Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 27 This is the Emperor's edict!
As Yuan Shu caressed the silk in his hand, his thoughts drifted to Chang'an along with the contents of the letter.

The letter described the unpredictable chaos in Chang'an, which overwhelmed Liu Yao, but Yuan Shu clearly understood the root cause of it all.

Amidst the turbulent and unpredictable events of Chang'an, behind every seemingly mad decision-maker's choice, a figure lurks.

Jia Xu!

After Dong Zhuo's death, it was he who led Li Jue and Guo Si to launch a counterattack on Chang'an;

Li and Guo turned against each other, and Li helped Emperor Xian of Han devise a plan to promote Li Jue to Grand Marshal. He knew that Li Jue would reward the sorcerer handsomely and that he was the one who would alienate his subordinates.
When Zhang Ji arrived in the capital, he mediated between the emperor and Li, Guo, and Zhang Ji, and it was he who facilitated the return to Luoyang!

But after the emperor fled Chang'an, Zhang Ji and Jia Xu, as the proposers and biggest supporters of returning to Luoyang, seemed to have planned it together and left halfway through the journey!

One went off to Jingzhou to attack Nanyang on his own, while the other feigned allegiance to Duan Wei, but soon after, under the pretext of "I'm going to seek external aid and contact allies for you," he went out and sought refuge with Zhang Xiu, Zhang Ji's nephew.

In short, apart from the unexpected death of Zhang Ji from a stray arrow during the attack on Nanyang, Jia Xu and Zhang Xiu's army were freed from the perilous and dangerous warlord conflicts that raged in Chang'an, and began to live a peaceful life fighting bandits in the surrounding areas of Wancheng.

As for those who believed his lies and went east to Luoyang, from Li and Guo to the emperor and his ministers, they were all tricked and suffered more and more miserably.

Li and Guo suffered heavy losses and lost their biggest bargaining chip: the emperor. The emperor and his ministers endured unimaginable suffering on their journey.

Thinking of this, a playful glint appeared in Yuan Shu's eyes, and he murmured to himself.

Are they skilled in self-preservation strategies?
Wenhe, see you in Wancheng.

At this moment, seeing that Yuan Shu seemed to have come to his senses after reading the letter, Yang Hong, on behalf of the ministers, tentatively asked the question that had been on their minds.

"My lord, do you know this letter? And what did that man say earlier: 'Chang'an is in chaos, the emperor has fled'?"

Yuan Shu looked up at him, then looked down at the expectant, fearful, or anxious gazes of his ministers.

He abandoned his frivolous and playful demeanor, his eyes becoming unfathomable. Suddenly, he stood up, holding the silk scroll high in his hand, his ambition so noble and heroic, like a loyal and virtuous man of the Han Dynasty!

"This is an imperial edict!"

When Li Jue and Guo Si fought each other, they plundered Chang'an and ravaged the people, causing cannibalism to break out in the Guanzhong region, with piles of bones and stench filling the roads.

The emperor sent his ministers to negotiate with Li and Guo, but these two traitors were so cruel and insane that they were outrageous and despicable, deserving of the wrath of both heaven and man!
Li Jue launched a night attack on the imperial city, burning and killing palaces and capturing the emperor. Guo Si then detained Grand Commandant Yang Biao, Minister of Works Zhang Xi, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Wang Long, and other civil and military officials.

One man held the emperor hostage, while another commanded all the officials. Their incessant fighting led to the exhaustion of Chang'an and the desolation of its streets.

Today, the emperor is mediating between Li and Guo, and is also forced to flee Chang'an by Zhang Ji, before returning east to Luoyang.

Liu Yao, a member of the Han imperial family and a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, knew that Liu was a pillar of the state and always harbored the ambition to support the nation. Therefore, he assisted Your Majesty in secretly transmitting the imperial edict, requesting me to be appointed Grand General, lead the army into Guanzhong, purge the court of corrupt officials, and protect the Emperor!

After Yuan Shu finished speaking, all the officials fell silent.

Liu Yao? A loyal minister of the Han Dynasty?
A few days ago, wasn't it you, my lord, who pointed your finger at him and called him a traitor, and denounced him?

Another imperial edict arrived? Appointing him as Grand General?
Seeing Yuan Shu holding up the silk scroll high, everyone was at a loss for words. If it were stamped with the Imperial Seal of the State, it would probably look more real than a real imperial edict.

In any case, the alliance of the eighteen warlords to attack Dong Zhuo was also a forged imperial edict. Now it's just another forged edict to attack Li Jue and Guo Si. The officials had no time to care about these trivial matters. Their minds were all drawn to the chaos in Chang'an mentioned by Yuan Shu.

"How could this be? That's the central government headquarters, where the emperor resides!"

"How dare Li Jue and Guo Si do such a thing?"

"Traitor to the nation! A true traitor to the nation!"

"The Emperor is returning to Luoyang? This will surely shake the world!" "Noisy!"

Amidst the commotion and exclamations, Yuan Shu shouted a rebuke, and everyone fell silent.

"Now that things have come to this, what plan should we devise?"

Gentlemen, can anyone teach me?

The assembled officials fell silent, except for Zhou Yu, who, standing beside Sun Ce, suppressed the joy in his eyes, spoke with righteous indignation, and bowed his head to report:
"Now the nine provinces are in disarray, the emperor has moved away, the people have abandoned their livelihoods, famine has led to displacement, the court has no reserves to last a year, and the people have no stable livelihoods."

The warlords of the time, who carved out their own territories, such as Yuan Shao and Liu Biao, were powerful for a time but lacked long-term vision. Although Cao Cao and Liu Bei had the ambition to restore order, they were isolated and lacked the strength to do so.

In these chaotic times, only a hero like Lord Yuan, with well-trained troops and ample provisions, prioritizing loyalty and righteousness, serving the emperor to command the disobedient, and upholding justice throughout the land, can achieve the ambition of becoming a king or hegemon.

"Zhou Gongjin's words are so hurtful, are you trying to harm your teacher?"

A cold laugh rang out, refuting Zhou Yu. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man in white.

This young man was none other than Lu Xun, Lu Boyan, who had been studying at Yuan Shu's residence in Shouchun City for several months after parting ways with Qu'a!

At this moment, he was like a playmate, accompanying Lu Ji to serve a six-year-old child dressed in fine clothes, their behavior intimate.

Although the child was young, he was Yuan Shu's eldest son, Yuan Yao.

Lu Xun rose angrily from beside Yuan Yao and bowed to Yuan Shu with the respect due to a disciple.

"Zhou Gongjin's intention to harm others is obvious; teacher, you must not believe him!"

To use the emperor to command the disobedient is truly a pipe dream. I have often heard that Zhou Yu's wisdom and strategy are unparalleled in the world, but I never imagined that it was all just empty talk and boasting.

When the teacher went south to Jiangdong, the warlords did not stop attacking each other. Now Cao Cao has defeated Lü Bu and regained control of the counties of Yan and Yu.

Yuan Shao decisively defeated Gongsun Zan in Youzhou, forcing him to retreat to Yijing;

Liu Bei stabilized the counties of Xu Province and recently gained Lü Bu to join him and station his troops in Xiaopei.
Taking advantage of his teacher's southward journey, Liu Biao sent Huang Zu with troops to attack. Huang Zu and General Ji Ling were locked in a stalemate for several months, with neither side gaining a decisive advantage. Huang Zu withdrew a month ago for unknown reasons.

He was dressed in white robes with wide sleeves, exuding confidence and charisma, as if the entire land of China was on his mind. He explained the current situation to Yuan Shu, who had just returned from Jiangdong.

Yuan Shu nodded slightly at this. These things generally corresponded to history, except for the last one. He probably, perhaps, knew why Huang Zu retreated. Could it be that Zhang Ji came to attack Jingzhou?

Seeing that Yuan Shu already understood, Lu Xun began to explain in detail.

"If you had held Nanyang earlier, you could have directly reached Luoyang to the north and welcomed the emperor. However, you were defeated by Cao Cao last year, and Nanyang was taken by Liu Biao."

Currently, leading troops westward, one faces Liu Biao's Jingzhou; to the north, the two provinces of Yan and Yu are under Cao Cao's control; and to the east, Xuzhou is controlled by Liu Bei and Lü Bu.

With enemies everywhere and feudal lords entrenched in the territory, how can the teacher cross over other states and counties, lead his troops north to Luoyang to welcome the emperor?

Even if the feudal lords allow the teacher to pass through, they probably have ulterior motives. He might be ambushed and killed on his return journey, never to return, having only served to benefit others.

As he spoke, his gaze fixed intently on Zhou Yu, cold as a sword.

"Zhou Gongjin's words are so scathing; I beg to be executed!"

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(End of this chapter)