Great Han Empire

Chapter 721
In October, the generals in Jizhou and Handan went to the camp.

The situation in Guanzhong and Kanxi continued to change suddenly, and the emperor was at stake, while the prefectures in Hebei were so busy with disaster relief and autumn harvest and planting that they were unable to look around for a while.

After the flood, it was high temperature in summer, and there was no time to bury the bodies of dead people and livestock, so the plague inevitably broke out.Regardless of fatigue, Li Hong, Zhang Yan and others led tens of thousands of troops to fight day and night on the front line of disaster relief. Master Xiang Kai led the disciples of Dazhitang to treat diseases and prevent epidemics everywhere risking their lives.Master Hua Tuo also rushed to Hebei with his disciples.At the end of September, the weather turned cold and the epidemic was finally brought under effective control.

At the same time, autumn harvest and autumn planting began in the three states of Hebei.Jizhou was hit by the disaster and grain production was reduced. If Hebei wants to survive the crisis safely, it must ensure that more than 300 million victims of the disaster have enough food and clothing, and they must help them rebuild their homes and re-cultivate the land. The most critical period is this winter and next spring.For this reason, Li Hong urgently appealed to the various prefectures in Hebei, trying every means to collect more food and raise relief materials, and make sure that no one of the victims died of starvation or freezing to death.

This catastrophe exhausted Hebei's taxes, food and various materials.Although Hebei is still barely supporting itself, it is like a scarred giant that will collapse at any time.

Money, food and time determine the life and death of Hebei.

At this time, the rich and powerful families in the three states of Hebei showed amazing loyalty. They extended a helping hand at the most critical moment in Hebei.

From the end of July, the eldest princess and Zhang Wen, Ma Rixun, Cui Lie, Yuan Pang and other ministers began to lobby the big clan in Jizhou. Wang Rou, Linghu Shao, Guo Yun and other ministers were ordered to go to Bingzhou to lobby. Su Xian and other ministers rushed to Hedong to lobby, while Xian Yufu, Liu Fan, Tian Chou, Gongsun Zan and other ministers lobbied in Youzhou.The survival of Hebei is directly related to the interests of the rich and powerful families of the three states. After receiving the promise of the eldest princess and Li Hong, they agreed to sell the land and borrow food and supplies on credit, which greatly eased the tension in Hebei.

At the same time, all county offices in the three prefectures of Hebei received letters asking for help from the eldest princess and the general.The eldest princess and the general asked the county governments to post notices and tell the people everywhere, hoping that they could do their best to help more than 300 million victims of the disaster to tide over the difficulties.Without hesitation, the people of Hebei rushed to the county government to donate food and supplies.

The tribes of the Hu tribe in the desert also received a letter from the general, who asked them to donate livestock to Hebei to help the victims survive the winter.The tribal kings of the Hu tribe immediately sent envoys to Jizhou with cattle, sheep and other livestock.

The more than 300 million disaster victims did not fall into panic and despair as in the past, and they did not flee. They had great trust in the general and the various governments in Hebei. Ten days and nights.After the flood subsided, the victims immediately returned to their homes and began reconstruction.

The problem of money and food has been temporarily solved, and the rest is time, and Hebei needs time to recover.

Judging from the current situation, the northern border army has been unable to prevent Yuan Shao from occupying Guanzhong and Kanxi. Yuan Shao's strength will increase rapidly in a short period of time, and Cao Cao and Tian Kai have gained time to recuperate because they escaped the disaster. The strength will also be increased to a certain extent.What Hebei is worried about is whether Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Cao Cao, and Tian Kai will take advantage of the severe disaster in Jizhou and join forces to attack.If Yuan Shao allied all states and counties with soldiers and horses to attack Hebei, the situation would deteriorate again.

This leads to the most difficult question, can the emperor save him?If the emperor is rescued to Hebei, it is tantamount to giving Yuan Shao the best excuse to unite other states and counties to attack Hebei.

If the emperor is not rescued to Hebei, then Kansai cannot be given up, otherwise where will the emperor settle down?If Kansai does not give up, it will hold Yuan Shao back, but the Kansai battlefield is about to start a continuous war, which is a heavy burden for Hebei.

The debate thus became very heated.

=

In the past few years, King Qin has been the consensus of the officials in Hebei, the most urgent matter, and the foundation of the survival of the country.

However, after the northern army entered Guanzhong this spring, the emperor refused to go to Hebei, and united with Yuan Shao and other rebels to besiege the northern army.King Qin failed, and the consensus among the officials in Hebei immediately collapsed.

Immediately after the Yellow River broke its embankment, 300 million victims in Hebei were homeless, and life and death in Hebei were hanging by a thread, which greatly stimulated the officials in Hebei.

Over the past few years, Jinyang University Hall and Handan University Hall have tried their best to promote Zheng Xuan's "New Classics", and Hebei Confucian scholars often gather together to discuss Xunzi's "Grand Ritual and Law" and think about Mencius' " The people are more important than the king".With the gradual deepening of the reform, the officials and scholars in Hebei began to realize that King Qin is not the foundation of the survival of the country, but the survival of thousands of people is the foundation of the survival of the country.

The ideas of the sages have been passed down for hundreds of years. Although they have suffered many catastrophes, judging from the current situation, it is undoubtedly correct.

The Son of Heaven is high above him, appointing traitors, harming the country and the people. In the end, the people have no way out, and the Yellow Turban Army began to rebel. After ten years, the country finally collapsed.The people are unbearable. In the end, the people not only destroy the king, but also the country. If it continues, ZTE Dahan is obviously an unrealistic dream.

The wealth of the people means the prosperity of the country, and the prosperity of the country means the importance of the emperor. This concept has gradually been recognized among the officials in Hebei, and it has finally been widely recognized after the failure of King Qin, the bursting of the Yellow River, and the heavy damage to Hebei.

=

The general never expected that his proposal to give up Kansai, which he planned to serve as the king again, would be opposed by all the people in Hebei.

Those who opposed the most strongly were Zhang Wen, Cui Lie, Ma Rixun and a group of veterans.

Abandoning Kansai, Yuan Shao's strength will increase suddenly.Yuan Shao's strength has risen sharply, and the most direct consequence is that he may rebuild the imperial line.Once the imperial system is rebuilt, there will be two emperors in the Han Dynasty.With the Yellow River as the boundary, the two sides formed a confrontation between the south and the north, and it was even more difficult to calm down the world.

Secondly, to save the emperor, the court will follow to Hebei.Let's not talk about whether the emperor and the court trust the generals and the officials in Hebei, let's talk about the reform.The restructuring of many places in Hebei directly touched the interests of the emperor and the court, and there were many conflicts with the laws of the Han Dynasty.Will the emperor and the imperial court accept and agree to the restructuring of Hebei?Will you continue to insist on restructuring?If the emperor and the imperial court oppose the reform, overthrow the reform, or even hold the reformers accountable for violating the law, what shall we do?
If the great general threatened the emperor with force to rebuild the court, agree and carry out reforms, then in the eyes of the people of the world, what is the difference between the general and Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and other rebels who coerced the emperor to order the world?Didn't Yuan Shao and other rebels just have an excuse to attack Hebei?

Saving the Son of Heaven is tantamount to pushing Hebei into the abyss of ruin. Is it necessary?Is this sensible?
In the past, we had a policy, saying that before the restructuring was completed, we could not be kings, but because of Dong Zhuo's death, Li Jue and Guo Si and other rebels fell into the trap of alienation and killed each other. We are king this year.However, we have a premise for King Qin this year, that is, we must occupy Guanzhong to establish the advantage of calming the world.

However, the reality is quite different from our expectations.Now that we have failed to occupy Guanzhong, Guanxi is at stake, the emperor does not believe us, and Hebei itself is in crisis. road?
=

Veteran ministers like Zhang Wen and Cui Lie spoke out against it, and young ministers like Li Wei, Xie Ming, Sima Lang, Tian Chou, Chen Qun, Cui Yan, Tang Fang, Yu Peng, Chen Hao, and Fu Gan of course echoed loudly.

Old ministers are more conservative and dare not offend the majesty of the emperor, but young ministers are different.

Li Wei and Sima Lang proposed to abandon the emperor and Kansai at the same time.

We have already rescued the emperor once in Guanzhong, and we have no choice but to abandon Guanxi this time. Whether the emperor or bureaucrats, we can neither blame the general nor resent Hebei.

If the Son of Heaven does not come to Hebei, we can not only avoid the danger of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court harming Hebei, carry out reforms smoothly, increase our strength, but also get rid of the misunderstanding of the generals by the people of the world, and at the same time get the support of some state and county officials.

Yuan Shao has always refused to respect the current emperor, and gave him the emperor, allowing Yuan Shao to depose and rebuild the imperial line. In this way, we have time to recover, but Yuan Shao has a big burden on his back.

It will take time for Yuan Shao to stabilize Guanzhong, and it will take time to rebuild the imperial line. Especially when he abolishes the current emperor, he has to take a lot of risks. He must get the support of the officials of various states and counties. For the benefit of Yuan Shao, in order to support the violent expansion of Yuan Shao's strength, he would never easily agree to Yuan Shao's dethroning the current emperor.

Soon, Yuan Shao will consume a lot of energy because of the issue of imperial rule, and will have great conflicts with the officials of various states and counties because of the issue of imperial rule.When Yuan Shao deposed the current emperor, it is estimated that he also betrayed his relatives.At that time, we can reorganize our troops and horses, we can unite all states and counties across the country, and directly kill the Central Plains under the banner of Qin Wang punishing rebels, and pacify the world.

The unanimous opposition of Li Wei, Xie Ming, Yu Peng, Tian Chou, Tang Fang and other cronies and relatives shocked Li Hong a lot.Over the years, it was the first time that he, Li Wei and others had such serious differences on such a major issue.

The unanimous opposition of many veterans, Hebei clans and cronies and relatives put a lot of pressure on Li Hong, and he had to re-examine his proposal.

=

Xun You, Zhang Fan, Zhang Cheng, Zhu Mu, Wei You, Liu Yi, Chen Gong, Zhang Miao, Zang Hong and other ministers who have been in the officialdom for many years, this time, uncharacteristically, firmly supported the general's proposal.

The emperor must be rescued.Although rescuing the Son of Heaven has a great impact on Hebei, and it may be a fatal impact, but as a minister, one cannot lose loyalty and etiquette.If we don't respect etiquette, if we all disregard loyalty, then what qualifications do we have to call others rebellious?What else can we use to serve Wang Xinghan?

Yuan Shao has taken Guanzhong, and Guanxi will never be able to hold it.There is no benefit to defending Kansai, except to make Hebei worse.

"So far, my lords have focused on the disadvantages of rescuing the emperor, but have not thought much about the advantages of rescuing the emperor." Xun You said calmly, "Rescuing the emperor and reorganizing the court, we rely on the strength of Hebei. The majesty of the Great Han can be completely rebuilt. The emperor has the power to command the world, and the court has the force to control the world. How many rebels in the world dare to openly confront the emperor and the court?"

"Back then, why did traitors harm the country? Why did Dong Zhuo move the capital? Why did Li Jue and Guo Si hold the emperor hostage? It's very simple, imperial power. If you have the emperor, you have imperial power. If you have imperial power, you can order the world. If a traitor has imperial power, you will cause chaos The community; the sages who have imperial power can benefit the world. Such supreme power and such great benefits, why do you adults turn a blind eye?"

As soon as Xun You finished speaking, he was immediately criticized by the opposition.

=

After the emperor arrived in Hebei, will he be in power or not?If the Son of Heaven is in power, how can we ensure the continuation of the reform?This issue immediately involved the separation of imperial power and ministerial power, and the reorganization of the official system and the imperial court.How to deal with the old ministers of Chang'an?How did the big officials in Hebei come to power?How to check and balance the power in the court?
When the emperor arrived in Hebei, the imperial court was reorganized. What should the general be?Should the general be in charge of state affairs and hold power?If the general holds power alone, will there be a situation where all the heroes of the world join forces to discuss it?But if the general gives up his exclusive power, the consequences will be more serious.The situation in Hebei is very complicated. Whether it is the Hu people in the desert or the people in Hebei, once they lose control, half of the Han Dynasty will be gone.

The emperor arrived in Hebei, and the imperial court was successfully rebuilt. Is Hebei's military administration still in charge of the general?What is Hebei's position in the future of ZTE's great cause?What kind of responsibility?Hebei cannot protect itself now. If the emperor insists on ordering the northern border army to fight the world immediately to put down the rebellion, can Hebei take on such an important task?

After Yuan Shao occupied Guanzhong and Guanxi, he had become a hegemon. In time, his strength would be very strong. At the same time, Liu Biao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, and Tian Kai gradually formed forces of different sizes. In this case, What countermeasures will the imperial court and Hebei take to calm the world?Can the countermeasures of the imperial court and Hebei be consistent?What if the two have differences in strategy and the contradictions are expanding day by day?
The most serious problem is, if Yuan Shao rebuilds the imperial line, and there are two Han emperors in the world, what will happen to Hebei?
Many problems came from after the emperor was rescued back to Hebei, and the root cause of these problems was that the emperor did not trust the general and the officials in Hebei.

Before the army entered Guanqin this spring, many officials in Hebei, including Li Hong himself, ignored this issue intentionally or unintentionally. Then, the emperor's defection forced them to reconsider the interests of Hebei and their own interests. Benefit.

=

Xian Yufu, Zhang Yan, Zhao Yun, Yan Liang, Zhang He, Gao Lan, Wen Chou, Gao Shun, Xu Huang, Jiang Wu, He Feng, and Wu Xiong were urgently called to the General's Xingyuan.

In August, Xian Yufu was recalled from Youzhou by the General to Xingyuan to preside over the revision of the military system, and he was very clear about this controversy related to the future of the Han Dynasty.After his careful explanation, three opinions were put on the table.

Don't save the emperor, and don't give up Kansai.Do not save the emperor, but give up Kansai.Save the emperor and give up Kansai at the same time.

"My lord Xianyu has already explained the consequences of these three opinions very thoroughly. Please give me a clear answer immediately." Li Hong was very serious, and the atmosphere in the big tent was very tense.

The first opinion was too conservative, and the price paid was too great, so the generals gave up unanimously.

"Kanxi gave up, we can fight back. The emperor is gone, we can build another one." Yan Liang sneered, "The second opinion can let us calm down the world with the least cost and be impeccable. Choose the second one .”

Wen Chou, Jiang Wu, He Feng, and Wu Xiong immediately responded to Yan Liang.

"What do you think?" Li Hong pointed to Zhao Yun, Zhang He, Gao Lan, Gao Shun, and Xu Huang and asked, "Do you agree with the third opinion?"

"After saving the emperor to Hebei, although we encountered great difficulties, once the emperor believes in the general and believes that we can rejuvenate the great man in Hebei, its power is beyond our imagination." Zhao Yun said sincerely , "General, back then, you led us to fight in the north and south, and suffered a lot, didn't we all survive? Now we have three states in Hebei, tens of millions of people, and an army of 10,000+ , can't you make it through?"

"If you are a big man in Zhongxing, if you are a mother-in-law like you, and you can't bear to lose things, how many innocent lives will you die?" Yan Liang snorted, "General, what do you think?"

Li Hong didn't answer.

=

The eldest princess has never participated in the collegial meeting of the three governments.

Since the general returned to Jizhou and the news of King Qin's failure spread throughout Hebei, King Qin's voice disappeared.The eldest princess has stayed in northern Xinjiang for six years, and she is very clear about the affairs of northern Xinjiang.The emperor's sudden defection hurt the Hebei officials too much, and it hurt her equally.

The catastrophe in Hebei put the northern army in a dilemma, and King Qin became very confused.At this time, the eldest princess hoped that the situation in Guanzhong would stabilize, and hoped that the emperor would be able to support the Northern Xinjiang to launch the second King Qin war. However, things backfired, and the emperor fled to Tongguan after just over two months.

Up and down in Hebei debated whether to save the emperor.The eldest princess understood these Hebei officials and the general's situation, so she never showed up. She hoped that the Hebei officials could find a proper solution in the fierce debate.Over the past few years, the great general and these great officials have come to today step by step. She believes that the great general and these great officials will definitely rescue the emperor and rejuvenate the great man.

She was waiting patiently, waiting for the General's memorial.

The general slowly walked into her field of vision.The general had lost weight, his face was dark, his eyes were sunken, and his cheekbones were high. Although he was still tall and burly, it could be heard from his heavy footsteps that he was physically and mentally exhausted.

The eldest princess stood up to meet her.

The general bowed in salute.The eldest princess walked up to him without stopping, and gently held his hand, "Have you not slept for a few days?"

The general forced a smile, his body shook a bit.The eldest princess held his waist, and said heartbroken: "If you continue like this, you will collapse."

"Your Majesty is back, so I can sleep well." The general moved forward quietly, and unwittingly broke away from the princess's hand holding his back, but her arms were still tightly held by the princess.

The eldest princess was overjoyed, and her face turned red.She believed in the general, she believed in the promise of the general, this kind of trust was deeply engraved in her heart from the first time she saw the tears on the portrait, from the first time she set foot in northern Xinjiang.The general never lied to himself.

"Your Highness, I need your help." Standing in the middle of the big tent, the general suddenly raised his right hand and placed it on the two little hands held by the eldest princess, looking into the excited eyes of the eldest princess, and said word by word. Pleading, "I need Your Highness's trust and help."

"I trust you, just like I trust myself." The eldest princess lightly opened her red lips, looked up at the general, and said very firmly, "No matter when and where."

=

In the middle of the night, Zhang Wen, Ma Rixun and other eight veterans, three prefects Shi Xunyou, Li Wei, Zhu Mu, three prefects Sima Zhang Fan, Xie Ming, Tian Chou, Zhenbei General Xian Yufu, Right General Zhang Yan, and General Long Xiang Zhao Yun was invited to the tent of the Great General's Central Army.

The eldest princess ranks first.

After Li Hong asked everyone to sit down, he stood beside the eldest princess and said in a loud voice: "I have already asked your highness to order Xu Rong, the general who conquered the west, and General Qu Yi, the left general, to lead the army to serve the king immediately. All withdraw from Kansai."

Zhang Wen looked sad and sighed.Li Wei closed his eyes tightly and shook his head in frustration.Xun You's face was happy, and his beard was smiling.

"There is no time, I have to make a choice." Li Hong glanced at everyone silently, and said in a hoarse voice, "Although I made the most unfavorable choice for Hebei, I believe that as long as we work together, It is absolutely possible to turn this great disadvantage into a great advantage.”

"Your Highness trusts us, and we also trust Your Highness. Today, in front of His Highness, we are discussing the matter of the emperor's arrival in Hebei. There is only one principle, and that is to solve all the things that you think are unfavorable to Hebei, and to eliminate all unfavorable things. turned into something beneficial."

There was silence in the big tent.

"What about the ministers in the Chang'an court?" Tian Chou asked.

"The emperor's misfortune and rebellion are all the crimes of the ministers, and they are all dismissed." The eldest princess waved her hand vigorously, "The ministers and ministers of the new court are all the ministers here."

"What position does the general hold in the imperial court?" Li Wei asked hastily.

"The Great Sima and the Great General are involved in the affairs of the Li Shangshu and are in charge of state affairs." The Eldest Princess then pointed to Zhang Wen, Li Wei, Xian Yufu and other ministers and said, "My lords should be ministers and take charge of state affairs together with the Great General."

"Who is in charge of Hebei's military affairs?" Xie Ming asked.

"Great General." The eldest princess said, "Before the world is settled, the Great General is still in charge of the military and political power of the six prefectures and four counties."

"When will the Son of Heaven take power?" Xun You asked.

"Twenty years old." The eldest princess said affirmatively, "If your Majesty refuses to obey, or if you do something disruptive during this period, I strongly advocate deposing the emperor and rebuilding the imperial line. If you violate this oath, you will be punished by heaven and earth."

All the ministers were shocked.At this time, they suddenly found that the general was standing behind the eldest princess.

"If Yuan Shao rebuilds the imperial system, how will we respond?" Zhang Wen asked worriedly.

"Liu Biao and Liu Bei are both ministers of the imperial family, and they will not agree to Yuan Shao easily. Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao have a deep hatred, we can take advantage of it. Tian Kai is from northern Xinjiang, and many of us are friends, we can persuade him. Xiliang's Han Sui has already formed an alliance with us, and it may be very difficult for Yuan Shao to secure a firm position in Guanzhong. What we have to deal with is nothing more than Yuan Shao and Cao Cao." Li Hong smiled confidently, "As long as Hebei is stable, within two or three years, it will be possible. Sweep the world."

=

(End of this chapter)