Ji Han Liu Zhang

Yellow and white city.

The banquet for Emperor's envoy Liu Ai is going well. Guanzhong is now mostly stable. The two culprits who caused chaos in Guanzhong - Li Jue fled and Guo Si was captured. Li and Guo are no longer a force to be reckoned with. The guests attending the banquet are naturally happy and relaxed, enjoying the happiness brought by the banquet frankly.

"Your Majesty, has you arrived in Luoyang now?" After Liu Zhang drank a cup with the angel Liu Ai, he asked the question even though he knew the answer, asking about the whereabouts of the emperor.

The angel Liu Ai nodded and replied, "Last year, Grand Marshal Lai attacked the rear of Li and Guo, so that the two bandits dared not to block your majesty's return to the east. The generals of Sizhou on the rear road were afraid of Grand Marshal's prestige, so few bandits dared to disturb your majesty's carriage. Your majesty's carriage went all the way east and arrived safely in Luoyang."

"Luoyang is desolate and its people are displaced. The taxes here may not be enough to support the court and the guards who protect the emperor." Liu Zhang asked with a little concern.

Liu Ai sighed and replied, "Grand Marshal, you are wise. Luoyang was hit by Dong Zhuo's turmoil last time. The palaces and temples were burned to ruins. The officials and common people were scattered. It is no longer the beautiful capital of the past."

"Within the capital, there are few farmers, so the taxes are not enough to support the court. As a result, the officials are all pale... In such a predicament, officials from the ministers and below have to go out to collect firewood, and the dignity of the court is no longer there."

When Liu Ai thought of the court in Luoyang, his expression was not very good. As a relative of the Han Dynasty, he might not prosper along with the prosperity of the Han Dynasty, but if the Han Dynasty declined, he, a member of the royal family, would most likely decline along with it. The fate of this royal family and the fate of the Han Dynasty were firmly tied together.

Therefore, whenever Liu Ai mentioned or thought about the court and the emperor, he could not help feeling sad. He was sad that the court was in decline, the emperor's majesty had been lost, and the governors of the prefectures and counties within the four borders pretended to be loyal but were actually disloyal.

Hearing this, Liu Zhang's expression became slightly solemn. He continued, "Among the princes in Guandong, are there any who can come to help us?" Liu Zhang was asking sincerely here. He didn't know much about the situation in Guandong. He had been competing with Li Jue and Guo Si during this period. In addition, the road to Guandong was blocked, and the news he received was somewhat uncertain.

Liu Ai shook his head, his expression dejected: "After your majesty arrived in Luoyang for a while, the news spread all over Guandong early, but the princes of Guandong all pretended that they had never heard the news of your majesty's return to Luoyang, and no one came to assist the royal family."

"Hmm?" Liu Ai recalled a piece of news he heard on the road. He said with a little joy: "It's just that when Ai received the emperor's edict and was on his way to Guanzhong, he heard that Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, led his troops to Luoyang, intending to protect and assist the emperor."

At this point, Liu Ai suddenly felt a little emotional: "Cao Cao is the descendant of a eunuch, but when Dong Zhuo was causing trouble in the past, he was the first to lead the righteous army and join forces with the princes of Guandong to fight against Dong Zhuo... And now that Your Majesty has returned to Luoyang, no one from the princes of Guandong has come to protect you except Cao Cao, which shows how loyal he is."

Liu Ai was impressed by Cao Cao's loyalty to the royal family. He could not help but compare them with other princes in Guandong: "Think of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. The Yuan family has three dukes for four generations and has received great favors from the country. But when your majesty fell into trouble and was oppressed by a group of villains, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu just sat and watched, only caring about their own selfish interests, attacking and annexing local states and counties. Their rebellious hearts are obvious to the world."

Liu Zhang was not interested in Liu Ai's sentiments at all. He just frowned and asked emphatically, "Is it true that Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, led his troops to Luoyang to protect the emperor?"

"It's almost certain." Liu Ai responded happily. He was very happy that some of the princes from Guandong led their troops to protect the emperor. After all, this showed that the Liu family had not lost the support of the people, and there were still people loyal to the emperor in the country.

"The inertia of history is greater than the potential energy of a mud truck." Liu Zhang sighed in his heart. If the emperor returns to Luoyang, he may fall into the hands of Cao Cao just like in history. Cao Cao may not be able to escape the title of "traitor".

"Minister, do you think that Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, is a loyal minister?" Liu Zhang drank a glass of wine calmly and asked Liu Ai.

"Of course." Liu Ai answered in an unquestionable tone, and at the same time he cited his own experience: "Cao Cao was the first to raise an army of righteousness, and then he pacified the local area. This time he led the army to protect the emperor. Such loyal people are rare in the world... Grand Marshal, you must not treat Cao Cao differently because he became a eunuch."

Liu Ai was very optimistic about Cao Cao. When the emperor was in trouble and no one was looking after him, Cao Cao was able to help him. This was out of loyalty. If Liu Ai was suspicious of Cao Cao without reason, it would only discourage loyal ministers.

"It is better not to make a decision too early, Minister. For example, if Wang Mang had died early and had not committed any acts of rebellion, I am afraid that everyone would still think that he was a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty," Liu Zhang said slowly.

"As the ancients said, 'Rights and wrongs, merits and demerits, must be judged after one's death.' Now Cao Cao is still alive, whether he was a loyal or treacherous man, only God knows."

Liu Zhang drank a glass of wine calmly. His eyes were distant and he glanced into the distance without focus, as if he had seen the future. His tone was so certain that Liu Ai began to doubt what he had just said. As Liu Zhang said, his words were indeed inappropriate.

Liu Ai softened his stance verbally, but he still defended Cao Cao: "What Cao Cao did was indeed that of a loyal minister. If he were like Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao was a valiant general in Hebei and had an army of 100,000, but he sat back and watched the emperor wander around and suffer from hunger and cold. He was definitely not a loyal minister to the Han Dynasty. Yuan Shu, on the other hand, owned the fertile land of Huainan, but he did not send a single grain of rice or cloth to Luoyang. Instead, he recklessly built palaces and halls. His standards were exceeded, and his intention to be disloyal was obvious."

At this point, Liu Ai lowered his voice and said, "Grand Marshal, have you ever heard of the prophecy that 'the one who will replace the Han Dynasty will be Dangtu Gao?'"

"Of course I have heard of it." Liu Zhang nodded, without any fluctuation in his expression. The prophecy 'The one who will replace the Han Dynasty will be Dangtu Gao' was widely circulated and quite famous. As a person in later generations, he knew about it. After coming to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he had seen this prophecy many times in books.

Liu Ai said: "Yuan Shu's name is 'high road', which fits the meaning of 'Tu', which means road. Secondly, the Yuan family is from the Chen family, and Chen is the descendant of Emperor Shun, with earth inheriting fire, which is in line with his destiny. Therefore, Yuan Shu boasted that the one who would replace the Han Dynasty should be the Yuan family."

"Minister, do you think Yuan Shu's solution is correct?" Liu Zhang asked after listening.

Liu Ai shook his head vigorously. He said contemptuously, "Yuan Shu is a disloyal and unrighteous man. His family has been blessed by the country for generations, but he has the heart to usurp the throne and even dares to talk nonsense about the will of heaven. He is just a laughing stock. Ai despises him deeply... I don't know what the Grand Marshal thinks."

After expressing his hatred for Yuan Shu, Liu Ai asked Liu Zhang a question in return.

Liu Zhang smiled calmly: "I share the same view as the Minister. The Yuan family has received great favors from the country, but instead of thinking of repaying the country, they have the intention of usurping the throne. Although such disloyal and unrighteous people may be glorious for a while, they will eventually fail as time goes by."

"The words of the Grand Marshal should be made clear." After listening to Liu Zhang's words, Liu Ai raised his glass to greet Liu Zhang. As two members of the royal family, they were talking about the traitors in Guandong, and they were naturally in agreement. How happy they were. The next day.

When the attendant Liu Ai woke up from the bed and sat up, he stroked his forehead and still felt a little dizzy. This was normal. After all, he had a good chat with Liu Zhang last night and drank too much wine, so he was not able to hold his liquor.

However, Liu Ai did not feel guilty for drinking too much, because he thought about the current situation. There was Cao Cao in Guandong and Liu Zhang in Guanxi. There were always loyal men in the world. The Han Dynasty always had one or two pillars supporting it. What a happy thing it was.

For this reason, Liu Ai drank last night. He gave up his usual habit of drinking less and drinking heavily all night. He ended up sleeping until noon today, when it was bright outside.

After Liu Ai stood up, he sat still for a while, looking at the bright sunlight coming in through the window. His mood was just like the sunlight, and the future of the Han Dynasty should be just like the sunlight, bright and flawless, without any darkness.

Having just woken up from a deep sleep, Liu Ai's mind was still extremely dull and his body was out of control. In this situation, it was inconvenient for him to move quickly, so he called a boy and asked the boy to fetch him some water to wash his face. He washed his face and woke up properly.

Just as Liu Ai sat down and waited for the boy to return, he suddenly heard thunderous cheers from outside, and the words "Long live" and "Long victory" came into his ears from afar.

"We won the battle, where did it happen?" Liu Ai showed a trace of confusion, but soon he had a guess, but he just needed to find someone to verify it.

Soon, the boy who was sent by Liu Ai to fetch water for washing his face came back.

"What's going on outside?" Liu Ai asked the boy who brought him water for washing his face.

As a family-born boy, Liu Ai's boy was naturally more alert than ordinary servants. When he was fetching water just now, he heard the noise outside and knew that Liu Ai would ask him a question, so he asked about the situation outside before handing Liu Ai the water for washing his face.

Hearing Liu Ai's question, the boy methodically handed Liu Ai a towel that had been washed and squeezed dry, while answering Liu Ai's question: "I heard from outsiders that the escaped Li Jue was killed by Liangzhou General Zhang Xiu. Now Li Jue's body has been handed to Sima Liu."

"Oh." When Liu Ai heard this, he couldn't help but show a happy expression.

Regarding Li Jue, Liu Ai, who was a minister and had always followed Emperor Liu Xie, had many dealings with Li Jue. Liu Ai hated Li Jue to the bone. He had wanted to kill Li Jue countless times and wanted to take advantage of any opportunity to kill Li Jue. However, due to his fear of harm and the safety of Emperor Liu Xie, he had to compromise and endure it.

Now, upon hearing the news of Li Jue's death, Liu Ai could not help but say with pleasure: "Good death, Li thief, you have come to this day, it is really the will of heaven and the protection of the gods."

Liu Ai rubbed his face with a towel, then asked a boy to help him dress. Then he put a piece of chicken tongue incense in his mouth, walked out of the house and headed towards Liu Zhang's central military tent. He wanted to personally verify the news of Li Jue's death and see Li Jue lying lifeless in front of him with his own eyes. Only then would he be relieved. He was not sure based on what others said.

Soon, the angel Liu Ai arrived at Liu Zhang's central military tent without any obstruction. He first saluted Liu Zhang, and then carefully looked at the corpse on the ground. At just one glance, Liu Ai determined that the corpse on the ground was Li Jue, whose flesh and blood he had been thinking about day and night and wanted to eat.

"Li Jue is dead, Guo Si was captured, and the two bandit leaders in Liang Province have now met such an end. This should serve as a warning to the world that the imperial court cannot be bullied and the emperor cannot be humiliated. Our Han Dynasty will prosper one day." Liu Ai said loudly to Liu Zhang.

He boasted about Liu Zhang's achievements: "This is all the merit of the Grand Marshal."

"I have only made a small contribution to the Han Dynasty. I do not deserve such praise from the Minister." Liu Zhang said modestly.

"No!" Liu Ai refuted Liu Zhang in front of Liu Zhang's family: "Before this, Li Jue and Guo Si were rampant in Guanzhong, forcing the emperor and threatening the ministers. No one in the world took action to punish them. If it weren't for the Grand Marshal, who knows how long these two thieves would have continued to cause trouble."

Liu Ai was filled with emotion. He had never thought that on this diplomatic mission, he would first meet Guo Si, who had been imprisoned, and then meet Li Jue, who was doomed to die. This gave him a good vent to the anger and hatred that had been pent up in his heart for years: "As the Grand Marshal, my achievements should be recorded in books. When I return to see the emperor this time, I will tell him about the Grand Marshal's achievements so that the emperor and the people of Guandong will know that there are such virtuous people as the Grand Marshal in the world, and they are the pillars of the country."

"What the Minister said is true." The military officer Peng Ying first heard Liu Ai refute Liu Zhang and looked displeased. Later, he heard Liu Ai boasting about Liu Zhang and knew Liu Ai's true intention, so he naturally responded.

"As long as you praise my Lord, you are my friend." Peng Ying responded while glancing at Liu Ai and their eyes crossed.

Liu Zhang smiled faintly, but he was no longer humble. With his current identity and status, being overly humble was not a good thing. Even if the attendant Liu Ai was willing to carry his fancy sedan, he would be happy to listen.

When Li Jue died and Guo Si was captured, the land of Guanzhong welcomed true peace and tranquility.

Liu Zhang reorganized his army in Huangbai City and rested for a few days. He sent his generals to wipe out the remaining scattered soldiers of the Liangzhou bandits. Then he ordered people to escort Guo Si and carry the head cut off from Li Jue's body. Li Jue's head was pickled here to prevent it from becoming corrupt and difficult to identify. So Liu Zhang prepared to return to Chang'an!

On the way back to Chang'an, Liu Zhang felt quite relieved. Now that Guanzhong was settled, he was no longer a guard dog trapped in Shu, but a tiger out of the cage, staring at Guanzhong and also looking at Longyou, and would become a powerful Qin.

At this moment, Liu Zhang truly stepped onto the stage of the troubled times and was about to shine. (End of this chapter)