Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 285: If a prince breaks the law, the common people will be guilty as well, let alone the king?

"If you want Yuan Shu to welcome the emperor, you may need the help of Yuan Shao!"

After considering for a long time, Jia Xu finally came up with a plan and said.

"But please be careful!"

Zhang Yu poured a glass of honey water for Jia Xu and spoke in a humble manner.

Now Liu Xie is in Luoyang. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be difficult for Liu Xie to voluntarily go to Yuan Shu's territory. Therefore, it is not easy to get Yuan Shu to welcome Liu Xie.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and thought, and said, "Yuan Shu regards Yuan Shao as an enemy. If Yuan Shao intends to cross the river to welcome the emperor to Ji, Yuan Shu will definitely send troops to fight back. Yuan Shao regards you as an enemy, so if you intend to welcome the emperor to Jin, Yuan Shao will definitely send troops to stop you."

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Wenhe wants me to pretend to welcome the emperor to Jin and deliberately leak the news to Yuan Shao. Then, I will tell Yuan Shu about Yuan Shao's dispatch of troops and induce the two Yuans to fight for the emperor?"

"Your Excellency is wise!"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said, "Lü Bu and Cao Cao are fighting for Yanzhou, and Zhang Miao of Chenliu is close to Yuan Shu. If Yuan Shu can get your help, he will surely be able to welcome the emperor to Wancheng."

After a pause, Jia Xu emphasized, "Pardon my nagging, but Yuan Shu must have the intention to become emperor. Otherwise, if Yuan Shu becomes emperor, it will be like adding wings to a tiger. Jing, Yu, and Yang will probably all surrender to Yuan Shu and work for him. When Yuan Shu annexes Bashu in the west and drinks the Yellow River in the north, it will be difficult for Yuan Shu to make a sudden move."

Zhang Yu took a sip of honey water and said with a smile: "When I was in Luoyang, I had been in contact with Yuan Shu for many years. He was arrogant by nature, brave but indecisive, and not a wise leader. His ambition to become emperor and replace the Han Dynasty grew when the Han Dynasty was in decline. Although Emperor Liu Xie was young, he had the hope of reviving the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the two people's temperaments were not compatible, and there would be a life-and-death struggle."

Among the heroes of the late Han Dynasty, Zhang Yu knew Yuan Shu best. Yuan Shu was a typical second-generation rich man who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and acted as he pleased. He was often unwilling to be restrained. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was arrogant by nature.

When Liu Xie arrived at Yuan Shu's territory, Yuan Shu's character made it difficult for Liu Xie to have a good time. After all, Yuan Shu was not Cao Cao. Cao Cao would still respect Liu Xie out of consideration for the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, but Yuan Shu would take revenge if he had a grudge, and vent his anger if he had no grudge.

Zhang Yu sneered and said, "When Kong Rong was sent to Guanzhong as an envoy, he spoke rudely in front of everyone. When he arrives in Jingzhou, I will ask Yuan Shu to kill him."

Zhang Yu could remember the hatred of Kong Rong's slander and his instigation. Kong Rong was famous, a descendant of Confucius, and had achieved fame at a young age. He was a great scholar in the world. In particular, Kong Rong had a close relationship with the Wang family. Killing him personally would cause controversy. Therefore, it would be best if he could use Yuan Shu to kill Kong Rong for him.

Listening to Zhang Yu's words of revenge on Kong Rong, Jia Xu lowered his eyes and had no intention of expressing any opinion.

After a while, Jia Xu said, "Zhu Jun is the Minister of State Affairs, and his prestige is prominent in the court. If he interferes in the matter of welcoming the emperor, I am afraid that your plan will not be successful. Therefore, I think we should first try to sow discord, so that Your Majesty will be suspicious of Zhu Jun, and then find a way to lure Yuan Shao to send troops."

"good!"

Zhang Yu drank a few sips of honey water and continued to ask: "Next year, if the two Yuans send troops to welcome the emperor, I wonder how Wenhe thinks I will use the troops?"

Jia Xu put down the cup, bowed and said: "Since you have the ambition to conquer the world, why don't you follow the example of Emperor Gaozu's eastward march. First, he returned to pacify the Three Qins, and then pacified Longyou, so that you don't have to worry about the future. So in my opinion, you should pacify Guanzhong this year and pacify Longyou next year."

"When you have a strong army and sufficient food, you can march east to Shangdang and fight Yuan Shao for Hebei. However, Longyou is not peaceful. When you are fighting Yuan Shao, Han Sui will be tempted to rebel and become a threat to you. Therefore, march west first and then east, which is the general strategy to stabilize the Central Plains."

Perhaps it was because Zhang Yu came up with the strategy of letting Yuan Shu destroy the Han Dynasty that Jia Xu respected Zhang Yu even more. Not only did he take the initiative to offer suggestions, he also spoke frankly about Zhang Yu's ambitions.

"Wenhe, is actually my son Fang'er!"

Zhang Yu reached out and shook Jia Xu's hand, saying enthusiastically: "Next year, let the two Yuans fight for the throne, and I will lead my army to the west. Once the army has pacified Longyou, it will be time to fight for the Central Plains in the east."

It is often said that if you get Long, you will look to Shu, but few people know that if you get Long, you can look to Guanzhong. Longyou and Guanzhong are separated by Longshan Mountain, and the altitudes of the two are suddenly raised because of Longshan Mountain. If the Longyou Plateau is hostile to Guanzhong, Guanzhong will be easily harassed, and Sanfu will even become a battlefield.

In order to go east to the Central Plains to fight for hegemony, Zhang Yu needs to travel through Longshan Mountain next year to conquer Ma Teng and Han Sui to stabilize the situation in the rear. As for the counties in the Hexi Corridor, since they are far away from Guanzhong, they can be temporarily ignored, or sent to the Hexi Corridor.

Jia Xu was flattered and said, "How dare my humble opinion compare to that of the Marquis of Liu? It is my honor to be able to share your worries."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "When we get to Saibei, I'll treat Wen He to venison!"

Not to mention that Zhang Yu was in Jinyang. After he and Jia Xu finalized the plan to harm the court, he led his cavalry out of Yanmen to Shuo Shang and ordered Yan Rou and Yang Zan to summon the various Hu people in Dai Shuo to Pingcheng for a meeting.

Lü Fan was ordered to go south to Guanzhong. He first met Zhang Liao and asked him to submit a petition to the court to apologize for Zhang Liao's behavior of allowing his soldiers to beat Kong Rong. When he met Wang Hong later, Lü Fan comforted him on behalf of Zhang Yu and said that the grain and grass for the relief of the court had been transferred from Hanoi to the court.

Previously, Wang Hong privately wrote a letter to his eldest son Wang Chen to transfer grain from Henei to the capital. Compared with Wang Hong who made a mistake, Wang Chen, who once advised Zhang Yu to be alone and independent, had a clear mind. Not only did he not listen to Wang Hong, but he also took the initiative to report the matter to Zhang Yu.

After receiving the letter, Zhang Yu was very satisfied with Wang Chen's attitude. Considering the distance, he allowed Wang Chen to transfer grain to supply the court.

When Wang Hong met Lü Fan, although he was dissatisfied with Zhang Yu's failure to punish Zhang Liao, he reluctantly accepted Lü Fan's offer of mediation.

After pacifying Wang Hong, Lu Fan supervised the prohibition of alcohol in the following days and investigated the private drinking of officials and scholars in the three prefectures of Guanzhong. Based on the reports from each other, Lu Fan arrested several people.

On July 20, Lu Fan saw that the time was ripe and began to take action against Wang Hong.

On that day, Lü Fan, holding a talisman and guarded by soldiers on both sides, walked straight into the hall of Fengyi Mansion. Upon hearing that Lü Fan had come to visit, Wang Hong, relying on his senior status, did not go out to greet him, but asked someone to go out on his behalf and bring Lü Fan into the hall.

"Ziheng came to visit me today for no reason. I wonder what it is?" Wang Hong asked.

"About Prohibition!"

Lü Fan looked friendly and said, "This year, there has been a severe drought for several months. Guanzhong, Jingji, and Sanjin are all suffering from drought. In order to save food and provide relief to the people, the General of Chariots and Cavalry has issued an order to ban alcohol. No one is allowed to drink privately. If anyone drinks at a banquet, the fault of the host and the guests will be investigated."

"Since the decree was issued, I have heard that the prince has invited people to drink many times, and even privately entertained the imperial envoys without any prior arrangement. I wonder if this is true?"

As time went by, many officials in the county government secretly eavesdropped on the conversation between Wang Hong and Lu Fan.

Wang Hong had no intention of hiding anything, and said with a frank smile: "Wine has been a virtue for a long time. In ancient times, all the wise men and saints were associated with wine. Therefore, there is a shining star of wine in the sky, and there is a county of Jiuquan on earth. I entertain guests for public affairs, just like Li Sheng made great contributions to the Han Dynasty as a Gaoyang drunkard, so we can't generalize."

It was said before that Wang Hong was ashamed to associate with Sun Zi and Dong Zhao, and was ashamed to listen to the orders of Zhong Yao and Du Ji, so Wang Hong did his own thing in many things. For example, even if the ban on alcohol was issued, Wang Hong turned a blind eye.

Moreover, in his reply to the official document of the Imperial Guard, Wang Hong's choice of words and expressions were mostly arrogant. However, the Imperial Guard knew Wang Hong's identity, so Zhong Yao treated him with tolerance and tried his best to maintain a friendly attitude with Wang Hong.

If it were before, Lu Fan would still be wary of Wang Hong because of Zhang Yu, but now that Zhang Yu intends to establish the authority of the Cavalry Bureau, Lu Fan must strictly enforce the law.

Lü Fan's expression remained unchanged as he said, "The situation is different from before. The people are freezing and starving in the wilderness. Your Excellency's ban on alcohol is actually to save people. Your Excellency's banquet for guests, wasting food, isn't that taking away food that can save people's lives?"

"Now that the public has admitted that they have violated the prohibition order, don't blame Fan for strictly enforcing the law."

Then, Lu Fan bowed and said, "Please follow me to Chang'an for questioning!"

Seeing that Lv Fan was serious, Wang Hong's expression was uncertain, and he said coldly: "Do you know my identity?"

"Everyone in the Cavalry House knows the prince's identity!"

Lu Fan looked determined and said, "But it is said in ancient times: 'If a prince breaks the law, the common people will be punished as well.' Now you are not as noble as a prince, how can you escape punishment?"

"it is good!"

Wang Hong suddenly laughed, his laughter was full of coldness, and said, "I wonder whose orders you came here today?"

Lu Fan could not reveal his true intention, so he replied coldly, "I am following the order of the law and invite the prince to Chang'an for questioning!"

"No!"

Xu Ying stepped forward to mediate, saying, "All Fengyi affairs are handled by the prince. Now that the prince has gone to Chang'an, there will be no one to govern. So it would be better for Lord Lu to ask the prince for instructions and then decide whether to detain the prince."

Lü Fan remained calm and said, "Your Excellency is still at the frontier, so it is difficult to convey the news. I would like to ask you to come to Chang'an to question me first."

"Mr. Lu?" Xu Ying was about to speak but was interrupted by Wang Hong.

"No need!"

Wang Hong straightened his clothes and said, "Since Lord Lu has invited me to Chang'an to question him, how can I not go now?"

Wang Hong said meaningfully, "I'm afraid it won't be that simple when you send me out of Chang'an!"

"Fan has a clear conscience when upholding the law impartially!"

Lu Fan looked indifferent, ignoring Wang Hong's threats, and walked with the soldiers surrounding Wang Hong.

Seeing that Lu Fan was not understanding, Wang Hong waved his sleeves and walked away. Looking at the glances coming from all around, he gradually felt ashamed and annoyed, but in order to maintain his demeanor, he remained calm.

Lü Fan didn't know how Wang Hong felt at the moment. For Lü Fan, taking Wang Hong away was a success. After all, there were many officials in the county government, and the news would spread quickly. It would not take long for the news that Wang Hong was taken to Chang'an for questioning by Lü Fan for violating the prohibition on alcohol to spread.

Once this news spreads, everyone will be shocked. Needless to say, a large number of people will put pressure on Lu Fan in the future, and even Wang Ji will intervene. And this effect is what Lu Fan wants to achieve. After all, he is under the order of Zhang Yu to establish the authority of the Cavalry House, so the more people who know Wang Hong are arrested for violating the government order, the better.

As for offending Wang because of this matter, Lu Fan no longer cared about that. He just hoped that Zhang Yu would not abandon him, and he also believed that Zhang Yu would not let him down.

ps: Three updates tomorrow to make up for the one I owed yesterday

(End of this chapter)