Ji Han Liu Zhang

King of Qin, King of Jin!!!
When Liu Zhang heard his confidant Peng Ying say that only titles like King of Qin and King of Jin were worthy of him, he just smiled indifferently. To be honest, he didn't care about these empty titles. It would be more practical to take over a county, which would make him happier.

However, if he really wants to get a title of king, considering the places he occupies now, which are Bashu, Hanzhong and Guanzhong, the titles he can get are probably one of the three titles: King of Shu, King of Hanzhong and King of Qin.

Among these three titles, if we ignore other considerations and simply rank them according to the fiefdoms of the overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period, the best one would be the King of Qin. The countries represented by the four titles of Jin, Qin, Qi and Chu were the most powerful during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The King of Qin is naturally superior to the King of Hanzhong and the King of Shu.

However, neither of the two Han dynasties ever conferred the title of King of Qin. This was not because the Han Dynasty was founded by resisting the tyranny of Qin, which led to the Liu family being wary of the title of King of Qin.

It was because the Han Dynasty was a real society of kings, and to be a king one had to have a fiefdom. Qin was the capital of the Western Han Dynasty and the governor of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was impossible for the emperor of the Han Dynasty to place the capital in the territory of the princes, thus making it seem like the emperor had sealed himself off from the throne.

This can also be seen from the endless emergence of Qin kings in later generations. The title of Qin King, which was once held by the tyrannical Qin Dynasty, was still constantly enfeoffed. Even figures like Qin King Li Shimin appeared during this period, making the title of Qin King surpass other king titles in the Tang Dynasty.

It's just that according to common sense, the King of Qin ranks above the King of Hanzhong and the King of Shu. But now it is the Han Dynasty, and the King of Hanzhong is actually better than the King of Qin, especially for Liu Zhang, a relative of the Han royal family who is ambitious to rule the world.

No other title of king has as much political significance as the King of Hanzhong to Liu Zhang. This can be seen from the fact that in history, after Liu Bei captured Hanzhong, he did not call himself the King of Shu, but instead called himself the King of Hanzhong.

The significance of King of Hanzhong lies in its similarity to King of Han, a title once used by Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, King of Hanzhong has unparalleled appeal to the Han royal family. They would give up the title of overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period and only ask for the title of King of Hanzhong.

All in all, according to what Liu Zhang thought, based on the title he could get based on the land he controlled, the best one would be King of Hanzhong, followed by King of Qin, and as for King of Shu, he would not even look at it.

If he accepted the title of King of Shu granted by the court, on the one hand, it would signal to people in the world that he, Liu Zhang, was a person who was greedy for power and fame; on the other hand, Shu was a small and remote country, and he would be based in Guanzhong and build a career based on the Qin's former land. Being granted the title of King of Shu was too narrow. Although he started his career in Shu, he would not end up in Shu.

However, according to Liu Zhang's calculations, the court controlled by Cao Cao would definitely not grant him the title of King of Hanzhong. After all, if he was granted the title of King of Hanzhong, it would be telling the world that he, Liu Zhang, was the successor to Emperor Gao's cause and another Guangwu who revived the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, Liu Zhang suspected that Cao Cao might manipulate power to bestow on him the more prestigious title of King of Qin after he refused the title of King of Shu. In short, it would not be the title of King of Hanzhong, which had great political significance.

As for titles, there are two that Liu Zhang almost had no chance of getting, one is King of Zhou and the other is King of Han. The Zhou Dynasty was known for its benevolence and virtue and was admired by later generations. It had a national history of 800 years. King of Han was a title that Liu Bang once had, which was of great political significance.

For this reason, if Cao Cao had not been angry, he would never have given Liu Zhang the title of King of Zhou or King of Han. If he was given the title of King of Zhou, it would have been a hint that the Han Dynasty would also have 800 years of national destiny, and if he was given the title of King of Han, he would have been the ironclad successor to Emperor Gao Liu Bang's career. However, whether it was King of Qin or King of Shu, Liu Zhang would only consider whether he could receive the title of king when the time was right, based on the current situation. Now that he had just settled in Guanzhong, there were many complicated matters, and he had to focus on the present.

"In Yongnian, Liangzhou has not been settled yet, so even if the King of Qin gets it, it will not be complete. Bingzhou has not been taken yet, so how dare you mention it to the King of Jin?" Liu Zhang denied both kingships mentioned by Peng Ying.

Facing Liu Zhang's rebuttal, Peng Ying remained unmoved. He said loudly: "With your divine power and the loyalty of your soldiers, Liangzhou will be conquered sooner or later, and Bingzhou will also belong to you sooner or later, just like food in the throat, you only need to swallow it gently and it will fall into your stomach."

Liu Zhang laughed refreshingly when he heard this: "Yongnian, you don't take the heroes of Liangzhou and the heroes of Bingzhou seriously."

"The so-called heroes of Liangzhou and heroes of Bingzhou are nothing but a bunch of common people. They have neither great ambitions nor long-term plans. They just live one day at a time and muddle through in vain." Peng Ying said proudly. He did not take any of the princes except Liu Zhang seriously.

Seeing Peng Ying's words and deeds, Liu Zhang wondered whether he should change someone to carry out his plan. After all, Peng Ying's temper was indeed a bit arrogant, and he was not the kind of person who could get along with others and connect with others.

But then, Liu Zhang changed his mind and decided that he might as well use this incident to temper Peng Ying. After all, if Peng Ying always had this kind of temper, it would be difficult to deal with him in the future. Secondly, the task he was about to assign to Peng Ying was not very important, it was just something he had to do.

"Yongnian, I have something I want to entrust to you, but you have always been noble and kind-hearted, and I'm afraid you are not the right person." Liu Zhang threw out a fishing hook and used provocation at the same time. He showed an embarrassed expression appropriately.

Upon hearing this, Peng Ying's eyes lit up and he looked eager to try. As a military officer living in Chang'an, when there was no war, he could only do some government affairs to govern the people. He was a little annoyed. After all, he had to gain fame and honor immediately, and his achievements in governing the people and managing the government were few.

However, when Peng Ying heard Liu Zhang say that he was not the right person, his competitive spirit immediately ignited. He bowed to Liu Zhang and said, "I don't know what you are talking about, but please tell me what you want to do. I will do my best and not let you worry."

After patting his chest and making the promise, Peng Ying felt that it was not firm enough, so he walked out of his seat and bowed to Liu Zhang, saying, "Mingsir, please tell me, no matter what happens, I will do my best to help you solve your problems."

Liu Zhang stood up, and he stepped forward to help Peng Ying up, patted Peng Ying on the shoulder and said, "Yongnian, I know your talents, but the task I want to entrust you with is to go deep into Liangzhou and contact the noble families and loyal officials of Liangzhou, so that these people can defend the city and not be lured by Han Sui and Ma Teng to fight against me... I'm afraid you are not very good at contacting all parties and talking..."

"My Lord, please be at ease. I will leave this matter to Peng Ying. If Peng Ying fails to do this, I will never see you again." Peng Ying, eager to prove himself, promised Liu Zhang that he would go deep into Liangzhou, contact loyal officials and righteous men, and let them stand on Liu Zhang's side. (End of this chapter)