Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 162 The place you are in is Guanzhong, the heartland of my Han Dynasty.
Official temple.

Top left.

Liu Shan had lost interest in the young Prince Wen of Jin, who was barely out of his teens.

At the age of seventeen or eighteen, and being the second son of the Sima family, it was difficult to expect him to be as outstanding as Sima Shi.

Although he was born of the same mother as Sima Shi, in a patriarchal society, especially in aristocratic families, there was an emphasis on seniority and hierarchy. In order to maintain the stability and order of the family, the second son would naturally not receive much preferential treatment in terms of resources.

During the formative years, these resources are educational resources and the attention of the clan and family; as one grows up, they become personal connections and political resources.

Sima Yi, as the second son of Sima Fang, was able to stand out in this era, which was largely due to the timely death of Sima Lang, who was already in a high position as the governor of Yanzhou.

Otherwise, how could you have produced two high-ranking officials in the country from one family? And how could you two brothers have been so accomplished in both literature and martial arts, so virtuous and respected throughout the world?
Therefore, Liu Shan was indeed somewhat surprised when he learned that Sima Zhao, the second son, had come with Cao Rui's imperial insignia after Sima Yi's defeat.

It would be too cruel and ungrateful for Cao Rui to send Sima Zhao here voluntarily, especially when Sima Yi had suffered a major defeat.

The only way to make the request was for Sima Yi to Cao Rui.

However, if the intention was to provoke Sima Yi by saying "the envoy has not yet left a small country" and induce him to kill Sima Zhao, then in the eyes of the world, Sima Yi's actions would inevitably seem like a way to use his son to gain fame and preserve his own or the Sima clan's momentum.

If that's not the case, then... it means Sima Yi was certain that the Han Dynasty wouldn't kill his son, and he used this to create momentum for Sima Zhao.

But... why did Sima Yi create momentum for Sima Zhao? He should have sent Sima Shi instead.

Upon realizing this, Liu Shan suddenly paused.

A thought that surprised him arose.

—Could it be that Sima Shi is dead?

He looked at Sima Zhao again.

Just then, Sima Zhao, who had just taken his seat at the upper right and was sitting directly opposite him, met his gaze.

Sima Zhao felt an inexplicable unease once again.

The Shu generals in the hall all had sharp, hostile gazes, which was normal. But the man opposite him had a slightly casual expression and gaze, yet it carried a sense of scrutiny and suspicion, making him feel uneasy.

"What brings you here?" The young general, who was of good appearance, spoke up, pulling Sima Zhao back to his senses.

He said in a somber tone:

"The Emperor of our Great Wei has issued an edict."

"The former Grand General of the Great Wei, Cao Zidan; the former Right General, Zhang Junyi; the former General Yanglie, Wang Wenshu; the former General Polu; ... the former Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, Sima Ziyuan."

"Eighteen people died for their country, sacrificing themselves for the nation. I cannot bear to see their bones exposed in foreign lands, their souls cast out in distant territories."

"I hereby dispatch an envoy bearing my imperial seal to welcome the remains and heroic souls back to the land of Wei for burial, to comfort the loyal spirits in the netherworld, and to encourage the survivors in the future..."

Sima Zhao finished reciting the imperial edict without concealing his grief and indignation, his eyes reddening.

At first, the Han generals in the hall did not notice anything unusual, but when they heard that Sima Yi's eldest son, Sima Ziyuan, was also among the Wei's dead, their expressions changed slightly.

However, it was only a slight movement.

Sima Shi wasn't any particularly important figure; he was merely the son of the general of the pseudo-Wei state. So what if he died?

As for whether Sima Shi's death extended the political life of Sima Yi, the defeated general who had lost Guanzhong...

The generals also paid no attention.

A defeated general, are we afraid of him?
If Cao Rui had replaced Sima Yi, the general guarding Tongguan, with Cao Xiu, the Grand Marshal of the puppet Wei regime, the threat to the Han Dynasty might have been even greater.

Only Liu Shan, whose guess had been confirmed, felt a slight sense of surprise.

The heads of the dozen or so Wei generals that Sima Zhao had just read out, except for Sima Shi, were all confirmed by Wei prisoners.

After all, beheading a general is a great achievement, so it must be confirmed.

However, there are no records of Sima Shi himself.

In other words, he died in the chaos of battle.

What was Liu Shan thinking just now? A person's achievements depend not only on their personal qualities and efforts, but also on the course of history and opportunities.

As a result, the infamous Sima Shi died an obscure death amidst the chaos of war.

The dramatic changes in the historical timeline and the trajectories of the characters caused by his own time travel left Liu Shan with quite a few mixed feelings.

Just like Sima Lang, who could have achieved great things, but ultimately died young and became a background figure for Sima Yi.

This man was capable of poisoning his wife, Xiahou Hui;
He could also secretly raise three thousand elite warriors to control the capital and quell internal and external unrest.

Even when startled by the commotion in the camp, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, he remained silent, forcing himself to maintain composure to calm the chaotic army.

He'll probably only leave a name in history, right?
Thinking of this, Liu Shan looked at Sima Zhao with great interest.

Will this King Wen of Jin undergo a magnificent transformation after Sima Shi's death?
Just like his father, Sima Yi, who stepped forward to shoulder the burden of the Sima family after the death of Sima Lang, who should have had a bright future.

This is not impossible.

For example, isn't Sima Yi currently building momentum for Sima Zhao?

When his father was defeated, his elder brother was killed in battle, and the two countries were still at war, Sima Zhao volunteered to go on a mission to the enemy country, showing no fear of death.

Once the remains of the Grand General, Right General, and eighteen other generals are successfully retrieved, a group of surrendered generals can be exchanged with the Han Dynasty.

Sima Zhao's reputation was thus established.

Not only that, Sima Yi and his son Sima Zhao also owed some favors to the prisoners who were exchanged back to Wei.

This group of people may be used by Sima Yi and his son Sima Zhao in the future.

Sima Yi's plan was brilliant.

Because there were indeed many generals who surrendered to the Han Dynasty who might still have had their hearts set on the Han Dynasty, and it is true that Guan Yu's head was in Mangshan and his remains were in Dangyang, both within the territory of the Wei Kingdom.

Previously, weak countries had no diplomacy and had no reason to make exchanges with Cao Wei. Now that they had won the war and had bargaining chips in their hands, with the whole world watching, Cao Rui took the initiative to propose an exchange.

If you disagree with the exchange, then Cao Rui is benevolent and righteous while your Han Dynasty is unrighteous and unjust. It's clear who is the true king and who is petty and narrow-minded.

Once the exchange is agreed upon, the Wei prisoners will have been in the Han Dynasty for no more than one or two months, while the Han generals who surrendered have been in Wei for seven years. Would Cao Rui not send some spies who are already loyal to the Wei Dynasty?

The Wei and Wu families were most fond of using latrines.

Huang Gai feigned surrender, and then the Battle of Red Cliffs took place.

Zhou Fang feigned surrender, which led to Cao Xiu's crushing defeat, providing a divine mandate for Sun Quan to declare himself emperor.

Subsequently, as if following a path dependency, Sun Quan sent Sun Bu to feign surrender to Wang Ling of Wei.

As a result, the Wei spy who voluntarily defected to Wu, the renowned scholar and capable minister Yin Fan, warned Wang Ling, thus disrupting Sun Bu's operation. Ultimately, this caused a huge uproar in both the political and military circles of Wu, implicating many people.

There was also Guo Xiu, a Wei general who surrendered to the Han, who successfully assassinated Fei Yi, the Grand General of the Shu Han, at a banquet.

Knowing full well that surrendering enemy soldiers might be dangerous, perhaps even poisoned—and with numerous precedents to serve as stark warnings—the leaders of the Three Kingdoms still seemed oblivious to the dangers they had learned. Why?

Without him.

The world was in disarray, and a tripartite balance of power was established.

By making good use of people from enemy-held foreign lands, one can demonstrate to the world that one is the army of a king, destined by Heaven.

It can also open a path for enemy generals to return to their homeland when war breaks out, which is also a very economical thing in terms of cost.

However, if a surrendered general from an enemy state is used properly, the benefits can be enormous.

Although there is no theory of convert fanaticism, those in power have long understood this way of employing people.

Cao Pi rewarded Huang Quan handsomely, sharing a carriage with him. He also bestowed high-ranking official positions and generous salaries upon the generals who had surrendered to Wei and Han, enfeoffing forty or fifty of them as marquises. He hoped that this act would influence the generals of Shu Han and cause the collapse of the Han dynasty.

Sun Quan used the same method to heavily employ Han generals Pan Jun and Hao Pu who had surrendered to Wu, and even Mi Fang, who was reviled by the locals of Wu, was put to use for a time.

There are also typical examples on the Han Dynasty side.

Jiang Wei, Wang Ping.

Now Liu Shan wants to bring Huang Quan back, isn't he trying to win Huang Quan's loyalty and loyalty through the so-called "royal influence" and use Huang Quan's reputation in Yizhou to win over the hearts of the people in Yizhou?
While Liu Shan was deep in thought, Sima Zhao and Zhao Tong engaged in a heated exchange of words that never stopped.

It's nothing more than saying that your Shu Kingdom is unrighteous and heartless. Those Han generals who surrendered to Wei with Huang Quan had nowhere to go after the defeat of the Shu ruler, and were forced to return to Wei because they were unwilling to surrender to Wu. Yet your Shu Kingdom is cruel and ungrateful, regarding them as traitors and ignoring them.

Fortunately, the Emperor of Great Wei is benevolent and righteous, so those Han generals who have submitted to Great Wei have long been loyal and devoted. If they were unwilling to return to Shu, Great Wei would not send them back to Shu to be looked down upon.

Furthermore, it is said that your Shu Kingdom has not retrieved Guan Yu's body for so many years, nor has it posthumously conferred a title upon him. Is it because your Shu Kingdom blames Guan Yu for the loss of Jingzhou and regards him as a criminal?
Our Great Wei Emperor is virtuous and compassionate. Although the Grand General, Right General, and General of the Cavalry suffered defeats, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Great Wei affirms their sacrifices for the country and will not stifle the loyalty of its ministers, nor will it cool the hearts of its people.

Even though my Emperor of Wei might be criticized by some people for this, he still resolutely sent envoys to request that the loyal bones and heroic bodies of the generals be returned to Wei soil for burial. His benevolence moved Heaven and Earth, and his virtue rivaled the sun and moon.

In contrast, your Shu...

We can't win the war.

You always have to win an argument.

After all, Cao Wei claimed to have obtained the throne through abdication and was the legitimate successor of the Mandate of Heaven. Now that its army had been defeated, its generals had died, and its territory had been lost, Cao Rui's decision not to launch a counterattack and seek revenge, but instead to send envoys to discuss matters, was bound to cause controversy within the country.

If he doesn't show some backbone, the world will truly be unsure how to view Cao Rui.

With the Han emperor present, Guan Xing present, and Huang Chong present, Sima Zhao brought up the late emperor, Guan Yu, and Huang Quan in person, inevitably causing a tense standoff among the Han generals.

However, the emperor, Guan Xing, and Huang Chong, who were the parties involved, did not show any anger or dissatisfaction because of Sima Zhao's provocative words, nor did they intend to engage in verbal sparring with Sima Zhao.

The generals secretly glanced at the emperor on the upper left, and seeing that the emperor was completely unmoved and looked indifferent, they all calmed down and watched how Sima Zhao would react.

Seeing that the Han generals had fallen silent, Sima Zhao assumed he had gained the upper hand and laughed, "Why is the Shu envoy silent? Have you run out of arguments?"

No matter how much the conversation went, Sima Zhao was not afraid that the Shu Kingdom would disagree with exchanging prisoners and the corpses of generals.

After all, this was something that everyone expected and that was a natural outcome. The reason why Shu Kingdom didn't bring it up before was because it wasn't qualified to bring it up with Wei Kingdom. Now that Wei Kingdom has taken the initiative to bring it up, giving Shu Kingdom an opportunity and a way out, how could Shu Kingdom refuse?
If not, how can we appease people's hearts?
No, Liu Bei and Liu Shan's so-called benevolence and righteousness, and their so-called "I have failed Huang Quan, but Quan has not failed me," have become a huge joke.
As for what he said, many of them were actually sarcastic remarks made by the younger generation of Wei when they gathered at a banquet and chatted about everything under the sun, criticizing Shu.

Zhao Tong suddenly stood up and gave a cold laugh:
"Those who are virtuous will speak out, but those who speak out are not necessarily virtuous."

"No matter how benevolent and virtuous Cao Rui is, as you claim, my Han Dynasty won, and your Wei Dynasty lost. And the place where you, Sima Zhao, are now is Guanzhong, the heartland of my Han Dynasty."

"They clearly lost, and they shamelessly came to ask for the heads of Cao Zhen and Zhang He, as well as a bunch of surrendered prisoners, yet they still put on an arrogant attitude... Tch, it's laughable to think about it."

After he finished speaking, the main hall of the official temple fell completely silent.

Sima Zhao was speechless, and the sudden silence in the main hall of the official temple left him in a state of utter confusion.

His gaze inadvertently shifted to the young Han general opposite him, only to find that the general remained relaxed and at ease, his eyes meeting his without flinching or avoiding his gaze, showing no sharpness or aggression.

At this point, he suddenly realized that this man was the only one in the official residence who hadn't said a word all day. This composure and calmness, which was beyond his years, made him even more uneasy than Zhao Yun's son, who had just left him speechless.

It took a moment for him to realize.

That person may not be calm and composed.

Instead, they fundamentally despise or even ignore him.

After regaining his composure, Sima Zhao engaged in another verbal exchange for a while, and finally had the assistant envoy in the second seat hand a silk scroll to Zhao Tong.

Zhao Tong took the silk scroll, unfolded it, and after a moment ordered his attendants to hand it to the emperor at the head of the table.

Liu Shan took it; it turned out to be a list of surrendered captives that Cao Wei was demanding.

Guanqiu Jian, Xiahou Ru, Wang Guan, Wang Jun…

There were more than twenty people with names and surnames, but it was unknown where they had obtained the information.

In the era before counter-espionage laws, many people felt that selling such unimportant information did not constitute treason for personal gain.

But... Wang Jun.

The title of Hedong official, written among many names, seems inconspicuous, but it is quite eye-catching in Liu Shan's eyes.

This man was the son-in-law of Xu Miao, the governor of Liangzhou.

Now that the Han Dynasty controls Guanzhong, the connection between Liangzhou and Guandong has been completely severed.

Could it be that Cao Rui's so-called exchange of the heads of Cao Zhen, Zhang He, and other generals, as well as the prisoners, was actually aimed at Wang Jun?
Or rather, Xu Miao behind Wang Jun?

Liu Shan then handed the silk scroll to the generals below the hall.

It was originally Zhao Tong who presented the list to the emperor, so Guan Xing, Mi Wei, Jiang Wei, and other generals naturally had no thoughts or objections to the Wei figures on the list.

The meeting ended quickly, and Zhao Tong told Sima Zhao to return to the post station and wait for the Emperor of Han to make a decision. He would be summoned when there was news.

Sima Zhao then left with Huang Yong.

As they left the official residence, Sima Zhao failed to notice that Huang Yong seemed somewhat absent-minded: "Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, do you recognize that man at the head of the left?"

Huang Yong paused, then shook his head: "Among the Shu generals in the hall, there is no one I recognize."

Sima Zhao was silent for a moment, then said:
"Zhao Yun's son has an extraordinary bearing, but the general in silver helmet and silver armor at the top left is the hidden dragon of this place."

"Judging from his arrogance, he is undoubtedly Guan Yu's son. He followed Guan Yu in Jingzhou, while you are in Yizhou, so it is normal that you do not recognize him."

Huang Yong nodded slightly: "Perhaps."

Guan Xing, Zhao Tong, and Zhao Guang were all in their early twenties.

He had been away from the country with his father for seven years and could not recognize these young Han soldiers who were just kids back then.

But he knew Dewey.

He also knew Huang Chong.

The fact that the sons of high-ranking Han officials and famous generals such as Mi Wei, Zhao Tong, and Zhao Guang could all gather at the Huayin Temple, and even his younger brother Huang Chong, whom he thought was still in Shu, was also gathered with this group of second-generation elites.

Who is the person in the upper left corner?
Could it be... really the Emperor of the Han Dynasty?
(End of this chapter)