Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 309: Holding the emperor hostage and the imperial seal in hand, great things can be achieved!

"His Majesty!"

Dong Cheng was climbing the mountain when he saw Liu Xie sitting on a rock. He could not help but stretch out his hand to greet him.

When Liu Xie saw his father-in-law, he stood up and took a few small steps to greet him, and asked happily: "Why is the father-in-law here?"

Dong Cheng bowed to Liu Xie, sighed with guilt and said, "I feel ashamed of my Majesty. My troops were defeated by Yan Liang, and I wanted to flee to Henei to borrow troops to protect your Majesty. Unexpectedly, I met Yuan Shu on the way and was captured by him."

Dong Cheng pointed down the mountain and said, "Your Majesty, Yuan Shu's army was strong, Yan Liang and Chunyu Qiong knew they could not defeat them, so they led their troops to retreat. In order to welcome Your Majesty, Yuan Shu forced me to go up the mountain to persuade Your Majesty to follow his will."

Hearing this, Liu Xie sat back on the rock and said sadly, "Is the situation not in my hands now?"

"Yuan Shu is leading his army to meet me. His intentions are similar to Dong Zhuo's. How can I follow him now?"

"But~"

Dong Cheng sighed and said, "If Your Majesty does not follow Yuan Shu's lead, where will the reinforcements come from?"

"Marquis Zhang's troops are next to us. If we can wait for Marquis Zhang's troops to arrive, we still have hope of escaping." Liu Xie said.

"Is there any news today?" Dong Cheng asked.

Liu Xie shook his head and sighed, saying, "I sent a messenger to report before, but I haven't received a reply yet. I wonder what happened along the way?"

"As for the troops, there is no news at all!"

"What should we do?"

Dong Cheng looked at the civil and military officials around him and said worriedly, "Yuan Shu said that if Your Majesty defends the mountain, he will burn the forest to force Your Majesty and the others to come down from the mountain."

Liu Bei was immediately furious and said, "How dare Yuan Shu say such disloyal and unrighteous words? His ancestors have been eating Han salaries for generations. How can we dominate the world if we don't kill Yuan Shu? I really misjudged Yuan Shu when I joined him to fight against the enemy!"

"Brother, I will lead my cavalry down the mountain to kill him!"

Seeing that Liu Bei was furious, Zhang Fei was about to go down the mountain.

"Wait a minute!"

Dong Cheng hurriedly grabbed Zhang Fei and said, "Yuan Shu has a fierce general from Nanyang named Huang Zhong under his command. He is the bravest among the three armies and can defeat ten thousand enemies. Just now, Yan Liang was fighting with him, and Huang Zhong took his spear, causing Yan Liang to flee in panic. If Huang Zhong had not won the fight, Yan Liang would not have withdrawn so easily."

"Third brother, don't be reckless!"

Hearing this, Liu Bei calmed down. When he served under Gongsun Zan, he knew Yan Liang was very brave. Now Yan Liang was no match for Huang Zhong, which was enough to prove the terrifying power of Huang Zhong.

"Uncle, I am trapped in the mountains now. I don't know what to do?" Liu Xie asked.

Liu Bei gritted his teeth and said, "Yuan Shu is arrogant, how can Your Majesty obey him? I am willing to protect Your Majesty and break out of the siege and flee west to Guanzhong."

"inappropriate!"

Liu Xie looked at the ministers who followed him, shook his head and said, "Although Yuan Shu has a large number of troops, it is easy for my uncle's generals to escort me to Guanzhong with their bravery, but it is not right for you to leave me alone. Moreover, Yuan Shu has powerful generals under his command, so it is not appropriate for me to flee to Guanzhong alone!"

Liu Xie knew that if he abandoned the ministers and ran away, no minister would be willing to work for him in the future. Moreover, Liu Xie had a sense of responsibility in his heart, so he could not do such a thing.

Liu Xie looked at the ministers around him and asked, "This is an urgent situation. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Your Majesty, I have some humble opinions!" Wu Shuo stepped out and bowed, saying.

"Please speak!"

"If Your Majesty does not want to go to Guanzhong alone, I have two strategies to offer Your Majesty. First, Your Majesty leads the civil and military officials down the mountain and temporarily follows Yuan Shu's intention to carry out long-term plans. Second, Your Majesty holds the mountain and waits for the reinforcements from Marquis Zhang's troops. However, I am afraid that Yuan Shu will set fire to the mountain, and Your Majesty's life will be in danger." Wu Shuo said.

"This~"

Liu Xie couldn't decide, so he looked around. His confidants were unable to answer and fell into silence.

Yang Biao coughed a few times and said, "Yuan Shu and I are related by marriage. I think that although Yuan Shu is arrogant, he can still treat Your Majesty well. Your Majesty is now under siege, so it is better to temporarily obey Yuan Shu and find an opportunity to return to Luoyang. If Yuan Shu offends you, Biao will argue for Your Majesty and refute his actions."

"Mr. Yang is thoughtful!" Liu Xie sighed.

"Your Majesty, what should we choose now?" Liu Bei asked.

Liu Xie pondered for a long time, then said helplessly: "There is no food on the mountain. If Yuan Shu besieges and burns the mountain for a long time, I am afraid that you will be implicated by me. Yuan Shu comes from a famous family, so he is still cautious about what he does. Now you can go down the mountain and obey me. When Zhang Hou's troops arrive, maybe we can coordinate and return to Luoyang."

"I'm going to trouble Mr. Yang to come down the mountain and say hello to the Grand Marshal on my behalf."

"promise!"

Faced with a critical situation, Liu Xie finally chose to submit to Yuan Shu.

Now Liu Bei saw Liu Xie making a humiliating choice, and he couldn't help but look lonely. The Han Dynasty was the common ruler of the world, and now Liu Xie was the emperor, but he was first hunted down by Yan Liang, and now he was forced by Yuan Shu. The Han Dynasty has lost its dignity. I wonder if the Han Dynasty can revive in the future?

Dong Cheng sighed. When the emperor was in Luoyang, he could still take charge of the affairs of the Secretariat and share the government with Yang Biao. But if he went to Yuan Shu's camp, he would probably only receive an honorary position.

Kong Rong's face showed a secret joy. Unfortunately, his leg was hit by an arrow. Because there was no herbal medicine to treat it, his leg was in unbearable pain. Now if he went down the mountain to surrender to Yuan Shu, his leg would be saved. As for the honor and disgrace of the Han Dynasty, Kong Rong no longer cared about it. When Liu Xie made the choice to obey Yuan Shu, everyone had mixed feelings. Some were sad for the emperor's death, some were annoyed by the humiliation of the Han Dynasty, and some were glad to be freed.

Soon, after Yang Biao's efforts and coordination, Yuan Shu offered food and medicine to welcome Liu Xie, and Liu Xie, surrounded by his ministers, came to Yuan Shu's army.

Yuan Shu led his soldiers in saluting and said respectfully: "Your Majesty has been oppressed by Yuan Shao for a long time. I am late in coming to your rescue. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

Liu Xie suppressed his dissatisfaction, stepped forward to help Yuan Shu up, and said: "The Grand Marshal has come all the way from Nanyang to rescue us. I and the other ministers are extremely grateful. Thank you for your efforts!"

"It's my duty!"

Perhaps because he had welcomed the emperor, Yuan Shu had a smile on his face and behaved very appropriately.

"Your Majesty, please get in the car!"

In order to gain the obedience of the accompanying civil and military officials, Yuan Shu deliberately let Liu Xie get on the carriage and let his own soldiers guard him so that he could hold the emperor hostage.

Seeing Liu Xie board the carriage, Liu Bei wanted to follow him on horseback, but was stopped by Yuan Shu.

"Who are you?" Yuan Shu asked coldly.

"I am General Liu Bei, also known as Liu Xuande. Today, I am honored by your Majesty's kindness and am called your uncle." Liu Bei said.

Yuan Shu sneered and said, "I don't know the so-called uncle. Your Majesty is going in a carriage, and my troops will escort you. You and the others can just follow along!"

"Ok!"

Seeing Yuan Shu humiliating Liu Bei, Guan Yu's eyes were erect, his eyes were fierce, and his hand was on the hilt of his sword. But Liu Bei was humble and his expression did not change.

As if he had sensed that Guan Yu was about to do something wrong, Huang Zhong stood in front of Yuan Shu with a spear in his hand, not afraid of Guan Yu's gaze and looked into his eyes fiercely.

Liu Xie did not want Liu Bei to have a conflict with Yuan Shu, so he tried to mediate between them by saying, "The ministers accompanying you are exhausted, please send troops to look after them, uncle."

"As ordered!"

Liu Bei respectfully took his leave from Yuan Shu, while Guan Yu snorted at Huang Zhong, who looked indifferent and was not shaken by Guan Yu's threats.

After Liu Bei left, Yuan Shu patted Huang Zhong on the shoulder and praised him: "Han Sheng is brave and might be better than Lu Bu. With Han Sheng's help, the princes of the world have nothing to fear!"

When it comes to winning people's hearts, Yuan Shu's level is not much lower. Ever since he witnessed the terrifying martial arts of Huang Zhong, a native of Nanyang, he has been favoring him and constantly rewarding Huang Zhong with clothes. He even appointed Huang Zhong as the commander of the cavalry, which made Huang Zhong sincerely grateful to Yuan Shu and he was willing to be under Yuan Shu's command from then on.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir!"

Huang Zhong looked relaxed, cupped his hands and said, "Liu Bei and his generals are very strong, so you should not underestimate them. You need to be more cautious on weekdays."

"Ha ha!"

Yuan Shu smiled proudly and said, "I know the name of Liu Xuande. Liu Xuande previously followed Zhang Yu to defeat Li Jue. His generals Guan and Zhang were known as brave enough to fight against ten thousand enemies. What I just did was just to test Liu Xuande's cunning. Judging from his expression, Liu Xuande is cunning and his generals are brave. From now on, I should do as you said and be cautious of him."

"You are wise, sir!" Huang Zhong praised.

Yuan Shu was arrogant, but not a fool. He intended to welcome Liu Xieqi, so he kept learning about the situation in the court. Among the officials in the court, Yuan Shu was most afraid of Yang Biao, Liu Bei, and Shisun Rui.

For example, Yang Biao came from a prominent family and was respected by scholars all over the world, so Yuan Shu did not dare to humiliate him; Liu Bei was a general of the Han Dynasty and a lackey of Liu Xie, so Yuan Shu was afraid of him; Shisun Rui was resourceful and assisted the Han Dynasty, so Yuan Shu was worried that he would be a threat.

At present, Shisun Rui's whereabouts were unknown, and it was difficult to determine whether he was alive or dead, so it was not mentioned. Yang Biao had only a reputation but no troops, so Yuan Shu treated him with respect but in vain. Only Liu Bei had troops and generals, and he was deeply trusted by Liu Xie. In order to prevent Liu Bei from plotting and causing trouble, Yuan Shu naturally had to test him when they first met.

After his previous test, seeing that Liu Bei was not angry despite the humiliation, Yuan Shu has concluded that Liu Bei should not be underestimated and that he must keep an eye on Liu Bei in the future.

As the caravan set off, Yuan Shu accompanied Liu Xie, and Huang Zhong led his troops to guard Yuan Shu and Liu Xie.

Although Liu Xie was young and resourceful, he lacked patience. He said, "Since the Grand Marshal has come to rescue you, and now that Yuan Shao and Yan Liang's troops have retreated, can you let me return to Luoyang?"

"Luoyang is desolate and deserted!"

Yuan Shu pretended to be righteous and said, "If we live in Luoyang again, I am afraid that Yuan Shao will send troops to plunder again. Therefore, as the Grand Marshal, I have to consider your majesty. And your majesty is the emperor, how can you live in a humble room in Luoyang?"

"Shu has ordered people to repair the palace in Wancheng. Your Majesty can temporarily move the capital to Wancheng. When Yuan Shao is defeated and there is no war in the Central Plains, I will escort Your Majesty back to Luo."

Liu Xie said with a little annoyance: "Luoyang is the residence of the previous emperors of the Han Dynasty. How can I abandon it?"

Yuan Shu said lightly, "The Emperor was from Nanyang, and Nanyang was the hometown of the Emperor. Luoyang was in decline, so he temporarily returned to Nanyang. Your Majesty actually returned to his hometown to seek refuge, and stayed in Nanyang temporarily, reminiscing about the glory of his ancestors and thinking about the Emperor's revival!"

"As for the Luoyang temples, I will send people to clean them every year. Your Majesty, please rest assured!"

Seeing that Yuan Shu had no intention of placing him in Luoyang, Liu Xie was upset and said nothing more. Yuan Shu also did not indulge Liu Xie and drove ahead of Liu Xie's carriage.

Yuan Shu is very proud now. He holds the emperor hostage and holds the imperial seal. He can achieve great things!
In the afternoon, the troops led by Yuan Shu met up with Ji Ling, who led 10,000 people to support them. Yuan Shu also learned that the follow-up troops had arrived, and only then did he feel relieved.

At the same time, Zhang Yang, who was lingering in Heyang, saw that Yuan Shu had kidnapped the emperor, so he accepted Guo Tu's advice and led his troops across the Yellow River to pay homage to Liu Xie to avoid being criticized. After all, whether the emperor was saved was one thing, and whether to send troops to save him was another.

(End of this chapter)