Yizhou, Chengdu.
The news that Sun Quan was marching northward from Xiangyang was quickly delivered to Chengdu by messenger. In such a large city like Chengdu, the news spread almost instantly.
Although military affairs are a matter of great importance to a country, this kind of news is not something that needs to be kept secret or prohibited from being spread. The land of Shu is small, and the court is orthodox. Any news of an attack on Wei or damage to Wei is extremely encouraging.
The post road from Wuchang of Wu to Chengdu of Shu generally went upstream along the Yangtze River, passing through Xiling of Wu to Yong'an of Shu, and then through Ba County to the mainland of Shu.
However, Jiang Wan himself did not follow this route. After entering the heart of Yizhou, Jiang Wan went straight from Ba County to Baishui, where the prime minister's residence was located, via Guanghan and Zitong counties. He only sent an envoy from Ba County to Chengdu.
However, this was just a trivial matter in Chengdu. The authority of the Prime Minister's Office was so great, and there were many people like Jiang Wan who regarded the Prime Minister's Office as more important than the imperial court. So what if there was one more Jiang Wan?
What's more, even Emperor Liu Chan of the Han Dynasty in the Chengdu Palace had no objection, so who else would say anything?
If Sun Quan attacked Wei at this time and the Prime Minister also attacked at Baishui at the same time, wouldn't the chances of winning be even greater?
Under such circumstances, almost all the important officials in Chengdu wanted to take action. Du Qiong, He Zong, Lai Min, Pei Jun and others who had previously clearly opposed Zhuge Liang almost simultaneously wrote to the court to agree with the court's dispatch of troops to the north.
From a conservative point of view, the odds of success would be higher if they attacked north at the same time as Wu. From a political speculation point of view, they could not defeat Zhuge Liang in Chengdu anyway, so supporting and joining the army became the only option.
Li Yan and Li Zhengfang, who were at home, made the same choice as Du Qiong, He Zong and others.
"Li Zhengfang's memorial, both of you should take a look at it."
On September 23, Liu Chan was in the Chengdu Palace. He called his attendants Guo Youzhi and Dong Yun to his side and handed them the memorial. He said, "Your words are so heartfelt and touching. I am also somewhat moved by them."
Guo Youzhi and Dong Yun looked at each other, and Guo Youzhi stepped forward to take the memorial. After reading it carefully, he handed it to Dong Yun.
Li Yan said in his memorial that he had changed his mind after living at home for several months, fully understood the importance of the Northern Expedition, and fully supported all the decisions made by His Majesty the Emperor and Prime Minister Zhuge. Now that the court was in need of people, he was willing to go north to the Prime Minister's residence and listen to Prime Minister Zhuge's orders. He did not ask for an official position or even a civilian position, but only wanted to serve the country!
Liu Chan was asking for their opinions, and it was not easy to make a decision for Guo Youzhi and Dong Yun.
Li Yan was demoted to a commoner, but in terms of ability, he was still one of the best in the court. Moreover, Prime Minister Zhuge had not told the two how to deal with such a matter.
They couldn't possibly beat Li Yan to irreparable destruction with the help of these two ministers, right?
Guo Youzhi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance and I cannot make the decision. If Your Majesty allows Li Zhengfang to continue to live at home as he has done before, it would be reasonable. But if you send Li Yan to live with the Prime Minister and let him make the decision, I think it would be fine."
"I second the proposal." Dong Yun said beside Guo Youzhi.
Liu Chan slightly widened his eyes, took a serious look at the expressions of the two men, and then spoke: "Well, order the Tiger Guards to bring Li Zhengfang into the palace. I want to ask him in person what he really thinks."
"As you wish." Dong Yun bowed in response.
The city of Chengdu was not too big, so the Huben soldiers rode out of the palace quickly and went to Li Yan's home to pick him up. In less than half an hour, Li Yan was brought before Liu Chan. After paying respectful salute, he stood in the hall with his head bowed and his hands clasped.
"Please leave now, I want to talk to Li Qing alone."
"As you command." Although Guo Youzhi and Dong Yun had some doubts in their hearts, they did not slow down in their actions. Why did His Majesty want to have a private discussion with Li Yan?
At this moment, apart from the standing guards, there were only Emperor Liu Chan and commoner Li Yan in the hall. It was extremely quiet.
Liu Chan said softly, "I have read every word of Li Qing's memorial. Jiang Gongyan did not come to Chengdu, but went directly to Baishui. According to what I and the Prime Minister said before, the Prime Minister will also send troops to the north this time."
"Li Qing is also a wise man. What do you think about this matter?"
Li Yan took a deep breath and sorted out his thoughts. In the past few months since he was demoted to a commoner, he was trapped at home every day and almost went crazy. But as time went by, he gradually realized that he must seize any opportunity.
This Northern Expedition is his only chance now.
Li Yan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, every word I said in the memorial today is my true feelings. If I can serve the Northern Expedition, Your Majesty and the court, I am willing to serve as a porter in the army or a clerk in the camp." Liu Chan shook his head slightly. He did not want to listen to such a useless expression of loyalty. "I am asking Mr. Li, what do you think of this Northern Expedition?"
Li Yan said calmly: "Sun Quan is not trustworthy. I don't know how likely he is to succeed in attacking Xiangyang. Once the reinforcements from the Wei army arrive, he may retreat. But Sun Quan is a legitimate ally of the Han Dynasty. If the court doesn't trust Sun Quan now, who else can it trust?"
"We must march north!" Li Yan's voice became even more sonorous. "It's better to have Sun Quan as a check than to have no check at all. I agree with what the Prime Minister said before. The time is right for a northern expedition!"
Liu Chan nodded but said nothing more. The hall fell into silence again, and he was still thinking about something.
Li Yan didn't know why and just stood there quietly.
Liu Chan had read all the books he should read. He also understood the magic of Shen and Han. Zhuge Liang had also hand-copied books such as Shen Zi, Han Fei Zi, Guan Zi, and Liu Tao, and personally taught them to him.
It is one thing that Liu Chan believed in Zhuge Liang, but from a practical point of view as an emperor, Zhuge Liang was commanding the troops in Baishui, and he was living in the Chengdu Palace in the rear, so naturally he had to integrate all the available forces of the country.
Liu Chan had nothing to do in the palace, so he had read all these stories. Li Yan was sincere and sincere, so it was okay to send him to Zhuge Liang. If the prime minister wanted to use him, he would use him. If not, he would just send him back!
After a long time, Liu Chan finally sighed and said, "Li Qing is able to know shame and then be brave, and is wholeheartedly serving the country. I am very pleased."
"But there is one thing I want to tell you in advance."
Li Yan's heart was moved, and a feeling of sadness or excitement surged up, and tears suddenly flowed from his eyes:
"I will listen to your Majesty's instructions!"
Liu Chan said, "The Northern Expedition was planned by the Prime Minister. I am not as clear as the Prime Minister about what role Li Qing can play in it, and it is not easy for me to give you an official position. What I can do now is to order someone to escort Li Qing to Baishui to listen to the Prime Minister's orders."
"Would you like to go?"
This was exactly what Li Yan wanted, so how could he not be willing? He immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying loudly: "Your Majesty's grace is so great that I will remember it in my heart. I wish I could repay your kindness with my death!"
Liu Chan nodded gently: "Okay, I will have an order to go to Baishui later, Li Qing will go with the envoy. Go immediately, don't delay!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Since he could go to Baishui and have the opportunity to be reinstated, he could leave everything in Chengdu behind. How could he have time to go home?
At this time, Cao Rui was leading a group of cavalrymen in the palace of Xuchang to shoot arrows. Archery is one of the six arts of a gentleman, and it needs to be practiced from time to time to become familiar with it.
After shooting four pots of arrows, Cao Rui handed the carved and gold-painted bow to Xiahou Xuan who was waiting beside him, and Fu Gu also handed over a silk scarf for the emperor to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Cao Rui sat on the chair and looked at the knights surrounding him with a smile:
"I have watched your archery skills today, and no one can compare to me. You should practice harder."
Xiahou Xuan smiled and replied, "How can we compare with Your Majesty? When I was with Your Majesty in the first year of Taihe, Your Majesty's archery skills were already unmatched. After several years of practice, your archery skills have become even more sophisticated."
"Hahaha." Cao Rui pointed at Xiahou Xuan and said, "Just because I'm the emperor, I can shoot better than anyone else? I can be smarter than anyone else? That doesn't make sense."
"I have called you all here today, not only to test your archery skills, but also to ask you something."
After Xiahou Xuan put the bow on the bow rack, he walked back quickly and stood with the other seven people.
Cao Rui looked around and said softly, "The three of you who were the earlier Sanqi only worked in the Imperial Academy and have never served in the prefectures and counties. The other five have always been in the military farms and have never been to the court. Your experiences complement each other, and I think your concepts will be different."
"Today I want to ask you, if there is a county, let's take Yanling as an example. If the court issues an order to abolish the civilian settlements and distribute the land to the people according to the number of people, what should the officials of the settlements do?" (End of this chapter)
