Chapter 1998: Chapter 1791: Fa Zheng and Sima Yi (Part 2)
As soon as Cao Ang and the others came over, they saw the young man standing at the very center of everyone. He didn’t look much older than they were, but for some reason, with him standing in the middle of the crowd, their gazes would naturally fix on him at a glance, and they couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
"Sima Yi of Henei pays his respects to the Marquis of Taiting." Sima Yi stepped forward, dismounted first, and saluted. Though he also had an unruly side, when facing a Marquis of Military Merit like this, if he didn’t want to suffer losses, it was better to honestly perform the proper courtesies.
Seeing Sima Yi dismount and salute first, the others hurriedly dismounted as well and bowed in Fa Zheng’s direction. Only then did Cao Ang and the others react to the other party’s identity: the youngest man of this generation to be ennobled purely for military merit, the goal their whole generation looked up to, a figure that could be called unparalleled.
"Oh, no need to stand on ceremony. I’m about the same age as you all. Having people bowing back and forth at me all day is quite a hassle." The moment Sima Yi saluted, Fa Zheng waved his hand to stop the others from bowing. All this bowing back and forth was rather troublesome.
"Ha, so you’re Sima Zhongda?" As soon as he heard the name, Fa Zheng jumped off his horse, circling around Sima Yi and sizing him up from head to toe. Looking at the other man’s faintly gloomy expression, and his slightly stiff movements from Fa Zheng’s behavior, the more he looked, the more he felt that what Zhuge Liang had said back then was very much on point.
Fa Zheng, having jumped off his warhorse, circled Sima Yi over and over, watching Sima Yi’s expression while also constantly scrutinizing his neck and head. Sima Yi was made somewhat uneasy by the way Fa Zheng looked at him like he was an amusing curiosity.
"Look at me, Zhongda, turn your head and look at me." Fa Zheng ran to Sima Yi’s rear flank and spoke to him. Sima Yi naturally turned his head, while his body basically remained still. The moment Fa Zheng saw this, his eyes lit up as if he had discovered some rare specimen.
[It actually is just like Zhuge Kongming said—his head and body are out of sync. No wonder his face is gloomy all the time. Put that on me and I’d be gloomy too.] Seeing Sima Yi turn his head with hardly any movement of his torso, a trace of pity flashed through Fa Zheng’s mind.
Because Fa Zheng made no effort to conceal his expression, Sima Yi clearly caught that hint of pity, and immediately felt confused. [What’s with this guy? Why is he looking at me with pity? Did something happen to me that I don’t know about?]
But before Sima Yi could figure it out, Fa Zheng had already slung an arm around his shoulders. "Zhongda, don’t be so broody. There are plenty of beautiful things in life. So what if your head and body are out of sync? Brooding won’t solve anything. Start with a little goal—get yourself ennobled as a Marquis, have some fun, how about it?"
Sima Yi felt he had never seen such an unreliable fellow. And he seemed not only to harbor goodwill toward Sima Yi, but to be one of those people who were naturally familiar with everyone.
"Uh... Marquis of Taiting, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about." Sima Yi truly couldn’t understand what Fa Zheng was saying. After all, even he would never have imagined that he’d been tagged by Zhuge Liang with the label of "melancholy youth."
"Why be so distant in how you address me? You’re very capable—at most you’ve just lacked good opportunities. Otherwise, you’d have already ridden the wind and become a dragon. And I’m only a few years older than you. Just call me Xiaoo Zhi." Fa Zheng said, utterly at ease and overly familiar.
Sima Yi hesitated for a moment. When facing someone whose ability was clearly not inferior to his own, and who was only a few years older, even Sima Yi couldn’t help but be wary—especially since Fa Zheng’s military record was rather intimidating. So in the face of such obvious goodwill, Sima Yi decided it was best to accept it.
"Xiaoo Zhi, I wonder how you intend to handle these Southern Huns?" Sima Yi quickly settled his mindset and no longer had as many complicated feelings as before.
"Ha, you already have plans laid for everything—why ask me?" Fa Zheng chuckled. Achievements of this sort didn’t mean much to him anymore; he was already a Marquis. To advance further would take far more than just a little extra merit, so Fa Zheng didn’t place much importance on this kind of credit.
"Then I must thank Xiaoo Zhi for his generosity." Sima Yi looked into Fa Zheng’s calm eyes and did not see even the slightest hint of possessiveness, and he couldn’t help but feel admiration in his heart.
[Fa Xiaozhi appears to be a broad-minded type. That’s quite different from what I’d heard before.] Sima Yi thought silently. But hearsay was unreliable; seeing was believing. From what he was seeing now, Fa Zheng was a good man.
"No need, no need. We’ll all be family sooner or later; there’s no need to fuss over such things." Fa Zheng said with a laugh, and at the same time sent a Voice Transmission to Sima Yi. "Of those three Hun Big Head Leaders, that Huchuquan is wavering in his heart. Liu Qubi, though compliant, has eyes full of resolve—I fear he has the heart of a Goujian. As for that Liu Bao, he’s working hard to reconcile the Southern Huns with us; he’s fairly clever."
On hearing this, Sima Yi’s heart tightened. He had personally gone to meet the three, and only after a round of conversation had he realized that each had their own designs. It had taken him the better part of half a day to determine their intentions. Yet how long had it been for Fa Zheng now?
From the moment the Southern Huns surrendered to the time they came over, at most One Incense Stick’s Time had passed, and yet Fa Zheng had already grasped the thoughts of the three. With such ability, Sima Yi couldn’t help but treat him with great caution.
[Truly, a famous name is not an empty thing. Fa Xiaozhi is indeed a man of real talent and learning.] Sima Yi sighed to himself, then replied via Voice Transmission, "I won’t hide it from you, Xiaoo Zhi. Listen while I tell you what happened before this, and then you’ll understand everything."
He then briefly described the wish-promises he had granted to the Southern Hun Leaders. Fa Zheng had already been somewhat suspicious beforehand; after listening to Sima Yi’s account, his understanding became that much more complete.
"Just as I expected. The Southern Huns have already walked into the trap. However, if you want to force Liu Qubi to rebel, that may be a bit difficult." Fa Zheng sent via Voice Transmission to Sima Yi.
"Rebel or not, what meaning will it have by that point? Once the Hun Nobility of the Southern Huns are relocated, in less than five years the Southern Huns will be completely assimilated by us." Sima Yi transmitted back to Fa Zheng, who nodded at his words.
[Why does this method sound so familiar? Let me think... Right, isn’t this exactly how that document from Li Jue played it?] Fa Zheng thought, a little speechless. [Still, this is a good thing for the Han Dynasty. Even if we break with them later, we’ll be blameless in terms of righteousness.]
"Zhongda, help me introduce these Military Officers." Fa Zheng and Sima Yi’s exchange was very quick. Once they finished, Fa Zheng finally shifted his attention from Sima Yi to the people behind him.
"Oh, this must be Lord Cao’s eldest son, Cao Zixiu." Fa Zheng hadn’t met him before, but he could more or less guess. "And this one should be General Dian’s eldest son. I really can’t think of anyone besides the sons of General Xuu and General Dian who could grow to this size—who else could be this robust? But General Xuu’s son is still only this tall right now."
Fa Zheng gestured a couple of times, then patted Dian Mann on the shoulder. Like Sima Yi, he also liked these brainless but hard-hitting, reckless-type military generals.
After that, Sima Yi introduced them to Fa Zheng one by one. Of course, Sima Yi disdained to conceal his own attitudes, so Fa Zheng clearly sensed Sima Yi’s likes and dislikes.
"All are pillars of the state." Fa Zheng said with a smile, using the kind of line that only an elder could reasonably say—but no one felt it was out of place. He was the Marquis of Taiting, after all, living proof of Fa Zheng’s capabilities.
"The battle in the North is already over. Before long, the three parties will go to Chang’an to perform Sacrifice at the Grand Ancestral Temple. You all did pretty well this time; it’s possible you’ll be able to tag along and participate." Fa Zheng said with a grin. He was very interested in such large-scale sacrificial ceremonies. Though the formalities were incredibly tedious, he enjoyed taking part in events where he could showcase his abilities among veteran ministers.
At these words, everyone’s faces showed excitement. Fa Zheng shrugged. In his view, among this group, the only ones likely to qualify to attend would probably be Sima Yi and Cao Ang.
"Incidentally, there will be quite a few of the younger generation going to Chang’an this time. You’ll get to meet a Marquis even younger than me." Fa Zheng said, smiling with narrowed eyes, while the corner of his eye remained fixed on Sima Yi. As expected, the moment he said this, Sima Yi’s expression clearly darkened quite a bit.
