Chapter 56: Stealing reputation by deceiving the world
After leaving the palace gate, Chen Mu and Liu Bei got on the carriage and ran towards the garrison camp outside the city at high speed.
When they came to Luoyang this time, they did not bring many soldiers and horses, only two thousand people.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei each commanded a thousand.
However, these two thousand are not ordinary soldiers and horses. Zhang Fei's is the thousand iron cavalry, and Guan Yu's is the thousand heavy armored infantry. They are all the elite among the elite.
When he arrived at the gate of the camp and saw his troops, Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief and asked Chen Mu, "Fourth brother, when did the Empress Dowager issue the decree? Why didn't I know?"
Chen Mu said indifferently: "The only reason I lied to He Jin was to get him to use the rat weapon. He didn't dare to attack the Empress Dowager and us today."
"I see."
Liu Bei turned over and dismounted, and when he saw Guan and Zhang coming out to greet him, he asked Chen Mu, "Fourth brother, what should we do now? If we offend the general, there may be no place for us and others in Luoyang."
"It doesn't matter."
Chen Mu lowered his head and thought: "He Jin wanted to force the Empress Dowager away and take complete control of power. Today he failed. The Empress Dowager is still here. As long as we stand firmly on the Empress Dowager's side, he can't do anything to us.
.”
"Brother, fourth brother, what's wrong?"
Guan Yu couldn't help but asked strangely when he saw the two men running towards them, sweating all over their bodies.
Liu Bei said worriedly: "Let's talk about it after we go in."
The four people returned to the camp and sat down in rows. Zhang Fei shouted: "What happened, brother? Why are you so panicked?"
Liu Bei explained what happened in the court.
Guan Yu widened his eyes and snorted coldly: "I didn't expect that the thief He Jin would be so bold and reckless. Even the Empress Dowager dared to attack him, for fear of another domineering Liang Ji."
Zhang Fei said: "In that case, I will send people to the Wild King and call in all the soldiers and horses."
Liu Bei looked at Chen Mu: "Fourth brother, what do you think?"
"Recruit troops and horses first."
Chen Mu lowered his head and thought: "In the next few days, there will definitely be great changes in Luoyang. Only by having an army at your side can you feel at ease."
Liu Bei nodded: "Okay, that's it. Third brother, you immediately send someone to Ye Wang and let Dian Wei lead the army."
This time he did not dare to trust Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, because Zhang Liao and Gao Shun were sent by He Jin and nominally belonged to He Jin's troops, so naturally he could not trust him.
Fortunately, before he came over, he asked Dian Wei and Qian Zhao to lead the army. The core of the army was also in the hands of the veterans he brought from Qingzhou. For example, Hu Zhi's son Hu Yong and others were all middle-level backbones of the army and were loyal.
There is no problem.
"Okay, I'll send someone right away."
Zhang Fei got up and left.
After he went out, Liu Bei asked Chen Mu again: "Fourth brother, you said there will be a big change in Luoyang. What is the change?"
Chen Mu shook his head: "I don't know, but bloody conflicts are inevitable. We should wait and see for a while to see what happens."
"Oh, is there going to be trouble again?"
Liu Bei sighed.
Chen Mu said with a smile: "The struggle for imperial power has been very cruel since ancient times. Hu Hai killed Fusu, and Emperor Wu killed Prince Wei. Both the brothers and sisters of the He family and the Empress Dowager wanted to control the young emperor. The conflict between the two sides was inevitable. The eldest brother was already involved.
If you get into it, you can only fight to the death, and there is no way out."
Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, and then said sadly: "Second brother and fourth brother, I am the one who has caused trouble for you."
Chen Mu smiled: "What did the eldest brother say? The brothers and sisters of the He family insulted the late emperor's biological mother. Even the current Empress Dowager dared to bully her. The eldest brother spoke upright and outspoken. He was doing his duty as a minister. Only then did he live up to the kindness of the late emperor.
.What’s more, my elder brother’s actions are out of righteousness and seek justice for the late emperor. As brothers, we should give our full support.”
In fact, it doesn't matter whether Liu Bei joins the situation or not, because the situation is still under control and has not changed due to Liu Bei's actions.
Whether it is politics or the so-called emperor's mentality, the core of everything is balance.
Why did He Jin fail in history and end up at that point?
It is because the balance is broken that people start to drift.
After Liu Hong's death, there were two obstacles for He Jin to ascend to power. One was Jian Shuo, who controlled the imperial guards of the inner palace, and the other was Empress Dowager Dong, who held the title of righteousness.
Many people think that He Jin is indecisive and mediocre.
In fact, this is a bit of a stereotype, and he is not completely incompetent.
Not to mention the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Sili's Yellow Turban Uprising was defeated by He Jinping.
He Jin was also very decisive in how to deal with Jian Shuo and Empress Dowager Dong.
First, taking advantage of the fact that the eunuchs were not monolithic, they ordered Zhao Zhong, Guo Sheng and others to have a few Huangmenling eunuchs capture and kill Jian Shuo, thus removing an obstacle.
Then he directly forced Empress Dowager Dong at the court meeting, drove her out of the palace, and then killed Empress Dowager Dong.
You know, Liu Hong's body was still cold and he had not yet been buried.
Before the late emperor was buried, the late emperor's biological mother, the former Queen Mother, was disposed of. If He Jin was really indecisive, he would not have had the courage to do such a thing.
So He Jin definitely has the ability, but he also has the arrogant character.
After he got rid of one obstacle after another and gained power, he completely relaxed his vigilance. In the end, Zhang Rang and others deceived him into the palace in the name of Queen He and was easily killed.
This can be regarded as a capsize in the gutter. After all, at that time, Zhang Rang and others no longer had military power in their hands and were almost reduced to lambs to be slaughtered.
The result was such a situation, and he was killed by Zhang Rang and others. It can be seen that He Jin was indeed a little arrogant at the time, thinking that he had great power and no one dared to disobey him.
The reason why Chen Mu feels that the current situation is still under control is because he helped He Jin escape from death some time ago.
This time, he helped Jian Shuo and Empress Dowager Dong save their lives, and the strength of both parties was balanced again, returning to the starting point.
What happens next will completely break away from history, but it will not break away completely.
The reason why it is said that it will be completely separated from history is because neither Jian Shuo nor Empress Dowager Dong is dead, and they can still use the power in their hands to compete with He Jin.
He also said that he would not leave at all because He Jin would not give up and would still want to get rid of Jian Shuo and Empress Dowager Dong.
As for what means to use, it was not something Chen Mu could guess.
This is not the closing of the world line, but the inevitable result of a struggle for power.
Just like in history, Li Shimin's Xuanwumen mutiny killed his younger brother and his older brother, forcing Li Yuan to abdicate.
Even if a time traveler comes over and helps Li Jiancheng escape, Li Shimin will still find ways to do so afterwards.
Because this is a matter of life and death. If he doesn't do it, he will die.
In the same way, if He Jin wanted to take power and make his nephew's position more stable, Jian Shuo and Empress Dowager Dong who supported Liu Xie were obstacles in front of him.
So whether He Jin wants to be Huo Guang, Liang Ji or even Wang Mang, he has to clear these obstacles and will definitely continue to take action.
Then what method He Jin used to achieve this step, Chen Mu couldn't guess, nor did he want to guess.
Because his purpose has been achieved.
That is to maintain the current balanced situation for the time being and then wait and see how it changes.
If what he expected was correct, He Jin would definitely strike first and take action within the next few days.
At that time, whether He Jin killed the eunuch and Queen Mother Dong, or Queen Mother Dong and the eunuch killed He Jin, the day the balance between the two parties was broken, it would be the beginning of Luoyang's disaster.
Chen Mu seemed to have seen that this ancient and huge city would be filled with wars everywhere in just a few days.
Maybe there is no need to wait until Dong Zhuo burns the city. In a few days, Luoyang will turn into a sea of fire.
And in all of this, a pair of black hands behind the scenes enveloped the entire city of Luoyang.
Chen Mu closed his eyes, with a spring-like smile still on his lips.
When did it start?
Maybe it started when I witnessed this chaotic world where people were eating people.
Completely remove the weakness deep in your heart, your hands are stained with blood, and your sins are too numerous to describe.
The world doesn't know what truth is hidden behind all this.
No one cares about the truth.
Because the only person who knows all the truth is deceiving the world and stealing his reputation, and still spreads his reputation in this world with the most filial piety, the most loyalty, and the most benevolence.
It's good to just let everything be submerged in dust.