After Changsha Prince Yi took control of the central government, he bullied the emperor and empress, disrupted state laws, monopolized power, and favored corrupt individuals.
"The central army in Luoyang, the backbone of the nation, has been corrupted by him, turning into his private army."
"Key positions in the government, which are public institutions, have been handed out by Sima Yi without any regard for propriety, all to win the favor of his cronies."
"The nobility and influential families from all over the country, whom the emperor relies on, have been slaughtered at will, and heavy taxes have been imposed, causing widespread discontent and disappointment both within and outside the court."
"I was blind before, misled by corrupt individuals, leading to mistakes in my actions and years of misplaced loyalty."
"Now, I deeply regret it and wish to reform myself and restore order."
Sima Yue spoke at length, while the three people in the room listened quietly like wooden statues.
They had some idea of what their lord intended to do before coming, so although they were surprised, they didn't lose their composure.
Shao Xun was probably the calmest among them, as he had already guessed from history that Sima Yue would either get lucky and clean up the mess after others destroyed each other, or he would take active steps—like betraying his allies—to accelerate his rise to power.
Now, it seemed he had decided to betray Sima Yi.
"Gentlemen, you are all outstanding talents. Do you have anything to say?" Sima Yue's gaze first fell on Wang Dao, then shifted to Mi Huang, and finally lingered on Shao Xun for a long time.
Purely out of curiosity.
Mi Huang had praised Shao Xun's merits, and Pei Xia from the Pei family had also mentioned his bravery.
When the emperor summoned Sima Yi for an audience in October, some news leaked out, further deepening Sima Yue's impression of Shao Xun.
He was a sharp blade, and if used well, could be of great use.
Sima Yue was currently lacking such a blade.
"Your Highness, Luoyang is a death trap. Sitting idle in a city full of worries is not a solution. I think we should secretly contact Ye City and Chang'an and act according to the situation," Wang Dao said, completely ignoring Sima Yue's earlier high-sounding speech and getting straight to the point.
Of course, this was the style of top scholars.
If this place doesn't suit me, there are others.
I am a valued advisor you hired with great expense and courtesy, not a dog.
There's no need to flatter you too much or overly humble myself—people like Mi Huang certainly couldn't act this way.
"Good," Sima Yue's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly smiled and said, "Mao Hong, you have a wide network. Can you handle this?"
"Yes," Wang Dao agreed without hesitation.
In fact, this wasn't difficult for him.
One of the old tricks of the great families was to place multiple bets and build extensive connections.
With the armies of Ye and Changsha fighting each other, there were too many advisors on both sides who knew each other, making it hard to keep things secret.
Correspondingly, switching allegiances, gathering intelligence, and plotting defections were also easy to do.
Having him handle this was the most appropriate choice.
"Your Highness," Mi Huang cupped his hands and said, "Changsha Prince Yi won't just sit and wait for death. His power is immense, and his entourage is vast. If suddenly attacked, he could hold out for a long time. If the imperial guards come to his aid, everything will be for naught, and the assassins will all die."
"The generals of the seven imperial guard armies and the Yamen army are not Sima Yi's personal slaves. It won't come to that," Sima Yue said mysteriously.
But Mi Huang didn't catch on and continued, "Your Highness, Sima Yi is the Grand Marshal, commanding tens of thousands of troops inside and outside Luoyang. He has also led the central army to several victories, gaining prestige. Now..."
"Enough!" Sima Yue helplessly interrupted Mi Huang and said, "Just talk about how to deal with Sima Yi."
Then, remembering that Mi Huang was an old subordinate who had recently made many contributions, he added, "The city's food supplies will only last until February. Recently, Sima Yi has been oppressing the people and nobles, confiscating their grain to supply the army, trying to prolong his rule. This has already angered many."
Mi Huang was stunned for a moment, seemingly understanding something, and said, "Then we must wait until Sima Yi has fewer attendants. Your Highness, do you know where he is now?"
"He's gone to the military camp and won't return for a while," Sima Yue said, also feeling a headache.
In the military camp, it would be difficult to capture Sima Yi.
He had just told Mi Huang not to consider the attitude of the central army, but that was somewhat exaggerated.
In fact, Sima Yi still had the loyalty of some central army generals.
Although their loyalty wasn't very strong—they would surely find new masters if Sima Yi died—it was unlikely they would openly arrest or kill Sima Yi.
"Then we can only wait," Mi Huang said.
"I wonder if the emperor will hold a court meeting on New Year's Day?"
Sima Yue pondered for a while and said, "It's hard to say, but it's unlikely."
"Your Highness, it doesn't matter," Wang Dao said.
"As long as Sima Yi returns to the city from the military camp, there will be plenty of opportunities. If not on New Year's Day, then on Renri, or the Lantern Festival, or any other day. We'll find a chance."
Sima Yue slowly nodded and said, "No matter what, this must be done! If Sima Yi doesn't fall, none of us will have a good outcome."
The big shots plotted their schemes, refining the details.
Shao Xun just knelt quietly, listening in silence.
In fact, there were many historical examples of capturing or killing powerful ministers.
In the Qing dynasty, Emperor Kangxi trained young wrestlers to capture Ao Bai.
The operation was clean and left no hidden dangers.
The process of Emperor Yuwen Yong of Northern Zhou killing the powerful minister Yuwen Hu was more abstract.
First, Yuwen Hu was lured to the empress dowager's place.
While he was reciting the "Ode to Wine," Emperor Yuwen Yong sneaked up behind him and hit him on the back of the head with a jade tablet, knocking him to the ground.
The eunuch He Quan came with a knife but was too scared to strike Yuwen Hu.
In the end, Prince Yuwen Zhi, who had been hiding in the room, took the knife and killed Yuwen Hu.
The process—was a bit absurd, but it succeeded.
Looking closely at these two events, the core reason was that the emperor had authority.
When a powerful minister entered the court, he couldn't bring all his miscellaneous attendants, sometimes leaving him isolated and vulnerable, creating opportunities for others.
When Cao Cao met Emperor Xian of Han, he also experienced a moment of terror, "sweating profusely."
In short, as long as the powerful minister didn't completely lose face and replace all the emperor's close attendants, guards, and palace staff, he was in some danger.
Sima Yi had dismissed his guards but hadn't replaced the emperor's close attendants.
Thinking carefully, there was an opportunity there.
But Shao Xun thought, perhaps there were other ways?
Luoyang was short on food and water, and resentment was boiling over.
As time dragged on, fewer people would support Sima Yi, and more would oppose him.
Couldn't they just wait for him to collapse naturally?
Was it necessary to take such risks?
Or was he already close to collapsing naturally?
Unfortunately, in this setting, he didn't have the right to speak up and could only passively listen to these "mediocre strategists" make arrangements.
He now wondered if he had performed too well, making the advisors think they didn't need to wait and could just forcibly capture or kill Sima Yi.
If that was the case, he didn't know what to say.
However, he was a man of dialectical thinking.
Every situation had its pros and cons.
Who knew if this event could add to his capital? For example, the position of Commandant Sima was a legitimate military officer of the Donghai Kingdom, though only of the eighth rank.
For the Prince of Donghai, it was more important than a sixth-rank official in the court.
After all, he was "one of their own."
"In that case, I think we can start preparing," Mi Huang said, seeing that Sima Yue had made up his mind.
Sima Yue didn't speak, but Wang Dao did, "In the first month, the palace guard is commanded by Gou Xi. He's one of us and can be trusted. As long as we capture Sima Yi in the palace, Gou Xi can suppress the soldiers, making them stand by or even close the palace gates. The central army generals are already dissatisfied with Sima Yi. Hearing of his capture, they will accept the situation."
Gou Xi came from a humble background and was appreciated by the Inspector Shi Jian early on, serving as an assistant.
After Shi Jian's death, he befriended the Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, who recommended him as a clerk and later as the governor of Yangping.
Two years ago, he joined the Prince of Qi's, Sima Jiong's, staff as a military advisor.
After Sima Jiong was killed, Gou Xi joined Sima Yi as a senior advisor.
Recently, he participated in battles and performed well, earning Sima Yi's favor.
But Sima Yi seemed to have forgotten that Gou Xi had no loyalty, having served Shi Jian, Sima Yue, and Sima Jiong.
He only loved himself.
Moreover, he was over fifty and valued his family's wealth, fearing retribution if they lost, making betrayal possible.
Mi Huang hadn't expected Gou Xi to be recruited.
He wanted to ask, "Is he reliable?" but held back and only asked, "Who else will be involved in the palace operation?"
Wang Dao looked at Sima Yue.
Sima Yue then looked at Shao Xun, scrutinizing him for a long time.
Shao Xun remained still, having no choice but to follow orders.
"Zi Hui, I originally wanted He Lun to handle this, but he's scared," Sima Yue hesitated for a moment and said, "In the past three months, you've performed well in the southern city, impressing me. Now, I want you to carry out this major task. Are you willing?"
Mi Huang glanced at Shao Xun out of the corner of his eye, recalling their previous discussions, and sighed inwardly, but outwardly he put on a brave face and said, "Why not!"
"Good!" Sima Yue laughed heartily and said, "He Lun is useless. If you succeed, I won't hesitate to reward you handsomely! Capturing Sima Yi is a secret matter. Remember, it must not be leaked. When the time comes, quality is more important than quantity—"
Here, Sima Yue looked at Shao Xun and said, "Commandant Shao, your skills are outstanding, and you have the courage of ten thousand men. You will lead in the palace, along with a few dozen brave and skilled men. That should be enough. After this is done, next year's Xiaolian recommendation from Donghai will be yours."
Xiaolian was an important path to becoming an official.
At the provincial level, the Inspector's most important power was recommending Xiucai.
Depending on the size of the province, a large province could recommend two people per year, while others could recommend one.
At the commandery/kingdom level, it was the recommendation of Xiaolian, an important power of the Governor or Chancellor (Neishi).
Following the Wei system, one Xiaolian could be recommended per 100,000 people, with less than 100,000 counted as 100,000.
Donghai only had one recommendation per year.
The question was, did this require a prestigious family background? Generally, yes, but Emperor Wen of Wei's edict, which established the foundation of Xiaolian in Wei and Jin, had a line: "Those with exceptional talent are not restricted by household registration."
Jin followed Wei and also had this rule.
This clause was rarely used.
Since Wei and Jin, only a few exceptionally talented individuals had managed to leap into officialdom through this.
But the clause existed, so there was room for manipulation.
Xiaolian could only recommend people from the same commandery/kingdom.
By saying this, Sima Yue was confident that next year's Xiaolian from Donghai would be Shao Xun—Shao had barely shown filial piety in the past two years, but if the leader said you were filial, then you were filial...
This was a real promise of an official position, a stepping stone into the bureaucracy.
Once recommended as Xiaolian, future promotions would be easier.
"Yes," Mi Huang and Shao Xun responded together.
Sima Yue stood up from behind the desk and paced around the room, trying to calm his emotions.
From his breathing, it was clear that his heart was in turmoil.
He was both imagining the joy of success and fearing the consequences of failure.
Undoubtedly, this was Sima Yue's biggest gamble, a departure from his usual cautious style.
Anxiety and worry were normal.
Shao Xun sat silently, thinking to himself.
Palace coups never needed to be too complicated.
The more complex the plan, the more likely it was to go wrong or leak.
Looking through history, such events boiled down to one sentence: find the right people, go in, and do it.
Success or failure was up to fate.
Honestly, Sima Yue's plan—perhaps with the help of a few imperial guard generals and high-ranking officials—seemed unremarkable, but given the current situation, even if there were flaws, they wouldn't matter much.
Sima Yi was actually being collectively betrayed by the great families and imperial guard generals.
Sima Yue was just the representative they pushed forward to lead.
In a sense, Sima Yi was already dead.
What Shao Xun needed to do was to nail the final nail in his coffin, that's all.
(End of Chapter)