The Han Dynasty adopted a system of demotion of lords, so that no matter how prominent it was at the time, after three generations, it had little to do with the royal family, let alone three generations later.

Therefore, after Liu Bei claimed to be the king of Zhongshan, he still weaved mats and sold shoes, and he couldn't get any benefits from the imperial court.

And the old Liu family also has a lot of contention, such as Liu Hong, Liu Yu and others, with their own efforts, ranked among the three dukes, although it is a clan, but it is only a name, and the actual identity is no longer a clan, just a common people.

Liu Xuan, Liu Dai's brother, is also a clan, and his seniority can be regarded as Liu Wei's imperial uncle.

But this kind of relationship that can't be beaten with eight poles is just a gimmick, and it's actually not particularly useful.

Liu Wei looked at the list in his hand, his expression was strange and condensed, these people are not only the clan surnamed Liu, but also the big family of the scholar family, they are entrenched in Xiao County, are they just Xiao County?

What about other counties in Yuzhou? What about the states of Dahan?

If the big nobles monopolize power, it will also intensify the annexation of land, enslave the people more unscrupulously, and make the already intensified contradictions more irreconcilable.

In the past few years, Liu Wei has been trying his best to curb land annexation for the sake of land reform, and has used an unknown number of means, but now it seems that the effect is not much, or even none!

Lu Yu looked at Liu Wei pondering, standing aside respectfully, and shook his head secretly in his heart.

Liu Miao is also famous, the government and the opposition praise him, and Yuzhou Mu fell to Liu Xiang's head, which is also the result of the joint recommendation of the government and the opposition.

It's just that now it seems that the issue of river control, as well as the wanton Zephi clan, has touched His Majesty's bottom line.

I don't know how long it took, Liu Wei looked up at the window, the sound of the rain hitting the window was like a drum, and the heavy rain seemed to be unable to stop for a while.

"Lu Yu, I want to meet that Zhu Jianping." Liu Wei said softly.

Lu Yu followed Liu Wei's gaze and looked out the window, and said, "Your Majesty, are you summoned to Yuzhou?" ”

Liu Wei frowned, then took a deep breath, shook his head a little irritably, and said, "Wait until you go back to Beijing." ”

Lu Yu responded silently, counting the experiences along the way.

"Your Majesty!"

Suddenly, Shi A strode in, handed over a letter wet, and said, "Your Majesty, Yanzhou urgent letter." ”

Lu Yu turned around and looked, and when he saw the red seal, his face changed suddenly, and he hurriedly took it and sent it to Liu Wei.

Liu Wei quickly tore it open and pulled out the letter inside.

This kind of red seal is the highest level of 'urgency' in the Imperial City Mansion, and it will not be used unless it is an important event.

The content does not live up to the red seal.

Liu Bian's face was as usual, and his eyebrows didn't know when they were locked together.

He was both shocked by the contents of the letter and a little relieved.

Instead, Liu Wei's eyes narrowed, handed the letter to Lu Yu, and said, "Take a look, and then guess what Luoyang's reaction will be." ”

Lu Yu was already very curious, but he was still patient, after taking the letter, he looked down, his eyes were shocked, and it was changed again and again, and it took a while to look up at Liu Wei, and stammered: "Your Majesty, Cao Cao Sima, really, really slaughtered the three cities......"

This is the news sent by the secret guard of the Yanzhou Imperial City Mansion, five days ago, Cao Cao slaughtered Jinxiang, Shanfu, Fang and three county towns in Shanyang County, Yanzhou, according to the estimate of the secret guard, at least 30,000 people were slaughtered.

Not only Lu Yu was shocked, but Shi A, who sent the letter, heard it clearly, and it was also incredulous.

Marching to fight, treating the enemy, slaughtering the city and destroying the country is a common thing, in today's Han Dynasty, although there will be blame, but it is not a big deal, others do not say, Huangfu Song even put out the Jingguan.

But Shanyang County is different, it is a peaceful place, it is the capital of Yanzhou under the absolute control of the imperial court, who dares to slaughter the city here?

Lu Yu's words were incomplete, and he was extremely worried about Cao Cao in his heart.

This matter can't be hidden, once the news reaches Luoyang, it will definitely be fried by the government and the opposition, and Cao Cao will become the target of everyone!

It's the kind of attack where thousands of arrows are fired at once, and arrows rain down!

Who can withstand such an attack?

Liu Wei didn't really want Lu Yu to guess anything, and he knew better than anyone what Luoyang would do.

He got up lightly, came to the door, and looked at the direction of Luoyang from the heavy rain, stunned.

This is destined to be another big storm, and in the center of the storm, in addition to Cao Cao, there is also the emperor Liu Wei.

Cao Cao was taken from the captain of the West Garden, and was dragged to the Great Sima Mansion by Liu Wei in just five or six years, and presided over the military affairs of the Han Dynasty, and was the de facto Great Sima.

Over the years, Cao Cao has done a lot of outrageous things, and Liu Wei has worked hard to maintain and constantly promote.

However, if Liu Wei did not give a clear explanation for the matter of slaughtering the three cities, it could be clearly foreseen that the government and the opposition would definitely not give up.

Liu Wei is not afraid of the chaos of the government and the opposition, but he needs to maintain the stability of the imperial court and concentrate on implementing the 'New Deal', solving maladministration, and stabilizing the people's livelihood.

Instead of getting bogged down in endless court battles.

Cao Cao has another big problem for Liu!

I don't know how long it took, Liu Wei suddenly said loudly: "Five days? Didn't Cao Cao go to the book? ”

Lu Yu immediately said: "Not yet, if there is, it should be on the way out of Luoyang." ”

It is unclear whether Cao Cao wrote a letter to defend himself, and the guards of the Imperial City Mansion did not give Cao Cao a reason for slaughtering the city.

Things are still in the dark.

The corners of Liu Wei's face were straight, his eyes were as sharp as mang, and he said, "Go back to Beijing." ”

Along the way, it's almost time to go back.

Lu Yu was uneasy in his heart, and said, "Your Majesty, are you going back now?" ”

Liu Wei nodded and said, "Go to Xiangxian first, and leave now." Sent an edict to Huang Zhong and Liu Dai, ordering them to stabilize the situation and not talk nonsense for the time being. ”

"Yes." Lu Yu's scalp was numb.

Liu Wei stood under the eaves with his hands behind his back, constantly thinking about this matter in his heart.

He had to control the situation, resolve it as soon as possible, and not let it continue to ferment.

It just so happened that he went to Xiangxian County to inspect some river control situations, and during this time, what happened in Yanzhou should almost be summarized.

Zhao Yun and the others got Liu Bian's order and rushed over one after another, but Liu Bian didn't mean to tell them, turned around and entered the study, and waved everyone away.

Not long after, Zhao Yun, Sun Ce and others also knew, looking shocked and unable to believe it.

Lu Yu and Zhao Yun said: "General Zhao Zhonglang, when you are ready to go, you must be strictly guarded, and if necessary, you can transfer troops from Yu and Xu." ”

Zhao Yun raised his hand and said, "I understand." ”

It is not clear what the reason for Cao Cao's massacre of the city is, but the royal drive is not trivial, and it must be ensured that nothing happens!

Liu Wei set off.

Braving the heavy rain, he left Xiao County and headed towards Xiang County not far away.

The news of Cao Cao's massacre of the city could have arrived in Liu Bian's hands earlier, but because Liu Bian's whereabouts were uncertain, the Imperial City Mansion made an unknown number of turns.

And now the news transmission is not developed, and the slaughter of the city has not yet spread, so there is no movement in Yuzhou now.

In Xiang County, people from top to bottom are busy fighting off floods.

As the dirtiness of governing the river was revealed, from Liu Xuan, Liu Bei, Tian Feng to the states and counties along the river, they were all alarmed, as if they were facing a great enemy.

It's good that the embankment is not broken, but once the embankment is broken, the consequences are unimaginable.

Some people want to cover up some things by breaking the embankment, while some people are worried about taking responsibility after the burst, and in the intricate network of relationships, it is difficult to control the river.

Peijun Official.

Tian Feng came back in the heavy rain, didn't care about anything else, and said directly to Liu Xuan, who was already waiting: "Liu Gong, I borrowed two million, and there are five hundred young people." ”

Liu Miao sat there, with a piece of paper on the small table, leaning over to hold the pen, writing hard.

He didn't seem to hear Tian Feng's words, and said as he wrote: "It involves three counties and seventeen counties, I have already sent them documents, and there are only three thousand young people who can be mobilized by Pei County, so many estuaries are not enough at all......

Tian Feng sat down opposite him and said, "Gong Liu, what did Duke Xuande say?" ”

Liu Miao shook his head and said, "He can't help much." I have detained a lot of people, and you have ordered people to take care of them, and you can't let them escape, and you can't let them die. ”

"Liu Gong rest assured." Tian Feng understands that they are all corrupt and corrupt in the matter of controlling the river, and they are all gangsters.

These people deceived them, and they also deceived the imperial court, and the water behind them did not know how deep it was.

Once someone escapes or dies, afterwards, they can't tell a hundred mouths in Yuzhou.

Where can Liu Miao put his mind at ease, under this heavy rain, he understands a lot of things, he is nominally a pastor in Yuzhou, but in fact, he is isolated and deceived about many things, like a puppet.

Put down the pen, looked at a piece of paper, his expression was as stiff as iron, and said: "It's difficult to do, I'm afraid there are more than a few places that break the embankment, if the heavy rain continues, it will not only be flooded by those counties, and half of Yuzhou will be implicated." ”

Tian Feng had already expected it, and said with a deep face: "Gong Liu, what we can do now is to raise money and food as much as possible, recruit young people, transport wood and stones, and use all means to plug the gap." ”

Liu Miao didn't raise his head, and said: "Those few families, I have all the good things to say, and they all promise it, but I can't see anyone if I ask for money again, and now we can only rely on ourselves." ”

Tian Feng's expression moved, and he sighed softly.

He made many promises, and borrowed two million dollars from the three families, which was equivalent to two thousand taels of silver.

Bucket.

"How much longer?" Liu Miao suddenly looked up at Tian Fengdao.

Tian Feng was stunned, reacted quickly, and said, "It's hard to say, it's possible at any time." ”

Liu Xuan's face was silent for a while, and he said, "I'll go see Liu Xuande and see if I can take some of his military salary." ”

Tian Feng shook his head directly and said, "He himself is not enough, and he has been urging the imperial court." Even if you can squeeze it out, there won't be much. ”

The cold winter has just passed, and the summer harvest has not yet arrived, which is the time when the green and yellow are not received.

Liu Xuan, who was about to get up, slowly sat back and said, "Do you have any other way?" ”

Tian Feng looked at Liu Xuan, his eyes flashed a fierce and cold light, and said, "Liu Gong, it's not nothing." ”

"What's the solution, say it quickly!" When Liu Miao heard this, his expression perked up.

Tian Feng's eyes were like swords, he leaned closer, and said in a low voice: "Those people have been so greedy, they definitely didn't have time to hide, now they are strictly interrogated and their homes are raided immediately, it should be enough!" ”

Liu Xuan's expression changed immediately, and he said, "No, no! I don't know who is behind them, we do it rashly, maybe we will become the scapegoat for the Hunhe River bursting, that is a big crime of the Zhu people! ”

Tian Feng snorted coldly and said, "Gong Liu, when we reach this juncture, we can't hesitate!" Once the Hunhe River bursts, even if Liu Gong used those to atone afterwards, don't they know that they have already made excuses and waited for Liu Gong and the lower officials to fall into the net? If the Hunhe River does not break the embankment, Liu Gong is fine, once the embankment breaks, as a Yuzhou pastor, Liu Gong will not be able to escape the blame! ”

The corners of Liu Xuan's face twitched, looked at Tian Feng, opened his mouth, and said, "Yuan Hao, you ......."

He didn't know what to say, Tian Feng, who was still very talkative before, why did he suddenly speak so sharply?

Tian Feng became more and more gloomy, and said: "Gong Liu, it is imminent, so I can't hesitate more." As long as you nod your head, the next official will do other things, as long as you get the money and grain, you can prevent the Hunhe River from bursting the embankment as much as possible, and the credit is Liu Gong's afterwards, and the guilt will be borne by the lower officials! ”

When Liu Miao heard him say this, his heart trembled, but he forcefully said, "Nonsense! How can this official be a person who is too subordinate! ”

Seeing that he didn't let go, Tian Feng glanced out of the door and said, "Duke Liu, once decided, the lower officials believe that the first order of the imperial court is to order Liu Xuande to detain Duke Liu into Luoyang for questioning!" ”

The corners of Liu Xuan's mouth trembled, his expression froze, and he wanted to speak.

He naturally knew that Tian Feng's words were right, and it was bound to happen.

It is okay to convict those people and raid their homes in Xiangxian, but once they are out of Xiangxian, who can control them?

Who is behind them and what will be brought out, Liu Miao didn't dare to think about it at all!

Shang Shutai, Yu Shi Tai, Gong Cao, just one of them is enough for Liu Xuan!

Tian Feng saw that Liu Miao was still hesitant, his eyes were shining, and he said lightly: "That's all the official said, Liu Gong should think about it, and the next official went back to sleep." ”

Seeing that Tian Feng was leaving, Liu Miao hurriedly said: "Yuan Hao is slow!" ”

Tian Feng sat back quietly and looked directly at Liu Xuan.

Liu Miao looked at him for a moment, quickly moved away, squirmed his lips, and said dryly: "Yuan Hao, is it really feasible?" They, behind them, there are big people, maybe more than one. ”

Tian Feng knew Liu Xuan's estimate, snorted coldly, and said, "Gong Liu, this matter is simple. After raiding the house, they will either be beheaded or commit suicide in fear of crime, covering up the past. Even if there are people behind them, we don't know how much evidence we have, and not only will we not be embarrassed, but perhaps, they will be quite polite. ”

Liu Miao was secretly shocked in his heart, how many people are going to be killed?

This Tian Feng, is he so ruthless?

Liu Miao struggled in his heart, thought about it, and gritted his teeth and said, "Okay!" Yuan Hao, you can do it. I'll go to Liu Xuande to borrow troops, if someone messes around, kill them first! ”

Liu Miao was also forced into a corner by Tian Feng's words, and had to act.

The Hunhe River is really going to burst, and his three clans will be razed!

Tian Feng saw that Liu Miao finally let go, his expression was straight, and he said in a deep voice: "Liu Gong, this matter must be fast, and there must be no delay, let alone leak the news!" I think, right now, the captain of the city gate I know that he is Liu Gong's nephew, and he should be able to be trusted. ”

Liu Miao didn't expect Tian Feng to be in such a hurry, and wanted to slow down, but heard Tian Feng say: "Gong Liu, don't say anything to Liu Xuande for the time being, he is a benevolent and righteous person, and he can't see this." ”

(End of chapter)