Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

In September of the seventh year of Zhangwu, Zhuge Liang led the main force back to Nanyang.

In the Battle of Ziyun Mountain, he only lost thousands of people, defeated Cao's army, captured more than [-], and beheaded [-], which can be described as a complete victory.

With the power of victory, the army returned to Nanyang mightily.

For a while, the Southern Great Han Dynasty Hall originally questioned Zhuge Liang's voice, but it was swept away at once, and the gossip in the court hall almost disappeared.

There are countless memorials from the officials to congratulate Liu Chan, and no one impeaches Zhuge Liang for not understanding military affairs.

Zhuge Liang asked Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Lu Chang, Wu Yi and other generals to take the lead in stationing in Wancheng and other places, and he returned to Xiangyang with Fa Zheng, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others to report to Liu Chan.

In late September, the group arrived in Xiangyang.

Liu Chan took all the civil and military officials out of the city to greet him at the pier to celebrate Zhuge Liang's victory.

People all over the city got the news and flocked to it, crowding the entire wharf.

Surrounded by everyone, Zhuge Liang was treated like a star and escorted all the way to the Xiangyang Palace.

It wasn't until they entered the palace that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The people were so enthusiastic. Knowing that Zhuge Liang had won the battle, the whole city was a sensation.

Wherever they pass along the way, it can be said that there are huge crowds of people, cheers are endless, and the whole market is boiling. Even if there are troops standing guard, it can't stop the enthusiasm of the people.

When everyone came to the palace, Liu Chan took the main seat and asked everyone to sit down. Many ministers in the hall were full of smiles and were very happy.

Liu Chan said with a smile: "This big victory, the prime minister has greatly increased his military prestige. I'm afraid it won't be long before we can start the Northern Expedition again."

"Ah."

Zhuge Liang nodded with a smile and said: "Your Majesty, I dare not forget the late emperor's long-cherished wish for a moment. The Northern Expedition has a long road to go, but we still have to forge ahead."

Liu Chan added: "It's just that now that we have withdrawn our troops and returned to Nanyang, shouldn't we rest and recuperate? A prime minister is still needed for major national affairs."

Zhuge Liang said: "It is true that I need to recuperate, but I plan to go to Wancheng to prepare for military affairs."

"Oh?"

Liu Chan was surprised and said, "Could it be that the prime minister plans to start the Northern Expedition next year?"

"No."

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "The late emperor entrusted the great cause to the minister, and the minister must not slack off, so the minister will actively rectify the troops in Nanyang, and go north to Henan again at any time."

Liu Chan worried: "But the government affairs of the country still need the assistance of the prime minister."

During this period of time without Zhuge Liang, Liu Chan's one head was bigger than two. Although Ma Liang, Jiang Wan, Yang Yi, Yin Mo, Fei Yi, Dong Yun, Huo Yi and others helped to deal with it, it was still not like before. He doesn't need to take care of it.

In the past, when Zhuge Liang was here, not only were the affairs of the country well organized, but even the appointment of officials from various places and the deployment of soldiers and horses were handled by Zhuge Liang, without Liu Chan's consideration.

As soon as Zhuge Liang left, Liu Chan realized how troublesome it is to manage a country.

From the appointment and arrangement of officials, the tax collection of grain and grass in various places, the distribution of farmers' land, the review of death row criminals across the country, the uploading and disposal of information from various places, to the construction of warehouses, road maintenance, grain planting, and even disputes between officials over certain matters, they all come to him. solve.

For a while, Liu Chan's scalp was numb, and he waited for Zhuge Liang to come back like the stars and the moon. Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang was going to Nanyang again, so what should he do?
Zhuge Liang had no choice but to comfort him: "There are other important officials in the imperial court, Ji Chang, Gong Yan, Wei Gong, Wen Wei, etc. are all great talents. If there is something that cannot be decided by the court, you can naturally ask them."

"But they cannot make immediate decisions like the prime minister."

Liu Chan found a reason and said: "Besides, they sometimes have different opinions, and I don't know who to listen to. Only the decision made by the prime minister is convincing."

"This"

Zhuge Liang frowned, Shen Chen often advised him not to work too hard, just concentrate on doing one thing, and don't always think about doing all the big and small things.

After Liu Bei's death, there was no one in charge of the main force in Nanyang in the middle, and Shen Chen recommended him to take on this responsibility.

So Zhuge Liang felt that if he was to lead the troops in the Northern Expedition himself, he would naturally have to stay in the barracks all the time, otherwise if he couldn't train the soldiers and focus on military affairs, wouldn't it be a situation where the generals don't know the soldiers, and the soldiers don't know the generals?
But now Liu Chan hopes that he can handle government affairs, which is a bit contradictory.

A moment of hesitation.

Liu Chan thought of a genius idea, and he said with a smile: "Anyway, Wancheng is not far from Xiangyang, the prime minister might as well set up a prime minister's mansion in Wancheng, and send all the government affairs of the world to Wancheng, so the prime minister can make decisions?"

This is indeed a good way, because Wancheng and Hanshui are connected by the Weishui River. It takes only two days to travel from Wancheng to Xiangyang by boat, and it takes four or five days from Xiangyang to Wancheng.

More importantly, there are carrier pigeon bases connecting the two places. If there is an emergency, the news can be delivered quickly.

But Zhuge Liang has to manage military affairs and government affairs at the same time, it is true that he regards him as an iron man.

Next, Zhou Buyi, who was transferred from Nanyang to the central government this year, was the first to stand up and object: "Your Majesty, the master once said that if he is not in his position, he will not seek his own government. The prime minister is also a human being. In the past, when he dealt with state affairs, he just I am already very tired, and now I have to take charge of military affairs, and the Northern Expedition to Cao Wei, it is hard to do two things at once."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I thought that the prime minister had to handle military affairs while also handling government affairs. It is inevitable that there will be mistakes and omissions. This is not a good thing for military affairs and government affairs. Therefore, I think that they should be separated, and government affairs should be left alone. In Xiangyang."

"I also think this is the reason. Although the prime minister can do everything well, if everything is handled by the prime minister, then what should the ministers do? Your majesty should trust the rest of the ministers."

"My minister agrees."

"The minister also agrees."

For a while, many courtiers objected to Liu Chan's leaving government affairs to Zhuge Liang.

It's not that they doubt Zhuge Liang, fearing that he will be caught in the military and government, and become a powerful minister, usurping the Han like Cao Pi.

Under the current system, if Zhuge Liang really did this, he might be wiped out immediately.

Guan Yu is still there, Zhang Fei is still there, and even Zhuge Liang himself often talks about his loyalty to the Han Dynasty and his allegiance to the late emperor. There must be no good end for him to do so.

So no one is afraid that Zhuge Liang is in power.

The main reason is that once Zhuge Liang left, there would be a hollow power in the southern court.

It turns out that these ministers can only listen to Zhuge Liang, and now they can control political affairs by themselves, which is naturally good news.

Zhuge Liang himself didn't want to be so tired.

In history, he was helpless, but now there are so many talents in the south, there is no need to catch them all by himself.

So he also said: "Your Majesty, what you said is true. Now that the vice ministers of the three provinces have returned to the court, if the minister wants to go north, the three ministers can share the worries of the majesty, so why should the minister be there?"

"That's fine then."

Liu Chan reluctantly agreed, but his expression was obviously very disappointed. It seemed that the happy days of just lying down every day without doing anything would be gone forever.

Ma Liang said: "Prime Minister, now that the army is withdrawing and returning to Nanyang, Cao Jun will definitely not let it go. What if they attack Huainan Guanzhong?"

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "It's okay, I already have a countermeasure. Please rest assured about this matter."

He said with deep eyes looking towards the east.

Cao Wei wanted to take advantage of Liu Bei's death and take advantage of the opportunity to seize Huainan Guanzhong when the whole country was in mourning. He would not give the other party such a good opportunity.

.

.

In September of the seventh year of Zhangwu in the Han Dynasty and the eighth year of Huangchu in the Wei Dynasty, Cao Pi, the Emperor of Wei, vomited blood and fainted in the Luoyang Palace.

He woke up slowly the next day and was bedridden. His physical condition was not optimistic.

In the West Palace, incense was burned in the hall, and Cao Pi had just drank the decoction, and his whole body was very weak, his face was extremely pale.

Chen Qun, Dong Zhao, Liu Ye, Jiang Ji and other main counselors accompanied him below.

"Is Zhongda back?"

Cao Pi turned his head and asked hard.

Chen Qun replied, "It's already on the way."

"When Zhongda comes back, let him come to see me immediately."

"Yes."

"Send another edict to take Xia Houyuan back to Luoyang and ask him to execute him immediately."

"His Majesty."

Dong Zhao was shocked and said, "No, General Hussars is an important minister of the country, and he must not destroy himself."

Cao Pi was furious, and was about to roar, but felt chest tightness, coughing violently: "Ahem, cough, what important minister, almost caused the entire army of our great Wei to be annihilated, and I will never let him go lightly."

"Your Majesty"

Dong Zhao still wanted to say something, but Jiang Ji next to him pulled him, indicating that Cao Pi was angry now, so stop talking.

Seeing this situation, Dong Zhao had no choice but to keep silent.

It was Chen Qun who persuaded him: "Your Majesty, let's wait for Zhongda to come back to discuss this matter. After all, General Hussars is quite prestigious in the army. If he kills him now, the morale of the army will be afraid."

"Cough, cough, cough."

The corner of Cao Pi's mouth was bleeding, and he waved his hands with difficulty and said, "That's it, wait for Zhongda to come back."

After all, let everyone go down, he is too uncomfortable now, he just wants to have a good rest.

Two days later, Sima Yi returned in a hurry.

Before entering the palace, Chen Qun and others told Cao Pi that he planned to kill Xia Houyuan.

Sima Yi expressed his understanding, and then went to see Cao Pi.

Cao Pi's condition was very bad. He was seriously ill in bed. When he saw him coming, he still supported his sick body and asked about the situation.

Sima Yi told Cao Pi what happened at that time. After hearing this, Cao Pi was very angry and said, "Xia Houyuan should be killed!"

"Of course it should be killed."

Sima Yi said lightly.

Chen Qun, Dong Zhao, Jiang Ji, Liu Ye and others were shocked.

They never expected that Sima Yi would obey Cao Pi's wishes, and looked at him in astonishment for a while.

Cao Pi said, "Zhongda also thinks that Xia Houyuan should be killed?"

"Yes."

Sima Yi cupped his hands and said: "The minister also persuaded the general, but he didn't listen."

"it is good."

Cao Pi nodded: "Then take Xia Houyuan back to Luoyang and kill him."

But Sima Yi said again: "In addition to General Hushi, please also kill Xia Houshang, Jia Kui, Guo Huai, Wang Ling, Chen Qun, Dong Zhao, Jiang Ji, Liu Ye and others."

Chen Qun and the others over there were even more shocked, but they quickly understood after a while, and fell silent for a while.

"Why?"

Cao Pi was puzzled.

Sima Yi said: "These people think that they can attack, so they are the same as General Hussars. They underestimated Zhuge Liang. Is it possible that General Hussars is the only one to bear the responsibility?"

As soon as these words came out, Cao Pi froze for a moment.

Because even he thinks he can pursue him, doesn't that mean he is also guilty of the same crime?

After all, no one expected that Zhuge Liang's military capabilities were so strong that he could command tens of thousands of troops on the spot, resisting Cao's attack, and waited until Zhang Fei's reinforcements arrived.

So it wasn't just Xia Houyuan who made a mistake in his judgment, but everyone else.It would indeed be unfair to Xia Houyuan if only Xia Houyuan was held accountable.

Thinking of this, Cao Pi could only say: "Let's forget it, but the death penalty is exempt, Xia Houyuan will be demoted to a commoner, and temporarily let Xiahou Shang take the lead as the frontline commander, and then I will choose the right person to go to the south."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and bowed their hands to Cao Pi.

Cao Pi coughed violently, covered his mouth with a handkerchief, and said after a while: "Now that we have been defeated, can we still try to seize Huainan Guanzhong?"

Sima Yi said, "Your Majesty, it's time."

"Why?"

"Think about it, Your Majesty, Liu Bei's new funeral, and the strength of the South has been greatly weakened. They no longer have the heart to fight us. If we are undefeated, what will they think?"

What will they think?
Cao Pi pondered and said, "If it were me, I'm afraid we would take the opportunity to concentrate our troops to attack Huainan or Guanzhong."

"good."

Sima Yi nodded and said, "But now that we are newly defeated, the enemy must not expect us to send troops soon, so this is the time for them to relax their vigilance the most."

"cough cough"

Cao Pi coughed a few times, gasped heavily, and said softly: "This statement makes sense."

Sima Yi said: "I heard that Guan Yu has returned to Huainan, and the latest news is that this autumn's grain will be harvested soon. If you attack Huainan at this time, let Sun Quan rebel in the rear, and Yangzhou cannot harvest grain. Then the rations on the front line must be scarce, maybe we can defeat Guan Yu in a short time and take back Huainan."

"It's just that Zhuge Liang has returned his soldiers and horses to Nanyang. If he rushes to help by water from Nanyang, what should we do?"

Cao Pi asked again.

They discussed this issue before.

It was originally planned that if Nanyang soldiers and horses went to rescue Huainan, their main force in Henan would take the opportunity to invade.

But now that Henan has been defeated, it is still unknown whether the main force on his side can invade.

So Cao Pi was very worried.

Only Sima Yi said: "My minister, please transfer the Youzhou cavalry to Henan."

"Youzhou cavalry?"

Cao Pi frowned: "It is true that Tian Yu, Yan Rou and others still have a lot of cavalry in their hands, but those are for guarding the border. Xianbei Wuhuan has not been completely controlled. If all the soldiers and horses on the frontier are transferred away, then you will be defeated." Isn't the state"

Sima Yi said: "Soldiers are expensive and fast. This battle is a surprise attack on Huainan. The soldiers and horses will attack thousands of miles away. It is to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and attack decisively, making them hard to defend. If we can conquer Guan Yu at that time, even if there is chaos in the north , and can immediately go back to resist."

"Um"

Cao Pi pondered for a long time, finally nodded and said: "Okay, then listen to Zhongda's words, mobilize the northern border troops to go south, and then send someone to send a message to Sun Quan that we are about to attack Huainan and let him prepare. This is already his This is the last chance, if he can't seize the opportunity, he will never stand up."

"only."

Everyone bowed their hands and should be.

The plan to seize Huainan is finally about to begin.