After Ju Su's explanation, Liu Xie finally understood that Yuan Xi really just wanted to give a title to the dead Qu Yi.
Liu Xie listened and nodded, saying, "That's easy. It's just a piece of cake."
"what else?"
Ju Su heard this and said, "The young master wants to avenge Qu Yi, so after the Tian family convoy is settled, he will lead his troops to attack the Black Mountain Army again."
"If the royal family can give you the title of rebel fighter, you will be very grateful."
Liu Xie heard the hidden meaning.
Whether or not he had his own intention, Yuan Xi would attack and destroy the Black Mountain Army.
But the Black Mountain Army. He did not comment, "I know, what else?"
Ju Su answered honestly: "No more."
Liu Xie was stunned and said in disbelief: "Gone?"
Ju Shou sighed, "Sir, this matter is actually not that complicated. I hope the royal family won't think it's so complicated."
Liu Xie fell into deep thought. He certainly didn't believe that the other party had gone to so much trouble just to ask for a title for the dead Qu Yi.
If what Ju Shou said was true, Qu Yi was not dead when the other party sent troops to rescue his carriage.
Liu Xie felt a little unhappy. For various purposes, everyone was always hiding things and would not tell him the truth.
This is their way of being a minister. Is this the loneliness that I must face as the emperor?
He slightly turned his head and saw that the ministers around him had different expressions. He turned back and said to Ju Shou: "If there is nothing else, you can leave first."
After Ju Shou left, Liu Xie said without even turning his head, "Tell me what Yuan Xi meant."
Zhong Yao sneered and said, "This Xionghu's move is really to seek fame and reputation. As a Han minister, it is a great honor to be rewarded by the royal family, but this person is hypocritical and has other ideas. It can be said that he is extremely dishonest."
Several ministers also expressed similar views. Dong Cheng wanted to speak, but he hesitated. Liu Xie waited for him for a moment, but found that he still did not dare to speak, so he simply ignored him.
When it was Yang Biao's turn, he only said one sentence, "He has not yet confided in the Heavenly Family, so he must have his own difficulties."
"I hope the Heavenly Family will carefully consider its relationship with the Yuan family."
After hearing this, Liu Xie said, "I understand."
He said to the guards, "Ask Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, to come to see me."
Soon, Cao Cao came in and bowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty, I am Cao Cao. I greet the Emperor."
Liu Xie raised his hand and said, "Come here, please give me a seat."
The guards had already brought a table and chairs. Cao Cao thanked them and sat down at the head of the table. Then he heard Liu Xie say, "Your Excellency has made a great contribution in defeating Li Jue and Guo Si and quelling the civil strife."
"I summoned you here to ask if you have any wishes?"
Cao Cao hurriedly said: "I will do my best for the royal family, even if it means sacrificing my life for the country. I will not refuse."
"Cao has something to say. The Sili is not settled yet. To the west, the army of Liangzhou is in retreat. To the south, Yuan Shu is in rebellion. There are frequent battles in Heishan. The situation in Jizhou is unclear. If we return to Luoyang now, we will go deep into the dangerous area."
"Luoyang has been through war, with ruins and deserted people everywhere. It is not suitable to be the capital. So I ask the emperor to move his family to Xu County. I will definitely protect the emperor's family."
After hearing this, Liu Xie turned to several ministers and asked, "What do you think?"
Several ministers including Yang Biao were stunned. They did not expect Liu Huihui to ask this question in front of Cao Cao. Isn't this forcing people to take sides on the spot?
If they openly opposed Cao Cao, he would definitely hold a grudge against them and take revenge on them. It would be fine if they were in Anyi now, but if they went to Xu County, wouldn't they be at the mercy of Cao Cao?
While the ministers were still hesitating, Zhong Yao had already stood up and vigorously advocated the benefits of moving the capital to Xu County.
Everyone saw that Zhong Yao was definitely Cao Cao's man, and he was so open about it that it was obvious that he had no idea of any other way out.
What surprised everyone even more was that the second person who stood up to agree was Dong Cheng!
This is really outrageous. You have to know that during the day, Cao Cao's generals were still chasing Dong Cheng!
Several more ministers came out and said some ambiguous words, which meant that Xu County was far away and very close to Yuan Shu's territory, so there was still a certain degree of danger.
Of course, the same words spoken from different angles will have completely different effects. Some people implicitly agree to choose a safer place, while others implicitly imply that although Xu County is not safe, other places are even less safe.
After listening to what everyone said, Liu Xie pondered for a while and said, "I need to think about this matter again."
His goal had been achieved. He had already roughly understood his confidant's attitude and inclination towards Cao Cao from the words he had just guessed.
He turned to Cao Cao and asked, "My dear, what do you think about the Yuan family of Jizhou attacking the Black Mountain Army?"
Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat as he discovered that although Liu Xie was only fifteen or sixteen years old, he had a maturity and shrewdness that was far beyond his age.
Yes, Liu Xie had been walking on thin ice since his biological mother was killed. He was either suppressed, held hostage, or framed. Growing up in such an environment, it was extremely rare for him not to go crazy.
After hearing this, Cao Cao said in a deep voice: "The Black Mountain Army was appointed by the late emperor himself."
He said no more after that; this one sentence was enough.
Before his death, Emperor Ling of Han left a will to make Liu Xie the emperor, but Empress Dowager Dong, who supported Liu Xie, was defeated and killed by Empress He. With the support of her brother He Jin, Empress He made her own son Liu Bian the emperor.
During that period, although Liu Xie was first made King of Bohai and then King of Chenliu, his situation was very terrible.
No matter what Liu Xie thought then or what he thinks now, as the successor of Emperor Ling, in order to follow the principle of filial piety, he must continue Emperor Ling's policies in many practices, even if these may be wrong.
What Cao Cao said actually implied very clearly that Emperor Lingdi had always favored Liu Xie, and the matter of the Black Mountain Army was approved by Emperor Lingdi. There was no need for Cao Cao to say more about what Liu Xie should do.
Liu Xie sat on it, looking at the short Cao Cao, and thought it was a pity. If he could use this man completely at his service, it would make things much easier for him.
But now, the other party has become a local lord, obtained territory and soldiers, and tasted the sweetness of monopolizing a place. Just like a tiger that has tasted blood, I am afraid that he will no longer be completely loyal to me.
Liu Xie bowed slightly and said to Cao Cao, "You have done a lot today. When you return, please submit a report to me, listing the people who have made contributions, and I will reward them according to their merits."
After hearing this, Cao Cao hurriedly thanked him and then left.
Liu Xie rubbed his eyebrows and felt a dull pain in the middle of his eyebrows. Dealing with these people was too exhausting. Even though he was young and strong, he felt his brain was a little numb.
He closed his eyes and dozed off for a while in his seat. When everyone saw this, no one dared to disturb him.
After a while, Liu Xie opened his eyes, gathered himself, and said, "Call Wen Hou in."
Lu Bu strode in, bowed to Liu Xie and said, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty."
Seeing Lü Bu's appearance, Liu Xie smiled and said, "Marquis Wen has changed a lot in the past two years."
"But his pride has not diminished in the slightest."
Lu Bu said bluntly: "I abandoned Your Majesty and ran away. Your Majesty, don't you blame me?"
Liu Xie said in a complicated tone, "Anyone could leave at that time, but I couldn't."
"If I abandon the ministers and the people of this city, how can I call myself a lone wolf?"
"Situ Wang's loyalty is evident. Now that the Xiliang army has been defeated, I can finally clear his name."
Lu Bu cupped his hands and said, "I, on behalf of the Minister, thank your Majesty."
"Situ will rest in peace in his grave."
Liu Xie was also quite touched, "Marquis Wen, I am still short of a great general."
"I can hardly find anyone better than Marquis Wen who is good at leading troops in the whole world."
After hearing this, Lu Bu immediately bowed and said, "I am willing to lead the way for your majesty!"
He was filled with joy that he had finally reached this point today!
Liu Xie asked Lu Bu to stand up, but suddenly asked, "What does Wenhou think of Cao Shijun?"
Lu Bu was stunned. He didn't expect Liu Xie to talk about this matter. After all, he and Cao Cao were fighting to the death. If Liu Xie was not there, he would have fought a life-and-death battle with Cao Cao long ago.
He thought about it for a moment and said, "This person does things by any means necessary. I don't like him."
Liu Xie listened and smiled, "I will remember what Wen Hou said."
After Lu Bu left, Liu Xie asked everyone around him to take their seats one by one and said, "Okay."
"You have already seen them and heard their words and actions."
"What I want you to do now is to figure out whether what those people said just now was true or false, what their purpose was, and who can be trusted and who cannot be trusted."
"Based on their demands and ideas, I want you to come up with a compromise that they can all accept."
Dong Zhao, who had been silent the whole time, thought that the emperor had indeed grown up a lot. He not only had to understand the thoughts of the princes, but also had to understand the thoughts of the ten people in the hall.
The real show has just begun.
Wu County, Yangzhou, Qu'a.
In the city lord's mansion, Liu Yao was lying on the sickbed, coughing constantly.
He defeated Zuo Rong while he was sick, but he inhaled miasma and became ill. He struggled back and became bedridden.
Kneeling in front of his bed was a young man of about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a very handsome appearance. This was Liu Yao's eldest son, Liu Ji.
Liu Ji carefully helped Liu Yao sit up and brought him a bowl of medicine. Liu Yao tasted it, then tilted his head back and drank it.
He panted for a few times and asked Liu Ji, "How is the war going?"
Liu Ji replied: "Very bad, I'm afraid it won't last more than ten days."
"Sun Ce's army suddenly stepped up their offensive, and his soldiers charged at full speed, causing heavy casualties among our soldiers."
"General Taishi said that the situation was hopeless and suggested that we cross the river to Guangling for refuge and then plan a counterattack."
After hearing this, Liu Yao sighed.
"Although this is good, the reputation of my Liu clan will be damaged because I have joined a clan of a different surname."
"We, the clan members, will never seek shelter from outsiders even if we have to die. We are not like Liu Bei of Xuzhou, whose origins are unknown. We cannot afford to lose face like that."
Liu Ji heard this and asked, "Where are you going, father?"
Liu Yao said, "If Wujun is conquered, I will go to Jingzhou to seek refuge with Liu Biao."
Liu Ji nodded, "What about General Taishi?"
Liu Yao said: "He has done a lot for me. If he has any requests, I will try my best to satisfy them."
"Anyway, if Sun Ce conquers Wujun, my foundation will be destroyed, but it is better to do a favor."
"Did he ask for anything?"
Liu Ji replied, "General Taishi said Guangling is short of officials and wants some nobles to go there."
After hearing this, Liu Yao said, "This is easy. Just agree to it."
"Otherwise, if Sun Ce comes, it is still unknown whether the Yangzhou nobles will survive."