As early as April of the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, Cao Pi had already planned to usurp the throne.

The spies arranged by Shen Chen in the north had already noticed some clues, but the news had not yet been confirmed, so they did not dare to report the unconfirmed news, and wanted to wait for conclusive evidence to pass the information back.

This was done out of prudence, because Shen Chen repeatedly ordered that the news he got should be confirmed as true before he could report it, otherwise it would be easy to get false information.

If Shen Chen's spies immediately arranged for someone to pass it back this time, in case it was false news and Cao Pi did not usurp the throne, then it was likely to delay the war of Liu Bei's group against Wu, so the spies were still very serious and wanted to get the exact news.

By July, Liu Xian's second persuasion was far less than the third time in August, and it was only circulated in a small area, and only a small number of courtiers knew that it should not have been leaked out.

But Xu Yin, the inner director of Zhu Shuo's mansion, got a news that shocked him, and when Zhu Shuo was talking to people in the mansion, he told him that Cao Pi had snatched the jade seal of the country from Liu Xie.

Even if the news was blocked, it was useless, Xu Yin hurriedly contacted Zhou Ai and Li Mu to quickly pass the matter back to the south.

Due to the lag of information caused by the underdevelopment of transportation in ancient times, Shen Chen's spy network in the north could not open a post station and carry out expedited delivery of goods traveling 400 miles a day.

In addition, Liu Bei was cutting down Wu at that time, and the people were not in Xiangyang, so the news went around and around, and it took two months before he was sent to Yangzhou.

So at the beginning of September, when Liu Bei had just eliminated Eastern Wu, he got the bad news that Cao Pi usurped Han.

But even then, much faster than in history.

Now Liu Bei is Cao Pi has just usurped the Han and knows the information, and in history he only knew it at the beginning of the second year, which is more than three months slower than now, which shows how difficult it was to circulate information at that time.

Yangzhou, Jianye.

Liu Bei had just finished deciding on Jiangdong, and before he left, he learned the news.

"Your Majesty!"

In the original Wuhou Mansion, after Liu Bei heard the news from the messenger, he only felt dizzy and almost fainted.

Everyone hurriedly stepped forward to hug and support.

Guan Yu helped Liu Bei and asked with concern, "Big brother, big brother." ”

"King, please cheer up."

"The news that comes now is just that Cao Pi has snatched the seal of the Son of Heaven, and he has not usurped the throne yet, so there may be a turnaround."

"Yes, the king, the Son of Heaven still needs the king to be able to deter outside, if the king can't cheer up at this time, I'm afraid Cao Pi will really usurp the throne."

Many courtiers hurriedly admonished.

Hearing everyone's persuasion, Liu Bei came to his senses, waved his hand with difficulty and said, "I'm fine." ”

After Guan Yu helped him to the side, he sat on the ground and said sadly: "Cao Pi wants to usurp the throne, how can the widow sit idly by, he should immediately send troops to the Northern Expedition to attack Cao Pi!" ”

"The King."

Ma Liang stood up and said: "Now is not a good time for the Northern Expedition, Jiangdong is initially decided, and people's hearts are fluctuating. The land of Yizhou and Jingzhou only experienced two major wars last year, the people are poor and the state is bad, and the money and valley are lacking, and the forced dispatch of troops will only increase the loss in vain and make the people's livelihood more difficult. ”

Liu Bei was indignant: "The Han Dynasty is dying, and the widows are the descendants of the Han family, so how can they stand still at this time and watch the Han Dynasty perish?" ”

"It's just that now we really can't start a large-scale war anymore."

Yang Yi also persuaded: "Yizhou almost hollowed out the state capital last year, although Jingzhou's situation is slightly better, but it has also suffered military disasters and floods, and it is already the limit to support us to pacify Jiangdong. ”

"Yes, my lord, not to mention the news from the north, it was two months ago, no one knows the current situation, it is not good to say that His Majesty has ...... at this time"

"What?"

When Liu Bei heard this, he was immediately even more indignant, and said angrily: "If Cao Pi has usurped the Han at this time, and the Han is dead, Your Majesty must have been poisoned by Cao Pi's thieves, I want to raise troops for the Northern Expedition, and the widows will raise troops for the Northern Expedition, and Cao Pi must not be allowed to succeed, even if he has usurped the Han, the widow will avenge Your Majesty!" ”

"Big brother."

At this moment, Guan Yu also persuaded: "The princes are right, now is indeed not the time for the Northern Expedition, and the eldest brother is also a person who has been marching and fighting for many years, how can he not know that he needs to recuperate now before he can accumulate strength to send troops?" ”

"I ......"

Liu Bei looked around, and suddenly noticed that Shen Chen next to him had been silent, and hurriedly said, "Xiaoqing, can you go on the Northern Expedition?" ”

Shen Chen thought for a while, and arched his hand and said: "It's unnecessary, but the king shouldn't send troops now, Jiangdong is flat, Jingzhou is very reluctant to supply grain and grass, Huainan thousands of miles of land has been deserted, and it is impossible to replenish grain on the spot, even Sun Quan has to go north from the water to the water, we transport grain from Jingzhou to Yangzhou, and then transport grain from Yangzhou to the north, it takes a long time, there are too many drawbacks, and we should think about it in the long run." ”

"Yes, big brother."

Guan Yu also persuaded: "The Northern Expedition is bound to be a Northern Expedition, but it is not easy to win in a hurry, and it should be completely prepared before raising troops in the north." ”

"Ugh."

Liu Bei didn't know this, when he first heard the bad news about Guan Yu in history, he wanted to send troops to Jingzhou to avenge Guan Yu for the first time.

But at that time, he had just finished the battle of Hanzhong, and after the loss of Jingzhou, it could be described as a tragedy.

In the case of internal and external malpractices, forcibly sending troops is tantamount to sending them to death.

Therefore, he finally forcibly suppressed the grief of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's death, and patiently prepared for more than a year before attacking Sun Quan.

It's a pity that the battle of Yiling was defeated, so that Yizhou was almost shattered, if it weren't for Zhuge Liang's efforts to turn the tide, maybe there would be no more magnificent history of the Three Kingdoms.

The same is true of the current situation.

Liu Bei had just finished the Battle of Guanzhong and the Battle of Jingzhou, and it was very reluctant to send troops to Jiangdong, but it was because Sun Quan's Chinese forces in the Battle of Yixian, the Battle of Hongkou and the Battle of Jingzhou were emptied, so he easily won it.

However, the foundation of the Northern Wei Dynasty was not lost, Chang'an was impregnable, and heavy troops were arranged along Henan and Huainan in the south, and troops were forcibly dispatched, just like a lion who had just finished fighting with the enemy, and then rushed thousands of miles to attack another tiger that had had been given a certain amount of time to rest, and the possibility of winning was too small.

"King, go back to Xiangyang first, gather all the ministers, and discuss together."

Shen Chen said.

"I see."

Liu Bei sighed and said, "Then Yun Chang will be stationed in Jiangdong first, and we will go back to Xiangyang." ”

After that, he waved his hand and dispersed the discussion.

The next day, Liu Bei took everyone back to Jingzhou.

When the group came, there were not many people, but when I went back, there were more faces.

For example, Zhuge Jin, Lu Xun, Gu Yong, Zhang Zhao and others all followed Liu Bei to Xiangyang.

According to the political practice of Liu Bei's group, or the political practice of the entire Han Dynasty, the "Three Mutual Laws" did not allow local scholars to become local officials.

Therefore, if the surrendered officials in Jiangdong, who originally belonged to Sun Quan, still want to continue to be officials, they will have to go to other places to serve as officials.

There will certainly be a series of personnel arrangements and political exchanges involved.

For example, the land and population of the Jiangdong family must be handed over to most of them before they can become officials, and they have to go to other places, and they cannot continue to stay in Jiangdong.

There are also Jiangdong clans who are newly surrendered, and their status is definitely far inferior to the Jingzhou faction and the Yizhou faction that followed Liu Bei earlier.

Therefore, as a family member of the Yangzhou faction, it is extremely painful now.

Not out?

Without political status, how to protect the rights and interests of the family?

When the policy is issued, the land and population will still have to be handed over, and the family will not even have an official.

Out of office.

Paying land to the population and being an official in a different place cannot protect the rights and interests of the family.

So this is also the reason why they desperately want to help Sun Quan defend against Liu Bei.

But alas, they failed.

Now we can only accept the arrangement of fate, after all, there are not no examples of resistance, but it is basically a dead end.

Liu Bei's political direction is destined to be supported by the low-level people in Yangzhou and the people of Shanyue.

Because the Jiangdong family fully supported Sun Quan, the family population was almost nil, and it was difficult to organize a force to resist.

And without the support of the bottom, they can't recruit soldiers and horses, so naturally they can't set off a wave of resistance.

Therefore, for the current Jiangdong family, there is basically only one way to choose - to go out.

At least it can barely guarantee a part of the family's interests, and the future is not hopeless.

Zhuge Jin, Lu Xun, Gu Yong, Zhang Zhao and others are all smart people, and it is impossible for them to choose to fight to the end, so they all choose to submit.

In the end, it is the one who surrenders first to gain the benefits first, which is better than nothing.

By the beginning of October of the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei went against the current and returned to Xiangyang, Jingzhou.

After that, he immediately ordered Zhuge Liang, Jia Xu, Fa Zheng, Pang Tong, Zheng Du, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, Mi Zhu, Liu Ba, Liao Li and others to come one after another.

Except for Xu Shu, who is currently guarding Hanzhong, Deng Zhi and Li Yan, who followed Zhang Feiding Liangzhou, and Sun Qian and Jian Yong, who died of illness long ago, almost all the officials of Liu Bei's group in Bashu came over and emptied the Jiangzhou administrative office.

It was not until November of the 25th year of Jian'an that the three princes and nine secretaries of Liu Bei's group, many senior ministers, servants, scholars, etc., had all arrived, and Liu Bei held a great court meeting to discuss this matter.

】

At this time, the news that Cao Pi had usurped the Han Dynasty in September had also spread to the south, and there were rumors that Liu Xie, the son of heaven, had been brutalized by Cao Pi.

On November 8, in the mansion of the former King of Chu in Xiangyang, the matter was hung with a white cloth again, and the main seat of the main hall in the backyard was arranged like a mourning hall, in which Liu Xie's spiritual seat was erected, and there was a coffin in the middle, and there was only one jade pendant in the coffin.

The jade pendant is something that Liu Bei carried with him, from when he was in Xuchang, Liu Xie personally gave it to him, Liu Bei regarded it as a treasure, and he has always carried it closely, but now I heard that after Liu Xie was killed by Cao Pi, because there was no body of Liu Xie, he buried this jade pendant and regarded it as a clothed mound.

Liu Bei wore filial piety clothes and led everyone to incense Liu Xie, and then held a meeting in the front courtyard hall to officially discuss the Northern Expedition.

At this moment, the ministers gathered.

In addition to Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and others, Taifu Xu Jing, Taichang Lai Gong, Guangluxun Huangzhu, Shaofu Zhang Song, Zongzheng Liu Yan, Tingwei Wang Mou, Taifu Zhou Lin, Dasi Nong Li Hui and others also attended.

There are also Xiang Lang, Xi Zhen, Yin Guan, Xi Zhu, Pan Jun, Pang Lin, Hao Pu and so on from the Jingzhou faction, plus a few Jiangdong factions, there are as many as 100 people.

It is also thanks to the fact that the Chu Wangfu built by Liu Biao was built according to the specifications of the palace, and the front courtyard hall is as big as the Deyang Hall of the Luoyang Palace, which can accommodate so many people, otherwise many courtiers may not even have a place to sit.

According to the level of status, Xu Jingmizhu and others are in the forefront, followed by Shen Chen, Zhuge Liang and others, and the important people and those who can speak are basically the Yuancong faction and the Jingzhou faction.

Even the Yizhou faction like Fazheng Zhang Song, who sought Yizhou for Liu Bei and made great contributions, was in the middle of the front, not in the front.

At this moment, the venue was silent, and everyone raised their heads to look at Liu Bei above.

Liu Bei sat on the main seat, looking down at everyone, his face was sad and sad, and sighed softly: "Cao Pi thief, murdering the Son of Heaven, usurping the Han Dynasty and standing on his own, the widow will fight with him endlessly, I want to send troops to the Northern Expedition this year, what do you think?" ”

"King, I'm afraid I'm too impatient to send troops this year."

Pang Tong hurriedly said: "Now that the land of Bashu has just recovered and recuperated, Jingzhou has also sent troops and food to destroy Jiangdong, and the people are tired and sick. ”

"Yes, my lord, it's better to think twice."

"This time, Jiangdong is just flat, and the money valley is expensive, so it should be slowed down."

"The king must not be reckless, forcibly sending troops will cause turmoil in the state capital."

The crowd also admonished one after another.

Liu Bei hesitated for a moment, thought for a while, and said, "Huainan, how about the widow only take Huainan?" ”

Pang Tong asked, "What does the king mean?" ”

"Huainan only has thousands of soldiers and horses from Cao Wei, Yun Chang is still in Jiangdong, this year Jiangdong recuperates for half a year, or can Yun Chang raise grain and grass in Jiangdong, go north from the water to capture Hefei?"

Liu Bei thought of a way.

He was also born in the army for many years, and in fact, he also understood that it was not wise to forcibly attack the north now.

But Cao Pi usurped the Han, if he didn't do something, what would the world think of him?

At the very least, they must seize Huainan to prove their position.

After two years of recuperation in the south, he may be able to officially send troops to the Northern Expedition and restore the Han Dynasty.

However, Zhuge Jin hurriedly got up and said: "The king can't, now the people's livelihood in Jiangdong is also withering, and the people are looking forward to the king's benevolent government, lenient taxes, and light forced labor, if the war resumes, I am afraid of losing the hearts of the people in Jiangdong." ”

"Huainan is only a few thousand Cao troops, can't it be captured?"

Liu Bei frowned.

Lu Xun said: "The king, although there are only thousands of Cao troops in Huainan, Cao Pi in Xuzhou, Henan to arrange heavy troops, once the war, within ten days can rush to help, and Hefei City, as soon as the reinforcements arrive, not March or May can be taken, if it becomes a protracted war, Jiangdong will be extremely difficult, and I hope the king will think twice." ”

"This ......"

Liu Bei's face was not very good-looking, he hesitated for a long time, looked at Zhuge Liang, who had not spoken, and said, "What does Kong Ming think?" ”

Zhuge Liang got up and said: "What the princes said is extremely true, it is indeed not appropriate to use troops immediately. ”

"Xiaoqing."

Liu Bei looked at Shen Chen with hopeful eyes again.

If there is a time when all the courtiers are opposed, then only Shen Chen's opinion may be able to convince everyone.

Because every time he makes a decision, he is right. Just as Shen Chen had overthrown Fa Zheng's strategy and finally sought the entire south for him.

However, Shen Chen did not support him in sending troops to the Northern Expedition as Liu Bei thought, but stood up and said, "King! ”

"Xiaoqing, can you attack Huainan?"

Liu Bei was desperate for an answer.

Shen Chen shook his head and said, "Chen thinks that the king should distinguish the priorities and make a decision before making a decision!" ”

"Prioritization?"

Liu Bei wondered, "Xiaoqing, please speak." ”

Shen Chen looked around and said, "Your Majesty, before we consider whether or not to send troops, we now have another problem to face, and this issue is more important than whether or not to send troops. ”

"What's the problem?"

Liu Bei asked.

Shen Chen raised his head and looked at him, looked at him seriously, and then said word by word: "Great King...... Dahan, dead! ”