Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 129 I am afraid that Yu will become Dong Zhuo again

April, the fifth year of Zhongping.

"Snapped!"

Liu Hong threw the memorial to the ground and said angrily: "Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, actually wants to mobilize troops for rebellion. This is intolerable!"

After saying this, Liu Hong kicked over the table, stood up from the couch and paced back and forth, still feeling angry.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

Yang Qi advised: "The villain Wang Fen wants to take advantage of your majesty's trip to the north to do something illegal and support the Marquis of Hefei as the successor. This is not something he can do alone. If Qi is right, Wang Fen must have contacted everyone in private. Your majesty should quickly order people to arrest Wang Fen's followers to deter the rebels in the world."

This spring, Liu Hong had planned to tour the north to visit his hometown in Hejian. If the historian had not dissuaded Liu Hong from the tour on the grounds of unlucky astronomical phenomena, Liu Hong would have arrived in Hebei, and Wang Fen's plan to depose the emperor would have been implemented.

Liu Hong's face was gloomy, and he said, "Leave this matter to Yang Qing. You must do your best to find out who is in contact with Wang Fen and the rebels."

"promise!"

After Yang Qi quickly walked out of the hall, Liu Hong rubbed his head. The anger just now made his head start to ache.

Zhang Rang was very perceptive. He waved his hand to ask the attendants to clear the table, and then he stepped forward and took the initiative to massage Liu Hong's temples.

"Why is the world so chaotic?"

Liu Hong closed his eyes, feeling Zhang Rang's gentle touch, and sighed, "Wang Fen, as a high-ranking official, actually plotted a rebellion. If I hadn't changed my schedule temporarily, I'm afraid Wang Fen would have gotten what he wanted."

Zhang Rang flattered him, "Wang Fen is plotting a rebellion. This is a bad omen from heaven. It shows that Your Majesty has the Emperor's will and is not something that ordinary people can plot. Although the world is in chaos today, with Your Majesty's talent and strategy, you will surely be able to revive the Han Dynasty."

Liu Hong was silent for a long time, then said, "Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the prefecture and county officials have been difficult to control. If we want to conquer the world, we need to restore the power of the imperial court!"

After a pause, Liu Hong asked, "I want to revive the prestige of the court. Do you have any opinions?"

Seeing Liu Hong asking questions, Zhang Rang stepped back and said, "Your Majesty, please select envoys to visit the prefectures and counties throughout the country to intimidate the great families and nobles in the counties."

Jian Shuo pondered for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, the reason for the current unrest in the world is, as Your Majesty said, the decline of the imperial court. To revive the imperial court, I believe that sending angels on patrol will be of little use. Your Majesty should instead train a new army. If the imperial court's troops are strong, all the prefectures and counties under heaven will submit to you!"

"Organize a new army?"

Liu Hong seemed to be thinking about something. He had to say that Jian Shuo's words really struck a chord with him. Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, almost every local county had its own army. The only difference between them was the number of troops.

Compared with the tens of thousands of central troops, the proportion has decreased a lot, especially since the rebellion of the northwest rebels, most of the troops have been stationed in Guanzhong and have been commanded by generals for a long time.

If he wants to restore the prestige of the court, or make the officials fear him, it is particularly important to train an army that obeys his orders.

Thinking of this, Liu Hong was quite excited. He had previously appointed He Jin as the general, but He Jin tried to win over the scholars, which was different from his original intention. Then he reluctantly used He Miao to restrain He Jin and maintain the balance of power between the scholars and the eunuchs.

But soon another problem arose. In recent months, the He family and Empress He had been pushing Liu Bian to be the crown prince. However, Liu Hong really did not like the frivolous Liu Bian, and instead had a lot of affection for Liu Xie, who was raised by Empress Dowager Dong.

However, because of his deliberate cultivation, the He family became too powerful, making it difficult for him to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest. He could only delay time until he found the right opportunity to slowly clip the He family's wings, cultivate pro-Liu Xie forces, and then support Liu Xie to ascend to the throne.

Therefore, if he could have an elite force of his own, Luoyang inside and outside would be under his control, and the He family would be under his control.

Liu Hong nodded slightly and asked, "The imperial treasury is empty, but I have surplus money in the West Garden. I want to invest in training the West Garden Army. I wonder if you can lead it for me?"

Hearing this, Jian Shuo was overjoyed and knelt down and said, "I am your Majesty's servant. Now that your Majesty has entrusted me with a great responsibility, how dare I not serve your Majesty with my life!"

"it is good!"

Liu Hong was very satisfied and said with a smile: "If the Xiyuan Army is formed, I will be the supreme general, and Jian Qing can be the captain of the upper army to help me manage all the armies."

"Your Majesty's orders!"

Seeing this, Zhang Rang could not help but feel jealous of Jian Shuo. Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Jian Shuo had been trusted by Liu Hong because of his knowledge of military affairs and his martial arts. Now that the Xiyuan Army was being formed, he let Jian Shuo, the eunuch, take charge of the army on behalf of Liu Hong. This kind of favored treatment was unmatched by ordinary people.

After a while, Huang Wan, Gai Xun and other officials were summoned by Liu Hong and stepped inside.

After the emperor and his subjects greeted each other, Liu Hong asked everyone to sit down. "I heard that Your Majesty urgently summoned Wang Fen because of his rebellion. I wonder what Your Majesty's plan is now?" Huang Wan asked.

Liu Hong's anger had dissipated, and he said, "I have ordered the Minister Yang Qi to arrest the remaining followers of Wang Fen. In order to prevent the rebellion of evildoers, and because the court is currently short of available troops, I have decided to recruit brave men from all over the world and have Xiyuan provide funds to build an army."

Huang Wan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I think it is feasible to raise an army. But the treasury of the court is in short supply, and the soldiers in the border counties have been unable to receive military pay. I am afraid that Your Majesty will still need to help the court with financial support!"

Liu Hong waved his hand and said confidently: "Huang Qing, there is no need to worry about this. My raising of troops will definitely not affect the affairs of the court."

Xiyuan was Liu Hong's private treasury. In recent years, the imperial treasury had not been able to meet the budget, so Liu Hong would make up the money every year. Huang Wan was worried that Liu Hong's establishment of the Xiyuan Army would reduce the expenditure on border troops.

But Huang Wan obviously underestimated the ability of the Han Dynasty's little genius in making money. Liu Hong already had an idea in his mind. He planned to lower the selling price of the Three Dukes from 100 million coins to 10 million, and then replace the Three Dukes regularly. He could squeeze 3,000 coins out of these officials at one time. Is he still worried that Xiyuan has no money?
Huang Wan was naturally unaware of Liu Hong's evil intentions. He pondered for a while and asked, "Your Majesty, the Xiongnu Chanyu was beheaded by our army, and the six nobles were appointed to govern the country. The Qiangqu tribe has sent back nearly a thousand Han people. Now the Bingzhou troops are stationed in Zishi. I wonder what your majesty's plan is?"

Liu Hong stroked his beard slightly and asked, "What do you think?"

Huang Wan pondered, "According to Zhang Yu's report, the Xiongnu are unlikely to invade Bingzhou in the short term due to internal strife over the position of Chanyu. Therefore, Zhang Yu submitted a petition requesting permission to march south to Hedong to fight against the Baibo Rebellion. Your Majesty, please reward Zhang Yu for his merits and allow him to march south to fight against the Hedong troops. In addition, order the troops from each county to return to their respective counties."

“Maybe it’s possible!”

Liu Hong asked: "Has the Shangshutai discussed how to reward the generals of Bingzhou?"

Huang Wan submitted the document and said, "The position of governor of Bingzhou is vacant now. Ding Yuan from Taishan County can be appointed as the governor, and Cui Jun from Boling County can be appointed as the governor of Hexi County. Guo Yu, the governor of Dingxiang, can be promoted to the governor of Yanmen County for his meritorious service in recommending Zhang Yu to succeed him as the commander-in-chief, and Wang Ze, the governor of Yanmen County, can be promoted to the governor of Zhuo County."

"Although Wang Rou has committed a serious offense as the Protector General of the Xiongnu, he has made great contributions in defeating the bandits and can be appointed as the Protector General of the Xiongnu. If Your Majesty thinks this is inappropriate, you can let Zhang Yu replace Wang Rou as the Protector General of the Xiongnu..."

Huang Wan continued, "As for the title, Zhang Yu was appointed when the army was defeated, and he led the remaining troops to repel the enemy, and then killed the Xiongnu Chanyu, killing many enemies. According to Han law, he can be granted a county marquisate, so after discussion among the ministers, Zhang Yu can be granted the title of Pingcheng Marquis, with a fief of 1,500 households. If the title of county marquis is too much, Your Majesty can grant Zhang Yu the title of Duxiang Marquis, with a fief of 1,500 households."

Since the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, especially since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court has granted many titles indiscriminately, and the value of the marquisate has dropped significantly. Nowadays, in addition to military merit, the favor of the monarch is also a key factor in granting a marquisate.

Liu Hong read the official document of the award, with a thoughtful look on his face, and asked, "Do you have any different opinions?"

"I have!"

Liu Hong looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person who spoke was Gai Xun. He asked, "What do you think, Mr. Gai?"

Because Gai Xun vowed to never surrender to the Qiang people on the northwest battlefield, Liu Hong was very friendly to Gai Xun and trusted him very much.

Gai Xun looked solemn, and said, "Your Majesty, do you know Dong Zhuo?"

"Dong Zhuo?"

Hearing this, Liu Hong's expression turned unhappy and he said, "Dong Zhuo is the general of the northwest, how could I not know that!"

"Your Majesty, since Dong Zhuo was ordered to take charge of Guanxi, he has used his prestige to recruit many followers and command a large army. His subordinates follow his lead and he has tens of thousands of soldiers. He is greedy by nature, and he has discouraged the army and made the people suspicious, allowing the bandits to grow stronger. Now he is a person who is difficult to stop."

"Zhang Yu's words and deeds seem to be faithful. He has made many achievements since he took office in Bingzhou. Now he has defeated and killed the Xiongnu Chanyu. His reputation has spread throughout the countryside."

Gai Xun spoke forcefully and with sincerity, saying, "If Your Majesty wishes to use Zhang Yu to suppress the Baibo bandits, you must give him a large army. However, he is from Bingzhou, and his wife is a relative of the Wang family of Qi County. I dare not speak rashly of Zhang Yu's character, but for the greater good of the court, I shall now transfer him to another position and order him to lead the expedition against Baibo."

Dong Zhuo was ordered to fight against the rebels in the northwest since the first year of Zhongping. His attitude towards fighting against the rebels was always ambiguous. When Huangfu Song was the commander-in-chief for the first time, Dong Zhuo kept making trouble and advised Huangfu Song not to rush to advance, giving the rebels plenty of time to develop.

When Zhang Wen took over as commander-in-chief, Dong Zhuo was unwilling to obey Zhang Wen's orders, procrastinating on many matters and showing no urgency in suppressing the rebels. Furthermore, after defeating the rebels, all his troops pursued them, but were defeated, leaving Dong Zhuo alone to return safely.

Over the past five years, Dong Zhuo had done so many similar things that the court had to wonder if he had close ties with the rebels. But because Dong Zhuo enjoyed a great reputation in the northwest, the court had no choice but to rely on him.

However, as Dong Zhuo's abnormal behavior became more and more frequent, the imperial court realized that Dong Zhuo had close ties with the rebels and even suspected that he was nurturing the rebels to cause trouble.

Gai Xun used the example of Dong Zhuo to persuade Liu Hong, pointing out Zhang Yu's potential danger. He was a border man, and his in-laws were from a big family in Bingzhou. Now that he had made great military achievements and was famous throughout Bingzhou, if he used Zhang Yu to fight against the Baibo bandits, he might raise another Dong Zhuo.

Gai Xun's words made Liu Hong start to be suspicious of Zhang Yu. Dong Zhuo was now too powerful to be eliminated. If he gave Zhang Yu, a local, more troops, he would obey the imperial decree. But if he nurtured the enemy, wouldn't Zhang Yu become the second Dong Zhuo?
Liu Hong put the document aside and said, "The rewards for each general will be as proposed by the Secretariat. Zhang Yu will be given the title of Marquis of Pingcheng, but his official position will not be granted for the time being. I will order Zhang Yu to report to the court and I will give him another reward."

"promise!"

ps: My waist still hurts, so I can only update three times tomorrow. Please let me save some drafts tonight.

(End of this chapter)