At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 275
After Yuan Shao met with his close advisors in private, he already had a plan in mind.

Except for Xun You's clear opposition to proclaiming himself emperor, Jushu's belief that the time had not yet come, and Xun Chen's attitude being ambiguous, the others all believed that Yuan Shao's inheritance as emperor was his destiny.

Although Yuan Shao was ready to act, he still retained some sense.

He also knew that among the counselors under his command, in terms of talents, Xun You should be recommended first, followed by Ju Shou. Both of them were opposed, and Yuan Shao had to be more cautious.

Xun You's attitude can be ignored.

Just because the other party was stupid and loyal to the Han Dynasty, when it came to whether Yuan Shao should proclaim himself emperor, his buttocks were first crooked.

On the contrary, Ju Shou's words made Yuan Shao feel very reasonable.

The next day.

The gates of Ruyang City, which had been closed for a long time, were opened wide. Yuan Shu led his subordinates and generals, holding the imperial seal in both hands, and came out of the city to greet him in person.

"Woooooo!"

Two rows of musicians holding horns in neat rows all blew their horns at this time, making the handover ceremony suddenly become extremely grand.

Yuan Shao was wearing golden armor, followed by honor guards holding axes and axes. Basking in the morning sunshine, he led his subordinate Wenwu towards Yuan Shu.

At this time, Yuan Shu looked at Yuan Shao walking towards him while bathing in the sunshine, with bitterness on his face and unwillingness in his heart.

Yuan Shu claimed to be the legitimate son of the Yuan family. He had looked down on his adopted concubine Yuan Shao since he was a child, and never thought that one day he would be subordinate to Yuan Shao.

It's no wonder that Yuan Shu has such thoughts. Even if Yuan Shao has been watching for many years, his starting point is still far inferior to Yuan Shu.

Long before the death of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shu had already successively paid homage to Zhe Chong Xiaowei, Henan Yin, and Huben Zhonglang General.

At that time, each of these official positions was definitely considered to be of high authority, which shows how much resources the Runan family invested in Yuan Shu.

At the same time, Yuan Shao was still raising his hopes. It was not until he was conquered by the general He Jin that he began to enter officialdom.

Later, Dong Zhuo occupied Luoyang. In order to win over Yuan Shu, he even worshiped him as the rear general, but only made Yuan Shao the governor of Bohai. It is obvious who has more weight.

When the princes were attacking Dong, Yuan Shao still relied on Han Fu to provide food and grass.

On the other hand, Yuan Shu had already occupied Yuzhou and Nanyang County, and Sun Jian, a tiger general, led tens of thousands of troops as his minions.

It is no exaggeration to say that Yuan Shu can be regarded as Tianhu's start. Unfortunately, his ability is limited, and the good situation was played out like this.

On the contrary, Yuan Shao, who was always outnumbered by Yuan Shu, started from Bohai County and occupied Jizhou first. Then, despite internal and external troubles, he occupied Bing and Qingzhou. Finally, he defeated Gongsun Zan in Youzhou and commanded the four provinces of Hebei. state and become the overlord of one party.

Such a huge gap is difficult for the proud Yuan Shu to accept, but it is reasonable.

only.

In the current situation, no matter how unwilling Yuan Shu was, he could only lower his head and surrender to Kaicheng.

"Is the highway okay?"

Yuan Shao rode up to Yuan Shu and looked down at him with a smile in his eyes.

Seeing that Yuan Shu was still in a daze, Zheng Tai tugged on his sleeve.

After Yuan Shu came to his senses, he hurriedly held the imperial seal with both hands and said, "Well done, brother. Thank you for your concern."

"Brother, Tianzong Shenwu is the destiny of heaven. I am willing to offer the imperial seal and the throne to the emperor. Please accept it with my heart!"

"Hahahaha!"

Yuan Shao looked at Yuan Shu who had prostrated himself on the ground and couldn't help laughing out loud, his voice full of joy.

these years.

Yuan Shao also fought in the north and south, defeating many opponents, but he had never felt as clear-minded as he did today.

He looked up and found that behind Yuan Shu, in addition to the civil servants and generals under his command, there were also many familiar faces, all of whom were children of the Yuan family.

in those days.

The Runan Yuan family spent almost all their resources to promote Yuan Shu to the throne, but they did little to help Yuan Shao.

Rao is so.

Yuan Shao can also rely on Yuan's background and use his own abilities to gradually reach his current position.

Nowadays, those who once looked down on their own tribe can only follow Yuan Shu, welcome him to lead his army to Ruyang, and return to their hometown in glory, and return to the tribe that they once kicked out.

If Yuan Shao had seen a terrifying fighting spirit transformed into a horse, he might have sighed in his heart: "30 years in Hedong, 30 years in Hexi, don't bully young people who are poor, Emperor Yan will never bully me!"

At this time, Yuan Shao's emotions were complicated and difficult to understand, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

He turned over and dismounted, helped Yuan Shu up, and said: "Although you and I have been quarreling before, after all, we are brothers of the same flesh and blood, and there is no need to perform this grand ceremony."

Then, he looked at the many people from the Yuan family and said with a sincere face: "You may be Gu's uncles, or Gu's brothers, or you may be Gu's sons and nephews."

"We are from the same clan and are blood relatives. We cannot be so alienated."

It has to be said that Yuan Shao was shining brightly at this time, and the magnanimity he showed completely impressed the Yuan family.

Many people even secretly sighed in their hearts: "If the clan had spared no effort to uphold Ben Chu, I'm afraid the world would have belonged to the Yuan clan now!"

Everyone thanked Yuan Shao, and even Yuan Shu's former civil servants and generals were impressed by Yuan Shao.

After winning over people's hearts, Yuan Shaocai took the imperial seal with both hands and stroked it gently.

The jade seal is four inches in diameter, with five dragons on the upper button. On the front, there are eight seal characters engraved on it: "Ordered by heaven, you will live forever", and one corner is inlaid with gold.

Although the jade seal is small, the power and inheritance it carries are as important as Yuan Shao, and even Yuan Shao does not dare to neglect it.

The material of this jade seal was the He clan jade obtained by King Qin after he defeated Zhao State. After unifying the world, he ordered Li Si to carve it with small seal script. It is a rare treasure.

According to legend, in the 28th year of the Qin Dynasty, the First Emperor rode a dragon boat across Dongting Lake. The wind and waves suddenly rose and the dragon boat was about to capsize.The First Emperor hurriedly threw the imperial seal into the lake and prayed to the gods to calm the waves. The storm subsided and the seal was lost.

Eight years later, someone was lucky enough to get the imperial seal and presented it to the court, and the jade seal returned to the Qin Dynasty.

In the winter of the first year of Qin Ziying, Pei Gong and Liu Bang's army marched forward. Ziying knelt down and held a jade seal and presented it to the left side of Xianyang Road. Qin died.When Emperor Gaozu executed the imperial decree, he became the emperor, and the jade seal was passed down from generation to generation.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang, a relative of the family, usurped power. At that time, his son Liu Ying was still young, so the seal was hidden in the Empress Dowager's residence in Changle Palace.Wang Mang sent his cousin Wang Shun to ask for the jade seal. The Queen Mother scolded him angrily and threw the seal at Wang Shun, falling to the ground and breaking one corner of it.

Wang Mang ordered the craftsmen to replace it with gold, and now there is a missing corner of the imperial seal.

Later, the jade seal passed through many times, and even Dong Zhuo, who had great power in the government, and Li Jue and Guo Si, who caused trouble in Chang'an, never obtained it, but fell into the hands of Sun Jian.

Yuan Shao sent people to question Sun Jian in order to pass on the imperial seal, and he almost broke up with Yuan Shu over this.

Unexpectedly, this jade seal, which symbolizes the pinnacle of power, would eventually fall into his hands.

Yuan Shao's heart was naturally hard to calm down.

He gently touched the eight characters engraved with insect and bird seal characters on it, and instantly felt that he was destined by destiny, and his ambition began to expand unchecked.

He took a deep breath, tried to calm down this feeling, put it in the brocade box and gave it to his nephew Gao Gan for safekeeping, and then said: "The highway can be removed from the emperor's title, but I can't inherit it." Yuan Shao still retained some sense after all.

His excuse for sending troops to attack Yuan Shu this time was because Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor. Accepting his title of emperor at this time would be tantamount to a slap in the face.

When Yuan Shu heard this, his face was full of astonishment, and then he hurriedly advised: "If God doesn't take it, you will be blamed. Brother, please think twice."

Even at this time, Yuan Shu still wanted to retain the title of king.

If Yuan Shao does not proclaim himself emperor, Yuan Shu's title may not be saved, and even his life may be in danger.

Yuan Shao said in a deep voice: "I have decided to be alone, don't talk about the road again!"

When Yuan Shu saw this, he did not dare to persuade him any more and felt uneasy.

Yuan Shao immediately led his army into the city, and then announced a plan to pacify the people. He fulfilled his promise and did not harm the common people and nobles, and everyone was happy.

Since Ruyang was conquered, it meant that Yuzhou returned to Yuan Shao.

At this time, Yuan Shao had already occupied six states in the world and was definitely considered a behemoth.

Most importantly.

There are many noble families in Yuzhou, and Runan is the headquarters of the Yuan family. They all welcome Yuan Shao's arrival.

In addition, Yuan Shao recruited many scholars through conquests, neglected corvee and paid little tax, and sent people everywhere to appease the people. He soon won the hearts of Yuzhou scholars and people.

After all, although Yuan Shu also came from the Yuan family in Runan, he was arrogant and extravagant and exploited the people too much.

There is no harm without comparison.

With the previous Yuan Shu as the background, Yuan Shao became a benevolent king in the eyes of the people. Instead of being dissatisfied with Yuan Shao's taking over Yuzhou, they sincerely welcomed it.

Yuzhou was established, Yuan Shao immediately summoned his military officers and asked: "I want to attack Xuzhou again, what do you think?"

Most of the civil servants and generals were gearing up, but Jushou looked troubled and said: "It has been nearly a year since the king led his troops to attack Yuzhou, and a lot of food and grass were consumed."

"Although we have gained Yuzhou now, there is not much grain stored in Yuzhou. There are still many people suffering from famine in various counties and counties, and they are in urgent need of food relief from Jizhou."

"Otherwise, these people will either starve to death or flee south soon."

"And as far as I know, Nanzhong has been decided, and Zhou Qi has led his army back to Xiangyang. If he attacks Xuzhou at this time, Zhou Qi will definitely bring troops to help."

"With the majesty of the king and the bravery of his soldiers, he is naturally not afraid of Zhou Qi."

"However, our army is exhausted from long battles and lacks food and grass. If we continue to attack Xuzhou, we may end up following the same path as in the past."

Yuan Shao couldn't help but feel a headache when he heard this.

Logically speaking, after occupying Yuzhou, grain and grass can be collected nearby. This will not only save a lot of manpower and material resources, but also greatly reduce the consumption of grain and grass in transportation.

Moreover, Yuzhou is located in the Central Plains and has always been rich. It is no different than Jizhou and can afford the consumption of a large army.

never thought.

Yuan Shu did not do human affairs, and he has caused great harm to Yuzhou in recent years. Especially after he became emperor, in order to satisfy his own desires, he even imposed excessive taxes and expropriations, making Yuzhou, which was originally as wealthy as Jizhou, almost turned into a living hell. Many people were Facing the torture of hunger.

In this way, after occupying Yuzhou, instead of being a short-term help to Yuan Shao, it will become a burden.

Compared to Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao was more considerate of the people and quite benevolent. Naturally, he couldn't bear to see Yuzhou and even his hometown become like this.

In addition, Zhou Qi returned to Xiangyang at this time, and Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Zhou Cheng were eyeing him. Yuan Shao did not dare to rush to send troops to Xuzhou when Yuzhou was not stable.

The most important thing is that Yuan Shao is thinking about the important matter of proclaiming himself emperor at this time. As for Liu Bei, who lives in Xuzhou, it is not that important.

In this way, Yuan Shao left Gao Gan, Zheng Tai, and Zhang He to garrison Yuzhou, but he led his troops back to Yecheng.

Yuan Shao's move not only relieved Liu Bei, but also exceeded Zhou Qi's expectations.

Zhou Qi originally thought that Yuan Shao, who captured Yuzhou, would be confident and then go to attack Xuzhou, but he never expected that Yuan Shao would be as steady as an old dog and withdraw his troops at this time.

But that's fine too.

Zhou Qi's expedition to Nanzhong took almost two years from the initial mobilization of troops to the end of the expedition.

In the past two years, a lot of food and grass have been consumed, and most of the expedition soldiers are very tired and miss their hometown.

It is not a good opportunity to fight Yuan Shao at this time.

However, it was said that after Yuan Shao led his troops back to Yecheng, some officials from the imperial court came forward and asked Yuan Shao to deal with Yuan Shu.

For any dynasty, treason and proclaiming emperor is absolutely an unforgivable crime, and it would be easy to destroy the nine tribes in ordinary times.

only.

Everyone knows that King Zhao and Yuan Shu are brothers, and they are both from Yuan Shu in Runan, so it is impossible to destroy their clan.

The Yuan clan can be spared, but Yuan Shu, who proclaimed himself emperor, and his false ministers should naturally be dealt with severely. This is completely in line with the national law.

Facing the aggressive ministers of the court, Yuan Shu, who was brought back to Yecheng, was trembling with fear after learning the news, fearing that Yuan Shao would not be able to withstand the pressure and would really execute him.

At this time, Yuan Shao was also a little worried by those aggressive court ministers.

He summoned his counselors and asked: "The princes and ministers want to execute the road and his subordinates. What do you think?"

Feng Ji was the first to say: "No!"

"Since your Majesty has promised not to kill Yuan Jiujiu before, he should keep his promise. If he breaks his promise and gets fat, who among the princes will dare to surrender in the future?"

The rest of the people also said yes.

As the saying goes, the ass decides the head.

For those officials in the court who were loyal to the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shu's proclaiming himself emperor was an unforgivable crime, and he must be executed to frighten Xiaoxiao.

In fact, many courtiers wanted to use this incident to test Yuan Shao's attitude towards becoming emperor.

Feng Ji and the ministers who were loyal to Yuan Shao thought about issues in a very different way from the ministers in the court.

The first thing they considered was Yuan Shao's interests.

Once Yuan Shao kills Yuan Shu, not only will he be stigmatized as dishonest, but he will also create a gap with the Yuan family in Runan, and the gain will outweigh the loss.

On the contrary, keeping Yuan Shu alive could send a signal to the emperor and courtiers loyal to the Han Dynasty to change the dynasty.

Jushou smiled and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. It is said that misfortune depends on blessings. Does Your Majesty know why Zhao Gao called a deer a horse?"

Yuan Shao's expression moved slightly and his eyes flashed, signaling Ju Shou to continue speaking.

Jushou talked eloquently and said: "The king not only wants to save Yuan Gongdao's life, but also wants to retain his title."

"This prince is the deer pushed out by the king. Those who do not object to the king's proclaiming the emperor will naturally say that it is a horse."

(End of this chapter)