Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 300 Nanyang: I voted first

While Liu Biao was tossing and turning, feeling upset, others were also taking action.

Nanyang County was adjacent to Sili, and many noble families and wealthy families were almost excited when they heard that Lord Xuande was going to choose an auspicious day and complete the rituals to present his merits to the King of Han in Luoyang.

The Zhu, Zhang, Zhao, Zhuo, Ren and Wu families of Wan County, who are known for their family background and good clothing, the Han and Chen families of Duyang County, the Xie and Liu families of Zhangling County, the Zhang family of Xi'e County, and the Cen and Ma families of Jiyang County.

The Yin, Deng, Lai, and Yu families in Xinye County, the Fan and Yu families in Huyang County, the Sun family in Yiyang County, the Fan family in Luyang County, the Yan family in Xun County, and the Yuan family in Zhuyang County.

More than 60 noble families, including the Dun, Yuan, and Jin families of Wudang County and the Chen family of Yin County, jointly discussed the uprising, and the sons of each clan participated.

Among the many prominent families in Nanyang County, the Xinye Yin family, the Deng family, the Wanxian Wu family, and the Jiyang Cen family were the most prominent. The Yin family had a daughter who was Xuande's wife, and the Deng family was the descendant of Deng Yu. Their situation was similar to that of the Wu and Cen families, as they were all descendants of heroes who helped Emperor Guangwu restore the country.

The patriarch of the Yin clan went to Pingyuan County last year and nearly died on the way. Liu Bei saw that he was quite old and was worried that he would die during the long journey back by boat, so he kept him as a guest in Pingyuan.

After hearing this, the other party smiled brightly and often visited Madam Yin. He also asked to meet Liu Yong. Even though Yin Jun politely refused, he was still very happy, and the wrinkles on his old face were almost blooming with smiles.

He spent the whole day looking around Pingyuan County, visiting one family or another. He even sent a visiting card to Liu, who was also the King of Zhongshan Jing.

There was no interest in the conversation, so he simply asked how Lord Xuande rose up in Qingzhou to punish the tyrants. This question made Liu Yuan so ashamed that he stammered and could not answer.

Only after sending the other party away did Liu Yuan couldn't help but sigh with envy: "Everything is based on chance, not before or after, it is really what fate is."

He is so lucky. If Lord Xuande was born in the Liu family of Pingyuan, this old man would never have the chance to show off here.

As they are all descendants of King Jing of Zhongshan, why did the Liu clan of Zhuo County produce such a young man?

Liu Yuan stroked his arm and sighed.

While the patriarch of the Yin clan was busy in various places in Pingyuan, the Yin clan's disciples were waiting impatiently. No letters came back for several months, and they thought that the patriarch had failed to apologize and was instead imprisoned in Qingzhou.

An elder of the clan, with gnashing teeth in anger, leaned on a walking stick and went to severely scold Madam Yin's brothers Yin Meng and Yin Fang. The two originally worked for Yuan Shu and were county magistrates in Runan County.

Hearing that Liu Xuande had captured Zhang Xun, Qiao Rui and other generals under Yuan Gonglu alive in Pei, and had made Sun Bofu rebel in the battle, he was so frightened that he abandoned his post and ran away overnight without even taking the money he had saved.

He was afraid that if he was too late, the county lieutenant would come with swords, shields, bows and crossbows to capture him, tie him up with ropes and send him to Shouchun, where Yuan Shu would vent his anger and kill him.

When they returned to Xinye, they saw that every member of the clan was glaring at them. The old men and old women in the village even pointed at chickens and scolded dogs, saying that they were blind, like a leaf covering their eyes, so they cannot see Mount Tai, or two beans covering their ears, so they cannot hear thunder.

The two were also extremely miserable and had no way to defend themselves. Who could have imagined that Liu Bei would have the power to overthrow the world and have Han relatives all over the country? Who knew that Liu Xuande was Guangwu?

Before Liu Bei became famous, all the noble and powerful families had their eyes on the Yuan family of Runan.

You can't blame them for their dim eyesight. If they had known that Liu Xuande was a man of talent, courage and strategy, and an extraordinary enemy, they would have crawled over to serve Lord Xuande even though he was far away in the Qingzhou Plain.

Seeing Yin Meng and Yin Fang hiding in the courtyard all day long, the Yin family's scolding gradually stopped. Although the two had offended Lord Xuande, the clan was afraid of forcing them to death. After all, they were Madam Yin's brothers, so they vented the anger of the clan members and Envoy Liu and stopped while they were ahead.

While Yin tried every possible means to unite the nobles to surrender to Liu and waited for news, a long time passed before a letter was quietly delivered to Xinye. When it was opened, there were only a few words, which read: "The great event has been settled, you have nothing to worry about."

This made many of the nobles and wealthy families in Nanyang feel at ease. Even though Lord Xuande was not from Nanyang, as he had the daughter of the Yin family as his wife, the people of Nanyang would definitely help him to the end.

It's just that Envoy Liu is too far away. If he were in Yuzhou or Jingzhou, the various tribes in Nanyang would certainly do their best to help you accomplish your great cause.

Even though he had suffered harm from Yuan Shu, he would still use his last bit of strength to gather tens of thousands of troops to help Duke Xuande support the Han Dynasty.

Not for anything else, just to restore the story of Emperor Guangwu.

Especially after learning that Liu Shijun had defeated Yuan Shao and would recover Hebei in the near future, the clan leaders were even more eager to make achievements.

Taking advantage of the time when each family was offering sacrifices to their ancestors, the news was quietly passed on. A total of 23 powerful clans agreed to discuss the affairs of Nanyang in Luyang. Clan leader Deng replaced clan leader Yin who was unable to return and secretly invited each clan to discuss the matter.

As soon as they met, he said straight to the point: "Now the country is in trouble, the princes have risen up, and the states have split. Only Lord Xuande has repeatedly defeated powerful enemies, restored order, and brought peace to the world. Heroes from all over the country have joined forces. First, the tribes in Yingchuan County have returned the county. Nanyang is the hometown of Emperor Guangwu, and we should help Liu Xing of the Han Dynasty. The Deng family of Xinye wants to join forces with other families to start an uprising."

"Liu Jingsheng had previously responded to Lord Xuande's request by sending Cai to lead the Jingzhou navy down the Yangtze River to attack Xunyang, Chaisang, and Pengze to rescue Yangzhou Governor Liu Yao, but he did nothing, resulting in Liu Yao's defeat at the hands of Cao Mengde."

"The soldiers of Jingzhou were defeated by Cao Cao and Cao Ren in Pengze County, and their leader, Cai Mao, was almost captured."

"As far as I know, Cai Degui is an old friend of Cao Mengde. Most of the navy soldiers who went to the battle were newly recruited soldiers. They dared to disembark and fight on land. There must be something wrong. Although Liu Jingsheng is a relative of the Han Dynasty, he is in the wrong and is unworthy of being a descendant of the Liu family."

After the Deng clan leader finished speaking, he looked at everyone's reactions. Seeing that they were all shaking their hands and filled with indignation, he nodded with great satisfaction.

The Nanyang nobles should have this kind of heroic spirit. Liu Biao was old and had no ambition to make progress. Even when he was attacking Jiangdong, he was trying to conserve his strength. He undoubtedly gave up the best opportunity to curry favor with Lord Xuande.

If you don't accept what heaven gives you, you will suffer the consequences. If you don't welcome the opportunity when it comes, you will suffer the consequences.

Rather than waiting for Liu Biao to lead the army and not even get a sip of soup, and not only be surpassed by the Central Plains gentry and wealthy families, but also by the Hebei gentry, it would be better for Nanyang County to directly leave Liu Jingsheng behind and surrender to Lord Xuande in advance.

Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the decline of the Han Dynasty, each family in Nanyang has declined in strength. If this continues, it may only become the tail of an ox.

Prior to this, Changsha Prefect Sun Jian killed Nanyang Prefect Zhang Zi and defected to Yuan Shu. Liu Biao was short of soldiers and had no choice but to recommend Yuan Shu as Prefect of Nanyang.

At that time, the gentry and wealthy families in Nanyang had thought about advancing and retreating together with the Yuan family of Runan. However, Yuan Gonglu was too greedy and had no military strategy. After the death of Sun Wentai, his military force suffered repeated setbacks and he was not a strong leader.

Fortunately, Lord Xuande was like a needle placed in a bag, giving the wealthy families new hope. It was just a matter of measuring the land. If they wanted to become richer, why would they be afraid of having no land at home?

(End of this chapter)