Killing or not killing, there are only benefits.
But Liu Xie did not hesitate after hearing this, and said coldly, "No! Pretender Emperor cannot be handed over to Yuan Tan!"
His tone was decisive, without any room for error.
He knew that the strategy proposed by Jia Xu was very feasible, and the chance that Yuan Tan would not kill Emperor Xian of Han was very small.
But he didn't want to take even the slightest risk.
The True and False Son of Heaven dispute has been going on for several years.
Emperor Xian of Han is the last stain on his Son of Heaven orthodoxy. He must get rid of it. Only in this way can he fully grasp the authority of Son of Heaven!
Seeing Liu Xie's decisive attitude, the ministers who were originally a little moved by Jia Xu's proposal swallowed back the words that came to their lips.
They realize this is an untouchable minefield for Son of Heaven.
Pretender Emperor must die.
But at this moment, Zhang He walked into the Great Hall, bowed his hands to Liu Xie and said, "Your Majesty, there is a man outside the palace who claims to be a subordinate of General Cao Xing, requesting an audience."
Cao Xing?
All the ministers were shocked. They all read the memorial presented by Lü Bu, and naturally knew that the general responsible for escorting Pretender Emperor was called Cao Xing.
Just now Jia Xu wanted him to dedicate Pretender Emperor to Yuan Tan as an internal response.
Liu Xie's eyes changed slightly, and there was a vague feeling in his heart.
"Xuan!"
Zhang He surrendered and stepped back.
A moment later, he walked into the Great Hall with a man wearing coarse cloth Hemp Clothes who looked just like an ordinary citizen.
As soon as he entered Great Hall, this man paid homage to Liu Xie with standard military salutes and said respectfully, "Deputy General Wang Chong under General Cao, see Your Majesty!"
"No gift."
Liu Xie raised his hand slightly and asked, "Why are you here alone? Where is General Cao? Where is the team escorting Pretender Emperor?"
A trace of bitterness flashed across Wang Chong's face, and he cupped his hands and said, "Report to Your Majesty, we just escorted Pretender Emperor into Qing Province Soon, Yuan Tan's army began to mobilize frequently, and deployed troops to guard Passes, large and small. It seemed that they were defending Duke Wen from invading."
"Our team is now trapped in Dongguan Commandery. At this time, we are pretending to be an ordinary caravan and hiding in the mountains to avoid Qing Province Army who is patrolling everywhere. We are now in a dilemma and we may not be able to reach Ye City as scheduled."
"Therefore, General Cao sent his junior general to report the situation to Your Majesty."
Everyone in the hall was surprised when they heard this, and they couldn't help but glance at Jia Xu, because everything was exactly as he expected!
The team escorting Pretender Emperor was trapped in Qing Province.
It is impossible to cross the border at the moment!
Above Dragon Throne, Liu Xie's face is quite ugly.
He never expected that when Yuan Shao attacked Ji County, he also asked Yuan Tan to return to Qing Province to guard against Lü Bu.
Now is the time when Qing Province Army is mobilizing on a large scale. Although the team escorting Emperor Xian of Han pretends to be a caravan, there are too many people and they must be investigated.
The best way is to let Cao Xing take two or three people with him, and take Emperor Xian of Han on the road lightly.
But in this way, once the whereabouts are exposed, there will be no chance of escape.
"We could have just killed Emperor Xian of Han when we caught him. Why did we send someone to bring Ye City? There is no way Lü Bu would do such a thing. It must have been the suggestion of Chen Gong!"
Liu Xie felt quite annoyed.
He believed that with Lü Bu's reckless character, his first reaction after catching Emperor Xian of Han would be to chop him off with a knife and then bring him his head.
Just like the head given to Sun Ce last time.
Only a strategist like Chen Gong would look ahead and think too hard, and insist on sending Emperor Xian of Han to Ye City for his personal disposal.
It's really unnecessary!
Liu Xie took a deep breath and said to Wang Chong expressionlessly, "Go back and tell General Cao that since Pretender Emperor cannot be sent to Ye City, then kill him where he is."
"Just ask someone to bring the body over afterwards."
To him, Emperor Xian of Han just needs to die. As for how he died and whether he should be judged personally, it doesn't matter at all.
People like Chen Gong may have taboos, but he doesn't care.
Now Cao Xing and others are trapped in Qing Province and may be discovered by Yuan Tan at any time. Killing Emperor Xian of Han directly is the best choice.
"No!"
Wang Chong breathed a sigh of relief, clasped his fists and accepted the order.
"Wait a minute."
Sima Yi suddenly stood up and came out of the queue, cupped his hands to Liu Xie and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan. If this plan is successful, I can win Qing Province in one fell swoop!"
Sima Yi spoke firmly and his face was full of confidence.
Liu Xie was in a very bad mood now, but he had no choice but to suppress his impatience and asked, "What is Sima Yi's plan?"
When it comes to playing with people's hearts, Jia Xu is the best.
But in terms of military strategy, Sima Yi's talents are no less than those of Jia Xu.
As time goes by, it is inevitable to exceed Jia Xu.
Therefore, Liu Xie is also willing to listen to Sima Yi's ideas.
Sima Yi said bluntly, "Your Majesty, I also intend to start with Pretender Emperor, but instead of handing Pretender Emperor to Yuan Tan, I will use Pretender Emperor as bait to seize Qing Province."
"Bait?" Liu Xie Sword-shaped Eyebrows asked, "Tell me more about it."
Seeing that Liu Xie was not angry and wanted to continue listening, Sima Yi felt refreshed and said in high spirits:
"Your Majesty, Yuan Shao The reason why Yuan Tan returns from You Province to Qing Province is because of worries Duke Wen took the opportunity to attack Qing Province, and secondly, he was worried that Your Majesty would abandon Ye City and go to Xu Province."
"Therefore, if Yuan Tan suddenly found traces of Your Majesty in Qing Province, what choice does Your Majesty think he would make?" Liu Xie couldn't help but feel a little moved after hearing this, and roughly guessed what Sima Yi was thinking.
"Sima Yi means... to have Pretender Emperor pretend to be me and show up in Qing Province, making Yuan Tan think that I am going to Xu Province, thereby attracting his army to scatter and arrest, and then I and Duke Wen will take the opportunity to attack Qing Province?"
His many military books and battles are not in vain.
Sima Yi He understood it as soon as he said it so simply.
Only a few people know that Pretender Emperor was captured by Lü Bu. Yuan Tan is not aware of it, let alone that Pretender Emperor is currently in the territory of Qing Province.
"Exactly..."
Sima Yi was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Liu Xie understood what he meant just by raising his head.
Your Majesty is actually good at military strategy?
Guo Jia on the side pondered for a moment, frowned and said, "This strategy sounds feasible, but if you think about it carefully, it is too crude. How could Yuan Tan be so easy to deceive?"
"And Qing Province has Twenty Thousand's five thousand troops stationed there, while Wei Commandery's troops only have Twenty Thousand. If you want to pose a threat to Qing Province, you must come out in full force."
"But in this case, Wei Commandery will be empty. When Yuan Shao will lead an army to attack, Ye City will definitely be defeated!"
Guo Jia pointed out the flaw in Sima Yi's strategy.
Not to mention whether Yuan Tan would be so easily fooled, the gap in military strength and the threat from Yuan Shao from behind made this strategy impossible to implement.
Twenty Thousand Troops of Wei Commandery is the final trump card.
If Twenty Thousand Troops moves, and Yuan Shao directly leads his troops to attack, what will they do to resist?
Don't forget that before Qing Province was defeated, Yuan Shao came from the rear and made dumplings. He lost his wife and lost his troops.
"Censor-in-Chief Listen to me carefully."
Sima Yi took his time and began to explain his overall plan in detail, "Let's talk about the issue of troops first. Wei Commandery has Twenty Thousand Troops, Duke Wen also has Twenty Thousand Troops, a total of 40,000 troops, and they are all Elite Troops."
"Forty thousand troops attack Qing Province at the same time, Yuan Tan is absolutely unable to resist."
"As for the issue of Yuan Shao leading troops to rush for reinforcements, I think Your Majesty can recruit Black Mountain Army and have them delay Yuan Shao's army at You Province, buying time for us to attack Qing Province."
"Black Mountain Army leader Zhang Yan has been recruited by Former Emperor. If Your Majesty orders recruitment again and promises high officials and generous salaries, he will most likely choose to join the army."
"With more than 100,000 Black Mountain Army, even if it is just a group of rabble, they can at least delay Yuan Shao for some time. We only need one month."
"As for how to deceive Yuan Tan..."
Sima Yi analyzed and solved the problems one by one. When it was the last question's turn, he paused and turned his attention to Yuan Xi.
Everyone also looked over.
"Watch what I do?"
Yuan Xi's expression changed slightly, and he said with a dark face, "I have already broken up with Yuan Shao. Although Yuan Tan is my brother, he is now on the opposite side of me. How can he believe my words?"
Sima Yi smiled and said, "General Yuan doesn't understand. In the eyes of Yuan Tan and Yuan Shao, it is you and General Zhang Liao who are Holding the Son of Heaven Hostage right now."
"As long as you and General Zhang stage a show of Bitter Flesh Stratagem, pretend to be hunted and escape to Qing Province, seek refuge with Yuan Tan, and tell him that General Zhang Liao intends to escape back to Xu Province with Your Majesty."
"At this moment, traces of Son of Heaven have been found in Qing Province. At the same time, Duke Wen's army is on display at the border of Xu Province... Does General Yuan think Yuan Tan will believe it? Will he mobilize his army to hunt down Son of Heaven?"
Yuan Xi immediately changed his face when he heard this!
Let him play Bitter Flesh Stratagem and take refuge in Yuan Tan?
What is the difference between this and seeking death!
Yuan Xi looked at Liu Xie and said in a panic, "Your Majesty, I think this strategy will definitely not work. Yuan Tan will definitely kill me!"
"I have done meritorious service for Great Han, and I have shed blood for Your Majesty. I have worked hard even without merit, Your Majesty!"
Yuan Xi was really panicking now, fearing that Liu Xie would agree to Sima Yi's ridiculous plan.
Where is Bitter Flesh Stratagem? This is clearly asking him to risk his life!
Liu Xie frowned in thought, feeling extremely entangled in his heart.
Sima Yi's entire strategy is interlocking and there are not many loopholes. The only problem is... Emperor Xian of Han must be used as bait to attract Yuan Tan.
In other words, he cannot kill Emperor Xian of Han for the time being.
But this is obviously inconsistent with his ideas.
Emperor Xian of Han is a thorn stuck in the deepest part of his heart. If it is not removed, he will feel uncomfortable every day.
But in contrast, it is the huge benefit to annex Qing Province and connect Ji Province, Xu Province, and Qing Province. Once successful, he will be invincible from now on!