Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 415: Something to do and something not to do

Except for Huo Jun's questioning words, the room was unusually quiet. The whistling of the cold wind against the windows and the crackling of burning wood in the stove could all be clearly heard.

"Xu was granted the title of King of Huainan, Cao Cao's plan to sow discord."

After a moment of silence, Jiang Ji said cautiously: "Ji's prediction is correct. The rumors circulating in Wuhan City must have come from Cao Cao, in order to alienate the friendship between the king and the governor."

"Those who do not know the depth do not know the friendship between the governor and the king. Seeing that the general holds heavy troops and governs the Jianghuai River, he will inevitably believe in any rumors that arise, and then go up to the king to gain the reputation of loyalty. Fortunately, the king did not fall in love with Cao Cao. He will not be criticized by others for his treacherous tactics, but he must trust the governor."

"How can the current governor fall into Cao Cao's plan?"

After saying that, Jiang Ji looked hesitant and said: "However, for the governor, King Huainan is a feasible strategy."

Jiang Ji's words were relatively neutral, but he was vaguely biased towards Liu Bei.

Ding Feng stood with his hands folded and said in a deep voice: "What Jiang Qian said may make sense. The governor is famous all over the world and his reputation is higher than that of the king. It is inevitable that the old things between Han and Bai will happen again. Since the governor raised his troops, he has been able to conquer every attack and win every battle. And Even though he has done the job of welcoming and fawning, he is still being slandered by others, just look at the face of the King of Han."

"With Feng's vision, the governor's strategy, the wisdom of Mr. Feng, and the bravery of Feng and others, we should be able to protect the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers on our own. Now that Cao Cao has sent an envoy south and promised foreign aid, why not use his power and call himself the King of Huainan?" Jianghuai is the country."

Ding Feng was illiterate, but mostly brave. Since the water thief joined the army, he has followed Huo Jun for more than ten years, and he is proud when he is successful. Most of them think that Huo Jun has worked for Liu Bei and put in so much effort. No matter how high his official rank is, he is still bound by others, so why not go one step further.

However, Ding Feng's idea was probably what Cao Cao and Jia Xu wanted.

Sun Quan's plan to grant the title of King of Huainan was insidious, but in fact Jia Xu's method was even more ruthless.

Because in the eyes of outsiders, the relationship between Huo Jun and Liu Bei was not deep, and most of their interactions came from welcoming Liu Bei to Jing after Liu Qi died of illness.

Later, when Liu Bei ruled Jingchu, he relied on Liu Qi's old troops such as Huo Jun and Pan Jun. Because he has been fighting all year round, Huo Jun has his own direct troops, not to be confused with Liu Bei's generals.

Under this situation, in the eyes of outsiders, Huo Jun was extremely independent. Liu Bei had no choice but to reuse Huo Jun because of his prestige and military strategy. Moreover, Liu Bei's kindness to Huo Jun was neither too much nor too much. He was just an ordinary monarch and minister.

But why Liu Bei didn't say it was because he and Huo Jun were thinking about it. If Liu Bei reveals the truth, not only will the character Liu Bei has worked hard to accumulate for several years collapse, but Huo Jun will also be criticized by many people.

For Liu Bei, this may not be a devastating blow, but the impact on people's hearts will be so great that it is difficult to accept.

After all, in the eyes of everyone, Liu Qi abdicated the throne to Liu Bei because Liu Qi was virtuous and knew his son but was weak, so he recommended the virtuous and capable Liu Bei to the throne. However, with the collapse of the character, various rumors will probably spread, criticizing Liu Bei and Huo Jun.

In Jia Xu's plan, he wanted to spread rumors through Wuhan to make Liu Bei suspicious of Huo Jun. When the matter was fermented, Jiang Qian sneaked into Hefei to persuade Huo Jun. According to the steps of Jia Xu's plan, the effect is much better than if Jiang Gan directly persuaded Huo Jun.

If it is not a monarch like Liu Bei, it should be someone like Liu Biao, Cao Cao, Ma Chao, Han Sui, Liu Zhang, etc., and the relationship between Huo and Liu is not that deep. The first step may be as Jia Xu intended, the monarch is suspicious of the general.

When the general heard this, he felt aggrieved and dissatisfied with the monarch. Then, most generals will worry about whether Liu Bei will attack him.

In this state, Jiang Qianyan talked about the pros and cons, took out the King of Huainan as bait, and promised longevity as a gift. Ordinary generals might not be able to stand this kind of difference and comparison, so they agreed to Cao Cao's preferential terms, raised troops to rebel against Liu Bei, separatized Jianghuai, and became the king of Huainan in the Wei Dynasty.

This strategy shows Sun Quan's political methods, and the arrangement shows the ruthlessness of Jia Xu's strategy.

Seeing that Huo Jun was silent there, Jiang Ji asked: "I wonder what your thoughts are?"

"Think about who made Cao Cao's strategy?"

Huo Jun touched his moustache and said with a smile: "The plan is vicious and closely linked. If it weren't for the old friendship between me and the king, I would have fallen into his plan!"

Seeing this, Jiang Ji relaxed slightly. He did not support Huo Jun's rebellion against Liu, but he was not too loyal to Liu Bei. But once Huo Jun rebels against Liu, his bad reputation will be passed down to future generations, which makes Jiang Ji have to consider Huo Jun.

What can the Huainan Kingdom do in the future?

It is nothing more than defending the territory and sending troops to share the pressure for Cao Cao. Of course, by jumping horizontally repeatedly, you may be able to get more benefits. If you make a mistake, you will die and your country will be destroyed.

"What does the governor mean?" Ding Feng asked.

Huo Jun sat up on his knees and said with a slight smile: "Mencius said: 'A gentleman has something to do and something not to do. He knows that he can do it and does it; he knows that he can't do it but doesn't do it. This is the way of what a gentleman should do and what he should not do. !'"

"Mencius said at that time: 'If the ruler regards his ministers as his hands and feet, then his ministers will regard him as his heart and soul; if his ministers regard his ministers as dogs and horses, his ministers will regard him as a fellow countryman; if his ministers regard his ministers as earth and mustard, then his ministers will regard him as a bandit. '"

"Now that your Majesty regards me as your sibling, can I treat you with hatred?"

"It's impossible to do anything!"

Huo Jun paced between the couches and said, "I dare not compare myself to a gentleman, but I can treat others with trust. I dare not say good things about big or small things, but I dare to say it with a clear conscience." "So, although the King of Huainan is good, he is You can’t do it. It’s only human nature to know that you can’t do it but not to do it!”

Huo Jun has his own ambitions. If it was not difficult to stand on his own after passing through the early stage of the situation, he would have become the leader long ago. Although there are ambitions, Huo Jun is also a person with a bottom line.

If people treat you with faith, he will repay you with faith. Even when he is trying to trick someone, he will always look for a win-win solution or try his best to protect the interests of the other party in order to have peace of mind.

Now Liu Bei has never failed him, how could he fail Liu Bei!

As for whether the old incident between Han and Bai will happen in the future, it depends on the actions of the monarch.

Everyone thought that Guo Ziyi was a kind and gentle person, but they didn't know that Guo Ziyi had the capital that made the Emperor of Tang dare not touch him.

"What the governor said is the way of a gentleman!" Jiang Ji praised.

After a pause, Jiang Ji asked: "Since the governor is unmoved, why do you want to treat Jiang Qian?"

Huo Jun put his hands behind his waist and said, "Does Zitong have any insights?"

Stroking his beard, Jiang Ji said: "Now Jiang Qian sneaked into Hefei on the orders of Cao Cao, in order to alienate the relationship between the emperor and his ministers. He has violated a big taboo and needs to die to show the magnanimity of the governor. His head and the royal seal of Huainan , Cao Cao signed the document and sent people to Wuhan."

"Jiang Qian is from the same ancestry as the king and a fellow countryman. Now he is an envoy. How can you bear to kill him?"

Huo Jun looked at Jiang Ji and asked: "If you can't bear it, you can send him to Wuhan. With the King's benevolence and trustworthiness, Jiang Qian should be able to save his life with his flattery!"

"otherwise!"

Jiang Ji shook his head and said: "It is still unclear whether Jiang Gan's rhetorical scholar is in death. Keeping his life will not help the governor. Now take his life and borrow his head. The dead cannot be resurrected, and even if he is in death, it will be useless." .”

"As for fellow countrymen and clansmen, the two armies are fighting, and each is his own master. From the time he secretly entered Hefei, we should know that his life is in danger."

As soon as these words came out, Huo Jun relied or trusted Jiang Ji even more, and said secretly: "Zitong should not be let down, and he should be made noble from now on!"

While thinking about it, Jiang Ji emphasized: "In order to eliminate the suspicion of the Governor, we should send him a gift on the first day of the New Year and send it to Wuhan in person to clarify the Governor's intentions, relieve the king's concerns, and make it difficult for outsiders to spread rumors."

Huo Jun stopped and asked: "Most of the people in Jianghuai are old officials from Beifu, and ordinary people cannot do it. Only Shi Yuan can enter Wuhan with the royal seal, enemy envoys, and letters to show my magnanimity."

The role of Deputy Governor Jianghuai was fully demonstrated at this moment. Without the presence of Deputy Governor Jianghuai, there would be no witnesses and it would be difficult for the Central Committee to believe it.

Normally, when the civil and military personnel of Beifu report to the central government, they don't care about the authenticity of their words. In the minds of the people in the center, what Beifu Wenwu said for Huo Jun would be discounted.

Perhaps only the Deputy Governor of Jianghuai, who represented Liu Bei, could convince them of the authenticity of his words when reporting to his superiors.

Politics is never about what you believe in yourself, but about getting others to believe in you.

Moreover, politics is a serious topic, and some may think that Huo Jun can fake surrender, but don't forget that Huo Jun is the second-ranking figure in the Southern Han Dynasty, and he is not an ordinary county guard or general. Once the ordinary soldiers did not know the depth and were affected by the spread of Huo Jun's accession to the Huainan King, Huo Jun had to surrender even if he didn't want to.

"Vice-Governor Pang entered Wuhan, and the Commander-in-Chief came after him. Yi Ji thought that Shi Zai might be allowed to accompany him to show the Commander-in-Chief's intention," Jiang Ji said.

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "The treatise on Huainan written by Shi Zai is about to be completed. We can ask him to accompany him to Wuhan and present the treatise on Huainan to the king."

With Jiang Qian's visit to Huo Jun, it was no longer as simple as a rumor. Huo Jun still needed to visit Wuhan in person. Let Huo Fan follow Pang Tong into Wuhan, mostly to help Huo Jun take the front line.

"Could you please Chengyuan to go and take Jiang Gan's head to avoid any changes?" Huo Jun ordered.

"promise!"

That night, Huo Jun talked with Jiang and Ding for a long time, and did not leave until dawn. However, when he left the study room, Huo Jun deliberately took the Huainan Wang Xi away and planned to play with it secretly all night. If you can't be the King of Huainan, you can still appreciate Wang Xi.

When he went to bed to rest, Huo Jun woke up Da Qiao, and in a trance, he was greeted by a bloody storm.

That night, under the biting cold wind, there was always a cat calling "Huainan King" in the house.

When he got up in the morning, Da Qiao washed the Huainan King's Seal again and again, scalded it several times with boiling water, and smelled it again and again before sending it to Pang Tong.

(End of this chapter)