Tiger Guards

Chapter 626 An Unsolvable Open Scheme
Soon, after handing over his troops, Jia Xu was able to travel light.

But just as he was about to cross the Fen River at Longmenjin, his messenger had already delivered a reply to Zhao Ji.

Empress Dowager Fu Shou, who was in charge of the state, had a wonderful suggestion: if the officials in Guandong and Hebei rebelled and held the emperor hostage, then the princes and nobles of the various regions would have an obligation to restore order. If they could not rescue the hostage emperor, then they should at least govern their fiefdoms themselves, just as they did in the early Han Dynasty.

Therefore, following the suggestion of the Empress Dowager, an edict should be issued to untie the royal princes and marquises in various regions, allowing them to personally govern their kingdoms and marquises and to raise troops to defend the emperor.

Do the princes and nobles of Liu want to gain real power?
Once they gain real power, will they support the regent empress who has delegated power to them, or the emperor of Xudu who has been held hostage by treacherous officials?

In any case, the Emperor of Xudu was neither able nor willing to untie the Liu princes and marquises and relinquish their power, while the Empress Dowager had no such concerns.

If you were one of the Liu kings and nobles, who would you be grateful to? And who would you be wary of?

How could the powerful officials of the prefectures and counties who supported the emperor of Xudu possibly tolerate the usurpation of power by the princes and marquises of Liu?

Therefore, this is adding fuel to the fire, which could set the Guandong and Hebei regions ablaze.

In fact, over the years, the county officials and the various Liu kings and marquises have had no conflicts or contradictions regarding governance.

The various princes and nobles of Liu had already given up and no longer coveted these things.

They were more concerned with managing their family property, and the people with whom they had serious conflicts were local powerful families and large clans.

If the Empress Dowager were to untie the Liu princes and marquises and gain control of their fiefdoms, how would these people deal with their long-time good neighbors?

This is no longer a question of whether the various Liu princes and nobles wanted to seize real power, but rather how the local warlords and powerful families who held real power viewed it.

If these people were to kill the Liu kings and nobles around them, then the legitimacy of the emperor of Xudu would be severely damaged and weakened.

The various branches of the Liu clan, represented by the Liu kings and marquises, do not recognize you and resist you. How much legitimacy do you, as the emperor of the Han dynasty, still have?

As soon as this edict is issued, Xuchang will be in conflict with the various Liu kings and marquises.

Faced with enormous interests, a huge chain of suspicion will emerge. No one wants to lose power, life, or property. All they can do is fight fiercely until one side falls or both sides are exhausted.

However, Zhao Ji was also afraid that this kind of breeding of treacherous individuals might produce several powerful vassal kings like Liu Chong, the Prince of Chen Zhuangmin.

The Liu family's bloodline is indeed somewhat unique. Even if they are unknown and lead a dissolute and decadent life, even if they are middle-aged and separated from their wives and children, what they may lack is just an opportunity.

Zhao Ji had seen many strange stories and biographies. If he followed Fu Shou's idea, he would deliberately cause the emperor of Xudu to fight and strife with the various Liu families in different regions.

Fu Shou's original intention was probably to use someone else to do his dirty work, to weaken the legitimacy of the emperor in Xudu, and to use Xudu to weaken and eliminate the Liu clan in various places.

Zhao Ji was genuinely worried about raising a Liu family like Liu Jinu... Although one arrow could kill him, the cost of Zhao Ji going into battle was too high. The exorbitant appearance fee and risks made it unwise to risk killing Liu Jinu.

Therefore, Zhao Ji was unsure of what to do, so he sent an envoy to consult Jia Xu.

Jia Xu's view was simple: this was enough to disrupt Guandong and Hebei. Even if another Emperor Guangwu emerged, what use would it be?

While the emperor of Xuchang is locked in a fierce battle with the various Liu states, the key is to completely and thoroughly assimilate Liangzhou.

Once we avoid fighting on two fronts, we can naturally launch attacks in rotation, integrating farming and warfare, maintaining the recovery and growth of productivity while weakening the enemy through war.

Therefore, the final victory will surely belong to our side.

The biggest risk now actually comes from Liangzhou, which can mobilize more than 100,000 rebel troops.

Even if they absorbed Liangzhou, they would at least gain the strength of a powerful Qin.

Therefore, Jia Xu strongly agreed with this idea and even suggested that his old friend Liu Ai, the governor of Yangzhou from Hongnong, be granted the title of King of Wu; and that the brothers Liu Xun and Liu Xie be granted the titles of King of Huainan and King of Jiujiang.

Even Liu Bei was eligible to be made a king.

In any case, prefects from various regions who were of royal lineage could all be granted the title of king.

Only Liu Biao and Liu Zhang could not be granted the title of king. Based on Jia Xu's understanding of the emperor of Xudu, he would never grant Liu Biao and Liu Zhang the title of king unless the sword was at their throats.

The other party was by no means a generous person, much less someone who would risk everything to restore the Han dynasty and entrust the hopes of restoring the dynasty to someone else.

Even Jia Xu supported it, so Zhao Ji had no reason to object.

Three days later, on the 20th day of the tenth month, the Empress Dowager issued an edict from the Yangming Palace in Jin Dynasty entitled "Edict Granting the Kings and Marquises the Right to Govern the Country, Serve the King, and Punish the Traitorous Ministers".

On the evening of the 22nd, a light snow fell, leaving a thin layer on the road, and the edict reached Luodu.

Lu Bu had assumed that the imperial messenger had rushed over to read him a decree of commendation, but he never expected to see such a thing.

After carefully reading it, he sighed deeply at Wei Xu, who was beside him. He wanted to say something, but then felt that Wei Xu was somewhat unreliable, so he asked, "What does Chengzu think?"

Wei Xu held the imperial edict in both hands, looking hesitant: "It seems that the Empress still cares about the Han Dynasty. I believe that the so-called affair between the Empress and Zhao Yuansi is just a slander from Guandong. If the two sides become enemies in the future, I'm afraid you will be drawn into the trouble."

Seeing that Wei Xu spoke earnestly and with genuine emotion, they noticed that...

Lu Bu nodded slowly: "Yes, the traitors from Guandong murdered the Empress's parents and brothers, almost wiping out the entire family. The Empress's plan seems to be for the continuation of the state, but it is nothing more than an attempt to incite the princes and nobles to raise an army and avenge their blood feud."

Wei Xu's eyes lit up as he listened: "As expected of my elder brother, you saw through the Empress's intentions at a glance."

"Hehe, go and invite Mr. Ji Cai over."

Lü Bu smiled, took the imperial edict from Wei Xu's hand, and walked towards the study.

Before long, Yang Jun strode in, entered the study, regulated his breathing, and forced himself to remain calm: "Your Majesty, I heard from General Chengzu that the Empress has issued an edict ordering the princes and nobles of the imperial clan to raise troops to defend the Emperor and restore the Han dynasty?"

"The imperial edict is here; it should appear before Yuan Shao's desk first thing tomorrow morning."

Lu Bu pushed the imperial edict on his desk forward, turned to look at the fine, newly falling snow outside the window: "What do you think he's trying to do?"

Yang Jun did not rush to answer. After reading the article patiently, he said, "I believe that the Grand Tutor's move is to cut off any chance of the restoration of the Yan Liu dynasty."

Without Lü Bu speaking, Yang Jun looked out at the snow falling outside the window: "Your Excellency, with the Grand Tutor's talent, ability, and virtue, there is no doubt that he will replace the Han dynasty. What the Grand Tutor is worried about now is not the armies outside the pass, but the future generations. If this plan succeeds, the high officials of the prefectures and counties and the various Liu kings and marquises will fight each other, accumulating hatred and weakening the imperial clan. After several generations, it will be difficult for them to gain any real power."

Lü Bu remained silent. Yang Jun, following his own line of thought, continued his analysis: "The Grand Tutor's concern is that his own bloodline is weak and there is no one he can rely on. If he heavily relies on relatives from outside the Lü clan, there will be a future threat of a Lü clan rebellion..."

Seeing Lü Bu glance at him, Yang Jun softened his tone and said, "But if we were to slaughter the descendants of the previous dynasty after establishing the country, it would be an immoral and inhumane act. For the sake of future generations, the Grand Tutor would not be so short-sighted. Therefore, by using this plan to borrow the emperor's hand, we can cut off the chance of restoring the country a hundred years later, which will not harm the Zhao clan."

"Ji Cai, you're wrong."

Lu Bu said indifferently, "My good son-in-law may not care about the chaos that will arise from the Liu family generations later. Right now, he wants to disrupt the Eastern Province so that he can focus on dealing with the enemy in the west without any worries about the future."

As he spoke, Lü Bu got up and went to the window, looking up at the distant western horizon: "What you and I can understand, the strategists of Dongzhou can also understand. But this open scheme, no one can decipher."

As for the army Zhao Ji left in Pingyang, Lü Bu felt that the real target of his vigilance was actually himself.

Now, with this imperial edict in effect, Lü Bu wants to unite with the Guandong region to cause trouble, but the various factions in Guandong lack the strength and will to cooperate with him.

After the various factions in Guandong killed the Liu kings and marquises, the course of the war and the morale of the people became self-evident.

If they hear news of Zhao Ji's great victory in Liangzhou, many people will accept their fate and will no longer have any thoughts of resistance.

Lu Bu also felt powerless. At this moment, he felt that he had been trapped by Zhao Ji and could only act according to Zhao Ji's plan.

There was no external force that could save him, and what made him very unhappy was that... Fu Wan's entire family had been robbed and killed, but the Empress's younger sister had secretly passed through Luozhong and Hanoi, which made him very angry.

The prime suspect is now his good friend, Zhang Yang, the governor of Yanzhou.

(End of this chapter)