The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

"Is he really going to publicly criticize the current Grand General like this?" Liu Chen raised an eyebrow and turned to look.

The surrounding diners, and even the imperial guards protecting Liu Chen, remained unmoved, as if they were used to it.

"Who can argue with that? Alas. Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Chen Zhi and Minister of the Palace Attendants Huang Hao are in cahoots, excluding loyal and virtuous officials, favoring sycophants, and deceiving the emperor. Now the country is in grave danger, on the verge of collapse at any moment. Yet Jiang Wei turns a blind eye to this, focusing solely on the Northern Expedition, hoping to achieve great merit. Truly short-sighted."

A dark-faced man with equally white hair and an impressive appearance and attire shook his head and sighed.

"If Jiang Wei could swiftly execute Huang Hao and restore order, he would truly be a pillar of the state."

The younger man with gray hair sitting next to him sighed.

"First, execute Qiao Zhou," the white-haired old man said decisively.

The other two fell silent.

"This is one of our own," Liu Chen thought to himself.

The white-haired old man was now in a frenzy, his anger rising to the point that his face was flushed red. He continued his tirade: "Qiao Zhou, a great Confucian scholar from Yizhou. He has a great reputation, but his heart is despicable. He wrote 'On Hatred of the State,' satirizing Cao Wei as a newly established powerful state, and the Han as a small, remaining state. He argued that small states should care for their people and establish a solid foundation in order to grow strong and become great powers. He seemingly opposed Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions, telling him to stop his meddling and even offering strategies for establishing a solid foundation. But in reality, he was negating the Prime Minister's grand plan: 'The imperial cause cannot be achieved through partial peace, and the Han and the traitors cannot coexist.' He portrayed the Northern Expeditions as 'going against the will of Heaven.'"

"Add to that the long-standing prophecy: 'The one who will replace Han will be Tu Gao.' Some believe that Tu Gao is Wei. Therefore, Wei must replace Han. Cao Wei is the mandate of heaven. Qiao Zhou undermined the hearts and minds of the Han people from top to bottom. He was far more vicious than Huang Hao."

"Even that eunuch Huang Hao knows that his power comes from the emperor. He should die when the Han Dynasty falls."

"The evidence is that when the Prime Minister died, the Emperor ordered all officials to refrain from attending the funeral. Qiao Zhou was the first and the last to leave Chengdu for the funeral. As a result, Qiao Zhou gained importance in the court and among the people. He became famous because of the Prime Minister's death, and now he opposes the Prime Minister's policy of launching a northern expedition. Hehehe."

At this point, the white-haired old man sneered repeatedly.

His companions remained silent.

Liu Chen sighed. What his own people said was right.

Favorable timing is not as important as favorable location, and favorable location is not as important as harmonious relationships.

Liu Han certainly lacked favorable timing, but it had the advantages of terrain and popular support. So why did the officials and cities along Liu Han's route offer almost no resistance and instead flee when Deng Ai marched in unimpeded? Because the people's hearts had already been broken.

Huang Hao is only one of the reasons.

Qiao Zhou was also a reason.

He did more than just persuade Liu Shan to surrender. He orchestrated a series of elaborate schemes.

The one who will replace the Han dynasty is Gao of Dangtu. This is a prophecy.

In other words, feudal superstition was the foundation of all his theories.

In other words, stop making a mess of things; the Han Dynasty should be replaced by the Wei Dynasty—that's destiny.

He even publicly discussed the names Liu Shan and Liu Bei. "Bei" means "ready" or "ready to pass on power." "Shan" means "abdication."

Taken together, this means that the Han Dynasty was already prepared for its demise and had handed the country over to Cao Wei.

The legitimacy of Liu Han's existence lay in the Northern Expedition. It was a matter of irreconcilable conflict between the Han and the traitors.

His anti-nationalist rhetoric undermined the morale of the Liu Han dynasty.

Even when Liu Zhang was defeated, there were still people resisting.

When the Liu Han dynasty fell, there was no resistance whatsoever.

The most important element, the people, was undermined by Qiao Zhou.

Without the right people, even the best location is useless.

What's even more frightening is that Qiao Zhou's essay on hatred towards the state was well-written and logically sound. This led even Liao Hua, a meritorious veteran, to oppose Jiang Wei's Northern Expedition.

Even Zhuge Zhan openly opposed Jiang Wei and wanted to seize Jiang Wei's military power.

Someone like Qiao Zhou would definitely have been killed by Zhuge Liang if he were alive.

And what did Liu Shan do? He did nothing.

The demons and monsters on the eve of the fall of the Liu Han dynasty.

Huang Hao, Qiao Zhou, Chen Zhi, Yan Yu, and Liu Shan.

It was these people who stood together and joined forces to destroy the Liu Han dynasty.

Even Jiang Wei was powerless to reverse the situation.

The old man wasn't so much opposed to Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions, but rather he was frustrated by Jiang Wei's lack of ambition. He felt that Jiang Wei should first return to restore order, stabilize the country like Zhuge Liang did, suppress these troublemakers, and then launch the Northern Expeditions.

The country cannot be saved by associating with these vermin. A different path must be found. Money is important; it can influence the spirits. Loyal ministers are important.

Even a county magistrate, if he can organize officials and people to defend the city against Deng Ai, can play a significant role.

Liu Chen really wanted to meet this old man who dared to publicly criticize Jiang Wei and wanted to kill Huang Hao and Qiao Zhou, but he was now playing the role of an absurd person, so it was difficult to get to know him.

He suppressed his inner turmoil and focused on dealing with the tea, mutton, and rice that were served.

The three elderly men drank and sprayed each other with alcohol until they were quite drunk, then they stood up together to pay the bill and leave.

Liu Chen said to the eunuch beside him, "Go and find out who these three people are."

"Yes." The eunuch bowed and hurriedly chased after him.

Soon after, the eunuch returned and bowed to Liu Chen, saying, "Reporting to the master, all three are from Chengdu. One is named Yang Yong, who once served as a clerk under Prime Minister Zhuge. Another is named Liu Ze, who was once an official in Shu Commandery. The third is named Wang Yong, who once served under the Minister of the Imperial Household."

Liu Chen was slightly taken aback, then realized that this made sense, and exclaimed, "So he is a minister of the Prime Minister."

The Han Dynasty had a dual monarch-minister relationship. The emperor and his ministers were monarch and minister. The ministers and their subordinates were monarch and minister.

For example, the relationship between the chief clerk under the prefect and the prefect was also one of ruler and subject. They had a duty of loyalty.

Zhuge Liang was appointed Prime Minister and established his own government to govern the country. Those who served in his government were his subordinates.

The time of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang was the best era for the Liu Han dynasty.

These three old men are the treasures left behind by Zhuge Liang, who witnessed the glory of his era.

It is also Zhuge Liang's legacy.

"What a pity," Liu Chen sighed. It was a pity that he had to play the role of an absurd person now, otherwise he would have gone to meet the three old men, expressed his respect, and drawn some of the power left by Zhuge Liang from them.

Liu Chen put the three old men aside for the time being and continued to wait for the person he was waiting for.

After a long wait, his person finally returned.

"There is indeed something wrong with Master's five hundred acres of land." The imperial guard disguised as a servant sat down next to Liu Chen and said in a low voice.

"Is there a vital spot?" Liu Chen asked.

"Yes," the Imperial Guard replied.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Liu Chen said, standing up, gripping the hilt of his sword at his waist, leaving the tavern, and boarding his carriage.