Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 367 You can be the emperor, I wish to be the Duke of Zhou

After Chen Zhulou left Chang'an, the city of Chang'an fell into a brief and strange silence.

Three months had passed, but none of the hostile forces in Chang'an City took the initiative to take action. Instead, they stared at each other eagerly, like two lions fighting each other.

They are all looking for help.

The forces on the emperor's side quickly gathered, and for some reason Liu Bei and Liu Xuande ended up standing by the emperor's side and became his right-hand men.

This change also made the results that should have been clear become blurred again.

In the spring of the first year of Zhaoning, the emperor issued an edict, appointing Liu Bei as prime minister, and conferring upon him the titles of Grand Tutor, Minister of Works, Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, and "Virtuous King", listing him as the elder of all the kings, and appointing Liu Bei as the head of the royal family.

He was granted the Nine Gifts, allowed to wear a sword and shoes into the palace, and was not required to bow when seeing the emperor.

A series of additional titles pushed Liu Bei to the forefront, and everyone was looking at this imperial uncle.

Today, when King Chen'an is not in Chang'an City, Liu Bei can be said to be the most honorable person in the entire court. Even He Jin and General He are slightly inferior to him.

Taiwei Mansion

Cao Cao sat in the house, looking at the various memorials in front of him, with a hint of calmness on his face.

Xi Zhicai was trying to calm Cao Cao down.

"Don't worry, Lord Cao. These are just empty names."

"Didn't we already foresee that Lord Liu would stand beside the emperor?"

Cao Cao just nodded silently. He raised his head slightly and looked in the distance, his voice full of emotion and helplessness: "In fact, I knew as early as the night when King An died that three months later, I would stand on the opposite side of Xuande."

He stood up, walked into the courtyard, and watched all things sprout into life.

"Because Xuande doesn't trust me. He thinks that although I am a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, I am not a loyal minister of the emperor."

"The reason why he was willing to cooperate with me before was very simple, because Dong Lin was here."

"Donglin is in Chang'an, so I dare not do anything that goes against my promise."

"And with Dong Lin here, I will trust the series of plans he proposed, because with Dong Lin here, Xuande will not do anything to go against his promise."

"Neither of us can bear Donglin's wrath."

"And now that Dong Lin has left, the court is indeed in chaos."

He closed his eyes: "Is there any news from King Hongnong?"

Xi Zhicai lowered his head and stood behind Cao Cao. There was confusion in his voice: "There is news from over there, saying that they are willing to cooperate with Cao Gong, but hope to meet Cao Gong in person."

He emphasized: "He hopes to talk to Cao Gong in person before making a final decision."

Talk to him in person?
Cao Cao raised his eyebrows, with a hint of curiosity on his face: "Okay, then I will take advantage of these few days to leave Chang'an and go to Hongnong."

"I think King Hongnong will not let me down."

Prime Minister's Office

Liu Bei sat in his mansion, quietly pressing his forehead. He felt a little tired, but also a little weak.

In the past, when he had not sat in the position of prime minister, in charge of coordinating all officials, he did not know that the Han Dynasty had become so rotten.

But now that he has become the prime minister, he has just seen the numerous flaws in this big man's body.

He tilted his head: "What choice will Meng De make?"

Liu Bei actually knew very well Cao Cao's final choice, but he wanted to know how this choice would be realized.

The first year of Zhaoning, June of summer.

Following the advice of Prime Minister Liu Bei, the Emperor appointed Lü Bu, a native of Bingzhou, with his courtesy name Fengxian, as the Prefect of the Guards, in charge of the Yulin Army and concurrently the Commandant of Chang'an.

From then on, this general from Bingzhou was truly about to become a member of the Han Dynasty's top leadership.

But surprisingly, Lu Fengxian refused and said that his health was damaged due to being at the border for many years and he wanted to resign and return home.

Prince Xian's Mansion

Liu Bei looked at Lü Bu, who had a resolute face, and frowned slightly: "Fengxian, with your talent and courage, if you stay in Chang'an, you will surely be able to achieve great things. Why do you have to resign and return home at this time?"

"You must know that once you go back, you will have nothing."

Lu Bu just smiled and pushed the cup of wine in front of him towards Liu Bei.

"Your Highness, don't worry that I will surrender to Lord Cao. I am just tired and want to go back."

He looked at Liu Bei's still worried expression, thought about it, and simply told Liu Bei the truth.

"Mr. Chen has been very kind to me. If it weren't for the letter of honor from Mr. Chen, I would be nothing more than a minor general in Bingzhou now."

"Now that Mr. Chen has resigned and returned to his hometown, I want to follow him."

Liu Bei raised his head with a complicated expression.

In fact, he had guessed it before hearing Lu Bu mention "Mr. Chen", and now that he really heard it, he still felt a little shocked.

Based on Lu Bu's abilities, he is probably the most powerful general in the world.

He also clearly understood what Chen Zhulou would do after returning to Guandu this time. How could he feel at ease to let Lu Bu go?

But at this time he couldn't force Lu Bu to stay.

Because that would break the rules.

So Liu Bei could only say: "Well, since Fengxian is not interested in this, I will not force him to stay."

"Drink up the wine in the cup, hoping that I won't meet my old friend in the future."

It is often said that meeting old friends is a happy event, but Liu Bei's cup of wine was meant to express his hope that the two would never meet again in the future.

Such words were extremely heartless, but Lu Bu felt the friendship in them.

Because they all knew what the situation would be like if they met again one day.

Lu Bu drank the wine in the cup and whispered: "I hope that when we meet again in the future, we will not fight each other."

The first year of Zhaoning, July of summer.

It was pouring rain, the wind and rain were roaring, and the endless strong wind was blowing everything in Chang'an City.

The emperor, sitting high up in the Weiyang Palace, began to get anxious.

The reason is simple.

Since May of the first year of Zhaoning, court officials have resigned one after another. Many of these officials were people who used to hold real power.

Are these people actually willing to give up high positions and generous salaries?
Among the thirty-six ministers, twelve resigned and returned to their hometowns, and these twelve people made it clear that they wanted to resign. In addition to these twelve people, there were more than a dozen others who had already begun to stop caring about state affairs.

Among the many officials below, more resigned.

The emperor began to be afraid and anxious.

He thought of what Liu Bei said in the Weiyang Palace on the day when Chen Zhulou left. With a look of fear on his face, he called Liu Bei and wanted to ask Liu Bei's opinion on the matter.

Liu Bei was in his thirties at this time, but his face looked a little old, as if he was in his forties.

There are also some gray hairs on his head.

"Your Majesty." He stood there, his face full of vicissitudes: "I wonder why Your Majesty called me here today?"

Liu Bian did not notice the fatigue and vicissitudes on Liu Bei's face. He just hurriedly told Liu Bei the news that the embroidered clothes envoy had seen in the past few days, and then asked anxiously: "Uncle, what should we do?"

How should this be done?

Looking at Liu Bian's anxious expression, Liu Bei almost sneered in his heart.

As early as the day Chen Zhulou left, he had already seen this result, but he did not listen to his advice at that time. It was too late to ask him what to do today.

But at this time Liu Bei was already standing on Liu Bian's broken ship, and of course he could not get off the boat, and he had no chance to get off the boat.

So he could only force himself to cheer up and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. There are still many councilors in the court who can serve as officials in these places. It won't be a problem to temporarily fill in and maintain the operation of the court."

"The autumn of this year is coming, and the filial and honest people selected this year should begin to enter the court one after another."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty."

Don't worry?

How could he not worry?

Liu Bian suddenly looked at Liu Bei and asked in a low voice: "Uncle, are these people resigning because Chen Zhulou resigned?"

Looking at Liu Bian's expression suddenly changed, Liu Bei nodded helplessly.

When Liu Bei nodded, Liu Bian's face was filled with anger: "So that's how it is, so that's how it is!"

He gritted his teeth and said, "So they are all Chen's followers!"

Liu Bian was furious, but he no longer had the anxiety he had before. He just said condescendingly: "Then let them resign."

"I want to see, without the Chen family and their followers, will my Han Dynasty collapse in an instant?"

Liu Bei stood there, saying nothing.

Beside Liu Bian, the eunuchs began to praise the prosperity of the Han Dynasty and the wisdom of the emperor.

The first year of Zhaoning, July of summer.

Hongnong Kingdom

The night was quiet. Cao Cao, dressed in black, rode his horse at the speed of a whip. He stopped at the capital of Hongnong State, followed by two sturdy men who looked very honest.

One was named Dian Wei and the other was named Xu Chu.

"Captain, we are here now."

Xu Chu scratched his head, with a puzzled look on his face: "In fact, the commander could have asked the young prince to come to Chang'an, why did you come to Hongnong in person?"

"Isn't this giving him too much face?"

Cao Cao just smiled faintly, stroking his beard, and in his mind he saw the scene of himself "respecting the emperor and repelling the barbarians".

He turned around and scolded Xu Chu, not too harshly, "Zhongkang! How can you talk like that?"

"The prince is worth a ton of gold, and he was the most beloved son of the late emperor. How can a mere lieutenant like you treat him as you please?"

"It's fine if you don't follow the rules in front of me, but if you continue to talk like this after entering the palace, I will definitely punish you by military law!"

Xu Chu just smiled foolishly and said nothing more.

Dian Wei on the side glanced at Xu Chu and curled his lips. This fool looked honest, but actually he was full of tricks.

After entering the Hongnong Palace, Cao Cao walked slowly, looking at the plants and trees in the palace, and couldn't help but sighed: "The prince is so frugal, and the palace is too simple."

He tilted his head and asked, walking left and right: "But you treated the prince badly?"

Cao Cao looked anxious and said, "If that's the case, I will definitely kill all of you!"

Before the man walking around could reply, a clear voice sounded from a distance, and as the voice sounded, a figure slowly walked over.

The man's clothes were not particularly gorgeous, but they showed his nobility. The plain hair crown on his head looked like he was in mourning for someone.

After seeing the hair crown, Cao Cao raised his eyebrows and looked along the hair crown at Liu Xie's clothes again. Only then did he realize that they were all plain white clothes and looked very clean.

He knew that Liu Xie was just pretending, but this did not stop Cao Cao from being happy.

Because Cao Cao was tired of working with idiots.

The best cooperation is to cooperate with someone like Liu Xie who is smart and self-aware.

Only in this way can he realize his ambitions.

indoor
Liu Xie served tea to Cao Cao, and then said with emotion: "My palace has been very simple these days. I hope the commander will not despise it."

"This tea was given to me by a good friend of mine. How about giving it a try, Commander?"

Cao Cao tasted the tea carefully and felt a little bitterness from it, and then a touch of sweetness. He couldn't help but sigh: "It tastes a little bitter at first, and then it's extremely sweet. This is indeed a good tea."

He said meaningfully: "Just like people, there is bitterness before sweetness, and only those who can experience sweetness in the end are the final winners."

Liu Xie also smiled: "Who said it wasn't?"

He looked at Cao Cao and smiled: "I once met the Grand Commandant in my father's Weiyang Palace. At that time, I already felt that the Grand Commandant had the eyes of an eagle and the look of a wolf, and he looked like a hero. When I see him again today, the Grand Commandant has become one of the Three Dukes."

"Everyone says that the Grand Commandant is very much like the treacherous Wang Mang during the reign of Emperor Guangwu, but in my opinion, Lord Cao is very much like someone else."

Another person?

Cao Cao raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Who do you think I look like, Your Majesty?"

Liu Xie put down the teacup in his hand and said word by word: "The Grand Commandant looks very much like Zhou Gong."

Cao Cao paused, then burst into laughter.

He also did not beat around the bush and asked directly: "Can you be the emperor? I am willing to be the Duke of Zhou."

Cao Cao looked calm: "But Your Majesty should know what I want to do."

Liu Xie nodded directly and said, "Of course I know that the Grand Commandant wants to support the Han Dynasty and make the world a better place."

He promised directly: "So, even after I ascend the throne and the Grand Commandant takes charge of the power, I will not have any other concerns. I just want to sit in that position."

"Even after I ascend the throne, I can confer the title of 'King of Wei' on the Grand Commandant, grant him the Nine Gifts, and let him enjoy all the honors of the Chen family in the past and Liu Xuande today. As long as the Grand Commandant does not want that position in the future, I promise that the lineage of the King of Wei will live with the Han Dynasty."

When Cao Cao saw Liu Xie's promise, he nodded immediately and said, "Okay."

"Then I will believe the prince!"

"Your Majesty, just wait for my good news!"

After Cao Cao left, Liu Xie looked at his departing back with emotion on his face.

"Emperor Guangwu ascended the throne from the position of Prince of Hongnong, and I am doing the same now."

"Isn't this destiny?"

Guandu City, Chen's Mansion
Guandu is very big, and Chen’s mansion is even bigger.

At this time, Chen Zhulou got off the carriage and saw a familiar person at the gate of the city wall.

He walked forward in surprise, then asked with a smile, "Mr. Zhang? Why are you here?"

(End of this chapter)