I felt dizzy, my eyes were swollen and painful, and it was another very restless night.
After Dong Cheng barely supported himself and climbed out of bed, he couldn't help but reveal a wry smile, "These past two days have been like a year!"
When will the emperor's edict arrive, and in what way will it arrive? This is what Dong Cheng is most worried and nervous about.
"Today the emperor is worshiping his ancestors, I should go to the Ancestral Temple as soon as possible..."
Although he was full of worries, there were still very important things to do today, so Dong Cheng had to get up early and prepare to dress up and go out.
The emperor became increasingly wary of Cao Cao. After Liu Bei entered Xuchang, the emperor did not hesitate to use his royal status to win over Liu Bei. His guard against Cao Cao was almost obvious.
The emperor acted like this because, in the final analysis, he was unwilling to be a puppet anymore.
In his eyes, whether it was Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, who treated him badly, or Cao Cao, who was much gentler and almost obeyed his words, they were just powerful officials of a generation.
With Cao Cao's current situation and power, in just ten years, he can replace Liu if he wants.
In a few decades, even if they don't want to, their descendants will take their place. This is forced by the situation and dictated by the trajectory of development.
Therefore, in the eyes of the emperor, whether it is Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, or Yuan Shao in the north, there is actually no essential difference between them.
But throughout the Han dynasty, no powerful official would end well.
There were Huo Guang and Wang Mang in the front, and Dong Zhuo and Li Jue in the back. What was the result? They all suffered a bad death, or even the whole family was wiped out. So Liu Xie believed that he could still use the help of others to eradicate Cao Cao this time.
This powerful minister!
In Liu Xie's mind, the most reliable ones are naturally his own family members, such as Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Zhang of Yizhou. However, these people are not very fond of Liu Xie. After all, Liu Xie was founded by Dong Zhuo.
Liu Xie secretly wrote many letters to Liu Biao and others, but all of them fell into the sea and there was no news.
In desperation, Liu Xie finally had no choice but to place his hopes on the people around him and the "uncle emperor" Liu Bei who didn't know the truth.
...
Ancestral Temple, inside the Gongchen Pavilion.
After the emperor burned incense and performed the ceremony, he summoned Dong Cheng.
After Dong Cheng entered, he found that the emperor was observing the portrait, and the figure in the middle was Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty.
"Greetings to Your Majesty!" Dong Cheng bowed and saluted.
Liu Xie turned his back to Dong Zhuo. He really wanted to tell Dong Cheng some secret that he couldn't tell...but he felt that if he really told it, Cao Cao's people might come out of nowhere.
Da Li rushed out and hacked him and Dong Cheng to death...
Dong Cheng knew what Emperor Xian wanted to say, but he knew even more that the emperor had no chance to speak.
The palace was full of Cao Cao's people, especially when Dong Cheng was meeting the emperor. There were probably many people outside who were squatting in the corners and eavesdropping.
Emperor Xian Liu Xie has never enjoyed the treatment that matches an emperor since he came to power. Instead, he has to worry every day. Although he has been extremely smart since he was a child, until now he is only a sixteen-year-old boy.
After countless hardships, although Liu Xie had a precocious temperament and was cultivated to a certain extent, facing the wily Cao Cao and the cheating Lu Yan, it was really difficult for him to do big things.
The emperor, who had his back to Dong Cheng, pondered for a moment and suddenly asked: "General Chariot and Cavalry, let me ask you, where did Emperor Gaozu start? How did he achieve great achievements?"
Although Dong Cheng was puzzled, he replied without hesitation: "Emperor Gao started as the pavilion chief in Sishang, killed the White Snake in the uprising, destroyed Qin in three years, destroyed Chu in five years, and established the foundation of the Han Dynasty for eternity."
The emperor nodded, and then suddenly sighed: "When I fled from Chang'an to Luoyang, I relied on the chariot and cavalry generals to protect me all the way."
Upon hearing this, Dong Cheng bowed his hands and said: "I only regret my lack of ability, otherwise I would not have put Your Majesty in trouble..."
Dong Cheng did not dare to say any more, and the emperor seemed to be sure of Dong Cheng's loyalty. He finally turned around and said with a smile: "My great ancestor has Zhang Liang and Xiao He, and I also have Dong Cheng!"
Dong Cheng was frightened, and he knelt down and said, "I have no merit, and I dare not be praised by His Majesty!"
The emperor walked towards Dong Cheng, took off the jade belt from his waist, handed it to Dong Cheng, and said: "I have nothing else with me now...only this jade belt, I never leave my body, I love it very much. Today I
Then I gave it to the general of the chariot and cavalry. When the general wears this belt, he will be by my side."
"How can I be so virtuous as a gift from the Emperor?" Dong Cheng was shocked and quickly knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to accept it.
Liu Xie stretched out his hand, pulled Dong Cheng up, put the jade belt in his hand, and said slowly: "After you return, I can take a closer look at it. I hope you will not disappoint me!!"
Dong Cheng looked at Liu Xie's expression and chewed on the words that seemed to have a deeper meaning. He suddenly understood.
After understanding Liu Xie's intentions, Dong Cheng pretended to shirk again, and finally "reluctantly" accepted the jade belt given by the emperor.
After chatting for a few more words, Dong Cheng stood up and left to go home.
Before he could walk out of the gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Cao Cao suddenly appeared and stopped Dong Cheng.
The moment Dong Cheng saw Cao Cao, he was so startled that his heart skipped a beat!
However, he quickly calmed down, bowed to Cao Cao and said, "I have met the Prime Minister!"
Cao Cao nodded, and then asked with a smile: "General Chariot and Cavalry, did you just meet the Emperor?"
"Yes...the emperor also rewarded me with a jade belt."
Dong Cheng explained honestly, but it was not that he didn't know that this jade belt was special, he just wanted to use his calmness to dispel Cao Cao's doubts.
Lao Cao watched Dong Cheng reveal the jade belt tied around his waist, and watched him pretending to show off to himself while trying to be calm, but with a guilty conscience, he couldn't help but said with joy in his heart: "I can recite everything in here.
.Let you continue to pretend, hahaha!"
Although he was laughing so hard in his heart, Cao Cao didn't show anything wrong at all on his face.
He even showed a suspicious expression and asked Dong Cheng to take off the jade belt and show him a closer look.
Dong Cheng agreed happily. He took off the jade belt from his waist and handed it to Cao Cao with both hands.
Cao Cao picked up the jade belt and pretended to look around and knead it for a while... It seemed that he really felt that there was nothing strange about it, so he tied it around his waist and asked: "How about it? Does Cao have a chariot-riding general on his belt?"
Noble?"
The corners of Dong Cheng's mouth twitched slightly and he replied: "How can the lower official be compared with the prime minister? If the prime minister likes it, the lower official can ask the emperor to give this thing to the prime minister!"
"Give it to me? Then our general's plan will be in vain?" Cao Cao smiled secretly in his heart, but said: "A gentleman does not take away the beauty of others... Generals of chariots and cavalry should cherish it themselves!"
Cao Cao took off the jade belt and handed it back to Dong Cheng.
Dong Cheng's heart finally fell to the ground, he took the jade belt, smiled slightly, and tied it around his waist again.
"If there is nothing else, I will resign here!" Dong Cheng said to Cao Cao with his hands in hand.
"Go for it!"
"Farewell!"
Dong Cheng resisted the urge to run away and walked towards the door with normal steps.
"Wait!"
However, Cao Cao almost frightened Dong Cheng's three souls out of his wits!
After swallowing his saliva, Dong Cheng turned around and saluted: "Do you have any other instructions, Prime Minister?"
"Don't forget, we have a hunt in a few days, go back and get ready!" Cao Cao ordered with a teasing smile on his lips.
Dong Cheng took a deep breath and replied: "Thank you, Prime Minister, for reminding me. I will prepare well when I get back!"