Ji Han Liu Zhang

The first year of Jian'an, the end of the year.

Normally speaking, at the end of the year, both officials and common people would get a chance to rest, and the busyness of the year would temporarily stop. However, as an official, Shizhong Liu Ai could not rest. At this moment, he was on the way to Chang'an.

Shizhong Liu Ai was carrying the king's order, namely to issue an edict to reward Grand Marshal Liu Zhang as the King of Shu. However, the first two times he brought the edict to Chang'an, Grand Marshal Liu Zhang simply declined the edict and refused to accept the title and salary of the King of Shu. Therefore, Liu Ai had to travel back and forth between Xudu and Chang'an.

Fenglingdu.

In the light morning mist, Liu Ai looked at the familiar ferry in front of him. He couldn't help but shook his head and sighed deeply. This was his third time to arrive at Fengling Ferry, and also his third time to go to Chang'an to award the title of King of Shu to Grand Marshal Liu Zhang.

But I don’t know whether I will succeed this time or return empty-handed.

However, according to Liu Ai's speculation, regardless of whether Grand Marshal Liu Zhang would accept the reward from the King of Shu this time, he would get a chance to breathe for a while.

If Liu Zhang, the Grand Marshal, accepted the title and salary of the King of Shu this time, he would be able to rest for a while after completing this important task. If Liu Zhang, the Grand Marshal, refused to accept it for the third time, the court would be too embarrassed to ask him to go to Guanzhong for the fourth time, and would force the title and salary of the King of Shu into Liu Zhang's arms. After all, such a demand would somewhat damage the court's reputation.

Sitting on the ferry at Fengling Ferry, the morning mist was dispersed by the bright sunlight, and Liu Ai was able to see the river bank opposite Fengling Ferry. However, the situation on the other side seemed a little different.

Unlike the second time Liu Ai left Guanzhong, on the other side of Fenglingdu, a city with the Yellow River to the north and the mountainside to the south took shape.

"Boatman, are they building a city on the other side?" Liu Ai asked the old fisherman with white hair.

The old fisherman's oar was creating clear waves in the river.

Hearing Liu Ai's question, the old fisherman who took over the conversation smiled and said, "Just as you said, there is a new city being built on the other side of the river. I heard that it is supervised by Li Xiu, a lieutenant under the command of the Grand Marshal. The name of the city is Tongguan."

"Tongguan?! It's named after the Tong River that flows through it." Liu Ai looked bleakly as he looked out at the geographical features around Tongguan.

As the emperor's attendant, Liu Ai had some knowledge of military affairs. Although it was just theory, it was enough for him to get a glimpse of the danger of Tongguan.

The terrain of Tongguan is very similar to that of Hangu Pass, where one man could block the passage of ten thousand. It is located at the confluence of the Wei River and the Yellow River. On the opposite bank is the Fengling Ferry that Liu Ai had just passed.

To the east of Tongguan, there are two rivers, one is Tongshui and the other is Yuanwanggou. There is a mountain plateau between the two rivers. The mountain plateau is eroded by water all year round, so the cliffs are steep and very dangerous. People traveling west must pass through the plateau, and there is no other way to go. Now Tongguan stands in front of the mountain plateau.

"One man guarding the pass, ten thousand men cannot open it." After carefully observing the location of the Tongguan site, the attendant Liu Ai nodded silently in his heart. There was indeed a capable person under the command of the Grand Marshal Liu Zhang, who actually chose such a dangerous location as the eastern gate of Guanzhong.

The ferry sailed leisurely across the river and arrived at the other side. Liu Ai got up and went ashore, waiting for a while. His attendants were riding on another boat with horses, but the boatman of the other boat was not as efficient as the old fisherman on his boat, and it was still some distance from the shore.

After waiting for a while, when the attendants led the horses off the boat, Liu Ai jumped onto the horse's back, and several riders headed towards Chang'an.

'Why. '

The closer he got to Chang'an, the more worried Liu Ai became. However, it was not because of the reward of Liu Zhang as the King of Shu. What he was worried about was himself. When he returned to Xu Du after this mission, he expected that he would be removed from his position as Shizhong and would no longer be able to serve the emperor.

As for why he was removed from the post of Shizhong, it was probably because he had given the post of General to Yuan Shao, who was now Sikong Cao Cao, the Sikong who was in charge of the government.

After Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to Xu, he first replaced the imperial guards with his own confidants and stripped Fu Wan, Dong Cheng and other relatives of the emperor of their military power. Now, he has begun to take action against the close ministers around the emperor, demoting or placing them in idle positions one by one, preventing them from protecting the emperor and carrying out their conspiracies.

"I didn't expect it to be another Dong Zhuo." Liu Ai sighed in his heart. Dong Zhuo was killed, Li and Guo were executed, and the powerful officials who tried to control the court and the emperor all ended up in a tragic end. However, powerful officials continued to come one after another, and now there is another person who has an overall view of the court.

Unlike Dong Zhuo and Li Guo, who were both ordinary men without great ambitions and only wanted to gain power for a short time, Cao Cao was different. He had ambitions, power, and strategy, so Liu Ai had an intuition that Cao Cao would end the Han dynasty and overthrow the Han dynasty.

"I hope I'm overthinking." Liu Ai sighed deeply, thinking that he might be dismissed from his post as a minister when he returned to Xudu. He was a little worried that the emperor's close ministers would be eliminated one by one, and the emperor's safety would be in danger, but he was also a little fortunate that he was relieved of his post as a minister. After all, Cao Cao, the prime minister, was in charge of the court. If he was too close to the emperor, Cao Cao might find an excuse to put him in jail, and eventually he would be exterminated.

After all, the Han Dynasty was in decline and the country was in decline. As for the fact that the emperor was treated as a clay sculpture or a wooden sculpture and the court officials were ignored, Liu Ai simply said that it was the misfortune of the Han Dynasty and the reason for the decline of the Liu family's fortune.

However, Liu Ai was not too pessimistic. He looked at Chang'an City not far away and smiled. Now the Han family has many capable clansmen, such as the Grand Marshal Liu Zhang of Guanzhong, the General of Zhennan Liu Biao of Jingzhou, and the Governor of Yuzhou Liu Bei...

The current situation of the Han Dynasty is only a temporary decline, and it will revive later, Liu Ai comforted himself, the revival of the Han Dynasty is just around the corner.

Nearing Chang'an City, at the gate of Chang'an City, Liu Ai met Chang'an Order Zhang Ji.

With more frequent trips to Guanzhong, Liu Ai had some understanding of the young Chang'an Order in front of him. Zhang Ji was young but very capable. As the Chang'an Order, he managed the dilapidated Chang'an in an orderly manner, making the city of Chang'an glow with the colors of the old capital, like an old tree growing new branches.

"De Rong." Liu Ai called Zhang Ji's courtesy name affectionately. He dismounted more than ten steps in advance and shouted to Zhang Ji with respect.

"Minister." As the host, Zhang Ji, the prefect of Chang'an, stepped forward quickly and saluted Liu Ai, the angel who came to Chang'an on behalf of the emperor.

The two men exchanged a few polite words at the city gate, and then mounted their horses together and headed towards their residence in Chang'an.

Liu Ai surveyed the situation in Chang'an City from his horseback. Within three to five months, Chang'an City, which was originally desolate and even dilapidated, had gone from having no pedestrians on the roads to being crowded with pedestrians. Houses had been built on both sides of the roads, and the city's vitality had gradually recovered and was developing in a positive direction.

"De Rong is the magistrate of Chang'an. Every time I go to Chang'an, I can see different scenery. Among the good magistrates in the world, De Rong is one of the best." Liu Ai praised Zhang Ji without hesitation.

"You are too kind, Minister. I am the magistrate of Chang'an. I am just competent in my position, not a good magistrate." Zhang Ji said modestly. Liu Ai shook his head and mentioned Liu Zhang: "My vision may be wrong, but the Grand Marshal's vision is not wrong. The Grand Marshal has a standard for identifying and employing people. The Grand Marshal appointed De Rong as the magistrate of Chang'an, which shows that he values ​​De Rong's ability."

Faced with Liu Ai's strong praise, Zhang couldn't refute it. He just smiled faintly and responded silently. He was grateful to the wise man who appointed him as the Chang'an Order, and he would never say anything bad about Liu Zhang.

Soon, Zhang Ji sent Liu Ai to his residence, and then asked Liu Ai, who was exhausted from the long journey, to have a good rest for a day, and then go to the government office in Chang'an the next day to issue the emperor's decree. Liu Ai naturally agreed. He had been traveling all the way, and running back and forth between Xu Du and Chang'an, and he was already very tired. How could he refuse Zhang Ji's kindness?

Zhang Ji left his residence and came to the government office in Chang'an to report to Liu Zhang.

"Cao Mengde is really ignorant. I rejected him twice, but he let Liu Ai run away again. He is just a king of Shu, but he still refuses three times." Liu Zhang listened to Zhang Ji's report and complained in his heart. It was not a cession, so he had to go through the process of refusing three times. He was a king of Shu, but he still refused three times and forced it into his arms.

In front of Zhang Ji, Liu Zhang sighed: "It's already the end of the year, and Cao Mengde is still making the attendant Liu Ai run around and work hard. He is really not a good son." He felt somewhat sympathetic for the attendant Liu Ai's situation of running around and working hard.

"Your Excellency is right. At the end of the year, we should enjoy ourselves with our relatives and friends. Why should we be sent abroad without rest?" Zhang Ji nodded. "Although it is the king's order, the king's order is not so unreasonable. Minister Cao is indeed a bit too much."

"Well, I'll have to trouble Derong to make arrangements for receiving the emperor's edict tomorrow." After Liu Zhang chatted with Zhang Ji for a while, he got down to business. As a minister, when receiving the emperor's edict, one must be respectful and make some arrangements.

"Yes." Zhang Ji replied.

The next day, inside the Chang'an government office.

"Your achievements are unparalleled in the world, and you deserve nothing less than a royal title. I hope you can understand my intentions and accept this reward..."

The sentences in the edict read out by the attendant Liu Ai were different from the previous two times, but the meaning was the same, which was to appoint Liu Zhang as the King of Shu.

After reading the imperial edict, the attendant Liu Ai folded it up, held it in both hands, and was about to hand it to Liu Zhang. However, when he saw that Liu Zhang was unmoved, he realized that his efforts had been in vain again.

"I hope the envoy will report to Your Majesty that it is my duty to fight against the enemy for the Han Dynasty. Although I have made some small contributions, the reward of a king's title is too heavy. Please consider it again."

Liu Ai heard different sentences of refusal from Liu Zhang, but the meaning of the refusal was the same, and the tone of refusal was more firm each time.

"I will report every word of what the Grand Marshal said to Your Majesty, so that Your Majesty will know clearly that the Grand Marshal is humble and modest." The Palace Attendant Liu Ai put away the imperial edict, with a smile on his face, and spoke to Liu Zhang in a slightly flattering manner.

After completing the usual procedure of "resigning as King of Shu", Liu Zhang held a grand banquet to entertain his attendant Liu Ai.

At the beginning of the banquet, Liu Ai brought good news to Liu Zhang: "The Grand Marshal submitted a petition to posthumously confer titles on his father and brother. The court has made a decision and will issue an order soon to posthumously confer the title of Minister of Education and Marquis of Nanzheng on the Grand Marshal's father. His two elder brothers, one posthumously confer the title of Prefect of Hanzhong and the other posthumously confer the title of Prefect of Ba County, and both will be conferred the title of Marquis of Ting to commend the Grand Marshal's father and brother for their loyalty and loyalty."

"May the spirits of my father and brother rest in peace." Liu Zhang said solemnly with a serious expression, and then he raised the cup to Liu Ai: "I think the minister must have made a lot of efforts during this period, please drink this cup to the full, so that I can express my gratitude."

"Ai really has no merit. This is all your majesty's intention." Liu Ai avoided the table and dared not take credit for it. He attributed the credit to the emperor Liu Xie.

Liu Zhang nodded, and said with emotion: "The emperor is so kind, I have no way to repay him."

Next, both the host and the guests had a great time.

During the banquet, Ma Dai, who was present at the banquet, had seldom been home since he was appointed as the Commandant of the Central Army and was in charge of the night guards. So he took this opportunity to chat with his brother Ma Chao, who was the Fu Bo Lieutenant General.

Ma Dai whispered to Ma Chao, "I didn't expect the court to reward you as the King of Shu, but you refused." Ma Dai's tone was mixed with regret, and he lamented that Liu Zhang did not take on the position of King of Shu.

"How can the mere King of Shu compare to your might and virtue today?" Ma Chao said contemptuously, raising the wine glass in his hand and drinking it all.

"This is the prince?!" Ma Dai was a little confused.

"So what about the title of king? Shu is a small and unknown country, far inferior to Jin, Qin, Qi and Chu. Only Jin, Qin, Qi and Chu can match you." Ma Chao's words were very arrogant. Liu Zhang's special treatment of him recently made Ma Chao convinced of Liu Zhang. Now he talked about the matter of being crowned king from Liu Zhang's perspective.

"You have been in charge of the night guard recently. Have you been experiencing any problems?" Ma Chao changed the subject. He asked about Ma Dai, the captain of the central army, and how the situation was in the central army. He was worried that Ma Dai would make a mistake and miss the opportunity to get close to Lord Liu Zhang.

Ma Dai shook his head and said, "Since I took office as the commander of the Central Army, I have always worked diligently and harmoniously, and have not made any mistakes. Don't worry, brother."

"I heard that the Duke has assigned two thousand Qing Qiang to your brother. The Qing Qiang have always been fearless and warlike, and they have strong barbarian customs. There is no distinction between high and low, but bravery comes first. There may be those who disobey discipline." Ma Dai asked with concern.

Ma Chao chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Deshan, why do you underestimate me so much... There were some Qing Qiang who refused to obey my orders at first, but I defeated them all. Now that the Qing Qiang are under my command, they hold their breath and dare not disobey me."

Ma Chao's words revealed the confidence that a hero from Liang Province should have, and his full faith in military power.

Happy times are always short, and the banquet ended quietly after nightfall. With so much going on everywhere, Liu Zhang had no intention of entertaining himself all night long, nor would he have such an absurd idea.

into the night.

Liu Zhang stood in the courtyard, looking up at the cold moon in the sky, calculating the time. The second year of Jian'an was approaching. (End of this chapter)