Chapter 27 Xiao Wang in the first quarter

After annihilating Wang Lang, the next thing Liu Xiu had to face was the refugee armed forces raging in the Hebei area. When it comes to refugee armed forces, for example, the Red Eyebrow Army in Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and the Green Forest Army in Jingzhou are all dominated by one family, and there is no other colony.The refugee armed forces in Hebei are different. There are as many as a dozen groups, each occupying its own territory, and each grabbing its own money and food. The names of these refugee armed forces are as follows: Tongma, Datong, Gaohu, Chonglian, Tieshan, Daqiang, Youlai, Shangjiang, Qingdu, Wuxiao, Wufan, Wulou, Fuping, Huosuo...

Each of the above-mentioned refugee armed forces is far inferior to the Red Eyebrow Army and the Green Forest Army in scale, but when they are all added up, they number in the millions. In the battle of Kunyang, the troops led by Wang Yi were only more than 500,000 people. However, what troubled Liu Xiu even more was not the armed refugees, but Xie Gong, the friendly army. According to the logic, Xie Gong was sent by the imperial court to assist Liu Xiu in the crusade against Wang Lang in Hebei. Now that Wang Lang is gone, Xie Gong's task has been completed, and it is time to go back to Chang'an.However, after breaking Handan, Xie Gong did his part and entered the city side by side with Liu Xiu, without mentioning returning to Chang'an at all.

It is obviously unreasonable for Xie Gong to remain in Hebei as an official of the central government. The only explanation can only be: the imperial court has already ordered Xie Gong to continue to monitor and constrain Liu Xiu, so as to prevent Liu Xiu from sitting on the throne. . Liu Xiu's official residence is the general of the Polu, and he does the work of the great Sima; Xie Gong's official residence is the Minister of the Book, and the emperor is a close minister.The positions of the two are equal, and it is impossible for either to obey the other.And the imperial court's wishful thinking is to let the two contain each other, so they have been reluctant to express their views on who is the highest official in Hebei.Thus, in Hebei after the war, such an absurd scene appeared: Liu Xiu and Xie Gong divided Handan into two and divided the city to rule them.

Obviously, this situation cannot be maintained for a long time - either Xie Gong killed Liu Xiu, or Liu Xiu killed Xie Gong. Liu Xiu had enough reasons to kill Xie Gong.Sweeping Wang Lang was almost entirely due to his credit. Xie Gong didn't make any contribution, but just relying on the backing of the imperial court, he forcibly snatched half of the fruits of victory. How could Liu Xiu be reconciled!On the other hand, if Liu Xiu wanted to eliminate the armed forces of the refugees, how could he let go with Xie Gong staring behind him with malicious intentions? Not to kill Xie Gong, Liu Xiu also has a last resort.As soon as Xie Gong is killed, it means that he will officially turn against the court. With Liu Xiu's current strength, it is far from the time to turn against him.

Unable to kill, Liu Xiu could only maintain a superficial harmony with Xie Gong, and even showed kindness to Xie Gong many times.Xie Gong's generals had no military discipline and robbed and plundered. Liu Xiu turned a blind eye and sat by and acquiesced.Xie Gong was diligent in his work, and Liu Xiu often gave gifts to comfort him, told him to take care of his health, and publicly praised Xie Gong: "Xie Shangshu is very good at governing the county, and he is really a capable official." After hearing this, Xie Gong was also secretly proud of himself. However, Liu Xiu's compliments to him actually have other meanings: You can govern the county, but you can't fight the war.

Xie Gong didn't want to kill Liu Xiu, but because of Liu Xiu's strength, he never dared to do it.Xie Gong also knows that two tigers can't fit in one mountain, since he didn't dare to kill Liu Xiu, he was naturally worried that Liu Xiu would kill him in turn. . Besides, on the side of the Gengshi court, Liu Xiu's powerful existence could no longer be ignored at this time, and the censor Huang Dang was sent to Hebei in due course to worship Liu Xiu as King Xiao and enfeoff Xiao County. Liu Xiu followed his uncle Liu Liang and lived in Xiao County for seven years, from nine to sixteen years old.Speaking of which, Xiao County can be regarded as Liu Xiu's second hometown.

The man left his family and wandered around, so why did he come here?It's not for returning home.The imperial court granted Liu Xiu the title of King Xiao and let Liu Xiurong return to his hometown, which can be called a special favor, and his intentions can not be called bad. After the edict was announced, Liu Xiu thanked him and was about to host a banquet in honor of Huang Dang, the envoy. When Huang Dang turned his head, he took out a second edict.Seeing this, Liu Xiu secretly smiled wryly: "I said how could the imperial court treat me so well all of a sudden, ho, so they are waiting for me here."