Emperor Ling closed his eyes and thought, now that the Han Dynasty has the prestige, he can suppress the entire family of Jizhou, and those few famous ministers, or the heads of the four generations and three noble families, they can be said to have always been the political enemies of Emperor Ling!
Over the years, he has used various means to finally drive them out of the court. Although they can still command the court remotely, it is not as good as having them in person.
If Emperor Ling had the choice, he would not want the heads of these powerful noble clans to enter the court, but their support would be indispensable to deal with Lei Gong! Especially to deal with Lei Gong, Jizhou's army is the main force, and Jizhou's support through grain and grass is indispensable!
Cui Lie was the representative of Jizhou's local gentry. Emperor Ling was the first to give up on him. He had been too disappointed with Jizhou's gentry over the years. If they hadn't continued to cause trouble, how could the Yellow Turban Army in Jizhou have been defeated repeatedly? Even Lei Gong
Grow to its current scale.
The Yang family was also well-known in the Han Dynasty, but since Yang Ci died of illness, all those left in the family were young and strong people like Yang Biao. They still needed time to accumulate prestige. Emperor Ling was worried that the young Yang Biao would not be able to suppress the officials of Jizhou and would affect him.
To the subsequent war against Thunder Lord.
Although the Xu family in Runan County was also one of the top nobles in the Han Dynasty, including the brothers Xu Shao and Xu Jing, who were famous for their "Yuedan Ping", they did not have much prestige because Prime Minister Xu had taken refuge with Zhang Rang and could not suppress the powerful noble families in Jizhou.
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After thinking about it, I realized that the Yuan family was the only one with the prestige to suppress the noble families of Jizhou and make them obey the command of the Han Dynasty.
Yuan Wei represented the entire gentry in the struggle against the Ling Emperor. He could be said to be the main political enemy of the Ling Emperor. If Yuan Wei became the shepherd of Jizhou, there would be pros and cons. The good thing is that the Yuan family is far away from the court and their influence is weakened. The bad thing is that Jizhou
It was the money and food center of the imperial court and could continue to influence the imperial court locally. Even Emperor Ling didn't know whether letting Yuan Wei go to Jizhou strengthened or weakened the Yuan family.
Under the cleanup of Fu Bian and Liu Bei, Jizhou's tax revenue not only did not continue to decrease like other places, but also continued to increase. In the past, Jizhou's tax revenue was only about 800 million yuan, but now it exceeds 3 billion yuan (mostly
(brought about by rising grain prices), now more than half of the imperial court's taxes depend on Jizhou. If Yuan Wei becomes the shepherd of Jizhou, the Yuan family can use money and grain to control the imperial court!
After thinking for a long time, Emperor Ling decided to send Yuan Wei to be the Mu of Jizhou to assist Huangfu Song in annihilating the Duke of Thunder. Yuan Wei could become the Mu of Jizhou and become a powerful minister at most. However, if Lei Gong was allowed to grow any longer, the Han Dynasty might be in danger!
Luoyang, Yuan Mansion.
Since Yang Ci of the Yang Clan in Hongnong County died of illness, Yuan Wei has become the undisputed head of the largest clan in the Han Dynasty.
Although he has been idle at home because of his involvement with Wang Fen, Yuan Wei is still in high spirits in his sixties, and the Yuan family is another center of the Han Dynasty's efforts.
After Liu Bei raised troops to control the entire officialdom of Jizhou, the entire city of Luoyang was no longer quiet. Everyone was either condemning Liu Bei or condemning the actions of the nobles and nobles in Jizhou. After all, in this era, even massacres of barbarians would be punished by everyone.
They are called butchers, and now the noble families in Jizhou are slaughtering their own people.
This thing is simply unheard of and unseen. Normal people would not do such a thing. This thing instantly became a new hot spot in Luoyang City.
Everyone will not understand the hatred of the nobles and nobles in Jizhou towards the Yellow Turban Army. They just think that the powerful nobles and nobles in Jizhou were frightened by the Yellow Turban Army. They killed all the people, so there will be no more Yellow Turban Army. But who will farm the land for you! The whole gossip party in Luoyang City
Everyone is discussing what made the entire wealthy family in Jizhou do such crazy things!
The momentum of the discussion is getting more and more intense, and it is turning more and more unfavorable to the wealthy and aristocratic families in Jizhou. The heads of the wealthy and aristocratic families in Luoyang City can't sit still, and they meet at Yuan's house to discuss the issue of Jizhou!
In the study room, there were Taiwei Ma Rixi, former Taifu Yuan Wei, former Sikong Xuxiang, former Taiwei Zhang Wen, former Taiwei Cui Lie, Wugan Zhonglang General Yang Biao, etc., all high-ranking officials of the Han Dynasty.
Taiwei Ma Rixi scolded: "Brother Wei Kao, what on earth do you think, how can you massacre the people under the rule of the Han Dynasty? How do you make the whole world look at us? This is not giving others a handle!"
Cui Lie smiled bitterly and said, "I said I didn't even know about this. Do you believe it?"
None of the noble families present believed it. As the head of the largest family in Jizhou, would you know about such a big thing happening in Jizhou?
Cui Lie said helplessly: "But I really don't know about this. I have been in Luoyang City these years and have never returned to Jizhou. I only know that Jizhou has been destroyed several times by the Yellow Turban Army in recent years. The major families in Jizhou have suffered heavy losses in recent years.
Many families have died out, maybe because of this, they hate the Yellow Turban thieves, so they want to eradicate them like this!"
Xu Xiang mocked: "It's not how you kill the grass and roots. It's okay for you to kill some prisoners of the Yellow Turban bandits. After all, Huangfu Song also massacred 100,000 Yellow Turban thieves to deter rebellion, but there are people like you who massacre the common people to deter rebellion."
Really? You are trying to push all the people to the side of Thunder Lord!"
Cui Lie smiled bitterly and said: "It's not Liu Xuande's fault. He was kind-hearted and did not allow the killing of the prisoners of the Yellow Turbans. He placed hundreds of thousands of prisoners of the Yellow Turbans in Daluze. It seemed that he was planning to continue to farm. The powerful gentry in Jizhou
I didn’t get a chance to vent my anger, so I ended up venting it on the people.”
Yuan Wei doubted: "Even if he didn't vent his anger, it's not like the entire noble family in Jizhou has become like this. It is said that people in the entire place near the Taihang Mountains are about to be killed. You must know that this is Jizhou, and the population of a county is
There are more than the Han Dynasty in one border state! But now they are scared away even if they haven’t killed them all!”
Cui Lie shook his head and said: "I really don't know what happened. I can only wait for the news from Jizhou! But I know that the situation in Jizhou is definitely different from Luoyang City. In recent years, there is no place in the Han Dynasty that is worse than Jizhou.
The country is in turmoil. There have been 4-5 wars involving more than 100,000 people. The war that just ended was a melee involving as many as 500,000 people. It can be said to be the largest war in the past hundred years. To put it bluntly, Jizhou Bixi is now
Liang is going to be in turmoil!"
Thinking of this, Cui Lie suddenly realized: "Luoyang City still has some prosperous times, but the current Jizhou is more chaotic than the troubled times. At least in the troubled times of the former Han Dynasty, the nobles and nobles in Jizhou have not suffered such tragic losses. I am afraid that the gentry in Jizhou have already suffered."
The world is in turmoil among the big men, so they do any drastic behavior!"
Zhang Wen suddenly realized: "So that's the case, it makes sense!"
Then Zhang Wen explained to everyone: "When I led the troops to attack the rebellion in Xiliang, I found that the situation in Xiliang was completely different from that in the mainland of the Han Dynasty. The soldiers in Xiliang were not only unruly and unruly, but also threatened their superiors with military remonstrances.
The local military discipline is also very poor, and they often massacre local people. If the court controls them, they will dare to rebel directly. This is not like Jizhou today!"
Yang Biao said: "Who will agree with this reason? Do we have to tell Jizhou that it is already in troubled times, so that such a thing will happen? Who will believe this? Who will admit that the Han Dynasty has entered troubled times!"
Even the heads of the family present would not admit it. This does not mean that without their ability, they could bring a good man into troubled times. You must know that they have been in power in the past few years!
Yuan Wei frowned and said: "We still have to find a way to minimize the impact of this incident. At the same time, we need to transfer Liu Bei out of Jizhou and send a highly respected veteran to guard Jizhou to prevent such a thing from happening again!
"
Cui Lie looked at Yuan Wei and said: "Brother Ciyang, please protect every family in Jizhou. They have been destroyed by the Yellow Turban Army several times and can no longer withstand any torture."
Yuan Wei said helplessly: "I'm afraid Your Majesty will not let this opportunity pass by!"
After thinking about it, Yuan Wei said: "Now we can only abandon the car to protect the commander, throw out some people to let the people in the world vent their anger, and then we will find a way to slowly calm down this matter! Fortunately, we still have a chance. Now that His Majesty is seriously ill, we have time to deal with it.
Finish up and reduce losses!"
Xu Xiang thought for a while and said: "As long as we find something that everyone cares about more, people will naturally not care about what happened in Jizhou!"
Cui Lie thought for a moment and said, "Find a way to get people to attack Thunder Lord?"
Yuan Wei frowned and said, "This is just causing trouble!"
At this time, the little eunuch in the palace came to convey the decree, saying that Emperor Ling had summoned him!
Yuan Wei could only say to them: "That's all for today's discussion. After I see His Majesty, we will think of a solution!"
Luoyang City, Imperial Palace.
After Yuan Wei entered the palace, it was hard to believe that Emperor Ling was so ill that he could not even get up.
Emperor Ling asked Yuan Wei to come close to him and said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to do it this time!"
Yuan Wei said in fear: "Your Majesty is only feeling slightly unwell, why would you say such serious words!"
Emperor Ling smiled bitterly and said: "I know my body well. The only thing I can't worry about now is the Thunder Lord in Bingzhou! Not only does Thunder Lord have an army of hundreds of thousands, he also has enough money and food to resettle millions of victims. Such strength has become
It is the greatest scourge of the Han Dynasty! If we don’t get rid of Thunder Lord now, it will definitely become the scourge of the Han Dynasty.”
"I will transfer Liu Bei to Xiliang to suppress the rebellion. At the same time, I will transfer Huangfu Song to Jizhou to resist Lei Gong, and let him prepare for the war against Lei Gong in Jizhou. However, there is unrest in Jizhou. I want Aiqing to become the shepherd of Jizhou to suppress the powerful gentry in Jizhou.
, don’t let them hold Huangfu Song back, Aiqing can also help Huangfu Song raise money and food in Jizhou!”
After hearing Emperor Ling's words, Yuan Feng was also thinking secretly. To be honest, he didn't want to leave Luoyang City, especially when he knew that Emperor Ling's life was not long, he didn't want to leave Luoyang City even more.
At this time, he left Luoyang City to wait for the new emperor to ascend the throne. He was far away in Jizhou and it was difficult to grasp the information of Luoyang City. If the general He Jun joined forces with the Shi Changshi again, it would be too unfavorable for them and the nobles, which means they are still
If he was to be suppressed by the imperial power headed by the general, his plans for many years would come to nothing. Gu Wei
Yuan Feng thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, Huangfu Yi is really enough to suppress everything in Jizhou. Even if the old minister goes to Jizhou, there won't be much change. On the contrary, it will easily affect Huangfu Song's control of Jizhou. Everyone in Jizhou will respect the old minister and Huangfu Yi."
In a real battle, if Your Majesty really wants to deal with Thunder Lord, Huangfu Yizhen must become the only center in Jizhou, so that all the resources of Jizhou can be used to prepare for Thunder Lord!"
"Your Majesty, Lei Gong is not an ordinary rebel. The army in his hands can defeat 100,000 Xianbei people. In terms of military strength, Lei Gong is not much worse than the big man. I am not familiar with military affairs. If I go to Jizhou, I can only cause chaos for Huangfu Yizhen!"
After hearing the words, Emperor Ling closed his eyes and pondered for a long time. Jizhou Mu couldn't attract Yuan Wei. It seemed that he had made up his mind to stay in Luoyang City.
Emperor Ling knew that after his death, the only people who could take charge of the power of the Han Dynasty were the general He Jin and the head of the clan Yuan Wei. However, these two people were capricious and cunning, and neither of them were good assistant ministers.
The other ministers lacked prestige, but Lu Zhi was famous, talented, and loyal. He could be said to be the best auxiliary minister in his mind. However, he was a lonely minister and had no strength to compete with Yuan Wei.
At this time, Emperor Ling regretted not paying enough attention to his eldest son and not cultivating him too much. Regardless of whether He Jin took power in the future or Yuan Wei took power, it was inevitable that he would become a puppet. He was not even optimistic that his eldest son Liu Bian could regain his
The hope of rights.
But at this point, he could only resign himself to his fate. His son was young and strong, and had practiced health-preserving techniques with a Taoist priest. (When Liu Bian was a child, Emperor Ling was worried that he would not survive, so he was given to a Taoist named Shi to raise him.
, so Liu Bian is also called Shi Hou), at least he has a chance to kill He Jin and Yuan Feng!
After thinking about it, Emperor Ling said: "Since Aiqing is unwilling to go to Jizhou, I will appoint someone else to go. Aiqing will stay in Luoyang and sit in the court!"
After Yuan Feng left, Emperor Ling said to Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong: "I will make He Jin and Yuan Wei the auxiliary ministers. They will fight among themselves for power. You keep a low profile and find a good opportunity to join He Jin. You and the clan
The noble clans have been fighting for many years, He Jin will need you!"
At the same time, Yuan Wei left the palace and immediately summoned the heads of the noble families just now.
"The emperor is really seriously ill, and he probably doesn't have much time left." Yuan Wei said with a heavy heart.
"The matter in Jizhou is already a trivial matter. Without the emperor's support, now is the best time for us to eradicate Zhang Rang and them!"
Although the faces of the family heads who appeared again were heavy, they were very excited in their hearts. After more than ten years, they finally saw the opportunity to eradicate the eunuchs.
The eunuchs relied on the imperial power to fight against them. Once the Ling Emperor died, the eunuchs were at their weakest. Moreover, they happened to have an alliance with the general He Jun. The eunuchs even lost their military power. As long as the Ling Emperor died,
, they can unite with He Jun to kill Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong.
Zhang Wen said: "I'm afraid that the general will not be willing to kill Zhang Rang and the others! After all, the reason why the general formed an alliance with us is because His Majesty wanted to exchange reserves. The General had no choice but to ally with us to resist His Majesty, but now His Majesty has decided to let
The eldest prince has become the new king, so Zhang Rang and the others are the natural allies of the general. Please don’t forget that Zhang Rang and the general are related by marriage, and their relationship is closer than ours."
Everyone present was meditating. The new emperor ascended the throne and the court was in chaos. Now it was the best plan to eradicate Zhang Rang and them. Once the court situation was stable, He Jin must join forces with Zhang Rang to control the court and the inner court. It is natural that the interests of both parties are consistent. allies.
But in this way, Yuan Wei and his group's decades of hard work will be in vain, and their noble clan will still be suppressed by the eunuchs.
Thinking of this, Yuan Wei said coldly: "So we have to find a way to push this general to kill the eunuchs. This is why we supported He Jin in the first place!"
Cui Lie said: "Now that the general controls the military and the eunuchs control the palace, the general is not willing to let the two parties control them again. What can we do?"
Yuan Wei thought for a while and said: "So military power is very important. Dong Zhuo was originally my disciple. He wanted to join my disciple again some time ago. He is now in charge of Bingzhou's 60,000-strong army. It is not far from Luoyang City. It is necessary Dong Zhuo will be our helper when the time comes!"
Zhang Wen was surprised and said: "Dong Zhuo is not a member of the eunuch party, how could he join us?"
Yuan Wei sneered and said: "Dong Zhuo has been resisting Lei Gong, and the pressure is too much. He gave Zhang Rang and the others a lot of money, and wanted Zhang Rang to help him transfer back to Xiliang. Unfortunately, the situation at that time, His Majesty would not agree to this at all. Dong Zhuo may have a grudge against me and find me because of this. Now as long as someone can help him leave Shangdang County, he will seek refuge with anyone!"
Yang Biao said: "Dong Zhuo cannot be trusted, and sending foreign troops into Luoyang City is even worse!"
Yuan Wei smiled bitterly and said: "But it is impossible for the Southern Army and the Northern Army to listen to us!"
The Northern and Southern armies of the Han Dynasty are all descendants of the aristocratic Han Dynasty. In a fashionable saying, they are called generations of loyal people. Their ancestors followed Emperor Guangwu to conquer the world. Although their presence in the Han Dynasty regime is not strong now, they are the Luoyang imperial court. cornerstone strength.
They are naturally sensitive to court battles. Even if these noble sons become captains of these armies and everyone can eat, drink and have fun together, it is impossible for the soldiers to listen to them to rebel. Instead, they may capture these captains who want to rebel.
Although it is a bit ironic, although the northern and southern armies are a bit decadent, they are the real armies of the Han Dynasty. When Dou Wu became the general, he wanted to rebel and annihilate the eunuchs, but the eunuchs subdued the northern and southern armies because they controlled the emperor and held the imperial edict. In the end, it forced General Dou Wu to commit suicide!
Dong Zhuo's army is composed of generals. The 30,000 Xiliang soldiers in his hands cannot be commanded by anyone except Dong Zhuo! The soldiers will only obey Dong Zhuo's orders. It is for this reason that Yuan Wei asked Dong Zhuo to join him again. Himself, because as long as he can control Dong Zhuo, he can control this kind of army, which is too important for the current noble gentry.
Zhang Wen thought for a while and said: "The general is not without enemies. Jian Shuo, the senior military commander, is in charge of the entire Xiyuan Army. According to our Majesty, even General He Jun has to listen to Jian Shuo. Everyone thought that the general would let Jian Shuo go." Shuo, but to deal with Jian Shuo is not equivalent to dealing with the eunuchs.
"Also, Empress Dowager Dong and Empress He have always been at odds with each other. General Dong Zhong is also in a high and powerful position. The Dong family can even replace the He family as the first cousin of the Han Dynasty. Do you think the general will be worried about Dong Zhong?"
"So the situation is not as bad as we thought, and the situation of the general has not improved much. To deal with Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong, the general needs our support!"
The news that Emperor Ling was seriously ill and about to die spread throughout Luoyang City as soon as Yuan Wei left the palace.
As expected, everyone no longer cared about things far away in Jizhou, but began to care about the emperor's condition.
At the same time, we are discussing the changes in the political situation of the Han Dynasty, but no matter how we discuss it, General He Jun must be the center of everyone. Even the ordinary people in Luoyang City know that General He Jun will definitely be the most powerful minister of the Han Dynasty in the next ten years.
And He Jin was also a little high-spirited during this period, and the pressure in his heart was greatly reduced. He finally survived the most dangerous moment. From now on, the whole world will listen to his voice. If the timing is not right, he will gather his friends and have a drink.
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He can be regarded as the most powerful general in the Han Dynasty. Because he relied on the eunuchs to become a general, not only did he not become a powerful minister, but he was suppressed by the emperor and the eunuchs. Even Jian Shuo and a small Huangmen bullied him.
A small military lieutenant was actually in charge of the entire military power of Luoyang City. His general He Jin had to obey Jian Shuo's leadership. This was simply unbelievable.
If a general wants to listen to the command of the captain, is there any general in the Han Dynasty who is more disrespectful than He Jin?
He Jin knew that this was done by Emperor Ling to suppress him as a general, and to ensure that the young prince Liu Xie could become emperor. So starting from the third year of Zhongping, his power as a general had been shrinking, but Zhang Rang and others also
He was worried about He Jin becoming a general and had a rift with him, so he was unwilling to help him.
He Jin had no choice but to unite with the powerful nobles to resist the suppression of the Ling Emperor, and the powerful nobles did not disappoint him. They used seven visits to the thatched cottage to get Zhao Qi to become the chief of the general's office, which made He Jin famous.
Celebrities all over the world turned to his general, and his power quickly expanded to the point where even the Ling Emperor had to be afraid.
It was precisely because of these celebrities that He Jin could withstand the pressure of Emperor Ling over the years, and now it was even worse. Emperor Ling was about to die of illness, and the mountains pressing on his head finally disappeared, and he felt that his breathing was much easier!
But at this time, Yuan Shao reminded He Jin: "General, don't forget that Jian Shuo is still in charge of the Xiyuan Army and controls the palace. Your Majesty originally intended to make the young prince a prince, and the helpers he found for the young prince were the military academy captain Jian Shuo and the hussar general Dong.
Seriously, if the two of them are still in charge of the 40,000 Xiyuan Army and guard the palace, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the eldest prince and the great general!"
He Jin's face immediately turned cold when he heard this. He realized that it was not the time to be happy yet. The eldest prince had not yet become the real emperor, and he did not fully control the military power of Luoyang City. It could even be said that he, the general, could control it.
The military power of the Northern Army is only 30,000. In terms of strength, it is not as good as Jian Shuo, and it may capsize in the gutter!
He Jin asked: "What do you think of Benchu!"
Yuan Shao said: "If the general wants to completely control the situation in Luoyang City, he must kill Jian Shuo with lightning speed, take over the Xiyuan Army, kill Dong Chong at the same time, and cut off all the wings of the young prince. In this way
, no one in the world can threaten the throne of the eldest prince, and at the same time, no one can threaten the great general!"
He Jinshen nodded in agreement. If others didn't say anything, Jian Shuo would definitely be destroyed!