My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 174 Cutting the grass without eradicating the roots

"He Liuhun, what exactly are you planning to do?"

After leaving the governor's residence.

Hou Jing, Cai Jun, Huli Jin, and others returned to the military camp with Gao Huan.

After nightfall, the group found Gao Huan under the cover of darkness. Cai Jun asked, puzzled, "Could it be... that you really intend to risk your life for Du Luozhou?"

this time.

Gao Huan has practically become Du Luozhou's number one confidant, constantly offering him advice and strategies. Just now, at the banquet, he even risked offending everyone by reminding Du Luozhou not to indulge in pleasure.

They were even more loyal than Du Luozhou's personal guards.

Initially, they discussed temporarily siding under Du Luozhou and observing how the situation changed.

Gao Huan shook his head and finally sighed, "I never expected that... in Yanzhou, from the governor down to the officials of various counties, everyone would be so inactive. I overestimated the resistance of the officials and people of Yanzhou."

How resolute were the resistances of Heng and Shuo prefectures against the rebel army of the Six Garrisons?

Although Fei Mu and others also abandoned the city and fled, they had held out for several months until the city ran out of ammunition and food, and they could no longer hold out before making the decision to flee.

They first resisted and held their ground, preventing the rebels from easily snowballing their power before fleeing.

When Gao Huan first arrived in Yanzhou, although he also had the idea of ​​raising a flag to rebel, he was afraid of this: his own strength was insufficient, and once he was tied up, he would easily collapse.

If their power doesn't grow, their influence won't snowball, and they'll easily be branded as the "chief culprit" of a rebellion, incurring the wrath of the imperial court.

Can……

The situation was far beyond his imagination.

He hadn't expected Du Luozhou to seize the city so effortlessly. Not only had he not lost any strength, but his power was growing stronger and stronger. Right now, he seemed poised to easily take over the entire Yanzhou region.

"If we had known this earlier, we would have raised the flag and rebelled. Why would we need to act according to others' wishes now?"

Although Huli Jin joined later, under Du Luozhou's command, as a former resident of Huai Shuo Town, he was a "fellow townsman" of Gao Huan. Fellow townsmen naturally stick together for mutual support, and he also highly regarded Gao Huan as a person.

He couldn't help but ask, "He Liuhun, what are your plans now?"

Everyone looked at Gao Huan.

Gao Huan was their backbone. Although they would consult with him, Gao Huan was the one who ultimately made the final decision.

Gao Huan glanced at everyone and said in a low voice, "Given the current situation, let's help Du Luozhou succeed first."

"Would you truly serve him?"

"Do not."

Gao Huan shook his head. "Right now, we are doing our best to help him succeed in order to gain Du Luozhou's trust and make him regard us as his confidants."

"We need to observe the situation further and wait until next spring to inquire about news from other states and also see how the Great Wei court will react."

"What's the difference?"

Cai Jun was still puzzled.

Gao Huan patiently replied, "If the court is too powerful for us to resist, then we can take the opportunity to assassinate Du Luozhou and lead his followers to surrender to the court. We might even be able to obtain an official position from the court. We are not the ringleaders, so the court will naturally not make things difficult for us."

"If the imperial court fails to quell the rebellion effectively, and the surrendered people in the six towns of Ji, Ding, and Ying prefectures have already rebelled, then we can find a suitable opportunity to eliminate Du Luozhou, kill his confidants, and then take his place!"

"In short, for now, we should respect Du Luozhou, help him expand his power, and further gain his trust. We can also take the opportunity to sow discord between Du Luozhou and his confidants..."

Gao Huan pulled Hou Jing aside and instructed him, "Wan Jing, you can take this opportunity to cultivate relationships with Du Luozhou's trusted generals and encourage them to continue drinking and making merry..."

Hou Jing nodded, "Leave this to me!" He's good at this kind of thing!

It's just eating, drinking, and having fun, who doesn't know how to do that?

"Remember, from today onwards, you must avoid suspicion, including with me. You must not let anyone see us conspiring in private, lest Du Luozhou become suspicious. When the time is right, I will send someone to see you."

"You must be careful in your actions and avoid giving others any leverage against you!"

………………

Heavy snow was falling from the sky.

The biting wind felt like a knife cutting into my face.

Yuan Hongye quickly closed the door and returned to the stove to warm himself with the charcoal and dispel the chill from his body.

Beside him, several guards shook off the snowflakes, all of them quite cold.

"You all come forward and warm up; there's no need to rush."

Yuan Hongye waved his hand, and the servants behind him immediately poured the warmed wine into bowls and handed them to his trusted men. After drinking two bowls of warm wine, the men's complexions improved considerably, and their eyes were filled with gratitude.

After a long while, Yuan Hongye finally asked, "Have you found out any information?"

A trusted confidant quickly knelt down and told him the news he had gathered: "After the news of Du Luozhou's rebellion in Yanzhou spread, the people in the six towns of Dingzhou who had surrendered were restless, and many people with ulterior motives were secretly making connections. There is a Dingling man named Xianyu Xiuli, who was originally from Huaishuo Town, and recently he has been making close connections with the Dingling tribes in Dingzhou."

Another confidant added, "The imperial court has not provided winter rations, and the city gates of various prefectures and counties have been kept closed, with no grain being distributed. Many of the surrendered people in the Six Garrisons are complaining, and I imagine the same is true for Ying and Ji prefectures."

Yuan Hongye nodded.

Dingzhou is quite special, even though it is located in the heart of the Central Plains.

However, when Tuoba Gui implemented the policy of "dispersing the tribes," he settled many surrendered Dingling people in this area, which is a place where Han and non-Han peoples are mixed together. Such places are often the most prone to trouble.

Even with nearly a century of adjustment, the process of getting to know each other has been very slow, and resentment has accumulated between them over the years.

Yuan Hongye nodded and took out a letter from his pocket. "Go and give this letter to Xianyu Xiuli. Tell him I want to meet with him."

"Here!"

After his guards and others left, Yuan Hongye finally stood up.

Yuan Yi and Yuan Faseng have both become victims of the Great Wei court. Of Yuan Yi's former faction, only he and Erzhu Rong remain in power.

Yuan Hongye was puzzled as to why the imperial court had not yet dealt with him.

As Yuan Yi's cousin, after Yuan Yi was executed, he should at least have been stripped of his official position, if not killed.

This has been especially true over the past year, particularly after the failed rebellion of Yuan Fasheng and his subsequent escape to the south.

Yuan Hongye was filled with fear and anxiety all day long.

The same thing that happened to the soldiers in the central army was repeated in his life once again.

The court delayed in taking any action against him, so he lived in constant fear and anxiety, and could only imagine things in the most extreme possible directions.

Upon receiving news of Du Luozhou's rebellion in Yanzhou and the subsequent capture of several cities, which caused unrest in Dingzhou, Yuan Hongye also considered rebelling. However, unwilling to take the lead, he could only send his trusted confidants to find those who were currently secretly making connections.

There were quite a few members of the Yuan clan who rebelled.

One more isn't too much.

"Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, you forced me to do this..."

(End of this chapter)