My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 620: If I don’t launch a Northern Expedition within three years, everyone in the world will blame me for being a traitor!
The thirteenth year of Jian'an, the tenth day of the third month, at dawn.

Chengdu, the governor's palace of Yizhou.

Liu Zhang, who had been numb for many days, got up like a walking corpse, washed, moved around, and had breakfast.

While he was wiping his mouth and washing his hands, Huang Quan walked in with a serious face, but did not speak a word. He just stood aside.

Liu Zhang glanced at Huang Quan, wiped his hands, and then sighed softly and tried: "What bad news is there? Could it be that it is coming?"

"Coming." Huang Quan responded in a low voice, but did not say much, as if he wanted to give his lord some buffer time to prepare mentally.

Liu Zhang nodded slightly with a stiff neck: "Who is coming? Zhang Fei, or..."

Huang Quan: "They are all here. The general has arrived outside the city. The army is shouting in unison, please come up to the city to answer. Zhang Fei is here too, and he brought Zhang Ren, Lei Tong and other captured generals. I can confirm that Luocheng has been captured by Zhang Fei."

Liu Zhang's originally anxious mood suddenly felt relieved at this moment.

He was stunned for a moment, then his whole expression relaxed, and he was filled with a sense of relief: "Gong Heng, you calculated the date quite accurately, you said it could be delayed for a month and a half, and in the end it really was delayed for almost a month and a half.

Brother Xuande came in person, so Cao Cao must not have made any moves in Guandong. Maybe the rumors last autumn that Brother Jingsheng was seriously ill and about to die, and that Cao and Liu were busy fighting for Jingzhou, were also false. Haha... all false!"

Huang Quan helped him design and delayed the process for an extra month and a half. However, nothing unexpected happened after the delay. Liu Zhang certainly felt a little sympathetic and couldn't help thinking, "If I had known that delaying the process was useless, I wouldn't have had to endure this month and a half of suffering."

Although Liu Zhang was a weak person, he had no evil heart. In his opinion, meaningless killing should be avoided if possible.

Thinking of this, Liu Zhang could not help but ask one last question: "I don't know how many soldiers died in Luocheng and Nan'an because of the delay of this month and a half. If we had known this, we wouldn't have had to fight these battles. It would have made the general hate us even more in vain."

Huang Quan was also moved by Liu Zhang, and hurriedly comforted him: "My lord, you can think like this, which shows your generosity. It's a pity that in such a world of great contention, only those who are always tolerant can survive. The virtue of the world is to unify it first, so as to avoid another civil war. Now it seems that in order to end the civil war among the Han people, only Cao and Liu can decide the winner as soon as possible.

Fortunately, the casualties in this month and a half will not be too many. The casualties in the battle of Luocheng should be less than 5,000, and the casualties in Nan'an are even fewer. This morning, Zhang Fei had led the captured Zhang Ren to persuade him to surrender outside the city.

According to what he said, Zhang Ren must have fallen into the enemy's trap and was attacked where he needed to be rescued. He rashly broke out and tried to return to Chengdu, but was intercepted and annihilated by Gan Ning and Zhang Fei on the way. The generals in the south, such as Lei Tong, also had similar situations. "

Huang Quan helped Liu Zhang to take stock of the situation, and they finally came to the conclusion that during the extra month and a half of resistance, their side suffered an additional loss of about 7,000 to 8,000 men, and Liu Bei's army also suffered an additional loss of 2,000 to 3,000 men.

Adding it all up, the total casualties of both sides exceeded 10,000. Adding the previous battles in Mianzhu and other places, the total number of casualties on both sides in the entire Yizhou unification war was controlled within 20,000.

The military operation began at the end of October and lasted until the end of February, including the siege, a total of four months.

The land of four counties changed hands during this period, which was a very fast speed. On average, one county was swallowed up every month.

After figuring out all these things, Liu Zhang's inner anxiety was alleviated a lot. He adjusted his mindset and followed Huang Quan into the city.

……

Arriving at the north tower of Chengdu, Liu Zhang looked around and saw a huge army outside the city. He was afraid that the total number was at least over 50,000, with 10,000 cavalry alone, which was enough to scare any southern prince.

Liu Bei's army was in neat formation, with flags flying high, and the military was majestic. The steel breastplates on the front row were polished and gleamed brightly in the spring sun.

Seeing this scene and this scale, even a fool could be sure that Luocheng was definitely breached. Otherwise, Zhang Fei would not have been able to bring so many people to the front line of Chengdu without worrying about the retreat.

Liu Zhang took a few final glances at the opposing army, as if he was savoring the moment. After he had seen enough, he called out, "Where is Brother Xuande?"

The scolds also spread Liu Zhang's words aloud, and soon the two sides started talking.

Liu Zhang said: "I am late in coming, and I am afraid that you will not forgive me, so I am confused and hesitant."

Liu Bei also publicly pointed out Minjiang's promise: Since Chengdu was besieged, Liu Zhang did not take the initiative to go out of the city to counterattack, and the attacking party did not force an attack. There were no casualties on both sides, which showed that Liu Zhang still had a benevolent heart.

Therefore, all the previous sins were just because they were deceived, so that they did not want to work for the world and did not want to work for the Han Dynasty. They only wanted to close the door and defend themselves for the short-term benefits of the local area and be self-sufficient.

Now, as long as he repents, the Grand Commandant is willing to recommend Liu Zhang as the Minister of Rites, the first of the Nine Ministers. Because the two capitals have not been recovered, he cannot take office, so the Minister of Rites can only serve remotely for the time being. As compensation, the Grand Commandant will recommend Liu Zhang as the governor of Lujiang, and may transfer him to the governor of a more important county in the future.

Liu Bei, as the Grand Marshal, made this promise in front of the soldiers of both armies and 100,000 people. Liu Zhang certainly had nothing to hesitate about.

After about an incense stick of preparation time, probably for the preparation of carrying the thorns and other ceremonial preparations, the north gate of Chengdu finally slowly opened. A team of cavalry took the lead in tentatively leaving the city to clear the area, and then they were divided into two sides. Then Liu Zhang sat in a carriage and was surrounded by a group of civil and military officials and left the city.

When Liu Zhang was about a hundred steps outside the gate, he got off the car and walked a few dozen steps. Then he stood by the road with his hands hanging down, waiting for Liu Bei to come forward.

Seeing this, Liu Bei did not ride his horse forward, but dismounted and walked forward with Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Ma Chao, Zhou Tai and a few others to meet them.

Moreover, they didn't even lead the horses; they just left them where they were and handed them over to the guards to lead - these details were also intended to make Liu Zhang more relaxed and not worry about being humiliated.

Otherwise, if Liu Bei personally led the horse forward and walked in front of Liu Zhang, should Liu Zhang take the reins from his leader or not? If he took it, it would be a humiliation, and if he didn't take it, he would be afraid of being held accountable by petty people in the future.

Therefore, seeing that Liu Bei did not bring his horse and only brought a few people forward, Liu Zhang relaxed a little and secretly admired Liu Bei's courage. In order to show his sincerity, Liu Zhang also waved his hand to signal the cavalry behind him who had just opened the way out of the city to lay down their weapons.

"Brother Xuande is worthy of being a hero who fought all the way from Youyan to Bashu... With only four people, he dared to face the hundreds of cavalrymen who were escorting me, and he was not afraid that some dissatisfied warriors in my army would suddenly attack..." Liu Zhang could not help but think so in his heart, and the sense of submission in his heart became more and more oppressive, so that he dared not resist.

But he had no idea that Liu Bei was too confident in the fighting power of Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Ma Chao and Zhou Tai.

Moreover, Liu Bei wore a chain mail with iron rings under his robe, and he also carried two swords. How could he be afraid of some disobedient people causing trouble in such an occasion of surrender?

Liu Bei walked slowly to Liu Zhang, only slightly quickening his pace in the last three or four steps to appease the surrenderer. Then he lifted Liu Zhang's arm with his left hand and gently patted the back of his hand twice with his right hand.

"As relatives of the Han dynasty, we should have worked together to fight against Cao. My brother made a mistake for a moment and was unwilling to do his best for the country. He only wanted to preserve his strength. Now that you have come to your senses, it is not too late.

As long as we work together to revive the Han Dynasty and destroy Cao Cao, we are still brothers. Even if there are some twists and turns in the middle, we can laugh it off in the end. "

Liu Bei kept his composure and said these words without any expression.

In this life, Liu Bei's reasons for attacking Liu Zhang were at least more sufficient than in the original history. It was indeed that Liu Zhang was unwilling to contribute to the country and only wanted to preserve his strength for the interests of his small group, and he also violated his previous promise.

Therefore, Liu Bei's final words of closing the pass and persuading the surrender can be said to be more righteous. And this time the lines were also designed for him by Zhuge Jin.

The emphasis should be on the overall situation, on the revival of the Han Dynasty, on the integration of all anti-Cao forces, and on the unification of military and political orders more quickly and thoroughly. A slightly rough approach can be used on the details.

Zhuge Jin originally wanted to use the emotional tone of "a smile can wipe out old grudges, a smile can erase all hatreds" to pave the way for the brothers to let go of their grievances and unite to face the outside world.

But he said that those words were not suitable for direct application. So after Liu Bei arrived in Jiangzhou, he worked with Zhuge Liang again. Zhuge Liang helped him polish the words that his elder brother taught him at the beginning to make them more suitable for Liu Bei's identity and consistent cultural level.

After hearing this, Liu Zhang had to admit that although Brother Xuande just wanted to seize his foundation, at least he was telling the truth without any pretense - of course, all this would ultimately depend on what Liu Bei would do next.

If he really wanted to rule the country, it was because he saw that his former allies were trying to preserve their strength and were unwilling to fight the rebellion with all their strength, so he had to personally integrate resources. After the integration, he also spared no effort to destroy Cao as soon as possible, and everything was for the great Han Dynasty. Then what Liu Bei said today was consistent in his heart and words, so he would not be criticized by future generations.

But if Liu Bei, after integrating Yizhou, still nurtured the enemy and dragged on indefinitely without launching a northern expedition or completing the unification, and just wanted to establish his own regime like Liu Zhang, then the future generations would naturally give him the evaluation he deserved after seeing the truth.

Liu Zhang was born into a wealthy family. Although he was cowardly, he was also a bit stubborn. Under such circumstances, he didn't know where he got the courage from. He openly admitted in front of the soldiers of both armies:
"Brother, you think I am trying to preserve my strength and not to do my best for the country. I dare not deny that. It is my own fault that we have come to this point today. But I hope that after you integrate Yizhou, you will sincerely and fully fight the Northern Expedition to stabilize Han and revive Liu. That will also be worthy of the Yizhou army and people who will work hard for you in the future."

Liu Zhang was also a little angry when he said this. Even the most cowardly person would have to be tough and save face in front of the soldiers of the two armies. In addition, he really thought so in his heart, so he said it out loud.

When Liu Zhang said this, several civil servants around him couldn't help but secretly sweat for him, especially Wang Shang, the governor of Shu County, and those ministers who were good at discussing literature, such as Du Qiong and Chen Shi.

Wang Shang and Du Qiong could not help but think: The Lord has been patient for so long, but he did not expect that in front of the two armies and tens of thousands of soldiers, in order to save face, he would actually speak to Liu Bei like this... Isn't this embarrassing for Liu Bei? Even if Liu Bei temporarily endured it, being put on the spot by you, I am afraid that in the future, after a long time, he will have a grudge because of this, and even be liquidated...

Wang Shang, Du Qiong and others were all great Confucian scholars who were good at self-preservation. They were also the Shu Confucian scholars who consistently advocated "living behind closed doors and letting the Shu people spend their own money and food". It can be said that their thoughts on this issue were exactly the same as those of the late Wang Lei.

In their view, Liu Bei's use of so many righteous banners to seize Liu Zhang's foundation was just a cover-up! Liu Zhang was weak and did not want to use the resources of Shu to contribute to the country and the Northern Expedition, but would Liu Bei do so?

After Liu Bei took Yizhou, he might just continue to use the money and food supplies from Shu to live a good life, support more extravagant enjoyment, and share wealth with his brothers!
It is not surprising that Du Qiong and others would think this way, because among the Confucian scholars in Shu, there are many who judge others by themselves.

They were used to seeing what Liu Yan and Liu Zhang, father and son, had done for more than 20 years. In addition, they had rationalized their own behavior over the years and lied to themselves, which had become a habit.

They are like the intelligence dealer named Xie in "The Disguiser". He has no beliefs of his own and can only say "Here are two gold bars, tell me which one is clean and which one is dirty". After saying this for a long time, he feels that others are also "all about ideology and all about business".

Just as a chicken cannot understand the situation of not being sold, the upper limit of what the chicken can understand when it hears that it is not being sold is "maybe we didn't agree on the price."

As for noble ideologies and slogans, in their eyes, they are nothing more than excuses for such dirty acts as seizing other people's foundation and interests.

So at this moment, when Liu Zhang suddenly said these words because he finally lost his composure and because of his inner grievances that exploded when they were face to face, Wang Shang, Du Qiong and Chen Shi felt that Liu Zhang was going to be in trouble and be retaliated against.

Liu Bei's emotional intelligence, his way of dealing with people, and his observation of people were naturally first-rate. He heard Liu Zhang's angry words, and immediately figured out from his expression and tone that Liu Zhang had no ill intentions, but was just angry and dissatisfied, and doubted the authenticity of the slogans he had advocated before.

At the same time, Liu Bei also keenly caught the compassion and sighs in the eyes of the group of civil servants behind Liu Zhang, as if they felt sorry for Liu Zhang's future.

With Liu Bei's emotional intelligence, how could he not guess what those people were thinking.

He couldn't help but feel a heroic spirit in his heart, and wanted to make his words clear in front of the soldiers of both armies and a hundred thousand men.

"It seems that my dear brother's mistake was deeply buried. Is this considered to be judging a hero by the heart of an ordinary person?" Liu Bei patted Liu Zhang's shoulder vigorously, then turned to the surrendering people and said with a proud look,

"I know that some of you are dissatisfied and think that I am only trying to revamp Yizhou for my own selfish interests, just like my brother Ji Yu!"

Liu Bei first set the tone and spoke the truth in public, and then glanced around to observe the reactions of the surrendering civil and military officials. Then, he also organized the subsequent plans and words, and continued in a sonorous and powerful voice:

"But I have always been upright and honest, and I am not afraid of rumors! Today, in front of the two armies and 100,000 soldiers, I swear here that if I gain Yizhou, I will never seek long-term separatism for personal gain.

In recent years, Yizhou has been in war for many years, and it is in need of recuperation. In addition, the farming season in Shu County has been delayed this year, and the people are overwhelmed. I will reduce the land tax for one year! Starting next year, I will order the Shangshu Ling Zhuge Liang to rectify the civil affairs in Shu and implement new laws so that the money, food and manpower of Shu people can be better used for the Northern Expedition, and the people will be more lightly used, which will benefit both the people and the people!
It will take time to rectify the local situation, but I will not delay it indefinitely. This year is the 13th year of Jian'an. Starting from next year, within three years, by the 16th year of Jian'an, if I do not launch a full-scale northern expedition and drive out Cao Cao, then everyone in the world will be able to accuse me, Liu Bei, of being untrustworthy!
Three years later, people all over the world will see that under my rule, Yizhou is more willing to work hard to support the Han Dynasty than under Ji Yu's rule!"

Liu Bei spoke several paragraphs in a loud voice. Although he couldn't make the 100,000 people on and off the city hear him clearly, he made everyone pay attention and not dare to make a noise. Even though there was a little noise at the beginning, as they listened to him later, they held their breath more and more.

Especially the core civil officials of Yizhou who were closer to him were all shocked: How dare Liu Bei openly say such harsh words in front of 100,000 people? Didn't he leave any way out for himself? What if he couldn't do it in the future?
But it must be said that the effect of these words was really good. It immediately swept the previous dispute over the justice of Liu Bei's seizure of Liu Zhang's foundation into the garbage dump of history.

Just because Liu Bei dared to make a promise and even set a deadline: Yizhou can contribute more to the great cause if it is in my hands than if it is in Liu Zhang's hands!

There is no doubt that this declaration and this statement were also part of the strategy plan that the Zhuge brothers arranged for Liu Bei to quickly appease the people of Shu.

Of course, the Zhuge brothers are not gods and cannot predict everything, so they did not think at first that these words would definitely be used.

If Liu Zhang had not said those angry words and the local Shu Confucian forces nearby had not shown their dissatisfaction, Liu Bei might not have had to express this attitude in public.

But now that the atmosphere has been set, this heroic spirit must be revealed. Sometimes, those in high positions also have to shoulder the responsibility that should be publicly assumed, and they have no choice but to do so.

When Zhuge Jin designed this "supplementary reason for the justice of conquering and annexing Liu Zhang" for Liu Bei, he obviously also drew on some experience of later generations.

At that time, Zhuge Jin thought of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" which he had watched later. In that drama, during the process of the gradual merger of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, although people like Zuo Lengchan and Yue Buqun had problems, many of the high-sounding reasons they put forward were indeed just.

You can doubt a hypocrite for being inconsistent in what he says and not being able to do what he says, but you should not doubt the slogans a hypocrite shouts out. Hypocrites often know how to shout slogans of absolute justice better than true gentlemen.

Therefore, a true gentleman can also learn the slogans of a hypocrite, but after learning, the true gentleman must practice and do it consistently.

If Zuo Lengchan said that he would destroy the Demon Sect after annexing the Five Mountains Sect, and he could do it immediately, then he could be a gentleman. But Zuo Lengchan couldn't do it, and destroying the Demon Sect was just a cover. He was under the banner of dealing with the Demon Sect, but in fact he wanted to seize other interests.

If Yue Buqun said to Linghu Chong, "After the merger of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, I swear to avenge the three masters of Hengshan Sect within three years. If I fail to do so, you can accuse me of being a despicable villain who does not keep his word," and he really did it, then Yue Buqun could certainly be regarded as a true gentleman. It's just that the three masters of Hengshan Sect were killed by Yue Buqun in the first place, and Yue Buqun could not do it at all and had no real intention to do it.

The method that Zhuge Jin designed for Liu Bei to win the hearts of the people by making tough statements is similar to what Yue Buqun said in terms of language structure.

But the problem is that Liu Bei really intended to do what he said.

Before he came, he had discussed with the Zhuge brothers one after another, and firmly believed that "after taking Yizhou, we can rest and reorganize for a maximum of three years, and we will definitely have the strength to reverse the strength of Cao and Liu and launch a full-scale northern expedition."

If you can do what you say, you are a true gentleman and a true hero.

All previous “Fear Rumor Days” can be wiped out.

The Shu surrendered officials were all speechless after seeing Liu Bei's statement that he would not give them a way out. They could only wait and see whether Liu Bei would fulfill his promise in three years.

If Liu Bei had fulfilled his promise, history would have proved that there was no problem at all in his taking down Liu Zhang, and that it was precisely because of justice.

The originally restless hearts of the people in Shu calmed down for a moment after Liu Bei's powerful words. Even the most suspicious people could only choose to wait and see.

Liu Bei in history could not promise all of this. Because in history, after Liu Bei entered Sichuan, his strength was still far behind Cao Cao, and he could not promise when he would be able to launch a full-scale northern expedition.

Even Zhuge Liang could only tell Liu Bei: You have to wait for "changes in the world" before you can launch the Northern Expedition.

This was also an important reason why Liu Bei was criticized after entering Sichuan in history. Many people felt that "Yizhou is in your hands, and at first glance it is no different from being in Liu Zhang's hands."

But now it was different. Liu Bei in this life was already strong enough. As long as he swallowed up Liu Zhang, the strength comparison between him and Cao Cao would be almost equal. He no longer needed to wait too deliberately for changes in the world. As long as he farmed well and sorted out the internal affairs, he could march north.

When you are strong enough to become the market itself, you don't have to wait for the market. This open-mindedness and the heroic spirit of the promise made as soon as he arrived in Chengdu also gave Liu Bei more legitimacy in rallying the people of Shu.

……

Finally, Liu Bei looked around the whole place with a proud gaze. With his ability to judge people, he observed the changes in the expressions of the surrendering civil servants and could tell how many of them were temporarily intimidated and had to submit, and how many chose to endure and wait and see.

He was very satisfied with the result and immediately announced the official decision to promote Liu Zhang.

He took out a memorial to His Majesty, requesting that Liu Zhang be appointed Minister of Rites and concurrently Governor of Lujiang.

Afterwards, he patted Liu Zhang on the shoulder and said to him in private: "Brother Ji Yu, I know you are from Jingling County, Jiangxia Prefecture, but Jiangxia Prefecture is now led by nephew Liu Qi, not directly under my jurisdiction, so I will temporarily arrange for you to serve in the neighboring Lujiang Prefecture.

If Qi'er has other opportunities in the future, I will naturally arrange for you to return to your hometown to serve as the county governor. I am only the Marquis of Wuchang, and my fiefdom is in Jiangxia. I am willing to hand over Jiangxia County to you in the future. I hope you can understand my sincerity. "

What else could Liu Zhang say? Of course he thanked him repeatedly.

He was indeed from Jingling County, Jiangxia Prefecture, and Liu Bei remembered his native place correctly. Allowing him to return to his hometown to serve as an official was indeed an honor and favor, and it was definitely a preferential treatment for the surrendered princes.

Jiangxia County was the seat of Wuchang County, which was Liu Bei's fief. It could be said that once you went there, there would be no trouble at all, as it was right under Liu Bei's nose.

Originally in history, Liu Bei could not do so. On the one hand, it was because in the parallel universe, Jiangxia County was in the hands of Sun Quan of Eastern Wu and was not Liu Bei's territory at all. Naturally, he could only settle for the second best and place it in Wuling County which was a little upstream, which was as close as possible to Liu Zhang's ancestral home.

(Historically, Liu Bei was not only unable to enfeoff Liu Zhang in Jiangxia County, he was even unable to enfeoff him in Changsha County, which was closer to Jiangxia, because Changsha County was also ceded to Sun Quan after the Xiangshui Alliance.)
In this life, Liu Bei controlled the entire Yangzhou and Jingnan, so naturally he could place Liu Zhang anywhere he wanted. He only needed to consider where was the best and most appropriate place.

……

(Note: In the previous chapter, some people felt that this book portrayed Wang Lei as someone who “opposed for the sake of opposing” and that it ignored the historical fact that Wang Lei was indeed a loyal minister. Let me clarify this a little.

The Wang Lei I created was still a loyal minister, and he supervised the army for Liu Zhang until the very end. Although he was not capable enough to stop the enemy, he was loyal, and I have never denied this, so I arranged a heroic ending for him.

But human nature is complex, and loyal ministers can also have motives. I think Wang Lei is also loyal to the interests of the small group of "local protection of Shu". He is loyal to Liu Zhang, and Liu Zhang's weakness and lack of ambition are also the best way to achieve Shu's closed-door life.

They don't get involved in external wars, don't contribute to external wars, don't ask about the right and wrong of the outside world, and at most they will directly vote for whoever wins in the end. This is the most cost-effective and life-saving route for the local people of Yizhou, and they are also loyal to this route.)
(End of this chapter)