When Sima Yi heard his son's question, he rolled his eyes at him and said, "How can you call someone a fool? Are you the only hero in the world?"
Sima Zhao argued, "Wang Xiang's family has been officials for generations. Can't they afford to buy fish?"
"Even if she really can't afford it, his stepmother must be crazy. Is she so greedy that she has to ask her stepson for fish in winter when the river is covered with ice?"
Sima Yi looked at his second son quietly without interrupting him.
Sima Zhao then complained: "And that Wang Xiang, if he really wanted to catch fish, why didn't he break the ice? Can't he fish with a net or fish? Why did he have to undress and lie on the ice?"
Sima Yi's tone turned cold: "Are you done?"
Perhaps because he was about to leave for a long journey after graduation, Sima Zhao turned his subconscious discomfort into criticism of the Wang brothers: "No, my son didn't finish. That Wang Lan is also problematic."
"If you found out that your own mother had poisoned your brother, couldn't you have told her to stop her? Why did you have to fight with your brother for a cup of poison?"
"If you get a small beating, you will take it. If you get a big one, you will run away. My stepmother wanted to kill him, so why didn't Wang Xiang run away?"
"Father," Sima Zhao said, cupping his hands, "If I were to see this, I would find that the two brothers, Wang Xiang and Wang Lan, are both fools, and their mother is a lunatic!"
Sima Yi said expressionlessly: "Stretch out your hand!"
Sima Zhao's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively raised his right hand halfway, but then he remembered that he still had to write with his right hand, so he stretched out his left hand.
Sima Yi raised his right hand and slapped Sima Zhao's palm three times.
Sima Zhao did not dare to shout. After the beating, he covered his hands and grimaced, but did not utter a word.
Since childhood, whenever the brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao made a mistake, Sima Yi would slap them on the palms of their hands.
Sima Shi once asked his father why he punished him in this way instead of using something like bamboo sticks or wooden boards.
According to Sima Yi's original words, you two made mistakes and should be punished, but I am also to blame for not educating my children properly. I will punish you with my hands, and I will feel the same pain, and I will be punished together with you two.
But Sima Yi still had no expression on his face: "Do you know where you went wrong?"
Sima Zhao defended himself by saying, "These two people are not trustworthy!"
Sima Yi sighed: "You are not the only smart person in the world, and you are not as smart as you think."
"Let me ask you, Lü Qian is old and has almost ignored government affairs in Xuzhou. Wang Xiang, the deputy governor, is in charge of all the affairs of the state."
"Zi Shang, if I give you a state, can you govern it well? A county? Or even a county?"
Sima Zhao said, "I don't know, son. If he was a capable minister, why would he do such a trick?"
Sima Yi sighed again. The second son was indeed not as smart as the eldest son. But after all, he was his own son, so he had to teach him.
Sima Yi said: "There are too many illusions in the world. Zuo Ci was able to conjure up a Songjiang perch in Yecheng. Is this true? Emperor Gaozu of Han killed a white snake and established his empire. Who saw the white snake?"
"How many of these auspicious animals, such as the Qilin, the white deer, and the yellow dragon, can be displayed on Tongtuo Street in Luoyang for people to see?"
Sima Zhao muttered to himself: "It doesn't exist!"
But in the end I didn't dare say it out loud.
Sima Yi said: "Lying on the ice to seek carp is not about the ice or the carp, but about his actions moving the heavens, and the heavens gifted him with carp!"
"Let me ask you, is it worthy of praise that God has given us a vision?"
Sima Zhao nodded blankly.
Sima Yi asked again: "Wang Lan's fight over the dove is really a story about two brothers fighting over a poisoned wine?"
"Confucius said to become a martyr, Mencius said to pursue justice, and the most important thing in the world is loyalty and filial piety. The two brothers' fight to the death is similar to the fight to the death between Kong Bao and Kong Rong during the Faction Persecution in the early years, isn't it?"
"Is such a loyal, filial and righteous act worthy of being praised by the world?"
Sima Zhao was completely speechless and bowed: "Father, what I am teaching you is that I know I am wrong and shouldn't have presumed to be a hero in the world."
Sima Yi snorted coldly: "It's a good thing to know your mistakes. Your father just wants to teach you the truth, but he doesn't really want you to take these two people seriously."
Sima Zhao was confused again: "Father, what do you mean? I am really stupid."
Sima Yi sighed softly: "There are many people in this world who are very deceitful and seem to be true, and very treacherous and seem to be loyal."
"Wang Xiang lying on the ice to catch carp, and Wang Lan fighting with his brother for a dove, were just a show put on by the Xuzhou scholars to inflate the status of the two brothers."
"Just two fake 'famous people'."
Sima Zhao thought thoughtfully: "Father, if even my son can see it, why can't the court see it?"
Sima Yi stared outside the hall: "Who is the court?"
Sima Zhao hesitated and asked, "The Ministry of Personnel? Or the Secretariat?" Sima Yi shook his head and said, "Wang Xiang was selected as a talented person in Xuzhou last spring, and then he was appointed as the magistrate of Wen County by the Ministry of Personnel. At that time, my father and Your Majesty were both in Qinzhou, and we were not aware of such trivial matters."
"I checked the files of the Ministry of Personnel two days ago. When Xuzhou's Lü Qian recommended him, he did not mention these false names. I guess Wei Zhen, who stayed in Luoyang at the time, did not care about these things."
Sima Zhao asked: "When did these things about the two of them spread?"
Sima Yi stroked his beard and laughed, "Two country bumpkins from Xuzhou, you actually think that Luoyang is as prosperous as it was in the early days, and that you can get a high position by making some noise?"
Sima Zhao was surprised: "Your Majesty hates false reputation the most! Two years ago, my elder brother suffered. Why didn't father remind them?"
"Why do you want to remind me?" Sima Yi said calmly, "It was Xuzhou Governor Lü Qian who recommended him as a talented person, and it was the Minister of Personnel Yang Ji and Minister of the Left Wei Zhen who selected him. It was the brothers themselves who wanted to make a name for themselves. How does it have anything to do with me?"
"My father is a high-ranking official, but I only respect the wise and humble myself, make friends with the talented people in the state and support the younger generation. Who can say that I am wrong? Even in front of His Majesty, I am right!"
Sima Zhao said: "In this case...the brothers have created such a big momentum and made up such a bizarre story, I am afraid that the court and the school officials must know about it."
"If the court does not investigate, father is the first minister to express goodwill to the two of them, and the two of them will remember your kindness. If Your Majesty is not happy to order the court to investigate, everyone from Xuzhou to the Ministry of Personnel to Zuo Pushe will be in trouble."
Sima Yi sneered: "You kid, you are not stupid!"
Sima Zhao scratched his head and said, "My father is very wise and his son cannot catch up with him even a little bit."
"There is a long time to come, a long time to come!" Sima Yi patted his son's shoulder and said, "Your brother is not here today, you will go with your father to the hall to greet him later."
"Yes." Sima Zhao nodded in agreement, but his father mentioned his brother again, which destroyed the good atmosphere of fatherly love and filial piety.
He didn't dare to hate his father, but he felt even more dissatisfied with his brother.
Not long after, the two brothers Wang Xiang and Wang Lan came together. They were very polite and brought a lot of yams from Sima Yi's hometown in Wen County.
As the magistrate of Wen County, it was normal for Wang Xiang to bring some specialties from Sima Yi's hometown.
After sitting down at the table, the two young scholars, Wang Lan and Sima Zhao, remained silent as they listened to the conversation between Sima Yi and Wang Xiang.
Sometimes we talked about the scenery of Wen County, sometimes we talked about the specialties of Xuzhou, and sometimes we talked about the local customs and people of Xuzhou. It was really just about friendship, not anything else.
The banquet was slowly coming to an end. When Wang Xiang was about to leave, Sima Yi asked calmly, "Will Xiu Zheng report to the Ministry of Personnel tomorrow?"
"That's right, Sima Gong. I will go to the Ministry of Personnel tomorrow," Wang Xiang replied respectfully.
Sima Yi asked, "You are new in Luoyang. Do you know Xixiang Hou?"
"Marquis Xixiang?" Wang Xiang had done his homework before coming to Luoyang. When he heard Sima Yi's question, he tried to search his mind: "Is he the son of Zhang Derong, the former governor of Liangzhou?"
Sima Yi said calmly: "Zhang Ji, Zhang Jingzhong, inherited his father's title."
Although Wang Xiang did not understand Sima Yi's intention, he still responded politely: "Since this person is valued by the prime minister, I will go to visit him tomorrow."
Sima Yi said, "Zhang Derong is an old friend of mine. Zhang Jingzhong is now a third official, so he should be promoted to a government post. The yam you sent is good, so he should have a taste of it."
Wang Xiang understood: "Wenxian yam is the best for nourishing people, and the local water and soil can produce talents from all over the country."
Sima Yi nodded: "How is Liu Wengong's reputation in Hanoi? He is also the father and mother official of my county."
Liu Wengong is referring to Liu Jing, the current governor of Henei. Liu Jing is the son of Liu Fu, the former governor of Yangzhou, and has a good reputation in politics.
When Liu Jing was a Shangshu Lang in the court, he had a close relationship with Sima Yi.
Although Wang Xiang didn't know these details, he still said tentatively: "Mr. Liu has brought benefits to Hanoi. Hanoi has been well governed in recent years, all thanks to Mr. Liu's efforts!"
Sima Yi said nothing more: "It's late, let's stop marching and return to the inn early. If we can stay in Luoyang for a long time in the future, we must choose a good house."
Wang Xiang bowed, said goodbye to Sima Yi, and turned around to walk out with Wang Lan. Sima Zhao seemed to be looking at Wang Xiang's back, and it seemed that his steps when he left were lighter than when he came.
I wonder if it has anything to do with what Sima Yi just said.
This kind of ambiguous political suggestion will only make the listeners passionate and self-satisfied. But if you look closely, there is no promise, no promise, and no valid information in Sima Yi's words!
It can only be said that after half a lifetime of being in the court, it is enough to deal with the Wang brothers from Xuzhou. No matter how great the knowledge of these two people is, they are only in one state. How could they have seen the heroes of Luoyang?
Sima Yi walked towards the study with his hands behind his back, and Sima Zhao followed closely behind him and asked:
"Father, do you think these two Wang brothers can become high-ranking officials? I think they look honest, but they have many hidden thoughts inside, and they don't seem like the demeanor of a nobleman."
Sima Yi paused and asked, "What is the bearing of a nobleman?"
Sima Zhao thought for a while and said, "Of course he is like my father, who is wise in his words and deeds and has the talent to support the country."
Sima Yi asked again: "What about the other two?"
Sima Zhao shook his head: "My son can't tell me either."
Sima Yi walked forward without turning around: "Then it depends on their own luck." (End of this chapter)
