Can I Reach the Other Shore?

I could use this identity to draw as many people as possible to my side.

Liu Xie began turning the idea over in his mind.

He had never considered it before, but Yuan Shao's gift of Zhang He had quietly changed something within him.

He was not doing this to contend for supremacy over the realm someday. He simply wanted to protect himself as best he could. He had no idea whether Yuan Shao would kill him once he had outlived his usefulness, and he did not want to be a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Yuan Shao knew nothing of Liu Xie's thoughts. After leaving Zhang He with him, he said, "Then, Your Majesty, we shall take our leave."

With that, he departed with his retainers.

Only Liu Xie and Zhang He remained where they stood.

"Finally... freedom."

As Liu Xie watched Yuan Shao and the others leave, a weight lifted from his heart.

Moving from the separate residence to this Traveling Palace had merely made his cage a little larger, yet he still felt as though, after so long behind bars, he had finally returned to nature.

At last, he no longer had to stay in that tiny courtyard!

While Liu Xie was still basking in the joy of his brief freedom, Zhang He, standing behind him, also asked to take his leave.

"Your Majesty, I must deploy the Imperial Guard and arrange the palace defenses. Please allow me to withdraw."

Zhang He bowed, his manner deeply respectful.

His words brought Liu Xie back to his senses. Liu Xie immediately reached out and took Zhang He by the arm, smiling warmly. "Ah, there's no hurry. Commander Zhang, come sit with me in that garden pavilion first. Keep me company for a little chat."

"Your Majesty, this..."

With Liu Xie holding his arm, Zhang He was at a loss.

Taking someone by the arm or helping them to their feet were gestures through which a superior showed closeness and trust toward a subordinate.

Zhang He considered himself no more than a lowly general of the household. What merit did he possess to deserve such courtesy from the emperor?

But before Zhang He could refuse, Liu Xie drew him toward the nearby pavilion.

"Commander Zhang, don't just stand there. Come sit."

Liu Xie sat on a stone stool first, then beckoned to Zhang He.

Zhang He hastily waved his hands in refusal. "No, no, no. I am perfectly comfortable standing. How could I sit alongside Your Majesty? That would be terribly disrespectful."

"Very well, then."

Liu Xie did not insist.

He wanted to grow closer to Zhang He and see whether he could win him over. Frightening the man away with excessive enthusiasm would defeat the purpose.

Seeing how stiff and uneasy Zhang He looked, Liu Xie smiled. "There's no need to be nervous, Commander Zhang. I only wanted to chat with you. After all, you will be responsible for my safety from now on. Surely I should get to know you?"

Only then did Zhang He relax a little, finally understanding why Liu Xie was treating him so warmly.

After all, the commander of the Imperial Guard served as the emperor's personal protector. The post usually went to a member of the imperial clan or someone the emperor trusted above all others. With an outsider suddenly assigned to the position, it was only natural for the emperor to feel uneasy.

Zhang He considered for a moment before answering solemnly, "Your Majesty, I originally served Han Fu, the former governor of Ji Province. When Yuan Shao took control of Ji Province, I entered his service."

"But please rest assured, Your Majesty. I am neither Han Fu's nor Yuan Shao's household retainer. My loyalty lies with the Great Han and its emperor."

"Now that I command the Imperial Guard, I shall protect Your Majesty with my life."

Zhang He's words rang with conviction, his expression resolute.

His underlying meaning was already clear: Liu Xie need not worry that he belonged to Han Fu or Yuan Shao. His loyalty lay with the Great Han court.

Chapter 18: The Realm Is the People! The People Are the Realm!

Liu Xie thought Zhang He might have misunderstood him.

I just wanted to chat. Why did you launch straight into a declaration of loyalty? Still... this works too.

Liu Xie now had a rough understanding of Zhang He's circumstances.

Abandoned by Han Fu and denied Yuan Shao's trust and favor, he was loved by neither uncle nor grandmother. He had talent and passion with nowhere to put them, trapped in a phase of unrecognized ability-empty, lonely, and cold.

At a time like this, what he needed was a blond-haired homewrecker... no, what he needed was an enlightened lord like Liu Xie.

Inwardly rubbing his hands like a fly, Liu Xie prepared to win over this member of the Five Tiger Generals and make him his right-hand man.

"Commander Zhang, you have the talent to be a pillar of the state. Of course I trust you."

Liu Xie spoke with a warm smile. "Our Great Han is in decline, and what we lack most are loyal ministers and fine generals like you, Commander Zhang-men with both ability and the desire to serve their country. Gaining you today is no less than gaining a right-hand man!"

Receiving such high praise from the emperor, Zhang He immediately dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty, you praise me far too highly. I hardly dare accept it."

"I was born a commoner and have no other talents, only a little martial skill. Now that I serve Your Majesty, I shall spare no effort and will not fail your expectations!"

Zhang He was deeply stirred.

He was merely a military officer of common birth, without any backing, yet the emperor had treated him with such courtesy and esteem. It was an immense honor!

Seeing Zhang He's face brimming with emotion, Liu Xie froze for a moment.

He still had so much left to say. He had even planned to keep Zhang He with him all night for a long conversation and share a meal at the same table, demonstrating how humbly he welcomed worthy men. Yet he had barely begun, and Zhang He was already almost won over?

He had hardly done anything yet.

The aura that comes with being emperor really is something else.

Liu Xie quickly realized that he had still underestimated just how powerful the buffs attached to his imperial identity were.

They might do little against ambitious rulers like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, but against ordinary scholars and military officers, they were practically a strike from a higher dimension!

After all, this was a feudal dynasty. Through four hundred years of the Flourishing Han, the ideals of loyalty to the sovereign and service to the nation had sunk deep into most people's hearts. In such circumstances, if the emperor showed his appreciation and promised to entrust someone with important duties, how many could resist?

He could not speak for anyone else, but Zhang He certainly could not.

"Commander Zhang, please rise."

Liu Xie stepped forward again and helped Zhang He up, then drew him into a seat. "I heard you say just now that you were born a commoner, Commander Zhang?"

Zhang He nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. I am from Mo County in Hejian Commandery. When the Yellow Turbans Rebellion broke out years ago, I thought a true man ought to join the army, serve his country, and earn a marquisate and a general's rank. So I enlisted to fight the Yellow Turbans."

"My martial skills were reasonably good, and I fought hard against the rebels, so I was soon promoted to Army Commandant. Not long afterward, General Yuan took over Ji Province."

In this age, powerful clans monopolized officialdom.

For ordinary people, the only road to success was joining the army and earning military merit. There was no other way.

All pursuits were lowly; only noble birth stood high.

"For someone of common birth to come as far as you have, Commander Zhang, is no easy feat."

Liu Xie sighed and could not help shaking his head. "On my flight to Ji Province, I saw so many displaced people suffering amid the wars. The sight was truly unbearable."

"As emperor of the Great Han, I count all these people as my subjects. Seeing them in such a state pains me beyond measure."

"This is my incompetence. This is my failure as emperor!"

Liu Xie clenched his teeth, his face filled with self-reproach.

Zhang He could not help being moved.

He had seen far too many scions of wealthy, prestigious clans. In their eyes, ordinary people were worth less than pigs and dogs. They did not care whether those people lived or died.

Yet Liu Xie, exalted as the emperor, actually cared about the common people?

Liu Xie looked at Zhang He and smiled. "Are you wondering how an emperor like me could possibly care whether ordinary people live or die, Commander Zhang? It sounds too false to believe, doesn't it?"

With his thoughts laid bare by Liu Xie, Zhang He grew flustered.

"I... I would not dare!"

Liu Xie waved a hand. "It's all right. Such thoughts are perfectly natural. After all, those who feast on meat are narrow-minded. Why would lofty, powerful figures care whether the people at the bottom live or die?"

"I must be grateful for this flight. It brought me out of the palace and showed me how difficult the people's lives truly are. It also taught me something."

Absorbed in his words, Zhang He asked instinctively, "What did it teach you?"

Liu Xie sat upright and spoke each word distinctly.

"No matter how vast or prosperous our territory may be, if the people live in hardship, what value is there in possessing ten thousand miles of land?"

"The realm is the people, and the people are the realm!"

Liu Xie's final words exploded beside Zhang He's ears like a thunderclap!

The realm is the people, and the people are the realm!

Dazed, Zhang He repeated the words silently. The more he savored them, the more deeply he felt the love for the people they contained.

Is this truly how His Majesty thinks?

"Junyi!"

Liu Xie suddenly spoke. This time, instead of calling him Commander Zhang, he addressed Zhang He directly by his courtesy name, looking at him with sincere eyes.

"I wish to follow Emperor Guangwu's example and restore the Great Han. Yet I have no one at my side whom I can trust. Even Yuan Shao harbors disloyal ambitions!"

"If you are willing to help me, Junyi, I shall honor you as a peerless man of the realm!"

Everything Liu Xie had said before had been groundwork for these words!

He needed someone who could truly serve as his right-hand man!

And at present, Zhang He was the best candidate!

"Your Majesty!"

Zhang He's heart shook violently, and hot blood surged through him. He rose at once, then fell to both knees before Liu Xie, tears filling his tiger-like eyes. In a deep voice, he declared, "I am willing to serve Your Majesty unto death!"

"Should I break this vow, may Heaven strike me down and Earth destroy me!"

With that, Zhang He kowtowed hard, his forehead striking the ground with a dull thud.

Liu Xie's eyes also reddened, and he said with profound emotion, "Junyi, I trust you!"

He knew in his heart that he had won Zhang He over completely.

Unlike the worthless oaths of the twenty-first century, people in ancient times took trust and honor very seriously. A promise worth a thousand pieces of gold was no mere saying.

Moreover, his final words had been utterly candid: he had told Zhang He outright that he did not trust Yuan Shao. Such immense trust and sincerity could not possibly have left Zhang He unmoved.