Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 270: Casting stones to ask for directions
In fact, Yuan Shao didn't care much about the crimes he had committed.

Because he had received military orders from He Jin.

Everything he did could be considered an order from He Jin. As He Jin's subordinate, he naturally had to obey military orders.

Moreover, these military orders are all legitimate.

For example, "the troops advanced into the Southern Palace, protected Marquis Shi, defeated He Miao, and executed the eunuchs," and so on.

Everything could be attributed to He Jin's rebellion, with Yuan Shao merely following orders, making He Jin the ringleader of the rebellion—Yuan Shao could pin everything on He Jin.

After all, he was just He Jin's advisor, at most a collaborator, and could be described as 'forced into it'.

Given the slightest excuse, the purists have countless ways to whitewash Yuan Shao into a helpless hero who protected Shi Hou.

For Yuan Shao, reputation was not a problem. The pen was in the hands of the scholars, and the scholars all followed the lead of the Yuan family.

Yuan Shao has rescued many party members over the years, and this political capital can make the upright people of the country spontaneously help him.

We may not necessarily be compatible, but helping to clear someone's name is no problem.

Even if it was just to avoid being implicated, the scholars would have to help clear Yuan Shao's name. Otherwise, wouldn't all those scholars who had been rescued by Yuan Shao or who were his friends be regarded as accomplices of the traitor?

The last purge of the party was caused by a similar incident!

Yuan Shao knew that as long as he lived, all public opinion could be swayed by the pens.

As for what the common people think—that's not important.

Of course, to inherit the Yuan family's reputation and legacy, the Yuan family members in Luoyang must first be wiped out.

Especially Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji, it would be best to bring Yuan Shu along as well.

If they do not rescue the prisoner and instead launch an attack on Luoyang, Yuan Wei, Yuan Ji, and all the Yuan family members in Luoyang will most likely perish.

Although Yuan Shu fled, he never liked associating with scholars; instead, he preferred to hang out with mountain bandits and river pirates.

With all the other members of the Yuan family dead, Yuan Shao was the one who best represented the Yuan family's prestige.

The money, grain, land, military force, and servants that the Yuan family possessed in Runan were not important legacies. Their greatest political legacy was the reputation and connections accumulated by four generations of high-ranking officials in the Yuan family.

But...but.

Yuan Shao truly hadn't expected that Liu Bian would be rumored to be the son of Yuan Ji...

This rumor has now evolved into a love story:

It is said that... before the Empress entered the palace, she and her younger sister, Lady He, went to Shi Zimiao to seek immortality. There they met Yuan Ji, who had just become the magistrate of Luoyang. The handsome man and beautiful woman fell in love and secretly pledged their lives to each other.

Shi Zimiao was a Daoist alchemist, and his alchemy room was located in Baijundi, which was very close to the Yuan family residence. Many high-ranking officials and nobles would go there to seek alchemy, and it was quite normal for outsiders to go there after entering Luoyang.

Later, Zhang Rang's son, Zhang Feng, married Xiao He and sent her to the palace.

After being selected to enter the inner palace, He Shi gained Liu Hong's favor, but she never forgot Yuan Ji. So she often tried to find ways to go to Shi Zimiao's place, hoping to see Yuan Ji again...

Since Liu Hong had no children, Da He found an excuse and, with the help of Zhang Rang, who was in charge of the palace, went to Shi Zimiao to pray for a son. There, he met Yuan Ji at the Taoist temple. The two old friends met again and fell in love.

Shi Zimiao was originally a member of the Taiping Dao (Way of Peace), and he often received offerings from the He family, so naturally he wanted to help the He family.

After the child was born, Lady He became a concubine. Fearing that she would not be able to support the prince due to the infighting in the palace, she begged Liu Hong to send the child to Shi Zimiao.

Yuan Ji also frequently visited Shi Zimiao, and when Liu Bian was twelve years old, Yuan Ji, who had already been appointed Grand Master of the Palace, was the first to lead the officials in proposing that Liu Bian be made crown prince...

Furthermore, Shi Zimiao was killed around the same time that the proposal to establish a crown prince was put forward.

In reality, Shi Zimiao was killed because he was implicated in the Taiping Dao. The person who ordered his death was Liu Hong, and the person who carried out the killing was He Jin. He killed him when He Jin was purging the Taiping Dao in Luoyang. But this inevitably makes people think of silencing him.

It's like Liu Hong killed someone in a fit of rage after discovering the affair, because after that the empress fell out of favor, and Liu Bian never entered the palace again.

It is a fact that after Shi Zimiao's death, Empress He continued to protect Shi Zimiao's disciples and alchemy workshops, and Liu Bian continued to live in the Baijun Residence.

Furthermore, everyone knows that Liu Bian and Liu Hong don't look alike, their personalities are different, they're completely different...

Liu Xie resembled Liu Hong in both appearance and temperament. Liu Hong was also intelligent from a young age and could read the Book of Poetry and the Book of Rites by the age of eight.

That's the whole story.

Yuan Shao knew, of course, that this was fabricated, but apart from the affair between Yuan Ji and the Empress, everything else in this story was true and matched up perfectly...

The key point is that Liu Bian was a prince, not someone from an ordinary family dividing up their inheritance.

As long as there are any other princes alive, if there is even the slightest doubt about Liu Bian's parentage, it will be impossible for him to be accepted by the officials and scholars. Moreover, all the witnesses are now gone...

Liu Hong, Empress He, He Jin, Shi Zimiao... they're all gone. Zhang Rang and Zhang Feng are still alive, but what Zhang Rang and his son can testify to is that Empress He did indeed frequently visit Shi Zimiao, and even the palace gates were opened by Zhang Rang.

Liu Bian's identity is now in doubt, and his biggest bargaining chip has suddenly become useless!

How can we possibly handle this?

Liu Bian could not possibly ascend the throne...

Yuan Shao had no way out!

Yuan Shao pondered all the way, leading his large army to the valley gate.

Yuan Shao did not join forces with Lü Bu, and the banner he raised was not the one with the character "Yuan" on it, but the banner of "Punish the Eunuch".

Both Gumen and Xiamen are the north gates of Luoyang, but the distance between the city gates is more than three li. The north city wall of Luoyang is the shortest wall, but it is still more than six li long.

(The net length is 2800 meters, and with the military outposts and city gate walls, the total length exceeds 3000 meters.)
The gatekeeper, Niu Fu, sealed the city gate with sand and stones and organized his troops to defend it.

But Yuan Shao not only brought tens of thousands of troops, but also quickly assembled several catapults.

After the first catapult was thrown into Luoyang, chaos ensued within the city.

This catapult seems to have been deliberately equipped with its maximum range; it wasn't even intended to hit the city wall...

Subsequently, Yuan Shao sent men to push Liu Bian down to the city wall and shout to Niu Fu.

"We have come to eliminate the eunuch faction. Do you intend to allow Lord Shi to return to the capital?!"

Niu Fu dared not harm Liu Bian and was at a loss. He did not dare to fight back and had no choice but to quickly ask Dong Zhuo for help. He also lowered the basket and took the messenger sent by Yuan Shao to the city.

Liu Bian was still two or three hundred paces outside the city, protected by a group of silver-masked soldiers, and could be clearly seen from the city wall.

Yuan Shao did not send troops to attack the city directly, but instead used catapults to slowly throw stones at it.

……

Luoyang, Yongle Palace.

After Liu Bei left Luoyang, the Empress Dowager returned to the palace and searched everywhere for Liu Xie's whereabouts, but could not find him.

By the time the Empress Dowager confirmed that Liu Xie and the palace servants of the Bao Shi had been taken away by Diao Chan, Luoyang had already been attacked.

The powerful eunuchs, including Zhang Rang, remained in the palace. Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong stayed at Yongle Palace to guard the Empress Dowager and were not confined to the palace.

Duan Gui, the Imperial Attendant, was also present.

The Empress Dowager was very flustered at this moment.

She had just ordered Dong Cheng to use members of the Yuan clan to force Yuan Shao to withdraw his troops.

However, after Dong Cheng killed a group of Yuan family members, he was met with Lü Bu's forced attack on the city.

Dong Cheng had no choice but to kill all members of the Yuan family, so that the garrison in the city could no longer collude with Yuan Shao and could only do its best to defend against the enemy.

Lu Bu's attack was fierce, but he was unable to defeat Dong Zhuo in a short time.

However, after Yuan Shao's army arrived at the valley gate, they frequently threw stones into the city, causing panic among the people inside.

Luoyang City seems to be on the verge of collapse.

The Empress Dowager was unsure whether Luoyang could be defended, worried about the danger to Liu Xiehui, and even feared that she herself might be murdered... but all she could do was stay in the palace, trembling with fear.

"Your Majesty, Yuan Shao's envoy, Feng Ji, requests an audience." (Note: When Feng is a surname, it is pronounced pang.)
Suddenly, Attendant Fu Wan came to report.

Fu Wan was from Langya. He was a descendant of Fu Zhan, the Marquis of Buqi, who served as a minister under Emperor Guangwu. He was also the son-in-law of Liu Hua, the eldest daughter of Emperor Huan, Princess Yang'an. Therefore, he was considered a member of the royal family.

The Fu family, which passed down the Book of Poetry, was a renowned family of scholars who formed their own school of thought. For a century, the eldest sons of the Fu family who inherited the title of Marquis of Buqi served as close attendants to the emperor in the capital, making them a prominent family in the Han Dynasty.

"...Who is Feng Ji?"

The Empress Dowager was unfamiliar with the name and felt quite uneasy.

"He was a renowned scholar recruited by the traitor He Jin last year, and served as a military strategist for the Grand General..."

Fu Wan replied, "Feng Ji said he wanted to discuss the matter of withdrawing troops with the Empress Dowager. Since it involves Marquis Shi, General Dong is unable to make a decision and can only ask the Empress Dowager to discuss it with him."

"The matter of withdrawing the troops? Please do so immediately!"

Upon hearing that they had come to discuss withdrawing the troops, the Empress Dowager immediately perked up and even left Yongle Palace to come to the front hall with Fu Wan.

(End of this chapter)