Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 373 The battleground
Liu Biao won’t survive this winter?

Zhuge Liang was originally handling government affairs with his head down. Ever since he, Wei Yan and Huang Zhong came to join Liu Bei, almost all of these miscellaneous government affairs had to be handed over to him.

In name, the prime minister of the court is still Liu Bei, but that is only because another court also has a "Prime Minister Cao", so Liu Bei on their side must be "Prime Minister Liu".

That's it.

Zhuge Liang was promoted to the position of clerk in the Prime Minister's Office.

This position has basically been regarded as the second prime minister since many years ago, because he does almost everything that the prime minister does.

Although the official position was not high, only one thousand stones, the power was great.

It is the right of the head of the Three Dukes.

Although Liu Bei held the position of prime minister, he was actually in charge of more than just the prime minister's duties.

Zhuge Liang narrowed his eyes and gently waved the feather fan in his hand.

"The world is now divided into many places, and Jingzhou is a place that must be fought over by military strategists."

"Last year, the imperial court, Zhang Jue and Cao Cao jointly attacked Jingzhou and divided up a part of Jingzhou, but in the end they had to retreat because Liu Biao was still alive."

He shook his head and sighed.

"The emperor and the prime minister are very dissatisfied with Liu Biao, but because Liu Biao is a relative of the Han Dynasty and has not publicly stated that he wants to secede, he cannot blatantly attack Jingzhou."

"Now that Liu Biao is about to die, Jingzhou may be undergoing major changes."

Ma Chao did not feel Zhuge Liang's sadness, but just smiled and said, "Zhuge Nei Li, what are we afraid of?"

"If Liu Biao dies, the imperial court can naturally mobilize troops to retake Jingzhou based on its current situation."

"By then, our Han Dynasty will be able to occupy the vast land of Jingzhou, attack Cao Cao in the east, and suppress the Yellow Turban rebellion in the west. After the mountains and rivers are unified, we can send troops to Jiaozhi and rebuild the Han Dynasty!"

Zhuge Liang nodded slightly and said, "You are right. I will go find the Prime Minister right away."

"This time, we must convince the Prime Minister to send troops to Jingzhou!"

琅琊
Chang'an Palace

This palace was not originally the Chang'an Palace. It was only after the current Han Emperor Liu Xie followed Prime Minister Cao Cao to move the capital here that he named this temporary palace Chang'an Palace to express his longing for Chang'an City and his old capital.

Liu Xie sat in the palace, holding a wine cup in his hand, with a melancholy look on his face.

He suddenly felt as if he had done something wrong.

Although he has become the emperor now, the Han Dynasty has fallen apart. Rebels are everywhere in the world, and even the royal family of the Han Dynasty has begun to secede from one side.

The Han Dynasty no longer has the tyranny and prosperity it once had.

After a moment, the trance in Liu Xie's eyes disappeared. All this was not his fault, but his royal brother's fault.

It was obvious that the younger brother should inherit the throne after the elder brother, which was the practice of the ancient sages. And his nephews were so young that they could not even speak, but Liu Bian was unwilling to do the sage's thing and gave the throne to him.

How can this be his fault?

There was a sound of hurried footsteps and a maid came in with a respectful look on her face.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister requests an audience."

Prime Minister?

Liu Xie's expression changed. What was Cao Cao doing here at this time?
He smiled without changing his expression and said, "Please come in quickly."

During the time when Cao Cao came in, Liu Xie was silently thinking about Cao Cao's purpose in his heart.

Quickly, many ideas emerged in Liu Xie's mind. Finally, he fixed his eyes on "Jingzhou", which was still holding on until now, and Youzhou in the northern border, which was ready to make a move.

Only if something happened between these two things would Cao Cao be so eager to see him and have the time to see him.

If anything happened in Chang'an or with Zhang Jiao, he should be the last to know.

When Cao Cao appeared in the hall, Liu Xie became more certain of his thoughts.

Because Cao Cao's expression at this time was "excited" and a little agitated, it must mean that something great had happened.

"Prime Minister, why are you looking for me today? Is there something urgent?"

"I see that the Prime Minister is full of joy. Could it be that something great and happy has happened?"

Cao Cao bowed casually, then laughed loudly and said, "Your Majesty, I have received news from spies in Jingzhou that Liu Biao has suddenly become seriously ill. If we are talking about the date, I am afraid it will be these few days."

He smiled and said, "In this way, no one will be able to defend the important place of Jingzhou."

Liu Xie raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"

"I heard what the Prime Minister said. Do you have any other preparations?"

"Otherwise, even if Liu Jingzhou died, my court might not be so sure about Jingzhou."

Cao Cao nodded: "Of course."

He looked at Liu Xie and said, "Your Majesty, do you know that Liu Jingzhou had two wives, and these two wives gave birth to two eldest sons."

"If we count based on my first wife, Liu Qi is the eldest son; if we count based on my wife Cai, Liu Cong is the eldest son."

"The Cai family is also a big family in Jingzhou, controlling many of Jingzhou's lifelines, but they have always been suppressed by Liu Jingzhou, and they have long been dissatisfied."

"The current head of the Cai family has contacted me through the Xun family and other noble families, and made it clear that if Liu Jingzhou died of illness and the court was willing to confer the title of "Liu Cong" as the governor of Jingzhou, then everyone in Jingzhou would put the court first."

Liu Xie was a little surprised when he heard this: "Oh?"

After thinking for a moment, he understood Cai's position and considerations.

This is actually a very simple thing.

Who are the people who support Chang'an Liu Han now? They are all "scholars", with few powerful people and royal family members supporting them; and who are the people who support him? The new and old nobles have united together.

Even the "Yuan family" and the "Yang family" who intended to kill Cao Cao and establish their power in Chang'an City have surrendered to the Langya Han.

It can be said that seven or eight out of ten noble families in the world are under his command.

Or in other words, under the command of "Cao Cao".

Of course, this number may not be comprehensive, because some families are "betting on both sides."

For example, the Yuan family.

Although the Yuan family's foundation was damaged in the aristocratic family changes that year, it is still a large clan today.

Yuan Ji, the eldest son of the Yuan family, was the county governor of Langya and was already considered a high-ranking official.

However, Yuan Fang, the eldest son of the third branch of the Yuan family, continued to serve as an official in Chang'an, and the same was true for Yang.

Liu Xie didn't care about these things, and neither did Cao Cao.

Betting on both sides is the norm.

Among the noble families in the world, apart from the Chen family, is there any other family so peculiar?

He looked at Cao Cao and asked in a low voice: "If so, has Chang'an received the news?"

Cao Cao shook his head slightly, with a hint of caution in his expression.

"Chang'an should also know about Liu Biao's health, but they should not know that Cai has been secretly contacting us."

"It's just that," he said after a slight hesitation, "Liu Biao does have some relationship with Liu Bei. I'm a little afraid that he might contact Liu Bei secretly and then directly give the remaining part of Jingzhou to Liu Bei. It's not impossible."

Liu Xie frowned and pondered over Cao Cao's speculation.

"According to the Prime Minister's opinion, what should we do?"

Cao Cao exhaled slowly, and then whispered: "Since Liu Biao is dying, why don't we send him off?"

He narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the troops personally to attack Jingzhou!"

Lead the troops personally to attack Jingzhou?
Liu Xie looked at Cao Cao in shock: "Prime Minister, how can this be possible?"

"You are the pillar of the Han Dynasty. What if you personally lead the troops to the battlefield and get injured? The Han Dynasty now only has the Prime Minister as its pillar!"

Cao Cao shook his head slightly. "Your Majesty, Jingzhou is of great importance. If we can obtain the places currently occupied by Liu Biao, we can use these counties to directly recover the Jingzhou land held by Zhang Jue and even Liu Bei."

“Once Jingzhou is completely taken over by the imperial court, the imperial court can use Jingzhou as a key route to curb the development of Zhang Jiao, the traitor, and even Liu Xuande, and slowly erode them.”

"I can say this: if you have Jingzhou in your hands, the whole country will be united, and it won't be long before Your Majesty can recreate the grandeur of Emperor Guangwu!"

Liu Xie was somewhat tempted.

In fact, if Cao Cao left Kyoto, it would be a good thing for him.

Because if Cao Cao was in Kyoto, he would have no way of contacting those "aristocratic families".

Therefore, he could only sigh and say: "Since the Prime Minister insists, I will appoint the Prime Minister as the general and lead the attack on Jingzhou."

Cao Cao stood up and saluted: "I will never let your majesty down!"

After Cao Cao left, Liu Xie's expression slowly became gloomy. He squinted his eyes, with countless thoughts lingering in his mind.

"Why did the Prime Minister leave Kyoto this time?"

Liu Xie didn't quite believe that Cao Cao was only trying to "conquer Jingzhou". After all, even if he talked about it in a very exaggerated way, it was not Prime Minister Cao's turn to go there in person.

The only possibility.
Perhaps it was that Prime Minister Cao himself prepared a "careful bait" for himself, waiting for him to eat it.

But can Liu Xie refuse this bait?

No.

Because what Cao Cao said was probably true.

If the Cai family and all the big families in Jingzhou had already been secretly colluding with Cao Cao, when Liu Cong controlled Jingzhou, then using Jingzhou as a stepping stone, neither Zhang Jiao nor Chang'an would be able to pose a threat to Langya.

By then, the unification of the world will really be within reach.

However, by then, it is uncertain whether the world can still be ruled by the Liu family, and whether the Liu family can still be the masters of the world.

Therefore, he had to contact many aristocratic families before taking Jingzhou, or show his "value" to them, in order to fight against Cao Cao and fulfill his ambition to continue to be the "Son of Heaven".

The cooperation between Liu Xie and Cao Cao was rooted in the "throne".

Prime Minister's Mansion

After Cao Cao returned to the mansion, he looked at Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others who were waiting for him there, and sighed softly: "Feng Xiao, you are right again."

"I'm afraid the emperor has already had some opinions about me."

Guo Jia, who was standing by, yawned: "Isn't this a sure thing?"

"Ever since he conferred the title of King of Wei on Cao Gong and granted him the Nine Gifts, his dissatisfaction with Cao Gong had already begun to germinate."

“No one can sit on the throne of the emperor without developing a desire to exercise the power of the emperor.”

Guo Jia had a mocking expression on his face: "The emperor has been sitting in that position for too long, so long that his ambitions have begun to sprout, so long that he has begun to think that he is really the high and mighty emperor of the Han Dynasty."

He came from a poor family, unlike Xun Yu, so he did not have much "loyalty" to the Han Dynasty in his heart.

On the other hand, Xun Yu lowered his head with a helpless look on his face.

He still had some "loyalty" to the Han Dynasty. After all, he was a "counselor" during the reign of Emperor Ling. When Emperor Ling was still in power, he had already been selected as a filial and incorruptible official. It could be said that he "received the salary of the Han Dynasty."

Cao Cao looked at the depressed Xun Yu and felt helpless.

His loyalty to the Han Dynasty had been exhausted as early as the time of the previous emperor. After all, he tried his best to support the Han Dynasty, but what was the emperor of Han doing?
Preparing to join forces with others to kill him.

"Your Majesty."

Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu and said, "I am willing to follow your advice and lead the troops to attack Jingzhou. This can be regarded as giving the emperor a chance."

"If the emperor can turn back from his mistakes, I, Cao Mengde, will still be loyal to the Han Dynasty."

"As long as Cao lives, the Han Dynasty will have nothing to worry about!"

Jingzhou
Liu Biao lay on the bed, his brows filled with numbness.

Ever since he fell ill, the entire Jingzhou has been in chaos. He certainly knew that the "Cai family" wanted to control Jingzhou through Liu Cong and then exchange benefits from Cao Cao, but he did not expect that his youngest son was so stupid.

There was a hint of sarcasm on his face.

At this time, Cao Cao and Liu Bei were fighting for the world, and Zhang Jue was also involved.

The three parties are in a three-way competition, which is the best opportunity for Jingzhou.

Even if Liu Cong is incompetent, if he can remain neutral and wait until the three parties decide the winner, he can also offer Jingzhou to the final winner as a "price". The status of the lord of Jingzhou will still be very high, and he may even be listed as a "price king".

But now, giving away the "food" in your hands too early will only make you useless.

After thirty years of dominating the world, Liu Biao had a thorough understanding of everything.

The world is nothing more than a huge place for exchanging interests. If you have "chips" of sufficient value in your hands, you can make a living. If you hand over these chips, you will just be a piece of meat on the gambling table.

He closed his eyes and asked in a low voice: "Have you sent the letter to Chang'an?"

"Has there been any reply from Chang'an?"

Because of Cai's stupidity, Liu Biao had to write to Chang'an in an attempt to get Liu Bei's support, but he also knew that it might be best for Liu Bei not to express his opinion at this time.

Watch him and Cao Cao fight to the death, and then come out and take back Jingzhou as a member of the Liu Han royal family.

A voice came from the side, and there was respect in the voice.

It was the servant serving beside him.

"Your Majesty, Chang'an has replied."

He whispered, "Prime Minister Liu said he is willing to support Liu Qi as the governor of Jingzhou. As long as Jingzhou can be under the jurisdiction of the court again, Liu Qi can put his name on the royal family jade butterfly and be listed as the emperor's brother."

"And Jingzhou, like other prefectures, can be governed by a governor, and in the future Liu Qi's son can continue to serve as governor."

Liu Biao was stunned for a moment, and then a smile broke out on his face.

"What a great Liu Xuande."

"You are so generous."

"I am indeed far inferior to Xuande."

Outside
Mrs. Cai had a ferocious and terrifying look on her face.

(End of this chapter)