Ji Han Liu Zhang

In the second year of Xingping, early September.

The leaves in the courtyard of Nanzhengguan Temple are blown by the autumn wind, either turning green-yellow, or deep yellow dyed by autumn. The extremely yellow leaves fall to the ground, paving the way for a layer in the courtyard. Golden carpet.

Liu Zhang saw another leaf falling in the wind. This leaf swayed with the wind for several times before finally returning to the dust. He picked up the fallen leaf with great interest and sighed in his heart that time flies by. As time goes by, another year is coming to an end.

Since arriving at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he has gone from being at a loss at first to thinking about spending his life peacefully. Then he became unaccustomed to this turbid world and decided to do something to wash away the turbidity of this world and restore a peaceful and prosperous world. The world, so that future generations will not have Wu Huan chaos, if he is lucky, he wants to push the era forward.

From the struggle in the first year of Xingping to the second year of Xingping, two years later, Liu Zhang thought he had done pretty well. He secured his position as Yizhou pastoralist, took control of Hanzhong, and recruited a group of With talents in civil and military affairs, good counselors and ministers, the future can be said to be bright.

At this time, the soldier Cao Pengyi stepped into the courtyard, raised his hands to Liu Zhang and reported: "Ming Gong, Meng Da, Yang Bo, Li Xiu and others are already waiting in the Ming Hall."

"Okay." Liu Zhang nodded. Today he was going to meet a group of Hanzhong's young men to do the work of recruiting surrender and rebels.

Not long after, Meng Da, Yang Bo, and Li Xiu, who were standing in the middle of the bright hall, saw Liu Zhang and Peng Yi coming out of the screen behind the bright hall.

After just a glance, Meng Da, Yang Bo and Li Xiu lowered their heads and waited respectfully for Liu Zhang to sit down. Then they saluted Liu Zhang and said, "I have met Duke Ming." At the same time, Huang Quan and Wu Yi , Gan Ning, Fazheng, Xu Meng, Xi Su and other civil and military officials sitting on both sides of the table also followed suit.

"Sit down." Liu Zhang didn't put on any airs, and he didn't like to put on airs. He just gave an order and ordered the three traitors from Hanzhong to take their seats.

Then Liu Zhang looked at the three people and had a conversation with them. Regarding Meng Da, a famous Shu Han boy in history and a stepping stone for the old thief Sima Yi to take off, Liu Zhang couldn't help but marvel at Meng Da after talking with them. His speech and appearance are really good. He can argue well when he meets Xianya. He seems to have the talent of a general and the weapon of a minister. It is no wonder that after Meng Da betrayed Shu Han and joined Cao Wei, he was able to win the favor of Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi. With the character of a traitor, Identity is located in Dongsan County.

Liu Zhang's first impression of Yang Bo, a Hanzhong sacrificial wine man and a member of the wealthy Yang family whom Zhang Lu trusted, was that he was honest and honest. This was because Yang Bo had a dark complexion and an honest face. However, Yang Bo looked like He is a person like an old farmer. As soon as he sees that the war in Hanzhong is not going well, he will betray his master. This shows that people should not be judged by their appearance.

Liu Zhang guessed that Zhang Lu was shocked when he heard the news about Yang Bo's rebellion. After all, Yang Bo's appearance and words were so deceptive, and Yang Bo looked like a loyal minister and filial son.

'People's hearts! Liu Zhang sighed with emotion. People's hearts are the most difficult things to guess. For example, Yu Jin followed Cao Cao for more than thirty years and was the number one general in Cao Wei. He was also known as Yi Zhong. However, after being captured by Guan Yu, he immediately bowed down. Please surrender, Cao Cao was so worried that he said: "I know that I have been banned for thirty years, so why should I face danger when I am in danger? I am not as good as Pang Dexie!"

After looking at Yang Bo, Liu Zhang chatted with Li Xiu for a few words. Li Xiu's speech was not outstanding, and Li Xiu's appearance was not considered a strong general, but he was just a middle-aged man.

"I have one thing to say, I want to advance to Ming Gong." Li Xiu said suddenly with a straight face.

Liu Zhang smiled, pretending to be obedient, and indicated to Li Xiu that he could just say whatever he was holding back: "It's okay, please speak frankly."

Li Xiu attended the meeting solemnly, lived in the palace, bowed down to Liu Zhang, and declared: "Ming Gong, the former Hanzhong has nectar falling and jade articles coming out of the earth and stone. This is a sign of great auspiciousness... But Zhang Lu confused him and thought he was red. It was about to decline, and the Huang family was about to prosper. They wanted to raise their name in Hanzhong and create the title of King Ning of Han Dynasty. However, they were advised by the meritorious Cao Yan Pu, so they could not implement it."

"A mere thief who dares to guess the will of heaven and man is really overestimating his own abilities." Peng Yi's usual arrogance expressed his contempt for Zhang Lu. At the same time, he glanced at Liu Zhang. In his heart, he was the king. , none other than Liu Zhang.

Gan Ning also snorted coldly: "Yellow scarf thieves, rice thieves, these dogs who deceive people with ghost ways, they only want to have some good things... Manna falls from the sky, jade is born from the soil, such auspiciousness, how can it be Zhang Lu This rice thief can bear it."

Li Xiu nodded: "What General Gan Zhonglang and Peng Bingcao said was that Zhang Lu claimed auspiciousness for himself, but it was really wishful thinking... But it is not without reason to be born auspicious. Xiu knows some divination skills and once made a divination The hexagrams and hexagrams show that the auspiciousness belongs to the Lord of Hanzhong, but Zhang Lufei has such a blessing, I think these auspicious signs should belong to Ming Gong."

When Li Xiu said this, his face couldn't help but glow: "Ming Gong, the nectar falling from the sky and the jade objects born in the soil are all signs that a king will come out... Now Ming Gong has pinged Bajun in the east and Soyi in the south, and now he is expelling Zhang Lu , To restore the purity of Hanzhong, how could the Lord of the world have such civil and military talents?"

"Now there is great chaos in the country, the imperial court is depressed, and the people do not know where they are going. It is the time for Duke Ming to show off his grand plans... I also ask Duke Ming to ascend the throne of Hanzhong to comply with the will of the people, capture the people's hope, and make the people of the world know that they have returned." .”

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the audience was shocked. Huang Quan, the chief registrar, frowned slightly. As soon as Li Xiu surrendered, he dared to jump out and persuade him to join. Of course, Huang Quan did not object to Liu Zhang becoming king, but he felt that the timing of Liu Zhang's becoming king needed to be carefully discussed. At the moment, Liu Zhang only occupied Shu. , If you rashly become king, I am afraid that it will arouse the fear of all the heroes in the world. At that time, your behavior will be noticed by the heroes, and someone will get in the way of whatever you want to do.

No! ! !

Wu Yi stretched out his hand to rub the short beard on his chin, feeling the refreshing touch. At the same time, he placed his eyes on Li Xiu in the palace. As his father-in-law, if Liu Zhang went further, he could follow suit. , this is a good thing, as long as Liu Zhang nods, but Wu Yi doesn't know Liu Zhang's thoughts yet, he plans to wait and see the situation before talking.

Wait and see! ! !

Gan Ning's face was filled with joy. He agreed with Li Xiu's proposal. There was no one more suitable to be king than Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang was both a member of the royal family and an important minister. In addition, he had suppressed the barbarians in Nanzhong and defeated the rice thieves in Hanzhong. He vigorously safeguarded the honor of the Han family and honored the royal family. It is unjustifiable for such a person not to be called the king.

That's right! ! !

Bing Cao Peng's eyes were about to burst. He stared at Li Xiu with his eyes rounded and his upper and lower teeth gritted as if he wanted to eat Li Xiu alive. He cursed in his heart: "Shu Zi, you actually stole Nai Gong's words." '

Peng Yi had already had some ideas about persuading Liu Zhang to join him, but Liu Zhang didn't reveal anything about it. It seemed that Liu Zhang didn't have this idea, so he didn't feel comfortable hurriedly persuading Liu Zhang to join him and promote him to the throne. He was afraid that Liu Zhang would dislike him and think that he was It’s Yukijin’s villain.

However, Peng Yi did not expect that Li Xiu, a newly surrendered person and a traitor who had just changed his family, would carelessly advise Liu Zhang and persuade him to become the king of Hanzhong. When he saw Li Xiu's conversation just now, he didn't see anything surprising about Li Xiu, but Li Xiu was so brave that he persuaded him to come in as a traitor.

How dare you! ! !

'King of Hanzhong. Fazheng, the captain of the military council, murmured these three words. He had no objection to Li Xiu's persuasion. His focus was all on the three words "King of Hanzhong". The former Gao Emperor Liu Bang once served as the King of Han. Although Liu Zhang is now According to Hanzhong, it would be too ostentatious and the meaning too obvious to call him the King of Han.

The term "King of Hanzhong" is just right, and Fazheng's eyebrows light up. The King of Hanzhong would not be too obvious and ostentatious unless he was the King of Han, but the King of Hanzhong is like the King of Han, which means that Liu Zhang will do the same thing as the Emperor of Gao.

Wonderful! ! !

In addition, Yang Huai, Xu Meng, Xi Su, Yin Pu and other generals all looked happy and nodded in agreement. Meng Da and Yang Bo, both newcomers to the army like Li Xiu, were shocked by Li Xiu's words. , then the two of them realized that this was an opportunity, and immediately attended and said: "Ming Gong, please also ask to be crowned King of Hanzhong in order to comply with the will of the people."

This was a wave, and many people came to persuade Liu Zhang to advance. There were civil servants such as Peng Yi, Fazheng and others, as well as military generals such as Gan Ning and Yang Huai. However, there were also cautious people like Wu Yi who still sat down. Did not attend during the dinner.

Wu Yi lowered his eyebrows, but glanced at Liu Zhang who was looking up. He saw Liu Zhang's face was calm, and he couldn't tell whether he was angry or happy. After thinking for a moment, Wu Yi thought it would be better to attend. Although he couldn't guess Liu Zhang's thoughts, he attended There are a large number of people in the civil and military affairs, and there is already a vague momentum. In addition, Liu Zhang may be concerned about those who cannot persuade him to join. He considers himself a courtier, and he still has to show his attitude.

Wu Yi was preparing to attend, and Huang Quan was also preparing to attend. However, he was not trying to persuade him to join, but was preparing to advise Liu Zhang not to be confused by the throne. He thought that if Liu Zhang decided to become king at this time, he would When he became king, he first attracted the dislike of all the heroes in the world, and secondly, Liu Zhang only occupied the land of Shu and his strength was still insufficient.

But just when Wu Yi and Huang Quan stood up, Liu Zhang finally responded to the wave of persuasion from below: "Gentlemen, please take your seats first."

It was just a word that was neither high nor low, but it was heard in the ears of all the civil and military officers and penetrated into their hearts. All the civil and military officers stood up one after another and returned to their respective seats. Huang Quan and Wu Yi also stopped getting up. action and sit down again.

After all the civil and military officials sat down, Liu Zhang spoke slowly: "Since Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the government has been weak and the country has been in chaos. After Dong Zhuo, there were Li Que, Guo Si and other thieves who brought trouble to the world. As of today, bones are exposed in the wild, thousands of miles away. No rooster crows... Last year, my father and brother conspired with Liangzhou Ma Teng to kill Li Guo, Guo Si and other Liangzhou thieves, so that the country could regain its glory. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. Both my eldest and second brothers died at the hands of Li Guo. The late king left even more worried and angry."

"At this time, Zhang succeeded as the shepherd of Yizhou. All he did was to pacify the thieves in the state and raise the heads of Guizhou in the state. These were all matters within the state and were Zhang's obligations. What merits are there to be commendable and worthy of the throne? Reward...Besides, today is in trouble and the people are in dire straits. This is not the time for Zhang to seek the throne, and it is not Zhang's original intention. Therefore, I can only thank you for being king and discuss it later...Zhang's long-cherished wish is to kill Li Que Guo Si, to pay homage to my deceased father and brother, to avenge the people of Guanzhong who were harmed by Li Que and Guo Si, and to give the elders of Guanzhong a peaceful season."

At this point, Liu Zhang's words were generous: "It is not my intention to be crowned king, but I hope the world will be peaceful." (End of this chapter)