Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Liu Xie's command caused subtle changes in the expressions of many lords present, and various thoughts arose in their minds.

Obey?

Or resist?

At this moment, especially Yuan Shao, harbored various bold ideas.

As early as half a year ago, Yuan Shao had been thinking of establishing Liu Yu as the new emperor, thereby weakening Liu Xie's influence, and then gradually controlling the new emperor Liu Yu through the Yuan family, using it as a stepping stone, and finally rightfully seizing the world.

Unfortunately, Liu Yu refused!

Fortunately, Liu Yu stepped forward to denounce Dong Zhuo's actions of abolishing and establishing emperors as contrary to etiquette, and called on the imperial clan and lords to jointly crusade against Dong Zhuo.

Therefore, Liu Xie, the Son of Heaven of the Great Han, is now in an awkward situation of being 'illegitimate'.

In fact, Yuan Shao had already arranged five assassins armed with powerful crossbows to lie in ambush around the palace last night.

If Liu Xie appeared at night, then these five assassins would appear in the name of Dong Zhuo's remnants to assassinate Liu Xie.

Once Liu Xie died, the position of the Son of Heaven of the Great Han would be completely vacant, which would be most ideal for Yuan Shao's ambition, and the Yuan family would no longer have any scruples.

However, to Yuan Shao's surprise, whether it was because Lu Bu had been unable to find Liu Xie in the palace for a long time, or because he had anticipated that someone would try to assassinate him under the cover of night, he did not allow Liu Xie to appear at night.

Now, it's dawn!

In full view of everyone, Yuan Shao couldn't help but hesitate...

Various gains and losses were constantly being weighed in Yuan Shao's mind.

In broad daylight, it was no longer convenient to assassinate with crossbows, otherwise, if the assassins were seen to emerge from Yuan Shao's army, it would be too far-fetched to say that they were Dong Zhuo's remnants, and it would damage the Yuan family's reputation.

Then, the only remaining choices were: either to still recognize Liu Xie as the nominal Son of Heaven of the Great Han and hand Liu Xie over to Lu Bu's control; or to insist that Lu Bu wanted to imitate Dong Zhuo, holding the Son of Heaven hostage, raise his arms and call on everyone to kill Lu Bu and the Son of Heaven together in this place.

Tension, hesitation, indecision...

As Yuan Shao's eyes kept changing, and the surrounding atmosphere became a bit more solemn, many of the smaller lords who followed Yuan Shao's lead were also watching Yuan Shao's behavior.

And Liu Xie, who had survived under Dong Zhuo's tyranny for nearly a year, was particularly sensitive to that kind of invisible malice, and keenly noticed that Yuan Shao's expression seemed to have a bit more ferocity and murderous intent.

This made Liu Xie, who was already frightened and apprehensive, face Yuan Shao and almost instinctively took a step back, and even his whole body became a little weak and unable to support himself.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!!! Don't block me from paying respects to the Son of Heaven!"

A rough voice rang out from behind the lords.

Now, Zhang Fei's prestige in the allied forces can be described as illustrious. In addition to the name of "Fierce Zhang Fei", what makes countless people fearful is his crude language.

This caused the crowd to subconsciously make way for Zhang Fei as if avoiding a plague after Zhang Fei appeared.

A group of small lords were afraid that in public, Zhang Fei would insult their ancestors for eighteen generations over and over again with words.

After Zhang Fei glanced around, he quickly noticed the small figure wearing a dragon robe standing at the palace gate.

However, Zhang Fei didn't quite understand the court rules. After dismounting from his horse far away, he walked to Yuan Shao's side, and then saluted Liu Xie and said loudly.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I am Zhang Fei, the sworn brother of Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, the seventeenth-generation descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan. I was ordered by my eldest brother to come to protect Your Majesty. Now I have completely killed and expelled the Xiliang rebel soldiers who caused chaos in Luoyang City. Please give instructions, Your Majesty."

Hearing these seemingly straightforward words, Liu Xie inexplicably had the urge to cry.

This was the first time since Liu Xie ascended the throne that he felt respected.

Before, in Dong Zhuo's hands, he lived a precarious life, being manipulated like a puppet.

Especially after Dong Zhuo sent someone to poison his elder brother Liu Bian, Liu Xie was even more frightened and uneasy, fearing that he would be next.

Even Lu Bu, who broke into the palace last night claiming to have killed the traitor Dong and came to protect him, did not show the slightest respect in his actions.

Having been accustomed to a hard life and eating pig food, Liu Xie suddenly felt that respect from Zhang Fei, how could he not be greatly moved?

Sure enough...

Outsiders are completely unreliable!

It's still his own people, it's still Liu Bei, a member of the Han imperial family, who still knows to care about my safety!

Liu Xie tried his best to maintain the posture of the Son of Heaven and said.

"Imperial Uncle is kind, but I don't know where Imperial Uncle is now?"

The title that Liu Xie suddenly uttered in public today made everyone slightly stunned, and then they realized that the "Imperial Uncle" that Liu Xie was referring to was Liu Bei.

"My eldest brother is still leading the allied infantry in the rear, and will arrive in Luoyang soon..."

After a pause, Zhang Fei recalled the key points mentioned in the cloth and then cupped his hands and said. "My eldest brother asked me to ask Your Majesty where the allied infantry should be stationed after they arrive?"

Look!

This is a loyal minister!

A great and loyal minister!!

The Great Han still has loyal ministers!!!

And not those rebellious and treacherous officials who break into the palace and act as if they were at home, let alone those beasts who lie on the dragon bed and sleep more comfortably than I do.

At this moment, Liu Xie really had the urge to cry, a feeling of finally finding a backer and organization after a year of being in a precarious situation.

My imperial uncle has arrived, the traitor Dong is also dead, the sky of the Great Han is finally bright!

"Imperial Uncle, Imperial Uncle..."

Liu Xie couldn't help but wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes and said.

"Imperial Uncle can set up camp around Luoyang on his own, and after Imperial Uncle arrives in Luoyang, please come to the palace to meet me quickly."

Zhang Fei, who didn't understand any court etiquette, almost grinned and responded loudly. "Yes, thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. I will definitely convey it to you."

However, Liu Xie's display of closeness to Liu Bei made Lu Bu frown, and he said in a tone that brooks no refusal.

"Your Majesty, there are still Xiliang rebels in the city. It is not advisable to stay at the palace gate for too long. Please return to the palace to rest."

Suddenly, Liu Xie's expression, which had just shown a bit of joy, obviously seemed to wither, but he did not dare to disobey, and could only say.

"Marquis Wen is right. The rest of you ministers can settle down in the city on your own. Another day, I will reward you for your merits one by one."

Yuan Shao hesitated for a moment and took the initiative to bow and respectfully send Liu Xie back to the palace.

As for the originally resolute and crazy thoughts in Yuan Shao's heart, after Zhang Fei appeared, he also realized that it was impossible to do so.

Especially since the vast majority of the allied forces are now still in Liu Bei's hands.

As long as Liu Bei does not agree with this matter, then Yuan Shao also has no possibility of completely coercing the entire allied forces to act.

When the other lords saw this, they also bowed to Liu Xie one after another.

As the palace gate slowly closed again, Lu Bu, who had been tensing his body and preparing to fight at any time, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As early as last night, Lu Bu had found Liu Xie in the palace.

It was just that Chen Gong was worried that the allied forces would take advantage of the darkness of the night to falsely claim that the Liu Xie that Lu Bu had found was fake, and even directly attack Liu Xie.

Therefore, Chen Gong suggested that Lu Bu must wait until dawn before letting Liu Xie appear to scold the allied lords to disperse.

As long as the Guandong lords accept Liu Xie's command this time, then they still default to Liu Xie's position as the Son of Heaven, which also means that Lu Bu's situation has completely turned from danger to safety.

"Your Majesty, this Marquis will escort you back to the palace."

Lu Bu said in a tone that brooks no refusal.

Liu Xie, who had long been accustomed to Dong Zhuo's tyranny, subconsciously nodded, and then went in the direction of the bedroom.

At this moment, the Son of Heaven's bedroom was a bloody and chaotic mess. Several Bingzhou wolf riders were washing the ground of the bedroom with well water under Chen Gong's command, so that the strong smell of blood would dissipate a little.

The Xiliang iron cavalry, which was originally responsible for guarding the palace, turned to looting the palace, and naturally would not let go of the Son of Heaven's bedroom.

Therefore, there were quite a few rebel soldiers who broke into the bedroom.

Liu Xie was able to survive by luck, thanks to the fact that Liu Xie had been terrified and unable to sleep every night during this period. Hearing the sounds of shouting and killing coming from outside the bedroom, he subconsciously ran out of the bedroom and hid.

Otherwise, I am afraid that before Lu Bu found Liu Xie, Liu Xie would have likely died under the knives of the rebel soldiers.

As Liu Xie returned to the bedroom, Chen Gong quickly bowed respectfully to Liu Xie, performing the great etiquette between monarch and minister.

However, Liu Xie knew that Chen Gong was Lu Bu's confidant, so naturally he would not put on airs to Chen Gong, and quickly helped Chen Gong up.

For Chen Gong, who still had some thoughts of the Great Han in his heart, Liu Xie's courtesy made Chen Gong feel grateful.

Afterwards, after Liu Xie, who had been terrified all night, rested in the bedroom, Lu Bu and Chen Gong retreated.

However, Chen Gong also noticed Lu Bu's contemptuous attitude towards Liu Xie, without a trace of respect, which made Chen Gong feel a bit worried.

Based on Chen Gong's understanding of Lu Bu, he also realized that Lu Bu probably did not have much awe or respect for the Han Dynasty.

In Chen Gong's view, this was undoubtedly not a good sign, and sooner or later it would lead to fierce conflicts between the Son of Heaven and Lu Bu.

Immediately, after Chen Gong walked a distance with Lu Bu in the palace, he suddenly said.

"Marquis Wen, I have a plan that can make Marquis Wen and the Son of Heaven of one heart."

"Hmm?" Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong.

"Marquis Wen has a daughter whose age is similar to that of the Son of Heaven. If she can be married to the Son of Heaven, Marquis Wen can be an in-law."

After a pause, Chen Gong continued. "In this way, Your Majesty can rely on Marquis Wen's power to deter the disobedient in all directions, and Marquis Wen will inevitably be able to gain Your Majesty's full support."

Lu Bu's whole body was moved when he heard this.

In-law!

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, this was undoubtedly a very special group.

Almost every in-law can hold great power and reach the highest position...

Although the fate of most imperial relatives is not a good one, and they almost always face reckoning.

However, under the current special circumstances, if Lu Bu could become an imperial relative, he would undoubtedly gain enormous political capital instantly, and it would wash away most of his previous notoriety.

(End of chapter)