The so-called lips are dead and the teeth are cold, and there are still intact eggs under the overturned nest.
Even children understand this truth, so how could Zhuge Ke not understand it?
Lu Yi even dared to frame Duke Gu, which led to His Majesty's desire to change the Prime Minister.
If this person really wants to attack the prince, who knows whether he will be tricked into replacing the prince in the end?
To be disrespectful, the prince's biological mother was too humble, and his adoptive mother was sent back to her hometown by His Majesty.
Anyone who can really guarantee that the crown prince's position is as secure as Mount Tai is either stupid or has ulterior motives.
Otherwise, why would His Highness often say in public that he is willing to give up his position as Crown Prince to Sun He, the Third Prince's son?
As soon as he thought about this, Zhuge Ke comforted Sun Deng and said:
"Your Highness, don't be anxious. In my opinion, Lu Yi's move was probably just his own doing. There should be no one else behind him."
"Why?"
"Your Highness, think about it, who is capable of threatening Your Highness's position as Crown Prince now? Only the Third Prince has one ear."
The second prince, Sun Lu, had just been named the general of the army two years ago, and he died before he was even named king.
"Since the third prince is only over ten years old and is very close to His Highness, it is impossible for Lu Yi to seek the crown prince position for the third prince, right?"
"Besides, how could your Majesty abolish the elders and establish younger ones, only to disrupt the country's foundation?"
His Majesty's legitimate wife was originally Mrs. Xie, but Mrs. Xie died young and later married Mrs. Xu as his first wife.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xu was sent back to her hometown in the end.
Until now, His Majesty has never appointed a queen.
Therefore, in terms of status, there is no distinction between high and low among all princes, only the order of eldest and youngest.
At most, it's just to see whose mother is favored.
Therefore, if Your Majesty wants to depose the crown prince, you must first enthrone the queen.
When His Majesty proclaimed himself emperor, he wanted to make the Bu family his queen, but the ministers insisted on making the Xu family his queen.
The Queen's matter has been delayed and undecided.
Therefore, the matter of granting the title of empress is a serious matter and is not a private matter of the royal family. Even His Majesty cannot decide it in one word.
How could a mere Lu Yi easily shake the crown prince's position?
"I believe that this is a private matter for Lu Yi, and no one else should instruct him."
After thinking about this, Zhuge Ke said to Sun Deng, "Wuchang was originally the place where His Highness was guarding. His Highness has repeatedly written letters to advise His Majesty not to reuse Lu Yi."
"General Shang and Pan Taichang, who are far away in Wuchang, are also with His Highness. In Lu Yi's opinion, they were ordered by His Highness."
"Therefore, this is the reason why Lu Yiguo trapped the people around His Highness."
It’s not like Sun Deng didn’t think of this:
"Even so, we cannot let such villains deceive His Majesty, otherwise in the long run, I am afraid that all the ministers in the court will be alienated."
Zhuge Ke pondered for a while, then shook his head:
"His Royal Highness and the General have submitted letters several times, but it is difficult to change His Majesty's opinion of this person. This shows that he is deeply trusted by His Majesty."
"Suddenly, I'm afraid it will be difficult to shake his position in His Majesty's heart. I can only try to do it slowly."
When Sun Deng heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed:
"Don't Yuan Xun have any good ideas?"
Zhuge Ke smiled calmly:
"Lv Yi is a villain. He has no roots and no foundation. He can be a powerful person in front of all the ministers, but he only relies on His Majesty's cronies."
"Even though this person is so arrogant now, if there comes a day when His Majesty becomes suspicious of him, that will be the day when his body and head are separated."
Sun Deng sighed:
"How difficult is it?"
"It's not difficult!" Zhuge Ke shook his head, his eyes flashing coldly, "Lu Yi's power and fortune all depend on your majesty. If we can find a way to alienate your majesty from this villain, it will be easy for us to punish him."
"How to distance yourself?"
"First, someone must dare to face His Majesty Chen, point out what Lu Yi did to his face, and persuade His Majesty to investigate what Lu Yi did. Otherwise, no matter how much we do, we will not be able to do anything to this person."
Sun Deng frowned more and more:
"When it comes to the most important people in the court, no one is more important than the General and I. We have written many times, but we can't convince His Majesty, let alone others?"
Zhuge Ke laughed:
"Your Highness, it is precisely because you are a member of the court that I cannot speak to Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, think about it. Your Majesty ordered Lu Yi to be appointed as the Colonel of Zhongshu Dian, just to supervise all officials."
"Now that hundreds of officials have written to impeach Lu Yi, doesn't it mean that Lu Yi is a good supervisor?"
"Therefore, if there are so many petitioners, I am afraid that Lu Yi will be more trusted by His Majesty's confidants!"
When Sun Deng heard this, he suddenly realized and slapped his thigh:
"That's so true! I didn't think of this!"
As he said this, he looked at Zhuge Ke and praised, "Yuan Xun, thank you!"
Zhuge Ke smiled smugly. Naturally, he would not say that he had just figured this out.
I just heard him continue:
"Your Highness, so the person who is to meet His Majesty, not only cannot be a minister of the court, but he cannot even be a local official."
The position of Zhongshu Dianlang not only supervises all central government officials, but also local prefectures and counties. It seems to be a humble position, but in fact it has great power.
"So, people like this are probably hard to find!"
Even among the hundreds of officials, many people would be frightened when facing His Majesty alone.
Not to mention that if you speak out about Lu Yi's mistakes, you will most likely be retaliated by Lu Yi.
Therefore, this person must not only be bold, but also must not be afraid of death.
Lu Yi is favored by His Majesty. If he wants to persuade His Majesty, he must be eloquent.
To put it nicely, it means being eloquent; to put it unpleasantly, it means being eloquent.
Thinking of clever words and persuasion...
Sun Deng shook his head quickly and focused his attention on the matter in front of him.
I dare to face His Majesty directly, I am not afraid of life or death, I am not afraid of Lu Yi's revenge, and I cannot be an official, so I can only look for him among the people.
But where can such people be found among the people? !
The Cangtou Qianshou didn't even know how to write his own name, let alone expect them to make any sense.
He even discussed the principles of governing the country in front of His Majesty.
It seems that the clever talker was also recruited from the civilian population by Zhuge Liang, and before he became an official, he had already proposed the strategy of pacifying Nanzhong...
Really annoying!
So annoying!
He had obviously found a way to solve the problem, but he got stuck on a key figure, which immediately made Sun Deng irritated:
"Is there really nothing we can do against such villains?"
“If we can’t find it, others may not be able to find it.”
Zhuge Ke said calmly.
"who?!"
Sun Deng asked quickly.
"Yangba."
"he?"
Sun Deng looked at Zhuge Ke with a suspicious look on his face, his eyes flickering.
"Yes, that's him."
Zhuge Ke nodded and affirmed:
"Yangqi is known to the world for his ability to recognize people. If he can discover talented people among the people and recommend them to your majesty, your majesty will not have any doubts."
Having said this, a sneer appeared on Zhuge Ke's face, "If such an intelligent man speaks out about Lu Yi's mistakes, what do you think Your Majesty will think?"
how to think?
After all, this talented man was discovered from the people. Now even the people know that Lu Yi is a ruthless villain. How can your Majesty still keep it in the dark?
"Wonderful!"
Sun Deng's thigh was already painful from the slap, and his face was filled with joy, "This is a great plan!"
But Sun Deng gritted his teeth and continued:
"Yuan Xun is right. Yang Xi really knows people. It is most appropriate to leave this matter to him. If he doesn't agree, I will beg until he agrees."
Zhuge Ke smiled slightly and said confidently:
"Don't worry, Your Highness, he will definitely agree."
Since you dare to speak out about the mistakes of everyone in the East Palace many times and want to be an upright person who dares to speak out, you can't back down from such things as sharing worries for the country, right?
Otherwise, wouldn’t it mean that he is a hypocritical person with a good reputation?
After solving a major issue that had been weighing on his mind for a long time, Sun Deng breathed a sigh of relief.
He raised the cup and wanted to take a sip of tea, only to find that the tea was already cold.
So he quickly changed Zhuge Ke's cup of hot tea himself.
When Zhuge Ke saw Sun Deng's behavior, his heart skipped a beat and he asked tentatively:
"Your Highness...anything else?"
Sun Deng nodded, but he didn't look as gloomy as before. He just thought for a moment and then said:
"Your Majesty made Yuan Xun the general of Weibei. His intention is self-evident. In my opinion, even if Yuan Xun does not ask to cross the river on his own, I am afraid that Your Majesty will send Yuan Xun to cross the river to fight against the thieves."
"Isn't this a good thing?"
"It's a good thing." Sun Deng stared at the tea cup in his hand and said in a low voice for a long time, "But there is one thing Yuan Xun you may not know."
"A few days ago, Emperor Cao Rui of the Wei Kingdom sent an envoy over to propose to me, Da Wu, that he was willing to exchange war horses for pearls, tortoiseshells and other treasures."
Zhuge Ke smiled when he heard this:
"I have often heard that Cao Rui likes pearls, but now I see it with my own eyes..."
Before he finished speaking, he paused suddenly, sat upright involuntarily, and looked towards Sun Deng.
Sun Deng raised his eyes and looked at him, then lowered his eyes again and continued to stare blankly at the teacup in his hand.
Zhuge Ke swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked:
"Your Majesty...have you agreed?"
Sun Deng nodded, his voice still low:
"I agree. Your Majesty said that pearls and tortoise shells are no more than stones and rubble to Wu, but they can be exchanged for war horses and increase the strength of Wu's army. Why not?"
Zhuge Ke exhaled heavily and forced a smile:
"Your Majesty clearly knows that this should be the case."
Sun Deng twitched the corner of his mouth and thought it was a smile.
When your Majesty declared himself a vassal of the Wei State, Cao Pi asked Wu for treasures, and your Majesty said the same thing.
The only difference is that at that time, Cao Pi asked for it, but now, Cao Rui offers the war horse in exchange.
After all... today is different from the past!
The leader of the Great Wu Kingdom is no longer the King of Wu conferred by the Wei Kingdom.
But Emperor Wu.
However, Sun Deng still always felt uneasy and panicked.
Zhuge Ke seemed to see Sun Deng's thoughts and consoled him:
"His Majesty did not hide this matter, which shows that His Majesty is open-minded and has no other thoughts."
"Besides, aren't there caravans between Shu and Wei? Now that there are three pillars in the world, it is normal for them to exchange something with each other."
It is true that there were caravans between Shu and Wei.
However, the supplies in Shu are so in demand right now, and I have never heard of Cao Rui personally sending an envoy to exchange supplies with Liu Chan...
Sun Deng sighed:
"What I'm afraid of is that this might be Cao Rui's plan to drive a wedge between Wu and Shu."
In fact, Cao Rui was very generous this time.
The horses given were not only numerous in number, but also numbered a thousand.
And the price is very reasonable, it can even be said that Dawu took a big advantage.
Sun Quan sent people to Liaodong many times, bringing countless rare treasures, and granted Gongsun Yuan official titles and promotions.
None of the war horses returned were as sincere as Cao Rui this time.
But precisely because he had taken such a big advantage, Sun Deng felt vaguely that something was not right.
Hearing Sun Deng's worries, Zhuge Ke was silent for a while, and finally sighed:
"Even if it is a stratagem, I, Da Wu, have to accept these war horses."
Who in the world doesn’t know that Wu is in short supply of war horses?
The Wei thieves have two states, Bingyou, and the Shu state has Liangzhou and Longyou.
Only Wu State tried to make good relations with Liaodong many times but failed.
This time, Cao Rui finally grasped His Majesty's thoughts.
Thousands of fine war horses were simply too much for the state of Wu, and the monarchs and ministers of the state of Wu had no room to refuse.
However, Wu and Wei have been cut off from contact for ten years, and now they suddenly have contact, and it is between the two heads of state. Who dares to say that Shu will not become suspicious?
Even if there is no suspicion, I am afraid that the monarchs and ministers of Shu will be unhappy.
After all, what happened in Jingzhou will always be a scar that Wu and Shu cannot get around.
What's more, Wu Shu set up an altar, burned fire to the sky, and publicly swore an alliance.
If the state of Wu continues to secretly fight against Wei and Shu, everyone in the world will laugh at the fact that the Wu people have no credibility at all.
How will the kings and ministers of the Wu Kingdom stand in the world at that time?
"Since Your Highness has this concern, why not inform Your Majesty so as to avoid any rift between the two kingdoms of Wu and Shu?"
"Why don't I not think about it?" Sun Deng said distressedly, "It's just that I don't know what your Majesty is thinking."
"The second one is the case of slandering the state affairs, which is still in turmoil. If I make a wrong move and Lu Yi seizes the opportunity to go ahead and talk greedily before His Majesty, I'm afraid... alas!"
At this point, Sun Deng and Zhuge Ke looked at each other.
Both of them had a decision in their hearts: Lu Yi was already a serious problem in the court and must be eliminated as soon as possible!
"If it's inconvenient for Your Highness, why not let the General speak for you?"
Zhuge Ke reminded.
Sun Deng was still hesitant: "Now that things have happened, there is a high probability that Lu Yi wants to do harm to me."
"If Lu Yi advises His Majesty, I live in the East Palace, but I have frequent correspondence with the General in Wuchang, and I can even give orders to the General."
"When His Majesty asks, how can I explain it?"
As the prince, Sun Deng is both a king and a minister.
Sun Deng also understood the reason why His Majesty favored Lu Yi after he ascended to the throne.
In fact, it is to better control the officials and ministers.
It's just that this kind of emperor's mind can be understood but not stated clearly.
General Shang was guarding Wuchang, and half of Wu was under his control.
If he were still in Wuchang, it would be okay to discuss state affairs with the general.
But now that he has returned to Jianye, if he still has close contact with the general, even a letter can persuade him.
That's just not knowing how to advance or retreat, and violating a taboo!
When Zhuge Ke saw Sun Deng in trouble, he immediately volunteered and said:
"If it is inconvenient for His Highness to discuss this matter directly with the General, then I will write a letter to Your Excellency and ask him to convey His Highness' concerns to the General. How about that?"
Sun Deng was overjoyed and stepped forward to hold Zhuge Ke's hand: "That's great!"
Zhuge Jin is a general who guards Jingzhou all year round and has a close friendship with the general Lu Xun.
If it were relayed by him, there would be no worry of leaks.
In October of the twelfth year of Jianxing, Sun Quan, who had just taken advantage of the Wei State, was reminded by Lu Xun that this was probably a alienation plan by the Wei State.
So Sun Quan quickly wrote a letter and sent someone to Shu.
Who knew that at this time, an unexpected situation happened.
When the messenger was crossing Jiangxia and preparing to enter the territory of Nanjun, he happened to encounter a small Wei army going south to plunder.
This letter naturally fell into the hands of Wei Jun.
Then he was sent to Luoyang by the Wei army as quickly as possible.
Over the years, although there have been few battles on the border between Wei and Wu in Jingzhou, small groups of armies from both sides often enter and plunder each other.
This is not surprising.
After Sun Quan learned about this, he didn't pay too much attention.
So he wrote another letter and prepared to send someone to deliver it to Zhuge Liang and the Han emperor.
PS: Due to the complex terrain and dense water network at the Wu State-Jingzhou border, small groups of troops from both sides often enter and harass. Wu Guo's letter was intercepted by Wei Guo more than once.
Even the year before Zhuge Liang's last Northern Expedition in history, Sun Quan's letter to Zhuge Liang about attacking together was intercepted by Wei.
This is the helplessness of not having a dangerous place like Xiangyang to defend the north.
