The winter of the fifth year of Yanxi's reign was a great harvest for Wei, or to be precise, for Sima Yi.
Not only did they completely control Youzhou, but they also obtained a large number of horses and livestock from the Hu people, which greatly supplemented the military.
At the same time, he also defeated the Han army at the pass, which shocked the Hu people at the border fortress, calmed the people of Youzhou, and boosted the morale of the Wei army.
He even used this to establish prestige in front of the Hu tribe who came to trade, and initially won over the other party - it was rumored that it was the largest tribe with hundreds of thousands of string control people.
How many years?
Since the Battle of Xiaoguan, the officers and soldiers of the Wei Dynasty, no matter on foot or on foot, have changed their color when they heard about the fine cavalry of the Han army, and they have been frightened when they saw the Han army's iron cavalry.
How many years have passed?
Now finally someone can defeat the Han cavalry, breaking the myth that the Han cavalry is invincible.
"It has to be Master Sima!"
The news spread to Yecheng and Xuchang, and many people were very happy.
"Although the last attack on Bingzhou fell short, it was God's will. After all, it is difficult to do it alone."
"And I heard that Wei Yan, the general of the Western Thieves, was seriously injured and his life and death are unknown. This can be regarded as a gain."
"This time, we captured the Western Bandits' five thousand elite cavalry at Guan Fortress. It's truly a great victory!"
Why five thousand?
Looking at the horses, cattle and sheep brought back from Youzhou, I am afraid that this is how modest the master is.
Then he turned to look at General Cao.
"Bah! What the hell! Sun Quan has been fighting Hefei for so many years and still failed to capture it. In your hands, Shouchun was almost destroyed by flooding!"
"That's all. We were rescued in the end. But look at Xiangyang in the west, which was used to suppress the Wu invaders. It's actually lost...lost!"
Now in the southwest of Xuchang, only Wancheng is left alone.
If the Wu invaders had no cavalry and were unable to fight on foot, they would not have dared to cross the Han River and go north to fight with the Wei Dynasty on the ground. Wancheng would have become an isolated city.
Even so, the Wei Dynasty still had to dispatch some troops from the eastern front to Wancheng to strengthen defenses.
People in Xuchang are already a little confused now.
There is no other way. There are Western thieves in Luoyang to the northwest, and there is only an isolated city in Nanyang to the southwest.
Where does the sense of security come from?
Therefore, the battle at Guansai really gave many people in Wei a shot in the arm.
Some people even secretly thought that Xuchang was connected to the Western Bandits just across the road from Luoyang.
Yecheng is separated by the Taihang Mountains.
Is Taihang Mountain no better than Luoyang, which is undefendable?
And no matter how you look at it, the Tutor is much more reliable than the General.
How about... just go and join the Taifu?
By relying on this battle outside the pass, Sima Yi not only cleared up the small black spot of missing Hangu Pass, but also earned a lot of extra popularity among the people.
Compared with Sima Yi, Ji Han can only make no profit or loss.
The loss of two thousand fine cavalry made Feng Da Sima quite distressed.
But good news finally came from Hanzhong.
Luo Xian, Fu Qian, and another army commander, Ma Tian, led the army to capture Anqiao Mulansai, cutting off the Shangyong Wei army's retreat, and finally succeeded in forcing Shangyong to surrender.
So far, Shangyong, Nanyang, and Xiangyang have become a small tripartite.
As for the Wu Kingdom outside the Han and Wei dynasties, it was quite lively.
Fu Shiyi, the king of Lu, wrote a letter praising the king of Lu, Sun Ba, for being "both civil and military". He believed that it was a waste of talent for the king of Lu to stay in Jianye, and he should go out to guard one side.
After submitting the letter, the news fell into disarray.
Shi Yi was not discouraged and wrote again, but Sun Quan still didn't respond.
If it were anyone else, he would probably understand what Sun Quan meant.
But who is Shiyi?
At that time, Lu Yi falsely accused Diao Jia, the governor of Jiangxia, of "slandering the state affairs." Sun Quan asked all the officials if they had heard of it. All officials were afraid of Lu Yi and said yes, but Yi said that he had not heard of it.
Under Sun Quan's severe questioning many times, all the ministers did not dare to express their anger, but Shi Yi still truthfully said no, without wavering at all.
This shows how upright this person is.
Didn't listen twice?
It doesn't matter, it's only twice. I will continue to write until you listen.
The connection was connected three or four times, which made Sun Quan extremely annoyed. Finally, he could only say that he would think about it.
This was Sun Quan's perfunctory words, but who would have expected that as soon as these words came out, many people's hearts immediately became excited.
Originally, the prince and King Lu lived in the same palace, and there was no distinction between superior and inferior. From the beginning, many courtiers were murmuring.
It's just that King Lu was newly established, and many people are watching. They don't know whether His Majesty is just letting King Lu stay in the palace temporarily, or whether he plans to continue like this.
Therefore, it is not easy to say anything, so as not to offend King Lu in vain.
What I didn't expect was that the first one to jump out was King Fu of Lu.
King Fu of Lu repeatedly submitted letters and finally got His Majesty to relax.
If you don’t come now, when will you wait?
In particular, the ministers who supported the prince, such as Taichang Gutan, the prince's tutor Wucan and others, could no longer hold back and wrote letters one after another:
"When I hear that there is a country and a family, I must understand the difference between legitimate concubines and concubines, the etiquette of different superiors and inferiors, so that there is a difference between superior and inferior, and the class exceeds the distance. In this way, the kindness of flesh and blood will be coveted. In the past, Jia Yi introduced the plan of public security.
When talking about the power of princes, it is believed that if the power is heavy, even if they are close, there will be the burden of betrayal; if the power is light, even if they are separated, there will be dangers of preservation..."
What he said was to remind Sun Quan that if he trusted King Lu too much or had too much power, allowing him to develop ambitions that he shouldn't have, it would actually harm him.
It is better to lower his status, let him understand the difference between legitimate concubines, the etiquette of respect and inferiority, and cut off his "coveting". This is the way to save him.
(Sunba, the king of Lu, said that he is a dog.)
If the officials came to remonstrate, it would only make Sun Quan extremely annoyed.
Then Lu Xun's letter was like water droplets splashing into a smoking oil pan.
"The prince's orthodoxy should be as solid as a rock. King Lu's vassals and ministers should make differences in favor and rank, so that each other can get what they want and everyone can be safe. I would like to kowtow and bleed to hear it."
When Sun Quan saw Lu Xun's letter, he was so angry that he slammed it on the ground:
"What does he want to do? What does he want to do!"
As if he still couldn't understand his hatred after scolding him like this, Sun Quan stood up and kicked Shu Zhang on the ground hard.
"Whoop whoosh!"
Sun Quan was panting like an ox, gritted his teeth and cursed:
"You have to stop what I want to do, and you have to force me to do what I don't want to do, right?"
Thinking about the prince, I asked him casually, but I didn't expect that he would insist on establishing a son as a filial son (that is, Sun He).
Okay, I know you are close to Zigao (Sun Deng) and want to follow his last wish, I have no problem with that.
But after you established the crown prince, you actually asked people to knock on the door, asked me to establish a queen, and even appointed the mother of the crown prince.
Okay, I promise you this too.
But I want to send people to sea, why do you object?
Now I just dote on Ziwei (Sun Ba) a little bit, but you actually have an opinion?
how?
I have entrusted the country to you, and you are still not satisfied?
Do you still want me to listen to you regarding my personal affairs, family affairs, harem, and children?
After all, Zhuge Liang was Liu Adou's father-in-law, so he also said, "The palace and the palace are all integrated into one."
Who do you think you are?
Do you dare to think like this?
Even if you don’t care about your status as a monarch or a minister, you are still my niece and son-in-law!
I am your elder!
Over the past few days, Sun Quan, who was always angry, became more and more annoyed as he thought about it, and he felt a rush of blood rushing straight to his forehead.
He raised his foot again and stepped hard on the ground.
"Crack!"
Several bamboo slips were trampled and broken.
Sun Quan's feet were still crushing hard.
He could almost foresee what kind of situation the prince would face if he just handed Da Wu into the hands of the prince.
Sun Quan pondered, with a cold light shining in his eyes.
"His Majesty?"
Sun Quan, who was deep in thought, raised his head: "What's the matter?"
"Taifu Lu requests an audience."
Hearing this name, Sun Quan couldn't help but show boredom on his face:
"No! Just say I'm tired and I won't see anyone!"
As soon as he flicked his sleeves and was about to turn around, he felt something strange under his feet. After thinking about it, Sun Quan bent down and picked up the bamboo slips that were almost in pieces.
Who would have expected that when he stood up straight, the world suddenly spun before his eyes, causing him to stumble and almost lose his balance.
The palace maid was kicked out by Sun Quan from the very beginning. He could only hold on to the desk, sit down, and take a few deep breaths, and then he felt a little more relaxed.
"Snapped!"
He pressed the bamboo slip on his hand hard against the table without letting go, and the veins popped out.
That familiar sense of urgency came to mind again, even making Sun Quan anxious again.
"No, we can't drag it on like this any longer..."
Sun Quan murmured to himself, seeming to have finally made up his mind.
——
"What does Sun Quan want to do?"
News from Wu State back to Chang'an was basically delayed by one to one and a half months.
Originally, even the ministers of the Wu State were not sure whether it was expedient or permanent for Sun Quan to let Sun Ba live in the palace and share the throne with the prince.
On the Chang'an side, it's even more impossible to know - except someone named Feng.
But Feng didn't say anything.
Moreover, it is approaching the end of the year and he is also very busy.
Especially after the defeat of Youzhou and the capture of Shangyong by the Han Dynasty, many matters required his personal decision.
Wu Guo's great show of seizing the heir has just begun to show its signs, and it has not yet come to the stage for the chess pieces he arranged.
Until Mi Shiyilang's second letter arrived.
Sun Quan, who had originally agreed to establish a queen, seemed to have changed his mind for some unknown reason, and became vague about the confrontation with the queen.
"There is no master in the harem, and the concubines are in no order; all the princes stand side by side, and there is no distinction between superiority and inferiority."
Zhang Xiaosi took Mi Shiyilang's letter and read it over and over several times, with a look of amazement on his face:
"What exactly does Sun Quan want to do?"
"What do you want to do?" Feng Dasima huddled in the rocking chair, without any manners, and said lazily, "It's just what you think."
These days, I have been busy finishing the year.
It wasn't until all the government offices were sealed and the officials went on vacation that we felt relaxed.
Winter is a great day, the fireplace is burning brightly and it is so warm that it makes people want to doze off.
"What?" Madam You raised her head and looked at the sleepy Feng Dashima, "Why do I hear Alang's tone, as if he has already anticipated Sun Quan's thoughts?"
"It's just an attempt to rebalance the forces of all parties." Feng Dashima yawned, "Is this unexpected?"
"Deliberately placing Sun Ba and Crown Prince Sun He side by side was to send a signal to his courtiers: Although Sun Ba is not the Crown Prince now, Sun He may not always be the Crown Prince."
"He is deliberately tempting the courtiers to take sides. Of course, it is also possible that he is testing the loyalty of the courtiers?"
After all, the emperor of Wu is still me. If you are so anxious to take sides, have you forgotten that I am the king of a country?
Or do you want to think that my life is not long?
Or do you want me to die early?
In fact, Mrs. You also feels this way about Sun Quan's recent behavior.
But this feeling was so ridiculous that it even made her a little unsure of herself.
"What are you planning?"
Use your two sons as bait to catch the civil and military officials of the court?
"Didn't I say it? In order to balance the various forces in Wu State, or to be more precise, it was to reshuffle the cards."
"Shuffle?"
Mrs. Right, who was psychologically traumatized by Madam Zuo and Amei during the Landlord fight, understood this word.
"That's quite appropriate." Mrs. Right frowned, still a little unbelievable, "But is it worth it?"
"Of course it's worth it." Feng Dasima yawned again, "For the entire Wu Kingdom, what's not worth it?"
"The two sons will try their best to win over the ministers in this process of fighting for the heir, and the ministers can also choose the master in their hearts."
"No matter which side wins, a community of interests will eventually be formed. Then after Sun Quan dies and the new emperor ascends the throne, the court will naturally transition smoothly."
Speaking of this, Feng Dasima seemed to have thought of something and suddenly smiled:
"Even if there is no winner between the two sides, it doesn't matter. He has many sons anyway, so just choose another one."
"But Sun Quan can also achieve his original goal, which is to use this battle to seize the legitimate rights to suppress what should be suppressed and purge what should be purged, balance the forces of all parties, and pave the way for his son."
Later generations said that Sun Quan was confused and confused in his later years.
But from the perspective of an emperor, this is simply the emperor's long-planned plan.
As for whether Wu Guoguo's vitality will be severely damaged by this, that is not his first consideration at all.
The first thing he had to consider was how to secure the throne for his descendants.
If future generations cannot secure the throne, they may not even be able to become the emperor of Wu.
So what does this innocent Wu State have to do with our Sun family?
If you can continue to hold the throne, even if you lose some vitality, it will be a price worth paying.
The family and the country are under heaven, and the family comes before the country. Even if Sun Quan became emperor, the pattern would still not be enough, a little far behind.
So he finally got away with it.
At the same time, this also shows that Sun Quan at this time has lost his spirit and only cares about the three melons and two dates at home. He may have lost his ambition to conquer the world.
"It always feels a bit unimaginable."
The right lady shook her head and looked a little ugly.
Naturally, she knew how brutal the political struggle was, but such actions still made her feel that she was too narrow-minded and unworthy of her status as emperor.
"What if Alang thinks wrong?"
"You can't be wrong." Feng Da Sima, who had the upper hand in this rare matter, said proudly, "Sun Quan's next step is probably to acquiesce in the fight between the two sons."
"Then," he stretched out his palm and slashed down, "believe it or not, the first person he took advantage of was Lu Xun."
"Why?"
"Because Lu Xun represents the Jiangdong family," Feng Dashima sneered again, "Wu's power, both in the government and in the opposition, has been out of balance. If Sun Quan doesn't deal with it, he himself may not be able to sleep."
"After all, Sun Quan can't be as tolerant and kind as our Majesty, right?"
"Go!" Mrs. You hit Feng Dasima and looked at him suspiciously, "I always feel that there is something in your words."
PS: Don’t give me any more rewards. With my update speed, I really deserve it.