Chapter 24: One Loss and One Gain

  Cai Yong Cai Boji, has a reputation, especially among scholars. Who doesn't know the great name of Cai Yong? Can be said to be one of today's well-known Confucians.

  Cai Yong's recent days have been difficult, as his reputation has made him a target for Dong Zhuo, who wields power and hopes to win over the hearts of people everywhere.

  Within three days of taking office, it can be known how much this new and powerful minister valued Cai Yong!

  It's not a good thing that such importance is attached to it. Dong Zhuo, who has just taken control of the court, hasn't had time to do much yet, but which of the officials in the court isn't a cunning person? Who can't see what kind of person Dong Zhuo really is? This is another ambitious man who wants to seize power in the Han Dynasty, and he is more reckless than He Jin. To demonstrate his authority, he even deposed the emperor who had been on the throne for less than half a year and supported the King of Liang to ascend to the throne.

  Cai Yong was regarded as important by Dong Zhuo, and no matter how famous he was, he was labeled as a member of Dong Zhuo's party. Even if others didn't say anything because Cai Yong wasn't willing to join, it doesn't mean they could continue to treat him with the same respect as before, as one of the greatest scholars of his time.

  So, even if everyone in the imperial court knew that Cai Yong had a talented and famous daughter, they would not recommend her to the emperor as an imperial concubine - let alone the empress. There was only one reason: Cai Yong was no longer on the same side as them.

  Liu Xuan sat on top, coldly gazing at the expressions of the various officials, and sneered in his heart: "Since I have to choose a consort myself, I naturally have to choose one that is pleasing to my eyes... As for what Cai Wenji looks like, I really don't know, but she's definitely better than those nameless extras who didn't even leave their names behind. At least she's a famous historical figure!"

  When everyone came to their senses and turned their heads to look at Liu Xuan, who had just ascended the throne, they only then thought of saying something. However, Wang Yun discovered that what Liu Xuan had just said was not a question, such as asking how everyone thought or felt, but rather used a definitive tone, "Can be made Empress", which was equivalent to directly settling the matter.

  "This new emperor is quite opinionated!"

  He Wang Yun saw things clearly, and when he secretly glanced at Dong Zhuo, he saw that the powerful Dong Taishi seemed to have no objection to Liu Xuan's remarks. He immediately understood that the situation was already set: it was not worth offending the new emperor over this matter, let alone Cai Yan, Cai Bojie's daughter, whom he also knew. If she really entered the palace as a concubine, it would be better than those chaotic people sending their own daughters in, at least she was a wise and virtuous woman who knew books and reason.

  At this point, before everyone could speak up, Wang Yun immediately said: "Your Majesty's words are indeed correct, Cai Shangshu's daughter has always been known for her talent and reputation, she is truly an excellent choice."

  As soon as he spoke, the officials who still wanted to say something had no choice but to swallow their words back into their mouths. Some people couldn't help but look at Wang Yun in surprise, wondering if this King had thought of something?

  At this time, Wang Yun didn't have the energy to care about them, and only looked at Liu Xuan, wanting to see how this new emperor would speak.

  As expected, Liu Xuan waved his hand and directly settled the matter: "Since even Wang Situ has said so, then let's settle it like this! Does Chancellor Cai think there's anything improper about it?"

  Cai Yong's eyes were filled with tears, and he felt that his recent days had been plagued by bad luck, with everything going against him. Now that the words had been spoken, how could he dare to say anything else? - It was originally still being discussed with the He Dong Wei family about arranging a marriage, but this time it's likely that matter will be called off.

  But turning the direction around, now that I've been tied to his side by Dong Zhuo and am extremely unpopular in the court, if my daughter can enter the palace as empress, at least it can ease the relationship with the emperor a bit - isn't being an official just doing what the emperor says? If there's imperial support, even if something unexpected happens in the future, it shouldn't be so bad that my family suffers greatly.

  "Yes, Your Majesty!"

  Thinking of this, it's also an opportunity for Cai's family, and being obedient is just right.

  He comforted himself in his heart, and on the other side, Dong Zhuo also felt satisfied. Liu Xuan opened his mouth to be willing to accept Cai Yong's daughter as a concubine, and even intended to establish her as an empress. Doesn't that represent the emperor showing favor to himself? Although he had great power in his hands, because of his overbearing behavior and not being legitimate, he always felt uneasy in his heart. Now it seems that he was just thinking too much.

  "Even emperors don't dare offend me, why should I try to get on their good side? What else would I be afraid of from now on?"

  Dong Taishi stroked his beard and chuckled: "I've long heard that Cai Beigui's daughter is virtuous, I was just about to speak to Your Majesty, but it seems you already know, which saves me a lot of trouble!"

  As soon as he spoke, the officials did not dare to say anything more. Of course, there were also some officials who were angry with Dong Zhuo's arrogance and glared at him angrily. However, when Dong Zhuo turned his head to look around, these people all lowered their heads in feigned obedience. Liu Xuan saw this clearly and secretly despised them as well.

  The matter of the imperial concubine and empress has been temporarily settled. Since Liu Xuan has spoken out in the Deyang Hall to select Cai Yan's daughter, the imperial edict will naturally begin to be drafted. Those miscellaneous things don't need Liu Xuan to worry about, a big Han dynasty like this naturally has specialized officials responsible for doing these things.

  Dong Zhuo then spoke again, wanting to promote Hu Ben Zhonglang General Yuan Shu as the Rear General - however, this Rear General did not show up today. Yesterday, when he heard that Dong Zhuo was going to promote him as the Rear General in order to win over the Yuan family, he simply packed his bags and ran away.

  As for Yuan Shu's elder brother, Yuan Shao, when Dong Zhuo was about to depose the Emperor, he had a verbal spat with Dong Zhuo. However, afterwards, he became afraid of Dong Zhuo's revenge and fled the capital even earlier than Yuan Shu.

  Of course, Liu Xuan did not know that Yuan Shao's escape was related to himself. As the Colonel of the Capital, Yuan Shao had a lot of say in the imperial court, but previously he led his troops to attack the palace and almost clashed with Liu Xuan, which thoroughly offended the royal family.

  Now he has fallen out with Dong Zhuo again, and Dong Zhuo wants to make that Liu Xuan emperor. After careful consideration, Yuan Shao feels that if he continues to stay in Luoyang, he will not have a good ending. Even though his family had produced four generations of high officials, he cannot withstand the disfavor of both the Emperor and the most powerful minister. If so, it is better to leave early.

  After leaving Beijing, he rushed east and now only Taifu Yuan Wei, the uncle of Yuan Shao, was left in the court.

  Today, Dong Zhuo's words about advancing are actually related to Yuan Shao: "I heard that there is another Yellow Turban uprising in the east. Why not appoint Yuan Benchu as the governor of Bohai and have him govern the local area while also pacifying the bandits?"

  The words were inquiring, but the tone seemed to have already settled the matter. Liu Xuan listened and knew that bringing it up in front of him was just a formality - Dong Zhuo's support for Liu Xuan had not even lasted a day, so this show of respect still needed to be put on.

  Since they were all pretending, Liu Xuan didn't mind accompanying Dong Zhuo for a while, and immediately nodded in agreement. He then issued an edict appointing Yuan Shao as the Governor of Bohai, ordering him to eliminate the remaining bandits in the surrounding areas.

  "The Youlin Army is reorganized, and it seems that Meng De alone is too overworked. Why not make the Marquis of Duting, Lü Bu, the Cavalry Commander?"

  Liu Xuan's eyelid twitched, and he immediately understood what Dong Zhuo was planning today!

  Yu Linjun was the only army that Liu Xuan could control at present, and he appointed Cao Cao as Yu Lin Zhonglang General in order to thoroughly grasp this army.

  But if Lü Bu became a commander of the imperial guards, then this army would be out of control - the commander of the imperial guards has the power to supervise, manage and command the Imperial Guard.

  Although the official position is under the Langjiang of Yulin, in fact, it is a restraint and monitoring of the Langjiang of Yulin. At present, Liu Xuan has not yet reached the point where he needs to rely on mutual restraint to balance the forces of all parties, how can he let Dong Zhuo use this trick to ruin his own affairs?

  His expression remained unchanged on the surface, but his mind had turned countless circles, wanting to think of an excellent way to resolve this crisis.

  Nor did he know if it was because of the powerful yuan god? With this thought in mind, he really thought of a way.

  "I've heard that Douting Marquis is unmatched in bravery and martial prowess, the number one fierce general of our time. It seems a waste of talent to be just a single cavalry commander!" After rearranging his thoughts, he smiled and said: "Now that General Yuan has been promoted and is away from the capital inspecting local areas, the position of Hu Ben Zhonglang Jiang is vacant. Why not let Douting Marquis take charge of the Hu Ben army? This way, he can also display his talents."

  The officials in the court heard this and felt a chill run down their backs, secretly thinking: "How can the Emperor be so muddled? What kind of logic is it to voluntarily hand over troops to a powerful minister like Dong Zhuo?" Many people exchanged glances with each other, immediately wanting to interrupt Liu Xuan's words.

  They just looked at each other and didn't dare to speak up, so when Liu Xuan finished speaking, no one came forward to object.

  "Hu Bao?"

  Dong Zhuo did not expect that Liu Xuan would be so generous, he only wanted to plant a trusted aide to monitor the Imperial Guard, but Liu Xuan had simply and utterly handed the Tiger Guards over to him.

  "It's much stronger to have the Tiger Guards under control than just holding back Cao Cao!" After all, one is truly in command of an army, while the other is just restraining Cao Cao from getting out of his own control. Moreover, Dong Zhuo has recently discovered that Cao Cao doesn't even regard him as an enemy, and perhaps he can still win him over to his side. At that time, both the Tiger Guards and the Feathered Forest will be under his control, and all the troops in the capital will fall into his hands - what's there to fear?

  "Your Majesty is wise!"

  Dong Zhuo was delighted and naturally agreed with Liu Xun's words, while Lü Bu was also happy to have obtained such an important position, which was much stronger than when he was the chief clerk in Bingzhou.

  Liu Xuan smiled secretly in his heart: "The Hu Ben was never under my control, taking it out to curry favor wouldn't be a loss! On the contrary, the You Lin army was able to be preserved because of this, which is the most important thing."

  However, it can be said that Dong Zhuo has been given a good opportunity. Liu Xuan thought for a moment and immediately said: "I heard that Huangfu Yi is idle at home. At this time, it is the extreme of the court's use of people. Why not recruit him?"

  As soon as this was said, Dong Zhuo's face immediately turned black - he had a grudge against Huangfu Song, and now that he had the power in his hands, he was thinking of finding trouble for Huangfu Song. However, he did not expect that the Emperor would actually want to reuse Huangfu Song, although he had the power in his hands and was not afraid of Huangfu Song, but after all, it was still a nuisance.

  Ji Liu Xuan had just promised him the Hu Ben army, and at this time, the two of them were still on good terms on the surface, so it wasn't easy to directly refuse.

  "Never mind, let's see what this new emperor will use Huangfu Song for."

  Liu Xuan directly said: "The position of Zijinwu is vacant, it would be better to appoint Huangfu Song to the post. What does the Grand Master think?"

  "Are you the Golden Armor?" Dong Zhuo seemed to have not expected such an official position, thought for a moment, nodded in agreement, and secretly thought: "But it's just a patrol officer who puts out fires and manages warehouses, nothing big!"