Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 256 How dare this untouchable speak to me like this!

How are you?

It should have been a friendly greeting, but when Liu Xie said it, his face was expressionless and his tone was indifferent.

Seeing the alienation and coldness between Liu Xie's brows, Yuan Shao was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help feeling angry in his heart.

"You untouchable! How dare you speak to me like that!"

Yuan Shao was accustomed to Liu Xie's long-term respect and flattery. Now that he was suddenly facing such a condescending attitude, how could he not be annoyed?
He is just a fake emperor!

But before Yuan Shao could get angry, Lu Bu behind him started to curse, "How dare you, traitor! How dare you look directly into the face of Your Majesty? Kneel down now!"

As he said this, he kicked Yuan Shao on the leg.

It was just like kicking Yuan Shu back then.

However, he used less force this time, so Yuan Shao was only kicked to his knees, but his leg was not broken directly.

This kick also made Yuan Shao wake up - he and Liu Xie were not meeting alone at the moment, there was a group of outsiders around them.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shao suppressed his anger, glanced coldly at Lu Bu, and saluted Liu Xie respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, I am Yuan Shao!"

"Ok?"

Everyone was a little stunned when they saw this.

As Yuan Shao was a traitor who rebelled against the emperor, he could accept either cursing or the cold stare from them, but they were caught off guard by such a respectful salute.

But Liu Xie knew what was going on.

"He thought I was being held hostage by Lu Bu and Yuan Xi. He didn't think I was the real emperor, and he didn't suspect that I wanted to turn the fake into the real..."

It seems that the letters he had written before were so effective that even at this point, Yuan Shao did not suspect him and still firmly believed that he was being held hostage.

Therefore, in front of these "outsiders", Yuan Shao did not expose his identity, but continued to cooperate and play the role of a loyal minister.

Liu Xie couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Benchu... is such a loyal and honest man.

If you do this, I will give you a decent death.

And the fact was just as Liu Xie had imagined. After Yuan Shao finished his respectful salute, he sneered at Lu Bu and said, "You are a slave of three surnames! How dare you say the word traitor?"

As he spoke, he looked at everyone in the hall and cursed directly: "You are helping the tyrant to commit atrocities and colluding with Lu Bu to hold the emperor hostage! You traitors will not have a good end!"

Yuan Shao spoke sharply and kept cursing.

He was so righteous and full of vigor, acting like a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, that for a moment everyone even began to doubt themselves.

Who is the traitor?
"You're talking nonsense! I'm a loyal general of the Han Dynasty. When did I hold the emperor hostage? Do you really think I dare not kill you?"

Lu Bu was furious. How dare this traitor speak so brazenly when his death was imminent?

If the occasion was not right, he would have wanted to tear Yuan Shao to pieces.

Yuan Xi followed suit, glaring and cursing, "Shut up! Shameless old thief, the fact that you held the emperor hostage is known to the world, how dare you bark here and confuse right and wrong?"

"You are still stubborn in front of His Majesty! You can deceive yourself, but can you deceive all these loyal ministers?"

It would have been better if Yuan Xi didn't speak.

As soon as he spoke, Yuan Shao was angered.

"You evil creature! You are being used by Lu Bu and you don't even know it. How can you have a good ending if you try to get the skin of a tiger? How could I give birth to such a stupid and shameless thing like you!"

"You killed your brother and elder brother with your own hands, and ruined the reputation of our Yuan family. How can you face our Yuan family's ancestors after you die?"

"Don't you want to kill your father? Do it quickly!"

Yuan Shao was furious and stood up and approached Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi was forced by his momentum and could not help but take several steps back, his face turning pale and blue.

But when he saw that everyone and even the emperor were looking at him, a ruthless look flashed in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and was about to draw his sword to attack Yuan Shao.

"General Chariot and Cavalry, there is no need to waste time talking to this traitor. When next spring comes, I will kill him and sacrifice him to the flag after I have recovered Youzhou and Bingzhou."

At this time, Liu Xie, who had been watching coldly, suddenly spoke up and stopped Yuan Xi from drawing his knife to kill his father on the spot.

The impact of a son killing his father is too bad after all, and it would be a waste for Yuan Shao to just kill him. If he wants to recover Youzhou and Bingzhou at the lowest cost, his help is indispensable.

If you want to kill him, it won't be too late until he has completely lost his usefulness.

Seeing that the emperor had rescued him, Yuan Xi breathed a sigh of relief, put the knife back, and stared at Yuan Shao angrily, "You old bastard! Just wait for me!"

Yuan Shao sneered and didn't care at all.

At the same time, he couldn't help but look at Liu Xie deeply.

I feel a little relieved.

"This kid is really loyal to me."

He was originally unsure whether Liu Xie had chosen to serve Yuan Xi. After all, Yuan Xi also controlled Liu Xie's status as a fake emperor.

But now it seems that Liu Xie is still loyal to him.

Otherwise, why would he stop Yuan Xi from killing him?
Liu Xie raised his hand slightly and said calmly: "Take this traitor away first, and wait for his punishment after Hejian County is recovered."

"promise!"

Lu Bu clasped his fists heavily, and everyone bowed slightly.

Yuan Shao's eyes narrowed slightly when he saw this.

As a person who has held a high position for a long time, Yuan Shao can keenly perceive the difference between true respect and false respect.

Before, when he held the emperor hostage, his subordinates treated the puppet emperor Liu Xie with only superficial respect, whether it was Ju Su or Feng Ji.

But as soon as Liu Xie opened his mouth, the respect that Lü Bu, Yuan Xi, Jia Xu, Cui Yan and others showed subconsciously was definitely not fake.

"What's going on? Isn't he being held hostage by Lu Bu and Yuan Xi? He's just a puppet. Why would Lu Bu, Jia Xu and Xun Chen have such an attitude towards him?"

"what on earth is it?"

Yuan Shao frowned and had countless questions he wanted to ask, but after looking up at Liu Xie's indifferent expression, he swallowed them back.

Now, the time has not come yet.

After Yuan Shao was taken away, Liu Xie looked at Qu Yi and asked Zhao Yun, "What happened to him?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty." Zhao Yun stepped out of the line and bowed, saying, "The army that the scouts reported earlier was the one that led Yuan Shao back to Lecheng County. When he saw me leading the troops out of the city, he immediately took off his armor and surrendered, and also tied up Yuan Shao and sent him here."

Although he didn't like Qu Yi very much, Zhao Yun did not hide the fact that Qu Yi had led Yuan Shao to surrender, and reported it to Liu Xie truthfully.

"surrender?"

Liu Xie was shocked and slightly surprised when he heard this.

This was something he didn't expect.

Qu Yi said quickly, "Your Majesty, the reason why I rebelled against your Majesty's army was because I was deceived by the thief Yuan and thought that your Majesty was being held hostage by Lord Wen and the General of Chariots and Cavalry."

"Later, I finally figured out that this was just an excuse for Yuan Shao's rebellion, so I turned back and tricked Yuan Shao into returning to Lecheng County, where I captured him and apologized to Your Majesty."

"I know that I have committed a grave sin. This action is far from enough to make up for the mistakes I have made, but if I can eliminate a great threat to Your Majesty, it is worth it even if I die!"

Qu Yi was in tears and his words were extremely sincere.

When Liu Xie heard this, he was about to speak, but Zhang Yan beside him couldn't help but said angrily: "Your Majesty, please don't believe this villain. He is clearly talking nonsense!"

Everyone turned their eyes to Zhang Yan.

Who is this person?
Seeing Liu Xie's gaze, Zhang Yan suddenly felt a pressure, but he still gritted his teeth and knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, I am Zhang Yan, your Majesty!" Zhang Yan!

Liu Xie suddenly understood and said with a smile: "So it was General Pingbei. Why did you come to Lecheng County? And why did you say he was talking nonsense?"

Zhang Yan looked at Qu Yi angrily, lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I followed your Majesty's order to delay Yuan Shao's army, but was defeated and forced Yuan Shao's troops to withdraw to Hejian County."

"I have always felt guilty about this and felt that I have failed Your Majesty's expectations, so I have been looking for an opportunity to atone for my sins."

"I heard that Yuan Shao was defeated and fled to Youzhou, so I specially brought troops to intercept him, hoping to eliminate this great enemy for Your Majesty."

"This villain was intercepted by my troops. He must have been desperate and had no choice but to flee to Lecheng County and capture Yuan Shao to surrender!"

"Your Majesty, please do not be deceived by him!"

Zhang Yan confessed everything he had done, but he omitted the internal strife and killing among Qu Yi and his men.

Because he knew clearly that Qu Yi actually wanted to capture Yuan Shao and report his achievement to the emperor, but as long as he insisted that Qu Yi surrendered because he was forced into a desperate situation, that would also be a credit.

Qu Yi glared at Zhang Yan angrily and shouted, "You are slandering me! I have come to the right path and have just captured Yuan Shao to apologize to Your Majesty. How can I be desperate?"

Zhang Yan cursed, "Since you wanted to surrender to your Majesty, why did you run away when I chased you?"

Qu Yi snorted coldly: "You Black Mountain Army are well-known rebels. How can I not run if you chase me?"

Zhang Yan was furious: "Traitor? I am the General of Pingbei appointed by His Majesty! You are the traitor! Your whole family are traitors!"

The two of them exchanged sharp words.

The quarrel became more and more intense.

Guo Jia frowned, somewhat annoyed, and scolded: "How dare you! How can you make such a fuss? Is this the place for you to quarrel?"

Zhang Yan and Qu Yi were both shocked and realized that the emperor was in front of them. They quickly knelt down and apologized, bowing their heads deeply.

Looking at the two people kneeling on the ground in front of him, Liu Xie roughly understood the whole context of the incident.

After thinking briefly in his mind, he said to Qu Yi: "Although General Qu once assisted Yuan Shao, he admitted his mistakes and corrected them, which is a great virtue; this time, capturing Yuan Shao and bringing him to surrender is also a great achievement."

"I pardon all your crimes and confer the title of General Anbei on you."

General Anbei, one of the Four An Generals.

On the same level as Zhang Liao's General Anxi.

It doesn’t matter whether Qu Yi intended to surrender from the beginning or was forced to surrender. What matters is that the credit belongs to him.

If such a great contribution is not rewarded generously, who would be willing to surrender in the future?

Liu Xie did this in order to buy horse bones for a huge sum of gold so that he would have less resistance in his future conquest of the world.

Let the generals under the command of those princes understand that surrendering to the court is the right way!

"General Anbei!"

Qu Yi was stunned and shocked.

He thought that if he surrendered with Yuan Shao, he would at most be given a general title, after all, he was guilty.

But who could have thought that the emperor would actually appoint him as General Anbei? He never dared to dream of such a reward, it was like a quick promotion to heaven!
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"I am willing to die for your majesty!"

Qu Yi suppressed his excitement and kowtowed repeatedly.

When Zhang Yan, who was standing by, heard that the emperor had bestowed such a reward, he was so jealous that his back teeth were about to break and his eyes were red.

He lost so many of his brothers in death and injury before he was awarded the post of General Pingbei and the title of Marquis of a Township. However, Qu Yi betrayed his master and surrendered to the enemy in the battle, yet he received such a huge reward!

"This should be my credit!"

Zhang Yan really wanted to eat Qu Yi alive.

He is the county marquis!
After Liu Xie had Qu Yi untied, he smiled and said to Zhang Yan, "Although this is a misunderstanding, General Pingbei also deserves credit for taking the initiative to send troops to intercept Yuan Shao."

"Just be promoted to General Zhenbei."

Liu Xie promoted Zhang Yan's official position from Pingbei to Zhenbei, which was higher than Qu Yi's General Anbei.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhang Yan thanked him somewhat lamely.

Although he was promoted, he couldn't be happy.

Compared with official position, he cares more about title.

But everything is measured by merit. He did not capture Yuan Shao, but only had one merit of interception. This reward was already considered a gift.

The only person to blame is Qu Yi for stealing his credit!

Otherwise, with the merit of capturing Yuan Shao, the county marquis would be in his hands!
The more Zhang Yan thought about it, the angrier he became, and he glared at Qu Yi hatefully.

He has remembered this grudge.

After receiving their rewards, the two men left one after another.

After they left, Liu Xie could no longer hide his joy and laughed loudly, "Hejian County was recovered and Yuan Shao was captured. This battle can be called a great victory!"

"Pass the order down. I will give a banquet to the soldiers of the three armies to celebrate the victory!"

Yuan Shao has always been a huge mountain pressing on his head, but now that this mountain has been removed, he feels more relieved than ever before!
From now on, he will be free from any constraints!
……

Yicheng, in the prison.

Tian Feng looked outside through the narrow window in the cell, and when he saw the falling snowflakes, he felt a little relieved.

"It's snowing, Hejian County should be safe."

Although he was in prison, he still paid attention to the situation outside through the information conveyed by the jailer, and naturally knew the news that Hejian County was besieged by several armies of Lu Bu.

So this heavy snow undoubtedly came at a very timely moment.

With winter approaching, the war could no longer continue.

Lu Bu's army had no choice but to retreat.

"My lord's troops must have suffered heavy casualties in defending Hejian County... but they managed to hold on. Now we just need to wait for Guo Yuan's reinforcements."

"Alas, I wonder when the lord will admit his mistake and let me go so that I can continue to give him advice."

"Cough cough..."

Tian Feng muttered to himself and coughed twice.

His face also turned a little paler.

The weather was getting colder and colder. He only hoped that Yuan Shao could return to Yicheng as soon as possible to admit his mistake to him. Otherwise, given his physical condition, he would probably die in this prison.

"Military Supervisor! Military Supervisor——!"

A voice full of anxiety came.

Tian Feng looked up and saw the jailer running towards him in a hurry. He said to him in great fear:

"Military Supervisor, bad news! News came from Hejian County that Lecheng County has been breached, General Yan Liang was killed in the battle, and General Qu Yi captured our lord and surrendered!"

"What did you say!"

Tian Feng stood up suddenly and his expression changed drastically.

The Lord... was captured?!
(End of this chapter)