"The officials of Han and Wu countries are dealing with important matters, and Jiang Yuan is unable to entrust it to his subordinates, so he goes to Wu Chang personally without hesitation."
Hu Zong once again went to the inn to welcome Jiang Yuan: "I have kept my brother Gongye waiting for several days again, and it's my fault. The Left General and the Southern General have already returned to Wuchang."
Jiang Wan smiled and looked at Hu Zong: "Weizhe, are these two people here for my matters? It's not that fast, is it? It's not even five days yet."
Hu Zong also smiled and bowed with his hands: "I don't dare to deceive my brother Gongye. Our Wu country will have some good news. Please come to the banquet at that time."
"Good news? " Jiang Yuan looked at Hu Zong with a slight question: "Attending the banquet is certain. However, since I have come a long way, I have not brought many gifts."
"What's the matter with gifts? Wu and Han are allies; why should we be concerned about such things?" Hu Zong observed the surroundings and said in a lowered voice, "Don't keep it from my brother Gongye, Duke Gong. King Wu's third daughter, Princess Sanweng, has made a marriage agreement with Zhu Ju, also known as Zhu Zifan, the Commander of Jianyi. They are to be married on the twenty-third day of the sixth month!"
Jiang Yuan pondered for a moment and asked, "The wedding is to be held in three days? Such good news, I will definitely attend the banquet. Since Zhu Zifan's surname is Zhu, is he a member of the Zhu family in Wu Prefecture?"
Hu Zong nodded, then sighed and said, "General Zhu Xiumu, the former Feiwu General, was killed in battle in Ancheng. It was during the time when Governor Lü Ziheng of the former Yangzhou died the year before that Emperor Cao Wenlie of the Wei sent a mourning gift. It was only then that his remains were retrieved."
"The Zhu family is loyal to the country. Wu Wang made a promise of marriage at that time. Due to the heavy burden of state affairs, it has been delayed until today."
Jiang Yuan sighed deeply as well. Each family has its own troubles to deal with, and Wu's past is filled with painful memories. How about the Grand Han? Just look at Han Middle...
Never mind, don't mention Hanzhong.
After clearing his thoughts, Jiang Yuan bowed with his hands: "Since the Left General and the Southern General have already returned to Wu Chang, please let Wei Zhe take me to pay my respects."
"Good!" Hu Zong nodded.
Hu Zong had come specifically to invite Jiang Wan. After entering the palace in Wu Chang, Jiang Wan was about to inquire about the military affairs, but instead, Zhuge Jin brought up a question first:
"Brother Gongye, I remember that the Great Liang Emperor was declared the King of Han in Yanmenyan in the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, and became the Emperor in Chengdu in the twenty-sixth year of Jian'an, wasn't that so?"
Zhuge Jin was the elder brother of Zhuge Chongxing, the Prime Minister of Shu. Therefore, everyone in the Shu Han dynasty, even when they occasionally engaged in vigorous competition during their visits to Sun Quan, always treated Zhuge Jin with utmost respect.
Jiang Wan bowed and replied, "General, what you said is very true. It was indeed in the twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth years."
Years of different regimes do not communicate with each other; in essence, they are originated from political differences. During the time when Liu Xie was still an emperor, the whole country followed the title "Jian'an," and there was no differentiation between Wei, Shu, and Wu.
Cao Pi changed Jian'an Twenty-five to Yankang One year and then to Huangyi One year. The Shu Han side could not possibly respond to this. In addition, Liu Bei had not yet become the emperor, so there was an inexplicable extra Jian'an Twenty-sixth year added on.
Sun Quan did indeed use the "Huangchu" era name. After all, he had once received a title and rewards from the Wei kingdom, so the era name was just a minor matter along the way.
Zhuge Jin then asked, "When the Great Liang Emperor declared himself the King of Han and later became the emperor, did he make three refusals and three declines?"
This is a critical and core issue, and Jiang Wan dare not take it lightly. After taking a moment to seriously think about it, he slowly replied:
"General, you may not know this, but the traitor Cao Pi forced Emperor Xiao Min to perform the rite of abdication. It was then that he declined the empty honors and pretended to be modest. Our Great Liang Emperor inherited the Liu dynasty and acted in accordance with heaven and time to benefit the people. How could he decline?"
Looking at Sun Quan, who still had an expressionless face, Zhuge Jin persisted in asking:
"Brother Gongye, the so-called declination is not only the abdication of the throne, but also the declination of a sovereign to a subject's commendation. Even this does not exist?"
Jiang Wan shook his head: "As long as it is for the benefit of the state, it is enough to be solely in charge. Our Great Liang Emperor struggled to support the declining royal temple, so there is no need for any talk of declination."
At this moment, Hu Zong walked up to Sun Quan's side and whispered in his ear: "Your Majesty, do you remember that a few days ago I told you about a young scholar who defected from Wei territory to Wu Chang, calling himself Yǐnfān?"
Sun Quan nodded slightly to acknowledge the information.
Hu Zong continued in a low voice, "He sent me a letter of self-recommendation yesterday, stating that he studied at the Imperial Academy in Wei for over a year and is well-versed in the rituals, laws, and major policies of Wei. The 'three declinations and three refusals' are also part of the rituals. Perhaps he knows about this. Why not summon Yǐnfān and ask him?"
Sun Quan looked at Jiang Wan, then replied, "Okay, Wei Zhe, go quickly."
"Following the command."
Zhuge Jin still asked about all the details of Liu Bei's declaration as emperor, including prophecies, auspicious signs, omens, procedures, and rituals, and he went through all of them.
Jiang Wan was a witness to that time and, since Sun Quan's accession as emperor was a matter of internal unity within Shu Han, he answered the questions patiently. They thus continued to ask and answer each other for nearly half an hour.
Hu Zong walked back into the hall, with Yǐnfān following closely behind him.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects! I have returned to loyalty to this country from Wei and have finally seen your divine countenance today, how fortunate it is! As Wang Jie left the realm of the tyrant Shang Zhou, so did Chen Ping attach himself to the wise Han Gao."
"I only hope to be able to contribute to Your Supreme Majesty in some way!"
Sun Quan nodded and pointed to Yǐnfān, saying, "This young scholar, Yǐnfān, has come to us from Wei with loyalty. He is from Qing State Beihai Prefecture. Mr. Zhu Gongjin, his hometown is not far from yours."
Zhuge Jin smiled and said, "I am from Langya Prefecture, and I come from the northernmost Yangdu County in Langya. I wonder which county in Beihai Prefecture does Master Yǐnfān come from?"
"I have met the Left General." Yǐnfān bowed modestly and replied, "My family has resided in Ju County, which is separated from the Left General's hometown by only Dongguan Prefecture. We are neighboring counties as well."
Zhuge Jin nodded and said, "The act of returning loyalty from afar is commendable."
"Your Majesty, I have observed that although he is young, this man has an extraordinary demeanor. I would like to ask him a few questions on your behalf to gauge his talent and scholarship."
Sun Quan nodded and said, "Following Zhu Gongjin's words, Master Yǐnfān, come in and sit down."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Yǐnfān bowed respectfully.
Zhuge Jin cleared his throat and said, "Master Yǐnfān, what were your experiences in Wei?"
Yǐnfān replied, "I am twenty-two years old this year. I entered the Imperial Academy of Wei two years ago."
"Are you familiar with the events in Luozhong?" Zhuge Jin asked again.
Yǐnfān nodded, "I know what I can know, and what I cannot know is naturally beyond my knowledge."
Zhuge Jin smiled and said, "Since that's the case, did you learn the rituals while studying at Wei's Imperial Academy? Do you know how Cao Pi abdicated power?"
Yǐnfān thought for a moment before replying, "I am aware of this matter. Cao Pi, in his time, performed the ritual of three refusals and three acceptances in Luoyang. He then granted the last Han emperor the title of Marquis of Shan Yang, and the rituals and protocols at the ancestral temple were as usual. He also took two daughters of the Marquis of Shan Yang as concubines."
Although Jiang Wan did not ask many questions, he had already gathered a general understanding of the conversation between the two.
Just now, Zhuge Jin kept asking about the protocols of the previous Emperor Shaozi when he declared himself emperor. It was clearly to prepare for Sun Quan's own accession to the throne. Moreover, this newly returned Master Yǐnfān had been in Luoyang before, and Zhuge Jin asked him the same questions again.
But when he heard about the late Han emperor, also known as the Marquis of Shan Yang, Jiang Wan chose to be temporarily deaf.
Just pretending not to hear!
What else can I do? When Liu Bei declared himself emperor, he announced it clearly to the world. Emperor Xiao Min was dead, killed by the Cao family. He was even given a respectful title of 'Emperor Xiao Min'. But Master Yǐnfān says that Emperor Xiao Min is still alive in Shan Yang, living happily, and even the ancestral temple is still there!
Jiang Wan had no other means to respond.
"Three refusals and three declines!" Zhuge Jin heard the key words in Yǐnfān's words and directly asked, "Please tell us more about the three refusals and three declines. Are they not the case where the Han emperor issued three edicts, and Cao Pi declined three times?"
To later generations, the process of three refusals and three declines in the abdication or usurpation, was merely a formality.
But just as Cao Cao carefully learned from Wang Mang's process of usurping the throne, how to become an emperor was the most sophisticated political issue of that era.
Liu Bei usurped the throne under the pretext of his surname, Liu. This method was clearly something that Sun Quan could not borrow.
And Cao Pi's process of declaring himself emperor was something Sun Quan could mimic. After all, without an edict from the Han emperor, it would be acceptable for the ministers to elect him. This is the foundation of establishing a state, and now it might be troublesome, but it would be useful for hundreds of years in the future!
At a deeper level, Sun Quan was more willing to learn from Cao Pi than from Liu Bei. Although Han and Wu were formally allies, it was clear who was stronger and who was weaker. Why would one want to learn from the weaker party?
Yǐnfān looked at Zhuge Jin in a peculiar way, pretending to think, and remained silent.
Just as Zhuge Jin was beginning to lose his patience and wanted to ask another question, Yǐnfān spoke up and replied:
"General Zhuge may not know this, but the 'three' in the 'three refusals and three declines' is just a nominal value; it does not actually refer to the number of times of declining."
"I vaguely remember that the Han emperor gave Cao Pi a proclamation of abdication four times. If we add the refusals from the officials, Cao Pi declined more than twenty times!"
Zhuge Jin drew in a sharp breath. (Chapter complete)
