Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

Chen Zhi stood in the center of the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence, holding a staff and looking solemn as he quietly observed the statements of the more than twenty generals and people from the Prime Minister's residence opposite him.

Politics, in essence, is about gaining the approval of the majority. The key to gaining approval lies either in fulfilling their desires or in providing them with benefits.

Chen Zhi held the imperial staff in his hand and spoke of righteousness, but he never used righteousness or the staff to intimidate anyone. This was true of Fei Yi, Wu Yi, Jiang Wei, and everyone present today.

Seeing the crowd's attitude, Chen Zhi continued, "The third matter is that Yang Wei, the Chief Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, killed General Wei Wenchang, the Grand General Who Conquers the West, without an imperial edict, beheaded him, and exterminated his entire clan. His evil deeds are the worst since the founding of the Shu Han dynasty! The court has its own laws; even if there is treason, it can be apprehended, and the matter should be decided by His Majesty, the court, and the Court of Justice. How can you kill someone out of personal revenge? As a subject, one should uphold one's integrity and have a bottom line in one's actions. If there is any personal grudge, one should report it to the court and never do such a thing again!"

"Gentlemen, does anyone have any objections?"

More than twenty people bowed together and said, "We have no objections."

Chen Zhi nodded slightly.

The first two things were about national policies and the righteousness of the Northern Expedition; the third thing was purely about the bottom line of being a subject and the bottom line of political struggle.

The restoration of the Han dynasty naturally required military victory, but military victory also required internal integration and unity from top to bottom.

Chen Zhi clearly remembered that when the borders of the three kingdoms were stabilizing and each kingdom was struggling to launch offensives, both Wei and Wu were experiencing extremely fierce political struggles.

Sima Yi and his son Sima Shi of the Wei Kingdom launched the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, exterminating Cao Shuang's entire clan and massacring his opponents, thus completely destroying the sacredness of the Luo River. Sima Zhao went even further, instructing Cheng Ji to assassinate the Wei emperor in the street, setting a precedent for the collapse of ritual and music, and causing future emperors to live in constant fear.

The political struggles in Wu were more traditional. Sun Quan forced Lu Xun to his death over the issue of succession. The subsequent power struggle between the two empresses was outrageous, with people killing each other every day, resulting in the extermination of countless clans. Later, the powerful ministers and emperors of Wu became increasingly ruthless in their actions...

Internal political strife does not necessarily mean that a country will be unable to fight a war.

However, a harmonious and united internal atmosphere can indeed maximize everyone's combined efforts!

Moreover, from a personal perspective… Chen Zhi believed that the Shu Han court should have a higher moral standard than the Wei and Wu kingdoms. Given the foundation laid by Emperor Zhaolie and the hard work of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, Shu Han should have done even better!

"Imperial Censor Chen..." Fei Yi reminded him at this moment.

Chen Zhi understood: "Gentlemen, the three matters that Chen Zhi just mentioned have been written into a memorial by Fei Sima, which I will take back to Chengdu and hand over to His Majesty. If there are no objections, I would like all the officials of the rank of two thousand shi present to sign and affix their seals."

"That's only right!" Wu Yi laughed a few times. "Where's the memorial? Let me sign my name first!"

"I've brought it." Fei Yi walked to his desk and pulled out the memorial he had written the night before from a pile of rolled-up bamboo slips and silk books.

Deng Zhi hesitated for a moment before asking, "This matter of signing the name, so hastily..."

Chen Zhi said softly, "Today, all of you have followed me in quelling the rebellion and have made contributions. We should use this as evidence to report our achievements to the court."

Deng Zhi's eyes lit up. She exchanged a few glances with Chen Zhi, then smiled and remained silent.

The memorial was drafted by Fei Yi, and the three matters written on it were exactly the same as what Chen Zhi said today.

Chen Zhi trusted Fei Yi, and Fei Yi handled the matter flawlessly today... Fei Yi has always been capable, but he is not yet forty, and his seniority and age are far behind Jiang Wan and Yang Yi. In a stable organization, ability often takes a backseat to seniority.

Now Fei Yi can finally put his talents to use.

"General Zuo, please go first." Fei Yi gestured to Wu Yi in invitation.

"Very well, I shall accept this offer without hesitation." Wu Yi did not stand on ceremony and immediately went to sit in Fei Yi's seat. He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and neatly wrote down the words: "Wu Yi, General of the Left, Governor of Jingzhou, and Marquis of Gaoyang Township."

After Wu Yi stood up, he looked at Yuan Chen and said, "General, please come here."

Fei Yi nodded in agreement: "Please, General."

"Okay." Yuan Chen didn't hesitate and walked towards Fei Yi's desk, just like Wu Yi.

Yuan Chen, despite being a former general, did not actually lead troops or hold any official position in the Prime Minister's office; he was merely a wealthy idler.

To be honest, Yuan Chen had been under Liu Bei's command since the first year of Jian'an when Liu Bei was the governor of Yu Province. He was similar to Liu Yan, who was beheaded for spreading rumors about Liu Shan. They were both senior but of average ability. Zhuge Liang did not place them in Chengdu, but gave them a sinecure to keep them by his side.

Previously, according to official rank, Yuan Chen, the General of the Vanguard, should have been ranked ahead of Wu Yi. However, with the Prime Minister absent, Wu Yi began to disregard these distinctions and took the first place on his own.

First Wu Yi, then Yuan Lin, then Deng Zhi, Liu Ba, Fei Yi, Xu Yun... until Fan Qi wrote it, only four people remained who hadn't written it: Yang Xi, the chief clerk of the prime minister; Dong Jue, the chief clerk of the prime minister; Huo Yi, the chief clerk; and Qiao Zhou, the education commissioner of Yizhou.

None of the four men held official positions above 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measure), but their presence as witnesses created an awkward situation.

Fei Yi glanced at the group and hesitated for a moment: "Imperial Censor Chen, what do you think of this...?"

As Fei Yi asked the question, everyone turned to look.

Seeing the embarrassment of Yang Yi, Dong Jue, and the others, Chen Zhi immediately spoke up: "Registrant Yang, Registrant Dong, Attendant Qiao, and Recorder Huo, since you are all here to witness this today, please add a note from Commander Fei that the four of you are present and sign your names one by one."

"That's perfect." Fei Yi smiled approvingly, then started another paragraph, added a sentence, and then beckoned Yang Xi over.

In this situation, they were indeed not qualified enough, but Chen Zhi understood that these were people the Shu Han court would need in the future. Writing down their names was just a small favor; why embarrass them now?

However, in the eyes of these four people at this moment, Chen Zhi was truly a kind and considerate person.

To be honest, it's already a good thing if high-ranking officials allow you to attend their meetings as an observer, let alone sign the documents.

They clearly made a profit!

Seeing that the last person, Qiao Zhou, had also attached his official title, Chen Zhi stepped forward, picked up the memorial, read it carefully twice, put it away and handed it to Liu Yin, and also let Liu Yin hold the staff, and then slowly walked to the front of the crowd.

"Gentlemen, today's business is finished. Chen Zhi will depart from Mianyang tomorrow to return to Chengdu to meet the Emperor. As for the garrison strategy to be handed over to the court, I would like to ask Commander Fei to take the lead and work with you generals to make arrangements. Please hand it over to me before you leave tomorrow."

Wu Yi's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "How is the military situation? Is Imperial Censor Chen no longer inquiring?"

"I won't ask. This is not what an envoy should ask. It is the duty of the Sima and the generals." Chen Zhi bowed slightly to Wu Yi, then raised his hand to greet everyone present, and said, "This is public land, so I will leave it to you all. I will take my leave now."