In October, Fenwei general Liu Xin won a great victory in Runan and conquered Chengyang in one fell swoop. Liu Sheng, who had been emperor in Chengyang for less than two months, was killed by Liu Xin. Yan You and Chen Mao also None of them escaped, and they were all executed by Liu Xin.
In the same month, Liu Xiu was ordered to go to Luoyang and take office. At this time, Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua had just gotten married. They were separated at this time. Liu Xiu was very reluctant to part with them, but the imperial edict had been issued and he had to obey it.
Yin Lihua understood Liu Xiu's difficulties and advised him many times in private. Liu Xuan wanted to kill him. If he disobeyed the imperial edict this time, it would give Liu Xuan the opportunity to take action.
How could Liu Xiu not understand the truth? In the end, he followed Liu Xuan's imperial edict and left Wancheng for Luoyang accompanied by Zhu You, Feng Yi, Wang Ba and others.
On the way, Yao Qi, who had been running around outside to collect information, also rushed over and followed Liu Xiu to Luoyang.
Liu Xiu did not serve in Luoyang for a long time. He arrived in Luoyang in October. After the New Year, just after the first month, Liu Xuan made Chang'an the capital. The Gengshi court headed by Liu Xuan set out from Wancheng and came to Luoyang. Luoyang.
After Liu Xuan arrived in Luoyang, Liu Xiu's Sili Xiaowei was finally done. In Luoyang, Liu Xuan specially sent people to inquire about Liu Xiu's political achievements and reputation. The results obtained made Liu Xuan very dissatisfied. .
It’s not that Liu Xiu didn’t do a good job, it’s that he did a great job.
After Liu Xiu arrived in Luoyang, everything abided by the Han system. He had very strict requirements for himself and his subordinates. Even the clothes must comply with the Han system tradition, without any sloppiness.
Every time Liu Xiu and others went out wearing Han official uniforms, the common people on the road would naturally think of the Han Dynasty back then and feel sad. While lamenting Wang Mang's evil deeds, they also respected Liu Xiu and others from the bottom of their hearts.
On the other hand, when Liu Xuan entered Luoyang with officials from the reforming court, people were dressed in a variety of ways.
The ministers of the Gengshi court were mainly from the Green Forest Department. People from the Green Forest Department were all born in the grasslands. They didn't care about official uniforms or not. Anyway, as long as the clothes were good-looking and pretty enough, no matter whether they were men's or women's clothing, they would all be fine. Wear it on yourself.
Liu Xiu welcomed Liu Xuan and others into Luoyang. When they saw Liu Xiu and his entourage wearing traditional Han official uniforms walking past, the people on both sides of the street all clapped their hands and praised them.
When they saw the ministers from the Gengshi court, the people were dumbfounded and thought it was a troupe entering the city!
Without comparison, there is no harm. This comparison made people respect and love Liu Xiu even more. They also criticized the ministers of the Gengshi court and even the Gengshi emperor Liu Xuan.
The attitude of the people has reached Liu Xuan's ears. Can Liu Xuan be happy?
Liu Xuan hated him so much that his teeth itched, but he had nothing to do with Liu Xiu, because he really couldn't find anything wrong with Liu Xiu, not even the slightest clue. Liu Xiu could even build the palace. very good.
In February, the Gengshi court headed by Liu Xuan entered Chang'an and officially established its capital in Chang'an. The next step was to confer the title of king.
In addition to some important Liu family members who were granted the title of king, people from the Green Forest family also received the throne.
Wang Kuang was named King of Biyang, Wang Feng was named King of Xuancheng, Zhu Kun was named King of Jiaodong, Wang Chang was named King of Deng, Shentu Jian was named King of Pingshi, and Chen Mu was named King of Yinping. , Zhang Yan was the king of Huaiyang, Liao Zhan was the king of Rang, Cheng Dan was the king of Xiangyi, Zong was the king of Yingyin, and Yin Zun was the king of Lu. Li Yi, who had meritorious service in killing Liu Yan, was also named the king of Wuyin. .
Everyone in the Green Forest Department was very satisfied with Liu Xuan's title of king. Only one person went out, Zhu Tuna.
Not only did Zhu Tuna not accept Liu Xuan's title of king, he was also very dissatisfied with Liu Xuan's wanton title of king.
In Zhu Tuna's words, when Emperor Gaozu was still alive, he had already set the rules that people with different surnames were not allowed to be crowned kings. But now, Liu Xuan has crowned so many kings with different surnames at once. Isn't this an open violation of the ancestral system?
It is reasonable to say that the Liu family members opposed Liu Xuan's granting of a king with a different surname, but Zhu Kun, a person with vested interests, also opposed Liu Xuan's granting of a king with a different surname. This is very interesting.
In fact, it is difficult for a person to distinguish between good and bad simply.
Zhu Tuna was one of the culprits who killed Liu Yan, but he was also an unswerving defender of the Han system.
Regarding the matter of kings with different surnames, he did not care about the gains and losses of personal interests at all, but repeatedly emphasized that he must abide by the ancestral system and not destroy it.
Zhu Tuna was really not pretending to be humble. Until the end, he did not accept the title of King of Jiaodong given to him by Liu Xuan.
The matter of being crowned king naturally has nothing to do with Liu Xiu. Liu Xuan wanted to kill Liu Xiu but couldn't find a suitable opportunity, so how could he be crowned king?
Seeing that Liu Xuan was afraid of Liu Xiu and worried that Liu Xiu would be in danger if things continued like this, Liu Ci and Liu Xin proposed to Liu Xuan that Liu Xiu should go to Hebei to recruit him.
The Gengshi court replaced the Xinmang court and became the orthodox one, but there were still many counties and counties across the country that did not submit to the court, and Hebei was the "hardest hit area".
When Wang Mang was still alive, the Hebei region no longer obeyed the imperial court's orders.
The Hebei area in the Han Dynasty was different from the current Hebei Province. It referred to a large area north of the Yellow River.
This area is densely populated and rich in grain products. There was a nursery rhyme at the time, "If you can't get it, it's in Hebei." It means that whether you can secure the world depends on whether you can get Hebei. It can be seen from this that the Hebei region importance.
However, the current situation in Hebei is extremely complicated. First of all, there are too many rebel armies in Hebei, such as the Bronze Horse Army, the Datong Army, the Fifth Academy Army, the Youlai Army, etc.
Pick any one at random, and the number of troops is tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, especially the Bronze Horse Army, which has reached 200,000 to 300,000 troops. In the entire Hebei region, just the insurgent armies of all sizes combined, there are Millions of people.
In addition, there are local warlords in Hebei who support their own troops. The more famous ones are the Three Kings of Hebei, King Zhao Mu, King Guangyang and King Zhending.
The three kings of Hebei are all princes and nobles with the surname Liu. The power of King Zhao Mu is currently dominated by Liu Lin, the power of King Guangyang is dominated by Liu Jie, and the power of King Zhending is dominated by Liu Yang.
It is not that easy for the Gengshi court to conquer the three kings of Hebei. Why should I give up the forces and troops I have built so hard to you in vain? If the Gengshi court wants to conquer the rebels in Hebei, it will be even harder. , there are millions of rebels, most of them are desperadoes. If they rise up in rebellion and live a free and easy life, how can they obediently submit to you and reform the imperial court?
The Hebei area was both important and difficult to conquer, so the Gengshi court urgently needed a capable person to go to Hebei and recruit them.
The candidate proposed by Liu Ci and Liu Xin was Liu Xiu, but he was immediately strongly opposed by Zhu Tuna and Li Yi. Hebei was too important and too far away from the imperial court. It would be no different to let Liu Xiu go to such a far and important place. Yu Fanghu returns to the mountain.
Zhu Tuna and Li Yi were both one of the culprits who killed Liu Yan, and neither of them wanted to give Liu Xiu a chance to make a comeback.
Neither of them had any objections to making Liu Xiu a marquis, making him a lieutenant, and building a house here in Luoyang. After all, they were under the eyes of the imperial court. No matter how capable Liu Xiu was, he couldn't afford to build anything. storm.
But now Liu Ci, Liu Xin's uncles and nephews proposed to let Liu Xiu go to Hebei to recruit him. Zhu Tuna and Li Yi immediately quit. In their opinion, Liu Xiu must not be given such an opportunity.
If in the past, Liu Xuan would not dare to do anything that the Green Forest Department did not allow Liu Xuan to do, and would definitely obey the orders of the Green Forest Department. But now, things are different from the past, and Liu Xuan is not as afraid of the Green Forest Department as before.
First of all, Wang Mang died and he has become the emperor of Han Dynasty recognized by the world. Secondly, Liu Xin destroyed Liu Sheng and allowed Liu Xuan to take part of the military power. This undoubtedly greatly increased Liu Xuan's confidence.
Originally, he didn't think it was a good idea to let Liu Xiu go to Hebei to recruit him, but Zhu Kun stood up and opposed it, which inadvertently aroused Liu Xuan's rebellious mentality.
Liu Xuan did not make a clear statement at the time, but only said that he would think about it again. But after that, he immediately called Cao Jing and Cao Xu, father and son, to discuss the matter in secret.
Ever since Cao Xu let Liu Xuan take over the military power of the Yingchuan Army, Liu Xuan had become a favorite of Cao Xu and completely obeyed his words. But what Liu Xuan didn't know was that the person behind Cao Xu was actually Liu Xiu.
Now Cao Xu had understood Liu Xuan's thoughts, which was to kill Liu Xiu. Now when Liu Xuan mentioned the matter of appeasing Hebei, he asked calmly: "Your Majesty, is the situation in Hebei no longer complicated?"
Liu Xuan said seriously: "Of course it's complicated."
"If the imperial court sends people to appease people, can they do anything in Hebei?"
Liu Xuan thought for a while, sighed, shook his head and said, "It's difficult!"
In the Hebei region, there are uprising armies, rebel armies, and local separatist forces all over the place. How easy is it to appease them?
Cao Xu said: "So, no matter who goes to Hebei to appease the people, they will escape the tiger's mouth and escape death."
At this point, he stopped talking. But the meaning behind his words was already very straightforward. Didn't His Majesty only want to kill Liu Xiu? It would be an excellent opportunity for Liu Xiu to go to Hebei to appease him.
There is no need for His Majesty to personally take action in the future and get a bad reputation. If Liu Xiu goes to Hebei, someone will naturally kill him.
After Liu Xuan heard this, he felt that the cottage suddenly opened up. Yes, he couldn't find a suitable opportunity or reason to attack Liu Xiu, so borrowing the hands of others to kill Liu Xiu had nothing to do with him.
Regarding Cao Xu's words, Liu Xuan nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing with them.
But Liu Xuan didn't think about it. Could it be that Zhu Tuna and Li Yi couldn't think of the problems that Cao Xu could think of? Since they knew that Liu Xiu had a narrow escape from going to Hebei, why did the two of them stand up and strongly oppose it?
This is all because Zhu Jun and Li Yi know Liu Xiu's ability too well. For others, it may be a narrow escape, but for Liu Xiu, it may not be possible.
Putting Liu Xiu so far away in Hebei will make it difficult for the court to control him in the future. Once Liu Xiu really develops and grows in Hebei, the threat to the court will be incalculable.
Zhu Tuna and Li Yi were too afraid of Liu Xiu. Relatively speaking, Liu Xuan was more jealous of Liu Xiu.
He was obviously the emperor, and Liu Xiu was just a minister, but Liu Xiu was able to marry Yin Lihua, the most beautiful woman in the world. No matter where Liu Xiu went, he was loved by the local people, but he was compared to himself, the emperor.
If Liu Xiu was put under his nose again, Liu Xuan felt that he was going crazy.
After thinking about it, Liu Xuan finally accepted the advice of Liu Ci and Liu Xin and decided to let Liu Xiu go to Hebei to recruit him. At the same time, he pretended to give Liu Xiu an official position and perform the affairs of the Sima.
The so-called "doing great Sima's work" does not mean that Liu Xiu is actually made a great Sima, but that Liu Xiu is given the power of a great Sima within a limited area. This means that he can have the power of a great Sima in the Hebei area.
, has the power to mobilize troops and horses in local counties and counties in Hebei.
This title is completely false. The counties and counties in Hebei are either under the control of the rebel army or the three kings of Hebei. Who will obey Liu Xiu's instructions?
However, Liu Xuan's imperial edict would have made Liu Xiu cry with joy on the spot if it had not been for his amazing self-control.
He had been waiting for this opportunity to break away from the Gengshi court and Liu Xuan's control for so long that he almost became numb.
It is indeed very dangerous to go to Hebei to recruit people. You may be broken into pieces at any time and die without a burial place, but at the same time, this is also an opportunity to "the sky is high and birds can fly, and the sea is wide and fish can jump".
Liu Xiu's comeback and imperial hegemony truly began at this time.