The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 375: The Only Thing the Emperor Is Not Good At
"Bo Shu."

"Yuan Hao?"

Just as Ju Su was thinking about it, Tian Feng entered the palace where Ju Su was being held and met him.

When the two met, they called each other's names and started crying.

Both of them were leaders of Hebei scholars.

Needless to say, Ju Shou was a powerful figure. Even people like Zhang He and Shen Pei did not dare to go against Ju Shou's wishes.

When Yuan Shao first established the Hebei court, he promoted Tian Feng to the position of one of the Three Dukes, on par with Zhu Jun and Xu You.

After that, Zhu Jun died of illness, Xu You was killed, and the positions of the Three Dukes were filled one after another. Only Tian Feng's position remained unchanged, and he was the backbone of the Hebei court.

How glorious it was in the past, how sad it is to be reduced to a prisoner now.

After the two of them hugged each other and cried for a while, Ju Shou also asked about the situation outside.

"The emperor did not insult Lord Yuan, but allowed him to commit suicide with dignity, and buried him with leniency."

"I expected it. What about the others?"

"When Shen Pei, who was captured with you, heard that Lord Yuan was dead, he immediately bit off the root of his tongue and committed suicide."

"Guo Tu, Feng Ji and other close associates of Yuan Gong had already fled the city in disguise when the city was captured, as if they were going to seek refuge with Yuan Tan in Qingzhou. I ignored them and followed them."

Upon hearing that Shen Pei had committed suicide, Ju Shou was stunned for a long time, and then he sighed heavily: "If we could all be as strong-willed and upright as Zhengnan, we wouldn't have ended up like this today!"

The departure of his old friend made Ju Su even more sad. His tears could not stop flowing, wetting his clothes.

"Ugh."

Tian Feng leaned on a wooden stick and pounded the ground twice, obviously feeling regretful.

"Bo Shu, I came here today to ask you something."

"Even if Yuan Hao doesn't tell me, I know what it is."

Ju Su wiped away his tears: "Does Yuan Hao want to ask me about the rumors that the emperor has spread recently?"

"Right on my mind!"

Tian Feng leaned on his wooden stick and whispered in Ju Shou's ear: "I got the news. It seems that in Henan, many nobles who were attached to Cao Cao suddenly rebelled, which brought a lot of trouble to the Han army in the Central Plains."

"The emperor must be afraid that the nobles in Hebei will follow suit, so he made concessions and wanted to give us high positions!"

Ju Shou didn't know that such a thing had happened in Henan.

But even after hearing what Tian Feng said, Ju Su still hesitated.

"That emperor is not someone who can be easily frightened."

"Although Henan has rebelled again, the emperor is so calm and composed that he has not even mobilized his soldiers. The rebellion in Henan must be a failure! If it is a failure, how can it scare the emperor?"

Tian Feng had his own reasons: "According to Yuan Gong's strategy during his lifetime, the Wuhuan and Eastern Xianbei might have already defeated the Southern Xiongnu and Western Xianbei on the grassland and unified the grassland."

"The emperor is not only wary of the nobles in Hebei, but also of the Wuhuan and Eastern Xianbei in the north! So in my opinion, the emperor is really going to make concessions this time!"

Ju Su found Tian Feng's analysis to be reasonable and was in a dilemma: "Could it be that I really misjudged that emperor?"

"Is there anyone in this world who can judge a person accurately?"

Tian Feng shook his head: "When we were young, who wasn't full of passion and high spirits?"

"But when you grow up, won't you still be defeated by the world and have no choice but to compromise?"

"That emperor is still young after all. Even if he is born smart and has a destiny, how deep can his heart be? He just wants to learn from Emperor Guangwu to pacify the troubled times and support the Han Dynasty! As long as Hebei submits to him, he will probably be satisfied and no longer be so arrogant as before!"

Unification in name only is still unification!

Hebei surrendered to the imperial court again, and the aristocratic families maintained their original ecology. Isn’t this a win-win situation good?
Could it be possible that the emperor was so cruel as to fight to the death with the Hebei noble families?

"..."

Ju Su really wanted to tell Tian Feng that what the emperor was pursuing was far from "pacifying the troubled times and supporting the Han Dynasty."

There was only one thing he wanted to do from the beginning to the end, and that was to revive the Han Dynasty!

Restoration and support are two completely different things.

But after thinking for a while, Ju Su still did not express his doubts, but continued to ask: "Do you have a general plan in mind?"

"Of course!"

"We now have Taiwei Yang Biao and Sikong Liu Biao, but we are only missing a Situ. We must fight for this position no matter what."

"I don't need many of the Nine Ministers. I only need the positions of the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Agriculture, and the Minister of the Treasury!"

Ju Su: ...

He didn't know how Tian Feng, who had been smart all his life, could be so confused.
The Nine Ministers have been increasingly weak over the years, with most of their power taken back by the Secretariat, and only a small number of the Nine Ministers still hold real power.

unfortunately.

The positions of Chief Justice, Grand Minister of Agriculture and Minister of the Imperial Household that the Hebei scholars were demanding were precisely the only few remaining Nine Ministers who held actual power!
How could the emperor agree to such an excessive request?
Whimsical!

…………

"The Emperor agreed!"

"what?"

Only the next day, Tian Feng brought this news to Ju Su.

"I want to see the Emperor!"

If Ju Shou only had a vague feeling that something was wrong with the emperor before, then now, Ju Shou was sure that something was definitely wrong with the emperor!

He gave up one of the Three Dukes and three of the Nine Ministers with real power at once...what's the difference between this and direct surrender?
No matter how much the emperor feared the current situation, how could he make such a concession?

The emperor agreed to Ju Su's request, and Ju Su met the emperor as he wished.

Compared to the situation at the gate of Yecheng a few days ago, the emperor today is undoubtedly more energetic.

After seeing Ju Shou, he took the initiative to greet him: "Bo Shu is here? Come and sit down."

Ju Su bowed respectfully and said he dared not.

"Then why are you being so polite? I really need the assistance of you Hebei scholars right now."

"These past few days, I have been sorting out the yellow books of Hebei's treasury."

"Hebei's wealth is indeed well-deserved."

"Not only are there mountains of grain, but there are also various types of coal and iron ore. These are all good things! They will come in handy in the future!"

It can be seen that the emperor was really happy about the discovery of these resources.

This also made Ju Su, who was standing by, feel troubled.

Could it be that after he captured Ye City and killed Yuan Shao, the emperor's temperament changed drastically and he began to become complacent?

Ju Su could only ask tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you still remember what you said to me in front of the city gate?"

"What?"

"It's said to let me be your minister and start over again."

Ju Su stared at the emperor closely, trying to see some clues.

"Your Majesty wants to start over with me, so why are you using the positions of the three dukes and nine ministers to win over the other scholars? Why is that?"

When Liu Xie heard Ju Shou's question, he obviously felt guilty.

But he still pretended to be calm: "I also feel that I was too tough before. I want to rule the world together with the scholars and officials... What? Could it be that Bo Shu came here today to ask me for a position as one of the Nine Ministers or even the Three Dukes?"

"Salary and official position have never been what I pursue."

Ju Shou seemed to have discovered something and suddenly smiled with relief.

"What is Bo Shu laughing at?"

"I always thought that Your Majesty was omnipotent. He was truly as heartless and desireless as a god, and could do anything well."

"But now it seems that there is still one thing that Your Majesty has not done well."

"what's up?"

"lie!"

Ju Su seemed to have caught the emperor's tail, and he laughed more and more happily.

"The emperor has always acted in an upright manner. Even if he wanted to do something like "building Luoyang" to deceive people, he was just blackmailing Lord Yuan in a tough and straightforward manner."

"So when the emperor lies, he looks just like an ordinary person, with a wandering gaze, flustered hands and feet, and a slightly raised nose..."

"It seems that the emperor is really planning to set an ambush in this matter and harm the nobles of Hebei."

After hearing what Ju Shou said, Liu Xie simply stopped pretending.

He patted his cheek in frustration: "Is it really that obvious?"

"If it happened to an ordinary person, it would certainly not be so obvious, but when the emperor does something treacherous, it's like a drop of ink suddenly appearing on a piece of white paper. How can it not be seen at a glance?"

Liu Xie shook his head. No wonder she could see through him at a glance when he sometimes spoke nonsense to deceive Mr. Cai.

At first I thought it was because Mr. Cai was very smart, but now it seems that my acting skills were too poor.

"Since Bo Shu is suspicious, why did he come to see me?"

"Could it be that Bo Shu thought that you were here to persuade me to change my mind?"

Ju Su: "Your Majesty's determination is like the towering Taihang Mountains. Even if I were Yugong, and my son gave birth to a grandson, and my grandson gave birth to a son, it would not necessarily be able to shake your majesty's ambition, let alone now that I am alone."

"Why didn't Bo Shu warn those scholars and ask them to unite and become my enemy?"

Ju Su: "I am also a scholar, how can I not know what those people are thinking?"

"As long as Your Majesty spreads the word and is willing to leave some room for maneuver, countless people will be eager to change sides and rush to lick the sweet dates Your Majesty has given away."

"Your Majesty, do you think that I am the only one who has noticed something wrong?"

"But even if they find out, what can we do? Your Majesty's plan is based on human hearts...and human hearts are unpredictable, how can human power interfere with them?"

Ju Shou could already imagine the scene that would follow.

It's nothing more than a great victory for the emperor, but those Hebei scholars who are complacent and have given up unity for petty gains and have been deceived by the emperor will inevitably lose everything and will still be slaughtered by the emperor in the future.

At this moment, Ju Su was once again filled with despair.

With just this simple tactic, the huge Hebei gentry was rendered completely defenseless.

How can we have any chance of winning if we become enemies with such an emperor?
The emperor also saw the confusion and pain in Ju Su's eyes, so he put down the documents and looked directly at Ju Su.

"Since Bo Shu has seen through it, I will ask you one thing openly—"

"Are you willing to start over with me? Give Hebei a new world?"

(End of this chapter)