The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 454 Dying

Hanzhong.

Jiang Wei looked at the imperial edict in his hand and angrily looked at the eunuch who delivered the order.

"When did this imperial edict leave Chengdu?!"

"Why did you send it to me only now? Who wants to alienate the emperor and his subjects?!"

The eunuch trembled with fear and knelt down to report: "General, the road is difficult to travel. I have never dared to neglect it and have been advancing at full speed. I have no intention of alienating the emperor and his subjects!!"

Jiang Wei gritted his teeth, his face flushed red.

He has been traveling back and forth between Chengdu and Hanzhong for many years, and he knows best how long it will take.

It was obvious that the eunuch in the palace was trying to alienate him, deliberately making him receive the imperial edict late, and then impeaching him for neglecting the imperial edict.

Jiang Wei felt disgusted by such despicable tactics, but he could do nothing about it.

Even if he told the emperor these things truthfully, what would be the use?
Will the emperor believe him or the eunuch?
By then, it would be him who was causing discord between the ruler and his ministers.

As for this eunuch in front of him, if he were to execute him now for neglecting his time, I wonder what Huang Hao would say to His Majesty.

Jiang Wei ordered the soldiers to take the eunuch out, and then continued to read the contents of the imperial edict.

The imperial edict mentioned the war in Jingzhou.

Jiang Wei hated Sun Chen to death at this moment.

When Sun Jun was still alive, he had the idea of joining forces with the Kingdom of Shu, which made Jiang Wei very happy. He felt that if the two countries joined forces, there might really be a way to turn the situation around.

Although there is still great resistance in the government, he believes that everything can be resolved.

Who would have thought that after Sun Jun died of illness, the person who inherited his position would be a fool.

This pig, with his own strength, brought great disaster to both Shu and Wu.

When Cao Wei attacked Jingzhou, Jiang Wei did not dare to go out because Cao's troops outside Hanzhong were also ready to move. When the emperor said he wanted to send Yan Yu to rescue, Jiang Wei agreed.

However, Cao's army is becoming increasingly powerful, and its combat effectiveness is increasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Jiang Wei didn't understand the reason at first, but later he found out after sending people to investigate.

After the emperor of Cao Wei came to power, he actually improved the treatment of the entire army. The salaries of the central army were greatly increased. Those who withheld food and fodder and those who were greedy for merit were strictly investigated. Justice was enforced, and rewards and punishments were clearly defined. Those who had made contributions were rewarded with farmland. The military household status of the border troops was revoked, and they were given subsidies. Those who died in battle received pensions, and those who retired were returned to their hometown officials.

Jiang Wei was a little confused after hearing this.

I was wondering why the Wei army was getting stronger day by day. Is it because of the financial rewards?

Regarding this matter, Jiang Wei could only insult the Cao Wei king for his immoral behavior!
This thing can't be learned. Jiang Wei can still maintain the size of the army, and it's already a struggle to prevent the soldiers from starving to death. Improve their treatment?? Forget it.

Jiang Wei could only strictly prohibit these "rumors" from spreading in the country, for fear that they would affect morale and military spirit.

The disparity in treatment between the two armies is so great that it is inevitable that defections will occur.

It is not realistic to expect soldiers to fight for you selflessly to the end without asking for any reward just because of the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty.

Shu's army wasn't large, and there were many places it needed to garrison. Maintaining an army of 100,000 men was already extremely difficult. Considering Chengdu needed at least 30,000 central troops, Yong'an at least 20,000, and the south needed 10,000. Add to that the various checkpoints and strongholds, and how many men would be left in Hanzhong?

If there is another defection, the Shu Kingdom will really not be able to bear it.

During these days, Jiang Wei began to feel extremely curious about the new emperor of Wei.

Jiang Wei was very surprised by what he did in the army. These days, few people would think of seeking benefits for the lower-level soldiers.

He even saw the results of this with his own eyes. The soldiers of Cao Wei were like they had been injected with chicken blood. They fought very ferociously, completely different from the past.

Originally, Jiang Wei thought he could defeat Cao Wei's army in a field battle, but now, Jiang Wei is not so confident.

Jiang Wei sent people to find out what the emperor had done.

At this time, it was not too difficult to find out what was happening in the other country. After all, there were many ministers in each country who communicated with each other.

Then, Jiang Wei learned about the many policies implemented by Cao Mao in the country.

Apart from changing the temple system, opening examinations, and the military system, the most common thing heard is the rectification of the administration of officials.

Upon learning that Cao Mao had made such great efforts to rectify the administration of officials, Jiang Wei's eyes were filled with envy, and then he fell silent.

In fact, the internal situation of Shu was not much better than that of Cao Wei.

If we could get rid of those parasites in the country, who knows how many more soldiers we could raise. But does our emperor have the courage to do so? Forget about the courage, does he even have such an idea?

He himself is addicted to pleasure, so how can he blame others?
Seeing the news of Yan Yu's defeat, Jiang Wei's mood became heavy again.

Wu's Jiangbei defense line was torn apart, so the pressure in the future would not only come from the Yongliang Corps in the north, but also from Wang Ji's Jingyu Corps in the east.

Jiang Wei also had some understanding of Wang Ji. Wang Ji was very good at internal affairs. He was in charge of the areas north of the Yangtze River. Within five years, the threat from the east would exceed the threat from the north.

If the other side took over Jingnan and Jiaozhou, Jiang Wei would become more and more uneasy.

He suddenly raised his head and looked towards the north. This couldn't go on any longer. The longer it dragged on, the stronger Wei would become.

The emperor of Cao Ze had been in power for more than a year, and Cao Wei had undergone earth-shaking changes. If Cao Wei was at its peak in a few years, I would be completely unable to stop it.
We must open up the situation!!!
We must capture Yongliang and disrupt the enemy's deployment. We cannot let them focus on their internal affairs and we cannot let them widen the gap!

The Han Dynasty cannot perish in its own hands!
Jiang Wei's eyes widened, bloodshot, and his expression showed an unusual ferocity.

Jiang Wei immediately took the eunuch into custody, and after arranging for people to garrison there, he left Hanzhong again and headed for Chengdu.

When Jiang Wei hurried back to Chengdu, the emperor was very happy. He originally felt that Jiang Wei did not pay enough attention to him, but seeing him return in such a hurry, Liu Chan did not care about it and immediately met with Jiang Wei.

"General!"

"Now that you're back, I have nothing to worry about!"

Liu Chan was obviously in a good mood. He took Jiang Wei's hand and flattered him a few words. Jiang Wei, exhausted, knelt in front of Liu Chan.

"Your Majesty, I am late."

"No problem, no problem!"

Just as Jiang Wei was about to speak, he saw a man hurriedly walking in, panting.

The person who came was Chen Qi.

Seeing the smiling Liu Chan, Chen Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly saluted and said, "Your Majesty, I learned that the general was coming and went to greet him. I never thought that I was still a step too late."

Liu Chan smiled and said, "No problem, come, sit down!"

After the two men were seated, Liu Chan felt much more at ease. He then said, "General Yan Yu was defeated in Jingzhou. I learned that there were reasons for his defeat and that he was a sincere person, so I pardoned his fault."

Jiang Wei nodded and said, "Although we were defeated, we were able to escape unscathed. Your Majesty did the right thing."

Liu Chan was even happier. He continued, "I heard that Wang Ji was reorganizing his army in Jingzhou. The king of Cao Cao ordered him to continue his attack on Wu and capture Jingnan and Jiaozhou. The king of Wu sent someone to contact me, saying that he hoped to fight the enemy together. What do you think we should do?"

Jiang Wei said seriously: "Your Majesty, don't worry. If you want to solve Wang Ji's problem, you don't need to send troops to Jingzhou. Just follow..."

"Wang Ji will definitely not continue the attack!"

Chen Qi interrupted Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei was stunned and was about to speak, but Chen Qi looked at him seriously, "General, you may not know that Wang Ji is a cautious person and would never send troops lightly. He is now assembling his army, either for fighting or to deplete Wu's national strength."

"I think we can agree to Wu's request, but we don't have to actually send troops to fight."

When asked for advice today, Liu Chan was rarely angry or worried. He happily sent the two people out and even expressed his intention to deal with the eunuch who had delayed the time.

After the two men left the palace, Jiang Wei finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Has Lord Chen forgotten his ambition to uphold the country? Why won't I submit a petition to send troops?"

Chen Qi lowered his head, opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but fell silent again.

Jiang Wei continued, "Lord Chen, look at how the world has changed. In just one year, the situation has changed. By next year, I don't know how dangerous the situation will be. If this continues, the Han Dynasty will be destroyed in less than five years."

"We can't just wait for death in the country. We have to take action. Only by surviving can we have a chance to turn things around."

Chen Qi finally stopped and looked at Jiang Wei beside him blankly.

"The general can't fight."

"The previous expedition to Jingzhou was already extremely costly."

"We are now out of food. We can no longer collect grain. If we continue to collect grain and send troops, we won't even have to wait for Cao Wei to send troops. The Han Dynasty will be destroyed now."

"This year's taxes are much lower than last year's. Food production can't even support current military spending."

"Officials' salaries have been delayed for more than ten days."

Jiang Wei gritted his teeth and said, "Bashu is a land of abundance, but taxes are decreasing. This is because there are too many parasites in the country!"

"We can first get rid of a few termites. These termites are fat, and their wealth is enough to complete a crusade!!"

"That's what Cao Mao did in Wei. He eliminated several powerful families and used their wealth to do many things."

Chen Qi fell silent.

"General, who in the country do you think is a pest? Who do you want to punish?"

"Huang Hao is a fat borer! He allowed his clansmen to plunder money everywhere, and he himself is insatiable. Who knows how much property he has in various places."

Jiang Wei was speaking when suddenly he saw two tear marks on Chen Qi's face.

Jiang Wei was stunned.

"General, my body can't take it anymore."

"The imperial physician has come several times, but the medicine isn't working. I don't know how much longer I can hold on."

(End of this chapter)