Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

"Thump, thump, thump."

There was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Liu Yin opened her eyes and glanced at the light outside. Judging from the light filtering through the window, it was already dawn. Liu Yin sat up and saw that Chen Zhi was already dressed and resting on the couch with his eyes closed. She said with a slight apology:

"I slept in a bit late, please forgive me, Censor. There's someone knocking on the door outside the courtyard, I'll go check it out."

"It's alright." Chen Zhi smiled faintly. "Let's put the cabinet and table back in their places first."

"That makes perfect sense," Liu Yin nodded.

Upon hearing the door open, the person outside called out again, "I have been ordered by Commander Fei to bring you breakfast. Please open the door."

Liu Yin stepped forward, turned halfway to the side, and carefully opened the courtyard gate from the inside. Only then did she see an official pushing a wooden cart outside the gate. And standing right there at the door was none other than Prime Minister Sima Feiyi himself.

"Greetings, General Fei." Liu Yin did not dare to be negligent and bowed respectfully.

Fei Yi's official positions in the Prime Minister's residence were Chancellor's Chief of Staff and Commander of the Central Army, while his official position in the imperial court was Lieutenant General with a salary of 2,000 piculs of grain.

Liu Yin's official position was a Sima (a military officer with a salary of 1,000 dan of grain). If he addressed Fei Yi as Sima to his face, it would seem as if he were deliberately trying to embarrass him.

"Commander Liu, did you rest well last night?" Fei Yi laughed and spoke gently to Liu Yin, an official of a thousand shi rank: "The cavalrymen who came with you have all been arranged to stay in the Tiger Cavalry Camp last night, so there is no need to worry."

"Thank you for your care, General Fei. Imperial Censor Chen is washing up. Please come in and have a seat, General Fei." Liu Yin nodded his thanks and then stepped forward to take the wooden cart from the clerk.

"Please." Fei Yi nodded and then went inside on his own. Liu Yin quickly pushed the cart behind him. The official in blue robes who came with Fei Yi, seeing that there was nothing for him to do here, thought for a few moments, closed the courtyard gate, and then left.

After Chen Zhi freshened up a bit, he entered the front hall again. Liu Yin had already placed two wooden tables facing each other, each with a lacquered food plate on it.

As for Liu Yin's own portion, she didn't bring it inside, intending to relieve herself standing by the carriage in the courtyard. This considerate approach was actually giving the two of them space to talk.

After a few brief pleasantries, Chen Zhi and Fei Yi took their seats facing each other.

At times like this, the rule of not speaking while eating doesn't apply. Chen Zhi was knowledgeable and witty, and Fei Yi was also a charming and sensible person. The two chatted about old Chengdu stories and their experiences during the Northern Expedition, and their breakfast lasted a full quarter of an hour.

After a quarter of an hour of build-up, Fei Yi finally spoke, asking, "After saying goodbye yesterday, I thought about it for a long time, and I still have some questions. Besides the matters we discussed yesterday, does Imperial Censor Chen have any other business to attend to in Hanzhong?"

Chen Zhi smiled and stood up: "His Majesty sent me to Hanzhong, so naturally I am here to attend to state affairs."

Seeing this, Fei Yi also stood up, smiling. He had thought that Chen Zhi would say something more after he finished speaking, but he found that Chen Zhi stopped speaking there.

"State affairs..." Fei Yi repeated the two words, his brows furrowing.

Fei Yi was now completely confused. After spending the past two days together, he still couldn't figure out what Chen Zhi was thinking.

When they first met yesterday, Fei Yi assumed that Chen Zhi favored him and had come from Chengdu to help him seize power and remove Yang Yi from office. From the Prime Minister's previous words, Fei Yi was politically astute; he could somewhat deduce that he was the Prime Minister's true chosen successor.

Jiang Wan...

Jiang Wan was older than the Prime Minister, and almost two generations younger than Fei Yi, so he could only be considered a transitional figure.

As for Yang Yi and Wei Yan, the Prime Minister knew their shortcomings, but he only used them to run errands and never had the intention of entrusting them with important responsibilities.

However, in the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence yesterday, and in the breakfast this morning, Chen Zhi not only spoke without leaving any room for doubt, but when I tested him, Chen Zhi would often test me in return!

How come I didn't notice Chen Zhi's skill before?

Why did His Majesty send such a person with imperial credentials?

Chen Zhi, what exactly does His Majesty want?

Fei Yi's mind worked incredibly fast; the thought process took only a few seconds.

Chen Zhi added, "What are Fei Sima's plans regarding state affairs?"

Fei Yi quickly weighed the situation in his mind and replied solemnly, "With the recent loss of our marshal and the nation facing imminent peril, as a subject of the court, I naturally desire the rise of our nation and the restoration of the Han dynasty! For the sake of the nation, Fei Yi has an inescapable duty!"

As Fei Yi spoke, Chen Zhi nodded, a hint of inexplicable emotion lurking behind Chen Zhi's smile.

In Chen Zhi's eyes, Fei Yi was too good at hiding his own views! His replies were just empty words that were politically correct and wouldn't make any mistakes.

If it weren't for the fact that in the original historical record, Fei Yi had stood the test of time and proven his contributions and character to the Shu Han state, and that Chen Zhi wasn't aware of all this, Chen Zhi would surely have suspected that Fei Yi, given his tight-lipped nature, was also trying to gain additional political benefits for himself from this chaos!

You are the Prime Minister's advisor, and have served the Prime Minister for many years. With your political wisdom, how could you not know what the "state affairs" I am asking about are?

Should the Prime Minister's residence be preserved?

How should political and military power be divided?

Should we continue the Northern Expedition?

Who will lead the Northern Expedition?

Who will stay and guard Hanzhong?

Fei Yi didn't budge an inch. Chen Zhi thought to himself, a mix of emotions welling up inside him.

No one is perfect. Although Fei Yi had many strengths and was loyal to the Han Dynasty, his shortcomings were also obvious.

When Yang Yi and Wei Yan were vying for power, Fei Yi often mediated between them, gaining their trust in the process. After the Prime Minister's death and the army's retreat, Fei Yi clearly had the opportunity to mediate again, but he didn't. When Yang Yi sent Ma Dai to kill Wei Yan, if Fei Yi had strongly advised against it, he could most likely have spared Wei Yan's life or at least his entire family, but Fei Yi did not do so.

Fei Yi speaks to people in a human language, and to ghosts in a ghost language...

To put it more bluntly, Fei Yi is a skilled political opportunist, the kind of person who is not willing to fight against the odds.

Chen Zhi naturally wanted to form an alliance with Fei Yi. However, when the external pressure had not reached a critical point, Chen Zhi himself was reluctant to give in.

During the negotiation and compromise process, whoever gives in first will have to pay a greater political price!

Although Chen Zhi was acting as the emperor's representative, his official rank was only 600 shi (a unit of grain measure), meaning there was little to be gained from him. If Chen Zhi were to proactively adopt a humble approach to communication, the only one who would bear the political cost would be Emperor Liu Shan himself.

The only political cost can be power.

Chen Zhi wanted Liu Shan to take power, and did not want the power of the Shu Han state to be dispersed again!

After a morning of fruitless probing, Fei Yi and Chen Zhi went together to the office area of ​​the Prime Minister's residence.

Chen Zhi occupied a duty room by himself. Starting in the morning, almost every 15 minutes or half an hour, an official from the Prime Minister's Office would come over to explain the military affairs he was in charge of, as well as his views on the strategies for withdrawing troops and stationing troops.

For the entire morning, Fei Yi's talents were on full display before Chen Zhi. No matter how complex the military affairs or how difficult the matter to explain, Fei Yi could often analyze it clearly and understandably in just a few sentences, essentially giving Chen Zhi an efficient tutoring session.

This kind of talent is not something that ordinary people possess.

As the appointed time approached, Fei Yi and Chen Zhi had already copied the draft memorial onto silk.

But just as they handed the document to Yang Yi for review, a sudden change occurred.

Yang Yi took the memorial, glanced at it briefly, and then tossed it aside: "In my opinion... let's postpone this memorial for a few days."

Fei Yi and Chen Zhi exchanged a glance, both of them astonished.