“Can a strategist not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 196: The Desire to Attack Shanggui…
No matter if Li Jue can win, at least for now, he has successfully replaced Dong Zhuo and taken the lead in Chang’an.
His subordinates, convinced by the edict of the Son of Heaven and his decisions on Dong Zhuo’s behalf, gathered around him, allowing him to speak with a newfound authority, unlike his previous obsequiousness.
The only unpleasantness for him was when he left the Weiyang Palace and heard Dong Zhuo’s calm voice behind him asking, “What you’re referring to as the talent of the exceptional genius from Liangzhou, are you talking about Jia Xu or yourself?”
Li Jue paused his steps.
Dong Zhuo’s tone, free from anger despite the betrayal of his subordinates, alarmingly reminded him of the past.
Back in the day, Dong Zhuo maintained this very demeanor in dire circumstances.
But when he looked back, he saw merely an “old man” in his twilight years, devoid of his former sharpness.
“There’s no need for the Chancellor to stir up trouble at this moment. You should rest well here,” Li Jue said before sweeping away.
This looming shadow of Dong Zhuo always made him feel uneasy, even while standing as the victor.
If he could eliminate Dong Zhuo right now, he wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.
Unfortunately…
Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible!
Fortunately, once he left the grand hall, Dong Zhuo wouldn’t need to show his face again. He just had to keep a close watch on him.
That layer of concealed tension was lifted.
He approached Wang Yun outside the hall and said, “Thank you, Master Zishi, for obtaining this blood edict from His Majesty. Today’s success relies heavily on this.”
Li Jue had never been more aware of the benefits of wielding a name of great righteousness or understanding the value of having a few “reliable” civil officials at his disposal.
It didn’t matter how Wang Yun convinced Liu Xie to issue the edict; what mattered was that he could count on it for victory.
He had heard esteemed scholars once praise Wang Yun as having the talent to assist a king.
Li Jue found Wang Yun increasingly agreeable and thought it might not be such a bad sign after all.
The talent to assist a king—what a great compliment!
Of course, the more crucial contributions lay on Jia Xu’s shoulders.
If it weren’t for Jia Xu’s broad strategy, Li Jue feared he might’ve directly led his subordinates into open conflict with Dong Zhuo, which would have resulted in catastrophic losses.
But to his discomfort, when he glanced at Jia Xu, he saw him steal a look back toward the Weiyang Palace, seemingly regretting the decision he had just made.
Even though Jia Xu returned to his unruffled demeanor, Li Jue couldn’t shake a sense of caution.
He couldn’t let Jia Xu regret anything!
Now that the power grab was set in motion, there was no turning back!
Despite having formed a cooperative stance with Wang Yun, Li Jue felt that the Liangzhou man was more trustworthy.
Clearing his throat, he addressed Wang Yun, “I’ll go to meet His Majesty now and request him to move to the main hall of Weiyang Palace, so the Chancellor can have a change of residence.”
Although not everyone would be aware of this, Li Jue intended to show his attitude.
He also wanted to remind Jia Xu that with the revival of their family as his goal, he shouldn’t be thinking about Dong Zhuo at this time.
Dong Zhuo was currently in a state where even his residence was no longer his choice, and he couldn’t assist Jia Xu in restoring the family’s glory.
Li Jue finished his sentence without looking back at Jia Xu’s reaction or thinking he needed anyone’s blessing for the meeting, and he walked straight toward the side hall, pushing the door open.
This action mirrored his earlier attempts to find a sense of superiority through the young Emperor.
However, compared to last time, Liu Xie’s attitude towards him was now tinged with a bit of trust.
To Li Jue’s eyes, it was clear Liu Xie knew exactly who could help him escape his torments.
The young Son of Heaven looked at him with keen expectation, asking, “Lord Li, may I ask when…”
“Please, Your Majesty, just step aside first,” Li Jue interrupted.
He couldn’t let Liu Xie utter any words suggesting the assassination of Dong Zhuo.
That would only spell disaster for Li Jue.
Fortunately, Liu Xie had probably been under Dong Zhuo’s thumb for too long and didn’t press further as he began to follow Li Jue outside.
But after a few steps, he suddenly heard Jia Xu call out, “Wait!”
Jia Xu approached and tore a piece of fabric from Liu Xie’s garment, wrapping it tightly around his arm until it looked overstuffed, then stopped.
Meeting Li Jue’s gaze, Jia Xu replied, “It’s to show a stance outside.”
Li Jue realized what was happening.
Among those who accompanied him today, there were not just his trusted aides.
To help him quickly take control of Chang’an, he had brought along two groups of people with different reasons.
Those still loyal to Dong Zhuo needed to see that Dong Zhuo was merely under house arrest and not killed by him.
And those who had switched sides for the Emperor wanted to see their Sovereign rescued from Dong Zhuo’s grasp.
Thus, the more wounded Liu Xie appeared now, the better.
But he had to remember, the blood edict he wrote to Li Jue was certainly not made with his own blood. Dong Zhuo also knew not to drain dry the young Emperor and had never been harsh with his food.
So, some faking had to be done.
Jia Xu’s actions cleared Li Jue of any lingering suspicions that he might still have bonds with Dong Zhuo.
Thus, Li Jue continued to follow Jia Xu’s subsequent suggestions without hesitation.
The first was that while Li Jue wanted the title of Grand General and command of the military, he should first hold onto the edict.
The immediate concern was ensuring that there were no of Dong Zhuo’s loyal officers in Chang’an attempting to rescue him or conveying current events to Duan Wei.
The second was to have Duan Wei dispatch officers to assess the situation in Liangzhou.
“Why not let them return to Chang’an to report?”
Duan Wei was a staunch follower of Dong Zhuo, a skilled military commander, and Li Jue thought it seemed better to let him return under the pretext of needing military redeployment rather than let him remain alive to cause trouble.
Whether by trumping up charges of rebellion to eliminate him or simply putting him under house arrest, avoiding future trouble was the right way to go.
Jia Xu gave Li Jue a look that suggested he had something more to say.
Li Jue: “…”
He might have understood Jia Xu’s unsaid words.
Although he confidently proclaimed he’d seize victory over Dong Zhuo, he knew full well that relying solely on himself to command troops would never win against Qiao Yan.
In moments like this, letting Dong Zhuo’s power slide under his grasp was one thing; outright capturing Duan Wei could strip away another helping hand he truly needed.
He himself might hold his ground against Duan Wei, but his brothers and nephews would surely pale in comparison.
Jia Xu’s unspoken advice was kept for Li Jue to ponder on.
He merely…
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“The autumn harvest is just around the corner, and the Guanzhong plain reaps earlier than Liangzhou. It’s better to avoid extra troubles, so sending Duan Wei now might raise suspicions. But scouting the enemy is standard practice.”
“Qiao Yan has already returned to Liangzhou. No one can guarantee that she won’t rush to attack Sanfu first. Even the Prime Minister would order General Duan to scout in this situation.”
It would have been fine if he hadn’t said that, but as soon as he mentioned the Prime Minister making such choices, Li Jue promptly replied, “Let’s follow your advice.”
He couldn’t admit that he was less clever than Dong Zhuo!
At most, just before he delivered this order to Maiwu, he sought the opinion of a certain “Talent to Assist a King.”
For Wang Yun, Duan Wei was still free to act, clearly aligning with his desire to see Dong Zhuo’s subordinates in-fighting, and so he sweet-talked Li Jue, further strengthening his resolve.
Thus, the order for him to carefully monitor the troop movements in Liangzhou quickly reached Duan Wei.
Duan Wei had no suspicions; he immediately dispatched scouts.
As Qiao Yan’s influence grew in the various counties of Liangzhou, the spies that Dong Zhuo left there could only report major happenings within Liangzhou.
Like when the Bingzhou governor was in Liangzhou, or back in Bingzhou, and the political shifts within the region.
But they dared not investigate the situation along the border between Liangzhou and Sanfu.
Since Qiao Yan hosted the powerful families of Liangzhou earlier this year, those spies became increasingly jittery.
You couldn’t blame them for being afraid to act recklessly.
So they had to leave it to the scouts.
However, Duan Wei was surprised to learn from the scouts that the troops stationed at Shanggui, a strategic location in Longshan, were surprisingly not Qiao Yan’s people.
On the surface, the army’s uniforms hadn’t changed at all, but the sharp-eyed scouts under Duan Wei clearly identified a difference in troop quality.
They seemed far too lax…
Given Qiao Yan’s track record, such a rookie mistake would certainly not be something she would commit.
This was not an ordinary omen.
Duan Wei reinforced the troops along the Wei River while relaying the news to Chang’an.
Li Jue immediately convened Jia Xu, Fan Chou, Yan Xing, and others to discuss.
Jia Xu pondered Qiao Yan’s intentions and replied as he met Li Jue’s inquisitive gaze, “There are a few possibilities. One is she wants to change the direction of her attack on Chang’an, pulling troops from Shanggui to focus all forces on attacking Gaoling from Anding Commandery.”
“Another is that to prepare for an early attack, she’s reallocating guards to assist with the autumn harvest, then launching an advance.”
“Another possibility is that she’s at odds with the Prefect of Hanyang and the local families in Hanyang, causing disagreements in troop deployment.”
“And there’s a chance she’s laying a trap, hoping we’ll walk right into it, but that’s the least likely.”
Li Jue asked, “Why is that?”
Jia Xu remained silent in response.
If this was a comment that he shouldn’t say, it was still easy to guess.
Because it was an accusation against Dong Zhuo.
His loss of fighting spirit may have been evident to more than just Li Jue.
That Fan Chou could be swayed might not be unrelated to this either, and Duan Wei should also have an inkling.
So, what about Qiao Yan?
Since she initiated her attack on Liangzhou last April and continuing into July this year, there were numerous opportunities for Dong Zhuo to send troops, but he let them slip, letting Qiao Yan consolidate power in Liangzhou.
Dong Zhuo’s cowardly demeanor must have shown against this opponent.
With Dong Zhuo passing on those better opportunities for troop deployments, how could she be sure Dong Zhuo would decide to act now?
Rather than waste manpower on a highly unlikely trap, it would be better to fortify normally while quickly reorganizing their military for active combat.
Jia Xu continued, “Thus attacking Liangzhou is indeed feasible. However, we must also hold Gaoling and Huayin well to guard against the first possibility.”
“Naturally,” Li Jue replied.
He himself was from Niyang in the North and knew the land between the muddy water and the Jing River well. Li Xian and Li Li, charged with defending the area, understood it too.
With the reserve troops in Chang’an as support, if Qiao Yan aimed to take this route, it wouldn’t be easy.
Li Jue felt somewhat confident about that.
After Jia Xu’s analysis, his thoughts had drifted completely to the possibility of attacking Shanggui.
Eliminating that least likely scenario, he could act on any of the others.
Jia Xu had mentioned that plans should adapt to circumstances, and right now the most favorable situation was undoubtedly—
To deploy troops to Hanyang and establish a foothold in Liangzhou!
Thinking of the near possibility of returning to Liangzhou, Li Jue found it hard to contain his excitement and started pacing the room.
But suddenly, he stopped and asked Jia Xu, “Who do you think should take the lead in this attack on Shanggui?”
Li Jue himself could not act.
He needed to be wary of Dong Zhuo’s movements and ensure he maintained control over the young emperor in Chang’an.
He felt uneasy handing over command to anyone after he left.
But if he let Duan Wei take action, this seemingly high-probability endeavor that could disrupt Qiao Yan’s plans would be in his hands, and Li Jue could hardly stomach that!
This ought to be his achievement!
Meanwhile, in the side hall of Weiyang Palace, Dong Zhuo, imprisoned for several days, glanced at the person bringing him food and asked, “Is this all I’m getting?”
He was also looking at the food box in the person’s hand.
As Chang’an was about to usher in the autumn harvest and had procured some grain from Shu, food was definitely not lacking for the upper officials and generals in Chang’an.
And even less so for Dong Zhuo.
A few days ago, Li Jue had still pretended to provide him with the same meals as before, but after hearing about the costs of those meals, Li Jue ordered the foods to be downgraded to what was fit for the palace servants.
After clearing out those guards in Chang’an who had opposed his usurpation, he grew more brazen.
Although he still didn’t intend to put a hand on Dong Zhuo, his treatment of Dong Zhuo had definitely worsened.
In the Han dynasty, the royal family and officials could eat beef, so naturally, Dong Zhuo, having seized power, had no issue with that.
Yet now, what lay before Dong Zhuo was a rotten cow bone.
This raised the question of whether Li Jue thought this was sufficient for Dong Zhuo or if he intended to imply that Dong Zhuo was no better than this rotten flesh; only when Li Jue appeared before Dong Zhuo might he provide that answer.
But this act of humiliation was clearly directed right at Dong Zhuo’s face.
Dong Zhuo’s face darkened like water.
Yet the food bearer hadn’t noticed, and after receiving no response from Dong Zhuo, he flipped the food over, revealing a glimmer of clarity in his lowered gaze.
Anger? He wouldn’t let Li Jue rile him!
This traitor’s current smugness not only failed to provoke Dong Zhuo into a rage but invoked a sense of urgency that reminded him of those past perilous moments.
So what if Li Jue was smug for a couple of days?
Dong Zhuo coldly chuckled in his heart.
Back when he was forging alliances in Liangzhou, Li Jue was merely playing in the mud in Niyang!
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