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

"Brother Wang, let’s form a big circle while walking up the mountain. Whoever spots the prey, just shout a few times and we will hunt down the prey together, how about it?"Sima Pei said

"This is a good idea!"Sima Shao said. The two brothers and dozens of guards took off their bows and nocked arrows, forming a circle with the opening facing the top of the mountain. As they walked, a guard shouted:"There is a sign here. , everyone, look!"

Hearing the shout, everyone gathered around. There were three vague words on the one-foot-wide and two-foot-high wooden sign. Sima Shao walked to the sign and took a closer look. There were three words on the sign. It was"Sun Linggang". Sima Shao looked east and saw a large mound. He suddenly realized and said:"This is the tomb of Sun Quan, the tomb of the Eastern Wu Emperor."

To the south of Sun Quan's tomb, there is a somewhat shabby offering table, with some withered fruits, snacks and other offerings on it. Sima Pei shook his head and sighed and said:"The Emperor of Soochow, who had dominated Jiangdong for decades, has long since It has turned into a pile of loess!"

"Now that you are here, let’s salute the Emperor of Soochow!"After Sima Shao finished speaking, he stood on the south side of the offering table and bowed to Sun Quan's tomb. Sima Pei then also bowed.

Dozens of guards laughed when they saw the brothers bowing to Sun Quan's tomb. Some guards sat on the ground, Some guards were plucking flowers and plants in the woods, and some also ran around Sun Quan's tomb to look at this and that. Sima Shao couldn't help but sigh:"Why do people live in this world? What do they want to do?" Fighting and killing?!"

After listening to Sima Shao's words, dozens of people at the scene fell into deep thought. After a while, Sima Pei said:"In this tomb of Sun Quan, his two wives, Bu and Pan, should be buried. Sun Quan's eldest son, Sun Deng, Prince Xuanming, should also be buried in Sunlinggang. The tyrant Sun Hao, after Soochow was conquered by Emperor Wu, finally died of illness in Luoyang and was buried in Beimang Mountain."

Hearing what Sima Pei said, dozens of people stood up and searched south of Sun Quan's tomb. Sure enough, they found several small mounds of earth. Sima Shao stepped forward to take a look. Dozens of people left Sunlinggang and came back. Start looking for prey. After walking a little further up the mountain, a guard whispered:"There are several wild boars ahead, two big ones and five small ones."

Sima Shao looked forward and saw that it was indeed a group of wild boars, so he motioned for everyone to surround the wild boars. Everyone had bows and arrows in their hands, and they did not dare to draw their breath, for fear of alarming the wild boars. When they were still twenty or thirty steps away from the wild boars, , Sima Shao gave the order"shoot arrows!""

The wild boars also heard the noise and ran around immediately. They were helplessly surrounded by dozens of people holding bows and arrows, running around, and in the end they were all shot to death. Looking at the wild boars lying on the ground, each wild boar had a body There were several arrows stuck in them, blood was everywhere, and some wild boars were still twitching. Brothers Sima Shao and Sima Pei looked at the prey on the ground and laughed.

"Everyone put the wild boar on the horse, tied it with a rope, and headed home!"Sima Shao ordered. The guards released the wild boar on the horseback, and the two brothers were talking on the side. Sima Pei said:"I don't know what the big wild boar thought when the wild boar in this family was shot to death, and what happened to the little wild boar. think? Was it painful when you were shot and before you died?"

"Die, die, die as soon as possible! One death and a hundred deaths! Sima Shao said:"This world is very realistic. If we don't hunt, there will be no prey to eat." In order for people to live well for themselves, sometimes they have to kill. Not only do they kill animals, but sometimes they also kill people."

After Sima Shao finished speaking, the two brothers looked at each other and then laughed loudly.

The guards put the prey on their horses and tied them up, and dozens of people began to go down the mountain. Sima Pei said to his guards:"You go back to your house first. , leave the prey to the cooks in the kitchen"

"OK!"The guards of Sima Pei and Sima Shao hurried back. The brothers were not in a hurry to go back. They rode back slowly on their horses. Sima Shao said:"These wild boars can kill hundreds of kilograms of wild boar at least. , as well as pig offal such as pig head, pig liver, pig heart, pig intestine and so on. When the cooks finished cooking, we kept a small portion, and I immediately sent someone to send most of the rest to my father so that he could give it to the civil and military ministers to taste."

"Brother Wang, this is a very good idea!"Sima Shao praised. Sima Pei thought for a while and then said:"It's just the two of us eating wild boar and drinking. Isn't it a bit deserted?"

"Then who else should we invite over? Sima Shao asked. Sima Pei hesitated and said,"How about inviting Sima Yi, King of Xiyang, and Sima Zong, King of Nanton?""

"These two princes? King Xiyang and King Nanton are our father’s uncles, and they are our grandfathers!"Sima Shao laughed. Sima Pei also laughed:"The two grandpas are brothers, and we are also brothers. We are both from the same mother and descendants of Emperor Xuan. Isn't it very meaningful to get together and drink together? Something?!"

"It's the same logic. Let's hurry up. I'll send someone to invite the two Grandpa Wangs as soon as we get back!"Sima Pei said. Sima Shao nodded, and the two of them hurried back.

"His Royal Highness, His Royal Highness King Langya is back?"At the gate of Prince Langya's Mansion, there were already several guards waiting. Sima Shao and Sima Pei dismounted, and the two guards took the reins of the horses. The brothers came to the spacious living room, where the attendants and maids were placing the cooked dishes.

"Go to my study immediately, take my invitation, go to Xiyang Prince's Mansion and Nanton Prince's Mansion, and invite the two grandpas to have a banquet!"Sima Pei said to the two attendants.

There are two rows of coffee tables and seats on the left and right sides of the living room, each row has six coffee tables. In the middle of the steps to the north is the seat of the master, Sima Pei. Sima Pei said to Sima Shao :"Brother Wang, the two grandpas are coming soon. Let's pick them up at the door of the house!"

Sima Shao nodded, and the two brothers came out and arrived at the gate of Prince Langya's Mansion. Just as two carriages, one in front and one behind, came to the door and stopped. The curtains on the two carriages were lifted up, and Sima Yi and Sima Zong came down one after another.. Behind the two people, there were two servants holding gifts each. Sima Shao and Sima Pei smiled with their faces and bowed their hands. Sima Yi and Sima Zong said together:"I have met His Highness the Crown Prince, and I have met His Highness King Langya!"

"The two grandpas have ruined the younger generation, and we don’t dare to take it! Invite the two Grandpa Wangs to take a seat in the living room!"The Sima Shao brothers bowed their hands and saluted, acting very politely.

"King Xiyang is the eldest, please take a seat!"Sima Pei said. Sima Shao also advised Sima Yi to sit on the main seat above. Sima Yi said:"One of the two princes is the master and the other is the prince. They are both more noble than us. How dare I sit on the main seat without knowing the etiquette."

After a moment of humility, Sima Shao said:"Otherwise, we won't be sitting in the main seat today. The two grandpas sat at the guest table in the east, and my two brothers sat at the guest table in the west."