Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 66: Liu Dai replaces the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang pays homage to the Gu family
For a whole month, Gu Chen kept the entire coalition forces outside Hulao Pass.

Gu Chen's bravery indeed exceeded everyone's expectations.

He is now able to suppress Zu Mao.

There were even several times when he was almost able to kill Zu Mao, but he was only saved by Cheng Pu, Sun Jian and others.

This speed of progress really shocked everyone.

That's how the league has always been.

When the offensive is frustrated, the conflicts among them will gradually erupt.

——Especially the news that people from all directions were rushing towards Luoyang, which made these people realize the pressure.

For them, this is a war with no retreat.

As a last resort.

This group of people also began to think about strategy.

Prepare to divide troops from all directions, take advantage of the military strength, and then attack Luoyang.

This is indeed a good idea.

The disadvantage in military strength cannot be made up by Gu Chen alone.

But just when they were about to mobilize, Gu Chen led his troops out of Luoyang at night.

——The situation has changed drastically!
No one expected this kind of change to happen at the beginning.

Even after finding out the news, they still found it hard to believe.

Gu Chen gave up Luoyang?
How is this possible?
However, at this time, they were too lazy to care about the cause and effect. After confirming the news, they immediately led their troops into Luoyang.

A steady stream of troops and horses continued to enter Luoyang.

This scene, which was completely against the rules, made everyone realize the current decline of the Han Dynasty's imperial power.

It seemed like it had been going on since the moment Gu Xi died.

The word "Han" is no longer so important in everyone's mind.

The people were greatly disappointed with the court;
The princes and nobles had completely lost their respect for the imperial court.

Who would care about these so-called rules?
Liu Bian was a timid man to begin with, and he trembled with fear when faced with this situation.

Even the princes from all directions remained polite to him, but they still couldn't make him feel at ease.

Everyone has a feeling.

The casual looks of these people are enough to explain their thoughts.

But what can he do no matter how afraid he is?

Who would care about him, a emperor who has nothing?
The princes and noble families from all directions quickly learned what had happened in the city.

When they learned the news that Empress Dowager He had committed suicide, everyone's eyes changed.

Who could have guessed what happened?

Someone immediately suggested using this incident to completely destroy the entire Gu family and label them as rebels.

However, all the aristocratic families immediately rejected this matter.

Xun Yu is right.

This is a political balance that both sides tacitly agree on.

Gu Chen did not expose the private soldiers of the aristocratic families, nor did he kill the aristocratic people in Luoyang.

They could not touch the Julu Gu family, nor could they expose the matter completely.

Although social order is in chaos nowadays, these aristocratic families still want to leave a good reputation.

The Gu family enjoys a very high reputation among the people.

If everything is laid out openly, it will lead to irreversible consequences.

This is the political balance.

In today's Han Dynasty, the aristocratic families have great say.

The matter was immediately settled.

Liu Dai, the so-called leader of the loyalist alliance, also began to fulfill his promise and commended all parties for their contributions. He was extremely hard-working.

This was an idea that gradually emerged in Liu Dai's mind as the situation changed.

Liu Bian, who did nothing on the throne, made this idea even more intense.

In the past, Emperor Guangwu was able to unite the aristocratic families and eventually dominate the world.

And why couldn't he?
In terms of reputation, isn't he much better than the young emperor?

What's more, now we can take this opportunity to establish connections with the aristocratic families.

As long as these influential families support him.

Why can't he be emperor?
From the moment this thought arises, it can no longer be suppressed.

Soon, Liu Dai began to take action.

The way to win over the aristocratic families is simple - bribery.

In fact, for the current aristocratic families, it really doesn’t matter to them who becomes the emperor.

They just want power.

The emperor was just an agent to all of them.

Faced with Liu Dai's solicitation, the nobles quickly guessed his intention, and under such circumstances, Liu Dai sold out the entire Han Dynasty without leaving a single thing.

——Promise the Yuan family that the future Yuan family will have autonomy.

He was granted the privilege of "Kaifu Yitong Sansi".

He also allowed Yuan Shu to establish a military headquarters in Huainan and have independent power to recruit soldiers.

He married Yuan Wei's granddaughter and later made her queen.

——Promise to Yang;

The "Gu Xue" was abolished, and the "Yang's Yi Zhu" was established as a national study, becoming the only standard textbook for recommendation and examination.

Yang Biao was granted the title of "Grand Master", and his family was in charge of the Imperial College and the compilation of historical books for generations.

——Promise to Xun;
Xu Xunshi was in charge of the evaluation of officials throughout the country. Those who graduated from Xunshi's private school could be directly appointed to official positions with a salary of 600 stones or above. The Xunshi were also granted the salt and iron monopoly and controlled the water transport hub from Ao Cang to Yingchuan.

Human desires will eventually suppress all reason.

Faced with the position of "Supreme Emperor", Liu Dai seemed to have lost his mind and kept making promises.

Under such circumstances, the aristocratic families would naturally not reject Liu Dai's idea.

——Since August of the third year of Zhaoning.

Liu Dai first seized power in the court in the name of Zongzheng.

Afterwards, auspicious signs appeared in various places around Luoyang.

First, a black tortoise with the word "Dai" carved on it appeared in the Luo River; then, a prophecy left by Emperor Gaozu appeared, saying that "Dai will revive the Han Dynasty."

Amidst all these auspicious signs, rumors began to spread.

Liu Dai immediately ordered his men to bring up the matter of "abdication" in the court.

No noble family would help him do such a thing.

The next scene is "three refusal and three concessions".

Although there were people in the court who opposed this matter, after all, Liu Dai was not the authentic one, he was a descendant of Liu Bang's brother.

But at this time, this move is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket.

Liu Bian had no control over the current court, and his courage was not enough to support him in protecting his throne.

Finally, in October of the third year of Zhaoning.

——Liu Bian claimed that he was "young and without virtue" and abdicated to Liu Dai, the Minister of the Imperial Clan.

Liu Dai held a grand coronation ceremony.

He also announced the change of the era name to "Hanxing", rewarded his clan members and princes from all directions in an attempt to stabilize the situation, and finally sat on the throne he had dreamed of.

But then he discovered the problem with the imperial seal, but he did not make it public, wanting to secure the throne first.

The Luoyang court was instantly shaken.

It was not until this moment that these so-called loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty finally woke up.

The big man seems to be really dying
Even something like the throne of the Son of Heaven has become so careless.

But what can they do?

This is actually also the drawback of "idealists" in the current era.

Gu Xi's reforms will certainly not offend everyone, even among the aristocratic families there are people who are loyal to the Han Dynasty.

But his actions made all scholars feel that he was blocking the road to the upcoming "public world".

This is the core reason why Gu Xi has become the enemy of the whole world.

Even Xun Yu had this idea, but he realized it faster than others.

Now, although these people have come to their senses, it is too late.

Some people resigned from their posts;

Some people burst into tears;

But in the end, all this can't change anything.

How could Liu Dai care about these people?

He planned to secretly eliminate Liu Hong's two sons, but the aristocratic families would not allow him to do so. Some loyal ministers also took the opportunity to protect Liu Bian and Liu Xie and fled from Luoyang.

After that, the aristocratic families began a frenzy of profit-sharing.

The families began to divide power.

But interests are something that people cannot easily satisfy.

The "competition" in human nature will endlessly stimulate the ambitions in the hearts of all dissatisfied people, and contradictions will secretly breed in this.

Not to mention the conflicts between the various major clans, there are even conflicts between brothers from different branches of the same clan.

This is an irreconcilable contradiction in human nature.

In order to consolidate his own power, Yuan Shu appointed Sun Jian as the governor of Changsha and took over the position of governor of Yangzhou.

Everyone could clearly see how brave Sun Jian was in this battle.

At this time, Yuan Shao thought of his playmate Cao Cao.

There is no conflict between the two of them now.

He wanted to win over Cao Cao to his camp, so he directly gave Liu Dai's former position as the governor of Yanzhou to Cao Cao, and also sent letters to all those who became famous in the suppression of the rebellion.

He himself was the governor of Jizhou, and wanted to accumulate his own strength in the entire north.

Under the influence of the Gu family.

Jizhou today is much stronger than before.

This is a piece of fat meat.

But perhaps because of the reputation of the Yuan family, and the fact that the Gu family is still in Jizhou, this matter was settled directly.

But the open and covert struggles among the people continue.

Perhaps because the initial excitement gradually passed, Liu Dai finally realized his current situation as an emperor.

He tried to exert the power of the emperor.

But for an emperor like him, who relied entirely on bowing to the aristocratic families and had no reputation in the world at all.

How could the aristocratic families care about his expression?

The moment he came up with this idea.
The spearheads of the aristocratic families were directed at him, which even made him smell the threat of death.

The news in Luoyang also spread rapidly in all directions.

Gu Yi was also extremely shocked by all this.

It is obvious that this chaotic world has completely changed.

The aristocratic families want to hold on to the world tightly, win over the powerful people from all directions and then continue to spread their power downward.

But this kind of thing is doomed to fail.

Even without mentioning the anger of the people, would the powerful and the poor from all sides be willing to accept this?
Liu Dai's move was actually equivalent to tearing off the last veil of the Han Dynasty.

Let everyone feel the decline of imperial power.

At this time, any person with lofty ideals will not be willing to be inferior to others!
It turned out to be just as Gu Yi expected.

When this matter gradually spread from Luoyang City.

——The whole world is shocked!
Cao Cao was already developing his power in Yanzhou.

Yuan Shao's timely help gave him a more suitable excuse to occupy the four corners of the country.

In the big tent.

"The decline of the Han Dynasty cannot be stopped."

Cao Cao looked at the imperial edict with an extremely complicated expression.

"Big brother."

Cao Hong snorted coldly and said, "This is definitely a case of Heaven forsaking the Han Dynasty. If only Emperors Huan and Ling could use Lord Gu."

"Why has the world come to this?"

The other brothers also nodded slightly.

But Cao Cao shook his head slightly and sighed, "Not entirely."

How could he not see the game in this series of events until now?

"Brother, the Gu family's children are scattered everywhere. If we take this opportunity to propose "attacking Liu Dai", can we gain prestige?"

Cao Hong suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, all the brothers nodded in agreement.

Their current strength is not weak, and Cao Cao has been suppressing rebellions and recruiting them at the same time.

This gave all of them a strong sense of self-confidence.

"No!"

Cao Cao waved his hand, looked at the brothers present with a deep gaze, and asked, "Why should we rebel against Liu Dai?"

"Ok?"

Everyone was stunned. In fact, until now, Cao Cao had always fought in the name of suppressing rebellion.

Moreover, Cao Cao highly respected Gu Xi.

His brothers naturally thought that Cao Cao would oppose Liu Dai at this time.

"The court has just appointed me as the governor of Yanzhou. How could I possibly rebel?"

Cao Cao raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and said with a hint of disdain: "We should now cater to the court and take advantage of this opportunity to quickly occupy Yanzhou as a base."

"To strengthen our own strength!"

Cao Cao stood up and laughed, saying, "My brother Benchu, you have indeed given me a great gift."

"I was still thinking about how to get the Yanzhou nobles to support me."

"Now, the opportunity has come!"

"Bring me paper and pen, and prepare a valuable gift. I must make sure Brother Benchu feels my gratitude."

Although he said this, his expression was full of disdain.

At the same time, there were also unusual movements in the prefectures and counties in all directions.

Yuan Shao's attempt to win over others this time was very direct.

——Appointing Gongsun Zan as the General of Zhenbei, this made Gongsun Zan, who was already gradually gaining power in Youzhou, even more famous;

Appoint Liu Bei, whose fame has been growing in recent days, as the governor of Langya;

Huangfu Song was appointed General Zhenxi;

With the fall of the Gu family, he seemed to have placed the Yuan family in the position of the number one family in the world.

He wanted to use his own reputation and that of the Yuan family to recruit all the heroes in the world under his command.

Liangzhou.

Huangfu Song looked at the imperial edict that was delivered to him, his face extremely sad.

"General, what I said is correct."

Gu Wei also sighed softly and said, "The nobles are entering the capital."

"It's definitely not what the general thinks. It will stabilize the world. It will only divide the power of the court."

"Traitors! They are all traitors!" Huangfu Song could not help but curse. "When I enter Luoyang, I will kill all these traitors."

"General, absolutely not!"

Gu Wei quickly dissuaded him, saying seriously, "If we enter the capital now, it will definitely cause the nobles to unite again."

"Now my disciple Yan has already rushed to Hanzhong."

"Hanzhong is a strategic location, easy to defend but difficult to attack. I think Zi Yan is also waiting for the situation to change."

"Now entering the customs will bring only harm and no benefit."

Seeing Huangfu Song's expression still so determined, Gu Wei hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "General, there is no need to worry about the country."

"Zi Yan has taken the imperial seal away."

As soon as these words were spoken, Huangfu Song's expression suddenly changed.

"The Imperial Seal?"

Gu Wei nodded slightly and said seriously: "Yes, it is the Imperial Seal."

"General, conflict is inevitable in today's world."

"If you truly wish to support the Han Dynasty, General, do not act rashly. Return to Liang Province now. When the opportunity arises, we can march directly back to Luoyang."

"By then, with the Imperial Seal in hand, we can depose the false emperor Liu Dai and re-establish the Han Dynasty."

If someone else said this, Huangfu Song would definitely chop him with a knife without saying a word.

He is a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.

But it’s different if it’s Gu Wei who said this.

Huangfu Song was silent for a long time, then nodded slightly and agreed to this matter.

eldest son.

Gu Tao naturally also received the Julu disciples sent by Gu Chen.

Gu Chen also knew his brother's personality. Unlike Gu Wei, Gu Chen had thought of a good place for him.

That is to go find Lu Zhi and others.

These were the people chosen by Gu Xi in the past.

Gu Chen still has great faith in Gu Xi's judgment.

Gu Tao also felt the same way.

After receiving the news, he gave up the idea of returning to Luoyang and led his army straight to Qingzhou.

In fact, Lu Zhi also received the message sent by Yuan Shao.

Given Lu Zhi's current reputation, how could Yuan Shao not try to win him over?

He seemed to have brought the Yuan family to the position of the world's number one family.

For these people who have become famous.

He wanted to win over people by showing a little kindness, as well as the Yuan family and his reputation.

But how could a man of Lu Zhi's upright character accept it?

He was the one who had submitted a memorial criticizing Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong.

If Yuan Shao had not helped Liu Dai ascend the throne, this might have been possible.

But now, they are destined to be mortal enemies.

The entire world is changing day by day under this trend.
Giant deer.

Gu Ze has always stayed in the Gu family.

He has an excellent talent for internal affairs, which is one of the reasons why Gu Xi sent him back to Julu.

The Gu family's reputation is as high as a mountain.

Regardless of whether the reform is successful or not, as long as the Julu Gu family is left alone and does not participate in any party, it will be enough to save the entire Gu family.

At this time, Gu Ze had just returned from Gu's private school.

He immediately went to visit a distinguished guest who was passing by.

"Greetings to Lord Zhuge."

He was polite, had a clear voice, and had the demeanor of a very well-behaved official.

"Bo Yu, what does this mean?"

Zhuge Xuan was stunned, and quickly helped Gu Ze up, saying seriously: "I was just passing by here, and it's a great favor that the Gu family can protect me."

"Bo Yu must never do this in the future."

Although Zhuge Xuan is much older than Gu Ze, he still does not show any signs of taking advantage of his age.

"Master Zhuge, please listen to what I have to say first."

Gu Ze still insisted on bowing and said seriously: "I would like to accept Zhuge Gong's nephew as my disciple."

"Liang'er?"

Zhuge Xuan reacted immediately and his eyes lit up.

Being able to study in the Gu family and receive personal instruction from Gu’s disciples is an unparalleled honor.

Don’t think that the Gu family has always had a private school.

But apart from several former emperors, there is no one else who can be taught personally by the children of the Gu family!

For a moment, Zhuge Xuan even found it hard to believe.

"Bo Yu this"

Gu Ze's expression was still serious. He bowed to Zhuge Xuan again and said, "Mr. Zhuge, there is something you don't know."

"Although I have ambitions, for the sake of my Gu family, I am afraid that I will never be able to leave Julu again in this lifetime."

"Your nephew is extremely extraordinary."

"Although I am dull and stupid, I will do my best to teach your nephew."

"I will never force him to help my Gu family. I just hope he can follow my aspirations."

Zhuge Xuan looked at Gu Ze seriously, and after a long silence, he finally nodded slightly: "Since Boyu has this intention, then I will agree on behalf of Liang'er."

"One day, when Liang'er has completed his studies."

"Bo Yu can ask Liang Er to rush to Jingzhou to find me."

Gu Ze's face immediately showed joy, but he suppressed it and advised: "Mr. Zhuge can stay in Julu. My Gu family will definitely protect Mr. Zhuge's safety."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Xuan's eyes moved slightly.

But after a moment of silence, he finally shook his head.

Gu is too sensitive now.

It would be fine if a young son stayed here to study, but if he continued to stay here, it would eventually make people think too much.

If there weren't so many rebels in the world now.

He won't even come to the Julu Gu family's place on this trip.

Gu Ze seemed to have guessed his thoughts and did not force him. He just smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry, Lord Zhuge. I will send someone to escort you forward when the time comes."

"Thank you, Boyu."

Zhuge Xuan did not refuse and thanked him sincerely.

He didn't stay here long.

After Gu Ze arranged manpower for him, he headed straight for Jingzhou again.

From that day on, there was a young man named "Zhuge Liang" by Gu Ze's side.

Gu Ze seemed to really regard him as his hope. He attached great importance to his education and devoted almost all his efforts to it.

But just half a month later.

The sudden news eventually forced Gu Ze to step out of the Gu family's door to meet someone.

——Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao's wisdom was revealed at this time.

He was different from what others thought about staying away from Gu family.

After successively regaining control of the four major clans in Jizhou, he made a plan that shocked everyone.

In the name of the Lord of Jizhou, he went to Julu with great fanfare to worship the ancestors of the Gu family.

Win people's support!
This is where Yuan Shao’s wisdom lies.

He has always been like this.

Sometimes smart, sometimes stupid.

This time his plan was extremely clever. If he wanted to settle down completely in Jizhou, it would be impossible to win the hearts of the people without offering sacrifices to the ancestors of the Gu family.

The Gu family's reputation in Jizhou is unimaginable.

Sure enough, when this matter spread.

The entire Jizhou was shaken.

The people in all directions, who were increasingly in chaos, actually began to have some expectations of Yuan Shao.

This shows how great the impact of this matter is.

"Greetings, Envoy Yuan."

When Gu Ze saw Yuan Shao, his expression was still calm and there was no change.

On the contrary, Yuan Shao's expression was somewhat complicated.

The Yuan and Gu families once had close ties, and the children of the two families were naturally familiar with each other. It's a pity that things have changed a lot now.

He was silent for a long time, and finally sighed and said, "Is Boyu okay?"

"Thank you for your concern, I am fine."

Gu Ze remained calm and composed, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's eyes became even more complicated.

How could he not feel the alienation?
"I know that you, Boyu, have great ambitions, and now the court has granted me the power to establish a government office."

"If Boyu doesn't want to waste time in this Julu land."

"You can follow me"

Before Yuan Shao could finish, Gu Ze interrupted him: "Your Excellency, there is no need to say more. I have no distracting thoughts in my mind."

Yuan Shao was stunned for a moment.

Looking at Gu Ze in front of him, he finally just sighed deeply and said nothing more.

This is a highly anticipated sacrifice.

Yuan Shao also attached great importance to this, and the whole process was very formal.

Afterwards, regardless of Gu Ze's attitude, he directly appointed Gu Ze as the prefect of Julu.

This move completely won him the hearts of the people in the entire Jizhou area and quickly stabilized the situation in Jizhou.

He then gradually set his sights on Qingzhou.
As Xun Yu had predicted, the princes from all directions were unable to suppress their surging ambitions, and wars broke out one after another!
------

In the third year of Zhaoning, Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, took charge of the government as the head of the imperial clan. He forced the emperor to argue about the deeds of Yao and Shun, and made him carry the imperial seal and ribbon. He falsely claimed to have abdicated and usurped the throne, changing the era name to Hanxing.

Although Dai inherited the name of a descendant of Emperor Gaozu, his political power was not his own.

The Yuan family of Runan held the power to establish a government; the Xun family of Yingchuan held the power to conduct examinations and evaluations; the Yang family of Hongnong held the power to study Confucian classics. The local clans divided the imperial power.

The governors and governors in all directions had different plans. They divided the seals and tokens to control the prefectures and counties, and divided the land and registered registers to raise their own private armies.

At that time, the world fell apart.

Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, eyeing the Central Plains with a fierce gaze, preparing his armor and gathering grain; Liu Bei stationed his troops in Langya, commanding the sea and the mountains, winning the hearts of the heroes;

The governors of prefectures and counties cast spears with the words "Loyal to the King" in them, or raised banners with the words "Quesing the Rebellion". Twelve of them crossed prefectures and counties, and thirty of them gathered their people and ceded counties.

The imperial edicts from Luozhong could not leave Yique.

The sacrificial vessels in the Taimiao are empty, and the curtains in the Mingtang are just hanging in vain."

——"Heroes of the Late Han Dynasty. The Beginning of the Turbulent Times"

(End of this chapter)