The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 600 Which is more beautiful?

Lu Kang looked at the letter in his hand and fell into deep thought.

He was thinking about Zhong Hui's intention.

His letter to the emperor is easy to understand. In fact, it was to stimulate Sun Xiu to restart the project.

Lu Kang could understand the emperor's thoughts. Who wouldn't care about their reputation after death? Losing one's reputation in old age would be a terrible thing. Like a certain emperor, one would be ridiculed by his enemies all day long.

But Lu Kang was a little confused when Zhong Hui wrote to him.

What does this mean?
Was it simply to humiliate him? To make him impatient? Or was it to hope that he could intervene and exacerbate the internal conflict? Or was it to hope that he could deliver the letter to the emperor and sow discord?
Maybe all of the above.

Lu Kang also began to think about countermeasures. In fact, the people of Wu were also very conflicted about the Hutian issue.

Let's talk about construction. Everyone knows the current situation of the Wu State. Let's talk about giving up. So many things were spent before, and they are just going to throw them away?
However, Lu Kang's attitude was very clear: construction must not begin.

What needs to be given up must be given up. If you are reluctant to give up, continue to be entangled, and repeatedly start the work, it will only bring greater losses and may even aggravate the demise of the country.

But there is a problem.

Lu Kang and Sun Xiu must have different perspectives on Hutian.

After all, what was originally paid was not Lu Kang's, but Sun Xiu would definitely think that it was his own contribution.

The emperor often regards the country and the world as his own private property, including the expenses of the temple, so his feelings must be different.

Lu Kang thought for a long time and decided not to send the letter to Sun Xiu.

Although Zhong Hui said it clearly, this was an open and aboveboard plan. The Hutian incident already existed, and Zhong Hui just mentioned it. The final decision was made by Sun Xiu, and it had nothing to do with Zhong Hui.

He could only persuade her, but he didn't know whether such persuasion would be effective.

If Sun Xiu really wanted to rebuild the lake fields, Lu Kang could imagine that all his previous plans on the front line, such as reducing taxes and levies, would be in vain.

It is impossible for the government to undertake any major projects while imposing light taxes and levies.

Lu Kang could no longer sit still. He picked up the letter in his hand and looked at the deputy general beside him.

"And take this letter from Zhong Hui to the Lord of Wei."

Lu Kang raised his head. He wanted to see what Lord Wei’s attitude was.

Afterwards, he began to write letters to generals such as Shi Ji, discussing how to deal with this matter.

After Puyang Xing submitted a memorial to build the lake fields, Zhang Bu's forces launched a counterattack. Sun Xiu no longer had the idea of using the lake fields to suppress the powerful families. He just wanted to complete this matter and prevent it from becoming a complete laughing stock. Just like in history, he had to praise this as an extremely outstanding project even with his eyes closed, and then reward Puyang Xing with the position of prime minister.

After obtaining the emperor's tacit approval, Zhang Bu contacted the ministers and promised them various benefits.

This included the division of Hutian's interests, and as a result, Zhang Bu's supporters quickly increased.

And Zhang Bu actually realized some problems.

Sun Xiu's health was getting worse and worse. He had originally opposed the big families only because Sun Xiu wanted him to do so. However, if Sun Xiu was gone, he still hoped to maintain friendly relations with his ministers.

There was great chaos within the Wu Kingdom for a time.

The old general Shi Ji was extremely dissatisfied with this. He tried to find Puyang Xing to argue with him several times, but Puyang Xing just avoided him.

However, the number of supporters of the Hutian incident is increasing day by day.

At this moment, in the Taiji Hall, Zhong Hui sat in front of Cao Mao with a proud look on his face.

"Your Majesty, you no longer need to worry about the affairs of the Wu Kingdom."

Zhong Hui originally wanted to wait until the news came that Wu had started to build lake fields, and then the emperor would send someone to inquire with a look of surprise, and then he would casually tell the emperor about his original insignificant plan to surprise him.

However, Zhong Hui really couldn't hold it in any longer.

He waited for news from Wu in his mansion and sent out scouts six times a day.

But there was no news, and Zhong Hui became more and more angry. He could not suppress his inner anticipation, so he went directly to the Taiji Hall to expose himself.

Zhong Hui has always been a man with little patience.

Cao Mao was also quite surprised when he looked at Zhong Hui in front of him. Shouldn't you wait until your plan is completely successful before showing off?
Why are you showing off at the very beginning?

However, thinking of this guy's impatience, Cao Mao figured it out.

He could only look at Zhong Hui in surprise, "Why do you say that, Shi Ji?"

In reality, Zhong Hui's actions had already been reported to Cao Mao by his brother. Zhong Yu was a very prudent man, and he wouldn't dare to help his brother without telling the emperor. After all, given his brother's character, it wasn't impossible for him to do something that would kill the entire family. Therefore, Cao Mao knew what Zhong Hui had done, but at this moment, he could only remain in the dark.

Zhong Hui raised his head and said confidently, "I have written a letter to Sun Xiu, the Lord of Wu!"

The corner of Cao Mao's eye twitched, and he asked nonchalantly, "What letter is it?"

"Your Majesty, please look!"

Zhong Hui actually took out a letter on his own initiative. It was obvious that he had copied a lot of it. Cao Mao lowered his head and began to read it.

Although Zhong Yu had shown it to him once, he still wanted to laugh when he looked at it again.

These two brothers are so mean!

Sun Xiu might not have gotten sick from being angry, but his blood pressure was definitely not low.

This letter simply changes the way of framing Sun Quan. There were already many jokes about Sun Quan, and now they are even more densely packed. What follows is a ridicule of the entire Wu Kingdom, mocking them for not having heroes. Finally, the focus is on criticizing Sun Xiu, Zhang Bu, and Puyang Xing.

After reading the letter, Cao Mao looked at Zhong Hui in disbelief.

"Mr. Zhong, is this a little inappropriate? This..."

As the Wei and Jin dynasties valued the elegance of scholars, Zhong Hui's behavior was not very polite. Even if he was an enemy, he was still the monarch. Even Deng Ai, who had defeated the enemy, could not be too rude.
Zhong Hui looked at the confusion in Cao Mao's eyes and became more and more excited.

"Your Majesty, what do you think is the purpose of this letter?"

"Perhaps it was to provoke Sun Xiu. I heard that Sun Xiu has been seriously ill for a long time."

Zhong Hui laughed. "What kind of person is Sun Xiu? He's a thoughtful and resourceful man. Even if he's seriously ill, how could he be so upset by a letter?"

Cao Mao frowned, "What is Shi Ji's intention?"

"Your Majesty, Sun Xiu is about to pass away. I believe he was most concerned about two things: the first was his future reputation, and the second was his offspring."

"First of all, it's his reputation. Although he has done a lot, he will definitely not be able to let go of the Hutian incident. Therefore, I have ridiculed this matter many times. There is also the precedent of Sun Quan's incident. If he really has troops, he will definitely find a way to make up for it."

"The second thing is his son."

"If Your Majesty were to seriously consider my assessment of him, you would have noticed that I have repeatedly accused him of a temporary revival. I have said that he was frail and his sons were young. After his death, his sons would ascend the throne, and Wu would be once again dominated by powerful officials, and a new period of decline would begin. He has no real achievements."

"This is actually a reminder to Sun Xiu."

Zhong Hui said proudly, "The State of Wu has experienced many powerful ministers over the years. All of them have been a disaster for the State of Wu. No one in Wu, whether it is the great families or the ministers, wants to experience the problem of powerful ministers again. They would rather find an older emperor than let another powerful minister appear in the country. They are even unwilling to take the risk."

"When I mention this, it may seem unintentional, but Sun Xiu is a man who loves reading and studying. As long as he reads this, he can quickly think of these things."

"The people of Wu are unwilling to let his young child ascend the throne. They will definitely find an older member of the royal family."

"But after a royal family member takes the throne, what will happen to his children? They will surely face a tragic end, and the best they can do is be imprisoned."

Zhong Hui smiled and said, "Even Lu Kang might not consider Sun Xiu's children. All Lu Kang cares about is the entire Wu Kingdom. Therefore, Sun Xiu needs trusted ministers who only obey him and care about his interests!"

"Then, these trusted ministers must naturally be Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu!"

"But these two people haven't made any achievements in recent days, and they can't be promoted rashly. Therefore, Hu Tian's affairs can be used as one of their political achievements, and they can be conferred high positions in recognition of Hu Tian's achievements!"

"The two things complement each other. This is the best solution Sun Xiu can think of!"

Zhong Hui spoke faster and faster.

At this moment, he really looked a little crazy, like a wild scholar from the Wei and Jin dynasties who was singing in a robe, and he seemed to be almost dancing as he waved his hands and feet.

Cao Mao was stunned.

Zhong Hui became more and more excited as he spoke. He actually stood up, looked at Cao Mao in front of him, and continued, "I have also specially sent a letter to Lu Kang!"

"In the letter to Lu Kang, I forged my handwriting. Others might not be able to tell, but someone as obsessed with books as Sun Xiu would definitely be able to spot the subtle differences! If Lu Kang had delivered the letter to Sun Xiu, even if Sun Xiu didn't doubt Lu Kang, he wouldn't dare let Lu Kang get involved in this matter again!"

"And if Lu Kang hides the letter, destroys it, or sends it somewhere else, then when he's about to argue with those in the court, others will get the news and say that Lu Kang accepted my letter and started refuting them. And if Lu Kang keeps a copy, hahahaha, that would be perfect. Many of my wordings are slightly different, which further proves that he forged and tampered with the letter!"

"Lu Kang will definitely contact the court officials to oppose this matter, and I will definitely make him the person Sun Xiu fears the most, making him stay in Jingnan forever and never be able to return to Jianye!!"

Zhong Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the stunned Cao Mao with a smile.

"Your Majesty, who is more virtuous, me or Lu Kang of Wu?"

(End of this chapter)