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

Chapter 282 Kwantung Allied Forces
These days, news can only be spread by people, and travel is slow, so there are very few channels for people from other places to get reliable information.

Especially regarding the sequence of events—so many major events occurred in Luoyang within a few days, the parties involved or Luoyang officials might have a vague idea of ​​the order, but outsiders simply couldn't distinguish the sequence at all.

The emperor has died, the empress is dead, General He Jin and General He Miao are dead, the heir apparent, Marquis Shi, is dead, Yuan Wei's entire family is dead, and Ding Yuan, the governor of Bingzhou, is dead...

Yuan Shao raised an army and killed Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and other eunuchs, eliminating the vast majority of eunuchs, and fled Luoyang with the corpses of his relatives.

However, he was pursued by Dong Zhuo's subordinates Lü Bu and Guo Si, and also by Liu Bei's henchmen Guan Yu and Xu Rong, who took turns chasing him. He had no choice but to abandon the remains of his relatives and escape.

A large number of officials in Luoyang died. It is said that Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo entered the palace with swords and dragged them out of the court one by one to their deaths. Most of those who died were renowned scholars with excellent reputations, such as He Yong, Zheng Tai, Zhou Bi, Wu Qiong, and so on.

Liu Xie, who was only 8 years old (by Chinese reckoning), ascended the throne as emperor. Liu Bei, who was 28 years old (by Chinese reckoning), became the regent. Dong Zhuo, as a relative of the empress, served as Minister of Works, and Empress Dowager Dong ruled as regent.

Liu Bei seized control of the government, issued a proclamation to the world, calling Yuan Shao a traitor and ordering the world to jointly punish Yuan Shao.

Dong Zhuo purged officials in the capital, eliminated dissidents, and installed members of his own clan in official positions.

These are all true, and they all happened within a few days.

Ordinary people cannot see the process of events, nor do they know the sequence of events.

If we only look at these facts, people might all come to a conclusion in their minds...

In addition, there have been established practices in the Han Dynasty over the years—supporting young emperors, powerful ministers holding power, relatives of the empress dowager wielding power, and renowned scholars being persecuted…

Lies don't actually require lying.

It's all the truth, all the facts, but the conclusion is often the complete opposite of the truth.

The news of Liu Xie's ascension to the throne was naturally relayed by imperial messengers, and Liu Bei's proclamation denouncing the rebels was also disseminated to all directions by envoys.

However, even the imperial envoys could not spread the complete news throughout the Han Dynasty. There was no television news, no online media, and they could only rely on the messengers' mouths and bamboo slips to transmit the message.

Furthermore, being a messenger is an extremely risky job, especially in recent years, when the chances of 'disappearing' for both government officials and messengers traveling abroad are extremely high.

Meanwhile, outside Chenliu, people were digging a pit to bury the body of the imperial envoy.

Some people even used branding irons to cover the 'edge' character pattern on the branding marks of the imperial post horses.

While Zhang Miao was telling stories to Cao Cao and others, Bian Rang, a renowned scholar from Chenliu, was watching his men burn branding irons on the outskirts of Chenliu, with a pile of bamboo slips burning in front of him.

Bian Rang was a renowned scholar who was on par with Tao Qiuhong and Kong Rong; all three were known as "the next generation of scholars".

He Jin appointed Bian Rang as a clerk last year and promoted him for his talent. Bian Rang was promoted several times within a year. At the beginning of the year, the court appointed Bian Rang as the governor of Jiujiang to quell the barbarian rebellion, but Bian Rang did not take up the post.

To be precise, Bian Rang accepted the appointment as the prefect of Jiujiang, but instead of going to Jiujiang, he returned to his home in Chenliu and stayed there.

This is not because the roads are blocked; there was no major flooding at the beginning of the year, and the imperial court has not yet descended into chaos.

However, Jiujiang is a very chaotic place, with both barbarians and mountain bandits, and it has been in constant turmoil for decades.

More than ten years ago, Lu Zhi was appointed as the governor of Jiujiang and led troops to pacify Jiujiang. He then immediately resigned and returned to Luoyang to compile the Stone Classics. Then Jiujiang immediately fell into chaos again... Bian Rang certainly didn't want to go to a place that Lu Zhi couldn't handle.

The bamboo slips that Bian Rang burned were all official documents issued by the imperial court.

The bamboo slips were enough to start a bonfire, so it certainly didn't just come from one or two ministers...

A swordsman came to report: "Lord Bian, the surrounding area has been completely cleared. All the post horses heading east have been intercepted and killed, totaling nineteen riders."

Bian Rang nodded and said, "Go and tell Benchu ​​that I have done everything I could to help him. I am powerless to participate in the uprising... Tell him to take care of himself."

The swordsman bowed respectfully, took a horse, and galloped off towards Xingyang.

Xingyang is the only way to get from Luoyang to the east, and Chenliu is the central hub of the highway leading to the eastern prefectures of Yan, Qing and Xu. If there are any unstoppable post horses in Xingyang, they can be intercepted in Chenliu.

Bian Rang headed towards Chenliu. When he reached the vicinity of the city gate, he saw soldiers carrying flags bearing the character "Cao". He hesitated for a moment, intending to turn back and not enter the city, but was stopped by someone.

"Wenli, Brother Mengzhuo is looking for you..."

Wenli was Bian Rang's courtesy name, and Mengzhuo was Zhang Miao's courtesy name.

The person who called out to Bian Rang was Wei Zi, courtesy name Zixu, a good friend of Zhang Miao.

Bian Rang, Zhang Miao, and Wei Zi were all famous scholars from Chenliu and served as officials at the same time, so they had a good relationship with each other.

Zhang Miao was recommended by He Jin last year and appointed as a cavalry captain, while Wei Zi was recruited by General of Chariots and Cavalry He Miao as the Eastern Commandant of Henan Province.

Some time ago, He Jin and He Miao were fighting each other, so Zhang Miao and Wei Zi didn't take sides and returned to Chenliu together.

Seeing Wei Zi with Cao's troops, Bian Rang frowned and beckoned Wei Zi aside, saying, "Zi Xu, why did Meng Zhuo bring Cao Mengde here? How can this eunuch's son be of one mind with us?"

Wei Zi sighed: "I summoned Cao Mengde... He is brave and resourceful, has many strong troops under his command, and is also an old friend of Yuan Shao... Meng Zhuo and I both lack military skills. Since we are going to raise an army, it would be perfect to appoint Mengde as general..." "Zhang Chao's Zang Hong is both literate and martial, and is qualified to be a general. Why should we need a eunuch's son to lead the army... You can raise an army as you please, I will not participate in this matter."

Bian shook his head and turned to leave.

"Why? Brother Wenli, the Grand General and the General of Chariots and Cavalry are both dead, and the government is controlled by those border people like Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo. If we don't raise an army to quell this, and allow military men to run rampant, how will we possibly survive in the future?!"

Weiz asked urgently.

"The new emperor has already ascended the throne, and Liu Bei holds the power of the imperial edict. Your raising of troops is an act of treason... Even if Yuan Shao can gather many old friends to help, he ultimately has no official status. How many of them are willing to risk their lives against the court?"

Bian Rang frowned and said, "Although news from Guandong has been temporarily blocked, what about Hebei? What about Jing and Yi? Liu Bei has already issued a proclamation to the world, so this news won't be blocked for long, unless we can capture Luoyang and seize the young emperor within two or three months... But is it enough to accomplish this in such a short time?"

"...Brother Bian does not wish to take any risks, so I will not force you. But please stay in Chenliu for a few days and then return to Junyi, how about that?"

Wei Zi put his arm around Bian Rang's and led him into the city: "This will prevent Brother Meng Zhuo from misunderstanding Brother Bian..."

Bian Rang, unable to resist, shook his head and sighed as Wei Zi dragged him away: "Wei Zixu, you know I'm not good at military strategy... Your Wei clan is wealthy, and you're not lacking in talent. Sooner or later you'll be able to establish three more prefectures. Why do you have to cause trouble..."

Wei Zi sighed, "Brother Bian, it's precisely because everyone in Chenliu knows my family is wealthy that if I hadn't accepted Yuan Shao and Zhang Mengzhuo's invitation, how long could my family have remained prosperous? Brother Bian, you're in the same boat as me. It's alright if we don't raise an army, but if you leave..."

Bian Rang stopped talking and followed Weiz into the Chenliu residence.

……

October of the first year of the Chuping era.

(Note: This is not the historical Chuping era, but the era name changed after Liu Xie ascended the throne, which was in October 188.)
Yuan Shao, a former Tiger-General and now a wanted criminal nationwide, unites various "righteous men" from Guandong to raise a "righteous army" to rebel against the imperial court.

The "Guandong Rebel Army" claimed that Liu Bei conspired with Dong Zhuo to murder Liu Bian, the eldest son of the emperor, forged an imperial edict to install Liu Xie as emperor, seized control of the court, massacred scholars, wreaked havoc in the palace, and committed all sorts of atrocities...

Yuan Shao also had a proclamation written, and the charges against Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo were actually more numerous than those against Yuan Shao by Liu Bei.

Zhang Miao, a renowned scholar and the head of the Eight Chefs, stepped forward to make contact and gather a coalition army in Chenliu, which then headed towards Xingyang.

Upon arriving in Xingyang, the various allied forces gathered and formed an alliance.

Those who participated in the allied forces included Yuan Shao, the Commander of the Western Garden Army; Cao Cao, the Commander of the Army; Chunyu Qiong, the Right Commander; and Wu Kuang, the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

Cavalry Commandant Zhang Miao, Prefect of Guangling Zhang Chao, and Eastern Commandant of the Governor of Henan Wei Zi;
Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun, Yuan Yi, the governor of Shanyang, Bao Xin, the chancellor of Jibei, as well as Kong Rong, who had just fled from Luoyang, and Kong Zhou, who came from Chenliu, submitted a report.

There were twelve routes in total, most of which were Zhang Miao's friends.

Kong Rong currently holds no official position, but he has a distant relative in Chenliu named Kong Zhou.

Kong Zhou handed over the troops of Chenliu County to Kong Rong, and the two were considered to be leading the army together, with Kong Rong as the leader.

Kong Zhou was the chief accountant of Feng Dai, the governor of Chenliu. Feng Dai himself did not participate in the "righteous army", but when Kong Zhou wanted to take away the county troops, Feng Dai did not object - similar to Bian Rang, neither participating nor objecting, so as not to be killed by others.

Yuan Yi was Yuan Shao's cousin and a member of the Yuan family.

Bao Xin was originally a cavalry captain recruited by He Jin, and was also introduced into the General's Mansion by Yuan Shao. He Jin recommended him as the Chancellor of Jibei to recruit soldiers outside the region. At that time, the Yellow Turbans of Qingxu launched a major invasion of Mount Tai. Bao Xin was from Mount Tai and recruited a lot of soldiers from Mount Tai.

However, before he could return to Luoyang after recruiting soldiers, he received news from Yuan Shao that He Jin had died and that Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo were causing chaos in the capital. Bao Xin then led his troops into Chenggao to meet Yuan Shao.

If it weren't for Bao Xin's help, Yuan Shao might not have been able to escape from Lü Bu and Guan Yu.

Previously, Lü Bu, Guan Yu, Xu Rong, Guo Si and other troops were stationed at Hulao Pass, while Yuan Shao and Bao Xin were stationed at Xingyang. Fortunately, Lü Bu and Guan Yu came quickly in pursuit and did not bring any siege supplies, otherwise Xingyang might not have been able to be defended.

This "Kwantung Allied Army" was mostly composed of soldiers from Yanzhou, and Chunyu Qiong was also from Yingchuan, Yanzhou.

Yuan Shao and Chunyu Qiong's own troops were already few in number, totaling less than five thousand.

However, the combined forces that entered Xingyang numbered more than 30,000, which was quite a formidable force.

They were a regular army, though most of them were newly recruited greenhorns.

At the alliance meeting, the various forces of the allied army set up an oath-taking altar. Yuan Shao, knowing that his army was outnumbered, did not go up to the altar to lead the oath.

However, everyone still unanimously elected Yuan Shao as the leader of the alliance, because it was Yuan Shao who had proposed this matter.

Actually, the most suitable leader for the alliance right now is Zhang Miao, because he is the one who makes the contacts for most people.

But if this task fails, then whoever becomes the leader will be the ringleader, and the others can be considered "deceived"...

These days, things are counterintuitive. Being the nominal leader isn't a good thing. The Liangzhou rebels always find a famous scholar to be their leader.

(End of this chapter)