Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

The delegation of over a hundred people traveled eastward, the journey within the country was arduous and uninteresting, with little to show for it.

For Chen Zhi, the only beneficial thing was that he gradually became acquainted with Zong Yu.

Zong Yu is 47 years old and a native of Nanyang. After reaching adulthood, he joined Liu Bei's army as an official and later served under Zhang Fei. Although Zong Yu was only 20 years old when he entered officialdom and had just reached adulthood, he was an old man who had joined Liu Bei's group during the Xinye period.

During the Xinye period, Liu Bei's territory consisted of only one county, with fewer than 10,000 soldiers. Zong Yu, with his seniority, was considered to have served in the same cohort as Wei Yan and Deng Zhi, and even earlier than Yang Yi and Jiang Wan.

His appointment as chief envoy and promotion to General Who Assists the Han were a natural progression, without any obstacles.

The Shu Han court had its own traditions, and the ranking of generals was not only based on the order of the Later Han dynasty, but also took into account the people who had previously been granted the title of general. Therefore, the positions of General Anhan and General Fuhan were higher than other miscellaneous generals, only below the Nine Ministers, and slightly higher than Chen Zhi, the Commandant of Yueqi.

The title of General Anhan originally belonged to Mi Zhu, a relative by marriage of Liu Bei, and was later given to Li Hui, who had made meritorious contributions in the southern expedition with Prime Minister Zhuge. It was later given to Li Miao, who served as the Prime Minister's military advisor. However, Li Miao went against the Prime Minister's wishes and protected Ma Su, so he was dismissed from his post and lived in Chengdu. As a result, the title of General Anhan became vacant.

The title of General Who Assists the Han originally belonged to Li Yan, then to Zhang Yi, the former Chief Secretary of the Chancellor, and later to Meng Yan. At this time, Meng Yan was still in Hanzhong. Liu Shan already intended to promote Meng Yan, so he discussed with Jiang Wan and first gave this position to Zong Yu to increase the importance of the envoy.

As for the Military Advisor General that Zhuge Liang once served as and the Protector General that Fa Zheng once served as, these two titles are of such high esteem that they are not equivalent to other positions. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, the Shu Han court should not grant them to its subjects again.

Before setting off, Chen Zhi had heard that Zong Yu was an honest and upright person, and on this trip, he became a little more familiar with Zong Yu.

Zong Yu was a very old-fashioned scholar, prudent and measured, rarely smiling, never showing his emotions, cautious in speech and action, and always speaking with substance. Chen Zhi's conversation with Zong Yu on the road was probably limited to official matters and the details of the mission; they had no private exchanges whatsoever.

People with this kind of personality may not be likable, but when working with them as colleagues, you don't have to worry about work matters.

Heading east, after passing through Jiangzhou, they boarded a boat and sailed down the river. In Yong'an Baidi City, they bid farewell to General Ju Fu, who was stationed there. After passing through Jiangguan and entering Wu County, they officially entered the territory of Wu.

The Kingdom of Wu was vast, stretching thousands of miles east to west along the Yangtze River, which served as both a strategic stronghold and a vital transportation route.

Upon reaching each important town along the river, Zong Yu and Chen Zhi's ships had to stop and report at the river checkpoints, and then continue their journey accompanied, or rather, under the protection of Wu ships.

Xiling in Wu Kingdom, also known as Yiling in the Shu Han Dynasty, was the place where Liu Bei and Lu Xun's armies once clashed. At present, it is under the jurisdiction of Bu Zhi, the General of the Cavalry of Wu Kingdom and the Supervisor of Xiling. This man is from Huainan, and his sister Bu Lianshi is greatly favored by Sun Quan.

Downstream from Xiling lies Jiangling, another important town along the river for the Wu Kingdom. It was the site of decades of entanglement and conflict between the Han, Wei, and Wu kingdoms, and was governed by Zhu Ran, the Wu Kingdom's General of Chariots and Cavalry and the Governor of Jiangling. Zhu Ran was a classmate of Sun Quan, and his steadfast defense of the city earned him great trust and respect.

When Zong Yu and Chen Zhi passed through these two places, they only stayed temporarily at the riverside inns and did not take the initiative to visit Bu Zhi and Zhu Ran. Perhaps because they were generals in the outer garrisons, Bu Zhi and Zhu Ran only sent officials to board the ship to inspect and send ships to escort them, and did not take any other action.

Both Bu Zhi and Zhu Ran had an excellent relationship with Sun Quan and had long enjoyed his favor. Looking at their place of origin, Bu Zhi was a migrant worker from Huainan and had no connection with the local gentry of Jiangdong. While Zhu Ran's place of origin was Wu Commandery, he was not related to the "Zhu" in the four prominent Wu families of Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang.

Interestingly, after Sun Quan became emperor, he appointed Bu Zhi as the governor of Ji Province and Zhu Ran as the governor of Yan Province.

Chen Zhen had previously served as an envoy to the Wu Kingdom to congratulate Sun Quan on becoming emperor. The Han and Wu divided the world, and the two provinces of Ji and Yan were given to the Shu Han. Bu Zhi and Zhu Ran were dismissed from their posts less than two months after taking office, which made them extremely rude to the Shu Han envoys.

Bu Zhi and Zhu Ran can be avoided, but Zhuge Jin, the Wu general and governor of Yuzhou, who is stationed in Gong'an not far from Jiangling, must be met.

As the elder brother of Prime Minister Zhuge, Zhuge Jin was obligated to deliver the funeral arrangements and hand over the deceased's belongings to the Shu Han envoy. Having lost his younger brother before his death, Zhuge Jin wept bitterly in front of Zong Yu and Chen Zhi, who could only offer some words of comfort and could do little more.

In response to Zhuge Jin's inquiry, Zong Yu and Chen Zhi informed him of the situation regarding Wei Yan and Yang Yi after the Prime Minister's death, and also explained to Zhuge Jin the matter of Jiang Wan being appointed Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

This is all part of the duties of allies. Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan often corresponded, and the two countries did not conceal such important matters from each other.

By the time Zong Yu and Chen Zhi approached Wuchang, it was already noon on October 17th.

The boat had just passed Fankou and was only twenty li away from Wuchang, a journey that would take less than half an hour. Zong Yu and Chen Zhi stood at the bow, gazing southeast along the river.

Zong Yu placed his hands on the railing and sighed softly: "Feng Zong, now that we've arrived in Wuchang, it's not like being in Gong'an. We must proceed with caution."

"That's only right." Chen Zhi nodded, his expression as blank as Zong Yu's. "With Wei Yan and Yang Yi causing trouble in our dynasty, the relationship between the ruler and his ministers in Wu is not necessarily harmonious. Before we set off, you, Chen Gong, already mentioned that Sun Quan was wary of Lu Xun. Coupled with what Zhuge Ziyu said the other day, the relationship between Sun Quan and Lu Xun is already strained."

Zong Yu nodded: "Be careful with your words and actions, observe more and speak less. We only need to stay in Wuchang for one day, and we'll leave early tomorrow morning."

"Yes." Chen Zhi nodded.

While the states of Han and Wu could share a great deal of intelligence, some things were not discussed openly. However, for the two intelligent men, Zong Yu and Chen Zhi, they could deduce many unspeakable matters from the information that could be shared.

This year, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang led an army of 100,000 to launch a northern expedition, and Sun Quan launched a large-scale support campaign from the east, personally leading an army of 100,000 north to Hefei.

The Wu Kingdom had always advanced in three routes. Sun Quan personally led 100,000 troops to attack Hefei, ordered Sun Shao and Zhang Cheng to attack Guangling, and ordered Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin to attack Xiangyang. The Wu Kingdom's forces in Guangling and Xiangyang were just over 10,000 each.

These are all public announcements made by Zhuge Jin. Han and Wu are allies, and this level of information can be shared.

But the problem lies with Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin's journey.

Battle reports can be deceiving, but battle lines don't lie, and troop strength doesn't lie.

Sun Quan's military order was for Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin to attack Xiangyang. However, Lu Xun only ordered Zhuge Jin to lead the navy into the Han River and circle around the vicinity of Xiangyang. Lu Xun himself led the infantry to attack Shiyang, Anlu and Xinshi in Jiangxia!

To put it in simpler terms, Sun Quan ordered Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin to march a thousand miles along the Han River to Xiangyang, but Lu Xun himself only managed to attack a few small border towns of Wei less than two hundred miles away!