Chapter 63 Zhongshan Wolf 1

PS: I've been really busy with the inspection in the past few days. I'm sorry that I didn't update it yesterday. I'm sorry.

It has entered May, which is the midsummer season, but the heat is not strong. After sunset, there is a cool breeze in the air, which is extremely comfortable.

However, at this moment, Sima Xi was not so idle. He was looking at the swaying curtain on the window of the car, and his body trembled slightly with the sound of the wheels. He looked thoughtful, so that the carriage stopped halfway before he came to his senses.

"Lord, I'm home." Meng Shi's respectful voice came from outside the car.

Sima Xi stretched out his sore arm and stretched out his long waist. The busy business all day made him dizzy, even though he was self-aware and had a feeling of incompetence.

Although Zhongshan is a small country, as a prime minister, he wants to assist the king and subordinate ministers. Moreover, he is cautious and careful, and he refuses to let go of his subordinates to do everything. He is afraid that his negligence will be taken advantage of and pose a threat to his power. In this way, he, a small country, is much busier than Feiyi. These days, the military situation is even more hot. He, a prime minister, not only has to accompany the King of Zhongshan, but also spends a lot of energy to deal with all kinds of government affairs. Naturally, he is exhausted.

Thinking of this, Sima Xi couldn't help sighing secretly. Twenty years have passed in a blink of an eye. He has changed from the energetic young man in those years to the old man now. Although he is less than fifty, his hair is half white.

At this time, it was almost late at night. After Sima Xi went back, he did not rest, but quietly in the study, with his eyebrows locked, as if he was thinking about the problem.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the door, and then a gentle knock on the door sounded.

Sima Xi wrinkled. He didn't like to be disturbed when thinking about problems, so he said with an unhappy face; "Who?"

"Lord, it's me."

Sima Xi had heard that it was Meng Shi, and his face was slightly relieved. He said calmly, "Come in."

"No."

The door was gently pushed open. Meng Shi came in carefully with a bowl of soup in his hand and put it on the table in front of Sima Xi. Then he took a step back and said respectfully, "Lord, this is your favorite sparrow soup. Baili daily dining room has collected fresh sparrow tongues, but you are not in the house, so you have kept them all the time. It's late at night now, and you don't have any appetite for dinner, so the villain ordered the dining room to make this soup.

Sima Xi's face showed a look of interest. He gently removed the lid of the bowl and saw the fragrance fluttering, which made people move his fingers. I couldn't help taking the spoon in the mouth. I didn't taste it a few times, but I was not interested at all. I put down the spoon and just stirred it boringly in the bowl.

Meng Shi asked with a frightened face: "What's the matter, Lord, but the taste is not right? It must be the cook in the dining room who is lazy. I'll punish them and make them do it again.

"No need." Sima Xi stopped him, looked a little sad, and sighed, "There is nothing wrong with the taste. It's still delicious, but I didn't have the original intention."

Sparrow stone soup is a famous delicacy in Zhongshan. It is very tedious to make. It is made by finch catchers in the wild. Each wild finch only takes the delicate part of the tip of its tongue, so it takes as many as there are hundreds of sparrows to make up the ingredients used in a bowl of soup. Therefore, it is very rare. Each bowl is comparable to gold, and only the high-ranking officials are qualified to eat it. When Sima Xishang was a poor man, he was lucky to taste this soup and sighed, thinking that it was delicious in the world. However, with the gradual rise and weight, such rare food has become common for him. As long as he signs a little, the servants will be impatient to make it for him. Over time, it will be less the original mood. The taste is still delicious, but less satisfying.

Sima Xi couldn't help sighing and muttered to himself, "It's nothing more than that. It's boring. It's like the chicken ribs. It's tasteless to eat, but it's not willing to give up.

Meng Shi, who was beside him, whispered with a smile and said, "The Lord is now an extreme minister. Above ten thousand people under Zhongshan, he will naturally not be rare. If he were a villain, he would not ask for it, and it would be extremely precious."

Sima Xi smiled and said, "It is exactly this truth. If you are poor, you will think of the rich, if you are cheap, you will think of noble, and when you are reckless, you will think high above the temple. When you really get what you want, you feel boring. This is what the sages said about human nature."

"Okay, you go down first. I want to be alone."

"No." Meng Shi bowed and answered, but his face showed hesitation and did not leave for a long time.

"What's the matter, but what's the matter?" Sima Xi saw that he had an expression of wanting to speak and stopped. Knowing that he had something to say, he put down the bamboo slip in his hand and asked.

Meng Shi hesitated for a while, but still whispered, "Lord, I heard rumors in the square that my army lost the battle. Now that the south gate of Zhongshan is open, and the army of the State of Zhao has been **. In a few days, the front of the Zhao army will kill under Lingshou City. These rumors are circulating among the people. I'm worried that there will be turmoil if it goes on like this, so you should report it to the Lord first. It's better to take action to eliminate these rumors.

Sima Xi said calmly, "In fact, these are not rumors, but they are true. And the matter is far from this. Shiyi and the city have surrendered to the State of Zhao. Now Master Zhao is leading the army to go straight to Lingshou. I'm afraid that the vanguard will arrive tomorrow.

"What!" Meng Shi looked shocked and his face was full of horror. Although he is Sima Xi's confidant who has been serving for more than 20 years, he has never asked about military affairs, so this terrible news has been confirmed by Sima Xi's mouth, which is really surprising.

You should know that once Shiyi and Yingcheng are lost, the southern line of defense of Zhongshan has disappeared. Although it is supported by the Great Wall in the west, it cannot prevent the army of the State of Zhao from rushing in from the south. If the Zhao army kills it lightly, it can cut off Lingshou's contact with other places, leaving Lingshou in isolation, and Zhao's army can attack the city with all its strength. Therefore, even if Meng Shi didn't know much about the military, he knew the seriousness of the situation, so he looked surprised.

"In this way, our Zhongshan country is in danger!"

"Exact" Sima Xi nodded, and his face was surprisingly calm, which made people unable to see what he was thinking.

Meng Shi looked surprised and asked, "Why is the Lord so indifferent?"

Sima Xi showed a sneer at the corners of his mouth and asked, "Then what do you think I should do? Should I look like I'm in despair?"

Meng Shi was stunned and was speechless when he was asked by Sima Xi. After a while, he said, "Lord, don't you think you should consider a way out for yourself?"

Sima Xi suddenly sank his face and said coldly, "Meng Shi, don't you think you have asked too many questions today?"

"You have been following me for many years. You have always been humble and cautious. You never ask yourself what you shouldn't ask. You just try your best to do what I ordered. Why is it abnormal now?"

Meng Shi took a step back and took a deep breath and said, "Lord, do you remember how many years Meng Shi has been with you?"

Sima Xi said hesitantly, "It's been more than 20 years."

"It's exactly 21 years and 224 days." Meng Shi bent down and said softly.

"It snowed for a whole winter that year, and there was only a vast white color between heaven and earth. I was so hungry that even the voles in the field ate clean. My whole family didn't survive the snowstorm. Only I climbed to the roadside with one breath and looked at the carriages and passers-by passing by the post road from time to time, but no one was willing to stop and offer even a little help. Only the Lord is willing to stop and get off the horse, help me close to the post station, and share the few dough cakes in the bag with me. With your help, I, Meng Shi, survived. From then on, I have made up my mind that I will only recognize you as a master in this life. I will be a cow and a horse for you all my life to repay your life.

Sima Xi's face moved slightly, meditated for a long time and said slowly, "Yes, it's been 21 years in a blink of an eye. At that time, I was only 24 years old. I came to Zhongshan with ambition to show my strengths, but now I'm almost the age of knowing my destiny.

Meng Shi smiled bitterly and said, "Who said no? Lord, you are as old as you are. You can't accept it. In the past 21 years, I have never asked 'why' about what you told me, and I have never doubted any decision you have made. However, I have tried my best to do what you tell me, and I have never asked the reason. Because you gave me my life, and you are so smart, what you think and do naturally makes sense, so I don't need to think too much, as long as I do it honestly.

"But now I really don't understand. Lord, what do you think? Haven't you considered your own way out? Everyone can see that there is only one way to die if you go on like this. Haven't you thought about this? That's why I can't help asking you, because I'm really worried that you can't retreat and come to a bleak end.