At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

There can only be one Xiangguo at a time, but there can be several prime ministers at the same time.

In the early Han Dynasty, only Xiao He, Cao Can and Lu Chan served as Xiangguo. After that, the post of Xiangguo was abolished, and it was not established in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Zhou Yu, Wu Qiong and others felt that this position was more in line with Dong Zhuo's temperament as the number one in the world, so they suggested that Dong Zhuo be the prime minister, the only one in the world with only one prime minister.

Dong Zhuo learned about the past and present of Xiangguo's position, and felt that this position really suited his temperament.

Therefore, the confidantes wrote a "Appearance of the Prime Minister" together to build momentum for Dong Zhuo, prompting Dong Zhuo to become a prime minister, further consolidating his power, and the "unified" staff around Dong Zhuo can also get a lot benefit.

In fact, when talking about this matter, Dong Zhuo still had some regrets.

Because the person he sent to summon Cai Yong came back and told him that Cai Yong had been summoned by Guo Peng first, and he went to Qingzhou, but he didn't meet him.

Dong Zhuo felt very regretful, and felt that it was a pity that Cai Yong, who had such a great reputation, could not be used by him.But right now I have so many staff members, and there is no shortage of Cai Yong.

Dong Zhuo strode towards the pinnacle of power, and every step he took made Yuan Kai feel terrified, and it also made Yuan Shi terrified.

At the end of October, the "Appearance and State Seal" was jointly signed by the court and submitted to the emperor, which was actually submitted to Dong Zhuo himself.

Then Dong Zhuo pretentiously declined three times, and the officials insisted three times, so Dong Zhuo "reluctantly" chose to accept.

On the first day of November in the first year of Yonghan, Sikong and former general Dong Zhuo officially accepted the position of prime minister and became the fourth prime minister since the founding of the Han Empire, and also the one with the wildest paths.

Lu Zhi couldn't bear it, and argued on the table, Dong Zhuo was furious, but considering the friendly relationship between Lu Zhi's disciple Guo Peng and him, and the fact that Guo Peng was leading troops outside, he just announced that Lu Zhi would be dismissed from office and driven out of Luoyang , did not harm.

Lu Zhi was forced to leave Luoyang, disheartened, and headed north, deciding to go back to his hometown to relax before talking about other things.

Since then, the central government of Luoyang has completely fallen into Dong Zhuo's control.

However, at this time, Dong Zhuo's behavior style was relatively conservative and cautious, and he knew how to discuss with the monk Shutai and his staff when encountering things.

When his subordinates made trouble in the capital, he would punish them severely, and he still did not give his subordinates promotions.

He gave all the high officials and rich salary to the scholars, so Dong Zhuo still has a good reputation, and some scholars are willing to praise him, and there are many famous people who praise him.

But Dong Zhuo is a Xiliang warrior after all. He was able to control and restrain himself when someone was over his head, but now there is no one who can check and balance him, and he gradually began to show his prototype.

Dong Zhuo grew up in Xiliang, bold, courageous, but also cruel and irritable.

The censor Shi Chao Longzong forgot to remove his sword when he met Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo took advantage of the problem and ordered him to be beaten to death.

Then they ordered people to dig out He Miao's body from the tomb, dismember him and throw it in the garden, sweeping away all the things buried with him.

Zhou Hui, the son of Da Si Nong Zhou Zhong, heard that there was a change in Luoyang, so he came to Luoyang. Dong Zhuo hated him very much and sent troops to rob him and kill him.

At a banquet, a scholar was drunk and spoke frivolously to him. Dong Zhuo was furious. He dragged him down and beat him so hard that he almost died.

The veil of Corporal Dong Zhuolixian was gradually lifted, and his rude and cruel nature was revealed, which surprised the people around him.

It turns out that Dong Zhuo is not a good bird either?

The relaxed atmosphere in Luoyang City gradually tightened as Dong Zhuo's true nature was gradually exposed, and even disappeared forever.

Cao Cao, who lives in Luoyang, clearly felt this atmosphere, and began to regret why he didn't leave with Guo Peng at that time.

Now staying in Luoyang City, Cao Cao felt that his life was in danger at any time.

Especially when Dong Zhuo sent someone to appoint an official to Cao Cao, Cao Cao was a little frightened, for fear that something about him would make Dong Zhuo unhappy.

He was keenly aware that the atmosphere in Luoyang City was not right. For Cao Cao, who had suffered two major political changes in a row, his sense of smell had been honed, and he knew when to leave and when to stay.

He decides to run away.

So Cao Cao changed his name, changed his attire, smeared black charcoal on his face, pretended to be an old man selling charcoal, deceived the guards at the gate of Luoyang, and fled overnight. The family members in Luoyang City fled one after another.

Cao Cao remembered Guo Peng's explanation to him, so as soon as he left Luoyang, he ran along the river towards Qingzhou. He didn't have time to go home and tell his family what happened, so he only sent someone to deliver a letter.

After Cao Cao escaped, Dong Zhuo sent someone to chase him, but they failed to catch up. Cao Cao himself was not a great person, so Dong Zhuo didn't pay much attention.

But this incident made Dong Zhuo a little unhappy, and the political atmosphere in Luoyang City became more tense.

Faced with such a situation, some scholars regretted it, and felt that it was wrong to push Dong Zhuo to the throne and overthrow Yuan Wei.

No matter how selfish Yuan Kai is, he is still a member of our gentry, a member of the Kanto region, and no matter what, it will not harm our fundamental interests.

And what about Dong Zhuo?

The son of the Han family from Kansai Wu, who was born as a frontier general, likes to fight and kill. He is rude and disrespectful, and he doesn't fit in with us.

So they began to have the idea of ​​overthrowing Dong Zhuo and welcoming Yuan Wei back to power.

But don't say they think about it, why doesn't Yuan Wei himself think about it?

Seeing Dong Zhuo's power becoming stronger and more domineering day by day, Yuan Kai became more and more worried, worried, and unwilling.

He thought carefully, reflected on his mistakes, summed up the gains and losses of these days, thought about the correct countermeasures, considered the possibility of various plans, and finally came up with a bold idea.

So on a certain day in November, Yuan Kai called Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu.

"Dong Zhuo was originally just a vicious dog raised by our Yuan family, but now he turned his back on us and stepped on us. This is absolutely unbearable. Losing power for a while does not mean losing forever. We must do something."

Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu immediately looked at Yuan Kai nervously.

"Dong Zhuo holds the military power in his hands, and his cronies have firmly controlled the army. We have already missed the possibility of defeating Dong Zhuo from within Luoyang. The only possibility is to start from the outside."

When Yuan Kui said this, Yuan Shu and Yuan Ji were a little puzzled.

"Uncle, how to start from the outside?"

Yuan Shu hurriedly asked.

"There is a way, but the action must be fast, and Dong Zhuo cannot react."

Yuan Kai said softly: "You immediately go to contact the old officials of our family who can speak in front of Dong Zhuo, check their tone, and see if they regret Dong Zhuo's rude behavior.

If so, unite them and let them speak to Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo has just become Prime Minister, and he should really want to win the hearts of the world and let the world recognize him. Then the best way is to entrust officials.

He even entrusted some officials who did not cooperate with him to show his magnanimity, and asked him to seal all the reliable people to the localities, and then these people formed an alliance to play the banner of crusade against Dong Zhuo.

In this way, Dong Zhuo can be frightened. While he is busy dealing with the outside world, let's respond from the inside, cooperate from inside to outside, and capture Dong Zhuo! "

chapter 202

Knowing that Yuan Kui planned to do such a thing, both Yuan Shu and Yuan Ji disapproved from the beginning.

Yuan Ji was worried that if something happened, Yuan Kai would be in a very dangerous situation.

Yuan Kui waved his hand not to think so.

"I advocate for Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo dare not kill me no matter what. This is the greatest principle in the world. Dong Zhuo has read the book and dare not violate it. If he wants to violate it, he must see if there will be any disaster behind him. He I dare not."

According to the unspoken rules of politics at the end of the Han Dynasty, the obligations of the officials to the master were clear. Based on this, Yuan Kai believed that Dong Zhuo would not dare to kill himself anyway, otherwise he would be extinct from the world.

With Dong Zhuo's level, he would not make such a mistake, otherwise his entire family would be in danger.

Just as Dong Zhuo's seizure of power did not harm the Yuan family, if Yuan Kai regained power, at most Dong Zhuo would be abolished, and Dong Zhuo's entire family would not be wiped out.

Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu agreed with Yuan Kai's words, and immediately felt that this move was very meaningful, so they immediately arranged according to Yuan Wei's ideas.

Yuan Kui also arranged for Yuan Shu to leave Luoyang, hoping that Yuan Shu, as the initiator of the campaign against Dong, would lead the princes from all over the country to march to the capital.

The reason why he didn't choose Yuan Ji was because Yuan Ji was the eldest son, and he had to hold Dong Zhuo together with him. It would not be a problem if he escaped from Yuan Shu. If he escaped from Yuan Ji, Dong Zhuo would be alert immediately.

We must buy time and give everyone time to raise troops.

Later, in a very strange atmosphere, Yuan began to secretly contact the scholars to find out what they said.

This temptation actually got the response of many people.

These people expressed their regrets to Yuan Kai, saying that they were confused by Dong Zhuo, that they didn't see his true face, and so on.

Yuan Kai wanted to get angry very much, but now he needs to win everyone's cooperation, so he pretended to let the past go, and tried to win their secret cooperation.

And in this way, Yuan Kai saw Dong Zhuo's weakness under tyranny and his political lameness. Once he showed his true nature, he would be immediately abandoned by those ambitious people.

Yuan Kui felt that his plan would successfully overthrow Dong Zhuo and regain the glory and power that should have belonged to the Yuan family.

This plan was quietly circulated among the scholars, and soon spread to the ears of the scholars of the Xun family. The family members of the Xun family in the court, Sikong Xunshuang, and Huangmen servant Xunyou all knew about it.

Xun Shuang hesitated, but Xun You firmly opposed it.

"Uncle, isn't such a thing ridiculous?"

"how do I say this?"

Xun Shuang looked at Xun You, who was always known for his intelligence and wisdom.

Xun You said slowly: "Dong Zhuo brought disaster to Luoyang. If you want to get rid of Dong Zhuo, shouldn't you get rid of him in Luoyang? I don't agree with the general recruiting foreign soldiers to deal with eunuchs. This is a move to disrupt the world." , now that the world has finally been stabilized, the Tai Tuo is going to do the same thing as the Great General!"

Xun Shuang thought about it, and felt that what Xun You said made sense.

"go on."

"Recruiting foreign soldiers to Beijing is a risky move. From ancient times to the present, it has never been heard that foreign soldiers were recruited to fight against the capital in order to prevent chaos. Giving foreign governors the power of the prefect is to separate the country. It is easy to give, but difficult to take back. Already got it, who is willing to hand it over?

In the past, Xiao Huan relied on a group of eunuchs in order to regain power and destroy Liang Ji. It will be pacified.

Now only one assassin is needed to assassinate Dong Zhuo, and the big thing can be settled, but the Tai Tuo wants to recruit foreign soldiers to jointly attack Luoyang. "

Xun You spoke very seriously. Although Xun Shuang thought it was reasonable, he was very worried about Xun You's plan and didn't quite agree with it.

"Xiao Huan killed Liang Ji because of his righteousness and reputation, and the right time and place for people and conditions. The assassination was originally a great accident. If it failed, Dong Zhuo would pursue him, and he didn't know how many people would die. It's too risky."

Xun You hurriedly said: "No matter how adventurous Dong Zhuo is, no matter how angry Dong Zhuo is, it will only disrupt the capital and Luoyang, and will not disrupt the world. However, if the Taifu wants the world to raise troops, the world will be bustling with soldiers and disasters. It is easy to rise but difficult to destroy. From then on, there will be chaos and no stability!"

Xun Shuang thought about it again and again, but still shook his head.

"Since Tai Tuo has such an idea, he must have the means to deal with the aftermath. He can command the soldiers and horses to attack Dong Zhuo and prevent the army from causing chaos."

"Won't there be a second, third, or even fourth Dong Zhuo?"

Xun You asked back, but Xun Shuang was speechless.

But Xun Shuang did not adopt Xun You's suggestion after all, but echoed Yuan Wei's suggestion.

Xun You sighed and stopped talking.

Xun You's uncle, Xun Yu, was also serving in the court at this time, and he quite agreed with Xun You's opinion, but Xun Shuang had made up his mind, and Xun Yu had nothing to do.

Think again about the great general He Jin recruiting foreign soldiers into the capital, which caused chaos in the capital. Now that the capital has been stabilized with great difficulty, Yuan Kai is about to make trouble again.

Xun Yu had a premonition that a big disaster was coming, and he wanted to leave Luoyang as soon as possible, and seek refuge in a safe place.

Yuan Kui's plan was approved by most people.

So from a certain day, close scholars kept suggesting to Dong Zhuo in Dong Zhuo's ear, saying that Dong Zhuo had just ascended to the position of prime minister, and that he should show his virtuousness to the whole world, so that the world would obey.

Dong Zhuo was worried about this, so he asked them what they should do.

These ambitious people with ulterior motives suggested to Dong Zhuo that famous people with high reputation in the court should be entrusted to serve as officials in various places.

Because many officials from the eunuch group fled in various places before, and there were many vacant official positions. It is impossible to govern the place without officials.

Therefore, at this time, celebrities should be appointed as chief officials in places where there are no chief officials, so that the world can be stabilized and Dong Xiangguo's prestige can be spread to the ends of the world.

Dong Zhuo was dizzy from repeated bombings, and felt that it was right to do so, so he assumed a wise posture with a sense of superiority, and awarded a large number of celebrities as officials.

For example, Han Fu was granted the title of Shepherd of Jizhou, Liu Dai was given the title of Inspector of Yanzhou, Kong Ni was given the title of Inspector of Yuzhou, Zhang Zi was given the title of Prefect of Nanyang, Kong Rong, who had repeatedly contradicted him, was given the title of Prefect of Runan, Ying Shao was given the title of Prefect of Taishan, and Zhang Zi was given the title of Governor of Nanyang. Miao was the prefect of Chenliu, and Xun Yu was granted the title of county magistrate of Kangfu.

At the same time, under the repeated suggestions of the four closest confidants—He Yong, Zheng Tai, Zhou Wei, and Wu Qiong, Dong Zhuo, as the supreme ruler, must show his bearing and demeanor as a ruler, so that the world can return to his heart.

So Dong Zhuo, with a good sense of self, forgave Yuan Shao's escape as a charity, and knowing that he was in Jizhou, he made him the prefect of Bohai as a reconciliation.

He also worshiped Bao Xin, the former general of the general, as the prime minister of Jibei, and Wang Kuang as the prefect of Hanoi, to show reconciliation with them.

When Guo Peng, the governor of Qingzhou, claimed that he had defeated [-] Yellow Turbans and asked for rewards for his subordinates, Dong Zhuo made the decision to change Guo Peng, the left general of the governor of Qingzhou, to the pastor of Qingzhou.

These appointments are all written on Dong Zhuo's table, they are officials, and they are written clearly.

Dong Zhuo felt that this was enough to demonstrate his "magnanimity", so these people would definitely regard him as their benefactor, be grateful to him, and sincerely agree with his rule.

Then Dong Zhuo began to enjoy his honor as the number one minister in the world, entering and leaving the palace at will, appointing and dismissing officials at will, promoting those who liked him, and demoting those who didn't.

He thought that the situation had stabilized, but he never thought that a strong political and military storm was brewing.

This storm intensified, and intensified, until the world was bustling, and it was no longer stable, nor would it stop.

chapter 203