Chapter 14 Unhappiness
Mi Huang and Shao Xun were training their troops, while Wang Dao went home directly.
When he reached the door of his home, he found a luxurious carriage parked here, and he immediately laughed.
He threw away the unhappiness in his heart, straightened his robes, walked in with a big smile, and said, "Jing Wen is here!"
Sima Rui, King of Langya, was a guest in the mansion. Hearing Director Wang's voice, he went out with a smile and said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
The two met in the courtyard, holding hands and talking happily, laughing endlessly.
“Husband.” Director Wang’s wife Cao Shu saluted.
When Sima Rui came to visit, Director Wang was not there, so Mr. Cao came to entertain him. This was a good thing for the whole family.
"Hurry and prepare a banquet. I want to get drunk with Jing Wen before we retire." Director Wang pulled Sima Rui to sit at the stone table in the courtyard and ordered.
Cao responded and left.
As long as the husband doesn't go out to look for women, she will still be very well-behaved and very considerate.
Sima Rui didn't pay attention to his image at all, he wiped the stone bench with his sleeve and sat down.
“I’ve been drinking a lot these past few days.” He said with a wry smile.
“Can’t you drink less?” Director Wang shook his head.
“What can you do if you don’t drink?” Sima Rui sighed softly.
"Jing Wen..." Director Wang said: "I know you are depressed, but if the current situation is like this, you must not be discouraged, you still have to cheer up. Keep those casual conversations to a minimum."
"Didn't Maohong like to talk very much before?" Sima Rui said in surprise.
“I don’t like it now.” Director Wang’s chubby fingers tapped on the stone table.
He knew that Sima Rui was worried, depressed and hesitant in his heart. But to be honest, there are many people like him nowadays, and everyone is confused.
He suddenly remembered the history of metaphysics.
Since its germination in the late Han Dynasty, it has developed in the Later Han Dynasty. By the end of the Later Han Dynasty, the government was becoming increasingly corrupt, Confucianism was becoming increasingly rigid, the scholars were depressed, their beliefs were wavering, and their families had huge wealth, so they could only pursue personal awakening and enjoyment. To put it bluntly, it is an escape from a disappointing reality.
Metaphysics developed greatly from this.
How different is the world of the Jin Dynasty today from that of the late Han Dynasty? The kings were fighting around Luoyang, and the scholars were miserable. Many families were broken up and people died. Would you say it was miserable or not?
Since you are depressed, of course you have to escape reality.
If one day, chaos appears around me and I can't even escape reality, then I...I...I will cross the Yangtze River and go south, find a place with beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, and continue my beloved entertainment, conversation, Wearing stones, playing the piano, painting and calligraphy...
There is always a place to escape.
Of course, not everyone is like this. Director Wang just wanted to cheer up and felt that he could not continue to mess around as usual.
Escape from reality requires a material foundation, and more importantly, political asylum. Otherwise, sooner or later, the manor with its vast wealth, vast streets, and hordes of servants will be taken away by others.
So, he had a feeling of resentment towards those people who were still chatting and having fun, drunk and dreaming, and wanted to wake them up when he met them, especially when this person was his close friend.
"Maohong, do you have any ideas?" Sima Rui looked at Director Wang carefully and asked.
My old friend has been traveling a lot in the past few months, and his face looks tired, and there is a sense of depression between his eyebrows that cannot be relieved.
The once bright eyes have become a lot cloudier.
Sima Rui actually likes to observe other people's eyes and always feels that he can read many different things from them. When Director Wang was chatting with people, his eyes were pure and persistent, and you could even see a serious energy in his eyes. But now, there seems to be a lot more grievances and helplessness, a lot more conspiracies and calculations, and a little bit of anger and dissatisfaction.
He jumped into the big dye vat of Vanity Fair. Naturally, he can no longer be as pure and unrestrained as before, which is understandable.
"Don't rush to ask me yet." Director Wang waved his hand, and after pondering for a while, he suddenly asked: "Jing Wen, why are you still staying in Luoyang?"
Sima Ruiyi Startled, he subconsciously replied: "If it's not in Luoyang, where can it be?"
"Where is Langya Kingdom? Don't you plan to return to the fiefdom?" Director Wang asked.
Sima Rui was a little silent.
Actually, why doesn’t he want to go back? But is it useful to go back?
First of all, General Wei, General Pingdong, the military governor of Xuzhou, the governor of Xuzhou, and King Dongping Sima Zhu control the power here. At best, he can only manage Langya's fiefdom, and there are many restrictions.
Secondly, the situation near Xuzhou is not stable. There are frequent civil unrests and chaos. Langya's civil servants are intimidated by martial arts. The national soldiers may not even be able to defeat the civilian army. It is too dangerous.
Third, just as Sima Yue stayed in Luoyang to look for opportunities, didn’t he have any ideas deep down in his heart? Impossible. "Okay, I know what you're thinking." Director Wang glanced at him and said, "But I still have to advise, Luoyang is not a place to stay for a long time. If you don't have a chance, leave early."
“Where to go?” Sima Rui asked.
Director Wang had an unfathomable look on his face. After a while, he said softly: "King Dongping followed the path of Sima Jiong and became the governor of Xuzhou. He also hated King Donghai. , think of a way to get rid of him, you go to Xiapi." "Oh? Are you sure?" Sima Rui was a little excited.
The army of the Jin Dynasty was divided into two parts: the Chinese army and the foreign army.
The Chinese Army is also called the Imperial Guard. Those stationed in the city are the Seven Guards Army. Those stationed outside the city are collectively called the Yamen Army. They originally numbered more than 100,000 people, but now there are still 50,000 or 60,000 people. .
The foreign army is mainly composed of Shibing soldiers from the eight metropolitan areas, such as Xuzhou, Jizhou, Guanzhong, Jingzhou, etc. The total strength is about 300,000, and they are basically Shibing military households. How many are left now? People, it’s hard to tell clearly, maybe less than half of them are missing.
The combat effectiveness is also very poor. For example, the foreign army led by the New Wild King has just been defeated by the refugees from the south - with the armaments weakened to such an extent, there is no one left. It is really not that the enemy is so powerful, but that we are too bad.
It can be said that the strongest force in the world today is the remaining 50,000 to 60,000 imperial guardsmen of the Luoyang Central Army. They have good equipment, full establishment, rich experience, and complete arms, including both infantry and cavalry, as well as armored cavalry. There are more than a thousand. If they were gone, the Jin Dynasty's power to dominate the world would no longer exist.
Wang Dao suggested that Sima Rui go to Xiapi. In fact, he was asking him to serve as General Pingdong and the governor of Xuzhou. Xiapi was the natural governor of Xuzhou.
“I’m not sure yet.” Director Wang smiled brightly and said, “Just wait, there will be a chance.”
“Why is Maohong so sure?” Sima Rui asked curiously.
Director Wang shook his head and smiled without saying a word.
Sima Ruiruo had some realizations, but felt that there were some questions that he had not yet thought clearly about. He wanted to ask, but was a little embarrassed, so he could only hold back and pretend to understand.
"Speaking of which, Xiapi is a good place. You can advance or retreat." Sima Rui said with a smile: "But, to the east is the Kingdom of Donghai. Can Sikong agree? I heard that he can speak well in front of the King of Changsha. You can talk."
"Wait." Director Wang smiled, cherishing his words like gold.
Sima Rui was secretly annoyed.
Wang Maohong is good at everything, but he is too conceited and talks in a vague manner. He does not speak openly in front of old friends, which makes him slightly unhappy.
However, he still maintained a warm and genial smile on his face, and he only heard him say: "Actually, Donghai is a small county, and it doesn't matter much. Sikong is more and more trusted by the King of Changsha, and he must be able to find a better feudal state, but he may not be interested in Donghai. How interesting. Speaking of which, Langya Kingdom and Donghai Kingdom are still bordering each other. It would be great if I could get out of Xiapi and take Xuzhou into my hands."
Director Wang looked at him approvingly. One glance. However, when I heard the word "East China Sea", another layer of gloom fell between my eyebrows.
Sima Rui had been quietly paying attention to his expression. When he saw this, he asked: "What's wrong? But what's wrong? What if-"
"Actually, it's nothing." Director Wang stretched out his hand to intercept it. After hearing what he said next, he raised his head and looked at the sky for a while, and then said after a long while: "There are some small surnames and poor family backgrounds in the East China Sea, such as the Mi family, so they have to be treated with caution. Today..."
Director Wang took advantage of the situation and said today: Let’s talk about Pan Yuan’s story.
Sima Rui was quite disapproving after hearing this: "What do I think it is! Mi Huang is probably training a team, right? His ambition is not small, does he want to get a prefect or governor Dangdang? As for the one named Shao Xun Haha, it’s not easy to punish him? Just find a reason to kill him. If that doesn’t work, send a letter to the Xuzhou government to arrest his family.”
Director Wang laughed when he heard this.
He was not willing to lower his status and asked Sikong to order the killing of Shao Xun.
He is just a little superintendent, a despicable person, and he will never do anything to him, the Langya Wang family. He just didn't achieve his goal and was a little unhappy.
If Shao Xun is willing to kneel in front of him, kowtow and apologize, this matter will be over.
If he doesn't do this and just follows Mi Huang, if he gets in trouble with him in the future, he will be crushed to death easily.
To put it bluntly, the identity gap between the two is too big to be worth targeting and reducing the price.
Seeing that his friend was silent, Sima Rui understood in his heart and said casually: "If you feel that it is not worth fighting, then ask Concubine Pei to take action. She will punish her, dismiss her from her post, and then send her back to her hometown in Donghai. By then, it will only be a day. He’s just a farmer, he can do whatever he wants.”
The smile on Director Wang’s face suddenly froze.
He remembered something. Is this Shao Xun really a Mi Huang person?
Concubine Pei, what does she want to do?
There are rumors in Beijing that Pei Dun, the brother of Concubine Pei, is moving around and wants to be the governor of Xuzhou. The question is, the governor of Xuzhou also serves as governor. Is it possible that Pei Dun also aims at this position?
In terms of reputation and qualifications, Pei Dun can actually serve as the governor of Xuzhou, but he is not a descendant of the Sima family and is destined not to be the governor of Xuzhou.
In terms of family status, the Wenxi Pei family is a first-class family in the North. Pei Yu (wěi), who was killed three years ago, is one of the leaders of the Shilin and has great influence - Pei Yu's wife She was born in the Wang family of Langya, and her son was Princess Pei Gaishang.
No matter how you look at it, the descendants of the Pei family are very competitive.
Director Wang suddenly felt that the water inside was very deep. Thinking of his cousin Wang Yan's plan, he became increasingly unhappy.
(End of this chapter)