Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 21: Conspiring with Xiaowen, Dominating like Sejong

"Zhang Jue deserves to be killed!"

"The traitor should be cut into pieces!"

"The Taiping Dao must be utterly exterminated!"

Yang Ci, Liu Tao and Liu Kuan were all angrier and more extreme than each other, as if they wanted to eat Zhang Jiao alive.

The first two sentences were said by Liu Tao and Liu Kuan, both of whom were relatives of the Han Dynasty. Although they were close to scholars, they were also loyal and patriotic.

However, Yang Ci, a top Han noble who had been a duke for three generations, hated the Taiping Dao even more than these two Han relatives!

Such a rebellion that spreads across the eight states is bound to cause the collapse of the Han Dynasty. By then, the Xianbei, Wuhuan, Xiongnu, Western Qiang, Wuling Man, Shanyue and other barbarians will naturally not be honest, which is bound to cause turmoil in the world, or a major reshuffle of the world's forces!
As one of the top aristocrats in the Han Dynasty, he naturally did not want to see such a major reshuffle.

What good would a major reshuffle do him? Once he rebelled, the good reputation accumulated by the Hongnong Yang family for generations would be ruined in his generation. Apart from this, the best outcome would be to maintain the status quo. Naturally, he was unwilling to reshuffle.

And the big reshuffle also means a redistribution of interests!
If anyone touches his family's cake, it would be more unacceptable to him than digging up the ancestral tomb of the Hongnong Yang family.

Because no one dared to dig up the ancestral tomb of his Hongnong Yang family, but once the Hongnong Yang family declined, someone would really dare to touch his family's cake!
Oh no! If that group of untouchables rebels and breaks into Hongnong, they might actually dig up the ancestral tombs of the Hongnong Yang family!

"As the Grand Marshal, this military and national affair concerns the four-hundred-year foundation of the Han Dynasty. I must proceed with caution. May I ask how Your Highness will respond to this rebellion?"

According to history, Yang Ci should have become increasingly thinner and lived for at most two years. However, he seemed to have regained his youth and his mind became clear. His originally bent back also straightened up.

Liu Bian couldn't help but glance sideways. Wow, the old man's eyes were much clearer, and he looked as if he had sat up in shock from a dying illness.

"The thief has confessed that he will rebel next year, on the fifth day of the third month of the Jiazi year."

"I don't know what the situation will be like by then, but if the Taiping Dao wants to succeed, they must conquer Luoyang!"

"The Taiping Dao has many followers. This is the thieves' strength, but also their weakness."

Liu Bian took out a piece of malt sugar from his sleeve and placed it on the table. This was to prevent him from feeling hungry during the morning court session. Not only Liu Bian had some food, but all the officials had prepared some food that had no smell, made no sound when eaten, but could still fill his stomach.

Pointing at the piece of malt candy, Liu Bian showed a confident smile on his face.

"This thing is the thief's weak spot!"

Although Yang Ci, as the Grand Commandant, was not good at military affairs, he was not completely ignorant. He immediately realized what Liu Bian was referring to and whispered, "Food and fodder!"

"I wish to appoint commanders at the eight passes: Hangu, Taigu, Guangcheng, Yique, Huanyuan, Xuanmen, Mengjin, and Xiaopingjin."

"As long as Sanhe and Sanfu remain in order, the Han Dynasty will remain standing."

"Among four or five hundred thousand believers, how many are young and strong? A few months of perseverance is enough to shake their morale. Once they suffer a major defeat, they will scatter and flee."

"What I am worried about is not defeating the bandits, but putting an end to the chaos."

Liu Bian sighed, he lied.

Defeating the Yellow Turbans was no easy task.

Although he had the strategy to defeat the Yellow Turbans in history in his mind, the premise was to delegate power to the nobles and powerful families, allowing them to recruit private soldiers to help the court suppress the bandits. Since then, the central court's control over the local areas has been weakened to the extreme, which led to the situation of warlords fighting for power in the late Han Dynasty.

He naturally cannot repeat the same mistake, but this also means that the difficulty of pacifying the Yellow Turbans will be greatly increased.

Only after that will we have to worry about restoring public order in various places after the war.

These Yellow Turban bandits became civilians once they took off their yellow turbans, but since they had no household registration, they became refugees.

Once there are too many refugees, chaos will arise.

This is also why although all three Zhang Jiao brothers were killed, the Yellow Turbans in various places sprang up like mushrooms after a rain, and even gave rise to the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans and the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans, two remnants of the Yellow Turbans that once made the Han court exhausted to deal with.

Throughout history, the remnants of the Yellow Turbans and bandits that caused rebellions in various places were all suppressed by the private armies of various princes and aristocratic families. However, Liu Bian didn't know how much money and food he would have to invest to suppress them. But there was really no good way at the moment, so he could only take it one step at a time.

After hearing the Crown Prince's words, Yang Ci remained silent, but he, Liu Tao, and Liu Kuan all agreed with the Crown Prince's strategic plan. A more detailed strategic plan isn't necessarily better, as the more detailed it is, the more likely it is to go beyond the intended plan. Liu Bian had already constructed a strategic framework, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the Taiping Dao rebels and the specific methods for suppressing the rebellion. Now it was time for the civil and military officials to provide the Crown Prince with advice and dispatch troops to suppress the rebellion.

"Your Highness is thoughtful and far-sighted, and it is a blessing for the Han Dynasty."

Yang Ci, who achieved his goal and ensured his own interests, naturally praised him generously, as did Liu Tao and Liu Kuan, but Liu Bian was not in such a good mood.

Liu Bian's increasingly hostile gaze fell on Liu Kuan, who had interrupted him earlier. "Guanglu Xun, I know that you are concerned about state affairs, and therefore you have lost your courtesy as a minister."

"But etiquette is etiquette. If a subject is not a subject, then I can also be a king and not a king."

"Your Highness, I…I would never dare to do that even if I die!"

Liu Kuan was frightened. Liu Bian's words characterized Liu Kuan as rude and even described his behavior as "unfilial". What would happen if these three words were really confirmed?

Didn’t you see that the historian’s eyes were lighting up and the hand holding the pen was almost leaving an afterimage!

Not only the emperor and the crown prince were afraid of historians, but the ministers were afraid of them too!

Seeing Liu Kuan so frightened, Liu Bian waved his hand and said, "Guanglu Xun, don't worry. I know you are loyal to the country and it's just a moment of anger."

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan thought to himself, could it be that the prince just wanted to teach him a lesson, picking it up high and then putting it down gently?

Liu Bian also noticed the confusion on Liu Kuan's face.

It is true that you pick it up high, and it is also true that you put it down gently, but it is impossible not to be punished!

Guanglu Xun was in charge of the palace guards. The General of the Huben Guards and the General of the Yulin Guards were both subordinates of Guanglu Xun.

He wants to completely take back the military power of the Yulin Lang and the Yulin Zuoyou Cavalry!

And Liu Kuan, haha, the excuse has been delivered to his door, so how could he let it go?

"I will temporarily demote you to Guanglu Dafu to see how it goes. Do you have any objections?"

Liu Bian looked at Liu Kuan with a smile on his face. When he asked "Do you have any objection?", Liu Kuan gave him a heart-wrenching remark, and he also gave Liu Kuan a heart-wrenching remark in return.

If Liu Kuan really dared to answer with objections, and refused to admit his mistake after making a mistake and offending the prince, then he would be a true disloyal subject, and the historian's pen would be ready to move.

Liu Kuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and bowed his head, saying, "My words have offended the Crown Prince, and I shall accept the punishment."

He was not in a position to lead troops, and he was appointed as Guanglu Xun only because of his status as a member of the Liu clan. He was only in charge of supervising the guards and did not directly participate in them, so he did not care much about this position.

Although he was demoted to Guanglu Dafu, the position was less busy and he could find time to study the modern classics in depth.

However, Yang Ci was an old and experienced man, and his eyes fell on Liu Bian's harmless smile.

Many people in the court had not noticed it yet, but he, the Grand Marshal, was the one who noticed it.

In Luoyang City today, are there still a few troops that the prince cannot control?
Yang Ci was the Grand Marshal, so at least he had some idea of ​​these things in his mind. It seemed that the only one was the army under the command of the Prefect of the Guards Yuan Pang.

However, although Yuan Pang, the Praetorian Guard, who came from the Chenjun Yuan family and had the same ancestor as the Runan Yuan family, Yuan Pang was like a stone in a toilet, smelly and hard.

If the relatives of eunuchs broke the law, he would punish the relatives of eunuchs; if the relatives of scholars broke the law, he would punish the relatives of scholars. He never showed mercy and always remained neutral.

But the eunuchs and scholars all wanted to win over such a capable person. Even if Yuan Pang never took sides, he would not offend this person.

Yang Ci looked at Liu Bian's smile, which was as gentle as spring breeze. He raised his hand high but then gently put it down, but his words also carried some meaning that could not be questioned.

Furthermore, at the Grand Court, he had used the position of the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor to almost completely ignite the debate between modern and ancient literature...

Inexplicably, Yang Ci saw the figures of two former Han emperors in Liu Bian, and eight words also emerged in his mind.

As talented as Emperor Xiaowen, and as hegemonic as Emperor Sejong!
(End of this chapter)