Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 771 Successor

When Jiang Ji found Zhuge Liang and proposed to relocate the fiefdom for the Huo family, Zhuge Liang was hesitant.

This hesitation was not because Zhuge Liang was unwilling, but because he was worried about whether the political situation in Southern Han would really deteriorate in the future.

After all, the Huo family gave up the fertile and prosperous land and moved to the uncivilized Lelang County. It is not difficult to understand their intention. It is nothing more than unpredictable future political direction of Southern Han, so they fled to the northeast in order to retain their fiefdom.

Although it is understandable, Lelang is a wild place. If Zhuge Liang allowed the Huo family to move far away to establish a fiefdom, it might cause gossip.

In order to take care of the Huo family, Zhuge Liang proposed to relocate the Huo family to Changsha County or Qianwei County. However, Jiang Ji insisted on following Huo Jun's will and guarding the eastern border for the country, hoping to relocate the Huo family to the northeast.

Seeing that Jiang Ji insisted on not changing his mind, Zhuge Liang went to visit Bu Lianshi to see what Bu Lianshi thought.

Although Bu Lianshi intended to stay in the Central Plains, she also understood her husband Huo Jun's intentions. Although the Central Plains was good, it might only preserve wealth for a few generations; if she went far away, the wealth of her descendants might only last for hundreds of years.

In the face of Zhuge Liang's persuasion, Bu Lianshi's attitude remained consistent with Jiang Ji's, and he still hoped to move his fiefdom to Lelang County.

Seeing that Bu Lianshi and Jiang Ji had the same attitude, Zhuge Liang, as Huo's political partner, was unwilling to stop them.

Before leaving, Zhuge Liang indicated that Bu Lianshi should submit a petition on behalf of Huo, and he would suppress the dissent in the court.

Spring, the fourteenth year of Jianxing.

Bu Lianshi submitted a petition to change the title of King of Chu to Lelang in order to fulfill the last wish of King Wucheng of Chu.

The ministers in the court had many objections. After all, the treatment of the inner and outer vassals was different and they could not be treated uniformly.

If a border county is made into a vassal state, the fiefdom needs to have an army, otherwise it will be difficult to maintain its rule.

For example, the inner counties were made into vassal states, and the military force was provided by the Han Dynasty. The fiefdoms were not allowed to have their own armies. The fiefdoms could only enjoy food and a special political status in the fiefdom.

Now the Huo family has been transferred to Lelang County, and the Han Dynasty allows them to have an army and enjoy favorable political treatment. In the future, Lelang County may be controlled by the Huo family.

In response to the objections of the court officials, Jiang Ji used the example of the Han Dynasty. Because the Korean Peninsula was far away from the central government, the counties were easily occupied by the barbarians of the Three Han Dynasty, and the current territory is mostly smaller than that of the Han Dynasty.

In particular, the Liaodong region was successively controlled by the Gongsun, Cao, and Sun clans. The Han people were affected by the wars and the population was declining. Now that a feudal state is stationed on the border, it will be beneficial to the Han Dynasty's rule in Liaodong.

As for whether there would be a rebellion among the princes, it was nonsense. How could a county be compared with the Han Dynasty? Pingzhou alone could have dealt with Lelang County.

On the contrary, although the Huo family was relocated to Lelang, they would have a close relationship with the Han Dynasty because they were among the barbarians. The Huo family could not do without the support of the Han Dynasty. When the Southern Han Dynasty became strong, the Huo family would naturally become an inner county.

Jiang Ji's words were quite pertinent and convinced many people. In addition to Huo's influence in the court and Zhuge Liang's mediation, Huo's petition to change the title of Lelang County was successfully passed in the court.

For various reasons, Liu Chan immediately issued an edict to promote the last wish of King Chengwu of Chu, and specially changed the title of Huo Yi, the Duke of Xiangyang, to the Duke of Lelang, and made Lelang County his fiefdom.

Not only that, in order to ensure that the Huo family would not be invaded by barbarians, Lelang State was allowed to have a thousand soldiers, but they needed to accept orders from the central government of the Han Dynasty.

Although the military power was granted, the Han Dynasty ordered Lelang to keep its crown prince in the capital in order to strengthen its control over the county. The county lord had to go to the court to pay homage to the emperor every year and pay tribute every year.

As for official positions, the Huo family still had the right to serve in the Han Dynasty, which was no different from the past. Considering the special relationship between the Huo family and the Hun Kui Army, Liu Chan issued an edict to relocate 1,000 families of the former Hun Kui Army soldiers to Lelang County, and if there were volunteers, they would be given priority.

After this decree was issued, many soldiers were willing to follow with their families. Even Ding Feng, the governor of Bingzhou, submitted a petition to resign from his post in memory of Huo Jun's legacy.

When Ding Feng's resignation letter was sent to the court, it caused a lot of discussion in the court. After all, it was rare for Ding Feng, a high-ranking official, to be willing to follow the Huo family to Lelang.

In May of the summer, Huo Du, Bu Lianshi and Huo Yi moved their entire families to Chosun County (now Pyongyang) in Lelang County.

After the Huo family moved their fiefdom to Lelang, Zhuge Liang became the most powerful person in the court, and even Lu Xun could not surpass him.

Because of the influence of Huo's change of title, Zhuge Liang thought about how to prevent political struggles in Southern Han. After all, the founding of Southern Han was special and different from previous dynasties. The founding dynasties of previous dynasties were all ruled by emperors, but Southern Han was ruled by Huo, Ge and others.

When Huo and Ge were alive, the actual power of Southern Han was not in Liu Shan's hands. At that time, relying on the prestige of Huo and Ge, the political situation in the court and the country would not be turbulent. Once Zhuge Liang died, if the aftermath was not handled properly, the monarch and his ministers might have disputes over power.

After much deliberation, Zhuge Liang decided to adopt a similar approach as Huo Jun, selecting suitable ministers to govern the Han Dynasty and retiring at the appropriate time to avoid chaos in the court and the country.

In order to maintain mutual trust between the monarch and his subjects, Zhuge Liang told Liu Chan about this idea.

Inside the palace, the emperor and his ministers sat across from each other at separate tables, discussing the country's military and political affairs.

Listening to Zhuge Liang's words about his intention to retire, Liu Chan looked helpless and said, "I once said: 'Government is in the hands of my father-in-law, and sacrifices are in the hands of me'. Although the country is at peace at the beginning, it is not yet prosperous. I still need my father-in-law's assistance. Now that my father-in-law has unfortunately left me, how can my father-in-law have the heart to abandon me and leave."

Zhuge Liang hesitated for a moment and said, "I have no intention of abandoning Your Majesty, nor do I intend to ignore state affairs. I am only speaking out of concern for the safety of the Han Dynasty."

"Fortunately, the late emperor trusted me and entrusted the affairs of state to King Wucheng. King Wucheng and Your Majesty trusted me and entrusted the affairs of the country and the army to me. I rose early and went to bed late, not daring to slack off. However, there is an order between the monarch and his subjects. How can I hold the power for long?"

"If Liang unfortunately passes away and the transfer of power fails, the government will be in turmoil. For the sake of the people of the world and the stability of the government, Liang needs to make plans early."

Liu Chan was silent for a while, then said, "If my father unfortunately passes away, I would like to choose a wise minister to be my prime minister, to succeed my father and help me rule the world. I wonder if my father has any candidates to recommend for me to choose from?"

Liu Chan's thoughts were deeply influenced by Zhuge Liang, and he also experienced the two ministers Huo and Ge as his assistants. Liu Chan had no intention of becoming a dictator and personally taking charge of the government, but preferred to select professional politicians as ministers to share his responsibility of governing the country.

Hearing this, Zhuge Liang felt relieved and said, "Jiang Gongyan is a man of great prestige and authority, a talent for the country; Gu Yuantan is a man of great wisdom and strategy, a talent for prime minister; Sima Zihua is a man of great concern for state affairs, and can be an assistant. After I leave office, these three can succeed me."

"What happens after the three of them?" Liu Chan asked.

Zhuge Liang pondered for a long time and said, "After the three of them, Fei Yi, Du Shu, and Teng Yin can succeed them."

"What happens next?" Liu Chan asked again.

Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "I am not a god, how can I predict what will happen decades later. If Your Majesty can use the above six people to assist in the administration, respect the wise and employ the people, rest with the people, and seldom start military campaigns, then the Han Dynasty will surely prosper."

"When will Prime Minister step down?" Liu Chan asked reluctantly.

Zhuge Liang said vaguely: "Wait until the government is well-organized!"

(End of this chapter)