Chapter 12 Yuan’s ambition, Liu Bian’s strong attack!

"Your Majesty, Li Ru and Yuan Wei have reached an agreement. Li Ru has only one request, which is to pardon all the sins of the Xiliang Army. As long as the Grand Tutor can do it, they can obey your orders.

"The Master agreed!"

Bai Hu, who was disguised as Wang Fang, paused and added solemnly, "But the Grand Tutor also has a request. He wants the Xiliang Army to continue the dethronement and enthronement tomorrow under the pretext of fulfilling the late emperor's will and Dong Zhuo's last wish!

"Li Ru also agreed!"

Boom! ! !

It was like a bolt from the blue. Everyone present was shocked and even seemed to find it hard to believe!

After hearing this, Liu Bian's heart sank even more!
I am even more puzzled!

He was not surprised that Yuan Wei and Li Ru would reach an agreement.

However, the only request Yuan Wei put forward was to "continue to depose and enthrone", which he really could not understand!
Dong Zhuo wanted to establish his authority and seize power by deposing and enthroning the emperor! Yuan Wei, the Grand Tutor, agreed to Dong Zhuo, and he could also use the excuse that he was forced to use force by Dong Zhuo's powerful army! As for why, no one knows, but Dong Zhuo is the one who takes the blame!
But now that Dong Zhuo was dead, the Xiliang army was leaderless and naturally had no intention of deposing or enthroning someone else. At this time, Li Ru went to the Taifu's residence, obviously asking Yuan Wei for help, and the Xiliang army had to follow his advice.

Under this circumstance, the Xiliang Army will continue to depose and enthrone people tomorrow, even when Dong Zhuo was assassinated yesterday and the mourning period has not even passed!
This matter cannot be hidden from those who are interested. The officials in the court are not naive. A group of old foxes will definitely be able to guess the conspiracy behind it - it must be the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei who insisted on deposing and enthroning!
Even if Yuan Wei came up with the excuse of "completing the late emperor's will and Dong Zhuo's last wish", it would be difficult to stop the people from talking!
This is not only a political stain, but also a conspiracy to usurp the throne!

If you continue to think——

The foreign relative He Jin and the Ten Eunuchs were both defeated and afraid of death, more than 2,000 eunuchs were slaughtered by the Yuan family, and Dong Zhuo occupied the capital and deposed and enthroned the emperor. This series of events will directly lead to Dong Zhuo's former master Yuan Wei!

Even though the Yuan family of Runan had three dukes in four generations, they were not so powerful that they could change the world. Those historians would definitely write down these speculations, even if they used the style of the Spring and Autumn Annals, they would pass on the idea of ​​"the Yuan family usurping the Han Dynasty"!

In this feudal era of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, under the Confucian teachings of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness, is Yuan Wei going to lead the Yuan family into the abyss of "eternal infamy"? !

Liu Bian really didn’t understand!

What exactly was the grudge between Yuan Wei and him?
Why must he be deposed and deposed as the emperor?

The right of Yuan Wei to record the affairs of the Secretariat was given to him when he supported Liu Bian to ascend the throne!
By deposing Liu Bian and supporting Chenliu King Liu Xie, could Yuan Kui still gain a greater political status? !

"What do you think?"

Liu Bian was not the kind of person who was stubborn and liked to have his say. He also knew how to accept advice with an open mind and learn from others' advice. Therefore, he wanted to gather the wisdom and resources of all parties to discuss the unreasonableness of Yuan Wei's "intention to depose and establish".

White Tiger, who was disguised as Wang Fang, spoke first, and said in doubt:
"Your Majesty, I also raised this question during the meeting just now. Why did Grand Tutor Yuan Wei insist on deposing and enthroning the emperor? But Li Ru looked solemn and did not answer. I was not in a position to ask further questions!"

Liu Bian nodded.

At this time, Xuanwu said: "Your Majesty, I can disguise myself, infiltrate the Grand Tutor's residence, and try to assassinate Yuan Wei!"

"That's a good suggestion!" Cao Zhengchun's eyes lit up, "Your Majesty, as long as Yuan Wei dies, everything will be over!"

...

"But the Xiliang army will be deposing and enthroning tomorrow. It is already 15:30 now, and there are only four or five hours left. Disguise also requires observing the target, and infiltrating the Taifu's residence. There is not enough time."

Bai Hu shook his head and sighed, "We planned everything, but we didn't expect Li Ru to choose to join the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei. We also didn't expect that the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei would insist on deposing and enthroning. He is the real mastermind behind all this!"

...

"If this is impossible, the worst that can happen is to kill Grand Tutor Yuan Wei by force!"

Cao Zhengchun sneered, his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism clearly revealed, he said: "These traitors have been plotting against Your Majesty and have been recklessly deposing and enthroning the emperor. They are really courting death. At worst, we can die together! I will fight for Your Majesty, and I will die without regrets!"

The Cao family are all loyal and patriotic people!

Liu Bian glanced at Cao Zhengchun with a hint of approval in his eyes, which made Cao Zhengchun even more excited!
But it can also be seen from their arguments that they could not guess why Yuan Wei was determined to depose and enthrone.

The only thought of these people was to assassinate or kill Yuan Wei!

Liu Bian's eyes swept over the Azure Dragon and the Vermillion Bird again.

Qinglong looked indifferent and taciturn, stroking his precious sword. When Liu Bian looked at him inquiringly, he replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, there is nothing that cannot be solved with one sword. If there is, use two swords!"

"..."

Liu Bian looked at Zhuque again. He was the only one among the many "warriors" who seemed to have strategy.

Zhuque closed his folding fan with a "click" sound, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei once had a piece of intelligence, but now that I think about it carefully, I feel a little suspicious."

"What information is it?"

Liu Bian did not blame anyone for not reporting it earlier.

Nowadays, the imperial guards have infiltrated the imperial palace and monitor the capital inside and outside. It is impossible for them to report every detail. They will definitely screen out important and minor intelligence. This is one of the duties of the four commanders.

And because the factory guards are understaffed, there are bound to be some omissions.

Everyone looked at Zhuque, who said, "After Dong Zhuo took over the capital, Empress Dowager He has been living in seclusion in Yong'an Palace. He Jin's son He Xian once met with her privately, but the details are unknown."

"There's nothing strange about this, right?" Cao Zhengchun said suspiciously, flattering him at the same time:
"Dong Zhuo was arrogant and domineering, and he arbitrarily deposed and enthroned the emperor. The Queen Mother lived in seclusion and rarely went out. In fact, she was under house arrest in Yong'an Palace. This was a means of self-protection. After all, the Queen Mother was not as wise and powerful as Your Majesty, and she did not have as many trump cards as him!"

Suzaku didn't keep anyone in suspense and spoke frankly about his guess:
"Your Majesty, after the death of General He Jin, his subordinates and their troops fell into the hands of Dong Zhuo. But He Xian is He Jin's legitimate son. Although he does not have the tiger seal to mobilize troops, is it possible for him to have exchanges with these former subordinates of He Jin?
"Moreover, when Your Majesty ascended the throne, Empress Dowager He took charge of the government because Your Majesty was young, ruling from behind the curtain and exercising power on your behalf, just like the ruler of a country.

"One is He Jin's legitimate son, and the other is Empress Dowager He, who exercises the power of the emperor. If they persuade He Jin's former subordinates, will they turn against the dark and join the light, and rebel against Dong Zhuo? Will this become an obstacle to the dethronement and enthronement?"

When Liu Bian heard this, his heart moved!
It makes sense that Empress Dowager He prevented Dong Zhuo from deposing and enthroning the emperor.

After all, if Liu Bian was deposed, all the rights of Empress Dowager He would be lost. They would prosper and suffer together, and their interests were tied together!

In the original history, after Liu Bian was deposed, Dong Zhuo deposed Empress Dowager He one after another, and later poisoned her to death on the grounds that Empress Dowager He forced Empress Dowager Dong, the mother of Emperor Ling of Han, to death.

The Han Dynasty had a "two-palace system", and as it was a matter of life and death, Empress Dowager He would definitely take action. Even though there were not many historical records about her, even ants would try to survive, let alone the Empress Dowager of the current dynasty!

Cao Zhengchun asked suspiciously, "Commander Zhu, the Queen Mother is unwilling to sit and wait for death, and it is reasonable for her to want to stop the dethronement. But does this have anything to do with Grand Tutor Yuan Wei's insistence on dethroning the emperor?"

"Of course!"

Zhuque expressed his thoughts: "After Dong Zhuo's death, the Xiliang army chose to rely on Yuan Wei, and Yuan Wei insisted on deposing and enthroning. From these signs, it is not difficult to show that Yuan Wei is the real mastermind behind the dethronement and enthronement, and Dong Zhuo is just the scapegoat he pushed to the front!
"Your Majesty is like a puppet, and it is difficult for him to pose any obstacle, but Queen Mother He has enough power and opportunity to prevent the dethronement and enthronement. So is there a possibility that the target of Yuan Wei's attack is actually Queen Mother He who is behind Your Majesty?

"With the power of He Jin's old subordinates and the surviving descendants of the He family, Empress Dowager He can quickly support the power of the He family's in-laws. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. The rise of the new 'Empress Dowager Party' will surely form a check and balance against these traitors!
"This is obviously a result that Yuan Wei does not want to see!
"But Chenliu Prince Liu Xie is only eight years old now. His biological mother died early, and the Queen Mother Dong who raised him is also dead. He is alone and young, so he is the easiest to control. Throughout history, powerful officials are most assured when the ruler is young and the ministers are strong!"

...

A word of advice awakened a dreamer. Zhuque's profound and easy-to-understand analysis was like clearing away the clouds to reveal the blue sky, which made Liu Bian suddenly enlightened!
Why did Yuan Wei insist on deposing and enthroning the emperor?
He did not want to depose Emperor Liu Bian, but targeted Empress Dowager He who was behind Liu Bian, and wanted to completely eliminate the possibility of Empress Dowager He rising again. He supported Liu Xie, who had no power from his mother's family and was alone!

Dong Zhuo's occupation of the capital might have been an accident, but those who controlled the internal affairs were all Yuan's disciples and former officials, all of whom were aristocratic families with intricate and complex ties with the Yuan family. Yuan Wei was the real mastermind behind the scenes!

As long as the dethronement and enthronement can be successful, Dong Zhuo will become the target of public criticism and the object of evil!

At this time, if the Yuan family could act on behalf of heaven, they could kill Liu Bian and Queen Mother He by borrowing a knife to kill people, and support Liu Xie, a lone man with no foundation, to control the country! They could also kill Dong Zhuo and gain amazing merit!
Kill two birds with one stone!
By then, the Yuan family will sideline Liu Xie and monopolize power!
By the time Liu Xie came of age and wanted to be regent, it was estimated that Yuan's regent had already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and had already supported the Yuan family's party. By that time, the big thing would have been accomplished, and Yuan could take advantage of the situation to force Liu Xie to abdicate, just like Cao Wei usurped the Han Dynasty.

Regardless of whether Yuan Shi wanted to be Huo Guang or Wang Mang, who usurped the Han Dynasty, it was imperative to depose Liu Bian and Empress Dowager He behind him!
This is also the reason why Yuan Wei insisted on deposing and enthroning the emperor!

With this explanation, it all makes sense!

Yuan Shao's attempt to seize Jizhou and Yuan Shu's occupation of Nanyang were both aimed at accumulating military strength to kill Dong Zhuo.

Of course, according to the original history, Yuan Wei was defeated in the end! He probably didn't expect that Dong Zhuo would dare to take the risk of killing Yuan Wei's entire family and cut off his own rule!
It is impossible for Liu Bian to tell Yuan Kui about the future history and ask him to give up the plan of deposing and enthroning. Yuan Kui would not agree to it!

"Suzaku's analysis can connect everything together. In this case, it doesn't matter whether we assassinate Dong Zhuo or not. Yuan Wei will definitely try to implement the dethronement and enthronement. His target is Empress Dowager He and He's relatives!

"Your Majesty, tomorrow the Xiliang army will continue to depose and enthrone. We only have a few hours left, so assassinating Yuan Wei is no longer feasible. In this case, I suggest that we launch an attack directly, and the factory guards will join forces with Qin Qiong and Zhang Liao to attack from both inside and outside!

"Yuan Wei is the source of evil. Kill Yuan Wei at all costs. Kill Li Ru, the brain trust of the Xiliang Army. Your subordinates can sow discord and incite the Xiliang Army to kill each other, and perhaps turn defeat into victory!"

Baihu, who was disguised as 'Wang Fang', couldn't wait to suggest.

Suzaku also said:
"Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, we can only take action! But Yuan Wei is from the Runan Yuan family, three officials in four generations, and his students and former officials are spread all over the country. The Yuan family is not only the first civil official, but also the first family.

Even if we kill them by force, we need to blame it on the Xiliang Army and point the spearhead at the Xiliang Army."

...

Bai Hu, disguised as 'Wang Fang', said: "In that case, let me kill Yuan Wei accidentally in the melee."

"Or I can disguise myself as other generals of the Xiliang Army!" Xuanwu also said.

"Xuanwu, you have a more important mission!"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Suzaku said directly without keeping them in suspense:
"The specific composition of the imperial city guards is as follows: Inside the palace, Guanglu Xun is in charge of the imperial palace guards, and under his command are the Huben and Yulin armies. Weiwei is in charge of the southern and northern palace gate guards, and under his command are the guard commanders, left and right duhous, and palace gate guards.

"After Dong Zhuo took over the capital, the palace and the palace gate guards are now controlled by the Xiliang Army. Baihu disguised as 'Wang Fang' can provide internal and external support, and the factory guards are responsible for dealing with the palace guards.

"Outside the palace and inside the imperial city, the Imperial Guards, the Five Schools of the Northern Army, and the City Gate Captains were in check and control of each other, and they were not subordinate to each other. The Imperial Guards Ding Yuan was killed and annexed by Dong Zhuo, and the Five Schools of the Northern Army returned to Dong Zhuo's command after the death of He Jin.

"Now that Dong Zhuo has been assassinated, the Xiliang army is leaderless. The imperial guards under the command of the Imperial Guards and the five schools and five battalions of the Northern Army can naturally be used.

"Qin Qiong said he wanted to surrender to Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao was the commander of the Yueqi Cavalry of the Northern Army's Five Schools and controlled more than a thousand soldiers. Also, most of the Northern Army's Five Schools were He Jin's former subordinates. Could Empress Dowager He and He Xian have some tricks up their sleeves?
"We don't know yet, and we can't pin our hopes on the unknown. This shows that our power outside the palace is very weak, and Qin Qiong and Zhang Liao have a heavy responsibility!

"In addition, the city gate captain controls the twelve gates of the imperial city. If we want to cooperate with the outside, we must try to seize the city gates, so that we can pass through unimpeded. We can even close the gates and keep the enemy out of the city.

"And the city gate captain Wu Qiong is a famous scholar in Runan, and he must have a complicated relationship with the Yuan family of Runan.

"After Yuan Shao fled the capital, Dong Zhuo wanted to issue a bounty for his arrest, but Wu Qiong and others secretly helped Yuan Shao, and he turned a disaster into a blessing, and was recommended as the governor of Bohai and the Marquis of Qixiang. This can prove the relationship between the two. Wu Qiong may be a member of the Yuan faction.

"We must attack the imperial city from both inside and outside. We must try to control Wu Qiong and the guards at the gates of the capital. Xuanwu is proficient in disguise, ventriloquism, and bone shrinking. We must use them at critical moments!"

...

"I understand!"

Xuanwu understood, "If you force an attack, I will try to disguise myself as Wu Qiong, the captain of the city gate, and open the city gate for the internal and external forces!"

Of course, they discussed it, but the final decision had to be made by Liu Bian. Therefore, under Zhuque's advice, they finally looked to Liu Bian and waited for his decision.

...

After hearing this, Liu Bian felt that Zhuque's plan was comprehensive and was the only choice in the current tight time!
But their strength is still too weak!

Liu Bian's current forces:

Cao Zhengchun, Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, Xuanwu and Qin Qiong are all talented people with superb martial arts and special abilities. They can fight ten people at the same time. If Qin Qiong had an army, he would be a general who could lead tens of thousands of troops.

But the problem is that they lack enough soldiers and horses!
Even if they succeeded in assassinating Dong Zhuo and left the Xiliang army leaderless, even if Baihu disguised himself as 'Wang Fang' and infiltrated the high-ranking officials of the Xiliang army, even if Xuanwu could disguise himself again and seize the 'city gate'...

But the problem is that their total force is only one thousand factory guards!

If we count the more than one thousand soldiers led by foreign aid Zhang Liao, the Sima of Yueqi, there are only more than two thousand people!
And their opponent, the Xiliang Army controlled 200,000 soldiers and horses!
And now that Grand Tutor Yuan Wei has revealed his political intentions, he is clearly the mastermind behind the dethronement and enthronement. Yuan Wei and his family control the internal affairs of the court and are the top civil officials and the top family.

The Western Liang Army controlled 200,000 soldiers and horses, and with Yuan Wei interfering, Liu Bian seemed to be alone and powerless, even to the point of being a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
To launch an attack suddenly is a risky move and is something we have no choice but to do!
However, if the Xiliang army continues to depose and enthrone tomorrow, Liu Bian will have no choice but to act forcefully and cannot just sit there and wait for death!

After Liu Bian thought carefully and was about to give the order, time had unknowingly come to midnight, that is, twelve o'clock in the morning.

The system's voice sounded again.

"Ding dong."

"The host has obtained a chance to draw a lottery."

“Will there be a lottery?”

Liu Bian suddenly woke up. It was only a matter of time until tomorrow... No, it was already twelve o'clock, a new day, which meant that he still had one chance to draw a lottery before the day of dethronement and enthronement, and this might allow him to gain a new force!
This may provide additional support for them to launch a sudden attack and counterattack forcefully!

……

(End of this chapter)