Chapter 274: Liu Bian

"Liu Bian, it's been so long and you still haven't finished this program; you don't need to come to work tomorrow, and don't even think about getting this month's salary—the company won't keep a dead weight!"

In the finely renovated office, a middle‑aged, balding, rotund man of about forty, with a big belly, roared viciously at the young, handsome, upright‑statured youth before him.

"Supervisor Wang, I beg you for another chance; it's just that this assignment is overloaded and the deadline is tight. I'll work overtime and finish it before the end of today!"

Liu Bian forced down his anger and pleaded softly to the fat man.

"Get out. You're such a waste; I've wanted to fire you for ages. How am I still keeping you? If you have any sense, leave right now; otherwise I'll have security throw you out!"

The fat man ignored Liu Bian's plea, his face full of arrogance as he scolded Liu Bian.

Liu Bian staggered out of the supervisor's office, silently returned to his desk, and began packing his things.

"Liu Bian, Fatty Wang is bothering you again?"

A colleague nearby asked with a concerned face.

"That damn fat guy, he's heartless, only knows how to squeeze us! Isn't he just bragging because he's the boss's brother‑in‑law? What a show‑off!"

Upon hearing that, everyone in the office started discussing, voicing their displeasure toward Fatty Wang, showing how unpopular he was.

"It's fine, even if I'm fired, I wanted to be let go anyway. Here, no matter how well I work, Fatty Wang will bully me. I'd rather switch to a new work environment. With the strength of graduating from a 211 university, I still can't believe it—if I leave that Fatty Wang, I won't be able to survive!"

Liu Bian swallowed his disappointment and forced a smile at his coworkers.

That night, Liu Bian went to a barbecue stall, skewered a skewer, drank some beer, and planned to relax—a reward for his hard work these past days.

Weaving through the neon‑lit, wine‑filled city streets, Liu Bian contemplated his future plans when he happened upon a beautiful woman crossing the road, about to be hit by an oncoming car.

Liu Bian, for some reason, lunged forward and pushed the woman aside; immediately, a screeching brake sound rang out, and he felt his whole body launch into the air.

"Damn, this is really the end—I've lived so long and I'm still a virgin, never even held a girl's hand!"

In his panic, a final thought flashed through Liu Bian, and his consciousness plunged into darkness.

In the late Eastern Han, it was an era of emerging talents and warring warlords, as well as a time of unbearable suffering for the common people; the Han Empire, after four hundred years of hardships, had entered its final dark age.

In the sixth year of Zhongping (April 189 AD), after the death of Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong, the Han Young Emperor Liu Bian ascended.

Supported by Grand General He Jin and Empress Dowager He Lian and others, after his accession, the young emperor, being a child, was governed behind the curtain by Empress Dowager He Lian, while Grand General He Jin handled state affairs.

At the same time, another faction in the Imperial Palace, led by Zhang Rang and other Ten Attendants eunuchs, saw He Jin's growing power and feared it threatened them, and thus engaged in fierce clashes with the aristocratic forces led by He Jin.

Eventually, the Ten Attendants lured He Jin into the palace and seized the chance to assassinate him; meanwhile, He Jin had followed the advice of his subordinate Colonel Yuan Shao, summoning Xiliang Army leader Dong Zhuo and Bing Province Inspector Ding Yuan to the palace to aid the emperor.

Unfortunately, He Jin died from his own arrogance before Dong Zhuo and the others could arrive.

After hearing that Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan entered the capital, the Ten Attendants eunuchs fled, taking the Han Young Emperor Liu Bian and others with them.

Later, at the Yellow River bank, Dong Zhuo discovered them, killed the Ten Attendants, retrieved the Han Young Emperor Liu Bian, and seized control of Luoyang Huang Du.

At the same time, Bing Province Inspector Ding Yuan also rushed to Luoyang and confronted Dong Zhuo's army; Dong Zhuo adopted the scheme of his strategist Li Ru, offering the prized Red Hare as payment to bribe Lü Bu, Ding Yuan's adopted son.

After being bought by Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu assassinated Ding Yuan, ordered his confidant to command fifty thousand Bing Province Wolf Cavalry, bringing them under Dong Zhuo's banner.

From then on, Dong Zhuo, with a single Red Hare, seized Ding Yuan and his army without shedding blood, becoming the most powerful force of the time.

Thus, the Eastern Han capital Luoyang fell into the hands of Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang Army; Dong Zhuo and his allies controlled the Han Young Emperor Liu Bian and proclaimed themselves Grand Chancellor.

Thereafter, Dong Zhuo indulged in extravagance and debauchery, spending nights on the Dragon Bed, wreaking havoc in the Imperial Palace; the entire Luoyang Huang Du was ruled by Dong Zhuo's lecherous tyranny.

In March 190 AD, Liu Bian sat in disbelief upon the golden‑and‑jade radiant Dragon Throne, looking at his own arms—a pair of fair, slender, youthful hands.

"Hahaha, I'm not dead—no, I must have been reborn. Look at the original owner's attire; I'm still an emperor. Wuhu, take off! I want to wake up wielding the power of the world, drunk at a beauty's knee. Liu Bian foolishly daydreamed about a wonderful future, a crystal‑clear liquid spilling from the corner of his mouth, hiss, my head hurts!"

Immediately, a wave of unfamiliar memories surged into his mind; after sorting through them, his facial expression gradually hardened.

"I f***ing… I'm cracking up, what a joke—damn, I actually reincarnated as the historically short‑lived emperor, the Han Young Emperor Liu Bian."

"I knew good people get no reward, damn it, reincarnation is one thing, but can't you make me reincarnate as a badass character? Why as Liu Bian? I thought I'd be a truly awesome emperor, how did I end up as the Han Young Emperor Liu Bian?"

Liu Bian sat on the Dragon Throne, thinking incessantly.

"March 190 AD—this is precisely the darkest, most decayed moment of the Han Empire after Dong Zhuo's forces entered Luoyang, right? Moreover, according to historical records, the Han Young Emperor Liu Bian was also deposed under a pretext by Dong Zhuo that year and then poisoned."

Based on Liu Bian's memories, he clearly knew the current time period.

Furthermore, after the traitorous Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he bought the first great general of the Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu, with the Red Hare, and seized fifty thousand troops of the Bing Province army from Ding Yuan.

Now he has proclaimed himself Grand Chancellor, leading all officials and presiding over state affairs; this Han emperor has been completely sidelined by him.

Thinking of this, Liu Bian felt another wave of sorrow.

"This is a doomed start, no solution!"

"I'm a powerless puppet emperor; I won't live much longer."

"Fine, the die is cast; there's no turning back. Since it's come, I'll make peace with it."

But thinking of the impending crisis, Liu Bian felt a surge of frustration—does he really have to sit and wait to be poisoned by Dong Zhuo?

Squeak!

Suddenly, the Grand Hall's doors swung open, and a troop of riders entered Liu Bian's view. Leading them was a middle‑aged man in a scholar's long robe, slender, with a sinister, murderous gaze.

Seeing the newcomer, Liu Bian recognized him from his memories.

It was Li Ru, Dong Zhuo's chief strategist, his confidant and son‑in‑law.