webnovelfull Chapter 550 Voices of Opposition
Chapter 550 Voices of Opposition
Following Guan Xing's train of thought, Huang Chengyan fell into recollection and said after a moment: "Back then, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang led nine hundred garrison soldiers to Yuyang. On the way, they encountered a rainstorm and were sentenced to death according to the law. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang knew that they would die whether they went or not, so they began to plan an uprising. Before the uprising, Chen Sheng wrote the three characters 'Chen Sheng Wang' on a silk scroll with cinnabar and stuffed it into the belly of a fish, deliberately letting the soldiers find it, in order to create public opinion."
"Then Wu Guang lit a bonfire at night, imitated the sound of a fox, and shouted the prophecy of the rise of Chu and the reign of Chen Sheng, and then...you mean to say..."
Guan Xing nodded and said, "That's right. Since Your Majesty cannot inherit the throne through abdication, you can only try to win the favor of Heaven. For example, if auspicious omens appear in a certain place, or the Hetu and Luoshu appear in a certain river, isn't that a warning from Heaven that Your Majesty should become emperor? This little matter is not difficult for you, Elder Huang, is it?"
Huang Chengyan exclaimed with delight, "Anguo, you're truly amazing! I know what to do now. Farewell."
After saying that, he got up and left quickly, his legs moving nimbly without showing any signs of illness.
Watching Huang Chengyan leave, Guan Xing couldn't wait to take out the wooden box and examine the land deed inside. As he looked at it, he couldn't help but sigh, "That old man is really willing to go to great lengths to gain merit in supporting the emperor."
The mine on the land deed is located in Songzi Town on the south bank of the Yangtze River, where mineral resources are extremely rich. Huang Chengyan must not have discovered the real mineral vein yet, otherwise he would never have been willing to give up the mine.
Although he and Zhuge Liang had decided to take over the mines from the government, there were certain methods to be used. It was better to take them back through other means than to have a direct conflict, right?
Looking at the land deed, several mining plans instinctively came to mind. He closed his eyes and began to think about the most effective mining method.
The others, however, had no such intention; they were all busy dealing with Liu Bei while preparing for his ascension to the throne.
As soon as Liu Bei awoke, he ordered a northern expedition, commanding everyone to gather troops and supplies in the direction of Xiangyang, making it appear as if he were leading his army north to attack Cao Pi.
Everyone knew that Liu Bei was just making a show of it, so while they actively cooperated, they also tried to persuade Liu Bei to retract his order, resulting in a constant tug-of-war between the emperor and his ministers.
Seven or eight days later, Huang Chengyan brought back a Yangtze finless porpoise that was nearly two meters long and presented it to Liu Bei, saying it was to help Liu Bei improve his health.
The equally shrewd Liu Bei knew that Huang Chengyan couldn't possibly be so idle, and that there must be another purpose behind presenting such a large fish. So he summoned his ministers to a grand banquet in the royal tent to enjoy the feast together, and had Guan Xing, who had recovered from his illness, personally cook the meal.
Inside the royal tent, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Guan Xing was stunned by the sight of the Yangtze finless porpoises that were taller than him. In later generations, these creatures would definitely be jail-bound beasts, even rarer than giant pandas. Where did Huang Chengyan find them?
That damned Huang Chengyan really dares to think and act.
Guan Xing glanced at Huang Chengyan briefly, and seeing that Huang Chengyan nodded to him, he decisively cut open the fish's belly with his knife. However, he used too much force and cut open the intestines, and a seal the size of an infant's fist fell out and hit the ground with a crisp sound.
Guan Xing instinctively picked it up and asked, "What is this thing?"
Huang Chengyan rushed forward, snatched the seal, wiped it clean with his clothes, and frowned, saying, "King Han of Hanzhong, what does that mean?"
Upon hearing this, everyone swarmed around, staring intently at the seal for a long time. Sun Quan was the first to kneel down and shout to Liu Bei, "Your Majesty, it is the will of Heaven! The name of the King of Hanzhong is likely a sign that the King of Hanzhong is supporting the Han Dynasty. This must be Heaven's will to prevent the Han Dynasty from perishing and to send down a divine decree asking Your Majesty to ascend the throne and continue the Han Dynasty's reign!"
Huang Chengyan glared at Sun Quan and immediately knelt down, shouting, "Lord Wu is right! The porpoise's warning must mean this. Otherwise, with so many porpoises in the Yangtze River, why was only this one carrying the imperial seal caught?"
"I dare to ask Your Majesty to obey the will of Heaven, ascend the throne and continue the Han dynasty."
The others knelt down one after another, and cried out with heartfelt emotion: "Please, Your Majesty, obey the will of Heaven and ascend the throne as Emperor."
Guan Xing and Liu Shan exchanged a glance, then knelt down and joined the ranks of those requesting permission to ascend the throne. In an instant, the tent was filled with shouts urging Liu Bei to become emperor.
However, there were also inappropriate remarks. Minister Liu Ba did not kneel, but bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you must not. Jiangnan has just been unified and is unstable. Moreover, Cao Pi has just usurped the throne. If you declare yourself emperor, it will be suspected that you are conspiring with Cao Pi to usurp the Han throne. In my humble opinion, Your Majesty should issue a proclamation to punish Cao Pi at this time, and then lead your troops north to avenge the emperor."
"Furthermore, Cao Pi's usurpation of the Han throne is unpopular. I believe there are many loyal and righteous people in the Central Plains who, like Your Majesty, oppose Cao Pi and are looking forward to Your Majesty's northern expedition. As long as Your Majesty leads your troops north, these loyal and righteous people will surely quickly join Your Majesty's banner and serve Your Majesty. Therefore, I dare to suggest that Your Majesty prioritize the overall situation and wait until the northern expedition is successful before declaring yourself emperor."
He wasn't against Liu Bei becoming emperor, but he was against it happening now. He believed that by first waging a war to attract the loyal and righteous people in the Central Plains who opposed Cao Pi's usurpation, Liu Bei could kill two birds with one stone and gain both fame and fortune.
Zhuge Liang immediately retorted, "Zichu (Liu Ba's courtesy name) is mistaken. Now that the Han Dynasty has perished, what Your Majesty should do most is to quickly raise the Han flag and continue the Han Dynasty, so that the people of the world know that the Han Dynasty still exists and has not been destroyed. Only in this way can those who are loyal to the Han Dynasty know who they should serve. Compared with the Northern Expedition, continuing the Han Dynasty is the most important thing. It is not too late to launch the Northern Expedition after continuing the Han Dynasty."
Zhuge Liang's opinion was the opposite of Liu Ba's. He believed that they should first declare themselves emperors before launching the Northern Expedition, thus restoring the already destroyed Han dynasty and giving those loyal to the Han dynasty in the Central Plains a goal to serve. With a goal to serve, those loyal and righteous people who were devoted to the Han dynasty would naturally find a way to come to Jiangling. If they did not come, it would prove that their loyalty to the Han dynasty was not absolute.
Loyalty that is not absolute is absolute disloyalty; you might as well not have it.
Lu Xun continued, "I agree with Strategist Zhuge's opinion. Now Your Majesty commands hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers and has a multitude of fierce generals and strategists under your command. Even without the assistance of the Central Plains gentry, you can still succeed in the Northern Expedition. Therefore, there is no need to depend on others."
Lu Xun was a representative of the Jiangnan gentry. He did not want those scoundrels from the Central Plains to come to Jiangling and share the spoils with him. Not only did he not want them to come, he also wanted to follow Liu Bei to fight in the Central Plains and trample all those self-proclaimed orthodox and arrogant gentry who regarded the Jiangnan gentry as barbarians under their feet.
Everyone chimed in, earnestly requesting Liu Bei to become emperor.
Liu Bei, however, openly supported Liu Ba, saying righteously, "Zichu is right. Now is indeed not the time to declare yourself emperor. Let's not bring this up again. Let's disperse. We can't eat."
Adding to the previous instance where Zhuge Liang advised Liu Bei to declare himself emperor but was pushed out of the tent by Liu Bei, this marks the second time Liu Bei has refused to become emperor.
Knowing the proper etiquette, the officials did not insist, bowed, and took their leave. Liu Shan mingled in the crowd and approached Guan Xing, saying in a low voice, "Take the fish away. If Father doesn't eat it, we'll eat it ourselves."
It has to be said that the landlord's foolish son is really carefree; even at a time like this, he's still thinking about food.
Watching Liu Shan and Guan Xing work together to carry the finless porpoise away, Liu Bei narrowed his eyes, his determination to become emperor growing stronger.
He admitted that Liu Ba was right; now was indeed not the time to declare himself emperor. If he declared himself emperor immediately after Cao Pi usurped the throne, it would seem suspicious that he was colluding with Cao Pi to put on a show. The best way to completely dispel this suspicion and silence everyone was to launch a northern expedition first and then declare himself emperor. Moreover, a northern expedition would also demonstrate his stance to the world and attract the old officials in the Central Plains who were still loyal to the Han Dynasty to join him. It would indeed kill two birds with one stone and gain both fame and fortune.
However, Liu Ba overlooked two issues: first, the dire financial situation in Jiangnan, and second, Liu Bei's age.
The series of battles in Jiangnan have pushed the country's finances to the brink of collapse, and it really can't afford to fight any more wars for the time being.
More importantly, Liu Bei is old. If he were twenty or thirty years younger, he would definitely have accepted Liu Ba's suggestion to launch a northern expedition before declaring himself emperor. But he is over sixty years old this year, and he could pass away at any time. If something were to happen to him, the matter of declaring himself emperor would have to be left to his son, just like Cao Cao did.
But do you think your own foolish son has the ability to become emperor?
Therefore, for the sake of his son, he had to clear away all obstacles to becoming emperor during his lifetime.
Thinking of this, Liu Bei summoned Chen Dao and instructed him: "Issue my order to demote Liu Ba to Governor of Jingzhou and appoint Zhang Zhao as his Minister of the Imperial Secretariat."