Chapter 572: Shanyang Duke Liu Xi

Shangdang County, as the southernmost county of Bingzhou, is almost next to Sizhou. After crossing Gaodu, an important town in the south, it is the flat Henei County.

Henei County belongs to Sizhou. Because it is located in a plain, the land is fertile and the population is large, it has bred a large number of noble families. Among them are famous families such as the Wei family and the Sima family.

And it is obvious that this group of famous families are now supporters of Cao Wei. There may be some wavering families among them, but they still support Cao Wei at the moment.

So, after Ma Su led 20,000 Han troops to quickly capture Gaodu, the army entered Henei County. But after entering Henei County, Ma Su quickly felt something was wrong.

The Han army could not get any supplies along the way. All the food and fodder were either transported to the family castles of local nobles or directly stored in the county. The resistance will of the counties in Henei was still amazing, and there was even a situation where everyone was a soldier.

When the Han army successfully broke through a city, the people in the city did not welcome the king's army. Instead, under the leadership of various prominent families, they were hostile to the Han army, and riots and guerrilla warfare against the Han army continued.

This is the result of the four hundred years of operation of the counties by the Henei clan. They are deeply bound to the local people. If they don't get their support, then unless the Han army directly massacres the city, it will be impossible to successfully control Henei County.

Seeing this scene, Ma Su felt a little nervous and depressed. You know, this has just entered the Kanto region, and just one Henei County is so outrageous.

And further ahead, it is Luoyang and Yanzhou where Cao Wei's power is deeply rooted. If he stays in this situation, can he still massacre the city all the way?

Then what is the difference between him and Cao Cao? In the future, when he plays the resurrection match with Taishan Fujun, he can't laugh at him.

"I understand why this noble family has been entangled with China for thousands of years. With their deep ties to the local area, it's really hard to deal with them." Ma Su felt a little headache and felt extremely difficult about it.

After all, this is no longer a simple confrontation, and it can't be solved by recklessness alone. Unless Ma Su doesn't care about the people's hearts and lives, he can't fight to the end with this group of noble families.

If he can't fight to the death, he can only find a way to talk and see if he can win over or keep the Hanoi nobles neutral. Ma Su believes that as long as the local nobles don't make trouble, it is impossible to stop him with the power of the court of Cao Wei.

So, Ma Su quickly sent a transfer order back to Chang'an, and transferred General Sima Wang to come quickly to participate in the Eastern Expedition. This young general sent by the Sima family for investment should also shine at this moment.

The Han family has a thin foundation and doesn't support idle people!

While sending Sima Wang to the front, Ma Su also received an urgent report from Jiang Wei who was fighting at the front.

"General, we have encountered a very difficult matter and need you to make a decision." Jiang Wei came back on horseback and reported to Ma Su nervously.

"Oh? Very difficult?... Did you dig up Cao Cao's grave?" Ma Su was shocked and asked immediately.

"Uh... No, we caught... rescued a person near Huai County." Jiang Wei scratched his head and reported carefully.

"He claimed to be Liu Xi, the Duke of Shanyang, the third son of the former Emperor Xiaomin..."

Ma Su: "???"

Is it that you caught Liu Xie's son?

At this time, Ma Su also realized the seriousness of the problem. If this is not handled properly, it may affect the legitimacy of Ji Han... Of course, the impact is not very big.

After Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, the former emperor Liu Bei immediately proclaimed himself emperor and took over the Mandate of the Han Dynasty. It was also from that time that the Ji Han regime was truly established.

However, the situation was actually very unfavorable at the time. Because Cao Pi followed the complete process from Liu Xie and took over the imperial power step by step through "abdication".

As for whether the process was legal or not, it is hard to say, but this was the standard abdication process recognized by the world at that time.

In this way, it dealt a heavy blow to the legitimacy of Ji Han. In the end, Liu Bei falsely claimed that Liu Xie was killed by Cao Pi, which was regarded as taking over the mandate of heaven again.

Liu Xie was naturally not dead. He was granted the title of Shanyang Duke, and his fiefdom was in Shanyang County, Henei County. Finally, it was two years ago that Liu Xie died of illness in Shanyang, and his son took over the title.

However, it is worth mentioning that Ji Han's current territory was conquered by himself, so the initial lie has long had little impact. However, such sensitive matters still need to be handled seriously, otherwise it will always be a landmine.

"Well... this matter is indeed a bit tricky. What do you think?" Ma Su turned his head and looked at the four generals under his command, intending to ask for their opinions.

Because Ma Su was easy-going and extremely protective of his subordinates, even on such politically sensitive topics, these trusted generals would occasionally put forward their opinions.

"Sir, in my opinion..." Deng Ai gently made a gesture of wiping his neck and said softly.

"Although this has little impact on the Han Dynasty, it is still a hidden danger. So it is better to remove it as soon as possible. After all, the dead can't speak..."

"This is not appropriate. If this is leaked, it may damage the reputation of your majesty and the late emperor's benevolence." Ma Su shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and immediately spoke out to reject it.

"Perhaps this is not a bad thing..." At this time, Zhang Yi suddenly spoke up and carefully suggested to Ma Su.

"After all, he was once a prince. Wouldn't it be better if he, on behalf of Emperor Xiaomin, admitted that the abdication to the pseudo-Wei was forced?"

"What's more, the Mandate of the Han Dynasty has been taken over by Your Majesty now. Let's go through the abdication process again..."

Zhang Yi didn't finish his words, but Ma Su had already understood what he meant.

In any case, Liu Xie has long passed away. And now, as the eldest son still alive, Liu Xi's words still have a certain weight.

If he said that Liu Xie's abdication was forced, and he was really assassinated after the abdication, then the Mandate of the Pseudo-Wei would be illegal.

In this way, if Liu Xi, as the eldest son of Emperor Xiaomin, abdicated again and expressed his willingness to hand over the Mandate of the Han Dynasty to Liu Chan, everything would become reasonable.

At least, when the Han Dynasty promotes its own Mandate of the Han Dynasty in the future, it will no longer be as lacking in confidence as in the past.

Of course, if he was in charge of this matter, he would inevitably face threats and intimidation. If this spread, the person in charge of the execution would likely be affected.

So, Ma Su immediately took on this task.

"In this case, let's welcome Shanyang... welcome the crown prince of the Later Han Dynasty to Gaodu!"