The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 282 Determining Posthumous Titles is Like Determining National Policy

Upon hearing Zhuge Liang's words, many people present were eager to offer their own opinions.

Besides the elk.

After all, he already knew the "correct answer".

But we've long since moved beyond the stage of using such tricks to show off in front of others.

Instead, he planned to take this opportunity to observe how the ministers and officials of Shu Han viewed this emerging nation.

After entering the pass, from any perspective, Shu Han was a legitimate regime in the Central Plains.

Rather than being a "warlord" who was content with his partial rule in Shu.

The first to speak was Lai Gong, the Grand Master of Ceremonies and head of the Nine Ministers:

Cai Gongyan said: "To quell chaos and disorder is called martial prowess."

"According to the posthumous title system: 'Wu' means strong and upright, 'Wu' means powerful and virtuous, 'Wu' means to quell chaos, 'Wu' means to punish the people and overcome difficulties, and 'Wu' means to boast and be poor."

"The late emperor harbored a strong ambition to bring peace and stability to the world. Although he faced many hardships in his early years and suffered repeated defeats, he never wavered in his determination and eventually achieved the foundation we have today. The word 'martial' is indeed fitting."

As for the character '烈' (liè).

"Those who have rendered meritorious service to the people are called heroes; those who uphold virtue and follow their profession are called heroes."

"That's a decent arrangement."

"However, compared to the two, the character 'Wu' is more in line with the late emperor's life achievements. I believe that 'Zhaowu' should be chosen as the title."

This statement was endorsed by the other nine ministers.

Apart from the Court of Justice, Pan Jun.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang's gaze naturally fell upon him.

Pan Jun followed up with his own words:
“The character ‘武’ is a beautiful posthumous title, but it is biased in relation to the late emperor and our dynasty.”

"The late emperor possessed abundant martial virtue, which was rare in the world."

"However, the late emperor often said, 'Only the wise and virtuous can win people's hearts,' and he also admonished his ministers with the saying, 'Do not refrain from doing good because it is small, nor do evil because it is small.'"

"It is evident that although the late emperor established the country through military force, he did not use military force to demonstrate his own power, nor did he wish to govern the country through military force."

"In comparison, pacifying the people, upholding virtue, and adhering to one's profession are more in line with the late emperor's philosophy of governing the country."

"Therefore I think it is appropriate to select 'Zhaolie'."

This statement also received support from many officials present.

However, most of them were ministers and secretaries in the imperial court who were actually responsible for handling national affairs.

Since Pan Jun mentioned "Do not refrain from doing good because it is small", the ministers naturally thought of General Mi Wei, who had been given the courtesy name "Shishan" by the late emperor.

So everyone looked at him.

Mi Wei said with a solemn expression:

"When the late emperor was alive, he would often discuss important matters of the world with Mi Wei, and he would always vow that 'only when we oppose Cao Cao can things be accomplished.'"

"Cao Cao is now in a puppet regime and has been given the posthumous title 'Wei Wu.' How can the late emperor be the same as Cao Cao?"

I also think 'Zhaolie' is more appropriate!

Upon hearing this, everyone smiled.

Then each of them gained their own understanding.

Although Mi Wei's words contained an element of jest, they also pointed out the fundamental reason for the establishment of the Shu Han state: it had to be distinguished from its powerful enemy, Cao Wei.

To say that Cao Wei was like putting old wine in new bottles.

That Ji Han was just putting new wine in old bottles.

In the future, the rivalry between the two countries will inevitably be a comprehensive contest in areas such as military affairs, agriculture, governance, commerce, and diplomacy.

This difference between the old and the new will be reflected in every detail and should not be underestimated.

Of course, today's discussion is only about the posthumous title of the late emperor.

Therefore, the topic was not explored further and was only touched upon briefly.

June arrived quickly.

As Liu Bei's coffin was safely laid to rest, he was given the posthumous title of "Emperor Zhaolie".

At the age of nineteen, Crown Prince Liu Shan finally ascended the throne in Chang'an and inherited the title of "Emperor".

Accordingly, Empress Wu was renamed Empress Dowager, and Crown Princess Zhang was renamed Empress.

In addition, Liu Shan's birth mother, the deceased Lady Gan, was posthumously honored as Empress Zhaolie and granted special permission to be buried with Emperor Zhaolie. A general amnesty was subsequently declared.

All of this is perfectly logical.
It is worth mentioning that.

In this lifetime, probably because the Shu Han state had already acquired four provinces, including Guanzhong, Liu Shan was undoubtedly the emperor of the Central Plains.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang did not rush to change the reign title to establish the authority of the new emperor.

Instead, it follows the ancient system of "changing the reign title after a year".

The reign title "Zhangwu" will continue to be used until the end of the year, at which point a new reign title will be established.

Therefore, it is still the fifth year of Zhangwu.

In short, after two busy months, everything has finally settled down.

The new emperor Liu Shan quickly made his debut as the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty:

He issued an edict ordering his officials to submit their best strategies for governing Guanzhong in the future.

This was the proper course of action, and the officials eagerly submitted their memorials.

Thanks to the vigorous promotion of Mi Shi paper over the years, Liu Shan and his ministers no longer had to deal with cartloads of heavy bamboo slips.

It allows for easy handling and reading of paper memorials.

However, this also brought a problem to Liu Shan.

He could no longer use sore arms as an excuse to be lazy.

Instead, under the supervision of Dong Yun, who had been promoted to Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, he dutifully reviewed all the memorials.

However, although he had read all the memorials, he had almost no experience in governing the country.

It's inevitable that some things won't quite hit the mark.

If I had to say what I learned,

That is, the generals' "Strategies for Conquering Wei" and "Strategies for Maintaining Order" were both very well written.

The policies for governing the country put forward by the court officials were also very impressive.

But the most powerful one is still the prime minister.

It can be said that it combines internal governance and external warfare, possesses both literary and military talents, and its wording is particularly simple, without excessive quotations.

It fully takes into account Liu Shan's lack of expertise in various allusions and metaphors.

Oh, and this document from General Wei also takes into account all aspects... Wait, why does it feel so familiar, different yet similar to the Prime Minister's document?
It is said that all generals are eager to kill enemies and make merits, but only General Wei can take care of both civil affairs and internal affairs at the same time, and is not very enthusiastic about launching wars... Could it be that he is just pretending?

When Liu Shan raised this question, Dong Yun surprisingly showed a look of satisfaction:

"Your Majesty did not merely look at the surface; he had his own reasons. This is truly a blessing for the nation!"

Liu Shan couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

He actually suspected that Mi Wei had secretly read Zhuge Liang's original text, changed a few words and allusions, and put together a similar article to appease him...

However, Dong Yun quickly cleared up his doubts:
"The Prime Minister has recently been frequently inviting wise ministers and capable generals from the capital to discuss national affairs, and seven out of ten times he has invited General Wei."

"The two often talked late into the night by candlelight, and even slept side by side, so their views on national affairs were naturally very similar."

"I see!" Liu Shan nodded in understanding.

But another question inevitably arose in my mind:
"General Wei is only a few years older than me, yet his knowledge is enough to make the Prime Minister humbly ask him questions?"

Upon hearing the phrase "not ashamed to ask questions of those of lower status," Dong Yun subconsciously frowned.

But compared to this minor issue of misinterpreting metaphors, he could only address the more important matter first:

"That day, I was chatting with Fei Wenwei, and he said that the Prime Minister once instructed his subordinates in the mansion that the purpose of establishing the office of advisor was to gather wisdom from all sides and to fill in the gaps."

"If you are afraid to express opposing opinions for fear of offending people, you will delay important matters. Even if your opinion is rejected but later proves to be correct, it is as worthwhile as throwing away a worn-out shoe and finding a jewel."

"But people's hearts are often hard to be completely open with.

“In the past, only Xu Yuanzhi and my late father (Dong He) were able to do this, but today we have Mi Shishan. If everyone around us can emulate these three, then the Prime Minister’s office and even the court can reduce mistakes, which will greatly benefit the country.”

Liu Shan nodded in realization, inwardly praising his father as a true prime minister, possessing both great strategic acumen and the ability to remain humble and unassuming like a sage.

The fact that Master Mi was so highly regarded by the Prime Minister suggests that he must have real talent and learning, rather than just having a reputation for nothing.

Liu Shan still harbored some instinctive suspicion towards this overly young General Wei.

So he opened his memorial again.

But this time, he finally saw through some of the clues.

(End of this chapter)