My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 610: Upon seeing Zhuge Liang's "On Departure", Yan Yan will surrender

Yan Yan believed Zhang Song's words and felt that they made sense. At the same time, he became nervous.

If Zhuge Liang really sent someone to persuade him to surrender, I would certainly be steadfast and would not surrender easily, but what should I do with the envoy at that time?

Should we directly refuse to meet him, or drive him back by shooting arrows at him?

Anyway, when two armies are fighting, envoys will not be killed. Yan Yan had a good relationship with the enemy army before, so he would definitely not do anything that is against morality.

Zhang Song seemed to see Yan Yan's inner struggle, so he guided him to think: "General Yan seems to be confused? When the enemy sends an envoy, how will you respond?"

Yan Yan gritted his teeth and sighed, "Why don't we meet? The general has been courteous to the wise and humble, and I can't hurt their envoy. If we meet, I'm afraid that the lord will be suspicious in the future."

Zhang Song listened to him and did not immediately refute him. He just waited for him to finish. After a while of silence, Zhang Song sighed slightly: "Will the lord still be suspicious of us? Is there still a chance to be suspicious? Even if there is a chance, will he be able to be suspicious?"

Zhang Song's voice was very low, but to Yan Yan's ears it sounded like the sound of a huge bell, which shocked his heart.

Yan Yan couldn't help but ask subconsciously: "Then according to your intention, do you still want to meet him? Although as long as he walks upright and sits upright, I think I have a strong will and cannot be moved by words..."

Zhang Song took the opportunity to encourage him: "Since the old general cannot be moved by words, what is there to worry about? In fact, I just want to know why they dare to suddenly start a war over such a small friction.

Zhuge Lingjun is not an ordinary person. He has never sent an envoy. If he suddenly sends one in the future, he will definitely say some twisted logic. I just want to see it for myself. "

Zhang Song subtly embellished the reasons why he suggested Yan Yan to meet the envoy.

Listening to his words now, it was so sincere, as if he really received the envoy not because he had considered surrendering, but just out of curiosity.

He wanted to know how shameless the enemy would be and what kind of reason he would say. If the reason was too far-fetched and untenable, he could argue with reason, fulfill his mission, refute the enemy thoroughly and send him away.

Under normal circumstances, such a statement would certainly be difficult to convince colleagues.

But these are clearly not normal circumstances.

Because Zhang Song had already noticed that Yan Yan also had many doubts and curiosity in his heart. He also wanted to know what Liu Bei was thinking that had to go to this point of war.

If you are curious, the follow-up will be easy.

……

Zhang Song had his own means of communicating with the outside world. Even if Jiangzhou City was already surrounded, he could have people shoot wooden feather arrows into the river from the southeast corner of the city wall. If he shot a few more arrows, they might be caught by Gan Ning's navy.

After all, this was not a "thousand-mile drift" problem. Gan Ning's warships often patrolled the river outside the city. Zhang Song could easily shoot arrows when the patrol fleet passed by, and the probability of being caught would be much higher.

So, two days after Zhang Song confirmed that Yan Yan was puzzled and was willing to meet the envoy.

Zhuge Liang sent an envoy to persuade the enemy to surrender. The envoy was carrying a letter of persuasion written by Zhuge Liang himself. Under the protection of dozens of riders, he revealed his identity and came to the city.

"Don't shoot! I was sent by Lord Zhuge to negotiate with General Yan and Zhang Biejia. I have no ill intentions!"

The messenger waved the bamboo tube containing the document and loudly explained his purpose. At first, he wanted to ask the cavalry to retreat and ask Yan Yan to open the city gate to let him in.

But Yan Yan was cautious, and even when he saw the guards retreat two or three hundred steps away, he still refused to open the door. In the end, he just had someone lower a hanging basket and hoist the envoy up to the city.

The messenger was not afraid and entered the city alone. When he reached the city wall, he tidied up his clothes which were messy because of climbing the hanging basket, and made sure his appearance was neat, then he walked proudly to meet Yan Yan and Zhang Song.

After the messenger was brought before him, Yan Yan looked him up and down carefully, trying to identify his identity.

Yan Yan had been in contact with Liu Bei's army for two years, and he had seen and known many of the local civil and military officials. But no matter how hard he looked, he still couldn't recognize the identity of the envoy. The envoy should have just been transferred from another place, or had just joined Liu Bei.

Yan Yan couldn't help but feel curious, and asked with a cold snort:
"I have seen many of Jiangbei's civil and military officials, but who are you? Don't you have any useful old men under Lord Zhuge?

Or did he think that I might kill Jue Yi, and was afraid that it would be a pity to send an old man to be killed, so he sent a nameless person like you to die?"

The messenger was not angry either: "General Yan has a good eye. I am Qin Mi from Guanghan, with the courtesy name Zichi. It is true that I just joined the Taiwei's army this year and was transferred to Zhuge Lingjun's residence to serve. I am honored to be the Gongcao."

Yan Yan was slightly stunned when he heard this.

He had never heard of the name Qin Mi. As a military general, Yan Yan didn't know much about the famous scholars in Shu. Those were two circles that basically had no intersection.

However, when Qin Mi introduced himself, he mentioned his hometown right at the beginning, which made Yan Yan quite unhappy.

As a scholar from Guanghan County, if he surrendered to Liu Bei and was assigned to work under Zhuge Liang, wouldn't that be betraying his master?

When Yan Yan thought of this, he couldn't help but snorted coldly: "So he is a traitor."

Qin Mi on the other side remained calm and let Yan Yan criticize him. After Yan Yan calmed down a little, he replied without any emotion:
"I really don't understand what General Yan means by betraying his master. Although I am from Guanghan County, I have never eaten a grain of rice from Liu Yan and Liu Zhang for more than 30 years, nor have I ever served as an official for a day.

The state and the county had recruited me once, but I was ill and never responded. It was not until last year that the benevolent and righteous army of the Taiwei occupied Zitong and reorganized the people to fight against the traitor Cao and support the Han Dynasty.

I personally witnessed his actions for the country, and watched his determination and integrity, so I traveled a hundred miles from Fucheng to Zitong to seek refuge - is this considered a 'traitor'? Haven't you heard that a wise bird chooses a tree to inhabit, and a wise man chooses a master to serve? "

Qin Mi's self-introduction soon left Yan Yan speechless.

It turns out that although he was from Guanghan County, he had never served under Liu Zhang. How could you attack such a person? He could not find any moral stains at all.

Zhang Song, who pretended to be neutral, actually met Qin Mi for the first time. However, he had heard of Qin Mi before and knew that he was a famous scholar but not an official. When he just heard Qin Mi introduce himself, Zhang Song was still wondering:
Why did Zhuge Liang send such a newcomer as an envoy? Why didn't he use Li Hui, who had served as an envoy with Liu Bei's army last year, to persuade them to surrender?
After all, Li Hui had made two contributions last year. First, he fooled Feng Kai during the Battle of Langzhong, and then he sent Ma Chao as an envoy when Ma Chao surrendered. He was also the civil servant who performed best in mediation and negotiation after the Shu scholars surrendered to Liu Bei.

It was not until this moment that Zhang Song understood Zhuge Liang's considerations. It turned out that he wanted to pick someone who had never worked under Liu Zhang to shut Yan Yan's mouth and let him truly see the aspirations of ordinary people in Shu.

After all, Li Hui had worked as a county official in the Nanzhong region before and had received Liu Zhang's salary, so his identity was not suitable.

After realizing this, Zhang Song took advantage of Yan Yan's silence and pretended to help Yan Yan out, but in fact he was creating a topic for Qin Mi:
"Qin Zichi! Since you are from Guanghan, why haven't you served in the government for so many years? Why did you rush to Sichuan when the Grand Commandant came to Sichuan?

Are you taking advantage of my master's inability to give you a high position and a generous salary, and want to seek another prominent master? You only care about fame and fortune, and have you never thought about contributing to the welfare of the people in Shu?"

Zhang Song deliberately used the fact that Qin Mi had not been an official before and became one after Liu Bei came to imply that he was irresponsible and did not care about benefiting the people. This was naturally to seduce Qin Mi to refute and to take the opportunity to preach the contents of Zhuge Liang's letter of persuasion.

Qin Mi knew that Zhang Song was an insider before he came. Zhuge Liang told him this before he left. He then acted well and refuted with righteous words:

"Glory and wealth are not worth mentioning. I entered the government naturally to benefit the people, so that the people in Shu can enjoy peace and tranquility, and in the long run, they can live a life with light taxes and levies. But Liu Zhang is weak, and joining him will not realize my ambitions, so I abandoned him.

It was not until the Grand Commandant entered Sichuan that I had the chance to hear the teachings of Lord Zhuge and learn of the Grand Commandant's grand plan. I was so amazed that I was willing to serve him and contribute to the long-term welfare of the people of Sichuan!"

Zhang Song immediately refuted: "Nonsense! If you said you joined because you admired the strong, I would respect you as a true villain. But you insist on making excuses like this, don't you feel ashamed?
Although my lord is not a heroic lord, he has never been harsh on the people in the past ten years since he came to power. When it comes to benefiting the people, even the Grand Marshal and Zhuge Lingjun may not be better than my lord!"

Qin Mi immediately responded with a smile: "Liu Zhang did not treat the people harshly at one time, but in the past three years, wars have been frequent. Haven't the people suffered enough? I originally thought that the people's suffering should be blamed on Cao Cao and Zhang Lu, but after reading Zhuge Lingjun's great work, I suddenly realized that all the roots were planted by Liu Zhang! Zhuge Lingjun once said that when he was young, his brother told him an anecdote, advising him to look at the long-term in everything. What is right for one day may not be right for a month. What is right for one month may not be right within a year. Similarly, what is right for one year may not be right for ten years, a lifetime, or a dynasty!
When times change, the situation changes. When the situation changes, you must be prepared for change. Liu Zhang can benefit the people, but it is only when the world is in chaos and the powerful ruler of the time has no time to take care of Shu. This can only be maintained for a short time, and it will never last long. If you want the people of Shu to live in peace for a long time, you can only support the Han Dynasty, make the world return to one family, let the horses go to the south mountain, and put the swords and guns into the warehouse. "

Yan Yan, who was standing aside, was a little confused after listening to the debate between Zhang Song and Qin Mi.

However, his determination was still firm. Although he could not win the argument with Qin and Zhang, his loyalty could not be changed by mere reasoning.

The loyalty of a scholar is not directed towards the common people. He should work for whoever promotes him or rewards him. This is also basic righteousness. How can he decide whether to join another master directly based on the benefits or disadvantages obtained by the "people"?

However, Zhang Song would not give up. He continued to refute openly, but in fact he was passing on the topic to Qin Mi:
"Then according to what you said, as long as it is for the purpose of stopping the people of Shu from fighting and reducing the number of soldiers in Shu because the world has returned to peace, then it is a benefit to the people? As long as the world is unified, it is a good thing. Then isn't it also a good thing for Cao Cao to unify the world? This is simply far-fetched!
Let's take a step back and say that during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the world was also unified, but who doesn't know the suffering of the people in Shu? General Yan is old now, you can ask him, what kind of life did the people in Shu live when the world was peaceful? "

Zhang Song's words not only handed over the knife, but also shocked Yan Yan's heart. He felt very involved, as if Zhang Song had become his substitute.

Because Yan Yan also recalled that when the world was at peace, the people in Shu also had a very hard life. Although few Han people were forced to serve in the army at that time, there was a lot of corvée labor in Shu, which was mainly responsible for transporting grain and supplies, and the pressure of taxes to pay was also very heavy.

The original taxation system of the Han Dynasty did not take into account the transportation costs of the money and goods that the prefectures and counties paid to the court. Shu was remote, and the transportation costs of transporting money and silk to Luoyang were greater than elsewhere. Moreover, the key point was that they could only raise manpower on their own.

So although the labor service in Shu was light, such as building water conservancy and city walls, and the natural water conservancy environment and water conservancy "heritage" (Dujiangyan) in the "Land of Abundance" were relatively abundant, the manpower saved by less water conservancy and less city construction was all used for transportation.

There was a reason why the Bantunman rebelled year after year during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling.

Based on his own personal experience, Yan Yan had to admit that the best time for the people in the past few decades was during the years under Liu Zhang.

Because during this period of time, there was no need to transport things from Shu to other places.

For the people in Shu, they would hate whichever imperial court or government agency forced them to transport goods outside.

Zhang Song acted as Yan Yan's mouthpiece, and fluently asked the question that Yan Yan had been wanting to ask but didn't know how to ask because of his poor mouth. Yan Yan naturally pricked up his ears, wanting to hear what Qin Mi could say.

But he himself did not realize that he had already begun to waver in his heart: if Qin Mi could answer all the concerns he was most concerned about, and if they were indeed reasonable, then he might really be shaken...

Qin Mi, who was standing opposite him, seemed really stumped. He was silent for a long time before continuing to talk:

"Zhang Biejia is worthy of the tongue of Qin and Yi, and his analysis is accurate. I will answer these two questions for you one by one.

First of all, you asked whether unification would definitely be better for the people than Shu's self-determination. I can tell you clearly that unification is definitely better.

But how to unify it specifically will still have an impact on how much burden the people can reduce after the Shu land regains peace in the future. If Cao thieves succeed in usurping the throne, the world is likely to fall into endless wars, so the Han ministers of our generation must defend the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty! This is not just for the sake of pacifying the Han and prospering the Liu!
Please think about it, when Qin conquered Zhou, did it last long? No, it was destroyed in 15 years. After Wang Mang usurped Han, did it last long? No, he was overthrown by Emperor Guangwu in 15 years.

If we ignore the orthodoxy and simply seize the world by force, it will lead to instability in people's hearts. Everyone will think that the emperor is only the one with the strongest army. If Ying Zheng destroyed the Zhou emperor, how could Xiang Yu not destroy the Qin emperor? If Chen Sheng could crown himself as king, then Wu Chen could not rebel against Chen Sheng and crown himself as king? If Han Guang could not rebel against Wu Chen and crown himself as king?

If Cao Cao succeeded, he would certainly disregard virtue, fortune and orthodoxy and forcibly usurp the Han Dynasty by force. The consequences would be far greater than what Ying Zheng and Wang Mang had caused.

The reason why the people of Shu could live better under a unified state than under a divided state was that after the unification, not so many people would have to join the army.

If peace cannot be guaranteed, and countless people are required to join the army, the degree of suffering of the people will be reduced to a limited extent. Therefore, only the revival of the world with the help of the Taiwei will be the best for the people of Shu in the long run. If the thief Cao commits a usurpation, the people of Shu will have to suffer twice as much and be punished twice as much!

Second, you just asked why the life of the common people in Shu during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling was more difficult than that of Emperor Liu Zhang in his early years. There is no need to hide the fact that the taxation method of the imperial court during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling was used by all the people in the country, and did not take into account the special difficulties of Shu, such as the rugged mountains and rivers and the difficulty of transportation.

Therefore, during the time of Emperors Huan and Ling, and even earlier, the people in Shu had actually been enduring more severe corvee and taxation than those in other states outside.

However, now the Minister of the Interior and Zhuge Lingjun brothers have joined forces to come up with a system of money to replace corvée labor and a corresponding system of rent, labor and tax. The people of certain states are allowed to pay money or silver to offset the land tax and grain tax, and also to pay money or silver to offset corvée labor.

General Yan, Zhang Biejia, you have also witnessed the benefits of this new law. Ask yourself, is it more beneficial to the people in the more dangerous and difficult places to travel to if money is allowed to be used in lieu of labor service or grain? The roads in Shu are difficult, and this new law will benefit the people of Shu the most!

Only when the revival of the world is supported by the Taiwei, can the good laws of the Minister of Education and the Lord of the throne be implemented throughout the world. If Cao Cao usurps the throne, will he use the financial and taxation laws thought up by the Minister of Education and the Lord of the throne?
By then, you will be the sinners of the people of Shu for generations. It is you who made it impossible for the people of Shu to pay money to be exempted from military service and grain, and forced them to transport dozens of times heavier materials out of Shu for delivery. The people of Shu will hate you for generations to come!"

Paying the same value of copper coins, silver coins, or Shu brocade would definitely reduce the volume and weight many times compared to paying the same value of grain or other heavy goods.

Given the difficulty of transportation in Shu, if the volume and weight of materials were reduced tenfold, the transportation cost would be reduced tenfold, and the corvée labor required for transportation would also be reduced tenfold.

The law of substitute labor and the law of rent and labor service are definitely the greatest benevolent policies for people in remote mountainous areas.

Previously, when Pang Tong was in Fucheng trying to persuade Fa Zheng to surrender, he could not use this reason openly. That was simply because Pang Tong was not as good as Zhuge Liang in handling domestic affairs, and Pang Tong started late, so the effect was not obvious.

Zhuge Liang's internal affairs were implemented in a down-to-earth manner and with great care. Moreover, they were carried out right under the noses of Yan Yan and Zhang Song. Yan Yan saw how much support Zhuge Liang's new internal affairs laws brought to the people.

It’s just that no one has ever given him such quantitative and comparative analysis before.

Now Qin Mi, however, was cooperating with Zhang Song with the letter of surrender and the explanatory article written by Zhuge Liang. It seemed that they were confronting each other tit for tat, but in fact they were just passing on words and asking and answering each other.

Zhang Song figured out Yan Yan's mentality, and then acted as Yan Yan's substitute, helping Yan Yan to be speechless when Qin Mi refuted him. In the end, Yan Yan softened as well.

Seeing that Yan Yan could no longer speak, Qin Mi pulled out a scroll from his sleeve - this was the article of persuasion written by Zhuge Liang for the expedition against Liu Zhang. It profoundly explained how Liu Bei's governance of Shu was better than Liu Zhang's and was more beneficial to the people.

Zhuge Liang's article borrowed a lot of ideas from the article written by his elder brother Wang Can, but there were some differences in the key points of the argument.

Moreover, Zhuge Jin's manifesto was written for everyone to read, so it could not expand too much on political philosophy theory. Instead, it should contain more simple and crude shouts and criticisms.

Zhuge Liang's article was aimed at scholars and officials in Shu, and was written for scholars to read, so they could make detailed arguments and inferences, and draw lessons from the past and present. Therefore, the title of this article was set as "On the Departure of the Army", which specifically argued the benefits of Liu Bei's acquisition of Shu to the people of Shu, and called on people of insight to abandon darkness and join the light.

With Yan Yan's level of education, he originally could not understand the subtleties of "On Departing from the Army". However, with the profound and easy-to-understand interpretation of Qin Mi and Zhang Song, the truth became clearer and clearer, and even Yan Yan, who had such a level of education, suddenly realized and opened his eyes.

Seeing that his attitude was softening, Qin Mi continued to pursue his victory and said: "Therefore, in order to let the people of Shu enjoy a long-term peace and stability, we must rather suffer a short pain than a long one, put the world first, and let the people of Shu work hard to support the Han Dynasty.

Although Liu Zhang's crime was not serious, my lord knew this and therefore did not intend to severely punish him. But how could those treacherous officials who deceived Liu Zhang and persuaded him not to contribute to the country not be punished?
These people seem to be letting the people of Shu watch the fire from the other side of the river, saving people's energy, but in fact they are helping the tyrant, which is not good for the long-term stability of the people in Shu! Moreover, are the loyal and righteous people in the world only in Guandong? Are there no loyal and righteous people in Shu who are angry about the current situation?

General Yan, I have always known that you are willing to contribute to the country and not hesitate to gain some merits by the way, so as to give your wife and children a title. General Fa and Zhang Biejia, aren't they also such loyal and righteous people?
Now, only by following the Grand Commandant and reorganizing Shu together, you loyal and righteous people will have the opportunity to contribute to the great cause of defeating the rebellion and helping the Han Dynasty, and leave your name in history and be passed down to future generations. Such an opportunity is right in front of you, are you going to miss it?"

Qin Mi's series of fierce attacks left Yan Yan with almost no way to retreat or escape.

After hesitating for a long time, Yan Yan finally sighed and raised his hand to express his opinion: "The Grand Commandant is kind and righteous, and Lord Zhuge has devoted all his energy to benefiting the people. I have also witnessed it with my own eyes for two years.

There are naturally many ambitious people in Shu. Who doesn't want to contribute to the country and fight on the battlefield to eliminate the rebels? I only regret that the mountains and rivers blocked my way and I didn't have the opportunity. Now that I have the trust of the Taiwei, Situ, and your Majesty, I am not unable to contribute to the country.

But after all, I have served Ji Yugong and his son for more than ten years. I have a question, please tell me the truth, Mr. Qin: Can the Taiwei really guarantee to treat Ji Yugong well in the future, and will he really only punish those treacherous people in Shu who are unwilling to work for the country and only want to shut themselves in and defend themselves? "

Qin Mi: "Of course I can guarantee this, but it's useless even if I guarantee it. General Yan may not believe it. However, as long as General Yan is willing to surrender, Zhuge Lingjun is willing to guarantee it in person."

Yan Yan finally struggled a bit and sighed: "In this case, Yan Yan voluntarily surrenders."

(End of this chapter)