Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 367 Li Jue: There are a hundred ways to die with others

Liu Xie, together with Grand Marshal Yang Biao, Auxiliary General Fu Wan, Guard General Dong Cheng and others burst into tears in the palace.

Li Jue and Guo Si were not in a much better condition either. They were both terrified by the news and were at a loss as to what to do.

"Why did Wenhe come just now? We have been waiting here for a long time!" Seeing that Jia Xu was taking his time, Guo Si grabbed his arm and dragged him into the Huangtang for meetings. There were many generals and captains from Liangzhou inside, whispering and talking among themselves.

"General Huoqi, wait a minute, wait a minute..." Jia Xu didn't expect that this reckless man would be so anxious. His sudden appearance not only scared him, but also almost pulled him down.

Jia Xu thought to himself, "Why are you so nervous? Besides, haven't we already planned to take the emperor and his ministers and flee to Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang?"

If he doesn't run away quickly, is there any need to send people to urge him several times to come over to discuss matters?
"Wenhe..." Li Jue's eyes lit up when he saw Jia Xu. He hurriedly bowed to him and explained the reason: "The bastard Duan Wei has made unusual moves in Huayin and Tongguan. I am afraid he will turn against us and welcome Liu Xuande into Guanzhong."

"I want to lead my troops to defeat them, but I am worried about the fortress. I heard that Wenhe and Duan Wei are from the same hometown and are both from Wuwei. Why not lobby Duan Wei on behalf of the court and make him loyal to the emperor? If so, the court will surely promote him to be the governor of Beidi with a salary of 2,000 stones, and reward him with 20 palace maids and 300 bolts of fine silk."

Li Jue frowned, gritted his teeth, and decided to allocate a small amount of fine silk from the treasury to reward Duan Wei, to comfort him and not to cause trouble at this critical juncture.

As for the beautiful palace maids, they must of course be sent out by Emperor Liu Xie. Do they have to be taken from his house?
The palace maids who came to the Grand Marshal's mansion were all his maids and concubines. They had long been his forbidden food, so how could he allow others to touch them?

Li Jue was distressed about the three hundred rolls of fine silk, but Jia Xu could not help shaking his head and admonishing him, "Mr. Li, although the governor of Beidi is a 2,000-stone official, the counties of Beidi have been harassed by the Qiang for a long time. Around the first year of Jian'an, the counties of Fuping to Can, a thousand miles in radius, were all occupied by the Qiang. Now only Niyang and Yiju counties are still in the hands of the court."

"This is called the governor, but he is actually the county magistrate. I guess Duan Zhongming might not be willing to take up the post..."

The only reward worth mentioning is the three hundred pieces of fine silk. As for the palace maids given by the emperor, not everyone is as bold and reckless as Li Jue and Guo Si.

Duan Wei was the younger brother of Duan Xing. He was already a relatively normal person in the Liangzhou army. He was stationed in Huayin County and was able to provide relief to the people and reward farming.

Compared with Li Jue and Guo Si who wreaked havoc in Guanzhong, they are countless times more powerful. Although I have made mistakes as a minister, if I really turned against them and surrendered to King of Han Liu Xuande, I would have given up Huayin and the mostly built Tongguan, allowing the Han army to move forward unimpeded.

Duan Wei does have a better chance of survival than the other people from Liangzhou.

Li Jue ignored Jia Xu's advice and said bluntly: "Minister Jia is eloquent and can persuade Duan Wei to continue to serve the court. It's not that the emperor is unwilling to reward and promote him. It's because Ma Teng, Han Sui and others rebelled against the court and occupied Ding'an, Hanyang, Longxi and Jincheng counties. The rest of the counties are all occupied by governors, and now only the north is vacant."

"The only option is to promote Duan Wei to be the governor temporarily. After the Qingzhou army retreats, he can be summoned back to the court to be appointed as one of the Nine Ministers. What do you think, Wenhe?"

"Duan Wei is one of the Liangzhou generals under Lord Dong, and is also hated by Liu Xuande of Guandong. If he surrenders, he will be killed by Liu Bei. Wenhe can persuade him with this."

Li Jue lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked.

Before Jia Xu could reply, Guo Si came to the two of them and whispered, "Hedong Governor Yang Feng and Hongnong Governor Zhang Ji have sent messengers to ask for help. How should we respond?"

As Guo Si spoke, his eyes and brows were filled with anxiety.

Under their planning, Han Sui and Wuwei prefect Zhang Meng had already agreed to let the imperial court pass through various counties. Only Ma Teng refused to give in and even sent troops to occupy the passes in Longxi, making it impossible for the Liangzhou army to pass through. This was very uncomfortable.

Defending Chang'an was a dead end, unless the army was fully mobilized to fight Liu Bei in Hedong, there might be some chance of survival. But if the Liangzhou army left Guanzhong, how could Ma Teng not take advantage of the situation to rob? At that time, the army was attacked from both sides and the food supply was cut off. No matter how brave and good at fighting, they would not be able to defeat the enemy!

Li Jue did not care about Jia Xu being beside him at this time, and immediately waved his hand to call many trusted aides to discuss the matter.

"Mr. Li, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong has surrendered to Luoyang, so Liu Bei sent Zhao Yun to lead the counties of Hanzhong. Although this man is not as famous as Guan, Zhang, and Taishi, since Liu Xuande has appointed him to lead Hanzhong, he should not be underestimated."

"At present, he is reorganizing his troops in Hanzhong and can take the Baoxia Road to Mei County and Chencang at any time. The court must be on guard."

"For now, we can send some soldiers to Hedong to support Governor Yang and Governor Zhang. The Grand Marshal can take the emperor and the officials of the court, and display the emperor's palanquin, and go straight to Hanyang County. Ma Teng will eventually be a minister of the Han Dynasty. If he dares to shoot the emperor, Liu Bei will kill all three clans of the Ma family."

An ugly-looking aide shook his head and offered a bad idea.

If Ma Teng had been sensible, he would have given him money and women, and appointed him as General Fubo.

If we insist on going against the Liangzhou Army, then no one will have an easy life. If we kill the emperor, no matter how great our achievements are, we will still be killed.

As long as Liu Bei leads his troops to attack Guanzhong, the next step will be to eliminate Ma Teng.

Upon hearing this plan, Li Jue and Guo Si could not help but look at each other. This seemed to be a much better situation than going to Hedong County and fighting for their lives with the Qingzhou army.

Although using the emperor as a shield is extremely treasonous, things have come to this point and there is no other way.

As long as the governors along the way believed that they were still Han officials, they would not only dare to attack, but they were also afraid that someone would frame them and take the opportunity to shoot and kill the emperor, the empress, and the three dukes and nine ministers.

After all, these people have extraordinary identities. If they really died somewhere, the governors and wealthy families there would be worried and worried all day long.

The emperor and empress of the puppet court are not to be feared; what should be feared is the King of Han who is about to invade Guanzhong.

"This is also a good plan. Let me think about it! If you have any other plans, please feel free to speak up. As long as you can protect the Liangzhou army, I will not punish you."

Li Jue looked around at the people around him and said in a deep voice.

Even if he had made up his mind, he wouldn't reveal it at this moment to avoid leaking the news.

The best way was to take the emperor and all the court ministers with him in the name of rescuing Hedong. After leaving Chang'an City, he would immediately turn the army around, falsely claiming that the enemy was invading Hanzhong, and then lead the army westward.

By the time they reached Longyou, it was too late for the emperor and his ministers to react.

By then, even if the three dukes and nine ministers in the court are unwilling to go to the border counties, they will have no choice but to stay in the army!
Li Jue thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)