Farmer of Shu Han

"The plan will be released?"

Chen Jiao was overjoyed, this was the second time he asked this question.

However, Chen Qian didn't say a solution right away, but brought up another matter: "My lord, the most controversial thing in the state of Wei today is the matter of conquering Shu."

"Your Majesty insists on conquering Shu, but all the important officials in the court can't say anything. Among them, the most decisive person who opposes His Majesty's will is General Yang Ji, the leader of the Central Committee. Are you right?"

Chen Jiao nodded, "Not bad."

The dispute between the DPRK and China has been going on for many days, and this matter cannot be hidden from others.

What's more, as a Minister of the Book, Chen Jiao also published a sparse statement called "Shangyan Beishu", in which there is a saying:

"In the past, the thieves shrank from hiding in the caves, and they were still afraid. In the past, they led 100,000 troops out of Qishan, and Zhang He was defeated with drums beating. From this, the thieves should not be ignored."

I hope this can remind His Majesty that the army of Shu is not weak and cannot be defeated in one battle.

It's a pity that His Majesty failed to listen.

Of course, his two sons are the clearest about this matter.

"Then Liu Ye is respected by His Majesty, but he doesn't know whether he supports His Majesty's attack on Shu or opposes it?"

Chen Qian asked again.

Chen Jiao frowned: "Liu Ye has never publicly expressed his attitude towards this matter in court. However, according to what General Yang Ji said, Liu Ye often opposes the invasion of Shu in private."

However, Chen Qian sneered: "My child also heard that His Majesty also publicly declared in court that Liu Ye's private performance was correct, but he supported the attack on Shu."

Chen Jiao showed a look of disgust on his face: "It's just a smart talker!"

This time in the battle of defeating Shu, Yang Ji said that Liu Ye was against the defeat of Shu, and His Majesty said that Liu Ye supported the defeat of Shu, but Liu Ye did not say a word in the court, which made many people see the clue.

Although he didn't know how Liu Ye flattered His Majesty and Yang Ji at the same time, Chen Jiao obviously looked down on Liu Ye's behavior.

Chen Qian followed up and asked, "Then, does Liu Ye support or oppose the conquest of Shu?"

"Who would know? But in my opinion, he is mostly flattering His Majesty."

Before Chen Jiao finished speaking, Chen Qian chuckled lightly, "If it's really flattering, then it would be the best."

Chen Jiao's heart moved, and he quickly asked, "How do you say it?"

There was a cold light in Chen Qian's eyes:

"Liu Ye wants to please His Majesty, but also wants to please the important ministers. This is an act of hesitation. When ordinary people see it, they still feel disgusted."

"What's more, Your Majesty is impatient and is the owner. If you know that Liu Ye has deceived him like this, what do you think Your Majesty will do?"

Chen Jiao was overjoyed at first, then thought of the current situation, but sighed:

"Liu Ye can handle such a major event as the defeat of Shu in front of His Majesty. How easy is it to expose him in front of His Majesty?"

Chen Qian disagreed with his lord's statement:

"My lord, Liu Ye was able to please both sides in the matter of defeating Shu because he knew what His Majesty and General Yang wanted. What if he didn't know what His Majesty wanted?"

"How to say?"

Chen Jiao asked.

"Others may not be as highly regarded by His Majesty as him, and despite their anger, they can't do anything about it; or they may be deceived by him into thinking that he is loyal to the country, so it is impossible to prove Liu Ye's hypocrisy in front of His Majesty."

"But Lian Zhao is different. He is a person trusted by His Majesty, and he has the heart to compete with Liu Ye. If he is allowed to do this, it may not be impossible."

A smile rose from the corner of Chen Qian's mouth: "As long as Lian Zhao can convince His Majesty and test Liu Ye, then Liu Ye's hypocrisy will be revealed to Your Majesty."

"As long as Your Majesty knows Liu Ye's hypocrisy, then his framing of Your Excellency will be unseen, and Your Majesty will even trust Your Excellency even more."

"In addition, we helped Lian Zhao fulfill his wish, so you don't have to worry about him being unfavorable to you in the future."

Chen Qian originally wanted to say that Lian Zhao must have a relationship with the General Hussars, so it would be the best if your lord could express his approval on the matter of the General Hussars' younger brother becoming an official.

But after thinking about the character of my lord, it is already rare for the lord to keep silent on this matter.

Hearing his son's solution, Chen Jiao was overjoyed: "Da Lang is simple, and Er Lang is resourceful. It seems that my Chen family is expected to prosper!"

Chen Ben, the eldest son who had been listening to Moyu, had a bit of embarrassment on his face when he heard this.

In fact, he likes reading, and has many contacts with young talents in Luoyang, especially Xia Houxuan.

He was almost implicated in the turbulent flashy cronies case.

Hearing adults say this about him at this time, he naturally felt a little ashamed, thinking that he was worse than his younger brother.

A few days later, Cao Rui, the Emperor of Wei, wanted to visit Chang'an in person again because the matter of conquering Shu was related to the fate of the country.

As soon as this proposal was put forward in the court, it met with fierce opposition from almost all the important officials.

Among them, there was an earnest person, who pulled Cao Rui's skirt and begged bitterly:

"In the past, His Majesty personally drove Chang'an. Rumors spread everywhere in Luoyang, saying that His Majesty was killed in the defeated army. Some people even suggested that Dong'a King (Cao Zhi) should return to Luoyang to prevent accidents."

"Longshan Mountain is difficult to cross, Hanzhong is difficult to enter, and the Shu captives are fierce and cunning. Your Majesty put the body of ten thousand gold in a dangerous place, but what is the world?"

Cao Rui refused to listen, and went straight into the palace. The officials wanted to see but couldn't get it, so they could only sigh outside the palace gate.

After a while, the Yellow Gate in the palace came out to send a message to let Liu Ye enter the palace to have an audience.

Yang Ji and Liu Ye are the most familiar, he hurried forward and grabbed Liu Ye:

"Zi Yang, Your Majesty values ​​you the most. When you enter the palace this time, you must find a way to persuade Your Majesty not to repeat the same mistakes as before."

"The most important thing for the Great Wei to do now is to guard the borders outside, and govern internally to wait for the right time. If he advances rashly and encounters a big defeat, the Central Principles may be in turmoil."

Liu Ye nodded: "I will remember what Xiu Xian said."

After finishing speaking, he motioned to Huangmen to lead the way, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, he entered the palace to meet Cao Rui.

Before he saw the emperor, he heard Cao Rui's roar from afar:

"Are I the emperor or are they the emperor? When they wanted to build a palace, they said it was a waste of money."

"A few days ago, I wanted to attack Shu, but none of them agreed, and they all said that military affairs are a major national event, and they should not be acted rashly."

"Since it's a major national event, what's wrong with going to supervise the battle in person? Emperor Wu came to Shiya in person, and he was a soldier all his life. Emperor Wen led the army to conquer Soochow several times."

"Now I'm just going to Chang'an to supervise the battle, and I'm not going into battle with my own troops. Is that okay?"

...

The weather was still a bit hot, Cao Rui took off his official court clothes and hat long ago, he didn't wear a crown on his head, and even wore only a bluish-white half-sleeved silk jacket because of the cool weather.

Wearing this kind of clothes to meet ministers is a kind of rude performance, but Liu Ye did not squint, his eyes drooped, and he saluted Cao Rui: "See Your Majesty."

"Get up, come, give me a seat."

Cao Rui waved his hand.

Before Liu Ye sat down, Cao Rui couldn't hold back his anger and asked, "Grand Liu, let me ask you, is it really inappropriate for me to come to Chang'an to supervise the battle in person?"

Liu Ye knew that Cao Rui would ask such a question a long time ago, so he smiled slightly: "There is nothing wrong with it."

When Cao Rui heard this, his anger turned into joy:

"I knew that Mr. Liu knew my heart. Just now in the court hall, all the ministers said no and gave reasons repeatedly. I couldn't refute it. I don't know why Mr. Liu taught me?"

"What His Majesty just said about Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen is enough!"

Liu Ye replied.

Cao Rui had a look of embarrassment on his face. He just compared himself with Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen. If he really wanted to spread the word, he was afraid that others would say that he was arrogant and disrespectful to his ancestors.

Unexpectedly, Liu Ye said seriously:

"My rulers in the three dynasties of Wei and Wei are all great talents. Your majesty has the consorts of Qin Shihuang and Han Xiaowu, and also holds the righteousness of the world, driving tens of thousands of elite soldiers to attack the people of Shu. How dangerous is it?"

When Cao Rui heard this, his face burst into a smile: "In the court, only the Duke and I agree with each other."

Liu Ye quickly put on a panicked look: "Chen An dares to compare with His Majesty's wisdom?"

Seeing the joy on Cao Rui's face, Liu Ye quickly took the opportunity to persuade him:

"However, if His Majesty is on a westward tour of Chang'an, and Wu Kou hears about it, I'm afraid there will be some movement. Please pay attention to Your Majesty."

Cao Rui nodded: "I have already prepared for this matter, Mr. Liu does not need to worry."

"It turns out that His Majesty has already made arrangements. It seems that the old minister is overwhelmed."

Liu Ye said with admiration, "Your Majesty, although Sun Quan has now moved to Jianye, so Hefei is the focus of defense, but Lu Xun is still in Wuchang, and Jingzhou must be guarded!"

"Now that His Majesty has ordered General Hussars to lead the army up against the Han River, Wu Kou is very likely to take the opportunity to attack Xiangyang. If Xiangyang falls into Wu Kou's hands, Jingzhou will no longer be owned by Wei."

Cao Rui listened and nodded in agreement:

"With Hefei in the east and Xiangyang in the south, Sun Quan will not be able to move an inch to the north, but can only defend Jiangdong, while my Great Wei can go south at any time. These two places are really important places."

Having said that, there was a look of regret on his face again.

"Originally, if he could defend Qishan in the west, then Wei would have no worries. I hate Zhuge for being cunning and Feng Yong is fierce. First he occupied Qishan, and then he cut off Longguan."

"I was tired and had to station tens of thousands of elite soldiers in Guanzhong, which cost a lot of money and food, although the current treasury can still support it."

"But if it goes on for many years, I'm afraid that in the end, like the first emperor, he will abolish coins in order to store food..."

Although Cao Rui spoke vaguely, Liu Ye understood.

Why did the first emperor abolish the five baht coin?

Not because food prices are too high.

After the war between Wu and Shu, the two countries became enemies. Didn't the first emperor know that it was a good time for Wei to unify the world?

It’s just that in the first year of Huangchu (that is, the year before the Yiling War), there was a severe drought in the Central Plains, and then there was a plague of locusts, and the people were starving. How could food and grass go south?

In the second year of Huangchu (the year of the Yiling War), the first emperor wanted to restore the five baht coins to consolidate his imperial power. However, within a few months, the five baht coins had to be abolished again because the price of grain was too high.

In the third year of Huangchu, Jizhou encountered another plague of locusts.

At that time, the Great Wei encountered famine for three consecutive years, and there was no food in the storehouse. How could it march south?

It was not until the fourth year of Huangchu that enough military rations were collected to conquer Wu.

It's just that at that time, Wu and Shu had already reunited, and the best time for the Southern Expedition had been missed. What is God's will?

After all, it was still because the court did not have enough food.

What if there is no food?

I can only compromise with the aristocratic family, let them pay for food and money, let them help appease the place...

Although he knew that this was a poison that could only temporarily quench his thirst, but if he had to choose between dying of thirst immediately and being poisoned later, everyone would choose the latter.

Being able to live for a while is a short time, maybe an antidote can be found later?

Liu Ye didn't answer the topic of Cao Rui, and he didn't dare to answer it either.

Although he has been through three dynasties, he is even the first group of people who took refuge in Emperor Wu.

But up to now, the official position is no more than a servant, the noble is no more than a Marquis of Guannei, and he has not even been able to seal a hereditary Marquis.

From Emperor Wen's ascension to the present, his official position has not changed.

It can be seen from this that although the emperor of the new dynasty attached great importance to his strategy, he was wary of him because he was the descendant of Emperor Guangwu.

As long as Wei did not unify the world, or as long as the Shu Han existed for a day, then his status could only remain so embarrassing.

"The people will be chaotic if they don't have food, and the army will disperse if they don't have food. This matter of food and grain is indeed a big problem."

Liu Ye said lightly, "Your Majesty, Guanzhong is fertile. If the expedition to Shu is hindered, it is better to increase the strength of farming in Guanzhong for the future."

Cao Rui nodded: "I also have the same intention, but I don't know if Mr. Liu knows that there are people who are good at farming?"

"Since Emperor Wu, the farms in various places have been corrupted. If there is no manpower for a while, His Majesty can order the states and counties to recommend them."

"good."

After discussing the matter, Cao Rui ordered Liu Ye to be sent out of the palace.

Seeing Liu Ye's figure disappear around the corner of the palace wall, Cao Rui's face darkened.

Lian Zhao came out from the hiding place and called softly, "Your Majesty."

Cao Rui looked at Lian Zhao, with a cold gleam in his eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, "Liu Pif is really as you said, how dare you keep thinking about my heart to please me!"

Lian Zhao lightly poured another cup of hot tea for Cao Rui, and said in a warm voice:

"Liu Ye is a traitor who expresses his loyalty, not a loyal minister. How can such a villain deserve His Majesty's anger? His Majesty should take care of his health."

"Besides, it's a blessing that Your Majesty has tested this person's heart now. You don't have to be deceived by him in the future. You should be happy."

Cao Rui took a sip from the teacup, closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and said slowly:

"The important ministers of the Manchu Dynasty are mostly those who advise me on weekdays. Although they are harsh, their hearts are always for the court. I have never blamed them."

"Only Liu Ye is always able to follow my heart. I also know that this person knows my heart. I didn't expect him to be so treacherous!"

Although the speed of speech was slow, Lian Zhao knew that his Majesty was the most impatient, and he might have developed hatred towards Liu Ye.

"Go, give an edict to Chen Jiao and Xu Xuan at the Shangshutai, and enter the palace tomorrow to have an audience."

Chen Jiao is the order of Shangshu, and Xu Xuan is Zuo Pushe, the deputy of the order of Shangshu.

At this sensitive moment of preparing to conquer Shu, letting important officials from the court into the palace continuously in one day will only make people have bad associations.

"promise."

When Chen Jiao learned that the emperor was going to meet him tomorrow, he felt a little uneasy, and he didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse.

Throughout the whole day, he was absent-minded even when he was on duty, and when it was time to be on duty, he hurried back home and summoned his two sons to discuss.

When Chen Qian learned that His Majesty wanted to see his lord tomorrow, he clapped his hands and laughed on the spot:

"These days, ministers want to see His Majesty in private but cannot get it. Now that Your Majesty can enter the palace to have an audience, I'm afraid His Majesty has let you go!"

Chen Jiao still had some doubts: "Tomorrow there will be Zuo Servant who enters the palace, I'm afraid His Majesty is doing it for business..."

"Yes or no, won't my lord know when he enters the palace tomorrow?"

On the second day, when Chen Jiao and Xu Xuan entered the palace, Cao Rui announced to them:

The great general Cao Zhen was moved to be the great Sima, who commanded all the military forces in Chang'an, and then the hussar general Sima Yi was moved to be the great general, and he joined forces with the great Sima to attack Shu.

At the same time, in order to prevent Soochow from taking the opportunity to go north, he decided to patrol Xuchang, the minister ordered Chen Jiao to go with him, Zuo Pushe stayed in Luoyang, and the president took care of everything.

"Your Majesty doesn't want Chang'an in the west, but Xuchang in the east?"

Chen Jiao and Xu Xuan were taken aback.