Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 318 Gongsun Zan: Revenge must be taken, debts must be repaid

When Mrs. Shu and Mrs. Dongxiang thought of the past, their faces immediately turned darker than the bottom of a pot.

The heads of the Liu, Zhang, and Xing clans no longer smiled. When they heard the name Gongsun Zan, they were first stunned by surprise, and then they gnashed their teeth in anger.

When Gongsun Zan led the Youzhou cavalry to attack Jizhou, he also plundered them and forced each clan to transport wheat, millet, beans and other concentrated feed and straw for the Youzhou cavalry.

It was said that they would repay with money and fine silk later, but until the defeat in Youzhou, no money or goods were sent by vehicles.

It can be said that Gongsun Zan is a man who does not care about the people, remembers faults and forgets good deeds, and does not have the talent to be a wise leader.

Patriarch Zhang thought for a moment, glanced at the gate behind the hall, calculated the time in his mind, and felt that it would take some time for Tian Kai to come in.

In this case, it is better to say some words first, so that the King of Han can be somewhat alert. I believe that with the wisdom of the King, he will be able to perceive his good intentions. The head of the Zhang clan stood up and said with a cupped hand: "Your Majesty, I have something to say, which may be unpleasant to the ears if I say it out loud. I hope the King will forgive me."

Liu Bei smiled and replied, "Mr. Zhang has led his troops from Lecheng, Hejian, and has come all the way here just to support the Han Dynasty. If I see him, I will not worry about the Hejian Kingdom. Since Mr. Zhang has come to discuss matters, he must have some deep plans and concerns. I am willing to accept your advice, but you can speak freely."

Hearing the King of Han say this, the Zhang clan leader's heart surged with warmth. He immediately bowed solemnly and advised: "I have heard that Your Majesty and Gongsun Bogui were both disciples of Lu Gong in their early years. Now Lu Gong has been appointed as the Grand Tutor of Han China. Logically speaking, Gongsun clan has done Your Majesty a great favor because he has repeatedly fought with Yuan Benchu, making Yuan clan have no time to look south. This can be a meritorious service to the Han family."

"However, Gongsun Bogui was too self-centered to care about the people. He remembered wrongdoings but forgot good deeds, and would take revenge for any slight. If a famous official in the state was on his right, he would harm him. Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, is still imprisoned by him, and the people do not know whether he is alive or dead."

"If Your Majesty continues to treat them with respect, Gongsun will surely become arrogant and domineering. Then they will act recklessly and arrogantly, and no one will dare to stop them."

"It is better to follow the example of Emperor Gaozu when he met Ying Bu, first dampen his will, then appease him so that he does not dare to be arrogant."

After the Zhang clan leader finished speaking, he bowed again and then slowly returned to the table.

Upon hearing this, the other clan leaders could not help but nod frequently.

Gongsun Zan suffered repeated defeats in battles in Youzhou, and his temperament almost changed drastically. He became alienated from his guests and had no confidants, much like Ying Bu in the early Han Dynasty.

The head of the Xing clan was just thinking about saying something in agreement, but he heard footsteps behind him and immediately swallowed the words back.

In those days, Gongsun Zan invaded the nobles of Jizhou and killed countless people at will, especially in Hejian and Bohai, which were occupied by Gongsun for the longest time and suffered the most intimidation from him. The nobles still have lingering fears when they think about it today, and their resentment has been accumulating for a long time.

Zhuge Jin led the way in front. Tian Kai, who had come all the way exhausted, looked at the courtyards and narrow paths in the Xindu Mansion and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

He had been here a long time ago. At that time, it belonged to the Gongsun family. Later, it was occupied by Yuan Shao. Now it belongs to the King of Han. It has undergone many changes over the years, which makes people feel deeply moved.

Thinking of the former Lord Liu, who has now become the King of Han, and the benefactor Gongsun clan, which once controlled several counties of Ji and You and was the most powerful princes in the world, had their Dai, Guangyang, Shanggu, Yuyang and Zhuo counties all occupied by Yuan Shao, so they had to retreat to Youbeiping County to survive and wait for changes in the world.

Fortunately, the wait finally came.

Upon learning the news that Yuan Shao's army was completely wiped out in his expedition to Qingzhou, Gongsun Zan was immediately overjoyed. He clapped his hands and jumped for joy, and even laughed so hard that tears came out of his eyes.

In extreme excitement, he pounded the bed with his hands, his elbows turned red, but he didn't feel much pain. After laughing, Gongsun Zan opened his mouth and said to his wife: "Xuan De and I have a deep friendship. Now he has defeated Yuan Shao for me, and has defeated the army and killed the generals several times, causing Yuan Benchu ​​to die. This will undoubtedly relieve my hatred and avenge my family."

"At first, Xuande envied me for having three thousand white horses under my command. If that is the case, I will conquer the Xianbei, Wuhuan and other tribes, seize three thousand white horses for Xuande, and send them to Qingzhou to repay him for his kindness in killing Yuan Shao."

Gongsun Zan's beard trembled and he raised his head and said happily.

He had previously made a promise to many generals and officials in Youzhou that if anyone could kill Yuan Shao, he would do his best to reward them. If anyone broke this oath, he would have no descendants.

Unfortunately, despite such encouragement of the soldiers, they were ultimately defeated by Yuan Shao, who thought that Yuan Benchu ​​would lead his army to capture Youbeiping and kill all the Gongsun clan members.

He was prepared to fight to the death. If he was completely defeated, he would first kill Liu Yu's entire family to avenge his hatred, and then hang his sisters and wife to avoid humiliation from the Yuan family.

Unexpectedly, Yuan's army stopped in Yuyang County, leaving behind officials who had surrendered to Yuan and nearly 10,000 soldiers to garrison Yuyang County, and then mobilized a large army to march south.

At that time Gongsun Zan immediately guessed that it must be Liu Xuande of Qingzhou who came to help him. He could not help but admire Xuande's kindness, but was also worried that he would be defeated by Yuan Shao.

Fortunately, there was an official named Tian Yu under his jurisdiction. When he was worried, he stepped forward to comfort him and said, "Since Emperor Guangwu's restoration of the Han Dynasty, no minister dared to grant official titles privately, and no guest dared to accept them without authorization. Now Yuan Shao privately engraved the seal and used it without authorization. He can be called a loyal minister in name, but he is actually a thief."

"All officials loyal to the Han Dynasty want to fight against them. Lord Xuande is known for his integrity and righteousness. If he fights against the bandits now, all heroes will come to him. This battle will lead to Yuan's defeat and Liu's victory."

"How can the reputation of the three dukes of four generations for several decades be compared with the prestige of the Han Dynasty for 400 years? If Yuan Shao leads a large army to rise up, it will be like an egg hitting a rock."

"Gongsun clan can wait for the defeat of Yuan clan, then rise up in Youzhou, punish the evildoers and rebels for the Han Dynasty, put an end to the chaos and bring order to the country."

Tian Yu undoubtedly comforted Gongsun Zan. As long as he shared the same view that Yuan Shao was a traitor, he would be extremely happy.

Although the words in the middle are a bit foolish, the first and last two sentences really touched his heart.

No matter what, Yuan Benchu ​​was a traitor to the Han Dynasty. He first secretly occupied Jizhou and then killed his brothers. Yuan Shao and the Gongsun family had a deep hatred that would be difficult to resolve no matter how long it took.

As a minister of the Han Dynasty, he was still committed to attacking Yuan Shao. In contrast, Liu Yu, a relative of the Han royal family, still kept in correspondence with Yuan Benchu, and even repeatedly cut off his military supplies when he was attacking Yuan.

If Gongsun Zan had not received a letter written by his teacher Lu Zhi himself, in which he earnestly advised him not to kill Liu Yu, otherwise it would provoke an attack from the Youzhou nobles, Wuhuan and Xianbei. He would not have thought it over and listened to his teacher's advice, otherwise he would have taken action long ago.

When he sent troops to attack Yuyang, he found out that Xuande was the King of Han in Luoyang. Such sudden news was like a bolt from the blue, and it took Gongsun Zan a long time to digest it.

After realizing what was happening, he sent people to congratulate him and at the same time wanted to join forces with Xuande to wipe out the Yuan family.

Although Yuan Shao is dead, his son is still alive, and the Gongsun family will definitely take revenge.

(End of this chapter)