Yongzhou, Chang'an.
In the palace of the General Chariot and Cavalry.
The famous general Guo Huai lay on the bed for nearly half a year. Finally, he could not resist the passage of time and died of illness in Chang'an.
And his death was a fatal blow to the entire Yongliang Army.
At this moment, the two people were kneeling in front of the memorial tablet, looking at the motionless cavalry general above them, with sadness in their eyes.
Even a strong man like Guo Huai was in agony when he was tortured by illness. He ordered the people around him many times not to let the imperial doctor approach him again, and he also resisted treatment many times.
That brave and staunch general ended up as skinny as Sima Shi. He lay on the bed for half a year and finally closed his eyes.
And this incident was like a bolt from the blue to everyone under his command.
Chen Tai, the governor of Yongzhou, looked pale and his eyes were full of uneasiness.
Chen Tai is the son of Chen Qun.
Born into a wealthy family, during the Gaoping Ling Incident, he went to persuade Cao Shuang to surrender, thus gaining the trust of the Sima family.
However, Cao Shuang was killed by his clan, causing Chen Tai's reputation to collapse.
Although he was not the one who broke the promise, after all, he was the one who promised Cao Shuang that he would get rich after surrendering.
I don’t know if I’m rich or not, but I’m really kneeling when I kneel.
Chen Tai was stunned by Sima Yi's behavior, but he did not dare to pursue it further, nor did he dare to ask any more questions, nor did he dare to continue to follow Sima Yi. He hurriedly reported, asked for external transfer, and came to the land of Yongliang.
Chen Tai fought many battles, but he was not a murderous person. He once served as the governor of Bingzhou and protected the Huns. When facing the Huns, he adopted a gentle policy and won the hearts of the people. It has high prestige among people.
After Guo Huai became seriously ill, Chen Tai had been working hard to resist the invasion from Shu.
Although his military ability is far inferior to that of Guo Huai, he can still be regarded as conscientious in his duties and is much better than those parasites in the temple.
It is worth mentioning that this person grew up with Sima Shi, Sima Zhao and others and has been a playmate for many years.
The person beside him was Sima Wang.
At this moment, the two of them were sitting on their knees in front of Guo Huai's spiritual throne, both feeling uneasy.
They had just learned the news that the general had died of illness, and before they could recover, they also learned about the rebellions in various places. Just when they were worried, Guo Huai disappeared.
Chen Tai never thought that these things would happen at the same time.
The general's death from illness has already dealt a huge blow to morale. Local rebellions will affect the transportation of supplies, and now Guo Huai, the backbone of the army, is gone. If Jiang Wei comes to attack, how can he stop it with such morale? ?
Chen Tai looked at Sima Wang standing aside.
The man sent by the general didn't look so reassuring.
His identity made many generals distrust him, thinking that he was just here to gain military exploits.
And he himself has no experience in leading troops in combat, so he is not as good as Chen Tai!
Sima Wang noticed the way Chen Tai looked at him, and he said seriously: "Jiang Wei is coming, we have to make arrangements and wait for the temple to come for support."
Chen Tai asked: "Where do you think Jiang Wei will send his troops?"
Sima Wang quickly replied: "Maybe we can go out of Didao and take Taoxi."
Chen Tai was stunned for a moment and looked at Sima Wang in front of him again. It seemed that he was not here just for military merit.
At present, many generals believe that Jiang Wei's army will attack Qishan, Shiying, and Jincheng in three directions, and hope that Chen Tai can divide his troops as soon as possible.
However, based on his understanding of Jiang Wei, Chen Tai believed that Jiang Wei would definitely not divide his troops, but would press forward with a large army and march towards Didao. He should deploy heavy troops to block it.
Sima Wang's current views are actually the same as Chen Tai's.
Chen Tai said: "Jiang Wei's coming this time will definitely attack with a heavy army. It is best for us to hold on and weaken his spirit. As long as he cannot win in the short term, he will definitely retreat."
Sima Wang said seriously: "I will obey your orders!"
Chen Tai breathed a sigh of relief. If this was the case, the battle could still be fought.
"Then defend on all fronts and cannot get out. Wait for the order from the temple."
"only!!"
The two of them fell silent again. There was really nothing to say between Chen Tai and Sima Wang. In these days, the two of them did not have much contact.
It's the kind of friendship where you just nod your head when you meet.
Chen Tai obviously has more things to worry about than Sima Wang.
Sima Yi's behavior last time made Chen Tai miserable, and he almost lost his qualifications to be a celebrity. If the Sima family had always been strong and even conquered the world, then no one would probably mention it again, but in this situation .
As soon as Chen Tai had not returned to Luoyang, he could already feel the crisis of the matter.
This can be seen from the fact that Sima Zhao only served as General Wei after the general died of illness. Why didn't he succeed the general?
If the Sima family really fell, would what he did to Cao Shuang become evidence for his political enemies to attack him?
Will he fall with the Sima family?
If the Sima family makes a more drastic operation now, will I, who is locked on the Sima family's chariot, be further implicated? ?
According to historical records, after Chen Tai learned that Sima Zhao had committed regicide, he was shocked and asked Sima Zhao to kill Jia Chong's entire family. However, Sima Zhao refused, and Chen Tai died of grief and anger.
He is not a completely shameless person, he is also afraid that the Sima family's saucy operations will make him infamy for eternity.
Compared to Jiang Wei, Chen Tai was also more worried about the situation in the temple at the moment.
He asked tentatively: "Sima Jun, I heard that after the death of the general, there was a disagreement between Grand Duke Taifu and General Wei. If General Wei calls you back temporarily, what will I do here?"
He used this topic to ask Sima Wang his personal thoughts.
Sima Wang said seriously: "If the temple really wants to call me back, then I can only go back, but please don't worry. If I go back, I will definitely inform them of the urgency of the matter and ask them to send reinforcements." , I will never let you bear it alone.”
It was as if Sima Wang had never said anything, so Chen Tai had no choice but to say again: "I'm afraid that the discord in the temple will cause chaos in the border troops."
"Don't worry, Governor. My father is a man who knows right from wrong. Now that the enemy is facing us, no one dares to find trouble with the border troops. We can just face the enemy with peace of mind."
Chen Tai sighed again.
There are ways to repel this external enemy, but what should we do about this internal enemy?
Tai Chi Hall, East Hall.
This time there were not as many celebrities coming as before.
Not even the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest could arrive.
Wang Rong and Shan Tao never came.
As for the celebrities in Luoyang, less than half of them came.
The banquet in the East Hall suddenly lost its liveliness as before.
But Cao Mao didn't care about this. Sima Yan sat proudly next to Cao Mao, looking at the many celebrities who came, with great pride in his eyes.
Unknowingly, Sima Yan also became a famous person in Luoyang.
For Sima Yan, it is not necessarily a bad thing that there are fewer people coming. Once there are more people, they will start debating those classics, which Sima Yan has a hard time listening to.
Cao Mao looked at the many celebrities around him and said softly: "Everyone, in the past few days, I heard that some imperial students were criticizing the government outside. I was extremely happy to learn about this!"
Hearing this sentence, the celebrities were very quiet and did not dare to talk.
Cao Mao continued: "It's not because they speak for me, it's because they dare to abuse me!"
"During the early Han Dynasty, there was a law, and you could not be punished for speaking!"
"But in our great Wei Dynasty, there are fewer and fewer talented people who dare to tell the truth and dare to curse others."
"How can this be done?"
"I heard that when King Wei of Qi was in charge of the country of Qi, he issued an order: Those ministers and officials who can confront the mistakes of others will receive a high reward!"
"It was because of his obedient advice that the people could speak freely, and finally brought great rule to the country of Qi."
"Therefore, I was extremely excited when I heard about the actions of the students."
"I am determined to imitate the mighty King of Qi. Now I am still young and have many things that I don't understand. Since I came to the throne, I may have done something inappropriate. I want to issue an edict to make all the ministers and people in the world denounce my mistakes. If you can If he does it, I will reward him ten gold pieces!!"
"Back then, the general believed in the thieves' temptations and used cruel punishments to treat virtuous people. I would never do that."
"I want to give an order to the court captain not to be punished for his words!"
"From today on, everyone in the Wei Dynasty can speak freely without fear. If you have any dissatisfaction with me, just say it, I will forgive you!!"
Cao Mao said loudly.
The celebrities were shocked. At this moment, Sima Yan, who was a poor complimenter, asked worriedly: "Your Majesty, you are saying this now, but if you really say it is not enough, what should you do if you want to accuse me?"
"How could I make a mistake?"
Sima Yan stood up hesitantly, bowed to Cao Mao, and then said: "Since your Majesty ascended the throne, he has often said that he would succeed Emperor Liezu, but until now, he has not paid homage to his ancestors, let alone held a succession ceremony. Could it be that after His Majesty became the emperor, he would disregard his original oath? His Majesty’s behavior is really inappropriate!!”
Cao Mao laughed and nodded, "Okay, what Sima Sanqi said makes sense! Come on, I'll reward you with ten gold coins!"
Immediately, a eunuch took the money and delivered it to Sima Yan.
Sima Yan was very moved and quickly thanked him.
The faces of the celebrities were very complicated. His Majesty's acting skills were beyond words, but this Sima Sanqi was really embarrassed. His words and actions made it impossible to look directly at him.
However, their basic qualities as celebrities prevent them from exposing others. After all, celebrities perform for each other. No matter how bad your performance is, you can't ruin it. Otherwise, if you perform in the future, the audience will not cooperate with you. .
The celebrities began to follow suit one after another and put forward some suggestions more or less, and Cao Mao truthfully rewarded them.
The celebrities gained fame, and the emperor achieved his goal.
Both sides knew it, but neither side made it clear.
Only Sima Yan, looking at the celebrities who were completely deceived by him, couldn't help but raise his head and giggle.
We are really too strong! !
