Chapter 11 3. The Prisoner's Dilemma

Sometimes, life is like climbing a building. Someone coaxes you to go up a tall building, and then pulls out the ladder at the bottom and leaves, making you jump on it.Deng Zhi was trapped in a high-rise building and could not blame others. He climbed up with a ladder by himself, but the Qiang people were unpredictable and wanted to burn his ladder. The blame could only be bad luck. Deng Zhi was not completely desperate.When he was worrying, he saw someone holding a ladder and rushing towards him. The man was sent by the Empress Dowager Deng, but the ladder was sent by someone else.The person who sent Deng Zhi down the ladder was named Pang Can, who was a director of the engineering department at that time, and was from Henan.

As everyone knows, Pang Shen is not easy this time.He has just been released from jail because he was charged with a crime.When he was imprisoned, Pang Canren stayed in the cell, but his heart was not idle. He saw all directions, listened to all directions, and was very well informed.Through his son, he sent one of his memorials to Luoyang City. In the memorial, Pang Shen proposed a safe route for Deng Zhi's professional retreat. He wrote it like this: Xiliang is in turmoil, soldiers and natural disasters are coaxing together, and food supply is difficult to continue. Instead of fighting the Qiang people there, it is better to take a step back and let Zhengxi Xiaowei Ren Shangtun guard Liangzhou.Stop tax collection, stop conscription, and give farmers time to farm and raise land. In this way, within a few years, as long as the vitality of the Han army recovers and the vitality of the Qiang people is seriously injured, they can quickly attack and wipe out the Qiang people.

Regardless of whether there are loopholes in this proposal, anyone with a discerning eye will know that it is beneficial to Deng Zhi. Leave the danger to others, and leave the safety to yourself. Empress Dowager Deng very much agrees with Pang Shen's opinion.Surprised, she called someone to call Pang Can, but they told her that Pang Can couldn't even come if he wanted to, because he was being locked up in prison. An inexplicable sadness passed over the face of Queen Mother Deng.She immediately issued an edict, promoting Pang Can, the prisoner, as a visitor, and ordered him to set off immediately to supervise the three armies at the front.

Immediately afterwards, the Empress Dowager Deng issued another edict ordering Deng Zhi to return to Beijing. Now you can see clearly, the Empress Dowager Deng sent Pang Shen out, just to replace Deng Zhi's main force with a substitute player. Sometimes when I think about it, having a good father in life is not as good as having a beautiful and capable sister.This is true for Dou Xian, and even more so for Deng Zhi.Deng Zhi was beaten so badly on the front line that he almost cried, but when he returned to Luoyang, he received a very grand reception. Outside Luoyang City, there were no elementary school students lined up to welcome them, no gongs and drums shaking the sky, and no lively scenes of balloons flying all over the sky. There, only the civil and military officials, even princes and princesses, all came out to greet them.

What made Deng Zhi even more unexpected was that the Empress Dowager Deng not only prepared a hot bath and new clothes for him, but also gave him a beautiful new hat. The name of this hat is the General. Life is like this, why regret it?Killing the enemy is not easy, but is it easy for me to come back alive?At that moment, Deng Zhi's shame of being chased and killed by the Qiang people disappeared. With the achievements of the defeat, he was able to climb to the peak of power smoothly. It can only be said that God is really crazy.The people of the Han Dynasty did not expect that even crazier things were yet to come.

In the second year of Deng Zhi's return to Beijing, that is, in 109 A.D., in the spring of March, the Han Dynasty experienced a great hunger unprecedented in history, sweeping the world like a storm.The capital city of Luoyang was also affected.The glorious and proud Han Dynasty with a history of more than 300 years has staged a scene of human tragedy at this time.Because there was no food to eat, everyone replaced each other and cooked. In the so-called peaceful and prosperous times, people in the capital cannibalize each other, which can be described as a human tragedy.This situation finally made us believe in an old saying once again - whoever God wants to destroy, he must first make him crazy.

Faced with the natural and man-made disasters that came one after another, the Han Dynasty, including the Queen Mother Deng, were all at a loss. The three princes and ministers of the Han Dynasty collectively ran to the palace gate to plead guilty.Empress Dowager Deng waved her sleeves and said sadly, if you are guilty, I have been guilty too, everyone should go back and reflect on themselves. The result of Empress Dowager Deng's introspection is that she can't spend money indiscriminately. She issued an edict to abolish many unnecessary expenses of the court, such as garden activities on holidays, court bands, etc., all were withdrawn.Saving a little is a little, and it doesn't matter if the living standard is lowered. The key is that as long as the country is still there and the power is still there, there is no fear of having nothing to eat tomorrow.

Empress Dowager Deng is reflecting, and elder brother Deng Zhi is also reflecting. To be honest, with the halo of this great general on his head, he felt really empty.What he was counting on now was that Ren Shang, who was stationed at the front line, would be able to hold on and win back his face. Unfortunately, instead of saving Deng Zhi's face, Ren Shangfei lost all his face.Ren Shang struggled desperately, but still couldn't withstand the wheel-like attack of the Qiang people, so he quickly asked the central government to retreat. When Deng Zhi heard the news, he was so depressed that he wanted to hit the wall.

Think about it, how good the blueprint Pang Shen drew for him is.As long as Ren Shang can hold the front line and let the peasants who carry grain go home to plant the land, there will be food when there are crops, and if there is food, we will have food, no matter how big the war is, we will not be afraid. It's all right now, Ren Shang can't keep it, and the peasants can't grow crops, and the land is all abandoned. Deng Zhi seemed to understand the truth that no matter how good an idea is, it is not as good as a reliable executive.It was the misfortune of the Han Dynasty, and even more so, his misfortune that he met Ren Shang and other low-class bastards.

Soon, the Central Committee of the Han Dynasty approved Ren Shang's retreat and ordered him to station in Chang'an, the old capital. This is the bottom line of the Han Dynasty. If even Chang'an cannot be defended, the Han Dynasty collectively will have to drink the northwest wind.Where did the Han Dynasty go?Where does the future go? Open eyes and close eyes, it's all the Qiang people's rebellion, and the general Deng Zhi's heart is completely confused. We can assume that if the Qiang people are like a big fire, they must be watered to put out the fire.Deng Zhi, as the general of the Han Dynasty, is he short of water?It seems that it is impossible to say that it is missing.So, the problem is not the water.

So what's the problem? Suddenly, Deng Zhi seemed to understand.What he lacks most at present is not water, but excellent firefighters.Ren Shang, the captain of the fire brigade, was unreliable, so he had to find another expert.Thinking of an expert, Deng Zhi immediately thought of someone. This person was Pang Can, who had risked his life in prison and ran out to save him. Pang Shen, courtesy name Zhongda.This is not a magical person, but an out-and-out compound talent.When you come out to hang out, opportunities are important, and noble people are even more indispensable.Back then, when Pang Can first debuted and worked in the county, no one in the world knew his name.Later, his immediate boss, the prefect of Henan County, chatted with him and thought he was a genius in the world, so he worshiped him as Zuo Xiaoling. Zuo Xiaoling, under the Ministry of Engineering.The engineering department has a left school order and a right school order, each responsible for a labor camp. As mentioned earlier, Pang Shen was accused of breaking the law and sent to prison because of his work.In fact, Pang Can was promoted from prison by Queen Mother Deng not only because he designed a safe retreat plan for Deng Zhi.Another nobleman gave him a hand behind him, which was equally important to him. At this time, when Pang Can asked his son to write a letter to Queen Mother Deng for him, a letter recommending Pang Can was also sent to Queen Mother Deng. The person who recommended Pang Shen was Fan Zhun, the censor Zhongcheng.What is the relationship between Fan Zhun and Pang Shen?Do you have a personal relationship?no one knows.If there is no personal relationship, how could the memorials of the two be sent to Queen Mother Deng at the same time by such a coincidence? Excluding the possibility of chance, it can only be said that this is a good show jointly planned by Pang Shen and Fan Zhun. For Deng Zhi, no matter how legendary Pang Shen's political experience was, it didn't matter to him.What he wants most is to have an excellent firefighter who can take care of himself to solve his urgent needs. There is no doubt that the one who can get him out of the immediate predicament is none other than Pang Shen. Without Deng Zhi's failure, Pang Shen would not be where he is today.The matter of Deng Zhi is the matter of Pang Shen.At this moment, Pang Shen sent a set of plans to Deng Zhi, and briefly described his ideas in detail. Pang Shen told Deng Zhi like this: In the past, I suggested that the central government give up the Western Regions, and the scholar-bureaucrats in Xizhou still laughed at me.As it turns out, I was right.If we hadn't been greedy for those barren lands in the past, how could we have gotten into trouble and made the world uneasy today?Now, Liangzhou Bianjun has been dilapidated, and the people are in dire straits.As for the land of Sanfu in Chang'an, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and the residents of the border counties can be forcibly moved to Sanfu, so that the people can rest and rest, which can be described as a great good. Deng Zhi seems to understand that now that the Han Dynasty is short of soldiers and the people are poor, it is better to let it go than to be trapped by the Qiang people in the border county of Liangzhou.Just like abandoning the Western Regions at the beginning, the reason is the same. Deng Zhi thought and nodded thoughtfully. However, it seems unreasonable to give up Liangzhou just for the sake of comfort.A solid excuse must be found to gag the mouths of the officials of the Han Dynasty.Otherwise, they will be like shrews and come to the palace to scold the street. There is no skill in conquest, but Deng Zhi is still good at making excuses.Because in front of everyone, there is a good excuse. That is, the Southern Huns rebelled. The rebellion of the Southern Huns was no less than a super earthquake for the Han Dynasty. You know, since the beauty of the Western Han Dynasty, Zhaojun, the relationship between the Southern Huns and the Han Dynasty has been as close as brothers.Later, after Wang Mang became emperor, they rebelled after lowering their treatment.After Liu Xiu established the country, the Southern Xiongnu defected to the eldest brother again, and the two sides reconciled as before. Think about it, the Eastern Han Dynasty has done a lot for the Southern Huns over the years.The Han Dynasty didn't mention the food and clothing they gave them, and more importantly, they protected them for free from the harassment of the Northern Huns.For this reason, Dou Xian worked tirelessly to wipe out almost all the mortal enemies of the Southern Huns. It’s all right now, I’ve taken good care of you, and if the elder brother is in trouble, the younger brother will turn his face and deny anyone. Perhaps, Deng Zhi couldn't figure it out.In fact, some people have seen this day coming long before. Back then, when Dou Xian wanted to conquer the Northern Huns, Yuan An strongly opposed it.He believes that the two brothers, the Northern Huns and the Southern Huns, are fighting each other, which is beneficial to the Han Dynasty. Once the Northern Huns are eliminated and the threat of the Southern Huns is eliminated, they will rise rapidly and pose a threat to the Han Dynasty. Thinking about it now, Jiang is still old and spicy, Yuan An's words are accurate.What kind of big Han and Southern Xiong, the friendship is everlasting, is simply bullshit.National politics, with only morality and no interest in diplomacy, is as pale as paper; with interests and moral exchanges, it will be as solid as a rock. But now, the big Han is like an old man who has been abandoned by the Southern Huns, which is in line with the development law of historical things. Speaking of it, if all the name of betrayal is attributed to the Southern Huns, it may be a bit unfair to Mr. Shan Yu.The Han Dynasty should push the crime of rebelling against the first to a Han.That Han man is a veritable and disgusting big traitor, and his name is Han Cong. In the Western Han Dynasty, there was a big traitor named Zhong Xingshuo in the imperial court, and in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Han Cong appeared again. The two together can be called the double traitors of the Han Dynasty.In terms of skill, Bank of China said that it might be slightly inferior to the man surnamed Han in front of him. Bank of China said that when he was a traitor, he was forced by life, while Han Cong took the initiative to throw himself into his arms and fan the flames. Han Cong was in the circle of the Southern Huns in his early years. When the Qiang rebelled, he accompanied the Southern Xiongnu Shanyu to Luoyang City to meet the emperor. After returning, he went to lobby the Southern Xiongnu Shanyu to rebel.He told the Shanyu of the Southern Xiongnu in this way: According to his observation, he believed that the Han Dynasty did not suffer from a bad cold this time, but a serious cancer, and it would not last long.This is the time for us to stand up and become big brothers, let's do it quickly. In this way, the Southern Xiongnu Shanyu believed Han Cong's nonsense and sent troops. In the face of the rebellion of the Southern Huns, Deng Zhi had reason to believe that: the world was in turmoil, and the central government of the Han Dynasty avoided the most important ones, abandoned Liangzhou, defended Chang'an, and focused on exterminating the Southern Huns. This is the current major task of national defense. For this reason, his decision should be passed without any problem. Sure enough?