plumnovel Chapter 14 No Money
Chapter 14 No Money
While Liu Shan was busy making training course plans, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang was not idle either. At Liu Shan's behest, he issued an edict to establish his own government.
As the Chancellor, Zhuge Liang was qualified to establish his own government. However, during Liu Bei's lifetime, the emperor was powerful and his ministers were weak, with power concentrated in the hands of the emperor, so there was no need for Zhuge Liang to establish a separate government.
But now that Liu Shan has ascended the throne, the country is in turmoil due to the young ruler and internal and external troubles, so a powerful minister is needed to stabilize the situation.
It was inevitable that Zhuge Liang would establish his own government.
As a time traveler, Liu Shan was powerless to change the situation.
Who told me I was only seventeen?
Lacking both prestige and military merit, and with various factions stirring up trouble, he could only rely on Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to control the overall situation.
Furthermore, he wanted to use the Prime Minister's office to quickly promote and implement his training program plan.
Zhuge Liang's establishment of his own government had a significant impact on and dealt a heavy blow to the Dongzhou faction led by Li Yan.
The central government was usually located in the Secretariat, and Li Yan, as the Minister of the Secretariat, naturally formed a system of checks and balances with Zhuge Liang's Prime Minister's Office.
Now, taking advantage of Yong Kai's rebellion, Li Yan is refusing to guard Yong'an and instead staying in Chengdu to secretly develop his power.
Seeing this situation, Liu Shan did not force Li Yan to guard Yong'an, but tacitly allowed him to remain in the central government, forming a balance of power with Zhuge Liang.
This was mainly to prepare for him to take power himself in the future.
According to the original history, Zhuge Liang and Li Yan, the two ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor, seemed to form a balance of power, one inside and one outside the capital. However, in reality, Li Yan, who was guarding Yong'an, was removed from the power center of Chengdu.
After all, the only military power he could truly control was the tens of thousands of troops in the Yong'an region.
With Zhuge Liang wielding absolute power, Liu Shan was not worried about his loyalty or ability.
It was precisely because of this loyalty and ability that the affairs of the country, both large and small, relied heavily on the Prime Minister's office to function.
"He personally handled all matters and personally reviewed all punishments of twenty strokes or more." This was the intensity of Zhuge Liang's work under the highly "rule by man" model of the Prime Minister's office.
The heavy workload of official duties took a toll on his health, and he eventually died on Wuzhangyuan, leaving behind the regret of "dying before achieving his goal".
The efficiency of the Prime Minister's office also declined due to Zhuge Liang's death, as his prestige and ruling power weakened, and his drawbacks were gradually exposed.
Later, the official Huang Hao interfered in politics, which led to the true demise of Shu Han.
Therefore, the Prime Minister's Office model is only suitable for the current extraordinary period and is not conducive to long-term stability in the future.
Now that we've overcome this, we must not repeat the same mistakes and cause the Prime Minister to experience another regret that will last for eternity.
Liu Shan used Li Yan's influence in the Imperial Secretariat to disperse the power of the Prime Minister's office and gradually strengthen the power of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers under the emperor.
This would both reduce Zhuge Liang's burden and ensure a smooth transition of power in the court after he assumed personal rule.
However, a smooth transition of power is bound to be fraught with difficulties.
At every court assembly, Zhuge Liang and Li Yan would clash in front of the ministers.
"Your Majesty, Cao Ren's army was defeated at Ruxukou, and the Eastern Wu army is at its peak, showing great intention to advance westward. An'an is the eastern gateway of Yizhou, guarding the throat of the Yangtze River, and is a key barrier to defend against Eastern Wu. I humbly request Your Majesty to reinforce Yong'an."
In the imperial court, Li Yan requested that reinforcements be sent to Yong'an to prevent Sun Quan from advancing westward.
Several months ago, Zhu Huan defeated tens of thousands of Cao Cao's troops with 5 soldiers, causing Cao Cao's commander-in-chief, Cao Ren, to die of shame not long ago.
After achieving consecutive victories against Shu Han and Cao Wei, the Eastern Wu Chancellor Sun Shao and General Lu Xun led their ministers in submitting a memorial urging Sun Quan to declare himself emperor.
Although Sun Quan politely declined this offer, Eastern Wu harbored considerable ambitions for expansion at this time. Taking advantage of Yong Kai's rebellious intentions in Nanzhong, they sought to extend their reach into the heart of Yizhou.
Once the southern regions submit to Sun Quan, he will send troops by both land and sea to approach and besiege Chengdu.
At that time, Chengdu will be like a ripe fruit, which Sun Quan can pick whenever he wants.
This originally tripartite balance of power could very well turn into a two-way division between the North and the South.
Having just emptied its coffers in the Battle of Yiling, the Shu Han treasury had no extra money or grain to recruit soldiers.
Zhuge Liang was the first to stand up and object.
"I have no money!"
"Your Majesty, although Sun Quan has won a series of victories, he has suffered considerable losses and his soldiers are exhausted."
"Yong'an is the eastern gateway of Yizhou, easy to defend and difficult to attack. With the current defense strength of Yong'an, as long as we hold our ground and do not come out, Sun Quan will definitely not dare to attack rashly."
"But you, Protector Li, were ordered by the late emperor to guard Yong'an. Why did you disobey the order?"
After analyzing the situation of both sides, Zhuge Liang used the "order of the late emperor" to counter Li Yan, rebuking him for abandoning his post.
Li Yan sneered, clearly unafraid of the crime of "disobeying the imperial decree".
"Yong'an is of great importance, how could I not know? However, Yong Kai's rebellion threatens Chengdu, and as the Central Protector personally appointed by the late emperor, I naturally have to share His Majesty's burdens."
"As Prime Minister Zhuge just said, Yong'an is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If there is any war in the east, I will rush to its aid day and night. There is no need to worry."
Yizhou was a remote and isolated region, with difficult roads leading into Sichuan, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Without internal strife in Yizhou, Eastern Wu would not risk sending troops.
Therefore, as long as the southern region remains unsettled, Zhuge Liang will be unable to deal with it.
After Li Yan's request for reinforcements was rejected, he turned his attention to other areas.
"Your Majesty, the land of Jingzhou has all fallen to Sun Quan, and Yong'an has become a bridgehead for defending against Eastern Wu. However, the city's fortifications are still inadequate, and its defensive equipment is scarce. If Sun Quan's army attacks in the future, I fear we will be unable to withstand it."
"I devised a defense strategy overnight, built fortifications, and strengthened the city's defenses to resist Sun Quan."
After saying this, Li Yan handed over the memorial.
Liu Shan opened the memorial, which contained four pages.
The first is the renovation of the old city, which involves transforming the original Baidi City and Chijia City.
Baidi City is located on a mountaintop, surrounded by the Dongrang River and the Yangtze River on its east, south, and west sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
However, the city was very small, and the garrison was small, making it difficult to sustain a prolonged war.
Furthermore, the city is located on a mountaintop, making water access difficult. If the enemy were to cut off the water supply, the garrison would fall into disarray without a fight.
Chijia City and Baidi City are connected from north to south, covering a vast area, which can accommodate a large number of troops and serve as a strategic defensive position for each other.
Solving the water supply problem has become crucial.
Second, the Yong'an Palace was expanded.
Yong'an Palace is located outside the gorge, in a relatively open area, which is suitable for building a large city and stockpiling a large number of troops, serving as a powerful support for the neighboring cities to the east.
Third, they continued to build fortifications on the riverside beach south of Yong'an Palace to block the enemy's landing.
Among them is the fortification set up by Zhuge Liang on the south side of Yong'an Palace when Liu Bei was seriously ill, also known as the "Eight Trigrams Formation".
Fourthly, numerous small fortresses were built in the dangerous mountain valleys and gorges near Yong'an to prevent enemy troops from infiltrating and cutting off their rear.
Yong'an is located in the gorge area, where mountains stand tall and roads are rugged.
Li Yan used the methods of "encirclement" and "defense" to arrange the city in a staggered manner with large fortresses such as Baidi City, Chijia City, and Yong'an Palace City, forming a tight and solid fortification system, thereby improving the region's defense capabilities.
From this memorial alone, Liu Shan could see Li Yan's ability to lead troops in battle and defend cities.
The idea is good, but the words reveal a single, underlying message.
money.
Without money, you can't do anything.
Zhuge Liang also rejected Li Yan's idea of strengthening the city's defenses with just two simple words.
"I have no money!"