Han officials

Chapter 177 When the Truth Becomes a Falsehood, the Falsehood Becomes the Truth [4K]

The establishment of Dongshan Academy made many people in Youzhou overjoyed.

After all, the glory of retaking Luoyang belonged to Wei Zhe, but Dongshan Academy really allowed them to benefit from it.

With this foundation, Youzhou's cultural heritage was completely established, and Youzhou was already rich in martial virtues.

With the simultaneous development of civil and military affairs, a hundred years from now will probably be the era of the great prosperity of Youzhou.

Of course, not everyone is so happy.

For example, Gongsun Zan, the White Horse General, was always depressed.

……

On that day, the Youbeiping camp.

"Consigliere Fan, Commandant..."

Before Liu Bei finished speaking, he saw Fan Fang, the commander-in-chief in front of the tent, frowning and shaking his head slightly.

Seeing this, Liu Bei understood and immediately sighed and turned away.

When he returned to his camp, he saw Guan Yu and Zhang Fei coming to greet him.

Jian Yong, a fellow villager and strategist, couldn't help but ask, "Well, did the captain agree?"

"Alas~" Liu Bei didn't say anything, but everyone understood everything.

For a moment, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Jian Yong and others could not help but sigh and look disappointed.

The reason why they looked like this was actually very simple - they were stimulated by Wei Zhe.

In fact, as early as when Wei Zhe recaptured Luoyang and had not yet returned to his army, Liu Bei and others who learned the news could no longer sit still.

Listening to the continuous stream of good news coming from the south, Liu Bei didn't even know whether to be happy or sad.

After all, the thief Dong bullied the emperor, and Wei Zhe was able to defeat Dong's army and recapture Luoyang, which was also a happy event for the Liu family's descendants.

But when Liu Bei thought about how he had missed such a big event, he couldn't be happy at all.

He wanted to follow Wei Zhe to fight the enemy, but that required Gongsun Zan's consent.

This is not because Liu Bei was pedantic, but because Gongsun Zan really had nothing to say about him.

You have to know that he left Gongsun Zan's army several times and surrendered to him several times in poverty, but Gongsun Zan remained the same.

The Sima of the other department gave the money as soon as he was asked to, and he was quite loyal to Liu Bei on a daily basis.

In this situation, if he left Gongsun Zan and joined Wei Zhe, wouldn't he become a treacherous villain?

Others may not know, but Liu Bei is clear about Gongsun Zan, his big brother.

Even though he didn't say anything, he was actually competing with Wei Zhe in his heart.

It can be said that if Liu Bei defected to someone else, Gongsun Zan might be magnanimous, but Wei Zhe was not.

So even though he longed to go to the Luoyang battlefield, Liu Bei still suppressed his impulse.

However, when Wei Zhe recommended Liu Yu as the Inspector of the Imperial Capital, Liu Bei could no longer bear it.

Since Liu Yu is their old boss, there should be no problem in working hard for this old gentleman, right?

So after Liu Yu took office as the Inspector of the Imperial Capital, Liu Bei would occasionally advise Gongsun Zan to send troops to attack Dong Zhuo.

With the precedent of Wei Zhe, Liu Bei believed that they would be able to recapture Chang'an under the leadership of Gongsun Zan.

However, Liu Bei said it several times, but Gongsun Zan never expressed his opinion.

It’s not entirely true to say that he was not moved. At least he was a little moved by Liu Bei’s suggestion.

Gongsun Zan also wanted to be as famous as Wei Zhe and have his reputation spread throughout the country.

He had misjudged the situation before, but there was still a chance to make amends.

However, he was hesitant to make up his mind to let Gongsun Zan leave Youzhou and rush to Luoyang to fight against Dong's army.

After all, he has been hanging out in Youzhou since he joined the army, and all his roots are in Youzhou.

If he leaves this place, he will never be able to become the governor of Youzhou!
Yes, Gongsun Zan has always had this idea in his mind.

Even though Wei Zhe had made many achievements in Liaodong, Gongsun Zan never gave up this idea.

In Gongsun Zan's view, what Wei Zhe could do in Liaodong, he could do too.

They are just a small tribe of Dongyi. They are not as fierce and difficult to control as the Xianbei and Wuhuan people.

What's more, he claims to have the geographical advantage. If they really want to fight for Youzhou, Wei Zhe may not be able to defeat him.

Unfortunately, that was my thought half a year ago.

As news came that Wei Zhe had broken through three passes in one day, defeated Dong Zhuo at Mangshan, recovered Luoyang, and repaired the imperial tomb, Gongsun Zan's confidence became lower and lower.

He didn't know what the general trend was before, but recently Gongsun Zan has definitely felt it:

Now in Youzhou, Wei Zhe is the dominant force!

It was a mysterious feeling, as if Wei Zhe, who was far away in Luoyang, had become the uncrowned king of Youzhou.

People's hearts, expectations, and wishes all seem to be on Wei Zhe's side.

Apart from him, everyone else seemed to be lacking in quality.

Not to mention others, even Gongsun Zan himself didn't think he could surpass Wei Zhe.

What was he? A mere cavalry captain, and the title "White Horse General" was just a nice name.

In front of Wei Zhe's Left General, he was probably only qualified to be a minor general.

But...but he is not willing to give up!

Even though he understood everything, Gongsun Zan was unwilling to accept it.

This has nothing to do with reason, it is purely a matter of personality.

He has been violent, fierce and self-willed since childhood, and he was unwilling to be trampled under the feet of the equally young Wei Zhe.

After all, in terms of background, his ancestor, the Gongsun family, had been a two thousand stone family for generations and was a famous family in Youzhou.

And what about Wei Zhe? He was said to be the son of a powerful family, but in his eyes, he was no different from ordinary people.

How could the proud and conceited Gongsun Zan be willing to submit to this?

It was precisely because of this that Gongsun Zan was reluctant to meet Liu Bei.

……

The next day, Liu Bei wanted to try his luck again in the general's tent.

But before he finished his breakfast, Jian Yong hurried in with a worried look on his face.

"It's bad, it's bad, it's all over now."

Liu Bei remained calm and consoled him, saying, "How much worse can the situation get? Come, Xianhe, have some Hu Bing."

However, Jian Yong made Liu Bei terrified with just one sentence.

"The thief Dong has sent an envoy to appoint you as General Fenwu and confer the title of Marquis of Ji."

As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Bei sat up in shock and even accidentally overturned the table in front of him.

Suddenly, the bowls and dishes overturned, the soup splashed, and even Liu Bei's clothes were stained with a large spot.

However, Liu Bei was unaware of this. He just looked at Jian Yong in shock and asked, "Are you serious?"

"Oh, Xuande, you still don't believe me? This is absolutely true."

Jian Yong was so anxious that he didn't even care about the difference between master and servant, and returned to the tone he used when he was hanging out in Zhuo County.

After saying that, Jian Yong told the story of what he had seen in the morning.

It turned out that Jian Yong had originally wanted to go to the camp to scout the way for Liu Bei today, but he did not expect to run into Dong Zhuo's envoy who wanted to see him.

After the man quietly left, Jian Yong inquired with Fan Congshi and learned the purpose of his visit. "Just let him go like that?"

Hearing this, Liu Bei became even more restless.

"Captain, you are so confused! How could this happen? How could this happen!" He was seen pacing back and forth in the tent anxiously.

Upon hearing this, Jian Yong couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

"Indeed, how could the captain not see through such a crude plot to sow discord?"

It would be fine if he was appointed General Fenwu, but he was just a general with a miscellaneous title.

But enfeoffing Gongsun Zan as the Marquis of Ji was clearly a sinister act.

Can the title of Marquis of Ji be conferred casually?

You should know that Ji County is the seat of the Governor of Youzhou, and only the Governor of Youzhou can be called the lord of Ji County.

In Jian Yong's opinion, even if Gongsun Zan did not capture the envoy who killed the traitor Dong, he should have escorted the person to Liaodong and handed him over to the Left General for disposal.

But judging from Gongsun Zan's reaction, he was obviously attracted by Dong Zhuo's bait.

In this case, Youzhou may be on the verge of civil unrest!

Thinking of this, Liu Bei finally couldn't hold back and said, "No, I must go and persuade Brother Bogui."

After saying that, Liu Bei lifted the curtain without hesitation, jumped on his horse and headed towards the camp.

However, this time both Liu Bei and Jian Yong guessed wrong.

Half an hour later, in the general's tent.

Gongsun Zan was completely free of dejection and looked full of vigor and vitality.

"Xuan De, you've arrived just in time. Let's prepare our troops for battle!"

Liu Bei: "Ah? So fast?"

He thought Gongsun Zan was about to start a rebellion and turn against Wei Zhe, so he immediately prepared to dissuade him.

However, Gongsun Zan looked at him in surprise and said, "Didn't you propose to attack Dong Zhuo? Why do you think it's too soon?"

After hearing this, Liu Bei was completely confused.

This...what is going on?
……

After a long time, when Liu Bei walked out of the tent again, he looked at the blue sky outside and felt as if he was in another world.

Isn't the world changing too fast?

However, the impatient Jian Yong outside interrupted Liu Bei's sigh and hurriedly asked him if he had stopped it.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei sighed with a complicated look in his eyes:
"Alas, we all guessed wrong. Brother Bogui is not trying to help Dong, but to fight against him!"

Yes, Gongsun Zan accepted the reward edict from Chang'an, but he was not a fool.

Liu Bei could see through Dong Zhuo's intentions, and Gongsun Zan naturally would not be deceived.

Of course, Dong Zhuo probably didn't expect to hide his intentions, because this was an open conspiracy.

What Dong Zhuo was betting on was the greed in Gongsun Zan's heart.

As long as this reward decree strengthened Gongsun Zan's ambition to occupy Youzhou, Dong Zhuo's plan would be successful.

Originally, this conspiracy was quite difficult to deal with, and even if Gongsun Zan knew it, he would probably fall into it.

But Dong Zhuo probably never dreamed that his conspiracy would be disrupted by an outsider.

On the official road, Liu Bei rode alongside Jian Yong, explaining, "Brother Bogui wasn't fooled by the reward offered by Dong Zhuo, and he has no intention of becoming an enemy of General Zuo. Furthermore, Yuan Benchu, the governor of Bohai, just invited Brother Bogui to march south to defeat Dong Zhuo... and he agreed!"

Having said that, Liu Bei felt relieved.

Fortunately, things are finally moving in a positive direction.

After hearing what Liu Bei said, Jian Yong also let out a long sigh with lingering fear.

Compared with the two of them, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who realized it later, had fewer worries.

After learning that Gongsun Zan had really decided to march south to fight Dong Zhuo, the two were immediately excited and kept saying, "A real man should be like this."

……

Not to mention how Liu Bei's troops were preparing to march south.

Back in the general's tent, Gongsun Zan was also discussing the next course of action with his confidants.

But what he said at this moment was completely different from what Liu Bei had just heard.

In front of his confidants Yan Gang, Tian Kai, Shan Jing and others, Gongsun Zan no longer concealed his true purpose.

"This time... I want Jizhou!"

That’s right, Gongsun Zan is completely selling dog meat under the guise of selling mutton this time.

On the surface, he was following Wei Zhe's example and passing through Jizhou to go to Luoyang to fight against Dong, but in reality he was using it as a pretext to destroy Guo.

If Han Fu really foolishly opened the door to welcome the thieves, Gongsun Zan would prepare to attack Yecheng and take the opportunity to seize Jizhou.

This is why Dong Zhuo’s conspiracy failed!

After all, although the governor of Youzhou is good, he is nothing compared to the governor of Jizhou.

Everyone in the Han Dynasty knew that the essence of Hebei was in Jizhou.

And if he could successfully occupy Jizhou, he might be able to take over Youzhou as well.

In this way, Gongsun Zan can overtake others and Wei Zhe, the left general, will no longer be a threat.

Whenever he thought of this, Gongsun Zan could not suppress the excitement in his heart.

However, after hearing the whole story, Captain Yan Gang couldn't help but look worried.

"General, this fellow Yuan Benchu might not have any good intentions!"

Tian Kai, who was standing below, nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. "Very good, very good! Everyone in Jizhou knows that Yuan Benchu has his eye on Han Fu's position. General, I'm afraid this fellow doesn't really want you to be the governor of Jizhou!"

"There must be something fishy going on here!" Shan Jing was as concise as ever.

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Zan laughed heartily after hearing this and said, "How could I not know what you are thinking? But - so what?"

Gongsun Zan just laughed with a defiant look on his face.

"Yuan Benchu wants to kill someone with a borrowed knife, so why can't I use him as a knife?"

At this point, Gongsun Zan opened his hands slightly and said proudly, "I only need one chance, just one chance! As for Yuan Benchu? Tsk! He's just a name, nothing to be feared!"

Gongsun Zan's words were not meant to bluff, but he really meant it.

After all, the Yuan family of Runan was wiped out by Dong Zhuo, but this guy didn't even have the courage to seek revenge on Dong Zhuo. He could only hide in Henei County like a rat in a gutter, watching Dong Zhuo live happily. What else could he be but a cowardly bandit?
Regardless of whether Yuan Shao's invitation to him as the governor of Jizhou was true or false, Gongsun Zan would make it come true!
As for Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou, there is no need to mention him.

He was just a weak civil official and scholar, and Gongsun Zan did not take him seriously at all.

From this perspective, Gongsun Zan was actually quite grateful to Yuan Shao.

Because if it weren't for his letter, I would probably still be subconsciously confined to Youzhou and unable to extricate myself.

But after being seduced by Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan discovered that there was a vast world out there.

Trees move to death, people move to live.

Haha~ Gongsun Zan’s chance to stand out has finally arrived!
Seeing that Gongsun Zan had made up his mind, Yan Gang, Tian Kai, Shan Jing and others said nothing more.

So before long, the news that Gongsun Zan was also preparing to march south to attack Dong spread in Youzhou.

For a time, it made many people laugh secretly, and some scholars even secretly mocked it as aping others in private gatherings.

However, when the news reached Liaodong, Wei Zhe, who had been devoted to internal affairs, finally raised his head with a slight smile on his face.

"The good show is finally about to begin!"

(End of this chapter)