Can I get to the other side?

Gao Gan withdrew his troops back to Bingzhou?

Tian Feng colluded with Wuhuan and Ma Chao?

Liu Xie's face suddenly changed when he heard the news reported by Zhang He.

He could accept the news that Gao Gan withdrew his troops back to Bingzhou, but the collusion between Tian Feng, Wuhuan and Ma Chao really caught him off guard.

"Why would Ma Chao be connected with Tian Feng? Could it be that he really did not care about Ma Teng's life or death and wanted to stage a father-son relationship?"

"But why would he rebel?"

Although he knew Ma Chao's character, Liu Xie still found it incredible, because in his opinion Ma Chao had no reason to rebel.

He was the orthodox emperor in power, not the Han Xiandi who was held hostage by Cao Cao in history. Moreover, the current situation was very good. As long as the Ma family was honest and served as a meritorious official, they would have no shortage of glory and wealth in the future.

As a result, he actually colluded with Tian Feng at this time?

Is there another hidden story?

With doubts, Liu Xie looked at Zhang He and said in a deep voice: "Where is the secret report? Present it to me for a look."

"Please read it, Your Majesty."

Zhang He immediately presented the secret report with both hands.

Liu Xie took it and read it carefully.

After a while, his eyes turned cold.

According to the letter, Tian Feng went to meet Ma Chao alone as an envoy, and then the two talked about something, and then Tian Feng stayed in Ma Chao's camp.

"Ma Chao..."

Liu Xie's eyes were a little gloomy.

Things were not as bad as he imagined, and Ma Chao did not openly rebel, but this matter could not be ignored.

As a counselor and remnant of the rebels under Yuan Shao, Tian Feng should have arrested Ma Chao as soon as possible as long as he did not surrender, even if he went to see Ma Chao as an envoy.

Because there is no need to follow any rules with rebels.

But Ma Chao not only did not arrest Tian Feng, but let Tian Feng live in the camp, and did not even report the matter to him.

What is this going to do?

At the very least, it is concealing the truth, and at the most, it is colluding with the traitor, plotting evil, and intending to rebel!

Liu Xie snorted in his heart, put away the secret report, and then said to the Zhen clan elders and Yuan Xi who were watching him closely: "You should leave first."

"I obey your order."

How dare the two of them object? They left immediately.

After they left, Liu Xie said to Zhang He: "Send General Zhang Yan of Zhenbei and Marquis Gongsun Xu to see you."

Gao Gan and Ma Chao's affairs can be discussed at the court meeting. Now Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu have arrived outside the palace, so they have to meet them first.

"Yes!"

Zhang He took the order and left.

Soon, Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu walked into the Xuanshi Hall under his leadership and bowed respectfully, saying, "I, Zhang Yan (Gongsun Xu), pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

"No need to bow, my dear ministers."

Liu Xie had adjusted his mood and his eyes fell on Gongsun Xu, "Zhonglie Hou is far away in Ji County, why did he come to see the emperor with General Zhenbei this time?"

The Zhonglie Hou he gave Gongsun Zan could be inherited from generation to generation. After Gongsun Zan's death, Gongsun Xu became the new Zhonglie Hou.

"Reporting to Your Majesty."

Gongsun Xu bowed and said, "After hearing the news of Your Majesty's great victory in Hejian County and the capture of Yuan Shao, I took the initiative to send troops to recover the counties of Youzhou occupied by Yuan Shao."

"Although it is my duty to recover the lost land for Your Majesty, I still feel it is necessary to report to Your Majesty in person."

"On the way to Yecheng, I happened to meet General Zhenbei who was also going to Yecheng, so we went together."

Gongsun Xu briefly explained the reason.

The Youzhou counties captured by Yuan Shao had very few soldiers and horses, most of whom followed Tian Feng to Bingzhou. Although he had few soldiers and horses, it was effortless to capture these counties.

"Oh?"

Liu Xie's eyes lit up after hearing this.

He had wanted to order Gongsun Xu to send troops to recapture Youzhou in the next two days, but he didn't expect Gongsun Xu to be so sensible that he took the initiative to send troops without him asking.

This saved him a lot of effort.

Liu Xie smiled and said to Gongsun Xu: "You are worthy of being the son of General Baima. Your heart of serving the country is the same as your father's. I am very pleased."

"I have no choice but to share your worries!"

Gongsun Xu clasped his fists and said, his eyes were slightly red. "My father died at the hands of the thief Yuan. Your Majesty has wiped out the entire Yuan family. My father's spirit in heaven can rest in peace!"

"I wonder when your majesty plans to execute the thief Yuan?"

He hated Yuan Shao and Yan Liang to the bone. Now Yan Liang had been killed by Zhao Yun, and his only remaining enemy was Yuan Shao.

He wanted to see Yuan Shao die with his own eyes!

Liu Xie said: "After the beginning of spring, when I lead my troops south, I will kill him as a sacrifice and send his head to the world to boost the morale of the three armies."

Hearing this answer, Gongsun Xu was overjoyed. Killing Yuan Shao as a sacrifice had already excited him. He never thought that the emperor would send Yuan Shao's head to the world!

"Your Majesty, the soldiers and civilians of my Black Mountain Army have moved out of the Taihang Mountains and have now all arrived in Wei County."

"I wonder...how to settle them?"

Zhang Yan, who was standing next to him, was quite uneasy when he saw Gongsun Xu finished speaking, and asked cautiously.

Although the emperor promised him that he would settle all the people of the Black Mountain Army, there were hundreds of thousands of people after all. Could the court really arrange it properly?

If he failed to handle it well and a riot occurred, he would definitely be blamed. At that time, he would not get any credit but would be accused of a crime.

That would be really fatal.

Liu Xie smiled and said: "General Zhenbei, there is no need to worry. These hundreds of thousands of people are also my subjects. How can I ignore them?"

"I have made proper preparations."

At present, enough supplies have been prepared. All he needs to do next is confirm the resettlement plan with the ministers. He already has an idea in mind.

"Your Majesty is kind!"

Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "Your Majesty, the Black Mountain Army still has 30,000 troops. Your Majesty can send people to take over at any time."

"Although I am the general of Zhenbei, my abilities are limited and I am really not good at commanding troops. Please ask your majesty to let other generals command the Montenegrin army."

Zhang Yan had made plans before coming here.

All he wanted was wealth. It didn't matter to him whether he wanted military power or not. Besides, he had a history of rebellion. He would be jealous if he kept the military power, so it was better to hand it over directly.

When Gongsun Xu heard this, he was shocked and looked at Zhang Yan with a strange look on his face.

30,000 troops, just hand it over?

There are such people in the world who are not greedy for military power!

Liu Xie was not surprised by Zhang Yan's answer, because Zhang Yan was such a person in history, and he surrendered all military power after being recruited by Cao Cao.

It can be said that he is well versed in the way of protecting himself wisely.

So he didn't say anything for the occasion, nodded and said: "I will arrange this matter. General Zhenbei has made great contributions in escorting the people to Yecheng, so he must be rewarded."

"Let's change the Marquis of Anguo Township to the Marquis of Zhending Township. I will reward you with a thousand pieces of gold and a thousand pieces of cloth."

When Zhang Yan hands over his military power, General Zhenbei will definitely be relieved of his post, and he will have to make compensation in other ways.

Hearing this, Zhang Yan was quite surprised, because he was just taking advantage of the situation by handing over his military power, but he did not expect to receive a wave of rewards.

The wealth is secondary, the main thing is that the title was changed from Marquis of Anguo Township to Marquis of Zhending Township. You must know that Zhending County is his hometown!

Return home rich and honorable, and honor your ancestors!

"I can only hate that Ju Yi took the credit from me, otherwise I would be the Marquis of Zhending County now, all because of that shameless villain!"

Zhang Yan thought bitterly.

If Ju Yi hadn't defected before the battle, he would have been the one to capture Yuan Shao, and he would have been a county marquis instead of a township marquis!

After scolding Ju Yi a hundred times in his heart, Zhang Yan respectfully raised his hands and said, "My lord, thank you for the reward!"

…

In Tai'an Hall, all officials gathered.

After meeting Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu, Liu Xie walked into the main hall, sat down on the main seat, and turned his eyes to the ministers in the hall.

I saw that the faces of Yang Biao, Cui Yan and others were a little slumped and ugly, and they were obviously still hurting from competing with each other to donate money and supplies yesterday.

After all, they donated so much but failed to win the title of the most charitable person in the Han Dynasty. This transaction was a huge loss.

Liu Xie had a panoramic view of the expressions of all the ministers, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said with a smile: "I am really touched that you all donated so much money, food and materials yesterday."

"With so much material, the hundreds of thousands of people will be able to be properly accommodated. You are worthy of being a loyal minister of my great man!"

Liu Xie never mentioned the fact that the officials had complained to him about having no money before, and he just praised the officials for their contributions.

As the saying goes, hit someone without slapping someone in the face, and expose someone without exposing their shortcomings.

Now that what he wanted has been achieved, there is no need to make it so ugly and make everyone unable to get off the stage.

Anyway, there is no charge for compliments.

Cui Yan forced a smile and said: "Your Majesty has devoted all his efforts to resettle the refugees. Naturally, the ministers have to share the worries for Your Majesty, but they are just doing their best."

This much money and food is enough for him to form 10,000 Tiger Guards!

The ministers echoed sparsely.

They all knew in their hearts that the purpose of Liu Xie's donation this time was to make them bleed, but the key was that no one could say anything.

Because donation is entirely voluntary.

Liu Xie firstly did not force them, and secondly, he did not engage in any behind-the-scenes operations. Even Zhen, who was the emperor's purse, personally stepped in and donated a large amount of money and supplies.

But no one expected that everyone present had ulterior motives. They said they wouldn't donate if they didn't want to, but in fact they were more active in donating and more ruthless in robbing.

Yuan Xi even donated the entire Yuan family property to use it as a bargaining chip to fight with them. He really couldn't accept such a big deal.

So they can only eat this dumb loss by themselves.

Liu Xie smiled lightly and said: "My dear friends, you are very interested. Today, General Zhenbei has arrived at Wei County with hundreds of thousands of people. The next thing to discuss is how to resettle these people."

"I have an idea about this."

Liu Xie did not sell out, and went straight to the point and stated the resettlement plan he had already formulated: "There are too many people arriving in Wei County this time. Simply relieving them can only relieve their temporary needs, not long-term, and it will waste so much money." Manpower.”

"Therefore, I plan to implement the work-for-relief strategy. The court will distribute food to them, but they must participate in the work."

"In this way, we can not only help the people, but also make use of this huge manpower."

Relief for work is actually not unique to later generations.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period of the State of Qi, the doctor Yan Ying proposed the form of work-for-relief, allowing the affected people to repair palaces for the King of Qi in exchange for food.

He not only helped the victims without wasting labor, but also built a palace for the King of Qi. He killed two birds with one stone and became a good story.

It is a pity that future kings are rarely like this.

Most of them ignored the life and death of the people and imposed corvee forcibly.

The practice of providing work-for-relief, which appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, would become an expression of the king's kindness today.

The ministers praised Liu Xie's move again.

Suddenly, Sima Yi stood up and came out of the queue, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, it is winter now, the weather is freezing, there is nothing for the people to do."

Food-for-work relief is certainly feasible, but it is difficult to implement in winter.

Because winter is coming, firstly, there is no way to reclaim wasteland, and secondly, there is no way to build cities and walls. What can the people do?

"This is exactly what I want to discuss with you."

Liu Xie had already anticipated this problem and said: "The first thing the people must do is to build houses so that they can build a place for themselves."

"Secondly, I want to build a textile workshop so that people can participate in weaving."

"I want to spin out enough cold-resistant clothing for all the soldiers in the army as soon as possible. This matter is very important and is a top priority."

Hear the seriousness in Liu Xie's tone.

All the ministers were stunned.

Guo Jia frowned and asked, "Your Majesty, why do soldiers need to weave so many warm clothes when they stay in the military camps in winter?"

Because the weather is cold in winter, there is no training, let alone fighting.

The soldiers basically stayed in their tents.

In this case, there is no need to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to make warm clothing. It is better to use such expenses to make weapons and equipment.

"Because it will be needed soon."

Liu Xie looked calm, raised his eyes to look at the ministers, and said his decision in a deep voice: "I will send troops to attack Bingzhou this winter."

After the words fell, all the officials were shocked!

Send troops to attack Bingzhou in winter? !

After reacting, Zhang Liao said anxiously: "Your Majesty, it's cold in winter, so I'm afraid it's not appropriate to send troops!"

How could a large-scale war like the attack on Bingzhou be carried out in winter?

If you want to fight, you have to be able to fight in the spring of next year.

"Shut up!"

Lu Bu glared at Zhang Liao and said angrily: "Your Majesty said this out of consideration. Are you smarter than your Majesty?"

Zhang Liao naturally couldn't answer these words, but he was anxious, so he couldn't speak or not speak at this time.

Jia Xu asked: "Your Majesty, what happened in Bingzhou?"

In his view, with Liu Xie's caution, it is impossible that he did not know the dangers of sending troops on a large scale in winter. There must be a reason why he decided to do so despite knowing it.

It is very likely that something happened in Bingzhou.

"That's right."

Liu Xie nodded slightly and took out the secret letter from his sleeve, "The news just came back today. Liu Zhang has negotiated peace with Gao Gan and Zhang Lu, and Gao Gan led his troops back to Bingzhou."

"In addition, Tian Feng met Ma Chao in private, and even secretly interacted with Wu Huan. I don't know what he was planning."

"If Tian Feng said he would oppose Ma Chao, Xiliang's cavalry would come from Bingzhou, and Jizhou would be hard-pressed to resist."

"Coupled with the Wuhuan cavalry coming from Youzhou, as long as they break through Youzhou's defense line, they can go all the way south to Jizhou."

"We must attack Bingzhou without delay."

"I can't give them a chance!"

"I want Tian Feng to die!"

Liu Xie revealed all the contents of the secret letter.

The geographical location of Bingzhou is so important that it has always been a battleground for military strategists.

Ma Chao controls Liangzhou and Guanzhong. If he can merge the states, he will choke Hebei.

Liu Xie controls Hebei, and if he can merge with the state, he will strangle the Guanzhong area.

Once Ma Chao changes sides, it will be a disaster.

What's more, there is Wuhuan.

Yuan Shao has been running Hebei for many years and has a good relationship with Wuhuan. Wuhuan is very likely to send troops under Tian Feng's lobbying.

Ma Chao defected and Wuhuan sent troops. Under attack from both sides, Jizhou was in danger.

All the officials in the palace changed their expressions after hearing this!

Ma Teng, in particular, was even more frightened. He hurriedly stood up and fell to the ground, shouting, "How can my son be associated with the rebels?"

"Your Majesty! There must be a misunderstanding!"

"Your Majesty, please investigate clearly!"