Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 247 Liu Hong: What emperor? He's just someone who works for me to make money!

At Pingcheng Gate, the south gate of Luoyang, three imperial carriages drove out of the city, two in front and one behind.

At the front of the carriage, General Lü Bu personally led a thousand elite cavalry soldiers to clear the way. On the left and right sides, General Dian Wei of the Left Guard and General Xu Chu of the Right Guard each led a thousand men to protect the carriage. At the rear, General Huang Zhong led a thousand soldiers of the Central Guard to protect the carriage. The defense of Luoyang City was temporarily taken over by General Gao Shun of the Central Fortress.

Liu Bian, dressed in the crown prince's robes, lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the soldiers of the central army outside the window, nodding slightly.

After nearly three months of adjustment, the central army has shown some improvement and has recovered a significant amount of its combat effectiveness.

Ultimately, they were selected from among many good men who possessed outstanding individual qualities, and were fierce warriors who had made meritorious contributions in numerous campaigns and had witnessed slaughter and stained their skin with blood. This proud and spirited appearance was their original state.

As for the five generals of the central army, they were the seeds of a great general of an era, figures who would leave a glorious name in the long river of history. How could they not tame these good men?

However, the current Central Army is still just a facade. It can be used for guarding and garrisoning inside and outside the palace and city, and it can also show the spirit of the Central Army as a ceremonial force. But when it is put into actual combat, before the training and integration of the army's battle formations, commands, and drums are completed, it is not enough to unleash the true fighting power of the Tiger Army.

Moreover, even after training is complete, they still need a real match as a final test of their teamwork.

He has already chosen his opponents, some far away and some right in front of him.

The King of Chen, who was enfeoffed in the State of Chen, was anything but honest. He collected thousands of powerful crossbows and took in more than 100,000 refugees during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Liu Tao requested Liu Chong to release the more than 100,000 refugees from the State of Chen and let them return to their hometowns. The court would arrange for people to escort them home, provide them with food and lodging along the way, and return their original land to them. However, Liu Chong refused, saying that the refugees had settled in the State of Chen and were unwilling to leave.

In the feudal era, when people had deep attachment to their hometowns, not one of the more than 100,000 displaced people was willing to return home.

Liu Tao was furious, and so were the court officials. However, rebellions broke out in Liangzhou, Bingzhou, and Yanzhou at that time, and the court was unwilling to force Liu Chong to rebel at that time, so it could only temporarily appease him.

Liu Chong's rebelliousness did not stop there. He hid Xu You, who had been implicated in the Yuan family's treason case in Runan and had fled, and was wanted by the court. He secretly trained soldiers with Xu You and former Chancellor of Chen, Luo Jun, as his confidants.

However, at that time, Liu Chong had not yet fully absorbed these more than 100,000 refugees, and the army he trained had only undergone preliminary training and had not yet formed combat power, nor was he ready to go to war.

Liu Chong originally thought that he could use the three major battles to deplete the Han court's national strength, at least to accumulate enough time for himself. However, the war ended too quickly, so much so that Liu Chong had lost the opportunity to rebel and could only continue to lie low.

Although the current Chancellor of Chen, Cui Jun, knew of Liu Chong's rebellious nature, he was unable to control the military and political affairs of Chen. Instead, he was placed under house arrest and became a puppet, and even his correspondence could only be delivered by embroidered messengers.

Cui Jun was, after all, a subject of the court and the eldest son of Cui Lie, the Minister of Justice. He was also personally appointed by Liu Bian to serve as prime minister in the State of Chen. Therefore, Liu Bian sent Bao Chu and Zhu Gongdao, the Embroidered-Robed Generals, to the State of Chen to secretly protect Cui Jun and prepare to escort him to escape from the State of Chen at any time.

Of course, in order to guard against Liu Chong and to prevent him from disrupting the increasingly stable situation in Yan and Yu provinces, Liu Bian sent several trusted confidants to Yan and Yu provinces.

Xun Yu, Tian Feng, and Ju Shou were respectively appointed as chancellors of Jibei, Pei, and Lu. This was not specifically for Liu Chong's sake, but rather to give these three men experience.

Liu Bian had already discussed the reform and improvement plan for the Attendant-in-Ordinary's Office with the ministers of the Crown Prince's Palace and several important ministers of the Crown Prince's faction.

Although the Three Departments system is not applicable to the current political situation, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices established by Liu Hong is valuable.

The Court of Imperial Attendants consisted of two parts: one was composed of scholars who served as Attendants and Gentlemen-at-the-Yellow Gate Attendants, and the other was composed of eunuchs who served as Attendants-at-the-Middle and Junior Eunuchs. Although they were all trusted confidants of the emperor, they checked and balanced each other.

As the predecessor of the Secretariat, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was essentially more like the original cabinet, assisting in confidential matters but not interfering in the affairs of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers. It also did not have the power to draft proposals, and all decision-making power belonged to the emperor alone. It was merely an advisory group to assist in decision-making.

According to regulations, there are no fixed numbers for Attendants-in-Ordinary and Attendants-in-the-Yellow Gate, but the number is usually set at 4. There are also no fixed numbers for Attendants-in-Ordinary, but the number can expand to nearly 20. Attendants-in-the-Lesser are limited to 20.

The original Attendants were Lu Zhi, Le Song, the Instructor of the Imperial Academy, Wang Li, the Grand Historian, and another of Liu Bian's future fathers-in-law, Fu Wan, the General of the Five Offices and the Marquis of Buqi. They were given the titles of Attendant or Gentleman Attendant at the Yellow Gate, but Liu Bian dismissed them from their posts one by one, cutting off the opportunity for officials from outside the court to enter the palace and meet Liu Hong.

But now that Liu Bian is about to ascend the throne as the emperor, he naturally cannot do without a staff. Even the energetic workaholics, the dragon and the pig, need assistants to help them. He is no exception, just like the original staff of the Crown Prince's Palace who assisted him in handling government affairs within the Crown Prince's Palace system.

Since the old Crown Prince's Palace system could no longer be used, Liu Bian planned to use the existing Attendant-in-Ordinary Temple as his staff.

However, Xun Yu, Tian Feng, and Ju Shou's knowledge, experience, and resume in the Crown Prince's Palace over the past year were not enough to qualify them for the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary.

Xun Yu was too young. At the age of 22 (by Chinese reckoning), he had not yet fully demonstrated the talent of a king's advisor that he should have shown. He also lacked experience and knowledge, having only served as the Chief Clerk of Yingchuan Commandery for a short period of one year.

Thirty-one-year-old Tian Feng and twenty-nine-year-old Ju Shou were both recommended as outstanding talents and then entered the court as advisors. The former even resigned his post and returned to his hometown for several years. Neither of them had any experience in governing a region outside the capital.

Liu Bian had much higher expectations for the three of them than for many of the officials in the Crown Prince's office. Therefore, Liu Bian hoped that they would gain enough experience before participating in the core power circle of the court.

Although the three prefectures and kingdoms to which they were sent were located in the fertile lands of the Central Plains, governing them was not so easy. The former chancellor of Jibei was Yuan Yi of the Yuan clan of Runan, the former chancellor of Pei was Yuan Zhong of the Yuan clan of Runan, and the former chancellor of Lu was Chen Yi, the son of Chen Fan, who cooperated with Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun in their rebellion. There were just three vacancies available for the three of them to be sent out.

They not only had to eliminate the lingering influence of the Yuan family, but also had to deal with the numerous powerful and influential families in the country. The burden was no light one. At the same time, Pei State was adjacent to Chen State, and Lu State and Jibei State were not far from Chen State, so they also had to be wary of King Liu Chong of Chen State.

A trap has been set for Liu Chong; now it remains to be seen how long he can remain hidden.

He endured for a year, and a year later Liu Bian arranged for the central army to conduct a live-fire exercise.

He endured for two years, and two years later Liu Bian arranged for the central army to conduct a live-fire exercise.

He endured it for three years?

I'm sorry, but neither I nor the soldiers eager to achieve merit can endure three years.

Just as Liu Bian was lost in thought, the imperial carriage had unknowingly traveled on the imperial road, passing through the South Market and the Imperial Academy, then past the Lingtai for stargazing and the Mingtang for sacrificial rites, and across the Luoshui pontoon bridge, finally arriving at the abdication platform on the banks of the Yishui River. The noise outside the carriage brought Liu Bian back to reality.

"Alas, I thought I shouldn't be so excited and nervous." Liu Bian sighed, frankly admitting that he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Gao Wang chuckled and joked, "This servant thought Your Highness truly didn't care about the throne."

Liu Bianbai glanced at Gao Wang and said irritably, "If you really don't care, why are you working so hard?"

Stepping off the palanquin onto the stool, Liu Bian took a deep breath and looked at the ten-zhang-high abdication platform, his gaze sweeping over the vast crowds on both sides.

"Long live the prince!"

Suddenly, a shout of "Long live the Crown Prince!" erupted from the crowd swept by the Crown Prince's gaze, instantly engulfing all those who had come to witness the ceremony like a plague, the shouts deafening.

With the size of this crowd, plus the soldiers maintaining order, the total number must be at least 100,000.

But it's likely that the one leading the shouts was either an embroidered-robed messenger hiding his identity in the crowd, a spontaneous member of the Crown Prince's faction, or a courtier's son who idolized him.

Indeed, a boy who had just turned fifteen on New Year's Day had successively quelled internal rebellions and foreign rebellions, completely seizing power in the court and miraculously saving the dynasty from collapse. As fellow young men, and as sons of court officials who had been taught the concept of loyalty to the emperor since childhood, it was inevitable that they would idolize Liu Bian, this virtuous crown prince.

Empress He was very pleased with her son's popularity, after all, it meant that the child she had given birth to was the most suitable to inherit the throne of the Han Dynasty, and she, as the mother, was naturally proud.

The shills in the crowd quickly noticed the Empress and, out of respect and love for the Crown Prince, spontaneously shouted "Long live the Empress!"

You mean Liu Hong?

Bah! What is Liu Hong anyway? Just a washed-up emperor.

If His Highness the Crown Prince were not this fellow's eldest son, and if this fellow had not voluntarily abdicated the throne, he would surely have received a terrible posthumous title and would not even have the right to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!
They shouted "Long live the Crown Prince!" and then "Long live the Empress!" but Emperor Liu Hong was selectively ignored, which naturally made Liu Hong's face darken.

What kind of popularity is this? It's clearly infuriating!
I haven't even abdicated yet, and you're already shouting "ten thousand years"?

It's not too late for you to shout after I've abdicated, it's just a little while longer.

How embarrassing for me!
Despite his thoughts, Liu Hong snorted softly and didn't bother arguing with this rebellious son and his group of supporters.

The thought of his rebellious son having to take on all the troublesome rituals and military and state affairs while he continued to play music and dance in the North Palace made Liu Hong laugh out loud.

Isn't this just someone who works for me, only with the title of emperor?
Liu Bian tilted his head, looking at Liu Hong who suddenly burst into laughter, and thought that this tyrannical ruler was somewhat inexplicable.

(3119 words)
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P.S.: The millet from Shanxi is so nourishing! I had braised pork, astragalus mutton soup, and steamed pork from Dingxiang for dinner, so I'm in a particularly good mood. I'll add another 1100 words for this short update!

A total of 3100 extra words were added today!
It's the last two days of the month, and I still haven't broken 1000 monthly votes. I beg you readers to give me more monthly votes to help me break 1,000, since I'm adding 3100 extra words today!

(End of this chapter)