novelAbuy Chapter 1365: Life is Hard
Chapter 1365: Life is Hard
Chapter 1365: Life is Hard
In November of the ninth year of Yan Xi, General Zhennan Jiang Wei returned to Chang'an to report on his work. After receiving instructions from Grand Marshal Feng, he did not take a rest and rushed back to Luoyang in the wind and snow to prepare for war.
As soon as General Zhennan Jiang Wei left, General Zhendong Guan Suo set out from Chang'an, preparing to lead the vanguard army across the river to Taiyuan.
In mid-November, General Feng officially set out for an expedition to Hebei, and the Emperor of Han led all the officials to see him off ten miles outside the city of Chang'an.
General Feng bid farewell to the emperor, led his army towards Hedong with flags covering the fields and spears and halberds like a forest.
Sima Feng did not make any attempt to conceal his expedition this time, and even the early transportation of food and fodder was done without any attempt to hide the momentum.
As soon as the action started, he kept his nerves on edge and kept a close eye on the spies in Guanzhong. Before Sima Feng crossed the river, he had already rushed back to the destination with the news.
Jiang Ji, who got the news earlier than Sima Yi in Yecheng, finally breathed a sigh of relief after getting the news first. His heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally fell back to its original place.
He unconsciously clutched the secret letter in his hand tightly, muttering:
"finally come."
He has been waiting for this day to come since the fall of Guanzhong.
That year, Taifu's counterattack in Shangdang made him think that this day would never come.
Who would have thought that the situation would be turned around by the thief Feng? It is really a pity.
Now that he knew that Feng Ze was personally leading the army to fight, Jiang Ji felt heavy in his heart, but at the same time, he actually felt a sense of relief.
After all, over the years, facing the legendary thief Feng who was far-sighted and ruthless, it was a torture to be on guard against any vicious tricks he might use at any time.
But it is obvious that this time, Feng the thief does not seem to be planning any conspiracy or trickery. He just wants to rely on the elite soldiers and generals of the Han army to defeat Sima Taifu in a fair fight and take over Hebei.
Come to think of it, the only two defeats the Han army suffered over the years - one at Shangdang and one at Youzhou - were both deliberately planned by Sima Taifu.
Apart from this, they have won every battle and seem to be invincible.
This time, Feng Ze probably wanted to defeat Sima Taifu in a fair and square manner while being well prepared to avenge his previous humiliation.
Thinking of this, Jiang Jichang let out a breath and ordered:
"Come here, prepare your horses!"
Although he felt that he had guessed what Feng Ze was thinking, at his age, Jiang Ji naturally could not be naive enough to think that Feng Ze would only focus on finding Sima Taifu.
What if the bandit Feng openly attacks Jizhou but is actually preparing to launch a surprise attack on Henei? If I lose Henei due to my carelessness, I will have to thank the Grand Tutor with my death.
Therefore, he had to personally guard the Chenguan Pass when Feng entered Hedong, so that he could feel at ease.
Arriving in Yecheng only one day late, Sima Zhao, holding an urgent document in his hand and looking flustered, walked along a small path and entered Sima Yi's study in an extremely rude manner:
"Sir, Feng Wenhe is really making a move! This time, he is leading the army himself, not the bandits!"
The hope that Guan Suo would lead his troops to Taiyuan a few days ago was shattered at this moment.
Sima Yi, who was annotating official documents at his desk, did not look up immediately after hearing this. Instead, he finished annotating the documents at hand, closed them and put them aside before putting down his pen.
Then he patted his old waist with his hand, stretched his neck hard, and tried to move his neck.
When Sima Zhao saw this, he quickly stepped forward and massaged Sima Yi's shoulders:
"My Lord, how do you feel? Are you feeling better?"
Sima Yi closed his eyes and sighed slowly:
"I'm old, I can't help but admit it. I just sat there for a while and my body became so stiff that I can hardly move."
The afterglow of the evening light slanted in through the window and shone right on his face.
It revealed the fine grooves and age spots on the skin, making it look old and haggard, as if the years had mercilessly stripped away its luster.
Wrinkles were deeply engraved on his forehead and corners of his eyes, like deep ravines, recording his hard work over the years.
Even if he tried hard to sit up straight, from Sima Zhao's direction, he could still see that his master's back was slightly hunched, as if he was carrying the extremely heavy burden of the Wei Dynasty.
The adult's hair, which used to be neat and clean, now became messy and frizzy, as if it had not been taken care of for a long time.
His beard also grew unevenly, mostly turning white with some gray traces, giving him an unkempt look.
He remembered clearly that when he was in Luoyang, the adults' beard was still trimmed neatly.
Everyone is talking about the Battle of Shangdang. Although Your Excellency failed to recover the lost territory, you at least gained some advantages and caused the Hedong Military Governor's Office of the Han Dynasty to suffer heavy casualties.
Even Wei Yan, a powerful general of the Han Dynasty, ended up being bedridden for the rest of his life.
But who knew that this battle would deal a heavy blow to the adults.
One aspect is that the eldest brother suffered an eye injury in that battle and eventually died of the injury.
More importantly, in the eyes of the adults, after this battle, the Wei Dynasty has forever lost hope of regaining Hedong and Bingzhou.
Between the Han and Wei dynasties, the offensive and defensive strategies completely changed.
Since arriving in Yecheng, you have been working day and night, not only to mobilize troops and generals as soon as possible, but also to strictly guard all the passes in Taihang Mountains to prevent the enemy from invading from the east.
At the same time, we must appease the officials in various places to stabilize the people's hearts.
Although Hebei has fertile land and abundant production, since the time of Emperor Wen, people from Hebei have been moved to Henan several times to fill the area.
During the reign of Emperor Ping, he again recruited soldiers from Hebei to fill the vacancies on the western front.
The peaceful land of Hebei had been far away from war since the time of Emperor Wu, but when you entered Jizhou, you saw a place where people's livelihood was in decline.
If Yecheng had not been the capital of the Wei Dynasty and the place where the country was founded, and if there were still some reserves in the treasury, I'm afraid military rations would have to be transported from Henei and Luoyang for emergency relief.
It is precisely because of this that the adults have been working diligently and cautiously over the past few years and have not dared to relax at all.
On the one hand, he had to guard against the bandits in the west who might take advantage of the situation, and on the other hand, he had to try every possible means to restore the people's livelihood in Hebei so that their food and fodder would no longer be controlled by Cao Shuang.
He saw with his own eyes how the adult's body collapsed.
Who would have thought that as soon as Hebei showed a slight improvement, the bandit Feng would immediately send troops over like a fly smelling a fishy odor.
Life in this world is so difficult!
From Guanzhong to Luoyang and then to Yecheng, the bandits pressed forward step by step, almost suffocating the adults.
Why does the heaven always make things so difficult for you, sir?
Seeing the adults like this, and thinking about the current situation, Sima Zhao couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat:
"Sir, this Great Wei is not the Great Wei of our Sima clan. Why do you have to do this?"
Sima Yi opened his eyes upon hearing this.
At this time, his eyes were already full of bloodshot, looking tired and turbid.
The corners of his eyes drooped, revealing a trace of fatigue and helplessness that could not be concealed, as if he had been under too much pressure and was exhausted both physically and mentally.
All I could hear was Sima Yi sighing softly:
"Yes, this Great Wei is not the Great Wei of the Sima clan, but the Sima clan is tied to the Great Wei!"
Thinking back to the beginning, he had looked down on Cao Aman, the descendant of a eunuch, and repeatedly refused to serve Cao.
I didn't expect that Cao Aman was such a bad guy that he actually allowed someone to hold a knife to force me to take up an official position.
Ugh……
Sima Yi shook his head gently:
"I can't go back. I can't turn back."
It is impossible to lower it.
If he really surrendered to the Han Dynasty, it would be tantamount to pushing those aristocratic families who supported him into the fire pit.
It was impossible for the Han Dynasty to kill all these aristocratic families. Any surviving family that tried to rise up would find ways to devour the Sima family alive.
"If the Wei Dynasty perishes, the Sima family will also perish. Only when the Wei Dynasty rises can our Sima family rise!"
The Wei Dynasty can now be said to be a country where the Sima and Cao families share the world.
These two families were also thorns in the eyes of the Han State, and they wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Others can surrender, except the Sima and Cao families.
With this thought in mind, Sima Yi ordered:
"Zi Shang, get ready and set off for Qiao County tomorrow."
"Go to Qiao County?" Sima Zhao was surprised. "Sir, why are you going to Qiao County at this time?"
"Cry in the court." Sima Yi said slowly, "Call for help."
"Ah? This..." Sima Zhao was obviously stunned. "Sir, you want me to go to Qiao County to ask for help at this time?"
How could Cao Shuang send troops to help?
He wasn't worried about his own safety.
After all, when my elder brother was still alive, I had often served as his envoy, traveling between Luoyang and Xuchang.
Not to mention that Yecheng and Qiao County are still the capitals of the Great Wei.
Your Excellency and Cao Shuang, one is the Grand Tutor of the Great Wei, and the other is the General of the Great Wei.
The struggle between the two was a struggle for power in the Wei court.
No matter how fiercely you fight, it is still an internal matter of Wei.
When two armies are fighting, they don't even kill the envoys.
Moreover, Cao Shuang liked to associate with famous people, valued fame and was a person who sought name and reputation.
She is quite indecisive and has a woman's heart.
As an envoy from Hebei who went to the imperial court to ask for help, it would not be surprising if Cao Shuang found any excuse and was unwilling to send troops to rescue him.
But if he dared to attack him openly, he would be tantamount to risking the condemnation of the whole world: he would not hesitate to collude with the Han State for his own personal grudge.
This can be regarded as cutting oneself off from the Great Wei.
Given Cao Shuang's character, he would never do such a thing.
Of course, Sima Zhao had this idea because at that time, most people's political and moral levels were still relatively high.
If it happened in the original history, after his family farted at the Luo River, Sima Zhao would never have dared to have such an idea even if he was beaten to death.
"It doesn't matter whether Cao Shuang sends troops or not. What matters is that we make this gesture."
Sima Yi's body joints seemed to have finally regained their freedom of movement. He slowly leaned over the table, staring at a void in the air in front of him, his eyes looking somewhat empty:
"Feng is the leader of the Han thieves. This time he personally led his army here. His intention to take over Hebei is obvious. Therefore, I predict that the thieves must have come with the whole country."
"How can Hebei alone stop the whole country's troops led by Feng the traitor? In the eyes of the world, Cao Shuang, as a general of Wei, should not sit on the sidelines and watch at this time."
But Sima Yi knew that things in this world were unreasonable.
What he wanted was exactly Cao Shuang's unreasonableness.
Only when Cao Shuang was unreasonable and Sima Taifu was alone and struggling to fight against the enemy, the image of a loyal minister of the Wei Dynasty would become more and more popular.
Sima Zhao seemed to understand something.
"Don't worry, as long as I have a large army under my command, Cao Shuang will not dare to do anything to you even if you go to Qiao County."
"After this time, just cry in the court. The more sad you cry, the better."
Sima Zhao nodded: "I understand, son."
The war was urgent and there was no time to delay. We had to set off for Qiao County tomorrow. After Sima Zhao took his leave from Sima Yi, he turned around and went to visit Zhang Chunhua.
Sima Yi and Zhang Chunhua, the loving couple in their youth, were ultimately succumbed to the torment of time.
Zhang Chunhua, over the years, has rarely had the opportunity to meet Sima Yi.
Especially after the hunger strike, Zhang Chunhua moved to the courtyard farthest from Sima Yi in the Taifu Mansion.
Sima Zhao came out from Sima Yi and spent a lot of time walking a long distance before he arrived at Zhang Chunhua's yard.
Having been with Sima Yi for most of her life, she never expected that in the end she would be hated by him. This was a big blow to Zhang Chunhua, who was already strong-willed by nature.
In addition, her eldest son Sima Shi died young, which made Zhang Chunhua fall into grief and unable to extricate herself.
th.
At this time, Zhang Chunhua was lying alone on the couch, the wrinkles on her face spreading like dead vines, her skin was loose and dry, as if the years had ruthlessly drained all its moisture.
She had once given Sima Yi great support in his career. Her eyes, which were originally bright and lively, had now become deeply sunken, like two dry wells, no longer reflecting the waves of the past.
The turbid and dim pupils seemed to be shrouded in a thick haze, reflecting not the light and shadow of the outside world, but the loneliness and sadness deep in the heart.
Her hands hung limply at both sides of her body, her fingers slightly bent like withered branches.
Only the corners of his mouth were tightly pursed, forming a stubborn and desolate arc.
The corners of his mouth had once been raised, revealing a happy smile, but now they could only carry endless bitterness and helplessness.
It was not until she saw the figure of her son Sima Zhao that a light flashed in Zhang Chunhua's hopeless eyes, and a rare hint of joy appeared at the corners of her mouth.
"Hurry, help me up."
Zhang Chunhua ordered his attendants and struggled to get up.
Sima Zhao quickly stepped forward and held Zhang Chunhua's dry hand:
"Mother, you are not feeling well, just lie down and don't get up."
Zhang Chunhua was indeed weak. She did not try to get up, but lay down again, staring at Sima Zhao with dry eyes:
"My son is here. I thought you were busy today and couldn't make it in time."
"I was really busy today, so I came a little late. I'm sorry to have worried you."
Sima Zhao held Zhang Chunhua's hand and said with some guilt.
"It's rare that you can come to see me every day," Zhang Chunhua stretched out her other hand and pressed Sima Zhao's hand, her dry face full of relief, "How dare I not be satisfied?"
My husband is heartless, but fortunately my children are filial.
When Sima Zhao heard his mother's words, his nose felt sore.
How great it would be if my elder brother were still alive?
In that way, he could always be with his mother.
Thinking of the task given to him by his master, Sima Zhao knelt in front of Zhang Chunhua's couch:
"Mother, I am an unfilial child!"
Seeing Sima Zhao behave uncharacteristically and even shed tears, Zhang Chunhua was shocked:
"What's wrong with my son? Why are you acting like a child?"
"My child will be leaving for Qiao County tomorrow. From the day after tomorrow, I'm afraid I won't be able to see my child every day."
Sima Zhao told the story again with some sobs.
My mother was so seriously ill, and I wished I could stay by her side all the time to serve her medicine, but I didn't expect that I would have to stay away from her.
Why is this world always so difficult?
After learning about the twists and turns, Zhang Chunhua could not help but feel shocked and angry. She pounded the bed hard and yelled:
"How dare you do this, old villain? My eldest son died because you overestimated your own abilities. Now you want to kill my second son! How cruel!"
When Sima Zhao heard this, he quickly explained:
"Mother, calm down. My trip to Qiao County may seem dangerous, but it is actually not a big deal. Cao Shuang will not do anything to me."
Then he recounted the conversation between himself and Sima Yi.
Unexpectedly, this explanation not only failed to calm Zhang Chunhua's anger, but made her even more angry and sad. She beat her chest with her right hand and cried:
"You old bastard! You old villain, I cannot coexist with you! It's not enough that you harmed my eldest son, but now you are actually trying to harm my second son. How miserable! My life is miserable!"
When Sima Yizhao saw Zhang Chunhua like this, he panicked: "Mother, mother?"
"Son," Zhang Chunhua said with tears in her eyes, as she reached out her hand to touch Sima Zhao's head, "You only know one side of this matter, but not the other!"
(End of this chapter)