The next day, Zhou Ping entered the palace alone, while Xu Chu and other guards could only wait outside the palace gate.
Zhou Ping entered the main hall and paid homage to the emperor.
After the salute was completed, Liu Xie asked Zhou Ping to sit in the side seat.
Zhou Ping raised his eyes and saw Liu Xie sitting upright with his crown hanging down and wearing a military uniform. His face still looked a little childish and seemed to contain a lot of sorrow.
Liu Xie is only seventeen years old this year. Since he became emperor at the age of nine, Liu Xie has hardly lived a single day in peace.
Especially after leaving Chang'an and returning eastward, he was chased by soldiers several times, arrows fell in front of him, and he fled in embarrassment. When he arrived in Luoyang, he suffered from hunger again.
After finally arriving in Xudu, he could have a full meal and a good night's sleep. However, Cao Cao arranged many people to monitor him, making it difficult for him to move forward. He also had to be careful with his words at all times, for fear that if he accidentally said something, he would end up with him.
Like the emperor's brother Liu Bian, he was poisoned by Cao Cao.
Now he has moved to Yecheng again. It can be said that he is the most helpless emperor.
No wonder he had a sad look on his face, but Zhou Ping could see that there seemed to be some perseverance in Liu Xie's sad look.
Zhou Ping thought to himself that it was a good thing that he had not traveled through time and became Liu Xie, otherwise, he would have enjoyed the life that he had dreamed of in his previous life, with clothes on his hands and food on his hands, and no need to worry about life every day.
You only need to sit and eat every day, you will be accompanied by beautiful women at night, you will be served when you eat, drink, and have sex, and you can also enjoy the worship of others. That kind of living situation was what many people in the previous life longed for!
But Zhou Ping also knew that for him, this might be a kind of enjoyment, but for Liu Xie now, it was definitely a kind of suffering.
As the emperor, he has no power and cannot make his own decisions. Everything depends on other people's faces and orders. He is just a decoration.
Zhou Ping did not feel the same situation as Liu Xie, but he could understand it quite well.
But now, Liu Bei has no ability to make his life better. As for the future, Zhou Ping doesn't know what it will be like. Maybe Liu Xie can only stay like this for the rest of his life.
In Liu Xie's eyes, the person sitting below had a handsome appearance and a slim figure. He had a delicate wine gourd hanging around his waist, which made him appear free and easy.
This made Liu Xie envious. He envied that he could not be like Zhou Ping, who could move around at will and go anywhere in the world.
"I heard that you had predicted Dong Zhuo's death in advance?" Liu Xie looked at Zhou Ping for a while and asked.
Zhou Ping replied: "Dong Zhuo is unpopular and will definitely die. This is Ping's expectation and his wish."
"Then what do you think will happen to me in the future?"
Liu Xie hesitated for a moment and asked again.
This question shocked Zhou Ping. How could the emperor, like Dong Cheng, always die without making any surprises?
"Your Majesty's affairs are beyond ordinary knowledge."
"What's your wish? Can I return to Luoyang again?"
Liu Xie seemed to want to ask Zhou Ping's intention and find out whether Liu Bei was sincerely assisting him.
"Yecheng is a temporary capital. After Luoyang is rebuilt, Your Majesty will definitely return to the old capital of Luoyang."
Zhou Ping understood what Liu Xie was asking and immediately gave him a positive reply, saying that Liu Bei would definitely find a way to save him and return to Luoyang in the future.
Liu Xie finally showed a smile on his serious face and said: "You have talent, I can live here today. You have made great contributions, I will give you a generous reward, that is, I will reward you with a hundred catties of gold."
Although Liu Xie did not hold real power in his hands, as the emperor, he could still get one hundred catties of gold.
Zhou Ping could not be rewarded with an official position or title, so he could only be rewarded with gold.
Today's gold is not yet considered a currency in circulation. It is mainly used as a reward and has a greater symbolic meaning.
Zhou Ping happily thanked Liu Xie for the reward, and without saying anything more to Liu Xie, he presented Liu Bei's tribute medal, offered cattle and wine, and received the reward of gold before bidding farewell to the emperor and leaving the palace.
When Dong Cheng visited and met the emperor in the palace, what Zhou Ping said reached Yuan Shao's ears.
Yuan Shao was quite satisfied with his attitude and allowed him to stay in Yecheng for a few more days and hosted a banquet in his honor.
It happened that Zhou Ping was also waiting for news that Chen Dao was looking for Zhao Yun. In addition to Yuan Shao's banquet, Guo Tu also hosted a banquet for Zhou Ping.
It was Zhou Ping who came to persuade Yuan Shao to send troops, and it was only then that Guo Tu became as prosperous as he is today.
The person Guo Tu wanted to thank, besides Yuan Shao, was Zhou Ping.
In addition, Feng Ji and Xu You are both in high positions now, and they also have a good impression of Zhou Ping. Although they did not host a banquet, they showed some goodwill when they met.
Only Jushu and Tian Feng were wary of Zhou Ping, especially Tian Feng, who secretly went to Yuan Shao and told Yuan Shao to detain Zhou Ping and not let him return to Xuzhou.
"Why is this so?" Yuan Shao asked in surprise.
Tian Feng said: "Zhou Wen'an is quite resourceful. The reason why Liu Bei is so strong today is because of his great help. If he is kept in Yecheng, even if he is not used by the general, he can be prevented from being used by Liu Bei. If
Without this person, Liu Bei will definitely have difficulty in taking Yangzhou, but with Yuan Gongdao and Sun Bofu in Yangzhou, they can contain Liu Bei, and the world's power will be balanced, and no one family will be strong except for the general."
"No, Zhou Wen'an is now famous. How can I force him to stay in Ye?"
Yuan Shao is a person who cares about his reputation, and naturally he is not willing to ruin his reputation for a mere Zhou Ping.
Besides, Zhou Ping was on an envoy. If he was forcibly detained, would other states and counties dare to send people to Ye to pay tribute in the future?
"With the current situation in the world, Cao Cao from Yanzhou, Liu Bei from Xuzhou, Yuan Shu from Yangzhou, Liu Biao from Jingzhou, Gongsun Zan from Youzhou, Han Sui Ma Teng from Guanzhong, and Liu Zhang from Yizhou, who do you think the general is the strongest?" Tian Feng asked.
Yuan Shao thought carefully, Cao Cao was defeated by Liu Bei not long ago and lost several generals. Now his troops have been reduced to 20,000, which is not considered strong.
However, Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao and became famous far and wide. He had as many as 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers and horses, and countless strong generals under his command. He was very powerful!
Yuan Shu was also defeated by Liu Bei and was driven from Jiujiang to Lujiang. Although he had Sun Ce to help him and had many soldiers and horses, he was not weak, but he was not as good as Liu Bei.
Liu Biao, on the other hand, was neither strong nor weak. He was more than capable of protecting the state, but not aggressive enough.
Needless to say, Liu Zhang heard that chaos often broke out in Yizhou and he was unable to compete for the world.
Gongsun Zan was defeated several times and was trapped in Yi Jing. It was not considered strong. He only defended it by accumulating food and it was difficult to break through.
From this point of view, besides himself, the strongest person in the world is Liu Bei.
"What does Yuan Hao mean?" Yuan Shao asked.
"The current situation should be to reduce Liu Bei's power and prevent him from becoming too strong."
"How to cut it?" Yuan Shao asked.
Tian Feng said: "In addition to detaining Zhou Ping in Ye, the general can also move Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling, to the governor of Julu to keep him away from Liu Bei. If Zhou Ping and Chen Deng are lost, Liu Bei will be like losing his right and left arm, and his power will be weakened.
.You can also persuade Yuan Jiujiu to hand over the imperial seal to the emperor and make him the shepherd of Yangzhou, so as to contain Liu Bei."
"As for Luo Jun, the governor of Yuzhou, he can be recruited as Yushi Zhongcheng, and Wei Kang of Liangzhou can also be appointed as the governor of Yuzhou. In this way, the forces of Yanxuyang and Yangzhou are equal. If the general orders them to disperse their troops, if they don't want to
If so, the general can raise his troops to fight against it."
Yuan Shao was surprised and said: "If the three states work together, how can I defeat Gu?"
"Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu are enemies of each other and cannot work together. The general can attack Liu Bei first and then attack Cao Cao. If these two are destroyed, Yuan Shu will surrender!" Tian Feng added.
Yuan Shao hesitated for a long time, feeling that what Tian Feng said seemed reasonable, but he still felt that it was not quite right.
