The secret discussion in the study room ended quickly.
As the sky darkened, Sima Yue prepared to have his evening meal.
After dinner, he planned to visit his newly taken concubine.
The chaos in Luoyang wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for some high-ranking officials—it could be an opportunity.
Otherwise, how could someone of his age, status, and position manage to marry a young noble girl of sixteen? Wonderful, truly wonderful.
"My lord," Wang Dao interrupted Sima Yue's thoughts, "there is something I couldn’t mention earlier."
Sima Yue was slightly annoyed but maintained his calm demeanor, smiling as he said, "You, always so secretive. Speak freely."
Wang Dao organized his thoughts, recalling Pei Xia's recent visit to the Minister of Works.
He said, "Commander Shao Xun is indeed a brave warrior, but he has offended Meng Jiu, which might not be good for our overall plans."
Sima Yue's smile faded.
"What do you mean?"
Wang Dao didn’t care whether Sima Yue knew the details of the feud between Meng Jiu and Lu Ji.
He recounted the story and then added, "The Minister of Works has great ambitions, but Luoyang is an isolated city. For now, it’s best to maintain good relations with the Prince of Chengdu. Shao Xun is brave, but he’s just a common soldier. Meng Jiu holds a grudge and is constantly slandering him to the Prince of Chengdu. Over time, this could ruin our plans."
"I will eventually clash with Sima Ying," Sima Yue said.
"Indeed," Wang Dao replied.
"Your Highness must eliminate Sima Ying to achieve your ambitions, but not now. Sacrificing a common soldier for the greater good seems unwise."
Sima Yue's expression shifted, but he finally said, "No. If I do that, it will chill the hearts of my followers. How will others see me? Say no more. I have my own considerations."
"Yes," Wang Dao replied respectfully.
He hadn’t expected to achieve much at this moment, but he had planted a seed.
Pei Dun was visiting more frequently, and Pei Xia had come for the first time.
Behind Pei Xia was the shadow of General Pei Kuo, the Commander of the Central Garrison.
If the Minister of Works wanted to win over the imperial guards, he would have to show goodwill to the Pei family, increasing the likelihood of Pei Dun becoming the Governor of Xuzhou.
This was unacceptable to Wang Dao.
Recently, his cousin Wang Yan mentioned that there might be an opportunity in Jingzhou.
When Zhang Chang rebelled, Sima Xin, the Prince of Xinye and Governor of Jingzhou, was killed.
Sima Xiao, the General Who Conquers the South, was sent to quell the rebellion.
He sent his trusted subordinate Zhang Yi to take over as Governor of Jingzhou, but the legitimate Governor, Liu Hong, killed Zhang Yi.
Liu Hong submitted a memorial asking for punishment, but the court, eager to stabilize the situation, did not pursue the matter.
Sima Xiao's forces were completely expelled from Jingzhou.
Did the Minister of Works have no opinion on this?
This presented an opportunity.
Wang Yan wanted Wang Cheng to become the Governor of Jingzhou, giving the Wang family of Langya control over a major province.
At the same time, he inquired about the situation in Xuzhou, putting pressure on Wang Dao.
Mi Huang and Shao Xun, connected through Lady Pei, were getting close to the Pei family, becoming obstacles in Wang Dao's plan to control Xuzhou.
This was frustrating.
Even if this attempt to sow discord didn’t succeed, it didn’t matter.
The situation in Luoyang was still fluid.
Whether Sima Yue or Sima Ying ultimately controlled the court, Wang Yan would be appointed.
Then, they would see who would become the Governor of Xuzhou.
The city gates were closed, and Mi Huang and Shao Xun stayed overnight at the Minister of Works' residence.
Of course, they didn’t stay together.
Mi Huang stayed in a guest room with a beautiful maid to warm his bed.
Shao Xun stayed in the barracks with the guards, sleeping amidst the smell of feet and the sound of teeth grinding—he was used to it; that’s just how the military was.
His mindset was still good.
He was about to do something big, but he wasn’t nervous at all.
In fact, he slept soundly.
Before bed, he even chatted with the guards about their hometowns and shared some stories.
This kind of conversation was beneficial.
At least, Shao Xun learned that Xuzhou had been attacked by rebel forces over the past year.
A man named Feng Yun had been causing havoc, and the government had struggled to suppress him.
He also learned that there were rebellions in Yangzhou, and the court had sent a man named Chen to lead troops against the bandits, achieving several victories.
These firsthand reports, whether true or not, greatly enriched Shao Xun's understanding of the world.
He now knew that Yangzhou, Xuzhou, and Jingzhou were in turmoil, with constant warfare.
It was truly lamentable.
At the same time, he was a bit confused.
The combat effectiveness of the Jin court's local forces fluctuated wildly.
Sometimes they were crushed by rebel forces, and other times they won consecutive victories.
It all depended on who was leading the troops.
Ultimately, it was Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan's fault—after pacifying Wu, he "dismissed all provincial and commandery troops, leaving only a hundred soldiers in large commanderies and fifty in small ones."
With so few soldiers, maintaining order was a joke.
Of course, there was resistance locally.
The governors, who were the ones actually managing affairs, knew that such a small number of soldiers was insufficient.
So, they used local finances to raise additional troops, but the base number was still small.
How much more could they raise? Moreover, many commanderies still had only fifty or a hundred soldiers.
When trouble arose, they could only rely on the eight major military regions to send troops, but their response was slow.
By the time they arrived, the peasant armies had already grown strong.
What a mess!
At dawn, after eating porridge, Shao Xun met up with Mi Huang and returned outside the city.
Before leaving, he didn’t see Pei Shiliu and didn’t receive any "latest instructions" from Lady Pei.
"Commander, you mentioned earlier that I could be sent out. What kind of position could I get?" Shao Xun asked casually on the way back, as it wasn’t appropriate to discuss confidential matters.
"A county magistrate," Mi Huang replied.
"This..."
Shao Xun was surprised.
Lu Ji, a strategist under Sima Ying in Ye City, had commanded over two hundred thousand troops after leaving the court.
It was absurd, but if he were transferred to a local position, the worst he could get was a prefect—in fact, Lu Ji was already at the prefect level.
Mi Huang, as a commander under Sima Yue, could only become a county magistrate after leaving the court.
The gap was huge.
"My family’s status isn’t high. If I’m sent out, I can only be a county magistrate," Mi Huang said, sensing Shao Xun's surprise.
"The Nine-Rank System works that way. It’s not great, but it’s better than nothing. If Liu Qian left the court, he wouldn’t even get a county magistrate position."
They both laughed.
Privately mocking Liu Qian felt good.
"So, don’t feel like you’re holding me back," Mi Huang patted Shao Xun's shoulder.
"Being a county magistrate isn’t interesting. Either continue as a strategist in the court or find another path. The Commandant of the Eastern Sea, Chen, is seriously ill and has been bedridden for over a year. The Kingdom’s army is being reorganized in Luoyang. It wouldn’t be hard for me to try for the Commandant position. Don’t think I’ll offend people by doing this—it’s not like that. If you want to climb up, you have to offend people. The idea of rising through harmony? Ha, I wouldn’t dare dream of it."
"That’s true," Shao Xun agreed.
Resources were limited, and there were only so many official positions.
For those without good family backgrounds, the competition was fierce.
You really had to risk your life to get ahead, and offending people was a minor issue.
"Actually—" Mi Huang glanced at Shao Xun, his expression regretful.
"Young man, your troubles are much bigger than mine. You’ve offended someone very powerful."
"Who?"
"The eunuch Meng Jiu," Mi Huang said.
"You killed Meng Chao and got a promotion, but you also offended Meng Jiu. However, I might not escape either, since I’m the battalion commander."
Shao Xun remained silent.
In the simple values of a warrior, when two armies clash, each fighting for their own side, and no underhanded tactics are used, killing someone in fair combat—what kind of grudge is that? If you eat the warrior’s rice, you should accept such outcomes.
But Meng Jiu might not see it that way.
He was a eunuch, with a twisted mindset.
Just because Lu Yun opposed his father becoming the magistrate of Handan, he held a grudge against the Lu brothers, leading to Lu Ji’s imprisonment and execution—the latest news was that Lu Ji’s entire family had been executed, along with his brothers Lu Yun and Lu Dan, and their friends Sun Zheng, Fei Ci, and Zai Yi.
"Don’t think too much about it," Mi Huang sighed.
"Lu Ji and Meng Jiu’s feud started long ago; it wasn’t just this one incident. Perhaps Meng Jiu blames Lu Ji for most of Meng Chao’s death and might not even know about us. But we still need to be cautious, that’s the truth. Honestly, if Sima Yi hadn’t fallen and was still in power, Meng Jiu wouldn’t have the chance to harm us. But do you think Sima Yi can win?"
Shao Xun shook his head.
Sima Yi had made too many mistakes and had already missed his chance for victory.
"Then there’s no other way," Mi Huang continued.
"At worst, I can resign and flee back to my hometown. But you only have one option: get the Minister of Works to protect you. Lu Ji was the Prefect of Pingyuan and a follower of Sima Ying. Meng Jiu only needed to slander him to Sima Ying to get him killed. But we’re the Minister of Works’ people. For Meng Jiu to harm us, he’d need the Minister’s approval."
"My words might not be pleasant, and I’m not a smooth talker, but I’m telling the truth. Young man, you need to make the Minister of Works feel that you’re valuable, that he can’t afford to discard you. Understand?"
"I understand," Shao Xun took a deep breath and bowed.
"Thank you, Commander, for guiding me."
"No need for that," Mi Huang waved his hand.
"If it weren’t for you, I might have been killed by Meng Chao. I can’t not help you; my conscience wouldn’t allow it. Also, if you’re worried about your family, you can have them hide in my estate. Xuzhou is unstable, and many military households have fled. If your family runs away, no one will pursue them."
At this point, Mi Huang smiled proudly.
"Since you’re literate, you should know about the late Eastern Han period. Back then, my family made a fortune through business but lacked official influence, so we heavily supported Liu Bei. Of course, in the end, we gained little, and Xuzhou fell to Cao Cao. The Mi family wasn’t specifically targeted, but life was tough, and it took a long time to recover."
"Now, we’re a bit better off than in the late Eastern Han period. We’re not a high-ranking noble family, but we’ve managed to join the ranks of minor noble families. A few months ago, my son wrote to me, saying he wanted to build a fortress to defend against Feng Yun and Shi Bing. I agreed. It’s just money, haha. Our family’s business hasn’t declined; we’re probably wealthier than some noble families."
"Once the fortress is completed, we can raise two to three thousand troops. After some basic training, unless the Eastern Sea Commandery or Xuzhou sends tens of thousands of troops, they won’t be able to take it. If your parents and siblings hide in the fortress, they’ll be safe."
Mi Huang glanced at Shao Xun again.
This young man was skilled in archery and horsemanship, good at managing soldiers—a rare talent.
If he were his son-in-law, helping to train the troops, wouldn’t that be perfect?
But, alas, his approval wasn’t enough.
The elders in his family would have to agree.
Shao Xun was just a military household, his background too low.
If the Mi family were still wealthy merchants, they might have taken him as a son-in-law.
But now that they had some status, some people thought too highly of themselves, creating obstacles.
He really should bring those people to Luoyang to see Zhang Fang’s butcher’s knife.
Maybe that would change their attitudes!
But then again, Shao Xun was a "wild horse," not easy to tame...
Mi Huang sighed inwardly and continued walking in silence.
Shao Xun followed behind, deep in thought.
His hand instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword.
The situation was more complicated than he had imagined.
This time, he had no choice but to side with Sima Yi.
If Sima Yi lived, he would die.
If Sima Yi died, he would live.
A small man has no choice.
In this world, the only thing you can truly rely on is your own blade.
(End of Chapter)