Lantian heard that the order was wrong. How could he be listed as the first among civil servants? After the dispersion of the dynasty, he found Liu Bei alone and expressed his willingness to accompany him to the throne.
Liu Bei smiled leisurely and said: "Who has made the greatest contribution, don't I know? If Ziyu is placed at the bottom, how should the officials in the court look at me?"
"Excellent talent."
Lantian was about to argue, but Liu Bei interrupted: "I know Ziyu has always been humble, but in the past I did it to show off to the enemy. Now that the overall situation of the world has been decided, why do you have to wrong yourself?"
"Your Majesty, if you want to insist, at least put the prime minister before me, otherwise I will only be ashamed of myself and become an official." Seeing that Liu Bei was very determined, Lantian could only make some concessions.
"Kong Ming's talent is indeed rare in the world, but I think your contribution is greater. Why does Ziyu admire Kong Ming so highly?" Liu Bei was puzzled.
Lan Tian had a bitter look on his face and said to himself, if you had been here since two thousand years ago, you would know why I am so persistent. He thought for a while and solemnly replied: "It is more difficult to defend a country than to conquer it. Your Majesty knows the situation in Yizhou best, and the Prime Minister can take care of it." He must be well organized and organize troops to perfectly quell the Nanman rebellion. Kong Ming is really a great talent with both civil and military skills. Only he can lead the Han people to the light."
Liu Bei frowned and sighed: "Sometimes I really don't understand you. You are obviously the most knowledgeable in the world, but you are so humble and don't care about power. Does Ziyu want to be a saint?"
"Saints are illusory, but I should keep my feet on the ground and be a mortal." Lan Tian bowed solemnly and saluted.
"That's all, I can't resist you." Liu Bei could only compromise when he saw this.
On the second day after the edict was promulgated, hundreds of officials lined up to enter the Qilin Pavilion to pay their respects. Zhuge Liang found that his portrait was ranked first on the left. Except for himself and Lan Tian, whose positions had been exchanged, the other people's positions were the same as in yesterday's edict.
Zhuge Liang asked Liu Bei privately about the reason, and Liu Bei told everything about Lan Tian's strong recommendation. After hearing this, Zhuge Liang was even more confused. He recalled that from the time he came out of the mountain to the present, Lan Tian's respect for him was just like Lai Gong's respect for Lan Tian. It's so natural. Could it be that this is sympathy?
The officials looked at the portraits and compared them with the dragon, tiger and ten ministers. There were countless envious looks in the Qilin Pavilion, as well as countless words of praise. Suddenly someone discovered that Huang Zhong, one of the Five Tigers, was not there.
Zhuge Liang frowned and analyzed: "Old General Huang looked very bad yesterday. Is there something wrong with his body? After all, he is so old?"
"No way? Yesterday he claimed to have drunk too much." Liu Bei didn't believe it even after he said it.
"Why don't you take a look for yourself." Lan Tian reminded.
"I have quick legs and feet, so I'll go first."
Zhang Fei turned around to leave, but Liu Bei quickly stopped him: "Third brother, wait a moment, I will go with you."
Liu Bei wanted to visit Huang Zhong in person. The civil and military officials who came to visit Qilin Pavilion were all vying to go, and finally he chose a dozen colleagues who were close friends with Huang Zhong.
When everyone arrived at Huang Zhong's house, General Huang Zhong had already passed away.
Huang Zhong was still having difficulty moving before going to the palace yesterday. This morning, his complexion suddenly improved. After breakfast, he ordered his servants to put on a robe for him, and then he sat in the main hall with his eyes closed and calm. Everyone in the palace thought that he fell asleep sitting there. .
Liu Bei led his people to the Huang Mansion. When his servants went to call Huang Zhong, his body had become cold and there was no trace of breath. He didn't know when he died.
When Huang Zhong passed away suddenly, Liu Bei returned to the palace sadly after paying homage to his body, and asked Taiwei Fa Zheng to attend to his funeral.
At night, Fazheng entered the palace to meet the emperor and presented Huang Zhong's suicide note to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei unfolded the letter and wrote: Huang Zhong is lucky enough to meet Your Majesty so that he can fulfill his ambitions. I am listed among the Five Tigers as an old soldier. It is indeed a great favor from the Emperor and Heaven. I am alone and have nothing to rely on. All the gifts given by Your Majesty will be returned to the country. Now I know The deadline is approaching, so I write this letter to bid farewell. May our Lord be young forever, and may I, Huang Zhong, pay my respects.
"One of the five tiger generals has disappeared so quickly." Liu Bei shook his head and sighed while holding the suicide note, and later posthumously named Huang Zhong the Marquis of Gang.
There were major events in Chang'an within two months. In the blink of an eye, it was August in the late summer and early autumn. The generals were gearing up to prepare for the expedition. Because important ministers from various places came to Beijing to serve as officials, Liu Bei made adjustments to the governors.
Wu Yi, the general of the left, succeeded Zhuge Liang as the governor of Yizhou; Zhao Yun, the general of Zhenxi, was promoted to the general of Zhendong, and was the governor of Qingzhou; Wei Yan, the general of Zhenbei, was the governor of Youzhou; Pang De, the general of Pingxi, succeeded Zhao Yun as the governor of Liangzhou; Yang Hong was promoted to Yizhou and became the governor of Jingzhou; Deng Ai, the captain of Changshui, was transferred to the prefect of Hanoi.
After a long period of exploration, the Da Sinong Mansion was up and running. The young people he transferred from Jiaozhou became the backbone of the Da Sinong Mansion with their rigorous work style and excellent work ability, breathing a new lease of life into the old officialdom of the capital. A breeze.
At the end of August, news came from Hebei that Cao Pi died of illness in Yecheng at the beginning of the month.
Zhang He was sent back to Wei, and Zhuge Liang's prophecy came true. Cao Pi was so angry that he fell ill on the spot. He passed away after two months of treatment, leaving behind an edict to pass on the throne to Cao Rui, king of Pingyuan.
Cao Rui was only 22 years old at the time. Cao Pi originally left him three auxiliary ministers, Hua Xin, Chen Qun, and Xin Pi.
In the past few years, the generals of the Cao Wei clan have withered greatly. The general of the Chinese army, Cao Zhen, was trapped in Hexi and there is no news. The great Sima Cao Xiu committed suicide on the battlefield of Jingzhou. The general of the Eastern Conquest, Xia Houshang, was not long in Huainan. He was depressed and angry in Qiaocheng. The reason for his death was that when Cao Pi learned that Huainan had been lost, he was angry and had personal grudges, so he killed Xiahou Shang's favorite concubine.
Liu Bei's soldiers were strong, and the Wei state had to have a commander-in-chief. Cao Rui, at the suggestion of the Empress Dowager Bian, re-appointed Cao Hong as the Grand Sima and General to command the country's troops. He was mainly responsible for the military affairs of You, Ji, and Yanzhou, and the defense of the Luoyang garrison. Soldiers and horses; the prince-in-law Xiahou Mao was granted the title of General in the Expedition to the West, and the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of the state;
None of the three are capable of being generals, and Xia Houmao has no ability to lead an army. Cao Rui has no one to use, so he can only do this.
In order to complete the number of four auxiliary ministers, Cao Pi also left a secret edict to Cao Rui alone, and left the extremely capable "Wuhou" Sima Zhao to his son.
Sima Zhao became more handsome after the trauma, and his age was very close to that of Cao Rui. He was Cao Rui's favorite "auxiliary minister" and promoted him to the rank of regular servant. The center of power moves closer.
Yecheng is one of the places where the Sima family's crime occurred. Sima Zhao became a celebrity around Cao Rui and his power increased greatly. He had more means to re-investigate what happened back then, and he was increasingly able to clear away the fog and discover the truth.
If Cao Pi dies, Wei will be in turmoil, and Liu Bei will not give up this great opportunity.
In early September, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao sent 30,000 troops from Hanoi to attack Bingzhou. Guan Yu's Jingzhou Army left Luoyang to attack Yanzhou. Zhao Yun and Wei Yan sent troops to Runan to help Gan Ning capture Yuzhou, and then transferred to Xuzhou to capture Qingzhou. Lu Xun and Lan Yuan took advantage of the battle. The ship sailed along the Huai River and sailed east towards Xuzhou.
The Han army launched a full-scale attack, and the morale of the soldiers was high.
Yuzhou and Xuzhou, which were in charge of Xia Houru, were the first to collapse. In October of the first year of Yanyao, Zhao Yun and Wei Yan captured Runan; Gan Ning led Pei and Liang (Yuzhou was confederated), and Jia Kui, the governor of Yuzhou, fled from Peixian to Qingzhou;
In November, Lu Xun captured the entire territory of Xiapi, and Xia Houru was chased into Qingzhou by the trapped army; in December, the Jingzhou Army captured Puyang in the East County and recovered the entire territory of Yanzhou, while Guan Yu stationed troops in Baima and looked at Hebei.
In less than four months, Wei State had only Miao Qingzhou left south of the Yellow River.
(End of chapter)
