Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 17 Zhang He!

After a lot of discussion, the matter of enthronement was settled. Yuan Shao was enthroned as the general and Yuan Shu was enthroned as the grand marshal.

Immediately afterwards, Yuan Shao welcomed Liu Xie into the palace for a visit.

"Your Majesty, this palace has nine palaces in total, which are used for meeting with officials, handling government affairs, holding banquets, and resting."

"I have prepared a hundred maids and two hundred servants in the palace to serve you. In addition, there are a thousand imperial guards to guard the palace and protect your majesty's safety."

Yuan Shao gave Liu Xie a brief introduction to the configuration of the palace.

With such a large palace ready, he naturally would not be stingy with manpower, so he directly arranged 300 people to serve Liu Xie, and even arranged a full 1,000 guards.
"so much?"

Liu Xie was secretly shocked and couldn't help but be surprised at Yuan Shao's handwriting.

It was not enough that Boss Yuan gave him a grand villa, he also prepared servants and even guards in the villa!
How can this be the boss? This is clearly the foster father!
Before Liu Xie could say anything, Yuan Shao called out to the man behind him, "Zhang He, why don't you come and see His Majesty?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a burly and seemingly taciturn general walked out from the crowd and knelt down directly to Liu Xie.

"I am General Zhang He, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

The sound was not loud, but it shocked Liu Xie all over and he almost couldn't help but exclaim!
Zhang, Zhang He?!

Liu Xie was a little suspicious whether he was hallucinating.

One of the Five Elite Generals, a general who was on par with the Five Tiger Generals of Shu, was actually sent to serve as the commander of his royal guards?
You should know that the commander of the imperial guards is, to put it nicely, the imperial doctor-in-chief, or to put it bluntly, the head of the palace security.

If it were during the heyday of the dynasty, this position would indeed not be of low status, but now the Han royal family has declined, and he, the emperor, is a fake. There is no future for him to be the commander of the imperial guards.

Is this how Yuan Shao uses talents?

"Oh...ah, okay, okay, General, please stand up."

Liu Xie suppressed his shock, came to his senses, spoke in a friendly manner, and walked forward to help Zhang He up personally.

Such courtesy made Zhang He feel flattered.

"Your Majesty, Zhang He was originally a general under Han Fu. After I conquered Jizhou, he defected to me."

"Zhang He is very brave and far superior to ordinary people. With him leading the imperial guards and protecting the palace, your majesty will be able to rest assured."

Yuan Shao introduced him to Liu Xie with a smile, but although he praised him verbally, he did not agree in his heart.

He had many brave generals under his command, including Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Qu Yi, Han Meng and Chunyu Qiong, all of whom were capable generals.

Zhang He was just a surrendered general with no known military achievements, so he was not in his eyes.

But if he is left idle, others will inevitably think that he is narrow-minded. Instead of using the surrendered general, it would be better to make use of the waste now and use him to command the imperial guards.

"Of course, with the general, I feel at ease."

Liu Xie nodded in agreement, his facial expression didn't change much, but in fact he was already very happy in his heart!

He just figured out the reason. Zhang He had only joined Yuan Shao for a short time and was not taken seriously at all. It was only after he joined Cao Cao that he began to shine.

Unexpectedly, he got a chance now!

"Although my identity as the emperor is fake, no one knows it except Yuan Shao, Ju Su, and the group of people on Cao Cao's side."

"I might be able to use this identity to try to win over a group of my own people."

Liu Xie's mind began to become active.

He originally had no such idea, but Yuan Shao sent him Zhang He, which quietly changed his mind. He did this not for the purpose of competing for world domination in the future, but to protect himself as much as possible, because he didn't know whether Yuan Shao would kill him after using him, and he didn't want to be slaughtered.

Yuan Shao was not aware of Liu Xie's thoughts at the moment. After leaving Zhang He behind, he said, "Then, Your Majesty, we will take our leave first."

After saying this, he left with his retainers.

Only Liu Xie and Zhang He were left standing there.

"Finally... I'm free."

Liu Xie watched Yuan Shao and others leave, feeling relieved.

Although the cage became a little bigger from the villa to this palace, he still had the feeling of "being in a cage for a long time and finally returning to nature".

Finally I don’t have to stay in such a small yard!

While Liu Xie was still immersed in the joy of gaining a moment of freedom, Zhang He behind him also took the initiative to say goodbye to him.

"Your Majesty, I need to mobilize the imperial guards to defend the palace, so I will take my leave now."

Zhang He bowed and spoke with a very respectful attitude.

Liu Xie came back to his senses after hearing this, and immediately reached out to hold Zhang He's arm, smiling and said: "Hey, there's no rush for this, come with me to the pavilion in the garden over there and sit down with me and chat."

"Your Majesty, this..."

With Liu Xie holding his arm, Zhang He was a little at a loss.

Pulling arms and supporting are two behaviors that show closeness and trust from the superior to the inferior.

Zhang He thought that he was just a small General of the Central Army. How could he have deserved such courtesy from the emperor?
But Liu Xie did not wait for Zhang He to refuse, and pulled him to the pavilion not far away.

"General, don't just stand there like an idiot. Come and sit down."

Liu Xie was the first to find a stone bench and sit down, then greeted Zhang He.

Zhang He immediately waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, I will just stand. How can I sit with Your Majesty? This is really rude."

"OK then."

After hearing this, Liu Xie did not insist any more.

His original intention was to get closer to Zhang He and see if he could recruit him for his own use. It would be bad if he was too enthusiastic and scared him away.

Seeing Zhang He's nervous look, Liu Xie smiled and said, "General, don't be nervous. I just want to chat with you. After all, you will be the one responsible for protecting my safety in the future. I have to understand you, right?"

After hearing this, Zhang He felt a little relieved and could understand why Liu Xie was so enthusiastic about him.

Because the people who manage the imperial guards are the emperor's absolute personal guards, generally speaking they are members of the royal family or the people the emperor trusts the most; it is normal for the emperor to feel uneasy when an outsider like him is suddenly sent to take up this position.

Zhang He thought for a moment, then said in all seriousness: "Your Majesty, I originally served Han Fu, the former governor of Jizhou, but when Yuan Shao took control of Jizhou, I became his subordinate."

"But please rest assured, Your Majesty. I am not a retainer of Han Fu or Yuan Shao. I am loyal to the Han Dynasty and the Emperor."

"Now that I am in charge of the Imperial Guards for Your Majesty, I will protect Your Majesty with my life."

Zhang He's words were sonorous and powerful, and his expression was even more resolute.

The subtext of his words was very clear, which was to tell Liu Xie not to worry that he was Han Fu or Yuan Shao's man, and that he was loyal to the Han court.

(End of this chapter)