Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 361: After being eunuch, dare to become king?

That night, Zhang Song was arrested and imprisoned. Zhang Song frankly admitted his words and deeds, eliminating the need for torture.

The next day, Fazheng came to visit, but Zhang Song regretted it and cried bitterly to Fazheng, expressing his hope to see Liu Bei, explain his words and deeds, and vowed not to rebel.

Fazheng was deeply saddened by his friend's suicide attempt. Then he conveyed Zhang Song's words to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei expressed his unwillingness to see Zhang Song again.

Seeing that Liu Bei did not want to see him, Zhang Song knew that he would inevitably die. Under the guidance of Fa Zheng, he wrote a confession letter to Zhuge Liang before his execution, hoping that Zhuge Liang would not accuse him of treason.

In the letter, Zhang Song said that he had met many princes and thought that Cao Cao was tyrannical, Liu Zhang was weak, Zhang Lu was unruly, and only Liu Bei had the weapon of overlord and was worthy of serving. Therefore, he, Fazheng and Mengda changed monarchs and worked for Liu Bei.

After welcoming Liu Bei into Shu, it was his happiest day. He found the monarch he dreamed of, and his ambitions were expressed. His reputation became prominent, and he was appointed to an important position as a minister.

The lord treated him so favorably and placed him above the people of the state. This kindness is unmatched by anyone. However, he was arrogant and arrogant, bringing the blame on himself, and eventually became an unfaithful and unjust person.

When you hold hope in your hands, you draw a knife and kill yourself. This is what only a fool would do. The reason why he said evil words was because he overestimated his own abilities and overestimated his achievements in winning Shu. Now that he was appointed to Guanghan, he could not understand his lord's good intentions, so he became emotional.

At the end of the letter, Zhang Song explained the words of military power and the center. He just hoped to cooperate with Huang Quan and do his best to assist Liu Bei in the Northern Expedition to Cao Cao. Sighing that Huang Quan misinterpreted his meaning so that Liu Bei misunderstood him.

In the end, Zhang Song bluntly stated that he had committed suicide and could not blame anyone. He praised Zhuge Liang Youyi and Lu Zhineng, hoping to help Liu Bei Kuang support the success of the Han Dynasty.

Looking at Zhang Song's confession letter, Zhuge Liang remained silent. Good words cannot persuade a person who deserves death, and no one can blame him for his own destruction.

Putting down the letter, Zhuge Liang asked: "How did the Yizhou scholars react when Zhang Song was beheaded?"

"The scholars in Yizhou are both frightened and happy. As Zhang Yi once said, Zhang Song has virtue but no talent and is not suitable for great use. Now the blame is his own, which is very satisfying." Deng Zhi said.

"Pleasant?"

Hearing this, Zhuge Liang sighed slightly.

Colleague Huang Quan is fishing and enforcing the law, and fellow villager Zhang Yi speaks cheerfully, which shows how unpopular Zhang Song is. Zhang Song's execution today not only allows Liu Bei to shock everyone, but also appeases the hearts of the people in Yizhou. It is also a good thing to find out the restless factors in advance.

"Where is the king?" Zhuge Liang asked.

Ma Liang hesitated a little and said, "Your Majesty left a message. He and Dukes Jian and Sun went out to collect news. The military advisors will take care of matters in the palace."

At this time, Liu Bei went out to collect news. Obviously he didn't want to get involved in Zhang Song's affairs and went out with old friends to relax.

Zhuge Liang understood Liu Bei's intention and put Zhang Song's confession letter away as a case record.

"Zhang Song's matter ends here. He has no accomplices or cronies."

With that said, Zhuge Liang took out the letter from the case, handed it to Ma Liang and said, "Let me send this letter to Meng Badong. The case has been stated in the letter."

"promise!"

The local governors of Yi and Liang prefectures have been appointed, such as Wang Shang, the prefect of Shu, Li Yan, the prefect of Jianwei, Fei Guan, the prefect of Bajun, He Qi, the prefect of Wenshan, and Meng Da, the prefect of Badong.

As for the previously vacant prefect of Guanghan, Zhang Song was unable to take up the post, so Xiahou Zuan was appointed as the prefect of Guanghan.

Not to mention that Zhuge Liang was busy with documents, Liu Bei did not dare to go too far from the center when he went out to collect news, but mostly wandered around Wuhan.

It has been more than four years since Liu Bei merged the prefectures of Hanshou and Jingkou and moved the town to Wuhan in the spring of the 15th year of Jian'an.

In the past four years, E County, which was originally a remote small county, has become the leading city in the south due to the influx of hundreds of thousands of people. Although it is not as good as Xiangyang, which was at its peak under Liu Biao's rule, as time goes by, it is only a matter of time before Wuhan, which is at the crossroads of land and water, catches up with Xiangyang.

In Fan City, the streets and houses are decorated with majestic buildings, such as Zhi, and are bustling with people. Merchants from Jiaoling, Bashu, Wuyue can be seen everywhere, and there are even traders from the Central Plains.

"Xiangyi Zhiwen, come and take a look!"

"There are only five pearls left in Jiaozhou!"

“Badi lacquerware is so exquisite!”

The boys shouted in the street, trying to attract the dignitaries entering the market.

Liu Bei was sitting in a wine house on the second floor of the street. When he saw this scene, he smiled and said: "When I first arrived in Wuhan, due to the war, people's livelihood was in ruins and many acres of land were abandoned. However, since Chengming became the prefect of Hanchang, he worked with Kongming , dredge rivers and lakes, divert water to irrigate canals, reclaim wasteland, make the people rich, merchants gather together, the prosperity of Wuhan lies in Chengminger!"

Pan Jun is a typical scholar-official, who works for whomever is the boss.

After Liu Bei appointed Pan Jun as the governor of Wuhan and also took over the Wuhan order, he took advantage of the east wind of the transfer of the central government to vigorously develop industry, agriculture, and commerce.

In terms of industry, because Wuhan is rich in copper and iron, with Liu Bei's permission, Pan Jun mined Wuhan copper and iron to smelt swords and armor to provide for the Imperial Army. With the armor smelting, Liu Bei replaced a large number of armors for the Chinese army's soldiers and horses in a few years. The combat effectiveness increased greatly and the sergeants became more elite.

In terms of agriculture, Wuhan is located between rivers and lakes. Zhuge Liang and Pan Jun cultivated fields around lakes, diverted water for irrigation, and developed water conservancy. People reclaimed wasteland and Wuhan became rich.

In terms of business, Wuhan is located at the strategic point of water and land, at the waist between Wu and Chu. It has gathered a large number of military generals with amazing purchasing power. Countless merchants flocked to Wuhan, and Wuhan Jinkou was prosperous.

Industry, commerce, and agriculture are booming, so how can Wuhan not prosper?

Therefore, Pan Jun's outstanding performance in the center allowed Liu Bei to reuse and promote him. This is one of the reasons why Pan Jun was promoted to the governor of Liangzhou.

Sun Qian smiled and said: "Wuhan's prosperity is due to Pan Jun's power, but it is related to the master's employment of talents. Since the world has monarchs and ministers, it is often said that thousands of miles of horses are always found, but bole is not always found."

"Ha ha!"

Liu Bei laughed a few times. Today, when he went on a trip and saw the prosperity of the city under his rule, the tightness in his chest could not help but dissipate.

After taking a sip of the tea in the cup, Liu Bei frowned slightly and asked, "Why is it tea and not wine?" Mi Zhu sipped the tea and said with a smile, "My lord has banned alcohol, have you forgotten it?"

"I'm afraid this wine house will be turned into a tea house!"

"That's fine!"

Liu Bei tasted the bitterness of the tea and said with a smile: "Now we must save food first!"

Mi Zhu put down the tea cup and said with a smile: "Zifang is serving in Nanzhong and bought hundreds of jars of fine wine from the barbarians. He will arrive in Wuhan soon. At that time, someone will select the fine wine and send it to the palace for the lord to taste."

"good!"

Suddenly, Jian Yong pointed at several men walking through the street and said, "My lord, those people are going to rape and humiliate women, why don't you tie them up and hold them accountable."

"Ok?"

Liu Bei looked confused and asked strangely: "How did Xianhe know that they were going to rape women?"

Jian Yong stroked his beard and asked, "They have the tools for prostitution, but now they want to do something illegal. How can they not be arrested and punished?"

"Xianhe is not someone else, how can he know what others are thinking?"

Liu Bei was confused and said: "All men in the world have things that can lead to sexual immorality. How can we conclude that they want to do illegal things?"

Jian Yong said with a smile: "This is the same as hiding brewing utensils privately in people's homes. Now my lord wants to punish the crime of hiding brewing utensils privately, why not punish others for raping women?"

"Since my lord says that he doesn't know what others are thinking, how can he know what the people who have the brewing equipment are thinking? The people have not broken any laws, so my lord rules them by breaking the law. Isn't it absurd?"

"Ha ha!"

Liu Bei stroked his beard, laughed a few times, and said: "Xianhe's high-level remarks, now that I think about it, the solitary governance method is harsh. How can we treat it with moonshine water if we don't have the ability to brew wine?"

"Come here, abolish the law of privately hiding brewing equipment, and order all states and counties to release all the people in custody without punishment."

"promise!"

The attendant took the order and left.

Jian Yong stood up and bowed, raised his hands and said, "My lord is wise, and the people of the six states will remember your lord's kindness."

"That's not necessary!"

Liu Bei sighed slightly and said: "Since I came to power, few people have shown kindness. Now I am giving you a small favor. I dare to feel happy. I only hope that the world will be unified as soon as possible so that the people can avoid the pain of recruiting troops."

"I and your ministers should take the two emperors Huan and Ling as a lesson. We should not act arbitrarily, enforce cruel laws, and harm the people. If there are suggestions in the future, we should give more suggestions to correct my mistakes."

Liu Bei's current mentality is very different from his mentality ten years ago. When there was no territory before, Liu Bei could often talk freely. Now that Liu Bei was in power, he was cautious and fearful.

He is a monarch, and any decree he issues will have a significant impact if passed on. If we act on the basis of patting our heads, I don’t know how many people will suffer.

Those who govern the people should act with caution. This is what Liu Bei has learned most this year.

This is one of the reasons why Liu Bei is increasingly daring to delegate power to Zhuge Liang. When Zhuge Liang promulgates a political order, he is always extremely cautious and only dares to issue it after long discussions with others.

"Governing a big country is like cooking small dishes, and the king's actions are exactly what he said." Sun Qian said.

"Exactly!" Mi Zhu agreed.

"Beep!"

As he stepped quickly up the stairs, Liu Bei looked up and saw Zhao Yun coming with a sword.

"Is there something urgent about Zilong?" Liu Bei asked.

Zhao Yun bowed and saluted, and said, "I'll report it to my lord, and I'll repay you with my careful work from Nanyang!"

Liu Bei glanced at the empty wine room on the second floor and said, "There are no outsiders today, but it doesn't matter!"

"promise!"

Zhao Yun hesitated a little and said: "The traitor Cao Cao took advantage of the success of pacifying Hexi and Shuofang and obtained the emperor's edict. He proclaimed himself the King of Wei in Yecheng, built a palace, set up hundreds of officials, and went out with the emperor's etiquette. He also ordered a general amnesty for the world and the cultivation of officials and people. "

"After being eunuch, you dare to call yourself king?"

Liu Bei's face turned cold, and he placed the tea cup at his mouth back on the table, and tea splashed out.

"Your Majesty!"

Liu Bei got up from the couch and ordered: "Turn back to the palace and ask Zhongxuan to write an article angrily denounce the traitor Cao."

"promise!"

Since Liu Bei knew about the murder of Queen Fu, he could probably guess that Cao Cao would be king soon. The reason why he behaves in anger nowadays is mostly to express his attitude to his subordinates.

(End of this chapter)