Chapter 032 Painting Snakes and Adding Foot

Although Huan Xiu still supervised the war as before, he did not urge the war. In several small-scale battles, I deliberately tested Huan Xiu. He found that he did not care about the course of the war by no longer applying pressure, and then became indifferent. All this makes me doubt whether Huan Xiu wants to destroy Lu Xun or not.

Is there something wrong with the court?

He Wuji shook his head and said, "I haven't heard any news from Jiankang that will delay Huan Xiu's extermination of Lu Xun."

I said, "Huan Xuan is in power and is invincible. Although there is still a hidden opposition in the court, Huan Xuan's means will not have much impact. The only internal trouble is Lu Xun's chaos. With the elimination of Lu Xun, Huan Xuan's regime will only be more consolidated. Huan Xiu led Wang Shi to fight for the first time. Once Lu Xun was destroyed, it would help him become famous. Whether Huan Xuan or Huan Xiu, there is no reason not to try his best to deal with Lu Xun, the source of the rebellion.

"That's true. Don't you really want to spend energy on Lu Xun, but to settle down in the name of foreign affairs? He Wuji commented on this strange phenomenon.

But I don't quite agree: "In essence, Lu Xun is not an external problem after all, but civil strife. If Huan Xuan really wants to fight outside, he can completely choose a weak country to fight.

"Do you really think that Huan Xuan will give up the power of Stone City and go to conquer the enemy country?"

"At present, the situation of Jiankang has not been fully stabilized. Of course, Huan Xuan himself will not leave Stone City, but he can send his minions to go on behalf of him and make a gesture of the Northern Expedition. On the one hand, it can suppress the monarchs and ministers of Jiankang, and on the other hand, it can also seek military merit.

"Have you ever heard a story?" He Wuji said.

"Please say it."

"During the Warring States Period, there was a Ling Yin named Zhaoyang in the State of Chu." He Wuji told a story I had heard before:

Zhaoyang is the marshal of the State of Chu. He has the highest position in Shangzhu and enjoys the highest title of Shangzhigui. After Zhaoyang led the Chu army to defeat the Wei army in Xiangling, he led the army north to prepare to attack the State of Qi. Therefore, Qi sent a lobbyist named Chen Zhen to persuade Zhaoyang to stop the war.

Chen Zhen asked Zhaoyang, "According to the decree of the State of Chu, what is the highest honor you can get for military achievements?"

Zhaoyang said, "The official is the upper pillar country, and the title is the superior Zhigui."

"Is there anything higher than this?"

"No matter how high it is, there will only be Ling Yin (i.e. the prime minister) above 10,000 people under one person."

"But now there is already a Ling Yin in the State of Chu. If you win the battle again with the position of Shangzhu Guo and Shang Zhigui, will you appoint two Ling Yin?

The allusion of "drawing snakes and adding feet" comes from here. In order to strengthen his persuasive power, Chen Zhen told Zhaoyang the fable of painting snakes and persuaded Zhaoyang to give up attacking Qi. Because even if it wins, there may not be obvious benefits; and if it fails, even the achievements of Xiangling, which had won before, will be dusty. It's better to accept it as soon as it's good.

Zhaoyang felt that Chen Zhen's words were reasonable, so he led the victory division to withdraw and no longer added foot to the painting of snakes.

"It makes sense. However, Huan Xuan's situation is different from 'painting snakes and adding feet'. Victory is Huan Xuan's own work. If he fails, he can cure the crime of leading the army. Isn't Sun Wu finally one example?" I said.

"In this way, why doesn't Huan Xiu actively beg for thieves?" After our discussion returned to the original point, He Wuji asked.

I thought about it and said, "I guess there may only be one."

"What?"

"He is observing."

"You mean he is observing who will have different aspirations?"

"Other than that, what else can be explained?"

I then shook my head and sighed and smiled. He Wuji looked at me inexplicably.

I explained to him: "This is actually the most far-fetched guess, but this is a very likely guess, and this is the last guess we want to happen. If Huan Xiu really sees something, then I will fail to keep a low profile with you in the past few months.

He Wuji looked very decadent when he heard it. I comforted him and said, "After all, there is no evidence, and speculation is just speculation. As long as we are more careful in the future, we can always wait until the day of "left top".

He Wuji said, "I know what you mean. In the past, when I read the stories of Chen Ping and Zhou Bo, I always thought that it was just that I was waiting for the opportunity to take action. However, now that I have become Chen Ping and Zhou Bo, I find that the patience and waiting with low eyebrows are a hundred times more difficult than the uprising of lofty and killing for righteousness.

"There are so many wise men and brave people in the world. How many people can become Chen Ping and Zhou Bo? Now that we have been pushed to this position, we might as well follow the example of the two ancestors. I sighed and said, "Unfortunately, this position should have been General Liu. You and I are weak, calling ourselves Chen and Zhou, just flaunting and comforting ourselves. I..."

Speaking of this, I can't go on. As soon as I mentioned Sun Wuyi and Liu Zhenzhi, I felt a little choked.

Although Liu Laozhi died a little unfairly, it was the cause of the times. Huan Xuan's military strength is so strong that it is indeed difficult to win with Liu prison's own strength. However, if Liu Laozhi falls, he will fall. If he can endure for a while, there may be a good opportunity to rise again. It can be said that Liu Prison ignores the safety of the North House, or even ignores the safety of the country. It's just that I can't say these words directly in front of Liu's nephew He Wuji.

"Maybe there is another possibility," I said, "it's time for Huan Xuan to become emperor. Huan Xiu has no intention of maneuvering with Lu Xun now, and may need to focus on Jiankang, not Yongjia.

"Do you think our time has come?"

"I don't think it's that fast."

"He would have been emperor earlier. What do you mean by dragging like this?

"Wuki, I think you are too anxious. You see, how can those emperors in the past dynasties be so fast? Huan Xuan's father Huan Wen is much more powerful than today's Huan Xuan, and he has long wanted to become emperor. But this matter was delayed until his death. Even if Huan Xuan wants to do it, he has to weigh it in many ways. After all, this is not a trivial matter.

Recently, Huan Xiu has been absent-minded, and I'm afraid it has a lot to do with this. If Huan Xuan wants to be emperor, it is inevitable that Huan Xiu will be transferred to Beijing, and Huan Xiu can't leave the army as the leader of the thieves here. Maybe Huan Xuan and Huan Xiu are hesitating at this moment whether to continue to go south according to the original plan or withdraw to Beijing by themselves after staying in defense. I thought about it over and over again.

He Wuji asked, "Then what should we do?"

"Whether Huan Xiu is busy assisting Huan Xuan to claim the throne, he is suspicious of us, and I should still try my best to fight against thieves. As for you, you need to leave Huiji and return to Beijing.

He Wuji is very worried about me: "Why don't I stay in Huiji? I'm afraid it's not easy for the general to stand alone in the army. Even if I stay in Huiji and can't help, I can often communicate with Jingkou to help you understand the situation of Jiankang and Jingkou. Huan Xiu's ambition has to guard against it.

"Please rest assured about this. First of all, Huan Xuan and Huan Xiu still rely on me for the conquest of Lu Xun. In addition, I accidentally saw Huan Xuan's secret order to treat me well. It is said that if there is a Northern Expedition in the future, I will not be the second choice. Therefore, as long as Huan Xiu's suspicion is eliminated and deliberately obscure, it should be okay.