Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 136 Asking the General to Go to War
September, the fifth year of Zhongping.

Since Zhang Yu entered the capital in May, the country has become increasingly turbulent, and the court's control over the local areas has gradually weakened.

In Youzhou area, the Wuhuan rebellion had been going on for more than two years. Although the imperial court had defeated the main force of the rebels, the Wuhuan continued to harass the border and fought with Gongsun Zan.

In the Yizhou area, the Yellow Turban Ma Xiang proclaimed himself the emperor and joined forces with the Ba County Bandun Barbarians to rebel, killing the Inspector Xi Jian and the Ba County Prefect Zhao Bu.

In the Yuzhou area, the Yellow Turbans in Runan rose up again, attacked counties and prefectures, and the counties were unable to stop them.

Although the above three states were in turmoil, they could still be controlled with the troops of the states and counties. However, the news that came one after another forced Luoyang to face it. Wang Guo gathered the rebels in Longxi, marched eastward, broke through Hanyang County, and went down along the Wei River, which shocked the three auxiliary provinces.

In order to deal with this matter, Liu Hong summoned all officials of the rank of two thousand stones and above in the capital to attend the court meeting. Zhang Yu, as the captain of the left army, was qualified to attend the court meeting.

As winter was approaching, the palace was very cold. Zhang Yu knelt down holding a hu tablet, and the people on his left and right were all captains of the Xiyuan Army.

Liu Hong sat on the imperial couch, coughed a few times, and said, "The rebels have been entrenched in Longyou for several years and have not been suppressed. Now Wang Guo led the rebels to attack Chencang in the east. I wonder what you think?"

"Your Majesty, Chencang is the throat of the Three Prefectures. If Chencang is lost, the enemy troops will go down the Wei River and reach Chang'an. The Western Capital will be in turmoil and the Imperial Mausoleum will be in danger!"

Gai Xun stepped out of the line, cupped his hands and said, "I think we need to send troops to resist them and see if we can inflict heavy damage on the bandits and find an opportunity to recover the counties to the right of Long."

Liu Hong covered his mouth and coughed for a long time, then said, "The tax revenue has been deposited into the treasury. I wonder how much money and grain the treasury can spend?"

Si Tu Ding Gong held up the tablet and bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, although the autumn tax has been deposited into the treasury, considering the 2 billion coins needed for the salaries of officials next year, and the fact that the states and counties have misappropriated money to fight the bandits, I am afraid there will be no money left to send out a large army."

Due to the resurgence of the Yellow Turbans in Yizhou and Yuzhou, the two states retained a lot of taxes to fight the rebels. In addition, due to the continued unrest in Youzhou, Jizhou needed to transfer payments to Youzhou every year.

Currently, the prefectures and counties that can pay money and grain to the central government are roughly only Qing, Xu, Jing, Yang, and Yan. The taxes from these five prefectures are already enough to cover the normal expenditures of previous years, let alone sending troops to fight against the rebels in the northwest.

Liu Hong sighed helplessly. The situation was clear. If he wanted to send troops to fight, he would have to rely on money from the Shaofu and Xiyuan.

Liu Hong closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then asked, "I will pay for the money for now. If we conquer the rebels in the northwest, who should be chosen as the commander?"

When Liu Hong asked this question, the Grand Commandant Fan Ling immediately stood up and wrote a memorial, saying: "Your Majesty, the general has a high reputation and a great strategy. I think you should be appointed as the commander!"

After these words were spoken, everyone in the hall fell silent, and Zhang Yu subconsciously looked at He Jin.

However, the flesh on He Jin's face was twitching and his expression was gloomy and ugly. It was obvious that He Jin was not only shocked but also angry about Fan Ling's recommendation.

Soon, everyone in the hall turned their eyes to He Jin, wanting to know what choice He Jin would make.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu sighed secretly. Ever since He Jin was recommended as the commander-in-chief, He Jin had been roasted on the fire by Fan Ling.

As a general, He Jin held a high position and had great power, seemingly having the right to choose. However, in reality, He Jin could only bite the bullet and agree, and it was difficult for him to back down.

If he retreated, the reputation that He Jin had accumulated over the years would be destroyed. After all, don't forget that He Jin was born a butcher. In order to wash away the stigma on his body, he recruited a large number of scholars to advocate for him. If he retreated now, that humiliating mark would return to him, which He Jin could not tolerate.

Of course, He Jin was not without a way to refuse, but the person who could refuse on his behalf had to be the emperor. If the emperor asked He Jin to stay, He Jin could avoid going to the war.

Seeing that He Jin remained silent, Zhang Yu stared at Liu Hong who was sitting on the imperial couch, fearing that Liu Hong intended to let He Jin lead the army.

Liu Hong looked calm and said, "The general has a great reputation and there are many wise men in your palace. I wonder if the general is willing to share my worries?"

He Jin looked unhappy. He knew his own capabilities. He was afraid that he was not capable of leading the army to fight against the rebels in the northwest.

In addition, He Jin gradually realized that if Liu Hong let him go to war, then He's prestige in Luoyang City would be greatly weakened. By then, the court would probably respect General Hussar Dong Zhong, and Liu Hong would be able to push Liu Xie to the top.

But what can he do? This is Liu Hong's conspiracy. He can only agree to it for now. After the court meeting, he will discuss it with everyone in the mansion.

Under the gaze of the crowd, He Jin stood up holding the tablet and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I am willing to obey your majesty's order!"

"good!"

Liu Hong smiled and said, "I grant you a hundred chariots and tiger soldiers with axes and halberds as weapons to strengthen your power."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Although He Jin felt bitter in his heart, he had to thank Liu Hong for his grace due to the current situation.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu had already keenly sensed the political conspiracy. He looked at Jian Shuo beside Liu Hong and saw him laughing secretly. He already understood what was going on.

In recent months, although he had been concentrating on training troops in Xiyuan Army, he had heard about the conflict between Jian Shuo and He Jin. Jian Shuo relied on his power as the commander-in-chief of He Jin to seize a lot of military supplies from He Jin.

The two originally had friction over power, and as the conflicts increased, the contradiction between He Jin and Jian Shuo became deeper. Now He Jin was forced to lead the expedition against the Northwest Rebel Army, which seemed to be Jian Shuo's strategy. In order to help Liu Xie ascend to the throne, Liu Hong was also happy to see He Jin leave Luoyang.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yu frowned slightly. If He Jin really led the army to fight the bandits, then the He family's voice would probably be weakened. If Liu Hong knew how to operate, Liu Xie would really be able to come to power, and history would probably change.

Now for Zhang Yu, he is most worried that because of his butterfly effect, He Jin will not die at the hands of eunuchs, and Dong Zhuo will lead his troops into Beijing. If the above content does not happen, the Eastern Han court is expected to survive, and his operations over the years will be in vain. For the sake of the overall situation, He Jin needs to stay in Luoyang!
Zhang Yu glanced at Yuan Shu and had an idea in mind.

While Zhang Yu was deep in thought, Liu Yan, the Minister of Rites who usually kept silent, suddenly stood up and submitted a memorial.

"Your Majesty, I have no intention of submitting a memorial to you!"

Liu Yan was about fifty years old. He behaved in a refined and elegant manner, and held a tablet in his hand.

"allow!"

"Your Majesty, why are there so many riots in the counties? I think it is because the governors have little authority and limited power, and are unable to deter the people. Moreover, most of the governors employed by the court are corrupt and take bribes, exploiting the people and trying to increase the riots."

Liu Yan spoke eloquently, cupping his hands and saying, "For example, Xi Jian, the governor of Yizhou, amassed a lot of wealth and was corrupt, which eventually led Prime Minister Ma to use the Yellow Turban as a banner to incite the people to rebel; or Geng Bi, the governor of Liangzhou, trusted corrupt officials and was ignorant of military strategy, so he was killed by his subordinates and rebelled; and Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou, was good at military affairs, but he fled from the battle and was eventually defeated by the Xiongnu."

"I think it would be better for Your Majesty to appoint governors and select important officials to pacify the rebellious states in order to quickly put down the rebellion."

"Replace the governors and select important officials to pacify the states that are in chaos?"

Liu Hong frowned and tapped the armrest with his fingers, wondering whether Liu Yan's suggestion was appropriate.

Looking around at everyone in the hall, Liu Hong asked, "Do you have any opinions?"

"Your Majesty, the prestige of the court is low, and the governors are not selected by the right people, which often leads to rebellion among the people. I think what Taichang said is reasonable. However, if we change to the position of Mu Bo, I am afraid that the power of the state officials will be too high, which will be detrimental to the capital." Gai Xun said.

Liu Yan raised his eyes slightly, and said in a more serious tone: "Therefore, Your Majesty must select important officials, loyal and patriotic people, and do not select crude and vulgar officials who will cause trouble in the counties."

Seeing Liu Yan's righteous look, Zhang Yu couldn't help laughing in his heart. Liu Yan closed the gates after entering Yizhou, and was determined to be a local emperor in Yizhou. How could he remember what he said today?

Of course, Zhang Yu had to admit that Liu Yan at least understood the current situation and knew that the Han Dynasty was in decline. He also understood that the political situation in Luoyang was turbulent and that it was not suitable for him to stay there for a long time, so he fled to Yizhou early.

In order to make Liu Yan's suggestion come true, Zhang Yu gave up his plan to eat melons and said, "Your Majesty, what the Grand Master said is in line with the current situation. Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the powerful have occupied the countryside, and the county governors have been in collusion with them. The prestige of the provincial governors is weak, and it will be difficult to rectify the officials in the state and govern the people in the counties."

"Take the war against the Xiongnu as an example. If Governor Zhang was appointed as the governor, he would be able to intimidate the governor of Shangdang County or temporarily replace the officers. If the Shangdang troops did not flee, Governor Zhang would be able to lead our troops to defeat the enemy and win!"

Everyone in the hall was whispering to each other, discussing the rationality of changing the position of governor to governor.

In fact, according to the situation in recent years, all the officials in the court have actually felt one thing, that is, the weakening of the central government's control over the local governments. If they want to re-strengthen their control over the local governments today, it is actually the same as what Xun Yue said earlier, that is, they need to strengthen the power of the provincial governors.

Liu Yan might have bad intentions, but the method he proposed was a strategy that the court could use to quickly stabilize the local area. If it was really not beneficial to the court, it would have been rejected by everyone long ago.

"Your Majesty, replacing the Inspector with the Governor will have a great impact. I think that if it is implemented now, we should choose a place to implement it to see the effectiveness of this system." Huang Wan said.

Liu Hongwei nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. Let me think about the matter of Mu Bo for a few days."

"promise!"

After discussing some trivial matters, Liu Hong let all the ministers leave the court when he saw that there was nothing else to report.

When leaving the court, He Jin looked unhappy. It was obvious that he had been worried about leading the army to war.

Zhang Yu did not go looking for He Jin, but slowed down a few steps when leaving the court, waiting for the footsteps of Yuan Shu, the General of the Tiger Guards.

"Yuan Jun!"

"Jian!"

Zhang Yu put on his shoes and whispered, "If the general leads the army to fight, I'm afraid the He family will be doomed!"

Yuan Shu looked around and said, "The general is well aware of the seriousness of this matter and is probably thinking of a countermeasure!"

Zhang Yu walked side by side with Yuan Shu and whispered, "This matter is not difficult to resolve. I have a plan that may save the general from going to war."

"Where does the plan come from?" Yuan Shu asked.

Zhang Yu leaned over to whisper something in Yuan Shu's ear, and Yuan Shu's eyes brightened when he heard the strategy Zhang Yu described.

Yuan Shu looked at He Jin who was not far ahead and said, "Jian, wait a moment. I will tell the general about this method."

Soon, Yuan Shu caught up with He Jin and whispered something in He Jin's ear.

The worry on He Jin's face suddenly disappeared, and under Yuan Shu's guidance, he looked at Zhang Yu with a grateful smile. It was obvious that Zhang Yu's strategy made He Jin very satisfied.

(End of this chapter)