The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 330: Anyone who disobeys the Prime Minister's order will be killed without mercy
When Cai Mao returned to his mansion, Cai Zhong, Cai He and Zhang Yun all rushed over. Apparently, all three of them had received the news that Cai Mao had been promoted to General Zhennan.

Cai Zhong and Cai He were cousins ​​of Cai Mao, while Zhang Yun was Cai Mao's accomplice. He was Liu Biao's nephew, but had a bad relationship with Liu Qi and supported Liu Cong.

If it had happened in the past, it would not have been a big deal, but now that Liu Qi has gone to Chang'an, Liu Cong will follow Madam Cai to Shanyang, bury Liu Biao, and then go to Chang'an.

As a result, Zhang Yun was in an awkward position. Among the three major forces of Liu Bei, Kuai Liang and Cai Mao, he could only choose Cai Mao. After all, the two had cooperated before.

"Oh! I am so ashamed of the Prime Minister. If I had known that the Prime Minister would make me the General of Zhennan, why would I join forces with Liu Bei?" Cai Mao knelt on the soft mat with a bitter look on his face.

Liu Qi was in charge of the governor of the state remotely. Jingzhou had a governor for civil affairs and a general for military affairs. Even the power of the general for military affairs was higher than that of the governor. This was clearly a great favor from him! It was ridiculous that he even surrendered to Liu Bei and gave his daughter to him.

Can Liu Bei let himself be the General of Zhennan? Nothing.

With General Zhennan in hand, Cai's interests can naturally be protected.

In the end, you are the one who suffers the loss.

"Brother, Nanjun is the territory of our Cai family. If Guan Yu becomes the prefect of Nanjun, it may be detrimental to our Cai family!" Cai Zhong said quickly.

"Yes! Since the Prime Minister values ​​my Cai family so much, why doesn't he let someone from my Cai family be the prefect of Nanjun?" Cai He was also somewhat dissatisfied.

"Foolish, are there governors under the Prime Minister's rule? Even the county governors have county secretaries and county lieutenants to check them?" Cai Mao snorted coldly, "In Jingzhou, the Cai family and the Kuai family check and balance each other. This is the Prime Minister's original intention. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are both people who have made contributions, so they can be rewarded."

Cai Mao stroked his beard and shook his head.

Everyone knows that this is Qin Shou's attempt to sow discord in Jingzhou, but what can he do? He can do it with reason and evidence, and can make them speechless. This is the benefit of using the emperor to control the princes.

But the benefits are right in front of them, and no one wants to give up. Why not become a General of Zhennan and become a General of the Central Army? Cai Mao is so stupid, and he believes that there will be no such stupid person in the Kuai family.

As for Liu Bei, does he have the qualifications? With less than a thousand soldiers and generals not as good as Guan, Zhang and Zhao, they had no way to defeat the huge Jingzhou family and could only serve as his governor.

"Brother, what about the Kuai family?" Cai He's eyes showed a hint of ambition.

Liu Biao was able to control Jingzhou back then, so why couldn't the Cai family do the same? The Cai family had soldiers and generals, money and food, and now they had become the General of Zhennan, so why couldn't they take charge of Jingzhou?

"The Kuai family will not give up Jingzhou. They will join forces with several other families." Cai Mao shook his head.

He was only one step away from controlling Jingzhou, but wasn't the Kuai family the same? As things had developed to this point, neither the Cai family nor the Kuai family could retreat, and neither would the Huang family. Once they retreated, the family's century-old glory would disappear and be replaced by others.

Compared with the Kuai family, the Cai family controls military power and has money and food, and is far more powerful than the Kuai brothers. The only thing the Kuai family can do is to join forces with other major families to resist Cai Mao's annexation.

It can be seen that after Liu Biao's death, Jingzhou would not only not be at peace, but would fall into war instead. And all this was just an imperial decree from Qin Shou.

"Drive Liu Bei away first, and then fight with Kuai family." Zhang Yun suggested.

Cai Mao nodded and had no choice but to agree. He originally wanted to make himself, the General Zhennan, a subordinate of Liu Bei.

In the Kuai family mansion, the brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue were also sitting together. Sitting with them were the old brothers Sima Hui and Huang Chengyan, both of whom had a wry smile on their faces.

I didn't expect that after all the calculations, I would actually be involved in the calculation. I am so old, and I still have to go to Chang'an. My life and death are not in my own hands.

"This move of the Prime Minister is really powerful! Cai Mao is short-sighted. He will never give up the benefits he has obtained and give up the position of General Zhennan. He will not even give up the position of Prefect of Nanjun." Huang Chengyan sighed.

The scheme of his good son-in-law was very powerful, but he was not bad either. He directly caught Liu Bei's weakness and made a ruthless move. As the uncle of the Han emperor, you always claim to be a descendant of the Han Dynasty. You can't even ignore the emperor's edict! Moreover, the emperor was not bad to you. He gave you the positions of Zhendong General and Taishou. Wouldn't you accept the edict? I'm afraid Liu Bei's reputation will be stinking on the street.

It's an open and aboveboard plot. It's an imperial decree from the emperor. Who dares to disobey?
"Are you ready to give in?" Huang Chengyan asked.

After hearing this, Kuai Liang didn't know what to do.

If he retreats, Jingzhou may belong to Liu Bei, but it is also possible that the Kuai family will be destroyed by the Cai family. The loss of money is secondary. If things go wrong, even his life may be in danger.

But if they don't retreat, Jingzhou will definitely fall into chaos, and it will be very difficult to deal with the Cavalry Army in the future.

Kuai Liang was not yet merciful enough to abandon his own family.

Huang Chengyan immediately understood the other party's thoughts when he saw this, but he didn't say anything. This was human nature, and Huang Chengyan was not noble enough to give up the Huang family for Jingzhou. Jiangxia was the Huang family's territory.

No matter who you are, don't even think about it.

Huang Zu is a member of the Huang family and controls Jiangxia. How could he fall into Zhang Fei's hands?

"Is Mr. Shuijing going to Beijing?" Cai Mao asked Sima Hui.

Mr. Shui Jing is a famous scholar in Jingzhou and has many disciples. Now that the imperial court wants to recruit such a person to come to the capital, no one dares to stop him unless he himself does not want to go.

However, the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict stopped Sima Hui from speaking.

Do you want to be a subject of the Han Dynasty?

These famous scholars often refused the court's invitations and were proud of it. The court also cooperated and invited them again, thus gaining a reputation for the court's love of talent.

But since Qin Shou took charge of the government, everything has changed. He forced the appointment and now even issued an imperial decree, explicitly requiring the other party to accept the court's appointment.

The emperor's edict is as overwhelming as a mountain tidal wave. Anyone who dares to disobey it is not a subject of the Han Dynasty. Who would dare to bear such a crime?

Huang Chengyan didn't dare, and Sima Hui didn't dare either.

"The Prime Minister is too overbearing."

Huang Chengyan smiled bitterly.

This looks like the emperor's edict, but everyone knows that this is Qin Shou's order, which was only issued through the imperial edict.

"If you can't do it, just pretend to be sick!" Sima Hui said with a wry smile.

"Decao, do you think it's okay to pretend to be sick?" Huang Chengyan sneered, "According to the imperial edict, you will die on the way to Chang'an, unless you stop being a minister of the Han Dynasty. But do you know what will happen if you stop being a minister of the Han Dynasty?"

There was murderous intent flashing in Huang Chengyan's eyes.

Sima Hui's face turned pale. If he didn't want to be a subject of the Han Dynasty, he would be an enemy of the Han Dynasty. He was killed on the spot, and no one dared to criticize Qin Shou's cruelty.

(End of this chapter)