The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 469: Drinking from the Yangtze River
Even now, Sun Ce still doesn't believe that the affairs of Jiangdong are led by Sun Quan, and wants to hear the "truth" he wants to hear from Zhuge Jin.

But Zhuge Jin was hesitant and did not behave like a gentleman at all.

"Kong Ming, did you see it?"

"Oranges grown in Huainan are called tangerines, and those grown in north Huaibei are called tangerines. The leaves are similar, but the actual taste is different."

"Your brother is an upright gentleman, but because of this incident, he can't even hold his head up in front of Sun Ce. This is the difference between the local climate and the local environment!"

When Zhuge Liang heard the emperor's words, he also sighed.

Is there anything in this world that can remain untainted by the mud?
If you come from the mud, you will be covered with dust.

Even a gentleman like Zhuge Jin hesitated and was unable to speak, let alone others?

After repeated questioning by Sun Ce, Zhuge Jin finally told the truth.

"Bofu, the Marquis of Wu must have his reasons for doing so."

"You imitated the imperial court, suppressing the powerful and supporting the poor... Little did you know that the roots of Jiangdong are basically those aristocratic families."

The emperor could do that because he had the support of Dong Zhuo and the Western Liang Army.

What did Sun Ce have in his hands when he did this?
Moreover, even the emperor had trained a group of literate grassroots officials among the government soldiers before he dared to overturn the table and replace the system of recommendation with the imperial examination.

The world only sees the results of the emperor's reforms, but fails to see the preparations made behind the reforms.

Everything that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu did in Jiangdong, a land that was totally unsuitable for them, was nothing but an imitation of others and only made them a laughing stock.

"Even if you, Bofu, are undefeated in Jingzhou this time, Jiangdong will collapse sooner or later."

"The current situation is the most satisfactory for Jiangdong, those powerful families, and the Marquis of Wu."

Sacrifice Sun Ce to save everyone in Jiangdong.

Moreover, he could rely on his merit of "killing his own relatives for the sake of justice" to seek protection from the court and the emperor.

As long as the title of "Marquis of Wu" still belongs to Sun Quan, the imperial court will not be able to take action against Jiangdong in the future without a suitable reason.

But the court is not without benefits.

The effective forces of Jiangdong were annihilated.

The most dangerous characters such as Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Taishi Ci were captured.

He obtained the three counties of Jiangxia, Changsha and Guiyang.

At the same time, the unification of Jiangdong was nominally completed.

Sun Quan managed to find a solution that benefited all parties in the midst of such a mess.

The only things that need to be sacrificed are Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and their ideals that have long been shattered.

Sun Ce grabbed Zhuge Jin's hand and slowly let go, his eyes full of despair.

At this moment, Zhuge Jin also came to the emperor.

"Your Majesty asked me to answer the previous question again, and my answer is the same as before."

"The Marquis of Wu was conferred the title of Marquis by the Han Dynasty with the Imperial Seal and Golden Book. He is also a citizen of the Han Dynasty and a subject of the Emperor. I believe that Your Majesty is not an unkind and unrighteous monarch, so you will never take action against Jiangdong."

Liu Xie looked at Zhuge Jin in front of him, suddenly shook his head, then turned sideways and said to Zhuge Liang behind him: "Kong Ming, your brother is really the same as you."

"As stubborn as you!"

Zhuge Liang was stunned for a moment, while Sima Yi next to him was also laughing.

"Zhuge Ziyu, what a pity to waste such a beautiful jade."

Seeing this, Liu Xie knew that there was nothing more to talk to him about.

"Go back to Jiangdong and ask Sun Quan to bring back the families of Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and others."

"I will wait here. I want to see if Sun Quan will ask me to kill his brother before returning their families."

After these words were spoken, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Taishi Ci all looked at each other and looked behind Zhuge Jin in disbelief.

Zhuge Jin also felt uneasy at this moment, but he still obeyed the order and left.

And Cao Cao has been watching everything that happened today in the crowd.

After Sun Ce was helped down by Zhou Yu and others, Cao Cao pointed at his back and taught Cao Ang and Cao Pi a lesson.

"When the family is harmonious, everything will be prosperous."

"Between brothers, the worst thing to do is to turn against each other."

"You two should remember what happened to Sun Ce and Sun Quan, and never do such fratricidal things in the future!"

"Remember, father."

Cao Ang said with relief: "Zihuan is naturally intelligent and has a good character. He would never do such a thing."

Cao Pi thought of his younger brother, Cao Zhi, who spent all day in the brothels of Chang'an...

Cao Pi whispered, "It shouldn't be considered fratricide if you cripple your brother, right?"

Cao Cao: “Hmm?”

"It's okay! Dad, have some tea!!!"

……

Zhuge Jin returned to Jiangdong to report the news.

"You really came here for Sun Ce's family."

When Sun Quan knew that Sun Ce was just across the Yangtze River, he felt like a thorn in his throat, like a thorn in his back, and like he was sitting on pins and needles!
The emperor actually went to the Yangtze River for the families of several people!
At this moment, Sun Quan didn't know whether he should hand over the families of Sun Ce and others...

Zhuge Jin, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong and others also quarreled with Gu Yong.

Gu Yong believed that Sun Ce was a traitor to the Han Dynasty. Since Sun Quan had seized the throne under the banner of "killing relatives for the greater good", he naturally had to wipe out the traitor and kill all the families of Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and others!
Zhuge Jin, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong and others argued that the disaster would not affect their families.

Especially since Sun Ce and Zhou Yu both had underage children in Jiangdong, it was not the style of a king to separate them from their flesh and blood. Zhuge Jin even brought up the emperor: "What if the court attacked Jiangdong on the grounds of disobeying the emperor's order?"

"Now Jiangdong is still unsettled. If that emperor attacks Jiangdong at all costs, how will Jiangdong cope?"

The emperor is just across the Yangtze River!

Even if the emperor has no ship...

But even so, who can ignore the threat of the emperor?
During the Battle of Hebei that year, Yuan Shao also thought that the emperor had no ships.

As a result, the emperor dug a plank road in Sanmenxia and pulled ships from Hedong to Hebei!

In this situation, who can guarantee that the emperor will not be able to cross the river?

Gu Yong snorted coldly: "Why not just kill all the families of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu and send their bodies to the emperor?"

"The emperor only said he wanted their families, but he didn't say whether they were dead or alive!"

Even Sun Quan couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "Yuan Tan!"

Over the years, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu have been determined to ravage the Jiangdong families.

Now that these people are back in power, they naturally want to take full revenge!

In fact, if it weren't for Sun Quan's secret protection, the families of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu would have been taken to brothels and sold.

"Just give them some of their families."

Sun Quan's words made Gu Yong anxious, but Sun Quan signaled him to stay calm.

"But I need to explain to the Emperor—"

"Family reunion and family harmony are the natural order of human nature."

"I can send those families back... but the soldiers captured by the court in Jingzhou are also suffering from separation from their loved ones. I hope Your Majesty can help them and send them back."

Sun Quan knew that now that the emperor was drinking water from the Yangtze River, he would certainly not be able to keep the families of Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and others.

In this case, we must naturally seek the greatest benefits for Jiangdong.

For example, the 50,000 soldiers captured by the imperial court!

Those are the most elite young men in Jiangdong!
If they could be allowed to return to Jiangdong, Jiangdong's strength would surely take a leap forward in a short period of time!
Zhuge Jin informed the emperor of this condition, and the emperor did not object.

"I will not stop anyone who wants to go back, so go ahead and ask."

finally……

Among the 50,000 Jiangdong army prisoners, more than 30,000 wanted to return to Jiangdong.

Their home is in Jiangdong.

Homeland is always an inseparable nostalgia.

As for the rest, most of them are die-hard fans of Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci.

"Didn't you say you wanted to return to your mother's bedside to show your filial piety? Why don't you leave?"

When Lu Su saw that Ling Tong was still there, he asked a question.

"If I go back like this, my mother won't be happy."

"Wouldn't it be better if I could wear brocade clothes and wear an embroidered sword in the future and then go meet my mother?"

Ling Tong’s ambition is amazing!
"Besides, the governor treats me like his own son, how can I abandon him at this time?"

"With the Emperor and the Governor here, the day when I can reunite with my mother won't be too far away!"

Lu Su said with relief: "Good!"

"With someone like you around, Bofu, Gongjin and the others will soon be able to regain their spirits!"

In the end, more than 30,000 soldiers were returned to Jiangdong.

The families of Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and others were also sent back by Sun Quan, and they hugged each other and cried with joy.

Only Sima Yi was somewhat dissatisfied with the business done by the emperor.

"Your Majesty, that's 30,000 young men!"

"Thirty thousand young men! What a force! If they are handed over to Jiangdong, Jiangdong will surely rise rapidly!"

"Is it really worth it just for the families of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu?"

Sima Yi originally thought that the emperor would argue with him about "benevolence and righteousness" and "people's will".

But the emperor just smiled mysteriously: "Of course it's not worth it."

Sima Yi was stunned: "Why did the emperor want to make such an exchange?"

Liu Xie yawned and said, "In Jiangdong, except for the plain in Wujun, the south is actually a wild land, where there are still a large number of uncivilized Shanyue people."

"Zhongda, let me ask you, if you were Sun Quan, what would you do in the current situation?"

Sima Yi said in a deep voice: "It is only a matter of time before the court goes to war with Jiangdong! If I were Sun Quan, I would definitely do my best to develop the country's strength and reclaim the land..."

Speaking of this, Sima Yi suddenly understood something!
The emperor... actually wanted Sun Quan to work for him for free and let Sun Quan open up the wasteland in Jiangdong?
In this case, sending back 30,000 young and strong men will speed up the process of reclaiming Jiangdong?

But Sima Yi still did not dare to agree with the emperor's point of view -

"Raising a tiger is a disaster! I still think that your majesty has been ill-considered in this matter!"

"It's ok."

Liu Xie stood by the Yangtze River, stretched out his hand, curled up his little finger and ring finger, but raised his index finger and middle finger, and shouted softly in the direction of Jiangdong -

"Oh!"

The next time Liu Xie comes to the Yangtze River, the situation will be completely different from now!

(End of this chapter)