My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 418 Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes

Due to the internal strife and isolation of Yizhou in recent years, the people of Shu did not have a very detailed understanding of the outside world and only knew the general development of the world situation.

However, isolation is relative. The people of Shu do not understand the outside world, and it is also difficult for people outside to understand the current situation in Shu.

Just like in history, when Liu Bei just died, Zhuge Liang closed the pass and farmed for four years, and also dealt with Meng Huo in the south. During those four years, Cao Pi also didn't know what happened in Shu, which led to the unexpected effect when he first went to Qishan.

Because at that time the Wei State felt that Shu had no sense of existence at all, "They only knew that there was Liu Bei in Shu, and after Liu Bei's death, they didn't know anything else."

Liu Zhang’s situation is similar now.

Liu Bei, who was far away in Xuhuai, only knew in recent years that there had been civil strife under Liu Zhang's rule, which was later quelled. As for the specific process, the extent of the losses, and how long it lasted, Liu Bei did not know.

In the world outside of Yizhou, the only person who knew relatively detailed information about the "Zhao Wei Rebellion" was Zhuge Jin. After all, he was a time traveler and had read history books.

But Zhuge Jin would not show off to his lord for no reason. There was no urgency to deal with Liu Zhang at that time anyway, so why bother to show off information whose source could not be explained?

This time, when Sun Shao entered Shu as Liu Bei's envoy, he was also responsible for finding out the conflicts among various factions within Yizhou and finding out the strength of Liu Zhang.

He originally thought that this job would require slow exploration and a lot of effort to yield substantial results.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Song had just arrived and had a few drinks to improve his relationship, but he had already exposed his family's shame and talked about many dark sides of the civil strife in Yizhou. This also forced his brother Zhang Su to change the subject and he had no choice but to reveal a lot of real information.

Sun Shao was naturally delighted: "It turns out that the rebellion of Zhao Wei lasted for two years. At the most critical moment, they even reached Chengdu and surrounded it! In the end, it was only because Pang Xi's Dongzhou soldiers were afraid of being punished that they fought desperately to suppress Zhao Wei.

What a pity! If we had known at that time that Liu Zhang's situation was so dangerous, wouldn't it have been a good thing for the lord to send troops from southern Jing to attack Zhao Wei, under the banner of helping Liu Zhang to quell the rebellion, and at least occupy Ba County?
Hmm... But Liu Zhang's most critical moment seemed to be the most tense period of the Battle of Guandu when Yuan and Cao were at their most tense. My lord had just conquered Moling City at that time, and the remnants of Sun Ce in Wuhui had not yet been wiped out, so he was really unable to split his attention."

Sun Shao thought about this timeline in his heart. Zhao Wei's rebellion did happen after Liu Bei pacified Zhang Xian in southern Jing. But Ba County's priority was definitely not as high as Wu Hui's. It was more important to completely wipe out Sun Ce first.

Opportunities are missed, there is nothing to regret. The world is in such a mess, why worry about not having opportunities?

Whenever you get a chance, just pick one and eat it up thoroughly. As for other places, you can wait for the next opportunity.

However, Sun Shao was, after all, an old hand who had been engaged in foreign affairs for half his life, and he was very sensitive to doing favors.

He knew very well that since Zhang Su and Zhang Song had already told him the details of the Zhao Wei Rebellion in previous years, he could just pretend that "we knew it a long time ago, but just didn't bother to take advantage of it."

Sun Shao remained expressionless throughout the entire conversation, showing no surprise or regret. After listening to Zhang Su and Zhang Song's explanation, he responded calmly:
"In fact, you don't need to tell us these things, we have already known about them. At that time, my lord also considered letting General Zhang Yide enter Shu from Jingnan to attack Zhao Wei and help Liu Yizhou suppress the rebellion for the sake of our kinship.

But I am afraid that the two sides have no friendship, and my lord has always been in alliance with Jingzhou Jingshenggong, and Jingshenggong has a feud with Liu Yizhou. If our army rashly enters Sichuan, it may cause misunderstanding. If Liu Yizhou thinks that we want to take advantage of the opportunity to occupy Ba County and be hostile to our army, wouldn’t that be bad?
Later, Mr. Kong Ming said to my lord: Although Zhao Wei has won the hearts of the people in Ba for a while, the generals in Shu will not tolerate a single general being dominant, and they all want to maintain a balance of power. When Pang Xi is powerful, Zhao Wei and the generals will naturally oppose Pang Xi. When Zhao Wei is powerful, the generals will unite with Pang Xi to oppose Zhao Wei, so that a weak lord can be maintained on the surface and a balance can be formed. Therefore, even if our army does not send troops, Zhao Wei will be defeated sooner or later.

In addition, Mr. Ziyu also said to my lord: Zhao Wei’s rebellion is a small matter. If it intensifies the conflicts among the Han royal relatives and the governors, and creates more grudges, it will be a major loss to the great cause of suppressing rebellion and restoring the Han Dynasty.

Although Liu Jingzhou and Liu Yizhou had a feud, that was before Cao Cao held the emperor hostage and the emperor issued the Yidai Edict. Since the Yidai Edict, my lord, as the chief of the clan, has only hoped to unite the clans of the world, so he would rather sit back and watch the loss of some opportunities to appoint people to the prefectures than to kill the clan members, even if it only leaves the bad reputation of killing the clan members. "

Sun Shao's words shocked Zhang Su and Zhang Song.

Firstly, they were shocked that Liu Bei's people were so well-informed. Secondly, they were shocked that Liu Bei attached so much importance to justice and reputation. He knew there was an opportunity, but in order to avoid suspicion, he did not get involved, so as not to be branded as "taking advantage of the opportunity to plot against Ba County."

Zhang Su and Zhang Song were both a little skeptical, but Zhang Su's status was more official, so it was not appropriate for him to question. Zhang Song was relatively young and had a lower official position, so he had no taboos when speaking, so he asked directly on behalf of his elder brother:

"General Chariot and Cavalry has been so well-informed about the current situation in Shu? The two Mr. Zhuges were able to analyze the trend of the chaos in Shu from a distance of thousands of miles? Song is not questioning... but this statement is really unbelievable."

Sun Shao said proudly, as if he was too lazy to explain: "Brother Ziqiao, you should go out of Sichuan to ask around. Whether it was Cao Cao or Yuan Shao back then, who dared to question the foresight and insight of the two Zhuge masters?
With their wisdom and vision, it is not surprising that they can deduce the general situation of the world based on just the smallest details. This is difficult for me to explain to you."

Zhang Song was a man who was arrogant because of his talent. If anyone boasted that he was knowledgeable and insightful and far superior to himself, he would definitely get angry.

But Sun Shao was referring to Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang. Even if Zhang Song knew nothing about the outside world, he had no choice but to accept it.

Indeed, if someone from the Zhuge family had great foresight, it would not be surprising. In the past seven or eight years, this reputation for wisdom has spread to every corner of the Han Dynasty. Even in Shuzhong, Jiaozhi, and Lelang, everyone knows it, everyone believes it, and everyone obeys it. "So, the General of Chariots and Cavalry is indeed a benevolent ruler who disdains to take advantage of others' misfortunes. My lord thought that he had sealed off the passes and suppressed the rebellion secretly, but he didn't expect that all the efforts were in vain." Zhang Su and Zhang Song couldn't help but believe it and sighed.

Compared to his elder brother, Zhang Song was actually more dissatisfied with Liu Zhang. After hearing Sun Shao's statement that "the Shu generals wanted to maintain a weak leader", he felt the same way and analyzed the situation under the influence of alcohol:
"What you said is indeed a golden theory. The reason why Shu has not made any progress for ten years since the death of Lord Lang (Liu Yan) is because the generals wanted to govern themselves from the beginning. Pang Xi conquered Zhang Lu, but was hindered by the generals and the people were not united, so he was defeated repeatedly.

Zhao Wei was dissatisfied with my lord for giving military power to Pang Xi, who used the name of conquering Zhang Lu to support the enemy and recruited many Qiang soldiers. He started a rebellion and was besieged and killed by other generals. Anyway, there was no hero in Shu who could enforce political and military orders. Anyone who showed up would be restrained by others.

"When Gan Ning and Shen Mi rebelled in Ba County, Zhao Wei was sent to suppress the rebellion. When Zhao Wei caused chaos, Pang Xi was sent to suppress the rebellion. Now Pang Xi has appointed Qiang people and recruited Bantun barbarians to form a new army. Under such circumstances, how can my lord dare to entrust the generals with any long-term plans?"

Zhang Song's words were a bit rebellious, as a minister was discussing the master's affairs. Zhang Su wanted to stop him, but he had already reminded him before, and if he continued to criticize him seriously, it would seem that he was not giving Sun Shao face and was being distant with him.

At this point, Sun Shao completely understood Liu Zhang's predicament.

If Zhuge Jin was here and heard what Zhang Song said, it would not be difficult for him to draw a conclusion: Liu Zhang's distrust of his generals and his frightened nature were even more serious than that of the Song Dynasty emperor. No wonder his martial ethics were so poor.

He couldn't even hold Ba County. Every time he sent a general to suppress the rebellion in Ba County, he would rebel again after gaining a foothold. It was the same scenario three times in a row. Who could stand this? What was the point of fighting in the outside world? After he fought, he might come back and kill Liu Zhang himself because of his achievements.

This series of rebellions is comparable to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in later generations, which was known as "three consecutive dynasties in which the Hedong Jiedushi of Shanxi led his troops south to destroy the emperor and the court of Bianliang, then proclaimed himself emperor, and then was destroyed by the next Hedong Jiedushi."

The Song Dynasty, which was established in such an environment, was of course more cautious against the Shanxi people than the Khitans and the Dangxiang. Who would have the mind to fight against foreign races?

By the same token, the Liu Zhang regime, which had survived under such circumstances, was of course more ruthless in guarding against local generals than against outsiders.

Historically, Liu Zhang would rather introduce Liu Bei and suppress local generals because he considered that the generals under his command were much less reliable than Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was at least an outsider, and he had to rely on him for support when he arrived in Yizhou. This mentality was the same as the late Tang Dynasty's An-Shi Rebellion, when the imperial court would rather borrow the Huihe and Shatuo troops to quell the rebellion than trust the Jiedushi of its own ethnic group.

……

In such an environment, people like Zhang Song who wanted to do something big would certainly hope that Yizhou could have a new leader with absolute power to eliminate all internal constraints.

After chatting with Sun Shao for a while and getting to know Liu Bei's personality and actions, Zhang Song secretly took him in his heart.

However, considering that his elder brother was still around, Zhang Song would not reveal his true intentions rashly, so he just intentionally or unintentionally led the topic to the real business of Sun Shao's mission, implying that he was willing to cooperate and show his value at the same time.

Zhang Song then revealed to Sun Shao, "Brother Changxu's mission should not be difficult to accomplish. As my lord is a relative of the Han Dynasty and a prefect of a state, he should naturally send someone to Pei County to observe the ceremony. Even if he sends a member of the royal family, it is appropriate.

But there are many villains in Yizhou who are worried that my lord will gain real power. They only want to persuade my lord not to interact with the princes of the world and to close the river and close the border. When Mr. Changxu meets my lord, he needs to be careful and think about how to deal with these people's evasion. "

After Zhang Song said this, Zhang Suxian felt a little dissatisfied. He already regretted bringing this talkative brother along today, and lectured him with a stern face.

Zhang Song did not back down this time, and argued with his brother righteously: "Brother, this is what loyalty means to the master! The generals of Yizhou have been taking advantage of the master's growing suspicion and hindering each other to undermine the master for a long time. Don't you see it?
If the lord is allowed to show his face in front of the princes of the world and get more external support, it will also help to improve the lord's prestige. In this way, the generals of Yizhou will not dare to act recklessly and disrespect the lord.

Now Pang Xi has recruited the Bantun barbarians to form a new army, and this matter does not require the Lord's consent. If the Lord does not cheer up, how can he subdue the generals? I think this alliance with the General of Chariots and Cavalry is a good opportunity to use external forces to boost the Lord's prestige! "

"You..." Zhang Su didn't expect that his younger brother would dare to talk back like this.

But Zhang Song's words also made sense, and he kept saying that he was thinking about Liu Zhang. In addition, with Sun Shao, an outsider, still around, Zhang Su couldn't just act like a big brother. He couldn't reason with his younger brother, so he had to give up for the time being.

"Alas, Mr. Changxu's advice has worked. The people in Shu are divided, to the point where even brothers have their own opinions!" Zhang Su sighed helplessly, feeling quite self-deprecating.

"There's no need to be like this, you two. You're both loyal and righteous people. Although you have different political views, your heart is all for Liu Yizhou." Sun Shao enjoyed watching this kind of drama, but on the surface he still pretended to be sympathetic so as not to offend either side.

But he was secretly certain in his heart that Zhang Song could definitely be won over. He was fed up with the situation in Yizhou where several political parties were hindering each other.

(End of this chapter)