Chapter 323

Yecheng,

Yuan Shao looked at the bamboo slips before him, blinked hard, and squeezed out a few drops of tears.

"His Majesty has suffered such a great disaster; as the leader of the alliance, I am guilty!"

Guo Tu hurriedly said,

"My lord, restrain your grief. His Majesty's suffering is not my lord's fault, but the responsibility of the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si!"

Gao Gan and others also advised him.

Yuan Shao pretended to wipe his tears and stood up tall.

"Xu You, Guo Tu, Yan... Wen Chou, Gao Lan, come with me to Luoyang for a visit."

"Understood!"

Other warlords also sent men one after another, or came themselves.

Luoyang,

the ruins of the imperial palace were covered in white.

White cloth strips fluttered in the wind.

The mourning hall was filled with the sound of crying.

Yuan Shu, who had just arrived, wept bitterly.

"Your Majesty, your subject had just left Shouchun intending to support the throne; I never expected this!"

Yuan Shu's voice was extremely loud; he looked extremely heartbroken!

After Yuan Shu finished crying, he looked around.

Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, and Cao Cao—the people he least wanted to see—had all come!

He cupped his hands,

"It has been a long time since we last met."

The few returned the salute.

Liu Bei nodded,

"Gonglu, you have traveled all the way from Shouchun; you have worked hard."

Yuan Shu wailed again,

"Alas, I only blame myself for being too far away. If I had been closer, how could I have let His Majesty suffer this calamity!"

The corners of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao's mouths all twitched.

"Who is he implying!"

Liu Bei said indifferently,

"Gonglu, the one who harmed His Majesty, Wu Xi, has already been killed by men I sent!"

Yuan Shu snorted, though he was actually overjoyed in his heart. The Emperor was dead, and now the Great Han had no Emperor; he had even more ideas!

"The Governor of Southern Jingzhou, Liu Biao, has arrived!"

Everyone looked over. An old man who looked scholarly and stood eight feet tall walked in, knelt before the Emperor's spirit, and instantly began to cry.

In an instant, he was full of snot and tears!

Liu Bei... Liu Biao is also an acting pro!

Liu Biao had not participated in the Central Plains war these past few years. In Southern Jingzhou, he combined kindness with prestige and had good methods of recruitment, making the ten thousand miles peaceful and the masses submissive.

He also opened schools and established learning, loving the people and nurturing scholars. With the chaos in the Central Plains and Sili, Southern Jingzhou was exceptionally prosperous, and Xiangyang had become one of the Great Han's few giant cities.

After Liu Biao finished crying, he came out to meet everyone.

He had a good relationship with Yuan Shao, especially to deal with Cao Cao's threat; Liu Biao had become quite close to Yuan Shao.

"Benchu, it has been many years; you are still so young, while I have already grown old."

Yuan Shao cupped his hands,

"Brother Jingsheng, your style remains the same; you are being modest."

The two had previously been considered party members and also had some old friendship.

Liu Biao looked at Liu Bei again,

"This must be the world-renowned Xuande; truly a man of talent."

Liu Bei cupped his hands,

"Brother Jingsheng, you flatter me. You have governed Southern Jingzhou very well, with over six million people living and working in peace; I admire you greatly."

Liu Biao repeatedly said he dared not accept the praise,

"Xuande governed the bitter and cold Bingzhou into a majestic state of the world; your talent is first-class!"

Yuan Shu's mouth twitched, his expression jealous. He was doing quite well in Huainan too, and his subordinates all praised him; were the people here blind?

Not long after,

Lu Bu, representing Tao Qian, also arrived.

Dian Wei hurriedly guarded Cao Cao's side.

The two sides had been fighting for more than a year and had long been at odds.

Actually, it was overthinking. It was the Emperor's funeral; killing people? Did they not want to mix in society anymore? Did they not want their faces?

Lu Bu went in to offer incense to the Emperor.

Lu Lingqi, dressed in leather armor and with long legs, walked over and bowed to Liu Bei,

"Lord Xuande."

Liu Bei nodded,

"Miss Lu has come as well."

Cao Cao looked up and was somewhat shocked; after all, a woman in the Great Han who was 1.8 meters tall was truly rare, and she was also very beautiful.

"When did this daughter of Lu Bu get involved with Liu Bei?! She's even taller than me!"

Cao Cao was somewhat sour; this fellow Liu Bei's charm was truly too much!

Yuan Shu cursed inwardly,

"The world is going downhill; the Eared Thief is shameless!"

Yuan Shao also cursed inwardly,

"Plotting for the Zhen family's young lady wasn't enough for the two of you? Now plotting for Lu Bu's daughter; Eared Thief, can you handle it all!"

Liu Biao?? What are everyone's expressions? Have they all been hurt by Liu Bei?

It seems everyone has a lot of opinions about Brother Xuande and Lu Bu's daughter.

Lu Bu couldn't even be at ease offering incense inside.

He truly didn't understand why his daughter couldn't move her feet when she saw Liu Bei.

"A sin! What is so good about the Eared Thief! I shouldn't have let her practice martial arts!"

After Lu Bu came out, he glared at Lu Lingqi. Although Liu Bei had helped him find a place to rest, his daughter absolutely could not be given away!

Afterward, Kong Rong and Gongsun Zan's envoy, Shan Jing, also arrived.

After everyone finished today's ceremony, they went to a nearby side hall to drink and gather.

Yuan Shao laughed,

"Xuande's prestige shakes the Nine Provinces; you should sit in the seat of honor."

Liu Bei secretly laughed at Yuan Shao's hypocrisy and shook his head,

"Brother Benchu, you occupy the two states of Ji and Qing; your population and troops far exceed mine, so you should sit in the seat of honor."

Yuan Shao laughed and stopped declining.

Liu Bei then invited Liu Biao to sit at the head of his table.

Liu Biao was born in the 40s, older than everyone present, and only younger than the 30s-born Tao Qian.

The Liu Biao of this time was not the timid, indecisive old man of ten years later.

He might not have had the ambition to dominate the world, but he was not a mediocrity holding onto his one-third of an acre in Southern Jingzhou.

He entered Southern Jingzhou alone, handled the Jingzhou gentry, and occupied Southern Jingzhou.

He befriended Li Jue and obtained the rank of General of the Southern Expedition.

He befriended Yuan Shao, using distant friendship and close attacks.

After Liu Yan died of illness, he couldn't wait to incite Shen Mi, Lou Fa, and Gan Ning to rebel, wanting to stir up the waters of Yizhou and take the opportunity to take Yizhou, but unfortunately, the rebel army was defeated by Liu Zhang.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei yielded to each other.

Yuan Shu?? Shouldn't this position be his?