Chapter 312: Persuading the Emperor
"This Yuan Gonglu is so stupid!" Looking at the latest information in his hand, Tian Ze couldn't help but sigh.
At this moment, he also felt the helplessness that Cao Cao and Liu Bei had felt when facing Li Jue and Guo Si.
I can't carry it at all.
The price of grain that Tian Ze gave to Yuan Shu was much lower than that of other princes, but even so, Yuan Shu was not interested. He just hid in the palace and dreamed of his own great future.
According to the intelligence he had, the civil and military officials under Yuan Shu had already begun to show disloyalty.
Knowing that Yuan Shu's shabby ship was about to sink, they had already found a new buyer and were waiting to surrender to him after Yuan Shu's downfall.
Therefore, Yuan Shu's entire court was now filled with voices whitewashing the situation, and the few loyal ministers who spoke frankly were not believed by Yuan Shu.
The people were living in poverty under Yuan Shu's rule, but in the words of Yuan Shu's ministers, it became a prosperous era. In order to deceive Yuan Shu, they even created a special area for Yuan Shu to "view".
Yuan Shu was completely deceived and had no idea how serious the problem was. He was flattered so much that he even had the illusion that all the princes were becoming powerful and that he could be on par with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others.
"A monarch is completely manipulated by his subjects." Tian Ze shook his head slightly, but his mind was extremely complicated and he thought of many things.
"My lord, I'm afraid we can no longer rely on Yuan Gonglu." Guo Jia said bluntly.
"Can we create an opportunity for Yuan Shao to swallow up Yuan Shu's forces?" Tian Ze said somewhat unwillingly.
Regarding Yuan Shu's problem, it was not only Yuan Shao who was anxious, but also Tian Ze, and he was worried about Yuan Shao.
Because if Yuan Shu was swallowed up by Yuan Shao alone, the other princes would certainly be dissatisfied, which would be a good thing for Tian Ze.
The fear is that the four princes will reach a certain consensus and promote a successful cooperation.
"I'm afraid not." Xun You shook his head.
"My lord, Yuan Gonglu is a fool, but Yuan Benchu is a very smart person. I am afraid that even if we put Yuan Gonglu in front of his mouth, he may not be willing to take the bait."
The more powerful Tian Ze becomes and the more successful his offensive becomes, the more the remaining warlords will unite.
The capture of Sili directly led to the alliance of the five major princes.
Even Yuan Shao, who aspired to dominate the Central Plains, temporarily put aside his ambitions at this moment.
Because now is not the time for internal fighting. If they don’t unite, they will never have a chance to turn the situation around.
Yuan Shao and others are people who have ambitions for the world, not just some hundred thousand people. No matter how great the benefits are, they will not be blinded by them, but will focus on the overall situation, and will never do such a back-stabbing act.
After Liu Bei took over Yizhou, his strength was at its peak, but he was still willing to compromise with Sun Quan on the issue of "borrowing Jingzhou".
You know, although there are many different opinions about the matter of "borrowing Jingzhou", in reality, how much of Jingzhou did Liu Bei borrow, how much he conquered, and how much he needed to pay back are all worth discussing.
The reason why Sun Quan kept bringing up this matter and the reason why Liu Bei compromised was probably not because Liu Bei was in the wrong, but because Liu Bei grew too strong too quickly.
After taking Yizhou alone, his power expanded rapidly, while his allies remained stagnant. No one would feel comfortable with such a gap.
Xun You believed that Yuan Shao understood this principle, so he would definitely consider sharing the benefits equally. Even if he took the lion's share, he would compromise and give in in other aspects to maintain a balance.
"Liu Yan is fine, but the other four princes are all smart people. This is also the most troublesome point." Guo Jia sighed.
"Especially in the current situation, no matter what we do, I'm afraid these smart people will not fall for it, and they may even take the opportunity to plot against us."
Guo Jia had a thorough understanding of the four princes.
Yuan, Cao, Liu and Sun were all outstanding people. It was impossible to defeat them with conspiracy as we did with Li Jue and Guo Si. The only way was to use open strategy and the general trend.
"Then what can we do? Just watch?" Tian Ze asked somewhat unwillingly.
He also spent a lot of time on Yuan Shu, and most of the "loyal ministers" under his command who dared to speak out were people he had planted.
After all, considering Yuan Shu's temperament and deeds, it was surprising that he had loyal and upright ministers. Upon hearing this, Guo Jia and others looked at each other with meaningful expressions.
Finally, Dong Zhao stepped forward, bowed and said, "My lord, in today's world, the Han Dynasty is in decline and has run out of luck."
"Since you started your army, you have recruited many talented people, saved countless lives, pacified foreign tribes, expanded the territory, promoted hundreds of schools of thought, created an unprecedented prosperous era, and your civil and military achievements are unprecedented."
"Now the land of Sili is in our hands, our power and prestige are spread all over the world, the people rely on us, and the heroes are loyal to us."
"Looking at the rise and fall of ancient emperors, they all depended on their ability and virtue to match their positions, and they followed the will of heaven and the people. The grace of the lord is like a gentle rain that moistens the world, saving the people from their predicament and supporting the country from collapse."
"If we still respect the old system and restrict ourselves to the duties of a minister, I am afraid that it will not be enough to realize the master's grand plan and put an end to the chaos in the world."
"The act of proclaiming oneself an emperor is not for personal gain, but for the greater good of saving the common people and bringing peace to the people. When you ascend the throne, you can establish your position and make your government orders unimpeded, and people from all over the world will come to you to submit to me..."
Dong Zhao spoke a series of words in a rhythmic manner without any pause, and it was obvious that he had been brewing these words in his mind for a long time.
The whole article is intended to express one meaning.
My lord, it’s time for us to become emperor!
As a "fawning minister", he did not mention this matter before, firstly because Tian Ze was not in a hurry, and secondly because of the situation in the world.
Once Tian Ze proclaims himself emperor, the various princes can use this as an excuse to launch a joint attack.
Now, the alliance of the five major princes is inevitable, regardless of whether Tian Ze proclaims himself emperor or not, the situation will be like this.
In this case, Dong Zhao naturally hoped that Tian Ze would become emperor so that he could be legitimate.
Liu Yan and Liu Zhang both called themselves emperors.
Although Tian Ze never regarded himself as a Han minister, his soldiers and the people always treated him as the emperor and never had any other thoughts, but his identity was still somewhat vague.
Once he becomes emperor, not only can he completely get rid of the imprint of the Han Dynasty in terms of identity and stand on the same level as other princes, but his ministers can also follow him.
Looking at everyone's eager eyes, Tian Ze's mouth twitched slightly.
This feeling is quite similar to "The weather is getting cold, Your Majesty should wear a dragon robe."
If I don't proclaim myself emperor, the people under me will probably be more anxious than I am.
"Ahem. Lord... Your Majesty, we think what Gongren said is very true." Seeing that Tian Ze was still silent, Cheng Yu quickly stood up and bowed.
Then he signaled to Chen Gong.
Chen Gong followed suit and bowed without hesitation: "Your Majesty, please ascend the throne!"
As Chen Gong said this, it was like a domino effect, and the civil and military officials in front of him knelt down in unison: "Your Majesty, please ascend the throne!"
The sound resounded through the sky and soon spread outside the hall.
Upon hearing this, the guards and the surrounding civilians all knelt down in great excitement, saying in unison: "Your Majesty, please ascend the throne!"
The people's shouts seemed like continuous waves, rising one after another, spreading throughout Ji County and quickly spreading to the surrounding areas.
Tian Ze listened to the faint cries of the people in the distance, and felt gratified and moved, as well as filled with heroic spirit.
"it is good!"
"Since you all hope so, I will not refuse. From now on, I will prepare for the coronation of the emperor. I will lead you to build a great cause unprecedented in history and make the land of China glorious again!"
(End of this chapter)
