The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 246 Volume Emperor Zhaowu of Hanzhong

When Liu Xie was heading to Hedong, the news had already spread.

For ordinary people, perhaps all this makes no difference, the court is still the same court.

But some scholars and officials were keenly aware that great changes were about to take place.

When Liu Xie arrived in Puzhou, he had already received letters from many scholars along the way.

These scholars were expressing condolences on the surface, but in reality they all had ulterior motives.

"Dezu, come and read this letter."

At the post station, Liu Xie smiled and handed a letter to Yang Xiu.

When Yang Xiu saw Liu Xie's smile, he was immediately horrified and vaguely felt that someone was about to be in big trouble.

The letter was sent by the magistrate of Huayin County.

This person had been extremely gentle towards Dong Zhuo's Grand Tutor before, and had always been supportive of the court's new policies.

But the letter he wrote today was completely different from his previous ones.

It was only because he requested - "Give the Grand Tutor the posthumous title of Xuancheng, bury him in Zhaoling Mausoleum, and have his funeral follow the old precedent of Prime Minister Xiao He."

The posthumous title of "Xuancheng" is worthy of the title of Grand Tutor.

Being buried in Zhaoling Mausoleum was also something that Liu Xie and the Grand Tutor had already discussed.

As for the funeral specifications being modeled after the old precedent of Prime Minister Xiao He...there is nothing presumptuous about this.

only……

After all, Yang Xiu was a man of great learning, and he could see where the trap was at a glance.

"Is this... the standard for Huo Guang's burial in the past?"

Even the posthumous titles are exactly the same.

Was this accidental or intentional?

Liu Xie smiled wryly: "First define the Grand Master as Huo Guang."

"Will we designate the Grand Master as a powerful official from now on?"

"Then do we have to repent for the scholars that the Grand Tutor killed?"

"In the end, should we abolish all the systems run by the Grand Tutor? After all, the systems of equal distribution of land, government soldiers, and the imperial examination system all depend on the Grand Tutor."

Yang Xiu heard the murderous intent in Liu Xie's words and blamed the fact that there were so many stupid people in the world.

So long.

He actually didn't realize that these decrees were not issued by Grand Tutor Dong Zhuo, but were controlled by Emperor Liu Xie behind the scenes.

They were so naive that they thought that after the death of the Grand Tutor, all the new policies could be abolished and the situation of the nobles being in high esteem could return to the past.

stupid!
"Your Majesty, do you want to send a letter to Lord Jia, asking him to arrest the Magistrate of Huayin County?"

……

"Keep it for now, and I will deal with everything after I come back."

Liu Xie has not yet reached the center of the storm, but raindrops have already fallen down.

Today he is a small magistrate of Huayin County, who will he be tomorrow?
If the court had not been purged before using the Huangfu Li incident, I'm afraid someone among the three dukes and nine ministers would have stopped Liu Xie, right?
By that time, Liu Xie would not even be able to lead the army in person. He might have been besieged in the Weiyang Palace, cutting off the emperor's contact with the outside world.

Fortunately, today Liu Xie can still rely on Dong Zhuo's remaining power to do something.

"The Grand Master brought honor to the Han Dynasty with his deeds during his lifetime. Naturally, I will help you to properly arrange your affairs after your death."

Liu Xie casually glanced at the letter and asked Yang Xiu: "Dezu, if I asked you to decide on a posthumous title for the Grand Master, what would you want to decide on?"

Yang Xiu:?
He never expected that the emperor would throw this difficult problem to him.

This made Yang Xiu feel a little troubled for a moment.

When giving Dong Zhuo a posthumous title, "Wu" must be used.

But according to the many policies set during Dong Zhuo's reign... although most of those policies were set by the emperor, they can still be blamed on Dong Zhuo.

In this case, the word "Wu" is obviously not enough.

Therefore, the first one must be "wen".

But "civil" and "military" obviously cannot be put together, and in the end there must be a choice.

According to Dong Zhuo's own achievements, he must have used "force".

But according to the emperor's preferences, Yang Xiu suspected that the emperor wanted to give the grand master some "literary" treatment.

After thinking for a while, Yang Xiu finally spoke:

"To hastily prepare weapons is called Zhuang, to be able to conquer the enemy is called Zhuang, to be determined to defeat the enemy is called Zhuang, to die in the wilderness is called Zhuang, to fight and kill many times is called Zhuang, and to fail in military campaigns is called Zhuang."

"If Your Majesty really wants to give the Grand Master a posthumous title, the name 'Wenzhuang' is more appropriate."

The character "Zhuang" is actually more in line with Dong Zhuo's military achievements.

This posthumous title can be considered a title that represents both civil and military achievements.

After hearing this, Liu Xie finally smiled sincerely, which was rare in the past few days.

"Wenzhuang? If the Grand Master knew that I gave him such a posthumous title, wouldn't he chase me and beat me?"

"If the Grand Master were here, he would probably prefer posthumous titles like Wucheng, Wulie, or Weiwu, right?"

……

He laughed and laughed, but then fell silent again.

Liu Xie suddenly asked Yang Xiu: "Dezu, if I were to surpass you in the future, what posthumous title would you like to give me?"

Yang Xiu's scalp suddenly went numb and his knees fell to the ground uncontrollably.

At this moment, Yang Xiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Your Majesty, what are you doing? I am a few years older than Your Majesty. No matter what, I will go to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will have pity on me and give me a posthumous title." Seeing Yang Xiu like this, Liu Xie shook his head helplessly: "How come Dezu has become so smooth after his trip to Jingzhou?"

"I won't judge the crime, just speak with confidence."

……

Yang Xiu was put on the stove, and he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "Zhao means respectful and beautiful appearance; Zhao means virtue and hard work; Zhao means wisdom and knowledge; Zhao means fame and influence... If we really want to give Your Majesty a posthumous title, it must include the word Zhao."

"And your majesty will certainly be like the founder of the Guangwu Emperor and sweep the world again in the future, so there will also be a word Wu in his name."

"Therefore, I think... the word 'Zhaowu' is most suitable for Your Majesty."

"And according to your majesty's future achievements, you will surely be able to turn the tide and revive the Han Dynasty. In this case, you should have a temple name."

Yang Xiu took a deep breath and said, "As the saying goes, the ancestors have merits and the ancestors have virtues. If nothing unexpected happens, your majesty's future temple name should be the title of [Zhongzu]!"

……

Liu Xie looked at Yang Xiu in surprise, and Yang Xiu also felt regretful at this moment.

The emperor asked me to speak, so why did I speak it?
Giving the emperor a posthumous title, or even a temple name...is this something you can do yourself?
"Emperor Zhaowu of Hanzhong?"

Liu Xie recited it silently several times and surprisingly found it quite pleasant to the ear?
"Then I will borrow Dezuji's words."

"But the matter of posthumous title is not up to you and me after all."

"If Yuan Shao attacks Hedong and takes Guanzhong, he will most likely crush the Grand Master to dust, and the posthumous title of Grand Master will probably be gone."

"And I should not dream of being the founder of Hanzhong. I should just give him a name like 'Xian' or 'Yang' and then cut his neck with a knife and throw him into the wilderness."

"Oh...I forgot!"

Liu Xie remembered: "Yuan Shao has already enthroned Liu He as the emperor and does not recognize my status as the Son of Heaven, so I don't even think about the posthumous title."

"..."

The more Liu Xie spoke, the more panicked Yang Xiu became. He even wished he could cut off his ears and throw them away!
"so……"

Liu Xie stood up and put his hand on Yang Xiu's shoulder.

“Don’t let everything that happens be meaningless.”

"The future of the Grand Master is now in my hands."

"If the Han Dynasty perishes, it would be truly a shame to the Grand Master."

"Dezu, please go down and rest early. I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep well from the moment you arrive in Hedong tomorrow."

Yang Xiu looked at Liu Xie's leaving back, pondering the deep meaning of Liu Xie's words.

"Whether the death of the Grand Master is meaningful or not, is it ultimately up to your Majesty to decide?"

Only then did Yang Xiu remember that the saddest and most sorrowful person in the world at this moment should be the emperor before him.

But the emperor did not spend even a quarter of a minute to mourn, and immediately led the army to Hedong in person.

Because the emperor understood that sadness could not solve anything.

Only by taking control of the military power of Xiliang, blocking Yuan Shao from entering the country, and completely reviving the Han Dynasty, will the emperor be qualified to remember Dong Zhuo.

If there had not been the Zhou Dynasty for 800 years, Duke Zhou would have been just a regent.

If Confucius had not continued the tradition and revived the rituals, the name of Duke Zhou would probably not be as well-known as it is now.

"The Grand Master has done enough. The rest will be done by the Emperor and those who come after him!"

When Yang Xiu thought of this, he no longer worried about the emperor's condition and went to sleep with his clothes on.

The next day.

Liu Xie led his troops across the river, and Zhong Yao was waiting there early.

Since Zhong Yao was exiled to Hedong, he had to sort out the salt administration, prepare food and grass for the court, and always guard against the attack of Yuan Shao in Hebei. His originally plump figure became unusually thin.

Moreover, the recent changes have caused Zhong Yao to look haggard, with two huge black spots under his eyes, which makes people wonder if Zhong Yao has not rested all night in the past few days.

But when he saw the emperor's figure, Zhong Yao seemed to have seen his backbone and was obviously relieved.

"His Majesty."

The tremendous pressure and grievances seemed to be contained in these two words, and Liu Xie supported Zhong Yao with shame: "Thank you for your hard work, Yuan Chang."

When Zhong Yao heard the emperor's voice, he felt inexplicably relieved.

Since Dong Zhuo is no longer around, the current emperor is the only pillar of the Han Dynasty.

With the beams and pillars here, there is naturally nothing to worry about.

"His Majesty."

Zhong Yao also knew that it was not the time to reminisce about the past, so he first told the emperor about the situation in Hedong.

"After Yuan Shao learned the news, he immediately led his troops to attack Jiexiu. Fortunately, there was a waterway that allowed the three generals Li Jue, Xu Rong, and Lu Bu to retreat, thus avoiding a disaster."

"After that, Generals Lu Bu and Niu Fu led their troops to retreat to Hedong and set up a defense line. However, General Xu Rong secretly led his troops to station in the Quewei Valley area. General Li Jue also went to Chenguan and joined forces with General Guo Si."

Liu Xie understood the situation and frowned: "What about Taiyuan?"

Zhong Yao: "General Li Jue left a thousand soldiers in Jinzhong when he withdrew from Taiyuan."

"But what use would those 1,000 soldiers be in front of Yuan Shao's 100,000-man army? I'm afraid they would have already fallen by now!"

When Liu Xie heard that there were still a thousand soldiers left in Taiyuan, he couldn't help but wonder: "Did Li Jue say what the commanders who stayed behind were?"

Zhong Yao pondered for a while and finally remembered the man's name.

"He is from Taiyuan."

"His name seems to be...Hao Zhao!"

(End of this chapter)