Chapter 49: Tacit Understanding (Seeking Follow-up Reading) "Your Majesty dislikes vanity?" Sima Fu sat in the study room, motionless and thoughtful. Seeing this, Sima Yi also walked back to the desk and read the book on the desk. "Knock, knock, knock." Someone knocked loudly on the study door. Sima Fu, who was deep in thought, was startled, staring at the door with wide eyes, and began to feel inexplicably nervous. Sima Yi and Sima Fu were discussing the late emperor and His Majesty in the study just now. Could it be that the School Office had ears through the wall and found this place? Sima Yi glanced at his frightened brother and waved his hand: "Don't be frightened, Shuda. This is my home. The school officials don't have the courage to come to my house as the recorder of the Shangshu." A few moments later, the person outside pushed open the door of the study without waiting for Sima Yi to speak, and walked in with one foot deep and one foot shallow. The two men looked up and saw that the person coming was Jiang Ji and Jiang Zitong. Jiang Ji came in and said with a smile: "Zhongda, you two brothers are planning something great in the study. I heard it at the door!" Sima Fu was not very familiar with Jiang Ji. After hearing Jiang Ji's words, his heart, which had just calmed down a little, started beating again.
Sima Yi was obviously familiar with Jiang Ji's sharp tongue. He raised his chin in the direction of Sima Fu and said, "It just so happens that Zi Tong is here. Tell Shuda why the current emperor hates vanity." Jiang Ji sat down without any hesitation, as if he were at home: "What is there to say? If you dislike it, then dislike it. Shuda, why don't you just be a regular attendant of the imperial guards? Or do you think this position is not high enough? Many people envy it." Sima Yi heard this and said, "I was discussing the affairs of the court with Shuda. Since you know about it, please tell Shuda about it. I have some official documents to read." Jiang Ji stretched his legs and said, "It's good to be born into a noble family. I don't have a brother who is the recorder of the Shangshu affairs." Sima Fu stood up upon hearing this and said angrily, "Jiang Zitong, how dare you insult me!" Jiang Ji was just a bad-mouthed person and didn't want to make enemies. Seeing that Sima Fu was obviously angry, he quickly stood up and bowed: "Shuda, don't be angry. Your brother and I have both been in charge of elections. We have long been aware of the matter of vanity with the master. It doesn't matter whether Shuda knows or not. Since Zhongda has ordered me to do so, I will try to explain it." Seeing that Jiang Ji was apologizing and wanted to explain, Sima Fu sat down and stared at Jiang Ji's face. Jiang Ji cleared his throat and said slowly: "Shuda, do you know where the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty came from?" Sima Fu said: "Of course it is the Yellow Turbans and Dong Zhuo." Jiang Ji snorted: "They are called the Yellow Turbans and Dong Zhuo, but in reality they are the party members who are causing chaos in the world." After hearing what Jiang Ji said, Sima Fu actually nodded. This is not difficult to understand. During the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling of the late Han Dynasty, scholars admired and praised each other for their reputation and integrity, and praised each other to form cliques. The court at that time could not stop the phenomenon of scholars flattering and forming cliques to control elections, so Emperor Huan launched the Party Imprisonment Disaster. In short, the Party and Factions Disaster was the prohibition of some scholars from holding official positions, which forcibly interrupted the process of the gentry's struggle for rights. Why do we say that it was the party members who brought chaos to the world? Although the great general He Jin was chopped off by the eunuchs in the palace, as the leader of the party, could you, Yuan Shao, take advantage of the chaos to lead troops into the palace? It is not really a slander to say that Yuan Shao opened the door to chaos in the world. What’s funny is that the person who ordered the redress of the Party and Faction Persecution was none other than Dong Zhuo, who was being attacked by the coalition forces led by Yuan Shao. Sima Fu asked, "Is it because Your Majesty is not loyal to the party members, and most of the party members are frivolous?" Jiang Ji thought for a moment and said, "There is indeed some connection. After Emperor Wu came to power, he felt that scholars were seeking fame and disrupting politics. He issued three edicts to seek talents, selecting talents based on their ability to govern the country instead of their virtues." "The three edicts seeking talents were issued in the 15th, 19th and 23rd years of Jian'an respectively. From 'only talents are selected', to 'people who are ambitious may not be able to achieve success', and then to 'someone who is not benevolent or filial may have the skills to govern the country and command the army', the change in Emperor Wu's attitude was obvious." Emperor Wu naturally refers to Cao Cao. Jiang Ji put his hands on his hips and looked at Sima Fu: "Emperor Wu did not just talk about it. In fact, Cui Yan, Mao Jie, Chen Qun, and Zhong Yao successively presided over the election, and they all chose people with talent. And Cui Yan, Mao Jie, Chen Qun, Zhong Yao and other people mostly supported the previous emperor."
"This has led to a very obvious phenomenon: Cui Yan, Mao Jie, Chen Qun, Zhong Yao and others who were friendly to the previous emperor, all chose loyal, far-sighted and practical people during their time in power, that is, the so-called people of achievement." "Shuda, don't forget that the late emperor was competing with Yongqiu Prince Cao Zhi for the throne. After these people were selected, the remaining incompetent people who valued fame over substance and false reputation, or what your brother called the flashy people, naturally gathered around Yongqiu Prince Cao Zhi." Sima Fu suddenly realized: "So that's it! Why didn't I think of it before!" "Zi Tong, if we look at it in terms of the two factions of meritocracy and vanity, the important officials of the previous emperor's dynasty, from Zhong Yao, Chen Qun and my brother, to the ministers Liu Ye and Xin Pi, as well as many officials in the court and the local areas, are all meritocracy!" Jiang Ji walked slowly to Sima Yi's desk, picked up the best brush on the pen holder and examined it: "That's right." Sima Fu shook his head and said, "It turns out that Wei Feng, who caused chaos in Yecheng in the past, was a member of the Fuhua faction. I was almost implicated that day, but it was thanks to my brother who saved me. Is the current emperor going to include me in the Fuhua faction? Fortunately, he did not punish me severely." Jiang Ji sneered and said, "Shuda, you should really thank your brother. Last time and this time, it was mostly because of your brother's face. But the late emperor killed Wei Feng in order to establish his authority. One more or one less will not make much difference." Seeing that Sima Fu's doubts had been answered, Jiang Ji looked at Sima Yi who was sitting behind the desk reviewing documents. Sima Yi did not even raise his head when the two were talking, as if the conversation had nothing to do with him. Jiang Ji said: "Zhongda, people outside say you are going to be crowned king!" Even Sima Yi, who prided himself on his talent, felt uncomfortable when he heard such a statement that put people on the spot: "Zi Tong, how can you say such things? Who spread it?" Jiang Ji replied: "Who spread it? How would I know? Anyway, it has spread all over Luoyang." "People outside say that your majesty uses Dongwu as a reward in order to make you ministers devote yourself to his work, saying that Cao Xiu can get the first merit, and you Sima Zhongda, Cao Zhen, and Chen Qun, the three of you can also get the title of king." "Zhongda, if you become a king in the future, please don't be ashamed to be associated with us as Han Xin did when he saw Fan Kuai." Sima Yi looked up at Jiang Ji's face and laughed: "Zitong, Zitong, you are really good at talking." Jiang Ji didn't laugh, his expression gradually became serious: "I, Jiang Ji, am not a man who only knows how to talk, but I really don't understand how Your Majesty is going to defeat Wu within ten years." Sima Yi also calmed down after hearing this: "Your Majesty, attacking Wu is much simpler than attacking Shu. All we need to do is train the navy, store food and increase the army." “If you have ten years of hard work, you can accomplish anything.” Jiang Ji asked in doubt: "Navy, food, and troops, which one doesn't take several years? How can it be successful so quickly?" Sima Yi nodded: "That's why your majesty wants to increase the combat power of the border troops. This is the best option in the short term. I really don't know who came up with this idea for your majesty." There is another chapter, which will be released at the same time~ (End of this chapter)