Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 391 Liu Zhang: I don’t feel good!
In Chengdu, Yizhou, it was just dawn when Huang Quan, the chief clerk who had been appointed not long ago, and Wang Lei, an official of Yizhou, happened to meet in front of the gate of the mansion. The two looked at each other with worried expressions, and without much greeting, they just bowed and saluted hastily, then hurried in together.

The news that the King of Han was going to set up an altar in Chang'an to ascend the throne reached Shu at midnight last night. Upon hearing the news, the officials in Chengdu did not dare to conceal it and directly woke up the sleeping Yizhou Governor Liu Zhang.

Liu Jiyu was awakened from his sleep and immediately felt dizzy and his vision blurred. He almost collapsed on the bed until his wife shook his arm again, which brought him back to his senses. At this time, all sleepiness disappeared instantly.

Liu Zhang forgot to even put on his robe and immediately paced back and forth, mumbling incoherently: "What should I do? What should I do?!"

"It's over, it's over!"

He had just suppressed the rebellion in two counties started by Zhao Wei, and at the same time blocked all important passages and city gates in Ba County and Guanghan County, cutting off the roads and information in Hanzhong and Jingzhou.

But no one expected that Liu Xuande would ascend the throne at this time. How could he suppress the numerous local nobles in Yizhou?
Many people here were dissatisfied with him, believing that Liu Jiyu and the Dongzhou soldiers under his command had infringed the interests of the wealthy families.

If someone were to collude with the outside world and prepare to welcome the King of Han into Yizhou, then everything would be over.

When Liu Zhang thought of this, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Regret grew in his heart and he really wanted to slap himself.

When the King of Han was crowned king by killing a white horse in Luoyang, his staff suggested that he should make friends with the King of Han, Liu Bei. However, he waved his hand and laughed, saying, "It will take Liu Xuande several years to conquer Hebei. In order to prevent the princes from uniting with each other, he will only take the initiative to make friends with me. Why would he need me to join him?"

"Everyone, please be patient and wait at home. It won't be long before Liu Bei arrives."

At that time, Shu was protected by the Hanzhong rice thief Zhang Lu in the north and the Jingzhou governor Liu Biao in the east, which could be described as impregnable.

As a result, not long after that, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Several states in Hebei were not stopped, and Huainan was not stopped either. The rice thief Zhang Lu was even more shameless. He brought 100,000 households from Hanzhong and personally went to Luoyang to surrender, which immediately opened the door to Shu.

Fortunately, Liu Zhang was somewhat comforted that his neighboring relative of the Han royal family, Liu Jingsheng, remained unmoved in the face of the overwhelming momentum and chose to defend Jingzhou.

He felt deeply moved that they were indeed descendants of King Gong of Lu, and were no worse than the descendants of King Jing of Zhongshan.

Just as they were preparing to send envoys to form an alliance with Liu Biao, they never expected that the seemingly tough Liu Biao would not hold out for long before being surrounded on three sides. He could not even hold on for a few months and had to kneel down in Luoyang.

Only then did Liu Zhang feel that things were going badly. Jingzhou was gone and Yizhou was under attack from both sides. How could he resist the ferocious Qingzhou army?

So he prepared to find out the opinions of the officials to see whether Shu should follow Liu Jingsheng and surrender.

He never expected to hear a sentence from his trusted clerk that almost made his heart jump out of his chest.

The man said, "There is a rumor in Luoyang that when the thief Zhang Lu surrendered, he told the King of Han that Liu Yan and his son from Yizhou built the emperor's carriage and had married into the Wu family, who has a very noble appearance. They also built carriages and clothes and stole sacred artifacts. They must be planning to become the emperor."

"Master Ji Yu, we surrender to the King of Han. Even if we have no wealth and power, we can abandon our official positions and become commoners, enjoying the mountains and rivers... I'm just afraid that you will drink poison and die in the future!"

Liu Zhang was so frightened by these words that his lips trembled violently and his whole body felt like a sieve.

Because it is a fact and cannot be refuted.

In the past 400 years of the Han Dynasty, few relatives who intended to become emperors had a good ending. Liu Zhang, the King of Chengyang in the early Han Dynasty, was involved and died in an unclear manner. There were also Liu An, the King of Huainan, Liu Dan, the King of Yan, Liu Ying, the son of Emperor Guangwu, the King of Chu, and Liu Kui, the King of Bohai during the reign of Emperor Xiaoling. All of them died in prison along with their 70 children.

Is it possible that Liu Jiyu is going to follow in the footsteps of these people?
No, no...

When Liu Zhang thought about his tragic death in the future, he was terrified at first, but then he mustered up courage from nowhere and took command of the army, trying his best to quickly wipe out Zhao Wei's rebel army who were fighting under the banner of welcoming the King of Han into Yizhou.

Then he sent his promoted confidants to various passes to guard the key locations firmly to prevent the Qingzhou army from attacking in the chaos.

But no one expected that Liu Bei would now succeed to the throne as the emperor. In this way, he became a nominal traitor to the Han Dynasty.

Back then, Gongsun Shu, in the name of the Son of Heaven, could not even hold on to the Shu land where the people’s hearts were broken, let alone him.

When he thought about the bad things his uncle Liu Yan had done, he wanted to curse him out loud, but he didn't have the courage.

Liu Zhang could only shake his head in regret, beat his thigh, and said sadly with tears in his eyes and frowning brows: "The disaster of exterminating my family is coming, the disaster of exterminating my family is coming! Alas, alas, this is fate."

His wife also understood the reason and couldn't help but wipe away tears quietly.

Liu Zhang heard intermittent sobbing, turned around and saw his wife's miserable appearance, and almost couldn't help crying with her.

"...Madam, I regret coming to Yizhou. It has caused you so much suffering." Liu Zhang took his wife's hand, feeling sorry for her and his own children. He let out a sigh with trembling lips and teeth.

Until a servant came outside the house to report that all the officials living in Chengdu had come to discuss the matter and were now waiting in the hall, waiting for Mr. Liu.

Liu Zhang then wiped his wife's tears with his hands and said to her soothingly, "Yizhou has many talented people, many of whom are quite eloquent. They will definitely be able to give me advice and help my family stay safe and survive the disaster."

After saying this, Liu Zhang put on his clothes with the help of his maid, raised his hand to adjust his Jinxian crown, and walked out of the house.

On the other hand, dozens of clerks were summoned to the Huangtang to discuss matters. Many of them had already heard the news and were discussing the matter with worried expressions.

Only a few people were sitting with their eyes closed, thinking in their hearts without intentionally participating.

After a long while, he heard an attendant outside reporting that Liu Gong, the governor of Yizhou, had arrived!
The crowd finally stopped talking, and the clerks and officials all stood up, bowed, and said, "We greet Lord Liu, and wish him long life and happiness!"

Liu Zhang also bowed in return for the congratulations, and said with a forced smile: "Gentlemen, why should you be so polite? Please take your seats."

Seeing that almost all his trusted officials in Chengdu had arrived, Liu Zhang did not hide anything and said directly: "The emperor has been held hostage by the rebels. His life or death is unknown. The world cannot be left without a master for long. The King of Han will set up an altar in Chang'an to ascend the throne. I would like to ask you, what should Yizhou do?"

As soon as Liu Zhang's words came out, the hall fell into silence. All the officials kept silent for fear of incurring the wrath of Lord Liu.

After all, not long ago, Ji Yugong had suppressed Zhao Wei and others who rebelled in the name of King of Han, and had also issued a strict order not to allow people in Shu to discuss matters outside the Great Wall.

At this moment, the topic suddenly changed. Is he preparing to cast bait and fish?

(End of this chapter)