Not long after Huang Yuangang left, he came back. He told Qin Liang that the guest Cao Shangshu Zhuge Dan had come to see him, bringing his grandson Zhuge Song from Wu.
Previously, Huang Yuan was discussing matters in the back room of the west hall. When he returned to the department, he learned from his assistants that Zhuge Dan had sent someone to ask if he could see the king today. I guess Zhuge Dan also knew that Qin Liang had given the sheep emblem yesterday.
It’s about Mrs. Yu.
Qin Liang was also in charge of the imperial court, and it was easy for ministers at the ministerial level to see him. So Qin Liang asked the visitor to order Huang Yuan to receive him, and brought Gong Xiu in to meet him.
Several people arrived in the west hall and saw the ceremony. Qin Liang listened to Zhuge Song's account of what happened in the Kingdom of Wu. The secret envoy Zhang Jin sent back a letter, in which he briefly described the situation, but Zhuge Song's oral description was more detailed.
Qin Liang never thought before that he would come back to see Zhuge Song less than a month after they were separated.
As Zhuge Song talked, his mood gradually collapsed, crying and scolding. Gongxiu just sighed and reminded: "Zijing should pay attention to etiquette in front of the king."
Qin Liang didn't take it seriously: "It doesn't matter, I understand Zijing's mood."
Zhuge Song wiped away his tears, looked up to the sky and sighed, and gritted his teeth and said: "Our Zhuge family is loyal to the state of Wu. We pacified Shanyue, reclaimed land and trained troops, and fought bloody battles for the court in Huainan. My father worked hard for the country, and those people will
It’s such a great way to repay our family!”
Qin Liang said: "Although I and Zhuge Yuanxun are their own masters and are enemies of each other on the battlefield, I don't want to hear that such a thing happened. I am very sorry."
He was not completely telling the truth, but he was actually telling the truth. At least he and Zhuge Ke could still negotiate and trade Sima Shi back, but Zhuge Ke ended up with Zhuge Ke.
Ge Ke was killed so quickly, and the good things we talked about were all in vain. How can we not feel regretful?
"Beasts!" Zhuge Song cursed again, then bowed down and choked with sobs, "Please, Your Majesty, attack Jianye, kill those beasts like Sun Jun, and avenge your family. I am willing to work as an ox or a horse for Your Majesty, and my liver and brain will be wiped out."
Don’t hesitate to repay the kindness of your Majesty!”
Qin Liang did not respond to him. Although the Wei State now has an overwhelming advantage over the Wu State, the war to destroy the country is still a complicated, huge and risky matter. Otherwise, the Wu State would only have one big river. How could it maintain it?
Decades? Zhuge Song is not like Qin Liang. How could Qin Liang decide on military and state affairs just to avenge him?
At this moment when public opinion was fermenting, Qin Liang had no intention of conquering Wu!
What's more, from the current point of view, it seems that refusing to attack Wu later has a better chance of winning than taking advantage of the civil strife in Wu State. Because at the beginning of this year, Qin Liang came up with a new method for Ma Jun, trying to use wrought iron to wrap the fire blunderbuss.
, and wrought iron can be made using the Han Dynasty fried steel method, and Ma Jun actually made a wrought iron pipe. However, it still needs improvement and testing, and it will take time to reach mass production. If the war is delayed, the power of the firearms may be reduced.
Bigger!
As expected, there was no need for Qin Liang to speak. As a relative of Zhuge Song, Gongxiu also advised: "Such a major matter must be considered in the long run. Zijing will settle down in Luoyang first and wait."
Qin Liang also said: "Sooner or later, the Wei Kingdom will march south. If you contribute to the Wei army at that time, you will be avenging your own family."
Zhuge Song hurriedly clasped his fists and said: "As long as I can kill Sun Jun, I am willing to serve as the king's vanguard and do the work of dogs and horses!"
Qin Liang suddenly felt something strange. It took him a moment to realize that Zhuge Song
When he first came to Wei, it was best for him to join his established relative Zhuge Dan, but he expressed his willingness to serve in front of Qin Liang one after another. Could it be that he was worried that Qin Liang wanted to use him as a bargaining chip to continue trading with Sun Jun?
Thinking of this, Qin Liang didn't say much and just asked: "You also have a brother named Zhuge Jian. I heard that he escaped from Jianye at that time. Is there any news?"
Zhuge Song shook his head and said: "Back to your Majesty, there has been no news so far."
Gongxiu sighed: "There is a large area of uninhabited wasteland in the north of the Yangtze River, and there is no Wei army stationed there. If the king has not received the report, I am afraid that he has not been able to escape the pursuit of the Wu army, and the odds are against him."
After hearing this, Zhuge Song burst into tears again. It was indeed a very sad thing for such a big family to have the whole family die, and he was the only one left.
Qin Liang also sighed and glanced at Gongxiu again. The Langya Zhuge clan had all reached high-ranking officials in the three kingdoms of Wei, Wu, and Shu, but now almost only Gongxiu's lineage was safe and sound (Zhuge Liang's son died in Mianzhu Pass, because He refused to surrender and was killed by Deng Ai's troops), and Gong Xiu was also full of desire for survival. He had placed bets with the Sima family, Cao Shuang family, and Wang Ling family before. Historically, the family has not been able to avoid the end of annihilation. Thinking of this, even Qin Liang was confused. I wonder if there was an ancestral grave in the Zhuge family that was not buried properly?
However, it can be seen from Zhuge Dan's experience that what Jia Chong said before actually makes sense. Especially the nobles who are already in high positions should not want to see a situation where several forces are fighting for power. After all, betting is risky.
Qin Liang then said: "This matter needs to be discussed by the imperial court. Your uncle is in Shangshu Province and he is also a person who often visits the Prime Minister's Mansion. He will definitely know when the southern expedition will take place. Please show your condolences and obey the change first.
Zhuge Yuanxun is in mourning."
When Zhuge Dan heard the words of a person who often walked around the Prime Minister's Mansion, he bowed slightly and seemed to have a slight sense of relief in his eyes.
The two men then bowed their heads to Qin Liang and said their salutes. Qin Liang escorted them to the door of the west hall and paced slowly back and forth on the platform for a while.
The trees and flowers in the entire courtyard have grown into lush foliage, giving a scene of lush vegetation. Summer has not yet arrived, but it looks like summer. The most similar season between the north and the south is probably summer. Just looking at the scenery, there is almost no difference.
At this moment, Shu Zuo came again with the eunuch Zhang Huan. The two walked to the corridor and looked up to see Qin Liang who was still on the platform outside the attic, so they quickened their pace.
Zhang Huan was the visitor of Da Changqiu, and he usually came here to tell the Queen Mother Guo. After the two of them greeted each other, Qin Liang took Zhang Huan and walked a few steps west along the platform base. Zhang Huan started talking about Queen Mother Guo. The incident: "The local county governor discovered Xiang Rui and wrote to the court. This matter should be issued by an edict and announced to the world. Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother would like to ask the king's opinion on whether to issue an edict and what to say about Xiang Rui."
What Empress Dowager Guo means is right. The auspicious memorial should not be suppressed. But if an edict is issued and the auspiciousness is blatantly mentioned on the head of the Prime Minister, Qin Liang will look a bit ugly, as if he forced Empress Dowager Guo to issue such an edict. . Modesty is not necessarily a good character, but it is best to pretend to be modest when making public.
However, even Empress Dowager Guo had to discuss this matter with Qin Liang. It seems that a lot of people are paying attention. If it is announced to the world, public opinion will spread!
This kind of auspiciousness that is not artificially created is more accidental and not selective at all.
Qin Liang was also a little helpless about the timing.
"In this way..." Qin Liang raised his hand and made a gesture, thought for a while and said, "Sun Zhong, the leader of the Wu Kingdom, passed away. There was internal fighting within Jian, and Zhuge Ke and other families were all wiped out. How should the court respond to this matter? Your Highness can give an order. The ministers will gather in the court hall for discussion. When the time comes, Your Highness will go down to close the door. I will go to the audience and discuss this matter with Your Highness face to face."
Zhang Huan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands and said, "This is how I replied to the Queen Mother."
Qin Liang said again: "Zhuge Ke's son fled to Luoyang. Before the meeting, I asked Zhuge Gongxiu to take him with him and tell the story of what happened in the establishment of the state of Wu in the court. After Zhuge Ke had finished speaking and left, the ministers would gather for another meeting. Learn more about the situation in Wu at this time."
Zhang Huan bowed and said: "Here."
When Zhuge Song mentioned what happened to his family, everyone was filled with hatred and sadness, and burst into tears. It was so miserable!
Qin Liang has personally experienced his emotional atmosphere, and wants to share it with the court ministers and noble families, so that everyone can feel how miserable it is to continue fighting to the death! If everyone doesn't want to experience that kind of thing again, don't Think about making trouble again.
As for the outcome of the meeting, Qin Liang didn't care. Because the files of the meeting were only used as a reference for decision-making, and the person who made the final decision was still the emperor in name.
Zhang Huan then said goodbye and hurried back to the palace to resume his duties.
...At this time, Queen Mother Guo had left the East Hall of Tai Chi Hall and returned to Hanzhang Hall behind the East Hall.
On the east hall of Taiji Hall, walking north, there is a Shiqian Hall in the middle; but in the past, the emperor would live in Shiqian Hall. After Empress Dowager Guo moved out of Xiyou Garden, she chose Hanzhang Hall as her residence. Anyway, the current palace There are no queens or concubines, but many palaces
The thing is, she can pick whatever she wants.
Empress Dowager Guo is still very satisfied with her current residence. Whether it is Xiyouyuan where she lived before, or Hanzhang Hall, which is closer to the center of Taiji Hall, they are all considered to be in the palace; living in the palace is obviously better than being driven to Yongning Palace. A hundred times better!
Empress Dowager Guo had been to Yongning Palace a long time ago, and she would also learn about the situation through the eunuchs around her; after all, logically speaking, the empress dowager, empress, and concubines should all be destined to live there. So sometimes the eunuchs say that Yongning Palace Even Princess Zhenyao of Qi was very interested in hearing about it.
The place is southwest of the palace, not far from the Changhe Gate. It used to be called Yongshou Palace, where Empress Dowager Bian lived. It was renamed Yongning Palace after Empress Dowager Bian's death.
It was fine when Empress Dowager Bian lived. It was just a residence arranged by Emperor Wen for his mother. The area was not very large, probably more than half of the Westward Journey Garden. This was nothing. The main reason was that after Empress Dowager Bian passed away, the place gradually It became a place to accommodate the late emperor’s concubines and old palace maids! As time goes by, many people in Yongning Palace are now gray-haired old women. The people there have no power, so no one cares about them, and they have no hope. The atmosphere is really depressing and hopeless.
Therefore, Empress Dowager Guo originally imagined the rest of her life, and the place she thought of was Yongning Palace. She lived to wait for death, and what she expected was only to have a noble posthumous title that could be recorded in history after death.
So when it comes to how to live, of course the palace is the best. This is the center of national power. The tribute materials received, people's attitudes, the atmosphere of people coming and going, etc. are all completely different. People with status can live in the palace. , is the real Jin
They are well-fed and well-fed; no one dares to provoke Yongning Palace, and the rest is just lifeless.
Empress Dowager Guo was thinking about it in the inner hall when a palace maid saluted and said, "Your Highness, here comes the visitor."
"Let him come in." Queen Mother Guo said and turned around and knelt down to sit on the throne.