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

While they were talking, the servants and maids in the mansion began to serve the dishes. The first one who brought the dishes went up to the table in front of Sima Rui and then knelt down to pay respect to Sima Rui.

"No need to bow, stand up." Sima Rui said, and the maid went down, and another maid brought wine, wine bottles, and chopsticks and placed them on the table. Sima Rui said to the people below: "Bring up the dishes, wine bottles, and chopsticks for Lord Maohong, I want to drink with Lord Maohong!"

Wang Dao quickly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, you can't do it! You can't do it!"

The two maids who were placing the dishes and wine in front of Wang Dao quickly brought the dishes and wine bottles and chopsticks to Sima Rui. After placing them, the two maids saluted Sima Rui and stood aside. It didn't take long for the dishes and wine below to be placed. Before Sima Rui could speak, Fei Ren came to Wang Dao and said, "Wang Si Tu, please come in!"

Wang Dao was polite and had to go upstairs with Fei Ren. Wang Dao wanted to kneel down to pay his respects, but Fei Ren quickly stopped him and said, "Lord Wang is ill, there is no need to pay your respects!"

Sima Rui said to Fei Ren again, "Fei Ren, go down and find a place to sit!"

Wang Yue quickly said, "Then Lord Fei, please sit with us!"

Fei Ren declined and sat with Wang Yue. Sima Rui saw Wang Dao coming up, so he stood up and took Wang Dao's hand and asked Wang Dao to sit on his left. Sima Rui looked down and said with a smile: "My dear ministers, today I have the honor to come to Lord Maohong's mansion and gather with several brothers of Langya Wang family. This reminds me of more than ten years ago. At that time, I was still the King of Langya, and I often went hunting and feasting with you Langya Wang family. Sometimes we hunted wild boars and rabbits, and we barbecued in the open air and feasted anytime and anywhere."

"Your Majesty is right. At that time, we were young and carefree. Who would have thought that Liu Yuan, Liu Cong and other Xiongnu people, together with Shi Le and other accomplices, led to the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. The capital Luoyang became a ruin, and Chang'an also fell into the hands of Liu Yao. Thanks to your majesty's inheritance of the previous dynasty, the court was stabilized. In these years, we, the descendants of Langya Wang family, have been able to make suggestions for your majesty and be loyal to the court. For the sake of the Jin Dynasty for thousands of years, I propose that everyone drink a glass first!" Wang Dao stood up and said.

After Wang Dao finished speaking, he picked up the wine jar and drank it all. The others below also stood up and drank the first cup of wine. Sima Rui also stood up with the wine jar and drank the wine in the cup. Putting down the wine jar, Sima Rui looked at Wang Shu below and suddenly remembered something. Seeing Sima Rui's hesitation, Wang Dao above and the people below didn't know what was going on for a while. Sima Rui said: "When I saw Wang Shu, I thought of my beloved son Sima Fei. What a good child, he passed away at the age of 18. After Daocheng passed away, I appointed Wang Shu as the General of the North, the Supervisor of the Military Affairs of Qing and Xu Provinces, and replaced Daocheng to guard Guangling. Later, the court recruited Wang Shu as a doctor of the Imperial College and granted him the title of Sanqi Changshi. However, Wang Shu did not accept it, so he was transferred to the current position of Shaofu.”

“Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty! I have the guts to offer you a glass of wine.” Wang Shu stood up and bowed. After that, Wang Shu drank it all in one gulp, and the maid next to him filled the glass in time. Wang Dao stood up and said, “Your Majesty, I am flattered that you have come to visit me. I also offer you a glass!”

Wang Han and Wang Yi also toasted Sima Rui. After a few glasses of wine, Sima Rui’s face flushed. Looking at the wine in the wine jar, Sima Rui said, “I inherited the throne of the previous dynasty, which is not as simple as being an emperor and issuing orders. The operation of the court and the fate of the country are all on me. I am not happy to live in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River!”

Hearing Sima Rui say this, the people below looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Wang Yi said, “Your Majesty, two famous generals of our dynasty, Zhou Fang and Zu Ti, who have made outstanding contributions, have passed away one after another. This is a great loss to our dynasty. Even so, our Wang family of Langya is also full of talents. Let’s not talk about Brother Chuzhong who was entrusted with important tasks by His Majesty. In the court, the descendants of Wang family of Langya were also valued by His Majesty. Brother Maohong is a role model for my generation, and Changyu is the representative of the next generation! This is really the Yangtze River where the waves behind push the waves ahead! "

"Shijiang, if I remember correctly, I and you and Maohong were born in the same year." After hearing Wang Yi's words, Sima Rui said. Shijiang is Wang Yi's name. Wang Yi quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty is right. Your Majesty, I and Brother Maohong were all born in the second year of Xianning in the previous dynasty. We experienced the Eight Kings Rebellion that led to the Yongjia disaster, and witnessed how the beautiful rivers and mountains of the previous dynasty fell into the hands of the Xiongnu. Shi Le established Shi Zhao in Xiangguo, and Liu Yao established Han Zhao in Chang'an. Whenever I think of these, I feel bad. ”

Sima Rui nodded, looked at Wang Dao beside him, and turned his head to look at Wang Dao's three sons for a while, especially looking at Wang Yue carefully. Wang Dao knew what Sima Rui meant, so he said: "Da Lang (referring to Wang Yue) was appointed as the prince's Donggong Shijiang by His Majesty when he was less than 20 years old. This is the honor of our Wang family. I have served His Majesty for more than 20 years, and I hope Da Lang will do his best to assist the prince. ”

"Father taught me that I must do my best!" Wang Yue stood up and said. Sima Rui smiled and said: "Chang Yu (Wang Yue's name) was famous in Jiankang when he was a teenager. When he was four or five years old, he knew how to serve his parents. In the future, Chang Yu will definitely be loyal and filial. ”

"Since my grandfather and father, our Wang family has served the royal family for generations. This is the blessing of our family. But Da Lang is different from me in some things. "Wang Dao smiled and said. Halfway through his words, Wang Dao stopped talking. Wang Han smiled and said, "Brother Maohong is hesitant to speak. What's the meaning? If you don't say anything, you will be fined a glass of wine!"

Wang Han, whose courtesy name is Chuhong, is Wang Dun's elder brother. Seeing his cousin Wang Han say this, Wang Dao continued, "My Dalang, sometimes things are very serious. For example, when playing chess with me, he often pursues and attacks relentlessly without any mercy. Once, there happened to be two servants watching the game, but my Dalang didn't even respond to my hint of regretting the move. I had to remind Dalang,I think we have some kind of relationship, are you so persistent? "

Even Sima Rui, who was sitting on the upper floor, couldn't stop laughing after hearing what Wang Dao said. Wang Yi asked: "Brother Maohong, is there anything else that can make us laugh?"

"There are too many such things. I can't think of many at the moment." Wang Dao paused and said: "For your majesty, for the court, for the country, for the people, let's raise our glasses together. Drink this glass of wine, and then I will tell you one more thing!"

Wang Dao raised the wine jar, Sima Rui on the upper floor, and the others raised the wine jar and drank a glass. Putting down the wine jar, Wang Dao said: "Sometimes some students and old officials come to my house to reminisce or visit me, and they can't help but bring some fresh fruits, dried fruits, or other food. Although the servants in the mansion also eat, it is hot in summer and autumn, and some fruits and food are inevitably spoiled. When the servants threw it away, I told them not to let Dalang see it! ”

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