Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Shen Chen, Jiang Wei, have you seen His Majesty?

When the middle-aged man heard these words, he froze in place, his expression unconsciously a little dazed.

The word Your Majesty has not been heard for many years, and it feels a little strange.

But soon he came back to his senses and gave Shen Chen a slightly surprised look.

Jiang Wei's name, Liu Xie, has never been heard.

After all, he lives in the mountains, and he is already a deposed emperor. He only contacts the villagers on weekdays, and the news is relatively closed.

But Shen Chen's name was already well known more than 20 years ago.

That was 28 years ago in the fifth year of Jian'an. Liu Xie was only 19 years old at the time, and he was still imprisoned in Yingchuan Xudu and became a puppet of Cao Cao.

On the eve of the Battle of Guandu, a 15-year-old boy in Jingzhou raised his sword and shouted the slogan of King Beishangqin.

When Liu Xie heard about this from Kong Rong, he felt regretful, thinking that although this young man was loyal, fighting against the mighty Cao thief was like moths flying into a flame, and he might eventually perish .

Unexpectedly, when I heard him again later, it was the first time that young man came to Xudu.

Liu Xie also never expected that the young man could actually fight outside the city of Xudu. He was extremely excited at the time, and for the second time since Yidaizhao, he felt extremely nervous. He hoped that Shen Chen could break Xudu and save him from the fire. .

It's a pity that Cao Cao just returned in time, so he could only retreat to Nanyang in the end, and the hope that Liu Xie had just ignited was wiped out.

After that, Shen Chen went to Xudu twice, and even hit Chendu once.

At that time, Liu Xie was very excited every time he heard about Shen Chen, but God seemed to be joking with him. Every time Shen Chen was about to succeed, Cao Cao would come back, making him unable to escape the fate of a puppet after all.

"Shen Chen."

Liu Xie looked at the person in front of him with complicated and serious eyes.

At that time, he only heard about the reputation of a young man, and in the blink of an eye many years passed, and the other party was already middle-aged, with a burly figure and bright eyes, and he was indeed a hero.

Seeing this person with his own eyes now, Liu Xie couldn't help feeling extremely emotional.

"Your Majesty is me."

Shen Chen bowed his hands again.

Liu Xie sighed: "When you came to Xudu back then, I was a little thankful that you escaped from Cao Cao's hands. Later, when you came to Xudu for the second time, and the third time when you came to Xudu, I thought you were extraordinary, and I loved you. It's a pity that you can save me from the fire and water."

Shen Chen was also a little frustrated and said: "Your Majesty, back then I had few major generals, and it was not easy to reach Xudu while Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were confronting each other at Guandu. Every time Cao Cao would come back in time to rescue, I couldn't compete with the main force .”

"It's such a trick of fate."

"Liu Mingming has an army of more than [-], but because he is afraid that His Majesty will lose power when he comes to Jingzhou, he is unwilling to send troops. I found out later that he has long had a different intention. He pretended to be emperor in Jingzhou and apologized to Your Majesty. I really have no choice."

"Forget it, it's God's will."

Liu Xie had seen it for so many years, waved his hand and said with a smile: "Come on, come in with me and sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Shen Chen bowed his hands again.

Then he and Jiang Wei followed Liu Xie into the thatched cottage.

Inside the thatched cottage is a courtyard of four to five hundred square meters. The courtyard is filled with the fragrance of traditional Chinese medicine. Under a huge apricot tree, more than ten wooden frames are densely placed, and a lot of medicinal materials are also dried on it.

Although it is now winter, there is no rain or snow, and there is still a little sunshine. These medicinal materials should be dried or dried.

Beside the wooden frame, there was a beautiful woman in her thirties who was squatting on the ground with a bamboo basket to sort out herbs. Her arms were as white as frost and snow. Snow".

"Don't look around."

Shen Chen just took a glance and saw that Jiang Wei was in a daze when he saw the beautiful woman, so he patted him.

Jiang Wei's age was about the same as that beautiful woman, but because he was working in Hanzhong Prefecture at the age of eighteen or nineteen, he was valued by Shen Chen, and he had been living in the army. He hadn't married a wife yet, and his blood was normal.

Only Shen Chen knew that the beautiful woman was probably Cao Jie. Although Cao Jie was Cao Cao's daughter, her conduct was completely different from that of the Cao family, so Shen Chen would not treat her as those inhuman Cao family. Instead, he respected her very much.

Cao Jie seemed to have noticed the person coming from the thatched cottage, and turned his head to take a look.Shen Chen bowed his hands to salute, Jiang Wei also hurriedly saluted, Cao Jie nodded slightly, and continued to fiddle with the basket.

Today's Liu Xie and his wife are as if they have been washed away. Both of them are wearing coarse clothes and doing rough work. Although they can vaguely see how they used to be pampered, it is enough for the couple to put down their bodies and experience the lives of ordinary people. See their noble character.

"grandfather."

At this moment, several children came out of the main room, the youngest was eight or nine years old, and the oldest was fourteen or fifteen years old. They went up to Liu Xie, saw Shen Chen and Jiang Wei, and looked at them timidly. .

Seeing the children seemed a little scared, but Shen Chen smiled and bowed to them.

He knew that although these children were born in Liu Xie's family, they had also seen many cruel things. For example, the oldest child among them was Liu Kang, the eldest son of Liu Xie, who was later the successor of Duke Sanyang.

His father was Liu Xie's prince and heir of Empress Fu.

In 215 AD, he was executed by Cao Cao because of Queen Fu's affairs, so he saw how Cao Cao treated his family when he was a child, so he naturally felt very scared and afraid when facing outsiders.

"Go."

Liu Xie smiled and patted their heads, and the children ran out of the hut to play with the children of nearby villagers.

Shen Chen said: "Your Majesty has a fine family tradition, and his heirs are outstanding, which is admirable."

Liu Xie smiled and said, "The children are used to being wild."

The three of them entered the main room and sat down on the mat.

Cao Jie came in from outside the house, Shen Chen and Jiang Wei bowed hands again, she went into the house and got a tray to make tea for them.

Nowadays, the trend of frying tea is popular among the big men, not to mention the high-ranking dignitaries, even the countrymen will go to the mountains to pick new tea and fry it for brewing.

Although Liu Xie and his wife are Duke Shanyang and Mrs. Shanyang, they have a very high salary and status, but they don't have servants to serve them. They do everything by themselves. Even if guests come, the former queen will serve tea in person.

After Shen Chen and Jiang Wei gave another salute to express their gratitude, he held a teacup and said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, now that Cao Wei has destroyed the country, and the Han Dynasty has been restored to unity, the Son of Heaven invites Your Majesty to return to Luoyang to worship the ancestors. Lie Zhifeng will definitely not treat His Majesty badly."

What he said here is a bit convoluted. He called Liu Xie His Majesty and Liu Chan the Son of Heaven. There is no second day in the world. It seems that Liu Chan is not taken seriously by saying this.

But the Han Dynasty was a relatively relaxed era. After Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, some ministers dressed him in sackcloth and filial piety, and some Han officials kept calling Liu Xie His Majesty. Neither Cao Pi nor Cao Rui punished anyone for this incident.

In fact, as long as Liu Xie has been emperor, even if he is not the Supreme Emperor after he abdicates, he will still be an emperor and will not change.

So everyone knows that calling Liu Xie His Majesty is just a respectful title. In an era when there was no literary prison and stricter controls like the Ming and Qing Dynasties, they would not go to war because of such things.

Hearing Shen Chen's words, Liu Xie smiled bitterly and said, "I thought you were here to arrest me."

"how could be?"

Shen Chen looked at him seriously and said: "Your Majesty was the former emperor of the Han Dynasty. Although there is a new emperor ascending the throne due to some things, but one day he is the emperor of Han, and then he will be the emperor of Han all the time. Doesn't your majesty hear about Guangwu?" Huh?"

What he said was that after Emperor Guangwu proclaimed himself emperor, he did not abandon the old clans of the Western Han Dynasty.

Liu Xie pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, I live a very good life here. Although I live a simple life, I don't have to worry about it anymore. I don't have to worry about it like before. This kind of life is my dream life. Don't want to go back."

"We naturally know His Majesty's mood and thoughts."

Shen Chen said with a smile: "However, this does not prevent His Majesty from going back. At the beginning of next year, the Son of Heaven will hold a court meeting in Luoyang to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. Doesn't Your Majesty want to go to the Taimiao to pray to the ancestors?"

In the Han Dynasty, offering sacrifices to ancestors was the most important day from the emperor to the common people, not to mention that this is the Taimiao.

Liu Xie hesitated for a moment, his ancestors could not disobey, if he wanted to open the Taimiao to offer sacrifices, he would definitely go back, but the problem is.

He let out a long sigh and mourned: "I am like this, how can I face my ancestors? If the ancestors have spirits, they will think that I am an unworthy descendant. Moreover, Cao Pi allowed me to set up a ancestral temple in the Duke of Shanyang to honor my ancestors. Han Si, I am here to offer sacrifices to my ancestors."

Shen Chen said: "Your Majesty, you must not think so. Could it be that Cao Weili's fake priest can be compared with the Great Han's Taimiao? If the ancestors knew about it. What's more, although the Great Han was cut off by the Cao thief, in the early Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu revived The big man, at this time, just like Guangwu is rebuilt, Zhaozhao Yanhan is reestablished, why should your majesty resist?"

Liu Xie showed embarrassment.

What Shen Chen said actually stood on a moral high ground.

It's not a moral kidnapping, but the truth is the truth, it depends on how you understand it.

From the perspective of the Han Dynasty, the Great Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Bang, and then in the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu rebuilt the Eastern Han Dynasty. Although there were two dynasties, people in the Han Dynasty believed that this was one dynasty.

Cao Pi's usurping the Han Dynasty completely broke the system of the Han Dynasty, but the difference is that just like the end of the Western Han Dynasty, another clan stood up and built a new Han Dynasty.

Then, under the circumstances that there are precedents to follow, this new Han Dynasty is just like the previous Han Dynasty, and it is also integrated and cannot be separated from it.

Therefore, if Liu Xie believes that the ancestral temple of Shanyang Gong Han Dynasty that Cao Wei built for him can be used to worship ancestors, then one is to recognize the orthodoxy of Cao Wei, and the other is to deny the continuity of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Western Han Dynasty.

After all, Emperor Guangwu himself has always admitted that the Eastern Han Dynasty is the continuation of the Western Han Dynasty, and the emperors of the Western Han Dynasty have always been worshiped by the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, the Taimiao of the Eastern Han Dynasty is divided into two, one is the Gaozu Temple and the other is the Shizu Temple.

The Gaozu Temple expresses the inheritance of the legal system of the Western Han Dynasty, and the Shizu Temple expresses the contribution to Liu Xiu's reconstruction of the Han Dynasty, because his ZTE is not inferior to the initial creation.With such credit, the Eastern Han Dynasty must build a separate temple for him, and it is impossible for him to be attached to the high temple.

Now that the Han Dynasty is revived for the third time, there is a high probability that another temple will be built, but these temples are Taimiao.Therefore, if Liu Xie does not go to the orthodox Taimiao to worship his ancestors, it is obviously a bit unreasonable.

Thinking of this, Liu Xie sighed, "Oh, that's the only way to go. General, please wait a few days for me to arrange some things and pack some clothes before setting off."

"only."

Shen Chen bowed his hands in salute.

After finishing the business, Liu Xie talked with him about other things.

For example, the fall of Cao Wei, and today's major events in the world.

Now the imperial court needs a sober person to be in power. For example, the world is initially settled, and it needs to recuperate, lenient government, lenient punishment, persuading farmers and mulberry, managing government affairs, and so on.

This means that someone with understanding needs to reform government affairs, criminal law, agriculture, economy and military affairs.

Just like the early establishment of China in the new era of the later generations, it first engaged in agriculture, then concentrated on industry, and then reformed and opened up step by step, and finally achieved world-renowned achievements.

Strictly speaking, Liu Chan is not a sober person, because he lacks intelligence, and his handling of government affairs is still much worse.

But his strengths are also obvious. He knows his own skills, and he can lie down and win with a master, so he can play a good support with peace of mind.

And Liu Xie used to be the emperor, and then he was a commoner for many years, and he also read the books written by Shen Chen, so he has his own understanding of class.

When talking with Shen Chen, he also talked a lot about his ups and downs for many years, and his feelings about why the big man became like this.

From the control of the land and population by the aristocratic families, to the impact of the changes in the upper power structure of the Han Dynasty, Shen Chen even felt that if he could become the emperor again, he must be a wise emperor.

It's a pity that times have changed, and he can no longer become emperor.And if he hadn't experienced these ups and downs and felt the hardships of the people, he probably wouldn't have understood them.

So it can be regarded as having both the fish and the bear's paw.

After they talked, Shen Chen and Jiang Weishou and Liu Xie and his wife had dinner there in the afternoon before taking their leave and leaving.

On December [-]th, Liu Xie packed his luggage and returned to Shanyang County with his family.

There was already a convoy waiting for him outside the county.

What surprised Liu Xie was that the size and guard of honor of the convoy were actually guards of honor for the emperor.

Cao Pi allowed Liu Xie to worship Han Zhengshuo kimono in Shanyang County and build a Han ancestral temple to worship Han, but he was not allowed to use the emperor's ceremonial guard.

So it's been years since he's done this.

Shen Chen told him that this was a franchise granted to him by the current Emperor of Han, and expressed his respect for him.

Seeing this, Liu Xie was relieved. He was sure that he should be 100% safe when he returned to Luoyang this time, so he boarded the carriage with peace of mind, and under the protection of the guards, he sat on the emperor's guard of honor and headed southwest.

Shanyang County is not very far from Luoyang, about 120 kilometers. Even if you only spend eight or nine hours a day on the road, you can get there in about three days.

So on December [-]th, everyone arrived in Luoyang.