Didn't I just hear a while ago that Yan Liang deposed Liu Xie as Shanyang Gong? How come there is information now that Liu Xie was harmed by Yan Liang again?
Liu Bei was startled and did not react for a moment.
"The emperor has been killed by Yan's traitor. This information is absolutely true. I invite you to take the throne as emperor and continue the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty." Zhuge Liang spoke generously.
"Please, Your Majesty, ascend the throne as emperor and continue the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty!" The ministers kneeling at the steps agreed one after another.
Liu Bei rolled his eyes and immediately understood what Kong Ming meant.
Anyway, it has become a fact that Liu Xie was deposed. As for whether Yan Liang killed Liu Xie, who except Yan Liang knows this kind of thing.
Even if Liu Xie is still alive, I firmly believe that Liu Xie was indeed harmed by Yan Liang. Who can prove that I am lying?
No, of course no one can prove it.
Moreover, no one among the subjects of Dayan Kingdom would prove it.
Therefore, as long as I, Liu Bei, insist that Liu Xie is dead, then Liu Xie is dead.
Once Liu Xie dies, then I, Liu Bei, will succeed to the throne and become emperor. This cannot be considered as treason, but as the continuation of the Han Dynasty's orthodoxy openly.
The more Liu Bei thought about it, the more excited he became. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this was the case. He couldn't help but look at Zhuge Liang again.
But he saw Zhuge Liang kneeling on the ground, looking towards Liu Bei with a mysterious look, as if he was hinting something to him.
Liu Bei understood.
Gradually, Liu Bei's face became sadder and sadder, and the tears gradually filled up in his deep-set eyes. In the end, they started to flow down.
"You thief Yan, you are cruel and unkind, better than the devil. You only usurped the country of Han Dynasty, but you actually had the heart to kill the emperor."
Liu Bei burst into tears and cursed Yan Liang.
"Emperor, I devoted myself to helping the Han Dynasty, but I failed to save you from the Yan thief. I watched you, Emperor, being killed by the Yan thief. This is Bei's crime. Bei is guilty."
Liu Bei, who was crying loudly, felt sad and blamed himself at the same time. His sad and sorrowful appearance only made all the officials below him moved.
In sadness, Liu Bei burst into tears, swayed, and fell down from the throne.
"Your Majesty—" Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi exclaimed in unison, and they rushed forward to support Liu Bei.
All the officials below him were also shocked and worried.
Liu Bei was unconscious for a while, and then he gradually woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, tears could not stop flowing down.
Zhuge Liang also had tears in his eyes and consoled him: "Your Majesty's health is the most important thing, and it is important to express your condolences. It is not appropriate to break your body from crying."
"Pass on the king's order. Quickly build a high altar outside Ye City. I want to offer sacrifices to the emperor from afar." Liu Bei cried.
Although Liu Bei decided to confirm that Liu Xie was dead, how to let the people of Yan know was still a problem. He could not issue an edict and tell the people of Yan directly. The emperor had already been harmed by Yan Liang. In that case, it would be too purposeful.
obvious.
So Liu Bei had an idea and decided to set up a sacrifice to summon Liu Xie's soul. In this way, he could not only show his loyalty and filial piety to the emperor, but also through this worship ceremony, he could calmly tell the people of Yan that the emperor had been killed by Yan Liang.
I, Liu Bei, have become the final legal heir of the Liu family.
Of course Zhuge Liang could see that Liu Bei was crying bitterly because he was cooperating with his acting. Hearing that Liu Bei was going to sacrifice Liu Xie from a distance, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart and secretly praised Liu Bei's clever methods.
At that moment, Zhuge Liang immediately obeyed the order.
Liu Bei's mood calmed down a lot and he sighed quietly: "The king is too sad now. He only wants to worship the emperor and doesn't want to think about other things. As for inheriting the Han Dynasty, I don't want to mention it anymore."
With that said, Liu Bei withdrew from the court with tears in his eyes and sadness all over his body.
The sad Liu Bei, with the support of the palace servants, returned to the palace tremblingly.
Liu Bei sat down quietly, claiming that he was in a bad mood and wanted to stay alone for a while, and dismissed all the palace guests.
The door was closed, and only Liu Bei was left in Nuo Da's room.
At this time, Liu Bei suddenly stood up, and the sad look on his face disappeared instantly.
Even Liu Bei's tear-stained face was filled with excitement in an instant.
Walking in the room, Liu Bei gritted his teeth and cursed: "Liu Xie, a loser, actually gave up the country and the country of the Han Dynasty to the Yan thief. He is really cowardly."
"However, this is fine." A proud sneer appeared on Liu Bei's face, "If Liu Xie does not abdicate, how can the king legitimately inherit the Han Dynasty? I, Liu Bei, have gone through hardships and worked hard for so many years, and finally
We are only one step away from reaching the 95th Five-Year Plan, haha~~"
The more Liu Bei thought about it, the more excited he became. He couldn't help but burst out laughing. His proud laughter could be heard by the palace people standing outside the room.
"The king was heartbroken just now. How come he laughs so happily now?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Our king is a benevolent king. The emperor was harmed by a traitor. It's too late for the king to be sad. How can he be happy?"
"But listen, the king is clearly laughing."
"Who knows, maybe the king is too sad and out of control."
"Oh, that must be the case. Let me tell you, the king is so kind, how could he smile so happily because the emperor was killed?"
…
A few days later, Liu Bei set up an altar in the south of Yecheng and held a grand remote memorial ceremony for the "murdered" Liu Xie.
During the ceremony, Liu Bei knelt in front of Liu Xie's memorial tablet and once again burst into tears, his grief and cowardice moved the heavens and the earth.
The ministers kneeling behind him saw Liu Bei crying so sadly, and they couldn't help but be affected by it, and they all burst into tears.
"Your Majesty, I swear to God that one day I will personally chop off the head of the traitor, avenge Your Majesty, and comfort Your Majesty's spirit in heaven. If you violate this oath, you will be punished by heaven and earth!"
With tears streaming down his face, Liu Bei swore a vicious oath. His generosity moved everyone.
After his death, the infected ministers also expressed their intention to follow Liu Bei and go through fire and water without hesitation, and they must avenge the emperor.
A tearful worship service soon turned into an oath of revenge.
At this time, Zhuge Liang saw the time and took advantage of the situation to say: "Now that the emperor has been killed, the king is the emperor of the Han Dynasty. Only by inheriting the throne can he unite the hearts of the people, call on the righteous men of the world, attack the traitors, and revive the Han Dynasty.
I invite you, your Majesty, to plan the world and ascend the throne as emperor."
"Please, Your Majesty, plan for the world and ascend to the throne as emperor!"
The ministers behind him all bowed down and once again persuaded Liu Bei to proclaim himself emperor.
After listening to the words of encouragement from these ministers, Liu Bei immediately had the urge to agree.
But in the end, Liu Bei endured it.
"There are three reasons for everything. The ministers have only tried to persuade me twice. If I agree now, I will be slandered by others. Liu Bei, you have to hold back."
Thinking of this, Liu Bei sighed: "Don't rush into the matter of succession. The king has to guard the emperor for a few days. Let's discuss what you said later."
Liu Bei used the excuse of keeping a vigil as an excuse to once again decline the persuasion of the officials. However, this time, Liu Bei was not so decisive and just said "we will discuss it later."
This means that Liu Bei has actually acquiesced to the persuasion of the officials, he just needs some time.
To put it bluntly, steps are needed.
Zhuge Liang and others were so smart that they immediately understood Liu Bei's intentions and stopped pressing.
Therefore, after the remote sacrifice ceremony that day, Liu Bei stayed in the suburbs to keep vigil and did not return to Yecheng for the time being.
However, Zhuge Liang and others got busy, hinting to various parts of Yan State to continue to incite public opinion to persuade them to advance, and secretly instigated various places to continuously present auspicious signs to Yecheng, creating the right time for Liu Bei to proclaim himself emperor.
Of course, every move in Yecheng could not escape the careful eyes and ears of Chu State. A few days later, the most detailed information was sent to Luoyang.
In the Jinluan Palace, Yan Liang listened to his subordinates' reports about Liu Bei setting up an altar to offer sacrifices to Liu Xie at a distance, with a sarcastic sneer on his face.
"This big-eared thief, I haven't killed Liu Xie yet, but he, the uncle of the Han Dynasty, has tortured his own nephew to death. How ironic." Yan Liang said sarcastically.
Prime Minister Pang Tong said: "Liu Bei set up an altar to worship Liu Xie in a remote place. He just wanted to lie to the people of Hebei that Liu Xie was dead. If Liu Xie had not died, what qualifications would he have to claim the throne."
"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true. I have recently heard that officials from enemy countries in Hebei are coming forward one after another to persuade them to move in. There are also rumors of auspiciousness spreading throughout Hebei. Various signs indicate that Liu Bei is already preparing the ground for proclaiming himself emperor.
"Censor Xu Shu also came out to give lectures.
Yan Liang snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "I have known for a long time that the big-eared thief has great ambitions. He has long wanted to be the emperor. I am afraid he has longed for Liu Xie to be deposed."
The ministers all nodded in agreement and discussed together.
"Let Liu Bei proclaim himself emperor. Anyway, sooner or later I will wipe out Hebei, so let's let the big-eared thief enjoy the emperor's taste for a few days first." Yan Liang said boldly, full of confidence in wiping out the Yan Kingdom.
At this time, Pang Tong said again: "We, Chu, have two out of three parts of the world. It is inevitable to wipe out Hebei. However, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor, coupled with his recent implementation of the ninth-rank official law.
It can indeed capture the hearts of many powerful families in Hebei."
"The ninth-grade official's method does more harm than good. Liu Bei's method is just a short-sighted move to win over the hearts of the noble families in Hebei. It is not worth mentioning." Yan Liang concluded decisively.
Yan Liang, who is familiar with history, naturally knows the pros and cons of the nine-rank official system. In his mind, he is already brewing new measures to counter Liu Bei's new method of selecting officials.
After a moment of pause, Yan Liang said again: "Although it is only a matter of time to wipe out Hebei, I can't let Liu Bei become emperor so smoothly. At least I want to make him feel uncomfortable. Do you have any good ideas?"
There was a lot of discussion among the ministers, and most of the opinions were to launch a local war against Yan State to punish Liu Bei for proclaiming himself emperor.
At this time, Jia Xu, who had been silent all the time, said with a smile: "The old minister has a plan, but it will make Liu Bei lose face without even one soldier."
"What good strategy does the Lieutenant have?" Yan Liang became curious.
Jia Xu stroked his white beard and spoke his plan unhurriedly.
