Although Nanzhong is part of Yizhou, for various intricate reasons, although Dahan has four counties in Nanzhong.

But it was not the officials sent by the imperial court who were really in charge of the military administration of the four counties, but the powerful foreign clans in the local area.

Of course, with the current national strength of the Han Dynasty, the power of a single alien wealthy clan is not terrible.

However, if the local forces of the entire four counties of Nanzhong unite to rebel together, they can also pull tens of thousands of soldiers.

This kind of number of soldiers is very threatening to the hinterland of Yizhou, which is empty of troops.

This is the reason why Liu Bei wants to strike first.

It's just that after listening to Liu Bei's words, Zhuge Liang pondered for a while and then advised Liu Bei: "The minister thinks that now is not the time for a large-scale southern expedition. ”

Hearing Zhuge Liang's intention to dissuade him from going south, Liu Bei was a little surprised.

He didn't think that the problems he could see would be seen by Zhuge Liang, who had always been good at strategy.

So Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang: "What is Qing's opinion?" ”

Zhuge Liang bowed to Liu Bei and said, "Your Majesty thinks why do the barbarians in Nanzhong want to rebel but dare not rebel? Even if the foreign enemy has already colluded with them. ”

The reason why there are often rebellions in Nanzhong is not only because there are intricate internal causes in the local area, but also because the enemies of the Han Dynasty often send people to hook up with the ambitious people in Nanzhong.

Of course Liu Bei knew about this situation.

He even knew that among the foreign enemies mentioned by Zhuge Liang, Sun Quan of Jiangdong was also included.

After listening to Zhuge Liang's rhetorical question, Liu Bei replied without thinking: "Naturally, because in recent years, our army has been mighty and powerful, so that the rebels in Nanzhong dare not act rashly. ”

Zhuge Liang nodded slightly after Liu Bei finished answering.

Then he said to Liu Bei: "Because our army has won successive battles, the Nanban has become more and more peaceful.

Of course, the southern barbarians have been unsubservient for a long time, and as His Majesty said, they will rebel sooner or later. ”

"But in terms of the current situation, the Nanban will not act rashly in the short term, and they will still obey Your Majesty on the surface.

All those who pay attention to the division must be famous, and the barbarians in the south and China have not yet had a clear trace, and if Your Majesty suddenly raises a large army to attack them, it is not consistent with this.

The Han Dynasty is orthodox in the world, and the situation is chaotic today, so we should pay more attention to this point. ”

Seeing that Zhuge Liang stopped himself from crusading against Nanzhong on the grounds that he was nameless, Liu Bei was noncommittal.

Zhuge Liang is right, if the teacher is nameless and does not say anything else, it will only have an impact on his own morale.

It's just that Liu Bei knows that Zhuge Liang is a great talent who has been used in the world, and he will not refute himself with this alone.

Without Liu Bei's expectations, Zhuge Liang continued to advise Liu Bei next:

"Although Nanzhong is known as a gathering place for different races, there are still many Yizhou wealthy families entrenched in the territory.

Many Yizhou wealthy families have taken root in the local area for hundreds of years, and they have extraordinary influence in both Nanzhong and Shu County.

If His Majesty suddenly raises a large army without a name, it will make Yizhou, which has been so difficult to settle down, turmoil again. ”

Seeing Zhuge Liang mention this, Liu Bei's face began to become solemn.

Liu Bei knew that Zhuge Liang was reminding him of something.

Why has the turmoil in the south and central regions lasted for hundreds of years without stopping?

This was even true when the Eastern Han Dynasty was prosperous.

It was because of the turmoil in Nanzhong, and his semi-independence was tacitly approved by all the scholars in Yizhou.

The special geographical advantages of Nanzhong made him a retreat for the Yizhou scholars.

Once the Yizhou scholars committed a crime in the center of Yizhou, they could use their local influence to flee from Shu County to Nanzhong for refuge.

Although this will take a serious toll on their clan reputation, it will at least ensure the survival of the clan.

And the Han Dynasty has always had a tradition of making meritorious contributions and intermittent survival.

As long as they can guarantee the lives of their clansmen, and some of their clansmen can later make meritorious contributions, or become famous people in Yizhou through raising hope, then their family will have a chance to make a comeback.

Perhaps before entering Yizhou, Liu Bei didn't know about this kind of operation of the Yizhou Shi clan, but when he entered Yizhou, he had seen this kind of operation with his own eyes.

For example, when he first entered Yizhou, Yizhou was "three shocks a day".

During that time, he killed many people in order to strengthen his rule by solemnizing the law.

But there are more people who have fled to Nanzhong.

And the reason why he was able to stabilize Yizhou as quickly as possible through tough means was that the existence of Nanzhong was also a very important reason.

As long as there is a way back, the scholars will not easily huddle together.

But if he draws his sword and cuts off the back road of the Yizhou Shi clan when his division is unknown, Yizhou is likely to fall into turmoil again.

And that kind of turmoil may not be as easy to calm down as it was back then.

Yizhou is currently Liu Bei's base area, and no emperor will not be worried about the instability of the base area.

Zhuge Liang saw that Liu Bei was deep in thought because of his words, so he continued:

"Jingzhou has been in the midst of war for more than ten years, and the rich country of the year is long gone, and now most of the national strength of my Han Dynasty is only supported by Yizhou.

In recent years, Yizhou has also frequently lost its national strength to support the war.

The barbarians in the south and central are scattered all over the country, and if we want to completely seek peace, our army should have tens of thousands of troops.

However, the terrain in Nanzhong is treacherous, the traffic is not smooth, and the battle of the southern expedition will not take a short time.

With Yizhou's current national strength, it is really impossible to support His Majesty's long-term southern expedition.

Even if we don't consider the fact that the division is unknown, just with the national strength of our Han Dynasty, it is not the best move to send troops to the south on a large scale at this time. ”

Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Bei after saying this, hoping that he would seriously consider his opinion.

And Liu Bei, under Zhuge Liang's reminder, has been shaken by the thoughts in his heart just now.

Zhuge Liang was right.

If the Han Dynasty now had the national strength to support a large-scale expedition, the first thing he thought of would definitely be the Northern Expedition, not the Southern Expedition.

It's just that although what Zhuge Liang said is very reasonable, the reason why Liu Bei wants to go south is not to completely incorporate the four counties of Nanzhong into his rule.

He was worried that in the future, when he launched a large-scale northern expedition, Nanzhong would take the opportunity to sneak attack the hinterland of Yizhou.

If this hidden danger is not eliminated, Liu Bei always feels unsteady.

Zhuge Liang saw that Liu Bei was still hesitating, so he stepped forward and asked Liu Bei: "In the past, whenever Your Majesty went out to fight, he would stay behind to guard Chengdu. ”

"And the minister assured His Majesty that as long as the minister is in Chengdu for a day, he will not let the turmoil in the south affect His Majesty's Northern Expedition."

Zhuge Liang's words were full of strong confidence.

Zhuge Liang's self-confidence affected Liu Bei.

He looked at the heartfelt minister in front of him, who had never spoken in front of him for more than ten years, and a smile appeared between the corners of his eyes.

"Once Nanzhong is in turmoil, it is useless to appease and show favors.

Rebellions can only be suppressed by war.

And at that time, all the good generals of the Han Dynasty will fight with me, but Kong Ming is sure that he can fight the war alone? ”

Liu Bei has this kind of doubt because although Zhuge Liang has led troops in the past, he has rarely led the army independently.

Faced with Liu Bei's question, Zhuge Liang immediately replied: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty." ”

"If the ugly people in Nanzhong dare to betray my emperor and Han, those who jump off the beam will be killed!"

When he heard Zhuge Liang's sentence "Those who jump beams, although they are strong, they will be killed", Liu Bei immediately laughed.

"Okay."

One word in the middle of laughing revealed Liu Bei's incomparable trust in Zhuge Liang.

Words without actual achievements may be pale to others, but Liu Bei is willing to believe his Wolong without any reason.

Just because for more than ten years, Zhuge Liang has never let him down.

When a big stone in his heart had a solution, Liu Bei was now in an excellent mood.

He took Zhuge Liang's hand and stood on the high steps together.

At this time, Liu Chan was already in the vast open space in front of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, driving the horse under his crotch and continuing to shoot with a bow.

Liu Bei looked at Liu Chan's increasingly proficient riding and archery movements, and there was undisguised love in his eyes.

"I have heard the king say: You have praised the prince in front of many of your subordinates: the wisdom of the chip is very great, and it is more than expected."

Liu Bei suddenly came out with this sentence, Zhuge Liang was a little surprised, but this sentence was indeed what he had said, so he replied to Liu Bei:

"It is true."

"If the prince can really do what you say, then what do I have to worry about?"

Liu Bei is good at reading people, how could he not know his son very well?

In Liu Bei's opinion, although Liu Chan has strengths, he is definitely not as good as Zhuge Liang said.

The reason why Zhuge Liang praised Liu Chan so much in front of his subordinates was just to use his personal prestige to increase Liu Chan's fame.

Zhuge Liang heard the melancholy in Liu Bei's words.

He wanted to say something to dispel Liu Bei's melancholy.

It's just that before he spoke, Liu Bei said to himself:

"The prince doesn't like to practice martial arts, I know that.

I also know that the reason why he takes the initiative to practice shooting in front of me whenever I am in the palace is because he wants me to be happy, and he doesn't want to live up to my expectations. ”

This is the strength of the crown prince. For his respectful relatives, he is benevolent and filial obedient.

It's just that that's what I'm worried about. ”

"I am his respected relative, and the queen is also his honored relative, the crown prince obeys me, and he will naturally obey the queen in the future.

But I don't believe in the queen, or I don't believe in the Wu family behind the queen.

Back then, Wu Yi was Liu Zhang's in-law, but he was able to surrender to me in battle. In the future, who knows that Wu Yi will not be like this?

After all, he was too close to the Yizhou Shi clan. ”

Zhuge Liang silently listened to Liu Bei talk about the hidden worries in his heart.

As an emperor, Liu Bei has a lot of hidden worries in his heart.

Although Liu Bei is a benevolent and righteous king, benevolence and righteousness do not mean that he does not have his own view of right and wrong.

For some ministers who have a black history and are not firm, Liu Bei will not lack doubts.

With the departure of many deceased, there are fewer and fewer people who can listen to the hidden worries in Liu Bei's heart.

Between Liu Bei's words, he also revealed a little regret.

When he married the Wu family, it was to stabilize the Yizhou scholars who were loyal to Liu Zhang.

At that time, he only thought about Kuang Fu Han in his heart, and did not expect that he would be able to ascend to the throne in his lifetime.

So at that time, in his opinion, marrying Wu Yi's sister, who had many interests with the Yizhou Shi clan, was what he should do as a lord.

However, with the continuous improvement of his status, and finally ascended to the throne, Liu Bei regretted his actions back then.

The wife of a prince and the empress of an emperor are two different concepts.

Especially after the queen was promoted to the queen mother, the political significance she represented was even greater.

In the Han Dynasty, in addition to the emperor who could call himself me, the queen mother could also call herself me.

This shows the political status of the Empress Dowager in the Han Dynasty.

Although not all queen mothers have the right to rule the dynasty.

But when the fact that the Queen Mother had a system of pro-dynasty became a political tradition, then its impact on politics was very far-reaching.

The queen mother and the emperor are both the kings of the subjects of the world.

And when this powerful political significance may fall on the ill-intentioned relatives and families, the worries in Liu Bei's heart inevitably arise.

Seventy years old, he is more than sixty this year, how many years can he live?

Especially after Guan Yu left, Liu Bei, who was devastated, became more and more unconfident in this point.

Your own body knows it for yourself.

If he leaves this world in the future, then with Liu Chan's character and Liu Chan's talent, he obviously cannot become the guide of the great cause of reviving the Han dynasty in this sinister and chaotic world.

And by his side, there are no completely trustworthy clansmen from his own clan.

So he had to arrange for the Auxiliary Minister, and he already had a candidate for the Auxiliary Minister in his heart.

But politics is all about putting the name first.

If the empress dowager on the throne intends to compete for power with the auxiliary ministers he arranged, then what will the situation of the Han Dynasty go in the future?

Whenever he dreams back at midnight, Liu Bei always has this worry in his heart.

There are some things that should be prepared for a rainy day.

Liu Bei took a deep breath, and then said to Zhuge Liang: "Many of the loyal ministers who were released from the north have already had their identities checked. ”

"I'll have the list in your hands in a moment. It is necessary to arrange for those people to take up posts in the counties and counties of Yizhou as soon as possible. ”

Zhuge Liang knew why Liu Bei wanted to do this, so he immediately responded to Liu Bei: "Only." ”

After arranging this matter, Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang beside him, and he continued Zhuge Liang's words: "After a while, I will give you the right to open a mansion and govern affairs." ”

Hearing that he intended to give himself the power that represented the supreme honor of the people, Zhuge Liang subconsciously wanted to refuse.

For hundreds of years, only the three dukes and the great generals had the power to open the government and govern affairs.

It's just that the opening of the Three Princes has long been a fictitious thing, and only the opening of the general is the real opening of the mansion.

The reason why the general can often become the actual ruler of the Eastern Han Dynasty is that in addition to his control of the world's military power, he also has the power to open the government and govern affairs.

With such a vital power, Zhuge Liang didn't expect Liu Bei to give it to him so quickly.

But in the face of Zhuge Liang's resignation, Liu Bei's attitude was very resolute.

"You're going to have to open a mansion sooner or later."

If you don't open the government, how will you fight those people who are entrenched in the local area in the future?

If I don't open the house, who will guard my country in the future?

At this time, Liu Bei felt a little tired, so he walked towards the dormitory accompanied by the attendants on the left and right.

Before Liu Bei walked away, he left one last sentence to Zhuge Liang: "Order someone to tell Zisheng, do it!" ”

When this sentence reached Zhuge Liang's ears, he found that Liu Bei's figure had already walked away.

Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Bei's departing figure, and for the first time today, he felt that the figure of the great shore in the past began to grow old.

Time flies like a white horse, no matter how great the hero is, there will be a day when he will grow old.

It's Liu Bei today, and it will be him in the future.

Liu Bei is old, and he can be arranged to guard the Han River.

And what about when he is old?

Could it be the one His Majesty mentioned in his last words?

(End of chapter)