With those words, Yuan Shu stormed off, clearly displeased that everyone opposed his bid to become emperor.
After Yuan Shu left, Yang Hong asked Yan Xiang worriedly, "Chief Clerk Yan, what should we do now?"
"Our lord has made up his mind. I fear he won't readily abandon the idea of proclaiming himself emperor. But with the realm as it is, doing so would make him the target of every arrow."
"We must find a way to stop him."
Yan Xiang's face was clouded with worry.
Persuade him? With what? And how?
The temptation of becoming emperor was enormous. How many men could resist it? After Yuan Shao's provocation today, their lord could no longer suppress that desire.
"Our only option is to write for help."
After turning the matter over in his mind, Yan Xiang came up with a solution.
Yang Hong asked in confusion, "Whose help?"
"Sun Ce!" Yan Xiang said gravely.
After Sun Jian's death, his sons and family members continued serving under Yuan Shu. Sun Ce was one of them, and he had not merely matched his father, but surpassed him.
With only a few thousand men, he had actually taken the Four Commanderies of Jiangdong!
Sun Ce was currently holding Kuaiji Commandery and enjoyed Yuan Shu's deep trust. Thus, Yan Xiang intended to write to him and ask him to come persuade Yuan Shu.
Yuan Shu stormed back to his sleeping quarters and flew into a rage, smashing many of the furnishings inside.
"Whelps! A pack of whelps! Not a shred of ambition!"
"Why shouldn't I become emperor? If I did, they would all be founding ministers who helped the dragon rise! Why would they oppose me?"
Yuan Shu smashed and battered everything he could. After venting his fury, he sat panting amid the wreckage of his sleeping quarters and slowly looked up at a nearby table.
A square jade seal rested upon it.
A shaft of moonlight fell through the window lattice onto the seal, bathing it in shimmering radiance and lending it an air of sanctity and solemnity.
Sadly, one corner was missing, its place filled with gold.
This was none other than the Imperial Seal!
The Imperial Seal, the symbol of the Mandate of Heaven and rightful rule!
"The seal... my Imperial Seal!"
Yuan Shu stared fixedly at it, longing written across his face. He scrambled and crawled to the table, then carefully raised the seal high in both hands, holding it up to the bright moon outside.
The jade seal seemed to merge with the moon, becoming exquisitely beautiful.
"Mandated by Heaven, may your reign endure in eternal prosperity..."
His eyes filled with obsession, Yuan Shu reverently stroked the patterns on the seal and the eight great characters carved into its base, murmuring to himself.
Those eight characters echoed endlessly in his heart like an enthralling demonic chant.
"I have the Imperial Seal. I am the Son of Heaven!"
Yuan Shu's gaze hardened with resolve. He whirled around and shouted outside, "Guards! Bring Zhang Pi to me!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Before long, the guards brought an old Daoist with graying hair and a Daoist robe into Yuan Shu's sleeping quarters.
Clutching the seal in one hand, Yuan Shu stepped forward and seized the old Daoist's collar with the other. He stared at him and demanded, "You said I was destined to be emperor. You weren't lying to me?"
Zhang Pi was already terrified. Looking at Yuan Shao's bloodshot eyes, he feared that if he uttered a single word of denial, Yuan Shao would smash the jade seal against his head the next instant.
Trembling all over, Zhang Pi nodded frantically. "Yes! Yes! According to the divination, you truly possess the destiny of a Son of Heaven, my lord! Only..."
"Hahahaha! I am destined to be the Son of Heaven! I am destined to be the Son of Heaven!"
Yuan Shu burst into laughter, utterly exhilarated. Unable to put down the seal, he cradled it and shouted like a madman inside his sleeping quarters.
Watching Yuan Shu descend into frenzy, Zhang Pi went pale. After a moment's hesitation, he decided not to say the rest.
Only... it would be very brief.
Chapter 22: The Liu-Guan-Zhang Trio
Although Yuan Shu yearned to become emperor, he did not immediately announce that he would establish himself as one. Instead, he began making preparations at a feverish pace.
Proclaiming oneself emperor was not something one could do on a whim.
Since ancient times, sovereign authority had either been bestowed by Heaven or passed down through abdication in the tradition of Yao and Shun. But without the Son of Heaven in his hands, abdication was naturally impossible, leaving only the first method.
That method was simple enough: discover some auspicious omen or unearth a token representing the Mandate of Heaven and Heaven's will.
A fox crying out in the dead of night, a white snake slain with a red sword, a slip of paper discovered in a fish's belly, a thousand-year-old turtle suddenly surfacing with "So-and-so is the true Son of Heaven" carved into its shell, and so on.
All such things could be regarded as Heaven's instruction and approval.
You could call it a fraud, and others might not believe it either, but it had to exist, because it represented "Heaven's will."
That was also why Yuan Shu insisted on twisting the prophecy to fit himself. He wanted others to know that he was not a usurper of the Han, and that proclaiming himself emperor was an act in accordance with the Mandate of Heaven.
Whether it truly was the Mandate of Heaven remained unknown.
Outside Ye City, Ji Province.
Late autumn had passed, and winter was approaching. Though the weather had not yet turned fully cold, a penetrating chill already rode the wind.
A withered yellow leaf clung to a bare branch, trembling and teetering on the verge of falling, yet stubbornly refusing to let go.
Clop, clop, clop!
Three fine horses galloped down the ancient road in succession. The wind of their passing tore the leaf free, and their hooves trampled it deep into the mud.
"Whoa!"
Suddenly, the leading rider reined in his horse.
The two riders behind him stopped as well.
"What's wrong, elder brother?"
One rider came forward to ask. He stood eight feet tall, with a panther's head, round eyes, a swallow's jaw, and a tiger's whiskers. His voice was extraordinarily loud.
"Are you tired, elder brother? Would you like to rest?"
The other rider spoke up as well.
Compared with the first, this man was much more handsome. His face was the red of a ripe jujube, his lips as though painted with rouge. He had phoenix eyes and brows like reclining silkworms, while three long strands of beard flowed over his chest. He looked imposing and majestic, inspiring awe at a glance.
In answer to their questions, the leading rider shook his head, then raised his whip and pointed ahead. "Another ten li, and we'll reach Ye City."
"I'm hesitating now. I don't know whether seeking refuge with Yuan Shao is the right choice."
The man they both called elder brother was no ordinary-looking man either. He was tall, with arms long enough to reach past his knees. His face was like polished jade, and his deep, bright eyes gave him a gentle air.
Most striking of all were his enormous earlobes, which marked him at a glance as a man richly blessed by fortune.
Had Liu Xie been there at that moment, he would certainly have recognized all three at once.
They were Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei!
Their appearances were so extraordinary that even in a crowd, they would immediately draw the eye.
Guan Yu's red face, phoenix eyes, and magnificent long beard, along with Liu Bei's large earlobes, were especially distinctive features recorded in history. With those two present, the identity of the third hardly needed explaining.
Where did these three brothers ever go without one another?
"Oh, elder brother, what's there to worry about?"
Zhang Fei urged his horse forward and said carelessly, "If the Son of Heaven with that fellow Yuan Shao is a fake, we'll just head to Xu County and join Cao Cao instead."
Liu Bei gave a bitter smile. "Third brother, you're thinking too simply. I'm a Han House clansman. If I come to Yuan Shao, then leave to join Cao Cao, what do you think the people of the realm will make of him?"
Zhang Fei scratched his head and asked, puzzled, "What would they make of him?"
Liu Bei: "..."
He felt he had better speak more plainly to his third brother in the future.
"What elder brother means is that if Yuan Shao's Son of Heaven is a fake, he certainly won't let us leave, lest the truth be exposed."
Guan Yu explained to Zhang Fei, "Remember, elder brother is a Han House clansman, renowned throughout the realm. If even he says the Son of Heaven in Ye City is a fake, who would still believe Yuan Shao?"
"So this journey to Ye City carries considerable danger."
Clearly, Guan Yu understood just how great the risk of coming to Ye City was. Calling it a tremendous gamble would be no exaggeration.
Liu Bei said nothing, merely letting out a sigh.
After hearing the explanation, Zhang Fei immediately exploded. Glaring, he said, "Let Yuan Shao try! If he means elder brother any harm, he'll have to ask whether the Eight-Foot Serpent Spear in my hand agrees!"
Zhang Fei flicked his spear, and cold light flashed.
A dead tree by the roadside, its trunk as thick as the mouth of a bowl, was instantly pierced through!
Such terrifying power in a casual strike.
It was hard to imagine what would happen if that spear struck a person.
"Third brother, calm yourself."
Liu Bei laid a hand on Zhang Fei's shoulder and soothed him. "Yuan Benchu is hailed as a model for the realm. He comes from a distinguished family and is a hero in his own right. Surely he wouldn't have someone impersonate the Son of Heaven."
"We've come to Ye City both to pay our respects to the Son of Heaven and to ask Yuan Shao for troops to retake Pei County. When we meet him, you mustn't be so rude. After all, we're the ones seeking a favor."
Zhang Fei nodded firmly. "Don't worry, elder brother. I understand."
Yet hearing those words only deepened the worry on Liu Bei's face.
Whenever his third brother told him not to worry, he usually ended up giving him the greatest cause for concern. It seemed he would have to keep a close eye on him.
Wiping the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hands, Guan Yu said gravely, "If that slave of three surnames hadn't sent troops to attack while we were unprepared and seized Pei County, how could we have fallen so low as to beg others for help?"
"Once we've borrowed the troops, I'll lead them back and cut that scoundrel down beneath my blade to wipe away this humiliation!"
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