Liu Bei's sudden question made Zhang Xi understand a little bit.
Liu Bei had not yet become an old fool, so it was impossible that he did not know that Zhang Xi's position was awkward, but he asked anyway.
He didn't ask Pang Tong and Fazheng, who had never expressed their stance, but asked Zhang Xi. In his words and deeds, he didn't have the kind of dead horse face that makes people scratch their heads. Instead, he had a smiling expression. This didn't seem like he was expressing his stance to the front. dissatisfied? !
Combined with the special status of his wife, Zhang Xi suddenly understood Liu Bei's intention.
"Your Majesty, I think..." Zhang Xi paused for a moment and took a peek at Zhuge Liang. OK, no problem. This dead fish head was fanning with a smile on his face. There was nothing particularly abnormal.
"I think we can just stick to the original plan!"
Zhang Xi gave his own suggestions.
The original plan was to have Guan Yu station troops in four counties to observe success or failure.
Zhang Xi didn't want to make a decision that was too obvious, so he used this as a reason to express his thoughts - in fact, we didn't want to fight in the first place, it would be better to just get off the slope and get more benefits.
After Zhang Xi said this, Liu Ba was okay, he was public-minded, but Xu Jing and Qin Mi suddenly felt cold. It seemed like they had said the wrong thing just now.
We are both old foxes for thousands of years. Who doesn’t know who’s planning in their heart? How can Liu Bei not know why you two oppose the war? !
Besides, from the beginning, Liu Bei didn't have much intention of starting a war. Now he is just discussing whether the steps given by Soochow are suitable. You two can't wait to jump out and talk about peace. What does it mean? !
Liu Bei's reaction to this was to smile, nod, and say, "Very true."
Then there is no more.
The current situation has become a situation where three people advocate peace, one person proposes to proceed with the original plan, and the remaining five people do not object. If there is any argument in the future, it will also be the fault of the peace faction.
As for the Zhuhe faction, one is Xu Jing, a famous person in the world, and the other is Qin Mi, a representative of aristocratic families in Shu. It would be damned if these two can cause arguments in Shu.
It has to be said that people like Liu Bei are really born to be emperors. With just a few tricks, they took the blame away from the emperor.
After thinking about this, Qin Mi and Xu Jing immediately changed their expressions. After the discussion, they hurried home to arrange things.
But you must pay attention to public opinion and don't let stupid young people come out to cause trouble. This is not criticizing the current ills, but stabbing them.
And Zhang Xi. Zhang Xi was left behind by Liu Bei.
Also staying behind were Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng and Pang Tong.
"This is not a discussion, just a private discussion." Liu Bei put down his emperor's airs and became the familiar lord again. He said with a smile, "Mr. Kong Ming does not need to avoid suspicion, and Yuan Chang does not need to be ambiguous. He is filial and upright, and he is a scholar." Yuan, if you have anything to say, you can say it clearly and there is no need to be shy. Gentlemen, I would like to ask for advice on Sun Quan’s proclaiming himself emperor.”
This is the relationship between monarch and minister in this era. It is different from the era in later generations where everyone had to kneel down when meeting the emperor no matter what the occasion, and the emperor had to put on airs at all times.
These days, public is public and private is private.
In public, the emperor must show dignity and his courtiers must respect him.
But in private situations, the emperor would not call him "I" at all times. Ministers who had a good relationship did not have so many rules when talking with the emperor.
In addition, Liu Bei himself came from a grassroots background and gained his current position through many battles. He actually does not pay much attention to the so-called court etiquette. If it were not for the so-called majesty of the emperor, he would not even want to put on airs when discussing official business.
Now there are only four people left. These people all took refuge in him when he was in the most difficult time and helped him build such a big business. Liu Bei is not the kind of boss who treats people as inappropriate when working, so this kind of In private, I still humbly consulted the four important counselors.
When it comes to Sun Quan proclaiming himself emperor, Liu Bei has tended to do what Zhuge Jin said, calling each other the emperor by name and not recognizing each other's emperor title. However, Liu Bei is still a little unwilling to take advantage of Sun Quan in this way.
You have to find a way to get some benefits, right? !
Let’s see if there is any chance to bring back Changsha and Guiyang counties, and at least gather together the four Jingnan counties.
In this case, except for Nanyang County, Jingzhou is completely under control.
Liu Bei didn't hide it. It was a private discussion and no decision was made, so he simply expressed his thoughts directly.
But everyone, including Zhang Xi, thinks this is not feasible.
"My lord, Sun Zhongmou has just ascended to the throne, how could he want to cede territory?!" Zhuge Liang finally spoke, admonishing him.
Zhang Xi also raised his hand and said, "My lord, when Xi was stationed in Jiangling in the past, he learned that Jiangdong has invested a lot of manpower and material resources in developing Changsha, Guiyang and other places. If we want to return this time, even if Sun Quan agrees, the Jiangdong family may not agree. !”
Pang Tong and Fazheng also shook their heads slightly, and finally Pang Tong said, "My lord, the land of Jingxiang cannot be obtained quickly, and although the two counties of Changsha and Guiyang are different from the past, they are not as good as Nanjun after all. Don't let Jiangdong continue to develop. When the time is right, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask for it again.”
This is giving Liu Bei a step up.
In recent years, Jiangdong has done a good job in developing Dongting Lake in Changsha and Guiyang counties and converting swamps into fertile farmland. But even after nearly ten years of development, Jiangdong has only transformed one-third of the swamps in Changsha.
Although this has given Changsha the potential to become the second grain-producing area, Liu Bei will inevitably have to increase investment now that he wants to come back.
Money is not a problem. The large-scale development of Nanzhong has resulted in no shortage of copper in Shuzhong. If there is no money, just open a furnace to smelt copper and cast five baht coins.
After all, copper is a precious metal and has certain use value, so there is no need to worry about large-scale inflation caused by minting money.
The real problem is food.
These are troubled times. Even if there is a good year in various places, the grain output is not too abundant. If we have to hoard some of it as military rations, it means that Sichuan is a country of abundance and has a vast area of cultivated land, otherwise it will be really difficult to support it.
If Changsha and Guiyang counties were taken back now, how could they not increase investment in the face of such semi-finished agricultural transformation?
But if we increase investment in money and food in Jingzhou, what about the development of northern Yongzhou and the maintenance of stability in Liangzhou? !
When the country was newly established, it was the time when money and food were needed to maintain stability. It was actually not appropriate to return to Changsha and Guiyang counties at this time.
The four people all talked about their reasons, and Liu Bei also had his own judgment. He knew that it was not the right time to return to Changsha and Guiyang counties at this time, neither politically nor economically.
I can only give up my thoughts temporarily.
But he still felt unhappy, so Liu Bei said dissatisfiedly, "Are we going to take advantage of Sun Quan, an ambitious boy like this?!"
After all, Liu Bei was still dissatisfied with why Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor. What qualifications did you, Sun Quan, have and what legal basis did you have to proclaim himself emperor? !
Although strength is respected in troubled times, etiquette and music have not completely collapsed these days. You must have a reason for everything you do, right? !
In fact, to put it bluntly, Liu Bei was still unbalanced. In terms of strength and status, it is not that unimaginable for Sun Quan to become emperor.
Zhang Xi glanced at Zhuge Liang and thought to himself that at this time, shouldn't it be you, the great steward, who should come forward to persuade him? !
Zhuge Liang saw Zhang Xi's eyes, but he did not speak, but looked at Fazheng. Xiaozhi, you always understand the lord's thoughts best, and the lord can best listen to your advice. Why don't you come forward to persuade me? !
When Fazheng saw that these two guys were so careless in blaming this troublesome matter on himself, he looked at Pang Tong without saying anything.
Shi Yuan is very resourceful. Thinking about such a trivial matter, it won't be difficult for Shi Yuan, right? !
Pang Tongyi saw that these three guys were looking at him so shamelessly. When he turned around, he realized that he seemed to have no choice. Xu Shu was not in Chengdu, so who could he push them to?
He raised his head again, glanced at the three people in front of him, then took the initiative to leave, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has nothing to worry about. Yuan Chang has always been very resourceful and has many strange ideas. Your Majesty, why don't you ask Yuan Chang if there is a way to make Sun Zhongmou pay a little bit?" What’s the price?!”
Zhang Xi was stunned for a moment and then became unhappy. You, a turkey, betrayed your teammates on the spot? !
Pang Tongtong looked at Zhang Xi's glare and shook his head slightly, pretending not to notice. You are the youngest here. If not, who would you cheat? !
Well, it's not that the three of us have nothing to do about this matter. The key is to let the boss vent his anger, and at the same time, we can't offend Sun Quan for being too cruel. Who knows that you are Sun Quan's brother-in-law? It's more appropriate for you to speak about this kind of thing than for us to speak.
Zhang Xi was depressed for a long time, and then looked up at Liu Bei. Well, the lord looked like he was watching the fun, and it was clear that he wanted to make fun of himself.
Come on, don't bother, here's a simple idea.
"I have a plan, please let your Majesty know it carefully!" Zhang Xi said helplessly, "My lord, you can write a handwritten letter to Sun Quan to recall the past friendship with General Sun Polu against the national traitor Dong Zhuo. You can call me brother."
When Liu Bei heard this, his expression suddenly became playful.
And Zhuge Liang and others also looked askance at Zhang Xi. To be honest, you are the one who is the most damaging.
Isn't this a replica of Cao Cao's "Having a son should be like Sun Zhongmou"? !
It is true that Cao Cao's words "having a son should be like Sun Zhongmou" meant to praise Sun Quan in this era, but others may think this is good, and it is praising Sun Quan, but Sun Quan sounds a bit awkward.
Who is your son? !
But Cao Cao was really praising himself and felt that his sons were not as good as Sun Quan. However, in terms of seniority, Cao Cao was really the same generation as Sun Jian. In addition, Cao Cao's social status at the time was so high that Sun Quan had no choice but to pinch it. He nodded and admitted.
Now to apply it, Liu Bei is actually qualified to say this now.
Although Liu Bei's official position was very low when he challenged Dong, he was just a general under Gongsun Zan, but Liu Bei insisted on saying that he had a friendship with Sun Jian, which actually made sense.
After all, Liu Bei's status is now higher, and no one will investigate the status gap between Liu Bei and Sun Jian at that time.
Moreover, recalling this incident can also be used to clarify Liu Bei's attitude. When Dong Zhuo held the emperor hostage, your father and we fought against him together. Now you, a bastard, dare to claim the emperor? !
Another one is to take advantage of Sun Quan in disguise by praising Sun Jian.
Anyway, Cao Cao has already taken advantage of him, so if Liu Bei takes advantage of another generation, it’s not a big deal, right? !
(End of chapter)
