The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 281 Pirate Empire I Have a Dream

Before Zhang Cheng entered Qiantang City, he met Xie Cheng who was busy with the world.As soon as he saw Zhang Cheng, Xie Cheng laughed all the way, and shouted loudly: "Brother Zhang, could it be that my eyes are blurred?"

Zhang Cheng and Xie Cheng are more than ten years apart. When Zhang Cheng was in Shilin, Xie Cheng was still a teenager. Now that they meet again, Zhang Cheng is already middle-aged, while Xie Cheng is in the prime of life.Seeing the joy on his face, Zhang Cheng also smiled: "Where did Wei Ping come from? He walked in such a hurry."

Xie Cheng jumped out of the car and rushed to Zhang Cheng's car, leaning on the barrier and said with a smile: "There is an urgent matter, but it is a pleasant surprise to see Brother Zhang here. Brother Zhang, let's go to my house After staying for two days, I will go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to explain my errands, and I will talk to you by candlelight when I get back."

The Zhang family has no property in Qiantang, Zhang Cheng was planning to go to Qiantang to sit in the post house, now he met Xie Cheng unexpectedly, Xie Cheng was such a warm invitation, he happened to want to ask Xie Cheng for some information, so he immediately Not hypocritical, happy to agree.Xie Cheng asked a family member accompanying him to take Zhang Chengxian home, got back into the car by himself, and hurried into the city.Came to Xie Cheng's mansion, resettled his family, not long, Xie Cheng rushed back and invited Zhang Cheng to drink tea in the study.As soon as Zhang Cheng entered the study, Xie Cheng, who had just showered and changed into new clothes, smiled and invited him to sit down, and poured a cup of strong tea.

"Brother Zhang, why did you leave Wu country suddenly?" Xie Cheng asked straight to the point.

Zhang Cheng shook his head, and explained the reasons for leaving Wu.Xie Cheng smiled, and said with a trace of disapproval: "So, the Lu family and the Gu family are the big winners this time."

"Temporary." Zhang Cheng took a sip of tea and said lightly: "Both the Lu family and the Gu family have an inexplicable relationship with the Yue State. Now it's just taking advantage of the situation. King Wu is still very afraid of them. Zhuge Now one of Jin and his son is King Wu's trusted minister, and the other is the prince's beloved general, they are the ones with the most potential."

Xie Cheng smiled, and said narrowly: "In this case, why did you come to Yue? You are the son-in-law of Zhuge's family. Zhuge Liang is the prime minister of Shu, Zhuge Jin and his son are powerful officials of Wu, and the power of Zhuge's clan Not to be underestimated."

Zhang Cheng glanced at him: "Is father-in-law closer than biological father?"

Xie Cheng clapped his palms and laughed loudly: "That's right, you should have thought so. If you had come to Yue two years earlier, you would have been the governor of the South China Sea. It's a pity that you don't have this opportunity now."

"What happened to the Governor of the South China Sea?" Zhang Cheng asked puzzled.He knew that his father Zhang Zhao was the governor of the South China Sea, but hearing Xie Cheng's words, it seemed that there was something hidden in it.

"Do you know how big the South China Sea is?" Xie Cheng glanced at Zhang Cheng proudly.

Zhang Cheng shook his head: "I heard that the territory is larger than that of the Han Dynasty, but I don't know exactly how big it is."

"Let me tell you this, the area under the jurisdiction of the Governor of the East China Sea is already equivalent to the area of ​​the Han Dynasty, and the area under the jurisdiction of the Governor of the South China Sea is at least half larger than that of the Governor of the East China Sea. Even when the wind is the strongest, from the South China Sea to here It will take more than half a month."

"Half a month, that's not too big." Zhang Cheng burst out laughing.

"Not too big?" The corner of Xie Cheng's mouth twitched: "Did you know that when my boat from Yue State was the fastest, it could reach Qiantang from Liaodong in seven days, and reach Zhuya in ten days?"

Zhang Cheng was stunned for a moment, his face showed doubts, could it be so fast?

"Of course." Xie Cheng raised his chin and nodded arrogantly. "When the north wind is strong, you can sail from Liaodong without manpower, and you can cover [-] miles a day and one night. When the south wind is strong in July and August, you can go from Borneo to Qiantang at most half a month, and to Zhuya. It will only take eight or nine days. If Mr. Zhang doesn't believe it, you might as well ask your father when the time comes."

"Father? Isn't he in South China Sea? Why did he come to Qiantang?"

"Your Majesty is going to hold a military parade in the East China Sea. Both the East China Sea Navy and the South China Sea Navy will participate. Since your father is the governor of the South China Sea, of course he will come." Xie Cheng said with a smile: "But don't worry, the navy sails with the wind, there is no land The toil of marching. The warships of our country of Yue sailed across the sea like walking on flat ground, and your father is in good health and will not be burdened."

Zhang Cheng was dubious, but he was very happy. He originally planned to go to Nanhai to meet his brother Zhang Xiu first, and then decide whether to go to Funan to find Sun Shao or to Borneo to find his father Zhang Zhao. Now it’s all right, Zhang Zhao is here, so that he won’t run away one leg.

"Grand military parade? Is it the navy parade of Yue State?"

"It's not just my country of Yue. Of course, the navy of my country of Yue will definitely participate." Xie Cheng took a sip of tea and said excitedly: "The three countries of Wei, Shu and Wu also have to participate. The king has already presented to the emperor, I request the Son of Heaven to go on a tour and conduct a military parade in the East China Sea. The navy of Yue, the iron cavalry of Wei, and the elite infantry of Shu and Wu may all participate.”

"Hehehe..." Zhang Cheng sneered and said, "Isn't it because he wants to take the opportunity to attack Wu Guo?"

"Attack? That's not necessary." Xie Cheng dismissively said: "If you really plan to destroy Wu, why do you have to make such a big move? Our Yue State sails from the east, Wei State from the north, Shu State from the west, and three Lu Jinbing, to destroy Wu is just a snap of the fingers. This military parade is actually for the good of Wu. Your Majesty wants to use this opportunity to let the emperor come forward to mediate the dispute between Wu and Shu. Of course, there are also threats to Wu. mean."

Looking at Xie Cheng's unwilling expression, Zhang Cheng secretly smiled wryly.Sun Quan never ends with Mrs. Xie, the Xie family hates him to death, and now they probably wish Sun Shao could take the opportunity to kill Sun Quan to be happy.However, he also felt that his state of mind was a bit strange. Although his father and brothers had been in Yue State for several years, he had always regarded himself as Wu Chen. If he heard the news a few days ago, he would be worried again, but Now he is not in a nervous mood at all, and he is so relaxed that he himself is a little strange.

"How many people will attend?"

"My country of Yue has about 3 sailors, the country of Wei should have [-] cavalry, and the strength of Wu country is relatively small, it should be around five or six thousand." Xie Cheng guessed with his fingers: "Then add escorts. The Northern Army of the Son of Heaven should total more than [-] people."

"There are so many people, but it's not a small expense. Who will pay for it?"

"Everyone pays their own. The emperor's expenses are shared by all countries. Of course, they are just thinking about it. The big head is from my country. Anyway, the only one who can really respect the emperor in the past few years is my country." Xie Chengyi waved his hand. , said relaxedly: "Actually, let them come this time, mediation is on the one hand, and the second may be to rearrange the seats."

"Sit? What seat?" Zhang Cheng was at a loss.

"The seat of the four kings." Xie Cheng smiled and said: "The four kings of the Han Dynasty are strong and weak, and of course there is a difference between them. There are five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period."

"King Yue wants to dominate?" Zhang Cheng smiled.

"I, the King of Yue, respect the king and fight against the barbarians." Xie Cheng squeezed his eyes, revealing his complacent expression.

After Zhang Chenglue thought about it, he understood what Xie Cheng meant.The meaning of Sun Shao's convening of this meeting is probably to show his strength, deter Wei, Shu and Wu, and then use the morality of the emperor to redefine the sphere of influence.At the time of the military elimination conference, the power of the Yue State was the smallest. Now it is different. The strength of the Yue State has been equal to that of the Wei State and surpassed that of Wu Shu. Of course, he will play a greater role.The country of Yue is committed to outward development. If it can win more right to speak, it may not be a good thing for the big man.Although the big man was no longer the original big man, but compared to the rumors that the big man was going to die a few years ago, the situation was quite good.Zhang Cheng, like his father Zhang Zhao, still has some Hanchen complex in his heart, and he doesn't want the 400-year foundation of the big man to be ruined like this.

Zhang Cheng stayed in Qiantang for a month. When the new year was approaching, Qiantang City began to be lively, and the news that the king who had conquered Funan was going to return to Beijing spread throughout Qiantang City.While the people of Qiantang were discussing excitedly, they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, because they got news from various sources that the king might move his capital to Funan, and Qiantang's history as the capital of the Yue Kingdom would soon come to an end, and they always felt very proud When the Qiantang people heard the news, they felt depressed.

On the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month, Sun Shao arrived at Qiantang. Along with him were Zhang Zhao, governor of the South China Sea, and Shen Xuan, the governor of Da Nong, and others.Seeing Zhang Cheng, Sun Shao was very happy, even more enthusiastic than the airy Zhang Zhao. "Zhong Si, when did you come?"

"I've been here for a month, and I don't have a place to live. I've been renting at Xie's Mansion."

Sun Shao laughed loudly, and said to Xie Cheng who was standing aside: "It's good to live in Xie's mansion. Xie's mansion is bigger, even more luxurious than my Yuewang Palace. I said Weiping, are you not greedy for ink? Now, you're in trouble."

Xie Chengyile: "My Xie family has already made a lot of money doing legitimate business, so why take that risk again. Whether Sun Zi'an (Sun Tai) or Gu Jize (Gu Yu), they are not easy to mess with. I'm not that bold."

"Hahaha..." Sun Shao laughed heartily, turned his head to Sun Tai, the censor who was hidden behind him, and said with a smile: "Zian, it seems that your reputation is not small."

The corner of Sun Tai's mouth twitched: "Don't worry, my lord, I never mess with people who keep their own status. I'm just more ruthless to those who want to poach corners."

Xie Cheng's face froze, he didn't expect Sun Tai to be there, so he was a little embarrassed for a while.

"Weiping, don't be nervous. Didn't Zi'an say that he never messes with people who keep their own status?" Sun Shao smiled and comforted Xie Cheng: "By the way, this time the emperor is on tour, you can write a good article, If you get what the Son of Heaven wants, I recommend you to go to Luoyang to do the history of Dongguanling, don’t you always want to study history, this time is a good opportunity.”

When Xie Cheng heard this, his eyes lit up immediately.The Xie family has a lot of property, and he can live a good life without being an official. What he is most interested in is not being an official, but writing and writing. His greatest wish is to compile a history book, and leave his name in history like Sima Qian and Ban Gu.The Han family has always attached great importance to compiling history. During Emperor Ling's time, they compiled history in Dongguan. At that time, it was presided over by Cai Yong and others, but it was not complete. Xie Cheng hoped to enter Dongguan one day and compile a larger history book.Although the official materials have been almost burned by several wars, the remaining ones are also top-secret files that ordinary people can't see at all, and are the materials that scholars who want to edit history dream of.

As soon as he heard the news, Xie Cheng immediately forgot all about Sun Tai. In his opinion, as long as Sun Shao was willing to recommend him, the emperor would probably not refuse, and the matter was basically settled.

After Prime Minister Yu Fan brought all the officials to meet Wang Jia, Sun Shao returned to the apse and did not live in it for a year. Although the palace was cleaned every day, it was more or less lacking in popularity. The palace seemed even more dilapidated. Sun Shao walked slowly in the palace with his hands behind his back, accompanied by Zhang Zhao, Zhang Cheng and his father, one on the left and one on the right.

"Zhongsi, you came at the right time. The teacher is old and the South China Sea is full of troubles. I can't bear to let him suffer any more. You are in your prime, are you interested in going to the South China Sea?"

Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and glanced at Zhang Zhao.Zhang Zhao's face was dark, but he was in a good mood. He stroked his beard and pondered for a moment: "My lord, I'm afraid it's not suitable for Zhong Si to take on this important task when he first arrived in Yue. In my opinion, let him practice for another two years." , according to Yue Kingdom's merit test, it is better to be promoted step by step."

Sun Shao glanced at Zhang Zhao, and the corner of his mouth twitched: "Teacher, you don't have to worry about other people's gossip. I asked Zhong Si to go to the South China Sea, and I didn't put the burden on him all at once."

Zhang Zhao snorted, but didn't say anything more.Although he is the governor of the South China Sea now, all the military power is in the hands of Deng Ai. He also knows that Deng Ai is Sun Shao's favorite general. They are all the best among young people. Sooner or later, the governor of Nanhai will belong to him, and he is just clearing the way.Besides, he was also annoyed by dealing with those natives who were like savages every day. This time, taking advantage of the opportunity of returning to Qiantang to participate in the military parade, he asked Sun Shao to resign, and wanted to go home to retire.Sun Shao was probably a little embarrassed and asked Zhang Cheng to go to the South China Sea.However, Zhang Cheng is no longer the governor of the South China Sea when he arrives in the South China Sea. He is not qualified at all. If there is no accident, Deng Ai will become the governor of the South China Sea.

"Shi Zai sent a letter saying that without a teacher sitting in Nanhai, he is struggling alone. I thought, let Zhong Si help him, teacher, do you think it's okay?"

"What can Zhong Si help?" Zhang Zhao was even more unhappy. Why would Zhang Cheng help Deng Ai to lead the way when I paved the way for Deng Ai?Both father and son in our family are stepping stones for Deng Ai?

"Do a long history." Sun Shao smiled calmly: "What do you think, teacher?"

Zhang Zhao frowned, still hesitating, but Zhang Cheng sighed, it seemed that his father was respected too much by Sun Shao, and he was still picking on such a good thing.I just came from Wu country, and I became the long history of the governor of the South China Sea. What a great opportunity.Chang Shi is usually the deputy and supervisor of the army. This is Sun Shao's trust in him, why is he hesitating.

Zhang Cheng winked at Zhang Zhao, and said with a smile, "I am very grateful for the trust of your majesty, I'm afraid I'm new here and I can't take on such a heavy responsibility, I'd better go to South China Sea to be a small official first, and get familiar with the situation before we talk about it. "

Sun Shao smiled, and turned to look at Zhang Cheng: "Zhongsi, how can I not know your ability? Do it well, I believe you can become an important minister like the teacher in the future."

Only then did Zhang Zhao show a smile. Sun Shao was promising him that as long as Zhang Cheng did well, he would not have to worry about his future.He believed in Zhang Cheng's ability, and he would definitely live up to his expectations.

"Teacher, what about you? Are you really planning to retire?" Sun Shao looked at Zhang Zhao with a grin, and there was a hint of teasing in his expression: "When it comes to age, teacher is sixty-nine out of ten. It is reasonable to want to retire, but The teacher is in good health, and in my opinion there is no problem in doing it for a few more years, it would be a pity to retire now. Otherwise, you should work hard for a few more years, father and son are both worth two thousand stones, such a grand event is rare."

Zhang Zhao stroked his beard proudly, his brows and eyes became lively.

"This time when he conquered Funan, the emperor wanted to promote me to be a great general, but he was dissuaded by Wei Wang Cao Cao. Although I am not interested in what a great general is, I am still very unhappy that he did this." Sun Shao walked slowly in front again. As he walked, his tone was also light, but the unhappiness that came out of it was very obvious: "At the beginning of the year, Taiwei Jia died of illness, and the prime minister Yang Gong was already in his eighties. It is hard to say when he will pass away. With Yang Gong here, we It won't affect the court, if Yang Gong goes, will we have to be slaughtered except for the tribute?"

Zhang Zhao, who was in a good mood, immediately raised his eyebrows when he heard this, "What's your plan? As long as the veteran can help you, the veteran will definitely go through fire and water, and he will do whatever he wants."

Sun Shao couldn't help laughing, shook his hand and said, "It's not that serious. Although there are many things in Luoyang, it's not that dangerous. The teacher is highly respected. If he can take office in Luoyang, he will become a pillar of the country like Duke Yang. I invite you to The Son of Heaven went on patrol and came to the East China Sea for a grand parade, just to take the opportunity to discuss the political situation in Luoyang with Wei, Shu and Wu."

"Does Your Majesty have any plans?" Zhang Zhao asked.

"There is something in the plan, but I don't know how to implement it and whether it can be done." Sun Shao said softly: "There are three princes in the court, there are generals, generals, and generals. If you want to be able to If it affects the court, at least these positions must be controlled. The reason why Cao Cao does not want me to be a general is probably because he does not want to be under others. He said on the table that a general cannot be outside. To be a general, he must go to Luoyang , This was empty talk back then, how could I go to Luoyang to work, when I reach the age of the teacher, it will be almost the same."

"Cao Mengde wants to be a general himself, right? His daughter is the queen." Zhang Zhao sneered.

"It's possible." Sun Shao nodded, then shook his head again: "It's unlikely. This time he accepted my invitation, Donghai came to participate in the military parade, but he didn't come. It was his son Cao Zhang who came. In my opinion, maybe He wants to send Cao Zhang to Luoyang as a general."

"Cao Zhang?" Zhang Cheng was taken aback: "Cao Zhang is the most capable of fighting among Cao Cao's sons. If he didn't keep him by his side, why did he push him to Luoyang to be a Yugong instead?"

"That's the problem." Sun Shao turned around with a mysterious smile on his face.

Zhang Cheng rolled his eyes: "He wants to use the power of Yue, Wu, and Shu to march westward in the name of the Son of Heaven, and to benefit Wei?"

"He thinks so freely." Zhang Zhao sneered, "Even if Xiliang and even the Western Regions are captured, no one else can benefit from it, and it's even more impossible for the emperor to send someone to take care of it. I'm afraid it will be managed by Wei Guo in the end." .Does he take everyone else for fools?"

"No, if that's the case, I'm very happy to see it come to fruition." Sun Shao stopped, looked at the sunset in the west, was silent for a moment, and suddenly said: "Teacher, Zhong Si, do you know Daqin?"

Zhang Zhao and his son looked at each other and shook their heads blankly.Zhang Cheng had read some records about Daqin from books, but he knew that what Sun Shao said was definitely not the few sentences in the book.

"Great Qin is a country as great as ours, and even more glorious than ours. He established a huge country with a tiny place and after hundreds of years of struggle. Its history is even longer than ours. It can even be traced back to During the Warring States Period, it has a history of about 700 years." Sun Shao turned around and looked at Zhang Zhao and his son with piercing eyes: "They are just like me, they are also falling apart. My wish is to see how the empire that dominates the West rose and how it declined, maybe this can inspire us and learn from it.”

"If you want to study Great Qin, you can just study Qin State." Zhang Zhao curled his lips disapprovingly.

Sun Shao smiled, watched Zhang Zhao remain silent, and then turned his gaze to Zhang Cheng.Zhang Zhao has read the sage books all his life. To put it bluntly, his mind is already frozen.But Zhang Cheng is not. Although he has been immersed in Confucian classics since he was a child, he is in his prime after all. When he was young, he was in a turbulent era when rituals collapsed and music was broken. He must be more firm in Confucian classics than Zhang Zhao. Inferior, maybe able to think about the questions he raised.Sun Shao knew that at this point, his original superiority had basically been exhausted, and now the country of Yue had a huge land area and a population of more than one million. It would be very difficult for him to govern alone. When using talents, he can either just watch this emerging country of Yue go into chaos and decline at a faster rate, or he is as tired as a dog, and in the end he still cannot escape the cycle of prosperity and decline.

If that's the case, he thinks it's too worthless.

The history of Rome is exactly the opposite of that of Han. He went from democracy to dictatorship, but even if he went to dictatorship, his dictatorship is not the same as the dictatorship of Han culture. He has never become the private property of one family, and still retains The gene of classical democracy is still a savage now, but later he dominated the world. The white people who call themselves civilized people inherited this gene, and finally changed from a savage to a civilized person, surpassing the civilization of the East.

How can I leave such a good research object alone when I have painstakingly introduced the idea of ​​democracy here?Of course, he didn't want to follow Roman democracy in its entirety. After all, although the Roman Empire existed for thousands of years, it finally fell apart and became a second-rate small country, leaving only the ruins of the city of Rome for people to pay tribute to.

Sun Shao didn't want to do that. If he had a dream, then his dream was to integrate the civilizations of the East and the West, to build a stronger dynasty, and not to let the descendants of Yan and Huang struggle in the cycle of rise and fall.

(End of this chapter)