Chapter 175: Governing for public benefit and capturing Zhou Qun
This man from Yuanting Yuezhi was Zhuge Liang, who was then the military advisor general and acting in charge of the Grand Sima Mansion.
After Liu Bei initially pacified the four counties in Jingnan, Zhuge Liang was appointed as the first military advisor to the army.
The original meaning of military advisor is to consult on military affairs.
So after Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times, Zhuge Liang actually served as a military adviser in Liu Bei's mind.
After all, Liu Bei's territory at that time was only Xinye, and there were no complicated government affairs to deal with. Liu Bei's own talents were enough to handle the government affairs of Xinye.
In August of the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Liu Biao died of illness, and his second son Liu Cong succeeded him as Jingzhou Mu.
That year, Cao Cao had just unified the north. In order to unify the world, after learning the news of Liu Biao's death, he personally led an army of 200,000 to Jingchu south.
Liu Cong heard the news that Cao Cao was going south and sent an envoy to surrender to Cao Cao.
At that time, Zhuge Liang persuaded Liu Bei to attack Liu Cong unexpectedly and take the opportunity to occupy Jingzhou, but Zhuge Liang's suggestion was not implemented because Liu Bei could not bear it.
In the same year, in order to resist Cao Cao's army, Zhuge Liang recommended himself to Chaisang to lobby Sun Quan and Liu Bei to form an alliance to jointly resist Cao Cao.
During the lobbying process, Zhuge Liang skillfully grasped Sun Quan's psychology and successfully persuaded Sun Quan to form an alliance with Liu Bei from three aspects: politics, military, and popular support, and send troops to resist Cao Cao.
After Cao Cao was defeated in the Battle of Chibi and returned to the north, Zhuge Liang was the first to suggest that Liu Bei replace part of Jiangxia County with Zhou Yu's part of Nan County to facilitate Liu Bei's expedition to the four counties in Jingnan.
Liu Bei was able to capture the four counties in Jingnan, and Zhuge Liang played the most important role.
Liu Bei was grateful for Zhuge Liang's merits, so he created the post of Military Advisor Zhonglang General for Zhuge Liang, and also asked him to supervise the three counties of Lingling, Guiyang, and Changsha, and be responsible for adjusting taxes and enriching military resources.
From that year on, Zhuge Liang gradually became the de facto "prime minister" among Liu Bei's forces.
After Liu Bei captured Yizhou, Zhuge Liang was appointed by Liu Bei as military advisor general and acted as the agent for General Zuo's administration.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, due to nominal issues, the princes in various places could not directly establish a new central court to command the counties and counties in their power.
Therefore, under actual needs, the princes in various places adopted a balanced approach.
That is, after they are qualified to open a government, they will construct the framework of a shogunate, using this framework to replace the role of the central court in their own forces and control the local counties.
Zhuge Liang, who acted as Liu Bei's shogunate, also officially became the "prime minister" in Liu Bei's power.
In the 24th year of Jian'an, Liu Bei claimed to be the Queen of Hanzhong and also called himself the Grand Sima. His original shogunate of General Zuo also officially became the Grand Sima Shogunate. In the same year, Zhuge Liang took advantage of the situation and acted as the Grand Sima Shogun.
It can be said that Zhuge Liang has been the undoubted second-in-command in Liu Bei's power since many years ago.
After Zhuge Liang came to govern Shu, in order to protect people's livelihood, he advocated harsh punishments and laws, and many wealthy families had grievances.
At that time, Fa Zheng quoted Zhuge Liang's story about how the Emperor of Han Dynasty abolished the harsh laws of Qin Dynasty after entering Guanzhong and made a three-chapter agreement, hoping that Zhuge Liang would be tolerant in governing.
However, Fazheng's suggestion was rejected by Zhuge Liang. This shows that among Liu Bei's forces, the decision-making power of policy has always been in the hands of Zhuge Liang, except for Liu Bei.
Even after the establishment of the Hanzhong Kingdom, Liu Bei established the Shangshu Station and regarded Fa Zheng as the Shangshu Order, this point has not changed.
Because today is the day when Liu Bei, the king of Hanzhong, returns from an expedition, Zhuge Liang specially asked his officials to wear official uniforms to welcome him as a sign of solemnity.
After the founder of the Han Dynasty, the founder of the Han Dynasty changed the five virtues of the Han Dynasty to the virtue of fire. Therefore, in the past two hundred years, the official uniforms of senior officials of the Han Dynasty have been red.
Zhuge Liang, who was eight feet tall, wore a high mountain crown, a green brocade robe underneath, and a crimson court dress outside.
There is a purple ribbon hanging around his waist. One end of the purple ribbon is tied to the belt around his waist, and the other end covers the sachet containing the gold seal.
The purple ribbon hangs down from the waist and sways slightly in the wind, which invisibly shows Zhuge Liang's status.
Zhuge Liang, who originally had outstanding appearance, looked even more extraordinary in this outfit.
Just as Zhuge Liang was standing by the road with his eyes closed, waiting for King Liu Bei to appear, Xu Ci, who was behind him, stepped forward, came to his side and said to him: "Kong Ming, Zhou Qun will be here today."
Xu Ci, courtesy name Rendu, was born in Nanyang.
Xu Ci studied under Liu Xi when he was young and was proficient in Zheng Xuan's classics. He studied "Zhouyi", "Shangshu", "The Analects", etc. for many years.
During the Jian'an period, Xu Ci, Xu Jing and others came to Shu together.
After Liu Bei pacified Shu, Yizhou experienced chaos and destruction, and academic affairs were abandoned for a long time.
So Liu Bei gathered the legal codes and books, eliminated various schools of thought, and appointed Xu Ci and Hu Qian as bachelors, together with Meng Guang, Lai Min and others, to take charge of the ancient texts.
Liu Bei's original intention was to hope that these four celebrities could work together to restore literature in the middle of Shu.
However, Xu Ci had a narrow personality, and it was a time when all kinds of businesses were being founded, so academic discussions frequently aroused a lot of doubts.
Therefore, among the four people, Xu Ci and Hu Qian often competed and attacked each other, quarreled and slandered each other, and their voices and expressions were fierce.
The two never exchanged books, and sometimes they would pick fights to frighten each other.
Just as Liu Bei commented: Although Xu Ci was knowledgeable and well-informed, his moral character was not good and he was only a temporary scholar.
Liu Bei knew Xu Ci's character, and Zhuge Liang also knew it.
After hearing Xu Ci's words, Zhuge Liang's eyes gradually opened, and then Zhuge Liang looked at Xu Ci.
Although Zhuge Liang's gaze was gentle, his eyes were as deep as water. Under such gaze, Xu Ci felt a little overwhelmed for a moment.
Xu Ci felt as if all the secrets in her heart had been seen through.
Zhuge Liang looked at Xu Ci and said:
"Zhongzhi is ill today, so he didn't come here."
Hearing Zhuge Liang's words, Xu Ci's face showed anxiety.
He thought Zhuge Liang had been deceived.
Xu Ci then said to Zhuge Liang: "A few days ago, Zhou Qun often appeared at various banquets, talking loudly and not showing any signs of illness."
"The date of your Majesty's return has been announced by the general to all officials a few days ago."
"Zhou Qun didn't get sick earlier or later, but he reported illness today. Doesn't the general feel puzzled?"
"I guess he must be resentful of the king because of what happened last time, so he didn't come to greet you today."
After listening to Xu Ci's words, Zhuge Liang's face did not show anger, but remained as calm as water.
Zhuge Liang said to Xu Ci: "I think Mr. Xu is overly worried."
Facing Zhuge Liang's indifference, Xu Ci's face became more anxious.
He will take the initiative to impeach Zhou Qun in front of Zhuge Liang today for disrespecting Liu Bei for two reasons.
One reason is that Zhou Qun often opposed him in the past.
The second reason is that Zhou Qun used to rely on his reputation in Yizhou to criticize Zhuge Liang's policies.
Xu Ci truly respected Zhuge Liang.
Therefore, when he found out that Zhou Qun was pretending to be sick today, he thought of reminding Zhuge Liang of this.
Carrying resentment and disrespecting the king can be a big or small crime.
As long as Zhuge Liang used it well, it would be enough to make Zhou Qun suffer.
We can even get rid of this fanatic who has been slandering the New Deal in one fell swoop.
Xu Ci felt that although his move to impeach Zhou Qun today was selfish, it would also be beneficial to Zhuge Liang.
After all, Zhou Qun has a good reputation in Yizhou, and his past slanders have caused many obstacles to Zhuge Liang's governance.
He originally thought that Zhuge Liang would be happy after hearing his impeachment, but he didn't expect that Zhuge Liang looked so unconcerned.
But there was no turning back when he fired his bow, perhaps because Zhuge Liang still didn't understand his deep meaning.
Thinking of this, Xu Ci saw that there was no one else around him, so he lowered his voice and said to Zhuge Liang: "Zhou Qun is so crazy!"
"In the past, he had a lot of dissatisfaction and slanderous remarks about the "Shu Ke", a code written by the general himself."
"Now that he dares to disrespect the king, the general should not punish him for this crime."
"One thing can set the record straight and establish prestige."
"Secondly, it can prevent bad rumors from reaching the King's ears in the future."
After Xu Ci finished speaking, he looked at Zhuge Liang expectantly, hoping that his face would show emotion.
He has already made it so clear!
But unfortunately, Xu Ci was disappointed.
There was no expression of emotion on Zhuge Liang's face. Instead, he frowned deeply after hearing Xu Ci's words.
A sigh appeared on Zhuge Liang's face, and he said to Xu Ci:
"Mr. Xu, although Zhongzhi claimed to be ill today and will greet the king in the future, there is currently no evidence to prove that he did so out of resentment."
“There is no way to judge someone guilty without proof. Law enforcement should be impartial, so how can we judge someone guilty based on speculation?
Moreover, what Xu Gong said about Zhou Qun's slanderous remarks about national law is even more absurd. When I formulated the "Shu Ke" in the first place, what I did was to benefit the people."
"I am not a saint, and "Shu Ke" is not a holy book. There are some omissions and shortcomings, which are ordinary.
Zhongzhi may be dissatisfied with "Shu Ke" out of selfish motives, but I cannot condemn him because of selfish motives."
"If what he says makes sense, I will follow it. If it is nonsense, I will just laugh it off.
Whether the "Shu Ke" is a law that harms the people and makes them suffer, or a law that loves and nourishes the people, everyone has to decide for themselves."
"Besides, the Lord has ordered me to stay in Chengdu to protect the environment and the people. This is the Lord's trust in me. Power is a public weapon, and ministers cannot use it indiscriminately, let alone use it to attack dissidents, and the party must be united to defeat those who are different!
I don’t want to hear what I said today again in the future.”
At the end of the sentence, Zhuge Liang's tone was already a bit harsh.
Under Zhuge Liang's stern tone, Xu Ci couldn't help but have a look of panic on his face.
He never thought that Zhuge Liang would be angry because of this.
Aren't there rumors in Chengdu that the scholars in Jingzhou and Yizhou have always been incompatible?
How could Zhuge Liang still protect Zhou Qun?
But what Xu Ci actually didn't know was that what Zhuge Liang defended was not Zhou Qun, but his political philosophy of governing fairly and serving the country wholeheartedly.
Facing Zhuge Liang's reprimand, Xu Ci could only put away her little thoughts and retreat with a panic look on her face.
Xu Ci's panic scene was seen by many ministers behind Zhuge Liang.
But they didn't know what Xu Ci said to Zhuge Liang, so they could only guess secretly.
Just all kinds of speculations, after they saw the tall and tall figure in front of them, they all suppressed them one after another.
Just ten miles outside of Chengdu, the ministers of Chengdu, who seemed to be wearing the same majestic robes, had more or less various calculations in their hearts.
There were just over a hundred ministers, and they were clearly divided into four factions.
Without Zhuge Liang, who is dedicated to serving the public good, the city of Chengdu would have been in chaos after Liu Bei left.
Not to mention the continuous supply of food, grass and troops for Liu Bei who is on an expedition abroad.
Just after Xu Ci retreated, a huge team of tens of thousands of people appeared in the sight of Chengdu ministers.
Seeing this scene, Zhuge Liang, who was standing at the head of the ministers, had a smile on his face.
Your Majesty, we have arrived.
After the marching team like a long dragon appeared in the eyes of the ministers, the faces of the ministers all showed joy like Zhuge Liang.
Soon after, the huge king's team arrived in front of Zhuge Liang.
In the middle of the tens of thousands of people was Liu Bei's Wang Jia.
Today, Zhuge Liang personally led hundreds of officials to meet him in the suburbs ten miles outside Chengdu. Liu Bei knew about it.
Therefore, when the vanguard of the team reported that the officials were not far away, Liu Bei ordered people to remove the car door in front of him.
Soon after, when Liu Bei's figure clearly appeared in front of Zhuge Liang and all the officials, Zhuge Liang immediately led all the officials to pay homage to Liu Bei.
"I congratulate your Majesty on your triumphant return."
More than a hundred congratulations echoed in the fields outside Chengdu.
Liu Bei saw Zhuge Liang standing in front of the officials at a glance. After the king's carriage stopped in front of the officials, Liu Bei got off the carriage and came to Zhuge Liang and helped him up.
After Liu Bei helped Zhuge Liang up, he held Zhuge Liang's hand and said, "It's been hard work these past few months."
Facing Liu Bei's condolences, Zhuge Liang just bowed slightly and replied: "What I did was my duty, and it can't be said to be hard work."
Although Zhuge Liang said so, Liu Bei would not be ignorant of Zhuge Liang's hard work.
When he led 30,000 troops to support Jingzhou, Yizhou had not yet recovered from the serious damage suffered in the Battle of Hanzhong.
Later, under such circumstances, Zhuge Liang was still able to continuously collect food and grass for him in the past few months. The hardships involved are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
At this time, Mi Yang also came to Zhuge Liang.
Previously in the team, Mi Yang had always followed Liu Bei's king on horseback.
So when Liu Bei saw Zhuge Liang, Mi Yang also saw him.
Unlike others, Mi Yang and Zhuge Liang have the title of master and disciple, so he took the initiative to come to Zhuge Liang and worship him as a disciple:
"Well, Master Ge."
The ancestor of Zhuge Liang was originally from the Ge family and was a native of Langya counties. He later moved to Yangdu.
Because there was a person with the surname Ge first in Yangdu, people at that time called him Zhuge, so he took it as his surname.
Therefore, if you want to honor Zhuge Liang, you can call him Ge Gong or Zhuge Gong.
Facing Mi Yang's salute, Zhuge Liang had a smile on his face.
He also missed this disciple.
Zhuge Liang nodded and said to Mi Yang, "Just come back."
After finishing speaking, Zhuge Liang turned to Liu Bei and asked Liu Bei: "The city has been cleared of palaces and roads. Please invite the king to enter the city."
Faced with Zhuge Liang's request, Liu Bei did not immediately agree.
He looked around among the ministers present with searching eyes.
Finally, Liu Bei turned to look at Mi Yang and said to him: "Lead a group of elite cavalry into the city, go to Zhou Qun's house, and take him out of the city to see the orphan."
Although Mi Yang didn't know why Liu Bei suddenly gave this order, he immediately accepted the order and left.
When Liu Bei said these words, Zhuge Liang's expression changed slightly.
He thought of Changyu!
Zhuge Liang was about to remonstrate, but Liu Bei stopped him with his hand.
Liu Bei clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the bowed ministers in front of him, his eyes flashing with sharp light.
He said to Zhuge Liang: "I have my own sense of propriety."
There was a power outage, so I used my mobile phone to code, which affected my speed.
What was originally supposed to take up to 4 hours, dragged on to almost 7 hours, and I felt dizzy.
Continue typing, there is one more chapter.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!