Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 525 Domestic news
In early autumn, the rainy season has passed and the temperature has dropped suddenly.

Zhuge Liang, who had been busy all morning, walked to the hall door, raised his head and looked up at the sky. He opened his eyes and saw only a vast sky with light wind and light clouds.

During the Northern Expedition, although Liu Bei led his army to leave the court, thanks to Zhuge Liang's presence, the court continued to function. The government affairs of various states and counties were transported from thousands of miles away through waterways and sent to the Shangshutai in Wuhan, where Zhuge Liang personally approved them.

Of course, there is actually not that big a difference between Liu Bei's presence and absence. Under the prime minister system, the prime minister led hundreds of officials to assist the emperor in governing the country. Especially before the Chancellor came out, the prime minister was the political leader.

Today, Zhuge Liang's status in the court can almost be said to be that of executive deputy emperor. If Zhuge Liang wanted to install party members, he would probably be able to keep Liu Bei a secret. Fortunately, Zhuge Liang had no such intention. Zhuge Liang hardly interfered with the right to promote talents, but reported it to Liu Bei.

Moreover, Zhuge Liang gave full play to the institution of Shangshutai, listened to good advice, and jointly governed the Southern Han Dynasty with Fazheng, Liu Ba, Huo Jun and other officials of Shangshutai.

Yang Yi walked around the corridor, walked to Zhuge Liang, and reported: "Prime Minister, Dong Gong's coffin and coffin have been buried in Xiakou, and all the money and food have been given."

Dong Gong is also Dong He.

After the Southern Han Dynasty conquered Shu, Dong He was valued by Liu Bei because of his outstanding abilities and his status as Liu Zhang's son-in-law. After the founding of the Southern Han Dynasty, he was appointed Shaofu, responsible for affairs with ethnic minorities.

Today, Wuxi Barbarians, Nanzhong Barbarians, Baiyue Barbarians, and Jiao Barbarians can generally submit to the Southern Han Dynasty. In addition to the Southern Han Dynasty's own abundant military virtue, it is related to Dong He's policy of appeasement of barbarians.

Shortly after Liu Bei's Northern Expedition, general Huang Zhong died at home, and Zhuge Liang attended Liu Bei's funeral. Last month, when minister Dong He died of illness, Zhuge Liang also stepped in to provide for Liu Bei's family.

Due to the meager salary in the imperial court, Huang Zhong and Dong He died, leaving their families with almost no money. Zhuge Liang couldn't bear to see this, so he took money and grain from the treasury to reward them.

When Guan Yu was governing Nanjun, Yang Yi came over from Cao Wei, and Guan Yu recommended Yang Yi to Liu Bei.

Zhuge Liang stretched his muscles a little, then continued back to the hall, bowing his head and busy among the papers.

The feather fan in Zhuge Liang's hand stopped slightly, and he sighed and said: "General Huang died of illness, Dong Gong died of illness, and the ministers of civil and military affairs passed away one after another. I am a big man. Now that Dong Gong has passed away, who can succeed him?"

While he was approving the decree, Ma Su came forward, handed over the letter, and said: "Prime Minister, there is a letter from Jianghuai. Huo Du's troops have defeated Xiapi City and may return to the army in the near future."

Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and smiled lightly, and said: "A gentleman should be calm and open-minded. Liu Jun is a rare gentleman, and he should be tolerant of others. Don't be upset by this."

Yang Yi's face turned red and she lowered her head and replied: "Return to Prime Minister, this is indeed the case. It's not a big deal, it's just a trivial matter."

"Ha ha!"

Zhuge Liang took a long breath and dispersed the gloom in his heart. From the perspective of talents, as Yang Yi said, the Han Dynasty has a vast territory and many talented people. If they are promoted and searched for, there will definitely be many successors.

Today, due to a trivial matter, Yang Yi had a dispute with his superior Liu Ba. With the help of interested people, the matter spread throughout the Shangshutai.

"That's fine!"

"promise!"

"The territory of the Han Dynasty is thousands of miles away, and there are many capable men in the court. How can there be no successors? Prime Minister, please comfort me!" Yang Yi said.

Zhuge Liang seemed to have remembered something and asked: "In the palace of the minister, everyone said that Wei Gong and servant She were not on good terms. Is this possible?"

Huang Zhong was not like this. Because of his outstanding military exploits, Liu Bei gave him a lot of money and food. But just because Huang Zhong thought of the tribes who followed him before his death, he donated the money left at home to the family members of these tribes free of charge.

Zhuge Liang put down his pen and said with a smile: "Huo Du is worthy of his superior military strategy. It took less than a month to defeat Cao Xiu and Zang Ba, but he already captured Xiapi. Xiapi City is conquered, and the two counties of Donghai and Xiapi can be slowly returned to control."

Ma Su smiled, cupped his hands and said, "I am returning to Jian from Xia Pi, just one step away from Langya, the hometown of Prime Minister Zi. It must not be far from the Prime Minister returning to his hometown to worship his ancestors!"

Dong He participated in political affairs during his reign, and often went back and forth to correct Zhuge Liang's mistakes due to flaws in government orders. Therefore, Zhuge Liang valued Dong He very much and often compared Dong He to Xu Shu.

Yang Yi's attitude towards returning to justice was commendable. Liu Bei appreciated his ability and initially made him a soldier, Cao Cao, and later a minister. However, due to Yang Yi's character issues, he has conflicts with many people.

Yang Yi lowered his head and responded, wondering if he had listened to Zhuge Liang's words.

Zhuge Liang shook his head and smiled, with a look of reminiscence in his eyes.

To be honest, he has no impression of his hometown. When he was three years old, his mother Zhang passed away; when he was eight years old, due to the death of his father, he followed his uncle Zhuge Xuan to go south to Yuzhang. As long as he can remember, he only remembers that he often moved with his uncle due to the war.

Now in my mind, I can only vaguely remember what my father looked like before he died of illness. Because he was still young, he didn't remember his mother's appearance at all. He only remembered that she liked to wear red clothes. On the other hand, my elder brother Zhuge Jin would occasionally talk about it, but not much. "Does Her Majesty the Queen and Mr. Mi know whether Qu County has returned to its homeland?" Zhuge Liang asked while opening the letter.

"I know!"

Ma Su said: "I met the prince on the road, and His Highness already knew the news about Xia Pi's victory and the restoration of the East China Sea. If the prince told Her Highness the Queen, Mi Jun must also know about it."

Mi Zhu and Empress Mi were very concerned about the news of the Xuhuai War. They knew that if they could win this battle, their hometown Qu County would be able to recover.

At that time, when the report of Huo Jun's defeat of Cao Xiu came, Queen Mi discussed with Mi Zhu that if Xiapi could be defeated in such a battle, they would bring their clansmen back to their hometown to worship their ancestors after the Northern Expedition.

The gene of worshiping ancestors is as deeply integrated into the blood of Chinese men and women as their surnames. From the emperors to the common people, they worship their ancestors every year.

Because the marquis could not build an ancestral temple, Liu Bei elevated Guan Yu to the position of Duke of Hanshou County, allowing Guan Xing and Guan Ping to build temples for Guan Yu and his Guan family ancestors.

"I will tell Duke Zhang and the princes of Huaisi about this news later, so that everyone can rejoice with the country." Zhuge Liang warned.

"promise!"

The Xuhuai scholars in the Southern Han Dynasty can be said to be one of the forces with the strongest desire for the Northern Expedition. Even Zhang Zhao, the leading brother, actively supported Huo Jun's Jianghuai strategy and helped the Southern Han Dynasty unite the scholars of Wu.

For Nanhan, the strategy of operating Jianghuai has always been to sell and buy at a loss, and the investment can be said to be huge.

A series of military and political-related projects such as racecourses, cities, immigration, grain and grass, cattle, and soldiers cannot be built out of thin air. Almost all of them have to be paid for by Wu Chu. Since Jianghuai is adjacent to Wuyue, the heavy burden of paying for Jianghuai falls on the Wuyue people.

In fact, in the early stages of the Jianghuai strategy, there were many weak voices among the people in Jiangzuo. They believed that it was not necessary to attack the Jianghuai and that it was better to attack from Xiangfan if the Northern Expedition was to be carried out. Of course, these voices were collectively suppressed by Zhang Zhao, Bu Zhi, Gu Yong, Lu Xun and others before they reached the court.

Of course, what is important is that the Wuyue scholars themselves were one of the beneficiaries of the Southern Han Dynasty, and a large number of them worked for Liu Bei. If you pay, you will be rewarded, and they can still accept it.

Compared with the strategy of managing the Jianghuai River, the plan of the northern expedition from Bashu was often criticized by Shu sergeants. The road to Shu stretches for thousands of miles and lacks water transportation. Forty to fifty thousand soldiers went out to fight, and there were at least one hundred thousand farmers. This affected almost the entire people of Shu.

In particular, the several unsuccessful Northern Expeditions and the continuous losses of troops and generals have made the Shu sergeants feel resentful. They joined the army late, and there was a lack of positions for them in the court. The people appointed were either from Jingchu or Wuyue.

Due to various reasons, the Chu people had more middle and high-ranking officials than the Wu and Shu people. Therefore, the Shu people's entry into the dynasty had almost no impact on them. In order to ensure that their own interests would not be robbed by the Shu people, the Wu people often suppressed Shu sergeants in the court.

The only high-ranking official in the Southern Han Dynasty who was originally from Yizhou in the past is Huang Quan, the general of Zhenbei. What is ironic is that Huang Quan, Wang Ping, Yan Pu and other middle- and high-level officials in the Southern Han Dynasty are not from Yizhou. People, but people from Liangzhou.

Due to difficulty in promotion and being squeezed for a long time, Shu people mostly resented the Northern Expedition from Bashu, but not everyone was like this. At least some of the Shu people who were promoted served the Han wholeheartedly.

In short, the internal conflicts in Southern Han Dynasty were complicated. The success of Huo Jun's Northern Expedition to Xuhuai, in a political sense, made those Huaisi scholars more inclined to the Northern Expedition. With the unity and comfort of the Huaisi scholars, the Jiangzuo scholars could also follow suit.

As for the interior of Bashu, we can only do it slowly. The Shu people joined the army late. They were no better at fighting than the Ba people, and they had no obvious advantage over the Wu and Chu scholars. In today's situation, being squeezed is almost inevitable.

Zhuge Liang browsed the letter sent by Huo Jun to manage Donghai County and said: "Mr. Wei, now Huo Du wants to rebuild Haixi and Qucheng, and build a fortress on Yuzhou Island to station troops and gather people. The materials and money needed are huge, so then It’s up to you to calculate the planning expenses.”

Yang Yi stepped forward, stretched out his head to take a look at the scale requirements proposed by Huo Jun, and said: "Huo Du moved 3,000 households of common people to Xiapi, and moved to the three cities of Haixi, Qucheng, and Yuzhou. In terms of population, , at least 100,000 stones are needed. If the people of Jiangzuo are to return home, the cost should be doubled, not counting farming and three years of tax-free food."

"Let's do the math first!"

Zhuge Liang handed the letter to Yang Yi and said: "Discuss the relevant numbers with Huo Du and put them together in the table. Donghai County is the front line for the attack on Qingxu. If it can be consolidated, it will be of great benefit."

"promise!"

Yang Yi answered with cupped hands.

In marching combat, Yang Yi may have some shortcomings. But he is good at cost control and can always save costs for Nanhan. This made Zhuge Liang like to use Yang Yi very much. After all, the Southern Han Dynasty really needed to be careful with its budget.

After Yang Yi retreated, Ma Su said: "Prime Minister, your Majesty will withdraw his troops soon. The Wuguan Road stretches for thousands of miles, or the mountain roads are rugged and inconvenient. If the bandits lead troops to pursue them, I'm afraid that your Majesty's troops will have difficulty advancing and retreating, which will cause the loss of troops and horses." The damage is serious.”

Although there is Danshui on Wuguan Road, the road from Lantiankou to Shangluo is rugged and there is no water to draw it. Ma Di was worried that Liu Bei would be pursued by the Wei army in the mountainous area and would suffer heavy losses.

Zhuge Liang smiled while stroking his fan, and said: "Now the law king is by your majesty's side, even if the thieves pursue me. I know that the law king's ability can also help your majesty to repel the pursuers, so there is no need to worry!"

(End of this chapter)