Xun Yu cupped his hands and said,
"Thank you for your inquiry. In my opinion, with the death of the commander-in-chief, the people of Jizhou are in chaos. A new ruler must be chosen as soon as possible. In such a time of crisis, who else but you can achieve great things? Moreover, you are currently on a patrol with the Emperor. This is a heaven-sent opportunity!
"I request the Emperor to issue an edict to bestow the position of commander-in-chief and the Magistrate of Jizhou to you, as well as reward the civil and military officials of Jizhou. You will definitely be able to pacify Jizhou. If you can pacify Ye City, you will have Jizhou. Once you have Jizhou, the other four prefectures will submit to you. "
Xun Yu was a man of his word. He would no longer remain silent on matters that did not involve fighting against Cao Cao.
"Matters that did not involve fighting against Cao Cao" meant that Xun Yu would not help in the battle against Cao Cao. Don't argue and say that helping Bai Xiaowen unify Hebei would make him Cao Cao's enemy …
Dong Zhao quickly calmed down. Yuan Shao was dead, and Yuan Cao's position had changed. It was too late to regret now. He could only follow Yuan Xi to the end. Fortunately, Yuan Xi looked like a man of great talent and strategy. He could be the Lord's assistant.
Dong Zhao said, "Jizhou has a population of five million. The people are rich and it is the foundation of Hebei. The commander-in-chief's foundation was built on it. Lord Xun is right. You should enter Ji Province as soon as possible, lest something unexpected happens. "
Dong Zhao's attitude was very clear when he called him "Lord".
Gao Gan came to his senses and immediately stepped forward. He cupped his hands and said, "Lord, Bingzhou has tens of thousands of soldiers. As long as you give the order, I will charge into Jizhou and help you inherit your great cause! "
Gao Gan was expressing his loyalty and changing his tone. Since Yuan Shao was dead, everyone had to respect "Yuan Xi" to inherit the great cause. Therefore, the original "Young Master" naturally had to be upgraded to "Lord".
Li Shuyi muttered softly. She felt that "Young Master" sounded better. However, Bai Xiaowen gladly accepted it.
When Xun Yu and the other civil and military officials heard Gao Gan's declaration of loyalty, their admiration for Bai Xiaowen deepened.
Who would have thought that 'Yuan Xi' had already subdued the Bing Province Provincial Governor! With the support of the higher officials, even if they had to resort to force, the possibility of pacifying Ji Zhou would be greatly increased.
Bai Xiaowen's attitude toward Gao Gan was still quite respectful. He said, "Elder Brother is guarding Bing Province, you still need to guard against Zhong Yao of Si Province and Xianbei of the north; you must not act rashly. You just need to order Guo Yuan to lead ten thousand troops and follow me east to Ji Zhou. "
Guo Yuan led ten thousand soldiers of the Bing Province Army and Bai Xiaowen's Youzhou Army to escort the Emperor into Ji Province at the same time. In fact, this was a clear enough statement.
Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan could see the attitude of the Bing Province Governor from these ten thousand soldiers.
Next, Bai Xiaowen paid his respects to the Emperor. It was another tearful performance, needless to say.
Emperor Liu Xie was also a little confused.
'What's going on? Where's my newly appointed Grand Marshal?' It was there just a moment ago, and it was such a big lump. How could it be gone just like that?
After the initial shock, there was a wave of panic.
Originally, they thought that Cao Cao would be done for. They did not expect that Yuan Shao would be the first one to kick the bucket. This way, Cao Cao would be able to eliminate the Yuan family.
When the time came, he would fall into Cao Cao's hands.
When he thought of the imperial edict he had issued, the Emperor felt weak in his heart.
He could only place his hopes on Yuan Xi to turn the situation around.
Yuan Xi's strategic performance was obvious to all.
If he wanted to inherit his father's position, sure! Ji Province Governor? Sure!
The Emperor very generously issued an edict. Other than mourning for the late Grand Marshal Yuan Shao, the main point was that Bai Xiaowen would inherit the position of Grand Marshal. He would also have the right to establish a prefecture (that's right), become the Magistrate of Ji Province, and be in charge of Ji, Qing, You, and Bing!
From North Conquering General to Grand Marshal, even three levels were not enough to describe it. However, this was a special period, so it could not be compared to normal situations.
Apart from that, based on Xun Yu's suggestion, Bai Xiaowen asked the Emperor to give all the important civil and military officials in Ji Province, be it good or bad, including Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Shen Pei, Zhang He, Gao Lan, Jiang Yiqu, Han Meng, and the like.
Here, Guannei Marquis was different from other County Marquis, Village Marquis, and Village Marquis. They did not have any land and only had a certificate to represent that they had entered the noble circle.
In the Han Dynasty, there was a rule that one could not be given a Marquis without military merits. However, it was only in name now.
As for Tian Feng, Bai Xiaowen naturally wanted to give him a title. However, it was not the right time to do so as it would show that he was biased. As such, he could only treat them all equally.
Apart from the Ji Province officials, the Qing Province officials were also promoted. Bai Xiaowen's actions were to reduce the resistance of Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan to ensure a smooth transition of power.
Even Fengji and Guo Tu were rewarded. Now was the time to win over the hearts of the people. As such, the Emperor had to be tolerant of such people.
They might not be able to help him achieve things, but they could cause problems.
Feng Ji and Guo Tu were assisting Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan respectively. If they didn't reward them, they would definitely realize that the second young master Yuan Xi hated them.
What would they do? Of course, they would encourage Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan to fight for power.
Although Yuan Shang lost in Guandu, Cao Cao did not have the ability to expand his gains. As such, the four provinces of Hebei still had strength. However, if an internal war broke out, it would definitely affect Bai Xiaowen's strategy.
Of course, even if he rewarded them, it might not be a smooth transition. However, Bai Xiaowen had to do that.
This was the benefit of having the Son of Heaven in his hands. It was like opening a bank and having the power to print money. He could give out official positions freely, and the other 'banks' could only look up to him.
Bai Xiaowen fulfilled half of his promise to Gao Gan, giving him the title of General of Swift Cavalry and Governor of Bing Province. This was a position below the Three Ministers, second only to the Great General.
As for the two brothers, Bai Xiaowen still wanted to maintain harmony on the surface. He gave Yuan Tan the title of Front General and Yuan Shang the title of Right General.
However, Qingzhou and Ji Province could not be handed over to the two brothers. He ordered them to meet the Son of Heaven to thank him.
After obtaining this imperial edict, Bai Xiaowen immediately felt that his waist was strengthened.
The officials and generals under him were not given official positions. However, these officials and generals were not disappointed. They had good foresight, so of course, they would not be interested in the Imperial Court.
As the Minister of War, Yuan Xi established his own office!
Becoming an official under the Minister of War was a true trusted aide. Be it in terms of power or future, it was far better than being an official in the declining Imperial Court.
The Youzhou army rested for a night before heading east the next day. They escorted the emperor's carriage and rushed to Ye City.
Ji Province was vast, but Ye City's location was a little special. It was in Wei Prefecture, southwest of Ji Province. It was less than two hundred miles away from Tunliu City, where Bai Xiaowen set off from.
Of course, the exact distance could not be calculated in a straight line. Some places were mountainous, so one had to take a detour.
They set off in the morning. After passing through Huguan and Lu City, Bai Xiaowen led his troops into Wei Prefecture.
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