Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 382: All is Well, Zhang Fei Conquers Shu
But after Liu Bei won the battle, he led his troops to Chang'an. At this time, with the death of the four great princes, no one in the world could resist Liu Bei's troops.

The outcome of this battle was obviously beyond everyone's expectations. Everyone thought that Liu, Cao and Yuan would be in a stalemate for a long time.

But no one could have imagined that in just two years, Liu Bei would wipe out most of the remaining princes and stabilize the situation in the world.

However, this incident was not unexpected in history, because the situation in the world should have been like this. No matter how the dynasty collapsed, most of the world would be unified within a dozen years. The Three Kingdoms was just an accident.

After Liu Bei's victory, Xiahou Dun sent Xun Yu as an envoy to present a letter of surrender and to welcome Liu Bei into the city. When Liu Bei came out of the camp, the people welcomed him at the gate with incense, flowers and candles.

After entering the court, he first paid homage to the emperor, then went to Cao Cao's mansion to burn incense and worship personally, and then went to the hall to meet the important officials of the court.

However, he saw that Xun Yu and other important officials were all there, only Guo Jia stayed at home. Seeing this, Liu Bei wanted to go and see him in person, but Qin Zhen said:
"Guo Fengxiao and I are close friends, but he is lazy by nature. After experiencing the changes, I am afraid he will not want to serve in the government, so I will let him go."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei simply gave up the idea of ​​asking Guo Jia to come out of retirement. To be honest, although Guo Jia was a genius, he now had both civil and military personnel under his command, and there was no vacant position for Guo Jia to use his talents.

Anyway, since Guo Jia strongly advocated surrender and would not seek refuge with others, letting him return home with this merit would be considered as doing the best for him.

As a result, Liu Bei no longer invited Guo Jia, but only hosted a banquet for everyone in the city. However, Qin Zhen took advantage of Liu Bei's banquet to quietly come to Guo Jia's mansion.

Guo Jia's mansion was quite cramped, unlike the wealthy and powerful houses of ordinary high-ranking officials. The front door was locked, and the back door was open.

A carriage stopped here, and several old servants were moving volumes of Huaishu onto the carriage. Qin Zhen saw this and stepped forward to ask:
"Excuse me, sir. Is this the residence of Mr. Guo? Where are you going to move all these books?"

The old servants were all very old. Seeing his luxurious clothes and extraordinary demeanor, they knew that he was of extraordinary status, and hurriedly bowed and responded:

"In reply to your words, since Liu Zhengdong has entered the city, Mr. Guo has resigned from his official position and wants to return to his hometown in Yingchuan."

"I wonder if you are an old friend of Mr. Guo? Mr. Guo is in the mansion now. I will go and inform him."

After saying this, he was about to return home, but Qin Zhen saw him and pulled him back, taking a set of Huaishu from the guard behind him and said:

"But there is no need to inform him. Just give him this book. If he asks who he is, just say Chun Ri He."

After saying this, he handed the Huai Letter to the old servant and left. Seeing that the Huai Letter was exquisite, the old servant did not dare to neglect it and hurried back to the mansion to hand it to Guo Jia.

At this time, Guo Jia was holding his child Guo Yi, and arranging with Chen the servants to move. He saw an old servant coming in and handing a book. Guo Jia saw only the three words "Dream of Red Mansions" written on the book.

After reading the book, he was shocked. He hurried forward to open it and asked who sent it. The old servant answered directly. Guo Jia took a closer look and shook his head:
"Good Chunrihe, just these twenty chapters, you don't want to give them to me in this life? What's the point of sending me a broken book?"

While thinking, he handed the book to his wife and hurried out of the house. When he reached the alley, he saw Qin Zhen about to get into the car.

Looking at the tall, elegantly dressed man, Guo Jia took a long breath and said loudly:

"Good Qin Zixuan, since you came to visit a friend, why did you leave a letter and leave, and why did you get off the car and be stingy to see him?"

Hearing this, Qin Zhen poked his head out and stared at Guo Jia for a long while before he grinned and said:

"I was afraid that Fengxiao would hate me and would beat me up if he saw me, so I didn't dare to see him. Now that I see Fengxiao hasn't taken the bamboo stick, I dare to stick my head out!"

Hearing his words, Guo Jia couldn't help but smile, and walked slowly forward until he reached the front of the carriage:
"I wanted to bring a bamboo stick, but this guy ran so fast that I couldn't catch up with him. I forgot to bring the stick. I'll go drink a couple of cups and beat him later. It won't hurt."

"Brother Guo, how dare I not follow your wishes? It's hard to walk, so get in the car, and I will go with you!"

Qin Zhen smiled and invited Guo Jia to get in the car, but Guo Jia did not move. Seeing his expression, Qin Zhen simply got out of the car.

When his personal guards saw this, they rushed forward and surrounded him. Guo Jia looked at him and then at Qin Zhen.

Seeing this, Qin Zhen waved his hand and asked everyone to leave. Only he and Guo Jia walked along the street, just like when they went to drink wine together.

However, although Chang'an was the capital at that time, there were few pedestrians on the street. After arriving at the tavern, the two sat opposite each other, looking at each other without saying a word.

After a long while, Guo Jia finally asked, "What kind of wine do you want to drink?" "Du Kang!" Qin Zhen replied and called the waiter at the tavern.

"Du Kang, Du Kang!" Guo Jia seemed to be lost in some memories for a moment: "If I remember correctly, Cao Gong also likes to drink Du Kang!"

"How to relieve worries? Only Du Kang!" Qin Zhen said, and when the wine was served, he filled Guo Jia's glass again: "Where are you going? Will you be able to return?"

Seeing this, Guo Jia did not reply, but drank the wine in one gulp, then said with a smile: "It is indeed a good wine."

Seeing that he didn't answer, Qin Zhen stopped asking questions and simply poured himself a cup and drank it, then asked:
"After this trip, do you want to retire to the mountains or travel around? Do you have enough money?"

Guo Jia listened but did not reply. He drank another cup and stood up and said, "It is not a good place to drink. Please change carriages and follow me."

Seeing that he seemed to have something to say, Qin Zhen simply let him go, changed carriages and went out of the city with him.

After walking like this for a long time, they suddenly arrived at a hill. Guo Jia ordered them to get off the car and walk up with Qin Zhen.

It was not until he came to a solitary grave that Guo Jia stopped, sat down in front of the grave, and motioned Qin Zhen to come forward.

"Do you know whose tomb this is?" As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhen came forward, poured wine on Cao Cao's tombstone, and said with a forced smile, "Mr. Cao, are you well?"

Having said this, he went forward to clear the weeds on Cao Cao's grave, while Guo Jia sat aside and watched quietly, drinking.

It was not until Qin Zhen had cleared the weeds and sat in front of him that Guo Jia turned his head and looked at the lonely grave and said quietly:

"In fact, I didn't want to get involved with you today, but Cao Gong once told me something and asked me to pass it on!"

"I am worried that the journey is long and I may not have another chance, so I decided to fulfill Cao Gong's last wish. My lord, I have brought him to you!"

As he said this, he looked at Qin Zhen and sighed, "Since you left, Lord Cao has always sighed with me, expressing regret."

"Before he died, he told me that he did not regret losing his good advisor, but he regretted losing this confidant. Do you understand?"

Qin Zhen listened to this and looked at the lonely grave in front of him. He remained silent for a long time before he said:

"Is this the place chosen by Cao Gong himself? Why is it so remote, with only this lonely grave here?"

Guo Jia listened and couldn't help but take a sip of wine and sighed: "Many tombs of dignitaries in the world have been robbed, only lonely tombs like this can be preserved."

"Choosing this place was Cao Gong's idea, and it is also my wish. When I return in the future, I can worship here without anyone disturbing me."

Qin Zhen nodded when he heard it, and sat down in front of Guo Jia, drinking from the wine, saying, "That's not bad!"

As he spoke, he looked at the grave beside him, looked at Guo Jia and smiled, "Does Fengxiao know what Cao Gong is up to?"

"It is unknown. Do you know?" Guo Jia looked at Qin Zhen in surprise. Then Qin Zhen raised his head and said:
"Cao Gong once told me that when he was promoted to the position of Commander of the Army, he wanted to make more contributions to the country by defeating the enemy and wanted to be granted the title of General of the Western Expedition." "Then he inscribed on the tomb passage, 'The Tomb of Cao Hou, the Former General of the Western Expedition of the Han Dynasty'. Feng Xiao, do you think Cao Gong's wish in this life has been fulfilled?"

Hearing this, Guo Jia could not help but frown. He was about to answer that it was as he wished, but then he felt that it was more than that. After thinking for a while, he asked back: "Then do you think Cao Gong will get what he wants in this life?"

"Most of the time, no. Eight out of ten things in life are not what you want. How can you possibly achieve what you want?"

Qin Zhen smiled faintly and said to Guo Jia: "I know that Fengxiao is leaving now and I am afraid that we may not see each other again in the future, so I don't want to persuade him any more."

"I only hope that in the future, if you go somewhere and have any feelings for me, you can write me a letter so that we won't lose contact. If you leave first, I will definitely go to offer my condolences!"

Hearing this, Guo Jia couldn't help but laugh again: "I also have this idea. If you die, I will come to offer condolences."

The pair of friends made fun of each other, then looked at each other, laughed, and started drinking again.

In the first month of the eighth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei entered Guanzhong. By the beginning of February, he had conquered the entire Xiliang. Thus, the pattern of the three families competing for hegemony was completely broken.

In mid-February, the emperor issued an edict to abdicate to Liu Bei, but Liu Bei refused. After much persuasion from the officials, Liu Bei ascended the throne.

Due to the insistence of Liu Ye and others, Liu Bei was not promoted to King of Huainan or King of Chu, but to King of Hanzhong.

However, this time, Liu Bei did not ascend to the throne with only two states, but he ascended to the throne with more than half of the land in the world.

The intention was that because Liu Bang was once the King of Hanzhong, Liu Ye and others were preparing to push Liu Bei to become emperor step by step.

Liu Bei refused repeatedly, but had to agree. In the third month of the spring of the eighth year of Jian'an, an altar was built in Mianyang, with a radius of nine miles and distributed in five directions, each with a flag and ceremonial guard.

All the ministers lined up in order. Qin Zhen and Liu Ye invited Xuande to ascend the altar. After presenting him with the crown, seal and ribbon, he sat facing south and was congratulated by civil and military officials on his title as King of Hanzhong.

Afterwards, Liu Bei conferred titles on his ministers, and based on the one province and eight ministries established by Qin Zhen, he increased it to three provinces and eight ministries.

His son Liu Jie was made the crown prince, Qin Zhen was appointed as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Zhang Zhao, Yuan Huan and Chen Qun were in charge of three provinces respectively, and Liu Ye was the military advisor, in charge of all important military and national affairs.

The rest, including Pang Tong, Fa Zheng, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Zang Ba and other civil and military officials, were all rewarded and given titles in turn.

At this point, Liu Bei had completely replaced the emperor in controlling administrative power. On paper, Xun Yu was still the Chancellor, but in reality, Qin Zhen was in charge of state affairs.

When the news reached Shu, Liu Zhang was shocked and hurriedly submitted a letter of congratulations. He never dared to mention the idea of ​​taking back Hanzhong again.

After Qin Zhen obtained administrative power, he continued to carry out drastic reforms, promoting education on the one hand and the military on the other.

In the ninth year of Jian'an, Qin Zhen submitted a memorial to send Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong to attack Liangzhou and reopen the Protectorate of the Western Regions, thus opening up the trade route to the Western Regions.

At the same time, the policy of equalizing the land tax was also forcibly implemented in their current territory. The people applauded and celebrated, and their hearts were attached.

As for October of the following year, the Han Dynasty welcomed a wave of newborns, and the number of births under Liu Bei's entire army exceeded eight million.

After Yuan Shao's death, his descendants split into three factions, dividing the four states of Jizhou, Youzhou, Bingzhou and Yanzhou, and constantly fighting among themselves.

Faced with this situation, Liu Bei's important officials submitted petitions one after another, requesting Liu Bei to launch a northern expedition. However, Qin Zhen said:
"Yuan Shao favors his sons and has not yet decided on a successor. Although he has Tian Feng and Zhang He to assist him, he will surely fight with Feng Ji, Guo Tu and others!"

"If our army attacks hastily, they will be afraid of our strength and will definitely unite. It is better to attack Shu first and conquer Liu Zhang."

"When the situation in the north changes and they start killing each other, we will head north and decide the outcome in one battle!"

Although his ministers advised him against it, Liu Bei gave up the idea of ​​an immediate northern expedition after hearing Qin Zhen's words. However, he hesitated when he thought of attacking Shu:

"Liu Zhang has assisted our army twice. Today, we have accomplished great things, but it is because of this man's power. If we attack him now, it may be an unjust act!"

"Now that the emperor is here, how can you say something unjust?" Qin Zhen smiled and said to Liu Bei, "Please ask the emperor to issue an edict and order him to come to the capital to succeed the position of Sikong!"

"If Liu Zhang agrees, Shu will be our lord, and we can take it, and he will also be rich and glorious. If he does not agree, he will have the intention of rebellion!"

"Although he is a member of the royal family, he is guilty of treason and cannot be pardoned. If we attack him again at that time, it would be a matter of justice to kill our relatives. How can we say that it is unrighteous?"

The reason why they serve the emperor is because they want the power to attack anyone they want. Otherwise, what is the point of having an emperor?

When Liu Bei heard this, he also understood Qin Zhen's intention, so he simply submitted a memorial to the emperor, recommending Liu Zhang as Marquis of Anping. Also, because Cao Cao had died of illness and the position of Sikong was vacant, he requested Liu Zhang to enter the court to serve as one of the Three Dukes.

Liu Xie had long been tamed by Cao Cao. Although Cao Cao was dead, all his loyal followers had been killed or wounded. Now, only Liu Bei's faction remained in the court.

He originally thought that if he simply abdicated, Liu Bei would accept it, but he didn't expect that Liu Bei would only accept the title of king. Naturally, his impression of Liu Bei improved a lot.

In addition, Liu Bei was not as strict on guard against him as Cao Cao was. When he saw that Liu Bei recommended Liu Zhang to be the Minister of Works, he immediately agreed to the request.

It was October of the tenth year of Jian'an, and when the news reached Shu, it was already the twelfth lunar month. When Liu Zhang heard that Liu Bei had recommended him to Sikong and asked him to come to the capital, he was naturally conflicted.

However, Zheng Du, an attendant, saw this and hurriedly advised: "Before, Huang Quan and Wang Lei urged the lord not to reinforce Liu Bei, but the lord did not believe them, which led to the current disaster."

"Now Liu Bei's move is full of evil intentions. How can you accept his orders? Now there is danger in Sichuan and Shu. Your life can be saved. If you enter the court in the future, I don't know who can save you!"

Hearing this, Liu Zhang frowned and said, "Liu Bei is very powerful now. If we don't agree, there may be a disaster of war in the future!"

Seeing this, Zheng Du gave Liu Zhang an idea, saying: "This is an imperial decree. We cannot openly resist. It is better to follow Zhang Lu's example."

"Pang Xi went north and pretended to rebel, blocking the road to the north. If the lord continues to shirk responsibility, the emperor will not be surprised."

Pang Xi was a good relative of Liu Zhang's and they had children related by marriage. Liu Zhang had always respected him, so when he heard this, he simply agreed.

He then sent Pang Xi north to serve as the governor of Ba County, entrusted him with important tasks, and asked him to privately raise troops. However, in March of the following year, he openly rebelled.

When Liu Zhang saw this, he sent a letter to the court in reply, which took half a year. During this period of time, a plague broke out in the north.

Liu Bei followed Qin Zhen's governance method and sent Zhang Ji to prevent the epidemic everywhere, but he was already exhausted. When he saw that Liu Zhang really refused to leave Shu, he was furious and wanted to raise an army to attack him.

However, Qin Zhen suggested, "Now that the plague is spreading everywhere, prevention and treatment should be the most important thing. Your Majesty should stay here to deter the villains."

"There are not many soldiers in Shu, so we can send Yide to attack it. With the help of Liu Ye, Fa Zheng, Pang Tong and others, Shu can be pacified in less than two years!"

Liu Bei followed his advice and appointed Zhang Fei as the commander and Zhang Liao as his deputy, and led an army of 80,000 towards Shu.

(End of this chapter)