Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 169 Don't wait for me
Liu Biao was actually very happy today.

There are two things.

One is that Shen Chen sent troops to help him balance the situation in the north and weaken Cao Yuan's power.

The second is that he pacified Jingnan, obtained tens of thousands of Zhang Xian's songs, and had a crowd of [-] or [-], and his strength became the head of all the princes.

These two events caused his ambition to swell again, and also rekindled his dream of becoming emperor.

In the final analysis, in history, he had the act of proclaiming himself emperor, but as Cao Cao's strength became stronger and the north gradually became unified, he could only extinguish this idea.

But the situation is quite different now. Shen Chen attacked Xudu in a surprise attack, and Yuan Cao suffered from both defeats, so that after he pacified Jingnan, he became a ubiquitous one instead.

Now that the emperor's dragon robe and the emperor's Chengyu are ready, it is time for him to test many officials.

What he didn't expect was that just after the words were spoken, the audience was silent. Everyone sat cross-legged on the mat, looking at each other's eyes and minds. Even his close friend Cheng Qi didn't dare to be the first to speak out.

This matter is too involved.

At that time, there were strict rules for offering sacrifices, and offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, the sun and the moon, the Sidu, and the Five Mountains was beyond ordinary people's ability.

Only the emperor can lead the ministers and officials to worship.

You are a local vassal, wanting to sacrifice the heaven and the earth, criticize Chengyu, and compare the country, what is this for?
Rebellion.

Although the Son of Heaven is controlled in Xudu, he is not dead yet, so he wants to seek power and usurp the throne?

So this is a proposition of Taoism. As long as these officials and guests under Liu Biao are still rational, they will not be able to answer this question at all.

"Speak, why are you all dumb?"

Seeing the silence of the crowd, Liu Biao's face, which was originally quite excited, turned gloomy instantly. He is 58 years old, and he doesn't know how many years he will have to live. How can we not make him feel anxious?
Deng Hong glanced at Shen Chen, Shen Chen shook his head slightly at him, and Deng Hong buried his head down.

Everyone still didn't speak, and no one wanted to be the leader.

Only Kuai Liang thought for a while, stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Duke Ming is a clan member of the Han family. Now that the country is in crisis, it is a matter of course to pray for the country and society on behalf of the emperor, but we are afraid of being misunderstood by the world, so we should act cautiously. "

"Yes, Mr. Ming, please think twice before acting."

"This matter is very involved, and I am afraid that people in the world will criticize it. Therefore, Mr. Ming, don't act impulsively."

"Minggong, I feel the same way."

"The sacrificial offering is to pray for the welfare of the country. I think it is not necessary to sacrifice to the heaven and the earth. The ancestor of Minggong is King Lu Gong. How about offering sacrifices to the family temple for the protection of the king?"

"It's not just King Lu Gong, Gaozu is also available. These are all the ancestors of Ming Gong, so what's wrong with offering sacrifices to ancestors?"

"I think Zishang and Yuanji are right, they can offer sacrifices to ancestors."

Everyone expresses their opinions.

Everyone is not a fool, obviously Liu Biao wanted to test everyone's intentions, if Miaozi couldn't be killed, then he might suddenly imitate Yuan Shu and proclaim himself emperor in the future, wouldn't that be bad luck?
So they all asked Liu Biao to think twice before acting, hoping that he could think again.

However, there are also a few more tactful ones who support Liu Biao's sacrifice, but not to sacrifice to heaven and earth, but to sacrifice to ancestors.

These people like Liu Rui, Han Xuan, Zhao Fan, Liu Du and other Liu Biao's cronies are like this, neither offending Liu Biao nor taboo.

After all, the gods most believed by the Han people are their ancestors, apart from the sky above their heads.

Liu Biao is the descendant of King Lu Gong, and Liu Bang is also his ancestor. Everyone is of the same blood of the old Liu family. Why can't we worship my ancestors?

Not to mention the world, even the Son of Heaven can't fault it.

Only Liu Biao's complexion was very ugly.

What he wants is not to worship the ancestors, but to gain the power and status like the Son of Heaven. If he really becomes a sacrifice to the ancestors, then what's the point of his temptation?
However, Liu Biaocheng's family is very deep, knowing that everyone's opposition is more clear now, so he changed his smile and said: "You don't have to be surprised, I just want to pray for Jiangshan Sheji and the emperor. I have no other intentions. Today is for me. Come back from the north to pick up the wind and wash away the dust, let's not talk about other things, let's have a banquet."

With a wave of his hand, the meals that had been prepared a long time ago began to be served.A group of graceful dancers and musicians came out from the left and right sides of the screen, lined up in the open space in the center of the hall, and began to play music and dance.

This was what the dignitaries liked to do most at that time, especially their old Liu family. From Liu Bang to Hanling Emperor Liu Hong, to Liu Biao and Liu Zhang, all of them liked to play music and then dance.

It's just that with the episode just now, many officials were so preoccupied that they didn't dare to talk or ask more questions.

In the whole hall, apart from the sound of cooking and singing and dancing, there was no other sound.

After noon, the singing and dancing stopped, the food was finished, and the banquet was over, Liu Biao got up and said, "That's the end of today's banquet, Chen, please wait in the mansion for a while, Zirou, come with me, and the rest will come." scattered."

"only."

Everyone broke up the banquet.

Kuai Liang followed Liu Biao to the study in the backyard to discuss matters, while Shen Chen sent Song Zhong Wang Can to the gate of General Hushi.

"Master, brother Zhongxuan."

Standing at the door, Shen Chen cupped his hands to the two of them and said, "I didn't mean to offend you today, and I didn't expect you to come."

Song Zhong waved his hand and said, "It's okay, you have grown up, Achen, Jingyi, you have blazed a new path, and you also attacked Cao Cao in the Northern Expedition, proving yourself that I am really not as good as you as a teacher."

"Please don't say these words, master."

Shen Chen respectfully said: "Master is my teacher for a day, and will be my teacher for the rest of my life. I will firmly remember the principles of life that Master taught me."

"Ugh."

Song Zhongchang sighed: "The road to the future is still very long, let's do it."

After that, he turned and got on the carriage.

Wang Can said, "Ah Chen, you have the style of a national scholar, but"

He glanced at the officials and guests of Liu Biao who came out to the left and right, hesitated for a moment, but still did not dare to speak out, just said: "Please proceed with caution."

"Thank you brother."

Shen Chen actually knew what he was going to say, no one was a fool.

Liu Biao is actually sending a signal today.

If Liu Biao were the Hussar General of the Han Dynasty and Jingzhou Mu, everyone would still be willing to follow him.

But if he wants to do other things, then forget it.

So Wang Can can be regarded as persuading Shen Chen, sometimes don't go astray for revenge.

The two left.

Shen Chen walked back into the hall again.

Deng Hong and Liu Xian were originally engaged in the state government, and they had public housing in the government office, so they went to work on their own.

At this moment, Liu Biao and Kuai Liang are sitting side by side in Liu Biao's study in the backyard.

Incense is burned indoors, and the smell is fragrant.

Liu Biao lightly tapped twice on the high-quality red sandalwood table brought in from Interweave, and asked, "Zirou, what do you think?"

"There's a lot of resistance."

Kuai Liang shook his head and said, "Many officials are unwilling to offer sacrifices to Duke Ming, so this matter still needs to be discussed in the long run."

"Well."

Liu Biao nodded slightly, fell silent for a moment, and sighed, "I'm already very old. Now the world is in ruins, the country is in chaos, the years are fierce, and there are disturbances everywhere. I am the clan of the Liu surname, and I want to inherit the ambition of Guangwu. Wasted."

Kuai Liang said: "The Grand Duke looked eighty, and he assisted the King of Wu to defeat Zhou. He was incorruptible at seventy, and he still had more courage. Minggong is now in good health, so how can he lament his age?"

"Hahaha, Zirou's words are very popular with me. Fortunately, I have Zirou by my side, otherwise I would have been depressed."

Liu Biao laughed when he was persuaded by Kuai Liang. Cai Mao and Kuai Yue in Jingzhou were all pro-Cao faction, and only Kuai Liang and Huang Zu supported him to achieve his hegemony.

Recently, he has been suppressing Cai Mao and Kuaiyue, withdrew their military power, and handed over Kuaiyue's Zhangling prefect to Huang Zu's son Huang She, in order to gradually exclude the pro-Cao faction from the core .

Today's temptation is actually a signal, but judging from the results, this temptation may not be satisfactory.

But no matter how difficult it is, we have to move forward with difficulty.

At the age of 58, who knows how many days he can live?
After the two encouraged each other, Liu Biao said, "Zi Rou, what do you think of Shen Chen?"

"Shen Chen went north, and almost missed the official business, too reckless."

Kuai Liang pondered: "Although the result this time is extremely beneficial to us, but he really almost welcomed the emperor to Nanyang. If this is the case, the great cause of Ming Gong will be completely eliminated."

"Well."

Liu Biao nodded and said, "Ah Chen is good at everything. He is a genius in civil and military affairs, but he has too much hatred for Cao Cao. It really almost ruined my affairs. I am also afraid that he will cause trouble, so I will let him study at home with peace of mind. After two years Give him a great talent, and then work for me."

Kuai Liang went on to say: "If the Duke of Ming wants to expand his ambitions, he should not be in a hurry. Today, the Duke said that defeating Cao next year would be a good thing. If it can be achieved, we can use the prestige of defeating Cao to continue to explore."

"what do you mean?"

"You can gather the army first, sacrifice the heaven and the earth to establish authority, and then send a large army to the north. You don't need to defeat Cao Cao. If you can conquer Yingchuan, you can spread your reputation far and wide."

"Ah."

Liu Biao stroked his beard and said, "That statement makes sense."

Kuai Liang continued: "However, now that the New Year's Pass is approaching, you still need to reorganize the army first to ensure the supply of food, grass and equipment. I am also afraid that the current army is too heavy, which is not conducive to commanding operations."

"I know about it."

Liu Biao said: "Liu Bei sent a letter saying that he came to visit me a few days ago. I don't think he can return to the north. He is probably looking for me to seek a place to live. What does Zirou think?"

Kuai Liang said: "Liu Bei has fought Cao Cao many times, and he is familiar with Cao Cao's details, and he has clothes and belts. If he can use it, it will be a good thing for the Duke. Now Zhang Xiu is in the west of Nanyang, and our farmland is in the south of Nanyang. There is no garrison in the north, so Liu Bei can be placed in Wancheng, and Liu Bei may be able to help when he goes north to attack Cao next year."

In history, half of Liu Biao's Nanyang was actually occupied by Cao Cao. When Liu Bei came over, he used the method of relocating Zhang Xiu and placed Liu Bei in Xinye as a buffer zone with Cao Cao. He had no good intentions for Liu Bei. It's just using Liu Bei.

But now his strength has increased sharply. Shen Chen dealt a heavy blow to Cao Cao in the battle of Nanyang, and prevented Zhang Xiu from attaching to the north, making it impossible for Cao Cao to infect Guiyang, gain a population of one million in Nanyang, and greatly expand the strength of Jingzhou.

Immediately after the Zhang Xian Rebellion, after Jingnan was pacified, his strength soared. Up to now, Cao Cao can only station troops at Nanyangkou, but cannot deposit them, so Liu Bei is not very necessary to buffer.

However, Liu Bei still has political significance at present. He is one of the successors of the Yidai Zhao. Dong Chengfeng followed the Yidai Zhao and conspired with Zhongji, Wu Shuo, Wang Zifu, Liu Bei, and Wu Zilan to get rid of Cao Cao. As a result, the rest of the incident happened They were all killed by Cao Cao, and there is only one Liu Bei left.

So now Liu Bei is the only survivor of the Yidai Zhao incident. If Liu Biao wants to establish his prestige by cutting Cao Cao, he must use a reasonable excuse to follow the Yidai Zhao together with the left general Liu Bei, which is the best choose.

"Zirou's words are very reasonable."

Liu Biao nodded and said, "Okay, then I will personally discuss with Liu Bei. If he is willing to join me, I will let him station in Wancheng and give him the north of Nanyang."

"Also in the palace today, I see some people have strange expressions on their faces. I'm afraid these people will be the resistance of Duke Ming."

Kuai Liang suggested: "Some people should be removed or replaced."

"Ah."

Liu Biao took it for granted, and he also noticed it.

For example, Liu Guan and others are his opponents of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, and I am afraid they cannot stay.

The two discussed some details, such as some matters of next year's sacrifice, the list of some people to be replaced, and even killing some people for the sake of standing.

After chatting for about half an hour, Kuai Liang took his leave.

Liu Biao summoned Shen Chen again.

Shen Chen entered the room. This is a small hall. After entering the hall, there is only one mat and table on the left and right. The mat has been changed just now. It is obvious that Kuai Liang left not long ago.

The direction facing the door is the main seat. Liu Biao was sitting behind the table. After he came in, he cupped his hands and said, "General."

"Ah Chen, sit down."

Liu indicated that he sat on his right hand side.

Shen Chen sat down, cupped his hands again and said: "General, I don't know what is calling Chen to come here?"

Liu Biao pondered, "Ah Chen, what do you think of Jingzhou today?"

"I don't know what the general refers to?"

"People's hearts."

"People's hearts?"

Shen Chen thought for a while and said, "There are many pro-Cao people in Jingzhou, and the hearts of the people may not be safe."

Liu Biao smiled approvingly and said, "Speaking of which, I have to thank you. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid there would be more pro-Cao people in Jingzhou."

"It's all because of the general's full support."

Shen Chen smiled embarrassedly.

He and Liu Biao have common interests in this matter, so they support each other and use each other.

Liu Biao used him to suppress those pro-Cao factions, and he used the power given by Liu Biao to do this, which can be regarded as a clear division of labor.

How rampant was the pro-Cao faction back then?
Just because of Liu Biao's affair with Yuan Shao, officials, big and small, seemed to be blown up, and the official documents that were written to his desk were like snowflakes, and countless people resigned.

Even Kuai Yue, who had helped him gain a foothold in Jingzhou, persuaded him. You can imagine how bad Liu Biao was in that time.

The appearance of Shen Chen seemed to give Liu Biao a beam of fire in the darkness, allowing him to sit behind the scenes and observe his opponents from behind the scenes. Shen Chen would bear the firepower in front, which greatly relieved his pressure.

So in this matter, Liu Biao is still very grateful to Shen Chen.

Now those famous scholars, great Confucian families and wealthy families who opposed him have either gone north to seek refuge with Cao Cao, or gone south to Lingling and Guiyang to live in seclusion since the Yidaizhao incident, and their power has declined a lot.

Liu Biao is now considering suppressing Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, so that he can rely on the two supporters of Huang Zu and Kuai Liang to complete his hegemony.

As for Shen Chen's words.

I really considered letting him join it before.

There is Kuai Liang in the lower hand, Huang Zu in the martial arts, Shen Chen is both civil and military, so why worry about major events not being accomplished?

It's just that Shen Chen is young and has a strong personality, so he is prone to illness when beating Cao Cao.

Now Cao Cao's vitality is seriously injured, his troops are running out of food and grass, and the entire Henan area has been maimed, which can be described as a ruined wall.

On the other hand, Jingzhou, which has a strong people and a rich state, has more than [-] troops under its command, with sufficient food and grass, and I have the advantage.

If Shen Chen is sent up at this time, if he doesn't do a good job and really beats Cao Cao to death and rescues Liu Xie, then he is still playing a chicken feather?
So Liu Biao decided to take it easy.

After the Northern Expedition to Cao Cao next year to establish his own prestige, he will go step by step in the direction of proclaiming himself emperor.

Seeing that Shen Chen was quite modest, Liu Biao stroked his beard and said, "Ah Chen, you have always been wise early. I want to know what the future holds for the general trend of the world today?"

Shen Chen said sternly: "Cao and Yuan are both hurt, and have no time to look south in a short period of time. This is a good opportunity for the general to strengthen himself."

"Oh?"

Liu Biao laughed and said, "What do you mean by that?"

Shen Chen said: "The north is now in a stalemate between Yuan and Cao, and there will be no winner in a short time. The general should accumulate food at this time, build a high wall, and send a general to guard Nanyang to guard against the north. The general will go east and take Yangzhou."

Take Yangzhou?
Liu Biao frowned slightly, which ran counter to the strategy he discussed with Kuai Liang.

In fact, he planned to take advantage of Cao Cao's illness to kill Cao Cao.

Now that Cao Cao is weak and just captured Yuzhou and Henan, the best situation is that Cao Cao jumps over the wall in a hurry and kills the emperor, and he has an excuse to ascend the throne.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't work, after breaking Xudu, there are ways to make the emperor disappear mysteriously.

For example, Cao manipulated the burning of the palace and the like, and the emperor died.

And this matter can't bring Liu Bei and Shen Chen, one is also a Han family clan, so they don't necessarily have the same heart with him.

The other one is too hot-tempered, and he hasn't tried the matter of proclaiming himself emperor. If this guy Shen Chen is loyal to the emperor, wouldn't he be shooting himself in the foot?

Therefore, regarding Shen Chen's suggestion, Liu Biao also nodded noncommittally: "Cao Cao is in the north, shouldn't we destroy Cao Cao first?"

Shen Chen said: "However, once Cao Cao is destroyed, Duke Ming will face Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao occupies the land of the four prefectures. He has strong soldiers and horses. After several years of training, he can regain his strength. Therefore, we must act cautiously. Chen thought that breaking the Yangzhou and Yizhou, get the whole south, and then sit back and watch the battle between Yuan and Cao, and when they are exhausted, the general can make a big northward expedition, sweep the whole north, and dominate the world!"

"Well, you're right."

Liu Biao changed the subject quickly and said, "How is your studies recently? Did you miss studying in the army?"

"It's a bit slack indeed."

Shen Chen replied.

Liu Biao smiled and said, "Then you should go back and study hard. It would be good to recruit a few disciples to teach and educate people. Next year or the year after that, I will select you as a talented person, so you can come to my tent and become an official."

"Thank you General!"

Shen Chen cupped his hands in thanks.

"Well, let's go."

Liu Biao closed his eyes and waved his hands, as if he was tired.

Shen Chen got up and saluted again, exited the door, turned and left.

Watching his leaving back, Liu Biao frowned slightly.

In fact, when Shen Chen was called today, he still wanted to test his thoughts, whether he would support himself as emperor.

In fact, only Kuai Liang knew about his idea of ​​becoming emperor, not even Huang Zu.

The pro-Cao faction in Jingzhou is strong, but it does not mean that the anti-Cao faction supports him.

Just like Shen Chen, who often shouted slogans outside, saying things like anti-Cao Cao and welcoming the emperor.

Their rebellion against Cao was not against the emperor. If they really took Shen Chen and Liu Bei to attack Cao Cao, broke through Xudu, and they took Liu Xie back to Jingzhou, Liu Biao might want to die.

So he had to test Shen Chen.

It's just that I wanted to ask Shen Chen's opinion on the situation, but I didn't expect that Shen Chen, who was originally radical, suddenly became steady.

We must take Jingzhou as the foundation, unify the south first, sit and watch the internal struggle between Yuan and Cao in the north, and then reap the benefits.

Sounds good, a very good strategy.

The issue is.

How many years do I have?
Could Yuan Cao's internal fighting be able to tell the winner in a short time?

Are Yizhou and Yangzhou also obtained in a short period of time?
If I die of old age and haven't broken through Yizhou and Yangzhou, what's the point?
So after hearing Shen Chen's suggestion, Liu Biao didn't want to listen anymore.

He is too old.

After the new year, I will be 59 years old, and I will be [-] years old.

Don't talk about dominating the world.

Even if he just defeated Cao Cao and occupied Yuzhou, he couldn't wait to proclaim himself emperor.

Therefore, he could only listen to Shen Chen's suggestion.

Would never choose to do that.

Again.

Time waits for me.

Looking at the dark cloud-like sky in the distance outside the door, Liu Biao's heart seemed to be covered with a layer of haze.

　One case in the morning, and more in the evening

　　
　
(End of this chapter)