The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 250 Volume We Are Still Here
"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

Xu Rong was no longer as calm as before. He held the teacup in one hand, as if ready to attack at any time.

"If the Grand Master were still here, I would never do this!"

Liu Xie nodded: "So the problem lies with me."

"When I came here, I was thinking about the difference between me and the Grand Master."

"Is fairness the most important thing in the army?"

"I proposed to grant land to soldiers, to form a government army, and to abolish the imperial examination system. No matter how you look at it, you still think I am not a person who rewards and punishes unfairly."

Xu Rong spoke up at this moment: "Your Majesty is fair, and this is something that everyone can see."

"Since it's not fairness, then it's a question of ability."

Liu Xie eliminated one wrong option and locked on another answer.

"General Xu, do you think that my military strategy is insufficient, so I cannot lead you to fight against Yuan Shao like the Grand Master?"

Hearing the emperor say this, Xu Rong still shook his head.

"Although I have been ordered to guard Hangu Pass, I have also heard of the emperor's military strategies."

"Even the Grand Master has said that the Emperor has already made his decision in military law. How could I doubt the Emperor's ability?"

"Whether it was the Battle of Jincheng, the Battle of Hanzhong, or the Battle of Entering Shu, they were all strokes of genius. Even if I were to replace them, I would never dare to claim that I could win and fight as beautifully as the emperor."

"If I doubt the emperor's military strategy, then there will be no one in the world who can be called a military expert."

Now it was Liu Xie's turn to feel strange.

"They are not worried that I am unfair in rewarding and punishing, nor are they worried that my military strategy is insufficient. Why are General Xu Rong and Generals Li Jue and Guo Si unwilling to join me in resisting the enemy?"

……

Xu Rong stood up, bowed and saluted the emperor.

"Your Majesty treats me sincerely, and I do not want to deceive you."

"Your Majesty may be the Son of Heaven, but your prestige is insufficient and your foundation is not solid."

"Since ancient times, if a ruler lacks prestige, he would resort to war and use killing to suppress the world."

"Emperor Xiaowu ascended the throne at the age of 16, and soon after he executed his maternal relative Dou Ying and forced his own uncle Tian Fen to death."

"Emperor Xiaoxuan inherited the throne from the common people, then he killed Grand Marshal Huo Yu, deposed Empress Huo, and took power himself."

"Emperor Xiaohe ascended the throne at the age of nine, and at the age of fourteen he could not wait to launch a coup, arresting and killing his relatives, the Dou family, and then taking power himself."

……

"Your Majesty is now wiser than Emperor He, more patient than Emperor Xuan, and more strategic than Emperor Wu... I really don't think Your Majesty would not understand the imperial mentality of the three previous emperors!"

"Now that the Grand Master has suddenly passed away, if Your Majesty wants to take control of the military and political power, he will definitely kill the chicken to scare the monkeys and deter the evildoers!"

"Among the Xiliang generals, Lu Bu and Niu Fu have always been on good terms with Your Majesty. Zhang Ji got the title of General for free because of the previous feud between Dong Min and Your Majesty. He will also follow Your Majesty's lead..."

"Generals Li Jue and Guo Si were born in Xiliang after all. In order to appease the soldiers of Xiliang, the emperor will not choose to kill them... After thinking about it, I am the only one from Liaodong who is most suitable to be killed by your majesty."

By the end of his speech, Xu Rong's voice had already become sad.

"Even if a wild animal knows it is going to die, it will fight to the death, let alone a human being?"

"Therefore, I hope Your Majesty knows my intentions and does not deceive me again!"

……

Liu Xie opened his mouth slightly.

He thought of many reasons.

But I never expected that Xu Rong would worry to this extent?

With history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall.

Xu Rong was well versed in the 400-year history of the Han Dynasty and knew what an emperor who was eager to consolidate his power would do, so he never believed in Liu Xie.

According to the emperor's mentality, Liu Xie killing Xu Rong was indeed the best solution.

Not only did it deter the villains, but it also did not cause too much damage to the morale of the Xiliang army.

Sacrificing a Liaodong person to stabilize the entire Xiliang base is a good deal no matter how you look at it.

That was why Xu Rong was always unwilling to trust the emperor and chose to lead his troops to station there alone.

……

"hiss--"

Liu Xie was also in trouble at this moment.

If Xu Rong was greedy for money and profit, it would be a good thing for Liu Xie.

But Xu Rong had already learned about the rise and fall of dynasties from historical books and firmly believed that the emperor was going to kill him.

No matter how eloquent Liu Xie's words were, how could they compare to the personal demonstrations of the three emperors Liu Che, Liu Xun and Liu Zhao?

"Emperor Liu is so mean and ungrateful."

The mines buried by generations of Liu emperors finally exploded on Liu Xie.

This was what Dong Min had suspected Liu Xie to be like before.

Now Xu Rong suspected that Liu Xie was the same.

None of them had the ability to read minds, so they could only look for rise and fall in history books to peek into their own destiny.

However, generation after generation of Liu emperors obviously blocked this path completely, leaving future generations with an answer that made them feel insecure.

Therefore, no matter how much Liu Xie said at this moment, he would not be able to change Xu Rong's mind.

"So General Xu Rong is worried about this."

From the history of the rise and fall of nations, this question has no answer at all.

Xu Rong bowed again and said, "I came here today to make it clear to Your Majesty that I am not a traitor."

"If your majesty has any orders, I will definitely carry them out and will never disobey your majesty!"

As he spoke, Xu Rong took out the silk book from his arms.

It's still blank.

"I am your Majesty's subject after all, and I dare not use my subject to order the king. Therefore, I hope your Majesty will withdraw the edict and give me a way out!"

Liu Xie glanced at the blank silk book, but raised his eyes to stare at Xu Rong: "General Xu just said that he is willing to obey my last order again?"

"Exactly."

"it is good."

Liu Xie was very decisive: "In this case, I wonder if General Xu can stay here with me for a few days?"

Xu Rong was confused. "Your Majesty... do you want me to accompany you to bed?"

Liu Xie nodded instinctively, but felt that Xu Rong's words were strange.

"It's only a few days. General, can't you even agree to my request?"

Xu Rong: ...

Although he didn't know what the emperor meant, Xu Rong still agreed.

Day 1
Nothing happened.

Day two.

Still nothing happened.

Xu Rong was feeling a little impatient at the moment.

Now Guo Tu is still in his camp, and he has not shown up for several days. There is no guarantee that Guo Tu will not become suspicious.

On the third day, Xu Rong could no longer bear it and questioned the emperor.

"Don't worry, General. Follow me to the river for a walk."

It's not like I've been sitting around doing nothing these past few days in this thatched cottage.

Every day, Liu Xie would take Xu Rong to the bank of the Fen River to take a look.

At first Xu Rong thought Liu Xie wanted to go into the water to catch a fish to eat.

But Liu Xie did not bring either a fishing rod or a fishing net, so Xu Rong knew that this was not the case.

But after wandering along the Fen River for three consecutive days, Xu Rong was a little puzzled.

"What on earth is the emperor looking for?"

Liu Xie did not answer.

It was not until he vaguely saw something floating on the water that he looked up and explained to Xu Rong: "When I heard that Yuan Shao was leading his troops south, I actually sent not only messengers to the general, but also messengers to the direction of Jinyang."

Jinyang?

Xu Rong became more and more confused.

"Jinyang must have been lost long ago. Why would the emperor send an envoy there?"

To go from Hedong to Jinyang, if you don't go through Quewei Valley, you have to cross mountains and ridges and take narrow paths to find your way.

It is not cost-effective to pay such a huge price to go to Jinyang which has already been lost.

Liu Xie ignored Xu Rong's arbitrary remarks that Jinyang had already fallen.

He just said calmly: "My order to Jinyang garrison commander Hao Zhao at that time was that if he was alive, he should find a way to inform me."

"If I knew he was alive, I would immediately lead the army to rescue him."

"Calculating the time, it's about this time."

When Xu Rong was about to ask Hao Zhao how to convey the message that he was still holding on, his pupils shrank.

The upper reaches of Fen River.

As the sun shines, the waves turn into golden scales, constantly leaping.

Only when the golden scales appeared before his eyes did Xu Rong confirm that he was not dazzled.

gourd!

What were drifting down the Fen River were actually round gourds!

And there are quite a few of them!
They kept floating and sinking in the waves, but never drowned. Instead, they tried their best to call for help from people on the shore, as if to convey their desire to "live".

Seeing this, Xu Rong also took off his armor, jumped into the water, and scooped up a few gourds and brought them to the shore.

Unplug it.

A bamboo slip suddenly fell out from inside.

"General Du Yong is still guarding Jinyang, I hope Your Majesty can rescue me!"

Xu Rong opened several other gourds, and the contents were all similar -

"Your Majesty, I, Guo Huai, was ordered to guard Jinyang. Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission! I hope Your Majesty will be informed!"

"My Han Hou Fushang is still alive. Can the gentlemen downstream come to rescue him as soon as possible?"

"My name is Chen Anguo, and I have a son named Chen Guanghan. Both father and son are still holding on in the city. I hope the rest of our comrades can come to rescue us as soon as possible."

"I am Zhang Yannian..."

"I, Zhao Po Nu..."

"I, Li De..."

……

Liu Xie also took a gourd and opened it. Inside was a letter for help written by a man named "Sheng Dayu".

His handwriting was crooked, but there were only four words -

We are still here.

"I have the messenger tell them that if they are still alive, they should write a letter, put it in a gourd and throw it into the Fen River."

"In this way, I will naturally be able to receive their letters downstream."

Liu Xie put the bamboo slip in his arms and turned to look at Xu Rong.

The Fen River was still flowing rapidly, and countless gourds were blown into the air by the waves, floating behind Liu Xie.

"General Xu Rong said before that my prestige is insufficient. I agree."

"But General Xu Rong said that my foundation is unstable, but I don't agree!"

Liu Xie pointed at the gourds that were still floating down from upstream.

"There are still soldiers and civilians holding on in Jinyang City."

"What they believe in is not my troops and power."

"Instead, they believe that the land I distributed to them in the equal distribution of land is the official position I granted them after the imperial examination."

"Only by following me can they escape from their previous lives and no longer be driven like slaves by the nobles and wealthy families!"

"My reliance has never been on bravery or soldiers, but on the gourds sent by countless people."

“Are the wishes of the people not enough to support a great Han dynasty and a prosperous era?”

"General Xu, do you think that your head is more valuable than these gourds?"

(End of this chapter)