BSI Chapter 1439 Testing
Chapter 1439 Testing
Chapter 1439 Testing
The first snow of the tenth year of the Zhengshi era fell heavier and heavier.
The iron hinges of the north gate of Qiao County groaned in its death throes, and the moment the city gate opened, a draft of ice-cold air whipped at Sima Yi's face.
His official robe swept across the frosty blue bricks inside the threshold, leaving a wet trail of mud and snow.
The city gate was deep and dark, like a tomb passage, and at the end, the cold light of Cao Shuang's golden crown floated in the sunlight.
"This sinful subject..." He had barely uttered half a sentence when a chilling wind suddenly rushed into his lungs.
Sima Yi hunched over and coughed, his white beard covered with fine snowflakes.
"Grand Tutor, be careful." Jiang Ji reached out from behind to support Sima Yi and steady him in time.
The spears and halberds of the armored soldiers on both sides of the passageway gleamed coldly.
Sima Yi straightened his back and spoke again:
"Your Majesty, I, your guilty subject, have come to pay my respects!"
"Climb up."
It wasn't Cao Fang's voice, but the voice of Ding Mi, Cao Shuang's confidant and one of the people Sima Yi hated most.
Upon hearing his enemy's voice, Sima Yi's expression remained unchanged.
Looking up at the stone steps, Cao Shuang's mocking face was visible beneath the golden bell hanging on the arrow tower at the top.
He lowered his head, bent slightly, and stepped up the stairs. Suddenly, a sharp, tearing pain shot through his left knee.
Years of fighting and hard work inevitably took a toll on his health, causing him to suffer from various ailments.
Kneeling for so long in such cold weather has caused my hidden ailment to flare up.
But how could he stop at this point?
Gritting his teeth, he supported his knees and shakily stepped onto the first stone step, then the second, the third...
When he reached the twenty-seventh step, Sima Yi slipped and his left knee slammed into the edge of the step with a dull thud that made one's teeth ache.
To avoid falling, he dug his fingernails into the cracks in the steps.
"Grand Tutor, do not miss the appointed time for your audience."
Ding Mi's impatient voice came from above again.
Sima Yi exhaled white mist as he panted, letting the cold snowflakes drift onto his neck and then melt into icy water that slid down his back.
He gritted his teeth, stood up, and continued climbing.
As the final step blocked their path, the heat from the charcoal fire rushed towards them, along with Cao Shuang's slightly mocking voice:
"Is the Grand Tutor's leg failing him? How did it take him so long to climb such a short distance?"
Sima Yi was about to step over the last step when he heard this, his expression changed, and he fell forward:
"puff!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood onto the fresh snow at the top of the steps, where it bloomed into a large red plum blossom.
"Zhongda!" Situ Gaorou disregarded etiquette, bypassed Cao Shuang and Cao Fang, rushed forward, and helped Sima Yi up.
Chen Tai followed closely behind Gao Rou, then removed his cloak and covered Sima Yi with it. "Grand Tutor, how are you?"
The corner of the bright yellow robe swept across the snow. Cao Fang squatted down to help him, but Cao Shuang suddenly grabbed his arm: "Your Majesty, be careful to avoid falling ill!"
Upon hearing this, Gao Rou abruptly turned her head and glared angrily at Cao Shuang: "General, you..."
Cao Fang was pulled back by Cao Shuang, who called out, "Grand Tutor..."
As if he had heard the emperor's voice, Sima Yi looked like he wanted to open his eyes, but his body began to convulse violently.
His frozen body curled into a bow shape, his throat emitted a wheezing sound like a broken bellows, and finally he fainted.
"Carry it away!"
Under these circumstances, Cao Shuang could not say anything more and could only order the person to be carried away.
Seemingly fearing that Sima Yi might not survive and would actually die, he gave another instruction:
"Summon a physician to examine the Grand Tutor."
Sima Yi was carried away, and Cao Shuang, having finally vented his anger, left with Cao Fang.
But the city walls of Qiao County remained silent, utterly silent.
Grief, indignation, sorrow, and grief almost solidified into a tangible form.
Three days later.
At the end of West Street in Qiao County, lies the residence of the Sima family.
A newly painted gold plaque bearing the inscription "Grand Tutor's Residence" hangs above the decaying wooden lintel, its gold powder glaringly bright in the bleak winter sunlight.
The tung oil that hadn't dried on the corner of the plaque congealed into ice beads, dripping onto the ground. The fine dust that exploded splashed onto the old plaque that had been replaced but hadn't had time to move—the "Cavalry Commandant's Mansion" plaque that was somewhat tattered and riddled with wormholes.
The vermilion paint on the porch pillars was already faded and peeling, and the two cypress wood doors, which had come loose from their tenons, leaned against each other, with the cracked paint peeling off like scabs.
The door knocker is made of gilded Bixie head, but unfortunately only the right ring has half a rusty iron chain hanging down.
When Gao Rou's oxcart ran over the frozen horse manure in front of the door, the wheels were tripped and lurched violently.
"Zhongda!"
Gao Rou got out of the car and rushed into the courtyard without stopping.
"Shh!"
The official's boots sank into the unswept snow.
Because she was walking too fast, some of the snow she kicked up fell into her boots, but Gao Rou didn't care anymore.
Under the eaves, a medicine stove was burning in an earthenware pot, and Sima Zhao was brewing medicine.
Because they were still in mourning for Zhang Chunhua, some frost and snow had settled on the shoulders of their mourning clothes, and the frayed fibers from the cuffs fluttered with their movements.
Upon seeing Gao Rou arrive, Sima Zhao quickly rose and bowed:
"Greetings, Situ."
Gao Rou was in a hurry to see Sima Yi, but after glancing at Sima Zhao, her gaze fell on the medicine pot, and she stopped in her tracks, glancing up at Sima Zhao again.
His face showed an incredibly complex expression of pity and compassion, and even a hint of admiration.
"It's Zishang..." Gao Rou took two steps forward and asked, "Are you brewing medicine for Zhongda? How is his health? Is he better than yesterday?"
Sima Yi regained consciousness yesterday, but he is extremely weak.
“Reporting to Minister Sima,” Sima Zhao wiped his swollen eyes and said in a low voice, “it is the same as yesterday.”
Gao Rou sighed and comforted her:
"Don't worry, as long as you wake up, you can eat more nourishing foods and recover your health sooner or later."
As Gao Rou spoke, she reached into her bosom and took out a box, handing it to Sima Zhao:
"This is a piece of Shangdang ginseng that I have treasured. It was originally a gift from Emperor Wen. Now that Zhongda has awakened, he needs this. Please accept it."
Gao Rou served as the Minister of Justice for a total of twenty-three years during the reigns of Cao Pi, Cao Rui, and Cao Fang.
He later served as Grand Master of Ceremonies and Minister of Works, and last year he was transferred to Minister of Education.
In his early years, Cao Pi harbored a deep grudge against Bao Xun, the Imperial Censor. He wanted to execute Bao Xun for a minor offense, but Gao Rou stopped him and insisted on handling the matter according to the law.
Cao Pi had no choice but to temporarily transfer Gao Rou away, directly ordering the Court of Justice to carry out the imperial edict, and only dared to recall Gao Rou afterward.
To appease Gao Rou's resentment, Cao Pi bestowed upon her many gifts, including this ginseng root.
Unlike in later generations, the fame of Shangdang ginseng at this time was much greater than that of Liaodong ginseng.
The Shangdang ginseng is long and yellow, moist and sweet. In the eyes of people at that time, its nourishing effect was better than that of the weak and bland Liaodong ginseng.
The ginseng from Shangdang that Gao Rou gave her was already taking on a human-like shape and was quite valuable.
Ginseng, as its name suggests, is shaped like a human figure and has miraculous effects, as valuable as gold.
In the past, it wouldn't have been difficult for Sima Yi to obtain either Shangdang ginseng or Liaodong ginseng.
However, the Great Wei first lost Shangdang, then Hebei, and even its ancestral home of Wen County in Henan lost its foothold to the Sima clan.
Given the current state of the pseudo-Wei state and the predicament of the Sima clan, let alone ginseng, even nourishing medicinal herbs like astragalus, angelica, and donkey-hide gelatin would require considerable effort to obtain.
Therefore, the Shangdang ginseng that Gao Rou personally delivered was undoubtedly extremely precious.
"Minister Situ, this is too, too precious." Sima Zhao reached out to accept it, but then seemed to remember something and withdrew his hand halfway, saying somewhat fearfully, "Zhao dares not accept it."
"The elders give it to you, and you can't refuse it."
Gao Rou forced it into Sima Zhao's hands.
Upon hearing this, Sima Zhao's eyes reddened, then tears streamed down his face. He performed a deep bow and choked out:
"I would rather die than repay the great kindness of Situ. If I am ever summoned in the future, I will give my life to repay the great kindness of Situ!"
"Get up!"
Gao Rou helped Sima Zhao up, patted him on the shoulder, and spoke in a low, deeply moved voice:
"Your elder brother (Sima Shi) died from severe injuries while repaying the country's kindness. Your father devoted himself to defending against a powerful enemy, risking his life even in the face of fire and water. If it weren't for Zhongda, the Great Wei..."
At this point, Gao Rou paused, a look of grief and indignation appearing on her face:
"I never imagined that after serving the Great Wei for a lifetime, I would suffer such a great humiliation in my old age!"
As she spoke, she seemed unable to continue, and turned away, saying, "You continue to prepare the medicine, I'll go check on Zhongda."
When the curtain to the inner room was lifted, Gao Rou coughed a few times, choked by the strong smell of medicine, before stepping inside.
Sima Yi, wrapped in a quilt and pale-faced, lay on the couch, talking to Jiang Ji, Wang Guan, Chen Tai, and others in front of him.
Seeing this, Gao Rou's previously gloomy expression showed a rare hint of relaxation:
"It seems I am late."
As he spoke, he stepped forward, reached out and touched Sima Yi's forehead, a look of relief on his face:
"It's been three days and I haven't had a fever, which means I haven't caught a cold. That's great."
"What's so good about it? Who doesn't know that the Han Kingdom is powerful now? Who hasn't heard of Feng Yuxiang's wicked reputation? Zhongda (Sima Yi) is single-handedly resisting the entire Han Kingdom and stopping Feng Yuxiang's eastward advance. What is Cao Shuang doing?"
"Sun Quan merely spread a rumor, and before we even saw a single Wu soldier, he abandoned the reinforcements that were sent to Hebei. Now that the battle is over, where are Sun Quan's men?"
"Not only did the reinforcements not come, but they also refused to provide funds and provisions. Meanwhile, he built his own mansion with elaborate pavilions and carved railings, as if it were a palace of gold and jade!"
Wang Guan spoke aggressively, making no attempt to hide his disgust and anger towards Cao Shuang.
Like Sima Yi, Wang Guan was also a veteran of four reigns in the Wei Dynasty, and through his own abilities, he rose to a high position step by step.
After Cao Shuang seized power, he ordered Zhang Da, a material official, to reduce the amount of materials used for national construction, intending to use them for his own purposes. Wang Guan, who was then serving as the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, heard about this and preemptively made a list of all the materials and confiscated them.
Furthermore, the Imperial Household Department under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu had many rare and precious items, which Cao Shuang often requested to use. However, he could not do so because of Wang Guan. In the end, he had no choice but to transfer Wang Guan to the position of Taipu.
This is how the Imperial Household Department, which originally supplied the royal family, was transformed into the General's private treasury.
Wang Guan himself was a law-abiding and upright man who hated evil as if it were his enemy. He had long been dissatisfied with Cao Shuang and his cronies.
Seeing Cao Shuang's actions on the city wall a few days ago made me even more indignant.
At this moment, everyone in the room was a fellow believer; how could they possibly hold back?
He just wanted to express all his grievances against Cao Shuang:
"Cao Shuang is a worthless slave! He is neither virtuous nor capable. It is a pity that the late emperor was blinded for a time, and Cao Shuang managed to usurp the high position of Grand General through luck."
"Now they have betrayed their father's mandate, corrupted the national laws, usurped power internally, and abused their authority externally. Furthermore, they are indulging in debauchery and extravagance with their relatives in Taichung, indulging in wine and women. Sooner or later, they will ruin the nation's future!"
"Weitai, that's too much!" Sima Yi abruptly interrupted Wang Guan. "These words involve the late Emperor; please be careful what you say!"
He probably spoke too quickly, because he started coughing again.
Wang Guanben was about to speak, but seeing that it was Sima Yi who spoke, he could only grunt and remain silent.
Among those who came to visit, Situ Gaorou was the most respected and offered advice:
"Cao Shuang's actions over the years have been unpopular, and it's natural that Wei Tai, who has always been self-disciplined, couldn't stand it."
"Besides, we're all family here. It's understandable that Weitai's words were biased in his anger."
"Zhongda is in poor health and is prone to excessive joy and anger, which may damage his liver and internal organs. He should restrain himself."
Sima Yi sighed:
“I am already seventy years old, and my life and death are left to fate. I should be more open-minded, but whenever I think of failing the trust of Emperor Wen and the late Emperor, my heart burns like fire.”
"Therefore, when I heard Weitai mention the late emperor, seeing the country in ruins and the court in chaos, and knowing that I, as the Grand Tutor, was powerless to do anything about it, I was heartbroken and could not control myself..."
As she spoke, she suddenly burst into tears.
When King Gao Rou saw Chen Tai, he also wept and sighed deeply.
Only Jiang Ji, with his hand on his sword, roared in fury:
"Cao Shuang and the Grand Tutor were both entrusted with important responsibilities, yet they monopolized power, acted arrogantly and extravagantly, and bullied the imperial family. They are not fit to be subjects!"
"Can our weeping day and night free His Majesty from Cao Shuang's bullying? Can it rescue the Empress Dowager from the deep palace?"
Jiang Ji's shout stopped everyone's tears, but they fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat strange.
After a long silence, Jiang Ji looked at Sima Yi and spoke first:
"Zhongda, when you brought the troops back from Hebei, did you ever imagine it would turn out like this?"
Sima Yi did not look at Jiang Ji. Instead, he closed his eyes slightly, his expression growing increasingly ashen, as if he had lost all hope and despair.
It took him a long time to answer:
"Of course I've thought about it. The worst thing I could imagine was to atone with my death. I'm already lucky to be alive for now, so how could I dare to think of anything else?"
He lost the power to record affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, and his military power was also taken away.
The only saving grace was that the imperial court sent over a plaque inscribed with the words "Grand Tutor" and also bestowed upon him a dilapidated mansion.
Although it was an extremely humiliating act, it also showed that Cao Shuang currently had no intention of killing the Grand Tutor.
I don't know if they were thinking of keeping the Grand Tutor around to continue humiliating him, while also making an example of him to intimidate the other senior officials.
There are still some concerns.
After all, to kill such a veteran of four reigns and a senior advisor to two reigns was still a grave offense against the world.
Not to mention the more than 50,000 remnants of the army that had been withdrawn from Hebei outside the city.
Although they were defeated soldiers, many of them were veterans who had followed Sima Taifu for many years.
At the same time, for the State of Wei, they could be considered elite troops.
The remaining soldiers outside the city were already in a state of panic and their morale was unstable. If they were to hastily kill Sima Taifu at this time, they might rebel under the instigation of some people.
Even if they don't rebel, being so frightened that they flee in disarray is still a huge headache.
Seeing Sima Yi's disheartened and despondent state, Jiang Ji's anger was once again barely contained.
"Zhongda, which of you here is not an old man who has been fighting for the Great Wei since the time of Emperor Wu?"
"Although the land of this Great Wei belongs to the Cao family, it was conquered inch by inch by us, with the help of Emperor Wu!"
"Cao Shuang only took advantage of the fact that he was surnamed Cao to occupy a high position. Now, his actions not only disgrace the Cao family, but he can even be considered an enemy of the Cao clan!"
"If this continues, not only will we face external threats from the Han and Wu states, but the Great Wei itself will perish!"
"Zitong!" Sima Yi suddenly opened his eyes. "Watch your words! Don't say another word!"
Jiang Ji glared at Sima Yi for a long while before gritting his teeth and saying, "Zhongda, you will regret this!"
After saying that, he angrily flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.
The crowd tried to stop them, but they couldn't.
Sima Yi, lying on the couch, looked at Gao Rou and the others, sighed, and said:
"Zitong was only thinking of the future of the Great Wei, so he said those things in a moment of panic. I would like to ask you gentlemen to forget Zitong's words once you leave this room."
After a moment of silence, Gao Rou spoke:
"Zhongda and Zitong have resisted the invasion of the Han state in Hebei for many years, serving as the bulwark of the country. Even if they have not made great contributions, they have certainly worked hard. How could we not understand Zitong?"
"We will pretend we didn't hear what Zitong said today."