Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 492 Taking advantage of the topic
The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the cicadas in the backyard of the General's Mansion were chirping more and more frequently and louder and louder. Every day, a group of servants took sticky poles and net bags to catch cicadas in the yard.

Liu He, Xun Yu and Cui Jun all got up early and gathered in the study to discuss government affairs before the court meeting.

However, it was unusually hot in the early morning. The rising sun was extremely scorching, and there was not a single breeze. The leaves outside the window did not move at all. Every once in a while, the three of them began to feel a little bit of heat rising up.

Among the three, Liu He approved memorials the fastest. Unconsciously, sweat began to appear on his forehead. He did not notice it until a drop of sweat fell on the bamboo slips. Then he took the towel, wiped it, and continued to work.

Xun Yu frowned slightly when he saw this, beckoned a maid and said softly, "Go, bring a bowl of iced mung bean soup to the general."

Originally it was an ordinary thing. Iced mung bean soup was a summer heat reliever for the royal family, ordinary middle-class families, and even businessmen with a little wealth. However, the maid looked embarrassed.

"Hmm? What's wrong? Why don't you go now?"

The maid looked at Liu He and replied to Xun Yu cautiously, "Reporting to the Chief Secretary, the general had already instructed when he first came to Luoyang that except for the three elders in the mansion and the general's wife, no one else should easily use ice in summer..."

Xun Yu was a little surprised: "Oh? There is such a thing?"

After all, he joined Liu He a little late, so he didn't know about this.

At this time, Liu He also noticed the movement here and looked up.

"Is there something wrong with Wen Ruo?"

Xun Yu quickly stood up.

"My lord, I saw that you were sweating a lot, so I wanted to order someone to bring you a bowl of iced mung bean soup to cool you down. But the maid said that my lord had ordered that no one except the elders and the wife could use ice to cool down, so I was a little surprised."

"So it's about this matter. Wen Ruo only came here last year, so it's normal that he doesn't know about this matter."

Liu He put down his pen and looked at Xun Yu with a smile.

"It takes too much manpower and money to cut ice in winter and store it for use today. We should just put up with it unless it's absolutely necessary."

He turned to the maid and ordered, "Go, get three towels, and have someone fetch three buckets of well water."

The maid was ordered to retreat.

"Zhou Ping, Wen Ruo, please bear with me and suffer for a while."

Cui Jun came out and said with a smile: "Wenruo, this well water is very cool. My lord, I, and generals like Yunchang have relied on it to cool down over the years. You can try it too."

After a while, the servants came over with three towels and three buckets of well water.

Xun Yu put his hand into one of the buckets of well water, and suddenly a cool feeling spread along his arm and throughout his body, making him feel indescribably comfortable.

"This well water is cool and refreshing. When I was at home, I often used it to wash my face and bathe in the summer. It also had a refreshing effect. But I didn't expect that my lord, a great general, would be so frugal. When I think of my past extravagance, I feel guilty."

Liu He wet the towel, wrung out the water, and put it on his forehead. He felt so comfortable that he almost moaned.

"It's just a minor matter, Wenruo, don't blame yourself. By the way, according to the date, fourth brother should be back by now."

Liu He received Zhang Yong's battle report more than ten days ago, saying that he had won a great victory in Xiliang and had returned to the capital. The road to Xiliang was long, and most of the official roads had been damaged due to war and years of disrepair. In addition, his army was mainly composed of infantry, so the march was naturally much slower. However, they should reach Luoyang in the next two days.

"Well, my lord, your calculation is correct. Logically speaking..."

Cui Jun was about to speak when suddenly someone ran in from outside.

"Reporting to the general, Generals Zhang Yong and Zhu Ye have led their troops back to the city in triumph. They are now waiting for an audience outside the palace."

Liu He was overjoyed.

"Oh? That's great. They must have traveled day and night to get back to Luoyang so early today."

He said to Xun Yu and Cui Jun, "Let's go out and greet them."

Xun Yu looked at the sundial outside.

"It's almost time. In my opinion, you should go out and take the two generals to the court. We can talk again after the court meeting is over."

Liu He looked at the time and nodded.

"Well, that's fine too."

Liu He quickly changed into court robes, then strode out of the house. As expected, he saw Zhang Yong and Zhu Ye standing outside the house.

The three of them were overjoyed.

"Brother, I am going to Xiliang..."

Zhang Yong was about to report something when Liu He interrupted him.

"Oh, my two brothers, don't worry. We will discuss the expedition later. It is time to go to court. You two brothers should follow me to the palace. It is a good opportunity to request the reward for this battle."

Zhu Ye seemed extremely excited.

"Okay, okay. After we entered Luoyang, my brothers and I spent most of our time training and inspecting troops outside. It's a rare opportunity to attend court, so today is a good opportunity to see it."

"Haha, in that case, let's go together."

The three of them mounted their horses and ran towards the palace together.

Just as he arrived at the palace gate for the court meeting, Zhu Ye suddenly held his stomach and cried.

"Oh, brother, my stomach hurts, I have to go to the bathroom."

Liu He looked at him angrily: "You are such a lazy person, go and come back soon." "Okay."

Zhu Ye ran away very quickly, but just after turning a corner, he bumped into someone. Zhu Ye was not hurt, but the person opposite him fell to the ground.

"Ouch, that hurts..."

Zhu Ye listened to the man's voice, which sounded a bit shrill. He looked carefully and found that it was a eunuch who looked to be in his twenties at most, with a pale face and thin body. No wonder he didn't feel much force when he bumped into him just now.

Although the eunuch did not recognize Zhu Ye, Zhu Ye was wearing a military officer's court dress and had a sturdy figure. In addition, it was the time for court attendance. Even a dumb person could guess that Zhu Ye was a high-ranking military officer who was about to attend court. This immediately frightened the eunuch's yellow face pale.

"This slave deserves to die, this slave deserves to die..."

He was just a small eunuch with no power or influence. To such a big shot, he was no different from an ant at his feet. Every now and then, a small eunuch would be beaten to death in the palace for offending some big shot.

The eunuch was just kowtowing and waiting for his punishment in fear and trepidation, when he suddenly felt himself being lifted up by something.

"Haha, you little eunuch, you walked so carelessly that you almost knocked out the dirty things in my stomach. I would be embarrassed in front of my brother. Stand still and do what you need to do."

The eunuch looked at Zhu Ye who was smiling carelessly and felt puzzled.

"General, you...will not punish me?"

"Hey, you didn't do anything wrong. I was rushing to the toilet and I bumped into you. I should apologize. Why punish you? You are really interesting. What's your name? You have been in the palace for several years, but why are you still so stupid?"

When the eunuch saw that the general was not going to kill him, he was as happy as if he had saved his life.

"General, I am Gong San'er, eighteen years old this year. Half a year ago, my family suffered a disaster and both my parents died. I only have a nine-year-old brother left. The eldest brother is like a father, so I have no choice but to enter the palace. Although it is hard, I can at least support my two brothers."

After he said this, Zhu Ye looked at him with a new respect.

"I can't tell, you are quite loyal. My elder brother always says that in life, one should be filial, respectful, loyal, honest, righteous, and have a sense of honor. You are very good at being filial and respectful. I like you. Here, this is a reward for you. Go buy some delicious food for your younger brother."

Zhu Ye took out a purse from his arms and threw it to Gong Saner.

The purse was very light in his hand, but in Gong Saner's hand, it was so heavy that he staggered.

"Ah... so much money..."

He looked at the purse which contained at least one hundred dollars, and was surprised and delighted, and he was filled with gratitude towards Zhu Ye.

"Thank you very much, General. I kowtow to you."

"Hey, it's not a big deal, it's worth... oh... I won't say anymore, I have to poop..."

Zhu Ye left him behind and ran towards the toilet, skipping and jumping.

Gong Saner looked at his back, squeezed his purse, knelt down and kowtowed nine times very solemnly, then stood up and trotted away.

At the court meeting, civil and military officials stood on both sides.

The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, the Chief of the Guards, the Prefect of Henan, the Prefect of Jingzhao, the Left Fengyi, the Right Fufeng, and military officers above the rank of General of the Household and above were all in the palace.

The Luoyang Magistrate, the subordinates of the Nine Ministers, the military officers at the level of colonel, and some officials of medium rank in Luoyang city could only stand outside the palace and serve.

In addition to being the General of the Left, Guan Yu also served as the Colonel of the Imperial Guards, but he was summoned by Liu He to Shangdang for the past few days, so he did not appear at the court meeting. Ye Xiang and Gao Shun were both colonels, and they were supposed to be guarding outside the palace, but Gao Shun was on his way back from Beidi County, and Ye Xiang had not returned from an inspection at Hulao Pass.

Therefore, behind Liu He in the hall were Taiwei Yang Biao, Left Cavalry General Lu Zhi, Right Cavalry General Zhu Jun, and Huangfu Song, who was recently recalled from his hometown by Liu He to serve as General of the Cavalry, and then Right Lieutenant General Zhang Yong. As for Zhu Ye, he was now a captain of the Tiger Guards and could only kneel outside the palace.

"If there is something to report, report it early. If there is nothing to report, dismiss the court..."

"I have something to report."

Liu He came out holding a board in his hand.

"This time, I led the generals to the battle and successfully repelled the Qiang people, wiped out the main force of the Xianbei Kebineng tribe, and killed the Xiongnu Zuoxian King. I have drawn up a list of meritorious people and would like to present it to Your Majesty for your review. Please reward them as appropriate."

Emperor Xian was very impatient and seemed like he was about to explode at any moment, but Chen Ji below him secretly gave him a warning, and Emperor Xian barely managed to hold back his temper.

"Send it over."

The eunuch beside him walked over and took the list from Liu He's hand.

After Emperor Xian unfolded it, he barely took a glance at it before he said, "So many people? Just a few waves of Hu people causing chaos, can they produce more than a hundred meritorious men?"

When Liu He heard this, his brows immediately furrowed. Emperor Xian's attitude was a bit strange. He never asked about these things in the past.

"Your Majesty, the enemy's force was so great this time, and it was only thanks to the dedication and bravery of the soldiers that we were able to achieve this great victory. Why do you say this, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Xian was somewhat reluctant, but he did not continue to refute and approved the list of rewards requested by Liu He.

"I thank Your Majesty on behalf of the soldiers. In addition..."

Liu He was just about to report Yuan Shao's collusion with the Black Mountain Army and the Hu people, and was preparing to request an imperial edict and then send a full-scale army to capture Jizhou, but Wei Ji suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, I also have a report to make."

His words attracted almost all the attention in the court.

When Liu He saw that it was him who was going to make a memorial, he felt something was wrong.

(End of this chapter)