Emperor Zhaolie of the late Han Dynasty: Rising to power in Liaoxi

Before long, Lu Zhi followed the Imperial Attendant into the Jiade Hall.

He was dressed in court attire, with an upright posture, a resolute face, and a steady gait.

Upon entering the hall, before even understanding the situation, he was showered with praise by Liu Hong on the throne: "Minister Lu! You truly are a pillar of the nation!"

"I only knew you were skilled at quelling rebellions, but I never imagined you also had such methods for controlling epidemics and bringing peace to the people. You are truly a genius!"

"With you and your disciples here, what do I have to worry about in terms of peace and stability in the land!"

Lu Zhi looked bewildered and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty flatters me; I am unworthy of such praise."

"What is the matter Your Majesty speaks of?"

"I have been recuperating at home recently and have not participated in court assemblies, so I am truly unaware of what has happened."

Seeing this, Liu Hong smiled and had the eunuch hand the "Complete Book of Epidemic Prevention in Western Liaoning" to Lu Zhi: "My dear minister, please read it yourself!"

"This is a comprehensive book on epidemic prevention written by your disciple Liu Bei. You personally reviewed and proofread it, helping Youzhou stabilize the epidemic and relieving the urgent crisis for the entire country!"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner that you had such a good idea?"

Lu Zhi took the book, quickly flipped through it, and when he saw his own name at the end, he instantly understood.

It must have been his disciple, who was far away in western Liaoning, who, in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the book on epidemic prevention, used his name to endorse it and signed his own name without authorization.

He was quick-witted and immediately figured out the key point.

There is a personal report from Qiao Gong, the governor of Youzhou, confirming that this epidemic prevention method is indeed true.

And the results are remarkable.

The disciple signed his name, firstly, probably to use his reputation to endorse the work.

Secondly, they feared that their words carried little weight and that books would be difficult to promote throughout the land.

If it's true, then that's an incredible achievement!

He neither wanted to steal his disciple's credit, nor did he want to expose the matter and disappoint his disciple, nor could he dampen His Majesty's spirits.

He immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the strategies in this book are indeed the thoughts and writings of your disciple Liu Bei."

"I only discussed some medical principles of typhoid fever with him in casual conversation in the past. I did not participate in the compilation and dare not take credit."

"Although Liu Bei was young, he was skilled in both literature and martial arts, and had a heart of benevolence and love for the people. All these achievements should be attributed to him."

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong took it as Lu Zhi being modest, laughed it off, and didn't think much of it.

"My dear minister, your noble character and integrity are truly admirable; you do not compete with your disciples for credit. How rare indeed!"

"You have accomplished a great feat by teaching such a fine disciple!"

"Today I hereby appoint you as a Consultant, to serve as a lecturer in the palace!"

Lu Zhi bowed to express his gratitude, but felt unworthy of it.

He knew nothing about this matter and offered little help to Liu Bei, his disciple, yet he still owed him a debt of gratitude.

Furthermore, he was even more surprised!

This disciple, having left his master's sect for only half a year, has accomplished such a great feat in western Liaoning.

They even used his name to push epidemic prevention methods into the imperial court.

He was much bolder than he had imagined.

After bestowing honors upon Lu Zhi, Liu Hong's gaze returned to the memorial, growing increasingly satisfied with each reading.

He immediately said, "Liu Bei has rendered such great service and is a member of the Han imperial family; how can he be relegated to a mere military clerk?"

"I intend to summon Liu Bei to the capital and appoint him as a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, to serve by my side!"

Huangmen Shilang, with a salary of 600 shi.

Although his rank was not high, he was able to stay by the emperor's side and participate in confidential matters.

It is a position that countless people would fight tooth and nail to secure, and an excellent springboard for future advancement.

The moment these words were spoken, the hall fell silent.

Chen Dan, the Minister of Ceremonies, was the first to step forward and dissuade him: "Your Majesty, you must not!"

"Liu Bei is merely a minor official in a border region, still young, and has only recently been recommended for the civil service examination. He lacks experience, and it would be difficult for him to gain the respect of the people if he were to suddenly enter the capital as a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate!"

"Furthermore, this method is only one person's opinion, and its effectiveness is still unknown."

"It would be better to wait until the nationwide epidemic prevention measures are fully implemented and observe their effectiveness before bestowing rewards!"

The eunuchs, who usually fought tooth and nail with the scholar-officials, were now unusually siding with them.

Wang Fu immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Minister of Ceremonies is absolutely right."

"Although Liu Bei has made contributions, he is too young. Promoting him suddenly may discourage the soldiers on the frontier."

"It would be better to hold off for now and wait until the pandemic subsides before rewarding those who have contributed."

He had a much more shrewd plan in mind.

Lu Zhi and the others are not in cahoots, and Liu Bei is most likely not one of them either. Once they are by the emperor's side, they will inevitably take away their power, and may even take advantage of the emperor's trust to take action against them.

Moreover, Liu Bei was a member of the Han imperial family, and with such abilities, he might rapidly expand his power.

They must not allow a third force to emerge around the emperor.

One person wanted to be promoted, but two groups of people blocked it. On this matter, the scholar-officials and the eunuchs reached an unprecedented tacit understanding.

Liu Hong looked at the crowd below, his brows furrowing instantly, his heart filled with displeasure.

It seems we should have taken action against Wang Fu sooner!

He's lost sight of his own position, daring to ally with the aristocratic clans.

With both sides advising against it, he couldn't force the issue of an imperial decree and had to give up in frustration.

He was seething with anger and determined to give Liu Bei a reward commensurate with his contributions.

The meeting dispersed.

Upon returning to his residence, Lu Zhi immediately summoned his steward and asked in a deep voice, "Have there been any letters from Liaoxi recently?"

The steward paused for a moment, then quickly recalled, and after thinking for a while, said, "Sir, there was indeed a letter from Liaoxi about half a month ago."

"There are just too many letters from all over the manor. Since you are recuperating and I don't recognize the name, I put them in your study without reporting it to you."

He handled all the correspondence in the manor, filtering out the important reports and keeping the less important ones in his study.

After all, there are many social interactions in the manor. Today it's someone else's visiting card, tomorrow it's someone else's birthday banquet, the day after it's someone else's disciple paying respects. It's impossible for Lu Zhi to handle all of these matters personally.

The steward, indeed, did not know who Liu Bei was!

I don't even remember what social connections my master had in western Liaoning!

Lu Zhi did not reprimand him; he knew the reason behind it.

He simply said, "Liu Bei, the military clerk of Liaoxi Commandery, is my disciple. From now on, if you receive any letters from him, please send them to me immediately!"

The butler quickly replied, "Yes, sir!"

Then, Lu Zhi strode into the study and began searching through the pile of letters on the desk. He quickly found the letter from western Liaoning.

Tear open the envelope, and inside is Liu Bei's own handwritten letter.

In the letter, Liu Bei detailed his actions in Liaoxi.

I wrote about the outbreak of the epidemic and sincerely explained that in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the book on epidemic prevention and to convince the states and counties, I had presumptuously signed my teacher's name, and I humbly ask my teacher for forgiveness.

Lu Zhi held the letter, and as he read it, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He shook his head and sighed, "Well done, Liu Bei! Well done!"

He had always admired his disciple's composure and vision, and now seeing him make such great contributions in western Liaoning while still keeping the people in his heart, he was even more gratified.

A few days later, news from various places confirmed the remarkable effectiveness of the "Complete Book of Epidemic Prevention in Western Liaoning".

In Luoyang, following the methods described in the book, isolation, disinfection, and treatment were implemented, resulting in a sharp decrease in new cases.

In severely affected areas such as Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou, the method was implemented and the epidemic was quickly brought under control.

People all over the world are grateful to Liu Bei for writing this book, and even in Luoyang, the name of Lord Liu is being sung everywhere.