Sima Xi looked at the angry old man in front of him, and he didn't know why, but his ears rang again Ten years ago, that night, also in this hall, the cheap maid who kept shouting that his aunt was the lord, wearing a wedding dress, worshipping the ancestral tablet, with a victor's smile, showing a victor's smile to the former master.

It was in this hall that the woman's pretentiousness made Ah Yuan receive the first beating from her father, the father who had made him admire for more than ten years, the ambitious and proud father, and all the images of Wei Guangzheng collapsed on that night, that night that should have been joyful.

Through the dappled sunlight, he saw the resentment in Sima Chen's eyes, he suddenly wanted to laugh, and suddenly wanted to cry, because he saw his father that night, and also saw the sad eyes of Ah Yuan that night, and the sadness of touching himself and crying.

The new person has never changed the old person, only to see the new person laughing, not hearing the old person crying. All the joys and sorrows of sharing have been left behind. He originally thought that this was just his father's impulse, but he never thought that since then, no matter how much Ah Yu swallowed her anger and welcomed her, in exchange for her father's silence and the sneer of the. So much so that when Ah Yu almost died violently, his father was still on the expedition for this Zhongshan and buying jewelry for that woman. The wife who completely forgot about her hair is still hovering on the line of life and death in the hospital bed.

Sima Xi is the way of nature, Sima Xun said that he is a white-eyed wolf, no matter who is good to him, he will speak coldly. At this time, he wants to ask: What is the difference between your feelings for Ah Yu and the white-eyed wolf!

"Calm your anger, please listen to me." He suppressed the coldness that gradually emanated from his body, and said coldly: "If Zhongshan wants to dominate the Central Plains, he must break away from the control of the Qi State, and lobby between Yan and Zhao, so that the three countries can be taken as confidants, and only then can he slowly try to become stronger." ”

"It's easy to say. The King of Qi is the lord of the world, and Zhao Jun is also a young man, except for the weakness of the monarchs and ministers of the Yan Kingdom, I am afraid that your idea will not blind the eyes and ears of the two. Sima Xi sneered.

"The king of Qi is the lord of the world, rare in the world, but the sky is not a holiday, when it collapses within a year or two, and the prince and Jing Guojun compete, as long as the two of them have internal friction, the decline of the Qi country has become inevitable."

"Although the young monarch of Zhao State is young and successful, he has carried out strict reforms, and the domestic forces are complicated, and the ministers of the DPRK and China have constrained each other. Even if he has the ability to reach the sky, it is difficult to run the Zhao State into an iron plate, and it is as difficult as ascending to the sky. What's more, when he was in the world, he couldn't treat me like Zhongshan, and now that he is a Zhao Yong, what can he do? ”

"Hehe, Huangkou Xiaoer, what kind of ability do you have to dare to despise the heroes of the world?" Sima Xi sneered, "Don't forget, the young army in your mouth already accounts for half of Zhongshan." ”

"The way to give is to give up first and then get. Father, if you don't hear about the arrogance, the army will be defeated? ”

Although Sima Xi is reluctant to admit it, Sima Xi's analysis still has some truth. It's just that these analyses are too subjective and have low reference value.

"What else?"

Sima Xi glanced at him, lowered his head and continued: "In addition, it is also an excellent opportunity for Gongsun Hong and the others to strike. You know very well that in the eyes of the crown prince, you are the greatest threat. ”

As a veteran politician, if he doesn't even have this awareness, he is too dull. But there is no way, Gongsun Hong is a close minister of the prince, no matter how he maintains it, he can't get the favor of Gongsun Hong in the prince. What's more, this kind of wagging tail and begging for pity, he Sima Xi couldn't do it, he came to Zhongshan from the Song Kingdom back then, just to show what he had learned, not to get involved in this endless politics.

"Villains never need reasons to rebel, only gentlemen have all kinds of excuses. You know this better than I do. Sima Xi said lightly, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Of course, he knows that the so-called villain's rebellion is deserved, and the so-called gentleman's rebellion is probably because he was forced to rebel or was fabricated to commit crimes. The former is not to be feared, and the latter is the most pitiful.

"If that's the case, a certain person should take the whole family and return to his hometown, compared to the prince Gu Nian I have made great contributions to Zhongshan, it will not be difficult for me."

"Did you decide it was possible?" Sima Xi raised his head and looked at this old man, watching himself break down his psychological defense step by step, and a trace of relief flashed in his eyes unconsciously.

Sima Xun looked at him and saw the sharpness in his eyes at a glance. He doesn't know when this son started to speak coldly to himself, but he believes that maybe in this life, the two may not have an intersection in political opinions.

Sima Xi saw the helplessness in his eyes, slowly stood up, put the meat porridge in front of his several cases, lowered his head, and said respectfully: "You should eat something." The envoy of Zhao is in the hall, waiting for your reception. With that, he bowed slightly, turned and left.

He believed that Sima Cheng would definitely come out.

Sima Qian felt that the two people in front of him were a little strange.

Sima Xun's expression was serious, especially sharp, and he seemed to be prejudiced against himself. Looking at Sima Xi next to him, with a faint smile on his face, he gave people a feeling like a spring breeze. This extremely incongruous combination made him a little uncomfortable. Although this was the first time he had seen two people, no matter how he looked at them, he felt that their expressions were very strange, not like father and son, but like enemies.

"Sima... Xiangguo" Sima smacked his lips, feeling a little weird, speaking of which, his surname is also Sima, but he is definitely not the same as Sima Cheng. "The little official was ordered by King Zhao to visit the King of Zhongshan to consolidate the alliance between the two families, and hoped that Xiangguo would be able to introduce one or two."

Sima Xun closed his eyes and didn't say a word, but Sima Xi next to him owed a debt and said, "Zhao envoy turned out to be rude if he never greeted him from afar. The matter of referral is naturally an unshirkable responsibility. It's just that I don't know if the envoy has anything else important to do when he goes north this time. ”

"Naturally, there are important things to discuss." Sima Qian frowned, glanced at Sima Qian, and continued to say to Sima Xi: "A few days ago, the envoy of the Qi State entered Handan from Linzi, and what he did was to unite with my Zhao State and attack Zhongshan. ”

Hearing this, Sima and his son looked at each other with surprise in their eyes, and Sima Xun shouted: "Sir, don't want to scold me? Why did Qi attack Zhongshan? ”

"The truth is simple." Sima straightened his clothes and said: "Zhongshan is located at the junction of the three kingdoms of Yan, Zhao and Qi, and the land is fertile, suitable for farming. This is the land of heaven, the foundation of kings. ”

"However, although Zhongshan owns this land, he cannot occupy this land. The reason is that it is located in the three kingdoms, and Zhongshan is a foreign race, which is the biggest sin. Although it is said that the Duke of Qi Huan's proposal of 'respecting the king and destroying the king' is an old thing, it is not worth mentioning. However, now the monarch of Qi is not weaker than before for the contempt of foreigners, so there is no need to say much about how Zhongshan deals with himself. ”

"Compared with Zhao Guo, I'm afraid it's still much better."

"That was before, not now." Sima Qian replied, "My lord once said that Zhao and Zhongshan are feuding. However, at this moment, it is the Qi State that is dominant, and neither Zhao nor Zhongshan can challenge the Qi State with their own strength. On the contrary, if the Qi State wants to provoke you and me, it is as easy as a hand. In this way, Zhongshan and Zhao Guo are an alliance of dead lips and cold teeth, what does Xiangguo think? ”

"Zhongshan and Qi have accumulated good over the years, and they will never be resentful because of this."

"Xiangguo's words are wrong. When the Jin State was hegemonic, Qin Qi avoided its edge. However, the three families of Zhao, Wei and Han rose up, and there were seven heroes in the world. However, time has changed, and the three families have carved up the Jin State and attacked each other for many years, and there is even the shame of the Wei State besieging Handan. Xiangguo thinks that there is a deeper friendship than the three families of Zhao, Wei and Han back then? ”

Sima Xun was silent. Indeed, in this troubled world and strife, only interests are the foundation on which all countries can stand.

"So what does Mr. think, how should I deal with myself?" Sima Xi asked.

"My lord has a lot of respect for the achievements of the country. It is believed that Xiangguo will pass on the customs of the Central Plains to Zhongshan, which is a good act. Using the poems and books of the Central Plains to teach the nomadism of Zhongshan is the way to establish the country in Zhongshan. Therefore, the king hopes to work with Xiangguo and stay in alliance to fight against Qiang Qi. The monarch was even willing to mobilize Zhao Guozhi's literary and educational teachers to migrate to Lingshou to help Zhongshan spread education. ”

"Anything else?"

"Naturally, in order to resist the accountability of the Qi State, I hope that Zhongshan can increase the number of troops at the appropriate time to respond to our country's counterattack."

"None?"

"Nope." Sima Qian smiled and shook his head.

The conditions offered by Zhao Guo made Sima and his son really brainstorm, because in their opinion, almost all of them were Zhao Guo's sincerity, and there was no conspiracy at all, compared to Qi Guo's request, Zhao Guo's dedication was indeed very tempting.

In particular, the teacher is a talent that is in great demand in Zhongshan. In the past few years, Sima Cheng has indeed put a lot of effort into popularizing the education of the Central Plains, trying to change the attitude of the Central Plains countries to denounce Zhongshan as a barbarian. However, due to the customs of the Zhongshan people, this change is very slow. Now Zhao Guo is willing to send a tutor to Zhongshan, which is simply a charcoal in the snow!

Seeing that the two of them were still thinking, Sima Qian picked up the white water in front of him and took a sip. I remembered what Zhao Yong had said before.

"Between the two countries, any promise is unreliable and unreliable, and only interests are the foundation of exchanges. When you go to Lingshou, one is to put on a posture and let the people of Zhongshan see our openness. The second is to send some big gifts to Sima Xiangguo. ”

"A big gift?"

"A big gift, of course. It is said in the book of war that the army of the people is not the war, and the siege of the city with troops is the next strategy, and the strongest fortress is often the easiest to attack from the inside. And you are going, which is to lay this ambush for Lone in Zhongshan. ”

(End of chapter)