novelSusiti Chapter 18: With the arrival of Governor Yuan, Huainan was at peace.
Chapter 18: With the arrival of Governor Yuan, Huainan was at peace.
In June of the fourth year of Jian'an, in Wancheng, Lujiang Prefecture.
What was originally the prefect's living quarters has now become the emperor's bedroom.
Cao Xing opened the door and walked out with a relaxed expression. There were several very fresh bloodstains on his armor.
"Young Master, it's all cleaned up."
All the guards and servants loyal to Yuan Shu had been killed, and at this moment, the only living being in the palace was Yuan Shu himself.
but--
Cao Xing whispered to Yuan Yao, "His mental state isn't quite right."
Yuan Yao didn't take it to heart: "Let's go, it's time to pay our respects to His Majesty."
In the very center of the palace, a figure dressed in black imperial robes sat there, holding a jade seal in his hands, his eyes fixed straight ahead, motionless.
But in reality, there was only a wall in front of him.
Yuan Yao took the initiative to speak: "Your Majesty, you are ill, and we need to invite you to rest in the suburbs."
Yuan Shu turned around, his tone surprisingly calm: "Your rebellion has failed. All the conspirators have been arrested and will be executed by noon tomorrow."
Yuan Yao sighed and said, "Your Majesty, you are really ill. Please come with us."
Cao Xing, standing behind him, glared fiercely and gestured to the soldiers accompanying him, preparing to forcibly drag Yuan Shu away.
Just as the soldiers stepped forward, Yuan Shu suddenly stood up and roared, "I am the Emperor! The Emperor of the Zhong family! The one who will replace the Han is Gao of Dangtu! Who dares to kill me!"
Seeing Yuan Shu descend into madness, Yuan Yao shook his head slightly and ordered his soldiers to restrain him.
Yuan Shu struggled on, cursing Yuan Yao as he did so: "You unfilial son! How dare you plot to usurp the throne! I will never pass the throne to you, absolutely not!"
"The throne?" Yuan Yao sneered, then leaned down and said sincerely to the other man, "Do you remember two years ago, when you wanted to be emperor, everyone disagreed, but you insisted on going your own way? Do you remember? Is this throne easy to sit on? Is holding the imperial seal prestigious? Forget about it, Father!"
Seeing that Yuan Shu was still going to make a fuss, Yuan Yao, losing his patience, ordered Cao Xing: "Knock him out and take him away to the manor we agreed on before. Let him spend the rest of his life there cultivating his character."
The manor Yuan Yao referred to was located in the suburbs west of Wancheng. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and dozens of miles around it were all wasteland and dense forest. If Yuan Shu had the leisure in the future, he could try to cultivate the land for fun, which could be regarded as a form of labor reform.
Thus, Yuan Yao's coup, despite some unexpected twists and turns, was ultimately successful and very close to completion. All that remained was for him to join forces with Yang Hong, Zhang Xun, and others to issue a joint statement announcing the change of power in the central government.
It was nearly dawn, and the unrest in Wancheng had been largely suppressed.
It must be said that, being the first coup attempt, everyone lacked experience, and quite a few problems arose along the way.
The most direct trigger was the rebellion launched by Liu Xun. He arranged for his subordinates to set fires all over the city, hoping to create chaos and give himself an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Yuan Shu.
As a result, Liu Xun himself was ambushed by Yuan Yao, who had been lying in wait in the bushes for a long time, but the chaos he created triggered a series of chain reactions.
Living in the chaotic world at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, everyone was living for the day and didn't know what tomorrow would bring. Their spirits were already highly tense, and the slightest disturbance could cause them to lose their composure and act on instinct.
Yuan Yao heard at least ten people shouting that the enemy was launching a night attack. The key point is that the enemy they were talking about were not the same group of people. Some said Sun Ce, some said Cao Cao, and some said Liu Bei. They didn't miss any of them.
As news of the internal strife spreads further, the situation becomes even more difficult to manage.
Some ignorant people spontaneously took up arms, trying to unite and protect themselves, while others simply turned into a chaotic army and began to plunder everywhere in the chaos. Yuan Shu's loyal troops also desperately rushed into the city to rescue him, but fortunately, their numbers were small and they were intercepted by Yan Xiang.
Fortunately, despite the chaotic situation, Wancheng was still a small city. With the advantage of being well-prepared, Yuan Yao's side overwhelmed the other lawbreakers with their superior strength and brick-throwing abilities, and basically brought the situation in the city under control.
Upon learning that the situation had stabilized, Yuan Yao immediately ordered a meeting to convene all the Zhong clan officials in the city.
As dawn approached, officials arrived one after another in front of the prefect's residence.
Considering that the Prefect's Mansion was the main battlefield and the interior was stained with blood, making it unsuitable to go inside, Yuan Yao simply decided to hold the meeting in the open. There happened to be an open space in front of the Prefect's Mansion, so they chose this open area.
This resulted in the attendance of not only the civil and military officials of the Zhong family, but also a large number of ordinary citizens of Wancheng who might be eager to know the truth or simply want to watch the spectacle. The total number was several hundred and was still increasing.
Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Yuan Yao gestured to Huang Yi, who then walked onto a makeshift platform made of wood and explained to everyone the whole story of what had happened that night.
The gist of it is that Liu Xun, the former governor of Lujiang, was ruthless and disregarded his former master's feelings, launching an attack on Yuan Shu, the emperor of the Zhong family, and was the culprit who caused chaos in Wancheng.
After the incident, Prince Yuan Yao, a rising star among the new generation of generals, was appointed to lead the troops to quell the rebellion and successfully suppressed it.
However, Yuan Shu was seriously wounded in the chaos of battle and could no longer lead the Zhong clan's regime. Therefore, he decided to hand over military and political power to Yuan Yao, appointing the latter as Grand Commander, Governor of Huainan, Director of the Imperial Secretariat, Grand General of the Three Departments, and Commander-in-Chief of all military affairs inside and outside the capital.
To put it bluntly, the Zhong regime changed hands from then on, and the era of Yuan Shikai taking power would begin.
After announcing these points, Huang Yi left the stage.
Next up is Cao Xing.
Cao Xing was in charge of a big job.
He led the prisoners one by one and made them kneel before everyone.
Most of these prisoners were Liu Xun's subordinates who directly participated in the rebellion. They were to be executed in accordance with the law, thus bringing this coup to a conclusion.
However, since Liu Xun and the others were released by Yuan Yao, the remaining ones were basically small fry, so it lacked something and wasn't quite up to par.
Unexpectedly, in addition to Liu Xun and Yuan Yao, there was a third group of troublemakers tonight.
Xu Qiu, the former governor of Guangling, was a staunch supporter of the Han dynasty and was kept by Yuan Shu's side.
Tonight, Xu Qiu saw that Wancheng was suddenly in turmoil. Although he did not know what was going on, he thought that the opportunity should not be missed. So he quickly contacted other people who still cared about the Han Dynasty. A total of twenty or thirty people were gathered and tried to attack the governor's mansion and take back the Imperial Seal of the State from Yuan Shu.
As it turned out, Yuan Shu's side was the center of the vortex, and they were crushed on the spot by the aftershocks of the battle between multiple forces.
It was only when Yuan Yao surveyed the battlefield afterward that he discovered this group of people. He stroked his chin and thought for three seconds before finally waving his hand and labeling them as accomplices in Liu Xun's rebellion, with Xu Qiu himself playing the role of the second-in-command.
At this moment, under Cao Xing's command, the soldiers responsible for carrying out the executions all moved at once and killed these rebels, large and small.
Blood splattered, causing a slight panic among the crowd, which then became excited.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cao Xing loudly proclaimed to the crowd: "Why must we kill these rebels? Because they have wreaked havoc in Wancheng and harmed the people! Killing them demonstrates the Grand Commander's determination to protect each and every one of us!"
"The Grand Commander has arrived! Wancheng will be at peace!"
"The Grand Commander has arrived! Justice will prevail!"