Sima Yi's letter to Xia Houxuan arrived at the Governor's Mansion in Chang'an a few days ago.
At this time, Xiahou Ba, who was leading the army in Longyou to conquer Shu, also came to Chang'an. He said he was reporting on military affairs, but in fact he must have come because of the murder of Cao Shuang.
Xiahou Xuan was Xiahou Ba's nephew, and he was also the highest-ranking prince in the Yongliang region. Xiahou Ba would always want to consult with Xiahou Xuan on major matters.
The uncle and nephew came to a room in the pavilion. Xia Houxuan first took out Sima Yi's letter and showed it to his uncle.
After reading the content of the sincere letter, his uncle Xia Houba cursed: "I didn't believe Sima Yi until I was kicked in the head by a donkey's hind leg!"
Xia Houxuan glanced at his uncle: "What can I do?"
My cousin couldn't answer immediately.
Xia Houxuan's biological sister Xia Houhui was Sima Shi's first wife, but Sima Shi, his brother-in-law, usually had a cold attitude towards Xia Houxuan; on the contrary, Sima Yi and Xia Houxuan had a good relationship.
Probably because when Xia Houhui got married, their father was no longer alive. Xia Houxuan, the elder brother, was discussing and organizing the marriage with Sima Shi's father, Sima Yi. Over time, although they were different in seniority, the relationship between the two became very close.
few.
Xia Houxuan thought for a while and then said: "Sima Yi may show some mercy. When Sima Yi passes away, it will be hard to say what will happen next." He paused and said, "In addition, Wang Ling of Yangzhou has raised an army."
My uncle was far away from Longyou, so the news might be slower. A look of surprise suddenly appeared on his broad face. It was obvious that he had just heard about it from Xia Houxuan.
Xia Houxuan frowned and said, "Deng Ai has already gone to Luoyang, does your uncle not know?"
The uncle said: "Deng Ai didn't report to me!"
Xia Houxuan just nodded calmly.
In the land of Yongliang, although he is the largest governor of Yongliang, and his uncle Xiahou Ba is the second-ranked general; but many generals here are people promoted by Sima Yi and Guo Huai. This kind of thing happens from time to time
, just like Deng Ai left office without saying hello.
Especially Xia Houxuan, who had never served as an official in Yongliang before. Cao Shuang transferred him and directly became the governor of Yongliang. There are so many civil and military officials in the two states that he has not even recognized them yet. Xiahou Ba
He had fought in the west and served as an official before, but he had only been in charge of Longyou for two years, also because of Cao Shuang's promotion.
The uncle came back to his senses and asked again: "How long has it been? It will take a few days for the news to be transmitted. The thing is that the Luoyang army was only a few days old, and Wang Yanyun went straight to raise an army?"
Xia Houxuan glanced at him and said, "Yes."
The uncle was immediately ready to make a move, but in the Yongliang area, it would be difficult to accomplish anything big if he didn’t bring Guo Huai along with him. It wouldn’t be possible to kill Guo Huai, but after finishing dealing with his gang, I don’t know how many more people would be needed.
long time.
Sure enough, my uncle hinted in a low voice: "Guo Huai and I have a rift, but he is Wang Ling's brother-in-law."
Xia Houxuan was noncommittal and said calmly: "Uncle, do you think Wang Yanyun can do it?"
Uncle Tang said: "If we don't take action now, we will have no chance in the future."
At this moment, Xia Houxuan's slave came into the hall. Xia Houxuan turned around and shouted: "This way."
The servant came in and said, "The messenger from Yangzhou wants to see the general."
Xia Houxuan and his uncle looked at each other and said, "Please."
After a while, the messenger was brought into the room. After greeting the two generals present, the messenger presented a bamboo tube sealed with clay. Xia Houxuan looked at the slave and said, "Open it."
The slave took out a silk book and a letter in a paper envelope.
When Xia Houxuan read the silk book, his expression suddenly changed and he said in surprise: "Her Royal Highness the Empress Dowager's edict!"
The two then put the silk book on the wooden table and bowed down together in front of the messenger. The uncle acted quickly and took the silk book with both hands first, while Xia Houxuan could only read the letter first.
Xia Houxuan was surprised when he saw the edict just now. Now when he saw this letter written by Qin Zhongming, his face became even more ugly, turning blue and white suddenly.
Qin Zhongming wrote in the letter that Sima Shi killed his first wife Xia Houhui!
There are other reasons. First, Sima Shi’s second wife, Wu, was divorced as soon as he entered the house. Sima Shi’s desire to marry the Yang family was not the main reason, because even so, there was no need to divorce his wife in just a few days; the main reason was that Sima Shi wanted to marry the Yang family.
The reason was that as soon as Wu arrived at Sima's house, he inquired about the cause of Xia Houhui's death.
Secondly, Xiahou Hui’s public cause of death was contracted from the plague. The letter asked Xiahou Xuan to think again. Apart from Xiahou Hui who died of the plague, who else died in the Sima family? Plague is contagious, and people who are infected often have their entire family.
Death, or only a few people survived, but only a young man, Xia Houhui, died in the Sima family, which is very strange.
Third, Qin Zhongming claimed that while he was doing school affairs, he recruited a spy from Sima's family; the spy revealed the secret and said that Master Sima poisoned his wife.
The last reason cannot be proven, but the previous reason is clear, and Xia Houxuan suddenly feels that it makes sense!
At this time, the messenger said: "General Qin admires General Xiahou's talents very much. General Xiahou's views on the law of the ninth grade are very unique..."
Xia Houxuan felt a little dizzy, waved his hand and said: "You settle down and rest first, and we will meet again later."
The servant immediately said: "Guest, please."
The messenger could only bow and say: "I am waiting quietly for the general's summons."
Upon seeing this, his uncle put down the edict and reached out to take the letter.
Xia Houxuan's expression was very strange, he seemed to be crying but not smiling, "My sister is completely devoted to Master Sima. As long as I say something bad about Master Sima, she will argue with me." He gradually began to lose control of his emotions and said in a trembling voice, "I and I
We don’t have a good relationship with Master Sima, maybe it’s because of the marriage. I’m jealous of Master Sima! My sister is so kind to him, a hundred times better than her own brothers.”
It felt like a very rare jade bowl that I had, but someone else took it to hold dog food and accidentally dropped it! It was even worse than that, because no matter what item it is, it cannot be compared with a loved one.
After looking at it, my uncle asked, "Is this true?"
Xia Houxuan shook his head and said: "I want to look into Master Sima's eyes and confront him!"
But he actually believed it seventy-eight percent, otherwise he wouldn't have reacted like this.
In addition to the reason Qin Zhongming said is reasonable, there is another most important point. How could Qin Zhongming, an almost irrelevant outsider, know these things? If it was groundless, how could Qin Zhongming suddenly think of those old things?
There must be someone from the Sima family who leaked the secret, and there must be traces to follow so that outsiders can detect it!
"Master Sima! You are going to die a good death!" Xia Houxuan was walking around on the ground, completely intoxicated, which made him, a famous scholar, curse him with curse words.
Xia Houxuan suddenly said: "There happens to be an edict from His Highness here, and my uncle also wants to fight?"
Uncle Xiahou Ba was stunned for a moment and said calmly: "Try to convince Guo Huai first."
Xia Houxuan took a deep breath and finally calmed down. Then he suddenly saw Sima Yi's letter on the desk, and he spat on it with a "poof" sound.
Xia Houxuan was originally a temperamental person, with clear love and hate. Then he remembered that he had kept in correspondence with Sima Yi in the past few years, and continued to get along with each other as relatives by marriage. He also persuaded Cao Shuang several times about Sima Yi. Xia Houxuan
Suddenly I felt a churn in my stomach.
...Although Guo Huai is the governor of Yongzhou and ranks below Xiahou Xuan, he receives more attention. It is estimated that Sima Yi, Wang Ling, Qin Liang and others all know that Guo Huai has been serving as an official in the west, and his local connections are not
Xiahou Xuan can compare.
Not only did Guo Huai receive edicts and letters, but his wife Wang also received more than one letter.
Wang Ling's letter was written to Guo Huai, and it was natural that Xiao asked him to join in the big event out of his great righteousness and affection. But the letter to Guo Huai's wife, Wang, was written by two juniors, Qin Liang and Wang Lingjun.
When Qin Zhongming was in Chang'an, he seemed to get along well with his maternal aunt. In his letters, he reminisced about old times and even mentioned such trivial details as the bamboo forest in his hometown in Qixian County. The seemingly irrelevant content should actually show that he valued his maternal aunt.
I also remember the details of the small talk.
At that time, Guo Huai did not want Qin Liang to talk nonsense when he went back, so he specially asked his wife to persuade Qin Liang. Since Wang wanted to ask for help from others, he would naturally be more attentive to Qin Liang, so the two of them got along well.
Now that the situation was reversed, Qin Liang wanted Wang to persuade Guo Huai, so he was very flattering in his letter.
As expected, the Wang family came to persuade Guo Huai to raise troops to help the Wang family, because even the in-laws were involved in such a matter.
However, Guo Huai considered that he and Sima Yi had conspired on some secret matters, and Sima Yi should still trust him. It seems that the relationship is inseparable, and it seems that it has not reached that point.
The main doubt, Guo Huai also made clear to his wife: "Wang Yanyun won Zhongda?"
Wang said: "Second brother is also a man who is good at conquering and fighting."
Guo Huai shook his head and said: "My uncle is old! I just got the news that the military power of Yangzhou's elite soldiers is actually in the hands of Qin Zhongming. Is my uncle confused?"
Wang's expression was a little strange and asked: "Isn't Qin Zhongming a good military planner? He also made great contributions in Qinchuan."
Guo Huai said: "How can leading a few hundred men be compared with commanding tens of thousands? Qin Zhongming was only in his twenties. When had he ever led so many soldiers or fought in a big battle? You are a woman and you don't understand this.
the difference."
Wang's face turned pale and he said: "If the second brother fails, his clan will be exterminated, and I will also be killed."
Guo Huai said: "Then there is no need for us to die with my uncle and the others! We have to think about our children."
Wang's body suddenly went limp, and she knelt down at the banquet without any emotion. Suddenly, there was a hint of luck in her eyes, "Second brother, they raised the army very quickly, do they really have no chance?"
Guo Huai said with a complex expression: "No one has defeated Sima Zhongda on the battlefield. Zhuge Kongming, who can defeat him, is already dead. It's obvious, why bother sending his body?"
Wang choked and said: "Qin Zhongming is not among the three clans, and he also helped our Wang family."
Guo Huai said: "Qin Zhongming is different. He is like a son-in-law of the Wang family. Only the Wang family follows suit. No, whenever something happens to the Wang family, he rushes to the front for fear that he will not die quickly enough."
Wang finally became completely unreasonable and cried to herself: "For the sake of our family, please help the Wang family once."
The woman was like this, and the logic didn't make sense. Guo Huai said without hesitation: "The outcome is clear at a glance! We don't think about ourselves, we also have to think about a few children. After you go, at least there will be people to sacrifice."