Zhang Chunhua, who was sitting in the back hall of Sikong Mansion embroidering to relieve her boredom, heard a commotion in the front yard. When she came out to check, she found that the mansion was being cleaned up again.
It was already night.
Under the lights in the courtyard, Zhang Chunhua could see clearly that he had brought a large cart of books alone. Fine clothes and daily utensils were bundled up and loaded onto the cart. It didn't seem like he was going out, but more like he was moving house, so he hurried to the outside of Sima Yi's study.
"Where are you going now, husband?" Zhang Chunhua stood outside the door, looking inside: "Didn't you just come back from Yecheng two days ago? Why are you leaving again?"
Sima Yi, who was sitting at the desk writing something, was about to reprimand her, but when he looked up and saw that Zhang Chunhua was only standing outside the door and had not entered, he softened his attitude a little:
"Do I want to travel? I have to do it because the court has ordered it." Sima Yi responded: "This time I am going to Xuchang."
Zhang Chunhua continued to ask: "The last time I went to Xuchang, I didn't see my husband bringing so many things. It was as if he was moving."
Sima Yi frowned and said, "Last time was last time, this time is this time. This is a matter of court secrets, so I won't tell you the details. Anyway, I will stay in Xuchang for a while."
"Then..." Zhang Chunhua thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "Can I bring my family with me? I also want to go to Xuchang and visit Zhao'er."
Sima Yi put down the brush helplessly: "Why bring your family? I'm going to Xuchang to do serious business, how can I take you with me? You should go back and don't disturb me while I'm working."
"Yes." Zhang Chunhua pursed her lips, her eyes slightly revealing a trace of sadness. She paused for a few moments, but before Sima Yi could look at her again, she finally sighed and turned away.
Before Zhang Chunhua had walked far, she saw a man hurriedly approaching from the corridor. It was not until the man came closer that she realized it was Sima Zhi, Sima Yi's cousin and the Grand Coachman.
There are not many people who can pass directly through Sima Yi's mansion, except for his good friend Jiang Ji, Sima Zhi, Sima Fu and a few others.
"Greetings, sister-in-law." Sima Zhi hurriedly bowed: "Is my brother in the study? The housekeeper asked me to come and find him directly."
"It's Zihua who's here." Zhang Chunhua replied with a slight greeting: "It's in the study, Zihua can go there by himself."
"Okay." Sima Zhi nodded, then hurried inside.
As Sima Yi's wife for many years, how could Zhang Chunhua not know that something big must have happened in the court? It must be that there was trouble in the Wu Kingdom.
During the Huangchu period, Emperor Cao Pi went to war, and Sima Yi was in charge of logistics in Xuchang. This happened twice, and Zhang Chunhua could have guessed it. However, he was able to bring his family with him the first two times, so why not this time?
Having guessed what was going on, Zhang Chunhua walked out with a bit of helplessness. Somehow, she glanced at the courtyard of her concubine Fu, but this glance immediately made Zhang Chunhua's blood boil, and she almost couldn't stand steadily, so she could only hurriedly hold on to the railing beside her.
In the Fu family's courtyard, the servants were actually packing their luggage!
……
In the study of Sikong Mansion, Sima Zhi walked in calmly, then turned around and closed the door.
"Brother," Sima Zhi bowed slightly and found a place to sit down: "I wonder if you called me here at night because something important happened. Just now in the front yard..."
"We are going to Xuchang." Sima Yi said expressionlessly, "You are the ninth minister, so it doesn't matter if I tell you now. You will know it tomorrow morning anyway."
"On the tenth of this month, Sun Quan attacked Xiangyang. Your Majesty is going to Xuchang in person to take charge. I will naturally follow him as ordered. Just like at the end of last year, the Secretariat and the Privy Council will go together, and you nine ministers will stay in Luoyang."
Sima Zhi shook his head: "Brother, there is one thing I don't understand. I hope you can help me solve it."
Sima Yi raised his eyebrows slightly: "What don't you understand?"
Sima Zhi coughed lightly. "If there was military intelligence, it would be fine if Your Majesty took the Privy Council with him. But why did you always take the Secretariat with you? Take this year for example. The Secretariat first went to Xuchang, then to Yecheng, and then hurried back to Luoyang. During this time, many political affairs were passed back and forth between Yecheng and Luoyang. I don't understand the deep meaning of this move."
"Deeper meaning?" Sima Yi laughed dumbly and shook his head: "How can there be so many deep meanings? Your Majesty may not even be able to think of so many deep meanings."
Sima Zhi said nothing and looked straight at his cousin.
Sima Yi explained, "Zihua, you don't know. At the end of last year, Dong Zhao and Man Chong urged Your Majesty to move to Xuchang to take charge of the military operations against Wu and all matters related to military farming. Once you leave Luoyang, even in times of war, everything can be linked to the military, and the power of the Western Pavilion and the Privy Council will gradually increase." "Why did you bring the Secretariat at the beginning of that year?" Sima Zhi asked.
Sima Yi said: "In my opinion, Your Majesty just doesn't want to leave the center away from him for too long."
Sima Zhi was speechless for a moment: "There's no need to go to so much trouble."
"I haven't finished yet, Zihua, don't worry." Sima Yi smiled and said, "But over the past six months, although Your Majesty has not said it explicitly, I have guessed a little bit. Your Majesty has changed his mind, and he has become more and more wise."
Sima Zhi shook his head to show that he didn't understand.
Sima Yi said: "The Great Wei has five capitals. Luoyang is in the center of the country, and Chang'an, Yecheng, Xuchang, and Qiaoxian are in the four directions. The previous emperor established the five capital system in the first year of Huangchu, which was originally designed to deal with the situation in the four directions. What your majesty is doing now is just to make this system more in-depth."
Sima Zhi's brows gradually furrowed. As he was able to become one of the Nine Ministers, he was not a fool. He had already guessed one or two things and said slowly:
"If the court focuses on the west, your majesty and the central government can stay in Chang'an. If it focuses on the north, it can go all the way to Yecheng. If it is in charge of the southeast, it can stay in Qiao. If it is in charge of Jingzhou, it can go all the way to Xuchang. If there is no trouble in the world, then it is in Luoyang."
"That's right." Sima Yi smiled and nodded. "From what happened in the Shangshutai and the Privy Council this year, we can conclude that there is not much difference between the central government doing things in Yecheng and doing things in Luoyang."
Sima Zhi smacked his lips and sighed, "Although I understand what my brother said, I still don't understand why we have to run around like this. During the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, the emperor was either in Chang'an or Luoyang. Although he occasionally went on tours, he never left the city. How could he run back and forth between several cities? It's unbecoming!"
Sima Yi stroked his beard and said, "This is what I just said, your majesty's brilliance!"
"What do you mean?" Sima Zhi leaned forward slightly, as if he was anxious to hear the result.
Sima Yi said: "The emperors of the Han Dynasty were mediocre and weak, which is why they never left the capital. Which of the great rulers such as Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Guangwu of Han was trapped in the capital? As long as they were not afraid of trouble, wouldn't they leave at any time?"
"With the Central Army in your hands, even the Secretariat and the Privy Council can be moved at will according to your majesty's wishes. How can there be mediocre people in the Central Army? It's like fish in a pond. If the water is stagnant and all stays there, sick and dead fish will be mixed in with the fish. Once the capital is changed and the water is replaced, the entire Central Army will move, and the fish in the Central Army will be alive and kicking!"
Sima Zhi was stunned for a long time, but still laughed at himself and shook his head: "If it is according to what my brother said, Your Majesty should only be in charge of the Central Army, the Secretariat, and the Privy Council. We nine ministers will become useless people, abandoned in the stagnant water of Luoyang City!"
Sima Yi sneered: "Why, you don't want to be one of the Nine Ministers? Yingchuan Governor Dong Zhou just fled to Youzhou. Do you want to go to Yingchuan? Yingchuan Governor is no worse than Henan Yin!"
"Brother, what are you talking about?" Sima Zhi was a little embarrassed: "Nine ministers are still better than prefects."
"Isn't that right?" Sima Yi laughed loudly. "Zihua, oh Zihua, people are never satisfied with their lives! This time, Wei Zhen was sent by His Majesty to Chencang to help the general, and the one sitting in Luoyang is Dong Zhao. You and he are close relatives, and he is used to protecting his shortcomings. You can ask him for good jobs for the young men in your family and clan who have not entered the government."
"Mr. Dong stayed in Luoyang?" Sima Zhi rubbed his hands with a little excitement, but his expression dimmed in an instant, and he smiled bitterly: "How can such a good thing be possible? Xuchang is not far from Luoyang, it is like it is right in front of your majesty, how dare you do it?"
"Hey." Sima Yi looked at Sima Zhi with disdain: "Didn't Dong Zhao just become the Grand Marshal and hasn't had time to open a government yet?"
Sima Zhi nodded: "Brother, what you said makes sense. I understand."
"However, brother, please give me some advice. How is the battle going on this time? Is Your Majesty going to lead the army again?"
Sima Yi said, "Ninety percent of the time, it won't happen. Your Majesty once thought of leading the army in person, but was persuaded by Wei Zhen. Everyone thought that Wu and Shu would attack from two directions, with Sun Quan leading the army to attack Xiangyang and Zhuge Liang leading the army to attack another place, so that the two would respond to each other. Otherwise, why did Your Majesty send Wei Zhen to Chencang?"
"Your Majesty has assigned Cheng Xi's Yulin Right Army in Chang'an to Wei Zhen's command, to give him more weight in front of the general. Wang Ling went directly to Xuchang on the way. By the way, Beigong just added an imperial edict to Xu Shu, saying that since Xiahou Ru went to Jiangxia, Xu Shu didn't need to go there anymore, and he was in charge of the battle north of the Han River. Even Qian Zhao's Wuwei Camp was assigned to him by His Majesty."
Sima Zhi took a breath and said, "So, Xu Yuanzhi has become rich this time? He has even encountered such a thing."
"Who says it's not? Let's take it one step at a time." Sima Yi said, "I will leave for Xuchang with Your Majesty the day after tomorrow, which is the 15th. You have also been the governor of Henan, so you should pay more attention to the affairs in Luozhong."
"Don't worry, brother." Sima Zhi nodded repeatedly. (End of this chapter)
