The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 201 Volume Dong Zhuo and Liu Bei

"Why not?"

Liu Xie did not expect that Dong Zhuo would choose to stop his expansion at this time?
"Is the Grand Master worried about food supplies?"

Liu Xie said there was no need to worry at all.

"After arriving in Hanzhong, Gongda completed the inventory of Hanzhong's treasury. Although a large amount of food and grass was transported to Guanzhong and Longyou, there was still some left."

"Now the three families in Shu are too weak to effectively block the enemy. As long as we send an army of 10,000 people into Shu, we will be able to control the core area of ​​Yizhou. As long as we can control Chengdu, we can take our time to control other places like Ba County and Jianning. There is no need to rush."

"On the contrary, if the Bashu region forms a unified force, even if the imperial court has occupied Hanzhong, it will still cost a lot to take over Shu."

"In this era of great strife, the more power the imperial court puts elsewhere, the less power it will put in Hebei and the Central Plains. Although Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are traitors to the Han Dynasty, they cannot be underestimated. If they take this opportunity to defeat Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu, and even Jingzhou is in their sight, then the imperial court will probably be in even greater trouble!"

Although Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were not very harmonious, they were both smart people.

Since they are smart people, they know that they can only stick together for warmth.

Now the imperial court is eyeing Guanzhong covetously, ready to march eastward at any time. The two of them dare not fall out at this time and let the imperial court take advantage of them.

What the court will face in the future will no longer be Yuan Shao, the new governor of Jizhou, nor Cao Cao, the prefect of Dongjun, but a behemoth stretching from Youyan in the north to the Huai River in the south.

Faced with such a force, the imperial court must go all out and not underestimate it.

Therefore, we must eliminate all possible hidden dangers in the early stages and make full preparations to march eastward!
The current urgency is only for the sake of future calmness!
If we can occupy the land of Bashu, even if something unexpected happens to the imperial court in the future, we will have enough confidence to deal with foreign enemies!
After hearing Liu Xie's words, Dong Zhuo shook his head again.

"The land of Bashu is a land of abundance, so we should fight for it."

"Don't you know clearly, Your Majesty, why I don't want the court to resort to war again?"

Liu Xie's face was full of question marks.

Since Dong Zhuo believed that Shu should be fought for, why was he unwilling to send troops?

The world is so big, is there anything bigger than national affairs?
……

Liu Xie realized that this might be true for Dong Zhuo!
Weapons are ominous tools. People may hate them, so those who have virtue will not use them.

Just now Dong Zhuo specifically mentioned that troops cannot be sent this year, naturally because this year is somewhat special.

"Grand Master, you think that this year is the year I come of age and I am getting married, so you think we cannot send troops?"

Or was it that after receiving the news of the passing of his old friend Huangfu Song, he couldn't help feeling sad and actually began to want to practice benevolent governance?
Liu Xie looked at Dong Zhuo at this moment, and found that half of Dong Zhuo's hair had turned gray.

Grand Master, you look older than before.

Today Liu Xie met many high-spirited people.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun...

The arrival of these high-spirited people injected a lot of vitality into the Han Dynasty.

But everything in this world is always a matter of gain and loss.

We can notice their vitality, but we should also notice the aging of more people.

Huangfu Song, Dong Zhuo, most of these people are from the last era.

Not everyone can live to the age of seventy-six like Jia Xu and witness several eras.

Huangfu Song is dead.

Liu Yan also died.

Because Dong Zhuo did not die of natural causes according to historical records, even Liu Xie, who was always confident about the future, did not know how long Dong Zhuo could hold on.

Slowly raising his hand, Liu Xie touched Dong Zhuo's skin that had lost its elasticity, and gently brushed his hair that had no luster at all.

"I am truly happy that the Grand Master can consider this for me."

"But the Marquis of Guanjun once said: How can we have a family if the Xiongnu is not yet destroyed?"

"I am the Son of Heaven. Now that the world is in turmoil, how can I enjoy myself?"

"Grandmaster, please take care of Wansheng with peace of mind. I will take care of the rest."

"Grandmaster, please don't forget that if the Queen and I have children in the future, I'm afraid you will have to take care of them. Both the Queen and I's parents are no longer alive. Can you bear to see your great-grandson without the care of his elders?"

Liu Xie slowly squatted down and placed his hand on Dong Zhuo's knee: "As for the Dong family's affairs, Grand Master, you don't have to worry about it."

"Those people relied on the reputation of the Grand Tutor and did a lot of bullying in Lintao, but most of them were cowardly and did not commit crimes of wounding or killing people, so not many were implicated and executed."

"As for Dong Huang, his father Dong Zhuo was previously conferred a title and was included in the "Eight Discussions", but was only demoted to a commoner."

"You can escape death penalty, but you can't escape punishment for living."

"I will soon be an adult, and the construction of a mausoleum has been put on the agenda. I have decided to let Dong Huang and some of the Dong family members who have committed crimes build a mausoleum for me to make up for my mistakes." "By then, they will be under the Grand Tutor's nose, and they can supervise you at all times and relieve your homesickness. What do you think?"

Only then did Dong Zhuo realize that Liu Xie had already handled these matters properly.

Hearing that his eldest brother's orphan could be saved, Dong Zhuo naturally felt relieved.

But perhaps Dong Zhuo was too sensitive about life and death recently. When he heard that Liu Xie had actually started to build a mausoleum for him, he couldn't help but frowned: "How come I don't know about this? Why is Your Majesty so hasty?"

"It's not too hasty. In fact, according to etiquette... the mausoleum should have been built since the day I ascended the throne. It's actually a bit late to delay until now."

"The reason why I didn't tell the Grand Tutor is because the Secretariat only roughly demarcated the area and determined the name."

Dong Zhuo: "Where? What's your name?"

"The main peak of Jiuyi Mountain is called Zhaoling."

Liu Xie did not blush or feel any shame at all.

After all, this place was where Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was buried hundreds of years later...

It’s my fault for coming early, so I might as well grab it first!
And just after Liu Xie and Dong Zhuo started talking about life and death, Dong Zhuo suddenly seemed to become less shy.

"In this case, I will also find time to go to Mount Jiuyi to take a look."

Dong Zhuo's words made Liu Xie's expression darken again.

What Dong Zhuo meant was that he also wanted to find a burial site for himself.

Dong Zhuo saw that Liu Xie looked gloomy and joked: "Your Majesty, don't you want me to be buried with you?"

"I have no such intention."

Liu Xie forced a smile, fearing that Dong Zhuo would notice his discomfort, and quickly introduced Liu Bei to Dong Zhuo.

When it comes to talking about three things, Dong Zhuo and Liu Bei definitely can't get along. I guess both of them would explode within three sentences.

Fortunately, the status of Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo was very different at that time, and it was not Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo's turn to talk about their worldly views.

Under Liu Xie's guidance, the two of them found a rare common topic, which was that they came from humble backgrounds!
After talking about this, Dong Zhuo was no longer sleepy and Liu Bei also became energetic!

One of them was born in the northwest, and the other in the northeast. Both came from poor families, and both came from military service. They surprisingly had many similarities!

Liu Bei did not hide the difficulties he had encountered: "Being born in a poor family is really difficult. If it weren't for the help of noble people, I'm afraid I would have no chance of turning things around in my life!"

Gold does not shine everywhere.

As long as you bury the gold in the ground or cover it with a piece of tattered cloth, the gold will probably never be found in this lifetime.

Therefore, Liu Bei never felt that he had reached where he was today by his own ability. Instead, he felt that it was with the support of everyone that he was able to finally reach the center of the Han Dynasty.

What a coincidence! Dong Zhuo also agrees with this!
And the two people's experiences are surprisingly similar!

When Dong Zhuo was young, he loved to do good deeds. He once visited the Qiang tribe and made friends with many Qiang leaders. Later, Dong Zhuo returned to his hometown to farm. Some Qiang leaders came to visit him. Dong Zhuo went home with them and killed the oxen to entertain them. The Qiang leaders were very moved. After they returned, they collected thousands of various livestock and gave them to Dong Zhuo, making Dong Zhuo rich overnight! (Note 1)

Liu Bei liked to make friends with heroes, and the local heroes in Youzhou all vied to be attached to Liu Bei. Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, two wealthy merchants from Zhongshan, brought thousands of gold coins and horses to Zhuo County. When they saw Liu Bei, they gave him financial support. Liu Bei then recruited many men and horses, including Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two peerless generals. (Note 2)

Dong Zhuo was recruited as an official by the Liangzhou Governor Cheng because he defeated the Qiang people. After that, he made many military achievements and was appreciated by Duan Jiong, who was the Bingzhou Governor at the time and recommended him to the imperial court.

Because of his military achievements and his friendship with Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei was appointed as the Sima of a separate army and stationed in Pingyuan by Gongsun Zan.

……

If they were not supported by noble people and promoted by senior officials, I am afraid that people from poor families like them would never have a chance to succeed.

Although Dong Zhuo complained about his past pain, he still remained arrogant: "But I have become a powerful person in the world after all, and I don't need to be as humble as before!"

Liu Bei frowned slightly, and regardless of Dong Zhuo's status, he directly refuted: "Grandmaster, what you said is wrong. Grandmaster has risen from humble beginnings to high status. Shouldn't you be able to understand the difficulties of a poor boy and be friendly with him? How can you be so arrogant? How is he different from the wealthy families who have suppressed us in the past?"

Dong Zhuo was also somewhat displeased and glanced at Liu Bei with his eyes slanted.

Liu Xie noticed that the atmosphere was not right and quickly interrupted their conversation.

"Both the Grand Tutor and the Imperial Uncle have their reasons. I will return to the Secretariat to discuss government affairs first! Imperial Uncle! Let's go! If we go back now, we should still be able to catch the banquet! Let's go! The Grand Tutor also remembered the matter of Xi Gu! Goodbye!"

------

Note 1:

Dong Zhuo was fond of chivalry when he was young. He once traveled among the Qiang people and made friends with many powerful generals. Later, he returned to the wild to farm, and some powerful generals came to follow him. Zhuo returned with them, killed the oxen for farming, and feasted with them. The powerful generals were touched by his kindness and returned to collect livestock. They got more than a thousand heads of miscellaneous livestock as a gift to Zhuo. - Chen Zhi, "Biography of Dong Zhuo".

Note 2:

He was a man of few words, good at dealing with people, and never showed his emotions. He liked to make friends with heroes, and young people were eager to follow him. Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, two big merchants from Zhongshan, were worth thousands of gold and were trading horses in Zhuo County. Seeing him, they were impressed and gave him a lot of gold and money. The First Lord was able to use him and gather his followers. - "Records of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 32, Shu Book 2, Biography of the First Lord, Part 2"

(End of this chapter)