The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 544 Volume Envy
After entering Chang'an, Zhuge Jin went around wandering around.

The streets are prosperous and the roads are clean.

The paths for pedestrians and carriages are clearly distinguished, and order is always maintained in the seemingly chaotic streets, keeping the prosperity going and preventing it from becoming a bubble.

"The customs of the people in Chang'an are very different from those of the people in Jiangdong."

Confident and outspoken.

Open and tolerant.

These scenes made only one sentence emerge in Zhuge Jin's mind -

When the granaries are full, people know etiquette.

If you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace.

Adequate material foundation can really give people confidence.

Thinking about the people of Jiangdong today, Zhuge Jin couldn't help but sigh.

While staying in the guest house, Zhuge Jin had been inspecting various places in Chang'an while waiting for the emperor to summon him, hoping to find any way that Chang'an was inferior to Jiangdong.

But no matter which aspect, Chang'an is far superior to Jiangdong!

The people can come and go freely.

There are vendors making trade convenient.

Some scholars talked a lot.

Even if a scholar discussed Yang Zhu's teachings, which were once considered taboo, the passing officials would not take him to the imperial prison for interrogation, but would deliberately slow down their pace and listen to his words...

Zhuge Jin was refreshed!
This is the kind of city where scholars should live!

If he didn't have a mission, Zhuge Jin would really have never wanted to leave Wu. He would have wanted to linger in Chang'an's schools, streets, and the restaurant where Cao Zhi's poems were sung.

After staying in Chang'an for three days, the emperor finally had time to summon Zhuge Jin.

"Tzuyu, how are you?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I am fine, but Your Majesty is a little different than that day."

When Liu Xie stopped in Shouchun in the past, it was during a war. He was wearing armor and had a Han sword on his waist, and he was intimidating without even getting angry.

But today, Liu Xie was only wearing his ordinary clothes and a Liu's crown on his head. He looked relaxed and lazy, and did not look like a decisive and pacified emperor on horseback at all.

"Ok?"

Liu Xie pinched the soft flesh between his waist and abdomen, thinking that Zhuge Jin was talking about this.

"I have indeed neglected exercise these days, mainly because I eat too well."

It was originally self-deprecating.

But Zhuge Jin said: "If your Majesty were a meat eater, you would indeed need advice, but now that you have made all the people of the Han Dynasty meat eaters, it is a good thing for your Majesty's effective administration!"

Liu Xie looked at Zhuge Jin strangely: "Zi Yu has been in Jiangdong for a long time, how come he would say such things?"

When Zhuge Jin was led into the palace, he immediately saw a sand table placed in the center.

This sand table is a new one and is obviously much more refined.

However, what Zhuge Jin was concerned about was that in this sand table, the Han Dynasty's hinterland only occupied a very small part.

The Beiting Protectorate in the north, and the Beihai and Langjuxu Mountain above it are all marked particularly clearly.

The specific locations of the Daxianbei Mountains, Liaozhou and other places in the east, as well as the Wa Kingdom in the East China Sea, are also marked.

The Western Regions to the west are even larger. Not only are there two roads in the north and south, but even Wusun, Parthia, and Kushan are marked out.

But when Zhuge Jin looked to the south, he found something unusual: "Is your majesty going to fight against Jiangdong?"

Liu Xie turned around and asked: "Why do you think so?"

Zhuge Jin pointed at the sand table——

"All Han territory is outlined with white sand."

"Your country of Wa, Wusun and other vassal states of the Han Dynasty are outlined by the yellow sand."

"But the Parthian Empire to the west, the Kushan Empire to the south, and the land east of the Yangtze River are outlined in red sand. Isn't that obvious?"

Liu Xie took a look at the sand table and then he remembered that he seemed to have asked the craftsmen to use sand of different colors.

Zhuge Jin asked anxiously: "The Marquis of Wu was appointed by your Majesty personally. He has not committed any wrongdoings. Why are you sending troops to attack him?"

"Wait a minute~~~"

Liu Xie suddenly discovered that this gentleman Zhuge Jin was not so honest!

"I conferred the title of Marquis of Wu on Sun Quan, but he was only a noble with a fief. How come Ziyu said he became a noble with a fiefdom?"

"Since this is Tzuyu's first offense, I won't make a fuss about it. But remember, don't make the same mistake again."

How could Zhuge Jin let go of the entry point he had found with great difficulty?

"Now that Your Majesty has expanded the territory and revived the Zhou rituals, and has granted fiefs to many princes, why can't you grant Wu Hou a real fiefdom so that he can guard the territory for Your Majesty with peace of mind?"

The purpose of Zhuge Jin's coming to Chang'an this time was to ask for a title for Sun Quan.

"I have no intention of being disloyal."

"I just want to advise Your Majesty. Whether it is the people of the Central Plains or the people of Jiangdong, they are all Your Majesty's subjects. Why does Your Majesty insist on a war?"

"When the war breaks out, the people will naturally suffer, and both sides of the Yangtze River will become a wasteland! Is this what Your Majesty wants to see?"

"Now that Your Majesty is willing to enfeoff the princes, why not give the land of Jiangdong to Marquis Wu, so that Marquis Wu can feel at ease and continue to guard the land for Your Majesty?"

Zhuge Jin’s core idea is to stop the war.

From his perspective, Sun Quan has now surrendered to the Han Dynasty, allowing the emperor to complete the nominal unification. In this case, why can't we follow the example of the early Han Dynasty and use the method of enfeoffment of princes to let Sun Quan continue to defend the territory for the Han Dynasty?
Although Sun Quan was of a different surname, wasn’t Wu Rui, the King of Changsha at that time, also a king of a different surname?
Moreover, during the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, the King of Changsha, a king of a different surname, did not get involved in the war among the Liu princes, and always stood firmly on the side of the Han court.

Zhuge Jin wanted to make Sun Quan the second Wu Rui of the Han Dynasty, so that the people on both sides of the Yangtze River would be spared from the suffering of war in the future!

“What Tzuyu said makes sense.”

Zhuge Jin thought that the emperor would reprimand him, but after a little thought, Liu Xie actually nodded in agreement with Zhuge Jin.

"No matter how the war goes, the ones who die are the people of our Han Dynasty. This is something I don't want to see."

Zhuge Jin just looked happy when he was questioned by the emperor:

"Ziyu, what do you think is my purpose in reviving the Han Dynasty?"

purpose?

Naturally, it is to maintain the great unity and become the supreme supreme...

Zhuge Jin was about to give the answer subconsciously.

But when the words came to his lips, Zhuge Jin swallowed them back.

Since the emperor wanted to maintain great unity, why did he need to revive the Zhou rituals and enfeoff princes?
This contradictory statement is obviously not enough to summarize why the emperor wanted to revive the Han Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, this is for the people."

"Wrong, it's for the people of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Xie corrected this.

"The people of the Han Dynasty have been oppressed by the aristocratic families for hundreds of years, and have been poisoned by the theory of the connection between heaven and man for hundreds of years."

"Zi Yu, if you can make a promise to me that Sun Quan will definitely eliminate the aristocratic families and distribute land equally to the people like I do, and completely abolish the theory of heaven and man in Jiangdong, so that those toad Confucian scholars will lose the last piece of soil they can stand on, then what will happen if I make Sun Quan a vassal?"

Liu Xie did not lie to deceive or tease Zhuge Jin.

Because there is no need at all.

After all, although Sun Quan had many faults, if we only talked about government affairs and the way of employing people, there were no more than five people in the entire Han Dynasty who could surpass him.

If Sun Quan could really do what the emperor said and then govern Jiangdong with all his heart, I'm afraid that within a few decades, Jiangdong would become extremely prosperous and worthy of the Central Plains.

But the problem now is...

Can Sun Quan do it?
The answer to this question seems obvious.

Zhuge Jin bit his lip, obviously not daring to make such a promise in front of the emperor.

Sun Quan's Jiangdong regime was originally usurped from Sun Ce by joining forces with the aristocratic families of Jiangdong.

Asking Sun Quan to eliminate the aristocratic families is like asking him to cut off his own head, which is obviously impossible to do.

As for the Toad Confucian...

Aristocratic families are the soil for the emergence of these toad-like Confucianists. If we don’t even eliminate the aristocratic families, how can we cut off the birth of toad-like Confucianists and the spread of the theory of the interaction between heaven and man from the root?
Zhuge Jin said bitterly: "Your Majesty, it is better not to say this."

"I have something to say to you and the noble families of Jiangdong. If you want to live in harmony with me, you'd better not say it."

Liu Xie was full of malice towards the Jiangdong regime, but he had no prejudice against Zhuge Jin.

"Don't say that."

"Before I came to see you, I called Kong Ming, his wife Huang, and their son into the palace... You are Kong Ming's elder brother, but you have never met his family. This is really inappropriate. I have prepared a separate palace for you. It would be nice for you to sit together and chat about family matters."

Zhuge Jin opened his mouth slightly.

Only then did he realize that the emperor had no intention of discussing official business with him.

After all, Jiangdong must be fought!
In this case, the emperor himself did not want to waste his breath, nor did he want to listen to Zhuge Jin wasting his breath.

In fact, the emperor was not willing to meet any envoy from Jiangdong at all. He just wanted to meet Zhuge Liang's brother so that the two brothers could spend some time together.

"Okay, I have something else to do... After you finish talking to Kong Ming, ask him to come over to me. I have a great treasure for him to see!"

……

Zhuge Jin stared blankly at the emperor's departing back, feeling as if he had just discussed something with the emperor, but also as if he hadn't discussed anything...

Led by the palace servants, Zhuge Jin was led into a side hall.

It was just as the emperor said, this place was secluded, with only Zhuge Liang and his family of three, and no one else.

"I've met my brother."

Zhuge Liang and Huang Yueying, who was holding the child in her arms, saluted Zhuge Jin together.

When Zhuge Jin saw that his younger brother had already married and had children, he couldn't help but sigh that time flies.

"It was the first time I met my brother, sister-in-law and nephew, and I didn't even bring any gifts."

Zhuge Jin shamelessly took off his jade pendant and handed it to Huang Yueying: "It's just a small gift, please accept it."

"Kong Ming and I separated in our early years, and I did not fulfill my duty as an elder brother. Please do not blame me."

Huang Yueying quickly returned the greeting, saying that Zhuge Jin's words were too polite.

Zhuge Jin looked at the child in Huang Yueying's arms and asked Zhuge Liang, "Kong Ming, has this child been given a name?"

Zhuge Liang: "It is a name given to me by the emperor himself, just the character Zhan."

"Zhuge Zhan, what a good name."

Zhuge Jin recalled what he had seen and heard in Chang'an. Seeing that Zhuge Liang's wife was now healthy and his family was harmonious, he actually felt a rare sense of sadness.

"Kong Ming, I really envy you."

(End of this chapter)