My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 211 The Emperor of Han issued an edict: General Liu Bei established the country of Chu, made Xiangyang the capital, and was promoted to Duke of Chu!
An hour later, at Zhuge Mansion.

Zhuge Liang sat in the main seat and was calling on the maids to serve soup and tea to the distinguished guests.

Xiao He, Pang Tong, Zhao Yun, Lu Su, Mi Zhu, Ma Liang, Huang Zhong, Gu Yong, Zhu Huan...

Except for Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others who were stationed in Jingzhou and Huainan, all the important officials in Yingtian had gathered together.

This gathering was organized by Shangshu Ling Zhuge Liang.

The purpose, of course, was to discuss submitting a memorial to the emperor and promoting Liu Bei to the rank of Duke.

"Everyone, I'm sure you've all received the news that Cao Cao in the north has usurped the title of Duke."

"The traitor Cao has already established the pseudo-state of Wei. His intention to usurp the Han Dynasty and commit treason is clear as day."

"If Liang agrees, we should act quickly and submit a petition to the Emperor to confer the title of Duke upon the general."

"Only in this way can the general avoid being overshadowed by Cao Cao in terms of reputation and position, and can he compete with him for the hearts of the heroes of the world!"

Seeing that the soup and tea had been served, Zhuge Liang stopped beating around the bush and made his intentions clear to everyone directly.

There was an uproar in the hall.

In fact, there was no need for Zhuge Liang to call on everyone, as they all had the same idea and hoped that Liu Bei could be promoted to the position of public servants as soon as possible.

In fact, not long ago, after returning to Beijing from the Northern Expedition, Xiao He had exchanged views with Zhuge Liang in private.

The two of them also acted separately and informed the civil and military officials in Beijing in advance so that everyone would be mentally prepared.

All that was lacking before was an opportunity.

An opportunity for Cao Cao to take the lead, and Liu Bei to take advantage of the situation and follow suit.

Now that Cao Cao has established the Dukedom of Wei and calls himself Duke of Wei, the time has naturally come.

"Since you all agree with Liang, there is nothing further to discuss. Let us each submit a petition to the Emperor, requesting the title of Duke for the General."

"General Guan and General Yide, as well as the various counties and kingdoms in the three states of Jing, Yang, and Jiao, must also be mobilized to take action and submit a petition to the court."

"We must strive to elevate the general to the rank of Duke within a month!"

Seeing that all his colleagues had no objection, Zhuge Liang made the decision.

For a moment, the mood was high, everyone was clapping and laughing, and congratulating each other with tea instead of wine.

As a subject, I naturally feel happy to see my lord rise from a humble background to become a duke after founding a country.

If we look at it from a selfish perspective, Liu Bei's promotion was for the public good, and naturally everyone's official rank would also rise.

Both publicly and privately, this is a good thing that makes everyone happy, so how can everyone not congratulate?

"Everyone, I think we are a little too wishful thinking."

Zhao Yun suddenly spoke, breaking the excited atmosphere in the room.

The laughter died down and everyone looked at Zhao Yun.

"We can submit a petition to the Emperor, asking him to confer the title of Duke upon the General, but have you ever considered whether the General would accept the Emperor's conferment?"

"The general has always acted in the opposite way to Cao Cao."

"Cao Cao practices tyranny, while the general follows the way of the king. Cao Cao acts cruelly, while the general treats others with benevolence and righteousness."

"Now Cao Cao is plotting treason to usurp the Han Dynasty and has forced the false emperor to confer the title of Duke upon him. How could the general easily follow Cao Cao's example and also be promoted to Duke?"

"If the general insists on not granting the title, what should we do?"

Zhao Yun spoke in a solemn tone, expressing his concerns.

The discussion in the hall immediately broke out again, and everyone nodded. Their originally excited and happy faces were all covered with a shadow.

Xiao He also gasped.

Zhao Yun has followed Lao Liu for so many years and he understands Lao Liu's temperament.

Just from what he said, Liu Bei always acted in the opposite way to Cao Cao, which hit the root of the problem.

In fact, if Lao Liu didn't have the emperor in his hands, this matter might have been better.

After all, after he took over Hanzhong that year, everyone came together to submit a petition, supporting him to be promoted to the King of Hanzhong.

At that time, Cao Cao had already been named King of Wei. As the uncle of the Han emperor and a member of the Liu royal family, it is not excessive for me, Liu Bei, to be on equal footing with you and to support the great cause of the Han Dynasty to be promoted to king.

Anyway, I have submitted a petition to the emperor. It would be best if the emperor approves it. If not, everyone in the world will know that it was you, Cao Cao, who threatened the emperor not to approve it, and you, Cao Cao, will be the one who gets scolded.

But now he has the emperor at his disposal, and if he were to be promoted to a duke, he would be suspected of "threatening" the emperor.

With this concern, Old Liu might not be willing to accept the title of Duke from the emperor.

"Zilong's words make sense. Since Cao Cao dared to condone his son's regicide and usurp the throne, he would naturally use any means necessary and ignore the public's complaints."

"The general practices the kingly way of benevolence and righteousness, and is determined to support the Han Dynasty. Even if there is a clear imperial decree, the general is afraid of the world's comments and may not dare to obey the decree to advance to the position of duke."

Zhuge Liang nodded heavily, agreeing with Zhao Yun's concerns.

For a moment, discussions arose again in the hall, and everyone was discussing how to persuade Liu Bei to obey the imperial edict.

Zhuge Liang's eyes turned slightly, but he looked at Xiao He with a smile:
"Bo Wen, back in Fancheng, the general was also worried and reluctant to send troops to attack Xiangyang, but he was finally persuaded by you."

"In my opinion, only you, Xiao Bowen, have the ability to convince the general this time."

"Bowen, we'll leave this important task to you."

As he said this, Zhuge Liang bowed and looked very serious.

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they all bowed to Xiao He, their eyes full of expectation and solemn entrustment.

Xiao He glanced at Zhuge Liang helplessly, but secretly groaned in his heart.

Kong Ming, you really know how to give me difficult problems.

Don’t you understand Lao Liu’s character? When it comes to employing people and soldiers, he is naturally willing to accept advice and follow my words.

But when it comes to matters involving reputation and disgrace, Lao Liu has his own almost paranoid persistence.

To put it in a positive way, it means having a bottom line; to put it in a negative way, it means being too concerned about reputation.

Lao Liu's personality is, in short, a double-edged sword.

You know Lao Liu's personality very well, but you still throw this difficult problem to me. Isn't it a bit unfair?

"In that case, I can only do my best..."

No matter how much he complained, Xiao He didn't want to let everyone down, so he had to bite the bullet and take on the task.

With the plan finalized, everyone began to act separately. As the leaders of the civil service, Zhuge Liang and Xiao He naturally set an example and took the lead in submitting a petition to Emperor Liu Xi, requesting that Liu Bei be granted the title of Duke of the State in recognition of his achievements.

With the two taking the lead, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Lu Su, Gu Yong and other officials in the capital quickly followed suit and submitted a petition.

Immediately afterwards, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two great generals in charge of the military affairs of Jing and Yang, also submitted a memorial to the emperor.

Afterwards, the provincial governors and county governors of Jingzhou, Yangzhou and Jiaozhou also submitted petitions.

For a time, countless petitions were sent to Yingtian from half of the Jiangnan region like snowflakes, all requesting the emperor to confer the title of Duke on General Liu Bei.

The emperor was young, so the imperial edict naturally came from the Empress Dowager Fu.

Empress Dowager Fu then complied with the request of all civil and military officials and issued an edict in the name of the emperor, conferring the title of Duke on Liu Bei.

As expected, Liu Bei declined the emperor's offer without hesitation.

Two days later, Xiao He brought the commissions of hundreds of officials and entered the General's Mansion to persuade Liu Bei to obey the imperial edict.

"Bo Wen, those memorials submitted to the court and the public were all written by you, Kong Ming, and Yun Chang, right?"

As soon as they met, before Xiao and Tangcha had even taken a sip, Liu Bei asked with a wry smile.

"Well..."

Xiao He didn't know whether to admit it or not, so he had to lower his head and sip the tea.

"I know you have good intentions, but have you ever considered that Cao Cao has usurped the title of Duke? If I also establish a kingdom and become a Duke, wouldn't people all over the world say that I, Liu Bei, am trying to emulate Cao Cao and usurp the throne?"

"Now I welcome the Emperor and take charge of all government affairs. If I obey the imperial edict and ascend to the rank of Duke, the world will surely think that I forced the Emperor to issue the edict and confer the title of Duke upon me!"

"How can I, Liu Bei, ignore the world's complaints?"

"Your good intentions are putting the equipment on the fire!"

Liu Bei also spoke frankly and expressed his concerns to Xiao He.

Xiao He sighed lightly and put down the tea bowl.

"The general always acts in opposition to Cao Cao. Cao Cao uses the emperor to control the princes, while the general obeys the emperor to punish the ministers."

"The general does not wish to emulate Cao Cao and does not want to give the world an excuse to accuse him of holding the emperor hostage. He and others all understand the general's difficulties."

Xiao He changed the subject and continued:

"But General, have you ever considered that Cao Cao founded the country and granted titles to dukes precisely so that he could legitimately bestow official titles and nobles upon the heroes of the north, and convert all the Han officials in the world into his Wei subjects?"

"Cao Cao is using his descendants as bait to tie the talented and brave men of the entire north to the rise and fall of his own Wei dynasty, so that these heroes will go through fire and water for his family."

"If the general cannot be promoted to the rank of duke, if he cannot promise the heroes under his command the same future, wouldn't that discourage the heroes who swore to follow him to the death? How can he compete with Cao Cao for their hearts and minds?"

Xiao He's analysis in a serious tone made it clear as day.

Everyone follows you, of course, to support the ideal of the Han Dynasty.

But ideals cannot be eaten as food. After all, not everyone is Guan Yu or Zhang Fei. Most people follow you, Old Liu, because they hope to be granted a title of nobility and to have their descendants benefit from the family.

You refuse to establish a country and become emperor even until your death. Who can guess what you mean?
Everyone might guess that you, Liu Bei, really just want to support the Han Dynasty, and after the country is unified in the future, you will really return power to the emperor and retire.

Then what about us, the old subordinates who followed you to build your empire?
A new emperor appoints new ministers. What if the emperor doesn't recognize the official titles you have asked for us after he comes back to power?
What if the emperor launches a purge of us to consolidate his power?
Once such speculation arises, people's hearts will naturally begin to feel uneasy. If people are uneasy, how can they go all out to go through fire and water for you and fight against the rebels?
If this is true, how can you support the Han Dynasty?

Liu Bei fell silent.

In fact, with his current position of power, how could he not know what Xiao He said?

To be honest, now that he controls three states and dominates half of Jiangnan, it would be hypocritical to say that he has no desire for that position.

Liu Bei hesitated.

It's just hesitation. It still takes a strong dose of medicine to change one's mind and make up one's mind.

Xiao He rolled his eyes and said:

"General, as we have deduced before, if you cannot follow the will of heaven and advance to a position of public service, you will most likely lose the battle for the hearts and minds of the people with Cao Cao."

"This great cause of supporting the Han Dynasty could also fail, and the Han Dynasty is even in danger of being stolen by Cao Cao."

"General, this matter concerns the great cause of restoring the Han Dynasty. I urge you to prioritize the greater good and put personal honor and disgrace aside."

Xiao He had a meaningful look on his face and acted mysterious in front of Liu Bei.

Haven't you, Old Liu, always guessed that I was a disciple of an immortal from another world, and that I have the magical ability to tell fortunes and predict the future?

Anyway, I haven't denied it, so I will use the character you created for me to "mystify" you, Old Liu.

really.

After hearing Xiao He's calculations, Liu Bei's body shuddered, and his hesitant look was immediately replaced by nervousness.

"Bo Wen studied under an otherworldly immortal and possesses the ability to predict the future. Ever since he predicted Liu Jingsheng's death from fright, he has never failed to predict."

"As he said, if I refuse the promotion, will it really lead to the failure of the great cause of supporting the Han Dynasty?"

"If so, wouldn't I, Liu Bei, become a sinner of the Han Dynasty?"

Liu Bei's thoughts were surging, and the hesitation in his eyes was gradually dissolving.

at last.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, when Liu Bei took a deep breath and looked up at Xiao He again, his expression was as determined as iron.

"If I, Liu Bei, were to fail in the great cause of restoring the Han Dynasty because of my personal honor and disgrace, how could I face my ancestors?"

"Okay, I promise you, I will obey the imperial decree and become a duke!"

Xiao He felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Liu was finally persuaded, and the last obstacle was removed.

Next, there is only one thing left, and that is Lao Liu’s title.

There aren't many choices, it's just Wu Chu No. 2.

Yingtian was the capital, and the emperor was in Wu, so naturally he could not use Wu as the name of his country.

What's more, Lao Liu started his career in Jingzhou, and most of his basic team members are from Jingzhou, so it would not be appropriate to choose Wu as the name of the country.

Then there is only one choice left - Chu.

So Emperor Liu Xi issued a second decree, ordering Liu Bei to establish the country as the Principality of Chu, with the five counties of Nanyang, Nanjun, Jiangxia, Changsha and Yuzhang as the territory of the Principality of Chu, and to make Xiangyang the capital.

At the end of spring that year, Liu Bei was officially promoted to Duke of Chu.

(End of this chapter)