The emperor and the Queen Mother He were originally people with no independent opinions. This time Dong Zhuo and Li Ru handed over two important matters to their mother and son to handle, leaving Liu Bian and the Queen Mother He at a loss.
Even though the Empress Dowager He was always noisy and happy, thinking day and night about getting back their own power, when Dong Zhuo handed the power back to them, he was stupid.
There was no one to guide them or give them any advice. The mother and son were very uncomfortable.
As for the noble officials in the court, Liu Bian cannot go to them for discussion now.
After all, the person fighting Dong Zhuo outside was the Yuan family of Runan, and most of these officials and courtiers were loyal to the Yuan family.
Looking around, Liu Bian and Queen Mother He were at a loss.
At this time, Lu Qiang walked into the sight of the two of them.
I don't know when, Empress Dowager He began to deeply understand why the late emperor and previous kings valued eunuchs as their arms so much.
Standing in this position, mother and son realized that except for the eunuchs, the emperor really had no one he could trust.
"The front line is dangerous. My eldest father is going to Chen State alone. If anything goes wrong... what should I do?"
Just like Emperor Xiaoling Liu Hong considered Zhang Rang his father, Liu Bian now regards Lu Qiang as his important relative because of his long-term dependence on Lu Qiang.
History is always surprisingly similar. The relationship between eunuchs and emperors seems to always follow such a cycle of reincarnation.
Lu Qiang said kindly: "Your Majesty, I can't do it if I don't go. What Li Ru said just now was not meant for Your Majesty and His Highness, but for this old slave."
"With Dong Xiangguo's ability, how could he not know that I have some dealings with Liu Jian? Now, only if I go there can Liu Jian sell three cents of noodles."
Liu Bian reached out and pulled Lu Qiang's sleeve, and said reluctantly: "I can't bear to put my eldest father in danger."
The Queen Mother He on the side spoke up and advised: "Okay, the emperor should not be willful anymore... Grandpa Lu is doing this for our mother and son. Loyalty is a lesson to be learned from heaven and earth. The emperor must also put the overall situation first and don't let Grandpa's loyalty go."
In vain.”
After listening to Empress Dowager He's lecture, Liu Bian reluctantly let go of Lu Chang's sleeves.
Lu Qiang turned his head and said to Queen Mother He: "Your Highness, as for Yizhou, Your Highness should follow what Li Ru said and let his three sons go back."
"Some time ago, Chief Shi Jiamu took the old slave's route and wanted to ask for a job to leave the capital and return to his ancestral home to build a tomb for his father. The old slave thought it would be appropriate to let this person go... Of course, this
It's also because the old slave accepted his belongings, worked for others, and asked Your Highness to be accommodating."
Throughout the ages, Lu Qiang is probably the first eunuch to openly admit that he took bribes in front of the emperor.
Asking someone to go to Yizhou to escort Liu Yan's three sons was not a big deal for Queen Mother He. The key was to let Liu Yan's three sons reunite with him. Queen Mother He couldn't swallow this breath.
Empress Dowager He said: "Grandpa, it's not that I don't want to let Liu Yan's three sons go to Shu. It's just that Liu Yan was a minister of the late emperor and an ancestor of today's emperor! But he was too shameless to do things. The late emperor trusted him and let him
Like Liu Deran, he became a shepherd and was sent to Yizhou to guard the border for the Han family. After Liu Deran went to Jizhou, he fulfilled his duties and was obedient to the court. He paid tribute every year and was extremely respectful to the emperor. And when Liu Yan arrived,
Yizhou ceded territory to defend itself, but it was revealed! I wish I could kill these thieves quickly! Now I want to send his son back to Shu. If the court has no hostages, won't Liu Yan become even more rampant?
"
Queen Mother He's reaction was within Lu Qiang's expectation.
He went to see Lu Qiang and respectfully said to the Queen Mother He: "The old slave knows what His Highness said, but the current situation in the Han Dynasty is complicated, and it is a chaotic situation that has not happened in hundreds of years... Has Your Highness thought about it?
After the battle between Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo, no matter who wins or loses, the imperial court's control over the counties in Guandong will probably be much worse than before."
After all, the Queen Mother He was a woman. If she couldn't understand the affairs of Luoyang, how could she have any foresight to think about the world's pattern?
"Grandpa, I don't quite understand what you're saying. Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao are fighting over each other. They just fight for their own. Why does the imperial court have less control over the counties in Guandong?"
Lu Qiang patiently explained to the Empress Dowager He: "Your Highness, in fact, since the death of the late emperor, the government has been in chaos, and yellow turbans have emerged in droves from all over the country. In order to increase their power in the local area, many high-ranking families have expanded their armed forces in the name of fighting against thieves.
The peasants have been transformed into soldiers, and they have become so powerful that they cannot be lost!"
"Yuan Shao's expedition against Dong Zhuo was nominally to protect the emperor, but in fact it was for the Yuan family to seize power in the world. But more deeply, it was the dissatisfaction of the ambitions of the prominent families in various places. They supported Yuan Shao and used war as an excuse to monopolize more local resources.
"
"In the battle between Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao, if the imperial court is able to overthrow Yuan Shao, the local prominent families will see that the Han Dynasty is still powerful and will not dare to act rashly. If Dong Zhuo cannot destroy Yuan Shao, it will prove that the imperial court is no longer capable of quelling the local chaos, and the various clans will be equal to
After taking a reassurance, they will see through the current strength of the imperial court, and will continue to expand their armed forces in local areas unscrupulously, eventually forming one separatist force after another,"
"At that time, there will be a situation where the kings of the Spring and Autumn Period respect the Zhou Dynasty and each compete for supremacy."
What Lu Qiang is saying now can basically be predicted by anyone with some foresight in the Han Dynasty.
But these people did not include Liu Bian and Queen Mother He.
Although the power of the imperial court is currently controlled by Dong Zhuo, Queen Mother He still simply believes that as long as Liu Bian grows up and can take charge of the government, she can still completely control the country!
At least he will not be weaker than the late emperor in terms of authority.
But Lu Qiang's words broke Empress Dowager He's last illusion.
"Grandpa, how could this happen? Now, what will happen to us, mother and son?"
Lu Qiang said: "Although Dong Zhuo is a fierce person, what he is doing now is really from the perspective of the Han Dynasty, fighting against the various tribes of Guandong for the sake of the Han Dynasty."
"Although her actions are inappropriate, the Queen Mother and Her Majesty must be patient and not create constraints on Dong Zhuo in the inner court. They must let Dong Zhuo and the Guandong tribes consume each other before they can find an opportunity to turn around."
"Now that Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others have occupied the south, they have actually established the country of China and are fighting against the imperial court. The south of the Yangtze River is no longer owned by the country. Although Liu Yan has ambitions, compared with Yuan's ambition,
It's still far behind. Yuan Yi is currently in the north of Yizhou, and they will definitely not allow Liu Yan to exist in the south of Yizhou for a long time. Liu Yanru's current situation is actually not very good, regardless of whether he has ambitions or not.
Now that the imperial court is showing sincerity to him, it can at least use him to contain the Yuan family's expansion in Yizhou."
Queen Mother He nodded vigorously: "Then Grandpa Lao will arrange this matter and let Liu Yan's three sons go back. As for the escort, Grandpa will decide on his own."
"I'll do my best, old slave."
…
…
At the same time, Yuan Shu in Shouchun finally began to take action.
Yuan Shu regarded the personal letter written by Yuan Ji to Yuan Yi as a treasure, holding it in his hand every day and reading it from time to time.
Yuan Shao is now fighting fiercely with Dong Zhuo in the west, and they are evenly matched, but Yuan Shu has been keeping silent now, only wanting to give Yuan Shao a thunderous blow at the critical moment.
But Yuan Shu is not a stupid person after all. He naturally knows that under the current circumstances, it is not convenient to take action against Yuan Shao.
After all, Dong Zhuo's strength is still strong. Once Yuan Shao is attacked from both sides, and Dong Zhuo's forces take advantage of the opportunity to cross into the border of Jing and Yu and infiltrate to the south, it will be a disaster for Yuan Shu.
Therefore, Yuan Shu has been waiting for an opportunity.
When the situation was relatively safe, he was "discussing" the matter with Yuan Shao.
Finally, the time came for him to wait for.
Dong Zhuo clashed with Yuan Shao in Nanyang. Although he attacked fiercely at the beginning, the Xiliang army was finally stopped by Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao's Nanyang troops were far inferior to Dong Zhuo's troops in terms of combat experience.
However, he was able to take shape in a short period of time, unite as one, and form a rival to Dong Zhuo. Yuan Shu also admired this ability.
Liu Jian was in the Chen Kingdom and defeated Niu Fu, Hua Xiong and others in a row, which made Dong Zhuo unable to look at each other. Dong Zhuo did have an advantage before, but now it has become a dilemma.
It's good that he can hold on to Luoyang's foundation now, but I'm afraid he will definitely not have the strength to penetrate into the south.
Ever since, Yuan Shu felt that the time had almost come to stab Yuan Shao in the back.
But after all, they were brothers from the same father, so Yuan Shu was somewhat reluctant to take action, feeling condemned by his conscience.
However, when he heard that Sun Jian led his troops to Nanyang and was appointed by Yuan Shao to fight against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu was completely outraged.
Isn't this a blatant poaching of yourself?
It is tolerable, but what is intolerable!
Therefore, Yuan Shu called two of his cronies, Yan Xiang and Yang Hong, to discuss how to stab Yuan Shao in the back so that he would die faster.