Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 659: Writing a Table and Setting off
That night, the moon was as bright as a hook, and its clear light spread across the ground, illuminating the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

With the bright moon in the sky and the night wind blowing on his clothes, Zhuge Liang, who could not fall asleep late at night due to writing a memorial, paced alone in the courtyard filled with the sound of insects.

Looking up at the bright moon, Zhuge Liang felt somewhat touched.

It has been more than twenty years since he met the late emperor on the river. During these twenty years, he followed the army on the expedition to Jiangdong, and initially assisted the late emperor in pacifying Sun Wu; then he worked day and night to govern the country in order to strengthen the late emperor's foundation.

Cao Cao led his army southward, the late emperor joined forces with Liu Qi, Huo Jun led the army to fight, and he traveled between mountains and rivers. After defeating Cao Wei's army, the late emperor gained half of Yangzhou. After Liu Qi died of illness, he joined forces with Huo Jun to welcome the late emperor to rule Wu and Chu.

Wuhan was the place of governance. Huo Jun conquered the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers in the east, and Guan Yu conquered Bashu in the west. During those years, the territory under the jurisdiction of the former emperor increased greatly, and the foundation of the Southern Han Dynasty was established. First the king and then the emperor, and the Han Dynasty flourished.

Unfortunately, the previous emperor failed to conquer Guanzhong and died several years after returning to Beijing. When the previous emperor entrusted his son to the care of others, the western lands were in turmoil and Cao Pi was eyeing him covetously. Fortunately, Huo Jun was good at commanding troops and fighting. In the Battle of Zhongli, he dealt a heavy blow to the Wei Kingdom and quickly conquered Shouchun, thus gaining power. He spent nearly a year to appease the people of the western lands and set up Ningzhou.

At this point, Han's national strength reached its peak, and Wei's national strength was at its weakest!
Afterwards, Huo Jun boldly proposed a strategic decisive battle, intending to mobilize the entire country to conquer Henan, and then rest and attack Wei.

To be honest, he did not quite agree with the strategic decisive battle proposed by Huo Jun. If he were in power, he would have used military tactics more cautiously. But after Huo Jun's persuasion and his analysis of the situation, he decisively agreed and was even prepared to send troops to cooperate with Huo Jun.

Of course, it is better to say that he trusted Huo Jun's military talent than to say that he was persuaded by Huo Jun. Since Huo Jun started commanding troops, he had almost no problems in strategic layout.

Lu Xun sent troops to Guanxi to contain Cao Wei's troops in Guanxi. He and Huo Jun would join forces to send troops to Henan, with Lu Xun responsible for containing the troops in Xu and Luo, while Huo Jun's army would advance.

If the troops are used properly and the army conquers Henan, returning the capital to Luoyang will no longer be an unattainable goal. After the remnants of the Cao family are wiped out and the world is at peace, he will be able to fulfill the trust of the late emperor and fulfill the kindness of Your Majesty.

Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang remembered Huo Jun's words about retirement, and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. To be honest, being able to work with Huo Jun was a great pleasure in the world.

In terms of martial arts reputation, Huo Jun can be said to be the most powerful person in the world. If he wants to hold power alone, there will be no problem. But Huo Jun always has concerns and consults with himself on many things.

Even before the Northern Expedition, when he didn't know what the outcome would be, Huo Jun was impatient to talk to him about his true feelings, and told him directly about his retirement arrangements after the war, asking him to succeed him.

When Huo Jun joked with him about Xiao He, he was undoubtedly dissatisfied, which was a sign of his distrust of him. However, Zhuge Liang could understand what Huo Jun did. For example, Huo Jun said that he had made great military achievements. Even if Your Majesty did not suspect him, the ministers would be more suspicious.

In fact, Liu Chan had discussed this with him in the past few days. Liu Chan hoped to emulate the Zhou Dynasty's feudal system and enfeoff Huo Jun to Korea.

Zhuge Liang originally disagreed. First, Korea was a cold and harsh country, inhabited by many barbarians, and this move would seem like being mean to a meritorious official; second, since Emperor Gaozu, the system of enfeoffment of different surnames had been basically abolished.

But Liu Chan's meaningful words made Zhuge Liang waver in his idea. That is, if the Huo family was not expelled, the political group surrounding the Huo family would most likely be difficult to disappear in the next few decades and would continue to influence the Han Dynasty.

If the Huo family is exiled, the political interest groups affiliated with them will either move eastward or be used by him. By then, although there will be a large number of military merit groups in the Southern Han Dynasty, overall, they are within the controllable range.

Obviously, although His Majesty is young, he is not as simple as outsiders seem. For example, he does not like power and treats old ministers with courtesy. The reason why he does not touch power and leaves the affairs of the court to him and Huo Jun is because His Majesty knows himself.

If His Majesty holds power, regardless of whether he can unify the country, he will probably compete with old ministers just to gain power. In the current situation, he lets capable ministers and patriots fight for the Han Dynasty, and then uses political means to obtain a relatively clean government. It can be said that he is very smart.

Your Majesty is still young. If he does this, it cannot be said that the Han Dynasty will reach its peak, but it can quickly stabilize the Southern Han Dynasty and prevent it from dying in the second generation! Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang thought about his family and sighed slightly. Huo Jun has him as a retreat, and although he is on good terms with Liu Chan, he must also consider retirement in the future.

Suddenly, a cool night breeze blew, Zhuge Liang shivered, and brought his thoughts back to reality.

"A letter of introduction to the emperor?"

Zhuge Liang paced and thought, and murmured: "The late emperor died before he could complete his career. Today, the world is divided into two, the south is strong and the rebellious Wei is weak. Now is the time to restore the Central Plains to the north..."

Having an idea for writing, Zhuge Liang turned back to his room, sat on the couch and wrote under the orange light.

"To be close to virtuous ministers and to stay away from villains is the reason why the early Han Dynasty prospered; to be close to villains and to stay away from virtuous ministers is the reason why the later Han Dynasty declined. When the late emperor was alive, he always sighed and hated Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling whenever he discussed this with me. Now the six ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the various ministers of the Secretariat are all loyal and righteous ministers who died for their loyalty. I hope Your Majesty will be close to them and trust them, then the prosperity of the Han Dynasty can be expected in a matter of days."

"I am a commoner, farming and fishing in Nanyang, trying to survive in troubled times, and I do not seek fame and fortune among the princes. However, when the late emperor fell into trouble and came to Tanxi, he did not regard me as humble, but bowed to me three times on the river and consulted me on current affairs. I am grateful for this... Later, when he conquered Jiangdong, I was entrusted with the task of suppressing the bandits..."

"The late emperor knew the Grand Marshal's strategy and understood my caution, so he entrusted me with important matters before his death. Since I was ordered to do so, I have been rebelling against Wei and heading for Huai River, and the western lands have been in turmoil, so the Grand Marshal led his troops to attack the north, defeated Cao Pi, and quickly captured Shouchun; I traveled west in May to pacify Bashu and penetrate deep into the barren land..."

Zhuge Liang wrote nearly a thousand words. Although his words were brief and straightforward, they were sincere and heartfelt, telling how Zhuge Liang had served the Han Dynasty until now. Anyone who read the letter could feel Zhuge Liang's earnest instructions.

If there is any difference from history, it is because of the different national strength of Han Dynasty. After the Shu Han suffered a disastrous defeat in Yiling, Zhuge Liang turned the tide and recuperated for many years before he was able to send troops to the north to attack Longyou. In the current situation, after many battles, the situation of the Han Dynasty's northern expedition is optimistic, while Cao Wei is in a period of decline.

Therefore, due to the different situations, when Han Dynasty was prosperous and Wei Dynasty was declining, Zhuge Liang revealed more positive signals in his memorial, as well as his optimism about the prospect of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. And because Liu Chan was smart, Zhuge Liang even reminded Liu Chan to listen to good advice in his memorial.

"The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital" was completed in one go. In order to avoid mistakes, Zhuge Liang read it carefully, corrected and polished it one by one, and then copied it on a piece of silk in a beautiful handwriting, preparing to submit it to Liu Chan the next day.

When Zhuge Liang was copying the Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital, the memorial written by Huo Jun was being polished by Wang Can.

In name, Huo Jun asked Wang Can to help him polish it, but after Wang Can took a few glances at it, he didn't want to polish it at all and seemed to be disgusted with the content of "Northern Expedition Memorial" written by Huo Jun.

"Zhongmiao, this statement is inappropriate and too straightforward to be included in a memorial."

Wang Can was reading Huo Jun's memorial with his head down, revising it and polishing it, saying, "Why not write it like this? At the end of the Central Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo caused chaos in Chang'an, causing the country to fall apart and Heluo to become desolate. Fortunately, he died suddenly, and we should have been safe and sound. But Cao Cao usurped the throne, the Han Dynasty was in danger, and the national order was not right..."

"I humbly wish that the late emperor had the natural grace of heaven and earth, and upheld the virtue of Han ancestor Guangwu. He maintained great strategies, restored the Han Dynasty, and governed Wu and Chu. When it was time to recover China and return to the old capital, the late emperor suddenly passed away, and the great cause was lost. In order to carry on the old will, the late emperor entrusted me with the affairs of Yi and Huo. I have received special grace and have served two dynasties. I am not a guest in exile, but I have the ambition to recover the land. ..."

As he was talking, Wang Can wrote with great enthusiasm. But after not seeing Huo Jun's reply for a long time, he turned around to look at Huo Jun. He saw Huo Jun sleeping soundly on the table, leaving him alone to polish it.

"Huo Zhongmiao!"

Wang Can was almost laughing out of anger. He tricked me into coming to his house at dusk under the pretext of drinking. Halfway through the drinking, he asked me to polish his "Northern Expedition Memorial". I was fooled and agreed without hesitation. I polished it for most of the day, but Huo Jun fell asleep on the spot. How could this be possible!
Wang Can originally wanted to wake up Huo Jun, but thinking that it was useless to wake him up, he finally sighed helplessly and buried his head in writing a report for Huo Jun!

(End of this chapter)