The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 368 Volume Purge!

Xun Yu flashed out from behind Guan Ping and looked at Chen Qun with some grief.

"Chang Wen, with your intelligence, how can you be inferior to others?"

"I have been thinking that if you participate in this year's imperial examination, I will transfer you to the Shangshutai, starting as a Shangshulang, sorting out secrets. If you can do it, you will become a great man!"

"In the future, you will be a general in the outside world and a prime minister in the inside world. This will complement the reputation of your grandfather, father, and uncle. Isn't this a good thing?"

Chen Qun was already being held captive by the soldiers, but he found it hard to accept Xun Yu's words: "Wen Ruo! The rise and fall of all things is the law of nature!"

"If there is no hierarchy, can this court still be called the court, and can the Han Dynasty still be called the Han Dynasty?"

"Not following the rules of propriety! How can such a court last long?"

The right way is for the Holy Emperor to rule the country with ease, and to be assisted by great scholars of noble character!
Although the current emperor has not summoned the eunuchs to check and balance the foreign officials, he is colluding with the vulgar Xiliang warriors and the penniless scholars from poor families. Where is the moral integrity at all?
How can the scholars of the world be convinced and serve the emperor when he does not follow the rules?

"Long article!"

Seeing that Chen Qun was still stubborn and refused to change, Xun Yu beat his chest and stamped his feet.

"I am also from a noble family, so please don't play these pedantic words with me."

"You let the emperor rule the country without any effort... Do you really think that the scholars and officials can rule the world well, or do you want to make the emperor blind and deaf, allowing the local nobles to collude with each other and control the government, so that you can occupy land privately and do evil?"

"Chang Wen, go and look at the teachings of the saints in the ancient books. Where is there any teaching that teaches the subjects and the people to act like this?"

Chen Qun said firmly: "The sage's reasoning? The ministers of the sage's time also had their own fiefdoms! Even the King of Zhou could not interfere in the family affairs of Jiang Qi and Gui Chen! Did I say anything wrong?"

"What I am doing now is to uphold the laws of our ancestors! Instead, you and the emperor of heaven want to rule the people with barbarians! How can this be so anti-Tian Gang?"

Chen Qun raised his neck and showed it to the public: "It doesn't matter if I lose!"

"In the three capitals and thirteen states of the Later Han Dynasty, how many people are dissatisfied with the court's new policies?"

"I just don't believe it. Can you kill them all?"

After saying this, Chen Qun closed his eyes and waited quietly.

Chen Qun never thought he was wrong.

He just thought he lost!

Seeing this, Xun Yu just shook his head and left.

However, before leaving, Xun Yu still left a last sentence -

"Don't worry! We will win!"

……

Except Chen Qun from Xu County.

Li Dian from Shanyang, Yanzhou.

Li Tong on the west side of Runan.

They had all been captured by the imperial soldiers without causing any commotion.

In Chenliu, Guan Yu personally led his troops to capture him!

As soon as Zhang Miao saw Guan Yu, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"General Guan, why did you come to Chenliu instead of staying in Xu County?"

Guan Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "If I had come a few days later, I'm afraid you would have offered Chenliu to Cao Cao, right?"

Chen Gong, who was standing by, only then realized that Zhang Miao had been hiding his intention to rebel again from him.

"Brother Meng Zhuo! How could you do this!"

After Chen Gong angrily scolded Zhang Miao, he turned around and pleaded with Guan Yu, asking him to spare Zhang Miao's life.

"Your Majesty will make the final decision on Zhang Miao's matter."

Guan Yu learned from Liu Ye that Chen Gong had not rebelled against the court, so he was quite friendly towards Chen Gong.

"Gongtai, let me ask you, if Zhang Miao's evil plan succeeds, and you and I both fall into Cao Cao's hands, can we still keep our lives?"

"..."

Chen Gong thought about it and felt that if he wanted to live, he and Guan Yu might be able to survive in Cao Cao's hands...

But whether it was himself or Guan Yu, how could they be willing to ask Cao Cao for a way to survive under such circumstances?
Even if Zhang Miao didn't care about his reputation, he wouldn't beg for mercy at this time...

Chen Gong was still lost in thought when he heard Zhang Miao kneel on the ground with a plop.

"General Guan! General Guan! I was just possessed by a ghost for a moment! Please spare my life! Even if you have to demote me to a commoner and take away my family property, just spare my life!"

Chen Gong: ...

He suddenly felt a little ashamed. How could he become friends with someone like Zhang Miao?
Guan Yu still said the same old thing -

"Your life or death will be decided by His Majesty!"

"You just need to explain the details, and maybe your crime will be mitigated!"

Zhang Miao knelt down tremblingly and kowtowed again: "Yes!"

……

After this incident, all the aristocratic families that were connected were dug out by Zhuge Liang with a hoe, with roots and leaves. The number of people involved, Yanzhou and Yuzhou combined, was more than 20,000.

Population is secondary; the most important thing is the money, food and military equipment found in those farms and forts.

After an investigation by Xun Yu and Zhuge Liang, they were shocked to discover that these funds were actually 70% of the treasuries of the county governments!

"All of these belong to Cao Mengde, so he probably has another 10,000 or 20,000 elite troops under his command... But if that's the case, the battle for the imperial court will be difficult to fight!"

The two men wrote down the approximate amount on an official document and sent it to the Emperor of Hebei.

……

Cao Cao had already received letters from Zhang Miao and Chen Qun.

Although he was ashamed of Zhang Miao's previous betrayal and hated him for killing Cao Hong, but now that a big event was ahead, he had to act passionately.

"The court has lost its moral integrity. Now is the time for me to recover the lost territory!"

Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren and others began to congratulate Cao Cao, thinking that Cao Cao could regain his former glory.

Only Guo Jia, who had just returned from Guanzhong, seemed to be hesitant to speak, but in the end he did not spoil everyone's interest.

However, Cao Cao saw through Guo Jia's hesitation and kept him that night to discuss matters with him.

"Feng Xiao has returned from Guanzhong and looks much better!"

Cao Cao and Guo Jia sat together, and Cao Cao took Guo Jia's hand and stroked it carefully.

"I wanted you to stop taking the Wushi Sangu before... but I just couldn't bear to stop taking it. It hurt you so much. Now that you've stopped taking it, it's actually good."

Guo Jia felt Cao Cao's kindness and tears appeared in his eyes.

"We really have to thank the emperor for his ruthlessness."

"No matter how much I screamed and how much pain I felt, he remained indifferent. He just asked Yang Xiu or Sima Yi to tie me up and tie me to a table and chair. He showed no sign of feeling any pain at all."

"But it is precisely because the emperor is so cruel that he can make me give up the Five Stones Powder and give me a healthy body, isn't it?"

Cao Cao stopped touching Guo Jia's hand, and unconsciously narrowed his eyes and twirled his beard: "Feng Xiao, are you pointing at me?"

Guo Jia sighed.

"Lord Cao! You and I are close friends. How can I, Guo Jia, hide my thoughts from you?"

"To be honest, ever since I suffered so much at the Emperor's side, I've come to realize that governing a country requires a ruthless heart."

"The reason why Lord Cao ended up in such a situation is because he was not ruthless enough! Not decisive enough!"

"If Cao Gong really follows Dong Zhuo's example and slaughters all the nobles in Yuzhou and Yanzhou, and then follows the emperor's example and directly establishes a set of exemplary rules... With Cao Gong's talent and courage, how can he still hide in one place?"

"If it weren't for the Emperor's ruthlessness and determination, I, Guo Jia, would definitely not be able to give up the Five Stones Powder... But after I really gave it up, I found that I felt refreshed and my eyes were bright!"

Cao Cao frowned even more: "Does Fengxiao want me to not rely on Zhang Miao, Chen Qun and others to retake the Central Plains?"

Guo Jia smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Lord Cao, do you really think that the emperor kept Guan Yu and Zhuge Kongming here just for show?"

"Moreover, the emperor also transferred Xun Wenruo from Chang'an to Jingzhou, and asked Sima Zhongda to cross the river again and come to Henan to guard Yanzhou... Let's not talk about Zhuge Kongming and Sima Zhongda, two people Cao Gong is not familiar with. Just talking about Guan Yu and Xun Wenruo, do you think Zhang Miao can escape from their clutches?"

"If my guess is correct, Zhuge Kongming and his men have already captured Zhang Miao, Chen Qun and the others, and are just waiting for you, Cao Gong, to rashly run into them so that they can capture you completely!"

Cao Cao's face was full of disbelief, but his long-term suspicious habit still made him worried.

After much deliberation, Cao Cao did not lead his troops himself, but instead sent his brother-in-law Ren Jun to Chenliu and Xu County according to the plan of Zhang Miao and Chen Qun.

Ren Jun led his troops there and knocked at the gate but no one answered. He immediately knew that they had been ambushed.

Zhuge Liang's soldiers, who had been lying in ambush, also attacked and killed Ren Jun in the midst of the chaos!
Cao Cao, who was in Xuzhou, heard this and burst into tears: "It's all my fault for not listening to Feng Xiao's advice, which led to Ren Jun's death!"

After saying this, he ordered someone to reward Ren Jun with a wife and take care of Ren Jun.

……

After Liu Xie, who was in Huai County, received the documents sent by Zhuge Liang and others, he sat alone in the courtyard.

Seeing this, Yang Xiu stepped forward and asked, "May I ask if the emperor has any urgent matters?"

"Kong Ming sent a message saying that Zhang Miao has joined forces with Chen Qun, Li Dian and others to rebel again, and the momentum is overwhelming!"

Yang Xiu immediately turned pale: "Why at this time?"

Then Yang Xiu forced himself to calm down and said, "May I ask if Your Majesty wants to order General Lu Bu or Uncle Liu to lead troops back to the Central Plains to suppress the rebellion?"

Now Lu Bu is unstoppable, pushing all the way to Qinghe State, and is beginning to advance westward. He is about to complete the formal encirclement of Yecheng with the emperor and Liu Bei's army!

If a part of the troops were suddenly transferred away at this time, it would be a huge blow to morale, and even Yang Xiu would not know how to deal with it.

Seeing that Yang Xiu was sweating profusely due to anxiety, Liu Xie stopped teasing him and handed the document to Yang Xiu to read.

"Fortunately, I had anticipated the instability in Henan, so I left Yunchang, Kongming, and Wenruo behind, and transferred Zhongda to Yanzhou to watch over it."

"Fortunately, the soldiers under Zhongda were not used. Kongming alone was able to settle the matter."

"Grandmaster De, you pass on the decree and have Kong Ming execute the chief culprit first. The rest of them will be demoted to ghost firewood and white candy. They will be sent to build riverbanks and cultivate fields. All the money, food and weapons will be put into the treasury to equip the soldiers... As for the rest, I will report back to him after I have thought it through."

"My most important task now is to go to Yecheng first, kill Yuan Shao, and pacify this devil who caused the chaos!"

(End of this chapter)