Sima Yi narrowed his eyes and looked at his eldest son. He did not get angry, but continued to ask in a gentle voice: "Ziyuan wants to join the army and make military achievements, right?"
Sima Shi nodded: "That's right."
Sima Yi continued, "There are many military merits. Breaking a city, defeating an enemy formation, beheading a general, seizing a flag, and holding firm, which one do you want, Ziyuan?"
Sima Shi was slightly stunned, and blurted out: "Father, I want to follow the king's army to conquer Wu and Shu and make great achievements!"
"Just be a pioneer!"
"Good, you have great ambition." Sima Yi said, "If you were the vanguard, how many soldiers could you lead and how much achievement could you accomplish?"
Sima Shi pursed his lips and said: "Father, I can lead 5,000 soldiers to defeat the bandits who are defending themselves for the country!"
"Five thousand soldiers as the vanguard? Is it that simple?" Sima Yi muttered to himself, looking up at Sima Shi:
"My father followed the imperial army on the western expedition to Shu Kingdom this time, from Luoyang to Chang'an, then to Longyou, Qishan, and Hanzhong. It can be said that he knew all the military affairs, big and small."
"Do you know who is the vanguard of this battle?"
Sima Shi wanted to join the army and lead troops, but it was not because he really had any special affection for the army.
The Wei Dynasty now does not value flatterers or external relatives, and there are basically only two ways to rise in the court.
Civil or military.
As a traditional scholar, the civil service route is naturally to first be a filial and honest official, and then a palace official. After that, they were either sent to various counties to serve, or stayed in the Shangshutai and various government offices in Luoyang.
Sima Shi was imprisoned by the court at the age of 20, and he felt disillusioned and disappointed with the court and its officials.
If you lose something in one place, you gain something in another. If you don't want to go the civilian route, the only option left is to become a military officer.
During the twenty years of Sima Shi's growth, he did not have any deep understanding of the military. His father Sima Yi taught him only about politics and human nature, but never about military affairs.
The two questions, one about military merit and one about vanguard, completely stupefied Sima Shi.
Sima Shi struggled with himself for a long time, then sighed and said, "Father, I don't know anything about the Western Expedition. Please give me some advice."
Sima Yi nodded: "In the battle of Lueyang, the vanguard was General Zhenxi Qian Zhao and General Qian Zijing. In the battle of Chiting, the vanguard was former Governor of Yongzhou and current General Zheng Shu Guo Huai and Guo Boji."
"And when conquering Hanzhong, the vanguard was General Cao Zhen himself."
Sima Yi looked at Sima Shi with increasingly sharp eyes: "Ziyuan, can you be such a pioneer?"
Sima Shi felt a little pressure from his father's eyes, and lowered his head and replied: "I was thinking wrongly. Father, I originally thought that the so-called vanguard was just leading a few thousand people to the front of the army."
“But I never thought it would be such an important position.”
Sima Yi said: "Qian Zhao is already in his sixties, and Guo Huai was a lucky recruit, but he is also over forty now."
"General Zhenxi, General Zhengshu, how can such positions be achieved by just standing in the army?"
"Even if you are extremely intelligent and brave, you are now twenty years old. How many years do you want to endure in the army? Twenty years or thirty years?"
Sima Shi said: "I was negligent and didn't know these details."
Sima Yi asked again: "Do you know how many soldiers died in this battle when Wei took Hanzhong?"
Sima Shi pursed his lips and did not answer, but just lowered his eyes and shook his head to show that he did not know.
Sima Yi's expression gradually became serious: "Ziyuan, you don't know how to fight. Your father doesn't blame you."
"There are countless high-ranking officials and nobles in this world, but how many of them really know military affairs? Not knowing military affairs will not hinder your wealth and honor."
"But Ziyuan, you just said that you wanted to join the army, command the army and win military merits, but you don't even know the most basic things about the army. Three thousand or five thousand soldiers is like child's play, but those are three thousand lives or five thousand lives!"
Sima Yi's voice was not loud, but when his eagle eyes stared at Sima Shi's face, Sima Shi still felt very uncomfortable: "What army do you want to join, and what achievements do you want to make?"
"Sima Ziyuan, ever since you opened my eyes, no matter how busy the court affairs were, you have taught me by words and deeds for more than ten years. When have you ever stopped?"
"You just studied in my hometown of Wen County for more than a year. It didn't prevent you from gaining weight or having children, but it wore away your sharpness and ambition!"
"The ups and downs of officialdom, do you know how to write the word ups and downs? Are you so impatient?"
Sima Shi instinctively wanted to escape, but he dared not move because of his rationality. As his father's words pierced his heart like a needle, Sima Shi bit his back teeth and forced himself not to tremble.
As the Grand Chancellor of Wei and with the power he had gained from years of service as the Recorder of the Secretariat, if Sima Yi really showed off in front of the 20-year-old Sima Shi, the 20-year-old Sima Yi would be far from able to withstand it.
"Sima Ziyuan! What are you running away from?"
Sima Shi could no longer bear it, and he knelt down on the mat, kneeling directly in front of Sima Yi, and looked up at his father:
"Father, His Majesty is now in his prime, only a few years older than me. I have already had this kind of 'qualification' to be imprisoned at the age of twenty. If I really become an official, won't I be criticized for this matter in the future?"
"What's more, I think the ministers in the court are like rotten wood and clay sculptures. They make such a big fuss over a mere Five Stone Powder. They are just petty and despicable people who don't care about state affairs, but only care about what the scholars obey!"
"My son doesn't want to be associated with them!"
Sima Yi stood up and walked forward, pinching the flesh on Sima Shi's cheek with his hand, and after looking at him for a few moments, he suddenly raised his leg and kicked him forward. Sima Shi was completely unprepared, and fell to the mat, holding his aching shoulder, staring at his father in disbelief.
Sima Yi put his hands on his hips and looked down at Sima Shi from a high position: "It was very easy for me to kick you just now because I was in a high position!"
"Are you unwilling to give up?"
Sima Shi gritted his teeth and replied: "It is natural for a father to teach his son. How can I be unwilling?"
Sima Yi said: "In the past twenty years, your father has never hit you, but today I am extremely angry after hearing what you said."
"You were kicked in front of your father, and you can say such things. Why don't you save face in front of me?"
Sima Shi was a little confused and didn't know what to answer.
Sima Yi added: "You are my eldest son, so you don't need to care about your face. As an official in the court, do you also need to care about your face?"
"Just because you don't like the people in power in the court and are afraid of being mocked and criticized, which would damage your reputation as someone who can accomplish the affairs of the world, do you not want to be a civil servant?"
"I tell you, the country is not at peace now, and both civil and military affairs are important. This is only a temporary thing. Wu and Shu will not last even ten years if they continue to behave like this."
"You will only be thirty years old in ten years. By then, the country will be unified, and the civil and military officials will be separated. The military generals will then become knives in the hands of the court officials, just like in the Han Dynasty."
“Don’t be a knife, be the one holding the knife!”
Sima Shi knelt down again and sat upright, lowering his head and listening quietly to his father's instructions.
Sima Yi said: "Ziyuan, my words today were a little harsh. I didn't mean to embarrass you, but I wanted you to remember what I said today."
"The career of an official is like a battlefield. If you don't advance, you will retreat. How can you retreat before you even start?"
"My father is not even fifty years old this year, but he has already become one of the Three Dukes. In another thirty or forty years, how can my Sima family not have two generations of the Three Dukes?"
"How could the Sima family of Henei not be as prominent as the Yuan family of Runan in the past?"
"Don't worry, Ziyuan. I have your father to protect you. You don't need to worry about what the villains say!"
Sima Shi nodded and said, "Thank you for your advice, father. I understand."
Sima Yi asked: "What do you understand?"
Sima Shi said: "Don't be a knife in someone else's hand, be the one holding the knife!"
"Your destiny must be in your own hands, not in the hands of others!"
Sima Yi was slightly stunned. His son's words were not what he expected. Fortunately, his son's words had awakened him and aroused his fighting spirit to be an official. His other thoughts had little impact.
At this time, the housekeeper of Sima Mansion knocked on the door gently: "My lord, the Minister of Justice Gao has come to the mansion to ask for an audience. He is already waiting in the front hall."
Gao Rou?
Sima Yi raised his voice a little and said, "Please ask him to wait for a moment. I will be there soon."
After saying this, Sima Yi bent down and helped Sima Shi up: "Come on, Ziyuan, come with me to see the court judge."
"Last year, I recruited Gao Rou's eldest son, Gao Jun, as my official, and I have developed some tacit understanding with Gao Rou."
"Gao Rou is not an outsider. When I talk to him, Ziyuan should listen more and ask less. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Sima Shi responded as he opened the door and walked towards the front hall following Sima Yi.
After a while, Gao Rou, who was sitting on a chair waiting, heard Sima Yi's footsteps, slowly stood up, and took a few steps forward with a smile.
"Zhongda, I haven't seen you for a long time, you are still as charming as ever! Congratulations to you for your great achievements and for receiving the emperor's favor!"
Before he finished speaking, Gao Rou saw Sima Shi standing behind him and asked, "Ziyuan is back from Wen County too?"
"Greetings, Lord Gao." Sima Shi said, "I just came back from Wen County today."
Gao Rou nodded slightly, and Sima Yi pointed to the chair and said, "Brother Wenhui, please take a seat. I wonder what important matter you have today that would trouble Brother Wenhui to come to my house in person?"
Gao Rou did not hesitate to answer after sitting down: "I came to see Zhongda because I have something important to say."
"What's the matter?" After Sima Yi sat down, he looked at Gao Rou calmly and asked.
Gao Rou said, "Zhongda, do you remember the examination method that His Majesty ordered me to preside over last year?"
"Of course I remember this." Sima Yi nodded, but he secretly complained in his heart. What did His Majesty order you to do? It was obviously you who dug a hole for yourself and forced yourself to accept it!
Gao Rou sighed, "I remember that your Majesty was in Shanggui at the time. After receiving my memorial and draft, your Majesty ordered a trial in the court, the army, and the prefectures and counties."
Sima Yi nodded: "I know this. Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice will be used as pilots. Among the military, Yangzhou, which is supervised by the Grand Marshal, will be used as a pilot. Among the states, Liang, Yan, and Yu will be used as pilots."
"This list was jointly drawn up by the general and I, and then presented to Your Majesty. How could it not be clear?" (End of this chapter)
