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

Chapter 381: Peace

The second year of Tiantai, winter.

Many things in Chang'an and Langya have become more complicated, but the entanglement between the three forces in the world is now more complicated than that between these two forces.

Ever since Dayu was founded, Chang'an has focused all its attention on Dayu.

After all, for the emperor in Chang'an and the emperor's uncle, although Langya was also a "fake emperor", the emperor was of the real bloodline of Liu Han, so it could only be said to be an "internal conflict". Even if Prime Minister Cao wanted to rebel, wasn't this still treason?

Zhang Jue actually committed treason.

This made the Han people very angry.

The meat can rot in the pot, but it must never be taken away by "outsiders".

So, in the second year of Tiantai, a letter was quietly sent from Chang'an City to Langya. This was a letter written by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and his uncle "Liu Xuande", who was the real power in the dynasty.

A huge bloody storm is about to come.

Langya City

Cao Cao looked at the letter in his hand with a hint of hesitation in his eyes, and he was a little unable to make a decision.

He handed the letter to the many trusted advisers sitting around him and said, "Take a look at this. How do you think we should deal with this matter?"

After reading the letter, everyone had different expressions.

The letter was written by Uncle Liu. The purpose was simple. Chang'an wanted to join forces with Langya to encircle and kill Dayu together. After that, the two forces would fight on their own abilities.

Let’s talk about other things after we annex Dayu.

After reading the letter, Xun Yu thought for a moment and said meaningfully, "This letter explains two things."

"First, the people in Chang'an hate Dayu even more now. After all, Dayu founded by Tianshi Zhang has nothing to do with the Han Dynasty. On the other hand, the emperor of Langya is a relative of the Han Dynasty. This is just a family affair of the Liu family."

"Secondly, as long as we are not like Dayu, who openly opposed the Han Dynasty and usurped the throne, there will not be any major conflicts between Chang'an and us for the time being."

He looked at Cao Cao very sincerely and asked, "In my opinion, if the Prime Minister has no intention of becoming emperor, then it is best to unite with Chang'an and then destroy Dayu."

"After all, the struggle between Qin and Han is much better than the division of the world among Qin, Chu and Han."

"Is not it?"

Cao Cao understood the implication of Xun Yu's words, which was that even if he, Cao Cao, wanted to rebel, it would be best to wait until the world was divided up.

Of course, this was also Xun Yu's way of testing whether he had the same intention of rebellion as Zhang Jue.

Guo Jia and others nodded. There was nothing to think about this matter. After all, it was necessary to unite to fight against the now powerful Dayu.

Starting from the first year of Tiantai, Zhang Jue began to expand rapidly, and learned from the "Qin Dynasty" of the past, establishing the so-called "military merit system" and the corresponding "talent system".

Everyone in Dayu, whether from aristocratic families or ordinary people, can serve as an official in the court as long as they can make military achievements or pass the corresponding assessments.

And awarded the title.

Even if Chang'an and Langya expressed opposition to this, saying that the title bestowed by Dayu was not recognized by the Han Dynasty, it would be the same.

Everyone has the same idea - I don’t care whether you admit it or not, I just need to get the title first.

I don't live in your territory, so how can you control me?
It is precisely because of this system of recruiting more talents that Dayu, which was established only two years ago, has already shown the potential to "swallow the world."

Chang'an and Langya also promulgated their own corresponding systems, but in this kind of thing, the first person to try it out can always gain huge benefits.

Dayu's development is unstoppable.

At the beginning of this year, Zhang Jue gave birth to his first legitimate son after he became emperor, and he was named crown prince.

The birth of the prince made the new dynasty free of any "worries". Even if the old emperor Zhang Jue, who was over fifty years old, passed away, there was still the young emperor. What's more, the emperor now had two brothers?

Cao Cao put these thoughts away one by one, and then he sighed deeply and said: "Forget it, if that's the case, then I will accept Xuande's invitation."

He stood up and said, "I will go to the palace to meet the emperor and report this matter."

A ruthless look flashed in Cao Cao's eyes: "We must destroy Dayu! Otherwise, as they continue to develop, we will lose our unique advantage."

Yes.

The reasons why Liu Bei and Cao Cao were anxious were the same.

In the past, they had "Liu Min" in one hand and "Liu Xie" in the other, both of whom were the orthodox of the Han Dynasty. By holding these two, they could suppress other forces in the name of righteousness, or at least strike them in the name of righteousness.

But now, a separatist force has set up a new regime and established "Dayu". How can they suppress it in the name of justice?
What Cao Cao and Liu Bei feared even more was that other separatist forces would follow suit.

When there are many countries, their advantages will really disappear. They must take advantage of the fact that the "Han" archway still has some effect and squeeze out the last bit of its effect as soon as possible.

Weiyang Palace
Liu Bei explained this to Liu Min in the same way, but Liu Min didn't care about it and just yawned.

Liu Min is now only in his teens, so naturally he doesn't like these "government affairs". He only likes power and does not like the accessories of power.

He waved his hand: "Everything is up to the emperor's uncle."

"Don't bother me with these things."

Liu Bei lowered his head, responded slightly, and then left the confidential palace.

After leaving the Weiyang Palace, Liu Bei straightened his back. He looked at the Zhongshufu Ling who had been following him and asked softly, "Has any servant approached Your Majesty recently?"

The Zhongshufu official's expression changed, and then he said hesitantly: "Report to the emperor's uncle, recently His Majesty has been closer to a eunuch and two palace maids."

He lowered his head and didn't dare to finish the rest of the sentence.

Liu Bei closed his eyes, feeling even more complicated.

Liu Min is only about twelve years old now, and he is still immersed in alcohol and sex. If this continues for a long time, his body will be completely drained. By then, let alone his lifespan, it is doubtful whether he will be able to reproduce.

But he had advised Liu Min many times. At the beginning, Liu Min listened to him humbly. Later, when he found that Liu Bei would not force him to control him, he began to disobey Liu Bei in secret.

Liu Bei is not Cao Cao.

Even if Liu Min really did something wrong, he would not teach the emperor a lesson directly like Cao Cao did.

He follows the principle of "the ruler is the ruler and the subject is the subject".

When the Minister of the Secretariat saw that the emperor's uncle stopped talking, he did not say anything and just followed him step by step.

From the magnificent Weiyang Palace behind him, there seemed to be a series of teasing and gentle voices coming from the night. These voices, which only appear at night, seemed to be flowing in the Weiyang Palace in Chang'an like an underground river.

The eunuchs and maids around were not surprised, and even had a hint of anticipation on their faces.

If the emperor takes a liking to them, all they need to do is have some affection for them and their status can be transformed from slaves to masters.

No need to be bullied anymore.

The second year of Tiantai passed quickly and many things happened during this year.

For example, the situation in Chang'an and Langya seemed to be less tense, and the two sides seemed to have made peace. In addition, the world gradually returned to a peaceful life. In Chang'an, policies that were conducive to the restoration of people's livelihood were promulgated. These policies were similar to the "Wenjing Reign" and the "recuperation" policy of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty.

Agriculture recovered very quickly, and under Liu Bei's strong advocacy, business seemed to begin to prosper.

Liu Bei reached some unknown deal with Liangzhou, and the "Silk Road" that had been abandoned for many years began to prosper again. Many Western Regions merchants began to come to the Han Dynasty and trade.

Liu Bei did not impose any restrictions on their trading partners.

Whether it is Chang'an, Langya, or Dayu, as long as they want to go and as long as they can go, Liu Bei will not stop them.

This is undoubtedly a good thing for Dayu and Langya.

The third year of Tiantai, autumn.

Dayu Linjing
Zhang Jue was handling government affairs in the imperial study when he heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

"Brother, there's a letter from Jiaozhou."

Zhang Bao's expression was gloomy. It was obvious that the news from Jiaozhou was not good news for them.

Zhang Jue calmly put down the pen in his hand and raised his head.

He frowned and said, "How many times have I told you to be calm? How can you be a commander in chief now?"

After criticizing his brother, he looked at Zhang Bao and said, "What does Sun Ce say?"

Zhang Bao coughed lightly, controlled his facial expression, and then said, "Sun Ce said that they would never surrender to Dayu, so we shouldn't waste our efforts."

He said silently: "Sun Ce also said that the situation in the Central Plains is complicated now, and Chang'an and Langya have made peace again. He asked us to worry about ourselves first."

"hehe."

Zhang Jue sneered, with a nonchalant look on his face.

He waved his hand and said, "Okay, since Jiaozhou has no intention of joining us, we can proceed according to the original plan."

Zhang Jue stood up. Ever since he became the emperor, his Qi cultivation skills had become more and more powerful, and he was becoming more and more like an emperor rather than a Taoist leader.

"But what Sun Ce said makes sense. We have to be on guard against the recent actions of Chang'an and Langya."

Zhang Bao was puzzled: "Can the two of them really reconcile?"

"Isn't there a rumor that Cao Cao wants to seize Liu Xie's throne and force Liu Xie to abdicate?"

"Can Chang'an tolerate this?"

Zhang Jue said indifferently: "I just said I would do this, but I haven't done it yet, have I?"

"Moreover, the previous rumors should have been made by Liu Xie himself in order to threaten Cao Cao, but Cao Mengde should have also taken advantage of it."

"Otherwise the news wouldn't have spread so quickly."

Zhang Bao asked cautiously, "Will Chang'an and Langya really join forces to attack us?"

Zhang Jue narrowed his eyes and looked in the distance: "It is indeed possible."

He sighed: "Any news from Guandu?"

At this time, Zhang Jue felt that he really needed a top strategist.

Although there were many advisers who came to join him in the past two years, none of them were "top-notch", which made him exhausted. After all, he had to deal with not Liu Bei and Cao Cao, but two forces.

Including the world's top strategists.

Zhang Bao shook his head slightly: "There is no news from Guandu, but it seems that a letter has been sent from Liangzhou, saying that the Liangzhou man has a counselor and a general who want to surrender to us."

Yuju?

After just a little thought, Zhang Jue realized who the person from Liangzhou was.

"Dong Zhongying?"

"Dong Zhongying, the minister who assisted the country back then, and later returned to Xiliang with a group of people after the great changes in Chang'an?"

"He has a counsellor and military commander under him?"

Zhang Jue raised his eyebrows. He knew the delicate relationship between the Guandu Chen family and Liangzhou.

He immediately said: "Reply and tell them that I will personally welcome them when they arrive in Linjing!"

Although Zhang Jue was excited at this time, he didn't know who the people coming were. He just discovered through some inexplicable intuition that these two people might be related to the Chen family.

Jingzhou
Officially

A carriage was moving forward unsteadily, followed by a group of soldiers.

Next to the carriage there was a young general who looked like a young man, wearing silver armor, holding a bright silver spear in his hand, with a handsome face and unparalleled appearance.

"Zilong? Zilong?"

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a middle-aged man was sitting in the carriage, gently greeting Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun rode his horse to the carriage with a curious look on his face: "Mr. Wenhe, what's the matter?"

Jia Xu smiled slightly and said calmly: "Before we set out, the general said that he had a letter to send to Liu Zi'an in Jingzhou. Now we have arrived in Jingzhou City, right? Let's stop for a while and go meet this person."

After Zhao Yun said "oh", he immediately gave the order.

Jia Xu looked at the Jingzhou City standing outside and sighed slightly.

"The world is about to change again."

The third year of Tiantai, winter.

An urgent report was quickly sent from Guandu City to Liangzhou, Youzhou, Chang'an, Langya, Jiaozhou, and Linjing City.

Langya
Cao Cao looked at the letter in his hand and trembled slightly: "How is this possible?"

His voice was hoarse and his face was filled with disbelief: "Dong Lin was in good health a few years ago, how could he suddenly become critically ill?"

Cao Cao raised his head in panic and said, "Prepare the horses! I want to go to Guandu!"

In Chang'an City, after learning that Chen Zhulou was critically ill, Liu Bei also reacted quickly and prepared his horse to head to Guandu City.

However, the Sun family of Jiaozhou and Gongsun Zan of Youzhou all felt it was a little unbelievable, but then they became a little excited.

After Chen Zhulou passed away, would the Chen family still have the time to take care of world affairs?
Then hasn't their chance come?
Dayu
Looking at the letter in front of him, Zhang Jue let out a long sigh.

"Why bother?"

(End of this chapter)