Chapter 136: The Emperor of Two
Enter Liangzhou from Bingzhou, and then take the road through Youfufeng and Zuofengyi from Liangzhou, go down along the tributaries of Jingshui, and go straight to Chang'an!
This is indeed a feasible strategy.
It is just as Yuan Shu said. After the destruction by Dong Zhuo, Luoyang is no longer sufficient to provide strategic materials for the advance to Chang'an. If we rashly collect military rations from the three auxiliary areas along the line from Luoyang to Chang'an, we may not be able to get much.
The 800-li military journey along this line could not be completed by simply using a cavalry raid, because Dong Zhuo was not Budugen and Chang'an was not the Xianbei royal court.
This is the situation that should truly be described as "a spent bow and arrow, unable to pierce the silk cloth of Lu".
But if we take Liangzhou first as Qiao Yan said, we can establish a grain transportation route.
Since Bingzhou was able to provide military rations to support the Suanzao coalition forces under the rule of Qiao Yan, it is hard not to suspect that she could mobilize even more. If she could go straight from Bingzhou to Liangzhou, after eliminating the Qiang people and rebel forces such as Ma Teng and Han Sui, she would be able to establish a stable route for transporting grain from Bingzhou to Liangzhou.
This not only restricted Dong Zhuo's ability to recruit more troops from Liang Province, but also shortened the journey to Chang'an.
In addition, although the people present were not clear about it, Qiao Yan himself knew it very well.
She had earlier promised Fu Gan that she would go to Liangzhou to avenge Fu Xie's blood debt, so that she could borrow some of Fu Xie's reputation in Liangzhou.
This included Beidi County, where Fu Xie had been active in his early years, and Hanyang County, where he served as the prefect. This would undoubtedly greatly reduce the exclusion she faced as an outsider.
But just the above reasons were enough to make Lu Zhi feel surprised when he heard this.
"That's right! We can go to Liangzhou!" A hint of excitement flashed across his face.
Huangfu Song's army is now stationed in Liangzhou.
Huangfu Yizhen is too loyal! If he had received the conscription order issued by Dong Zhuo in the name of Liu Xie first, he would most likely choose to hand over the military power to Dong Zhuo and go to Chang'an to fall into the trap, simply because Liu Xie was the king and he was the minister.
But if Qiao Yan could take the lead and reach a strategic consensus with Huangfu Song to attack Chang'an and rescue the emperor, with Ye Shu's eloquence, it would not be impossible for him to convince Huangfu Song, in Lu Zhi's opinion.
In the past, when suppressing the Xiliang rebels, there was a rift between Dong Zhuo and Huangfu Song, and they often fought separately, which still created a certain suppressive situation.
Then when the collaborators became Qiao Yan and Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi could not help but feel a sense of confidence.
Can they repeat the success they achieved in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion?
With this idea in mind, Lu Zhi became more determined to lead some people who were willing to be insiders to Chang'an to form a temporary court to save His Majesty's life.
What surprised him even more was that he heard two voices that seemed particularly important to him.
"If so, I will go too." Xun Shuang said in a firm tone, "If the three ministers I promoted for Dong Zhuo all choose to support the establishment of a new court, there is no guarantee that Dong Zhuo will not abandon Your Majesty in a fit of rage and directly seize control of the land west of Chang'an, thus causing trouble for the Han border."
"I am already half buried in the ground. Two years ago, a doctor said that even if I take good care of myself, I will only live for a few years. So what if I am a traitor? I, Xun Shuang, have the misfortune to follow the enemy and bring disgrace to my parents. Am I going to be buried with such a reputation?"
The second half of his sentence sounded reasonable, but in fact everyone present knew very well that given Xun Ciming's reputation, he had no choice but to obey Dong Zhuo's call, and no one would actually blame him for it.
On the contrary, it is his willingness to disregard his own life that really makes people admire him.
The second person who spoke had actually been on Yuan Shu's side just a moment before, but chose to switch sides at this time, which undoubtedly surprised Lu Zhi even more.
Wang Yun said, "I was trapped by the Party Imprisonment in the past, and was forced to resign due to false accusations by Zhang Rang. I don't know how long I have been tormented. Now I am over 50 years old, and I may not be able to accomplish anything great, but I still have the courage to live up to the reputation of Bingzhou."
"Marquis Qiao is not from Bingzhou, but he made Bingzhou famous with the title of Marquis of Leping and Governor of Bingzhou. I, Wang Yun, cannot be a person who is bound by the affairs of former officials and former masters. Since you need an internal response, I will go too!"
His words inevitably made Lu Zhi see the possibility that more people would support his side.
Even though Yuan's disciples were spread all over the world, and even though He Jin had indeed shown favor to many people when he was the general, Liu Xie, as the heir to the throne chosen by Liu Hong himself, was the legitimate heir to the Han Dynasty!
This is what truly determines people's stance.
Or, if Liu Bian, who was present in the hall at this moment, as another offspring left by the late emperor, could behave in a manner worthy of an emperor, perhaps some people would hesitate again.
Unfortunately he didn't.
When he heard that he didn't have to stay in Luoyang, he showed a sense of relief, which was seen by everyone.
Yuan Shu felt something was wrong.
After Qiao Yan said this crucial word, the faction that originally had the upper hand in the court and advocated establishing a new monarch no longer had much advantage.
At most, it was because Dong Zhuo was so tyrannical that people worried that their lives would be in danger at any time under his hands, which slightly suppressed the idea of some people changing their stance.
He then heard that He Yong, Huang Wan and Shisun Rui supported Lu Zhi's move, which further sparked a trend of this decision.
Even with the help of Yang Biao and others who had been contacted in advance, it could not change the fact that the debate at the court meeting was converging towards one result.
Only about half of the people supported him to replace Liu Bian as the new emperor.
If the legitimacy of Liu Bian's succession to the throne could be supported by the missing imperial seal, perhaps the situation could be saved a little.
But after Yuan Shu arrived in Luoyang, he searched the South Palace and even the North Palace again. This time, he even searched the palaces closest to the Jiade Hall, the well outside the palace, and under the bronze men outside the Jade Hall and the Jiade Hall, but still could not find any trace of the jade seal.
He had to speculate that this item was most likely hidden by Zhang Rang in a more secret place and buried forever underground with his death, or that someone had taken it out of the palace during the fire in Nangong that day.
But no matter which possibility it was, Yuan Shu would never have thought that this imperial seal was found out from the Nan Palace by Qiao Yan just one day before he arrived in Luoyang, and sent to a place where there was no chance of it being found by anyone.
As for Bi Lan who came to seek refuge with her——
The other party obviously knew that exposing his identity as a eunuch would do him no good. After Zhang Rang, Jian Shuo and others had been executed, the most appropriate choice for him was to remain in hiding.
So although he assisted Qiao Yan's army in the battle of crossing the river, most of the time he just pretended to be a mute who couldn't speak, acting as Ma Jun's assistant, and also glued a layer of beard on himself as a cover.
After all, Yuan Shu thought about it and didn't suspect Qiao Yan.
He could only accept one fact.
If he wanted to help Liu Bian ascend the throne and establish a new court, he would have to form a situation of equal power with the existing court in Chang'an.
Maybe it's not necessarily equivalent.
Yuan Shao's army was in the north, and the area occupied by Yuan Shu was in the south. So where to place the new capital became a problem.
According to the north-south difference in population distribution, the north has more advantages, but he prefers to move closer to the south.
Before all the external enemies were eliminated, the two brothers started fighting among themselves.
Fortunately, his adviser Yan Xiang told him that if he kept the emperor nearby, he might face the trouble of being favored by others, so it would be better to hand him over to Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao is now eager to weaken the negative impact caused by the late arrival of his own coalition forces in Luoyang and being criticized in the street by Qiao Yan through the merit of supporting the emperor, so he will inevitably accept a favor from Yuan Shu. This was also something Yuan Shao had to do.
As Yuan Shu was the first person to propose the establishment of a new monarch, as long as he did not make any inconsistent moves at this time, he would be a real benefactor to Liu Bian, and it was expected that he would not treat him badly in his official position.
By then, Yuan Shu had a prestigious official position in hand and could freely expand his situation in the south, but Yuan Shao, who was in the north and close to the emperor, did not have it so easy.
Yuan Shu was moved by the prospect of freedom in this statement and immediately agreed to the idea.
So at the decision-making meeting that continued on the second day, he agreed to the idea of making Yecheng the new capital.
As for how Lu Zhi, Huang Wan, Wang Yun and others were going to go to Chang'an, and how Qiao Yan was going to advance to Liangzhou from Bingzhou, that was their business.
The group heading to Chang'an was faced with many dangers, and the situation faced by Qiao Yan was not much better.
Since the repeated unrest in the Western Qiang and the frequent power struggles within the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liangzhou was no longer the only way through the former Silk Road and the springboard connecting the countries in the Western Regions, but a barren land in the eyes of Yuan Shu.
To pass through Liangzhou, they had to fight against the Xiliang rebels first. If the situation Huangfu Song faced in the past years were the same, it would be impossible to determine the winner within the year.
During this year, Yuan Shu had already established a firm foothold with the support of the emperor.
What do you support?
Yuan Shu originally wanted to try to seek the position of Governor of Jingzhou.
But he changed his mind and realized that Liu Biao, the current governor of Jingzhou, had already shown signs of connecting with the aristocratic families of Jingzhou. When he sent out his troops, he already had the courage to fully control Jingzhou. Therefore, he changed his choice and first set his sights on this prosperous land where Yuzhou and Yangzhou met.
Develop some military strength to rely on, then it won’t be too late to deal with Liu Biao!
Being a general close to the emperor, being a minister like Qiao Yan and Lu Zhi who tried their best to save the Han Dynasty, how could it be as satisfying as being a governor of a province!
The more Yuan Shu thought about it, the wiser he felt. However, as soon as he walked out of the meeting hall, he heard Qiao Yan telling Yuan Shao not to forget the agreement to return the military rations next September. The smile on his face froze on the spot.
Because he soon heard Qiao Yan say that he, Yuan Shao, would have to provide food, clothing and other expenses for a certain "Son of Heaven" in the future, and might not be able to save all the surplus grain, so it would be better to let Yuan Shu pay it back. After all, they were one family, so it didn't matter who paid it back.
Yes, with Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's wealth, it would not be a problem for them to temporarily purchase the rice and grain in Luoyang to pay it back, but if they really did that, their face in front of Qiao Yan would be completely lost!
Yuan Shu snorted coldly and walked away, but he didn't know that after he left, Qiao Yan didn't bother with Yuan Shao about this issue any more, but had a conversation with Sun Jian.
"What does Sun Changsha think now?" Qiao Yan said as he walked out with him.
Since both parties were the first to arrive in Luoyang, and both were good at fighting, they had some common topics and could be said to appreciate each other. This conversation was much more harmonious than the previous one.
Sun Jian did not experience the defeat at the hands of Xu Rong during the attack on Dong Zhuo, so his dependence on Yuan Shu was not that high.
It was good that he joined forces with Yuan Shu in Luyang and then attacked Luoyang, but there was no need for him to follow suit.
Sun Ce looked at the two people talking in front of him, secretly clenched his fists, thinking that sooner or later he would be able to lead a group of generals and elite soldiers like Qiao Yan, instead of following like a junior who was listening to the conversation of his elders and following closely, with no room for interruption at all.
He heard his father reply: "Since Marquis Qiao intends to attack Chang'an from Liang Province, he should take a steady and cautious approach. I, Sun Jian, am not a cowardly person. Even if we go through Nanyang and enter Wuguan, what's the harm in using it as a surprise attack on Chang'an?"
"Marquis Qiao should know that Zhu Gongwei also fled to Jingzhou to escape Dong Zhuo's calamity. Now Marquis Qiao wants to join forces with General Huangfu in Liangzhou, and Lord Lu is willing to go to Chang'an as a hostage, so I will meet up with Zhu Gongwei. Isn't this exactly the scene of the past!"
When Sun Jian said this, he laughed out loud with great heroic spirit.
He was an old subordinate of Zhu Jun, so it seemed natural for him to join forces with Zhu Jun and send a separate force to support Qiao Yan.
Qiao Yan naturally had no objection to this, but she still added: "Sun Changsha's idea is good, but there is still a problem. The governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao, is a relative of the Han Dynasty, but he is far away in Jingzhou at this time. I don't know whose side he is on. If he is not willing to use the troops of Jingzhou to help in the fight against Dong, I am afraid there will be some trouble. Fortunately, it will take more than one day for me to leave Liangzhou from Bingzhou, and Sun Changsha can discuss it with Liu Jingzhou."
discuss?
Sun Jian doesn't even know what negotiation is!
According to his style of doing things since he participated in the alliance to fight against Dong Zhuo, he even dared to kill Zhang Zi who hindered his actions. Even if Liu Biao had imposed some restrictions on him, he could kill him directly.
He is just a scribe anyway!
Of course, Liu Biao was a relative of the Han royal family after all, so he couldn't say such things in Luoyang, let alone in front of Qiao Yan, his ally who had made suggestions out of friendship. He just replied, "Don't worry, Lord Qiao. I know what's going on. I am only suitable to be a surprise force to assist in a quick raid. Before we march forward, we need a signal from Lord Qiao and General Huangfu. When everything is ready, just notify me."
Qiao Yan nodded and replied, "Of course."
She watched Sun Jian lead Sun Ce away, and then reflected on her performance in the past two days in arguing that Liu Xie was the orthodox, and was sure that there was probably no problem, and that she had always stood firm on the path of a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. She finally felt relieved.
With this, she can finally extend her territory towards Liangzhou!
She could also use the fame she gained from this trip to Luoyang to prepare to return to Bingzhou.
Just as she thought of this, she saw an acquaintance standing not far from her.
After four years, Yang Xiu seemed to have changed a lot compared to before. Perhaps the only thing that could be said to have not changed was his arrogance that only belonged to an intelligent man.
It also made him look like he was not that calm, but he had the sharpness of a young man. Judging from the look he gave me, he was clearly here to fulfill the promise he made that year.
But before Yang Xiu could walk up to her, she heard two voices saying "Lord Qiao, please stay" coming from another direction.
She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xun Shuang and Xun You, as well as Fu Shou and a woman of noble appearance coming.
Although she had never seen the latter, she could roughly guess his identity.
Sure enough, when the four people stood in front, Xun Shuang said, "Princess, if you have something urgent to ask Marquis Qiao, please tell me first."
This is none other than Fu Shou’s biological mother, the wife of Shizhong Fu Wan, and the eldest daughter of Emperor Huan of Han, Princess Yang’an!
Princess Yang'an saw Xun Shuang's modesty, so she did not refuse. Instead, she said to Qiao Yan directly, "Fu Wan has the heart to protect himself, but establishing a new king is actually a move that disregards the dignity of our Han Dynasty. I want to divorce Fu Wan and take A Shou to seek refuge with Marquis Qiao. I wonder if Marquis Qiao is willing to accept me?"
Qiao Yan was stunned for a moment, but then his expression suddenly brightened.
This eldest princess is truly a wonderful person!
Her surrender was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for Qiao Yan!
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