The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

Chapter 153 Swift and Decisive Action (Part Two) (Third update, please subscribe and vote)

"Yes," Dong Jue replied simply, cupping his hands in greeting.

Liu Chen nodded and said, "The Han dynasty is declining, while the barbarians are becoming powerful. I have always known about what is happening in the south. If it weren't for Huo Yi keeping order, things would probably have descended into chaos long ago. Also, send someone to tell Huo Yi the truth and tell him to stay in the south and not send troops to Chengdu."

"Yes," Dong Jue replied again.

Liu Chen reached out and pinched his chin, pondering what to do next.

Huang Chong raised an eyebrow, cupped his hands, and asked Liu Chen, "Your Highness, where is Yan Yu?"

The ministers either narrowed their eyes or felt a chill run down their spines.

The three reinforcements rushing to Chengdu were a single event. However, Liu Chen mentioned Eastern Wu and Huo Yi, but not Yan Yu.

Yan Yu is Huang Hao's second-in-command, and he conspired with Huang Hao to kill Jiang Wei. Is this a ploy to send Yan Yu with his troops to kill him?

But what if Yan Yu doesn't come and instead flees down the river to Eastern Wu?

What if Yan Yu even opened the eastern gate and let the Eastern Wu troops in?

Although the last possibility is extremely low—after all, if the Han Dynasty falls, Eastern Wu will also fall—it is still something we must guard against. Just as Liu Chen said earlier, once a thief, always a thief.

"Have him come to Chengdu," Liu Chen said succinctly.

Huang Chong wanted to speak again, but then thought that Liu Chen might have his own reasons, so he remained silent.

After thinking for a while, Liu Chen placed his right hand on the armrest, adjusted to a more relaxed sitting posture, and said, "As I said in the palace before, I will send the physician with an imperial edict to the prefectures and counties to publicize the good deeds I have done."

"To unite the hearts and minds of officials and the people in order to deal with Deng Ai."

"Based on the route, Deng Ai has probably already captured Mianzhu. The officials of the counties along the way... probably, most likely, have all fled."

"When the messengers who spread the good news arrive in the prefectures and counties, I will also send officials to inform the people. They will tell them to move all the people into the city to defend it, but leave the main road open and let Deng Ai go to Luocheng."

"Chang Qing and Zhang Qing, I hereby appoint you as colonels. You will each command the able-bodied men sent from the various royal villages I have gathered. Combined with your existing troops, each of you will lead five thousand soldiers. If this is insufficient, select additional troops from Chengdu to supplement your force. Go to the east and west respectively to assist the officials and people in defending the city."

"Deng Ai's army is isolated and has no base of operations. As long as our own cities do not fall, he cannot attack them one by one."

"Deng Ai was prepared to die, which is why he secretly crossed Yinping and attacked Fucheng and Mianzhu. He certainly wouldn't retreat."

"If he retreats now, I can't do anything to him. If he doesn't retreat, I'll fight him next summer."

"Deng Ai was an elite soldier from Yongliang. If he were to fight in the summer wearing fine armor, he would definitely suffer from acclimatization problems."

"The original 30,000 troops in Chengdu were of varying quality, so we can use this time to train them."

"These 30,000 men have too many generals, which is neither suitable for preparation nor conducive to command. However, these generals are all loyal ministers, and I cannot strip them of their official positions without compensation; therefore, I will enfeoff them all as Marquises within the Passes. If they still wish to serve in the army, they will be appointed as Sima (military commanders)..."

He was to be granted official positions such as military commander. If he was not satisfied, he would be given one million coins and one hundred bolts of Shu brocade, and his retirement would be equivalent to that of a marquis within the pass.

"Zhao Guang was appointed as Tiger Might General and Commander of Luocheng, with 10,000 troops stationed in Luocheng."

"Zhang Tong, the former Palace Commander, was appointed Tiger Tooth General. He was tasked with recruiting 5,000 soldiers in Shu County as reinforcements."

"The titles of many generals in the Imperial Guards have been removed, leaving only the Tiger General and the Feathered Forest General."

"Li Qing led 10,000 Imperial Guards."

"With Mi Zhao, the Tiger Warriors numbered ten thousand."

"Train the troops and defend Chengdu and Zhucheng. Wait until summer to fight Deng Ai in a decisive battle."

After Liu Chen finished speaking in one breath, he took a deep breath, and a blush appeared on his face.

He had been holding it in for too long, pondering it for too long. Now that he had power, he naturally revealed everything he had planned to say.

The time was summer, and the place was in Sichuan.

If Deng Ai hadn't fled, he would have certainly died in Shu.

"Yes."

Everyone responded in unison, some with calm expressions, others with joy.

"Captain, five thousand men? As long as we kill Deng Ai and win this battle, I can become the commander of ten thousand men." Chang Heng was overjoyed.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Chen slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot just now. This 'Dai Han' refers to Dang Tu Gao, which can be interpreted as Wei. It seems that Zhou Shu and Du Qiong first proposed this idea in Bashu, and Qiao Zhou later popularized it."

"Both of these men were great Confucian scholars, and Du Qiong even served as a high-ranking official. They were utterly foolish."

"Reclaim all their official positions and rebury them with the rites due to commoners. Remove all their descendants from their posts if they hold official positions. Exile them to Zitong County as criminals. I shall see who dares to say that the one who will replace the Han is Gao of Dangtu."

"Yes." One command after another came from Liu Chen's mouth, and the officials echoed him.

Liu Chen glanced at Yang Yong and realized he really needed this rope to pull himself back in a critical moment.

After Liu Chen withdrew his gaze, he added, "The Imperial Guards, including the Feathered Forest Guard and the Tiger Guard, will also be deployed."

"Li Yi was appointed Commandant of the Guards, leading a thousand soldiers to garrison the palace. He was also appointed to serve under Li Ding and Li E."

"Chen Yong was appointed as the Commandant of the City Gates, in charge of the city gates of Chengdu, and Chen Xi was appointed as the Commandant of the City Gates' Sima, his deputy."

The courtiers understood that Liu Chen had left his maternal relatives in Chengdu to oversee the emperor and the princes.

"Yes." The five people either responded immediately or reacted slowly and absentmindedly, only responding after a while.

In addition to the above appointments, Liu Chen also appointed Xi Long as the chief clerk of the prime minister and Xiang Chong, who had military experience, as the military advisor of the prime minister.

Han Tai and Zhang Zun walked beside him.

Han Li served as the Assistant Commandant of the Capital Region, while Liu Chen was merely a figurehead Commandant, with real power held by Han Li. The Commandant of the Capital Region held military power and had supervisory officials under his command, and together with the Commandant of the City Gates and the Commandant of the Guards, they could protect Chengdu and watch over the emperor.

In addition to the previous appointments made in the palace.

Liu Chen has begun to establish his power structure.

General, civil official, loyal minister.

Each performs their own duties.

After that came other trivial matters. Liu Chen dismissed most of the people, leaving only the three chief clerks of the prime minister, Zhuge Zhan, and Yang Yong to handle them together.

Some of the questions were thought of and raised by Liu Chen himself.

Some of the questions were raised by others, which Liu Chen had not considered.

The conversation mainly involved the three chief secretaries of the prime minister and Liu Chen.

Zhuge Zhan was in charge of Zen meditation.

Yang Yong occasionally spoke up, saying that he felt things shouldn't be done this way.

Everyone should perform their duties, and if there are any problems, they should be raised, and solutions can be found.

The power of the monarch, the power of the prime minister, and the power of supervision.

It operates extremely smoothly, running like a fast horse.

Liu Chen, Huang Chong, Dong Jue, and Fan Jian were all very satisfied. The two old prime ministers, Dong Jue and Fan Jian, seemed to have become ten years younger and could serve for another twenty years.

Zhuge Zhan felt ashamed as he worked on the wood carving.

By the time everything was finished, it was already dark.

Liu Chen glanced at the sky, took a deep breath, and stood up to address his ministers: "My lords, after Huang Hao's turmoil over the past decade or so, the country has few good officials and many corrupt ones."

"Although I am now discussing various matters with you all, things may not be so simple once the decrees are issued. They might not even leave Chengdu. There will be many and complicated matters to attend to in the future, so I ask you all to promote good officials and not to give up easily when encountering difficulties. I will work with you all to solve them."

It's like a terminally ill patient; although the central nervous system keeps issuing commands, even moving a finger is a struggle. The bureaucracy is corrupt, and that's it. Liu Chen took a deep breath and shook his head inwardly.

"Your Highness is too kind. This is our duty." Dong Jue took a deep breath, stood up, walked to Liu Chen, bowed, and said, "We will do our utmost, remain loyal and devoted, and even die for Your Highness."

Zhuge Zhan, Fan Jian, Yang Yong, Huang Chong, and others immediately stood up and bowed to Dong Jue.

Liu Chen smiled and nodded, instructing the eunuchs and soldiers to escort the five people away.

Liu Chen was just about to catch his breath and sit down to rest when he saw Liu Zan peeking in from outside the door.

Then he saw his mother, Consort Li, also peeking around.

"It's a family matter," Liu Chen sighed, raising his hand to beckon them in.

"My son, how did you suddenly become the crown prince?" Consort Li, wearing a bright and beautiful Shu brocade floor-length dress, was overjoyed and was about to rush over to her beloved son when she remembered what she was there for. She stopped and asked cautiously.

She felt like she might be dreaming.

My son has become the crown prince!