Chapter 519: The combination of kindness and severity, the power of the emperor

After a complex psychological struggle, Sima Yi forced himself to calm down, and then said to the butler in a calm tone: “Got it, I’ll be there right away.”

The butler bowed and then left.

Sima Yi came to the bronze mirror and began to tidy up his clothes. Looking at his slightly pale face in the mirror, he reached out and rubbed it hard, and only then did his face regain some color.

“Relax, His Majesty may have summoned me just to discuss important matters, not necessarily because my vote-buying activities were exposed…”

Sima Yi comforted himself.

Just like that, with an uneasy heart, he walked out of the study and went to the palace with the eunuch who came to summon him from the palace.

Along the way, various possible scenarios kept appearing in his mind, and his uneasiness became stronger and stronger.

Soon he arrived outside the greenhouse.

The eunuch stopped and stood with his head bowed.

Sima Yi looked at the beaded curtain in front of him and the vaguely visible figure behind it. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then bowed respectfully: “Your Majesty, I am Sima Yi.”

“come in.”

A calm voice came from behind the beaded curtain.

Sima Yi walked in with his head lowered.

Liu Xie was sitting on the dragon chair reading a book. He looked up when he heard footsteps and looked straight at Sima Yi, but did not speak.

This silence made Sima Yi feel more and more frightened, as if the air around him had solidified, and cold sweat kept rolling down his forehead.

Seeing this, Liu Xie smiled lightly, raised his eyebrows and asked, “Why is Zhongda sweating so much? Is it because the fire in my greenhouse is too strong?”

Sima Yi raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face and laughed dryly, “Your Majesty, I am always afraid of heat. I am sorry for being disrespectful in front of Your Majesty.”

“I see.”

Liu Xie put down the book in his hand and said, “Don’t stand, sit down. This is not the first time you meet me. Why are you so reserved?”

Sima Yi bowed and said, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

After Sima Yi sat down, Liu Xie continued: “Zhongda, do you know why I summoned you to the palace?”

Sima Yi had relaxed a little, but after hearing this, his heart tightened again, and he could only bite the bullet and reply: “I don’t know, I hope Your Majesty will clarify.”

Liu Xie smiled and said, “It’s not a big deal. It’s just related to the recent selection of the vice president of the Han Royal Academy.”

“I have checked the vote count. Zhongda, your votes remain high. Even Fengxian and Wenyuan are suppressed by you.”

“It seems that the position of vice president this time belongs to you.”

When Sima Yi heard that it was related to voting, he suddenly felt his whole body stiffen, and his brain began to think rapidly.

What does the emperor mean by this?
Does the emperor know that he is canvassing for votes?
Or simply to encourage him?

No, if the purpose was to encourage him, why would they summon him alone?

Or is it that the emperor has doubts about his high number of votes?
Sima Yi started brainstorming, countless guesses and possibilities flashed through his mind, while he was thinking about how to give the most perfect answer.

Sima Yi kept his expression unchanged and said respectfully: “Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. It is just the favor of the soldiers in the army. I am very humbled.”

“Is that really the case?”

Liu Xie’s smile gradually faded, and he looked at Sima Yi with an extremely deep gaze, “Zhongda, I have always thought that you are a smart person.”

“It is easy to deceive people, but difficult to deceive God.”

Liu Xie’s tone was not harsh, but it was like a heavy hammer hitting Sima Yi’s heart, making him dizzy and his eyes went dark.

Without any hesitation, Sima Yi knelt down with a plop, his back soaked with cold sweat: “Your Majesty, please forgive me! I was confused for a moment and did such a stupid thing. Your Majesty, please forgive me!”

He understood that the emperor already knew everything he had done.

If you still insist on being stubborn now, you will die!
At this moment, Sima Yi’s heart was filled with incomparable despair. Everything he had worked hard for since he entered the officialdom and his bright future were all over.

And all this was because of his one thought!
Thinking of this, Sima Yi could no longer hold back the sadness in his heart. Tears welled up in his eyes and he sobbed softly.

After all, he was still young, and he could not bear such a huge blow all at once.

Liu Xie looked at Sima Yi who was kneeling on the ground and sobbing, and his expression eased a little. He said, “Zhongda, I value your talent, and I have also seen your diligence all along.”

“Just before you entered the palace, the evidence of your cheating in canvassing for votes was submitted to me. I am now suppressing it and not sending it to the cabinet.”

“Do you understand what I mean?”

Liu Xie threw down several confessions on the table.

It fell right in front of Sima Yi.

This was just sent by Chen Gong. He has already found out the trick regarding the vote count and arrested the officials who were responsible for counting the votes.

Those people directly betrayed Sima Yi.

Sima Yi was slightly startled, but when he realized what was happening, he was so moved that he touched the ground with his forehead and cried, “Your Majesty, your grace is so great that I will never forget it even at the cost of my life!”

The emperor said this, obviously to protect him.

If you don’t join the cabinet, your statement won’t be put on the table.

Some things may be as light as a feather if they are not weighed; but once they are weighed, they will be weighed down by a thousand pounds and will cause bloodshed.

He campaigned for the vice-president position of the Han Royal Academy by cheating in vote-buying. If this were to be exposed, his reputation and future would be ruined.

He will even be removed from the cabinet!

But now that the emperor has helped him suppress this matter, it is equivalent to saving his life. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a grace of rebirth!
“Get up.”

Liu Xie walked out from behind the dragon case, reached out to help Sima Yi up from the ground, and handed him a handkerchief, “As a cabinet minister, how can you cry so much?”

“I know you are eager to defeat Kong Ming and prove yourself, but you cannot do whatever it takes.”

“Your talent is not much inferior to Kong Ming’s. This time, just take it as a lesson. If you do it again in the future, I will never forgive you.”

Sima Yi wiped his tears, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. He bowed deeply to Liu Xie and said, “Your Majesty, I will remember your teachings in my heart!”

Liu Xie patted him on the shoulder and said, “Okay, go back and reflect on your actions.”

Sima Yi bowed and left the Greenhouse Hall as if he had been pardoned.

It was not until he walked out of the palace gate and was blown by the cold wind outside that he slowly came to his senses, and a sense of relief for surviving the disaster arose spontaneously.

“Don’t be so stupid again in the future.”

Sima Yi secretly reminded himself in his heart that this time he really had a close call with death. If it were not for the emperor’s magnanimity, he would probably have been doomed.

Looking back now, cheating to canvass for votes was extremely stupid. He was led down this path because he was blinded by the desire to win.

If Zhuge Liang knew that he had done such a thing.

Then he will never be able to hold his head up again.

Just as Sima Yi was thinking this, a slightly puzzled voice came from behind him: “Brother Zhongda? Why are you standing here and not going in?”

The person who spoke was Zhuge Liang, who had just gotten off the carriage and was about to enter the palace. Hearing this familiar voice, Sima Yi froze, then pretended not to hear it, lowered his head and walked away quickly.

Who knew that Zhuge Liang stepped forward and held his shoulder, saying helplessly: “Brother Zhongda, why do you ignore me?”

“Oh, it’s Kong Ming.”

Sima Yi looked as if he had just noticed Zhuge Liang and said apologetically, “I was just thinking about something and didn’t see you. Sorry, sorry.”

Although Zhuge Liang knew that this was Sima Yi’s excuse, he did not expose it. Instead, he smiled and said, “I haven’t seen Brother Zhongda for a long time. I heard that Brother Zhongda was ill. Have you recovered now?”

Although Sima Yi did not want to communicate more with Zhuge Liang, he could not help but answer since the other party was concerned about him. He could only perfunctorily say, “I have recovered. I can continue to go to the palace to handle government affairs tomorrow.”

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, “That’s good. Without Brother Zhongda in the cabinet, I always feel like something is missing.”

“By the way, in the recent vote to select the vice president, Brother Zhongda received the highest number of votes. I also voted for you.”

“I hope Brother Zhongda can come out on top.”

Zhuge Liang’s expression was frank and his tone was sincere, and one could tell that he was sincerely wishing Sima Yi well.

Sima Yi remained silent after hearing this.

After a long while, he asked, “Do you really want me to become the vice president of the Han Imperial Academy?”

“Why not?”

Zhuge Liang smiled and asked, “Brother Zhongda is very talented. If he can become the vice president, it will be a good thing for the Han Dynasty.”

“And the fact that Brother Zhongda was able to receive so many votes from the soldiers shows that the soldiers all recognize Brother Zhongda’s talents.”

Faced with Zhuge Liang’s answer, Sima Yi didn’t know what to say for a moment.

My mood is extremely complicated.

“So…is this the gap between me and Zhuge Liang?”

“I didn’t lose unfairly before.”

Sima Yi sighed slightly. He cared too much about winning and was too scheming, which ended up causing him to lose.

Thinking of this, he raised his head and looked at Zhuge Liang, and said calmly: “I cheated. Those votes were obtained by cheating. They are not the real number of votes.”

Zhuge Liang was a little slow to react and asked in a daze, “What?”

Sima Yi continued, “Your Majesty has discovered that I cheated, but Your Majesty is magnanimous and has suppressed the matter for me and has not publicized it.”

“I cheated to beat you, to get ahead of you. I always wanted to beat you, but I just couldn’t do it.”

“But now I understand that I don’t have to beat you, I just need to be myself, that’s enough.”

Sima Yi told all this frankly, and then waited quietly for Zhuge Liang to mock or despise him, or to walk away in anger.

If you do something wrong, you have to take responsibility.

However, after Zhuge Liang looked at him for a long time, he chuckled and said, “Brother Zhongda… I really admire you.”

Sima Yi frowned, somewhat confused as to what this meant.

Is this a mockery of his hypocrisy?
Before he could ask, Zhuge Liang said: “A gentleman’s mistakes are like the eclipse of the sun and the moon, everyone sees it; when he corrects it, everyone admires him.”

Zhuge Liang looked at Sima Yi gently and continued, “Brother Zhongda has the courage to face his mistakes and speak frankly. This kind of responsibility is not something that ordinary people can do. No one is perfect. What’s important is to know your mistakes and correct them.”

Sima Yi felt warm in his heart. The humiliation and contempt he had expected did not appear. Instead, he received words of understanding and tolerance. He felt a mixture of emotions for a moment.

He took a deep breath, calmed down his emotions, and said: “Kong Ming, thank you for your words. In the past, I was too narrow-minded and only wanted to compete with you, but forgot that improving myself is the right way.”

Zhuge Liang waved his hand and smiled, “There is no need to talk about the past. You and I are ministers in the same court, and we should work together in the future.”

Sima Yi nodded heavily, and then his fighting spirit rekindled in his eyes, and he said: “I will not give up competing with you.”

“But next time, I won’t use such despicable means, but will defeat you fairly!”

Zhuge Liang smiled heartily and said, “I couldn’t ask for more!”

At this moment, another eunuch hurried into the palace.

Seeing Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang, he bowed and then said to Zhuge Liang: “Zhuge Zhongcheng, His Majesty summons you to the palace immediately.”

Zhuge Liang responded and looked at Sima Yi: “Brother Zhongda, I will go in first. Please come to my house when you are free.”

After saying this, he followed the eunuch into the palace.

Sima Yi watched Zhuge Liang leave and stood there for a long time, feeling relaxed all over.

He looked up at the sky and laughed unconsciously.

Kong Ming, it is a real blessing to be your opponent in this life.

……

Ten days passed quickly, and the result of the selection of vice-president was finally announced.

The person who got the most votes was Zhang Liao, with a total of 6,127 votes.

The second person with the most votes was Lu Bu, with a total of 5,780 votes.

The third person with the most votes was Sima Yi, with a total of 4,890 votes.

The fourth person with the most votes was Zhao Yun, with a total of 4,500 votes.

Then in turn it was Yuan Xi, Huang Zhong, Zhuge Liang… and so on. Yes, Yuan Xi also had a lot of people voting.

After all, he is the most loyal minister of the Han Dynasty and a model of sacrificing one’s relatives for the sake of justice, so he has many supporters.

But many people were surprised by the vote result.

Because Sima Yi had been at the top of the list for several days in a row and had a strong momentum, everyone thought he would definitely win, but they did not expect that he would get so few votes in the next few days.

Only a few people, including Chen Gong, Liu Xie and Zhuge Liang, knew the reason.

Without modifying the number of votes, Sima Yi could only get more than 2,000 votes at most, which is his actual number of votes.

The rest of the votes were obtained through cheating.

Once the cheating stops, the original form is revealed immediately.

Of course, apart from this point, no one was surprised that Zhang Liao came out on top.

After all, Zhang Liao had the strongest command ability among all the generals, and he also had sufficient military merits and qualifications, and high prestige in the army. It was no surprise that he became the vice-president of the Han Royal Academy.

Even Lu Bu had no objection to this.

He was unwilling to accept Zhang Liao only because he didn’t want to lose. Now that the facts were before him, he naturally had nothing to say.

He is not the kind of person who cannot afford to lose.

However, after the final result came out, he immediately chose to return home and refuse visitors, leaving Zhang Liao, who was ready to show off, with a frustrated face.

(End of this chapter)