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

Chapter 253 Never mind whether they acknowledge it or not

After He Miao left, Liu Bei immediately turned to Jian Shuo and instructed him: "Summon all officials to the palace to discuss state affairs."

Jian Shuo was taken aback upon hearing this: "General He was summoned before dawn, but the general claimed illness and did not come..."

"I was talking about the officials, not He Jin... Who cares if the He family comes or not?"

Liu Bei felt that Jian Shuo was not very bright, so he turned to Zhao Zhong and instructed, "Have the Yellow Gate Bureau issue a public edict from the Emperor to all officials... His Majesty has decreed that Prince Xie be the ruler of the Han Dynasty, and has ordered me to hold the imperial insignia and command the troops in the capital and the three surrounding areas to quell the rebellion and eliminate the traitors from the emperor's inner circle..."

This is of course fabricated out of thin air. The emperor's edict did exist, but Liu Bei was not satisfied with that version.

Jian Shuo looked at Liu Bei with some confusion, not knowing what to do, but at least he knew that Liu Bei was now on his side, so he remained silent.

Zhao Zhong was quite sensible and immediately nodded, summoning the eunuch to draft the imperial edict.

After writing the 'last will and testament', Zhao Zhong looked at Liu Bei uneasily: "The Emperor's seal is here, but how should the Secretariat use it?"

"Issue the imperial edict first, and then discuss it after all the officials have entered the palace. Let the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat affix his seal on the spot."

Liu Bei said it without a care.

"The current Minister of the Imperial Secretariat... is Lu Zigan."

Zhao Zhong's expression looked very strange; he certainly knew about the relationship between Lu Zhi and Liu Bei.

Liu Bei shook his head: "That's my business. You just need to spread the word... let everyone know that there is this imperial edict, and don't worry about whether they recognize it or not."

Zhao Zhong went out with the edict he had just written.

Zhang Rang also got up, seemingly wanting to go out with Zhao Zhong, but Liu Bei stopped him: "Zhang Rang, where is your son?"

Zhang Rang turned to look at Liu Bei, a hint of panic in his eyes.

"Is he with Marquis Shi? Then where is Marquis Shi?"

Liu Bei asked again.

"...at the Hundred Counties Residence."

Zhang hesitated for a moment, then gave an address.

The Baijun Residence was also located in the Southern Palace, but it was not within the Forbidden City; rather, it was in the pilgrimage area outside the palace city.

This was the residential area for princes, prefects, and other high-ranking officials from various regions when they came to the capital, and it was also a place where these officials would collude with each other.

Unlike Langshe, this place has a very high level of regulation, second only to the Forbidden City.

Liu Bian never lived in the palace; it was normal for him to live in the Baijun Residence, since such places were suitable for forming cliques and factions.

Since Liu Bian was at the Baijun Residence, the Empress must have been there as well.

Liu Bei immediately turned to Jian Shuo: "Jian Shuo, send an order to your military commander Zhang Yang to surround the residence of Bai Jun and arrest the criminal He Shi..."

"Lord Liu!"

Zhang Rang panicked: "That's the Empress!"

"The wicked woman He, who plotted to harm the Emperor with cinnabar and poisoned the Empress Dowager, deserves to have her entire clan executed..."

Liu Bei stared at Zhang Rang and asked, "Where did this empress come from?"

Zhang Rang slumped to the ground in despair: "Lord Liu... General Liu, it can't be this bad, it can't be this bad... How can this crime fall on the Empress? The Empress Dowager wasn't harmed by the Empress either..."

"...The Empress Dowager I'm referring to isn't Empress Dong, but Consort Wang, who was poisoned shortly after giving birth..."

Liu Bei looked coldly at Zhang Rang: "That is the birth mother of the crown prince. Shouldn't this crime be punished?!"

Sweat instantly covered Zhang Rang's face: "Liu Bei, do you know how many people this will cause us to oppose?"

"If I don't do this, will they stop opposing me?"

Liu Bei looked at Zhang Rang as if he were a fool: "Zhang Changshi, you just heard it yourself. I was ordered to quell the rebellion and purge the court of corrupt officials. You said the rebellion I wanted to quell, the court of corrupt officials I wanted to purge... who are they?" "I suppose I must be among them? Then why haven't you killed me yet?"

Zhang Rang felt he was doomed, so he simply closed his eyes, but his constantly twitching eyelids betrayed his inner turmoil.

"Why would I kill you? You brought the Emperor here, but the Empress went to the Hundred Prefectures Residence. This was the Empress's intention, wasn't it? Someone as shrewd as you, how could you not know who the person who most wants to kill you is?"

Liu Bei said coldly, "If He Jin gains power and Marquis Shi ascends the throne, do you think you can survive? You and your son can prove Empress He's crimes! What do you think the Empress will do?"

"If you and He Miao both die, He Jin will be the only one Lord Shi can rely on. What do you think He Jin will do?"

Jian Shuo also turned to Zhang Rang and said, "Lord Zhang, if the He family doesn't die, we will surely die... If we can survive by relying on marriage, then how did His Majesty and Yongle Palace get poisoned?"

It must be said that although Jian Shuo is not very bright and has a simple way of thinking, this simple approach is often the most reliable.

Zhang Rang remained silent for a moment, then opened his eyes: "What does Lord Liu want me to do?"

It seems this old fellow becomes quick-witted once he gets his mind working again. Liu Bei pointed at Jian Shuo: "They brought He Jin into the palace before, but He Jin didn't come. Of course, Zhang Changshi needs to handle this matter again! I don't need to explain anything more, right?"

“He Jin will not listen to me.”

Zhang Rang shook his head and said, "We've already alerted the enemy; He Jin certainly wouldn't dare..."

“I told you not to worry about He Jin, go find your daughter-in-law. Just lure He Shi out! You can figure out how to do it yourself. Just make sure she falls into Zhang Yang’s hands. There’s no need for her to enter the palace… Jian Shuo, you go out of the palace and keep an eye on things. Zhang Yang must capture He Shi… dead or alive.”

Liu Bei interrupted Zhang Rang directly.

Jian Shuo was somewhat puzzled: "Why does it have to be Zhang Yang..."

"Because Zhang Yang isn't your man! He's Ding Yuan's man! If you can't pit Ding Yuan against He Jin, Ding Yuan will become He Jin's ally!"

Liu Bei now felt he understood Liu Hong's biggest difficulty—being surrounded by a bunch of useless teammates, making it too difficult to carry four opponents in the peak tournament.

……

Dong Zhuo had not yet reached Xia Gate; he had been delayed halfway there.

After receiving Zhang Ji's message, Dong Zhuo came from Gucheng, detouring around the north of Luoyang, and encountered two armies fighting north of Luoyang.

On one side was Ding Yuan, the governor of Bingzhou, and on the other side was Guan Yu.

For Dong Zhuo, Guan Yu's side was an allied force, so he would definitely lend a hand along the way.

Unexpectedly, Ding Yuan's side, though not large in number, was quite strange.

First, Lü Bu led several hundred men to fight Guan Yu, saying that since they hadn't won last time, they were determined to make Guan Yu admit defeat this time.

The two fought all night, going at it three times, but still couldn't determine a winner.

Guan Yu had the upper hand due to his superior equipment, but he was still unable to defeat Lü Bu.

Meanwhile, Dong Zhuo encountered two formidable men.

There was a man named Zhang Liao and another named Gao Shun, each leading several hundred soldiers, totaling just over a thousand, who managed to block Dong Zhuo's nearly three thousand troops from advancing an inch, and Dong Zhuo was even at a disadvantage.

At dawn, Dong Zhuo saw smoke and fire in Luoyang City and knew that Liu Bei was probably doing something.

Dong Zhuo felt he might be falling behind and was losing face, so he personally led his guards to charge towards Ding Yuan's banner.

But at this moment, Ding Yuan suddenly withdrew his troops.

It is estimated that Ding Yuan retreated after seeing the fire breaking out in Luoyang City.

Dong Zhuo initially wanted to pursue, but feared it was a trick by Ding Yuan. In the end, he watched Ding Yuan's troops leave, leaving him feeling uneasy and hesitant. He was now quite doubtful about his own fighting strength, realizing that Ding Yuan's troops were so powerful.

By the time Dong Zhuo arrived at Xia Gate, it was already noon.

(End of this chapter)