Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 413 Guo Si: Liu Bei is the emperor, what is Liu Xie?
On September 25th of the first year of Jianxing, the new emperor ascended the throne, but the decree of amnesty had not yet reached Jiuquan County.

The Hexi Corridor was often interrupted because the Qiang and Hu tribes were bandits who relied on the terrain to plunder.

The Liangzhou thief Guo Si led his remaining troops through Zhangye Chidao, where they deliberately cut down trees to block the road and burned down offices, pavilions and post stations to prevent documents from Guanzhong from being transmitted to the four counties in Hexi.

When he arrived in Jiuquan, he borrowed Liu Xie's imperial edict and easily tricked the local prefect into death. He gathered the county soldiers and took control of nine counties. He also placed the emperor's palace in the inner courtyard of the mansion in Fulu County.

The closer you get to Dunhuang County, the more you can feel the influence of the Western Regions' Hu people, and the gradual change of Han customs.

Even so, Guo Si's mood did not improve. The sudden sneak attack by Wuwei Prefect Zhang Meng not only caused heavy losses to the Liangzhou army, but also killed Li Jue on the spot, and lost many ministers including the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers and their families.

At that time, only the generals and captains in his camp had not yet drunken and reacted in time to rush out to fight, otherwise they would probably have died together with Li Jue.

But now they have to rely on chewing wild grass to escape to Jiuquan, but the traitor Zhang Meng still disregards the safety of the emperor, and follows behind like a mad dog, leading his troops to kill again and again.

He also said that Liu Xuande was already the emperor, and shamelessly told him to release the Prince of Chenliu and the Queen, and he would stop chasing him. Otherwise, even if he had to travel thousands of miles to the Western Regions, he would kill all the bandits in Liangzhou!

Hearing this, Guo Si was so angry that he drew his sword and killed the messenger on the spot.

He wanted to follow Xu Rong's example and set an ambush along the way to deal a heavy blow to the enemy. However, since Zhang Huan was the son of the Minister of Rites, he also knew about military affairs and did not fall into the trap at all.

Moreover, he spread rumors in an attempt to shake the morale of his army. How despicable! How could he not have seen the cunningness of this thief in Wuwei at that time...

When Guo Si thought of this, he could no longer hold back and burst into cursing.

"General Huqi, the emperor sent someone to deliver a message, asking to see you!"

A soldier from Liangzhou hurried over and reported with a bow.

Guo Si was about to discuss the next move with his staff when he heard the soldier's report. He frowned and said in a cold voice, "Now all the officials in the world are traitors. If I hadn't protected the emperor and the queen, they would have been killed by Liu Xuande long ago."

"Go tell the emperor not to think of surrendering to Liu Bei. Even if he swears by the river to keep us safe, we should not believe him. The soldiers of Liang Province, the emperor, and the queen are in danger. It is difficult to move forward. We should put aside our past grudges and work together."

"Don't use the excuse of surrendering to Liu to shake the morale of the army. Otherwise, even if you are the emperor, I will still punish you according to military law!"

Guo Si said with a look as cold as a knife.

Liu Xie seemed to be frightened all the way. He left the emperor's seal, crown and snake-slaying sword in Wuwei County. He also kept saying to him: General Huoqi, why don't I personally issue an edict to tell Governor Zhang not to pursue us anymore, and let him write a letter to the King of Han. If you promise to forgive you for your past mistakes, we will surrender to the King of Han. What do you think, General Huoqi?
How could Guo Si agree to such a thing? Even if Liu Xuande agreed, he would not take the risk and return to Chang'an.

Don’t you think about how many noble families and clans the Liangzhou Army has offended in Guanzhong? Who knows if they will die suddenly along the way after surrendering?
Didn't Dong Gong have a seemingly loyal man named Wang Yun under his command back then? But he was still harmed by this bastard and his body was left exposed in the streets.

Since he planned to capture Chang'an, he had no intention of reconciling with the Kanto samurai.

It would be a dream to expect him to surrender. He is not the servile Lu Fengxian of Wuyuan.

"Everyone, now that Jiuquan has been taken, Dunhuang is on alert. With less than two thousand troops now, how can I deal with the vassal states of Zhangye and Guyan, the soldiers of Dunhuang County in the north, and Zhang Meng who is pursuing us relentlessly?" Guo Si asked the soldiers to go back and tell Liu Xie his words verbatim, and let the other party fend for himself.

Then he turned around and went to ask the only three trusted officials who had fought their way out of the chaotic army with him. Only since they were from Liangzhou, he could feel at ease with them.

The ugly scholar, whose beard and hair were burned in the fire, thought for a moment after hearing what he said, raised his hand and said, "Zhang Meng is an extremely treacherous villain. He endured humiliation to establish merit for the new dynasty, but now there are rumors that Liu Xuande has ascended the throne as the emperor, which is probably true."

"In addition, Wuwei, Zhangye, and Zhangye's vassal states have all fallen into his hands. His troops are twice as many as ours. If he were to join forces with the governor of Dunhuang to attack us, I'm afraid we'd be in danger of losing our army and killing our generals."

"Our army has marched thousands of miles and is already exhausted. Moreover, the morale of the army is not unified. If we do not give them rewards to encourage their morale, they will surely collapse before the enemy arrives."

"Why not take advantage of the fact that Huishui and Biaoshi counties are still in our hands to contain the powerful enemy in the east, leave the queen and the noble lady in Fulu, and ask the emperor to board the chariot again, equipped with swords, bows and crossbows, and lead the army to personally fight against the rebels in Dunhuang."

"You can issue an imperial decree, offering a reward to anyone who participates in the attack on Dunhuang. You can plunder everything in the city for your own use within three days. This will appease the people."

At the end of his speech, the ugly scholar narrowed his eyes unconsciously and stretched out his hand to grasp the people and nobles of Dunhuang in his hands.

After listening to the words of his subordinates, Guo Si still felt annoyed and said sinisterly: "Even if we capture several counties in Dunhuang, it will not stop the Han army from coming."

"You can't take the emperor and flee to the Western Regions, right?"

"The Western Regions Protectorate outside Yumen Pass has been withdrawn to the Han Dynasty for many years. I'm afraid it has been occupied by the Western Regions Hu people. Not to mention that the roads are dry and difficult to travel. If the horses are cut off from water, we will all be killed outside the pass."

"The world is so big, is there no place for me, Guo Si?"

After resting in Jiuquan County these days, he found that the delicious wine and meat became unappetizing to him, and he also lost interest in hugging women.

It turns out that what makes people feel painful is not death, but watching themselves go to a dead end and not being able to find any way to survive.

Do you really have to abandon everyone, take your confidants and concubines you took in Dunhuang, run to the frontier in anonymity, live among the Hu people and barbarians, and smell the fishy odor all day long?
Hearing Guo Si's unwilling words, a thin clerk stroked his beard, cupped his hands and offered his strategy, saying: "General, haven't you heard that the fire of catastrophe cannot be extinguished? If there is something to ignite the fire, the embers can be rekindled. It is the same now. Why don't you re-energize yourself, throw your sleeves up, and survive in the face of death?"

"If we take Zhangye, Jide and Zhaowu to the east, we can use the terrain to hinder the Han army's westward advance. If we add several counties of Dunhuang and Juyan County, we can establish a country with a radius of a thousand miles."

"Let the emperor appoint the general as the King of Dunhuang, send envoys to make friends with the countries in the Western Regions, and gain their help in fighting against the Han army. This is a good way to protect ourselves."

"When Emperor Guangwu conquered the world, if Dou Rong had not been willing to give up the five counties of Hexi, it would have taken the Han army at least ten years to conquer this place."

"Although Hexi was recovered later, Emperor Guangwu never had the intention to open up the Western Regions. In this comparison, Dunhuang should have been stable for decades..."

The thin clerk stroked his beard, shook his head, and looked very proud.

(End of this chapter)