Chapter 196

Chapter 196

Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne? Volume 6: The Two Provinces Stand Firm, the Silk Road Reopens Chapter 196: The Desire to Conquer Shanggui

But regardless of whether Li Jue can win, at least for the current situation, he has successfully replaced Dong Zhuo and become the top figure in Chang’an.

From the perspective of following the Emperor’s edict and making decisions for Dong Zhuo, his subordinates have gathered around him, allowing him to change his previous subservient way of speaking in front of Dong Zhuo.

The only unpleasantness for him was probably when he left the main hall of Weiyang Palace and heard Dong Zhuo ask in a still calm tone, “Are you talking about Jia Wenhe or yourself when you say I can’t use the talented person from Liangzhou?”

Li Jue paused.

Dong Zhuo’s tone, not angry at his subordinate’s betrayal, couldn’t help but remind him of the past.

In the past, Dong Zhuo also maintained this state in times of crisis.

But when he looked back, what he saw was clearly an old man who had lost his edge.

“Prime Minister, there’s no need to sow discord now. Just rest here.”

With that, Li Jue immediately left.

This shadow-like illusion when facing Dong Zhuo made him feel uneasy even though he was in the position of the winner.

If he could eliminate Dong Zhuo now, he would do so without hesitation.

Unfortunately…

Unfortunately, it’s not possible yet!

Fortunately, after leaving the main hall, Dong Zhuo no longer needed to appear in front of him, and he only needed to guard against him strictly.

This hidden cloud was lifted again.

He walked towards Wang Yun outside the hall and said, “Thank you, Master Wang, for obtaining this blood letter from His Majesty. Today’s success owes much to this.”

Li Jue had never been more aware of the benefits of holding the name of righteousness than today, and he also understood what it meant to have a few “reliable” civil officials.

How Wang Yun convinced Liu Xie to issue this edict was unimportant; what mattered was that it allowed him to win.

It was said that a famous scholar who was good at evaluating people once praised Wang Yun as having the talent to assist a king.

Li Jue now found Wang Yun more and more pleasing to the eye, feeling that this might be a good sign.

Talent to assist a king, what a talent!

Of course, the more important credit lay with Jia Xu.

If it weren’t for Jia Xu’s grand strategy, Li Jue felt he might have chosen to directly gather his subordinates to fight Dong Zhuo, but that would have resulted in too great a loss.

But he couldn’t help but feel that when he looked at Jia Xu, he saw him glance back at the main hall of Weiyang Palace, as if regretting his decision.

Even though Jia Xu’s expression returned to its usual calm demeanor, Li Jue couldn’t help but feel a bit of wariness.

He couldn’t let Jia Xu regret it!

The power grab had already been done; there was no turning back!

Although Wang Yun was currently cooperating with him, Li Jue felt that the people from Liangzhou were more reliable.

He coughed lightly and asked Wang Yun, “I will first go to see His Majesty and request that he move to the main hall of Weiyang Palace, allowing the Prime Minister to change his residence.”

Although not everyone would know about this, Li Jue still had to show some of his attitude.

He also intended to remind Jia Xu that since he was committed to revitalizing his family, he shouldn’t still be thinking about Dong Zhuo.

Dong Zhuo was now in a state where he couldn’t even decide where to live, and he certainly couldn’t help Jia Xu rebuild his family’s glory.

After saying this, Li Jue didn’t look at Jia Xu’s reaction, nor did he think that this audience needed anyone’s approval. He simply walked towards the side hall, pushed the door open, and entered.

This action was just like his previous attempt to find a sense of superiority from the young emperor.

But compared to last time, Liu Xie’s attitude towards him showed a bit more trust.

In Li Jue’s view, it was clear that Liu Xie also knew who could truly save him from his plight.

The young emperor, no longer wary, looked at him eagerly and asked, “Minister Li, may I ask when…”

“Your Majesty, please move first,” Li Jue interrupted.

He couldn’t let Liu Xie say anything about when to kill Dong Zhuo.

That would be all harm and no benefit for Li Jue.

Fortunately, Liu Xie, having been controlled by Dong Zhuo for so long, didn’t say more and immediately followed Li Jue out.

But after a few steps, he heard Jia Xu call out, “Wait.”

Jia Xu stepped forward, tore a piece of cloth from Liu Xie’s robe, and wrapped it around his arm until it looked very thick, then stopped.

Facing Li Jue’s gaze, Jia Xu replied, “To show an attitude to the outside.”

Li Jue suddenly understood.

Among those who came with him today, not all were his close associates.

To quickly take control of Chang’an, he had brought many people he had won over for various reasons.

Those still loyal to Dong Zhuo needed to see that Dong Zhuo was only under house arrest and hadn’t been killed by him.

Those who had turned to him for the Emperor’s sake wanted to see the Emperor rescued from Dong Zhuo’s grasp.

So, the more miserable Liu Xie looked, the better.

But of course, the blood letter he wrote to Li Jue wasn’t written with his own blood. Dong Zhuo also knew that he couldn’t drain the Emperor dry and hadn’t mistreated him in terms of food and drink.

So, they had to fake it.

Jia Xu’s actions made Li Jue withdraw his suspicion that Jia Xu might still be loyal to Dong Zhuo.

Therefore, Li Jue continued to follow Jia Xu’s next few suggestions.

The first was that Li Jue wanted to take the position of Grand General and command the military, but he could only keep the edict in hand for now.

The urgent task was to ensure that no Dong Zhuo’s subordinates in Chang’an would try to rescue him or inform Duan Wei of his current situation.

The second was to order Duan Wei to send his subordinates to investigate the situation in Liangzhou.

“Why not have him return to Chang’an to report?”

Duan Wei was Dong Zhuo’s loyal follower and was very skilled in military affairs. Li Jue thought it would be better to have him return to Chang’an under the pretext of needing to deploy troops and then capture him.

Whether it was to find a charge of rebellion to kill him or to put him under house arrest, eliminating the threat was the right path.

Jia Xu gave Li Jue a look that seemed to say more than words could.

Li Jue: “…”

He might have understood Jia Xu’s subtext.

Although he was confident in his ability to defeat Dong Zhuo, when it came to commanding troops, he definitely couldn’t defeat Qiao Yan.

At this time, it was fine to have Dong Zhuo’s power fall into his hands, but if he really captured Duan Wei and lost another ally, he might not have the chance to counterattack.

He might be able to compete with Duan Wei, but his brothers and nephews were far from it.

Jia Xu’s unspoken words were left for Li Jue to ponder.

He just…








He continued, “The autumn harvest is not far off, and the Guanzhong Plain yields earlier than Liangzhou. It’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Deploying Duan Wei at this time would only raise suspicions, but scouting the enemy’s situation is just common sense.”

“Qiao Yan has returned to Liangzhou, and no one can guarantee she won’t choose to preemptively attack Sanfu. Even the Prime Minister, in this position, would issue an order for General Duan to go and investigate.”

If he hadn’t said this, it would have been fine, but mentioning that the Prime Minister would make such a choice made Li Jue quickly reply, “We’ll follow your advice.”

He couldn’t admit that he was less wise than Dong Zhuo!

At most, just before sending this order to Maiwu, he sought the opinion of a certain “Talent to Assist a King.”

For Wang Yun, Duan Wei being in a state where he could act freely clearly aligned more with his hope for infighting among Dong Zhuo’s generals, so he also played along, further solidifying Li Jue’s resolve.

Thus, the edict ordering him to carefully spy on the military deployment in Hanyang, Liangzhou, quickly reached Duan Wei’s hands.

Duan Wei, without suspicion, immediately sent out scouts.

As Qiao Yan’s power in the various commanderies of Liangzhou grew, Dong Zhuo’s remaining spies in Liangzhou could only report major events happening within Liangzhou.

For example, when the Governor of Bingzhou was in Liangzhou, and when he was in Bingzhou, as well as the shifts in power within the province.

But they dared not rashly investigate the situation at the border between Liangzhou and Sanfu.

Since Qiao Yan hosted a banquet for the noble families and powerful clans of Liangzhou at the beginning of this year, these spies and informants have been living in fear.

It’s not their fault for not daring to act rashly.

So they could only leave it to the scouts.

But what surprised Duan Wei was that, according to the scouts’ reports, the forces stationed at Shanggui, a key point on Longshang, were not Qiao Yan’s troops.

On the surface, the army’s attire hadn’t changed at all, but Duan Wei’s scouts were sharp-eyed and clearly saw the difference in the quality of these troops.

They were too lax…

Given Qiao Yan’s track record, such a low-level mistake wouldn’t be something she would make.

This is not a normal sign.

Duan Wei, on one hand, increased the military presence along the Wei River, and on the other, sent this news to Chang’an.

Li Jue also immediately summoned Jia Xu, Fan Chou, Yan Xing, and others to discuss.

Jia Xu pondered the meaning behind Qiao Yan’s move and, upon meeting Li Jue’s inquisitive gaze, replied, “There are several possibilities. One is that she wants to change the direction of her attack on Chang’an, withdrawing troops from Shanggui to focus on attacking Gaoling from Anding Commandery and Beidi Commandery.”

“Another is that she is preparing for an early attack, first withdrawing troops to assist with the autumn harvest, then attacking early.”

“Another possibility is that she has had a falling out with the Prefect of Hanyang and the powerful clans of Hanyang, leading to disagreements in troop deployment.”

“There’s also the least likely possibility that she is setting up a trap for us to fall into.”

Li Jue asked, “Why is that?”

Jia Xu responded with silence.

Thinking that if this was still something he shouldn’t say out loud, it’s not hard to guess.

Because this is an accusation against Dong Zhuo.

His loss of fighting spirit might not just be something Li Jue could see.

Fan Chou being able to be won over by him might not be unrelated to this reason, and Duan Wei should also be aware.

Then, what about Qiao Yan?

From her attack on Liangzhou in April last year to July this year, over a year, Dong Zhuo had several opportunities to send troops to Liangzhou, but he gave up all these opportunities, allowing Qiao Yan to grow powerful in Liangzhou.

Dong Zhuo’s cowardly stance might have been presented to this opponent.

At the time when better opportunities to send troops were given up by Dong Zhuo, how could she be sure that Dong Zhuo would choose to send troops now?

Rather than wasting manpower on a trap that is most likely useless, it’s better to hold the line normally while quickly preparing for active combat.

Jia Xu continued, “So attacking Liangzhou is feasible. But at the same time, we must also guard Gaoling and Huayin to prepare for the first possibility.”

“Naturally,” Li Jue replied.

He himself is from Ni Yang in Beidi, familiar with the terrain from Ni River to Jing River, and those responsible for guarding this area, Li Xian and Li Li, naturally know it too.

With the support of the Chang’an reserve army, it wouldn’t be easy for Qiao Yan to take this path.

Li Jue still has some confidence in this.

After Jia Xu’s analysis, Li Jue’s thoughts have completely drifted to the possibility of attacking Shanggui.

Excluding the least likely last possibility, he can act on the other possibilities.

Jia Xu said that plans must change with the situation, and now the most favorable situation is undoubtedly—

Sending troops to Hanyang, establishing a base in Liangzhou!

Thinking of the possibility of returning to Liangzhou in a few days, Li Jue couldn’t contain his excitement and paced back and forth in the room.

But he suddenly stopped and asked Jia Xu, “Who do you think should be the main general for this attack on Shanggui?”

Li Jue himself cannot move.

He needs to guard against Dong Zhuo’s actions and ensure he holds the young emperor in Chang’an.

He wouldn’t feel at ease leaving it to anyone else.

But if Duan Wei were to act, handing over such a seemingly highly successful mission that could disrupt Qiao Yan’s plans, Li Jue feels he would be unwilling no matter what!

This should be his merit!

In the side hall of Weiyang Palace, Dong Zhuo, who had been imprisoned for several days, looked at the person delivering his meal and asked, “Is this all he gives me to eat?”

He also looked at the food box in the other’s hand.

As Chang’an is about to welcome the autumn harvest and has purchased some food from Shu, food is not lacking for the upper officials and generals of Chang’an.

Even more so for Dong Zhuo.

A few days ago, Li Jue still provided him with meals no different from before, but upon hearing the cost of these meals, Li Jue ordered the meals to be downgraded to the level of palace servants.

After clearing out Dong Zhuo’s followers in the Chang’an garrison who opposed his usurpation, he became even more reckless.

Although he still had no plans to act against Dong Zhuo, his treatment of Dong Zhuo worsened.

The Han dynasty’s royal family and high officials could eat beef, and Dong Zhuo naturally had no restrictions after monopolizing court politics and power.

However, what was placed before Dong Zhuo now was a piece of rotten beef bone.

Whether Li Jue thought this was enough for Dong Zhuo or was implying that Dong Zhuo was like this rotten bone and spoiled meat, only Li Jue could answer when he appeared before Dong Zhuo.

But the humiliating intent in this action was truly directed at Dong Zhuo’s face.

Dong Zhuo’s face was as calm as water.

But the person delivering the meal did not see, as Dong Zhuo did not get a reply and flipped over the food in front of him, a glimmer of clarity flashed through his lowered eyes.

Anger? He wouldn’t be angered by Li Jue!

This traitor’s current arrogance not only didn’t make him burn with rage but instead gave him a sense of urgency, reminiscent of his near-death experiences in the past.

So what if Li Jue gloats for a couple of days?

Dong Zhuo sneered in his heart.

When he was galloping across Liangzhou and making friends with the powerful, Li Jue was still playing with mud in Ni Yang!