Chapter 96 Loyalty and treachery

Yang Biao woke up in the middle of the night with a splitting headache. His body had just moved, but he felt weak, his limbs were sore and soft, and his mouth was extremely thirsty. He called softly, "Water is coming."

"Yang Gong woke up." A familiar voice came, and then a rapid sound of footsteps came. The emperor appeared in front of Yang Biao with a cup of tea. Yang Biao was shocked and turned over to sit up, but was pressed by the emperor.

"Yang, you're tired of your hangover. Don't get up. Just lie down like this." The emperor smiled and stuffed the tea into Yang Qi's hand: "Sun Qing came to see Yang Gong. Seeing that Yang Gong had not woken up, he said a few words and left. He left this sobering tea, saying that it was Ge Xianweng's prescription, which was quite effective."

The emperor chattered, and his eyes were full of relaxed smiles. It could be seen that he was in a very good mood. Yang Biao couldn't stop his eyes from being a little wet when he thought of the scene where Sun Shao took advantage of the military parade to force Cao Zhang and others to swear not to provoke a civil war.

"Your Majesty, I have been in peace for a few years." Yang Biao choked and said, "The old minister can go to see the former emperor at ease even if he shakes his hand at this moment."

The emperor nodded with a smile, raised one leg, sat by the edge of the couch, took Yang Biao's broad palm, and patted gently: "Mr. Yang, don't be in a hurry to see my father. I still have some puzzled things. I want to ask Mr. Yang for advice."

Yang Biao faced the eyes of the emperor and nodded slightly. He knows what the emperor is worried about, because he has been thinking about the same thing. Although the emperor was out of Cao's control after the military conference, Luoyang's strength was the weakest, and the emperor's worry was not alleviated a little. The Western Expedition ended without illness, and Jia Xu died of depression. The emperor was even more nervous. He was afraid that the war would happen again if he was not careful. In this dispute between Wu and Shu, as the emperor, he did not dare to mediate. He was afraid that no one would listen to him. As a result, he lost face. However, he also knew that not coming forward was equivalent to admitting his incompetence, and the result was not much better. In the face of such a dilemma, all wisdom was useless. If it hadn't been for Sun Shao's unexpected behavior, it was really unpredictable what would have developed now.

"Yang Gong, you said Sun Qing... Why is he so loyal?" The smile on the emperor's face faded a little, and a confused look appeared. He thought about it for a while, and then explained: "Cao Jian is an old minister, Liu Bei or an imperial relative. They have not paid attention to the court. It is self-evident that Sun Quan has a different intention. Sun Shao has not enjoyed the favor of my big man. Why did he become the most loyal minister instead?

Yang Biao's eyes flashed and did not immediately answer the questions of the emperor. He put the teacup to his mouth, smelled the smell of tea with the smell of medicine, took a sip, tasted it, and then said, "Dong Zhuo's chaotic government, the Shandong princes rebelled against Dong, Yuan Shao was the leader of the alliance, but the army only drank high, did not want to make progress, and those who were brave to enter the army were only There were two people, one was Cao Jian, who was just a general at that time, and the other was Sun Jian, who was only the governor of Changsha at that time. Now the four kings in the world, Cao Jian is one of them, and the Sun family accounts for the second. Although the other Liu Bei is the emperor's uncle, his imperial relatives are not worth mentioning compared with Liu Yu, Liu Biao, Liu Yan and others in those years. Your Majesty, why is it like this?

The emperor frowned and didn't understand. Yang Biao not only did not answer his question, but also asked him a question, which made him very puzzled. But he knew that since Yang Biao asked so, he must have his intention. He thought about it carefully, shook his head and said, "I really couldn't figure it out for a moment. Even if my big man is close, it seems that these four people can't be the king. Even if the Yuan brothers are incompetent, except for the Yuan family, it seems that it is not the turn of these four people. For example, your Hong family and Yang family are more qualified than them.

Yang Biao smiled and said nothing. At this moment, a emperor, an old minister, actually naturally talked about such an abrupt topic, but it seemed very natural, and no one felt that there was anything wrong. In fact, the Han Dynasty believed in the Five Virtues and said that it never believed that which dynasty could be passed on forever. Even the emperor himself believed that the country of the Liu family would be replaced by another surname sooner or later. It was just a matter of time, especially when natural disasters [***] occurred, from the emperor to the minister, they had such an idea, although in They have never spared no effort to suppress the rebellion, but there is no doubt about their belief in the Five Virtues. More than 400 years have passed since the establishment of the Han Dynasty to now. It has been said that the Liu family's Tianlu has come to an end, and the words that the world should be ceded have not been interrupted. After listening to it, the emperor will not feel anything wrong. Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty loved Dong Xian and even wanted to pass on the throne to Dong Xian. The minister at that time only said that Dong Xian was a vassal, and did not say that this concession was a big deal. Don't go against it.

The Yang family of the Hong family, as the surname of the two major families of the Han Dynasty together with the Yuan family, is indeed more qualified to become the spokesperson of Tude after the castration of Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Sun Shao.

"My surname Yang comes from Ji's surname, and I also belong to Huode. I should help Yan Han. How can I replace Han?" Yang Qian took this topic lightly and returned to the topic: "Actually, even if my Yang family has this ambition, it will not be better than the Yuan family. The Yuan family has been running for four or five generations, and even Cao Jian and Sun Jian are their subordinates. What happened in the end? Isn't it that the clouds disappear and people die when they wake up? Yuan Shu died in Huainan and Yuan Shao in Hebei. There is no good end to it.

"Why is that?" The emperor is even more puzzled.

"A classic family like Yuan Yang may be very profound in learning, but in action, he is definitely not an opponent like Cao Qian, Sun Jian and Liu Bei. Failure is almost inevitable. Yang Biao held the cup in his hand and looked at the top of the curtain with some erratic eyes, as if to say to himself, "Your Majesty, don't you think what Sun Shao is doing now is very similar to what the former emperor did in those years? If it had been 30 years earlier, people like Sun Shao would not be able to learn and have no skills at all. If he doesn't have a good family background, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to embark on an official career.

The emperor's eyes flashed and suddenly understood something. He nodded silently.

"The Guangwu Emperor's advocacy of loyalty, filial piety and moral articles is not a bad thing, but if you have done it, it will be counterproductive. Looking at the two hundred years after the Han Dynasty, compared with the previous two hundred years, the achievements are more than a thousand miles away? On the occasion of mourning, morality was lost, and the gentry in the world opened their eyes to Wang Mang. On the time of Huan Ling, moral models emerged one after another, but what they brought to the Han Dynasty was also a deep disaster. It's really ironic to talk about utilitarianism, subjugation of the country, morality, and almost subjugation of the country.

"So... what should I do?" The emperor is also confused.

"Your Majesty, why don't you look at what Sun Shao did?" Yang Biao smiled softly. He played with the lid of the cup in his hand and made a crisp impact sound: "He did not just take real fame, but take real profits, but he did not only profit. He had his own righteousness in his chest, and he made further progress compared with Cao Yan. Therefore, he could become the most powerful kingdom of the Han Dynasty in just a few years, and become Your Majesty's most powerful pillar.

"Unfortunately, if he was born in the former emperor, he might become a famous minister."

"No." Yang Biao shook his head: "If he was born at that time, he would only become a man who is not ashamed to be a decent man."

The emperor smiled, and he also knew that his idea was very unreliable. He was silent for a moment. Seeing that Yang Biao's breath was heavy, his face flushed and his expression was tired, he swallowed back the words that had just arrived at his mouth and said with a smile, "Mr. Yang is tired. Have a good rest. If you have anything to say, let's go back to Luoyang."

"No, Your Majesty, I have something to say." Yang Biao stretched out his hand and took the sleeve of the emperor and shook his head feebly: "The old minister is already eighty-four years old, and I don't know if the sky can still see your majesty. Your Majesty, please let me finish my words.

The emperor looked at Yang Biao in surprise and saw an ominous red on Yang Biao's face. He was immediately surprised. He got up and was about to call the imperial doctor, but he was stopped by Yang Biao. Yang Biao shook his head: "Your Majesty, it doesn't matter. Although I am powerless, I haven't reached that point yet. Your Majesty, please sit down and let me speak in detail.

The emperor was stunned for a moment and couldn't help with tears in his eyes. He suddenly felt that maybe this was Yang Biao's last words. He did not dare to neglect. He knelt respectfully in front of Yang Biao and listened attentively.

"There is a big man in Sun Shao's heart. He is proud of my big man, but he loves tens of millions of people. He doesn't want anyone to hurt them." Yang Biao gasped and looked at the emperor with bright eyes: "Your Majesty is the emperor. Everyone in the world is your majesty. He loves the people like a son. He is your majesty's surname. If your majesty wants the fire of the Han to continue, you must not forget this sentence. Such a lesson is painful enough. Don't do it again. Otherwise, Sun Shao, the loyal minister today, will be the vanguard of the destruction of the Han Dynasty.

The emperor was stunned and looked at Yang Biao in a doze. Yang Biao gritted his teeth and stared in his eyes. It was not until the emperor nodded in a soul that he was relieved. He gasped twice, and then continued, "Your Majesty, Lao Ziyun, governing a big country is like cooking fresh food. Everyone says that it is easy to govern the country. However, the old minister has been in politics for 60 years, and he has never seen that it is easy to govern. When he meets with the old man, it is extremely difficult to govern the country. Small fresh food is put into the kettle. If the fire is large, it is easy to burn. If the fire is small, it is not cooked. If the taste is heavy, it will cover the freshness of the fish. If the taste is light, it is difficult to remove the fishy smell of the fish. How can it be easy?

The emperor couldn't help swallowing and sobbing. He knew that Yang Biao was warning him not to act rashly. Don't think that he could easily restore the glory of the big man. Don't expect to get rid of the four kings easily. They are already full-fledged, and now they get along very well. Wanting to break them one by one is tantamount to a fool's dream. If you are not careful, it will cause great disaster. He knew that Yang Biao's words hit the nail on the head, so he nodded repeatedly without refutation.

"Be careful, be careful." Yang Biao took a long breath: "Your Majesty, I have thought about being idle for a few days. Please resign from the post of prime minister."

"Ah?" The emperor raised his head and hesitated for a moment before asking, "So...who will take over?"

"Gu Yong." Yang Biao's eyes began to divergent: "Gu Yong is the most suitable candidate. The general, the prime minister and the lieutenant are all inseparable from Sun Shao. With their assistance to your majesty in the court, the state of Yue will definitely become your majesty's most reliable vassal state. As long as there is Yue, there will be no danger in the Han Dynasty.

"Let my son Yang Xiu go to Vietnam as an official." Yang Biao's voice became erratic: "Say the oath of the four kings to the counties and counties, and maintain comprehensive communication with the State of Yue. The big man... The big man must... will definitely rise again..."

The emperor cried bitterly and nodded repeatedly.

Yang Biao's face showed an auspicious smile, slowly closed his eyes, and his big hand slowly slipped from the hand of the emperor.

On the fifteenth night of the first month of the fifth year of the Republic, Prime Minister Yang Biao died in the East China Sea at the age of 84.

When Sun Shao and others heard the bad news, they were very surprised and rushed to the throne ship to say goodbye to Yang Biao's body. In front of Yang Biao's body, the emperor relayed part of Yang Biao's last words with a sad mood. Sun Shao and others made an appointment to swear that they would cooperate sincerely to help the Han Dynasty. Soon, the emperor ordered Gu Yong to be the prime minister to preside over Yang Biao's funeral. At the same time, he issued a 600-mile expedency and asked Yang Xiu from Hanzhong to come to help the spirit. First, he welcomed Yang Biao back to Luoyang for the funeral, and then helped the coffin back to Hongnong for burial.

The next negotiation was a little dull. Although everyone had their own thoughts, Yang Biao's death still made everyone feel sorry. While bargaining and discussing the cooperation between the four countries, they wrote to the emperor, asking for the seal of Yang Biao as a gift. After some discussion, the emperor finally named Yang Biao as the Marquis of Huayin.

Because of Yang Biao's unexpected death, the original negotiation process was disrupted, and Sun Shao had to speed up the process. He successively reached an agreement with Cao Zhang, Liu Bei and Sun Quan to further refine the conditions of trade and try to be beneficial to both sides. For Cao Zhang, in addition to trade, there is also the matter of subsidizing his Northern Expedition. Sun Shao pointed out that Cao Zhang is looking for nircite (coal) in the area of Jinyang. Now he needs a large amount of coal for steelmaking and steam engines. Although there are coal mines in Northeast China, the population is too small, so it is better to give the business to Cao Zhang. Shanxi is a large coal mine in China. In the Han Dynasty, open-pit coal mines had already been used. Cao Zhang also knew a little about this. Now he knows that these things can be exchanged for money. Of course, he can't help but be happy and smiled.

Sun Shao immediately negotiated with Liu Bei and Sun Quan. He talked with Liu Bei about cooperation to conquer southern Xinjiang. Liu Bei was afraid that Sun Shao would take the opportunity to enter his territory, so he just wanted to buy ordnance with Sun Shao and did not dare to ask Sun Shao to send troops to help. Sun Shao smiled secretly, but he looked very unwilling. It was not until Liu Bei found Guan Feng to memorize that he encouraged. At the same time, it was agreed that after pacting the southern border, we should cooperate to open the commercial road from Shuzhong to Funan and Tianzhu.

In Wei, Wu and Shu, the State of Wu was caught in the middle of the Three Kingdoms, and there was no war to fight. Fortunately, Sun Shao did not forget him. While signing a large number of order contracts, he told Sun Quan that there was a good porcelain soil in Yuzhang County, which was the most suitable for burning porcelain. If you find it, I will send the best porcelain worker here to guide the burned porcelain. I can underwrite it, and the price will definitely satisfy you. Sun Quan was skeptical, but looking at Sun Shao's appearance, it didn't seem to tease him, so he wrote it down first.

After talking about business, Sun Shao finally said, now that the world is peaceful, and the State of Wu has no war to fight. Don't you think it's unfair to raise so many soldiers? Let's disarm and take back some of those food towns. Otherwise, no matter how many contracts I give you, you can't make a fortune and take them all away. As soon as Sun Quan heard this, he got up, and his eyes were obviously a little more vigilant. Sun Shao laughed and no longer said it deeply. He knew that this was a thorn in Sun Quan's heart. He didn't need to say too much. Sun Quan would definitely do the same.

At the end of the first month, after the tense negotiations, the East China Sea Alliance was a complete success and everyone dispersed. The emperor left the East China Sea with Yang Biao's body, escorted by Guan Yu, the general who came to pick him up. After Guan Yu received the imperial edict, as Sun Shao expected, his heart was as beautiful as anything, and he did not feel that he had been squeezed out at all. He immediately handed over the army to Zhang Fei according to Liu Bei's order, and then earnestly instructed him. Then he set off quickly with 2,000 songs and rushed to the East China Sea to see him. After a few days in the East China Sea and Sun Shao and Guan Feng, they said goodbye. Before leaving, Sun Shao sent him a big gift - two hundred crossbows. Sun Shao said, after you arrive in Luoyang, first take over the military power of the eight passes, rectify them, install these crossbows to the eight passes, guard the eight passes, and then defend Luoyang. With your divine power and two hundred crossbows, I believe that no one dares to risk the world to fight your beard. He said that Guan Yu was in a good mood and in high spirits.

With Guan Yu, his eldest son Guan Ping and his second son Guan Xing. Guan Ping followed Guan Yu all his life. This time, he still followed Guan Yu to Luoyang to take office. Guan Xing stayed with Guan Feng and was ready to follow Sun Shaoli for a period of time before deciding to stay.

Liu Bei and Guan Yu were on the same road. They slept together all the way and talked about the past, as if they had returned to the time when the three of them fought together when they were young. At the time of separation, Guan Yu also solemnly said to Liu Bei that let Yide go about the southern expedition. Kong Ming thought too much. He was already the prime minister. I'm afraid it's not a good thing to take charge of the military power again. Liu Bei answered, and the two left in tears.

Cao Zhang took 5,000 elite riders and escorted the emperor back to Luoyang with Guan Yu. Guan Yu is a general. He is a riding general. He will be a minister in the same palace in the future. More importantly, if you want to march to the west, you must use the strength of Shu and Yue. It is very important to have a good relationship with Guan Yu. Although Cao Zhang is not good at pating horses, he has the same temper as Guan Yu, and he can talk to Sun Shao very well. Guan Yu is quite pleasing to him, and the two of them are like each other at first sight.

Outside Luoyang City, Cao Zhang said goodbye to the emperor and rushed back to Ye City all the way. When he entered the city, he didn't even have time to groom. He asked someone to send the gift from Sun Shao to his wife. He took a few guards straight to the copper sparrow platform to see Cao. Cao Wei was listening to Cao Pi's report on his work. When he saw Cao Zhang, who was a dusty servant, he motioned with no expression on his face to Cao Zhang to sit down and listen to Cao Pi talk about political affairs.

Cao Pi has almost said it. He smiled at Cao Zhang, and then calmly finished the last two things as usual. Then he smiled and said, "Ziwen, thank you for your hard work. This trip is a good result in fighting with the kings."

Cao Zhang smiled with a little reserved: "Brother, I'm flattered, it's just borrowing the prestige of my father."

"Did you borrow my prestige?" Cao Xiu picked up the corners of his mouth and grabbed a piece of paper on the case and threw it over. The paper swayed in the air, like a fallen leaf falling in front of Cao Zhang. Cao Zhang bent down and picked it up and took a look. It was the communique of the Han Dynasty, which contained the four kings' broken chopsticks as an oath and did not set up soldiers in the territory of the Han Dynasty.

"Father?" Cao Zhang looked at Cao Yan uneasily and muttered, "At that time, the situation forced me to do this."

"Forced by the situation?" Cao Shen snorted and said angrily, "I think you have wanted to say that for a long time."

Cao Zhang smiled awkwardly. It was just as Cao Wei said, but he did not dare to admit it, for fear that Cao Wei would ruin all the good prospects of the Northern Expedition. Cao Pi saw it and hurriedly said, "Ziwen's surname is Zhi. He and Sun Shao are not bad at martial arts. Compared with these flowers, he is definitely not Sun Shao's opponent. I think I have also suffered Sun Shao's loss in Wancheng. But this time, the alliance is not bad. Generally speaking, we didn't suffer any losses.

Cao Yan's face softened a little and waved his hand to Cao Pi: "Since you think it's okay, let's arrange a celebration banquet for Ziwen. I'll say a few words to see if he has anything else cheated."

Cao Pi smiled and squeezed his eyes at Cao Zhang. When he passed by him, he took Cao Zhang's hand affectionately and said, "Ziwen, talk to your father well. Although he said scaryly, he has talked about you many times."

Cao Zhang nodded with a fever in his heart. Cao Pi went out. Cao Zhang came to Cao Yan and squeezed out a flattering smile. Cao Yan looked at him with a straight face and couldn't help laughing. He picked up the jade Ruyi in his hand and knocked on his head: "Get out of here! When did you learn to have a hippie smile like Sun Shao's vertical? It's annoying.

Cao Zhang touched his head and smiled naively: "Father, Sun Shao is talking about his father."

"What did he say about me? Are you talking about me behind my back again?" Cao Xiu stood up, with his hands behind his back, and slowly walked to the stage. Cao Zhang hurriedly followed, looking very angry: "He dares. If he wants to say that his father is wrong, how can I forgive him?

"Okay, don't brag. You're not his opponent." Cao Wei smiled and said, "Tell me, what benefits did your general have?"

Cao Zhang quickly took out the memo signed with Sun Shao from his arms and explained to Cao Wei one by one. Cao Wei listened quietly and commented a word or two from time to time, but most of the time he looked at the misty wilderness in the distance and was silent. After saying that, Cao Zhang stood behind him silently and looked at Cao Wei, who was as silent as a statue.

"There are righteous men in Kanto, and the soldiers are fierce... The white bones are exposed in the wild, and there are no chickens in thousands of miles..." Cao Qian suddenly moaned softly, and his slightly hoarse voice was full of sadness. Cao Zhang looked from the side and faintly saw a little tears sliding down from the corners of Cao Qian's eyes. Cao Yan finished the poem and sighed for a long time. He raised his sleeves and wiped the corners of his eyes. He whispered, "I can't believe that although this vertical is young, it has a big compassionate heart. Well, I will fulfill him once and see if his dream can come true.

Cao Zhang took a gentle breath, and his heart was finally relieved after lifting it for a long time.

"However, you haven't done enough this time." Cao Qian turned around and glanced at Cao Zhang: "You only thought of your relationship with Sun Shao, but you didn't make good use of Liu Bei and Sun Quan to contain him and let him easily solve Wu Shu's dispute. This is a mistake. In addition, the three important positions of general, prime minister and lieutenant seem to be one of the three countries of Wu Shuyue. In fact, these three are all Sun Shao's people. In the future, it will be difficult for you to walk in the court, and you can only obey Sun Shao's command, which is very bad.

Although Cao Zhang didn't think so, he didn't dare to argue with Cao at this moment, but just nodded. Cao Yan didn't look at him. After thinking for a while, he suddenly said, "He is either benevolent and righteous or a hypocritical annihilar. I don't know if your brothers are his opponents. However, I can't see it anymore. I'll leave it to you.

(to be continued)