Jinting Han people

Chapter 35: Memories of Jiang Wei (4k)

After saying so much in one breath, Zhang Ximiao's face became paler. She coughed slightly and pointed to the kettle beside her pillow: "Biji, I'm thirsty..."

Liu Xian woke up as if from a dream. He quickly stood up, took the kettle, poured a glass of water, and then sat down next to Xi Miao. With one hand, he supported his mother's back and with the other hand, he held the cup to her mouth. After watching his mother drink it, he helped her lie down slowly.

Unlike his cold palms, his mother's back was burning hot. This heat reminded Liu Xian of burning, a burning of his own life.

After lying down, Zhang Ximiao's coughing didn't stop, but instead lasted for a long time. A look of discomfort and pain appeared on her face. Liu Xian asked with concern, "Mom, do you want to rest for a while?"

Xi Miao shook her head and said, "It's nothing serious, don't worry."

"Can……"

"Even if it's serious, it will be fine after a rest, right?"

These words made Liu Xian silent. He could only sit in front of the couch and hold his mother's hand tightly.

Seeing the heartbroken look on Liu Xian's face, Zhang Ximiao smiled, reached out and smoothed the child's brow, and said softly: "Since ancient times, there has been no immortal person, and no country that has not perished. Your teacher taught you that, right?"

Liu Xian nodded. That was his last lesson before studying history. Chen Shou had told him this while taking him to visit the ancient tombs, and from it, he had grasped the greatness of man's striving to transcend immortality. But when his mother became gravely ill, he realized that neither of these words could comfort a person; it still brought sadness and tears. But now, he had to restrain his tears, because he had proven to his mother that he was, as she had said, a man strong enough to bear the burden.

Xi Miao could sense this effort and was very pleased. She continued with the previous topic, "Then your teacher should have taught you why your homeland fell, right?"

"Taught."

"Then tell me about it."

Liu Xian gathered his thoughts, recalling Chen Shou's teachings during that time, as well as the books he left behind, and slowly said, "Teacher said that the responsibility for the fall of Shu Han lies primarily with General Jiang Wei. He committed two major mistakes."

"On the one hand, he was reckless in his military spending, launching numerous northern expeditions year after year. However, he lacked a talented commander. Although his military prowess surpassed that of Guo Huai and Chen Tai, he was no match for Deng Ai. Not only was he unable to advance, he was also defeated miserably at Duangu and defeated at Houhe. As a result, people's livelihoods declined and the country's strength was depleted."

"His second fault was his selfish motives. He knew that the officials were dissatisfied with him, but he was still unwilling to give up his power. He secretly led the troops to Dazhong, which left Hanzhong empty and caused suspicion between the emperor and his ministers. This gave Zhong Hui the opportunity to lead his troops to destroy Shu."

Zhang Ximiao was a little dazed when she heard this. She murmured, "Is that what your teacher said?"

"Yes."

"Then Biji, what do you think?"

Liu Xian pondered for a moment and said, "Mother, in my opinion, what the teacher said is partly right and partly wrong. At least in terms of military affairs, it is too harsh."

He paused, and seeing Xi Miao's encouraging look, he continued, "Looking at the history books, some people criticized Jiang Wei for being warmongering. It's simply because they believed that when a small country is hostile to a large country, it can play the role of a snake, stalling for opportunities, and then strike a fatal blow when the large country reveals a flaw. There are many examples of this in history, such as King Wu's conquest of King Zhou, Gou Jian's conquest of Wu, and Yue Yi's conquest of Yan. They all worked like this."

"But this doesn't apply to the conflict between Han and Wei. Han and Wei were sworn enemies, as the saying goes, Han and traitors cannot coexist, and the kingdom cannot be left alone. Jiang Wei viewed Cao Wei as his enemy, and Cao Wei was no different. So if he didn't take the initiative, the Wei army would have attacked Xichuan. The fact that Emperor Wen of Jin immediately planned to attack Shu after the Northern Expedition was halted is clear evidence of this. In contrast, it's better to defend the enemy outside the country than to fight within it. This doesn't need to be criticized too much."

"Jiang Wei, however, traversed mountains and ridges, using a small force to defeat a large one, often outmaneuvering three. While he suffered crushing defeats like at Duangu, he also had brilliant victories like at Taoxi, where he captured tens of thousands of men. Cao Wei even considered abandoning Liang Province. Even if they ultimately failed, it was simply due to the disparity in national strength. What more could one expect? Looking back at Jiang Wei's defeats, they were all due to limited manpower and food supplies, forcing him to pursue a quick victory. It wasn't that he was weaker than Deng Ai or didn't know how to advance or retreat, but simply that he had no other options."

After Liu Xian finished speaking, Zhang Ximiao remained silent for a moment. He did not comment on Liu Xian's opinion, but continued to ask, "So, you don't think the general is warmongering, but you approve of his abusing power and harboring selfish motives?"

Liu Xian thought about it and nodded, "Yes, mother, I do think so."

"Why?"

"This is very clear. When a small country takes on a big country, there can be victories and defeats in military affairs, but internally there must be unity and cooperation."

"The political situation in Shuzhong deteriorated due to the factional strife between Jiang Wei, Huang Hao, and Zhuge Zhan. As the leader of the entire army, Jiang Wei was unable to unite his colleagues, yet was unwilling to relinquish power. This led to internal divisions and resentment within and outside the army. As a result, he even took the initiative to lead his troops out of Hanzhong and establish military bases in Dazhong. This left Hanzhong's defenses vulnerable, leading to the predicament of Zhong Hui's army marching south and approaching Jiange."

"As a great general, Jiang Wei is hailed as a peerless national hero. He must understand this truth, but he still does it. If it's not selfish, what else could it be?"

Having said that, Liu Xian also felt a little dry in the mouth. He also picked up the kettle, poured himself a glass of water, and then waited for his mother's evaluation.

Zhang Ximiao nodded slightly and said, "Biji, you put it very well." But then she denied it, saying, "But there are some things you haven't experienced firsthand, and your teacher hasn't told you. There are some principles you're still young, so you haven't considered thoroughly enough."

"Not thorough enough?" Liu Xian was stunned, then lowered his head to listen to his mother's teachings.

"I just said you spoke very well." Zhang Ximiao squeezed Liu Xian's hand and sighed, "It's good that you understand that when the country is in trouble, we should work together and consider the overall situation."

"But these eight words aren't something that can be determined by just one person. Everyone has only one heart and one pair of eyes. They can only think what they want and see what they can see. It's difficult for them to understand the emotions of others. This is a layer of karma that hinders people. With this layer of karma, people can only be suspicious of each other."

"You said General Jiang Wei should unite his colleagues. How could he not know that? But how can unity be achieved? Unity comes at a price." "Among the officials in the court who advocated a truce at the time, there were upright officials like Zhuge Zhan, the son of Prime Minister Zhuge, as well as powerful eunuchs like Huang Hao, and even Qiao Zhou, who wrote 'On Hating the Country' and secretly promoted the idea that the country would perish and Cao Wei would rise. They all advocated abandoning the Northern Expedition and recuperating. Bi Ji, tell me, if it were you, what would you do?"

This… His mother's question immediately stumped Liu Xian, leaving him at a loss for words. Sometimes, as a bystander, he could clearly see the thoughts and plans of the parties involved, but he rarely put himself in their shoes. Now, his mother had posed a difficult question, demanding a better solution.

After a long deliberation, Liu Xian finally replied, "Since the court situation is like this, we should follow Zichan's example and use a combination of leniency and severity, divide and rule, and not generalize. Regarding Zhuge Zhan, we should temporarily suspend hostilities and ease tensions. Regarding Huang Hao, we should present his case to the emperor and clarify the truth. As for Qiao Zhou, we should publicly refute him and expel him from the court."

Zhang Ximiao looked at Liu Xian for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're right. That's exactly what the general did back then."

"After the defeat at Duangu, the general did not deploy troops for four years, concentrating on strengthening the defenses in Hanzhong in an attempt to ease tensions with Zhuge Zhan. However, Zhuge Zhan refused to give up and insisted that the general resign and retire."

"As for Huang Hao, the general made a strenuous appeal to your grandfather, hoping to have Huang Hao executed and restore order to the court, but your grandfather refused."

"The refutation of Qiao Zhou is a long-standing one, but Qiao Zhou has many followers, is extremely experienced, and is a great scholar of classics in Shu. Without your grandfather's support, even if you can win verbally for a while, you will never be able to exclude him."

Liu Xian was somewhat stunned by his mother's explanation. Jiang Wei had already done all this, so how could things have ended up like this? What went wrong? As he began to reflect, he noticed something he hadn't previously considered: his grandfather, Liu Chan's attitude. He asked, "Is it my father-in-law who's suspicious of the general?"

"It's not suspicion." Zhang Ximiao shook her head. She, too, felt powerless to answer this question. "This is... the mind of an emperor. For decades, your grandfather grew tired of the excessive power of the prime minister. Ever since the death of Prime Minister Zhuge, he's been working to weaken his position, from Jiang Wan to Fei Yi. By the time the general took power, your grandfather had already completely seized control of the government. But he had no interest in governing the country. He simply manipulated the political balance to maintain his own authority, which resulted in intensified factional strife."

"The general is ultimately only a minister. Without the emperor's support, how can he rally his colleagues? However, as a minister, unlike Prime Minister Zhuge, he lacks the will and trust of your great-grandfather, Emperor Zhaolie, and is therefore unable to persuade the emperor. To put it bluntly, this is the responsibility and burden of the Son of Heaven, but your grandfather is unwilling to bear it, while the officials at court are happy to compete for power. Biji, how should you handle this situation without any selfish motives?"

Liu Xian was speechless. From this perspective, if Jiang Wei delegated power to such a foolish emperor, the government would likely not improve, and might even become even more chaotic. If he truly had a sense of justice, he would have to ensure he retained power and protected the army from factional strife.

In this case, when everyone else has selfish desires, does even a public-spirited heart become selfish?
"So this is how it is. Even if the general has no selfish motives, he has to do some seemingly absurd things." Zhang Ximiao made a very sad conclusion here:

"In life, to be as virtuous as Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, one must not only be a good person, but also have good luck and meet an emperor like your great-grandfather who trusted his life with his. Biji, you must not only observe people's actions, but also learn to recognize which actions are forced by circumstances and which are sincere."

"Yes." Liu Xian knew that this was his mother urging him to forgive his father again, but a new question arose in his mind. He asked, "But I don't understand why the teacher didn't tell us about these things? Even if he wanted to avoid suspicion, he didn't have to go to this extent, right?"

"It's not just pure avoidance of suspicion. First, as a minister, he must be respectful of his superiors and shouldn't blame your grandfather too much. Second, if he wants to gain fame through his historical writings and advance his career, he must curry favor with the Sima family. The general ultimately exploited the suspicions between the Sima family and his ministers, causing chaos, so he must be criticized. Third, it's also to avoid suspicion. He served as the general's chief clerk for six years, so he would have to demonstrate twice or even three times the loyalty of others to gain the Sima family's favor, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Did the teacher serve as Jiang Wei's chief clerk? Liu Xian recalled that when he first became his disciple, his mother had asked Chen Shou to do the same.

At the time, he didn't understand the meaning of the terms "General" and "Master Clerk." Now, he understood that Master Clerk was a key position within the shogunate, a position held only by trusted individuals. This suggests that many of Jiang Wei's military strategies during the Northern Expedition may have been shaped by his teacher. But as his mother had said, he had abandoned this period of his life and refused to speak of it.

What was it like to completely hide your past? Liu Xian couldn't imagine it.

Zhang Ximiao downplayed the situation. She said, "It's not just him. I, your father, everyone who experienced the Chengdu Rebellion doesn't want to recall that period. But the reluctance to recall it precisely shows how deeply it has been etched in their memory."

Xi Miao brought the conversation back to the original topic and asked, "Now tell me more about how the Wei army acted after the general fled."

Liu Xian had already memorized the relevant information, so he didn't need to ponder it this time. He spoke directly, "I remember that news of factional strife in the country and the emptiness of Hanzhong reached Luoyang. Zhong Hui saw this as a golden opportunity to destroy the country, so he persuaded Emperor Wen of Jin to urgently mobilize 180,000 troops. He divided the troops into five groups, two to surround Jiang Wei, and three to attack Hanzhong. In the end, Jiang Wei led his troops to break through the blockade and reach Hanzhong, but Zhong Hui also occupied most of Hanzhong's strategic points, leaving the Han army with no strategic points to defend and forcing them to retreat to Jiange."

"Yes." Zhang Ximiao's expression once again showed a nostalgic look as he recalled, "Your father told me that on the eve of the battle, the general actually noticed the Wei army's movements and requested reinforcements from the court. However, the officials believed that the Wei army had not attacked Hanzhong in ten years and that Jiang Wei was probably using his troops as an excuse to gain respect for himself. That's why no reinforcements were sent."

"When they learned that Zhong Hui's 200,000-man army was marching south and had repeatedly broken through the Hanzhong defenses, officials across the country were practically terrified. They all said this was a dead end, that the general would most likely surrender to the Wei army, and that the country would be destroyed. Unexpectedly, even though Hanzhong was lost, the general actually fought his way through the encirclement! When Chengdu heard the news that he had rushed to Jiange, they could hardly believe it!"

When Liu Xian heard this, he began to imagine Jiang Wei leading his army through towering mountains and surrounded by numerous enemies, galloping through the open field and fighting. He couldn't help but exclaimed, "It's truly remarkable."

But then he sighed, "When the Wei army was unable to break through Jiange and was considering withdrawing, Deng Ai took a risk and devised a surprising strategy. He led 30,000 soldiers through the Yinping Trail, broke through the natural barrier of Jiangyou, and suddenly appeared on the Chengdu Plain. General Zhuge Zhan, who led 10,000 soldiers to resist, hesitated and lost all the passes. He was forced to engage in field battles with the Wei army. In the end, he suffered repeated defeats and was completely annihilated."

"General Zhuge Siyuan..." Zhang Ximiao closed his eyes and lamented, "He was a good man, but he lacked talent. Not only was he far inferior to his father, Prime Minister Zhuge, he was even less perceptive than your father. Yet, he chose to enter the government and became your grandfather's tool to check the general. But he was truly a good man. To be able to die for their country together, and to reunite with their ancestors in the afterlife, one can say that he has a clear conscience."

"Zhuge Siyuan's defeat utterly destroyed the nation's last elite troops, including my brother Zhang Zun, Huang Quan's son Huang Chong, and Li Hui's nephew Li Qiu... Only a little over 10,000 men remain in Chengdu, but they are too weak to fight."

"Upon hearing the news of Zhuge Siyuan's defeat, your father and the rest of your uncles were forced to return to Chengdu. But according to custom, except for your eldest uncle, the others could only wait in the palace's tangerine and pomelo garden. Once the court made a decision, we had to accept it. While they waited, your father and fifth uncle Liu Chen were extremely indignant. They were ready to die for their country, and would never become slaves of a conquered nation as long as there was a glimmer of hope. But such people were always a minority."

Having said this, Zhang Ximiao fell silent for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, she looked back at Liu Xian and said slowly:
"Biji, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I was actually afraid of death. I thought our simple married life would last forever, but suddenly I was faced with the choice between life and death. I was completely at a loss."

"At that time, I saw the golden osmanthus flowers blooming in the corridor of the tangerine and pomelo orchard, and the abundant fruits about to ripen in the orchard. I smelled their lingering fragrance, and then I realized how wonderful life is. The reason why people often despise life and death is because they are so far away from death."

"And when I looked at the other relatives' eyes, I knew that most of them actually thought the same thing. Even ants try to survive, let alone people who have enjoyed a happy life?

"Many things that seem important are unimportant when it comes to the choice of living. So when your grandfather decided to surrender, although I, like everyone else, felt grief and couldn't help crying, I was actually relieved. I thought, let it be. Being a slave of a conquered nation is shameful, but the division and unification of the world is also normal. Perhaps the future won't be so bad."

After a brief pause, Zhang Ximiao revealed a rare expression of hatred. She held the child's hand tightly, looked up at the ceiling, and finally said:
"But soon, I understood a truth: life is not inherently happy, but destined to be painful. This pain also completely changed your father..."

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(End of this chapter)