Chapter 516 - 516: The True Artifact of Master Sima Yi! A Real Recluse! (1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Is this ‘The Art of War in Twelve Strategies’ , genuinely written by Zhuge Liang?”
“What are you thinking? How could it be? At best, it’s a handwritten copy!”
“Even a handwritten copy works!”
“Didn’t I remember that Zhuge Liang’s ‘Art of War in Twelve Strategies’ was lost to the world?”
Luo Feng shook his head and said, “Not exactly lost, it’s just that there’s a significant gap in what is available in the market. However, what we have found is undoubtedly the most complete version because Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang were almost contemporaries. No, they were contemporaries; it’s just that
Sima Yi outlived Zhuge Liang by a few years!”
Luo Feng pondered. Indeed, to defeat your enemy, you must first understand them.
If Sima Yi were to defeat Zhuge Liang, the first thing to do would be to understand Zhuge Liang, and familiarize himself with the military strategies he had read.
The military books he had read.
Soon, Luo Feng’s gaze moved to another stone table.
There seemed to be something resembling a scroll.
During the Three Kingdoms era, most writings were on bamboo slips, but now there was something that looked like a scroll, which caught Luo Feng’s attention.
“Is this a painting from the Three Kingdoms era?”
On the stone table were three scrolls. Luo Feng could hardly believe his eyes.
Paintings and books from the Three Kingdoms era, preserved on paper, were worth more than one could imagine.
“Damn, is this a painting?”
“It’s unclear if it’s a painting, but even just the discovery of paper itself is impressive!”
“Could it be another ‘Three Final Directives ?
“What is this?”
“It probably depicts Sima Yi’s contributions to Cao Wei as a minister, which would typically be written after his death, not during his lifetime!” “There must be ‘Three Final Directives’, it’s Sima Yi’s will, it has to be there!”
“Three items, I think they’re it!”
When they arrived at Sima Yi’s tomb.
Many people online began to speculate about the existence of the ‘Three Final Directives’.
Now they saw three objects that looked like paintings.
Everyone started getting curious.
Perhaps because the ancient tomb isolated the air, and the temperature and humidity underground were kept within a constant range.
Moreover, no one had disturbed it for many years.
Therefore, Luo Feng was wary of touching these items. As soon as they encountered air, these scrolls could easily deteriorate, and they were likely incredibly valuable antiques.
With great care, Luo Feng slowly unfurled the scroll.
He felt the material.
It didn’t feel like paper, but rather more akin to animal skin.
That eased his mind a bit.
After all, animal skin was much more stable than paper, making it easier to preserve.
After unrolling the scroll, it was filled with powerful and rhythmically written official script.
“Huai Si Yue? Zai Sheng PO?”
Luo Feng read while translating in his mind.
When he read the last character.
His eyes lit up. “This is indeed the ‘Three Final Directives’!”
When Luo Feng voiced this thought, a collective gasp across the nation could be heard.
“Damn, is this real?” “How can you tell, I can’t understand any of it!”
“What does it say?”
Luo Feng began to explain: “In essence, it describes Sima Yi waking up in the morning, brushing his teeth, meeting his ministers, telling them about his severe illness, that his life is drawing to a close, and his contributions to Cao Wei over the years…”
It was like an epitaph in some ways, but different in others. For example, this text was much more detailed than an epitaph.
After reading it, Luo Feng thought, wasn’t Sima Yi truly a loyal minister?
He was completely dedicated to his duty, even until death.
“Damn, tnls guy really Knows now to Sing ms own praises!”
“I finally understand, Sima Yi didn’t consider becoming an emperor during his lifetime!”
“If he had wanted to become the emperor, there wouldn’t be these ‘Three Final Directives’!”
“It’s not quite like that, think about it, even if he wanted to become an emperor, he didn’t have time, he was near death!”
“After causing the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, how could he still claim to be a loyal minister?”
“Who wrote this?” Luo Feng looked at the signature and said, “The writer is Wei Guan!”
“Who is he?”
“Was he a calligrapher during the Cao Wei era?”
“Weren’t calligraphers more prominent during the Jin Dynasty?”
Luo Feng explained:
“Wei Guan (220-291), courtesy name Boyu, was from Anyi County, Hedong Commandery. He was a key minister and calligrapher from the late Cao Wei to early Western Jin period, son of Wei Ji, a Cao Wei minister.”
“Wei Guan came from an official family. He served in Cao Wei when he was young, holding positions such as Lang of the Secretariat, Regular Palace Attendant, and Palace Attendant. Later, he participated in the Conquest of Shu as a commander and supervisor. After the fall of Shu Han, he and Zhong Hui arrested Deng Ai; during Zhong Hui’s rebellion, he successfully quelled the revolt and ordered Tian Xu to kill Deng Ai and his son. After returning, he was appointed as General Who Stabilizes the East, Duke of Ziyang. After the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, he held positions like Governor of Qing and You Provinces, General who Conquers the East, and due to his achievements, he was promoted to Duke of Ziyang. Later he returned to the court as Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Palace Attendant, and then promoted to Minister of Works and Tutor to the Crown Prince. He later resigned and was appointed
Grand Guardian. After Emperor Hui of Jin ascended to the throne, he opposed Empress Jia and eventually perished along with his entire family during a political upheaval at the age of seventy-two.”
“Wei Guan excelled in clerical and cursive scripts. Not only was he proficient in various styles, but he also learned from the strengths of the ancients, making him a creative calligrapher. Zhang Huaiyu of the Tang Dynasty evaluated his cursive script as ‘divine’ in his ‘Shu Duan’..”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺