Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 209 The Emperor is not the King Who Destroys His Country

"Cough cough!"

Lu Zhi coughed a few times and said, "The world is in turmoil. I am grateful to Ji'an for remembering me and sending wise men to invite me to live in Jinyang."

Lu Zhi and Zhang Yu had very little contact, except when Zhang Yu was appointed as the lieutenant of the imperial guards, and Lu Zhi, as the minister, had official exchanges with Zhang Yu. After that, Zhang Yu was away on a military expedition to fight against bandits, so Lu Zhi had almost no contact with Zhang Yu.

Lu Zhi went to Shanggu to live in seclusion, thinking that his student Gongsun Zan would treat him well, but Gongsun Zan ignored him. Now the person who welcomed him with great gifts was Zhang Yu, whom he had only met a few times.

Zhang Yu looked humble and said, "Mr. Lu is a great scholar of our time and an important official of our dynasty. When the country was in danger, you fought against Dong Zhuo and escaped. I admire you very much."

Hearing this, Lu Zhi sighed and said, "Such verbal clashes and the courage of a common man are not worth imitating!"

Then Lu Zhi asked, "When will Ji'an raise an army to fight against Dong?"

The reason why Lu Fan was able to trick Lu Zhi into coming to Jinyang was not only because he was eloquent, but also because he revealed that Zhang Yu intended to raise an army to fight against Dong Zhuo, but because he was not sure of success, he wanted to invite Lu Zhi to Bingzhou to plan the uprising together.

Lu Zhi was from Zhuo County and lived in seclusion in Shanggu, hoping to avoid being hunted down by Dong Zhuo and to be closer to his hometown. It was precisely because he heard about Zhang Yu's plan to attack Dong Zhuo that he traveled thousands of miles to Jinyang.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Lord Lu, Yu has just secured Bingzhou and is preparing his troops. Dong Zhuo has tens of thousands of strong soldiers, and together with the old and weak, there are 100,000 people, who are impossible to defeat. Therefore, Yu has contacted the officials in the court and the public, and wants to coordinate internal and external forces, and march to Guanzhong with two armies."

"Oh?"

Lu Zhi showed curiosity and asked, "Who is Ji'an teaming up with?"

Zhang Yu said shamelessly, "Wang Situ is my wife's uncle, and he is now recruiting righteous men in the court. There is also Zhu Gongwei, the general of chariots and cavalry, with whom I will plan the use of troops. He will station troops in Zhongmou and enter Guanzhong through Hangu Pass; while I will raise troops from Taiyuan, go down to Hedong, and enter Guanzhong."

Zhang Yu was really a man who lied without blushing. He was a passive choice, not an active contact. If Zhu Jun had not come to Zhang Yu to ask for soldiers and food, Zhang Yu would never have thought of joining forces with Zhu Jun to fight against Dong.

"OK!"

Lu Zhi slapped his thigh in excitement and said, "I thought Yuan Shao wanted to fight against the enemy, but I didn't expect that he wanted to annex Jizhou under the pretext of fighting against the enemy. Looking at the world now, only Ji'an and Gong Wei have the heart to support the country. Unfortunately, I am old and my health is declining, so I can't go with the army!"

Zhang Yu personally poured wine for Lu Zhi and said with a smile: "Mr. Lu can still drink half a stone of wine, so why do you say that your health is getting worse!"

"When Ji'an and I were about the same age, I could drink a stone of wine. Now that I'm older, I can no longer drink as much as I used to," Lu Zhi sighed.

"I wonder when Ji'an plans to use military force?" Lu Zhi asked with concern.

Zhang Yu said, "No news has come from Minister Wang yet, so I dare not resort to force for the time being."

"What are Ji'an's plans for the future?" Lu Zhi asked.

Zhang Yu pondered for a while and said, "Since the Yonghe Qiang Rebellion, the Qiang and Hu have occupied Henan. Shangjun, Xihe, and Beidi have successively moved south. The rich areas on the frontier were occupied by the Eastern Qiang and the Xiongnu. The court was unable to take care of itself and it was difficult to manage. A few years ago, the Xiongnu attacked and killed the Chanyu and rebelled. Yu was lucky enough to repel them."

"So before entering the pass to fight the bandits, Yu wanted to conquer the Xiongnu in the west, pacify the Hu people, save the Han people, and gradually recover the counties."

"Recover the Henan area?"

Hearing this, Lu Zhi was slightly stunned and said, "The government has relocated people southward. After years of war, I'm afraid there are no Han people in Henan anymore. The land is full of Qiang and Hu people. I'm afraid it will be difficult to succeed!"

Zhang Yu clenched his wrist and sighed, saying: "Henan was occupied by the King of Qin after he conquered the six kingdoms. Later, it was occupied by the Xiongnu. However, Emperor Shizong ordered Wei Qing to recover it. It has been our Han territory for three hundred years. Now it has fallen into the hands of the Hu people!"

"Whenever I read history books, I felt sorry for them. I wondered how the imperial court could bear to abandon the legacy of our ancestors. Now that I have troops, I am still not strong enough to defeat Dong Zhuo. However, I still have enough strength to conquer the Xiongnu in the west."

Lu Zhi said solemnly, "If Ji'an can make the Xiongnu submit to the Han Dynasty, it will surely attract the attention of the world."

"In the various states and counties east of the Guandong Pass, the nobles have been fighting each other and annexing counties and cities. This is what the thieves did. If we recover our homeland and subdue the Qiang and Hu people, we will be able to please the emperor. When we welcome the emperor's carriage to the south, Ji'an will have the great cause of rebuilding the Han Dynasty."

The Henan area mentioned by Zhang Yu is the Ordos Plateau and the Northern Shaanxi Plateau in later generations. It is called Henan because it is located on the south bank of the Yellow River. The three prefectures of Beidi, Shang and Xihe in the Han Dynasty were established in Henan, distributed from west to east.

The three counties were destroyed by the Qiang Rebellion in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the county seat was constantly moved south, shrinking to the edge of Guanzhong. Due to the large-scale escape of Han people to the south, the population of the three counties was no longer as large as the hundreds of thousands in the Western Han Dynasty.

It was undoubtedly a foolish dream to restore the three counties, so Zhang Yu's action was simple. He sent troops to defeat the Xiongnu, control the largest force in Henan, and restore Xihe County first. The restoration of Shang and Beidi counties would probably have to wait until Guanxi was pacified, and Zhang Yu had spare power to restore some of the county towns.

"I'm afraid I'll need Mr. Lu's guidance!" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"If Ji'an has any requests, he can send someone to inform us." Lu Zhi said generously.

Seeing Lu Zhi's words, Zhang Yu finally revealed the purpose of his visit and said, "Mr. Lu is a great scholar of the time. Bingzhou has not had a great scholar since Guo Youdao. Yu begs you to open a school to teach the classics and educate the people of Bingzhou."

Lu Zhi thought for a moment and said, "It is not difficult to give lectures and teach the scriptures. It is just that I have been in poor health recently and it is difficult for me to give lectures in detail."

"I heard that you have taught and lectured on the classics. I wonder if you have any favorite students. You can invite them to come and teach the classics on your behalf, and you can come forward to guide them if they have any doubts." Zhang Yu said.

"A favorite student?" Lu Zhi recalled for a long time and said, "Gao You from Zhuo County is excellent in both character and learning. He has read Confucian classics such as Mencius, The Book of Filial Piety, and Huainanzi, and has visited many famous teachers. He is a rare scholar in Youzhou. If Gao You comes to Jinyang, he can help me a lot."

"Mr. Lao received a letter, and Yu sent someone to drive a carriage to meet him." Zhang Yu said.

"good!"

In fact, it didn't matter to Zhang Yu whether Lu Zhi gave lectures or not. What he valued was Lu Zhi's reputation. However, given Lu Zhi's personality, he couldn't tolerate being a mascot and a political tool of Zhang Yu. Now, letting his student Gao You go to Taiyuan to help Lu Zhi give lectures and teach the classics, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

After visiting Lu Zhi, Zhang Yu returned to Jinyang and took the time to meet with Liu He.

"And meet the Lord!"

Thanks to Liu Yu's teaching, Liu He behaved properly and had a good appearance, which made him very likable.

"sit!"

Zhang Yu invited Liu He to sit down and said with a smile, "The affairs of the prefecture are troublesome, and Yu has been burdened with paperwork. Now I have made the minister wait for many days, delaying your return to Youzhou."

"nothing!"

Liu He smiled and said, "The heavy snow has blocked the road, making it inconvenient to travel. I want to stay in Jinyang for a few more days, wait for the snow to melt, and then return to Yan."

Zhang Yu chatted with Liu He for a while and then got down to business.

"You have just returned from Chang'an. I wonder if the emperor has any oral instructions to convey to the Grand Marshal?" Zhang Yu asked.

Knowing that Bingzhou and Youzhou were allies, Liu He did not hide the truth and said frankly: "Your Majesty misses Luoyang and wants to return to the east, so he ordered me to sneak out of the capital and contact the righteous men in Guandong to see if we can raise an army to defeat Dong and welcome the emperor to Luoyang."

"How old is the emperor?" Zhang Yu suddenly asked.

Liu He thought for a moment and said, "Twelve years old!"

Zhang Yu said with emotion: "When the previous emperor passed away, the emperor was less than ten years old, but he was naturally intelligent and lovable. Now he is twelve years old, but he knows how to find loyal ministers to help the country in times of crisis. This is really rare, and it is a blessing for the world."

Liu He agreed with him and said, "Your Majesty is young and studious. He can often understand three things from one thing and know the pros and cons of things. He has the style of a wise ruler."

Liu Xie was the most unlucky among all the emperors who lost their country. Many emperors who lost their country in the past dynasties lost their country after a lot of trouble. Liu Xie was controlled by Dong Zhuo from the moment he ascended the throne, and then fought over by Guo and Li, and later controlled by Cao Cao, and finally abdicated the throne to Cao Pi.

Liu Xie was not the king who lost his country. The king who lost his country might be Emperor Ling.

Zhang Yu said: "Since Your Majesty is thinking of returning to Luoyang, the Grand Marshal and I will do our utmost to rescue you."

"Thank you for your help, my Lord!"

Liu He hesitated and said, "Your Majesty suspected Wang Situ because he catered to Dong Zhuo's words and deeds. Unexpectedly, Wang Situ was hiding his strength and plotting against Dong Zhuo. Your Majesty was wrong!"

In order to successfully kill Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun did everything for Dong Zhuo's sake. Dong Zhuo saw that Wang Yun was so tactful and loyal to him, so although he was a little suspicious, he still treated him as his confidant. However, Wang Yun's flattery of Dong Zhuo made many people despise him, including Liu Xie.

Zhang Yu sighed and said: "To kill Dong Zhuo, Minister Wang endured humiliation and bore heavy burdens, and he lived up to the Han Dynasty!"

"Of course!"

Liu He said: "When I return to Yan, I will respectfully await your letter. Once the order is issued, the Grand Marshal will surely send troops to help."

"good!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and reminded him, "The Grand Marshal is the governor of Youzhou. He should be in charge of all military and political affairs in Youzhou. However, the Grand Marshal has entrusted the military affairs to Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan is now leading the Youzhou troops to commit atrocities in Hebei. This is an evil tiger."

"So in my opinion, when you return to Youzhou, you should recruit as many soldiers as possible and command the army as the Grand Marshal, so as to prevent the vicious tiger from devouring people and you will be powerless to resist."

"Thank you for your reminder, sir. I will report this to my father!" Liu He said gratefully.

The reason why Gongsun Zan was able to control so many troops before the chaos was fundamentally due to Liu Yu's promotion.

After Liu Yu came to power, he resolved the Wuhuan Rebellion and dismissed a large number of soldiers in Youzhou, leaving only 10,000 elite soldiers. Because Gongsun Zan was outstanding in military strength and worked diligently, Liu Yu gave him 10,000 elite soldiers. With this force, Gongsun Zan dominated Youzhou and became the second most powerful person after Liu Yu.

Because of his promotion, Liu Yu could be considered Gongsun Zan's benefactor, and Gongsun Zan was limited by this relationship and was respectful to Liu Yu. But after the chaos began, for the sake of his hegemony, Gongsun Zan ignored Liu Yu's opposition and forced a war with Yuan Shao.

Up to now, the contradiction between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan has gradually become prominent. Not only because Liu Yu has no soldiers, but also because he still has illusions about Gongsun Zan, so he did not turn against Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan has not torn his face with Liu Yu until now, not only because of Liu Yu's high reputation, but also because he needs Liu Yu to provide him with military supplies. After all, Youzhou belongs to Liu Yu, and the county magistrates listen to Liu Yu's orders, not Gongsun Zan's!

(End of this chapter)