Deng Zhi finally left Guanyi. Accompanied by Zhou Yin, he first went to the market to buy gifts, and then visited the prime minister of Soochow, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Zibu.
Deng Zhi had his own ideas as to why he visited Zhang Zhao first.
First, as an envoy of the Han Dynasty, it was in line with diplomatic etiquette to take the initiative to visit the Prime Minister of Soochow after his mission. Of course, whether Zhang Zhao saw him or not was his decision, but at least Zhou Yin had no reason to stop him.
Secondly, visiting Zhang Zhao is a cover for the subsequent visit to his real target. It can also give his old friends in Soochow an excuse to not say anything because they are worried about Sun Quan's blame. .
Therefore, visiting Zhang Zhao was only the first step. But Deng Zhi did not expect that Zhang Zhao would actually meet him.
Yes, Deng Zhi originally thought that when he went to visit Zhang Zhao, he would be rejected.
On the one hand, what happened today is strange. If it was Sun Quan's idea, then Zhang Zhao, as the prime minister of Soochow, could not be unaware of it. Seeing that Deng Zhi was coming, in order to avoid trouble, it was the most appropriate thing to do not see Deng Zhi.
On the other hand, Zhang Zhao is too old, almost eighty years old.
At his age, he may not have enough energy to deal with government affairs, let alone receive foreign guests. And given Zhang Zhao's status, if he didn't see Deng Zhi, Deng Zhi wouldn't be able to say anything.
Therefore, Deng Zhi really believed that Zhang Zhao would not see him.
But Zhang Zhao not only met him, but also received him in person. By the way, he allowed Deng Zhi to stay directly in his mansion.
Didn't you, Deng Zhi, make a big fuss at Guanyi, claiming that the guards were "confining" you? That's okay. You can live in the Prime Minister's house from now on, and you can come and go freely, and see who dares to stop you.
You want to visit your friends and make appointments with the Soochow courtiers. It doesn't matter. You can go wherever you like. If you meet someone who doesn't want to see you, I, the Prime Minister, will come forward and help you make an appointment to chat. We can talk about whatever you want. That's great.
In this case, you can't say that Soochow doesn't follow diplomatic etiquette and has no reason to treat guests, right? !
Deng Zhi had to sigh - ginger is still hotter when he is old.
If Deng Zhi just stayed in Zhang Zhao's house, it would be a signal in itself, telling the Soochow courtiers what to say and what not to say.
As for the so-called invisible people, Zhang Zhao was just pretending to be generous. Those people who were really invited by Zhang Zhao, what can they say in Zhang Zhao's mansion? !
More importantly, Zhang Zhao invited Deng Zhi to stay in his mansion. With his reputation and status, it can be said that he valued Deng Zhi. If Deng Zhi refused, it would be a sign of lack of etiquette.
Originally, if he lived in Guanyi, Deng Zhi could go out to collect intelligence through other means. If he lived here with Zhang Zhao, his every move would be under Zhang Zhao's watch. It would be difficult to figure out the problem.
Just when Deng Zhi was looking a little gloomy, Zhang Zhao actually took the initiative and talked to Deng Zhi about the previous dispute between the two countries.
It was about Soochow leading troops to attack Jiangling and Xiangyang twice.
Deng Zhi saw that Zhang Zhao took the initiative to bring up this matter, so as an envoy of the Han Dynasty, he had to fulfill his responsibilities after all.
Zhang Zhao is the prime minister of Soochow. Even if it is a private meeting and conversation, as long as official matters are discussed, it is official business. Deng Zhi sternly condemned and asked Soochow to give a formal explanation for the matter.
Deng Zhi's business-like attitude made Zhang Zhao smile.
"This is not the imperial court, and Bo Miao does not need to be so formal." Zhang Zhao put on a calm and relaxed attitude, smiled and said to Deng Zhi, "I have heard for a long time that Bo Miao is also a person who is familiar with poetry and books. We know that the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Things about Xia, Shang and Spring and Autumn Period?!"
Deng Zhi was also stunned when he heard this.
Zhang Zhao actually didn't play by the rules. He had made a formal denunciation and protest before. Shouldn't the correct response be for Zhang Zhao to act like a prime minister and refute his own words? !
Why do you still look like an elder, and when you say "Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Xia, Shang, Spring and Autumn"? !
This is to say that the past can be used to judge the present, and whether you can test your own knowledge? !
However, what is Zhang Zhao's status? Since he said this, Deng Zhi could only pretend to listen and said, "Please give me some advice from Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Zhao smiled and said without being polite, "In the time of the Three Emperors, the virtuous people in the world were the ones who succeeded to the throne. In the time of the Five Emperors, although there was blood inheritance, those who held the power of the world would eventually be chosen as virtuous. Bo. Does Miao think so?!"
Deng Zhi heard this and nodded for a while. This is the Confucian concept of inheritance of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Of course Deng Zhi must be right, otherwise it would be deviant.
Zhang Zhao was not surprised and continued, "At the beginning of Xia, the family and the world went through many twists and turns. From the changes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States, they all focused on the family and the world, but did not know how to always be virtuous. Therefore, in the Xia Dynasty, Taikang lost his country. The Shang Dynasty had the disaster of moving the capital, and the Zhou Dynasty had the disaster of dogs and soldiers. Fortunately, there were wise men who were upright, and they were able to overcome the disaster. Does Bo Miao think this is true?!"
Deng Zhixin said, what does this bad old man want to say? !
Most of the examples cited here are about the king being unprincipled, but only with the help of wise ministers, the dynasty was able to continue. What does that mean? !
At this point, Deng Zhi's sensitive political nerves immediately came into play. At this time, he could not agree casually and could only remain silent.
I don’t agree with it, but I don’t deny it either.
Then, Zhang Zhao's big move came.
"I personally think that this is all because of the emphasis on family and the world, and the neglect of the wise." Zhang Zhao continued, "The world should not be ruled by one family. Taikang was fatuous and lost his country, Xia Qi had no way, and Shang Tang Cut it down. The Shang Dynasty was unruly, and the Han Dynasty collapsed due to King Wu's attack, and the Cao thieves were in power. Our lord rose to the southeast, settled the place, quelled the chaos, drove out the bandits, and showed rituals. Can we be called virtuous?!"
"Now that the Han Dynasty is dead, the world is divided into three parts. The territory of the world should belong to virtuous people. My Lord is a virtuous person in the world and takes the land of the world. Why not?!"
Hearing this, Deng Zhi thought about it and immediately jumped into action! ! !
"Old man, why do you say you have no father and no king?!" Deng Zhi shouted angrily.
But Zhang Zhao smiled slightly and said, "I took the exam first. Although I have passed away, I still serve the clan. My king is now sitting in the palace. How can I say that I have no father and no king?!"
When Deng Zhi heard what this shameless old man said, he immediately became furious.
Moreover, the meaning behind Zhang Zhao's words really made Deng Zhi sweat on his back. Is Soochow going to fall out directly? !
Zhang Zhao talked so much before, but he actually wanted to tell Deng Zhi that this world is not the Liu family's world, but the world of the virtuous.
At first glance, this does not seem to be wrong, but the problem is that Zhang Zhao said this, which was tantamount to denying the political basis for the two emperors to stand side by side as agreed upon by Liu Bei and Sun Quan.
When Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor, Liu Bei wanted to take advantage of the situation and attack him, but he was not strong enough. The threat from Cao Wei was too great, so he had to resort to this vague method. Both sides recognized each other's throne, but both sides blurred the debate about who was the orthodox.
After all, there is only one orthodoxy in the world.
This is the so-called "two emperors standing side by side". After Cao Wei is eliminated, the two sides will decide who is the orthodox in a battle.
Both sides came here vaguely before, but now, Zhang Zhao has given Soochow a title of "the territory of the world, where the virtuous live", which not only justified Soochow's attack on Jiangling and Xiangyang, but also justified Soochow's attack on Jiangling and Xiangyang. For the first time, he emphasized to Ji Han that Soochow conquered the world with its virtues, which was the orthodoxy of the world.
In this way, the tacit understanding between the two parties has been broken. For the first time, Soochow has denied Ji Han's status in terms of orthodoxy. It would be fatal to not recognize Ji Han as the continuation of the legal system of the Han Dynasty.
This kind of orthodoxy dispute is enough to directly cause a war between the two countries.
What's even more terrible is that now that Cao Wei is still there, Soochow suddenly breaks the tacit understanding and denies Ji Han's orthodox status. Is it related to Cao Wei in the north? !
After all, when Deng Zhi visited last time, Cao Wei sent Jiang Ji across the river for peace talks and wanted to establish an alliance with Soochow. Now, could things have changed? !
If you think about it along this line, Deng Zhi becomes more and more afraid.
After all, if these words were spoken by ordinary Jiangdong celebrities or court ministers, Deng Zhi would not need to be too excited. After all, it was just a family statement.
But from the mouth of Zhang Zhao, the prime minister of Soochow, the political meaning is completely different.
Does this mean that Soochow is ready for a head-on war with the Han Dynasty, and this time it is just using Deng Zhi as an envoy to officially express its position? !
No wonder, as soon as he arrived in Jianye, he was trapped in Guanyi. If Soochow really planned to fall out, then it would make sense to do so.
Deng Zhi was really anxious.
He was not anxious for his own life, he was anxious because Zhang Xi had told him when he came here that Jiangling was not ready for a full-scale war with Soochow yet, and he hoped that Deng Zhi could delay it as long as possible.
Now, Deng Zhi was afraid that it was too late.
Therefore, on the one hand, Deng Zhi must show his anger, on the other hand, he must also find a way to get away from Zhang Zhao as soon as possible, and pass the news to Zhang Xi that Soochow is planning to turn against him through the detailed channels installed in Jiangdong.
Therefore, Deng Zhi angrily scolded Zhang Zhao. On the one hand, he really needed to refute Zhang Zhao's remarks in person. On the other hand, after scolding him, he had a reason to leave the Prime Minister's Palace.
But Zhang Zhao, this old guy, has never seen anything at such an old age, and he can't get enough of it.
Deng Zhi scolded Zhang Zhao for having no father and no king, but Zhang Zhao said that his father was enjoying the incense in the ancestral hall of the clan, and the master was sitting peacefully in the palace, so how could he have no father and no king? !
Deng Zhi found that he couldn't stop scolding this old man. He had obviously dismissed the matter of being a Han minister and eating Han's salary.
Another thing, people don't recognize you Ji Han as the heir of the Later Han Dynasty. If the old man is a minister of the Han Dynasty, what does it have to do with you, a minister of the "Shu Kingdom"? !
Deng Zhi felt aggrieved for a long time and finally found that he couldn't curse him in front of Zhang Zhao.
Of course, some dirty words can still be scolded, but it is not in line with Deng Zhi's status as a celebrity, and it also degrades his status as an envoy of the Han Dynasty. He simply flicked his sleeves and strode away from Zhang Zhao's Prime Minister's Palace.
Well, let's go first, it's important to find a way to deliver the message.
As for Zhang Zhao, he did not stop Deng Zhi. After Deng Zhi left, Zhang Zhao also sighed, then changed his clothes and entered the palace to talk to Sun Quan.
What should be known is already known, so next, it is time to talk to the Supreme about what to do next.
(End of chapter)
