By early June, the news that Zhuge Liang led the three armies to a complete victory and successfully defeated Wu reached Luoyang, and the whole court celebrated. For this reason, the Prime Minister's Office issued a special order to cancel the curfew and allow the whole capital to celebrate for four days. Then he reported it to the emperor and held a banquet in the palace to entertain civil and military officials. For a time, they drank all night long and the emperor and his ministers enjoyed themselves. Even the Queen Mother Liu Jia, who had not interfered in any government affairs in the past, happily sent her palace maids out after hearing the good news to perform dances and drinks for the attendees. The banquet was not dispersed until it was almost dark the next day.
Although it went through twists and turns of one kind or another, in less than a year, the imperial court finally defeated Chu and conquered Wu. Except for a corner of Liaodong, it can be said that it unified the old territories of the previous dynasty. It was even better than during the reign of Emperor Shizu Guangwu. There is still victory. After all, Shizu could not control the Hetao in the north and the Western Regions in the west. He was forced by the Xiongnu all his life. In contrast to today's country, Prime Minister Chen Chong first implemented the Gantang Law in Guanzhong and established the Five Prefectures, and then abolished Wu in Hebei and asked for citizenship. Until now, Jin Ou is intact. , mountains and rivers are so solid, how can it not make people feel proud and elated? Therefore, after the banquet was dismissed, many courtiers went to the ancestral hall with wine in hand to worship and comfort the spirits of their ancestors in heaven.
Soon, the imperial court continued to discuss the achievements in pacifying Wu and awarded him awards. The order of meritorious deeds of the generals who led the troops is: Zhuge Liang is first, Zhang Ji is second, Deng Ai is third, Jiang Wei is fourth, and Ma Dai is fifth. There are also more than 130 other generals who have conquered Wu, and they are also rewarded based on their merits, and each has his own reward.
The most eye-catching one is Zhuge Liang, the commander-in-chief who defeated Wu this time. He had previously pacified Hebei and settled in Huainan. He had made numerous military exploits and was named Marquis of Xiangxiang. In terms of official titles and titles, he was the best among his peers, second only to those who accompanied Chen Chong and Liu Bei. The veteran Yuan Cong raised an army. Before returning to the imperial court this time, Chen Chong directly added 2,000 households to the city. He should be granted the title of Marquis of Wu'an, officially becoming one of the most prominent meritorious county marquises. This is already the envy of many people, not to mention that after reading the news of the victory, Prime Minister Chen Chong once sighed to his left and right: "Among the younger generations, the only one who can truly help the world and bring peace to the people is Kong Ming." As he said this, he subconsciously touched his seat. After these words came out, they were quickly interpreted by people who were interested, saying that the prime minister's implication was that he might want Zhuge Kongming to take over his authority, which made all the officials jealous.
On the other hand, looking at the situation of Zhang Fei, the former commander-in-chief of Wu and the general of chariots and cavalry, one has to sympathize with him. As the founding father of the country, although Zhang Fei's achievements were not as good as Guan Yu's, his ability to travel north and south and conquer east and west was only inferior to those of his elder brothers. Taking over the post of marshal this time was not without victory. Just because he massacred the city in Chaisang and killed prisoners, he was dismissed from his post and returned to Beijing, handing over the unification. The grievances involved may have been unprecedented since ancient times. Many military officers said privately that there was nothing worthy of blame in the massacre of the city in revenge for Marshal Guan. The Prime Minister only reprimanded him, but it was really unkind to dismiss him from his post. Obviously Zhang Fei, who was involved in the incident, was also very worried about this. After he returned to Beijing, he did not go to Chen Chong to report his work. Instead, he stayed in his house and stayed behind closed doors. Even though he was invited to the celebration banquet in the name of the emperor, he claimed to be ill at home and only asked his son Zhang Bao to attend on his behalf. Then news of the discord between Chen and Zhang spread in the capital.
Chen Chong also felt helpless about Yide's attitude. On the one hand, he understood Zhang Fei's resentment, but on the other hand, he also believed that he was still right. No matter how deep the brotherhood is, the right and wrong of conscience will always be there, and no reason can change it. At this time, Chen Chong found to his embarrassment that he was used to being criticized by relatives around him regardless of right or wrong. He couldn't even get angry at Yide, but instead tolerated his anger as a matter of course. Hey, Qi family, governing the country, Chen Chong speculated maliciously on the Confucian scholars in the pre-Qin period, how did they combine these two unrelated things?
Chen Chong also tried to ease the deadlock. He sent a message to Zhang Fei through his daughter-in-law Zhang, hoping that the two brothers would meet in private and have a heart-to-heart talk, but they were quickly rejected.
Ah Cai replied: "My father said that if the prime minister comes to talk to the sinner, there is no need. If he comes to apologize to his brothers and sisters, then we can still talk."
After Chen Chong received this reply, he finally felt a little resentful. He is gentle on the outside, but his principles deep down are rarely tolerant, especially on such big issues of right and wrong. Let yourself apologize. Do you really have anything to apologize for? After decades of doing this as brothers, it turns out that we can’t even tell the difference between right and wrong! Thinking of this, Chen Chong couldn't restrain his anger and said to A Cai: "How can he be justified in disregarding human life and killing innocent people indiscriminately? I didn't put him in jail. I have already let the world down! You go back and tell him that if he three If you don’t come to see me within a few days, you won’t have to see me again in this life!”
Such words reached Zhang Fei's ears. Needless to say, the result was that it was impossible for the two brothers to take the initiative to meet each other again. Even private attempts by his wife and juniors to persuade him were of no use.
And the more times like this, the more Chen Chong misses Yunchang. Yide felt resentful for Yun Chang's death. Did he think that he was a wooden person who didn't know how to love and hate? When he saw Yun Chang's coffin and remains, his heart was as sharp as a knife, and his palms were bleeding from his own nails! He hates it too! He hates the way the universe plays tricks on people's destiny, and hates the endless malice of creation towards creation. Many times, he even wonders, are people forced to endure pain in this life? For this reason, he will also have a desire to pull out a sharp blade, to cleanse this ruthless world, and to make the world clean with blood. But Chen Chong has experienced too much, and he knows that this kind of hatred leads only to a void. Just like Peng Tuo, he will not feel relief no matter how many people he kills.
People should avenge the dead, but there is something even more important that people should do, which is to defend the dignity of the deceased. Tai Shigong said that people may die, they may be heavier than Mount Tai, or they may be lighter than a feather. This is the truth. The deceased does not lose contact with the world because of death. Although he is dead, he can still exist in the hearts of the living. It is just that the world will remember those who are heavier than Mount Tai and despise those who are lighter than a feather. Obviously this kind of killing will not bring respect to Yun Chang. Yun Chang is an upright person. He is a hero. What a hero deserves is love and admiration.
When Chen Chong thought this way, he suddenly came up with the idea of a southern tour. When he was studying abroad as a boy, he once went to Jingzhou and Yangzhou, but since he became brothers with Xuande and others, he has been active in Hebei, Henan, and Shanxi. That is, he visited Bashu twice at the end of the Yanxing period. The last time I went to Gangneung seemed to have been more than forty years ago. Now, it’s time to go to the south of the Yangtze River again. Firstly, to appease the people in the south of the Yangtze River and deal with the people’s livelihood problems after the war. Secondly, I want to see the Yangtze River and Yunmengze again, and at the same time pay homage to those who died in the Yangtze River including Yunchang. Heroic souls on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. After finishing the southern tour, I happened to go to Beihai for an appointment. It was a perfect trip!
When Chen Chong told his wife about this matter, Dong Bai objected. She said to Chen Chong: "You are not in good health now. How can you stand the humidity in Jiangnan? What's more, the situation in Beijing is complicated. If you leave, I don’t know what trouble is going to happen again.” But the result was the same as before, she still failed to convince her husband.
Chen Chong replied: "I have been to the south of the Yangtze River. It is not a wolf pit and a tiger's den, not to mention that there are doctors accompanying me. As for the so-called chaos in Beijing, where is it? At worst, I will wait until Shiyuan and the others come back. It won't be too late for me to go."
Once you make up your mind, many things become easier. At this time, Zhuge Liang was still cleaning up the aftermath in Jianye. Chen Chong told him not to rush back to the court. The matter of leading the army could be left to Zhang Ji, Pang Tong and others first. He emphasized that handling the civil affairs in Jiangnan was the top priority, so Chen Chong gave Zhuge Liang the opportunity to do things conveniently. , the power to appoint and remove officials in Jiangnan, wait for Chen Chong to come over, and then discuss the specific details of the disposal with him in detail. Then Chen Chongcai formally proposed the plan of the southern tour at the court meeting, and proposed that Pang Tong be appointed as the director of the Prime Minister's Office, and U Kanshu w.uukashu.et would temporarily take charge of the affairs of the Prime Minister's Office. There are many people who are in favor of this matter, and there are also many people who are against it. The main reason for the opposition is that Pang Tong is not qualified enough, and I am afraid that a few more people will be needed to make the decision together. Chen Chong then appointed Wang Xiang, the imperial censor, and Huan Fan, the minister, to serve as directors. After some further deliberation, Zhang Fei was asked to temporarily take charge of Lin Jun.
When issuing an edict to Zhang Fei, Chen Chong asked someone to tell him: "I am going to the south today to promote the name of benevolence and righteousness for Yun Chang. When you are working in the capital, you should walk on thin ice and don't make the same mistakes again!" But he did not receive a reply! , Chen Chong didn't care about it either. In mid-July, when Pang Tong and others returned, Chen Chong took over as scheduled, and then took about twenty followers, including Zhao Qiu and Chen Xiu, and set off from Luoyang lightly.
Before setting off, his wife Dong Bai escorted Chen Chong to Yique Pass and told Chen Xiu and others some trivial matters. He said that Chen Chong should not be allowed to study in the middle of the night; Chen Chong should have a good rest when encountering bad weather in Jiangnan; and he should not be allowed to eat Jiangnan food randomly on weekdays, for fear that he would not be acclimated to the climate, etc., etc., he could listen to others. The followers looked at each other. Dong Bai didn't say anything more until Chen Chong took his wife's hand. Both of them knew that this was probably Chen Chong's last trip in his life.
As the coachman waved his whip, the rolling sound of wheels and the sound of horse hooves sounded together, and the scenery around him began to be slowly left behind. Chen Chong stuck his head out of the car window, waved to his wife from a distance, then sat back on the carriage and sighed for a long time. He felt the jagged stones rolling under the wheels one after another, and soon he felt a sense of melancholy. The premonition he had when he learned about Yun Chang's death began to envelope him again, making him feel that he was going through life. For the last part of the journey, the end point is just like the last glimmer of the setting sun in the foothills, already vaguely visible.
