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

Yuan Shu muttered to himself.

It's not hard to see that deep down, he cares a great deal about the difference between "legitimate" and "illegitimate" children.

If he were a son born out of wedlock, he would never even be worthy of his attention. Only a legitimate son, who was no different from him, was worthy of continuing to compete with him.

Even if Yuan Shao gained the approval of many elders in the court and among the people, so what?

Once a son of a concubine, always a son of a concubine. That cannot be changed. This was Yuan Shu's deepest conviction, seemingly stubborn and laughable, but in reality, it was a sentiment shared by almost everyone throughout the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, as if it had some theoretical basis, rather than being something he did arbitrarily.

The next day, in the imperial court.

The three dukes, the grand tutor, the grand preceptor, and the rest of the nine ministers all spoke eloquently, denouncing the absurdity of Zhang Jiao's attempt to persuade him to surrender. Their words were resolute, and they all appeared to be concerned about the country and its people.

Unfortunately, Emperor Liu Hong remained consistently indifferent to their noisy pronouncements.

He leaned lazily against the dragon throne, and only after everyone had talked until their throats were dry did he slowly open his mouth, his voice cold and carrying an undeniable authority: "Are you done talking?"

That concludes my remarks. Court is adjourned.

Liu Hong snorted coldly.

He now understands: no matter how fiercely these people argue, what can they do?

It won't change the current outcome.

When a general is in the field, he may disobey some of the emperor's orders.

Liu Hong once again placed all his bets on Liu Hong, intending to make a big gamble.

Only in this way can the entire Liu family make significant progress in this turbulent and chaotic world.

"Liu Hong, do not disappoint me."

"Please, please don't disappoint me."

Back in the inner palace, Liu Hong murmured to himself, feeling his body growing weaker in recent days, and his last bit of cohesion was beginning to gather.

If he were in good health, he certainly wouldn't have relinquished power to the clan so arbitrarily.

But who can blame him when he's already exhausted and on his deathbed, with little time left to live?

If, at this point, one still only cares about personal gain and clings tightly to power, then perhaps a hundred years from now...

Liu Hong, however, no longer even had the right to meet his ancestors.

At this moment, relinquishing power to the royal family can be seen as an attempt to atone for his sins in his later years.

That's somewhat plausible.

"I hope my Liu family prospers. I hope my great Han dynasty can continue to flourish here. It would be wonderful if a great ruler like Emperor Guangwu could appear again."

Liu Hong continued to speak slowly, his deepest longing being his last thought in this world.

Nearly a month later, the messenger carrying the emperor's decree finally arrived at Julu County.

It is clear that someone had already secretly tried to obstruct them along the way.

Unfortunately.

They simply didn't succeed.

"Take it easy."

Looking at the four concise characters on the imperial edict, it's not hard to see the reluctance Liu Hong felt when making the decision.

After all, writing is easy, but the power in one's hands is not so easy to give up.

"I will never fail the emperor's kindness."

Liu Hong cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Luoyang, his tone resounding.

In the face of this matter.

He immediately reassured the generals, his voice steady and powerful.

Upon hearing this, everyone's gazes turned serious.

No one had any reason to doubt Liu Hong.

Liu Hong is a member of the Han imperial family. If even he, a member of the Han imperial family, is going to betray the country, then the entire Han dynasty is probably doomed.

So everyone accepted the order and left without objection.

On that very day, Liu Hong personally wrote a letter urging surrender and shot it with an arrow into the city of Julu County.

The letter urging surrender was picked up by the soldiers guarding the city and passed through layers of intermediaries until it quickly reached Zhang Jiao's hands.

The envelope was opened, the letter unfolded, Zhang Jiao's gaze swept over it, his eyes slightly red, and he sighed with a sense of loss.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Liang, Zhang Bao, and the others began to speculate in secret. They immediately glared at him and asked in a deep voice, "Brother, what did that Han dog say this time?"

Or perhaps he wants us to surrender directly outside the city and become his puppet?

Brother, we absolutely cannot do this.

"It was a letter from Liu Gong urging us to surrender."

Zhang Jiao's simple words immediately silenced the two brothers who had just been spouting nonsense.

After all, even now, the two brothers still have a deep respect for Liu Hong.

He was a master strategist, commanding numerous elite troops, and was also exceptionally good at recognizing and utilizing talent.

Even if two people become mortal enemies due to their different stances, these brothers cannot bring themselves to say anything bad about each other.

After a few minutes, Zhang Liang slowly spoke, his tone somewhat complicated: "I wonder what exactly this Lord Liu copied into the letter of persuasion to surrender?"

And what kind of treatment did they receive?

How are my three brothers doing?

What about the common people who followed us in this uprising?

After asking the question, Zhang Liang himself found it somewhat laughable.

We've reached this point.

The fact that these brothers still care about the people of the world makes them seem rather foolish and dull-witted.

But that was their original intention in doing everything.

If even this original intention is gone, then everything we are doing now will truly be meaningless.

By then, although they will be alive, they will probably be no different from dead people.

Zhang Bao also looked over with hopeful eyes, a hint of barely perceptible expectation in them.

If it were anyone else, of course, it wouldn't end well, but what if it were Master Liu?

The brothers couldn't help but start thinking about it, but the outcome wouldn't change much because of their thoughts.

"We three brothers were able to die peacefully."

Zhang Jiao sighed slightly and slowly stated the conditions in the letter: "Those people who followed the uprising will have their previous crimes almost entirely pardoned, as long as they can return to their homeland."

The imperial court would even provide oxen and seeds to help them redevelop farming.

These conditions are already good enough.

His words were calm, yet they instantly silenced Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang behind him.

They were all speechless, their hearts churning.

Such sincerity is something that, apart from that Lord Liu, probably no one else in the world would dare to make such a decision on their own.

Even the emperor himself, in making such a decision, may have paid a heavy price.

Thinking of this, Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao choked up, unable to utter a single word of "no".

The affairs of the world and the complexities of human nature are truly beyond words.

"how?"

Zhang Jiao turned his gaze to his two younger brothers, waiting for their answers.

Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao exchanged a glance, and this time without hesitation, replied, "We'll do whatever you say, Big Brother. Whatever you tell us to do, we'll do."