Chapter 445 Retracting Your Fist and Attacking Again
Chapter 445 Take back your fist and strike again
Author: Playing with Basilisk
Chapter 445 Take back your fist and strike again
On July 5, the seventh year of Zhangwu, Emperor Liu Bei of the Han Dynasty passed away in the back garden of the Xiangyang Palace at the age of sixty-seven.
The news was announced to the world, and the people in the south were all sad and mournful.
Even many Wei people in the north, who were deeply attached to the Han Dynasty and had been waiting for the king's return, were wailing in pain and inconsolable.
Liu Bei not only had a reputation for benevolence and righteousness in the north, but he also really brought benefits to the people in the north.
He loved the people like his own son in Pingyuan and benefited countless people in Xuzhou and Yuzhou.
What's more important is that during several Northern Expeditions, he did no harm to the common people, and even donated money and food to the poor at the bottom, making his reputation spread throughout the world.
It can be said that Liu Bei rode the wind because of his fame. When he fell, he also made the world cry because of his fame.
I don't know how many people in the north learned about his death, so they erected banners for Liu Bei and worshiped him as a wooden master.
Starting from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the custom of wood owners was to enshrine spiritual tablets, which is commonly known in later generations. Every household worshiped Liu Bei. It can be seen that Liu Bei's death caused countless people to mourn.
The people who are most saddened are naturally the people and ministers in the south.
For this reason, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang spent three days in court and raised mourning halls inside and outside the palace for the southern princes, officials, generals, aristocratic families, and even the common people to express their condolences.
Since the Pingyuan Kingdom, Liu Bei's mansion has been unprotected from the common people. As long as they come to him for anything, they can report to him without any hindrance.
Therefore, the imperial court also hung white silk flags outside the palace, built a mourning hall, and placed Liu Bei's clothes in a coffin so that people in the city could come on their own.
For a time, there was a long queue outside the palace, and tens of thousands of people came to the venue every day to express their condolences to Liu Bei.
In addition, a large number of leaders of ethnic minority barbarian tribes in Ningzhou in the south, Xiangzhou in the south of Jingnan, Jiaozhou in the south of Lingnan, and Yuezhou in the southeast went to Xiangyang in person to mourn for Liu Bei.
When the frontline soldiers in Guanzhong, Henan, and Huainan heard the news, all the three armies mourned. The whole country in the south was in mourning, and there was an endless stream of people going to Xiangyang to express their condolences.
A month later, Liu Bei was officially buried in Huiling in Xian Mountain in Jingnan. Prince Liu Chan ascended the throne as emperor at the age of 21. He honored Queen Wu and his biological mother, Princess Gan, as the two empress dowagers, granted amnesty to the world, and
Unchanged.
In the Han Dynasty, when the new emperor ascended the throne, he could change the reign year or change it in the next year. For example, when Liu Xie ascended the throne, he continued his father's reign name for Zhongping for six years, and did not change it to Chuping in the second year.
Later, when Cao Pi and Liu Chan ascended the throne, they changed the Yuan Dynasty to Huangchu and Jianxing, so it didn't matter whether they changed the Yuan Dynasty or not.
This time Liu Chan continued Zhang Wu and did not immediately change the Yuan Dynasty.
August 11th.
In the Deyang Hall of the Xiangyang Palace, after Liu Bei was buried, Liu Chan held a court meeting.
Liu Chan sat on the main seat, wearing the robes of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Below him were Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Shen Chen, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Jiang Wan, Ma Liang, Yang Yi, Dong He, Deng Hong, Zhou Lin and other dozens of ministers lined up on the left and right.
And sit.
In fact, there were many major matters to be discussed at this meeting, such as the posthumous meeting, the military meeting, the political meeting, the agricultural meeting, etc. According to the topics, Yin Mo, the admonishing doctor, took the lead in raising questions.
"The late emperor's posthumous discussion."
he said.
Liu Chan looked around and said, "Prime Minister."
Zhuge Liang was slightly tired and had not had much rest during this period. He shook his feather fan lightly and said: "I have discussed with the general and the hussar general that the late emperor's posthumous title should be "Zhao Lie"."
This is a posthumous title, not a temple title. During the Han Dynasty, the selection of temple titles was very strict. Only seven emperors in the two Han Dynasties had temple titles.
And it doesn’t mean that if you want to select, just select, you need to build a temple.
Building a temple is a relatively long process, such as building the temple, placing the wooden masters, worshiping the heroes, etc., all of which are very particular.
For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che was also regarded as a great and talented emperor among the emperors of the Han Dynasty, but his temple title was not given during the period of his son Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty. Instead, he was posthumously granted the title after his great-grandson Emperor Liu Bing, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, ascended the throne. It took nearly twenty years.
Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty Liu Bing was also an outstanding emperor in the Western Han Dynasty. His temple title was not posthumously named Zhongzong twice until Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty in the late Western Han Dynasty and Emperor Guangwu in the early Eastern Han Dynasty.
Therefore, in history, Liu Bei actually only had the posthumous title of "Han Zhao Lie Emperor", and his temple name had to wait until Liu Yuan, the founding emperor of Han Zhao during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, posthumously named him "Lie Zu".
At present, the Southern Han Dynasty continues the policy of strictly selecting temple names and posthumous titles during the Han Dynasty. It has decided to build a temple for Liu Bei first. After the temple is completed, it will trace Liu Bei's life's merits and demerits, and finally select a temple name for him.
This is a long-lasting process, which may take more than ten years or even decades. Therefore, it is now a posthumous discussion, not a temple title discussion. If Liu Chan can dominate the world in the future, maybe Liu Bei can be given a temple title.
Upon hearing the posthumous title "Zhaolie", Liu Chan looked at the people below and said, "Do you have any objections?"
"I second the proposal."
"I second the proposal."
"I second the proposal."
Everyone agreed one after another and felt that there was no problem with this posthumous title.
At that moment, Yin Mo said again: "Military discussion."
Zhuge Liang stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I want to withdraw our troops from Henan."
Lai Min, the new General Huben, said: "Prime Minister, the late emperor spent his whole life on the Northern Expedition and shouted for the great cause of the Northern Expedition before his death. How can he retreat at this time?"
Zhuge Liang frowned and said: "It has been nearly two years since the Northern Expedition, and we have already captured Guanzhong and Huainan. Now that the late emperor has passed away from illness, the morale of the army is low, and the supply of food and grass is somewhat limited. It is not a good thing to continue the stalemate."
"snort!"
Lai Min snorted coldly: "Isn't it the Prime Minister's responsibility to have no supply of food and grass? Your Majesty owns the entire south, Jingzhou, Jiangdong, and Bashu are all food-producing places. We have worked hard for several years and the warehouses are rich, so there should be enough food and grass.
How can we not continue? This should be caused by the prime minister's incompetent governance."
As soon as his words came out, many people looked at him in surprise. They never expected that Lai Min would be so bold and actually accuse his prime minister.
You must know that the Prime Minister is the late emperor's entrusted minister, and all national affairs depend on the Prime Minister. Where did he get the courage?
However, what everyone didn't know was that when Lai Min was the prince's family minister, he did not dare to stand up to Zhuge Liang because Liu Bei was still alive. But now that Liu Bei died and Liu Chan ascended the throne, he immediately became arrogant.
The main reason is that Lai Min is a veteran minister, he is 63 years old this year, and he has been Liu Chan's imperial master, and Liu Chan also listens to him very much.
He thought that as a veteran of the Han Dynasty and an emperor's teacher, his status should not be lower than Zhuge Liang's. As a result, Liu Bei did not regard him as a Tuogu minister, so he was very unhappy and wanted to challenge Zhuge Liang's authority.
Zhuge Liang raised his head and glanced at Liu Chan. Seeing that Liu Chan was in a dilemma, he took care of Liu Chan's face to prevent him from getting angry. He could only patiently explain: "The grain and grass in Guanzhong are transported from Hanzhong. The road is thousands of miles away, and the road is narrow and it is inconvenient to transport grain."
, the losses are extremely huge, and now there is not much surplus in the national treasury. If we continue to fight, it will only increase the losses."
Lai Min spoke wildly again: "Hasn't Guanzhong already mobilized the people to grow food? Huainan has Jiangdong supplying food and grass, and Hefei is conquered and the waterway is smooth. How can it be said that there is no food? Your Majesty, I am impeaching the Prime Minister for his incompetent governance of the country, which has resulted in The frontline supplies are out of supply!”
"boom!"
Shen Chen slapped the case and stood up, shouting: "That's enough! Lai Min, you are just an ignorant and rotten scholar. You have never been on the battlefield to fight with the enemy. How dare you talk about military affairs?"
"Shen Chen you!"
When Lai Min was scolded by him, he felt extremely shameful and humiliated, and said, "How dare you roar in front of His Majesty, General Hussars? Do you still take Your Majesty seriously?"
Shen Chen sneered and said: "Don't talk about this. The road to Shu is difficult. The cost of transporting grain is more than ten times that of the plains. Even if we grow food temporarily and the population cannot increase, we still have to transport grain from Nanyang or Hanzhong. Do you really think that marching Do you rely entirely on your imagination to fight the war?"
"Even so, should we retreat?"
Lai Min said angrily: "The late Emperor's hard work will be destroyed in your hands."
"Cough cough cough."
The new Situ Denghong, who was sixty years old this year, coughed twice and said: "General Huben and General Hussar have been fighting in the north and south for many years, and have made countless contributions to the late emperor. How can you say that? The prime minister wants to withdraw his troops, and he has his own way. General Huben, please stop talking about the Prime Minister’s reasoning.”
"Ah."
Lai Min glanced at Deng Hong and said with a smile: "Your Deng family just relied on connections to get into the court, so what can you do?"
This statement offended a lot of people.
You must know that Shen Chen and Deng Hong have been working in Jingzhou for a long time, and the big families in Jingzhou have good relations with them.
At present, the Jingzhou family is the most powerful in the court, with three ministers and nine ministers, three provinces and ministers, and countless people from Jingzhou. If you say that the Deng family relies on connections, doesn't that mean you are scolding all Jingzhou people?
Suddenly the crowd rose up and attacked.
"Your Majesty, I impeach General Huben Lai Min for making arrogant remarks and insulting my father."
The first person to stand up was Deng Hong's eldest son Deng Yan. He is Shen Chen's uncle, whose nickname is A Chou. He is thirty-two years old this year and is currently serving as a minister in the Shangshu Province. Hearing Lai Min's words, he was furious. Impeach.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister wanted to withdraw the troops, not because he considered it himself, but because he discussed it with the Hussars General and the General. Does Lai Min know more about troops than the Hussars General and the General? If Your Majesty listened to Lai Min, wouldn't he? Have you ruined all important national affairs?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I also believe that Lai Min's intentions are sinister. National affairs should be handed over to capable people. How can we just sit there and talk in vain? Please punish him for his sins."
"Your Majesty, please come and come to Min!"
Everyone stood up one after another to ask Liu Chan to play.
"Your Majesty, I."
Seeing that he was being attacked by everyone, the crowd was furious, and Lai Min was dumbfounded.
He has an arrogant personality and low emotional intelligence. He has no friends at all in the court. He relies on connections and has offended many Jingzhou aristocratic families, so he is naturally disliked by everyone.
Liu Chan was in a dilemma for a while.
Lai Min's emotional intelligence is not very high. When he usually teaches him to study, he looks like he is pointing out the heroes in the world.
But after all, he is his teacher, and Liu Chan still respects his teacher.
Historically, he was good to the teachers who taught him. Even though Lai Min was so arrogant, he immediately recovered after Zhuge Liang's death, which shows that he is rather nostalgic.
"His Majesty."
In the end, Zhuge Liang saw that he was in trouble and said, "Although Lai Min is arrogant, he is still a scholar. Please demote him to the third level."
Liu Chan then said: "Then let's follow the Prime Minister's words and demote him to the third level."
"His Majesty."
Lai Min wanted to say something, but looking at the angry ministers, he could only keep silent.
"Prime Minister, when we return from retreat, when can we start the Northern Expedition?"
It was only then that Zhang Fei asked.
He and Guan Yu never spoke.
Although Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang had already convinced them during the previous meeting.
But Guan Yu and Zhang Fei actually didn't want to retreat.
The main reason is that they are old and don't know how many years they can live. In addition, the Northern Expedition has always been Liu Bei's long-cherished wish, so he wants to continue fighting.
But now that Liu Bei is dead, the morale of the army is indeed low, and there are some difficulties in food and grass, so they are reluctant to agree.
And they were only retreating troops from Henan.
Guanzhong and Huainan will definitely not retreat and will continue to confront Cao's army in Chang'an and Hefei.
The question they are most concerned about is when will the next Northern Expedition be.
Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "The main troops in Henan will return to Nanyang to rest and recuperate. The generals and hussar generals will stay in Guanzhong and Huainan. Cao Wei will not transfer the main force to other places. Once Henan is empty, the main force in Nanyang will We can fight all the way to Luoyang. Please rest assured, the generals and generals of chariots and cavalry, if we withdraw our troops, it will be Cao Wei who will be damaged. We will rest for a year or two and then we can start the Northern Expedition again."
"One or two years?"
Zhang Fei pulled his hair in pain and said, "Will it take that long?"
"It won't take long, it won't take long."
Guan Yu closed his eyes and murmured to himself: "If I can defeat Cao Jun in Huainan, Cao Jun will mobilize the main force."
"It won't take long to win."
Shen Chen also looked around at the crowd and said: "It's just that the soldiers and horses in Henan are tired now, so they should rest and recuperate. I have been resting in Guanzhong for a year. I can fight a local war with Cao Wei first. If I can capture Hedong and threaten to merge with the state, I can To frighten Cao Wei, maybe half a year or a year later, the main force of the army can start the Northern Expedition again."
"It would be great if that were the case."
Liu Chan nodded repeatedly and said: "Then, according to the Prime Minister's words, first withdraw the troops from Henan to Nanyang, and leave this matter to the Prime Minister."
"only!"
Zhuge Liang bowed his head and cupped his hands.
Afterwards, everyone held political and agricultural discussions, discussing this year's government affairs and agricultural situation.
Currently, economically speaking, the South is doing very well.
Because of its rich mineral resources, the Han Dynasty minted its own five-baht coins for circulation in the south. In addition, the output of hard currencies such as Shu brocade, cloth, spirits, grain, and ironware was pretty good, so the economy was relatively developed.
In particular, the handicraft manufacturing industry is booming, with Nanyang, Changsha, Jiangxia, Shujun, Bajun, Wujun, Danyang and other places as the core base points. The Yangtze River serves as shipping, and the east-west circulation is smooth.
Even the people in the Cao and Wei Dynasties in the north used the five baht coins of the Han Dynasty in the south as currency, which was much better than the north where barter was still being used.
In addition, due to the pacification of Nanzhong and Jiaozhou, Shen Chen built a port in Panyu, Jiaozhou, and actively explored offshore waters. He also sent a team from Yongchang County along the Tea Horse Road to explore the southwest Shan Kingdom, Han Yue, Fa Qiang, Cheli and Southeast Asia, Luzon Island and other countries.
The Han people traded with the locals, using porcelain and iron produced in the Han Dynasty to exchange gold, silver, copper, iron, and spices with the natives of Southeast Asia, and made a lot of money.
In fact, according to historical records, trade between China and Southeast Asia began in the Han Dynasty in ancient times.
Both the Philippines and Myanmar have unearthed Han Dynasty five-baht coins, mushroom-shaped copper axes and other cultural relics. Even the entire territory of Vietnam in later generations was Jiaozhi County, Jiuzhen County and Rinan County in Jiaozhou during the Han Dynasty.
The reason why they did not continue to expand and include the entire Southeast Asia was that the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia saved them.
If it weren't for the miasma, epidemic plague, high mountains and tropical jungles in ancient Southeast Asia, which were not conducive to the march and combat of ancient armies, the Han Dynasty would have already invaded India.
However, although Southeast Asia is not conducive to marching, doing business is still possible.
There are rich products and resources, and certain commercial activities can be carried out relying on the Ancient Tea Horse Road and offshore trade.
The only pity is that the Lingnan and Nanzhong regions are still underdeveloped. The population is too small and the roads are not in good condition. At present, only trade routes have been developed. The actual foreign trade volume is very small. The economy mainly relies on the internal trade between Jingzhou, Yizhou and Yangzhou.
cycle.
In agriculture, the South has liberated a large amount of land and labor force. Through the use of Champa rice and retting technology, productivity has been greatly improved, and production relations have also been greatly changed.
The original production relations structure was very unfavorable to the development of the country. Both the population and land were controlled by large landowners and aristocratic families.
However, as the Liu Bei Group suppressed aristocratic families in the south and liberated the population, the proportion of self-cultivators now accounts for more than 80% of the national population, which is much higher than in the past when the proportion of self-cultivators was only half or even less than half.
It cannot be said that there is no landlord class, but it is already much smaller. The proportion of land and private households owned by aristocratic families is pitifully small. Even if there is a population, most of them are employed people.
Therefore, the south is no worse than the north in terms of agriculture.
The key is speed of supply.
Poor roads and slow transportation are fundamental factors.
Just like Ji Han never lacked food in history, Zhuge Liang always suffered from lack of food and retreated his troops every time he fought on the front line during the Northern Expedition.
There is definitely no shortage of food in the Henan battlefield. The main food problems are in the Guanzhong and Huainan battlefields.
It took three years of preparation to support Shen Chen in fighting all the way from Hanzhong to Chang'an. The losses along the way could be said to be much higher than those of Cao Wei. The Han army's food supply for one day was enough for Cao's army in Chang'an for several days.
Otherwise, Cao Wei would not have been able to adopt a defensive strategy from the beginning.
It can only be said that if Shen Chen had not displayed his bravery and broke through Chang'an in only half a year and captured Cao's army's supplies, if Cao Wei had held on for a while, he would probably have had no choice but to withdraw his troops due to running out of food.
Therefore, Guanzhong and Huainan still have to face this problem.
Fortunately, Shen Chen is solving the problem.
He used government policies to attract people to cultivate in Guanzhong, and also allowed the army to establish military camps in their spare time to increase grain production.
Guan Yu could also recruit people to grow food in Huainan and farm on the spot to supplement the army's food supply and alleviate the shortage of food and grass supply.
In addition, taking advantage of this period to withdraw the main force from Henan, Chang'an and Huainan can be consolidated.
Transport grain and grass to Chang'an through Nanyang, and then transport grain to Huainan through the Yangtze River waterway. First store a batch of grain and grass. After a year and a half, when the savings are almost enough, you can naturally start the Northern Expedition again.
So in summary.
Withdrawing troops from Henan does not mean to stop the Northern Expedition, but to slow things down for a period of time and reorganize the army and food and grass issues before sending troops out.
It's like when you're fighting, you throw out a punch. After the punch is over, you have to pull it back, tighten your fist, accumulate strength, and then throw another punch.
Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang planned to beat Cao Wei to death with one punch after another!
In this weather, I have no energy during the day, but I have some energy since 5 pm. I originally wanted to post it tomorrow, but after thinking about it, I have already promised two updates today. I will still have a single update tomorrow until the weekend, and then continue with double updates on Monday. .