Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

The mountains are high and the roads are long, so the cars and boats travel slowly.

Chen Zhi and Zong Yu's group spent nearly two months before finally arriving in Chengdu on December 20th.

Logically, the news of the envoy's return to Chengdu should have been immediately reported to Emperor Liu Shan and Minister Jiang Wan. However, upon entering the city, Chen Zhi unexpectedly learned that Liu Shan was not in the capital, nor was Jiang Wan, and even Fei Yi, who had just returned to Chengdu from Hanzhong and been appointed as the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, was not there!

Therefore, Chen Zhi and Zong Yu had no choice but to go to the Ministry of Personnel to report back to Li Fu, the Minister of Personnel.

"Deyan, Fengzong, you two have been traveling for several months; it must have been very tiring." Li Fu smiled kindly. "How was your trip?"

"Thank you for your inquiry, Minister Li. I hope the journey went smoothly." Zong Yu replied with his hands clasped. "The alliance between Wu and Han remains unwavering. Sun Quan accepted the state gifts and brought back a return gift with the delegation. There is also a letter in Sun Quan's own handwriting to present to Your Majesty."

At this moment, Chen Zhi asked from the side, "May I ask, Your Excellency, why are His Majesty and Lord Jiang not in Chengdu?"

Li Fu casually said, "Oh, is that so? His Majesty, along with Lord Jiang and Minister Fei, departed from Chengdu four days ago to go to Wuyang County in Jianwei Prefecture in the south to see the auspicious signs. They should be returning in a few days."

"An auspicious omen?"

Chen Zhi and Zong Yu exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of surprise in their eyes.

Chen Zhi pondered the place name Wuyang for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Master, could it be that another yellow dragon has emerged from the Chishui River?"

Li Fu stroked his beard and nodded: "Fengzong guessed correctly..."

The so-called appearance of a yellow dragon at the Chishui River was an auspicious omen that occurred before Liu Bei declared himself emperor. Above the Chishui River in Wuyang County, Jianwei Commandery, 140 li south of Chengdu, a yellow dragon appeared and disappeared in the clouds for nine intermittent days. This event was considered one of the most important auspicious omens supporting Liu Bei's ascension to the throne.

Another important auspicious sign was the discovery of an imperial seal on the Han River near Xiangyang, which occurred in the 24th year of Jian'an when Guan Yu besieged Xiangyang and Fancheng.

However, with Guan Yu's death and the fall of Jingzhou, the significance of this auspicious omen diminished, making the "yellow dragon appearing in the Chishui River" all the more important.

When this auspicious omen appeared, the governor of Jianwei at the time was Li Yan, also known as Li Zhengfang. His subsequent promotion to the position of regent may have been related to this event.

Before setting off, Chen Zhi suggested gathering some prophecies and auspicious omens, but is this really the path to be relied upon? Or is it Huanglong?

As Chen Zhi and Zong Yu talked with Li Fu, Chen Zhi gradually learned about the events that had occurred in Chengdu over the past three months.

Li Fu, courtesy name Shude, was from Fu County, Zitong Commandery, Yizhou. He came from a powerful family in the commandery; his father had been killed by Liu Yan. Therefore, after Liu Bei entered Shu, Li Fu quickly obtained an official position and served for many years, becoming one of the most trusted officials from Yizhou in the court. Li Fu was decisive and impartial in his actions, performing his duties as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat with great competence, and enjoyed the long-standing trust of Liu Shan and Zhuge Liang.

Li Fu knew, of course, that Chen Zhi was now a trusted advisor to the emperor. He didn't put on airs at all when introducing his former young subordinate, but explained that the small matters were not worth mentioning, and there were a few important things he needed to know.

Firstly, the official positions of the Chengdu Secretariat and the Hanzhong Administrative Secretariat have been finalized, and Fei Yi has been confirmed to lead the Hanzhong Administrative Secretariat.

Secondly, Li Miao, an official who was retired and at home, submitted a memorial refuting Zhuge Liang's past policies. His words were disrespectful, and he claimed that Zhuge Liang's long-term garrisoning of troops in Hanzhong was due to his suspicion of the emperor. Liu Shan was furious and personally ordered Zhao Kang, the Minister of Justice, to arrest him. He then ordered Zhao Kang to execute Li Miao in prison for the crime of disrupting the order of the emperor.

Thirdly, the imperial court has already issued a verdict regarding Wei Yan's case. Wei Yan acted recklessly, displaying unbridled bravery and domineering behavior, even attacking the central army; he was truly a scourge on the army. Considering the lack of leadership in the army after the Prime Minister's death, and given that Wei Yan had not caused any actual damage to the main force, coupled with his past merits, he should be dismissed from his post, stripped of his title, demoted to commoner status, and exiled. His crime did not warrant death. His entire clan was innocent but was unjustly executed. In consideration of Wei Yan's past contributions, the imperial court will fund his burial with the rites due to a county marquis.

In summary, during the three months that Chen Zhi was away from Chengdu, the court tried its best to prevent the chaos that followed the prime minister's death. The newly empowered Ministry of Personnel was used to place and govern the officials of the prime minister's office. Emperor Liu Shan himself also established his authority by executing Li Miao and having the Court of Justice prosecute Wei Yan.

According to Li Fu, considering the national interest of continuing the Northern Expedition, the court preserved Wei Yan's title of County Marquis and left him with some posthumous reputation. Furthermore, for the sake of maintaining stability in the court, Yang Yi's family was not implicated after his death.

Chen Zhi agreed with this verdict. Wei Yan's entire clan was wiped out; he had no relatives or avengers. Since the man was dead, it was better to be magnanimous and appease the generals.

After hearing Li Fu's words, Chen Zhi sighed softly: "Thank you for your advice, Minister. Since His Majesty and Lord Jiang have not returned, shall General Zong and I go to Wuyang to report to them?"

Li Fu chuckled and patted Chen Zhi's arm: "You've been away for three months, why rush things in the next couple of days? I'll make the decision for you, you can rest in Chengdu for now."

Zong Yu bowed and said, "Thank you for the arrangements, Minister."

"Fengzong," Li Fu said with a kind smile, "I heard that you and the Fei family are getting married? Fei said before he left that it should be before the end of the month, and that Empress Dowager Wu will be the matchmaker and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices will be in charge of the arrangements. Judging by the time, it should be soon. Fengzong should go and see the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in the next day or two."

Chen Zhi was taken aback at first, then bowed respectfully: "I understand, thank you, Master."

……

Since Liu Shan, Jiang Wan, and Fei Yi were not in Chengdu, and Li Fu had given his assurance, Chen Zhi was happy to have some free time. Together with Zong Yu, he handed over the state gifts sent by Wu to the Ministry of Personnel. After receiving them, he returned home with the set of drums and trumpets given to him by Sun Quan and the other items he had purchased in Wu.

Although Han and Wu were allies, Wu's specialties were still quite rare in Chengdu.

Xu You, with his keen curiosity, was very interested in helping Chen Zhi take stock of the many items he had brought back to the mansion. Chen Zhi, in turn, was very talkative and introduced each item to Xu You.

"These nine items are to be presented to His Majesty." Chen Zhi directed Xu You to take the items out of the box: "A crossbow mechanism inlaid with gold, silver and bronze, a Boshan incense burner inlaid with gold, silver and bronze, a mirror with a four-gods pattern, a small piece of red coral, two small bags of Hepu pearls, a lacquer box with a ship pattern, a Longyuan sword, a sheep-hair brush, and a gilded animal-shaped inkstone."

"Ayou, later find a good box to pack it up and send it to the palace."

Xu You brought his face closer to examine them, but didn't touch them. As he admired them, he exclaimed, "Brother, how much do these things cost? I can tell from just a glance that they're quite expensive!"

"Ayou, this is not the time to worry about the cost." Chen Zhi patted Xu You on the shoulder. "How many times can one be sent on a diplomatic mission like this? His Majesty himself cannot travel far, so what is wrong with me, as his subject, purchasing some local specialties from Wu as tribute to present to the Emperor?"