Four hundred and seventieth chapters draw from the bottom of the pot
Liu Xuan was extremely wary of Liu Xiu's growing power in Hebei. He summoned his confidant Zhao Meng to discuss with him, planning to remove Liu Xiu's title of marquis, remove Liu Xiu from his official post, and recall him back to Chang'an to resume his duties.
Zhao Meng immediately raised objections. He was not leaning towards Liu Xiu, but felt that it was impossible for Liu Xuan to recall Liu Xiu now. wavv
At present, Liu Xiu has an army of more than 100,000, with strong soldiers and horses, and the support of Shanggu, Yuyang, Zhongshan, Zhending and other counties. It can be said that Liu Xiu now is no longer the Liu Xiu he was in Wancheng and Luoyang.
Now it is too late to cut off Liu Xiu's title, remove Liu Xiu from his official position, and call him back to Chang'an. If we do this, the greatest possibility is to directly force Liu Xiu to rebel.
After listening to Zhao Meng's analysis, Liu Xuan broke out in a cold sweat. If Liu Xiu rebelled, he wouldn't even have a way to deal with it. After all, Hebei is not his territory. Currently, he only has a close confidant like Xie Gong in Hebei.
Liu Xuan swallowed his saliva and asked: "So, what do you think of Yi Aiqing?"
Zhao Meng smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, when dealing with Liu Xiu now, not only cannot he be demoted or dismissed from office, but he must give priority to comfort and be gentle as a supplement, so that Liu Xiu will unknowingly let down his guard, and then your Majesty will take the bottom of the cauldron to Liu Xiu."
Liu Xuan's eyes suddenly lit up, he leaned his head forward and asked urgently: "Ai Qing, if you have any good ideas, please tell me in detail!"
Zhao Meng said: "Liu Xiu has made great contributions in annihilating Wang Lang, and your Majesty should reward him!"
Liu Xuan was silent for a moment and asked: "Ai Qing, how do you think I should reward you?"
Zhao Meng said seriously: "Your Majesty, you can make Liu Xiu the king!"
Liu Xuan narrowed his eyes and said in surprise: "Become the king?"
Zhao Meng said with a smile: "Being a king without a land is just an empty title. As far as your majesty is concerned, there is no loss at all. In doing so, it also shows that your majesty is clear about rewards and punishments and is selfless."
Liu Xuan nodded thoughtfully.
Zhao Meng continued: "At the same time, Your Majesty can transfer Zhao Yong, the acting prefect of the county, to take up a post in Chang'an."
"Oh?" Liu Xuan looked at Zhao Meng in confusion.
Zhao Meng said: "Although the main force of the more than 100,000 troops under Liu Xiu's command is the Zhending Army, the elite is the Youzhou Army. It can be said that the two counties of Shanggu and Yuyang that have always supported Liu Xiu are what Liu Xiu currently has.
Maximum capital. If your Majesty directly attacks Shanggu and Yuyang counties in Youzhou, Liu Xiu will be alert. Your Majesty can do the next best thing and attack Daijun first. Daijun is adjacent to Shanggu, and your Majesty has obtained Daijun.
This will pose a direct threat to Shanggu County, one of Liu Xiu's foundations."
Liu Xuan felt that his brain was a little weak. He could not fully understand what Zhao Meng said, but he instinctively felt that it made sense. Zhao Meng continued: "His Majesty's acquisition of Daijun is just the first step to remove salary from the bottom of the cauldron. Next,
Then you can implement the second step, appointing a Youzhou shepherd who is loyal to Your Majesty to take charge of the troops of the Youzhou monarchs, and completely cut off the connection between Liu Xiu and Youzhou. After completing this step, Your Majesty can implement the third step, to deal with
Take action in Zhongshan, Zhending and other places."
Having said this, he said meaningfully: "Your Majesty, Liu Xiu is different from Liu Xiu back then. Your Majesty, if you want to deal with Liu Xiu, you have to do it step by step and slowly, and you must not act too hastily!"
Although both Liu and Liu Xiu were in charge of troops, Liu had no base of his own and was still under Liu Xuan's nose. In addition, Liu was not wary of Liu Xuan, and Liu's own personality was also arrogant. These various factors added to the
Together, Liu Xuanneng succeeded in killing Liu.
But Liu Xiu is different. He now has his own foundation, and he is far away in Hebei, beyond the reach of the court. Moreover, Liu Xiu's character is much more cautious than Liu, and he is more popular. Liu Xuan wants to use the same method to get rid of Liu, and then
If you copy it to Liu Xiu, there is no chance of success.
After listening to Zhao Meng's 'three-step move', Liu Xuan nodded repeatedly, feeling that Zhao Meng's words were reasonable. He responded: "Okay! This matter is in your opinion!"
Zhao Meng rolled her eyes and said: "While your Majesty is conferring the title of king, you can also test Liu Xiu by calling him back to Chang'an and asking him to temporarily hand over his military power to Xie Shangshu."
Liu Xuan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Liu Xiu agrees?"
Zhao Meng shook his head and said cheerfully: "Liu Xiu agrees, of course it's best. Your Majesty can save a lot of trouble. If Liu Xiu doesn't agree, it doesn't matter. Your Majesty can follow Wei Chen's plan and implement it step by step. At the same time,
It will also be beneficial to Your Majesty to give Liu Xiu a reputation for resisting and disobeying the decree."
"Yeah!" Liu Xuan nodded repeatedly while listening. When Zhao Meng finished speaking, he put his hands on his hands and smiled, saying, "Ai Qing, this is a very good plan!"
Zhao Meng has Meng in his name, and his name sounds very cute, but his personality has nothing to do with Meng. Zhao Meng has a vicious mind and a narrow mind, and he will definitely retaliate for his anger.
Because he was Liu Xuan's father-in-law, he was honored as the father-in-law of the country, and Liu Xuan did favor him, so Zhao Meng was lawless and domineering.
In the past, a doctor impeached Zhao Meng, saying that Zhao Meng's behavior was indulgent. After Liu Xuan heard this, he flew into a rage. He drew his sword on the spot and used it to hit the doctor who was impeaching Zhao Meng.
A doctor is not a minor official. In modern terms, he is the emperor's bodyguard, secretary, advisor, and entourage all in one. He can advise the emperor at any time, supervise officials, and impeach ministers.
However, when the doctor said something bad about Zhao Meng, Liu Xuan would draw his sword and strike him on the spot, which shows how much Liu Xuan's favor towards Zhao Meng went to him.
This matter was not over yet. When Zhao Meng knew that the doctor was impeaching him, he was furious and held a grudge. During the morning of the next day, Zhao Meng stood in the court hall, grabbed the doctor's clothes and walked out. When he got outside the main hall, he pulled out his hair
The sword wants to kill.
This situation shocked all the ministers in the dynasty. Liu Xuan also came forward to dissuade Zhao Meng, but Zhao Meng did not listen to Liu Xuan at all. In front of Liu Xuan, he drew his sword and killed the doctor.
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After that, Liu Xuan did not punish Zhao Meng in any way, and the matter just fell into place.
Zhao Meng was now so arrogant and domineering in the Gengshi court, and Liu Xuan also deliberately indulged himself, which made Zhao Meng even more lawless.
I should also mention here by the way that at this time, Liu Xuan had already controlled great real power and was no longer a puppet emperor in the hands of the Green Forest Department.
Relatively speaking, people from the Green Forest Department were not very ambitious. Even when the Green Forest Department was at its peak and had the greatest power, they never thought of usurping the throne or replacing Liu Xuan.
As long as they are given a certain amount of power, given a noble identity and status, and allowed to live a stable and comfortable life, people of the green forest type will be content.
The lack of ambition of the Green Forest Department gave Liu Xuan the opportunity to take real power.
In the court, Liu Xuan used a large number of confidants who were loyal to him, such as Zhao Meng, Xie Gong, etc., who were all promoted by him, and no one from the Green Forest Department asked about this.
As long as Liu Xuan doesn't provoke them and doesn't harm their vital interests, Liu Xuan can do whatever he likes. They all turn a blind eye to Liu Xuan.
This is the current situation of the Gengshi court. Liu Xuan's ability to govern the world is not as good as Wang Mang's.
Wang Mang has been in power for more than ten years, and there has never been a powerful official in the court who can hold the whole sky with one hand. However, Liu Xuan was lucky. Only one year after he ascended the throne, Zhao Meng, a ruthless man with overwhelming power, appeared in the court.
Foreign relatives and powerful ministers.
Liu Xuan adopted Zhao Meng's advice and sent an edict to Zhao Yong, the prefect of Daijun, to transfer him to Chang'an.
Zhao Yong was transferred to Chang'an, just like a local official who was transferred to the central government and was naturally promoted. After receiving Liu Xuan's edict, Zhao Yong was very happy and held a banquet in the mansion that day.
Both sides of the book table.
Let’s talk about Wang Lang. After Liu Xiujun and Xie Gongjun both invaded Handan, Wang Lang took only one of his favorite concubines and fled Handan in a hurry, fleeing all the way south.
Wang Lang planned to flee to Wei County. Wei County was vast and sparsely populated, so as long as he found a remote place and hid there for a year and a half, it wouldn't be a problem.
However, not long after they left Handan, the guards sent by Liu Jie stopped leaving and wanted to return to Handan.
The order they received was to escort Wang Lang out of Handan. Once they were outside Handan and out of danger, the rest of the matter would be out of their hands.
You must know that the number of palace guards who escaped with Wang Lang was not large, only about two hundred. The remaining five or six hundred guards were all sent by Liu Jie.
If these people leave, there will be only about two hundred people left around him. Let alone Liu Xiu, if Xie Gong catches up, he will definitely die. Even if he encounters thieves, he will probably be in trouble.
Wang Lang said to the leading general: "General Zhong, you can't go back to Handan now. You must at least escort me to Wei County before leaving!"
General Zhong's name was Zhong Sheng. He bowed his hands to Wang Lang and said: "Your Majesty, I have been ordered by the King of Guangyang to escort your Majesty out of the city. Now that your Majesty has left Handan safely, we should also return to Handan and go to Guangyang."
The king is restored!"
Wang Lang didn't know that both Liu Lin and Liu Jie had defected to Liu Xiu, and that the Han army was able to invade Handan because they were secretly responsible.
He said seriously: "Liu Xiujun and Xie Gongjun are coming fiercely. King Guangyang is in the city and is unable to support himself. Isn't it already..."
He didn't finish what he said, but the meaning was very clear. Now it's hard to say whether Liu Jie is still alive. When you go back, who will you look for to revive him?
Zhong Sheng said seriously: "I have been deeply favored by King Guangyang. If King Guangyang is here, we will be there. If King Guangyang unfortunately dies, we will go to hell with King Guangyang!"
When Wang Lang heard this, he was filled with emotions. Why could Liu Jie have such loyal subordinates, but he didn't?
He sighed and said: "You will escort me to Wei County first. After arriving at Wei County, it will not be too late for you to return to Handan. As long as I can successfully arrive at Wei County, I will reward you greatly."
"This..." Zhong Sheng showed hesitation and looked at each other with his surrounding subordinates. Finally, everyone's eyes fell on the carriage of the carriage.
In the carriage, except for the prince's beloved concubine, there was nothing else. The prince's current promise was, to put it bluntly, just a blank check.
Zhong Sheng thought for a moment, then raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. We must return to Handan immediately!"
Wang Lang saw that Zhong Sheng and others were already attracted, but he didn't see any money with him, so he thought he was deceiving them.
He smiled leisurely and said: "If you go further, you will reach Baiqu. When you reach Baiqu, I will naturally reward you."
"this……"
"What? General Zhong doesn't believe what I say? Jun Wu is joking! Since I said that Baiqu will reward you, I will never break my promise!"
Zhong Sheng looked at his subordinates again, then bowed and saluted, saying, "I don't dare!"
Wang Lang nodded with satisfaction and turned back to the carriage.
With Wang Lang's promise of a lot of money, Zhong Sheng and others did not abandon Wang Lang and escorted him to continue walking south. At dawn, they finally arrived at Baiqu.
Baiqu is a river with many mountains and forests nearby. Under the guidance of Wang Lang, the team walked into a large mountain forest.
