Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 445

On July 67th of the seventh year of Zhangwu, Liu Bei, Emperor of the Han Dynasty, died in the back garden of the Xiangyang Palace at the age of [-].

The news was announced to the world, and all the people in the south were mourning.

Even many Wei Mins in the north who had been waiting for the return of the king's master with their hearts attached to the Han family were all crying out in pain and grief.

Liu Bei not only has a reputation for benevolence and righteousness in the north, but also has indeed brought benefits to the people in the north.

He loved the people like a son in Pingyuan country, and benefited countless people in Xuzhou and Yuzhou.

What's more important is that during the several Northern Expeditions, he did nothing to the common people, and even donated money and food to the poor at the bottom, so that his reputation spread throughout the world.

It can be said that Liu Bei was originally riding the wind because of his fame, and when he fell, he also made the world cry because of his fame.

I don't know how many people in the north heard the news of his death, and erected a banner for Liu Bei, and enshrined the wooden master.

The custom of wooden masters starting from the Shang and Zhou dynasties is the popular saying of later generations to enshrine the spirit tablet, and every household enshrines Liu Bei. It can be seen that Liu Bei's death caused countless people to mourn.

The saddest ones are naturally the people and officials in the south.

For this reason, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang set up a mourning hall inside and outside the palace for three days to mourn for southern princes, officials, generals, aristocratic families, and even the common people.

Since the Pingyuan Kingdom, Liu Bei's mansion has not been fortified against the common people. As long as there is something to ask him, he can go through it unimpeded after reporting.

Therefore, the imperial court also hung plain white banners outside the palace, built a mourning hall venue, and placed Liu Bei's clothes in a coffin, so that the people of the city could come by themselves.

For a while, a long queue formed outside the palace, and tens of thousands of people came to the venue every day to mourn Liu Bei.

In addition, a large number of leaders of the minority barbarian tribes in Nanzhong Ningzhou, Jingnan Xiangzhou, Lingnan Jiaozhou, and Southeast Yuezhou also went to Xiangyang to mourn for Liu Bei.

When the frontline soldiers in Guanzhong, Henan, and Huainan heard the news, all the three armies mourned.The whole country in the south mourned, and there was an endless stream of people who went to Xiangyang to express their condolences.

One month later, Liu Bei was officially buried in Huiling in Xianshan, Jingnan. Prince Liu Chan ascended the throne as emperor at the age of 21.Respecting Empress Wu and her biological mother, Emperor Concubine Gan, as the queen mothers of the two palaces, they pardoned the world and did not change the Yuan Dynasty.

When the new emperor of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, he could change it to Yuan in the same year or the next year. For example, when Liu Xie ascended the throne, he continued his father's reign name Zhongping for six years, and it was not changed to Yuan Chuping until the second year.

Later, when Cao Pi and Liu Chan ascended the throne, they changed the Yuan to Huangchu and Jianxing, so it doesn't matter if they change the Yuan or not.

This time Liu Chan continued Zhang Wu and did not immediately change Yuan.

August eleventh.

In the Deyang Hall of the Xiangyang Imperial Palace, after Liu Bei was buried, Liu Chan held a court meeting.

Liu Chan sat on the throne, wearing the robes of the Emperor of Han, and below him Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Shen Chen, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Jiang Wan, Ma Liang, Yang Yi, Dong He, Deng Hong, Zhou Lin and other dozens of officials lined up left and right And sit.

In fact, there were many major issues to be discussed at this meeting, such as posthumous title, military, political, agricultural, etc. According to the agenda, Yin Mo, the admonisher, was the first to ask questions.

"The posthumous title of the first emperor."

He said.

Liu Chan looked around and said, "Prime Minister."

Zhuge Liang was a little tired, he hadn't had a good rest during this time, he lightly shook his feather fan and said, "I discussed with the General and General Hussars, and the posthumous title of the late Emperor should be "Zhao Lie"."

This is a posthumous name, not a temple name. During the Han Dynasty, the selection of temple names was very strict. Only seven emperors in the Han Dynasty had temple names.

And it doesn't mean that you can choose if you want to choose, you need to build a temple.

Building a temple is a relatively long process, such as building the temple, placing wooden masters, offering sacrifices to heroes, etc., all of which are very particular.

For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che was considered a great talent among the emperors of the Han Dynasty, but his temple title was not granted during the time of his son Emperor Zhaodi of the Han Dynasty, but was posthumously named after his great-grandson Emperor Xuandi Liu Bing of the Han Dynasty had ascended the throne. It took nearly 20 years.

In addition, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bingji, was also an outstanding emperor in the Western Han Dynasty. His temple name was not posthumously named Zhongzong twice until the period of Emperor Han Ping in the late Western Han Dynasty and Emperor Guangwu in the early Eastern Han Dynasty.

Therefore, in history, Liu Bei has always only had the posthumous title of "Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty", and the temple name had to wait until Liu Yuan, the founding emperor of Han and Zhao during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, gave him the posthumous title of "Ancestor of Lie".

At present, the southern Han Dynasty continued the policy of strictly selecting temple names and posthumous titles during the Han Dynasty, and decided to build a temple for Liu Bei first.

This is a protracted process that may take decades or even decades.Therefore, it is now a posthumous discussion, not a temple title discussion.If Liu Chan can rule the world in the future, he may be able to give Liu Bei a temple title.

Hearing the posthumous title of "Zhaolie", Liu Chan looked at the people below and said, "Do you have any objections?"

"My minister agrees."

"My minister agrees."

"My minister agrees."

Everyone responded one after another, thinking that this posthumous title is no problem.

Immediately Yin Mo said again: "Military discussion."

Zhuge Liang stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I want to withdraw the troops from Henan."

Lai Min, the new General Huben, said: "Prime Minister, the late Emperor made the Northern Expedition all his life, and before he died, he chanted the great cause of the Northern Expedition. How could he retreat at this time?"

Zhuge Liang frowned and said, "Now that the Northern Expedition has been nearly two years old, we have captured Guanzhong and Huainan. Now that the late emperor has died of illness, the morale of the army is low, and the food and grass are not sustainable. It is not a good thing to continue the stalemate."

"Humph!"

Lai Min snorted coldly: "Isn't it the prime minister's responsibility for the shortage of food and grass? Your Majesty sits in the whole south, and Jingzhou, Jiangdong, and Bashu are everywhere that produce grain. We have worked hard for several years, and the warehouses are rich, so there should be enough food and grass. How can it not continue? This should be caused by the prime minister's ineffective governance."

As soon as his words came out, many people looked at him in surprise. They never expected that Lai Min would be so bold as to accuse the prime minister.

You must know that the prime minister is the former emperor's minister, and all important affairs of the country are tied to the prime minister. Where does he have the courage?
However, what everyone didn't know was that when he was the prince's family order before Lai Min, he didn't dare to stand with Zhuge because Liu Bei was still there, but now that Liu Bei died and Liu Chan ascended the throne, he immediately became arrogant.

The main reason is that Lai Min is a veteran minister, 63 years old this year, and has been serving as Liu Chan's emperor teacher, and Liu Chan also listens to him very much.

He thought to himself that he was a veteran of the Han Dynasty and a teacher of the emperor, so his status should not be inferior to Zhuge Liang. However, Liu Bei did not regard him as a minister of Tuogu, so he was very upset and wanted to challenge Zhuge Liang's authority.

Zhuge Liang raised his head and glanced at Liu Chan. Seeing that Liu Chan was in a dilemma, he took care of Liu Chan's face. He couldn't get angry, so he could only explain patiently: "The grain and grass in Guanzhong are transported from Hanzhong. The journey is thousands of miles away, and the road is narrow. It is inconvenient to transport grain. , The loss is extremely huge, and now the national treasury surplus is not much, and if the fight continues, the loss will only increase."

Lai Min uttered wild words again: "Hasn't Guanzhong already mobilized the people to grow grain? Huainan has Jiangdong to supply grain and grass. Hefei has been brought down and the waterways are smooth. How can you say there is no grain? Your Majesty, the minister impeached the prime minister for his inability to govern the country. The front line is running out of food and grass!"

"boom!"

Shen Chen jumped up against the table and shouted: "Enough! Lai Min, you are just an ignorant and rotten scholar. You have never been on the battlefield to fight the enemy, and you dare to talk about military affairs?"

"Shen Chen, you!"

When Lai Min was scolded by him, he felt extremely humiliated, and said, "Dignified Hussar General, how dare you roar in front of His Majesty? Do you still take Your Majesty seriously?"

Shen Chen sneered and said, "Stop talking about these things. The road to Shu is difficult, and the cost of transporting grain is ten times that of the plains? Even if it is a temporary grain planting, the population cannot increase, and it is still necessary to transport grain from Nanyang or Hanzhong. Do wars depend entirely on your imagination?"

"Even so, should we retreat?"

Lai Min said angrily: "After all the painstaking efforts of the late emperor, it will be destroyed in your hands."

"Cough cough cough."

The new Situ Deng Hong is 60 years old this year. He coughed twice and said: "General Huben, General Hussars has fought in the north and south for many years, and has made countless contributions to the late emperor. How can you say that? The prime minister wants to retreat, and his own prime minister General Huben, please stop talking about the truth.”

"Ah."

Lai Min glanced at Deng Hong, and said with a sneer, "Your Deng family is just an imperial court relying on connections, what can you do?"

This remark offended a lot of people.

You must know that Shen Chen and Deng Hong have been working in Jingzhou for a long time, and the aristocratic families in Jingzhou have a good relationship with them.

At present, the Jingzhou aristocratic family is the most powerful in the imperial court, with three lords and nine ministers, three provinces, ministries and Taiwan, and countless Jingzhou natives. If the Deng family relies on connections, wouldn't that scold all Jingzhou people?

All of a sudden, the crowd rose up and attacked.

"Your Majesty, I impeach General Huben Laimin for uttering wild words and insulting my father."

The first one to stand up was Deng Hong's eldest son, Deng Yan. He was Shen Chen's uncle, nicknamed A Chou, and he was 32 years old this year.

"Your Majesty, the prime minister's decision to retreat was not considered by the prime minister himself, but was discussed with the hussar general and the general. Could it be that Lai Min knew more about the army than the hussar general and the general? If your majesty listened to Lai Min's words, wouldn't it be Ruined all the important affairs of the country?"

"That's right, Your Majesty. I also think that Lai Min's intentions are sinister. The country's major affairs should be entrusted to capable people. How can he just sit there and talk empty talk? Your Majesty, please punish him for his crimes."

"Your Majesty, please come to Min!"

Everyone stood up and asked Liu Chan to play.

"Your Majesty, I."

Lai Min was dumbfounded when he saw that he was attacked by everyone and the crowd was outraged.

He has an arrogant personality and low emotional intelligence. He has no friends in the court at all, and he said that he offended a large number of Jingzhou aristocratic families by relying on connections, so he was naturally disgusted by everyone.

Liu Chan was in a dilemma for a while.

Lai Min's emotional intelligence is not high, and when he usually teaches him to read, he looks like he is pointing out that there are no heroes in the world.

But after all, it is his own teacher, and Liu Chan still respects the teacher.

In history, he was good to the teachers who taught him. Even though Lai Min was so arrogant, he recovered immediately after Zhuge Liang's death, which shows that he is more nostalgic.

"His Majesty."

In the end, Zhuge Liang saw that he was in a dilemma, so he said: "Although Lai Min speaks wildly, it is still a scholarly opinion. Please demote him to three ranks."

Liu Chan said: "Then, according to the prime minister's words, demote to three levels."

"His Majesty."

Lai Min wanted to say something, but seeing the angry courtiers, he could only keep silent in the end.

"Prime Minister, when the troops come back, when will the Northern Expedition begin?"

It wasn't until this time that Zhang Fei asked.

He and Guan Yu have not spoken to each other.

Although Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang had already convinced them during the previous meeting.

But Guan Yu and Zhang Fei didn't really want to retreat.

The main reason is that they are getting older and don't know how many years they can live. In addition, the Northern Expedition has always been Liu Bei's long-cherished wish, so he wants to keep fighting.

It's just that now that Liu Bei died, the morale of the army is indeed low, and there are some difficulties in food and grass, so he is reluctant to agree.

And it's just soldiers and horses retreating from Henan.

Guanzhong and Huainan will definitely not retreat, and will continue to confront Cao Jun in Chang'an and Hefei.

The question they are most concerned about is when is the next Northern Expedition.

Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "The troops and horses of the main force in Henan retreat back to Nanyang to rest first. The generals and the hussars will stick to the main positions in Guanzhong and Huainan. Cao Wei will not transfer the main force to other places. Once Henan is empty, the main force in Nanyang will be there We can go all the way to Luoyang. Please rest assured, the generals and generals of chariots, Cao Wei will be damaged when the troops return. We can rest for a year or two before we can start the Northern Expedition again."

"A year or two?"

Zhang Fei tugged at his hair in pain and said, "Will it take that long?"

"Not too long, not too long."

Guan Yu closed his eyes and muttered to himself: "If I can defeat Cao Jun in Huainan, Cao Jun will mobilize the main force."

"It won't take long to win."

Shen Chen also looked around the crowd and said, "It's just that the soldiers and horses in Henan are exhausted now, and they still focus on rest. I have been resting in Guanzhong for a year, and I can fight a local war with Cao Wei first. If I can capture Hedong and threaten Bingzhou, then I can Let Cao Wei be terrified, maybe half a year or a year later, the main force of the army will be able to start the Northern Expedition again."

"That would be great."

Liu Chan nodded again and again and said: "Then, according to the Prime Minister's words, first withdraw the soldiers and horses from Henan to Nanyang, and then leave this matter to the Prime Minister."

"only!"

Zhuge Liang bowed his head and clapped his hands.

After that, everyone held political and agricultural discussions, discussing this year's government affairs and agricultural situation.

Economically speaking, the South is doing very well.

Due to the rich mineral resources, the Han Dynasty cast five baht coins and circulated them in the south. In addition, the production of Shu brocade, cloth, spirits, grain, ironware and other hard currencies was not bad, so the economy was relatively developed.

In particular, the handicraft manufacturing industry is booming, with Nanyang, Changsha, Jiangxia, Shujun, Bajun, Wujun, Danyang and other places as the core bases, and the Yangtze River as the shipping, and the east-west circulation is smooth.

Even the people of Cao Wei in the north used the five baht coins of the Han Dynasty in the south as their currency, which is much better than that in the north where things are still bartered.

In addition, due to the pacification of Nanzhong and Jiaozhou, Shen Chen built a port in Panyu, Jiaozhou, and actively explored coastal waters.They also sent a team from Yongchang County along the ancient tea-horse road to explore the Shan Kingdom in the southwest, Hanyue, Faqiang, Cheli, and Luzon Island in Southeast Asia.

The Han people traded with the locals, exchanging the porcelain and ironware produced in the Han Dynasty with the aborigines in Southeast Asia for gold, silver, copper, iron, and spices, earning a lot of money.

In fact, according to historical records, the trade between ancient China and Southeast Asia began in the Han Dynasty.

Both the Philippines and Myanmar have unearthed cultural relics such as five baht coins of the Han Dynasty, mushroom-shaped copper axes, and even the entire territory of Vietnam in later generations, which are the Jiaozhi County, Jiuzhen County, and Rinan County of Jiaozhou in the Han Dynasty.

The reason why they did not continue to expand and incorporate the entire Southeast Asia is that the tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia saved them.

If it weren't for the miasma, plague, and high mountains and tropical jungles in ancient Southeast Asia, which were not conducive to the marching and fighting of ancient armies, the Han Dynasty would have already invaded India.

However, although Southeast Asia is not conducive to marching, it is still possible to do business.

It is rich in products and resources, relying on the ancient tea-horse road and offshore trade, it can carry out certain commercial activities.

The only pity is that the Lingnan and Nanzhong areas are still underdeveloped, the population is too small, and the road conditions are not good. At present, only commercial roads have been opened up. The actual foreign trade volume is very small, and the economy mainly depends on the interior between Jingzhou, Yizhou and Yangzhou. cycle.

In terms of agriculture, a large amount of land and labor were liberated in the south. Through Champa rice and retting technology, productivity was greatly improved, and production relations were also greatly changed.

The original structure of production relations was very unfavorable to the development of the country, and the population and land were controlled by big landlords and aristocratic families.

However, as the Liu Bei Group suppressed the aristocratic families in the south and liberated the population, the proportion of self-cultivating farmers now accounts for more than [-]% of the national population, which is much higher than the proportion of self-cultivating farmers who were only half or even less than half in the past.

It cannot be said that there is no landlord class, but it is already much smaller.The proportion of land owned by aristocratic families and hidden households is pitifully small, and even if there are people, most of them are employed people.

So in terms of agriculture, the south is no worse than the north.

The key is speed of supply.

Poor roads and slow transportation are the fundamental factors.

It's as if Ji Han has never been short of food in history, and every time Zhuge Liang made a northern expedition, he always suffered from insufficient food and grass and retreated repeatedly every time he fought on the front line.

There must be no shortage of food on the Henan battlefield, and the main ones that are troubled by food are the Guanzhong and Huainan battlefields.

It took three years of preparation to support Shen Chen from Hanzhong to Chang'an. The loss along the way can be said to be much higher than that of Cao Wei. The food consumed by the Han army in one day is enough for the Cao army in Chang'an for several days.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for Cao Wei to adopt a strategy of sticking to it from the beginning.

It can only be said that if it hadn't been for Shen Chen's brave performance, it took only half a year to break through Chang'an, and if Cao Wei had seized Cao's supplies, he would probably have to withdraw his troops due to running out of food if Cao Wei persisted for a while.

Therefore, Guanzhong and Huainan still have to face this problem.

Fortunately, Shen Chen is solving it.

He used government policies to attract the people to go to Guanzhong for reclamation, and let the army station in their spare time to increase food production.

Guan Yu can also conscript the people to grow grain in Huainan, and farm on the spot to supplement the army rations, so as to alleviate the shortage of food and grass supply.

In addition, taking advantage of this period of time to withdraw the main force from Henan can consolidate Chang'an and Huainan.

Transport grain and grass to Chang'an through Nanyang, and then transport grain to Huainan through the Yangtze River waterway. First, store a batch of grain and grass.

So in summary.

Withdrawing troops from Henan is not to stop the Northern Expedition, but to slow things down for a while, and reorganize the army and food and grass issues before sending troops.

It's like when you are fighting, you punch out, and after you punch, you have to take it back, tighten your fist, accumulate strength, and then throw another punch.

Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang planned to beat Cao Wei to death with one punch after another!
　In this weather, there is no energy during the day, and it is considered a little energy from five o'clock in the afternoon.I originally wanted to post it tomorrow, but after thinking about it, I have promised to do two updates today, and I will still update it tomorrow until the weekend, and then continue to update it on Monday.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)