Wang Yun frowned, his eyes widened with anger, and he stared at the "Remonstrance Against Thieves" in his hand. His whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Although he didn't say a word, he was obviously furious and filled with righteous indignation.
Wang Gai from the side hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his head: "Father, you must take care of yourself. Who would have known that the Yuan family of the fourth generation and the third prince could actually do such an evil thing."
"well-!"
Wang Gai shook his head and sighed: "I have always taken the Yuan family as an example, but in the end I found out that the Yuan family are the real evildoers. You don't know how angry I am."
"Father, you..."
Before Wang Gai could continue to persuade, he was interrupted by Wang Yun with a wave of his hand: "Okay, no need to say any more, I know the truth better than you. The most important thing now is, what should we do next?"
Wang Gai did not hesitate and said sonorously: "Does this need to be said? Naturally, we want to join Nanyang Hanting. Even if we make mistakes, we can make up for it, just a few, and we must not help the evildoers."
"As long as Zhang Liao's soldiers and horses come over, we will immediately open the city and surrender. We will also tell Zhang Liao about Lin County and hope that he can send people to occupy it as soon as possible."
"Governor Zhang is a former disciple of the Yuan family, and he was greatly favored by Yuan Wei. Although this matter has come out, we cannot figure out how he will choose, and we cannot place our hopes on him."
"I think......"
Wang Gai pondered for a moment, and then continued: "This guy named Zhang may not believe in the "Exhortation to the Thieves", and may even forcefully cross the river, rush into Guanzhong, and rush to rescue Yuan Wei."
"That's right."
Wang Yun nodded in agreement.
Although he had not been in contact with Governor Zhang for too long, he could feel his respect for the Yuan family and his absolute loyalty to the Yuan family from his words.
Although there are no omissions in this "Remonstrance to Thieves" in terms of evidence, it is still a bit unbelievable and not everyone will believe it. Especially the part where Yuan Di reports Yuan Wei is even more suspicious.
certainly!
The reason why Wang Yun chose to believe it was because he was in Luoyang and had a relatively good understanding of what happened back then. Since Yang Ci's death, Yuan Wei's weight in the court has become more and more important.
It's a pity that this man has always been a vegetarian and feels like a good old man, so no one has ever doubted him. Even if he failed to stop Dong Zhuo, others would not subconsciously blame Yuan Wei.
Therefore, even Wang Yun ignored Yuan Wei's factors, and only focused more on Dong Zhuo in advance, and never looked for doubts from the Yuan family.
"so......"
Wang Yun thought for a moment and then ordered: "You should quickly contact the Guo family, the Li family and other aristocratic families to find out their opinions. If they are willing to submit to Nanyang Hanting, we can act together."
After all, the transfer of Nanyang Hanting's land from private ownership to public ownership is not good news for the aristocratic families, but facing the possible risk of genocide, they should be able to make the right choice.
In fact, in Bingzhou, the family that is most reluctant to submit to Nanyang Hanting is the Bingzhou Wang family. After all, they are the largest family in Bingzhou, bar none.
Once they submit to the Han court in Nanyang, it means that the imperial decree in Nanyang will also have a miraculous effect on them, and they will definitely face the same situation as the Deng family and the Yin family.
Nowadays, Nanyang Hanting's yield per mu has reached four stones and five dou, and their private farmland is really not attractive at all in front of the poor people.
But......
Now what Yuan Wei has done has touched Wang Yun's bottom line.
There is no way he would go along with such people and would not allow such people to tarnish his noble morals.
Wang Gai bowed his head and said softly: "Father, don't worry, we still want to submit to Nanyang, how can they refuse? They will definitely comply. I will contact each family as soon as possible and work together."
The Han court in Nanyang supports the small gentry, which is known to all the gentry in the world. Therefore, the wealthy families and the small gentry still have a good impression of Nanyang.
In the past, one had to rely on the recommendation of a big family to become an official, but now one can become an official as long as they pass the academic test and pass the exam. This kind of thing is definitely a blessing from heaven for the small noble family.
The reason why they agreed to Wang Yun before was mainly because the price offered by Chang'an Hanting was relatively high, but Nanyang Hanting never sent anyone to contact them, so they agreed.
But things are completely different now. Yuan Wei's reputation has been ruined and he has become the initiator of shaking the foundation of the Han Dynasty. In addition, the shocking explosion of Nanyang Hanting in Baibo Valley has completely made them realize the gap between the two sides. It would be strange not to agree.
"Report—!"
At this moment, a long announcement sounded outside the study.
Wang Yun looked up.
However, an attendant hurriedly came in, bowed and said: "Master, today I'm going to visit the horse to report back. When Zhang Liao was attacking Pingtao County, he suddenly took his elite troops and turned to attack Lin County."
"What?"
Wang Yun looked in disbelief: "Zhang Liao led people to kill Lin County?"
Wang Gai was even more surprised: "Lin County?"
The attendant was extremely sure and nodded: "Yes, it's absolutely true. General Zhang was originally planning to ambush the enemy's troops on the way, but now he has temporarily changed his plan and rushed to Lin County with his troops and horses."
hiss-!
Wang Yun was shocked and gasped, his eyes full of disbelief.
He couldn't believe it.
Zhang Liao's army suddenly turned to Lin County.
This is definitely not a coincidence, but they knew in advance that Lin County could cross the river and rush to Guanzhong. Therefore, as soon as they came here, they had to occupy Lin County in advance and completely block the way into Guanzhong.
Awesome!
It’s really awesome!
You know, even Wang Yun, who was born and raised in Bingzhou, did not know that there was a road leading to Guanzhong in Lin County.
It was actually targeted in advance by Nanyang, thousands of miles away, and with the power of thunder, it was completely captured before launching a general attack!
Nanyang has taken the lead in every step. Even if Yuan Wei is still a loyal minister, he is probably no match for Nanyang. The opponent can be said to have crushed Chang'an from the strategic and tactical levels.
Wang Yun breathed out: "Gaier, act quickly, otherwise we won't even have a chance to surrender."
Wang Gai naturally understood the urgency and nodded quickly: "Okay, I will contact the Guo family today."
Wang Yun nodded: "Well, remember to make your interests clear. This "Remonstrance against Thieves" has completely sentenced Yuan Wei to death, and even the death penalty to the entire Yuan family."
Wang Gai bowed and held up his hands, and responded sonorously: "Don't worry, father, I will leave this matter to you. I promise to contact all the Guo family, Li family and other noble families as quickly as possible."
Wang Yun nodded: "Go quickly."
******
Youzhou, Jicheng.
On top of the city.
Liu Yu stared at the empty city. Yuan Shao didn't attack today?
He frowned, with a look of disbelief on his face.
"Have you sent someone out of the city to investigate?"
Liu Yu finished his tour of the city and turned to look at Wei You.
"It's been spread out."
Wei You nodded affirmatively: "Lord, don't worry."
Liu Yu exhaled and then calmed down: "What kind of medicine do you think Yuan Shao is selling in this gourd? We obviously can't hold on any longer, but he just stopped attacking."
Liu Yu racked his brains and couldn't figure out the reason. This was originally a good thing, but he became increasingly flustered. After all, he knew Yuan Shao and would never give up easily.
"this......"
Wei You was also puzzled, and his frown never relaxed: "My subordinates are not sure either, but don't worry, my lord, I have already sent someone to investigate. I think I will get a reply soon."
"Let's take this opportunity and follow Zitai's advice to demolish some of the buildings in the city and use them as rocks and logs to make up for the lack of equipment for defending the city."
"kindness."
Liu Yu nodded affirmatively: "Regardless of whether there is a conspiracy or not, how can we not seize such a good opportunity? Let's leave this matter to Xian Yufu. He has always been responsible for communicating with the people."
"good!"
Wei You deeply agreed: "My subordinates also think so."
"Your Majesty—!"
"Your Majesty—!"
At this moment, calls rang out in the city.
It's Tian Chou!
Liu Yu judged it all at once.
After learning that Tian Chou was the long history of the school affairs office in Youzhou, Liu Yu trusted Tian Chou more and more.
After all, now he has and can only rely on Nanyang, and there is no other way to go.
He hurriedly walked to the inner wall and looked in the direction of the sound.
really!
Tian Chou came over quickly, shaking something in his hand and waving to him: "Zitai, I'm here."
Tian Chou looked up, found Liu Yu, and immediately walked towards the city: "Your Majesty, I may know the reason why Yuan Shao retreated."
"oh?"
Liu Yu was surprised: "You know?"
Tian Chouen nodded his head and handed the "Revelation against Thieves" in his hand to Liu Yu: "Your Majesty, this is the "Revelation against Thieves" issued by the imperial court. It involves Yuan Wei, the Grand Duke of Chang'an."
"ah?"
Liu Yu became more and more fascinated by the lake.
Could it be that Yuan Shao retreated because of "An Message to the Thieves"?
No, according to the normal rhythm, Yuan Shao should attack more fiercely.
He immediately took the message and started reading it with curiosity: "I have heard that those who do good will be rewarded with blessings; those who do wrong will be punished by heaven; those who are hypocritical and do wrong will have their sins increased.
Heaven and earth have no right, and humans and gods are indignant!"
"..."
hiss-!
Liu Yu's eyes hurriedly glanced over, and he gasped in shock, and cold sweat dripped down his whole body.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
So, I read it twice carefully, front and back, especially the part about evidence, and read every point N times.
"How is this possible?"
Even Liu Yu himself couldn't believe the content in "An Exploration of Thieves": "Yuan Wei would actually do such a thing?"
Tian Chou was even more shocked than Liu Yu when he received the letter from Fei Ge in "An Exploration of Thieves", but after reading the evidence in it, he was convinced of it:
"Your Majesty, my subordinates also didn't believe it before, but judging from the chain of evidence, this matter is absolutely true, and since the imperial court dares to make it public, it proves that it has achieved internal consensus."
"Combined with today's events, it is not difficult to imagine that something must have happened within Yuan Shao's army. Some ministers who are loyal to the Han Dynasty will not accept such a fact."
"I think......"
Having said this, Tian Chou looked at the vaguely visible camp outside the city: "Yuan Shao has no choice but to retreat. He must first solve internal problems before he can concentrate his forces and continue to attack the city."
"That's right!"
Wei You then nodded and said: "Although many of those who follow Yuan Shao are disciples of the Yuan family and former officials, no matter how much they receive great favor from the Yuan family, their allegiance is still to the Han Dynasty, not the Yuan family.
"
"Now, the Yuan family is trying to rebel, and it has caused great chaos in the world, causing people to live in dire straits. Such a crime is really just as His Majesty said in the memorandum. Heaven and earth have no right, and humans and gods are outraged!"
"This is a good thing for us. At least we can take a breather. If Yuan Shao cannot suppress his internal subordinates, it may even cause a mutiny. This will be more interesting."
Liu Yu shook his head: "Impossible! If there was really going to be a mutiny, they might have mutinied long ago, but there has been no movement until now, which proves that Yuan Shao has controlled the situation."
"That's right."
Tian Chou followed up and said: "So, it won't be long before Yuan Shao will make a comeback. This attack will definitely be more violent. We must be well prepared before he attacks."
Liu Yu said softly: "Zitai, don't worry, I have ordered Xian Yufu to send people to demolish some ancestral halls in the city, and prepare more stones and rolling logs to prevent accidents."
"not enough!"
Tian Chou shook his head and said sonorously: "These are far from enough. We should demolish more houses and take out all the beams and stones to defend the city."
"ah?"
Before Liu Yu could speak, Wei You couldn't help it anymore: "Zitai, are you crazy? You demolished the people's houses, how can they agree!"
"If you don't agree, you have to agree."
Tian Chou was very stubborn and had no room for relaxation: "Tell the people that after Yuan Shao is defeated, the imperial court will build houses for them."
"And it's the kind of house that's warm in winter and cool in summer. It's the house that the people of Nanyang currently live in. Don't be afraid of these petty profits. Let's build it again if it's destroyed. The most important thing right now is to keep Jicheng!"
"That's right."
Liu Yu nodded affirmatively: "Once Yuan Shao comes back, the offensive will be even more fierce. How many stones and logs can be obtained by just relying on buildings such as ancestral halls in the city?"
"Zihe!"
Having said this, Liu Yu raised his eyes to look at Wei You and said very solemnly: "This matter will be left to you. You must convince the people of Jicheng to help me tide over the difficulties."
Wei You naturally understood the seriousness of the matter. After pondering for a long time, he finally nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, my lord, my subordinates will definitely persuade the people to demolish the houses, and we will build new ones in the future."
Liu Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you for your hard work."
Wei You handed over his hand and said, "This is my duty as a subordinate."
*****
Outside Jicheng.
Yuan Shao's camp.
Central army, big tent.
Yuan Shao was sitting at the top, his stern eyes sweeping over the civil and military officials, holding the "Remonstrance against Thieves" in his hand, with no trace of fear on his face, nor any sense of shame.
"Do you really believe it's true?"
Although Yuan Shao's voice was gentle, it was sonorous, powerful and resounding: "Yes, it was indeed Yuan who proposed the idea of summoning all the generals from all directions to the capital."
"but......"
The conversation changed and Yuan Shao went straight to the topic and said sternly: "The situation at that time was that the eunuchs controlled the palace and the army. Even the senior military captain of the Eighth Colonel of Xiyuan was Xiao Huangmen Jianshuo."
"Even I, Yuan Shao, need to obey the orders of Xiaohuangmen Jian Shuo. If we don't call all the powerful generals to come to the capital, how can we intimidate the eunuchs, how can we force the Queen Mother and destroy these eunuchs!"
"at this point."
Having said this, Yuan Shao turned to look at Chunyu Qiong who was coming from Yecheng: "You can ask General Chunyu. He was also one of the eight captains of Xiyuan at the time."
"Your Majesty's purpose in creating the Eighth School Lieutenants of Xiyuan is precisely to compete with General He Jin and increase the power of the eunuchs in the court. The actual command of this army lies with Jian Shuo."
Chunyu Qiong immediately took a step forward, glanced at everyone, and nodded: "Yes, it is indeed as the Lord said. The eighth captain of Xiyuan, Bill and others, imagined that it is much more complicated."
"The Cao Cao mentioned in the memorial was precisely because he was an eunuch before he could enter the Eighth School of Xiyuan. In a sense, he was an eunuch who was raped by the eunuch in the Eighth School of Xiyuan.
"
In an instant, all the civil and military officials in the tent were shocked. Each one of them looked horrified and started talking subconsciously:
"The senior military commander of the Eighth Colonel of Xiyuan seems to be a eunuch."
"The power of eunuchs in Luoyang is indeed very great."
"That's right, Cao Cao is the queen of the eunuch Cao Teng."
"Things really aren't that simple."
"..."
Facing the already suspicious civil and military officials, Yuan Shao spoke again, adding fuel to the fire: "Yes, Cao Cao did prevent the idea of summoning powerful generals from all directions."
"You said that you only need to put him in jail. It's a big joke. If Shi Changshi is so easy to be put in jail, how can he be so powerful?"
"You will know later!"
Speaking of this, Yuan Shao's voice became piercing again: "Empress Dowager He's biological sister is the daughter-in-law of Zhang Rang, the imperial minister. Even if General He Jin personally entered the palace, Empress Dowager He did not agree to exterminate the eunuchs."
"Prison?"
"snort!"
Yuan Shao snorted angrily: "On the surface, it does make sense, but in fact, this suggestion will not work at all, because someone above is trying to protect the eunuch!"
"How can we wipe out the eunuchs without resorting to external force? It's just an unfortunate coincidence that Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang and found His Majesty. We had no choice but to do this."
Immediately afterwards, another Chen Lin took a step forward, leaned forward and said, "Everyone, I was also the chief clerk in the General's Mansion back then. I also witnessed what happened that day with my own eyes."
"Cao Cao did make a suggestion, but everyone agreed that it would not work, especially the general He Jin, because he knew his sister very well."
"You should know clearly that Your Majesty is young and the Queen Mother is in court. If she doesn't speak out, no one can touch the ten permanent attendants, not even General He Jin."
The civil and military forces in the tent were once again excited:
"It sounds reasonable."
"Is it possible that you are really forced to have no choice?"
"The eunuch's power is too strong, so he must rely on external force."
"It's a pity that it's Dong Zhuo. This person is too difficult to control."
"Cao Cao's testimony does seem relatively pale."
"..."
Looking at more and more Wen and Wu who were entering the period of hesitation below, Yuan Shao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, I reacted quickly, otherwise once the matter became public, the army would probably mutiny.
Listening to the civil and military discussions below, Yuan Shao felt that the time was more mature, so he continued: "Besides, how could Grand Tutor Yuan Di identify my Yuan family?"
"Don't you think it's strange? Years ago, because of Yuan Sui's incident, King Hongnong killed the Yuan family in Guangling and wiped out three clans. How come Yuan Di appears at this time?"
"Who is this person?"
"Is it Tai Fu Yuan Di?"
"Isn't it possible that it's an imposter?"
"Even if it's true..."
The successive questions made Yuan Shao's momentum suddenly soar: "Isn't it possible that he was beaten into a move? Grand Tutor Yu Yuan Di is a member of my Yuan family. Doesn't he know that this is a serious crime of annihilating three tribes?"
"joke!"
Yuan Shao scolded angrily, his eyes were like swords, revealing a murderous aura: "This matter is clearly a deliberate attempt to frame my Yuan family. I will never believe that Grand Tutor Yu Yuan Di will publicly identify my uncle."
"I, the fourth and third prince of the Yuan family, are loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty. If I wanted to rebel, I would have rebelled long ago. How could we wait until now? King Hongnong is just afraid of the power of my Yuan family, so he is trying every means to weaken my Yuan family.
"
Yuan Shao was so furious that he refused to stop and charged Liu Bian with intentional slander. He had to find some stains in the chain of evidence in order to protect his character.
At this moment, Guo Tu took another step forward and said softly: "I think everyone should know that Nanyang Hanting has been weakening the power of aristocratic families."
"This can be seen from the Deng family, Yin family and other families in Nanyang. King Hongnong used a series of means to return his family's farmland to the court."
"The same was true for previous assassinations."
Guo Tu immediately changed the nature of the matter and turned it into a deliberate suppression by King Hongnong: "If you don't believe it, you can ask around."
"After the Yuan clan in Runan and the Yuan clan in Guangling were annihilated, were all their land properties returned to the public? Then local governments would use the land to attract tenants to farm, which would have a certain influence on the rest of the gentry.
.”
"Everyone..."
Guo Tu said coldly: "Isn't it obvious what King Hongnong's intention is?"
The next second, the room full of civil servants and generals started to boil again, and everyone was talking louder:
"It seems like this is really the case. Isn't this how the Nanyang Kong family started?"
“If you don’t have farmland resources in hand, it will be difficult to achieve that effect from the very beginning.”
"Yes, it is indeed like this. King Hongnong's methods are indeed very powerful."
"Since King Hongnong wants to deal with the Deng family and the Yin family, he will naturally not let go of the larger Yuan family."
"It's so despicable, it's really despicable, it's slander."
"Even if you slander anything, you can feel free to do so, but if you slander the Yuan family for rebelling, I will be the first to refuse."
"We don't agree, so why should we slander Mr. Yuan!"