Chapter 328 Jiang Ji delivers a message, a century-old legacy
When Sun Quan in Yong'an City was frightened and wanted to send Zhang Wen as an envoy, a delegation from the north arrived outside Xiangyang City first.
The official envoy of this mission was none other than Jiang Ji, who was the minister of the Wei Dynasty and the regular attendant of Sanqi.
Jiang Ji sat in the chariot and looked at the white curtains hanging on the Xiangyang City Gate in front of him. His eyes felt as if he was from another world.
The year before last, he also came here to visit Liu Bei outside Xiangyang City on the order of the late Emperor Cao Cao.
However, Emperor Wu was still there at that time, and Guan Yu, as Liu Bei's first general, was stationed outside the Han River to prevent the Wei army led by Emperor Wu from going south.
Unexpectedly, in less than two years, Emperor Wu and Guan Yu both passed away. The world is changing so fast that sometimes it is really sad.
Jiang Ji, who was sitting in the chariot, looked at the white curtains hung on the city wall to mourn Guan Yu. He couldn't help but adjust his clothes while sitting upright, and then bowed to the white curtains with a solemn expression.
Although he was an enemy, Guan Yu's integrity and meritorious deeds were enough to deserve the respect of Jiang Ji.
The heroes of the world, even if they are each their own masters, often cherish each other.
After Jiang Ji paid his respects, Dong Yun, who had received the news in advance and was responsible for welcoming Jiang Ji, led some Han soldiers to Jiang Ji's chariot.
Originally, after burying Guan Yu, Liu Bei wanted to return to Chengdu.
But at this moment, Liu Bei received a message from Xinye.
This news informed Liu Bei that the envoy from Cao Wei was heading south.
After receiving this news, Liu Bei temporarily gave up his plan to return to Chengdu.
He also wanted to see why Cao Pi, who had just experienced a major defeat, suddenly sent an envoy south.
However, although they planned to receive Cao Wei's envoy, on the surface, the Han Dynasty and the Wei Dynasty were irreconcilable forces, and neither side recognized the other's dynastic legitimacy.
So Liu Bei just sent Dong Yun, who was of low status, with some Han troops to greet Jiang Ji outside the city gate.
When Jiang Ji saw that the man sent to greet him was an unknown young man, he was not angry at all.
Wei Jun had just suffered a huge defeat, so he had no right to be angry because of the other party's lack of etiquette.
So after Dong Yun came under his chariot, Jiang Ji quickly got up from his chariot.
He slowly came under the chariot and bowed to Dong Yun first:
"Jiang Ji, a scholar from the north, has come to pay homage to the Han lord on my lord's orders. I hope you will introduce him to him on his behalf."
In Jiang Ji's words, he did not claim to be the envoy of Emperor Wei.
Because he knew that if he dared to call himself such, he would definitely directly anger Dong Yun across from him.
However, he was a Wei minister, and it was impossible for him to call Liu Bei the Han Emperor, so he could only use the ambiguous term "Han Lord" to honor Liu Bei.
The Lord of Han can be understood as the master of the Han Dynasty, or the master of the Hanzhong Kingdom. Such a title is quite appropriate under the current situation.
This title was also the most commonly used title for Liu Bei by the important officials of Cao and Wei when they corresponded privately with the officials of the Han Dynasty.
Judging from past experience, this kind of title is at least acceptable to both forces.
When Jiang Ji's words fell into the ears of Dong Yun in front of him, as expected, there was no hesitation on Dong Yun's face.
Dong Yun saw that Jiang Ji, as a well-known celebrity in the world and a high-ranking official in Cao Wei, could take the initiative to pay homage to him. This low profile also allowed him to find no fault with Jiang Ji.
So after Dong Yun bowed to Jiang Ji, he bowed in return, and then said to Jiang Ji: "Envoy, please follow me."
As soon as Dong Yun finished speaking, he walked ahead alone with a serious face, leading the way for Jiang Ji behind him.
Dong Yun would not go out of his way to embarrass Jiang Ji, nor would he neglect Jiang Ji in terms of etiquette, but given his character, it would be difficult for him to have a good attitude towards Jiang Ji.
Dong Yun's indifference did not make Jiang Ji unhappy. He just followed Dong Yun closely and walked toward Xiangyang City under the surveillance of a group of Han troops.
What surprised Jiang Ji was that after Dong Yun took him into the city gate, he did not continue to take him to Xiangyang City.
Instead, Dong Yun led him to the stone steps and headed towards the city tower.
This scene made Jiang Ji feel a little uneasy.
However, what worried Jiang Ji did not happen. After Dong Yun took Jiang Ji to the tower, he gradually stepped aside.
When Dong Yun stepped aside, Jiang Ji, who had been carefully observing the environment on the tower, immediately saw a figure not far in front of him wearing a Liu family crown, standing with hands behind his back.
After seeing this figure, combined with Dong Yun's actions just now and his previous impression of Liu Bei in his mind, Jiang Ji recognized at a glance that the figure a dozen steps in front of him was Liu Bei.
After realizing this, Jiang Ji couldn't help but feel a little frightened.
He did not expect that Liu Bei would choose to receive him here, and he did not expect that Liu Bei was on the city wall just now, observing his every move.
If he had acted arrogantly just now, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Although Jiang Ji was frightened, his movements were not slow at all.
He hurried forward quickly and came a few steps behind Liu Bei. He bowed respectfully to Liu Bei behind him and said, "Jiang Ji, a scholar from the North, pays homage to the Lord of Han."
When Jiang Ji's call to worship fell into Liu Bei's ears, Liu Bei slowly turned around and looked at the acquaintance in front of him.
"Zitong, are you okay?"
Liu Bei's tone was full of gentleness, and he did not have any grudge against Jiang Ji just because he was a minister who rebelled against Wei.
The reason why Liu Bei treated Jiang Ji like this was not only because Jiang Ji's reputation and talent were appreciated by Liu Bei, but also because of Jiang Ji's actions just now.
Due to the obstruction of the city wall and numerous white curtains, Jiang Ji who was just below the city may not have seen Liu Bei on the city.
But Liu Bei, who was condescending, clearly saw Jiang Ji's behavior of bowing to the white curtain.
Jiang Ji's behavior was enough to make Liu Bei appreciate him even more.
Facing Liu Bei's condolences like an old friend, Jiang Ji felt warm in his heart.
However, Jiang Ji quickly suppressed the warmth in his heart, and replied to Liu Bei: "Everything is well with Ji, I'm sorry to worry about you."
After saying this, Jiang Ji, who was on a mission, took out the letter Liu Fang wrote for Cao Pi from his arms, then he respectfully raised the letter above his head and said to Liu Bei:
"This is a letter written by my lord to the Han lord. I hope the Han lord can read it."
After hearing what Jiang Ji said, Liu Bei ordered the guards on the side to come forward and take the letter from Jiang Ji's hand.
When the guard took the letter and handed it to Liu Bei, Liu Bei immediately unfolded the letter in his hand and read it.
Liu Bei had already known about Cao Pi's return to Luoyang some time ago.
Cao Pi was a traitor who usurped the Han Dynasty. Logically speaking, he and Liu Bei should be incompatible.
However, after returning to the north, he would specially send important ministers like Jiang Ji to the south as envoys. The purpose was definitely not simple.
Recalling that the envoy sent by Cao Pi was Jiang Ji, Liu Bei guessed that perhaps Cao Pi wanted to do something with him like Cao Cao did back then.
It was for this reason that Liu Bei was interested in meeting Jiang Ji.
Righteousness is great, but Liu Bei is not a pedantic monarch.
As long as it does not violate justice, Liu Bei does not mind making deals with Cao Pi that are beneficial to the Han Dynasty.
As for the specific transaction, I think it’s all in this letter.
When the contents of the letter fell into Liu Bei's eyes word by word, Liu Bei looked calm at first.
But as he watched more and more content, even Liu Bei, who had experienced many hardships, had some strange colors in his eyes.
Soon after Liu Bei read all the contents of the letter, a look of melancholy and deep thought appeared on his face.
In this letter, Cao Pi first stated his purpose of writing this letter straight to the point:
That is, he hoped that Liu Bei could release Xiahou Shang, Man Chong and others who were captured by Mi Yang in the battle of Xicheng.
Of course, Cao Pi was not a child, and he knew that the purpose of writing this letter was to make a transaction.
So in this letter, he also pointed out his bargaining chip.
The bargaining chip that Cao Pi used to trade was not gold, silver, or land.
They were the family members of the Liu Jun generals who were captured by the Wei army in the battle of Dangyang.
Looking at the bargaining chip that Cao Pi put out in the letter, Liu Bei's thoughts couldn't help but drift back to that afternoon full of turmoil and bloodshed.
There were tens of thousands of Liu troops in that battle, but in the end only Liu Bei and a dozen of his cavalry were left and managed to escape.
In that battle, the family members of the generals who had followed Liu Bei for a long time were either killed or captured by the Wei army.
The reason why Cao Cao did not kill the family members of General Liu Jun at the beginning was simply to use them to disturb the hearts of General Liu Jun, especially the generals of the Yuan Cong faction in Liu Jun's camp.
Surnames such as Guan, Zhang, Zhao, Mi, Jian, Sun, and Liu were the earliest ministers who assisted Liu Bei in establishing his great cause, and they were also the backbone of Liu Bei's early camp.
But it is a pity that Cao Cao underestimated the importance of loyalty and righteousness.
However, although the original goal could not be achieved, Cao Cao was grateful for the loyalty of those Yuancong ministers, so he did not order the murder of their families.
Therefore, hundreds of family members of ministers Ji Hanyuan and others are still being detained in Yecheng.
When Liu Bei knew that Cao Pi was using those people as bargaining chips, Liu Bei's face clearly showed emotion.
Among the first ministers of the Yuan Dynasty who followed him, many are no longer here, such as Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Guan Yu and others.
Compared with Guan Yu, the fate of Jian Yong and Sun Qian was very tragic, because after they died, they had no family members to see them off.
Their surviving family members are currently being held in Yecheng.
It is the saddest thing in the world to die without any relatives to see you.
When Jian Yong and Sun Qian died, Liu Bei felt most sorry for them because of this incident.
Not only Jian Yong and Sun Qian, the two Yuan Cong ministers, but other Yuan Cong ministers also experienced this kind of experience more or less.
For Liu Bei, who values friendship, this has always been a thorn in his heart.
From a perceptual perspective, Liu Bei was very moved by the bargaining chip that Cao Pi offered.
Of course, as an emperor, Liu Bei would not think about issues purely from a perceptual perspective.
In this letter, Cao Pi also explained a reason that moved Liu Bei as an emperor.
"The name is Yuan Cong, and it is actually a lineage. Lineage maintains the country, which is the ancient and modern theorem."
Why was Cao Pi so sure that Liu Bei would make a deal with him?
His confidence comes from this sentence.
Cao Pi may not have a good strategy, nor is he broad-minded, but his political wisdom is certainly not low.
He and Liu Bei were both emperors, and they both knew the importance of lineage to a dynasty.
Because of this, even though Cao Pi himself was quite jealous of his clan members, he never hesitated to grant great power to his trusted clan clan members.
Clan is an important barrier to the stability of a country.
Compared with Cao Wei, the Han Dynasty established by Liu Bei had a big shortcoming.
Although there are many Han clan clansmen in the world, there are almost no clansmen of his own clan around Liu Bei.
Before the Han Dynasty established by Liu Bei unified the world, those Han clan members scattered all over the world were unreliable, such as Liu Ye, Liu Fang and even Liu Ba.
This left the Han Dynasty built by Liu Bei missing a very important cornerstone.
Various examples in history have proven how dangerous it will be if there is no clan power that firmly maintains rule.
As an emperor, Liu Bei could not possibly not know this.
Judging from the specific national conditions of Ji Han, there is a force around Liu Bei that is similar to his clan, and has been firmly guarding his great cause, and that is his Minister Yuan Cong.
Therefore, after Liu Bei's power developed, he has been sparing no effort to let the ministers occupy important positions. It is even because of this reason that he has been painstakingly promoting Mi Yang.
But this is not a long-term solution, because the clansmen of the ministers Yuancong are not with them.
Without clan members by their side, Minister Yuan Cong would have no family to support them.
In this way, within one or two generations, Qilin'er will appear among the ministers of the Yuan Cong department to support the overall situation.
But in the long run, the political share of the ministers of the Yuan-Cong Clan will definitely be taken away by the ministers of the Jingzhou and Yizhou Clan, causing this power to dissipate among the Han Dynasty established by Liu Bei.
In history, the Yuan Cong faction among the Ji Han forces declined rapidly, and one of the important reasons is this.
At that moment, anything can happen.
For example, in the historical incident of the Northern King crying at the ancestral temple, if the Yuan Cong ministers still held power between the government and the public at that time, it would have been Qiao Zhou and others who should have cried.
Perhaps Liu Bei didn't know about his grandson's helplessness in history, but with his extraordinary political wisdom, he certainly understood the benefits of taking back all the Yuans from his clan members who were ministers.
As long as hundreds of their clansmen return, he can use the power of the emperor to marry them to the female relatives of ministers from the Jingzhou and Yizhou clans, and then form a Yuancong clan force as quickly as possible.
And as the status of Zhang Fei, Mi Yang and others continues to improve, their family will surely gradually prosper.
At that time, the biggest shortcoming of the Yuan Cong faction will be made up, and the political forces between the Han Dynasty and the public can also form a situation where the three factions of Yuan Cong, Jingzhou, and Yizhou stand side by side to check and balance each other.
Even because of Mi Yang's existence, the Yuancong Clan will gradually overtake the political power of the Jingzhou Clan and Yizhou Clan in the future, and will continue to protect his descendants and the foundation he has worked so hard to create.
This kind of temptation was indeed something Liu Bei couldn't resist.
Because this is related to the Han Dynasty's century-old foundation.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!