Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 151 Congratulations to the Han Family! Long Live the Envoy
As the world was changing, Liu Bei personally led people to clean up the ancestral temple. As the temple had become ruins, only its approximate location could be found.

There were dozens of tables with wine jars, and Liu Bei offered the game he hunted to the ancestral temple to worship his ancestors. Killing birds to assist in sacrifices had been a tradition since the Zhou Dynasty.

The army raised flags, beat drums, and placed the heads of the Huns on the battlefield. The newly returned from Luoyang had no choice but to hold a simple sacrifice to comfort Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Wen, Emperor Wu, Emperor Xuan, Emperor Shizu, Emperor Xianzong, and Emperor Suzong.

After a busy period, Liu Bei sent soldiers to patrol various places inside and outside Luoyang City, and ordered soldiers to guard the surroundings.

Standing in front of the dilapidated palace in Luoyang, looking around, you can see broken tiles and ruins everywhere, with only scorched earth and burnt wood left on the ground.

Many thorny wormwoods grow six or seven feet tall.

"Whose house is that? Why is it still so intact?" Liu Bei climbed up the high platform and saw a group of houses in the distance to the west of the city. He pointed and asked.

Sima Gongcao looked out and replied, "Lord Xuande, that should be the former residence of the eunuch Zhao Zhong."

"Eunuch?" Liu Bei raised his eyebrows slightly.

He then sighed, "I never thought that the palaces were burned down by Dong Zhuo, and the only ones that survived the blaze were the eunuchs' houses. It would be great if the Shangshutai's library could be preserved!"

Luoyang, as the capital, had a special official library to store and house books and bamboo slips collected by the Han Dynasty. During the Qin Dynasty, they were placed in the prime minister's office. After Emperor Xiaowu established the Secretariat, a large number of household registrations and file documents were moved to the Secretariat.

The Han Dynasty ruled the world with documents. If Liu Bei could get these books and documents, it would be like Xiao He collecting the maps and records from the Qin Prime Minister's Office after entering Xianyang. With these, Emperor Gaozu could know the strengths and weaknesses of cities and passes in the world, the number of households and fertile land, and thus accelerated the pace of unifying the world.

Unfortunately, all the books in Luoyang were burned by Dong Zhuo.

Liu Bei couldn't help but curse a few times, thinking that it was really a shame for a son to sell his father's land without feeling sorry. How much manpower and material resources would be needed to re-count the household registration, fields, taxes, rivers and water conservancy, and maps of each county, county, and township in the thirteen states of the world.

There are also many precious books that may be lost forever if they are burned.

After cursing, Liu Bei secretly sighed: "Although Fengxian has been guilty for a long time, he has done a rare good thing in killing Dong Zhuo."

Glancing sideways, he saw Xun You looking at a spot in Luoyang, lost in thought, and couldn't help asking, "Gongda has been in a trance since entering Luoyang. What is he worried about?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency. I remembered my old friend and saw that his house had collapsed and he might be no longer alive." Xun You bowed and said with a wry smile.

Facing the desolate and ruined Luoyang, recalling its former prosperity, he sighed and felt sad.

He personally experienced the Dong Zhuo Rebellion. He resolutely decided to assassinate Dong Zhuo with the Counselor Zheng Tai, the Chief Clerk He Yong, the Palace Attendant Zhong Ji, the Yue Cavalry Captain Wu Qiong and others. Later, the plot was exposed and he was imprisoned. If Dong Zhuo had not been killed by Wang Yun and Lu Bu in time, he might never have had the chance to set foot in Luoyang again in his life.

However, he did not regret it even though there was a great possibility that he would be killed. The only pity was that he did not plan more carefully and thoroughly.

"Too many people have died. The world cannot be in chaos any more." Xun You thought to himself, then he bowed to Liu Bei and said, "Sir, although Luoyang has been recovered, the capital is now in ashes and covered with brambles due to the repeated attacks by the Dong thieves and the princes of Guandong. We cannot rush to rebuild it."

"We can build the ancestral temple first and then slowly renovate Luoyang City. As for the large-scale palace, we should put it off until last."

When Sima Gongcao saw Xun You making plans for Lord Xuande, he immediately bowed and took his leave.

Liu Bei nodded and asked him to leave first.

After Xun You saw him go away, he said again: "Sir, the palace should be built slowly for two reasons. First, Luoyang is no less important than rebuilding the capital at this time, and the money spent must be calculated in billions of coins. The Han Palace is the most important, and it must be respected by all, so it will cost more."

"Secondly, the palace cannot be left without an owner after it is built. The time is not right for several years now. You might as well wait a little longer. After Hebei is pacified, Jizhou is recovered, and the Yuan family is wiped out, the treasury will have enough money and taxes to rebuild the palace for our Han Dynasty." Xun You bowed and advised.

"My Lord, Gongda's words are very good. We cannot rush to build the Luoyang Palace. If it is completed within one or two years without welcoming the emperor, the impact it will cause among the nobles may be unfavorable to my Lord."

Guo Jia also bowed and said.

They were afraid that the envoy would rush to build a palace after entering Luoyang. No matter what the purpose was, spending money, food and manpower on it at this moment would do far more harm than good.

Both of them were somewhat afraid that their lord would become complacent and forget himself, thus easily destroying the advantages he had accumulated with great difficulty. There were many such lords in history.

Liu Bei guessed what they were worried about. He was afraid that he could not understand his situation clearly and would want to enjoy himself after achieving success.

Liu Bei laughed and clapped his hands, replying with Emperor Gaozu's original words: "The world is in turmoil. We will fight for several years and the outcome is unknown. How can we build a palace?"

"Gongda and Fengxiao can rest assured. I still need to hold back my ambition until I have chased down all the princes and annihilated them all. I will then reopen the Western Regions and set up a Protectorate. I will make people from far away climb mountains and wade through rivers for thousands of miles to come to the Han River. I will not rest until the heavens have blessed all nations."

"This is Liu Xuande's lifelong ambition."

He is not Yuan Gonglu, the dead skeleton in the tomb. He would feel uncomfortable if he did not become emperor after getting the jade seal.

Guo Jia and Xun You's worries finally dissipated after hearing this. They all smiled, bowed, and said in unison: "Congratulations to our Han family. Long live the envoy, and long live the Han Dynasty!"

There were mixed emotions in Liu Bei's eyes, but he still had to get used to the Han Dynasty's way of celebrating. It was just adding his title.

Then he coughed dryly and said, "Gongda, Fengxiao, there is no need to do this, just skip the formalities."

Then Liu Bei said solemnly: "We have been fighting for more than three months. Now that Henei, Henan, and Yingchuan are all in our hands, I want to lead the army back to Yanzhou and lead the Tiger Cavalry from Shanyang County through Xiaopei, Yuzhou, to Xuzhou Donghai County. What do you think?"

"Sir, the importance of He and Luo counties is no less than that of Yanzhou. It would be most appropriate to have careful people stationed there."

Guo Jia first agreed with Liu Bei's decision to take over Xuzhou as quickly as possible, and then explained the importance of the capital area.

Although the population is sparse, it is surrounded by mountains and rivers, which is conducive to defending against strong enemies. It is strong enough to be relied upon.

But it is connected with Guanzhong and Chang'an, so we need to be more careful about Li and Guo. As for Liu Biao who is stationed in Nanyang, I can be happy if you don't lead your army to attack him.

Liu Bei thought for a moment and made a decision: "I want to station Yide and Gongda in Henei and Henan, and at the same time transfer civilians from Chenliu County to clean up Luoyang and the ancestral temple."

"Thanks to the enthusiastic donation of more than 80,000 cattle and sheep by the Xiongnu Chanyu Yufuluo, we also captured a lot of food, fodder, beans, and meat, which is enough to last for a while."

Liu Bei chuckled.

Guo Jia and Xun You had no objection to the decision. In particular, Xun You knew that he was more familiar with the affairs near Luoyang than Feng Xiao, so it would be best for him to stay and assist the third general Zhang Yide.

Liu Bei ordered his military officers to find Zhang Fei and give him some detailed instructions.

(End of this chapter)