Han officials

Chapter 153 Unlucky Liu Bei [2/2]

In the main hall, green smoke curled up from the bronze beast furnace.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Wei Zhe tapped the table subconsciously with his slender knuckles and slowly fell into deep thought.

To go or not to go, this is a question worth thinking about!

As a landmark event that marked the beginning of the chaotic times at the end of the Han Dynasty, "the princes' campaign against Dong Zhuo" was a very critical node.

It’s not that all the participants could become princes in the late Han Dynasty, but the prestige of the Han Dynasty was lost from then on.

Perhaps this was the main purpose of Yuan Shao's uprising.

His purpose was to deny the legitimacy and orthodoxy of the current Luoyang regime, and to make the Han Dynasty court controlled by Dong Zhuo become the Luoyang prefectural government in disguise.

War is a continuation of politics, and this is especially true for Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao's uprising against Dong Zhuo was just a political act, not a real attempt to capture Luoyang.

So when the alliance to fight against Dong Zhuo was established and Yuan Shao proclaimed himself the leader of the alliance, his goal had actually been achieved, and the outcome of the subsequent war was not important.

It is obvious that Yuan Shao has smoothly shifted from thinking about a peaceful world to thinking about a chaotic world.

In comparison, Cao Cao is now a little too young and energetic.

A group of princes at the end of the Han Dynasty came to fight against Dong Zhuo, but he was the only one who took it seriously, which led to his nearly defeat and death.

What about Wei Zhe? Does he also want to restore the Han Dynasty and return to the old capital?
As the candlelight flickered, Wei Zhe faced his inner self and quickly gave an answer.

Not only did he restore the Han Dynasty three times, but he also decided to start anew.

In this way, the significance of the princes' attack on Dong Zhuo became very simple for Wei Zhe.

It's nothing more than gaining political leverage.

It would be best if we could find a way to resolve the stumbling block of Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou.

After all, with the great god Wei Zhe lying in Liaodong, it is hard to say whether Gongsun Zan has the courage to kill Liu Yu this time.

If Wei Zhe annexed counties and expanded to Liaoxi at that time, he would undoubtedly confront Liu Yu.

Wei Zhe was not worried about not being able to defeat Liu Yu, but he didn't know how to deal with him.

Because if he killed Liu Yu, he would have to bear the backlash that Gongsun Zan suffered in the original history.

But if Wei Zhe did not kill Liu Yu, it would be difficult for him to completely control Youzhou.

It has to be said that Liu Yukuan and Ai Min's good reputation is a bit troublesome.

Even if Gongsun Zan still had the courage to attack and kill Liu Yu in this life, it would probably take three or four years.

It was obviously impossible for Wei Zhe to continue waiting in Liaodong for another three or four years.

The curtain of troubled times has already been raised. Let alone three or four years, even three or four months are opportunities for war.

Be quick in every step, and it is undoubtedly foolish to pin your hopes on waiting for the right opportunity.

After a long time, as the tea on the table gradually cooled down, Wei Zhe finally made up his mind.

……

A few days later, Xi Zhicai finally returned from Ji County.

In the study of the Wei Mansion, the two sat opposite each other.

After drinking a glass of fruit wine, Xi Zhicai, dressed in a wide-sleeved green robe, clapped his hands and said with a smile, "I am glad I have fulfilled my mission. I understand what Envoy Liu intended."

"Oh, what do you mean?" Wei Zhe asked curiously.

"It's very simple." Xi Zhicai's eyes flashed like lightning. "Although Envoy Liu didn't express his attitude towards the Luoyang issue after meeting me, I secretly observed that he didn't reveal the banners and insignias of Grand Marshal, Marquis of Xiangben, etc., which clearly shows his resistance."

Having said that, Xi Zhicai couldn't help but shook his head.

"I heard he once said privately: How long can a monkey in human form last?"

"From this we can see that Envoy Liu recognized the emperor but not Dong Zhuo."

"If you want to rebel against Dong, even if Envoy Liu won't help you, he won't be your opponent!"

Hearing Xi Zhicai say this, Wei Zhe pondered for a moment and finally nodded slowly.

"Let's prepare the food supplies first, and don't make it public for now!"

"I understand!" Xi Zhicai immediately understood and went down to make arrangements.

While Wei Zhe was busy preparing, Lelang County next door was also bustling with activity.

After Hua Xin, the Sima of the shogunate, entered Lelang, he actually found out the truth without much effort.

After all, the methods used by local tyrants are nothing more than those few.

Either they spread rumors and incite public opinion, or they incited and gathered people to resist the county.

But where is Lelang County? That's where Wei Zhe started his career!
Even though Wei Zhe has left office now, his influence on Lelang County remains.

The military farms in the nine counties of Lelang were like chess pieces, waiting for Hua Xin to awaken them.

Originally, Hua Xin had already prepared for a tough battle, but the existence of various military farming departments suddenly made his task simpler.

This finally gave Hua Xin a new understanding of the new type of military farming in Liaodong.

But then again, even if Hua Xin figured out who was behind the incident and even had a lot of evidence, he logically had no law enforcement power in Lelang County.

If we force it, those powerful people might choose to fight to the death.

In order to cause unnecessary losses, Hua Xin actually went straight to Lelang Governor Fan Yu. As a result, no one knew what they talked about, but Fan Yu, who had been playing badly, suddenly came back to life.

Moreover, he openly stood behind Hua Xin and supported him without any reservation.

To put it simply, Hua Xin gave the order and he stamped it!

Hua Xin's words woke Fan Chou up immediately and made him realize that Wei Zhe had become a big shot.

Now that Luoyang's backer is gone, it seems like being Wei Zhe's lackey is not a bad idea.

Anyway, with Wei Zhe's current prestige in Liaodong, as long as he is alive, his family will be fine!
After Hua Xin got the seal of the prefect from Fan Cheng, he had no taboos.

Those who can be killed or not must be killed; those who can be arrested or not must be arrested first.

If any powerful person attempts to gather a crowd to cause chaos, no procedures will be followed and the rebellion will be suppressed directly.

There is no need for the county troops to go into battle; the garrison troops from various counties in Lelang can directly resolve the battle.

Not afraid of rumors, be tough and decisive.

In a short time, from the Korean city to Daifang County, the killing was so heavy that heads were rolling in the sky.

Half of the wealthy people in Lelang closed their accounts directly, while the other half were so scared that they spent money to avoid disaster.

Even many county officials in the Lelang prefectural government were directly imprisoned and tried for their crimes.

When the news reached Xiangping City, many acquaintances were surprised.

If they didn't know that Hua Xin studied Confucian classics, they would probably suspect that he was a disciple of the Legalists.

During the conversation, Guo Yuan couldn't help but jokingly said, "Hua Ziyu has inherited a lot of Xunzi's style!"

Wei Zhe burst out laughing after hearing this.

"Whether it's Confucianism or Legalism, good learning is what enables the people to live and work in peace and contentment!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Guo Yuan immediately agreed with them.

"If it goes against the principles of Heaven, even if it comes from Confucius, I dare not regard it as true! If it conforms to human ethics, even if it comes from the common people, I dare not regard it as false!"

Since Guo Yuan could say such words at the beginning, he naturally had similar understanding.

Just as Liaodong was secretly preparing, the Guandong samurai finally turned the table.

As the prefect of Dongjun, Qiao Mao, forged a letter from the three highest officials and sent it to various prefectures and counties, accusing Dong Zhuo of crimes; later general Yuan Shu, Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou, Kong Rong, the governor of Yuzhou, Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, Wang Kuang, the prefect of Henei, Yuan Shao, the prefect of Bohai, Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, Yuan Yi, the prefect of Shanyang, Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei, Zhang Chao, the prefect of Guangling and others began to raise troops in response one after another.

Although Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, did not express his opinion, he did not say anything when he learned that Wei Zhe had raised troops in Liaodong to respond.

As the news gradually spread, the whole world began to become restless.

However, the news that Wei Zhe had raised an army to attack Dong Zhuo greatly excited Cao Cao, Zhang Miao and others in Chenliu.

Even though they belong to the same party, there are still many conflicts between them.

For example, Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, had always been on good terms with Cao Cao, but had considerable disagreements with Yuan Shao.

Therefore, Zhang Miao chose to gather his troops in Suanzao instead of heading to Henei County to join Yuan Shao and Wang Kuang. Seeing the Suanzao alliance gain momentum, Zhang Miao was naturally excited.

So before Wei Zhe led his army to set off, Zhang Miao's letter was delivered to Wei Zhe.

In the private message, Zhang Miao was so enthusiastic about him that he couldn't wait to meet Wei Zhe.

However, at this time there was one person who was very depressed.

If we were to say who was the most conflicted after the news of Wei Zhe's army raising an army to fight against Dong Zhuo spread, it would undoubtedly be Liu Bei.

This guy is really unlucky. He finally got the position of Anxi County Magistrate a while ago, but he lost it in less than a year.

So Liu Bei had no choice but to turn to his good brother Gongsun Zan again.

Gongsun Zan was also loyal and directly appointed Liu Bei as Sima of a separate department and gave him an official position.

In other words, Liu Bei went around in circles and ended up back to where he started.

It seemed as if everyone was making progress, but he was the only one standing still.

I guess only Liu Bei himself knows how painful this gap is.

Although Guan Yu and Zhang Fei continued to follow him, Liu Bei felt even more guilty.

Especially after hearing the news that Wei Zhe was going to Luoyang to fight against Dong Zhuo, Liu Bei, who was depressed, fell ill.

There is no way out. Liu Bei is regretting it so much now!

If he had known that Wei Zhe was going to raise an army to fight against Dong Zhuo, why would he have been so anxious to join Gongsun Zan?

As a descendant of the Liu family and great-grandfather, the task of defeating Dong Zhuo is simply too attractive!
But it's too late to say anything now.

As a military officer under Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei no longer has the qualifications to stand on his own side.

Whether he can join the war depends entirely on whether Gongsun Zan wants to join the war.

But Gongsun Zan, who had never dealt with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others, did not want to get involved.

If Liu Bei turned to Wei Zhe at this moment, he would inevitably be morally criticized.

By then, not to mention outsiders, I'm afraid Guan Yu and Zhang Fei will be disappointed in him!

Whenever he thought of this, Liu Bei lying on the bed couldn't help coughing and wanted to slap himself twice.

Just when Liu Bei was regretting his decision, Wei Zhe finally led his troops on their journey...

(End of this chapter)