Chapter 53: Disintegration

  Although Liu Bian warned Yuan Wei, saying that he would die in vain, Yuan Wei still followed his own pace. After wearing mourning clothes and seeing the emperor, he announced that he would close the door and refuse to see guests, and starve himself at home, wanting to make a loud and fierce protest with his death.

  As soon as the news came out, Luoyang was in an uproar, and the whole world was in an uproar. Memorials flew in like snowflakes, with a trend of drowning Liu Bian.

  Liu Bian had been prepared, but he was still caught off guard by Yuan Wei's move and felt a great deal of pressure. You're going to die anyway, why make such a big fuss? This old guy is indeed a seasoned official who has been in the government for decades. Fighting him, I'm just a tender green onion, really not his match.

  However, Liu Bian also knew that Yuan Wei was doing all this for a reason. He gritted his teeth and insisted on following his own steps, while ordering Dong Zhuo to strengthen the defenses of Luoyang, he continuously issued decrees to make his attitude clear. Even if it's not very useful, things that need to be done still have to be done, you can't just sit there stupidly and let Yuan Wei pour dirty water on him.

  ……

  After insisting for more than half a month and making enough momentum, Yuan Wei finally reached the end of his life.

  Yuan's face was gaunt, his cheekbones high and prominent, his cheeks sunken, his skin having lost its original luster, like a pale sheet of paper covering sharp bones. His eyes were tightly closed, his breathing weak, making a faint hissing sound, like a venomous snake.

  Ma Lun knelt down beside him, his eyes red and swollen, his expression dull, gazing at Yuan Wei with a lingering affection.

  Yuan Wei suddenly opened his eyes, his lips moved, as if he wanted to say something.

  Ma Lun's whole body shook, and he hastily bent down, putting his ear close to Yuan Wei's mouth.

  "Xǔ... zǐ... jiāng..." translates to "Allow... son... will..."

  Ma Lun's eyes were filled with doubt, did Yuan Wei remember Xu Shao before he died?

  "I... understand..." Yuan Wei used all his strength to turn his eyes, looking at Ma Lun, a drop of turbid tears fell from the corner of his eye: "Xu Zi Jiang..." He opened his eyes wide and shouted in a hoarse voice: "Wrong... me!"

  Ma Lun was baffled, unsure what Yuan Wei was trying to say. Yuan Wei looked at Ma Lun's perplexed face and regretted his actions. After several days of fasting, his body gradually weakened, but his mind suddenly became active. He carefully recalled his life, with his thoughts finally focusing on his last encounter with Liu Bian.

  He suddenly discovered a problem: Xu Jia... didn't tell the truth, at least not all of it. With his discerning eye, he couldn't have failed to notice Liu Bian's changes, yet he never mentioned him. It was precisely because of this oversight that he was twice humiliated by Liu Bian.

  Xu Jia must have discovered something, he was in a hurry to leave Luoyang and live in seclusion, it's not just being mysterious.

  He wanted to tell Malan about the discovery, but now he couldn't say it out loud. The words "Xu Zi will mislead me" had exhausted his last bit of energy. He looked at Malan's bewildered eyes and a wave of sorrow surged in his heart.

  He let out his last breath, and his body slowly went limp.

  Ma Lun burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. After a moment, she forced back her tears and dragged herself to the front yard, facing the countless pairs of eyes in the courtyard, and said tearfully: "Yuan Gong... is gone."

  After a brief silence, the crowd burst into loud wailing.

  Sobs like thunder, tears like rain.

  ……

  When the news of Yuan Wei's death spread, Luoyang was in a state of turmoil. Countless people rushed to the Yuan residence to pay their respects. Immediately afterwards, many students from the Imperial Academy blocked the palace gates, weeping and petitioning the Emperor to sympathize with Yuan Taifu's loyalty, issuing an edict to commend and reform. Of course, there were also voices calling for Empress He to issue an edict to overthrow the emperor. The wailing voices merged into one, echoing throughout the city of Luoyang, shaking the Southern and Northern Palaces.

  Liu Bian gritted his teeth and persisted, neither willing to listen to Lü Bu's request nor willing to listen to the requests of those people who wanted to flatter Yuan Shao. If he sent troops to drive away the unarmed students, he would have committed an error that would confirm his reputation as a foolish ruler. If he issued an edict praising Yuan Shao, he would have had to accept Yuan Shao's blackmail, which was also impossible.

  The momentum of supporting the Yuan family was too great, so much so that Dong Zhuo and Lu Zhi were somewhat uneasy. Dong Zhuo went to the Yuan residence to pay his respects, but before he even reached the door, he was hit with a bunch of scallions and rotten eggs and was beaten back. Lu Zhi's treatment was slightly better, but after entering the gate, seeing Madame Ma Ren, the wife of Yuan Wei, with an expressionless face, he too suffered a great blow and didn't recover for several days.

  ……

  The city of Luoyang was in turmoil over the death of Yuan Yi when Yuan Shao finally raised his banner of revolt in Shandong.

  In the beginning of December, Yuan Shao issued a proclamation to the whole country, calling himself Colonel of the Cavalry, declaring that he was following the will of the late Emperor and demanding that Empress He abdicate, depose the unworthy Emperor Liu Bian, and enthrone Prince of Chenliu Liu Xie as Emperor, while also announcing mourning for Grand Tutor Yuan Wei.

  Wherever the manifesto arrived, the seven states of Ji, Qing, Xu, Yan, Yu, Yang and Jing responded. The governors and magistrates appointed by the imperial court either accepted Yuan Shao's orders or surrendered to him; those who refused were killed or expelled, and their places were taken by men loyal to Yuan Shao, who rose in revolt to support him. Within a few months, more than 200,000 troops had gathered, and Yuan Shao was proclaimed the leader of the alliance.

  Yuan Shao performed the ritual of mobilizing troops at Zhongmu, proclaiming his uprising and then joining forces with Wang Kuang, the governor of Henan, advancing to occupy Henan with a force of over 800,000.

  Yanzhou Governor Liu Dai, Chenliu Taishou Zhang Miao, Guangling Taishou Zhang Chao and others stationed in Xiangguo with an army of over 50,000.

  Yu Province Governor Gong Ziliu was stationed in Yingchuan with over 30,000 troops.

  Yuan Shu styled himself as General Who Guards the Capital, and was stationed at Luyang with over 40,000 troops.

  In a short time, Shandong was no longer under the control of the Han dynasty. The news reached Luoyang, and the people of Luoyang were in a state of panic, with multiple shocks in one day.

  In her fear, Empress He died in anxiety.

  Liu Bian was well-prepared, and while handling the funeral of Empress He, he also ordered that the families in the capital of Yuan brothers and Cao Cao, who had long been controlled, be arrested and thrown into prison. An edict was issued nationwide, declaring the Yuan brothers to be rebels, and the court would not tolerate them.

  At the same time, Liu Bian quickly made deployments: Taishi Dong Zhuo led 20,000 troops to advance and garrison in Xiao Pingjin and Mengjin areas. Chejiu Jiangjun Lu Zhi led over 10,000 troops to advance and garrison in Xiangyang. Henan Yin Zhu Jun led over 10,000 troops to advance and garrison in Guangcheng and Yique. At the same time, orders were given to the governors of Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Yizhou to guard the passes and strongholds. Zuo Jiangjun Huangfu Song led his army from Fufeng to rush to the rescue of Luoyang.

  In Liu Bian's view, this war was an expected event, and he had long been mentally prepared. However, for many people, it was undoubtedly a sudden disaster, with an impact that even exceeded the Yellow Turban Rebellion of the previous years. The last time, only ordinary civilians rose up in arms, but this time, it was the Yuan family, a family of four generations of nobles and high-ranking officials, who took up arms. Responding to their call were local aristocrats and powerful families, many of whom were renowned scholars and heroes, representing the orthodox power of the great Han dynasty. Their joint uprising, denouncing the emperor, had a far more severe impact than the Yellow Turban Rebellion led by Zhang Jue and his brothers, naturally causing even greater shockwaves.

  Even great ministers like Lu Zhi and Yang Bi realized the gravity of the situation from the moment Yuan Shao fled, and knew that things were beyond redemption on the day Yuan Wei starved himself to death. When they heard that Yuan Shao had risen in revolt, they still found it hard to believe.

  The four generations of the Yuan family, with three dukes, rose up in arms against the imperial court and against the Son of Heaven? This has already exceeded their understanding. The reason is simple: as officials on the imperial court who stood together with the eunuchs and the outer relatives, considering themselves to be of high moral character, struggling against the outer relatives and against the eunuchs was understandable; before this, they had engaged in countless struggles and shed a lot of blood, but pointing their swords at the Son of Heaven, this is for the first time.

  Before this, even if the emperor was dull and incompetent, only officials would remonstrate, never had anyone raised an army in rebellion.

  Even if Yuan Shao's corpse had been presented in advance, many people would still not have accepted it. In this case, they were equally unprepared psychologically for Yuan Shao's uprising and were similarly flustered.

  While almost everyone else was in a state of panic, Liu Bian alone remained calm and composed. He quickly reacted to the situation, deploying the defenses of Luoyang while also handling the funeral arrangements for Empress He.

  Liu Bian's calmness and composure left a deep impression on many of the court officials.

  In more than half a month, Liu Bian had lost weight, but his eyes were even sharper. The disaster seemed to be a catalyst that made him grow up quickly and had some imperial demeanor.

  Liu Bian was the mainstay. His calmness played a crucial role in stabilizing the situation in Luoyang. After the initial panic, the officials began to take action, regardless of what they thought in their hearts and who they supported. For now, the first step was to ensure the safety of Luoyang, and no one wanted to become a ghost under the knife of the rioting soldiers or a target for looting by the violent mobs.

  ……

  In December, General-in-Chief Huangfu Song led an army of 30,000 to Luoyang. Liu Bian met with Huangfu in the Jiade Hall and saw the last great war god of Han for himself.

  Huangfu Song was about sixty years old, of medium build, and not particularly robust. On the contrary, he looked very refined, similar to Lu Zhi, more like a scholar. He fell to the ground in front of Liu Bian, finished his courtesy, raised his head, quietly looked at Liu Bian for a moment, and suddenly smiled.

  Liu Bian said in a puzzled tone: "General Huangfu, what's on my face?"

  "Your Majesty's face has the hope of the great Han revival." Huangfu Song paused, then said: "Compared to Your Majesty when I saw you last time, today's Your Majesty has a completely different appearance. Has Your Majesty realized your own destiny? Can I... know what kind of destiny it is?"

  Liu was stunned for a moment, and then he also laughed. "General Huangfu, you are indeed not asking about the people's livelihood but asking about ghosts and gods. The Yuan family has risen in rebellion, and the world is in great chaos. You don't ask about military affairs, but instead care about my fate and other empty and illusory things?"

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  The third update is here! Please collect and recommend!

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