The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 489: Establishing a State
"Building a ancestral temple?"

No matter how slow-witted Lu Bu was, he knew what this meant.

"Hiss... Your Majesty, is this inappropriate?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Lu Bu said cautiously: "Only the Liu family can be king. This is the ancestral precept established by Emperor Gaozu. Those who violate it will be punished by the whole world..."

"When did I say I would make you king? That's a nice thought."

Lu Bu scratched his head in embarrassment, but still said, "But... Grand Master."

Now, above all the officials of the Han Dynasty, there is a benchmark——

Grand Tutor Dong Zhuo.

The Grand Tutor was granted the title of Duke of Yong in those days. He established a fiefdom and built an ancestral temple, which was considered the pinnacle of his career.

Moreover, the relationship between Lü Bu and the Grand Tutor was that of sworn father and son, which made Lü Bu hesitate and he did not dare to be on the same level as Dong Zhuo.

"I have thought about this."

Liu Xie had indeed thought about it carefully.

"Therefore, I intend to posthumously confer the title of king on the Grand Master."

The tone was relaxed, as if he was just talking about something ordinary.

But these words made all three people present explode!

Has the emperor finally come to this point?
Now even Sima Yi came forward and wanted to argue with the emperor.

But Liu Xie just waved his hand.

"Only the Liu family can be king?"

"Let me ask you, as the direct descendant of the Grand Tutor, is Wansheng's last name Liu?"

"In this matter, I am not violating the teachings of Emperor Gaozu, so please do not advise me."

Sima Yi and Lu Bu looked at each other.

They didn't expect that Liu Wansheng's surname Liu could be used in this way!

Although it feels a bit weird...

But now, who dares to say that Liu Wansheng is not surnamed Liu?
The three of them had never expected that the emperor could misinterpret the words of the old man Gaozu in this way...

Liu Xie also smiled and said, "That's enough! If we talk about usurpation, this rule was broken by the previous Han emperors."

"Didn't the Xiongnu Chanyu for so many generations have the surname Liu? Doesn't that mean the Xiongnu king is not considered a king?"

……

When they heard Liu Xie's comments about the former Han emperor, the three were speechless.

"Seriously, quarreling is not what I do here. At least I have to wait until we return to Chang'an to have a quarrel."

Sima Yi asked: "So Your Majesty will start planning this matter after returning to Chang'an?"

"No!"

Liu Xie looked serious.

"I intend to do this now, and make it a done deal!"

Sima Yi: ...

As if Liu Xie didn't notice Sima Yi's livid face, he continued to say to Lu Bu: "The only place the court can control is Liaodong."

"Going further east, even if I want to, I am powerless."

"Therefore, I want to emulate the Zhou royal family and establish a state."

As Liu Xie spoke, he also advised Sima Yi beside him: "Zhongda, remember this. If someone is dissatisfied after you return, just say that I am imitating the previous king."

……

"This includes the Three Han territories, as well as the territories of Buyeo and Goguryeo. These are not under the control of the imperial court."

“This is still the Northeast.”

"This is even more true in the southwest. It is absolutely impossible for the Han Dynasty to stabilize its power in the area by relying solely on the two barbarian countries of Shan and Pyu."

"And there is the country in the Western Regions..."

"And south of Jiaozhou..."

"There are also islands in the East China Sea..."

When Liu Xie said this, he actually showed a rare feeling of helplessness.

"The Han people today do not have the ability to encompass all of these places."

"If we put all our national strength into this, we will end up like the Qin Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han, who were warlike and aggressive, which would be detrimental to the country."

"Therefore, establishing states is the general trend."

Speaking of ruling those places... Liu Xie himself didn't believe it.

Because the core of rule has never been land, but population.

People are the most precious and important resource.

Liu Xie had no intention of gaining anything from these lands.

Now, he just wants the people of the Han Dynasty to be able to recuperate and live on these lands.

But Liu Xie did not tell these things clearly to Lu Bu and others.

In fact, the emperor doesn't need to explain these.

The mere fact that the emperor was determined to establish a state was enough to shock several people.

In fact, Lu Bu was not the only one who reached the pinnacle of human affairs.

Sima Yi is now the head of three ministries and the Minister of the Menxia Province.

Even without considering the achievements of civil officials, Sima Yi's military exploits could even make him a pillar of the state...

Similarly, Zhuge Liang is actually similar...

As the Han Dynasty was gradually restored, the power of these people reached the point where it could no longer be restricted.

If we say that there was only one Han Xin in the early Han Dynasty, then now there are a lot of Han Xins!
It’s simply because the emperor is too young, so these people don’t feel too nervous.

If Liu Xie were an old man in his forties or fifties now, I'm afraid people like Sima Yi would have already learned from Xiao He to defile themselves to protect themselves!
But now, the emperor has suddenly made their future, which was originally blocked, become bright and open!

Establish a state and build a nation!

Become the founding ancestor of a country!
Such temptation is rare in the world!

Even Sima Yi's Adam's apple was shaking at this moment, not to mention Cao Pi next to him...

Cao Pi now wished he could run to his father Cao Cao and personally urge Cao Cao to work with a whip!

Establish a state and establish a kingdom!
Isn’t this what a real man pursues?
Even if we listen to what the emperor said, the fiefdoms will generally not appear in the heartland of the Central Plains... But as long as there are fiefdoms, who would care about this?
For a moment, the three people's minds were blank, and they had no idea what to say or do in front of the emperor.

"Let's settle it this way first."

"Of course, you can establish states as you wish. After all, you are all officials in the central government. You can only follow the example of Duke Zhou and Duke Shao and send your own descendants to the states. I won't let you go there in person."

Liu Xie's smile at this moment was like that of a profiteer -

"You have to prepare the people and soldiers going to the vassal state yourself, do you understand?"

Since we want to emulate the Zhou royal family, we must do so to the end.

In the past, the Zhou royal family basically just marked out a piece of open space, and then kicked people over to fend for themselves...

Although Liu Xie would not be so ruthless and would provide some financial support, in essence it was almost the same...

Seeing that the three were still in a daze, Liu Xie stepped forward and knocked on one of them: "That's enough! Stop dreaming about your Spring and Autumn period!"

"Liaodong has not yet been recovered, so why are you considering these things first?"

"Zhongda, get ready. In a few days, hurry to Liaodong to help my uncle and his men break through Xiangping and blow open the tortoise shell of that old bastard Gongsun Du!"

"Here!"

……

a few days later.

Sima Yi set out on his journey with a heavy heart.

The fact of establishing a state was so shocking that even Sima Yi was slow to digest the news.

When Sima Yi thought about the fact that he would one day become the founder of a country, he couldn't help but feel as comfortable as eating a bite of ice cheese on a hot summer day.

"Whoo~"

Sima Yi stood on the deck, looking at the sea in the distance.

Normally, he had no interest in the sea at all.

But now, when I think that one day I might be able to establish a state on the land behind the ocean, I am filled with longing for this vast ocean!

"For the founding emperor..."

Sima Yi murmured twice, then stood still and continued to go to Xiangping.

This is not empty talk!

Sima Yi believed that since the emperor could say it, he would definitely be able to make it happen!
But as the emperor said, no matter what, we must take Liaodong first, and then discuss the issue of enfeoffment!
Below Xiangping City...

Liu Bei and Cao Cao's troops have been trapped here for a month.

The continuous heavy rains caused the soldiers' morale to drop significantly.

All the roads in Yanshan have been blocked, and now the army's food and fodder supplies are transported here via the sea routes from Hebei and Qingzhou.

In this situation, even the most resolute Liu Bei was gloomy: "If it continues to rain like this, I'm afraid we will have no choice but to withdraw our troops."

There is almost no dry place in the military camp nowadays.

For some soldiers in low-lying areas, the camp was even flooded, submerging their ankles and soaking their toes.

This is not the way to fight a war.

Cao Cao and Sun Ce also looked depressed.

I thought I could easily defeat Gongsun Du, pacify Liaodong, and make military achievements, but the result turned out like this...

And everyone knows it.

Because Liaodong is a relatively closed geographical unit, this withdrawal not only gave up the area near the Liaohe River, but also all the places that had been captured so far.

Everyone felt upset when they thought about the fact that they had spent so much time, so much food and so many soldiers to conquer the land and now they were about to give it up.

"Please wait patiently for a moment."

The person who said this now was Zhuge Liang, who was usually the most rational.

"The emperor has sent a message saying that Zhongda and Yide have led their troops here and will arrive within a day or two at most."

But these words made Sun Ce a little unhappy.

"Even if we arrive, what can we do?"

"What's really causing trouble for the army right now is not the heavy rain in Liaodong, but the turtle-like Xiangping City!"

"The three layers of walls rely on each other and form a system when defending. Unless a hundred thousand troops attack together, it is possible to take down this city."

"No matter how resourceful Sima Zhongda is, or how brave Zhang Yide is, can they be a match for an army of 100,000?"

Sun Ce's tone was impatient, but what he said was realistic.

As long as Xiangping City is not broken, no matter how many soldiers come, it will be useless.

Not only is it useless, it will even increase the logistical pressure here and cause the military camp to collapse faster!
Although Cao Cao did not say anything, his thoughts were exactly the same as Sun Ce's.

At this point, there is no need to persist.

Instead of wasting time here, it is better to withdraw the troops immediately, accumulate strength, and plan for the future.

Moreover, recently, after Queen Yu discovered that the Han army could not capture the city of Xiangping, she began to have some inappropriate thoughts, which made Cao Cao alert.

But Zhuge Liang still kept his book, feather fan and long robe, neither arrogant nor impatient.

"How do you know that Zhongda cannot break into the city?"

"It will only take a day or two, so please wait for a while!"

(End of this chapter)