Chapter 147 Preparing for the Northern Expedition
After hearing Zhuge Liang's words, Li Yan remained respectful on the surface, but he began to hate him in his heart.
Everyone knows that the Han Dynasty today is ruled by you, Zhuge Liang!
He was in charge of everything, and all government orders came from the prime minister's office. During the war in the south last year, he even personally led elite troops to the south, fearing that his military power would be taken over by others.
Two years ago, your Majesty even said, "Government is in the hands of the Ge family, and sacrifices are in the hands of me." Officials in prefectures, counties, and the military now only know the Prime Minister and not your Majesty.
He pretended to ask His Majesty for instructions, so how could His Majesty not agree? How was this different from Cao Mengde?
However, Zhuge Liang, who was sitting in the hall at this time, was worried about other things and had no idea of Li Yan's secret thoughts at this time.
State affairs have become so deteriorating. If I, as the Prime Minister, do not take responsibility, who can take on the important task of reviving the Han Dynasty?
After a while, Deng Zhi brought in Zhang Wen, the envoy from Eastern Wu.
After Zhang Wen saluted, Zhuge Liang sat in the hall and said in a clear voice: "Is this Huishu's third visit to Chengdu?"
Zhang Wen sighed and said, "Prime Minister Zhuge, this is indeed my third visit to Chengdu. The first two times I came here to seek peace with the Han Dynasty, but this time I came here at the order of the King of Wu to seek an alliance with the Han Dynasty."
Zhang Wen is a man who always speaks nicely.
Even when Sun Quan first came to Chengdu as an envoy, he still called it "Shu", but Zhang Wen directly called it "Han" in the memorial.
However, honey to one is poison to another. After Zhang Wen returned to the Eastern Wu, he was hated and placed under house arrest by Sun Quan because of his excessive praise of Shu Han. He even used the Ji Yan case to harm Zhang Wen. This is another matter.
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Cao Wei is now powerful. Han and Wu will both benefit if they unite, but will both suffer if they separate. I'm sure the King of Wu is also aware of this."
"You arrived in Chengdu last night. Deng Bo Miao told me about the King of Wu's defeat in Wancheng that night, but we don't know the details." Zhuge Liang looked at Zhang Wen and said, "Hui Shu, what is the situation in Wancheng? You need to tell me the truth."
Zhang Wen hesitated for a long time, not knowing how to speak. Everyone present had noticed that Zhang Wen's appearance was different from the previous two times. His eyes were slightly red and he had bags under his eyes. He looked like he had not slept well and was extremely tired.
Zhang Wen cupped his hands after a moment and said, "Prime Minister Zhuge, this defeat is indeed the biggest defeat of the Eastern Wu so far."
Everyone in the hall listened to Zhang Wen's speech quietly. Although Zhang Wen spoke very slowly, Zhuge Liang did not seem to be rushing him.
"This time, the King of Wu has sent 100,000 soldiers to Wancheng..."
Before Zhang Wen could finish his speech, he was interrupted by Ma Su.
Ma Su saluted with a serious expression and said, "May I ask the envoy of Wu, is the 100,000 troops raised by the King of Wu a false claim or a real one? A false claim of 100,000 troops and a real one are completely different!"
"They are real soldiers." Zhang Wen said slowly, as if he was organizing his words while speaking: "One hundred thousand people were ambushed by the Wei army in Wancheng, and 70,000 people were killed in one battle. But fortunately, the Wei State had no navy in Wancheng, and the Great Wu navy was on guard along the river, so the Wei State did not dare to cross the river to attack."
Ma Su interrupted again, "What does it mean to lose 70,000 troops? Did they die or were they captured?"
It was embarrassing for an envoy to speak in front of the leaders of other countries. Ma Su interrupted Zhang Wen again, and even Zhang Wen, who was always known for his elegance in Shu Han, could not stand it.
Zhang Wen shook his sleeves, turned around and looked at Ma Su with a slightly angry look on his face: "General Ma, since I want to explain to the Prime Minister, I will gradually make the details clear. Please don't interrupt me."
Seeing that everyone in the hall was staring at him, Ma Su was a little embarrassed and bowed to Zhang Wen and said, "I am sorry for being rude. Please continue to explain to the Prime Minister."
Zhang Wen continued, facing Zhuge Liang, "Of the 70,000 troops, about 20,000 died and 50,000 were captured. It is said that the Grand Commander Lu Xun was captured by the State of Wei, and the General Zhu Huan and the General Pan Zhang died in the service of the king."
Everyone in the Prime Minister's Mansion took a deep breath, and even Zhuge Liang in the hall had a gloomy look on his face. But there were still people smiling.
Zhuge Liang sat in a high place, and he could see every movement and expression of everyone in the hall.
It is normal to be surprised. In the past, during the Battle of Yiling, the first emperor Liu Bei led 50,000 troops, but lost more than 40,000 troops due to death, injury or surrender. The Han Dynasty was seriously injured and has not yet recovered.
Now, Dongwu had deployed 100,000 soldiers and lost 70,000. Even though Dongwu had a larger population than the Han, it was still a disastrous defeat.
But Zhuge Liang did not want to blame or question those who laughed at this.
Today, Lu Xun was captured by Wei, but he was the mastermind behind the defeat of the Han Dynasty in the Battle of Yiling. Zhu Huan and Pan Zhang died. Pan Zhang was the general who, under the order of Sun Quan, attacked the retreat route of Maicheng and killed Guan Yu in Linju.
There is indeed a strange feeling that Wei was avenging the Han Dynasty.
Zhuge Liang asked: "How many soldiers does the Wei army have this time? Who is the commander?"
Zhang Wen said: "The Wei army should have more than 100,000 troops this time. The commander of the Wei army is Cao Xiu, the Grand Marshal of Wei, and the Emperor of Wei, Cao Rui, has also come to the battlefield in person."
Cao Xiu...
Although Zhuge Liang's expression did not change, he sighed in his heart. Why did the Cao family have so many generals? Cao Cao was a great commander, and Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren were also good choices. Now, Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen, the ministers entrusted by Wei, are also talented commanders? How great would it be if Your Majesty also had such relatives?
As for what Zhang Wen said about Wei Emperor Cao Rui personally going to the battlefield, Zhuge Liang did not think that this incident had any particular connection with the victory of the Wei army.
Before Cao Rui ascended the throne, no one had ever heard of him. How could an emperor in his twenties fight a war? He was not Sun Ce!
Zhuge Liang asked earnestly, "The Wei army has now reached the Yangtze River. Is the King of Wu taking any precautions?"
Zhang Wen replied: "Wancheng and the Central Plains are not connected by waterways. If Wei were to build ships in Wancheng, it would take several years. The King of Wu has sent a message to me long ago. Now that Wei has abandoned the land and come to the river, it will definitely retake Wankou within this year."
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly without making any comment. If Sun Quan said he wanted to take down Wei's Hefei or Shouchun, Zhuge Liang would definitely not believe it, as the Eastern Wu did not have the ability to fight on land.
But if Sun Quan promised to take over Wankou on the river this year, this matter would seem more reliable.
After Zhang Wen finished his statement, Zhuge Liang did not give Zhang Wen time to slow down and asked directly: "If Han and Wu form an alliance, how will the status of both parties be determined?"
Zhuge Liang's eyes seemed to be able to see through people's hearts. After thinking for a moment, Zhang Wen decided to treat him with sincerity.
"I hope Prime Minister Zhuge will know," Zhang Wen bowed and saluted, "Between Han and Wu, please do not call each other the Emperor of Han and the King of Wu, but the Lord of the West and the Lord of the East. All other matters should be treated peacefully."
Zhuge Liang did not comment, but looked directly at Deng Zhi: "Bo Miao, take Hui Shu down to rest. I will report to your majesty and then reply to Hui Shu."
"Thank you, Prime Minister Zhuge." Zhang Wen bowed, turned around and followed Deng Zhi out.
But the discussion in the Prime Minister's Mansion was not over yet.
Zhuge Liang glanced at Li Yan and the people in the palace, and said loudly: "The alliance with Wu should focus on its essence, not its name. I will go to the palace this afternoon to report to Your Majesty in person."
"Now that Wei and Yongliang are empty, it is time for the Han Dynasty to march north to the Central Plains and return to the old capital. I intend to march to Hanzhong this spring, and the Prime Minister will also go to Hanzhong with the army."
"Yes," Zhuge Liang said to Li Yan, "When I lead my army to attack Wei, I would like to ask you to stay in Hanzhong with your troops to defend my rear. Are you willing?"
"This..." Li Yan hesitated for a moment, then stood up and replied, "Prime Minister, Yizhou is still in turmoil. The Prime Minister is leading the troops outside, so I should stay here to guard the city."
Li Yan seemed to have thought of something, and then said: "Prime Minister, I have something to report to Your Majesty, I'd better discuss it with the Prime Minister first."
Zhuge Liang nodded: "Please speak, my friend."
Li Yan said slowly: "Now the Han Dynasty has only one state, and the governor is a figurehead without any supervision. It would be better to combine Ba County, Baxi, Badong, Fuling, and Jiangyang into one state and name it 'Bazhou'. I am willing to serve as the governor of Bazhou for the court."
After hearing what Li Yan said, Zhuge Liang's expression did not change at all: "Ba County is in a strategic location, and it is time for an important official of the country to be stationed there."
"I have heard what Zheng Fang said. This afternoon, Zheng Fang will come with me to the palace to report to His Majesty."
Li Yan bowed and then sat down.
But anyone with a discerning eye could see that Li Yan was using the fact that the Prime Minister was about to use the military force to demand power from the Prime Minister and the court! But why didn't the Prime Minister say anything, and instead wanted to enter the palace with Li Yan?
At this time, Ma Su, who was sitting in the hall, had the most changing expression. When he was about to stand up and refute Li Yan, Xiang Lang stopped him with his eyes.
Ma Su stared at Xiang Lang with wide eyes, but Xiang Lang still shook his head slightly, signaling Ma Su not to move. Ma Su and Xiang Lang had always been good friends, and Ma Su knew that Xiang Lang must have other plans, so he did not say anything on the spot.
After Zhuge Liang and Li Yan came out of the palace in the afternoon, all the officials in the prime minister's mansion began to get busy.
Your Majesty approved the alliance with Wu and asked the Prime Minister to discuss the details with the envoys of Eastern Wu and how to deal with Cao Wei after the two countries formed an alliance.
Your Majesty also approved the Prime Minister's request to march into Hanzhong, and permitted the Prime Minister's Office to be moved to Hanzhong along with the Prime Minister himself, so that preparations for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains could be made nearby in Hanzhong.
In addition to the alliance with Wu and the march to Hanzhong, the Minister of the Chancellery Li Yan also got a new position. His Majesty ordered Li Yan to take charge of the internal and external military affairs as the Central Protector General, and to lead troops to station in Ba County in case of emergency.
At night in the Prime Minister's Mansion, Zhuge Liang was still reviewing official documents. Ma Su stood by and asked, "Why did the Prime Minister go easy on Li Yan? This man is obviously trying to use state affairs to gain personal gain."
Zhuge Liang looked into Ma Su's eyes and said, "Youchang, the state is in danger and the country is in trouble. Instead of exposing Li Yan's shortcomings, it is better to appease him for the time being so that the Northern Expedition can proceed smoothly."
"It's easy to demote Li Yan, but Yizhou is a small place. If Yizhou's manpower and resources cannot be used for the Northern Expedition, how can we restore the Han Dynasty?"
"Don't think so short-sightedly in the future."
Ma Su saluted and said, "I will remember the Prime Minister's intention."
(End of this chapter)
