Tiger Guards

Chapter 278 The Emperor is not in a hurry

In Yingyin City, the Nanyang troops were encamped outside, while Zhang Xiu's main force was stationed inside the city.

The emperor's carriage was in the north, while the procession of dukes and ministers arrived first.

As a result, more than 5,000 Nanyang soldiers who had set off with the officials turned against them and joined Deng Ji's Nanyang army.

In this tiny place called Yingyin, the people of Nanyang instantly became the largest force.

As for the emperor's carriage, it followed behind the southward migration procession, quietly enjoying the tributes presented by Changshe and Yangdi counties, waiting for the situation to calm down.

The nobles can always solve problems; if they can't, the problems will resolve themselves.

This unexpected turn of events was nothing new to Liu Xie.

Xun You, Xun Yu, and some other high-ranking officials also personally experienced the 'betrayal by the court'.

Previously, the two sides conspired together, with the Xun family having their own plans and the officials having their own schemes. In the later stages, there were bound to be conflicts between their plans.

Before the conflict even erupted, it brought out the people of Nanyang.

If the demands of the people of Nanyang are not met, the imperial court will be unable to pass through Yingyin, and Zhao Qi and Zhang Xiu will lose control of the Nanyang troops.

In this unexpected and unpredictable environment, Zhao Qi became the representative of the people of Nanyang to negotiate with the nobles.

If things can be negotiated with Zhao Qi, great; if not, the people of Nanyang will continue to block the roads and see who can't hold out first.

If the battle is dragged out until the decisive battle in Chenliu, and the victor from Chenliu comes to Yingchuan, then everyone will lose!
The bottom line for the people of Nanyang is very clear: to abandon the immoral old dynasty and welcome the new one.

Actually, this is just a bargaining chip, and it's something that can be compromised.

However, Zhao Qi accepted the commission and looked distressed when negotiating with Yang Qi and Fu Wan: "Now the armies in Nanyang also know that the situation is dangerous. If the decisive battle is won in Chenliu, they would rather retreat to Nanyang than submit to the present situation."

Representatives of Nanyang scholars, including Lou Gui from Yin County, Han Ji from Duyang, Zong Xian from Anzhong, and Zhang Bo from Nieyang, accompanied Zhao Qi to participate in the negotiations. Even though Lou Gui was the oldest, in his thirties, he had never been recommended for the civil service examination and had no official career.

The others were all commoners with no background and were not qualified to speak with the imperial court.

If they behave themselves in the face of the rules, they are the people of Nanyang; if they rebel, they are thieves and bandits.

Deng Ji, who was stationed outside the city, did not participate in the negotiations. Zhao Qi, who had come at their request, was responsible for the consultations.

Zhao Qi's distressed expression was slightly exaggerated; it was merely a negotiation tactic.

Scholars by nature admire strength, and Zhao Qi's firm and unyielding attitude made the people of Nanyang feel that he was trustworthy.

Otherwise, Zhao Qi could have easily betrayed the interests of the people of Nanyang during the negotiations.

In any case, the people of Nanyang knew that it was impossible to forcibly establish an empress. They lacked such a foundation in the harem, and there were also few eunuchs from Nanyang around the emperor.

During the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the emperors had no shortage of eunuchs from Nanyang.

It was with the support of these eunuchs that the He family rose to prominence.

Leaving aside other periods, during the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling alone, the most famous eunuchs were mainly from Nanyang, Yingchuan, Runan, and Pei. Since Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling grew up in Hebei, there were also some eunuchs with Hebei accents.

In addition, scholars from other places who sought to commit suicide by cutting their own throats and then entered the palace would most likely be suppressed.

If you don't cut your hair, your normal career path will be suppressed by the scholars of these regions; if you grit your teeth and cut your hair, you will still be suppressed by the scholars of these regions.

As the hometown of the emperor, the scholars of Nanyang were well-informed and had a clear understanding of the rules governing the operation of the palace.

Without reliable eunuchs, forcibly installing an empress could lead to her death from illness in the blink of an eye.

In such a chaotic world, a powerful figure is needed to unite the various factions in Nanyang, bringing them together as one, and to place people in the army, court officials, eunuchs, and the harem to stabilize and control the situation.

Therefore, the road ahead has only just begun, and the people of Nanyang do not want to antagonize the imperial court.

They wanted to rise again and restore their former glory... The first thing they did was not to seize the empress's position, but to overthrow Liu Biao and replace him with a protégé or former official from Nanyang. Then they would control Yingchuan and Henan Yin, and gradually infiltrate the court and the harem.

Overthrowing Liu Biao was a major plan, and it couldn't even be leaked.

Therefore, the first step that the people of Nanyang wanted to achieve was to find a reliable person to serve as the governor of Nanyang, and then take either the governorship of Yingchuan or the governorship of Henan.

Unfortunately, the Luoyang Coup, the Chang'an Coup, and the emperor's eastward relocation led to the deaths of many high-ranking and senior officials in Nanyang. As a result, the once coveted position of office became so scarce that people from Nanyang could no longer find suitable candidates.

Therefore, the people of Nanyang handed this difficult problem to Zhao Qi, hoping to reach an agreement, but if not, they would withdraw their troops and leave this vortex.

Otherwise, once the imperial court recovers, it will seek revenge on the spot; and after Zhao Ji and Cao Cao win their decisive battle, they might also come looking for trouble with the people of Nanyang.

If you can't win for now, just retreat.

"The Empress's alleged immorality is a rumor, a slander by the remnants of the traitorous officials in Taiyuan."

Yang Qi had to vouch for this matter, so he said to Zhao Qi, "Once Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhao returns to Bingzhou, he will send troops to escort the Empress and the imperial concubines to court. As you, Minister of the Censorate, know, Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhao is the Empress's brother-in-law. If we were to establish a new Empress, and Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhao heard this, he would surely attack Nanyang. The events of Taiyuan and Shangdang are not far off; you should all take this as a warning!"

As Yang Qi was speaking, he went to see Lou Gui and the others. The Empress's backer was no longer the Fu family, but Fu family's son-in-law Zhao Ji, as well as people from Bingzhou, Xuzhou, and Hedong.

If it really comes to war, Nanyang won't be able to withstand it.

At this moment, Fu Wan coughed twice and threatened the people of Nanyang: "My son-in-law Yuan Si is of a fierce and straightforward nature. If he hears about this matter and gets angry and raises an army, I will find it difficult to persuade him."

Yang Qi immediately said, "We are not people who spread rumors. Now that the people of Yingchuan have suffered losses, if even one or two of them harbor resentment and spread false information to mislead Attendant Zhao, then when the elite cavalry of Bingzhou enters Nanyang, there will be something unbearable."

The Nanyang scholars who were listening observed each other, but Lou Gui gently shook his head at his fellow townsmen. It wasn't that he wasn't afraid of Zhao Ji, but rather that there was no need to be afraid of these threatening and intimidating words.

Anyway, the people of Nanyang still had one last option, so they simply surrendered to Zhao Ji. What could you do about it?

Looking down on Zhao Ji is one thing, but using Zhao Ji's power to take revenge is another.

Liu Biao had been in Jingzhou for six years, yet he hadn't even managed to govern the four southern commanderies. Given Liu Biao's advanced age, he didn't seem like the kind of person who could repeat the mistakes of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu.

What angered the scholars of Nanyang the most was that more than 100,000 households of refugees from the Three Auxiliary Regions moved into Nanyang and their families grew rapidly, when Zhang Ji arrived with his Liangzhou soldiers, who were like hungry wolves.

As it turned out, Liu Biao ordered his troops to observe and allowed Zhang Ji to attack and plunder various households. He may have been waiting for Zhang Ji to destroy these households, or he may have been waiting for the powerful families of Nanyang to ask for help.

Ultimately, it was the people of Nanyang who shot and killed Zhang Ji, forcing Zhang Ji's group, which was attempting to occupy Nanyang, to stop.

If there is a shortage of food, it is perfectly acceptable to borrow or extort it. Given the fighting strength of Zhang Ji's army and Zhang Ji's status as General of Chariots and Cavalry, how could he possibly resort to robbing food?
The claim that he was shot to death by the defending troops while seizing grain was merely Liu Biao's official statement.

In reality, Zhang Ji went to plunder Nanyang. There were so many refugees in Nanyang from the Three Auxiliary Regions. Rescuing them from the powerful families of Nanyang would allow them to be immediately armed into an army.

If Zhang Ji hadn't been accidentally shot and killed, Nanyang would now belong to the Zhang family.

When Zhang Ji died and his army was on the verge of collapse, Liu Biao feigned regret for Zhang Ji's death and then turned around and supported Zhang Xiu, allowing Zhang Xiu to gain a foothold.

Resisting Cao Cao is just an internal and external statement. Its real and immediate effect is only one thing: to act as a fist and strengthen Liu Biao's rule over Nanyang!
The people of Nanyang disliked Liu Biao very much, and in order to strengthen his rule, Liu Biao continued to eliminate the powerful clans in Nanyang over the years.

Liu Biao had already done something like eliminating powerful clan leaders once before; later, he successively replaced the county magistrates of various counties in Nanyang, instigating local strongmen to falsely accuse powerful clans, without sentencing them to prison, and sparing those who could admit their mistakes.

Those with strong tempers will definitely be the main force of future rebellions.

If you kill these kinds of people directly, it will have a terrible impact. So you keep them locked up in a terrible living environment, and many people die in this way without even realizing it.

For example, Han Ji's father and brother were falsely accused by their fellow villagers and imprisoned while awaiting trial. Han Ji's father was worn down to death in prison.

Han Ji did not go to Liu Biao to apologize, but instead organized assassins to kill the plaintiff. Without the plaintiff, the county magistrate took the opportunity to release Han Ji's brother from prison, but he did not last long after being released.

Six years have passed since the Luoyang coup. In those six years, many young and middle-aged scholars have been secretly exploited by Liu Biao, leaving the vast city of Nanyang with hardly any respectable scholars or leaders.

For Liu Biao, Nanyang was like a potted plant that needed constant pruning. How could the young scholars of Nanyang not hate it as they watched the elders around them disappear one after another?

If this pruning continues for a few more years, the people of Nanyang may get used to it and adapt, eventually becoming the way Liu Biao hoped.

But right now, this hatred is still strong and has not subsided.

Luring Zhao Ji into Nanyang, and then heading straight for Nanjun to deliver a ruthless blow to Liu Biao... the people of Nanyang could totally accept that.

Therefore, Zhao Qi was determined to sabotage the negotiations, and the people of Nanyang were also prepared to drag everyone down with them, which made it difficult for the negotiations to move forward.

The emperor waited quietly in the rear, showing no sign of urgency or haste.

No matter how anxious Yang Qi, Xun You, Sima Fang, and Huan Dian were, it was useless.

(End of this chapter)