Empress Dowager Guo's method was to directly order Liu Fang, the Supervisor of the Zhongshu, to prepare an imperial edict to award Qin Liang a reward.
After listening to Cao Shuang's performance in the east hall, she summoned Liu Fang, the eunuch of the Zhongshu, and asked Liu Fang to write an edict, confer Qin Liang the title of Marquis of Le'anting, transfer him to the prefect of Lujiang County, and make him a powerful general.
Liu Fang and Sun Zi guarded Zhongshu Province together. According to the usual practice, as long as the edict was true, they could not disobey it. The people who could point out that the edict was unreasonable and give advice were basically officials of Shizhong Temple, such as Huangmen
Waiter, regular attendant on casual riding, etc.
However, Liu Fang did not immediately draft an edict, but instead asked Sun Zi to go to the Taifu Mansion.
Things have indeed become strange. Empress Dowager Guo has never done this before.
If she hadn't done what she did today, everyone would have almost forgotten that the edict was originally the decree of the emperor or his highness, not the minister.
When Master Sima heard the news, he also rushed to the Taifu's Mansion from the General's Mansion. The Mansion of the General's Protector was inside the south gate of the inner city of Luoyang, and the Taifu's Mansion was southeast of the palace, not too close. But things seemed to be going well.
It's a bit serious, but Master Sima worked tirelessly.
When Master Sima arrived at Taifu's Mansion, someone took him directly to the coupon room under the pavilion. Opening the wooden door, this room was very small and had no windows. However, it was just right for three people to sit on their knees next to a table. Here
It is not suitable for seating too many people.
Sun Zi is quite old, but his mind does not look confused.
This person has been in charge of secrets for twenty or thirty years. Before that, the Cao family clan had secretly criticized Sang and Huai, saying that he had lived too long. Let’s see how long he could live!
But those clan members have been dismissed from office and returned home, and Sun Zi is still staying well in Zhongshu Province.
After the ceremony, Sun Zi said directly: "Has Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother been coerced by Shuang?"
Master Sima immediately shook his head and said: "No, the person who benefited from this matter is Wang Yanyun (Wang Ling). Why is Cao Zhaobo so concerned?"
It is rare that the Shuang Mansion and the Taifu Mansion have some consensus. For example, when Wen Qin was placed in Yangzhou, the Sima family also supported Ding Mi's suggestions.
Now that Cao Shuang has transferred Wen Qin and put Wang Ling's grandson-in-law Qin Liang in Lujiang County, it is not in the interests of the Luoyang Central Committee. It would be too strange to say that Cao Shuang threatened the Queen Mother Guo because of this.
At this time, my father Sima Yi's expression became more solemn.
Master Sima thought for a while and asked tentatively: "Is the Queen Mother Guo taking the initiative to show her favor to the Shuang Mansion?"
There was silence in the room for a while, and Sun Zi finally said: "I'm afraid it's really possible. In the first month of this year, His Majesty was already in the Yuan Dynasty. Recently, the Shuang Mansion was planning the wedding of His Majesty Luo, and the grand-niece of Empress Wenzhao Zhen (Zhen Mi) was made empress. Palace.
The situation in China has changed.”
What Sun Zi said was that the eleven-year-old emperor held a coming-of-age ceremony, and then he wanted to marry his thirteen-year-old wife and make her a queen.
Even for people in the Wei Dynasty, it was a bit impatient to marry a wife at the age of eleven. But in this way, it means that the emperor has reached adulthood and has begun to govern personally. In the future, edicts can be directly in the name of the emperor, who is controlled by Cao Shuang.
Then Queen Mother Guo's role in the court will further decline. She will not be able to make the decision on many matters and can only follow the arrangements of the emperor (Shuangfu).
So Queen Mother Guo wanted to take the initiative to move closer to Shuang Mansion because of her own situation?
Master Sima pondered: "But... those people from the Guo family, Empress Dowager Guo's uncle Guo Li, and cousin Zhen De (Guo De) have all received our help."
Father Sima Yi finally said: "After all, he is an uncle. However, His Highness has no close relatives. Guo Li is His Highness's closest relative. Please ask Guo Li to meet His Highness as soon as possible and let the Guo family inquire about His Highness's attitude."
Master Sima nodded hurriedly and said, "I will meet Guo Li later."
The most important thing now is Empress Dowager Guo's attitude, not Qin Liang's matter.
Cao Shuang and others took the name of royal relatives, and it was easy to control the emperor. The Sima family was on good terms with the Guo family. If the Queen Mother Guo unexpectedly turned to Cao Shuang, the situation would be very embarrassing.
At this time, Master Sima suddenly had an idea and blurted out: "Does this matter have anything to do with Qin Liang?"
After Master Sima said it, he thought about it carefully and explained: "I suddenly felt that it was a bit incredible that Queen Mother Guo fell to Shuang Mansion. So I tried my best to think about it, is there any other possibility?"
My father frowned and said: "Wang Ling must be the mastermind of the matter. Only Wang Ling can persuade Zhuge Dan, and Zhuge Dan can persuade Xia Houxuan. However, Qin Liang's family has almost no connections, and his brother Qin Lang has completely retired. How can he
What can we do? Maybe we can find Linghuyu, isn’t Linghuyu also Wang Ling’s nephew?”
After a pause, my father, Sima Yi, began to think about the person again, "I have never spoken to Qin Liang, I only saw him a few times in the temple. This person is cautious and cautious, and his military plans are also very meticulous. But this kind of person with a bad background
, I am very timid and dare not take risks easily because I cannot afford the price of failure. If I fail in one thing, I may not be able to get up for half my life."
Sun Zidao said: "Qin Liang used five hundred soldiers to resist Fei Yi's tens of thousands. All the princes in the court said that he was brave."
Sima Yi shook his head and smiled: "The difficult part of this battle is to guess which way Fei Yi will take. As long as you guess correctly, choose favorable terrain, prepare in advance, and block the Shu army in the valley for two days, it is not too difficult."
Master Sima said: "Yes, Qin Liang is just like his wife. I heard that he lives in the Wang family's residence most of the time."
When Sun Zi heard this, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Queen Mother Guo probably didn't want to turn to the Shuang Mansion, but just wanted to show her kindness in order to protect herself. With the emperor's name, the Shuang Mansion will become more and more powerful."
Master Sima agreed: "What Mr. Sun said is indeed reasonable. It makes more sense than my sudden idea."
Father Sima Yi's eyes were no longer cloudy, and he looked thoughtful. After a while, he nodded to himself and said: "Guo Li and Guo Zhi's family should not have any big problems." He raised his head and said again, "We still have to do it.
Let’s test Queen Mother Guo’s attitude first.”
Master Sima said in a low voice: "When it comes to major matters, no woman can be trusted."
But my father didn’t think so. He glanced at Master Sima and said, “Not necessarily.”
Sun Zi asked: "What is Empress Dowager Guo's will?"
Father Sima Yi's voice said: "Listen to her. The Shuang Mansion doesn't care about Wang Yanyun, so we don't need to step forward. Otherwise, we will offend both Queen Mother Guo and Wang Yanyun, but it won't do much good."
Sun Zi nodded and said: "I will follow the wishes of the Grand Master."
Master Sima had no objection. The most important thing about this matter was the position of Queen Mother Guo. Qin Liang's matter was not the focus. After all, Qin Liang was only serving as the county guard. Wang Ling had a grandson-in-law in charge of Lujiang County, and he was still the governor.
The governor is only Yangzhou, there will not be another state.
It was only the morning, and after talking about business, the three of them did not say much. Master Sima and Sun Zi bowed and said goodbye, each going back to his respective government.
After walking out of the pavilion, Master Sima couldn't help but look up. There was wind on the ground, clouds in the sky, and the sun shuttled through the thin clouds.
It's quite a calm scene.
Somehow, Master Sima thought of Qin Liang again. What came to mind was what happened last year. At that time, Qin Liang heard that Cao Shuang opposed him becoming the governor, and his face showed a lot of emotions for a moment.
Master Sima thought for a while and decided to meet Qin Liang in advance.
The method is still to go through the invitation of the deposed wife Wu. Without further delay, the agreed time is this afternoon, otherwise Qin Liang will hear about the governor of Lujiang from somewhere else first.
In fact, Master Sima thinks Qin Liang is not bad.
The Qin family has no foundation. Qin Liang relies on others and relies on his in-laws, the Wang family. He is quite capable in military planning, and he seems to be smart and reliable. He understood Guo Huai's matter with a hint, and nothing went wrong.
Moreover, after Master Sima observed it, he found that Qin Liang's conduct was very upright and polite, and he was not a lecherous person. Qin Liang had interacted with the Wu family so many times, but he had always paid attention to his words and deeds. Every time Master Sima wanted to leave, he would
He also said goodbye immediately. I heard from the person in the Wu family that Qin Liang had never had any private correspondence with the Wu family.
In fact, Mrs. Wu is a pretty beauty, and the more she looks at her, the more beautiful she becomes. When Master Sima fell in love with Mrs. Wu at first sight, the Chouhou family had already declined. If it weren’t for Mrs. Wu’s beauty, Master Sima would not have done it in the first place.
Marry her.
Now that Qin Liang has the opportunity to get close to him often, he remains calm. For a young man in his twenties, he really needs to be very well-educated.
In the afternoon, Master Sima came to Wu Mansion in advance.
The Sima Shi's carriage drove through the gate of the mansion and went straight to the stables. When he came out of the tailgate of the carriage, the wooden baffle in the middle of the stables directly blocked the view inside, and people in the front hall and courtyard could not see this side.
He quickly walked into the gap between the two wing houses, and then along the narrow space between the back of the house and the high wall, he arrived under the high wall of the inner house. Wu had already opened the small door, and he walked in
.
The Wu family has temporarily dismissed the maids from the inner house, and Master Sima does not want to be seen interacting with the Wu family.
Master Sima entered a small side room, and soon the middle-aged woman came in to make tea.
The tea soup had just been cooked and Master Sima took a sip. Wu opened the wooden door and walked in with Qin Liang. Master Sima put down the tea bowl and stood up to greet Qin Liang.
The woman who made the tea resigned, and the three of them knelt down next to the same table. Master Sima was still sitting in the upper position, and suddenly said: "My father and I have agreed to let Zhongming be the governor of Lujiang County."
Master Sima carefully observed Qin Liang's eyes, and sure enough, his face suddenly lit up with joy and surprise. It seemed that Qin Liang had just received the news now.
Qin Liang cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Taifu, general."
He continued: "I heard that my grandfather wanted me to go to Lujiang County. I didn't have much hope, but I didn't expect that things would go so smoothly."
Master Sima thought to himself: How could it be so smooth? I wonder how many people were involved behind the scenes!
Qin Liang added: "The governor of Lujiang County is very good. My grandfather is the governor of Yangzhou. I can take care of him and save a lot of worry."
Master Sima said calmly: "I will also give Marquis Le'anting, a settlement of 300 households, and a powerful general."
Someone from the front line of Yongzhou mentioned before that Qin Liang lied to Fei Yi and called him General Huwei. This is probably where the nickname "General" came from.
For a moment, Qin Liang's face broke out with laughter. He smiled and said: "I didn't expect that the general is not only a man of his word, but also has extra surprises!"
Master Sima shook his head and said: "Zhong Ming has achieved military merit, and the county governor will be given the title of general, so there will be no problem. However, the governor of Lujiang is your grandfather's wish, and he has handled the connections of Shuang Mansion.
At first, Zhongshu Ling Sun Yanlong (Sun Zi) did not agree. He did not know about my dealings with Zhongming. After I informed Sun Yanlong, there was no obstacle to the matter."
Qin Liang said: "Very good. In fact, I don't care too much about where I will be the governor, but it is really good to go to Yangzhou."