It’s no wonder that Pang Tong and others were not in favor of launching the Northern Expedition. After all, a lot of things had happened within the Han Dynasty in the past three years.
In particular, Zhuge Liang's reform of the employment system led to friction and competition among interest groups within the Han Dynasty.
In the original Han Dynasty, if divided into general terms, there were only two political factions, the Yizhou faction and the Jingzhou faction. But if the division was more detailed, the Yizhou faction would be divided into the Yizhou native faction and the Dongzhou faction. There are also some Yuancong sects, plus representatives of the less popular Yongliang family. But in general, the only two factions that have direct competition with each other are the Jingzhou sect and the Yizhou sect.
But now the situation is different.
Externally, the Central Plains aristocratic families headed by the Yingchuan faction have joined the territory of the Han Dynasty. These Central Plains aristocratic families obviously also need to pursue their own interests. As a Central Plains aristocratic family with extremely deep foundation, once it fully enters the officialdom of the Han Dynasty, this will not be the case. This is something that the Jingzhou or Yizhou faction can stop.
Internally, today's Dongzhou faction is also experiencing internal wavering regarding its own affiliation.
The Dongzhou faction was originally a collection of aristocratic families who fled to Yizhou during wars in various places. It was used by Liu Yan to fight against the Yizhou native faction. Among the Dongzhou faction, people from Jingzhou and Yongliang occupied more positions.
Later, as the Dongzhou sect gradually gained a foothold in Yizhou, its interest demands gradually became consistent with those of the Yizhou native sect, and the great Han people in this time and space did not lose Jingzhou, resulting in the Jingzhou sect becoming the dominant family, and the Dongzhou sect and the Yizhou native sect had to They united and became the new Yizhou faction to fight against the Jingzhou faction.
But now, with the entry of the Central Plains families with deeper foundations and larger numbers, both the Jingzhou sect and the Yizhou sect feel threatened, and there is a faint tendency to unite.
In addition, Zhuge Liang made such an opening, requiring officials from this county not to serve in this county. But for the Dongzhou faction, they are an interest group, not a regional group.
For example, Li Yan was from Nanyang, but he was the leader of the Dongzhou faction. If divided according to Zhuge Liang's reforms, Li Yan could actually be an official in Yizhou and take into account the interests of both the Yizhou faction and the Dongzhou faction.
This caused the people of the Dongzhou faction to become the most popular people in an instant, and became the target of the Yizhou faction and the Jingzhou faction.
At least for Li Yan, he now needs to consider where the future of the Dongzhou faction lies. Should he continue to rely on large interest groups to survive, or should he take this opportunity to expand and expand his own sphere of influence and become another force in the DPRK? relatively independent force.
Obviously, in terms of Li Yan's human nature, he prefers the latter.
Therefore, at this time, Li Yan was not particularly in favor of launching the Northern Expedition. The internal distribution of interests had not yet been resolved, so who would want to fight outside.
As for Pang Tong, it goes without saying that he is the representative of the Jingzhou faction. Now he not only has to face the external threat from the Central Plains family, but also needs to coordinate the distribution of interests with the Yizhou family internally, and also needs to win the support of the Dongzhou faction. .He has no intention of engaging in any foreign war.
As for Xu Shu, Xu Shu is now a representative figure brought to the forefront by the Yingchuan faction.
In fact, Xu Shu didn't want to stand at the front desk. After all, he was from a poor family, and he knew very well who the Yingchuan family really wanted to recommend. That was Chen Tai, the son of Chen Qun.
It is a pity that Chen Tai was born as a reduced general. It is impossible for Chen Tai to gain the trust of the Han court within at least five years. In other words, if the leader of the Yingchuan faction recommends Chen Tai, he will lose at least five people within the Han court. years of voice.
Therefore, the Yingchuan family sent people to contact Xu Shu privately, hoping that Xu Shu would stand up and represent the interests of the Yingchuan family. In return, Xu Shu would be accepted by the Yingchuan family, and suddenly he would become a wealthy family from a humble family.
This matter may not sound like a big deal, but in fact, it is really important. This means that even if the descendants of the Xu family in Yingchuan become incompetent in the future, they can continue to serve in the court with the support of the Yingchuan family. Maintain the status of a wealthy family.
This is a matter related to family inheritance. The aristocratic family is promising Xu Shu to protect the inheritance of the Xu family in Yingchuan.
Isn't this what the rich and aristocratic families have been fighting for for several lifetimes?
Another one. In fact, Zhuge Liang also hopes that Xu Shu can stand up and become the leader of the Yingchuan family.
In this era, it is inevitable to deal with aristocratic families, and it is impossible for the Central Plains aristocratic family, headed by the Yingchuan family, not to seek benefits in the court. Zhuge Liang will not be at ease with a force that is not restricted by the court. .
Instead of allowing the Central Plains families to grow wildly within the court, and even Zhuge Liang would not know what they would become in the end, it would be better to arrange for them a leader whom he could trust as their spokesperson, so that communication between the two parties would be smoother.
The Yingchuan family can directly communicate with Zhuge Liang to pursue his own interests, and Zhuge Liang can also use the Yingchuan family to balance the Yizhou family and the Jingzhou family and strive for the greatest benefits for the court and imperial power.
In this way, Xu Shu was asked by both parties to rush to the shelves and became the spokesperson of the Yingchuan family.
As for why you didn't joke with Zhang Xi, he is currently the number one person in the Han military.
It is impossible for the Yingchuan family to take the initiative to contact Zhang Xi, which would increase the suspicion of "tampering with military power" for nothing. Zhuge Liang will not allow the Yingchuan family to extend their hands to Zhang Xi. If they dare to reach out, Zhuge Liang will not mind chopping off their hands.
Well, that’s a bit much.
In a word - the territory has become larger, there are more interest groups, and power struggles have begun to appear within the Han Dynasty.
Pang Tong, Li Yan, Xu Shu, Jiang Xu and others each have their own political demands. Now their focus is on how to obtain relatively stable voice and political interests within the imperial court. For a while, no one thought about it. We must take the initiative to send troops to the Northern Expedition.
In addition, internal disputes aside, now is indeed not a good time for the Northern Expedition.
"Don't you, Prime Minister, hear that "if you don't attack him, you will be mourned"?!" Li Yan stood up, raised his hands to Zhuge Liang and said, "Although Cao Wei is an enemy, he has lost his master, so attacking him at this time is unkind!!!"
It's fair to say that it's a bit hypocritical. But it does stand on the moral high ground.
Actually, everyone knows that Li Yan really didn't say this to comply with any etiquette. He simply felt that it was not suitable to send troops now, so he found a moral reason.
But the problem is, if you leave this matter to those nerds who are looking for chapters and excerpts, which one of you here is not a human being? !
Especially Zhuge Liang, who was a figure who once fought with Confucian scholars in Jiangdong.
"Since Zhengfang has read "Gongyang", don't you hear that "if a king kills a king and a minister does not seek revenge, he is not a minister; if a son does not take revenge, he is not a son"?!" Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and said, "The thief Cao killed the king and usurped the Han. The Han Dynasty was in decline, but fortunately, the late emperor inherited the great power in Xichuan and succeeded the Second Ancestor Wu to revive the Han Dynasty. If we do not attack because of mourning, how can we be human ministers?!"
What Ji Han inherits is the two Han Dynasties, and the hatred between the two Han Dynasties is the hatred of Ji Han.
Don't worry about whether Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty is still alive. At least at the official level of Ji Han, Cao Wei is a regicide and usurper of the Han Dynasty. If you say that you won't attack such an enemy because the emperor is dead, then what kind of Han officials are we? Ji Han How could Han still have the nerve to call himself the "Second Patriarch of Siwu"? !
This is tantamount to denying the foundation of our country! ! !
Just take a look, in the same book "The Biography of Gongyang", if people from different standpoints quote different passages, they can come to completely opposite conclusions.
Actually, really, Confucianism has never been pedantic. Confucianism is actually the most adaptable school of thought. The really pedantic ones are those nerds who have become stupid from reading.
Having temporarily solved the issue of justice, Zhuge Liang wanted to continue to persuade the remaining people, but at this time, Xu Shu stood up.
"Kong Ming, it's not that we don't want to go to the Northern Expedition, it's just that now that Cao Rui has died, Cao Fang is young, and the state affairs are entrusted to the clan ministers, Cao Wei is at the time when the young master of the country is in doubt. If we stand still and there is no pressure from foreign enemies, there will be disaster. Internal fighting will lead to disaster sooner or later, and if we attack it now, we are afraid that Cao Wei will have the same hatred of the enemy, which is not a good thing!"
That being said, it is quite practical.
Zhuge Liang's response to this was also much more practical.
He did not answer Xu Shu's question directly, but turned around, came to his desk, carefully opened a small box, took out a scroll from it, and handed it to Xu Shu.
Now, not only Xu Shu was surprised, but everyone present was also surprised.
This operation is really a bit too familiar. Zhuge Liang did this during the last Northern Expedition, thus confirming the Northern Expedition plan in one fell swoop.
And when everyone present read the secret letter, they were even more surprised.
The content of this secret letter is really too incredible.
It actually records all the details of Cao Rui's edict before his death.
The most important thing is the details of how Cao Rui wanted to entrust Cao Yu with his death but was rejected, and how he accepted the suggestions of Sun Zi and Liu Fang and temporarily added Sima Yi as the entrusted minister, allowing Sima Yi and Cao Shuang to take charge of the government together. .
This kind of thing is simply not something that a secret agent can detect.
After everyone read the secret letter, they all looked at Zhuge Liang questioningly.
In fact, everyone has already guessed who this secret agent who has been protected by Zhuge Liang alone is.
(End of chapter)
