Shu Yan thanked Wei Qian and Wang Rong and the others, and then couldn't wait to ask: "I wonder if Duke Wei came to me for the sake of the drought in the four northern states?" ”

"What is the drought in the four northern states? I came to you because yesterday Goguryeo sent an envoy to pay tribute, and I want you to write a reply. ”

"Oh, that's easy." There was polished ink on the bookcase, Shu Yan picked up the pen, thought a little, brushed and brushed, and after a while, he wrote the reply and handed it to Wei Qiang. Wei Qian took it and looked at it, nodded and smiled. Shu Yan asked: "I don't know what the imperial court said about the disaster relief in the four states of Liang, You, Qing, and Hebei?" ”

"The imperial court is also aware of the drought in the four states, where is the need for disaster relief? According to the report, it is just that there has been no rain in some places for several days, and it is not that serious. ”

"Not serious? Hmph, these high-ranking officials in the DPRK and the central government only know how to live in temples, and local officials only care about pleasure, where do they know the suffering of the people. Shu Yan told Wei Qian and Wang Rong and others what he saw and heard on the road.

Wei Qian listened and said: "It turns out that it is so serious, without further ado, we will go to see the emperor immediately." ”

"Hasn't the emperor already retired from the dynasty?"

"It's a good time today, although the emperor has retired from the court, he is still in the side hall of the Taiji Palace."

When Shu Yan heard that he was going to see the emperor, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Although it is common for Shang Shulang to answer correctly in front of the emperor, after all, he has a low official position, and it is the first time he has seen a driver, so he is a little flustered. He came to Jianli Gate with Wei Qian, Wang Rong and others, and was preparing pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and a maid had already taken a chicken tongue incense and gave it to Shu Yan. Chicken tongue incense is a must-have thing in the court, and the courtiers have to take one before seeing the emperor, so that when they talk to the emperor, the breath is fragrant and there is no peculiar smell.

Shu Yan swallowed the fragrance of chicken tongue, and suddenly felt that the seven orifices were unblocked, his spirit was refreshing, and most of the panic disappeared. He followed Wei Qian and others into the Taiji Palace. Along the way, Wei Qian taught him the etiquette of the audience, and Shu Yan wrote them down one by one.

At that time, the courtiers met the emperor, at the door of the main hall, they had to take off their shoes, and those with swords had to be removed, and they walked in small steps to bow down to the emperor, and then reported their names. However, there are exceptions, that is, when the emperor gave him the honorary qualification of "going to the palace with a sword, not being famous for participating in the performance, and not entering the court". Those who have been granted this qualification do not need to take off their shoes, do not untie their swords, do not need to take small steps, do not need to report their names, but go directly into the temple generously. Of course, very few people are granted this qualification. Although Wei Yan does not have the above special honors, he is ranked as the third duke, so he is naturally different from others, he walked in first, then Wang Rong and others, and finally Shu Yan also bowed down to Sima Yan in accordance with etiquette.

Sima Yan looked at Shu Yan and said, "It's not an official court meeting now, so you don't have to be formal, and you can calm down quickly." ”

Shu Yan stood up, but his eyes still didn't dare to look up, and his chin was lowered. Sima Yan was discussing with several ministers, he waved his hand, and Shu Yan and the others stood aside.

Shu Yan slowly raised his head and saw that the emperor was sitting on the throne, wearing a five-beam Jinxian crown, wearing a robe, about fifty years old, with a lofty spirit, not angry and self-imposing, which made people see that he had a breath of heaven and was domineering and extraordinary. Behind the emperor, there are two palace maids holding treasure fans, and there are several people standing in front of the throne, and there are Shi Chonghe Shi Hui in it. Shu Yan glanced at it, and lowered his head again.

It turned out that Sima Yan, the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty, was in his twilight years, and the matter of inheriting the unification had been put on the agenda. Although the crown prince has been established a long time ago, the intelligence of this prince Sima Zhen is too low. Sima Zhen was the second son of Sima Yan and Empress Yang Yan, but the eldest son died early, so he became the eldest son. At the beginning of the establishment of the crown prince, Sima Yan also wavered, but Jia Chong and other ministers in the court tried their best to maintain it, and Empress Yang and Sima Yan were married and had a deep relationship, so he barely kept the crown prince. At this time, Sima Zhen was already in his thirties, and after being the prince for so many years, he had not seen much improvement in intelligence, let alone governing the country and securing the country. The crown prince was stupid, and Sima Yan's other sons were not outstanding, so the ministers of the court and the central government hoped that Sima Yan's half-brother Sima You, the king of Qi, would inherit the throne.

Sima You's life experience is not simple, and he almost replaced Sima Yan as the emperor back then. Because after the death of Sima Yi, the founder of the Jin Dynasty, his eldest son Sima Shi succeeded to his position. But Sima Shi did not have a son, so he passed over one of the sons of his younger brother Sima Zhao, and as a stepson, this son was Sima You. When Sima Shi died, Sima You was supposed to succeed him, but Sima You was still young at the time, so Sima Zhao inherited his brother's position. Sima You has loved scriptures since he was a child, can belong to literature, and is virtuous and charitable, so he hopes to be the right of his brother Sima Yan. Sima Zhao liked him very much, often held him on his lap, and every time he saw Sima You, he always touched his throne with his hand and said, "This was originally your seat." Then he said to men, 'I sit in my brother's world, and when I am old, I will give this seat back to my brother's son.' Of course, Sima Zhao is not stupid, he knows that no matter who succeeds him, it will be his son. But later, when the prince was established, Sima Zhao broke his promise and did not make Sima You the prince, but changed the eldest son Sima Yan. Compared with his brother Sima Yan, although Sima You is a little stronger in terms of talent, Sima Yanyu is generous, wise and strategic, and can judge major things, but he surpasses Sima You in this regard. Therefore, Sima You has never competed with his brother, and he is not too aggrieved.

Unlike the battle for the throne twenty years ago, this Sima Zhen is really different from his father Sima Yan, if the throne is handed over to such a person, then the Jin Dynasty will be finished. The more righteous ministers in the court, such as Wei Qian and others, all wanted Sima Yan to abolish the crown prince and replace Sima You. Although Sima Zhen is not worthy of being the emperor, there is the power of his maternal grandfather Yang family in the court, and now Sima Zhen has married Jia Nanfeng, Jia Chong's daughter, and has the power of the Jia family, which undoubtedly adds a lot of bargaining chips to Sima Zhen.

Sima Yan also had concerns about passing the throne to Sima Zhen. He knew that after his death, he should have a reliable person to assist his stupid son, but he didn't think about who to choose. Although he knew that Sima You no longer had the luxury of the throne at this time, it was very suitable for Sima You to assist him. But I can't stand the prince. The party members are blowing the wind in their ears, and he himself has soft ears, so he has never been able to make up his mind about this matter.

I heard Xun Miao, the secretary of the middle school, say: "Now most of the ministers in the court are focused on the king of Qi, and after your majesty is longlive, the prince will definitely not be stable." If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can let the King of Qi leave the capital and return to his own vassal country, if all the officials in the court are discouraged and try their best to keep the King of Qi, then the minister's words can be fulfilled. ”

Yang Jun, the general of the chariot cavalry, is the grandfather of the crown prince, and when he heard this, he immediately said: "Xun Zhongshu is right, Your Majesty has issued an edict to let all the kings with fiefs return to the feudal kingdom, guard one side, and guard the capital division of the domain, and the closest of the kings is the king of Qi, and the king of Qi should set this example." ”

Wei Qian listened and knew that this was the crown prince. The party members are crowding out the king of Qi and want to transfer the king of Qi from the core of power. Then he said: "Your Majesty is now old, the prince is not involved in political affairs, King Qi is not only a close relative of Your Majesty, but also in the prime of life, as the general of the town army, the crown prince and the prince, should stay in the court, assist Your Majesty, assume the responsibility of slaughtering and assisting, and share worries for Your Majesty." How can you be transferred out of Jingshi? ”

Sima Yan looked at these people on the left and right, and thought in his heart: "These opinions they put forward are ostensibly for the sake of the imperial court, but in fact, most of them form parties for personal gain, fight openly and secretly, and they are all for their own selfish interests, especially these high-powered ministers. Thinking of this, he suddenly set his eyes on Shu Yan. These wealthy ministers have their own factions, but this little Shang Shulang is from a poor family, and he is definitely not qualified to be involved in politics. Govern. Fight. Why don't I ask him?

"You are the Shu Yan that Wei Sikong said?"

Shu Yan didn't dare to raise his head, "Weichen is exactly." ”

Sima Yan looked at it and said to everyone: "This person has a dignified appearance and generous manners, and what Wei Sikong said is really true." ”

Shi Hui replied closely: "Back to Your Majesty, this person is my Ruyin clan, his deceased ancestor once served as Cao Wei's doctor of Taixue, is a widow of the former dynasty, and he was loyal to Cao Wei until his death. ”

"Hmm, really? Since your grandfather was so loyal to the previous dynasty, and your father was determined to cultivate and study, then why did you want to be my minister of the Great Jin? ”

Shi Hui listened to the holy words, figured out the holy will, and said busily: "Confucius Yun: Three years have not changed the way of the father, which can be described as filial piety. Shu Yan, you went against the will of your father and ancestors, is this unfilial? ”

Sima Yan just asked casually, and Shi Hui deliberately blamed, Shu Yan listened, but became more and more calm, and said unhurriedly: "The meaning of what Confucius said is not that future generations must fully follow the behavior of their ancestors, but must change with the times. The 'Tao' he spoke of is the Tao that conforms to the way of heaven and the way that keeps pace with the times. Whether filial piety is unfilial depends on whether it changes the way of his father and ancestors to be reasonable or not. In the past, the Shang Dynasty was tyrannical, if King Wen of Zhou and King Wu did not change the way of their fathers and ancestors and did not go to the war, then how many ministers would the King of Zhou have to kill? How many more people will suffer for it? On the contrary, if his descendants, King You and King Li, continue to follow the way of King Wen and King Wu to govern and love the people, how can they ruin the 800-year reign of the Great Zhou Dynasty? Dayu controls the water, if he still continues to follow his father's 'blocking' method, and does not use the 'channeling' method, how can he successfully control the flood? and Confucius himself, if he continues to follow his father's way and become a military general, how can he become the most holy teacher, not become the first teacher, his sentence 'Three years have not changed the way of the father, which can be described as filial piety. How can it be known to posterity? Even His Majesty has changed the way of the first emperor. ”

Sima Yan listened to Shu Yan's endless talk, felt reasonable, and was smiling and nodding his head, when he suddenly heard the call "Your Majesty", and thought to himself, hey, how can there be any business with me.

"Bold, how dare you talk nonsense about Your Majesty!" Shi Hui hurriedly reprimanded.

"How dare I say nonsense, Your Majesty has really changed the way of the emperor, but this way is extremely good and deserved. Emperor Wei was incompetent, centrifugal and detached, and God did not bless him. Your Majesty is strategic, blessed by heaven, and aimed at the Great Jin. If Your Majesty does not follow the time and does not obey Wei, but continues to serve the incompetent Emperor Wei as a courtier like the first emperor, how can you calm the four seas, make the eight directions submit, and create a prosperous era of peace in the world and peace for the people? ”

Originally, Shi Hui wanted to see Shu Yan's jokes, but he didn't expect him to slap the emperor on the back fiercely, and Sima Yan was naturally even happier when he heard it. But Shi Hui was still unwilling, and could it be: "Since you know that God blesses the Great Jin and Cao Wei is incompetent, then why don't you advise your father and ancestor to use it for my Great Jin?" ”

Shu Yan sneered: "Shi Zhongzheng didn't hear it, Confucius said: A few admonitions from parents." If you don't obey your will, you don't disobey it, and you don't complain. He also said: My parents can do their best, and they can do their best, my father and ancestor were born in the previous dynasty, so they were naturally loyal to the previous dynasty, and I was born in the Great Jin Dynasty, so I am naturally loyal to the Great Jin, is this wrong? ”

Shi Hui was dumbfounded by the question.