi Zihui is ungrateful. Now that his mother has a new son, she no longer cares about the old one. Shao Xun is even less of a good person!"

Deng You's face changed drastically and he kept pulling Sima Pi's sleeves.

Mi Zhi would not indulge him, and scolded him: "Your Majesty is so ignorant! All the princes in the court are like caged birds in Luoyang, but Your Majesty can enjoy the forests and springs and see the mountains and rivers. Aren't you satisfied?"

"Every ten days, the king is invited to a banquet and meets with all kinds of people. Is there anyone who forbids this?"

"There are so many followers and retainers of the Donghai Wang family in the palace. Has anyone expelled them?"

"Your Majesty, you have enough money. I heard that it is all from the taxes paid by the King of Donghai. But what kind of life are the princes in Luoyang living now? With the chaos and the roads blocked, how can the taxes be transported to Luoyang? If they can't be transported, how can the court distribute money and food? What's more, the kingdom that has fallen into the hands of bandits has no taxes at all, and now has to sell its belongings and even its daughters to make a living. What kind of life are they living?"

"Your Majesty, all the expenses for hosting banquets and entertaining guests are funded by the grain and silk that the Queen Mother transferred from the shogunate. Without Mr. Chen's permission, how could Your Majesty get even a bushel of grain or a piece of silk?"

Mi Zhi asked several questions in a row, and Sima Pi blushed.

"Your Majesty, the world is not easy, so cherish yourself." Mi Zhi bowed his hands and said, "To be honest, the fact that you are alive, can be a rich man, and are not under house arrest is the best condition that the Queen Mother can fight for you for the sake of the relationship between mother and son. If you are allowed to interfere in the government affairs of the shogunate, it will harm you."

At this point, Mi Zhi looked at Deng You again and said, "Mr. Deng is a mature and prudent man. The lesson of Zhao Mu should not be forgotten. Your Majesty took advantage of Mr. Chen's northern expedition to make friends with the officials of the shogunate, which is actually a move that harms others and yourself. That's all I have to say."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Deng You sighed. Zhao Mu was the right chief secretary of the shogunate. He was executed because he was late in distributing relief food, which led to the death of people due to starvation.

But everyone knows that Mr. Chen is just taking advantage of the situation.

"Master Deng..." Sima Pi looked at Deng You with a pale face.

"Lei Sijin and others have indeed been dismissed from office." Deng You said with his head down.

Sima Pi was silent for a long time. Someone must have reported the matter. Human minds are hard to predict.

However, as the saying goes, shit tastes bad and words sound bad, Mi Zhi was telling the truth.

Do you really think Mr. Chen won't kill anyone?

What do you want? What can you get?
Become an official? You are already a second-rank general, do you want to be a powerful governor? Or do you want to enter the court and become a high-ranking official?

The country? Don't be ridiculous, that's fighting for territory with Shao Xun.

Blame your mother for not fighting for your own interests?
The rent and taxes owed to you, the King of Donghai, cannot be transported here, and there is famine in Luoyang. The imperial court has no money to distribute the rice. Your house on the north bank of the Bian River was built for you by your mother.

The money you use to support your retainers, guards, and even banquets comes from the money and grain allocated by your mother from the shogunate.

You don't have to be forced to live in Luoyang like other princes.

Is this condition still not met?

What else do you want? It's like secretly making friends with the shogunate's officials. If you were a more ruthless person, you and the officials you made friends with would have died, not just been dismissed from office.

Now, every time you win over someone, you are harming that person.

If there is someone in the shogunate who supports you, you are harming yourself.

"Didn't Shao Xun promise my father not to kill me?" Sima Pi said with a tearful voice after a long while.

Deng You sighed, put his arm around Sima Pi's shoulders, and said, "It's the time, it's fate. The struggle for power is the most cruel. You have to wait patiently for your chance. It's also difficult for the Concubine Dowager. She has taken good care of you. Now that you have a child, it's the limit to do this."

"Then continue to travel?"

"The further you are from the shogunate, the safer you will be. Lei Sijin, I killed him. I am also at fault in this matter."

"Master Deng, are you discouraged?"

Deng You was also somewhat confused, and only said: "If you are really frustrated, you can cross the river and head south. The King of Langya will treat you with courtesy for the sake of the last king."

Sima Pi was somewhat tempted, so he asked, "Can the King of Langya go north?"

Deng You smiled bitterly, shook his head and said nothing.

Sima Pi was somewhat disappointed, but still somewhat puzzled: "Isn't Xuzhou about to be fought? Mi Huang suffered a series of defeats under Zu Ti, and his army has lost its morale. Now he can only rely on his own fortresses and troops to hold on. He will be defeated sooner or later. If the Prince of Langya captures Xuzhou, it will be a great victory, and Shao Xun will be caught in a dilemma, and there may be a loophole."

Deng You stopped, looked at Sima Pi, and asked, "How does the king know this?"

Sima Pi was a little embarrassed and said, "It was said by the people of the Wang family of Donghai. Former Right Guard General Wang Bing sent someone to bring a letter to ask about the recent situation, saying that once the King of Langya took over Xuzhou, he would welcome my country."

Deng You was shocked: "How come I don't know about this?"

Sima Pi said nothing.

Deng You looked at him for a long time and sighed.

After the King of Donghai got married, he no longer relied entirely on these old people.

"Your Majesty, do you really think that if the King of Langya captures Xuzhou, he will give up his country?" Deng You asked in return.

"The King of Langya must want someone to look after Xuzhou for him, right?" Sima Pi asked uncertainly.

Deng You shook his head and said, "Zu Ti will never give up the kingdom of the great king. The Wang family of Donghai, hey."

"So there will never be a lawless country?" Sima Pi asked.

"During the chaos in Xuzhou, the country is just empty talk." Deng You said, "Wait, wait slowly."

Sima Pi was a little discouraged.

"Don't worry, many people are waiting just like you." Deng You added, "Even the one in the palace is waiting. Why did Lord Chen come back from Yecheng? Isn't it because there are too many people waiting and watching? The King of Langya has already made his move, and they all want to see if Lord Chen can withstand the attack from both the north and the south. If they can wait, the king should be able to wait too. I was too hasty before, and the king was also too hasty, so you should try your best."

"What if this still doesn't make Shao Xun lose power?" Sima Pi asked.

"In that case." Deng You looked up at the sky and said, "Your Majesty, you'd better stay in Henan. You can be a rich man here. If you go to Jianye, you will still be a rich man, but at most you will get an idle official position. If you get Henan and Hebei, Lord Chen's momentum will be unstoppable. From now on, Your Majesty should change your attitude and visit the Queen Mother more often. In the future, when Lord Chen succeeds, he will no longer be wary of you. Maybe, he can even give you an official position."

People in Henan are in chaos.

Some people are tied closely to Shao Xun and can only support him.

Some people are hesitant and just want to follow the crowd and contribute some money and food, but they are still not happy if they contribute more.

Some people watched coldly and decided to wait and see.

Some people even appear to be submissive on the surface, but secretly collude with various parties and make multiple bets.

It is difficult to tell a person's true thoughts.

The only thing that can change their decision is victory.

Victory can cleanse everything. This is a great trend that is more effective than any conspiracy or trick.

(End of this chapter)