The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 232 Returning to Yuyang

But where could they find this wolf? Liu Xie waved for the chief steward to leave. He needed some peace and quiet. If Chen Er didn't get involved, who else in the empire had the strength to stand against Yuan Shao and be inclined to side with the royal family? Perhaps the only option was to find those two imperial uncles, Liu Xie thought.

Originally, Liu Xie planned to send the Prince of Nanyang and the Prince of Chengdu to the capital to defend the emperor. However, he was dissuaded by Ding Min and others because Liu Biao and the other two were imperial relatives, and the kind of imperial relatives with very close blood ties.

Moreover, they possess a province and are quite powerful. What if, after entering the capital, the two of them become interested in the throne under Liu Xie's back? Many ministers who originally supported Liu Xie might immediately switch sides to either Liu Biao or Liu Xie.

A king who will bring about the downfall of his kingdom! A king who will bring about the downfall of his kingdom! Liu Xie suddenly realized that he was probably going to become the last king of the Han Empire, and he couldn't help but want to grab the crown off his head and throw it to the ground.

Alas, when Father Emperor was alive, although the empire was in turmoil, there was still a chance to save it, especially with Chen Er as the pillar of stability at that time, no one in the empire dared to rebel easily.

Back then, Chen Er was the emperor's trump card, a war god. Now, this man, once hailed as the empire's guardian, controls seven states and one prefecture, becoming a de facto separatist warlord.

Although it was nominally still imperial territory, and Chen Er acknowledged himself as a subject of the empire, everyone knew that Chen Er was waiting—waiting for the right opportunity.

"What should I do?" Liu Xie asked himself.

"Xiao Dezi, immediately summon Ding Min to bring the organization to the palace to see me!" Liu Xie said to the eunuch serving beside him.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Half an hour later, Ding Min rushed over. He had been trying to figure out how to win over more generals and expand his organization to protect the Luoyang guerrilla factory.

Recently, there have been more and more unidentified people appearing near the Luoyang factory, and the frequency of these incidents has been increasing, leaving Ding Min feeling physically and mentally exhausted.

He had to take on so many things all by himself; even a body of iron couldn't withstand it. But for the sake of the Emperor, Ding Min told himself that he must persevere!

Unexpectedly, so many things have happened in the few days since he stopped paying attention to palace affairs. At this moment, Ding Min was thinking about more than just Yuan Shao's blockade.

At the same time, he also thought of something even more terrifying: what if some members of the Imperial Guard or even his own personal guard had already defected to Yuan Shao? Otherwise, why would no one have reported such a big incident to him? If the Emperor hadn't summoned him, he didn't know when he would have found out about it.

As Ding Min walked towards the palace, his heart grew heavier and heavier; this time, the problem might really be difficult.

"I am here to see you, Your Majesty."

"My dear minister, please rise quickly. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Liu Xie quickly stepped forward and helped Ding Min up. He was extremely fond of this loyal general; without Ding Min, he wouldn't have been able to eliminate Gongsun Zan so easily. Of course, Jia Xu's suggestion also played an important role, Liu Xie added to himself.

"Your Majesty, I am aware of Yuan Shao's withholding of the imperial palace's supplies..."

Ding Min stood up and said, "I summoned you to the palace precisely for this matter. Do you have any ideas on how to deal with it?"

"Your Majesty, I do not have any good solutions at the moment. Yuan Shao has amassed more than 30,000 troops in Luoyang. With our strength, we can maintain the status quo, but it would be difficult to start a war with Yuan Shao."

"After all, the organizational capacity of the two sides is too different, and Yuan Shao can mobilize reinforcements from other directions at any time. I believe it is not advisable to start a war against Yuan Shao before we have complete confidence in our ability to win," Ding Min analyzed to Liu Xie.

"So, we need to find outside help?" Liu Xie said bluntly.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ding Min replied after a moment’s hesitation.

"King Chen Er of Wei will definitely not get involved in this mess, and he probably already has other ideas, perhaps regarding the royal family..."

Ding Min continued, but Liu Xie angrily interrupted, "It was Chen Er! If it weren't for his treacherous intentions, how could Yuan Shao have become so powerful!"

Liu Xie was extremely dissatisfied with Chen Er's disregard for the imperial edict and even his secret favor to Yuan Shao. In Liu Xie's view, Chen Er wanted to establish himself as emperor. Otherwise, why would this organization of generals, which the late emperor regarded as the guardians of the empire and the saviors of the empire, now ignore the royal family, which was in deep trouble?

Liu Xie's ideas were somewhat too self-centered. In his view, everyone should obey his orders. However, the reality was not like that. Chen Er, whom he hated to the bone, had already returned to Yuyang.

After being away for half a year, Chen Er missed home terribly, missing his three beautiful wives and two children. Once the situation in Yanzhou was settled, Chen Er immediately embarked on his journey home.

Just as he returned home and hadn't even had a chance to rest, he received the latest intelligence from the intelligence department regarding Luoyang City. Without even taking a break, he immediately summoned his advisors to discuss how the autonomous region should proceed to gain more benefits in this situation.

At this point, Xi Zhicai suggested that Chen Er put pressure on Yuan Shao.

"In the struggle for Luoyang, my own region should remain uninvolved, or have the intelligence department provide Yuan Shao with some covert assistance."

Xi Zhicai's words made Chen Er realize that Yuan Shao should take control of Luoyang as soon as possible. Without Liu Xie's restraint, he could extricate himself from Luoyang more quickly.

Sili, a region already within the reach of Yuan Shao's own jurisdiction and lacking natural defenses, had little potential for further development. After gaining complete control of Luoyang, Yuan Shao's primary objective was to open up Yongzhou.

Even joining the Liangzhou organization, whether Yuan Shao wanted it or not, was something he had to do, otherwise he would never have another chance to compete with Chen Er.

"Zhi Cai's words have reminded me. I was just thinking about how to benefit from this, but I forgot that the greatest benefit to my own region would be for Yuan Shao to be able to quickly take over Yongzhou," Chen Er said with a smile.

"My lord is blinded by his own involvement; he hasn't stepped back to see the bigger picture," Guo Jia said with a smile.

The development of the autonomous region is now on track. Except for the four southern states, the new policies and reforms in the rest of the region have been basically implemented. Although many remote areas have not yet reached their expected goals, the seeds have been sown, and they only need to wait quietly for the seeds to take root, sprout, and grow.

Therefore, Guo Jia is now living a carefree life again. He does not hold any administrative position, unlike Xun Yu and Xun You who work hard every day.