Chapter 329...
These words are really heavy!
Even among the people present, the official from the Situ Mansion had been informed by Wang Yun and could agree with Liu Yang when he had no other choice. Chunyu Jia, who had fainted after being scolded in the street, also hated some of Qiao Yan's actions, and his face changed suddenly after hearing Liu Yang's words.
The Han Dynasty would not be destroyed by the eunuch Dong Zhuo but by Qiao Yan's hands. This could be said by the corrupt scholars who couldn't stand her, but it could never be said by the prince who had received her favor.
If word of this were to get out, Qiao Yan's reputation would not be damaged as he has not done anything presumptuous so far. On the contrary, Liu Yang would be ridiculed by people all over the world.
"Your Highness, please be careful with what you say." Chunyu Jia coughed twice and began to advise.
Liu Yang knew that what he said was an exaggeration, but in order to test the attitudes of the people below and to show that he had the courage to confront Qiao Yan, he had to make such a move.
Now he retracted some of his indignation and said, "Although I meant to exaggerate, when General Liang Ji was in power, no official dared to disobey his orders. He ruled the government for twenty years. Looking at what the Grand Marshal is doing today, she is only in her early twenties. If she is not restrained, she can influence more than twenty years!"
Even the two deans of Chiyang Medical College once said that if any disciple in the academy could adjust the body of an ordinary person to the level of Da Sima, they would even be willing to give up their positions as deans, just because it would truly be a medical miracle.
From this sentence, we can see what kind of terrible physical condition she has.
Although Liu Yang was young, he could not guarantee that he could live beyond Qiao Yan.
It is precisely because of his youth and good health that Qiao Yan's monopoly of power is even more terrifying.
"Although she didn't poison the emperor like the great general Liang Ji, nor did she indulge in extravagance and build gardens, Liang Ji built the Imperial Daughter's Terrace, which was ten feet high, as a landmark for Luoyang, and the Grand Marshal built the new road to Chang'an, which was a model for Chang'an. When Liang Ji gained power, his subordinates were promoted to heaven, and when the Grand Marshal was in power, all the prefects and governors came to his house. Compared with this, how can we ignore it just because of the number of disasters?"
This may sound reasonable at first, but it is actually all nonsense.
Yuan Yao couldn't help but complain in his heart.
Take the Chang'an New Road for example. He happened to be there and witnessed its grand occasion.
If this new road had not been built, the various changes in the imperial capital of Chang'an would not have been spread across the country so quickly through word of mouth among the people, even with the existence of newspapers.
This is completely different from Liang Ji building the Imperial Daughter's Terrace to demonstrate his power and prestige.
Besides, the fact that all the prefects and provincial governors were from her school, why didn't Liu Yang take a look at it? If he hadn't passed Qiao Yan's screening, how could such a big man, which was originally like an empty shell, gain a foothold here.
Relying on Liu Yang's mouth?
But Liu Yang is quite talkative, especially when every word he says comes from his true feelings...
This is a feeling that comes from the bottom of my heart.
Yuan Yao rolled his eyes silently when he thought of this, and then he heard Liu Yang continue, "Everyone, the most worrying thing in the world is people who are called gentlemen but are actually villains. My father is kind and kind, and he is also burdened by his reputation. I sincerely believe that the Grand Marshal has no intention of usurping power. This matter can only be done by me and you together."
The official sent by Wang Yun interrupted him and asked, "May I ask, Your Highness, do we have any troops?"
Although this man was only a clerk in the government, most of the clerks in the government did not simply follow orders from their superiors. They had no way of being recommended by famous scholars, and did not want to go directly through the Hongwenguan route to become an official. They planned to accumulate some experience first and wait and see the situation in the court.
This includes this person.
He listened carefully to Liu Yang's words and heard some hidden meaning in the last sentence about Liu Yu.
Liu Yu was kindhearted and did not believe that Qiao Yan would commit any treasonous act. In fact, if what Wang Yun said in the Situ Mansion was true, Liu Yu might not intend to make this son his heir at all, but instead planned to select another member of the royal family to be the successor in the future.
In this case, the part of Liu Yu's subordinates in Youzhou who accompanied him to Chang'an, that is, the part that formed the Jinwu Guard that protected the imperial city, might not be able to obey Liu Yang's command at all.
So the question is, without any soldiers at hand, how can they launch a palace coup or something like that to capture Qiao Yan, and how can they deal with the possible aftermath?
After experiencing the drought and locust plague this year, the people have finally gained a stable life, and all of this is thanks to Qiao Yan. If she was murdered at this time, was it because there was something wrong with her words and deeds, or even because she had the idea of replacing the Han Dynasty, so she was killed? Or was it because her achievements were greater than her master, and Liu Yu instigated his son to take the initiative against Qiao Yan?
The public will surely have their own judgment!
This is extremely dangerous.
But he also knew that he was attending the meeting on behalf of Wang Yun. He just needed to strictly follow Wang Yun's rule of expressing less emotion and there was no need to argue with Liu Yang. So the series of concerns and doubts turned into one sentence at this time -
Since you have such an intention, where is the military power?
Anyway, there was no one present.
Although Yuan Yao was the son of Yuan Shu, the surviving old subordinates of Yuan Shu basically remained in Yingchuan, cooperating with the newly appointed Yingchuan prefect Yuan Huan to establish a defense line, and were not in Chang'an.
Regardless of whether Qiao Yan had any considerations to prevent Yuan Shu's forces from causing chaos in Chang'an City, the result was that Yuan Yao was left with only two kittens.
Wang Yun was the prime minister, not the grand marshal, and had no power to interfere in military affairs. In fact, because of some of his mistakes in commanding troops during the Dong Zhuo Rebellion, he was deliberately deprived of his power to command troops by Qiao Yan, and no one dared to say a word against it.
Not to mention Chunyu Jia, his fighting ability may not be as high as Liu Yang's.
As for other people who might be won over by Liu Yang...
The official in the office of Minister Wang felt that he could guess a little bit.
In short, he is not a genius who can turn the tide.
Perhaps only someone like Liu Yang, who dared to commit a crime under the spotlight of the Grand Marshal, would not feel that such questions were a question to his actions, but instead felt that their plan to eliminate the bandits and restore the Han Dynasty was very feasible.
He replied, "Since Zhao Yun left for Luoyang, the post of military training in Jingzhao Yin's territory has become vacant. I wonder if you could trouble Minister Wang to recommend Shisun Dafu to take the position?"
"In addition, my father's subordinate, Xianyu Duwei, has a good relationship with me and may be able to help us."
The Xianyu Duwei he was talking about was not Xianyu Fu of the Jinwu Guard, but his younger brother Xianyu Yin, who was not here at this time. But Yuan Yao intuitively felt that according to Liu Yang's words, this "may be able to help us" was very likely because the other party had already reached an agreement with him in private, but just did not show up here in person.
Yuan Yaogang was thinking this when he suddenly saw Liu Yang turning towards him and his heart skipped a beat.
At this moment he couldn't help but think of what Liu Yang said to him when he first arrived in Chang'an.
He said he didn't know what position Liu Yu wanted to put him in, but no matter what, it should be in line with his status, so -
"I am also ready to recommend Zixu to the emperor as the governor of Nanyang."
Nanyang?
Yuan Yao almost jumped up on the spot, but was held down by Liu Yang who had left the table. "Zi Xu, I know you are also very anxious about this matter. Nanyang is under the command of Liu Jingsheng, which doesn't sound like a good place at first glance, but listen to me and tell me the reason for this choice."
"According to the territory ruled by your father and the reputation of your Runan Yuan family, you should be stationed in Yingchuan to fight against Cao Cao. However, the current Yingchuan governor Yuan Yaoqing also has an extraordinary family background, and the appointment of this official position has been finalized and probably cannot be changed. Nanyang is the second choice."
"Firstly, Nanyang is not far from Sili. Once there is a change in Chang'an, we can dispatch troops to Wuguan and attack Chang'an at any time, becoming our armed support along the way. Secondly, the reason makes sense. After all, if Zixu is appointed as the governor of Nanyang, it will be a threat to Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou to prevent him from having any unnecessary thoughts. It can also be said that this is to allow Zixu to support Yingchuan from the side, so that they can help each other."
"Look, in this case, are we not unarmed?"
Liu Yang struggled to finish his words, and he felt that everyone's momentary silence at this moment was a compliment to him for coming up with such a good idea.
Fortunately, he went to Hongwenguan a few days ago.
He did not see any "loyal and trusted ministers" who could be directly recruited and used by him, but he did hear some talks about whether it was possible to take Nanyang first and further eliminate the possibility of Liu Biao causing trouble.
Liu Yang immediately felt that this was his chance to come to the fore, and it was also a position that was extremely suitable for Yuan Yao!
"It's a good arrangement, but the official positions have been changed frequently this year. We have successively taken Yizhou and Youzhou, and there is also a battle on the Xuzhou front. We have been unable to focus on one thing and lose another." Chunyu Jia thought for a while and replied: "If Your Highness really wants to mention this matter, why not wait until the beginning of next spring, so that Mr. Yuan can learn a thing or two in Chang'an City first. It will be easier to recommend him then."
"I think so too." The official from Situ Mansion also said so.
He didn't know that Yuan Yao, who had the experience of reporting Yuan Xi's coming to Chang'an in front of Qiao Yan, was so surprised that he almost stood up. This was not because of the impatience of a young man.
Seeing that the other party was also "eager" to become the prefect of Nanyang, he thought that Yuan Gonglu's son was of the same kind as Liu Yang.
Unfortunately, this year is not the right time for them to take such action, so they should suppress this trend for the time being.
Even if we really want to do it, we have to do it when the time is more mature.
Liu Yang looked at the two men who were obviously more authoritative. He almost blurted out his dissatisfaction in his heart, but he thought that he still needed to win over the two parties to use for his own benefit. This was not the time for him to show his temper. He swallowed his words and just asked, "Can't you mention it indirectly first?"
If it is proposed this year, we can still play the emotional card... If it is delayed until next year, won’t we still have to strictly select based on ability?
Although Liu Yang didn't know how capable Yuan Yao was, based on what he had heard about Yuan Shu's performance in Yuzhou, he thought that Yuan Shu was probably not doing well.
The tone of his voice, as if he was hesitant to speak, made Chunyu Jia and the others understand something.
After a moment of staring at each other in confusion, Chun Yujia said, "Why not give it a try..."
As for whether you can succeed, it may depend on luck.
Perhaps, we also need to see how Yuan Yao performs on the spot.
But in terms of performance, Yuan Yao still has no problem.
He took advantage of the night and jumped over the wall into the house next door.
The official in the room did not recruit many guards, and his hearing was not very good, so the noise of the night attack did not alert him at all.
Yuan Yao heaved a sigh of relief, feeling that during the few months he had lived in Chang'an City, he had not lost his hunting and catching chicken skills. He quickly flipped over to the next room.
The night curfew made it difficult for him to find anyone. In order to prevent Liu Yang from discovering his actions, he did not dare to take any action during the day. He could only do this.
Fortunately, after passing another courtyard, this was the house of the subordinates in the Grand Sima's Mansion.
Fa Zheng was awakened from his sleep by the noise of the security manager pinning down a thief. As soon as he went out into the yard, he looked into the eyes of Yuan Yaolai, who had an excited look in his eyes.
Fa Zheng: “…”
Wait, is Yuan Shu’s son not very smart?
But after listening to Yuan Yao's purpose, Fa Zheng felt that his brain was not just not working properly, it was clearly working too well!
It doesn't matter whether you have the ability to stand out or not, but the ability to stand on the right side and report information in time is obviously more important.
"You stay indoors early tomorrow morning. I will find someone to report this matter." Fa Zheng was afraid that Yuan Yao would suddenly change his mind and do something to alert the enemy, so he asked him to stay at home.
Yuan Yao nodded repeatedly.
This overly cooperative performance revealed a signal in every fluctuation of his face. He did not want to be used as a tool to seize power, nor did he want to be teammates with such idiots and become enemies with Da Sima.
Yuan Yao's reaction made Fa Zheng's original intention to say something stuck in his throat. In the end, he only said, "That's it."
On the second day, as the Chief Clerk and the Military Officers in the Grand Marshal's Mansion were not there, and even Qiao Yan himself was still in Bingzhou, Fa Zheng went straight to the Grand Minister of Agriculture's Mansion and found Cheng Yu.
As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Yu slammed his palm on the table and cursed, "Asshole!"
The storm brewing on the face of this solemn middle-aged man is so daunting.
When Fa Zheng heard the news Yuan Yao had handed over, he did not show such excitement. He just felt that the situation was far from the point where a sword could be pointed at him. He really did not expect Cheng Yu to have such a reaction.
Cheng Yu had already stood up and was pacing around the room.
Having sat in the position of Lie Jiuqing for a long time, the majesty and solemnity he exudes is far greater than when he was in Dongjun. It is not difficult to hear the deep resentment in his words.
"First it was the trouble-making relatives of the Lord, and now it's these foolish people who only eat salaries and do nothing. It's really endless!"
"What right does Prince Yang have to point fingers at the actions of the Lord? If it weren't for the Lord, his head would have become a wine glass for the Wuhuan people!"
"Let alone Chunyu Jia and Wang Yun. Have they worked hard for the people's livelihood in Guanzhong or contributed to the recovery of the prefectures and counties?"
Cheng Yu paused, "I forgot that Wang Yun had some contributions in maintaining the existence of the Chang'an court."
But this achievement, which was barely worth mentioning in Cheng Yu's mouth, sounded a bit sarcastic when it was spoken by him.
He closed his eyes and suppressed the anger on his face.
Although it has long been known that Qiao Yan's goal is to obtain the unique position in the world, and that he will sooner or later come into conflict with the imperial power of the Han Dynasty and those who are loyal to the Han Dynasty, just like the annoying Qiao family of Yanzhou who appeared in Chang'an at such an inopportune time, the emergence of these short-sighted people also happened too early.
Of the ten states of the Han Dynasty, only five were truly under Qiao Yan's control.
Even if more than half of the territory is occupied, the situation may be reversed at any time, and victory is not certain.
Even the imperial court in Yecheng still had the support of several states because of Liu Bian's existence and was still in existence.
Do these guys think that without the princes, they can manipulate the generals who gallop on the battlefield and the counselors who plan the strategies and recover the country in one fell swoop?
If they could do it, why would Cheng Yu have to wait until he was in his forties to find a place to stay and pin his future on you!
"In fact, the Grand Minister of Agriculture does not need to worry so much. These people are nothing but clowns at best." Fa Zheng had already been informed in advance by Qiao Yan that once the war against the Southern Barbarians started in Yizhou, he would be dispatched to assist in the battle. He did not want to see the selfishness of some people affect his chance to show his strength, but when he thought about it, these few people could even inform on a simple conspiracy, so there was really nothing to worry about.
Cheng Yu shook his head. "What I am worried and angry about is not these few people, but when you restore order in the newly recaptured Yizhou and Youzhou, will there be more and more voices of opposition? Are there more people lurking under the undercurrent in Chang'an than just the few people mentioned by Yuan Zixu?"
"Rather than letting some people hide in the dark, ready to take action at any time, or even do something troublesome at the critical moment of the confrontation with Jizhou, it is better to follow their wishes."
"For example - fulfilling their plan for Yuan Zixu."
Didn’t Liu Yang think that if Yuan Yao could become the prefect of Nanyang, it would mean that they would have one more person who could control the military power?
Then let them do it!
If we don't encourage their arrogance, how can we expect them to do something that reveals their true colors?
In their minds, the increase in the number of people with real power in their own camp will inevitably increase the number of colleagues they can recruit.
People are already a little stupid, the cards should always be better.
This last sentence was also written by Cheng Yu in the letter sent to Qiao Yan.
When she opened the letter, she was already angry because of the accusations Yuan Yao had relayed to her, but she was amused by this sharp comment.
Yes, people are too stupid, and they cannot be compared with the opponents she is facing now. So when she devours these opponents one by one, who would believe that she would fall into a puddle that cannot drown a child?
We have to let them dig the hole deeper!
She temporarily left Guanzhong and even planned to go to Luoyang later in order to bring these people together.
So now, it's time for her to hand them another knife.
"My lord, do you also think that the position of Nanyang governor can be given to Yuan Yao?" Xi Zhicai asked.
Thinking that Cheng Yu, who had passed this message to her, and Xi Zhicai, who was now working with her as a consultant, were both her early team members when she had just started in Leping, Qiao Yan felt that this seemed to be the inevitability of fate, and a smile could not help but appear on her face.
She responded, “Why not?”
"Yuan Zixu does not have the ability to serve as a prefect of a county, but if he really has this ability, I'm afraid that Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou will be on edge, fearing that the first person I deal with next year will be him!"
But if it was Yuan Yao, Liu Biao would still think that this was a move to ease relations.
"In addition, according to my external performance, I am not willing to cause internal chaos and will not tear my face with Liu Yang. If Yuan Zixu does not want to be sought out by Liu Yang every day to discuss how to pull me down, or even have to board a pirate ship from Chang'an to Nanyang at some point, it will be a comfortable job for him. I will tell him the whole story in the letter."
Xi Zhicai jokingly said, "I think what he wants most now is the personal writing of the Lord, to prove that he has not put himself in a dangerous position."
"So let him go to Nanyang to avoid the limelight first, and let Liu Yang feel that he still has some say in Chang'an City. He should kill General Qiao who behaves like General Liang Ji in one fell swoop."
Qiao Yan slammed the letter on the table and said, "But he is really stupid."
"If what Yuan Zixu said is true, Wang Yun did not come in person, but sent a government official to participate in this meeting. It can be seen that although this person has the intention to rebel against us, he does not intend to sink in the same boat with Liu Yang."
"That guy named Chunyu has raised objections to Liu Yang's plan on the timing, so there's no guarantee that he doesn't have additional ideas of his own."
"Xian Yuyin also did not attend the meeting, and only expressed his support for him remotely. Who knows if this was to prevent him from being exposed after the news leaked out."
Not to mention the remaining Yuan Yao. On the day this guy came out of Liu Yang's place, he had already revealed all the information to Qiao Yan's subordinates. He took the initiative to report and reduce the guilt to the extreme.
With just a few people, the situation has become so chaotic. If there were more people, who knows if the whole city would be in an uproar before the action even starts.
"So, we have to arrange a suitable helper for them."
In her mind, Qiao Yan thought over all the factors that pushed her to keep moving forward, and she had a plan in mind.
These malignant tumors rooted in the heart of the territory she controlled were the key to her transformation from a powerful minister to the emperor who overthrew the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, she needs to be more stable and careful...
Eliminate them and the Han Dynasty's kingdom together!
"Sun Ce is really going too far." A voice suddenly erupted from a mansion in Wujun.
"Okay, Mr. Zhu, you know what kind of temper that guy has. Didn't the slaughter of the Wang family by Sun Ce prove it?" Another person replied, "He is just like those melon sellers of his ancestors, all rough warriors. It's a bit difficult to get him to act according to our rules."
"But he really broke the rules this time," the first person said, "He acted courteously and asked us, the four surnames of Wu County, to serve under him. Logically, he should have given us a position that suits our interests, but look at what he did!"
"This time, Yuzhang County was conquered and Huang Zu was killed. Sun Ce immediately decided on the position of Yuzhang County governor, and he chose Zhu Junli. This really shows that he does not take the Zhu family of Wu County seriously."
The Zhu Junli mentioned by this person was Zhu Zhi, who was recommended by Sun Ce to the Chang'an court to take over the position of prefect of Yuzhang County.
In his early years, this man started out as a county official and clerk, until he served under Sun Jian. After Sun Jian's death, he became a subordinate of Sun Ce, and could be considered an old minister who followed the father and son of the Sun family.
But he and the Zhu family of Wujun cannot be considered to be from the same lineage.
After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, a descendant of the Cao family was rewarded with a title and settled in Zhu for his merits, and took this as his surname. After Zhu was destroyed by the Chu State, it was changed to "Zhu" and the people were divided into Pei State, Wu County and other places. Among them, Zhu Zhi, who was relied upon by Sun Ce and employed at this time, was from the Zhu family of Pei State.
In the hundreds of years from the Spring and Autumn Period when the Zhu family appeared to the present day, just as the Chenjun Yuan family and the Runan Yuan family had distinctions between the primary and the secondary, and disputes over subordination, the same was true for the two branches of the Zhu family.
Sun Ce first killed Huang Zu, and then abandoned the Wujun Zhu family and appointed the Peiguo Zhu family as the prefect of Yuzhang, which was undoubtedly a warning to them!
Yangzhou has been remote for many years, so the noble families here have long been accustomed to having them manipulate the interests behind the scenes. How could they accept that Sun Ce used his military achievements to rewrite the rules of the game here!
Anyway, Sun Ce is not in Wujun now, so it's a good opportunity for them to curse to their heart's content.
They might not necessarily stop Zhu Zhi from becoming the governor of Yuzhang, but the fact that something was done without prior notice made the families gathered here think about teaching Sun Ce a lesson.
But before they could start talking, they heard someone outside come in and report that a young man who called himself Huang wanted to see them.
"He didn't say his full name?" asked one of the people in the room.
The concierge shook his head. "No, he said that as long as you hear this last name, you should know his identity."
yellow?
The surname Huang is indeed a bit subtle.
Huang Zu... No, this is Huang She!
The elder from the Wujun Zhu clan who was present immediately shouted, "What is he doing here?"
Since the news of Huang Zu's death had already reached Wujun, the fact that Sun Ce was hunting for Huang She everywhere was naturally told to this place.
Although they scolded Sun Ce for being dishonest, they had no intention of really bringing trouble upon themselves.
In particular, he accepted Huang She, the son of the defeated army, into his own territory.
However, after the doorman went back to inform Yu Huangshe, not long after, he came back with a box in his hand.
"The Huang family said that he could leave, but before he left, he wanted to give you a gift."
The old man called Zhu Gong took the gift with suspicion and placed it carefully on the table. To prevent any fraud, he carefully lifted the lid of the box with his walking stick.
The moment the lid of the box was opened, a pungent smell of blood suddenly burst out, and the people present were caught off guard to see that what was placed in the box was actually a human head.
With astonishment that is difficult to describe in words, Zhu Gong, who was closest to the box, barely managed to identify who the head belonged to.
That is——
Yuzhang County Governor Zhu Zhi!
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