Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 330: Take orders from heaven and live forever!
Perhaps Yuan Shu felt that his death was approaching, and as the saying goes, when a man is about to die, his words are good.

There were dense and heavy footsteps outside the mansion, as well as insults and shouts with a Huainan accent.

A sky full of arrows flew into the mansion, causing many women to cry and hug each other, and to sob to comfort crying children.

Yuan Shu in the hall could hear this very clearly. After a long sigh, he thought about how he was famous for his chivalry when he was young and how many people wanted to rely on him for support, but now he had to end up like this.

He caused the Yuan family to be overthrown and their clan and sacrifices to be destroyed.

Thinking of this, he could no longer hold back his tears and cried out in grief, "Yuan Shu, why are you trapped like this?"

"My wife, children, and elders have all been implicated by my evil deeds... How can I face the Yuan family ancestors in the afterlife? After I die, please do not send my body back to Runan."

"Lord Yan and Lord Yang, please bring my head, Yuan Shu, to surrender. I hope that the King of Han will remember that Shu once delivered food and grass to Yanzhou to help during the flood and drought in the past, and also offered the emperor's jade seal. This can leave a trace of sacrificial bloodline for the Yuan family. Even in the netherworld, I, a sinner, will bow my head in gratitude."

"At this moment, with all my sincerity, I wish that our Han dynasty will live forever and enjoy eternal happiness."

As Yuan Shu spoke, he picked up his sword, looked at it carefully, and sighed sadly, "What a good sword! It's a really good sword, but it's a pity that it has to be used to kill a rat like me - what a pity."

"Mr. Yuan, you must not commit suicide! You must not commit suicide!"

Yan Xiang and Yang Hong were both shocked by Yuan Shu's behavior.

Without any time to continue standing there in a daze, he quickly reached out his hand to dissuade him.

Even though they knew that once the Qingzhou army attacked, Lord Yuan would not be able to escape death, they could not just watch their benefactor die in front of them. This was against the ethics of a scholar.

After thinking it over, they couldn't find a good reason to continue persuading. The two looked at each other and were stunned.

I wanted to advise Mr. Yuan to take care of his health, but I felt that it was a bit inappropriate, so I advised him to work hard and cheer up again.

But the soldiers were in panic and the enemy was only a hundred steps away. Even if Lu Wang were resurrected, he would be helpless in the face of this situation and could only cry out in despair.

Yuan Shu saw that the two men were speechless even after trying to persuade him, and he understood in his heart. He smiled bitterly and said, "Shu should die. Lord Yan and Lord Yang, please don't persuade me anymore."

"If you can surrender, the King of Han will not end the Yuan family's sacrifices, and you can take good care of my descendants for me. I will be very grateful."

After saying this, he committed suicide by cutting his throat. Blood gushed out like a fountain and flowed all over the quilt. His body had no support and he fell to the ground helplessly.

"Clang!" The sword fell from his hand and bounced heavily again.

Yan Xiang and Yang Hong fell to their knees on the ground, crawled forward on their knees and wept bitterly, expressing their deep sorrow and grief.

When Yuan Shu was dying, he used his last bit of strength to hold Yan Xiang's hand, looked at him to express his apology, and then passed away.

“Mr. Yuan!” “Mr. Yuan!!”

Yan Xiang burst into tears, he understood what Yuan Shu did not say in the end.

Unable to hold back his tears, he said, "Mr. Yuan, you will remain a Han official until your death. Why should you be afraid of not being able to see your ancestors?"

"If you don't want to be buried in Runan, where else would you like to be buried?"

Yang Hong also cried bitterly and was unable to speak.

As the two cried, Yang's troops only held back for a moment before the Han army broke through Yuan's mansion and charged toward the front of the hall. The servants, maids, and concubines in the mansion were in chaos and all ran to the back of the courtyard.

……

On the eighth day of the seventh month in the second year of Jian'an, more than a hundred knights galloped out from Shouchun, Huainan, and headed towards Lunu, the capital county of Zhongshan Commandery in Jizhou. After more than a month, they crossed the four states of Yang, Yu, Yan, and Ji, and finally successfully escorted the surrendered items of the Yuan family of Huainan to the hands of the King of Han.

The surrender item lying quietly in the box has eight seal characters "Received the Mandate from Heaven, May You Live Long and Prosper" engraved on the front as a token of "the imperial power is granted by Heaven and is legitimate and orthodox."

It was passed from Qin Emperor Ying Zheng to Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, and then to Wang Mang who usurped the throne and presented it to Emperor Gengshi Liu Xuan. After wandering around, the imperial seal came into the hands of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. Later, due to Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the seal disappeared again. Now, after Taishi Ci and Zhou Yu defeated Yuan Shu, it was presented to the King of Han.

Along with the imperial seal came a recently severed and pickled head. The messenger reported loudly that this head was exactly the head of Yuan Gonglu, the Han thief who was beheaded after the city was captured.

Liu Bei did not expect that he would meet Yuan Shu by such a coincidence.

Liu Bei looked at the jade seal and then at the shriveled head, his eyes were filled with mixed emotions. This was the first prince who had fought against him, and after his defeat, his head was chopped off and presented to him.

To be honest, he was not very interested in these heads. If it were not for the purpose of verifying their identities and rejecting the generals' desire to make meritorious service, he could not help but want to give an order that no matter who was killed in the future, the heads would not have to be sent back from so far away for him to see.

It is not the head of the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei, or Qiang Khan, so it can be hung in the residence of the barbarians to show the power of the Han Dynasty thousands of miles away.

These rebellious princes can be left alone. As long as they have not yet claimed the throne, they can be buried on the spot after their identities are verified.

He is not Zhao Wuxiu, who insists on using the enemy's head as a drinking vessel.

After inquiring about everything in Huainan in detail, Liu Bei waved his hand, smiled and asked the knights who came to escort him to go to the military camp to rest first.

Each of them was rewarded with three thousand coins and ten pieces of cloth to reward them for their hard work and fatigue during the journey.

One of the messengers heard the words of the King of Han and immediately knelt on the ground, and said excitedly: "This is my duty, why do I need the King to reward me with money? When I conquered Huainan, I had already made great contributions, so I don't need to worry about the distribution of land and grain."

"Now Hebei, the Central Plains, and Huainan are in need of reconstruction, and every place needs money. Your Majesty, why don't you use the money you rewarded me to support the people and relieve their suffering, so that the world can be governed as soon as possible and the prosperity can be restored."

When Liu Bei heard this, his eyes lit up.

Ever since he was crowned King of Han, few of his subordinates dared to speak out and give him advice.

Even Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Sun Qian and others had to beat around the bush when they gave him advice, for fear of displeasing him.

Only Yunchang, Yide, Zilong, Xianhe, Zijing and their teacher Lu Zhi remained the same. They dared to argue with him when encountering problems. This made him a little angry, but he was secretly happy in his heart that the relationship with everyone was still the same.

Liu Bei's eyes fell on the soldier at the back of the crowd, who had a dark complexion, a round waist and a thick back, and a broad face and a square mouth. He smiled, pointed his finger and asked, "Where are you from, brave man? How can you be so humble? Don't you know that in the Han family, no matter how big or small the matter is, merits will be rewarded and mistakes will be punished?"

"This is the foundation of the Han family's trust. We must not make any mistakes. Otherwise, how can we make the world trust us? The Han family has a reward, so we cannot refuse it."

Afraid that the other party didn't understand, Liu Bei was willing to explain with a chuckle first.

Whether you want it or not is one thing, whether I will give it to you is another.

Besides, if I refuse at this time, wouldn’t I be offending my comrades around me?
As he spoke, Liu Bei gave the other party a way out.

(End of this chapter)