"What do I mean?"

Sima Zhao also sighed, "I don't have any clue, I can only take it one step at a time."

Having said this, he glanced at Xia Houxuan again, "If I could do something about it, why would Luoyang be like this?"

Even though Xia Houxuan was an outstanding person in cultivating his moral character, when he heard Sima Zhao's words, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Is this what people say?

You could just say "I swear to live and die with Luoyang"!

On a normal day, when Xia Houxuan heard these words, he would stand up and leave without hesitation.

But at this time, he had to continue sitting here against his will to delay time.

He forced himself to calm down, but Xia Houxuan said seriously:

"How could your Majesty say such a thing! Now Luoyang is in danger and people's hearts are unstable. If your words were spread, how would the generals in the army and the officials in the city feel?"

Hearing this, Sima Zhao seemed to have reacted, with a touch of shame and gratitude on his face:

"What Taichu said was that I was negligent."

"Although I have never led an army, I also know that those who have thunder in their chests as flat as a lake can be worshiped as generals."

Xia Houxuan said slowly, "Sages also have human beings and five emotions, but they can be things but not things. Therefore, they can transform all things for their own use and teach all people to obey their orders."

"We who are determined to make great achievements must have our chests hidden in the abyss, how can we show our voices lightly?"

Sima Zhao looked solemn, cupped his hands and said:

"What Taichu said is absolutely true. I don't have enough cultivation of my character, and I really need to work on it more."

Then he humbly asked for advice:

"I know that Taichu has mastered the essence of metaphysics. He can thunder in front of his eyes without changing his expression. I have admired him for a long time. I wonder why Taichu taught me?"

Isn't this what Xia Houxuan was waiting for?

"If you want to get the essence of metaphysics, you must study Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Zhouyi carefully. As the saying goes, the mysteries are more mysterious, and they are the door to all mysteries..."

Xuanyuan's theory is based on the theory of "ancestral records of Laozi and Zhuangzi" and calls "Laozi", "Zhuangzi" and "Book of Changes" the "Three Mysteries".

Its rise has profound social factors.

Since Emperor Xiaowu only respected Confucianism, scholars have regarded the study of Confucian classics as their orthodoxy.

Confucian classics, on the other hand, pays attention to "studying things, knowing the best, being sincere, correcting one's mind, cultivating one's character, managing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world."

"From the emperor to the common people, everyone has been based on self-cultivation."

The popularity of Confucian classics has led to the mentality of scholars to govern the country and bring peace to the world, which is very common and true.

It is precisely because of this social mentality that the officials and soldiers of the Early Han Dynasty had feelings about their family and country that transcended the times.

But in the middle and late Han Dynasty, politics became extremely corrupt.

Especially after the disaster of party imprisonment, scholars rushed to remonstrate and submit letters, trying to maintain Confucian orthodoxy and restore the dynasty's principles in their minds.

However, what they got was intensified suppression, and the great Confucian scholars who wrote the letter were even forced to death.

The attitude and practices of the imperial court caused a great blow and bruise to the psychology of the scholars.

Disappointment again and again made the scholars gradually become alienated from the Later Han Dynasty.

It happened that at this time, the powerful landowner had just completed his transformation into a wealthy family.

Then the traditional value system began to collapse.

The feelings of family and country gradually disappeared, replaced by the thinking of "valuing life and avoiding the world" - the world is not worth it, I only live for myself.

So, from this point of view, the reason why the Later Han Dynasty was defeated by everyone was because of the inherent selfish nature of the wealthy families.

To a certain extent, there is also an element of the Later Han people seeking their own death.

After all, you can't expect a group of scholars who have been abused by you politically thousands of times to treat you like your first love.

Later, when troubled times came, the scholars intensified their escapism from reality.

It can be said that the rise of metaphysics gave scholars a certain amount of spiritual sustenance in troubled times.

It also provides a spiritual world to escape reality.

These days, Luoyang has been experiencing internal and external difficulties, which has put Sima Zhao under tremendous mental pressure.

As the saying goes, once someone shares the pain, the pain is reduced by half.

The arrival of Xia Houxuan, the leader of metaphysics, and his talk about metaphysics made Sima Zhaodun feel as if a long drought had brought a sudden burst of rain.

Both the host and the guest had a lively conversation and expressed their feelings directly.

Sima Zhao felt that most of the stress accumulated over the past few days had been eliminated at once, and he felt very relaxed.

When the lanterns came on and Xia Houxuan stood up to say goodbye, Sima Zhao was still reluctant to leave:

"I've been quite tired and sleepy these days, and I haven't felt this relaxed for a long time. Why don't Taichu stay tonight and have a long chat with me?"

Xiahou Xuan smiled calmly and shook his head:

"I am afraid that some people will misunderstand me. I have no choice but to ignore your kindness."

Misunderstand?

Sima Zhao was stunned for a moment, and then quickly remembered the respective positions of the Sima family and the Xiahou family.

If Taichu stayed overnight and talked with me all night long, once the news got out tomorrow, I don't know how many associations it would have in people who were interested.

At a certain moment, Sima Zhao even considered forcing Xia Houxuan to stay.

It would be great if Xiahou Taichu could be allowed to serve the Sima clan!

But in the end he could only let out a long sigh.

"Next time Taichu comes over, remember to send someone to let him know in advance, Zhao will be waiting for you!"

Xia Houxuan took a deep look at Sima Zhao and nodded: "Definitely next time."

"It's already past the curfew time outside. Wait a moment, Taichu. I'll send someone to escort you back."

"It's time to work."

Sima Zhao personally sent Xia Houxuan out of the mansion, and told his servants to send him there before turning back to the mansion.

The news of Xia Houxuan's visit naturally could not be hidden from Master Sima.

Sima Zhao, who had just seen off Xia Houxuan, was immediately called over by Master Sima.

"Brother?"

"Well," Master Sima, who was resting with his eyes closed, immediately opened his intact eye when he heard Sima Zhao coming:

"What are Xia Houxuan doing here?"

Calling him by his name but not by his title shows that Master Sima had deep resentment towards Xia Houxuan.

Sima Zhao and Xia Houxuan had a very enjoyable conversation, so he tried to say a few words of kindness in front of his brother:

"Brother, Taichu came here to check on your condition, but I followed my brother's instructions and told him that you needed to rest, so I didn't let him see you."

When Master Sima heard this, he sneered:

"You are right not to let him see me. I don't believe he has such good intentions. In my opinion, I am afraid that the visit is fake and the temptation is real!"

Sima Zhao tried to defend Xia Houxuan: "Brother, Taichu also brought medicinal materials..."

"Do you think I dare to use the medicinal materials he sent?"

When Master Sima mentioned Xia Houxuan, he naturally had a bad tone.

But once he became emotionally unstable, his bandaged left eye started to hurt.

Seeing Sima Zhaona again, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't dare to say it, Master Sima finally sighed and swallowed what he was going to say.

"Zi Shang, I know what you want to say and what you want to do in your heart."

Master Sima tried his best to soften his tone:

"It's just that you have to understand one thing. Even we adults have not been able to convince Xia Houxuan to let him work for the Sima family. With the abilities of you and me, it is even less possible to control this person."

Why didn't Sima Zhao understand?

It's just that he has always been under the wings of his family and his elder brother. Even though he knows that political struggles are dangerous, he still can't be as ruthless as Sima Shi.

In addition, the conversation with Xia Houxuan was very pleasant, and Sima Zhao even had a little fantasy in his heart:

What if?

If I can persuade Xiahou Taichu, can our Sima family get a lot of help?

But of course he didn't dare to tell Master Sima about his thoughts.

After hearing his brother's lesson, Sima Zhao, who had other thoughts, quickly said yes.

After exiting Master Sima's ward, Sima Zhao let out a sigh of relief.
To be continued...