Han family achievements

Chapter 504: Your Highness

The bandit leader sensed that reinforcements from the government troops were approaching and issued a death order.

When the bandits received the order, they rushed towards the carriage at all costs.

The imperial guards fell one after another, and even the military officers guarding Liu Xie were covered in wounds and were on the verge of collapse.

Liu Xie and Mi Zhu picked up their knives at some point and looked around vigilantly.

puff
The bandit leader moved, and slashed the military commander's neck with a knife before he was prepared.

The military officer fell to the ground without any struggle.

The military marquis looked at Liu Xie, who was trembling and holding a knife, and didn't care at all. He waved his hand and said, "Tie them up!"

"I will never surrender!"

I don’t know where he got the courage from, but Liu Xie opened his eyes wide, raised his knife and slashed at the bandit leader.

The bandit leader remained calm, thrust his sword and pushed Liu Xie back, sneering, "Follow me, and you'll have your own benefits. Don't you want to die here?"

Liu Xie felt his arms go numb and he could no longer hold the knife. He gritted his teeth and said coldly, "If I fall into your hands, what good will it do me? The worst that can happen is death!"

Liu Xie has been trembling with fear over the years and has read all the history books. He knows very well that people like him will die miserably no matter what situation they fall into or who holds them!

It is better to die happily than to be tortured.

Liu Xie said, and once again, he held on, raised his knife, and said to the bandit leader: "Give me a quick death!"

The bandit was surprised to see Liu Xie was determined to die, but he thrust his knife back and said directly, "Tie him up!"

The bandits around rushed forward, knocked Liu Xie to the ground, pinned him down tightly, and quickly tied him up.

Mi Zhu, who was standing next to him, had fainted on the ground at some point in time.

Liu Xie struggled desperately and roared, but no one paid any attention to him.

"Come on!"

The leading bandit looked towards the road not far away again, vaguely saw the dust all over the sky, and seemed to feel the ground shaking. He shouted in a low voice with a serious expression.

The bandits carried Liu Xie onto their horses, rode away at full speed, and headed straight south.

"Thieves, please leave!"

Zhang Fei rode his horse at full speed, and his roar could be heard three miles away.

The bandits didn't even look back, and ran towards the south, leaving a trail of dust in the air.

Zhang Fei led a thousand men to chase after them, but just glanced at the corpses on the ground and continued chasing.

The leading bandit looked at Liu Xie who was still struggling in front of him with an indifferent expression. He reined in his horse and whipped it continuously.

The government troops arrived too quickly, beyond his expectations.

"Don't run, you villain!" Guan Yu appeared at the fork in the road, holding a big knife, and rushed over like a whirlwind.

When the leading bandit saw this, he hit his horse even harder.

Liu Xie, who was lying on the horse's back, was still struggling and whimpering.

The bandit leader looked a little impatient, but did nothing. He just kept running and did not say a word to his brothers who might be intercepted by Guan Yu.

Guan Yu cut off more than half of the bandits' troops, and only killed them indiscriminately on the official road.

The bandit leader did not even look back and led Liu Xie all the way south without turning.

"Leave the people behind!"

Another loud shout was heard from the front of the road, and a middle-aged man with a broad face and a fat body, holding two swords, came towards them.

The bandit leader immediately reined in his horse, looked back and forth, his eyes twitching, and shouted angrily, "What's going on?"

There were dozens of people following him. One of them stepped forward and shouted, "Brother, there's no other way. Charge forward!"

The bandit leader was very calm, his expression changing from gloomy to bright.

Something was very wrong today. Why did Liu, Guan and Zhang come so quickly, and were waiting for him on the road he had to take!
Especially at this time!
There were sounds of horse hooves from front and back, and the government troops were about to arrive.

"Rush over!"

There was no time to think and there was no other way to go, so the bandit leader growled, drew his knife, and rushed towards Liu Bei.

Liu Bei led his troops and came towards them.

Woo woo

Liu Xie was still struggling, and seemed to see hope, with an unprecedented intensity.

The bandit leader held Liu Xie down with one hand and rushed towards Liu Bei with a big knife in the other.

The two sides were fighting each other, or rather, the bandits were blocked and tried desperately to rush forward.

Liu Bei drew his sword very cautiously, fearing that he might hurt Liu Xie.

The bandit leader did not fight, but rushed forward when he found an opportunity, regardless of the lives of his brothers, and would even rush forward if he was stabbed.

After Liu Bei exchanged a few moves with the bandit, he vaguely realized that something was wrong, because the bandit seemed to have some reservations and was intentionally protecting Liu Xie.

"kill!"

At this time, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu followed and attacked from behind.

The few remaining bandits were trapped on the official road, with mountains on both sides and nowhere to escape. They could only accept their fate of being strangled.

"kill!"

The bandit leader understood the current situation clearly. He roared and rushed forward desperately.

But Liu Bei brought a lot of officers and soldiers with him, and although he tried to fight left and right, he was still trapped.

If the officers and soldiers had not been concerned about hurting His Royal Highness the Prince of Chenliu, they would have stabbed him to death a hundred times.

puff

Suddenly, Liu Xie seized an opportunity and fell off his horse.

"Your Highness!"

When the bandit leader saw this, he was horrified and reached out to grab him.

His warhorse was running violently. If a noble like Liu Xie fell off, he would easily die from the trampling of the horse's hooves and people's feet!

But the word "Your Highness" surprised Liu Bei and others who surrounded him.

Your Highness!

Aren’t these bandits?
Liu Bei's expression changed, and he suddenly drew his sword, giving the bandit a chilling blow. Then he quickly pulled Liu Xie up from the crowd.

The bandit leader fell off his horse, and the officers and soldiers around him stabbed him again with their guns.

Liu Xie, who was placed on the horse's back by Liu Bei, looked at the scene with his eyes wide open. He was extremely horrified, his whole body was stiff, and he felt cold.

The bandit leader was dead as hell, so Liu Bei ordered his men to clean up the battlefield. At the same time, he let Liu Xie down, untied his gagged mouth, and untied the ropes on his body.

Liu Xie lost his balance and almost fell to the ground, but was supported by Zhang Fei.

Liu Xie slowly sat down on a rock by the roadside, his eyes fixed on the blood-covered, disheveled corpse of the bandit leader not far away.

The word 'Your Highness' still lingered in his mind and could not be dispelled.

If he was just an ordinary bandit, the worst that could happen would be death.

But that one "Your Highness" might push him into an abyss of no return, and even his wife, children and elders would be buried with him!
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei stood beside him, all three of them looking at Liu Xie, as if waiting for him to speak. Liu Xie's throat moved with difficulty, and he turned his head stiffly to look at Liu Bei, and said with a smile that sounded like crying: "General Liu, did you hear everything?"

Liu Bei nodded silently without saying anything.

He knew how serious the consequences of saying "Your Highness" were, but he was powerless.

He could not possibly help Liu Xie cover up this matter, otherwise he, Liu Bei, would have to be buried with him.

Because he was not the only one who heard it, the soldiers around him also heard it, and it was impossible to stop everyone from talking!
Of course, Liu Bei never thought of covering up for Liu Xie - there was no reason.

Liu Xie smiled bitterly and turned to look towards Luoyang.

Originally, he thought that as long as his brother appointed a crown prince and the dynasty was in order, he would no longer be a threat to his brother and could live a more relaxed life.

Who would have thought that at the last moment, someone would call him "Your Highness"!
Liu Bei didn't say anything, but he felt somewhat sympathetic towards Liu Xie.

The King of Chenliu was indeed a kind and righteous man, but his fate did not seem to be very good.

"General Qi,"

A soldier came to report, saying, "They are all locals in Yuzhou. Those who are still alive don't know anything. It seems that only the leader knows the inside story."

Liu Bei glanced at the corpse and said, "I understand."

The soldiers retreated, the battlefield had been cleaned up, and they were waiting for Liu Bei's orders.

Liu Bei did not give any orders but was waiting for Liu Xie.

Liu Xie's heart was in turmoil, with mixed emotions. He was at a loss and felt anxious about the future.

But he knew that he had to face it eventually.

"Let's go." Supporting his stiff body, Liu Xie slowly stood up, his eyes always fixed in the direction of Luoyang.

In his eyes, Luoyang was no longer his home, but a place like the devil. Once he stepped in, it would be like falling into hell.

Liu Bei accompanied Liu Xie and continued on their journey.

In Liu Xie's eyes, Luoyang City is a terrifying place, but in the eyes of many people, Luoyang City remains the same as always.

The last day of the exam has finally ended, and the test papers are being packaged and prepared to be shipped to Dongguan.

The candidates walked out of Maoyuan one by one, looking relaxed and seemingly very confident.

Kong Liang frowned even more than last time, his face full of deep thought.

The book boy finally became a little uneasy and said, "Sir, you won't fail the exam, will you?"

Kong Liang shook his head subconsciously and said, "Today's test question focuses on the 'field policy', which is a very important part of the 'new policy'. Anyone who has paid attention to the 'equal field system' knows that the answer is ready-made. Do you think the prime minister will ask such a question?"

The book boy didn't care about the test questions and asked, "Sir, are you sure?"

Kong Liang walked silently for a while and said, "If I guess correctly, the court is not sure about the 'Equal Field System' and is still in the trial stage. Today's test questions are both a test and a collection of questions."

"Master, what should we do now?" The servant was really worried.

Kong Liang smiled and said, "Pack up your things and go back to Nanyang."

The servant was startled and was about to speak when he saw a large group of imperial guards rushing into Maoyuan. Everyone stood there in a daze, staring at the scene.

"What happened? Why are the imperial guards dispatched?"

"Yes, this is the Imperial Guard, right? The leader seems to be Dian Wei, who is your Majesty's substitute commander of the Imperial Guard!"

"No, it can't be..."

Some people were so shocked that they were speechless.

This is Maoyuan, the place where scholars take exams. What big event could possibly happen that requires the dispatch of the imperial guards?
But before long, the onlookers discovered that things did not develop as he had guessed. The imperial guards were only stationed at the door and did not go deep into the area, including Dian Wei, who was just standing at the door.

Then, as everyone watched, an ordinary carriage drove into the gate and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Is it His Majesty?" Someone suddenly guessed that the only person who could ask Dian Wei to guard the gate was His Majesty in the palace.

"Your Majesty, do you want to review the papers yourself?"

"This exam is really different!"

"That's great. His Majesty attaches so much importance to us. If we are admitted, we will definitely be given important positions in the future!"

……

The scholars were very excited and talked a lot.

Kong Liang stood in the distance, and seeing this scene, he shook his head unconsciously and said softly: "Something big is going to happen."

The book boy was still upset about his son's failure in the imperial examination, so he didn't say anything and was thinking about how to "redress" him.

Kong Liang looked at him for a while and said, "Let's go quickly. If we don't leave, we might get into trouble."

Inside the Maoyuan.

Liu Bian came to the main hall, where people were busy sorting out the test papers, covering their names and packing them into boxes one by one.

"I will see you, Your Majesty."

Seeing Liu Bei in casual clothes, Kong Rong, Chen Lin and others hurriedly saluted with confusion and uneasiness on their faces.

Liu Bian waved his hand, walked to the boxes, picked up a test paper, and said with a smile: "Have you finished the test?"

Chen Lin was very surprised by Liu Bian's sudden arrival and said cautiously, "Yes, Your Majesty, all the test papers are here. According to the plan, they will be sent to the East Palace today and reviewed together tomorrow."

Liu Bian took a look at it, put it down and said, "Mr. Cai has taken sick leave, and Minister Wang is also very busy. The matter of reviewing the papers will be left to you. Don't worry, the doctors and professors in the East Palace will all be assigned by you. Review the papers carefully and don't let any talent go unnoticed."

Chen Lin was shocked. Did Cai Yong take a leave? Was Wang Lang too busy?

There is no need for Your Majesty to tell me personally, right?
Chen Lin felt uneasy, and raised his hand calmly and said, "Your Majesty, I am still inexperienced and I am afraid I am not qualified to take on this role. Would you please send someone with high moral character and prestige to take charge?"

Liu Bian smiled, glanced at Kong Rong, paced a little, and said, "It's up to you. Review the papers overnight and get a result as soon as possible."

Chen Lin suddenly felt something was wrong and couldn't figure out the reason, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "I obey your order."

Liu Bian nodded, flipped through the test paper again, turned around and left.

After Liu Bian left, Kong Rong was still puzzled and asked Chen Lin, "Minister Chen, what is this, Your Majesty?"

Chen Lin's face was full of gloom. After thinking it over, he was still uneasy and said, "Mr. Kong, we should hurry up and send the test papers to the East Palace."

After being sent to Dongguan, Chen Lin had time to find Xun Yu, Xun You, Zhong Yao and others to find out the truth.

Even though he was not at the center, he still noticed that something was unusual these days, especially Liu Bian's personal visit, which made Chen Lin even more certain - something was happening!

After Liu Bian left Maoyuan, he turned around and called over Chief Huangfu Jian.

"What do you think? Should this matter be handed over to the Ministry of Justice or the Yellow Gate North Temple Prison?" Liu Bian walked out from the back door, he really walked out, and Huangfu Jianchang followed behind him.

Huangfu Jianchang said: "I will obey your majesty's order."

Liu Bian walked along, thinking in his mind, and said: "Almost all the fish are in the net, let's see what Xu You can do. By the way, did you interfere in Liu Xie's matter?"

Huangfu Jianchang saw that Liu Bian had finally gotten to the point, and immediately said, "It was I who notified Liu Bei."

Liu Bian stopped, looked to the south, put his hands behind his back, and smiled softly, "My dear brother, what do you think I should do?"

Huangfu Jian kept his head down and dared not breathe.

Someone wanted to kidnap Liu Xie. In fact, Huangfu Jian had already made this judgment, so he sent people to follow him. As luck would have it, at the last moment, someone really took action.

But Huangfu Jian didn't dare to say a word about Liu Xie.

(End of this chapter)