Ji Han Liu Zhang

Yanzhou.

"What a good son Liu Junlang (Yan) gave birth to!" General Zhendong and Marquis of Feiting Cao Cao sighed after reading the words on the silk cloth.

It has to be said that Liu Yan indeed gave birth to a good son. Liu Zhang hurriedly took the position of Governor of Yizhou, and within two years, he had secured the position. He recaptured Hanzhong from the rice thief Zhang Lu, and captured Wudu. Now he is sending troops from Chencang Road to Guanzhong to compete with Li Jue and Guo Si, and even forced Li Jue and Guo Si to retreat to Chang'an.

Hanzhong, Chencang, Guanzhong, the former Qin land, are they imitating Emperor Gaozu?
Cao Cao glanced at him and asked his son about the situation in Guanzhong: "Ang'er, Liu Jiyu competed with Li Jue and Guo Si for supremacy in Guanzhong. Who do you think will win?"

Cao Ang, as Cao Cao's eldest son, was raised by his first wife, Mrs. Ding. He was selected as a filial and honest official at the age of 20. He was well versed in classics and martial arts, so he was naturally no ordinary person.

Facing Cao Cao's test, he blurted out: "Father, Liu Yizhou raised an army to fight against the rebels, and his heart was in the royal family. He was attacking them in an upright manner. However, the two thieves, Li Que and Guo Si, have harmed the people and oppressed the emperor and ministers. They are not tolerated by the country, let alone the people of the world. Liu Yizhou is fighting against the rebels with justice, so he will naturally be victorious."

This is a consideration of people's hearts, which is useful but not very useful. Cao Cao did not comment when he heard it. He just listened quietly to Cao Ang's subsequent words.

Cao Ang then analyzed the situation and said, "Li Jue and Guo Si, the two thieves, recruited generals from Guanzhong and Qiang and Hu from Liangzhou to help. They were not united, and they were not as united as Liu Yizhou. Secondly, Liu Yizhou raised 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers, which was more than the forces of Li Jue and Guo Si... Therefore, although Li Jue and Guo Si were good at using troops, they were not as strong as Liu Yizhou in terms of the situation, their forces were few and their people were not as strong as Liu Yizhou. Therefore, I concluded that Liu Yizhou would win the battle in Guanzhong."

Cao Cao smiled at this time. He pointed at Cao Ang and said, "As long as I have this son, I don't have to worry about my future."

……

Yecheng.

Yuan Shao, governor of Jizhou, defeated White Horse General Gongsun Zan repeatedly and made Gongsun Zan mentally collapse. He dared not fight again, which made Gongsun Zan take the nursery rhyme "Yan hangs to the south, Zhao is on the north, the central government is in disunity as big as a whetstone, only here can I escape from the world" as a guide for his actions. He built a city in Yijing and defended it, living a passive life.

Yuan Shao, who now rules the area north of the Yellow River and has great power over the four states of You, Ji, Qing and Bing, looked unhappy. A trace of worry lingered between his brows. After a long time, he let out a long sigh.

"Han will face six or seven disasters, and the law should be entrusted with another mission. Who among the royal family members should take on this responsibility? Sixty-seven is forty-two, and the one who will replace Han will be Dang Tu Gao." Yuan Shao recited this well-known prophecy.

This prophecy means that the Liu family of the Han Dynasty will encounter disasters when they are six or seven years old, and they should receive the mandate again, that is, the mandate of heaven will be transferred to someone else, and the person who will receive the mandate of heaven and replace the Liu family is "Tu Gao".

As to what "Tu Gao" actually refers to, it is still unknown.

Guo Tu, who was sitting next to Yuan Shao, turned a deaf ear to Yuan Shao's words, as if he didn't hear them.

After Yuan Shao finished reciting the prophecy, he forced a smile and said, "Gong Ze, I heard that the Liangzhou thief Li Jue had people spread the word that Tu means road, and the high road means que, and Jue has the same que. There is another very high person named Jue, so the one who will replace the Han Dynasty is Li Jue."

"But now Liu Jiyu has sent troops to Guanzhong. Li Jue cannot either take Chencang or withdraw the Shu troops. He is about to be defeated. Just looking at this moment, we can see how ridiculous Li Jue's speculation is."

"That's right, sir." Guo Tu responded, "Li Jue, Guo Si and the others are all cowards who have risen up and have no ambition to dominate the world. They are just arrogant because of the chaos. Now that Liu Yizhou has raised an army to fight against the rebels, the good days of those Liangzhou thieves are over."

Yuan Shao nodded silently after hearing this. After a moment of silence, he said to Guo Tu: "The Han Dynasty has six or seven disasters, six or seven is forty-two, and there should be forty-two generations, but now there are only twenty-nine generations. It can be seen that the Han Dynasty has a long history and can continue for more than ten generations."

These words sounded very uncomfortable coming from Yuan Shao's mouth. He had wanted to replace the Han Dynasty for a long time. Although the Han Dynasty had been harmed by Dong Zhuo, Li Kuang and Guo Min before, and was on the verge of collapse, suddenly Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, emerged and raised an army to conquer Guanzhong. It was clear that the Han Dynasty's national destiny had not yet come to an end.

"My lord, this is not the way to resolve the crisis of six or seven." Guo Tu shook his head and rejected Yuan Shao's words in person.

"Oh, what do you mean?" Yuan Shao half-squinted his eyes, pretending to listen attentively.

"Sixty-seven times forty-two, when broken down and added together, is twenty-nine, which is exactly the twenty-ninth generation of the current emperor." Guo Tu looked at Yuan Shao with a burning gaze.

"Gong Ze, what you said is indeed inappropriate. It's ok for you to say it in front of me, but you must not spread it to outsiders." Yuan Shao neither confirmed nor denied it, he just said that what Guo Tu said was inappropriate.

But Yuan Shao agreed in his heart. Only when the Han Dynasty was destroyed would his Yuan family have a chance to inherit the Mandate of Heaven.

After hearing Yuan Shao's words, Guo Tu did not stop talking, but continued: "Mr. Mingshen, the Han Dynasty will end, and the Yuan family is from Chen. Chen is the descendant of Shun. With earth inheriting fire, it is the next in line to respond to the destiny."

"Don't talk nonsense, this is rebellious." Yuan Shao shrank back slightly and reprimanded Guo Tu.

"Mingsir." Guo Tu said as if he had not heard Yuan Shao's rebuke, "It is known to all that the Yuan family was ordained by heaven to inherit fire from earth. You can silence me, but you cannot silence the mouths of the world."

Yuan Shao showed a slight smug look on his face, but he waved his hand and retorted: "Not necessarily. The emperor returned to Luoyang in the east, and Liu Jiyu in Guanzhong raised an army to fight against the enemy. The fortune of the Han Dynasty is not so easy to be cut off..."

"Moreover, Liu Jiyu sent troops from Chencang to the Three Auxiliary Provinces, which is similar to Emperor Gaozu. It is possible that Liu Jiyu is also an Emperor Guangwu..." Although Yuan Shao seemed to be joking here, the fear and suspicion in his eyes could not be hidden.

Yuan Shao expressed his concern that Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, who acted like Emperor Gao, would become the second Emperor Guangwu. After all, Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, who led his troops from Chencang and captured the three prefectures, was simply a replica of the story of Emperor Gao.

As for the emperor of Luoyang, he didn't care at all. After all, Luozhong was empty, without food or soldiers, so even the emperor could do nothing.

"Don't worry, my lord. Guanzhong is desolate, and the population is sparse. It is no longer the abundant land of the past. Even if Liu Yizhou takes Guanzhong, he cannot be as powerful as you who control Hebei. Now you just need to wipe out Gongsun Zan who is defending himself in Yijing, and then head south to fight for the world. Among all the heroes in the world, no one can match you." Guo Tu said proudly. He wanted to support Yuan family and become a famous minister of the founding of the country.

"Gongsun Zan!" Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao pronounced the three names Gongsun Zan word by word. Gongsun Zan was the last obstacle for him to conquer Hebei. As long as Gongsun Zan was eliminated and he had the capital to annex the four states of You, Ji, Qing and Merge, as Guo Tu said, even if Liu Jiyu took Guanzhong, he would not be his opponent.

...Luoyang.

Unlike real history, in real history, Emperor Liu Xie's journey back to Luoyang in the east can be described as full of hardships and displacement. The short journey from Hongnong to Luoyang took Emperor Liu Xie seven months, and many thrilling things happened during this period.

But now, firstly, there were no Li Jue and Guo Si to chase and intercept them, and secondly, the warlords of all sizes in Sizhou were afraid of the rising Liu Yizhou. They were afraid that if they made a fuss today, they would be put on the list tomorrow. Therefore, they did not dare to disrespect the emperor Liu Xie who passed by their jurisdiction.

Therefore, Emperor Liu Xie had a pleasant journey back to Luoyang. Even though the warlords along the way were arrogant and did not care about the emperor, they did not do anything to humiliate him. They just looked at Emperor Liu Xie and his entourage with cold respect as they left the country.

Among them, some warlords were well versed in the ways of the world and understood the importance of Emperor Liu Xie. They wanted to leave a name for themselves with him, so they led their troops to pretend to protect the emperor and offered some food and fodder to help the officials and the emperor who were short of food.

"This is all due to the emperor's benevolence and Liu Yizhou's great reputation!"

Along the way, Taiwei Yang Biao said to the people around him with emotion that with Liu Yizhou assisting the royal family and raising troops to fight the bandits, some scoundrels no longer had the courage to act recklessly and arrogantly, and dared not disrespect the emperor or treat the officials lightly.

Smoothly and not without surprise, the emperor and his ministers arrived in Luoyang in March of the first year of Jian'an.

Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

As an important capital city for more than 200 years, Luoyang should have been a place full of flowers. However, Luoyang today is desolate. Only broken walls and ruins remain of the magnificent palaces of the past, and cats and mice are left chasing and playing on the bustling streets of the past.

As the sun sets, standing on the top of Luoyang City, looking at the almost white Luoyang City, Emperor Liu Xie felt a sense of desolation in his heart. In addition, a few crows were circling and screaming on the rotten old trees, and their ominous cries made his ears burst into tears.

The prosperity is gone and the beautiful scenery is gone.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but cry.

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to be sad. The country is in misfortune and has encountered such a disaster. Your Majesty should cheer up and restore the Han Dynasty." Taiwei Yang Biao, as a minister of Emperor Liu Xie and also as an elder, gave some advice.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu Xie nodded silently. He wiped away the tears in his eyes, forced a smile and said, "Yang Qing is right."

The night wind suddenly rose and the chill was overwhelming. Taiwei Yang Biao did not want Emperor Liu Xie to stay on the city wall, so he ordered people to search the entire Luoyang City. He learned that the house of the deceased eunuch Zhao Zhong was still intact, so he requested Emperor Liu Xie to visit Zhao Zhong's house and stay there for a few days. After the palaces in Luoyang were repaired, they would move into the palace to live.

Emperor Liu Xie had no objection. Although he did not like the eunuchs' residence, the current situation was difficult and sometimes even porridge and rice were in short supply. He had no reason to ask for anything, including asking the Grand Marshal Yang Biao to find a good residence for him.

Seeing Liu Xie nod in agreement, Taiwei Yang Biao felt relieved and at the same time pleased. The emperor was a kind and intelligent man. He only needed to be assisted and guided well, and he would surely be a leader of the revival of the country.

However, the road to revival that Taiwei Yang Biao had envisioned was extremely difficult. The palaces in Luoyang were burned down by Dong Zhuo, and the people of Luoyang were relocated and displaced everywhere. As a result, the grain collected by Luoyang was not enough to support itself. The officials lived a hard life, relying on the walls. The ministers were hungry and exhausted, and the officials below the rank of Shangshulang had to go out to collect millet themselves.

The prefectures and counties in Guandong, each with their own powerful army, watched coldly and had no intention of leading troops to assist the royal family. They did not want to live with an emperor above their heads, but only wanted to be a local tyrant and exercise their power.

When it came to June, the emperor and his ministers, who had been suffering in hardship, heard a good news: after the summer harvest, the governor of Yizhou, Liu Zhang, finally sent troops from Chencang Road to Guanzhong to fight against the enemy for the country.

The emperor gathered the ministers and nobles to discuss the matter in the better house of the former eunuch Zhao Zhong.

Taiwei Yang Biao spoke first, his voice like a bell: "According to the accurate information from Guanzhong, we know that the two bandits Li Jue and Guo Si were trapped in Chencang, with no way to go. Moreover, the Shuzhong general Gan Ning attacked and broke into the camp at night, killing Li Jue's fierce general Hu Feng in battle. The morale of the army was crushed overnight."

"After that, Liu Yizhou's troops headed for Chencang, and the masses left Shu. When Li Jue and Guo Si heard about it, they were panicked and frightened. They immediately led their troops back to Chang'an. Judging from the situation, the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si would be defeated one day and would definitely not survive this year."

Taiwei Yang Biao's usually dignified expression now showed satisfaction, and his tone was also mixed with indescribable satisfaction.

Since the death of the traitor Dong Zhuo, among the various bandits in Liang Province, Li Jue and Guo Si were the most harmful. Li Jue and Guo Si bullied the emperor and oppressed the ministers, and harmed the elders of Guanzhong. Their crimes are unforgivable to Heaven.

Seeing Li Jue and Guo Si in such a state of embarrassment and fear, Taiwei Yang Biao wanted to say with satisfaction: "You have also suffered this day."

"Good, very good." Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu Xie couldn't help but applaud and praise.

Speaking of Li Jue and Guo Si, all the memories of their time in Chang'an came to his mind. At that time, Li Jue and Guo Si relied on their strong troops and were extremely rude to him, the emperor of the Han Dynasty. Even the soldiers under their command dared to look down on him, the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

"If I can get the heads of Li Jue and Guo Si, I will hang them high on the top of Luoyang City for three days." Emperor Liu Xie swore in his heart.

The emperor's uncle Dong Cheng was present. He bowed and congratulated the emperor Liu Xie, saying, "In times of crisis, there will always be loyal men. Now that the country is in misfortune, Liu Yizhou has raised an army of righteous men to fight against the enemy in Guanzhong. This is a blessing for the country and also a blessing from the gods. Your Majesty congratulates you."

"Congratulations on behalf of Your Majesty." Led by the emperor's uncle Dong Cheng, all the ministers in the room bowed and congratulated Emperor Liu Xie.

Emperor Liu Xie accepted the congratulations of his ministers with a smile on his face. Then he waved his hand to stop the ministers from speaking and made a declaration.

"Liu Jiyu is currently the military supervisor and governor of Yizhou. His power is very weak. I want to strengthen him. I want to make Liu Jiyu the Grand Marshal and command the chariot and cavalry. What do you think?"

Taiwei Yang Biao responded: "Your Majesty is wise and virtuous. Liu Yizhou is a loyal man. He is also a member of the royal family and has the heart to fight against the enemy for the country. Such a person should be rewarded vigorously and announced to the world so that the people of the world will know that your majesty favors loyal ministers." (End of this chapter)