People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 323 Court Discussion
The war in the north is devastating, and in the foreseeable future this place will become the territory of the Yellow Turbans, making it completely unsuitable for the imperial court team to continue staying here.

Liu Xie's court team was in a very embarrassing situation during their escape, but they did not forget their business. Just after catching their breath, Liu Xie, the ruler of the Han Dynasty, summoned his ministers to hold a court meeting.

Although it was a so-called court discussion, in reality they were still camping in the wilderness, and there was no so-called "court" at all. The place where the king and his ministers discussed things was actually just a flat area in the camp.

While waiting for the ministers, Liu Xie sat on a chair, slightly raised his head and looked up at the sky, not knowing what he was thinking.

Perhaps he was lamenting how he, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, could have fallen to such a precarious situation with nowhere to live.

However, he did not have time to think too much. Soon, a group of ministers from the court arrived one after another. In addition to Fu Xie, whom Liu Xie trusted the most at the moment, the most conspicuous among the ministers were Dong Cheng and Fu Wanyuan who were standing in the front.

Among these two people, Dong Cheng was the key figure who assisted the emperor in returning to the east, and was also deeply trusted by Liu Xie.

There is no need to mention Fu Wan, he is the father of the current Empress Fu and the father-in-law of the Han Dynasty, so their relationship is even closer.

Liu Xie was certain that many people in the current court were as loyal to him as they were, but unfortunately such loyalty alone was of no use. The current Han court could not even muster an army of 10,000 and could only be restricted everywhere in the world.

This world is still very realistic. Even if you are the emperor, no one will take you seriously if your fists are not strong enough.

Therefore, the first thing to do in today's court meeting is to recruit forces for the court.

Seeing all the ministers standing in line in front and saluting and calling out "Your Majesty", Liu Xie went straight to the point. The first thing he talked about was the official title he had promised to Liu Bei yesterday.

"I met with Liu Bei yesterday and learned that he is a relative of my Liu Han clan, a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, but he is also one of my own family members. This makes me very happy. The court is in trouble now and is in need of talents. After a conversation, I deeply feel that this person has great ambitions and is worthy of important use."

Having said that, Liu Xie glanced at the many officials and felt a little uneasy.

Although Liu Xie spoke very confidently when he made the promise to Liu Bei yesterday, he actually didn't know whether this matter could be accomplished. If all the ministers felt that it was inappropriate, then this matter would most likely fail.

Even though the ministers standing before him were relatively loyal, it did not mean that they would agree to everything Liu Xie said.

How effective the emperor's words are depends on how much prestige he has. Obviously, Liu Xie does not have the prestige to decide the world's affairs with a single word.

Most of the affairs in the court were proposed by ministers, and there were very few topics that Liu Xie raised on his own initiative.

Even if Liu Xie proposed it, it would still need to be discussed with the ministers, which is what is happening now.

When the ministers heard this, they all understood that the emperor was trying to win over talents and support his confidants.

They don't have any objection to this, which is actually a good thing.

Seeing that his ministers had no reaction, Liu Xie gradually calmed down and continued speaking.

"Let's put these aside. Just because Liu Bei saved the emperor after the defeat, the court can't afford to mistreat him. Therefore, I intend to entrust him with an important position in the court. What do you think?"

After he finished speaking, the ministers discussed it in a low voice, and soon Dong Cheng stood up.

"Your Majesty is wise. Liu Bei made many contributions in his early years in conquering the Yellow Turbans. He also studied under Lu Zhi. The team he leads now is also elite and brave. His talent is beyond doubt. He is indeed a talent that the court can rely on."

Liu Xie was a little surprised that things went so smoothly, but he soon felt relieved.

After all, this matter is beneficial to the court. Given the court's current situation, every bit of strength is worth striving for. It is not a big deal to confer an official title, so there is no need to be so stingy.

"In this case, what do you think is the most appropriate way to make the appointment?" Liu Xie said with a smile.

The ministers had already discussed the result, and Dong Cheng made another suggestion.

"I think that the most important thing for the court right now is military affairs. Liu Bei has made a name for himself through military achievements, so entrusting him with a military post will be the best way to make full use of his talents. Perhaps he can be appointed as the Lieutenant General of the Northern Army and the Colonel of the Five Armies."

Northern Army Lieutenant.
Liu Xie was somewhat surprised when he heard about this military position. This result was even better than he expected.

The Lieutenant Colonel of the Northern Army is in charge of the Five Schools of the Northern Army, which is an elite central force organization established since the time of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. This position is mostly held by the emperor's confidants and confidants, so it is very important.

But on second thought, Liu Xie sighed in his heart.

I'm afraid the biggest reason why court officials were so willing to give the official position was that the military position was just a title. Apart from giving the title, the court could not provide any soldiers for Liu Bei to deploy.

I've given you the best I can give
Liu Xie suddenly felt a little ashamed of the court's shabbyness. He could only mutter this to himself, and then ended the topic with a sentence "That's very good."

After wandering all the way, Liu Bei finally began to realize his ideal of supporting the Han Dynasty by the side of the emperor, and finally got his first decent position. Although the weight of an empty official position was not too high, it was something that Liu Bei had never dared to think about before.

After this matter was resolved, the next question became the court's next move.

When Liu Xie mentioned this, he couldn't help but look worried. When he thought about the situation in the north, he was full of pessimism about the future. "Although the war is not over yet, you all know that Xuanxia is unstoppable. Even if we fight well in the remaining two battlefields, it is impossible to save the overall situation. From now on, I am afraid that the northern border of our Han Dynasty will be completely controlled by Xuanxia."

As he spoke, Liu Xie frowned. At such a young age, he had already begun to bear a heavy burden that did not belong to his age.

The country is on the verge of collapse, but I have no power to change the situation. This feeling of powerlessness is really tormenting.

"Please tell me, gentlemen, where should the court move to in the future?" Liu Xie looked at the gentlemen below and sighed.

At this moment, not only Liu Xie was depressed, but the ministers under him were not much better.

But they still forced themselves to talk, and soon there was a buzz of discussion. Liu Xie listened quietly and soon heard many names from their mouths.

Such as Tao Qian, Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, Cao Cao, Liu Yao, and even Yuan Shu.

The imperial court could no longer stay in the north, and Guanzhong had become a purgatory with no way of going back. They could only consider establishing a foothold in the southern prefectures and counties. What they said was exactly the power in various places today.

No matter how weak the Han Dynasty was, if it really came to pass, the princes of all parties would not deny it this face.

The discussion among the ministers was very heated. After all, this concerned the future fate of everyone in the court. Every time they put forward a name, they had their own reasons. After a long time, they still couldn't reach a conclusion.

In the end, Liu Xie became a little impatient, so he simply spoke up and proposed a name that he liked the most: "I think that Cao Cao in Yanzhou is loyal and can be trusted, and the court may be moved to Yanzhou."

After these words were spoken, all the ministers looked at each other. Some wanted to say something, but in the end they opened their mouths and said nothing.

The emperor seldom expresses his attitude directly, so it would be a pity to offend him when this happens.

Moreover, they all knew that most of the princes in the world were of the same kind. Even Liu Biao, a relative of the Han royal family, might not be much better than Yuan Shao.

No matter where the imperial court moved, it would most likely be controlled by the princes, so it made no difference where it went.

After arguing for quite a while without any result, everyone was too lazy to argue anymore. The emperor had already made his wishes clear, so there was no need to go against him.

The ministers looked at each other, gradually came to an understanding, and then saluted in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"

After the two major events were confirmed one after another, the hesitant Liu Xie finally felt relieved. All he could pray was that things would develop in a good direction in the future.

The imperial army then took the initiative to march towards Yanzhou. However, Cao Cao, the lord of Yanzhou at that time, was still fighting for the war in the north that had not yet ended. I wonder how he would feel if he knew that the emperor took the initiative to go to Yanzhou.

But now Cao Cao can't even take care of himself, so he's probably not in the mood to worry about these things.

The raging flames raged in the camp, even the heavy night was dispersed, and the entire camp was screaming in panic. Cao Cao ran out of the tent in a panic, and felt something was wrong when he saw the scene in front of him.

Before Cao Cao could come to his senses, he saw Xun Yu running towards him: "Lord Cao, the Yellow Turbans are attacking our camp!"

In fact, Cao Cao didn't need Xun Yu to remind him. He knew what was going on just by looking at the scene in front of him. The raging flames did not make him feel any warmth, but instead made his heart slowly cool down.

It’s over, it’s all over. All the food and grass in the camp have been burned. How can we fight this battle?
However, this was not the time to worry about these things. Cao Cao reacted very quickly, immediately jumped on his horse and galloped around the camp, shouting as he ran.

"Anyone who dares to cause chaos will be executed immediately!"

"Anyone who dares to cause chaos will be executed immediately!"

In Cao Cao's urgency, his huge roar was so loud that it faintly drowned out the noise of the camp. For a moment, many soldiers' attention was attracted. When they saw Cao Cao appear, many people instinctively calmed down.

The soldiers were naturally very familiar with their general. The panic was due to the lack of leadership. Now that the general had stepped forward to take charge of the situation, the soldiers would slowly calm down.

After all, the riot had only just begun, and Cao Cao's reaction was extremely quick, preventing the situation from worsening in time.

Of course, a big reason why the situation was stabilized so quickly was that Cao Cao not only shouted so, but also really did so.

As he ran back and forth in the camp and shouted, he would swing his sword and kill any soldier he saw running and shouting without hesitation.

Under such iron-blooded circumstances, the soldiers were naturally afraid, which allowed them to calm down quickly.

However, things were obviously not over yet. Cao Cao looked towards the outskirts of the camp. The war there had not yet subsided and the Yellow Turbans were still fighting with their own soldiers.

"All troops, obey orders. Abandon the camp and fight with all your strength. We must drive back the enemy army at all costs!"

Cao Cao's eyes were cold and resolute. While speaking, he had already drawn the accessory from his waist and pointed it at the Yellow Turbans.

(End of this chapter)