I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 403 Detonation!

Guanzhong, Chang'an.

"Ah."

"Liu Miao is truly possessed."

Upon hearing what the so-called "Hun Tian Shuo" said, Yuan Tan immediately understood what was going on.

"Liu Miao has offended all the scholarly families, which is why he supports the Five Pecks of Rice sect so much. He believes whatever Zhang Lu says. He really has no shame at all!"

As the person in charge of Guanzhong, Yuan Tan clearly viewed it as a political transaction.

Liu Miao wanted the support of the Five Pecks of Rice sect, which is why he acknowledged their completely absurd views and statements.

"If the earth were round, then the Central Plains would be in the center, and Guanzhong, where I am, would be on an angle. How can I stand upright now?"

Yuan Tan's words drew sneers from the surrounding staff, who clearly thought that the theory of chaos was nothing but nonsense!
"However, I have also witnessed Liu Miao's shamelessness."

Yuan Tan believed he was extremely familiar with Liu Miao's style of doing things.

"What's the situation in Hebei now?"

"Your Highness, everything in Hebei is ready!"

During Liu Miao's campaign against Shu, Hebei was also making every effort to prepare for the war.

A large number of soldiers were recruited, at one point accounting for 60% of the annual revenue of the Northern Zhao!

Iron smelting workshops and warhorse ranches sprang up like mushrooms after rain. The entire Hebei province was in a state of utter desperation in preparation for the battle against Liu Miao. The madness they displayed contrasted sharply with Yuan Shao's usual composure!
"Father has spared no expense for this battle."

Yuan Tan took a deep breath.

Now that he's at this point, he's clearly about to take action.

"Seal off the pass and prohibit any merchants from entering or leaving Wuguan!"

Yuan Tan's order startled his advisors: "Your Highness! How can this be allowed?"

Today, trade in Guanzhong has involved too many people and their money!
If we block the passes and stop trade, wouldn't that cause a huge mess?
"Bastard!"

Yuan Tan knew perfectly well what he was doing!
"With war imminent! I have tens of thousands of elite troops under my command, why should I care about others?"

Yuan Tan had not forgotten why he had initially promised Xu You that he had come to Guanzhong for such a purpose!
The struggle for the throne!

Compared to that position, what is all this money in Guanzhong?
Seeing that Yuan Tan was angry, his advisors dared not say anything, but only reminded him, "What about those people in Hebei..."

"Tell them to bear with me! Once I ascend to that position, I will naturally make it up to them!"

"If they can't hold back, then I will send the accounts in my possession to Ye City!"

Yuan Tan was well aware of the greed of his former allies.

But it was precisely because of this that Yuan Tan was able to bind them to his chariot!
Yuan Tan has been holding the ledgers for the smuggling trade for the past two years! If they dare to expose them, Yuan Tan wouldn't hesitate to use someone else to do the dirty work!
Seeing that Yuan Tan had a plan, his advisors were naturally relieved.

"And those merchants who are still in Guanzhong..."

"Confiscate their property and belongings! They're already rich, so why not take advantage of it!"

In the past, Yuan Tan would never have done such a thing.

But now, Liu Miao can shamelessly lie through his teeth, claiming the earth is round! So why can't Yuan Tan detain these merchants and exploit them?

Staff officer: "What about Xiliang..."

"Ma Teng? Han Sui?"

Yuan Tan finally frowned, but the worry between his brows quickly vanished.

"I have inquired about the situation in Xiliang."

"The one who consistently advocated for trade with Liu Miao was Ma Teng's eldest son, Ma Chao."

“Ma Teng and Han Sui are both unambitious men. As long as we give them some gold and silver and promise them that we will restore trade in Xiliang after we eliminate Liu Miao, they will have nothing to say.”

"With these two people keeping him in check, what trouble can Ma Chao cause? Does he really think he can openly disobey his father's orders?"

The staff members readily agreed.

“Zhong Yao, Xiahou Dun…”

"We don't need to worry about them the most."

Yuan Tan also had a good grasp of these former subordinates of Cao Cao in Guanzhong.

"Only if they achieve merit can Cao Cao be safe in Ye City. The two of them should understand this principle."

The staff members were finally able to relax completely.

"Since Your Highness is aware of the situation, then we are relieved!"

With the change in policies in Guanzhong, the roads connecting it to the Central Plains were instantly closed, and large numbers of merchants and travelers were stuck at the passes, cursing and complaining. Prices throughout Guanzhong skyrocketed, and the once prosperous region suddenly fell into a slump.

For several days in a row, uprisings broke out in various parts of Guanzhong due to the loss of livelihood. At the same time, a flood of documents from Guanzhong officials and powerful families in Hebei came to Yuan Tan, asking what had happened.
But Yuan Tan simply ignored the rebellion and dispatched soldiers to quell it across the land. The once peaceful Guanzhong region instantly returned to its state as it had been years before! And it was only then that the people of Guanzhong finally realized—

Even now, it is still a chaotic world!
"Brother, what's going on?"

Among the imprisoned merchants were Zhen Yan and Zhen Yao of the Zhen family of Wuji. Although the two brothers were able to grow their power and influence under Liu Miao's protection, they were ultimately competing with the Lu family of Wujun for resources, and their lives were inevitably filled with fear at times.

With the help of the Zhen family's connections in the north, the two brothers also hitched a ride on the Guanzhong smuggling trade.

The two brothers had come to Guanzhong because of a big order, but they never expected to encounter such a thing!

"What else could it be? It must be that Yuan Tan went back on his word!"

Zhen Yan immediately saw the root cause of the current anomaly in Guanzhong!
"We need to find a way to get out of here quickly and let His Majesty know about this!"

Zhen Yan's goods had been confiscated, but that didn't stop him from tearing hard at his sleeve.

With a "rip," several golden beans fell from the sleeve and hit the ground with a crisp, pleasant sound.

"I have some connections with the garrison commander of Wuguan Pass. If we bribe him, he should be able to let us pass!"

Just as Zhen Yan picked up the gold beans and was about to leave, he clearly felt his sleeve being pulled.

"Brother."

Zhen Yao's eyes were dark and unfathomable, and his breathing gradually became somewhat uneven.

"What do you think, maybe we shouldn't go back?"

"You bastard! What nonsense are you spouting?"

Zhen Yan glared at his younger brother, feeling that the other was a bit ungrateful!
"Stay in Guanzhong? Do you think Yuan Tan alone can defeat His Majesty?"

"And don't forget! Our sister is the Lady of the Han Dynasty! And she has already given birth to a prince, so at the very least, she will become a prince!"

Zhen Yan felt that his younger brother was really confused!

"I've heard that His Majesty intends to emulate the Zhou dynasty's policy of granting fiefdoms and truly appoint powerful lords!"

"Where else in Hebei can you find such an opportunity?"

"Leaving aside our relationship with His Majesty, just look at this workshop, how much money does it make for us in a year?"

"Besides, this money won't attract any unwanted attention! If we were to continue annexing land like we did in Hebei, we might get slaughtered any day! Haven't you really grasped the implications?"

Zhen Yao naturally understood these principles, but he still had some regrets.

"It's a pity that we made so much money, but couldn't buy more land."

"Ground, ground, ground! All you know is ground! If you're not afraid of death, then try it!"

Zhen Yan looked at his younger brother with disappointment, but he also knew that as a former landlord, he did have a special affection for farmland.

"Let's be patient for now. I've heard that many people are setting sail to find the so-called land of India! If we really find it, why would we be afraid of not having land?"

As one of the very few people who transformed from a wealthy landlord in Hebei to a workshop owner in Jiangdong, Zhen Yan has an exceptionally profound understanding of the current national systems in the North and South.

Compared to the stagnant state of the North, the people of the South are changing rapidly!

Moreover, with the successive appearance of iron ore, water-powered rafts, spinning machines, seagoing vessels, and Champa rice, the overall wealth of the Southern Han people was increasing rapidly at an incredible speed!
With such momentum, how could Zhen Yan, who had already secured a place in the Han Dynasty, possibly give up?

Although Zhen Yan felt that Liu Miao's admission of the "Hun Tian Theory" was a bit far-fetched, this did not prevent Zhen Yan from fully recognizing Liu Miao and the Han Dynasty under his rule!

After hearing his elder brother's scolding and questioning, Zhen Yao blushed and never mentioned staying in the north to become a wealthy landowner again...

Zhen Yan found the garrison commander of Wuguan, who, for the sake of those gold coins, secretly released the two brothers and allowed them to return to the Han Dynasty.

After escaping from Guanzhong, the two immediately went to Nanyang and informed Zhang Xiu, who was stationed there, of Yuan Tan's blockade of Guanzhong.

"Is there such a thing?"

Knowing that Liu Miao was still in Chengdu and communication was difficult, Zhang Xiu hurriedly notified Zhou Yu, who was stationed on the front lines in the Central Plains, and advised him to be careful.

Zhou Yu had already moved his garrison to Xingyang. Upon hearing that Yuan Tan had blockaded Guanzhong, he immediately guessed that Yuan Tan probably wanted to quickly "clear his name" and march south with Yuan Shao...

“Yuan Tan, what a pity, we didn’t kill him in Hedong back then.”

Now that Yuan Tan had suddenly outmaneuvered him, Zhou Yu could only lament that he hadn't killed him back in Hedong.

"Since that's the case, you've been unkind first, so don't blame me for being unjust."

Since Liu Miao had tacitly approved Yuan Tan's takeover of Guanzhong, he had already prepared a contingency plan in case Yuan Tan suddenly turned against him.

Zhou Yu summoned dozens of scouts from Hebei and gave them all the same orders—

"You must infiltrate Hebei and spread the word that Yuan Tan has not sold any warhorses to the Han Dynasty in the past two years of trade!"

"Commander, is it really necessary to just spread this news?"

"of course."

Zhou Yu didn't need to produce any evidence.

"Yuan Tan's good younger brother will naturally help us find evidence! Let's expose this matter!"

"Ideally, we should be able to get Hebei and Guanzhong to fight right now, so that we can buy some time!"

　I'd been feeling off for the past few days, so I went to the hospital today and found out I was just weak! Hahahaha! I was so worried, but it turns out it's just weakness! Hahahaha! Great! Hahahaha! Tonight is Qixi Festival, I'm going to update like crazy! Let's see who's weak!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)