With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 37, Dong Cheng, the Straightforward

Liu Xie was, after all, the emperor, and it would be inconvenient to send Zhao Yun directly to the palace to see him.

Liu Biao took him to Wang Cai's place and settled him in temporarily.

After entering the palace, Liu Xie practiced his sword for a while as usual. Soon after, Dong Cheng rushed over. The dignified General of Chariots and Cavalry disregarded his image and ran all the way over.

"His Majesty."

Upon reaching him, Dong Cheng waved his hand, signaling the eunuchs and palace maids watching to step aside. He then stepped forward and stopped Liu Xie, saying, "Your Majesty, please stop practicing!"

Liu Xie stopped his attack and looked at Dong Cheng. "Imperial Brother-in-law, why are you in such a hurry? What has happened?"

Dong Cheng looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Your Majesty, Liu Bei is a member of the Han imperial family. It's a rare opportunity for him to come to Xuchang. This is a godsend! You should appease him and recruit him to your side. Instead, you reprimanded him in public. How can that be acceptable?"

Dong Cheng looked at Liu Xie with a worried expression and said, "Your Majesty, if we can bring Liu Bei to our side, Your Majesty will have an extra arm, and Cao Cao will no longer dare to underestimate you."

The reason why Dong Cheng had such a strong opinion about Cao Cao was simple: he felt that he had been tricked by Cao Cao.

Dong Cheng played a part in getting Cao Cao to go to Luoyang to receive him, but as a result, his position as General of Chariots and Cavalry became practically meaningless. Now, Cao Cao had the final say in everything. Dong Cheng was extremely resentful!
Liu Xie casually sat down and beckoned to Dong Cheng, "Uncle-in-law, you may sit as well!"

Dong Cheng shook his head and advised, "Your Majesty, this is not the journey back east. You should be mindful of your decorum and not sit down anywhere as you used to."

Liu Xie said nonchalantly, "What's wrong with that? I don't have that many rules here. Please sit down."

Liu Xie sneered inwardly. What good was it to maintain the emperor's dignity? Did he expect to put on airs in front of these palace maids and eunuchs all day long?

Fortunately, during their escape, everyone often ate and slept together, so the ministers didn't find Liu Xie's many modern habits strange.

Otherwise, if he just casually sat on the steps, he would definitely be lectured by the ministers.

Dong Cheng sighed. There was nothing he could do about the emperor, so he had no choice but to sit down next to him.

Seeing that no one was around, Liu Xie lowered his voice and whispered, "Imperial Uncle, I am protecting Liu Bei."

"Huh? Your Majesty, the more I listen, the more confused I get."

Liu Xie rolled his eyes. Dong Cheng was a rough and insensitive person, so Liu Xie was unwilling to discuss many things with him.

If he were someone like Xun Yu or Guo Jia, Liu Xie would have it much easier; he could understand Liu Xie's thoughts with just a glance.

Liu Xie explained, "Liu Bei is a member of the Han imperial family. Just based on this relationship alone, Cao Sikong might not want me to get too close to him. Do you understand?"

Dong Cheng shook his head. "Your Majesty need not pay attention to Cao Cao. What can he do if he is unwilling? Your Majesty should try your best to recruit those who are loyal to the Han Dynasty. When our strength is strong enough, we will no longer need to be mindful of Cao Cao's feelings."

According to Dong Cheng's idea, we should ignore Cao Cao and do whatever we want. Isn't that nonsense?

It's fortunate that Dong Cheng is loyal to Liu Xie; otherwise, Liu Xie wouldn't bother with him.

However, Dong Cheng's loud and boisterous behavior also had its uses. At least, his dissatisfaction with Cao Cao made Cao Cao pay more attention to his words and actions in the palace.

"Your Majesty, you wander around all day, indulging in pleasure. This is not good."

Dong Cheng had been hoping all day that Liu Xie would work hard and become a proper emperor. Liu Xie smiled and said, "Alright, I know you mean well, but things aren't as bad as you think. The capable should do more. With Cao Sikong helping me pacify the world, isn't that good enough? Do you expect me to rely on my uncle to attack Yuan Shao and quell Zhang Xiu?" Seeing Wang Yue approaching, Liu Xie left Dong Cheng and stood up. "General Wang, you've come at the right time. Let's have a friendly spar."

As Liu Xie spent more time with Wang Yue, he discovered that Wang Yue's most prominent characteristic was his vanity and greed for wealth.

Therefore, Liu Xie changed his title for him from "Wang Yishi" to "Wang Jiangjun".

Even though his military rank of Tiger General was just a nominal position, Wang Yue felt very pleased every time he heard the emperor address him as General Wang.

Liu Xie is making rapid progress. It's no longer appropriate for him to spar with ordinary guards, because these guards can't really let him play freely. He needs to spar with experts to improve further.

The two immediately took their stances and began sparring. Liu Xie's moves were swift and rapid, and his expression was very serious. The oppressive atmosphere in Xudu had fueled a burning anger within him.

The urge to become stronger drives Liu Xie to give his all every time he practices swordsmanship, unleashing his boundless potential.

It is said that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, but now it is the other way around; Liu Xie is serving a minister as if he were serving a tiger!

The path Liu Xie took was different from those who endured hardship and bided their time.

He made good use of his age advantage; he was only a teenager, so he simply pretended to be playful, liked to wander around, and preferred more freedom. This way, Cao Cao wouldn't suspect anything.

Cao Cao did not want the emperor to accompany him on the expedition, and Liu Xie found a perfect reason for Cao Cao: he was worried about the emperor's safety.

Weren't you worried about me getting into trouble? Worried about my safety?

In this way, Liu Xie's eagerness to become stronger through sword practice becomes quite reasonable.

By bringing Zhao Yun over, they could protect themselves and leave Cao Cao with no grounds for criticism.

Of course, Cao Cao would never publicly admit the real reason why he didn't want the emperor to leave Xuchang.

Cao Cao couldn't very well admit to himself, "I want to completely control you and make you a puppet emperor."

On the surface, Liu Xie seemed like a hands-off manager, leaving all military and political affairs to Cao Cao. But in reality, Liu Xie also needed to continuously improve his own strength. To be with Cao Cao, he first needed to have the strength to protect himself.

Every day, someone would report to Cao Cao in detail what Liu Xie did in the palace and where he went.

Cao Cao was very satisfied. It seemed that the emperor had no interest in military and political affairs. Apart from that, Cao Cao also thought that everything Liu Xie did was normal.

The ancients valued mastery of the Six Arts, which are: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics.

"Yuhe She" refers to archery on horseback. Over time, people were no longer limited to archery on horseback, and those who had the opportunity also learned swordsmanship.

After being reprimanded by Liu Xie, Liu Bei felt anxious and uneasy, and could not sleep at night.

The next day, Liu Bei took the initiative to enter the palace and arrived at Chengguang Hall early.

Zhang Yu came to deliver the message. Zhang Yu was over forty years old. He had followed Liu Xie all the way from Chang'an to Xuchang. He was extremely loyal to Liu Xie and never abandoned him on the way of their escape. He even almost lost his life.

"Your Majesty, Liu Bei requests an audience."

(End of this chapter)