News of the Son of Heaven's arrival in Ye City had long ceased to be a secret, but all this time, the common people had never seen him. So when they heard he would move into a separate palace today, many hurried out into the streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of his imperial countenance.
"Where's the Son of Heaven? Where is he? Let me see!"
"Stop shoving! You're stepping on my foot!"
"I ain't ever seen what an emperor looks like in my whole life. Once I do, I'll have to tell the missus when I get home."
"Haven't you heard him called the True Dragon Son of Heaven? The emperor must have a dragon's head and a human body. He can even turn into a dragon and ride the clouds and mist!"
"Good heavens, really? Would he even be human?"
"Don't listen to his nonsense. No emperor looks like that."
"Hah, nonsense? If the emperor isn't a dragon, why call him the True Dragon Son of Heaven?"
"I bet the emperor eats white flour buns at every meal."
"Probably more than that. He must get a roast goose too."
Inside the carriage, Liu Xie heard the chatter outside.
He found it laughable, but also rather sad.
"This really is an age when powerful aristocratic clans monopolize culture and knowledge. The common people live in ignorance, ruled their entire lives by someone they've never even seen."
Liu Xie murmured to himself. Only now did he truly understand the greatness of universal compulsory education in the China of the future.
At that thought, Liu Xie lifted the carriage's window curtain a little and peered through the gap at the commoners gathered along both sides of the street.
Unlike what he had imagined, many wore shabby clothes. Their faces were sallow, their bodies thin, and they were generally rather short.
"Isn't this a city under Yuan Shao's rule? Why are the people living in such hardship?"
Liu Xie was puzzled. He had assumed that people who could live inside a city would be much better off than the refugees outside in terms of food, clothing, shelter, and travel.
But now it seemed that while they were indeed better off than the refugees, the difference was hardly great. Many looked malnourished.
After a little thought, however, he understood.
In times of turmoil like these, cities changed hands every so often. Simply staying alive was already a blessing. After all, the first thing many armies did upon taking a city was burn, kill, and plunder, stripping it of grain and supplies.
That was how those refugees came to be. Their homes were occupied, their land seized, and even the grain they needed to survive was taken away, forcing them to leave their homelands and wander elsewhere.
Only warlords like Yuan Shao, who came from an illustrious family, had the Yuan Clan behind them, and cherished their reputations, would refrain from such deeds. Even so, they imposed heavy taxes to support their armies. Naturally, the common people's lives could hardly be good. They could merely survive.
And that was all.
"Sure enough, no matter the age, whenever war breaks out, it's always the people at the very bottom who suffer."
"When a dynasty rises, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer. How true."
Liu Xie silently lowered the carriage curtain and withdrew his gaze, his feelings complicated.
It was not that he possessed some saintly compassion, so noble that the sight of suffering commoners filled him with pity for all humanity. It was simply hard not to be moved when the words in history books appeared before his eyes.
Just like "starved corpses for a thousand miles" and "trading children to eat"-the blood-drenched horror contained in those few words was impossible to understand without seeing it firsthand.
While Liu Xie was lost in thought, the carriage gave a slight jolt and stopped.
An armored soldier lifted the carriage curtain for him and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, we have arrived."
"Mm."
Liu Xie gathered his thoughts and nodded slightly.
Then he rose and stepped out of the carriage.
The moment he alighted, an enormous palace came into view. It was many times larger than the Yuan Residence and quite magnificent, grand enough to be called a traveling palace.
Now this is a proper mansion!
Liu Xie's eyes lit up, excitement swelling inside him.
Then he noticed that Yuan Shao was already waiting at the palace entrance with a group of civil officials and military officers. Upon seeing him, they all came forward.
"Your subjects pay their respects to Your Majesty-"
Yuan Shao led the officials in bowing to Liu Xie and hailing him with cries of "Long live Your Majesty!"
After more than a month of instruction from Ju Shou, Liu Xie already knew how to respond. Naturally, such a scene no longer intimidated him. He raised a hand slightly and said, "Rise, my ministers."
"Thank you, Your Majesty-"
Only then did Yuan Shao and the others stand.
Yuan Shao clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, making you lower yourself to reside in my humble residence all this time was truly a failure on my part."
"Thus, I had a separate palace built especially for Your Majesty, to serve as your residence and a place where you may receive your officials and attend to affairs of state."
Playing along, Liu Xie adopted a touched expression and said, "Minister Yuan, I never imagined you would be so considerate. You have truly taken great care."
"Now that the traveling palace is ready, gathering the Han Dynasty's former ministers and civil and military officials to rebuild the court must be placed on the agenda. Only then can we secure the foundations of our Great Han."
At the mention of this, Ju Shou, who stood behind Yuan Shao, could not contain his indignation. "Your Majesty may not know this, but that traitor Cao Cao is utterly despicable. Although Your Majesty is already here in Ye City, he still claims you are in Xu County. He even slanders you as an impostor!"
"The people of the realm are now deceived by that traitor and do not know where the Son of Heaven truly is. Their misgivings keep them from coming to pay their respects."
Liu Xie flew into a rage upon hearing this. "That traitor still dares to misuse my name and spread such lies? Does he truly think I can be bullied?"
"Minister Yuan, I shall issue an edict at once, appointing you Grand General, with command over all the realm's armies. Summon the regional lords to campaign against the traitor Cao Cao!"
Ju Shou had already discussed the appointment with him beforehand.
Now they simply had to perform this act before everyone.
Hearing this, Shen Pei, Tian Feng, Guo Tu, and the others were all startled.
This was the Grand General! A position beneath only one man and above ten thousand!
His Majesty was actually granting their lord this position?
"Your subject thanks Your Majesty for this honor!"
Excitement filled Yuan Shao's face. He immediately expressed his gratitude, then continued, "But that traitor's power is formidable. With my strength alone, it would be difficult to destroy him completely."
"I beseech Your Majesty to appoint my younger brother Yuan Shu Grand Commandant, so that he may join me in the campaign against the traitor!"
Without a second thought, Liu Xie agreed. "Of course. We shall do as you suggest, Minister Yuan. I shall draft the edict upon my return!"
Grand General, Grand Commandant-Liu Xie cared nothing for any of it.
All he had to do was move his lips. It cost him nothing. It was only a title; if they wanted one, he would give it to them.
Chapter 17: Commander of the Imperial Guard! Zhang He!
After some back-and-forth, the appointments were settled. Yuan Shao would become Grand General, and Yuan Shu would become Grand Commandant.
Next, Yuan Shao welcomed Liu Xie into the separate palace for a tour.
"Your Majesty, this residence contains nine palace halls, respectively intended for receiving officials, handling affairs of state, holding banquets, and resting."
"I have provided a hundred maids and two hundred servants to attend to you. In addition, there are a thousand Imperial Guard soldiers to defend the palace and ensure Your Majesty's safety."
Yuan Shao briefly introduced the palace's arrangements to Liu Xie.
Having prepared such a vast palace, he naturally would not skimp on manpower. He had assigned three hundred people to serve Liu Xie, along with a full thousand guards, giving him all the pomp he could need.
"So many?"
Liu Xie inwardly clicked his tongue, astonished by Yuan Shao's lavish generosity.
As though giving him a mansion were not enough, Boss Yuan had even furnished it with servants and an Imperial Guard!
What kind of boss was this? He was practically a godfather!
Before Liu Xie could speak, Yuan Shao called to those behind him, "Zhang He, come pay your respects to His Majesty!"
As his words fell, a burly military officer who looked rather taciturn stepped out of the crowd, then immediately dropped to his knees before Liu Xie.
"This humble officer, Zhang He, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
His voice was not loud, but it sent a shock through Liu Xie's entire body. He nearly cried out!
Zh-Zh-Zh-Zhang He?!
Liu Xie wondered whether he was hearing things.
One of the renowned Five Tiger Generals, a great general on par with the Five Tiger Generals of Shu, had actually been assigned to command his palace guards?
After all, "commander of the palace guards" sounded impressive, but put less kindly, he was simply the palace's head of security.
At the height of a dynasty's power, the position would indeed have carried considerable status. But now the Han imperial house had fallen into decline, and he was even a fake Son of Heaven. Serving as his guard commander offered no future whatsoever.
Was this how Yuan Shao used talented men?
"Oh... ah, good, good. Commander Zhang, please rise."
Suppressing his shock, Liu Xie regained his composure and spoke warmly, stepping forward to help Zhang He up with his own hands.
Such courteous treatment left Zhang He somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.
"Your Majesty, Zhang He originally served under Han Fu. After I took Ji Province, he entered my service."
"Zhang He possesses courage and martial prowess far beyond ordinary men. With him commanding the Imperial Guard and defending the palace, Your Majesty can rest easy upon your pillow."
Yuan Shao introduced him with a smile. Despite his praise, however, he thought little of Zhang He.
He had fierce generals beneath him in abundance: Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Ju Yi, Han Meng, and Chunyu Qiong. Every one of them was capable of holding his own command.
Zhang He was merely a surrendered officer with no notable military achievements. He was not worthy of Yuan Shao's attention.
Yet if Yuan Shao left him idle, others might think him narrow-minded and unwilling to employ surrendered officers. Better to put this castoff to use by having him command the Imperial Guard.
"Of course. With Commander Zhang here, my heart is at ease."
Liu Xie nodded in agreement, his expression hardly changing, though inwardly his heart had already burst into bloom with joy!
He had only just worked out the reason. Zhang He had not joined Yuan Shao long ago and was not valued at all. It was only after he later joined Cao Cao that he began to distinguish himself.
Who would have thought Liu Xie would now get to scoop up this overlooked treasure!
Although my identity as the Son of Heaven is false, no one knows apart from Yuan Shao, Ju Shou, and that group on Cao Cao's side.
Before you continue