Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 660 The Second Court
In Luoyang area, the first snow of this year fell a little early. Starting from last night, a large amount of snow slowly fell. The next morning, after everyone opened the doors and windows, they saw a white world. The streets, window frames, roofs, and tree branches were all covered with snow. Although it was not very thick, it still announced that the weather had entered the cold winter season.

There was no court meeting today, but Liu He still got up early as usual. A few days ago, Zhang Yu, who had just given birth to Liu Qian a year ago, was diagnosed with pregnancy again. There was a festive atmosphere inside and outside the palace. Even the Empress Dowager Xu, who was still in the recovery period, made a special trip to visit Zhang Yu with the help of her maid.

So for the past few days, Liu He has been spending the night in Diao Chan's palace. When it comes to supporting the husband and raising children, and being of one mind as husband and wife, Diao Chan and Zhang Yu are simply incomparable. But when it comes to sexual intercourse between men and women, Diao Chan is much better. Fortunately, Liu He is young and strong, otherwise it would be a bit difficult.

Liu He had just gotten up when a pair of beautiful arms came around him from behind and a lazy and charming voice came into his ears.

"There is no morning court today, Your Majesty, why do you have to get up so early? Go back to sleep for a while."

If any man heard this voice, it would be hard for him to resist. However, Liu He had gone through a lot of hardships to achieve his current success, so his character was naturally extraordinary.

He gently pushed Diao Chan's hands away: "The new dynasty has just been established and there are many things to do. I am the ruler of a country, how can I be greedy for comfort? You can continue to rest here."

With the help of his maid, Liu He put on the dragon robe and left the bedroom, leaving Diao Chan pouting and looking a little unhappy.

As usual, Xun Yu and his two companions arrived earlier than him.

“Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you.

"No need to be so polite. Tell me, what happened recently?"

Xun Yu said: "Many princes have replied to the imperial edict issued by the court, such as Ma Teng of Xiliang, Kong Rong of Beihai, Jiao He of Qingzhou, Tao Qian of Xuzhou, etc. They all said that they would set out to Luoyang to pay tribute after the beginning of next spring."

"Yeah." Liu He was not surprised by the reaction of this group of people.

"In addition, Liu Bei of Donglai, Gongsun Zan of Youzhou, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Sun Jian of Lujiang, Chen Wen of Yangzhou, Cao Cao of Yanzhou, Zhang Miao of Chenliu and others all said that they were busy with government affairs, there were bandits making trouble, or they were ill and could not travel far, and said that they would send envoys to send gifts and messages."

Liu He tapped his fingers on the table in front of him. Hearing this, he frowned: "Is that all? Are there some people missing?"

"That's right." Xun Yu replied, "The distance to Jiaozhou and other places in the far south may make it difficult for them to reply. As for Gongsun Du of Liaodong, he declared rebellion after Your Majesty granted his territory to Gongsun Zan, so he will naturally not reply. As for Liu Yan of Yizhou, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong, Han Sui, Ma Teng's sworn brother, and some governors who are not strong but born in local tyrants, they should have replied, but for some reason, there has been no news so far..."

Before he finished speaking, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside.

A soldier ran in quickly, knelt on the ground, holding a letter in his hand.

"Your Majesty, there is news from Yizhou..."

Liu He was cheered up: "Just when I mentioned him, he came. Wen Ruo, go and see what's going on."

Xun Yu walked over, took the letter, unfolded it, and just after taking a look at it, he looked extremely shocked.

Among these three counselors, Xun Yu had the most calm character. Liu He rarely saw him with such an expression, and he suddenly became curious about the words in the letter.

"What's wrong? What did the letter say?"

Xun Yu's lips and hands were trembling slightly. He wanted to say something, but seemed afraid to. He could only hold the letter above his head and walk in front of Liu He.

"Your Majesty, please read it..."

Liu He took the letter with full of doubts, but after reading the contents of the letter, he was not only shocked but also very angry.

"You are such a bold old man, Liu Yan. I respect him as an elder of the royal family, but he actually usurped the throne and established his own court. He even beheaded my envoy and displayed his head to the public. He deserves to be executed!"

Upon hearing this, Xun You and Cui Jun were also filled with disbelief. "How could Liu Yan be so bold?" Cui Jun questioned in surprise.

Liu He said angrily and disdainfully: "Humph, it is said that this old thief volunteered to go to this wild land because he heard that Yizhou had the aura of an emperor. The old thief is ambitious, and I have long suspected him, but I thought that he would not live long at such an old age, and coupled with my momentum of sweeping across the world, he would not dare to go against me. I didn't expect him to be so arrogant and bold!"

He threw the letter to the ground and stood up suddenly.

"Pass the order down. After the spring, send 200,000 troops to conquer Yizhou. I will personally chop off the head of this shameless old villain and make an example of him!"

"Your Majesty, wait!"

Xun You stood up.

Liu He looked at him and said, "Why did Gongda stop me? Shouldn't this thief be killed?"

Xun You replied, "No, Liu Yan openly usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. For such a crime, even slow slicing to death would not be excessive."

"Then why did you stop me?" Liu He's voice was still filled with anger.

"As Your Majesty said, Liu Yan is just a dying man. Moreover, with the strength of Yizhou, let alone confronting the entire court, he is also a middle-to-low-level person among the many princes in the world. Compared with Xuzhou, he is probably not as good as him. And his son Liu Zhang has always been a weak character. How could he have such ambitions?"

After he said this, Liu He calmed down a little.

"Gongda, could it be that... Liu Yan was instigated by someone?"

"Yes, that must be the case." Xun You said firmly.

Liu He sat down again: "Who is behind this, and what is his intention?"

Xun You stepped forward and said, "The person behind the scenes must be among the many princes, and he must be one of those who pretend to obey the lord, or even several of them. As for the purpose, it is clear that they dare not be the enemy of Your Majesty, and they are afraid of being harmed by Your Majesty, so they instigate the ambitious Liu Yan to set up another court. In this way, Your Majesty will have to use most of his energy to deal with Liu Yan's rebellion in order to rectify the world. The other princes will have enough time to recuperate and expand their strength. After Your Majesty and Liu Yan are both defeated, they will wait for an opportunity to act and reap the benefits."

Liu He's eyebrows almost stood up: "Why does this strategy sound familiar?"

Xun You said, "Your Majesty, this plan is very similar to the plan that was used to instigate Yuan Shu and other ministers to oppose Your Majesty."

"Hmm? Cao Cao? Ah, yes, it must be him!"

Liu He slammed the table and spoke with gritted teeth.

Unexpectedly, Xun You shook his head and said, "It may not be him. Or, he may be just one of the masterminds. It is still unknown. But this matter is not important, because even if Your Majesty knows that it was Cao Cao who did it, what can he do?"

Liu He was a little stunned by his question.

"This……"

Yes, what can I do? Although Cao Cao replied that he would not come to Luoyang, he explained the reason and swore allegiance to me. Would I ignore Liu Yan, who had already openly rebelled, and deal with Cao Cao, a "loyal minister of the Han Dynasty"? How would the world view me?

"What a good plan! It is both a conspiracy and an open one. It is well planned. Even if I guess the person behind the scenes, I can't do anything to him. Good, very good!"

When Liu He said this, his voice became colder and colder, and Xun You and the other two standing beside him all felt a chill.

(End of this chapter)