Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 224 Doing Great Things Early: Liu Bei Ascends the Throne (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)
In a state of utter confusion, Liu Xie spilled everything he had discussed with Fu Wan, Zhong Ji, and Liu Ai, as well as Wu Qiong's previous instigation.

In an instant.

The whole hall was silent.

Fu Wan, Liu Ai, and Zhong Ji all looked at Liu Xie in astonishment.

His Majesty has so honestly betrayed us?
The three of them instantly felt a chill running down their spines and toes.

Your Majesty, you don't have to say anything. As long as you don't admit it, the matter will pass.

But you not only spoke up, you even admitted it. What on earth are you trying to do?

Wu Qiong was equally astonished.

What shocked them was not only that Liu Xie had publicly uttered his instigating words, but also that Liu Ai suspected him of having an affair with Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

Why did I choose to lie in wait in Luoyang?

Wouldn't it be better for me to go directly to Ye City and follow Lord Yuan?
Zhao Yan, the Imperial Secretary, was so angry that his hands were shaking. After finishing with the four men, he started ranting and raving, saying the most offensive things he could think of.

With each spiel, Zhao Yan thought of the incident where he impeached Liu Bei and was whipped, and his anger intensified.

Putting himself in Liu Bei's shoes, Zhao Yan believed that if Liu Bei were in Liu Bei's position, it wouldn't just be a matter of thirty lashes; it would probably be three hundred lashes.

The Imperial Uncle is so benevolent!
Among the officials, Yang Biao, the Minister of Works, Huang Wan, the Minister of Education, and Lu Zhi, the Grand Commandant, huddled together, not uttering a single word.

The three men had long known that Liu Bei intended to become emperor, so they were not surprised by what happened today.

Sooner or later, there will be conflict between Liu Bei and Liu Xie; it's just a matter of time.

Liu Xie's behavior sent chills down the spines of the three of them.

The plot to weaken Liu Bei by conspiring with Fu Wan, Liu Ai, and Zhong Ji was a power struggle, and it's not a matter of who was right or wrong.

But after failing, he betrayed Fu Wan, Liu Ai, and Zhong Ji, just to shirk responsibility. Is this the kind of responsibility an emperor should have?

At present, Liu Bei's momentum in restoring the Han Dynasty is at its peak, and the problem of powerful families annexing land has also been forcibly resolved by Liu Bei. The remaining issue is how to implement this new policy.

This was a time of great prosperity, but then Liu Xie came to sabotage Liu Bei.

He didn't take the hunting seriously and just did what he was supposed to do. But then he started trying to sow discord by offering one woman to two men. Did he really think Liu Bei would tolerate that?
If Liu Bei had known how to be patient, he wouldn't have resorted to force to resolve conflicts so quickly.

In the areas controlled by Liu Bei, which one wasn't resolved by force?
Did you really think Liu Bei was only good at reasoning?

Reasoning is only acceptable when it is simpler and easier than resorting to force. If he finds that reasoning is too slow, Liu Bei will definitely resort to force.

From Yongzhou to Sili, from Sili to Yanzhou, from Yanzhou to Yuzhou, what was the one thing Liu Bei endured without complaint?
Conflicts are resolved immediately without being left unresolved. If they are left unresolved, they are likely to be used as bait.

Therefore, upon entering the palace today, Yang Biao, Huang Wan, and Lu Zhi did not utter a single word. They simply kept their eyes, noses, mouths, and minds at rest, completely disregarding their status as the Three Dukes.

Liu Bei did not go to Yuzhou.

At this moment, Liu Bei was still in the General's Mansion.

Fa Zheng, Ma Chao, Cao Ang, Zhuge Liang, Liu Ba, Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu were arranged in a single line at the front.

Looking at his seven disciples, Liu Bei made no attempt to hide anything, saying, "You are all probably already aware of the rumors circulating in Luoyang. I will also not conceal from you that I intend to succeed to the throne and establish my own lineage."

"Although you are all my students, I will give you the right to choose. If you are unwilling to support me, you may leave Luoyang immediately. From now on, each of you will stand on your own side and your life and death will be in the hands of fate."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fa Zheng and the other seven looked surprised. Then they heard Ma Chao shout, "If it weren't for our mentor, how could the emperor in the court have ascended the throne? The world is not yet unified, and he is already imitating Goujian's 'killing the dog after the rabbit is caught' approach. Why should we assist such an emperor?"

"Now that I have acknowledged you as my master, I will support whatever you wish to do. If you want to succeed to the throne, I am willing to be the vanguard and bring down the emperor from the court."

Liu Bei's seven disciples were all exceptionally talented, and they had always admired Liu Bei the most. They had privately discussed how to deal with Liu Bei when his achievements became too great. Now, seeing Liu Bei speak the truth and be as sincere as ever, they were filled with emotion and admiration and had no intention of leaving.

When Liu Bei became emperor, his seven disciples were able to fully utilize their knowledge.

If Liu Bei doesn't declare himself emperor, they will still have to worry about how to prevent trouble for him in the future if his achievements overshadow his lord.

There's no need to choose at all!
Therefore, after Ma Chao took the lead, Fa Zheng, Cao Ang, Zhuge Liang, Liu Ba, Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu also expressed their willingness to serve Liu Bei.

"Hahaha!" Liu Bei laughed loudly, "I am very pleased to hear your words."

After the laughter subsided, Liu Bei composed himself, and his tone became bold and resounding: "From now on, you will be the Emperor's disciples! I will lead you to create a new world, a new world that you have never seen or heard of in books."

Once the decision is made, there's no going back.

Great things should be done as early as possible.

Liu Bei didn't believe in any of that stuff—no destiny, no auspicious omens, no prophecies or divine will.

Liu Bei had no intention of turning the Liu clan into Brahmins. If he weren't afraid of taking too big a step and ruining things, he would have wanted to end the current imperial system altogether.

The next few days.

While preparing to declare himself emperor, Liu Bei also allowed public opinion to continue to ferment.

Although the officials and common people in Luoyang had learned of this, the news from other prefectures and counties would take some time to spread.

Yongzhou is the least of our worries. From the very beginning, Yongzhou has been Liu Bei's base of operations. For example, the Chief Administrator Yan Zhong only agreed to serve Liu Bei because he wanted to become emperor.

Others, such as Jian Yong and Qian Zhao, were either old friends of Liu Bei or promoted by Liu Bei himself.

The only one who might object is Huangfu Song.

However, Huangfu Song only has the authority to command troops during wartime. He will only take command of troops when Chang'an is in danger. Otherwise, Huangfu Song will retire in Chang'an.

Huangfu Li and Huangfu Jianshou had long expressed their loyalty to Liu Bei, so even if Huangfu Song wanted to persuade the two brothers to support Liu Xie, the two brothers would have to push Huangfu Song back.

Apart from Liang Xiang Chen Ji, who might have objections, Guan Yu, the governor of Yu Province, Mao Jie, the prefect of Yingchuan, Man Chong, the prefect of Runan, and Yuan Huan, the chancellor of Pei Province, are all loyal to Liu Bei and will not support Liu Xie if Liu Xie makes the first move.

As for Gai Xun, the governor of Xuzhou, and Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou.

It's certain that Gai Xun wouldn't support Liu Bei's claim to the throne, but Gai Xun's opinion alone doesn't represent the opinion of Xuzhou.

Zang Ba of Langya sent his wife and children to Luoyang and would not support Gai Xun.

Sun Jian, the governor of Guangling, was originally a rebel who was protected by Liu Bei. Moreover, Sun Jian's eldest son was a disciple of Liu Bei and would not support Gai Xun.

The remaining chancellors, such as the chancellors of Langya, Pengcheng, and Donghai, were originally rebels. They were defeated by Liu Bei and had been spared by him, so it was impossible for them to follow Gai Xun to support Liu Xie in fighting Liu Bei.

Unless Gai Xun could organize all the powerful clans in Xuzhou and promise that the court would not implement the new policies after defeating Liu Bei, he would not be able to mobilize a single soldier. Even if he could mobilize the troops of the powerful clans, Gai Xun would first have to consider whether he could defeat Guan Yu.

Cao Cao, the remaining governor of Yan Province, didn't even have a chance to organize the powerful clans and noble families of Yan Province before they were all wiped out.

Having been intimidated by Liu Bei at the Battle of Puyang, the Qingzhou soldiers were even less likely to support Cao Cao in attacking Liu Bei.

If Cao Cao weren't a fool, he wouldn't have abandoned the friendship he had built with Liu Bei over the years to support Liu Xie.

After all, even if Cao Cao supported Liu Xie, Liu Xie would not tolerate Cao Cao in the future, and Cao Cao would not do something that would be thankless and difficult.

And this is indeed the case.

After learning of the events in Luoyang, Cao Cao summoned his generals to discuss the matter.

Guo Jia dispelled Cao Cao and his generals' doubts with just a few words: "Those who have achieved great merit and overshadowed their lords throughout history have never had a good end. But if the Imperial Uncle were to become emperor, who would have more merit than the Imperial Uncle? Even if you all were to achieve great things in the future, it would not be comparable to the Imperial Uncle's achievement of establishing the empire."

Upon learning the news, Gai Xun of Xuzhou intended to lead his troops to Luoyang to stop Liu Bei.

Chen Deng, however, said to Gai Xun, "If you prevent the Imperial Uncle from becoming emperor, can Governor Gai prevent His Majesty from following the example of Goujian, who killed his dog after the rabbit was caught? Can Governor Gai guarantee that the civil and military officials who followed the Imperial Uncle in battle and governed the prefectures will not be purged by His Majesty?"

"Although the new policies of the Imperial Uncle are not favorable to the Chen family, given the current situation, no one in the world is a match for the Imperial Uncle. Not to mention how many people in Xuzhou are willing to follow Governor Gai in raising an army, even if they all did, they would surely be defeated by the Imperial Uncle."

"Moreover, if an emperor can't even tolerate his own uncle, who will he tolerate in the future?"

To be honest, Liu Bei did save Gai Xun's life. If Liu Bei hadn't sent Hua Tuo to treat Gai Xun, Gai Xun would have died long ago.

After much deliberation, Gai Xun chose to temporarily hand over Xuzhou to Sun Jian, the governor of Guangling, and then went to Luoyang with only a few followers, just as he had previously abandoned his post as governor of Yongzhou and went to Luoyang alone.

Gai Xun wanted to repay Liu Hong's kindness, but he couldn't actually raise an army to attack Liu Bei, so he could only choose this way to protect Liu Hong's bloodline.

As voices of support for Liu Bei's ascension to the throne reached back from various prefectures and counties, Liu Xie in Luoyang felt increasingly uneasy.

Liu Xie never imagined that a hunting trip and a honey trap could escalate the situation to the point where Liu Bei was ready to declare himself emperor.

What frightened Liu Xie the most was that Liu Bei still refused to accept the abdication, believing that accepting Liu Xie's abdication was tantamount to accepting Liu Xie's humiliation.

They didn't even give Liu Xie a shred of dignity.

After all, abdication is a noble title.

To refuse the abdication and establish a separate dynasty would be tantamount to breaking with Liu Xie.

After the break, Liu Xie effectively severed the imperial lineage of Emperor Guangwu, thus becoming a ruler who lost his country.

The newly established court of Liu Bei would not acknowledge that it was a continuation of the lineage of Emperor Guangwu.

"Grand Commandant, you are my uncle's mentor. Could you please tell him that I wish to abdicate? I truly wish to abdicate! I will announce to the world that I abdicate to my uncle because I know my abilities are insufficient. This is also the late emperor's dying wish. Once I announce it, I will absolutely not allow my uncle to be suspected of usurping the throne." Liu Xie grabbed Lu Zhi's sleeve and pleaded tearfully.

Now that things have come to this, Liu Xie only wants to maintain his last shred of dignity.

If Liu Bei agrees to abdicate, he will not be a ruler of a fallen kingdom, but merely an eleven-year-old boy who knows he cannot shoulder the heavy responsibility of restoring the Han Dynasty and therefore abdicates to Liu Bei.

"Alas!" Lu Zhi shook his head and sighed, "Your Majesty, Xuande is a man who prefers directness. He will reason with you if he can reason with you, and he will use force if he can use force. To be fair, if Your Majesty were willing to trust Xuande, even if Xuande did not accept the abdication, he would not be as stubborn as he is now."

"Now that the trust between His Majesty and Xuande has been lost, how could Xuande choose to abdicate for His Majesty's sake? What he needs now is a new court, a court that does not continue the lineage of Emperor Guangwu, and to rebuild the Han Dynasty as a descendant of Emperor Jing of Han, Prince Jing of Zhongshan."

"As an emperor, one cannot simply accept every outcome; the rights and wrongs, merits and demerits will be judged by posterity."

Seeing that even Lu Zhi was unwilling to help, Liu Xie's last glimmer of hope was extinguished.

Because of his conspiracy with Fu Wan, Liu Ai, and Zhong Ji, and his betrayal of them in the palace, Liu Xie's reputation had already plummeted to its lowest point.

So much so that when Liu Bei decided to declare himself emperor and establish a separate court, a lot of people applauded.

Liu Bei also promised the court officials that as long as they came, their official positions and treatment would remain the same.

In comparison, apart from Fu Wan, Liu Ai, Zhong Ji, and the escaped Wu Qiong and Zheng Tai, all the officials in charge of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, both principal and deputy, chose to join Liu Bei's new court.

In other words, although Liu Bei established a separate court, in reality, apart from changing the main body and the emperor, the officials were still the same group of people.

The 27th day of the first month of the third year of the Chuping era.

Gai Xun arrived in Luoyang from Xuzhou, weary from his journey.

When Liu Xie met Gai Xun, he was like a drowning man grasping at a straw, begging Gai Xun to persuade Liu Bei not to establish a separate court and to abdicate directly.

However, now that all the officials in the court support the new dynasty, even though Gai Xun is a veteran official, he cannot change the decision of the officials.

After all, it was Liu Xie who provoked Liu Bei. If he hadn't provoked Liu Bei, Liu Bei wouldn't have responded in such a tough way.

"This old minister is willing to accompany Your Majesty to the tomb of the late Emperor to keep vigil. As for the affairs of the world, leave them to the Imperial Uncle." Gai Xun did not grant Liu Xie's request, but only offered to accompany Liu Xie to keep vigil for Liu Hong.

Hearing Gai Xun's reply, Liu Xie's glimmer of hope was shattered once again.

“Father, I was wrong. I should have obeyed your dying wish and used trust to restrain my uncle’s heroic ambition. I should not have doubted my uncle, and I should not have trusted Fu Wan, Liu Ai and Zhong Ji. Otherwise, we would not have suffered such a terrible fate today.”

Gai Xun sighed helplessly as he watched Liu Xie weeping with his knees drawn up to his chest, repeatedly reciting Liu Hong's last words.

Gai Xun had known for a long time that Liu Xie did not trust Liu Bei, but he was powerless to change it.

Gai Xun only hoped that Liu Bei could revive the Han Dynasty after becoming emperor.

With Gai Xun leading Liu Xie away from the palace to guard Liu Hong's tomb, Liu Bei's preparations in Luoyang reached their final stage.

Unlike Liu Yu and Yuan Shu, who used divination and prophecy, they employed the simplest, most direct, and popular rituals.

The second day of the second month of the third year of the Chuping era.

Liu Bei formally ascended the throne as emperor at Ping Le Guan, outside the west gate of Luoyang, and changed the era name to Zhangwu.

Cai Yan was made Empress, Gan Mei was made Zhaoyi, Diao Chan was made Jieyu, and Dong Xiu was made Meiren.

He also honored his deceased father Liu Hong as Emperor Zhaoren and his birth mother Lady Wu as Empress Zhaoren.

Subsequently, the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers were formally established, and Jia Xu was promoted to Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Xu You to Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, jointly in charge of the Imperial Secretariat.

The remaining official positions were all appointed in order, while the positions of Grand General and others were temporarily suspended for future use.

The imperial edict was sent to all the prefectures, and the whole country was astonished.

(End of this chapter)