Lord Yuan

Chapter 199 Meeting Liu Hong for the second time
Welcomed from outside the palace gate by Xiaohuangmen, Yuan Shao returned to the palace for the second time.

Obviously, some people's emotions began to brew for Yuan Shao's arrival, so much so that when Yuan Shao appeared in front of them, they looked disgusted.

Zhang Rang is one of them. As a close servant of the emperor, since he was able to cross over from Cao Jie and take over all the power of Cao Jie after his death, he always heard the words of his majesty, "What's wrong with Yuan Shao now?" He fought against Xianbei and comforted the refugees. Hearing this, Zhang Rang felt as if he had become a foil.

In addition, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion at this time, the entire Han army was not only retreating but also trying its best to resist. No news of success had yet reached Luoyang Palace. As a result, General Du Liao, whom Your Majesty called your beloved However, Yuan Shao unlocked the achievement of fighting against the Yellow Turbans and winning in advance.

Zhang Rang's ability to reach his current position is enough to show that he is mostly cunning and scheming, and he is good at making friends with princes and ministers, and then collecting benefits to enrich himself. Of course, during this period, he will also turn a small part of the benefits he obtained to present to Liu Hong.

Therefore, Zhang Rang would never tolerate anyone standing on his head. When he learned that Yuan Shao was not waiting at the border, but he wanted to return to Luoyang to serve as a Jiuqing guard, he instantly felt a sense of crisis.

Weiwei, who was in charge of the palace guards, and Guang Luxun, who was also the ninth minister, and Jinwu, who were both in charge of the central army.

Guang Luxun, also known as Lang Zhongling, is the head of Lang Guan. Basically, Lang Guan of all sizes will serve as Lang Guan under Guang Luxun to refresh his resume. Because Lang Tonglang, he is also called Lang. They are the guards who stand guard at the forbidden gates of the palace, and Guang Luxun is the absolute person in charge of protecting the emperor's personal security. Under his command are the lieutenant, the lieutenant, and the palace guards, Hu Ben Yu Lin.

Weiwei and Guangluxun are complementary to each other. If the entire palace is turned into the center of a circle, Guangluxun will be a small circle close to the emperor himself, and its radiation range will be within this area. Weiwei is different. , the rest of the outer circle is all under the control of the Weiwei.

At the same time, the guards had many armed forces such as chariots, horses, guards, and brigades under their command. They were in charge of the guards in the entire palace. Therefore, they were highly valued by the emperor. Often, the post of guard was held by the three princes, and their power became more and more powerful.

Compared with the two, Zhijinwu is much easier. Zhijinwu, also known as Lieutenant, lives outside the palace city and within the capital. Therefore, the troops under his command are collectively called the Northern Army. The leader is Zhijinwu. He usually needs to be in the high city. Patrolling three times outside, and also taking care of the storage of weapons in the arsenal.

In comparison, Guang Luxun was closest to the emperor himself, so most of them were held by close ministers of the emperor or members of the clan.

Because the guards need to protect the entire palace, their numbers account for the largest proportion, making the guards' powers increasingly powerful.

However, Zhijinwu's status declined day by day. Although Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu had an extraordinary obsession with Zhijinwu, so there was a saying that he should marry Yin Lihua when marrying his wife, and he should marry Zhijinwu when he became an official, but in fact Liu Xiu did not do so after he ascended the throne. Without improving Zhijinwu's power and treatment, in the later period, Zhijinwu was more of an idle position, so that the clan's closest descendants could hold the position, and many relatives also held this position.

It can be said that Yuan Shao's ability to directly assume the post of Jiuqing Guardsman is closely related to the previous Yellow Turban War. Without his strong attitude, even if Liu Hong wanted to recall Yuan Shao, there would be many people in the court. Opposition.

Zhang Rang, Liu Hong's father, was also dissatisfied. It seemed that he wanted Yuan Shao to guard the northern border so that the Xianbei could not go south, thus forming a two-sided flanking situation with the Yellow Turbans.

Of course, all of this was Zhang Rang's superficial attitude. He had to find an extremely reasonable way to keep the general who the emperor had longed for from hanging around in front of his eyes. His attitude towards Cao Jie in the past was enough to prove his attitude towards Cao Jie. A sign of dissatisfaction among the eunuchs.

Soon, after passing through various doors in the palace and being checked by the chamberlain, Yuan Shao was able to enter the palace.

As soon as they walked outside the palace gate, they saw a slightly hunched servant of Zhongchang standing aside. Seeing Yuan Shao approaching, he immediately stepped forward and saluted, saying: "Zhongchang Shi Zhang Rang has met General Du Liao, oh no, he is a Weiwei." .”

Yuan Shao was shocked, is this Zhang Rang?
That Zhang Rang, the regular servant who made Liu Hong call him my father?
Yuan Shao couldn't help but look up and down a few more times, but he didn't find any difference between him and other eunuchs. It couldn't be that he had two more eggs than others. But now, Yuan Shao knew that this place was not a place to stay for a long time, so he quickly lowered his head. gesture, waving his hands repeatedly.

"As you said before, I am just a young border general. I was lucky enough to earn some military merits. I was able to receive His Majesty's grace and return to Luoyang. I am a popular person next to Your Majesty. How can I compare with you? If today We haven't met him yet, so I plan to meet him in person after meeting His Majesty, so there is no need to wait here."

Yuan Shao's attitude was ambiguous, but it must be said that Yuan Shao's flattery also made Zhang Rang feel happy. He originally thought that Yuan Shao was a major border general, and because of his previous unpleasant quarrels with him and other Zhongchang servants, , and now he has been able to serve as a guard with the help of military merit. He must have an arrogant aura. He had never expected to see him, but he behaved so kindly. The slight hostility rising in Zhang Rang's heart dissipated in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Rang glanced at Yuan Shao with some doubts, and saw how handsome his face was. Although he had been on the battlefield for a long time and was exposed to wind and sun, it could not cover up his handsome appearance at all, but instead added a bit of magnanimity.

From his standpoint, anyone who opposes the eunuchs and even the emperor is an enemy. Yuan Shao should have been an enemy among them, and he should have been the first target.

But Yuan Shao's current attitude made him a little uncertain.

"Weiwei's words are serious. The general defeated the Yellow Turban with [-] cavalry. This story has been spread throughout Luoyang. People everywhere are praising the general's virtuous name. Your Majesty also praises the general with this."

"Your Majesty's grace is so great that I can be praised like this by the regular servant. I am extremely frightened."

Zhang Rang suddenly looked around and saw that no one was looking at him. He leaned close to Yuan Shao's ear and whispered in Yuan Shao's ear: "The general is in the midst of a great victory today, and his momentum is overwhelming. However, there are many different opinions in the court. Some people plan to use The general is reporting to Your Majesty on the grounds that he is secretly training [-] cavalry."

"It doesn't matter. As your Majesty's minister, I will never have second thoughts."

"Your Majesty naturally believes in the general's character, but after all, many of the sycophants in the court have illegal intentions and are afraid of hurting the general." Zhang Rang's lips were very thin, and he spat out from time to time.

Zhang Rang's attitude, unknowingly, in the eyes of outsiders, the two of them seemed to be inseparable, Zhang Rang almost stuck to him.

Of course, this is also because Zhang Rang hopes that Yuan Shao can understand current affairs and not rely on the scholar class. With His Majesty in the palace and Zhang Rang as his constant attendant, he needs Yuan Shao's reputation to gain some benefits for him.

Zhang Rang knew very well that his reputation outside the palace was definitely not good. Even in many places in the capital, there were mansions. Once, His Majesty wanted to climb high. In order to prevent Liu Hong from discovering his mansion, he even Biao said that the emperor should not climb high, otherwise the people would be in vain, which made Liu Hong completely give up the idea of ​​climbing high and looking far.

And this is all because Zhang Rang's mansion is so luxurious and high that ordinary people can't imagine. Even Liu Hong, who has lived in the palace for a long time, will definitely be furious when he sees it. In addition, almost all land transactions in the entire capital are , the appointment and dismissal of officials, Zhang Rang's scope of intervention was extremely far-reaching. Basically, everything at a glance was related to Zhang Rang and other ten permanent servants.

Such excessive expropriation has naturally caused dissatisfaction among Li Shu, but Zhang Rang and others still have power. It can be said that Zhang Rang and others are also inseparable from the emergence of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Zhang Rang naturally couldn't see through all this, and he proudly whispered in front of Yuan Shao: "If General Yuan can be appointed as a guard, don't forget the contribution of the regular servants!"

Zhang Rang's attitude made Yuan Shao more and more confused. It seemed that it was no longer a secret that he was a descendant of the Yuan family. It was true that a powerful Zhongchang servant like Zhang Rang would not help. I know, then why does he still treat himself like this.

Yuan Shao couldn't understand, so he could only nod slowly and said: "That's natural, I'll go in first."

"Go." Zhang Rang returned to his cold and gloomy expression in an instant. After Yuan Shao left completely, he showed a smile.

After the news that Yuan Shao was going to meet was read out, the entire court began to discuss heatedly.

Everyone whispered to each other from time to time, but they knew very little about this most outstanding disciple of the Yuan family. If the battle reports from Liaodong hadn't come frequently, they wouldn't even know what Yuan Shao did in Liaodong. You will know, not to mention that today's Liaodong is no longer the dilapidated state in memory, and is plagued by wars everywhere, and the people are in dire straits.

Liu Hong, who was sitting high up, suddenly showed a hint of joy when he heard this, and he quickly asked his chamberlain to invite Yuan Shao in.

"Your Majesty, General Yuan Shao of Liao Dynasty has met your Majesty!" Yuan Shao entered the palace and walked straight to the center. He didn't care about the eyes or comments of others, and just saluted himself.

Liu Hong waved his hand and said in a loud voice: "The Qing family has not been to Luoyang for more than ten years. Even the appearance and appearance of the Qing family are the same as in the memory. I never thought that they have not changed much over the years."

Yuan Shao hurriedly raised his hands and said in fear: "How virtuous and capable I am? I bother Your Majesty to think about me. I am sincerely afraid of you!"

All the officials had their eyes fixed on General Du Liao.

In the final analysis, even though Yuan Shao came from a descendant of the Yuan family and was from a well-established Miaohong family, his actions and his experiences over the years made the attitude of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty towards Yuan Shao ambiguous.

On the one hand, there are many officials in the court who come from the Yuan family and have entered the inner circle of power in Luoyang. Naturally, they need to pay more attention to the Yuan family's children.

It was not because of the former three princes Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei, but simply because he saw that Yuan Shao was really outstanding, so naturally he needed to win them all over to the class of scholars he should have belonged to.

Such a good young man cannot fall to the eunuchs. Otherwise, once Yuan Shao, who can control the power of the guards, becomes a guard, it will naturally make the eunuchs more powerful. If one goes, the hopes that the scholars have just raised will be wiped out again. Ruthlessly broken.

Some people are optimistic about Yuan Shao, but naturally there are also people who don't want Yuan Shao to be able to serve as the Jiuqing Guards in such a glorious manner.

Hongnong Yang is one of them.

Facing the Yuan family's children, who are rivals in chess, Yuan Shao can serve as a guard at the age of more than 30 years old. In time, Yuan Shao will definitely move towards the position of the Three Dukes, and may even become the youngest Three Dukes in history.The Yuan family became very popular in this disaster of party imprisonment, which actually made the Yuan family's prestige become more and more prosperous. Even Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei successively served as the Three Dukes, allowing the Yuan family to completely unlock the achievements of the Fourth Generation and the Three Dukes. If Yuan Shao is allowed to do so again, Going further, it is inevitable that the Yuan family will not be completely crushed over the heads of the wealthy families.

This is what the Yang family and other aristocratic families don't want to see.

Liu Hong knew all this, and he just smiled lightly.

"What are Yuan Aiqing's plans for taking up the post of guard?"

The civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty were instantly ignited again. Regarding Yuan Shao's appointment as a guard, both sides held different opinions.

Although Yuan Shao was extremely reluctant, when he thought of Zhang Rang's reminder when he first entered, he secretly recruited [-] soldiers in one county, and most of them were composed of cavalry. If this matter was put in wartime, it might not be anything, just treat it as a matter of fact. To fight against enemy invasion.

But now, although the Yellow Turban Rebellion breaks out, it will only last for a month or two. During this period, as General Du Liao, you have already recruited [-] cavalry in advance. What are your intentions?Whether they are against the Yuan family, or simply against Yuan Shao, these remarks will be like a long knife that cannot be avoided and pierce straight into the chest.

Even if he is charged with treason, it is basically considered a minor crime.

Although Yuan Shao had been avoiding this matter, he did not expect that Gongsun Zan would bring it up so quickly, leaving Yuan Shao with no time to take any countermeasures.

Fortunately, Liu Hong said that he and Yuan Shao had a chance to teach each other.

In the final analysis, whether the crime of rebellion is successful or not is entirely decided by Liu Hong himself.

Now Liu Hong is no longer a child who could be manipulated by others. At this time, he has absolute rights to manipulate anyone.

As long as Liu Hong is unwilling, no matter what these people say, it will not help.

And who did Liu Hong listen to?

It is inevitable that my father Zhang Rang, mother Zhao Zhong and other regular attendants will be indispensable.

Therefore, Yuan Shao just tried his best to express his most perfect goodwill to Zhang Yiyi.

At the same time, since Liu Hong was determined to recall him, if he really wanted to be held accountable, he would not take off his pants and fart again, and instead turned around and gave himself a guard.

Yuan Shao knew very well that this was probably a court meeting held by Liu Hong in order to frighten the officials, and the absolute protagonist in it was precisely himself, a person from Liaodong, the so-called General Du Liao.

As the saying goes, officials outside the customs are not as good as dogs. This sentence vividly describes the difference between those inside and outside the customs.

These hot drinkers who are popular in the court are extremely exploitative of the common people, but those officials in the frontier areas spend their days drinking in the Tianshan Mountains and outside the Fortress, exposed to the wind and sun all day long, and endure unimaginable hardships for ordinary people. , in the end, in the mouths of the civil and military officials in the court, it was extremely difficult to enter the center of the court on the grounds that the outside of the pass was too vulgar and difficult to enter the elegant hall.

As a result, among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, there were very few officials who came from outside the customs and were in Liang Qingyou. Rao was a famous general of the generation, Duan Xi. Although he was called the Sanming of Liangzhou together with Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan, in fact, he was able to completely dominate the court. However, it was mostly due to its dependence on the eunuchs that it gained a firm foothold in the country.

Without the support of eunuchs and facing the extremely xenophobic attitude in the court, it would be extremely difficult for Duan Xi to stay for a long time. When the eunuch Quan died, he was also implicated in it, and eventually committed suicide by drinking poison.

Yuan Shao happens to be in this embarrassing situation now.

He came from the Yuan family, but went to Liaodong in a remote area. He has not entered the power center of Luoyang for more than ten years. This is enough to explain a problem.

When the emperor asked him about his attitude, Yuan Shao first looked around and looked at the officials with different expressions before answering.

"Yuan Shao is your Majesty's minister. I can't help but shed tears of gratitude to receive such a generous gift from your Majesty. Not to mention that your Majesty's envoys serve as guards, even if they become the first military commander in the city gate, they will never complain. Where is the need for me? Just wherever you can go.”

Yuan Shao's attitude was very sincere, and he lowered his head so low that no one could see his face clearly.

Hearing this, someone among the officials immediately spoke sarcastically: "I heard that General Du Liao once served as the governor of Liaodong, but he took advantage of the situation by arrogance and expropriation, causing all the local people to fall into dire straits."

He did not stop, and then sarcastically said: "Although he has made great achievements in fighting Xianbei, he has resorted to militarism and made thousands of people homeless and homeless. Even if Xianbei is exterminated and Liaodong is no longer Liaodong, what will happen?"

Yuan Shao looked at this official who jumped out to take responsibility for himself and asked calmly: "May I ask what position I currently hold?"

The man suddenly said arrogantly: "Shi Zhao is responsible for the fact that the general knows that resorting to violence is the way to bring disaster, but he has carried out his tactics several times, causing tens of thousands of people to become homeless. Is this crime known?"

Yuan Shao immediately understood that the co-author was under the imperial censor, and was responsible for impeaching officials in the court. Of course, the rank should not be too high. When high-ranking officials were involved, he had to report to the censor and then report to the emperor.

Looking at the posture, it was obvious that he was planning to raise an army to hold him accountable.

Yuan Shao's guess was good.

This person is the newly appointed imperial censor. He has just entered the imperial court a few months ago. Many matters he has experienced have been through the hands of the imperial censor. Very few of them have fallen into his hands. In order to make himself famous, he also wants to make a name for himself. When the common people in Liaodong redressed their grievances, he decided to take the initiative to stand up and act as a messenger of justice.

Yuan Shao's face did not change and he said calmly: "I wonder how the imperial censor knew that I was resorting to military violence? Excessive expropriation? If you can judge someone's guilt with just one mouth, then there will be no good officials in the world compared to this Han Dynasty."

Shi Yushi spoke eloquently: "General, you don't need to know where I got the information from. All you need is whether the general admits such guilt? Now that your Majesty has so much grace, and an official like you, I feel very irritated to be in the same room with you. How can I hope that you will?" Your Majesty is aware of this!"

After saying that, he saluted His Majesty from a distance, trying to make Liu Hong change his original idea and never let him take up the post of guard.

Compared with other officials in the court, the imperial censor's rank was lower. If he had not had the power to impeach hundreds of officials, he would not have had a seat in the court. Now he dared to speak so brazenly. The imperial censor sitting in the front seat heard that Yan's expression suddenly changed.

This censor really doesn't know how to live or die. Isn't this General Du Liao like those mediocre people who were impeached by you before? They only covet temporary fame, but don't know the depth of it. They really are newborn calves not afraid of tigers.

Even the imperial censor couldn't help but feel sad for the censor. Even he himself didn't think that the other party had done anything outrageous and resentful. As a result, when the censor came to his mouth, everyone seemed to be shouting about beating him.

The censor's face was arrogant, and he didn't care about the taboos of other officials in the court. The officials who fell in his hands were already more than two dozen, and they were just frontier generals, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

Liu Hong's face, who was sitting in a high position, suddenly darkened. Looking at the censor, he felt for the first time that this person was so noisy, and he suddenly wanted to expel him.

But he wanted to see how Yuan Shao would deal with it. At the same time, he also wanted to ask how Yuan Shao was able to train eleven cavalry forces of the Han Dynasty in one county. He didn't think so. This Yuan Shao will rebel.

This is a feeling he feels from the bottom of his heart, and it may also be caused by the teaching he received when he was a child.

[-] cavalry, more or less.

If it were used to attack the capital, [-] well-trained cavalry would be enough to defeat it.

As an emperor, he naturally cannot tolerate situations beyond his control.

When someone suggested that General Du Liao, who had just won a great victory and defeated the Yellow Turbans, be summoned into Luoyang, Liu Hong decided without thinking that Yuan Shao should be appointed as a guard. Returning to his side would not only relieve the cavalry troubles, but also send another one. General Liao went to take over the cavalry.

The best of both worlds, why not do it.

(End of this chapter)