Chapter 47: An ordinary sword, but the emperor’s special permission makes it the emperor’s sword that has the power to kill the last person (big chapter)

Just when Liu Wu was in Nanyang urging Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to go north and south respectively, actively preparing for the battle against Cao’s army.

A large number of troops gathered outside Xudu City, not far from Nanyang County.

Outside Xudu City.

Under the vast skyline, the 200,000 Cao troops gathered like a vast black ocean, surging and gathering, and their momentum was so strong that it could change the color of the world. The sun shone obliquely, but it was difficult to penetrate this impenetrable military formation, only casting mottled and shadowy light and shadows on the ground, adding a bit of solemnity and mystery.

The war flags were fluttering in the wind, colorful and flying. Each flag represented a general. Under the flags, soldiers were dressed in iron armor, holding spears and swords, or carrying strong bows and crossbows. They were lined up like a forest, neat and uniform, like the strongest barrier on earth, indestructible.

The thunder of war drums was like the roar of an ancient beast, shaking everyone’s heart. When the drums started, all the horses fell silent, followed by deafening shouts, like a river bursting its banks, surging and rushing straight into the sky.

At this moment, the 200,000 Cao troops seemed to have turned into an unstoppable torrent, ready to swallow up all obstacles in their way.

The Xudu city wall in the distance seemed small and fragile in front of such a huge army, as if it could be swallowed up by this force at any time. On the city wall, the defenders were ready to fight. The common people and noble families invited by Cao Cao to the city wall stared at the dark army outside the city with fear in their hearts.

“Haha, everyone, is the army under Cao’s command majestic? Is there anyone else in the world who can have such a majestic army?”

On the city wall, Cao Cao, who was surrounded by Xu Chu, Cao Hong, Cao Chun and other generals, turned around and laughed loudly at Xun Yu, Jia Xu, Chen Lin, Guo Jia, Yang Biao, Kong Rong, Fu Wan and other representatives of aristocratic families and common people.

In particular, Cao Cao’s eyes were filled with ruthlessness and warning when he looked at Yang Biao, Kong Rong, Fu Wan and others.

The expedition to Wancheng is imminent.

What he was worried about was that Liu Xie was not honest and would make some small moves in Xu City after he led the army.

It was not that Cao Cao was overly suspicious, but there were previous examples.

The Yidaizhao incident a few years ago is still fresh in our memory.

The Yidaizhao refers to the secret edict hidden between the belts.

At the beginning, Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to move the capital to Xu County, and had a conflict with Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xie wrote an edict in blood and sewed it into his belt, secretly passing it to Dong Cheng. Dong Cheng claimed to have received the secret edict in the emperor’s belt, and conspired with Zhong Ji, Wu Shuo, Wang Zifu, Liu Bei, Wu Zilan and others to murder Cao Cao.

In the first month of the fifth year of Jian’an, the conspiracy was exposed, and Dong Cheng and others were all executed. Liu Bei took refuge with Yuan Shao, who followed the imperial edict and attacked Cao Cao.

From then on, the contradiction between Cao Cao and Emperor Liu Xie of Han became completely public, and there was no room for peaceful coexistence.

This time, Xu Du was bound to be empty. Cao Cao was worried that Liu Xie would cause trouble again, so he held a large-scale military exercise before the expedition. The mighty army of 200,000 was used to intimidate Emperor Liu Xie.

It was used to intimidate aristocratic officials such as Yang Biao, Kong Rong, and Fu Wan who were loyal to the Han Dynasty.

Yang Biao, Fu Wan, Kong Rong and others listened to Cao Cao’s stern shout and the warning in his eyes.

Looking at the majestic and powerful army outside the city, he felt his scalp tingling and was quite angry in his heart.

In particular, the old and gray-haired Yang Biao stared at Cao Cao coldly with his eyes.

How similar?

How similar is this Cao Cao to the traitor Dong Zhuo from more than ten years ago?
tyrannical.

The following guilty.

He even dared to massacre Dong Cheng and kill the pregnant Dong Guiren!

That’s right, Cao Cao is like this in Yang Biao’s eyes now.

Concubine Dong was the daughter of Dong Cheng and one of the concubines of Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty.

The secret decree was leaked, and Dong Cheng was killed by Cao Cao, and Concubine Dong herself was implicated. However, Concubine Dong was pregnant at the time, and Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty pleaded with Cao Cao for her several times, but still failed to save Concubine Dong’s life.

Now, Cao Cao is using military exercises to intimidate them again?

“The Emperor and the Empress have arrived!”

Suddenly, a shrill voice was heard in the distance, and the emperor Liu Xie, a man in his twenties or thirties, was seen being carried up to the city wall.

Afterwards, a beautiful woman with a pretty face and majestic demeanor was also carried up.

“What? Cao Cao, you even invited the emperor and the empress!” Yang Biao glared at Cao Cao and shouted.

“Cao Cao, you are too domineering. What are you going to do?” The father-in-law Fu Wan was also angry and his face turned red. He said angrily.

When a king insults his minister, he must die. In the eyes of Yang Biao and Fu Wan, Cao Cao’s behavior was an act of insubordination and the greatest insult to Liu Xie and the queen.

The densely packed officials from aristocratic families standing on the city wall were shocked when they saw that Emperor Liu Xie and the Queen had arrived, and then looked at Cao Cao in surprise.

However, apart from Yang Biao and Fu Wan, no one else dared to speak.

“Haha, Yang Biao, you are slandering me. This time it was His Majesty who came here in person, not because Cao Cao forced us.” Cao Cao snorted coldly.

The dragon chariot and the phoenix carriage have arrived.

On the dragon chariot, Emperor Liu Xie of Han had no expression on his face. He listened to Cao Cao’s words to Yang Biao and said:

“Sikong, the four generations of Yang Gong have been virtuous and respected by the whole nation. This is also for my sake. No need to say more.”

“Mr. Yang, it is indeed what I want to come!”

Liu Xie spoke to Yang Biao in a soothing voice, then stood up and walked down.

“Sikong, where is the army of the Han Dynasty?”

Liu Xie said to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao looked at Liu Xie, who looked uncalm but very majestic, and felt even more fearful in his heart.

“Your Majesty, please look, outside the city is our Han army of 200,000 strong. No princes in the world can be our opponent!” Cao Cao guided Liu Xie outside the city.

Liu Xie went forward to watch.

It seemed that the generals of the armies under the city had received the news that Emperor Liu Xie had arrived, and they all demonstrated their powerful side.

As the drum beats gradually quickened, the sound of the horn rose up, loud and clear, piercing through the clouds and rocks and soaring into the sky.

The Cao army soldiers, like steel sculptures endowed with life, began to move slowly, guided by the sound of drums and trumpets. Their steps were heavy and firm, and every step resounded through the earth, as if even the mountains and rivers were trembling. The armor shone in the sun, like stars falling into the mortal world, both dazzling and cold, making people dare not look directly at it.

The changing of formations was even more eye-catching. The soldiers were as flexible as flowing water, sometimes gathering into an indestructible iron wall, sometimes dispersing into stars in the sky, switching between attack and defense freely, showing extremely high tactical quality and coordinated combat ability. Their movements were uniform, as if being pulled by the same invisible thread, and every detail revealed their majesty and strength.

This was not just a collision of sounds, but also a shock to the soul, which made Liu Xie on the city wall and all the people watching hold their breath and widen their eyes.

When Cao Cao saw this scene, the corners of his mouth rose. Among these 200,000 troops, some were the elite troops from his own army, some were the elite troops from Yuan Shao’s army, and some were the elite troops selected from new recruits from all over the country. After one or two years of running-in, their combat effectiveness was already very strong. How could they not shock the evil spirits in Xu Du?

“It’s the powerful army of our Han Dynasty. Sikong is really good at leading troops. In my opinion, Sikong is worthy of the title of general.” Liu Xie took a deep breath, forced himself to recover from the shock, and said to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao listened to Liu Xie’s words, his eyes narrowed slightly, but he smiled:

“The title of general has already been given to Yuan Tan. It is an honor for Cao to hold the position of minister of works.”

“Since Your Majesty has already watched the military drill, Cao will not entertain Your Majesty and will go to prepare the army for the expedition. Liu Bei has betrayed his loyalty and dared to kill Cao Ren and seize the imperial city of Nanyang. He deserves death. Cao Cao will definitely take Liu Bei’s head and hand it over to Your Majesty for disposal.”

Cao Cao’s words were quite shameless, at least that’s how they sounded to Liu Xie, Yang Biao, Fu Wan, and Queen Fu Shou. However, facing Cao Cao’s tyranny, they naturally would not confront him head-on.

“Then I will wait for Sikong’s triumphant return in Xudu!”

“Go back to the palace!”

Liu Xie looked with envy at the majestic and endless 200,000-strong army outside the city, and then returned to the palace.

Yang Biao and Fu Wan didn’t say much and followed Liu Xie’s dragon sedan chair back to the palace.

“Let’s see what kind of trouble you can stir up. It’s better to be honest!”

Cao Cao said coldly as he looked at Liu Xie, Yang Biao, Fu Wan and others who were walking away.

If it were a few years ago, when Liu Xie was first welcomed into Xuchang, Cao Cao might have still been on guard against Liu Xie.

However, after the Yidaizhao incident, Dong Xi and a large number of Liu Xie’s loyalists, including Zhong Ji, Wu Shuo, and Wang Zifu, were killed, and the power around Liu Xie was greatly reduced, so Cao Cao was no longer so worried about Liu Xie. Now Liu Xie’s side only had Yang Biao and Fu Wan.

Fu Wan is the father of Queen Fu Shou and the emperor’s father-in-law, so needless to say.

But Yang Biao couldn’t and didn’t want to move.

It has always been said that the Yuan family has three high officials in four generations, and their students and former officials are spread all over the world.

The Yang family was no worse than the Yuan family. Yang Biao’s great-grandfather Yang Zhen, uncle Yang Bing, and father Yang Ci were all Taiwei officials, among the Three Dukes. Moreover, the Taiwei’s status at that time was higher than the Three Dukes. So Yang Biao’s family background was even more powerful than Yuan Shao’s.

Yang Biao himself was one of the Three Dukes during the reign of Emperor Liu Xie. The Yang family was very powerful, but they were loyal to the Han Dynasty for generations and were honest and upright. They did not have the ambition to become emperors like the Yuan family. Therefore, the Yang family represented by Yang Biao was very prestigious, and even Cao Cao could not do anything to Yang Biao.

Of course, in Cao Cao’s view, Yang Biao now has no military power. Even if Yang Biao is loyal to the Han Dynasty, so what?

Cao Cao began to mobilize his troops and prepare for the expedition.

In the palace, after Liu Xie and others came back, Yang Biao and Fu Wan were quite angry and drove away the palace servants.

“This Cao Mengde summoned the army to conduct a drill and forced us to watch. This is clearly a threat to us. This is outrageous and treasonous.”

The father-in-law Fu Wan roared in anger, his face turned pale and red, but his heart was beating violently.

Yang Biao, who was already in his sixties, saw that Fu Wan, who had always been timid, was so excited, and he understood that Fu Wan was clearly filled with fear.

However, Yang Biao was also angry, but then he stomped his feet helplessly, shook his head and sighed.

Even though Cao Cao’s action was extremely treasonous, what could they do?

Cao Cao had a large army under his command and acted recklessly, even putting Liu Xie under house arrest.

Liu Xie, the Emperor of Han, who was sitting on the dragon throne, looked at the angry Fu Wan and Yang Biao who shook his head helplessly, gritted his teeth, and suddenly said:
“I don’t want to be a puppet anymore, and I don’t want Cao Cao to oppress the Han Dynasty anymore. Please help me, Lord Yang and the father-in-law.”

The hall was silent.

Fu Wan, who was extremely angry just now, suddenly shook his body and was no longer angry.

Yang Biao was also slightly startled and looked at Liu Xie in surprise, who had a resolute expression on his face.

“Your Majesty, don’t be impulsive. Cao Cao is powerful and you must not act recklessly again. The Yidaizhao incident a few years ago is still vivid in our memory.” Fu Wan hurriedly advised Liu Xie.

Although the threats and intimidation to Cao Cao made him feel angry and panicked, Fu Wan was still somewhat afraid of him.

The reason is that Cao Cao was too ruthless.

“Father-in-law, please don’t say more. I am still vividly remembering the incident of the imperial edict, so I want to eat Cao Cao’s flesh and skin him. He was the one who killed my noble lady and my unborn child!”

“At first, I begged him, pointing out that Concubine Dong was pregnant, hoping that Cao Cao would show some mercy and spare her and the baby. However, in order to further strengthen his position and influence in the court, Cao Cao killed her. That was my child. In our Han Dynasty, which emperor’s child could be killed by a minister? Or did I still beg him?”

When Liu Xie talked about this, his eyes turned red, revealing deep hatred and murderous intent.

Hearing Liu Xie’s words, Queen Fu Shou, father-in-law Fu Wan and Yang Biao in the hall all fell silent.

Indeed, this incident was definitely a huge shock to Liu Xie.

Because of this incident, Liu Xie and Cao Cao could never reconcile.

“I am an old minister who is useless, without power or soldiers. Cao Cao is too powerful, so I am afraid I cannot avenge Your Majesty.” Yang Biao bowed to Liu Xie and shook his head helplessly.

If possible, he would have wanted to kill Cao Cao long ago, and would have wanted to kill Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Li Que and other ambitious traitors.

But obviously, he can’t do it.

What’s the use even if the Yang family is loyal to the royal family?

Yang Biao felt a little depressed as he thought about it. He felt powerless and there was nothing he could do to change the situation.

“No, I still have power outside!” Liu Xie’s loud voice suddenly rang out.

Queen Fu Shou, Fu Wan and Yang Biao all looked at Liu Xie, who was sitting on the dragon throne with an excited expression, in surprise.

Does Liu Xie have power outside?
How come they don’t know?
Liu Xie did not hesitate and said directly:
“Didn’t my uncle Liu Bei take over the imperial capital of Nanyang? I heard that my uncle Liu Bei trained an elite group of loyal and brave guards, who were quite brave. They once attacked Wancheng and killed Cao Cao’s generals Yu Jin and Cao Ren. These were all great achievements made by the loyal and brave guards. If my uncle can transfer the loyal and brave guards to Xudu, I’m afraid I can escape from the cage.”

“After all, Cao Cao has mobilized his army to march west to Nanyang, leaving Xudu empty-handed.”

“This… Your Majesty is talking about Liu Xuande!” Yang Biao and Fu Wan suddenly realized what was going on when they heard that Liu Xie was actually targeting Liu Bei, or the elite loyal and brave guards under Liu Bei’s command.

The queen’s beautiful eyes lit up and she said:

“Your Majesty, what you said may not be hopeless. If the emperor’s uncle fights Cao Cao in a defensive position, attracts Cao Cao’s army, and sends a small but elite number of loyal and brave guards to attack Xu Du, it may not be impossible for us to escape Xu Du!”

Queen Fu Shou also became interested in Liu Xie’s idea.

After the Yidaizhao incident, they were all terrified of Cao Cao.

He was afraid that Cao Cao would kill him at any time and replace Liu Xie as emperor.

Fu Wan was a little flustered and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Yang Biao also felt some hope, and said thoughtfully:

“Liu Xuande is loyal to the Han Dynasty. He has been telling the world that he wants to revive the Han Dynasty. He is definitely not like Cao Cao.”

“However, even if Liu Bei sent out the loyal and brave guards to rescue His Majesty and escape from Xudu, where can he go in such a big world? You know, Cao Cao will definitely not let Liu Bei go, and Nanyang is probably not safe either.”

Yang Biao expressed his concerns.

However, as soon as Yang Biao finished speaking, Liu Xie waved his hands indignantly and said:

“As long as we can escape Xudu and Cao Cao’s hands, anything is fine. Even if I go to Nanyang and face the attack of Cao Cao’s army, and summon the troops of Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Zhang of Yizhou to come to the rescue, I don’t believe that they will not send troops. I will issue an imperial edict to denounce them and list them as criminals of the Liu royal family. The Han Dynasty is lost, and it is all the fault of Liu Biao, Liu Yan, and Liu Zhang!”

Liu Xie’s eyes were filled with hatred and murderous intent, but he was determined to fight.

At this time, in Liu Xie’s eyes, Liu Bei was the most loyal person to the Han Dynasty.

Liu Biao and Liu Zhang were both ambitious scums of the Liu family who wanted to become local emperors.

However, Liu Xie decided not to let them have an easy time. If they did not send troops to support the king, he would list the two of them as criminals of the Liu family and make them infamous for eternity.

Of course, if Liu Biao and Liu Zhang don’t care, they can pretend that Liu Xie never said this.

However, in the Han Dynasty, where loyalty and filial piety were put first, Liu Xie did not believe it. At that time, Liu Biao and Liu Zhang had not yet sent troops.

“This……”

When Yang Biao heard Liu Xie’s words, he was a little dumbfounded, but he soon came to his senses. It was obvious that Liu Xie was extremely disappointed with Liu Biao and Liu Zhang and was about to overturn the table. If Liu Biao and Liu Zhang did not take action, their reputation would be ruined, and the demise of the Han Dynasty would also be Liu Biao and Liu Zhang’s fault.

This move made Yang Biao grit his teeth and muster up the will to fight. He bowed to Liu Xie and said:

“Your Majesty, I understand what you mean. I will send someone to Wancheng and order Liu Xuande to send loyal and brave guards to rescue Your Majesty and take him out of Xudu to fight Cao Cao to the death!”

Liu Xie’s intention was undoubtedly to leave Xu Du first, then go to Nanyang, and face Cao Cao’s army together with Liu Bei, and summon Liu Biao and Liu Zhang to lead the army to defend the king.

With the combined efforts of Liu Bei, Liu Biao and Liu Zhang, the future destiny of the Han Dynasty depended on this.

“Mr. Yang, take my Emperor’s sword and tell my uncle that I have the right to execute all traitors first and report later!”

Liu Xie took off the sword from his waist, handed it to Yang Biao, and said solemnly.

Although this is just an ordinary sword, but with the special permission of the emperor, it is the sword of the emperor that has the power to execute first and report later!
“promise!”

Yang Biao took it respectfully.

On the Dragon Throne.

Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty looked at the departing figures of Yang Biao and others, his eyes filled with intense fire.

(End of this chapter)