EBE Chapter 489 Li Yan and Zhuge Liang! Did Jiang Wan and Fei Yi destroy the Northern Expedition?
Chapter 489 Li Yan and Zhuge Liang! Did Jiang Wan and Fei Yi destroy the Northern Expedition?
"presumptuous!"
"How dare Zhuge Kongming do such a thing?"
On the seventh day after Zhuge Liang took office, Li Yan received a shocking piece of bad news.
His cousin violated the laws of Shu and was imprisoned by Zhuge Liang.
The laws of Shu were different from those of other parts of the Han Dynasty, forming a unique system.
The founder was Liu Yan.
For the sake of stability in Shu, Liu Bei consulted with Fa Zheng and Zhuge Liang and decided to continue using the laws from Liu Yan's time.
This wouldn't have been a big deal, but Zhuge Liang's arrest of Li Yan's cousin was clearly an attempt to make an example of Li Yan's cousin.
"presumptuous!"
"Even Zhuge Liang would consider the owner before beating a dog, let alone my own cousin?"
"Come with me to Zhuge Liang's residence and see just how arrogant this fellow is!"
Li Yan, leading two hundred personal guards, surged toward Zhuge Liang's residence.
Soon, the group arrived at the entrance of Zhuge Liang's residence.
The doorman dared not resist and hurriedly informed Zhuge Liang of the news.
Zhuge Liang, however, seemed not to hear, sitting upright in his study, quietly turning the pages of his book, ignoring the aggressive demeanor of Li Yan and his entourage.
"Ha, Kongming is truly focused and meticulous!"
Li Yan barged in with a forced smile.
Zhuge Liang then slowly raised his head, revealing a smile:
"I wonder what brings General Li here today?"
Li Yan gave a cold snort, pointed to a list on Zhuge Liang's desk, and said:
"My lord entrusted you with the task of preparing provisions with me, not with arresting my cousin, right?"
"What are your intentions in arresting my cousin without any orders?"
Zhuge Liang smiled and handed the list on the table to Li Yan.
Li Yan's cousin, Li Jun, was among them.
But it only ranked third.
The first one was Liu Ba's nephew, and the second one was Fei Guan's nephew!
"you……"
For a moment, Li Yan was dumbfounded.
He originally thought that Zhuge Liang wanted to arrest his cousin in order to dig up dirt on him and then attack him.
But now, it seems that's not the case...
Fei Guan, needless to say, sent his nephew Fei Yi to serve under Zhuge Liang as a disciple, making him a definite political ally of Zhuge Liang and the fourth-ranking member of the Dongzhou faction.
Liu Ba was the third-in-command of the Dongzhou faction.
During Liu Yan's reign, Liu Ba had already moved his entire clan to Yizhou and achieved some success.
He was both an official and a rare Confucian scholar in Sichuan.
Other than that.
Liu Ba was not only a member of the Dongzhou faction but also a native of Jingzhou, thus naturally having a potential connection with Zhuge Liang!
Zhuge Liang dared to touch Liu Ba and Fei Yi's men.
Isn't this blatant "indiscriminate attack"?
This left Li Yan speechless, unsure of where to begin.
Seeing that Li Yan was at a loss, Zhuge Liang took out a criminal record of Li Jun and handed it to Li Yan.
"General Li, this is what your cousin did today."
"When they were oppressing the people, they were using your banner, General Li."
"When they were plundering the land, they were still using your banner, General Li."
"When they forcibly took the woman, General Li, guess what? Your cousin said it was a concubine he was finding for you!"
Zhuge Liang possessed a certain comedic talent.
These words made Li Yan blush with embarrassment.
This guy... Li Jun is such a jerk!
If Li Yan really did make him do these things, then so be it.
The key issue is that Li Yan didn't have it!
But in the end, the one who had to pay the price for Li Jun was Li Yan, the second-in-command of the Dongzhou faction and a well-known figure in Yizhou.
"I understand Kongming's meaning."
"Thank you, Kongming, for catching this pest, Li Jun, for me."
"I urge Kongming to punish that scoundrel Li Jun according to the law!"
After saying this, Li Yan bowed and took his leave.
A slight smile appeared on Zhuge Liang's lips.
Li Yan was no match for him.
Li Yan had no choice but to swallow his anger over Li Jun's matter, and even had to thank Zhuge Liang.
Otherwise, even if Zhuge Liang releases Li Jun today...
Given how much Li Jun betrayed his brother, he was bound to be a ticking time bomb for Li Yan sooner or later!
However, Zhuge Liang's handling of Li Jun now is able to "make a big deal into a small one," preventing Li Jun from further implicating Li Yan.
The outside world will also remember Li Yan for his "righteous act of putting family aside for the greater good".
However, if Li Yan claims that Zhuge Liang deliberately targeted him, there is no substantial evidence to support that claim.
Zhuge Liang captured more than just Li Jun!
After Li Yan left.
Jiang Wan and Fei Yi entered together.
“Gongyan (Jiang Wan’s courtesy name was Gongyan), go to Liu Changshi’s (Liu Ba’s) residence and give him this letter.”
"Wenwei (Fei Yi's courtesy name is Wenwei), I'm leaving your uncle's affairs to you."
"Here!"
Jiang Wan and Fei Yi gladly accepted the order.
The three people Zhuge Liang captured were related to Li Yan, Liu Ba, and Fei Guan, respectively.
If this isn't handled well, Zhuge Liang shouldn't stay with the Dongzhou faction anymore.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang's measure was to severely punish both Li Yan's cousin Li Jun and the other two, treating them equally!
However, while treating everyone equally, the three were spared their lives, leaving room for maneuver.
The current Zhuge Liang is learning a great deal from the old six men in Cao Cao's camp!
You have to become bad to defeat someone worse than yourself!
Therefore, we should learn from the barbarians' superior techniques to control them.
Sometimes, we cannot be bound by morality or established methods, but must explore new means and methods!
Even if some methods are unethical, as long as the method works, it's fine!
Liu Ba has always valued his reputation.
Zhuge Liang instructed Jiang Wan to send men under Li Yan's name to incite public opinion.
First, publicize Liu Ba's nephew's crimes among the people, and then ask Liu Ba whether he wants to punish his nephew.
To protect his own reputation, Liu Ba would definitely ask Zhuge Liang to severely punish his nephew!
However, at the same time, it will increase people's dislike for Li Yan and make them feel that he is a busybody!
Zhuge Liang punished Liu Ba's nephew but did not kill him. For Liu Ba, this was a tacit understanding between colleagues, and he owed Zhuge Liang a favor.
Fei Guan had no biological children. Apart from his deceased elder brother, his nephews and nieces were his closest blood relatives.
As Fei Guan's nephew, Fei Yi knew how to say things in a way that would be most beneficial to himself and also to Zhuge Liang.
Li Yan, you should take the blame!
Anyway, you'll take the blame whether you're in one or two positions.
Mr. Kongming was definitely a good official who upheld the law and enforced justice!
I, Fei Yi, am a good assistant to Master Kongming!
My uncle, Fei Guan, upheld justice even at the cost of his own family!
But you, Li Yan, are a despicable scoundrel!
My cousin committed a crime, and he even dragged my uncle's nephew into it!
If you're not a villain, then who is?
Li Yan was unaware of this.
At this moment, under the manipulation of Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, and Fei Yi, he has become the public enemy of several other bigwigs of the Dongzhou faction!
Historically, Li Yan was also defeated by a series of similar maneuvers and was unable to retaliate.
As for why Li Yan wept after Zhuge Liang's death, saying that he would never have another chance, it was because of the existence of Jiang Wan and Fei Yi!
If Zhuge Liang were alive, Li Yan would still have a chance.
Even if Li Yan were to be reappointed, Zhuge Liang would have a hundred ways to crush him again!
Let him get up where he fell down.
But Jiang Wan and Fei Yi are different.
These two not only conspired to tell a colossal lie to cover up the truth, but also personally destroyed the Shu Han's hopes for a northern expedition!
……
PS: The next chapter is very intense and a bit mind-bending. It will be presented as an independent story. The godfathers can be seen as a kind of historical analysis and inference, which may not be correct, because it is just an inference based on historical materials and the views of some historians.
Let me build up some armor first. If you have different opinions, feel free to say so, but please, please don't scold me. This humble author is actually very timid.