I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 129 Restoring the Han Dynasty!

In February, Li Jue killed Fan Chou, and he and Guo Si each led their troops in a battle within Chang'an.

In March, General Yang Ding of Anxi conspired with Guo Si to kidnap Liu Xie. The plot was exposed, so Li Jue first sent Li Xian to lead troops to surround the palace and kidnap the emperor.

In April, Zhang Bao and Zhang Long, generals under Li Jue, conspired with Guo Si to assassinate Li Jue. However, Li Jue discovered their plot and imprisoned Liu Xie in Beiwu.

In the intercalary fifth month, Emperor Xie ordered Li Gu, the Left General of the Palace Guard, to appoint Li Jue as Grand Marshal, a position above the Three Dukes.

In June, Emperor Liu Xie, longing for the old capital Luoyang, sent envoys to Li Jue requesting permission to return east. He was granted permission only after ten requests.

In July, Liu Xie left Chang'an and returned east. Li Jue and Guo Si changed their minds and sent troops to pursue him.

The intelligence was fragmented and contained inconsistencies in timeline, but the group had already pieced together the earth-shattering event that had suddenly occurred in Guanzhong—

The emperor has truly left Guanzhong!
If Lu Bu's capture of Yanzhou, Cao Cao's counterattack against Lu Bu, and Liu Bei's takeover of Xuzhou were merely major events that could affect the geopolitical landscape to some extent, then this was a major event that could shake the entire world!
Even Zhou Tai, who usually didn't treat Zhang Zhao well, immediately ran to the inner room to wake Liu Miao after learning about this, clearly knowing that the situation was urgent!
Liu Miao reluctantly got up from Bao Zhen and was still sleepy when he went outside.

"My lord! The emperor has fled! He has already left Guanzhong!"

Everyone looked at Liu Miao with extreme tension, waiting for his reaction.

"Oh."

Oh?
What's the reaction?
Chen Yu suspected that Liu Miao was still half asleep and hadn't heard him clearly, so he immediately went to Liu Miao's ear and shouted, "Zhongshan! The Emperor has left Guanzhong!"

Why are you shouting so loudly?

Liu Miao rubbed the bridge of his nose, then had Chen Wu bring a basin of cold water to splash on his face before asking, "Has the Emperor left Guanzhong?"

"Ok!"

"What does this have to do with us?"

Liu Miao was not at all surprised that the unfortunate emperor was able to escape from Guanzhong.

After all, those high-ranking officials and ministers were quite cunning, and it wasn't impossible for them to escape from the leaderless Western Liang warlords.

But now, even if we know the emperor has fled, what can we do?
Could it be that Liu Miao could actually bring the Han emperor over right under the noses of warlords like Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and Liu Biao?

Liu Miao's question also calmed down the anxious civil and military officials.

Yes.

Even if the emperor escapes the clutches of evil, what can the people do?
Does that mean that if we bring the emperor back to Guandong and back to Luoyang, the world will be at peace and the Han Dynasty will be restored?
Can a nominal emperor of the Han Dynasty suppress the current chaos?

In that case, even if the emperor were to return east, what difference would it make?

Only Lu Su bowed and said, "No!"

"My lord, now that the Emperor is returning east, his carriage will certainly not remain in Luoyang alone; he will inevitably seek the assistance of the lords of Guandong!"

"If Yuan Shao were to welcome the Emperor into Hebei and use the Emperor's orders to attack the other warlords, thus slandering you, my lord, as a traitor to the Han, what would you do then?"

Everyone gasped, clearly understanding Lu Su's meaning—

They held the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords!

The Emperor of Han has, after all, replaced the legitimate Han court! If Yuan Shao were to do such a thing, Liu Miao, who is nominally Yuan Shu's subordinate, would likely be falsely accused!
"Don't worry, Zijing. Yuan Shao doesn't have the brains for that, and he doesn't even respect the Emperor of Han."

Liu Miao had a complete and clear understanding of the developing situation in the north—

“Yuan Shao is now like Emperor Shizu, who occupies Hebei and is known as the ‘Bronze Horse Emperor’. His current goal is probably to pacify Hebei in three years, pacify the Central Plains in three years, and gain the world in three years. Asking him to take over the emperor at this time would just be adding insult to injury for him, wouldn’t it?”

Everyone was utterly shocked.

This was the first time they had ever heard such a thing!
Did Liu Miao really think that Yuan Shao wanted to take the step of establishing an imperial system and declaring himself emperor?

"Therefore, everyone, rest assured that the Emperor will certainly not go to Hebei, and Yuan Shu will certainly not accept the Emperor."

Lu Kang became anxious: "Are we going to let the emperor and his officials be trapped and die in the Heluo region?"

"Of course not possible."

Liu Miao knew that the great Boss Cao would soon run to Luoyang and bring the Han emperor back to Xuchang.

At the same time, Liu Miao also thought of some other issues.

Yuan Shu is becoming increasingly stingy with me. He not only sent people to Jiangdong to monitor me, but also did something that clearly wanted to provoke conflict: appointing Sun Ben as the governor of Danyang.

The reason Yuan Shu hasn't gone too far is simply because he can barely survive.

Once he has completely drained Huainan, and when he discovers that Liu Bei of Xuzhou is also a stubborn man, no matter what Liu Miao says, Yuan Shu will definitely turn around and forcibly seize Jiangdong, relying on bloodshed to maintain his survival.

The break with Yuan Shu was already foreseeable.

Although Liu Miao has now gained control of Jiangdong and holds the imposing title of "Lord of Jiangdong," he is certain that he does not yet have the strength to directly compete with the warlords of the Central Plains and still needs to continue developing his power!

At this time, external support is obviously extremely important!

Look at my neighbors...

Liu Biao, half of his body buried in the earth.

Liu Bei was underdeveloped.

The remaining Liu Zhang of Yizhou, Shi Xie of Jiaozhou, Ma Teng of Liangzhou, and Gongsun Zan of Youzhou are all far away from him, so he has neither the energy nor the need to befriend them.

So, does that mean Cao Cao is really the only one left?

Especially now that Cao Cao is about to welcome the emperor, he will use the emperor to command the feudal lords.

Even if we can't get the emperor on our own, we can at least get a taste of the emperor by following Cao Cao, right?

Liu Miao did not forget.

He obtained the legitimacy of his rule over Jiangdong by exchanging the Imperial Seal of the State from Yuan Shu.

Currently, Yuan Shu's legal arguments are still somewhat effective due to his prestige. But in the future, this General of the Rear's legal arguments will become as foul as excrement in a latrine!

If we can use this trip to Jiangdong to legally justify our occupation of Jiangdong and even Yangzhou, then we will have truly gained a great advantage!
Don’t say anything else.

Kuaiji and Yuzhang became like meat rotting in Liu Miao's pot, waiting for him to feast on them at any time.

Secondly, it would also give Liu Miao a formal identity to engage in diplomacy with other warlords, rather than being confined to Yuan Shu's framework!

In short... Liu Miao wants to switch jobs!

"This time, it will surely be Cao Cao who welcomes the emperor."

Liu Miao still decided to take some action.

Offering help in times of need is always better than adding to someone's already good fortune.

"Yuan Tan, how much money and grain can be allocated from the treasury?" These numbers were already etched in Gu Yong's mind, and Gu Yong replied without the slightest hesitation: "Ten thousand taels of gold."

"Could you allocate 20,000 taels of gold?"

Gu Yong hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

Now that Jiangdong has just been pacified, Wang Lang and Hua Xin have both expressed their support for Liu Miao to varying degrees. It is foreseeable that there will be no major battles in Jiangdong in the short term, at most there will be small-scale conflicts when besieging the Shanyue.

In addition, with a bumper harvest just around the corner and a surplus in the treasury, they were able to spare 20,000 taels of gold if they gritted their teeth.

Most importantly, Gu Yong knew that Liu Miao was not the extravagant person he appeared to be, and that he would not squander the people's hard-earned money. Therefore, he agreed to spend the money.

as predicted.

Upon receiving the money, Liu Miao immediately said to Lu Su, "Zijing, all 20,000 taels of gold are yours. I don't care how you spend it, or how much you keep. But there's one thing: you must get this done!"

Upon hearing that Liu Miao had entrusted him with such a large sum of money, Lu Su immediately became serious and said, "My lord, please speak."

"I need you to visit Yuan Shu, Liu Bei, Lü Bu, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Liu Biao."

"The most important one is Cao Cao. Once he welcomes the emperor back, I will immediately go to see the emperor in my name and express my determination to restore the Han Dynasty!"

Now, Liu Miao is finally going to stand as a feudal lord in this chaotic world and share the spoils with the other warlords.

Whether it's forming alliances or engaging in cross-strait cooperation, you always need to inform everyone beforehand.

It would be better to use the emperor's escape as an opportunity to contact the feudal lords, which would also make it easier to prepare for what would happen later.

"promise!"

Lu Su was not afraid of meeting those famous people he was about to meet; on the contrary, he was full of ambition!
At this moment, Liu Miao whispered something to Gu Yong.

Gu Yong left immediately, only to return much later. Amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd, he handed Liu Miao a piece of... rice?
However, the rice was exceptionally robust, almost twice the height of ordinary rice, and the ears of rice were full of plump grains, so heavy that the rice could not stand upright. It was clearly a rare and excellent crop!
“Yuan Tan had previously collected superior rice varieties from various places in Danyang, intending to plant them in Jiaxing next year. This is one of the rice plants.”

As early as the book of Fan Shengzhi, it was recorded that: when taking rice seeds, choose the tall ones, cut off a section, and hang them in a high and dry place, the seedlings will not wither.

Therefore, rice and wheat of such good quality were not processed into grain, but were preserved as seeds for next year's planting.

What Gu Yong brought out at this moment was the thickest and strongest ear of rice after careful selection!
Liu Miao handed it over to Lu Su.

“In other places, Zijing will definitely have to make some arrangements.”

"But General Hou has a deep affection for me, Liu Miao. How could I possibly humiliate him with money? When you see General Hou, give him this ear of rice and say that an auspicious omen has appeared in Jiangdong. A five-colored divine bird carried this ear of rice and landed on the top of a mountain called 'Yuan Mountain.' Do you understand?"

Lu Su's lips twitched, but he still accepted the rice stalks.

However, he said with some concern, "But as far as I know, there is no place called Yuanshan in Jiangdong..."

Liu Miao glared at Lu Su, wondering if it was because it was late at night that his mind was dulled or what, that he couldn't even say something like that.

Liu Miao casually picked up a map of Jiangdong and then pointed to it: "This mountain, its name is now Yuan Mountain!"

Seeing Liu Miao still so frivolous and unrestrained, Zhang Zhao sighed silently from behind.

Clearly, Liu Miao hadn't taken a single word of what he told Wang Lang to say to him...

------

Whether it was Cao Cao welcoming the emperor or Lu Su setting off to pay respects to the feudal lords, it would still take some time. So, while this was a devastating event for others, it only made Liu Miao complain that it ruined his good night's sleep.

Especially since the second day was the day Yuan Huan arrived in Jiangdong, Liu Miao couldn't even sleep in and immediately prepared a banquet to entertain Yuan Huan.

But Liu Miao waited for a long time, and Yuan Huan did not arrive.

Just when Liu Miao thought Yuan Huan had run away like Zhuge Xuan, a servant rushed in: "My lord! We've found Yuan Huan's trail!"

It turned out that after Yuan Huan disembarked at the ferry, he did not immediately come to visit Liu Miao, but instead went to the farmland around the city for some unknown reason.

If it weren't for the local chief reporting that a strange man was frequently asking about farming matters in the fields, no one would have known that Yuan Huan had chosen to be the first to go to the fields to check.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai, who was serving Liu Miao, immediately asked Liu Miao, "My lord, should I bring him here by binding?"

Liu Miao's subordinates already had little affection for Yuan Huan, the governor sent by Yuan Shu. Now, seeing how arrogant Yuan Huan was, they clearly thought he was just another arrogant Liu Xun!

"No need, I'm feeling a bit dizzy today, so I'll just go out and take a look!"

Zhou Tai and Chen Wu drove directly out of the city through the newly repaired North Gate of Jinling.

Now it is harvest time, and as you walk along the road, golden waves symbolizing maturity rise and fall on both sides, one wave higher than the other, stretching from your eyes all the way to the horizon.

Young and strong men often wield iron sickles to harvest the rice, followed by three or five children carrying bamboo baskets to pick up the ears of rice. Then, around noon, they light a fire, roast the rice ears, and put them in their mouths, laughing "giggle giggle".

Liu Miao sat in the carriage, and after many twists and turns, they finally arrived at a village.

The local village chief was already waiting there, but when he saw Liu Miao, he found Liu Miao's face unfamiliar and was immediately intimidated.

Liu Miao was extremely outgoing: "Fellow townsman, from Qingzhou?"

"How did you know?"

"Hey, guess what."

Seeing that Liu Miao seemed very easy to get along with, the village chief was no longer reserved. He simply pointed to a man in the field and said, "Look, it's him! He's been sitting in the field for a while now! He even said he was the governor of Wu Commandery. Don't you think he's audacious?"

Following the village chief's directions, Liu Miao indeed spotted Yuan Huan, dressed in blue robes and wearing a headscarf, squatting on the ground as if studying something.

"Tsk! He certainly doesn't look like a prefect!"

Yuan Huan had sallow skin and his hair was covered with a layer of grease that hadn't been washed for years. His clothes were just ordinary coarse cloth. Where was the wealth and status of a prefect with a salary of two thousand shi?
"that is!"

The village chief nodded repeatedly, and then glanced at Liu Miao: "I think you look more like a prefect than he does!"

"what?"

Liu Miao took it as the village chief praising him. When he got to Yuan Huan, he saw that Yuan Huan was still engrossed in watching, so he didn't disturb him but stayed by his side to watch.

"Ok?"

It took Yuan Huan a long time to notice Liu Miao standing next to him, and he was immediately startled.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I am Liu Miao, Liu Zhongshan. I was just watching two ants fighting on the ground."

Liu Miao answered with unusual honesty, then countered by asking Yuan Huan, "And who are you? What are you doing here? Are you also watching those ants?"

Liu Miao squatted down and pointed with interest at two ants fighting each other on the ground: "Why don't we make a bet? Will the darker-colored ant win, or will the lighter-colored ant win?"

(End of this chapter)