Volume 1 I Want to Be an Emperor Chapter 29 Keep Wen Ruo Behind!

  This seemingly casual map, if seen by ordinary people, would only be taken as a random scribble drawn by the emperor on a whim. However, Xun Yu took one glance and saw that although there were many discrepancies in the details, the overall map depicted the entire realm of the Han Dynasty and many surrounding areas.

  What Xun Yu couldn't understand was that the map also marked out huge islands in the ocean, which were not much smaller than many states and counties.

  "Isn't it just an impromptu idea, done on a whim?"

  He didn't know, of course, that Liu Xuan's casual gesture had drawn out the map of East Asia, but he was from a later era after all, and his memory wouldn't be that accurate either, with many differences from the current situation.

  Xun Yu was initially skeptical, but the more he looked at it, the more he felt that this new emperor's painting contained many meanings.

  Just like Liu Xuan's casual remark, isn't the place where the emperor resides today exactly what he said? And the emperor's previous words about the vassals standing in rows also made Xun Yu raise his evaluation of the young emperor by a few more points.

  "Your Majesty, although young in years, has a sharp gaze and a clear mind, and yet you have discerned that the world today is already in great disorder! This so-called game of yours, isn't it actually a test for me?"

  Generally speaking, only those who have grasped power and influence will take the initiative to ask about major trends in the world. This also means that as long as your answer can satisfy them, it is almost certain that you will be heavily relied upon afterwards.

  Xun Yu was appointed as a Filial and Incorrupt official and entered the palace to serve as the Commander of the Imperial Guard. He never expected that his talents would be recognized by the Emperor, who then repeatedly promoted him in court. Xun Yu exerted himself to repay the Emperor's kindness, supporting the crumbling Han dynasty and helping to revive it, ultimately becoming a famous minister whose name was revered for centuries.

  It's just that the school came too suddenly, and Liu Xuan's expression couldn't tell whether it was this meaning or not. Xun Yu observed for a moment, and finally tried to ask: "I don't know how many routes of vassals are on this map?"

  Liu Xuan smiled, knowing that Xun Yu was willing to continue 'playing' with him. If he wasn't interested or couldn't see the true meaning of this map, then he wouldn't have asked about it specifically.

  After some thought, he picked up his pen and added a few more strokes to the map: "That's it!"

  Xun Yu approached closer, took a close look, and saw that the map was densely covered with circles and frames everywhere. Liu Xuan didn't say which family each of these vassals belonged to, but Xun Yu's heart tightened, and he even broke out in cold sweat - as someone who excelled in learning and was extremely skilled in strategy, even without a map showing the overall situation of the world, he had a general idea in his mind.

  What shocked him the most was that Liu Xuan's seemingly casual strokes, each one could find a person with a matching name in his mind, if this action of the emperor was intentional, then this new ruler's vision is far-reaching, and few people in the world can match.

  "Is it Heaven's will that the Han dynasty be revived, and so deliberately used Dong Zhuo to support this new ruler in taking control of the world?"

  There was a slight strange feeling in his heart, and he pointed to the northwest on the map and asked, "Why is this place divided into so many?"

  In fact, the map drawn by Liu Xuan is divided into blocks according to the forces, and it's hard to see who belongs to which family. The boundaries between different families are very clear-cut.

  This inquiry is obviously a deliberate test of Liu Xuan in view of today's situation.

  A lord chooses his vassals, and vassals also choose their lord!

  Liu Xuan knew that if his answer couldn't satisfy this Mr. Xun Wenruo, he might as well forget about hearing any more valuable insights from him. Moreover, it was highly likely that after a period of time, he would once again abandon his official position just like in the original 'history' - as for what choices Xun Wenruo would make afterwards without Cao Cao and other such lords, that wasn't something he needed to consider.

  However, in response to Xun Yu's question, Liu Xuan didn't even bother to answer and just smiled mysteriously: "If the words are clear in your heart, why ask again?"

  This answer sounds a bit unpleasant, but Xun Yu was very satisfied with it.

  Liu Xuan's answer, although saying nothing, actually clearly revealed the new emperor's next plan to him.

  Dong Zhuo's power is great, occupying the northwest region, adjacent to Chang'an. However, such a vast area must be governed by his subordinates, while he himself is in Luoyang, and in fact, there is an invisible disconnection between him and his own power.

  For the time being, nothing can be seen, but as time goes on, his subordinates will inevitably have some different thoughts in their hearts. At that time, whether they will still follow Dong Zhuo's orders is completely uncertain.

  In Xun Yu's mind, as long as Dong Zhuo did not leave Luoyang for a day, his control over the northwest armies would be weaker by the day. Until finally, all the troops in the northwest would no longer be under Dong Zhuo's command - if someone secretly manipulated things, this process would be even faster.

  Without the support of the northwest armies, Dong Zhuo could only rely on these soldiers and horses he brought to Luoyang - although they were a headache, they were not incapable of dealing with them. To say nothing of others, Lü Bu, who had turned against Ding Yuan, would be able to turn against Dong Zhuo as well, it was just a matter of needing greater benefits to move him.

  Cao Cao had the Imperial Guard at his disposal, with the Feathered Forest and Tiger Warriors, enough to counterbalance Dong Zhuo's forces. Then, with a thunderbolt-like momentum, he would strike down the primary culprits, causing their troops to fall into disarray. After that, all that remained was to clean up the remnants.

  It was just a blink of an eye, and Xun Yu had already come up with a whole set of plans and arrangements in his mind. However, he thought that this arrangement was something Liu Xuan had long since decided on, and he had simply guessed it. He was secretly impressed at the same time as being shocked.

  "This new emperor has quietly made all the preparations!"

  Cao Cao's close relationship with the new emperor was something he had long been aware of. His clansman and nephew, Huangmen Shilang Xun Yu, due to his position, was most likely to know about these matters, and he had already secretly spoken to him about this.

  It was precisely because of this news that Xun Yu could make such an inference.

  However, he did not know that although he had guessed a lot, he was still far from Liu Xuan's true plan.

  "Let's talk about it first, with the strength of these vassals on this road, how can they dominate the world?"

  Liu Xuan compared himself to a vassal lord, and Xun Yu also somewhat agreed with him - although Liu Xuan was the Son of Heaven, the various vassals under heaven did not obey his commands, and could not be mobilized, so the actual power that the Son of Heaven could wield was truly not much greater than that of a single vassal lord.

  So, what Liu Xuan needs to ask himself is not how to deal with Dong Zhuo and the like, but rather how to regain control of the world afterwards.

  "This is exactly what I'm good at!"

  Xun Yu concentrated on the map for a while, but found that among these vassals, if they really wanted to follow the way of the vassals and gradually conquer the country, it was indeed too difficult.

  Because of being in a place of four battles, up and down, left and right are all connected with one or several vassals. Unfortunately, his own strength is limited, if he attacks on one side, the other three sides will inevitably be attacked by others.

  It wasn't until then that Xun Yu realized the danger the Emperor was in, far more perilous than he had initially thought - if all the vassals were to harbor treasonous intentions, the imperial court would likely collapse in an instant.

  Of course, this is the worst case scenario. Slightly better would be that all the vassals regard the imperial court as nothing, and then they will continuously wage war against each other. At that time, the imperial court will still have enough power to defend itself, but it will not have the strength to send troops to quell the unrest, and can only watch with open eyes as the vassals swallow each other up until they become strong enough that even the imperial court cannot withstand them.

  "Or attach itself to one of the feudal lords?"

  It just occurred to me and was immediately denied, in this case, isn't it the same as having no other choice at present? Who can guarantee that those vassals are definitely better than Dong Zhuo and loyal to the Han dynasty?

  After some thought, I finally came up with a plan: "It seems that the only way is to abandon one side and concentrate all my efforts on attacking the other side."

  Xun Yu was after all one of the most outstanding strategists of this era and even for several decades to come, so he quickly thought of the most suitable method.

  This is also in line with Liu Xuan's true plan.

  "What direction does Wen Ruo think is the main attack?"

  At this time, Xun Yu's mind was racing, and for a moment he forgot that it was just a rough sketch drawn at random, and naturally said the corresponding "vassals" in his heart.

  "When we first take the land of Guanzhong and the northwest, we can rely on the natural barrier of Tongguan to eliminate the intention of the eastern vassals to invade. Not mentioning attacking Guandong first is naturally a combination of current circumstances. Once the Emperor kills Dong Zhuo, then those who are in the same camp as Dong Zhuo will basically be in an enemy state. In this situation, why provoke the vassals of Guandong again? Is it not to suffer simultaneous attacks from both sides?"

  "While speaking, he pointed to several circles with his fingers: "Li Jue and Guo Si have been under Dong Zhuo's command for a long time, but the two of them have great power in their hands and have never had the heart to dominate one side. As long as they give up some empty names, they can stabilize these two people. Zhang Ji and Fan Chou are not much different, it's just to prevent these few people from relying on each other, if possible, it's best to transfer the two of them to another place."

  "Just because Niu Fu is Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, he will not give up...". Halfway through his words, Xun Yu suddenly came to his senses and realized that if this conversation got out, he would not have enough lives to spare.

  Moreover, there was a very important point in his previous plan, that is, to completely abandon the capital Luoyang. Moving the capital is not impossible, but this kind of evacuation-like move would greatly damage the imperial dignity - if the emperor were to be enraged and punish him for it, he could only plead guilty.

  But Liu Xuan didn't know that Xun Yu had originally been worried about how to get him to accept the idea of abandoning Luoyang and moving the capital to Chang'an, and couldn't make him think that the Emperor was incompetent and being controlled by Dong Zhuo. However, Xun Yu had just considered it from a strategic perspective and had discarded Luoyang from the very beginning.

  "I am guilty!"

  Xun Yu suddenly came to his senses and realized that his own words had brought trouble upon himself. Even if he wasn't afraid of death, he still had to consider the Xun family. If this were to implicate the clan members, what face would he have left to meet his ancestors?

  "It's just a game, what's wrong with it?"

  Liu Xuan would not blame him, and raised his hand to let Xun Yu get up. Xun Yu saw that the emperor was truly not angry, and only then did he slightly relax his breath. However, in his heart, he had a new evaluation of this new emperor's temperament - it's not just any ordinary emperor who wouldn't get angry when a minister suggests moving the capital to avoid disaster.

  Apart from this, Xun Yu also discovered that from start to finish, the young emperor never took Dong Zhuo, who dominated the imperial court, seriously. The idea of abandoning his official position, which had risen recently, gradually faded away.

  "It would be better to stay in the court for the time being and see what other changes will take place in this imperial court."

  Our Liu Xuan's household can barely be considered to have both literary and military talents.