gnovel Chapter 1454: Wheel of Fortune, Despair, Hope
Chapter 1454: Wheel of Fortune, Despair, Hope
Chapter 1454 Reincarnation, Despair, Hope
News of Sun Quan's death spread across the Yangtze River at top speed and reached the territory of Wei.
It was then transmitted to Qiao County at top speed.
Inside the study of the Grand Tutor's residence in Qiao County, the smell of medicine was so strong it was almost impossible to dispel.
Sima Yi leaned against the couch, covered with a thick fur coat. The military reports and documents piled up on the desk like a mountain. A lone lamp cast his shadow on the wall, flickering erratically.
His face had an unhealthy bluish-gray tinge under the lamplight, his eye sockets were sunken, and only when he occasionally opened his eyes did a trace of sharpness remain, but most of the time his eyes showed an undeniable weariness.
Just a few months after defeating Cao Shuang, the pressure from both internal and external difficulties had pushed this aging body to its limit.
Sima Zhao walked in silently, his steps more hurried than usual.
He approached the bedside and whispered, "My lord, an urgent report has come from Jiangdong: Sun Quan... is dead."
Before the words were even finished, time seemed to freeze in the study.
Sima Yi froze instantly, his breathing becoming barely audible.
The withered, bony fingers draped over the brocade quilt suddenly tightened, gripping the quilt tightly, the knuckles turning white instantly from the force.
But then, those taut fingers loosened very slowly, one by one, as if a tremendous burden had been lifted.
He didn't speak immediately, but instead tilted his head back slightly, rested it on the pillow, and closed his eyes.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, as if he wanted to say something, but he only let out a very soft, very long sigh, his breath as weak as a candle flame about to go out.
This sigh contained a complex mix of emotions that were hard to describe—a sense of relief, an emptiness of a wish fulfilled, and perhaps even a touch of melancholy, like the sorrow of a fallen friend.
He quickly opened his eyes again, his gaze fixed on the void. It wasn't as if he was speaking to Sima Zhao, but rather as if he were talking to himself, his voice hoarse and ethereal:
"Blue-eyed one... has he left too...?"
He paused, his lips seemingly trying to form a mocking or victorious smile, but the twitch of his muscles ultimately turned into a deep, weary line.
"Very well... it saves me from having to expend more energy on the south."
Then, he took a deep breath, a long and slow breath, as if he wanted to inhale some kind of invisible pressure permeating the air into his lungs and then completely dissolve it.
Finally, he couldn't help but let out another soft sigh, which sounded incredibly heavy.
This soft sigh seemed to mark the end of an era.
When he lifted his eyelids again, there was no trace of emotion in his eyes.
His gaze swept over the bewildered Sima Zhao before him, and his tone instantly turned sharp as a knife, all previous emotions vanishing:
"Source of the information? How many times has it been confirmed? What's the situation in Wu?"
For Sima Yi, the value of Sun Quan's death lay not in expressing his feelings, but in how much breathing room it gave him.
The initial moment of silence and subtle changes in expression were a complex expression of respect from the ruthless leader to his old rival.
But all personal emotions must be transformed into cold, hard strategies in an instant.
"Four channels, triple confirmation, mutually corroborating each other, are extremely reliable. I heard that Sun Quan intends to appoint Zhuge Ke as regent, and Sun Hong attempted to forge an imperial edict to kill Zhuge Ke, but was instead killed by Zhuge Ke..."
Although he couldn't get more specific information, upon hearing that the important officials of Wu were fighting amongst themselves, Sima Yi's face showed a rare smile:
"Good, good, good! That's enough!"
In his deep-set eyes, a sharp light re-condensed. Sima Yi struggled to sit up, and Sima Zhao quickly stepped forward to help him.
Leaning back on the couch, Sima Yi's breathing was slightly rapid, but his tone became resolute:
“Zhao’er, listen…this is our…heaven-sent opportunity to catch our breath.”
He tapped the edge of the couch heavily with his fingertip, emphasizing:
"Eastern Wu will surely fall into chaos! It will likely be unable to look north for the time being. The south is temporarily safe! The Emperor's eastern tour to Pengcheng must be expedited!"
Then, he took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing a cough that threatened to erupt, and quickened his pace:
"And... Guanqiu Jian, Wang Ling..."
While purging Cao Shuang's faction, Sima Yi also replaced a number of officials in Qing and Xu provinces.
Wang Chang was appointed as the Governor-General of Qingzhou and concurrently the Prefect of Qingzhou, overseeing all military affairs in Qingzhou and defending against Yanzhou and Hebei.
Wang Guan was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou.
The change of officials in the two places did not cause much of a stir.
Firstly, the image of Sima Taifu (Sima Yi) devoting himself wholeheartedly to the Wei Dynasty is still deeply ingrained in people's minds.
Secondly, it shows that Cao Shuang's actions over the years have indeed greatly alienated the people.
Only in Xuchang and Shouchun did Sima Yi take little action beyond sending people to appease Guanqiu Jian and Wang Ling and increase their fiefs.
The fact that these two were mentioned at this time indicates that Sima Yi was already preparing to take action against them.
After arranging all this, Sima Yi seemed to have exhausted his strength. His body hunched slightly, and he let out another suppressed cough.
But his eyes became even brighter.
Sun Quan's death ignited his fighting spirit for one last time, even temporarily overshadowing his physical decline.
For him, the end of one era meant that another era—the era belonging to the Sima clan—had to arrive sooner.
Before news of Sun Quan's death could spread, Sima Yi, despite his illness, submitted a memorial to Cao Fang:
Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation and bow twice in reverence. I respectfully report this to Your Majesty:
I have heard that the rise of an emperor is due to the presence of auspicious omens, and the stability of a state depends on strategically advantageous locations.
Although Qiao County is the hometown of the emperor, it is located in the southern corner and is easily attacked by Shu and Wu, so it is not a place of long-term peace.
Recently, strange celestial phenomena appeared, with red clouds resembling dragons hovering over the city gates of Pengcheng.
This is a warning from Heaven; the Emperor Star should move eastward to receive the Mandate of Heaven!
In the past, Emperor Gaozu of Han rose from Pei and laid the foundation for the Han dynasty; Emperor Guangwu of Han pacified Luoyang and the Han dynasty was restored.
Pengcheng is the ancient site where Emperor Gaozu rose to power, and it is where the imperial enterprise began.
Now that Your Majesty has inherited the legitimate lineage of the Great Wei, it is fitting that you follow the example of the former sages, tour the eastern lands, and stay in Pengcheng.
This move was not to avoid trouble, but to demonstrate the determination to recover the Central Plains.
If the world knows that Your Majesty has inherited the grand plans of your predecessors and aspires to unify the four seas, then the soldiers will fight bravely and the people will be loyal to you.
Moreover, Pengcheng is located at the intersection of Bian and Si rivers, a major thoroughfare for grain transport, controlling Qing and Yan rivers to the north and drawing water from the Yangtze and Huai rivers to the south.
If the grain transport is moved here, the benefits of the canal can reach all directions, and provisions and weapons can arrive in an instant, which is much better than the remote southern frontier.
This strategy can enrich the treasury internally and pacify Xu and Yang externally; it is the best policy for consolidating the foundation and strengthening the source.
Your Majesty has now ordered the relevant officials to clean the temporary palace and prepare the ceremonial guards. I humbly beseech Your Majesty to heed the will of Heaven and consider the sentiments of the people, and to soon embark on an eastern tour, residing in Pengcheng.
Then Heaven will surely bestow auspicious omens, our ancestors will surely bless the nation, and the revival of the Great Wei Dynasty will begin from this moment!
Your subject, Yi, is filled with trepidation and awaits your orders with utmost humility. I respectfully submit this report.
The publication of this book immediately caused an uproar throughout the court.
From a practical geographical perspective, with the loss of Hebei and the Han army's advance reaching Yanzhou, Qiao County was only one commandery away from the Han army's advance, making it indeed vulnerable to attacks from enemy states.
Pengcheng is located in Xuzhou, near the border of Qing and Yu prefectures. It has convenient transportation and is easy to control the three prefectures. Grain from the Jianghuai region can be delivered directly, and taxes from Shandong can be transported without hindrance.
Moreover, it is as far away from the enemy's advance as possible, making it much safer than Qiao County.
These are all objective facts, and there is no denying them.
But from a political perspective, whether one runs from Luoyang to Xuchang or from Xuchang to Qiaoxian, one can only deceive oneself.
After all, Xuchang and Qiaoxian were both among the five capitals of the Great Wei Dynasty.
But at this time, what was Sima Yi's intention in taking the emperor to Pengcheng?
Anyone with eyes can see that Sima Yi feared Shu like a tiger and was being chased by the Han state.
Where is the dignity of the Great Wei?
Where is the emperor's majesty?
The temporary imperial court in Qiao County, though not even a fraction as grand as the palaces in Luoyang, was still filled with a suffocating sense of oppression.
Emperor Cao Fang, only eighteen years old, sat upright on the rather large throne, his youthful face striving to maintain the dignity of an emperor.
But his slightly trembling fingertips and his constantly shifting eyes betrayed his inner panic.
He was like a frightened fawn, trapped in an enclosure full of hunters.
He had lived a life of hardship under the shadow of the Great General since childhood. On the day the Grand Tutor executed the powerful minister, he thought that the dawn would pierce the darkness and bring a bright and clear world.
Little did they know that the ray of light was merely a crack leading to another cage.
In the blink of an eye, they plunged from one abyss into another, even more suffocating abyss.
When Lu Yu, Sima Yi's confidant and the newly appointed Grand Secretary, clearly read aloud the memorial "Request for an Eastern Inspection of Pengcheng," which was respectfully worded yet sharp in every word, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
The air seemed to freeze, with only the howling of the cold wind outside the hall clearly echoing in everyone's hearts.
In the corner of the Cao clan's residence, there was a desolate and lifeless silence.
The few remaining princes surnamed Cao had their heads bowed, their eyes fixed on the cracks in the bricks beneath their feet, as if trying to find a way out.
The Cao clan had been suppressed since the time of Cao Pi, and was already in a weak position.
The fiefdom was almost completely lost in the years of war, and although it remained in name, it was practically useless.
The Battle of Hebei and the defection of Cao Zhi, the Prince of Jibei, to the enemy were like the final blow, shattering the last vestiges of spirit and backbone of all the clansmen.
Their own fates were as precarious as a candle flickering in the wind, so how could they dare or have the ability to oppose Sima Yi?
The water surface still has a reddish tinge, the blood of the Cao clan mixed in.
An atmosphere of humiliation, helplessness, and deep sorrow permeated the air among them.
In this imperial court, even relatives no longer have a say.
The imperial relatives felt this way, and those old ministers who had supported Sima Yi and regarded him as a "pillar of the state" were also experiencing mixed feelings at this moment.
They dared not meet Cao Fang's pleading gaze from the throne.
Even more so, some couldn't help but close their eyes tightly, their gray beards trembling slightly, as if suppressing surging emotions.
They originally thought that Sima Yi's execution of Cao Shuang was a righteous act of turning the tide and clearing the court of wrongs.
But now, this "eastern tour" proposal, seemingly for strategic reasons, is actually no different in essence from Emperor Wu's "holding the emperor hostage to command the princes" and forcing the Han emperor to move the capital to Xuchang.
They suddenly realized that they might have personally helped to establish a new powerful minister, thus destroying the last hope of Cao Wei.
An anger at being deceived and taken advantage of, along with regret for misjudging people, burned in their hearts.
However, looking at Sima Yi's seemingly respectful yet unquestionable figure below the imperial steps, and then at the isolated and helpless young emperor on the dragon throne, a tremendous sense of powerlessness instantly overwhelmed them.
From Luoyang to Xuchang, and then from Xuchang to Qiaoxian, the repeated relocations of the capital and the factionalism and infighting during Cao Shuang's era smoothed out their rough edges.
At this moment, faced with Sima Yi's betrayal, they finally exhausted their last bit of spirit.
A thousand words were reduced to a silent sigh; he lowered his head even further and chose silence.
This silence chilled Cao Fang to the bone more than any dissenting voice.
Not a single person in the entire court dared to utter a word of remonstrance.
There was no passionate opposition, nor any refutation based on classical texts.
There was only a depressing, suffocating silence.
During Cao Shuang's ten years in power, loyal and capable officials in the court were almost entirely sidelined.
Although Cao Shuang and his henchmen had all left, the loyal and virtuous officials never returned.
Sitting on the high throne, Cao Fang felt an unprecedented sense of loneliness and fear.
He so wished that a loyal minister would step forward, even if it was just to say, "This matter can be discussed later."
But all he could see were evasive eyes and bowed heads.
The silence at this moment is a silent declaration of the complete shift in power.
Finally, under Sima Yi's calm yet undeniably oppressive gaze, Cao Fang, in a barely audible, trembling voice, almost instinctively uttered two words:
"Accurate."
These two words, seemingly light and airy, tolled like a death knell in the deathly silent court, announcing that the last vestiges of dignity of the Cao Wei imperial power had vanished.
Upon hearing this, Sima Yi became even more respectful and bowed deeply in gratitude.
At that moment, as if in a trance, a ghostly whisper swept through the court:
Fifty-four years ago, Liu Xie sat amidst the ruins of the Luoyang palace, facing Cao Cao's suggestion to move the capital to Xuchang. The two words "approved" that he uttered now escaped from Cao Fang's lips like a curse.
Even the way the powerful minister bowed in gratitude was exactly the same.
At this moment, just as at that moment.
-
Sima Yi submitted a memorial entitled "Requesting an Eastern Inspection Tour to Pengcheng," announcing his decision to take the emperor on an eastern inspection tour to Pengcheng. This news exploded like a nuclear explosion in Qiao County and then spread rapidly throughout the Wei Kingdom.
Guanqiu Jian, who had been closely monitoring Qiao County from Xuchang, received the news immediately.
After reading the secret report that had been delivered day and night from Qiao County, his eyes were first filled with disbelief and astonishment.
The initial shock quickly dissipated like the receding tide, replaced by a scorching, almost bursting rage.
Guanqiu Jian's forehead veins bulged, and his chest heaved violently; it was the excruciating pain and humiliation of a collapsed faith.
The few words on that silk were like a cold dagger, piercing the last shred of illusion in my heart.
"Moving the capital to Pengcheng... Haha... What a fine 'to consolidate the foundation of the country and appease the emperor's mind'!"
Guanqiu Jian muttered to himself, his voice low and hoarse. His fingers, gripping the silk, trembled slightly from the excessive force, and his upright figure appeared somewhat lonely at this moment.
He once thought that although Sima Yi's methods in killing Cao Shuang were ruthless, they were ultimately aimed at clearing the court of corruption and eliminating treacherous officials for the Great Wei.
He even secretly rejoiced that the country finally had a capable minister to clean up the mess.
Guanqiu Jian was stationed in Xuchang, where he was preparing his troops and horses, hoping that one day he could coordinate with the Grand Tutor to defend against Feng Yong in the north and Sun Wu in the south, and restore the glory of the Great Wei.
But now... how is this "eastern tour" any different from Dong Zhuo's forced relocation of the capital to Chang'an when he coerced the Han emperor?!
Just as anger and despair intertwined, a huge black shadow silently enveloped him, accompanied by the biting cold wind of last winter, making him suddenly feel extremely cold all over.
The shadowy figure seemed to open its invisible mouth and ask, "How is it?"
Last year, the snow fell early in Xuchang. Taking advantage of the great victory in Hebei, someone brought troops to the gates of Xuchang and invited me to go out of the city for a "hunting trip in the snow".
Although he rejected the other party with the words "The mournful wind and fierce snow cannot extinguish the loyal soul."
However, the message that this person sent afterward now echoed clearly in my ears, word by word, like a ghostly prophecy:
"Sima Yi will soon launch a coup, kill Cao Shuang and his cronies, and seize power."
"If in the future General Guanqiu intends to lead his troops eastward to purge the court of corrupt officials, but is afraid of being attacked from both sides, I can make a promise to General Guanqiu here."
“As long as he promises me that he will not destroy Xu County, burn palaces, or plunder the people when he advances eastward, then the Han Dynasty will never take advantage of his vulnerability and cut off his retreat.”
Although Feng had already left Luoyang and was far away in Chang'an, Guanqiu Jian still felt a chill run through his body, as if he had been stripped naked.
"General, how is it?"
Guanqiu Jian felt a booming sensation in his head, and it seemed as if someone was asking him again and again how he was doing.
Sima Yi's coup, Cao Shuang's downfall, and even his own backing into a corner today... all of this was actually calculated clearly back in last winter!
What terrifying insight and far-sighted planning this is!
Could it be that he, Sima Yi, and even the entire Wei Kingdom were merely pawns on Sima Yi's chessboard?
The thought terrified him, but strangely, it also acted like a shot of adrenaline, injecting into his nearly despairing heart.
Feng Yong's promise, though from the enemy, became the only tangible guarantee he could grasp at this moment.
Since the rear is secure and there is no need to worry about the Han army betraying us, can we say that... the biggest concern about marching eastward and purging the court of corrupt officials has vanished?