Chapter Five Hundred and Twenty Nine Chang'an Change
We have successively pacified many rebel armies such as Qingdu, Bongma, Gaohu, Chonglian, Wuxiao, Youlai, Daqiang, and Wuban, which greatly damaged the arrogance of the Hebei rebels. The situation in Hebei has gradually stabilized.
At this time, Liu Xiu's generals once again began an organized campaign to persuade them to advance.
If Liu Xiu doesn't proclaim himself emperor, let alone seek to conquer the world, even if they occupy Hebei, their name is not justified and their words are inconsistent. Only Liu Xiu proclaims himself emperor, and he is the emperor. From now on, whoever Liu Xiu calls a thief will be a thief.
, wherever Liu Xiu pointed, they could justifiably hit him.
But the terrible thing is that Liu Xiu has always been very resistant to proclaiming himself emperor. At least so far, Liu Xiu has not shown any ambition to prepare to become emperor, nor has he made any preparations in this regard. This makes everyone below feel uncomfortable.
Extremely anxious.
In the past, they relied on Zhu to persuade Jin, but to no avail. This time, they changed representatives and asked Ma Wu to take the lead in trying to persuade Jin, but the result was still fruitless, and Liu Xiu sent him out of the camp.
After this incident, the Han army led by Liu Xiu continued southward and entered Zhongshan in Jizhou from Youzhou. Once in Zhongshan County, the Han army generals once again launched a large-scale persuasion to advance.
All the generals came to Liu Xiu's camp together. Seeing such a large group of people coming in, Liu Xiu was startled and looked around at everyone in confusion.
Wu Han took a step forward and said loudly: "Wang Mang usurped the throne, the Han Dynasty was interrupted, the general system was ruined, bandits were everywhere, the heroes were angry, and the people suffered! The king first fought at Kunyang, Wang Mang was defeated, then he fought at Handan, Wang Lang was defeated, and the northern prefectures and counties were defeated.
Because of the king's martial arts, we were able to pacify. Today, the king got two out of three points. He conquered the territory across the state and had millions of soldiers. In terms of force, who can be more powerful than the king? In terms of morality, who can be compared with the king? We are all.
I heard that the throne of the emperor cannot be empty for a long time, and the destiny of heaven cannot be violated. I hope that the king will comply with the destiny of heaven, think for the sake of the country, and think about the people of the world!"
After speaking, Wu Han tossed his robe, knelt down, and kowtowed forward.
"Zi Yan, please get up..."
Liu Xiu was about to step forward to help Wu Han. The generals behind him, Geng, Cen Peng, Zhu, Yao Qi, and Ma Wu, knelt down and kowtowed, and said in unison: "Please obey the destiny of the king, be considerate of the country, and be considerate of the people of the world."
For your own sake!”
Looking at the kneeling generals, Liu Xiu sighed softly. At this time, it is impossible to say that Liu Xiu has no ambition to become emperor at all. However, becoming emperor is not a trivial matter and involves all aspects.
There is no turning back. Once you embark on this path, there is no turning back. Many people could have lived a good life, but because they rashly proclaimed themselves emperors, their reputations were ruined and their lives were ruined.
Liu Sheng of Runan was killed for proclaiming himself emperor, Wang Lang of Hebei was killed for proclaiming emperor, and the orphan child of the Han Dynasty was also killed for proclaiming emperor.
In today's world, an emperor appears from time to time, and then becomes the target of public criticism, and ends up dying without a burial place.
With so many lessons learned from the past, Liu Xiu had to think carefully. Liu Xiu always made decisions and then acted. Now that he was asked to become emperor, he always felt that something was missing, and he felt very unsure.
He said quietly: "Everyone, please get up! Today in Hebei, the thieves and bandits are still undecided. Liu Xuan and Chimei are all eyeing Hebei. At a time of internal and external troubles, why rush to proclaim the emperor? This matter will be discussed later!"
Geng Chun, who was kneeling on the ground and kowtowed, suddenly raised his head and said loudly: "The scholar-bureaucrats in the world abandoned their homes and careers, left their hometowns, traveled thousands of miles to follow the king, fought in the south and the north, went through life and death, walked between swords, and never complained.
I just hope that I can climb the dragon and the phoenix and show my ambition! Now, the great cause has been decided, the weather, the right place, and the people are all on the king's side. However, the king keeps delaying and refuses to proclaim the emperor. Doesn't it make the scholar-bureaucrats feel cold?
I feel that I will achieve nothing even if I stay with the king. I am worried that once the scholar-bureaucrats decide to leave, it will be difficult to reunite in the future. Your king, you must not miss the opportunity now!"
Wu Han raised his head and said, "General, I second the proposal!"
Geng and others also looked up at Liu Xiu and said in unison: "Boshan's words are very good, I will second my opinion!"
Liu Zhi directly changed his words and said: "Wei Chen seconded the proposal!"
Liu Xiu was always decisive in doing things, but he seemed hesitant when it came to proclaiming himself emperor.
Because this was not his personal matter, but directly related to the life and death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command, he had to be cautious and consider all the consequences clearly.
He was silent for a long time and said quietly: "Okay, I know what you are thinking. Now, let me be alone for a while."
Everyone looked at each other in shock, and finally shook their heads helplessly and exited Liu Xiu's tent.
When they arrived outside, everyone gathered around Wu Han and said all at once: "Until now, the king still can't make up his mind. I really don't know what the king is worried about."
Ma Wu said: "The rebel army in Hebei is now severely weakened and there is no need to worry about it. Liu Xuan and Chimei are fighting fiercely and have no time to look north. The king is now sitting in Youzhou, Jizhou and Hanoi. Ask the world
, who can have the celestial phenomena and human affairs of a great king?"
Jing Dan said thoughtfully: "I think it's not that the king doesn't want to be emperor, but he still lacks an opportunity!"
"What opportunity?" Everyone looked at Jing Dan in confusion.
Jing Dan smiled bitterly and shrugged, saying: "As for what kind of opportunity is missing, I'm afraid only the king knows it."
Liu Xiu was the Prince of Xiao conferred by Liu Xuan, and was the Sili Xiaowei of the Gengshi imperial court. On Liu Xuan's orders, he carried out major Sima affairs and patrolled Hebei.
If he proclaimed himself emperor in Hebei, it would be tantamount to betraying the imperial court and betraying Liu Xuan. Then wouldn't Liu Xiu become a despicable and shameless villain who repays kindness with hatred?
There is one big difference between Liu Xiu and the heroes of the past and present.
Some heroes care more about the real than the virtual, like Cao Cao in later generations, who used the emperor to control the princes. As long as I firmly control the power, I don't care at all what other people say about me.
Some heroes care more about the virtual than the real. Like Xiang Yu, he could obviously kill Liu Bang, the biggest threat, at the Hongmen Banquet, but for the sake of his own good reputation, he chose not to do so.
Liu Xiu is different from Xiang Yu and Cao Cao. He wants to be both real and imaginary. I want to win the world and have a good reputation. I want to sit on the supreme throne and get a good reputation.
I want to have my cake and eat it too, with the admiration of people all over the world.
Real power, false reputation, why so many heroes from ancient to modern times can only choose one of the two? Don't they want to have both? It's not that they don't want to, but it's too difficult to have both.
Liu Xiu still refuses to proclaim himself emperor. To put it bluntly, he wants to be both real and imaginary at the same time. He is making his road to becoming emperor more difficult.
Just as Jing Dan said, Liu Xiu is indeed waiting for an opportunity now, an opportunity that allows him to seize it both realistically and imaginatively.
He thought he would have to wait for a while longer, but this opportunity came much earlier than he expected.
Li Song and Su Mao were defeated in the battle with the Red Eyebrow Army. Su Mao fled to Luoyang and took refuge under Zhu Tuna and Li Yi, while Li Song fled back to Chang'an. After this battle was defeated, Chang'an had no resistance to the Red Eyebrow Army.
The strength of Mei Xijin.
At this time, Shen Tujian, Liao Zhan, Zhang and other green forest generals all returned to their true colors as thieves and suggested to Liu Xuan that Chang'an could no longer be defended. Anyway, Chang'an would fall into the hands of the Red Eyebrow Army sooner or later, and would be defeated by the Red Eyebrow Army.
The Mei army is looting, so why don't we do it ourselves first?
We will first loot Chang'an ourselves, then evacuate Chang'an and seek refuge elsewhere. As long as we have money and food in hand, we can make a comeback no matter where we go.
You must know that people like Shen Tujian, Liao Zhan, and Zhang were all princes and nobles in the Gengshi court, and they were the founding heroes of the Gengshi court.
But now, these people actually proposed to Liu Xuan to sack their own capital. From this, we can see who these green forest generals are.
Even describing them as shameless and despicable does not seem so appropriate.
Liu Xuan was fatuous, greedy for women, and favored treacherous ministers, but Liu Xuan was not so despicable as to plunder his own capital.
After listening to the suggestions of Shen Tu Jian, Liao Zhan and others, even Liu Xuan was so furious that his nose almost broke with anger. However, he did not dare to get angry in front of Shen Tu Jian and others, so he rejected the proposal of everyone in Green Forest with a gloomy face.
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Liu Xuan did not accept the suggestions of Shen Tu Jian and others. Instead, Shen Tu Jian, Liao Zhan, Zhang, Hu Yin and other green forest nobles became furious. Several people gathered together and complained about Liu Xuan's fault.
How do you call yourself emperor and how do you act like emperor? Don't you have a clear idea in your mind?
We were the ones who pushed you down from the throne of the emperor. Now that you have been emperor for two years, you think that you are truly the proud son of heaven, so you can ignore us and not listen to our suggestions?
Several people cursed Liu Xuan as an ungrateful villain.
They discussed in private, but didn't Liu Xuan not listen to them? Simply, they joined forces with the imperial censor Wei Xiao, directly kidnapped Liu Xuan, ransacked Chang'an, and then fled Chang'an with Liu Xuan and gold, silver and jewelry.
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If there is a chance to make a comeback in the future, that would be the best. If there is no chance to make a comeback, just kill Liu Xuan, and they will return to Green Forest Mountain and continue to be Green Forest heroes.
In the eyes of these Green Forest generals, kidnapping Liu Xuan was no different from kidnapping an ordinary person. This shows how far the Green Forest people were at that time.
However, their conspiracy happened to be overheard by Liu Nengqing, a servant who also came from the Green Forest Department. Liu Nengqing, like Xie Gong, was from the Green Forest Department, but he was Liu Xuan's confidant.
When he learned that Shen Tujian, Liao Zhan, Zhang, Hu Yin, Wei Xiao and others wanted to kidnap Liu Xuan, Liu Nengqing did not dare to delay and reported the matter to Liu Xuan immediately.
After Liu Xuan heard this, his teeth were itching with hatred. Normally, he would tolerate the people from the Green Forest Department bullying him, but now it was better. They regarded his retreat as weakness and easy to bully, and intensified their efforts, and even tried to kidnap him.
He killed himself.
As the saying goes, strike first to gain strength, strike later and suffer disaster. Liu Xuan pretended to be ill and stopped going to court. In private, he sent an edict to each of Shentu Jian, Liao Zhan, Zhang, Hu Yin, and Wei Xiao to summon them.
Entering the palace to discuss matters.
Shen Tujian, Liao Zhan, Zhang, and Hu Yin entered the palace one after another without doubting his presence. Only the imperial envoy and official Wei Xiao was nowhere to be seen.
Liu Xuan's original intention was to wait for all five of them to arrive before killing them all. However, since Wei Xiao did not arrive, Liu Xuan asked Shen Tujian and others who had arrived first to wait in the side hall.
When they arrived at the side hall, Liao Zhan, Zhang and Hu Yin, the more they thought about it, the more they felt something was wrong.wavv
Not long ago, the five of them just plotted to kidnap Liu Xuan and sack Chang'an. But today, Liu Xuan suddenly summoned the five of them. What a coincidence, right?
Liao Zhan, Zhang and Hu Yin realized that there was danger and asked Shen Tujian to leave the palace with them.
However, Shen Tujian confidently believed that they were overly worried. Liu Xuan was the puppet emperor they supported. Even if he lent Liu Xuan a hundred courages, he would not dare to attack them.
Seeing that they could not persuade Shen Tu Jian, Liao Zhan, Zhang and Hu Yin had no choice but to leave by themselves, leaving Shen Tu Jian alone in the side hall.
