Tiger Guards

Chapter 588: Full of pets run away
With Lü Bu leading his army away, the Xudu court began issuing edicts to the surrounding counties.

Although these edicts were still issued by the Ministry of Personnel in Xuchang, they no longer bore the signature of Lü Bu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Not only was there no signature or seal of Lü Bu himself, but there was also no signature or seal of Zhao Ji's envoy, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; at the same time, a corresponding Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was also established as Lü Bu's emergency representative.

Even now, at this critical moment, there is no signature from this right magistrate.

Yes, it's just that the new left and right vice magistrates signed it. Each imperial edict went through a procedure, and there was a formality of signing and stamping.

Although the format and procedures of the imperial edicts remain the same, the most crucial officials, the Left and Right Vice Ministers, no longer sign or affix their seals, and the Left and Right Assistant Prefects who replace them have also changed.

To the west of Xudu lies Yingyin, the capital of Yingchuan County.

Before receiving the new imperial edict, the governor of Yingchuan Commandery abandoned his post and followed Lü Bu's army north.

The Prefectural Assistant of Yingchuan Commandery was none other than Man Chong. Man Chong accepted the imperial edict on behalf of the commandery. The edict was very simple, ordering Yingchuan Commandery to recommend virtuous and talented individuals to the court.

By opening up so many avenues for advancement, the aim was naturally to curry favor with scholars and win over those who had been suppressed by Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, in order to replenish the court's manpower for any eventuality.

Man Chong held the imperial edict and examined it carefully, repeatedly confirming the most important parts. After An An gritted her teeth to make sure she hadn't misread it, she felt a pain in her teeth.

These people in the court are too slow in their work. When the general left Luozhong, he took with him the Right Vice-Prefect, who was also an aide to the shogunate. No one could stop him.

But at this crucial moment, the Left Assistant Prefect, who represented the Grand Marshal, also ran away, which shows that the problems in the court were too great.

It was so great that Man Chong was speechless. Didn't any of the many people in the court try to persuade this Left Vice Prefect beforehand?

Even if this Left Vice Magistrate ran away, why didn't he make a fake copy of the other party's seal beforehand?

Yingyin is too close to Xudu; Lü Bu's army had to pass through Yingyin when they withdrew.

Therefore, what the officials and people of Xudu knew, Yingyin also knew about.

Even though Yingyin was far from Xudu, Man Chong could clearly see from this edict that a major change had taken place in the court.

It wasn't that one of the two, the Grand Marshal and the Grand General, won in their struggle; rather, both of them abandoned the court!

There must still be people in the court who are loyal to the Grand Marshal or the Grand General, otherwise the imperial edict would not have exposed such a big problem.

Man Chong paced back and forth, holding the imperial edict, thinking about how he had once been ordered to torture Yang Biao.

Objectively speaking, the more severely he tortured Yang Biao, the more his integrity and innocence would be revealed.

Only by beating Yang Biao until he was covered in blood could the general be satisfied and the conflict be ended quickly.

Man Chong believed that he had not done anything wrong at the time, that he had satisfied the general and appeased him, and that he had also saved Yang Biao and many other people.

After all, there are too many ways to torture someone, and Man Chong really showed mercy.

Otherwise, if Yang Biao were tortured like an ordinary person, let alone extracting the truth... almost everything the interrogator said would be the truth that the tortured person acknowledged.

Yang Biao endured torture, proving his integrity as a scholar-leader and his innocence.

Such a powerful figure might not specifically target Man Chong; according to the Yang family tradition, they would instead promote Man Chong to demonstrate their magnanimity to the world. However, such a powerful figure is surrounded by too many minor figures, especially after the General abandoned Xuchang and moved his troops to Luozhong, Yang Biao's influence will expand rapidly.

Yang Zhong was secretly executed, and Yang Qi was almost forced to his death. Their influence will all fall on Yang Biao!
Therefore, too many people wanted to curry favor with Yang Biao.

Putting aside everything else, just considering the likes of chivalrous swordsmen, there are far too many people like him who want to use Man Chong's head.

Even if he cannot gain the favor of the Yang family of Hongnong, he can still become famous throughout the world by assassinating the cruel official Man Chong and avenging Yang Biao!
After gaining fame, one can join other forces and naturally be given important positions.

Man Chong felt a chill run down his spine, also resentful that Lü Bu had abandoned the court.

By abandoning the imperial court, Lü Bu was essentially abandoning many people who worked for him, such as Man Chong, who had offended other political enemies.

Man Chong was decisive, and as he returned to the prefectural governor's mansion with the imperial edict in his hand, he had already begun to think about the various forces that could provide him with a place to stay.

His requirements weren't high; he didn't need any high-ranking positions or generous salaries. He just wanted to survive and establish himself there.

General Liu Biao, the General Who Guards the South, was the first to be excluded by him. Although they were both from the same hometown of Shanyang County, others might be able to tolerate the fact that he had offended Yang Biao. However, Liu Biao, who was on good terms with the literati and was trying to repair his relationship with them, would never let go of a gift package and a fat sheep like Man Chong who had delivered himself to his door.

Man Chong abandoned Liu Bei immediately. There was no other reason than that Liu Bei, who had temporarily entered the court and was in a position of great power, was not firmly established and would definitely seek help from other highly respected figures.

After the campaign launched by Grand Marshal Zhao Ji to protect the country and overthrow Yuan Shao, the Yuan family's reputation was already tarnished. Given what Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu had done over the years, it was impossible for Liu Bei to win them over to the court and govern, let alone to emulate the joint rule of Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, where one governed from within and the other from without.

In the court, there were also General Dong Cheng and Grand Secretary Fu Wan. Both of them had followed the emperor eastward and were important ministers with considerable influence. Therefore, Liu Bei needed to win over someone with high prestige who could suppress Dong Cheng and Fu Wan.

And this person can only be Yang Biao!

Liu Bei might even emulate Lü Bu and Zhao Ji's joint governance approach, with one in the inner court and the other in the outer court, by handing over the reins of government to Yang Biao in exchange for the support and cooperation of the Yang clan of Hongnong.

If I do that, I'll die an even more horrible death.

Even if Yang Biao promotes him immediately after taking power, he will still die a terrible death.

It wasn't that Man Chong doubted Yang Biao's character and morality, but rather that Man Chong thought Zhao Da Sima's "Memorial to Punish the Great Traitor of Han" issued when he launched the Anyi remonstrance made a lot of sense.

Therefore, when Man Chong entered the prefectural government office and waited for all the officials to gather, he saw that everyone was in low spirits and looked depressed. Man Chong asked, "Why are you all like this?"

One of them replied sullenly, "When the General moved his garrison to Luozhong, many officials, people, men and women in the city said that the world was about to fall into chaos, and I was filled with fear."

Upon hearing this, Man Chong looked at the other party and showed him the imperial edict he was holding: "Yingyin is located west of Xudu, and it will surely be a place of great battle in the future. I hope you will all take care."

The others were astonished: "Why would Lord Boning do this?"

Man Chong casually said as he passed the imperial edict around among the crowd, "The reason lies here. Besides, the General appointed me as the magistrate of Wandu back then, and now he has promoted me to the position of assistant magistrate of this prefecture. The General may have forgotten me, but I cannot fail to repay the kindness of his promotion and recognition."

As Man Chong spoke, he took off his official seal from his waist, then raised his hand to remove his black gauze hat, and in front of everyone took off his plain dark-colored official robe.

After folding it casually, Man Chong placed it on the table and bowed to everyone to say goodbye: "Gentlemen, see you again another day."

The crowd fell silent. They too had noticed the problem with the imperial edict, but unlike Man Chong, who was a bachelor, they were all burdened with their families and came and went with ease and grace.

(End of this chapter)