Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 336: Conferring titles upon ministers and judging the Jiangdong traitor
The news that Zhang Liao and his eight hundred men defeated an enemy force of thirty thousand and captured the enemy leader Sun Quan alive had already spread throughout Ye City.

This was the greatest victory since the defeat of Yuan Shao, and its impact was even greater than the battle to defeat Gao Gan and capture Bingzhou.

Because this battle was absolutely a victory of the few over the many, and when fighting against Gao Gan, they were evenly matched and even had a great advantage; secondly, they were going to capture one of the two targets of this southern expedition.

So after learning the news that Zhang Liao had returned triumphantly with the prisoners, the people spontaneously left the city to welcome him.

On the official road outside Yecheng.

Zhang Liao led the troops to escort the prisoner group slowly forward. Sun Quan, Cheng Pu, Han Dang and others were all locked in the prison car, and even Zhou Yu was no exception.

Although Zhou Yu followed Lu Su's advice and did not continue to resist, but chose to surrender, this was not enough to erase his crimes.

As the former Grand Commander and one of the core members of Sun Quan's faction, what kind of punishment Zhou Yu will eventually receive still needs to be decided by the emperor.

The official road was surrounded on both sides by people.

They looked at the prisoners including Sun Quan in the prison car, and talked and pointed at them.

"Is this Sun Quan? Turns out he's just a young boy."

"Sun Jian secretly hid the imperial seal, Sun Ce disobeyed the imperial order, and Sun Quan rebelled against the court. The Sun family has three traitors in one family. It's even worse than the Yuan family."

"Yes, although Yuan Shao was a rebel, his son Yuan Xi was a loyal minister, unlike this kid."

"I heard that Sun Ce recognized Yuan Shu as his adoptive father."

"Thirty thousand men couldn't defeat eight hundred men, and they were captured alive. This Sun Quan is really a waste."

"We can't blame him entirely. After all, General Zhang Liao is too brave."

"Your Majesty is merciful and had originally issued an order to recruit him to surrender, but who knew that this blue-eyed thief would agree to surrender on the surface but secretly choose to stab him in the back. He is truly a despicable person."

"Not only that, I also heard that he had his soldiers disguised as civilians and merchants to cross the Yangtze River and attack Cao Cao!"

"What? No wonder my uncle was arrested by Cao as a spy when he went to Yangzhou for business some time ago. It turned out to be because of this damn blue-eyed thief!"

"A bunch of rats! Shameless villains!"

The people cursed Sun Quan and others, especially after they learned that Sun Quan pretended to surrender and used the despicable method of crossing the river in white clothes, the people were even more excited.

Many people threw stones and filth at the prison van.

If it weren't for the soldiers on both sides stopping it, the prison cart would have been submerged by the objects thrown from all directions.

In the prison car, Sun Quan's face turned ashen.

Being locked in a prison van like a monkey, being watched, scolded, and ridiculed, this feeling was even more painful than killing him, it was extremely humiliating!

But even so, he didn't dare to commit suicide.

It’s not that he was afraid of death, but he had committed the crime of treason and was now a prisoner. If he committed suicide, the emperor would surely vent his anger on his family.

If he doesn't want the Sun family to suffer the same fate as the Yuan family, where the entire clan was exterminated, he must take the initiative to step forward and bear all the blame, so he cannot die before being convicted by the emperor.

"It's all for the family."

Sun Quan clenched his teeth, closed his eyes and endured it silently.

At the front of the prisoner car team, Zhang Liao was riding on a tall horse, enjoying the welcome and praise of the people, with a smile on his face that he couldn't suppress.

In the past, only Lu Bu could enjoy such treatment, but now he finally experienced the feeling of being the center of attention.

I have to say it feels really good.

"I heard that His Majesty has called back all the generals at the front. I wonder if Fengxian has returned to Yecheng... Hmm?"

As soon as this thought flashed through Zhang Liao's mind, he saw a group of people in front of the road. On the upright flag was written the word "Lu" in black letters on a white background!
Lu Bu’s team is actually returning to the city today!
Zhang Liao was stunned at first, then he became excited in an instant, and said to Huang Zhong and Qu Yi beside him: "You continue to escort the traitor, I will go over to say hello to Lord Wen first!"

After saying this, he rode his horse to catch up, and before he even reached him, he shouted from afar: "Fengxian, Fengxian——!"

In the front team.

Lu Bu was smiling and waving to the people on both sides of the official road. When he heard the familiar voice coming from behind him, his body was suddenly shocked.

"Why is Zhang Wenyuan coming back to the city today too?!"

Lu Bu secretly groaned in his heart. Of course he knew that it was Zhang Liao's voice, but he didn't expect to meet him on the road by such a coincidence.

No wonder so many people came to welcome us today.

It turned out that they were not here to greet him!
Zhao Yun looked back after hearing the voice and said to Lu Bu, "Lord Wen, General Wenyuan is right behind us. Should we wait for him?"

"You're wrong, that's not Zhang Wenyuan."

Lu Bu flatly rejected Zhao Yun's proposal, and then said calmly: "I suddenly feel a little urgent, so I will go into the city first. Zilong, you guys go slowly."

After saying that, he squeezed the horse's belly and sped up.

Zhao Yun couldn't help feeling confused when he heard this. Lu Bu didn't even look back, so how did he know that the person behind him was not Zhang Liao?
When Zhang Liao saw that Lu Bu had left the team and quickened his pace to enter the city, he thought that Lu Bu did not hear his shouts because of the noisy crowd, so he raised his voice.

"Fengxian, slow down, wait for me!"

It would have been better if he hadn't said this. After he said it, Lu Bu ran even faster, and the whip almost left an afterimage on the Red Hare's butt.

Zhang Liao then reacted and realized that Lu Bu did not fail to hear his call, but was deliberately avoiding him!
"Humph! Don't even think about escaping!"

Zhang Liao snorted coldly and also quickened his pace. The two of them chased each other on the official road and rushed all the way into Yecheng.

They didn't stop until they reached the gate of the imperial palace.

Seeing that there was no way out, Lu Bu had to rein in his horse and stopped. He turned around and pointed his whip at Zhang Liao and shouted angrily: "Zhang Wenyuan! Why do you keep following me?"

Zhang Liao glared and said, "Should I be the one asking you why you ran away? Are you so afraid of seeing me?"

"You fart!"

Lu Bu angrily retorted, "I'm just rushing to the palace to see His Majesty. Would I be afraid to see you? Don't flatter yourself!"

Zhang Liao sneered at this and said, "Don't talk about these useless things. Do you still remember the bet we made before the war?"

When this matter was mentioned, Lu Bu's expression suddenly froze.

Then he frowned and said unhappily, "What's the point of gambling? I hate gambling the most in my life. Why would I bet with you?"

Zhang Liao was immediately furious and cursed, "You are so good, Lü Fengxian! You, a fellow with thick eyebrows and big eyes, have actually learned to default on your debts!"

"I won the battle of Xuzhou faster than you did. I defeated Sun Quan's 30,000 men with only 800 men. How can you compare with me?"

"If you dare to default on your debt, I will make this matter public and let everyone know that you, Lu Fengxian, are a man who does not keep his word!"

"Hurry up, admit defeat!"

He had made a bet with Lu Bu before, the content of the bet was to see who could defeat their respective targets the fastest and who would gain greater military merit during this expedition to the south.

Whoever loses must admit in front of all the civil and military officials that he is inferior to the other and say that the other is the best general in the world.

"I don't agree!"

Lu Bu's face flushed red, and he cursed, "If Cao thief doesn't fight me, what can I do? Can I conjure up military exploits out of thin air?"

"And Sun Quan, you have the nerve to brag about defeating that kind of rat? I can do that too!"

"This time doesn't count, let's compete again next time!"

Seeing that Lü Bu was still being stubborn, Zhang Liao also became angry and directly poked his pain point: "What do you mean Cao thief didn't fight you? Do you think I don't know?"

"You were blocked by Cao's Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation for a full half month. In the end, it was His Majesty who sent Zilong and Kongming to help you break the formation!"

"How dare you say it's not true?" These words directly exposed Lu Bu's shortcomings, leaving him unable to refute, and his momentum instantly weakened by Zhang Liao.

Seeing that Lu Bu remained silent, Zhang Liao took advantage of the situation and said, "There is also the Blue-Eyed Bandit. You said he is not as hard to defeat as Cao Cao, and I don't deny it, but you can't say anything about my 800 defeating 30,000?"

"You only defeated Sun Ce's 10,000 cavalrymen with 1,000 cavalrymen. Isn't my record better than yours?"

"Is it so difficult to admit that I'm brave?"

Zhang Liao was a reasonable man, and in order to convince Lu Bu, he explained everything to him one by one.

After a moment's silence, Lu Bu covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes, pretending not to hear, see or hear anything.

“Lu Bu——!”

Zhang Liao was so angry that he called out Lu Bu's name.

At this moment, a light laugh suddenly came.

Zhang Liao looked over when he heard the voice and was startled. He quickly dismounted and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

It was only at the main gate of the palace.

Liu Xie had arrived here at some point and was sitting on the dragon chariot, looking at the two of them with a smile on his face, with civil and military officials following behind him.

Zhang Liao saw that Lü Bu was still sitting on his horse, so he stepped forward and pulled him, scolding him, "Your Majesty is here, why don't you dismount and pay homage!"

Lu Bu just thought Zhang Liao was bluffing him.

Still sitting on the horse motionless.

This scene made everyone present burst into laughter. Even Liu Xie laughed and said, "Does Lord Wen really not want to see me?"

When he heard Liu Xie's voice, Lu Bu opened his eyes instantly, and then he saw the emperor and the civil and military officials in front of him, and he was almost frightened off his horse.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Lu Bu quickly dismounted and paid homage.

Liu Xie said jokingly, "It seems that Lord Wen was seriously injured on the battlefield. He can no longer hear or see."

"Go and summon Imperial Physician Hua Tuo to treat Lord Wen's injuries."

All the ministers burst into laughter.

The scene was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

After the teasing, Liu Xie said: "I was originally planning to lead all the officials out of the city to welcome your triumphant return, but I didn't expect you two to enter the city first."

"If that's the case, then forget it. Let's go into the palace first."

Zhang Liao and Lu Bu responded respectfully.

Then Liu Xie took them and the civil and military officials back to Tai'an Palace. Not long after, Zhuge Liang and others also entered the palace.

in the hall.

Liu Xie looked at the civil officials and military officers gathered below and said with a smile: "My dear ministers, you have gone south to fight against the enemy and recovered Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou and several counties in Yangzhou, and have made great military achievements."

"With you all here, I will be able to rebuild the world and restore the Han Dynasty in no time. Even if there are many rebels, what do I have to fear?"

After the words fell, Sima Yi was the first to speak: "I have only made some small contributions. Your Majesty is wise and brave, and the people are united. This is the reason why we are victorious in every battle."

The words were spoken very beautifully.

The flattery is also done without leaving any trace.

Liu Xie did not comment, but first turned his gaze to Zhang Liao and praised him, "I have heard about Wenyuan's great victory in Yangzhou. He defeated 30,000 with only 800 men and captured the leader of the bandits alive. Wenyuan is truly a fierce general!"

"In this battle, we captured Sun Quan alive, took tens of thousands of prisoners, and recovered all the lost territory. This can be said to be a great achievement!"

"I promote you to the rank of General of the Southern Expedition and confer you the title of Marquis of Duxiang."

Zhang Liao's contribution this time was undoubtedly the first. This military achievement was enough to be promoted to the rank of General of Four Expeditions and at the same time be granted a title of nobility.

In fact, according to reason, he should have been granted the title of Tinghou first, but Liu Xie took into consideration Zhang Liao's contributions over such a long period of time, so he made an exception and granted him the title of Xianghou.

Zhang Liao was greatly surprised to hear the reward. He immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"

Four generals on the expedition, and the local marquis!
This is already a great honor to the family!
Liu Xie then said to Huang Zhong and Qu Yi: "General Huang accompanied Wen Yuan in the battle and captured the enemy, killing countless enemies; General Qu also made contributions in defending the city."

"Promote Huang Zhong to General Zhenwei and confer him the title of Grand Commander."

"Qu Yi was promoted to a higher rank and given the title of Guannei Hou."

Liu Xie rewarded the two men respectively. Huang Zhong was promoted to General Zhenwei overnight due to his military achievements, and was only one step away from the title of Marquis.

As for Qu Yi, although his military rank was not promoted, he successfully obtained the title of marquis.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"

Huang Zhong and Qu Yi knelt down to express their gratitude.

Qu Yi was fine, but Huang Zhong almost burst into tears.

It is very difficult for him to achieve military merit at his age.

He had never been able to gain any military merit before, but this time after risking his life he finally got a reward that satisfied him, so how could he not be excited?
After rewarding the Eastern Army, it was Lu Bu's Western Army's turn. The first to be rewarded were naturally Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang.

Liu Xie praised him: "Zilong is a man of courage and bravery. He charged in and out of Cao's army as if he were in an empty space, broke through the enemy's formation and killed the enemy generals. He was very impressive."

"I promote you to the rank of General of the Central Army and confer you the title of Grand Commander."

Zhao Yun actually had accumulated quite a lot of military merits, and this time he had made another contribution, so he deserved a reward.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Yun clasped his fists heavily and nodded in salute.

He had no obsession with rewards because most of the time he stayed by the emperor's side commanding the Tiger Guards and had few opportunities to go into battle.

"As for Kong Ming——"

Liu Xie's eyes fell on Zhuge Liang and he said with a smile, "Since Kong Ming has broken through the enemy's formation, he should be appointed as the Minister of the Left."

The Minister of the Left was in charge of financial and household registration matters.

A powerful official position in internal affairs.

In fact, Zhuge Liang's merits were not enough to qualify him for this position, but all the officials in the palace knew that this was the emperor's high regard for this new favorite.

Besides, Zhuge Liang did have merit in this incident, so no one would be stupid enough to jump out and sing against the emperor at this time.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."

Zhuge Liang's heart was filled with emotion and he bowed deeply.

Finally, I have the chance to show my talents.

The credit for the Western Route Army this time went to Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang. Lu Bu and Sima Yi did not contribute much, so Liu Xie only gave them a symbolic reward.

Wait until everyone has received their rewards.

The trial of the criminals will begin.

Liu Xie suppressed his smile and ordered coldly, "Bring those Jiangdong rebels to the palace!"

(End of this chapter)