According to usual practice, Liu Bei should lead his army back to Jinyang after meeting the emperor. But at the beginning of the sixth year of Yanxing, Liu Bei chose to stay in the capital and continued to plan the next strategy with Chen Chong.
Now that the Central Plains has been peaceful, except for the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou and Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, the country has no rebellious officials in name, but in fact, there are Fangzhen everywhere who support their troops and respect themselves. Lu Bu and Cao Cao needed the support of the court and were barely under control. However, Sun Ce, Liu Biao, Liu Yan, Yuan Shao and others had very little influence on the country, and it was even more difficult to take back the power of military tax, corvee and servitude.
Of course, Jiangnan was afraid of the central authority and generally obeyed the court's orders. The most troublesome one was Yuan Shao.
In Youzhou, Gongsun Zan had already failed and had fled from Juyong to Jinyang. Duan Xuan came to report that Yuan Shao had obtained the plain land south of Yanshan Mountain and had basically unified Hebei. He was now beginning to entrust the kings of Wuhuan to win over people's hearts. It was said that there were also envoys coming and going from Kebineng in the north. Under this situation, Yuan Shao seemed to have the plan to take advantage of the victory and go north to seize the counties in Yanshan. Duan Yan wrote at the end that he was in Juyong and not only had to defend Yuan Shao, but also beware of Xianbei in Danhan Mountain. He hoped that Bafu could Send troops to assist as soon as possible, otherwise he will have to give up Juyong and return to Macheng.
After Chen Chong heard about it, he ordered Tuoba Liwei to lead eight thousand Xianbei cavalry to Gaoliu for assistance. But this can only be a temporary relief. If we want to get to the root cause, we still have to deal with Yuan Shao.
This raised a question for Chen Chong and Liu Bei: What was the reason for going to war? If they want to conquer the country's Fangzhen and abolish the elected patriarch of a state without arousing dissatisfaction in other Fangzhen, they must be cautious under these considerations.
After several days of discussions, Chen Chong finally submitted a document to the Chancellor's Desk, which stated bluntly: "The state pastoral authority is as powerful as the Fangbo of Shang and the Five Lords of Zhou, so that the upper and lower parts are integrated into a country of their own. Although it is relatively powerful, It is difficult to compare with the ancestors of the previous kings of the country. If you have such a high position, you cannot hold it unless you are extremely loyal." Therefore, he suggested that the emperor should order all the state pastors and generals in the country to send relatives to the court to show their loyalty.
In fact, this is just another way of saying asking for hostages.
When the letter was sent to the emperor, the emperor was stunned for a long time and secretly sent someone to ask Dong Zhao for his opinion. Dong Zhao wrote in a letter: "This strategy can control the south of the Yangtze River, but not the Yuan family. Your Majesty does not need to worry. He is planning to let the Bafu send troops to Hebei and empty Guanzhong. Then Dong Gong contacted Lu Bu, Liu Yan, and Liu Biao, and sent troops to the three assistants. , so that your Majesty can swim out of the water!" After the emperor read the letter carefully, he immediately burned the letter to ashes and ordered the issuance of the edict.
The edict was mainly divided into three lines. The first one was sent to the Bafu of Jinyang, which showed that the Bafu set an example. For example, Zhang Xian, Duan Xuan, Gongsun Zan and others sent their parents or children to Chang'an, all of which were arranged by Chen Chong. On the east side of Taixue, to take care of each other.
The second route was to have Yu Fan travel south from Wuguan to Nanyang and send him directly to Xiangyang City.
After Liu Biao saw the imperial edict, he felt quite embarrassed, so he asked Yu Fan to go and have a rest first, and then discussed with Liu He, the other driver: "I thought that the world was shaken in all directions, the bandits were fanning each other, and the chaos was boiling everywhere. This chaos cannot be easily solved. Ping. Who would have expected that Liu Bei would be able to conquer the Central Plains within five years? It’s incredible. Now that he has achieved great success and wants to make me a vassal, what do you think I should do?"
In the past few years, Liu Biao worked hard to manage Jingzhou and established a school to recruit talents from all over the world. The culture has flourished greatly. Looking at the world, only Chang'an's Imperial College is similar to it. In addition to the local gentry in Jingzhou, there are also many celebrities from Xuzhou, Yuzhou and Yizhou who came here to visit Xiangyang Academy.
Liu He is one of the best. He was born in Bajun, Yizhou. He was the descendant of Liu Gong, King Jing of Pengcheng, and lived in Jiangzhou for generations. By Liu He's generation, he was well versed in Confucian classics and was known as Zixia of Jiangzhou. Therefore, Liu Biao attached great importance to him and invited him to Xiangyang again and again to give him the important task of doing business.
Liu He thought for a moment and smiled at Liu Biao: "Why should you worry? Last year, Liu Bei's disobedience was clearly revealed, but he still had to cover it up again and again. Isn't it just because Hebei was not at peace? So this year he will definitely fight with Yuan Shao. How can we care about us in the fight? Success or failure is still undecided, so I just need to wait and see for the time being. I have nothing to worry about when I send a young master to Xijing."
"If Liu Bei wins, it will naturally be the destiny of heaven. He will serve as an official in the court and he will not lose his position as one of the three princes. If Liu Bei loses, how can he dare to use force against Jingzhou? If he is not victorious or defeated, he will enter the map. Xichuan, an opportunity to separate the southern territory!"
Liu Biao stroked his beard, nodded, paced slightly, and asked him again: "What do you think Yuan Shao's chances of winning are?"
Liu He immediately replied: "If only Jinyang Bafu sends troops, Yuan Shao always has a 60% chance of winning." But he did not finish his words and showed hesitation. Liu Biao urged him twice more, and then he slowly said: " But if Longshou takes action, Yuan Shao’s chance of winning may be less than 10%.”
Liu Biao was stunned when he heard this, and after a long time he smiled bitterly and said, "That makes sense." He turned his head and thought for a moment, then whispered, "Then let Boyu go. Madam doesn't like him, and he will suffer from staying here."
Liu Biao mentioned that Boyu was his eldest son Liu Qi. Liu Qi was the son of his late wife Chen, and he was quite popular with Liu Biao. However, after entering Jingzhou, Liu Biao became the network Cai Mao and married his sister Cai. He also married his second son Liu Cong to Cai. female. Therefore, Liu Cong was widely supported by the nobles in northern Jing Dynasty. Liu Qi was weak, so he was ostracized and humiliated many times at home.
After learning that he was sent as a hostage by his father, Liu Qi knew that this trip would lead to a narrow escape from death, and he burst into tears. However, he was kind and filial, and did not resist his father's order. Accompanied by everyone, he kowtowed to Liu Biao three times and left in tears. When the officials of the state government heard this, they could not help but pity Liu Qi's plight and commented on the emperor's ruthlessness.
After Yu Fan completed his mission in Jingzhou, he then went west along the Yangtze River to Yizhou. After crossing Jiangguan in early spring, passing through Bajun amid the pressure from both sides, we entered the Sichuan Basin with abundant water and grass. After setting foot on this flat and gentle fertile land of Tianfu, he passed through Wuyang, Chengdu, Luoxian and other important towns in Sichuan one after another, and finally came to Mianzhu, which is now Yizhou Prefecture.
At this time, Liu Yan was nearly seventy years old and too old to go out of the city to greet him. Under the guidance of his son Liu Fan, Yu Fan slowly entered the Mianzhu Prefecture. I saw this famous virtuous member of the clan lying on the couch, looking at him with half-open eyes. The other two sons, Liu Dan and Liu Zhang, stood aside, one holding a basin to wash Liu Yan's feet, and the other holding a bowl to feed Liu Yan porridge.
This made Yu Fan feel pity: Yizhou Mu looks like an ordinary old man. How can you imagine that he was once a literary figure who was unique in Western Shu and the only one in Yangcheng?
When Liu Yan saw Yu Fan, he waved his son away and muttered, "Is it Ting Jian? Why does he seem to have not changed in ten years?"
Liu Fan couldn't laugh or cry at the side, and said loudly in his father's ear: "Sir, this is the angel Yu Jun sent by the court, not the dragon's head. You have admitted your mistake." Then he turned to Yu Fan and said: "Make Yu Jun laugh. .”
Only then did Yu Fan know that Liu Yan had grown old in recent years. Not only had his vision and hearing deteriorated, but his intelligence had also declined. Liu Fan asked a doctor to see him, and they all said that Liu Yan would not live more than two years. Under such circumstances, Yu Fan had no choice but to read the edict to the three Liu and Fan brothers and ask them who wanted to go to the court.
The three of them couldn't help crying when they heard the words. Liu Fan kowtowed to Yu Fan and said, "Yu Jun has also seen it. My family is very weak and precarious. I will only live for one or two years at most. And if any of my brothers cannot serve him on his deathbed, , after all, it violates the principle of filial piety. The Holy Dynasty governs the country with filial piety, and I hope that Jun Yu will report back to Your Majesty and the general to preserve the family relationship between father and son."
Yu Fan felt embarrassed, and Liu Fan added: "The state pastoral care is the responsibility of the country, how can we dare to be selfish? But if you return, we will keep our filial piety in the mountains, never care about official career, and return Yizhou to the country. Besides, the Sili Xiaowei has an old relationship with my family, so he can always be accommodating. I hope Mr. Yu will report it to the imperial court. If your Majesty still refuses, I will not dare to violate the Holy Might and will definitely invite myself to Xijing."
After talking to this point, Yu Fan couldn't say any more. After resting for two days in Mianzhu, he hurriedly set off on the road, preparing to return to Beijing to resume his duties. After Liu Fan learned about it, he felt very guilty. He sent Yu Fan off in person fifty miles away, and then walked slowly back to Mianzhu.
As soon as he returned to the mansion, Liu Dan and Liu Zhang were already standing in the front hall and asked their eldest brother, "Has that person gone far?"
Liu Fan smiled and nodded, and led the two brothers into Liu Yan's room quickly. He saw Liu Yan still lying on the couch, closing his eyes and breathing slightly. Liu Fan closed the doors and windows, drew the curtains, lit candles in the room, and then said to his father: "Father, since you have deceived the angel, what should you do next? Are you planning to agree to Dong Cheng?"
Liu Yan slowly sat up, coughed a few times, and then said in a slightly hoarse voice: "The emperor's edict has been delivered to you, how can you not agree to it?"
He looked at his three sons, his eyes were completely dark and dark as when he met Yu Fan, and then he said slowly: "My teacher Zhu Tian gave me a divination and said that in my life, I will be rich if I meet Dong. So I clung to Dong. The Queen Mother was able to be ranked among the Nine Ministers; and then she listened to the words of Duke Mao'an (Dong Fu) and took over the land of Emperor Longxing. There was no major chaos in the state for more than ten years, and there were more than 100,000 people with armor, as of today. Now there is Dong Jianping. Bringing me the emperor’s edict, isn’t it God’s will?”
When Liu Yan said this, he gasped slightly. Liu Fan hurriedly brought him a glass of water. After Liu Yan drank it, he continued: "Gong Mao'an told me that Yizhou has the spirit of an emperor."
Liu Yan took the eldest son's hand, stared at Liu Fan and said: "I am already old, I am afraid I can't live up to this prophecy, and it will happen to you. Boyu, as long as you have ambition and want to be a real person, So what do I have to fear?”
Liu Fan couldn't help crying when he heard this. Looking at his father's old face, he solemnly said: "I will live up to my father's expectations."
When Liu Yan saw this, he couldn't help but smile with relief. Among his three sons, only Liu Fan was good at both civil and military affairs. He was also tough-minded and quite talented in martial arts. So much so that when Liu Fan stayed in Chang'an, he was often worried about the life and death of his eldest son, and could not sleep well at night.
Now that his eldest son was by his side and treated him with utmost filial piety, he couldn't help but feel relieved. During his more than ten years in Shu, Liu Yan took advantage of the great righteousness of the court, put down many rebellions, and worked hard to govern, making him a powerful Western country. At this moment, he made up his mind to fight for the highest position at the risk of turning against his old subordinate Chen Chong. As for whether God's blessing is really there, only God knows.
