Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 616: Another Kind of Forced Palace
The emperor's palace was located in Jinyang city, just one street away from the general's mansion. Liu He left home and arrived there in no time.

The guards at the gate of the palace were all his men, so the passage was naturally smooth. Soon, under the leadership of Gong Saner, they arrived at a large hall.

Sure enough, Emperor Liu Xie was sitting on the throne, surrounded by Yang Biao, Wang Yun, Cui Lie, Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun, Zhong Yao and others, who were divided into two groups. As soon as he walked in, everyone's eyes turned to him instantly.

Liu He could clearly see the expectation and joy in these people's eyes, which made him even more confused.

"Your Majesty, I, Liu He, pay my respects to you."

"Uncle, there is no need to be so polite. Please stand up quickly." The childish voice of Emperor Xian came. Liu He stood up and looked at the ministers around him.

"I wonder if your Majesty has urgently summoned me here, but what important matter do you want to discuss?"

Emperor Xian did not answer immediately, but secretly looked at Yang Biao, Wang Yun and others. The two of them smiled and nodded to him. He swallowed and then spoke.

"I know that my uncle has made great contributions to the conquest of Jizhou and has spent a lot of energy to establish Yunhai County. His achievements are comparable to those of Emperor Xiaowu. I have specially invited him to the palace to reward him."

When Liu He heard that it was this matter, he replied, "Your Majesty, you are overpraising me. Emperor Xiaowu drove the Xiongnu to the North Sea and conferred honors on Langxu, bringing peace to the world and making the four directions pay tribute to him. Now, within our Han territory, the princes have risen up. Although Yuan Shao has been destroyed, there are still people like Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Gongsun Zan, and Liu Biao. They openly respect the court but secretly despise it, and pretend to obey it but secretly disobey it. How can I, a minister, dare to compare myself with Emperor Wu?"

"As for rewards, there is no need for them. Your Majesty has granted me the right to enter the court without bowing, to praise without naming, and to wear a sword and shoes when entering the palace. As a general of the current dynasty, I hold the highest position among all officials, and I am honored and favored by no one in the world. I have nothing more to ask for, but I hope to wipe out the bandits as soon as possible and reunite the country, so as to live up to Your Majesty's expectations and the heavy responsibility entrusted to me by the late emperor."

At this time, Wang Yun stood up and said, "General, you are too modest. General, you killed the Yellow Turbans in Shangdang, defeated the Xianbei in Yanmen, killed the Xiongnu in Xitao, and killed Yuan Shao in Jizhou. You also suppressed the bandits, expanded the territory, encouraged agriculture, and promoted commerce, which led to the prosperity of the country and the well-being of the people. Your civil governance is like that of Emperors Wen and Jing, Emperors Zhao and Xuan, and your military achievements are like those of Emperors Wu and Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty. Now you have the lands of Ji, Bing, and Si, a million soldiers, and thousands of good generals. I think it only took a few years to bring order to the country."

"Wang Situ, you..."

Liu He was about to make some polite excuses when Huangfu Song also stood up.

"What Si Tu said is very true. When Shangdang was fighting the Yellow Turbans, I knew that the general was a rare talent. With the general leading all the officials, the restoration of the Han Dynasty and its former glory is just around the corner."

"Yes, after the Emperor's uncle was promoted to the general, he made many contributions, but he has never been rewarded. Now that Your Majesty is wise, the general does not need to retreat."

Zhu Jun also spoke.

Liu He looked at them. These ministers suddenly gathered together today. It couldn't be that they came here just to flatter him, right? This made him extremely confused and he had no idea at all.

"Since it is Your Majesty's gift, I would like to thank you first. I wonder what reward Your Majesty has for me? I was able to defeat Yuan Shao only because of the unity of all the soldiers. If Your Majesty has any reward, why not reward the soldiers first? What do you think?"

Emperor Xian looked delighted and said hastily, "That's right. I have rewards for all the generals. Please ask the Grand Commandant to read them out for me."

"I obey your order." Yang Biao took two steps forward, took the imperial edict, and stood not far in front of Liu He.

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, declares: The General has led the troops to fight in all directions, and has made outstanding contributions. He has suppressed rebellions at home and expanded the territory abroad. All the generals under his command have obeyed his orders and are loyal and brave. I hereby promote Guan Yu to General of Cavalry and confer him the title of Marquis of Yangting."

"Appoint Cheng Liang as General Fenwei and confer him the title of Marquis of Yongting."

"Promote Zhang Yong to the rank of General Zhechong and confer him the title of Marquis of Hanting."

"Promote Zhu Ye to General Hu Ben and confer him the title of Marquis of Wanyang Pavilion."

"Appoint Ye Xiang as General Yangwei and confer him the title of Marquis of Yongting."

"Promote Gao Shun to the rank of General Suppressing Bandits and confer him the title of Marquis of Anzhengting."

"Appoint Zhang Liao as the cavalry captain."

"Appoint Zhao Yun as..."

The imperial edict took a long time to read. There were more than 20 to 30 people on the list of people who were rewarded, including generals such as Qin Chu, Yan Quan, Qian Ning, Xu Huang, Zhao Yun, Wang Han, Deng Yuan, etc., who were all promoted, and counselors such as Xun Yu, Xun You, Cui Jun, etc., were also given the title of Tinghou. It can be said that all aspects were taken care of.

"On behalf of all the soldiers, I would like to thank Your Majesty for his grace."

Liu He was thinking in his heart that this time the reward from Emperor Xian was quite generous. Guan Yu and six others were given official titles of generals. From now on they would be General Guan and General Cheng. He didn't know what kind of reward he would get. After thinking about it, it was probably just a promotion to the rank of Grand Marshal.

As he was thinking this, Emperor Xian suddenly spoke up: "Uncle, please come up and have a chat."

"Hmm? What?" Liu He's thoughts were interrupted. When he heard that he had to go up, he was a little confused. Yang Biao smiled and reminded him, "Your Majesty summoned the general to come forward to talk, so the general just goes."

Liu He looked at his smile and felt that there was a deep meaning in it, but Emperor Xian was already urging him.

"Uncle, come up quickly."

Liu He could only obey: "Yes."

He took a step and walked to the steps in front of Emperor Xian, then went up the steps and came to the throne where Emperor Xian sat.

"I wonder what your Majesty's orders are?"

The little boy, Emperor Xian, suddenly grinned, then jumped off the dragon throne and grabbed Liu He's hand.

"Uncle, please sit down."

"Oh, sit... huh? Huh? What? Where to sit?"

Liu He was so frightened by these three short words that he shuddered all over.

"Your Majesty, please don't make such a joke. This is the throne of the emperor. How can a minister overstep his authority? This kind of thing that disrupts etiquette is absolutely unacceptable."

He retreated quickly, but found that his escape route had been blocked by Yang Biao and others.

“You guys… this…”

He seemed to have understood why he was summoned here with such great fanfare today.

Emperor Xian looked innocent: "Uncle, have you forgotten what I said to you when we retreated from Luoyang that day?"

Liu He remembered it after he was reminded. He had just evacuated Luoyang at night that day, and the army was stationed in Henei. He brought Emperor Xian and many ministers to Jinyang and announced that Jinyang would be the temporary secondary capital. Gong Saner came to report that the emperor was ill and urgently summoned him to go.

That day, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty lost the last bit of his dignity and threw himself into the arms of his uncle. He was in great pain and expressed all his grievances, completely becoming a child complaining to his elders.

He kept repeating the same sentence: "I don't want to be the emperor anymore, I don't want to be the emperor anymore..."

Now that Emperor Xian brought up the old matter again, Liu He felt something was wrong.

As expected, Emperor Xian held his hand with an aggrieved expression, "That day I asked my uncle to replace me as the emperor. My uncle promised that he would consider this matter after the northern territories were stabilized and the war had a break. Now Jizhou has been settled and Yunhai County is about to be built. Shouldn't my uncle also fulfill his promise? I will abdicate the throne to you immediately. I often hear the eunuchs in the palace mention that Yanmen is extremely prosperous and Yinguan City is like Luoyang. In the north of Yanmen, there are thousands of miles of grasslands, which are endless. I have longed for it for a long time. After my uncle ascends the throne, he will give me the title of Yanmen, and I will raise horses for my Han Dynasty court. How about it?"

Liu He was troubled by what he said. Emperor Xian did mention this matter that night, but he had no choice but to find an excuse to shirk it. He didn't expect that he took it seriously.
"But...but the matter of abdication is of great importance. How can it be treated as a joke? We should discuss this matter later."

It's not that he hadn't thought about becoming an emperor, but it happened so suddenly that he was at a loss. Moreover, ascending the throne would have a huge impact on him. Whether it would be good or bad for him now, he had to think clearly before making a decision.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, Yang Biao and others said in unison: "It is for this reason that Your Majesty has specially summoned us to discuss together. We, the ministers, have already agreed that the general is the direct descendant of Emperor Guangwu. In terms of bloodline, character, qualifications, and reputation in the court and the public, he is qualified for the position. As long as the general nods his approval, we will immediately select an auspicious day, build the Fengshan platform, and announce it to the world."

"No, no, this is too hasty. Besides, Youzhou and Qingzhou are not settled yet, and Luoyang is still in the hands of the traitor Yuan Shu. Let's discuss this matter later, later."

If I became the emperor without any warning, and if the heroes of the world used this as an excuse to attack me, no matter how strong I was, I would be unable to resist.

Liu He wanted to escape, but he was surrounded by ministers and could not get away.

"You are...Alas, why did you mislead me?"

Lu Zhi smiled and said, "Gongsun Bogui is my student. I don't know how brave and capable he is. As for Jiao He and Kong Rong of Qingzhou, they have always been loyal to the Han Dynasty and have had many contacts with the general. I have already sent a letter to them many days ago. This is the reply from Jiao and Kong respecting the general's claim to the throne. If the general still has doubts, I am willing to go to Youzhou alone to meet Gongsun Zan and bring him to Jinyang."

"As for Luoyang, it is not a threat at all. Even if Yuan Shu and Cao Cao join forces, they are no match for the general. Moreover, they are fighting endlessly. It won't take long for the general to send a general with 30,000 to 50,000 troops to pacify the city. Taking advantage of the situation, the court can also take back Yanzhou and Yuzhou under its control. It can be done easily. The general does not need to refuse."

"That's right. The emperor has great good intentions, and we wholeheartedly support him. General, please do not doubt it. Please ascend the throne as soon as possible!"

(End of this chapter)