Chapter 14 Unhappy
Chapter 14 Unhappy
Mi Huang and Shao Xun were training the troops, while Wang Dao went straight home.
When he arrived at the door of his house, he found a luxurious carriage parked there and immediately burst into laughter.
He threw away the slight unhappiness in his heart, straightened his robe, walked in with a big laugh, and said, "Jingwen is here!"
Sima Rui, the Prince of Langya, who was a guest in the palace, heard Wang Dao's voice, and also walked out with a smile, saying, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
The two met in the courtyard, holding each other's arms and talking happily, laughing endlessly.
"Husband." Wang Dao's wife Cao Shu bowed.
When Sima Rui came to visit, Wang Dao was not there, so Cao came out to entertain him. This was a good relationship between the two families.
"Go and prepare a banquet quickly. I want to get drunk with Jingwen." Wang Dao pulled Sima Rui to sit at the stone table in the yard and gave the order.
Cao responded and left.
As long as her husband doesn't go out to find other women, she will be very well-behaved and give him face.
Sima Rui didn't care about his image at all. He just wiped the stone bench with the sleeve of his robe and sat down.
"I've been drinking a lot these days," he said with a wry smile.
“Can’t you drink less?” Director Wang shook his head.
"What else can I do if I don't drink?" Sima Rui sighed lightly.
"Jingwen..." Wang Dao said, "I know you are depressed, but the situation is like this, you must not be discouraged, you still have to cheer up. Stop those idle talks."
"Didn't Maohong like idle conversation in the past?" Sima Rui asked in surprise.
"I don't like it now." Director Wang tapped the stone table with his chubby fingers.
He knew that Sima Rui was worried, depressed and confused. But to be honest, there are many people like him now, and everyone is confused.
He suddenly remembered the history of metaphysics.
After it sprouted in the late Former Han Dynasty, it developed in the Later Han Dynasty. By the end of the Later Han Dynasty, the government was increasingly corrupt, Confucianism was becoming increasingly rigid, scholars were depressed, their faith was shaken, and their families had huge wealth, so they could only pursue personal awakening and enjoyment. To put it bluntly, it was a kind of escape, an escape from the disappointing reality.
Metaphysics thus developed greatly.
How different is the current Jin Dynasty from the end of the Later Han Dynasty? The kings fought each other around Luoyang, and the scholars suffered terribly. Many families were broken up and many people died. Do you think it was depressing?
Since you are depressed, of course you have to escape from reality.
If one day, chaos appears around me, and I can't even escape from reality, then I... I... I will cross the river to the south, find a place with beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, and continue my beloved entertainment, leisurely conversation, stone carving, playing the zither, calligraphy and painting...
There is always somewhere to escape.
Of course, not everyone is like this. Director Wang wanted to cheer himself up and felt that he could not continue to act like usual.
Escaping from reality requires material foundation and even more political protection. Otherwise, the manor with huge wealth, extensive fields and numerous servants will be taken away by others sooner or later.
Therefore, he felt somewhat resentful towards those who were still indulging in idle talk, entertainment, and living a life of drunkenness and dreams. When he met them, he wanted to wake them up, especially when this person was his close friend.
"Maohong, do you have any ideas?" Sima Rui looked at Director Wang carefully and asked.
My old friend has been running around a lot in the past few months. His face is exhausted, and there is a kind of depression between his brows.
The once bright eyes have become much cloudy.
Sima Rui actually likes to observe other people's eyes, and always feels that he can read a lot of different things from them. When Wang Dao was talking with others, his eyes were pure and persistent, and even showed a serious spirit. But now, it seems that there are more grievances and helplessness, more conspiracies and calculations, and a few traces of anger and resentment.
He jumped into the big dye vat of fame and fortune, so it is understandable that he can no longer be as pure and free as before.
"Don't ask me yet." Wang Dao waved his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, he suddenly asked, "Jingwen, why are you still staying in Luoyang?"
Sima Rui was startled, and answered subconsciously: "If not in Luoyang, where else could it be?"
"What about Langya Kingdom? Don't you plan to return to your fiefdom?" asked Director Wang.
Sima Rui was silent for a while.
In fact, he also wanted to go back, but would it be useful?
First of all, Sima Mao, the General of Wei, the General of Pingdong, the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of Xuzhou, the Governor of Xuzhou, and the King of Dongping, held the power here. At best, he could only manage the fiefdom of Langya, and there were many restrictions.
Secondly, the situation near Xuzhou is not very stable. There are frequent civil unrest and the country is in chaos. The people of Langya are complacent in both civil and military affairs, and the national soldiers may not even be able to defeat the migrant army. It is too dangerous.
Third, just as Sima Yue stayed in Luoyang to look for opportunities, didn't he have any ideas deep in his heart? Impossible. "Okay, I know what you're thinking." Wang Dao glanced at him and said, "But I still have to advise you that Luoyang is not a place to stay for a long time. If there is no opportunity, leave early."
"Where are we going?" Sima Rui asked.
Wang Dao showed a mysterious expression on his face. After a while, he said softly, "The Prince of Dongping became the governor of Xuzhou by following Sima Jue's path. He also disliked the Prince of Donghai. Think of a way to replace him. You go to Xia Pi."
"Oh? Are you sure?" Sima Rui was a little excited.
The army of the Great Jin Dynasty was composed of two parts: the central army and the external army.
The central army is also known as the imperial guard. Those stationed in the city are the seven imperial guards, and those stationed outside the city are collectively known as the Yamen army. There were originally more than 100,000 people, and now there are still 50,000 to 60,000 people.
The foreign troops are mainly hereditary soldiers from the eight military governorships, such as Xuzhou, Jizhou, Guanzhong, Jingzhou, etc. The total strength is about 300,000, and basically they are all hereditary military households. It is difficult to say how many are left now, probably less than half.
Their fighting capacity was also very poor. For example, the foreign army led by King Xinye had just been defeated by refugees from the south. It was unheard of for the military to be so dilapidated. It was not because the enemy was so powerful, but because they themselves were too bad.
It can be said that the strongest military force in the world today is the remaining 50,000 or 60,000 imperial guards in Luoyang Central Army. They have good equipment, full organization, rich experience, and a full range of arms, including infantry and cavalry, and more than a thousand armored cavalry. If they are gone, the military force of the Great Jin Dynasty that dominates the world will no longer exist.
Wang Dao suggested that Sima Rui go to Xia Pi, which was actually to let him serve as General Pingdong and Governor of Xuzhou, and Xia Pi was the natural place for the Governor of Xuzhou.
"I'm not sure yet." Director Wang smiled and said, "Just wait and see. There will be a chance."
"Why is Maohong so confident?" Sima Rui asked curiously.
Director Wang shook his head and smiled without saying anything.
Sima Rui seemed to understand something, but felt that there were some questions he had not thought through clearly. He wanted to ask, but felt a little embarrassed. He could only hold back and pretend to understand.
"Speaking of which, Xia Pi is a good place, we can advance or retreat." Sima Rui said with a smile: "But, to the east is the Donghai Kingdom, can Sikong agree? I heard that he has a lot of influence in front of the King of Changsha."
"Wait." Director Wang smiled and was very frugal with his words.
Sima Rui was secretly annoyed.
Wang Maohong was good in every way except that he was too conceited. He was evasive in his words and would not speak openly in front of his old friend, which made him feel a little unhappy.
However, he still maintained a warm and gentle smile on his face, and he only said: "In fact, Donghai is a small county, and it doesn't matter much. Sikong is increasingly trusted by the King of Changsha, and he will surely find a better fiefdom, and may not be very interested in Donghai. Speaking of which, Langya and Donghai are still bordering each other. It would be great if I could go to Xiapi and take Xuzhou into my hands."
Wang Dao glanced at him approvingly. However, when he heard the word "East China Sea", a layer of gloom covered his brows again.
Sima Rui had been quietly paying attention to his expression, and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong? If--"
"It's nothing, actually." Director Wang stretched out his hand to stop him from saying anything. He looked up at the sky for a while, and then said after a while: "There are some minor families and poor families in the East China Sea, such as the Mi family, who need to be treated with caution. Today..."
Director Wang took the opportunity to tell what happened in Pan Garden today.
Sima Rui was quite disapproving after hearing this: "What do I think it is! Mi Huang is probably training his team, right? He has big ambitions, is he trying to become a prefect or governor? As for that warrior named Shao Xun, haha, isn't it easy to punish him? Just find a reason to kill him, I don't think anyone will speak for him. If that doesn't work, send a letter and ask the Xuzhou government to arrest his family."
Wang Dao laughed when he heard this.
He was not so far as to lower his status as to specifically ask Sikong to order the killing of Shao Xun.
He was just a small Du Bo, a lowly person, and he would never be able to do anything to Wang Shi of Langya in his life. He just didn't achieve his goal and was a little unhappy.
If Shao Xun was willing to kneel before him, kowtow and apologize, the matter would be over.
If he didn't do this, and just followed Mi Huang, if he ever offended him in the future, he would be killed easily.
To put it bluntly, the gap between the two people's identities is too big, it is not worth targeting them specifically, it would be despicable.
Seeing that his friend was silent, Sima Rui understood and said casually: "If you think it is not worth the fight, then please ask Concubine Pei to do it. Punish him, remove him from his post, and send him back to his hometown in Donghai. He will be nothing more than a farmer, and you can do whatever you want to him."
The smile on Director Wang's face suddenly froze.
He remembered something. Is this Shao Xun really Mi Huang's man?
Concubine Pei, what exactly does she want to do?
There was a rumor in the capital that Pei Dun, the brother of Concubine Pei, was trying to become the governor of Xuzhou. The problem was that the governor of Xuzhou was concurrently the governor, so could it be that Pei Dun was also aiming for this position?
In terms of reputation and qualifications, Pei Dun could actually be appointed as the governor of Xuzhou, but since he was not a descendant of the Sima family, he was destined not to be the governor of Xuzhou.
In terms of family background, the Wenxi Pei family was one of the top families in the north. Pei Wei, who was killed three years ago, was one of the leaders of the literati and had great influence. Pei Wei's wife was from the Langya Wang family, and his son Pei Gai married a princess.
No matter from which perspective, the descendants of Pei are very competitive.
Wang Dao suddenly felt that the water was deep. Thinking of his cousin Wang Yan's plan, he became more unhappy.
(End of this chapter)