Sima Daozi was stunned at first, then his face turned happy: "You have no joke?"
Sima Yao said in a deep voice: "The king is joking! I will order you to be the governor of Yangzhou, record the affairs of the minister, and use the yellow ax to supervise the military affairs of the five states. The edict will be issued immediately."
Sima Daozi laughed and knelt down directly to Sima Yao, kneeling three times and bowing nine times: "Long live my emperor, long live long live." When he stood up, he suddenly had a bad smile on his face: "I also wish my brother a happy wedding, Give birth to a precious son soon!”
A cold smile flashed across Sima Yao's face, he helped Sima Daozi up and took his hand: "You can't do the military and state affairs, and I can't win over the aristocratic families. I leave Yangzhou and the Beifu Army to my dear brother. .”
A rush of footsteps came from outside the palace. The coy brothers stopped what they were doing and looked at the source of the sound. They saw Eunuch Liu sweating profusely, and the fly whisk in his hand was dancing wildly as he ran all the way. , Sima Yao's face darkened: "Liu Ping, didn't you see me and the King of Kuaiji discussing state affairs? Why are you in such a panic?"
Eunuch Liu knelt down with a mournful face: "Your Majesty, that Wang Miaoyin..." As soon as he said these three words, he immediately realized that Sima Daozi was beside the emperor and stopped talking.
Sima Daozi's eyes flashed with excitement, he took a step forward and asked, "What's wrong with Wang Miaoyin?"
A trace of unhappiness flashed in Sima Yao's eyes, but it disappeared and he said in a deep voice: "King Kuaiji is my biological brother, not an outsider, but it doesn't matter."
Eunuch Liu raised his head and said: "Wang Miaoyin went to see Master Huiyuan to be ordained and became a monk just last night. She said that she was no longer a person in this world and could not abide by His Majesty's marriage contract!"
Sima Yao's face suddenly turned red and he said angrily: "What does this woman want? What does Xie An want?!"
Sima Daozi sneered on the side and said: "Brother, I am right, the Xie family and the Wang family are a blatant humiliation to our royal family. After agreeing to the marriage, they regretted it in this way, just to tell us that they are big families. They are still above our Sima royal family, and we can do nothing to them. If this matter is not punished severely, the royal dignity will be lost, so please make a decision."
Sima Yao's eyes sparkled, and he was lost in thought. After a long time, the expression on his face gradually calmed down, and he curled up his lips: "I will make a decision after verifying this matter. King Kuaiji, it's getting late. You Let's go back and deal with government affairs first. The edict I just issued will be drafted immediately."
Sima Daozi nodded, bowed and retreated.
Sima Yao's face became gloomy. At some point, a person appeared from the shadow corner of the palace. He wore a Confucian shirt and a high crown, and his beard and hair were like snow. He raised his hands and feet, exuding an aura of elegance. This person was Sima Yao's Teacher, Fan Ning, a great scholar in the world.
Sima Yao sighed: "Teacher, you heard everything. It was you who advised me to marry Xie An's granddaughter. Now what do they want to do with this?"
Fan Ning smiled slightly: "When I originally suggested that your majesty marry the Wang and Xie families, I thought of this possibility. Wang Miaoyin loves Liu Yu deeply and has been committed to him for a long time. I am afraid that it is not something that the power of the world can control. His thoughts. I remember that Wang Miaoyin once swore that she would live and die with Liu Yu, become a nun, and no longer be in this world, so she has kept her vow."
Sima Yao gritted his teeth: "Since you, teacher, have thought of this a long time ago, why do you still need me to give a betrothal gift to Wang Xie's family? Isn't this self-humiliating?"
Fan Ning shook his head: "No, no, Your Majesty, what you want is not the woman Wang Miaoyin, but the allegiance of the two great families of Wang and Xie. What you want is the military power of the Beifu Army, the power to record ministerial affairs, and The governor of Yangzhou, as well as the political power of the large areas captured in the Northern Expedition. Xie An has already given you these, and Wang Miaoyin is just a bonus on the surface. It is best to have it, and it is a pity not to have it. "
Sima Yao sighed: "But no matter what, it is always a loss of face for a royal family to be rejected like this. Besides, without the marriage relationship, just relying on Xie An giving up power this time may not necessarily win the sincere loyalty of their two families. , now Xie An has lost power and can only hand over power, but in the future if they regain their strength, they will no longer support me. These aristocratic families have always been like this, being authoritarian when they are strong and tolerant when they are weak."
Fan Ning said with a smile: "Marriage cannot bring about stable relationships and loyalty. When Wang Fahui married, did the Xie family and the Wang family become loyal to you? They didn't have exclusive power. So much so that His Majesty had to rely on promoting Kuaiji The king came to restrain Xie An. This time Wang Miaoyin broke the contract, which was not Xie An's original intention. As a result, Xie An would be very frightened. It turned out that he might just hand over the power to His Majesty, allowing you to stand in front and face other forces. We may not be able to stay out of the struggle for power this time, but we will still let the Xie family, his brothers, nephews, serve as officials to assist His Majesty."
Sima Yao's heart moved: "Will Xie An really do this? Are you really willing to help me?"
Fan Ning nodded: "Yes, the Northern Expedition failed because King Kuaiji united with those mysterious forces to cause mischief behind the scenes. Xie An knew it well, so he took retreat as an advance and returned the government and the army to His Majesty. He But they retreated behind the scenes, just waiting for this fight to end and the Xie family to come out and clean up the mess."
Sima Yao said angrily: "Xie An really has bad intentions. I thought he really wanted to hand over power and be loyal to the royal family. I didn't expect that he had such plans."
Fan Ning smiled slightly: "If Xie An hadn't been like this, how could the Xie family have experienced so many years of ups and downs and become a top family? Originally, marriage could do this, but now because Wang Miaoyin has become a monk, he can only let his nephew become an official. It’s done. Your Majesty can let Xie Shi succeed Xie An as Shangshu Ling, let Xie Xuan continue to command the Beifu Army, and let Xie Yan lead the guards of the capital as a reward for the Xie family."
Sima Yao frowned: "Are these powers still given to the Xie family? Is this really good? I just promised to give these powers to King Kuaiji."
Fan Ning said sternly: "Your Majesty, you must not do it. There are mysterious forces behind King Kuaiji. These people have sinister intentions and big plans, and they may not necessarily control the situation according to the actual power of the aristocratic family over the past few decades." With this approach, if they really become disloyal, they will be in trouble. King Kuaiji himself is not capable enough to restrain Wang Guobao, let alone those dark forces. Yangzhou, Beifu Army, and the power of the government are your only ones now. What you control must not be given to the King of Kuaiji!"
Sima Yao curled up his lips: "If you don't give it to the King of Kuaiji, you have to give it to the Xie family. Isn't it the same trouble? This is like going full circle, and the Xie family is still in power. Teacher, is this the good idea you gave me?"
