Tiger Guards

Chapter 412 An Inevitable Event
North of Xudu City, inside the temporary palace.

When Ying Shao entered the palace, Kong Rong was serving as his lecturer.

After the lecture, Ying Shao entered the hall barefoot, and knelt down in the hall with great courtesy.

Liu Xie, seated in the main seat, asked upon hearing the voice, "My dear minister, what brings you to my court?"

"Your Majesty, I have come to plead guilty at the request of Cao Cao, the Governor of Yan Province, General of Jiande and Marquis of Feiting."

"What crime has Minister Cao committed?"

"The fault lies in the failure to punish the traitors in time; I humbly beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."

Ying Shao bowed deeply, never raising his head: "When Yuan Shu rebelled at the beginning of summer, it was the height of summer, and the armies of Yanzhou were busy with farming, making it difficult to mobilize them. Later, the Grand Marshal took the lead in raising troops to punish the rebels, and Cao Jiande followed suit. At that time, Yuan Shu divided his forces to launch a fierce attack on Xuzhou with 100,000 troops, besieging General Liu Bei in Xiapi. The situation was critical, and he sent an envoy to ask Cao Jiande for help. Only then did Cao Jiande hesitate and fail to join forces with the Grand Marshal to punish the rebels. His fault lies in his hesitation."

"The day after tomorrow, heavy rain will fall, making it difficult for the various armies to move. Cao Jiande heard that the siege of Xuzhou has been lifted, so he led the army from Yanzhou to support the emperor and punish the rebels up the Ji River, and the army was stationed at Junyi. He intended to go down the Honggou Canal to Chen State and join the Grand Marshal in attacking the rebel Yuan Shu."

“However, the Grand Marshal sent an envoy to urge Cao Jiande on, and his words were insulting, which made Cao Jiande feel very uneasy and feared that he would be executed by the Grand Marshal. I humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy and forgive Cao Jiande’s crimes.”

Liu Xie frowned slightly upon hearing this and turned to look at Kong Rong: "What does Minister Wenju think?"

"Your Majesty, since the Grand Marshal came to war, he has successively annihilated the White Wave bandits and the two traitors Li and Guo. When Yuan Shu rebelled, it was the Grand Marshal who first raised righteous troops and took the lead in advocating the protection of the country and the fight against Yuan. He came to lead the army in the sweltering heat, which can be described as loyalty to the country. Now, Cao Jiande has not even arrived yet, but he has already questioned whether the Grand Marshal will take the opportunity to kill him... I do not know why Cao Jiande would have such doubts."

Kong Rong looked puzzled, glanced at Ying Shao who was kneeling and bowing, and said, "There may be some misunderstandings involved. Perhaps we can wait until Cao Jiande enters the court, then I will invite the Minister of Works to host a banquet. During the banquet, we can all persuade him and perhaps resolve the misunderstandings."

If this misunderstanding is difficult to resolve, it will be a difficult problem for Cao Cao anyway.

Mi Heng, Xu Gan, and a few others stood behind Kong Rong. Xu Gan lowered his head, his face flushed, while Mi Heng smiled and turned his head slightly to look at Ying Shao.

Kong Rong brought them here to give lectures, which was to create opportunities for them to come into contact with the emperor.

Lectures can easily lead to fatigue; while explaining the meaning of the scriptures, one might chat to relax, or have an attendant take over the lecture to give the emperor a change of pace.

Liu Xie nodded slightly upon hearing this: "Last year, in the battle of Chenliu, Minister Cao was severely injured. Later, with the mediation and guarantee of the Right General, the Grand General and the Grand Marshal were able to pardon Minister Cao. Minister Cao has not even arrived with his troops, yet he has already asked me for a pardon. This is extremely impolite and not befitting of a subject."

His tone was harsh, striking deep into Ying Shao's heart, and Ying Shao didn't even dare to utter a threatening word.

Lü Bu would not restrict the entry and exit of people in the palace, nor would he interfere with the management of the palace guards and imperial guards. Even the defense of Xuchang was entrusted to General Dong Cheng.

Any good things were given to the palace first, and Liu Xie was very satisfied with Lü Bu.

The Three Departments system appears to be a dual-governance system between Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, but in reality, Liu Xie remained neutral in the middle. If he had expressed his opinion, he would have been able to lead one side to overpower the other.

With Zhao Ji intentionally backing down, Lü Bu also instinctively yielded, allowing the Three Departments system to achieve a delicate balance and mutual supervision during its operation.

If the government maintains a balance and qualified officials are selected to govern the local areas, and as long as Zhao Ji and Lü Bu do not suffer losses in the military, then the situation is one where the restoration of the Han Dynasty is promising. Under such circumstances, the emperor's prestige will increase rapidly with age.

Therefore, Liu Xie was not in a hurry at all; the rough edges of his personality had already been smoothed out.

With Lü Bu and Zhao Ji not interfering with the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Guards, and Chen Gong remaining independent of Lü Bu, this sense of security is a significant improvement for Liu Xie.

The only bad thing was that he made a mistake and left a child with Consort Dong, who was the eldest prince.

This eldest son of the emperor could also use this to blackmail Liu Xie, and Liu Xie was even more unwilling to antagonize Lü Bu and Zhao Ji.

It was always the nobles who were provoking Zhao Ji and Lü Bu. Liu Xie wasn't blind, so he naturally knew that the reason these nobles had survived until now was not because Zhao Ji and Lü Bu were afraid of them, but because they had repeatedly treated them leniently out of respect for him.

Having finally found a pair of good teammates who could check and balance each other, how could Liu Xie possibly abandon them and team up with his former nobles?
After the former high-ranking officials overthrew Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, it seemed as if they could truly return the reins of power to him.

The imperial court is so large, with so many affairs to manage, that even an emperor can't possibly manage them all. In the end, he still has to share power with the ministers.
Not to mention Cao Cao, even if Yuan Shao came to ask for a pardon, Liu Xie would have dared to refuse.

If Cao Cao truly had the strength to resist and contend with Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, why would he send an envoy to request a pardon?
It is precisely because their strength has declined and they are not as powerful as before that they resort to such connections and humble requests.

Kong Rong risked offending Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and the scholars of Ruying to remind him, so how could Liu Xie possibly disappoint Kong Rong's good intentions?

If they really agree, it will put Lu Bu and Zhao Ji in a very difficult position.

When Yuan Shu rebelled and established his own system, Kong Rong was the first to stand up and counterattack from the perspective of public opinion, denying the influence of the Yuan family's four generations of high-ranking officials.

The image of the skeletons in the tomb is not a direct insult to Yuan Shu himself, but rather a way to sever ties with Yuan's former officials and followers through public opinion.

Tell these people that their former master and benefactor are now dead and withered, and there is no need for them to worry about being implicated by the court because of this identity.

Otherwise, why wasn't this assessment made sooner or later? Why was it made public precisely when Yuan Shu rebelled?
Therefore, Kong Rong had deeply offended Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, and a huge organization centered around the Yuan family, who had held high office for four generations.

Within this group, even scholars who were not from the Yuan family had different statuses and could use their status as former officials or students of the Yuan family to increase their influence.

Kong Rong's accurate assessment of "the withered bones in the tomb" revealed the true nature of the Yuan family and their former associates. Ying Shao, born into a prominent family and affiliated with the Yuan group, held a high position.

As long as it wasn't a battle or hand-to-hand combat, Kong Rong wasn't afraid of Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, let alone Cao Cao.

Even if Yuan Wei were to be resurrected, Kong Rong would not give him a second glance.

Ying Shao's plan failed. He only wanted to obtain the emperor's pardon edict first to create a fait accompli and prevent Zhao Ji and Lü Bu from launching an attack on Cao Cao.

After bidding farewell to the emperor, Ying Shao returned home and immediately began to organize the various Han officials' attire, memorial formats, and classic case precedents that he had copied and recorded during this period.

When the imperial court moved east, it lost too many books and records, and even the etiquette and rules for court discussions and deliberations became unclear.

Ying Shao entered the court to supplement these positions.

Feeling that his military talent was being viewed with suspicion by Zhao Ji, who was certain that Zhao Ji would find a way to get rid of him after returning to Xuchang, Ying Shao organized the original manuscript, sent a letter to Chen Ji, and then, without delay, left Xuchang to join Liu Biao.

He risked his life to do the task entrusted to him by Cao Cao, but he failed.

Since it's inconvenient to go to Yuan Shao's place anyway, it's better to go and seek refuge with Liu Biao.

General Fu Wan, who was also a member of the Auxiliary State, received a letter written in Cao Cao's own hand.

In the letter, Cao Cao denounced the harm caused by Zhao Ji and Lü Bu's usurpation of power and hoped that Fu Wan could help him.

If Fu Wan were to step forward, he would very likely be able to persuade the emperor.

Fu Wan was also confident, but he didn't want to offend Zhao Ji.

Now he is paying more and more attention to his marriage agreement with Zhao Shi. If he were to ruin Zhao Ji's plans at this time, Zhao Ji might remarry in a fit of anger. He couldn't very well force his daughter to marry Zhao Ji then.

Fu Wan, unable to discuss the matter with his other sons, asked Fan Pu, the younger brother of his concubine and fellow villager who was with him, "Cao Jiande has raised an army to march south, fearing the power of Yuan Si. He has sent an envoy with a letter to me, requesting the emperor to pardon the imperial edict. If so, he is willing to lead troops outside and support me."

With Cao Cao around, Fu Wan could stand up straighter.

Although the court faced numerous hardships and tribulations during the eastward relocation, it was the moment when Fu Wan wielded the greatest personal power.

I still occasionally find myself lost in memories, filled with regrets.

I really miss the sense of accomplishment of being entrusted with important responsibilities by the emperor. Now, although I am of equal rank, no one listens to me. The contrast between the past and the present makes me feel even more lost.

Fan Pu read Cao Cao's letter and immediately said, "This is not advisable. Cao Cao can even betray his own father, so how can he keep his promise? If he does keep his word, there is nothing your brother can do about it. If we condemn this man, we will only be ridiculed by the world."

Seeing Fu Wan's displeasure, Fan Pu continued, "The Grand Marshal is my elder brother's legitimate son-in-law. How can we harm our closest relative because of an outsider? In terms of the closeness of our relationship, my elder brother is closer to the Grand Marshal than the General. In my humble opinion, we should not only refuse Cao Cao, but also prevent the General from ruining the Grand Marshal's plans."

Fu Wan frowned, stroked his beard, squinted, and pondered, reassessing his relationship with Zhao Ji.

A moment later, Fu Wan said, "No, you should immediately take my letter to see Yuan Si and ask for his opinion."

As for preventing Lü Bu from sabotaging Zhao Ji's plans... it's certainly necessary to prevent them, but it's enough to do so superficially. Ideally, one should indirectly facilitate the event and exacerbate the conflict between Lü Bu and Zhao Ji.

The two sides maintained a harmonious relationship, and not only did the nobles find no value in winning him over, but his influence also declined.

Only when these two people start fighting can Fu Wan's value immediately increase.

We don't expect things to return to what they were a year ago. We'd be satisfied if he could have some influence and occasionally participate in the allocation and placement of county magistrates or similar positions.

Even if the influence is limited, if a few former officials and protégés can be appointed as county magistrates each year, over a decade or so, they can cultivate a dozen or so former officials and cronies at the level of two thousand shi (a unit of grain measure).

As the empress's biological father, he would certainly want to actively participate in the future emperor's attempt to seize power.

Having more supporters increases the chances of winning.

It wasn't that Fu Wan was inherently belligerent, but as the Empress's father and a top-ranking nobleman and relative of the imperial family, he simply had no other choice.

If the emperor fails to seize power and you stand idly by, you will also be purged.

If the power grab is successful and the individual remains neutral, the emperor, in order to appease the meritorious officials, will certainly purge the empress and her family.

Therefore, Fu Wan had no other choice but to risk his life to follow him in the future.

In this situation, those who are willing to become his disciples and former subordinates are also people who dare to gamble big.

(End of this chapter)