I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 98 What are you barking at?
Jia Xu was also a ruthless man. He immediately suggested, "My lord, you have the Hongming Sword in your hand, which is extremely powerful. The Eighth Battalion of the Northern Army and the New Army of Hedong will also march south soon. They can decide the outcome in one fell swoop. Why bother to waste time arguing with these people from the old party?"

Jia Xu, who was born in Liangzhou, was accustomed to the killing and rebellion between the Han and Qiang peoples. Therefore, although he was well-read, he had no sense of "loyalty, righteousness and morality" in his heart.

In his opinion, there is no question of whether or not something can be done in this world. For the sake of greater interests, moral constraints can be discarded.

Wang Jing raised the wine cup, smelled the intoxicating aroma, and asked Jia Xu with a slightly tipsy look, "Does Wenhe want me to learn from Dong Zhuo and use the emperor to control the princes? Or does he want me to depose the emperor and establish myself?"

Jia Xu's eyes lit up when he heard this.

He thought his words were bold enough, but he didn't expect Wang Jing's words to be even bolder than his. He even dared to say such treasonous words as "depose the emperor and establish himself as emperor", as casually as if he was discussing whether the family should replace the watchdog.

This new lord is very brave and is becoming more and more to my liking!
Just like that, the two heretics began to talk about all kinds of outrageous topics.

Wang Jing poured a glass of wine for Jia Xu as well, then looked at him, smiled softly and asked: "Wenhe, have you ever brewed wine?"

Jia Xu took the wine cup, took a sip and replied, "No, but I have seen others brew it."

Wang Jing smiled and explained to him: "Winemaking requires cooking the grains, then stirring, mixing, piling, adding yeast, and sealing them. It then needs to ferment for a long time before you can get a jar of mellow and intoxicating wine. Among all these, patience is the most important thing. People without patience cannot make real good wine."

Jia Xu understood this analogy and praised him, "My lord, you are indeed very far-sighted. I cannot compare with you."

Wang Jing smiled casually: "Dong Zhuo used the emperor to control the princes, but did the princes obey him? Although I come from an aristocratic family, can the Wang family of Taiyuan command the aristocratic families of the world? In this case, even if I can control the emperor, how can I win the hearts of the scholars of the world? As for deposing and enthroning the emperor, the disadvantages are greater than the advantages for me. Some things are not impossible to do, but now is not the time."

In the history of the Three Kingdoms, both Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo used the emperor to control the princes, but one succeeded and the other failed, and the results were worlds apart.

Therefore, some successes cannot be replicated. We must see the essence through the phenomenon. Otherwise, no matter how hard we try, we will only be imitating others without success and become a laughing stock for eternity.

The people giving orders to the current coalition of princes are Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. These two brothers don't even submit to Yuan Wei, so how can they submit to Wang Jing?
Therefore, killing Yuan Wei and Yang Biao would only further intensify the conflict and then cause Luoyang to be destroyed in the flames of war.

Now is definitely not a good time to start a full-scale war with the Yuan family of Runan, so Wang Jing did not touch Yuan Wei and Yang Biao.

Wang Jing's frankness not only showed his ambition, but also demonstrated his vision, courage and talent, which convinced Jia Xu.

When troubled times come, the ruler will choose his subjects, and the subjects will choose their ruler.

If Wang Jing fails to demonstrate sufficient ability, an absolutely rational strategist like Jia Xu will definitely kill you first, and then take the opportunity to jump to a more promising force.

In history, Jia Xu had a long history in this regard and had killed many fools.

However, after a frank conversation between the two, Jia Xu finally realized how powerful Wang Jing was and decided to serve him wholeheartedly.

The next day, the court meeting was held as scheduled.

With the help of Zou and Diao Chan, Wang Jing put on his court clothes, then drove to Nangong and went straight to Quefei Hall to attend the court meeting.

The black court robe with red on Wang Jing showed his extraordinary might, fierce and domineering. Wearing the eaves cap, he was different from other civil officials wearing the Jinxian cap, and he looked like a crane standing out from the crowd.

"Marquis Qi is here!"

"As expected, he is young and promising, and full of vigor and energy!"

Among a group of uncles and even grandfathers who are over forty years old with gray hair on their temples, Wang Jing, who is only twenty-one years old, is so young and energetic. In addition, after being transformed by the "Nine Refinings of True Yang" technique, his figure and temperament have become more perfect, giving people a sense of wise and powerful majesty.

Where there are people, there is the world of martial arts. Now that Wang Jing is in a high position, there are people in the court who want to curry favor with him, and naturally there are also people who are very unhappy with him.

"Are you Wang Yuanxu?"

Sikong Liu Hong stepped forward and taunted: "It's true that meeting in person is not as good as hearing about it."

Wang Jing glanced at him with his eyes slanted. "Who is this dog? How dare you bark in front of this general?"

"伱!"

Liu Hong was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. He was born in the royal family and was an old minister, so he had a high status in the court. When Emperor Ling was alive, no one dared to deny face to this elder.

But Wang Jing actually dared to call him a dog!

What is more humiliating than contempt is being ignored, and Liu Hong felt that he was being ignored.

If he hadn't heard that Wang Jing was good at fighting, Liu Hong would have wanted to pick up the jade tablet in his hand and smash it on Wang Jing's forehead, leaving him with blood all over his face: "I am Liu Hong!"

"Liu Hong? You don't have a son named Liu Bei, do you?"

Wang Jing was a little surprised. After all, the Liu Hong in front of him looked to be in his early 40s, while Liu Bei was almost 30 years old. Could it be that he got married and had children at the age of 11 or 12?
This is a bit fierce.

When Liu Hong heard this, he was so angry that he blew his beard and glared at Wang Jing: "Who is Liu Bei?"

"He used to sell straw sandals in Youzhou..."

"shut up!"

Seeing that Liu Hong seemed to be about to take action, several old officials who were standing behind him ran out and held him back: "Brother Zigao, please don't be impulsive. It won't happen."

"Let me go, I'm going to fight him today! He actually said that a street vendor selling straw sandals is my son, that's really too much."

Although Liu Hong was being dragged away, he really couldn't swallow this anger.

It was only because someone among the ministers happened to know Lu Zhi that he knew Liu Bei and told Liu Bei's identity to Liu Hong.

At this time, Wang Yun heard the news and rushed over. After knowing the cause and effect of the matter, he found Wang Jing and explained the situation with a smile: "The Liu Bei you mentioned, his father is indeed also called Liu Hong. He and Liu Sikong just happen to have the same name, but they are not the same person."

Wang Jing just shrugged his shoulders and disagreed.

"Yuan Xu, why don't you just go and apologize to Liu Sikong? It's not worth offending a senior official for such a small matter."

Wang Yun still cared about Wang Jing, after all, he was his own son.

However, Wang Jing smiled and refused: "Father, there is no need to apologize. Even if I am willing to apologize now, I am afraid Liu Sikong will not accept it."

Wang Yun was stunned, obviously not understanding: "Why?"

Wang Jing did not answer, but kept it a secret: "Don't worry, father will know everything soon."

The process of the court discussion was quite boring. A group of so-called celebrities who talked about benevolence, righteousness and morality were sanctimoniously dividing up the remaining political benefits after Dong Zhuo's defeat. They were willing to argue over it until their faces turned red. In essence, they were no different from hungry dogs fighting for food. They also said that Confucianism does not talk about profit.

The results of it?
When it came time to fight, no one seemed to be truly upright and honorable, and they were almost beaten to a pulp.

In Wang Jing's opinion, the so-called ministers before him, all of them kept talking about the teachings of the sages, but in fact they were both hypocritical and petty. Once the fig leaf was torn off them, they would probably be labeled as scumbags of the civilized world.

Taifu Yuan Wei and Si Tu Yang Biao, one of them was the emperor's teacher, ranking above the three ministers, and the other was in charge of personnel, the head of all officials. After they finished arguing, Wang Jing stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Liu Xie sat upright on the imperial throne, looking at Wang Jing with a slightly flattering expression: "Marquis Qi, you can speak frankly if you have anything to say."

"After Dong Zhuo's death, the position of Sikong was left vacant. Shangshu Ling Wang Yun is a man of integrity and high moral character, so he can take over this position."

As soon as Wang Jing opened his mouth, his words shocked everyone, and the civil and military officials in the court were stunned.

Are you going to dismiss one of the three highest officials right from the start?

Isn’t it so exciting!

Suddenly everyone was waiting to watch the show, and they were just about to bring benches to sit down and eat the show.

But others can watch the show, but Liu Hong can't.

Because after Dong Zhuo was gone, he should be the Sikong!
What Wang Jing wanted to grab was the spot under his butt!
In order to save Chrysanthemum, Liu Hong stood out in front of all the civil and military officials and said, "General Du Liao, what do you mean by this? When has the position of Sikong been vacant? I am standing right in front of you!"

Wang Jing glanced at him, his tone was contemptuous, and his eyes were full of contempt: "Hasn't your position been dismissed by the court?" Liu Hong immediately retorted: "That was Dong Zhuo's order, how can it count!"

"Does it count or not? Is it up to you to decide?"

Wang Jing sneered, then looked around and asked loudly in front of all the civil and military officials: "As the saying goes, one should not avoid relatives when selecting talents. Today I want to recommend Shangshu Ling Wang Yun as the Minister of Works. Who is in favor and who is against?"

Liu Hong still thought he had a sure win and that Wang Jing's move would definitely be unpopular.

However, he did not expect that what he waited for was not everyone's criticism of Wang Jing, but the voices of approval from Taifu Yuan Wei, Si Tu Yang Biao and others.

"I agree."

"I agree."

The voices of approval completely shattered Liu Hong's confidence and composure, and his heart plummeted to the bottom: "How could this be? How could this be!"

He couldn't understand why he was sold.

In the past two days, Wang Jing asked Shi A to arrest people everywhere, which offended many powerful officials and nobles, including Liu Hong's son. That's why Liu Hong jumped out to find fault with Wang Jing, trying to embarrass him at the court meeting, put pressure on him, and finally drag everyone together to force Wang Jing to release the people.

Liu Hong had arranged everything privately and was ready to attack Wang Jing at any time, but the current development of the situation was completely beyond his expectations.

Now not only did he fail to save his son, but he was also losing his position as one of the Three Dukes?

Just thinking about it makes me feel like I’m losing money!
"Do you know that this is helping the tyrant? Are there still laws? Are there still rules?"

Liu Hong kept asking, but facing his tearful accusation, Yuan Wei, Yang Biao and others chose to close their eyes and not look at him.

Wang Jing walked in front of Liu Hong with steady and calm steps and said, "See? This is what they call "the righteous will have many supporters, while the unrighteous will have few supporters."

"Your Majesty, please make the decision for me!"

Liu Hong refused to give up and even wanted to rely on Emperor Liu Xie to turn the tables.

However, Wang Jing, Yuan Wei and Yang Biao joined forces to control the government, and the decisions they made could not be overturned even by the emperor. The young monarch who could not rule the country personally was just a puppet. Although he had a title, he had no power to control the situation at all.

Seeing Liu Hong, who came from a royal family, being pinned to death by three people, Liu Xie felt extremely uncomfortable. After all, his surname was also Liu. But now, he could do nothing. He didn't even dare to respond to Liu Hong's expectations. He could only choose to remain silent.

Liu Hong was in complete despair, shouting: "The Han Dynasty will perish! The Han Dynasty will perish!"

"Someone, come here, Liu Zigao has behaved inappropriately in front of the palace, take him away and let him have a good rest, or he will go crazy and talk nonsense here again."

Wang Jing was too lazy to look at Liu Hong's ugly appearance and directly called a team of guards to carry him away.

Soon, Liu Hong, who was cursing, was forcibly carried out of the hall by the guards.

The ministers who were originally watching the show now looked disappointed and didn't know what to say.

Everything that happened before their eyes made them realize that times had changed. Luoyang had officially entered a situation where three heroes coexisted. The choice of which side to join would determine the future prospects and destiny of many people.

Therefore, the original neutral faction no longer cared about Liu Hong's fate. If they chose the wrong side, Liu Hong's today would be their tomorrow.

Liu Hong being removed from the position of one of the Three Dukes was only a prelude. Afterwards, almost everyone in Wang Jing's faction was promoted to higher positions. Wang Yun was appointed Sikong, Xun Shuang was appointed Shaofu, Shisun Rui was appointed Da Si Nong, Yang Zan was appointed Shangshu, etc. It can be said that they were all sitting in a row and sharing the spoils. All the court officials were envious when they saw this.

After returning to West Garden, Wang Jing called Xun You and Jia Xu.

The two of them looked happy: "Congratulations, my lord."

Wang Jing waved his hand modestly: "It's just some worthless reputation."

Although a large number of official positions were taken away, his own luck did not increase substantially. It can be seen that this honorary title is not recognized by human luck at all. If he wants to truly increase his own luck, he still needs enough territory and population.

Having said that, at least after Wang Jing's actions, the situation was temporarily stabilized.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and smiled: "It's really hard for Yuan Taifu and Yang Situ. They agreed to such harsh conditions. And it seems that the royalists have been sold out completely."

Within the Yanhan Dynasty, both at the central and local levels, there were people from the royal family who served as high-ranking officials and held important posts. For example, Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, and Liu Biao, the newly appointed governor of Jingzhou, were all local officials from the royal family.

As for Liu Hong, he was the only remaining member of the royal family in the central power. Now that Wang Jing has been removed, there is no royal family member with any influence in the capital, and the royalist faction has suffered a heavy blow.

This move naturally caused dissatisfaction and criticism among the ministers.

After the court meeting is over, I am afraid that the censors will be unable to restrain their pens again, and there will be no shortage of disputes such as impeachment and cursing.

But Wang Jing didn't care much about these barkings. What concerned him was another matter: "The biggest trouble now is my identity as General Du Liao. I wanted to take the position of Right General, but was strongly opposed by Yuan Wei."

Xun You pinched his beard and thought about it for a moment, and immediately saw through Yuan Wei's intention: "After the Du Liao General, the next position is the Right General. Why should you be stingy with a gold seal? It seems that Yuan Taifu and Yang Situ don't want the lord to lead the troops to station in Luoyang."

General Du Liao is a miscellaneous general, specially appointed to guard the northern border. Above him are the four generals front, rear, left and right, which are the highest level that an ordinary military general can reach.

Above that are the unconventional titles and positions such as General of Chariots and Cavalry, General of Heavy Cavalry and General-in-Chief, which cannot be achieved by relying on military exploits.

Logically speaking, since Yuan Wei and Yang Biao had allowed the New Party to which Wang Jing and Wang Yun belonged to grow stronger within the court, wouldn't it be harmless to appoint Wang Jing as the rear general?
It's nothing more than paying more salaries. From a rank of two thousand dan to a rank of medium two thousand dan, it's just an extra thirty hu of rice per month. Does the court still need this little money?

There seems to be no difference anyway.

But in fact, there is a huge difference!

The Du Liao General was a frontier general who was not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict. The Right General, on the other hand, was responsible for leading troops to garrison the border and the capital, and their powers were completely different.

As a result, Yuan Wei and Yang Biao tried their best to prevent Wang Jing from becoming the right general, hoping that he would hang out outside and would never allow Wang Jing to enter Luoyang legitimately.

And Wang Jing was indeed stumped.

Dong Zhuo was dead, and without the just cause, the Hedong troops could not openly enter the capital, otherwise it would inevitably trigger a conflict and destroy the peaceful situation in Luoyang.

Yuan Wei and Yang Biao's tactics were very clever, but Jia Xu was dismissive of them: "This is nothing more than a cover-up. Do you think that a mere reputation can stop the tens of thousands of soldiers of the lord?"

After deciding to sincerely serve Wang Jing, Jia Xu no longer concealed his incompetence and suggested: "My lord, the defeated Xiliang army still occupies Hangu Pass and Tongguan Pass, threatening Guanzhong. Chang'an is the western capital of the Han Dynasty, how can it be destroyed by the rebellious army? I beg you to send troops to wipe out the rebels."

Before Jia Xu finished speaking, Xun You clapped his hands and sighed, praising him: "What a good plan to attack Guo by pretending to be a pretext for attacking Guo and to use Li as a substitute for Tao Jiang!"

Seeing that Wang Jing was confused, Xun You smiled and said, "Let Wen He explain it. I won't take the credit."

"Gongda is joking."

Jia Xu, who was well versed in the art of self-preservation, never did anything to offend his colleagues. He nodded to Xun You, and then he explained his strategy to Wang Jing.

Three days passed in a blink of an eye.

As Wang Yun was promoted to the high position of one of the Three Dukes and served as the Minister of Works, a political faction with Wang Jing as the core began to take shape and compete with the Yuan family of Runan and the Yang family of Hongnong.

However, the replacement of positions in the core of the imperial court can only be regarded as a small matter now. The entry of the Northern Army into the capital is the top priority for everyone!
February 12th, the eighth day after the beginning of spring.

The river water is warm in spring, and Xu Huang, who has succeeded Shi A as the commander of the Tiger Guards, is sailing south. Crossing the river with him are 10,000 new recruits from Hedong and 3,000 veteran soldiers from the Northern Army in Luoyang.

The warships docked, and soldiers swarmed out and quickly occupied Mengjin Port.

The army is over ten thousand strong and has no boundaries.

Xu Huang was strict in military management. The Hedong soldiers trained by him, although new recruits, had strict formation and strict discipline, and had already formed the outline of a strong army.

There were no garrisons at all in Mengjin Port, only some constables and yamen runners. How dare they stop the army from landing?
(End of this chapter)