Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 418. The whole city is in turmoil
"You guys go down first. I have something to say to the Second and Fourth Masters."

Xiahou Heng waved his hand and sent all his servants away.

Now, several of Xiahou Heng's brothers are dead. For example, his third brother Xiahou Cheng died suddenly a few years ago at the age of eighteen. Another example is his fifth brother Xiahou Rong, who died in battle with his father.

The rest are either still young, such as Xiahou Hui and Xiahou He, who are only over ten years old and can't do anything.

Among the brothers of the Xiahou family, only the second brother Xiahou Ba and the fourth brother Xiahou Wei can discuss things with Xiahou Heng. Coincidentally, one of them is good at martial arts and the other is good at literature, so they are quite comprehensive.

"What's wrong, big brother and fourth brother, what are you doing?"

Xiahou Ba still didn't understand what his two brothers were so nervously guarding against.

"Second brother, you don't know?"

Xiahou Heng was a little surprised to see that Xiahou Ba was not pretending. Now the whole Luoyang was in turmoil, how could Xiahou Ba be like an ignorant fool?

"Know...what do you know?"

Xiahou Ba naturally didn't know what he should know.

"Hey, second brother, haven't you heard the nursery rhyme that's been circulating recently?"

Xiahou Wei sighed and didn't keep Xiahou Ba in suspense.

"Children's songs...? The one about the horse eating grass, right? So what? Why should I care about those ignorant children just singing a few random lines?"

Of course Xiahou Ba had heard it before, but he didn't take it to heart. Children would sing nursery rhymes every now and then, so how could he have the time to listen to them one by one?

"Alas, second brother, it is this nursery rhyme that has brought disaster upon us!"

Xiahou Wei sighed again, and Xiahou Heng also sighed, which made Xiahou Ba at a loss.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this nursery rhyme?"

However, Xiahou Ba still failed to comprehend the meaning and was still confused.

"Second brother, the first sentence, three horses, busy at the trough, do you know what it means?"

After Xiahou Wei and Xiahou Heng looked at each other, Xiahou Wei, who loved reading, spoke first.

"What can a horse do at the trough? Eat grass."

Xiahou Ba was born into a wealthy family and served in the army, so he was very familiar with horses. He could answer the first sentence of this nursery rhyme without thinking.

"Okay, then the second sentence, the horse is not a horse, the trough is not a trough, second brother, do you know how to explain it?"

When Xiahou Wei said this, his face looked a little unhappy, but Xiahou Ba thought about it and shook his head.

"How should I know? If a horse is not a horse, can it be a cow?"

"Second brother, you should have heard about the nightmare that the late emperor had a few years ago when he was still alive, right?"

Seeing that his brother didn't understand, Xiahou Wei began to give him some advice.

"Remember, the three horses were eating from the trough. Wasn't there a rumor at the time that the three horses were connected to Sima, and that Sima was eating from Cao?"

"So what do you think the meaning of 'horse is not a horse' is?"

Xiahou Wei turned pale when he said this.

"Three Horses... Horses are not horses... Hiss... What do you mean...?"

After his brother's reminder, Xiahou Ba immediately understood the connection. The first sentence talks about three horses, and the second sentence says that the horses are not horses, so what else can they be? People! Isn't this the meaning of "Sima Shi Cao"?

"So, it's just Cao Fei Cao..." Xiahou Ba didn't dare to say anything more, but Xiahou Wei nodded.

"What do the last two sentences mean?"

Although Xiahou Ba had some guesses, he didn't dare to speak them out. Xiahou Wei shook his head and was unwilling to say anything more.

The three brothers fell silent for a rare moment, because even Xiahou Ba had guessed that the words "grass is green, grass is everywhere, and he is lost" were not good words. If it were so, it would be fine, but the latter sentence was terrifying enough.

"When a horse is well fed, it walks on the clouds."

What does it mean that the horse has eaten its fill and has risen to the top? To put it simply, the Sima family secretly eroded the Cao family, and after eroding almost everything, they directly stole the country and seized the power of the Cao family.

Even if they were Xiahou Yuan's descendants, they would not dare to say such outrageous words.

"Does your majesty know about this?"

It took Xiahou Ba a long time to recover from his shock and asked his brother, Xiahou Heng nodded.

"Your Majesty knew about this a few days ago, but now there is no action."

"If you ask me, since Your Majesty is so hesitant, why not just demote the Sima family to commoners and never employ them again?"

Xiahou Ba was simple-minded and his approach was straightforward, but Xiahou Heng smiled bitterly and shook his head. Xiahou Wei also had a half-smile on his face, as if he was amused by his second brother's brainless words.

"Second brother, the Sima family is a prominent family in Hanoi. Taizu invited them to serve in the government. If Your Majesty demotes them to commoners and never employs them because of some unfounded rumors, it will be difficult to stop the people from talking nonsense."

This is easy to say. If Cao Pi demoted the Sima family to commoners because of a nursery rhyme, what would you think? It can only be that Cao Pi was intolerant. If a rumor could do that, who would dare to work for Cao Pi in the future?
"Then... send someone to monitor Sima Yi?"

Xiahou Ba thought about it and could only come up with a solution that was not a solution.

"I'm afraid it's difficult. If someone finds out, it won't be good for your Majesty's reputation."

Xiahou Wei shook his head. No matter what Cao Pi did now, it seemed that he did not trust his ministers and was being stubborn.

"Well, there's nothing we can do. We can only wait for any further developments."

Xiahou Ba felt discouraged when he heard that neither this nor that was allowed.

"I called you here today to tell you to be extra careful. Who knows, this nursery rhyme might come true. If there is any unusual movement, you must lead your troops to protect His Majesty. Do you understand?"

Xiahou Heng called Xiahou Ba to give him some advice. The current situation in Luoyang is treacherous and unpredictable, and no one can predict what will happen in the future, so Xiahou Heng can only ask his brother to be alert and not get involved in any whirlpool without knowing it.

"Okay, brother, I'm reflecting on this."

Xiahou Ba nodded.

However, it is not known whether it was because Xiahou Wei's prediction was too accurate or someone did it deliberately, but soon the rumors in Luoyang City spread even further.

First, the interpretation of this nursery rhyme leaked out from somewhere, and now everyone in Luoyang knows that the Sima family wants to parasitize the Cao family.

As time went by, rumors of truth or falsehood made people panic again. First, some people said that Cao Pi wanted to demote Sima Yi in secret and send him to Liaodong, and some said he would send him to Bingzhou. Then there were also rumors that Cao Pi had already prepared his swordsmen and was waiting for a banquet to kill Sima Yi without mercy.

There are also reports that Cao Pi was looking for an excuse and would demote Sima Yi to a commoner when he found an opportunity.

In short, Cao Pi has not made a decision yet, and there are already more than a dozen versions of how Cao Pi decided to deal with Sima Yi circulating among the people.

This was not the end. There were rumors that the Sima family had been monitored by people sent by Cao Pi. Then there were also rumors that the Sima family had already started recruiting soldiers and horses in their hometown of Hanoi, preparing to take risks.

For a while, true and false news were flying everywhere, making everyone hold their breath and wait for the development of the situation.

(End of this chapter)