The heavy rain continued to fall, and the entire Yizhou was gloomy and shrouded in dark clouds.
It was at this moment that a man wearing a bamboo hat and a raincoat, riding a war horse, came out of the mansion of Yizhou Shepherd Liu Yan in the rain.
The war horse left the mansion's door and started running wildly under the urging of the knight on the horse.
The horses' hooves trampled on the bluestone slabs in the city, making a 'bang bang' sound.
The war horses quickly left Mianzhu City and galloped towards Hanzhong in the northeast...
After this small group of people left, war horses soon came out one after another from the residence of Yizhou Mu Liu Yan.
Braving the heavy rain, we headed in all directions of Yizhou.
Some more knowledgeable people noticed this situation and immediately realized that something big was going to happen in Yizhou!
The lights in Yizhou Mu Liu Yan's mansion were on for most of the night and then went out...
The next day, the sky was still not clear, and there was drizzle falling in the sky.
All the doors of Liu Yan's mansion were opened early in the morning.
There were servants wearing bamboo hats and raincoats, busy cleaning the courtyard.
Many officials from Mianzhu have arrived at Liu Yan's house one after another.
Every half an hour, a knight would come on horseback and report the location of the imperial envoy.
"Okay, it's time for us to set off to meet the emperor's envoy!"
Two more hours later, Liu Yan looked at the Yizhou officials gathered together and said with a smile.
As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone immediately took action.
In a short time, everyone left Liu Yan's mansion in carriages, sedan chairs, or war horses, and headed all the way to the north of the city. They came to a stop ten miles north of the city.
This place has long been decorated.
The colorful shed was erected, making it very majestic and grand.
Liu Yan stopped here with some officials, waiting for the envoy representing the emperor to arrive.
At the same time, some officials were dispatched to continue walking forward.
Prepare to march another ten miles and form the first stop there to welcome the emperor's messenger.
To show respect.
A young man in his twenties looked a little impatient when he looked at such a grand battle and then looked at the corner of his clothes that were soaked by the rain.
"Father, the traitor Dong Zhuo has secretly occupied a high position and controlled the government. This envoy is better said to be an envoy from the Son of Heaven than an envoy from Dong's thieves!
My father is a clan member of the Han Dynasty, so he should be killed when facing Dong’s envoys, so how can he mobilize troops and welcome them in such a large scale?"
After enduring in his heart for a long time, the young man finally couldn't bear it anymore and spoke out the thoughts he had been holding back for a long time.
With one opening of his mouth, his relationship with Liu Yan was exposed.
Listening to what his son whispered into his ear, Liu Yan turned his head and looked around.
After seeing that no one noticed what was going on here, I felt a little relaxed.
"Zhang'er, don't talk nonsense!"
He said to Liu Zhang in a deep voice, with some scolding.
When he saw his fourth son and faced his scolding, he quickly bent down and expressed his guilt.
His expression softened a little.
He also lowered his voice and said to Liu Zhang: "How could I not know that Dong Zhuo controls the government?
But, after all, he only controls the government, and this world is still the Han Dynasty's world!
Since the messenger comes with the emperor's edict, he is the emperor's messenger, and we should treat him seriously!
It’s not about respecting Dong Zhuo, that thief, but respecting the Emperor of Han Dynasty!
If even I and other members of the Han clan despise the emperor's messengers and don't take them seriously, then who else in the world will respect the emperor?
Isn’t the emperor even more despised by others?!”
Liu Zhang, who seemed very impatient at first, suddenly realized what he said after hearing what his father said.
"My lord, what you said makes sense. It's the boy who thinks things are simple. It's the boy Meng Lang."
Liu Zhang bowed respectfully to Liu Yan, as if he had greatly benefited from his spleen, and listening to your words was worth ten years of reading.
Seeing his son like this, Liu Yan wanted to say a few more words.
But on this occasion, it’s hard to say much.
Therefore, I can only sigh secretly in my heart and stop talking to my son...
The angel, representing the identity of the emperor, came with an edict written in accordance with Dong Zhuo's wishes.
Yizhou officials immediately stepped forward to greet him with great respect.
After traveling another ten miles, Liu Yan, a herdsman from Yizhou, walked out in the rain without caring about the rain that was still falling from time to time. He didn't wear a bamboo hat or a raincoat and greeted him with an extremely respectful attitude.
He, the Mudu of Yizhou, took the lead in doing this.
Regardless of whether they wanted to or not, many other Yizhou officials had no choice but to imitate Liu Yan's example. They took off their hats and raincoats one after another, walked out of the colorful shed in the rain, and greeted the angel.
Such a scene made Ling appear to represent the young emperor Liu Xie, but in fact he was the envoy representing Dong Zhuo. He was very satisfied and particularly useful...
After a while of greetings, the team set off towards Mianzhu City.
Angels walk in the middle.
Liu Yan was half a step behind to accompany him.
Behind them are many Yizhou officials, big and small...
At this time, Mianzhu City was extraordinarily lively with lanterns and colorful decorations.
These were all made by Liu Yan specially to welcome the angel.
"The emperor has issued an edict, and he also invites the pastor of Yizhou..."
After arriving at the Yizhou government office, the envoy cleared his throat and began to speak.
When Liu Yan heard this, he quickly stepped forward and bowed to the north.
Seeing this, the envoy opened the edict and read: "...Yizhou Mu, my uncle! Yizhou is prosperous... Today Chang'an is full of waste and is waiting to be revitalized... One million stones of grain and rice..."
The emperor's messenger read out the contents of the edict in public.
When everyone present heard this, many of them could not help but change their expressions!
Even Liu Yan, who had already known the contents of the edict before, also changed his expression.
After doing this for a while, he bowed respectfully to the angel and took the edict with both hands.
The envoy, who had maintained a solemn expression just now, saw his serious expression disappear when he saw Liu Yan taking the edict.
He immediately showed a bright smile.
"When I came, the Emperor also told me in private that one million stones, grains and rice was indeed quite a lot.
But there is nothing that can be done about it.
The imperial court is too poor now, and Guanzhong is really too poor...
The emperor said that if it really doesn't work, the five hundred thousand stones, even if they are borrowed, will be returned to Yizhou when there is enough food in hand..."
Hearing what the angel said, Liu Yan, who had always looked very solemn, obviously breathed a sigh of relief.
"...One million stones is too much...But since the emperor has an edict, as a member of the Han clan, I have to obey the edict..."
Liu Yan said to the envoy.
What he said was very loyal, and he admitted this matter...
After this most critical thing was confirmed, everything became easier.
The sound of singing and dancing, silk and bamboo sounds resounded in the hall.
Liu Yan talked with the angel and asked about Chang'an...
Liu Zhang, Liu Yan's son, couldn't eat at all.
Facing the exquisite food in front of me, I had no appetite at all.
There are many things holding back in the whole person's heart.
One million rice grains!
This is one million rice grains!
How can you agree to this?!
After taking out this million stone rice grain, how will Yizhou live in the future?
Is my father confused?!
…
The banquet lasted for a long time, until late at night, before it dispersed and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.
After seeing off the emperor's envoy, Liu Yan, who was obviously drunk, returned to his residence.
"Master, Master, Mr. Ji Yu wants to see you."
Someone made a complaint.
Liu Yan heard this, thought for a while, sighed, and said loudly: "Let him come in!"
After a while, Liu Zhang, who was waiting impatiently outside, appeared in front of Liu Yan.
When he came to the room, Liu Zhang couldn't help but be stunned as soon as he saw Liu Yan.
Because not long ago, my father seemed to be drunk. Now sitting here, he is extremely sober and has no intention of being drunk.
"You came to see me now, but what's the matter?"
Initially, Liu Zhang was filled with anger and felt that he had a lot to say.
As a result, at this time, after seeing his father in such a sober state, I didn't know what to say for a while, and the anger in my heart also completely disappeared.
Everyone was a little panicked.
"My child, I don't know why my father agreed to the messenger's request.
This is not the emperor asking for rice from Yizhou. It is clearly Dong Zhuo, the thief, who is asking for rice from Yizhou...
Once one million stones of rice are taken out, we in Yizhou will be completely impoverished.
What the messenger said about borrowing 500,000 dan was just an excuse. If you really believe it, you will never go back..."
After hesitating for a while, Liu Zhang gritted his teeth and decided to tell the matter.
"How do you know that I want to transport one million stones of rice to Guanzhong?"
Liu Yan sat here quietly, waiting for Liu Zhang to finish speaking, and then looked at Liu Zhang and said this.
Hearing his father say this, Liu Zhang was suddenly confused.
No matter what, he never expected that he would get such a sentence from his father.
"Didn't you, didn't you say that you wanted to transport all one million stones of rice to Guanzhong within three, three months?"
Liu Yan sighed and said, "I'm just pretending to be conciliatory.
I just want to use this method to temporarily stabilize Dong Zhuo so that I can have time to make a series of arrangements.
Prepare for the battle that is very likely to occur in the future.
If you don't say this, refuse it in person, and don't accept the edict, the emperor will look bad on his face.
When news like this spreads back to Guanzhong, Dong Zhuo's men will definitely become angry and very likely, they will immediately mobilize their troops to attack Yizhou.
We are not ready yet.
In such a situation, it is very likely that you will suffer a big loss..."
Hearing Liu Yan say this, Liu Zhang felt a strong feeling in his heart and suddenly understood.
Immediately, he saluted Liu Yan with great respect, and said with sincerity and emotion: "My child is stupid and doesn't understand your father's good intentions.
If my father hadn’t explained it, I would have been worried..."
"Now that you know it, you can feel relieved. It's late at night and go to sleep. You will be very busy in the next period of time."
Liu Yan waved his hand and said to Liu Zhang.
Liu Zhang did not leave immediately.
He looked at Liu Yan, hesitating here, as if he was hesitant to speak.
"If you have something to say, just say it! No need to act like a child here!"
Seeing Liu Zhang's appearance, Liu Yan felt a little angry.
Even though his cultivation was acceptable, he still couldn't hold it back and got angry at Liu Zhang.
Liu Zhang's body trembled.
Not daring to be negligent, he immediately spoke: "Father, brother, brother, they are still in Chang'an.
If, if a war breaks out, brother, brother and the others, wouldn’t it be, wouldn’t it be in trouble?”
Liu Yan has more than one son.
Those who stayed in Luoyang were not only the eldest son Liu Fan, but also the second son Liu Dan.
Liu Yan became the shepherd of Yizhou, and these sons stayed in Luoyang as hostages.
At that time, the youngest son Liu Zhang was left behind.
When Liu Yan entered Yizhou, he only took his third son Liu Hao with him.
After Liu Yan entered Sichuan and temporarily stabilized the situation in Yizhou, he began to pretend to be ill and prayed to the court to send his eldest son Liu Fan to Yizhou to take care of his sick old father.
I mean to see you again.
At that time, Emperor Ling was still alive.
Although Emperor Ling acted a little recklessly, he was still very skillful.
Of course Liu Fan will not be allowed to go.
In addition to Liu Fan's status as the eldest son, Liu Fan was also the most accomplished among Liu Yan's sons.
Later, he released his youngest son Liu Zhang, who seemed suspicious and cowardly, and went to Yizhou to serve Liu Yan.
Later, Dong Zhuo moved the capital, and Liu Fan and Liu Dan were not spared by Dong Zhuo, and were also moved to Chang'an.
If Liu Yan goes against Dong Zhuo, his two sons will bear the brunt. This is obvious!
Originally, Liu Yan was so angry at Liu Zhang's confusion and cowardice that he didn't want to have anything to do with his son.
However, when I heard that my son actually mentioned his two brothers at this juncture, I couldn't help but feel a little touched in my heart.
This little son is a little confused, and a little cowardly.
But my heart is still pretty good.
At least he knew that he was thinking of his two brothers at this time.
Unlike the third son Liu Mao, he has not shown up until now.
For a time, Liu Yan regretted that he betrothed Wu Kuang's niece, Wu Yi's sister, to his third son Liu Zhang as his wife!
When Liu Yan entered Yizhou, Wu Yi took his whole family and entered Yizhou with Liu Yan because his deceased father had a good relationship with Liu Yan.
Wu Yi's sister is thirteen or fourteen years old. She is very beautiful and knows etiquette.
On the way to Sichuan, Liu Yan felt very moved.
What's more important is that after arriving in Yizhou, some people who were good at fortune-telling said that Wu Yi's sister was noble and would have an extremely noble status in the future.
Liu Yan then had the idea of taking Wu Yi's sister into his possession.
However, due to the difference in seniority, Wu Yi's younger sister has always been addressed as uncle.
Even if Liu Yan was a bit shameless, in this case, he still couldn't take action.
Finally, let his third son get engaged to him.
Under the words of the favored person, Wu Yi's sister, who will be extremely valuable in the future, his move is somewhat meaningful...
