Tiger Guards

Chapter 576 Strangers
Inside the palace, in a side hall of Zhangde Hall.

Liu Xie sat upright in the main seat, looking at Lü Bu, who was also standing tall and proud, with his sword and shoes in the hall.

Lu Bu, wearing his battle boots, strode confidently, as if walking on the front lines of two armies.

This was also the first time in over a year that he had looked directly at the emperor. Due to the emperor's sitting posture and Lü Bu's own height, Lü Bu had to lower his eyes slightly to see the emperor's face clearly.

After two years of recuperation, the emperor is now over seven feet tall. Even when sitting upright, judging by his shoulder width, he has broad and upright shoulders.

With a little training and muscle development, such a skeletal structure would be considered an elite soldier in Lü Bu's eyes.

Lu Bu then observed the emperor's hands peeking out from his wide sleeves; his palms were large and his joints were prominent.

This indicates that even though the emperor lived deep within the palace, he would still practice swordsmanship or use other weapons in his daily life, undergoing a certain level of martial arts training.

"The Grand General pays homage to the Emperor."

A eunuch beside him chanted loudly, "Bye!"

"Your subject Bu pays respects to Your Majesty."

Lu Bu stopped, clasped his hands in a deep bow, and then lowered his head and bent down, but soon raised his head on his own.

"A seat will be offered to the General."

Liu Xie sat upright, and two eunuchs brought over a low couch. After Lü Bu thanked them and waited for the two eunuchs to leave, he also sat down calmly.

Liu Xie then asked, "I already know the General's intentions, but the grain reserves in Luo are insufficient. In my opinion, it is not advisable to move back to Luo this year."

Lu Bu cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, I inspected Luozhong to oversee the military settlements there. To replenish Luozhong, I intend to relocate the families, servants, and other relatives of the officials and generals to Luozhong. It will not be too late for Your Majesty to move back to Luozhong next summer or autumn when the city is well-fed.”

Liu Xie thought of Fu Wan's advice and his expression fell: "Does the Grand General also intend to abandon me?"

"Why does Your Majesty say such a thing?"

Lü Bu looked puzzled: "Grand Marshal has rendered outstanding service abroad, and I feel immense pressure. Now, the only way to ensure stability in the realm is to manage Luozhong and bring the court back to its former capital. Only with such merit in stabilizing the country and restoring the old capital can I be considered on par with the Grand Marshal. Otherwise, how can I have the face to govern the country alongside the Grand Marshal?"

Lü Bu then said, "I implore Your Majesty to wait a little longer; the situation will naturally improve."

"General, you are again deceiving me. The messengers I sent, along with those sent by the officials of the court, have not been heard from since they passed through Yulin Pass and Yanmen Pass. We all know nothing of the Grand Marshal's intentions. Now, the officials and people of Xuchang are in a state of panic, all saying that the world is about to fall into chaos. I really don't know where the peace and stability that the General speaks of comes from?"

Liu Xie gave a wry smile: "General, now that things have come to this, why don't you speak frankly to me?"

Seeing this, Lü Bu paused for a moment, then said, “Luozhong is the key to the world. Without my presence, no one can withstand the Grand Marshal. The Grand Marshal’s military campaigns are swift and fierce. The court ignores the great achievements of his troops in sweeping away enemy strongholds. If he raises an army, how can the court resist him? I cannot bear to see Your Majesty worry, so I have brought Liu Bei to the court to assist you. Only in this way can I defend Luozhong with peace of mind and prevent Zhao Yuansi’s troops from marching out of Guandong and disturbing Xuchang.”

Lu Bu was not lying; last year it was proven that Zhao Ji could intimidate Lu Bu's army.

If we put ourselves in their shoes, and let others guard Luoyang, when Zhao Ji led his victorious army to attack the imperial court, how many troops along the way would dare to resist?
Zhao Ji's army has been transformed and will surely include the brave warriors of the various Hu tribes. These elite cavalrymen of the various Hu tribes will pour into the land of Guandong... From the emperor down, who will not be afraid?
They could be unafraid of Zhao Ji because whether Zhao Ji killed someone or broke a leg, his primary target was always the mastermind.

Zhao Ji's army also had relatively good military discipline, so most of his subjects had heard of it and were not particularly afraid of Zhao's officials and soldiers.

But this battle annexed so many Hu tribes and plundered their elites as henchmen. These henchmen ravaged Guandong and were sure to kill without mercy.

Liu Xie also felt that Lü Bu's words made some sense. This could have been said earlier, but the fact that he said it now clearly indicated a perfunctory attitude. A silence fell between the emperor and his minister. After a moment's thought, Liu Xie asked, "Is the only way to reward Minister Zhao for his service?"

"I don't know."

Lu Bu replied confidently that bestowing a title of king would certainly appease Zhao Ji, but that would appease Zhao Ji two months ago, not now.

Lü Bu was well aware of the climate on the frontier. While the Central Plains were sweltering in June, Zhao Ji, who was active in the Yinshan area, had no problem with his entire army being fully armored.

When Zhao Ji finishes and sorts out the border affairs, and officially leads his troops to march towards the imperial court, it will be the eighth month of autumn... This is precisely the key moment for Zhao Ji's military campaigns.

Previously, Zhao Ji had always been eaten by the enemy, and Lü Bu did not want to be eaten by Zhao Ji.

The court's procrastination had already angered Zhao Ji's entire army. How could Zhao Ji not take advantage of this anger?
As for persuading Zhao Ji to appease the officials and soldiers... On what grounds would Zhao Ji harm the morale of his own army?
Who can reliably persuade and convince Zhao Ji?
Renowned scholars and strategists like Dong Zhao and Zhong Yao, who were merely on the opposite side of Zhao Ji, were killed by him before they could even launch any malicious plots.

Among other people, who can compare to Zhong Yao and Dong Zhao in terms of status, reputation, and talent?
The high-ranking officials held a relatively special position, but who would go to persuade Zhao Ji?
Are you really not afraid that the moment the nobles arrive, they will follow in Han Rong's footsteps and go off to accompany Zhao Yan to enjoy the scenery?
Of the nobles who have survived to this day, how many are truly resilient?

Even if they did, their shinbones had been broken by Zhao Ji; even if they harbored resentment towards the court and the Zhao family, they would not rashly become enemies with the Zhao family.

After Lü Bu replied with "I do not know," Liu Xie became even more furious, concluding that Lü Bu was trying to preserve his reputation and abandon the court.

Even though he was furious, he dared not criticize Lü Bu on the spot.

After the initial confrontation, Lü Bu dared to do anything that Li Jue and Guo Si could do!
Even if the rebellion of Lü Bu is eventually quelled, the last vestiges of dignity and prestige of the court will be shattered. What good will it do for him, the emperor of Xuchang?
After a moment's thought, Liu Xie said, "I know that Minister Zhao has made outstanding contributions and has done extraordinary deeds to save the day. However, Emperor Gaozu made the oath on the white horse, how can later generations go against it?"

Lü Bu remained silent in response.

The mere sight of him raising his eyebrows to look at Liu Xie, the coldness and slight contempt in his eyes, deeply stung Liu Xie's heart.

Liu Xie's expression changed slightly, and he almost lost control of his emotions.

In his mind, Lü Bu was easy to fool, and a few kind words could make Lü Bu happy for a long time.

Unlike Zhao Ji, Lü Bu enjoyed the glory of ruling the court and longed to be the Han Dynasty's top henchman.

Zhao Ji, on the other hand, didn't care about reputation at all. Every war he launched was either to demand land or to coerce people into joining his cause, and he was developing into a state within a state.

Lu Bu, who was fond of empty fame, had little interest in restoring the productivity of Yan and Yu provinces, Huainan and Huaibei, or Nanyang. As long as he could remain a respected general and exert influence to balance the conflicts between Zhao Ji and other parties, Lu Bu could happily continue to be the ruling general.

The reason Lü Bu doesn't want to be emperor now is that he can no longer maintain the balance and doesn't want to go to war with Zhao Ji for such an emperor and court.

Having thoroughly enjoyed his role as the ruling general, Lü Bu felt his physical functions beginning to decline, and he lost interest in pursuing the many beautiful women gathered in Xuchang.

Even his dream was fulfilled by Zhao Ji. It's not that Lü Bu is without desires now, but rather that the situation has changed drastically, and Lü Bu can no longer find a suitable self-positioning.

He didn't want to lead his old brothers to be used as expendable resources by the court anymore. If he went to find Zhao Ji now, Lü Bu could live a happy life just like before, and he could also give his old brothers a dignified way out.

Compared to these old comrades... Lü Bu no longer cared about the survival of the Han dynasty.

He didn't care about any of that. The joys and sorrows expressed by the Han emperor, who was hiding his true intentions, were naturally irrelevant to Lü Bu.

(End of this chapter)