Ji Han Liu Zhang

Changan.

At first, the traitor Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, but he did not use Chang'an as his residence. Instead, he built a courtyard house 250 miles west of Chang'an. The house was seven zhang high and thick, comparable to the city of Chang'an. It was called Wansuiwu, and people called it Meiwu.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo did not attach importance to Chang'an City. The Liang Province soldiers under Dong Zhuo's command caused chaos. In addition, after Dong Zhuo was killed, the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si who were entrenched in Chang'an had a minor disagreement and started fighting with swords and bows in Chang'an City.

War disasters are often accompanied by fires. In the past, columns of smoke rose into the sky from Chang'an City for months. Therefore, when Liu Zhang conquered Chang'an, he looked down at the city from the top of the city wall and saw only broken walls and ruins, with few intact houses.

However, it has been more than a month since Liu Zhang captured Chang'an. Zhang Ji, the Chang'an Order appointed by Liu Zhang, cleaned up the city. All the broken bricks and tiles, broken walls and ruins were cleared away, and a few houses were built here and there for the civil and military officials under Liu Zhang to live in.

Of course, the official residence was the first priority and was the first house to be built. After all, Liu Zhang was in charge of government, Jingzhao Yin Xun You was in office, and Changan Ling Zhang Ji was in charge of work, and they all needed an official residence to do their work. Otherwise, everyone would have to discuss government affairs in an open space, which was somewhat dignified.

Now in the government office, Liu Zhang gathered civil and military officials to discuss an important matter, which was the news from Xu Du.

Earlier, Gongcao Zhang Su was sent by Liu Zhang as an envoy, carrying tribute and the heads of Li Jue and Guo Si to Xudu to present treasures to the emperor and show the loyalty of Liu Zhang, a relative of the Han Dynasty, to the Han Dynasty.

Recently, Gongcao Zhang Su, who was in Xudu and had not yet returned to Guanzhong, sent his followers to travel through the human world and rushed to Guanzhong to deliver a message to Liu Zhang, that is, many Han ministers led by Cao Cao requested the emperor to agree to appoint Liu Zhang as the King of Shu and to supervise the military affairs of the three states of Yong, Liang and Yi.

"King Shu!?"

Liu Zhang muttered the words "King of Shu" playfully, with an unpredictable look on his face. He felt it was funny but also a little infuriating. You know, he had no grudges against Cao Cao, but he didn't expect Cao Cao to harm him like this.

"What do you think? Should I accept the title of King of Shu or refuse it?"

Liu Zhang spoke first and asked the civil and military officials in the hall. Although he had already made up his mind, he still wanted to hear their opinions. He who listens to both sides will be enlightened, while he who only listens to one side will be convinced. Listening to the various opinions of his civil and military officials would help him to broaden his thinking.

In addition, Liu Zhang could find out the thoughts of his subordinates through discussing this matter. As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle." As the lord, he should know the thoughts of his subordinates, which would help him control power and command the civil and military officials.

"My lord, I will accept the title bestowed by the King of Shu without a doubt." Lieutenant Li Xiu said. He was left behind by Liu Zhang in Taolin Pass to look for a site to build Tongguan. Now he had found a good site and was returning to Chang'an to report to Liu Zhang. However, he happened to meet Liu Zhang gathering civil and military officials to discuss the great reward bestowed by the King of Shu that day.

"You have driven out the rice bandits in Hanzhong before, and now you have killed Li and Guo in Guanzhong. You have made great contributions to the court and the country, and no one in the world can match you. If you are not crowned a king, it is not the right way to treat meritorious officials... Cao Mengde led the petition. I hope you will accept this good intention without hesitation."

Li Xiu spoke with a positive attitude, and was very resolute. In fact, Li Xiu was the military commander of the rice thief Zhang Lu. After being captured by Liu Zhang, he surrendered to Liu Zhang. At that time, Li Xiu wanted to recommend Liu Zhang as king, but Liu Zhang refused. At this time, when the court intended to reward Liu Zhang's achievements and make Liu Zhang king, it was reasonable for Li Xiu to express his affirmative voice.

Following Li Xiu's words, many people attended and echoed his words. These people were looking forward to Liu Zhang taking a further step so that they could also soar with him. As for the impact of being crowned king, these people rarely considered it.

There were many civil and military officials present at the meeting, and there were voices of approval as well as opposition.

"No, if you accept the title of king, the disaster will be great." Zheng Du, an official, spoke loudly, pouring a basin of cold water on the head of Captain Li Xiu.

After stating his attitude, Zheng Du explained the reason: "The world is in chaos now, with disputes within the country and countless states and counties. If you are given the title of king, you will be like a tree standing out in the forest or a dam higher than the bank. You will be feared by the princes of the world, and your every word and action will be concerned by the princes. Then, you will be destroyed by the wind and hit by the waves."

After saying this, Zheng Du pointed the finger at the general Cao Cao who had led the proposal to give Liu Zhang the title of king: "I have heard of Cao Mengde. Xu Shao, a famous scholar in Runan, once said that Cao Mengde is a capable minister in a peaceful era and a hero in a chaotic era. He is treacherous and his actions are particularly vicious."

Zheng Du used the most despicable mind to speculate on Cao Cao's intention of this wave of operations: "I think Cao Mengde's move is to harm you. I give you the title of king, so that you can show off to the world and be envied by the world."

"If you accept the title of king, it may bring disaster. There is no doubt that you should refuse it." At the end of his speech, Zheng Du gave sincere advice to Liu Zhang.

As a historical figure who proposed the strategy of "fortifying the city and clearing the countryside" to Liu Zhang when Liu Bei conquered Yizhou, but was rejected and deposed by Liu Zhang, Zheng Du's mind was probably somewhat dark and vicious. He did not believe and dared not believe that Cao Cao would be so kind as to control the emperor and reward Liu Zhang with the title of king.

Cao Cao must have had malicious intent in this. Just as he said, Cao Cao intended to let his Ming Gong be too ostentatious so as to arouse the taboo and fear of the princes from all over the place. Fortunately, Zheng Du saw through it and did not fall into Cao Mengde's evil scheme.

Liu Zhang neither confirmed nor denied Zheng Du's words. He just waved his hand and asked Zheng Du to sit down at the table. He planned to listen to other people's opinions, especially the attitudes of the two top strategists, Xun You and Jia Xu, on this matter.

"Gongda, Wenhe, what do you two think?"

Regarding Xun You and Jia Xu, the two people pointed out by Liu Zhang, Jia Xu remained silent. He stretched out his hand, indicating that Xun You, who had served under Liu Zhang for a longer time than him, the new strategist, should speak first. Secondly, Jia Xu admitted that his official position and power were inferior to Xun You, so he should be humble and speak later.

Xun You saw Jia Xu's behavior, but he did not follow suit and said, "When I was in Luoyang, I had some friendship with Cao Mengde, and I have some understanding of Cao Mengde's character. As for the matter of the title of king, I can say that Cao Mengde's intention is to harbour evil, not good."

Xun You shook his head calmly: "The reward of a king's title will certainly be known to the world, and will certainly arouse jealousy... For example, Yuan Shao of Jizhou and Yuan Shu of Huainan have always been disloyal, and will be unhappy when hearing about it, which will harm you. In addition, although Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou is currently an ally of ours, when he hears that you have been rewarded with a king's title, most of them will be happy on the outside but jealous on the inside." (End of this chapter)