In fact, politics is very simple, that is, looking at the interests of those in power.
If it's in the interests of those in power, that's politics.
For example, Yue Fei won consecutive battles during the Northern Expedition, but was recalled with twelve gold medals.
Every time they see this history, future generations sigh with regret and scold Qin Hui and Song Gaozong for their treacherous ministers and ignorant kings who harmed the country.
But this is actually a manifestation of politics and a typical example of those in power fearing their own interests will be harmed.
After Yue Fei defeated Jin Wushu in the battle of Zhuxian Town, he became so powerful that he claimed to regain Bianliang and welcome back the Two Saints.
For the Song Dynasty, this was naturally beneficial to the national interests. But for Song Gaozong himself, it was a huge bad news.
It's not that the return of Song Huizong and Song Qinzong is bad news for Song Gaozong, but Yue Fei's repeated battles with Lianjie itself are very bad news.
Because this means that Yue Fei's prestige in the army will become higher and higher. In the minds of the soldiers, they only recognize Yue Fei but not the emperor. This may eventually threaten Song Gaozong's throne.
Many people in later generations said that Yue Fei was killed because he raised the slogan to "welcome back the two saints." But in fact, this slogan was raised by Song Gaozong himself before the war and had nothing to do with Yue Fei.
The real reason why Yue Fei was killed was that the Song Dynasty committed an old habit of being suspicious of generals.
Zhao Kuangyin himself was not in the right position, so he was very wary of all the generals under his command. During the Song Dynasty, military men were suppressed and scholar-bureaucrats were promoted.
It seems that suppressing military generals has become an immutable ancestral method of the Song Dynasty royal family. The emperor personally castrated his own martial ethics. As long as a powerful military general appeared, he was a thorn in the eyes of the emperor and the civil servants.
Di Qing in the Northern Song Dynasty and Yue Fei in the Southern Song Dynasty are the best examples.
People like them could have made great achievements no matter they were born in any other dynasty, but it is a pity that they were born in the wrong dynasty and were in an era where powerful military commanders were politically wrong.
But there is no way.
In the Song Dynasty, this was political correctness.
Therefore, the science of politics sounds simple, but sometimes it is very complicated.
Because you have to understand the relationship between the upper and lower levels of the court, and you have to find out what the superiors are thinking, what they are afraid of, and what they are worried about.
So now Liu Bei's battle to destroy Yuan Shao has passed the strategic stage and has reached the stage of political competition.
This political contest is not in Jizhou or Qingzhou, but in the court.
Chen Mu once told Jushu and others that after Yuan Shao's fall, the court should also start to suspect and suppress Liu Bei. The new Jizhou Mu will definitely arrive soon.
Therefore, they must let Yuan Shao die later. They cannot let the court start to attack Liu Bei after getting rid of Yuan Shao, a serious problem. They must give Liu Bei's group some time to prepare.
At present, in the entire Liu Bei Group, except for Chen Mu who saw this crisis, no one is aware of this. After the boundary bridge, various generals have been clamoring to break through Handan Ye City and capture Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan alive and send them to Luoyang.
How can you do good politics if you are with insects?
Fortunately, Chen Mu still has a group of companions with a keen sense of politics around him.
For example, Ju Shou, and Xun Yu, whose specific situation is still unknown.
As for Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, they are naturally the next generation to be cultivated and their future successors.
certainly.
Mainly Zhuge Liang.
After all, he is his favorite disciple.
Sima Yi was rebellious, so he left Zhuge Liang as his political opponent, which was a kind of training.
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, suppressing Sima Yi was definitely politically correct.
Chen Mu will definitely divide these two opponents.
First, a smart boss would not like to see a group of smart subordinates working together. Second, they are inherently incompatible and need each other's success to grow quickly.
Otherwise, if things go too smoothly, no matter how smart a person is, they may lose themselves and eventually make some possible mistakes.
So it is not a bad thing to intensify their conflicts from now on.
On the second day, after Chen Mu washed up and got up, he came out of the tent and was about to inspect the camp and summon his generals to arrange some defense tasks. However, he saw Sima Yi standing at the door of the tent with his hands in his sleeves and feeling a little depressed.
, seemed to have stayed up all night.
"Zhongda."
Chen Mu chuckled lightly. Sima Yi was still utilitarian. Historically, he had refused Cao Cao's call. That was because the situation at the time was unclear and he believed that the Han Dynasty was still full of energy. Secondly, he felt that Cao Cao had given the job of a minor official.
Willing to serve.
You must know that Cao Cao recruited Sima Yi as the Shang Ji Peng. What did the Shang Ji Peng do? He was a small official in charge of statistical data, which was equivalent to a low-level civil servant in the Statistics Bureau in later generations.
The most outrageous thing is that according to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", since Shangji Peng is a small official in charge of data, he often falsifies data and makes false accounts under the orders of superior officials. Therefore, during the period of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, he ordered Shangji Peng not to allow
Promotion lasted until the Three Kingdoms period, when this policy changed with the establishment of Wei, Shu and Wu.
So this official was not even qualified for promotion in the Han Dynasty. Do you think Sima Yi disliked him or not?
It's different now.
Although Sima Yi also believed that the Han Dynasty was not exhausted, Liu Bei's group was not weak at the beginning like Cao Cao's group, but was very strong. Now it has defeated Yuan Shao and has become dominant in Hebei. Therefore, it is just like Cao Cao before the Battle of Chibi.
, it is completely possible to defect.
So now facing Chen Mu, he was naturally willing to take advantage of Shaofu Qing, try to gain access to the palace, and have a good future.
Seeing Chen Mu coming out, Sima Yi quickly raised his hands and said, "Young Master."
"come in."
Chen Mu smiled. He knew that Zhuge Liang should have figured it out a long time ago, but Zhuge Liang was probably thinking about some key details. In comparison, Sima Yi was a little more anxious.
But it doesn't matter, he just needs Sima Yi to do something, otherwise he wouldn't keep him.
Although these people will all be outstanding people in the future, they are still a little inferior in fighting against thousand-year-old goblins.
Sima Yi lowered his head and entered the tent.
After sitting down, Chen Mu said calmly: "Have you figured it out?"
"Figured out."
"What's the problem?"
"Court."
Sima Yi looked at him with bright eyes: "The problem lies with the court."
Chen Mu smiled and nodded: "Very good Zhongda, you are indeed very smart. Do you have anything else to ask?"
"there is none left."
Sima Yi was very sensible and did not inquire into the details. People who know more often will not have any good results if they are not in an important position.
Chen Mu said slowly: "In that case, you go and do something."
"The young master ordered."
Sima Yi bowed his hands respectfully and said.
Chen Mu said: "There won't be much food and grass in the city of Handan. After a while, General Wei and I will go back to the court to meet the emperor. You have to find a way to create a hole for the food and grass from outside to be sent to the city. Do you understand?
?”
Sima Yi's face suddenly became serious and he said seriously: "Yi will obey the order."
Chen Mu smiled and said: "After this incident, you will be detained for a period of time due to dereliction of duty. You will be in prison and so on. At that time, I will ask the court to dismiss you and send you back to Hanoi. Read more books at home. After the situation stabilizes next year
, the imperial court will conscript you as a man."
"Thank you, Master."
Sima Yi was overjoyed and handed over his hand.
This situation is to find someone to take the blame, just like Sima Zhao asking Cheng Ji to kill Cao Mao. The difference is that one has a big crime and the other has a small crime.
Cheng Ji was the emperor after all, so Sima Zhao had to sacrifice Cheng Ji to heaven to appease the public anger. At most, Sima Yi was guilty of dereliction of duty. The punishment generally depends on your preference. If you want a canonical punishment, then beheading. If the punishment is normal, at most
Dismissal.
Now Luoyang still has to rely on Liu Bei and does not dare to offend too much. Therefore, even if Sima Yi is guilty of dereliction of duty, it will be easy for Chen Mu to escape the crime with his father Sima Fang's connections in the court.
What's more, it's actually not a bad thing to take the blame for your boss. If the boss is responsible and needs a confidant, he will be given away if he is thrown out. As long as it is not a serious crime that cannot be overturned, he will not be punished for the rest of his life.
Can't turn over.
Sima Yi thought to himself that his father was still Henan Yin after all. When he was in Luoyang, he worked diligently and made good friends with Chen Mu, and Chen Mu had personally agreed, so he would not cheat him.
Therefore, Sima Yi gritted his teeth and was willing to take on the responsibility of taking the blame. Although there were certain risks, it was also the fastest way to get to the top.
After Sima Yi went out, Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.
Sometimes a person in power really needs someone to help him act as a dirty hand in doing dirty things. This kind of person is usually called a white glove.
He asked Sima Yi to make this white glove, which actually had another meaning. As for what it meant, Zhuge Liang should understand it later.
Although by doing this, Sima Yi's promotion speed may be faster, but with his own pressure, Sima Yi will never be ahead of Zhuge Liang in the future.
Thinking of this, Chen Mu smiled and walked out of the camp to arrange camp defense tasks.
Zhuge Liang did not appear in front of Chen Mu all day today. He was handling official documents and military affairs in the tent belonging to his subordinates. He did not come to Chen Mu until he finished the work at hand for the day. It was in the evening.
Chen Mu also happened to come back from patrolling the camp in the evening. When he saw him coming, he asked, "Kong Ming, how's it going?"
Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "Liang figured it out."
"Um."
Chen Mu said: "Then what do you think we should do?"
Zhuge Liang said: "Master wants to support Liu Shijun to become the emperor. I'm afraid the difficulty is not small."
Now Chen Zigui's intention to return has not become known to everyone, because Liu Bei and Chen Mu are now loyal ministers.
The two of them have not done anything against the imperial court so far. No one even thinks about threatening the emperor to order the princes. Naturally, no one in the world suspects that they want to usurp the throne.
It's just that people like Cao Cao, because they have known Chen Mu for many years and know his character, guessed with Guo Jia that after Liu Yu's death, Chen Mu would find a way to support Liu Bei, the so-called "Emperor of the Han Dynasty", to ascend the throne.
Ascend to the throne.
Sima Yi, on the other hand, only thought about the court suppressing Liu Bei. He believed that for now, Liu Bei could only be a powerful minister and it would be difficult for him to rise to power, so he did not consider whether Liu Bei would usurp the throne.
Zhuge Liang is different. He has studied the dragon-slaying technique given to him by Chen Mu for many years, and has learned to see the essence through phenomena. He has been thinking about an issue today, that is, the Liu Bei Group deliberately let off steam to delay Yuan Shao's death in order to fight against it.
What is the significance of the imperial court?
If Liu Bei wanted to be a powerful minister, with his military strength, the court could not force him to do anything. It could only use formal means to suppress him, or find a convincing reason, but it could not cause him trouble for no reason.
Even if a new Jizhou Mu is hired, he will not be able to make any trouble in front of Liu Bei. When the time comes, Jizhou's military affairs will most likely still be in his hands.
Moreover, Liu Yu is old and has only a few years to live. Wouldn't it be best to regain Jizhou as soon as possible and carry a young emperor from Hejian? Compared with Liu Yu, a young emperor is easier to control.
At that time, Liu Bei can legitimately take over the central government. The three princes, generals, and even the title of king are all negotiable matters. As the emperor's uncle, assisting the young emperor, isn't it a good talk that everyone will praise?
After all, as long as he doesn't rebel or make any big mistakes, the court must coax him, otherwise he will be suppressed without guilt for a man who has done meritorious service to the court and shed blood for the country, let alone the hundreds of thousands of troops under Liu Bei's command.
The people of Qingzhou and Jizhou would probably not agree either.
Therefore, from this point of view, if Liu Bei wants to be the Duke of Zhou, Huo Guang can completely follow the court's wishes and cut through the mess quickly. After dealing with Yuan Shao, he immediately goes to Hejian to find a descendant of Emperor Zhang and sends him to Luoyang. Obviously, he is a more recent one.
Good choice.
However, Zhuge Liang discovered that Liu Bei, or Chen Mu, had no intention of following the court's wishes and delaying Yuan Shao's death was naturally an excuse for Jizhou not being pacified to delay the court's idea of having the young emperor in Hejian.
Then why did Master do this?
The answer is obvious.
I want to delay it for a while longer to see if I can delay Liu Yu's death.
Medical conditions in this era are very poor, and ordinary people are very lucky if they can live to the age of forty without any disease or disaster.
Although some people can live to be seventy or eighty, Zhuge Liang has also heard that the emperor's health is not very good. He was seriously ill the year before last and the winter of last year, and almost died of it.
Maybe if you delay it for one more year, you can delay it until the emperor dies.
At that time, it is not impossible for Chen Mu to forcefully support Liu Bei in power, citing the reasons that Jizhou has not yet been pacified and the country is in chaos.
But there are still many problems in it. Zhuge Liang sighed in his heart that it is not that simple to do this.
"Kong Ming thinks this is possible?"
Chen Mu asked with a smile.
Zhuge Liang shook his head: "It's as difficult as climbing to heaven."
"oh?"
Chen Mu said: "Tell me about it?"
Zhuge Liang thought for a while and said: "There are two problems. First, General Liu is not the queen of Guangwu, or even the king of Changsha. If he wants to inherit the legal system, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty will not agree."
"Um."
Chen Mu nodded: "Where's the second one."
Zhuge Liang said: "The second thing is that Master Shijun was a little negligent. After the Battle of Jieqiao, Yuan Shao only had Wei Jun and Zhao Guo left. Theoretically speaking, Hejian has returned to the hands of the imperial court. If the imperial court sends people to Hejian
There is no time to choose an heir, I’m afraid..."
"I'm afraid my plan is all in vain, isn't it?"
Chen Mu added for him.
Zhuge Liang said nothing. This was the limit of what he could think about. If his predictions were correct, the court would probably take action in this regard soon.
The first is to send a new Jizhou shepherd, and the second is to go to Hejian to adopt the emperor's heir. Because this is an action that the court has legitimate reasons for, there is no way Liu Bei and Chen Mu can stop it unless they directly rebel.
But the price of rebellion is high, because the Liu Bei group itself has many people who are loyal to the Han Dynasty, such as many old scholars and scholars in Taishan Academy in Qingzhou. Once Liu Bei openly rebels, the backyard will easily burst into flames.
Secondly, everyone in the world knows that Liu Bei is a loyal and benevolent person. It doesn't matter if his persona collapses. All the princes in the world will have reason and name to unite to fight against him. Then it will be Dong Zhuo's Battle of Hulao Pass again, and all lives will be ruined.
, Jiangshan Sheji became even more chaotic.
This is a dilemma, and Zhuge Liang is very worried that Chen Mu will continue on this wrong path.