Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 254: Political Marriage, Hegemony

June 27th, Chang'an.

On Baqiao, Liu Xie sat in the imperial carriage, with a magnificent banner and palace maids as attendants. Hundreds of court officials followed him on horseback or in carriages. Generals Dong Cheng, Xu Huang, and Liu He each led a force of more than 10,000 people, with five-colored flags fluttering in the wind, and the ranks stretched for more than ten miles. The momentum was so great that it resembled the momentum of the Han emperor.

In order to demonstrate the way of being a minister, Zhang Yu led the civil and military officials of Guanzhong to Baqiao to bid farewell to Liu Xie and other ministers who were about to move east to Luoyang.

"Your Majesty, thanks to the months of renovation work by Generals Zhang Yang and Liu Bei, the city walls are now somewhat populated, and the palace has been rebuilt. Moreover, I am concerned about the decline of Henan, so I have specially presented 100,000 dan of grain to the court. In addition, General Yuan Shu has sent his eldest son Yuan Yaofeng as an envoy to pay homage to the court, and has also presented money, grain, silk and hemp to support the court's expenses." Zhang Yu said.

Zhang Yu was almost the only one who took charge of the renovation of Luoyang City. He asked Du Ji to transfer money and grain from Henei, and Zhang Yang was responsible for supervising the construction of the palace. Zhang Yang named the newly renovated palace Yu'an Palace, as if to tell the Han Dynasty's monarchs and ministers who were about to return to Luoyang not to forget Zhang Yu's contribution in convening the alliance to fight against the rebels and welcoming the emperor to move east.

Now, because Zhang Yu fulfilled his promise and allowed Liu Xie and other ministers to move east to Luoyang, Liu Xie seemed to have forgotten the unhappiness he had felt in the court a few days ago.

Liu Xie smiled and said, "You and the general are so kind. I'll have to ask you to take full responsibility to fight against the Qiang and Hu people in Shanxi!"

"Your Majesty has entrusted me with an important task, and I must do my best to repay it with loyalty," said Zhang Yu.

As the king and his ministers exchanged hypocritical words, the attendant saw that the time had come and shouted loudly: "The auspicious time has come, let's go!"

"Stop!"

"Your Majesty, please slow down!"

Zhang Yu, along with the civil and military officials, bowed and said goodbye.

"Snapped!"

Three whips were sounded, warriors led the way, cavalry escorted on both sides, and the emperor's carriage moved slowly forward.

As the emperor's carriage started, because Luoyang was desolate and sparsely populated, the court officials had to leave their families in Chang'an temporarily. So after bidding farewell to their families, the court officials' carriage set off first.

Among the people who were seeing him off, a young man plucked up his courage and walked quickly to Zhang Yu. Zhao Yun saw someone approaching him for no reason, so he strode forward, drew his sword, and asked in a stern voice, "Who is coming?"

Under the threat of the long sword, the young man stopped and said hurriedly: "I have a history with the General of Chariots and Cavalry!"

"Your Majesty!"

Zhao Yun turned around and glanced at Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu looked at the young man's familiar face, waved his hand, and asked hesitantly, "Did I see you in Luoyang?"

"Exactly!"

Seeing Zhang Yu recognized him, the young man hurriedly said, "My biological mother is Madam Cheng. When we were in Luoyang, we were old friends!"

"Mrs. Cheng?"

Zhang Yu suddenly thought of his old friend and asked, "How is your mother now?"

"Sir, my mother died of shock last year. Now I am the only one left at home with my younger sister." The young man said with a sad expression, "Before my mother died, she told me to find you one day!"

Zhang Yu sighed and said, "Your mother was very kind to me. I came to Chang'an and wanted to find an opportunity to visit her, but I didn't expect that she had passed away."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at the young man in front of him and roughly knew the purpose of his coming, which was probably because he encountered difficulties or wanted to seek an official position.

Considering the kindness of Madam Cheng in helping him in the past, Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, "May I know your name? What are your talents now?"

"My surname is Chen, my given name is Zhan, and my courtesy name is Gongzhang. I studied the Zuo Zhuan with the great scholar Wen Yigong, and have a rough understanding of Confucian classics." Chen Zhan said respectfully.

"Lord Wen Yi?"

Zhang Yu frowned slightly. There were too many famous scholars in the Central Plains and he couldn't recognize them all, so he looked at Guo Tu.

Guo Tu knew a lot about this and whispered, "Lord Wenyi is from Zhangling, Nanjun. His surname is Xie and his name is Gai. He studied Zuo Zhuan. Although he is more than thirty years old, he is very talented and has hundreds of disciples. Because of the war, he stayed in Chang'an."

"good!"

Zhang Yu knew what was going on and said, "Since Gongzhang is talented, why don't you go to the Chariot and Cavalry Palace in a few days to take the examination with other scholars. Then I will observe Gongzhang's talent and choose a position for him!"

"Thank you, Lord!"

Chen Zhan was overjoyed and expressed his gratitude.

Seeing Chen Zhan's pale face and thin body, Zhang Yu ordered: "It may be difficult to live in Chang'an. Gongzhang can go with the clerk to collect some money and food later." "Yes!"

Because he was the son of an old friend, Zhang Yu patiently talked with Chen Zhan for a long time and roughly understood the process of the decline of Mrs. Cheng's family.

After Dong Zhuo entered the capital, families like Madam Cheng, who became wealthy thanks to Emperor Ling of Han, became the first targets of Dong Zhuo's gold coins. Later, during the process of moving the capital, Madam Cheng was robbed again by soldiers from Liangzhou, and her family's money was almost completely plundered. Madam Cheng became angry and fell ill, and died not long after. Chen Zhan had no choice but to remember his mother's last words and came to Zhang Yu for a living.

After Chen Zhan left in gratitude, Zhang Yu said with emotion: "In the past, Madam Cheng rose to prominence because of Emperor Ling, but now she has fallen because of the death of Emperor Ling. The world has changed dramatically, and countless families have risen and fallen. It is really sad."

The rise and fall of Mrs. Cheng's family can be seen as a microcosm of the turmoil at the end of the Han Dynasty. The once awe-inspiring dignitaries withered with the decline of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the shackles of class were opened with the turmoil. In addition to the reshaping of order, the alternation of the new dynasty with the old dynasty also saw the replacement of the old dignitaries by the new dignitaries.

The swallows that once flew in front of the Wang and Xie mansions now fly into the homes of ordinary people!
Behind this statement, it is not just the downfall of Wang and Xie. I am afraid there are also a large number of powerful people who became prosperous because of the Eastern Jin Dynasty!

If Zhang Yu wanted to establish a dynasty, he was destined to support a group of upstarts. The wealth of the upstarts relied on Zhang Yu, so for their future and to repay Zhang Yu, they would inevitably work for Zhang Yu rather than the already declining Eastern Han Dynasty.

Of course, the declining families among the old nobility cannot be ignored. In order to restore the glory of their family, they will easily be used by Zhang Yu and then help Zhang Yu consolidate his rule.

On the way back to Chang'an City from Baqiao, because Zhang Yu was almost the lord of Guanxi, the families of officials and ministers all gave way to Zhang Yu's carriage.

Looking at the families of the ministers along the way, Guo Tu hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, although I have expelled Li Jue and assisted the emperor in moving east, I have little experience in the two capitals and I am afraid that I will not be able to win the hearts of the officials in the court."

Zhang Yu held the reins, glanced at Guo Tu, and asked, "I wonder what Gongze meant by that?"

Guo Tu rode his horse closer and said, "Sir, most of the officials in the court are officials who were promoted by He Jin, and many of the soldiers and officials under your command are He Jin's former subordinates. So in Tu's opinion, you should win over the He family and win the hearts of He Jin and He Miao, the former officials."

Lü Fan took the opportunity to interrupt and said, "What Gongze said is true. The surrendered soldiers, Lieutenants Wu Dang and Zhang Zhang, were former officers under He Jin. In addition to Zhang and Wu, there are more than a thousand former members of He Jin's army who followed Dong Zhuo and Li Jue successively, and many of them are military officers."

He Jin and He Miao are two people who cannot be avoided in the politics of the late Han Dynasty, especially He Jin. As the last actual powerful minister in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, he promoted too many famous people as his staff. Moreover, since the Han Dynasty had just declined, the staff under He Jin were still alive.

"Are there any descendants of the He family today?" Zhang Yu asked.

Guo Tu said, "My Lord, He Jin had a son named He Xian, but due to health reasons, he died on the way to Chang'an. He left behind a son named He Yan, who is now being raised by He Jin's son's daughter-in-law Yin. Yin is from the Henan Yin family and is the daughter of the late Grand Commandant Yin Song. The Yin family has three dukes in the second generation and is very famous."

After a pause, Guo Tu added: "Now the He family is in decline, with orphans and widows, and no one to take care of them. Your Excellency might as well take Yin as a concubine and He Yan as a foster son, so as to win the hearts of the old people of the He family."

After welcoming the emperor, Cao Cao chose to take Yin as his concubine. He was not only attracted by Yin's appearance, but also had his eyes on He Jin's political legacy. After all, as mentioned above, He Jin promoted a large number of talents and had many old officials in the court. Cao Cao took Yin as his concubine and adopted He Yan as his son. In a sense, he inherited He Jin's political legacy.

After Zhang Yu expelled Li Jue, the surrendered soldiers were of mixed composition, including not only Dong Zhuo's former subordinates, but also the former Luoyang Imperial Guards. When He Jin was alive, he won the hearts of the army because of his generosity. It was only after his death that his troops were incorporated by Dong Zhuo.

If Zhang Yu could marry Yin and take He Yan as his son, he would not only inherit the political legacy of the He family, but also win the hearts of He Jin's former subordinates. After all, Zhang Yu's army has doubled. He first relied on his relationship with Zhang Ji to make Dong Zhuo's former subordinates submit to him. If he still needs to use political marriage, he can make He Jin's former subordinates serve him.

While thinking, Zhang Yu suddenly had a vague image of Yin in his mind. Yin used to be good-looking, and he was jealous of her at that time. I wonder how Yin looks and looks like after a few years? I hope she won't lose her former beauty!
"Since you are determined to be the governor of the province, you cannot ignore the old people of the He family!" Lu Fan advised.

Although Zhang Yu was somewhat tempted, he remained calm and said, "Yin is from a famous family and is the daughter-in-law of He. If I take her as my concubine, I'm afraid she won't agree."

Seeing that Zhang Yu was convinced, Guo Tu said, "Tu has a history with Dunhuang Xuan Du, and Xuan Du's wife is familiar with Yin. Now we can let Xuan Du's wife talk to Yin."

"good!"

Zhang Yu rode his horse forward and said, "I'll leave this matter to Gongze!"

"promise!"

For the sake of the country, political marriages are inevitable. Especially since there are many big families in Guanzhong and Longyou, political marriages are inevitable in the future.

"Yuan Chang, where are you now?" Zhang Yu asked.

"My Lord, Mr. Zhong has already arrived in Hedong and will arrive in Chang'an soon!" Xin Pi hesitated for a moment and said, "Mr. Zhong has left Taiyuan. Who can replace him?"

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu said with a slight headache: "Guanzhong is busy with many things, and I need Yuan Chang to share my worries. Now the affairs of Taiyuan will be handed over to Yu Yi for the time being. Once the place of government is determined, we will discuss the affairs of Bingzhou."

"promise!"

After taking Guanzhong, Zhang Yu could not return to Jinyang. Moreover, the old system of ruling Bingzhou with Jinyang as the center could no longer be used. After all, the governors of the counties in Bingzhou were almost remote, and the person in charge of actual political affairs was the county magistrate.

The key to Zhang Yu's work was to establish a system of ruling for the hegemony. The design of the system of governance could not have been done without the assistance of Zhong Yao. And the location of the hegemony's seat of government was also worth discussing.

Of course, promoting the children of the great families in Guanzhong and further recruiting talents from all over the world are also things that Zhang Yu has to accomplish at the same time!
(End of this chapter)