Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 412 No smoke without fire

Winter, the twenty-second year of Jian'an.

Wuhan, Shangshu Lingfu.

Meng Da sat on the couch opposite Fazheng, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "I haven't seen brother Xiaozhi for many years. Unexpectedly, I was promoted to the rank of minister by the king. I am very happy and congratulated."

With a smile on his lips, Fazheng said, "It's all thanks to your Majesty's appreciation. Otherwise, how could he be ranked as a minister with his meager abilities?"

Pang Tong was transferred to the deputy governor of Jianghuai, and the position of Shangshu Ling of Hanchang was vacated. Fa Zheng was promoted from the prefect of Hanchang to Shangshu Ling. The vacant prefect of Hanchang was appointed by Huan Jie, a native of Chu, on the recommendation of Zhuge Liang.

Huan Jie, courtesy name Boxu, was born in Linxiang, Changsha. At first, Zhang Xian was encouraged to rebel against Liu Biao and help Cao Cao; when Cao Cao went south to Jingzhou, he defected to Xiangyang in the north. However, during the Battle of Chrysostom, Cao Cao was defeated and Huan Jie was captured by Er Liu.

After Huan Jie was plundered by Liu Qi, he was entrusted with important positions because of his reputation and extraordinary ability. Later, Liu Bei inherited Liu Qi's power, and Huan Jie switched to Liu Bei's service.

During his tenure, Gai or worked hard and encouraged things. Being taken seriously by Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei took Fazheng away on an expedition to Shouchun. There was no governor of Hanchang County to perform his duties, so Zhuge Liang recommended Huan Jie as the prefect of Hanchang.

Meng Da sighed slightly and said: "Brother Xiaozhi has made great achievements many times, so he was highly regarded by the king and moved to the post of Shangshu Ling. However, Da has been living in a remote small county in Badong for several years. It is difficult to achieve his great ambitions, and he may feel that his time is wasted. "

According to the different contributions of the three people who led the way, Liu Bei entrusted them with different purposes. Zhang Song lurked in Yizhou for many years, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as Minister of Public Affairs; Fa Zheng became the prefect of Hanchang because of his affinity with Liu Bei.

As for Meng Da, his achievements were not as good as Zhang Song's, and his relationship with Liu Bei was not as close as Fazheng's. Therefore, he was released after the founding of the country and served as the governor of Badong.

Among the Three Basketball Countries, Badong County is located in the Three Gorges area and has particularly few household registrations, making it a remote county.

When Meng Da saw that his old friend Fa Zheng was constantly being promoted to a higher official position, while he had stayed in the same place for several years, he could not help but feel envious or gloomy in his heart. However, Meng Da also meant something in his words. As the saying goes, a crying baby has milk.

Fa Zheng felt something in his heart, poured a cup of tea for Meng Da, and said, "What did Zitu say?"

"Zidu governed Badong and all the Han barbarians were convinced. He educated the people and strictly enforced the teachings. Many kings praised Zidu, saying that Zidu should have a great talent but little use in governing Badong."

"Why do you bully me when you are filial?"

Mengda vomited his bitterness and said: "Since Zhang Song's incident, many people from Shu have been ostracized. In addition, in the south, Chu people are the most noble, followed by Wu people, and Shu people are at the back. Among the people living in Guanzhong, except for those who are famous, there may be some Most of those who hold military power are not reused."

Fazheng's face slightly straightened, and he scolded: "Your Majesty always appoints virtuous people under his rule, why do you favor and trust the people of Chu?"

"Kong Ming is from Langya; Zhang Zibu is from Pengcheng; Wang Zhongxuan is from Shanyang; Xu Yuanzhi is from Yingchuan; Lu Zijing is from Xiapi;..., why do you say that the king loves the people of Chu more than those from the north? Human!"

After a pause, Fazheng reminded: "Zi Du, don't forget that the king first entered Jingchu, then went to Wuyue, and then took Bashu. The reason why the people of Chu respect him is because the king got help from the people of Chu early."

Compared with history, when Liu Bei exclusively used Chu people and Northerners to rule Shu, the current situation is much better. After Liu Bei went to Jiangdong, he received the services of a large number of Jianghuai scholars and Wu people.

In today's Southern Han Dynasty, due to various factors such as Huo Jun, Zhuge, Liu Qi, and the fact that the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty was in Wuhan, the status of Chu people would be high, but the high-level and middle-level leaders were by no means exclusively Chu people or people from a certain region.

But Meng Da was right in the second half of his sentence. Although the territory of the Southern Han Dynasty is three times larger than that of the Shu Han, the number of people sharing the cake is not only three times more, but also more scholars such as Wu Yue, Zhongyuan, Xu Huai and so on. For those of them who entered the Southern Han Dynasty later, there were really few opportunities.

Perhaps knowing that he had made a mistake, Meng Da showed embarrassment and said, "It's just difficult for Da to show off his skills. When he was depressed, he made a mistake. I hope Xiaozhi can forgive me."

Fazheng's tone slowed down and he said: "How can Zidu be the same as a mortal? You and I have the merit of welcoming the king and taking Shu, and Zidu is both civil and military. He will be of great use in the future. Why do you think you can't show your talent?" "

Hearing this, Meng Da smiled and said, "Xiao Zhi has been promoted to the rank of minister. From now on, I will thank you for your kind words."

"You and I are fellow countrymen, how can we say thank you?"

Fa Zhengduo felt helpless and said: "What I'm saying now is that after Zidu comes out of the hall, he must not talk nonsense to outsiders, otherwise evil people will get it and report it to the king. The king may not punish the crime, but he will offend the 'Chu people'!" "

Chu people can be divided into a narrow sense and a broad sense. In the narrow sense, they are people whose native place is Jingchu, and in the broad sense, they are people who have lived in Jingchu for many years.

In a broad sense, Zhuge Liang, Wang Can, and Xu Shu mentioned before by Fazheng can all be called Chu people. Because they had been traveling south to Jingchu for many years, settled in Jingchu, and made friends with the Chu people. Recommending classmates and friends to each other as officials will inevitably bring in a large number of people from Chu.

Let outsiders know that Meng Da criticized the Chu people and said that Duo was favored by Liu Bei, which may be suspected of forming a party for personal gain. Those who are narrow-minded will be impeached at the meeting.

"It's natural!"

Meng Da took out the wooden box from his side, moved it to Fazheng, and said with a smile: "A specialty of Nanzhong, specially given to Xiaozhi."

Fazheng opened the wooden box and saw that there was a slave contract in the box. He smiled and said: "Barbarian servants are precious, where did Zidu come from?"

Mengda sipped the tea and said with a smile: "Mi Nanzhong governs the barbarians, and there are many barbarian servants. Da governs Badong, and there are many people on the road to control the river. Filial piety, uprightness, and nobleness are ministers, and they have few servants. How can they be distinguished now?"

Due to the sparse population in the south, Zhuge Liang issued a ban on keeping Han slaves since he came to power. Zhuge Liang would not pursue the Han slaves he had kept before, and could even buy and sell them. But after Liu Bei founded the country, it was prohibited to buy and sell Han people as slaves.

Han people could not be slaves, and the rise of a large number of military groups caused the price of slaves in Nanzhong to skyrocket. Therefore, Mi Fang, who is sitting on the cornucopia of Nanzhong, makes a lot of money. Meng Da is just one of the beneficiaries.

"You have traveled thousands of miles to report your work, why do you need to be so polite!"

"Why don't you see some specialties from Nanzhong?"

"Forget it!" Fazheng was not polite, accepted the barbarian servant as a gift from Mengda, and said with a smile: "Thank you for your kindness!"

While Fazheng was putting away the box, Meng Da asked curiously: "Brother Xiaozhi has lived in Wuhan for a long time. Have you heard about the rumors about Huo Zhongmiao in Zhongguan?"

"The rumors about Huo Du?"

Fazheng was slightly stunned and said: "I am busy with official duties, but I don't know about Huo Du. I don't know what Zidu means?"

Meng Da lowered his voice and said: "Da entered Wuhan by boat. There were many rumors in the wells of Jinkou City that Cao Cao had an appointment with Huo Jun and wanted to make him King of Huainan and rule Jianghuai forever."

"King Huainan?"

Fazheng frowned and said: "Huo Du has served the king for many years, how can he serve Cao Cao? To confer Huo Du the title of King of Huainan is because of rumors in the market!"

Meng Da had a look on his face and said: "Whether it is a rumor or not, it is difficult for Da to tell. But Da knew that Huo Zhongmiao and his old generals were mostly guarding Jianghuai. After following him for more than ten years, he only knew Huo Zhongmiao, and I don’t know, Your Majesty.”

As he said that, Meng Da looked a little worried and speculated: "The people in the Beifu are entrenched in the Jianghuai River, and most of them take orders from Huo Jun. Huo Junzhen and Cao Cao allied with each other, raised their troops to rebel, and used their troops to separate the Jianghuai River. Wouldn't it be as easy as turning against the enemy?" "

As Meng Da said, most of Huo Jun's soldiers and generals were accumulated bit by bit by him, rather than allocated by Liu Bei. This is very critical.

Gao Xiang, Xu Sheng, Jiang Ji, Huo Du, Ding Feng, Yu Yun and other Beifu civil and military officials did not come from Liu Bei's account, but surrendered because of Huo Jun.

At that time, Liu Qi sent troops to Jiangzuo and was qualified to break up Huo Jun's army. However, Liu Qi relied on Huo Jun and did not dare and did not want to break up.

Later, when Liu Bei took charge of Jingchu, no one else dared to move lightly, let alone Huo Jun's old troops.

When Huo Jun captured Jianghuai, Liu Bei's expedition to Bashu in the west made the defense of the Jianghuai area increasingly dependent on Huo Jun and his soldiers from the Beifu under his command. Over time, in the virgin land on the Jianghuai side, the Beifu Army generals gradually took control of Jianghuai counties.

The staffing of the three major metropolitan areas of Jiangzhou, Nanjun, and Hanzhong were all appointed by Liu Bei. Compared with Jianghuai, the Jianghuai governorate is more independent and has a wider area, far exceeding the other governorates of the Southern Han Dynasty.

The reason why Anlushan was able to rebel in history was not because the troops under Anlushan were highly independent.

The first emperor of Qin was afraid that Wang Jian had a large number of troops, not because Wang Jian had a large number of troops, but because Wang Jian had led the Qin army in battle for many years and had many confidants in the army.

In the eyes of people like Meng Da who are greedy for power, Huo Jun is indeed qualified to rule Jianghuai. Even when Meng Da heard this rumor, he imagined how wonderful it would be if he were Huo Jun.

Therefore, when rumors spread, different people will have different feelings when they hear them. For example, when Mengda took over the three eastern counties and rebelled against Liu Bei, he might have thought that he was qualified for better treatment. Even if his wife and children are in Chengdu, Mengda doesn't care.

Of course, Liu Bei Rende, Meng Da and Shen's wife and children who stayed in Chengdu did not receive any treatment. Gai or Liu Bei suffered from the displacement of his wife and children in his early days and could not bear to attack other people's wives and children. People who have been caught in the rain always want to protect innocent people from the rain.

Whether the monarch's character is true or not is often difficult to see in major matters. It can only be seen from the details.

Seeing that Fazheng was silent, Mengda said: "Filial and upright is the minister's order, and the king's wings. We must take precautions against what is happening now and report it to the king."

Fa Zheng stroked his beard and sighed, and asked, "Has Zidu ever thought about what will happen after the report is made?"

"But we can't help but report it to the king?"

Meng Da hesitated a little and said, "As an official reporting on his duties, he heard about this not long after he first entered Wuhan, let alone an ordinary central official?"

After a pause, Mengda said emphatically: "Being granted the title of King of Huainan, splitting the land to seal the territory, offering sacrifices in the ancestral temple, and prospering the people and ministers are beyond the power of the king."

"And if Huo Jun really has evil intentions and is granted a title by Cao Cao, he will separatize Jianghuai and rebel. Then not only Jiangzuo will be in danger, but Wuhan will also be in danger."

"Zidu has lived in Badong for a long time and does not know the affairs of the central government. How can he be suspicious of the general because of rumors in the market now?"

Fazheng straightened his face slightly and said in a deep voice: "Zheng will make his own decision on the rumor. When Zidu goes in and out of Wuhan, don't talk about it lightly to avoid causing trouble!"

Meng Da nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Don't worry about being filial and upright. Only you and I know what I want to say today!"

Then, Meng Da stood up and said goodbye, saying in a cryptic tone: "From now on, I will have to work hard and be filial!"

"I know it well!"

Fazheng stood up to say goodbye, looked at Meng Da's leaving figure, and let out a breath.

As Na Mengda said, even the officials who reported on his duties when he first entered Wuhan had heard the rumors. As the prefect of the old Hanchang, how could he not know about the legality of the current fashion?

Before, he thought it was just common people talking nonsense in private, so he dismissed it as a joke. You can't get into a big fight over such a trivial matter. It might aggravate the public opinion. It's better to calm down over time.

Unexpectedly, the rumors spread more and more widely, and even officials from other places like Meng Da who came to Beijing to report on their duties knew about it.

There is no storm without fire. Could it be that Huo Jun really wants to separate Jianghuai and establish himself as king?

(End of this chapter)