Time flies to July, and the prisoner presentation ceremony at Heqiao has ended. In the meantime, the barbarians were kneeling, hundreds of officials were congratulating themselves, and the common people were hanging lanterns. Needless to say, there were various celebration scenes. The emperor Liu Xie was naturally very proud. He once boasted in public: "This battle can be compared to the Battle of Yanran." He then pulled Zhou Buyi and smiled at everyone: "This is my Wei Qing!" Then he gave Zhou Buyi the honorary title. The post of general was granted to a thousand households and led the Shanglin army.
This move dissatisfied the courtiers. After all, Zhou Buyi was only twenty-seven years old at this time, and he had already become one of the governors of the five prefectures, and his power had already caught up with that of Chen Chong of the same age. After all, Chen Chong is the founding father of the country and has made great contributions, but who is Zhou Buyi? He is just an overseas Chinese from Lingling. Now that the emperor appoints people at will, how can he convince people? After all, in the eyes of everyone, this victory is nothing to boast about. The so-called ability to conquer and fight is just a cover. The most indispensable thing in the court is veteran ministers. Therefore, after the great victory, the criticism between the DPRK and China increased instead of decreasing.
Liu Xie had no time to care about it. When the celebration was over, he was so excited that he even got carried away. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, he held a court meeting in the palace to openly discuss the southern expedition against Sun Quan. In his view, this was a major political policy agreed upon by the Taiwan government, and with this great victory, he was the only one who followed it, both inside and outside the court.
He said this in public: "Now that the northern border is quiet and the barbarians are subdued, the Liao thieves will be unable to invade. Sun Quan has taken Xu as a thief, spying on the Central Plains, and repeatedly plundering our people. This is the way to die. I plan to conquer this place myself. Officer." He paused here, without looking at the faces of the officials, and said matter-of-factly: "I have already thought about the time, and it will be in August of the next year. It happens to be the dry season at that time, and the big boat If it is inconvenient to walk on the Huai River, I will send the cavalry to fight against the Wu people, and they will definitely succeed."
After saying this, Shang Shulang Liu Fang immediately echoed: "The late emperor obeyed the will of heaven and respectfully carried out heaven's punishment. Your majesty inherited the great rule and spread its influence to all directions. Xiao Zha will destroy the five mountains, and the breath will cut off the rivers and seas. Count the available soldiers of the country. , nearly a million, with elite soldiers from hundreds of battles, filling the four seas. How can we resist in this small corner of the southeast? If your Majesty personally conquers it, the Wu invaders will be wearing white clothes and leading their horses. If they persist in their obsession, they will flee far away across the country. Your Majesty will choose If a fierce general chases him, he can be given death in Nanchao. The clothes and clothes of Zhongzhou can be returned to his hometown. Your Majesty can then drive back to Mount Tai, complete the ceremony of Zen, raise the white clouds on the middle altar, receive the long life of Taiyuan, and then restore the good name of martial arts for a long time. .”
Liu Xie was overjoyed when he heard this and said with a smile: "This is exactly my ambition!"
Who would have thought that at this time, Henan Yin Yangtan stood up and said: "I thought Wu was invincible. In ancient times, Zhou was unruly and the world was disloyal. Eight hundred princes came unexpectedly. King Wu of Zhou still said that there was someone there, so he stopped returning to his army. Jing. After three recognitions and executions, he fought against Muye. Although Wu today is a rebel, it is actually a separate country in Jiangdong for three generations. The people are prosperous and the country is rich. Sun Quan is widely recommended by all the ministers. So far, although there has been no major victory or major defeat, the top and bottom are united. It is obvious that the monarch and his ministers are in harmony. Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Zhang Zhao are all great talents, and they can be said to be the most talented people in Wu. I heard that the masters are in harmony, and Wu is now at peace, so we should not take it lightly!"
After Yang Dan finished speaking, the hall fell into silence. The ministers secretly looked up at the emperor's expression and saw that his face was dense and his lips were tightly pursed. It was hard to tell the depth, but compared with the smile just now, it was obvious that he was already accumulating anger. But Liu Xie had made some efforts to cultivate his character over the years, and he suppressed it abruptly. He turned to be magnanimous and said to the officials: "Since you have different opinions, you can all say what you think. Tell me what you think."
Dahong Yu turned forward and said: "The people of Wu relied on danger to defend and refused to obey the king. Your Majesty personally led the six divisions to investigate the crimes and balance the Yue. It is truly in line with the wishes of humans and gods. But this year, Zhenxing guards the place where bullfights are held, and he has good fortune. In Wu, the star situation is like this, so we should not commit it lightly. Moreover, the Sun family and his son are native to Wu, and their love for the people is still there. There are also dangers in the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, and there is no danger of being stupid in the country. I am stupid and think that I am using it to cultivate my virtue. It is not appropriate to work hard. Expedition. Confucius said: 'If people from afar are not convinced, they should cultivate their virtues and come here.' It is difficult to find peace in Hebei nowadays, so it is better to protect the territory and raise troops and wait for the opportunity."
Sima Yi, the Right Supervisor of Shanglin, retorted: "What Da Hongxu said is wrong. I heard that King Wu attacked Zhou and violated the stars. The way of heaven is far away, how can it be known by mortals? Fu Chai went to Wei Ling to dominate the Central Plains, and he became Gou Jian. Wang Mang claimed to be the destiny of heaven, deceived people's hearts, and usurped the throne. Within a few years, he was destroyed by Shizu Baiyi. The so-called danger of the Yangtze River, how had it ever been accomplished in ancient times? It took eight hundred years for Chu to strengthen the country Zuo, and Qin sent an army of 600,000. Wouldn’t it be destroyed in an instant?”
Yu Fan replied: "I heard that the Shang Dynasty was unethical and the world suffered from it. The husband Chai was sexually abusive, the king Mang was stupid and violent, and the people rebelled against their relatives, so they were defeated. Although Wu today has no virtue, he has not committed such a crime. What the supervisors said is nothing but absurdity. . Your Majesty, I believe that the right way now is to accumulate troops and wait for the day." After saying this, Fazheng, Ma Chao, Meng Da, Zhu Hao and others echoed in unison. Although Wei Xi came out to smooth things over, these people did not accept it, and the other officials did not express their stance, causing the court to be extremely embarrassed for a while.
Liu Xie turned to look at Kong Ming, hoping that he would come out to convince the crowd. Unexpectedly, Kong Ming shook his head slightly, and then moved his eyes downward, apparently signaling Liu Xie to postpone the matter later. Although Liu Xie was dissatisfied, he had nothing to do. He could only say: "Since there are different opinions and no consensus, let's take a long-term view on this matter first and discuss it later." The matter was shelved for the time being.
After the court meeting was over, Liu Xie discussed the matter with his close ministers at the Taipei Pavilion. Finally, he no longer concealed his anger, and immediately blamed Kong Ming, saying: "You were the one who proposed the big policy of going south. Now that all the officials are against it, how can you say nothing?" Are you scared? Or do you just want to laugh at my jokes? We have been discussing such a big matter privately for several months, how can we stop it just because of the public discussion? "
Zhuge Liang was silent for a while, but Zhou Buyi smoothed things over and said, "Your Majesty, you don't have to be like this. Since the crowd is raging, there is no need to offend the public. It is the wise man's way to go with the flow. Kong Ming should delay and wait for change. This is the way to go." It’s also the right way.”
Seeing that Liu Xie's anger had subsided for a while, Zhuge Liang said slowly: "Your Majesty, the Southern Expedition has naturally been decided and cannot be changed. However, the objections of the officials in the court must also be taken seriously. If the officials cannot be convinced by the discussion, the future will be ruined. On the battlefield, if someone acts against the will, it will lead to catastrophe. And among the ministers who are opposed today, if they are just civil servants, there are also veterans in the military. This is really not a small matter. Your Majesty, if the discussion in the court insists on this, I think there is no harm in delaying the Southern Expedition." As he spoke, he actually had the intention to cancel the Southern Expedition.
When Liu Xie heard this, he laughed angrily. He took a sip of tea, rapped his knuckles on the table and sneered: "These old thieves, to put it bluntly, are greedy for fame and fortune. They gained some power in the court through the influence of the late emperor and the prime minister." Status. Why are they opposed to the southern expedition? They are just opposed to me not using them. I still use the talents from this northern expedition. Can't I conquer the south?"
Speaking of this, Liu Xie actually regretted a little, thinking that he should have severely punished Ma Dai before, and said quickly: "I let them go last time, but they still didn't miss the old friendship, so this time I'll just kill a few leaders." Yes, let’s see if these people will stop!”
Pang Tong listened on the sidelines and quickly admonished: "Your Majesty, a saintly king should uphold the principle of benevolence and forgiveness. He should not kill people with his will. He can just say a few angry words. You must not act like this."
Liu Xie heard this impatiently, waved his hand and said, "Then tell me, what should we do about it?"
Pang Tong said: "Your Majesty actually knows it well. This is like when Gaozu founded the country, but the princes were still dissatisfied. Gaozu killed Duke Ding and rewarded Jibu, and first made Yongchi a marquis. Yongchi and Jibu killed Gaozu several times. The great ancestor is still able to resolve it, so why should I have any grudges against your majesty? As long as I appease him a little more and promote a group of old people to show your majesty's magnanimity, this matter will be done naturally."
This makes sense, and it's not that the others don't know it, but they're just not as upright as Pang Tong. There was silence in the pavilion for a moment, and all the officials looked at the emperor. The emperor rubbed his brows a little, but did not reject it immediately. He said slowly: "In Shi Yuan's opinion, how should I employ people?"
Pang Tong had obviously been thinking about it for a long time and immediately replied: "Isn't Marshal Guan just idle in the capital? He manages the army rigorously, cares about the soldiers and the people, and has a very high prestige in the army, no less than the prime minister. And your Majesty previously ordered him to withdraw from the court. It's really not appropriate. Now His Majesty just wants to ask him to be the commander-in-chief and let him choose the young people in the army. Who in the court dares to object? The marshal cares about the old relationship with the late emperor and cares about the world, so he will never object to the Southern Expedition."
Upon hearing this, the emperor blurted out: "I'm afraid it's easy to invite gods, but it's difficult to send them away!"
Zhuge Liang came out at this time and said: "Your Majesty, the marshal and the late emperor are brothers, and they are as kind as father and son. If your majesty doesn't even believe in the marshal, then who else in the world can be trusted? I also think that if we want to conquer the south, the marshal will be the main force. The first choice. Your Majesty does not have to worry about having nowhere to establish his power. You can move to Suiyang to supervise the troops in front, so that you will be blameless."
Liu Xie closed his eyes for a moment, thought about the pros and cons, and finally agreed: "Then let's arrange it like this! With Uncle Yun Chang as the commander, Zhao Yun as the deputy general, Zhong Da and Shi Yuan as the supervisors, Wen Zhi will follow me out to suppress Suiyang , Kong Ming, you stay in Luoyang and handle miscellaneous matters. Also, if we discuss this matter tomorrow, it will be up to Kong Ming to convince the officials."
That night, Liu Xie secretly ordered Marshal Guan Yu to enter the palace, and the two sides talked all night long.
The next day, when the court meeting was held again, all officials were shocked to see Guan Yu standing in the court hall. After all, after Prime Minister Chen Chong took office, Marshal Guan Yu also resigned when Liu Xie withdrew his troops the following year. In the next two years, Guan Yu has been living leisurely in Luoyang, keeping to himself with the door closed on weekdays. He has no friendship with the gentry in the capital and only interacts with Chen Chong, Zhang Fei and a few old tribesmen. Compared with Chen Chong, who was a leader in the literary world, Guan Yu, the marshal, was almost forgotten by people. Seeing him again at this time, the officials almost felt as if they were in another world.
At this time, Zhuge Liang, the captain of Sili School, once again proposed the southern expedition and said that Guan Yu would take command. People such as Yu Fan, Fazheng and others wanted to continue to oppose, but it can be seen that the marshal's eyebrows were raised slightly, his eyes were angry, and for a moment he was afraid and embarrassed, so he invariably stopped and kept silent. This controversy concerning the discussion of the Southern Expedition has come to an end.
