Farmers of Shu Han

Chapter 1408: Co-governance with the Aristocratic Family

He personally escorted Lu Yu out of the camp. Before leaving, General Feng said to Lu Yu:

"Mr. Lu, we were discussing official business in the camp. I have something to say to you in private now that we are leaving the camp."

"Mr. Feng, please speak."

"Cao Wei was in the center of the country, occupying nine provinces, eight out of ten of the country. At that time, the Han Dynasty was only in a remote border province of Shu. That's why Cao Pi dared to usurp the Han Dynasty."

"But today, our Han has recovered the two capitals of the East and the West and the two states of Liang and Bing, while the rebellious Wei has repeatedly lost troops and territory. Cao Shuang is incompetent, but he can hold power in Qiao County. Sima is nameless, but he actually established himself in Hebei."

"In the past, Sima Yi was ordered by Cao Rui to defend Guanzhong. He was unable to defend it even though the eight states of Wei joined forces. Now that Wei is divided into north and south, Sima Yi is recklessly trying to resist the royal army with just the land of Hebei. Do you think this is a good idea, Lord Lu?"

Lu Yu was silent for a moment, then replied:
"Lord Feng has led his army to invade Hebei for half a year. Last time, the Grand Tutor had not arrived, and you were still blocked at the pass. Now that the Grand Tutor has arrived in person, what will you do?"

The fact that Sima Yi sent Lu Yu here is enough to show his trust in him.

Sima Feng had never expected to make the other party kowtow to him when they met for the first time.

In fact, what Grand Marshal Feng wanted was just to let Lu Yu convey some words to the Lu family in Fanyang.

When Feng Da Sima heard Lu Yu's question, he just smiled and nodded:

"I understand what Lord Lu said. Everyone has their own aspirations, and I won't force them. But does Lord Lu's words only represent himself, or does it mean that the Fanyang Lu family is determined to follow Sima Yi to the end?"

Lu Yu was startled: "What does Mr. Feng mean by this?"

Feng Da Sima smiled faintly and said:

"Although Han is an old country, its destiny is to reform. If the Han Dynasty ever recovers Hebei, it will certainly implement new policies. If the Hebei noble families are ignorant of current affairs, it will be too late to regret. Have you not seen the Hedong noble families?"

"It's just that Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty was blessed by Lu Shangshu (Lu Zhi) in his early years and was able to study under him. Although Lu Shangshu is no longer with us, the emperor of the Han Dynasty is a benevolent ruler and will never forget the friendship of the Fanyang Lu family."

"So here, I can promise Lord Lu that before the Han Dynasty recovers Hebei, whether your Lu family supports the Sima family or wants to support the Cao family, the Han Dynasty will not care."

"After the Han Dynasty recovers Hebei, as long as the Lu family can follow the general trend and abandon violence and follow justice, the Han Dynasty will treat them well."

Feng Dasima did not say what would happen if one was unwilling to follow the trend.

But I think that Minister Lu's affection for Emperor Zhaolie is not enough in this matter.

At this point, Feng Da Sima held Lu Yu's hand, patted it gently, and lowered his voice:

"I believe Lord Lu also knows that the Han Dynasty has just eliminated the Hu people in the north of Youzhou, and it is now in need of someone to help stabilize the frontier."

"Now, the way for us, the Han people, to educate the barbarians and stabilize the border is nothing more than to set aside some pastures and open a few wool spinning factories."

"It just so happens that Fanyang is close to the border, so there is no shortage of people or money and food. I think if the Lu family is willing to take on these tasks, it can be said that the time, place and people are all right..."

The words were very light, but they sounded like thunder to Lu Yu's ears, causing his pupils to dilate suddenly.

Even breathing was suffocated!
Looking at Mr. Feng who said this with a smile and lightly, Lu Yu swallowed back the word "wool" that almost spilled out of his mouth with the greatest willpower in his life.

In the end, his lips just moved, but no words came out.

He just bowed deeply to Sima Feng, and then said:

"I would like to thank Mr. Feng for his kindness to the Lu family."

Unexpectedly, Grand Marshal Feng said, "The matter of Hebei has not yet been decided. It is a bit too early for Lord Lu to thank you."

The corner of Lu Yu's mouth twitched.

Although he was Sima Yi's envoy, Lu Yu couldn't help but want to say:
"Then please hurry up, Mr. Feng..."

Lu Yu was shocked when he realized this thought. He bowed to Sima Feng again and left in a panic.

I was afraid that if I stayed any longer, I would have to bow down to someone.

terrible!

Mr. Feng, who is eloquent and has a pleasing appearance, truly lives up to his reputation.

Just a few words were enough to shake the mind of someone who thought he was determined.

Even I almost couldn't resist the temptation of this person's sweet words. It is conceivable that if this matter were to spread back to the clan, I don't know how much of a storm it would cause.

Lu Yu was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the mountain road under his feet. He stumbled and almost fell.

Looking at Lu Yu's receding back, Feng Dasima looked dimly, not knowing what he was thinking, and suddenly shouted:
"Someone is coming."

"Da Sima?"

"Pass on my military order. Starting tomorrow, we will resume the siege."

"Here."

Sima Feng didn't know why Sima Yi suddenly came to Weize Pass, but since he was already here, it was naturally impossible for him to be too relaxed.

The highest level of strength is the basic operation.

Besides, Taifu Sima has sent someone to challenge me. If I don’t accept the challenge, wouldn’t it seem that I’m afraid of the other party?

As for how many days the attack will last and how intense the attack will be, that depends on the situation.

Anyway, the initiative lies with you, not the other party.

Lu Yu naturally didn't know that Feng had already issued the military order to attack the city the next day before he had even walked far.

He returned to the city and went to see Sima Yi without any delay:

"Master."

"Zijia is back? You've worked hard. How was it? Did you meet Feng Mingwen?"

"Replying to Master, I have seen it."

In addition to what Grand Marshal Feng said privately outside the camp, Lu Yu recounted in detail the entire meeting with Feng.

After listening to this, Sima Yi's expression did not change, he just asked calmly:
"He also gave me a box of ice cream?"

"Exactly."

When you open the box, a cool breeze mixed with sweetness hits you in the face, which makes you feel refreshed in this hot summer.

Then he saw a small semicircular gap in the middle of the top of the ice cream and remained silent.

"This is, uh, Feng Mingwen scooped a spoonful and ate it himself to prove that it was not poisonous."

Seeing that the tutor was staring at the semicircular gap, Lu Yu explained carefully.

Sima Yi sighed and shook his head:
"Why do you need to prove it? With Feng Mingwen's reputation and status, why would he resort to such crude means to deal with me? How many years can I still live? It's not worth it for him to pay such a huge price."

He "tsk" again and murmured:
"Why do you have to dig this one bite at this location? Forget it, I won't eat it."

Lu Yu: ...

Pushing the box aside, Sima Yi asked again:

"You think he started by saying we had no food?"

Lu Yu almost didn't follow Sima Taifu's train of thought. He was stunned for a moment before replying, "Ah? Right."

Sima Yi continued to ask: "Zijia, what do you think?"

Lu Yu thought for a moment:
"Taifu, this man is a man of deep thoughts. Yu believes that he has long anticipated that Hebei is short of food and grass. My visit here will only make him more certain of this. In his eyes, it may even make things worse."

Sima Taifu smiled faintly:
"It doesn't matter. If you make this trip and really let him think that Hebei has no food, then I will do the opposite and find a way to raise food."

The real and the fake is the way of war.

But for some reason, when Lu Yu heard this, he felt a shock in his heart.

After taking a look at Sima Yi, Lu Yu organized his words:

"Master, Yu wants to go back to Zhuo County."

"Oh?" Sima Yi turned to look at Lu Yu, "Why?"

Lu Yu smiled bitterly: "There are some things that the elders in the clan don't quite understand. I think it's better to tell them some things in person."

Sima Yi's eyes flashed, and the expression on his face became somewhat meaningful:
"Your family is not good at military affairs, and can't help much here. So you should take the trouble to make a trip and go back to your tribe to explain the pros and cons in detail."

He paused, emphasized his tone, and said earnestly:
"Even children know that an overturned nest cannot keep its eggs intact. Don't they really understand? It would be best if you could go back and give them some personal advice."

Seeing that Lu Yu just lowered his head and remained silent, and did not respond to his words, Sima Yi, who was born into a noble family in Henei, naturally understood what kind of character a noble family was.

The fact that the Lu Zi family was willing to follow him did not mean that the Fanyang Lu family would place all their bets on him.

Instead, they will simply look for more betting opportunities if they can.

One day, if I am defeated and killed, or if the Sima family is destroyed, the Lu family may follow me to the last step, but the Lu family will definitely cut ties with them at the first opportunity.

Therefore, if one wants to gain more support from the aristocratic families, one must make more concessions to them, just like Emperor Wen did.

I only heard Sima Yi say:

"The Sima family is a famous family in Hanoi. They know that the most reliable people are the children of aristocratic families. Without aristocratic families, the poor and common people cannot even go to school. How can they learn anything?"

"So, I, Sima Yi, am willing to rule Hebei together with the noble families. But among all the noble families in Hebei, how many of them are willing to help me rule Hebei?"

Sima Yi controlled Hebei, and the imperial court officials were advised to listen if they wanted to, and pretend not to know if they didn't want to.

But no matter what, Sima Yi was still a minister of the Wei Kingdom in name, and even a senior minister who had served as regent for two dynasties. Now that he said such words, it was already considered a great treason.

Facing Lu Yu's somewhat incredulous gaze, Sima Yi forced a tired smile and sighed:
"When the previous emperor was still alive, the court had to focus most of its energy on the west because of the Han's invasion in the east. In addition, the Wu invaders in the south echoed the Han, so the court paid little attention to the northern border counties in recent years."

In fact, this happens sooner than you might think.

In his early years, Wang Xiong, the governor of Youzhou, advocated appeasing the Hu people, and clashed with Tian Yu, the captain of the Wuhuan Guard, who advocated taking tough measures against the Hu people. In the end, the former emperor had no choice but to transfer Tian Yu away from Youzhou. This was the beginning of the problem.

At that time, Kebineng was still causing trouble at the border of Youzhou. Border counties such as Shanggu County and Dai County were repeatedly plundered by the Hu people. Many people would rather not be officials than serve in these border counties.

Later, when the former emperor went on an eastern tour, the government and the country were in turmoil. Even the inland counties like Bian and Henei were in chaos, and no one was in charge of these border counties.

"Now I want to take charge of these border counties, but I am unable to do so. If the Fanyang Lu family has the heart to serve the country, I can petition the court to allow the Lu family's children to serve as officials in the two counties."

After hearing this, Lu Yu held his breath.

The so-called Nine-Rank System, the ninth rank is needless to say.

And Zhongzheng refers to the Zhongzheng official.

Counties, prefectures, and states all have officials who are responsible for evaluating the talents in a particular area.

It can be said that whether a scholar can become an official and what official position he can hold depends largely on the Zhongzheng official.

In the late Later Han Dynasty, aristocratic families used local public opinion to comment on people, such as Yuedanping, and manipulated the system of recommendation. In order to bring this power of public opinion back to the government, Cao Pi set up the Zhongzheng official.

Cao Pi did not understand, or was a little confused, the principle that the economic base determines the superstructure, but he ultimately did not have the courage to change it. Instead, he made concessions to the aristocratic families who controlled the economic base at the time.

The Nine-Rank System also gradually became a tool for aristocratic families to control their upward mobility.

Eventually, during the Sima Jin era, a situation arose where there were no poor scholars in the upper class and no aristocrats in the lower class.

Sima Yi proposed that the people of the Lu family of Fanyang be appointed as the Zhongzheng officials of Shanggu County and Dai County, which actually implied that the Lu family of Fanyang could control the selection of officials in the two counties.

This attitude was tantamount to showing the aristocratic families that Sima Yi was willing to make concessions, or at least to one step.

If Lu can do it, then why can’t Cui? Why can’t Li?

I think as long as we can show Sima Taifu's sincerity, everyone can do it.

Lu Yu swallowed hard, then thought of Feng's promise, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be so difficult to choose between the benefits of the workshop and the benefits of the Zhongzheng official.

However, with the Han army approaching, coupled with Feng's great reputation, the weight of the workshop has invisibly increased.

But what if?
The dangerous paths and passes in Taihang Mountains serve as the barrier to Hebei. Mr. Feng has been blocked at Weize Pass for half a year!

With the ability of Sima Taifu, plus the full support of the Hebei families, what if he can defend Hebei and even defeat Feng?

Thinking of this, Lu Yu swallowed again.

I felt like I could almost feel the sound of my heart beating.

"Grandmaster, Grandmaster, you are so kind to me. I thank you on behalf of the Lu family!"

Lu Yu bowed deeply and said, "When I return, I will tell the elders in the clan what the Grand Tutor said without missing a word."

"It's Laozi's house."

As soon as Lu Yu left, Fu Gu came quietly and said softly:
"Taifu, those people from the noble families in Hebei have already arrived in Jingxing."

After hearing the news, Sima Yi smiled as if everything was under control:

"According to my guess, they are almost here."

No matter what kind of agreement these people reached privately before arriving, they probably didn't expect that they had already made arrangements in advance with the Lu family.

Mr. Feng was blocked at Weize Pass, and he could not help feeling relieved and happy, knowing that the Hebei family would be integrated by himself in the near future.

"After they arrive, let them hang out for a few days, and then Lanshi, you can find a way to leak out what I said to the Zi family."

Fu Gu also smiled:

"I understand."