Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

What happened in Jizhou this time seems to be the same as what happened in Hanoi back then, but it is actually different.

Hanoi was attacked by Cao's army, and the various noble families and powerful people simply opened the city and surrendered. There was no military issue involved, and the rebellion was simpler and purer.

In Jizhou, officials at all levels united with the aristocratic families and powerful people, colluded with foreign enemies, used their troops to pretend to be bandits and plunder, and even... bribed the generals in the army.

As a native of Jizhou, Qian Zhao knew that the incident in Zhongshan State was planned by the aristocratic families and powerful people. He did not expect that the army had been infiltrated by the other party. He thought that the troops he sent out were framed by the clan bandits and were wiped out. It was not until he heard that the team sent by Xu Huang to suppress the bandits did not encounter such a situation that he realized that there were spies in his and Gao Lan's armies.

Most of Xu Huang's subordinate officers and soldiers were from Bingzhou. The rebels did not know their background and were afraid of accidentally leaking the information, so they did not dare to bribe them rashly. However, his own and Gao Lan's troops were all Yuan Shao's old subordinates, mostly from Jizhou. Many of their officers were from Jizhou aristocratic families or had in-laws with aristocratic families. They knew their backgrounds well and were not difficult to bribe. They could even use their families to threaten them into submission.

Realizing that there was a spy in his army, Qian Zhao became cautious. While reporting the situation to Qu Yi, he secretly observed his officers, waiting to find the spy.

Today, Zhu Ban came to offer advice. Qian Zhao realized that the other party was reaching out to him, so he took advantage of the situation and expressed his dissatisfaction with Lu Bu. As expected, Zhu Ban showed his true colors.

Hearing Qian Zhao's concerns about the future fate of the Henei nobles, Zhu Ban said, "The Prince of Yan has a strong army and horses, is allied with Duke Cao, and has the support of the Emperor of Changyi. What is there for the general to fear?"

Just now he was calling him Gongsun, but now he is calling him King of Yan. Qian Zhao sneered in his heart, but his face showed that he was moved.

Zhu Ban continued to persuade him, "Right now, bandits are everywhere in Changshan. General, as the commander of Changshan, has failed to protect the territory and the people. He sent out troops, but instead, the bandits slaughtered them all. The Tang King will certainly hold you accountable. Moreover, the Tang King is close to his old subordinates in Bingzhou. What future can you have with him?"

Qian Zhao pretended to hesitate. "It's not impossible to surrender to the King of Yan, but... the situation in Changshan is different from that in Zhongshan. There are still many people here who are loyal to the King of Tang. As far as I know, when the Bingzhou army entered Changshan, the Prime Minister of Zhao was the first to surrender to the King of Tang. Although he is a flatterer, he may not betray Lü and surrender to Gongsun. After all, he is in charge of all the affairs of Changshan, and many families are loyal to him. If he gathers his troops to resist, I may not be able to defeat them in a short time. By then, before the King of Yan can send troops, General Qu's army will arrive first. With my limited number of people, I will definitely not be able to defeat him!"

"General, there's no need to worry about that!"

Zhu Ban twirled his mustache between his fingers and smiled, "To be honest, I've already defected to the King of Yan. I know who are our people in Changshan and who are our enemies. With the general's approval and your army's help, we can take care of those people without anyone noticing. The King of Yan's army will be stationed in Changshan soon, and then you, the general, will be the greatest contributor."

"You have actually defected to King Yan?" Qian Zhao pretended to be surprised.

Zhu Ban said, "Lü Bu is surveying the land in Jizhou and forcing taxes, even reclaiming the meritorious lands of our ancestors. I've also heard that the Princess of Tang is establishing schools throughout Bingzhou, and that paper and books are becoming increasingly common. General, think carefully about what her purpose is in doing this."

Qian Zhao shook his head in bewilderment. Zhu Ban snorted, "This woman wants to train and promote children from humble backgrounds, or even common people, to replace the status of our aristocratic families. In the future, when schools are spread across all provinces, she will definitely abolish the system of recommendation and implement a new system for selecting officials. We have studied it carefully some time ago. The series of new policies she has implemented in Bingzhou are all aimed at the aristocratic families and powerful people. If Lu Bu really takes over the world in the future, there will be no rice and flour for our aristocratic families. Even though he still favors some aristocratic families now, when the world is stabilized, he will first target the aristocratic families and discard them. Even those powerful people who own fertile land will inevitably be deprived of their land and property."

Qian Zhao wanted to say, I am not from a noble family, and you, Zhu, are not from a famous family either. You just married into a branch of the Geng family, and you keep calling us a noble family. You really have no shame.

Qian Zhao scorned him inwardly, but said, "I see! But... is the Prince of Yan truly reliable? He has a strong army, but I don't think he's very wise. I need to think this over carefully."

Seeing that Qian Zhao still harbored doubts, Zhu Ban felt somewhat reassured. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to reveal his true identity. He leaned closer and lowered his voice, "To tell you the truth, the one we truly allege to is Cao Gong. The idea of ​​inciting the various clans to rebel against Lü was the work of Xun Gongda of Yingchuan, sent by Cao Gong to aid the Prince of Yan. We'll have to use this same tactic again in the future."

"Cao Mengde?" Qian Zhao was once again extremely surprised. "Didn't you see how he killed Bian Rang and massacred the city of Xuzhou?"

Zhu Ban explained, "Bian Rang was a rude man who insulted his grandfather, so how can we blame Cao Gong for killing him? The massacre in Xuzhou was due to food shortages, and he was truly forced to do so. In the past, when Dong Zhuo was in power, Cao Gong risked his life by entering the palace to assassinate him, and nearly lost his life. Later, when the princes of Guandong were fighting against Dong Zhuo, Cao Gong was the only one who pursued Lü Bu and seriously injured him. Today, everyone in the world is seeking independence, but Cao Gong alone still respects the Han Dynasty and reuses important officials from the past. This shows his loyalty and righteousness. Loyal and righteous people like us should follow a loyal ruler."

After hearing this, Qian Zhao felt even more contemptuous. Just now he was saying that he was considering the interests of our clan, but now he was talking about loyalty and righteousness.

What loyalty to the emperor? Most of the old officials in the court are from aristocratic families or are his disciples and former officials. You just see that Cao Mengde favors aristocratic families and want to use them to protect your own interests.

"Cao Gong is indeed a wise leader. If I were to join him, I would have no qualms. Tell me which ones should be killed and which ones are our own. I will start the cleanup from Zhending and remove obstacles for Gongsun Bogui."

Zhu Ban was overjoyed and immediately told Qian Zhao the list of officials who had not surrendered to Gongsun Zan.

After seeing Zhu Ban off, Qian Zhao took out a pen and paper and wrote down the names he had mentioned one by one. When he wrote down the last person, he couldn't help but frown.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Qian Zhao's trusted deputy general asked in confusion. "Since these are the ones who haven't surrendered, then the rest are spies. General, if you can kill them, you will have achieved great success."

Qian Zhao said, "What if that Zhu deceives me and gives me the opposite list? If I kill a good person by mistake, won't I be led into a trap by him? Then I won't be able to rebel even if I don't want to."

"This... is impossible? I know Zhu Ban. He's not as smart as the general thinks."

"That's not necessarily true. I think General Gao might have been led into a trap. The King of Tang may not be particularly wise, but he values ​​trust and loyalty, clearly distinguishes rewards and punishments, appoints people based on merit, and acts decisively. The princess is even more resourceful and resourceful. Gongsun Bogui is no match for them. There's no reason for General Gao to be so foolish. Besides, he doesn't have any relatives from the aristocracy. What good would it do him to betray the King of Tang?"

"Who knows what he's thinking? Only he knows the truth." The deputy general picked up the paper on the table and asked, "How should we deal with this list? Kill him or not? Which side should be killed?"

Qian Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Immediately send a trusted confidant to deliver this list to General Qu by express horseback. Let him decide whether to kill them and on which side to kill them."