Chapter 207: Re-establishment
"So who of you can give me a reasonable explanation?" Qiao Yan asked, looking at the people in front of him.
Lu Bu brought Li Hui, Li Jue's daughter who had changed into the emperor's clothes, and stood in front of her with a nervous look on his face.
Although they chased the wrong person, they still had to bring him back, after all, there were several ministers from the Chang'an court traveling with him.
Fortunately, Lu Bu remembered to be careful during the pursuit and shooting, and did not catch all these ministers in one fell swoop.
However, at this moment these people were sent back to calm down, and most of those here were acquaintances.
She had released Lu Zhi from the prison in Chang'an City.
Although he looked much thinner, he was in good health and could at least reminisce with his old friend Huangfu Song who arrived in Chang'an later.
Xun Shuang was still ill, but he forced himself to come here.
Then came Wang Yun, Huang Wan and others.
Qiao Yan pointed at Li Hui and asked, "Why didn't anyone stop her from changing into the emperor's uniform? When the thief Li Jue asked you for something, can't you even learn to argue with him?"
Although she had thought about it, with Li Jue's quick wit, as long as Jia Xu gave him enough guidance, it should not be too difficult for him to escape.
But she really didn't expect that Li Jue's indifference to imperial power and his instinct to save his life would lead him to do such a thing.
It would have been fine if he had misled Lu Bu and made him chase in the wrong direction, but what was even more shocking was that he actually let others wear the emperor's twelve-chapter uniform.
The majesty of the emperor cannot be violated lightly. This is the foundation for the Han royal family to maintain its dignity.
Unfortunately, it had already been destroyed once when Dong Zhuo was in control of the government, and it suffered a second blow when Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu threatened to establish new regimes. Now it is the third time.
If anyone can wear the emperor's clothes, where is the etiquette and decorum of the Han Dynasty?
Not to mention, the person wearing this dress is a woman.
This is indeed great news for someone like Qiao Yan who has ambitions to conquer the world, but she cannot show her approval of this move at this time.
She could only question Wang Yun!
Li Jue wanted to do this, why didn't you refute him, but instead let him do it.
What do you do for a living!
To be honest, Wang Yun also felt quite aggrieved.
In order to protect the safety of the emperor, he put himself in the dangerous situation of Chang'an. He had to deal with Li Jue and Dong Zhuo, and was kept in the dark by the old fox Jia Xu. All he could do was to use stopgap measures.
If he had known that Qiao Yan could capture Chang'an at such a speed and with few casualties, he would have continued to play along with Li Jue.
Unfortunately, he didn't know about this, so he could only take the blame at this time.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that Lu Bu cast a grateful look at him at this moment, as if he was grateful to him for sharing the firepower with him.
This scene really made Wang Yun feel a little stomachache.
He didn't want this gratitude at all.
Fortunately, Qiao Yan said again: "Forget it, Zilong also went to chase, let's see if there is any news."
After Zhao Yun learned that Lu Bu was heading east, he chased him directly to the south.
This rigorous approach to checking for omissions and filling in the gaps did not surprise Qiao Yan at all.
She was glad that she did not give the Dayuan horse to Zhao Yun's troops for use, but she did not show this emotion on her face at all.
From the perspective of Wang Yun and others, Qiao Yan just reached out and pinched his eyebrows at this time.
The days of marching had inevitably caused a look of fatigue to appear on her face.
She repeated wearily, "Let's talk about it when Zilong comes back."
Having said this, she no longer made any comments on Wang Yun's indulgence of Li Jue's actions, but walked up to Li Hui.
Li Jue obviously did not attach much importance to his daughter, and even regarded her as a tool that could be sacrificed at any time.
Of course, he might not care much about his wife and son, otherwise he would not have left them all in Chang'an.
So much so that when Dong Zhuo's generals fled in all directions during the chaos after his death, some extreme people happened to encounter the mother and son and beheaded them on the streets of Chang'an.
Instead, the daughter who was abandoned as bait appeared safely in front of Qiao Yan.
But when Qiao Yan approached, she subconsciously took a step back, with a hint of fear in her eyes.
She had just heard Qiao Yan scolding Wang Yun for making her wear this dress, but Wang Yun, a high-ranking official of the Han Dynasty, did not make any rebuttal, which showed that this was indeed a wrong move.
Then she was also a mistake, shouldn't she be punished?
But to her surprise, all she heard was Qiao Yan saying to Yao Chang who was accompanying the army to fight: "Take her downstairs to change her clothes."
Li Hui did not dare to resist and followed Yao Chang out of the hall, so she could not hear the rest of the conversation in the hall.
Qiao Yan pondered Li Hui's situation. It was hard to say whether her character was the result of being suppressed by Li Jue and his wife.
But there is no doubt that not only did she not enjoy the benefits brought by Li Jue's power, but she suffered because of it.
Under such circumstances, it is obviously inappropriate to hold her accountable for Li Jue's crimes.
But what matters at this moment is not this "fake emperor" but the whereabouts of the real emperor.
Even if Liu Xie disappeared and a signboard was needed to stabilize the central government, Li Hui could not continue to pretend.
What is false is false, and truth cannot be hidden. It is even more impossible for Qiao Yan to give such evidence to her opponents, giving them the opportunity to attack her.
Now it depends on the final result.
In short, now that Dong Zhuo had been eliminated and the Guanzhong Plain had fallen into her hands, she still had her own strategies to deal with the situation regardless of whether the plan was successfully implemented or whether Liu Xie disappeared in a natural way.
Before Zhao Yunnan's search results came back, several other people were brought to her first.
Jia Xu and Dong Zhuo's relatives were all searched out of the tunnel.
This tunnel leads to a private house in Chang'an City. The bed board at the entrance had been covered back long ago because Li Jue was busy dealing with Dong Zhuo. It should not have been so easily discovered.
But the food left in the tunnels and houses is limited, so we have to find a way to get it.
Without knowing that the city was no longer dominated by either Li Jue or Dong Zhuo, Jia Xu rashly walked out and ran into a group of soldiers that Lu Bu had brought from Baidaochuan.
Afterwards, because his identity was recognized, he could neither fight nor run, and was captured in a few moves and brought to Qiao Yan.
Also implicated were Dong Zhuo's mother, daughter and others.
Upon hearing the news of Dong Zhuo and Dong Bai's death, the old lady who was granted the title of Chiyang Jun was unable to recover for a long time.
With the support of her granddaughter, she calmed her breathing and looked at Qiao Yan who was sitting at the top.
Qiao Yan still had his armor on, and even though he had already taken control of the situation in Chang'an, he was not slacking off at all, as if he could continue to lead his troops into battle at any time.
At this moment, there was no pity for them in her eyes, only a silent gaze.
The old lady asked, "May I ask how you plan to arrange for us?"
Qiao Yan replied: "There are two choices. One is to be like Dong Zhuo. I can give you a decent death. At least you won't be left dead on the street like Dong Zhuo did to He Shi."
"Second, you two should hide your identities and live in Bingzhou's farming area, and live out the rest of your lives in peace."
The old lady was silent for a moment, holding her granddaughter's still trembling hand, and replied: "It is better to die well than to live in humiliation. I choose the first option. Thank you for giving us a reunion."
Compared to He Miao, whose body was dismembered and abandoned on the roadside by Dong Zhuo, their behavior was indeed decent.
This old lady was able to teach her great-granddaughter Dong Bai, so she herself was an extraordinary person.
The woman next to her was Niu Fu's wife. Although she was afraid of the outcome of death, she finally just thanked Qiao Yan and then went to her own end with her grandmother.
This was the fate of these two people, and Dong Zhuo's nephew Dong Huang was no exception.
Dong Zhuo's issuance of small coins, increased taxes during the year, and conscription of soldiers when the situation in Chang'an was not settled all meant that there were many people in Chang'an who dared not speak out against Dong Zhuo.
Now that Dong Zhuo was brought to justice and his relatives were killed, the people of Chang'an all applauded.
For them, this result was still a bit too cheap.
Under Duan Wei's care, their bodies were placed in coffins and sent to Longxi County, Dong Zhuo's hometown in Liangzhou, for burial.
For this, Duan Wei thanked Qiao Yan.
He knew very well that if he left it in Chang'an, there would always be people who would suffer greatly from it and would want to open the coffin and mutilate the corpse.
Watching Duan Wei leave, Qiao Yan turned to Jia Xu and sighed. "Sir, should you also give me an explanation?"
As far as outsiders know, Jia Xu was abducted to Chang'an because of Yan Xing's kidnapping.
According to people's current understanding of loyalty and righteousness, Jia Xu should have kept silent from then on and never offered any advice to Dong Zhuo.
Considering the safety of his wife in Liang and Bing provinces, he should be a loyal minister who would never surrender to the enemy.
But he not only spoke, he also gave Dong Zhuo a lot of ideas.
But what is interesting is that he was not completely assimilated into Dong Zhuo's party by the people of Chang'an.
Apart from the matter of Sun Jian, all his suggestions were only to stop Qiao Yan from deploying troops. As for the impact on Chang'an -
He suggested that Dong Zhuo stabilize the grain prices in Chang'an by reaching a deal with Yizhou, which would be considered a meritorious service to the people of Chang'an.
He persuaded Li Jue to trust Wang Yun, Huang Wan and others, which in a sense reduced the impact of the unrest in the previous few days on Chang'an.
Anyone would think that it was difficult to convict Jia Xu.
This is because he has left himself a number of appropriate escape routes, which can be said to be very shrewd.
More importantly, Li Jue asked for an official position for Jia Xu with Liu Xie's consent, which means... Jia Xu was Liu Xie's attendant.
As a subject of the emperor, he did not do anything to exceed the emperor's authority, and Qiao Yan had no power to decide his life or death.
Qiao Yan and Jia Xu exchanged a knowing look and said that everything would have to wait until Liu Xie returned.
However, after Zhao Yun returned, what they received was not the news that Liu Xie had been successfully brought back, but that Yan Xing was escorted to Chang'an by Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun reported: "I followed the enemy southwards and heard from the direction of Bashui that two people, Li Jue and the emperor, who were about the same age and appearance, were evacuating towards Shangluo. As expected, they were stopped by this person and his troops there."
Yan Xing was naturally no match for Zhao Yun and was captured by him not long after.
But due to this delay, Li Jue had gone further.
Under the gazes of the ministers in the court, Yan Xing looked at Qiao Yan and said, "General Zhao said that after I betrayed you and defected to Dong Zhuo to avenge General Han, you never held a grudge against me and did not attack General Han's former subordinates. You did not even vent your anger on my old parents in Liang Province. Among the soldiers who marched into Chang'an this time, there are old people from Liang Province who can testify to this."
"I have been disloyal, but I cannot be unfilial, so I told General Zhao that Li Jue had indeed passed by here before, and wanted me to go to Nanyang with him."
"At that time, I told Li Jue that if there were pursuers behind us, going straight to Wuguan would only cause us to be caught up by the cavalry behind us, and we would be attacked and killed, and in the end no one would be able to escape. It would be better for me to lead the troops to ambush the pursuers first, and then leave. I asked my personal guards to escort them to Wuguan first, wait for me for a day, and then go south together."
Wang Yun almost wanted to grab Yan Xing by the collar, but he finally remembered to maintain his image and said in a deep voice: "If you really want to be both loyal and filial, you should have sent Li Jue and the emperor back to Chang'an at that time!"
Yan Xing replied: "At that time, I thought my parents were gone. Li Jue was willing to support the expedition to Liang Province, so I should repay him. Now that he has lost his power, I know what it means to have a beginning and an end. What if I can cover his retreat?"
"Alright," Qiao Yan stopped the argument between the two and turned to Yan Xing and said, "Go on."
Yan Xing continued, "But when I arrived at Wuguan with General Zhao, I did not see Li Jue waiting there."
"The subordinates who were left here said that he sent people to Wuguan to investigate the situation, but when they came back, they could not find any trace of Li Jue."
"..."This time, it was Huangfu Song who was pinching his eyebrows and feeling a headache.
According to the conversation habits of the people in Liangzhou, if Yan Xing did not show any willingness to make a prompt decision to withdraw from Wuguan with Li Jue when Li Jue was already in such a desperate situation, Li Jue would most likely think that Yan Xing was still hesitating about whether he should sell out Li Jue and defect to Qiao Yan, or continue to follow him to the end.
Li Jue also found that he could not command the soldiers led by Yan Xing.
Even though these men were assigned to Yan Xing by Li Jue, Yan Xing had just led these men to win a victory over Zhang Ji. So if he judged that such a number of people were needed to complete the ambush, nothing Li Jue said would be of any use.
So they would not follow Li Jue directly.
This further increased Li Jue's suspicion.
With such a preconceived idea, seeing that Yan Xing had sent his confidants to "escort" him, Li Jue felt uneasy no matter how hard he thought about it, and he would never regard them as bodyguards to protect his safety.
He would just think that this was the hand that was guarding him.
Since he can't rely on anyone, he can only go on his own!
As long as he is not captured immediately and has Liu Xie in his hands, he will always have a chance to make a comeback.
But from Shangluo to Wuguan, there were so many routes that Li Jue could take.
If you go southwest and climb up to Shanyang, you will reach Hanzhong.
By passing Wuguan to the southeast, he would be able to reach Nanyang as he had originally planned.
Going northeast you will reach Lu's City, and then you can enter the official road from Chang'an to Luoyang.
After Lu Bu captured a fake emperor here, the safety of this road was undoubtedly greatly improved.
Which way did he take?
"Let's ask someone to look around." Lu Zhi looked at the silent atmosphere in front of him and spoke.
Yan Xing had already informed them of the situation, and he was not too old for them to say anything harsh.
His youthful appearance makes it easy to imagine what kind of mentality he had at the time that made him decisively flee from Liangzhou and come to Chang'an just because of Han Sui's appreciation of him.
It was also because of his youth that Li Jue felt that he was prone to making indecisive decisions.
At this time, Lu Zhi had the same guess as Huangfu Song.
Li Jue probably really felt that Yan Xing posed a threat to his personal safety because Yan Xing's statement was not clear enough, so he decided to hide first and then show up when the time came.
But the smaller the target is, the harder it is to find.
Even after launching a carpet search centered on Wuguan, they only found the emperor's clothes discarded in the mountains around Shanyang, and did not find any other unnecessary clues.
Hearing the search results, Huang Wan frowned and said, "It is not a good idea for Li Jue to keep escaping like this. He will show up sooner or later."
At this point, the significance of Li Jue holding Liu Xie hostage was very different from Dong Zhuo's situation.
He had no soldiers, only people, so he was just using Liu Xie as a life-saving card.
But he thought about it and changed his expression again, "No, he still has another way to go! If he sends the emperor to Yecheng, Yuan Shao and others will definitely regard him as a benefactor."
Because in this way, there will no longer be two emperors in this world, but only Liu Bian, the descendant of Emperor Ling of Han!
Yuan Shao had to give Li Jue a compensation that was enough for him to live the rest of his life.
As everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, Wang Yun said, "There are other possibilities. If he sends Your Majesty to Jingzhou or Yizhou, there will also be room for maneuver. One of them controls Yizhou, and the other controls Jingxiang. Both of them are relatives of the Han Dynasty. If they accumulate strength first and then command the prefectures in the name of Your Majesty, they can also benefit from it."
In other words, after all their analysis, they did not rule out the possibility that Li Jue might go in a certain direction.
"Let's look for it again..."
"Enough!" Before Wang Yun could finish his words, he heard Qiao Yan's stern interruption.
"I'm tired."
Her three simple words struck a chord in the hall that had fallen silent because of her word "enough".
This was also a sentence that no one expected.
But when everyone looked at her, they vaguely realized that she was only eighteen years old this year.
But since the year before Emperor Ling of Han died, she had been patrolling the frontier and attacking the Xianbei in the north.
From the rebellion of Dong Zhuo in the first year of Guangxi to the eighth month of the third year of Guangxi, she first conquered Liangzhou and then entered Guanzhong, without stopping for a moment.
She was not only fighting wars, but also stabilizing the people's livelihood in the two states.
So her words "tired" are more convincing than anyone else's words.
But she is at an age where most people are not even old enough to be selected as a filial and honest official.
Even if one could say that such a high position comes with such responsibilities, when comparing the actions of other governors, no one could really blame her for saying she was tired.
"The people in Bingzhou, Liangzhou and Guanzhong are also tired," she added.
"Even if you haven't seen the situation in Liang and Bing provinces, you should have seen what's happening in Chang'an."
The panic in Chang'an City did not completely end even after Dong Zhuo was executed several days ago.
In fact, this was the time when the autumn harvest had just arrived and the whole family should be celebrating.
But they don’t, and they can’t.
Qiao Yan suddenly raised his voice, "What if we knew that Li Jue had sent Your Majesty to Yuan Shao? Should we send troops to Jizhou now? If we knew Your Majesty was in Jingzhou, would we send troops to Jingzhou? If we knew Your Majesty was in Yizhou, would we send troops to Yizhou? The situation is changing rapidly, and Your Majesty's life and death are uncertain, and even his whereabouts are unknown. What should we do then! Are you kidding with the lives of these common people?"
Every word she said sounded like an extremely painful interrogation, even though she was younger than anyone present.
"Of course, I don't mean to offend you." She lowered her eyes and her voice became a little lighter. "I just feel that doing this kind of useless work will only make me passive at this time."
Lu Zhi asked, "I don't think Ye Shu meant to honor the man from Yecheng, right?"
This might be what others mean when they say it is useless work, but Qiao Yan definitely does not mean that.
If she really had this idea, she would not have risked the trouble of attacking Liang Province rather than accepting the position of General of Cavalry offered by Yecheng.
The emperor in Yecheng has proved through his performance in the past two years that he does not seem to be a suitable person to succeed the throne.
Rather than saying that he was the emperor of the Han Dynasty, it would be more accurate to say that he was a puppet of Yuan Shao who controlled Qing and Ji states.
"Of course not." Qiao Yan shook his head and replied firmly: "I want to... support Liu Youzhou as the emperor."
Liu Youzhou, Liu Yu!
She wants to support Liu Yu as the emperor?
This sentence was truly like a huge rock hitting the water, shocking everyone again.
Realizing what she meant, Huang Wan quickly asked, "If you support him, what's the difference between you and Yuan Gonglu?"
Back then, Qiao Yan denounced Yuan Shu in the court for trying to support Liu Bian, saying that Yuan Shu was acting rashly and was no different from Dong Zhuo.
How could she still make such a choice today?
Isn't this just agreeing to be on the same side as Yuan Shu?
However, what he heard was Qiao Yan's decisive answer: "You are wrong, of course I am different from them!"
Qiao Yan raised his eyes and looked at everyone. His youthful face was becoming more rugged and sharp.
She said in a clear voice: "Back then I said he didn't dare to attack Dong Zhuo, because he had lost the integrity of the Han Dynasty. But now Dong Zhuo has been eliminated. Those who disrupt the government will surely destroy themselves. There is already evidence. Even if there is a thousand miles of obstacles, our Han Dynasty has loyal and good people to support us, and there are generals outside who are not afraid of danger and advance step by step. I only ask for one loyalty to eliminate the thief. I am definitely not a coward. This is one of them."
"Back then, Lord Lu said that he was disregarding the safety of the previous emperor's descendants by establishing another emperor. But today, whether we make this choice or not, your majesty's safety is unpredictable. It is better to ensure the peace and prosperity of the people of the Han Dynasty first. This is the second thing."
"Back then, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu established a young emperor, which was a sign of doubt for the young ruler and the country. However, when Liu Bo'an was in charge of Youzhou, he selected talented people and stabilized the grain price. This was a move that everyone could see. It was a sign that a capable person was in power. This is the third point."
"Back then, the Prince of Hongnong was not the heir that the late emperor had in mind, and he even killed his relatives to prevent him from taking the throne. However, Liu Youzhou is the descendant of Prince Gong of Donghai, and the late emperor entrusted him with important officials. In terms of legitimacy, he is second only to the missing Majesty, and this is the fourth."
"Everyone, these four points are undeniable, right?"
Qiao Yan's proud and eloquent words made people wonder whether she had had this idea a long time ago.
But she has always been a man of outstanding thinking, as can be seen from Ding Zhongguan's feudal theory of provincial governors in the past. It is not surprising that she suddenly came up with such an idea.
Moreover, as she said, Liu Yu had the legitimacy given by the appointment of the previous emperor and his birth, and his age was very different from the situation of a young ruler and a doubtful country. If Qiao Yan really wanted to profit from it, he should never choose him.
This is indeed different from the situation when the Yuan brothers welcomed King Hongnong into Yecheng to honor the emperor.
Xun Shuang slowly asked, "Will Liu Youzhou agree to this suggestion?"
Qiao Yan shook his head: "I don't know."
We have to send the news to Youzhou first to find out.
When Liu Xie woke up, the sky was filled with sunset glow.
But he was in no mood to appreciate the scene before him. He only felt a splitting headache.
When Li Jue was taking him on the run, he was afraid that he would escape in the chaos because there was only one person guarding him, so he knocked him out several times.
This time it wasn't even just a headache, his face seemed to be aching as well.
He reached out his hand to his face and couldn't help but gasp.
The touch was not the original one, but a gaping wound, with a damp blood on the fingertips.
He subconsciously looked up and saw that he was in a low valley with a hint of blood on the rocks above.
It seems like... he fell from there?
He quickly turned over and sat up.
Just as he was about to move, he suddenly felt his foot kicked something.
When he looked in that direction, he saw a familiar figure, it was Li Jue!
But Li Jue was not conscious at this time, but fell headfirst into the grass.
Even after being kicked by Liu Xie, he did not react at all.
Liu Xie approached carefully and was surprised to find that Li Jue had hit his head on a rock.
If he really fell from a great height and was hit like this, there would be no chance of survival.
Sure enough, when he turned Li Jue over, he found that the blood had almost soaked the entire stone, and Li Jue had long since died.
Li Jue...is he dead?
The sudden death of the evil man who held him hostage was a blessing from heaven for Liu Xie.
But he didn't know where he was at this moment, and it was far from time to be happy.
The scars on his head and face and the abrasions on his limbs were not light, and he was starving because he had not eaten properly for two days.
It’s a pity that as an emperor who grew up in the deep palace, he would never recognize these wild plants.
Thinking of what he had read in the book, he didn't dare to fill his stomach with grass and trees. He could only wrap his hands with cloth strips and carefully climb up the gentle slope.
Fortunately, this is not a particularly deep pit.
However, after climbing up, he found that there was dense jungle everywhere, making it difficult to tell which way he was coming from or going from.
He thought about it and decided to just choose a random direction.
Or perhaps it was not his destiny to die, for before he had walked far he heard faint mountain songs coming from the forest.
As we got closer, we saw a woodcutter chopping wood in the forest.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, the other party looked towards him warily. After seeing that it was just a child, he relaxed a little.
Then he fixed his eyes on the wounds on Liu Xie's face and head, "What happened to you?"
"I..." Liu Xie started to speak and suddenly stopped.
He originally wanted to ask the person he met to take him to the nearest town so that he could return to Chang'an as soon as possible.
But when he subconsciously put his hand to his face because of the look from the woodcutter, he suddenly thought of something terrible.
Because Li Jue had knocked him unconscious several times, he had no idea what was happening in Chang'an City at the moment. He only felt that if Li Jue escaped, perhaps Dong Zhuo would regain the upper hand. If he went back to Chang'an, wouldn't he be walking into a tiger's mouth?
Since two years ago, he has been living the life of a puppet under the control of Dong Zhuo.
He has suffered a deep psychological trauma from this.
And if the injuries on his face cannot be healed...
It is a rule of the Han Dynasty that a person with a facial flaw cannot be an official. What about an emperor with a facial flaw?
These thoughts flashed through Liu Xie's mind quickly, and he finally said hesitantly: "I... I don't remember. I was already nearby when I woke up."
The woodcutter was really a warm-hearted man. Seeing the child standing there blankly with a look of loss on his face, he immediately stopped his work and said to him, "Well, come back with me first. I have some ointment for bruises and sprains. We must treat the wound first. We can do it when you remember. It's almost dark. We can't feed the wolves in the forest."
Liu Xie felt sad, but he was just glad that he was lucky enough not to die from the fall, while Li Jue fell to death here and met a kind woodcutter.
But he didn't see -
As the woodcutter walked towards him, he pushed a telescope inward so that it was stuffed deeper into the backpack.
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