Chen Gong read Liu Bei's letter and listened to Zhang Miao's report of Cao Cao's meaning. After thinking for a while, he suggested that Zhang Miao do what Liu Bei said and join Liu Bei and abandon the Yuan and He families.
Zhang Miao was puzzled by this.
"Gongtai, why are you so sure? Doesn't this kind of thing need to be seriously considered? The Yuan family is the fourth and third prince. They are deeply rooted. He Jin is also the uncle of the prince Bian. They are connected by blood. With these combinations, is it possible that Liu Xuande can easily compete? ?"
"You can consider it, but you don't have to be serious, because this is bound to be a never-ending situation."
Chen Gong said with a smile: "The emperor wants to weaken the He family and cannot tolerate the existence of strong generals. However, the He family is unwilling to give up the power he has obtained, and it is impossible to accept the possibility that he will not be able to take charge of the government in the future.
Since ancient times, when something like this happens, there will inevitably be bloodshed, and once there is bloodshed, it is the military that determines the outcome. Therefore, we should consider this matter from a military perspective.
In today's Han Dynasty, when it comes to military affairs, the army, military exploits, and prestige, who can be ranked first? Is the general He Jin ranked first, or the hussar general Liu Bei? When He Jin and Liu Bei fight, who is more likely to win, He Jin or Liu Bei? "
Zhang Miao thought for a while.
"When it comes to military affairs, Liu Bei is definitely more likely to win."
"So, there is nothing wrong with choosing Liu Bei."
"Gongtai, are you so sure that Luoyang will start a fight?"
"There will definitely be a fight. Maybe it won't be just a small fight, but it will most likely be a big fight. The fight will be very intense."
Chen Gong nodded and said: "But the one who wins in the end must be Liu Bei! The political struggle seems to be two groups of people fighting in a city, but in the final analysis, it often depends on the military. If you can't win militarily, what can you say? It’s no use.”
Zhang Miao stood up, walked around the room for a while, and stared at Chen Gong for a while.
Chen Gong just drank water calmly.
So Zhang Miao sat back down.
"Once this decision is made, there is no turning back. Whether you will be prosperous and prosperous in the future, or run away like a lost dog, depends on today's decision."
"So once the dust settles, Meng Zhuo can get the greatest benefits."
Chen Gong smiled and said: "Hasn't Meng Zhuo always wanted to develop in Luoyang? If so, please don't forget Meng Zhuo's suggestion today. I also want to go to Luoyang to have a long experience."
Zhang Miao frowned and considered for a while, then smiled bitterly.
"Gongtai! Let's get through this first. If Liu Bei loses, we will all be ready to escape! Liu Xuande, Liu Xuande! You must not let me down!"
Subsequently, Zhang Miao made a decision and informed Cao Cao that he decided to recall Chenliu County soldiers, cut off contact with He Jin, and by the way also cut off contact with the Yuan family, and fully bet on Liu Bei.
Cao Cao was overjoyed to have completed his mission. He celebrated with Zhang Miao for two days and set off back to Luoyang to return his orders to Liu Bei.
The same thing happened to Liu Hong, the governor of Shanyang County.
Because they were both members of the Han clan, under the lobbying of Liu Biao from Shanyang County, Liu Hong sent troops to assist He Jin and oppose the "abolition of elders and establishment of younger ones".
In response to this, Liu Bei went out to find Cai Yong, who had an old relationship with Liu Hong, and asked Cai Yong to write a letter to increase his lobbying chips.
Cai Yong was very willing to do this. He supported Lu Zhi himself and there was nothing wrong with helping Liu Bei.
After getting Cai Yong's letter, Liu Bei asked Gai Xun to take his letter and Cai Yong's letter to lobby Liu Hong.
When Liu Hong was an official, he was cared for and supported by Cai Yong many times. He was grateful to Cai Yong. When Gai Xun showed Cai Yong's letter, he met Gai Xun.
Gai Xun showed Liu Bei's letter to Liu Hong again. After reading Liu Bei's letter, Liu Hong responded to what Liu Bei said: "Han clan members should stick together for warmth and jointly protect the power of the Liu family, and people with other surnames should not be allowed to occupy the magpie's nest." This statement is quite agreeable.
But he felt that this matter was still open to discussion.
"Since the emperor has no idea of abolishing the elders and establishing younger ones, why should he target the He family? The He family is the mother's family of the prince, and will definitely support the prince. Now, what is the difference between suppressing the He family and weakening the foundation of the prince? I Never figured that out.”
Gai Xun smiled and shook his head.
"Mr. Liu Fu, have you forgotten what it was like when today's Emperor just ascended the throne? Is there any difference between the General Dou Wu back then and the General He Jin today?"
Liu Hong thought about it and seemed to realize something.
"You are saying that the emperor wants to do what Emperor Xiaowu did to Mrs. Gou Yi?"
"As ministers, we cannot speculate on the emperor's actions."
Gai Xun said in a low voice: "So, why did the prince listen to He Jin's words and send out county soldiers to go against the emperor? The emperor is the emperor after all. Those who know your behavior will regard it as loyalty. Those who don't know will regard it as loyalty. There are a lot of discussions in private, isn’t this an unwise choice?”
Liu Hong was shocked and felt that what Gai Xun said made sense.
If Liu Hong did not intend to abolish the elders and establish younger ones, it would be very problematic for him to do so. If the He family is destined to be liquidated, it is difficult to say whether he will be implicated in the future by helping the He family in this way.
After thinking about it, Liu Hong felt that he had done something wrong, so he wrote a letter to complain about Liu Biao, and decided to recall the Shanyang County soldiers. He also gave Gai Xun some gifts and asked Gai Xun to pay tribute to Liu Bei and Cai Yong on his behalf. say hello.
This basically means showing favor to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei wrote letters to almost all the governors and prefects that He Jin had previously attracted, and sent lobbyists to state their interests and concerns to everyone, asking everyone to think more carefully and stand on the emperor's side, not He Jin's side.
Even the people in General He Jin's mansion were sent letters by Liu Bei and sent lobbyists. Xiaozhi moved them with reason and emotion, and came to a central blast.
The first person Liu Bei carried out a blasting operation was Liu Biao.
Previously, Liu Biao Hejin had been running around, making connections, and doing a lot of favors. He Jin valued Liu Biao for this.
But before he could reward him, Liu Bei came. He Jin was busy dealing with the impact of Liu Bei's entry into Luoyang and did not fulfill his promise to reward Liu Biao in time. Liu Biao had some opinions on this.
So Liu Bei sent Yan Wen as his representative to visit Liu Biao and lobby Liu Biao.
Yan Wen went straight to the point and believed that Liu Biao should not stand in He Jin's position.
Although there are many clan members in the Han Dynasty, and everyone's position does not have to be the same, on major issues of right and wrong, shouldn't Liu Biao side with the Han Dynasty?
The emperor does not intend to abolish the elders and establish younger ones, but just to weaken He Jin's power and ensure the power of the Liu family. In this case, why do you, surnamed Liu, side with the He family?
The He family's running around and recruiting troops seems to be a very effective behavior, but once the He family loses power and the emperor pursues the case, there is no one to run for you. I am privately worried about your future future.
So, it’s time for you to make the right choice, isn’t it?
After hearing Yan Wen's words, Liu Biao felt his heart pounding.
If you really want to say that he has any loyalty to He Jin, it's not like that.
It was just that after the party's imprisonment policy was basically lifted, He Jin was the first to offer him an olive branch. Considering He Jin's relationship with the eunuchs at the time, Liu Biao felt that it was safer to do so, so he defected to He Jin.
He helped He Jin with things, and He Jin provided him with protection and advancement. They cooperated with each other very well and got what they needed. Apart from that, there weren't many other reasons.
If he really had to work hard for He Jin, he would be absolutely unwilling.
He Jin's subordinates did not regard him as the main plotter. He Jin had many other subordinates, and Liu Biao was just one of them, so there was no need to go all out.
"You and He Jin do not have an inseparable relationship, and He Jin is not the one who rescued you from the sea of misery. It was the ancient literature school that prompted your majesty to lift the party's policy of imprisonment. Liu Qiaoqi had a high status in the ancient literature school at that time. , that matter has a lot to do with Liu Qiaoqi. Speaking of which, isn’t this Liu Qiaoqi’s hard work? What does it have to do with He Jin? "
Yan Wen's words were imprinted on Liu Biao's heart word by word, which made Liu Biao very concerned.
But Liu Biao did not make a statement at that time, but needed some time to react.
After thinking about it, he felt that he was a little undecided, so he found his friend Kuai Yue from Jingzhou in General He Jin's mansion and asked him about the matter.
(End of chapter)
