As a member of an aristocratic family, Sima Yi certainly hopes that the aristocratic family can enjoy everything from generation to generation without change.
But from the position of the Lord of Hebei, he hoped that this kind of thing would not happen so quickly.
At least not now.
Especially when a powerful enemy is pressing down on the country, we can only consider protecting Hebei first before considering other things.
Different identities lead to different perspectives on issues.
Sima Yi understood that there was only one way to stop Taotie from eating, and that was... to kill it.
But he understood better that the Sima clan was also a part of Taotie. If he really wanted to kill Taotie, wouldn't it mean that... I would kill myself?
This is a tightly knotted cycle.
Sima Yi thought of this and sighed deeply.
At this time, he even couldn't help but feel envious of Zhuge Liang and Feng Yonglai.
You can attack the aristocratic family without any scruples, and Shunchang will perish.
Thinking back to the beginning, Wei Dynasty prospered because of the support of the aristocratic family, and Ji Han declined because of the separation of the aristocratic family.
Nowadays, it is the other way around. Ji Han prospered because there were no constraints from aristocratic families, while Da Wei became weak because there were no constraints from aristocratic families.
Could it be that this is where it starts and ends?
Looking at the Taifu sighing again, and then looking at the Taifu's face that had become old and haggard, Fu Gu felt the same deep sigh in his heart.
Since following Sima Yi, he had rarely seen the Taifu lose his temper like this before.
But recently, he has seen more and more.
More than ever before.
In the past, the gentle and elegant Sima Taifu who was always calm and confident in situations became increasingly rare.
In his early years, Fu Gu was the Minister of the Huangmen, but he was demoted because he couldn't stand the Three Dogs of Taichung. He took the initiative to resign. In the end, he was personally invited by Sima Yi to serve as the Minister of the Palace.
It can be said that he was the first group of talents to follow Sima Yi since Sima Yi broke with Cao Shuang.
At the same time, he was also one of the people most trusted by Sima Yi.
Seeing the Taifu looking like this, Fu Gu couldn't bear it and whispered:
"Master, I have an idea."
"Oh? Lan Shi has any ideas, but please tell me."
Sima Yi probably felt that he had lost his composure just now, so he cheered up and asked.
"Did the Master forget that there are still 50,000 Huqi in Hebei?"
When Sima Yi heard this, his face was calm, but he glanced at Fu Gu in surprise, but did not answer the words. After a while, he twitched the corner of his mouth and smiled:
"Lan Shi, this is not your style."
Of course Sima Yi understood what Fu Gu was talking about. In fact, he had already imagined the worst case scenario before the other party came back from the plains.
Naturally, I also considered how to use these 50,000 Huqi.
Compilation is definitely necessary, but how to do it is debatable.
One way is to trap them until they are hungry enough and then show them favors.
It is also a method to release them, arouse public anger, and then use the power of public anger to control them to life or death.
The former is not well controlled and can easily backfire.
The latter is not well controlled and can easily lead to disaster.
"Tai Tuo, please obey the emergency. Protecting Hebei is not only for Tai Fu himself, but also to protect their family business."
Fu Gu's eyes were filled with anger and fierceness, "How could you not want to contribute, but also want to keep the enemy at bay and keep your family business?"
Sima Yi had a look of interest on his face, but he still shook his head and said:
"It's inappropriate, it's inappropriate. If anyone knew about it, I'd probably lose people's hearts a lot."
After a pause, he looked at Fu Gu again, and said in a somewhat meaningful tone, "And the Hu Qi who obeys those two children now is only twenty thousand..."
"Taifu, this matter is known to heaven and earth. You know it and I know it. How can it be known to others?"
Fu Gu still urged, "How many Hu Qi are unwilling to obey the orders of the Taifu? Shouldn't the Taifu have the final say?"
Taifu Sima lowered his eyes, covered his cloudy eyes, and said nothing.
There was silence in the room.
At this moment, another servant came to report:
"Taifu, Tuoba Xilu has come to see you again."
Hearing this name, the two people in the room couldn't help but look at each other.
——
The scorching sun was in the sky, but Tuoba Xulu was neatly dressed and stood respectfully in the courtyard, motionless, waiting for Sima Yi's call.
At this time, Tuoba Xulu no longer had the arrogance of the prairie eagle.
The clothes on the body are no longer the Hu clothes with the left fold, but the Han clothes with the skirts turned to the right.
And it's not the kind of light everyday clothes, it's the kind of fancy clothes worn only on grand occasions.
The thick Chinese clothes wrapped Tuoba Xulu's whole body tightly, causing sweat to pour from his face, and a large piece of the clothes on his back was also soaked with sweat.
Even so, Tuoba Xulu's body still didn't sway at all, and his legs seemed to have taken root.
There wasn't even a hint of impatience on his face.
He didn't know how long he had waited, but Tuoba Xulu, who was dizzy from the sun, saw a servant walking towards him in a daze.
"Tuoba Langjun, the master has invited me."
Tuoba Xulu, who was already a little delirious from the sun, didn't hear clearly what his servants were saying.
He just said that he would have to run in vain again today, he just bowed to him out of habit and turned around to leave.
After taking two steps, he suddenly reacted, turned around suddenly, and said in a low voice:
"Taifu, Taifu wants to see me?"
The servant, who was a little confused and even a little stunned by Tuoba Xulu's actions, finally realized:
"Of course Taifu wants to see Mr. Tuoba."
"Oh, oh!" Tuoba Xilu was extremely disappointed, and when he heard the news, he was so happy that he almost burst into tears:
"Please, please! Thank you, thank you!"
It was even a bit incoherent.
"Mr. Sir, please come with me."
Following the servants to a side hall, Tuoba Xilu had just come in from the outside and had not yet adapted to the inside. He could only vaguely see a familiar figure sitting above, and he immediately prostrated on the ground:
"Tuoba Xilu, a foreign barbarian, pays homage to the Grand Tutor!"
After shouting, he walked a few steps on his knees, cried loudly and begged:
"Master Taifu, please lend me some food to save my people!"
After finishing speaking, he kowtowed repeatedly and made a "dong-dong" sound.
"Oh, Prince Tuoba, what are you doing? Get up, get up quickly!"
Taifu Sima remained motionless, but the words coming out of his mouth were full of surprise and surprise.
Tuoba Xilu turned a deaf ear and kept kowtowing.
Soon, his forehead became red and swollen.
"Okay, okay, why is it like this? Lan Shi, go and help Prince Tuoba up."
There was a sound of footsteps, and someone helped Tuoba Xulu and said at the same time:
"Prince Tuoba, if you have something to say, please speak it clearly. How can Taifu talk to you if you act like this?"
After Tuoba Xulu heard this, he dared to get up.
By this time, blood was already streaming from his forehead.
This shows how hard he kowtowed.
Tuoba Xulu didn't dare to wipe it off and let the blood flow down. He just continued to plead with tears streaming down his face:
"Master, my people haven't had enough to eat for a long time. If we continue like this, we will starve to death."
"Please, Master, lend me some food to save my people..."
At this time, Taifu Sima was no longer as embarrassed as before. He calmly picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then slowly said:
"I have already known Prince Tuoba's purpose of coming."
Tuoba Xulu raised his head and looked at Sima Yi with hope.
A few months ago, Taifu Sima had solemnly comforted himself, telling him not to worry too much about the future of his people.
He also promised himself that as long as he could defeat the Han army this time, he would help him return to the grassland and rebuild the Tuoba clan.
At the beginning, the other party did deliver enough food and grass on time and in the right amount.
However, the good times did not last long, and began to gradually delay. Then, after repeated urging, the amount of food delivered was insufficient.
It's just that now I and others have nowhere to go, so they have to live under someone else's roof, and there are heavy troops stationed around Yecheng.
Not to mention, the remaining 50,000 troops of the Tuoba clan were unknowingly separated by people, making it difficult to communicate with each other.
To this day, in addition to the Tuoba headquarters, more than 10,000 people are still loyal to him.
Tuoba Xilu was not sure how many of the other tribe leaders were willing to obey his orders.
Under the various methods of Taifu Sima, the dignified grassland warriors did not dare to make any move. They could only come alone and beg Taifu to allocate food and grass to save the lives of their clansmen.
"Only Prince Tuoba also knows that the Han army is attacking urgently to the west of the Taihang Mountains, and Hebei must give preferential treatment to supply grain and grass to the soldiers in front."
Taifu Sima sighed, "Therefore, these days, I have no choice but to show slightness to your department."
Having said this, he raised his sleeves and covered his face, "Prince Tuoba came to my house several times. I didn't miss him on purpose, but it was just that I didn't have the face to meet him."
Putting down his sleeves, Master Sima sighed again, pointed at Fu Gu, and continued:
"Actually, I have already tried my best to prepare food and fodder for your department earlier."
"This Master Fu just came back from Pingyuan County. He was following my order to borrow food from the major families in Hebei..."
Having said this, he paused for a moment, seeming embarrassed, "How about I ask this Fu to tell you how he went to borrow food."
Hearing that the Grand Tutor had sent someone to borrow food for him, Tuoba Xilu felt happy and looked at Fu Gu longingly, trembling his lips:
"Fu Zhang, thank you very much..."
Fu Gu smiled bitterly and waved his hand:
"Don't thank me in a hurry. Although I am going to help your department borrow food, alas, nothing can be done..."
Seeing Fu Gu's expression and hearing these words again, Tuoba Xilu's heart, which had just risen from the bottom of the valley, suddenly fell back to the bottom:
"Fu Zheng, what do you mean by this?"
Fu Gu immediately recounted what he had said to Taifu Sima before in detail, with slight changes.
There are nine lies and one truth, which is the most difficult to distinguish.
After Tuoba Xilu heard this, he couldn't help but burst into tears again:
"What should I do?"
Then he turned to Taifu Sima and begged with tears:
"Master Taifu, my people accepted Taifu's invitation and braved the cold to travel, but now they have a family and it's hard to return. Taifu can't just ignore us!"
"Uh-huh! What did Prince Tuoba say? When did I say I don't care?"
Master Sima finally stood up and walked to Tuoba Xulu. He wanted to help him up and said warmly:
"I am talking to you about this, don't I just want to explain to you that I am not ignoring you, but I am trying my best to prepare food and grass for you?"
Tuoba Xilu, however, refused to get up and knelt in front of Taifu Sima. He raised his head pitifully and said:
"But, didn't Tai Tu say that there is a shortage of food and grass now, and those big households are unwilling to borrow food, what should we do?"
Taifu Sima did not answer immediately, but glanced at Fu Gu.
Fu Gu understood, stretched out his hand and together with Sima Taifu, pulled Tuoba Xilu up, and said:
"Actually, before Prince Tuoba came, Taifu and I had discussed it for a long time, and finally figured out the reason why they were unwilling to borrow food."
"The taxes in various places in Hebei are fixed. My going to borrow grain this time is no different from increasing taxes to those high-ranking families, so they are naturally unwilling."
"Therefore, I'm afraid we won't be able to come forward with this matter again." At this point, Fu Gu's eyes became meaningful, "But Prince Tuoba is different."
Tuoba Xulu was confused and looked at a loss:
"I don't understand what Fu Cheng means by this."
Fu Gu explained patiently with a smile:
"Prince Tuoba just said that your ministry is here to defend Hebei. Those wealthy families have been protected by your ministry, but now they refuse to reward them with food. It seems a bit disrespectful."
"So if Prince Tuoba brings people to borrow food in person, it might be much better than us coming in person."
Tuoba Xulu's breathing immediately became rapid, and some instincts in his body seemed to be ready to activate.
But in the past few months, he had finally been teased by Taifu Sima so much that he subconsciously looked at Taifu Sima and said:
"Isn't this not good?"
Taifu Sima is the lord of Hebei, would he really tolerate him doing this?
Master Sima said with a kind smile:
"Has Prince Tuoba ever heard the story of Yufuluo, the former Huns?"
Tuoba Xilu had a look of shame on his face: "I have only heard of his name, but I don't know much about him."
"Yufluo was originally the son of the Xiongnu Chanyu. He led his people into the Han Dynasty to help the later Han Dynasty quell the rebellion. Unexpectedly, his father Qiangqu Chanyu was killed, so Yufuluo could only stay in the Han Dynasty and was not allowed to return to the country."
Sima Yi briefly explained to Tuoba Xilu the old events of the Huns sixty years ago, "Speaking of which, there are many similarities between his and Tuoba Xilu's experiences."
"At that time, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was critically ill and had no time to deal with the affairs of the Xiongnu. Therefore, Yufuluo and his tribe had no way out and no food and clothing, so they raised food on their own in Taiyuan, Hedong and other counties."
Of course, there are many manors and forts of aristocratic families in Hedong and other places. Yu Fuluo cannot plunder anything at all, but instead damages the army. Taifu Sima will not tell Tuoba Xilu about this.
This was one of the reasons why he finally listened to Fu Gu.
As long as the number of tribesmen brought out by Tuoba Xilu is controlled, and given the Hebei family's ability to protect themselves, these Xianbei barbarians will probably not cause too much harm.
And the Xianbei Hu people's movement and chaos can frighten the aristocratic families in Hebei.
After all, Taifu Sima has managed to stabilize most of the Xianbei barbarians.
But if food and grass continue to be insufficient, who can guarantee that the remaining Hu people will continue to listen to the Taifu?
Right?
——
Tuoba Xilu returned to his residence from Taifu's Mansion, his expression was still a little dazed, as if he still hadn't come back to his senses.
Tuoba Chuo, who had been looking forward to it all this time, felt a chill in his heart when he saw his second brother in this state.
However, these days, the two brothers have repeatedly asked to see him, but they have never been able to see Taifu Sima, and Tuoba Chuo has become accustomed to it.
He comforted:
"Second brother, it doesn't have to be like this, the worst is next time..."
Before he finished speaking, Tuoba Xulu said:
"Brother, I met Taifu."
"Ah?" Tuoba Chuosheng swallowed back his unfinished words, "Brother, have you met the Taifu? Why is it like this? Could it be that the Taifu has rejected my brother's request?"
"It's true, but it doesn't count as rejection?" Tuoba Xulu didn't know what to say, so he explained the matter in detail.
After Tuoba Chuo heard this, his first reaction was: "Brother, is there a scam in this?"
Let others plunder your rule?
Isn't it strange that such abnormal things don't make people suspicious?
"Brother, we have retreated. This is our only chance."
Obviously, Tuoba Xilu also thought a lot on the way back, and his eyes flickered:
"We two brothers have been trapped here for several months. Recently, the number of adults from various tribes that we can see has become increasingly rare. Except for our own tribe, the Tuoba clan, all other tribes have not been seen for a long time."
"This time Sima Yi asked us to take people out. Regardless of whether it is a scam or not, this is our best chance."
"If not, if this continues, I'm afraid even our tribe members will have different intentions."
After Tuoba Chuo listened, he remained silent and finally nodded:
"Brother is right. Sima Yi has no good intentions, and we can't wait any longer. As long as we can get our troops back, we can act according to the opportunity after we go out."