I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 1: Liu Shijun, a Patriot and Concerned Man (New Book, Please Add to Favorites)
"Lord Liu, please don't be so polite!"

Inside the prefectural governor's mansion in Shu County, wine cups were clinked and the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air.

As the host, Lu Kang, the Prefect of Lujiang and also the newly appointed Loyal and Righteous General by the imperial court, pointed to the lavish feast on the table and introduced it to Liu Miao, who was seated as the guest of honor—

"The fat of the ox is served with bamboo shoots and cattails."

Boil the fatty meat from the belly of a calf, then stew it together with bamboo shoots and cattails.

"The fat dogs and the mountain skin are covered."

The soup is made with fatty dog ​​meat, and then topped with rock tripe to enhance the flavor.

"The food of Chu Miao and the bread of An Hu are so simple that they cannot be chewed properly, but can be swallowed in one sip!"

Cooking with rice from Chumiao Mountain, or with wild rice, results in rice that won't fall apart when clumped together and melts in your mouth.

"Braised bear paws, peony sauce, roasted astragalus, and fresh carp!"

The bear paws are cooked until very tender, then seasoned with peony sauce. The meat from the animal spine is sliced ​​thinly to make roast meat, and fresh carp is sliced ​​into fillets.

"Autumn yellow herbs, white dew-kissed vegetables. Orchid-infused wine, to cleanse the mouth. Mountain ridge meals, leopard fetuses. Small bites, large gulps, like hot water poured over snow!"

It's accompanied by perilla leaves that turn yellow in autumn, and vegetables soaked in autumn dew. We rinse our mouths with wine infused with orchids. There are also dishes made with pheasant and leopard fetuses. Eating in small bites and drinking soup in large gulps is as refreshing as boiling water poured over snow!
Lu Kang stroked his beard and asked, "May I ask, Lord Liu, is Langya as beautiful as Lujiang?"

Liu Miao bowed respectfully, saying, "Langya is beautiful, but it still cannot compare to the abundance of Huainan!"

The renowned scholars sitting to his left and right also let out bursts of noble laughter when they heard Liu Miao's self-deprecating manner.

Lu Kang was overjoyed and got up to dance.

The gentleman, with a gentle and refined air, holds a reed pipe in his left hand and beckons me to enter his chamber with his right. How delightful!
The gentleman is carefree, holding a feather in his left hand, and beckoning me to roam freely with his right. How joyful he is!
The scholars of Lujiang also rose and began to sing and dance to the rhythm of the music, and the banquet gradually moved towards its climax!

At this moment, Lu Kang also came to Liu Miao, stretched out his arm, and invited Liu Miao to dance!
During a banquet, it is customary for the host to invite the guests to dance!
If the guest does not comply, there may be great disaster!
The Records of the Grand Historian, in the biography of Wei Qi and Wu An Hou, records that—

"When they were drinking and in high spirits, the husband rose to dance and offered it to the prime minister. The prime minister did not rise, so the husband spoke to him from his seat."

During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, Guan Fu, the Grand Master of the Palace, invited Prime Minister Tian Fen to dance at a banquet. Tian Fen refused to get up, and from then on, the two became enemies.

Even during the reign of Emperor Xiaoling, the renowned scholar Cai Yong ignored an invitation to dance from Wang Zhi, the governor of Wuyuan, at a banquet. Wang Zhi interpreted this as disrespect, so he falsely accused Cai Yong, causing him to flee to the Jianghai region, where he remained for twelve years.

As a member of the Han imperial family and the newly appointed governor of Jiujiang, Liu Miao should have been familiar with the etiquette here.

But when faced with Lu Kang's outstretched hand, Liu Miao looked troubled, unsure of how to respond.

Just because...

Liu Miao can't dance at all!!!

As a member of the Han imperial family, a fifth-generation descendant of Liu Jing, the Prince of Langya, and a legitimate nobleman of the Later Han Dynasty, if he said he couldn't dance, Lu Kang and the others would probably really think they were being insulted!

But Liu Miao really couldn't dance!
Because Liu Miao is now, at all, just an ordinary time traveler!
Yes, we traveled through time.

Moreover, he transmigrated into Liu Miao's body.

Compared to other prominent members of the Han imperial family during the Later Han and Three Kingdoms periods, Liu Miao was practically invisible.

The reason Liu Miao is remembered by later generations is probably because he once met Cao Cao and praised Cao Cao as a truly loyal minister of the Han Dynasty... Cao Cao was not only delighted, but also greatly pleased! Liu Miao shook his head, came back to his senses, and saw that Lu Kang's face had turned a little pale. He knew that he had to say something to avoid making an enemy of the other party.

“Lu Zhongyi, the country is in peril now, how can I dance from the bottom of my heart?”

Liu Miao rolled up his sleeves to cover his face, seemingly crying, but in reality, he was trying to hide his true feelings.

"Now that the Grand Tutor is dead and the Emperor is weak, Chang'an has been breached by a group of barbarian soldiers from Xiliang! The lords of Guandong are also disobeying the court... I am a member of the Liu clan, yet I cannot share the burdens of the court. What face will I have to meet my ancestors after death? As the saying goes: 'When in high office, one should worry about the people; when in retirement, one should worry about the ruler.' The sounds of silk and bamboo instruments are beautiful, and the music of the Eight Dances and Nine Shao is exquisite, but they cannot relieve the worries in my heart!"

……

The complexions of Lu Kang and the other prominent figures from Lujiang gradually returned to normal.

Only then did they realize that Liu Miao's refusal to dance was not because he looked down on them and other famous scholars from Huainan, but because he was worried about the fate of the Han Dynasty!
We almost misunderstood such a patriotic and compassionate gentleman just now; it was truly our fault!
Lu Kang also felt guilty. Perhaps it was seeing Liu Miao sobbing, or perhaps it was hearing Liu Miao's "concern for the country and the people" that made him tearful, and his original interest in dancing gradually dissipated.

"Yes."

"I thought that once the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, the world would be at peace. But unexpectedly, first the warlords of Guandong formed an alliance and committed treason, and then Li Jue and Guo Si actually launched a counterattack on Chang'an and kidnapped the emperor. It's truly despicable!"

Lu Kang beat his chest and stamped his feet, clearly showing his genuine hatred for the chaotic world he was living in!
Liu Miao breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he had seemingly dodged the awkward dance with Lu Kang.

Unfortunately, while he breathed a sigh of relief, he wasn't completely at ease.

When Liu Miao learned that he had transmigrated to the chaotic Three Kingdoms period, he was completely devastated.

You think you can just kill indiscriminately without a system?

Please! Aren't you underestimating these heroes and tyrants who have made their mark on history?
So Liu Miao's initial idea was to find some powerful figure to curry favor with!
However, reality soon dealt Liu Miao a heavy blow!
Because of himself, he had been appointed by the imperial court as the governor of Jiujiang.

Where is Jiujiang?

Luoyang is 1,500 li east. It comprises fourteen cities, with 89,436 households and a population of 432,426.

And soon, Yuan Shu, the fierce ghost on the road, the first emperor of the late Han Dynasty, the legendary skeleton king, and a fan of honey water, will probably come to his loyal Huainan!

At that time, if I, the legitimate governor of Jiujiang, want to survive, I'll probably have no choice but to lie on the ground, stick my butt out, and shout "Long live the Emperor!"

If I don't want to perish with Yuan Shu, then from now on I must stand up for myself!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Note 1:

Initially, when Miao arrived in Chang'an, he praised Cao Cao, the governor of Dongjun, for his loyalty to the emperor, and Cao Cao praised Miao for this virtue.

Note 2:

Yuan Shu, courtesy name Gonglu, served as the Commandant of the Changshui Cavalry. He was fond of extravagance and debauchery, riding lavish carriages and horses to intimidate others. There was a saying: "Yuan Changshui, the 'Guardian Ghost' of the road." — *Beitang Shuchao*

Note 3:

Li Xian's commentary on the "Biographies of the Ten Kings of Emperor Guangwu" in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty states: He died after reigning for forty-seven years, and his son, King Shun, succeeded him. In the first year of the Chuping era, he sent his younger brother Miao to Chang'an to present tribute. The emperor appointed Miao as the governor of Jiujiang and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Yangdu.

However, in the "Annals of the Later Han Dynasty" compiled by Yuan Hong, it is recorded that "Prince Wan of Donghai and Miao, the younger brother of Prince of Langya, went to the capital to offer tribute. Wan was appointed as the Chancellor of Pingyuan and Miao as the Prefect of Jiujiang, and both were enfeoffed as marquises." This is clearly marked as the year "Guiyou", that is, February 19, 193 to February 8, 194, and it also records the detailed event of "In June, Mount Hua collapsed".

Considering that Yuan Hong himself was a person from the Jin Dynasty, and that the time was closer to the Eastern Han Dynasty, and that the "Annals of the Later Han" is a chronicle history book, the record should be more accurate. Therefore, this book adopts the latter, taking the fourth year of Chuping as the time when Liu Miao arrived in Chang'an to pay homage to the emperor, and the story begins in the first year of Xingping, that is, 194.

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(End of this chapter)