Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 10 Prologue 10 Better to be shattered jade than intact tile

"Your Majesty, you are traveling by imperial carriage with palace servants to the General's residence. What are you doing here?"

Have you forgotten that today is the day of court assembly, and all the officials are waiting for you in the Taiji Hall?

Jia Chong rode out into the fray, bowed to Cao Mao, and skipped the formality of dismounting. As Sima Zhao's staunchest confidant, he was practically the most trusted person.

Jia Chong naturally understood his status and image in Cao Mao's heart.

Now that they've revealed their true colors, why should I pretend anymore? At this moment, Jia Chong's attitude was extremely rude!

"Traitor, you refuse to dismount before the Emperor? Do you intend to be his equal?"

Shi Gandang raised the imperial staff in his hand, pointed it at Jia Chong, and cursed him.

"How could a mere servant of the Shi family be allowed to stand beside the emperor? It's an insult to the emperor's status!"

Jia Chong retorted sarcastically.

"Although I am a subordinate of the Shi family, I am a swordsman for the emperor."

You are a high-ranking officer in the Central Guard, yet instead of serving your country, you become a lackey of traitors!

Ask the high-ranking officials in the court, and the common people of the world.

Who is more shameful, you or me?

Shi Gandang retorted directly, which angered Jia Chong so much that he couldn't utter a string of curses and almost fell off his horse.

Let me ask you this: you, a high-ranking official of the court, are arguing with a servant in public. You think it's glorious to win the argument?
What else could Jia Chong say? Keeping quiet was the best option.

"Listen up, Imperial Guards!"
This great Wei Kingdom was ruled by the Cao family. The establishment of the Imperial Guard was to protect the emperor, act as his vanguard, and quell any rebellions.

Now that the Emperor himself has led troops to eliminate the traitors, it's one thing for you not to help, but you actually want to stop the Emperor.

Have you already hung the throne on swords and placed it on the military training ground, and then lined up and shouted: "The highest bidder wins the throne"?

Is it that whoever offers the highest price and can feed you the most, you will support to become emperor?
Does it matter whether that person is a powerful minister, a nobleman, a member of the imperial family, or a scion of a prominent family? Does it mean that whoever bids the highest price will be the one to shout "Long live the Emperor!"?
The Emperor is right here, in his imperial carriage. You can tell him now what the Imperial Guards are good for!

Enraged, Shi Gandang jumped off the carriage. Holding his staff, he paid no heed to the imposing Imperial Guard formation before him.

He walked forward while loudly questioning.

Soon, the Imperial Guards parted to make way, and many people consciously stepped aside.

The label Shi Gandang threw out was too big for anyone to handle. If the Imperial Guards treated the throne like a commodity, becoming mercenaries for ambitious individuals, not only would Cao Mao not tolerate them, but the Sima family would also not tolerate them.

Cao Mao dismounted, drew his sword, and walked to Shi Gandang's side. Seeing that they had all dismounted, Shi Chong quickly followed suit.

Cao Mao's trusted servants followed behind the three of them, moving slowly forward.

The momentum of the two sides shifted, and the atmosphere on the scene gradually became extremely eerie.

The imperial guards under Jia Chong's command either stood aside to watch the show or retreated step by step, not daring to touch Cao Mao and his men, nor daring to abandon their lines and flee.

The situation began to reverse, and things became unfavorable for Sima Zhao.

Jia Chong saw this and was very anxious.

It's understandable that the Imperial Guards didn't stop Cao Mao, because none of them wanted to be the unfortunate ones who were later sacrificed by Sima Zhao!
If the emperor is so easy to kill, why didn't Sima Zhao personally go and kill him? The Imperial Guards' pay and salaries are so meager, why would they risk their lives?
"Chengji, Chengcui, the front lines can't hold out any longer. What do you suggest we do?"

Jia Chong looked at Cheng Ji, the Crown Prince's attendant, who was standing beside him, and his elder brother Cheng Cui, who was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Guard.

"Yeah, what should I do?"

Cheng Ji countered with a question.

Jia Chong was secretly furious, wondering if Cheng Ji was truly stupid or just pretending.

He snapped impatiently, "It's the Sima family that promoted you, that's why you have your current success. The General has raised you for so many years, it's time for you to serve him. Do you need any more questions? Charge!"

on?
how to get on
Hmm, how about we kill someone first to intimidate the emperor?
Cheng Ji, that clever little devil, looked at Shi Gandang, who was charging at the front, and immediately had an idea!
"That man beside the Emperor is the most arrogant of all. I'll go up and chop him down first to intimidate the Emperor!"

Cheng Ji said something to Jia Chong and then left. He was a reckless man, and without saying a word, he picked up his spear and ran in the direction where Shi Gandang was.

"Little thief, give me your life!"

Cheng Ji roared, and his spear, like a poisonous dragon, hurtled straight for Shi Gandang's abdomen.

What the hell!

Upon seeing Cheng Ji rushing over, Shi Gandang was so frightened that he froze in place.

He never expected that someone would be specifically watching him. He was good at talking, but he couldn't handle a martial arts contest with a military general.

At this critical moment, Cao Mao suddenly pushed Shi Gandang aside, and Cheng Ji's spear pierced directly through the chest of the Great Wei emperor.

The spearhead pierced through his back, staining his dragon robe with blood.

The chaotic street suddenly became quiet.

Jia Chong stared in disbelief, trembling with fear. No one had expected Cao Mao to take his final bow in such a manner.

Cheng Ji was so frightened that he retreated repeatedly, finally managing to steady himself by leaning against a horse.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Shi Gandang collapsed onto Cao Mao's body and wept bitterly; he was truly crying!

"Sima... the reign of the emperor, no, it won't last long. You... you can survive this calamity. You will surely have a bright and promising future."

"I thank you for granting my wish, even in death..."

With a faint breath, Cao Mao whispered his last words to Shi Gandang. He didn't even finish the last word, "regret," before passing away.

"Sima Zhao murdered the emperor!"

Shi Gandang lay on top of Cao Mao, shouting and crying at the same time.

Jia Chong's expression changed drastically. This incident had already attracted many Luoyang residents to stop and watch, and now Shi Gandang was shouting and yelling like this, as if he wanted to make sure that this imperial guard was Sima Zhao's direct subordinate.

"Quickly! Arrest the emperor's entourage!"
"Go and arrest them!"

Jia Chong hurriedly shouted to his confidants beside him.

It was absolutely unacceptable for these imperial guards to use violence against Cao Mao. But now that Cao Mao was dead, his retinue had become like rootless duckweed.

There's no need to be so polite!

Almost instantly, the imperial guards under Jia Chong dismounted and rushed over to arrest the man.

The scene was even more chaotic than any other protest Shi Gandang had ever witnessed, where police arrested protesters during demonstrations abroad.

He wasn't wearing armor; he took off running at lightning speed.

Chaos erupted at the scene. Cao Mao's servants scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing in all directions. Jia Chong's imperial guards also split into many small teams, searching from all directions for any who had escaped.

Many in Cao Mao's ranks were exhausted from running all along. Even without armor, they couldn't outrun the armored imperial guards. They were quickly captured.

However, Shi Gandang and Shi Chong had traveled by carriage the entire way, so they hadn't expended any energy at all. Now that they could use their energy, they ran much faster than the armored imperial guards and quickly shook off their pursuers.

Shi Gandang, familiar with the place, ran to Li Yin's residence and quickly climbed over the wall. As soon as he entered, he saw Li Wan feeding the chickens in the yard.

The two looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Li Wan's eyes shone with an irrepressible joy and tenderness.

"The Imperial Guards are searching for me, so I came here to hide," Shi Gandang said urgently.

"Okay, come with me."

Without a word, Li Wan decisively grabbed his hand and headed towards her boudoir. Before they even entered the house, the already flimsy courtyard gate was smashed open.

A group of armored imperial guards poured into the courtyard, and the last one to enter was none other than Jia Chong, who had just been severely scolded by Shi Gandang!

Seeing Shi Gandang and Li Wan holding hands, Jia Chong's face lit up with a look of sudden realization, and then he burst into laughter.

He looked at Shi Gandang and said sarcastically:

“You ran very fast; we shouldn’t have been able to find you.”

But what you don't know is that this young lady's father spoke well of you to the general and even recommended you for an official position.

I guessed back then that you two must know each other.

If you run back to the Shi residence, you'll likely be taken to the General's mansion by Governor Shi. Only Lord Li is a kind-hearted man and won't do anything to you.

Judging from this, Lord Li wants you as his son-in-law. He's trying to get an official position for his son-in-law; no wonder he's going to such lengths, hahaha!

Jia Chong laughed wildly without any attempt to hide his arrogance, and ordered the imperial guards around him to tie up Shi Gandang and take him away.

As for Li Wan, she couldn't step forward at all. Any impulsive action at this moment would only provoke the Imperial Guards into a frenzy.

After all, women with outstanding looks are more likely to attract the covetous eyes of bad people.

It doesn't matter if they do *that* to her first, then *that* to her, and finally blame it on Cao Mao's servants.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Shi Gandang appeared and disappeared as if he had never been there.

"Sigh, I need to ask my father carefully what exactly happened."

Li Wan sighed deeply, her heart filled with mixed emotions of joy and sorrow.

The good news is that Shi Gandang is still alive, but the bad news is that he is probably dying soon.

As Shi Gandang walked out of Li Yin's residence, he looked at Jia Chong and asked, "There are so many things to clean up now. What's the point of you staring at an unknown nobody like me? It won't make you any bigger fry."

Jia Chong gave a wicked smile and whispered in Shi Gandang's ear, "I only arrested you because I was bored and wanted to have some fun. As for the General's affairs, the General can worry about them himself; I don't need to meddle. My surname is Jia, not Sima!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Gandang stared at Jia Chong in disbelief. It turned out that Jia Chong had deliberately "stirred up trouble" all along, letting the situation escalate!
"You actually allowed the Imperial Guards to kill the Emperor?"

Shi Gandang exclaimed in disbelief, his voice low and filled with dread. He was too cold to say another word.

Jia Chong, that old fox, is too insidious; he even manipulated Sima Zhao.

"You said that, I never said that."

Jia Chong chuckled coldly, gave him a thumbs-up, and then mounted his horse.

Before long, Shi Chong was also captured by the servants of the Shi family, and it was his father, Shi Bao, who personally delivered him to the General's Mansion.

Cao Mao's retinue were mostly captured and immediately executed without trial, sentencing, or imprisonment. Their bodies were dumped in mass graves outside the city, dying without a trace of emotion.

However, perhaps to save face for Shi Bao, or perhaps because Shi Gandang was Li Yin's chosen son-in-law, Sima Zhao simply threw Shi Gandang and Shi Chong into the Yeting prison and imprisoned them temporarily, awaiting their fate.

What happened afterward was no longer their concern.

In fact, Cao Mao's death caused a huge uproar. Sima Zhao was so overwhelmed with problems that he couldn't care less about the unfortunate fellows like Shi Chong.

……

Cao Mao died, killed by Cheng Ji's astonishing assassination attempt. Whether Cheng Ji originally intended to assassinate Shi Gandang or Cao Mao is no longer important.

All the blame was placed on Sima Zhao.

On that very day, what was originally a court assembly where the emperor and powerful ministers schemed against each other turned into a review meeting where Sima Zhao inquired about countermeasures.

Many court officials were absent, with only the general's trusted confidants present. The highly respected Left Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Chen Tai, was also absent; he was a prominent figure of the Yingchuan Chen clan and a political ally of the Sima family since Sima Yi.

Sima Zhao sent Chen Tai's uncle, Xun Yi, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, to "invite" him over. There were many things Sima Zhao couldn't say himself; he needed a suitable person to speak for him.

Chen Tai had no choice but to come to the Taiji Hall. Sima Zhao pulled him aside to a side hall and asked him how to quell the situation.

Chen Tai's answer was straightforward: "Execute Jia Chong in half at the waist to appease the world."

Sima Zhao was reluctant to do it. If he killed Jia Chong, the "heavenly dragon" who did the dirty work for him, how would he be able to command others in the future?

Therefore, Sima Zhao resolutely refused.

Chen Tai said, "Then I have no other choice. You can decide what to do." After saying that, he left the palace and fell ill with grief after returning home.

Besides the major trouble of how to handle Cao Mao's affairs after his death, there were also many other related matters.

Shi Bao, the governor of Huainan, was the first to "launch an attack".

He bypassed the General's mansion and wrote to the court: "I come from humble origins and have only attained my current high rank and generous salary thanks to the Prime Minister (Sima Yi). However, my son, Shi Chong, has secretly helped the Emperor against the Sima clan, placing me in a position of ingratitude. This is truly an unforgivable crime. A son's failure to teach is the father's fault, and I feel deeply ashamed. I have no face to face the Sima clan's great kindness. Therefore, I request to resign as Governor of Huainan and all other official positions, retiring to my hometown. I also request the court to execute Shi Chong as a warning to others."

On the surface, this appears to be an apology, but those in the Celestial Dragons' circle know exactly what Shi Bao meant.

This person is a typical Yin-Yang master.

If Shi Bao truly wanted to help Cao Mao, a coup was the only way. However, in recent days, Shi Bao has been feigning illness and has not made any unusual moves, which is enough to justify Sima Yi's promotion back then.

Would Shi Bao not know about what Shi Chong was doing?

That's obviously impossible.

So, what was Shi Chong doing by "fooling around" with Cao Mao? The answer is clear: he was "replacing" Shi Bao and serving the Cao family faithfully! It was almost a certain death situation!

This is both fulfilling filial piety and loyalty to the country; it can be said to be a perfect combination of both.

The elites in this circle aren't blind; everyone can see through it. Right and wrong are laid bare. Your Sima family is a powerful clan, so don't try to portray the dead as alive, the black as white, or the foul as fragrant!
Now that Shi Bao has resigned as governor of Huainan and is demanding that Sima Zhao execute his son, he is actually saying the opposite of what he means.

This is tantamount to asking: Sima Zhao, you don't really want the Sima clan to be infamous for eternity, do you? Do you think that killing the emperor in the street isn't shameful enough?

I have troops in Huainan. Believe me or not, I can cause four rebellions in Huainan.

Empress Dowager Guo, a puppet ruler of the Sima clan, surprisingly issued a public edict in response to the memorial, rebuking Shi Bao as follows:
You've really come back to life!
Shi Chong was loyal to the emperor; what wrong did he do?

You are a subject of the State of Wei, receiving a salary from the state. You are not the personal retainer of the Grand General. Why do you utter such disrespectful and unfilial words?

You're not even as good as your son Shi Chong, who's not even twenty years old!

I have granted your request to resign. If the Grand General (Sima Zhao) agrees, you may return home to retire.

However, the court still wanted to give Shi Chong an important position, so it was impossible to execute him.

Taking advantage of Cao Mao's death, Empress Dowager Guo actually openly contradicted Sima Zhao!
The wind direction in the middle of the road suddenly changed.

Sima Zhao hurriedly wrote to Empress Dowager Guo, turning the tables and saying:

The officials in the court initially chose Cao Mao as the emperor because he was a young man who was knowledgeable and reasonable; otherwise, the throne would not have gone to him, who was born out of wedlock.

I never imagined he would be so depraved as to harbor assassins in the palace, plotting to slaughter court officials, and even parading these thugs through the streets. He is utterly unbecoming of an emperor. I suggest we immediately convene a court assembly and elect another member of the Cao clan to be emperor. Furthermore, we should depose Cao Mao and bury him with the rites due to a commoner.

Empress Dowager Guo replied instantly: "General, you are absolutely right. Emperor Cao Mao was too hasty, even going on and on (describing the entire attack on the General's residence by Cao Mao), which is truly unbecoming of an emperor. He should indeed be buried with the rites due to a commoner. I will immediately issue an edict to inform the whole country and appease the people. General, you are a man of great wisdom and righteousness, comparable to the sages of old. The right and wrong of this matter will be judged by the people. It is easier to prevent the people from speaking than to prevent a river from overflowing; let them talk. I am old now, and all I can do is issue an edict to inform the whole country (down to the county level)."

With the issuance of this edict, the news of Sima Zhao's regicide began to spread to various prefectures and counties outside Luoyang, and public opinion within the Tianlong people's circle completely exploded!

　Bonus chapter for Alliance Leader "I want to sleep until dark zzz"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)