The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty was leaning on the back of his chair, holding the document in one hand and holding the jade lens hanging on the bridge of his nose with the other hand, and was reviewing it intently.
After the imperial court rebuilt the Shangshutai, official documents from the county level and below were generally sent to the Shangshutai.
After the Shangshu Desk has finished processing, the results will be sent to the Prime Minister.
As for matters above the county level, the Shangshutai will give opinions on how to deal with them and then hand them over to the Prime Minister for review.
If the Prime Minister has no objection, it will be handed over to the Secretary for processing.
This will save the prime minister a lot of thought.
In fact, because of that serious illness, although the Prime Minister finally survived, it was obvious that he was not able to maintain his energy.
The current prime minister of the Han Dynasty has turned gray in hair and beard, and his tall and handsome figure in the past has become slightly rickety.
The loose robe is clearly longer in the front and shorter in the back, and her cheeks are extremely thin.
No one would have thought that the thin old man sitting on the chair was Wolong, who was eight feet tall and very handsome.
At this moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside the study.
The visitor barged in without notice.
The number of people in the Prime Minister's Palace who can receive such treatment can be counted on one hand.
Yang Yi looked so panicked that she even kicked over the threshold of the study room without realizing it.
Seeing that he had no time to salute the prime minister, he said directly:
“Prime Minister, there is news from the north that His Majesty from Shanyang County... has passed away!”
Shanyang County is a special existence in the eyes of the world.
Although Shanyang County is within the territory of Wei, and its title is no more than a county prince, the emperor's etiquette can be used in the county.
Because his name is Liu Xie.
Zhuge Liang, who was always calm and calm when faced with troubles, changed his expression when he heard the word "die" and the document in his hand fell to the ground with a "clack" sound.
He took a deep breath, quickly calmed down, slowly bent down, picked up the document, patted the dust on it, and put it on the table.
Then he supported the table with his hands and seemed to want to stand up. Unexpectedly, he was halfway up and suddenly fell back into the chair.
“Prime Minister!”
Yang Yi was shocked and quickly took two steps forward to help the prime minister.
Zhuge Liang waved his hand to stop his movement.
Zhuge Liang closed his eyes and seemed to be adjusting his emotions.
After his violently heaving chest calmed down a little, Zhuge Liang opened his eyes and asked slowly:
“Is the news true?”
"It's absolutely true! Not only was it spread everywhere in Luoyang, but the Wei thieves even specially spread the news to Guanzhong. When they heard about the false emperor Cao Rui, they even went to Shanyang County and personally draped sackcloth on his funeral."
Hearing this, Zhuge Liang showed an extremely complicated expression on his face.
“Did you go after all?”
For today's Han Dynasty, Emperor Xian Liu Xie is a figure who does not want to be mentioned.
But it is a person who must be mentioned.
Because he was originally an orthodox member of the Han Dynasty, and he personally gave up the throne to the Wei thieves.
When news of his death was received that year, the late emperor issued mourning uniforms and led all his ministers to pay homage to Emperor Xiaomin from afar.
Unexpectedly, more than ten years have passed since the late emperor passed away, and news of the death of Emperor Xiaomin once again came.
Zhuge Liang had a lot of thoughts and was sad, but he seemed to have a kind of relief.
He asked in a low voice:
“Besides the funeral of the Wei thief and the fake emperor, is there any other news from the Wei thief?”
Zhuge Liang originally wanted to ask if there were any rumors that Cao Rui had harmed Emperor Xiaomin.
Although I know that this possibility is unlikely, after all these years, if the Wei thieves really wanted to harm Emperor Xiaomin, they would not wait until today.
But what if?
Unexpectedly, Yang Yi nodded:
“Prime Minister, there is indeed something going on in the north. I heard that after the death of His Majesty, a plague began to spread in Luoyang, and at the same time a fire broke out in the Chonghua Hall of the Luoyang Imperial Palace.”
“Now that Cao Rui has gone to Shandong to pay his respects, people in Luoyang are panicking and saying anything..."
Zhuge Liang raised his eyebrows and said with emotion: "This is happening! This can be said to be God's punishment for the Wei thief!"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but get up and take a few steps back and forth, sighing:
“It’s a pity that the Han Dynasty is separated from Luoyang by a pass, otherwise it would be impossible to disrupt the situation.”
If the Wei thieves had become stronger and the Han Dynasty could only temporarily retreat to Shu, the death of Emperor Xiaomin would naturally not be a big deal to Cao Rui.
As long as Cao Rui made a gesture of personally mourning the funeral, he could not only easily neutralize the impact of this incident, but even win people's hearts by the way.
But it’s different now.
Over the years, the national power of the Wei thieves has declined visibly.
As for the Han Dynasty, there is great hope for revitalization.
This is momentum.
The death of Emperor Xiaomin, coupled with the epidemic of the Luoyang plague, may have deepened the suspicion among people in the Wei state.
Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang quickly shouted:
“Here comes someone!”
Li Yi's figure immediately appeared at the door: "Prime Minister."
Zhuge Liang asked Yang Yi to repeat the news from Wei, and then said to Li Yi:
“Send someone immediately to inform Feng Mingwen of this matter.”
The Qishan Road from Hanzhong to Longyou is full of postal kiosks.
Coupled with the access to waterways, official documents can be delivered very quickly.
After arriving at Longyou, because there is no shortage of horses in Liangzhou and there are roads that caravans are accustomed to taking, the speed will not be too slow.
So now the connection between Liangzhou and Hanzhong is actually very close.
"No." After Li Yi agreed, he asked hesitantly, "Does the Prime Minister have any other instructions?"
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said with a smile:
"After Feng Mingwen got the news, he knew what to do. If he couldn't influence Luoyang, then there would be no good way in Hanzhong."
It is no secret that Feng Yong can influence You Xiaer.
Coupled with the exchanges of caravans between the Han and Wei countries, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty believed that Feng Mingwen must have some channels unknown to others.
Besides, the purpose of this kind of thing is to inform the other side.
It's just that now it's being sent on an expedited basis, which is faster than normal official documents.
After Li Yi left, Zhuge Liang sat back on the chair and asked casually:
“What’s the latest news from Liangzhou?”
Recently, due to the opening of Liangzhou Workshop, many people have begun to clamor to regain Guanzhong as soon as possible.
The reason is also very simple.
For caravans heading to Guanzhong, after arriving in Chang'an, the goods can only be traded at designated places. They can no longer enter Guandong at will and find a home to sell on their own.
Although I don’t know how Sima Yi settled the situation in Guandong.
I only heard that he got permission from Cao Rui, so that Sima Yi could find his own financial resources to provide for the army in Guanzhong.
But most of the caravans shipped from the Han Dynasty would still be controlled by Sima Yi.
This certainly does not satisfy some people in the Han Dynasty.
So they eagerly wanted to regain Guanzhong.
The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty actually wanted to regain Guanzhong more than anyone else.
But he knew better that without the response from Liangzhou.
To be precise, without the cooperation of the army led by Feng Yong.
With Hanzhong alone, there is no way to break through the various camps and fortresses set up by Sima Yi in Guanzhong.
In the battle of Xiaoguan, Feng Yong defeated the rebels in Guanzhong until they lost all their courage.
For at least ten years, Wei thieves will not dare to peek westward at Longyou.
Just look at the actions of the Wei thieves in Guanzhong when the Han Dynasty recaptured Liangzhou.
Sima Yi had no intention of supporting Liangzhou at all, and only focused on digging trenches and building fortifications in Guanzhong.
The battle at Xiaoguan gave the Han Dynasty a complete strategic advantage over Guanzhong.
But it was this battle that completely crippled the elite that Feng Yong had accumulated over the years.
Until now, Liangzhou’s military strength has not been able to restore the grandeur before the Battle of Xiaoguan.
Feng Yong had his own set of tactics for training elite soldiers.
But no matter how hard you practice, no matter how much money and food you spend, in the end you have to go through real swords and guns to be considered a true elite.
When he went to Yuexun County, he took the barbarians to train his troops, so that he had the elite soldiers to fight in Jieting.
Later in Longyou, we took the Wei thieves and Hu people from Longyou and Liangzhou to train troops, and then we had the elite troops for the battle at Xiaoguan.
Now in Liangzhou, he continued to attack Xianbei in the west two years ago and last year. This is his training method.
According to the estimate of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, it would take no more than two or three years to train such an elite soldier.
So the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty didn't even pay attention to those people who only clamored to regain Guanzhong all day long.
Looking at the entire Han Dynasty, Feng Mingwen is the only one who can make the Prime Minister completely confident that he can lead an army alone and cooperate with him to defeat the thieves.
Feng Mingwen did not leave Liangzhou for a day, and the prime minister of the Han Dynasty did not leave Hanzhong for a day.
No matter how loud others screamed, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty only regarded them as buzzing mosquitoes and flies.
The Battle of Longyou is a touchstone. It is clear at a glance who is good and who is mediocre.
There may be some oversights, or some bad luck, but the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty is already old, and the development momentum of the Han Dynasty is quite good.
It's good to keep going like this, don't worry about it anymore if nothing happens.
Yang Yi has been with the Prime Minister for a long time. Even if he cannot completely guess what the Prime Minister is thinking, he can still get a rough idea.
At this time, I heard the prime minister asking about Liangzhou, but he was actually asking for news about Feng Yong.
Although he felt unhappy at the moment, he still replied respectfully:
"Returning to the Prime Minister, there is nothing serious. The news came back from Liangzhou, saying that Governor Feng went to Juyan County to patrol the border a few days ago and asked people to reset the pass."
“I heard that because of what the Han did in Juyan County, the Hu people in the north were dissatisfied..."
When the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty heard this, he suddenly smiled, which made Yang Yi a little confused.
“How can barbarians be dissatisfied with that boy?”
The great Han Cheng seemed to be talking to himself, but also seemed to be asking questions.
Yang Yi saw that the prime minister seemed to be in a good mood, so he tentatively said:
"Feng Junhou's work... sometimes can be unpredictable. If he follows the previous method, he will harvest it slowly with the profit of wool."
“In two or three years at most, all the Hu people living in Yanze will be able to return home, so why bother using swords, laboring soldiers, and arousing resentment among the Hu people in the north?”
Zhuge Liang glanced at Yang Yi, but his expression did not change at all: "That kid does act a little unreasonably sometimes."
"What the Prime Minister said is very true. I heard that Feng Junhou took his concubine on a boat trip to Yanze one day. The concubine only said that the scenery of Zehu Lake is beautiful."
“So he ordered that a monument should be erected around Juyanze, with the inscription not to fill the land to create fields, and those who violated the rules would be severely punished.”
"It is even stipulated that people living around Yanze are not allowed to cut down trees at will. Anyone who cuts down one tree must plant two more trees. All these measures are indeed a bit ridiculous..."
Cao!
The face of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty finally lost its calmness and tranquility.
The face of a smooth-talking and lecherous person who did not care about people's livelihood in order to make a woman happy seemed to appear before his eyes.
“Which concubine?”
“Li Mu.”
The prime minister of the Han Dynasty twitched his lips: When I sent Li Mu to you, I didn't see you so lustful?
"Do the people who live in Yanze have any complaints?"
"Well, I haven't heard of this. It's probably to please Feng Junhou. Many officials also said that this move was for the people. They were afraid that the people's fields would have no water to draw and the livestock would have no water to drink, so they came up with such a thing.
Measures…”
If you don’t have any complaints, you’re just talking nonsense!
The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty didn't bother to care.
This is not to cater to that boy, but clearly to cater to that boy's concubine.
That Li Mu is in charge of the entire textile workshop in Liangzhou.
As for those who go to Juyanze to open grasslands, they are basically from Liangzhou's wealthy families. Do you think those so-called scholar-officials can't help but be ingratiated with them?
As for the real Guizhou Cangtou, he can't even open up a wasteland on the plains. How can he still build fields around lakes?
“Is there any more?”
“Yes, Feng Junhou wrote two poems when he and Feng Guanshi were visiting Guan fortress, and also composed one of them into a song, saying that he wanted everyone in the army to be able to sing it..."
“Prime Minister, you said, this...this...isn’t this nonsense?”
I know that many of your soldiers under Feng Junhou are literate, but even if they are literate, now even elegant things like poetry are being wasted by the big soldiers. Isn't this insulting to the gentlemen?
The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty made a "tsk" sound and was about to speak when suddenly there was a cough from outside the door.
Hearing this cough, the Han Prime Minister's expression finally changed.
"Well, Lord Wei, please go down first. I'll look for you tomorrow if I have something to do."
“Promise, Prime Minister, please take a good rest first.”
Yang Yi understood and quickly bowed and retreated.
Then the Prime Minister's wife appeared at the door of the study: "Alang, it's time to take medicine..."
The short-tempered Han Prime Minister obediently took the bowl and drank the medicine.
Seeing that Zhuge Liang did not leave any medicine residue behind, Huang Yueying nodded with satisfaction.
She took the bowl back from Zhuge Liang and said while clearing the things on the table:
"Although Yang Yi is talented, he is a complete villain. There are many talented people in the Han Dynasty. Now Alang does not need to rely on him to handle the affairs of the house, so why should he listen to his greedy words?"
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said:
“After all, he has helped me a lot in the past, and he has not made any big mistakes now. If he abandons me just now, wouldn’t it chill people’s hearts?”
In the past, Yang Weigong helped with all kinds of planning and trivial matters in the army.
In recent years, as school students have gradually entered the military, it is most convenient to leave this kind of matter to them.
“Besides, are you, a woman, just arbitrarily commenting on the affairs of the court?”
When Huang Yueying heard this, she sneered:
“Why don’t you tell Feng Mingwen about this? Tell him not to try it with women?”
“I have heard that there is a secretariat in the governor’s house of Liangzhou, and the background is not simple.”
As she spoke, she threw the bowl on the table with a bang and said, "The secretariat of the Liangzhou Governor's Office was removed. They just said that it is against the rules for a woman to interfere in politics!"
The medicine that the Han Prime Minister had just taken suddenly surged in his stomach, and he was about to spit it out in anger.
He pointed at Huang Yueying tremblingly:
"you you you you you……"
The Prime Minister’s wife raised her chest and did not give in at all:
“What’s wrong? Yang Weigong, a dignified minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, knows how to talk about other people’s wives and concubines all day long. Is this a decent thing?”
The Prime Minister’s wife said “poof” without concealing her disdain: “Worse than a woman!”
“Shut up!” The Han Prime Minister was finally able to say a complete sentence, “I keep Yang Wei Gong for my own reasons, and you are not allowed to talk nonsense!”
The Prime Minister’s wife looked at him sideways, with disbelief written all over her face.
Zhuge Liang sighed:
“I have arranged for everyone in the palace to be either in the palace or in the chancery. Only Yang Weigong, although he has been a long history, has not changed at all, don’t you think it’s strange?”
“This is really strange. If you think you value him, then you should arrange a good path for him just like you arranged for Jiang Gongyan.”
“But if you say you don’t value him, then why do you consult him every day and let him indulge in his greed without stopping you?”
The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty did not answer this question directly. He stretched out his hand and motioned to Huang Yueying to help him, and said meaningfully:
“No matter what, Yang Wei Gong is talented after all, and after me, the Han Dynasty will probably never have a Prime Minister’s Palace again.”
"Therefore, someone will decide what to do with the long history of the Prime Minister's Office in the future, whether to use him or not, and how to use him. Don't worry about such things."
Huang Yueying was horrified: "You deliberately left him..."
Zhuge Liang waved his hand: "The way to go depends mainly on Yang Wei Gong himself. After all, the emperor is kind and will not kill people easily."
“I’m old and can’t care about that much anymore. Now, I just want to live to see the day when I can see Chang’an…”
Huang Yueying glanced at him: "The emperor is naturally kind, but he can't help but have a ruthless minister."
Zhuge Liang sneered and said, "Don't you know that Liu Hanzi from Liangzhou is so ruthless?"
Huang Yueying couldn't help laughing: "What does the Hu girl Liu Hanzi married based on his ability have to do with Feng Mingwen?"