It was a matter of course that Shanggu County would side with Liu Xiu, and there was nothing surprising about it. Geng Kuang, the governor of Shanggu County, originally planned to surrender to Liu Xuan, and even sent his son Geng Yan to Chang'an to meet him.
However, Wang Lang suddenly proclaimed himself emperor in Handan, causing things to change.
Geng Kuang also discussed with his close officials whether he should support Liu Xuan or Wang Lang.
Shi Jingdan, the head of Shanggu, had a very clear attitude. He pointedly pointed out that Wang Lang's claim to emperor lacked a foundation and would not last long.
In the county government, the chief official is not a minor official. Apart from the prefect and the captain, the highest officials are the county magistrate and the chief official. They are of the same rank.
Jing Dan said that Wang Lang lacked a foundation, not only because he had a weak foundation and could not compare with the reform court headed by Liu Xuan, but also that his proclaiming emperor lacked legitimacy.
He said he was the son of Emperor Cheng, did he really mean that he was the son of Emperor Cheng?
His rhetoric, about being glanced at by Emperor Cheng, golden light falling from the sky, the palace maid getting pregnant, sneaking out of the palace, giving birth to a prince whose real name is Liu Ziyu, etc., cannot withstand scrutiny at all.
Compared with Liu Xuan, a descendant of the Han Dynasty and a relative of the Liu family, Wang Lang, who called himself Liu Ziyu, was completely untenable after he became emperor and would not be recognized by the people of the world.
The reason why Wang Lang is here in Hebei and has the surrender of all counties is because he has the support of the three kings of Hebei. However, these three kings of Hebei are not monolithic.
At present, the only people who really support Wang Lang are Zhao Wang Liu Lin and Guangyang Wang Liu Jie. The most powerful Zhending Wang Liu Yang not only did not go to Handan to surrender to Wang Lang, but he also did not send a team to Handan.
One soldier.
He only expressed verbally that he was willing to respect Wang Lang as the emperor.
Liu Yang's empty words, to put it bluntly, are of no use at the critical moment. If Wang Lang shows signs of decline, it is estimated that the first person to defect from Wang Lang will be Liu Yang.
Jing Dan made a detailed analysis to Geng Kuang, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages between Liu Xuan and Wang Lang clearly and clearly.
After listening to Jing Dan's analysis, Geng Kuang had already made up his mind, and then he went to ask the meritorious officer Shi Kou Xun for his opinion.
In the county government, the meritorious officials are not small officials, second only to the county magistrate and the chief official.
Kou Xun's opinion was similar to Jing Dan's, but not exactly the same. His attitude was that he should support neither Liu Xuan nor Wang Lang, but should support Liu Xiu.
On the surface, Kou Xun's opinions seem to be no different from Jing Dan's.
Liu Xiu was the Grand Sima who was conferred by Liu Xuan. Supporting Liu Xiu was equivalent to supporting Liu Xuan. But at this time, in Kou Xun's heart, he no longer put Liu Xiu and Liu Xuan together.
In Kou Xun's words, Liu Xuan was envious of talents, relied on nepotism, and supported Liu Xuan, which was of no benefit to himself. If not, Geng Kuang's position as governor would not be secure.
But Liu Xiu was completely different. He treated the virtuous and virtuous people well and returned them wherever he went.
In addition, Liu Xiu's moral character is much higher than Liu Xuan's, he knows how to repay his kindness, and has a gentle temperament. Now Liu Xiu is in adversity. If he helps Liu Xiu at this time, with Liu Xiu's temperament, he will definitely be grateful to Geng Kuang.
, Liu Xiu will become famous in the future, and Geng Kuang will also have a bright future.
Geng Kuang's two confidants, Jing Dan and Kou Xun, both hoped that he would side with Liu Xiu and support Liu Xiu's confrontation with Wang Lang. At this time, Geng Yan also returned to Juyang, the city of Shanggu County.
Geng Yan narrated the story of his trip to his father. Finally, he explained that he had worshiped Liu Xiu as his lord and was named a partial general. He persuaded his father to follow him and join Liu Xiu.
Geng Kuang originally wanted to support Liu Xiu, but now that he heard that his son had defected to Liu Xiu, was taken in by Liu Xiu, and was made a partial general, Geng Kuang was overjoyed and became more determined to defect to Liu Xiu.
However, with only the power of Shanggu County supporting Liu Xiu against Wang Lang, it still seemed weak.
At the suggestion of Geng Yan and Jing Dan, Geng Kuang sent Kou Xun to Yuyang to meet with Peng Chong, the prefect of Yuyang, to discuss the two counties joining forces to support Liu Xiu.
Coincidentally, when Kou Xun went to Yuyang County, he happened to meet the envoy sent by Wang Lang to Yuyang.
Wang Lang also attaches great importance to the Youzhou counties. After all, the Youzhou sudden cavalry is famous all over the world. Being able to get the support of the Youzhou counties is equivalent to controlling the Youzhou sudden cavalry, which will allow him to compete for world supremacy in the future.
Along the way, I received a big boost.
After the two parties met, they inquired about each other.
Kou Xun first reported his name and official position. Upon hearing that he was the governor of Shanggu County, Wang Lang's envoy suddenly showed pride and told Kou Xun that he was the emperor's envoy.
.
After hearing the identity of the other party, it turned out that he was an envoy sent by Wang Lang, who was preparing to go to Yuyang and Shanggu to appease him.
Kou Xun nodded, muttering in his heart, don't go, just stay here! No one present, whether they were Kou Xun's men or Wang Lang's envoy's men, no one expected that Kou Xun suddenly drew his sword and struck out with a sword.
The messenger was directly chopped into pieces.
After the envoy fell to the ground, Kou Xun cut off the envoy's head with another sword, then raised it high and shouted at the envoy's men: "Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy."
!”
The soldiers of Wang Lang's army escorting the envoy were all horrified, their faces suddenly changed with fear. Looking at Kou Xun who was holding the envoy's head high, no one dared to resist, they all put down their weapons and surrendered.
Kou Xun took the envoy's head to Yuyang City, the county seat of Yuyang County.
Yuyang City is currently in the midst of a controversy, and the focus of the debate is exactly who belongs to it. The Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan was a descendant of Miaohong, a descendant of the Han Dynasty after Gaozu, and he was also powerful. But the problem is, he
Far away in Chang'an.
Wang Lang's strength is not as good as Liu Xuan's, but he is very close to our side in Handan. Now that Wang Lang has the support of the three kings of Hebei, and so many counties have joined us, it is undoubtedly difficult for our side to fight against Wang Lang's recruitment alone.
Hitting a stone with an egg.
Most of the officials of Yuyang County persuaded the prefect Peng Chong to submit to the prince. There was only one exception, Wu Ziyan of Wu Han Dynasty.
Wu Han can be regarded as Peng Chong's best friend.
Like Peng Chong, Wu Han was also from Nanyang. He came to Yuyang with Peng Chong. The two started a business and ran business together, so their relationship was naturally extraordinary.
Later, when Peng Chong became the governor of Yuyang, he naturally did not forget his brother Wu Han and appointed him as the magistrate of Anle County.
Anle County is right next to Yuyang, separated only by Yangleshui. Yang means Yuyang, and Le means Anle. The name of Yangleshui is also based on the names of these two cities.
Wu Han is a very interesting person. He is obviously impulsive and competitive, but he also has a very good appearance. Just looking at his appearance, he has the image of a handsome gentleman.
He has superior martial arts and is brave and good at fighting. No matter how powerful the enemy is or how many enemy troops he faces, he never changes his expression. But he is not a simple warrior, he is resourceful and has a great mind.
Nowadays, the world is in chaos, heroes have risen together, and heroes have emerged in large numbers. There are many generals who can be both civil and military, but among them, Wu Ziyan of Wu Han is definitely one of the best.
Wu Han's opinion was different from that of other officials. His attitude was very clear and he supported Liu Xiu. As for why Wu Han strongly suggested that Peng Chong support Liu Xiu, the reason was very simple and related to his character. Now the people who support Wang Lang have already
There are so many, one more of you is not more, one less of you is not more, you are now surrendering to the prince, what kind of credit is this, who can remember you?
On the contrary, supporting the weak Liu Xiu and defeating Wang Lang would be an unparalleled achievement, which would make him famous all over the world and go down in history.
This was what Wu Han was thinking. Peng Chong asked him why he supported Liu Xiu, and he responded in the same way. Supporting Wang Lang to win the world would be of no merit, but supporting Liu Xiu to win the world would be a great service, and he would be granted the title of marquis and prime minister, and his future would be boundless.
After listening to Wu Han's words, the officials present were almost angry. Should they support Wang Lang or Liu Xuan? This is a matter of life and death. How can it be such a trivial matter?
However, Peng Chong deeply believed in what Wu Han said. The relationship between Peng Chong and Wu Han was unmatched by others, and the weight of Wu Han's words was much heavier than that of others.
Although Peng Chong did not express his opinion at that time whether he should support Liu Xiu or Wang Lang, his heart had begun to tilt towards Liu Xiu's side.
It happened that at this time, Kou Xun came to Yuyang, met with Peng Chong, and proposed that Yuyang and Shanggu counties should join forces to support Liu Xiu.
Hearing that Shanggu County also supported Liu Xiu, Peng Chong showed a happy expression on the spot, with his eyes shining brightly.
The Yuyang officials present still used the same old rhetoric and expressed their opposition one after another, believing that Wang Lang was strong and Liu Xiu was weak. Wang Lang not only had the support of the three kings, but also most of the counties in Jizhou had surrendered to Wang Lang.
And what does Liu Xiu have now? Only Zhongshan County is supporting him, and many counties within Zhongshan County have also turned to Wang Lang.
In their view, Liu Xiu's demise was only a matter of time. We must not board Liu Xiu's sunken ship and lose our fortune and life in vain.
Wu Han looked around at everyone, snorted coldly, and said angrily: "What a bunch of fearless rats!"
Without saying much, Kou Xun asked his servants to bring up a round package and opened it in public. Everyone took a closer look and found that the package contained a bloody human head.
He pointed at the head and said: "This thief is Wang Lang's envoy. He wanted to go to Yuyang, but I met him on the way!" As he spoke, Kou Xun bowed his hands to Peng Chong and said, "If you are brave enough, I will kill you on behalf of Governor Peng."
Kill this thief!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present was shocked, and some officials jumped up from their seats.
Pointing his finger at Kou Xun, he was trembling with anxiety and anger, and shouted angrily: "Kou Xun, you are so brave, privately killing the emperor's messenger, what crime do you deserve?"
"My lord, we cannot let Kou Xun go! Zhuzi was so audacious that he killed the emperor's messenger, and the emperor blamed him. My lord is in danger, and Yuyang is in danger!"
"My lord, please capture Kou Xun immediately, send him to Handan, and hand him over to the emperor for disposal!"
While people were chatting, Wu Han suddenly laughed. He stood up, walked to the severed head, looked down, and then looked up to the sky and laughed. His laughter was also successfully interrupted.
above the noise of officials.
Everyone looked at Wu Han, but they all dared to be angry and dare not speak out. The relationship between Wu Han and Peng Chong was so good that even though he was just a county magistrate, no one dared to offend him.
Wu Han glanced at everyone and asked with a half-smile: "When you want me to take the Kou Gongcao and send it to Handan, and hand it over to Wang Lang, do you want me to go to Handan in person and bear the thorn to apologize to Wang Lang?"
"
The officials present all lowered their heads, and no one answered the question. In fact, they all had this intention.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Peng Chong was furious. He slammed the table and said loudly: "Yuyang and Shanggu live next to each other. They complement each other and are indispensable. Now, Governor Geng has decided to support Da Sima. I, Peng Chong,
Peng Chong should advance and retreat together with Governor Geng. Anyone who dares to persuade me to join the prince will suffer the same fate as the thief!" As he spoke, Peng Chong pointed at the severed head in front of Wu Han.
