When it comes to the most famous and cattle hermit of the Three Kingdoms, the first thing that comes to mind is Mr. Sima Hui of the Water Mirror.
Sima Hui has three major characteristics: First, he has strong personal ability, according to historical records, he is proficient in many disciplines such as the art of war, classics, and Taoism, and can be said to be a world wizard who knows astronomy and geography from above, and the depth of his strategy can crown the Three Kingdoms. Second, the disciples are famous. Sima Hui had three famous disciples, namely Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu. The three of them are famous all over the world, and they are all the top strategists of the Three Kingdoms, which almost affects the entire pattern of the Three Kingdoms. The disciples were so powerful, which showed how deeply Sima Hui was hidden. The third is to be indifferent to fame and fortune. Although Sima Hui had the talent of the heavens and the earth, he had a pure and elegant personality, did not compete for fame and fortune, and did not collude with the world, but like a ghost valley, he chose to return to the hidden mountains and forests.
Why would Sima Hui, the water mirror gentleman who is pregnant with the immortal world, prefer to end up alone in the old age than go out of the mountain? There are four main reasons.
The first is that it is not the right time.
Why? Sima Hui was born in the late Han Dynasty, when the eunuchs of the Han court abused power, the government was corrupt, the world was in turmoil, and the people suffered. In this untimely era, it is already very good to be able to "protect yourself", of course, not to mention doing a big job in the first place. Sima Hui saw through the world's major events, so he retired to the mountains and forests. Therefore, he established a school called Yingchuan Academy, and did the duty of preaching and receiving work, with the purpose of cultivating more talents. In addition to Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu, it is said that Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Chen Qun, and others under Cao Cao were educated in him. By the time the Three Kingdoms were rising, Sima Yi was old, and he had no movement or passion to go out again to start a business.
Second, the Mandate of Heaven is difficult to violate.
When Zhuge Liang was invited down the mountain by Liu Bei, Sima Hui said 12 words to him: Although Kong Ming has his master, he cannot do it at any time! This means that Kong Ming missed the best time to go down the mountain. Why? Because Cao Cao won the Battle of Guandu at that time, pacified the Central Plains, occupied most of China, and had many good and loyal strategists under his command, his hegemonic position could not be shaken. Facts proved that Sima Hui was indeed right, although after Zhuge Liang descended the mountain, he did his best to help Liu Bei capture The Zhizhi of Sichuan and Shu, forming a pattern of three divisions of the world. However, it was still unable to shake Cao Cao's position as the overlord, and in the end, Zhuge Liang went out of qishan to cut down Wei in his later years, and he also did his best to know the destiny of heaven, and finally worked hard to hurt the people and returned without success.
The Mandate of Heaven is difficult to violate, and Sima Hui understands this truth, so he does not want to go out of the mountain, nor does he want to do an act against heaven.
Third, he did not meet the Lord.
Because Sima Hui was famous, there were also many tyrants who invited him out of the mountains. Liu Biao, the mu of Jingzhou, had asked Sima Hui to come out of the mountains to help. At that time, Liu Biao set up schools and academic officials, and widely sought celebrities from all over the world. Sima Hui became the object of his main inquiry. However, Sima Hui was not cold to Liu Biao, originally very simple, Liu Biao was narrow-minded, could not tolerate people, and was not a ming lord. Therefore, when Liu Biao personally came to him, he pretended to be confused and asked three questions, which made Liu Bang sigh one after another: Sima Hui was just a small scholar, and his insight was no different from that of ordinary people.
Later, when there were other tyrants who also wanted to invite Sima Hui out of the mountain, Sima Hui was old, and he was even more reluctant to go out to the mountain to assist, because he knew that no matter which king he assisted, it would bring life to life.
The fourth is because his surname is Sima (司馬).
The history books record that Cao Cao, a generation of traitors, once wanted to ask Sima Hui to come down from the mountain to help. But Sima Hui also declined. In addition to his advanced age at the time, another important reason was that Sima Yi was already serving under Cao Cao at that time. Sima Hui did not want to compete with his nephew for favors.
Is Sima Hui and Sima Yi really related to each other? The answer is yes, for three reasons. One was that the two had the same surname, Sima Hui and Sima Yifu, and the other was that both were born in Henan, Sima Hui was born in Yingchuan Yang zhai (present-day Yuzhou, Henan), and Sima Yi was born in Xiaojingli, Wen County, Hanoi County (present-day Wen County, Jiaozuo City, Henan). The third is after both are celebrities. According to the "Record of rebuilding the Taishi Temple", Sima Hui and Sima Yi were both descendants of Sima Qian, and it was within eight generations. Sima Hui was famous, and there were well-known disciples such as Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu, and the young talent Sima Yi and he were relatives, so it was very likely that they would communicate with each other frequently.
Some people will ask, if this is the case, why did Sima Hui not recommend Sima Yi to Liu Bei? In fact, the reason is very simple: Sima Hui recommended Xu Shu, Wolong, and Feng yan because they were his disciples, and Sima Hui knew them very well, and after Liu Bei ma jumped tanxi, he met Sima Hui, and Sima Hui recommended Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to Liu Bei, saying that if they got one of them, they would be able to win the world.
Although Sima Yi was his nephew, Sima Hui did not know him well. You must know that Sima Yi belongs to the kind of person who is particularly low-key and especially able to endure, and his extraordinary talent has always been hidden in the depths, not to mention that Sima Hui did not see it, and even Cao Cao, who had read countless people, did not fully see through it. More importantly, Sima Yi had a very high vision at that time, and he had no idea of becoming a soldier, and even when Cao Cao asked him to go down the mountain, he shirked it several times and did not agree, and finally Cao Cao used a knife to put a knife on his neck before he still "coerced" him. In this case, even if Sima Hui recommended Sima Yi, Sima Yi was not necessarily willing to go down the mountain to assist the poor Liu Bei.
In short, Sima Hui and Sima Yi had this special kinship relationship, and in the case that Sima Yi had already served Cao Cao, the arrogant Sima Hui would not follow Cao Cao if he was killed.