Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 203: I, the guilty minister, bow down to thank Your Majesty for your grace!
"The fish you asked for!"

Ju Shou threw the green carp over and then stood there expressionlessly.

He wanted to see what tricks this guy was going to play.
How else can we humiliate him!
Liu Xie was wheezing over a fire when he saw Ju Shou had caught a fish. He turned to Zhang He and the others and said, "Tie him up and retreat a hundred steps away."

"His Majesty……"

Zhang He was a little worried, but Liu Xie just glanced at him, and he immediately fell silent. Without saying a word, he stepped forward and tied Ju Su's hands and feet with his own hands.

Even so, he was still not at ease, and searched Ju Shou's body again to make sure there was no dangerous items. Only then did he and everyone else retreat a hundred steps away.

Ju Su did not resist at all from beginning to end.

Not to mention that he had no chance to kill Liu Xie, he wouldn't dare to do so even if he had the chance.

After Liu Xie started a fire, he took out a dagger from his arms, stood up and walked towards the tied up Ju Su, and then... picked up the fish next to him.

"Green Carp?"

"Green crucian carp is good. Green means Qingzhou, and crucian carp means Jizhou. If you catch a green crucian carp, it means that Qingzhou and Jizhou will return to Han territory."

Upon hearing this, Ju Su snorted coldly: "You are just showing off your quick words!"

Liu Xie smiled and didn't care about Ju Shou's attitude.

He skillfully gutted the green crucian carp, cleaned it, found a branch, plugged it into the belly, and roasted it over the fire.

Seeing Liu Xie grilling fish by himself, Ju Shou could not help but sneer, "You have endured until now and have developed to this point. I thought you were a great man, but now it seems that you are just so-so."

"I am already your prisoner, you can kill me if you want. If you just want to persuade me to surrender, there is no need to do that!"

After Liu Xie turned the fish over, he glanced at Ju Shou and said calmly, "Persuading you to surrender? Don't overestimate yourself."

"You, Ju Su, do have some talent, but it's not worth my efforts to persuade you to surrender. I want to eat fish just because I feel like it. What does it have to do with you?"

Ju Su became more and more angry, but considering the people a hundred steps away, he did not dare to speak too loudly, and could only roar: "I! I! I! Dog-footed I!"

"You are nothing but a lackey and a lowly person! Do you really think you are the emperor? The real emperor is in Xu County! You don't have important officials like Yang Biao and Fu Wan by your side, nor do you have concubines in the harem to support you. Now if even the general doesn't support you, who do you think you are!"

"You are in a good position right now, but that's only because the general is fighting against Gongsun Zan and has no time to deal with you!"

"Your ambitions have been exposed in the battle yesterday. The general will not be deceived by you again. After we defeat Gongsun Zan, it will be your end!"

Although Yuan Shao lost 15,000 troops in the Battle of Yecheng, his foundation was not damaged.

Besides, what is the territory occupied by Liu Xie now compared with the entire three states?
Although Lu Bu's troops were powerful, they were far away in Xuzhou and Yangzhou, and were separated from Jizhou by the territories of Qingzhou and Yanzhou, so they could not attack at all.

Liu Xie is like rootless water in Jizhou!
Once Gongsun Zan is defeated, Yuan Shao will be able to mobilize all his troops to attack Yecheng. How long can Yecheng's 20,000 troops hold out?

"Yes, what you said makes sense."

Liu Xie turned the grilled fish in his hand and looked at Ju Shou with a playful expression.

"If you were my subject, would you let Yuan Shao gather his troops to attack Yecheng so easily?"

Ju Su's expression changed slightly, and he stared at Liu Xie and asked, "What do you mean?"

He felt the same uneasiness in his heart as when he was ambushed yesterday - because he discovered something, something he had always ignored.

Liu Xie...why did you want to stay in Yecheng?

After this boy broke free from the control and took control of Yecheng, the wisest choice would be to leave Jizhou and go to Xuzhou or Yangzhou where Lu Bu was.

But he stayed anyway!
Looking at the green carp that was gradually emitting fragrance, Ju Su suddenly had an idea.

His target is Jizhou!
Liu Xie said calmly, "Do you know why Gongsun Zan was able to fight Yuan Shao for so long?"

Ju Su asked in a deep voice: "Why?"

This is also what has always puzzled him. Gongsun Zan has been fighting since the beginning of this year until now. A full half year has passed, and there is still no sign of decline.

This would have been unimaginable in the past. Youzhou is not Jizhou. Where did Gongsun Zan get the capital to fight such a long war?

What puzzled him even more was the excellent weapons and equipment of Gongsun Zan's army.

"Because of me." Liu Xie pointed at himself and said, "I sent Jia Xu to join Gongsun Zan and let him instigate Gongsun Zan to attack Jizhou."

When Ju Su heard this, he was horrified.

"Yuan Xi killed his brother and imprisoned his father. Is this also related to you?"

Liu Xie nodded without comment.

After receiving the reply, Ju Su felt a chill all over his body.

In just less than three years, this boy secretly conquered Zhang He and Gao Lan who were monitoring and guarding him, as well as Guo Jia, who was quite talented but not valued by Yuan Shao.

He even made Jia Xu work for him!

With one move, he killed his brother and imprisoned his father, drove Yuan Shao out of Yecheng, completely freed him from being a puppet, and even allowed him to take control of the power, thus planning the current good situation.

When no one notices, he hides behind the scenes and changes the situation.

Such scheming and such means really make people admire and feel frightened at the same time.

Liu Xie continued, "I also ordered the Zhen family and the Mi family to secretly support Gongsun Zan, so that he could tie up Yuan Shao's army and not give Yuan Shao any chance to escape."

Ju Su said in disbelief: "When did you win over the Zhen family? The Zhen family is a wealthy family in the world, how could they be won over by you? You are just a fake-"

He stopped halfway through his speech.

Zhen...didn't know that Liu Xie was a fake emperor.

Ju Su's face was extremely ugly. "At first, the daughter of Zhen was supposed to marry Yuan Xi, but later the prophecy that she was destined to be a phoenix caused a sensation in the city. Under the bad influence of Yuan Shu's claim to the throne, the lord had no choice but to send the daughter of Zhen to the palace.

If I am right, these were all done by Guo Fengxiao, who once served Yuan Shang?"

Liu Xie gave Ju Shou a thumbs up and praised him, "Gong Yu is indeed a man of extraordinary talent and intelligence. You have already seen it."

Ju Su was very angry. If he couldn't see it then, what's the use of seeing it now?

He took a deep breath and said, "Even if he has the support of the Zhen family, what's the harm? Gongsun Zan is just difficult to deal with, not unbeatable. As long as the general mobilizes the troops from Bingzhou and Qingzhou, Gongsun Zan will be defeated in an instant!"

Liu Xie nodded repeatedly to show his agreement.

"So we just need to prevent the troops from Bingzhou and Qingzhou from moving without authorization. Even if they do move, only a portion of them can be mobilized."

"Why else do you think Xu You wanted to join Cao Cao?"

"And Gao Gan, do you think I will let him seize Yizhou easily? While Gao Gan is heading to Yizhou, I will also send Liu Bei to go there secretly."

"Yuan Shao is indeed a giant, but the bigger something is, the more flaws it has."

"This is his weakness."

When Ju Shou heard this, his back was already wet with sweat.

At this moment, his mind was clearer than ever.

Everything is clear at this moment.

Xu You was Liu Xie's man, and he went to Cao Cao's army to provide support. As long as the troops in Qingzhou dared to move without authorization, Xu You would instigate Cao Cao to attack.

Liu Bei is in Yizhou, so Gao Gan cannot leave at will, otherwise his plan to take over Yizhou will fail, and Liu Bei will not let him leave.

Without the support of all the troops from Qingzhou and Bingzhou, Yuan Shao would not be able to defeat Gongsun Zan, who was supported by the Zhen family, in one fell swoop, and could only be constantly restrained and delayed.

He could even guess what Liu Xie would do next - taking advantage of Yuan Shao's inability to spare time to take care of other things, he would use Yecheng as his base to erode the territory of Jizhou, and then cooperate with Lu Bu to capture Qingzhou, connecting the four states of Ji, Qing, Xu and Yang into one, and opening up the north and south!
At this point, there is hope that the foundation of Emperor Guangwu of Shizu will be accomplished.

"You, the fake emperor, are really scheming and cunning. I should have strangled you to death in this river!"

Ju Su cursed angrily.

Liu Xie's plan was far beyond his expectations. He had plans and moves everywhere. Each move seemed unrelated, but in fact they were linked together.

Now the whole game has come alive!
On the other hand, Yuan Shao is now slowly stepping into the trap set by Liu Xie. The momentum for slaying the dragon is ready, and Yuan Shao is the dragon to be slain!

Once Yuan Shao is defeated, Liu Xie will own half of the country, and unifying the world is just around the corner. Becoming a true emperor is not just empty talk!

He never thought that a refugee he picked up casually could be so scheming. He should not have gone out of the city to fish for that damn fish that day!
"False emperor?" Liu Xie sneered, stared at Ju Su, and said word by word: "Do you still think that I am a refugee?"

This short sentence was like a bolt from the blue to Ju Shou's ears, making his mind go blank and his ears buzz. He shook his head vigorously and said sternly: "Impossible, don't try to deceive me! I picked you up with my own hands, and you even write so ugly, how can you be the real emperor!"

"You are the dog-footed emperor!"

"You are a fake emperor!"

"You're fake!"

Ju Su was extremely excited, but he couldn't help but start to panic and have wild thoughts.

She has fair skin and tender flesh, is proficient in acting, has such scheming means, and looks exactly like the real emperor. She just happened to appear outside Yecheng and was encountered by him...

"How pathetic, Gongyu."

Liu Xie looked at Ju Su with pity and said, "How do you know that Zi Chou is not part of my plan?"

As he spoke, he picked up a piece of gravel and wrote the word "Han" on the ground in a flamboyant manner.

At this moment, Ju Su's expression was dull.

Suddenly, there was a sound of breaking.

That was the last line of defense in his heart.

No matter how ugly the handwriting is, it is all disguise and part of the plan.

"Now that things have come to this, there is no need for me to lie to you anymore. I will tell you something from my heart. I have been holding these words in my heart for a long time."

Liu Xie looked at the gurgling river beside him with a deep gaze, as if he was recalling the past.

"That year, the traitors were in chaos and Dong Zhuo was riding on my brother's head and acting tyrannically. I saw with my own eyes my brother sitting on the dragon throne and crying."

"I will never forget that scene."

"At that time, I was thinking, if I have the chance, I must win everything! I want to emulate Emperor Guangwu and restore the glory of the Han Dynasty."

"Later, my brother was deposed, and the thief Dong made me the new emperor. He was extremely powerful, and I could only endure it again and again. It was not until I escaped from Chang'an that I had a real turning point."

Liu Xie's eyes gradually lit up and his tone became a little excited.

"When I was passing through Hongnong, I found someone who looked exactly like me."

"At that time, I had already noticed that Han Xian had ulterior motives. Even if I returned to Luoyang, I would still be controlled by him. Even Dong Cheng wanted to monopolize government affairs and intended to summon Cao Cao to eliminate dissidents under the pretext of paying tribute."

"Later, Lord Yang helped me to secretly escape to Yecheng."

"Then there was the encounter between you and me."

"I am using my identity as a fake emperor as a cover to secretly develop in Jizhou, where there are many factions. This is of course very risky, but it is much better than being controlled by Han Xian, Cao Cao and others."

"As long as I can restore Yuan Shao's foundation to the Han Dynasty, I will have the power to restore order."

"The opportunity to rebuild Yanhan is right before my eyes. I must consider whether this will be the only chance in my lifetime."

"It is my duty to restore the glory of the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Xie's words were sonorous, powerful and resounding!
After hearing this, Ju Su’s face turned pale, his body trembled, and he could hardly stand.

The truths that Liu Xie told him had a huge impact on him.

He could never have imagined that the person he had always thought of as a fake emperor was actually the real emperor!
Even he was just a part of Liu Xie's plan!
Ju Su muttered to himself absentmindedly: "I should have thought of this earlier, I should have thought of this earlier. Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence in the world..."

He once suspected that Liu Xie might be the real emperor, but all the evidence showed that he was not.

But he never thought about whether these evidences were also intentional by Liu Xie?
Is what he thought really what he thought?
Ju Su looked at Liu Xie with extremely complicated eyes and his voice was extremely dry.

"Why are you telling me these truths?"

"Do you just want me to die with a clear mind?"

He knew that with Liu Xie's character, it was impossible for him to say so much to a prisoner like him for no reason. He must have a purpose.

But is there anything else about him that is worthy of Liu Xie's attention?
"I want you to do something." Liu Xie took the grilled fish off the fire, stood up and said, "I have told you the whole plan. With your intelligence, it is impossible for you not to see that Yuan Shao has fallen into a dead end."

"It is only a matter of time before Jizhou, Qingzhou and even Bingzhou return to Han territory."

"But I don't want to cause unnecessary casualties. I hope you can write a letter to persuade Yuan Shao to surrender. Let him give up resistance and surrender to me."

"Don't worry. Even though Yuan Shao's actions are enough to exterminate his entire family, as long as he is willing to surrender to me, I will only kill him and will not implicate the Yuan family. I will also make more use of Yuan Xi."

In addition to repaying the favor of a fish, this was another reason why Liu Xie brought Ju Shou over.

He first brings up the past with flashbacks, then throws out his various plans, ignoring the details, to create the illusion for Ju Su that Yuan Shao is doomed to die.

Then, without giving anyone time to think, he dropped the bombshell that he was the "true son of heaven," and attached a story about his life that was full of loopholes and could not stand up to scrutiny.

The very last thing he did was what he had been preparing for for a long time - persuading Yuan Shao to surrender!
However, all this was just a sudden idea he came up with after seeing Ju Shou being captured. Whether he could deceive Ju Shou was a question.

But what if it works?
If Ju Su really wrote a letter to persuade Yuan Shao to surrender, and Yuan Shao listened to his advice, it would be a cause for celebration for everyone.

When Ju Su heard this, he felt shaken.

The person in front of us is the true Son of Heaven. From him, one can see the shadows of both Emperor Taizu Gao and Emperor Shizu Guangwu. No matter how you look at him, he is a great ruler.

Looking back on the past, he did have hope of restoring the Han Dynasty and rebuilding its glory.

Is there any need for them not to surrender?

After a long silence, Ju Su sighed heavily and said, "Get some paper and pen."

To Liu Xie, these words sounded like the sound of heaven!

He immediately raised his hand and called Zhang He, who was not far away, to get writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and moved a table in front of Ju Shou.

Ju Su let out a long breath and began to write.

Soon, a letter was written.

Liu Xie picked up the letter and read it carefully, the joy in his heart almost overflowed!
This is really a letter of persuasion!

After putting the letter away, Liu Xie suppressed his excitement and placed the grilled fish and a dagger in his hand on the table in front of Ju Shou.

"Gong Yu, please try to see if my skill in grilling fish has become rusty?"

Looking at the dagger and grilled fish in front of him.

Ju Su smiled bitterly.

Grilled fish to repay a favor, committed suicide with a dagger.

He and Yuan Shao were traitors who pretended to be emperors and harbored evil intentions. The emperor would never tolerate them living.

Death is the inevitable result.

Allowing him to commit suicide was considered as repaying his kindness of giving me a fish.

Ju Shou picked up the grilled fish and ate it up bit by bit carefully. Then he grabbed the dagger, looked up at Liu Xie, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Liu Xie knew what he meant and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, I will take care of your wife and children."

Ju Su was finally relieved. Just as he was about to stab the dagger into his heart, Liu Xie suddenly stepped forward.

"Public and——"

Liu Xie looked at Ju Shou, a hint of complexity emerged in his dark eyes, and he spoke slowly.

"Would you like to call me... Your Majesty?"

Ju Shou smiled with relief and shouted out the two words that he had not been able to utter two and a half years ago.

"His Majesty."

"I, your humble servant, bow down and thank Your Majesty for your grace!"

　I am in the process of sorting out the outline and adjusting my status, so the update is a bit slow. Sorry for keeping you waiting.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)