Zhang Wen could enjoy such a great reputation in Jiangdong and be favored by Zhang Zhao, so he was certainly not someone who wasted his fame in vain.

His answer to Liu Bei, in addition to reflecting his wit and eloquence, also secretly explained a truth.

That is, since Sun Quan is a wise, benevolent, and loyal minister, naturally his captain cannot be replaced casually.

And if Sun Quan is not removed from the post of Taiwei, then the sharp edge in Liu Bei's words will be invisibly resolved by Zhang Wen.

It's just that Liu Bei is a self-made emperor, so it's impossible for him to be disturbed by Zhang Wen's words.

After laughing, Liu Bei looked at Zhang Wen with less gentle eyes.

Liu Bei leaned back on the throne, then looked at Zhang Wen and asked word by word:

"Wu Kezheng?"

When Liu Bei said these four words, pride flowed from the faces of all the Han ministers present.

On the other hand, the expressions on the faces of Zhang Wen and other envoys from Jiangdong, as well as Sun Deng, Zhuge Ke and others present here all changed.

Since Zhang Wen is good at defusing enemy attacks secretly, Liu Bei will directly try to defeat him.

Sun Quan is now a Han official in name only, while Liu Bei is the Han emperor.

If you use the emperor to conquer your ministers, then the minister must be wrong. Do you need to find any more reasons?

Of course it's not needed.

Zhang Wen looked at Liu Bei with fearful eyes.

He originally thought that after he secretly defused Liu Bei's intentions and made Liu Bei unable to find a reason to send troops in name, Liu Bei would give up the idea of ​​sending troops to Jiangdong.

This is also an unwritten political rule that meat eaters have played and followed for two hundred years in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

But what he never expected was that Liu Bei was not like any emperor in the Eastern Han Dynasty who followed the rules of the game.

On the contrary, as Zhang Wen looked at Liu Bei now, four words slowly emerged from his heart:

The style of the great ancestor.

What is the style of Gaozu?

Looking for a name is just polite, I can turn the table over to you at any time.

This kind of practice was not only seen by Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, but also by almost every wise king in the Western Han Dynasty.

The emperors of the Western Han Dynasty were the ones who made the rules of the game, and they never liked to abide by the rules of the game.

When this thought emerged in his mind, Zhang Wen gradually lowered his head under Liu Bei's playful eyes.

Like Jiang Ji, his awe for Liu Bei is slowly deepening.

Zhang Wen, who was entrusted with an important task by Sun Quan, even though his awe for Liu Bei was slowly deepening in his heart, he knew that he could never back down now.

Because his words and deeds represent Sun Quan's words and deeds.

If he had not handled Liu Bei's answer properly, he would probably have become the eternal sinner of the Jiangdong Sun family.

Under this mentality, Zhang Wenqiang held on to the little courage he had left in his heart.

He raised his hands to Liu Bei and replied:

"Huanghan, the upper country. Jiangdong, the small country."

"Higher countries have troops to conquer, while small countries have strong defenses."

Since Liu Bei has clearly revealed his intention to conquer Jiangdong, Zhang Wen will naturally not say any more official words.

Although Zhang Wen was not very confident when he made this answer, he still managed to finish the sentence.

It's just that when his words fell into the ears of all the Han ministers present, they seemed a bit ridiculous for no reason.

At that time, Jiangdong's national power was on par with the Han Dynasty, and even surpassed it in some aspects. Unexpectedly, Jiangdong has fallen to this level today.

After Liu Bei listened to Zhang Wen's answer, his face showed some scrutiny.

After thinking for a while, Liu Bei finally asked Zhang Wen: "How many people in Jiangdong are like Zhang Qing?"

Seeing Liu Bei suddenly asking him this question, Zhang Wen was confused for a moment.

Didn't you still want to attack Jiangdong just now? Why does Liu Bei care about this now?

However, Zhang Wen, as an envoy, still had the courage to answer: "There are eighty or ninety smart people, as compared to ministers, and the capacity of the carriages is countless."

When Zhang Wen's words spread across the high platform, not to mention the faces of all the Han officials showed sneer.

Even the hostages from Jiangdong, such as Sun Deng and Chen Biao, also showed some embarrassment on their faces.

Zhang Wen's words naturally contained some boasting, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

When Liu Bei intended to attack Jiangdong, as an envoy, he could only answer in this way.

Zhang Wen knew that his words could not hide Liu Bei's experience.

But something unexpected happened to Zhang Wen again. After listening to Zhang Wen's words, Liu Bei didn't have the sneer on his face like other Han officials.

On the contrary, Liu Bei's eyes looked a little heavy.

But these heavy looks were well concealed by Liu Bei.

After listening to Zhang Wen's answer, Liu Bei seemed a little tired.

Without a clear response to Zhang Wen, he ordered those people from Jiangdong who were anxious to retreat first.

Including Sun Deng and others.

After all those people left, only Liu Bei's confidants and Han ministers were left on the high platform.

At this time, Deng Zhi, one of the Han officials, seemed to realize that Liu Bei was worried, so he took the initiative to come out and pay homage to Liu Bei and then asked:

"Your Majesty really has the intention to conquer Jiangdong."

When Liu Bei saw that it was Deng Zhi, whom he trusted, who came out to ask this question, he couldn't help but nodded and replied:

"Of the three in the world, Jiangdong is currently the weakest. I just wanted to unify the south first."

After Liu Bei nodded, many of the Han officials on the high platform showed surprise on their faces.

From the day Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor, he designated the "Northern Expedition against Wei" as the greatest national policy of the modern Han Dynasty. It can be said that this national policy is the foundation of the modern Han Dynasty.

In this view, Liu Bei's question to Zhang Wen just now, "Wu can be conquered?" seemed to the ministers to be just Liu Bei's words to scare Zhang Wen.

But what I didn't expect was that just now Liu Bei really had the intention to conquer Jiangdong.

Liu Bei has this idea, but it does not mean that he is a monarch who changes orders every day.

He just wanted to kill one enemy for future kings while he could still fight.

Seeing that Liu Bei confirmed his judgment, Deng Zhi did not continue to ask questions.

Because if Liu Bei really decided to change the national policy to prioritize the south and the north, then it would be better for Liu Bei not to speak out rashly in his current capacity without clearly consulting his subordinates about this matter.

Among the entire Han Dynasty, there are only three or five people who can take the initiative to discuss national policy matters with Liu Bei.

However, even if Deng Zhi did not say anything at this time, after Liu Bei confirmed Deng Zhi's guess, all the Han ministers present still turned their attention to Liu Bei.

Many of the Han officials present did not have strategic vision, and all they could do was obey Liu Bei's orders.

As if aware of the questioning looks cast by the Han officials, Liu Bei also looked at the Han officials.

Liu Bei knew that his ministers were waiting for his inner decision.

Facing the waiting of all the Han officials, Liu Bei finally just shook his head and said: "What a pity, there are many talented people in Jiangdong."

Liu Bei's words were full of regret.

The meaning in his words also means that he gave up the idea of ​​changing national policy.

After receiving this political signal, all the Han ministers had various thoughts in their minds.

Like Liu Bei, some were regretful, some were relieved, and some were disappointed.

As for why Liu Bei gave up the idea of ​​attacking Jiangdong, the Han officials also learned the answer from Liu Bei's words.

On the surface, it seems that Liu Bei gave up the idea of ​​attacking because of Zhang Wen's performance and felt that Jiangdong still had talents.

This is undeniably part of the reason, but there is a more important reason.

A talented person is also a distinguished person and a famous person.

Most of today's celebrities come from aristocratic families.

Zhang Wen was born into one of the great families in Jiangdong.

Even with his current reputation in Jiangdong, his attitude towards the Sun family in Jiangdong can be understood as the current attitude of the major families in Jiangdong towards the Sun family.

Just now, Liu Bei had already made plans.

Moreover, the Han Dynasty's military power is currently at its peak. Under such circumstances, Liu Bei's words just now should have a strong deterrent effect on Zhang Wen.

But despite this situation, it is not difficult to see from Zhang Wen's words that he still supports Sun Quan's rule in Jiangdong.

Liu Bei is an emperor. When he sees people and things, he must not just see one person or one thing.

Zhang Wen's attitude is representative of the attitudes of most Jiangdong families.
To be continued...