Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 338 The Story of the King of Han and the Goddess of Luo River
July 22, the second year of Jian'an.

The grass and trees were sparse, and the breeze blew up the fallen leaves on the ground.

Zhang Yan's intention to surrender was confirmed during the two dispatches of messengers. Liu Bei also accepted the other party's method of gaining trust by sending relatives as hostages. He then ordered Zhang Yan to attack Changshan State and appointed him as the Prime Minister of Changshan.

Then he organized his army and marched towards Wangdu of Zhongshan State. With the troops dispersed to various counties in Jizhou, Liu Bei led the expanded Huben Cavalry and Ruichong Battalion, totaling more than 4,000 combat soldiers, 7,325 auxiliary soldiers, as well as clerks, clerks, and chief recorders who followed the army, and left some of the auxiliary soldiers to garrison.

After bidding farewell to the officials of Zhongshan State with a bow, Liu Bei mounted his horse and led the infantry and cavalry away.

Only the head of the Zhen clan, the Liu clan of Anguo, the Liu clan of Hanchang, and King Zhongshan Liu Zhi were left standing there staring for a long time.

The Han soldiers' flags covered the sky, war drums beat in front and back, and more than 800 baggage carts guarded the two wings. Even the marching formation of tens of thousands of people was in order, and the orders of large and small armies were obeyed during the march. They were truly the strongest army in the world.

The head of the Wuji Zhen clan could not help but sigh with emotion: "The army has chariots and cavalry, follows the soldiers' feelings, rewards and punishments are fair, follows moderation, enforces military discipline, practices military tactics, and is generous. With this army, the King of Han can travel across the world, defeat the enemy with a small force, and repeatedly defeat powerful enemies. The soldiers break through the enemy lines, fight hard and never retreat, and are of one mind and one heart with their generals, with an unyielding determination. It can truly be called a 'hard army' and an 'iron army'."

"I heard that the counties reaffirmed the military order and system, and three counties added a military office, which was divided into two systems, the inner and outer systems. The inner ones were combat soldiers, and the outer ones were auxiliary soldiers. They were rewarded with land and exempted from corvée. In the army, they were squad leaders and sergeants. When they retired due to injuries, they were village chiefs and stewards. The common people and soldiers were so favored and relied on salaries. How could they not serve the Liu family and die for their loyalty within the five generations?!"

"The King of Han shared the world with his meritorious officials based on their military achievements. No matter their social status or wealthy families, they were all rewarded based on their merits. In terms of being sincere and winning people's hearts, the King is better than Guangwu and can be ranked with Emperor Gaozu."

"The Han family has such descendants, why do we lament that the mandate of heaven has been exhausted and there is no one to worship the suburban temples and carry on the great cause?"

There were mixed emotions in the eyes of the Zhen clan leader. The Liu family was really weird. Ever since Emperor Taizu Gao won the world with his three-foot sword, during the Wang Mang period, the emperor became increasingly incompetent.

Wang Mang won the hearts of the people by his pretentious deeds, but over the course of several decades he made things worse, forcing both the nobles and the common people to rise up in rebellion.

All of a sudden, the Han royal family rose up, and finally Emperor Guangwu revived the Han Dynasty, which lasted for more than two hundred years.

This time, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the eunuchs' rebellion, and the Dong thief disaster, the majesty of the Liu emperors had been trampled to the bottom.

The princes of various places no longer paid tribute to the imperial court and regarded the emperor's edicts as forged edicts. Officials in various places were nominally Han ministers, but in fact they were separatist.

As a result, Liu Xuande of Qingzhou risked his life again, picked up the three-foot sword, put order out of chaos, reorganized the world, and rebuilt the Han Dynasty.

Isn’t this God’s blessing to the Liu family?

The head of the Zhen family stroked his beard with one hand and calculated in his mind. Except for the first Emperor Ying Zheng and Wang Mang in the middle, the rest of the emperors were all from the Liu family. Could it be true, as Liu Hou said, that the talent of Pei Gong was given by heaven, and so was that of Guangwu and the King of Han?

Hundreds of years later, could there still be a master bestowed by heaven?

God really favors the Liu family and doesn't give anyone else any chance.

Thinking of this, the head of the Zhen clan immediately smiled. Fortunately, it was not too late for the Wuji Zhen clan to surrender. As early as when Liu and Yuan were fighting, they gave the most noble-looking daughter in the clan to the king as a concubine, and successfully established a marriage relationship with the King of Han.

As far as he knew, in the whole of Hebei, except for their Zhen family who acted quickly, everyone else who wanted to form an alliance and send their clan's legitimate daughters as concubines was rejected by the king.

What made the head of the Zhen clan even happier was a letter from the Zhen daughter, saying that the king treated her very well and came to see her specially after learning that she had arrived in Pingyuan. As soon as they met, she smiled and asked if she had four sisters in her family, namely Zhen Jiang, Zhen Tuo, Zhen Dao, and Zhen Rong, and she was the last one.

Although Zhen's daughter was extremely puzzled, she still opened her red lips and carefully told him about the situation at home.

Upon learning that she was the youngest daughter of the family, the King of Han smiled and asked curiously, "May I ask, Lord Zhen, is your name "Zhen Mi" or "Zhen Luo"?

After finding out that her name was not Zhen Mi or Zhen Luo, the King of Han sighed and said, "It turns out that Zhen Jun's name is not 'Mi'!"

Although his complexion soon returned to normal, Zhen's daughter still noticed a hint of regret in the King of Han's eyes.

In the letter, he informed the patriarch of the Zhen family of his doubts. The patriarch thought for a while, consulted with the relatives of the Zhen girl for a moment, and immediately decided to change her name to Mi. "Mi" sounds so nice.

Mi Fei was the goddess of Luo River. When the King of Han recaptured Luoyang and led his army across the Luo River, he might have dreamed of meeting Mi Fei in his dream, and therefore could not forget her. Otherwise, why would he ask whether she was "Mi" or "Luo" when he saw the daughter of the Zhen family with such extraordinary beauty?

The head of the Zhen clan told his speculation to all the Zhen clan members, and they all nodded and thought it was very reasonable.

The person who carries the mandate of heaven must be extraordinary. The First Emperor Ying Zheng once dreamed of fighting with the sea god, and the King of Han led his army to recapture Heluo and rebuild the ancestral temple. He went from being a vassal lord dominating Qingzhou to a prestigious royal family member who supported the Han Dynasty.

He also has a heroic spirit, far superior to ordinary people. How could Mi Fei of Luoshui not be moved? Although the water god is invisible, he will definitely appear in her dreams.

After all, the Liu family had established their capital in Luoyang for nearly two hundred years, so how could they not be familiar with the water god? When Concubine Mi saw the decline of the Han Dynasty and only King Han Liu Xuande led his army to reorganize the Han Dynasty, how could she not feel admiration and attachment?

I also thought about the fact that when Zhen's daughter was young, the fortune teller said she was noble. Could it be that she was not referring to the queen, but someone who looked similar to Concubine Mi?
At this time when matters of ghosts and gods and prophecies were prevalent, when this sentence was uttered, everyone in the Zhen family was shocked by their own guess.

After that, when the daughter of the Zhen family came back, they dared not look at her directly.

In this way, Zhen discussed it for a whole day, and finally changed her name to Zhen Mi with trembling hands.

When Liu Bei heard about the twists and turns, he was also stunned. He recited a few lines of "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River", which made Zhen Mi's eyes light up. Ripples of emotion appeared in his heart. He couldn't help but believe what the clan leader said in the letter, that the King of Han might have really seen Concubine Mi.

Otherwise, how could it be as if he saw it with his own eyes when he just recited it casually? The one who can kill the king of the world is indeed different from ordinary people.

Since then, I have seen the relationship between King Han and Madam Yin, and they will never be shaken by outsiders.

Zhen Mi swept away the sadness she had when she came, and her thoughts changed a lot. She was smiling all day long and was very polite to everyone she met in the backyard.

As Zhen Mi gradually integrated into the family, the Zhen family members also breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't ask for much, as long as they could gain a foothold in the Han family.

The head of the Zhen family came to his senses and looked at the Han army that was gradually moving away, feeling deeply moved. Among the many powerful families and noble clans in Hebei, they were the most far-sighted, and they were valued by the king at an old age and were appointed as Gongcao of Zhongshan State, devoting themselves to serving the Han Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)