I, Liu Bian, the hero

Chapter 79
In the evening of the same day, Yuan Kai recruited three nephews, Yuan Ji, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu, to the mansion to discuss countermeasures.

The Yuan family in Ruyang began to prosper from the third generation Situ Yuan An, and has been passed down for eight generations. Among them, Yuan Kai is the sixth generation descendant, the son of Yuan Tang, Kanghou of Anguo.

At that time, Yuan Tang was the second in the family, and there was an older brother named Yuan Peng. Yuan Peng gave birth to Yuan He, and Yuan He gave birth to three brothers, Yuan Hong, Yuan Zhong, and Yuan Hong. They were cousins ​​of Yuan Ji, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu. The heavy impeachment of the Yuan family for colluding with the Gepi Yellow Turban is actually mainly about this branch, which can be called the Ruyang Yuan family.

At that time, Yuan Tang and his younger brother Yuan Xu chose to become officials and settled in Luoyang most of the time, which can also be called the Yuan family of Luoyang.

Yuan Tang had four sons, the eldest son Yuan Ping, the second son Yuan Cheng, the third son Yuan Feng and the fourth son Yuan Kai.

Yuan Ping died young, and his second younger brother Yuan Cheng inherited his father Yuan Tang's seat. The son of the concubine, Yuan Shao, adopted to the second brother's branch and inherited the second brother's family business and title.

In other words, Yuan Shao, Yuan Ji, and Yuan Shu were not only half-brothers but also cousins, and they were regarded as the legitimate sons of Yuan Cheng's branch from now on, and strictly speaking, they were no longer regarded as the concubine sons.

And this is also the reason why Yuan Shu secretly hates Yuan Shao: Yuan Feng has three sons, the eldest son Yuan Shao, the eldest son Yuan Ji, and Yuan Shu. Originally, Yuan Shao should have the same status as Yuan Shu. Fortunate to be adopted by Yuan Cheng's branch, he changed from a bastard son to a legitimate son of Yuan Cheng's branch, but Yuan Shu was still a younger brother, and there was still the real elder brother Yuan Ji. In such a situation, how could Yuan Shu not be jealous of Yuan Shao?
Of course, at present, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu have not yet developed to the point where they turned against each other like in history. The two of them and Yuan Ji are valued by their uncle Yuan Kui.

According to Yuan Kui's arrangement for the three nephews, Yuan Shao was arranged next to General He Jin, and it is needless to say how critical it is to take He's path.

It is also extremely crucial for Yuan Ji to be recommended as a servant and to be in charge of horse affairs.

On the other hand, Yuan Shu recommended him as a general of the Huben army, in order to make friends with the Huben army and the Yulin army. As we all know, since the Emperor Ling sold his official titles, he sold a large number of places in the Huben army and the Yulin army, so that the two imperial guards of the Han Dynasty crowded together. It is also very important to make friends with these children of the noble family, which can greatly improve the Yuan family's reputation in Luoyang.

Now the question is, among Yuan Shao, Yuan Ji, and Yuan Shu, who should be sent to encircle and suppress Gepi Yellow Turban?

Weighing the pros and cons, it can only be Yuan Shu. Who told him that the direction he is in charge of is not as important as Yuan Shao and Yuan Ji?

Seeing that the three of them looked at him, Yuan Shu, who realized that he would be forced to make a sacrifice, was angry and annoyed.

You must know that leaving Luoyang at this time is equivalent to voluntarily giving up your original official position. Whether it is Dong Zhong, the hussar general whom the Yuan family now regards as an enemy, or Liu Bian, who is secretly leading this matter, will not miss it. A good opportunity will inevitably try to accept the authority that Yuan vomited.

To put it bluntly, even if Yuan Shu returns triumphantly in the future, there is a high probability that the position of Huben Zhonglang will be taken by others first. This is certainly a loss for the entire Yuan family, and it is also a personal loss for Yuan Shu. After all, he was established with great difficulty. contacts.

Under such circumstances, Yuan Shu was naturally reluctant and refused to accept it.

Different from Yuan Shu, who was selfish since childhood, Yuan Shao and Yuan Ji always put Yuan's interests above their own, so they were more and more appreciated by Yuan Kui. Seeing Yuan Shu's reluctance, the two looked at each other. Yuan Shu was their half-brother after all, so he took the initiative to ask to take on the matter.

But Yuan Kai refused straight away, and bluntly stated the importance of Yuan Shao and Yuan Ji's current responsibilities and the importance to his Yuan family. He immediately looked at Yuan Shu, forced Yuan Shu to agree as his uncle, and even uttered serious words: "If Gonglu is not willing to sacrifice for the clan, then don't use my Yuan's name again in the future!"

In other words, if you don't agree, you will expel the clan.

Looking at the difference in experience between Cao Ren and his younger brother Cao Chun, one would know what it would be like to be expelled from the clan. Yuan Shu was resentful, so he didn't dare to say anything at the moment, so he could only honestly agree.

The next day, Sikong and Yuan Kai played Emperor Ling, imploring Emperor Ling to allow Yuan Shu to lead an army to conquer Gepi Yellow Turban, so as to prove his Yuan family's innocence.

Emperor Ling naturally agreed, not that he wanted to weaken He Jin, what he really wanted to weaken was the scholars in the imperial court, and with the help of Dong Zhong, Yuan Shu was transferred away from Luoyang, severely damaging Yuan's influence in Luoyang, He Le Instead of?
Unexpectedly, Yuan Kai was also cunning, so he took the opportunity to play again: "I implore Your Majesty to allow you to select sergeants from the army newly recruited by Jingzhao Yin and Zhang Wen."

Emperor Ling frowned when he heard the words, and sneered secretly at Yuan Kai from the side Zhang Rang, and immediately dissuaded him: "Your Majesty, this is not allowed. The new army recruited by Zhang Jingzhao is set up to put down the rebels in Liangzhou. Ru The yellow turban in Nangepi is just a disease of sores and ringworm, and the rebels in Liangzhou are the worst evil! Moreover, it was rumored some time ago that Wang Guo, Han Sui, and Ma Tengxing invaded Hanyang. Maybe Duxiang Hou and Zhang Jingzhao may lead the army to support the front at any time , How can we draw troops?"

"Well……"

Lingdi nodded and pondered, pretending to be persuaded by Zhang Rang.

What a joke, Zhu Jun, Huangfusong, and Zhang Wen spent all of his money on the new army that Zhu Jun, Huangfusong, and Zhang Wen built. Considering the loyalty of the three to the Han Dynasty, the army controlled by the three can be regarded as truly loyal to his Han Dynasty, With an army loyal to the Liu family, how could Emperor Ling send it to Yuan Shu and make it a part of the Yuan family?

Seeing this, Yuan Kai implored the imperial court to allocate funds for Yuan Shu to form a new army.

Is the court rich now?
To be honest, there is no money, but it is enough to allocate funds to Yuan Shu to form an army of several thousand people. The problem is that under the guidance of Liu Bian, Zhang Rang secretly hated Yuan Shi who wanted to eradicate their eunuchs. How could it be possible? Will Yuan Kai get his wish?

So he said to Yuan Kai with bad intentions in front of Emperor Ling: "As far as our family knows, Yuan Benchu ​​raised thousands of dead men. Why didn't Yuan Gonglu lead these dead men to encircle and suppress Gepi Huangjin?"

Yuan Kui's face changed slightly, and he said quickly: "The dead men who came here are just some friends who are running around at the beginning. How can Zhang Changshi believe such nonsense?"

Zhang Rang chuckled, and said with a hint: "Sikong knows about the financial difficulties of the imperial court. Zhang Jingzhao and Du Xianghou recruited new troops, and they spent His Majesty's money. Now that the country is in trouble, Yuan is a scholar in the world. Why don’t you show your loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and raise your own money and food to hunt down the thieves?...Given the relationship between the Yellow Turban thieves of Gepi and the Yuan family, maybe the thieves of Gepi will come down when Yuan says something.”

Yuan Kui retorted righteously: "This is Dong Huqi's slander of my Yuan family! My Yuan family is loyal to your majesty and the Han Dynasty, how can I collude with you?"

Zhang Rang smiled and stopped provoking Yuan Kai.

All in all, if there is no money, Yuan will find a way to form a new army to hunt down the thieves.

The news reached Hussar General Dong Chong, who laughed and praised Zhang Rang for his good assists.

Dong Cheng, his younger brother, came to Luoyang just now, and he didn't know the complex relationship between the various forces in Luoyang, so he asked puzzledly, "Isn't Zhang Rang a member of the He family? Why did he secretly help his elder brother and make trouble for the Yuan family?"

Dong Zhong explained with a smile: "I don't know, Zhang Rang is indeed on the side of the He family, but he, Zhao Zhong, Guo Sheng and others took refuge in Empress He, He Miao, and the ten-year-old son Liu Bian. Although He Jin has no grievances, he deeply hates Yuan Shao and others who persuaded He Jin to eradicate the officials. In the past, he often dealt with the Yuan family secretly. , He Jin has nothing to do with him."

Only then did Dong Zhong suddenly realize, and immediately said with regret: "It's a pity that we can't win over."

"Yes."

Dong Zhong also regretted to agree.

It's not that he never thought of wooing Zhang Rang and bridging the conflict between Zhang Rang and Sun Zhang. The problem is that Zhang Rang has already taken refuge in Shihou, who has the same status as the prince, and that Shihou also acquiesced in the eunuch's eunuch without breaking the bottom line. Be greedy for money——with such a young master who Zhang Rang thinks is extremely wise, why did he choose the Queen Mother Dong?
It is not an exaggeration to say that based on Liu Bian's previous attitude towards the eunuchs in the palace, except for Sun Zhang and others who were deliberately beaten by Liu Bian as enemies, most of them secretly supported Liu Bian, and supported this young master who treated them leniently and kindly. The power has long been secretly integrated by Liu Bian, and it is still possible for He Jin to step in and win over Zhang Rang, but it is almost impossible for Dong Zhong's side to do so.

But even so, being able to transfer Yuan Shu away from Luoyang this time was a big victory for Dong Zhong.

He first entered the palace to announce the good news to Empress Dowager Dong, and then held a banquet at his own residence to celebrate. Unfortunately, most of the court officials who were invited chose to refuse with excuses, so that Dong Zhong's banquet turned out to be like a family banquet in the end. .

But it didn't affect his mood.

The next day, Huben Zhonglang General Yuan Shu went to Runan to organize troops to suppress the rebellion before he left Luoyang. Dong Zhong couldn't wait to recommend his younger brother Dong Cheng as Huben Zhonglang General, and asked Empress Dowager Dong to intercede.

Seeing Dong Zhong's ugly appearance, He Jin and Yuan Shao were furious.

Yuan Shao said to He Jin indignantly: "Dong Zhong conspired against me, the Yuan family, and wanted to kill the general. My brother Gong Gong Dayi sacrificed for the public. I never thought that Dong Zhong would be so greedy. It is tolerable!"

He Jin was also indignant in his heart. You must know that he had previously controlled the Huben army through Yuan Shu, who was the general of Huben Zhonglang. Although the Huben army was already rotten, it was still one of the forbidden troops. Fall into the hands of Dong Zhong?

The question is, who will replace Yuan Shu?
He was not Dong Zhong, so he couldn't casually send someone to replace Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shao thought for a while and said, "Master Wang can."

Wang Yun and Wang Zishi used to serve as censors, but they were dismissed only after being framed by Zhang Rang and others. In terms of qualifications and abilities, they were indeed worthy of the post of Huben Zhonglang.

So He Jin immediately took Yuan Shao into the palace, angrily accused Dong Zhong of harming the public and attacking his colleagues for personal gain, and then recommended Wang Yun, the mansion, as the general of Huben Zhonglang.

When Dong Zhong heard the news, he hurried over with his clan brother Dong Cheng and quarreled with He Jin.

Emperor Ling was so annoyed that he ordered people to drive both parties out of Qingliang Palace.

At this moment, Zhao Chun hurried over, whispered a few words to Zhang Rang, and gave Zhang Rang a memorial.

Zhang Rang didn't dare to be negligent, and immediately went inside to report to Emperor Ling: "Your Majesty, just now Marquis Shi sent Zhao Chun here..."

Of course Emperor Ling knew about Zhao Chun, Wen Yanhu asked, "What's the matter?"

Zhang Rang took out Liu Bian's memorial and said with a smile: "Cui Jun, the son of Situ Cui Lie of Shi Houbiao, and Cui Jun, the prefect of Xihe County in Bingzhou, has made great contributions in helping Ding Yuan put down the rebellion. Please recommend him as General Huben Zhonglang."

Emperor Ling was taken aback, took a look at the memorial, and then asked with a strange expression: "When did my son meet Cui Lie?"

Zhang Rang bowed and said in a low voice: "It's actually Taiwei Cao Song... He has been quite close to Cui Lie these days. Under his recommendation, Shihou met Cui Lie in the palace a few days ago. Situ..."

"Oh."

Lingdi responded lightly, with a few subtle expressions flashing across his face, and nodded after a playful smile: "Quite!"

On the same day, Cui Jun, the son of Situ Cui Lie and prefect of Xihe County in Bingzhou, was appointed as Huben Zhonglang by Emperor Ling, and he will take up the post immediately.

When the news spread, both He Jin and Dong Zhong were stunned.

(End of this chapter)