Chapter 665: The First Great War among the Xia!
With the emperor's seal on it, hundreds of imperial envoys went out from Chang'an to all directions. One of the letters was an imperial edict to be spread among all provinces and counties in the world, and the others were imperial decrees to confer official titles on individuals, as well as the golden seal and golden book for conferring titles on marquises.
It was not until the golden books were handed over one after another that the ministers and officials finally had a glimmer of memory of the former glory of the imperial city.
A few imperial envoys went west, while most of them went east, advancing simultaneously along the three roads out of the pass.
Ma Teng and Han Sui gladly accepted the titles bestowed by the court. Ma Teng was not from Liangzhou, so he became the governor of Liangzhou, while Han Sui became a general with an important title, so the two had equal power.
However, the two men did not expect that the people under their command began to become dissatisfied, especially Han Sui's ministers were quite dissatisfied. The General Zhenxi had a high status, but the Governor of Liangzhou was not just an official position, it also meant that one could recruit subordinates on his own. Suddenly, his power was beyond the reach of the General Zhenxi.
Ma Teng's subordinates were also dissatisfied. It is a little-known fact that although the governor of a province had great power, his rank was theoretically only two thousand stones, lower than the Nine Ministers and not as good as the General Zhenxi. This made Ma Teng's subordinates very dissatisfied, and they believed that both the governor of a province and the important general should be given to Ma Teng.
But Ma Teng and Han Sui did not think so.
Especially Ma Teng said with great emotion: "Everyone.
My Fufeng Ma family was originally a family of dukes and marquises, but now we are almost reduced to being military soldiers in the border counties.
What is the status of the military men in the border counties?
If he had not had the kind of opportunity that Dong Zhuo had, he would have lived at the bottom of the Han Dynasty's official contempt chain for the rest of his life.
But now I have this opportunity, I can make a leap forward, and in the future I can proudly talk about my origins.
If he could be granted a title of nobility later, it would bring honor to his family.
As for the Han court's calculations, we will talk about them later. If we fight simply for a reputation, it would be too unwise. "
So Ma Teng's retainers suppressed their dissatisfaction in their hearts, but Han Sui's retainers were still dissatisfied, because they were the ones who truly gained nothing.
The imperial envoy entered Chengdu through Hanzhong. Liu Yan had already been the governor of Yizhou, and was appointed by Emperor Ling. However, Li Jue and Guo Si gave Liu Yan a position lower than that of one of the three highest officials.
The civil and military officials of Yizhou had a heated debate on whether to accept the enthronement from the Chang'an court, and Liu Yan finally decided to accept it.
The reason is simple. He is a relative of the Liu clan, and now the Han Dynasty has declined to an unacceptable level.
If we do not support the royal family at this time and instead trample the Han Dynasty into the mud, the consequences will be unimaginable.
In the millennium-old Bang Zhou world where the Luo family has existed, the status of clan members is very special, and the price of betraying the royal family is heavy.
In the eyes of the world, you are a relative of the royal family. Isn't it unfilial to betray the emperor?
Or you can do it like Emperor Guangwu, and directly announce to the world that you will do it yourself. The court in Chang'an is waiting for you, and I will take care of the Han Dynasty by myself.
But Liu Yan didn't dare to do so, because he knew he didn't have the strength and didn't want to become the target of public criticism, so he could only accept it.
Moreover, in Liu Yan's view, he was already a de facto separatist. Although he had no Hanzhong in his hands and was trapped in Chengdu, it was also very safe and difficult for outsiders to enter.
Liu Biao of Jingzhou kept the imperial envoy in Jingzhou. He neither accepted nor rejected the envoy, and waited for other people's reactions without seeing or hearing anything.
The real target of Li Jue and Guo Si was the princes of the Central Plains.
Bingzhou, where Lu Bu and Zhang Liao were located, was closest to Guanzhong and was the first to receive the order. Lu Bu's reaction was exactly the same as that of Ma Teng and Han Sui. Li Jue and Guo Si were military men from the border counties themselves, and they understood the psychology of these military men from the border counties too well.
People like Lu Bu simply could not refuse the rewards from the imperial court. After all, they had nothing and were excluded by the mainstream. They had to do their best to give themselves these orthodox titles.
However, after the imperial envoy arrived in Jizhou and Yanzhou, the expected and reasonable result finally appeared.
Yecheng.
Yuan Shao looked at the imperial edict from the court in Chang'an and threw it to the ground with a mocking look on his face. He then said to the civil and military officials of Jizhou: "Did Li Jue and Guo Si let the water of the Great River flow into their brains?
You kidnapped the emperor, issued chaotic orders, and now you want me to follow them?
Even if Mount Tai were to be filled up with the North Sea, I would never obey such an absurd order.
Immediately issue a document to the world, denouncing Li Jue and Guo Si, and letting everyone in the world know my, Yuan Shao’s intentions. In addition, the emperor must also be demoted in the imperial edict.
Liu Xie was the emperor established by Dong Zhuo. Facing the Xiliang people who murdered his brother, he did not know how to resist, but even helped the remnants of Dong Zhuo to commit atrocities. Doesn't this bring shame to the previous emperor of the Han Dynasty?"
The attitude of the civil and military officials in Hebei towards the imperial edict was unanimous. This was too ridiculous. Yuan Shao's consistent attitude towards Liu Xie was to refuse to recognize his throne.
Ju Su asked directly: "My lord, this imperial edict is full of wolfish ambitions. It conferred upon you the title of Marquis of Ji and upon Gongsun Zan the title of Marquis of Ye. This is to instigate a confrontation between you and Gongsun Zan.
Li Jue and Guo Si knew that Cao Cao occupied Henan, and it was your vassal Zhou Cang who occupied Henei, but they deliberately appointed you as the governor of Henan and Cao Cao as the governor of Henei, in order to sow discord between you and Cao Cao.
Gongsun Zan is a brainless warrior from the border county. He must know that you will not accept the reward from the court, so he will definitely accept the reward from the court.
Then Gongsun Zan will certainly attack Jizhou in the name of your disobedience to the imperial edict, and we must be on guard against this.”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao said in a loud voice: "Isn't this exactly what we are pursuing?
The shame of a year ago, when Gongsun Zan invaded Jizhou and Hebei ceded territory in exchange for peace, this kind of shame burns my heart every day and night.
Every day I have to drink bitter wine before I can fall asleep!
Can you guys forget?
I, Yuan Shao, will never forget for even a moment!"
Everyone put away their playful expressions, and Yuan Shao continued, "A year ago, I said that we must wash away our past shame. Now it seems that the time has come!"
Yan Liang, Wen Chou and his group of generals all stood up, clasped their fists and said loudly: "I am willing to be the vanguard!"
A group of top counselors kept calculating and nodded slowly. Gongsun Zan was very strong, but Jizhou was now capable of fighting. If the lord wanted to fight, then they would fight.
If Gongsun Zan were allowed to continue developing and completely digest the Jizhou land he obtained a year ago, then we would really have no idea what the future would be like.
Now, under the powerful pressure of Gongsun Zan and the strong suppression of Yuan Shao, Hebei is united and determined.
Everyone left, leaving only Ju Shou and Xun Chen in the room. One was the leader of the Hebei gentry, and the other was the leader of the Yingchuan gentry. One was a Beijia attendant and deputy of Jizhou, and the other was Yuan Shao's strategist, both of whom had extremely high status.
When Yuan Shao kept these two people, everyone knew that something big must be going on.
Yuan Shao did not hide anything and said directly: "I heard that Lü Bu and Lü Fengxian have a daughter who has reached the age of marriage.
My eldest son is still unmarried, and I want to ask for Lü Bu's daughter to marry him. What do you think?"
Marriage?
The two were stunned, realizing that Yuan Shao was thinking of forming an alliance with Lu Bu. Lu Bu now occupied Bingzhou and had strong military strength. Bingzhou was just west of Youzhou.
The Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry under Lu Bu's command is not weaker than Gongsun Zan's Youzhou Iron Cavalry and White Horse Volunteers. If Jizhou can get Lu Bu's help, Jizhou will resist head-on, and then Lu Bu will suddenly lead the cavalry to attack Gongsun Zan's rear by surprise.
Gongsun Zan will definitely lose!
Ju Shou frowned and said, "If Lü Bu is willing to join forces, that would be great, but he just accepted a reward from Chang'an. Will he be willing to agree to join forces with us?"
Xun Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Lü Bu is a warrior from a frontier county. As long as the benefits promised are big enough, he won't care about these things. Besides, what does the imperial edict from Chang'an mean?
The lord has three ministers in four generations, and the Luo family has never appeared. The lord represents the reputation of the aristocratic family. Although Lu Bu is not good enough, he will understand this truth.
What's more, Gongsun Zan came from an aristocratic family in a nearby county, while Lu Bu came from a humble family. All we had to do was to exaggerate the situation in front of Lu Bu and say that Gongsun Zan once looked down on Lu Bu.
If the lord can marry him as a fourth-generation duke and marry his legitimate daughter to the Yuan family, will he still not agree?"
Ju Su had to admit that Xun Chen was right. This was Yuan Shao's natural advantage. The status of a family of three highest officials in four generations and having students and former officials all over the world was a huge bonus to him. As long as he had a slightly better attitude, he would be respectful to the wise and humble. As long as he gave face, people would feel honored.
The Luo family and the Five Surnames and Seven Families all play it this way. If I take benefits from you, you have to thank me, because I only take yours and not others'. This is giving you face.
The marriage between Yuan Shao and Lu Bu was indeed a way of giving face to Lu Bu in that era.
Although Lu Bu is now a local lord, his position is actually not stable.
Because the Bingzhou gentry still did not approve of him.
Especially from the current perspective, although according to convention, the Bingzhou gentry sent their own attendants, no Bingzhou gentry has sent any outstanding sons to be loyal to Lu Bu.
As the governor of Bingzhou, he doesn't even have a counselor now. This can be said to be a political failure.
In this case, the marriage between Yuan Shao and Lu Bu was sending a signal to the Bingzhou gentry that Lu Bu was from my faction and you could start to pledge allegiance to me. Even if Lu Bu failed, you could transfer to me and I would accept you completely.
The only person sacrificed here was Yuan Shao's eldest son. But for a family, it is very normal to sacrifice you to achieve political goals. Not every family is the Luo family.
Seeing that Ju Shou and Xun Chen both agreed, Yuan Shao said directly: "There is no time to lose. Youruo, go and select reliable people. This matter must be done quietly and Gongsun Zan must not be aware of it.
First, finish the marriage certificate and finalize the engagement, so as to appease Lü Bu. I believe he can understand why it is not public for the time being."
Xun Chen took the order and went out. Yuan Shao said to Ju Su, "Gong Yu, what do you think are our chances of winning this battle with Gongsun Zan?"
Ju Su said in a deep voice: "No one can be sure of winning a war. If there is no Lu Bu, it is 50%. If there is Lu Bu, it is still 50."
Yuan Shao nodded in approval and said, "Yes, 50%, only 50%. The Youzhou cavalry come and go like the wind. It is extremely difficult to defeat them in battle.
But if we can't even defeat Gongsun Zan, how can we talk about going south to fight?
With the four states of You, Bing, Ji and Qing, the way to be a king or a hegemon is basically enough.
If we don't defeat Gongsun Zan, we will be trapped and die in Jizhou. What if we can contact the State of Yan?
How much can it increase the chances of winning?"
Yan State?
Ju Shou was really shocked. He said anxiously, "My Lord, how can we contact Yan State? Yan State is the enemy of the Han Dynasty. So-called brothers..."
Before Ju Su could finish his words, he was interrupted by Yuan Shao, "Where is the Han Dynasty? Who is the emperor of the Han Dynasty? Without an emperor, whose subject am I?
A year ago, Zhao Cheng came to mediate. Could a Zhu Xia country independent of the Han court mediate for the two princes of the Han Dynasty?
When Gongsun Zan and I signed the armistice agreement, we were already two vassal states, but no one broke this window paper.
Yan State.
Those are the legitimate nations of Xia. What's wrong with me forming an alliance with them to defeat the powerful enemy?
Gong Yu, times have changed, you should take a longer-term view. "
There was a gleam in Yuan Shao's eyes, and Ju Su had to admit that what Yuan Shao said made a lot of sense.
But after thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "My lord, you are right, I am a little conservative.
But it’s too late now, we know too little about the State of Yan.
The most important thing is that the Yan nobles are not like the Bingzhou gentry, and we have enough understanding of them.
Things like forming an alliance are not something that can be decided lightly.
After this battle, we can start trying to understand Yan State. Whether we win or lose, we can attack Gongsun Zan from both sides."
After all, Yuan Shao was not a strategist, and his plans ultimately had to be confirmed by these strategists. Seeing Ju Shou give his opinion, Yuan Shao thought about it, then temporarily put his idea aside and began to prepare for war, ready to fight a life-and-death battle with Gongsun Zan.
Before the rise of Yan State, Youzhou had a large area. But after the rise of Yan State, it fought all the way from Liaodong. Not to mention the four Korean counties, the part of Liaoxi County outside the Great Wall was basically taken away by Yan State.
If Chen Fan had not been the governor of Youzhou, the State of Yan would have been able to even attack all the way into the Great Wall of Youbeiping County. In that case, the Gongsun family would have been a wealthy family in the border counties of the State of Yan, rather than a wealthy family in the border counties of the Han court.
At present, Yan State basically uses the Great Wall as the boundary with Youzhou. Youzhou governs seven counties: Dai, Shanggu, Zhuo, Ji, Yuyang, Youbeiping, and Liaoxi.
Ji County.
This was the seat of the former Youzhou governor and is also the seat of the current Youzhou governor Liu Yu. As the deputy governor, Gongsun Zan naturally also works here.
After the imperial edict arrived in Youzhou, Liu Yu and Liu Yan had the same reaction. The imperial court gave Liu Yu a very high status, and most importantly, gave Liu Yu the power to hold the imperial seal.
This made Gongsun Zan jealous to the point of madness. Compared with Liu Yu, his position as a county marquis and the position of General Zhenbei seemed somewhat unimportant.
After the decree arrived, Gongsun Zan was so angry that he almost dropped his porcelain bowl and said angrily: "Liu Yu is just a corrupt scholar. Youzhou is a strategically important place for military strategists. How can he get the power of holding the imperial seal?
General Zhenbei is a general of high rank.
A general with a high title does not have the power to hold the imperial seal, but a governor of Youzhou does. Isn't this a contempt for me?"
Just as Yuan Shao expected, although Gongsun Zan cursed with his mouth, he honestly accepted the reward from the court with his body.
Liu Yu was given the power of Youzhou Mu, who was given three titles of duke, and if he was not given the titles of General Zhenbei and Marquis of County, his status would be too low in front of Liu Yu.
His dream was not to be an assistant minister, but to become a real prince. Just like Yuan Shao personally took part in the battle, he also took part in the battle himself. This is the characteristic of the wealthy families in the border counties.
After both of them accepted the imperial edict, the imperial envoy took out another imperial edict and said to Liu Yu, “Mr. Liu, my lord, His Majesty has an imperial edict for you two.
In today's world, the Han Dynasty is becoming more and more precarious. There are more and more rebels in this world who are unwilling to obey the Han Dynasty. Lord Liu, you are the elder of the Liu family and a famous Confucian scholar throughout the country. The Han Dynasty still needs your care.
Now I grant you the power to hold the imperial seal, which is to allow you to fight against the rebellious ones, just like when King Wu of Zhou granted Jiang Taigong the power to fight.
If there are rebels who disobey the Han Dynasty, you can obey my orders, go and attack him, contact those ministers loyal to the Han Dynasty, and jointly defend the Han Dynasty's world.
Gongsun Qing was born into a wealthy family in a nearby county, and his family was a prominent family with a rank of two thousand stones.
How many such large families are there in the world?
But not everyone was like Gongsun Qing. They received favors from the royal family but were unwilling to be loyal. Instead, they had rebellious thoughts in their hearts.
This is something that the world despises, and this is something that I hate. I ask you to cooperate sincerely with Mr. Liu, discuss great undertakings together, and serve the country wholeheartedly. "
What Li Jue and Guo Si said was so high-sounding that Liu Yu frowned slightly and Gongsun Zan's face was full of joy.
This was tailor-made for him. He knew that Yuan Shao would definitely not accept the reward from Chang'an. That hypocritical man would definitely not recognize Liu Xie's throne. This was his chance.
The last time he conquered Jizhou, he won a great victory. However, after returning, a fierce conflict broke out between Liu Yu and himself.
Now that the emperor is here, we have to see what Liu Yu can say, whether he will say some nonsense about peace being the most precious thing.
Liu Yu frowned because he had thought of this, but the situation had come to this point and he knew there was nothing he could do about it.
As soon as the imperial envoy left, Gongsun Zan said directly to Liu Yu: "Lord Liu, Yuan Shao of Jizhou is an arrogant and conceited man who only relies on his status and position. He is self-righteous and has always been unwilling to acknowledge your Majesty's throne. He will definitely not accept the imperial edict this time. Do you think this is considered rebellion against the court?"
Liu Yu was unwilling to answer this question, but Gongsun Zan forced him to answer, so Liu Yu could only answer: "If Yuan Shao really does not want to accept the imperial edict, then he is naturally rebelling against the court."
This was the answer Gongsun Zan wanted, so he asked, "Should we obey your majesty's order and attack the person who rebelled against the court?"
Liu Yu frowned. Suddenly, one of Liu Yu's subordinates ran in from outside. Seeing Gongsun Zan was still there, his expression changed. He whispered in Gongsun Zan's ear, "My lord, an envoy from Yuan Shao is here."
Yuan Shao's envoy?
Even though the voice was so low, Gongsun Zan heard it and immediately raised his eyebrows and said, "It turned out to be Yuan Shao's envoy. I don't know how he dared to send someone here. I want to hear what he wants to say.
My fiefdom is still in Yuan Shao's hands, I will take it back sooner or later!"
When Yuan Shao's envoy walked in, he was not surprised to see Gongsun Zan there. Liu Yu asked Yuan Shao what important matter he had sent the envoy to. The envoy said directly: "Lord Liu, my lord knows that there is an envoy from Chang'an coming to Youzhou. He must have brought the messenger from Li Jue and Guo Si.
The Yuan family has been loyal to the court for generations, but isn’t the current emperor in Chang’an just a puppet?
Wasn't the edict you received written by Li Jue and Guo Si?
What kind of jackals and demons are Li Jue and Guo Si?
Dong Zhuo murdered Emperor Xiaomin. Li Jue and Guo Si were Dong Zhuo's subordinates and they also plundered Chang'an. Aren't they Dong Zhuo's accomplices?
If we accept their orders now, is this safeguarding the Han Dynasty or trampling on the dignity of the former emperor?
Mr. Liu.
I once heard that among the Liu family, the one with virtue should become the emperor, and that is how Emperor Guangwu ascended the throne.
Now that the Han Dynasty has lost its emperor, doesn't this prove that the imperial line has shifted away from Emperor Ling's line?
You are the elder among the Liu family, and your virtues have always been recognized by the people of the world. If you become the emperor of the Han Dynasty, the world will surely be able to return to peace.
I am willing to follow your will, to pacify the world and restore the Han Dynasty. I am unwilling to follow the emperor who is being held hostage by the two traitors Li Jue and Guo Si and to bring chaos to the world.
These are some of my thoughts, which I would like to share with you. I respectfully request that you take the throne of the emperor and rule the world!"
Yuan Shao's letter left Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu dumbfounded. They never expected that Yuan Shao was not only unwilling to obey the order of the Chang'an court, but also directly wanted to support Liu Yu as emperor.
Liu Yu wanted to refuse immediately. He knew his own strengths and weaknesses very well. He had not even completely dealt with Gongsun Zan and had not completely taken control of Youzhou, let alone becoming emperor.
But Gongsun Zan didn't think so. He immediately became extremely alert. If Liu Yu really colluded with Yuan Shao, it would be a disaster for him.
As soon as Liu Yu saw Gongsun Zan's expression, he knew what he was thinking, and he couldn't help but feel even more dissatisfied with Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan was completely useless except for being able to fight. What was even more terrifying was that Gongsun Zan himself didn't think so and always tried to use his brain.
Of course Yuan Shao knew that Liu Yu would never agree. This was an open conspiracy, which was useless to ordinary people. However, it was very useful to deal with people like Gongsun Zan who had long been dissatisfied with Liu Yu and full of suspicion.
Yuan Shao's envoy left leisurely. Gongsun Zan asked sinisterly, "Envoy, you don't want to attack Yuan Shao. Is it because you want to be the emperor?"
Liu Yu stared at Gongsun Zan fiercely and said, "Do you really think you can defeat Yuan Shao?
Since you want to take the Youzhou nobles and common people to die, then go ahead. I am waiting for you to flee back to Youzhou in disgrace after your defeat!"
After saying that, he left angrily. Gongsun Zan's face suddenly turned pale after hearing Liu Yu's words. His expression kept changing. He said viciously: "Old bastard, after I deal with Yuan Shao, I'll let you know that there are some things you can't say casually!"
Liu Bei accepted the reward from the Chang'an court. He was the person who least wanted the Han Dynasty to collapse. He wanted to follow the path of Emperor Guangwu. His ultimate goal was to let Liu Xie put the crown of the Han emperor on his head himself. It would be too funny to get rid of the emperor now.
Ying Hou Luochuan and the two Lus have very complicated attitudes towards the Chang'an court. At present, they really can't find anyone who can carry the banner of the Han Dynasty. The current situation is much worse than that in the late Han Dynasty.
At that time, there was at least Luo Qi in the Chang'an court, who could fully represent the royal family in communications. Now Li Jue and Guo Si are two lunatics.
The people who were finally rewarded were Yuan Shu and Sun Jian, which was actually the biggest pitfall!
Yuan Shao refused to accept the reward from the court, but Yuan Shu had to accept it no matter what the reason was.
Yuan Shu's territory was Runan County, the most populous county in the entire Yuzhou. His goal was to occupy Huaisi in Xuzhou, which was Xiang Ying in the late Qin Dynasty and later changed back to its ancient name Pengcheng, and then occupy Yangzhou and become the governor of Yangzhou.
Sun Jian was a vassal of Yuan Shu, but now the imperial court directly appointed Sun Jian as the governor of Yangzhou and occupied Yuan Shu's territory.
The problem arose again. Sun Jian only occupied Jiujiang and Lujiang counties in Yangzhou. With Luo Chu there, he could not enter Wu County at all, not to mention that although Yuzhang County below was in Yangzhou, the prefect who occupied Yuzhang County at that time was a vassal of Liu Biao, and Kuaiji County was subordinate to Wu County.
Of course, Luo Chu treated the imperial decree as a fart. As soon as the imperial decree was issued, he prepared to lead the armies of Wujun and Kuaijijun to Danyang to confront Sun Jian.
Now Yuan Shu has begun to distrust Sun Jian, and Luo Chu and Sun Jian are in direct opposition, unless Sun Jian gives up the idea of taking control of Yangzhou.
No one could have expected that the first place to be affected by this edict would be Yangzhou, and the situation became tense even faster than between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan.
This was really not intentional by Li Jue and Guo Si. The existence of Luo Chu was only circulated within the circle of Jiangdong gentry. The outside world had no idea that the Jiangdong gentry had already chosen half of their own lord.
Yanzhou and Yuzhou are located in the center of the world. Cao Cao in Yanzhou can naturally receive all the news. Then he looked around and was shocked to find that only his boss Yuan Shao explicitly refused the court's reward.
Faced with this situation, Cao Cao had a headache. Since Yuan Shao chose not to accept it, as Yuan Shao's half-vassal, Cao Cao naturally could not accept it.
However, he still quite numbly asked for the opinion of Xun Yu, his most trusted chief strategist. Xun Yu was a man who could suppress everyone when the Xun family's generation was in such a mess, so he must be extremely talented.
He is basically omnipotent. He can not only govern the country but also give advice. The most important point is that Xun Yu is very good at training his lord.
This ability instantly set him apart from other counselors. He was no longer just a talent who assisted the king, but a great talent who could compete with people like Guan Zhong for the position of a famous prime minister in ancient times.
Facing Cao Cao, who looked very worried, Xun Yu strengthened Cao Cao's courage, "Lord Cao, you are Yuan Shao's ally, even if you betray Yuan Shao now, what can you gain?
Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan are brothers from the same school. If they defeated Yuan Shao, you would be the next one. With your wisdom, how could you not know the principle of "the lips and teeth are interdependent"?
Besides, Yuan Shao is a great man of the time. Hebei has many wise counselors and generals. The heroes of the world are Yuan Shao and you, Cao Gong. If you two join forces, what is there to worry about?
Liu Biao conquered Jingzhou single-handedly in the past. Now he is getting old, but he still has talents. Although he is only guarding Jingzhou and is not of great use, he can still be used as a distraction.
Neither Yuan Shu nor Sun Jian can go north, so there is no need to worry about being attacked from both sides.
Yuan Shao can defeat Gongsun Zan, and you only need to fight Liu Bei. Are you worried that you are no match for Liu Bei, a mat weaver and shoe seller?"
In order to encourage Cao Cao, Xun Yu said many things sincerely against his will, such as describing Liu Bei as a mat weaver and shoe seller. In fact, Xun Yu quite recognized Liu Bei and thought he was a hero.
Cao Cao naturally knew that Liu Bei was a great man, but he believed that he was no less capable than anyone else in his life. No matter who came, if anyone wanted to make him surrender, that would be a foolish dream.
Cao Cao quickly cheered up, put those worries behind him, and said: "Then don't accept the order from the Chang'an court, but don't directly criticize the emperor like Yuan Shao did.
A counselor once advised me that if I could get the emperor, I could use him to command the world, just like Li Jue and Guo Si are doing now.
Now it seems to be useful, so I sent a letter accusing Li Jue and Guo Si of coercing Your Majesty, saying that this was a disorderly order issued by Li Jue and Guo Si, and also asked Li Jue and Guo Si to quickly release the emperor to Luoyang, which is the center of the world and the capital of the Han Dynasty. "
If we return Luoyang, wouldn't that mean we are handing it over to Cao Cao?
Xun Yu nodded and left.
The waves caused by this edict were far from over, especially as Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were both gathering heavy troops, which made everyone know that the war between Jizhou and Youzhou was about to begin.
One month after the edict was issued, under the witness of Zhou Cang, the governor of Hebei Province, Yuan Shao, the governor of Jizhou, Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, and Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, each sent an envoy to swear an oath in Henei County to kill Li Jue and Guo Si.
At this point, the other princes could no longer sit still. General Zhennan Yuan Shu, Governor of Qingzhou Liu Bei, and General Zhenbei Gongsun Zan also sent envoys to swear an oath together to obey the emperor's will and uphold the banner of the Han Dynasty.
This situation was somewhat unexpected for everyone. No one expected it to turn out like this. It had never happened before.
The whole world immediately became tense, and countless troops were mobilized to face an unknown future.
————
In the third year of Jian'an, Li Jue and Guo Si, the actual rulers of the Chang'an court, issued the "Jian'an Edict". The issuance of the "Jian'an Edict" is known as the direct fuse of the first war between the states of the Xia Dynasty in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. A large number of princes joined this battle, either actively or passively. This was the first war with such a wide range since the war between the states of the Xia Dynasty in the Zhou Dynasty, and it had a profound impact. - "History of Wars in the Late Eastern Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
