Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 419 413. Game of Chess
While everyone was holding their breath, Sima Yi, who was at the center of the storm, naturally would not be idle. When he heard the news from his two sons, his brain immediately began to think.

Now the whole Luoyang is full of rumors about me, which have inadvertently blocked many of my escape routes, such as resigning and returning home.

In fact, resigning from office and returning home is not a big deal. It is just an expedient measure to avoid the limelight temporarily, just like letting Yang Yi be demoted to Yizhou County. The core of both is to stay away from the center of the storm.

But the rumors this time are different from the last time. This time, even the rumor that the Sima family of Henei is recruiting soldiers and training assassins has come out. Although it is true, we cannot direct the spearhead towards Henei County now.

Sima Yi did not delay and asked his two sons to go down first, asking them not to go out again during this period, to stay at home and study, and not to have any contact with outsiders. At the same time, he immediately went into the study and wrote a letter, asking the relatives in Hanoi County to behave themselves and not to bully men and women recently, so as not to give them a handle.

After calling the housekeeper and asking his trusted servants to deliver a letter to his hometown, Sima Yi began to think about what he should do. Cao Pi was not a fool. Although he would not take him down just because of some rumors and some feudal superstitions, Cao Pi was also not a heartless person. He perfectly inherited the suspicion of his father Cao Cao.

Cao Pi had already doubted himself because of the rumors and slander coming from the south. Now Sima Yi guessed with a little thought that these rumors were probably from Jingzhou. Although it would cost his life, it would make him disgusted.

"Is Minister Sima here? Your Majesty has something important to discuss with you."

While Sima Yi was thinking, the palace servants outside had come to summon Sima Yi. Because of the previous turmoil, Sima Yi took a step back and gave up the position of Shangshu You Pushe, and demoted himself to Shangshu, while Xu Xuan, who was also Shangshu, took over and became Shangshu You Pushe.

Sima Yi originally wanted to take a step back and slowly regain trust with his own abilities. However, one thing led to another. Now, even before he had rested for two years, someone brought up the past again, and even misinterpreted it to mean that he was planning a rebellion.

Sima Yi sighed. It was a blessing in disguise. If it was a disaster, it would be inevitable. He could only hope that Cao Pi would not lose his mind and make things difficult for him.

However, just in case, Sima Yi still called the butler and told him that if he did not come back today or if there was any disturbance, he should let the butler take his two children and escape through the secret passage, and then flee back to his hometown in Henei County in disguise.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows, so Sima Yi is naturally not as honest as he appears to be. His Sima family mansion has several secret passages, leading to different places. The destinations are usually some houses in the city, which were bought by Sima Yi early on, and some disguises are hidden in them.

Moreover, Sima Yi was very cunning. He was the only one who knew all of these secret passages. Even Sima Shi, Sima Zhao and his own housekeeper only knew one or two of them.

The butler nodded heavily, and Sima Yi then changed into his official uniform, got on the carriage and went into the palace to meet Cao Pi.

When he entered the palace, Cao Pi was not in the study, but waiting for him in the garden. Sima Yi followed the guards through the long corridor of the back garden. Cao Pi was sitting on a stone bench in a pavilion with a chessboard in front of him, seemingly in deep thought.

Sima Yi ignored the imperial guards who were staring at him from all sides, and came to the pavilion respectfully and bowed.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. I wonder what is the important matter that Your Majesty has summoned me to?"

Cao Pi did not answer immediately, but stared at the chessboard, seemingly in a daze or in deep thought. Sima Yi did not interrupt him, but lowered his head obediently, maintaining the same posture as before.

After a short while, Cao Pi seemed to have just woken up from a dream and noticed Sima Yi.

"Oh, Zhongda, when did you get here? Come and sit down. Why didn't you remind me? I was left leaving you alone for so long." Cao Pi smiled, as if he was a little annoyed with his own behavior. However, Sima Yi was not a pushover. He knew that Cao Pi was probably planning to warn and test him, so he naturally did not show any other emotions. He was just flattered, and then sat down opposite the chessboard as Cao Pi wished.

"Zhongda, you've arrived just in time. Let's see how to resolve this chess endgame. I've been thinking hard about this for a long time, but I still can't figure it out. The next step is for the white piece to move first."

Sima Yi was polite for a moment, then looked down. On the chessboard, the black and white sides were arranging their troops and fighting in high spirits. It was obvious that the black pieces were in the upper hand, and the white pieces were losing ground. If this continued, the white pieces would probably have to resign in less than a dozen moves.

However, with Sima Yi's chess skills, he still caught a glimpse of a glimmer of hope for the white piece, and it happened to be the white piece's turn to move first. If the black piece continued to chase and attack so fiercely, there would really be a chance of a comeback.

"Well, has Zhongda figured it out?"

"Your Majesty, I have some ideas. I would like to ask your Majesty to play the black pieces and I will play the white pieces. Let's continue playing according to the endgame."

Sima Yi nodded, and Cao Pi said nothing more. He immediately took out the black piece from the chess basket and waited for Sima Yi to make his move.

Sima Yi actually began to give up and moved towards a dead end. Cao Pi did not tolerate him and pursued the black pieces in the direction of attack. The white pieces were killed one after another and soon lost a lot of points.

However, as Sima Yi took advantage of the gap when Cao Pi was killing in that area, he was able to make progress in another area. A large number of black pieces were also captured by Sima Yi. The two sides unexpectedly went from being one-sided in black's favor to being evenly matched.

The two continued playing, but unfortunately the black pieces had taken advantage of their previous advantage, and even though it was now a stalemate, Cao Pi's chess skills enabled him to finally defeat Sima Yi with the advantage in numbers.

"Your Majesty, you have a good trick. I am the loser."

Sima Yi humbly admitted defeat, and Cao Pi did not take it seriously.

"I have also heard the rumors from the people a few days ago. I hope you don't take it to heart. My Great Wei will not cut off an arm just because of the nonsense of a few ignorant children. In the future, the Great Wei will still need loyal ministers and good generals like you to assist us."

Cao Pi suddenly changed the subject and actually comforted Sima Yi with a few words. Sima Yi was also very nervous and nodded in agreement.

After the king and his minister acted like a virtuous ruler and a good minister, Cao Pi sent Sima Yi away. Sima Yi also acted like a man who would die for his friend.

"Humph……"

After Sima Yi left, Cao Pi looked at the chessboard and snorted coldly. Sima Yi could have won just now, but he seemed to have made a wrong decision, which led to him winning with a slight advantage.

Although Cao Pi was not so suspicious of Sima Yi, he was not so confident in him either, and he secretly increased his vigilance against him to a higher level.

(End of this chapter)