The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 168 Northern Expedition
Shu Kingdom, Chengdu.

"I request a northern expedition!"

Liu Chan sat in the upper seat, looking at the old general Jiang Boyue who was kneeling in front of him, with a look of confusion in his eyes.

When General Wei Jiang Wei returned to Chengdu, Liu Chan was very happy and quickly summoned his ministers to reward the general.

However, when Jiang Wei appeared in the court meeting, his first words were to request another Northern Expedition.

All the officials in the court were in an uproar.

The faces of several ministers became extremely ugly, but they just signaled Liu Chan with their eyes and did not dare to refute in person.

"Your Majesty! I think it's not possible!"

At this moment, a minister came out. He had a strong appearance, a long beard, a broad and strong body, and was very powerful.

His face was very solemn. He glanced at Jiang Wei who was kneeling to worship His Majesty, and then looked at Liu Chan.

"Your Majesty, we can no longer march north."

"During the last Northern Expedition, General Zhang Yi was killed in battle, resulting in heavy casualties. The treasury is empty, the soldiers are exhausted, and the people are complaining. The war hasn't even been over for half a year, and now General Wei is about to send troops out again. Isn't he afraid of causing a popular uprising?!"

Liu Chan frowned and said nothing.

The general who spoke up to refute was General Zhang Yi, the General of the Western Expedition.

Zhang Yi is the great-great-grandson of Zhang Hao, the prime minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His family background is quite impressive. His family is Zhang Buyi, a descendant of Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu.

He was upright, responsible, brave and courageous, and was deeply loved by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang. When Zhuge Liang attacked the State of Wei, he appointed him as the commander-in-chief of the vanguard army.

Now, he was appointed as the General of the Western Expedition and stationed at the northern border of Shu Han. This time he returned to Chengdu with Jiang Wei.

The ministers did not dare to refute Jiang Wei to his face, but Zhang Yi did.

After hearing Zhang Yi's words, many ministers showed joy on their faces.

Jiang Wei slowly raised his head.

The old general Jiang Boyao is fifty-four years old this year, six years older than Sima Shi.

"Why do you say that, General Zhengxi?!"

Jiang Wei stood up and looked at Zhang Yi in front of him.

"Although we suffered casualties during the previous Northern Expedition, Cao Cao's casualties were many times greater!"

"General Dangkou died in battle, but I also cut off Xu Zhi's head, annihilating his entire army. Cao's army was routed and unable to withstand a single blow. We conquered Heguan, Didao, and Lintao, and brought the people of these three counties back to Mianzhu and Fanxian to reside."

"The losses from the war can all be made up with captured supplies! How can you say the treasury is empty?"

"The soldiers have won battle after battle, recovered lost territory, and made great achievements. Their morale is high. How can they be said to be exhausted?!"

"When the people learned of the great victory, they were overjoyed and clapped their hands in celebration. How can it be said that they were complaining?!"

"The traitorous general Guo Huai is seriously ill, and Chen Tai is nothing but a cowardly villain."

"Sima Shi has deposed and enthroned his ruler, causing suspicion among the Cao rebels and alienation among the upper and lower ranks. Isn't this the perfect time for our Northern Expedition?!"

When Zhang Yi heard this, he became even more furious.

"Are you trying to sustain the nation through war? Even if you win, how long will the captured supplies last? Even if the soldiers win every battle, won't they get tired? As for the people, if you keep fighting like this, they won't even have enough to eat. Will they still clap their hands and celebrate then?!"

"Guo Huai is seriously ill, but Cao Cao's power remains undiminished. Chen Tai is cautious, but not cowardly! Sima Shi is capable and no less talented than his father!"

"Do you still want to launch a northern expedition?!"

After Zhang Yi said this, many ministers actually nodded.

Jiang Wei slowly looked at these people, his eyes were extremely calm and without any anger.

Liu Chan watched his two generals arguing with each other, smiled wryly, and asked, "You two generals have come from afar. How about we discuss this again in a few days?"

After Liu Chan finished speaking, he looked at another important official in the court.

Chen Zhi was the Minister of the Chancellery and General of the Zhenjun Army.

Chen Zhi was much thinner than the two debaters and looked more elegant.

In fact, the ministers in the court were still somewhat dissatisfied with Chen Zhi.

After this man came to power, he openly made friends with eunuchs, changing the court's previous tendency to crack down on eunuchs. He had a very good relationship with Huang Hao and others.

Although it was in an opposing state with Cao Wei, Shu Han had also experienced the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty. As fellow literati, they did not have a good impression of eunuchs.

Chen Zhi's actions caused him to lose points.

But Chen Zhi didn't care about these things at all.

When Chen Zhi noticed that the emperor's gaze was on him, he stood up.

Jiang Wei and Zhang Yi's eyes fell on him.

"I believe we should launch a northern expedition."

Chen Zhi spoke.

The ministers' eyes widened again. This Shangshu Ling had always been very close to the eunuchs, knew how to please the emperor, and was deeply favored by the emperor. How could they not have realized that he was also a war advocate?
Zhang Yi became even angrier.

"Years of continuous northern expeditions, with no regard for the people at home. What was the Han Dynasty like when the Prime Minister was still here? And what is it like now?! Do you really want to destroy the Prime Minister's hard work?!"

Zhang Yi shouted angrily.

"shut up!!!"

Jiang Wei's eyes finally showed emotion.

He raised his head and stared at Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi was speechless for a moment.

Jiang Wei turned and looked at Liu Chan.

"Your Majesty, back then, the Prime Minister did not distance himself from me because of my background as a surrendered general. Instead, he promoted me and placed me at his side, teaching me personally. Now that the empire has fallen, the traitor Cao Cao has usurped the Han Dynasty, and the people are living in misery, the Prime Minister has passed away, but we dare not forget his legacy. We will march north to the Central Plains, support the Han Dynasty, and return to our old capital."

Jiang Wei spoke in a very calm tone. However, Liu Chan could hardly hear what he said next. He just looked at the old general in front of him.

At some point, the young general's hair began to turn gray.

His forehead was covered with wrinkles.

Even the voice became much hoarser.

But the look in his eyes didn't change at all, it was still sharp and fierce.

Jiang Wei was still talking about the Northern Expedition, and Liu Chan just looked at him.

In a trance, Jiang Wei's appearance was gradually overlapping with that of another person.

"The Han and the thieves are not at odds with each other, and the king's business is not at peace!"

At that moment, Liu Chan suddenly woke up.

He looked at the ministers in front of him and then stood up.

"Northern Expedition!!!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"

"I, your Majesty, will not let you down! I will sacrifice my life to serve you!"

Jiang Wei bowed deeply again.

"Stand up, General Wei. I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for the sake of service. General Wei is no longer strong. Don't lead the troops. Take care of yourself."

Jiang Wei stood up and asked, "What about the transfer of generals to the battle?"

Liu Chan waved his hand and said, "I don't know how to fight, I rely entirely on you, General!"

He didn't say much, just ended the court meeting, let Jiang Wei decide on his own whether to go to war, and left in a hurry.

I don't know anything about fighting, so why should I get involved in this? It would be better to leave this matter to Jiang Wei and the others, and go play with Huang Hao, wouldn't it?

Looking at the eunuchs waiting for His Majesty in the distance, the smile on Jiang Wei's face faded a little, but he didn't say much.

Zhang Yi was about to walk out angrily, but Jiang Wei grabbed him.

"General."

"How could the Northern Expedition be possible without you?"

Zhang Yi was still furious. "This is what the general advocated. I have no talent, how dare I conspire with him?"

"General, are you unwilling to fulfill the Prime Minister's will?"

Jiang Wei asked again.

Zhang Yi suddenly fell silent. He hesitated for a moment and finally sat back in his seat.

Jiang Wei left behind a few generals and let the rest leave.

"General Chariot and Cavalry, you can go with me on this expedition."

Jiang Wei looked at someone in the crowd.

This person was none other than Xiahou Ba, General of Chariots and Cavalry of Shu Han.

Xiahou Ba is the second son of Xiahou Yuan. His family also has a prominent background. It is said that they are descendants of Xiahou Zao and Xiahou Ying, the chariot gods of the Western Han Dynasty.

When he was young, his father was killed by Shu Han, so he had the idea of revenge. Later, he followed Cao Zhen to attack Shu Kingdom. He showed great bravery and was kind, and was deeply loved by soldiers and people.

But later, he learned that Sima Yi had killed Cao Shuang and eliminated the royal family, and fearing that he would be implicated, he fled to Shu.

When Liu Chan saw him, he was very happy and hurried to comfort him: Your father died in the battle by himself, not by my ancestors.

Then he pointed to his son and said: This is also Xiahou's nephew.

Xiahou Ba stayed in Shu and even became General of Chariots and Cavalry, at the same level as Guo Huai of Cao Wei.

Xiahou Ba is like his father, tall and strong. He is actually quite embarrassed in the Shu Han temple.

Just like before, Jiang Wei kept calling Cao a thief, and Xiahou Ba could only lower his head and pretend that he didn't hear anything.

He came to Shu Han just to avoid disaster and never thought that he would be valued by the other side.

But the Shu Han didn't follow the rules at all, and directly appointed him as the General of Chariots and Cavalry. Now, they want to take him with them to attack the Wei Kingdom?

Xiahou Ba looked a little hesitant.

He didn't even know how to respond.

Jiang Wei seemed to know what he was thinking. He shook his hand and said seriously, "Don't worry, General. You are a talented and famous general. We will rely heavily on you for the Northern Expedition."

Xiahou Ba did not dare to hesitate any longer and nodded in agreement.

Jiang Wei then took them to discuss the specific matters of the Northern Expedition.

Cao Mao believed that once Jiang Wei learned of the discord between Guanqiu Jian and Sima Shi, he would definitely send troops to the north.

In fact, this is wrong.

Whether Jiang Wei knew the news or not, he would launch a northern expedition.

The two previous expeditions gave Jiang Wei hope. Fei Yi, who used to restrain him, was no longer around, and the Shangshu Ling supported his Northern Expedition. Jiang Wei believed that now was the best time to attack Cao Cao.

"General of Chariots and Cavalry, I heard that Cao Wei appointed Sima Wang as a general to assist Chen Tai in the battle."

"What kind of person is this Sima Wang?"

Xiahou Ba frowned. "This man is cautious, clear about rewards and punishments, strict in his military discipline, and simple and generous. If he were to assist Chen Tai, the Northern Expedition would not be easy."

"Has he ever achieved any military exploits in the past?"

"Never."

Jiang Wei immediately waved his hand and said, "If that's the case, then there's no need to worry too much. This Northern Expedition will definitely be a complete victory!"

(End of this chapter)