I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 138 Appointment of General Wu as Marquis

When Lu Su returned to Luoyang and saw Xu Huang again, Xu Huang's expression was extremely unpleasant.

Lu Su asked Xu Huang why he did this, and Xu Huang then revealed the reason—

"During the time the chief clerk was away, the ministers who came to the rescue all asked for credit. Now the emperor has appointed Zhang Yang as Grand Marshal, Han Xian as General-in-Chief and Commandant of the Capital Region, and Yang Feng as General of Chariots and Cavalry."

Lu Su's face was also ashen.

How are these treacherous officials any different from the likes of Li Jue and Guo Si?
Xu Huang seemed to have prescient knowledge, foreseeing the fate of Yang Feng and the others.

"To be unworthy of one's position is the greatest sin. General Yang only raised an army because he could not survive, but now he is seeking a high position such as General of Chariots and Cavalry. His end will not be good."

Lu Su sighed upon hearing this.

In dealing with people and things, the most important thing is to have self-awareness.

When Dong Zhuo entered the capital, he lacked self-awareness and attempted to suppress Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and others in the court, which led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty.

After Dong Zhuo's death, Wang Yun, lacking self-awareness, wanted to seize control of the court and disregarded the old Xiliang troops, which led to Li Jue and Guo Si's attack on Chang'an.

Even after Li Jue and Guo Si stormed Luoyang and took the emperor hostage, they still lacked self-awareness and their methods were even more clumsy than Dong Zhuo's, causing the only fig leaf of the Han Dynasty to teeter on the brink of collapse. They even went so far as to allow the Han emperor to escape.

Yang Feng and Han Xian are now just former generals of the White Wave Army, and Zhang Yang is merely the governor of Hebei, caught between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. Yet they have appointed themselves to positions such as Grand Marshal and Grand General. Their calamity is probably not far off!
Lu Su invited Xu Huang again: "Although we all have the heart to restore the Han Dynasty, Luoyang is too far from Jiangdong, and we are truly powerless to do so. Gongming, you are a man of foresight. Do you really want to perish with Yang Feng and his men in Luoyang?"

This time, Xu Huang finally stopped hesitating: "I admire Zijing's noble character and Liu Yangzhou's lofty righteousness. If you can overlook my bandit background, I will certainly serve Liu Yangzhou with utmost loyalty!"

When Lu Su heard that Xu Huang was willing to follow him back to Jiangdong, he immediately laughed and said, "Gongming, our lord's father-in-law is a former bandit, so how could he possibly look down on you?"

Xu Huang had never heard of anything related to Yan Baihu before, and was quite surprised when he heard it: "My lord would actually do such a thing?"

"Our lord has a lot to do. Gongming should always be prepared and not be intimidated by our lord."

Lu Su then requested the emperor to order Cavalry Commandant Xu Huang to escort him, citing his fear of encountering bandits on the way back to Jiangdong.

Because Lu Su had sent Yang Feng 500 gold coins early on, the matter went exceptionally smoothly, and the imperial edict was quickly delivered to Lu Su, promoting Xu Huang to the position of Colonel of the Vanquishing Bandits to escort Lu Su to Jiangdong.

In return, the emperor not only officially issued an edict appointing Liu Miao as the governor of Yangzhou in the name of the court, and presented him with the official seal and insignia, but also promoted Liu Miao by one rank.

"He was appointed General of the Vanguard and Marquis of Wu."

When Lu Su saw the imperial edict, he was so frightened that he almost threw it away!
Yuan Shu is only a Rear General, and he appointed himself that way. So what does it mean that the court wants to appoint Liu Miao as the Vanguard General?
If Yuan Shu, with his narrow mind, were to find out that Liu Miao's official rank was now equal to his own, who knows what terrible things might happen!
Fortunately, after hesitating for a moment, Lu Su decisively kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Having already occupied Jiangdong, Liu Miao could not continue to conceal his increasingly large body.

Both Lu Su and Liu Miao knew that Jiangdong, though desirable, was also a trap of gentle persuasion!
Once you become complacent and lose your ambition, you'll be trapped in a place like Jiangdong, and that's the end of you!
During his journey through the Central Plains and Hebei, Lu Su truly felt the gap between the North and Jiangdong in terms of population, arable land, and many other aspects.

Jiangdong is different from Guanzhong.

Behind Guanzhong, there were at least warhorses from Liangzhou and copper, brocade, and grain from Shu.

But behind Jiangdong, there are only boundless mountains and endless mountain tribes.

Liu Miao can solve these problems, but he absolutely must not get dragged into them.

Otherwise, what awaits Liu Miao is only the slow, agonizing process of cutting him to death!
Since that's the case, why not take a gamble and seize this opportunity to declare our ambition to conquer the Central Plains to all the feudal lords under heaven!
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Lu Su thanked the emperor on behalf of Liu Miao, but Emperor Liu Xie looked at Lu Su as if he had something difficult to say.

"Zijing".

"The minister is here."

Liu Xie glanced at the ministers several times before finally deciding to ask Lu Su, "If I were to treat you with the rank of one of the Nine Ministers, would you be willing to stay by my side?"

Lu Su initially found it absurd...

What are the Nine Ministers?
The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers!

The highest pursuit of the scholar-officials of the Han Dynasty!
What merit or ability do I possess to be appointed as one of the Nine Ministers?

However, once Lu Su realized the predicament of Liu Xie and the court, he quickly fell into sorrow again.

Is it really absurd to appoint someone who is neither a filial and incorruptible official nor a man of outstanding talent as one of the Nine Ministers?
Even if it's absurd, can it be more absurd than appointing Han Xian and Yang Feng, former White Wave bandits, as Grand Marshal and Grand General?
The reason the emperor was willing to retain Lu Su with the position of one of the Nine Ministers was because the court now truly had nothing left but these positions.

The current Han Dynasty court and the current Han emperor are like an insecure child who, in order to retain a friend, is willing to expose his own scars and give away everything he has to show his sincerity.

What they didn't know was that some partings were inevitable.

When Lu Su saw the mighty Emperor of Han looking at him with a pleading gaze, he suddenly felt a pang of pain in his heart.

At the same time, another voice emerged, urging Lu Su to stay here, to remain by the emperor's side, and to become one of the Nine Ministers, a position of great prestige.

After a moment of mental turmoil, Lu Su still bowed respectfully.

"My family is all in Yangzhou."

This is no different from saying "You're a good person"; both are polite ways of refusing without wanting to hurt the other person.

Lu Su knew that the hope of the Han Dynasty no longer lay with the court or the nobles.

Even if Emperor Liu Xie treated Lu Su with the rank of one of the Nine Ministers, or even directly appointed him as Grand Tutor, Lu Su would still be powerless to do anything without resources. He had no soldiers.

No land.

No money.

No food.

Even if all three heroes of the early Han dynasty were placed by the emperor's side, they would still find it difficult to escape this predicament.

The only hope for the Han Dynasty is that another Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Shizu will emerge, leading everyone to overturn the heavens and flatten the earth, and create a new world!

Such a person is clearly not the Han emperor who has lost all his bargaining chips and can only survive by relying on others.

Liu Xie looked dejected after hearing Lu Su's words.

"In that case, I will no longer try to keep Zijing."

"I just hope Zijing will go back and tell the Imperial Uncle..."

The emperor's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little.

"Tell the Imperial Uncle that the Han Dynasty has ruled for four hundred years and cannot be destroyed."

Lu Su solemnly cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, sir!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Starting again from Luoyang, we headed directly south.

Crossing the mountain road through Funiu Mountain leads to Nanyang Commandery, the largest commandery in the former Later Han Dynasty.

As the hometown of Emperor Guangwu, Nanyang Prefecture was established as the Southern Capital early on, holding a prestigious position. It governed thirty-seven counties and had a population of 2.4 million, which was much larger than the total population of Jiangdong today.

However, when Lu Su passed through Nanyang, he found it desolate and lacking the grandeur of a "Southern Capital".

"This is the bitter fruit of Yuan Shu's actions!"

Lu Su still couldn't understand how Yuan Shu could squander such a large fortune in Nanyang!

If Yuan Shu had focused on developing Nanyang and then seized Guanzhong to the west, annexed Jingzhou and Xiangyang to the south, and conquered the Central Plains to the east at the right time, the title of the most powerful warlord in the land would probably have changed long ago.

"If our lord had had the prestige and resources of Yuan Shu back then, he probably would have already followed Emperor Gaozu's example and swept the world in four years, right?"

Xu Huang, who was standing nearby, asked curiously, "Is our lord a skilled military strategist?"

"Quite the opposite."

Lu Su was already on his way, helping Xu Huang get used to Liu Miao.

"According to our lord, he should be completely ignorant of military matters."

Unaware of military matters?
A warlord vying for supremacy in a chaotic era, yet knew nothing of warfare.

Xu Huang saw that Lu Su didn't seem to be faking it, and became even more curious about what kind of person Liu Miao really was.

The one who now occupies Nanyang and uses Wancheng as his base is Zhang Xiu, the nephew of the Western Liang warlord Zhang Ji.

Upon hearing of Lu Su's arrival, Zhang Xiu waited outside the venue long in advance. When he saw Lu Su, he praised him, saying, "Lu Su, the chief clerk, publicly rebuked treacherous officials like Yang Feng and Han Xian. He is truly a hero!"

Zhang Xiu not only did not make things difficult for Lu Su, but even took the initiative to escort him to Xiangyang. Before parting, he even gave Lu Su hundreds of fine Xiliang warhorses, which can be described as going to the extreme!

Lu Su couldn't help but praise Zhang Xiu to Xu Huang: "General Zhang, a man like him, should be considered generous, shouldn't he?"

Xu Huang said, "When I went to fetch the horse, I heard that it was not Zhang Xiu's idea, but the idea of ​​a staff member surnamed Jia."

贾？
Lu Su thought it over and realized that he was too ignorant to know who this person with the surname "Jia" was.

"The world is indeed full of hidden talents!"

Lu Su bid farewell to Zhang Xiu and finally arrived at his last stop on his mission to the feudal lords—Xiangyang.

Before even entering Xiangyang, Lu Su could feel that the scenery of Jingzhou was different from other places.

Elegant plants like bamboo and orchids gradually flourished, and schools and academies were frequently established in the prefectures and counties. Scholars discussed philosophy and refined gentlemen debated classics, and it seemed as if the air in Jingzhou was filled with the fragrance of books, making people feel relaxed and happy.

"Liu Jingsheng is not an outstanding talent either. He lingers in Jingzhou and Xiangyang, without any ambition to make his mark, yet..."

If Jiangdong is the rising sun, then Jingzhou is the sunset enjoying the tranquility of life.

Seeing the scholars and poets and the relatively peaceful people, Lu Su really didn't know how to criticize Liu Biao.

"Using the empty formalities of poetry, books, rites, and music to show leisure and avoid conflict, thus dispelling people's jealousy. Not seeking trouble but merely protecting one's own territory, this is the strategy for the average person to preserve themselves."

If people like Yang Feng and Han Xian acted recklessly because they couldn't see themselves clearly, then Liu Biao's calm and composed demeanor must be because he had already recognized himself.

(End of this chapter)