Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 375: The King of Han is just the right time to help!

"Your Majesty, your holy virtue has been restored. You will renew your great destiny and revive the Han Dynasty, bringing peace to the four seas. We are Han officials, but we have been coerced by the two thieves Dong Zhuo and Li Guo. We are unable to go east to welcome Your Majesty. It is too late to regret. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Liu Bei led his army to Pubanjin and looked at the other side of the river from afar.

Duan Wei and others who had crossed the river and were waiting there in advance, brought along the clan leaders of the Guanzhong nobles, and more than a hundred people came on foot to pay homage to the King of Han. They looked up and saw the red "Han" flag held high, fluttering in the wind, and the flags, drums, and war drums connected for more than ten miles, and the soldiers looked mighty and majestic.

The nobles and officials in Guanzhong immediately stopped talking and dared not talk to each other anymore.

When they saw the majestic and increasingly dignified Liu Bei, they did not even dare to breathe and knelt down to apologize.

Some old officials wearing hats and caps stood at the back, squinting their eyes and looking deeply, unable to contain their joy, shedding tears and saying: "Since the traitor Dong rebelled against our Han family, we thought we would never see the majesty of the emperor again. I didn't expect to see the King of Han today and see the majesty of our Han family again!"

The other officials around him couldn't help but nod in agreement and praise this scene.

Even if they didn't have the opportunity to meet him in person, just watching him from afar was enough to make people hold their breath.

Liu Bei stood on the slope, looked at the old officials in the distance, and then looked at Duan Wei and others who were asking for surrender nearby, and said with a smile: "It is not too late to surrender today. At least tens of thousands of troops under my command have not shed blood in Guanzhong. General Duan was able to persuade the defenders of Linjin, Heyang and Xiayang to surrender, which can be regarded as a meritorious service to atone for his sins."

Hearing the praise from the King of Han, Duan Wei, who was wearing a black military cap and a robe, blushed a little. After hesitating for a moment, he still said, "Your Majesty, as a guilty minister, I dare not hide anything. It was not my credit to persuade the three cities in Guanzhong to surrender. It was the credit of my fellow townsman from Wuwei, the court minister Jia Wenhe..."

Even though Jia Xu repeatedly warned Duan Wei not to tell him about it, he should just take the credit for persuading the enemy to surrender.

However, when Duan Wei saw the King of Han looking at him, he could not help swallowing his saliva, and his heart was instantly extremely uneasy. He had heard that the King of Han’s subordinates were clear about rewards and punishments, and he was afraid that some officials would find out that it was not his credit, but because of his greed for credit today, he would bring trouble to the future.

After all, the lesson of his brother Duan Xing is there. As long as there is something unclean on him, if some scholar comes to settle accounts with him in the future, he will be skinned alive even if he does not die.

What's more, it was the King of Han who asked the question himself. Even if he was magnanimous and didn't care about it in the future, he would still have some resentment in his heart. He absolutely could not let the reputation of the people of Liangzhou be ruined in his hands again.

So Duan Wei decided to break his promise and directly betray Jia Xu.

Unexpectedly, the King of Han seemed to be quite familiar with Jia Wenhe. He was not surprised at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "I was wondering why there was such an eloquent person in Guanzhong. It turned out to be Jia Xu. This is not surprising."

"Where are they now? Have they crossed the river today?"

Liu Bei raised his whip and asked.

He was actually very interested in meeting Jia Xu. He had heard that after this man became the Shangshu of the palace, he often advised the two thieves Li and Guo to respect the emperor and the empress and not humiliate the ministers. He also urged him to enthrone him and concurrently be the governor of the state. It could be said that he owed Jia Xu a favor.

"If this person crosses the river, please send him to come and see me."

Liu Bei glanced at the people in front of him and gave the order.

"I dare not deceive the king. Jia Wenhe is still in Huayin County and has not crossed the river yet."

"Although Jia Xu offered advice to Li and Guo, he did so only to protect himself. At that time, it was rumored that the prince was going to execute the generals and lieutenants of Liang Province, so he did not pardon them."

"After Jia Wenhe entered Chang'an, he tried his best to mediate and protect the emperor and the ministers. At this moment, Li Guo and others fled to the west, which was also caused by Wenhe... Your Majesty, Jia Xu has already made up for his mistakes, and I hope he will punish him leniently."

Duan Wei thought for a while, and finally gritted his teeth to plead for Jia Xu. After all, this man had given all the credit to him before, and it was he who couldn't bear the pressure and broke his promise. No matter what, he still had to say a good word for the other party.

"You didn't cross the river in Huayin?"

When Liu Bei heard that Jia Xu did not follow Duan Wei across the river, he could not help but frown slightly. Could it be that Jia Wenhe was planning to take the opportunity to escape? Now he was about to lead his army into Guanzhong, and soon he would have to reorganize Sili, register the nobles and the common people on the same level, and thoroughly check the population of Guanzhong. Jia Xu could escape for a while, but he could not escape forever.

If you come to see him earlier, you can make up for your mistakes and offer him advice on how to govern Yong, Liang and Qiang people. But if you come late, then forget it.

Liu Bei thought of this and looked down at Duan Wei, saying solemnly: "I already know about Jia Wenhe's affairs. Since he persuaded the three cities in Guanzhong to surrender and informed us of the whereabouts of Li Jue and Guo Si, if General Duan sees him, he can tell him frankly. If he can devise a plan to bring back the Prince of Chenliu and others for the Han family and kill the two thieves Li and Guo, I can count his merit as atonement and forgive him from now on."

"If not, the Jia family will be severely punished."

The stern tone of the King of Han made Duan Wei tremble slightly, and gave him an illusion that the King of Han was not talking about the Jia family, but the Duan family of Wuwei.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will inform Jia Xu so that he will not dare to escape easily."

Duan Wei bowed and immediately kowtowed again.

Liu Bei waved his hand and asked them to step aside. He turned to the messenger and said, "Tell the Chai camp to use floating boats to build a bridge, cross the river and set up two camps first. The scouts will patrol the surroundings, and then the first camp will follow closely. Cross the river and set up camp. The river here is turbulent and should not be underestimated."

"If we see an enemy attack, we must immediately prepare for battle and not be careless. Order Gao Lan to lead his troops across the river first, and Zhang He to lead his troops to meet them on the river bank."

"Yes!" Dozens of people bowed and accepted the order, then rode away on horseback.

As soon as Liu Bei gave the military order, his troops were immediately dispatched, and each army began to march in an orderly manner with drums beating.

……

On the ninth day of the fifth month in the third year of Jian'an (198), Liu Bei led his army across the Yellow River and ordered his cavalry to quickly take over the five counties of Linjin, Heyang, Xiayang, Tongguan, and Huayin. Only after he had completely taken control of the gateway to Guanzhong did he dare to lead his army forward.

All the way along the Wei River, they successively defeated Chongquan, Lianshao, Wannian, Zhengxian, Gaoling, Xinfeng and other counties. Wherever the Han army passed, the Huben cavalry and the Ruichongying cavalry attacked everywhere, strangling the rebellious thieves and bandits, causing many local thieves to flee and hide in the mountains.

The people who had been robbed many times finally breathed a sigh of relief, but they were still terrified and kept hesitating and not daring to move forward. They could only look at the Han army from a distance and saw the familiar "Liu" and "Han" flags flying on the top of the city again.

Even though the common people were illiterate, they could hear the gray-haired official weeping and bowing to the banner leader, mumbling to himself, "The Han Dynasty has finally recovered Chang'an!"

"We will never be persecuted by bandits again. Long live the Han Dynasty, long live Emperor Liu!"

At this time, a clerk with a Chinese accent was heard riding a tall horse, laughing and shouting: "The King of Han has ordered to recruit men and women to transport food and fodder. You don't need to bring your own dry food. The army has naan bread for distribution, which is enough for five days. The number of people is limited, first come first served!"

"The King of Han has issued an order to recruit men and women from the common people to serve as ..."

The familiar accent spread further and further, leaving only the old official with tears of excitement in his eyes. He wept for a few lines and said, "The King of Han really has the style of Emperor Xiaowen. It is a blessing for the people of Guanzhong."

He had never heard that food was distributed for doing corvée labor, nor had he heard of it during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling. All he heard of was more corvée labor.

Now, what the King of Han is doing is tantamount to distributing millet to the people who have been hungry for a long time.

Guanzhong has suffered from drought for many years, but today it finally has rain. This is not a favor from heaven, but a favor from the King of Han!

Thinking of this, the old official burst into tears of joy.

(End of this chapter)