Chapter 443: The charcoal has not been allocated yet
"The beasts in the furnace are burning with red flames, and the blankets on the couch at night are covered with purple velvet." [Early Winter]
"The Shaofu and Jing Zhaoyin received an order today to give alms of coal, money, silk, beans and wheat to the widows and widowers in the east and west cities, on behalf of the country, to those who are lonely, poor, and unable to survive on their own. In order to prevent looting in the busy market and causing trouble, Aweng
I'm going to take care of it myself." Sima Yi had nothing to do with his entertainment, so he had to support his chin with one hand, lean against the table, and stare at the charcoal fire in a trance.
"Aweng is not here, so you don't look serious?" Sima Lang frowned, and suddenly saw that Sima Yi was distracted, so he couldn't help but follow his gaze and look into the basin.
What is burned in the copper basin is high-quality green charcoal, which is of the same length. When burning, you can see the fiery red wood texture, which is highly ornamental, and there is no smoky smoke. Instead, it is mixed with sandalwood.
The powder burns out a faint fragrance. This is the green charcoal that Han Sui, the governor of Liangzhou, presented to the emperor from the Western Regions. It was also given a nice name, Rui Tan. At that time, charcoal only had two colors: black and white, and there were very few green charcoals.
Yes, it has various advantages, such as no poisonous smoke, no open flames, and high temperature resistance. Even if the emperor intends to promote coal, it does not prevent him from getting rewards and getting close to him.
The pot of green charcoal that Sima Yi was staring at was a gift from the emperor to a group of secretaries and officials. His father, Zhijinwu Sima Fang, also had several pieces of green charcoal. A piece of green charcoal that was more than a foot long could burn for nine to ten days. He often cut it off.
It was divided into several pieces for use. Today, it seems that in order to entertain his brother who came from afar because of illness, he specially asked someone to pick out a few pieces and burn them, but he put all his body and mind on the charcoal fire, looking as if he was lost, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
"This thing is even rarer than white charcoal, and the texture is also beautiful. The coal I often burn in Bingzhou, although the heat is hot, there is always a smell of smoke." Sima Lang disagreed and glanced at a few pieces placed next to the charcoal basin.
He had spare green charcoal and said softly: "But in August, a lot of new coal was dug out in Gaodu County, Shangdang County. It is as black as gold and iron, with textured fractures. It burns with a short flame and less smoke. I asked someone to buy a hundred.
I sent you ten pounds, have you ever used it?"
"I've used it, but Aweng said it made people suffocate after being burned for a long time, so he gave it to the kitchen." Sima Yi put half of his face on his hands, leaning on the table, his eyes still staring at the burning food in the basin.
Some of the green charcoal said: "Brother, you have been in Jinyang for two or three years, how come you only have this charcoal in your eyes? In Bingzhou, one of the most valued by the country is 'Hu', and the other is 'Yuan'.
As for the common people, as long as everyone lives in peace and there are no refugees, that will be the greatest political achievement."
Sima Lang knew what the other party wanted to say. Although Liu Yu admired him because of some personality similarities, he did not include him in the decision-making team of Bingzhou. The military and political affairs of Bingzhou should be handled by Liu Yu and Xu Rong.
The others discussed and decided to add Liu Miao, the Taiyuan governor at most. The last time Sima Lang asked for help through Gongsun Fan, he rarely showed it in front of Liu Yu, but he returned without success, which made him a little discouraged.
"As a six-hundred-stone official, I can say but can do very little."
Sima Yi finally turned his gaze from the charcoal fire to his brother. He came back from his thoughts and saw that his brother's tall figure was now thin due to illness. He couldn't bear it and said: "Brother, what depressing words did you say? You haven't even stood up yet.
This time I just resigned due to illness, but your name is still in the official department! It happened that Bingzhou was going to be troubled, so I simply stayed at home for a year. Try to see the prime ministers and assistants in the court. Some of them not only advanced and retreated repeatedly, but resigned several times for some reason.
?This is nothing!”
"Bingzhou..." Sima Lang didn't care about this at all. His second brother was far more intelligent than ordinary people. When the brothers lived in Liyang, many important decisions depended on him. Sima Lang already had a guess in his mind, and now he heard Sima Yi
After saying this, a big stone fell to the ground: "Is it really as I expected?"
"So I said that Mr. Liu is willing to accept your resignation so easily, brother, and let you come back. It shows that Mr. Liu really cherishes your talents and doesn't want to see you get into trouble." Sima Yi turned his gaze at this time
Throwing himself on the charcoal fire again, he sighed leisurely: "When Liu Gong and Gongsun Zan were in Youzhou, they had constant disagreements and hated each other. No one in Hebei knew it. Now, if Gongsun Zan was not about to die, and his party members were separated, how could he be so low?
Why don't you come to Liu Gong's sect to ask for help? Whether you can get reinforcements or not, you have to suffer this humiliation... When I first heard you say it, I was still wondering whether Liu Gong would put the overall situation first, but now that I think about it, in his heart
Still can’t let go.”
If Liu Yu was unwilling to save Gongsun Zan because of personal grudges, or even deliberately delayed it, and if the emperor pursued him afterwards, Liu Yu would be dismissed because of his high moral standing, and some of the other participants would be sentenced to serious crimes. Sima Lang originally wanted to persuade Liu Yu.
Yu, who was planning to send troops to Jizhou, could make him stand out quickly. But it was precisely because he keenly sensed the crisis from Liu Yu's attitude that he stopped his losses in time, decisively gave up his hard work in Jinyang, and took advantage of his illness to escape.
.
When it comes to intelligence, perhaps none of the brothers can match Sima Yi, but when it comes to political acumen, everyone is the best.
"Mr. Liu should have other reasons for submitting the memorial. Otherwise, how would the emperor view him?" Sima Lang lowered his eyelids and shook his head slightly.
"It's just those kinds of things. It's not hard to think about." Sima Yi waved his sleeves, sat up straight and said, "But these reasons cannot scare the country. What Liu Gong relies on is Gongsun Zan's face in the court."
Sima Lang immediately understood that Gongsun Zan was between saving or not. Saving or not would not delay the imperial court from sending troops to Guandong next year to rectify the world. But everything has its difficulties, pros and cons, and the key depends on what the emperor wants to do.
What a trade-off.
Seeing that the other party had revealed the direction of the matter in just a few words, Sima Lang was convinced, but he couldn't help but want to suppress the other party's limelight, so as not to feel arrogant. At this time, since he had escaped from the Bingzhou matter, Sima Lang also
There was nothing to think about, so he deliberately changed the topic and teased: "You will be seventeen next year. I was already married when I was your age... Speaking of which, I remember Hanoi Zhang's marriage last year
I brought my family to Chang'an, Zhang's daughter..."
Sima Yi was still looking at the charcoal fire intently, but at this moment, he suddenly seemed as if his eyes were burned by the charcoal fire, and said with resistance on his face: "Brother! She is only six years old! Such a young child, she can act like an adult all day long.
His words, actions, and dull temperament are completely meaningless!"
"This is the marriage that Aweng and Mr. Zhang made many years ago. How can you say anything about it?" Sima Lang knew that the other party would resist the marriage, and deliberately said with a straight face: "The Zhang family is a powerful person in Hanoi.
Rich families will help each other in the future. Now that you are serving the country and hearing secrets, how can you not think more about your family?"
Sima Yi was stunned, and his tight waist suddenly relaxed, and he said resignedly: "Wei, I will obey my order."
"My daughter's family is still here for a long time, so you don't have to worry about it for the time being." Sima Lang couldn't help but feel proud when he caught the other party for the rare occasion. He quickly dismissed it and mentioned another curious thing: "But, what did you do just now?
Have you been staring at this pot of charcoal fire? Is there any reason why you can’t do it?”.
The helpless expression on Sima Yi's face quietly dissipated, and soon a hint of depth appeared again, as if the child's playful and coquettish look just now did not exist at all. He stared deeply at the precious green charcoal, with its fiery red texture.
It's as if the roads in the mountains and rivers are constantly bifurcating, intersecting, and blocking, just like the many choices that people must face in this life.
"I was thinking about one thing, whether it was worth it or not."