Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 416. Nursery Rhyme
"Yuanzhi, let the spies and secret agents in Luoyang spread this."

Feng Xi strode into the office where Huang Quan, Xu Shu and Ma Liang were. Ma Liang had been inspecting Jingnan to see how Jingnan was recovering, and he had just returned.

"Xiu Yuan, what have you thought of now? Didn't you just report to His Majesty that you wanted to sail east to Izu and Wadao?"

Seeing that Feng Xi seemed to have come up with another idea, Ma Liang hurried forward like an old woman to persuade him.

"Hey, Ji Chang, this is a good thing, a very good thing. If it goes well, maybe we can cut off Cao Wei's arm, or even half of his body."

Feng Xi smiled. Ma Liang has always been steady and conservative, and doesn't like to cause trouble. However, he is not a pedantic person. After evaluating the risks, he will not stop it if it makes sense.

"Let me see first..."

Xu Shu took the four-folded rice paper from Feng Xi's hand. When he opened it, there were dozens of scattered words on it, written neatly. However, Xu Shu frowned at first, then fell into deep thought, and then raised his eyebrows. He had mixed emotions towards the note from Feng Xi, just like a Sichuan opera face-changing.

"Xiu Yuan, what did you write? It can make Mr. Yuanzhi's expression change so much."

Although Huang Quan was still working at his desk, he had secretly diverted half of his attention to eavesdrop on the conversation between the three people. He secretly glanced at Xu Shu's interesting expression and couldn't help but become curious.

Everyone can see the ability of Mr. Xu Yuanzhi. He has outstanding military and political abilities, and he is not a difficult person to get along with. Therefore, both Huang Quan and Ma Liang get along very well with him.

Xu Shu shook his head, stood up, and handed the paper in his hand to Huang Quan. Huang Quan picked up the paper and said "Huh" when he saw the words on it. Then he read it carefully. He was confused at first, then he seemed to remember something, thought about it, and then looked tangled, shook his head, and sighed.

Seeing the expressions of Huang Quan and Xu Shu, Ma Liang also became curious, so he walked over and picked up the paper in Huang Quan's hand and started reading it. It was not a long article, just four sentences:
“Three horses, busy at the trough;

The horse is not a horse, the trough is not a trough;
The grass is green, how confused;
A well-fed horse walks on the clouds;”

This is just a nursery rhyme typical of the late Han Dynasty. There are only twenty-four words in four sentences, and it is quite catchy to read.

“A horse is not a horse, and a trough is not a trough?”

Ma Liang always felt that this sentence was familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. Fortunately, Ma Liang's brain was still very useful, and he immediately remembered an incident mentioned in the "Secret Stories" which specialized in the lower three routes and some "wild routes" two years ago.

When Cao Cao was still alive, he dreamed of three horse feeding troughs. He thought it was so strange that he woke up from his dream.

Ma Liang looked at the paper in his hand again. It was basically a nursery rhyme based on the unofficial history.

Nursery rhymes were quite important in the late Han Dynasty. The most famous one was "The grass is so green a thousand miles away. Ten days of divination means no life." It hinted at Dong Zhuo's fate.

So Feng Xi wanted to use this method to give Sima Yi, who had not yet made a name for himself, some surprises. Although Sima Yi had a small reputation within Cao Wei, he was not so noticeable. When he entered the government, he did cause a small stir. There was no one else who dared to be arrogant and claim illness in front of Cao Cao. However, he later reported to Cao Cao honestly, which made people remember him.

The reason why it became popular again was because Feng Xi deliberately spread the story of the three horses feeding the trough. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango, and everyone's logic tends to be that humans will not murder a person who has nothing to do with their own interests for no reason.

The same was true for Sima Yi. After all, Sima Yi was not a high-ranking official or one who controlled a large number of troops at that time. There were many people in the court who were of higher status than him, so no one would believe that the Han Dynasty went to such great lengths to discredit such an ordinary official.

Coupled with some information occasionally leaked from the palace and other insiders, the authenticity of the matter was confirmed, resulting in Sima Yi not only being often stared at with strange eyes, but even Cao Pi no longer trusts him as much as he did before he ascended the throne, and no longer asks him for advice first on all matters, big or small.

Sima Yi is now living in seclusion, avoiding the limelight. No matter how you look at it, Ji Han shouldn't be targeting him. But even Huang Quan and Ma Liang think so, don't other people think so too? That just happened to be what Feng Xi wanted.

Feng Xi did not persecute Sima Yi for no reason, it's just that even if he told others his reasons, no one would believe him. The world is so strange.

"Xiu Yuan, does Sima Yi owe you money, or does he have a grudge against you? Why are you targeting him so much?"

Huang Quan shook his head, came to his senses, and looked at Feng Xi with a somewhat strange expression. Feng Xi really wanted to kill Sima Yi. If the target of this nursery rhyme was known, wouldn't it mean that the Sima family would devour the Cao family and replace them?

This is truly heartbreaking.

Feng Xi was so cruel that it was hard not to believe that he had some grudge or even hatred with Sima Yi. How could a normal person be so cruel to a stranger?

"There is no hatred or resentment. It's just that as the older generation of Cao family, such as Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren and other pillars of the family slowly die, it is inevitable that the younger generation, such as Sima Yi, will take the throne. According to my observation and analysis, Sima Yi is a man of great ambition, outstanding talent, and a sunny and vicious person. In the past, when Cao Pi had not yet been designated as the heir by Cao Cao, most people were optimistic about Cao Zhi, but Sima Yi was the only one who worked wholeheartedly for Cao Pi.

Later, when Cao Pi usurped the throne, Sima Yi, as the main culprit, quietly hid behind Hua Xin and others, pushing them to the front while hiding himself behind the scenes. This shows that he was a thoughtful person and was definitely a man with great plans. "

Feng Xi seriously worked backwards from the conclusion. As long as he knew in advance what Sima Yi would do in the future, all his current behaviors could be used to predict the future.

In this way, what Feng Xi said sounded like the truth.

"Xiu Yuan's words are true. Sima Yi has a sharp eye. Before, everyone persuaded Cao Pi to let Cao Ren, who was stationed in Xiangyang and Fancheng at that time, burn the city and return to defend Nanyang, leaving Jingzhou to the Han Dynasty and the Eastern Wu to fight. Only Sima Yi believed that no matter which side was unable to invade the Xiangyang area in the north, and insisted that Cao Ren should not withdraw his troops.

But Cao Pi ordered Cao Ren to retreat.

Xu Shu also joined in the conversation. Although he was a nobody in the court, he remembered clearly what happened in the daily court meetings. He naturally saw Sima Yi's performance and ability, so he could understand Feng Xi's deliberate suppression.

"That's right. There is one more important thing to do..."

Feng Xi laughed sinisterly twice. How could it be possible to plan for Sima Yi alone?
(End of this chapter)