At this time, in the palace, the emperor Liu Xie, who looked like a puppet in front of the officials during the day, was slowly bowing to an old man with a solemn expression.
The old man was none other than Lu Zhi, an old minister of the Han Dynasty who had come from Luoyang City to protect the Empress Dowager Dong on her way to Chang'an City.
Lu Zhi looked like he was old and decrepit. Looking at the young emperor in front of him, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
As an old minister of the Han Dynasty, he should never betray the Luoyang court. After all, according to the legal system, the emperor in Luoyang City is the legal legitimate emperor of the Han Dynasty.
However, Lu Zhi owed the Empress Dowager Dong a huge favor. Faced with the Queen Mother Dong's plea, even Lu Zhi had to go against his own principles and escort Dong to Chang'an City.
Liu Xie looked at Lu Zhi expectantly and said: "Lieutenant, please help me!"
Lu Zhi smiled bitterly in his heart. Why didn't he expect that this young emperor who looked like a puppet would have such thoughts at such a young age?
He originally thought that the emperor summoned him to ask about how to deal with the Luoyang imperial court's conquest, but what surprised him was that Liu Xie did not ask him how to deal with the Luoyang imperial court's conquest. Instead, he asked him for help, hoping that he could help him escape.
Yuan Shao's control.
To be precise, Liu Xie hoped that he could take action to restrain Yuan Shao, the general in the army.
In fact, anyone who is not a fool can see that the Chang'an court was nominally dominated by Liu Xie and the Empress Dowager Dong, but in fact the real power was held by a group of princes headed by Yuan Shao.
And Yuan Shao was the most powerful among these princes. In other words, the real power of the Chang'an court was actually in Yuan Shao's hands.
It would be fine if the Chang'an court was destroyed, but in the current situation, many people think that even if the Chang'an court cannot destroy the Luoyang court, it can at least coexist with the Luoyang court. In that case, the power of the Chang'an court will naturally make many people artificial
heartbeat.
Although Liu Xie is young, he is much more thoughtful than his brother Liu Bianlai. He is not willing to be Yuan Shao's puppet. Even if there is no chance, he will try every means to create something.
Opportunity, not to mention that he has a military boss like Lu Zhi beside him.
Even though Lu Zhi does not have much power in the army now, don't forget that when the Yellow Turban Rebellion was put down, Lu Zhi was the commander-in-chief of the Han army. Both Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were just disciples of Lu Zhi.
That's all.
Lu Zhi's influence was so great that it could not be underestimated, so Liu Xie set his sights on Lu Zhi and did not hesitate to seek help from Lu Zhi himself.
Sighing slightly, Lu Zhi looked at the young emperor in front of him and sighed in his heart. It was rare for an emperor of the Han family to fall to such a level, and Liu Xie had such thoughts at a young age. This made Lu Zhi
I have some expectations for Liu Xiesheng.
Liu Xie may not be able to reorganize the Han Dynasty and extend the inheritance of the Han Dynasty like Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu did.
The Empress Dowager Dong, who had been sitting aside without speaking at this moment, looked at Lu Zhi and said: "Mr. Lu, the future of the Ai family and this child is all decided by Gong Lu. For the sake of the late emperor, Gong Lu, please please
Help this kid!"
Lu Zhi pondered for a while, looked at the Queen Mother Dong, then looked at Liu Xie, nodded slowly and said: "Queen Mother, Your Majesty, even if the old ministers don't say anything about the current situation, I think both of you know it well. It can be said that
This is definitely not the time to fall out with the general."
Dong nodded and said: "Right now, we still need Yuan Benzhu to fight against the Luoyang court. Naturally, we cannot choose to deal with Yuan Benzhu at this time."
Lu Zhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the Empress Dowager Dong and the Emperor really wanted him to deal with Yuan Shao at this time, not to mention that he did not have such ability, even if he did, he would never agree.
Fortunately, the Queen Mother Dong was not so short-sighted, so Lu Zhi said: "It just so happens that this time the general needs to lead the army to Hanguguan to fight Chu Yi's army. When the general leaves Chang'an City, Your Majesty can take advantage of this opportunity.
Opportunity to deploy people and control the military and political power of Chang'an City."
Liu Xie's eyes flashed with excitement, and he nodded to Lu Zhi and said: "What the Taiwei said is true. As long as I can control the military power of Chang'an City, I will not be afraid of Yuan Shao."
Lu Zhi shook his head slightly and said: "Your Majesty must not think about this. Even if your Majesty really has the power of the army and horses in Chang'an City, he must not fall out with the general. Otherwise, it will only anger the general. At that time
The soldiers and horses of Chang'an City alone cannot stop Yuan Shao's hundreds of thousands of troops."
Lu Zhi knew very well that there were not many people in Chang'an City who were truly loyal to the emperor. Unless Yuan Shao was killed by Chu Yi, he would have hundreds of thousands of troops under his command. Liu Xie thought that with the strength of the people left in Chang'an City,
If you can suppress Yuan Shao with just a few soldiers and horses, then you are really asking for humiliation.
Even if Liu Xie is a little bit scheming, he is still too young after all. When he heard what Lu Zhi said, his face showed a bit of disappointment. Fortunately, Liu Xie really regarded Lu Zhi as such.
As a support, he nodded and said: "I listen to the Taiwei."
Nodding slightly, Lu Zhi said with a smile: "Your Majesty is the lord of Chang'an City after all. Your Majesty is the king, and the general is his minister. Unless he wants to rebel, otherwise, as long as your majesty does not force the general too much, the general will definitely
I don’t dare to do anything too extreme. As long as Your Majesty slowly increases his own strength and one day surpasses the General in strength, then he can rest easy."
With a bit of joy on his face, Liu Xie bowed to Lu Zhi and said, "If such a day comes, I will definitely reward the Taiwei generously."
Just when Lu Zhi was comforting the emperor Liu Xie, a figure appeared outside the emperor's palace. It was Xu You, Yuan Shao's confidant.
Xu You said to Xiao Huangmen who was guarding the emperor's palace: "Quickly go to Tongbing and tell Xu You, the chief military officer of the general's tent, and Xu Ziyuan to see you."
Xiao Huangmen hurriedly went to the palace to visit.
Looking at Xiao Huangmen who was kneeling on the ground, Liu Xie couldn't help but look a little panicked on his face and subconsciously looked at Lu Zhi and said: "Lieutenant, why did the general send someone to see me at this time? Could it be..."
Seeing Liu Xie's panicked look, Lu Zhi sighed inwardly, he was still a child after all.
With a slight cough, Lu Zhi said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, there is no need to panic. Unless Yuan Benchu has the ability to predict the unknown, how would he know about the conversation between your Majesty and his ministers?"
When Liu Xie heard this, his eyes lit up and he said: "The Taiwei is right, the general has absolutely no idea why I called the Taiwei here. So, the general sent people here for other things."
Xu You looked at Xiao Huangmen who was coming in a hurry and said, "Why did it take so long?"
Xiaohuangmen said quickly: "Replying to your Majesty, your Majesty has just rested. When he heard that your Majesty asked for an audience, he naturally wanted to get up and change his clothes, so I would like to trouble you to wait for a long time."
Xu You then nodded and said, "That's true. Your Majesty is young after all, so it's normal to rest early. Since your Majesty has already gotten up, please take me to see your Majesty."
In the palace, Liu Xie sat there with a sleepy look, looked at Xu You who prostrated himself in front of him and said, "The Qing family came to see me late at night. Could it be that the general has something important to do?"
Xu You bowed to Liu Xie, and then said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I am here because the general has something to report to your Majesty."
Liu Xie nodded and said, "Please tell me."
Xu You said slowly: "The general has decided to send troops to Hangu Pass tomorrow."
Before Xu You could finish his words, Liu Xie's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "The general is indeed loyal to the country, I'm sure."
Xu You was a little confused about what Liu Xie's reaction was, but he coughed lightly and said: "But what the general means is that he hopes that your majesty can accompany the army to Hangu Pass. On the one hand, Chang'an City is not too safe.
, it is inevitable that there will be Chu thieves’ men lurking, in case the general leaves Chang’an, it will be detrimental to your majesty, but your majesty will be harmed..."
Liu Xie's face suddenly became gloomy, and Xu You continued: "Besides, if your Majesty is with the army, the morale of the army will be greatly boosted, so I am here to inform your Majesty of this news, so that your Majesty can have a
Prepare."
At this moment, a figure came out of the inner room. Xu You recognized it with just one glance and recognized that it was none other than Queen Mother Dong.
The status of the Queen Mother Dong can be said to be noble. Xu You quickly saluted the Queen Mother Dong and said, "Your Majesty, Xu You, pays homage to the Queen Mother."
Mrs. Dong waved her hand, looked at Xu You and said: "Xu Ziyuan, I would like to ask you, Hangu Pass is such a dangerous place. What does Yuan Benchu mean by bringing His Majesty to such a dangerous place? Does he want to murder Your Majesty?
Can’t do it?”
These words were perfect for Dong to say. When Xu You heard this, he knelt down and said to Dong: "Why did the Queen Mother say this? The general is loyal to the court, and he is even more loyal to His Majesty.
How come there is any suggestion of plotting against His Majesty?"
Mr. Dong snorted coldly and said: "In that case, let Yuan Benchu come to see the Ai family in person. I would like to hear how he explains to the Ai family."
Xu You looked at Liu Xie who was sitting there, and then at the Empress Dowager Dong. He sighed in his heart, bowed to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, and said, "I retire."
Seeing Xu You's figure disappearing at the entrance of the palace, Dong, who was originally stiff, softened, and said with a bit of sadness on his face: "Mr. Lu, you can see that Yuan Benchu's wolfish ambition has been exposed. He is
I want to keep the emperor firmly in my hands."
At this moment, Lu Zhi came out of the darkness. The conversation between Xu You, the Emperor and the Queen Mother Dong just now was clearly heard by Lu Zhi who was hiding in the dark. Now when he heard what the Queen Mother Dong said, he couldn't help but
Sigh lightly.
To be honest, Lu Zhi really didn't expect that Yuan Shao would have the idea of taking the emperor to Hangu Pass. After all, if Yuan Shao had really had this idea before, Yuan Shao would definitely show such a look when discussing matters in the court during the day.
The intention comes.
Since this point was not mentioned in the previous discussion, and Xu You came to inform the emperor late at night, then this decision was made by Yuan Shao not long ago.
Without thinking, Lu Zhi knew that this must be the suggestion of Lu Zhi's civil servants and counselors. If he thought about it carefully, Lu Zhi had to have some admiration for the person who made such suggestions.
From Yuan Shao's point of view, taking the emperor to Hangu Pass would really have more advantages than disadvantages. Not to mention anything else, at least the suggestions he gave to the emperor Liu Xie just now could not be implemented.
In other words, even if it is implemented in the same way, it will not have much effect, because Yuan Shao intends to keep the emperor by his side. As long as the emperor is in Yuan Shao's hands, it doesn't matter whose hands Chang'an City falls into.
Dong looked at Lu Zhi and said, "Mr. Lu, what should we do? What should we do?"
Taking a deep breath, Lu Zhi said: "Queen Mother, your Majesty, don't panic, let's listen to what Yuan Benchu said."
Lu Zhi said with a somewhat solemn expression on his face: "If Yuan Benchu insists, I'm afraid your Majesty will have no choice but to follow the army to Hangu Pass."
Mr. Dong suddenly stood up and said with a pale face: "Don't you even have anything to do, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Zhi shook his head and said: "The power of military and horse power lies in Yuan Shao's hands. As long as Yuan Shao's reasons are not too outrageous, even the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty will not be able to object."
It was bright and bright the next day, and Yuan Shao, dressed in armor and a cloak, rushed straight to the palace surrounded by hundreds of personal guards.
In the imperial city, the imperial army has been replaced by soldiers and horses under Yuan Shao. When these soldiers saw Yuan Shao, they saluted solemnly. It can be seen that the entire imperial city is under Yuan Shao's control.
The Emperor's Palace
A little Huangmen screamed: "General, please see me!"
Yuan Shao walked into the main hall and saw the Queen Mother Dong and the young emperor sitting there looking at him.
Striding forward a few steps, Yuan Shao saluted respectfully and said: "Your Majesty, Yuan Shao, pays homage to the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother glanced at Yan Liang and Wen Chou, who were standing at the entrance of the hall like two door gods. Just by looking at it, Mrs. Dong felt an evil aura coming towards her face. Her heart tightened, and she waved her hand and said: "General, there is no need to be formal, please stand up."
Let’s talk.”
Yuan Shao stood up and knelt down to one side, then looked at the Queen Mother and said: "I was too reckless last night. I should not have sent people here late at night to disturb Your Majesty's rest. Please forgive me for this, Your Majesty."
Dong looked at Yuan Shao and said: "The general is dedicated to serving the public good. What's wrong? It's just that the general leads the army to Hangu Pass. Why should he take your majesty with him? After all, the place where the Hangu Pass is fought must be full of crises.
, Your Majesty, it is best to sit in Chang'an City, I wonder what the general thinks?"
Dong looked at Yuan Shao and said: "The general is dedicated to serving the public good. What's wrong? It's just that the general leads the army to Hangu Pass. Why should he take your majesty with him? After all, the place where the Hangu Pass is fought must be full of crises.
, Your Majesty, it is best to sit in Chang'an City, I wonder what the general thinks? "After all, the battle at Hangu Pass is bound to be full of crises, so it is best for Your Majesty to sit in Chang'an City, I wonder what the general thinks?" After all, the battle at Hangu Pass is going to be the best.
This land is bound to be full of crises, so it would be best for Your Majesty to stay in Chang'an City. I wonder what the General thinks?"