Chapter 729 Chase
Liu Xuande's shogunate was full of civil and military officials, and he was the choice of a good man for a while, but it did not reduce Liu Bei's worries.
Sitting alone in a deserted private room, Liu Bei remembered a conversation he had with Yang Xiu.
That was last year, when he was about to lead his troops south to Shu. At that time, Yang Xiu, as his reporter, had a conversation with him, talking about the situation between North Korea and China.
At that time, Yang Xiu bluntly asked Liu Bei to choose Yizhou as his base, and asserted:
"In my opinion, the overthrow of the Han Dynasty will happen within two or three years. Please make plans early."
At that time, Liu Bei was shocked, thinking that Yang Xiu was full of resentment because of the imperial court's purge of the Yang family.
So Liu Bei also advised:
"The emperor is wise and the master is experienced, so he will never be like this."
At that time, Yang Xiu just snorted coldly, then shook his head and stopped talking.
Liu Bei had almost forgotten about this matter at first, but after he put down the rebellion in Yizhou and returned to the court, he began to feel that Yang Xiu's words made sense.
That is to say, it seems that the Grand Master is not that simple, and even the Emperor may not be that sage.
In fact, he had a good impression of Emperor Liu Xie.
Although he was still a general in Guandong at the time, he had much favorable comments about Liu Xie, even much better than his then master Liu Bian.
Because in Liu Bei's view, Liu Bian's power methods were too rough. How could he use his own? Let himself take Zhang Fei directly to the palace and slaughter the Yuan family.
Such brutal and bloody things are unique in the entire history of the Han family. Therefore, even though Liu Bei had feelings for the Han Dynasty at that time, he had complaints against Liu Bian.
On the other hand, how did Liu Xie handle the change of power at that time?
Not only was he able to escape from the chaos between the eunuchs and the powerful families in Guanxi, but he was also able to quickly find the key to breaking the situation, which was Dong Zhuo from Hedong.
Moreover, when Dong Zhuo quickly returned to Chang'an, he decisively handed over all the powers of the general and lieutenant to Dong Zhuo, creating a situation where Dong Zhuo was away and he was in power.
It was precisely because of this decisive decision that Kansai not only quickly emerged from the chaos of the coup, but also formed a dual pattern of emperor and grand master.
Liu Bei even heard a story at that time about how the emperor Liu Xie was determined not to be deceived by his subordinates when handling government affairs.
Because he lacked specific experience in government affairs, Liu Xie was unable to give good advice on political affairs, so he often summoned his ministers to the palace for consultation.
But Liu Xie is a man with a strong sense of power. He understands that even the honest Kansai warriors cannot be trusted, so whenever he encounters government affairs, he always calls three ministers to enter the palace, and each time he is alone. summoned.
When summoned, he did not show the specific documents of the memorial to the ministers. Instead, he asked the minister to copy a section of it, and then asked the ministers to comment. After doing this three times, Liu Xie got thinking from different angles. Unexpectedly, those ministers wanted to The portal's private agenda makes random remarks.
It is precisely because of this that Liu Xie was able to quickly stabilize the government and the opposition, and also made Dong Zhuo see his value, so the two were able to reconcile.
At that time, Liu Bei once lamented to Zhang Fei:
"A young master can be so powerful in front of the court, but the first emperor was only like this."
As for Dong Zhuo, Liu Bei understood him better.
In Liu Bei's view, Dong Zhuo was the Han Dynasty marshal second only to Huangfu Song, and was the last treasure Liu Hong left to the Han Dynasty. There are people who can cut off the military planes and coordinate the troops in Kansai, so there is no chance of quick victory in Kanto.
And this is also true. Since Dong Zhuo took charge of the military in Kansai, the competition between the two capitals has been one defeat after another in the Kanto side. They directly abandoned the entire Weihan Passage and retreated to Xin'an.
So when the Manna Incident happened in Guandong and Liu Bei ran away in a hurry, he ran west without thinking, because in his opinion, only the Han in the west had a chance to help the Han Dynasty.
After that, Dong Zhuo took the emperor five miles out of the capital to meet Liu Bei, which made Liu Bei think that there was hope for the Han Dynasty to revive.
However, Liu Bei's views on Dong Zhuo and the young emperor changed when he entered Shu to quell the rebellion.
At that time, Liu Bei was ordered to do something in danger. The young emperor Liu Xie was deeply moved, so he ignored the danger and quickly went south to put down the rebellion with only less than 5,000 troops.
Everyone knows that going there is almost to death.
But Liu Bei succeeded in the end, but he felt humiliated. Because Dong Zhuo secretly arranged for Li Jue to be in Wudu, and finally moved to Chengdu directly.
Liu Bei's success was small, but Li Jue destroyed half of Chengdu due to looting, and destroyed decades of accumulated grain in one fell swoop, which was a big deal.
That time, Liu Bei understood what Dong Zhuo's pattern was.
In the final analysis, the future and prospects of the Han Dynasty were not more important to Dong Zhuo than the consolidation of his power.
It was then that Liu Bei's view of Liu Xie changed.
After the war, he appealed to Liu Xie to impeach Li Jue for his brutal and arrogant behavior of invading and killing people in Yizhou. However, the emperor's reply to him was unremarkable and he only asked when he would return to the army.
And what happens after that? When he led his army back to Chang'an, he told Liu Xie about the current problems of the Han Dynasty, intending to reform the atmosphere of scholar-bureaucrats.
Then Liu Xie replied excitedly again, saying this kindly, and asked Liu Bei to return to Beijing to handle the matter with full authority, with the attitude that the world must pay tribute to the emperor's uncle, and even appointed Liu Bei as Jing Zhaoyin.
At that time, Liu Bei was excited, thinking that the big man was finally going to change.
So along the way, he carefully conceived his plan for reform, how to deal with the situation in Kansai, and then quickly returned to Chang'an.
But this time when he faced the emperor directly, Liu Bei's inner disappointment became even more serious.
I thought the emperor would talk to him a lot and talk about the future direction of Kansai. But Liu Xie asked something like this.
The first thing he asked Liu Bei was:
"Uncle Huang has done well in Shu."
Just as Liu Bei was about to say a few words of humility, Liu Xie asked:
"Have all the officials been evacuated?"
Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, and then replied:
"Everything has been withdrawn."
Then Liu Xie asked the key:
"How many soldiers are there?"
Liu Bei hesitated for a moment and then told the truth:
"I originally had five thousand soldiers, but after I entered Shu, I got another twenty thousand soldiers. These were all returned north together with my ministers."
After that, Liu Xie fell silent.
At that time, Liu Bei didn't know what to say, so he planned to talk about the reform of the counties in Guanzhong.
But the emperor suddenly changed the subject and said:
"Uncle, I want to congratulate you. How about the joy of having a son?"
Liu Bei understood what the emperor meant. On his way back to his army, he just learned that his wife at home had given birth to a son for him. He had not had time to name his son.
So Liu Bei could only reply respectfully:
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After that, Liu Xie didn't talk about it anymore, but just asked his clan members to send gifts to his house. Finally, he said to Liu Bei:
"You are in Jingzhao Yin, and you don't need so many soldiers. Your general will be attached to Xiyuan, and then you can take office."
Liu Xie said this, what can Liu Bei do? I could only bow my head and thank him and retreat.
It can be said that Liu Bei was greatly disappointed with Liu Xie during this conversation, but he was still working hard on Jing Zhaoyin and was ready to start reforms. But back then, people were furious, and Liu Bei was taken away by Liu Hehe and sent to the front line.
It was also after this that Liu Bei finally understood Liu Xie's character.
It can be said that Liu Xie does not have the responsibilities that a hero should have. He may have his own ambitions, be willing to change the current situation, and even be easily emotional, but unfortunately he cannot be responsible.
He did not dare to conflict with Dong Zhuo, nor did he dare to offend the powerful people in Guanxi.
This kind of character may be very good on weekdays and can handle the contradiction between the government and the opposition, but it will never be responsible for reforming the old and reforming the old, and leading the Han Dynasty to greatness again in this critical moment.
As a result, Liu Bei, who went on an expedition again, lost a little fighting spirit and had a lot more hesitation.
He cried to Zhang Fei beside him several times:
"I look forward to death day and night, worried about Zong Ji's overthrow."
In this regard, Zhang Fei could only cry with Liu Bei, but there was nothing he could do.
Yes, what can be done?
When Liu Bei clearly realized that Dong Zhuo and Liu Xie were such people, what else could he do?
Therefore, after he arrived at the Weihan front line, he was quite depressed and was not as enterprising as before.
Since the national situation is like this, why should he work hard? It's better to wait for the opportunity.
No, without his efforts, wouldn't Yuan Shao in the south just work hard on his own? At this time, Liu Bei had already made plans to huddle in Mianchi and wait for Yuan Shao from the south to ascend Luo to relieve his siege.
But Liu Bei's old age made all the officials in the shogunate more and more dissatisfied. Finally, this time, one person rushed to Liu Bei's clean room and yelled at Liu Bei inside.
……
Liu Bei has been in poor health recently. For some unknown reason, he suffered from ringworm.
These ringworms are white in color and spread all over the body. The big ones are as big as money and the small ones are as small as beans. Liu Bei is so itchy that he can't sleep well at night recently.
But today, after staying up until early morning, Liu Bei finally felt sleepy and fell asleep.
But not long after, he suddenly heard someone yelling loudly outside. After Liu Bei woke up, he became angry. He didn't even have time to put on his shoes. He pulled out the knife beside the couch and cursed:
"Which slave is barking? Do you know that my sword is powerful?"
But as soon as Liu Bei rushed out, he lost his temper. It turned out that the person shouting at him outside was none other than Shi Weizhen, his general in charge of the Northern Campaign.
Wei Zhen was born in Jingzhao and came from the famous Wei family in Jingzhao.
In the Battle of Zhongrenting, the Wei clan lost three members of their direct lineage, twelve members of their collateral lineage, and three hundred tribesmen. It can be said that they had a blood feud with the Taishan Army.
So when Liu Bei implemented the revolutionary scholarly style for Jing Zhaoyin, although Wei did not directly support Liu Bei, he allowed Wei Zhen from the clan to join Liu Bei's shogunate.
For Liu Bei, this was like rain from heaven.
At this time in Kansai, the previous system of imperial examinations had collapsed, and the shogunate's independent examination system had become the mainstream.
As the imperial court successively worshiped the generals of the Four Expeditions and Four Towns, they actually divided defense zones for their respective shogunates. Their county and county functional systems were all local powers, and each shogunate could also recruit its own shogunate envoys.
But what about then? Because Liu Bei offended the powerful people in Kansai, no one wanted to join the shogunate, so that Liu Bei had a shogunate but could not even establish a team.
Take Liu Bei's Northern Campaign shogunate as an example. To run a shogunate successfully, it not only needs a long history, marching commanders, secretaries, counselors, and clerks, but also department officials, patrol officers, and branch officials responsible for money and food. .
Therefore, without the number 50 or 60 civil servants, Liu Bei's Zhengbei shogunate could not function at all.
But who was Liu Bei’s entourage at that time? Just a few members of the Yang family.
Because they were purged by the imperial court, the Yang family of Hongnong fell silent, and many members of the clan did not dare to raise their voices. Therefore, even though the main lineage has been married to Liu Bei, not many people have truly joined Liu Bei.
Although Liu Bei's previous entry into Shu was supported by the scribes in Shu, this was only in the face of Li Jue's ferocity. Once Liu Bei was transferred from Shu, except for a few who were willing to give it a try, few were willing to follow him. Going north.
Therefore, when Wei Zhen entered Liu Bei's shogunate, he suddenly experienced a long drought. Liu Bei immediately named Wei Zhen as his long history and thought he was the mastermind.
And Wei Zhen lived up to Liu Bei's trust. Relying on his own connections and Liu Bei's own public spirit, he promoted more than ten outstanding figures to Liu Bei.
For example, Guo Fen in Yangqu was the assistant to the shogunate, Liu Yan in Hedong was the secretary, Su Ze in Fufeng in the right was the sacrificial wine, Bao Chu in Jingzhao, and Song Guo in Fufeng were the minions.
These people either had enmity with the Taishan Army or were loyal to Liu Bei, so under Wei Zhen's recruitment, they all joined Liu Bei's shogunate.
So when Liu Bei saw that it was Wei Zhen who was scolding him, he looked unhappy, but he still put down his sword.
He walked up to Wei Zhen barefoot and complained:
"Chang Shi, why did you do this? I was in pain last night and didn't go to bed until dawn."
Wei Zhen looked Liu Bei up and down and said sarcastically:
"In the past, when my lord welcomed me into the palace, he walked backwards to greet me. But now my lord doesn't fall down every time. He just wants to kill me with bare feet and a sword. It really touches Zhen."
Liu Bei's face suddenly turned red. Seeing Zhang Fei still standing at the door, he hurriedly complained:
"Yide, so do you. Chang Shi is here, why don't you wake me up."
With that said, he handed the sword in his hand to Zhang Fei, but the action was natural enough, but the embarrassment on his face betrayed him.
Then Liu Bei smiled and asked Wei Zhen what happened to warrant such scolding.
But I heard Wei Zhen say:
"Lord, if Zhen doesn't scold you or wake you up, I'm afraid your shogunate will be empty."
Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, and after asking, he realized that it was his soldier Du Ji who abandoned his official position and ran away.
After saying that, Wei Zhen handed Liu Bei the letter of appointment and ringgit left by Du Ji.
These two were the letters of appointment and the betrothal money given by Liu Bei when he promoted Du Ji to the throne, and they were both kept by Du Ji.
Du Ji also left a letter. When Liu Bei opened it and read it, his face turned red. Then he received the letter in his arms, ran to the horse post without even greeting Zhang Fei, and chased after him on horseback.
Zhang Fei behind him looked worried and hurriedly pulled Wei Zhen, about to punch him. He cursed:
"What did you show my brother? Now the Taishan Army is about to enter Mianchi. Do you know how dangerous it is to rush out at this time?"
Wei Zhen was afraid that Zhang Fei would be cheating, so he hurriedly scolded:
"Then you won't chase me?"
Zhang Fei slapped his forehead. He was also confused by Wei Zhen. He hurriedly ordered his cavalry to chase him, but turned around and came back and asked:
"Where should I chase?"
Wei Zhen knew this, he smiled and said:
"My lord is the great minister and auxiliary who is chasing him. Naturally you want to chase him east? Du Ji must be going east to find the Ming Lord."
After hearing this, Zhang Fei cursed:
"Our brother is the master of the Ming Dynasty."
After saying these words, Zhang Fei hurried eastward with Baiqi, and soon saw the back of his brother.
Just when Zhang Fei was about to shout, he suddenly saw smoke and dust billowing from the east, and he was suddenly shocked.