The Three Kingdoms: A vicious plan was offered, and Liu Bei was stunned!

Chapter 407: Liu Bei becomes prime minister in high spirits, but Kong Ming feels cheated
When Liu Bei returned to his residence and saw Kong Ming, he burst into laughter and was full of enthusiasm.

The emperor gave him an imperial decree to appoint him as prime minister, and his status was greatly improved. He felt that he was on the road to success.

Luo Yuan looked down on such Han Dynasty official positions, but Liu Bei was different. After all, the Han Dynasty was still the Han Dynasty, and the gentry and common people still recognized the Han Dynasty.

He became prime minister, which was a big improvement in name, and he felt that this was his greatest gain since coming to Jiangling.

Luo Yuan certainly could not have imagined that he would become the prime minister. The prime minister is the head of all officials, a little higher than Luo Yuan, the Grand Marshal, and much higher than Sun Quan.

Seeing Liu Bei's smug look, Kong Ming knew that Liu Bei must have gained something from meeting the emperor: "My lord, do you have any good news?"

"The emperor has appointed me as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, and the imperial decree has been issued. The ceremony of appointing me as prime minister can be held soon. This matter still requires the attention of the military advisor." Liu Bei was extremely polite.

Now that he was the prime minister, he planned to make good use of the ceremony. There were etiquettes for the emperor to appoint a prime minister, and only with a ceremony could it be legitimate and solidify his position as prime minister.

He definitely couldn't count on the emperor to pay for this expense, and Luo Yuan would not give him money. In the end, he had to take care of it and spend his own money.

Kong Ming thought about it and couldn't help frowning.

Liu Bei was tricked.

The emperor lived in Jiangling, Luo Yuanjian allied with the court, the emperor's authority was greatly reduced, the emperor's majesty had long been damaged, and the position of prime minister given to Liu Bei by the emperor was definitely not as good as before.

In Kong Ming's opinion, this is useless and unnecessary. Now the major issues in the world are decided by the united court. Does it matter whether there is a prime minister or not?

What the princes care about is territory and troops!

For example, is it because of their official positions that Cao Cao and Luo Yuan can speak so loudly?
For Liu Bei, the prime minister was not a good thing but a burden.

Kong Ming asked hurriedly: "My Lord, why did the emperor appoint you as Prime Minister?"

Kong Ming knew Liu Bei very well and told him directly not to be the prime minister. Liu Bei was in a good mood and would definitely not want to be willing to do so.

Liu Bei could not hide his excitement: "The emperor said that I am a relative. Cao Cao is now promoted to the King of Wei, and the position of prime minister is vacant. I should be the prime minister."

Kong Ming didn't believe it was that simple. Everyone knew that the emperor was making money and selling goods everywhere like a businessman. He could let Liu Bei be the prime minister just because they were relatives.

Although the position of prime minister is not very prestigious, he is still the head of all officials.

Kong Ming said: "Doesn't the emperor have any requirements?"

Liu Bei was stunned and reluctant to say it. He couldn't say that he was bought. "How can the emperor have any demands? The emperor is dedicated to revitalizing the Han Dynasty. I am a relative of the Han Dynasty and I am relied upon by the emperor. The military advisor should not doubt me."

"really?"

When Liu Bei saw Kong Ming looking at him, his eyes flickered.

Kong Ming knew it, so he stood up and closed the door, then turned around and sat down and said to Liu Bei, "I see that my lord seems to have something to hide. There is no one around except me and my lord, so why not tell me directly, does the emperor want gold, silver or other valuables?"

Liu Bei was shocked and felt a little embarrassed. He quickly said, "Military Advisor, how can the emperor do this? Military Advisor, you have misunderstood the emperor. Don't speak of the emperor like this in the future."

Kong Ming was almost saying that the emperor was selling official positions and titles.

Liu Bei spoke well of Liu Xie to save his own reputation. If outsiders knew the inside story, how could he still have the face to do so?

"The emperor has been intelligent since he was young, and has a lot of plans in mind. Now he lives in Jiangling and is just watching the situation. He may have the intention to revitalize the Han Dynasty. Military advisors should not criticize the emperor without authorization."

Kong Ming nodded, knowing that Liu Bei must have spent a lot of money.

“How much did it cost?”

"Not much!"

"How much is that?" Kong Ming looked up and down at Liu Bei, and saw that the jade belt on Liu Bei's waist was gone. "Where is your jade belt?" Liu Bei said, "The emperor is very pleased, I gave it to him."

give?
I’m afraid it’s not necessary.

The emperor even wants the jade belt on your body. This level of cruelty is beyond my expectation.

Kong Ming took a deep breath and decided to keep the peace. Maybe Liu Bei didn't give much money and food to the emperor, a prime minister could only get a thousand gold coins at most.

With the help of relatives, it might be cheaper.

You can bargain for discounts when buying things in Jiangling.

"My Lord, tell me what you promised the Emperor." Kong Ming said with a smile, "I don't blame you." "Money is nothing."

Liu Bei saw that Kong Ming really didn't seem angry. He knew in his heart that he couldn't hide it from Kong Ming: "The emperor loves gold. I promise to give him all our gold. I know that the military advisor still has ten thousand gold, right?"

Give them all?

Kong Ming's face turned slightly red. It was just a mere piece of gold, so he just gave it to him. Although it was beyond his imagination, he could still bear it.

If you lose your gold, you can earn it again.

The worst that could happen is that I would cheat Luo Yuan and refuse to pay for the goods.

The gold in Kong Ming's hands was earned by working as a middleman for Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan gave Kong Ming a batch of fake aphrodisiacs from Jiangling, gold wound medicine and fine porcelain.

These are all things that the gentry like. Kong Ming is eloquent, and since he comes from an aristocratic family, he does quite well in business.

"Spending ten thousand gold coins in exchange for a prime minister is a little expensive, but it's acceptable. With the title of prime minister, my lord can also command the nobles better." Kong Ming nodded.

Not only that, it can also elevate Liu Bei's background, at least his reputation can be greatly improved.

But Liu Bei felt guilty. Seeing him nod and smile awkwardly, Kong Ming felt depressed again: "My lord, have you agreed to anything else?"

"Absolutely nothing else."

"really?"

"It's gone, it's gone." Liu Bei said hurriedly.

Kong Ming then nodded, thinking that there was really no hope left. Kong Ming immediately ordered people to send gold to the emperor, and he went to find Luo Yuan. Since all the gold had been given to the emperor, Luo Yuan could not pay for the goods, so Kong Ming naturally had to explain.

When Liu Bei saw Kong Ming leaving, he was immediately relieved. He also left a letter to the emperor, stating that everything he had belonged to him.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, as a minister of the Han Dynasty, he was just showing his loyalty to the emperor.

If it were Cao Cao, he would have said the same thing.

Now that he is the prime minister, he should announce it to the world. Liu Bei immediately called Sun Qian to discuss who should be invited to his ceremony of becoming prime minister.

When Sun Qian heard that Liu Bei had become prime minister, he hurriedly congratulated him and said, "My lord, you have become prime minister. Your reputation and status have improved. This will boost the morale of our army and allow us to advance further. You can also win over the hearts of the nobles. But we must do it as soon as possible and invite the nobles in the city to participate. Then we will return to Jiangxia to prepare to fight against Cao."

Liu Bei nodded, "That's what I think. We'll do it in a few days. By then, I'll be the prime minister, and Sun Quan won't be as good as me. He won't be able to refuse us in the fight against Cao, so he needs to show me his attitude."

Sun Quan is now ambiguous about the fight against Cao, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Seeing him like this, Liu Bei feels that Sun Quan does not respect him.

It didn’t matter before, but now that he is the prime minister, Jiang Dong should express his position.

(End of this chapter)