Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

Zong Yu hesitated and couldn't answer... It was truly difficult to answer!

The legitimacy of the Shu Han dynasty originated from the death of Emperor Xie (Liu Xie), with Liu Bei re-establishing the Han dynasty in the name of the Liu clan. It wouldn't be appropriate for Zong Yu to tell Sun Quan that Emperor Xie had died more than a decade ago, would it? Would he be openly deceiving the ruler of Wu in the capital of Wu?

Upon seeing this, Chen Zhi's heart stirred slightly, and he recalled some sad events. In front of Sun Quan, he raised his sleeve as if to wipe away tears, and even let out a few soft sobs.

"Why is Chen Qing weeping?" Sun Quan asked.

Chen Zhi wiped his eyes again, sighed, and bowed to Sun Quan:

"Your Majesty, I have just heard Your Majesty's words and was saddened by the decline of the Later Han dynasty and the fall of the imperial family. In addition, I was saddened to hear Your Majesty's statement that the celestial phenomena were inauspicious, and thus I lamented the insignificance of human power and the unpredictability of fate."

"That is why the foreign minister wept."

Sun Quan's mind had been entirely focused on the news of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's death, and he had been somewhat distracted while listening to Zong Yu's speech. Now, hearing Chen Zhi's words, he remembered Zong Yu's mention of Chen Zhi's mission to Hanzhong, and so he asked:

How old is Chen Qing this year?

"Your Majesty, I was born in the sixteenth year of Jian'an and am now twenty-four years old," Chen Zhi replied.

Sun Quan said, "My crown prince was born in the fourteenth year of Jian'an. Minister Chen is two years younger than him, yet he has already been appointed as the Commandant of the Yue Cavalry and sent as an envoy to allied states. It seems he is indeed highly regarded by the Han emperor. General Zong said that Minister Chen went to Hanzhong with imperial credentials. How did Minister Chen reconcile the generals and capture Yang Yi?"

Chen Zhi cupped his hands and said, "The Prime Minister has just passed away, and the armies and the Prime Minister's residence are without a leader and without any imperial edict. Therefore, everyone is temporarily following Yang Wei Gong. An official from outside the capital came to Hanzhong with imperial credentials, spoke to everyone about loyalty and righteousness, and promised them a bright future. Therefore, he led the people to quell the rebellion and capture the culprit."

Sun Quan nodded.

When it comes to politics, Sun Quan himself is a master. Before he was even twenty years old, he had already taken charge of Jiangdong, skillfully maneuvering and consolidating power, demonstrating a mastery of political balance.

Ability depends on who you compare yourself to... In Sun Quan's view, based on what Zong Yu just mentioned, Chen Zhi's mission to Hanzhong was not that simple, but it wasn't that difficult either. He could only be considered a usable talent.

As for matters such as rallying the people and reaffirming the Northern Expedition, Sun Quan naturally assumed that it was the work of Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, and others, and Zong Yu did not need to explain these matters to Sun Quan in detail.

Lu Yi's boat was smaller and faster, and he arrived in Jianye yesterday. He also reported to Sun Quan what had happened at Lu Xun's residence a few days ago.

Sun Quan wanted to know the Shu Han envoy's opinion on this matter, so he asked the question knowingly:

"If I remember correctly, this is your first time serving as envoys to Jianye. Traveling eastward from Yong'an, is there anything you'd like to share with me?"

"Yes." Chen Zhi cupped his hands in greeting: "I arrived in Wuchang on October 17th. I anchored near Chibi the night before, and heard the sounds of war coming from the river while I was on the boat."

Sun Quan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is this true, Minister Zong?"

"Exactly." Although Zong Yu didn't know why Chen Zhi said that, he still chimed in.

Sun Quan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Before I declared myself emperor in Wuchang, I made a special trip by boat to Chibi to pay homage to Zhou Yu, but I failed to encounter such a strange event. It's a pity that Cao Cao's poem 'The moon is bright and the stars are few, crows and magpies fly south' and his army marched south, which only made him a laughing stock and laid the foundation for my and Xuande's empire."

Chen Zhi nodded and said, "Your Majesty's strategic planning within the command tent and the decisive victories of your generals a thousand miles away—this will be a celebrated story for all time. The site of Chibi, with its eastward gaze towards Wuchang and westward towards Jiangling, where mountains and rivers intertwine, lush and verdant, is precisely where Cao Cao was trapped by Zhou Yu. When Cao Cao conquered Jingzhou and captured Jiangling, his ships stretched for miles, his banners obscuring the sky, he poured wine by the river, and composed poetry with his spear across his hand—where are they now? And where is Zhou Yu?"

"Your Majesty, I am a native of Shu, a land on the western border, where such a magnificent and expansive river has never been seen. Tonight, seeing the river and hearing the sounds of war, I am reminded of the past, and thus I lament the brevity of my own life and envy the endlessness of the Yangtze. I am deeply moved, and I fear this may disturb Your Majesty's ears; it is my fault!"

Chen Zhi wasn't just idly chatting with Sun Quan here. In the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and Cao Cao, besides being rulers of their own territories, shared another identity: scholars. This is how scholars naturally spoke: when they met people from afar, they would share anecdotes, discuss current events, expound on principles, and express their feelings.

Nowadays, scholars still need to have substance in their words... If another fifty or one hundred years pass, there will probably be very few scholars left who have substance in their words, and they will all turn to "pure talk" and metaphysical discussions.

As for referring to Zhou Yu as "Zhou Lang," that was the common way people discussed history at the time.

"I lament the brevity of my life, and envy the endlessness of the Yangtze River… Minister Chen’s words are truly insightful." Sun Quan softly repeated these words, then sighed deeply: "Life is less than a hundred years, yet we often worry about a thousand years. If one could attain longevity and enduring vision, why should we fret about the present?"

Chen Zhi immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Enjoyment should be seized in time; why wait until later? Merit should also be accomplished in time. Your Majesty, I am deeply concerned."

Sun Quan's relaxed demeanor vanished instantly, his eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he raised an eyebrow to look directly at Chen Zhi, asking in a deep voice:

"What worries do I have?"

Chen Zhi cupped his hands in greeting: "It is not only Your Majesty who has this worry, but Shu Han also has this worry."

"Since the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, various warlords have fought for supremacy, eventually leading to the Three Kingdoms period. Han was based in Yizhou, Wu in Jing and Yang, and the remaining lands belonged to Wei. Wei's stalemate with Han and Wu was due to Wei's inability to defeat Han and Wu, not the other way around. Now, even if Han and Wu combined their strength, they still cannot defeat Wei. When the people of the Central Plains recover and prosper, whether it is Han or Wu, the decline of the nation and the destruction of ancestral temples will probably not be far off."

Sun Quan gently shook his head: "This is the general trend, how could I not know it? The reason why I and Prime Minister Zhuge have joined forces to attack the north, and why we have mobilized a large army to attack Huainan last year and this year, is precisely for this reason."

Chen Zhi bowed again: "But the Prime Minister is no longer here. The Prime Minister lived to the age of fifty-four, Emperor Zhaolie of our country lived to the age of sixty-three, Cao Mengde of Wei lived to the age of sixty-six, and Cao Zihuan lived to the age of only forty. As for Wu, the lifespans of Emperor Wulie (Sun Jian) ​​and King Huan of Changsha (Sun Ce) are not something that I need to say before Your Majesty."

"I have heard that Your Majesty became the ruler of Jiangdong at the age of nineteen. Thirty-four years have passed since then. During these thirty-four years, the situation in the world has changed dramatically several times, but for Your Majesty, the capital is still in Jiangdong. Five years ago, after Your Majesty became emperor, you divided the world with the Shu Han, with Xuzhou, Yuzhou, Youzhou, and Qingzhou belonging to Wu, and Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Jizhou, and Yanzhou belonging to Han. The Sili region was divided at Hangu Pass."

"Confucius said that seventy is a rare age, which is considered a long life. For Your Majesty, seventy is seventeen years from now. Your Majesty has not been to the Central Plains for thirty-four years. Can you really take control of the Central Plains within the next seventeen years? Can you conquer Xuzhou, Yuzhou, Youzhou, and Qingzhou within seventeen years?"

"After the death of Emperor Zhaolie of Shu Han, the affairs of state were entrusted to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang. Now that Prime Minister Zhuge Liang has also passed away, the Han Emperor has personally gone north to Hanzhong to preside over the Northern Expedition. I wonder if, seventeen years from now, Wu will have a Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to assist the Crown Prince?"