Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 133 Liu Bei had just left when Yuan Shao raised his banner to attack Dong Zhuo (Seeking subscriptions and monthly votes)
September 15th, the first year of Zhaoning.

After arranging everything in Luoyang, Liu Bei led his troops back to Chang'an.

In addition to Cai Gu and Cai Wenji, who were also heading to Chang'an, the newly appointed governor of Hedong and General Xu Rong also led their troops to accompany them.

No sooner had Liu Bei left than Yuan Shao's retainers began to stir.

"Liu Bei has finally left Luoyang. If he hadn't left soon, our lord would have been getting impatient!"

"Once we wipe out Dong Zhuo, Yuan Ji, and the others, our lord will be able to return as a king!"

"Hmph! Dong Zhuo is a mere scoundrel. Dealing with him is as easy as turning my hand! You all should quickly follow the plan."

On the afternoon of the same day Liu Bei left, Zhou Bi, the Minister appointed by Dong Zhuo, proposed changing the first year of Zhaoning to the first year of Yonghan, to show Dong Zhuo's intention that the Han Dynasty would last forever.

Dong Zhuo had no suspicions and, regardless of whether Liu Xie and the ministers agreed, forcibly changed the era name to the first year of Yonghan.

This angered Yuan Wei. Upon learning that the person who made the suggestion to Dong Zhuo was Zhou Bi, a former official of Yuan Wei, Yuan Wei immediately sought out Zhou Bi to inquire about the reason.

Zhou Bi, however, argued that Yonghan, symbolizing "the eternal existence of the Han Dynasty," was more meaningful and better suited to the new emperor's ambition to govern diligently upon taking the throne than Zhaoning.

Although Zhou Bi's words were eloquent, Yuan Wei was no fool. Changing the reign title from Zhaoning to Yonghan after only fifteen days was either stupid or malicious.

However, no matter how Yuan Wei asked, Zhou Bi would only confidently analyze to Yuan Wei that the Yonghan reign title was better than the Zhaoning reign title, and even quoted classical texts to Yuan Wei, as if he was afraid that Yuan Wei would not understand.

Yuan Wei was so angry that he almost hit someone.

Government decrees should not be changed frequently, and the same applies to reign titles.

Changing the reign title arbitrarily would inevitably cause panic.

Neither Dong Zhuo nor Yuan Wei knew that Zhou Bi was not only a former official of the Yuan family, but also a close friend of Yuan Shao.

After Dong Zhuo changed the reign title, Zhou Bi saw that Dong Zhuo trusted him quite a bit, so he went to Dong Zhuo again and said, "The matter of deposing and installing emperors is not something that ordinary people can understand. Even if Your Excellency has a secret edict, it is difficult to stop the rumors in the prefectures and counties. If Yuan Shao harbors resentment, it will surely lead to a great disaster."

Dong Zhuo was also troubled by this, and thus had the idea of ​​issuing an arrest warrant for Yuan Shao: "I have tested Yuan Wei's intentions, and Yuan Wei does not care about Yuan Shao. Why don't we send orders to the prefectures and counties to arrest Yuan Shao? What do you think, Zhongyuan?"

You think you can be arrested?
Who in the prefectures and counties can arrest Lord Yuan?

Zhou Bi secretly scoffed, saying, “Your Excellency must not do this. If the prefectures and counties are ordered to arrest Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao will be driven to desperation and will inevitably incite an uprising. The Yuan family has spread their benevolence far and wide for four generations, and their disciples and former officials are all over the world. If Yuan Shao gathers heroes and takes advantage of the situation to rise up, then the land of Shandong will no longer belong to Your Excellency.”

Dong Zhuo frowned, thinking of Yuan Shao's persuasion of Ding Yuan, Wang Kuang, and Qiao Mao, and felt a headache coming on: "Then, according to Zhongyuan's idea, what should I do?"

Zhou Bi was secretly delighted and offered a plan: "In my opinion, not only should we not arrest Yuan Shao, but we should also appease him. We can appoint Yuan Shao as the prefect of a prefecture. With a way out, Yuan Shao will not cause any more trouble. Yuan Kui does not value Yuan Shao, and you, sir, are willing to turn hostility into friendship with Yuan Shao. Those of Yuan Shao's former students and officials who have a past with him will surely be extremely grateful to you, sir."

Dong Zhuo suddenly realized and said, "Zhongyuan's insight is brilliant. In that case, let Yuan Shao be appointed as the governor of Bohai and enfeoffed as the marquis of Yangxiang."

Zhou Bi was even more delighted.

Since both Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei were capable of holding the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, appointing Yuan Shao as the Governor of Bohai did not require Yuan Wei's consent. It was sufficient to inform Yuan Wei afterward to avoid duplicate policies.

Therefore, by the time Yuan Wei found out, the appointment letter had already left Luoyang.

Only then did Yuan Wei finally realize that Zhou Bi was working for Yuan Shao!

But when Yuan Wei went to ask Zhou Bi, Zhou Bi still gave him a bunch of platitudes: I did all this to avoid conflict, to turn hostility into friendship, and for the eternal existence of the Han Dynasty.

Yuan Wei was furious. "As a former official of the Yuan family, you not only failed to help me to sideline Dong Zhuo, but you also hindered my plans."

Although he shared the position of Minister with Dong Zhuo, Yuan Wei did not intend to share this power with Dong Zhuo indefinitely.

The power of Emperor Liu Xie could be undermined, and the power of Minister of Works Dong Zhuo could be undermined as well.

After all, not many of the court officials would truly submit to Dong Zhuo or be willing to work for him. Given a year or two, Yuan Wei was confident that he could drive Dong Zhuo out of Luoyang!

Unfortunately, Zhou Bi was currently deeply trusted by Dong Zhuo and was also a Minister, so even if Yuan Wei wanted to replace Zhou Bi, he had no chance.

If these two events only affected Yuan Wei's authority in Luoyang, then what followed would affect Yuan Wei's life.

September 17th.

Just three days after Yuan Shao sent out his appointment letter, Qiao Mao, who had suffered a defeat in Luoyang, forged the letters of the Three Dukes of Luoyang at Yuan Shao's behest and sent them to various prefectures and counties.

The letter not only detailed Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo's crimes of forging the imperial edict, but also tearfully stated, "I am being forced into this situation and have no way to save myself. I hope that righteous troops can relieve the country's suffering."

Under Yuan Shao's deliberate instigation, the morale of the soldiers was high, and there were those in Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yu, Yang and Jing provinces who resented Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo for forging the imperial edict.

Even if the four newly appointed governors—Cao Cao, Gai Xun, Liu Dai, and Liu Biao—and Huang Wan, the governor of Yu Province, wanted to argue, they could not stop the public outcry.

Cao Cao, who was originally supposed to go to Yanzhou to take up his post, suffered the worst fate, as he was directly banned from entering the country.

Someone even posted a reward in Yanzhou: "A thousand gold pieces will be given to whoever captures Cao Cao's head." This frightened Cao Cao so much that he hurriedly fled back to the Cao family residence in Qiao County to avoid disaster.

Not only that.

Under Yuan Shao's tacit instruction, Qiao Mao, Ding Yuan, and Wang Kuang issued another proclamation denouncing the rebels. Meanwhile, Yuan Shao's protégés and former officials, including Han Fu, the governor of Ji Province; Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu; Yuan Yi, the prefect of Shanyang; Zhang Chao, the prefect of Guangling; Kong Zhou, the prefect of Taishan; and Yuan Shu, the prefect of Nanyang, raised their banners in response on the same day in various prefectures and counties, clamoring to raise troops to punish the rebels, to gather troops in Suanzao, and to relieve the nation's calamity.
When the news reached Luoyang, Yuan Wei felt a chill run through his body, while Dong Zhuo was so angry that he trembled with cold.

"Yuan Kui, you old scoundrel! We were both appointed to the Ministry of Personnel, when did I ever force you? When did you ever need to save yourself? And yet you shamelessly sent messages to various prefectures and counties to raise troops to attack me? What a disgrace! Have you no shame at all?"

Enraged, Dong Zhuo drew his sword and pointed it directly at Yuan Wei.

He originally thought that once Liu Bei left, he could slowly entangle with Yuan Wei and then sideline Yuan Wei, at which point Dong Zhuo would be second only to the emperor, and no one in the world would dare to disobey him.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Kui, who was always smiling and refined, secretly stabbed himself in the back.

"Minister Dong, this is a frame-up! This is definitely a frame-up! I am currently in charge of the affairs of the Secretariat with Minister Dong, how could I attack Minister Dong without cause?" Seeing Dong Zhuo's anger, Yuan Wei hurriedly explained. Yuan Wei was also extremely angry.

I am currently riding high and can gradually sideline Dong Zhuo. Why would I need to call upon righteous troops to attack Dong Zhuo?

Why should I lift a finger if I can solve a problem without lifting a finger?
etc.
Such a familiar feeling.

Yuan Wei suddenly realized that there was a difference between summoning righteous troops to Luoyang and He Jin summoning brave warriors from all directions to the capital.
This familiar tactic could only have been used by Yuan Shao!

"It's Yuan Shao! It must be Yuan Shao! It must be that rebellious son Yuan Shao who did this!" Yuan Wei was so angry that he jumped up and down: "Minister, this must be a trick by Yuan Shao! Don't fall for it!"

"Hmph!" Dong Zhuo said in an unfriendly tone, "Yuan Kui, you old fool, are still pretending to be stupid!"

"Han Fu, Governor of Ji Province; Zhang Miao, Prefect of Chenliu; Yuan Yi, Prefect of Shanyang; Zhang Chao, Prefect of Guangling; Kong Zhou, Prefect of Taishan; and Yuan Shu, Prefect of Nanyang—these were all chosen by you when you were in the Western Garden."

“At the time, I was puzzled as to why you didn’t give Yuan Shao any benefits. Now I realize that it must be because you saw that Liu Bei and I were powerful and were afraid that Yuan Shao would be killed by Liu Bei in a moment of impulsiveness. So you did this on purpose so that I would think that you had given up on Yuan Shao.”

"When Liu Bei was alive, you dared not act rashly; as soon as Liu Bei left, you sent letters to the prefectures and counties. You, Yuan Wei, do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you?"

Hearing Dong Zhuo's imagined plan, Yuan Wei was even more alarmed, his heart pounding in his throat: "Minister Dong, this is Yuan Shao's scheme to sow discord! You must not believe it, do not fall for Yuan Shao's trick!"

"Haha!" Dong Zhuo laughed in fury: "Yuan Shao is your nephew. You mean Yuan Shao wants to use a divisive tactic to provoke me and then make me kill you? Are you stupid or am I stupid?"

"Don't forget, your other good nephew, Yuan Shu, also raised an army in response. Even if Yuan Shao resented you for not giving him any benefits and did this on purpose, does Yuan Shu also resent you?"

"That's Nanyang! The richest prefecture in the world! Liu Bei's Yongzhou isn't even worthy of carrying Nanyang's shoes!"

"With such benefits, why would Yuan Shu hate you? Yuan Kui, you can't fool me!"

"Where is my son Fengxian? Seize Yuan Wei immediately! I will immediately petition His Majesty to arrest Yuan's accomplices within the city!"

Dong Zhuo's question was also Yuan Wei's question. At this moment, Yuan Wei also couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.

Benchu, Gonglu, what exactly are you two trying to do? Are you trying to frame my entire Yuan family for treason?

Yuan Wei did not resist and allowed Lü Bu to arrest and imprison him.

At this moment, Dong Zhuo was furious, and the more Yuan Wei resisted, the more likely he was to provoke Dong Zhuo.

After imprisoning Yuan Wei, Dong Zhuo immediately summoned Li Ru, the physician and physician of the Prince of Hongnong, to discuss the matter.

Li Ru quickly grasped the key point: "My lord, arrest Minister Zhou Bi immediately, don't let him escape!"

Dong Zhuo suddenly realized what was happening and said angrily, "No wonder Zhou Bi made me appoint Yuan Shao as governor; it was all premeditated!"

To Dong Zhuo's surprise, Zhou Bi not only did not run away, but instead came to Dong Zhuo without any fear.

"Zhongyuan, aren't you going to explain?" Dong Zhuo's eyes were sinister, as if he were about to kill someone at any moment.

Zhou Bi feigned confusion: "What do you mean by that, my lord?"

Dong Zhuo said angrily, "I listened to your advice and did not want to go against the will of the people, so I appointed Yuan Shao as the governor of Bohai, hoping to turn hostility into friendship. But now Yuan Shao has raised an army against me. When have I ever wronged you, yet you want to harm me?"

Zhou Bi was greatly shocked and said indignantly, "My lord, this was absolutely not my intention! I thought that if you appointed Yuan Shao as the governor of Bohai, Yuan Shao would be grateful to you. I never expected that Yuan Shao would have such wolfish ambitions!"

"My lord, the situation is urgent! Yuan Shao and his men have raised an army this time, and they will not let it go easily. In my opinion, we should send the Prince of Hongnong to Chang'an to prevent Yuan Wei and his men from acting as inside agents and kidnapping the Prince of Hongnong out of the city!"

Seeing that Zhou Bi didn't seem to be lying, Dong Zhuo turned to look at Li Ru.

Zhou Bi was secretly taken aback. How could the Prince of Hongnong's physician be here?
After Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he rarely consulted Li Ru on matters, only asking Li Ru to keep an eye on Liu Bian. Therefore, Zhou Bi did not know that Li Ru was Dong Zhuo's strategist.

Li Ru gently shook his head and said, "My lord, this matter should have nothing to do with Minister Zhou. Minister Zhou's words also make sense. Yuan Shao and others must want to reinstate the Prince of Hongnong as emperor. Minister Zhou can be in charge of arresting Yuan Wei's followers."

Dong Zhuo turned to ask, "Zhongyuan, are you willing to take on this important task?"

Zhou Bi said indignantly, "Rest assured, my lord! I will absolutely not let any of Yuan Wei's henchmen escape! These treacherous villains dared to harm me!"

Watching Zhou Bi's indignant departure, Dong Zhuo was even more perplexed: "Wenyou, this Zhou Bi should not be an accomplice of Yuan Shao. I really can't understand why Yuan Wei would rather sacrifice his own life to install the Prince of Hongnong as emperor again? Hasn't he already gained enough benefits?"

Li Ru sneered: "Why do you think it was Yuan Wei who was willing to give up his own life? Why can't it be that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu wanted Yuan Wei to give up his own life?"

Dong Zhuo's expression changed: "Wen You means that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu want Yuan Kui dead? How is that possible? What benefit would Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu gain from Yuan Kui's death?"

“Of course there are benefits!” Li Ru said confidently. “Before I met you, I had also paid respects to Yuan Wei, Yuan Ji, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu. Although Yuan Shao was a rising star among scholars, within the Yuan clan, Yuan Shu considered him a son of a concubine and often mocked him; Yuan Ji, although he did not mock Yuan Shao, held him in contempt; and Yuan Wei, on the other hand, was always spouting lofty principles.”

"This is why Yuan Shao helped He Jin kill the eunuchs, and after He Jin's death, he even used the general's insignia to command the troops in Luoyang, wanting to be above all the officials. In Yuan Shao's eyes, he had long wished for Yuan Kui, Yuan Ji, and Yuan Shu to die, so that the prestige accumulated by the Yuan family for four generations would all belong to Yuan Shao."

"Furthermore, there's that letter that's impersonating the Three Dukes. If you, my lord, kill Yuan Wei, Yuan Ji, and others, Yuan Shao can wear mourning clothes for the dead Yuan family in front of the world, and then order Yuan family's disciples and former officials to attack Luoyang."

Dong Zhuo was horrified: "What about Yuan Shu? Is Yuan Shu also going to let Yuan Shao run rampant?"

Li Ru sneered: "If Yuan Ji doesn't die, how could Yuan Shu possibly gain the Yuan family's favor? Once Yuan Kui and Yuan Ji are dead, Yuan Shao will be nothing more than a son born of a concubine in Yuan Shu's eyes. Yuan Shu can then take the opportunity to smear Yuan Shao and accuse him of disregarding the safety of Yuan Kui, Yuan Ji, and others for his own selfish interests."

Dong Zhuo did not consider himself a good person, but after listening to Li Ru's analysis, he suddenly realized that he was far less ruthless than Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

“If what Wen You says is true, then if I kill Yuan Wei and the others, wouldn’t that just make Yuan Shao happy?” Dong Zhuo frowned. “But if I don’t kill them, what if Yuan Wei calls on his former followers and officials in Luoyang to support Yuan Shao? What should I do then?”

"How infuriating! Why did nothing happen when Liu Bei was around, but this terrible thing only happened after he left? Wenyou, do you think Liu Bei was involved in this?"

Dong Zhuo's mind was in complete chaos at this moment, and he could hardly make sense of what was going on.

“Probably not.” Li Ru lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, “After all, His Majesty was supported by Liu Huangshu and Ming Gong. Even if Liu Huangshu wanted to deal with Ming Gong, he wouldn’t use such a self-destructive method. If the Prince of Hongnong ascends the throne, Liu Huangshu will no longer be Huangshu.”

(End of this chapter)