Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 197 The Roar of the Tiger in Luoyang (4)

In feudal times, the long-distance transmission of information was severely restricted.

To the east of Luoyang, Xingyang served as the first line of defense, Hulao Pass as the second, and Yanshi as the final warning. If these places failed to relay military intelligence to Luoyang, the central court in Luoyang would be unaware that a large army was already eyeing the capital from the east, preparing to wreak havoc.

A day later, the army arrived at the eastern suburbs of Luoyang.

It was impossible for such an army to remain unnoticed when it approached Luoyang.

Of course, whether it was Sima Yan or Sima Fu, they all knew perfectly well why an army would come from the east.

After all, they each have their own plans.

Shi Shouxin advised Sima Jun to lower all the military flags to prevent outsiders from easily ascertaining the strength of the army. Sima Jun readily accepted the advice.

This time, Wen Yang agreed with Shi Shouxin's suggestion, believing it to be a "feint" that was particularly clever in this situation.

That night, Sima Hong, the son of Sima Fu, came to the camp again, and Fu Zhi led him directly into the central command tent.

Inside the military tent, Sima Hong looked at Fu Zhi and asked, "How many troops did you bring this time?"

"There are more than five thousand of them, all of them elite soldiers."

Fu Zhi lowered his head and said meekly.

Seeing Fu Zhi's "understanding and sensible" attitude, Sima Hong couldn't suppress his smugness. He handed the military order to Fu Zhi and said, "Tomorrow night, lead your troops into the city and just follow the orders. After the mission is accomplished, you will be rewarded according to your merits. Being ennobled and appointed as prime minister to bring glory to your ancestors is a given."

Fu Zhi nodded and accepted the military order with trepidation.

"Here's what we'll do. I'll write a letter, and you can take it back and give it to Lord Chang Le."

Thus, Duke Chang Le understood the situation.

Fu Zhi smiled and said, then had his personal guards bring him writing materials and immediately wrote a reply.

In his reply, Fu Zhi said he would act in accordance with the military orders given by the Duke of Chang Le.

He emphasized that this letter was the final reply, and any further military orders received by the Duke of Changle would be forged. If the plan changed, he would personally come to the Duke of Changle's residence to confirm the details of the plan and how it should be altered.

After writing the reply, Fu Zhi handed it to Sima Hong for review. The latter was indeed delighted and praised Fu Zhi for being reliable.

If Sima Fu were here, he would surely have noticed that Fu Zhi's attitude was subtly abnormal, or perhaps overly attentive. Unfortunately, Sima Hong lacked that kind of experience and failed to perceive anything amiss.

After conveying the military order, he left the camp with his entourage.

After Sima Hong left, Fu Zhi then invited Sima Jun, Shi Shouxin, Wen Yang, and others into the command tent. Fu Zhi handed Sima Fu's military order to Sima Jun, the youngest son of Consort Fu, who looked surprised after reading it, and then looked at Shi Shouxin.

The expression on his face was quite interesting.

Wen Yang also saw the military order and muttered to himself, "It's exactly as Shi Sima predicted..."

Sima Jun asked with great interest, "Sima Shi, how did you see through Sima Fu's scheme?"

This Shi Shouxin is truly extraordinary!

Sima Jun himself was a smart man, which made him realize all the more how rare it was that the other party had the upper hand at every step.

Previously, when encountering Fu Zhi's army, before any identification of friend or foe was conducted, Shi Shouxin insisted that Fu Zhi's troops were definitely reinforcements sent by Sima Fu, and could not possibly be troops summoned by Sima Zhao.

Wen Yang suggested that they kill the commander-in-chief and seize his army during the negotiations.

However, Shi Shouxin resolutely rejected the idea, saying that he should first pretend that his own army was also sent by Sima Fu, and personally go forward to make contact and get close to see who the other party's commander was, and see if he could win him over and subdue him.

The principle is to avoid taking action whenever possible.

If action is necessary, it must be taken swiftly and decisively, without any hesitation!

After learning that the commander Fu Zhi was the son of Fu Gu and had already obeyed Sima Fu's orders, Shi Shouxin further suggested to Sima Jun: Fu Zhi could not possibly be a loyal follower of Sima Fu, and winning him over would be of great use.

This led to a tentative exchange of invitations to meals.

After Fu Zhi was "persuaded", Shi Shouxin suggested that he be the key figure to deal with Sima Fu's troops who came to investigate, and to find out the enemy's battle plan.

This led Sima Fu to make a misjudgment.

Each step was meticulously planned and executed, with Shi Shouxin always ahead of Sima Fu. He personally oversaw every detail, making the entire process flow smoothly and the plan appear flawless.

Even now, Sima Fu has no idea that Fu Zhi has been turned, nor does he know that the other side has learned of part of his battle plan!
"The only elite warriors Sima Fu could use were the three thousand men stationed at the Fuping ferry crossing; this was his trump card."

The imperial guards under Sima Wang's command were not to be used to attack the Prince of Jin's residence; they were only to be used to seize Emperor Cao Huan from Jinyong City.

Shi Shouxin spoke eloquently to Sima Jun, continuing, "Those three thousand elite soldiers are for the final showdown; I reckon they'll be the last to appear. As for Prefect Fu's men, they're just stepping stones. Sima Fu's plan is undeniably brilliant, but since we already know it in advance, it's perfectly fine to play along."

"So insidious."

Wen Yang couldn't help but sigh.

Sima Jun glanced back at him, and Wen Yang immediately shut up.

So what should we do now?

Sima Jun looked at Shi Shouxin and asked, and Wen Yang and Fu Zhi also looked at him. Unconsciously, Shi Shouxin had become the backbone of everyone.

Chinese society, both ancient and modern, has always been a society that values ​​performance. Shi Shouxin's words were always accurate, and everyone trusted him implicitly.

"We should just wait for someone from the Prince of Jin's residence to make contact. If we are too proactive at this time, it will only arouse unnecessary suspicion."

Shi Shouxin sighed.

Who can guarantee that Sima Jun's men will remain absolutely loyal?

Of course, if asked now, Sima Jun can confidently say that he has absolutely no intention of taking that position, and Shi Shouxin also believes that his thoughts at this moment are pure.

However, when it comes to the crucial moment, when it's so important that whoever Sima Jun supports can win the game, will Sima Jun still be so obedient?

That's hard to say.

Knowing what happened during the chaos of the turtle rebellion, Shi Shouxin had no doubt about the changes and turmoil in people's hearts.

He has already taken ninety-nine steps and needs someone from the Prince of Jin's residence to take the final step.

Otherwise, a good-for-nothing will be looked down upon. If even this step is not taken, it's hard to say whether Sima Jun will develop contempt for the Prince of Jin's mansion.

……

In reality, the Prince of Jin's residence was far from as peaceful as Shi Shouxin had anticipated.

The situation in Luoyang was not much different; on the surface, nothing seemed amiss, but underneath, a storm was brewing.

Three days after the court assembly was postponed to its original date, almost all the courtiers understood: a coup was about to take place!
There was no real court assembly at all; it was just an excuse to take action! Or perhaps the stage for the coup had been agreed upon, and what kind of drama they would pull off was up to each other! Of course, knowing that a coup was going to happen wasn't difficult; what was difficult was figuring out who would participate, the specific time of the coup, and the specific plan.

In no time, rumors were spreading throughout Luoyang, with various gossip circulating in the homes of powerful and wealthy families.

To appease the public, the imperial court ordered that all the gates of Luoyang City remain open during the day and closed at night as usual; in short, everything would proceed as normal!
This was in the interest of both sides in the mutiny, so the atmosphere in the city not only did not ease, but became more tense, and even the market next to Xiyang Gate of Luoyang was closed!

As more and more pieces are revealed, the situation gradually becomes more ambiguous, even somewhat unpredictable.

As night fell, in the study of the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin's residence, Sima Yan, with a furrowed brow, was engaged in "armchair strategizing" with Yang Xiu over a map laid out on the table.

It is now known that Sima Wang has completely sided with Sima Fu. Sima Yan has sent people to summon him to the Prince of Jin's residence several times for discussions, but Sima Wang has declined each time, citing "busy official duties."

Why did Sima Wang side with Sima Fu? Sima Zhao hadn't done anything to wrong him; in fact, he had promoted and given important positions to him!

The reason is not hard to guess.

If your father and uncle both fell into the river, who would you save first?
The answer is self-evident.

Sima Wang was Sima Fu's biological son, but he was adopted out, and not by Sima Yi.

This is the only reason, more powerful than a thousand words.

"Sima Fu has three thousand county soldiers outside the city. They have already crossed the Yellow River and are stationed at the Mengjin ferry."

Yang Xiu pointed to the location of Mangshan on the map and said, "If we go directly south along the official road at the edge of Mangshan, we can cross Mengjin Ferry and head straight for Jinyong City, north of Luoyang!"

If they were to launch a night raid in conjunction with the imperial guards under Sima Wang, could Sima You's troops withstand it?
It's hard to say, but there's a good chance that Sima Fu will succeed.

He seized the emperor and then returned to Luoyang Palace in a grand procession to hold a court assembly in the Taiji Hall... With such momentum, perhaps Sima Fu could really accomplish something!

This gave Sima Yan a premonition that things were about to go wrong.

"Sigh, what's with all this talk of holding a court assembly? Who really expects a court assembly to happen!"

Sima Yan was so angry that he lay down on his bed and sighed deeply.

At the critical moment, the whole thing turned into a bloody and violent affair, just like the Gaopingling Incident decades ago.

The difference is that last time many people were "asleep," but this time, everyone is pretending to be asleep.

What kind of court meeting decides whether the emperor should abdicate, what kind of court meeting decides who the villains are, and discusses who should be held responsible for the comet's fall?

That's all utter bullshit! Anyone who believes this is better off believing pigs can fly!

Sima Fu didn't believe in empty talk at all; he was constantly sharpening his knife.

However, coincidentally, his nephew Sima Zhao didn't believe it either! He wished he could sharpen both knives at the same time!

The two men, without prior agreement, both decided to draw their swords and kill each other directly, without ever considering making a fuss about it at the upcoming court meeting.

If I can't argue with you, I'll kill you, then you won't be able to refute me.

Wouldn't I win then?

Why bother racking your brains to figure out how to argue with you and then convince you?
It must be said that with the Gaopingling Incident as a precedent, people afterward, whether or not they were from the Sima clan, no longer believed in "love".

What nonsense about justice and righteousness! The only thing I can trust is the long sword in my hand!

In fact, Sima Yan did not believe that a court meeting could decide anything. He just felt that his previous attempt to network with his allies and try to make a big splash at the court meeting seemed silly and naive.

Of course, this kind of foolishness and naivety was necessary, because Sima Zhao had to give Sima Fu a little smokescreen.

This is also an attempt to salvage the reputation of his lineage that killed his uncle.

"By the way, do you know whose troops that army is in the east of Luoyang?"

Sima Yan lay lazily on the couch and asked.

"It is said that the soldiers under the command of Fu Zhi, the prefect of Xingyang, came to help Sima Fu."

Yang Xiu frowned slightly as he replied that this was what was being said outside, but he felt there was something strange about it.

"Where is Shi Shouxin? He's been gone for so many days and we haven't heard from him."

Sima Yan asked again.

Yang Xiu was at a loss for words.

In this day and age, long-distance communication is a troublesome matter in itself. Who knows if Shi Shouxin succeeded in mobilizing troops in Xuchang?

Who knows if Sima Jun will be persuaded? Shi Shouxin might even be beheaded by Sima Jun.

In short, there are too many variables.

"Why don't I go to the eastern camp tonight and find out what's going on?"

Yang Xiu made the suggestion to Sima Yan.

"This...isn't that inappropriate?"

Sima Yan frowned slightly; he didn't have many people he could currently rely on. If Yang Xiu wasn't there at crucial moments, many problems would arise.

"An Shi, do you still have anyone you can trust?"

Yang Xiu countered with a question.

For Sima Yan, there were indeed trustworthy people. For example, his uncle Wang Kai was very reliable and would never betray him.

But the only person who is trustworthy and won't cause any major problems is Yang Xiu.

What good is loyalty to a spoiled brat like Wang Kai? Can a loyal Chihuahua really compete with a tiger in strength?
"That's fine then. Go quickly and come back soon."

We're about to take action, so please don't let anything go wrong.

Sima Yan nodded, his face showing worry.

Yang Xiu nodded. His future wealth and honor might very well depend on this life-or-death gamble. If he could win this time, he could be at the table when the dynasty changed.

If we lose, it's hard to say what will happen next.

Sima Yan saw Yang Xiu off at the back gate of the Prince of Jin's residence, and sighed helplessly as he watched his departing figure.

Damn it, why can't I do anything when it really matters?

Sima Yan grumbled inwardly.

(End of this chapter)