After making a rough plan for the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang used the excuse of staying in Qinzhou to appease the Qiang people and pacify the place, but stayed there without returning.
Zhang Xi and Pang Tong each had their own tasks. Within a few days, they were ordered to leave Qinzhou, one returning to Yongzhou and the other to Chengdu.
Pang Tong was about to rush back to Chengdu, so Zhuge Liang wrote a handwritten memorial to the emperor, telling the real reason why he did not return. As for such a big event as the Northern Expedition, someone needed to coordinate back and forth in the court and prepare various military supplies.
I'm afraid it's not enough for Fazheng to dispatch the troops in Chengdu alone. Pang Tong must go back and take charge of this matter.
As for Zhang Xi, he also needs to rush back to Yongzhou.
The Northern Expedition army could not rely solely on the Northern Army of the Han Dynasty and the few remaining Qinzhou county soldiers who had just experienced the Qiang Rebellion. The largest source of troops had to be the county soldiers of Yongzhou.
Therefore, Zhang Xi must return to Yongzhou as soon as possible to expand the number of Yongzhou county soldiers, and strive to train a group of usable county soldiers within half a year to prepare for the Northern Expedition.
By the way, Fei Yi must also find a way to spread rumors within the pass, implement a divorce plan, and transfer Sima Yi away from Wancheng.
Well, this matter is actually quite difficult. At least Fei Yi thinks it is very difficult.
According to the information obtained by Fei Yi, in the first year of Taihe in Cao Wei, Sima Yi, who was an auxiliary minister, was conferred the title of Hussar General by the new emperor Cao Rui from General Fujun, and was appointed governor of Jing and Henan provinces.
To put it simply, it promoted Sima Yi to the top three military generals, and at the same time established Sima Yi's leadership in Nanyang and Yuzhou. In name, Wang Ling of Xuchang and Cao Xiu of Runan must obey Sima Yi's control.
Judging from this appointment, it can be seen that Cao Rui still attaches great importance to Sima Yi. Even Cao Xiu, a clan general, must obey Sima Yi's orders.
It is not unusually difficult to alienate such an important minister.
Zhang Xi also knows about this, but there is nothing he can do about it. The current situation is like this. If Sima Yi can be transferred away through a divorce plan, that would of course be the best. If not, just wait until the Northern Expedition officially starts, and then think of other solutions. .
Just do your best and obey fate.
Fei Yi had no choice but to follow the ideas provided by Zhang Xi and start to alienate Sima Yi based on his actual work experience.
We still had to start from the direction of the "glitz" trend. Fei Yi sent out detailed operations to create public opinion in various counties and counties within the pass to praise Sima Yi's second son, Sima Shi, and Sima Zhao.
Through several smuggling aristocratic families in Guanzhong, he contacted some aristocratic families in Guanzhong, and through their help, he promoted Sima Yi's two sons.
From the common people to the aristocratic families, a two-pronged approach was used to praise the two boys of Gao Sima's family without limit, and touted their ability as no less than the "Five Sons of Good Generals". Unfortunately, due to bad luck, they could not be used by the court.
Immediately afterwards, Fei Yi asked Zhang Xi to come forward and asked Zhuge Liang to write a letter to Sima Yi in person, expressing his appreciation for Sima Yi's abilities. At the same time, he expressed regret for Sima Yi's loyalty to the Cao family's traitors, and hinted at a hint of persuasion to surrender. .
I don’t expect this letter to drive a wedge between Sima Yi and Cao Rui, but as long as this letter is there, it is a seed of doubt. Whether it can grow up in the end depends on the trust between Sima Yi and Cao Rui. How many are there.
It may not have any effect now, but when the time comes, it may play a decisive role.
In this way, after Zhang Xi returned to Yongzhou, various preparations for the Northern Expedition began in an orderly manner.
Time passed slowly like this until two months later.
Sima Yi, who was guarding Wancheng, suddenly received an urgent call from Luoyang, asking him to rush to Luoyang to discuss matters.
This edict made Sima Yi feel very restless.
In the past two months, a lot of comments have appeared in Sili, Nanyang, Yuzhou and other places, praising the Sima family, and some good people even put forward the term "Sima Bada".
This statement has already made Sima Yi very uneasy.
This "Sima Bada" refers to the eight brothers of Sima Yi's generation, and they all have the word "da" in them.
The literal meaning is not a big deal, after all, it is the truth.
But such a combined name can easily remind people of the "Xunshi Eight Dragons" of the Xunshi in Yingchuan in the past.
Sima Yi said that his family could not afford this benchmark.
The Xun family of Yingchuan has spent more than a hundred years of glorious accumulation and carefully cultivated a generation of talents. Only then are they qualified to be touted as the "Eight Dragons of the Xun family". Their family is just an ordinary family in Hanoi. Among the Hedong families They are not even ranked among the top five internally. How can they be compared with Yingchuan Xunshi?
You know, although the Yingchuan Family and the Hedong Family belong to the Central Plains Family camp, they are only facing the Hebei Family. Internally, the Yingchuan Family and the Hedong Family have never been very easy to deal with.
Now the Sima family is suddenly compared to the Xun family. This is to put the Sima family on the fire.
The ancestors of the Sima family have never produced a big shot at the level of the Third Duke. That is to say, Sima Yi's father, Sima Fang, had an investment vision in his early years and promoted Cao Cao, a tycoon. This generation of the Sima family also took advantage of the situation and took advantage of the opportunity to gain a place in the Cao Wei Group.
But no matter what, it cannot be compared with the status of Xun Yu and Xun You in the Cao Wei Group, nor can it compete with the Yingchuan family headed by the Xun family.
Nowadays, the two ministers Xun Yu and Xun You have passed away one after another. The power of the Yingchuan Xun family in the court has indeed weakened, while the Sima family, along with Sima Lang, Sima Yi and Sima Fu, have seen their status in the court rise. , there is indeed a feeling that the Sima family overshadows the Xun family.
But the foundation, the foundation is not at the same level at all.
The so-called "Sima Bada" means that these three brothers have real talents, and the others are just make-up. There is only one "Xunshi Eight Dragons", that is, each of them has real talents.
Because of a title, the Sima family offended the Xun family. From now on, Sima Yi's life in the court may not be so easy.
This already made Sima Yi quite uncomfortable, but the house was leaking and it was raining all night. Who knew who was cheating, so he insisted on including his own son, saying that "Sima Bada" is not enough, he should add Sima Shi. The two brothers Sima Zhao are collectively known as the "Ten Heroes of Sima".
If you want the lives of my entire Sima family, just say so.
Nine is the ultimate number, and ten is perfect. With more than a hundred years of experience and accumulation of several generations, the Xun family in Yingchuan cannot even produce ten outstanding talents. Why do people only dare to tout it as the "Eight Dragons of the Xun family"? !
You praise our Sima family and say "Sima Bada", but it's hard for Sima Yi to say "Sima Ten Heroes"? ! You're really not afraid of the emperor being petty, are you? !
Therefore, when this theory appeared, Sima Yi's first reaction was to send people to investigate and arrest those who spread these rumors, and at the same time personally wrote a letter to the emperor Cao Rui to plead guilty.
This rumor was eventually suppressed by Sima Yi and did not spread. It was only a rumor in Nanyang County.
Cao Rui was also very satisfied with Sima Yi's attitude, and specially issued an order to comfort Sima Yi, telling him not to take it to heart, so that the emperor of Wei would not let a rumor influence his attitude towards the auxiliary minister.
But what the reality is, Sima Yi doesn't know, only Cao Rui knows.
But no matter what, this rumor was suppressed and did not spread widely.
But then, comments praising Sima Yi's second son appeared like mushrooms after a rain, which made Sima Yi anxious.
Sima Yi immediately realized that this was not some mutual flattery between aristocratic families, but someone spreading rumors with a purpose. But Sima Yi didn't understand why the target was not himself, but his two sons.
It wasn't until one day that Sima Yi received a letter written by Zhuge Liang himself that Sima Yi had an insight into what was going on.
Divorce plan! ! !
That Zhuge village man, the dignified prime minister of a country, actually did such a despicable thing.
First, let people spread rumors, raise the reputation and status of the Sima family, sow discord between the Sima family and the Xun family, and make the Sima family a target within the royal family.
Then he asked people to praise his second son and boast about their abilities, catering to the current "glitz" trend in the court, which in turn aroused the emperor's resentment.
Finally, he wrote himself a letter similar to a letter of persuasion to surrender. On the one hand, he continued to brag about Sima Yi's abilities, and on the other hand, he used this method to arouse the emperor's suspicion of himself.
This matter is called flattery and killing, and Sima Yi, who is also an old fox, cannot possibly see through it.
But the problem is, Sima Yi paced back and forth and thought for a long time, but he still couldn't think of a suitable way to break the situation.
The Shu thief's alienation plan was very ordinary and nothing surprising, but in line with the emperor's fear of the aristocratic family and his aversion to the "glitz" style, this alienation plan seemed just right.
And Sima Yi's status now is really not that high.
Although he is among the four auxiliary ministers, in fact, he is far inferior to Cao Zhen in terms of military power, far inferior to Chen Qun in Luoyang in terms of government affairs, and inferior to Xia Houshang, a general of the Cao Wei clan in terms of intimacy.
Among the four auxiliary ministers, Sima Yi's status is at the bottom, but at the same time, he is not irreplaceable.
Among other things, Cao Xiu, who lived in Runan, had written to impeach Sima Yi more than once, accusing Sima Yi of passively avoiding the war against the Shu thieves in Jingzhou. In five years, he didn't even recapture Deng County.
If Cao Xiu hadn't been too hasty and impeached Sima Yi four times in five years, Cao Rui could see clearly the true purpose of impeaching his clan uncle. Sima Yi would have written to resign and go back to Luoyang now.
In other words, Sima Yi's status now still relies on the emperor's trust in him, and it is not to the point where he can influence the government. If the emperor no longer trusts him, then Sima Yi may be recalled at any time even as an auxiliary minister. Luoyang Pension no longer has real power.
Therefore, to break the situation, we must find a way to gain the trust of Emperor Cao Rui. But some things are really beyond Sima Yi's control.
The emperor hates "flashy" style, so Sima Yi will order his two sons to participate as little as possible in gatherings between children of aristocratic families. But the problem is that if you let your son attend gatherings, it will not affect others. of praise.
This is a temporary trend, a tacit understanding derived from the needs of the aristocratic families for their own interests. It is not something that you, Sima Yi, can just not participate in if you don't want to.
Not to mention Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, one is twenty and the other is seventeen. It is when they like to hear others affirming themselves. If it were not for an order from you, Sima Yi, the two of them would have severed ties with their friends.
As for this letter written by Zhuge Liang, it is even more of a hot potato.
It's not a problem to keep it in hand.
Indeed, in these days, even if they are in enemy countries, it is common for old friends to exchange letters with each other. No matter how arrogant the emperor is, he still can't control such things.
But Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi are not old friends, and both of them hold high positions. This letter also has a strong color of persuading surrender. Do you dare not let the emperor know? !
Keep it in your hand, and one day, for whatever reason, it will appear on the emperor's desk. At that time, it cannot be explained clearly in a few words.
Therefore, Sima Yi had only one choice, which was to personally reply a letter to Zhuge Liang, righteously reject Zhuge Liang's persuasion to surrender, and submit both letters to the emperor Cao Rui for review.
But in this case, my family, whether it is myself or my son, may be involved in the "glitz" trend. Only the emperor can really know what the emperor will think of him.
Sima Yi was worried about this. After sending two letters, he only waited for news from the DPRK.
As a result, within a few days, Sima Yi received news asking him to go to Luoyang to discuss matters. Could Sima Yi not be nervous? ! !
(End of chapter)
