After the second day, Liu Bei arrived at Xiaopingjin Ferry.
In fact, not all four of them went to Luoyang. Generals were still needed on the front line. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei just sent them to Hanoi.
Because Weijun was only more than 200 miles away from Luoyang, they were sent to the edge of the Yellow River, and the two of them prepared to go back.
Since it was getting late, they stayed in Heyang County across the river for one night. Chen Mu drank and had a banquet with his three brothers and prepared to tell Liu Bei what he had done.
It's midsummer in June. The evening wind blows across the Yellow River, causing ripples. The river is rushing endlessly. Countless birds are flying in the sky. Wild flowers on both sides of the river are vying for beauty. You can see Mang Mountain on the other side of the river from a distance. The fog in the evening has covered the mountains and forests.
Shrouded in a hazy fog, it looks like a beautiful ink painting.
There is a wetland about a few kilometers away from the river beach, just south of Heyang County. This villa is built here. You can see endless reed marshes and groups of wild ducks cruising. There is a pavilion in the backyard.
In the evening breeze, the brothers were drinking and talking.
As the sun set in the west, the sunset glow swept the dusk crows and dyed half of the sky red, and the gorgeous fire clouds circulated like light waves on the horizon. Chen Mu picked up the wine pot and poured wine for the three brothers. As he poured it, he said: "Come on, eldest brother, second brother, and third brother."
Brother, we won’t return home until we get drunk today.”
"You won't come home until you're drunk!"
Zhang Fei stared at the almost full wine glass, and the wine almost flowed to his chin. After Chen Mu poured it, he was the first to raise it and said: "Drink!"
"drink!"
The four of them laughed and drank it all in one gulp.
They drink millet wine, that is, yellow rice wine. Drinking strong alcohol in summer is harmful to the health, so the high-alcohol distilled wine invented by Chen Mu is very popular in winter. In summer, except for the northern nomads, most Han people are still willing to drink low-alcohol wine.
Millet wine, rice wine or Dukang wine.
After taking a sip, Liu Bei wiped the corner of his mouth and said worriedly to Chen Mu: "Fourth brother, the emperor's previous edicts have asked us to attack Yuan Shao as soon as possible. This time when we return to Luoyang, I am worried that the emperor will order us to destroy Yuan Shao.
It’s not strong enough.”
"Although it is said that accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger, the emperor today is a generous man, but after all, he is not as powerful as Emperor Kang at that time. Moreover, the world is in chaos now, and the emperor still has many places to rely on his elder brother, and he will not do anything to us."
Chen Mu knew that some recent rumors in the court must have reached his ears. After all, Guan Yu had been in Luoyang for a long time, and he had no ears and eyes in the court, so he said a few words of comfort.
The last powerful emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty was Emperor Kang of the Han Dynasty, also known as the Han Ling Emperor in history. Lu Zhi and Dong Zhuo were imprisoned when they were told to be imprisoned, and Zhang Wen, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun and others were dismissed if they were told to be dismissed. The Qiang Rebellion in the early years, and later the Yellow Turbans
It can be said that he put down all the chaos.
Compared with him, Liu Yu is far behind. Now Liu Bei has not openly opposed the imperial court. Even if he does not attack Yuan Shao immediately, he is justified and there is nothing to criticize. If the imperial court attacks Liu Bei, except for
In addition to destroying the city wall, it actually forced Liu Bei to rebel and gave Liu Bei an excuse to overthrow the imperial court.
Therefore, as long as the matter is not too big, the imperial court will not take action against Liu Bei, but there will definitely be no less suppression in secret.
Guan Yu frowned and said: "That's true, but I have an old subordinate who is now serving as a city gate commander in the Luoyang army. He wrote to me a few days ago, saying that the impeachment of our brothers at the Shangshutai was as follows.
They came like snowflakes, saying that we support our troops and respect ourselves, but we are already rebelling."
"What?"
Zhang Fei was furious after hearing this. He slapped the table and said: "We have shed blood, sweat and worked hard for the imperial court. Do they treat meritorious ministers like this? I used to think that Duke Bo'an was the elder of the clan and was respected. At that time, he was
When I was in Youzhou, I also grew up listening to his generosity and kindness, but I don’t know why I became like this after becoming the emperor?"
"Third brother, please be patient. The emperor has not explicitly said that he wants to punish us. It is just that there is a memorial to impeach us at the Chancellery. The Duke of Zhou once avoided the Eastern Kingdom because he was afraid of rumors. Now that we hold great power, we are being treated by the imperial court.
It’s normal for people to be afraid.”
Liu Bei did not vent his grievances on the emperor, but instead defended Liu Yu.
Chen Mu shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's not only the intentions of the courtiers, but also the attitude of the emperor. It's worth pondering."
"What does fourth brother mean?"
Liu Bei frowned.
"Behind this, I'm afraid there is the emperor's instructions."
Chen Mu said: "Otherwise, how could those ministers have the courage and dignity to accuse Big Brother? Don't forget, if it weren't for us, they would all have died in Chang'an!"
Liu Bei's face became even more sad. He raised his wine glass, looked into the distance, and murmured to himself: "Do you want them to feel at ease after I defeat Yuan Shao and return home?"
"Disarm and return to the fields?"
Chen Mu sneered: "We will die faster."
Liu Bei remained silent.
A fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken. Without military power, these brothers are nothing. Just send a group of assassins to kill them.
"Fourth brother, what do you mean?"
Guan Yu couldn't help but ask.
Chen Mu looked at Liu Bei and said, "Brother should have guessed why we want to return to Luoyang this time."
"Tell me about it."
Liu Bei said.
Chen Mutu saw this and said without any surprise: "Brother should understand that the imperial court does not have many soldiers and horses, they only have righteousness. Most of the soldiers and horses of Qingzhou and Luoyang are our people, with a crowd of nearly twenty
Wan, second brother and third brother, if you are the emperor and ministers of the court, are you worried about us rebelling?"
Guan Yu said displeasedly: "My eldest brother is devoted to the Han Dynasty. He is a member of the Han clan. How can he rebel?"
"Our brothers know, does the court know?"
Chen Mu pointed at his belly: "People's hearts are separated from each other. How did Bai Qi die? How did Li Mu die? It's common for frontier officials with heavy troops to be feared by the central court. Their great achievements overshadow their masters.
, it has been like this since ancient times. If my prediction is correct, the imperial court is probably already discussing how to deal with us, and the rumors coming out this time are just the beginning."
Liu Bei couldn't help but ask: "How do you think the court will deal with us, fourth brother?"
"Three steps!"
Chen Mu raised his finger: "First, urge us to eradicate Yuan Shao as soon as possible. Once Yuan Shao dies, the imperial court will definitely send someone to Jizhou to serve as state pastor, and he will be a highly respected minister. It cannot be ruled out that it is my senior brother Yang Biao. Now among the imperial court, there are only
Only he is slightly younger."
"Second, after Yuan Shao's defeat, the imperial court should soon let the eldest brother go south to crusade the princes in Henan, Jiangdong and other places, as well as Guanzhong and Sichuan and Shu. Wherever they are remote, let the eldest brother go, and slowly reduce the influence of the eldest brother and our military strength.
.”
"Third, the most important thing is the military power in Luoyang. The emperor had already replaced him once before with Marquis Qiantang, but the death of Marquis Qiantang caught him off guard. When Yuan Shao dies, the imperial court will take back the military power of his second brother!"
There is no strategy of going to the river to have a young heir, because this is not a strategy to suppress Liu Bei. On the contrary, if the suppression is not successful, it will make Liu Bei a powerful minister.
After all, Liu Yu is already over sixty years old. He and the queen are basically sterile. They cannot live for a few years, leaving a young emperor for an important minister with an army of 200,000.
What is the concept?
Not to mention the mature adults in the court, even a child in Taishan Academy understands what the result will be.
When the time comes, Liu Bei will inevitably take the position, and he will not be able to escape the position of general. Don't think that only relatives can be generals. Han Xin and Yuan Shao have both been. Even in the end, it is not impossible for the yellow robe to be added, like Wang Mang usurping the throne. Moreover, Liu Bei has dozens of businesses.
Years, I don’t know if it will really succeed.
After all, Liu Bei's surname is "Liu", and he is a descendant of Liu Bang who was recorded in the family tree by Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty. Even if he usurps the throne, it is much more legitimate than Wang Mang's relative surnamed Wang. After all, there are so many people in the world that it doesn't matter as long as the emperor's surname is Liu.
Big Han fans.
After hearing Chen Mu's analysis, Liu Bei held the wine glass and remained silent. His beard trembled slightly. He obviously thought about it and felt that this situation was not impossible. Without military power, he was nothing.
"Will the imperial court...really do this to us?"
Guan Yu's voice was trembling.
Chen Mu sighed and said: "Second brother, if you are familiar with history books, you should also understand how you can avoid being feared by the court if you have a lot of troops. At first, the court treated us well because it needed to use us, but if Hebei is pacified, the court will not dare to
Let Hebei fall into our hands. In the past, Shizu conquered Hebei and conquered the world. We tried our best to destroy Yuan Shao, but in the end it was just a bird hiding behind a bow."
Everyone was silent.
Even Liu Bei, who always thought Liu Yu treated him well, didn't say anything at this time.
Because he did sense the crisis.
Although it is said that if the king wants his ministers to die, they will have to die, but there is also a saying that if the king treats his ministers like dirt, then his ministers will regard him as a bandit.
If Liu Yu really trusted Liu Bei wholeheartedly, it would not be impossible for Liu Bei to reciprocate his love.
But he also understood that the recent changes in the court situation may not be without the shadow of the three princes, nine ministers and the emperor.
Anyone who can become the founding emperor is not stupid. Liu Bei's political sense may not be as sharp as Chen Mu's, but it is a fact that Liu Yu has become more and more afraid of him in the past two years.
Otherwise, why were there so many memorials to impeach the brothers in the DPRK and the Central Government? It was obviously an organized and premeditated preparation behind them.
This is actually a very helpless thing. You hold the power in order to save the Han Dynasty.
But the greater your power and the more soldiers and horses you have, the more powerful people in the court will be afraid of you. If you put down your power and hand over all your soldiers and horses, not only will the country be unable to be saved, but you may not even be able to save your own life.
Just as Cao Cao once said when he was composing a poem on the Tongque Terrace: If there is no one in the country, I really don’t know how many people will be called emperors and how many will be called kings?
Seeing my weight, some people make unreasonable guesses and suspect that I have different intentions. This is a big fallacy!
However, it is impossible for me to hand over my military power and be granted the title of Marquis and return to my country. I am afraid that I will be harmed by traitors. If I fail, the country will be in danger and the world will be in chaos! How can I bring about great disasters because of my false reputation?
All the gentlemen may not be aware of all this painstaking effort!
When a person reaches this position, many things are beyond his control.
Now Liu Bei felt this firsthand.
There were rumors in the court, and the emperor's edicts kept urging him to eliminate Yuan Shao as soon as possible. There were countless princes with ulterior motives in the Han Dynasty, and bandits were everywhere.
He does not covet the position of Jizhou Mu. What he fears is that as Chen Mu expected, once Jizhou returns to the imperial court, the imperial court will soon send him south to fight with other princes. If there is not enough time to prepare in a hurry, he may conquer the south.
Not that easy.
At this moment, if Liu Bei knew Cao Cao's experience in history, he might have sighed and said, "Cao Cao is me."
However, he was not a person who believed in one-sided words. After hearing Chen Mu's analysis, he said to Chen Mu: "Fourth brother, although there is a rumor in the court, it has been suppressed by the emperor and many ministers. How about you?"
How do you think the emperor will definitely suppress us?"
Chen Mu said with a smile: "If eldest brother doesn't believe it, when he goes to the court and visits the emperor, the emperor will definitely discuss national affairs with eldest brother. Guess what the emperor will talk to eldest brother at that time?"
Liu Bei said in a deep voice: "Do you want to take away my military power?"
"That's not that fast."
Chen Mu said: "We are just returning to the capital to report on our work. Yuan Shao has not yet been destroyed, and the court does not dare to take action against us immediately. However, it will certainly pave the way for the next plan, such as selecting the emperor's heir, and I expect they will like it."
The emperor’s heir is by no means a young emperor, and I am afraid he will choose among the young or adult heirs of Emperor Zhang.”
"anything else?"
Liu Bei asked again.
"There is also the military power of Luoyang."
Chen Mu analyzed: "Guanzhong has been taken back, but it is still unstable there. If the ministers in the imperial court are not stupid, they will definitely try to transfer the second brother to Guanzhong."
"Transferred to Guanzhong?"
Both Liu Bei and Guan Yu were shocked.
Although Guanzhong has been recovered now, because the war has lasted for too long, it can be said that the people have withered and the lives have been devastated. It is really difficult to do anything there.
But Chen Mu thought of Huangfu Song. After Huangfu Song pacified the Yellow Turbans, he had tens of thousands of elite Northern Army troops in his hands, and the military power of the entire Luoyang was in his hands. Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty took his own advice and transferred Huangfu Song to
In Guanzhong, his military power was eliminated without any bloodshed.
If the people in the imperial court were not stupid, they would probably follow suit and try to send Guan Yu to Guanzhong. At that time, most of the military power in Luoyang would be returned to the imperial court. In this way, with the addition of Xian Yufu from Youzhou, the imperial court would be able to own part of it.
troops.
In fact, it was not Liu Bei and Chen Mu who took the initiative to apply for returning to Luoyang this time, but after the Battle of Jieqiao, Liu Yu issued several edicts urging them to immediately exterminate Yuan Shao. Liu Bei wrote several times to explain the reasons, and Liu Yu issued edicts to let them return.
I went to Luoyang and told him in person, which is why the current situation happened.
However, Liu Bei was in Jizhou, but the Military Intelligence Department was not blind. The news in the court in Luoyang still spread. Perhaps this was deliberately done by old guys like Liu Yu and Yang Biao to spread the news to scare Liu Bei and put pressure on him.
In this way, after the group of people arrived in Luoyang, Liu Yu came forward, some of whom were bad-faced and some were white-faced. They coaxed and deceived, and coupled with justice and moral kidnapping, they might really be able to take away Guan Yu and seize the military power in Luoyang.
Chen Mu knew that this should be Luoyang's most true thoughts at this stage! It was also Tu Qiong Ding's final intention!