Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 135 The Great Teacher
After Liu Bian was born, Liu Hong stopped living in the inner palace and began to spend a lot of money to build the West Garden, incorporating all the imperial concubines into it.

There was no sense of security in the palace.

Lady He was granted the title of Consort because she gave birth to Prince Liu Bian. Later, Liu Hong deposed Empress Song and made Lady He the Empress.

But the traditions of the Han Dynasty are truly deeply rooted...

The idea of ​​six empresses ruling from behind the throne is no joke.

Consort Wang became pregnant. At that time, Consort He had just been made Empress. Consort Wang was forced to take abortion medicine, but fortunately the fetus was stable.

Two years ago, just as the Xianbei leader Tanshihuai died, Consort Wang gave birth to Liu Xie.

Liu Hong was overjoyed – this was the best symbol that the mandate of heaven for the Han Dynasty would not be broken.

But just a few days later, Consort Wang drank the rice porridge sent by Empress He and died on the spot...

Liu Hong was furious and planned to depose Empress He, but all the eunuchs pleaded for her life.

There was no other way but to plead for mercy, because Empress He's two brothers, He Jin and He Miao, were in charge of the five battalions of the Northern Army at the time, helping Liu Hong resolve the food shortage in Luoyang.

If Empress He had been deposed back then, the consequences would have been obvious.

Liu Hong had no choice but to let her go.

But from then on, Liu Hong made up his mind that Empress He's son, Liu Bian, would never inherit the throne...

Liu Bian could only be the Marquis of Shi, not the Crown Prince.

The He brothers had rendered great service to Liu Hong, but Liu Hong still did not grant them titles of nobility—according to custom, relatives of the emperor should have been granted titles of nobility directly, without needing to have rendered any service.

Because Empress He was guilty, this was both a way to atone for her crimes with good deeds and a helpless compromise.

The He family took control of five battalions of the Northern Army, and Liu Hong was unable to touch Empress He. After that, no other concubines gave birth to princes, so it was not appropriate to depose her.

In the past two years, Liu Hong has allowed his biological mother, Empress Dowager Dong, to raise Liu Xie personally, calling him "Marquis Dong". Liu Xie has grown up quite well under Empress Dowager Dong's care.

Originally, Liu Hong had a good impression of the Taoist priest because the priest had protected his eldest son, Liu Bian.

But now it seems...

When Empress He was still a palace maid, the child she had raised outside the palace by the Taoist priest Shi Zimiao, was he Liu Bian or Shi Bian?
Or perhaps... how can we tell?
The proverb "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise" came just as He Jin was taking control of five battalions of the Northern Army and his ministers were petitioning for the establishment of an heir apparent.

Is the He family trying to become Liang Ji, or is some famous minister trying to become Huo Guang?
Or perhaps... both?
Liu Hong was unsure.

But no matter which one...

Liu Hong never considered Bai Guan as a partner; he only considered him a client.

He didn't treat his maternal relatives as shareholders; they were just employees.

If an employee wants to change bosses, that's fine; it's okay to resign or change jobs normally.

But if employees collude with clients and even hire gangsters to try and kill the company boss... that's going too far!
Therefore, in the court, Liu Hong publicly stated that Liu Bian was frivolous and lacked dignity, and was not suitable to be the successor, thus suppressing the matter of establishing an heir.

Subsequently, Empress Dowager Dong's nephew, Dong Zhong, was appointed General of the Cavalry and given the authority to establish his own government. He was also put in charge of the Imperial Guards and led the Tiger Guards to thoroughly investigate the prophecy that "the Azure Heaven is dead and the Yellow Heaven shall rise." The brave soldiers of the Imperial Guards were stripped away, and Dong Zhong's troops were increased to 1,500 men.

A biological mother is more reliable.

The Han Dynasty was, after all, founded on filial piety.

This trend is quite obvious: no one in the court is talking about establishing an heir anymore, but they are colluding even more fiercely in private.

……

……

A few days later, Dong Zhong and Lü Qiang, the eunuchs, reported that the Imperial Guards' Office had received a secret letter from Tang Zhou of Jinan, accusing his teacher Zhang Jiao of gathering a crowd to plot a rebellion.

Tang Zhou claimed that Zhang Jiao had already taken Anping King Liu Xu and Ganling King Liu Zhong hostage, and had deployed thirty-six large armies in various prefectures and counties, using the Yellow Turbans as their army. The characters 'Jiazi' were written on the official buildings in Luoyang and throughout the prefectures and counties.

They used the slogan "The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise; the year is Jiazi, great fortune for the world" to signal their simultaneous uprising in various prefectures and counties on the fifth day of the third month. (The fifth day of the third month is the Jiazi day of the Jiazi year.)
At the same time, Tang Zhou also reported to Ma Yuanyi, the Grand Master of Luoyang of the Yellow Turbans, that he was in contact with Feng Xu, the Grand Master of the Palace, and Xu Feng, the Palace Attendant, among others, using eunuchs as inside agents.

Liu Hong investigated Tang Zhou's background, and the eunuch Lü Qiang and others quickly came to the conclusion that Tang Zhou was a member of the partisan faction.

Liu Hong raged in the West Garden for an entire day.

He then issued an edict through gritted teeth, appointing Lu Zhi as the General of the Northern Army, ordering him to lead five battalions of the Northern Army to Ji Province to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

He also ordered Zong Yuan to serve as Protector of the Wuhuan and to go to Youzhou to recruit Wuhuan cavalry, serving as Lu Zhi's deputy.

At the same time, He Jin, the governor of Henan, was appointed as the Grand General, and led the Left and Right Imperial Guards to garrison at Duting to repair equipment, reorganize the troops, and thoroughly investigate the conspiracy of Ma Yuanyi, the governor of Luoyang, who was involved in the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

He Jin held a high official position, but he could no longer command the five battalions of the Northern Army. Although the Imperial Guard also had five battalions, this force was now purely a unit for nobles seeking a comfortable life; not only were their equipment inadequate, but they were also filled with the elderly and the young, with very few able-bodied men…

There were originally some experts in the Imperial Guard, but all of them have been transferred to the Tiger Guard.

But in any case, this is the position of Grand General, the highest military rank in the land, and also a customary post for relatives of the emperor.

It was also a common practice for relatives of the emperor to be assigned the task of guarding the capital.

Meanwhile, just as the emperor's edict was being issued and before it even reached Luoyang, before Lu Zhi had begun to mobilize his troops, and before He Jin had even entered the Imperial Guard camp...

Many officials and powerful families acted as if they had foreseen the future.

Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, left his post and went south.

Feng Xun, the prime minister of Changshan State, left his post and went south.

Guo Dian, the prefect of Julu, left his post and went south...

Many powerful clans in Ji Province also began to gather their forces.

……

At this time, Zhang Bao had already led Liu Bei to Guangzong County, Julu Commandery.

The great teacher Zhang Jiao is here... inside the city.

The city was full of lime and sick people.

It seems that the disease is being controlled here... or rather, quarantined.

There were no officials left in the city; they had probably all fled. In any case, Liu Bei met Zhang Jiao in the government office.

There was no one else in the official residence except Zhang Jiao.

He also seemed to be self-isolating...

Contrary to Liu Bei's expectations, Zhang Jiao did not have the air of a hermit at all; he looked like a middle-aged scholar—yes, a scholar, not a Taoist.

Although he was dressed in Taoist robes, Zhang Jiao still didn't look like a Taoist priest; he looked more like a Confucian scholar.

He and Zhang Bao are clearly not brothers; they do not resemble each other at all.

Zhang Jiao was very thin, with high cheekbones, gray hair, and looked very tired, showing obvious signs of illness.

He was wearing a cloth covering his mouth and nose, so only the upper half of his face could be seen. He would occasionally cover his mouth and cough.

Although his body remained upright, the green bamboo cane in his hand weighed heavily as he walked, making him appear to be struggling.

Upon seeing Zhang Bao, Zhang Jiao was slightly angry: "Why aren't you serving in Xiaquyang? You shouldn't be here!"

This great teacher speaks very quickly, clearly indicating that he doesn't waste time or drag things out.

"Yes. This disciple only brought Liu Xuande here to see the Great Teacher. This disciple will return now."

Zhang Bao actually called himself a disciple, and after saying that, he left without lingering.

"Liu Xuande?... Oh, the Prefect of Guangyang, I've heard of him."

Zhang Jiao glanced at Liu Bei and sat down at the low table in the official residence: "I am currently too busy to entertain you, so please do not get too close to me... If you have anything to say, please speak frankly."

"Is this place under epidemic control? Even the Great Teacher of Virtue has been infected?"

Liu Bei frowned.

"The cold epidemic is something that can be overcome by humans."

Zhang Jiao nodded: "Did you come here only to ask about this matter?"

Book of the Later Han Dynasty:

When Consort Wang was pregnant, she feared the Empress and took medicine to try to get rid of the pregnancy, but the fetus remained unmoved. She also dreamed several times of carrying the sun on her back.

Four years later, she gave birth to Prince Xie, and then poisoned the beauty.

The emperor was furious and wanted to depose the empress, but the eunuchs pleaded with him to stop.

Empress Dowager Dong raised herself in Xie and was called Marquis Dong.

Note: He Jin was not granted a title of nobility when He Shi was made empress. He was only granted a title of nobility after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, when he arrested Ma Yuanyi (it was June, not before the Yellow Turban Rebellion).

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(End of this chapter)