Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 102: Destiny is in Yuan
After looking at Yuan Shao and the others in the hall, Liu Xie reminded himself not to be complacent.

The last Yuan Shu who was given the Mandate of Heaven will be beheaded soon.

After calming down a little, Liu Xie thought for a moment, then started crying while holding the jade seal.

"Wow, wow, I am an unworthy descendant. I lost the imperial seal passed down by my ancestors and only now found it!"

"I am sorry for the 23 generations of Han ancestors! I am sorry for all my ancestors! I feel guilty!"

Liu Xie did not have the slightest demeanor of an emperor. He sat on the dragon throne and cried loudly in front of everyone.

The crying sound was so heartbreaking that it made anyone who heard it cry.

Everyone in the hall, who were still Han officials at that time, were moved to see the emperor fall into such a state of misfortune and sorrow.

Liu Bei, who was standing behind Yuan Shao, felt even more sympathetic and could not help but cry with his hands covering his sleeves.

The eyes covered by the sleeves looked at Yuan Shao, filled with murderous intent.

Among those present, only Yuan Shao and Ju Shou were not moved.

They looked at each other and saw the complicated expressions in each other's eyes.

You won't mess up your performance if you act like this, right?
Is there any emperor in the world who would cry loudly in front of his subjects?
After crying for a while, Liu Xie knew from everyone's expressions that his crying was very effective.

Then he put the seal back into the wooden box and said to Lu Bu, "Marquis Wen has captured Yuan Shu and recovered the imperial seal. This is an unprecedented achievement! I will definitely reward you handsomely!"

coming!

Lu Bu's eyes suddenly lit up and his heart was extremely hot.

The last time he killed Dong Zhuo, he was granted the title of Marquis Wen, which was the highest title. The next step up would be Duke.

However, for hundreds of years since the establishment of the Han Dynasty, there has only been one duke - Duke Anhan of Wang Mang.

No matter how ambitious Lu Bu was, he did not dare to covet the Duke.

Therefore, the reward he was longing for was not the title, but the official position.

He had his eyes on Yuan Shao's position as general!

Although he was extremely eager in his heart, Lu Bu did not take credit for himself immediately.

Before coming to Yecheng, Chen Gong repeatedly instructed that the credit could not be taken by him alone.

We must ask Your Majesty for credit for our allies and subordinates.

Otherwise no one would be willing to follow him.

"Your Majesty, my generals Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, and Liu Bei's sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, also made great contributions in the battles against Yuan Shu."

"When the army besieged Shouchun, Liu Bei risked his life and went into the city alone to persuade Zhang Xiu to surrender. Only then was I able to capture Shouchun without bloodshed and capture Yuan Shu alive."

Yuan Shao, who thought he was very familiar with Lu Bu, almost popped his eyes out when he heard this.

Is this still the Lu Bu he knows?

Is this still the same arrogant and conceited Lu Fengxian who entered the city?

Zhang Fei, who was following behind Liu Bei, smiled happily at Lu Bu.

He swore that he would never call Lu Bu a slave of three surnames again.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Liu Xie said, "I will never forget the meritorious ministers. Later, Marquis Wen can present the merit book to me. But for now, I still have to talk about Marquis Wen's merits first... General."

When he heard the word "General", Lu Bu subconsciously thought that the emperor wanted to appoint him as the general and almost opened his mouth to express his gratitude.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao stepped forward at the first moment.

"I'm here." Yuan Shao stepped forward and bowed slightly.

Seeing this, a fierce light flashed in Lu Bu's eyes.

Is such a fool worthy of the position of general?

He must have coerced the emperor into conferring the title!
How to reward and what to reward. These were not things Liu Xie could decide. He acted according to the plan and asked Yuan Shao directly: "General, in your opinion, how should I reward Wen Hou?"

As he finished speaking, Liu Bei narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists in his sleeves.

Zhang Fei behind him would have almost rushed towards Yuan Shao's face if Guan Yu had not caught him quickly.

Lu Bu also clenched his teeth, with tremendous anger in his eyes.

He thought to himself, "It's just as Xuande said. Yuan Shao is holding the emperor hostage! The emperor even has to ask for his opinion on how to bestow rewards. What a traitor and villain!"

Yuan Shao was completely unaware of the undercurrents of Lu Bu and Liu Bei, and said, "Your Majesty, I think that for Marquis Wen's merits, he should be promoted to General of the Cavalry and given the title of Duke of a county."

He had already discussed with Ju Shou and others how to reward Lu Bu.

I also told Liu Xie in advance a few days ago.

Now he just said it in his tone, hoping to get a favor from Lu Bu.

Duke and General of Cavalry, Yuan Shao didn't believe that there was anyone in the world who would be dissatisfied with such a reward.

Just as Liu Xie was about to respond to Yuan Shao, Tian Feng suddenly jumped out.

"Your Majesty, General, since the founding of the Han Dynasty, there has never been a precedent of conferring a duke! I think it is inappropriate to confer a duke."

Since the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the reform of the title system, the highest title that people other than the Liu family could obtain was only a county marquis.

In the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, only Wang Mang was awarded the title of Duke.

His title of Duke of Anhan, like Cao Cao's Duke of Wei in history, was ostensibly conferred by the emperor, but in fact was a self-titled title.

"This old bastard is here to mess up my business again!" Yuan Shao glared at Tian Feng, feeling extremely annoyed.

How could he and Ju Su not know that County Marquis was the highest title that could be conferred?
But Lu Bu was originally a county marquis, and there was no higher title he could be given.

Therefore, he could only be granted the title of Duke as an exception, so that he could be given a light official position.

Otherwise, with Lu Bu's merits, he could not be dismissed by a mere cavalry general; even the position of general would have to be given to him!
In these troubled times, it is easy to tell which one to choose between a general with real power and a duke who only has fiefdom and no real power.

Yuan Shao was angry in his heart, but his face showed no trace of anger. He said expressionlessly: "Marquis Wen killed Dong Zhuo and defeated Yuan Shu. His achievements are unmatched in his time. Why can't he be granted the title of Duke as an exception?"

"But..." Tian Feng wanted to continue persuading him, but Yuan Shao interrupted him first.

"Whether to confer the title of Duke of Wenhou is not something that we, the ministers, can decide. We should leave it to your majesty to decide."

Yuan Shao knew very well that if he continued to insist, Tian Feng would definitely not give up and would make a big fuss about it with him, so he simply threw the problem directly to Liu Xie.

Liu Xie, who had already received instructions from Yuan Shao, of course had to do as he wished.

He nodded in a fake manner and said, "Well... I think the general is right. For such merits, Marquis Wen should be granted the title of General of the Cavalry and the title of Duke of the County. As for the fiefdom... it will still be in Wen County."

Tian Feng was suddenly speechless, sighed, and said no more.

Yuan Shao looked at Lu Bu with a friendly smile, wanting to see what kind of grateful expression he would have.

However, Lu Bu's reaction was totally different from what he expected.

"Why... so calm?"

Upon learning that he was appointed General of Cavalry and given the title of Duke Wen, Lu Bu did not show any excitement. Instead, he was somewhat abnormally calm.

He bowed to the emperor and said sullenly, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."

The tone was not happy, and even a little disappointed.

Since Emperor Wu of Han, Huo Qubing was granted the title of General of Cavalry.

Military generals in later generations all strived towards this goal.

But the General of Cavalry was under the General, just like Huo Qubing and Wei Qing in the past.

The more Lu Bu thought about it, the more depressed he became.

He didn't care about being a duke or not. He only cared about being suppressed by Yuan Shao.

How can a real man, born between heaven and earth, be inferior to Yuan Shao?

Sensing that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the palace, Liu Bei quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the traitor Yuan Shu has been taken outside the palace."

Liu Xie cast a friendly look at Liu Bei and said, "Then bring him in."

Not long after, Zhang He, accompanied by two imperial guards, escorted Yuan Shu, who was tied up, into the palace.

"Why don't you kneel before His Majesty?" Lu Bu, who was so angry that he couldn't vent his anger, turned around and scolded Yuan Shu who was standing in the hall.

Yuan Shu remained unmoved. Even though he had fallen to this point, he still had his pride.

"I am the Son of Heaven who ascended the throne by offering sacrifices to heaven! Although I am now a prisoner, I still have the dignity of an emperor. How can I kneel before a false emperor?"

"How dare you!" Lu Bu was furious and kicked Yuan Shu on the leg.

With a crisp sound, Yuan Shu's legs were kicked off and he had to kneel down.

Lu Bu was still not satisfied. He grabbed his head and said harshly, "Open your eyes and see that the one sitting in front of you is the real emperor! You are the usurping fake emperor."

Yuan Shu was forced to look up at Liu Xie who was sitting on the dragon throne.

Originally his face was full of disdain, but when he saw Liu Xie's appearance clearly, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Impossible, how is this possible!"

"How come the emperor is really in Yecheng!"

The emperor sensed Cao Cao's rebelliousness and fled all the way to Yecheng.

Yuan Shu did not believe a single word of the lies Yuan Shao spread to the outside world.

But now the facts are before him. Who else could be sitting on the throne if not Liu Xie?

"If I'm not here, do I have to go to Xu County and become Cao's puppet?" Liu Xie looked down at Yuan Shu and said coldly, "The Yuan family has had three dukes for four generations, and has been favored by the emperor. You are a descendant of the Yuan family, but you usurped the throne and proclaimed yourself emperor. You are worse than pigs and dogs! Do you know that because of your treason, the Yuan family's reputation of a hundred years was almost destroyed in an instant?"

"If it weren't for the general's loyalty to the Han Dynasty, the Yuan family would be cursed for all eternity just based on what you did!"

"No! This is absolutely impossible!" Yuan Shu's face turned pale. He wanted to find some signs of Liu Xie pretending to be the emperor, but he couldn't find any.

The emperor in front of him had grown substantially compared to the one he had seen several years ago.

Anyone who takes one look at him will know that this is the grown-up emperor.

He stared at Yuan Shao intently: "Yuan Benchu, why is the emperor here?"

Yuan Shao's expression was calm and he said what he had people preach countless times.

"The emperor was in trouble, and with the blessing of heaven, he fled to Yecheng."

At this moment, Yuan Shao felt very proud.

He, the emperor, looks exactly like the emperor of Xu County, and no one can notice any difference.

The destiny is with Yuan, not Cao. If God had not blessed Yuan Benchu, how could he have met such a young man who looked like the emperor?

(End of this chapter)