Chapter 318

He thought for a moment and then understood.

"Right, Liu Bei's surname is Liu, and he considers himself a loyal minister; if he welcomes the Emperor to Taiyuan, will he be a powerful minister or a loyal minister? Haha!"

"If he acts as a powerful minister, he will inevitably be cursed by the high officials of the imperial court, and the people of the world will be suspicious, damaging the name of loyalty and righteousness he has painstakingly managed!"

"If he acts as a loyal minister, he will have his power divided by the ministers under the Emperor and will be exhausted in the future, working for others."

The men bowed with cupped hands.

"My lord is wise!"

Cao Cao waved his hand.

"However, Liu Bei will still go to welcome him; we set off in an hour!"

"Understood!"

Jizhou.

Things here were indeed as Cao Cao had expected.

They were arguing endlessly over whether to accept the edict or not.

Xu You advocated accepting the edict, holding the Son of Heaven to command the warlords and holding the reins of the world!

Guo Tu shook his head, urging his lord to focus on development; eliminating Gongsun Zan was the top priority!

Yuan Shao's fear of making choices flared up; he had asked for opinions, but it was as if he hadn't, and it was just stuck like this!

In the end, he chose the wrong answer: don't go!

Liu Biao of Jingzhou received the edict and hurriedly sent people to transport grain and other items to Luoyang.

Other warlords had their own reactions.

Bingzhou, Jinyang City, Governor's Mansion.

Liu Bei also received the edict and had all sorts of thoughts in his heart.

Zhang Fei spoke first.

"Eldest brother, why go to Luoyang? The group of old officials around the Emperor all have such high salaries; we can't afford the burden."

Guan Yu, however, said,

"Eldest brother, the Emperor has summoned us; we must go."

Sun Qian and others indicated they should go to Luoyang to accept the edict and also bring grain.

Ju Shou bowed with cupped hands.

"My lord, the Son of Heaven is covered in dust; our army should naturally save him. However, Luoyang is dilapidated, and with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao watching, the Son of Heaven might be snatched away very quickly."

Zhang Fei became anxious all of a sudden; although he didn't want it, the thought of it being snatched by Cao Cao was unacceptable!

"That won't do; my eldest brother is a member of the Han imperial clan; we must snatch the Emperor—no, welcome him to Jinyang."

Jian Yong frowned.

"If the Son of Heaven is welcomed to Jinyang City, many of my lord's affairs will be constrained, especially by the old officials around the Son of Heaven."

"Moreover, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will say my lord is a powerful minister, imitating the attack on Dong Zhuo, and attack him together."

Liu Bei nodded; by then, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and others would stand on the moral high ground to accuse him, and another campaign of warlords against Liu Bei was not impossible.

But this wasn't the most important thing; as a member of the Han imperial clan, a powerful minister? A loyal minister? Both seemed not very reasonable; it was a dilemma!

Liu Bei looked around; those with real strategy hadn't spoken yet.

"In this way, to prevent everyone from being influenced by each other, you go out first, and come in one by one to tell me."

Everyone filed out.

The netizens in the broadcast room also frantically sent barrages.

"The eared thief is in a dilemma!"

"With so many advisors, they will surely think of a way."

"It feels like the eared thief is like a homeroom teacher, calling everyone in one by one for questioning."

"Cao Cao over there has it much easier; he must get the Emperor into his hands."

The first to come in was Xu Shu.

"My lord, your subordinate believes that you are a loyal minister of the Great Han and should go to welcome the Emperor; and more importantly, we cannot let Yuan Shao and Cao Cao control the Emperor, or my lord will be passive."

Liu Bei nodded.

"Yuanzhi is very right."

Next were Ju Shou, Xun You, and Fa Zheng.

Their opinions were similar; although the Great Han was fluttering in the wind, the Emperor was a banner that could not be held by others.

Guan Yu, Taishi Ci, and others still had thoughts of loyalty to the monarch, so they naturally also advocated accepting the edict.

Jia Xu walked in slowly and bowed with cupped hands.

"My lord."

Liu Bei laughed.

"Wenhe, you are always steady; tell me your thoughts."

Jia Xu bowed with cupped hands.

"My lord, I cannot make up my mind either. However, Liangzhou is full of wolves; the wolf king is dead, and the pack of wolves will fight each other, and a new wolf king will emerge."

Liu Bei nodded.

"Good, you go down first."

Guo Jia came in last.

Liu Bei frowned.

"Fengxiao, everyone has their own thoughts; you must give me a clear one."

Guo Jia shook his head.

"My lord, the Emperor is a fragrant bun to Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, but to you, he is indeed a chicken rib; tasteless to eat, but absolutely impossible to abandon!"