People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 381 The Han Dynasty is dead!

"What? The Han is dead!"

When the news of Liu Xie's surrender spread throughout the coalition forces, this very complicated sentence was the first thought that popped into the minds of countless scholars. It contained great shock, confusion and reluctance.

The Han Dynasty, which has dominated this land for hundreds of years, has died just like that!

If Liu Xie were still here, I'm afraid many people would angrily ask, "Your Majesty, we are ready to fight to the death, why did you surrender first?"

No matter how weak the Han Dynasty was, no matter how disloyal the princes were, the Han Dynasty and the Emperor Liu were still the white moonlight in the hearts of a large number of scholars. The emperor's surrender was tantamount to the collapse of their faith.

They could not understand Liu Xie's behavior. After all, only Liu Xie himself knew his distress. Although the scholars worshipped Liu Xie highly, they would not empathize with his real situation.

When the Yellow Turbans had quietly retreated and the plague began to spread, countless scholars secretly shed tears and felt sad because of the emperor's surrender.

But compared to the collapse of the Han Dynasty, the more important thing is how to build a new order in the south after the collapse of the country. Whether it is Cao, Liu, Sun, or the civil and military officials below, they have always been officials of the Han Dynasty in name.

Now that the Han Dynasty is gone and the emperor is gone, these people also need to find new identities for themselves.

The outbreak of the plague brought a disaster here. Although Cao Cao carried out many prevention and control measures according to Xun Yu's methods, they were still far behind the Yellow Turbans in terms of health mechanisms, and ultimately failed to control the spread of the plague.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the armies of Cao, Liu and Sun died in the plague. After the Yellow Turbans withdrew, the dead soldiers were buried in piles every day.

As the plague continued to spread, the entire camp fell into deathly silence. The death toll had reached a horrifying level, so much so that everyone had given up trying and left everything to fate. They even gave up on doing basic things like burying the bodies because they simply could not bury them all.

A large number of corpses were exposed in the camps and the wilderness. Flies covered every corner of the earth. The stench lasted for several months and could not be dissipated. Many of the few soldiers who survived by chance could not endure this torture. Some suffered mental breakdowns and went crazy, while others committed suicide.

However, this is not the most terrifying thing. An epidemic outbreak involving an army of hundreds of thousands of people could not avoid spreading. Although Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan all tried to control the army, the plague still inevitably began to spread to the surrounding areas.

The thing they were most worried about happened, and the people were also affected. Plagues began to appear in Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Jingzhou one after another. Large numbers of people began to die in villages everywhere. The situation in county towns with a more concentrated population was even more terrible, with almost nine out of ten houses being empty.

The outbreak of this plague was undoubtedly a huge disaster for the South. The direct population loss alone was irreparable damage. Without population, there would be nothing. It can be predicted that their days will become even more difficult in the future.

But even so, Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan had no choice but to accept this fact.

Fortunately, the arrival of the plague was not without some benefits. It helped them avoid the immediate crisis and drove away the main force of the Yellow Turbans.

If not, they would not be able to hold on right now, and everything would be meaningless.

After experiencing this war and the ravages of the plague, the originally prosperous city of Xuchang has become withered. Now that the plague is not over yet, Liu Bei and Sun Quan dare not leave at all, otherwise they will only bring disaster back to their own territory. They can only stay where they are and wait.

As some of the decision-makers in the South today, they need to make arrangements for the future fate of the South.

The emperor surrendered, and the Han Dynasty's reputation completely collapsed. What to do next became a big question.

Sun Quan, Zhou Yu, Liu Bei, Xu Shu, Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others met in the camp outside the city to discuss matters when the plague was at its most dangerous. The main issue now was what to do after the emperor surrendered, and under what name to resist Xuan Xia.

"Perhaps, we can choose a relative of the Han royal family to establish another emperor." The first person to speak was Zhou Yu.

After this proposal came out, everyone's expression changed. This might not be a bad option. They actually had similar ideas.

The fact that Liu Xie surrendered was irreversible, and without the banner of the Han Dynasty, the various princes lacked a powerful name to consolidate their own positions, and even the banner of the alliance to resist Xuan Xia was gone.

At this time, they urgently needed to come up with a new banner to unite people and consolidate their position.

Liu Xie is just a tool anyway. Since this tool is disobedient and runs away, just replace it with another one. This is actually not a difficult task. There are thousands of royal family members in the Han Dynasty, and you can find one easily.

Even Liu Bei's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly put the idea to rest.

Even if they really wanted to find a new relative of the Han royal family to be the emperor, he could only be a controllable puppet, otherwise Cao Cao and Sun Quan would not agree.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei glanced at Xu Shu, and Xu Shu nodded slightly, and he understood what was going on.

Just as he was about to say something in agreement, Cao Cao suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts. "The emperor has surrendered, and the scholars and officials know it well. The Han Dynasty has already collapsed. Why should we continue to deceive ourselves? Instead of supporting a false emperor, I think it is better for a capable person to establish his own country!"

When these words were spoken, everyone's heart was shocked. They all looked and saw Cao Cao's calm face.

Cao Cao also looked at everyone, and when he looked around, whether it was Liu Bei, Sun Quan or Zhou Yu, they all remained silent. Although they did not make a clear statement, one could clearly see the intention in their eyes and brows.

This did not surprise Cao Cao. Among the princes of the world, all of them wanted to establish their own faction. Pretending to be a Han minister would disgust both the Han Dynasty and himself.

In fact, if Liu Xie had not surrendered, Cao Cao might not have had the ambition to establish himself. At least on the surface, he was still a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. Even until his death, he would not proclaim himself emperor. He could let his son or grandson do this, but he was unwilling to do it himself.

I, Cao Cao, was once a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.
But now that Liu Xie has surrendered himself, there is no point in insisting on this. There is no need to cling to this broken car of the Han Dynasty. It is better to set up his own faction and truly satisfy his heart.

Even if our current strength and conditions are not mature, it doesn’t matter. If we don’t do this now, we may not have this opportunity in the future.

Even Yuan Shu, a dead body in the grave, dared to proclaim himself emperor. Could it be that I am not as courageous as him?

After all, the present time is different from the past. People in the world have lost even the last bit of hope for the Han Dynasty. It would be foolish to continue to be pretentious. This is the time to establish a clear stand and establish one's own faction to stabilize people's hearts!
After all, Sun Quan was young and not as shrewd as Cao and Liu. At this time, he looked anxious: "Is this okay?"

Zhou Yu's eyes flashed, but he didn't rush to speak.

Liu Bei's expression also changed slightly. He looked at Xu Shu and remained silent.

Seeing that they were silent, Cao Cao was not annoyed but laughed. Not expressing an opinion on such matters was tantamount to consent. If Liu Bei and Zhou Yu were unwilling, they would definitely speak out against it. His silence said it all.

"When Xu Chen first occupied Youzhou, he dared to establish the Xuanxia Kingdom. If he could do it, why can't we do it?"

Cao Cao stood up while speaking. His expression and actions showed his pride. "Besides, even the Emperor Liu doesn't care about the name of the Han Dynasty. Why should we bother to support it? Everyone in the world knows that the Han Dynasty is dead. Even if we carry a corpse to cover it up, it will only make people laugh at us."

The room became even quieter, but Liu Bei and Sun Quan's expressions became more moved, and they were obviously touched by Cao Cao's words.

In fact, what Cao Cao said did make sense. The moment Liu Xie surrendered, the Han Dynasty was essentially destroyed. Even if they had a puppet emperor now, it would only be deceiving themselves. The scholars of the world would not be able to recognize such a Han Dynasty.

Xun Yu is the one who has the most say on this point. As a scholar who was once loyal to the Han Dynasty, he has completely given up hope.

So, he stood up and began to plan the establishment of a country for his current real lord Cao Cao.

"The emperor surrendered, and the people's hearts were scattered. The banner of the Han emperor is no longer enough to unite the people. Now that the Yellow Peril of Xuanxia is imminent, the heroes of the southern states and counties can only step forward to turn the tide. The matter of establishing a country may seem bold, but it is actually a necessary move. At this critical moment, how can you still hesitate!"

Xun Yu made the matter clear, and what he said was an irrefutable reason.

Nothing is more important than fighting against Xuan Xia. Since the flag of the Han Dynasty can no longer be used, we should go all out and set up our own flag. This will help us quickly win over the hearts of the people and comply with the ambitions of the princes.

Cao Cao also launched a final psychological offensive at this time: "I intend to build the State of Wei, but the power of my own country is still not enough to resist Xuan Xia. Why can't you two become allies of the State of Wei?"

To form an alliance with Wei, one must at least have the status of a country. It was obvious that Cao Cao was urging them to make a decision.

Sun Quan's breathing suddenly became rapid. He had never thought about establishing a country and becoming an emperor. Subconsciously, he almost agreed to it, but at the last moment, he still looked at Zhou Yu.

Whenever he had any doubts about foreign affairs, he would ask Zhou Yu, and he still remembered this sentence.

When he saw Zhou Yu nod slowly, he was so ecstatic that he almost agreed immediately, but Liu Bei took the lead and started speaking.

"The Han Dynasty will not perish. I, Liu Bei, will pick up the country that Liu Xie lost!"

At this time, Liu Bei suddenly stood up, and said this in a decisive manner, and finally looked at Cao Cao: "I will establish the Han Kingdom in Jingzhou to continue the destiny of the Han Dynasty!"

Sun Quan was silent for a long time, but finally refused to give in: "The Sun family will establish the Wu Kingdom in Jiangdong and form an alliance with Wei and Han to fight against Xuan Xia!"

(End of this chapter)