Chapter 248: Three Refusal and Three Invitations to Liu Xuande

A talented young man from a poor family.

A young man whose parents died and was raised by his grandfather.

Hu Du's story is not complicated, but it is enough to make Li Shu care about him.

Moreover, in order to study, Hu Du and his grandfather rushed from Langzhong to Chengdu.

An old man and a young boy, they could neither do errands nor farm good land, and they lived on the money brought by Hu Du's grandfather from Langzhong.

But as Chengdu became more prosperous, the money was already a little tight.

So Li Shu often helped him and got closer to Hu Du.

But today, Hu Du seemed to be worried, and he didn't even laugh at Li Shu's poor excuse for giving him meat pies.

"Someone saw General Zhang at Wanli Bridge, and heard that he defeated Cao's army in Jingxiang."

To the east of Wanli Bridge is a newly built bridge this year, large and wide, with the name written by Lord Xuande himself, it is said that he hoped that the talents in Chengdu could start from this bridge, travel thousands of miles to the Han land, and travel all over China.

Therefore, whether entering or leaving Shu, many people are used to going there, even Zhang Fei and Pang Tong are no exception.

Hu Du looked yearning, young people always yearn for fame and fortune and get a title immediately.

Li Shu also looked happy:

"Daddy will be happy if he knows."

Looking at the girl's clean face, Hu Du suddenly felt a little worried and whispered:

"If Lord Xuande drives Cao away from Yanzhou, Li Shu, can you... go home?"

Li Shu tilted her head and thought about it, and chuckled:

"Do you want my dad to stay in Chengdu and not leave?"

Hu Du blinked, turned his head to concentrate on reading the book, but quietly felt his ears a little hot:

"I just asked casually..."

Then he forced a change of subject:

"Today we have Mr. Zhuge's class, I wonder what he will show us?"

Li Shu smiled and didn't ask any more questions, and cooperated with Hu Du to talk about the fun of the previous course.

Mr. Zhuge only had time to teach once every ten days, but each class was very interesting.

For example, he brought a large seesaw to the first class, but one side of the seesaw was long and the other side was short.

The class, which should have been serious, turned into a game of seesaw, and during the fun, Mr. Zhuge talked to them about the concepts of origin, mark, power, and weight in the Mojing.

In the second class, he brought a valuable tortoise. Mr. Zhuge first told the story of the tortoise sucking the bag to make the students curious.

Then he asked the students to wipe the tortoise with silk cloth in turn, and watch their hair being sucked by the tortoise.

The third class was simply moved to the night, with lit candles, paper with small holes poked in it, and inverted candle shadows, which also opened the students' eyes.

Sometimes Mr. Zhuge could explain these courses clearly, but most of them would frankly admit that they didn't understand them.

Mr. Zhuge just told them that learning is endless, and that they should respect the predecessors, but also make up for the shortcomings of the predecessors.

Some people just think such courses are fun, while some smart people vaguely see a broader world:

Classics are not the only learning.

However, soon, the students who were waiting for Mr. Zhuge to do something were regretfully informed:

Mr. Zhuge was not free today, and the course was changed to mathematics.

There was a sudden wailing in the school.

But Mr. Zhuge was destined not to hear their heartbroken voices.

In the Chengdu government office in front of the Little Imperial College, Sima Yi felt a little uncomfortable. He looked up at the various ambiguous eyes in the hall looking at him, and decided to take the initiative.

"Henei Sima, Sima Zhongda, meet the left general."

Liu Bei nodded slightly, pinched his beard, and felt a little embarrassed.

When Liu Bei first knew it was Sima Yi, he was also shocked, and immediately an idea came to his mind, but it was immediately dispersed by Liu Bei himself.

Liu Bei did not act like Cao Cao. Sima Yi was only in his early thirties and was far from Emperor Xuan of Jin.

But he certainly could not let him go. For a moment, Liu Bei was very entangled and habitually cast his eyes on Kong Ming.

But looking at Kong Ming's smiling eyes, Liu Bei suddenly realized that he was now the knife and Sima Yi was the fish. What was there to be entangled about?

Relaxing his mind, Liu Bei asked casually:

"What did Zhongda see along the way? How is Yizhou?"

Sima Yi half told the truth and half flattered:

"Yizhou is worthy of the reputation of the land of abundance. What I saw along the way was that the people were rich and loyal, and they dared to fight and die.

"And now the general has taken the place where Han was born, and defeated the Han thieves in Jingxiang, which is really what everyone expects. "

Listening to the future Emperor Xuan of Jin's good words, Liu Bei said that he could have more.

But then Sima Yi's words made Liu Bei's eyes widen:

"Although I serve Cao, I was forced by the enemy's weapons. I am in Yecheng, but my heart is in Xudu. "

"Now that I meet the general, I know that the Han Dynasty will not be extinguished and its ambitions will rise again. I am overjoyed and only plan for the revival of the Han Dynasty. I am willing to serve the general and let him drive me. ”

From Hanzhong to Chengdu, the difficult Shu Road made Sima Yi think more clearly.

Even if Liu Bei was like Liu Yan and Liu Zhang in Shu, who only ate, drank and had no ambition, it would take at least ten years for Prime Minister Cao to fight to Chengdu.

And even if he could escape when Zhang Fei was not paying attention, it would be difficult to escape back to Guanzhong, and there was a greater probability that he would be killed by tigers and leopards.

Since both retreat routes were unreliable, he might as well surrender openly and play a role as soon as possible to avoid such fear.

As long as he could get a position, no matter who won or lost between Liu Bei and Cao Cao, at least the Sima family would be invincible.

Sima Yi, who was lying on the ground, calculated the gains and losses clearly in his mind, but Cai Mao, who was also a prisoner and stood aside, gradually turned red.

Let him worship Liu Bei? He would rather go... No, then Liu Bei would have to say at least two soft words, right?

Liu Bei didn't care about Cai Mao, but he felt too caught off guard, so he tried his best to say:

"When Zhongda first arrived in Chengdu, it's better to rest and think about it before making a decision."

Sima Yi, who was lying on the ground, felt that the script was not going in the right direction, but he could only insist:

"Yi came to this point from Hanzhong and had a very clear idea. I am a Han minister and I only want to serve as a general and uphold the reputation of the Sima family."

The reputation of the Sima family... Liu Bei felt a chill on his neck and refused:

"I know Zhongda's heart well, but I am also deeply afraid that the world will criticize Zhongda's name. I might as well stay as a guest for three to five years and use my full name before returning to serve the Han Dynasty."

Three to five years? I'm afraid that you will have finished dealing with Cao Cao by then. Sima Yi will invite you again and use your head to seize the ground:

"Everyone in the world praises generals for their benevolence, but why can't they tolerate Han ministers?"

Liu Bei had no choice but to help Sima Yi up:

"Zhongda's heart can be seen from the passing of time. I hope Zhongda will devote all his efforts to rejuvenating the Han Dynasty."

Sima Yi also held Liu Bei's hand. For a moment, he felt that it was really not easy. He had agreed that Uncle Liu would be looking for talented people? Why are you still playing with yourself and refusing three invitations?

But why are those ministers suppressing smiles on their faces?

After a while, Sima Yi and Cai Mao were taken away by Zhang Song to find a place for them.

For a moment, everyone in the hall could no longer restrain themselves and laughed loudly, leaving Liu Bei with a look of helplessness.

This Sima Yi is hard to believe in his big responsibilities, but his talents are limited in small responsibilities. Moreover, his family is prosperous. He is sent to the front line in an unpredictable and cunning manner. He always feels like there is a cold wind on his neck when running the rear. We really need to consult Kong Ming's opinion on how to deal with it.

This matter has been revealed for the time being. Liu Bei had already known the news of Jingxiang's victory before, but at this time, looking at the detailed battle report written by his second brother and Xu Shu, he was still filled with emotion:

"How lucky I am to be a scholar, and to be a noble man again."

"What Jing and Xiang gained was due to the bravery of Yun Changyi and Han Sheng, the planning of two military advisors, and the engineering skills of Kong Ming and Mrs. Huang."

"What's more, Gongyan is in charge of the rear. It's the righteous deed of Hou Yin of Wancheng."

Kong Ming, on the other hand, looked at the part that mentioned Lu Su and sighed for this old friend.

There are talents and virtues, but it is still difficult for Sun Hou to win Hefei by relying on these alone.

Pang Tong was the most direct, pointing to the contents of the memorial and saying:

"Lu Su and Sun Quan attacked Hefei together, but Lu Meng was sent back to Jiangxia to act as the governor of Jiangxia."

"The war is over and Lu Su has not returned. I am afraid that things will change in the east of the Yangtze River, and Sun Quan will have different intentions."

Although there is a great victory now, Kong Ming and Pang Tong understand better that for Cao Cao, the fundamentals have not been harmed.

There are thirteen states in the world, and Cao Cao still completely controls Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou, and also controls parts of Yangzhou and Sizhou.

What was jokingly called nine mines to hit one mine in later generations has now become, at best, eight mines to hit two mines.

And if Jiang Dong falls to Cao Cao, the situation will be...

Zhang Fei didn’t care at all:

"Why are you worried about these things? Since my uncle Shiwan can backstab us, he can also backstab Cao Cao if the time is right."

Immediately, Zhang Fei and Pang Tong, who looked tired, were rushed to rest by Liu Bei.

As for the rewards and post-war arrangements, we still need to discuss them in detail with Kong Ming.

…

Tang Changan.

Wang Xuance, who was riding a horse, looked up at the tall city gate. He felt that it was different from when he left, but he couldn't tell specifically.

He was originally from Luoyang, and after becoming an official, he had no connections to move around. The imperial court transferred him to Rongzhou with a transfer order.

Rongzhou was located in Lingnan and was plagued with malaria, so his family members advised him not to go. However, Wang Xuance took up the post without hesitation and was determined to make some achievements.

But after less than a year, he received an order from the court to return to Beijing.

For a moment, Wang Xuance felt that the officials were simply playing tricks on him. From Chang'an to Luoyang and then to Rongzhou, a round trip of nearly ten thousand miles, almost half a year was wasted.

Because of this, Wang Xuance could clearly feel that the Tang Dynasty was indeed different from two years ago.

Specifically, the people seem to be... more confident?

But it's no wonder, after all, the Turks were defeated and Jieli was captured just last year, and notices praising their achievements were posted all over Lingnan.

Although the people in the south don't know who Jie Li is, they also know that the Tang Dynasty has defeated a powerful enemy.

Another reason may be changes in life. The establishment of medical institutions in various states. Although it is far from being able to cure diseases with medicine, ordinary people at least have something to rely on when they get sick.

The addition of disaster relief warehouses and the exemption of some miscellaneous taxes can give the people a little breather.

Wang Xuance was an official, and he knew better. The central government sent to all states to inquire about maritime affairs, Hexi, Tubo and other matters, as well as to relax the conditions for the imperial examination.

He could feel that the current Holy Emperor was far from being satisfied by a Jieli Khan.

But only half a day after returning to Chang'an, Wang Xuance's sigh turned into confusion:

"Your Majesty wants to see me?"