Chapter 269 The battle between dragon and tiger
Tian Ze disliked and even hated the Jin Dynasty and Sima Yi.
After all, these two things have refreshed various bottom lines and brought endless disasters to the Han people.
After learning that Sima Yi came to the Jixia Academy, Tian Ze even thought about killing this guy in secret to put an end to it all.
But when Sima Yi volunteered and came to him, Tian Ze fell silent as he looked at this young man in front of him who was extremely talented, had selfish ambitions, but had a good character and even behaved quite well.
If it was just a complicated question of whether or not one should kill someone who might become a villain in the future, Tian Ze could have just killed him directly.
After all, the Japanese can be killed, so it doesn’t matter if there are more or less Sima Yi.
But considering the issue from the perspective of a local leader, Tian Ze felt that Sima Yi was a rare talent and very useful. There was no need to kill him, and he should not be killed.
There are still Jiang Wei, Deng Ai and others in the future. At that time, we can just train and use more talented people to check and balance them. Why worry about it?
Use them first. After all, the next generation of top talents are still relatively scarce. Some capable people think that it is difficult to stand out from under Chen Gong and others if they follow me, so many of them have joined other people.
Especially top talents like Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi are rare species and must be kept well, as we still rely on them for work.
Even if he wanted to leave in the future, the worst that could happen was that he would grant Sima Yi some land before he left. Even if this guy had evil intentions and directly granted him the land around Rome, he would not be able to fight his way back.
After thinking it through, Tian Ze felt relieved.
A treacherous minister is not always a treacherous minister from the beginning, and a rebel must meet certain conditions to become a rebel.
If a mere Sima Yi could shake the empire he built, it only showed that there were problems with his empire.
As a ruler, he should not care about a mere Sima Yi.
Sima Yi can just serve as a supplement to Zhuge Liang.
The saying "diligence can make up for lack of talent" is often just a consolation for people who are not very talented, especially when viewed from the top level.
There are also some heroes who rely on hard work and accumulation to gradually grow up in the later period.
But there are also people like Huo Qubing and Zhuge Liang who are in their ultimate state as soon as they come out of the mountains and are invincible from beginning to end.
Tian Ze's position gives him a different perspective on things.
They care about people's livelihood, but they don't really care about one or even a group of ordinary people. In many cases, human life has become a number in their eyes.
It's not that he was like this in the beginning, but he has to be like this now. Because he can't take everyone into consideration, he can only consider the overall situation, which is the best kindness to the people.
Heaven and earth are unfair and treat all things as straw dogs.
However, heaven and earth are unfair, and that is the ultimate justice.
Every rule and law is established after weighing the pros and cons. There will inevitably be injustice and bias behind it, but from the perspective of the people as a whole, this is often the best choice.
There are also many criticisms of Tian Ze's rule. For example, the appointment of officials requires assessment regardless of their character.
So many high-minded people with great reputations can only serve as county clerks or village officials, or even have no chance to become officials, while some people with bad character are able to occupy high positions.
In this regard, Tian Ze could only say sorry.
This loophole cannot be opened. Once it is opened, the aristocratic families will surely create countless "noble men". Tian Ze knew very well that the group of people definitely had the ability to do so, and could even do it perfectly.
Over time, today's rules will become a piece of waste paper.
Because morality and character are difficult to quantify, and easy to disguise and falsify, it is also difficult to judge that one person's morality is higher than another. However, ability and performance can be quantified to a large extent, so it is relatively fair.
Similarly, when it comes to talents, Tian Ze no longer cares about ordinary talents. Only talents at the level of Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi will really catch his eye.
There are so many talented people in an ordinary county or even a state that one more or one less makes no difference.
Only peerless talents like Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi are the key to truly influencing the development of a country.
"Although there are many students in Jixia Academy, only a few are truly valued by the Lord. Among them, you are the most respected, and I, Lu Boyan, Xu Yuanzhi and others are all inferior."
"I was not convinced at first, but now it seems that my lord is right." Sima Yi said in a complicated tone.
"It's just a draw. Besides, it's just a game of chess. How much can you tell? Zhongda is too modest." Zhuge Liang said with a smile.
"That's true. It's still early now, but I wonder if Kong Ming is willing to go to the Military Pavilion to discuss the war with me." Sima Yi asked.
Seeing the slightly excited look in Sima Yi's eyes, Zhuge Liang's heart was moved: "It's what you wish for!"
Opponents are hard to come by, especially for Zhuge Liang. It is even rarer to meet someone of equal strength among his peers.
Having such an opponent is also a kind of tempering for himself, which can accelerate his growth, so Zhuge Liang naturally would not avoid it.
Sima Yi naturally thought the same.
Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy can help you win a hundred battles.
Although he no longer had any doubts or contempt for Zhuge Liang, he was still not completely convinced in his heart.
Sima Yi was able to become the chief of all-rounders because of his comprehensive knowledge. He did not believe that Zhuge Liang could surpass him in all aspects, and he wanted to use this opportunity to measure Zhuge Liang's ability.
It is unwise to use your own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths.
Only by knowing Zhuge Liang's weaknesses and shortcomings can he better surpass him or even replace him.
Since you are a subject, how can you not fight for power? Since you fight for power, how can you not monopolize power?
Especially after learning about Li Ru's deeds, Sima Yi took him as his goal and wanted to become a counselor who could lead his lord and turn the tide.
In the next few days, Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang had a comprehensive exchange and comparison from military strategies to historical classics, from political strategy to local governance.
As a result, even Sima Yi, who was usually calm, couldn't help but frown.
Overall, we won three and lost seven. Although the victory and defeat in each round were mostly just a matter of seconds, this was the result.
Moreover, Zhuge Liang is two years younger than himself!
Zhuge Liang was also extremely shocked. Not only could the man in front of him compete with him in all aspects, but his attainments in military tactics and strategies also amazed him.
If he had not trained under Huangfu Song and others for some time, I am afraid he would have found it difficult to win.
Although he lost, Sima Yi did not become discouraged. Instead, he became more and more courageous. He and Zhuge Liang spent every day together, neither of them giving in to the other.
After learning about this situation, Tian Ze was at a loss whether to laugh or cry at these two enemies. Without thinking, he gave Sima Yi the same treatment.
At this point, the number of people who received special treatment from Tian Ze increased from Zhuge Liang to two people.
The names of Wolong and Zhonghu gradually spread throughout the Jixia Academy, and the dispute between the two had become a topic of conversation among scholars all over the world.
(End of this chapter)
