Jinting Han people

Chapter 44: Conversation between Two Old Men (5k)

Du Lie looked at Liu Xian, startled at first, a fleeting look of nostalgia and reminiscence flashing across his face. But that was only for a moment, before it was immediately replaced by nervousness and fear. He turned back to Chen Shou and whispered, "Chen Shou, what are you doing? You brought him here. Don't you think his fall wasn't bad enough?"

Chen Shou remained calm and composed, replying, "The emperor is not such an intolerant villain. Zhongwu, you think too highly of yourself."

Du Lie almost laughed out of anger. He accused, "Chengzuo, this is politics! Politics doesn't allow for even the slightest mistake! If you think like that, it's no wonder you're in this situation!"

After saying that, he turned around and bowed to Liu Xian, then left quickly as if he was avoiding the plague god.

Most of the other people watching also averted their gazes, pretending nothing had happened. But Liu Xian could clearly sense that their gazes were still lingering, not completely gone. What were these people thinking? What was the deeper meaning behind the teacher bringing him here? Liu Xian remained calm and silent, pondering in his mind.

He had originally thought his teacher would take him to meet someone. However, when the ceremony concluded and Chen Shou said goodbye to everyone at the Xiangyang Marquisate, everything seemed perfectly normal. Chen Shou hadn't taken him on any special mission, nor had he introduced him to any particular person. Liu Xian was completely bewildered and puzzled as he left.

When Liu Xian was about to leave that day, Chen Shou persuaded him to stay and let him rest in Chen's mansion that night.

Night fell quickly. After so much traveling, Liu Xian was truly exhausted and retired to bed early that day in his side room. The entire mansion was shrouded in darkness, lit only by the lights in the main hall, illuminating Chen Shou and the scrolls on the desk. Chen Shou spread out a sheet of white paper, dipped his brush in ink, and tried to write something. But just as he was about to begin, his writing suddenly faltered. As the ink dripped onto the paper, he regained consciousness and quickly put the brush down. His mind was in turmoil, and he couldn't write anything.

At this moment, someone outside the door suddenly laughed and said, "Hasn't the Romance of the Three Kingdoms already been completed? What else do you plan to write?"

After saying that, the door creaked open, and a man in black wearing a conical hat with a veil on it walked in. He turned around and closed the door, then sat down at the desk next to Chen Shou very familiarly.

"This is none of your business." Chen Shou was obviously very familiar with this person. He didn't even look up at him. Instead, he started to put away the cultural relics on the table and said, "No one noticed you when you came here."

The man in black took off his hat, revealing a wrinkled face. He looked like an old man in his early sixties.

The old man had a gentle and refined face, but his speech and demeanor were stern, as if he were carrying out military orders with the decisiveness of a soldier. He said, "After paying homage to the prince, my whole family is on their way back to Sichuan. The journey is long and treacherous, with mountains and rivers, and no one can monitor us. I also told my wife and children to use illness as an excuse to avoid seeing anyone after returning home. This will at least delay our arrival for a year."

From what the old man said, he was probably a Shu person who was about to leave the capital, but for some undisclosed reason, he used leaving the capital as a pretext, and actually came secretly to meet Chen Shou.

Chen Shou sighed and shook his head, saying, "It's still too risky. Logically speaking, you've already retired and returned home. If you don't leave the capital, you'd be deceiving the emperor. And today, you want me to bring Huai Chong here. If anyone finds out and accuses you of plotting rebellion, it's not unlikely that no one will believe it."

The man said nonchalantly, "You and I are both in our fifties and sixties, are we still afraid of this? Even if we are reported, it's just a knife attack, no big deal."

Chen Shou drummed his fingers on the table and murmured angrily, "I don't care, but Huai Chong is only fourteen years old. He's going to come of age and get married next year! Don't you think about him?"

The man was silent for a moment, then turned to look at the light in front of Chen Shou and said slowly, "It is for the young lord's sake that I took the risk to come see you."

Chen Shou understood the meaning behind these words. They had known each other for over thirty years, and he knew exactly what kind of person he was. In terms of morality, he was actually far inferior to him. The other party had taken the risk to come this time, clearly with great goodwill. Chen Shou didn't want to blame him, but he also understood that sometimes good intentions didn't necessarily lead to good results.

He sighed deeply and asked, "Then tell me, why did you come all this way to see me and him today? What is your intention?"

The man stared at Chen Shou for a moment, then said slowly, "I want to help the young lord restore his kingdom."

Chen Shou was so shocked by the words that he dropped his pen holder. He didn't lower his head, but instead stared at Li Mi's face. He almost trembled, as if the other person's words were gripping his heart, but he forced himself to suppress the trembling. After a long moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Li Mi, you're really crazy!"

It turned out that the visitor was Li Mi, also known as Li Lingbo.

This name is familiar to later generations of scholars. His "Petition to the Emperor" (Chen Qing Biao) became famous, ranking alongside Zhuge Liang's "Chu Shi Biao" (Departure to the Capital). He was praised by later generations as "Anyone who reads Zhuge Kongming's "Chu Shi Biao" without shedding tears is certainly disloyal; anyone who reads Li Lingbo's "Chen Qing Biao" without shedding tears is certainly unfilial," a testament to his literary talent. His contemporaries also praised him for his "extensive knowledge of the Five Classics, his wide range of expertise, his witty eloquence, and his resonant rhetoric."

However, later discussions often focus only on his official career after joining the Jin Dynasty, neglecting his former position as a minister of the Shu Han Dynasty. Before the fall of the Shu Han Dynasty, Li Mi served as Yizhou official, Shangshulang, Dajiangjunzhubu, and Prince Xima. If he had not mentioned these, others would likely not have known, but Chen Shou could not have been unaware of them.

Because when he took over the position of the general's chief clerk, the previous general's chief clerk who assisted Jiang Wei was Li Mi.

After the fall of his kingdom, he first retired to live out his days, then was recruited by Sima Yan and appointed magistrate of Wen County, his native county, a post he held for ten years. Over the years, he had served with integrity and integrity, earning him the title of model magistrate by the Sili government. His past as a former official of Shu Han was long forgotten.

But who could have imagined that when he met Chen Shou today, he would say such a life-threatening thing?

Chen Shou stood up, pointed at Li Mi's nose and cursed, "The Han Dynasty has been destroyed for twenty years! The world has been unified for seven years! You have also been an official in Guandong for ten years, and now you come to me and say you want to help Huai Chong restore his country! Did I hear it wrong? Or are you kidding me?! If you really want to die soon, you don't have to come to me! There are so many empty graves in Beimang Mountain. You can just find one and bury yourself there. No one will miss you!"

Li Mi listened to Chen Shou's scolding expressionlessly, and looked at his old friend without any scruples. He was obviously sitting, but the calmness in his eyes suppressed Chen Shou's arrogance. Chen Shou felt guilty for no reason, then sat down and turned to look at the flickering flames on the table.

Li Mi then said slowly: "I am not joking, Chengzuo, I really mean it."

Hearing this again, and seeing Li Mi's serious attitude, Chen Shou couldn't help but feel a chill. He felt extremely disgusted by these words and sneered, "Okay! So what are you going to do? Do you serve as the magistrate of Wen County for a few years and gather dozens of loyal soldiers? Or do you make friends with some bandits and dig up dozens of kilograms of gold?"

Li Mi sighed and said, "I have nothing. I only have my life's blood, blood, and ambition, and I want to entrust them to you, young lord."

This made Chen Shou laugh even more, and he continued to question, "How much silk are your hard work and ambition worth?"

Li Mi ignored these words and said with a smile, "Chengzuo, I understand what you mean. My abilities are indeed insignificant. But I'm not crazy. I'm considering the overall situation of the world, which is why I made this decision."

"The general trend of the world?"

"Can't you feel it? The Great Jin is already showing signs of demise."

Chen Shou was speechless when these words came out. He subconsciously wanted to refute, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, some strange thoughts suddenly flashed through his mind, choking them. His expression calmed down and he asked in return, "What do you mean?"

Li Mi was relieved to see his old friend finally showing an attentive attitude. He continued, "Although Your Majesty is only fifty years old, he has been indulging in pleasure and neglecting state affairs for the past few years, leaving the government to the empress's clique. He himself has been extremely dissolute, taking in nearly ten thousand concubines. To the point where he chooses a concubine, he rides a sheep cart to select her, and he stays wherever the cart stops. How can he live long with this kind of behavior?"

Chen Shou had also heard the rumors about the goat-cart-hope emperor, but he was unsure. He asked, "That's true, but he's the emperor after all. We can't judge him by common sense. Emperor Wu of Han was a womanizer, but he lived to be seventy-one. Emperor Wu of Wei was fond of sexual techniques, but he lived to be sixty-six. You're talking too early."

Li Mi shook his head slightly and whispered, "It's not too early. I saw the emperor with my own eyes five days ago. He was listless, his thoughts were slow, his speech was confused and he had no firm opinions. He couldn't control his emotions. Although he still looked a bit noble on the surface, a closer look revealed that he was as old as September in the deep autumn. In my opinion, within five years, his life will be over!"

Sima Yan will die within five years!

When this thought flashed through Chen Shou's mind, he felt as if struck by lightning. He probably understood Li Mi's idea to some extent. He now felt that Li Mi's talk of restoring the country was not just a castle in the air. However, there were still many points worth discussing, so he lowered his voice and refuted the other party:
"So what? I know what you mean. Once the emperor dies and the current crown prince is incompetent, there's room for maneuver. But the emperor is also wise. He's gradually cultivating his party and letting the Three Yangs assist in governing. Even if he dies in the future, the worst that can happen is a return to the Han Dynasty's system of foreign relatives. How can that lead to the fall of the country?"

"Things are different now." Li Mi smiled sarcastically, but his mockery wasn't directed at Chen Shou, but someone else: "Back then, Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, appointed Cao Shuang and Sima Yi to assist in governing the country. How did Cao Wei eventually fall?"

This sentence hit the nail on the head, and it made Chen Shou realize something. He closed his eyes, pondered the words, and replied, "I understand what you mean."

In essence, court politics is about balance and stability. The key is to prevent conflict between various domestic parties and maintain unity.

However, when Sima Yi was assisting the government, he broke this rule and bloodily purged Cao Shuang's faction, seizing supreme power. After that, the three of them, father and son, relied on twenty years of hard work to gradually eliminate all opposition and established the Jin Dynasty with the merits of destroying Shu.

However, Sima Yi's bloody purge ultimately shattered the trust among the various factions within the court, leading to unbridled factional fighting. Even the struggle between the emperor and the Qi prince's faction nearly led to a mutiny. Sima Yan, however, still had the merit of conquering Wu, and he was able to use his prestige to suppress the court and maintain a balance.

But once Sima Yan died, the nobles and royal families fought for power. How could the Three Yangs, with their prestige, sit comfortably in the position of assistant minister? This would inevitably lead to long-term unrest and purges.

And this is a great opportunity to restore the country.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a sincere admiration for Li Mi. It would be impossible to predict future disasters without extraordinary wisdom.

But he soon fell into doubt. Restoring the country was easy to say, but how heavy was it to achieve? He still didn't want his disciples to take this path, so he continued to question Li Mi:

"Ling Bo, while what you say is not without reason, you should also be aware that Huai Chong's position is sensitive and the court is wary of him. Even if he follows Cao Zhi's path and is able to enter the officialdom, no matter who is in power in the future or how chaotic the situation is, I'm afraid they won't let him enter Shu. If he can't even leave, how can you help him restore his country?"

"Besides, Huai Chong is only fourteen years old. Although he knows he's the prince of Anle, he's never thought about restoring his country. You suddenly showed up today and want to put this heavy responsibility on him. Just because of a slim hope, can he really do it?"

Li Mi had clearly pondered these questions. Facing Chen Shou's questioning, he sighed, revealing a depth of hesitation and confusion. Still, he pulled himself together and replied, "You're right, Chengzuo. I can't resolve these matters, but there are some things I will never forget."

He suddenly raised his voice and said in a loud voice: "Chengzuo, have you forgotten what the general said to us before he died?"

Li Mi's words were like a thunderbolt, instantly bringing Chen Shou back to that night twenty years ago.

Thunder rumbled in the sky. General Jiang Wei leaned against the shattered ruins, polishing his broken Zhangwu sword. He looked at her, his old, angular face filled with tenderness and expectation.

He asked, "General, what happens next?"

The general replied wearily but firmly, "Hide somewhere and wait."

He stared at himself and said emphatically, "Wait as long as you can."

Chen Shou wanted to say something, but his mind drifted off. When he regained consciousness, he saw only two people and a flickering lamp in the dimly lit hall. The two faces that had been so young back then were now visibly old. He murmured, "Waiting, waiting for what?"

Li Mi replied seriously: "Of course I am waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the opportunity to restore my country."

He finally stood up, slowly approached Chen Shou, and shook his hand. "Chengzuo, there are some things that we cannot avoid, and they are also the responsibility that the young lord cannot avoid. The opportunity is coming, and we have no reason to escape. Otherwise, wouldn't the blood of so many comrades and the heroic spirits of so many soldiers have been sacrificed in vain? Besides, there are people waiting for him..."

Chen Shou disagreed with this reasoning. He shook off Li Mi's hand and retorted, "Ling Bo, if it were just you and me, along with those old men, and you said you would sacrifice your life to restore the country, I would have no qualms, no matter if your head was torn apart or your body was mutilated."

"But... you can't ask Huai Chong to do that... He's never met Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, never met the general, never even met his grandfather... And he certainly hasn't experienced the Chengdu Rebellion..."

"You and I, as well as those who survived the fall of our nation, are all guilty of the deaths and owe our lives to the dead! But this has nothing to do with the child... You're asking him to take such a huge risk. Jing Ke's assassination of Qin Shi Huang was no more dangerous than this. If he fails, his life will be ruined!"

Li Mi asked in reply, "Isn't he ruined now? I heard that the lord went berserk and killed his wife with his own hands. Doesn't that have any impact on him? He is a descendant of Liu Bei, and he is not ordinary by nature."

Chen Shou said, "Of course he's ruined now! But there's still hope for him. He has a good mother and has met someone who appreciates him. As long as he follows the rules, even if there's a coup in the court, because he's a descendant of Liu Bei and a symbol of the Han Dynasty's legitimacy, according to the Two Kings and Three Kes, as long as he doesn't act radically, no one will kill him!"

Li Mi did not expect that Chen Shou's feelings for Liu Xian were so deep that even using Jiang Wei's name could not convince him. He had no other choice but to give up temporarily and then turned to look out the window.

There was a bright moon hanging high outside the window. Chen Shou also looked over and saw that the cool moonlight covered the sky and the earth, as if it had snowed heavily. Both of them calmed down.

"Chengzuo." Li Mi remained motionless, but his tone softened. He said, "Do you know why I made up my mind?"

"Why?" Chen Shou was also curious. He really didn't understand why his old friend who had lived a stable life for more than ten years suddenly came up with this idea.

"In June this year, I vomited blood and went to see a doctor. The doctor said I had liver disease and probably wouldn't live more than two years."

"How could that be?" Chen Shou was startled and immediately approached Li Mi, carefully examining him. Previously, Li Mi had been sitting in the dark, and his face was difficult to discern, but now, in the moonlight, Chen Shou could clearly see his thin face and sallow complexion.

"I'm over sixty years old." Li Mi's expression was calm. He had accepted everything. "Death is a normal thing, but there are some things that I can only understand clearly when I face death."

He turned his gaze to Chen Shou again and said slowly, "I regret not dying with the general."

"..."

"I also know that it would be irresponsible for a dying man like me to suddenly tell you this. So on the way here, I was very conflicted. I wanted to tell you, but I was too embarrassed to do so. So I thought, why not keep it a secret for now? Bring the young master here, and I'll take a look at him. If he's a weak and opinionless person, then I'll stop here and truly retire."

Chen Shou naturally understood what he said next: after seeing Liu Xian at the funeral, he had determined that he was a man capable of great things, and that was why he came to discuss this matter with Chen Shou. This made Chen Shou puzzled, and he asked, "How can you come to this conclusion after only meeting him once?"

Li Mi said: "Some people cannot possibly be ministers."

"When you announced his name, I saw clearly that the way he looked around was clearly looking at his retainers."

Chen Shou was finally moved.

　Please vote! Please read! Please support me, your support is my motivation to update!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)