Chapter 1324 Party Struggle

There is a word in this world called peach love.

The protagonists of the story are Wei Linggong, the king of Wei State in the Spring and Autumn Period, and his male favorite Mi Zixia.

When Mi Zixia was favored, he once learned that his mother was ill, so he ordered him to drive the king's car back to visit his mother.

When Duke Ling of Wei heard about it, he said virtuously, "How filial you are! You committed the crime of mutilation for the sake of your mother!"

 It means, alas, Zixia is so filial. For the sake of his mother, he is not even afraid of the punishment of amputating his feet.

 Because according to the law of defending the country, anyone who steals the king's chariot is guilty of the crime of beheading, that is, having his feet chopped off.

Another time, the two of them were visiting an orchard together. Mi Zixia picked a peach and ate a few bites. He felt it was very sweet, so he turned around and handed the peach he had eaten to Wei Linggong.

Your Majesty said: "You love me so much that you forget your words and think of me!"

 It means that you love me so much that you endured your greed and gave me the delicious peach.

 This is the so-called split love.

Ji Mizi's appearance is declining and his love is relaxed, which offends the king. The king said: "You try to drive my chariot, and you try to eat my other peaches."

When Mi Zixia grew old and faded, he began to be disliked by Wei Linggong.

Later Mi Zixia accidentally offended Duke Linggong of Wei.

This made Wei Linggong think of the past and became even more angry:

“This guy used to falsely pass on the king’s orders and use my car without authorization; he also showed no respect for the king and gave me the leftover peach he had bitten.”

 So, when there is true love, even the shortcomings of the other person will be seen as advantages.

 When love disappears, even the other person’s strengths will be seen as weaknesses.

Sun Quan’s attitude towards Lu Xun is probably similar to that of Wei Linggong towards Mi Zixia.

 Lu Yi changed his name to Lu Xun, and his original intention was probably to express humility.

Of course, it is even possible that he is flattering Sun Quan.

  Xun means that the Sun family works hard to serve.

Lu Xun personally explained to Sun Quan that he named his son Kang to resist thieves.

Sun Quan also expressed his appreciation at the time.

Unexpectedly, times have changed, and now Lu Xun is disgusted by Sun Quan, so his resistance to thieves has turned into a protest.

It can be said that one loves the house and the crow, and hates the house and the crow.

Lu Xun was one of the ministers of the State of Wu whom Feng paid close attention to. Mi Shiyilang, who was in Jianye, would naturally not miss his observation.

After learning about Lu Xun’s movements, he went to look for Lu Yi and asked with some worry:

"I heard that the general wanted to persuade your majesty to change the tariff. Will there be any changes in Jingzhou Yi City?"

 Lv Yi smiled confidently and said with great confidence:

"Mi Langjun, don't worry. Are you being selfless when the general knocks on the door to ask your Majesty? In fact, it is just for his own selfishness. Your Majesty is so wise and powerful, how can you be deceived by him?"

When Mi Shiyilang heard this, he saw Lu Yi's expression again, so he tried to challenge him with words:

"I once heard that the general was a senior officer in the school of planning. He was born in a country-worshiping family and had a reputation as a bandit. His majesty has great trust in him. How could he be deceived by his own selfish interests?"

Lu Yi couldn't help but snorted when Mi Shiyilang was so excited:

"This is all reported by outsiders, and it cannot be believed sincerely. Why did he advise His Majesty to change the tariff? It was just to let him lead the army to attack Hefei!"

"It is said that Xiangyang has fallen, and only Hefei remains. Once Hefei is destroyed, the shackles of Wu will be gone."

“So he intends to let you, the Han Kingdom, march south after taking Luoyang and cooperate with him to take Hefei!”

Hearing this, even a man like Mi Shiyilang who was good at dealing with people didn't know how to speak.

 Before coming to Wu State from Chang'an, my brother analyzed the situation of Wu State with him.

 Coupled with the various signs observed after coming to Wu Kingdom, they all coincide with the brother's previous judgment.

This made him feel frightened and awed, and at the same time he understood some of Sun Quan's thoughts.

Hefei can be said to be the inner demon of Sun Quan.

Lu Xun not only went to Xiangyang, but also wanted to personally lead the army to attack Hefei. Didn't he consider Sun Quan's feelings?

Mi Shiyilang didn’t know what to say, but Lu Yi said angrily:

“Don’t Your Majesty know what he said? But what about the money? What about the food? Why didn’t he mention it at all?”

"Without money and food, even if there are 100,000 elites, what's the use? The year before last, when the Wu army marched northward, so many soldiers and horses, how much food did they consume?"

“Does he think that his victory over Xiangyang is due to him alone? Without us transferring money and food from the Han Dynasty, what would he do to conquer it?”

　　I received benefits, but I never cared about the merits of the school affairs office. I even scolded myself and others every day for being traitors and harming the country.

 Just thinking about it makes me angry!

 In fact, over the years, Wu’s treasury has been unable to make ends meet.

 Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to make big money repeatedly.

All the subsidies for Sun Quan's Shaofu -also the emperor's personal small vault subsidy country -can he be sold north every year.

 Most of the money of the Young Master was obtained through the hard work of the School Affairs Bureau.

As a foreign minister, Lu Xun was naturally not qualified to know how much money the emperor's young master still had.

But when he thought about it, in the early years, His Majesty went north to attack Hefei every year. Didn't he always come here like this?

 What's the harm in giving him one more blow now?

Moreover, as long as Hefei is captured and Han's offensive in the north is taken, Wu will be able to seize the opportunity to take all the land of the Huaihe River into his pocket.

 At that time, Dawu will have the greatest room for maneuver.

At the same time, luring the Han State to take the land south of the river first will not only help the Han State to plot the Central Plains, but will even put the Han State into a dilemma:

When Han and Da Wu join forces to carve up the land in Guandong, they will find that they have Da Wu who controls the Jianghuai area to the south, and Sima Yi across the river to the north.

 And the land of Qingxu is right in the middle.

No matter whether the Han Dynasty sends its troops northward or betrays its alliance and goes southward, it will face the embarrassing situation of being attacked from both sides.

 So, losing Luoyang may not be all bad for Sima Yi who occupied Hebei.

Lu Xun believed that Sima Yi would definitely see this from his perspective.

 Just like the battle the year before last.

From Lu Xun's own point of view, his plan was all about loyalty to the country and had no selfish motives.

 That's why he came to knock on the door at the risk of offending Sun Quan.

  It’s just that the reason why there are countless disputes in this world is precisely because people have different positions and different interests.

What Sun Quan wants now is to first stabilize the internal situation, rebalance the various forces within Wu State, and pave the way for those who come after him:

I transferred you, Lu Xun, back from Xiangyang, and even refused to let you return to Wuchang. This is also the reason.

 You actually want me to allow you to lead the army out to attack Hefei now?

is it possible?

 Besides, even if I trust you and let you lead the troops, how can you guarantee that Hefei will be captured?

　　I have been fighting for so many years but I have not been able to win.

Let’s not talk about Hefei. Last time I asked you to fight in Lu’an, weren’t you forced to retreat overnight by an eighty-year-old soldier (i.e. Man Chong)?

 This is still undefeatable.

 In case I really want to defeat you...

Let’s not talk about my face, but what should I do next?

How about giving this position of the Sun family to you, the Lu family?

Lv Yi naturally doesn't know the true thoughts of Sun and Lu.

Furthermore, he had not had a chance to tell Sun Quan about Lu Xun's plan, and it was even less possible for Lu Yi to know Lu Xun's true intention.

 But he only needs to know that His Majesty hates Lu Xun.

 And he also has his own position:

The Great Wu Palace has a clean face. You are a great general, and you also act as prime minister. Are you really not aware or are you pretending not to know?

To put it bluntly, don’t you just want to take money from the Shaofu to support yourself in attacking Hefei?

 Do you know where the money came from?

 Do you really think it was brought by the strong wind?

 What a beautiful thought!

 Seeing Lu Yi swearing so confidently, Mi Shiyilang felt relieved.

Lu Yi was still complaining about Lu Xun privately, but in the court, someone was already planning to secretly target Lu Xun.

The incident of going up to the general and knocking on the que caused quite an uproar in the court.

However, as the first person in charge of Knock Que, the Grand Governor Quan Cong watched the whole process with a cold eye, without any disturbance in his heart, and even wanted to laugh a little.

Luoyang is more than two thousand miles away. Even if you don't want to be occupied by Han, can you still fly there and **** it back?

At the Battle of Shiting, the Marquis of Jiaxing (i.e. Zhu Huan) suggested cutting off Cao Xiu's retreat in advance at a dangerous location.

If we can succeed, we can take advantage of the victory to pursue Shouchun, separatize Huainan, and then plot Xu and Luo.

 In hindsight, this strategy has a high probability of success.

　　Not to mention plotting against Xuchang and Luoyang, we can at least try to capture Shouchun.

Shouchun was captured long ago, so why is it causing so much trouble now?

Facing the Han Dynasty’s occupation of Luoyang today, why should Wu be so embarrassed?

If you want to blame, blame me. You, the general, were too cautious and did not accept the opinions of the Marquis of Jiaxing.

 Shou Chun, Shouchun, whenever Shouchun is mentioned, Commander Quan Cong becomes very angry.

 Soon, his opportunity came.

In November of the sixth year of Yanxi, Prime Minister Gu Yong was finally convinced by Zhang Quan that he could not survive the winter of that year and died of serious illness.

Sun Quan was very sad when he heard about it, so he went to pay his respects in person and gave him the posthumous title of Marquis Su.

 After handling Gu Yong's funeral affairs, who can take over as prime minister has become a top priority.

According to the understanding of the ministers, the position of prime minister should naturally be taken over by the general.

The post of acting prime minister is just missing a name.

But for some reason, Sun Quan was uncharacteristically reluctant to express his attitude.

Princess Quan, who wanted to go to the palace to inquire about the news, came back happily that day and quietly said to Quan Cong:

“Alang, your majesty is very dissatisfied with Lu Boyan. I heard it with my own ears. Your majesty scolded him in the palace for not knowing how to show appreciation. Why do you want to be so cruel and ugly and only try to take advantage of your disapproval!”

Although he had a grudge with Lu Xun, Quan Cong was still surprised when he heard this: "Is this true? Your Majesty would say this to Lu Boyan?"

“I heard it with my own ears, how can I be wrong?” Princess Quan persuaded with some excitement, “Alang, it’s time to clarify the matter of Shouchun’s military exploits!”

 The case of Shouchun's meritorious service was originally controversial.

Lu Boyan's letter forced the whole family to submit to Zhang and Gu.

 In the past, Lu Boyan had a high reputation in the army, and His Majesty also listened to his words.

Now that His Majesty has been angered, if the Quan family does not take this opportunity to overturn the verdict, when will it happen?

Quan Cong was also moved in his heart.

 Thought for a moment and said:

"Let me think about it and find a good opportunity..."

 Princess Quan interrupted him directly:

"Alang, what else do you want to think about? I have made an appointment with Mrs. Pan, and your Majesty will probably come over."

“You are His Majesty’s son-in-law, so you accompany me into the palace, pay your respects to His Majesty, and take the opportunity to mention Shouchun’s military exploits. What’s the problem?”

Quan Cong hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.

December of the sixth year of Yanxi's reign was destined to be a cold month for Wu Guochatang.

While the prime minister Gu Yong died, Gu's was in grief and busy, and he had no time to take care of him.

 Grand Governor Quan Cong took the opportunity to speak to Sun Quan, Lord of Wu, and mentioned the case of Shouchun's meritorious service.

 Reveals how Chen Yun, the Dianjun at that time, deceived the emperor and fraudulently increased his merits, which resulted in unfair rewards and punishments for the army's lieutenants.

Quan Cong not only took out the merit book and pointed out the fallacies of many of the military achievements above, but also found the military officers and soldiers of the year to prove his remarks.

Since these days, Sun Quan has been very angry because of Lu Xun's knocking on the que, and the death of Gu Yong has made him sad and sad.

With a mixture of sorrow and hatred, I couldn't control my emotions on the spot when I learned that Gu Yong's descendants were so unbearable.

He first angrily issued an edict to put Chen Xun to death, and then ordered a secretary to imprison Gu Cheng and Zhang Xiu.

Even before the corpse of Prime Minister Gu Yong was cold, the Gu family suffered such a disaster.

Even if the Gu family is one of the four families in Wu County, there will be some confusion.

After the death of Gu Yong, the general Lu Xun became the most important official in the Wu Dynasty.

At this time, he stepped forward without hesitation and interceded for the Gu family. Sun Quan, who had long been unable to control his temper, rebuked Lu Xun in front of all the ministers:

“In the past, when Shouchun was talking about merit, the court had no final conclusion. If you hadn’t written a letter saying that the merit of garrisoning the enemy was great, but the merit of retreating the enemy was small, how could we have done this today?”

"I have no scruples, and I let you get close to me. I didn't expect that you wanted to do something for your nephew, so you made such a comment!"

 (Note: The Gu brothers are Lu Xun’s nephews)

“When today’s incident happened, you didn’t think about your own mistakes. Instead, you became even more incompatible with him. You simply did everything for personal gain!”

Sun Quan's curses not only shocked Lu Xun and couldn't believe it, but also shocked all the ministers to their jaws.

But seeing Lu Xun standing blankly, although there were colleagues sitting on both sides, he felt as if the surroundings were shrouded in mist, as if he was standing alone on an island.

 He stood there blankly like a stone pillar, staring at the ground with his head lowered.

I just feel alone, surrounded by shadows, my body is bound by the sudden fatigue, unable to move, and full of sadness and anger, swirling and conflicting in my body.

After a long time, Lu Xun raised his head and looked at the emperor above. His eyes were dull and empty, and he murmured:

"Your Majesty, I... I am guilty... I am guilty!"

With the last "guilty" sound, Lu Xun fell to the ground with a thump, his whole body trembling, and his head hidden deep between his arms.

Seeing General Shang like this, Gu Tan, who had been silent for a long time because he was avoiding suspicion, finally stood up uncontrollably:

"Your Majesty, although my brother is stupid and cowardly, I dare to guarantee it with my life, and I will never do anything greedy for merit."

“The general is dedicated to serving the people sincerely, and he is loyal to the public. He is definitely not someone who will seek personal gain for his in-laws and children.”

“I sincerely request your majesty to order a supervisor to review the matter of Shouchun’s meritorious service, so as to prevent your majesty from being deceived by treacherous and sycophantic people.”

Looking at Lu Xun's appearance, Sun Quan finally felt that he might have spoken a little too harshly.

Although he had the intention of weakening the Gu family, he still cared about Gu Yong's past achievements.

Moreover, Gu Yong's body was still dead, so he couldn't do too much. This time, it was enough to take the opportunity to beat Gu.

 So he said to Gu Tan:

“Why don’t I investigate clearly whether it’s merit or demerit? Chen Xun’s friendship with your younger brother is not private. Who knows?”

"In the battle of Shouchun, I also have evidence that Chen Xun falsely claimed military merit. According to the law, your younger brother should be killed, but I think the prime minister is very sympathetic to your brother."

"Well, as long as you apologize to the Governor here in front of everyone, I believe the Governor will not pursue it too much."

When Gu Tan heard that Sun Quan actually asked him to apologize to Quan Cong, he was immediately furious. His blood was boiling in his body, and he clenched his fists tightly.

Quan Cong was greedy and had his brother imprisoned unjustly.

Now your Majesty actually wants him to apologize to this treacherous villain? !

Gu Tan turned his head and stared fiercely at Quan Cong sitting in front, then turned his head again and roared like a thunderbolt in humiliation:

 “Your Majesty, you are slandering me!”

As soon as these words came out, Quan Cong, who was secretly proud of the setback of the four surnames Zhonglu and Gu in Wu County, couldn't sit still.

He suddenly stood up, pointed at Gu Tan and cursed:

 “Who is the thief talking about?”

 Sun Quan, who was sitting at the top, had a gloomy face.

 (End of this chapter)