People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 371 I am very pleased
"General, Xuchang has been recaptured by our army. General Zhang Liao has led his army to the battlefield in Yuzhou to support Zhou Yu. There are still 10,000 elite soldiers stationed in the city. Just a few days ago, the emperor was also successfully found by our army!"

Although Cao Cao had learned this news bit by bit during the march, hearing it now still made his expression much more relaxed.

Zhang Liao was indeed an excellent general who could be trusted. He did everything he was supposed to do very well and recovered a lot of losses for himself. At least he found the emperor and took him back to Xuchang, which was already a great achievement.

However, what Cao Cao was most concerned about was not these: "Is there any trace of the people in my mansion?"

The scout lowered his head: "Still no clues!"

Cao Cao remained silent. He actually knew that nine out of ten of his relatives had been captured by the Yellow Turbans, but he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart.

Soon, Xun Yu rode forward and said, "Lord Cao, now that we have found the emperor, we should go into the city to see him."

Cao Cao looked indifferent when he heard this, as if he was not in the mood for it at all.

The emperor is important, but not that important. After all, he is just a tool of Cao Cao. Right now, Cao Cao is more concerned about his relatives.

"The war is urgent. I don't have time to see you. Order the entire army to follow me to the battlefield!"

After saying that, Cao Cao flicked his whip indifferently, then turned his horse, ignored the city gate, and ran towards the battlefield in Yuzhou, and Cao's army also followed Cao Cao's steps and began to move.

Xun Yu, who was behind, looked at the city gate not far away and could only shake his head and sigh.

Of course he knew that Cao Cao was just more concerned about his relatives, not because of the urgency of the war. However, this was just human nature, and Xun Yu couldn't say anything. In the end, he could only squeeze his horse's belly and follow him.

Cao Cao left indeed quickly, but just when he set out, he saw Guo Jia also hurried over.

"Lord Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan have separately sent people to deliver messages. They want to meet the emperor first and then lead the army to the battlefield." Guo Jia frowned, looking quite fearful.

Cao Cao also pulled the reins of the horse, and at that moment he even had the urge to change his mind.

He may not be in a hurry to meet the emperor, but that does not mean he is willing to let Liu Bei and Sun Quan meet the emperor on their own. The emperor is his private property, and he is not willing to let others touch it at will.

However, it is only natural for a minister to meet the emperor, and it is not easy for me to stop it.

After a moment's silence, Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu, then at Guo Jia, and finally at Guo Jia: "If they want to see him, let them see him. Feng Xiao will stay and arrange this matter for me. I will order Cao Ren to lead 20,000 troops to obey your orders."

This arrangement had its own profound meaning. A smart man like Guo Jia understood it immediately and quickly bowed in response.

Cao Cao nodded and said, "Please apologize to the emperor on my behalf. The war is urgent and Cao Cao can only put the overall situation first. After the war ends, Cao Cao will be the first to see Your Majesty."

Guo Jia agreed again.

After giving these instructions, Cao Cao had no more mood to think about anything else and immediately led his army forward.

At this moment, his mind was filled with only his family.

It is not necessarily true that he attaches great importance to family affection. For a hero like him, career is far more important than family business. If it were just one or two relatives, he would not be so nervous.

However, the current situation is that his entire family was wiped out by the Yellow Turbans, and this is something he cannot accept.

For Cao Cao now, everything else has to be put aside in the face of this matter. He only wants to wipe out the Yellow Turbans and take back his relatives!

Soon, Cao Cao led his army away, leaving only Liu Bei and Sun Quan's army outside the city of Xuchang, and of course the 20,000 troops of Guo Jia and Cao Ren. At this time, Liu Bei and Sun Quan were already ready to meet the emperor.

The Liu-Sun army camped outside the city. When Guo Jia and Cao Ren led their troops over, they saw Liu Bei and Sun Quan who had taken off their military uniforms and put on formal wear.

Guan Yu and Xu Shu were accompanying Liu Bei, and there were about a hundred guards following closely.

Beside Sun Quan was Zhou Tai and his guards.

When Guo Jia arrived here and saw Liu Bei and Sun Quan, he smiled slightly, then stepped forward to greet the two men, and then led them to the city: "Cao Gong is anxious to fight, and cannot accompany the two envoys for the time being. I will lead the way on your behalf. I hope the two envoys will not be offended."

Liu Bei chuckled and nodded, saying, "Lord Cao is in a hurry to do his job. We admire him so much that we can't wait to see him. How can we say that we are surprised?"

Sun Quan also echoed, and his words and actions seemed to be pretending to be profound.

After exchanging pleasantries, the group walked towards the city, chatting and laughing. The gate of Xuchang slowly opened, and the soldiers in the city were divided into two rows, silently guarding on both sides of the gate, quietly waiting for everyone to enter. Unlike Liu Bei and Sun Quan, Cao Ren behind Guo Jia led the remaining 20,000 troops to enter the city.

This naturally attracted the attention of Liu Bei and Sun Quan. They soon realized something, but did not express any opinions.

Of course Liu Bei felt Cao Cao's guard and fear, so he asked Guo Jia to lead the way and Cao Ren to garrison in the city. It was obvious that he did not want to have private contact with the emperor, and was on guard against himself and Sun Quan's army.

However, this kind of precaution was understandable. Liu Bei just raised his eyebrows and finally accepted it calmly.

The group walked into the city gate and felt that the city was a little desolate. At this time, the city was under martial law and there was hardly any trace of civilians at a glance. They did not find this situation strange, as most situations during war were like this.

Soon, a general from the city came forward to greet them: "His Majesty has allowed the two envoys to see him, and they are now in the palace."

Guo Jia nodded, then turned to Liu Bei and Sun Quan and said, "I'm sorry to keep your majesty waiting. Please go in first."

Afterwards, soldiers brought some horses, and Liu Bei, Sun Quan and his entourage mounted their horses and trotted towards the palace.

The journey was very peaceful, and Liu Bei and Sun Quan had already begun to think about what to say after meeting the emperor.

Audience with the emperor actually does not have much significance. Its main function is to comply with the moral code between the monarch and his subjects and establish the image of a loyal subject. In fact, this is not an act to be shown to the emperor, but an act to be shown to the scholars of the world.

This is especially necessary for Liu Bei.

After all, "Serving the Emperor and defeating the bandits in Xu" was Liu Bei's slogan, and he must now defend this slogan.

When the group arrived at the palace, Zhou Tai, Guan Yu and Cao Ren all stopped. They naturally would not bring their soldiers into the palace, so they each led their troops to guard outside the palace.

Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Guo Jia entered the palace under the guidance of the eunuch.

The palace was not too big and did not take them too long to walk. After passing through several deep palace walls and walking up a long flight of stairs, a hall appeared in front of them. In the hall at the moment was the current emperor, Liu Xie.

As the eunuch called out their names, Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Guo Jia each walked into the hall.

"Your Majesty, your servant Liu Bei pays respect to you!"

"Your Majesty, your servant Sun Quan pays respect to you!"

After the few people saluted, Liu Xie, who was wearing imperial robes above the palace, said lightly, "No need for the formalities." Everyone stood up, but when they looked up, they were a little dazed.

Sun Quan, on the other hand, felt nothing. As a young man, he was just curious about the emperor in front of him and didn't even have much awe.

In fact, Sun Quan did not really regard himself as a subject of the Han Dynasty. To him, meeting the emperor today was just a ceremonial procedure. The so-called emperor was just a pendant in the eyes of the princes.

However, it was not the first time that Guo Jia and Liu Bei met the emperor, but they keenly noticed something different.

The emperor seems a little different today, his aura seems to be more fierce and steady.
"Isn't Cao Qing here?" Liu Xie interrupted their thoughts with a faint remark.

Guo Jia responded in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Sikong is worried about the war on the front line, so he led the army to support the battlefield first. He ordered me to apologize to Your Majesty. After the war, Sikong will meet Your Majesty as soon as possible."

The hall was silent for a while, and then Liu Xie sighed: "What a pity."

Unfortunately, this sentence made everyone a little confused, but since it was the emperor's words, they didn't dare to ask any questions and just pretended not to hear it.

Liu Bei and Sun Quan were just about to speak. There was nothing much to say on this trip. It was just a courtesy audience and they didn't want to waste too much time. But before they could open their mouths, Liu Xie spoke first.

"During this time of war, you still remember to come to see me, which is very comforting to me."

The hall was a little dim. In the shadows, Liu Xie's face was a little gloomy, and even his tone was a little colder: "I don't want to leave you, if I ask you to stay for a while, are you willing to agree?"

As soon as the words fell, Liu Bei and Guo Jia were startled, and a strong sense of crisis swept over their bodies.

Even the young Sun Quan's breathing quickened and he also felt something was wrong.

Before they could say anything, the huge palace door at the back was slowly closed by the eunuch.

(End of this chapter)