Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 223 Jia Xu: I have a plan that may hurt the harmony of nature
Yecheng, Imperial Palace, Xuanshi.

Liu Xie placed the secret report from Xu County on the table and couldn't help shaking his head, saying, "I never thought that Cao Cao could break the situation like this. He is really decisive."

The news of the Xu County Incident shocked him.

The secret decree in history was played out in another way.

Dong Cheng kidnapped Emperor Xian of Han and launched a mutiny. He led 800 tiger guards to attack Cao's mansion and attack Cao Cao. After being defeated, he fled in panic and left Xu County.

The whole process and the beginning and end of the incident are clear.

But after Liu Xie finished reading the secret report, he had only one thought in his mind - this was simply outrageous, it was outrageous to the extreme!
The whole incident was full of absurdity from beginning to end!

First, it was impossible for Dong Cheng to kidnap Emperor Xian of Han and lead the Huben Guards to launch a mutiny because the Huben Guards would only obey the orders of the emperor.

In other words, Emperor Xian of Han must have been involved in this incident, with the purpose of emulating his Yecheng Incident and gaining power by killing Cao Cao.

In Liu Xie's view, Emperor Xian of Han and Dong Cheng were taking things for granted.

But they only saw the surface of the Yecheng Incident, but they didn't know how long he, Jia Xu and Guo Jia had been planning for that incident behind the scenes, how much effort they had put in, and how many risks they had taken.

The second thing is escaping from Xu County.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are different. They will definitely not give Emperor Xian of Han and Dong Cheng the opportunity to collude with the generals defending the city, and the eight hundred Tiger Guards will not be able to break through the defense of the city gate.

So how did Emperor Xian of Han and Dong Cheng escape from Xu County?
There is only one possibility.

Cao Cao deliberately let them go!

"Emperor Xian of Han is no longer by Cao Cao's side, and the one holding the emperor hostage has become Dong Cheng. In this way, whether it is the real emperor or the fake emperor, it has nothing to do with Cao Cao."

"Since the appearance of the true and false emperors, his strategy of using the emperor to control the princes has failed. Instead, he has become a treacherous minister who holds the emperor hostage. Emperor Xian of Han is a hot potato in his hands."

"Now that Emperor Xian of Han is gone, there is a chance that his bad reputation as a treacherous minister can be cleared."

"He has even more reason not to obey the imperial decree I gave him."

"Wonderful, really wonderful!"

Liu Xie was quite impressed by Cao Cao's miraculous move, because even he himself could not have imagined that he could break the impasse in this way.

All I can say is that there are so many heroes in this world.

And Cao Cao is the best among them!
He underestimated this hero known as the "villain"!

While Liu Xie was sighing, the eunuch came to report that Guo Jia and Jia Xu were already waiting outside the palace, so he immediately issued an imperial edict.

Soon the two of them walked into the Xuanshi room.

When he saw them, Liu Xie said directly: "Fengxiao, Wenhe, you are here at the right time. Take a look at this secret report."

Liu Xie said this and handed over the secret report.

After reading it, they both looked surprised.

As Liu Xie's most trusted right-hand men, they were naturally well aware of Liu Xie's previous conspiracy using an imperial edict.

They also did not expect Cao Cao to break the situation in this way.

Jia Xu said with some regret: "What a pity, what a pity! If your majesty's plan succeeds, Cao Cao will definitely turn against us."

"Now that he has let the false emperor escape and gotten rid of the infamy, he can even disobey the edict of His Majesty. He can be considered to have completely let go."

The best outcome they had anticipated was that Cao Cao would choose to capture the false emperor and surrender in order to avoid being blamed. According to their deduction, this was very likely.

But now everything has become a bubble, and the idea of ​​relying on Cao Cao's support to fight against Yuan Shao has come to nothing.

“This isn’t a bad thing actually.”

After thinking for a moment, Guo Jia raised his head and said, "Originally, in order to avoid the stigma of being a fake emperor, Cao Cao had to support the fake emperor and choose to confront Your Majesty."

"Although he has not yet pledged his allegiance to Your Majesty, he no longer dares to be Your Majesty's enemy. We do not need to worry about the threat from Cao Cao."

Yanzhou and Jizhou are adjacent to each other, and Cao Cao supports the false emperor. Before this, they had always needed to guard against threats from Yanzhou.

But since Cao Cao no longer held the false emperor hostage, the conflict between the two sides was resolved, and Cao Cao had no reason to backstab. He had returned to the neutral camp.

It can be considered as one less major enemy.

Liu Xie nodded and said, "Feng Xiao is right... But what I am really concerned about now is where the false emperor will flee to after escaping from Xu County."

"As long as the false emperor is not destroyed, I will not be at peace."

Liu Xie's tone was full of worry.

Although his legitimacy has now completely crushed Emperor Xian of Han, as long as Emperor Xian of Han is in power, his legitimacy as the emperor will always have flaws and stains.

Because anyone can use this excuse to disobey the emperor's decree, the emperor's authority cannot be fully utilized.

Otherwise, facing the threat from Yuan Shao, why would he bother using the "prisoner's dilemma" to plot against Ma Teng and Han Sui?
Just issue an imperial decree to ask all the princes to come to the king's defense!

"I believe that the false emperor will flee to Jingzhou."

Guo Jia analyzed for Liu Xie: "Jingzhou is the closest to Yuzhou, and Liu Biao is also a relative of the Han Dynasty. It is the best place for the false emperor to flee."

"I just don't know if Liu Biao has any rebellious intentions. If he uses the pseudo-emperor's name to make him abdicate and then ascends to the throne, the threat he poses will be much greater than that of the pseudo-emperor."

Guo Jia expressed his concerns frankly.

Liu Xie frowned when he heard this.

He had to consider this problem. If he dealt with Emperor Xian of Han, a more difficult and powerful Liu Biao would emerge, and the situation would be bad.

We all have the blood of the Han Dynasty, and Liu Biao is even more powerful, so the smarter ones will run to support Liu Biao.

Just like when Yuan Shao supported Liu Yu.

"Our intelligence gathering capabilities are still too poor. When we are strong enough in the future, we must restore the organization of the Embroidered Uniform Envoys and build a powerful intelligence and assassination organization to keep track of the enemy's every move."

Liu Xie sighed slightly in his heart.

The so-called Embroidered Uniform Envoy is the same as the Black Ice Station in the Qin Dynasty, the Hundred Cavalry Division in the Tang Dynasty, the Imperial City Division in the Song Dynasty, and the Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty. It is independent of the imperial court and is a secret agency directly under the emperor.

The main responsibilities are to collect intelligence, secretly monitor officials, and carry out some assassinations.

Liu Xie really wanted to re-establish the Embroidered Uniform Envoy, but at the moment neither his strength nor the situation allowed it, and he did not have the power to do so.

After temporarily suppressing these thoughts, Liu Xie said to Jia Xu: "Wenhe, send someone to investigate and find out where the false emperor has fled to. If you have any news, report it to me immediately."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Jia Xu immediately bowed and accepted the order.

After talking about this, Liu Xie planned to discuss the situation on Yuan Shao's side with the two of them, but at this time Zhang He walked into the Xuanshi and reported to Liu Xie.

"Your Majesty! News has just arrived that Marquis Zhongyi, Fu Guozhang, and the Queen have crossed Guandu and entered Jizhou, and are now on their way to Yecheng."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Xie, Guo Jia and Jia Xu all changed their expressions.

They were obviously shocked by the news, but none of them showed it.

Liu Xie restrained his expression and said in a deep voice: "I already know, please leave."

"promise!"

Zhang He turned and retreated.

Just as Zhang He left the Xuanshi Hall, Jia Xu couldn't help but ask, "Why did the Queen come to Yecheng with Yang Biao and the others?"

"When the false emperor fled Xu County, did he not take his close ministers and concubines with him?"

He really had a hard time keeping calm.

There is no problem for Yang Biao and Fu Wan to come to Yecheng, it is even a great thing.

But the Queen is a big trouble!
Guo Jia was also worried.

He and Jia Xu both knew that both Yang Biao and Fu Wan were fence-sitters who changed their stance according to the situation. They only chose to join Liu Xie after seeing that he was powerful. In fact, they were all traitors, and Liu Xie had told them this a long time ago.

Empress Fu was naturally among them.

There is nothing wrong with Yang Biao and Fu Wan being fence-sitters and joining the army, but Empress Fu cannot survive at all.

According to the original plan, when the imperial edict was issued, Cao Cao would either turn against them or kill Yang Biao and the other two. If it was the former, Liu Xie would also issue a secret decree to make Empress Fu "die of illness", not only because Empress Fu had betrayed him, but also because of the existence of the Zhen family and Lu Bu.

You have to know that Liu Xie had promised the two families separately to make Zhen Mi and Lu Lingqi the queens. Now that Queen Fu suddenly appeared, the situation became chaotic.

The key point is that Empress Fu now has a reputation for "maintaining her chastity and preferring death to obeying the false emperor", so there is no reason to depose her.

It is conceivable that the Zhen family and Lu Bu will definitely have objections.

Liu Xie frowned and remained silent.

He was thinking about how to kill Empress Fu, Yang Biao and others on the way without anyone noticing.

"His Majesty."

Jia Xu's face was gloomy, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. He whispered: "I have a plan... It depends on whether Your Majesty is willing to use it."

Liu Xie raised his eyes to look at Jia Xu, and seeing his sinister expression, he immediately realized that this plan would go against the harmony of nature.

"What's the plan?"

Jia Xu said sternly, "Before the news spreads, let General Zhang lead a thousand Yulin cavalry to secretly dispatch and kill Yang Biao and his men on the way!"

"Then chase them to wherever they pass along the way and kill everyone on the road, leaving no one alive, to ensure that this matter will not be leaked!"

There was murderous intent in Jia Xu's tone.

Since Empress Fu is not dead, let's just help her and prevent them from ever reaching Yecheng!

Everyone who knows about this along the way must also die!
Liu Xie couldn't help but be moved after hearing this.

He guessed that Jia Xu might suggest killing Yang Biao and others to prevent them from reaching Yecheng. After all, he himself thought so too.

But he still underestimated Jia Xu's ruthlessness.

In order to ensure absolute secrecy, even the people along the way have to be dealt with!
Liu Xie thought for a moment, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he was about to adopt Jia Xu's strategy, but Guo Jia on the side raised an objection first:

"No! This is too risky. Once it gets out, it will be extremely detrimental to your Majesty's reputation!"

If he looked at it purely from the perspective of pros and cons, he also supported Jia Xu's strategy. It would be best to kill Yang Biao and the other two as well as anyone who knew about it along the way.

But from a feasibility perspective, doing so is extremely risky because who knows if there will be any mistakes or omissions?
As long as the person who knew the truth was not killed, once the news got out, Liu Xie would be branded as a man who killed meritorious officials and was mean and ungrateful.

Countless people even speculated that the queen might have been defiled by the false emperor.

By then, Liu Xie's reputation will plummet.

"Then just kill the three of them and pretend they are bandits! In any case, we must not let the Queen reach Yecheng!"

Jia Xu said without hesitation, his expression grim.

Although anyone with a discerning eye would know what was going on, it was much better than letting Empress Fu come to Yecheng.

This problem is too difficult to solve.

Guo Jia thought hard, and after a moment he said, "Now that things have come to this, I think it's okay to let her come to Yecheng."

"what?"

Jia Xu was shocked when he heard this, and said in disbelief: "Since Empress Fu has come to Yecheng, Your Majesty must continue to make her the Empress. The Zhen family and Lord Wen will have objections."

"We are facing external enemies right now. If there are problems internally, how can we fight the war?"

"Feng Xiao, are you crazy?"

He didn't understand why Guo Jia would say such a thing.

Liu Xie believed that Guo Jia was not a person who made irresponsible remarks, and there must be a reason for him to say so.

He said aloud: "Wenhe, don't be anxious yet. It's not too late to listen to Fengxiao finish what he has to say. Fengxiao, you continue talking."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Guo Jia bowed to Liu Xie and thanked him, then said calmly, "Your Majesty, you promised the Zhen family and Duke Wen the position of Queen at the same time, which in itself is a huge hidden danger."

"Before, because there was a queen, the queen could not be deposed without permission, and the Zhen family and Lord Wen had no objection. But if the queen dies and the position of queen is vacant, who should Your Majesty appoint as queen?"

Guo Jia raised a question that even Liu Xie had overlooked.

That is the impact of Empress Fu’s death!
The queen was dead. Between Zhen Mi and Lu Lingqi, who should he make the queen? He couldn't just leave the position vacant forever.

Jia Xu had never thought about it in this regard before, but now that Guo Jia suddenly brought it up, he couldn't help but start to think about the consequences of this matter, and he was sweating profusely for a while.

Both Lu Bu and the Zhen family are the greatest helpers to the emperor at the moment and must not be allowed to fail.

Empress Fu...cannot die.

She can't die until she loses her value.

Guo Jia continued, "So I think it would be better to use the queen to balance the Zhen family and Lord Wen."

"When your majesty unifies the country in the future, no one will dare to interfere when you depose the queen. By then, your majesty will be in control of the power, and Lord Wen and the Zhen family will not be able to stir up any trouble. It will be no problem for your majesty to make either Concubine Zhen or Concubine Lu the queen."

Guo Jia’s ideas were very direct.

He planned to use Empress Fu to suppress Zhen and Lu Bu, so that they would not have conflicts over the dispute over the position of queen before he pacified the world.

As for after pacifying the world... the emperor holds great power, so it only takes a matter of words to decide who to make the queen.

After listening to Guo Jia's words, Liu Xie thought for a long time, and then he let go of the murderous intention in his heart, nodded and said: "I will follow Feng Xiao's words."

It is indeed better to let Empress Fu come than to kill her.

In addition to balancing Lu Bu and the Zhen family, it also allows Empress Fu to further confirm his legitimate identity.

With all the preparations made before, and the recognition from the emperor's close ministers such as Yang Biao and Fu Wan, as well as the queen, no one in the world could question his identity anymore.

Even if Emperor Ling climbed out of the coffin, it wouldn’t work!

"Your Majesty, I have one more thing to say..." After thinking for a while, Jia Xu said to Liu Xie tactfully: "Queen Fu has entered the palace. I hope Your Majesty will not favor her too much, because once she gives birth to a prince... it will be difficult to deal with."

Empress Fu was just a pawn, and her position as queen was destined to be abolished.

If she gave birth to a prince, he would be the eldest son and would certainly have the support of many ministers. If she wanted to depose the queen in the future, she would face many obstacles.

"I understand."

Liu Xie nodded slightly. He had the Goddess of Luo River, the two Qiao sisters, and Lu Lingqi in his palace. How could he be interested in Empress Fu, a married woman?

At this moment, his mind was full of Lu Bu and the Zhen family.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Fengxiao, Wenhe, who do you think is more suitable to be the queen, Concubine Lu or Concubine Zhen?"

Guo Jia and Jia Xu were both shocked when they heard this.

The reason why they dared to criticize Empress Fu was because Liu Xie had expressed his hatred for Empress Fu's betrayal more than once.

But who should be made queen is an extremely sensitive issue.

In their opinion, it would be best for Lu Lingqi to be the queen, because Lu Bu had no children, and no matter how glorious he would be in the future, he would not have to worry about his in-laws becoming powerful.

But Zhen Mi is different. The Zhen family behind her already has the demeanor of being the head of the major families under Liu Xie. If she becomes the queen, the Zhen family will surely quickly develop into a behemoth.

During the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, they knew better than anyone the dangers of having foreign relatives who were too powerful to be eliminated.

Obviously, no one wants to see the Zhen family become one of those foreign relatives in history books in the future.

However, as ministers, it is not convenient for them to talk about such things. Just like the selection of a crown prince, it is an extremely sensitive topic.

"Forget it, I just asked casually, we can discuss this matter later."

Seeing the two men hesitating, Liu Xie gave up the idea of ​​continuing to ask questions and turned to discuss other things.

……

At the same time, Yang Biao, Fu Wan and Empress Fu had already entered Wei County in a carriage.

It’s not far from Yecheng.

-

(PS: The update is late. I have returned to the palace. There will be another update in the evening.)
　It's a little late, my dears, please forgive me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)