Mi Han

Chapter 328

Chapter 328

When Sun Quan in Yong'an City was about to send Zhang Wen as an envoy out of fear, a mission from the north arrived outside Xiangyang City first.

The official envoy of this mission was none other than Jiang Ji, who was then the official servant of the Great Wei Dynasty and the regular servant of Sanqi.

Sitting in the car, Jiang Ji looked at the white curtains hanging on the Xiangyang city gate in front of him, his eyes seemed to be a world away.

The year before last, he was also ordered by the late Emperor Cao Cao to visit Liu Bei outside Xiangyang City.

It's just that Emperor Wu was still there at that time, and Guan Yu, as Liu Bei's number one general, was stationed outside the Han River, preventing the Wei army led by Emperor Wu from going south.

Unexpectedly, in less than two years, both Emperor Wu and Guan Yu passed away. The world is changing so fast that sometimes it is really embarrassing.

Sitting in the carriage, Jiang Ji looked at the white curtains hanging over the city wall in mourning for Guan Yu. He couldn't help arranging his attire while sitting upright, and then bowed to the white curtains with a solemn expression.

Although he is an enemy, Guan Yu's integrity and meritorious deeds are enough to deserve Jiang Ji's worship.

The heroes of the world, even if they are their own masters, they often cherish each other.

After Jiang Ji paid homage, Dong Yun, who had received the news in advance and was in charge of welcoming Jiang Ji, led some Han soldiers to Jiang Ji's chariot.

Originally, after Guan Yu was buried, Liu Bei wanted to set off to return to Chengdu.

But at this moment, Liu Bei received a message from Xinye.

This news informed Liu Bei that the mission 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 big defeat, suddenly sent an envoy south.

It's just that although they plan to meet Cao Wei's mission, on the bright side, the Han and Wei are incompatible forces, and neither side recognizes the legitimacy of the other's dynasty.

So Liu Bei just sent the low-status Dong Yun with some Han troops to meet Jiang Ji outside the city gate.

When Jiang Ji saw the big man, he sent an unknown young man to meet him, so he was not angry.

Wei Jun had just lost a big battle, so he had no right to be angry because of the opponent's lack of manners.

So after Dong Yun came under his car, Jiang Ji hurriedly got up from the car.

He slowly came under the car and bowed to Dong Yun first:

"Jiang Ji, a scholar from the north, came to pay homage to the Lord of Han at the order of my lord, and I hope you can introduce him on your 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 so, he would definitely offend Dong Yun directly opposite him.

But he is Wei Chen, and it is impossible to call Liu Bei Emperor Han, so he can 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 Kingdom of Hanzhong. Such a title is quite appropriate in today's situation.

This address is also the most commonly used address for Liu Bei when the important officials of Cao Wei communicated with the officials of the Han Dynasty in private.

Judging from past experience, this title is at least acceptable to both forces.

When Jiang Ji's words fell into the ears of Dong Yun who was in front of him, as expected, there was no hesitation on Dong Yun's face.

And Dong Yun saw that Jiang Ji, as a well-known celebrity in the world and a high-ranking official in Cao Wei's side, could take the initiative to pay respects to him. This low profile also made him find nothing wrong with Jiang Ji.

Therefore, after Jiang Ji bowed to him, Dong Yun also bowed back, and then said to Jiang Ji: "The envoy, please come with me."

As soon as Dong Yun's words fell, he walked ahead alone with a serious face, leading the way for Jiang Ji behind him.

Dong Yun would not make things difficult for Jiang Ji, nor would he neglect Jiang Ji in terms of etiquette, but with his personality, it would be very difficult for him to have a good look towards Jiang Ji.

Dong Yun's indifference did not make Jiang Ji feel unhappy, he just followed Dong Yun closely and walked towards Xiangyang City under the surveillance of a group of Han troops.

To Jiang Ji's surprise, after Dong Yun brought him into the city gate, he did not continue to lead him into Xiangyang City.

Instead, Dong Yun led him to turn and step up the stone steps, heading towards the tower.

This scene made Jiang Ji feel a little uneasy.

However, what worried Jiang Ji did not happen. After Dong Yun brought Jiang Ji up the tower, he gradually stepped aside.

After Dong Yun stepped aside, Jiang Ji, who had been carefully observing the environment on the tower, immediately saw a figure wearing a Liu's crown standing with his hands behind his head not far in front of him.

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 ten steps away in front of him was Liu Bei.

After realizing this, Jiang Ji couldn't help being a little startled.

He didn't expect that Liu Bei would choose to meet him here, and he didn't even 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 be disastrous.

It's just that although he was frightened, Jiang Ji's movements were not slow at all.

He hurriedly stepped forward to take a few steps behind Liu Bei, and respectfully bowed to him behind Liu Bei: "Jiang Ji, a scholar from the north, pays homage to the Lord of Han."

When the sound of Jiang Ji's worship fell into Liu Bei's ears, Liu Bei slowly turned around and looked at the acquaintance in front of him.

"Zitong, are you all right?"

Liu Bei's tone was full of gentleness, and he didn't feel suspicious of Jiang Ji just because he was a minister against Wei.

The reason why Liu Bei treated Jiang Ji like this was not only that Jiang Ji's own reputation and talent were appreciated by Liu Bei, but also because of Jiang Ji's just one action.

Due to the cover of the city wall and many white curtains, it is possible that Jiang Ji, who was just below the city, did not see Liu Bei on the city.

But Liu Bei, who was condescending, could clearly see Jiang Ji's behavior of bowing down to the white mantle.

Jiang Ji's move is enough to make Liu Bei appreciate him even more.

Facing Liu Bei's condolences like an old friend, Jiang Ji's heart flashed with warmth.

It's just that Jiang Ji quickly suppressed the warmth in his heart, and he replied to Liu Bei: "Ji is well, and Lord Lao Han is worried."

After saying this, Jiang Ji, who was on a mission, took out the letter written by Liu Fang for Cao Pi from his bosom, then he respectfully raised the letter over his head, and said to Liu Bei:

"This is a letter written by my lord to the Han lord, and I hope the Han lord can read it."

Hearing what Jiang Ji said, Liu Bei ordered the guards beside him to take the letter from Jiang Ji's hand.

When the guard took the letter and handed it to Liu Bei, Liu Bei immediately opened the letter in his hand and read it.

The news of Cao Pi's return to Luoyang from the north was known to Liu Bei some time ago.

Cao Pi is a traitor who usurped the Han Dynasty. It stands to reason that he and Liu Bei should be incompatible.

But after returning to the north, he would specially send important ministers like Jiang Ji to the south, and the purpose was certainly not simple.

Thinking again that the envoy sent by Cao Pi was Jiang Ji, Liu Bei speculated that maybe Cao Pi wanted to do a deal with him like Cao Cao did back then.

It was because of this reason that Liu Bei was interested in meeting Jiang Ji.

Righteousness is righteousness, but Liu Bei is not a pedantic monarch.

Under the premise of not violating the righteousness, Liu Bei does not mind making some deals with Cao Pi that are beneficial to the big man.

As for the specific transaction, it is all in this letter.

When the contents of the letter fell into Liu Bei's eyes word by word, Liu Bei's expression was quite calm at first.

It's just that as he watched more and more content, even the weather-beaten Liu Bei showed some strangeness in his eyes.

Not long after Liu Bei read all the contents of the letter, melancholy and thoughtful expressions 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 Xia Houshang, Man Chong and others who were captured by Mi Yang in the First Battle of Xicheng.

Of course Cao Pi is not a child, he knows that his purpose of writing this letter is to trade.

So in this letter, he also pointed out that he was the bargaining chip in the deal.

Cao Pi's bargaining chip was neither gold, silver, nor land.

It was the family members of the generals of Liu Jun who were captured by Wei Jun in the First Battle of Dangyang.

Looking at the bargaining chip that Cao Pi took out in the letter, Liu Bei's thoughts could not help drifting back to that turbulent and bloody afternoon.

There were tens of thousands of Liu troops in that battle, and in the end only Liu Bei and a dozen cavalry escaped successfully.

In that battle, the family members of the generals who followed Liu Bei for a long time were either killed by the Wei army or captured by the Wei army.

The reason why Cao Cao didn't kill all the family members of General Liu Jun was that he wanted to use them to disturb the hearts of General Liu Jun, especially those generals of the Yuan Cong faction in Liu Jun's camp.

These surnames such as Guan Zhang, Zhao Mi, Jian, Sun Liu, etc., were the first ministers who assisted Liu Bei in creating a great cause, and they were also the most backbone in Liu Bei's early camp.

But it is a pity that Cao Cao underestimated the weight of the word loyalty.

But even though the original goal could not be achieved, Cao Cao was grateful for the loyalty of those Yuan Cong ministers, so he did not order the killing of their family members.

Therefore, up to now, hundreds of family members of Ji Hanyuan's ministers have been imprisoned in Yecheng.

When Liu Bei knew that Cao Pi was using the release of those people as a bargaining chip, Liu Bei's face was clearly moved.

Among the first ministers of Yuan Cong who followed him, many of them are no longer there, such as Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Guan Yu and others.

Compared with Guan Yu, Jian Yong and Sun Qian's fate was very tragic, because after they died, they had no family members to send them to their end.

Their surviving family members are currently being detained in Yecheng.

It is the saddest thing in the world when a person dies without a loved one.

When Jian Yong and Sun Qian died, Liu Bei felt most sorry for them, and it was precisely this incident.

Not only the two Yuan Cong ministers Jian Yong and Sun Qian, but also the other Yuan Cong ministers more or less had this experience.

For Liu Bei, who values ​​friendship, this has always been a thorn in his heart.

From an emotional point of view, the bargaining chip that Cao Pi took out has already moved Liu Bei very much.

Of course, Liu Bei, as an emperor, of course would not think about problems solely from emotional aspects.

In this letter, Cao Pi also explained a reason why Liu Bei, who is an emperor, was quite moved.

"The name is Yuan Cong, but they are actually clan relatives. Clan clan maintains the country, ancient and modern theorem."

Why is Cao Pi so sure that Liu Bei will 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 are both emperors, and they both know the importance of clan to a dynasty.

Because of this, even though Cao Pi himself is quite jealous of his clan, he has never been stingy in giving great power to his trusted clan.

The clan is an important barrier to the stability of the dynasty.

Compared with Cao Wei, the great Han established by Liu Bei has a big deficiency.

Although there are many clansmen of the Han Dynasty in the world, there are almost no clansmen of his own clan around Liu Bei.

Before the great Han established by Liu Bei unified the world, those Han family clans scattered all over the world were unreliable, such as Liu Ye, Liu Fang and even Liu Ba.

This made the big man established by Liu Bei lack a very important cornerstone.

Various examples in history have proved how dangerous it would be to lack clan forces that firmly maintain the rule.

As an emperor, Liu Bei could not have known this.

Judging from Ji Han's specific national conditions, there is a force around Liu Bei similar to his clan, who has been firmly guarding his great cause from the side, and that is his minister Yuan Cong.

Therefore, after Liu Bei's power has developed, he has spared no effort to let the ministers occupy important positions, and even he has been painstakingly promoting and training Mi Yang for this reason.

It's just that this is not a long-term solution, because the clansmen of the ministers are not by their side.

Without clansmen by their side, Minister Yuan Cong would have no family to support them.

In this way, even within one or two generations, there will be unicorns among the ministers of the Yuan Cong family to support the overall situation.

But in the long run, the political share of the ministers of the Yuan Cong family will definitely be taken away by the ministers of the Jingzhou and Yizhou families, which will cause this power to dissipate among the great Han established by Liu Bei.

One of the most important reasons for the rapid decline of the Yuan Cong family among the Ji Han forces in history is this.

At that moment, anything can happen.

For example, in the historical event of the Beidi king crying for the ancestral temple, if the ministers of the Yuan Cong family were still in power between the ruling and opposition parties at that time, it must be Qiao Zhou and others who should cry.

Perhaps Liu Bei didn't know the helplessness of his grandson in history, but he, who has extraordinary political wisdom, certainly understands the benefits of taking back a group of yuan from the clan of ministers.

As long as hundreds of their clan members return, he can use the power of the emperor to marry them with the female relatives of the ministers of the Jingzhou and Yizhou clans, and then form a family power of the Yuan Cong clan as quickly as possible.

And with the continuous improvement of the status of Zhang Fei, Mi Yang and others, their families will surely prosper slowly.

At that time, the biggest shortcoming of the Yuan Cong family will be made up for, and the political forces between the ruling and opposition parties of the Han Dynasty can also form a situation where the Yuan Cong, Jingzhou, and Yizhou factions stand on top of each other and check and balance each other.

Even because of Mi Yang's existence, the Yuancong faction will gradually surpass the political forces of the Jingzhou and Yizhou factions in the future, and will continue to guard his descendants and the foundation he has worked so hard to create.

This kind of temptation is indeed irresistible to Liu Bei.

Because this is related to the century-old foundation of Dahan.

(End of this chapter)