0p0 Chapter 700 Liu Xie
Chapter 700 Liu Xie
As the shouts of killing resounded throughout the entire Chang'an City, Li Jue, Guo Si and Zhang Ji, who were enjoying the comfort of their own homes, hurriedly put on their armor and, with their guards, prepared to head to the camp in the city to mobilize their troops.
However, just as the three men walked out of their respective mansions, more than a dozen crossbow arrows were shot out from the darkness.
Li Jue was shot in the shoulder by a crossbow arrow, Guo Si was shot dead on the spot, and Zhang Ji was lucky enough to be only slightly injured. But when Li Jue and Zhang Ji arrived at their respective camps, they happened to meet Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong, and were killed on the spot by Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong.
As for the troops under Guo Si, they were directly defeated by Lu Bu and Dian Wei.
When the city was in chaos, Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, who was hiding in the palace, was also awakened by the shouting and killing outside and fled in panic.
Liu Xie had a tragic fate. His mother, Concubine Wang, was not a high-ranking official in the palace. After she became pregnant with Liu Xie, she was worried that Empress He, who controlled the harem, would be jealous. She secretly took abortion pills to abort Liu Xie, but it didn't work. Later, Concubine Wang dreamed that she was walking with the sun in her arms, and she thought her son would have a promising future, so she didn't abort Liu Xie.
However, just a few days after Concubine Wang gave birth to Liu Xie, she was poisoned to death by Empress He.
After that, Liu Xie was raised by Empress Dowager Dong, the mother of Emperor Ling of Han, and was deeply loved.
When Emperor Ling of Han died, he originally intended to make Liu Xie the emperor. However, General He Jin controlled the government and directly put his nephew Liu Bian on the throne. Liu Xie was first named King of Bohai and then King of Chenliu.
It was not until Dong Zhuo entered the capital that he deposed Emperor Shao Liu Bian and enthroned Chenliu King Liu Xie as emperor.
But after becoming emperor, Liu Xie never got his freedom. He was always controlled by Dong Zhuo and could only be a puppet.
Liu Xie, who inherited the throne at the age of 9 and was only 11 years old, had experienced many hardships. He was abducted by Dong Zhuo from Luoyang to Chang'an. Dong Zhuo was finally killed, and Liu Xie had not lived a peaceful life for two days before Li Jue, Guo Si and others broke into Chang'an, and the emperor Liu Xie was once again controlled by others.
Moreover, Li Jue, Guo Si and others had no respect for the emperor Liu Xie. They often went in and out of the palace and committed debauchery in the harem. Liu Xie dared to be angry but dared not say anything. At a young age, he had witnessed too many dangers in the world.
Now, Liu Xie, as the emperor, often had to go hungry and couldn't even get enough food.
But even so, Liu Xie did not want to die and wanted to live. Perhaps a miracle would happen in the future and a minister would be able to turn the tide and save the collapsing Han Dynasty, so that the Han Dynasty could be restored to power.
At this moment, a young eunuch rushed in: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the rebel army has entered the palace."
Liu Xie was panicked when he heard this: "What should I do?"
"Your Majesty, please hide now."
"There are shouts and screams everywhere outside. Where should we hide?"
"Your Majesty, do not panic. I am General Lu Cheng, the General of the Northern Expedition. I am late in coming to your rescue. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me." Just as Liu Xie was in a panic, he suddenly saw a tall and upright young general striding towards him and speaking in a loud voice.
Hearing this, Liu Xie was a little dazed for a moment. He thought back to when Dong Zhuo rushed to Luoyang, he and his brother met Dong Zhuo on horseback who came to rescue him, and the other party also spoke the same way.
For a moment, Liu Xie was uneasy, not sure whether the general in front of him was a loyal minister.
However, no matter whether the other party is a loyal minister or a treacherous minister, since the other party still recognizes himself as the emperor, it is better than the lawless Li Jue and Guo Si.
Thinking of this, the young Liu Xie showed a maturity that was not in line with his age. He adjusted his panic and said, "My dear minister, you have come thousands of miles to rescue me. It is indeed a great deed. What crime have you committed? What is the situation outside now? Have Li Jue, Guo Si and others been executed?"
"Your Majesty, please wait for a moment. I have ordered my generals to kill Li Jue, Guo Si and others, and sent troops to take over the Xiliang camp. The situation in Chang'an will be stabilized soon."
"With your words, I feel relieved."
Lu Cheng looked at the Han emperor above him, who had a childish face but spoke with some standard. Although he did not have much respect in his heart, he could not help but sigh that Liu Xie was born at the wrong time.
Soon, a messenger came to report: "Report, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Zhang Ji have all been executed. The troops in the city have been controlled. The major city gates have been taken over by our army. General Huang Zhong is inspecting the four gates, and General Zhao Yun is patrolling and comforting the people. General Dian Wei has entered the palace gate!"
Lu Cheng nodded and casually ordered, "Ask the accompanying chef to cook a few stir-fried dishes, stew a pot of broth, and prepare a few soup noodles to calm His Majesty."
"Yes!"
Hearing this, Liu Xie also felt hungry and quickly changed the subject: "General Lu has come all the way to rescue me, it must be very hard. With such a loyal and capable general like you, my Han Dynasty has nothing to worry about."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. With treacherous ministers in power and the emperor in disgrace, I should have come earlier. However, the north is not yet settled. There are the Xianbei and Xiongnu outside, and the princes and the Yellow Turbans inside. I have to pacify the four directions first before I have the energy to come and rescue you. Your Majesty, please be at ease. I will never let you suffer such injustice again in the future."
Lu Cheng spoke these high-sounding words of courtesy very fluently, acting as if he were a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty.
But Liu Xie also knew that Lu Cheng, who came from the Yellow Turban Army, had reached his current position entirely by relying on his own strength. How could he be loyal to him as the emperor?
However, Liu Xie could only treat Lu Cheng as his most loyal minister now, showing an attitude of mutual understanding between the monarch and his minister, regret for meeting each other too late, and even tears of gratitude.
Seeing that the other party had such acting skills at such a young age, Lu Cheng couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.
Soon, the chef prepared seven or eight stir-fried dishes, a big pot of broth, and a lot of soup noodles and brought them over.
When Liu Xie smelled the aroma of the food, his hunger became even worse. If he had not taken the emperor's dignity into consideration, he would have started eating.
Of course, Liu Xie did not suspect that the other party would poison the food, because there was no need for that. If the other party wanted to kill him, it would only take a knife or a sword.
Seeing Liu Xie's Adam's apple throbbing, Lu Cheng couldn't help swallowing his saliva, but he still maintained his posture, and took the initiative to speak: "Your Majesty, I can only prepare these meals in a hurry, I hope Your Majesty will not be offended."
"These... these are already very good. My dear, you are thoughtful."
"Then your majesty, please have your meal first. I will take my leave now."
After Lu Cheng left, Liu Xie was about to start eating when a young eunuch hurried over and said, "Your Majesty, let me try the food first."
"No need to go to such trouble..."
After saying that, Liu Xie didn't care about anything else. He picked up a round pancake, took a bite, then couldn't wait to pick up a piece of food with chopsticks and started eating.
In fact, flatbreads already existed in the Han Dynasty, and fermentation technology was available, but at that time, flatbreads were steamed with fermented dough.
The noodles that Lu Cheng had people make were also cooked on an iron griddle. They tasted much better than the noodles now. Adding the delicious stir-fried dishes, Liu Xie, who hadn't had a full meal for a long time, immediately became a foodie. He felt that this was the most delicious meal he had ever had in his life...