Chapter 645 King Dong
When the news that Hanzhong cut off Xiegu and other roads and cut off the communication between Bashu and Sanfu was sent back to Chang'an, it naturally caused a huge wave.
In fact, when the news of the sudden death of Yizhou Shepherd Liu Yan reached Chang'an, the young emperor Liu Xie and the Grand Master Dong Zhuo realized that things were in trouble.
Because they had just sent Liu Yan's youngest son to Chengdu, didn't this just give Liu Yan's cronies the opportunity to support Liu Zhang?
Sure enough, Chang'an finally received such news, and the civil and military officials of Yizhou came together to support Liu Zhang as the shepherd of Yizhou.
Although Liu Xie was unwilling to give up, he actually agreed to let Liu Zhang inherit the position of Yizhou Shepherd. This is not only because Liu Zhang is weak and will not escape the control of the imperial court, but also because the current Kansai priority is to solve the problem of the defeat of the Kansai army in Jiesouhara.
Of the 50,000 Kansai troops that went into battle, only more than 30,000 troops retreated to Hedong. Not only the commander's life and death, but also the accumulated food and fodder were all lost.
Although the Kansai Army later rearranged its defense lines in the Hedong area, the loss of money and food supplies could not be made up for the time being.
Therefore, under such circumstances, Yizhou, which can supply a large amount of money and grain, is naturally a top priority for Chang'an. As long as Yizhou continues to provide supplies, Liu Xie and Dong Zhuo can only let Liu Zhang become a herdsman in Yizhou.
But just when Liu Xie was about to issue an edict and send people to Chengdu to give the banner, he suddenly heard that the main road from Bashu to Chang'an had been cut off from the other side.
Now, the nature of the whole thing changed.
Originally I only thought that you Liu Zhang wanted his father to die and his son to succeed him, but as long as you still stand with the court, it will naturally be easy to negotiate. But looking at it now, do you want to leave Chang'an and stand on your own? That cannot be tolerated.
Just like that sentence, Changan at this time could never accept the loss of Yizhou.
Therefore, an action against Yizhou was inevitable.
And around this topic, a military council is taking place in Weiyang Palace in Chang'an.
……
At this time, there were only six people in the huge front hall of Weiyang Palace.
Among them, the one sitting in the palace is the young emperor Liu Xie. Since he came to power, his stature has grown faster and faster. Now he is tall and has the demeanor of a young king.
On the first floor under the little emperor's couch, a platform was set aside, where a very intimidating figure sat in a group.
Because the fat bag muscles under the abdomen are too heavy, this person can only sit cross-legged very rudely instead of sitting on his knees.
And because of the way this person sits cross-legged, and because he is like a mountain of bear meat, he is clearly shorter than Liu Xie, but visually he is taller than Liu Xie, as if this person is the real person. The one who overlooks all living beings from a high position and accepts the kneeling worship of all ministers.
He is now the leader of the Kansai warriors, a relative of the Han Dynasty, and the Grand Master of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo.
It's just that at this moment, Grand Master Dong is almost more regal than Liu Xie. Perhaps only the title of "Prince Dong" can match his magnanimity!
But under Liu Xie and Dong Zhuo, there were three people sitting, none other than the three princes of this term: Taiwei Zhao Qian, Sikong Zhao Wen, and Situ Zhao Qi. Because all three of them had the surname Zhao, they were called "Three Zhaos" by the government and the public.
In addition to these three people, there is another person sitting on the horse, he is Zongzheng Liu Song.
At this time, it was these six people who were in the front hall, deciding their attitude towards Yizhou.
The first person to speak was Taiwei Zhao Qian. As the only man with military experience among the three Zhaos, he made a clear statement:
"Such things are not something Liu Zhang can do, and he doesn't have the courage or ability. But even so, the court must give him a thunderous blow. Otherwise, who in the world can't rebel? Besides, if he loses After Yizhou, what do I have left in Guanxi?”
What Zhao Qian said was shocking. Yes, without Yizhou, what would be left in Guanxi?
In order to realize the great cause of the rejuvenation of the Han Dynasty, instead of relying on blood transfusions from Yizhou, do we have to rely on the wealthy families of Sanfu to provide food and money?
It can be said that Zhao Qian's words fully reflect the understanding of the wealthy people in Guanzhong, that is, Yizhou cannot be lost.
But what is very paradoxical is that this Zhao Qian is not from Guanzhong, and not only is he not from Guanzhong, he is even from Chengdu.
Did Zhao Qian really not know the reason behind this incident in Yizhou?
No, he knows.
As a local wealthy family in Chengdu, when Liu Yangang died, his family had already sent the news to Zhao Qian in Chang'an.
The specific time of Liu Yan's death was early November, and Zhao Qian received the news of Liu Yan's death in mid-November.
And when the imperial court received the invitation form from Chengdu, it was at the end of November.
In other words, just half a month later, Chengdu was almost controlled by Liu Zhang and his supporters.
Zhao Qian knew Liu Zhang well. As the third prince from Yizhou, he naturally took good care of Yizhou Mu's son. He once pointed out Liu Zhang's knowledge and knew that he was a gentle and elegant Han scholar, who was very different from his heroic brother.
In fact, Liu Zhang's temperament and temperament might be able to survive longer in this troubled world. Didn't you see that Liu Fan was too brave and died early?
It can be said that a person like Liu Zhang is more than capable of being a scholar and a court official, but how is it possible for him to control Chengdu?
Therefore, there must be people behind Liu Zhang who are supportive and very rebellious.
Because of Liu Yan's death, the phenomenon of Liu Zhang succeeding him was not a routine, but it was the first situation encountered by the Han Dynasty.
Although the prestige of the Han Dynasty dropped significantly after the two divisions, it could still form a certain degree of restraint and help to the governors and county guards of various states.
Therefore, except for the Taishan Army and the remnants of the Yuan family who were clearly rebels, all the princes in the world were actually called Han ministers and received rewards and titles from the Han family.
But these princes were all in their prime, and there was no issue of heirs taking over power. Only Zongzheng at that time and Liu Yan, the current shepherd of Yizhou, were the oldest. And now that he died suddenly and unexpectedly, a problem that he had never encountered before naturally appeared. That is, whether the Yizhou Mu will be succeeded by his father after his father dies, or whether he will be selected by the imperial court.
Originally there was no example to follow, but Liu Zhang and his group killed him first and then reported it. How could this not be daring?
The response to this incident also tested the governing wisdom of the Kansai court.
If a phenomenon like Yizhou becomes a common practice, can the governors of various places in Kansai also follow suit? These people all resorted to the tactic of succeeding a father to his son after death, turning the Han family's public assets into private property. What would be left in the end of the court? But there is only Chang'an left.
This is what Zhao Qian meant when he spoke to Liu Xie.
And this is why Zhao Qian is clearly a Chengdu native, but he resolutely stands on the opposite side of his hometown.
Zhao Qian is the third Duke, and his power comes from the central government. If the central government is weak and all regions are as self-reliant as the princes during the Warring States Period, let alone power, he will not even be able to support his large family in Chang'an.
After all, many of the ministers of Emperor Zhou died of starvation in the past.
Therefore, whether he is public or private, he will never tolerate such rebellious behavior in Yizhou.
But Zhao Qian still understood why there were so many people in Yizhou.
As a lieutenant in Kansai, he actually knew very well how much pressure the Bashu region had endured during the wars in recent years. It can be said that three-thirds of the imperial court's financial resources now come from Yizhou, which has brought huge pressure not only to the people of Yizhou, but also to the wealthy families.
But compared with their huge efforts, their gains are so pitiful.
Over the years, the imperial court removed only a handful of filial and honest people from Yizhou, and even took great precautions against Yizhou scholars. In other words, when the Yizhou people paid such a huge economic price, there was no political compensation.
How can Yizhou scholars be willing to do so? Don’t complain?
But the reason why the Kansai court implemented such a policy was to continue the line since Liu Hong's period.
After Liu Hong was stabbed in the back by a Henan scholar and fled into Chang'an, he no longer had any trust in the wealthy family. At that time, it was difficult for scholars in Liangzhou and Yizhou to seek an official position in the central government, and Liu Hong was often not accepted by those who recommended filial piety and integrity from various places.
On the contrary, the warriors from Liang and Yi were at home in the Xiyuan military system, which made the wealthy families in the two states feel even more unfair.
Precisely because they had no way to advance, Yizhou scholars generally served as officials in Liu Yan's shogunate. These people formed a circle of Yizhou people themselves, and gradually developed the local thinking of Yizhou people to protect Yizhou soil.
With this intention, it is not difficult to understand the behavior of these Yizhou soldiers seeking self-reliance when the imperial army was severely defeated in Bingzhou.
But understanding is understanding, Zhao Qian still wants to strike hard. He believed that the little emperor thought so too.
Sure enough, when Zhao Qian clearly expressed his intention, Liu Xie, who had always been expressionless, turned his head slightly to look at him, and then stopped moving again.
Zhao Qian's guess was correct. Liu Xie had indeed made the decision to fight in his heart.
Maybe it's because Liu Xie is young, or because of his temperament, but Liu Xie has a tough attitude towards this matter.
But whether to fight or not does not depend on Liu Xie's wishes and likes and dislikes, but on the actual capabilities of the Kansai court.
If we want to fight, what are the chances of winning with Kansai's current strength. And even if there is a chance of winning, how long will it take to fight? Will there be any chain changes in the process?
Now Guanxi is under tremendous pressure from the Taishan Army in the east of Hedong. The rebels in the east of Guanxi have to deal with it in Weihan, and there are civil and Qiang rebellions in the west. It can be said that it is under pressure from three sides.
If we send troops to attack Yizhou at this time and fall into it, the enemies on three sides will definitely add insult to injury, and the foundation of Guanxi will definitely be in jeopardy.
Liu Xie already had enough political wisdom. It was precisely because he understood the difficulties of attacking Yizhou that he could not bear to express his opinions.
Also take a look at how capable these three men are now, as well as the attitude of Grand Master Dong.
Thinking of this, Liu Xie glanced at the back of Yue Zhenyuan Ting calmly, his eyes twinkling.
And below, with Zhao Qian's clear statement of attitude, the remaining Sikong Zhaowen and Situ Zhao Qi also expressed their own opinions.
Zhao Wen is Zhao Qian's younger brother, but compared to his brother's clear attitude of fighting, he is much more ambiguous. He did not directly say how, but talked about the difficulties encountered in fighting Yizhou.
He thought the same thing as Liu Xie. They both believed that Yizhou's current behavior was to break away from Kansai at most and did not clearly raise the flag of rebellion. Once troops were actually sent to conquer, Kansai would really be surrounded by enemies on all sides.
Moreover, Yizhou has cut off the Xiegu Road, making it very difficult to attack Yizhou. So what Zhao Wen meant was that it would be better to have people go south to Chengdu to find out the situation first. Maybe the Yizhou people have any other demands?
When talking about this passage, Zhao Wen obviously meant something.
This made the last Situ of the Three Lords, Zhao Qi, angry. He stood up directly and said unceremoniously:
"What else is there to talk about? Welcome the Zhou Mu, drive away the guards, and cut off the main roads. All of these are anti-thief acts. I support what Captain Zhao means, which is to fight. For example, appeasing Yizhou makes Liang Yong All counties have learned this, so what is left for the court? Besides, the more critical it is, the more powerful it is to use thunderous means to scare the ugly people. Is there any need to say more about this? "
Seeing that Zhao Wen wanted to speak, Zhao Qi interrupted without politeness:
"What? Zhao Sikong is so nostalgic for his hometown in Yizhou because he is from Chengdu? Or is Zhao Sikong trying to get someone's advice and want to be a middleman between Chengdu and the imperial court? Sikong, don't make the mistake of yourself. , you are a Sikong of the Han Dynasty, not a Yizhou scholar!”
Zhao Qi has already said this, so what else does Zhao Wen say? I can only bow to Liu Xie above, apologize and avoid suspicion, and say no more.
Liu Xie, who has been in control of the imperial court for more than a year, is actually very aware of the disputes occurring in the following three states.
Then Zhao Qi himself was from Jingzhao and was the core of the Yongzhou faction. The Yongzhou faction had always been a vested interest in the imperial court. More than 60% of the new officials in the court came from the third assistant.
Although Zhao Wen's words were cryptic, Liu Xie could guess a thing or two. This old Zhao Tou should indeed have connections with Yizhou people. His words were obviously the attitude of some Yizhou people.
That is to take advantage of Yizhou for personal gain. What kind of personal gain are you seeking? It is nothing more than wanting to open up the power of the center to them. Of course, this greatly harmed the interests of Zhao Qi's people, so he said these words.
As for the Taiwei Zhao Qian? Even though he said he was going to fight, he still wanted to act with his brother.
Liu Xie didn't think there was anything wrong with thinking about the three men below him so much, because he knew that these were the rules of the game in the front hall. If he could not master these rules, then Liu Xie would not be able to participate in this game.
Compared with his fathers, Liu Xie was undoubtedly too precocious in his thinking about power, and this was all attributed to his teacher, Shi Daoshi.
No one expected that a Taoist priest who was outside the center of power could have such a clear understanding of the operation of power.
Liu Xie also had this question before. He asked Shi Taoist why he had such a good grasp of the emperor's mind when he was not a member of the imperial court or even an emperor.
So what did the Taoist say?
At that time, Shi Taoist smiled leisurely and said:
"Xie'er, where did you see the majestic mountains? Was it in the mountains or at the bottom?"
Liu Xie replied:
"It's at the foot of the mountain."
Then Shi Daoshi smiled and said nothing, but Liu Xie understood the answer.
At this time, Liu Xie was sitting on the dragon couch, watching the confrontation between the three men below from an outsider's perspective, clearly seeing the conflict between them, and felt that the teacher's words were really good.
And just when Liu Xie continued to be an outsider, a sneer suddenly spread in the front hall.
The sound was not loud, but it made Liu Xie's heart tremble. He could no longer maintain his leisurely mood and looked nervously at the person who made the sound.
Without him, it was Taishi Dong who was laughing! No, it’s King Dong!