I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 629 The Dispute is Over

"So, it was not the Sili Xiaowei who took the initiative to cause trouble for Dong Sanqi, but the Sili Xiaowei received a report and went to Dong Sanqi's house to arrest him, and happened to run into Dong Sanqi's banquet?"

In the Yuntai Palace, Liu Bian said this to Qian Zhao.

Qian Zhaobai said, "Your Majesty, this is what the Ministry of Public Security has found. The son of the Cheshi State's servant did commit a crime. But the victim did not go to the Luoyang County Temple, nor did he go to the government office set up by the Censorate in the county. He went straight to the Sili Xiaowei's office... Xiaowei Wu did suspect that there was a suspicion of factional strife, but he did not find out who was behind the victim."

Is it really a coincidence?
Liu Bian wasn't so sure.

He instructed Qian Zhao, "Let Wu Qing continue the investigation."

Although Liu Bian would be happy to see that all this was just a coincidence, throughout history, the struggle between people has never stopped at any time.

However, even if disputes are inevitable, Liu Bian hopes to control the intensity of the disputes.

So, on the third day after the banquet at Dong's Mansion, Liu Bian held another banquet in Xiyuan, inviting high-ranking officials, celebrities and great scholars from Guandong, Guanxi and remote areas in the north and south. During the banquet, Liu Bian specially drank a glass of wine with Huang Wan and Dong Zhuo, which showed his attitude.

With the participation of famous scholars, the banquet soon turned from eating and drinking to discussing classics.

Seeing this, Liu Bian simply took over as the host.

In the end, the banquet lasted from day to night, and even two meals were held. Even when it was over, many celebrities were still reluctant to leave.

After investigation by Wu Fu and Man Chong, they confirmed that this incident was indeed a coincidence. The victim could indeed find the Luoyang County Temple, the Censorate or even the Ministry of Education, but the victim had heard of Huang Wan's reputation, so he found the Inspector of the Capital who was also able to manage Luoyang.

Wu Fu is a good person, but his performance in the field of intelligence may be a little worse, but Man Chong is an expert.

After the two people's discussion, Liu Bian basically believed that this was just a misunderstanding, which meant that the party struggles in different regions did not arise so quickly, and no one would dare to launch a tentative attack on Dong Zhuo who proposed to re-measure the land at this time.

If someone did this, the counterattack he would face would not come from Dong Zhuo, but from Liu Bian.

After this little episode, the tenth year of Guangxi seemed to be the same as the ninth year, and it started off very smoothly.

……

Sima Yi felt that he had always lived in Zhuge Liang's shadow.

Zhuge Liang had been active by the emperor's side since the time he was taken away by the emperor during his tour in Henei County. Compared to him, Zhuge Liang was undoubtedly more dazzling, and his every move attracted the attention of those around him.

Sima Yi didn't care about this. Compared to being in the limelight, he preferred practical benefits - yes, in Sima Yi's mind, Zhuge Liang was a person who loved to be in the limelight.

How did things come to this?

Sima Yi thought that it should start from when he was assigned from a palace attendant to Luoyang as the Northern Commander.

Today, the post of Northern Commander of Luoyang is a position that many people are eager to get. According to unreliable rumors, this position can help people to have good luck.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei, two important officials of the time, had done this. Logically, Sima Yi should be excited about this starting point... However, the county magistrate of Luoyang was Zhuge Liang.

The Northern Lieutenant is indeed a position that can produce results. The achievement of "not fearing the powerful" alone is easy to achieve... However, the Luoyang County Magistrate is Zhuge Liang.

Luoyang remained in great order after the curfew was lifted, and the Northern Commander was still effective... However, the Luoyang County Magistrate was Zhuge Liang.

Everyone thought that this was Zhuge Liang's credit. Sima Yi admitted that Zhuge Liang had already governed Luoyang well before he became the Northern Lieutenant, but this did not mean that all the credit and honor belonged to Zhuge Liang. Even if he did not care about being in the limelight, he still felt unhappy about this.

On this day, the four lieutenants of Luoyang gathered again at the Luoyang County Temple. Luoyang magistrate Lu Jin delegated power to Zhuge Liang as usual, and Zhuge Liang arranged the tasks of each lieutenant in detail.

"Before, when the servant of Cheshi State committed a crime, the victim did not come directly to the county temple to report the case. This is because what we did was not enough. You should keep it in mind..."

"Recently, because the kings of the Western Regions are staying in Luoyang temporarily, the number of Hu merchants here has increased again... I won't say much about the crimes of Hu merchants, and we should treat them equally. But recently, there have been some scoundrels in Luoyang who have taken advantage of some Hu merchants who have just arrived in Luoyang and are unaware of the situation, and have defrauded them of their money. We must investigate them strictly."

"The West Lieutenant's jurisdiction over Jin City is particularly guilty. We should send more people to Jin City..."

Sima Yi listened and felt inexplicably annoyed, because Zhuge Liang started again. In his opinion, for something like inspecting the gold market, Zhuge Liang, as the county magistrate, only needed to make a request and then check the deformed results. If he was more careful, he would tell his subordinates how to solve the problem. But Zhuge Liang did something more detailed and complicated, and he just short of naming and sending a few more people to inspect.

When Zhuge Liang talked about the Northern Commander, Sima Yi, who had always thought it was okay to endure it, made a decision that went against his ancestors... and his own habits.

He decided not to pretend anymore and came clean - "Don't worry, County Magistrate Zhuge. A mere scoundrel would never dare to act recklessly in Luoyang North. It's just a small matter. Why should the County Magistrate be so concerned and do it personally?"

Zhuge Liang glanced at Sima Yi. He had indeed not heard of this matter in Sima Yi's jurisdiction, so he simply avoided talking about it for the time being.

After explaining everything, Zhuge Liang kept Sima Yi.

"Zhongda seems a little dissatisfied with me?" Zhuge Liang's attitude was very gentle. He felt that he was not a stubborn and self-righteous person.

Since Sima Yi has decided to explode, he will not pretend: "Please remove the word 'seem' from Kong Ming."

"Why is that? I have always handled everything impartially and without any omissions." Zhuge Liang was indeed puzzled.

"Kong Ming did not neglect anything. On the contrary, he was very meticulous. In my opinion, the Luoyang County Temple does not need the four lieutenants. They are just for show. There is no need to appoint a county magistrate. They are just clay seals anyway." Sima Yi said bluntly, "In this way, the county temple can save a lot of expenses!"

Only then did Zhuge Liang understand what Sima Yi meant.

But he still didn't understand: "I have arranged everything in an orderly manner, isn't that good? When I first came to the county temple, I also tried to let the officials do what they wanted, but in the end there were still many omissions. So I considered everything carefully and there were almost no omissions. This is also a good thing for the people of Luoyang!"

Sima Yi disagreed with Zhuge Liang's theory. He said, "Let the officials do it. There will definitely be omissions in the beginning. We can make up for it in time. How can we stop eating because of choking? The officials in the county temples are no different from puppets."

"That's all I have to say. Kong Ming, please think carefully about it!"

After saying this, Sima Yi stood up and left.

(End of this chapter)