Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 100: For the benefit of the country, life and death are at stake

The Han emperor, wearing the silver armor of the previous emperor, first helped the prime minister onto the carriage, then turned around and comforted the civil and military officials who came with the prime minister, and finally got on the slightly simple imperial carriage.

The three thousand soldiers brought by the emperor led the way.

They were vigorous and high-spirited, and their spirit and energy were no less than the main force coming from Longyou.

Wei Yan, Chen Shi, Liu Yan, Wu Ban and other old ministers who had followed the late emperor for many years looked at the familiar silver armor on the emperor from afar, their expressions a little dazed.

In the afternoon, the army returned to Wuzhangyuan and set up camp on the banks of the Wei River, which had been leveled long ago.

Naturally, millet rice, meat soup and roasted meat were already prepared to reward the soldiers. As soon as the army had set up camp, they were immediately distributed to each school and camp.

The soldiers who came from Longyou were naturally excited and had shaken off the fatigue of half a month's march.

In fact, the army did not march in a hurry along the more than 500-li route from Longyou to Guanzhong. Instead, it marched at a speed of 30 li a day, escorting food and supplies along the way, resting while marching to ensure that the soldiers would not accumulate too much fatigue.

Just before sunset, the Prime Minister finally arranged the military affairs, boarded the carriage, and headed for Wuzhangyuan with the emperor, who was in high spirits and insisted on riding a horse.

The emperor wanted to sit on the throne with the prime minister, but the prime minister was unwilling to do so. It was obvious that he still had a sense of propriety as a subject.

So the emperor could do nothing about it.

Fei Yi, Yang Yi, Liu Yan, Hu Ji and other officials followed closely behind on horseback.

Naturally, no one made any random comments.

But it is hard for anyone not to feel emotional.

How could this young emperor, who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, had never been fond of reading, and was fond of dogs, horses, music, and fancy clothes, suddenly transform himself into a heroic emperor on horseback who could lead his soldiers to victory?

Are all members of the Liu family like this? They all have this style from the beginning, and only when they reach a certain age will their imperial bloodline awaken?
This was the case with Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang.

This is what Emperor Taizu Liu Xiu did.

Zhaolie Liu Bei was like this.

Now this person is the same!
When they thought of this, many officials looked at the Han emperor who was wearing the armor of the previous emperor and riding a horse in a majestic manner, with a faint style of Emperor Gaozu, and their eyes suddenly became more enthusiastic.

If this isn't destiny, then what is?!
The Han Dynasty should prosper!
Liu Chan reached the plateau before the prime minister, dismounted skillfully and easily, handed the reins to Zhao Guang, and then personally walked to the prime minister's carriage and helped him down.

The prime minister, who seemed several years younger in the eyes of his officials, stepped out of the carriage with a smile.

He first bowed gently to the emperor, then turned around with the emperor and looked towards the vast Guanzhong Plain.

The Han Emperor, who felt like he had scored a perfect 100% on the final exam, suddenly felt like saying:
"Father, look, this is the kingdom I built for you."

Of course, such naughty words were never said in the end.

He just pointed to the entrance of the valley and started muttering non-stop.

He started by talking about the battle with Cao Zhen, how he and Zhao Yun went to chase and kill Cao Rui, and where Zhang He's fireboat was destroyed by the smokeboat. Finally, he talked about a few days ago, where he picked up a few rolling logs and smashed several Wei bandits with his own hands.

The Prime Minister did not spoil the fun at all. He laughed heartily from time to time and praised the Han emperor who was very eager to show off in various ways.

When Liu Chan finally finished saying everything, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have been possessed by Adou today. He had completely forgotten that this was the first time that he, a time traveler who had taken over the prime minister's position, had met the prime minister.

The emperor and his minister walked slowly side by side, talking and laughing, letting the setting sun cast two long slanting shadows on the yellow earth, but they were completely unaware that many of the officials and ministers behind them who had been greatly favored by the late emperor had their collars and sleeves wet with tears.

The late emperor once said, "With Kong Ming in my heart, I am like a fish in water. When I passed away, the whole country entrusted me with the care of my son, without any second thoughts or suspicion."

And the pure heart that His Majesty showed in front of the Prime Minister today, isn't it a continuation of the close relationship between the late emperor and the Prime Minister?

The Prime Minister is loyal and upright, and serves the country impartially. Everyone respects and obeys him.

But as the powerful prime minister in charge of a country's military and political affairs, who knows whether this emperor, who has won victory after victory since he personally led the army, will suddenly want to rein in his power, and then become suspicious of the prime minister and regard him as another Wang Mang?
Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors. Even King Cheng became suspicious of him because of the rumors, and all the ministers could not help but worry about it.

But it seems that they are overthinking it.

The crowd followed the king and his ministers and walked until they arrived at a newly reclaimed field. A dozen oxen and farmers were still plowing the soil.

Liu Chan suddenly noticed something unusual, frowned slightly, then left the Prime Minister's side, threw up his sleeves and walked forward quickly. Zhao Guang immediately led twenty tall and strong, fully armed Longxiang Langwei to follow closely.

The ministers didn't know why His Majesty suddenly restrained his expression and left quickly, but seeing that everyone was still there, they all looked at the emperor who was surrounded by Long Xianglang.

However, the Prime Minister quickly withdrew his gaze, then squinted his eyes hard and looked at the short plows in the field that had strange shapes but could be pulled by an ox and operated by one person.

Dong Yun's voice came from behind him:

"Prime Minister, this is the curved plow that Your Majesty summoned the craftsmen to improve.

“Although it’s only one ox pulling the plow, Yun has personally tried it and found that not only does it increase the plowing speed by 60 to 70 percent, it also saves more than 30 to 40 percent of the effort.

"Your Majesty has summoned the craftsmen on the plateau to work on it, and they can make thirty plows a day.

“Your Majesty also said that if you plant beans in May and June, you can plant wheat in September and October.

"This furrow of land before us was the one that Your Majesty personally plowed yesterday."

Dong Yun really couldn't find any fault with the emperor's recent behavior, so he turned a blind eye to some etiquette and verbal errors and didn't find fault with them.

After all, no one is perfect. Who can be without mistakes?
Focus on the big and let go of the small. No matter what is not a matter of principle, it is not a problem.

As soon as Dong Yun finished speaking, all the Han officials, including the Prime Minister, had expressions of uncontrollable surprise on their faces.

"One ox pulling a plow can actually be faster than two oxen? And it also requires less effort?" Fei Yi expressed disbelief.

Yang Yi looked at the newly plowed fields before him, unsure if he had heard correctly: "Is this His Majesty personally plowing the fields?"

The emperor personally tilling the land is an important matter of state, and it is held once every year in the first month of the lunar year. It is called "Jitianli" to show the importance of agriculture and to encourage farming. However, it is only a ritual and has a very different meaning from the emperor personally tilling the land at this time.

Dong Yun smiled and nodded slightly.

When everyone heard this, they first looked at the new land in front of them that was being plowed by the emperor himself, then looked at the dozen or so oxen plowing the fields, and finally looked at the emperor who had already walked away, all in shock and speechless.

The most important affairs of a state lie in sacrifices and military affairs, in farming and warfare.

This emperor who had made a name for himself suddenly became famous. Now he could fight and win battles, but he did not only think about fighting. Instead, he paid real attention to agricultural matters which were related to the foundation of the country. How could one not be surprised?
This shows that the emperor is not a radical who is fond of ostentation and warmongering, but a down-to-earth pragmatist like the prime minister!
Many people were discussing this, while Dong Yun continued to introduce the advantages of the curved plow and dragon-bone waterwheel to the prime minister and other government officials, as well as the emperor's decree to all counties to recommend skilled craftsmen.

The ministers sighed again.

The late emperor was a pragmatic man, and so was the prime minister. Even if those worthy of following the emperor and prime minister here today didn't truly believe in pragmatism, they couldn't express any public dissent against the emperor's pragmatic approach. Soon, the emperor walked straight and steady, leading the Dragon Guards back from a distance.

When the emperor approached, the officials who had not seen him for a long time realized that his skin color was no longer the fair color he had in the deep palace.
Instead, his face was slightly coppery in color, and the lines of his face and jaw were as sharp as a knife. He looked masculine and strong, with a majestic aura of a heroic leader.

The Prime Minister straightened his clothes, gathered his sleeves, and bowed to the Emperor first:
"Your Majesty personally led the army, braved danger, worked hard in agriculture, strengthened the country, and truly embodied the spirit of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong.

"Given time, our Han Dynasty will surely be filled with brave warriors like clouds, with fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles. The revival of the Yan Han Dynasty is truly just around the corner."

Seeing this, all the officials bowed their heads and, led by the chief secretary of the prime minister's residence, raised their voices in unison, "The revival of the Yanhan Dynasty is just around the corner!"

The civilians and soldiers who were constantly coming and going on the plateau were all looking towards this place.

Those who have received favors from the Prime Minister and His Majesty will inevitably feel hope in their hearts and be encouraged by it. Although those who are tired and numb are still numb, some people are beginning to look forward to the day when peace will come to the world soon.

Seeing the Prime Minister taking the lead in building momentum for himself, Liu Chan immediately became possessed by the actor, and with a solemn expression, he slowly spoke:
"If it is beneficial to the country, I will not hesitate to do it because of misfortune or fortune. But what I have done is really insignificant compared to the blood and sweat shed by the Prime Minister, the ministers, and the generals over the years.

"The Yan Han Dynasty will prosper, and it will prosper because of all the loyal ministers who have devoted their lives to the Han Dynasty, and because of all the brave soldiers and generals who have not shirked the sword for the Han Dynasty."

After saying that, he silently gave himself a thumbs up.

The shape is well posed.

On the other hand, all the Han officials have once again focused their attention on the emperor, unable to move their gaze for a long time.

The emperor's words paraphrased a line from Zuo Zhuan: "If it benefits the country, I will do it even if it means life or death."

What does it mean? As long as it benefits the country, even life and death can be disregarded.

Many officials who had seen the letter written by the emperor to the prime minister, such as Fei Yi and Yang Yi, thought of the sentence in the letter at this time: "If it is impossible to restore the country to safety and the sun and the moon to brightness again, then the king is willing to die for the country."

However, there were also many people who were a little too proud of their victory. Only then did they suddenly come to their senses and realize that it was not so smooth for them to get from Longyou to Guanzhong.

If the emperor had not taken the risk to defeat Cao Zhen, this Northern Expedition would have failed from the moment Ma Su lost Jieting.

So, can the emperor's actions really be described as a minor achievement? It's probably not an exaggeration to say that he turned the tide, right?

"Your Majesty just left in a hurry, but what important matter happened there?"

Behind the Prime Minister, an old minister in his fifties, dressed in brocade, wearing a hat decorated with red tassels and jewels, and a white jade ring around his waist, asked.

Liu Chan looked in the direction of the sound.

It turned out that he was Liu Yan, the General of Chariots and Cavalry of the Han Dynasty, who was highly favored by the late emperor and whose official rank was only below that of the Prime Minister and Li Yan.

This General of Chariots and Cavalry's status in the Han Dynasty was not much different from that of Jian Yong. He was just a guest of discussion and did not have much ability in governing the country or commanding the military.

But because the late emperor had always been kind to his old friends, he held a very high status.

After the death of the previous emperor, the prime minister took over the government and still gave him enough respect.

Whenever a joint letter was submitted, Liu Yan's name was always listed first.

But this person ended up being beheaded and thrown into the market.

The reason is very ridiculous.

It was because he had a young and beautiful wife at home, named Hu. In the first month of a certain year, she went to the palace to celebrate the court according to the custom of the year, but was kept in the palace for more than a month by her good sister, Empress Dowager Wu.

Liu Yan felt that he was being cheated on by Adou.

So he ordered his soldiers to hit Hu's face with the soles of their shoes, and finally divorced her and kicked her out of the house.

Hu was unwilling to be humiliated, so she reported the matter to the relevant departments. Since it concerned the reputation of the country, the relevant departments had no choice but to execute Liu Yan.

From then on, the custom of ministers' wives and mothers coming to the court to celebrate was abolished.

Seeing that the emperor did not answer for a long time, Liu Yan thought that the emperor was not giving him face, and suddenly became a little unhappy.

Fei Yi, who was standing by, first glanced at Liu Yan, then at Liu Chan, and said, "Your Majesty, did any of the soldiers break the law just now?"

Fei Yi just vaguely saw that when the emperor walked over, he saw several soldiers in the distance punching and kicking a commoner who was lying on the ground.

The Prime Minister issued a clear order prohibiting any violence against military servants without reason. Of course, if they were lazy and did not work, or refused to obey orders and were whipped twice, it would not be considered without reason.

Liu Chan's thoughts were drawn back to the beaten captive by Liu Yan's words. Hearing Fei Yi's words, he nodded first, then shook his head:

"It is true that some soldiers were beating the captured laborers, but the laborers seemed to have contracted an epidemic disease and said they were weak and unable to work.

"The guards thought the servant didn't look ill and thought he was slacking off, so they attacked him."

Nowadays, we cannot expect soldiers to have high qualities. Beating prisoners is a very normal thing.

It is better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in chaos. In this chaotic world that only happens once in hundreds of years, it is good enough to be alive. What else can you ask for?

However, the prime minister did issue laws in the army to restrain officers and soldiers, strictly prohibiting them from injuring others without reason, and even more strictly prohibiting them from killing or injuring others for fun. Otherwise, they would be punished according to the law depending on the severity of the crime.

If this policy could be truly implemented, the military discipline would be even better than that of the Guo army in the 20th century. This made Liu Chan sigh that the prime minister seemed to be more daring than him, a time traveler.

As for the beaten captive laborer, when he saw him, he wanted to ask Long Xianglang what was going on, whether he was ignorant of the law or was really breaking the law in front of the Prime Minister.

But he suddenly remembered that he had just seen in the military law clerk's documents this morning that there were more than a dozen similar cases recently.

The captive laborers said they had no strength to work and were then beaten by the soldiers. The military judges heard their complaints and, after investigation, concluded that the laborers might have been infected with some kind of epidemic disease.

Only then did Liu Chan want to go over and see what was going on.

It is almost May now. Since the beginning of summer, the weather has become warmer and the air humidity has increased. Various deadly cholera, plague, and malaria bacteria have begun to become active, and the threat of epidemics has begun to increase.

If a large-scale epidemic really breaks out at this time, we will be doomed.

Five of the Seven Sages of the Jian'an Period died in the great plague, and Lu Su, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Wu, also died of illness. It is said that every family has the pain of zombies, and every room has the wailing of sorrow.

The plague doesn't care whether your life is valuable or cheap, it treats everyone equally.

Although I have not heard of any particularly terrible plague after the Jian'an epidemic, the appearance of Liu Chan has obviously changed history. The battlefield with mountains of corpses is the place where the plague is most likely to break out.

It has to be treated with caution.

(End of this chapter)