My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 52: Liu Bei receives the order and divides his troops into Yuzhang

"The Emperor Gao's world and 'virtue' did not come from Qin Shi Huang, but from Yidi?"

Liu Xie originally felt guilty because his ancestors came from a humble background but were able to gain virtue and the world "out of nothing".

After all, the idea that Hande came from Qin Shihuang has existed for four hundred years. When it was suddenly removed, even if there is certain theoretical support, people will still feel uneasy and always want to find another example as ironclad evidence.

Zhuge Jin knew very well that he had tried his best to explain the reasoning smoothly and not offend either side. If the emperor was still not reassured, then he had no choice but to give him an example and cut the Gordian knot.

Seeing that Liu Xie was pondering for a long time and his expression was getting more and more excited, as if he had understood, Zhuge Jin struck while the iron was hot and rounded out the details:

"In fact, Yidi was the leader that all the anti-Qin people in the world supported. Emperor Gao followed Yidi's will, or it was the 'King Huai's agreement' at that time to destroy Qin and get what he deserved. What's wrong with that? Later, Emperor Gao issued an order to attack Xiang Yu to kill Yidi, and it was also fine to attack him for Yidi's revenge.

I know what Your Majesty is worried about. Please think about it carefully: suppose there is a country today that is ignorant and lawless, and people kill and rob according to their own abilities. Then within this country, people will inevitably kill each other and there will be no peace. No one will dare to accumulate wealth, because they know that as long as they accumulate wealth but their military strength is not strong enough, they will be killed and robbed.

But if there is another country, where those who steal and kill are guilty, and those who catch thieves on their own are not guilty, and can legally obtain stolen property, then the number of people who dare to steal first will certainly be greatly reduced... Emperor Yi played a great role in the Han Dynasty's obtaining the Mandate of Heaven. If Xiang Yu did not kill Emperor Yi, but slowly eliminated the princes, and finally followed Wang Mang's example and forced Emperor Yi to abdicate, what would Emperor Gao do?

However, Yidi would rather die than surrender, which shows that the Mandate of Heaven is with Han. On the day Yidi was killed, Xiang Yu's ability to unite the princes had already been largely destroyed. Yidi's Mandate of Heaven and virtue were inherited by Gaodi, who avenged Yidi.

When Liu Xie heard this, his eyes finally shone with light: It turns out that Emperor Yi, as a puppet, can also have such a great influence on the world! Then I...

When Liu Xie thought about this, he suddenly realized a loophole and continued to ask:

"Then Mr. Zhuge, do you think that if Emperor Yi had preferred death to surrender, Xiang Yu would never have been able to gain control of the world?"

Zhuge Jin: "I dare not assume, but if Xiang Yu could learn from Wang Mang and slowly win over the hearts of the people, or use force to eliminate most of the other forces in the world, and then force Emperor Yi... Xiang Yu just doesn't have the patience."

Liu Xie was once again disappointed. It turned out that Emperor Yi could not counter Xiang Yu, a thief who held the emperor hostage, under any circumstances? Sure enough, this was the most common situation...

"What you said today is thought-provoking. Zhao Yan, arrange to reward Zhuge Qing with some money and property, and let him go to Yuzhang to serve the court well." Liu Xie also had the idea of keeping him, but he remembered that doing so would only alert the enemy, so he gave up.

Liu Xie had already seen that Cao Cao also wanted to use Zhuge Jin, and would bring him back after the Yuzhang incident was over. In this case, if he showed his intention to win him over in advance, it would only cause trouble.

It has to be said that Liu Xie still had some cleverness and basic political awareness.

Zhuge Jin hurriedly thanked and said goodbye, and finally left the palace smoothly.

Liu Xie watched Zhuge Jin leave, feeling uncertain:
"If one day, Cao Sikong also becomes Dong Zhuo or Li Jue, what should I do? Should I learn from the cowardly Ru Ziying, or from the Yidi who would rather die than surrender?
No, Emperor Yi and Emperor Gao had no blood relationship. Emperor Yi would rather die than surrender, and although he prevented Xiang Yu from gaining the world, in the end, the world did not belong to their Xiong family.

From the perspective of the Chu royal family, Emperor Yi died in vain because he refused to surrender, and it was a blessing for our Liu family.

Well, if such a day really comes, even if I fight to the death, it will only hurt others and not benefit myself. At most, I will drag Cao Cao down with me, but the world will be taken by the prince who kills Cao Cao to avenge me in the future.

For our Liu family, it is nothing more than a usurper who changed his surname from Cao to another one. Why should I bother with all this?"

There was also the young and hot-blooded Liu Xie, who couldn't help but imagine many heroic scenes of refusing to surrender despite death, but they were just imaginations.

After realizing that everything would be in vain when that day came, Liu Xie gave up on those childish plans of a desperate struggle. Besides, things hadn't reached that point yet, and Cao Cao might not be that domineering right now...

……

When Zhuge Jin was leaving, Liu Xie actually said he wanted to reward him, and Liu Xie's first offer was "fifty kilograms of gold", which was considered to be an effort to win him over.

Of course, this price was definitely not nominally due to his conversation with the emperor, but rather the emperor decided to increase the reward after he had a deep understanding of the coordination he had done for Kong Rong and how much money he had saved for the royal family.

This makes sense, because the emperor's reward, compared to the money Zhuge Jin saved for the emperor, was only a few percent at most.

In fact, the royal family could not come up with 50 kilograms of gold at once.

Therefore, Liu Xie's casual remark finally reached the executive level, and Zhuge Jin was only rewarded with some jewelry, brocade robes and jade belts.

Then he was asked to go to the royal Taifu Temple to bring two Dayuan horses as a reward.

Of course, the brocade robe and jade belt this time are truly pure brocade robe and jade belt, and there is absolutely no such thing as a secret decree.

Zhuge Jin put away the clothes and jewelry he was rewarded with, but did not dare to wear them immediately. After going to the Imperial Household Department to pick out a horse, he asked Chen Dao to help him ride one of the relatively fierce horses, while he himself rode the docile one first, and then he fled from the city of Xudu in a flash.

Cao Cao and Xun Yu had already held a farewell banquet for him yesterday, so he had already said goodbye and there was no need to say goodbye again.

The BMW rewarded by the emperor was very easy to use. It ran fast and steadily, and it could run thirty miles in half an hour. The key was that the horse did not pant much. Zhuge Jin arrived at Weishui Pavilion and met Chen Deng at 9 o'clock.

Chen Deng was also a connoisseur. Seeing Zhuge Jin running so fast and carrying a heavy-looking package on his horse's back, he asked with admiration:
"Where did you get this horse? Wasn't it you who rode this horse when I saw you here? Not only does it run fast, but it's also a young horse. It will have unlimited potential when it grows up." The horse that Zhuge Jin picked was only two years old. War horses usually start training before they are two years old, and can be ridden after they are two years old, but they are not strong in carrying weight, and they will reach the peak of speed and physical fitness at the age of five.

Fortunately, Zhuge Jin was not fat, and he did not wear armor or carry heavy weapons like the generals. This horse was of good breed and had a special talent, so it would not be crushed.

"This horse was given by the emperor today. There are also some jewelry, brocade robes and jade belts here." Zhuge Jin did not hide anything and waved the package as he spoke.

Chen Deng's eyes widened immediately: "Just for that twisted argument you made with Ni Heng the other day? How could you have received such a large reward from the emperor? Could it be that you said something new to curry favor with him?"

Zhuge Jin: "Am I the kind of flatterer? The reward is generous, which shows that the emperor is eager to learn. We should not stay here for long, let's go quickly. Anyway, I have many horses and we can take turns riding them."

The horse assigned to Zhuge Jin by Liu Bei when he arrived had been running on empty. Now that they had met up, he needed to take into account the speed of others, so Zhuge Jin switched the saddle from the imperial horse back to the old horse so that he could continue on his journey.

……

Zhuge Jin ran much faster on his return journey than when he came, mainly because he was worried about the consequences.

It took 15 days to come here, and 12 days to return. The first three days of the return journey were especially fast, almost double the speed.

On the first day, they left Yingchuan County, and then passed through Chen County in two days. It was not until they entered Qiao County and could take the Suishui waterway that they changed boats and marched at a normal speed.

The Sui River flows all the way to Xiaxiang County in Xia Pi County and merges with the Si River. Chen Deng and Zhuge Jin parted ways here.

Then Chen Deng went upstream along the Si River and went to Xia Pi to report to Lu Bu.

Zhuge Jin went down the Si River and returned to Huaiyin two days later.

Zhuge Jin originally thought that Liu Bei would stay in Guangling, while Guan Yu would be stationed in Huaiyin.

Unexpectedly, just after passing Ling County, I saw Liu Bei personally coming to greet me with a group of people.

Zhuge Jin also hurriedly dismounted, bowed to Liu Bei, and then took out the imperial edict that Liu Xie asked him to bring back to Liu Bei.

When Liu Bei saw the imperial edict, he of course saluted immediately.

"…Liu Bei was promoted to General Zhendong and General Zhengnan, and Governor of Yangzhou…"

Zhuge Jin read the reward and then handed the decree to Liu Bei for safekeeping.

When he heard that he had finally obtained a state-level position granted by the court, even though it was only a governor, Liu Bei still couldn't help but feel ecstatic.

When he sent Zhuge Jin out, he was not sure he could get such a high position.

With this decree, his subsequent attacks on Yuan Shu's forces in Jianghuai and his subordinates and cronies went much more smoothly.

Those local loyal Han forces who were dissatisfied with Yuan's violent occupation would also be more likely to respond to Liu Bei - after all, even a vassal like Liu Yao who "took office alone" was able to control two counties at one time. Wasn't it all thanks to the imperial edict?
"Sir, your planning is truly unpredictable. Please go into the city and rest quickly! We have been exhausted from the journey and I cannot repay you for anything!"

Liu Bei took him into the city and said as they walked, "Ten days ago, the scouts sent to Yuzhang returned, and five days ago, the messenger sent to Xiangyang also returned. They have both learned about your uncle and your brother's recent situation.

Upon learning that Ling Shu was now trapped in the small county of Xi'an (now Xiushui County) in the west of Yuzhang, near Jiangxia County, with only a thousand soldiers and horses left, Zuo Rong did not launch an attack due to the cold winter, perhaps because he was afraid that Ling Shu had the support of Huang Zu.

After I learned about it, I personally came to Huaiyin to guard it, and replaced Yunchang with all the 4,000 Danyang soldiers in the army to go to Guangling to reorganize and gather them. As long as you return and rest for a while, you can be sent to Yuzhang immediately.

If you still need to rest and recuperate, and are worried about your uncle's safety, you can also let Yunchang take half of the Danyang soldiers and set off today to Yuzhang to protect your uncle. "

Liu Bei had probably been waiting for this day for a long time and had already made full preparations.

Seeing that he was so sincere, Zhuge Jin thought that it was winter and it was already early November, so it was indeed not a good time to use military force.

Even if I rushed over in a hurry, it would be impossible for me to counterattack Zuo Rong immediately. In this season, whoever attacks will suffer.

After he figured it out, he thanked him and said, "In that case, I will take the Emperor's decree to Yunchang. I will trouble Yunchang to lead 2,000 Danyang soldiers to make the trip first. I will take a short rest and deal with other matters, and I will set off as soon as possible before the New Year.

I will write another letter to my uncle to explain the situation and let him rest assured to entrust the defense to Yunchang. Yunchang will also take the imperial decree to formally appoint my uncle as the governor of Yuzhang with the army. "

With Zhuge Jin's letter and the imperial edict brought by Guan Yu, Zhuge Xuan would definitely feel relieved.

In the middle of winter, although a villain like Zuo Rong had a large number of troops, with two thousand elite soldiers from Danyang and Guan Yu personally guarding the city, it was impossible for Zuo Rong to break through Xi'an County. Zhuge Jin was very relieved about this.

(End of this chapter)