"My dear nephew, my condolences."
Lu Yu stepped forward to help Sima Zhao up, with a sad look on his face.
"We are all deeply saddened by the passing of the general. I wonder if the general left any last words before he passed away?"
Sima Zhao shook his head, "No."
Lu Yu sighed again.
"The world will never forget the great general's merits. I will definitely go to the temple and ask for a posthumous title that echoes his character and merits."
Sima Zhao was not in the mood to listen to Lu Yu's nonsense anymore, so he said: "My brother passed away due to illness, and I have no intention of continuing to govern the world. I want to resign from my official title and keep my filial piety for my brother with peace of mind."
Hearing Sima Zhao's words, Lu Yu trembled all over and looked at Sima Zhao in front of him in disbelief.
Lu Yu originally thought that after the death of Master Sima, the more radical Sima Zhao would take his place and start a head-on struggle with him.
He had already taken precautions, but Sima Zhao actually wanted to retreat now? ?
Lu Yu couldn't believe it, so he asked: "Is this true??"
"Does Mr. Lu think I'm unfilial?!"
"When my father passed away, I was too busy with important matters to pay my filial piety. Now my brother's son is still young and cannot be old enough to pay filial piety. I should keep my filial piety for my father and brother."
"OK!!"
Lu Yu patted Sima Zhao on the shoulder, "General Zhengxi is really filial! The general's filial piety is really touching!"
Everyone can see the ecstasy in Lu Yu's heart at this moment.
A competitor dies and the next competitor drops out.
In the temple struggle, once one withdraws from the core of power, it is extremely difficult to return. Unless Sima Zhao can reach the level of his father, such a retreat will basically declare the end of political life.
It's really hard for Lu Yu to describe how he feels at this moment. Double happiness is coming, everything is moving in the best direction, and success will happen today!
Lu Yu immediately took Sima Zhao and informed the ministers of Sima Zhao's thoughts, as if he was afraid that Sima Zhao would regret it.
The ministers were also very surprised. They didn't understand that although Master Sima was dead, the Sima family was still the behemoth, with extremely powerful power both in the temple and in the local area. No other big family could compete with them alone. pick.
The ministers even believed that Sima Shi's illness had previously hindered the Sima family and made it impossible for the Sima family to fight back effectively. But now that he was dead and Sima Zhao was healthy, he should have led the Sima family to start an all-out struggle.
Why would he choose to give in at this time? ?
Seeing the suspicious eyes of the ministers, Sima Zhao also couldn't understand this matter.
But he still obeyed his brother's orders.
At this moment, someone stood up hurriedly, took Sima Zhao's hand, and pulled him aside.
This person was Zhao Feng. Zhao Feng gritted his teeth and said, "What does the general want to do?"
As a wealthy family in Hanoi, the fate of the Zhao family has long been tied to that of the Sima family, and they cannot be separated easily. Zhao Feng completely does not understand Sima Zhao's decision at this moment.
Sima Zhao asked Sima Yan to be responsible for the reception, and took Zhao Feng out of here.
He whispered: "Please don't worry too much. This is not my intention to give up my father's last wish. This is my brother's order."
"Before my brother passed away, he told me to resign and wait for the ministers to persuade me to serve as general again."
"What??"
Zhao Feng frowned, "What does this mean? The ministers are particularly wary of us. They are probably glad that the general has passed away at this moment. How can they let the general take over? Or are they begging for the general to take over?"
Sima Zhao said: "He also said a lot. From what he said, it seems that the Shangshutai and the General will still belong to our family."
Zhao Feng hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Is the general a little insane?"
Sima Zhao suddenly stared at him, and Zhao Feng quickly explained: "I am not disrespecting the general, I am just worried that what the general said is really disturbing."
Sima Zhao said calmly: "I believe brother."
"He is definitely not delirious. He is very conscious. He must have made arrangements. You don't have to worry. At this moment, we can't take any more action. Let everyone under his command be quiet and do their own thing with peace of mind. Don't let them jump again. Let’s take some time off.”
"Those who are not firm enough and hesitant, let them go out and join Lu Yu. This is a good thing. Those who are still with us now are all sages who are sincerely close to us."
After hearing what Sima Zhao said, Zhao Feng no longer objected, nodded and agreed.
At this moment, the ministers had confirmed Sima Shi's death, and even learned that Sima Zhao was not willing to fight anymore. This news made them very happy.
Gradually, the ministers gathered in the General's Mansion left.
They still have a lot to take care of.
When Master Sima died like this, he left a lot of inheritance, which they needed to divide and inherit.
People come and go, but fewer and fewer ministers come to worship.
In the Zhaoyang Palace, Gao Rou was vividly telling the Queen Mother about the death of Master Sima.
Queen Mother Guo's first reaction was disbelief, and then she was ecstatic.
She was so happy, just like the ministers in the temple, they wanted to start celebrating now.
Gao Rou was very smart. He connected his actions with Master Sima's death, subconsciously making people feel that it was because of him that Master Sima died.
Queen Mother Guo said excitedly: "Okay, from now on, there will be no enemies in the temple."
Gao Rou said seriously: "Queen Mother, we can't celebrate too early."
"Although Master Sima is dead, his power is still huge. His younger brother Sima Zhao will take over these powers. Sima Zhao is radical and impatient, which may cause greater conflicts. At this moment, the Queen Mother should take the opportunity to take back her power , leaving the Sima family with no possibility of counterattack."
Queen Mother Guo was convinced and nodded quickly.
"Yes, yes, that's right!"
Gao Rou hurriedly said: "Therefore, I believe that the most important thing now is that the military power should be taken back to the temple."
"The general has passed away, then it is up to you to arrange for a suitable person to take his place."
"As a general, I command the armies in the world to surrender and not dare to cause trouble again."
"This can also prevent Sima Zhao and others from causing chaos."
Gao Rou analyzed it carefully and kept hinting.
Queen Mother Guo nodded, feeling that what he said made sense, so she hurriedly asked: "What do you think if Wang Taichang serves as the general?"
Gao Rou took a deep breath, and veins suddenly appeared on her forehead.
He looked at the Queen Mother in front of him again. He had already hinted so clearly. Are you talking about Wang Xiang here? ?
How can the old man He De become a general? You call him over now and see if he dares to take it!
Is this stupid woman pretending to be confused with herself, or does she really not understand her hint?
Gao Rou said helplessly: "Queen Mother, I'm afraid the prince's qualifications are not enough. He has only served as the ninth minister for a short time and has no military merit."
Speaking of military achievements, the Queen Mother suddenly realized, "What about Wang Shangshu and Wang Guan?! He has the qualifications! He also knows how to lead troops to fight!"
Gao Rou was silent for a long time, "Queen Mother, what do you think of me?"
Queen Mother Guo was stunned, "You are over eighty, can you still lead troops to fight??"
Gao Rou was silent, things did not go as smoothly as he thought. Queen Mother Guo was not so easily persuaded in the choice of general. She felt that this position should be carefully considered.
Gao Rou gave up the idea of persuading her to let him take office today, and went back home for the time being, leaving the Queen Mother some time to celebrate.
The General's Mansion.
At night, few ministers came to worship.
At this time, another minister came to the house.
Sima Qian quickly got up. The person who came this time was Zhong Hui.
Zhong Hui frowned, his expression particularly complicated.
Sima Qian personally led him to the mourning hall.
Sima Zhao did not expect that anyone would come at this time. He stood up and saluted to greet them.
Zhong Hui just looked at the man lying on top calmly, and then knelt down in front of him.
Zhong Hui was a little dazed. When he was very young, he often heard his brother talk about the three most powerful scholars in Luoyang.
He Yan, Xia Houxuan, Sima Shi.
Zhong Hui and his brother admired these three people very much. In other words, there was no scholar in Luoyang at that time who did not admire and worship these three people.
Zhong Hui repeatedly begged his brother to let him take him to their gatherings just to meet them.
Master Sima admired this child prodigy very much and once gave him guidance on his studies.
When Zhong Hui grew older, he directly took refuge with Master Sima and became his confidant from then on.
Zhong Hui liked the feeling of doing things for Master Sima very much, and he had always firmly believed that Master Sima was the holy king that a wise minister like himself needed.
He believes that the two of them will create unparalleled great achievements. In today's world, who can beat our joining forces?
Destiny is between the two of us, and we will usher in a new era.
However, the wise minister had not fully developed his talents, and the holy king had passed away.
Zhong Hui sat here, not saying anything, not crying, just sitting calmly.
"Shi Ji"
Sima Zhao spoke.
Zhong Hui looked at him, "The general did not lose."
"Um?"
"All those people who are celebrating and proud today have failed to defeat the general."
Zhong Hui said to himself: "The general did not lose to Lu Yu, he did not lose to Wang Xiang, and he did not lose to Your Majesty."
"He just lost to time. If he can live another twenty years, do you think those people have a chance?"
Sima Zhao looked confused. He didn't know why Zhong Hui said this, and he didn't know how to answer.
After Zhong Hui finished speaking, he stood up and said, "I didn't lose either."
He turned and left.
Sima Yan looked at his father, "What does he mean?"
Sima Zhao shook his head, "I don't know either."
