Jiang Wan was ultimately unable to delegate the important diplomatic mission between Han and Wu to his subordinates, and took the trouble to go to Wuchang in person.
Hu Zong went to the inn to welcome Jiang Wan again: "I made Brother Gongyan wait for several days. It is my fault. General Zuo and General Suinan have both returned to Wuchang."
Jiang Wan smiled and looked at Hu Zong: "Wei Ze, are these two here for my business? It shouldn't be so soon, it's only been less than five days."
Hu Zong also smiled and bowed: "To be honest, Brother Gongyan, there will be a happy event in Wu. Brother Gongyan is invited to attend the banquet."
"Happy event?" Jiang Wan looked at Hu Zong with a questioning look, "I will definitely attend the banquet. But I came from a far distance, so I didn't bring any extra gifts."
"What gifts? Wu and Han are allies. Why bother about these?" Hu Zong observed the surroundings and said in a low voice, "To be honest with you, Brother Gongyan, the third wife of the King of Wu has made an engagement with Zhu Ju, the lieutenant of Jianyi, and they will be married on June 23!"
Jiang Wan thought for a moment and asked, "You're getting married in three days? I will definitely attend such a happy event. Since Zhu Zifan's surname is Zhu, could he be from the Zhu family of Wujun?"
Hu Zong nodded, then sighed and said, "The former Fenwu General Zhu Xiumu died in battle in Wancheng before. It was when the former Yangzhou governor Lü Ziheng passed away the year before last that Cao Wenlie of Wei State sent people to offer funeral rites, and then the bones were retrieved."
"Zhu was loyal to her country, so the King of Wu agreed to the marriage. However, due to the heavy state affairs, the marriage was postponed until today."
Jiang Wan also sighed. Every family has its own troubles. Wu had painful memories, and so did the Han. Just Hanzhong...
Forget it, don’t mention Hanzhong.
After clearing his mind of thoughts, Jiang Wan bowed and said, "Since General Zuo and General Sui Nan have both returned to Wuchang, please ask Wei Ze to take me to see the emperor."
"Okay!" Hu Zong nodded.
Hu Zong originally came to invite Jiang Wan. After the two entered Wuchang Palace, Jiang Wan was about to ask about sending troops, but unexpectedly Zhuge Jin asked a question first:
"Gong Yan, I remember that Emperor Zhaolie was crowned the King of Hanzhong in Mianyang, Hanzhong in the 24th year of Jian'an, and was crowned the Emperor in Chengdu in the 26th year. Is that true or not?"
Zhuge Jin was the elder brother of Prime Minister Zhuge. Therefore, even though the people of Shu Han occasionally fought with each other when they visited Sun Quan, they were always extremely respectful to Zhuge Jin.
Jiang Wan bowed and replied, "General, you are absolutely right. It is the twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth year."
The era names of different regimes were not the same, and they were essentially due to political differences. When Liu Xie was still the emperor, all parts of the country followed the era name of "Jian'an", and there was no distinction between Wei, Shu, and Wu.
Cao Pi changed the 25th year of Jian'an to the first year of Yankang, and later changed it to the first year of Huangchu. Shu Han could not respond at all. In addition, Liu Bei had not yet become emperor, so the 26th year of Jian'an was added out of nowhere.
Sun Quan did use the reign title of "Huangchu". After all, he had been rewarded by the State of Wei, so the reign title was just a minor matter.
Zhuge Jin asked again: "When Emperor Zhaolie was called the King of Hanzhong and the Emperor, did he decline the title three times?"
Jiang Wan did not dare to neglect such a core issue. After thinking seriously for a moment, he answered very slowly:
"General, you may not know that the traitor Cao Pi forced Emperor Xiaomin to perform the ceremony of abdication, so he performed the false ceremony of resignation as a cover. I, Emperor Zhaolie, inherited the Liu family's empire and followed the will of heaven to benefit the country. How can I refuse to abdicate?"
Zhuge Jin glanced at Sun Quan and found that Sun Quan still had no expression on his face. He continued to ask:
"Gong Yan, the so-called resignation is not only about abdicating the throne, but also about the lord's resignation to the advice of his subjects. Don't you even have this?"
Jiang Wan shook his head: "If it is beneficial to the country, then you can take charge of it. I, Emperor Zhaolie, have done my best to save the ancestral temple from danger, so how can I refuse?"
At this time, Hu Zong walked to Sun Quan's side and whispered in his ear, "Your Majesty, do you still remember that I told you a few days ago that there was a young scholar named Yin Fan who defected from Wei to Wuchang?"
Sun Quan nodded slightly to show that he understood.
Hu Zong then said softly, "This man wrote me another letter of self-recommendation yesterday, saying that he had studied in the Imperial Academy of Wei for more than a year and was familiar with the etiquette and laws of Wei. The so-called 'three refusal and three decline' is also in the etiquette and laws, so maybe he knows about this matter. Why not call Yin Fan to ask him?"
Sun Quan glanced at Jiang Wan, and then responded: "Okay, Wei will leave quickly."
"Follow the order."
Zhuge Jin continued to ask about all the details of Liu Bei's enthronement, including prophecies, auspicious signs, visions, procedures, rituals, etc. He asked about every detail.
Jiang Wan was an eyewitness of the event, and since Sun Quan's enthronement was a consensus reached within Shu Han, he did not get tired of answering questions. The two of them kept asking and answering questions, and half an hour passed quickly.
Hu Zong walked in from outside the hall again, and Yin Fan followed closely behind him.
"I pay my respects to the Most High! I have returned from the State of Wei and am now able to see the Most High today. How fortunate I am! King Zhou of Shang was wicked and Wei Zi left; Emperor Gao of Han was lenient and Chen Ping came to submit."
"I only hope to be of service to the Supreme!"
Sun Quan nodded and pointed at Yin Fan and said, "This Yin Shuping returned from Wei State and is from Beihai County, Qingzhou. Ziyu, his hometown is not far from you."
Zhuge Jin smiled and said, "I am from Langya County, and I live in Yangdu County, the northernmost part of Langya. I wonder which county in Beihai this Yin Shuping is from?"
"Greetings, General Zuo." Yin Fan bowed without being servile or overbearing, and replied calmly, "My family has lived in Ju County for generations, and General Zuo's hometown is only separated by Dongguan County, so we are also close neighbors."
Zhuge Jin nodded and said, "It is a great act to come from afar to show your loyalty."
"Your Majesty, I see that although this man is young, he has an extraordinary bearing. I would like to ask him questions on your behalf to gauge his talent and learning."
Sun Quan nodded and said, "Let's follow Ziyu's advice! Shuping, please take your seat."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Yin Fan bowed respectfully.
Zhuge Jin coughed lightly and asked: "What is Shuping's experience in Wei?"
Yin Fan replied, "I am twenty-two years old this year, and I entered the Imperial College of Wei the year before last."
"Do you know everything about Luozhong?" Zhuge Jin asked again.
Yin Fan nodded: "I know everything I can know, and I naturally don't know things that are beyond my knowledge."
Zhuge Jin smiled and said, "In that case, have you ever learned etiquette in the Imperial Academy of Wei? Do you know how Cao Pi abdicated in the past?"
Yin Fan thought for a few moments and said, "I know about this. After Cao Pi declined three times in Luoyang, he conferred the title of Duke of Shanyang on the last emperor of the Han Dynasty. The rituals and ancestral temples were the same as before, and he also took the two daughters of the Duke of Shanyang as concubines."
Although Jiang Wan did not ask much, he could already get a general idea from their conversation.
Zhuge Jin had been asking about the rituals when Emperor Zhaolie was crowned emperor, apparently in preparation for Sun Quan's own coronation. And this newly surrendered Yin Fan had been in Luoyang, so Zhuge Jin asked him the same question again.
But when he heard the news about the last emperor of Han, also known as the Duke of Shanyang, Jiang Wan chose to become temporarily deaf.
Just pretend you didn’t hear it!
What else can we do? When Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor, he made it clear to the world. Liu Xie was dead, murdered by Cao, and was given the title of "Emperor Xiaomin". But this hidden barbarian said that Liu Xie was still alive and well in Shanyang County, and even the ancestral temple was still there!
Jiang Wan had no other way to deal with it.
"Three declines!" Zhuge Jin heard the key words in Yin Fan's words and asked directly: "Please tell me how he declined three times. Could it be that the Han Emperor issued three edicts in a row, and Cao Pi declined three times?"
In the eyes of people in later generations, the process of abdication or usurpation of the throne by refusing three times was just a formality.
But just as Cao Cao learned the cautious process of Wang Mang's usurpation of the throne, how to become an emperor is the most advanced political issue of this era.
Liu Bei used his surname Liu to force his way to the throne and became the emperor. This method was obviously not something Sun Quan could learn from.
However, Sun Quan could imitate Cao Pi's process of becoming emperor. After all, even without the Han emperor's edict, the ministers could still recommend him! This is the foundation of the country. It doesn't matter if it's a little troublesome now, because it can be used for hundreds of years in the future!
To put it in a deeper way, Sun Quan was willing to learn more from Cao Pi and less from Liu Bei. Although Han and Wu were allies in essence, it was clear who was stronger and who was weaker. How could he learn from the weaker party?
Yin Fan gave Zhuge Jin a slightly strange look, pretended to be thinking, and kept silent.
Just when Zhuge Jin was about to ask again, Yin Fan answered:
"General Zuo may not know that the 'three' in the three refusal and three decline is just a fictitious value, and it does not represent the actual number of declines."
"I vaguely remember that the Han Emperor issued edicts to Cao Pi to abdicate four times. If we count the ministers' refusal to ascend the throne, Cao Pi declined more than twenty times in total!"
Zhuge Jin gasped. (End of this chapter)
