The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Zhuge Jin didn't know how to respond to Liu Xie.

"Your Majesty, as the envoy of the Marquis of Wu, I should argue for the Marquis of Wu. How can I go on the other side and persuade the Marquis of Wu on your behalf at this time?"

"All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the land are his subjects. However, I have received great favor from the Lord of Wu, and I should swear allegiance to him until death. I will never be a traitor at this time!"

Zhuge Jin did not forget that he was Sun Quan's envoy.

If that was the case, how could he be "instigated" by the emperor to persuade Sun Quan?

"Tzuyu is wrong."

Liu Xie asked: "Although Ziyu is Sun Quan's envoy, isn't what Ziyu wants to do most to stop the fighting and protect the people on both sides of the strait?"

"Zi Yu's purpose was not out of loyalty to Sun Quan, but out of his own righteousness."

"If that's the case, why can't Tzuyu fulfill her own righteousness?"

……

Zhuge Jin obviously didn't expect that the emperor would have such reasoning to persuade him.

About trade-offs.

Mencius once said: Sacrifice your life for righteousness.

But even saints cannot give an answer to the question of whether loyalty to the emperor or righteousness.

Because this matter involves the root, any discussion of it will inevitably offend the root.

To the extent that even Confucianism confuses the two, thinking that loyalty to the emperor is righteousness.

But, is this the truth?

Zhuge Jin was so confused by the emperor's words that he asked, "Does the emperor think that in this world, righteousness is more important than loyalty to the emperor?"

"I never said that."

Liu Xie obviously had no intention of discussing such a big topic with Zhuge Jin at this time.

"I just want to say that no matter what, you must stick to your heart."

"Not all people in this world are the same."

"There are those who sacrifice their lives for justice, and there are also those who sacrifice justice for life."

"Just like before Dong Zhongshu, there were not only Confucianists who sacrificed their lives for justice, but also Yang Zhu who said, "If plucking a hair could benefit the world, I would not do it." When dealing with people, there are no decisions that must be made... If there is, it is probably only to follow your heart."

"Is Ziyu's real intention now for the people of Jiangdong, or to repay Sun Quan's kindness... these two things cannot be confused. Although it is difficult to make a choice, as the saying goes, "I want fish, I also want bear's paw, I can't have both."

Zhuge Jin had heard of this a long time ago. Now, starting from Chang'an, a "retro trend of thought among the various schools of thought" was sweeping across the country.

With the complete abolition of the theory of the correspondence between heaven and man, the intellectual and academic circles are now eager to find a theory that can truly guide the world.

And with the emperor's deliberate indulgence, this exploration turned into an excavation of the various schools of thought in the pre-Qin period.

Legalism, Mohism and Yang Zhu are no longer taboos.

Farmers, doctors, and celebrities are no longer just playthings.

A hundred flowers bloom and a hundred boats compete.

Especially with the opening up of various major protectorates today, and the exploration of the edge of the world through "establishing states", the academic world of the Han Dynasty is now extremely prosperous and vibrant.

But Zhuge Jin did not expect that the emperor would indulge himself to such an extent.

Even something that was considered a taboo and almost impossible to mention in the past could be spoken calmly, and gave Zhuge Jin an answer that was completely different from the past few hundred years.

"Chang'an..."

For a moment, Zhuge Jin even wanted to ignore everything and go to Chang'an alone to study in Taibai Academy or University Hall, and ignore these trivial matters.

Zhuge Jin now is like a fish wanting to return to the sea, or a bird wanting to return to the sky...

As for other things, Zhuge Jin no longer wanted to pay any attention to them... But is it really possible to be so happy in this world?

Liu Xie saw that Zhuge Jin was in deep thought and did not disturb him.

"It's okay, Tzuyu, just take your time to think about it."

"General Gao Shun has led his troops to Wan County."

"You still have ten days to consider whether to go back and persuade Sun Quan to surrender. Anyway, I am not in a hurry."

Liu Xie brought Zhuge Jin to the back house.

Just as Liu Xie said, it was indeed a family dinner.

Empress Dong Bai, Cai Yan, Fu Shou, Dong Shi, Zhen Ji, Cao Jie, and Sun Shangxiang.

However, the dining style is somewhat novel.

Everyone was no longer sitting on high couches with food, fruits and melons in front of them, but on a round table.

There were two round tables in total, one for the empress and concubines, and the other was slightly smaller, where Jia Xu, Zhong Yao, and Xun You sat.

"Tzuyu, just sit at that table. Don't be disgusted."

Zhuge Jin quickly saluted towards Jia Xu and the other two, saying that he dared not.

Liu Xie sat down between Dong Bai and Cai Yan and explained to Zhuge Jin: "We can avoid making a big scene by eating this way."

"Besides, everyone knows that every grain of rice on the plate is hard-earned. This can also prevent some greedy girls from eating a few bites and then giving up, thus wasting food."

Dong Bai next to him looked at Liu Xie wisely——

"Your Majesty, are you talking about me?"

"It's none of your business, just eat well."

"okay!"

……

When Zhuge Jin saw that the emperor was sharing two tables with more than ten people, his understanding of "etiquette" was once again shattered.

Especially the emperor's words, "Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work?" made Zhuge Jin feel ashamed.

He always thought that he was frugal enough on weekdays, with only one pot of meat, one dish of vegetable, and one bowl of soup...

But compared with the emperor, there is still a gap in realm! Zhuge Jin is younger than Jia Xu, Zhong Yao and others, and belongs to the younger generation.

Therefore, I felt somewhat restrained when sitting at the round table.

The three of them did not ignore Zhuge Jin, and chatted with him from time to time.

It was just that the topic of their casual chat actually made Zhuge Jin somewhat embarrassed—

"Jia Zhongshu's son Mu Dang is truly filial and sends letters from Liang from time to time."

"What did you say this time? But what difficulties are there in Liang Country?"

Jia Xu said calmly: "It's just some trivial matters."

"Liang and Wusun are neighbors, and within Wusun's borders there is a large lake called Yibohai. To the north of it is a copper mountain... My son wants to bring some income to Liang, so he is negotiating with Wusun's Great Kunmi about buying the copper mountain."

"Originally, the matter had already been discussed, but ever since the Kushan King Bo Diao declared war on the Han Dynasty, the Wusun people seemed to have concerns about the matter and wanted to go back on their word."

"Humph! You are indeed a barbarian!"

Zhong Yao and Xun You both expressed their indignation at the incident.

"The Great Kunmi of Wusun is a descendant of the Han emperor after all, so why is he so fickle?"

"If he weren't a big man, he would be a great Kunmi or a little Kunmi! How shameless! Ziyu! Don't you think so?"

"..."

Zhuge Jin didn't know, because Zhuge Jin just wanted to escape.

He really wanted to ask the three people, where did they go? Was that place still in China?
What Wusun and the Western Regions were just a story recorded in history books to Zhuge Jin, who had only lived in Xuzhou and Jiangdong!

What's more, he was a foreign minister... or even an enemy! How could he participate in such a discussion?!
Seeing that Zhuge Jin was speechless, the three of them stopped making things difficult for him and continued to discuss other things.

But for Zhuge Jin, these other things were even more unbearable to hear.

Zhong Yao and Xun Yu were discussing where to place their fiefdoms.

Jia Xu would occasionally mention the Han Dynasty's food transportation and logistics supplies, and he did not treat Zhuge Jin as an outsider at all...

But as he listened, Zhuge Jin was shocked by the Han people's terrifying mobilization capabilities.

There was actually a backup plan in the Han Dynasty's plan!

For example, if the front-line army is completely wiped out, they will recruit soldiers from the Central Plains, and at the same time transfer soldiers from Guanzhong and Hebei to the front line...

As for?
Zhuge Jin just wanted to ask loudly - is it really that serious!!!

What's wrong with the counselors around the emperor? They actually made the assumption that "the front-line army was completely annihilated"!
How could Jiangdong be so virtuous and capable as to annihilate the entire Han army which was led by the emperor and five pillars of the country?

But after complaining, Zhuge Jin was desperate.

The emperor was not careless at all about this battle!
Even though the Han people’s weight is already enough to crush Jiangdong!

Even if we only rely on the army of Jingzhou, we can conquer Jiangdong!

The emperor is still not careless at all!

No, it cannot be said that the emperor was not careless at all.

The emperor is being overly cautious now!

This made Zhuge Jin doubt whether the emperor was as cautious as he was during the Battle of Anyi and the Battle of Hebei.
What virtue and ability did Jiangdong have to make the emperor so cautious?

Ok……

Liu Xie admitted that he did suffer from some paranoia.

Even if it was a battle as large as the Battle of Hebei, or as difficult as the Battle of Liaodong, Liu Xie dared to fight.

But the battle against Jiangdong...

There was the Battle of Chibi in Jingzhou and the Battle of Feishui in Huainan.

Anyway, Liu Xie felt that Jiangdong was a very strange place! Even if he kept a lot of caution, it wouldn't be too much!
If something goes wrong, Liu Xie would have no place to cry even if he wanted to!

Just when Liu Xie was halfway through his meal, a waiter suddenly came in from outside and whispered to Liu Xie.

"Is there such a thing?"

Liu Xie's words attracted everyone's attention at once, and even Jia Xu looked in Liu Xie's direction.

After all, Liu Xie's reaction just now did not seem fake.

What kind of thing could make the emperor, who was used to seeing storms, exclaim in surprise?

Liu Xie also turned his head to glance at Zhuge Jin.

Zhuge Jin couldn't help feeling a little frightened, wondering what the emperor knew.

"Ziyu, do you know Li Shu, the governor of Lujiang?"

"know."

Zhuge Jin nodded.

"This man was born into a wealthy family in Lujiang... what we often call a noble family. He has been responsible for guarding Wan County and defending Jiangbei."

Liu Xie asked again: "What is this person's temperament like?"

"You are selfish and self-serving!"

When Liu Xie heard Zhuge Jin make such an evaluation of his colleague, his expression became even more strange.

Zhuge Jin also noticed something was wrong at this moment: "May I ask the emperor, is there something wrong with Li Shu?"

"It's not a big deal."

Liu Xie spoke slowly.

"Li Shu sent me a message saying that he wanted to surrender to me along with Wan County."

“I see… what??!!”

Zhuge Jin was like a cat whose tail was stepped on, with his hair and beard standing on end!

"How could this happen?" (End of this chapter)