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

Chapter 164 What is the Supreme Being with Two Heads and One Body?

Luoyang, Xiyuan.

During this period, Liu Hong did not play or have fun. He devoted himself to his work in the main hall every day, working diligently from evening until noon the next day, working day and night.

The intelligence coming from various places was extremely complex, and the workload was indeed enormous.

The movements of each army must be carefully considered, after all, things are different now, and it's really hard to say who these armies belong to now.

Zhang Rang stood by, but he was unfamiliar with military affairs and could not speak.

Only Jian Shuo, the Imperial Attendant, was in charge of the Imperial Attendant's office and was familiar with the situation of each army, so he could give Liu Hong some advice.

“Your Majesty, I have investigated thoroughly and found that Minister Lu’s strategy of besieging the city to cut off the Yellow Turbans was not wrong… It was Zuo Feng who accepted bribes and wanted Minister Lu to quickly defeat the Yellow Turbans. Minister Lu was unwilling to lose soldiers, so Zuo Feng impeached him for delaying the advance when encountering the enemy, thus hindering the military operation.”

Jian Shuo bowed to Liu Hong and spoke softly.

"...Whose bribe did Zuo Feng accept?"

Liu Hong rubbed his eyes, which were already dark from staying up all night, and his voice was extremely tired.

"Zuo Feng confessed to accepting bribes from numerous individuals; every household in Ji Province had received bribes, all requesting Zuo Feng to supervise the army and swiftly quell Zhang Jiao's rebellion..."

Jian Shuo shook his head at this point: "But this matter is quite common. Everyone in Jizhou wants to quickly quell the rebellion so that they can return home."

"Yes, they all want to quell the rebellion quickly... but every family has soldiers and every household has weapons, yet they all want to wait for me to exhaust the central army! That's their homeland... but they started the war themselves, yet they're unwilling to contribute even a little..."

Liu Hong closed his eyes: "They also want me to send the Imperial Guards, the Tiger Warriors, the Palace Guards, and even you eunuchs to the battlefield... It would be best if there were no soldiers left in the capital, so that they could have me in their grasp."

Jian Shuo bowed, said nothing, and only sighed softly.

"What's the situation in Nanyang?"

Liu Hong exhaled a breath of stale air, stopped complaining, and turned to ask about the important matter.

"Prefect Qin Jie of Nanyang reported that Zhang Mancheng has been executed."

Jian Shuo handed a military report to Liu Hong: "But the Yellow Turbans in Nanyang have elected another leader named Zhao Hong, and their numbers are increasing, reportedly reaching 100,000. Qin Jie has now joined forces with Right General Zhu Jun, with 18,000 troops, and besieged Wancheng, but I fear a quick victory will be difficult."

The notion that a quick victory is unlikely is an overestimation; in reality, they might not even be able to win...

"...Everyone lives in fear under the butcher's knife. The more you kill, the more people will betray you. How can you win? What about Huangfu Song?"

Liu Hong rubbed his eyes, which were already dark from staying up all night, and his voice was extremely tired.

"They are currently facing off against the Yellow Turban rebels at Cangting in Dongjun, with a force of over ten thousand against an enemy several times their size..."

Jian Shuo replied in a low voice.

"Issue a decree ordering Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Dong Zhuo to each conscript able-bodied men from their respective households and urge them to quickly defeat the Yellow Turbans! Any household with more than a thousand acres of land may be conscripted... If they are unable to achieve merit, then take Lu Zhi as their example!"

Liu Hong sternly ordered, "Since they're going to commit evil, let them go all the way!"

"Your Majesty, this matter may lead to the forced conscription of impoverished families into the army..."

Jian Shuo, who clearly understood actual military affairs, quickly offered a reminder.

"Now, in Julu, Dongjun, Nanyang and other places, where are there any lower-class households left? They have all submitted to the Yellow Turbans! Even those who did not submit, do you think they wouldn't flee? Only the upper-class households will not flee!"

Liu Hong glanced at the military report with annoyance, then casually tossed it to the ground: "Let the powerful and influential fight the Yellow Turbans themselves. If they want me to suffer heavy losses, then they won't be able to stand by and watch..."

After sulking for a while, he turned to Zhang Rang and asked, "How much bribe did Zuo Feng receive?"

"These are all valuable items, their value is beyond calculation."

Zhang Rang bowed his head and replied, "Your Majesty, I have confiscated all of his family's assets and brought them into the palace; they may amount to over a hundred million..."

"Use this money to raise an army, recruit soldiers and good families from all over the country to train a new army... First, make the new army into a separate Tiger Warrior unit, which you will directly command. Do not let others interfere. The new army will be stationed outside the West Garden."

Liu Hong thought for a moment, then added, "Select the skilled fighters from the Tiger Warriors to serve as martial arts instructors in the new army, and promote them all to the rank of Langjiang. Zhang will inform Dong Zhong of this."

"Yes... Your Majesty, Colonel Yuan Gonglu is currently serving as acting Tiger-like General."

Zhang Rang spoke up to remind them, "If the Tiger Warriors are used to fill vacancies in the new army, how will Yuan Gonglu be transferred?"

"He appointed Yuan Shu as Tiger-General of the Central Army and ordered him to provide the army with warhorses, provisions and other military supplies."

Without hesitation, Liu Hong promoted Yuan Shu: "Yuan Ji is in charge of the Imperial Stud Horse Administration. The Yuan family has made a lot of money from horses in recent years. Let Yuan Shu ask Yuan Ji for military horses... It is rumored in the capital that he is in charge of both sides. I want to see who is in charge between the two sides!"

"But military supplies are the general's responsibility..."

Zhang Rang stopped speaking halfway through his sentence.

Although He Jin had been appointed Grand General, he was still in charge of logistics and military supplies. However, he did almost nothing and the supplies were indeed insufficient.

If He Jin had been even slightly sensible, he should have issued a general's decree immediately upon assuming the position of Grand General.

For example, ordering each prefecture to provide military horses and armed guards, requiring each prefecture to collect grain for war, executing all officials who abandoned their land and fled, ordering each family to raise their own militia to suppress bandits, and using the authority of a Grand General to incorporate the militia into the regular army, etc., are all things that a Grand General should do.

Liu Hong gave He Jin the authority, but He Jin did almost nothing because no one told him what to do, and as a butcher, he really didn't know what to do.

As a result, all the commands could only come from Liu Hong; he would poke and the character would jump, but the problem was that the character would never jump in the right direction...

Now, having Yuan Shu lead the Tiger General to replace He Jin in supplying military provisions is naturally intended to sow discord within the Yuan family and between the Yuan family and the three generals leading the army—unless the Yuan family is willing to spend money to supply the three armies, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to supply them.

At the same time, it was also to teach He Jin a lesson, to see how one should actually work for the emperor...

Liu Hong snorted, then asked, "Where did He Jin put Guo Dian's family?"

"In Henan...Dongyuan. The General ordered the construction of the mausoleum..."

Zhang Rang lowered his head, not daring to look at Liu Hong.

Dongyuan was not the imperial palace, but rather the imperial mausoleum area located on the southern slope of Mangshan Mountain, northeast of Luoyang. The tombs of several generations of emperors were located there, and Liu Hong's own burial site was also in that area.

The official name for that place is "Dongling", but it is generally referred to as "Yuan" in the palace.

The so-called "construction" actually meant being locked up in the underground palace of the mausoleum and doing hard labor.

"...Bo Qi's sister! That idiot!"

Liu Hong finally couldn't hold back and started cursing.

Before becoming the Prefect of Henan, He Jin held the position of Grand Master of Works.

The position of Grand Master Craftsman was in charge of royal engineering projects, including the construction of palaces, mausoleums, and ancestral temples, as well as the forging of various defensive facilities and weapons in the capital region. They were also responsible for smelting copper and minting coins for the royal family—the royal family also minted coins privately.

Royal tombs were all pre-built, so the task of building a tomb for Liu Hong and Empress He was naturally entrusted to He Jin, a member of the family.

Previously, Liu Hong had He Jin stationed at Duting to arrange the defense of the eight passes and manufacture weapons, which was also out of trust in He Jin. The task of guarding Luoyang and the imperial tombs could only be entrusted to his brother-in-law.

Arranging manpower to construct the imperial mausoleum and guard the mausoleum were indeed He Jin's responsibilities.

But Liu Hong really didn't expect that He Jin would actually be able to get Guo Dian's family to work on the mausoleum!

Guo Dian wrote a proclamation for the Yellow Turbans and even called himself a disciple of the Yellow Heaven, which was indeed a rebellion. But the problem is that Guo Dian was nominally the Marquis of Ruyang, appointed by Liu Hong!
Even someone as unreliable as Dong Zhong wouldn't do something as stupid as sending marquis's family members to work on the imperial mausoleum...

Liu Hong felt somewhat exhausted, and he now felt that making the Han family his maternal relatives was not a good thing.

It's true that relatives from wealthy families are unsafe, but relatives from poor families are just ignorant!
Moreover... even those from humble backgrounds aspire to become aristocratic and powerful families, not only pursuing profit but also seeking fame...

However, without maternal relatives, the emperor would have no help in the outer court, which would also be unacceptable.

"Two heads sharing one body... two heads sharing one body... Imperial edict: He Miao is hereby transferred to be the Governor of Henan, to take over the affairs of Duting!"

After thinking for a long time, Liu Hong finally had to settle for having both.

...Two days later, at the Luoyang Imperial Stud Office.

Yuan Wei is playing chess with Yuan Ji.

“Father, these days there are rumors everywhere about a son with two heads and one body, and the saying that the one who will replace the Han dynasty is called Dangtu Gao. It seems to be an allusion to our clan… I wonder who is behind this?”

Yuan Ji held the white piece, looked at the chessboard, and hesitated.

On the chessboard, two large dragons, one black and one white, are intertwined. The white dragon is missing pieces, divided into two groups.

Even black stones have unformed parts that can be cut off, giving them a chance to devour half of a dragon.

However, Yuan Ji can only make one move. If he makes a move that connects two white stones, he will lose the opportunity to cut off the black stones and allow the black group to come back to life.

However, if you cut off Black's stones and don't connect your own shape, your large group will also be cut off by Black in the next move, and you will lose half of your large group.

This move is completely unpredictable.

"Whether it's an allusion or a rumor, it's all trivial stuff, no need to pay it any mind. It's just that some people are afraid, who cares who did it..."

Seeing Yuan Ji hesitate, Yuan Wei shook his head: "Boye, you are the eldest son and are destined to inherit the clan. How can you be troubled by trivial matters and be so indecisive?"

“Father, if we make a single wrong move, we will lose the whole game. We must be careful. Besides, this matter is not because of me…”

Yuan Ji hesitated to place the chess piece in his hand, instead holding it tightly in his palm: "Gong Lu came to see me yesterday and asked me what 'Tu Gao' meant, whether it referred to a person or a clan..."

"Then how will you answer?"

Yuan Wei frowned.

“I said that Tu Gao refers to the strong people in the world, who are both human and of a race, and that the strong are all stronger than their race… But then Gong Lu asked me, if we use the strength of an entire race to defeat just one person, it will make the rest of the race ostracized by the world, what should we do?”

Yuan Ji sighed: "I said that if a clan is strong, no one will be tolerated by the world. But Gong Lu said that the Prince of Anping and the Prince of Ganling are also of the same clan as the emperor... I don't know how to answer, so this is like a game of chess."

"What's so difficult about that? If you want to win, you have to give up something. You have to give up something to gain something!"

Yuan Wei looked at Yuan Ji, his brows furrowing even deeper: "There is an order of seniority, just like between ruler and subject. You can give the order yourself. Why should he negotiate with you?"

Although Yuan Shu was born to the same father as Yuan Feng, his social status was very different from that of Yuan Ji.

"Father, now that the ruler has no soldiers, his subjects are flexing their muscles..."

Yuan Ji glanced at Yuan Wei with a strange look in his eyes: "Gong Lu has now been appointed a general and given the authority to supply military provisions... He has never been close to me since childhood, how can I force him to do so? On the contrary, he can use an imperial edict to force me to supply military horses..."

This is actually referring to Yuan Wei and the emperor...

The emperor's army is not very obedient these days, so the emperor dares not force Yuan Wei to obey orders.

Yuan Shu is now the Tiger-Ben General, although he is only a castrated version of a nominal general. The Tiger-Ben Imperial Guards are still in Dong Zhong's hands, but Yuan Shu is acting on imperial orders and has a clear assignment.

If military supplies cannot be supplied in time, generals such as Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Dong Zhuo will definitely become disloyal to the Yuan family.

However, if Yuan Ji supported Yuan Shu and provided him with military supplies, it would not only hinder the Yuan family's original plans, but also allow Yuan Shu to control countless resources and befriend various military generals.

Once the army that quelled the rebellion wins, Yuan Shu, who provided logistical support, will undoubtedly be credited with the greatest merit and will be appointed as a true general who opens his own office—a position far higher than Yuan Ji's.

Moreover, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao were already far more famous in society than Yuan Ji.

Yuan Shu, in order to control the grain transport within his clan, often personally led campaigns to suppress "bandits" or befriend various outlaws, and was known for his bravery and chivalry.

Yuan Shao had not held office for many years and often helped the partisans, earning him a reputation for being benevolent, filial, and public-spirited. Moreover, most of the partisans would repay Yuan Shao by promoting his fame.

On the contrary, Yuan Ji, the eldest son with the highest status in the clan, became one of the Nine Ministers at the age of thirty, but because he had not been involved in society much, his reputation was limited to the officialdom.

Moreover, Yuan Ji only had the reputation of being "learned and incorruptible," which was very useful when recommending candidates for high-ranking positions, but in terms of social prestige, very few people knew him...

There are limitations to how scholars can make a name for themselves. If Yuan Ji wanted to quickly rise to the position of one of the Nine Ministers, he naturally couldn't associate with the partisans. Without associating with them, his reputation couldn't spread quickly.

Yuan Wei thought for a moment, then sighed: "Gonglu has always been unruly, he should have been reprimanded long ago. Boye, any decision is better than hesitation. You are the future clan leader, and you should decide on matters concerning your peers."

Yuan Ji remained silent for a long time before finally placing his white piece between two black pieces.

The large black group of stones was cut off.

However, they also abandoned the tail of the white dragon.

Yuan Wei's eyes narrowed, he gave Yuan Ji a deep look, nodded, and reached out to cut off a black stone in the middle of the white stones.

……

After returning home, Yuan Wei went into a small house deep inside the courtyard.

There were warriors from the clan guarding the entrance to the hut, which seemed to indicate that it was a very important place.

But inside the house there was only a memorial tablet with the words "My beloved son Manlai" written on it.

Yuan Kui's eldest son, Yuan Manlai, died at the age of fifteen. Yuan Manlai was extremely intelligent as a child, and he mastered the Book of Changes by the age of twelve. When he died, Cai Yong even wrote a poem for Yuan Manlai.

Yuan Wei gazed silently at her son's memorial tablet, saying nothing, but a tear rolled down her dim, yellow eyes.

"My lord, a letter has arrived from home in Runan, saying that the lady has contracted the plague... and is already..."

Just then, a servant came to report from outside the door.

Yuan Wei was stunned, then closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them again, and asked from inside the room towards the door, "What did you say?"

"Madam has passed away..."

The servant repeated it tremblingly.

Yuan Wei put down the memorial tablet in his hand, wiped away his tears, turned around and went out, his face as dignified as ever.

After leaving the gate, he waved to the clansmen guarding it: "Kill him..."

The two clansmen drew their swords and plunged them into the chest of the servant who had brought the news.

Yuan Wei's wife, Ma Lun, who was also Ma Rong's daughter, was sixty-three years old at this time.

There have been major epidemics in the past two years, and Runan is also an epidemic area. It is normal for someone of this age to be infected with the disease and die. The disease does not care how prominent you are.

But Yuan Wei felt very uneasy.

If we hadn't wiped out all the Taiping Dao healers under Ma Yuanyi, the lady might not have contracted the plague... or even if she had, there would have been more healers to treat her.

Perhaps, I wouldn't have died...

Yuan Wei knew that the healers of the Way of Peace were truly capable of treating epidemics.

But the deed is done, the decision is made, so how can one hesitate and show weakness?

Now that the eldest son of the Yuan family has passed away, the Yuan family members should logically return to Runan for the funeral.

However, Yuan Ji had just made a decision... a decision that involved both giving up and gaining—this was also the decision that Yuan Wei hoped Yuan Ji would make.

The outcome is still undecided; how can one go back to attend a funeral at a time like this?

"A letter was sent to the clan: the world is not yet at peace... the Yellow Turbans have not been eliminated. The funeral will be held after the Yellow Turbans are eliminated."

Yuan Wei looked up at the sky and gritted his teeth as he gave the order.

The sky was a dim, yellowish color, just like Yuan Wei's eyes.

(End of this chapter)