Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 128 Kong Rong's Choice

In order to get back to the posthouse as soon as possible, Kong Rong risked his life.

After leaving Yuan Shao's mansion, he rode his horse at full speed all the way.

Even though his old bones were about to be broken, he dared not stop.

“Ziyi——!”

"Zi Yi——"

Rushing to the posthouse, Kong Rong shouted loudly.

But there was no sign of Taishi Ci anywhere. He was extremely anxious and his face turned frighteningly pale.

The sun had already set by this time, and he had missed the time he had agreed with Taishi Ci to return to the inn.

If Taishi Ci really thought that something had happened to him in the city and fled from Jizhou, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Given his riding skills and personality, even if we send people to chase him now, they will never be able to catch up.

Kong Rong stood blankly in the inn, his face full of fear.

The scene of Liu Xie giving orders in Xuanshi flashed through my mind.

"It's just a little bit of wind and frost..."

"My life is like walking on thin ice!"

"In this era of great contention, who can and who dares not to contend?"

"I am the Son of Heaven. If I don't fight, I will die. If I don't fight, the Han Dynasty will perish!"

"My dear minister, do you want to destroy the great Han Dynasty's hope of restoration?"

Kong Rong seemed to have lost all his energy and fell to the ground like a walking corpse.

Is the hope of the Han Dynasty's revival really going to be destroyed because of him?

He burst into tears and lay on the ground crying.

"Prime Minister!"

Suddenly, a voice full of surprise came.

Taishi Ci led the horse out of the stable.

"Zi Yi!"

When he saw Taishi Ci, Kong Rong's lifeless eyes lit up again and he felt relieved.

She kept murmuring as if she was thankful: "It's good that Ziyi didn't leave, it's good that he didn't leave..."

The joy in his heart at this moment was even greater than when he heard the news of Dong Zhuo's execution.

When Taishi Ci approached, he saw Kong Rong with his clothes disheveled and lying on the ground crying in a miserable state. He became furious.

Kong Rong has always attached great importance to appearance and demeanor. This is the first time he has seen someone like this. It must be related to what happened in the city.

"But the thief Yuan is making things difficult for the prime minister!" Taishi Ci gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

"No, no." Kong Rong quickly grabbed Taishi Ci, fearing that he would go straight to Yuan Shao's mansion to kill him.

"Please bring me a bowl of water."

He rode his horse at full speed all the way after waking up from his coma. He had just experienced great ups and downs in his emotions and was now exhausted both physically and mentally.

Taishi Ci did not dare to delay and hurried to get a bowl of honey water.

After Kong Rong drank half a bowl of honey water, his complexion improved slightly.

Just as Taishi Ci was about to ask Kong Rong about what happened in the city, Yuan Shao arrived at the entrance of the inn with a group of people.

Taishi Ci immediately stood in front of Kong Rong, took off the pair of double halberds on his back and held them in his hands, looking at Yuan Shao with a vigilant look.

Yuan Shao dismounted and hurried into the inn. Seeing that Kong Rong, who was sitting on the ground drinking honey water, seemed to be fine, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then everyone asked in confusion: "Why did the Prime Minister leave without saying goodbye? Did I do something rude?"

As soon as Kong Rong woke up, he rode away without saying a word, which made Yuan Shao feel very puzzled. Fearing that something might happen to Kong Rong's old bones, he chased him all the way.

"Jizhou Mu is over-worried. He is just anxious to get back to the posthouse." Kong Rong waved his hand tiredly to Yuan Shao, "I am fine. Please tell your majesty that I am safe and sound.

Today's coma has nothing to do with Your Majesty, so Your Majesty does not need to worry. I will go to the palace tomorrow to apologize to Your Majesty."

Yuan Shao was still full of questions, and seeing Kong Rong's weak and pale face, he was afraid that something might happen to the other party, so he did not dare to continue to force him.

But he still said two words with concern: "In this case, the Prime Minister should rest well, and must not do the same thing as just now, seizing the horse and running away. The safety of the Prime Minister is related to the reputation of Your Majesty, so you must not be careless. If you make a mistake, Your Majesty will suffer an unjust accusation."

"I don't need to do that." Kong Rong responded indifferently.

Yuan Shao didn't say much, turned around, mounted his horse, and left the inn with Ju Shou, Shen Pei and others.

Only after he was some distance away did his expression slowly turn cold.

"This old man is really inexplicable!"

Yuan Shao cursed loudly with a gloomy face.

He was on edge the whole day. First he was worried that Liu Xie's identity would be discovered, and then he was worried that something might happen to Kong Rong.

He was confused by Kong Rong's every move. He fainted in the palace, and then hurriedly grabbed a horse and ran back to the inn, one thing after another.

Don’t you even look at your own age!
After all this trouble, what if I die in Yecheng?
Ju Su, who was standing by, seemed to have noticed something and said thoughtfully, "My lord, if it turns out to be true, Kong Rong's coma is very strange."

"Perhaps because your majesty pressed him too hard, he was unable to answer for a moment, so he used the excuse of being unconscious to escape."

Shen Pei also nodded, "Pretending to be unconscious to evade the monarch's questioning, such things are recorded in many history books."

After hearing what Ju Shou and Shen Pei said, Yuan Shao finally came to his senses.

He gnashed his teeth and said, "How dare this old man do this? He made me worried and frightened!"

Feng Ji, who was half a horse length behind, also cursed: "Kong Rong is really treacherous. He can even resort to such a scoundrel method!"

"When he enters the palace again tomorrow, we must prepare eight or ten medical officers. If he falls unconscious, give him acupuncture!"

"Stupid!" Yuan Shao scolded Feng Ji mercilessly, "How can you wake up a person who is pretending to be unconscious? If you wake him up and he continues to pretend to be unconscious, can you still keep stabbing him?"

If Kong Rong was determined to pretend to be unconscious, it would be useless even if we stabbed him like a sieve.

Feng Ji heard what Yuan Shao said and thought it made sense. He cursed a few more times, "This man is unworthy of being the 20th generation descendant of Confucius."

At this time, Guo Tu frowned and asked in confusion: "But why did he rush back to the posthouse in such a hurry? If he refuses to acknowledge his status as the emperor, could the lord still eat him?"

Shen Pei said, "During the days Kong Beihai was in Xu County, he had no contact with Cao thief. Perhaps he did not want to be in the same room with the lord, fearing that he would be gossiped about."

"Hmph!" Yuan Shao snorted coldly, very dissatisfied. He, Yuan Benchu, had a great reputation, so how could he be compared to Cao Aman and the like?
If this old man hadn't relied on his status as the 20th generation descendant of Confucius, he would not have been worthy of his attention.

"I thought it might be related to that servant." Tian Feng suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, everyone looked at him in surprise.

Actually... talking normally?

Didn't you embarrass your lord as soon as you opened your mouth?
Yuan Shao pondered for a while, but could not figure out what the matter was with the attendant, so he asked, "What do you think, Yuan Hao? Please speak frankly."

This time, Tian Feng rarely did not ruin his performance, and he also rarely let Tian Feng speak frankly.

Tian Feng pondered for a while and said, "When I was at the posthouse just now, I saw that the attendant was quite good, definitely not an ordinary person; he was carrying two halberds on his back, with a horse whip wrapped around his waist, and also had something wrapped around his body, and it was obvious that he was preparing to leave the posthouse."

"But since he was Kong Beihai's attendant, why did he plan to leave the posthouse? Feng thought that Kong Beihai must have warned him in advance."

"For example, if he has not returned from the city, or is held hostage by the lord, let the servant leave Yecheng immediately."

Tian Feng's observations are very detailed and his analysis is well-reasoned.

After saying this, how could everyone still not understand?
The servant must have hidden Kong Rong’s seal in his package!
Ju Su was filled with fear and sighed, "Kong Beihai is really cautious. If he hadn't returned, the attendants would have taken his seal to Xu County and announced to the world that the lord had pretended to be the emperor."

"What a good Kong Wenju! He actually had such a plan. No wonder he was in such a hurry to rush back to the posthouse!" Yuan Shao felt a little scared, but at the same time he also admired Kong Rong.

This man is truly loyal to the Han Dynasty and would rather die than be coerced.

Fortunately, nothing really happened to Kong Rong today, otherwise the servant would have fled Yecheng as soon as possible and spread the news of Kong Rong's murder.

Tian Feng said again: "My Lord, why do you look so scared? Kong Beihai is in such a hurry to come back, which means he is also worried that his attendants will misreport the news."

Yuan Shao was pleasantly surprised: "Could it be that he has already acknowledged in his heart that Your Majesty is the true Dragon Emperor?"

If he did not recognize Liu Xie's status as the emperor, why did he rush back to the posthouse in such a hurry? Yuan Shao's hands holding the reins were shaking with excitement, and he wanted to roar to the sky.

Hegemony can be achieved, hegemony can be achieved!

However, Tian Feng poured cold water on him, "My Lord, don't be too happy too soon. Everything has to wait for Kong Beihai to say it himself before it can be considered settled. Maybe he just can't tell for the time being."

Yuan Shao was disappointed and let out a long breath. Before everything was settled, no one could tell what Kong Rong was thinking.

He turned to look at Ju Su and said, "Gong Yu, send someone to secretly watch the posthouse and keep a close eye on that follower. Then arrange for a few medical officers to come over. Don't let anything happen to Kong Wenju before he leaves Jizhou."

Regardless of whether Kong Rong was pretending to be unconscious today or was really unconscious, Yuan Shao didn't want to continue to worry.

If Kong Rong really had an accident due to health problems, he would have kept the news secret in Yecheng and then find a way to deal with it afterwards.

"promise!"

……

The moonlight is bright and the sky is dotted with stars.

Taishi Ci helped Kong Rong into the room, closed the doors and windows, and then asked, "Why is the Prime Minister in such a state of disarray today? Why did he faint?"

Although he heard the conversation between Kong Rong and Yuan Shao clearly, he was still confused.

What did Kong Rong experience in the city today?
Kong Rong sighed with a complicated expression and said quietly, "I'm afraid that my reputation will be ruined after this trip, and I may even bring trouble to the Kong family."

"Why has it come to this? Is the Prime Minister really being coerced by Yuan Shao?" Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci's face suddenly changed.

Kong Rong's words could only make him think that the emperor in the city was a fake. The prime minister was coerced by Yuan Shao and had to go against his conscience and point out the fake as the real. Otherwise, how could his reputation be ruined and even the Kong family be implicated.

Kong Rong shook his head and said, "Zi Yi, you know... the emperor in Yecheng looks exactly like the one in Xu County."

"They look exactly the same?" Taishi Ci was a little bit unbelievable. Considering Kong Rong's age and poor eyesight, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you didn't see it wrong? How can there be such a coincidence in the world?"

Kong Rong was also full of emotion, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have found it incredible. But this is the fact, the real and fake emperors look exactly the same, there is no difference."

"Could it be the art of disguise?" Taishi Ci still felt that it was too coincidental, and guessed: "I heard that there are some masters who are proficient in the art of disguise and can imitate a person's appearance and body shape."

"It's not a disguise, nor is it an imitation. If it was a disguise or an imitation, the two emperors would certainly behave in the same way." Kong Rong recalled the scene when he met the two emperors, and said: "Although the two emperors gave me a very real feeling. But the one in Xu County was cowardly, while the one in Yecheng had a thunderbolt in his chest, which was ready to explode, and he was full of imperial majesty."

"even……"

The ambition of Liu Xie in the Xuan Room flashed through Kong Rong's mind again.

"Even what?" Taishi Ci asked.

Kong Rong shook his head and did not continue, changing the subject: "From a personal point of view, the man in Yecheng is more like the emperor."

It's not that he distrusts Taishi Ci's character, but he is worried that there are eavesdroppers.

If he hurried back to the post house today, Yuan Shao would definitely notice his arrangement, and his purpose of keeping Taishi Ci in the post house might have been exposed.

Therefore, he did not dare to talk about topics related to Liu Xie's revival of the Han Dynasty, otherwise it would be a disaster if outsiders heard it.

Seeing that Kong Rong didn't say anything, Taishi Ci didn't ask any more questions.

"Since the Prime Minister feels that the man in Yecheng is more like the Son of Heaven, when do you plan to announce it to the world?"

Kong Rong was melancholy in his heart and his face was full of confusion.

After a long while, he slowly said, "Although the one in Yecheng looks more like the emperor, resemblance does not mean authenticity. It is difficult to tell the real emperor from the fake one. I dare not make a hasty decision."

This answer made Taishi Ci very confused.

The one in Xu County doesn’t look like the emperor, but the one in Yecheng looks like the emperor.

The result is that it is difficult to distinguish true from false?
Seeing Kong Rong's tired face, but frowning, and deeply troubled by the decision of the true and false emperor, Taishi Ci hurriedly said:
"Prime Minister, don't think too much. Have a good rest and go back to the palace to observe tomorrow."

"How can I sleep peacefully?" Kong Rong felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his chest.

We have to distinguish between the two emperors, the real one and the fake one.

He can escape for a while, but how can he escape for a lifetime?
Taishi Ci did not want to see Kong Rong so worried, so he thought for a moment and said, "Cao Cao and Yuan Shao want the prime minister to identify the real dragon. Is it really to support the emperor? In my opinion, they are just doing it for their own interests."

"The Han Dynasty is declining, and the nine provinces are divided into different states. Even if the prime minister can identify the real dragon, what good will it do to the Han Dynasty? The current emperor, whether real or fake, is just a puppet in the hands of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao."

"If that's the case, why should the Prime Minister be so worried?"

Taishi Ci understood Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's intentions very well. They just didn't want to bear the crime of setting up a false emperor. They just wanted to use the emperor as a hostage to force the disobedient to realize their own evil ambitions.

Kong Rong was shocked when he heard this.

There was pain in those cloudy eyes.

What Taishi Ci said was the key point that he had been deliberately ignoring.

In today's chaotic world, who cares whether the emperor is real or fake?
Even if he could really tell who was the real dragon and who was the fake emperor, so what? What good would it do to the Han Dynasty?

But it only fulfilled the traitor's evil ambitions.

Do not--!
There is still hope for the Han Dynasty!

If the man in Yecheng is the real emperor, and if the plan he mentioned today can be implemented, there is still hope for the Han Dynasty to recover.

Kong Rong was once again caught in the choice between "Han orthodoxy" and "Han revival".

He was upright, unyielding, and loyal to the Han Dynasty. He absolutely could not tolerate the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty falling into the hands of others.

But because he was loyal to the Han Dynasty, he did not want to see the Han Dynasty decline. His lifelong wish was to rebuild the Han Dynasty.

"Ziyi, what do you think I should do?"

Kong Rong looked at Taishi Ci.

He knew that besides being an expert in martial arts, Taishi Ci was also a smart and thoughtful person.

I think he has seen something, otherwise he wouldn't have said what he just said.

"Ci thinks that it is difficult to distinguish between the real and fake emperors. It would be better for the prime minister to announce to the outside world that the emperor of Yecheng is the real dragon." Taishi Ci said after hesitating for a moment.

After some communication, he completely understood why Kong Rong said at the beginning that he was afraid that his reputation would be ruined and even the Kong family would be implicated if he went out on this trip.

Because he couldn't tell the real dragon from the real one, he was worried that if he made a wrong decision, the Han Dynasty's orthodoxy would fall into the hands of others.

This can only be delayed.

But if you delay it for too long, your reputation will inevitably be damaged.

Everyone in the world would think that he was afraid of offending Yuan Shao or Cao Cao, or that he was bribed by Yuan Shao or Cao Cao.

In either case, the reputation will be ruined.

Taishi Ci did not want Kong Rong to lose his reputation, and he could tell from Kong Rong's tone that he favored the emperor of Yecheng, so he made such a suggestion.

After hearing this, Kong Rong stood there in a daze, staring at Taishi Ci for a long time.

Seeing this, Taishi Ci couldn't help but sigh deeply.

He felt sorry for the old man in front of him.

"Since the Prime Minister cannot distinguish the real dragon and is unwilling to make a hasty decision, then let's do nothing and let the real and fake emperors continue to argue."

"At least the emperor's legitimacy will not be lost due to a wrong decision, nor will Yuan Shao or Cao Cao's ambition to use the emperor to control his disobedience be fulfilled."

"In addition, I secretly think that if the emperor has the mandate of heaven, how can he be replaced by a false emperor?"

In the end, Taishi Ci gave the answer that he didn't want to see, but was the answer that Kong Rong wanted.

"good……"

Kong Rong nodded slightly, his voice was extremely hoarse, as if it was squeezed out from his throat.

This upright old man was willing to sacrifice his own reputation and the reputation of the Kong family in order to find a third way out of the dilemma between "Han orthodoxy" and "Han revival".

The emperor of Xu County, whether real or fake, cannot bear the responsibility of restoring the Han Dynasty.

If the emperor of Yecheng is real, then the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty still exists, and there is hope for the revival of the Han Dynasty.

If it is false, the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty will be lost, but the Han Dynasty still has hope of revival.

Everything will be decided after entering the palace tomorrow.

　This chapter was difficult to write. I’ll take a short break and then polish the next chapter. It will be published in about an hour and will still be four to five thousand words.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)