Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 358: Punching the Emperor with Three Punches, Granting the People to Become the Public

Wancheng, the imperial palace.

Liu Xie stood in front of the portraits of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, and Emperor Shizu of Han, Liu Xiu, and sighed to Dong Cheng.

Liu Xie looked resentful and asked, "Do you know the stories of my great-grandfather and great-grandfather?"

"Everyone in the world knows about Emperor Gaozu. He picked up a three-foot sword, slashed a white snake and started an uprising. He started from Huaihe River and Si River, and conquered the world. He destroyed Qin in three years, and Chu in five years, and laid the foundation for the Han Dynasty."

Dong Cheng cupped his hands and said, "Emperor Shizu was a common man. He raised an army using oxen as his chariots, won a great victory at Kunyang, and overthrew the Xin Mang Dynasty. He ascended the throne in three years, unified the country in twelve years, and revived our dynasty."

Liu Xie sighed and said: "How great our ancestors were, how glorious the Han Dynasty was, but now we are controlled by the Yuan family. Isn't it sad?"

Dong Cheng sighed at the sight and carefully observed Liu Xie's expression. Liu Xie looked back at him with a firm look in his eyes.

The two were silent for a while, and Liu Xie asked slowly: "Do you know Qilin Pavilion and Yuntai?"

"How could I not know!"

"The reason why the former Han Dynasty prospered was due to the meritorious officials of the Qilin Pavilion; the reason why our dynasty is revived is due to the officials of the Yuntai Pavilion."

When no one was around, Liu Xie held Dong Cheng's hand and said sincerely, "I hope you and the others can do the same, stand by my side and revive our dynasty."

Dong Cheng nodded solemnly and said, "I and the other ministers will do our utmost to assist Your Majesty."

"Thank you for your hard work, I will never let you down!"

Suddenly, a female cough sounded, sending some kind of signal to Liu Xie. Liu Xie and Dong Cheng received the signal, their expressions changed, and they continued to chat about unimportant things.

"His Majesty!"

"What's the matter?"

"Minister Cai Mao is outside seeking an audience, saying he is following Prime Minister Yuan's orders!"

Through the gauze curtain, the servant couldn't help but look inside, hoping to discover any unusual movement and report it.

"Xuan!"

Liu Xie opened the curtain, glanced at the attendant coldly, and said, "Why don't you go and invite Minister Cai in!"

"promise!"

The servant lowered his head and retreated, with a look of resentment on his face.

After a while, Cai Mao came in with a smile. When he saw Dong Cheng in the room, he was not surprised, but bowed and greeted him.

"Your servant greets His Majesty!"

"General Wei is well!"

"Hello, Minister Cai!"

Seeing Cai Mao's disgusting face, Liu Xie suppressed his dissatisfaction and said, "I wonder why Minister Cai came to the palace?"

Cai Mao sat down at the table without waiting for Liu Xie to speak, and said with a smile: "I wonder if Your Majesty has heard the news about the general in Yizhou?"

Liu Xie said sarcastically: "The conquest of Jiangzhou, the defeat of Pang Xi, and the suffering of our clan members, Yuan Gong and his officers and soldiers really made great contributions, and how could I not know it!"

Cai Mao showed dissatisfaction on his face and corrected him, saying: "Liu Yan built the imperial carriage and acted like an emperor. He is ambitious to usurp the throne. He is not a relative of the Han Dynasty, but a traitor to the country!"

"What brings you here? Just tell me directly!" Liu Xie asked bluntly without any intention of beating around the bush.

Cai Mao maintained a smiling face and said, "Mr. Yuan has made outstanding contributions. He defeated Dong Zhuo, assisted the emperor, recovered Jiangzuo, conquered Bashu, and gained power throughout the country. Now I am afraid that the honor of Prime Minister is difficult to honor him. Therefore, Mao and other ministers dare to ask Your Majesty to confer the title of Lord Yuan, grant him the Nine Gifts, and promote him to Duke."

Liu Xie clenched the armrest in his hand and said angrily: "The world is not peaceful. Yuan Shao is causing chaos in Hebei, and Gongsun is rampant in Youzhou. Lord Yuan has not been able to surrender. So I dare to ask why Lord Yuan was promoted to a higher rank?"

Seeing that Liu Xie was about to lose his temper, Dong Cheng hurriedly said, "Now that Lord Yuan has just settled in the south of the Yangtze River, I'm afraid it's not appropriate to promote him. It would be better to wait until the Central Plains are at peace before discussing promoting him and granting him the Nine Gifts."

Cai Mao smiled coldly, "In the past, Zhou Dan and Lu Wang assisted the Ji family. Because they were two saints, they assisted the young King Cheng and made great contributions. The Zhou Dynasty granted them land and founded the country. This is a good thing in the world. Why does Your Majesty belittle Lord Yuan's achievements?"

"Looking back to the past, when relatives of the emperor were in power and the eunuch party was in chaos, Lord Yuan killed all the traitors for the country. Unfortunately, Dong Zhuo's army entered Luoyang, deposed and enthroned the young emperor, slaughtered the ministers, and brought the Han Dynasty to dust and overthrow the country. Only Lord Yuan raised an army to hold an alliance, marched straight to the capital, and restored the old capital."

"Later, when many heroes rose up, Li Jue ignored the court and used the emperor to control the princes. Lord Yuan made another alliance with the princes, welcomed the emperor to Luoyang, and repaired the ancestral temples of the two Han dynasties. He had the merits of supporting Jin Wen and Zheng Wu. When Yuan Shao invaded Luoyang, Lord Yuan personally wore armor, fought against the invaders, and welcomed the emperor to the southern capital. I would like to ask Mr. Dong, how does this achievement compare to that of Duke Zhou and Lü Wang?"

Dong Chengwei raised his head and said casually: "Your Majesty has already rewarded the merits of the past one by one. How can we get a higher rank without merit? If everyone talks about their merits in the past, wouldn't everyone be able to be made a marquis?"

Cai Mao looked at Liu Xie and said sternly, "All the generals and meritorious officials were granted the title of marquis. Now Lord Yuan is granted the title of marquis along with all the other ministers. May I ask Your Majesty why you honor Lord Yuan?"

Liu Xie tightly grasped the armrest and said in a deep voice: "Raising a righteous army to support the Han Dynasty, being loyal and steadfast, and keeping the principle of concession are what a minister values. Now that I have been promoted to a higher rank and received the Nine Gifts, I am afraid that this is not what a minister should do."

Cai Mao refused to give in and said, "Emperor Gaozu killed a white horse and swore an oath that only those with the surname Liu could be king. Now I am granting him the title of Duke. Why not?"

Liu Xie shook his head and said nothing, expressing his refusal to be granted the title of Duke.

Seeing this, Cai Mao lost his patience, stood up and bowed, saying: "Since Lord Yuan has made great contributions and is the prime minister of the country, if he asks for a title or a kingship, I am afraid Your Majesty will not refuse. Why can't you grant him the title of Duke and the nine gifts?"

Liu Xie clapped his hands and stood up, saying solemnly: "If Lord Yuan does not want to be a minister, I can abdicate to him; if he still has loyalty, I hope he can obey my orders."

"Your Majesty is forcing Lord Yuan!" Cai Mao said harshly.

"You and Lord Yuan are forcing me together!" Liu Xie retorted without fear.

……

"Liu Xie seems to be quite courageous!"

Next to the pond, Yuan Shu threw the few fish food in his hand into the pond, letting the fish fight over it, and said with a sneer: "If I hadn't taken the Han Dynasty's reputation into consideration, how could I allow him to be so rampant and repeatedly use the words of abdication to force others."

Perhaps knowing that Yuan Shu had the intention of usurping the throne, Liu Xie decided to go all out. Whenever Yuan Shu made excessive requests, Liu Xie dared to confront him and even dared to fight back against Yuan Shu by abdicating.

"Prime Minister, now that Your Majesty does not confer the title of Duke or present the Nine Gifts Imperial Edict, what should we do?" Cai Mao asked.

Yuan Shu hesitated for a moment and said, "If it really doesn't work, skip Liu Xie and directly issue an imperial edict to confer the title."

"If I pass on the imperial edict privately, I'm afraid it will cause criticism!" Cai Mao said, "Why don't you let me go to the palace again and see if I can convince Your Majesty."

"No need!"

Yuan Shu waved his hands and said, "Liu Xie has a strong character. It is useless to persuade him with words if we want to make him surrender!"

"What do you think, Prime Minister?" Cai Mao asked.

Yuan Shu thought about it for a while, and when he was about to answer, he saw the attendant hurried over and interrupted him, saying, "Prime Minister, Yang Biao and Kong Rong are here to see you."

"What are you two doing?" Yuan Shu asked when they met by chance.

"According to Yang Biao, he came here to discuss the promotion of the Prime Minister!" said the attendant.

"Prime Minister, Yang Biao and Kong Rong are important ministers of the court. They are here today probably to persuade you to give up the idea of conferring them the title of duke." Cai Mao said.

"In your opinion, Degui, have you met the two of them now?" Yuan Shu asked.

"Yang Biao is the prime minister's relative, and Kong Rong is a famous scholar in the world. They both have great prestige in the court. How can the prime minister not meet them!" Cai Mao said.

Yuan Shu sighed and said, "I was worried about their reputation, so I didn't dare to see them. Now if I want to ask for the Nine Gifts, I must see them!"

"Send two people into the hall!"

"promise!"

Soon, Yang Biao and Kong Rong were seen in casual clothes walking along the stone bridge in the pond and straight into the pavilion.

"Meet the Prime Minister!"

The two men ignored Cai Mao and bowed to Yuan Shu.

"I wonder why you two are here?" Yuan Shu pretended not to know and asked.

Kong Rong was impatient and considered himself a descendant of Confucius. He said, "You are a descendant of the Yuan family, and the Yuan family has been virtuous for four generations. They are admired by the whole country and have received great favor from the Han Dynasty. Now you are deceiving the emperor and asking to be granted the title of Duke and the nine gifts. I would like to ask if you can do it?"

Yuan Shu could not admit it, and said calmly: "It was not my request, but a subordinate who reported it to Your Majesty."

"Don't you deceive the fools?"

Kong Rong was merciless and exposed Yuan Shu's lies, saying: "Everyone is the prime minister's subordinates, and the subordinates do what they want. Is it possible that the prime minister cannot stop them? If King Cheng killed Duke Shao, can Duke Zhou say that he did not know the details? The reason why the nobles in the world look up to you is because you are smart and wise, and you have assisted the Han Dynasty and promoted wise men."

"If you deceive the emperor and disregard the emperor, then no one in the country will follow you. As for me, Kong Rong, a humble man from Lu, I will leave tomorrow and no longer respect Yuan!"

Listening to Kong Rong's half-threatening words, Yuan Shu was secretly annoyed and asked in return: "In the past, Zhou served Yin for several generations. If what Kong Jun said is true, then it is impossible to rebel against Yin and Shang, and we need to serve Yin and Shang? Then, what Zhou Gong did, is he a traitor or a traitor?"

"Did the Han Dynasty have the same tyranny as the Shang Dynasty?"

Kong Rong glared and blew his beard, saying: "Zhou controlled two-thirds of the world, and you controlled how much more? The Han Dynasty has been around for 400 years, caring for the people and fearing the barbarians. Its life is not over yet!"

Yuan Shu said: "In the past, Qin ruled the world but lost its governance. Power was in the hands of eunuchs, and heroes all over the world fought for it. That's why Emperor Gaozu rose from Huaishui and founded the Han Dynasty. Now that Han has lost power and the world is falling apart, it's clear that the golden sword will decline. You two are my old friends. If you can help me with this, you two will be my heart and soul."

Mao Jin Dao is the traditional Chinese character for "Liu", which can be broken down into three characters: Mao, Jin, and Dao. Therefore, Mao Jin Dao refers to Liu. The prophecy of the golden knife originated in the late Western Han Dynasty, when there was a prophecy saying: "Liu Xiu sent troops to arrest the unrighteous, Mao Jin cultivated virtue and became the emperor." So the prophecy of the golden knife spread.

Moreover, the prophecy was passed down for hundreds of years, even to the Tang Dynasty. For example, at the end of the Sui Dynasty, when Liu Heita started his army, he claimed that his surname was Liu and named his country Han. The prophecy that is as famous as the prophecy of the golden knife is that the lifelong enemy of the Han Dynasty will be "the one who replaces the Han Dynasty is Dangtu Gao!"

Seeing Yuan Shu trying to persuade them, Yang Biao frowned and said, "At the end of the Qin Dynasty, violence and cruelty spread all over the country, causing the people to wail and the lower classes to suffer, so the country collapsed. Although it is the end of the world, there is no such cruelty as the late Qin Dynasty. As the descendant of the Qin Dynasty, you will bring peace to the country, support the Han Dynasty, and complete Huo Guang's work."

"Now I have evil intentions and have brought disaster upon myself. I regret it now."

As he spoke, Yang Biao bowed and said in a deep voice: "You are my relative, so I explained my feelings to you. Although it sounds unpleasant, it is for your own good. Now you want me to curry favor with you, but I cannot follow your will!"

Kong Rong said sternly: "The Han Dynasty is in decline, but it has not yet died. I hope you can wake up!"

Being scolded by the two men, Yuan Shu's temper instantly rose, and he said angrily: "The prophecy says, 'The one who will replace the Han Dynasty will be Dang Tu Gao.' Now the Han Dynasty is in decline, and my Yuan family is descended from the Chen family. Chen is the descendant of Shun, and the earth inherits the fire, so it is the next in line. Moreover, my Yuan family controls two-thirds of the world, so why should we be afraid of the Liu family!"

"Know when to stop, don't make mistakes!"

Seeing that Yuan Shu really wanted to become emperor, Kong Rong's expression suddenly changed because he was worried that Yuan Shu would usurp the throne. He lowered his posture and said, "The Han Dynasty is still the common ruler, and you are a minister. I hope you can respect the Han Dynasty and don't do anything to destroy its reputation."

Seeing that the two could not be used by him, Yuan Shu had no intention of saying more. He said to the attendants on his left and right impatiently, "Take the two out!"

"promise!"

"Don't let the reputation of the Yuan family for four generations be destroyed by you!"

When Yang Biao was taken away by his attendants, he spoke loudly in order to prevent Yuan Shu from usurping the throne.

"Yuan Shu~"

Compared to Yang Biao's rationality, Kong Rong was already scolding Yuan Shu, and his voice became much quieter until he was dragged away, and finally disappeared. "The emperor has objections, and the ministers are against it. If you want to be appointed Duke and receive the Nine Gifts, I'm afraid you need to find another strategy." Cai Mao said.

Yuan Shu sneered and said, "I will go to the palace later to see if I can persuade His Majesty to change his mind!"

"promise!"

Soon, at dinner time, Yuan Shu put on armor and drew his sword, and led his troops straight into the palace.

When they reached the palace gate, Yuan Shu stopped and put his sword on it, and asked, "Is Your Majesty in the palace?"

The attendant replied with a flattering look on his face: "Your Majesty, His Majesty is having dinner in the palace."

"Degui, you lead the soldiers in first."

"promise!"

In order to prevent ambushes in the palace, Yuan Shu ordered Cai Mao to enter the palace first. After all, Yuan Shu was a man who had experienced the violent palace coup at the end of the Han Dynasty. He was almost killed last time because of his carelessness. Now he naturally acted prudently.

Led by Cai Mao, they pushed open the palace door violently, and hundreds of soldiers in armor and armed with sharp weapons rushed straight into the palace.

A group of people, their armor leaves rustled, their footsteps were steady and powerful, their cold armor and sharp eyes made people feel afraid.

"Cai Degui, how dare you bring armored soldiers into the palace without an imperial decree!"

Soon, Liu Xie's exclamation was heard in the hall.

Cai Mao bowed his hands and said in a deep voice: "I am following the order of the Prime Minister. How can I enter the palace without an imperial decree?"

When Liu Xie learned what Yuan Shu had done, he was greatly alarmed and asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Knowing that there were no ambushes in the palace, Yuan Shu boldly entered the palace and said in a deep voice: "I need your Majesty to issue an edict."

Seeing Yuan Shu appear before him, Liu Xie plucked up his courage and said, "I will never obey the imperial edict to confer the title of Duke and the Nine Gifts!"

"hehe!"

Yuan Shu ignored him and looked at Deng Cha. Deng Cha understood and took out the imperial edict from his bosom, saying: "There are traitors in the palace causing chaos. I beg Your Majesty to issue an imperial edict so that I can act at my own discretion."

"Who is causing the riot?"

Liu Xie stretched out his hand to accept the imperial edict. When he saw the contents, his expression suddenly changed. He said, "The queen is virtuous and has done nothing wrong. How can she be accused of rebellion? Could it be that the prime minister is mistaken?"

"If Your Majesty does not want to issue an edict!"

Seeing that the time had come, Deng Cha took out a new edict and said, "Then I beg Your Majesty to change this edict!"

Liu Xie looked at the imperial edict in Deng Cha's hand and felt uneasy. He said, "Thank you for speaking frankly!"

Seeing that Liu Xie did not read the imperial edict in person, Deng Cha unfolded it and said, "The Prime Minister has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty. I now implore Your Majesty to issue an imperial edict to confer the title of Duke of Chu on the Prime Minister and grant him the Nine Gifts."

Liu Xie's face suddenly changed. He was about to say something, but Yuan Shu gave him a cold look and he swallowed the words back.

"I hope Your Majesty can consider this carefully!"

Cai Mao said slowly: "I heard that the queen is pregnant. If I make an inappropriate choice and hurt the prince, it will be my fault!"

Liu Xie glared at Cai Mao, extremely angry at Cai Mao's threat, and said, "You are eating the Han salary without any reason!"

As he spoke, Liu Xie looked at Yuan Shu and deliberately sowed discord between them, saying: "Cai Mao was once a Han minister. He can betray me for you now. When you become weak, he will betray you even more!"

Hearing this, Cai Mao laughed loudly and said, "I am fortunate to serve the Prime Minister, so I am related to him by marriage. So why would you say that I betrayed the Prime Minister? Your Majesty, please do not sow discord between us!"

Yuan Shu did not want to push Liu Xie too far, so he walked in front of Liu Xie, raised the wine jar on the table, and said to Liu Xie, "Your Majesty, I advise you to act prudently!"

Seeing Yuan Shu approaching and looking down on him, Liu Xie could not hold back his anger and said in dissatisfaction: "Since ancient times, there has been no country that has not perished. You want to compete with the Han Dynasty in longevity. How can I be afraid of you?"

Seeing that Liu Xie refused to accept the toast, Yuan Shu became very angry and said, "I, I, dog-footed I!"

As he spoke, Yuan Shu angrily smashed the wine jar and said, "You refused to drink my toast and instead wanted to drink the penalty wine. Don't blame me for being heartless!"

"Degui beat him!"

"An dare?"

Seeing that Yuan Shu was about to attack him because of a disagreement, Liu Xie was stunned and shouted in shock and fear.

Cai Mao had been unhappy with Liu Xie for a long time, and now that Yuan Shu ordered him to beat him, he was already extremely impatient. He raised his fist as big as a sandbag and smashed it towards Liu Xie's face.

"what!"

Liu Xie was caught off guard and got punched on the left cheek, saliva mixed with vegetable residue spurted out.

"Beat yourself!"

In order to preserve Liu Xie's dignity, Yuan Shu reminded him.

"promise!"

Cai Mao was extremely excited. He raised his fist and hit Liu Xie twice in a row, causing Liu Xie to run away with his head in his hands.

"stop!"

Seeing Liu Xie in such a state of embarrassment, Yuan Shu called Cai Mao to a halt and said sarcastically, "Your Majesty, you may not know that the imperial seal is in my hands. I now have the imperial seal and I can still respect the Han Dynasty because of the Han Dynasty's kindness. I hope Your Majesty can issue an edict properly, otherwise the next time I will not be punching you three times, but actually using three swords!"

In order to cooperate with Yuan Shu's power, Cai Mao deliberately showed his sword, and Liu Xie was frightened by Cai Mao's three punches, and his body trembled.

"Your Majesty, please issue an edict!"

Deng Cha spread out the imperial edict conferring the title of Duke of Chu on Yuan Shu on the table and signaled Liu Xie to issue the edict quickly.

Looking at the imperial edict on the table, Liu Xie glanced at the people around him. Thinking of the three punches he received from Cai Mao, he felt inexplicably sad and sighed.

"Call the doctor Shang Fuxi!"

For the sake of his wife and children, Liu Xie gave up resistance and said, "I will confer the title of Duke upon the Prime Minister and grant him the Nine Gifts!"

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

Seeing that Liu Xie chose to surrender, Yuan Shu was overjoyed and said, "Your Majesty is having a meal, I will not disturb you. I will wait for your edict at home."

"Farewell, Prime Minister!"

Deng Cha bowed and bid farewell to Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu laughed a few times, as if he could already see the day when he would ascend the throne and become emperor.

After Yuan Shu left, Liu Xie looked helpless and asked Deng Cha: "You are a descendant of the Xinye Deng family. Your ancestor was the Marquis of Deng (Deng Chen), and you are related to Emperor Taizu by marriage. How can you work for an evildoer now?"

Deng Cha's expression remained unchanged as he said calmly, "The Han Dynasty has treated its people harshly, and the people have nowhere to live. Now the Han Dynasty is about to decline. I hope Your Majesty can go with the flow."

Liu Xie sighed deeply and finally stamped the edict with the imperial seal. The edict to enthrone Yuan Shu as the Duke of Chu came into effect immediately.

……

"Congratulations to you on being conferred the title of Duke of Chu and being granted the Nine Gifts."

Outside the palace gate, the entourage bowed to Yuan Shu and congratulated him, many of them looking very happy. Among the crowd, only Yan Xiang looked worried, standing out from the crowd.

Yuan Shu grinned and said, "It is all thanks to your assistance that I am where I am today."

As he spoke, Yuan Shu glanced at Yan Xiang and asked in dissatisfaction: "Today is a happy day, why are you not happy?"

Yan Xiang hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Excellency has been promoted to Duke of Chu and has been granted the Nine Gifts. How can I not be happy? I am only worried about the reactions of Yuan Shao and Zhang Yu. Both of them have their own territories and stand on equal footing with your Excellency. Now that you are Duke of Chu, I am afraid that the two and their subordinates will resent you."

"If Hebei and Shanxi are resentful, they will accuse you of having evil intentions and put you in trouble. If the officials in the court criticize you, you will be harmed by public opinion!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu restrained his expression and pondered the impact of being granted the title of Duke.

As Yan Xiang said, he had been feared by Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao for welcoming the emperor, but now he has broken through the title of a minister and was the first to be conferred the title of Duke of Chu. If Zhang and Yuan are jealous, he will be criticized.

Moreover, because he wanted to usurp the throne, he had already offended famous scholars such as Yang Biao and Kong Rong. If he could not get the recognition of Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao, wouldn't public opinion in the world be against him?

"Do you have any opinion?" Yuan Shu asked.

Yan Xiang said: "If you are willing, you may ask Your Majesty to confer the title of Duke on Zhang Yu, Yuan Shao, and Liu He to appease the world."

Yan Xiang was quite clever. He knew that Yuan Shu's title of Duke would offend the world, so he decided to ask some well-known princes in the world to be titled Duke as well to share the pressure of public opinion.

Yuan Shu was reluctant to leave and said, "There can be no two masters in the world. Now I declare all the princes dukes, but what about kings in the future?"

"Besides, Yuan Shao is a slave of the Yuan family, and Zhang Yu is just a shepherd. How can they be respected by me?"

Seeing that Yuan Shu was reluctant to let them go, Yan Xiang sighed and said, "Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao are vassal princes, and they are powerful in their own areas. If they want to be promoted to kings or dukes, it is not something you can stop. Therefore, I am considering making all the vassal princes dukes for your sake."

"The grace of the Han Dynasty still exists, and all scholars look up to it. You, the Lord, will be the first to bear the brunt of the criticisms and troubles. Moreover, you are the only one who receives the Nine Gifts, while all the princes are yours. How can the two be compared?"

Yuan Shu was moved and said, "What you said makes sense, but what title should be conferred now?"

Cai Mao took the opportunity to speak up and said, "Among the ancient princes, none is more respected than Chu, Qin, Qi, Jin, Wei, and Zhao. Since you have accepted the title of Duke of Chu, why don't you honor Yuan Shao as Duke of Wei and Zhang Yu as Duke of Zhao?"

Seeing that Cai Mao honored Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao on the same level as himself, Yuan Shu was a little unhappy and said, "Zhang Yu is Zhao, and Yuan Shao is Wei, so they are not honored on the same level as Chu."

Seeing Yuan Shu struggling with the title of etiquette, Yan Xiang was speechless. In his opinion, wasn't it just a title? Why bother Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao?

Yan Xiang said earnestly, "Since you have made all the princes dukes, why should you be mean to them over trivial matters? It is better to treat them well to please Zhang and Yuan."

"That's it!"

Yuan Shu stroked his beard with his hand and said to the crowd, "Let the emperor draft three more edicts to confer the title of Duke of Zhao on Zhang Yu, the title of Duke of Wei on Yuan Shao, and the title of Duke of Yan on Liu He."

"Your Excellency is wise!" Yan Xiang complimented.

"Ha ha!"

Yuan Shu patted Yan Xiang on the shoulder, laughed and said: "When I become emperor, you can enter the Shangshutai."

"Thank you Ming Gong!"

Yan Xiang forced a smile and said.

PS: I have something to do in the evening, so I’ll do two in one today.

(End of this chapter)