The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 514: If You Want to Vote, Vote for the Strong One
“What can I do?!”

Chengdu, inside the imperial palace.

Liu Chan's round face turned pale with fear, his eyes were dull, and his whole body was trembling.

He finally lost the heart to enjoy himself and play.

When the news of Zhuge Zhan's death in battle reached Chengdu, Liu Chan was struck by lightning and was stunned.

He had high hopes for Zhuge Zhan, believing that he could solve the dilemma, but at this moment, he was also killed in battle.

Liu Chan was so frightened that he couldn't speak for a long time. It was only when Huang Hao came forward and called out loudly that Liu Chan's soul was called back.

After regaining consciousness, the first thing Liu Chan did was to summon all his ministers to discuss the next countermeasures.

Huang Hao's condition at the moment is not very good.

He himself had no power. He and Liu Chan shared prosperity and adversity. All his power came from the emperor. All the ministers could betray Liu Chan, but he was the only one who could not betray the emperor.

Even if Deng Ai came in to attack, the ministers could surrender, but what about him?
Would the people of Wei care about a surrendered eunuch?
He could only continue to stay by the emperor's side.

After seeing Jiang Wei's defeat and Zhuge Zhan's death, Huang Hao was completely desperate about the upcoming war.

It's impossible to win.

Huang Hao knew the current situation better than even the ministers in the court.

Jiang Wei was beaten dizzy, and Yan Yu in the east could not hold on for much longer. Yan Yu was Huang Hao's own man. He told himself more than once that he could not hold on any longer, as there were too many enemies, and he hoped that Huang Hao could help him.

How else can Huang Hao help him?

There is no hope, the Han Dynasty is about to perish.

Huang Hao no longer expected anyone to come out and turn the tables. The strongest people were either defeated or dead. Now they could only face the fate of national destruction.

But what is important is what kind of attitude we should adopt to face the fate of national destruction.

Ultimately, it's about how to save your own life.

Huang Hao pondered for a long time, but he still felt that he should first see what his ministers thought.

The news of Zhuge Zhan's death had now spread among the important officials. These people were extremely frightened. When they learned that the emperor had summoned them, they rushed to the temple in a hurry.

Liu Chan sat on the throne very early, waiting for his ministers to arrive.

Soon, almost all the ministers in the court arrived.

It can be seen that the ministers were as frightened as Liu Chan. Their faces were pale and their eyes were full of fear. They no longer had the eloquence they usually had.

Soon, the court meeting began.

However, this court meeting was filled with an indescribable atmosphere of despair.

All the ministers lowered their heads and said nothing.

Liu Chan sat in the upper seat with a blank look in his eyes.

It had been a long time since Shu Han had such a quiet court meeting.

Liu Chan's hands trembled slightly as he asked, "General Wei has been killed in battle. The enemy is not far from Chengdu. What should we do next?"

He looked at the ministers in front of him.

Shizhong Fan Jian lowered his head and avoided Liu Chan's gaze, while Shangshu Ling Dong Jue looked confused.

None of the ministers answered.

Liu Chan was a little anxious, "Isn't there a solution for the Han officials?!"

At this moment, the ministers really wanted to ask in return, why doesn’t Your Majesty ask Huang Hao?

But even though his country was destroyed, the emperor was still the emperor, and no one dared to question him.

At this moment, Minister Wei stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Han and Wu were once allies. Now that Cao Wei is rampant and has attacked our city, it would be better for us to flee to Wu rather than be humiliated by the Cao thieves. Wu's Emperor, Sun Xiu, will certainly not sit idly by."

Liu Chan was about to ask when Jiang Xian stood up and said, "That's impossible. Wang Ji's army is right around Yong'an. Yan Yu can't stop them. If we abandon Chengdu and go to Wu, we'll be caught by Wang Ji along the way. That's impossible."

He then said, "Your Majesty, many cities have fallen, but we still have the seven counties of Nanzhong. The mountains there are high and dangerous, making them easy to defend. We can go south to Nanzhong and rely on the local terrain to resist the enemy!"

"I can contact Huo Ge and ask him to send troops to support us as soon as possible. I will definitely not let Your Majesty be frightened!"

"Besides, we can also get in touch with the Wu Kingdom in Nanzhong. Once we get to Nanzhong, we can contact the Wu Kingdom again and fight against the powerful enemy together!"

After hearing Jiang Xian's words, Liu Chan hesitated. Just when he was about to speak, Guanglu Doctor Qiao Zhou stood up.

"Your Majesty, since ancient times, there has never been a case of going to other countries to become emperor."

"If we want to contact Wu, that's not surrender, that's submission!" "Your Majesty, the way of nature is that the strong conquers the weak, the big conquers the small. Wei is far more powerful than Wu. If the Han Dynasty is destroyed, how long can Wu hold out?"

"Since you are going to submit, you might as well submit to a great power. If you surrender to Wu, you will definitely suffer humiliation twice, so it's better to suffer only once!"

"Also, Lord Jiang said he wanted to flee to Nanzhong. The road to Nanzhong is very long. If you want to do that, you should prepare early. Deng Ai is already outside the city. If you abandon Chengdu and flee to Nanzhong now, people will definitely change their minds. I'm afraid that Your Majesty will suffer humiliation before you even reach Nanzhong."

Qiao Zhou began to tell the story seriously.

At this moment, Jiang Xian said unhappily, "You just said that Deng Ai is outside Chengdu. You said you want to submit to Wei, but what if he is unwilling to accept it and wants to execute us all?"

The ministers nodded one after another, as this was also what they were worried about.

Qiao Zhou couldn't help but say, "Dongwu has not yet submitted to Wei, so Deng Ai will definitely accept our surrender. After we surrender, we will definitely be treated with courtesy by Wei, because they still need to attack Wu."

"If Your Majesty is willing to surrender to the State of Wei, the State of Wei will certainly not treat you unfairly and will give Your Majesty the highest treatment. I will also speak up for Your Majesty and prevent you from suffering any humiliation!!"

Liu Chan looked at him thoughtfully.

At this moment, the ministers began to debate.

The two sides formed three different views.

Surrender to Wu, surrender to Wei, and run to Nanzhong first.

The ministers argued endlessly, and Liu Chan felt very embarrassed.

He pondered for a long time before saying, "It would be best to go to Nanzhong."

Qiao Zhou quickly stood up again and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that under the current circumstances, we really shouldn't go to Nanzhong. Please listen to my explanation."

"First, there are many barbarians in the south. They are always rebellious and have never been loyal to us. Only after Prime Minister Zhuge's southern expedition and his army defeated them did they surrender and start paying taxes. We have collected a lot of taxes from them over the years to support the army, which has caused their dissatisfaction. They have become a source of instability in the Han Dynasty."

"We are weak now. If we rush over, we will surely be attacked by them."

"Deng Ai's army is not far away. Their goal is not to capture Chengdu, but to capture Your Majesty. If we abandon the city and flee now, they will surely pursue us with all their might. I'm afraid we'll be attacked halfway."

"If we go to Nanzhong, we will have to fight the Wei army externally and supply clothes and horses internally, which will increase our expenses. We have no place to collect taxes, so we will have to collect taxes from the barbarians, which will definitely cause rebellion."

"If Your Majesty surrenders to Wei now, you can still obtain land and titles without suffering humiliation. However, if you go to Nanzhong and wait until there is no way out before surrendering, the situation will be different!"

"The Book of Changes says: 'The word 'kang' means only knowing how to advance, not retreat; only knowing how to survive, not how to die. Knowing gain and loss, survival and demise, without losing one's integrity—are these only sages? It means that sages understand Heaven's will and refuse to compromise. This is inevitable!"

After Qiao Zhou said this, the ministers could no longer refute him and fell silent, as if they all agreed with his idea.

Liu Chan took a deep breath and was about to give an order when someone broke into the hall.

"Father!! Don't surrender!! Don't surrender!!"

The person who rushed in was a handsome young man, who looked quite similar to his grandfather. But at this moment, he stared at the ministers with wide eyes and anger, his whole body trembling.

He suddenly knelt down in front of Liu Chan.

"Father!! How could there be a Son of Heaven who surrenders?!"

"Don't surrender!"

"The general's army is still in Jiange, and we have our own army in Nanzhong. Even if these people are useless, we will die on the battlefield. Why surrender?!"

When Liu Chan heard the words "died in battle", his face turned even paler. He waved his hands angrily and said, "What do you, a young boy, know about world affairs?"

"Blast me out!!"

Several soldiers came forward and pulled the young man out.

And this person was none other than Liu Chan's son, King of Beidi Liu Chen.

Liu Chen was dragged away like this. He roared angrily, "Father! I'd rather die than surrender!"

After sending away this ignorant son, Liu Chan decided to discuss surrendering to the Wei Kingdom with his ministers.

At this moment, all the ministers also agreed with Qiao Zhou's decision to surrender. Judging from the current situation, Shu Kingdom has no hope anymore, and all the ministers are unwilling to be buried with Shu Kingdom.

What Qiao Zhou said was indeed correct. If he surrendered to the State of Wu, he might have to go through the same experience again. And if he went to Nanzhong, a remote and impoverished place full of barbarians, how could he live in peace?
If defecting to the State of Wei could save the lives of the clan, it would not be impossible.

After the discussion, Liu Chan decided to let Qiao Zhou go out to meet Deng Ai first to discuss surrender with him, to see the other party's attitude, and then make a decision.

Just when Liu Chan and others were preparing to organize their surrender, someone brought bad news.

King Liu Chen of Beidi killed his wife and children, and then committed suicide.

Liu Chan was silent for a long time.

"Ugh"

(End of this chapter)