Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 251 Why Not Let Him Come?
As dawn approached, the sky began to brighten, and a great fire broke out outside the North Palace.

Although a quick victory was not possible, with Zhao Yun present and Liu Bei personally leading the charge, Yuan Shu's elite troops were gradually forced back to the palace gates.

Thirty percent of the Tiger Warriors have been killed or wounded.

However, the remaining Tiger Warriors retreated to the front of the North Palace Gate and stood in several rows, still not making way for the road.

"Make way... You have not been ordered by the Emperor, so why fight to the death?"

Liu Bei looked around and, seeing that Yuan Shu was no longer in sight, spoke to the Tiger General in front of him.

The general had already suffered several knife wounds. He took a couple of breaths, shook his head without saying a word, but still held his halberd up to face Liu Bei.

Just then, the palace gates suddenly opened.

Another group of people came out of the palace.

There weren't many people, about two hundred, and they were all wearing tiger-patterned armor.

Liu Bei was about to seize the palace gates.

But then the newly emerged general shouted, "Stop! Young Master Liu, wait..."

The voice sounded familiar.

"Wang Yue, are you here to stop me too?"

Liu Bei recognized the newcomers; the leading general was none other than Wang Yue, the former swordsman.

"Young Master Liu spared my life back then, and I am not an ungrateful person. I do not wish to be your enemy."

Wang Yue didn't even draw his sword. He stepped forward alone, stood between Liu Bei and the wounded general, and turned his back to Liu Bei: "Come with me... Why must we die here? The Tiger Warriors are the emperor's personal guard. How can they become slaves of the Yuan family?"

"Royal army... If we do not obey orders, how will our wives and children be protected?"

The Tiger General who hadn't spoken to Liu Bei before suddenly spoke up when he saw Wang Yue.

"The Yuan family has already fled. Who knows if you are dead or alive? Do you think your family will be safe if you die? If you die... your wife and children will likely become slaves, which would be worse than death!"

Seeing that Wang Yue had no intention of making a move, Liu Bei said, "You should leave now and not block my way."

Wang Yue nodded and extended his hand to the somewhat unsteady general: "Let's go. We warriors have never been valued by nobles. There's no need for us to die here for others..."

The tiger-like warrior glanced at Liu Bei and reached out to support Wang Yue's arm.

Wang Yue led Na Langjiang to Liu Bei's back: "Young Master Liu... do you know that what happened today will be regarded as treason, and will surely be widely known throughout the world?"

Liu Bei nodded to Wang Yue: "Thank you for telling me, but even if I do nothing, I will still be considered a traitor... Why have you come here?"

“I was originally stationed at Changqiu Palace, and was ordered by the Empress to come here to intercept the young master… but my cousin Zheng has been enfeoffed as a marquis and is about to return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors. He told me not to get involved in this chaos. The Tiger Warriors here are old friends of mine, so I will take them away and not interfere with the young master’s affairs.”

Wang Yue removed the long tassel from his helmet and threw it on the ground. He then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Liu Bei and said, "Your Majesty and the Empress have both gone to the Southern Palace... Farewell, Liu Langjun."

Wang Yue continued to address Liu Bei as "Young Master," and by removing the long spear of the commander, he clearly no longer intended to remain a Tiger-like general.

Wang Zheng killed Zhang Chun and enfeoffed him as a marquis, only wanting to take advantage of the chaos to return to his hometown

Wang Yue seemed to understand as well. In Luoyang, he could only be someone's henchman, so it was better to go back to his hometown and be a swordsman.

Liu Bei waved for the armored cavalry to make way, allowing Wang Yue to lead the Tiger Warriors away.

The palace gates were open, and no one could stop Liu Bei anymore, but the emperor was no longer in the North Palace.

Inside the palace gates were several trembling eunuchs. Seeing that the imperial guards had all left, they all knelt down and begged for mercy.

“Zumao guards the palace gate, only allowing people to leave and not enter…Zilong brings the imperial guards and follows me…In accordance with the imperial decree, we will quell the rebellion and purge the court of corrupt officials.”

Liu Bei rushed into the palace, grabbed a eunuch at random, and said calmly, "Take me to Yongle Palace."

The other eunuchs remained prostrate on the ground, and Liu Bei ignored them, leading only two hundred guards towards Yongle Palace.

When Liu Bei led his army into the palace, he saw that Zu Mao was only setting up defenses at the palace gate and no one was paying attention to them. The eunuchs hurriedly went to the eunuch quarters, grabbed large and small bags, and fled out of the palace.

When Liu Bei arrived at Yongle Palace, he did not see the emperor, but only the remains of Yue Yin.

The body was placed in the center of the side hall, its head and face carefully groomed, as if it were asleep.

Liu Bei picked up the two hand halberds, and with Qian Zhao carrying his teacher's body, he walked towards the corridor leading to the Southern Palace.

Neither of them spoke.

The empress was bound to brand her as a traitor. But so what?
……

At this moment, Zhang Rang had brought the emperor and empress dowager to the Chongde Hall of the Southern Palace.

Chongde Hall was the main hall where the emperor governed, which was also his office and where he usually received ministers.

Jian Shuo and Zhao Zhong are also currently here.

When Jian Shuo saw the emperor being carried to this place by Zhang Rang, he was both anxious and angry: "What does Lord Zhang mean? Why are you making such a rash move against His Majesty at this time!"

"The traitors are about to storm the Northern Palace... If we don't move, will we all fall into the hands of the traitors?"

Just as Zhang Rang retorted, he noticed that the number of eunuchs and imperial guards around Chongde Hall was several times greater than usual, and even the eunuchs were carrying weapons. He looked at Jian Shuo and asked, "What is the meaning of this? Whom does Commandant Jian intend to plot?"

Jian Shuo glanced at the Empress Dowager, then at Zhang Rang, looking somewhat puzzled, and remained silent for a moment.

Zhang Rang took two steps back to the bedside of the unconscious Liu Hong, looked at Jian Shuo, and then at Zhao Zhong: "You all plotted this without informing me? Zhao Zhong, how have I treated you all these years?"

Zhao Zhong sighed and lowered his head. Over the years, Zhang Rang had indeed taken good care of the eunuchs. In fact, most of the dozen or so attendants had received favors from Zhang Rang, including Jian Shuo.

When Cao Cao was the Northern Commandant, the gentry of Guandong were already targeting Jian Shuo. Cao Cao was actually just a pawn to stir up trouble. If Zhang Rang hadn't helped Jian Shuo conceal the crimes of his clan, Jian Shuo would probably have been implicated and killed by his clan.

"We plotted against General He... If the General does not die, we will surely die..."

Zhao Zhong whispered the truth to Zhang Rang.

"If the Empress knew about this, would you all be spared?"

Zhang Rang quickly realized Jian Shuo's concerns: "Do you intend to conspire with the Empress as well?"

"I had no such intention."

Jian Shuo whispered, "I just want to protect myself..."

"That butcher should be killed!"

The Empress Dowager had excellent hearing; although Zhao Zhong's voice was very low, she still heard it: "Zhang Rang, do not obstruct this matter!"

Zhang Rang frowned, looked around, and stood in front of the unconscious Liu Hong. He then glanced at the Imperial Guard Commander who had remained silent outside the hall.

"It's dawn, Pan Yin, go to the palace gate to greet the Great General..."

Jian Shuo was giving instructions to the Imperial Guard Commander at that moment.

……

Mao Shi.

Not long ago, He Jin received a message from the eunuch saying that the emperor was waiting for him to receive his will in the Chongde Hall of the Southern Palace. In fact, the emperor was in the Northern Palace at the time and had been unconscious. The reason for saying that the emperor was in the Chongde Hall was twofold: first, to avoid the empress's people, and second, to show that the emperor was conscious and ready to discuss matters.

But Jian Shuo never expected that Zhang Rang would actually bring the emperor to the Chongde Hall.

He Jin was driving his carriage to the South Palace Gate at that moment.

Pan Yin, the commander of the Imperial Guards, came out of the palace gate to greet He Jin, but when he saw He Jin, he suddenly gestured to his men with his eyes.

Pan Yin had his back to the palace gate, with only He Jin's carriage in front of him.

He Jin had already gotten out of the carriage, but when he saw this, he was stunned for a moment. He frowned and looked over, and then he saw that when Pan Yin bowed, he subtly withdrew his hand from his neck, that is, he just swiped it near his neck.

He Jin immediately broke out in a sweat and cried out in pain that he needed to use the restroom.

He Jin then immediately retreated into the corridor, rode back to camp, led his troops to garrison the Baijun Residence, and claimed illness to avoid entering the palace.

Jian Shuo and the others waited until Chenshi (7-9 AM), but only received news that He Jin had fallen ill.

Jian Shuo was filled with unease and quickly summoned Pan Yin for questioning.

But before Pan Yin arrived, another message came first: "Liu Bei, the Left General of the Household, is entering the Southern Palace through the corridor, saying he wishes to meet His Majesty."

"Block him!"

Zhang Rang immediately looked at Jian Shuo.

"Why not send General Liu?"

Liu Xie suddenly spoke up: "Doctor Yue is my teacher, and General Liu is my elder brother from the same school. Doctor Yue risked his life to save me, would General Liu harm me?"

(End of this chapter)