In less than ten days, Bai Xiaowen conquered Xiliang and captured Ma Chao alive!
When the news spread back to Yedu, the officials of the Great Sima Manor were all delighted. On the other hand, the officials in the court were all in awe.
Thus, Dong Zhao brought up the matter of awarding Bai Xiaowen the title of Duke of Yan and gave him many privileges.
This was not a coincidence.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhao was the first to suggest that Cao Cao should be given the title of Duke of Wei and added the title of Jiuxi to show that he was different from the other officials. Now, he only mentioned the title of Duke and did not add the title of Duke of Wei.
Apart from a few officials who lowered their heads and did not speak, most of the officials agreed.
What needed to be said was that these officials were all captured by Bai Xiaowen from Xudu. Comparatively speaking, they were weaker.
Those who were stubborn and did not want to move the capital were all killed by the Emperor as Cao Cao's henchmen.
Back then, Bai Xiaowen did not give the order himself and instead asked the Emperor to kill the officials. Now, it was effective. It lowered the loyalty of the officials to the Emperor — although their loyalty was not high to begin with.
Only one official opposed this and took action.
It was none other than the Minister of Imperial Affairs, Xun Yu.
However, Xun Yu did not raise his opinion in the court. Instead, he wrote a letter to Bai Xiaowen and advised him not to do so.
On the way back, Bai Xiaowen received Xun Yu's letter. After reading it, he sent it to a few of his teammates in the White Phoenix Battle Team for them to see.
"In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Xun Yu advised Cao Cao to give himself the title of Duke of Wei. It is reasonable for him to advise you not to give yourself the title of Duke of Yan, "Qiao Rui said.
Li Shuyi said, "When I read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I felt that Xun Yu was very strange. You said that he was loyal to the Emperor, but when the Emperor recognized Liu Bei as his uncle, he told Cao Cao to be careful. However, when you said that he was loyal to Cao Cao, he stopped Cao Cao from giving himself the title. He is a very contradictory person. "
Bai Xiaowen said, "This is not strange. Xun Yu was not loyal to the Emperor or Cao Cao. He was just an idealist. His dream was for Cao Cao to be Yi Yin, Duke of Zhou! As one of Cao Cao's subordinates, his name could also go down in history. When there was a conflict between reality and ideals, he would not compromise, which led to the tragedy in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. "
"In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao gave Xun Yu an empty food box, and Xun Yu committed suicide by taking poison. What are you going to do? "
"Cao Cao was suspicious," Bai Xiaowen said, "He thought that if Xun Yu did not help him, he would help the Han. I can't bear to kill Xun Yu, but I can't accommodate his will either. I've already done my research. Becoming an Emperor is a great contribution to the unification of the world, so I can't give up on it. To proclaim oneself as an emperor, the titles of dukes and kings are necessary preludes. "
As for Xun Yu's letter, Bai Xiaowen's method was to treat it coldly. He used the 'delay' tactic and ignored it. In addition, he sent an envoy to Yedu to reward Xun Yu with a pair of white jade pieces.
Dong Zhao understood Bai Xiaowen's real intention; naturally he contacted the officials to urge the Emperor.
When Bai Xiaowen returned to Yedu, the Emperor sent out the imperial carriage and led the officials out of Yedu to welcome him.
The imperial edict conferred Bai Xiaowen the title of Duke of Yan. He could enter the court without haste, without praising him, and without swords.
The title of 'Yan' was because Bai Xiaowen started his army from the land of Youyan. The other three privileges had their own reasons.
In ancient times, when the officials met the Emperor, to show respect, they had to lower their heads and walk quickly into the court. This was called 'haste'. 'Enter the court without haste' meant that they did not need to walk quickly and could walk into the court.
When meeting the Emperor, there was a procedure. The master of ceremonies would call out, "Minister of War, Governor of Ji Province, Yuan Xi, greets the Emperor." He had to include his name. In ancient times, only when one of them was a superior or elder could this be done.
Now, the imperial edict called 'without praising him' meant that he did not have to use his name, but only his official position. Although it seemed like a small change, it reflected that the Emperor and the officials were on equal footing.
The last one, 'without swords', meant that he could wear shoes and carry a sword to meet the Emperor. This was also a special privilege and honor.
However, Bai Xiaowen naturally had to pay a certain price in order to enjoy such great power and influence.
For example, the Emperor and the officials had completely seen Bai Xiaowen's true colors.
For example, Xun Yu had taken the initiative to resign.
Bai Xiaowen could only meet Xun Yu.
When he saw Xun Yu this time, Bai Xiaowen was shocked again. Compared to the last time they saw him, Xun Yu had lost a lot of weight. He looked like he was emaciated.
"Your Highness, why have you lost so much weight?" Bai Xiaowen asked.
Xun Yu replied, "I can't eat well and can't sleep well, so I've lost weight."
Bai Xiaowen did not continue asking. He only sighed, "It's too tiring for you to take on so many roles. Since you want to resign, I will allow it. As for the Minister of War's position in the court, it is an idle position. There is no need for you to enter the court. I will promote you to the Provincial Governor of Ji Province. You can focus on the civil affairs of Ji Province. "
Bai Xiaowen did not overstep his boundaries by calling himself 'Gu'.
Xun Yu should indeed stay away from the center of the court and focus on local affairs. This was also a form of protection for him.
When Xun Yu saw that Bai Xiaowen did not follow his pattern, he said directly, "Before you were conferred the title of Duke of Yan, I wrote a letter to you, but there was no reply."
Bai Xiaowen nodded, "At that time, I was busy with the army and had already arrived in Yan Province. There was no reply."
Xun Yu bowed and said, "As the descendant of a Han official, you are the Third Duke for four generations. The imperial court has treated you with great kindness. You should be loyal and abide by the etiquette of retirement. A gentleman loves his wife with virtue. You should not overstep your boundaries. I sincerely request that you remove your title. The Han Dynasty and the world will be fortunate. "
Bai Xiaowen coughed, "Alright, Xun Yu, I understand. You may leave. "
After Xun Yu left, Bai Xiaowen submitted a memorial and asked to resign the title of Duke of Yan.
A glimmer of hope appeared in the emperor's heart. During the court meeting, he asked, "Duke of Yan said that he is young and unvirtuous and does not dare to accept the title. What do you think?"
The newly appointed minister of Guanglu, Minister Dong Zhao, went to the court and said, "This is Duke of Yan's humility. Your Majesty should issue another edict to not allow the Duke Of Yan to resign so as to not disappoint the people. "
The ministers behind him bowed again and shouted, "Your Majesty, please issue an edict so as to not disappoint the people!" It turned out that Dong Zhao had secretly colluded with most of the ministers. That was why there was such a scene.
The emperor's expression changed. He could only issue another edict. This time, Bai Xiaowen did not decline and accepted it directly.
Xun Yu could not do anything about it and could only lie in bed.
Dong Zhao went to visit Xun Yu and said, "I heard that your son repeatedly advised you not to accept the title. If you were a jealous and harsh ruler, I'm afraid you would not be tolerated. My lord even appointed your son as the Provincial Governor of Ji Province. Why do you have to go against the trend and offend the world? "
Xun Yu coughed and could not speak. He pointed at the door and stared at Dong Zhao.
Dong Zhao sighed and said, "I received your son's recommendation. That was why I was able to meet a wise ruler and fulfill my ambitions. My advice was for the sake of your son's life. Since your son does not like it, I will not visit you again in the future to avoid dirtying your son's eyes. "
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