Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

"Fengzong!" Liu Shan strode forward, bent down to help Chen Zhi to his feet, and said, "You've traveled a long way, and Liu Yin has told me everything. Fengzong has accomplished a great feat in Hanzhong!"

Chen Zhi took a half step back and respectfully replied, "His Majesty issued an edict to me, and I went there bearing the imperial insignia. By relying on the Emperor's power and virtue, how could I not succeed?"

"When I met with Commander Liu just now... no, when I met with General Liu, I had a brief conversation with him. There are some things that General Liu is unaware of, so it would be best if I reported them to Your Majesty in person."

"Good, I have been waiting for you for more than ten days." Liu Shan looked very relieved and took Chen Zhi's arm, leading him to the seat: "Fengzong, please sit down and tell me in detail."

"Your Majesty, I obey your decree." Chen Zhi nodded. "Please, Your Majesty, take a seat."

"I'll sit closer to you; let's sit together as ruler and subject." Liu Shan pressed Chen Zhi down without further ado, then asked urgently, "Liu Yin did say a lot to me, but I still feel I don't quite understand. Fengzong must already have a plan in mind; I'll just listen."

Chen Zhi sat upright on the mat, his expression extremely solemn. He lowered his voice and said slowly, "I request to speak first about the Prime Minister's matter."

Liu Shan did not speak, but nodded silently. However, Chen Zhi could see hope and a hint of sadness in Liu Shan's eyes.

Chen Zhi said, "In short, the Prime Minister fell seriously ill and died in the army at Wuzhangyuan. He only gave a brief explanation to the people in the Prime Minister's residence about the retreat before passing away."

"I have investigated extensively. There were about ten people in front of the Prime Minister at that time. The names of Yang Weigong, Fei Wenwei, Jiang Boyue, and others are common accounts and should not be false."

"Prime Minister..." Liu Shan's eyes reddened again: "Where is Wei Yan? Why didn't the Prime Minister summon Wei Yan before his death?"

Chen Zhi shook his head: "It's too late."

Liu Shan was speechless for a moment.

Chen Zhi then sighed deeply: "Your Majesty, I need not elaborate on Prime Minister Zhuge's divine martial prowess and virtuous conduct, but matters of life and death are beyond the prediction of ordinary people, and the Prime Minister could not have foreseen his own death. Moreover, his illness came on suddenly, leaving him with many things he could not explain in time, which directly led to the troubles caused by Wei Yan, Yang Yi, and many others..."

Liu Shan's eyes were now red as he stared at Chen Zhi: "Is it Yang Yi who rebelled? Or Wei Yan?"

Chen Zhi shook his head helplessly, his tone full of regret: "In my opinion, Wei Yan did not rebel. Although Yang Yi killed Wei Yan, he had no intention of rebelling. If we consider the facts, this matter was started by the Prime Minister..."

Liu Shan raised his voice slightly: "How can the matter of these two men be the fault of the Regent?"

"It originated with the Prime Minister, not from his fault. As I just said, even the Prime Minister could not foresee his death." Chen Zhi said with some helplessness, "When the Prime Minister was alive, the power of the state was concentrated in the Prime Minister's office, and officials were divided into court officials and those under the Prime Minister's office."

"Wei Yan was the General Who Conquers the West and the Governor of Liangzhou, second only to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang among the court officials. Yang Yi was the Chief Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, the head of the office. Their official ranks were different and unclear. They were both self-righteous and unwilling to yield to each other. The Prime Minister used their combined strength to launch the Northern Expedition and used his prestige to suppress their conflict. After the Prime Minister left, the conflict between the two became irreconcilable."

"The Prime Minister ordered a withdrawal of troops. Logically, he should have informed Wei Yan in person, and Wei Yan would have had no reason to refuse. However, the Prime Minister fell seriously ill and did not have time to give instructions. He only gave a verbal order to withdraw the troops, saying that if Wei Yan did not withdraw, the main army would proceed first. With Wei Yan's ability to lead troops, he should be able to protect himself."

"At the time, Wei Yan was leading his troops in the lead and confronting Sima Yi. How could he not be suspicious when he suddenly heard about this? Moreover, the person who gave the order was Yang Yi, so he did not obey, thinking that Yang Yi wanted to kill him. Therefore, Wei Yan took the lead in retreating, using his status as a general and the highest military rank to go to the central army to find and kill Yang Yi, and take control of the army, which led to the subsequent events."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shan sat down on the ground and sighed deeply, "Why doesn't Wei Yan believe the Prime Minister's dying words?"

Chen Zhi slowly said, "Wei Yan is arrogant and unruly, and he is confident in his ability to lead troops. He wanted to follow the example of the late emperor in killing Xiahou Yuan in Hanzhong and then Zhang He temporarily taking control of the Wei army. He wanted to lead a large army to continue the northern expedition, but he did not consider whether it was feasible, so he did something wrong."

"Wei Yan... I heard from Fei Wenwei that Wei Yan was not saddened but delighted upon hearing the news of the Prime Minister's death. He thought he was no longer bound by any constraints and could lead an army of 100,000 to fight as he pleased... Alas!" Chen Zhi sighed heavily. "But I am certain that Wei Yan did not intend to rebel; he wanted to launch a northern expedition."

At this moment, Liu Shan felt only grief, biting his cheeks tightly, tears welling in his eyes: "Did Wei Yan burn the plank roads?"

"They lit a fire, but it didn't burn much," Chen Zhi said. "Otherwise, why would Yang Yi have led his troops to follow behind? Yang Yi exaggerated the matter."

Liu Shan then asked, "Why is Wang Ping acting on Yang Yi's orders to confront Wei Yan?"

Chen Zhi replied, "The Prime Minister left a will ordering the army to retreat. Wei Yan blocked the army's return route, and Wang Ping was ordered to confront him. Wang Ping is innocent."

Liu Shan clenched his fists: "Why did Ma Dai kill Wei Yan on Yang Yi's orders? Why did he execute Wei Yan's entire family on Yang Yi's orders?"

Chen Zhi's voice was calm: "Ma Dai, a scoundrel from Xiliang, followed Ma Chao for many years and acted just as recklessly as him. When Ma Dai heard of the Prime Minister's death, he thought Yang Yi would take power and wanted to curry favor with Yang Yi as his henchman. Therefore, he acted recklessly and has now been executed. His head has been brought to Chengdu with me."

"A Han-Qiang bastard, truly of the same ilk as Ma Mengqi, recklessly killing one of my great generals!" Liu Shan, who trusted Chen Zhi, made no attempt to conceal his feelings of love and hate at this moment. He roared and slammed his right fist heavily into the ground: "Wasn't Fei Yi extremely friendly with Yang Yi? Why couldn't he stop Yang Yi from rebelling?"

"Yuan Chen, Hu Ji, Liu Min, Jiang Wei, Xu Yun...aren't these people all people who have received great favors from the country and the Prime Minister? Weren't they in the central army at the time? Why couldn't they stop Yang Yi?"

Chen Zhi lowered his head: "I cannot, nor do I wish to."

Liu Shan frowned: "Can't? Why can't I? And why am I unwilling?"

Chen Zhi explained in detail: "At that time, Yang Yi had already taken command of the army and held great power, and he was arrogant and eccentric. The system of the Prime Minister's office was very strict. As the Chief Secretary of the Prime Minister, Yang Yi often acted on behalf of the Prime Minister. He and Ma Dai directly told him to kill Wei Yan. At that time, the military situation was urgent, and everyone was intimidated by Yang Yi's accumulated power and dared not dissuade him, for fear that Yang Yi would kill them on the spot to establish his authority. Therefore, I said that it was not possible."

"Wei Yan is also acting irrationally, attempting to lead his troops straight into the central army, coercing the army to obey him, and then continue the northern expedition. Historically, the army has always been directly led by the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office, and there is absolutely no precedent for disobeying the Prime Minister's Office. In addition, this is inconsistent with the Prime Minister's dying wish to retreat. Therefore, everyone is unwilling for Wei Yan to succeed and only seeks to protect themselves. Therefore, I say that I am unwilling."

Liu Shan flew into a rage, overturning the table beside him and staring intently at Chen Zhi with wide eyes:

"They were unwilling and unable to simply sit and watch Yang Yi kill my general who was acting on behalf of the emperor? Later, when Wei Yan was dead, did they think it wasn't worth disobeying Yang Yi for the sake of a dead man, and thus they watched as Yang Yi killed Wei Yan's entire family?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Chen Zhi bowed respectfully.

"what!"

Liu Shan roared, then slumped weakly back on his mat, muttering, "Am I really going to rely on such a group of people to revive the Han Dynasty?"