My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 178: Supporting the Han Dynasty does not mean supporting you, Liu Xie! Xiao He: A dead emperor is a good emperor!
"Seize the Emperor?"

Everyone present was shocked and looked at Xiao He in surprise.

"The thief Cao is using the emperor's name to recruit heroes from all over the world to serve him, and he also uses the emperor's edict to justify his conquests in all directions, taking full advantage of the righteousness."

"If we can rescue the emperor and make Cao Cao lose his reputation as a righteous man, it will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to Cao Cao!"

Zhao Yun pointed out the benefits and asked hurriedly:

"I wonder if Military Advisor Bo Wen has any clever plan to rescue the emperor from Xudu?"

Everyone looked at Xiao He with excitement and expectation.

Xiao He did not continue speaking, but sighed meaningfully:

"Seizing the emperor is actually a double-edged sword for my lord."

With the emperor in hand, the benefits are naturally self-evident, and Cao Cao's precedent is there.

Before welcoming the emperor, Cao Cao had just driven away Lu Bu and was holding a half-destroyed Yanzhou.

After welcoming the emperor, Cao Cao's territory expanded rapidly in just a few years. Yuzhou, Xuzhou, part of Sizhou, Huainan... all fell into his hands.

This is of course inseparable from Cao Cao's great talent and his superb military strategy, but it is also inseparable from the fact that he holds the banner of justice as the emperor.

Otherwise, how could there be so many talented people who want to eat the emperor's food, come to the court to seek refuge, and be taken into your own palace by you, Cao Cao?
Otherwise, if Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, how could you, Cao Cao, easily induce Sun Ce to rise up against Yuan without the emperor's edict?
Otherwise, when you were fighting a decisive battle with Yuan Shao, why would the generals in Guanzhong be so obedient and help you, Cao Cao, to deal with Yuan Shao, instead of taking advantage of the situation to rush out of the pass and stab you in the back?
The benefits of holding the emperor hostage are obvious when the world is in chaos and many heroes rise up.

However, most of the princes in the world have been destroyed now. The big ones are only Cao Cao and Liu, and the small ones are only Liu Zhang, Gongsun Du, and a few generals in Guanzhong. The benefits of holding the emperor hostage are reduced.

As for the disadvantages of welcoming the emperor, of course Cao Cao set an example himself.

The current emperor is unwilling to be a puppet and is extremely capable of making trouble. During Cao Cao's lifetime, he manipulated many military rebellions behind the scenes, causing Cao Cao a lot of trouble.

The Yidaizhao is the most typical example.

If Liu Bei welcomed the emperor, he would not be willing to be a decoration and would most likely find ways to regain power.

How should Liu Bei treat the emperor at that time?

Should we follow Cao Cao's example and kill all the Han officials who are loyal to the emperor and imprison the emperor like a prisoner?
After all, Cao Cao is a foreigner, and his reputation for cruelty has long been known to everyone, so he doesn't care about the gossip of the world.

You, Liu Bei, are a relative of the Han royal family, and you follow the way of benevolence, righteousness, and kingship. Can you learn from Cao Cao and treat the emperor as brutally as he did?
Xiao He knew without a doubt that Liu Bei would never be able to do it.

Since this is impossible, should we just allow the emperor to blatantly develop his own power, step by step take back power, and steal the fruits of Liu Bei's half-life struggle?
how can that be possible!
Whether it was Xiao He, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, or Zhang Fei, these military generals and counselors were there to assist Liu Bei in upholding the country and reviving the Han Dynasty.

But supporting the Han Dynasty does not mean helping you, Liu Xie, to regain power.

Our support for the Han Dynasty means helping Liu Bei ascend the throne and become the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Although everyone didn't say it out loud, they all had the same idea in their hearts.

If we weigh the pros and cons in this way, welcoming the emperor will have both advantages and disadvantages, a mixture of good and bad.

After Xiao He thought about it again and again, he said:

"This matter is of great importance and is not something we can decide on our own."

"I will write a letter immediately and send it to Ruxuwu at an urgent rate of eight hundred miles. Firstly, I will inform you of the victory and secondly, I will ask for your decision."

Wei Yan, Zhao Yun and others also realized the importance of this matter at this time, and naturally did not dare to raise any objections.

As an "outsider", Ma Chao certainly couldn't say anything.

Xiao He immediately wrote a victory report and prepared to send someone to deliver it to Ruxuwu.

At this moment, Deng Ai hurried into the hall and whispered to Xiao He that a mysterious scholar had come outside the mansion, claiming to be an old friend of Liu Bei and wanted to see him secretly for an urgent matter.

An old friend of Liu Bei?

Is it an extremely urgent matter?
A look of doubt flashed in Xiao He's eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he asked Deng Ai to invite the man into the side hall to meet him.

After a while.

Xiao He found an excuse to have a banquet and asked Ma Chao and his sister to continue drinking celebratory wine, while he went to the side hall accompanied by Zhao Yun and Wei Yan.

At this time, a middle-aged scholar in black was pacing in the hall, with anxiety clearly written on his face.

Xiao He stepped forward, bowed, and said calmly:

"My name is Xiao He. May I know your name, sir? What do you want to see me for?"

The middle-aged scholar turned around suddenly and looked Xiao He up and down with curiosity on his face.

After a while, the middle-aged scholar came back to his senses and hurriedly bowed:

"My name is Kong Rong. I have long admired the ingenious strategies of Military Advisor Xiao. I am honored to have the opportunity to meet him today."

Kong Rong!

The middle-aged scholar in front of him was actually the famous Kong Wenju!

No wonder he claimed to be an old friend of Liu Bei.

When Kong Rong was the Prime Minister of Beihai, he was besieged by the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou and sent Taishi Ci to Pingyuan to ask Liu Bei for help.

Thus, there was the story of Liu Bei saving Kong Rong in Beihai, and the two men formed a life-long friendship.

This great scholar of the time, who should have been killed by Cao Cao after the Battle of Chibi, was fortunate enough to survive, perhaps because of changes in history.

But even if he was alive, he should be serving as the Shaofu, one of the Nine Ministers in Xudu. How could he appear in Wancheng?

"It turns out to be Mr. Kong. I'm so sorry." Xiao He hurriedly invited Kong Rong to the seat of honor and served him fragrant tea. Only then did he ask the reason for Kong Rong's late-night visit.

Kong Rong sighed softly and then told the whole story.

It turned out that a few days ago, the emperor could not bear being held hostage by Cao Cao, so he wanted to use the relationship between Kong Rong and Liu Bei, and secretly ordered Kong Rong to secretly contact Liu Bei and rescue him from Xu Du.

Kong Rong then used the excuse of recuperating at home to secretly leave Xuchang and head south, hoping to meet Liu Bei in Jingzhou.

Who would have thought that when passing through Bowang City, he learned the news that Xiao He led his army to capture Wancheng and Cao Ren suffered a crushing defeat.

Kong Rong then traveled overnight to Wancheng to ask for an audience with Xiao He, hoping to convey the emperor's request for help to Liu Bei through Xiao He.

"Here is the Emperor's secret decree. I implore Military Advisor Xiao to present it to Lord Xuande. Rong begs you!"

Kong Rong took out an imperial edict from his arms and handed it carefully to Xiao He, then bowed solemnly.

Xiao He looked at the secret decree in his hand and finally understood the purpose of Kong Rong's trip.

The emperor in Xuchang was asking Liu Bei for help, wanting to escape from the clutches of Cao Cao and come to seek refuge with his uncle.

Now there is no choice.

The emperor had issued a secret decree, begging Liu Bei to rescue him. As the uncle of the Han emperor, how could Liu Bei refuse to obey the decree when he was clearly capable of rescuing him?

What’s more, it was Kong Rong, an old friend, who sneaked out of Xu Du alone and risked his life to come for help!
Things have come to this point. If Liu Bei doesn't come to the rescue, he wouldn't be Liu Bei.

"Don't worry, Young Master Kong. I will immediately send this secret decree to Jiangdong to present to my master."

"Please ask Mr. Kong to return to Xudu immediately and ask the emperor to summon the Han officials loyal to the court, secretly gather troops and prepare."

"As soon as my lord gives the order, I will immediately send light cavalry deep into the vicinity of Xudu. Then the emperor can break out of Xudu and my light cavalry will escort him back to Nanyang."

Hearing this, Kong Rong was overjoyed.

After a slight joy, he became worried:
"The Cao army guarding Xudu has at least 20,000 men. We, the Han officials loyal to the emperor, can only muster a thousand or so private soldiers at best. With this meager force alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to break out of Xudu, right?"

Xiao He smiled and said comfortingly:
"Don't worry, Mr. Kong. I have my own way to transfer most of the garrison troops from Xudu."

"You have a thousand private soldiers. If you use a trick to confuse the enemy, it will be impossible to capture Xudu, but it should be no problem to break out."

Kong Rong's eyes lit up, and his face was filled with surprise. He said happily:
"Everyone in Xudu says that you, Military Advisor Xiao, are incredibly resourceful and possess extraordinary abilities. Today, Rong has witnessed it with his own eyes, and the rumors are indeed true."

"Since you said that, Rong is relieved. I will go back to Xudu to report the good news to the emperor!"

After saying this, Kong Rong stood up and bowed solemnly to Xiao He:
"The life and death of the emperor, the survival of the Han Dynasty, are all in the hands of Lord Xuande and Military Advisor Xiao."

"Please accept my greeting!"

After bowing deeply, Kong Rong left without any hesitation.

Xiao He took Zhao Yun and Deng Ai and personally escorted Kong Rong out the door.

"The emperor has issued a secret decree requesting help, and Kong Wenju has risked his life to come and ask for help. Given the lord's temperament, it is absolutely impossible for him not to help."

"We made arrangements in advance, and we will act immediately upon receiving the Lord's order. This is correct, but..."

Zhao Yun changed the subject and said:

"I wonder if Military Advisor Bo Wen has any clever plan to divert the main force of Cao's army guarding Xudu, thus creating an opportunity for the emperor to break out of Xudu?"

Deng Ai also looked at Xiao He.

Xiao showed a strange look on his face, smiled and raised his hand to the north and pointed:
"Our forces are limited. Although we cannot advance eastward into the heart of Yingchuan to capture Xudu, we can march north directly to Luhun Pass and act as if we are going to capture Luoyang."

Zhao Yun and Wei Yan were stunned. Their eyes rolled around a few times, and suddenly they understood.

From Nanyang County, you can go east to Xudu, and go north to break through Luhun Pass, one of the eight passes, and enter Luoyang.

Once Luoyang is captured, Cao Cao's defense line in Hongnong County to the west, which is used to guard against the generals of Xiliang, will be faced with being attacked from both sides.

Once the Hongnong defense line is broken, if the 100,000 Xiliang cavalry gathers again, marches eastward out of Tongguan, enters Luoyang unimpeded, and sets foot in Henan, what will Cao Cao do?
Neither Xiahou Dun nor Xun Yu would allow such serious and irreversible consequences to occur.

Therefore, they will definitely draw troops from Xudu Town to deploy and block the enemy at Luoyang.

In this way, most of the troops in Xudu were withdrawn, which gave the emperor a chance to break out.

"Yun understands. Military Advisor Bowen is using this trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain!"

"This strategy is still to attack the enemy while they are about to rescue him. It is indeed a brilliant plan. I believe that even Xun Yu will not be able to see through it."

Zhao Yun suddenly realized it and praised it highly.

At this moment, Wei Yan, who had been silent all this time, lowered his voice and said with a special meaning:

"Military Advisor Bowen, there's no one else here, and I want to say a few words from my heart."

"If the lord were a treacherous and cruel ruler like Cao Cao, it would be fine for him to welcome the emperor, but the lord is a benevolent and righteous ruler."

"Yan is worried. This move will certainly deprive Cao Cao of the righteous reputation of holding the emperor hostage to control the princes, but for my lord, whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages or the disadvantages outweigh the benefits is still unknown."

Wei Yan obviously had the same concerns as him.

Xiao He did not answer, but looked towards Xudu, muttering:
"For my lord, it doesn't matter who holds the emperor; the most important thing is that there is no emperor."

"If the emperor died on the way to escape..."

(End of this chapter)