lcionline Chapter 39 Growth
Chapter 39 Growth
Perhaps they had already given up; time was running out, but he himself couldn't believe they were just going to give up like that. Gao Shun was now extremely anxious.
Night fell silently, and in the darkness, the howls of wild beasts echoed from afar. Gao Shun was startled, and after careful listening, he discovered that the sound was coming from the military camp ahead.
Winter had just arrived, and the wolf pack was searching for food everywhere. However, Gao Shun hadn't expected them to actually come to the military camp. Just as he was thinking this, a golden light suddenly flashed on his left arm.
He never expected that Yang Qing and Zhang Liao would dare to lead the wolf pack into the military camp.
At this moment, a soldier came to report that there was important military intelligence to report.
Gao Shun entered the military camp from outside and said to the kneeling men below, "Stand up quickly. What important military information do you have? Speak up immediately."
The soldiers below slowly stood up, cupped their hands, and said, "Reporting to the general, Chen Er and Zhang Liao have won a great victory."
Gao Shun could hardly believe his ears and kept muttering to himself, "How is this possible? How did they do it?"
The soldier said, "They lured the wolves into the camp, caused chaos, and won in the confusion."
Upon hearing the soldiers' report, Gao Shun repeatedly praised Chen Er and Zhang Liao.
Gao Shun still knows how to treat people; at least he doesn't mistreat his subordinates.
He then wrote a letter to Ding Yuan, hoping that Ding Yuan could promote Chen Er and the others to higher official ranks.
At this time, many of Gao Shun's troops had already joined Chen Er's army. He had developed a lot of confidants, plus his three hundred local militia, who were each worth ten men. In addition, there were his acquaintances in the army, each of whom possessed unique skills and could be gathered into a force.
Ding Yuan received the letter, partly to win over Chen Er and his allies. Unbeknownst to everyone, Ding Yuan had already prepared an imperial edict, bestowing upon Chen Er the title of Marquis of Anbei, and appointing him Governor of Youzhou, Governor of Jizhou, and Governor-General of the Anbei Protectorate. The others were no longer Ding Yuan's concern.
Of course, as soon as the envoy left, Chen Er put away the imperial edict. It was genuinely stamped with the Imperial Seal of the State. In his previous life, it would have been a perfectly legitimate document. Regardless of who issued it, legally speaking, Chen Er was now the Marquis of Anbei, the Governor of Ji Province, and the Governor of You Province!
We have to be careful with this. Of course, Ding Yuan, that old fox, didn't have good intentions either. In order to win over the Yuan family, Ding Yuan appointed Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu as governors of Yan Province respectively. The governor of Yu Province just wanted them to fight a tug-of-war with him so that the Xiliang army could benefit. But this matter is not so easy.
Chen Er immediately instructed Li Zhong to find a way to disrupt the relationship between Ding Yuan and the Yuan family in Luoyang. He then bid farewell to Gao Shun and led his troops to Youzhou. According to intelligence, the Yuan family had suffered considerable losses in the matter of deposing the emperor. If the Xiliang army pressed them a few more times, and even if some soldiers 'accidentally' killed a few members of the Yuan family, the conflict would inevitably be ignited sooner or later.
Although the course of history in this world is almost completely different from what Chen Er was familiar with in his previous life, Chen Er is still trying his best to steer it in that direction. Only when Ding Yuan falls will Chen Er have the opportunity to further strengthen himself!
Regardless, Ding Yuan still became the Imperial Chancellor, which made Chen Er see similarities to his previous life. Given Ding Yuan's impetuous nature, once he became Chancellor, he would probably have to spend the night in the Emperor's bed. At that time, there would be plenty of people fighting against this Imperial Chancellor. Chen Er only needed to observe quietly from the sidelines.
It's a pity that this life doesn't have the Oath of the Peach Garden, nor the assassination plot by Cao Cao, and of course, there won't be Cao Cao's infamous reputation of "I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me"! This is actually a good thing. Although Chen Er now has a reputation for holding military power, it's much better than the likes of Ding Yuan and the Yuan family, who are almost openly rebellious. You can see that recently, more and more civil and military officials have come to join Chen Er.
As Chen Er's power continued to grow, his civil and military officials increased in number, and his army grew larger, the relationships between administrative and military units, as well as in all aspects of life, became increasingly cumbersome. Further reform has become the most important issue facing Chen Er today.
The issue of consolidating power is now urgent. Currently, Chen Er governs three state-level administrative units: Anbei Protectorate, Youzhou, and Jizhou. At the same time, Cao's recent target is Qingzhou. The area of these four states is already quite large, and Chen Er needs a complete administrative system.
Thus, Chen Er made the boldest attempt in the world: to establish the Northern Autonomous Region of the Empire!
Good heavens, Chen Er, are you courting death? Establishing an autonomous region within an autocratic empire is practically tantamount to open rebellion. Of course, Chen Er would never say it like that.
At the end of November in the year 2187 of the Yellow Emperor's reign, after Gao Shun's army was "blocked" in Yanzhou and retreated, Chen Er announced to the world that Ding Yuan was a usurper who was threatening the imperial family. In order to better purge the court of corrupt officials, Chen Er announced that before Ding Yuan fell from power and the Liu imperial family regained control of the empire, the five regions of Youzhou, Jizhou, Anbei Protectorate, Bingzhou, and Qingzhou would continue to resist the rebels led by Ding Yuan in the form of autonomy and refuse to pay taxes to the imperial family in Luoyang.
Yes, that's right. Chen Er also brought in Lu Zhi from Bingzhou, Kong Rong from Qingzhou, and Tao Qian from Xuzhou. As for the prefectures and counties of Jingzhou, which were far from the north, Chen Er didn't bother to win them over. If it weren't to make his reforms under his rule seem more reasonable, Chen Er wouldn't have bothered to win over even Lu Zhi and others. In Chen Er's current thinking, these places would be his sooner or later, so why bother?
It has to be said that these past few years of chaos have completely changed the naive Chen Er of the past. Although his essence has not changed, his ambition has gradually grown. What was once just a fantasy of becoming emperor has now become the most real reflection of Chen Er's heart. Missions and returning to Earth are no longer important to Chen Er. After all, he has started his career alone in both his lives, so it doesn't matter where he is. Of course, as a modern person, even if Chen Er becomes emperor, he still does not intend to be an autocratic emperor. Not only would the contradictions be difficult to resolve, but it would also be exhausting. His ultimate goal is to achieve a constitutional monarchy. As long as he enjoys power, that's enough. As for his descendants, it would be good enough if they could give them a stable honor.
Of course, this is only Chen Er's long-term goal. He only vaguely told Xun Yu and others about this goal, without explicitly stating it. He only mentioned it ambiguously. As for how Xun Yu and the others interpret it, that is not Chen Er's concern for the time being. He is only concerned with whether his autonomous region plan can be realized.