Chang'an, Regent's Palace.
Liu Cheng looked at the battle report that Xu Rong sent urgently.
The battle report described the general process of fighting Lu Bu and capturing him.
Finally, he explained that Lu Bu tried to escape after being captured and had no choice but to kill Lu Bu.
"Everyone, take a look."
Liu Cheng handed the battle report to the clerk next to him.
The clerk took the battle report and handed it to Xun Yu first.
Xun Yu quickly read it and then handed it to Xun You who was next to him.
Xun You read it and handed it to Li Ru.
Not long after, the battle report was passed around in the hands of everyone in the hall and returned to Liu Cheng's hands.
Liu Cheng asked: "Now that Lu Bu is dead, Xuzhou has no owner, and Xu Rong has led his army to attack Xiapi.
The only thing to worry about is that Song Xian and Wei Xu still have 20,000 troops.
They have defeated Liu Bei, and Liu Bei led the remaining troops."
The defeated general went to join Cao Cao again.
This Cao Cao has coveted Xuzhou for a long time and is afraid that he will form an alliance with Liu Bei to attack Xuzhou together.
Now it depends on which of them will capture Xiapi first.
What do you think of this?"
Li Ru stood up and cupped his hands and said: "My lord, my subordinates thought that Xu Rong could recruit Wei Xu and Song Xian to surrender.
Even if they lost some troops in the battle with Liu Bei, they would still have at least 15,000 people.
If we add more Xu Rong has more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, and he is qualified enough to fight against Cao Cao."
Chen Ji stood up and said: "The old minister saw from this battle report that General Xu executed Lu Bu because he was worried about his escape.
This made the old minister very confused.
Since he was able to capture Lu Bu, he was still worried about his escape.
The problem is not this, but that since he Lu Bu has been captured, why not report it to the court first, but instead take the initiative to kill Lu Bu without reporting it?
Lu Bu is also a prince after all, and if he wants to be killed, the court should issue an edict and specify the canonical punishment."
It cannot be said that Chen Ji's considerations were wrong.
He was also safeguarding the authority of the imperial court.
However, this Lu Bu was a hot potato.
If he was escorted to Chang'an, in order to set an example for Lu Bu, the imperial court would not kill him, but would also give him If you do it as an official, you can let other princes see that you can still live well if you give up local military power.
However, if Lu Bu is killed, the other princes will feel the sorrow of a rabbit dying of a fox, and they will not fight to the end with the court.
The court officials all looked at each other with some helplessness on their faces.
Although everyone knew that Chen Ji was right, could it be that what Xu Rong did was wrong?
Xu Rong must have known that it was not easy for the court to deal with Lu Bu, so he kept Lu Bu, or even Restoring his freedom would bring endless disasters, so he executed Lu Bu on behalf of the court.
This was because he did not want to embarrass the court.
He only said that Lu Bu wanted to escape, so he executed him.
Liu Cheng asked: "Xun Yu, what do you think of this matter?"
Xun Yu stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Generally speaking, keeping Lu Bu is more beneficial to the court and bringing peace to the world than killing him.
However, Lu Bu is too difficult to control.
If he doesn't backfire, it will be a big trouble for the lord.
We don't want to We are short of time.
What we are short of now is patience.
We have to eat one bite at a time.
We would rather slow down than leave uncontrollable disasters.
Xu Rong just solved this problem for the court by killing Lu Bu."
Chen Jidao: "But what if he disposed of the prisoner without authorization?
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And this prisoner is still Lu Bu.
If the court turns a blind eye to this, other generals will be more unscrupulous in the future.
This hole cannot be opened.
If it is opened, it will be difficult to close it in the future."
Xun Yu said: "This is easy to handle.
The imperial court issued a book of precepts to severely reprimand him, warning him that if he offends again, he will be severely punished and his lord will not be neglected.
The minister heard that Yuan Shao had killed his general Qu Yi.
This man was fighting against Gongsun Zan."
He had many great victories and outstanding military exploits.
Someone reported to Yuan Shao that Qu Yi was arrogant because of his achievements, so Yuan Shao ordered him to be killed."
Liu Cheng's eyes flickered and he asked: "Xun Yu, what do you want to express in the story about Yuan Shao killing Qu Yi?"
Xun Yu said: "My lord, do you deserve to die if you are arrogant because of your merits?
Since ancient times, talented people have not thought highly of themselves and have not put others in their eyes.
This is a common problem among talented people.
For this reason, Yuan Shao treated Qu."
If Yi is killed, then his lord is too intolerant.
From the subordinates' point of view, this is someone.
After deliberately belittling Yuan Shao, Qu Yi's death should be due to Yuan Shao being afraid of his great achievements, so he couldn't kill him.
From the perspective of his subordinates, Yuan Shao did lack a little bit of ambition.
His nemesis Gongsun Zan was still alive and well, so he just I am afraid it would not be a wise move to cut off one of my powerful arms."
Liu Cheng smiled and said: "I understand what you mean.
You are worried that I will give up my martial arts skills like Yuan Shao.
I am not that stupid.
I still know what kind of person Xu Rong is.
He is the earliest If the general who follows me doesn’t even have this trust, why should I sit on this throne?
Let’s do what you just said.”
"yes" "By the way, how is the war between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan going?"
Liu Cheng asked again.
Jia Xu stood up and cupped his hands and said: "My lord, the latest news we received shows that Yuan Shao has breached the boundary bridge.
Gongsun Zan is hiding in Yijing City.
Yuan Shao has sent troops to attack for more than a month.
The two sides are currently in a stalemate, but the morale in Yijing City is low."
Just as Jia Xu finished speaking, a clerk quickly walked in and handed Jia Xu a letter.
Jia Xu opened it and looked at it, then handed over to Liu Cheng and said: "My lord, the news just sent, Gongsun Zan knew that he could not resist Yuan Shao's attack." , sent his son Gongsun Xu to General Zhao Yun to ask for help.
General Zhao has already led 20,000 troops to rescue, but there is no news about the specific situation of the battle."
Someone said: "How could General Zhao send troops without permission from the imperial court?"
All the courtiers and officials looked at each other.
Someone retorted: "Don't you hear that the general is out there, and the emperor's orders are not in check?
Changshan County is thousands of miles away from Chang'an.
It takes several days for the news to come back.
By the time he receives a reply from the court, the day lilies will be cold."
"That's what you say, but Gongsun Zan is a prince who doesn't respect the imperial court.
If he asks the imperial court for help, the imperial court will have to worry about whether to send troops.
However, General Zhao sends troops without authorization.
This seems inappropriate."
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The courtiers and officials began to argue endlessly about this issue.
Some accused Zhao Yun of overstepping his authority, while others said that Gongsun Zan was the general appointed by the court to Zhenbei after all.
His request for help from Zhao Yun was actually an intention to get closer to the court.
If the court ignored him, wouldn't it be disconcerting?
chilling Liu Cheng knew that the reason for the debate among the courtiers was nothing more than the question of whether to limit the power of the border generals.
Should they be delegated power or should their hands and feet be restrained?
Liu Cheng looked at Xun You and asked, "Gongda, tell me your opinion."
Xun You stood up and said: "My lord, in this matter, my subordinates think that General Zhao did the right thing and that what he did was beneficial to the court.
The focus of the debate among my colleagues is that the border generals have too much power.
Whether there should be restrictions?
I think this kind of thing cannot be clearly and detailedly stipulated.
Once there are clear and detailed regulations, this book The situation outside the border fortress is changing rapidly.
How can the court know the specific situation when it is thousands of miles away?
Sometimes, the generals in the border town can only rely on their own judgment and make their own decisions.
As long as it is beneficial to the court, It should not be held accountable, but should be encouraged.
If it is not beneficial to the court but harmful to the court, it must be held accountable."
"But if the court makes detailed regulations on these matters, it is equivalent to putting a chain on the border town generals.
Sometimes they should have sent troops, but because of the court's regulations not to send troops, the border town generals did not take timely action.
It has caused losses to the imperial court.
Should the imperial court hold the general of Bianzhen accountable?
The imperial court will have to suffer the consequences of being dumb."
Liu Cheng then asked several important ministers for their opinions.
They all thought that Xun You's words were reasonable.
Liu Cheng immediately made the final decision not to pursue the matter and wait for the subsequent development of the matter.
A few days later, new news reached Chang'an.
Although Zhao Yun sent troops to ask for help as soon as possible, he was still a step too late.
By the time he led his army to the vicinity of Yijing, the city of Yijing had been captured by Yuan Shao's army, and Zhao Yun had to lead his army back. .
That night, Liu Cheng met with Han Guang, the commander of the Shadow Guard Division.
"Yijing City was built by Gongsun Zan for several years.
It can be said to be extremely strong.
How could Yuan Shao defeat Gongsun Zan so quickly and how did he die?"
Liu Cheng asked, looking at Han Guang.
Han Guang clasped his fists and said, "On the second day after Gongsun Xu left Yijing City and went to Changshan to ask for help from General Zhao Yun, Yuan Shao sent people to attack Yijing City while simultaneously sending people to dig tunnels into the city.
It took a total of eight days to dig out the tunnels.
General Zhao Yun Leading the army to the front near Yijing City, One night, Yuan Jun sneaked into Yijing City from a tunnel and suddenly broke out.
Gongsun Zan's people focused all their attention on the outside of the city.
They did not expect that Yuan Jun would come out of the city.
The morale of the defenders was not high.
Suddenly After being attacked, he disintegrated instantly.”
"Gongsun Zan fled to the tower in Yijing City and burned himself to death."
Liu Cheng couldn't help but lamented that Gongsun Zan failed to escape his fate in the end.
In fact, he couldn't understand why Gongsun Zan suddenly lost his fighting spirit in the past few years.
He was completely different from before.
There must be something wrong with this.
The reason, and this is precisely the reason that led to Gongsun Zan's indirect defeat.
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With the death of Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao will definitely send troops and horses to take over the territory in various parts of Youzhou and digest Youzhou as quickly as possible.
Naturally, Liu Cheng would not give him enough time to complete this step.
On the second day after receiving the news, he ordered Zhang Liao to send troops from the north to capture Liaoxi, Youbeiping, and Yuyang; he also ordered Zhao Yun to send troops to capture Daijun, Shanggu, and Guang Yang and Zhuojun asked Gongsun Zan's son Gongsun Xu to serve as a guide.
Now that Gongsun Zan is dead, Gongsun Xu naturally becomes the lord of Youzhou, but it is impossible for Gongsun Xu to continue to rule Youzhou.
His only way out is to surrender to the court and cooperate with Zhao Yun to take over the counties of Youzhou.
At the same time, Liu Cheng also sent a letter to Zhao Yun, asking him to tell Gongsun Xu and ask Gongsun Xu to send a document to the county officials in the name of Youzhou's heir, asking them to surrender to Zhang Liao's army and Zhao Yun's army, but not to anyone else. .
"Gongsun Zan is gone, and so is Lu Bu."
Liu Cheng stood in the pavilion and shook his head while watching the fish swimming in the pond.
Several princes have died in the past two years.
First, Yuan Shu was so angry that he died, then Lu Bu was captured and killed, and then Gongsun Zan burned himself to death.
Everyone has his own way of death.
Of course, these people are all dragons among men.
I'm afraid they don't want to die in the hands of their enemies.
Especially Gongsun Zan, he doesn't want to fall into the hands of Yuan Shao, his sworn enemy, so Choosing to burn himself to ashes left Yuan Shao unable to vent his anger against him.
In fact, Yuan Shao was indeed very angry when Gongsun Zan burned him to death, and refused to let him vent his anger.
Yuan Shao had no choice but to vent his anger on the people of Youzhou, and ordered the army to attack various counties and cities in Youzhou. , several cities in Zhuojun were massacred by Yuan Jun.
It happened that Gongsun Xu sent a message to all counties asking the officials of each city to surrender only to Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao and resolutely resist the Yuan army's attack.
The soldiers and civilians of Youzhou not only received Gongsun Xu's notice, but also heard that Yuan army would massacre every city they attacked, so they fought to the death. withstand.
When Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun were about to control the entire Youzhou, Yuan Jun occupied a small part of Zhuo County.
Yuan Shao had been busy for so many years, but in the end he made wedding clothes for Liu Cheng.
How could this not make Yuan Shao angry?
Yuan Shao was naturally unwilling to do so and wanted to send troops to attack Zhuoxian County, which was occupied by Zhao Yun's army.
His advisers Tian Feng, Ju Sue and others tried their best to dissuade him, saying that the chance to capture Youzhou had been lost at this time and that they could no longer attack by force.
However, Yuan Shao has always been a headstrong person.
When he was angry, he could not listen to the advice of Tian Feng and Ju Shuo and still went his own way and sent troops to attack Zhuoxian.
Liu Cheng soon received the news that Yuan Shao was attacking Zhuoxian County.
He took the news report and looked at the ministers and counselors and said: "It seems that Yuan Shao is mad, but think about it from his perspective and standpoint. , it is not difficult to understand his mood at the moment.
He has spent nearly ten years planning to seize Youzhou, but unexpectedly he was taken advantage of by the imperial court."
Xun You stood up and cupped his hands and said: "My lord, my subordinates think that the time has come to deal with Yuan Shao and capture Jizhou."
"Oh."
Liu Cheng was surprised and asked: "Yuan Shao has been preparing for several years to defeat Gongsun Zan and capture Youzhou.
Now that his military strength is at its peak and he is angry, it will not be easy for the court to deal with him."
Xun You smiled and said: "Although it is said that Yuan Shao is to be eliminated and Jizhou is captured, battles are not fought every day.
It is common for the fighting to stop and stop.
The court can also use the truce time to mobilize troops, punish generals, and transport food and grass.
Now the general trend lies with the imperial court and not with Yuan Shao.
The longer the delay is, the more disadvantageous it will be to Yuan Jun.
Their morale will be completely wiped out as the war continues."
"Besides, most of Yuan Shao's troops are now attacking Youzhou.
Our army only needs to attack Jizhou from Hanoi and Bingzhou.
If Yuan Shao returns to rescue, he can order Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao to send their troops south.
If he ignores the troops in Hanoi and Bingzhou, , of course he will not ignore it, I really can’t think of any other means for him to resist our attacks from multiple directions”: