Chinese New Year

Chapter 532 Jiuhuatai (Updated for Alliance Leader Galadiya)
Sima Chi, who was fishing by the Tianyuan Pond, heard that Lu Zhi and Wang Yan were coming, so he immediately dropped his fishing rod and hid.

A moment later, Wang and Lu arrived at the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Wang Yan looked at the wooden barrel on the ground and there was not a single fish in it.

Looking at the fishing rod again, it has been dragged to the center of the lake and is swinging left and right.

What a pity! After the emperor left, the fish took the bait. What bad luck!

General Miao Yuan from the palace came over and whispered a few words in Wang Yan's ear. Wang Yan nodded, then entered Jiuhua Terrace with Lu Zhi.

"Zidao, I heard that Taibai sent a large number of captives to renovate the Ye Palace. What does this mean?" Wang Yan asked as they climbed the stairs.

Lu Zhi's face was a little gloomy, and he said, "I can't leave for a while."

Wang Yan said nothing.

He also thought this was very likely. If they withdrew their troops directly after defeating Shi Le, wouldn't it be a waste of effort when the Xiongnu arrived?

Lu Zhi was unhappy, and he was not very happy either.

Cao Qi of Qingzhou and several counties and kingdoms to the east of Yu and Yan have been plundering each other. Recently, they even sent troops to cross the Yellow River to the north and besiege Leling State - this was a fiefdom of the Shi family, and the state was abolished because the last generation of Leling County Duke was killed.

If Taibai has time, he might as well attack Qingzhou and capture it to consolidate the territory of Henan.

Of course, the most important thing is that Mr. Chen once promised to let Mei Zi be the governor of Qingzhou. Does it still count?
It's not like we can stop attacking Hebei in a short time. Can we come back this year? If not, oh no!

The two of them walked up the wooden ladder, one in front and one behind, slowly.

The emperor listened to the noise from above and hurried away to find a place to hide from the two men.

Wang Yan looked up and said to Lu Zhi, "Taibai has won consecutive battles in Hebei, but I think there are still hidden concerns."

Lu Zhi was surprised and asked, "But the Huns?"

"It's not just the Xiongnu." Wang Yan said, "We recruited surrenders and rebellions too quickly, and people's hearts are unsettled. If there is a major defeat, we will have to vomit out all the food we have eaten before, and we will also lose a large number of troops."

Wang Yan didn't understand military affairs, but he understood human nature.

According to the news received yesterday, Shao Xun gathered many Hebei heroes on the bank of Zhang River to hunt and feast together. It seemed very powerful, but these people who came to rely on him were not very loyal.

Taking them to war will only hinder us, so it is better not to take them.

Think about it, Shao Xun led the Silver Spear Army to form an array in the wild, and was about to fight. What would be the result? The vassal troops such as Liu Hezhu and his son, the beggar generals, the Hebei fort commander, the miscellaneous Hu chiefs, the armed leaders of the refugees, etc., shouted "Our army is defeated" and ran away.
Don't think they can't do this.

They have now surrendered to Shao Xun only because Shi Le was defeated and they are forced to do so due to the situation. There is no question of loyalty on their part.

If Shao Xun was defeated by the Xiongnu in Hebei, they would definitely defect, and there was even a possibility that they would be bribed by the Xiongnu.

Shao Xun is bribing them, so won’t the Huns do the same?

People's hearts are unpredictable.

"Does Yi Fu think Mr. Chen is acting too hastily?" Lu Zhi asked.

Wang Yan didn't know what to say for a moment, so he just said, "Perhaps Taibai also knows the secret, but the situation is like this, so we have to do it. After all, the Xianbei have already withdrawn, and the Xiongnu are free to move eastward soon. If we don't accept surrenders or rebellions now, they will all help the Xiongnu in the future."

The gloom on Lu Zhi's face gradually dissipated and he became worried.

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied and even aggrieved that Mr. Chen did not allow him to return to Hebei to take charge of the overall situation, when it came to matters of victory or defeat, he was still able to put aside his personal emotions and think seriously.

Just as Wang Yan said, it was a bit harsh to recruit surrenders and rebels.

After Shi Le was defeated, Jizhou was left with no one, and there was a power vacuum. He filled this gap very well. But the problem was that Shi Le did not have time to deal with these local forces when he was stationed in Ye. As a newcomer, even if you defeated Shi Le through military warfare, could you convince them?
No, people in troubled times are not so naive.

Their surrender is a temporary measure. They are still waiting and watching, and will rebel if anything goes wrong.

How many years has Mr. Chen been doing business in Henan?
He emerged and gained fame more than ten years ago.

He performed outstandingly in several battles of Luoyang and was favored by more people.

Afterwards, he beat and annexed the remaining forces of Sima Yue, defeated Gou Xi who was trying to seize the territory, and fought against the Huns as the defender of Henan, and his reputation grew.

He even married into the Yingchuan noble family and married Yu Wenjun.

His younger brother married Cao, his nephew married a girl from the Du family in Yi Yang, and his younger sister married into the Yuan family in Yang Xia.

It took ten years to stabilize the situation in Henan, and there are still a large number of semi-independent vassal forces, such as the Kaocheng Shogunate, Pei Chun/Li Ju of Xingyang, the Qihuo Army of Chenliu, the Le family of Nanyang, the Xiahou family of Qiao, the Liu family of Pei, the Xun family of Jibei, and the Yang family who deeply controlled the Taishan and Lu counties...

Henan is already in such trouble, how much effort will Hebei have to spend?

Lu Zhidu was even thinking about volunteering to go to Hebei.

The two of them fell silent for a while, and the only sound in Jiuhua Terrace was the sound of people stepping up the stairs. After a while, they reached the top floor and ended their conversation.

The emperor had nowhere to hide and could only stand in the wind to conceal his feelings.

After a while, he turned his back to the two of them and said, "I have never heard of the position of a garrison commander. How can the laws of our ancestors be changed without permission?"

Wang and Lu looked at each other, and finally Wang Yan spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that to cross a great river, one must first build a boat. To build a tall building, one must first select pillars." Wang Yan said, "To keep the barbarians safe, one must have heroes. Liu Hezhu and other generals admire the Chinese culture, so they have abandoned evil and joined the light, reformed themselves, and treated them with courtesy. Then the people of Hebei will gather in peace, and the army will be peaceful. Given time, more and more people will abandon evil and join the light, and the power of the Xiongnu will decline, and there will be hope for the revival of the country."

The emperor sneered and said, "What does the restoration of the country have to do with me? Shao Xun has moved into the Prime Minister's Residence. Do you want me to promote him to Prime Minister, make him a king, and make him the governor of Jizhou?"

These positions and titles were all held by Cao Cao. Sima Chi's words were actually ironic.

When Cao Cao lived in Yecheng, it was very inconvenient to "record the affairs of the Shangshu", so he simply restored the position of prime minister during the Western Han Dynasty and took charge of all power.

He also served as the governor of Jizhou and handled the military and political affairs of Jizhou near the Ye Palace.

At that time, the Prime Minister's Mansion in Ye Palace was the power center of the world, and it deserved the title of "Ba Fu".

Isn’t Shao Xun the living Cao Cao of the modern times?
"Your Majesty, this year Luoyang is short of food, the people are not able to eat enough, and there are complaints everywhere." Lu Zhi stepped forward and said, "Since August, the Xiongnu have invaded, and the people have not been able to harvest. By the end of the year, I am afraid that something unbearable will happen."

"How big of a deal can it be?" Sima Chi sneered.

"The soldiers of the imperial guards have no food and have dispersed. Bandits have risen up on Tongtuo Street. Even the palace is in turmoil." Lu Zhi said.

The emperor suddenly turned around, glared at Lu Zhi, and said, "Lu Zidao, how dare you do this?"

Lu Zhi is not Wang Yan. He will not pamper the emperor. He directly pointed out: "Your Majesty may wait and see."

Wang Yan remained silent.

Obviously, he and Lu Zhi were playing the good cop and the bad cop respectively, cooperating with each other. Their core demand was to get the emperor to use his seal and approve a series of memorials submitted by Shao Xun.

For example, the setting of the town general.

For example, the appointment and removal of officials.

For example, rewards for military merits, etc.

In the imperial court, the title of Duke of a county was the pinnacle of meritorious officials from outside the imperial family. After the recovery of Yecheng, a lucky person in the imperial court submitted a petition requesting that Shao Xun be promoted to the positions of "Shizhong, General of Chariots and Cavalry, Recorder of the Secretariat, and Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of the Five Provinces of Yu, Yan, Ji, and Xu", and that the two counties of Liang and Chen be made into the State of Liang, and be given the title of "Duke of Liang".

As soon as this watch was submitted, Sima Chi's defense was broken.

He knew that he had no power now and was unable to change anything, so he just hid and delayed.

All day long he was either admiring the flowers in the forest garden, fishing in Tianyuan Pond, or going somewhere else, making it difficult for the ministers to find him.

Today, Wang Yan and Lu Zhi, following the information provided by Miao Yuan, blocked the emperor at Jiuhua Terrace and forced him to use the seal - in fact, the seal was not in the hands of the emperor, and it was impossible for him to run around with so many things in his pocket. These things were kept by someone special, but he had to pretend to use it, right?
Well, being blocked was already embarrassing enough, and now being threatened again, Sima Chi suddenly felt sad and said, "Shao Xun is also a minister of Jin, why does he want to overthrow Jin!"

Wang Yan was speechless. Sima was still a minister of Wei...

"Your Majesty!" Lu Zhi stepped forward and urged.

Sima Chi calmed down, turned around, looked at the lush gardens, and said, "You can handle the appointment of garrison commanders and officials. Promotion of titles is not allowed. There is no precedent for this in the imperial court."

Both are "Duke", but one is a county duke and the other is a state duke, so there is still a difference between the two.

Shao Xun is now the "Duke of Chen County". If those "villains" follow their wishes and make an exception to grant him more than one county, turning him into the "Duke of Liang", then things would be very different.

Now that the title of Duke has been obtained, is the next step to confer a king of a different surname?
The king of a different surname has been obtained, what’s the next step?
Sima Chi instinctively rejected this matter, because he always felt that if he gave him the title of Duke now, it would mean that he was one step closer to being deposed.

"Your Majesty is wise." Wang Yan and Lu Zhi said in unison upon hearing this.

The title was just an empty title, and they did not recommend that Duke Chen should become a Duke of the State right now. If he was really not satisfied, he could just make a change and merge Chen County into Liang County and become the Duke of Liang County, since Chen County was separated from Liang State anyway.

"Your Majesty, I volunteer to be the envoy to Yecheng to announce the imperial edict." Wang Yan said again.

Sima Chi waved his hands impatiently, then looked towards the audience melancholy, his eyes occasionally turning around, as if he was racking his brains for a good strategy.

Wang Yan seemed to realize something, but said nothing and bowed and left.

We have to admit that every emperor has a different personality.

If some people encountered such a thing, they would have accepted their fate and become a puppet, eating, drinking and playing with women.

Some people refuse to accept their fate. No matter how dangerous the situation is, they will struggle hard, not giving face to others or themselves.

This kind of emperor makes powerful officials very embarrassed.

(End of this chapter)