The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

The soldiers and guards arranged by Sima Shao and Sima Pei were busy in and out of the hall. Not long after, a plate of horse meat and a jar of wine were placed on the memorial table in front of Sima Rui and on the tables of the civil and military ministers below. There are also several plates of Jiangnan dishes and several kinds of red and green fruits. The soldiers and guards retreated one after another, and then ten maids came in. The maids all wore Hanfu cheongsam and looked handsome. One of the leading maids came to the bottom of the steps and saluted Sima Rui. Sima Rui smiled and nodded. The maid went up to fill Sima Rui's wine and then stood aside. The nine maids below also poured wine for the civil and military ministers.

Zhou Fu replaced his father and sat in a seat closer to Sima Rui.

Many of the civil and military ministers had never eaten horse meat. Looking at the cooked horse meat cut in front of them, some were already salivating and eager to try it. However, Sima Rui had not spoken yet and was too embarrassed to use his chopsticks. Sima Rui could see clearly from above, so he picked up the wine bottle and said:

"My dear friends, since the journey to the south, the people in the prefectures, counties and counties have been in great poverty. General Zhou Fang defeated Du Zeng's servant and asked General Zhou Fu to send cooked horse meat. Some dear friends have given up drinking for several years out of love for their family and country, which is really commendable. Today I celebrate with all of you, dear friends, don’t have any scruples, just eat horse meat and drink fine wine as you like!"

"Dear friends, let us raise a toast together! Drink to your heart’s content!"Sima Rui stood up and raised the wine bottle. The civil and military ministers below also quickly stood up and raised the wine bottle. Everyone drank it all in one gulp. Sima Rui sat down, and the civil and military ministers also sat down one after another and began to pick up the food.

"At present, the country is still in troubled times, the country is divided and the people are displaced. Dear friends, if you have any opinions on state affairs, feel free to speak them out. Tell me everything you know, and tell me everything you know."Sima Rui put down the wine bottle and said, and the maid refilled the wine. Diao Xie said:"For ordinary people, no one likes war and killing. But for those who are greedy for profit, there are two things to say. Such as Shi Le, such as Du Zeng, and so on. The more people like Shi Le and Du Zeng, the less peaceful the world will be. The more pillars of the country like Liu Kun, Zu Ti, Zhou Fang, and Tao Kan, the stronger our ability to safeguard the country will be. In fact, Du Tao, Wu Yi, Du Zeng and others were originally subordinates of the imperial court. The more people like this, the more chaotic the country will be. Director Wang, who was sitting in front, glanced at Diao Xie, as if he was not very satisfied with Diao Xie's words, but did not speak. Dai Yuan said:"

The higher the position, the greater the power, and the manpower, material and financial resources that can be deployed in your hands." The more. Such people often have great ambitions"

"Lord Dai is right. Liu Wei put down his wine bottle and said,"What a pity that the powerful General Wang Dun is not here today!""

"As state officials and feudal princes, state pastors and governors have great responsibilities. If such an important minister collects tribute from himself and fails to pay money and food to the court, it will definitely lay the foundation for the country's unrest."After Yu Liang finished speaking, he took a sip of wine, and then looked around at the civil and military ministers present. At this time, Wen Qiao stood up and said,"I have been staying in Jiankang for several months with the letter of persuasion from Liu Kun and others. Your Excellencies, it is hard to refuse your kindness, and I strongly urge you to stay here. I can only make peace with you as I come, and do my best to stabilize the country. The civil and military ministers are all important dependants of the imperial court. Only when the civil and military ministers work together can the country achieve long-term peace and stability. After listening to Wen Qiao's eloquent remarks, many civil and military ministers nodded in agreement. Wen Qiao raised his wine bottle and said:"

My lords, let us raise a toast together and wish our country prosperity!""

Looking at the civil and military ministers below who were pushing cups and changing cups, Sima Rui nodded frequently. At this time, someone from below whispered:"We are ministers of the Sima family, eating dead horse meat.

Another person said:"Pork, beef, horse meat, which one is not killed?""

When the celebration banquet was coming to an end, Fei Ren said loudly:"My lords, there is still some leftover cooked horse meat brought by General Zhou Fu. When everyone leaves, go to the imperial kitchen to receive two pieces of cooked horse meat. Go back home and let your family members taste this rare delicacy."

The civil and military ministers all stood up, bowed their hands and saluted Sima Rui in farewell. Fei Ren helped Sima Rui and walked out of the side door first. The civil and military ministers whispered to each other in twos and threes, some nodded, some laughed, and then left the hall one after another. Sima Rui Shao and Sima Pei followed the ministers and prepared to return to their mansions. They saw Fei Ren calling out to the brothers from above:"Please invite His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness King Langya to the imperial study!""

The brothers came to the imperial study room, where Sima Rui was waiting. Seeing their father, Sima Shao and Sima Su came forward and knelt down to salute. Sima Rui said:"Daoji and Daocheng, sit down!"

There is no Fei Ren in the imperial study, and there are no maids. There are only three Sima Rui and his son. There are three cups of tea on the desk. Sima Rui first asked Sima Shao:"Daoji, Murong Xin's envoy Wang Ji is here to persuade my father to enter." What do you think about succeeding as emperor? Why did he do this?! Sima

Shao said:"My thoughts are the same as those of my father. No matter who persuades me to join, I cannot accept it immediately." There is no news of Emperor Min at the moment, and eagerness to proclaim himself emperor will easily lead to disputes. As for Murong Xuan's intentions and intentions, I think that as the leader of the Xianbei Murong Tribe, he had already planned to start a new business. It's just that the situation in the world is unclear now, so retreat is the way to advance. While he was pretending to persuade his father to join him, he was hoarding grass and grain in the north and acting according to the opportunity."

After listening to Sima Shao's opinion, Sima Rui smiled and nodded, and then asked Sima Pei:"Daocheng, you led nine troops and 30,000 soldiers to the north to assist General Zu Ti in his northern expedition to Shile. He was killed by his father in just three months. Wang recalled, do you know why?!"

"Please make it clear to me, father. My son, I still can’t figure it out."Sima Pei said a little shyly. Sima Rui said:"The world is in chaos now, and it has been ten years since my father and you crossed south. On the surface, his father has more than a hundred servants, but in fact, some of them obey his father's orders, and some seem to be submissive, but privately they are preparing for rebellion."

"Did father mean Wang Dun and Wang Han? Sima Shao interjected. Sima Rui smiled bitterly and said,"This Wang Dun is the son-in-law of Emperor Wu Sima Yan. He has lived through the four dynasties of Emperor Wu, Emperor Hui, Emperor Huai and Emperor Min. He can be said to be the elder of the four dynasties." Although they are over fifty years old, according to my father's observation, in the past few years, Wang Dun, Wang Han and their nephews often plotted in private."

"Are there any obvious signs and evidence for what my father said? Sima Pei asked. Sima Rui said:"This Wang Han seems to support the Northern Expedition of Zu Ti, the governor of Yuzhou, and there is no obvious sign of rebellion." The most important thing is Wang Dun. Over the years, taxes and taxes under his rule have never been handed over to the court, and he rarely obeyed his father's edicts. As a result, the court's food and salary fell a lot. However, the father did not dare to say too much. This title of King of Jin, if it were not for the support of Wang Dao, Wang Dun and other Langya Wang clan, it would be difficult to establish himself as king and hegemon in Jiangzuo."