Chapter 779 The State of Wu Begins to Rebellion
Just when Cao Wei was preparing to attack Shu in full swing, Sun Quan, the emperor of the Wu Kingdom in the south, was receiving a young scholar who had fled from Qingzhou to Soochow.
This young scholar is called Yinfan.
In recent days, the name Yinfan has been mentioned frequently in Jianye.
He is not only handsome in appearance, but also talented.
Most of the young scholars who fled to Soochow from the north were impressed by him, and gradually formed a small group headed by him.
It’s just that the scholars from the north have no foundation after all, and there are no promising families in Jiangdong.
So the Soochow officials who accepted them could at most separate them from ordinary people, but if they wanted to go further, it would only depend on everyone's luck.
Yinfan waited for several months, and was finally assigned to be a minor official.
He finally couldn't bear it any longer, and as a scholar returning to the south, he wrote a self-recommendation memorial to Sun Quan, the Lord of Wu, comparing himself with Wei Zi and Chen Ping, and asked to see Sun Quan.
After Sun Quan saw the memorial, he was surprised by the loudness of its tone. In addition, he had just ascended the throne and it was the time to win the hearts of the world, so he made an exception to receive Yinfan.
After Yinfan entered the palace, he faced many guards holding swords and halberds without squinting his eyes and keeping a calm demeanor.
When Sun Quan saw this, he felt two points of approval in his heart.
Then he specially selected a few questions about current affairs to ask Yinfan, but saw that Yinfan answered them in an orderly manner.
Even after answering, Yinfan took the initiative to state the current situation, and talked with great eloquence and style.
Finally he said:
"Your Majesty, Dong Zhongshu gave Han Xiaowu a peerless beauty in the past, and today I also want to give your Majesty a beauty. This beauty is the "New Code" carefully compiled by Cao Wei."
“When Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty first established the rule of the world, he ordered Xiao He to make laws and decrees, thus regulating the laws of the world. However, since the Han Dynasty, there have been more than ten families of commentators on the law, and there are countless contradictions in them.”
“Your Majesty has great authority over the world, so it is necessary for the laws of the world to be unified to govern the people. I am not talented, so I have the courage to send you the "New Law" to help your Majesty to unify the world as soon as possible."
At this point, he actually recited the "New Rules".
Sun Quan took the "New Code" submitted by Yinfan and compared it, and found that it was word for word.
He first heard what Yin Fan said and felt that it made sense, and then he was even more happy when he got the "New Law".
After the meeting, Sun Quan felt that he was a talented person, so he asked Hu Zong who was present: "What do you think of this person?"
Unexpectedly, Hu Zong looked down upon Yinfan:
"I first observed this person's letter, his tone was exaggerated like Dongfang Shuo, and then I looked at his words and deeds, his eloquence and sophistry were like Ni Heng. But listening to his words and strategies, I found that his talent is far inferior to these two people."
Sun Quan frowned slightly after hearing what Hu Zong said, obviously not liking what Hu Zong said.
In fact, Wu State, like Shu State, also has conflicts between external forces and local forces.
Most of the representatives of external forces are elders who followed Sun Jian and Sun Ce in their early years, such as Cheng Pu, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, etc.
Most of these people come from the north of the river, the Sishui and Huaihe River areas, and can be called the Sihuai Group.
In the early days, most of the Sihuai Group was in charge of the army, while the Jiangdong Group was in charge of politics, with Sun Quan in the middle.
It’s just that most of the elders of the Sihuai Group have withered by now. Especially since the Battle of Yiling, the Jiangdong family has risen rapidly and has begun to take over military power.
Playing with balance is the instinct of every qualified emperor.
The imbalance between the two sides is naturally not what Sun Quan wants.
So while suppressing one side, he must also cultivate the other side.
The "Ji Yan Case" that implicated Zhang Wen was actually a means by Sun Quan to suppress the Jiangdong family.
What's more, when Sun Ce took control of Jiangdong, he killed too many people from the Jiangdong family, which caused a huge rift between the Sun family and the Jiangdong family.
Although Sun Quan has tried his best to mend the relationship between the Sun family and the Jiangdong family over the years.
But deep down in his heart, he was actually quite wary of the Jiangdong family.
Sun Quan was able to meet Yinfan in an unusual way, which was naturally because he had the idea of cultivating non-Jiangdong local forces.
But how could he tell Hu Zongming such thoughts?
What's more, in Sun Quan's eyes, Yinfan is also a talent.
However, when Sun Ce took over as the prefect of Kuaiji, Hu Zong, who was only fourteen years old, was already Sun Ce's disciple.
In addition, Hu Zong himself was the minister who helped Soochow to formulate laws and regulations.
So when Yinfan was evaluated by Hu Zong in this way, Sun Quan couldn't express his feelings at once, so he had to ask again:
“Then what position do you think is more suitable for Yinfan?”
Since Hu Zong is not optimistic about Yinfan, he naturally will not propose too high a position:
"He is a talkative person. You cannot let him govern the people. Why not try to arrange a small position for him first."
Hearing Hu Zong’s suggestion, Sun Quan said disapprovingly:
"He is now known as the leader of the scholars who returned to the south, and his reputation is not small. The position of a minor official assigned to him has already caused criticism from others."
"If I give him a small position again, I'm afraid the world will say that I don't recognize talents. Now is the time to win people's hearts, so I'm afraid this move is inappropriate."
Hu Zong heard Sun Quan’s words and thought they made sense, so he asked:
“Then I wonder what position your Majesty plans to assign to him?”
Sun Quan had already made plans: "The thing he talked about the most just now was the prison sentence. It would be better to appoint him as a prisoner."
Tingweijian is one of the chief officials of Dali Temple and is in charge of punishment and prison.
This position is not too low.
Going up further, there is Tingwei, one of the three nobles and nine ministers.
Although he felt that the official position given by His Majesty was too high, when Hu Zong heard Sun Quan's tone, he knew that his mind had been made up, and he did not refute it.
Yinfan was able to meet the emperor because of a memorial, and he rose from a small official to a court official. In the eyes of many people, they only thought that he was appreciated by Sun Quan and was a popular person in the eyes of the emperor.
With his deliberate friendship, many ministers of Wu State were willing to associate with him.
There are two people who admire Yinfan the most.
One is Zuo General Zhu Ju, and the other is Tingwei Haopu.
Haopu’s identity is rather special.
He was originally from Jingzhou and once served as an official in Liu Bei.
When Liu Bei entered Shu, he made Hao Pu the prefect of Lingling.
When Lü Meng attacked three counties, he planned to surrender to Haopu.
Later, when Han and Wu divided Jingzhou equally, Wu returned Haopu to the Han.
Later, Soochow betrayed its alliance, Lü Meng crossed the river in white clothes, and Hao Pu returned to Soochow again.
In this turbulent era, surrender is not a shameful thing.
But this kind of repeated voluntary surrender behavior ultimately makes people doubt that there is something wrong with this person's character.
Hence, there is an indelible stain on Haopu's body, and he is always ostracized intentionally or unintentionally.
The arrival of Yinfan suggested that Sun Quan pay attention to the laws and implement new laws, which invisibly made the Tingwei in charge of the prison show a sense of presence.
In addition, Yinfan is also a surrendered person, and the identity recognition has invisibly brought the relationship between the two closer.
As Yinfan’s boss, Haopu had a very favorable impression of Yinfan. With Yinfan’s deliberate approach, the two quickly became close friends.
Haopu not only expressed his admiration for Yinfan many times in front of others, but also often lamented that Yinfan was so talented that he was really a talentless eunuch.
So under the propaganda of Zhu Zhi and Hao Pu, Yinfan's reputation suddenly spread throughout Jianye City.
The reputation and the red man in front of His Majesty's eyes. In front of the door of Yinfan's house, he has been very lively in front of him.
Even the whole body of General Wei has broken its joints to intersect with it.
Wuchang and Jianye are both the centers of Soochow, and information between the two places has always been exchanged.
What happened in Jianye soon spread to Wuchang.
Taichang Pan Jun, who stayed with Lu Xun in Wuchang, couldn't help being furious when he learned that his son Pan Zhu not only had contacts with Yinfan, but even sent him money and food.
I wrote a letter on the spot to scold:
I have received great kindness from the country, and I am determined to repay it with my life. When you are in the capital, you should be respectful and friendly to the virtuous and admire the good. Why do you make friends with the captives and pay them with food? When I heard this from afar, my heart was trembling, my face was hot, and I was feeling melancholy and exhausted. If someone is careless, he will go to the envoy in a hurry and receive a hundred rods to urge him to pay.
Not only did he scold his son, but he also sent an envoy to personally give his son a hundred canes and even asked him to get back the money and food he had given away.
When people around him heard this, they were all puzzled by Pan Jun's reaction, thinking that Pan Jun had gone too far.
General Lu Xun couldn’t stand it, so he came to the door in person to persuade him:
"Now I am punishing the son with a stick and asking him to take back the things given to others. This will not only offend Yinfan, but also be inconsistent with etiquette and be laughed at by the world."
Pan Jun sighed: "If this is not the case, how can I understand my aspirations?"
Like Tingwei Hao Pu, he was originally a minister of Liu Bei, and guarded Jingzhou with Guan Yu as a ruler.
However, Pan Jun had always been at odds with Guan Yu. After Sun Quan took Jingzhou, he surrendered to Soochow.
But unlike Hao Pu, Pan Jun was from a wealthy family in Jingzhou. Because of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's various actions to suppress the wealthy families, he was more inclined to Soochow.
After all, Soochow does not restrict the privileges of aristocratic families.
Suppressing the Jiangdong family was only the need of the upper-level political struggle and did not conflict with the privileges of the Soochow family.
More importantly, the status of officials from Jingzhou is delicate. They can survive alone as long as they remain neutral. There is no need to participate in the struggle between the Sihuai Group and the Jiangdong Group.
Whether Haopu is too ambitious or ignorant, that is his business.
What Pan Jun has to do is not to let His Majesty feel that he, who was also born in Jingzhou, has the intention to get involved in this kind of thing.
As for the possibility of offending Yinfan, Pan Jun didn't care at all.
"No matter how much Yinfan is appreciated by His Majesty, he is just a lucky person. He seems to be suddenly noble, but in fact he has no foundation. Even if I offend him, what should I fear?"
Lu Xun knew that Pan Jun had always been upright, so when he heard his words, he didn’t try to persuade him. He just sighed:
“If the villain is lucky enough to come in, even the ministers will have to pay a visit to the government. This is a misfortune for the country.”
“Nowadays, there are more and more people who are lucky enough to join us. Unfortunately, we are all far away from His Majesty and cannot persuade him face to face.”
Hearing this, Pan Jun was moved: "The general seems to have something else in mind?"
Lu Xun looked around.
Pan Jun understood and asked all the servants to step back.
Lu Xun then said:
“When His Majesty first came to the throne, he newly established the Zhongshu Dian School Secretary to supervise the central and local state and county clerical affairs. Lu Yi was the Zhongshu Dian School Master, and now he is gradually becoming more and more powerful.”
“Some people say that he makes subtle decisions, complains about flaws, accuses people of crimes, and corrects rapes. I will definitely hear the subtle details, but I don’t believe it at all.”
"Unexpectedly, a few days ago, one of Lu Yi's retainers broke the law and was killed by Zheng Zhou, the prefect of Jian'an. Lu Yi then framed Zheng Zhou. Now your majesty has asked a minister to imprison Zheng Zhou."
Speaking of this, Lu Xun showed a worried look on his face:
"From this point of view, Lu Yi is a cruel person with a cruel nature and profound usage. He is actually a villain."
"I thought that before Lu Yi left, now there is another Yinfan who is clever and talkative. What is this if not more people are lucky enough to come in?"
When Pan Jun heard this, his color changed immediately:
“How can a governor, an important minister of the country, be easily imprisoned because of the words of a mere villain? If things go on like this, how will the law of the country survive? The more powerful the villain becomes, the greater the misfortune of the country!”
Lu Xun smiled bitterly: "The prince once wrote to your majesty to remonstrate this matter, but your majesty did not accept it. What should I do?"
Hearing this, Pan Jun's face became even more ugly.
In the past, Cao Cao first set up the post of school official in order to increase his visibility and promote his generals and officers.
Now your Majesty has learned from Cao Cao and set up this position with him, and his intention is self-evident.
Later, Cao Cao's school officials, Lu Hong and Zhao Da, played tricks on others and often got into trouble. Therefore, there was a saying at that time: Don't be afraid of Duke Cao, but be afraid of Lu Hong; Lu Hong is okay, Zhao Da will kill me.
Lu Xun and Pan Jun are both smart people who can see the big from the humble. From the incident of Zheng Zhou, we can deduce that if this continues, Lu Yi will become the generation of Lu Hong and Zhao Da of Wu State as soon as possible.
Thinking again that His Majesty seemed to dislike listening to his ministers less and less since he ascended the throne, and they couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Although the general and I are far away from your majesty, how can we turn a deaf ear to the villains in the country? I would like to write a letter with the general to admonish your majesty."
Pan Jun said decisively.
Lu Xun was overjoyed: "Chengming has a reputation for being upright. His Majesty will surely wake up after hearing your words!"
Just when the two were discussing how to go to Shu to persuade Sun Quan, a group of barbarian officials in Wuling County, Jingzhou, were hiding in the mountains and looking down the mountains.
Wuling has many mountains and rivers.
The unique terrain prevents Wuling from forming large tracts of cultivated land like in the Central Plains.
But at the foot of the mountain, there are small flat lands separated by mountains and hills. These discontinuous small flat lands are the main cultivated land of Wuling County.
Han officials and wealthy families built manors on these flat lands, and at the same time forced the barbarians who had lived here for generations to help them farm.
In the past two years, in addition to grain, these manors have also grown a considerable amount of sugar cane.
Growing sugar cane will occupy cultivated land. If there is less cultivated land for growing grain, grain production will naturally be reduced.
Since Soochow invaded Jingzhou, they experienced the Battle of Yiling again. Years of wars severely damaged Jingzhou’s economy. Over the years, Jingzhou’s grain production has been insufficient.
Otherwise, Lu Xun would not have asked Sun Quan to open up farmland to his many generals because of the lack of food in Jingzhou a few years ago.
It's just that counties like Nanjun and Jiangxia are okay. They are the main grain-producing areas in Jingzhou, so most of the newly opened farmland is used to grow grain.
But places like Wuling, Lingling, Guiyang and other places in the south of Jingzhou are not important places.
Those Shu Han gangs are willing to pay high prices for things like jaggery. Growing sugar cane is much more cost-effective than growing grain!
Coupled with the Naqu shaft plow, it is most suitable to be used in this kind of place.
So these days, whose manor doesn’t grow only enough food for themselves and the rest is planted with sugar cane?
Anyway, you sell grains and you sell jaggery. Of course you have to sell the more expensive one!
It’s just that the grain output is already small, and sugar cane occupies at least half of the cultivated land.
In recent years, the owner of the manor has become richer and richer.
But there are more and more people going hungry down there.
The first ones to starve to death were, of course, the barbarians who had been bullied.
Barbarians are also human beings, and they have a desire to survive.
The strong desire to survive made the barbarians start to become restless.
In the eyes of simple barbarians, the first thing that should be destroyed is the lush sugar cane forests at the foot of the mountain.
In the past few years, the Han people have destroyed their homes and planted sugar cane wherever they could.
At the same time, they continued to capture young people from the village and help them plant sugar cane.
So this sugarcane is the source of all evil.
After the sun sets, the sky gradually gets dark.
The barbarians on the mountain took advantage of the thin night cover, like cunning wild beasts in the mountain, to rush down to the manor down the mountain.
The guards in the manor quickly noticed something unusual and sounded the alarm.
“Barbarians, barbarians!”
The leader of the guard hurriedly climbed up the wall of the village. When he saw the situation outside, he couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
Even as night begins to fall, as far as the eye can see, there are dense crowds of people all around.
A fire soon lit up not far away. This was when the barbarians pushed down the straw piles and started to set fire to the ground.
There are even more barbarians holding wooden sticks, tree trunks, bone sticks, etc. in their hands and rushing towards the wall of the village.
“Fire the arrow!”
The arrows flew downwards, and the barbarians fell down one after another, but they did not make those behind them flinch.
With anger flashing in their eyes, they shouted slogans that were incomprehensible and continued to charge forward without fear of death.
“Hold on!”
All guards are not allowed to rush to the stronghold wall and hold on to it with all their might.
They knew that if barbarians broke into the manor, no one would survive.
What they didn't expect was that a fire was lit in the manor at some point, and at the same time, people were shouting.
"what happened!?"
“The barbarian slaves working there rebelled!”
"What did you say?"
…
At the beginning of August in the eighth year of Jianxing, the Wuxi barbarians in Wuyang County, Wuling County, rebelled, burning manors and destroying farmland. The barbarian officials in other counties heard about this and responded one after another.
For a time, the barbarian rebellion in Wuling County expanded rapidly, and counties fell one after another, with a tendency to spread to Lingling, Hengyang and other counties.
Sun Quan heard this and recalled Lu Dai, who had quelled the Jiaozhou rebellion, overnight and asked him to garrison Changsha to prevent the rebellion from spreading further.
At the same time, Pan Jun pretended to be too often and urgently summoned Jingzhou troops to prepare for the rebellion.
(End of this chapter)