Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 155: Received the title of Du Liao
On August 29th, Dong Zhuo lured the ministers to Xianyang Garden, pretending to discuss state affairs, but actually sent people to recruit the troops of He Jin and He Miao.

On the 30th, Dong Zhuo deliberately excluded Yuan Wei and discussed with others the matter of deposing the emperor. Ding Yuan, Lu Zhi, Cao Cao and others opposed it. Yuan Shao, in particular, saw that Dong Zhuo had become the host, so he clashed with him. However, fearing Dong Zhuo's revenge, he abandoned his post and fled overnight.

That night, Li Su persuaded Lü Bu. Lü Bu thought that Li Su was a fellow villager, so he personally killed Ding Yuan and led his troops to surrender to Dong.

With the help of Lü Bu, Dong Zhuo, with the cooperation of Yuan Wei, deposed the emperor on September 1, supported Liu Xie as emperor, and poisoned Empress Dowager He.

After the death of the maternal relative He, Dong Zhuo took control of the imperial guards and thus gained power over the government and the country.

The former General's Mansion has now been occupied by Dong Zhuo, and all of He Jin's subordinates have become Dong Zhuo's property.

Looking at the scene in the General's Mansion, Dong Zhuo was in a good mood, with wrinkles on his face. He smiled and said, "He Jin was a foolish man who was being plotted against by Yuan family without knowing it. Fortunately, I have put order in order and brought peace to the government and the country."

"My lord, the court seems peaceful now, but I'm afraid there are many undercurrents behind the scenes!" Li Ru said, stroking his beard.

"What does 'Wenyou' mean?" Dong Zhuo asked.

Li Ru pondered for a moment and said, "The Yuan family has wanted to take power for a long time, but now that you have taken control, I am afraid that the Yuan family will find it difficult to accept. Especially since Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu have resigned from their posts and left the capital one after another, it is clear that they are not happy that you are in charge of the government."

"Moreover, you have been through military affairs in the west for a long time, and you are more military than civil. The scholars in Guandong are proud of their talents and learning, so how could they be willing to see the military men in Liangzhou in power? Especially if you imitate Huo Guang and depose and enthrone in order to establish your prestige, you will be even more dissatisfied with the scholars in Guandong."

Dong Zhuo pounded the fence with his fist, sighed and said, "The reason why the world is in chaos is mostly because of these Guandong scholars, and now they want to oppose me again."

Li Ru stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "That being said, there is still a solution."

"Oh?"

Dong Zhuo looked at Li Ru and asked, "Where does this plan come from?"

"Recruiting famous scholars to win people's hearts; promoting Yang to fight against Yuan; being humble and respecting the virtuous to enhance reputation."

Li Ru paced and murmured, saying, "In the first year of Jianning, Chen Fan and Dou Wu were accused of treason, and the court has not pardoned them to this day. So, in order to win the hearts of the people, why don't you ask the other ministers to pardon Chen, Dou and their followers."

"Secondly, the Yuan family has three dukes in four generations, and they have many students and former officials. The Hongnong Yang family is as famous as the Yuan family, so why not appoint Yang Biao as the Minister of Works? Huang Wan, the governor of Yuzhou, is from the Jiangxia Huang family. He currently holds a large number of troops, so why not transfer him to the court and appoint him as Minister of Education?"

"Finally, Youzhou Mu Liu Yu is a relative of the Han Dynasty. His reputation is a role model for the world. You can honor him as the Grand Marshal, and you can take the rank of Grand Commandant next to him to show your sincere desire to serve the country."

"it is good!"

Dong Zhuo laughed a few times and said, "Appease the Yuan family, remove Yang and suppress Yuan. If you use these three strategies, Guandong will be safe now!"

"correct!"

Dong Zhuo laughed a few times, and then seemed to remember something, and asked, "The Shangshu Ling is an important position in the central government. Who do you think I should choose to take the position?"

Li Ru pondered for a moment and said, "The position of Shangshu Ling is low but powerful. The person who takes this position must be famous, talented, and obedient to you, sir!"

“It’s not a good choice!”

Dong Zhuo nodded, sighed and said: "Those Guandong scholars are so hypocritical. They flatter me in front of me, but I don't know what slander they will say behind my back!"

"Does Mingshang have any candidates?" Li Ru asked.

Dong Zhuo walked with his belt pressed down, and asked, "What do you think of Wang Yun of Taiyuan?"

"Wang Yun?"

Li Ru pondered and said, "Wang Yun is loved by the people. His reputation and talent are beyond words, but whether he is obedient to you is hard for me to know."

"Fengxian, you are from Bingzhou, do you know Wang Yun?" Dong Zhuo asked.

Lü Bu, who was guarding on both sides with his sword, bowed and said, "My Lord, the Wang family is a prominent family in Bingzhou. Wang Yun and his brother Wang Hong are both talented people. As for Wang Yun, he is upright and rarely hides anything. I only know that if I win over Wang Yun, I may be able to win over Zhang Yu."

"Zhang Yu~"

Dong Zhuo paced and thought, and said doubtfully: "I have heard of Zhang Yu's name in the Western Army. When he was ordered to defeat the Huns, he not only repelled the rebellion of the Xiongnu, but also killed the Chanyu. In terms of military exploits, he is indeed a great general. "

"Of course!"

Lü Bu looked serious and said, "Although I am brave, I cannot claim to be better than Zhang Yu. Moreover, the soldiers and officers under Zhang Yu are the best among the imperial guards."

"It seems that there are many talented people in Bingzhou!" Dong Zhuo said with a smile.

"Wenyou, Fengxian, if I recommend Wang Yun to be the Minister of the Chancellery, can I let Zhang Yu lead his troops into the capital and serve me?" Dong Zhuo asked excitedly.

"This~"

Li Ru hesitated, shook his head and said, "I don't know Zhang Yu, so I dare not speak rashly. I just think that we should appease the people's hearts at the moment, and it is not appropriate to rashly take action against the soldiers and generals."

"Bu~, although I know Zhang Yu and have some connections with him, I am not sure I can convince him to come to Beijing."

Although Lu Bu wanted to show off, after thinking it over, he decided not to dig a hole for himself.

Dong Zhuo thought for a long time and said, "Let's calm people's hearts first. Don't invite Zhang Yu back to the capital for now. Let Wang Yun write more letters to comfort them. When the time is right, let Zhang Yu lead his troops back to the capital."

"Mingsir, you are wise!" Li Ru bowed and said, "I wonder what official title you would like to confer on Zhang Yu?"

Dong Zhuo scratched his beard and said with a smile: "Now that I am in power, I must be generous. I will appoint Zhang Yu as the General Du Liao and let him station his troops in Shangdang to fight the enemy on his own."

"promise!"

With the core idea of pacifying the people, Dong Zhuo conferred many official positions. In addition to Zhang Yu and Wang Yun, Wang Hong was granted the title of Shizhong. Cai Yong rushed from Jianghuai to the capital to take up his post. Xun Shuang, Han Rong, Chen Ji and other famous scholars were summoned to the capital.

In addition to famous scholars, Dong Zhuo also promoted a large number of people to govern local areas, such as Han Fu, Liu Dai, Kong Rong, Zhang Zi, Kong Rong, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Gongsun Du, etc., hoping that everyone would support his administration.

In September, as the unrest in Luoyang subsided, Zhang Yu was the first to receive the reward because he stationed his troops in Shangdang, close to Luoyang.

On that day, in order to establish a good image among the people of Liting, Zhang Yu set an example by personally dredging the river canal blocked by silt.

"The water is coming!"

As the blocked silt was cleared, the turbid Zhang water moistened the river channel and flowed along the channel to each family's fields. The surrounding people couldn't help but cheer.

The head of the pavilion led the elders around him to pay their respects to Zhang Yu and said excitedly, "I have been asking the county to send people to dredge the canal for many years, but the county magistrate has been evading with various excuses. Without your intervention, I don't know when the canal can be dredged."

Zhang Yu smiled and helped the headman up, saying, "My soldiers have been stationed in Liting for quite a while, and have disturbed the villagers. It is only a piece of cake to dredge the canal for Liting. In the future, the pavilion will need to send people to clear the silt every month."

"I will follow your orders!"

The head of the pavilion bowed and said, "There are ten young men in the pavilion who admire your name and are willing to serve you."

"Go find Man Changshi!"

"promise!"

As Zhang Yu said, it would not take much time to help Li Ting dredge the canal. But the effect was different. Influenced by the benevolence of Zhang Yu's troops, Li Ting, which had already been recruited, actually gathered ten young and strong men to join the army.

This made Zhang Yu quite emotional. Sometimes the people are very simple, and they will support whoever treats them well. And these good things do not mean that your troops have to pay a lot, as long as they are better than the chaotic soldiers, they will support you.

Being good to the people may not help you win a battle, but if you lose, the people will support you to continue fighting. If you are not good to the people, if you lose, the people will quickly turn to the other side.

While Zhang Yu was sighing, Lü Fan came over quickly and said, "Sir, the court has an imperial decree to convey!"

"What's the matter?" Zhang Yu asked.

Lu Fan said: "According to what the visitor said, Dong Zhuo appointed you as the General Du Liao, and also appointed the Governor of Henan as the Minister of the Chancellery."

"General Du Liao?"

Zhang Yu smiled, a little disappointed, and said, "I thought Dong Zhuo would give me the title of Shangdang Governor, but unexpectedly he only gave me the title of Du Liao General."

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Du Liao General was a permanent general title, which had the right to conquer the northern border, but now it was a bit useless to Zhang Yu. After all, Zhang Yu needed the post of Shangdang governor to help him take over Shangdang legitimately.

"Now that there is no governor of Shangdang, it is a disadvantage for you, my Lord!"

Lu Fan pondered for a moment and said, "If you want to be the governor of Shangdang, you might as well submit a petition to Dong Zhuo and seek the position, or..."

At the end of the speech, Lu Fan gestured with his knife, suggesting that Zhang Yu could deal with Liu Bo.

With the chaos in the capital, the change of emperors, and the rise of Dong Zhuo, people of insight such as Lü Fan and Man Chong became bolder. Although they did not have the courage to support a new emperor, they still had the courage to help Zhang Yu plan for the position of prefect.

Zhang Yu understood and asked, "How are the recruitments of Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang?"

Lu Fan pondered for a moment and said, "We are still recruiting soldiers. We estimate that we will be able to return to Shangdang in October."

"Then there's no rush!"

On the way back to the camp, Zhang Yu whispered, "When the recruited soldiers return, we can invite Liu Shangdang to a banquet."

Seeing that no one was around, Lu Fan nodded in understanding, and then took out the letter from his bosom and said, "The prince sent an attendant to accompany the envoy, and there is a secret letter written to you, the prince."

Zhang Yu opened the letter, and Lu Fan turned his head away tactfully.

However, Wang Yun explained in a serious tone in the letter that Dong Zhuo's poisoning of the Queen Mother and deposing the new emperor were acts of traitors. And his acceptance of Dong Zhuo's official position was just a pretense, not a sincere commitment to Dong Zhuo.

Therefore, Wang Yun warned Zhang Yu not to be bewitched by Dong Zhuo's official title and abandon his troops to enter the capital, or in other words, to obey Dong Zhuo's orders.

At the end of the letter, Wang Yun said that he would unite loyal ministers and righteous men inside, while Zhang Yu would lead the troops outside. If there was an opportunity, they would work together to eliminate Dong Zhuo.

"How about it?" Lu Fan asked curiously.

Zhang Yu generously handed the letter to Lu Fan and said, "Your Excellency is determined to get rid of Dong, but now he is pretending to be a snake with him and asking my army to be an external aid. When there is an opportunity to take advantage of it, we will coordinate the internal and external forces."

Lü Fan said: "The prince is a man of high integrity. He will plan things at home, while you, the prince, will start things outside. If you plan like this, Shangdang must be taken!"

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, and couldn't help but think of Wang Yun's execution of Dong. If he wanted to gain more political benefits, he would probably have to rely on Wang Yun to come to power.

(End of this chapter)