My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

"Whether they are southerners from the Jing and Yang regions or surrendered officials from the north of Cao Wei, let's set aside for now which merits they have made are more or less significant."

"Now that we are all serving in the same court, we all bear the heavy responsibility of restoring the Han Dynasty. As Han officials, we should be treated equally."

"Your Highness, how can you be so biased?"

Zhao Yun frowned, his face full of resentment as he questioned:
"Moreover, the heroes of Jingzhou have risked their lives and made great contributions to the restoration of the Han Dynasty. If His Highness treats them so poorly, won't that chill the hearts of these meritorious officials?"

Hearing Zhao Yun's anger, Xiao He's expression remained calm, though a hint of undisguised sarcasm flickered in his eyes.

Throughout history, the attitude of founding emperors towards their meritorious officials has always been complex.

Among them were monarchs who feared the excessive power of their meritorious officials, which they saw as a threat to their own rule, and thus resorted to bloody and violent purges.

The most typical example is Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

He started from scratch and, with the support of the nobles of Huaixi, was able to establish the Ming Dynasty.

However, after the country was initially pacified and he secured his throne, he ruthlessly slaughtered the nobles of Huaixi who had fought alongside him.

A series of bloody massacres swept in like a storm, wiping out almost all the nobles from Huaixi who had followed him in founding the country, leaving no one alive.

His purpose in doing this was simply to prevent his successor from having too little prestige, too little experience in imperial politics and tactics, and from being able to control the powerful nobles.

After all, these nobles had achieved great merit and wielded immense influence in both the court and among the people. If they were not eliminated, there was a risk that powerful ministers might seize the throne.

Of course, extreme examples like Zhu De, who ruthlessly killed meritorious officials, are only a minority.

Throughout history, most founding monarchs have maintained a degree of trust in the meritorious officials who helped them establish their empires.

Even if action were to be taken, it would only be to kill a few troublemakers as a warning to others.

For example, Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, did take action against some non-royal princes after establishing the Han Dynasty, but he still gave most of his meritorious officials the rewards and treatment they deserved.

For example, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, did not touch any of the meritorious officials enshrined in the Lingyan Pavilion, except for Hou Junji, who wanted to rebel.

The original Liu in history, namely Liu Bei, goes without saying.

He treated his subjects with the utmost benevolence and righteousness.

Not only did Liu Bei never kill any of his meritorious officials, but he even said to Zhuge Liang, "You may take it yourself," when entrusting his son to Zhuge Liang.

The trust and kindness that Liu Bei showed to his subjects was the fundamental reason why Xiao He resolutely chose to follow him.

Of course, the fact that the founding monarch did not kill his meritorious officials does not mean that the second monarch would do the same.

After all, second-generation monarchs are generally inferior to their fathers in terms of prestige and ability.

Having just ascended the throne, their power base was not yet secure, and they were bound to feel apprehensive towards those highly respected veteran ministers.

Fearing they couldn't control these powerful ministers, killing a few high-ranking officials to consolidate imperial power seemed like an understandable choice.

Xiao He had originally worried about this as well.

However, thinking that Liu Shan, Liu's son, had always treated his meritorious officials well, just like his father, and had no history of killing them, he gradually dispelled his worries.

The situation is now completely different.

After recovering from dementia, Liu Shan's personality changed drastically, as if he were a completely different person, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the original Liu Shan.

He outwardly feigned benevolence and righteousness, but in reality he was ruthless and cruel, much like Emperor Yang of Sui.

Such a spoiled young master, once he ascends to the throne, is highly likely to slaughter his meritorious officials. Before the division of troops, this possibility was only considered high, but after Liu Shan appointed his generals, Xiao He was able to determine that this possibility had risen to one hundred percent.

Liu Shan surprisingly chose a team of strategists and generals composed entirely of northerners to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Zhang Lu.

This move undoubtedly excludes the meritorious officials of Jingzhou and Xiangyang, demonstrating his distrust and hostility towards them.

"Zilong, given the ruthlessness of our Crown Prince, do you think that if he ascends the throne in the future, he will merely treat us, the meritorious officials of Jingzhou, poorly?"

Xiao asked in a meaningful tone.

Zhao Yun was taken aback at first, as if he did not understand the meaning behind Xiao He's words.

Then, he suddenly shivered, as if he had suddenly realized something terrible, and blurted out:

"The Grand Marshal is saying that if he succeeds to the throne, he will massacre us—"

Zhao Yun didn't dare finish his sentence; for the first time in his life, a look of horror flashed across his eyes.

He thought of himself and many other meritorious officials from Jingzhou who had risked their lives for the Han Dynasty and made countless contributions, yet might suffer a tragic end because of Liu Shan's suspicion and ruthlessness, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.

"It seems that our decision was right, not only for the future of the Han Dynasty, but also for our own sake. We must remove him from the position of Crown Prince."

"We are not only saving the big man, we are also saving ourselves!"

Xiao He gazed in the direction Liu Chan had gone, muttering to himself, a cold glint appearing in his eyes.

Zhao Yun remained silent.

He knew that Xiao He's words were not an exaggeration.

Liu Shan's actions have indeed put these meritorious officials of Jingzhou and Xiangyang in a dangerous situation.

If no action is taken, they may face utter destruction.

After a long silence, Zhao Yun let out a sigh of extreme disappointment, his gaze fixed firmly on Xiao He:

"Grand Marshal, tell me, what should we do next?"

At this moment, Zhao Yun's expression and tone were no longer filled with any worries.

Clearly, he was determined to follow Xiao He and Ma's lead and carry out the matter of deposing the crown prince to the end.

Xiao He pondered for a moment, then slowly said:
"Our first priority is to write a letter to the Emperor, explaining the Crown Prince's decision to divide the troops and march south, so that the Emperor can understand the truth of the matter."

"Next, I will petition His Majesty to secretly mobilize troops from Guandong to reinforce the Tongguan line."

"Let's do these two things for now, and see how things go for the rest."

Upon hearing what Xiao He said, Zhao Yun looked suspicious:
"Grand Marshal, I understand that we should write a letter to His Majesty to state the facts, but why should we send reinforcements to Tongguan and Puban? And why should we send reinforcements from Guandong?"

"We still have over 200,000 troops at our disposal, which can be directly transferred to Tongguan and Puban Pass. Why go through all this trouble?"

Xiao He looked south, his tone playful:

"Although Zhang Lu was not a great ruler, Sima Yi was no pushover."

"I'm afraid our Crown Prince will be completely manipulated by Sima Yi..." (End of Chapter)