Han Dynasty Achievements

Chapter 71 Entering the Capital and the Palace

At this time, Dong Zhuo was already on his way to the capital.

Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei rode together, while Cao Cao led the imperial guards to escort them and headed straight for Luoyang.

Cao Cao had an indifferent expression on his face and glanced around coldly.

On his left and right and behind him are Dong Zhuo's five hundred soldiers and horses, who will escort Dong Zhuo all the way to Luoshui.

Thinking about the experiences of the past ten days, murderous intent flashed across Cao Cao's eyes, and he was filled with hatred: Sooner or later, I, Cao Cao, will kill all of you traitors!

In the carriage, Yuan Wei and Dong Zhuo sat opposite each other, swaying and smiling at each other.

Yuan Wei rarely showed a smile, but he smiled at Dong Zhuo with admiration on his face, and said, "Zhongying, what are your plans for coming to the capital this time?"

Zhongying is Dong Zhuo's courtesy name.

Dong Zhuo was fat and ugly, with big eyes and a big nose, and his lips were especially red and very eye-catching.

He bowed quickly and said with a smile: "Zhuo has been in the border for a long time and has no knowledge of the affairs of the capital. I have no choice but to come to the capital today. I am completely dependent on the protection of the Grand Tutor."

Yuan Wei was satisfied with Dong Zhuo's attitude. He nodded slightly and said, "The affairs of the capital are complicated and changeable. You are here as the Grand Commandant and will be the Prime Minister. You need to participate more."

Dong Zhuo said modestly, "I am only a common man with courage, but I have no talent for governing. I will always respect the Grand Tutor Ma."

Yuan Wei's face smiled a little more. No matter what Dong Zhuo thought, his attitude was good enough. When Dong Zhuo arrived in the capital, he had no relatives, no power and no influence. Who else could he rely on if not the Yuan family?

With Dong Zhuo, a general with a large army under his command, the Yuan family became much more obedient.

Thinking of what happened in the capital during this period, Yuan Wei's smile slowly disappeared. He looked at Dong Zhuo quietly and said, "The court is preparing a new system to reduce most of the power of the Nine Ministers and move all of them to the Shangshutai. What do you think, Zhongying?"

Dong Zhuo's face turned serious, and he said solemnly: "I think the system of nine ministers is a law established by our ancestors, how can it be easily changed? There are many treacherous and incompetent officials in the court, and Your Majesty may be deceived. You still need the Grand Tutor to put things right."

Yuan Wei was used to Dong Zhuo's deliberately pretentious tone, and his thin face showed no emotion. He said, "If I ask Zhongying to write a letter on silk to oppose the new system, will Zhongying have any difficulty?"

Dong Zhuo was startled, looking at Yuan Wei in astonishment, and asked, "Grandmaster, are you asking me to submit a petition to oppose the new system now? Isn't that a little urgent? Can we talk about it in Beijing?"

Yuan Wei noticed Dong Zhuo's expression, smiled slowly, and said, "Not now. After arriving in Beijing, the Taiwei Mansion may not be ready yet. How about staying in my Yuan Mansion first?"

Dong Zhuo smiled and said, "That is what I wish for, but I dare not ask for it."

Yuan Wei nodded outwardly but shook his head inwardly. This Dong Zhuo was a rough man, but he didn't know when he started to love reading so much that he even wrote articles and talked with people, always wanting to show off his literary talent.

Cao Cao rode his horse in front and looked towards the direction of Sanfu.

He had always intended to visit Lu Zhi in Sanfu, hoping to follow Lu Zhi in battle and make meritorious deeds, rather than guarding the palace in Beijing.

Without military achievements, how can one get a title?

Cao Cao had a great ambition in his heart, which was to be granted a title of nobility based on his merits!

However, he also knew that without the right opportunity, he would not be able to leave the palace in a short period of time.

"I'm over thirty years old..." Cao Cao looked at the gray sky and sighed with a look of melancholy.

……

Three days later, in the Imperial Palace, Fanglin Garden.

Liu Bian paced slowly and said to Xun You who was standing beside him, "Xun Qing's family, the summer grain harvest is coming soon, I'm afraid there will be more trouble."

Once a poor family has some money, everyone in the family will rush to grab it, let alone a country as big as the Han Dynasty.

Xun You was the Minister of Personnel, but he was also concerned about the national treasury. Hearing this, he said, "Your Majesty, you must ensure that as much tax grain as possible is collected."

"I do want to." Liu Bian's voice was a little louder.

He really wanted to, but how many of the provincial governors, provincial governors, and county governors were willing to send money and grain to Luoyang? Moreover, the imperial court still owed them salaries, money and grain for suppressing bandits, and disaster relief and pensions for various places.

That little bit of tax was not enough for them to manipulate the government, and there was very little left at the court.

Xun You naturally understood the complexity and difficulty of this matter. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Bian said, "I just said it casually. I came to your house today because Dong Zhuo is about to arrive in the capital."

Xun You's expression darkened, and he followed Liu Bian and said, "Your Majesty, Dong Zhuo has entered the capital, so we should immediately start the affairs of Bingzhou."

Liu Bian walked into a pavilion, sat down and said, "I have handed it over to Lord Lu to deal with. Lord Lu, please take a seat and take a look at these two memorials first."

After expressing his gratitude, Xun You sat opposite Liu Bian and took the two pieces of silk handed over by Pan Yin.

The first one was from Yuan Wei. The content was plain and unremarkable. It just praised Dong Zhuo a little, saying that he was a "minister who governs the country and a pillar of the state."

After Xun You finished reading it, he opened the second one, glanced at it quickly, and his expression changed immediately.

This was Dong Zhuo's memorial, in which he praised the merits of his generals in great detail and requested commendation from the court. He then admitted that he was limited in ability and was not qualified for the position of Grand Marshal, and repeatedly "declined" the offer. He then mentioned the "new system" of the court, saying that "a person is established for filial piety, a country is established for laws, and the laws of our ancestors should not be changed lightly", "a person without trust is not a person, a country without laws is not a country", etc.

Xun You was confused after reading it. He looked up at Liu Bian and said, "Your Majesty, this Dong Zhuo..."

Liu Bian took a sip of tea and said expressionlessly, "As expected."

Xun You slowly lowered his head and frowned in thought.

Yuan Wei's reputation is too high, and there is no one who can match him today. In the Secretariat, no one can compare to him. He will not openly oppose, but the fact that he puts forward Dong Zhuo is enough to make the court wary.

"His Majesty!"

Xun You raised his head sharply, stared at Liu Bian with sharp eyes, and said, "We must convince Yuan Taifu!"

Yuan Wei or the Yuan family is not just a family of nobles with three generations of officials in four generations and unprecedented prestige. He represents a great Han family!

All the noble families in the world are looking to Yuan Wei. It doesn’t matter whether Yuan Wei is in the court or not. What matters is his attitude.

If Yuan Wei supports the 'new system', then the noble families in the world will have nothing to say; if he opposes, even if they remain silent, the terrible influence radiated by the noble families in the world will hinder the court's 'new system' everywhere, making it difficult to implement!

Take Wang Mang for example. He was able to usurp the throne because of his reputation and the support of the aristocratic families. He was defeated because he was opposed by the aristocratic families and the whole world was his enemy, who crushed him to pieces!

Liu Bian looked at him, his eyes narrowed slightly.

He understood what Xun You meant. The reason why Liu Bian kept Yuan Wei in the Secretariat was that he wanted to use Yuan Wei, the leader of the aristocratic family, to deal with the aristocratic families!

Seeing that Liu Bian was silent, Xun You thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, please ask Doctor Yang to persuade Yuan Taifu, appealing to his emotions and explaining things to him with reason."

To deal with a person of great reputation, you cannot use force, you can only use words.

"Yang Ci is not enough,"

Liu Bian's expression remained unchanged, but a sharp light flashed in his eyes, and he said, "I will come in person."

Xun You bowed and said, "Your Majesty, are you sure?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pan Yin hurried over and whispered behind Liu Bian, "Your Majesty, Grand Coachman Yuan Ji, Grand Minister of Agriculture Huang Wan and more than a hundred people from the court and the public have left the city to welcome Grand Tutor Yuan and Dong Zhuo."

Xun You was shocked. Such a big scene?

He subconsciously looked at Liu Bian.

Liu Bian reached out and picked up the teacup, expressionless, and said calmly: "Notify Cao Cao and escort them directly into the palace. I want to see them immediately."

Xun You bowed slightly, his expression solemn.

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