Liu Xie put down the wine jar filled with honey water, his expression somewhat bleak. He glanced at Guanqiu Jian beside him and Liu Ye opposite him, paused for a few moments, and asked:
"Yuan Zhong, are you here to kill me? Do you want to punish me?"
Cao Rui, who was sitting opposite him, didn't seem to be surprised at all, and responded calmly: "Why, Bohe doesn't want to live? If he really wants to die, I can send someone to do it for him."
Liu Xie sneered and shook his head: "Everyone has a desire to live, so why can I be different? Apart from killing me or punishing me, I really don't know why Yuan Zhong came to Shanyang."
"Yuan Zhong, do you know that I have not seen Meng De once since the fourth year of Jian'an?"
The fourth year of Jian'an? Cao Rui calculated silently in his mind.
At that time, Liu Xie should not have issued the "Yidai Edict" yet, and Emperor Wu Cao Cao had not yet fought with Yuan Shao at Guandu. So Cao Cao had not seen Liu Xie for more than 20 years?
Cao Rui glanced at Liu Ye who was kneeling on the left side of the table. Liu Ye understood and thought for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, I have heard that according to the rituals of the former Han Dynasty, when the three ministers met the emperor, they were accompanied by tiger guards holding swords on both sides."
"After the fifth year of Jian'an, Emperor Wu repeatedly used military force against the Yuan family, often outside Xuchang. After Emperor Wu conquered Yecheng in the ninth year of Jian'an, he settled in Yecheng as the capital, and all government orders were issued from Hebei."
Cao Rui understood the hidden meaning of Liu Ye's words and nodded slightly. It was obvious that Emperor Wu Cao Cao was frightened by Liu Xie when he met Liu Xie, so they never met again. You can be the emperor of the Han Dynasty in Xuchang, and I will control the overall situation of my world in Yecheng, hiding away in peace!
The distance between Liu Xie and Cao Rui was only ten feet. Although Liu Ye had lowered his voice, Liu Xie on the opposite side could still hear it clearly.
Before Cao Rui could speak, Liu Xie continued, "Compared to Meng De, I actually saw Zihuan more often. In the first month of the 23rd year of Jian'an, Zihuan came to the palace in Xuchang to see the emperor. When he abdicated, I saw Zihuan twice, which makes three times. I am a person with grudges. If everything is normal and Yuanzhong is young, he can just pay his respects to me from afar when I die. Why would he come to Shanyang to see me in person?"
Liu Xie took a sip of the honey water from the wine jar and took a sip, then he took a sip of courage and said, "I hope Yuan Zhong will not repeat the old Hongmen incident and be more straightforward. Why did you come here?"
Cao Rui chuckled and said, "Why? Is Shanyang County some kind of out-of-region place that I cannot come to? I am just passing by here on my march and want to meet Bohe and have a chat with him."
Liu Xie said, "From the first year of Huangchu to the fourth year of Taihe, it has been ten years. I have been in Shanyang County and have not paid attention to worldly affairs. Apart from the two national mournings in the seventh year of Huangchu and this year, I have not known the other major events in the court and the world. I am an ancient man living in the present. What can I say to Yuan Zhong?"
While Liu Xie was speaking, Cao Rui was eating while listening, as if he was listening to reports from his subjects during a march. After Liu Xie finished speaking, Cao Rui also put down his bamboo chopsticks:
"I have been away from worldly affairs for ten years. Bohe, do you have anything to ask me?"
A bitter smile appeared on Liu Xie's lips. He lowered his head slightly and shook it without saying anything.
"Well, let me talk to you first, and then I'll ask you questions." Cao Rui looked at Liu Xie: "In the second year of the Han-Wei transition, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu, still using the name of Han."
Liu Xie sighed softly: "How can a remote place like Yizhou achieve anything?"
Cao Rui nodded and said, "What Bohe said is correct. Liu Bei passed away two years later. All military and political orders in the country were issued by his Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, whose office was in the north, not in Chengdu."
"Why does the Han Dynasty always have such powerful officials?" Liu Xie just blurted out, then realized that he had said the wrong thing. He raised his hand to explain, but forced himself to hold back: "What about the Sun family of Jiangdong?"
Cao Rui said: "Sun Quan is alive and well. In the first year of Taihe, I defeated Sun Quan in Huainan and took his daughter as my concubine. We already have a son."
Liu Xie was somewhat surprised: "Not destroying the country and marrying the daughter, isn't this a way to bring disaster? Why did Yuan Zhong do this?"
Cao Rui didn't seem to care: "The emperor's heart encompasses the four seas, what does a woman mean to him? Sun Quan's daughter is no smarter than others, so I'll marry her."
Liu Xie was somewhat speechless and could only say, "That makes sense."
The two chatted back and forth, recounting all the major events that had happened in the past ten years. It was nothing more than the change of emperors in Wei and Shu, three wars during the Huangchu period, and three more during the Taihe period. Cao Rui also said that if these events were put in history books, they could be long or short, and could even be described in a few pages.
Guanqiu Jian was beside Liu Xie, and Liu Ye was beside Cao Rui. They kept serving food and pouring honey water, while listening to the emperors of the Han and Wei dynasties chatting about various things.
During this time, Liu Xie also mentioned that he opened a clinic in Zhuolu City. On the first, fifth, eleventh, fifteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-fifth days of every month, he would go to the clinic to diagnose patients. Since the Shanyang Mansion still had some assets, all the sick people in the county were free of medical treatment.
Cao Rui also gave a positive evaluation of this. Being able to be friendly and provide relief to people in a county is already Liu Xie's greatest contribution in the world. And Liu Xie actually nodded in agreement.
Cao Rui started eating and said, "Ten years have passed. Bohe just said that all old grudges will not be brought to the city of Zhuolu. I will also let it be the past. But I do have a few questions for Bohe."
Liu Xie said, "Yuan Zhong, please speak."
Cao Rui asked, "What does Bohe think of Liu Xuande and Sun Zhongmou?"
Cao Rui tactfully did not mention Cao Cao, and also knew that Liu Xie would not speak nonsense in front of him, so he skipped the topic directly.
Liu Xie said: "Liu Bei wanted to learn from Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, but he only learned the basics. Sun Quan relied on his distant land to establish his own regime, and he was just like Gongsun Shu."
It was obvious that Liu Xie did not have any positive comments about either of them. When he was still in Shanyang County, Liu Bei had declared a funeral and conferred a posthumous title on him, and even proclaimed himself emperor in a remote place in Yizhou. He was just a separatist clan member who was causing chaos. As for Sun Quan, Liu Xie really had nothing good to say. He was just a separatist. Cao Rui asked again: "What about Xun Wenruo?"
Liu Xie said calmly: "In the past when we were in Xuchang, Xun Wenruo once served as a lecturer in the palace. Although he is talented, his character is wavering. If he was loyal to Han, why did he wait until Meng De was crowned Duke before expressing his opposition? If he was loyal to Wei, why did he come to me to seek false reputation?"
Cao Rui raised his eyes and looked at Liu Xie: "So Bohe doesn't like this person?"
Liu Xie sighed softly, "Not really. It's just that Xun Wenruo's behavior is neither beneficial to Han nor to Wei. He only earns a little fame for himself. I just think it's not worth it for him."
Cao Rui chuckled and then asked, "In the first month of the 23rd year of Jian'an, Geng Ji, Jin Yi and others rebelled in Xudu and attempted to murder Emperor Wen. Was this instigated by Bohe?"
This is another extremely sensitive issue.
In the first month of the 23rd year of Jian'an, Geng Ji, Wei Huang, Jin Yi, Ji Ben and others rebelled in Xuchang City, intending to occupy the city. During the riot, Cao Pi, who was originally the target of everyone, was outside the city of Xuchang instead of inside, and only the Prime Minister and Chief Clerk Wang Bi died of his injuries.
After this, there was the famous story of "those who put out the fire were on the left, those who did not put out the fire were on the right, and all those who put out the fire were killed by Cao Cao."
Although Cao Rui and Liu Xie had already said that all past grudges would not be brought into play in Zhuolu City, Liu Ye and Guanqiu Jian still felt apprehensive when they heard this.
"Yes." Liu Xie nodded calmly and replied, "Zi Huan also knows this. He once told me personally that if he were in my situation, he would do the same thing."
"This is a straightforward statement." Cao Rui nodded gently: "Does Bohe still hate the Cao family?"
hatred?
How could I not hate him? If I didn't hate him in my heart, how could I explain the death of Empress Dong, Empress Fu, and countless others who died for the Han Dynasty during the more than 20 years of puppetry?
If Liu Xie hated him, he couldn't say it at this moment. The only person who accompanied him was Cao Jie, the daughter of Cao Cao. Although Cao Pi took away his position, he kept his promise and granted him a county, not interfering in the affairs of the county, and the Han Dynasty ancestral temple was still there. No matter how you look at it, it is much better than Dong Zhuo and Li Jue!
Liu Xie half-raised his head at the table, as if he was reminiscing about something, with tears in his eyes. After a long while, he stood up and bowed solemnly to Cao Rui:
"I don't hate you anymore. It's all in the past." Liu Xie stood up slowly, and looked at Cao Rui with red eyes: "I shouldn't be the emperor. I shouldn't have done this."
Cao Rui also sighed: "The position of emperor enjoys all the wealth and honor in the world, but also bears the responsibility of the world, which is the most difficult."
After saying that, Cao Rui also stood up, walked slowly to Liu Xie, took a wooden spoon and scooped a spoonful of honey water from the pottery jar for Liu Xie, and filled it into the wine jar.
He then picked up the wine jar and stuffed it into Liu Xie's hands.
"I have asked Bohe so many questions just now. Is there anything Bohe can teach me?"
"Thank you, Yuan Zhong." Liu Xie took the wine and drank it all. He and Cao Rui stood across a table. He pursed his lips and thought for a few moments. He said, "I have been thinking about this for ten years in Shanyang. I have some experience. I have something to ask Yuan Zhong."
Cao Rui nodded: "Please go ahead."
Liu Xie asked directly: "What is the current situation of the Luoyang army?"
Facing such a man who never left Shanyang, Cao Rui had nothing to hide: "After taking Yingzhou, the Wei army numbered about 320,000. Among them, 50,000 central troops were often in Luoyang, and the rest were in Guanxi, Jingzhou, Huainan, or Hebei, known as the foreign troops and prefecture troops."
Liu Xie asked again: "Is the central army inside or outside Luoyang City?"
"Yes." Cao Rui said.
Liu Xie then asked, "There is only one central army guarding the left side of Luoyang City? Who will lead the troops?"
Cao Rui pursed his lips towards Guanqiu Jian and said, "This man is called Guanqiu Zhonggong, and he is currently the commander-in-chief of the Wei army, leading 5,000 soldiers."
"Among the 50,000 central troops, the Wuwei and Xiaowei camps each have 10,000 infantrymen, all stationed outside the city. The Central Commander Army and the five schools of the Northern Army have a combined 10,000 soldiers, who are always on guard near the palace. The Yulin Left Army and Yulin Right Army each have 10,000 soldiers, responsible for guarding Luoyang inside and outside."
Liu Xie shook his head again and said, "That's not what I mean. Is there anyone who can lead these 50,000 central troops?"
Cao Rui turned around and pointed at Liu Ye: "The Privy Council is in charge of the military affairs of the whole country. Liu Ziyang is the person who can nominally command the deployment of the central army, but the deployment of the central army is all done by me."
Cao Rui did not mention Xige here. Xige was not a formal position, but a position like the emperor's adviser or secretary. When the order was issued from the palace, it also went through the Zhongshu Province. From the process point of view, it was as if the emperor himself had issued the order.
Liu Xie looked carefully at the faces of Guanqiu Jian and Liu Ye, and said calmly: "To lead the army in this way is a way to bring disaster." (End of this chapter)
