In the midst of singing and dancing, Ji Han quietly completed a series of personnel replacements, and even secretly prepared for the war in the future.
Ji Han's opponents on the east side of Taihang Mountain were also fighting each other.
In Ye City, at Taifu's residence, Sima Yi was entertaining guests.
Most of these guests are from Hebei, but also from Qingxu and other places in the south.
Most of these people come from the families of the commander-in-chief, such as the Fanyang Lu family, the Qinghe Cui family, the Boling Cui family, etc.
Among them, the most eye-catching one is none other than former Tingwei Lu Yu.
Lu Yunai was the youngest son of Lu Zhi. He lost his father at the age of ten, and his two older brothers also died due to the war.
Lu Yu single-handedly raised his widowed sister-in-law and orphaned brother and son, and he was known for his learning and conduct.
When Cao Pi heard about Lu Yu's name, he summoned him to serve as a traitor to Cao. Later, he was promoted to the chief secretary of Jizhou by Cui Yan of the Cui family in Qinghe.
After three generations of Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, he served many times in local and Wei Dynasties. He was not only deeply loved by the local people, but also quite prestigious in the court.
Even Cao Rui often asked for his opinions and appointed him as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in selecting officials.
Unexpectedly, General Cao came to power as an auxiliary and felt that Lu Yu was an eyesore and inconvenient for him to control the minister's desk, so he transferred Lu Yu to be the minister's servant, and at the same time made He Yan the minister of the Ministry of official affairs.
Of course, Lu Yu could not stand the "Three Dogs of Taichung" who brought trouble to the imperial court, and repeatedly criticized them.
General Cao became more and more annoyed with him, so he simply transferred him out of the Shangshutai and became a court lieutenant.
As the Taichung Three Dogs became more and more powerful, Lu Yu, who had offended them, naturally could not escape revenge.
He Yan found an opportunity and wrote a long memorial to impeach Lu Yu. He also ordered Yousi to take away Lu Yu's seal and ribbon before submitting the memorial.
It can be seen that the power of the Three Dogs in Taichung is almost the same as killing first and then showing off.
And He Yan's behavior was actually supported by Cao Shuang.
Lu Yu was dismissed from office and demoted to a commoner.
Lu Yu can be regarded as a veteran of the Four Dynasties of Wei State, and his reputation in the court is not low.
Now that he is treated like this, he is naturally sympathized by many people.
In the past few years, Lu Yu has watched General Cao start from serving as an assistant to the government. Except for the first few months, he was still a bit humane, but later he became more and more ridiculous.
It has already gone from being angry for not arguing to being deeply disappointed.
Being dismissed from office for no apparent reason this time made him finally no longer have any hope in Xuchang.
So he packed his luggage and left Xuchang to return to his hometown.
Who would have expected that just after crossing the river to the north, he would see Master Sima who had been waiting by the river for a long time.
Over the years, from Deng Ai to Sun Li, then to Fu Gu, and even to Guo Xun, Sima Taifu's reputation as a lover of talents and good scholars has long been spread throughout the government and the public.
Looking at Taifu Sima who treated him with courtesy, and then thinking about General Cao who treated him like a pair of worn-out shoes, Lu Yu almost burst into tears.
He originally wanted to return to his hometown to retire, but there was no way he could refuse Sima Taifu's warm invitation, so he came to Yecheng.
"Mr. Lu," Sima Yi raised his glass to Lu Yu, "What are your plans for returning home this time?"
Lu Yu quickly raised his glass in honor of Sima Yi. After taking a sip of wine, he shook his head and sighed:
"Thank you, Grand Master, for your concern. I am already in my sixtieth year. I am old and frail. What else can I do when I return to my hometown except to take care of myself?"
When Sima Yi heard this, he pretended to be unhappy:
"Is Mr. Lu making a mockery of me? I am already sixty-five years old, and I am still several years older than Mr. Lu. Is it possible that I should resign and return to my hometown now?"
When Lu Yu heard this, he quickly stood up and apologized:
"Is it because someone made a mistake? The Grand Tutor is the pillar of the Wei Dynasty. How can An Neng condescend to compare with such a wild old man?"
Sima Yi burst out laughing, stood up, and helped Lu Yu sit down together:
"Mr. Lu, I'm just joking! I think back then, when Man Boning (that is, Man Chong) was nearly eighty years old, he wanted to ask for the bones, but he was refused by the late emperor."
As if he remembered something, the smile on Sima Yi's face disappeared, replaced by a look of emotion:
"Now Mr. Lu has just turned sixty, how can An claim to be old? Moreover, the country is in crisis, and it is when the Wei Dynasty needs upright old ministers like Mr. Lu the most!"
When Lu Yu heard the first half, he wanted to laugh with Sima Yi, but when he heard the second half, his face suddenly darkened!
"You are harming the country!"
Sima Yi seemed to be thinking what Lu Yu was thinking. He drank the wine in the glass, placed the glass heavily on the table, and sighed longly:
"A villain is ruining the country! If it weren't for the villain in the court, why would Mr. Lu be like this? And why would I drag this sick and disabled body to fight against the strong thieves?"
Having said this, Sima Yi held Lu Yu's hand and said with some emotion:
"Gong Lu and I are not far apart in age, and we have served Emperor Wu for the same period of time. We, the old ministers, have conquered the world with Emperor Wu, and established our empire with Emperor Wen."
"But now, I am being bullied by those backward people. Watching them ruin the foundation of the Wei Dynasty, every time I think about this, it hurts my bones!"
"Gong Lu, the foundation of the Wei Dynasty is also due to the hard work of veterans like us! How can we have the shame to go to see Emperor Wu under the yellow soil soon?"
Sima Yi's emotional words immediately moved Lu Yu.
What he experienced in Xuchang made him full of grievances and dissatisfaction.
At this time, provoked by Sima Yi's words, he couldn't help but burst into tears:
"Emperor Wu, if you know anything under the yellow soil, take a look at Wei Dynasty!"
As soon as the two of them started crying, everyone present, whether it was true or false, all cried silently.
Just when Sima Yi and others were crying loudly, there was a burst of rapid footsteps at the door of the hall.
Everyone was startled by the sound of footsteps. Many people quickly stopped crying and looked up, wanting to see who it was that dared to be so presumptuous at the Grand Tutor's banquet.
But I saw an old woman striding in with a dusty face.
The old woman looked to be in her fifties, and her clothes looked a little dirty from the long journey.
But no one here dared to look down upon him, and instead stood up one after another.
The woman's eyes were sharp, and she saw Sima Yi sitting next to Lu Yu at a glance, and asked with a sad face:
"You know everything?"
When Sima Yi saw the woman, he was so shocked that he quickly let go of Lu Yu's arm, stood up and stared at her blankly:
"What?"
It turned out that this old woman was none other than Zhang Chunhua, Taifu Sima's first wife.
Zhang Chunhua wiped away tears:
"You are crying here. Don't you already know about Ziyuan (Sima Shi)?"
Seeing his wife who was originally in Luoyang suddenly appear here, and then hearing her mention her son Sima Shi, Sima Yi, who had always been calm, suddenly panicked.
In his subconscious, he refused to think further about the matter and just asked numbly:
"Zi Yuan? What happened to Zi Yuan?"
Zhang Chunhua did not answer, but fell to the ground and burst into tears.
Sima Yi's body shook, then he fell down and sat down. His eyes were dull and he was silent for a long time.
Everyone here was at a loss.
Lu Yu, who was sitting next to Sima Yi, looked at the Taifu and his wife. One was crying and the other was dumbfounded.
He seemed to have guessed something and sighed softly: "Master?"
This sound finally brought Sima Yi back to his senses. He looked at Zhang Chunhua who was crying with dull eyes, then looked at Lu Yu, and said in a solemn voice:
"Mr. Lu, am I drunk?"
Lu Yu couldn't bear to speak.
Sima Yi received no response, and a look of despair gradually appeared in his eyes.
In his ears, a familiar voice came:
"Why are you drunk? Ziyuan, Ziyuan has died of his injuries. He's gone!"
This sentence finally shattered Sima Yi's last glimmer of hope.
"Zi Yuan! My son!"
Sima Yi just shed tears when he talked about state affairs.
But this time, he burst into tears all at once, and his beard was soon covered with shiny, sticky water.
"Son, my son..."
Sima Yi cried and beat his chest hard, and finally almost died and fainted to the ground.
This banquet broke up unhappy because of the arrival of Zhang Chunhua.
When Sima Yi woke up, he found that he was already lying on the couch.
The clothes on his body were changed into comfortable pajamas, and his face and beard must have been carefully cleaned, making him feel clean and refreshed.
Only one person can do this to make his whole body feel so comfortable the moment he wakes up.
This person is definitely not Zhang Chunhua, the main wife.
It is Mrs. Ji Concubine who is the most favored by Sima Yi at the moment.
"Alang, are you awake?"
Along with the soft voice, Sima Yi smelled his favorite spice, which was also the scent of Mrs. Bai's body.
"How long have I slept?"
Sima Yi asked.
"I slept for nearly ten hours," Mrs. Bai bent down, gently picked up Sima Yi's head, and then placed a soft velvet cushion under Sima Yi's head.
"Alang, would you like to drink some hot soup to warm your stomach?"
"okay."
After drinking and sleeping for such a long time, Sima Yi felt that his body was indeed a little weak.
A few mouthfuls of hot soup not only warms the body, but also warms the heart.
This is why he dotes on Mrs. Bai.
Not only is she beautiful and gentle, she is also considerate. She will prepare everything she wants in advance without saying anything.
Hey, as people age, they need the most consideration and comfort, and it is also the hardest to resist such consideration and comfort.
Especially when he was bereaved, Sima Yi felt that only with Mrs. Bai could he ease his grief.
But this warmth was soon broken by a voice:
"Is Alang awake? How do you feel? Is it okay?"
Listening to this series of sounds, Sima Yi frowned.
Zhang Chunhua, who entered the room, also saw the scene in the room.
I remembered that my son was seriously injured because of this man who was sent to lead the army, and he could not be saved in the end.
And what about him?
Hiding in Yecheng and enjoying the blessings!
When he arrived the day before yesterday, he was drinking and having fun with others.
I just woke up today and am enjoying the beauty again.
Zhang Chunhua was already emotionally unstable due to the pain of losing his son.
It's just that she is not an ordinary woman, so she can still barely control herself.
But everything she saw in front of her completely shattered her psychology and made her scream uncontrollably:
"Sima Zhongda, how can you be a father?"
"An animal loses its son, but it cries out in sorrow. You are worse than an animal!"
Sima Yi was shocked and angry when Zhang Chunhua scolded him like this: "What are you talking about!"
While he was talking, he was about to stand up. Unexpectedly, he felt that the world was spinning just halfway.
"Alang, are you okay?"
Mrs. Bai saw that Sima Yi's expression was not right and she quickly hugged him.
Who would have expected that Mrs. Bai's action would make Zhang Chunhua add fuel to the fire:
"What Alang, you bitch, you can call me Alang?"
Sima Yi leaned in Mrs. Bai's arms, stretched out his fingers and pointed tremblingly at Zhang Chunhua, and shouted as if he had exhausted all his strength:
"Get out, get out of here! I don't want to see an old thing like you!"
"You are not allowed to set foot here without my permission in the future!"
Zhang Chunhua didn't know whether he was frightened by Sima Yi, or he didn't expect him to say such words, so he was stunned for a moment.
Seeing her like this, Sima Yi felt a flash of regret in his heart, but when he saw that flabby and aging face, he felt bored again:
"You old thing, you are really disgusting. Just take good care of yourself. I don't need to bother you to come and see me."
When Zhang Chunhua heard this, he was immediately ashamed, angry and angry. He glanced at Sima Yi and Mrs. Bai with cannibalistic eyes, turned around and left bitterly.
"Alang, are you acting like this? How about I go and apologize to the queen?"
After Zhang Chunhua left, Mrs. Bai finally dared to speak, and asked carefully with a pale face.
"What does this matter have to do with you? Why are you apologizing?"
Sima Yi lay in Mrs. Bai's arms, closed his eyes, and said slowly, "Don't worry about that old thing."
"But, but Ziyuan..."
"I have my own plans regarding Ziyuan, so don't worry about it."
Sima Yi opened his eyes, but there was no focus in them:
"Luoyang is the capital of the Wei Dynasty. Now it is under the attack of the Western bandits. Yecheng is the place where the Wei Dynasty was founded. Although there are natural dangers in Taihang, who can guarantee that the Western bandits can be stopped?"
"It's a shame that the country is in such danger, but there are still some people in the Wei Dynasty who put their own interests first and ignore foreign thieves who are oppressing the country. However, they regard me as a life-or-death enemy."
"Now, my son leads the army to fight against thieves and is seriously injured and dies. Who dares to say that I have ulterior motives?"
Having said this, Sima Yi closed his eyes again and sighed longly:
"Zi Yuan is gone. What's the point of crying my eyes out? It's better to let go of my sorrow and think about how to protect my family and the country."
Mrs. Bai lowered her head, looked at Sima Yi's sad, tired and old face, and couldn't help but ask:
"Alang, isn't there a better way?"
"What?"
"Western thief, isn't there a better way in the Han Kingdom?"
Sima Yi opened his eyes suddenly, his eyes sharp, but soon they disappeared, and he even closed his eyes again: "No, at least not yet."
"You saw the banquet the day before yesterday. They were all from the big families in Hebei. There are also people in the south who have high hopes for me."
Now let’s not talk about wiping out the Western bandits. Even if we just hope to stop the Western bandits and stop them from advancing eastward, we already have so many families supporting us.
And what about yourself?
Even my son got involved.
If you just give up halfway, it won't make the world laugh.
Just those who support me, how much they have high hopes for themselves now, will hate themselves in the future.
Even though Sima Yi was very cunning, he couldn't help but feel a little frightened when he thought about the consequences of the backlash from the powerful clans in Guandong.
He has no way out.
From the moment we entered Yecheng, there was no way out.
Until the moment when there is no hope at all, the great clans of Guandong behind the Sima clan will never let themselves give up.
"Then, Luoyang is so dangerous, why not let me come to Yecheng? This will also make Madam feel at ease."
"No need."
Sima Yi flatly refused: "I said, I have my own plan."