Chapter 46 Major Events

Chapter 46 Major Events

Chapter 46 Major Events
"After entering the imperial court, Prince Yi of Changsha bullied and humiliated the emperor and empress, disrupted state order, monopolized power, and favored treacherous people."

"The central army in Luoyang is the pillar of the country, but all the other camps were destroyed by him and turned into private soldiers."

"The important positions of the government are the property of the court. Sima Yi has no respect for them and privately transfers them to please his clique."

"The nobles and the great families are the respected families of the four directions, and the emperor relies on them, but they slaughter people and impose heavy taxes at will, causing the whole country to be in turmoil and disappointment at home and abroad."

"I don't see things clearly. I was misled by a wicked person before, so I made mistakes in my behavior and have been dependent on him for many years."

"It is too late to regret now. I want to clean up my act and rectify the rules and regulations."

Sima Yue spoke at length, but the three people in the room listened quietly like wooden sticks.

I was mentally prepared before coming here. I knew what my lord wanted to do, and now it has been confirmed. Although I am surprised, I will not lose my composure.

Shao Xun was probably the calmest one, because he had long guessed from history that Sima Yue was either lucky enough to wait until others died and then come out to clean up the mess, or he had taken proactive actions - such as backstabbing an ally - and took advantage of the situation, which accelerated his rise to power.

Now it seems that he has decided to betray Sima Yi.

"You are all talented people of your time. Do you have anything to say?" Sima Yue's gaze first fell on Wang Dao, then on Mi Huang, and finally stared at Shao Xun for a long time.

Just out of curiosity.

Mi Huang praised him for his merits, and Pei Xia of the Pei family also mentioned that he was very brave. In October, the emperor summoned Sima Yi to ask questions, and some news spread, which further deepened Sima Yue's impression.

This is a good knife. If used properly, it can play a very important role. What he lacks now is a good knife.

"Your Majesty, Luoyang is a place of death. Sitting there trapped in the city is not a solution. I think we can secretly contact Yecheng and Chang'an and act accordingly." Director Wang simply ignored Sima Yue's previous high-sounding words and did not consider his pretentious mood at all. He went straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth.

Of course, this is the style of top scholars. If you don't want me here, I will find another place to stay. I am your staff member who you hired with great expense and courtesy. I am not a dog. There is no need to flatter you too much and wrong yourself too much - people like Mi Huang certainly can't do this.

"Good." Sima Yue's facial expression froze for a moment, but he soon began to smile and said, "Mao Hong has a wide network of contacts, maybe it's for this matter?"

"Okay." Director Wang did not refuse and agreed on the spot.

In fact, it was not difficult for him.

One of the old tricks of the aristocratic families is to bet on multiple parties and make many friends. When Yefu and Changsha were at war, the staff of both sides knew each other too much, which made it impossible to keep many things secret. Correspondingly, it was also easy to change jobs, find out information, and make contacts for rebellion.

It would be most appropriate for him to handle this matter.

"Your Majesty." Mi Huang cupped his hands and said, "The King of Changsha will not sit still and wait for death. His power is so great that he is accompanied by a cloud of guards and a stream of followers when he goes in and out. He can hold out for a long time even if attacked suddenly. If he waits for the Royal Guards to come to his aid, everything will be in vain and the assassins will all die."

"The generals of the seven imperial guards and the Yamen Army are not Sima Yi's slaves, so why has it come to this?" Sima Yue said in an unfathomable and profound tone.

But Mi Huang didn't see it and continued, "Your Majesty, Sima Yi is the Grand Commander, in charge of tens of thousands of troops inside and outside Luoyang City. He has also led the central army to win several battles and has gained prestige. Now..."

"That's enough!" Sima Yue interrupted Mi Huang helplessly and said, "Just tell me how to deal with Sima Yi."

After saying that, thinking that Mi Huang was an old friend and had made many contributions recently, he added: "The food and grass in the city are only enough to last until February. Recently, Sima Yi has been perversely doing things, plundering the food stored by the people and nobles to support the military, hoping to extend the time, which has already angered the people."

Mi Huang was stunned for a moment, and then he seemed to understand a little, so he said: "That will have to wait until Sima Yi has fewer followers. Your Majesty, where is he now?"

"He's going to the military camp and won't be back in the short term." Sima Yue also had a headache when he said this.

It is not easy to catch Sima Yi in the military camp.

He just told Mi Huang not to consider the attitude of the central army, which was actually a bit exaggerated. In fact, Sima Yi still had the loyalty of some of the central army generals.

Although this loyalty was not very strong, once Sima Yi died, these people would definitely choose a new master, but it was unlikely that they would openly hunt down and kill Sima Yi.

"Then we can only wait." Mi Huang said, "I wonder if the emperor will hold a court meeting on New Year's Day?"

Sima Yue pondered for a while and said, "It's hard to say. It's unlikely."

"Your Majesty, it's okay." Wang Dao said, "As long as Sima Yi returns to the city from the army, there will be plenty of opportunities. If it doesn't work on the New Year's Day, then on the Ren Day. If it doesn't work on the Ren Day, then on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, or any other day. There will always be an opportunity."

Sima Yue nodded slowly and said, "No matter what, this matter has been resolved! If Sima Yi doesn't fall, no one will be happy."

The big guys planned conspiracies and schemes and constantly improved the details.

Shao Xun just knelt there quietly and listened silently.

In fact, there are many examples in history of capturing and killing powerful officials.

In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi trained young wrestlers to capture Oboi. The work was done neatly without leaving any hidden dangers.

The process of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Yuwen Yong, killing the powerful minister Yuwen Hu is more abstract.

First, Yuwen Hu was tricked to the Queen Mother. When he was reciting the "Jiu Gao", Emperor Yuwen Yong secretly ran behind him and hit Yuwen Hu on the back of his head with a jade scepter, knocking him to the ground. Eunuch He Quan came over with a knife, but he was so scared that his hands and feet were weak and he didn't hit Yuwen Hu. In the end, it was Prince Wei Yuwenzhi who had been hiding in the room in advance who grabbed the knife and killed Yuwen Hu.

The process - it was a little off the mark, but it worked.

If we examine these two incidents in detail, the core reason is that the emperor has majesty, and when powerful ministers come to pay homage to him, it is impossible for them to bring all kinds of followers with them. Sometimes they will be weak or even alone, creating opportunities for others.

When Cao Cao met Emperor Xian of Han, he also experienced a frightening moment of "sweating profusely".

In short, as long as the powerful official does not intend to be completely shameless and replace all the attendants, guards, and palace servants around the emperor, he will be in certain danger.

Sima Yi dismissed the guards, but did not replace the people around the emperor. If you think about it carefully, there was an opportunity in between.

But Shao Xun thought, maybe there are other ways?
Luoyang was short of food and water, and resentment was high. As time went on, fewer and fewer people would support Sima Yi, and more and more would oppose him. Couldn't they just wait and wait for him to fall naturally? Was it necessary to take such a risk?

Or is he close to natural collapse at this moment?
Unfortunately, he had no right to speak on his own initiative and could only passively listen to the arrangements of these "cobblers". He was now somewhat suspicious, was it because he had performed too well, so that the shogunate's bastards thought that they could arrest or kill him directly without waiting?

If that was the case, he didn't know what to say.

However, he was a person with dialectical thinking. Everything had its pros and cons. How could he know that this matter could not increase his capital? For example, Lieutenant Sima was a formal military officer of the East Sea Kingdom. Although he was only an eighth-rank official, to the King of East Sea, he was actually more important than the sixth-rank official of the court.

After all, they are “one of us”.

"In that case, I think we can start preparing." Seeing that Sima Yue had made up his mind, Mi Huang had no choice and said immediately.

Sima Yue did not speak, so Wang Dao spoke up: "The troops guarding the palace in the first month are those of Gou Xi. He is one of us and can be trusted. As long as Sima Yi is captured in the palace, Gou Xi can suppress the soldiers and make them stand aside and watch, or even close the palace gates. The generals in the central army are already dissatisfied with Sima Yi, and when they hear that he has been captured, they will accept the fact."

Gou Xi was born in a humble family. In his early years, he was appreciated by Shi Jian, the Inspector of the Imperial Capital, and was appointed as an official.

After Shi Jian's death, he met Sima Yue, King of Donghai, and with his recommendation, he was appointed as Tongshi Lingshi and also served as the prefect of Yangping.

Two years ago, he joined the court of Sima Jiong, King of Qi, and served as a military officer.

After Sima Jiong was killed, Gou Xi joined Sima Yi and served as a military officer. He had participated in the war a while ago and performed well, which won Sima Yi's appreciation.

But Sima Yi seemed to have forgotten that Gou Xi was not loyal at all. He had successively surrendered to Shi Jian, Sima Yue, and Sima Jiong. He only loved himself. Moreover, he was old, over fifty years old, and was reluctant to give up the wealth of his family. He was very worried about being liquidated after the defeat, so there was a possibility of betrayal.

Mi Huang didn't expect that Gou Xi could be won over.

He wanted to ask, "Is it reliable?" but he held back and finally asked, "Who are the people involved in the affairs of the palace?"

Wang Dao looked at Sima Yue.

Sima Yue looked at Shao Xun and looked him up and down for a long time.

Shao Xun sat still. He had no choice but to follow the instructions.

"Zihui, I originally wanted He Lun to do this, but he was afraid." Sima Yue hesitated for a while and said, "In the past three months, you fought very well in the south of the city, which impressed me. Now I want you to do this big thing, do you dare?"

Mi Huang glanced at Shao Xun from the corner of his eye, and thinking of what they had talked about before, he sighed secretly, and said with a look of indignation on his face, "Why not!"

"Good!" Sima Yue laughed three times and said, "He Lun is useless. If you can accomplish this, I will reward you generously! Capturing Sima Yi is a secret, so remember not to spread it. When it comes to action, quality is more important than quantity——"

At this point, Sima Yue looked at Shao Xun and said, "Shao Dubo has outstanding skills and is brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. You should be the leader in the palace, and we should select dozens of brave and valiant men. That will be enough. After the matter is done, you will be the Xiaolian of Donghai next year."

Filial piety and integrity are important ways to become an official.

At the state level, the most important electoral right of the governor was to select scholars. Depending on the size of the state, large states would select two scholars each year, while other states would select one scholar each year.

At the county/state level, the examination of filial and honest officials was an important power of the county governor and the prime minister (internal historian). The Jin Dynasty inherited the Wei system, which allowed one filial and honest official to be selected for every 100,000 people. If the population was less than 100,000, the number would be counted as 100,000.

Donghai only has one quota per year.

So the question is, does this depend on family background? Generally speaking, yes, but there is a sentence in the edict of Emperor Wen of Wei, which laid the foundation for the selection of filial and honest officials in the Wei and Jin Dynasties: "For those who are outstanding, their family background is not restricted."

The Jin Dynasty inherited the Wei Dynasty and also had this system.

This clause is rarely used. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, only a very small number of talented people have been able to use this clause to enter the officialdom.

But there is indeed such a rule, so there is room for maneuver.

Only people from the same county/country can be selected as filial and honest officials. Sima Yue said this, so he was sure that Shao Xun would be the filial and honest official in Donghai next year - Shao had not fulfilled his filial duties for almost two years, but if the leader said you were filial, you really would be filial...

This is a real promise of official appointment, a stepping stone to enter the officialdom. If you are selected as a filial and honest official, it will not be so troublesome to get promoted in the future.

"Yes." Mi Huang and Shao Xun responded at the same time.

Sima Yue stood up from behind the desk, paced around the room, trying to calm down.

From the sound of his breathing, one could tell that his heart was definitely in turmoil at the moment.

Do you imagine the joy after success, but also feel the fear after failure?

Without a doubt, this was Sima Yue's biggest gamble ever. It was a complete break from his previous style of living in fear and it was normal for him to feel hesitant and worried.

Shao Xun sat silently, thinking secretly.

A palace coup never needs to be complicated, because the more complicated something is, the easier it is to make mistakes and leak secrets.

Looking at history, there is only one sentence to describe such matters: find the right people, get up and do the job, and victory or failure will be determined by fate.

To be fair, this matter planned by Sima Yue - and perhaps with the help of several imperial guards generals and high-ranking officials in the court - seems unremarkable, but with the current trend, even if there are mistakes and omissions, it is not a big deal.

Sima Yi was actually betrayed by the aristocratic families and the generals of the imperial guards.

Sima Yue was just the representative they put forward to host the event.

In a sense, Sima Yi was already dead. All Shao Xun had to do was to put the final nail in his coffin. That was all.

(End of this chapter)