Chapter 1055 Tuogu
Chapter 1055 Tuogu
In the flickering firelight, Sima Rui was drowsy.
To him, it seemed that there was no longer a clear distinction between day and night. There might be light and darkness in his vision, but in his consciousness there was only a grayness.
The Crown Prince Sima Pi never took off his clothes and served by his side day and night, showing his utmost filial piety.
To put it bluntly, even if you don't want to do it, you have to pretend at this time. If Sima Rui had pus on his body, you have to suck it out, so that others can see your filial piety and have nothing to say.
Crown Princess Shan sometimes came to Taiji Hall and sometimes lived in the East Palace.
On August 28th, on the Yundu Canal west of the East Palace, masts and oars were like a forest. Several small boats came up to the shore and then entered the Taicheng through the water gate.
"General Xu." The prince's officer Bian Zhan stepped forward and said.
Xu Chao returned the salute with a stern expression and didn't say much.
Behind him, more than 200 people came up one after another. They were all strong and capable. They looked like they were either elite soldiers who had fought in the battlefield or Xu Chao's personal guards.
After the ceremony, the soldiers were led to the side halls to disperse, while Xu Chao and Bian Zhan went straight into the Chongzheng Hall.
Crown Princess Shan Yinan was reading a book by candlelight.
Xu Chao was somewhat impressed. Even at this time, he was still so calm. Could it be that the Great Jin could still be saved?
He was born in the Xu clan of Jurong, a legitimate Jiangdong noble family. From the bottom of his heart, he certainly did not want to see Shao Bing conquer Jiangnan. Perhaps this was the main reason why the governor of Shan sent him to Taicheng.
"General Xu." Shan Yinan stood up and saluted.
Xu Chao and Bian Zhan returned the greetings and then sat down one by one.
"Did my cousin give any instructions?" Shan Yinan asked.
Xu Chao said in a deep voice: "The governor said, 'The Crown Princess should just stay in the East Palace. If anything goes wrong, you can take the Crown Prince out of the water gate. There will be someone outside the city to meet you.'"
After hearing this, Shan Yinan laughed at himself and said, "Brother, you are wrong. Once we leave Taicheng, everything will be over."
Xu Chao was startled and said, "Even if there are people causing chaos, as long as they are still there, we can gather the people to support the king and there will be a great chance of turning things around."
"No, there is no chance." Shan Yinan shook his head and said, "Shao the thief will not give us a chance. If the north is the Xiongnu, this strategy is good. However, Liang is not the Xiongnu, so this strategy will not work. Jianye must not be in chaos. Once it is in chaos, people's hearts will not be restored."
After hearing this, Bian Zhan nodded secretly, and Xu Chao also sighed.
"What's going on in the west?" Shan Yinan asked again.
"According to Tao Shiheng of Jingzhou, the bandit troops have gradually gathered in Nanyang, but the Shao bandit has not arrived yet." Xu Chao replied.
"Why?"
"I heard that there was a rebellion in Guanzhong and the roads were blocked."
Bian Zhan was delighted when he heard this and said, "When Cao Cao went south to Jingzhou, there was a rebellion in Guanxi. Could this be a sign from heaven?"
"You can't delay Shao for a few days." Shan Yinan said, "Yuanzhi, go to the Prime Minister's Mansion again, just about that matter."
Bian Zhan understood and said, "I obey your command."
Xu Chao couldn't figure out what they were talking about, but he didn't ask any more questions.
However, Bian Zhan asked another question: "Over at the Taiji Hall..."
Shan Yinan took a deep breath and said, "I'll be there in a moment."
Bian Zhan said nothing more and bowed and left.
When Xu Chao saw that Shan Yinan had no other instructions, he immediately arranged for someone to secretly take over the corner gate.
When the guards of the Eastern Palace saw this, they were all indignant.
Obviously, because they were once troops under the command of the left and right generals, and had only been transferred to them recently, the prince did not trust them.
Shan Yinan looked at the empty palace and breathed a long sigh of relief.
When I tried to stand up, I found my heart was beating faster and my legs and feet were a little weak.
She couldn’t—she couldn’t let others see her weakness, she still had things to do.
Even though she didn't like these intrigues very much, she had no way out, and neither did the Shan family.
******
After the first ray of sunlight rose from the horizon in the east, a group of important officials led by Prime Minister Wang Dao arrived outside the Changhe Gate just south of Taicheng.
Sima Zong, the General of the Left Guard, stood on the city wall, slightly dazed.
The officers of the Left Guard were even more stunned. They all looked at Sima Zong with puzzled eyes, not understanding why he was hesitating.
The Prime Minister and other important officials are going to visit the Emperor. Are you going to stop them? What is your reason for stopping them? Do you have an imperial edict?
Close to Sima Zong's side were several officers from the Left Guard, all of whom looked at their former comrades with fierce and sinister eyes.
No, it would be difficult for them to be called comrades. After all, they all joined the Imperial Guards halfway through their careers, and they stick together and don't interact much with other officers.
If we take a closer look at their identities, they are nothing more than Sima Zong's followers, wandering knights and even various desperate criminals.
In short, they were Sima Zong's trusted minions.
When the imperial edict arrived, most of the officers and soldiers of the Left Guard bowed their heads in obedience, but this was not necessarily the case for these people. Compared with their identities as imperial officers, they had more personal attributes of the Sima clan.
Seeing their ferocious looks, the officers of the Left Guard seemed to realize something and looked at Sima Zong with dangerous eyes.
The atmosphere in the field was very subtle.
Sima Zong's hands were clenched tightly in his sleeves. After a moment, he slowly loosened them.
There is no chance of success in broad daylight and in full view of everyone.
At this time, you have to be patient, wait, and lie dormant.
"Open the door," he finally ordered.
The Imperial Gate slowly opened.
Wang Dao and others got off their carriages and entered one by one.
As they walked, no one looked up at the city wall, as if the hesitation just now did not exist. This was just a normal procedure for opening the palace gate, which had been done countless times before.
Wang Dao quickly entered the Taiji Hall. He looked around and saw that the Crown Prince and his wife and the Crown Prince's tutor Liu Kun were also there, so they exchanged greetings and then went straight to the imperial couch.
"Your Majesty, I am here." The palace servant brought a couch, and Wang Dao sat down and said softly.
Grand Chancellor Sima Ying, Shangshu Zuo Pushe Bian Xu, Shizhong Liu Wei, Shizhong Yuan You, Yushi Zhong Ya, Taifu Yang Wei, Huangmen Shilang Yang Gu and others also found couches and sat down.
Some people who were dissatisfied with the distance from the imperial couch simply did not sit down and stood behind Wang Dao. Sima Rui was awake at the moment. Hearing this, he looked at Wang Dao and said softly, "Maohong, I just had a dream."
Director Wang listened quietly.
"I recalled the past in my dream." Sima Rui said, "At that time, I had just arrived in Xuzhou, and the whole place was devastated. Maohong, you were by my side, giving me advice. Sometimes we were so busy that we would sleep until late at night, and you and I would sleep side by side."
After hearing this, Director Wang looked a little dazed.
Sima Rui's eyes gradually filled with tears. He said, "After the migration to the south, we suffered from a shortage of various expenses. The people of Wu lived in mansions with high gates, while we gathered in the weeds of the Wu Palace. The people of Wu had endless feasts of wine, meat, and music, while we were ecstatic just to get a pig. It was so difficult back then..."
Director Wang sighed.
Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect?
We have supported each other and come this far together. It would be a lie to say that we have no feelings for each other. Even though there have been some rifts in recent years, at this point, nothing matters anymore.
"Maohong, I won't live long, and I have one last request from you." Sima Rui said in tears.
Wang Dao wiped his eyes with his sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, please speak."
"My son hasn't come yet." Sima Rui looked at Crown Prince Sima Fei and said.
Sima Fei burst into tears, stumbled over and knelt in front of the imperial bed.
Sima Rui took his hand, handed it to Wang Dao, and said, "Maohong, for the sake of our past friendship, please help my son along the way."
"Okay." Director Wang just responded softly.
But Sima Fei could feel that this skinny old man's grip was so strong that it almost hurt him, and it was obvious that he was not calm inside.
"My Lords..." Sima Rui looked at the others and said, "I have to leave first. The Great Jin Dynasty still needs your help."
Everyone burst into tears.
Liu Wei first sighed to the sky, then looked at the group of white-haired old people in the house, and couldn't help feeling sad.
After all the old men who had crossed the Yangtze River to the south died, who would be left to support the Jin Dynasty? Their descendants?
Bian Xu's sons called Concubine Pei of Donghai their aunt.
Yuan You's family was extremely respected in the north, and his cousin Yuan Neng married Shao Xun's sister.
Zhong Ya almost did not cross the river to the south at the beginning, and his identity as a Yingchuan aristocratic family was destined to be closely related to the Yu family.
What is the relationship between Liu Kun and Liang Qinzhou Governor Wen Qiao and Secretary General Lu Chen?
There is no need to mention Yang Wei and Yang Gu.
Standing not far away was Crown Princess Shan, whose two uncles were the Minister of Liang State and the General of Yinmi Town.
Even in his Liu family, many people served as officials in the north.
As for the Wang family of Langya, they had two prime ministers from one family, who served in the north and south respectively, and this was known to everyone in the world.
These old guys don’t have many years left to live, and they all know what the attitude of their descendants will be.
"Your Majesty." Wang Dao took a deep breath, calmed himself down, leaned close to Sima Rui's ear, and whispered a few words.
There was sadness in Sima Rui's eyes.
Wang Dao did not force him, but just waited quietly.
After a long while, Sima Rui sighed and said, "Send Sima Zong and Yu Yin to the court."
Wang Dao did not object.
The emperor wanted to give the two of them one last chance as he still cherished their old friendship.
However, in the final analysis, these two people only have a conspiracy, but have not yet implemented it. Give Sima Rui a face at this moment, and Wang Dao will come to clean up the mess later.
Sima Zong is in Taicheng and will be here soon.
Sima Rui asked him to stand and said nothing.
Sima Zong felt something vaguely, his face turned pale, and his body trembled unconsciously.
After a while, Yu Yin also arrived. When he saw Sima Rui, tears welled up in his eyes and he cried, "Brother-in-law!"
Wang Dao sighed inwardly.
I’m afraid I won’t die after hearing that “brother-in-law”.
Besides, the prince might not necessarily kill him.
The brothers Sima Shao and Sima Fei were both raised by Empress Jing, Yu Mengmu.
"Yan Zuo." Sima Rui called softly.
Sima Zong knelt down and cried, "Your Majesty, I ..."
"No need to say more." Sima Rui looked at him with complicated eyes and said, "Today you will hand over the post of General of the Left Guard and be appointed as the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs."
"I obey your command." Sima Zong was like a deflated ball, losing a lot of energy in an instant.
"Brother-in-law." Yu Yin crawled forward on his knees, crying.
"The prefect of Guiyang is still vacant, you must set off today." After saying this, Sima Rui closed his eyes and said no more.
Yu Yinru kowtowed repeatedly when he was pardoned.
Director Wang looked at the two of them silently without saying a word.
No one else bothered to look at them.
At this moment, they were not in the mood to deal with these two fools, but were thinking about what happened after the landslide with heavy hearts.
This day is just around the corner.
On the sixth day of the ninth month in the second year of the Taixing reign of the Great Jin Dynasty (329), Sima Rui died in the Taiji Hall of the Jianye Palace at the age of fifty-four.
Crown Prince Sima Fei ascended the throne in front of the coffin and accepted worship from Wang Dao and others.
At this time, the armies of both sides gathered in the Huaishui, Feishui and Mianshui river basins, and war was about to break out.
On the tenth day of September, Shao Xun went south from Luoyang and began to inspect Nanyang, which he had not visited for many years, to let the counties in northern Jing know who the real emperor was.
(End of this chapter)