Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 257: The traitor Liu Yu, the change of master of Youzhou

Youzhou, Ji County.

In the provincial government, Liu Yu sat on the couch with a smile on his face, discussing the eastward migration with his confidants.

"Your Majesty has moved east to Luoyang and renovated the temples of the two dynasties. Emissaries from all prefectures and counties have flocked to pay homage to you. This is a great joy!" Liu Yu was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He said, "Your Majesty will take charge of the government next year and change the era name to Xingping, intending to clean up the accumulated malpractices."

Wei You saluted and congratulated him, "Your Majesty, you led the army to defeat the bandits, and assisted the Han Dynasty with Marquis Zhang. You should live up to your expectations. However, the current situation is complicated, with many princes standing side by side, and it is difficult for the court to issue orders outside Luoyang. It may not be easy for Your Majesty to clean up the accumulated problems!"

Liu Yu restrained his smile, sighed and said: "There are few people in the world who are loyal to the Han Dynasty, and many who want to secede and rebel. In the past, Ji'an convened a meeting of princes to attack Guanzhong. I thought he was a fellow traveler. However, according to the news from the court, Ji'an actually ruled Guanzhong and forcibly ceded Guanzhong to set up Yongzhou. I misjudged him!"

Seeing that Liu Yu was still worried about the Yongzhou incident, Wei You advised him, "You are the hope of the world, and the Han Dynasty respects you. If you want to assist the country, you cannot do without counselors and minions!"

"Zhang Yu is a man of both civil and military talents. Although he has some minor faults, we must tolerate them. If you dislike Zhang Yu because of the Yongzhou incident, I'm afraid no one will save the court if it is in trouble!"

Zhang Yu's act of forcibly establishing Yongzhou and taking himself as the governor of Yongzhou disappointed many loyal Han people who had previously followed Zhang Yu to fight against the rebels.

Although they were disappointed, they had to maintain a friendly attitude with Zhang Yu in order to continue the Han Dynasty, in order to prevent the court from being in danger and no one to rescue it.

"For the sake of state affairs, we can only tolerate it for now!" Liu Yu sighed and said, "If Gongsun Zan is violent, I will raise an army to fight him next year."

Wei You advised: "Zhang Yu supports Gongsun Zan to check Yuan Shao. If you attack him, Yuan Shao may gain the upper hand!"

Liu Yu said: "Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are both traitors to the country. If we can destroy Gongsun Zan next year, we should take advantage of the situation to attack Yuan Shao and enhance the prestige of the Han Dynasty!"

"Mingsir, something terrible has happened!"

Wei You wanted to say something, but was interrupted by a hurried shout.

Wei You looked in the direction of the voice and saw his colleague Cheng Xu running quickly with an extremely anxious look, as if something terrible had happened.

"Why are you so alarmed?"

Before Liu Yu could ask, Cheng Xu gasped and interrupted, "Mingsong, Gongsun Zan and Gongsun Ji are colluding with each other. Gongsun Ji opened the city gates. Now Gongsun Zan has led thousands of infantry and cavalry into the city and is now heading towards the prefecture with the intention of capturing and killing you!"

"what?"

Liu Yu's expression changed drastically, he suddenly stood up from the couch and said angrily: "Gongsun Zan is far away in Bohai, how dare you return to Ji without my order?"

After Yuan Shao persuaded Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Zan tried every means to take over Youzhou. Finally, he adopted a decapitation operation, raided Ji County, captured Liu Yu, and then replaced the governor of Youzhou with his own people.

As for how to raid Ji County, Gongsun Zan listened to Guan Jing's advice, selected 3,000 elite soldiers from Youzhou and sent them back to Youzhou. Then they secretly gathered in Ji County to follow Gongsun Zan in the uprising.

The insider was Gongsun Ji, who was under Liu Yu's command. Gongsun Ji and Gongsun Zan had no blood relationship, but only the same surname. However, because of the same surname, Gongsun Zan treated Gongsun Ji well, and after several exchanges, Gongsun Ji worked for Gongsun Zan.

Now with Gongsun Ji as an internal supporter and Liu Yu being unprepared, Gongsun Zan easily led his troops into the city.

“I don’t know the details!”

Cheng Xu looked outside the palace, fearing that Gongsun Zan had already arrived, and urged: "Gongsun Zan is unruly and wants to capture and kill you. You should leave the city quickly and gather the Youzhou troops to attack Gongsun Zan."

"go!"

Liu Yu's face was now filled with fear. He did not bother to hold Gongsun Zan accountable. With the help of his attendants, he fled towards the back door.

After walking a few dozen steps quickly, when they were about to reach the back door, Gongsun Zan, leading dozens of armored soldiers, had already broken into the mansion from the back door and ran into Liu Yu, Wei You and his group on the spot.

"Liu Youzhou?"

Seeing Liu Yu being supported by his attendants, Gongsun Zan laughed and asked knowingly, "I didn't know you were not in the prefecture. Where are you going now?"

Liu Yu's expression was filled with anger, and he asked angrily, "Gongsun Zan, what do you want to do now?"

Gongsun Zan beckoned the soldiers to come forward and said, "Please hand over the seal of Youzhou Governor and give up Youzhou to me, and I will spare your life."

Liu Yu held the seal tightly in his hand and said sternly: "How can you take the seal granted by the emperor!"

Seeing that the soldiers were about to step forward to snatch the weapon, Wei You stood in front of Liu Yu and said in a deep voice, "Gongsun Zan, if Mu Bo had not presented a memorial to appoint you as a general and put the Youzhou troops under your command, how could you have marched across Hebei?"

"You have committed treason and seized the position of governor of Youzhou. If the people of Youzhou knew about it, you would not be afraid of being denounced by the crowd. Besides, the emperor has returned to Luoyang today. If the emperor knew about your rebellious behavior, he would definitely issue an imperial decree to punish you and implicate your relatives and friends!"

Gongsun Zan sneered and said, "When you cut off my food supplies, did you consider that I am a Youzhou officer?"

"If I don't lead the troops to Ji County, I'm afraid Youzhou will lead the troops to Bohai. Now that you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust!"

Liu Yu was not afraid at all and said, "You are fighting against Dong Zhuo in name only, but you are actually trying to seize Jizhou. Moreover, you have been defeated by Yuan Shao many times. If it were not for me and Zhang Ji'an, you would have been defeated by Yuan Shao long ago. You are an ungrateful person, so stop talking nonsense."

Gongsun Zan's face was uncertain, and he was full of disgust at Liu Yu's words. If he had not been defeated by Yuan Shao many times, he would not want to seize Liu Yu's Youzhou. But in the current situation, if he did not seize Liu Yu's Youzhou, he would become a pawn of Zhang Yu, and he would always fight Yuan Shao to the death in Bohai.

Only by seizing Youzhou could he break free from Zhang Yu's control, build his own foundation, and have the capital to compete with Yuan Shao and Zhang Yu.

"The reason why I was defeated by Yuan Shao is not because I am inferior to Yuan Shao. It is because Yuan Shao has the support of Jizhou, while I cannot get the military supplies of Youzhou. Therefore, my defeat is all due to you!" Gongsun Zan scolded. "Hand over the seal of Youzhou Mu, and I can still spare your life!"

"Unless I die!" Liu Yu said.

"Get started!"

With Gongsun Zan's military order, the soldiers rushed forward and snatched the seal from Liu Yu's hand.

In order to protect Liu Yu, Wei You boldly stood in front of the soldiers and shouted, "Mr. Liu is a relative of the emperor, and is in charge of Youzhou by the emperor's order. If you dare to step forward and snatch the seal, you are plotting a rebellion, and your three clans should be executed."

Wei You's scolding actually frightened his subordinate soldiers and officers.

Seeing this, Gongsun Zan was furious. He drew his sword and stabbed Wei You to death. He said in a stern voice: "Liu Yu and Yuan Shao had previously conspired to establish their own state. I am leading my troops here to eliminate the traitor for Your Majesty!"

Wei You covered his abdomen, stared at Gongsun Zan fiercely, and squeezed out the last bit of strength to say: "Gongsun Zan, if you dare to seize Youzhou today, the court and Zhang Yu will not let you go!"

"You can't see!"

"Boyou!"

Seeing Wei You die tragically at the hands of Gongsun Zan, Liu Yu cursed: "Gongsun Zan, you murdered the officials of the state and robbed the state seal. How can the people of Youzhou tolerate you?"

Gongsun Zan pointed his bloody sword at Liu Yu and said in a deep voice: "I have raised you for a long time, and you are here to serve me. Capture Liu Yu, take away his seal, and you will be rewarded with land and houses!"

"promise!"

With Gongsun Zan leading the way, the soldiers swarmed up, tied up Liu Yu with ropes, and forcibly took the seal and handed it over to Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan played with the seal of the governor of Youzhou, feeling quite happy. He looked at Liu Yu, who was full of hatred, and said, "Liu Yu, do you think the Han Dynasty is still useful?"

"Since Dong Zhuo entered the capital, many heroes have emerged. Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Zhang Yu all have their own selfish motives. If you had governed Youzhou well, I would not have touched you. But you don't know what's good for you. You insisted on cutting off my food and forcing me to do what I did today."

Gongsun Zan threatened, "If you stay at home and recommend officials in Youzhou according to my opinion, I will spare your life. If you don't obey, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

What Gongsun Zan said was half true and half false. If Liu Yu was willing to give up the military power and devoted himself to governing Youzhou and supplying Gongsun Zan with military supplies, Gongsun Zan would indeed not take action in the short term.

But the second half of the sentence was a lie. Gongsun Zan wanted to use Liu Yu's reputation to replace the officials in Youzhou so as to help him control Youzhou. After the plan was completed, Gongsun Zan would definitely not spare Liu Yu's life, but would find an excuse to kill him.

Although Liu Yu was a scholar with a modest temperament, he was fierce in character. He spat at Gongsun Zan and cursed, "Gongsun Zan, even dogs can recognize their masters, but you have received great favors from the Han Dynasty, yet you are plotting rebellion. I misjudged you and made the mistake of using you as a general. I only regret that I could not kill you earlier and have kept you alive until now!"

Gongsun Zan looked down at the spittle on his boots and listened to Liu Yu's insults. His anger reached its peak.

"Liu Yu, appoint new officials in the counties for me. I am willing to spare your life and send you to the court!" Gongsun Zan said, suppressing his anger.

"Don't think about it!"

Liu Yu looked stern and said, "I was ordered by the emperor to stay in Youzhou and promote and recruit people who are loyal and capable. How can I succumb to the words of a maid giving birth to a child and abandon Youzhou to the thieves!"

"The old dog has gone too far!"

When Gongsun Zan heard Liu Yu insulting him for having a maid's son, he burst into anger and ordered his men, saying, "Behead the old dog and send his head to the court!"

"promise!"

The soldier hesitated for a moment and then dragged Liu Yu away.

"Wait a minute!"

Seeing the soldiers brandishing their swords, Guan Jing rushed in quickly and shouted, "General, Lord Liu is very popular in Youzhou, we cannot kill him now!"

However, Guan Jing's words were a beat too slow. The soldier raised his sword and slashed it, and Liu Yu's head was separated from his body, and he was beheaded on the spot.

Seeing Liu Yu dead, Guan Jing stamped his feet and said, "General, how can you explain to the court that you killed Liu Yu? How can the officials of Youzhou obey you?"

In Guan Jing's mind, Gongsun Zan captured Liu Yu and planned to use him to control Youzhou. However, Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu with a knife, which disrupted his plan.

Looking at Liu Yu's head in a pool of blood, Gongsun Zan's resentment finally dissipated and he said, "Liu Yu disobeyed my orders, so I have no choice but to kill him. Moreover, Liu Yu had previously discussed with Yuan Shao about establishing an emperor. Killing him now is to purge the country of traitors!"

"As for the counties of Youzhou?"

Gongsun Zan said disdainfully: "I can defeat them with the troops I have!"

"Come here, anyone who dares to mourn for the traitor Liu Yu will be imprisoned and executed!"

"promise!"

Seeing that Gongsun Zan did not listen to his advice, Guan Jing sighed and could only remain silent.

(End of this chapter)