Jinting Han people

Chapter 395 Betting at the Banquet
Unexpectedly, amidst the tense atmosphere of an imminent great battle, a piece of good news came from Luoyang: the son of Sima Yi, the Prince of Changsha, was to be engaged to the daughter of Liu Xian, the Commandant of the Capital Region.

Even though Luoyang was under semi-martial law, the busybodies in the capital couldn't help but start gossiping. After all, the more serious the situation, the more active people's minds became, and the more they couldn't resist talking nonsense.

"What does this mean? War is about to break out, yet the King of Changsha is holding a marriage ceremony here?"

This is a perfectly normal question. War means misfortune, while marriage represents happiness. In people's eyes, happiness has always been unable to overcome misfortune, and will only be tainted with the mark of sadness by misfortune.

"—Inviting so many guests? That's strange. Didn't everyone say that the King of Changsha and the Commandant of Sili were both very frugal people?"

Liu Xian, a rare incorruptible official in the court, was not only frugal in his conduct but also willing to spend long periods of time working among the people in various counties, arresting numerous corrupt officials and earning him an excellent reputation among the populace. Sima Yi, following in the footsteps of his brother Sima Wei, provided low-interest loans to the people, also gaining a reputation for virtue. Therefore, their holding of such a large wedding banquet inevitably drew surprise.

Fortunately, Liu Xian's usual image was so good that he didn't need to say much; people would naturally speculate about the reason for the wedding banquet and come up with explanations themselves.

"I heard that during the last Grand Marshal's council meeting, the atmosphere was tense and almost resulted in murder! But this time, many of the guests at the banquet are officials from the Grand Marshal's office. Do you think it's possible that His Highness the Prince of Changsha wants to find an opportunity to ease tensions with His Highness the Prince of Qi and reconcile?"

"--It's possible, but in my opinion, there's another possibility. With a major battle imminent, and Lord Liu being a renowned general, perhaps His Highness the Prince of Qi wanted to win him over, but the Prince of Changsha got scared and used a marriage alliance to bind him."

"—Perhaps there aren't that many reasons. Ever since Lord Liu had a daughter, many people have come to his residence seeking marriage, but he has refused them all. In reality, he's been waiting for this marriage. If he doesn't arrange it now, and if the war drags on, it might be impossible to arrange it later..."

When this topic comes up, the people of Luoyang inevitably become somewhat fearful and silent. The impact of the last major war on the people of Luoyang is still fresh in their minds—prices soared, taxes were levied exorbitantly, and corvée labor was endless. The only thing to be thankful for was that the war was short and did not cause too many casualties among the people.

But the war that follows will likely be less fortunate. This war will be on a larger scale, and the lines between good and evil will blur. Where can the people go? Their land, their livelihoods, their savings, even their parents, wives, children, and their entire lives are all here. If they abandon these things, what future do they have?

At this point, ordinary people no longer cared about the wedding and could only pray that war would not break out.

Meanwhile, Liu Xian was receiving guests at the Prince's Mansion in Changsha.

Sima Yi invited virtually every powerful and influential figure in the capital to this banquet. From princes and high-ranking officials to scholars of the Imperial Academy, from close associates to hermits, almost everyone was included. With families also present, the number of guests exceeded a thousand. Liu Xian remembered the last time he had witnessed such a large banquet was at the wedding of the princess and Wang Cui; he never imagined that one day he himself would be a protagonist in a similar affair.

However, despite the grand wedding banquet and the large number of congratulatory guests, one thing drew attention: Sima Jiong, the Prince of Qi, who had been invited by Sima Yi, did not attend in person. Upon hearing this, a cloud of unease settled over the guests. Officially, Sima Jiong cited the extraordinary circumstances and his busy schedule as reasons for not being able to attend. But privately, everyone understood his concerns.

Since the declaration of war was delivered to the Grand Marshal's residence, Sima Jiong has not left the residence even for a moment. Clearly, he fears potential assassination attempts in Luoyang, unwilling to trust anyone or give anyone a chance.

Although Dong Ai, Ge Yu, and others arrived, they showed no interest in engaging in much conversation. They merely presented their gifts, then left without even sitting down, their suspicion of Sima Yi palpable. This cast an ominous atmosphere over the wedding banquet, leaving the guests somewhat uneasy.

Fortunately, everyone who was supposed to arrive did, which allowed the original plan to proceed smoothly. At noon, after the guests had their first banquet, Sima Yi organized everyone to have fun in the mansion. Apart from some people continuing to drink, there were also games such as pitch-pot, dice, Go, liubo, and hide-and-seek. Taking this opportunity, the mansion was divided into dozens of small venues, allowing the staff to take the opportunity to win over those they favored between the games.

Because Zu Ti and others were fond of gambling, Liu Xian arranged for a group of friends to play dice in a side room. Among those present, besides Zu Ti, were Huangfu Shang, Liu Kun, Wang Dun, Jiang Tong, Du Xi, Wang Cui, and others.

Liu Xian originally wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Zu Ti first before trying to win over others, but Zu Ti didn't give him that chance. He shouted and pulled everyone up to start throwing five wooden sticks.

Chupu is a game that has emerged in the last hundred years, and it is said to have originated from the Western Regions. Compared with common games such as chess and board games, Chupu's moves rely more on luck. Each move requires rolling five specially made Chupu logs to determine the number of points. For those with a strong gambling instinct, they simply don't move any pieces, but just roll the logs to compare the numbers.

Zu Ti enjoyed this kind of pure gambling. He threw all five pieces of wood into a specially made shaker, and in front of everyone, he gripped the shaker tightly with one hand, rim down. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he pulled the shaker into the air and shook it from side to side at an extremely high frequency. The five wooden pieces collided inside, producing a crisp, ringing sound that kept everyone glued to the rim, and to everyone's astonishment, not a single piece of wood fell out.

After shaking it for a moment, he suddenly slammed the shaker lid back onto the table, and the room fell silent. He said, "Haha, guess what I'm doing?"

The crowd gasped in disbelief, and Liu Kun mocked, "What you've got looks fancy, but in my opinion, it's nothing more than a show of cunning."

The owl is the lowest-ranked of the five wood elements. Zu Ti laughed and said, "Yue Shi, your mouth is too black, so I'm going to cast a white one to flush out your evil aura."

Having said that, he lifted the lid of the shaker, and the five pieces of wood scattered, revealing three white and two pheasant-shaped pieces—it was indeed a pure white Bai Cai. The others were all amazed, and then they cheered and shouted, "Again! Again!"

So a group of people really started gambling with great enthusiasm. Zu Ti was undoubtedly the protagonist. He won nine out of ten times. It was unknown how long he had practiced in private, but all his rolls were of the noble suit, without a single miscellaneous one. After playing seven or eight rounds, no one could beat him, and they all lost a lot of money to Zu Ti.

By the end, Zu Ti had amassed a huge pile of gold and silver in front of him. Everyone was completely convinced and laughed, "Good lad! We've produced a master of dice among us!"

Zu Ti, still not satisfied with the gold nugget in his hand, pointed at Liu Xian standing to the side and said, "Huai Chong, you're the main character today, how can you not show off your skills? Come on, let's play a couple of rounds."

Liu Xian waved his hand and laughed, "I don't have that much money to lose to you."

Zu Ti revealed an expression that said, "I knew this would happen," and laughed, "We've known each other for many years, talking about money is too vulgar. When I gamble with you, it's not about money."

"What's the bet?"

“How about this,” Zu Ti said confidently, “we’ll settle this in one round. If I win, you’ll owe me a request. If you win, I’ll owe you a request. How about that?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian immediately discerned another layer of meaning and asked, "What kind of requirements? It's not like I'm risking my life, is it?" "Tsk, why are you being so petty, you dignified man? Don't let others look down on you! So, are you coming or not?"

"Come on, come on!" Liu Xian immediately rolled up his sleeves, threw the five pieces of wood into the shaker, and unlike Zu Ti, he didn't do anything fancy. He simply covered the mouth of the cup with one hand, held the body of the cup with the other, shook it vigorously a few times, then put it on the table, lifted it off with the other hand, and without even looking at himself, asked everyone, "Who am I, He Cai?"

Everyone looked closely and saw that Liu Xian had three black fish and two pheasants under his cup. They all cheered and shouted, "Pheasants! Pheasants!"

This is the second highest score for a pheasant. To win this handicap, Zu Ti must roll a black dragon with three black pieces and two calves. Everyone got excited and turned to Zu Ti, teasingly saying, "Shi Zhi, come and roll a black dragon!"

Zu Ti stroked his beard and chuckled, then picked up the shaker cup and scooped the five pieces of wood into it. He clearly wanted to try something different; this time, instead of shaking it wildly up and down, he simply made two large circles on the table before quickly pulling the cup away. Beneath the cup, the five round pieces of wood stood upright on the table, still spinning, their shapes not immediately revealed.

A moment later, the first log fell to the ground; it was a black calf. Then came the second, the third, and the fourth. Two calves and two black logs were settled, leaving only one log still spinning. If this log remained black, Zu Ti would win.

It was a rare occurrence to throw Lu Cai, and everyone present could not hide their excitement and curiosity. They stared wide-eyed at the still-spinning log on the table and chanted in unison, "Lu! Lu!"

As the black and white logs slowed their rotation, the black side swayed back and forth until it finally exhausted itself and fell onto the table. Surprisingly, the side facing up was a white pheasant.

This greatly disappointed everyone, who couldn't help but exclaim, "What a pity, what a pity!" Zu Ti failed at the last piece, otherwise he would have won.

Zu Ti also looked regretful and sighed, "Alas, I should have used a little more force just now; I actually miscalculated."

But Liu Xian knew perfectly well that Zu Ti had deliberately let him win. No matter what kind of bet Liu Xian made, Zu Ti would always make sure it was a little lower than his, so that the two of them could have a chance to joke around and be alone.

Sure enough, Zu Ti asked, "Huai Chong, what are your requests? Why don't you tell me?"

Liu Xian laughed and said, "What could I possibly ask for? How about this, we've known each other for so long and I've never seen you drunk before. Could you show me just how much you can drink?"

This was a perfectly normal, playful request, and everyone joined in the commotion. Zu Ti didn't refuse; he immediately ordered wine to be brought out. When the wine arrived, he simply grabbed a jar and began drinking heartily in front of everyone. After finishing one jar, he drank another. Even with Zu Ti's capacity for alcohol, after two jars, he couldn't help but feel tipsy, his face flushed. But everyone around him was captivated by his generous and unrestrained style, and they cheered loudly.

Only then did Liu Xian use the excuse that Zu Ti was drunk to put his arm around his shoulder and escort him to a side room to rest.

On the way, Zu Ti leaned his head closer, pretending to talk drunkenly, but actually whispered, "You're quite clever to use this wedding banquet as an opportunity to win people over, but things aren't as easy as you think."

Even without communicating with Liu Xian, Zu Ti seemed to have completely understood his plan. Liu Xian enjoyed this feeling of perfect understanding and asked, "So what exactly is the situation? How many people are willing to join General Huo Qubing?"

“I am aware of the opinions of many people in the Grand Marshal’s mansion. In the current situation, there are quite a few people who think that the Grand Marshal is doomed, but that does not mean that they are willing to surrender to the King of Changsha. Your chances of winning are too small. So some people plan to remain neutral, while others prefer to wait for the armies of the King of Hejian and the King of Chengdu to arrive before making any plans.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian's heart tightened. He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, then continued, "We have a plan for this. The important thing is, we can't just sit here and wait to die. We'll take as many people as we can; we have to fight to the death. Shizhi, how many people are willing to come?"

"Me, Ji Sima, Huangfu Shang, and Liu Qiao. Just the four of us. The rest are all opportunists and not very trustworthy."

"Commander Ji?" Liu Xian was slightly surprised to hear Ji Shao's name. After he and Zu Ti went into the side room and saw that no one was following them, he closed the door and turned to ask, "Shizhi, why is he willing to join?"

Liu Xian was not surprised by the addition of the others. Liu Qiao had a grudge against Dong Ai, and joined Sima Yi's side to seek revenge; Zu Ti was using Sima Jiong as a stepping stone and had no loyalty to speak of; Huangfu Shang felt that the Qi King's party was doomed, but he also had a grudge against Li Han, so he could not switch to the King of Hejian and could only choose to join the King of Changsha.

However, Ji Shao had served as the Imperial Academy's Chancellor, and many officials were his students, hence his extremely high reputation. Furthermore, his long-term neutrality meant that, while his status among scholars was not as high as Wang Yan's, it was not far off. As long as Ji Shao didn't participate in the coup, no one should have bothered with him; why would he suddenly decide to join one side and get involved in the internal strife?

Zu Ti lay on the couch, his robes open, letting the smell of alcohol waft from his chest. He said slowly, "Have you forgotten? He is Ji Kang's son. Don't be fooled by his usual serious demeanor. In reality, he is just like us, the same kind of person. He is seeking revenge against the Sima family. How could he forget how Ji Kang was unjustly killed by Sima Zhao? He would rather the world be in chaos."

That's just how things are; when everyone is anticipating chaos, chaos naturally arrives.

As for the impending chaos, Zu Ti was not saddened but rather delighted. He laughed loudly at Liu Xian: "Haha, Huai Chong, we've finally reached this point. Once we kill the King of Qi, the Sima clan's fate will be sealed, and it will be time for heroes to vie for supremacy!"

"This filthy world must be cleansed with blood! Heroes all over the world are waiting for this day! And we will create this day!"

Faced with Zu Ti's bold words, Liu Xian simply smiled. Although he and Zu Ti shared similar ideas, they were still somewhat different, because what Liu Xian wanted to do was not for his own personal glory.

However, the news brought by Zu Ti was still enough to comfort Liu Xian. In his view, with the addition of these people, Sima Yi's chances of a successful counterattack had increased by at least 20%. But overall, the success or failure of the entire event still depended on Wang Yan's attitude.

After Zu Ti fell into a deep sleep, Liu Xian returned to the main hall and happened to see Sima Yi seeing Wang Yan off at the gate. The two exchanged pleasantries and seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.

A moment later, Wang Yan boarded the oxcart and slowly departed, while Sima Yi returned from the gate of the mansion. The King of Changsha saw Liu Xian there, and a relieved smile appeared on his face. He then made a hand gesture, which Liu Xian immediately understood:
Wang Yan has already agreed to the joint effort to overthrow Qi.

(End of this chapter)