Chapter 937 Conspiracy (New Year update is the best New Year greeting to everyone)
The so-called lips are dead and the teeth are cold, and there are complete eggs under the overturned nest.
Even children understand this truth, so how could Zhuge Ke not understand it?
Lv Yi even dared to frame Duke Gu, which led to His Majesty's desire to change the position of Prime Minister.
If this person really wants to attack the prince, who knows whether he will be tricked into replacing the prince in the end?
To be disrespectful, the prince's biological mother is too humble, and his adoptive mother was sent back to her hometown by your majesty.
Whoever really dares to guarantee that the prince's status is as stable as Mount Tai is either stupid or has ulterior motives.
Why else would His Highness often say in public that he is willing to give up the position of Crown Prince to Sun He, the third prince's son?
As soon as he thought about this, Zhuge Ke comforted Sun Deng and said:
"Your Highness, please do not be impatient. In my opinion, Lu Yi's actions were probably just his own actions. There must be no one else behind him."
“Why?”
“Your Highness, think about it, who are the people who have the ability to threaten Your Highness’s crown prince status now? Only the Third Prince has one ear.”
The second prince, Sun Lu, had just been named the general of the army two years ago, and he died before he was even named king.
“Since the third prince is only over ten years old and is very close to His Highness, it is impossible for Lu Yi to seek the crown prince position for the third prince, right?”
“Besides, how can your Majesty abolish the elders and establish younger ones, only to disrupt the country’s foundation?”
Your Majesty’s legitimate wife was originally Mrs. Xie, but Mrs. Xie died young and later married Mrs. Xu as his first wife.
Who would have expected that Mrs. Xu would be sent back to her hometown in the end.
Until now, His Majesty has never appointed a queen.
Therefore, in terms of status, there is no distinction between high and low among all princes, only the order of eldest and youngest.
At most, it’s just to see whose mother is favored.
Therefore, if Your Majesty wants to depose the crown prince, he must first enthrone the queen.
When His Majesty proclaimed himself emperor, he wanted to appoint the Bu family as his queen, but the officials insisted on appointing the Xu family.
The matter of the queen has been delayed and undecided.
Hence, the matter of enfeoffing the Queen is a very important matter. It is not a private matter of the royal family, and not even His Majesty can decide it in one word.
After thinking about this, Zhuge Ke said to Sun Deng, "I think this is a private matter for Lu Yi and should not be directed by others."
"Wuchang was originally the place where His Highness was guarding. His Highness repeatedly wrote letters to advise His Majesty not to reuse Lu Yi."
“The general Shang, Pan Taichang, who was far away in Wuchang, was also with His Highness. In Lu Yi’s opinion, he was ordered by His Highness.”
“Therefore, this is the reason why Lu Yiguo trapped the people around His Highness.”
It’s not like Sun Deng didn’t think of this:
“Even so, we cannot let such villains deceive Your Majesty, otherwise in the long run, I am afraid that all the ministers in the court will be alienated.”
Zhuge Ke pondered for a while, then shook his head:
“His Royal Highness and the General have written several times, but it is difficult to change His Majesty’s view of this person, which shows that he is deeply trusted by His Majesty.”
"Suddenly, I am afraid it will be difficult to shake his position in His Majesty's heart, so I can only try to do it slowly."
Sun Deng couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed when he heard this:
“Doesn’t Yuan Xun have a good idea?”
Zhuge Ke smiled calmly:
"Lü Yi is a small man with no roots and no foundation. He who can be powerful in front of the ministers is just relying on His Majesty's cronies."
"Although this person is so arrogant now, if there comes a day when your Majesty becomes suspicious of him, it will be the day when his body and head are separated."
Sun Deng sighed:
“Why is it so difficult?”
"It's not difficult!" Zhuge Ke shook his head, his eyes flashing coldly, "Lu Yi's power and fortune all depend on your majesty. If we can find a way to alienate your majesty from this villain, we will punish him easily."
“How to distance yourself?”
"There must first be someone who dares to confront Your Majesty, point out what Lu Yi did to your face, and persuade Your Majesty to investigate what Lu Yi did. Otherwise, no matter how much we do, we will not be able to do anything about this person."
Sun Deng frowned more and more:
“The most important person in the court to discuss is the general and I. We have written to you many times, but we can’t convince him, let alone others.”
Zhuge Ke laughed:
“Your Highness, it is precisely because you are from the court that I cannot speak to Your Majesty.”
“Your Highness, think about it, your Majesty ordered Lu Yi to serve as the principal of the Zhongshu Dian School just to supervise all officials.”
"Now that hundreds of officials have written to impeach Lu Yi, doesn't it mean that Lu Yi is a good supervisor?"
“Therefore, there are so many people who have written the letter, I am afraid that Lu Yi will be more trusted by His Majesty!”
Sun Deng suddenly realized what he said and slapped his thigh:
“That’s so true! I didn’t think of this!”
As he spoke, he looked at Zhuge Ke and praised: "Yuanxun, thank you!"
Zhuge Ke smiled slightly complacently. Naturally, he would not say that he had just figured this out.
I could only hear him continue:
“Your Highness, so the person who is to meet Your Majesty, not only cannot be a minister of the court, but he cannot even be a local, state or county official.”
The post of Zhongshu Dianlang not only supervises all central government officials, but also local prefectures and counties. It may seem like a lowly position, but in fact it has great power.
“In this case, it is difficult to find such a person!”
Even among hundreds of officials, many people will be frightened when facing His Majesty alone.
Let alone speaking out about Lu Yi's mistakes, it is very likely that Lu Yi will retaliate.
So this person must not only be bold, but also must not be afraid of death.
Lu Yi is favored by His Majesty. If he wants to persuade His Majesty, he must be eloquent.
To put it nicely, it means being eloquent; to put it unpleasantly, it means being eloquent and charming.
Thinking of clever words and flirtatious words…
Sun Deng quickly shook his head and focused his attention on the matter in front of him.
I dare to face His Majesty directly, I am not afraid of life or death, I am not afraid of Lu Yi's revenge, and I cannot be an official, so I can only look for him among the people.
But where can such people be found among the people? !
The Cangtouqianshou don't even know how to write their own names, let alone expect them to make any sense.
He even discussed the principles of governing the country in front of His Majesty.
It seems that Zhuge Liang also removed the clever man from among the people, and even before he became an official, he had already made plans to pacify Nanzhong...
Really annoying!
It’s so annoying!
It was obvious that he had found a way to solve the problem, but he got stuck on a key figure, which immediately made Sun Deng irritated:
“Is there really nothing we can do against such villains?”
“If we can’t find it, others may not be able to find it.”
Zhuge Ke said calmly.
"who?!"
Sun Deng asked quickly.
“Yang Di.”
"he?"
Sun Deng looked at Zhuge Ke with a suspicious look on his face, his eyes flickering.
“That’s right, it’s him.”
Zhuge Ke nodded and affirmed:
"Yang Di has a good knowledge of people, which is known to the world. If he can discover talented people among the people and recommend them to your majesty, your majesty will not have any doubts."
At this point, Zhuge Ke showed a sneer on his face, "If such a talented man speaks out about Lu Yi's mistakes, what do you think His Majesty will think?"
how to think?
After all, this talented man was discovered from the people. Now even the people know that Lu Yi is a cruel villain. How can your Majesty still keep it in the dark?
“Wonderful!”
Sun Deng had already hurt his thigh from the slap, and his face was full of joy, "This is a great plan!"
But Sun Deng gritted his teeth and continued:
"Yuan Xun is right. Yang Di is indeed a wise man. It is most appropriate to leave this matter to him. If he does not agree, I will beg him until he agrees."
Zhuge Ke smiled slightly and was confident:
Since you dare to speak out about the faults of everyone in the East Palace many times and want to be an upright person who dares to speak out, you can't back down from such things as sharing worries for the country, right?
Otherwise, wouldn’t it be like being a hypocritical person with a good reputation?
Sun Deng breathed a sigh of relief after solving a major issue that had been pressing on his mind for a long time.
He raised the tea cup and wanted to take a sip of tea, only to find that the tea was already cold.
So he quickly changed Zhuge Ke's cup of hot tea himself.
When Zhuge Ke saw Sun Deng's behavior, his heart moved and he asked tentatively:
“Your Highness...is there anything else you have to do?”
Sun Deng nodded, but he didn’t look as gloomy as before. He just thought for a moment and then said:
“Your Majesty has appointed Yuan Xun as General of Weibei, and his intention is self-evident. In my opinion, even if Yuan Xun does not ask to cross the river on his own, I am afraid that Your Majesty will send Yuan Xun to cross the river to attack the thieves.”
“Isn’t this a good thing?”
"It's a good thing." Sun Deng stared at the tea cup in his hand and said in a low voice for a long time, "But there is one thing you may not know about Yuan Xun."
“A few days ago, Emperor Cao Rui of Wei State sent an envoy over to propose to me, Da Wu, that he is willing to exchange war horses for pearls, tortoise shells and other treasures.”
Zhuge Ke smiled when he heard this:
“I’ve often heard that Cao Rui likes pearls, but now I’ve seen it with my own eyes…”
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped, sat upright involuntarily, and looked towards Sun Deng.
Sun Deng raised his eyes and looked at him, then lowered his eyes again and continued to stare blankly at the tea cup in his hand.
Zhuge Ke swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked:
“Your Majesty...do you agree?”
Sun Deng nodded, his voice still low:
"Yes. Your Majesty said that pearls and tortoise shells are no more than stones and rubble to the state of Wu. However, they can be exchanged for war horses and increase the strength of the Wu army. Why not?"
Zhuge Ke exhaled heavily and forced a smile:
“Your Majesty knows clearly that this should be the case.”
Sun Deng twitched the corner of his mouth and pretended to be laughing.
When your Majesty declared himself a vassal of Wei, Cao Pi asked Wu for treasures, and your Majesty said the same thing.
The only difference is that at that time, Cao Pi asked for it, but now, Cao Rui exchanges it for war horses.
After all...today is different from the past!
The leader of the Wu Kingdom is no longer the King of Wu conferred by the Wei Kingdom.
But the Emperor of Wu.
However, Sun Deng still always felt uneasy and panicked.
Zhuge Ke seemed to have seen Sun Deng’s thoughts and comforted him:
"Your Majesty did not hide this matter, which shows that your Majesty is open-minded and has no other thoughts."
“Besides, aren’t there caravans between Shu and Wei? Now that there are three pillars in the world, it is normal for them to exchange some things with each other.”
It is true that there were caravans between Shu and Wei.
However, the supplies in Shu are so in demand right now, and I have never heard of Cao Rui personally sending an envoy to exchange supplies with Liu Chan...
Sun Deng sighed:
"What I'm afraid of is that Cao Rui might try to drive a wedge between Wu and Shu."
In fact, Cao Rui was very generous this time.
The war horses given were not only numerous, but also numbered a thousand.
And the price is very reasonable, it can even be said that Dawu has taken a big advantage.
Sun Quan sent people to Liaodong many times, bringing countless rare treasures, and granted Gongsun Yuan official titles and promotions.
None of the war horses returned were as sincere as Cao Rui's return this time.
But precisely because he had taken such a huge advantage, Sun Deng felt vaguely that something was not right.
Hearing Sun Deng’s concern, Zhuge Ke was silent for a while, and finally sighed:
"Even if it is a estrangement measure, I, the Great Wu, have to accept these war horses."
Who in the world doesn’t know that Wu is in short supply of war horses?
Wei thieves have two states, Bingyou, and Shu has Liangzhou and Longyou.
Only the State of Wu tried to make good relations with Liaodong many times but failed.
Cao Rui has finally grasped His Majesty's thoughts this time.
Thousands of fine war horses were too much for the state of Wu, so many that the kings and ministers of the state of Wu had no room to refuse.
However, Wu and Wei have been cut off from contact for ten years, and now they suddenly have contact, and it is between the leaders of the two countries. Who dares to say that Shu will not become suspicious?
Even if they are not suspicious, I am afraid that the kings and ministers of Shu will be unhappy.
After all, what happened in Jingzhou will always be a scar that Wu and Shu cannot get around.
What's more, Wu and Shu set up an altar, burned fire to the sky, and publicly swore an alliance.
If the state of Wu continues to secretly support Shu and fight against Wei, everyone in the world will laugh at the fact that the Wu people have no credibility at all.
How will the kings and ministers of Wu state stand in the world at that time?
“Since Your Highness has this concern, why not inform Your Majesty so as to avoid any rift between the two kingdoms of Wu and Shu?”
"Why don't I not think about it?" Sun Deng said distressedly, "It's just that I don't know what your Majesty is thinking."
"The second one is the case of slandering the state affairs, which is still in turmoil. If I make a wrong move and Lu Yi seizes the opportunity to speak greedily in front of His Majesty, I'm afraid... alas!"
At this point, Sun Deng and Zhuge Ke looked at each other.
Both of them made a decision in their hearts: Lu Yi is already a serious trouble in the court and must be eliminated as soon as possible!
“If it’s inconvenient for Your Highness, why don’t you let the general speak for you?”
Zhuge Ke reminded.
Sun Deng was still hesitant: "Now that things have happened, there is a high probability that Lu Yi wants to do something bad for me."
“If Lu Yi advises Your Majesty, I live in the East Palace, but I have frequent correspondence with the General in Wuchang, and I can even give orders to the General in Wuchang.”
“When His Majesty asks, how can I explain it?”
As the prince, Sun Deng is both a king and a minister.
Sun Deng also understands the reason why His Majesty favored Lu Yi after ascending to the throne.
To put it bluntly, it is to better control the officials and ministers.
It's just that this kind of emperor's mind can be understood but not stated clearly.
The general is guarding Wuchang, and half of Wu is under his control.
It would be okay if he were still in Wuchang. It would be normal to discuss state affairs with the general.
But now that he has returned to Jianye, if he still has close contact with the general, even a letter can persuade him.
That’s just not knowing how to advance or retreat, and it’s a taboo!
Zhuge Ke saw Sun Deng in trouble, so he immediately volunteered and said:
“If it is inconvenient for Your Highness to discuss this matter directly with the General, how about I write a letter to Your Excellency and ask him to convey His Highness’ concerns to the General?”
Sun Deng was overjoyed and stepped forward to hold Zhuge Ke's hand: "This is very good!"
Zhuge Jin is a general who guards Jingzhou all year round and has a close friendship with the general Lu Xun.
If it were relayed by him, there would be no fear of leaking the secret.
In October of the twelfth year of Jianxing, Sun Quan, who had just taken advantage of the Wei State, was reminded by Lu Xun that this was probably a alienation plan by the Wei State.
At that moment, he suddenly woke up and quickly wrote a letter and sent someone to Shu.
Who knew that at this time, an unexpected situation happened.
When the messenger was crossing Jiangxia and preparing to enter the territory of Nanjun, he happened to encounter a small Wei army going south to plunder.
This letter naturally fell into the hands of the Wei army.
Then he was sent to Luoyang by the Wei army as quickly as possible.
Over the years, although there have been few major battles between Wei and Wu on the Jingzhou border, small groups of armies from both sides often enter and plunder each other.
This is not a strange thing.
Sun Quan didn’t pay too much attention after learning about this incident.
He just wrote another letter and prepared to send someone to deliver it to Zhuge Liang and the Han emperor.
PS: Due to the complex terrain and dense water network at the Jingzhou border of Wu State, small groups of troops from both sides often enter and harass. Wu Guo's letter was intercepted by Wei Guo more than once.
Even the year before Zhuge Liang's last Northern Expedition in history, Sun Quan's letter to Zhuge Liang about attacking together was intercepted by Wei.
This is the helplessness of Wu State's Jingzhou because there is no dangerous place like Xiangyang to defend.
(End of this chapter)