Chapter 235 Hunting in Hanzhong
A rebellious heart?
Liu Yu knew his subordinate Qi Zhou quite well, and in most cases, he would not make a hasty judgment.
The reason why he was sent to Yizhou this time was also because of his cautious personality.
But now he actually said that Liu Yan had a rebellious heart...
This seems to be a real and serious statement!
Qi Zhou added, "To be precise, he has the idea of coveting the throne of the Son of Heaven."
Liu Yu's face suddenly became serious. "Do you know the responsibility you will bear for saying this?"
Qi Zhou nodded: "I know, but this is what I saw with my own eyes during my trip to Yizhou."
On his way from Mianzhu to Hanzhong and from Hanzhong to Chang'an, he repeatedly considered what he saw and heard.
Li Meng, who was appointed by Qiao Yan to assist him in the operation, did not show any signs of abnormality. He was like an ordinary teammate with mediocre talent but who did not hold him back. Therefore, there is absolutely no claim that Qiao Bingzhou regretted giving up the position of general to Liu Yan and therefore targeted him.
Although both fires were unexpected, they were both explainable.
The previous fire was caused by an old acquaintance of Ren Qi who wanted to seek justice for him. He set fire to the treasury of Yizhou provincial government in an attempt to make the envoys focus their attention on the illegal carriage built by Liu Yan.
Unfortunately, they were strictly forbidden to approach the fire scene, and Qi Zhou did not realize the hidden story behind the fire at the beginning.
The other party was forced to give them a more straightforward hint:
The letter they received.
At the same time, they were informed of another piece of news.
Dong Fu, who had followed Liu Yan into Shu in the past, predicted that "Yizhou has the aura of an emperor", which made Liu Yan abandon the position of Jiaozhou Governor and take the position of Yizhou Governor.
This means that Liu Yan had already had the idea of becoming the emperor of Han many years ago.
But perhaps it was because the first fire had aroused Liu Yan's vigilance, so after the carriages were burned, in order to prevent other secrets from being discovered, he chose to burn down Dong Fu's former residence as well.
So when they arrived in Mianzhu, the place where they might have made a discovery had already been completely turned into ruins.
From Qi Zhou's point of view, this move was simply a case of trying to cover up one's own guilt.
But it is not surprising at all that Liu Yan would hastily burn down the house.
Since he was superstitious about gods and ghosts, he probably thought that before his death, the great fortune teller Dong Fu had most likely recorded all the evidence Liu Yan had shown in front of him in a place where no one could find it.
In this way, if his descendants encounter trouble one day, they can use this item to blackmail Liu Yan.
What if I can’t find this thing?
Since there is a high probability that the messenger will know about this place, it would be better to burn it down!
Unfortunately, this admittedly problematic treasury fire-fighting and the burned house were enough to make people wary of him.
Of course, this is not enough.
What Qi Zhou heard and saw were just speculations, and further evidence was needed to prove them.
Fortunately, since the person who brought the news mentioned Dong Fu, we can find someone to ask about the situation before and after Liu Yan took office as the governor of Yizhou.
There are many officials in Chang'an City today who are still friends from Luoyang.
After Liu Yu heard what Qi Zhou said, he immediately called a few people over.
"Dong Fu?" Chen Ji was stunned for a moment when he heard Liu Yu ask about this name. But after recalling the situation in Luoyang City, he said, "Yes, I recognize him."
"He was recommended to Emperor Xiaoling by General He in the past. Because he was recommended earlier, he was different from the rest of us who were just relying on the general's door and seeking shelter as a clerk. He was directly appointed as the Minister of the Court."
"Because of the matters he was in charge of back then, he was indeed very close to Liu Junlang, who was the Minister of Rites at the time."
He thought about it again and again, and replied: "I can't say whether he had any influence on Liu Junlang's decision, but his initial choice was indeed Jiaozhou. This... anyone who was in Luoyang at the time can prove it."
This change had already been completed before the Zhang brothers were executed during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Qiao Yan came to Luoyang with Bi Lan. The only people who knew about this were a few people who were particularly clear about the changes in the situation in the court at the time.
Chen Ji is one of them, and so is Yang Zan, who had come to Chang'an earlier with Xun Shuang, Huang Wan and others.
"But is it too arbitrary to judge Liu Yizhou based on this change of decision?" Yang Zan testified for Chen Ji and asked, "At that time, Yizhou did need a governor more than Jiaozhou."
Xie Jian, the governor of Yizhou who was known for his heavy taxes, was killed by Ma Xiang and others. There was an urgent need for someone to take charge of the central government to quell the rebellion in Yizhou. In this way, even if it was not out of any imperial consideration, but just out of practical necessity, Yizhou was indeed more suitable than Jiaozhou.
"No, there is another piece of evidence." When they said this, someone suddenly stepped into the hall from outside and said after bowing to Liu Yu.
The person who came was Xian Yuyin, who was arranged by Liu Yu to serve as an official in the Shaofu.
After Qi Zhou informed Liu Yu that Liu Yan was attempting to usurp the throne, the first people he sought advice from were his old subordinates from the time he was in Youzhou.
Xian Yu Yin is the brother of the current Weiwei Xian Yu Fu, and also serves under Liu Yu.
After thinking about the people he came into contact with on a daily basis, he immediately called in the Yizhou craftsmen employed by the Imperial Household Department to inquire about them.
When Chang'an was in turmoil earlier, in most cases the population still flowed from Guanzhong to Yizhou. This is why a force like the Dongzhou soldiers appeared under Liu Yan's command.
The composition of the Dongzhou soldiers included the population that flowed into Yizhou from Jingzhou and Guanzhong.
However, after Dong Zhuo's rebellion was put down in August last year, the order in Chang'an city needed to be restored. After October, there was a large demand for building palaces and making artifacts, so they issued many recruitment calls to the people of Chang'an.
It is inevitable that some people in Yizhou heard about the sights of Chang'an and yearned for a future under the rule of the emperor, so they chose to flow into Guanzhong to receive the benefits of settling in Chang'an.
Among them were the craftsmen who had participated in the construction of Liu Yan's carriage.
The construction of Liu Yan's thousand-chariot chariot took place at a time when the Central Plains was at its most chaotic after the death of Emperor Ling of Han.
At that time, he had never thought that he would one day face threats from Chang'an, let alone that this outrageous act, which was blocked by the mountains, would be heard by people who should not have heard it.
He could not have imagined that the craftsmen who had participated in the construction of the carriage would be in Chang'an and be found out at this time.
When those craftsmen drew the design of the chariot based on their memories, the faces of the onlookers couldn't help but darken.
This is indeed the standard for the emperor’s carriage!
It would be fine if there were only one or two, but according to the craftsman's recollection, Liu Yan had at least a hundred chariots built.
This means that
He really thinks of himself as the emperor of Yizhou!
Does he still hold such thoughts now?
There seems to be only one answer to this question.
If he was just confused for a moment and had figured it out now, these carriages that did not belong to him would not have been set on fire in his mansion the night before he took over the position of general, but should have been destroyed by him long ago.
He clearly still has hope!
Qi Zhou turned to Liu Yu, who was at the top, and asked, "Your Majesty, what should we do now?"
Even though Liu Yu did not want to become the emperor at the beginning, he has now ascended the throne after all.
It has always been the principle that one should do his job well.
At most, he would do as he said when he took over the throne: if Liu Xie could be found back one day, he would abdicate in favor of him.
But when Liu Xie was still missing, what Liu Yu should do was to cooperate with Qiao Yan, one to stay in the central government while the other swept across the four directions to quell the rebellion that was dividing the world.
According to this standard, Liu Yan, who aspired to become the emperor, was of course their opponent.
But now that the position of general has been handed over to him, what should he do to eliminate the impact of this incident, and what attitude should he adopt towards Liu Yan?
You can't just leave the other party alone, right?
“Mr. Wenyou’s performance was truly brilliant.”
Qiao Yan looked at Li Ru in front of him and listened to the results he reported, and couldn't help but feel emotional.
It was the right decision for her to shoot Li Ru off his horse, causing Dong Zhuo to lose his military advisor.
If the opponent's ability to collect information and mislead others had been brought into play when Dong Zhuo was in Chang'an, it would have been almost impossible for Qiao Yan to make Jia Xu jump back and forth in it, not to mention arranging the emperor's whereabouts after conquering Chang'an.
Fortunately, Li Ru was not a general who was willing to die for Dong Zhuo, and he chose a good time to come out of retirement.
Qiao Yan asked again: "However, Mr. Wenyou, aren't you worried that Zhao Wei's choice of method is not to set fire to the treasury, but some other method?"
Li Ru smiled confidently, "Then, Your Majesty, do you think there is a more appropriate method for him to use besides letting us discover Liu Yan's rebellious heart and destroying the evidence? Kill us envoys?"
"This is a way out for him, but I think your Excellency did not leave any people behind when you sent people to Yizhou to do business. Since you dared to let my disciple go with you, you must have considered her safety. Since you have triggered this most extreme situation, I can also borrow some of your power and get out of it unscathed."
"The assassination of the envoy is a clear expression of disloyalty, and it is also evidence that the prince can hold him accountable."
He paused and concluded, "So whether Zhao Wei wants to use a reckless approach or a relatively smart approach does not affect the result itself."
Qiao Yan asked helplessly: "According to what you said, are you going there to teach your disciples or to bring an amulet?"
Li Ru replied calmly: "The care that the Lord has shown towards my niece is also a piece of information I collected. I just put it to good use."
This was of course the lesson he taught Qiao Ting.
In general, whether for the purpose of achieving teaching or for the purpose of completing Qiao Yan's task, Li Ru's performance was wonderful.
It was precisely because of his presence in the team that announced the decree, although it was a little bit, that when Qi Zhou brought the news to Liu Yu, Liu Yu chose to first find more solid evidence instead of asking Li Ru to repeat what he and Qi Zhou had seen.
This greatly reduces the possibility of him being exposed when he appears in front of others.
As for whether Liu Yu can make a definite judgment about Liu Yan based on these fragmentary information, it is only a matter of time.
Liu Yan did have such a rebellious idea and put it into action. Considering that Yizhou is a neighbor of Guanzhong, it is not impossible for them to supplement the evidence after they have the cognitive tendency.
Qiao Yan didn't mind giving up the position of general to Liu Yan first, so why would he mind waiting for a while longer until he got the position of grand marshal?
Anyway, it is only February of the first year of Jian'an.
But now it seems that these generals of Liu Yu are not very capable in marching and fighting, but they are very efficient in finding out whether Liu Yan has any rebellious intentions.
Qiao Yan had to praise them.
Just two days after Qi Zhou, Li Ru and others returned to Chang'an, Liu Yu, together with Chen Ji and others, told them about the unexpected discovery they made during their trip to Yizhou.
Everyone in the court looked at each other in surprise when they heard this.
No one had expected that this trip to Yizhou to announce the decree would end like this.
The position of general was given to Liu Yan, but can it really be considered a success to express cooperation with Yizhou in this way?
When Qiao Yan gave up his position as general, he also said that Liu Yan, who was in Yizhou, had the idea of separatist rule. Removing him from the position of Grand Marshal was to prevent him from acting too ostentatiously and to restrict him a little.
But who would have thought that Liu Yan not only wanted to establish his own regime, but also wanted to create chaos in the central government so that he could benefit from it.
Seeing that Qiao Yan had a calm face and did not show any anger towards Liu Yan at this time, everyone could not help but think that she might have already prepared herself mentally for such a situation.
After all, she had written the theory of feudalism of provincial governors eight years ago.
Today, she, the Governor of Bingzhou, is willing to stay at the position of General of Cavalry, while the Governor of Yizhou is building a carriage that only the emperor can use and planning the possibility of being promoted from governor to emperor, as if it was a response to her judgment back then.
Liu Yu asked, "Do you have any thoughts to share?"
When Qi Zhou asked him what to do, Liu Yu also found it difficult.
The Yizhou governed by Liu Yan had a vast area and a large number of troops. When the Qinling Mountains blocked the way between the two sides, it was not difficult to maintain peace temporarily, but a full-scale war would be very painful for both sides.
Moreover, there is only more than a month left before spring ploughing, and the negative effects brought about by the mobilization of a large number of manpower will inevitably be further aggravated.
In addition, once they held Liu Yan accountable for this matter, how would Liu Biao, who was also their neighbor, react?
After all, he is a relative of the Han Dynasty.
Will Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in the east take the opportunity to attack Bingzhou?
This will inevitably result in a loss of one thing while focusing on another.
Liu Yu thought hard for a long time and felt that he was in a difficult situation.
The title of great general also became a commission that could not be taken back for the time being.
He thought so, and so did everyone else.
As a result, the hall fell into silence for a moment.
Huang Wan was the first to speak and break the silence: "I wonder if Liu Yan is now sure that we know he has ulterior motives?"
As Zhao Wei knew, Huang Wan and Liu Yan were actually cousins.
But when Huang Wan called Liu Yan by his name, everyone understood his subtext.
His current position is the Chang'an court, so he doesn't need to consider the cousin relationship between him and Liu Yan.
Instead of remaining silent to avoid suspicion, he might as well say everything he needs to say directly.
He added: "Now that this judgment has been made, the matter is before us and must be resolved. There is no reason to pretend that nothing happened."
This statement makes his position even clearer.
If you really want to fight, you have to fight.
After all, Liu Yugang represented the orthodoxy, and Liu Yan must not be allowed to do anything out of line at this time.
"But is the current situation suitable for us to turn against Yizhou?" Wang Yun could not help but ask back, "It is relatively easy to defend against the invasion of Yizhou from Guanzhong. After all, we are only given the power of a general who cannot really mobilize soldiers from all over the world. Let's just pretend that it does not exist. Our number one enemy is still Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, or the Yecheng court over there. After all, Liu Yan can't just declare himself emperor when he only occupies Yizhou."
To put it bluntly, does Liu Yan have any rebellious intentions now? have.
Can he put it into practice? I’m afraid I can’t.
At most, the act of conferring the title of general on him made people feel a little uncomfortable.
But before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Lu Zhi.
Lu Zhi said in a deep voice: "No, you can't say that. Liu Yan has already burned down Dong Fu's former residence in an attempt to conceal his ambition to become the emperor. It is obvious that he has already guessed the whereabouts of the envoy. Now he is just guarding against him. If nothing happens on the surface, it will only encourage his wolfish ambitions."
"That's right!" Qiao Yan raised his eyes and continued.
She has always been decisive and firm in her actions.
Everyone can understand her position from the resounding word "not bad".
She stepped out of the line, and the stern look she revealed when she raised her eyes made it easy to guess that after facing this sudden situation, she had pulled herself out of her previous entanglement and made an assessment in her mind.
She continued, "There are conflicts between the soldiers of Dongzhou and Yizhou under Liu Yan's command, but with Liu Yan in power, the situation of one rising and the other falling is under the control of the governor. Sooner or later, all the soldiers of Yizhou and Dongzhou will be under his control. Once he is allowed to use the power of the rich people and the country and the intelligent people to plan for dangers, it will definitely be a disaster for us. This matter may not cause any harm in the short term, but it cannot be ignored."
"In my opinion, although it is not appropriate to remove him from his position as general right now, which would make the people in Yecheng laugh at him, it is possible to give Liu Yan a warning before the spring plowing."
This is when the fight begins!
She had been in the military for a long time, and everyone trusted her judgment.
What was unexpected was that in her subsequent words, it seemed that she did not intend to attack Yizhou, or in other words, she did not intend to go to war with Liu Yan.
She bowed to Liu Yu and said, "Your Majesty, please give me and Liu Yizhou an imperial edict each."
"Zhang Lu of Hanzhong has shown no repentance since he was expelled from Wudu County. He has been hiding in Hanzhong, gathering the support of the Taoist priests, and secretly doing evil things. Now that the emperor of Chang'an has just been established, he is magnanimous enough to grant amnesty to the whole country. However, he has brought disaster to the people's livelihood and reversed the yin and yang. This is unforgivable."
"So—"
"The emperor has issued an edict ordering the general and the cavalry general to hunt in Hanzhong!"
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