The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 333 Volume 5: The Open Card

Chapter 333 Volume Ming Card
……

Liu Xie guessed Chunyu Qiong’s purpose.

It is impossible that Chunyu Qiong came to see him and told him the whole truth of what happened just because he suddenly felt guilty.

As Liu Xie brought these people to Luoyang, even if they were stupid, they knew that the real direction of the court’s attack was Luoyang, Henan.

There is no need to say much about Guo Jia.

Chunyu Qiong and Xiahou Dun were both experienced generals. It was impossible for them not to see that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had basically lost the initiative.

With the arrival of Emperor Liu Xie and unrivaled general Lu Bu in Luoyang, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao could only pray that something unexpected would happen at the imperial court so as to stop the momentum of the imperial army’s dispatch.

At this point, even the most optimistic generals knew that the Hebei Group was powerless to turn the tide.

Not to mention whether the imperial court could eventually cross the river and sweep across Hebei, at least Henan no longer had any chance of winning.

As the results of the war expand, there will be more and more people like Chunyu Qiong who “share the emperor’s worries”, not fewer.

Liu Xie looked at Chunyu Qiong.

“Do Yuan Shao and Cao Cao also know about this old story?”

“Benchu ​​and Mengde were both the Eight Commanders of Xiyuan at the time, so they naturally knew about it!”

“That’s good.”

Liu Xie sat there alone, thinking for a long time.

“I don’t want to cause any more trouble now. A dead person cannot be allowed to cause any more trouble no matter what.”

“But if things are really as you said, then the He family is the culprit that caused chaos in the Han Dynasty.”

Liu Xie was not happy about Chunyu Qiong’s gift, but he was not disappointed either.

“Since that’s the case, let’s draft an edict.”

“The He family is the culprit that caused chaos in the Han Dynasty.”

“Tampering with the will of the previous emperor and enthroning Marquis Shi as emperor.”

“Stealing the sacred artifacts of the state and summoning foreign ministers to bring disaster to the country.”

“Yuan Shao is instigating us to overthrow the Han Dynasty.”

“Even Wang Mang in the past didn’t do this, right?”

“If it weren’t for the Grand Master who restored order, I would have been killed by Empress He and turned into a pile of dry bones by now, right?”

Liu Xie didn’t want to be involved in the past anymore.

What happened to He Jin, what happened to Empress He, and what happened to his position as emperor are all things of the past.

What really matters is now.

But when Liu Xie thought that Dong Zhuo still bore the stigma of “poisoning the emperor”, he decided to make the matter public.

“Besides, now that this matter has been made public, Li Ru might be able to put his worries to rest.”

After Liu Xie finished drafting the decree, he looked at Chunyu Qiong again.

“I am very happy that the general can turn back from his mistakes.”

Chunyu Qiong showed a happy expression on his face, and was already waiting for the emperor’s reward.

“If you want some money and title, I can give you some.”

“But don’t even think about official positions and military power anymore.”

The joy on his face just now suddenly disappeared without a trace.

“Civil servants must take the imperial examinations to obtain a rank, and generals must start as soldiers in government offices to gain fame.”

“This is the foundation of the Han Dynasty today, and it is also the foundation of my revival of the Han Dynasty.”

“Even if I am the emperor, I cannot make this opening. Otherwise, what is the difference between this and the Later Han Dynasty that Yuan Shao and his group are nostalgic for?”

Liu Xie had a blank expression on his face.

If one wants to become an official, there are only two ways: imperial examination or military merit.

Even Zhuge Liang did not let Liu Xie break this principle, let alone Chunyu Qiong?
“I will not be stingy with titles, money or food.”

“But there is only one way to get official positions and military power.”

“Even if Yuan Shao surrenders now, I will still say this—”

“Times have changed!”

“I cannot possibly start this and drag this brand new man that I and the Grand Master have built into a ditch again.”

“The system is the system. I treat the generals this way, and I will treat those who think they can preserve their foundations by surrendering to me in the future.”

“My Han will never make deals with anyone!”

……

Chunyu Qiong’s face was completely blue at this moment.

He didn’t expect that the emperor really didn’t care about the past and didn’t have much resentment towards He.

At the same time, he did not expect that the emperor would speak so bluntly.

Son of Heaven, do not make deals with anyone!
This means that some Kanto families who want to surrender can rest assured.

Because even if they surrender, the emperor will not tolerate their continued existence!
“…”

Chunyu Qiong bowed to the emperor in shame and anger, but did not ask for any reward. He left in disgrace.

Liu Xie did not forget it, and immediately conferred the title of Guannei Hou on Chunyu Qiong. He then spread the whole story so that the world would know.

……

After resting for three days, Liu Xie once again summoned his soldiers in the military tent.

Lu Bu had already sharpened his sword: “Your Majesty, give the order to go to war!” Gao Shun and Pang De, who followed the army to the war, also revealed their desire for merit in their eyes.

In the Battle of Meiwu in the past, Zhang Liao, Zhang Xiu, Xu Huang, Gao Shun and Pang De were praised by the emperor as the “Five Tigers” because they worked together to protect the emperor and pursue Han Sui.

Now Zhang Liao and Zhang Xiu had already become pillars of the state in the previous Battle of Anyi, and Xu Huang had also been promoted to pillar of the state for his achievement of killing Gao Gan not long ago, which made the two of them very enviable.

Even though Gao Shun did not attach much importance to honorary positions, he was always envious when he saw his former friends all becoming pillars of the country.

And now, the opportunity for him and Pang De to be promoted to pillars of the country has finally come!
So when they heard Lu Bu’s request for battle, they both stood up and said, “Your Majesty, give the order to go to war!”

Liu Xie was wearing golden armor and standing in the tent. Seeing the generals vying for orders, he raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp facing everyone.

“In this case, I will personally take charge of Luoyang and lead the battle with all the generals!”

The generals also raised their wine cups and drank the wine in them.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

“We are going to the battle today, so we can’t have fun!”

Liu Xie glanced at the generals and said, “When you have accomplished your mission, I will set out ten thousand bottles of wine and a thousand banquets to drink with you all!”

“Here!”

All the generals shouted in unison, then left the tents and led their troops eastward!

Lu Bu, Gao Shun and Pang Tong were in a group with 20,000 infantry and cavalry. After leaving Hulao Pass, they first took Xingyang, then Zhongmou, and then went straight to Chenliu!
Pang De and Sima Yi led an army of 10,000 people to the east, then went directly south to Xinzheng, captured Changge, and threatened Xu County!
Liu Xie, together with Xun You and Yang Xiu, led 5,000 soldiers to garrison Luoyang to guard this bridgehead to the east and ensure the grain supply route of Guanzhong-Luoyang-Henan.

“Cao Mengde, now we have Lü Bu and Gao Shun in the north, and Liu Bei and Guan Yu in the south. How should you deal with this?”

……

It has been three days since Liu Xie arrived in Luoyang. Even if Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were slow-witted, they had already realized that attacking Henan from Luoyang was the court’s real direction of attack!

“I was tricked by the emperor!”

When Yuan Shao heard that the emperor’s dragon banner appeared in Luoyang, which was separated from him by a river, he chopped one of his desks into pieces!

“Bingzhou is just a smokescreen! Taiyuan is too! Hedong is the same!”

Yuan Shao came out of his military tent and seemed to be able to see the slightly sarcastic and complacent smile on Liu Xie’s face in Luoyang City across the river.

It’s not just Taiyuan that has suspicious troops.

Even the entire Bingzhou army was a suspicious force!

What annoyed Yuan Shao the most was that Luoyang, which was now serving as a bridgehead for attacking Henan, was built by him as promised to the court!
“Why didn’t you think that the emperor would attack from Luoyang?”

……

The many counselors and generals behind Yuan Shao were all speechless.

Because no matter how you look at it, it is more convenient for the imperial court to attack Hebei directly from Bingzhou!
Attacking from Luoyang is a huge detour no matter how you look at it.

Why bother?
Is it just to show the emperor’s brilliant tactics and strategies?

“Mr. Yuan.”

Feng Ji, who had been sent as an envoy to Luoyang and promised the emperor to build Luoyang, stood up with shame on his face.

“I think we should order soldiers to rescue Henan as soon as possible.”

“If the emperor goes to Luoyang in person and orders Lü Bu to march east, Cao Mengde will certainly be unable to stop him.”

“And Liu Bei in the south has also led a large army to approach the Central Plains. With a pincer attack from both sides, Cao Cao’s defeat is only a matter of time!”

“Once the imperial court controls Henan, the Xiliang cavalry will be able to cross the river and attack Hebei directly. By that time… I’m afraid everything will be over!”

What the imperial court has been hiding is actually this point about Luoyang.

But now that this has been exposed, there is actually nothing left to cover up.

After all, this was a super war involving tens of millions of people and with a battle line of thousands of miles from south to north.

Being able to hide Luoyang would already allow the imperial court to gain a significant strategic advantage. Why would it need any other tricks?
Now that the imperial court has revealed its cards, we can actually counter them one by one!

Now that we know that the emperor is attacking Henan, we naturally have to send the army to the south to help Cao Cao defend the Central Plains!
“That’s wrong!”

The one who spoke was Zhang He, the current top general in Hebei.

Zhang He frowned: “If we send soldiers to Henan, what will happen to Hebei?”

“The art of war, the real and the fake!”

“The imperial court is indeed using the Bingzhou army to conduct a feint attack, but once the soldiers are transferred to the south, who can guarantee that the Bingzhou army, which is only a decoy now, will become the main force of the attack?”

“Don’t forget, although the emperor’s dragon banner and Lu Bu appeared in Luoyang, there are still five pillars of the court left in Bingzhou!”

“Niu Fu, Xu Rong, Xu Huang, Zhang Xiu… and Zhang Liao!”

“These five people are all in Taiyuan and Hedong! Once they realize that Hebei is short of troops, who can guarantee that they won’t launch a massive attack on Hebei?”

“Even if Henan is gone, we can still use the great river to defend Hebei!”

“But if Hebei is lost, then everything will be over!”

“…”

Zhang He’s words once again caused everyone to fall silent.

The art of war is about the real and the fake.

What if the army in Hebei is transferred to Henan, and then the imperial court’s troops in Bingzhou come to press forward?
Especially since Zhang Liao is in Bingzhou.

Which Hebei general could guarantee that when sending troops to support Cao Cao, Zhang Liao would not attack, or believed that he could resist Zhang Liao?

……

The generals of Yuan’s army suddenly discovered a sad fact –

Even though the emperor has revealed his cards, they still don’t know how to win this battle…

(End of this chapter)