The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 60 Xu Huang, Xu Gongming!

Dong Zhuo led the army in person, but the government affairs in Chang'an were not idle.

On the contrary, because of the need to coordinate the army's food and supplies, the workload of the Shangshu Tai increased by more than several times.
Now, Jia Xu didn’t even have time to come to the Weiyang Palace to meet Liu Xie, and only sent a newly promoted Yellow Gate Minister to report.

In the Han Dynasty, most palace gates were painted yellow, so they were called Huangmen. In the Later Han Dynasty, a special official was appointed to serve as the emperor's attendant. Jia Xu promoted him to Huangmen Shilang, which shows that he had the intention of making an important use of him.

"You are Zhong Yao?"

Zhong Yao is not much younger than Jia Xu, but he does not have Jia Xu's deliberate decadence. He looks much more refreshed.

"Your Majesty, that's right."

"From Yingchuan? Are you from the same hometown as Xun Gongda?"

When Zhong Yao heard Liu Xie suddenly mention Xun You who was imprisoned for assassinating Dong Zhuo, he didn't know what Liu Xie was going to do.

"I am from Changsha, Yingchuan, and Xun Gongda is from Yingyin, Yingchuan. The two places are quite close, so we are naturally from the same hometown."

Zhong Yao did not choose to distance himself from Xun You just because Xun You offended Dong Zhuo, but openly admitted his closeness to Xun You.

Such frankness made Liu Xie exclaim: "He did not abandon his friend just because he was in danger. He did not despise his friend just because of his status. It seems that Yuan Chang (Zhong Yao's courtesy name) is a gentleman in ancient times!"

Zhong Yao looked at Liu Xie in surprise again, obviously not expecting that the emperor would praise him for such a thing.

After Liu Xie had a few words, he did not talk about personal matters any more, but asked Zhong Yao to report the official documents to him. If there was anything he did not understand, Liu Xie would take the initiative to ask and let Zhong Yao answer.

Although Zhong Yao was not well-known before, he was a great talent who would be called "Xiao He of Guanzhong" by Cao Cao in the future. Although he had just been discovered by Jia Xu, he had already demonstrated his abilities.

There were a total of 42 government affairs, and each one was handled just right. Even if Liu Xie looked at it from the perspective of later generations, it would be difficult to find any mistakes. In some specific details, his handling was even more appropriate than Jia Xu's.

"Wenhe that old guy."

After reading these official documents, Liu Xie understood Jia Xu's hint almost instantly.

Being busy is one thing, but Jia Xu most likely wanted to push Zhong Yao in front of him and let Zhong Yao help him bear some of the pressure.

The last trip to the Jia Mansion must have frightened Jia Xu, so he started to use some self-protection methods intentionally or unintentionally...

"What is Jia Lingjun doing now?"

Zhong Yao thought for a long time, and finally uttered two words:

“Very busy!”

"What are you busy with?"

"..."

The corner of Liu Xie's mouth twitched. It seemed that Jia Xu had left all the burden to Zhong Yao?
"Forget it, Yuan Chang, go and talk to Jia Xu. Now is not the time to be lazy. Even though the spring ploughing has ended, we still need to dig as many reservoirs as possible to store water to prevent next year's drought. Also, when conscripting civilians to transport grain, we must do so within our capabilities and not impose excessive corvée labor, lest we arouse public resentment..."

At first, Zhong Yao listened quietly to Liu Xie's words, but the more he listened, the more he felt something was wrong.

Coming to the Weiyang Palace to report government affairs to the emperor...isn't it just a formality?
How can the emperor have any power now?
But when Liu Xie told him everything, Zhong Yao was extremely confused.

How can this be an ignorant emperor?
If he was an ignorant emperor, how could he know so many specific government affairs and the disasters in Guanzhong?
As Liu Xie was talking, he noticed that Zhong Yao's eyes were dull and it was obvious that his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Yuan Chang!"

Zhong Yao finally came to his senses and quickly apologized to Liu Xie.

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Xie tilted his chin and asked: "What was Yuan Chang thinking about just now?"

Thinking about something...

Zhong Yao was absolutely afraid to speak out his thoughts, otherwise he would be confiscated and his entire family would be exterminated. "Are you wondering why I, a powerless emperor, would have to say so many irrelevant things?"

Zhong Yao's face turned pale: "I dare not!"

Although he said he didn't dare to do so, Zhong Yao's panicked eyes still revealed his true thoughts.

I was thinking about this indeed!

Liu Xie shook his head. Like father, like son. Since Zhong Yao could give birth to a son like Zhong Hui, he himself must not be a simple-minded person.

"I don't care what others think. If they want to understand something, they can think about it themselves. If they don't want to understand, I won't force them to think about it."

"But I am still the emperor of the Han Dynasty after all, and I must protect the people of the Han Dynasty."

"Since you are the Imperial Court Minister promoted by Jia Lingjun, you should do your duty well. You don't have to worry about whether you are working for me or for the Grand Tutor. If you really can't figure it out, then just think of it as working for the people of the Han Dynasty."

"As long as I am still the emperor of the Han Dynasty, I should do what the emperor of the Han Dynasty should do."

"Yuan Chang, as long as you still recognize this court and yourself as an official of the court, you should do what an official should do."

"The sage said, 'When you are in a position, you should plan your policies.' That's it."

Liu Xie's voice was like a big bell, ringing continuously above Zhong Yao's head, making him reflect on himself.

"Yes! I will obey the emperor's instructions!"

"In addition, the Grand Tutor is going to the Hedong area this time. After the war, the Hedong area will be in a mess and the people will suffer. I am afraid that some displaced people will flee to Guanzhong. Your Shangshutai should also come up with a plan to properly settle these homeless people."

"Here!"

However, Zhong Yao realized the problem as soon as he responded.

Dong Zhuo had only been gone for a few days, so why was Liu Xie already thinking about what would happen after the war?

In this case, isn’t it a bit too arrogant?
……

It’s not that Liu Xie looked down on the Xiongnu Chanyu and the Baibo Army.

The problem is that with a lineup like Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, Liu Xie really can't think of anyone on the opposite side who can compete with them.

There are famous generals in this world who can pose a threat to them, but Liu Xie really can't imagine who will appear on the opposite side now.

Just as Zhong Yao was about to leave the palace, he saw a familiar person walking towards him.

"Jia Lingjun, why are you here? And why do you look so ugly?"

The person who came was Jia Xu.

Moreover, he, who was usually calm, had a rare gloomy look on his face.

When hearing Zhong Yao's words, Jia Xu did not respond, but just shook his head slightly.

When Liu Xie saw Jia Xu coming in, he was about to make some jokes, but he also noticed something unusual about Jia Xu.

This gave Liu Xie a sudden ominous premonition in his heart.

"Wenhe, is there anything big happening?"

"Your Majesty, there is military intelligence!"

Jia Xu took out a bamboo slip from his bosom.

"Last night, Xu Huang, the rebel general of the Baibo Army, led 2,000 soldiers and horses to sneak across the river and march straight in. They attacked Xiagui, where our army stored food and grass, and burned countless food and grass! And... they killed the Grand Protector Hu Zhen on the spot, causing the Xiagui defenders to flee without a fight!"

(End of this chapter)