Luoyang, the General's Mansion.
Sima Fu sat next to his nephew and was quietly sizing him up.
There was no color at all on Master Sima's face.
The skin was extremely pale, so white that it was a bit scary.
His breathing was not steady, and every breath seemed so laborious.
It seemed like there were only bones left in his body, and even the hand placed on the case looked like a dead branch, as if it would break if he exerted force.
At this moment, Sima Fu's heart was extremely complicated.
Although Sima Fu didn't dislike this Youzi, he still felt light all over when he heard that Master Sima was seriously ill.
Perhaps even Sima Zhao would be like this.
But at the same time, Sima Fu couldn't help but worry about the future.
When Sima Master was still very healthy, Sima Fu never worried about the future, whether it was the fate of his clan or his own safety.
But for Sima Zhao, he was not so relieved.
Sima Fu knew very well what Sima Zhao was like. He looked more docile than Master Sima, but in fact, that was just the appearance he presented. A disguise was just a disguise after all, not real.
He is much more violent and cautious than his brother.
Sima Fu knew that once Master Sima was gone, he would be feared by Sima Zhao first.
Although they are from the same clan, in front of the throne, even the relationship between father and son is not that strong, let alone the father-in-law?
"Second Father"
Sima Fu quickly looked at Master Sima.
Master Sima asked: "Is there really nothing unusual about Zheng Miao?"
"There really wasn't a banquet and there was no problem. Zheng Miao didn't talk to anyone, he just drank. Later they left and never got together."
Because of Zheng Miao's reaction, Master Sima judged that there was something wrong with Zheng Miao, so he sent someone to keep an eye on him.
It turned out that Chen Qian had visited him not long ago, and learned that he was going to the palace with Chen Qian for a banquet.
Master Sima thought there was a big problem, so he asked Zheng Chong and Sima Fu to go to the palace, mainly to see who else Zheng Miao and Chen Qian would contact.
Zheng Chong went to see if there were any hidden dangers in their classic debate, and Sima Fu went to check whether the people attending the banquet had any contact with Zheng Miao.
Zheng Chong has already written a book to Master Sima, which explains many matters in the classic debate in detail.
Zheng Chong did not express his position, but truthfully told many things that happened and what he noticed.
He just let Master Sima make his own judgment.
Sima Fu also brought the same news here, and there was no problem.
Master Sima thought for a moment and then said, "You can send someone to their mansion to keep an eye on these two people."
Sima Fu was shocked.
"Why did Ziyuan want to arrest them?"
"They have never committed any crimes. Are they going to be arrested just because they have contacts?"
"Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, doing this will definitely lead to chaos!"
Master Sima said seriously: "I'm not going to arrest them directly. I'm just sending people to their mansions to tell them to do some etiquette and other things, so that they don't go out in the short term."
"As Father Zhong said, now that we are facing a powerful enemy, there must be no chaos in the court."
Sima Fu looked at Master Sima in disbelief. At this moment, he felt that Master Sima had lost his head due to a serious illness.
With your own power, it doesn't matter which minister you want to arrest now. However, after all, you have a reputation as a teacher. You put Yushi Zhongcheng and Guang Luxun and Zongzheng under house arrest for no reason. The ministers are not fools!
Neither of them are good people.
"General, please think carefully!"
"Chen Qian is the son of the late Situ Gong. Many ministers in the court have received favors from his father. He is also very famous and has many friends."
"His brother Chen Ben is also the general of Zhenbei, holding a large army!"
"Nowadays, we are conquering four towns in four directions. Apart from conquering the west and conquering the north, who else can we completely trust?"
"If we force their family to go to Guanqiu Jian's side, it will cause serious trouble!"
"This is especially true for Zheng Miao. He has an extraordinary family background. He was raised by Captain Hua and recommended by Wang Situ. He has a greater reputation and recommends more people. Among them, Wang Ji, the governor of Jingzhou, was also recommended by him."
"Then Wang Ji is a weapon to defeat Guanqiu Jian, how can it be like this??"
This is the problem with the current strength of the aristocratic family. They all have a strong connection with each other, and if one of them moves, they will provoke a large group of people.
It turned out that Master Sima killed Xia Houxuan, which caused many noble clans to alienate him, so he had to kill them all and send them to accompany Xia Houxuan.
At that time, Master Sima's condition was not as serious as it is now. If he were to attack these two people now, General Zhenbei would probably rebel first. After all, Master Sima always killed people by killing people.
General Zhendong’s problem has not been solved yet!
Don't add another General Zhenbei!
"Father Zhong, I'm not trying to kill them, I'm just trying to find something for them to do. General Zhenbei is at odds with his brother, so he won't rebel just because of this. As for Wang Ji, although Zheng Miao recommended him, But we don’t interact with each other, so there’s no need to worry.”
Sima Fu frowned, "But why take such a risk? There is no evidence, just because of your guess?"
Master Sima said seriously: "Things that can give Zheng Miao confidence are definitely not easy to deal with. We must guard against them."
"Father Zhong, don't worry. I know you can't go too far at this moment. Otherwise, Wang Xiang, Lu Yu, and Xun Yi told me a terrible thing when Fu Shangshu was still here. I doubt his The confidence comes from what Lu Yu was planning to do in the first place."
"However, given Lu Yu's character, if he wants to do this, he should do it after I'm dead. He shouldn't be so eager. No matter what, he can't touch these people rashly. He has to restrain himself."
The corners of Sima Fu's eyes twitched. Is this still your choice after restraining yourself?
If you don't restrain yourself, do you want to directly imprison the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty? ?
Master Sima continued, "Father Zhong, I am going to take you with me to this battle. You will stay behind and be responsible for the supply of the entire army. If something happens to me, you will be in charge of the army."
"At the beginning, my father entrusted me with the great undertaking, but I was not very talented and learned, and in the end I was unable to fulfill my father's last wish."
"If something happens to me, please ask Father Zhong to continue to protect the clan."
Sima Fu had a complicated look on his face, "Stop talking about these things, and just calm down and face the enemy."
While the two were talking, a soldier suddenly walked in hurriedly and placed a letter in front of Master Sima.
Master Sima opened the letter, read it carefully, and then put it aside.
He looked at Sima Fu in front of him and said, "Father Zhong, someone went to Guanqiu Jian to report the important matter. Guanqiu Jian has already started to prepare food and grass with great fanfare."
Sima Fu nodded, "Next, let's deal with Guanqiu Jian with all our strength."
"No, Father Zhong, that's not the point. The point is that he actually started preparing food and grass in a big way."
"If the detailed work he arranged leads to the canonization of Taiwei, he will naturally make preparations."
Before Sima Fu could finish his words, he suddenly reacted and his expression changed drastically.
If Guanqiu Jian was about to raise an army, he should attack quickly, without giving the temple a chance to react, break through the defense line as soon as possible, and kill Luoyang. But now he is preparing food and fodder with great fanfare. Is this because he is afraid that the temple will not know that he is going to take action? ?
He's not trying to attack! He wants to defend!
Sima Fu looked at Master Sima in shock.
"It's because of your condition"
Master Sima narrowed his right eye, "How can he be so sure?"
"Father Zhong, I'll leave this matter of Chen Qian and Zheng Miao to you. I have other things to do, so I won't hold them back."
Sima Fu accepted the order and left the place immediately.
In the east hall, Wang Xiang said seriously with a straight face:
"Your Majesty, Sima Fu and Zheng Chong took the initiative to find the old minister and came here voluntarily."
"You must have noticed the strangeness at the banquet."
"Master Sima must be suspicious!"
As expected, Wang Xiang also saw something was wrong.
Cao Mao looked very calm. Wang Xiang, Chen Qian, and Zheng Miao were not stupid people. They could probably tell.
Cao Mao said seriously: "I think it was Chen Jun who showed cowardice that made Master Sima find out the clues. However, he should not know what we are going to do. Otherwise, he would have sent people to arrest him long ago, and there would be no way." Too much hesitation.”
"He just suspects that we are up to something bad, but even so, we have to be careful."
"Master Sima is a ruthless person. Even if he doesn't have any evidence, he will definitely try his best to murder us."
"Teacher, we can't delay this any longer."
"Now is the best opportunity. Guanqiu Jian has not raised an army yet, and Sima Division has not attacked us yet."
"We must seize the opportunity now and complete our major tasks in time."
"If it drags them out until they start a war and you mention this matter again, Sima Zhao will definitely do it in the name of colluding with Guanqiu Jian. And if it drags it out until Master Sima becomes murderous, he will still die."
Cao Mao kept persuading Wang Xiang.
Wang Xiang is not an indecisive person. He was unwilling to be too radical before because the chance of winning was too small and he was afraid that he would risk the entire clan.
But as Cao Mao said, now is a good time.
Although it's still a bit risky, it's worth a try.
Wang Xiang gradually made up his mind.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I will contact Chen Qian and other ministers to issue proposals for tomorrow's court meeting."
"Where is the Queen Mother?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will inform the Queen Mother. She will give her full support and will not delay the important matter."
Both the monarch and his ministers made up their minds.
Cao Mao felt a little excited in his heart. After all, this was his most critical part.
If we can win over all the ministers and noble families in the court meeting, it will definitely shake the foundation of Sima Shi's rule.
Based on Master Sima's character, he probably would not make concessions, and with the support of the Queen Mother, if Master Sima chose to delay, the ministers could directly switch to the Queen Mother and let the Queen Mother directly order the implementation.
This will push Sima Shi into a very disadvantageous position, and he will be in a dilemma!
This is not something that can be suppressed by your fifth-class title.
Next, be prepared to suffer this stormy attack! ! !
Cao Mao's eyes sparkled.
Wang Xiang was also very excited. If this thing goes well, he will become a virtuous minister supported by the officials. In the future, the Wang family will definitely be more prominent than the Sima family! !
