I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 282 If I were Liu Miao
Liu Qubei suddenly slapped his forehead and revealed a憨态可掬 (endearing and simple-minded) smile.

"Your Majesty, please don't be offended! Your Majesty, please don't be offended!"

"The Han people are actually different from us!"

"After our previous Chanyu Yufuluo died, his brother Huchuquan succeeded him! His son was instead made the Left Wise King! And what about the Han Dynasty? Hahahaha!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of all the officials and nobles darkened!
The current Chanyu of the Xiongnu was succeeded by his brother.

Isn't this about the succession issue between the current emperor and Emperor Shao of Han, Liu Bian?
The scars of the Han Dynasty were actually exposed by a Right Wise King of the Xiongnu. How could these Han officials, who considered themselves loyal ministers, tolerate this?
and……

What does it mean to be "like a big man"?
Can you translate what "like the Han Dynasty" means?
Who do you think you are, Xiongnu, to dare offend the Han Dynasty?
You mere barbarians dare to compare yourselves to the Han Dynasty? Do you even deserve it?

However, these officials and nobles clearly knew what the appearance of Liu Qubei, the Right Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu, in Xuchang meant.

Therefore, even though Liu Qubei mocked them so much, no one jumped out to say a word, but instead all turned their attention to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao frowned slightly upon hearing Liu Qubei's words.

Unlike others, Cao Cao immediately saw through Liu Qubei's hidden scheme.

Seemingly foolish and arrogant, but actually cunning and cautious!
Liu Qubei's move, seemingly aimed at the Han Dynasty, was actually directed at Cao Cao.

Even if Cao Cao rebuked him, Liu Qubei only needed to apologize immediately and call himself a "barbarian." This would not only not make Cao Cao dislike him, but would also allow the court officials to see that "it was precisely because Cao Cao stopped him that the Han Dynasty did not lose face," thus saving face for Cao Cao and returning the favor.

If Cao Cao didn't reprimand Liu Qubei, it would mean that Cao Cao's dissatisfaction with the emperor and the court had reached its peak. Such mockery of the emperor was also a way of currying favor with Cao Cao and making him feel more favorably toward the Southern Xiongnu.

Such cunning also made Cao Cao more vigilant in dealing with the Southern Xiongnu.

After calming himself down, Cao Cao finally decided to follow Liu Qubei's example and severely reprimand Liu Qubei!
He is still one of the Three Dukes of the Han Dynasty!
Who else but Cao Cao could uphold the dignity of the Han Dynasty?
But at this moment, a sudden change occurred!

Having endured far too much from the Xiongnu along the way, Zhang Xiu suddenly stood up and stepped forward to Liu Qubei, the Right Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu.

"Snapped!"

A crisp, resounding slap left everyone, each with their own agenda, completely blank in their minds.

Zhang Xiu... actually dared to slap Liu Qubei in the court!
Not to mention the emperor, Cao Cao and others, even Gu Yong was stunned in place.

How dare you insult a great man like me!

Zhang Xiu's eyes were bloodshot!

"You are nothing more than the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu, and even your surname was bestowed upon you by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty! How dare you spout such nonsense in the imperial court?"

At the same time, Zhang Xiu also vented his anger fairly on the surrounding officials and nobles.

"Now that the Xiongnu ministers have humiliated the Emperor of Han, do you not even react? Do you eat the salary of the Han or the salary of the Xiongnu every day?"

"If you are unable to assist the Emperor and restore order to the state, you might as well invite the Emperor to go to Jiangdong and let Liu Biaoqi restore the Han Dynasty!"

Zhang Xiu's slap disrupted the plans of too many people.

Liu Qubei offered Cao Cao a way out, but Zhang Xiu took it away instead? What kind of logic is that?
Xun Yu and Guo Jia were the first to change color!
Liu Qubei only then realized what had happened, and his eyes widened immediately: "How dare you hit me?"

"Pooh!"

Zhang Xiu spat on Liu Qubei's face again.

Such a devastating act of killing someone and destroying their spirit has completely driven Liu Qubei mad!

He strode forward and threw a punch at Zhang Xiu, but Zhang Xiu was not afraid at all and immediately started fighting with Liu Qubei.

"Damn it! I've disliked you for a long time! You bastard!"

Zhang Xiu beat and cursed at the same time, his manner was terrifying!
Civil officials like Xun Yu and Guo Jia tried to pull Zhang Xiu away, but they couldn't budge him at all.

Helpless, the courtiers went to pull Liu Qubei away again... Although they were pulled away, many of them secretly stepped forward and hit Liu Qubei a couple of times, using the pretext of trying to break up the fight to gang up on him!
People are afraid of Cao Cao, not you Southern Xiongnu!
And who do you think you are, Liu Qubei? How dare you use the dignity of the Han Dynasty as a stepping stone for Cao Cao? You're courting death!

In the end, it was Xu Chu and Dian Wei who led armored soldiers into the palace and managed to pull Zhang Xiu away.

Cao Cao's close advisors felt a chill run down their spines when they saw Liu Qubei, the Right Wise King, sprawled on the ground like a dead dog.

This matter has probably blown up!

Cai Yan's return to Han was intended to mend the rift between Cao Cao and the emperor, and at the same time, it was a pretext for Cao Cao to win over the Southern Xiongnu!
Throughout the entire affair, no one believed that Liu Miao's side would be the main protagonist.

But without a doubt, Zhang Xiu's interference destroyed all of everyone's hard work!
"Liu Zhongshan, Liu Zhongshan, why did you have to choose such a brute to protect Cai Yan?"

Xun Yu and Guo Jia were both in a state of panic. At the same time, they gave Gu Yong a meaningful look, signaling him to leave as soon as possible!
Gu Yong understood the trouble that Zhang Xiu's slap would cause, so he quickly took Cai Yan and left.

When Gu Yong went outside, he saw Zhang Xiu still shouting, and he felt a bit of a headache.

Why did the general do such a thing?

Zhang Xiu, if not exceptionally intelligent, was at least reasonable.

But just now in the court, Zhang Xiu's behavior was that of a complete brute! Even more stupid and foolish than Zhou Tai!

Zhang Xiu was also indignant when he was criticized!
"The generals of the Han Dynasty have always taken it upon themselves to protect their homes and defend their country!"

"If one's own country is humiliated and one's own wife and daughters are violated, yet one refuses to speak out, isn't that worse than a eunuch who has had his genitals cut off?"

"..."

Zhang Xiu's words, on the contrary, made Gu Yong fall silent.

However, now is clearly not the time to stop arguing.

Xun Yu's look to Gu Yong just now was very clear—Go!
Go as fast as possible! Go as far as possible!
Ideally, we should return to Liu Miao's territory immediately! This would give Cao Cao's side time to deal with Liu Qubei!
Without further hesitation, Gu Yong immediately ordered everyone: "Dump all your luggage and supplies, leaving only one carriage and horses. The rest of you, ride your warhorses back to Jingzhou as quickly as possible!"

"I can ride a horse."

"Ok?"

Cai Yan, who had remained silent throughout, suddenly spoke up.

“My maid can do that too.”

Gu Yong looked at Cai Yan and nodded emphatically: "Alright! Then let's not prepare any carriages or horses, and head to Jingzhou as soon as possible!"

------

The chaos that had just occurred in the court was far beyond what Liu Xie, the puppet emperor, could handle.

Therefore, the officials and nobles had long requested the emperor to move the capital, leaving this place to Cao Cao and Liu Qubei.

Liu Qubei felt as if countless fists were falling like raindrops, and some people even deliberately strangled his neck, making it impossible for him to breathe and causing him to faint!
Now that he had regained consciousness, Liu Qubei immediately turned to look for the person who had strangled him, but because there were so many people there, he couldn't find out who had done it.

They went to look for Zhang Xiu again, but found that Zhang Xiu was nowhere to be found either.

"What about people!"

Liu Qubei gritted his teeth!
"They have been taken away and imprisoned in the Imperial Prison."

Cao Cao was also a man who could lie as naturally as breathing, showing no sign of guilt whatsoever. Instead, he asked with concern, "How is it? Is the Right Wise King injured?"

"..."

Liu Qubei was bleeding from his head, and even his eyelids were swollen and bloodshot. Cao Cao asked him if he was alright.
Liu Qubei immediately realized that using the prestige of the Han Dynasty to curry favor with Cao Cao was a terrible move!
Although the mighty Han dynasty, which swept across the land and ruled the world, was on its last legs, it was still alive!

Even if a giant is now riddled with holes, it is not up to a former defeated general to humiliate him!
However, Liu Qubei clearly couldn't swallow this insult.

As the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu, he was slapped across the face by a Han general in the court!

Such an event was an utter disgrace to the Xiongnu!
If Liu Qubei cannot handle this matter well, even his position as Right Wise King will be shaken!

"Where is Zhang Xiu? I want to kill him!"

"No."

Cao Cao's reply was concise and decisive.

Now, it's no longer just a matter between Cao Cao and the Southern Xiongnu; it's also involved that scoundrel Liu Miao.

Cao Cao knew that if he really killed Zhang Xiu, Liu Miao would immediately turn his back on him!

The choice between the Southern Xiongnu and Liu Miao is not a simple matter of choice. Even if it were, it would be a mandatory choice!

Upon hearing Cao Cao's reply, Liu Qubei clenched his fists in frustration, his fingernails, which hadn't been cleaned for many years, digging deep into his flesh.

"I came here on the orders of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Do you think I have come here to suffer such humiliation?"

"Minister Cao! You must give me an explanation for this! Otherwise, the Southern Xiongnu will never let this go!"

"..."

At this time, Cao Cao's old headache flared up again.

Could it be that we really want to push the Southern Xiongnu completely into Yuan Shao's arms?

"Zhongshan, Zhongshan, how come you always manage to get into trouble like this?"

"It's fortunate this matter didn't fall on your shoulders, otherwise I'd like to see how you would handle it..."

"..."

Cao Cao suddenly had a flash of inspiration!

in case.

What if Liu Miao were the one facing this situation?
Given Liu Miao's personality, how would he resolve this matter?

Cao Cao gradually began to empathize with Liu Miao, and within moments, he had a clue!

"An explanation? What explanation do you want me to give you?"

If Cao Cao were to put himself in Liu Miao's shoes at this moment, he would be completely unreasonable yet still feel indignant!

"You insulted the Emperor first; is this the proper etiquette of a foreign subject?"

"If the Right Wise King is unfamiliar with the etiquette of the Han Dynasty, he can stay in Xuchang for a longer period of time!"

"..."

Liu Qubei was immediately terrified!
Cao Cao actually wanted to imprison him in Xuchang?
Wasn't he afraid that the Southern Xiongnu would turn against Cao Cao and support Yuan Shao because of this?

wrong!

Even if Cao Cao didn't imprison him, wouldn't he have gone back to support Yuan Shao after returning to the Southern Xiongnu?
If that's the case, why would Cao Cao give him a friendly look?

Liu Qubei only realized this at this point.

His life now seems to be in Cao Cao's hands at any moment.
Originally, it was Cao Cao who asked him for help, but now... it's become him asking Cao Cao for help.

(End of this chapter)