The sky is dark in winter, snow is gradually falling, and with it comes the end of a certain stage of the war.

In other words, after Cao Cao died in battle and Xun Yu fled to Runan, the Yan army's attack on Cao Cao's territory became particularly easy. In November, the emperor and his party fled to the Yangtze River to take a breather for a while...

At the same time, the so-called traditional Central Plains region in the narrow sense fell completely into the hands of the Yan army.

Among them, Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang, who were besieged in Changyi by Gao Shun, Xu Huang and Yu Jin, chose to surrender;

Cao Ren, who was besieged by Yang Kai, Tian Yu, Tian Chou, Zhang He and others in his hometown in Qiao County, chose to commit suicide;

What is somewhat unexpected is that Xun Yu brought some scholars and officials from the Central Plains region to Xincai, but they chose to split after the news of the deaths of Cao Cao and Lu Bu came... Among them, most of the accompanying people

Because of Lu Bu's death, the scholars doubted Gongsun Xun's political credibility at this time, so they were temporarily afraid, so they chose to join Liu Bei. However, Xun Yu himself turned back with some scholars and formally surrendered to Jia Xu, who was stationed in Chen State.

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Faced with Xun Wenruo's return, Jia Wenhe, who understands people's hearts, was a little emotional, but he was more able to understand the other person's mood.

This is actually very simple:

First of all, after Cao Cao died, Xun Yu naturally felt that no one could save the Han Dynasty. Or at this point, even if Liu Bei seemed to be an option, Xun Wenruo could no longer throw away the label of Cao Mengde and find someone else.

Secondly, if he throws away the most convincing reason and inner knot of reviving the Han Dynasty, Xun Wenruo has no reason to oppose Gongsun Xun. He wants to see Gongsun Xun's future... As for those Yingchuan and Runan,

The death of Lu Bu, which the scholars of Chenjun, Peiguo and Liangguo were worried about, did not hold true for him. It is not that Xun Wenruo brought his own incense and was not afraid of the stench, but that he was eager to replace his nephew Xun Gongda and witness it with his own eyes.

Watch Lu Bu die there to comfort Cao Mengde's spirit!

To put it bluntly, without Cao Mengde, what would Xun Wenruo be?

So far, Cao Cao's territory, most of Xuzhou, and Nanyang have basically fallen into the hands of the Yan army.

However, with the arrival of winter snow and the difficult logistics, the Yan army's offensive inevitably stalled slightly. However, it allowed Liu Bei to calmly retreat to the original territory south of the Suishui River in Pei State, connecting with Lu Su who had returned to Runan, and barely managed to stay in the Huaibei area.

Sustain it... This is what was expected. Although the decisive battle has been won, at least the Yan Army will be able to seize the territory north of the Huaihe River. Even after the spring of next year, Liu Bei Company's Yangtze River Defense Line has lost most of its elite and navy troops.

There is a high probability that it will not be saved, but just the process of getting it will take a lot of time.

Coupled with the supporting measures to rectify order, appease the people, and resume production, it may take a year or two to truly take over the land in Jiangbei and gradually stabilize it.

But in this gap, Gongsun Xun, who was parked in Xu County, suddenly took action. In the name of the leader of the Yan Kingdom, he issued several decrees in succession. The contents of the decrees were not earth-shattering, but almost every one of them could be regarded as powerful.

Like a thousand pieces.

Said: Dismiss Lu Fan, the Prime Minister of Yan State, increase the governorship of Sima, grant flags, drums, banners, and ceremonial guards, and act as governor of the military and political affairs of the four states of Yu, Xu, Jing, and Yang, command the entire army on the front line, appease the soldiers and the people, and appoint officials.

Plan the military exploits and go south to attack Liu Bei who refuses to return the emperor, and must capture both Huaihe Rivers.

He said: After the trial, he was appointed as the shepherd of Qingzhou, and he was promoted to a marquis for his military merits. The food was worth the money of ten thousand households, and he returned to Ye and became the left prime minister as before.

He said: He dismissed Lou Gui as the governor of the state, made him a marquis for his military merits, and paid the money for ten thousand households in exchange for his food. He returned to Ye and became the Right Prime Minister as before.

He said: Dismiss Jia Xu from the post of General Zuo, the military advisor, and rank him as a marquis for his military merits. The food will be worth ten thousand households, and he will be worshiped as prime minister.

Said: Xun You, the right general of the Jin Army, is the military advisor general and the deputy governor. Since the war has not yet been decided, he is the Marquis of Jiale. He does not count the food and the town in exchange for money. He is the second deputy of the Grand Sima. He is still in charge of the army. He will be punished and rewarded with military strategy.

He said: Guan Yu, the general of Zhendong, is appointed as the herdsman of Xuzhou, and he is appointed as a marquis based on his military merits. He does not consider food and towns in exchange for money, and the command of the eastern front remains as before.

He said: For the time being, Nanyang belongs to Sizhou, and Cheng Pu, the general who Zhennan, is appointed as the pastor of Sizhou and the Marquis of Sizhou. He does not count the food and towns in exchange for money, and the commander of the Western Front remains as before.

Said: Zaozhi, the former governor of Guangyang, became the pastor of Qingzhou.

Said: When he came out of the former Hanoi Prefecture, he was recruited to be the shepherd of Yuzhou.

Said: Du Ji, the former governor of Hedong Province, became the shepherd of Yanzhou.

Said: Zhang Ji, the former prefect of Hanyang, became the shepherd of Liangzhou.

He said: All the generals and meritorious officials in the army, from Han Dang, the envoy of the Privy Council, to the following, have the heads of enemy chiefs who are definitely wanted for this battle, and those captured, except for those like Guo Yuan and Xu Xing who died in the battle, are temporarily suspended because the war has not yet been decided.

The feudal lords were given titles, and the rest of the food and towns were paid in cash. The specific rewards were all based on the cessation of the war.

Guo Yuan and Xu Xing were both enfeoffed.

All these kinds of decrees come one after another, and it seems that Yan Gong and Sun Xun have been accused for a long time. Compared with things like generals coming out and becoming prime ministers, being granted the title of marquis, and generals flying all over the sky, what about Zhang Lu, Han Hao, Guo Jia?

, Jia Kui, Pang De, Ma Chao, Jiang Qian, Zhu Ling, Zhang Wei, Cheng Wu, Yang Jun, etc. These people with strange identities were picked out to serve as prefects, temple ministers, Zhonglang generals, and riding capitals.

The decrees of Lieutenant, Commander-in-Chief, etc. basically just record the feeling and forget about it.

To be fair, this large wave of things was basically expected. With nearly half of the territory and population suddenly increased, there will definitely be rewards and transfers of this level.

Even after a year or two, when Jiangbei is completely pacified, in addition to the generals and marquises having to determine the actual ranks and settlements, it is impossible to say that there will be further subdivisions of states, and there may be rumors of rectifying the borders of the counties.

More advanced personnel scheduling.

However, even so, some of the appointments here are too sensitive and still make people think.

For example, Lu Fan's Grand Sima and Grand Governor were sent to conquer on behalf of the country's lord, and given banners and honor guards. This was simply some kind of super-level treatment... You know, Lu Ziheng doesn't need this thing at all now, everyone knows that he is.

The leader of the officials of the Yan State came out to take an overview of the overall situation. It was nothing more than Gongsun Xun giving special favors to his "meritors", that is, to compensate for the death of his eldest son, and to give him treatment beyond the courtesy of a courtier.

To give him extra military honors is to allow a pauper who couldn't afford shoes to return home with an absolute identity!

This is just like after Cai Mao officially handed over Nanyang a few days ago, Gongsun Xun insisted on returning to Ye immediately. Lou Zibo and Cheng Pu led tens of thousands of soldiers from Wancheng to the south to take over. It is not necessary in itself, but why

What if not so?

Everyone knows that Lou Zibo is from Nanyang. Everyone knows that when he was young, he was ridiculed by the villagers because of his ambitions. Now everyone knows that he is the first person to assist Duke Yan in conquering Hebei, Guanxi, and the Central Plains with military strategy.

He really came back with thousands of troops behind him.

This kind of thing is really unnecessary, but if you do it, it will make people indulge in it.

And if Lu Fan's appointment only made people raise eyebrows and shock them on the surface, then after Lu Fan became the Grand Governor of Sima, it was actually Jia Xu who suddenly became the Prime Minister, which is a bit unbearable.

There was a lot of discussion, and some even went too far...

After all, although Jia Wenhe has absolutely no say in terms of merit or talent. But the problem is that, as a descendant who only came during the Dong Dynasty, there are really no more 'suitable' candidates for prime minister than Jia Wenhe.

Too many!

Wouldn't it be wrong for any of the three Shen Pei, Lou Gui, and Wang Xiu to move forward?

Can't Gongsun Yue and Gongsun Fan, two important members of the clan, do it?

Even Dong Zhao and Xun Gongda were much more powerful than Jia Xu in ascending to the throne, because once Dong Zhao or Xun You became prime minister, or even just one of the three prime ministers, they would inevitably unleash a wave of influence on the traditional scholars and noble families in the Central Plains and the South.

A strong signal can definitely soothe people's hearts!

Besides, not to mention that Dong Zhao has been acting as the left prime minister for a long time, but Xun You’s achievements, talents, and even qualifications are exactly the same as Jia Xu’s?

So why is it Jia Xu?

Amidst the heated discussions, especially in the hinterland of the Central Plains, which had the greatest reaction to this, some people who had just surrendered even privately said that Duke Yan's killing of Lu Bu aroused doubts among some of the people who surrendered, and that Duke Yan did it deliberately in order to get rid of this turmoil.

Because after the killing of Lu Bu and the fact that Jia Xu became the prime minister were put together, everyone will care more about why Jia Xu became the prime minister, and no one will continue to care about Lu Bu... Isn't Lu Bu just a warrior? A cesspit... Also

It's just that the cesspit has lost its footing.

And the Prime Minister, that’s the Prime Minister!

A mere poisoner from Kansai!

But Gongsun Xun was destined not to hear these good words. In fact, Gongsun Xun, who had recently become as willful as Emperor Huan because of taking all the Central Plains, did not even meet Xun Yu and Xiahou Dun, so that on a snowy winter day, he attracted three thousand

Yi walked from the north, but towards the old capital Luoyang.

Up to this point, the accompanying followers, especially Wang Can, who had finally resumed his original position, had discussed and speculated that Gongsun Xun came here to do some political show, dig up treasures, and then go further. He even went ahead of time.

I prepared a poem!

Of course, it is completely reasonable to have such a conjecture. After the First World War in Guandu, not only the Duke of Yan was in disgrace, but the Han Dynasty became even more disgraceful. He actually fled from the Yellow River to the Yangtze River. I heard that

There was internal strife on the way, and the queen rebelled.

Besides, on this trip, Duke Yan was taking his eldest son, Gongsun Ding, who had already gone to the battlefield with his hair tied, so no one could have any wild thoughts.

However, this idea soon disappeared, because after arriving in Luoyang, Yan Gong did stop and let people search the abandoned wells in the Nangong and Beigong. It seemed that they really wanted to dig out some treasures... But after no results,

He actually set off immediately and asked the newly appointed Civil Guards Sima Yi and the Military Guards Ma Dai to continue to open the way, heading straight towards Hongnong. In the twelfth lunar month, they crossed the frozen river and arrived at Wangwu Mountain on the other side of the Yellow River.

At this moment, everyone suddenly realized that Duke Yan was here to pay homage to his master Liu Zhaolie.

The sacrificial ceremony was extremely solemn and formal, and the standards were extremely high. Duke Yan himself took his eldest son and all the participants to bathe and wait for seven days, and then offered three sacrifices at a good time, which was considered too strong.

Then, what is surprising is that after the sacrifice, Duke Yan himself actually used Xiang Yu's broken blade to cut off the meat of the three animals and gave it to his eldest son Gongsun Ding and many accompanying followers to cook the meat, saying that it should not be wasted.

This was something that had never been seen in previous etiquette, but at this time, except for the mute Wang Xiang and the loyal Han Hao who was about to be the governor of Hedong, the highest status among the entourage was Sima Yi and Ma Dai, who had just taken up their duties as guards.

It was just a horse, and no one dared to question Duke Yan. Even Wang Can took the initiative to explain that this was Yan's simple and practical style, and all sacrifices should be like this in the future!

It’s like the story of the time when Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty forced himself to call himself the Black Emperor!

In this regard, although the accompanying Yi Cong and the scholars in the imperial family did not matter...because just like the gods in ancient Greece only smelled the fragrance, and the sacrifices were all eaten by the sacrifices, the Confucian sages were concerned about the waste of sacrifices.

We must have discussed it, especially in the past few decades, as life has deteriorated day by day, funerals and simple rituals have become more and more popular, and my subordinates have always paid attention to practicality, so it will not cause everyone's dissatisfaction.

Moreover, Mr. Yan himself explained it very well - Master Liu was so tolerant and open-minded that if he were to survive, he would be happy to see his students leading a group of young people to eat his meat!

All in all, things seemed to be going well, except that Wang Can had been jumping up and down these days, forcing himself to explain and force Yan Gong to do everything right, which inevitably attracted the slander of some upright people.

But soon, this slander disappeared completely when three unexpected important ministers suddenly arrived at Wangwu Mountain in Hedong.

The people who came were Tian Feng, the envoy of Yushitai, Gongsun Fan, the general who controlled the north, and Gongsun Yue, the general who controlled the west. Gongsun Yue even brought Gongsun Zan's eldest son, Gongsun Xu, who was living in Chang'an.
To be continued...