The Three Great Han Dynasties: Awaken Liu Bei with a scolding; you weave mats and sell sandals.

Liu Hong smiled faintly. Such a big matter could not be handled by just a few people.

Therefore, Cui Yan, Jia Xu, and almost all the strategists in the mansion were present in the study, naturally for this extremely important matter.

"General, what are your intentions now?"

Ultimately, the Imperial Guards of the Great Han Dynasty were under the control of the late emperor by imperial decree, and no one could refuse this matter.

Other soldiers, even if they were unwilling to be enemies with the Liu family of Youzhou, might not be happy to see this, since the gentry have always been in competition with each other.

The current prosperity of the Liu family in Youzhou has long made many other aristocratic families wary. It was fine if they didn't have the opportunity in the past, but now they do.

They were naturally eager for the Han imperial guards and Zhu Jun to engage in a fierce battle with us.

in this way.

They could naturally profit from the infighting among the two, a tactic almost always employed by the aristocratic class, and one that must be guarded against.

Jia Xu spoke slowly, his analysis of the overall situation quite insightful.

There was no other way; Liu Hong had forced them into this situation. Nowadays, the General's Mansion has KPIs, and they weren't good enough.

Their treatment and positions in the government will change as a result.

The treatment Liu Hong provided was absolutely top-notch in the entire Han Dynasty. He provided houses, land, and a path to wealth, along with snowflake salt, soap, and other exquisite items such as glass.

Even if it's just a small percentage, with distribution channels now spread all over the world, the profits it receives are naturally much greater.

Jia Xu, too, was extremely reluctant to leave now, so he had no choice but to continue serving Liu Hong despite his illness.

"What a fine imperial guard! They overlooked this."

Liu Hong's gaze turned slightly serious.

After all, Dong Zhuo captured Luoyang so easily in the historical timeline that Liu Hong inevitably overlooked it.

In the historical timeline, Dong Zhuo was incredibly lucky at this juncture. With no leader and the emperor's decree, he quickly gained control of hundreds of thousands of troops in Luoyang with only tens of thousands of men. This kind of victory against overwhelming odds is unprecedented in history.

This instantly elevated his status to a level where he could rival all the officials and even his master, the Yuan family.

Unfortunately, their foundation was too weak, so they ultimately lost.

However, Liu Hong was somewhat envious at this moment. At least for the other party, this level was easy, unlike him. Various clans and even the deceased emperor were extremely wary of him, wishing they could treat him as everyone's boss and team up to deal with him.

This shows just how much effort and trouble he put into managing the Liu family of Youzhou.

"Then let's find Lu Zhi and have a proper meeting to see if we can discuss things, since everything is for the sake of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Hong's eyes gleamed as he spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly.

This matter was naturally taken on by Liu Bei. After all, given his status and the fact that he had studied under Lu Zhi for a period of time, there were probably few people in the entire General's Mansion who were more suitable than him.

Ok.

On this clear autumn day, Liu Bei, fully prepared for his journey, appeared less like his usual chivalrous self and more like the noble and aristocratic young master of Luoyang, the imperial capital.

So when he arrived at the residence of General Zhu Jun and said he wanted to pay his respects to Lu Zhi, the servants at the main gate dared not be the slightest bit negligent.

As servants of such high-ranking and noble families, they must each possess some discernment. They might indeed act in a way that flatters the powerful and belittles the weak, but they can generally recognize truly distinguished and noble individuals.

As for those who pretend to be weak to take advantage of others, such cases are extremely rare.

In other words, without these people praising the noble and belittling the lowly, how could the extravagance, nobility, and superiority of this aristocratic mansion be apparent?

This was within expectations.

"Liu Xuande, a young general, is the Colonel of the Western Garden. When I was so young, I did not have such an opportunity to suddenly attain such a high position."

Moreover, he currently holds no official position whatsoever; he's merely a commoner.

Lu Zhi and Liu Bei met at Qingting Xiaozhu. The two sat facing each other, and Lu Zhi's face was full of bitter smiles. Where was the confident and eloquent scholar he had been in Zhuo County, who had once commanded respect and discussed the affairs of the country?

Even Liu Bei, upon seeing him in this state, couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"When Lord Lu was in Zhuo County, he was so radiant with divine light; now..."

Liu Bei spoke subconsciously. Although he was young, looking at Lu Zhi in front of him, he felt as if he too had been imbued with the air of old age.

Although he is still a boy, he has experienced many things since coming to Luoyang. How can he still be the boy he used to be?

Although Liu Bei looked like a young man at this moment, his mind was in turmoil and he had many thoughts, especially after he noticed the actions of the General's Mansion.

This naturally caused him a lot of confusion.

After all, the idea that his father wanted to rebel was something that seemed hard to believe for a young man who was loyal to the Han Dynasty.

"Yeah?"

Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, Lu Zhi smiled.

He raised an eyebrow and then said calmly, "In the end, he did something that benefited the Han Dynasty, so it is only natural that he has ended up in this situation."

On the contrary, Xuande has been in high spirits lately.

The position of Commandant of the Western Garden is a coveted post that only a select few can obtain, even within the imperial city of Luoyang.

Furthermore, since you assumed this position, your actions have consistently been commendable, a rare and excellent deed for the sake of the world and all living beings, a far cry from your past behavior.

As Tata finished speaking, Liu Bei looked somewhat bewildered.

He looked at Lu Zhi in front of him and said slowly, "Does Lord Lu really think so, or is it that Lord Lu is unaware of my father's ambitions?"

It's likely that everyone in the capital city right now, especially lately, knows about it.

Liu Bei suddenly cut to the chase and said these words.

Lu Zhi's gaze sharpened, but he seemed not to have expected that the famous general's son would disagree with his actions.

The situation suddenly became somewhat awkward, but Lu Zhi did not believe that Liu Bei would do something so righteous as to sacrifice his own family.

After all, everything in the General's Mansion is now under Liu Hong's command. Even Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are under Liu Hong's orders.

Ultimately, the elders should be given priority. Naturally, they did not believe that Liu Bei could do anything earth-shattering. Could he really disobey his father?

This destroyed everything that the Liu family of Youzhou had worked so hard to achieve to this day.

If Liu Bei really did this, then such a person would probably have no place to stand in the entire Han Dynasty.