Wei Ni

The sky was gray, with sporadic snowflakes drifting in the wind. The distant scenery became blurry in Shi Bao's eyes.

This vague feeling of not being able to see what was ahead also spread into his heart.

The Sima family is the most prestigious and powerful family in the Wei State today, and Xiahou Hui is the most outstanding among the Xiahou Caos, so Sima Shi paid extra attention to Xiahou Hui.

Therefore, Shi Bao also knew that he had been passively involved in the vortex of power before he even went to the capital to take up his post.

A blessing in disguise! The ancients were right.

However, this is inevitable. If a humble person wants fame and fortune, how can he not pay a price?
The most important thing is that Zhu Xiahou and Cao did not support him!

Thinking of this, Shi Bao also relaxed his thoughts and broke the silence by saying, "Hey, no one knows what will happen to him in the future, so why should you and I worry about it? Besides, no matter what Zhiquan wants, this petition to ask for pardon and imprisonment is a good thing after all. Perhaps, in the near future, Ziyuan can embark on a career in officialdom to display his talents and realize his ambitions."

"Oh?"

Sima Shi asked with a smile, "Why is Zhongrong so sure that Your Majesty will do what Zhiquan wants?"

"Ziyuan, why are you asking this question when you already know the answer?"

Shi Bao also smiled and replied, "Since Dong Si Tu has passed away, whether to relax the ban on the past case of extravagance is up to your majesty. Now, Xiahou Zhiquan has submitted a petition to ask for a pardon, but your majesty not only did not reject it, but asked the officials in the court to reconsider it. From this, we can roughly know your majesty's intention. Or, your majesty is thinking of Xiahou Zhiquan who has just returned from a great victory in the battle against Liaodong, so you are reluctant to reject his request and want the officials to refute it. However, after the reconsideration, the officials still cannot reach a consensus, which is called impracticable. If your majesty has no intention of pardoning him, you should let Zhiquan go with the flow and let him stop arguing with you. But now you have temporarily put the matter on hold and left it undecided. In this way, your intention is still unclear!"

"Seeing the big picture from the small details, Zhongrong has this saying!"

Sima Shi praised him highly, and then changed the subject, "However, I don't want to seek a pardon from my official career."

Hearing this, Shi Bao was silent for a moment.

Did he feel that he was the son of a general, and therefore the military merits he gained as an aide would lead to criticism from others for "taking credit for his father's achievements"?

Or was it that this move was instigated by Xiahou Hui, so he neither wanted to nor cared to do it?

After hesitating for a moment, Shi Bao was about to ask his doubts in the most tactful way possible, but Sima Shi took the lead.

"It's freezing cold, so let's send Zhongrong here. When spring comes, we can drink and chat happily in the capital and sleep together."

He said this and bowed to say goodbye. Without waiting for Shi Bao to react, he mounted his horse and rode away.

This only made Shi Bao stunned for a moment, then he laughed at himself and stopped.

What he didn't know was that the reason why Sima Shi left in a hurry was not to keep things mysterious or to leave suspense or because he didn't want to reveal his feelings, but because he had already got the answer he wanted.

This conversation was actually his attempt to test Shi Bao's intentions, and also to implicitly inform Shi Bao of the Sima family's position.

This man, who came from a humble background and was able to enter the Shangshutai with the help of the Sima family's power, knew what to do and which side to sit on after he went to the capital to take up his post. Otherwise, with his cunningness, how could he have accidentally let others "guess" his intentions without intention?
At the western end of Yangqu, there is a stone spring and pine forest.

On a rare sunny morning, the sun was not red but rather lightly yellow. The valley was filled with mist, and dark green pine forests and green and yellow bamboo forests dotted the snow-covered ground. The biting cold wind was tired of crying, and the slowly swaying bamboo leaves and pine needles outlined their shapes in the sun. Early birds stood on the ground to preen their feathers, and a few squirrels that did not have enough pine cones jumped in between, cautiously, unwilling to break the tranquility of this paradise.

Just a moment later, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came from far away.

After finally stopping, there was another louder sound of horse hooves fading away.

Little Quji, wrapped tightly in a white fox fur coat, stood in the courtyard, one hand held by Wang Yuanji, the other hand in his mouth, he looked at the five or six riders going farther and farther away with his head tilted, then looked sideways at the snowman that had only half of its body built, and finally he couldn't help but pouting and complaining to Wang Yuanji, "Father, you're lying!"

"Haha~"

Wang Yuanji withdrew her gaze, smiled softly, bent down and gently rubbed little Quji's head, and comforted him, "Father didn't lie. There is something very important that I have to go back for. Don't be sad, Quji, father will be back the next day. Then he can help you build a snowman, okay?"

"Not good. Liar."

"Two in a pile?"

"not good."

"So, three?"

"okay."

The man whose horse's hooves trampled through the forest was Sun Lou, the steward who stayed in Luoyang City to look after the mansion. He brought a piece of news: Sikong Chen Qun, who had been lying on the sickbed for a long time, died on the 24th day of the twelfth month of winter.

Xiahou Hui was not surprised at the news.

As early as when he just returned to Luoyang, he had held a banquet and sent a visiting card to invite Chen Tai to reminisce about the past.

At that time, Chen Tai declined on the grounds that his father was seriously ill.

But no one expected that with only a few days left before the New Year, Sikong Chen Qun ended up being stuck in the fourth year of Qinglong, just like Situ Dong Zhao.

Xiahou Hui, who was riding his horse at full speed to pay his respects, had an expressionless face, which gradually became dim as he rode in silence.

Within a year, two of the three dukes were removed.

This means that it is a foregone conclusion that Sima Yi, the Grand Marshal who is still stationed in Chang'an, will return to Luoyang in the spring.

Or perhaps, the imperial edict summoning him back to the court arrived in Chang'an together with the Sikong obituary.

Although the previous situation and various signs had indicated that Grand Marshal Sima Yi would return to the court soon, Xiahou Hui became a little worried now that a date had been suddenly set.

Not fear.

But when the time came, I suddenly realized that I was not adequately prepared.

Both psychologically and structurally.

Yeah, how could he be fully prepared?
Sima Yi's age, resume, reputation and power far exceeded his; not to mention that Sima Yi was the only one left among the four ministers who had assisted the late emperor in governing the country.

Among all the officials in the court, no one could match him.

He was the undisputed hope of the imperial court, and all the noble families in the world followed his lead.

Previously, Xiahou Hui angrily rebuked the Minister Wu Zhi in the court and stopped him from demoting Sikong Chen Qun and praising Sima Yi. However, after several years, things returned to the starting point.

Would Emperor Cao Rui be alert to this and label him as a "minister of the country"?
Xiahou Hui thought it was unlikely.

What made him even more frustrated was that he found it difficult to do it himself.

Although he knew that Sima Yi was now a loyal minister of Wei and a pillar of state, he also knew that Cao Rui was going further and further on the road of debauchery and indulgence in wine and women.
Who knows if the day will suddenly come when your body is drained away!
If it is true as history has shown, there would be countless people like Wu Zhi!

After all, Sima Yi, up to now, has been highly praised by both the court and the public, both as a person and as an official, and can be regarded as a model minister of the Wei State!
Even if Xiahou Hui wanted to do something, he didn't know where to start.

In other words, according to the original historical trajectory, if it were not for Cao Shuang's tyranny and perverse behavior, Sima Yi might have become a Wei minister who would be remembered by later generations for his loyalty and bravery.

But what if?
The bottom line is that "Wang Mang was humble and had not yet usurped the throne." No one can make a final judgment until he dies!
Xiahou Hui never dared to have any hope regarding the surname Sima.

Nowadays, people's hearts are no longer as they used to be. Just for half of Jingnan, those Jerrys in Jiangdong can show off their operation of crossing the river in white clothes. When it comes to testing the weight of the Wei Kingdom's tripod, what's impossible for Sima Yi to fart while pointing at the Luo River?

Or, in other words, history has already gone off track.

There should be no more Liu Fang and Sun Zi facilitating Cao Shuang and Sima Yi to be entrusted with the care of the orphans - even if there is still a change of care of the orphans, with Liu Fang and Sun Zi's kindness to Xiahou Hui, and his own accumulated achievements over the years, it would be too easy to replace Cao Shuang. As long as he is not as "good and simple" as Cao Shuang and believes in gentleman's agreements, even if Sima Yi wants to make some changes, he can't do anything to him.

However, he knew that he also had shortcomings, and Sima Yi could easily exploit these shortcomings.

The reason is that he has been moving too fast in recent years.

In order to get rid of his disadvantages in age and resume, he deliberately sought official positions and power, acted radically, and gradually became the sword of Emperor Cao Rui against the aristocratic families.

Moreover, it was Dao who was at odds with the children of Qiaopei and members of the royal family!

Don’t look at the policy of reforming the scholar family that was tried to be implemented in Huainan a few years ago. There seemed to be no opposition from the officials and ministers. That’s because it has not yet touched their fundamental interests.

Once the reform of the scholar-official family is fully implemented and the new policy involves the administration of officials and the selection of talents in local counties, it would be strange if they did not want to eat Xiahou Hui alive!
Therefore, his shortcoming lies in his lack of popularity.

The children of Qiao and Pei and members of the royal family, who should have been on a united front, chose to isolate and oppose him out of jealousy and power struggles. The aristocratic families who benefited from Cao Pi's enthronement slandered and attacked him because they did not want the power they had already controlled to be taken back.

In this case, how easy would it be for him to defeat Sima Yi, who was the hope of the court, while facing internal and external troubles?

Perhaps it's difficult to even suppress it a little.

Ultimately, it was because Emperor Cao Rui was too willful and irresponsible.

As the master of the country, when the empire was still divided into three parts and the prince was still young, he did not know how to cherish himself and indulged in debauchery and pleasure!

This did not give him, a man of foresight who was determined to prolong the life of the Wei State, enough time to prepare.

Of course, no matter how much you complain, you must not be discouraged.

Life is like a journey, always be prepared to face challenges.

Since your virtue and reputation cannot be compared with Sima Yi, and only by being a "knife" can you have a fighting chance in the future, then you should show your edge as soon as possible~
A knife that dares to kill people should at least be scary, right?
Coincidentally, when he went to pay his respects with such thoughts in mind, he actually had the opportunity to try out his sword.

Xiahou Hui did not go to Chen's house to pay his condolences until the next morning.

There was nothing he could do about it. Shiquan Pine Forest was quite far from Luoyang City, and the road was covered with snow. He hurried as hard as he could yesterday, but he could only enter the city before the Luoyang city gates closed.

For this reason, Ding Mi specifically mentioned it last night - since they have returned from Liaodong and their military power has been returned, should they live in the city's mansion in the future? In order to avoid any sudden incidents in the court, he would not be able to respond in time and calmly because the news was too slow to be transmitted.

Xiahou Hui agreed with this.

The treacherous situation in the government is no less than that on the battlefield. Often, just being one step slower or losing the opportunity can lead to an irreversible disaster.

Because the emperor issued an imperial decree to announce the death of the deceased as soon as he heard the news, the entire street where Chen's mansion was located was covered in mourning and the sound of weeping could be heard.

But there were not many carriages and horses coming and going.

After all, today is already the third day of the funeral. Among the officials or relatives and guests who are qualified to travel by carriage to pay their respects, few have learned the news as late as Xiahou Hui.

But the crowds of people coming and going remain.

The reputation of the famous Yingchuan family, Duke Changwen's integrity of never criticizing others, and his popularity in the central government for more than 20 years made countless low-level officials and scholars ignore the cold weather.

Looking at the endless stream of people, Xiahou Hui didn't want to ride his horse to attract more attention, so he simply dismounted at the intersection, told his men to watch carefully, and then walked slowly forward with the flow of people.

But after only walking twenty steps, he had to show off.

Among the several attendants sent by Emperor Cao Rui to assist in the funeral and maintain order outside the streets of the palace, someone recognized him.

They also hurried over to pay their respects, and spontaneously shouted in front to push aside the crowd and make way for him.

It made him seem like he came here to pay his respects on the orders of the emperor.

But, that's okay.

Although it is a bit disturbing, most people who are asked to give way think it is natural.

There is an order of hierarchy. Given Xiahou Hui's current position and achievements, it is only right for them to give way.

Of course, there will definitely be a few people who will feel dissatisfied.

Especially when he saw that behind Xiahou Hui, there were several troops led by Han Long following closely.

It was obvious at first glance that those warriors were not from the Central Plains, no matter their appearance or clothing - they had thick necks, bulging cheeks, quite obvious bow legs, were wrapped in animal skin coats and wearing crude deerskin boots, and there was a faint smell of mutton on their bodies. Needless to say, these were definitely the Hu people that Xiahou Hui brought back when he conquered Liaodong.

Is it the Xianbei outside the Great Wall? Or is it the Wuhuan who surrendered to the inner world?
The answer is not important. What is important is that, because of Xiahou Hui, they actually had to give way to these barbarians!
Therefore, when Xiahou Hui passed by, there were a few more resentful glances at his back.

Xiahou Hui didn't notice it, but one person noticed it. After he lowered his head and frowned and pondered for a moment, a smile with an ambiguous meaning appeared on the corner of his mouth.

With the palace attendants clearing the way, the people from the Chen residence who were standing at the door to greet the guests soon came over.

Judging from his age, attire and sad expression, he should be Chen Tai's cousin. After a few simple polite words, he led Xiahou Hui directly to the main hall of the mansion.

Although the Chen family of Yingchuan was a famous family, they were also known for their kindness and virtue. Their mansion was not spacious, so the side rooms on the corridors on both sides were simply equipped with a few seats, which were already basically full.

When Xiahou Hui passed by, many people couldn't help but stand up.

It was not Xiahou Hui's reputation that made others respect him, but the person they were surrounding - Xiahou Xuan, who stood up and saluted according to the etiquette of the younger generation.

No matter how long he had been deposed, Xiahou Xuan was still a famous scholar in the capital Luoyang and a leader of young scholars.

"I've met my clan uncle."

"Yes. You're welcome, Taichu."

This was not a place to reminisce about the past, so Xiahou Hui simply stopped to say a few words, motioned for Han Long to lead his troops to sit in the side room and wait, then nodded and said goodbye to Xiahou Xuan, continuing to head towards the main hall.

Similarly, Xiahou Xuan had no intention of starting a conversation.

It wasn't just the wrong occasion, but also because he had already stood on Cao Shuang's side.

It was inevitable that when Han Long led a few of his men into the side room and sat down, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and was slightly surprised.

Whether they were his followers or his personal guards, they were all servants and had no right to sit at the same table with these celebrities or court officials. Xiahou Hui's move was a subtle way of looking down on everyone present as servants.

He wasn't the only one feeling this way.

The other people present also did not try to hide the indignation on their faces.

However, after a brief moment of surprise, Xiahou Xuan continued to chat with others in a low voice with a calm expression.

No one would be stupid enough to cause trouble at the funeral of the current prime minister.

What's more, not long ago, his uncle Xiahou Ru had specifically instructed him to consider clan ties and remain neutral in the feud between Cao Shuang and Xiahou Hui.

He did not listen to this.

But he would not do anything to cause Xiahou Ru to write a letter to scold him over some trivial matter.

His calmness made it difficult for other people who were angry to get angry, so they simply turned a blind eye and ignored him.

Anyway, there is a constant stream of people coming to pay their respects, and there will be many people who come into the room to socialize and chat. It is possible that someone will be the first to step forward.

Their hunch was right.

Soon, as the seats in the wing room were full, the people who came later turned their attention to Xiahou Hui and his followers.

Be it a wedding or a funeral, as long as there are many court officials gathered, it will be regarded as a place for socializing. In this case, how could Xiahou Hui's followers occupy the seats?
Immediately, someone politely asked Han Long and his men to give up their seats.

They all made themselves look uninteresting.

Han Long didn't even bother to show basic courtesy. He just raised his head slightly, glanced at them and ignored them.

It's not that he, who comes from the frontier, doesn't know the difference between superiors and inferiors.

But he knew that he was Xiahou Hui's man and represented Xiahou Hui's face in public. If he stood up and gave up his seat timidly, wouldn't that be embarrassing for Xiahou Hui?
It is true that they are soldiers, and it is also true that they cannot compare with these celebrities or court officials in terms of status and position, but this is the Chen Mansion~
When Xiahou Hui asked them to take their seats, even the Chen family didn't say anything, so how could these people have the right to comment?
How can we give up our seats to them?

Besides, what if Xiahou Hui came over from the main hall and was planning to exchange a few words with others in the side room, but found out that his own subordinates had given up their seats on their own initiative?

What is this thing called?

Therefore, faced with such unreasonable requests, Han Long responded directly with rudeness.

Naturally, Han Long's behavior made the person who asked for his seat to be given up glare at him.

After all, those who could enter Chen's house to pay their respects had a certain status in Luoyang, but now they were despised and ignored by the subordinates who were no different from servants in public!

Even the others who had been sitting there and watching the show could not help but feel indignant.

They are putting themselves in the shoes of others.

For example, eunuchs would find it very offensive and infuriating to hear sarcastic remarks about men's impotence.
If they had not taken into account that making noise in today's occasion was extremely rude, they would have already attacked Xiahou Hui for his incompetence in controlling his subordinates and his followers for being arrogant and domineering, and even went to find the Chen family to drive Han Long and others out of the wing.

In today's world, there is no such thing as swallowing one's pride.

Just when everyone was indignant, a person who was not sitting down spoke up first and mentioned the customs of the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes outside the Great Wall, despising the barbarians as no different than beasts.

What about the barbarians outside the Great Wall who make peace at will and have no sense of shame, knowing their mother but not their father; what about wife-mother, wife-sister-in-law?
The story of the Chu people wearing a human crown and wearing a monkey's clothing was also mentioned.

Anyway, he openly called the monk a bald donkey in front of him.

This also attracted a murmur of agreement from the crowd.

Some people even offered him a seat as a gesture of respect for him for speaking out for everyone.

However, what these people who responded did not know was that this person had just given a strange smile to Xiahou Hui's back outside the street.

Xiahou Xuan, who was sitting in the Northern Palace, had already turned his head away and closed his eyes to rest.

No matter how much he disdained to sit at the same table with Han Long and his subordinates, it did not affect his dislike for such a trick of attracting attention.

Naturally, he wouldn't say anything to stop it.

At this moment, the faces of those soldiers were all red and their eyes were bloodshot.

As a frontier man who doesn't care about life and death, and a man of Yan and Zhao who values ​​revenge, how can I bear to be humiliated and laughed at in front of others? !
Yes, they are all Han people, not Xianbei or Wuhuan from outside the Great Wall.

It's just that he has been doing some capital-less business outside the Great Wall for many years, so he is used to dressing himself up as a barbarian.

So they became even more angry.

For a Han Chinese from Youzhou, there is no dirtier word than being called a barbarian, right?
Fortunately, Han Long, who used to be a spy, still retained his sanity.

Drawing his sword and killing those who humiliate him is what he wishes!

But he also knew that if he allowed his troops to settle scores in Sikong's mansion, it would bring endless trouble to Xiahou Hui.

Moreover, he had been with Xiahou Hui for a long time and knew Xiahou Hui's character very well. He was also determined to leave the matter to Xiahou Hui and would definitely give them a satisfactory answer.

"Don't act rashly, don't bring disaster to the general."

He whispered to the soldiers who had already placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, "When the general comes, I will not let this villain off!"

Despite their rage, several of the troops murmured in response.

He no longer glared at the person who insulted him, but turned his head to look towards the end of the corridor, hoping that Xiahou Hui would appear soon.

Xiahou Hui came out quite quickly.

Although he had a good personal relationship with Chen Tai, and even exchanged a few words with Chen Tai's uncle's family and the Xun family members who were helping with the funeral, in order not to disturb the host family too much and to leave time for other people, he came out of the main hall about a quarter of an hour after entering.

He walked slowly over there. He had no intention of staying in the corridor room. He was about to ask Han Long and the others to go back, but suddenly he found the atmosphere very strange.

Without waiting for him to ask, Han Long, who had already stood up, quickly told him what happened in a low voice.

The officials in the capital Luoyang actually lighted the lamp in the toilet? !

After glancing at Xiahou Xuan who was resting with his eyes closed without leaving a trace, Xiahou Hui looked at the colleague who was sitting proudly, and asked Ding Mi beside him in a light tone, "Does Yan Jing know this person?"

Ding Mi, who had a wide range of friends in the capital Luoyang, certainly knew the colleague who insulted his subordinates.

"I know him, but I have never made friends with him."

Hearing Xiahou Hui's question, Ding Mi turned his head and whispered, "That person is Shi Jian, with the courtesy name Linbo, from Leling Yanci, born in a humble family, and now serves as a Shangshu Lang. He has a good reputation in the scholar community, and is praised for his noble aspirations and fairness and uprightness, but for some reason today, he actually did something provocative to Zhiquan."

After saying this, he paused and then added, "This place is not ordinary. Even if Zhiquan wants to vent his anger, he must be careful not to attract criticism from the government."

"Yeah, I know."

Xiahou Hui nodded slightly, his tone somewhat cold.

When he heard the words "humble origin", he roughly guessed that this was not "accidental".

Just ask yourself, how could a person of humble origin dare to challenge me if he has no one to instruct or support him from behind?
You know, Xiahou Xuan was ashamed to sit at the same table with Mao Zeng, and he had his reasons!

Firstly, Mao Zeng himself was not good enough, and people in the court and the public felt that he was not worthy of sitting at the same table with Xiahou Xuan.

Another thing is that Xiahou Xuan was not only a native of Qiaopei, but his mother was also the sister of Cao Zhen. He was also the cousin of Emperor Cao Rui. How could Mao and Zeng be compared to him!
The difference between Shi Jian and Xiahou Hui is even greater.

It’s not just because Shi Jian is from a Shan family.

Let me put it this way, since the current emperor Cao Rui ascended the throne, he has only paid homage to the Taimiao twice.

One was to destroy the Xianbei leader Kebineng and restore the Hetao counties such as Yunzhong, Wuyuan, and Shuofang; the other was to destroy Liaodong Gongsun and restore the Haidong counties.

Needless to say, Xiahou Hui was the one who made the greatest contribution in defeating Gongsun of Liaodong, and no one in the court or the country had any objection.

Although the recovery of the Hetao counties was the result of Qin Lang's attack and killing of Ke Bineng and Tian Yu, and his subsequent pacification of the Xianbei and miscellaneous Hu tribes in the west, Xiahou Hui also made an equal contribution.

After all, he was the one who first proposed to revive Qian Zhao's legacy, offered suggestions to intensify the conflict between Kobinen and Budugen, planned to set an ambush at Shahukou in advance, and defeated the Xianbei reinforcements in Mobei.

If it weren't for Qin Lang's mischief, the credit should have gone to him as Tian Yu had reported.

In other words, he was the one who caused the emperor Cao Rui to report to the emperor twice. In Cao Rui's heart, even Qin Lang, Cao Zhao, Xiahou Xian and other members of the royal family and the children of Qiaopei had to look up to him. How could a person of humble origin dare to challenge him? !
Although the administration of Wei State was not very good, those who could serve as officials in the Shangshu Tai, the core of the imperial court, were definitely not unqualified people. Shi Jian, who came from a humble background, could be an official of the Shangshu Tai, so he must be talented. How could he not know that Xiahou Hui was currently in the emperor's favor and was not someone he could challenge?
If he simply wanted to gain fame and reputation, he wouldn't risk his future for it, right?

Therefore, there must be someone behind him directing and backing him up!

Even if he didn't use the issue of giving up his seat to insult Han Long and his men today, he would definitely find other reasons to provoke them in the future.

Xiahou Hui wanted to know who was behind Shi Jian and planned to force him out.

Because this juncture is too sensitive.

He had just returned from Liaodong, and although he had not yet been appointed to a new position, all the officials in the court could guess that Emperor Cao Rui would certainly not be stingy with his favor, and that he would be a new upstart in the court.

Therefore, if someone stepped forward to provoke him at this time, it must be a force above the government who wanted to take the opportunity to test the power of this upstart who was about to enter the government.

Well, it’s not about testing one’s character, but whether one’s political tactics are ruthless or not.

And use the results to measure how you will get along with him, such as friendship or resistance, opposition or win-win.

After all, the court is different from the military, and there are unwritten rules. No one will openly call for fighting and killing, but rather they emphasize killing without shedding blood. (End of this chapter)