Chapter 1795: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

Liu Yu glared fiercely at Jia Xu; he remembered clearly that the last time Jia Xu was captured by him, he feigned illness. Every time, Jia Xu would trick him into saying his hands and feet hurt, making it impossible to give a massage.

Jia Xu smiled awkwardly: "Your Majesty truly has eyes like a torch."

"Hmph, hmph!" Liu Yu sneered a few times: "If you do not rub my shoulders, then I will make you sleep on the sofa."

Jia Xu wore a bitter face. He knew that if he did not massage Liu Yu, misfortune would surely follow.

So Jia Xu began massaging Liu Yu's shoulders.

Liu Yu felt extremely comfortable, closing his eyes to enjoy it.

After a while, Liu Yu suddenly opened his eyes and said: "By the way, where is Li Ru? I remember he was responsible for managing the army."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Lord Li Ru has gone to Jingzhou," Jia Xu said.

Liu Yu frowned and said: "Why did he go to Jingzhou for no reason? Is there not Cao Cao in Jingzhou? Does he intend to defect to Cao Cao?"

Jia Xu hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, according to scouts' reports, Lord Li Ru is preparing to tour Jiangnan. Moreover, before Lord Li Ru went to Jingzhou, he had already sent a secret letter to the Prime Minister."

"Oh?" Liu Yu raised his eyebrows a few times.

"Your Majesty is wise and divine; you must already know," Jia Xu flattered.

Liu Yu chuckled and said: "What kind of person is this Li Ru? He actually has leisure time to play? Does he not fear I will kill him to silence him?"

Li Ru was one of the Three Heroes of the Late Han, and Liu Yu knew his power well. Although Li Ru was merely a scholar, not a general, his strategies were absolutely top-tier. If he could be recruited, Liu Yu would spare no great cost. Unfortunately, Li Ru was Cao Cao's man, which made Liu Yu worry.

"Your Majesty, are you worried that Lord Li Ru will defect to Cao Cao?" Jia Xu asked.

Liu Yu nodded, then said: "Li Ru's ability is not weak, and he is utterly loyal. Cao Mengde will surely employ him heavily. If Cao Cao's ranks gain another fierce general, it will surely threaten us."

Jia Xu smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, rest assured. Lord Li Ru cannot defect to Cao Cao. He was once under Yuan Shao's command; how could he defect to Cao Cao? Moreover, the person he despises most in this life is Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu's death affected him greatly; he probably will never forget it. Your Majesty need not worry about him defecting to Cao Cao. Instead, Your Majesty should guard against others. After all, Cao Cao is also a warlord, not so easily controlled."

"What you say makes sense; then we need not worry for now," Liu Yu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Li Ru did not defect to Cao Cao, that was enough. As for other matters, Liu Yu was confident he could control them.

"By the way, what do you think of my son?" Liu Yu asked.

Jia Xu smiled: "Your Majesty's son is gifted and intelligent; in time, he will surely become famous throughout the world."

"Haha. This boy is far stronger than I was back then; the me of those years was simply many times worse than him." Mentioning his son, Liu Yu's vanity was greatly satisfied. He said: "I intend to immediately order Xu Shu and Xun Yu to form a new army, with Xu Shu as commander-in-chief and Xun Yu as his assistant, specifically responsible for the northern and eastern battlefields. At the same time, strengthen security patrols in Beihai Commandery."

Jia Xu cursed inwardly: Damn it, if you mess around like this, aren't you afraid of failure causing the entire Han Dynasty to collapse?

However, Jia Xu still obediently accepted the order. After all, Liu Xie was already dead; Liu Xie's sons became the sole heirs. Jia Xu dared not disobey Liu Yu's will.

"By the way, help me suppress the matter of Li Ru. I want the great aristocratic families to know that as long as they do not provoke me, I will let past offenses go," Liu Yu instructed.

"Your humble subject obeys the decree!" Jia Xu cupped his hands and accepted the order.

"I have heard your methods are excellent. Then I will entrust this matter to you," Liu Yu added.

"Your humble subject obeys!" Jia Xu's expression changed. Liu Yu nodded slightly; this matter was thus settled.

Next, Liu Yu asked about several matters, all concerning the Han court. Although Liu Yu was not very familiar with the situation of the Han court, Jia Xu knew the Han court's affairs very well, after all, he had once been the Grand Commandant of the Late Eastern Han and knew the court's matters inside out.

Unknowingly, the sky had gradually grown dark.

"Your Majesty, it is already late; your humble subject will take his leave," Jia Xu said, seeing the sky was already late, and planned to bid farewell.

"Hmm, good." Liu Yu also felt the time was late and planned to let Jia Xu leave.

After Jia Xu left, Liu Yu was also exhausted. He planned to rest a bit, after all, today had been a tiring day.

Just as Liu Yu was preparing to leave, suddenly a guard burst in from outside.

"Your Majesty, it is bad!" the guard said, panting.

"What has happened?" Liu Yu asked.

"Your Majesty, it is bad! We just received news that Prince Chen Liu Chong has been assassinated!" the guard said.

"What?!" Liu Yu was greatly shocked upon hearing this.

Prince Chen Liu Chong was his cousin; the two had a very good relationship. A few days ago, Liu Chong had come to visit him. At that time, Liu Yu had joked with Liu Chong that he would surely become emperor in the future. Yet only a few days had passed, and Liu Chong was actually assassinated!

"Quickly tell me, who assassinated my cousin?" Liu Yu asked urgently.

"Your Majesty, according to reliable news, the assassin of Prince Chen is an assassin named 'White Horse'," the guard said.

"White Horse?" Liu Yu remembered clearly that back then, with Xu Shu's help, he led over a thousand people to Gaotang County to take up the post of magistrate. On the way to Gaotang County, he had once been attacked by a knight on a white horse with a silver spear. That knight was extremely powerful and almost took his life. Later he learned that knight's name was Zhao Yun, courtesy name Zilong. He was a fierce general who had fought in countless battles.

"Your Majesty, what is wrong?" the guard asked, seeing Liu Yu stunned.

"Nothing." Liu Yu came to his senses and asked urgently: "Do you know the origin of the White Horse assassin?"

The guard shook his head, indicating he did not know the other party's origin.

Liu Yu frowned tightly. He knew there must be a power supporting this White Horse assassin behind the scenes. Moreover, this power must be very strong, because they could successfully assassinate Prince Chen; they certainly were not easy targets.

"Your Majesty, should your subordinate notify Lord Xun Yu and the others?" the guard asked.

"No need," Liu Yu shook his head and said: "I will handle this matter myself."

Since the other party had already come knocking, he could not sit idly by. He must find a way to resolve this matter; otherwise, Prince Chen's death would be a huge loss to him. Moreover, he must find out who the mastermind was, only then could he completely eliminate the danger.

"Yes." Seeing Liu Yu had made up his mind, the guard took his leave.

Liu Yu sat alone in the study, his heart also very chaotic. This White Horse assassin was obviously targeting him, but why did they assassinate Prince Chen? They seemed to have no connection at all.

After thinking for a while, Liu Yu felt it was better to find someone to discuss it. So he decided to find Xun Yu to discuss this matter.

On the way to Xun Yu's residence, Liu Yu also felt this matter must be handled carefully. After all, Prince Chen was his cousin and also one of his capable assistants. If Prince Chen died, it would be a great loss to him. Moreover, if this matter was not handled well, it might cause panic and dissatisfaction among others. Liu Yu met Xun Yu in Xun Yu's residence; this Han strategist was waiting for his arrival in the study.

"Your Majesty, you have come." Seeing Liu Yu arrive, Xun Yu immediately performed a bow to welcome him.

"Xun Yu, Prince Chen has been assassinated; do you know of this matter?" Liu Yu asked directly.

Xun Yu was stunned; he had not yet heard of this matter, but soon he spoke with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, this is a very serious matter. We must quickly find the murderer to appease the ministers and the people."

Liu Yu nodded; he knew Xun Yu's talent well, and this matter needed to be entrusted to Xun Yu to handle.

"Your Majesty, rest assured; I will do my utmost to investigate this matter and bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible," Xun Yu said solemnly.

Liu Yu looked gratefully at Xun Yu, then continued: "Xun Yu, who do you think sent this White Horse assassin?"

After pondering for a moment, Xun Yu said: "Your Majesty, the origin of this White Horse assassin is unknown, but judging from his actions and assassination target, it is very likely he was sent by hostile forces within the court."

Liu Yu nodded deeply in agreement, then continued asking: "Then how should we respond to this matter?"

Xun Yu's lips curled slightly as he said, "Your Majesty, we can proceed from two angles. First, we must strengthen security measures in the Imperial Palace and the residences of the great ministers to prevent the murderer from acting again. Second, we must swiftly uncover the mastermind behind the killer and sweep them all up."

Liu Yu highly praised Xun Yu's suggestion; he was very glad to have such a strategist.

"Very well, I entrust this matter to you. I hope you can swiftly uncover the mastermind behind the killer and also investigate the assassination of Prince Chen." Liu Yu said with trust.

"Your Majesty, rest assured; I will do my utmost." Xun Yu said solemnly.

Afterwards, Liu Yu left Xun Yu's residence. He knew that although he had already entrusted this matter to Xun Yu, he still needed to do another important thing.

After returning to the Imperial Palace, Liu Yu went straight to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He knew that at this time, only one person could help him solve this thorny problem: that person was his grandfather, Han Gaozu Liu Bang.

He offered a bouquet of fresh flowers to Liu Bang in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, silently praying that this great ancestor could give him guidance and help. He knew that at this critical moment, he needed Liu Bang's power to help him get through this difficulty.