Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

"Your Majesty, is there really a Yellow Dragon?" Chen Zhi asked in surprise.

"It really is!" Liu Shan declared confidently, "I waited a whole day, and although I only caught a glimpse, I believe it must be the Yellow Dragon!"

Chen Zhi swallowed hard, exchanging glances with Jiang Wan and Fei Yi on either side. Both Jiang Wan and Fei Yi nodded in agreement, certain that they had seen Huang Long.

Chen Zhi gasped, his thoughts interrupted by Liu Shan as he was making calculations.

Liu Shan smiled and said, "I never expected to see Fengzong here. Fengzong just said he arrived in Chengdu yesterday, so he must have left yesterday afternoon, right?"

"Yes." Chen Zhi cupped his hands in greeting. "This mission has yielded many gains. I heard from Minister Li that Your Majesty is away, and I was somewhat impatient to report to Your Majesty, so I went out of the city ahead of time to greet you. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"It's alright, it's alright." Liu Shan nodded and looked at Jiang Wan: "My lord, please have someone set up tents. I will go inside and talk with you in detail."

"As you command, I will make the arrangements," Jiang Wan replied.

The imperial carriage came to a slow stop, and the military tent was quickly set up. Liu Shan, along with Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, and Chen Zhi, entered the tent together.

At a time when the Han, Wei, and Wu kingdoms were divided into three, the internal affairs, foreign policy, and personal preferences of the Wu monarch were of paramount importance to the Shu Han dynasty.

Chen Zhi dared not be negligent and recounted his experiences on this trip in chronological order. He described in great detail the events at Lu Xun's residence in Wuchang, the first day's audience with Sun Quan in the palace, and the banquet in the palace.

With the chief envoy and deputy envoy traveling together, many matters could not be concealed, which is also an advantage of the system design.

Chen Zhi spoke for a long time, and after listening, Liu Shan frowned and asked in surprise:

"Fengzong, on your first day in the palace, you met with Sun Quan and offered him three strategies: superior, middle, and inferior. Whether it was killing Lu Xun and Gu Yong, or suggesting that Sun Quan grant him titles and rewards, such strategies were not something a normal court would support. Why did Sun Quan tolerate your words when you told him these things?"

Chen Zhi replied earnestly, "Your Majesty, there are reasons why I said these things to Sun Quan. If the time and the setting were different, I would not have dared to say these things."

Liu Shan looked directly at Chen Zhi, his gaze filled with a hint of confusion.

Chen Zhi sighed softly: "Sun Quan has been in charge of Jiangdong since he was nineteen years old, and it has been thirty-four years now. When he was young and in power, Yuan Shao was still entrenched in Hebei, and Cao Cao had not yet completely occupied the north."

"In the thirty-four years since then, the Cao family has gone through three generations. Our late emperor has passed away, and the ministers of Wu have also died one after another. Famous ministers such as Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lü Meng, and brave generals such as Zhou Tai, Gan Ning, Ling Tong, Dong Xi, and Pan Zhang have all passed away. The court relies on Gu Yong's abilities, and the army has Lu Xun as its commander. Sun Quan is hampered both internally and externally. In addition, he launched two expeditions to Huainan last year and this year without any gains, and Lu Xun disagrees with him. Moreover, when the Prime Minister was in power, he had many dealings with Sun Quan. In addition, Sun Quan is one year younger than the Prime Minister. He should be saddened to hear the news of his death. Before I met Sun Quan, I had a slight understanding of his state of mind after hearing the news."

"When I and General Zong met with Sun Quan, we saw that Sun Quan's situation was indeed as described. I then spoke to Sun Quan about his age, saying that if his northern expedition failed, given the state of his country and the seniority of the crown prince, it would likely fall into the hands of Gu and Lu in the future, and Wu's expansion would be hopeless. Sun Quan was indeed moved, and only then could I present these three strategies."

"Of course, this merit still belongs to Your Majesty's sagacity." Chen Zhi smiled and said, "When I asked Sun Quan to allow me to pay respects to Lady Sun, Sun Quan was moved to tears. Without Your Majesty's decree, Sun Quan probably would not have listened to me so readily about these internal affairs of Wu."

"I..." Liu Shan raised an eyebrow, asking in surprise, "I can also have merit?"

"The credit should go to Your Majesty first." Chen Zhi said earnestly, "The greatest sound is silent, the greatest form is formless, and governance is the reflection of the people's hearts. I am of low rank and my words carry little weight, and I have no way to gain Sun Quan's trust. Your Majesty is the emperor, and you are of utmost importance to Sun Quan. It is thanks to Your Majesty's decree that this matter directly addresses Sun Quan's true feelings. Without this, I fear my communication with Sun Quan would not have been so smooth."

Liu Shan nodded approvingly and said, "Fengzong's handling of affairs has indeed put my mind at ease."

Fei Yi was alright, but Jiang Wan, who was standing to the side, was frowning as she listened.

Is this how merit is calculated? If that's the case, then since His Majesty ordered you to go, all the credit should go to His Majesty! All the merit in the world can be attributed to His Majesty!

One emperor and one courtier.

When Jiang Wan reported matters to Prime Minister Zhuge, he always spoke the truth, leaving the intricacies to the Prime Minister's discernment. In other words, Jiang Wan found Chen Zhi's communication style with Liu Shan truly unacceptable! Fei Yi, sitting on the other side, however, had no objection to this.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Wan ultimately refrained from correcting him and instead chose to change the subject directly: "So, it seems that Lu Xun and Sun Quan were indeed at odds?"

"Indeed," Chen Zhi replied with a cupped hand, then looked at Liu Shan: "Gu Yong is the Chancellor, and Lu Xun is the Grand General and Governor of Jingzhou. The Gu and Lu families are related by marriage for two generations. In my opinion, Crown Prince Sun Deng is of average talent, far inferior to Sun Quan. Once Sun Quan is gone, the Jiangdong of the Sun family will become the Jiangdong of the Gu and Lu families."

Jiang Wan seemed to be deep in thought, and after a long pause, he nodded: "Sun Quan is a usurper who rules his own territory. Only by establishing military strength can he balance internal and external affairs. Judging from Feng Zong's words, Sun Quan's position should not be too problematic. His personal promise and delivery of the official letter are clear evidence of this."

Fei Yi asked from the side, "Wu has launched a three-pronged attack on Wei. Just now, Feng Zong said there was little progress. I wonder how Sun Quan's army fared on this campaign? Did the 100,000-strong force return empty-handed?"

"The details are too numerous to know, but what is certain is that before Cao Rui, the ruler of Wei, arrived in Shouchun, Sun Quan had already withdrawn his army, returning empty-handed." Chen Zhi sighed slightly, "In my opinion, Sun Quan was indeed somewhat disappointed."

Fei Yi pondered for a moment: "It must be because of the two military campaigns last year and this year that the soldiers and generals have no will to fight. Sun Quan sent troops to Cao Rui to lead his army eastward, and the matter of supporting our dynasty was considered complete."

After saying this, Fei Yi turned to Liu Shan and said, "Your Majesty, I have been to the Kingdom of Wu three times. For many years, Wu has often attacked Hefei from the north. To attack Hefei, one must cross the Yangtze River, enter the Ruxu River, then enter Chaohu Lake, and finally enter the Fei River to reach Hefei. Therefore, Wu often sends out troops in the spring and withdraws in the autumn to prevent the Ruxu River and Fei River from being too shallow to navigate in winter."

"Han and Wu were allies, and the imperial court always coordinated with Wu when sending troops."

"In the spring of the sixth year of Jianxing, the Prime Minister launched his first Northern Expedition. In the eighth month of the same autumn, Sun Quan devised a plan to win at Shiting. The Prime Minister then led his army to attack Chencang again. This was the first time that the court and Wu Kingdom coordinated their efforts from the east and west. After that, Sun Quan did not wage war for several years until last year when he launched an expedition against Hefei Xincheng and Liuan without any success. This year, they have coordinated their efforts again."

"Historically, our dynasty has always consulted with Sun Quan before waging war. Therefore, the next major military campaign should be coordinated with Wu. However, according to previous assignments, we are to launch an attack on Qiangzhong and Longxi next spring. I wonder if we should coordinate with Sun Quan for this campaign?"

Liu Shan thought for a few moments, then asked, "What are your thoughts, Priest?"

Fei Yi said, "In my opinion, when our dynasty launches a large-scale military campaign, we should make an agreement with Sun Quan that if the number of troops is limited to 20,000 or 30,000, we can advance our troops independently and only need to inform Wu."

"According to Feng Zong, our dynasty's continuous attacks on Wei will give the Wu Kingdom more confidence and provide more assistance to Sun Quan's northern expedition."

Liu Shan nodded, then glanced at Jiang Wan and Chen Zhi.

"I second that proposal," Jiang Wan replied in a deep voice.

"I second that opinion," Chen Zhi said, bowing.

"Very well, then we'll do as you say, and inform Wu after we send out our troops." Liu Shan nodded: "Fengzong's mission to Wu this time has been very effective; my choice was indeed correct."

Chen Zhi responded, "I dare not claim credit; it is all thanks to Your Majesty's power and virtue. General Zong is the chief envoy, and I am the deputy envoy. If there is any hardship or effort involved, it should be attributed to General Zong, with me merely serving as his subordinate."