Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 381: Welcoming the new emperor and attacking Chen Yuan together

On April 24, Liu Xie abdicated to Yuan Shu, and the 400-year-old Han Dynasty came to an end, with Chen and Yuan succeeding.

On April 28, Sun Jian, governor of Yizhou, issued a manifesto in Yufu to fight against the rebels, stating that Yuan Shu had usurped the Han Dynasty and established himself as the emperor, which was not a good thing for a loyal subject, and that he would now avenge the Han Dynasty.

As soon as Sun Jian sent out his proclamation, the states of Jing and Yi were in uproar. Everyone knew that Sun Jian was a general under Yuan Shu, who appointed him as a general on the day he ascended the throne. But now that Sun Jian had revolted in Yizhou, everyone was shocked.

Not only were the soldiers and officers of the two states shocked, but the person involved, Yuan Shu, was outraged.

"Snapped!"

Yuan Shu smashed the teacup to the ground, breaking the exquisite jade cup into pieces, with jade pieces scattered and honey splashing everywhere.

"Sun Wentai, I fuck your mother!"

Yuan Shu changed his usual image and cursed, "You have been treated with great kindness by the Lord. You were promoted from a mere soldier to a general, then a marquis, and now you are made a great general. Your position in the country is second only to mine. Yet you have started a rebellion in Bashu and issued an edict to attack me. Is your heart eaten by a dog?"

Yuan Shu's angry face was filled with sadness. Although he was suspicious of Sun Jian, he never thought of getting rid of him. Instead, he kept using him for various reasons.

But now he did not expect that the general he respected had been deceiving him. When he proclaimed himself emperor and founded the country, he took the lead in rebelling and even issued a manifesto. This was undoubtedly a slap in his face.

"Somebody come!"

Yuan Shu kicked the table and cursed, "Gather the troops and follow me to the west. I will kill Sun Jian!"

"Calm down!"

Seeing Yuan Shu's anger rising and gradually losing his rationality, Yan Xiang stepped forward to stop him and said, "Your Majesty, you have just ascended the throne and people's hearts are unsettled. Your Majesty must first stabilize the governance of the counties before discussing the matter of attacking Sun Jian."

Yuan Shu said angrily: "Sun Jian has issued a letter to attack me. If I don't lead the army to attack him, won't I be criticized by the world? Besides, there are still my old subordinates in Shu. If we can march west to defeat Badong this time, there will be many people who will respond."

Yan Xiang said: "From what I have seen so far, Sun Jian has been harboring the intention of rebellion for a long time. If what I have predicted is correct, Sun Jian has ordered his men to seize the military power of your Majesty's former subordinates. Your Majesty is hasty in leading the army westward, and I am afraid it will be difficult to capture Badong County."

As he spoke, Yan Xiang reminded him, "Your Majesty, when Sun Jian divided Ba County, he appointed his younger brother Sun Jing as the governor of Badong. I'm afraid this was a preparation for this moment."

The more Yan Xiang said that Sun Jian had made arrangements in advance, the uglier Yuan Shu looked. He asked, "Are you saying that Sun Jian's expedition to Bashu is intended to split off and rebel?"

“Maybe!”

Yan Xiang sighed and said, "When Sun Jian was detained by Your Majesty in Wancheng, he might have harbored resentment, so he presented the imperial seal to Your Majesty in order to conquer Bashu in the west. When Your Majesty proclaimed himself emperor, Sun Jian brought all his family members to Yufu, so it is hard to believe that Sun Jian was unprepared."

Yuan Shu recalled the various suspicious points about Sun Jian in recent years, and his mind suddenly became clearer. He slumped down on the couch, gritting his teeth and said, "Sun Jian used the imperial seal to exchange for the Western Expedition to Bashu, and took advantage of my abdication to become emperor to attack me. It seems that he has long wanted to betray me. He is a cunning villain, and I cannot vent my hatred unless I kill him."

"Your Majesty, Sun Jian's rebellion by ceding Bashu is outrageous, but it shows that the power and virtue of the Han Dynasty still exist." Yan Xiang advised: "So I think your Majesty might as well appease the people's hearts and then observe the situation in the world before using force."

Yuan Shu looked gloomy and looked at Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, asking, "What do you two think?"

Seeing Yuan Shu calling out his name, Kuai Yue sighed and said, "Your Majesty, I think Lord Yan's opinion is reasonable. Sun Jian led his army to conquer Bashu, but his followers knew Sun Jian but not Your Majesty. Now that Sun Jian has closed himself off and rebelled, I'm afraid he had planned it long ago, so it's not appropriate to use force rashly. We need to appease the people first and conquer the remnants of the small bandits under our rule."

Yuan Shu was dissatisfied and looked at Cai Mao.

Seeing this, Cai Mao knew that Yuan Shu hoped to hear his support. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, what you two said is not without reason. However, Sun Jian is a traitor. If we do not send troops to conquer him now, it may make the treacherous people rampant. However, considering the people's hearts and minds, Mao thinks that Your Majesty may appoint a general to lead the navy and stay in Yiling to observe the situation and march west. Your Majesty will stay in Wancheng to appease the people's hearts."

"Who can lead the army?" Yuan Shu asked.

"Sun Jian is a fierce tiger of Jianghan. He is good at commanding the navy and using troops. Only a great general can be qualified for the job!" Cai Mao said with his head down.

Yuan Shu hesitated for a moment and said, "Let Qiao Rui lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry, and let Zhang Yun and Wen Pin lead 10,000 navy soldiers from Jingchu, and march west with 20,000 troops."

"promise!"

Cai Mao hesitated for a moment and said, "Zhang Yun is not feeling well and is still recuperating at home, so Your Majesty may need to select him to go to war."

After Liu Biao was captured by Yuan Shu, he had been serving under Yuan Shu. Now that Yuan Shu has proclaimed himself emperor, he has made Liu Biao one of the Nine Ministers, which makes up for his lack of leadership.

Zhang Yun was originally Liu Biao's nephew, but seeing that Liu Biao only had a nominal title but no real power, he attached himself to Cai Mao. Cai Mao was interested in developing his minions, so he promoted Zhang Yun and made him a general. Now Yuan Shu wanted to march west to attack Sun Jian, but Cai Mao knew Sun Jian's bravery, so how could he let his minions lead the troops to die.

Yuan Shu didn't know what Cai Mao was thinking, so he changed his candidate and said, "Then let Liu Xun lead the troops to the battle!"

"promise!"

When Yuan Shu was angry about Sun Jian's rebellion, the news of Yuan Shu's declaration of emperorship had already spread. For example, Cao Cao not only received the news of Yuan Shu's declaration of emperorship, but also received the news that Sun Jian had issued a manifesto to attack Yuan Shu.

Shu County, the county seat.

Cao Hong hurried into the hall and said, "Sir, there has been a drastic change in Jingzhou!" Cao Cao took up his pen and wrote a document, then asked slowly, "Did Yuan Shu usurp the Han Dynasty and establish himself as emperor?"

"Your Excellency is wise!"

Seeing that Cao Cao knew in advance that Yuan Shu would declare himself emperor, Cao Hong said respectfully: "On the 24th, Your Majesty will abdicate to Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shu will ascend the throne and declare himself emperor. The country will be named Chen and the reign will be changed to Jianzhong."

"The Han Dynasty lasted for 400 years, but now it is gone!"

Even though Cao Cao had anticipated Liu Xie's abdication, he could not help but feel sad when he heard Yuan Shu proclaim himself emperor. He said with emotion: "Yuan Shu and I once helped to support the Han Dynasty, but Yuan Shu usurped the throne. This is really outrageous!"

"The Han Dynasty should have perished long ago!"

Cao Ren sneered and said, "The prefectures and counties are corrupt, the people are living in misery, and the eunuch party is in chaos. Now the world is in turmoil, the four seas are boiling, the Han Dynasty is in name only, what is the difference between this and the destruction of the country!"

"No nonsense!"

Cao Cao stroked his beard and sighed, saying: "Yuan Shu usurped the throne, the Han Dynasty fell, and your Majesty's whereabouts are unknown. Therefore, the world is so big, but I don't know who will be respected."

Don’t think that Cao Cao was a separatist warlord who didn’t care whether the imperial court would accept his proposals for official titles. However, now that the Han Dynasty had fallen, Cao Cao suddenly felt a little lost. Next time he proposed an official title, to whom would he report it? He felt empty in his heart.

Cao Hong then said, "Not only that, when Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, Sun Jian rebelled in Bashu and issued a manifesto to denounce Yuan Shu and avenge the Han Dynasty."

"Oh?"

Cao Cao was immediately surprised and asked, "Sun Jian actually rebelled against Yuan Shu?"

"Of course!"

"color!"

Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed, saying to his attendants, "I was originally worried that Sun Jian would go to Bashu and Yuan Shu would send him to attack me. But now Sun Jian has taken Bashu and rebelled, not only cutting off one arm of Yuan Shu, but also severely damaging his reputation. I no longer have to worry about him!"

Xun Yu stood up from the table, cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency was the first to advocate the righteous army, but due to the turmoil in the capital, he was unable to welcome Your Majesty. Now the life and death of the emperor is unknown. Looking at what Emperor Gaozu did in the past, he went east to attack Xiang Yu and wore mourning for the Righteous Emperor, which won the hearts of the people. The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Your Excellency should encourage the righteous men. Why don't you welcome the new emperor and correct the rules between the monarch and his subjects?"

"Yuan Shu usurped the Han Dynasty and established himself as emperor, and the people were not happy with him. The envoy welcomed and established Your Majesty, and the righteous men came to Your Majesty's court. At that time, Your Majesty upholds the orthodoxy and punishes the unjust, so there will be benefits for people to be in harmony with him, just like the righteous men in Jiangzuo will flock to him like a nest."

"Welcome the new emperor?"

Cao Cao paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, pondering the pros and cons, and asked, "What do you think, Zhongde?"

Cheng Yu said: "Your Excellency wants to make Huainan your border, but now Jiujiang County is occupied by Liu Yao. However, if you can welcome and establish the new emperor, you can make Shouchun the capital, and honor Liu Yao as the prime minister. You will be able to control Jiujiang. Lujiang, Guangling, and Jiujiang counties are populous. If you govern them well, you will be able to get tens of thousands of elite soldiers, and you may be able to attack Yuzhou in the north, or cross the river to the south to establish a career. This will be the cause of a country!"

Cao Cao nodded and said, "In this case, we need to discuss with Liu Yao to jointly establish the Han emperor, make Shouchun the capital, and confer titles to all officials."

"Your Excellency is wise!" everyone complimented.

"Sir, it's good to enthrone the Han emperor now, but if we want to compete with Yuan Shu, we still need to implement the strategy of forming an alliance." A man suddenly spoke up.

Cao Cao looked carefully and saw that it was Liu Ye, a strategist who had recently joined him, who was speaking. He asked in a friendly manner, "What is the strategy of forming an alliance, and where did Zi Yang's strategy come from?"

In the past, Xun Yu dragged Guo Jia to join Cao Cao. At that time, Guo Jia wanted to wait and see Cao Cao's ability, so he did not have in-depth contact with Cao Cao. Cao Cao had Xi Zhi's talent and had just occupied Yanzhou, which was a time of great success, so he did not make great use of Guo Jia.

After Cao Cao lost Yanzhou, Guo Jia saw that Cao Cao wanted to go south to Jianghuai, so he stayed in Yingchuan County and was unable to follow Cao Cao south, wanting to continue waiting for a wise leader.

Soon after arriving in Jianghuai, military advisor Xi Zhicai died of illness. Cao Cao felt that he had no one to use, so he asked Xun Yu if there was anyone who could replace Xi Zhicai. Xun Yu said that Guo Jia had left, and the only person who wanted to replace Xi Zhicai was Liu Ye from Jiujiang who had just joined the army.

After a conversation with Liu Ye, Cao Cao felt that he was a talented person, so he appointed him as the chief priest, replacing Xi Zhicai.

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Sun Jian is occupying Bashu to attack Yuan Shu, and you and Yuan Shu are mortal enemies. Now you might as well send someone to contact Sun Jian and ask them to attack Yuan Shu from the east and the west."

"Not only that, Ye heard that Yuan Shu sent his generals to attack Jiaoling, but was defeated by Liu Bei's scheme. Liu Bei is Yuan Shu's enemy, so why don't you contact Liu Bei and make an agreement with the three of us to attack Yuan Shu together?"

"Yuan Shu will be unable to lead a large army to overwhelm you, as he faces enemies on three sides. With your military strategy, we will be able to sweep the Jiangzuo area, march west to Jingzhou, take Xuzhou and Yuzhou in the north, and achieve hegemony in the southeast."

"color!"

Cao Cao was very impressed, and shook Liu Ye's hand, saying: "Zi Yang has the talent of Zhang Liang. Now that he can offer his advice, we can conquer Jiangzuo!"

Cao Cao is in a good mood now. Since he went south to Jianghuai, he feels enlightened and no longer struggles like he did in Yanzhou. According to the strategies of Xun Yu and Liu Ye, he can not only annex Jiujiang County, but also share Yuan Shu with Liu and Sun. If he can occupy Jiangzuo and Huaibei, he will be able to dominate the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)