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

Chapter 421 Maintain a Stable Mindset (Combined Chapter)

When Liu Bei received news of Dong Zhuo's assassination, he was already in Beixincheng, Zhuojun.

Beixincheng has been completely ruined and turned into a no-man's land. All that can be seen are unburied skeletons on the ground, and it is not even possible to tell whether they are Hu people or Han people.

At this moment, Liu Bei hesitated.

Many major events have occurred in the South, breaking the relative balance that the various forces had maintained, which will inevitably lead to many changes.

Meanwhile, the north was not yet pacified.

With all the main forces tied up in the north, they couldn't deal with those guys in Chang'an who were promoting their so-called posthumous children for the time being.

If given enough time, the old bureaucrats and powerful families will unite as a false emperor and gain a foothold in Chang'an, and many people will genuinely come to accept this false emperor.

Liu Bei, after all, had personally helped Liu Xie rise to power, so he could imagine that a funeral for Empress Dowager Dong was being held in Chang'an under the name of that two-year-old pseudo-emperor.

Liu Xie is now unable to fulfill his filial duties.

The legitimacy to install a false emperor is readily available.

Moreover, Chang'an was the old capital of the Han Dynasty, and all the officials were in Chang'an. Situ Yang Biao could have easily helped the 'young emperor' ascend the throne. If nothing unexpected happened, Liu Ai would definitely have become the head of the Imperial Clan.

At the same time, the enemy pinned the blame for killing Dong Zhuo on Liu Bei, and some of Dong Zhuo's remaining forces might fall for it. Liu Ai himself could also use his position as Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Works to supervise some of Dong Zhuo's remaining forces.

In other words, Dong Zhuo's remaining forces might not hate those in Chang'an who actually murdered Dong Zhuo, or even if they did hate them, it would be difficult to determine who did it.

In addition, Dong Zhuo had previously offended many people by forcibly levying taxes in the Three Auxiliary Regions.

Previously, Dong Zhuo was there to protect them, but now that Dong Zhuo is dead, all the factions will definitely be worried about retaliation from the powerful families of the Three Auxiliary Regions, and they may very well turn to Yang Biao, Feng Xun, Liu Ai, Huangfu Song and others.

The enemy in Chang'an had soldiers, high-ranking officials, a complete court system, money and supplies, and famous generals like Huangfu Song.

This is different from the historical case of Wang Yun plotting to kill Dong Zhuo. This was clearly orchestrated by Yuan Shao behind the scenes—Yuan Shao would most likely not make the same mistake as Wang Yun.

Only Li Jue could barely listen to Jia Xu, and even that was out of fear of being purged.

The key point is that the situation in the north and the conspiracy in Chang'an are interconnected.

Liu Bei could easily imagine that the Hu people in Chang'an would be given unimaginable treatment.

—If Liu Bei's Qingzhou court wants to kill the Hu people, the Chang'an court will definitely try to win them over.

If Liu Bei suppresses powerful families, the court in Chang'an will definitely try to win them over.

The Xianbei and Wuhuan people would definitely support the false emperor, and Liu Bei couldn't compete with Chang'an in terms of preferential treatment for foreign tribes. If he wanted to pacify the north, he would have to fight to the bitter end.

If a false emperor is established in Chang'an, the rebels in Youzhou will surely join the rebellion.

If Youzhou cannot be conquered quickly, the Donghu, the Liaodong vassal states, and even the Three Han states will believe that the Han Dynasty has split apart.

The barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue; when the Han Dynasty is divided and weakened, they will become even more rampant.

However, the Han Dynasty was very large. Even without fighting, just walking around Youzhou would take several months, just from Dai County to Lelang.

Moreover, Youzhou is now teeming with enemies.

If the city remains bogged down in the north for too long, the officials in Chang'an and the powerful families in various states will surely launch a massive propaganda campaign, and they may very well raise an army to attack Qingzhou.

This would at least allow Chang'an to gain a foothold, use a false emperor to wage war, and create a situation where commoners face off against aristocratic families.

Han Shu... was unaware of the truth and was easily influenced by public opinion.

"Fengxiao, we need to come up with a solution to the murder of Dong Zhongying."

After thinking for a while, Liu Bei said to Guo Jia, "If this goes on for too long, and those usurpers who falsely claim to be emperors establish themselves in Chang'an, the Han Dynasty will be divided in two. The people will doubt the emperor's bloodline, and the foreign tribes and various prefectures will lose their respect for the court. It will be even more difficult to quell the rebellion in the future."

Guo Jia remained silent for a moment, then shook his head: "My lord, even if the Han Dynasty is divided in two, so what?"

"Does the fact that our lord is in power in Qingzhou mean that the enemy will obey orders? Won't they still plot and rebel just the same way?"

“In the past, when the ruler assisted in governing, he had the heart to govern the world. It was difficult to distinguish who was friend and who was foe, and the conspiracy in the dark was hard to guard against… But now that a false emperor has been put forward in Chang’an, it will make the friend and foe clear!”

"Who would be willing to serve the false emperor in Chang'an? They would be enemies of the lord anyway! Those with ulterior motives would flock to Chang'an, but how could those with a sense of righteousness easily join the rebellion? Those who can distinguish right from wrong would not be enemies of the lord."

"Even if the world is divided in two, at least from now on, it will be easy to tell who is friend and who is foe, and the positions of each state and county will be crystal clear. Your Majesty should be glad that the enemy is not wise."

"Our lord has made Qingzhou prosperous and stable in just two or three years. Who can compare to his ability to govern? As long as the people of the world are not blind or deaf, they will know who the wise ruler is. Why bother thinking about the false emperor?"

"The enemy has been forced by our lord to resort to this unwise tactic, and has no other options left. The fate of the world is still in our lord's hands, so what is there for our lord to worry about?"

"First, we should focus all our efforts on pacifying Hebei, and then use the strength of Hebei to conquer the whole country. We don't need to care what the enemy does; as long as our lord sweeps across the land in a grand manner, that will suffice."

"Besides... Minister Jia is still in Xizhou, and the situation in Chang'an is still uncertain. Why should Your Majesty worry about something that hasn't even happened yet, thousands of miles away?"

Guo Jia saw through Liu Bei's thoughts, but offered no solutions.

Some strategists are good at using unconventional tactics, some are good at strategic planning, some are good at governing, and some are good at military strategy.

Guo Jia is special; he is good at adjusting people's mindset and strengthening their beliefs.

The enemy's plan was certainly not a 'foolish strategy,' but at least Liu Bei knew what the enemy was going to do.

That would be a poor choice.

Our strategy is sound; it has forced the enemy to resort to such a desperate measure. It's easy to tell what tactics the enemy will use. In the future, friend and foe will be clear, and then it's just a matter of who is more cunning.

The enemy wants to install a new ruler to clear their name, but clearing their name is only half as effective!
Yuan Shao, hiding behind the scenes, was the ruthless and treacherous director who brought ruin to the country; the unknown is the most terrifying.

But now that everything is out in the open... what's there to worry about?
Keep a stable mindset.

"...Hahaha...Hahaha..."

Liu Bei paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, the laughter growing louder and louder: "Yes...why worry about things that haven't happened yet! Issue the order: the entire army breaks camp and attacks Fanyang at full speed!"

……

……

Guo Jia was right. Jia Xu was still in Guanzhong, and the outcome of the situation in Chang'an was uncertain...

Li Jue still trusted Jia Xu quite a bit, after all, they were old acquaintances, and Jia Xu had been in Xizhou for some time.

However, Li Jue was somewhat skeptical of Liu Bei, so he asked Jia Xu, "Was it really not General Wei who plotted to kill Lord Dong?"

Jia Xu shook his head directly: "In this kind of thing, whoever benefits is the one who does it. Do you think General Wei can benefit from this?"

Li Jue thought about it and agreed, so he quickly led his troops to Mei County to protect Dong Zhuo's family, and together with Dong Bai, they brought Dong Zhuo's body back to Mei Village.

Jia Xu and Li Jue then sent messages to Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and other familiar military generals, instructing them to defend their cities, gather troops for self-preservation, not to obey any orders, and not to leave their posts.

Soon after, an envoy arrived, saying that the officials in Chang'an were discussing the enthronement of a new emperor and planned to hold a funeral for Empress Dowager Dong, and requested that all generals go to Chang'an to discuss the matter.

“Mr. Wenhe, if we are talking about who is subordinate to me, I should be under the command of the Grand Protector, but the Grand Protector is still in Henan and has not returned yet... What should I do?”

Li Jue asked Jia Xu, somewhat at a loss.

The so-called meeting was, of course, about each military leader taking sides. Li Jue, Guo Si, and Zhang Ji were all subordinates of Niu Fu. After Dong Zhuo's death, Li Jue should have followed Niu Fu's arrangements.

But Niu Fu doesn't even know where he is now.

“Right now, we can’t rely on Lord Niu to tell the envoy that Han Sui and Song Jian are sending troops to Fufeng, and to summon all the tribes in Fufeng to your army, and request reinforcements from Chang’an.” Jia Xu said, “You generals must gather your troops to protect yourselves, otherwise you will be divided and eaten. If Chang’an does not send reinforcements, it means they do not trust you.”

Li Jue thought Jia Xu's words made sense. In this day and age, one felt less anxious only when one had troops at hand. So he spread a false military intelligence and summoned all the troops from Fufeng, Anding and other counties to gather at the Wei River camp in Mei County.

About ten days later, Li Jue had gathered the vast majority of the troops from the two prefectures, totaling more than 13,000 men.

After receiving intelligence that Han Sui and Song Jian of Liangzhou were attacking, Chang'an did not send any reinforcements or even provide military rations.

Li Jue's side, along with Dong Zhuo's remaining forces, thus made their stance clear—these guys in Chang'an could not be trusted.

After Li Jue amassed a large army, Jia Xu sent Zhang Baiqi as Li Jue's envoy to Chang'an to 'visit Tang Ji'.

Li Jue once proposed to Tang Ji, but was rejected. He never forgot Tang Ji and would send her gifts every now and then. It was normal for him to send people to visit her.

Tang Ji is currently residing temporarily in the Jingzhao Pavilion, while the Changle Palace in Chang'an City is under renovation.

Clearly, this was intended for Tang Ji and the so-called 'Liu Mai' to live in. After all, Dong Zhuo had renovated it before, and it could be used after some repairs to the main palaces.

The gentry and marquises around Chang'an were somewhat unhappy—Feng Xun had conscripted tens of thousands of laborers from their homes to build Changle Palace, more than Guo Si had conscripted to build Tongguan Pass.

But perhaps they were also happy, since with Dong Zhuo dead, no one would force them to pay heavy taxes anymore.

Moreover, Dong Zhuo used small coins to pay the salaries of officials and dukes, but this year he will probably be able to pay them with silk.

However, in the central courtyard of the North Residence, officials such as Yang Biao and Feng Xun all had worried expressions on their faces.

"Tang Ji is gone? How could she have disappeared?!"

Feng Xun, sword in hand, angrily questioned Han Fu: "You, Han Wenjie, a dignified Prefect of the Capital, with such a great reputation, can't even keep a woman in check?!"

"I……"

Han Fu's face was filled with panic: "Today, Li Jue sent someone to visit Tang Ji. There's military news in Liangzhou right now, and Li Jue has a large army under his command. He's also protecting Dong Zhongying's relatives, so I couldn't very well stop him from delivering gifts... But who knew that when I turned around, the person had disappeared..."

"waste!"

Feng Xun kicked Han Fu to the ground.

"okay!"

Yang Biao intervened, saying, "Now is not the time to interrogate them. Quickly seal the city gates and send people to search!"

……

Tang Ji is currently with Zhang Baiqi.

In fact, Jia Xu's task for Zhang Baiqi was not to bring Tang Ji out of Chang'an.

Jia Xu generally wouldn't assign death-defying tasks to the underworld soldiers. Zhang Baiqi was indeed just there to deliver gifts and ask some questions.

Jia Xu instructed Zhang Baiqi to ask Tang Ji, "Why is Tang Ji helping our enemy? What is your son's surname?"

“This is not what I wanted. I should not be alive, but I cannot bear to abandon my flesh and blood… My son’s surname is Tang, and he has not yet been named.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Ji immediately asked Zhang Baiqi, "Is there any way for me and my son to leave Chang'an?"

Clearly, Jia Xu hadn't expected Tang Ji to plan to flee, and hadn't made any prior arrangements.

Originally, Jia Xu only wanted Tang Ji to explain the specific situation so that he could make a judgment, but he did not expect that Tang Ji planned to send the child away.

The woman refused to be a puppet, and even less so to let her child be a puppet. She said the child had no name, which meant she did not want to accept Liu Mai's arrangement.

It's just that every normal woman finds it hard to part with her own flesh and blood, even if the child isn't her husband's, it's still flesh and blood that came from her body.

Zhang Baiqi acted decisively. He immediately had Tang Ji and the maid who was delivering the gifts change their clothes, hid the child in the gift box, and said that Tang Ji did not want to accept Li Jue's gifts. Then he ran out in a flash.

Tang Ji indeed never accepted gifts from Li Jue, and Han Fu's men couldn't possibly check the box that had already been checked once when it was delivered.

However, this was Zhang Baiqi's first time stealing people, and he had stolen from a mother and her child, so his methods were somewhat rough.

The child was only two years old and couldn't control himself. He started crying as soon as they got near the West Market, because the box was jostling him around.

In this situation, they probably won't be able to leave the city.

To avoid being discovered, Zhang Baiqi decided to stay in the city for the time being. He checked the luggage he was carrying, found a suitable one, and then turned around without leaving the city directly.

Due to work requirements, each underworld soldier has many different identities to choose from, depending on the situation.

Zhang Baiqi had a particularly large number of subordinates, including imperial guards, clerks of the Ministry of Personnel, Yang Xiu's personal attendants, Fu De's bodyguards, Luoyang prison guards, Li Jue's troops, and the commander of the Black Mountain Army, among others...

When Jia Xu came to Guanzhong, he brought Yang Xiu and Fu De with him. They were not only hostages in Jia Xu's hands, but also to reduce the number of people in Linzi who knew Liu Xie, and to make it easier for the underworld soldiers to cause trouble.

Zhang Baiqi, who had been engaged in undercover operations for a long time, had a very good mentality. He was not good at stealing people, but he was particularly good at hiding.

He took Tang Ji and hid in a place no one would expect.

They went to the North Residence, then entered the Situ Official Residence, Yang Biao's residence.

Indeed, Yang Biao and Feng Xun were searching for them everywhere, but Zhang Baiqi went directly to Yang Biao's official residence as Yang Xiu's personal attendant, saying that he was ordered to escort people home for Yang Xiu, but the city gates were closed, so he could only stay in the mansion temporarily.

The gifts were also delivered to Yang Biao's residence, with the message that these valuables were a tribute to Yang Biao. However, Tang Ji was to be sent to Huayin by Yang Xiu, and Tang Ji was then allowed to openly move into a guest room in the outer courtyard of Yang Biao's residence with her child.

No one questioned them, and the Yang family steward even hired a maid to take care of the child.

The people at the official residence had no idea that Tang Ji was gone—and Yang Biao, Feng Xun, and others dared not let too many people know.

The Situ Mansion is not Yang Biao's home; it is an official residence. Yang Biao's wives, concubines, and family members are all in Huayin. The steward of the official residence in Chang'an would not dare to question Yang Xiu's people.

Heaven knows whether that beauty is Yang Biao's mistress or Yang Xiu's confidante. They already have a child together; if she says the wrong thing, it could be fatal...

After all, the gifts sent to the official residence were genuine, including many silks and jewelry, which were quite valuable. Generally, no one would send such expensive gifts indiscriminately.

Yang Biao was busy searching for Tang Ji's whereabouts and didn't come back at all.

This is a classic case of being blind to one's own shortcomings, and it's also Zhang Baiqi's experience from years of infiltration activities.

After sending Tang Ji to Yang Biao's residence, Zhang Baiqi went out to check the situation himself. As long as Tang Ji wasn't around, he was quite safe.

The city gates have all been closed, but in a place like Chang'an, the city gates cannot remain closed indefinitely.

When Yang Biao returns, the city gates will surely open...

It wasn't until the third day, at dawn, that Yang Biao headed towards the North Residence.

Yang Biao was, after all, a high-ranking official, and wherever he went, he made a grand entrance. Moreover, he was still searching for people, leading hundreds of followers and making a noisy search that was easy to spot.

Zhang Baiqi immediately rushed to the Situ residence, still using the identity of Yang Xiu's personal attendant, and once again took Tang Ji out. He also stole a carriage from the Yang family and had the Yang family steward send someone to escort her, saying that she was going back to Huayin.

So the steward of the official residence sent his private soldiers to politely escort Zhang Baiqi all the way out of the east gate of Chang'an...

At this time, Feng Xun, Liu Ai, and others' troops were conducting roadside checks.

But Zhang Bai was riding in the Yang family's carriage, and was escorted out of the city by the Yang family's steward, with other members of the Yang family with him, so of course no one checked Situ's carriage.

Engaging in undercover work relies entirely on mindset; other skills are not particularly outstanding. Zhang Baiqi was probably the one with the most stable mindset among Liu Bei's subordinates.

However, upon arriving in Huaili, an unexpected incident occurred.

(End of this chapter)