Although it was already late at night, the ministers seemed to have expected that Liu Bei would summon them, so under Liu Bei's summons, the ministers quickly gathered in Liu Bei's bedroom.

Because it was not a formal court meeting, after the ministers arrived, Liu Bei asked them to find a place to sit down in the palace.

Liu Bei summoned not many ministers tonight, but they were all people worthy of his trust in terms of loyalty or intelligence.

Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, Shangshu Ling Liu Ba, Shizhong Huang Quan, Yizhou Zhongzhong engaged Yang Hong, etc.

After these ministers sat down, Liu Bei asked:

"Now that I am practicing Zuo, the news will reach Jiangdong in less than half a month."

"What do you think, how can I reward Sun Quan alone?"

When Liu Bei asked his question, he looked at the ministers present, hoping that they could give a solution.

After several ministers learned about Liu Bei's question, they began to think about it.

When Liu Bei was the king of Hanzhong, although there was a gap in status between him and Sun Quan, they were essentially Han ministers.

Therefore, after the Battle of Public Security, Liu Bei and Sun Quan became allies again, which was justified both emotionally and rationally.

Sun Quan would not feel too aggrieved.

But now Liu Bei Jianzuo proclaimed himself emperor and became the new emperor of the Han family.

The Son of Heaven is the supreme being in this world, and Sun Quan's original title was no more than a Cavalry General. In name, Liu Bei is now Sun Quan's king. With such a gap in status, the two parties are not suitable to become allies.

At least on the surface, the relationship between the two parties cannot exist in the form of allies.

This is a matter of righteousness and honor and cannot be taken lightly.

But in reality, Sun Quan was a feudal lord in a separate state, and he had his own way of governing in Jiangdong. Therefore, once he heard the news that Liu Bei had proclaimed himself emperor, he was definitely dissatisfied.

An important reason why Sun Quan launched a sneak attack on Jingzhou was that Liu Bei became the King of Hanzhong and was a step above Sun Quan in terms of status, which made him dissatisfied.

Now Liu Bei's status is more than just a step above him.

And according to the results of Liu Bei's rewarded generals today, all Sun Quan's original Han Hussars generals were given to Ma Chao by Liu Bei.

According to Sun Quan's character, it's strange that he felt happy.

The current situation facing the Han Dynasty is that there is a sworn enemy in the north who is against the Wei Dynasty, and in the east there is a "Hanchen" Sun Quan whose attitude may change.

Among them, Ni Wei was the enemy of the Han Dynasty and his family, so there was naturally no room for change in the relationship between the two.

And once the Han Dynasty resumes the Han Dynasty, the first thing to do in the future will definitely be the Northern Expedition.

Only by making the Northern Expedition against the Wei Dynasty the national policy of the present Han Dynasty can the legitimacy of the present Han Dynasty be further strengthened.

So Liu Bei asked the ministers how he should reward Sun Quan.

Liu Bei's questions fully reflected his attitude towards Sun Quan, which was to give priority to appeasing him.

Historically, the first thing Liu Bei did after becoming emperor was to lead his army to the east. This was because Guan Yu's death made him lose his mind, and no matter how many ministers tried to persuade him, it was useless.

Now Guan Yu is alive and well, and Jingzhou has not been lost, so Liu Bei's overall view still exists.

Liu Bei's views are also the views of most ministers in the Han Dynasty.

After Liu Bei asked, Yang Hong, who was in charge of the governance of Yizhou, handed Liu Bei his hand and said:

"In my opinion, it is better to confer Sun Quan the title of Grand Sima."

When Yang Hong's suggestion was made public, there were not many looks of agreement on the faces of the ministers present.

This is because the official position of Da Sima is too high.

In the pre-Qin period, there was the title of military attache named Da Sima.

For example, the great Sima Rongguang of the Yellow Emperor, the great Sima Jiang Ziya of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the great Sima Tian Rangju of the Qi State.

It can be seen from this that as early as the pre-Qin period, Da Sima was a title for a very high-ranking military officer.

After Qin Shihuang unified the world, he established Taiwei in the central government instead of Chief Sima.

The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and in the early Western Han Dynasty, Taiwei was in charge of the post of Chief Sima in the central court.

Later Xiaowu Emperor Liu Che dismissed the Taiwei in the second year of Jianyuan, and in the fourth year of Yuanshou he appointed the Great Sima, with General Wei Qing, and General Huo Qubing having many meritorious deeds, so they were given the title of Great Sima, with the title of General.

But at that time, the Grand Sima was only promoted to an official position, and there was no specific seal, ribbon, or salary.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaozhao, Huo Guang came to power in the name of "Da Sima, the General in Charge of the Secretariat", creating a situation in which "political affairs were decided by the General Guang".

After Emperor Xiaocheng came to the throne, Wang Feng assisted the Grand Sima General. "All political affairs, big and small, came from Feng, and the emperor never raised his hand."

From that time on, all ministers who were promoted to the rank of Grand Sima naturally had the power to assist the government, and sometimes even had the same power as the emperor.

After the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the official system of the Eastern Han Dynasty basically followed the official system of the late Western Han Dynasty. The Grand Sima was the head of the three princes and was in charge of the military.

Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu made General Wu Han the Great Sima and Du Mao the Great General.

It is obvious that at this time, Grand Sima is no longer an official title, but a specific official position with power above that of the Grand General.

Later, Liu Xiu felt that the power of Da Sima was too heavy and could even threaten the power of the emperor, so after Wu Han's death, Liu Xiu changed Da Sima to Taiwei.

By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Dukes had become a virtual position. In addition to the Three Dukes, there was another Grand Sima. The rank of the Grand Sima was above the Three Dukes, Taifu, and General.

If the general is the pinnacle of human ministers, then the dignity and authority of the great Sima have even transcended the category of human ministers and can be compared with the emperor.

For example, the former Grand Sima Liu Yu.

After Liu Yu became the Grand Sima, Yuan Shao even thought about making Liu Yu the new emperor, which shows the status of the Grand Sima in the hearts of the Han Dynasty subjects.

The current emperor Liu Bei is also called Da Sima when he is called the King of Hanzhong. This shows that the status of Da Sima is equal to that of a king.

Compared with the great general, in addition to the difference in status, there is also a big difference in power between the great Sima and the great general.

The general is the pinnacle of military attache, but most of his military power is to control the central army.

If the general is out of town, then the emperor's specific appointment is required for the general's authority to command troops.

For example, Dou Xian, the great general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Guan Yu, the great general of the modern Han Dynasty. Liu Bei specifically stated in the edict that he was the commander-in-chief of all the military affairs in the East.

But the Grand Sima is different. Once a minister becomes the Grand Sima, he can nominally mobilize all the military power in the country.

For the Grand Sima, things like running a government and managing affairs and maintaining integrity are all secondary powers.

People who have served as Chief Sima since the Han Dynasty, let alone Wei Huo, when Huo Guang and Wang Mang served as Chief Sima, they could directly depose and establish the emperor!

In fact, Yang Hong suggested that Liu Bei canonize Sun Quan as Grand Sima, which he thought was the best solution under the current situation.

Rewarding is based on three aspects: official position, title, and actual authority.

Sun Quan was actually a feudal lord in Jiangdong, and his actual authority did not require rewards at all.

Before that, Sun Quan's official position was General of Hussars and Marquis of Nanchang.

Therefore, if Liu Bei wanted to reward Sun Quan, he could only focus on these two aspects.

And since it is a reward, it must be to promote Sun Quan's official position.

According to the military system of the Han Dynasty, from the hussar general to the general, there are the generals and the generals.

As for Sun Quan's title of Marquis of Nanchang, it is already the title of County Marquis, and the titles above the County Marquis are Duke and King.

According to the white horse oath sworn by Emperor Taizu of the Han Dynasty, it was impossible to grant the title of king to Sun Quan.

As for the Duke, it would have been a good compromise.

However, with the two role models of Wang Mang and Cao Cao, the duke has become the standard choice for rebellious ministers, so the duke cannot be granted to Sun Quan.

Under such circumstances, Yang Hong believed that only by granting the title of Grand Sima to Sun Quan could he be satisfied and appease him.

Just because of the particularity and importance of the post of Grand Sima, it is impossible for Zhuge Liang to agree to let Sun Quan become the first Grand Sima of the modern Han Dynasty.

Apart from anything else, if Guan Yu knew that Sun Quan had become Grand Sima, he would definitely be the first to express his dissatisfaction.

After Yang Hong's advice, Zhuge Liang immediately paid his respects and said: "Sun Quan is originally a relative of a foreigner. If he is granted the title of Grand Sima, who can nominally control him in the future?"

Zhuge Liang's words hit the nail on the head and directly made it impossible for Sun Quan to become the Great Sima.

Although Sun Quan's sister, Mrs. Sun, has passed away, she was once Liu Bei's official wife after all.

According to the tradition of the Han Dynasty, the main criterion for judging whether a person is a relative is whether there is a woman in the family who has been the emperor's wife.

Even if the emperor's wife has died or left no heirs to become the new emperor, the woman's status as a relative of the family will not change.

For example, Liang Ji, the great general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, or the current Mi clan of the East China Sea.

Although Mrs. Mi is no longer here, in the minds of the ministers, the Donghai Mi family is still a real family of relatives.

The status of maternal relatives originally had special significance in the politics of the Han Dynasty.

If Sun Quan is allowed to be granted the title of Grand Sima again as a relative, as Zhuge Liang said, it would be better if Liu Bei is still alive. If Liu Bei is gone in the future, then Sun Quan will be the first auxiliary minister in name.

Coupled with the fact that he is actually a feudal lord on one side, the newly established Han Dynasty may trigger a huge civil strife.

Now Liu Bei is no longer the King of Hanzhong. It would be okay if Liu Bei used to be the King of Hanzhong and presented Sun Quan as the Grand Sima.

Anyway, the legitimacy of the above table is open to question.

But now Liu Bei is the founding king of the modern Han Dynasty, and every edict he issues has a sacred character in the modern Han Dynasty.

So to nip things in the bud, Zhuge Liang would not agree with the ambitious Sun Quan to become the first chief minister of the Han Dynasty.
To be continued...