Although Emperor Xian of Han had already appointed Chen Gong as the prefect of Dongjun, if Cao Mengde did not hand over the seal, his prefect would seem a bit unreasonable.

For this reason, Han Zhan also discussed with Guo Jia: "Fengxiao, judging from the current situation, it will be a matter of time before Cao Mengde leaves Dongjun, but what if he refuses to hand over the prefect's seal, what can he do?"

"It's okay." Guo Jia shook the feather fan in his hand and said confidently: "The lord can ask Your Majesty to replace the seal of the prefect of the East County. In this way, even if Cao Mengde held the seal of the prefect of the East County in his hand, he had no right to mobilize the soldiers and civilians of the East County."

Han Zhan thought it was very reasonable for Guo Jia’s proposal. After all, Emperor Xian of Han was in his territory, let alone proposed to replace the seal of a mere Dongjun prefect, even if he wanted to replace the seal of all prefects, he probably agreed. This is the benefit of using the emperor to command the princes.

As Guo Jia analyzed, the next thing Emperor Xian of Han agreed to Han Zhan's request and ordered people to recast the seal of the prefect of Dongjun, and sent an angel to go to Dongjun with Chen Gong.

On the day Chen Gong left Yedu, Han Zhan personally sent him out of the city.

Seeing Han Zhan personally bringing the civil and military officials from Jizhou to see him, Chen Gong fell to Han Zhanma and said with gratitude: "The Palace will never forget the great kindness of Anyang Hou's husband against the palace. If there is any way to do anything in the future, only one word from Anyang Hou is required. Even if the palace goes through fire and water, it will be unwilling to refuse."

Han Zhan quickly turned over and dismounted and helped Chen Gong up, saying earnestly: "Public Terminal, this trip to Dongjun is dangerous, so be more careful. If Dongjun is in trouble, you can consult Gao Lan. The soldiers in Jizhou can rush to Dongjun at any time."

"Thank you for your good intentions in Anyang Hou."

Han Zhan called Gao Lan to him again and told him in front of Chen Gong: "General Gao, the situation in Dongjun is complicated. You must ensure his safety when escorting the prefect Chen to take office this time. If the situation in Dongjun is out of control and the troops in your hands are difficult to deal with, be sure to send someone back immediately for help. The Jizhou army will be able to enter Dongjun within three or five days."

After listening to Han Zhan's order, Gao Lan quickly agreed loudly: "The last general will take the order!"

Looking at the soldiers and horses far away, Guo Jia drove the horse to Han Zhan and said to him: "Lord, if Chen Gong goes here, he will be able to control the entire Dongjun in a while. It means that we will control a place that military strategists must fight for without a single soldier."

Han Zhan deeply agreed with Guo Jia's statement. If he sent someone to serve as the prefect of Dongjun, even if Emperor Xian of Han agreed, it would probably cause criticism from the court officials. Now Chen Gong, who is pro-Jizhou, will be the prefect, and no one will have any objections.

…………

Since Ma Riyi came to Dongjun with the imperial edict, Cao Mengde has become upset.

Seeing this, the counselor Man Chong came to ask for a meeting and asked: "The lord has been depressed recently. Could it be that the court asked you to become an official in the court?"

Seeing that Man Chong guessed his thoughts, Cao Mengde naturally did not deny it: "I have been in Dongjun for several years before I have reached the scale of today. If I become an official in the court, all my efforts will be wasted."

"Lord, have you ever thought about not entering the court to become an official?"

"I have this intention, but the imperial envoy is still in the Dongjun city. If we do not follow the imperial edict to enter the court, it may take a few days before Jizhou's troops will invade Dongjun in large numbers. I'm afraid..."

Cao Mengde's words came to an abrupt end. Although he did not say what he was worried about, Man Chong, as his confidant, had no idea. He quickly gave advice for Cao Mengde: "Lord, it is inevitable to take back Dongjun according to the court's wishes. If the lord leaves, then the foundation will be destroyed; if he does not leave, he will resist the order, and the troops of Jizhou can enter Dongjun with justification. But lord, don't worry, we have other ways."

After hearing Man Chong say this, Cao Mengde suddenly felt his eyes lit up and asked quickly: "Boning, will you come out?"

"The lord can use a trick to hide the truth. On the one hand, he warmly entertained the Grand Tutor Ma Riyan, while on the other hand, he sent a group of troops to go south and quietly to capture Chenliu." Man Chong offered his advice to Cao Mengde: "As long as we seize Chenliu, the lord can return the East County to the court and lead the prefect of Chenliu. When the road is finished, the court will be powerless to do anything to the lord."

"This plan is very wonderful." When Cao Mengde heard that Man Chong's plan could indeed resolve the current crisis, he quickly ordered people to call Cheng Yu, Yu Jin and others to discuss.

A few days later, Cao Mengde ordered Yu Jin to be the general, Li Dian, Cao Hong as the deputy, and Cheng Yu as the military advisor. He led 20,000 troops and left Dongjun under the pretext of defending against Yuan Shu's troops.

When Ma Riying's entourage saw Cao's army leaving Dongjun, he reported the matter to Ma Riying. In order to figure out what was going on, Ma Riying personally visited Cao Mengde in the prefect's office.

Regarding Ma Riying's doubts, Cao Mengde ruthlessly said that Yuan Shu's troops were ready to move recently and threatened the safety of Dongjun, so he sent Yu Jin and others to lead troops to defend Yuan Shu in Runan. Faced with such sufficient reasons, Ma Riying also lost the doubts in his heart.

Unexpectedly, seven days later, Ma Riyi suddenly received news that Yu Jin led the troops and attacked Chenliu. Cao Mengde took the position of Chenliu as the prefect of Chenliu. Only then did Ma Riyi realize that he had been deceived by Cao Mengde. He wanted to argue with Cao Mengde, but he got the news that Cao Mengde had already brought a group of confidants to Chenliu.

Just when he was very upset and was about to write a letter to apologize to the court, a follower suddenly came to report that the court appointed Chen Gong as the prefect of Dongjun and would soon take office in Dongjun. The five thousand soldiers and horses of Jizhou, commander Gao Lan, were accompanied by him.

When he learned that Chen Gong was on his way to office, Ma Riyi quickly ordered his followers: "Go quickly to notify Gongtai, and it was said that Cao Mengde had left Dongjun and went to Chenliu yesterday. The seal of the prefect of Dongjun was taken away by him. Even if Gongtai came to Dongjun, he would probably be able to be a prefect without seals."

"Don't worry about the Grand Tutor," the entourage quickly explained to Ma Rizhe: "It is said that the Marquis of Anyang had long guessed that Cao Mengde would take away the seal, so he asked His Majesty to recast the new seal of the Dongjun Prefect. In this way, even if Cao Mengde takes away the seal, Chen Taishou could take over the position of prefect."

"Your Majesty is really far-sighted." Although he knew that this was Han Zhan's contribution, Ma Riyi still counted his achievements on Emperor Xian of Han. He ordered his followers: "Take people to welcome the prefect Chen immediately and tell him that Dongjun is basically an empty city now, so let him speed up his journey and come to Dongjun as soon as possible to take office."

"Subordinate to obey the order." The follower agreed, turned around and left the inn, rushed to meet Chen Gong with a quick horse.
Chapter completed!