Late Han Zhao Tang

In late autumn, night falls earlier than usual, and the palace lanterns are gradually lit, their orange glow illuminating the dark palace.

Inside the palace, brightly lit, Zhang Yu, wrapped in an outer robe, lay languidly on a couch, silently reading a book. Xiao Qiao, with her pure and innocent face, ladled chicken soup for Zhang Yu with a wooden spoon. Steaming vapors rose, and the enticing aroma filled the air, whetting the appetite.

"Your Majesty, it's getting late. Shouldn't you rest early tonight?" Xiao Qiao asked timidly.

Zhang Yu's gaze shifted to the alluring face, and he said with a faint smile, "No rush, allow me to finish reading this scroll!"

"promise!"

Xiao Qiao quietly waited at the side seat.

Zhang Yu remained undistracted by women and continued to immerse himself in Cui Shi's "Political Treatise".

Cui Shi, courtesy name Zizhen, was a native of Anping, Zhuojun, and a member of the renowned Cui clan of Boling during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

As a young man, Cui Shi sold his family's land and made a living by selling wine after his father's early death. Due to his talent and strategic acumen, during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, Cui Shi was recruited by the Three Dukes and appointed as a Consultant. Recognizing the political ills of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cui Shi submitted dozens of memorials entitled "Political Discourses," but unfortunately, the court did not adopt them.

Cui Shi was promoted to Prefect of Wuyuan, where he taught the people farming and weaving, freeing them from the suffering of cold and hardship. At that time, the Hu barbarians invaded Yunzhong and Shuofang, killing and plundering officials and civilians. Cui Shi built beacon towers and trained his troops, preventing the Hu barbarians from raiding. His achievements on the frontier were remarkable.

Later, because he was a former subordinate of Liang Ji, Cui Shi was caught in political turmoil and was dismissed from office for many years. Due to the mourning period for his mother's death, Cui Shi lost the opportunity to serve in office again and eventually died at home.

Although Cui Shi did not hold a high official position, his political treatises, "Political Essays" and "Monthly Ordinances for the Four Classes of People," were quite famous and thus have been passed down through the ages.

After Zhang Yu unified Hebei, the prefectures and counties of Youzhou, in accordance with government orders, submitted to the central government books written by scholars and great Confucian scholars within their jurisdictions. Among these books were two works by Cui Shi from Zhuojun.

Zhang Yuchang's reading of Cui Shi's "Political Discourse" has been very beneficial.

Cui Shi summarized the political landscape during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han into three major malpractices: extravagance, corruption among officials, and border troubles, and offered corresponding solutions.

If extravagant funeral practices become prevalent, with scholars and commoners vying with each other, social customs will deteriorate, and agriculture and sericulture will be neglected. Therefore, institutional reforms and severe penalties are needed to improve customs, encouraging people to save money and reduce their consumption.

Regarding officialdom, Cui Shi revealed that the meager income of grassroots officials often led to corruption and bribery. Therefore, he proposed increasing the salaries of grassroots officials and severely punishing them.

Furthermore, Cui Shi believed that frequent transfers of officials would lead to a lack of long-term governance vision and the promulgation of short-sighted policies. Therefore, it was necessary to strengthen performance evaluations and ensure that local officials held long-term positions.

Regarding border troubles, Cui Shi emphasized that the problem with border prefectures lies in their poverty and disorganized military preparedness. Therefore, it is necessary to relocate people from the interior to the border areas, strengthen military training, and enhance the strength of the border prefectures in order to prevent the Hu people from causing trouble.

In addition to the above political views, Cui Shi advocated for agriculture over commerce. He believed that agricultural profits were low while commercial profits were high, so people would be tempted by commerce to abandon agriculture and go into business. However, the nation depends on its people, and the people depend on grain for their lives. If the people's lives are cut off, the roots will be uprooted, and if the roots are uprooted, the foundation will collapse. This is a cancer on the nation.

While Zhang Yu could not agree with all of the views expressed above, he shared many of them, especially regarding border troubles.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the central plains prefectures and counties were densely populated, while the Guanzhong and border regions were sparsely populated. Relocating people to populate the border areas could not only alleviate the conflict between people and land in the interior, but also strengthen the border regions.

"Unfortunately, China's population is small; the population of a single prefecture is less than the registered population of a once-prosperous county. It is now extremely difficult to relocate people to the border regions!"

Looking at the contents of the book, Zhang Yu couldn't help but sigh softly.

Now that China has just achieved peace, even the inland prefectures and counties are short of people, let alone relocating people to populate the border regions. At most, some people will be relocated to Guanzhong, or the main focus will be on relocating people to a certain prefecture in the border region.

While Zhang Yu was contemplating governance based on his "Political Treatise," the eunuch Zhang Hang whispered, "Your Majesty, Marquis Jia is requesting an audience outside the palace, saying he has important matters to report. However, it is already late today; perhaps we should allow Marquis Jia to report again tomorrow?"

"No need!"

Zhang Yu put down his book, picked up the steaming chicken soup, and said, "Lord Jia has gone deep into the palace at night and has important matters to report. How can I not see him now?"

"promise!"

Before Jia Xu arrived, Zhang Yu finished the chicken soup in his bowl in a few gulps and read the rest of the "Political Treatise".

After a while, led by Zhang Hang, Jia Xu entered the hall.

"Your subject Jia Xu pays his respects to Your Majesty. I humbly request an audience late at night and hope Your Majesty will forgive my transgressions."

Zhang Yu, seemingly supporting him from the air, asked, "Military and political affairs are of paramount importance, regardless of day or night. What brings you to the palace this time?"

"I have heard that Sun Quan sent an envoy to the court, saying that he would become a vassal and a subject. Is this true?" Jia Xu asked.

"That is indeed true!" Zhang Yu relayed Xun You's words to Jia Xu and asked, "What is Wenhe's opinion?"

Jia Xu's expression was solemn as he said in a deep voice, "If this plan is followed, Your Majesty will be far from unifying the world!"

"Why?"

Zhang Yu frowned and asked, "If we first destroy Wu and Chu, then Ba and Shu will surrender without a fight. What's wrong with that?"

Jia Xu bowed and said, “Wu is located beyond the Yangtze and Han rivers. Its soldiers and civilians are skilled in boating, which is unmatched by the northerners. Your Majesty’s current reliance is solely on the Jingzhou navy, which is located downstream of Shu. If Ba and Shu change their course and the enemy forces sail downstream, the navy will be hindered from crossing. Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

Zhang Yu asked, "Sun Ce was assassinated, and the Ba and Shu regions are in turmoil. The generals are unruly, and Sun Quan is a young successor. At that time, our army is attacking Wu and Chu. How dare Sun Quan send troops?"

Jia Xu said, "Shu is located south of Hanba, with towering mountains and steep ridges as its natural defenses. It shares the Yangtze River with Wu and Chu. If Your Majesty unifies Wu and Chu, the Sun family cannot coexist. In order to ensure survival, how can Your Majesty be sure that the Sun family will not send troops?"

"As for sending envoys to acknowledge vassalage?"

Jia Xu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty is benevolent and righteous, but the nature of the barbarians is unpredictable. Now he is seeking my help because of difficulties, but once he is free from internal troubles, who knows if he will not change his mind?"

"In the past, King Wu conquered Yue and was lenient towards Goujian because Goujian submitted to him. However, when Wu was impoverished, Goujian led his troops in rebellion, cutting off their retreat. As a result, King Fuchai's kingdom was destroyed and he himself died. Therefore, if we indulge the enemy even for a day, there may be trouble for generations to come. Your Majesty must be careful. Now, Sun Quan is offering his sister to Your Majesty. Is this any different from Goujian offering Xi Shi?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu's already furrowed brows became even more serious.

As a person from later generations, he should be the one who understands Sun Quan's character best: he was cunning, self-serving, and utterly devoid of integrity.

When Liu Bei launched his eastern expedition against Jingzhou, Sun Quan, under the guise of a vassal state, deceived Cao Pi. During the Sun-Liu alliance, Sun Quan betrayed Liu Bei twice, seizing five commanderies in Jingzhou and severely weakening Shu Han. Therefore, when he clashed with Liu and Cao, Sun Quan was highly likely to intervene. If Sun Quan did intervene, his navy, sailing downstream, would inflict significant damage on the Jingzhou navy.

Therefore, as Jia Xu said, Sun Quan might emulate Goujian. Strategists like Xun You and Guo Tu underestimated Sun Quan's shrewdness due to his youth and the turmoil in Ba and Shu, and ignored the possibility that Ba and Shu would intervene in the Tang army's southern campaign against Wu and Chu.

Seeing Zhang Yu deep in thought and silent, Jia Xu continued, "Whether Sun Quan is outwardly compliant but inwardly rebellious, I dare not make a hasty judgment. But I do know that Your Majesty's rule over the world is not due to divine favor, but rather to the strength of your army! Therefore, whenever Your Majesty suffers a defeat in your southern campaigns, the people's hearts will inevitably waver, which may endanger Your Majesty's state."

"When Qin Shi Huang unified the Central Plains, the corvée labor was heavy and the taxes were heavy. Bandits flocked to the city. Gaozu, Ying Bu, Xiang Yu, Peng Yue, and Zhang Liang all rebelled under his rule. There was even an assassination attempt at Bolangsha. However, most of these people were starving and freezing, and were victims of the harsh government. Their power was enough to disrupt the counties, but it was difficult to change China."

"However, when Qin Shi Huang died at Shaqiu, the court was in turmoil and the prestige of the Qin Dynasty was greatly diminished, hence the emergence of figures like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. At that time, the world was still under the rule of the Qin Dynasty. It was not until the establishment of the State of Chu and the support of Xiang Yan for Xiong Xin that the Qin army repeatedly defeated the Chu people, and the feudal lords of the world began to rise up in rebellion. The larger ones spanned multiple states and counties, and called each other emperors; the smaller ones formed groups of hundreds or thousands, and attacked cities."

"Although the Qin government is harsh, no one dares to speak out. When the Qin dynasty loses its authority, many will respond to its call. The people of China are still unaware of Your Majesty's benevolence. Therefore, if the southern expeditionary force is lost and the Tang dynasty's prestige is diminished, the southern people will surely harbor thoughts of rebellion and separatism. Therefore, I hope Your Majesty will exercise caution in military affairs!" Jia Xu said.

Although Zhang Yu's expression remained unchanged as Jia Xu spoke eloquently, he inwardly agreed with him.

Most dynasties that lasted only two generations were due to internal problems. In particular, emperors relied on the authority of the court to rule, and once they suffered military defeats, the court's prestige continued to decline, giving rebels an opportunity to rise up in rebellion.

Looking at the fall of the Sui Dynasty, besides its harsh taxes, the most crucial factor was Emperor Yang's three disastrous campaigns against Goguryeo, which led the people to question the legitimacy of the Sui Dynasty's rule. After all, during Yang Guang's reign, most people still remembered the fragmented state of the empire.

"What are your thoughts?" Zhang Yu asked.

"In my humble opinion, Your Majesty, why not take advantage of the Sun family's poverty and seize Ba and Shu, and then pacify the southwestern prefectures and counties? At that time, the Shu navy is composed of elite troops from Jingzhou, the very army Sun Jian used to attack Shu. With the Shu and Jingzhou navies as the vanguard, ships can sail down the river, while infantry and cavalry advance along the banks. Destroying Wu and Chu will be easy!" Jia Xu said in a deep voice.

"Take advantage of the enemy's exhaustion and seize Bashu!"

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes and asked, "Do you have a plan to destroy Shu?"

Jia Xu said, "Since Sun Quan has befriended Your Majesty, Your Majesty should treat him with courtesy, thus catching the enemy off guard. Then, secretly send troops to Hanzhong, and take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness to strike and seize the passes and strategic mountains. Once the passes are captured, Ba and Shu will be without protection, and a large army will pour into Shu. Why should Your Majesty worry about not being able to pacify Ba and Shu?"

"With Ba and Shu pacified, Wu and Chu are located downstream. With the help of the Yi and Jing naval forces, we can sail down the river in a mighty force. We can launch an attack in the summer, defeat the enemy in the autumn, and secure the land in the winter. It will only take a year. Moreover, with such a military campaign, even if Your Majesty is defeated, as long as Ba and Shu are upstream, it is only a matter of time before Wu and Chu submit."

Zhang Yu slapped his knee and sighed, suddenly realizing the truth, and said, "A foolish fellow has almost ruined my great cause!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu served Jia Xu a bowl of chicken soup and handed it to him personally, saying, "I was able to rule the world thanks to Wenhe's assistance. You should take care of your health."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

Although Zhang Yu's words were exaggerated, Jia Xu played an irreplaceable role in Tang's conquest of the world and was often able to correct Zhang Yu's strategic shortcomings.

As Jia Xu just pointed out, Zhang Yu gained control of the empire by relying on his strong army. If his campaign against Wu and Chu fails, it will damage Zhang Yu's reputation and give rise to the idea among the southerners that they can carve out their own territory from China. This will lead people to question the legitimacy of the Zhang Tang dynasty! (End of Chapter)