Sima Yi couldn't help but laugh when he learned that Cao Shuang had sent his eldest son, Sun Li, to Hebei to be the governor of Jizhou.
"Cao Zidan can be said to be a beautiful man, but he has a son like a baby! Although Ding (Ding Mi), He (He Yan), and Deng (Deng Yang) have no aspirations, they are all dedicated to competing in the world, and they are vain and vain."
"In my opinion, these people are just dolphins and dogs, and they are just the right match for Cao Zhaobo (that is, Cao Shuang)."
"Cao Zhaobo used dolphins and dogs, but sent Sun Deda out. It can be said that he abandoned the pearl and took the rotten wood! From this, it can be seen that his defeat is certain!"
Sima Yi originally wanted to defend Luoyang alone, but he didn't expect that Cao Shuang would reveal his true colors in less than half a year.
This suddenly gave him a different thought:
The Cao family really has no one! In other words, even if the Cao family does have someone, they are not willing or even dare to come forward at this time.
Otherwise, why would someone like Cao Shuang be allowed to steal the power of the court?
Recalling that from the beginning of the founding of the Wei Dynasty, the two former emperors had strictly guarded against the Cao clan, Sima Yi became more and more sure of this, and his mind became more active.
Without further ado, Sima Yi immediately sent someone to Xuchang to tell Sima Zhao that there was no need to rush back.
At the same time, a second group of troops was sent to Xuchang, carrying some valuables.
After arranging all this, Sima Yi asked people to keep an eye on the troops coming from Xuchang.
If you want to go to Jizhou from Xuchang, the shortest way is to cross Guandu via Zhongmou, and then go north to cross the river at Yanjin near Suanzao.
Coincidentally, these places are basically near the border of Henan.
"Sir, I have heard that Sun Deda is upright by nature and is good at offending others. Not to mention Emperor Wen, even people like Emperor Wu did not think of using this person in important positions."
"He had only been appointed General Commander for a few months. He was promoted and secretly demoted by Cao Shuang, and was sent to Hebei to serve as the governor of Jizhou. From this point of view, he may not accept our favor."
Sima Shi, who had just poisoned his wife Xia Houhui to death half a month ago, had undergone a huge transformation in a short period of time.
At this time, his eyes seemed far away and suddenly close, making people unpredictable, and the expression on his face was slightly indifferent.
The whole person seemed not only more calm than before, but also showed an air of knowing everything about life and death.
This change in Master Sima made Sima Yi feel a little helpless.
His original intention was that since Xia Houhui said that the Sima family was not loyal to the Wei family, he definitely did not share the same aspirations with the Sima family.
Compared with his wife Zhang (namely Zhang Chunhua), Xia Houhui did not regard himself as a member of the Sima family at all.
Back then, he refused Emperor Wu's call and pretended to be ill while lying in bed. This was later discovered by a maid at home.
In order to prevent the incident from being leaked and causing disaster, Mrs. Zhang killed the maid with her own hands, and then cooked the food herself as if nothing had happened.
With Zhang as the standard, Sima Yi naturally couldn't stand Xia Houhui's behavior, so he repeatedly hinted to Sima Shi to divorce his wife.
I didn't expect that my son would be more ruthless than I imagined.
He actually poisoned his wife who gave birth to five daughters to death.
But... this is fine!
The Sima clan is now in a state of advancement and no retreat.
Taking a step back is an abyss.
So it’s not a bad thing to be more ruthless in doing things.
Thinking like this, Sima Yi said:
"Zi Yuan, the inspection and examination law implemented in the Early Han Dynasty, by the end of the Later Han Dynasty, its evaluation and election were controlled by wealthy celebrities and local right-wingers."
"Emperor Wen wanted to correct the shortcomings, so he changed the method of selecting officials to the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng method. However, the method was still derived from the Chaju method."
"The nine-grade method is to look at family background, conduct (that is, a general evaluation of personal conduct and ability), and finally determine the grade. At the beginning, it was only said to look at career first, and then family background."
"It has only been a few decades now, and the Zhongzheng of each county has been controlled by various powerful and powerful families. Nowadays, family background is the first priority, but career has been put at the end."
"Does Emperor Wen, with his talent, not know the disadvantages of the Nine-Rank Law? Even if Emperor Wen doesn't know it, doesn't it mean that Chen Changwen (Chen Qun) who formulated the Nine-Rank Officials Law doesn't know it either?"
Master Sima didn't know why he wanted to mention the Law of the Ninth Grade Officials when he was obviously talking about Sun Li.
Besides, wouldn't it be beneficial to the great families in the world if the ninth-grade official law has become like this?
Seemingly seeing what Master Sima was thinking, Sima Yi smiled calmly:
"Zi Yuan, some things in this world cannot be said but done, and some cannot be done."
"The Nine-Rank Officials' Law seems to be to detect the shortcomings of the law, but in fact it is just to accept its shortcomings."
"Emperor Wen wanted to do this, firstly, to control the discussion of famous scholars in the hands of the imperial court, and secondly, to set an example for the people in the world."
When Master Sima heard this, he seemed to understand a little: "Just make a show?"
"Yes, just to show off. Not only can you win over the rich and powerful, but you can also win over the hearts of humble people. Why not do it?"
The aristocratic families benefited from the ninth-rank official law, while the humble people thought they could be promoted through the ninth-rank official law.
"So, what we are doing now is for everyone in the world..."
Having said this, Sima Yi coughed and said, "Make a show to some people over there in Xuchang."
As he spoke, he sighed:
"Although Luoyang is the nominal capital of the Wei Dynasty, how can a capital be regarded as the real capital if there is no emperor and not even the queen mother?"
"Now I just hope that the more Cao Shuang can do about things like Sun Deda, the better. The more he does, the more senior officials in the court will become more scrupulous."
"And everything we do now will make people feel more valuable."
Only then did Master Sima realize that what his master had said so much was actually teaching him.
He couldn't help but said respectfully: "Sir, I understand."
"No, you don't understand." Sima Yi shook his head, "Pretending to show it to some people is just one aspect of it."
"On the other hand, I tell you the disadvantages of the Ninth-Rank Official Personnel Law because I want to tell you that we can use its disadvantages to do something beneficial to us."
Master Sima really didn't understand this time.
Sima Yi said quietly:
"The noble family members have now realized that they can completely control the way of promotion in the Wei Dynasty by using the ninth-grade official method. Therefore, it is getting more and more difficult for Han Shu to advance."
Sima Yi seemed to have thought of something and smiled strangely, "Do you know why Emperor Wu issued an order seeking talents?"
"Because Emperor Wu knows very well that no matter whether he is a son of aristocratic family or a humble son, as long as it can be useful to his great cause, then he can use it. Why should he stick to the distinction of being a descendant of the world?"
"Moreover, at the end of the Later Han Dynasty, how many people were filial and honest but didn't know how to write? Emperor Wu gave those undesirable and humble sons a way to advance in society, so this was the only way to win over people with lofty ideals from all over the world."
Sima Yi looked at Master Sima and said meaningfully:
"Look, does the Wei Dynasty today look very similar to that time?"
"If we can also give those poor people a way to advance into the world, what will happen to them?"
Master Sima has completed his transformation from his past by killing his wife to attain enlightenment.
But when he heard Sima Yi's words, he still couldn't control his body from visibly trembling.
Emperor Wu?!
Your Excellency... is actually the Emperor of Analogue Martial Arts?
Just thinking of his own family, Master Sima couldn't help but feel a little clearer.
Although there may be many people who saw that their lord was promoted to the Imperial Tutor, guarding Luoyang during the holidays, and at the same time became the Assistant Minister again.
Master Jidao was deeply trusted by Emperor Wei.
But anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is no way out for you, and you can't go back.
Now, Sima Yi's words made Sima Shi completely understand:
Apart from Emperor Wu's path, they had no other way to go.
Master Sima finally lowered his head and said softly: "Sir, I understand."
At this time, the scouting horse finally reported back, saying that Sun Li had led the army less than three miles away from here.
Sun Li was extremely surprised and surprised when he learned that the Grand Tutor personally brought food and wine to the army even though there were only 3,000 people.
When the Grand Tutor did this, Sun Li had no reason to avoid him, so he sent someone to inform him that he wanted to come and see the Grand Tutor.
Sima Yi quickly sent someone to report back and agreed on a place to meet.
During the march of the army, they were not allowed to enter the city. The place where Sima Yi arranged to meet was in a high open area next to Guandu.
Seeing that Sima Yi only brought Sima Shi with him and no extra people, Sun Li relaxed his vigilance.
Asking the guards to wait for him below, Sun Li stepped forward alone and bowed:
"I'll see you later."
"Sun Changshi doesn't need to be polite."
Sima Yi's face was full of gentleness, and he personally supported Sun Li's arms, "The country is in turmoil, and Sun Changshi is not afraid of rampant thieves and leads the army to dangerous places."
"This can be called the pillar of the country!" Sima Yi said, with a self-deprecating look on his face, "On the other hand, I was forced to retreat by the thieves. I am ashamed, ashamed, and I cannot deserve the gift of Sun Changshi."
In fact, many people in the court had some contempt for the fact that the Taifu could not defend Guanzhong and was finally forced to retreat to Luoyang.
Sun Li is also one of them.
But seeing the Taifu take the initiative to say it now, and with such an attitude, Sun Li was embarrassed to say anything more.
Before he could think of what to say, Sima Yi turned around slightly. Master Sima, who had been standing not far away, understood and hurriedly came forward with a drink.
Sima Yi took an ear cup and handed it to Sun Li:
"When Emperor Wu was here, he defeated the many with less and defeated Yuan Shao, laying the foundation for the pacification of Hebei in one fell swoop."
"Now there are few soldiers in Hebei, but there are many thieves. I am here to see Sun Changshi off. I only hope that Sun Changshi can use Emperor Yu Ze to defeat more with less and stabilize the situation in Hebei in one fell swoop."
Sun Li is an upright person, with a clear distinction between grudges and grudges, and he dares to speak and act.
He originally had some objections to Sima Yi, but now he felt mixed emotions when he saw that the other party treated him with such courtesy as a Taifu.
When he thought about what Cao Shuang did in Xuchang, Sun Li felt even more uncomfortable.
He took the earcup handed over by Sima Yi and said, "I would like to express my gratitude to the master."
"I am the one thanking you, the strong man of the country." Sima Yi picked up another ear cup and said, "Soldier, please."
Sun Li drank it all in one gulp.
Seeing Sun Li finish drinking, Sima Yi poured him another glass of wine himself and said:
"I am somewhat familiar with the land in Hebei. In the past two years, I heard that the two counties of Qinghe and Pingyuan were arguing over the boundaries of the land."
"There were even several armed fights among the people near the border, but the government could not stop them. However, the previous Jizhou governor could not make a fair judgment."
"Therefore, Sun Changshi went to Jizhou. If he could handle the matter well, he might be able to get the support of the local officials."
Sima Yi looked at Sun Li with a smile, "I wonder what Sun Changshi thinks about this?"
Although Sun Li went here, the most important thing was to stabilize the situation in Hebei.
But this matter was too sensitive for Sima Yi.
Especially when you see that Sun Li still hasn't completely let down his guard.
Sima Yi knew that if he mentioned Hebei's military carelessly at this time, people would inevitably think that he wanted to reach out.
So he changed his approach and only mentioned civil disputes.
As expected, Sun Li did not suspect anything else. He said decisively:
"When it comes to disputes over land and borders, it is customary to either look at the tomb for proof, or to listen to the old man for justice. However, the old man may tell lies, but he cannot be forced to use punishment."
"Desolate tombs may also be moved to higher places, and some may be moved to avoid enemies. Therefore, what you see and hear is that even Gaotao will still be in trouble."
"If you want to make sure that there is no lawsuit, you should use the map of the plains when the emperor first sealed it. Why bother to infer the ancients? Just look at the maps stored by the government and you will know."
(Note: Cao Rui once granted the title of King of Pingyuan)
When Sima Yi heard this, he immediately nodded in admiration:
"Of course! What Sun Changshi said is absolutely true. As long as Sun Changshi decides according to his plan, who would dare to disobey?"
After drinking the second cup, Sima Yi poured another cup:
"There are many rules for marching, so I will not delay Sun Changshi any longer. I wish Sun Changshi can show off his skills and make great achievements here!"
"Thank you, Master!"
Although the weather in April has become a bit hot.
But standing at a high place, the wind still blows from time to time.
Master Sima has been blowing the wind and being a wine boy for so long, but Sun Li didn't even say a word to him.
This made him a little unconvinced:
"Sir, it is common sense to divide the land according to the map. Sun Li said this casually, and your Excellency actually praised it. Isn't it too low of your status to do this?"
Sima Yi looked at Sun Li, whose figure could no longer be seen clearly, and his eyes became somewhat dark:
"Is there any simple person who can be appointed as the governor of a state? Not to mention that Lu Zizhan (also known as Lu Zhao, the previous governor of Jizhou) led Jizhou as a general who Zhenbei."
"Is it true that he can't decide the boundary between the two counties? There are actually a lot of stakes involved."
"The Cui family of Qinghe has set its sights on a piece of land adjacent to Pingyuan County. In order not to offend the Qinghe family, Lu Zizhan delayed the decision for a long time."
When Sima Yi said this, a strange smile appeared on his face:
"Coincidentally, the general in Xuchang also favored Qinghe, but in fact, that land belonged to Pingyuan County a few years ago."
Sima Yi turned to look at Master Sima:
"Sun Deda first met us here, and then divided the land to Pingyuan County according to the government map. Guess what Cao Shuang would think?"
Master Sima suddenly widened his eyes.
Cao Shuang, whose political skills were incomparable to Sima Yi, fell completely into Sima Yi's scheme.
After hearing that Sun Li and Sima Yi met, he was already gnashing his teeth.
When he heard that Sun Li had just crossed the river, the first thing he did was to assign the disputed land boundary between Qinghe and Pingyuan to Pingyuan.
Cao Shuang, who had always been inclined towards Qinghe, became furious on the spot.