"Hahaha..."
The Sikong Mansion was filled with guests, and the sound of laughter and chatter was constant.
Indeed, in recent months, Sima Yue had been licking boots quite diligently.
To put it elegantly, it could be called "humble and yielding," but to put it bluntly, it was simply "flattery and sycophancy."
But no matter how you described it, he had succeeded.
Sima Yi was very pleased.
Sima Ying in Yecheng hadn't caused any trouble either, even praising Sima Yue a few times, as Sima Yue had secretly supported him in becoming the Crown Prince's younger brother.
This was the art of playing both sides, being a fence-sitter, and the key was that he hadn't been exposed.
It had to be said, it was quite a skill.
The bootlicker had licked his way to success, and in the end, he had gained everything.
Now, Fan Yang King Sima Xiao had been appointed as the General Who Conquers the South and was about to lead his army south to deal with the chaos in Jing Province.
If he played his cards right, he could take the opportunity to place his own trusted men in Jing Province.
Sima Xiao, Sima Mo, Sima Teng, and Sima Yue were all grandsons of Sima Yi's younger brother Sima Kui, so their relationship was naturally close.
They were definitely Sima Yue's external allies.
As for the original Governor of Jing Province, Sima Xin, most of his troops had been sent to Shu, leaving him with no soldiers to use.
He had just been defeated by peasant rebels at Fancheng and had died.
"Once the General Who Conquers the South arrives, what hope do the bandits led by Zhang Chang have?"
"The situation has escalated quite a bit. The chaos has spread across Jing, Yang, Yu, Xu, and Jiang provinces. We need to put an end to it quickly, or else the people will suffer greatly."
"The military defenses in the southern provinces have been neglected. I don't know what they've been doing, but the government troops collapse at the first sign of trouble. They can't even handle the refugees."
"Emperor Wu reduced the local garrisons, leaving only a few military officials. It's like trying to cook without rice—you can't expect much. Don't be too harsh."
"In these times, we should rebuild the local garrisons."
...
Everyone was chatting enthusiastically, and Sima Yue frequently raised his wine cup to toast, keeping the atmosphere lively.
Wang Dao put down his wine cup, casually responding to others while silently pondering.
Recently, his cousin Wang Yan had gathered the Wang family descendants in the capital for a secret meeting, which Wang Dao attended.
During the meeting, Wang Dun pointed out that the court's prestige was declining day by day, and the provinces were trending toward becoming independent, a trend that was irreversible.
Given this, it would be better to send their own people to the provinces to seize local power and use it as a support base.
Wang Yan largely agreed with this view and placed high hopes on Wang Dao, Wang Dun, and Wang Cheng, believing that the three of them were the most outstanding members of the Langya Wang family of their generation.
They should take on heavy responsibilities and do their utmost to ensure the prosperity of the family.
Wang Dao respected his cousin Wang Yan because Wang Yan was willing to stay in the dangerous environment of Luoyang while sending his younger brothers out.
According to the Wang family's plan, Wang Dao would focus on the Xu Province direction, striving to become the Governor himself.
If that wasn't possible, he would place a royal prince as a figurehead while controlling everything from behind the scenes.
Wang Dao chose his friend Sima Rui.
At least from his appearance and personality, Sima Rui seemed easy to control, making him the perfect frontman.
However, there was a problem.
Pei Dun from the Wenxi Pei family seemed very interested in the position of Governor of Xu Province, which meant there would be fierce competition.
Much of Wang Dao's recent gloominess stemmed from this.
Now, hearing at the banquet that Fan Yang King Sima Xiao had been appointed as the General Who Conquers the South and was heading south to quell the chaos in Jing Province, his mood grew even darker.
After conquering the south, what next? Would Sima Yue send one of his trusted men to serve as Governor or Military Governor of Jing Province? If so, Jing Province would fall under Sima Yue's control.
How frustrating! Didn't Sima Yi and Sima Ying have any reaction to this?
"Ahem."
Sima Yue cleared his throat.
Seeing this, everyone put down their wine cups and returned to their seats.
"Today's banquet is attended by the finest talents of our time," Sima Yue said with a smile.
"A year ago, I never imagined we would be in such a situation."
"Your reputation for virtue has spread far and wide, attracting talents from all directions. That's why we have such a grand gathering today," Yu Kai said loudly.
Mi Huang glanced at him.
Yu Kai hadn't actually joined the Sikong's staff; he was just close to them.
Yet here he was, speaking as if he were the chief advisor.
Where did that leave Minister Cao?
Speaking of Minister Cao, he was watching the crowd with a smile, saying nothing.
Minister Cao, named Cao Fu, was the youngest son of Cao Hong.
Over seventy years old and highly respected, he was now the Chief Military Officer of the Sikong's staff, the top advisor.
"Zisong, you exaggerate," Sima Yue said with a laugh.
"Nowadays, the famous scholars from Hebei flock to Yecheng, those from the western provinces head to Chang'an, and many from Henan and Jiangdong have aligned themselves with the King of Changsha. As for me, I'm still lacking, still lacking."
He said this half-jokingly, but there was some truth to it.
Although many people had joined his staff, overall, he was still short on talent.
The scholar Gan Zhuo from Wu had politely declined his invitation.
The Hebei scholar Zu Ti had used his mother's death as an excuse not to join.
...
To put it bluntly, people either sided with Sima Yi or Sima Ying.
Why would they side with you? Fame and power influenced many people's choices—that was the reality.
However, there was still an opportunity.
The ruling Sima Yi had recently dealt with an assassination plot.
In short, Sima Yi consulted with Sima Ying in Yecheng on major matters, and the two jointly decided on state affairs.
But he had overlooked Sima Yong, who was stationed in Guanzhong.
You see, when they were dealing with Prince Qi Sima Jiong, they had agreed that after the matter was settled, they would depose the emperor and install Prince Chengdu Sima Ying as the new emperor, with Sima Yong as the Prime Minister.
But Sima Jiong had been killed outright, without much help from Chang'an or Yecheng, leaving the two brothers feeling quite disappointed.
Fortunately, Prince Changsha Sima Yi had a clear mind.
He first stabilized Sima Ying in Yecheng, consulting him on all matters, big and small, and verbally expressed his willingness to support Sima Ying as the Crown Prince's younger brother, who would inherit the throne in the future.
This condition didn't fully satisfy Sima Ying.
What he wanted was the emperor's throne, not some "Crown Prince's younger brother" title.
Moreover, there was no edict officially appointing him as the Crown Prince's younger brother.
Was Sima Yi just stringing him along?
Fortunately, Sima Yi was willing to share power with Sima Ying, temporarily stabilizing him and preventing him from throwing a fit on the spot.
This had dragged on until now.
Compared to Sima Ying, Sima Yong hadn't gained much, which made him very angry.
His desire to eliminate Sima Yi was strong.
Not long ago, in what seemed like a peaceful situation in Luoyang, Li Han, the former Chief of Staff under Sima Yong and now the Governor of Henan, secretly contacted Feng Sun, the Palace Attendant, and Bian Cui, the Director of the Central Secretariat, to plot the assassination of Sima Yi.
Sima Ying in Yecheng was happy to see this happen and tacitly allowed it.
After all, sharing power with someone else wasn't as good as having it all to himself.
But Li Han's plot wasn't well-kept.
Huangfu Shang, a former staff officer under Prince Qi Sima Jiong and now a staff officer under Prince Changsha Sima Yi, found out and immediately reported it.
Li Han, Bian Cui, and Feng Sun were arrested and executed, while Zhuge Mei, a Cavalry Officer, and Qian Xiu, a former Chief of Staff under the Minister of Works, fled to Yecheng.
Li Han's death meant that Sima Yi and Sima Yong had officially broken ties.
Sima Ying in Yecheng likely had no patience left for the charade of shared governance.
It was said that he had recently mobilized a large number of troops and contacted the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu tribes, sharpening his blades with clear intentions to head south.
For the people of the Central Plains, this was undoubtedly bad news.
It wasn't good news for Prince Changsha Sima Yi either, but for Prince Donghai Sima Yue, it might not be a bad thing—it could even be an opportunity.
If they all fought each other, wouldn't whatever remained eventually fall into my hands?
This couldn't be said out loud, but everyone present understood.
Their lord wasn't doing this for the first time.
Sima Lun and Sima Jiong had both been worn down by him, and the situation in Luoyang was gradually opening up.
If Sima Yi were to die, perhaps he could take another step forward, and everyone could benefit.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Outside the Sikong Mansion's armory, Shao Xun unexpectedly ran into two people: He Lun and Wang Bing.
After being introduced by others, he learned that they were generals from the Donghai Kingdom, bringing over a thousand soldiers to Luoyang to follow the King's orders.
"Generals He and Wang," Shao Xun immediately stepped forward to greet them.
"Ah, no need for such formalities!" He Lun took two steps forward, supporting Shao Xun's arm with a smile.
"We're all from the same hometown. When we're outside, we should help each other. From now on, we're all brothers. No need for formalities."
Shao Xun was a bit surprised.
Were military men from noble families usually this polite?
Like the Mi family, the He and Wang families were also prominent families from Donghai.
The He family was newly risen and lacked deep roots, while the Wang family was an old, established family, descendants of Wang Lang from the Later Han Dynasty.
They had even intermarried with the royal family, making their status far superior to the He family.
However, while the Wang family was indeed impressive, Wang Bing might not be.
His enthusiasm and politeness likely stemmed from being from a branch family, possibly growing up in less favorable circumstances, which explained his lack of arrogance.
"Exactly," Wang Bing chimed in.
"We're new to Luoyang and don't know the place well. We need to stick together. The King's staff is mostly from Qing and Xu provinces, so our army should also have more soldiers and officers from those regions. Since you're from our hometown, you're one of us. We can trust you."
Shao Xun bowed again in thanks.
It was a bit absurd, but he actually felt the "warmth" of his hometown people.
How strange!
In medieval times, regional and hometown ties were incredibly important.
"Generals, you brought so many troops here. Did Prince Changsha allow it?" Shao Xun asked.
He found it hard to believe.
Were things so lax now? Back when Prince Qi Sima Jiong was in power, all the princes' followers had been driven out of the city.
Yet here were He Lun and Wang Bing, bringing over a thousand soldiers into the city without any hindrance.
"Prince Changsha probably has his hands full," He Lun said cautiously, but Wang Bing spoke more freely.
"Actually, he's already prepared to fight the armies from Yecheng and Chang'an. Our thousand-plus soldiers might not be many, but they're still a help, right?"
Seeing Wang Bing's loose lips, He Lun no longer held back and added, "Prince Changsha has been trying to win over the Imperial Guard generals, but it hasn't been very successful. Some are secretly in contact with Yecheng and Chang'an, while others are pretending to be crazy or stupid. Not many are truly loyal to him. Moreover, the Imperial Guard itself is quite complex. Some units are brave and skilled, while others are just there to make up the numbers and are useless in battle. Given the urgency of the situation, he has to use whoever he can."
"I see," Shao Xun said, bowing again in thanks.
It was good to be a high-ranking officer; they had access to much more information than he did.
He would need to build stronger connections with these two in the future.
"I heard you're a Battalion Commander, managing a unit under Commander Mi?" Wang Bing asked.
"I only manage about two hundred men," Shao Xun replied.
"Two teams of able-bodied men and three teams of children and teenagers. They're not very battle-ready."
"That's still quite a few," Wang Bing said, his expression relaxing.
He then advised, "Try to gather more troops."
"Exactly," He Lun added.
"The King has ordered us to recruit scattered soldiers and expand our forces in preparation for war. You should do the same. Luoyang is a crucial place, and we have too few of our own people here."
"Thank you for the advice, Generals," Shao Xun said sincerely, bowing deeply.
Seeing Shao Xun's respectful demeanor, the two generals were pleased.
The Sikong had already summoned them and ordered them to recruit scattered soldiers and expand their forces.
Basically, they were to recruit as many as they could, and he would handle the supplies.
They had briefly looked into the unit stationed at Panyuan and found that more than half were unfit for battle.
Combined with their duty to protect the King's consort, they had given up on the idea of absorbing the unit.
Seeing Shao Xun's politeness today, they felt a sense of camaraderie and shared a bit more.
Shao Xun also understood their thoughts.
Coming all the way from Donghai, it was natural to feel uncertain and worried.
Now, it was indeed time to unite and help each other, working together to establish a foothold for the Donghai people in Luoyang.
This was good.
(End of Chapter)