Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 149: Princes of the World: Benchu, you have to hold on
On the third day of August in the second year of Xingping (195 AD), two pieces of news spread throughout the world, shocking the princes.

First, Liu Xuande, the Left General of Qing and Yanzhou, recovered Luoyang, Henei, Henan, Mianchi and Yiyang in Hongnong County to the east, and the counties east of Dongyuan in Hedong County, and recovered the capital area from the rebels in Liangzhou. The noble families in Yingchuan County of Yuzhou wrote to the emperor and begged him to consider the people and try to appoint him as the prefect of Yingchuan.

Second, Tao Gongzu, the governor of Xuzhou, had already submitted a petition to Liu Xuande to request him to concurrently serve as the governor of Xuzhou.

They could understand the former, but the latter was simply outrageous. The Liangzhou warriors who controlled the court were labeled traitors by Liu Bei. How could they agree to it?

In his manifesto to the world, Liu Bei declared: "Those who control the court are called Han ministers, but they are actually Han traitors."

Morally speaking, Li and Guo were completely confused. Where did the previously polite Liu Xuande go?

After coming to his senses, the humiliated Li Jue quickly made peace with Guo Si, and deployed troops in Guanzhong to strictly guard the area, stationing heavy troops in Huayin and Puban. He heard that Liu Bei was coming with great force and was unstoppable.

Both the Liangzhou soldiers under Zhang Yang's command and the Xiongnu Chanyu Yufuluo were beaten to tears in the process of defending the city and fighting in the field, which made the two of them dare not to send troops to fight easily.

The situation in Guanzhong is not peaceful at the moment. Ma Teng, Han Sui and his gang are watching them with ill intentions.

After Tao Qian submitted the memorial, the princes from Guandong were also stunned. Previously, Liu Bei only governed one state, but he was unstoppable and swept across Hebei and the Central Plains.

Now that he has recovered Luoyang, he supports the Han Dynasty in offering sacrifices to its ancestral temple. He controls three states, and has tens of thousands of men armed with spears and armor, the most among all the princes in the world.

When the governors and provincial governors across the country heard the news, they all gasped in shock and their hearts began to beat violently.

The impact brought by the Liu clan members' worship at the ancestral temple was like a violent storm sweeping across the world.

Although the practice of giving equal importance to temples and mausoleums during the pre-Han period has been changed since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, mausoleums have become more important than ancestral temples.

But this does not mean that ancestral temples are not important. The Han Dynasty had a tradition of "treating the dead as if they were alive" and emphasized filial piety. If sacrifices to the ancestral temples were stopped, it would be a loss of filial piety and morality, not to mention burning them down.

Everyone in the world attaches great importance to ancestor worship, from the common people to the emperor, it is a form of filial piety.

Unfortunately, since Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang, the seven nearby temples of Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Wen, Emperor Wu, Emperor Xuan, Emperor Shizu and Emperor Xianzong were all destroyed.

Liu Hong's entire family is responsible and no one can escape the blame.

They were all arranging their affairs after death, and all previous emperors had no problems with it, except Liu Hong, whose ancestor's imperial tomb was even dug up by Dong Zhuo.

Liu Hong was just the Marquis of Jie Du Ting in Hejian, but he became an emperor. However, the relatives he appointed caused such a big mess. How could he and his adopted son have the face to steal the throne?

Every year when the Liu clan members offer sacrifices to their ancestors, they can't help but curse a few words. What a big deal this is! If Gaozu, Emperor Wen, Emperor Wu, Emperor Xuan, as well as Shizu and Xianzong knew about this in the afterlife, they would surely depose Prince Liu Xie immediately when they saw that the sacrifices were interrupted.

No matter what the reason is, as the emperor of the Liu family, if the ancestral temples are destroyed and the imperial tombs are robbed during your term of office, it means that the emperor has failed to be filial and immoral.

Even Liu He, the Marquis of Haihun who was deposed by Huo Guang, did not dare to bear the guilt of the destruction of the ancestral temple.

One of the important reasons why Yuan Shao dared to establish another emperor was that he was recognized by many scholars.

Once he was accused of being unfilial, his throne would be in jeopardy.

Under such circumstances, all the princes in the world and the Liu clan watched coldly as the emperor was held hostage by the bandits from Liang Province.

Unexpectedly, Liu Xuande actually recaptured Luoyang and rebuilt the ancestral temple to worship Emperor Gaozu and previous emperors. If he did it, he would have held the righteousness in his hands and directly asked for orders from the ancestral temple to lead the army to fight against the rebels, and no one would dare to say a word.

At this moment, there were many prophecies circulating. If Liu Bei said that he had made great contributions to the restoration of the ancestral temple, and that Gaozu, Xiaowen and Shizu had appeared in his dreams, and that he had an elite army with flags covering the sky, who could stop Liu Xuande who owned three states?

It has only been four years since Yuan Benchu's alliance against Dong broke up and he seized Jizhou. The princes in various places are still developing, and many of them even control one or two counties. Some governors have not yet completely controlled the counties under their jurisdiction. But at this time, news came from Luoyang, telling them that it was already the late stage of the warlords fighting for supremacy. After the outcome of Hebei was decided, Liu Bei would lead his army south. Who wouldn't be stunned on the spot with eyes wide open?

Liu Zhang of Yizhou, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Yuan Shu and Liu Yao who were still fighting for Yangzhou, Cao Cao and others were all stunned or looked at the news reported by their staff with blank astonishment.

Cao Cao muttered to himself: "Could it be that Liu Xuande is really a hero who will bring peace to the world?"

Liu Biao of Jingzhou hurriedly sought consultation with Cai and Kuai of Xiangyang. The reason was very simple, that is, Nanyang County of Jingzhou was bordering Liu Bei's Henei and Yingchuan.

Liu Bei's wife was from the Yin family, a prominent family in Nanyang. If Nanyang County was lost, Xiangyang in Nan County would be the first to suffer.

"Zi Rou, Liu Xuande has recovered Luoyang and taken over three counties. Jingzhou and Nanyang are adjacent to it. There are many marriages between the Yingchuan nobles and the Nanyang nobles. In addition, Liu Bei's wife is a daughter of the Yin family. Now the people in the north of Xiangyang are probably uneasy."

Liu Biao, who was wearing a Liang crown, said worriedly.

Although he is over fifty years old, he still looks as handsome and elegant as he did in his youth.

It is not known how Yuan Benchu, who was still engaged in a fierce battle with Gongsun Zan in Jizhou, would react when he received the two messages from Liu Bei, but Liu Jingsheng felt like a thorn in his side.

"Don't worry, Lord Jingsheng. At this moment, we only need to send a trusted and important general to stay in Nanyang." Kuai Liang said, stroking his beard.

Not only was Jingzhou Governor Liu Biao shocked by Tao Qian's decision to move his state to his side, but the Jingzhou gentry were also shocked.

This is a battle between two governors of the same state. How can they surrender without even fighting?

It was not so easy for Yuan Shao to gain Jizhou. Rumor has it that it was Tao Qian who took the initiative to recommend Liu Bei to take over the concurrent post of Governor of Xuzhou.

Why don’t they want to encounter such good things?
Kuai Liang sighed and thought.

"Zirou, please tell me the reason quickly." Liu Biao asked with a chuckle.

He had been in charge of Jingzhou for several years, but he still had to rely on the Kuai and Cai families for many matters in various places.

"Lord Jingsheng, it is true that the people of Nanyang are unsettled, but Liu Xuande's seat of government is far away in Qingzhou, and the journey is long. They will not defect from Jingzhou and join him at this moment."

"Hebei has not been pacified, Yuan Benchu's power still exists, Xuzhou has not yet been integrated into the prefecture, and Yuan Shu and Cao Cao are eyeing Xuzhou covetously.

"It will take at least four or five years for Liu Xuande to wipe out these people."

Kuai Liang stroked his beard with a smile, and comforted Liu Biao.

Unexpectedly, Lord Jing Sheng suddenly asked: "What about four or five years later?"

"This... this is beyond my expectation."

Kuai Liang pinched his beard and froze for a moment, then quickly changed the subject and joked.

But he secretly replied: "If all the heroes are destroyed, I will persuade you, Lord Jingsheng, to follow Tao Gongzu's example and surrender the state, which is the best strategy."

As for resisting to the end, unless they choose the wrong side and offend people to death, the nobles will never resist under the crushing pressure of the general trend.

(End of this chapter)