The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 15 Shuo Rat
Liu Xie completely escaped from Wang Yun's plan.

"With Wenhe's wisdom, he should be able to realize that now is not the best time to attack Wang Yun."

"If we expose Wang Yun a month later when he decides to assassinate the Grand Tutor, we can catch all his followers in one fell swoop without leaving any trouble behind."

"But I can wait, the Grand Master can wait, but the people in Guanzhong can't wait any longer."

Liu Xie touched Jia Xu's hand and could clearly feel thick calluses on the joints.

If it weren't for the hardworking person, it would be impossible to create such marks.

When Liu Xie saw Jia Xu for the first time, he thought he looked like an old farmer. Now it seems... maybe Liu Xie's intuition was not wrong.

"If we implement the policy now, it will be too late to make up for the loss."

"If we wait until a month later, the spring ploughing season will be completely over, and the people in Guanzhong will probably have no hope at all!"

"Wenhe's filial piety is so touching, but can Wenhe really watch countless people in Guanzhong starve to death?"

Jia Xu really didn't expect that today, in this treacherous and ever-changing court, there are still people who can consider the people of the Han Dynasty.

And this person happened to be the emperor of the Han Dynasty, who sat high in the hall and was almost deified.

This contrast is far stronger than Jia Xu's appearance.

"His Majesty……"

Jia Xu seemed to still have concerns, but Liu Xie had already explained why Jia Xu was the only candidate for Shang Shu Ling -

"Just now Wenhe said that the job of the Shangshu Ling is to put you on the fire. How could I not know that?"

"That is why I need to find someone who can handle government affairs and also know how to manage his career."

"If the person who is now the Shangshu Ling is too upright, he will inevitably anger the Grand Master and lose support. If he is too soft, he will be manipulated by the aristocratic bureaucrats, resulting in the government's orders not being implemented."

"After hearing about Wenhe's deeds, I feel that only you, Wenhe, are suitable for this position."

"I hope Wenhe will take into consideration the suffering of the people in Guanzhong and take the responsibility of the Han government."

"If you are worried about your mother, I will send someone to look after her."

"Moreover, if your mother knew that Wenhe was able to protect millions of people in Guanzhong, she would surely be proud of Wenhe, isn't that right?"

Jia Xu:……

The emperor has said so, what else can I do?

Of course I agreed to him!
Although the position of Shangshu Ling was indeed difficult to handle, Jia Xu still rejected it from the bottom of his heart.

But Liu Xie's expression and behavior, which showed his concern for the people, could not be faked at all.

Jia Xu is not the kind of person who would sacrifice his family for the country.

But if the family and one's own life are protected, then as for governing the country... it is not impossible to give it a try?

"I'm relieved if Wenhe agrees!"

Liu Xie finally smiled and pulled Jia Xu to sit beside him.

"I prepared it hastily yesterday and didn't get to eat much of the hot pot. Today I can enjoy a good meal in the lively atmosphere!"

Since it is so lively, it definitely isn't just Liu Xie and Jia Xu.

Just a short while later, another eunuch came to report that Grand Tutor Dong Zhuo, along with Generals of the Central Army Lu Bu and Niu Fu, wanted to see him.

"Let them in quickly!"

While greeting everyone, Liu Xie asked the eunuch to put several tables together to form a round table.

"That's it! Hot pot is more fun when everyone sits together and eats it!"

Both Dong Zhuo and Jia Xu were surprised by the situation of eating from the same big pot. However, as Liu Xie said, sitting together like this really brought everyone closer.

Liu Xie still sat at the top, with Dong Zhuo on his left and Lu Bu on his right. Jia Xu, who had social phobia, sat at the end consciously, with the uneasy Niu Fu sandwiched in the middle.

"Liang Bi (Niu Fu's courtesy name, note 1), relax. Although this is a meal in the palace, it is no different from a family dinner."

Liu Xie placed his hand on Niu Fu's thigh and patted it, signaling him not to be so reserved.

"Yes, yes."

Like Jia Xu, Niu Fu is a typical honest man from the northwest.

The difference is that Jia Xu is pretending to be stupid, while Niu Fu seems to be really stupid...

However, Dong Zhuo completely ignored Liu Xie's identity, picked up a large plate of hot pot mutton, and put it into his mouth and started to eat it with relish.

"Good appetite, Master!"

Dong Zhuo's rough eating habits did not disgust Liu Xie. Instead, he looked extremely happy.

Among all the people Liu Xie had met so far, he was most comfortable getting along with Dong Zhuo.

Wang Yun was too hypocritical, Lu Bu was too stupid, and Jia Xu was too cautious.

It was only when he got along with Dong Zhuo that Liu Xie truly felt that he was a human being, rather than a sculpture built up by the Han Dynasty's four hundred years of imperial power.

While eating mutton, Dong Zhuo kept complaining to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, I wanted to kill Wang Yun several times today! If I hadn't remembered your Majesty's lesson, I'm afraid Wang Yun would have ended up like Zhong Shao today!"

It is indeed difficult for Dong Zhuo today.

Even Liu Xie was worried that Dong Zhuo would get so excited that he would kill Wang Yun.

If that happened, Dong Zhuo would be happy, but the Han Dynasty's court would be in complete chaos.

The top priority now is to resolve the disaster in Guanzhong and ensure the food supply in Guanzhong for the next two years.

If Wang Yun were killed directly, I'm afraid we would be caught in an endless and more intense court struggle, which would be a loss!
"Grand Master, you are truly extraordinary today!"

Liu Xie was generous in praising Dong Zhuo.

"A little impatience will ruin a great plan. Once the Grand Master has completely destroyed the foundation of those people, you can deal with them as you wish!"

Dong Zhuo was somewhat dissatisfied after hearing this: "In this case, I wonder how long we have to wait?"

"Whenever I see rats like these, their appearance reminds me of rotten wood, and whenever I smell their scent, it reminds me of dung. How can I get along with them?"

"Besides, every day this rat lives is a waste of our power."

Dong Zhuo swallowed a mouthful of mutton and raised his five fingers exaggeratedly: "Your Majesty, do you know how much property we found in the Shao family just now?"

"Five thousand catties of gold! Thirty thousand stones of corn! Countless brocades, silks, satins, and rare treasures!"

"This is just one seed!"

"If it were any other rat who held a higher position or had a greater reputation, I'm afraid he would be even greedier and have hidden more!"

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[Note 1]: I looked through several history books for the three chapters, but could not find any record of Niu Fu’s courtesy name. I would like to apologize to everyone here. In the end, I could only give Niu Fu a courtesy name myself.

First of all, the ancients made sure that their courtesy names correspond to their given names, such as "Zhang Fei, whose courtesy name is Yide" and "Zhao Yun, whose courtesy name is Zilong".

The word "Fu" and "Bi" both mean to assist, and the courtesy name of Wang Bi, a minister of Cao Wei, was "Fusi". Later, Zhang Fu, the Duke of Yingguo of the Ming Dynasty (the Duke of Yingguo who was killed by Ming Baozong), also had the courtesy name Wenbi. From this we can see that the words "Fu" and "Bi" are a perfect match, and it is very likely that it was Niu Fu's original courtesy name.

As for the character "Liang", because the history books record that Niu Fu was cowardly, I suspect that he was a son-in-law, or even a child husband... So his courtesy name was most likely given by Dong Zhuo. In this case, using "Liang Bi" as his courtesy name represented Dong Zhuo's hope that this son-in-law could become his right-hand man.

Of course, if any reader can find the correct Chinese character, please let me know and I will change it immediately~~~
(End of this chapter)