I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 459: The Emperor and His Ministers Confronted
At the end of the fifth year of Guangxi, Liu Bei, who lived in Nanzhong, brought good news to Liu Bian - the rebellion in Nanzhong had been put down.

Liu Bei said that the rebellious tribes had an internal conflict, and Yong Guan, the leader of the rebels, died in the conflict.

This happy event became Liu Bei's New Year gift.

He himself will work with Zhuge Xuan to continue to cultivate Nanzhong and coordinate the military farming in the entire Yizhou.

At the end of this year, Hanyang Prefect Sun Jian returned to Beijing to report on his work.

Sun Jian's family, who had received the news in advance, traveled all the way from Wujun to Luoyang to meet Sun Jian and Sun Ce.

At the end of the same year, Liu Yu, the Right General and Governor of Youzhou, and Cao Cao, the General of the Central Army who was sent to the Xiongnu, also returned to Beijing to report on their work.

Liu Bian wanted to meet each of these people one by one.

The last time Liu Bian saw Liu Yu, he was not even the crown prince. The image of Liu Yu in his mind had long been blurred.

However, when he saw the thin and vigorous old man again, Liu Bian's dusty memories were once again revealed.

He stepped forward, took Liu Yu's hand and said, "You have been in Youzhou for a long time, guarding the border. Thank you for your hard work!"

On his way to Beijing, Liu Yu thought about the scene of meeting the emperor many times.

Although the emperor had been on the throne for five years, this was indeed his first time meeting the new monarch.

To be fair, he was not very satisfied with some of the emperor's policies, and he had made some plans in his mind, ready to meet the emperor and advise him.

But even with all the preparations, facing this sentence coming straight at him, Liu Yu suddenly felt his throat blocked, and the speech he had prepared seemed to disappear all of a sudden.

“Serving the country is never hard!”

……

A gentleman can deceive others.

After seeing Liu Yu off, Liu Bian admitted that Liu Yu was indeed a gentleman.

For Liu Bian, Liu Yu, who has the demeanor of a gentleman, is more difficult to deal with than Cao Cao, who is shrewd and knows when to advance and retreat, and Sun Jian, who has a strong temper.

Because he needed Liu Yu to continue guarding the gate of Youzhou for him without complaint. Once Liu Yu expressed his dissatisfaction with the new policy, then Liu Yu would no longer be suitable to be in charge of Youzhou.

Fortunately, Liu Yu finally said nothing under his warm hospitality.

Among the three, Liu Bian had the most contact with Cao Cao.

After not seeing him for many years, Cao Cao seemed to be even darker than Liu Bian had imagined.

It must be because of the hard work they often do in the wild.

Compared with Liu Yu, Liu Bian's attitude towards Cao Cao was much more relaxed.

"Meng De, maybe you recognize what this is? Try to taste it?"

Seeing Cao Cao frowning after drinking it, Liu Bian explained: "This is brewed from roasted tea leaves. It may taste a bit bitter at first, but after drinking it, it will leave a sweet aftertaste."

Cao Cao said, "I have heard that Your Majesty drinks tea in a way different from that of tea soup, but I never thought it would be like this. It really leaves a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth, and the aftertaste is sweet."

"It's a pity that I was in a remote place in Bingzhou and didn't know about it. I am really ashamed."

Liu Bian smiled and said, "If Meng De likes it, take some with you when you leave later."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liu Bian then asked, "Meng De, what do you think of Zixiu after meeting him? What he has learned in the past two years in Beijing should not disappoint Meng De, right?"

"Speaking of Zixiu, I would also like to thank Your Majesty for carving a stubborn stone into a rough jade." Cao Cao bowed.

Liu Bian said with a smile: "Meng De, why should you be so modest? Zixiu is a rough diamond. In my opinion, with Zixiu's talent, it won't be long before the Cao family will be known as the third duke of the third generation."

Cao Cao also laughed and said, "Your Majesty, since you said so, I will be arrogant for once today. Thank you for your words."...

The question and answer between Liu Bian and Cao Cao was still the same as before, with each person retaining half of what they said.

Cao Cao was worried that the emperor would suspect him of maintaining his military power in Bingzhou, just as he had suspected Dong Zhuo before. So he tried his best to express in front of Liu Bian that he was not greedy for power and that Bingzhou was remote, so he would leave as long as the emperor told him to.

Liu Bian, as always, expressed his trust in Cao Cao and made a big promise.

Sun Jian had long known from Sun Ce about the latter's close relationship with the emperor, and therefore, he was the best person to deal with it.

Liu Bian didn't even need to do any intimate actions because his relationship with Sun Ce was enough.

Moreover, Sun Jian's family is currently living in the mansion given to them by Liu Bian.

Even before Liu Bian even hinted, Sun Jian had already said as if it were a casual chat: "Although I am from Wu, I have not been back home for a long time. Now that I see that Bo Fu has grown so much in Luoyang, I can finally rest assured to leave his brothers and sisters to his care."

It seems that the whole family is going to live in Luoyang.

Liu Bian naturally had to respond to this.

"As far as I know, none of your five sons, except Bofu, have entered the Imperial College, right? Now they have all reached the age to enter the Imperial College, right?"

"Actually, if you are interested in the subjects of Hongdumen, you can choose Hongdumen."

When Sun Jian also left happily, Liu Bian breathed a sigh of relief.

It is really tiring to have to adopt different attitudes towards different ministers.

But whenever Liu Bian thought of these capable ministers and officials who could help him solve many troubles, he felt less tired.

Thinking of this, Liu Bian took a deep breath and ordered: "Call Mi Zhu and Zhen Yan!"

Mi Zhu and Zhen Yan came together. Not only did they come to report the profits of the Imperial Store to Liu Bian as it was close to the end of the year, they also came to file a complaint.

——"Your Majesty, the School Affairs Department acted in an overbearing manner. They borrowed the shops from all over the country for their own use without informing us, and used the manpower and material resources of the shops at will without cherishing them..."

"Is this true? Send a message to the school lieutenant immediately and ask him to investigate." After Liu Bian finished giving the order, he suddenly remembered to ask, "By the way, where is the shop?"

Mi Zhu, Zhen Yan: ...

"Don't worry, I will make Jia Wenhe give you an explanation."

Seeing this, Mi Zhu and Zhen Yan did not dare to continue to dwell on this topic. Mi Zhu said, "Your Majesty, my brother Mi Fang has returned from the Western Regions again. This time, he traveled even further west. I have ordered him to compile and summarize what he saw and heard along the way, and he will report to Your Majesty in two days."

"Very good!" Liu Bian turned his head and ordered, "Have Mi Qing wait for orders in three days."

Then he asked, "Did Mi Qing encounter any injustice during his journey to Hexi and the Western Regions?"

Mi Zhu replied: "Hexi is still acceptable, but as for the Western Regions, they do exist."

"Elaborate."

Mi Zhu said, "I just listened to what my brother said. When Hu Changshi first arrived as the chief of the Western Regions, he was able to intimidate the Western Regions. But because the Han Dynasty has not sent troops out of the border in recent years, the countries have become disloyal."

Only a sword that can be drawn can be intimidating. It is not uncommon for the countries in the Western Regions to have second thoughts.

"Or is it connected with the Xianbei?" Liu Bian asked.

"There was civil unrest in Xikang, the Western Regions. Someone there led the remaining troops to flee to the Western Regions and fought with Hu Changshi."

……

That night, Liu Bian, who always wanted to reduce his burden but was always busy all day, returned to the harem.

(End of this chapter)