Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 319 I'm Here to Make an Alliance
There was a sound of footsteps, and the clan leaders in the hall immediately straightened their clothes, all with serious faces, and sat upright to wait for the "evil guest".

The nobles of Jizhou would not look favorably upon Gongsun Zan and his subordinates.

"Youzhou Tian Kai pays respect to the king. May the king live forever!"

After Zhuge Jin led the way into the Huangtang and bowed and retreated, Tian Kai, wearing a military cap and with only a sparse beard and a haggard face, bowed and saluted to Liu Bei.

Perhaps it is because he is over 40 years old and has lost the spirit he once had. His words and actions are decadent and listless, and he looks discouraged.

Liu Bei looked at him carefully for a moment, then returned the greeting with his hand and asked with a smile, "I haven't seen Mr. Tian for many years. Why do you look so exhausted and depressed?"

Tian Kai couldn't help shaking his head and smiling bitterly, cupping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty, you don't know that Gongsun clan has been fighting with Yuan clan in Youzhou for several years and has been defeated repeatedly. How can it not make people lose their morale and feel depressed?"

They retreated all the way from Jizhou to Youzhou, and then from Youzhou to Youbeiping County. If it weren't for General Gongsun's determination to resist Yuan, anyone else would have surrendered long ago.

Liu Bei also knew how much failure had a devastating effect on people's morale, so he ignored the question and asked directly, "I wonder what is the purpose of Mr. Tian's trip?"

Hearing this, Tian Kai hesitated for a moment. After thinking it over, he bowed his hands, lowered his eyebrows, gritted his teeth and said, "When General Gongsun attacked Yuan Shao, he wanted to make an agreement with the king to divide Jizhou equally. The king refused because of insufficient food and grass. Now that Yuan Shao has just been defeated and the ownership of the counties is still undecided, how about renewing the old agreement?"

Hearing Gongsun Zan's loud request, wanting to squeeze in for a share, Liu Bei was startled, so he smiled and said, "Why, Bogui still wants to share Jizhou with me?"

Seeing that the King of Han's tone was a little wrong, Tian Kai quickly stepped back, bowed and explained: "On the way here, Kai heard that the King was going to attack Xindu. I thought that the King was a master of military strategy and Xindu would be defeated in one battle, so I hurriedly wrote a letter to inform General Gongsun, and the general asked me to come and explain the reason."

"Thanks to the majesty of the king, Jizhou can be taken in a snap. However, the officials of Youzhou are appointed by Yuan and are still resisting stubbornly, showing no intention of surrendering."

"Gongsun clan wants to make an alliance with the king, Jizhou will be given to the king of Han, Youzhou will be given to Gongsun, so that the king will not have to worry about the Yuan army in Youzhou."

After Tian Kai finished speaking, he bowed again.

But Liu Bei couldn't help laughing, raised his hand and pointed at Tian Kai and said: "Mr. Tian, ​​do you know why Gongsun Bogui couldn't even capture Yuyang City? It's because he lost the support of the people and achieved fame. There has never been such a person before."

"As early as March of the second year of Jian'an, officials from the five counties of Dai, Shanggu, Zhuo, Guangyang, and Yuyang sent letters expressing their willingness to submit to the Han Dynasty."

"Besides, Yuan has surrendered, and Youzhou should belong to Bei. I have already mobilized my generals Zhao Zhen, Liu Ping, Xu Ju, and Rong Guang to march from Bohai to Guangyang, Yuyang, and Shanggu. I don't need to bother Bogui to worry about Youzhou for Bei."

Liu Bei looked at Tian Kai and chuckled.

Now, let alone Gongsun Zan, even if Xiaoling and Xiaohuan were resurrected and hid in Guanzhong and Chang'an and issued an edict ordering the princes of the world to attack, they would not be able to stop him from taking over all of Hebei.

He was still waiting to pacify Hebei and resolve his worries, so he led his troops to attack Guanzhong, so that the world would no longer belong to Guangwu's lineage.

The dozen or so vassal kingdoms under his rule should also be abolished. Considering their merits, even the title of Marquis of Ting is too high for him.

"Your Majesty, Gongsun Yu has made great contributions!"

Tian Kai bowed hurriedly and anxiously.

If the Gongsun clan had not been at war with Yuan Shao, how could the King of Han have taken over the lands of Yan and Xu? How could he not repay such a great favor? Why is he turning against us now and being so merciless?
Tian Kai suddenly thought about how Liu Bei, as a relative of the Han Dynasty, would treat Gongsun Zan, who imprisoned Liu Yu, a relative of the Han Dynasty. If he left it alone, people all over the world would talk about how the King of Han treated the royal family harshly. If he came to take care of this matter, what would be the fate of Gongsun Zan?
Then he thought of Liu Xuande, who was the King of Han and a vassal of the Liu clan who occupied Luoyang and restored the ancestral temple.

At a time when the emperor has become a puppet, the Han dynasty has no successor, and the world is without a master, if Liu Xuande ascends the altar and accepts the mandate, and becomes the emperor, how can the princes of Guandong resist? !

Tian Kai was suddenly frightened. They had stayed in the border county of Youzhou for too long and had forgotten the dramatic changes in the Central Plains and Hebei. They still looked at Liu Bei with the same eyes.

The King of Han is marching into Youzhou, and where will the Gongsun clan stand? If they continue to act arrogantly, even if the King of Han does not say anything, I am afraid that someone in the court will ask for the execution of the Gongsun clan.

Thinking of this, Tian Kai wanted to speak.

But he heard a cold snort behind him.

The head of the Zhang clan in Hejian stood up, bowed and asked, "I heard that Mr. Tian was born in Youzhou. I wonder if you have heard of the old story of Peng Chong, the governor of Yuyang?"

"This man is the leader of the Youzhou nobles. When Emperor Guangwu ascended the throne, he first relied on his merits and kept silent. Later, he led his army to rebel. He thought that his merits were the best in the world. In fact, he was just holding pigs from Liaodong. It's like a man from Hebin holding soil to block Mengjin. He has no sense of measure!"

"If we do not consider the mistakes of the past, we will surely repeat the same mistake. I hope Gongsun Bogui can learn from this and not repeat the fate of Peng Chong."

The Zhang clan leader raised his hand and bowed, speaking in a neutral tone.

But Tian Kai's face turned pale and his lips couldn't help trembling.

As a native of Youzhou, how could he not have heard of the story of Peng Chong, the prefect of Yuyang? Peng Chong was unruly in those days. He believed that he had made great contributions in helping Guangwu pacify Hebei. Generals such as Wu Han, Wang Liang, and Gai Yan were all under his command. The reason why Guangwu was able to defeat Wang Lang was because he sent 3,000 Youzhou cavalry to help, which was a great favor to Guangwu.

As a result, Guangwu ascended the throne, his former general Wu Han was given the title of Grand Marshal, Wang Liang was given the title of Grand Chancellor, and although Peng Chong was given the title of marquis, he was still appointed as the prefect of Yuyang, which undoubtedly made him even more dissatisfied.

Later, Peng Chong was instigated by Guangwu's confidant Zhu Fu to go to Luoyang. He was afraid of being punished in Luoyang, so after much deliberation, he finally rebelled in Youzhou.

When attacking Ji County, Zhu Fu wrote a letter to mock him, saying: "In the past, a family in Liaodong County gave birth to a white-headed pig. They wanted to send it to Chang'an to present it to the emperor. But when they arrived at Hedong County, they found that all the pigs there had white heads. Finally, they returned in shame. If you are judged by the court for your merits, you will be like a Liaodong pig."

These words almost made Peng Chong so ashamed that even though he captured Jicheng, proclaimed himself King of Yan, took over Shanggu, Youbeiping and other places, and allied with the Huns in the north, he was still killed by his subordinates within two years.

Just because people's hearts are not with him, Gongsun family currently has no strength to match Peng Chong.

Many images flashed through Tian Kai's mind, and he felt that Gongsun was on the edge of a cliff.

Whether he sincerely submitted to the King of Han or remained stubborn and arrogant, he would end up with the same fate as Peng Chong.

Moreover, the troops in Gongsun's hands are unable to capture Yuyang, so how can they compare to Peng Chong? If they still insist on having their own way, I am afraid their victory will be in vain.

Tian Kai bowed his hands, and hesitated for several times, finally hanging his head in dejection, and sighed slightly: "The King of Han wants to take all of Hebei, what should Gongsun do?"

Thinking of Gongsun Zan's almost unscrupulous character, he couldn't help but feel his throat dry and his lips parched.

(End of this chapter)