Chapter 83: Those who rule the world, great events [Seeking follow-up reading]

royal palace.

After Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji were captured, they were imprisoned in Beigong.

Dong Zhuo's troops were on high alert with layer upon layer of guards.

Earlier, Lu Zhi and Cui Lie also gathered their troops and tried to attack the palace.

But the number of imperial guards in the palace who are still loyal to the two has been decreasing.

Dong Zhuo ordered the killing of many people.

Until this time, more than ten thousand imperial guards and half of the civil officials in the court were still gathered outside the Chongde Hall, in a tense standoff with Dong Zhuo's troops.

Grand Tutor Yuan Wei was imprisoned in Wenpei Palace outside the two courtyards.

Ever since Yuan Wei was imprisoned, the nobles in the city felt insecure and began to organize themselves in secret.

Cao Cao went out of the city to lead his troops last night, but in fact the main battlefield was inside the city.

During the time when Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji were arrested, all the forces belonging to the Yuan family were mobilized.

You have to know that the Yuan family has three officials in four generations, and their students and former officials are all over the world, so their potential influence is astonishing.

Even when Dong Zhuo captured Yuan Wei and deposed and enthroned an emperor, he had to stamp his approval and announce it to the world through the Secretariat before it could be legitimate.

It can be seen that although Yuan Wei fell into Dong Zhuo's hands, the power he held was still irreplaceable in a short period of time.

So the Yuan family was not completely powerless to resist.

Dong Zhuo wanted to deal with Cao Cao last night, but the aristocratic class and officials in the court took the opportunity to fight back, which was his biggest threat.

Before leaving the city, Cao Cao told Chen Ying that there was a secret passage in the palace.

There was a secret passage in the palace, but it lost its value after he left Luoyang.

Moreover, the secret passage can be used as a surprise weapon once, but if used again, its value will be weakened.

So say it out loud, provide convenience for Chen Ying and serve your own goals.

At this time, in the palace where Yuan Wei was imprisoned, Chen Ying squatted on the beam, like a shadow, and talked in a low voice with Yuan Wei.

"...I know there is a secret passage in the palace, but there is also a secret passage hidden in the secret passage... Cao Cao... This makes sense. He was able to catch up with Zhang Rang in time... Zhang Rang was able to leave the palace at that time because he used this secret passage."

Yuan Wei murmured softly, sitting behind a low seat, looking out the window.

"Please come with me, Master."

"I can't leave. What if I leave the palace? If I leave, the Yuan family will be destroyed in my hands."

After being imprisoned by Dong Zhuo for only half a month, Yuan Wei's hair turned almost completely white and his face became increasingly old.

"Take this to Cao Cao. Tell him that I will never allow him to do what he wants.

He might be able to play an unexpected role in dealing with Dong Zhuo, but it is impossible for him to escape from Luoyang."

Chen Ying responded softly, sobbing, "Master, shall we not try again?"

"Don't try. Let those who want to rescue me go away."

“However, although I do not agree with what Cao Cao said, you can give him my stamped letter and ask him to continue to contain Dong Zhuo. I can promise to agree to his other conditions.

Given the current situation, he must stay in Luoyang."

Yuan Wei suddenly sighed and said something off topic: "Do you know what Qiao Xuan said about Cao Cao back then?"

Qiao Xuan was a famous official in the late Han Dynasty. He was also appointed one of the Three Dukes and served as the Grand Marshal. He died five years ago.

"His evaluation of Cao Cao was 'The world is about to fall into chaos, and only a man of destiny can save it, and the one who can stabilize the world should be you.'"

When Cao Cao received Qiao Xuan's evaluation, he was just a 20-year-old man just starting out.

Yuan Wei suddenly remembered this sentence which was once very famous but was regarded as a joke by many people.

"When it comes to judging people, I am not as good as my ancestors, nor as good as Qiao Xuan, Xu Shao and others. Okay, go ahead."

Yuan Wei did not change his attitude and start to admire Cao Cao.

Instead, he is weighing the interests and still wants to keep the Yuan family.

He saw through Cao Cao's character and wanted to drive the wolf out to devour the tiger, so that he could focus all his energy on dealing with Dong Zhuo.

"Dong Zhuo won't be able to do anything to me in the short term. Tell Cao Cao that I will support him in the court and let him deal with Dong Zhuo without hesitation."

Chen Ying responded again and her figure disappeared on the beam.

Not long after she left, footsteps were heard outside and Dong Zhuo's tall and strong figure walked in, followed closely by armored guards.

"The people outside actually dared to break into the palace and demanded that you be released. Master, do you want to go out?"

Dong Zhuo asked word by word with a fierce look in his eyes.

Yuan Wei said calmly: "I will not leave. Dong Zhuo, I am waiting to see what happens to you."

The hatred in his words made Dong Zhuo laugh: "I'm afraid you can't see it."

The two chatted for a while, and then a young officer came in and whispered a report to Dong Zhuo.

Yuan Wei's cultivation was still there. He had mastered the Book of Changes and the Confucian art of listening carefully, and he had sharp ears and eyes. He vaguely heard the officer say, "...the guards didn't find anything unusual, but when they went to deliver food, they found that the deposed emperor was missing..."

Dong Zhuo was shocked: "What?"

Then he asked, "Where is the Queen Mother?"

"The Queen Mother is still in Yong'an Palace."

The deposed emperor was Liu Bian, who had just been deprived of the throne. He was gone... Yuan Wei's hands also trembled, and his heart was suddenly filled with turbulent waves.

Cao Cao asked Chen Ying to enter the palace to pass on a message and offered a clever plan that could help control Dong Zhuo, but he put forward a condition.

Yuan Wei vaguely guessed that Cao Cao might want to escape from the chaos in Luoyang, so he flatly refused.

He wanted to keep Cao Cao in Luoyang to contain Dong Zhuo, so how could he let him leave?

When Yuan Wei heard that the deposed Liu Bian had disappeared, a thought suddenly occurred to him: Did Cao Cao deceive everyone?!

Including the turmoil caused by the Yuan family this time, they wanted to rescue Yuan Wei and fight back against Dong Zhuo.

They thought that he took advantage of Dong Zhuo's opportunity to deal with Cao Cao and took the opportunity to launch the attack.

However, the actual situation is likely to be the opposite.

Cao Cao pretended to raise an army, went out of the city to pursue them, and took advantage of the situation.

He used the gentry's attack on the palace and the chaos inside and outside the city to attract Dong Zhuo's attention, seize the opportunity, and kidnap the deposed emperor Liu Bian?
The only person who could take Liu Bian away from the palace without anyone noticing was someone who knew the secret passage in the palace.

No, that's not right. If Cao Cao dared to take away the deposed emperor Liu Bian, Dong Zhuo would immediately mobilize all his troops and attack Cao's mansion.

Would Cao Cao be so stupid as to take such a big risk and kidnap a deposed emperor who is actually of little use at this stage? !
Yuan Wei’s thoughts turned into thoughts, and he thought again: No...it would be hard for Dong Zhuo to think of Cao Cao in a short period of time.

This time it was me, Yuan, who was behind the arrangement. If Dong Zhuo investigates further, he will think I was behind it...

But if Cao Cao took away the deposed emperor and held Liu Bian in his hands, what would he do?
Liu Bian's identity is very sensitive now. If he is not careful, he will be killed if he is not careful.

After analyzing it more deeply, Yuan Wei became hesitant again, not sure whether it was Cao Cao.

Before you have strong power, controlling the deposed emperor Liu Bian is a disaster rather than a blessing, and you may lose your life at any time.

Thoughts popped up one after another in Yuan Wei's mind. The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became, and his pupils began to shrink.

Dong Zhuo had already strode out to check for Liu Bian's whereabouts.

He and Li Ru had already discussed it and planned to poison Liu Bian in the next few days to cut off everyone's thoughts and make Liu Xie the only emperor without a second choice.

Dong Zhuo had just received the news that Li Ru had died on the battlefield, killed by Cao Cao.

If it weren't for the chaos and unexpected events in the city, he would have immediately led his troops to attack Cao's mansion.

At sunset, Dong Zhuo came to a side hall of the imperial palace.

The deposed emperor Liu Bian was imprisoned here before, but now it is empty.

After Dong Zhuo left, Yuan Wei took out a precious letter that Chen Ying had just sent him, and after a moment's deliberation, he contacted Chen Ying again: Tell Cao Cao, I have changed my mind and agree with what he said...

It was also in the evening of that day that Dong Zhuo had several new advisers around him.

To be precise, he should not be called a counselor, but someone he wants to win over and thinks can stand with him and obey his orders.

Among them, one was called Wu Qiong and the other was called He Yong.

Previously, Dong Zhuo had submitted a list of names to the Secretariat, which were people he and Li Ru had carefully selected and planned to reinstate and reuse.

The list included Zhou Bi (son of Zhou Shen, Dong Zhuo's former colleague in suppressing the rebellion in Liang Province), Shizhong Wu Qiong, He Yong, Han Rong, Chen Ji, the chief secretary of the general He Jin's office, the great scholar Cai Yong, and Wang Yun.

Some of these people were dismissed because of the Party and Faction Persecution, while others were persecuted by eunuchs and external relatives.

Dong Zhuo wanted to use them to show that he was different from the foreign relatives and eunuchs who were causing chaos in the country.

After this period of time, Wu Qiong and He Yong were the first to be recruited by Dong Zhuo.

In their early years, these two people were close friends of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Xu You, Zhang Miao and others.

However, Dong Zhuo thought it was not important. Interests could change everything. It was he who gave these people another chance.

According to history, He Yong and Wu Qiong were both deeply trusted by Dong Zhuo.

But he has always been an undercover agent in secret.

Because Li Ru died, Dong Zhuo recruited them to his side and planned to use them.

The next morning, Dong Zhuo, who had confirmed that the deposed emperor Liu Bian was missing, immediately issued an edict, announcing that Liu Bian had died in the palace.

The amazing thing about this matter is that even Dong Zhuo wanted to help cover up the truth.

He would desperately say that Liu Bian was dead and would never admit that he was lost.

There was only one emperor in the world, Liu Xie, whom he controlled.

If you ask Cao Cao who took Liu Bian away, he will also say he doesn't know.

Because controlling Liu Bian, at this stage, is not really smart, and the disadvantages may even outweigh the advantages, which is very dangerous.

However, in the long run, it may be of great use and can affect the trend of the entire world.

The next morning.

In Cao's mansion, Cao Cao brought Yu Qing to meet his father-in-law Yu Wen: "Wang Yue."

Yu Wen rolled his eyes secretly and said, "You took my daughter away by force, and you still have the nerve to call me your father-in-law."

Yu Wen hesitated for a moment and said nothing. Yu Qing said unhappily, "Father, my husband is calling you, and you promised me."

[Gaining support from the Yu clan can improve your reputation, promote the rapid transformation of Caoying, and upgrade your power level]

The entry suddenly appeared.

If you want Yu Wen’s support, you don’t need me, your concubine can do it. Cao Cao looked at Yu Qing.

Ps: Thank you for your comments, votes, rewards, and follow-up reading~
(End of this chapter)