Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 307: Hearing that the King is in Luoyang to Visit the King of Han

Liu Bei smiled and said, "I also know a little bit about Liu Yan's intention to occupy Yizhou, and I also know a little bit about the rift between Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang."

"I also heard that a few months ago, your Lord Zhang Lu wanted to use the jade seal to become the King of Hanning. Why haven't you split the land and become the king yet?"

Although it was said lightly, Yan Pu, who was kneeling on the ground, felt his heart pounding. In an instant, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His body trembled slightly and he did not dare to look up at the King of Han.

After a long while, he found his voice and said tremblingly, "Great, Great King, this rumor is wrong. How dare Lord Zhang occupy the land where the Han Dynasty rose to power and claim the throne? Moreover, my great ancestor Emperor Gaozu made an agreement with the meritorious officials at the beginning of the Han Dynasty that anyone who became king other than the Liu family would be punished by the whole world. How dare Lord Zhang risk the world's disapproval and do such a traitorous thing?"

"I was sent here from afar just to restore the Han Dynasty and to follow the government of Luoyang again."

After saying this, Yan Pu bowed his head heavily and kowtowed on the spot.

After hearing this, Liu Bei smiled and said, "I am not the governor of Yizhou, but Hanzhong is my fiefdom. Now Zhang Lu has seized it and renamed it Hanning County. It is called returning, but it is actually stealing. You can go back and tell Zhang Lu that if he wants to surrender, he should surrender quickly. If not, he should hold on."

"When the Han army conquers Nanzheng County in the future, I will order the Zhang men to behead them like Wang Mang did, and make lacquerware out of their heads, which will be sealed in the Hanzhong County armory. Let future generations see what will happen to those who dare to occupy the land where the Han Dynasty rose up and want to be kings, and who do not surrender quickly!"

Liu Bei closed the document written by Zhang Lu and threw it on the table, then looked at Yan Pu who was kneeling in the hall and shouted.

He seemed to lower his head out of fear, but his ears perked up. Yan Pu, who was listening carefully, couldn't help shivering.

Who wants to follow the story of Wang Mang and keep his head in the armory forever?

But sometimes, what you fear will come true. Yan Pu was still thinking about the matter of heads.

Liu Bei suddenly remembered something, clapped his hands and smiled, "Yan Jun came from Hanzhong for Zhang Lu, so he must not have seen Wang Ju Jun two hundred years ago. Zhang Lu wants to imitate him, so why not let Yan Jun go to the armory and ask Wang Mang how powerful the Han family is?"

"Zi Yu, tell the commander of the armory to take Lord Yan to see Lord Wang Ju tomorrow."

After Liu Bei finished instructing Zhuge Jin, he asked the trembling Yan Pu to stand up and leave. He caught a glimpse of Xun You beside him who seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he joked: "Gongda, Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang are just minor issues. Now it is urgent to completely pacify Hebei."

"Right now, only the Yecheng garrison is still holding out in Weijun. Bohai has been taken. I heard that officials and nobles in Shanggu, Yuyang, and Zhuojun in Youzhou have all raised troops to rebel against Yuan. Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi want to seize the power of Julu and Zhongshan, and are fighting with the locals."

"I can take advantage of the situation to mobilize a large army, first cross the river and capture Xindu, then attack Julu, Hejian, Zhongshan, and finally advance to Zhuo County."

"This battle will surely sweep away more than 200 powerful families in Hebei and destroy all 616 strongholds, making them no longer have the heart to rebel!"

Liu Bei said simply and clearly.

The wealthy families in Hebei are worried that he will measure the land and harm their own interests, so they should just suppress the rebellion first. As long as the knife is at their necks, they will no longer worry about the measurement of land.

People are so strange. Normally they just hate that they don't have enough money. As long as someone infringes on their interests a little bit, it is like cutting their flesh with a knife. When the knife is really used to cut the flesh, houses, fields, farmlands, soldiers, slaves, and servants are no longer important.

He wished he could give all his wealth to others just to give his clan a chance of survival.

Liu Bei sighed secretly.

Then he asked Xun You to write a document and send it to Qing and Yan states, selecting counties and towns to expand prisons to avoid overcrowding and inconvenience in management.

Xun You nodded, then bowed and said, "Spring ploughing has begun in various places. Runan County in Yuzhou has suffered from war for many years. Without practical people, it is impossible to make the people prosperous and wealthy. Who does the king want to appoint as the prefect, commander, Gongcao, Zhubu, Duyou, Zhuji, and Wuguanyuan of Runan?" Xun Yu was in charge of the affairs of the prefectures and counties in the Qingzhou Plain, and Xun You was in Luoyang, and he did not let him be idle.

Since he is not going with the army at the moment, let him take charge of Yuzhou and deal with the many miscellaneous affairs of the three counties of Chen, Liang and Runan that have just been recovered.

Since few officials from the Chen and Liang countries abandoned their posts and fled during the war, the basic county administration was relatively complete.

Only in Runan County was the Yellow Turban Army wreaking havoc, and Yuan's soldiers were fighting endlessly with Guan Hai and Le Jin, almost all the counties were attacked, and countless jars and pots were broken, before the Yuan's power in Runan was completely eradicated.

At this moment, someone is urgently needed to clean up the mess, reorganize people's livelihood, and restore agriculture and sericulture.

When Liu Bei heard Xun You ask this, he couldn't help but frowned, shook his head and said, "In less than half a year, we have recovered the seven counties in the north and south, resulting in a shortage of officials in various places. The prefect of two thousand stones is in a high position and has great power. He must govern the people, promote the virtuous and encourage meritorious deeds, settle lawsuits and investigate traitors, encourage the people to farm, help the poor and the needy, examine the cases of officials and interrogate the prisoners, settle their crimes and laws, and record the matters reported by the counties. If an official is incompetent, it will bring disaster to the people. We must pay close attention to it!"

"Cui Jigui has a righteous character and is honest and upright for the people. I want to transfer him to Runan as Gongcao first. As for the other officials, I am still considering it."

"Gongda, do you have any talented people to recommend? If they are talented and virtuous, they can be given priority to govern the poor areas where people's livelihood is declining."

Liu Bei finally asked with a smile.

He knew Xun You very well. Since the other party asked about this matter, it must be not just a casual remark.

He must be like Xun Wenruo, who met a talented person in Luoyang and personally assessed him, which is why he would ask this question.

As expected, just as Liu Bei finished speaking, Xun You said politely, "Your Majesty, when I was inspecting Luoyang, I happened to meet a talented person. He is a descendant of Du Yannian, the Imperial Censor of the previous Han Dynasty. He was born in the Du family of Jingzhao County. He heard that the King of Han had defeated Yuan Shao and would be promoted to king in Luoyang, so he brought three followers with him to climb mountains and cross ridges, taking remote paths, avoiding the Liangzhou thieves, and walked more than 600 miles to Luoyang to meet Your Majesty, hoping to serve as a Han official."

Liu Bei felt that the surname sounded familiar. Thinking of the other party's behavior, he nodded and said with a smile: "This man has a heart as hard as gold and stone. He is truly a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. Gongda, please tell me, who is this talented person?"

Xun You saw that the King of Han was interested, so he smiled and said, "This man's name is Du Ji, with the courtesy name Bohou. He is familiar with the law and has great talent. Your Majesty can give him a try."

Du Ji?! It turned out to be him!
Liu Bei remembered it instantly. No wonder the place and surname sounded familiar.

The three generations of Du Ji, Du Shu and Du Yu were all famous and capable ministers.

"In this world, we should pacify the world, recruit heroes from all over the world, and establish a foundation that will last for eternity."

Liu Bei couldn't help but clap his hands in joy and marvel at it.

Then he asked Xun You to send someone to invite Du Ji to the front hall for a chat. He wanted to come and see in person what kind of talents Du Bohou had at the moment.

Du Ji, who was wearing a dark-colored cap and had a thin and tall figure, bowed and said as soon as he entered the front hall: "I am Du Ji, a commoner, to greet the king. When I was in Chang'an, I saw many rebellions in Liangzhou, burning ancestral temples and digging up tombs. I thought the world was losing order again. When I heard that the king would present the King of Han in Luoyang, it was like opening my eyes and the world was bright. I crossed states and counties and traveled thousands of miles to come here. Now that I have seen the palace, I will not die with regrets!"

"Your Majesty is the ruler of the Han Dynasty. Your achievements are as glorious as the sun and the moon. You defeated the feudal lords and brought order to the world. With your great achievements, you have restored the Han Dynasty's destiny. All the scholars in the world want to entrust themselves to Your Majesty!"

Du Ji poured out the words that had been pent up in his heart for a long time in an impassioned and generous manner, and then bowed again.

(End of this chapter)