My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

“I am a commoner, of humble origin, farming in Zhuojun. I do not seek fame or fortune in the court, but only to preserve my life in the countryside.”

"However, at this time, treacherous villains are causing chaos in the country, the Han Dynasty is on the verge of collapse, the state is in danger of crumbling, and the people are suffering terribly. As a descendant of the Liu family and a member of the imperial clan, how can I dare to stand aside?"

"Therefore, Liu Bei took up his three-foot sword to fight the Yellow Turbans, punish Dong Zhuo, and defeat Cao Cao. He survived a hundred battles, all for the sake of restoring the Han Dynasty and saving the common people!"

"Fortunately, Heaven has blessed our Han Dynasty. Although I am of mediocre talent and strategy, I have the assistance of wise and brave men such as Bowen, Yunchang, Kongming, and Yide, who helped me to eliminate traitors and rebels, which is why we have such a great situation today."

"As you all say, if Heaven truly favors me and the people truly turn to me, then I will naturally shoulder the heavy responsibility of protecting this land without hesitation!"

These confident words, spoken with such conviction, filled the courtiers with ecstatic joy.

From any perspective, Liu Bei's words implied that he had relented and agreed to their request to ascend to the throne as emperor.

at this time.

Liu Bei abruptly changed the subject, bowing towards the direction of Xuchang:
"However, although the late emperor left a will, the current emperor has not committed any major offenses. As his subject, how can I force the emperor to abdicate in favor of me?"

"I regret that I cannot comply with your request!"

The joy on the faces of the officials vanished instantly, replaced by bewilderment.

His previous words sounded like he had agreed to become emperor.

But then he changed the subject, and his next words clearly indicated a rejection.

What does Lao Liu mean by this?
"Let's end our discussion here for today. We can discuss strategies for attacking Wei and destroying Cao another day."

Liu Bei did not give his ministers another chance to persuade him. He turned around and went back to the inner palace, leaving his ministers waiting in the main hall.

The ministers looked at each other, completely bewildered.

"Bowen, Kongming, what does Your Majesty mean by this?"

Guan Yu and the others all turned their gazes toward Xiao He and Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang and Xiao He exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

Xiao He coughed lightly and smiled reassuringly:
"Father-in-law, don't be anxious, everyone. The King has actually been persuaded by us and has already agreed to ascend to the throne."

"However, as everyone knows, Your Majesty's temperament is evident, and your respect for the Emperor over the years is also evident to all."

"Does Father-in-law think that His Majesty will march to Xuchang in a menacing manner, brandish his sword, and force the Emperor to abdicate the throne to His Majesty?"

Guan Yu was taken aback at first, then shook his head and said:
"Of course Your Majesty would not do that. If Your Majesty were to do so, how would you be any different from the traitor Cao Cao?"

Xiao He smiled without saying a word, glancing at Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang also coughed lightly a few times, waving his feather fan, and said:
"If Your Majesty wishes to ascend to the throne, you will naturally not force the Emperor to abdicate. However, the Emperor can take the initiative to issue an edict to abdicate the throne to Your Majesty."

Guan Yu's eyes flickered slightly, and he instantly had a sudden realization.

The assembled officials immediately understood the implication of Xiao He and Zhuge Liang's words.

Their King of Chu agreed to ascend to the throne as emperor.

The condition, however, was that the emperor had to issue an edict.

In this way, he could silence the criticism of the people and avoid being branded as someone who forced the emperor to abdicate.

Xiao He was not surprised at all, nor did he think that Lao Liu's actions were hypocritical.

Old Liu isn't some otherworldly saint; it's only natural for him to care about his reputation.

You, Cao Cao, are ruthless. You even allowed your son to kill two emperors. When you became emperor, didn't you still have to go through the formality of declining the throne three times?
Old Liu was very polite to the emperor, but he wanted the emperor to issue an edict so that he could rightfully ascend the throne. Was this request too much?
"Bowen, tell me, what should we do?"

Once Guan Yu realized what was happening, he looked at Xiao He with an air of complete obedience to his son-in-law.

Xiao He coughed lightly twice and said slowly:

"In my opinion, if we want the king to accept our advice and rightfully ascend to the throne, we need to proceed in three steps."

"First, we must create momentum for Your Majesty's ascension to the throne. We need to instruct local governors and prefects to report auspicious omens, and we also need to spread folk songs inside and outside the capital to prove that Your Majesty's ascension to the throne is in accordance with the will of Heaven."

"Secondly, all the civil and military officials of the court, the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, the governors and prefects of the prefectures and counties, and the famous scholars from all directions must submit memorials urging the emperor to abdicate." "Finally, and most importantly, we must petition the emperor to issue an edict of abdication to Your Majesty."

"As long as these three things are done, I predict that Your Majesty will at most decline a few times, but will eventually obey the imperial edict to inherit the throne and ascend to the throne as emperor!"

Xiao He explained to everyone in detail the entire process of helping Liu Bei ascend the throne.

This process was pioneered by the Cao family, father and son, and was imitated by people during countless dynastic changes and establishments in later generations, eventually becoming so familiar to everyone that people used it thoroughly.

For Yu Xiaohe, this process was naturally something he was very familiar with.

“Bowen’s considerations are thorough, and Liang thinks so too.”

Zhuge Liang nodded in agreement.

Guan Yu, now confident, readily agreed:
"You have all heard what Bowen said, so let's get to work and each do our own thing."

Everyone readily agreed.

Thus, a massive wave of urging the emperor to ascend the throne was launched both inside and outside Ye City.

Under the instruction of important officials such as Xiao He, the local governors and prefects quickly grasped the direction of the imperial court.

As a result, memorials from various prefectures and counties were quickly sent to Ye City, proclaiming that auspicious omens were frequently appearing.

Phoenixes soaring through the sky atop Mount Tai, a crimson dragon appearing in the Yellow River, a meteorite falling to earth in Youzhou with the inscription "Xuande shall become emperor"...

Following this, a flood of memorials urging the emperor to ascend the throne arrived from civil and military officials, governors, prefects, and renowned scholars from various states.

The above table is in duplicate, one copy to be sent to Liu Bei in Ye City, and the other copy to Emperor Liu Xi in Xu Du.

at the same time.

Grand Tutor Kong Rong then personally set off for Xuchang to persuade Liu Xi to issue an edict of abdication…

Xu Du, the Imperial Palace.

The young emperor sat dejectedly on his dragon throne, looking down at the imperial edict on the table.

That was the abdication edict personally drafted by Empress Dowager Fu Shou, only lacking the emperor's seal of succession.

Liu Xi held the imperial seal in his hand, but hesitated to place it on the seal.

"Xi'er, don't hesitate any longer, use the seal."

Behind him came the urging voice of Empress Dowager Fu.

Liu Xi turned to look at her mother.

At this moment, Empress Dowager Fu appeared calm and composed, with no trace of sadness on her face.

It seems that this Empress Dowager of the Great Han Dynasty was not saddened at all by the fact that her son was about to abdicate the throne.

"Mother, do I really want to hand over this empire?"

Liu Xi looked aggrieved, but her tone clearly showed some reluctance.

After all, he was still the emperor.

Even if they no longer held power and knew that the general trend was irreversible, they still harbored some illusions and a lingering affection for the emperor.

Fu Shou smiled faintly, and said meaningfully:
“Xi’er, you are wrong. This country has no longer belonged to your father’s lineage since Dong Zhuo entered the capital, and naturally it can’t belong to you either.”

"The Han dynasty was established by the King of Chu, and the Han dynasty's territory was also taken back by the King of Chu from those traitors."

"Even the lives of my son and me were saved by the King of Chu from the clutches of Cao Cao and his son."

"This land, this imperial throne, naturally belongs to the King of Chu."

"This supreme position was only held by the King of Chu because of his benevolence, which is why you, Xi'er, have been sitting on it for the past few years."

"Now, it's time to return it to its rightful owner." (End of Chapter)