Historically, after he proclaimed himself emperor in Yizhou, he sent troops to Soochow due to the death of Guan Yu. Wherever he went, he followed the army and shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers.
But the situation at that time was very different from now. Liu Bei was not strong at that time and his position was not very stable.
Therefore, there is not much emphasis on it. What happened in the past will remain the same in the future.
But now he is the emperor who justifiably obeys Liu Yu's hand. He has a solid foundation and huge power. Many things require pomp and etiquette.
Even if he doesn't want to do this, some officials in the court must always correct him, because this is a kind of etiquette.
The emperor must have the majesty of an emperor.
This is a kind of power, but also a kind of restraint.
Otherwise, officials in charge of etiquette and sacrifice like Taichang Qing would stand up and lecture him.
In fact, this scene is extremely compressed. Because according to Cai Yong's "Doctrine", the imperial guard of honor is also called Lu Bo.
The scale of Lu Bo is divided into large, medium and small, including Dajia, Fajia and Xiaojia. Even the smallest Xiaojia has thousands of followers, while the largest Dajia has tens of thousands of followers.
Therefore, in a sense, Liu Bei only has a few hundred honor guards following him, which is already a very small team when the emperor of the Han Dynasty traveled.
In front of the carriage was Jinwu Zhi, who was leading the way. These Jinwu Zhi were the emperor's guards, and the commander of the guards was Xu Chu. Their shining steel armor was eye-catching.
When they arrived about twenty feet away from Cao Cao's team, the Jinwu guards at the front stepped aside, revealing six carriages.
Liu Bei was sitting on the carriage. Because there was a huge umbrella cover, which he had said he wanted to cover the carriage with when he was young, his whole body was shrouded in darkness and was not exposed to the sun.
If you stand under the car and talk to Liu Bei, due to the angle of looking down and looking up, you will feel a very powerful majesty of the emperor, condescending and oppressive.
Although there is no such thing as momentum or coercion in the world, the power of a superior person is itself an oppressive force that makes people breathless.
But Liu Bei did not sit on the carriage and look down at Cao Cao. Instead, he slowly stood up and waved to Xu Chu.
Xu Chu hesitated slightly and turned to look at another attendant, who then led a white horse over.
of Luma.
Liu Bei got out of the car. He was not wearing the emperor's robes, but a suit of armor with two swords hanging from his waist. He was dressed like a general.
Lu gently caressed the horse's neck which was spotless and dust-free, and also touched Liu Bei's hand with his head affectionately. He jumped over and easily jumped onto the horse's back.
Although I haven't been to the battlefield in person for a long time, the familiar feeling from the past is still there.
"His Majesty......"
Xu Chu hesitated and said: "Don't take risks."
Liu Bei laughed and said, "Don't worry, Zhongkang. Since the Yellow Turbans, I have experienced hundreds of battles, big and small, so why should I be afraid? Just stay with me."
"only."
Seeing that he could not be persuaded, Xu Chu had no choice but to follow.
Also vigilant in the distance is Dian Wei. As Liu Bei's former bodyguard, although he has grown into a general leading the army on his own, he is still concerned about Liu Bei's safety.
Almost immediately after Liu Bei abandoned the carriage and passed by himself, Dian Wei became impatient and ran over with two short halberds in hand.
"Brother."
Cao Hong noticed Dian Wei coming alone in the distance and was afraid that the enemy was trying to trick him.
Cao Cao waved his hand: "It doesn't matter."
At this moment, Liu Bei sat on Lu's horse. With his legs lightly holding the horse's belly, Lu stepped forward.
The distance between the two sides was about twenty feet, or more than fifty meters, which was still a bit far. Liu Bei ordered the honor guard to stay while he and Xu Chu passed.
Seeing this situation, Cao Cao also ordered his soldiers to stay put and asked Cao Hong to follow him, and the two quickly approached.
Soon the two met in the middle, about three feet apart, stopped and looked at each other.
"Mengde!"
Liu Bei sat on the horse, looking at Cao Cao with mixed emotions in his eyes.
Since the eighteen princes attacked Dong, and more than ten princes among them all evacuated when Dong Zhuo fled to Guanzhong, he once thought that Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Bao Xin, and Gongsun Zan were the last princes of Guandong who were loyal to the Han Dynasty.
Only the four of them followed him to Guanzhong.
But now?
Except for Sun Jian, who could maintain his original intention, and Cao Cao, Gong Sun Zan and Bao Xin, no one knew what they were thinking.
At least Gongsun Zan almost fell out with him, and Cao Cao is now against him.
The five kings of the world exist in name only.
Compared with Liu Bei's emotion, Cao Cao's emotion was more real. There were far more complex emotions in his eyes than Liu Bei's.
From a white body to now being the supreme being in the world, how can such a transformation not be admirable.
However, the confrontation between the two sides is no longer the same as it used to be.
"Xuande!"
"presumptuous!"
As soon as Cao Cao opened his mouth, Xu Chu drew his sword and said angrily: "How dare you disrespect your majesty?"
Cao Hong also quickly drew his sword and confronted Xu Chu.
Liu Bei said: "Zhongkang, don't be rude. Meng De is an old friend. We are old friends, so there is no harm in calling him by his nickname."
There are actually very few personal names of ancient emperors that have been passed down. Except for those emperors who conquered the country and Li Yu, whose name is Chongguang, there are clear records. Most emperors have no personal names.
This is because emperors have a distinguished status and it is impossible for ordinary people to call them by their cousin names. There are also some reasons. For example, many emperors succeeded to the throne at a very young age and did not hold a crown ceremony, so naturally they did not use their cousin names.
Therefore, there are actually very few emperors with nicknames like Liu Bei. As an emperor, it is impossible to be called by nicknames, such as emperor, majesty, country, etc.
Therefore, Cao Cao called Liu Bei his cousin instead of his majesty, which was disrespectful to the emperor, and Xu Chu was naturally angry.
Cao Cao watched Liu Bei's actions with cold eyes and said nothing.
After Liu Bei stopped Xu Chu, he slowly said: "Xuande invited me to come and talk in front of the battle. He didn't want to show off the power of the emperor in front of me, right?"
"Of course not."
Liu Bei shook his head and said: "I came to invite old friends to gather together. Naturally, I hope to persuade Meng De. Even if I can't persuade, it's good to talk about the past, because when the war begins, it will not end until death."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Oh?"
Cao Cao became interested and said with a smile: "How does Xuande plan to persuade me?"
Liu Bei looked at him sincerely and said: "In the past, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and other Guandong princes were afraid of the crusade against Dong Zhuo. Only Meng Dewentai and others followed. This was a matter of loyalty. Why do you want to rebel against the imperial court today and separatist rule?
How about calling yourself a prince?"
Cao Cao was silent for a moment and said: "Didn't Xuande also separatist power and later usurp the throne of emperor?"
"This is the throne passed down to me by the late Emperor!"
Liu Bei had a resolute face, his mustache trembling up and down with his words, and he said seriously: "Does Meng De also think that I am the kind of villain who persecutes the emperor?"
Cao Cao was silent, and after a long time he said: "Although I don't know why the late emperor passed the throne to you, I am sure it was Chen Zigui's plan."
Liu Bei said seriously: "Maybe. But I have never forced the late emperor. If I have gone beyond the limits, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty will not surrender to me. Could it be that Meng De cannot trust me, nor can he trust the veterans of the Manchu Dynasty, nor can he trust Wen Xianggong?
Mr. Zirou, Uncle Ying and others? In the final analysis, it’s just because you have changed and have become selfish.”
Cao Cao said angrily: "Yes, I have changed. Why, why can you Liu Xuande conquer the world just because he was born in vain? My family is an official, so you can't make a difference? When a man is doing things, he should be galloping around the universe.
Across the world, flies and dogs roam around all day long, how is it any different from rotten wood and rotten grass?"
Liu Bei also said angrily: "Cao Mengde, you were a Han Dynasty official and you should have served the country. But now it has become like this. Separating one side to claim dominance is actually a bandit. You are in vain to serve as a Han official and in vain to deprive yourself of the emperor's salary. When you attacked Dong Zhuo,
He is also a loyal person, but now you look at yourself, a man who does things without end, how virtuous can he be called a hero!"
Cao Cao sneered and said, "I don't need you to teach me."
Liu Bei's old habit relapsed. Now he finally understood why Chen Mu had said that Cao Cao was an ambitious man and would one day commit rebellion. If he didn't believe it then, how could he not know it now?
But the loyalty in his heart, the heroic spirit of the Five Lords of the World, still remained in his heart, lingering, as if it had become an obsession. He hoped that Cao Cao could still be loyal to the court.
After all, at that time, they were very high-spirited, and each of them dreamed of taking back the emperor and governing this dilapidated country.
So he was very angry, angry about why Cao Cao became like this. Although the relationship was not like that of Guan, Zhang and Chen, they were close friends for many years and had fought side by side since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Why did they get to this point?
?
His chest was rising and falling. After a long time, Liu Bei calmed down and said slowly: "I was too aggressive, Meng De. I apologize to you."
Cao Cao also looked calmly and said: "Everyone is unhappy sometimes."
Liu Bei shook his head, as if to throw away the complicated thoughts in his mind. After a moment, he said softly: "Mengde, before we leave, I want to ask you a question."
"you say."
"I want to know, what is your ambition?"
"My ambition?"
"yes."
"What is Xuande's ambition? I want to hear it first."
"My ambition?"
Liu Bei looked into the distance and murmured easily: "I once heard my fourth brother say that if a man lives his life, he will not regret his death. The most fearful thing is that he does not have lofty ambitions. I am already an emperor, and the only thing left is to unify China.
It is enough for the Han people to have enough food and clothing."
"Isn't it true that I was not like this back then?"
Cao Cao looked at the horizon with deep eyes. The forty-eight-year-old Cao Cao was sitting there, looking at him with affectionate eyes. All he could see was his twenty-year-old figure.
Born in a family of officials, he entered the officialdom at a young age as a filial and honest person.
He once hung a five-color stick to rule the law, wrote to the court to remonstrate with the emperor, and later led the imperial army to fight for the Yellow Turban. He also assassinated Dong Zhuo in a fit of anger. When he was young, he was obsessed with serving the country. When he got a piece of territory, he didn't know when.
, your mind has already changed?
He became striving for power and wanted to climb up. In these troubled times, the collapse of the imperial court was a foregone conclusion. The scene of the late Han Dynasty was repeated again. Emperor Guangwu was able to revitalize the Han Dynasty, so why couldn't he do that?
However, if I gave birth to Cao Cao, why should I give birth to you Liu Bei? The Liu family has been in the family for four hundred years. Up to this day, first the great ancestor conquered the country, then the ancestors revived the great Han Dynasty, and now there is another surnamed Liu.
Is this world destined to belong to your surname Liu? Why can't it be his turn, that of the Yuan family, or my Cao family? Princes, generals, and ministers would rather have the guts. Even if everyone is going to die, they must die heroically!
Cao Cao's expression was complicated and he couldn't hide the emotions in his heart. He took a long breath and said: "Xuande, I will call you Yi Xuande for the last time. When we were at the same table in Luoyang, we were among the five kings in the world. How many years older am I as my brother and you as my younger brother?"
.You may also be disappointed that I was so loyal to the Han Dynasty at that time, but now I am so loyal, why do you think I am?"
"Why?"
"Because I see that this country is in ruins, and I trust no one. That Emperor Huan and Emperor Kang were an incompetent and ignorant emperor. To end up in such a state of affairs today, are they not wrong?"
"I don't deny this. The two late emperors did make mistakes!"
"I have lived as a Han Dynasty, so I should have served the imperial court. But when did the imperial court need me to serve the imperial court? When the eunuchs were disrupting the government, I wrote a letter to dissuade them, but I was scolded. At that time, I was already disillusioned with the imperial government and dissatisfied with the imperial court.
completely lose hope."
"so what?"
"That's why I raised an army to attack the Yellow Turbans and get rid of Dong Zhuo. I wanted to help the Han Dynasty and see if this new emperor of the Han Dynasty could make a difference, unlike the previous faint emperor who only knew how to extort money."
"What Meng De means is that Mr. Bo'an has let you down, and I have let you down?"
Liu Bei's eyes became colder and colder.
Legally speaking, Liu Yu is a descendant of the eldest son of Emperor Guangwu, and is also a descendant of the crown prince. He can be said to be the legitimate son and grandson, and it is legitimate for him to inherit the Han royal family.
And Liu Yu gave up the throne to him. Even if the world criticized it, it was legal because of procedural justice.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! If Cao Cao is still a loyal minister of the court, he should serve him. But now that he has defended himself and sent a large army to fight against him, it means that Cao Cao no longer has the loyalty to the emperor.
I want to rebel against him to the end.
This is something Liu Bei cannot tolerate.
If Cao Cao rebelled for other reasons, it might not be impossible to convince him, just like Gongsun Zan, who finally resolved all problems peacefully. No one wants to fight together and destroy all lives.
But now that Cao Cao does not recognize Liu Yu and Liu Bei, it means that Cao Cao has developed a rebellious heart and believes that everyone can be the emperor, so he must learn from Chen She and Wu Guang.
Although Liu Bang was also conquered by common people, the Han Dynasty has been deeply rooted for four hundred years. Even if it is in chaos now, the court is still there and the orthodoxy is still there!
So morally speaking, Cao Cao did not want to raise troops to correct the court's mistakes because of the court's negligence. Instead, he wanted to be the emperor himself. This was a fundamental opposition to Liu Bei's court.
To put it simply, if the two parties have some differences, such as political, military and other reasons, then they can discuss it.
As long as Cao Cao agrees to submit to the imperial court, be promoted to a higher rank, and allow him to fight in all directions, we can negotiate.
But if Cao Cao did not have these differences, but thought that the Han Dynasty should be destroyed, and it was better to recreate the world like Liu Bang and establish another dynasty by himself, then the two sides would be completely at odds and incompatible.
Just as there is only one leading candidate in Heliansheng, once one of the candidates wants to create a new Heliansheng, he will naturally become the public enemy of everyone, because no one will allow division.
However, in the face of Liu Bei's inquiry, Cao Cao did not speak for a long time.
Liu Bei just looked at him like this.
He also looked at Liu Bei.
As long as Cao Cao says that he wants to be emperor, then this war will be life and death.
But Cao Cao just looked at it with deep eyes. After a long time, he slowly said: "Xuande, you are doing a good job in governing this country. I have never been disappointed in you... It's just...
..."
It’s just that I couldn’t cross that hurdle after all.