It’s hard to break a phoenix’s destiny

Chapter 568: Brothers Drinking Wine

Liu Yao did not expect that it would be more than half a year later when he saw Yang Xianrong again. Because the war situation was very chaotic, he was winning all the battles, but he was hit by a stray arrow in the battle of Huangqiu, so he retreated to Ganqu. Later, he conquered Chiyang and plundered more than 10,000 people back to Chang'an. Qu Te, the governor of Yongzhou in the Jin Dynasty who refused to surrender to the Han Dynasty, and others gathered many officials and military forces of the Jin Dynasty who refused to surrender to besiege Chang'an. Liu Yao was defeated in every battle and had to retreat to Pingyang with more than 80,000 people.

Liu Cong, who had already firmly sat on the throne of emperor, was very happy to see Liu Yao return. He did not blame him at all for his successive defeats. Instead, he held a welcoming banquet and handed over some of his military power to him.

The two were drunk in the Pingyang Palace and no one could persuade them to stop.

"Do you remember that when father told us at Huangsha Pavilion that he wanted to be the emperor, he said: victory and defeat are common in the military, and there is no need to worry about it. Now that you and I can drink together, we can certainly plan together to retake Chang'an." Liu Congming looked much fatter, and his whole person also had the decisiveness of an emperor. Fortunately, when he saw Liu Yao, he was still affectionate and warm, as usual.

But Liu Yao still knelt respectfully in the direction of his attack, and poured him another large bowl of wine before saying, "Your Majesty is just trying to comfort me, but I still have to get revenge. I can't let Qu Te and his people get too proud. The Great Jin Dynasty was destroyed a long time ago. Do they still want to restore their country? It's wishful thinking!"

After hearing what he said, Liu Cong suddenly laughed, patted him on the shoulder and asked, "My great general, are you willing to go to war now? Before, you hid in the mountains and refused to come out."

"Before, I couldn't bear to see the world in chaos. Now, I can't bear to see the people being displaced. Those who want to divide the world have their own ulterior motives. None of them is thinking about the people. They all want this world and all the glory and wealth!" Liu Yao also drank a large bowl of wine. He just straightened his chest, but the wound on his shoulder felt a tearing pain, which made him shrink his body again and choke on the wine with a grimace.

"When will the world be able to settle down?" Liu Cong drank too much, his eyes were a little blurry, "Do you remember when we were in Huangsha Pavilion, the brothers all thought that the war could be settled after a year of fighting, but who knew that the war would never be over... You know, I heard the war report today, saying that Xianbei Tuoba Yilu also sent troops, the situation is not good. Moreover, the Great Jin actually supported Sima Ye as emperor, which is ridiculous, another puppet?"

"A centipede will die but its body will not freeze. This is to be expected. It won't amount to anything." Liu Yao didn't care. "Didn't my father also say that I should deal with my own internal affairs first before attacking others..."

"My own internal affairs... Do you know how chaotic our internal situation is?" Liu Cong lowered his voice a lot. "I killed Liu He, but so many people were not sincere to me. You know, there are reasons for your defeat. Prime Minister Wang Dun, Grand Secretary Gong Shi Yu and I are not of the same mind."

"Then why not replace them?" Liu Yao was a little dazed. He was not clear about the current situation in Pingyang. He just vaguely remembered that these two people were officials that his father valued very much. After Liu Cong took over the Han Dynasty, he did not kill them, but let them continue to stay in office.

"These two people have great prestige among the officials of the Han Dynasty. They cannot be easily moved." Liu Cong patted his red face and smiled bitterly, "It's really tiring to be an emperor."

"Hey, don't say that." Liu Yao pouted, "There's still me."

"Yes, fortunately we have you." Liu Cong laughed again, "I heard that your son also made great achievements this time, such as cutting bamboo. He is brave and resourceful."

"It's just a trifle." Liu Yao laughed, "I won't hide it from you. Someone behind him came up with the idea."

"Oh? Who?" Liu Cong drank another large bowl of wine.

Liu Yao stretched out his hand to stop him and poured the remaining half bowl of wine into his own mouth, "Your Majesty, please don't drink any more." "Do you think my alcohol tolerance is not as good as yours?" Liu Cong raised his eyebrows and glared.

"That's not what I meant." Liu Yao sighed softly, "It's harmful to your health."

"Oh." Liu Cong also burped.

"Then I want to tell you something, and you have to promise me." Liu Yao said seriously, "This man gave Liu Cheng advice behind the scenes, which prevented my 40,000 men from being wiped out in the valley."

"Oh? This guy is a great hero?" Liu Cong laughed. "So? Who is he?"

"She is... Yang Xianrong." Liu Yao was a little nervous when he said this name. After all, this woman had a close relationship with Liu Cong.

Sure enough, Liu Cong thought for a while before reacting, squinting his eyes and asking, "Third sister?"

"Yes." Liu Yao nodded.

Liu Cong stopped talking and just looked at him. He went to pour another large bowl of wine, but he just held it in his hand and didn't drink it.

The emperor's bedroom of Liu Cong in the Pingyang Palace was not big. Because Liu Yao was a close brother, he could stay here and drink with him. There was no one waiting in the room. But suddenly, both of them were silent. The eunuchs outside the door looked at each other in a panic. After all, these people had seen the scene of Liu Cong holding a long sword to kill his brother, and they were trembling with fear every day.

The closest eunuch Wang Shen couldn't help but look into the room and found that Liu Cong was just touching the wine bowl in a daze, while Liu Yao was sitting aside without saying a word, but took out a small purse from his arms, which was empty.

He smiled bitterly, "Today we are drinking, you and I are brothers. Before, you asked her to choose whether to return to Tai'an County or come to Pingyang with you, and she chose Pingyang. But you let her come to my side without telling me, right?"

Liu Cong smiled but still said nothing.

"She did come to find me, but she didn't reveal her identity. She hid in my army as a doctor and became a very good friend of Liu Cheng, saving his life twice. I didn't know all this, but when I found out, I thought she had left again, and suddenly I had a heart attack. If I hadn't taken the pill she gave me that year, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to drink with you now." Liu Yao touched the small cloth bag and sighed softly, "Later, I was injured again and almost lost my life... Regardless of all this, I just want to say that I want to marry her and can't let her follow me like this without any status."

"Don't you care that she was once the queen of the Jin Dynasty? And those people still want to restore the Jin Dynasty? Do you know that Sima Rui still misses her?" Liu Cong finally spoke, with a sneer on his face, "Do you know that anyone who marries her can become emperor?"