Dahan: A 100-year-old veteran, I will build the strongest family

In the court, Liu Hong saw the civil and military officials surging, each of them was quite indignant at Zhang Xi, but also highly praised Li Hong, and could not help but nodded.

So what even though Zhang Xi assisted them in defeating Julu, Guangzong and Xiaquyang?
In the eyes of Liu Hong and many officials from aristocratic families, Zhang Xi deserved to die.

It is treasonous and unforgivable.

However, if Zhang Xi did not take action, the Yellow Turbans would have an army of 500,000 to 600,000, and the imperial army might be temporarily helpless, and even the imperial court might be in danger.

But at this moment.

The Yellow Turbans in Jizhou have been defeated and the danger is over.

In their hearts, Liu Hong and many officials from aristocratic families were actually reluctant to acknowledge the contribution of Zhang Xi's help.

Instead, Liu Hong and the civil and military officials told Li Hong that if he still had to bear the blame for Zhang Xi's previous crimes, then in order to maintain the reputation of the Han Dynasty in the agreement, he, Li Hong, would personally kill Zhang Xi, and then he, Li Hong, would commit suicide, bearing the blame alone and not letting the reputation of the Han Dynasty be damaged. This is admirable.

The words that the Li family had all cut off their official careers and taken responsibility for this incident were too touching. There were many top families in the Han Dynasty, such as the Yuan family, the Yang family, and the Zhou family, but who would say that they would die to maintain the reputation of the Han Dynasty?

"Bang, bang!" Liu Hong slapped the table, took a deep breath and said:

"Everyone, tell me, how should we deal with Zhang Xi? Give General Li a reply as soon as possible and arrange for General Li to return triumphantly as soon as possible!"

Liu Hong's voice resounded, and immediately silenced all the civil and military officials.

Yuan Feng's face was dark, and he bowed to Liu Hong and said, "Your Majesty, this thief Zhang Xi first helped Zhang Mancheng to break through the imperial city, bringing shame to the Han imperial family. Then he ravaged Runan and Shouchun, broke through the Wubao of the aristocratic families and the government, killed countless aristocratic families and officials, and even the family of the old ministers was bloodbathed. Not to mention, this thief also rushed into Xuzhou and conquered Pengcheng, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of evil. His crimes are so heinous that they cannot be tolerated by heaven and earth. Even if he betrayed the Yellow Turbans and surrendered to the court, what does it matter? He just surrendered when he saw the soldiers gaining the upper hand. How can his previous crimes be forgiven?"

"Your Majesty, I request that Zhang Xi be executed and be sliced ​​to death as a warning to others, and the whole world should be informed of this!"

In the hall, Yuan Feng's voice was sharp, passionate, and filled with murderous intent, which changed the expressions of Liu Hong and a group of civil and military officials sitting on the dragon throne.

Liu Hong looked down at Yuan Feng, frowning and showing displeasure on his face.

At this moment, both Liu Hong and the officials felt that Yuan Feng had a strong murderous intent!
Is this completely disregarding the agreement reached between Li Hong and Zhang Xi?
Yuan Feng didn't even mention the reputation of the Han Dynasty.

Although Yuan Feng did not say that it was to avenge the massacre of his hometown in Runan, every word he said was for revenge for his hometown in Runan.

It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that it shouldn’t be done.

But Yuan Feng did not take the reputation of the Han Dynasty into consideration.

After all, Zhang Xi agreed to Li Hong's request to lead hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turbans in rebellion because the imperial court agreed to his conditions.

Now they totally ignore it and settle the score in the future. Even the future isn't even here yet. It's really ugly to see such a greedy behavior.

What's more, Li Hong said that if the court really decided to kill Zhang Xi, then he would kill Zhang Xi directly and then commit suicide to apologize. The Li family would cut off its own future and take sole responsibility for signing the agreement to maintain the reputation of the Han Dynasty.

Let Li Hong, who defeated the Xianbei, dominated the grasslands, and even suppressed the Yellow Turbans throughout the world, commit suicide?
It would be impossible for Liu Hong, a god of war like this, to agree to it and be reluctant to give it up. If he did so, I'm afraid the world would be in an uproar and he, Liu Hong, would be scolded to death by the children of the aristocratic families and the common people.

History books will leave him with an eternal infamy!
Therefore, due to all these reasons, Yuan Feng's murderous intention towards Zhang Xi made Liu Hong suddenly very unhappy.

Although he also wanted to kill Zhang Xi.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Xi deserves death. Just by conquering the Imperial City, his entire clan is worthy of being exterminated. I think he should be executed!"

"Your Majesty, I agree with the Minister of Works. Zhang Xi dared to betray Zhang Jue and defect to the court today. He will inevitably betray the court again in the future. If he rebels again, he should be killed!"

"Your Majesty, I also agree with Sikong..."

……

In the hall, as Yuan Feng stood up, more than twenty officials of all ranks immediately stood up behind him.

They were all students and former officials of the Yuan family, or they were friendly with the Yuan family and wanted to curry favor with the Yuan family. At such a critical moment, they would naturally stand firmly with Yuan Feng.

You should know that Yuan Kui of the Yuan family now chose to be exiled to Yuzhou and served as the governor of Yuzhou.

One of the Yuan family members was one of the Three Dukes in the imperial court, and the other was a governor of a province, so their influence and prestige had increased further.

"Bang!" Suddenly, Liu Hong shouted in anger, "That's enough. You only mentioned killing Zhang Xi, but didn't mention General Li and the reputation of the Han Dynasty. Do you want to see the reputation of the Han Dynasty damaged? Do you want General Li to commit suicide to apologize?"

Liu Hong was furious, and all the civil and military officials in the hall fell silent.

Yuan Feng and more than 20 of Yuan's former students and officials stood up.

But in fact, many ministers and high-ranking officials did not stand up to express their opinions.

He Howe Jin, Yang Ci, Cao Song, Zhou Yi, Huang Wan, Cai Yong, Ma Riti and other important officials in the court.

"Your Majesty, ..." Yuan Feng was very angry when Liu Hong slammed the table. He just bowed and was about to say something, but was interrupted by Liu Hong.

"Sikong, I understand what you mean. I also know that your Yuan family has a blood feud with Zhang Xi. I know you are very anxious, but don't be anxious for now. I need to seek the opinions of other officials!" Liu Hong waved his hand and interrupted Yuan Feng who was about to speak.

Yuan Feng's chest heaved violently, and he looked at Liu Hong with gloomy eyes. Anger and a hint of murderous intent flashed across the depths of his eyes, and he bowed without saying anything.

"My fellow ministers, please tell me what we should do with Zhang Xi. But I don't agree to it if I don't mention General Li and the reputation of the Han Dynasty. It will damage the reputation of the Han Dynasty!" Liu Hong looked at important officials in the court, including He Jin, Yang Ci, Cao Song, Zhou Yi, Huang Wan, Cai Yong, Ma Riti, and set the tone directly.

Upon hearing this, important officials in the court including Yang Ci, Cao Song, Zhou Yi, Huang Wan, Cai Yong, and Ma Riti all smiled bitterly.

Undoubtedly, Liu Hong's meaning was actually quite obvious.

That is to follow the terms of the agreement with Zhang Xi!
Liu Hong was afraid of losing Li Hong, a centenarian veteran who was like a god of war, and he was also afraid that the reputation of the Han Dynasty would suffer a serious blow.

As for the Yuan family and some other aristocratic families in Runan and Shouchun being massacred by Zhang Xi, Liu Hong probably didn't care. After all, Zhang Xi didn't kill his family.

Of course, there are other options.

Unless they could come up with an idea that would not hurt Li Hong or damage the reputation of the Han Dynasty, but would still allow Zhang Xi to be killed, Liu Hong would definitely be willing to accept it.

But is it possible? Is there any such idea?
There was silence in the hall for a moment. Yang Ci, Cao Song, Zhou Yi, Huang Wan, Cai Yong, Ma Riti and other important officials in the court were all old foxes. They understood that this was clearly a matter of offending someone, and offending someone severely.

The decision is to not get involved if you can.

Anyway, the main force of the Yellow Turbans has been destroyed and they are safe now.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Liu Hong looked at the civil and military officials who were all silent and kept to themselves, and he immediately understood what these people were worried about.

"What a bunch of rubbish! If we could have a few more loyal ministers like General Li, how could our Han Dynasty not reproduce the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan, Emperor Guangwu's Restoration, Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhang, and Emperor Yongyuan's Prosperity?"

Liu Hong cursed in his heart, but his eyes were looking at General He Jin who was peeking out. He wanted to say something, but when he saw the other officials and seemed to be mute, he became a little hesitant.

Yes, at this time He Jin poked his head out and wanted to say something, but seeing that other officials were generally dumb with their heads down, He Jin hesitated and scratched his head, not knowing whether he should say it or not.

"General, what do you think?" Liu Hong called out directly. He Jin felt relieved. With Liu Hong's questioning, he could speak out smoothly.

He Jin immediately bowed to Liu Hong and said:

"Your Majesty, I think Zhang Xi should not be killed!"

Swish! Yuan Feng stared at He Jin with angry eyes like a poisonous snake.

However, He Jin did not see it, but continued:
"If we kill Zhang Xi, he still has a lot of troops under his command. According to General Li's report, there are at least 150,000 troops. How can he not be prepared? If we start a war again, General Li's Beiwei Army will suffer heavy casualties! This is what General Li planned for Your Majesty to conquer the grassland and expand the territory."

"Besides, Zhang Xi is cunning, how could he not be on guard against the court? If it is Zhang Xi, I am afraid he will spread the conditions for surrendering to the court. At this time, killing Zhang Xi will really deal a big blow to the reputation of our Han Dynasty."

"Especially, we can't afford to lose General Li. General Li is even stronger than Lian Po. He is the pillar of the Han Dynasty and we must not lose him!"

He Jin expressed his suggestions to Liu Hong.

In fact, the last sentence is what He Jin wanted to express most.

Li Hong has now joined the He family.

Li Hong was so ferocious in leading troops in battle that the Queen told him several times that she must speak more for him in the court.

As long as Li Hong supports the He family, then the throne will fall on either the eldest prince Liu Bian or the youngest prince Liu Yu.

Therefore, seeing that Li Hong was so "stupid" that he committed suicide to protect the reputation of the Han Dynasty, He Jin was naturally anxious. As for offending the Yuan family, He Jin did not care.

Will the Yuan family be loyal to the He family?

Will the Yuan family listen to the He family?
Will the Yuan family support the eldest prince Liu Bian or the youngest prince Liu Yu to be the emperor?

Since he needed to choose between the Yuan family and the Li family, He Jin chose the Li family without hesitation.

"Okay, the general said it well. Just as the general said, if Zhang Xi is killed, Zhang Xi has no less than 150,000 troops under his command. How could he not be prepared? The Beiwei Army is composed of elite troops, but they were prepared by General Li for me to conquer the grassland and expand the territory. How could they be destroyed like this? And killing Zhang Xi will definitely damage the reputation of the Han Dynasty." Liu Hong praised He Jin's words.

"What do you think? You, Mr. Cai, are the only one who likes to advise me. Why are you silent now? Do you think what the general said is right?" Liu Hong changed the subject, aimed at Cai Yong and asked directly.

Liu Hong had been holding a grudge against Cai Yong for a long time, and he advised and impeached him every day, telling him what he should and should not do.

Cai Yong was slightly startled when Liu Hong named him, but he realized that Liu Hong was seeking revenge.

However, Cai Yong still stood up. Although he knew that speaking out would offend many noble families and many people, he had to speak out because it concerned Li Hong's safety and the reputation of the Han Dynasty.

After a moment of hesitation, Cai Yong said:
"Your Majesty, I think this matter needs to be properly handled. The reputation of the Han Dynasty cannot be damaged, otherwise the people and the noble families will think that Your Majesty is going back on his word, which will be a great blow to the royal family. In addition, General Li must not be lost. Now Li Li has won consecutive battles in the grasslands and has defeated many alliances of generals in the eastern grasslands of Mo Nan. Seeing that the eastern grasslands of Mo Nan are about to be taken, the existence of General Li is also a great deterrent to the grasslands."

"Also, hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban captives have been moved into Bingzhou now. General Li needs to suppress them to prevent further trouble."

Cai Yong did not explicitly say that Zhang Xi should not be killed, but only emphasized the importance of Li Hong, but he had already expressed his meaning.

"Damn it!" Yuan Feng looked at Cai Yong fiercely.

"What Mr. Cai has considered is right. General Li must not fail. I still hope that General Li can suppress Bingzhou for me and intimidate the grassland." Liu Hong agreed, and at the same time, he looked at Yuan Feng who was bowing his head and frowned:
"Sikong, this matter is of great importance. I also want to kill that thief Zhang Xi, but, but?"

"How about this, we will discuss this matter at court tomorrow."

Liu Hong expressed his meaning in a tactful way, but did not come directly.

But all the civil and military officials in the court understood what Liu Hong meant.

The court meeting was over, but all the civil and military officials were still shocked by what happened in the court today.

First, news of a stunning victory came from Julu, where Li Hong and Zhang Xi defeated Zhang Jiao and Zhang Bao, and the main force of the Yellow Turbans was almost wiped out. As a result, the Yellow Turbans were unlikely to become a force to be reckoned with, and would be like a grasshopper in autumn.

Then came the issue of Zhang Xi's surrender and how to deal with it.

Of course, leaving these aside, what shocked the civil and military officials was that Li Hong actually reported to the emperor that if the court was determined to kill Zhang Xi, he would kill Zhang Xi first, and then take the responsibility on himself, commit suicide to apologize, and have the Li family removed from the list to maintain the reputation of the Han Dynasty!
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, an era that valued loyalty and filial piety, Li Hong's words really shocked many officials and made them admire Li Hong even more.

Sure enough, the next day, Yuan Feng stopped talking in the court. Finally, Liu Hong made the final decision and everything was done as agreed between Li Hong, Jian Shuo and Zhang Xi. At the same time, he ordered Li Hong to quickly hunt down the third most important figure in the Yellow Turbans, General Zhang Liang, cut off his head and transport it to Luoyang, and then return to the court quickly.

……

……

Julu City, County Magistrate’s Mansion, Meeting Hall.

Li Hong sat in the main seat, holding the imperial edict from the court.

On the other side, he looked at Zhang Liang, who was captured by Zhang Fei, Yan Liang and others after a hundreds-mile expedition and was covered in dust in the hall.

"His Majesty has just sent back the imperial edict, and you have been arrested. The imperial edict has been issued, and there is nothing we can do. It's just your bad luck. Rebellion is risky!" Li Hong shook his head and said.

In the hall, dozens of people including Jian Shuo, Yang Biao, Jia Xu, Xun You, Xi Zhicai, young Guo Jia, Zhang Fei, Zang Min, Huangfu Song, Tian Yan, Lu Bu, Lu Zhi, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and others gathered together, and at this time they all looked at Zhang Liang on the ground with burning eyes.

"Where is Zhang Xi? Where is you bastard Zhang Xi? I will never let you go even if I become a ghost!" Zhang Liang struggled and shouted loudly.

"Drag him away." Li Hong did not answer, but waved his hand. Dian Wei immediately stepped out and led his men to drag Zhang Liang out of the tent. There was a shrill voice, and then no more sound.

Soon, Dian Wei brought Zhang Liang's head.

Li Hong waved his hand, indicating that he should be dealt with and taken to Luoyang.

"The Yellow Turbans in Jizhou have been destroyed, and Zhang Jiao, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang are all dead. According to the imperial decree, we will return in three days. You all can go down!" Li Hong said, looking at the crowd of heroes gathered in the tent.

Although Li Hong wanted to wipe out all those people who would become heroes behind him, he quickly gave up the idea.

Without Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Liu Bei and others, there are still Ma Cao, Ma Jian and Ma Bei.

The foundation of the Han Dynasty was rotten, the ambitions of the aristocratic families expanded, and they established their own regimes. The base was rotten, the foundation was rotten.

There is no point in killing these people.

If this group of people does not show up, others will replace them and join the fight.

Only when this pot of porridge is really boiled over and all the ambitious people emerge, will the people of the Han Dynasty feel that the Han Dynasty is really rotten and has reached a point where it must be destroyed in order to be rebuilt.

That will be the time to replace the Han Dynasty and rebuild a strong, powerful and vast empire.

Perhaps, one day, these people could gather together again under Li Hong and turn their troops against the Han Dynasty?
[Ding! Congratulations to the host and Madam Du on the birth of a son, who has excellent martial arts talent, is fierce and sturdy. The system's comprehensive evaluation shows that he has the highest compatibility with the great Tang Dynasty general Li Siye at 89%, exceeding 60% compatibility, and can be compared. ]

A prompt sound suddenly rang out, and Li Hong's eyes lit up. Is this the case that Mrs. Du, who had been pregnant for ten months, gave birth?
(End of this chapter)