Sima Yi's Three Kingdoms Collection Collection

Chapter 279 Subduing the enemy without fighting (10)
"To know people and predict things, one should have true knowledge and insight. How can you rely on hearsay and popular opinions?" Sima Yi straightened his face and said coldly, "The contention of the heir dispute between the late emperor and Dong'a king Cao Zhi, all the inside information, Is it better for you to be a father? If the king of Dong'a hadn't been kind and considerate of the overall situation and retreated humbly, how could the late emperor really win at the last moment? Do you know that before the death of Taizu Emperor Wei Wudi, he called Cao Zhi, the king of Dong'a urgently? His younger brother Cao Zhang led an army of [-] people to Beijing, and his original intention was to defend Cao Zhi and succeed him to the throne. At that critical moment, it was Cao Zhi himself who did not want to cause a civil war in Wei and let outsiders benefit, so he personally persuaded Emperor Wu of Wei. Abandoned the position of the son of the world, persuaded Cao Zhang to retreat, and surrendered to the first emperor willingly. Only in this way can we avoid the mistakes of Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and others in the disputes between the sons and concubines! Such a vision, such a magnanimity, how can I Is it something a rotten scholar can do?"

When Master Sima heard this, he lowered his head, and said, "My child is not clear about things, and I know people are inaccurate. I know I'm wrong here." Sima Yi stroked his long beard under his jaw, with a worried expression on his face, and said, "Father, I often listen to you lately. Letters from Sun Zi and Liu Fang stated that King Dong'a wrote to the emperor many times, requesting to lift the ban on the kings of the Cao family, who are close to the clan and have different surnames, and use the clan kings to compete against the powerful officials in the court." He suddenly sighed deeply again. , said: "His memorials are clearly aimed at our Sima family! And according to Sun Zi and Liu Fang, the emperor has always been very sympathetic to his uncle, and seems to have the heart to call him back to Beijing. We must We have to make a plan as soon as possible to curb Dong'a Wang's comeback!" After saying that, a cold light flashed in his eyes, he stretched out his right hand, and slashed out like a sharp knife!
"If the way of heaven is extreme, it will be reversed, and if it is full, it will be a loss. Therefore, if you are wise and broad, guard against stupidity; if you are well-read and debated, guard with frugality..."

A few big red candles as thick as a child's arm, carved with carved luan and carved cranes were burning brightly, illuminating the study room as brightly as day.The Wei Guotai Fu Zhongyou, who was born with a childlike face and white hair and a hale and hearty spirit, caressed the silvery beard under his chin with one hand, and held a large wolf hair brush in the other, writing on a piece of white silk like a dragon and a snake with great interest.

"Father's regular script is so well written!" The eldest son Zhong Yu, who had been standing on the right side of Zhong Yao and watching quietly with his breath, couldn't help but sighed deeply, "Yu'er believes that father's calligraphy In the future, it will definitely shine through the ages and be admired by future generations!"

"That's right! Brother, look at my father's handwriting. It's really like what the late emperor praised - 'Straightforward and unrestrained like a flying crane swimming in the sky, and graceful like a flying bird playing in the sea'!" Zhong Hui, the second son standing on the left side of Zhong Yao He was also full of praise, "I'm afraid that after exhausting all my life's work, I may not be able to reach one ten thousandth of my father's calligraphy attainments!"

Zhong Yao didn't answer, but still concentrated on writing the last word, then let out a long breath, and gently put the big wolf hair brush on the pen stand.He turned around, looked at his two sons, and smiled slightly: "Yu'er, what a moment! The ancients said well, 'A scholar who reaches a long distance must first know his skills and then be talented.' No matter how good the calligraphy is, it is nothing more than a trivial skill! You should pay attention to the economical way of governing the country, and you should not imitate your father and indulge in this trivial skill! You are a father because you are old. It’s all for self-indulgence between this inkstone! You don’t want to learn to be a father..." He paused for a while, and then said slowly: "You should know the story of Cao Zhi, the king of Dong'a, right? Yu'er, in a moment, the word you praised as a father will "shine through the ages and be admired forever". , the treasure that is admired by all ages is the brilliant articles written by Dong'a Wang Cao Zhi! But, look at the ups and downs of Dong'a Wang Cao Zhi's life... Alas! Heaven is jealous of geniuses!"

After Zhong Yao finished expressing his emotions, Zhong Hui took the lead unhurriedly and said, "Actually, what my father said is not quite true. Calligraphy and brushwork are of course a trivial skill, but we can also 'know the work' from it." —When my father was picking up the pen and dropping the paper, his wrist was strong and solid, he could be firm or soft, he could be fast or slow, he could release or retract, this is also the "Economic Way" beyond the reach of all the officials in the court!"

"Oh? Just a little while! You can see Qi Zhiping's 'Economic Way' from the writing skills of being a father?" Zhong Yao's complexion moved slightly, and he stroked his long snow-white beard. He smiled lightly, "It's rare, it's rare!"

He was about to continue talking, but he heard a light knock on the door of the study, and there was a sound of "Du".Hearing this soft sound, Zhong Yao stopped and turned his eyes to the door.

Zhong Yu understood, turned her head and asked outside the door: "Who?"

"Tell Taifu and the two masters that Sima Yin, the housekeeper of General Sima's mansion, has brought a box of things and is here to see Taifu." A servant outside the door responded respectfully.

"Sima Yin?" Zhong Yao's complexion changed, he frowned and thought for a moment, then asked in a deep voice, "How did he get here?"

"Tell Tai Tu, Sima Yin is wearing casual clothes, and his whereabouts are secretive. He came from the back door." The servant outside the door replied.

"Let him in!" Zhong Yao pondered for a moment, and finally said, "Be careful, and be careful not to be followed by someone!"

After the servant outside the door walked away in response, Zhong Yao sighed softly and shook his head slightly.He naturally understood the reason why Sima Yin came to visit him late at night-needless to say, this Sima Yin must have brought him a message for his master Sima Yi.

"Father..." Brothers Zhong Yu and Zhong Hui couldn't help turning their astonished eyes to Zhong Yao.

Zhong Yao stood there stroking his beard and contemplating for a moment, and didn't answer, but waved to them both.Brother Zhong Yu immediately felt overwhelmed, so they turned to hide behind a large bookcase near the wall in the study.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the study door, followed by a "squeak", and the door was gently pushed open.Sima Yin, the steward of the Sima Mansion in a rough green robe, walked in slowly, followed by two servants, who came in carrying a big red wooden box together.

"Oh! Butler Sima, this is..." Zhong Yao looked up at Sima Yin, with a slightly surprised look on his face, but a faint smile on his lips.

Sima Yin also smiled slightly, but did not answer. After the two servants put the big red wooden box in the middle of the study, he gave them a wink.The two servants understood and quickly retreated.

At this time, Sima Yincai bowed to Zhong Yao, with lowered eyebrows, and said respectfully: "Master Taifu, your support for my general, my general has always been grateful .He asked me to prepare this small gift, and I beg the Master Tai Tu to accept it!"

"Hey! Steward Sima! Your general is so polite!" Zhong Yao's eyes were only on Sima Yin's face, and he didn't even glance at the red wooden box. I dare not be..."

"Where! Where! Master Taifu! My general went to Guanzhong this time, and accidentally found an authentic small seal script written by Li Si, Prime Minister of Qin, from a hermit. Jue Tianxia, ​​let me pass it on to the Grand Tutor for appreciation." Sima Yin smiled slightly, bent over to open the mahogany wooden box, and suddenly there was an aura of jewels and jewels, and he didn't know how many rare treasures were inside. Yingying Huacai is so dazzling that people can't keep their eyes open.

Zhong Yao narrowed his eyes slightly, with a faint smile on his face all the time, but he didn't make a sound.

But Sima Yin stood up, took out a roll of copybooks from the mahogany box, held it in his hand respectfully, and presented it to Zhong Yao.

Zhong Yao smiled and nodded slightly, reached out to take the copybook, slowly unfolded it, and read it seriously: "Well... this is really Xun Qing's "Encouraging Learning" written by Li Si in Xiaozhuan. Well! His handwriting is like a cloud clustered in the sky, with unrestrained posture, unrestrained and elegant, it is indeed a rare treasure! Look, this brushwork, this use of ink... tsk, tsk, really wonderful!"

As he spoke, he couldn't help stretching out his fingers to trace the strokes of Li Si's characters on the copybook, unable to restrain himself for a long time.

"My great general said, if Master Tai Tu likes this copybook, please accept it! He believes that such precious pens and inkstones are in their rightful place in the hands of Master Tai Tu, and there is no regret " Seeing this, Sima Yin said respectfully from the side.

"Your general is really... Sigh! I'm afraid I'm a little disrespectful." Hearing this, Zhong Yao stopped gesticulating on the copybook, and a deep smile appeared on his face. "I would like to thank your great general for your kindness." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and slowly rolled up the copybook, held it in his hand, but did not put it down again.

Sima Yin leaned forward again, and said in a low voice: "My general has reported to the imperial court that this year, the grain that should be paid by the households in Guanzhong has been reduced and exempted, and it has been decided to cultivate land and cultivate wasteland for self-sufficiency in the Western Expeditionary Army, without the need for you Your lord’s households have offered food and salaries—your lords’ household offerings at the end of this year will naturally not be lacking.”

"Gao Ming! Gao Ming! It's really smart!" Zhong Yao listened, and after a long silence, he clapped his hands lightly as if he had come to his senses, and sighed leisurely, "It's also thanks to your general who came up with such a It's the best of both worlds, and a watertight solution! Master Sima is really thoughtful and thoughtful, and I admire you so much, I'm ashamed of myself!"

Speaking of this, he paused suddenly, and then slowly said: "It seems that this seat, Wang Situ, and Doctor Dong are all fully supporting your general to be the commander of Guanzhong. It is indeed completely correct. My seat It is only today that I understand how valuable it is that "a person deserves a position and a job deserves his position"!"

After finishing speaking, he took Li Si's "Encouraging Learning" copybook, walked slowly in the study for a few steps, then stopped suddenly, as if talking to Sima Yin casually, and said: "Go back and tell me General Sima—that is to say, all the veterans and ministers in the court have always supported him without hesitation and spared no effort. Please rest assured and boldly display his skills in front of him and make new achievements as soon as possible without any scruples. In fact , He shouldn't have any worries about Zhang He. Zhang He and the others can't make any waves in the court. But..."

He changed the subject, looked straight at Sima Yin with scorching eyes, and said deeply: "I don't know if General Sima is clear or not...Recently, there are very loud voices among the royal family in the court asking Dong'a King Cao Zhi to come back and take charge of the government! I have heard His Majesty praise Dong'a King many times, both civil and military, and worthy of a great job..."

"Oh! Thank you, Master Tai Tuo, for your reminder. I know how to reply to my great general. I have bothered Master Tai Tuo for too long tonight." Sima Yin bowed his hands and replied, "Before I leave, I wonder if Master Taifu has anything else to say to my great general?"

Zhong Yao smiled lightly, and said: "Forget it, your great general gave me an authentic work of Li Si, so I will show my shame - I will give back to your great general a piece of graffiti that I wrote casually." You laughed, you laughed!" As he spoke, he handed over the copybook he had just written on the desk.

(End of this chapter)