The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 130: Asking for forgiveness
"But why do you dare to see the emperor?"

Xun You then asked Jia Xu who was beside him: "Why did Lord Jia take him to see the emperor? Doesn't Lord Jia know that with his status, it is not appropriate for him to appear in front of the emperor?"

As counselors of their level, these three people understood Li Ru's situation very clearly.

If you live honestly and anonymously, maybe you can have a good ending.

If he wanted to cause any trouble, whether it was the emperor, the prime minister, or the court officials and generals who supported the court, they would take Li Ru's life at the first opportunity.

Now Jia Xu brought Li Ru to meet the emperor, which was almost sending Li Ru to his death!
"Throw yourself into death and live again."

Li Ru casually raised his arms and waved them, exposing his short and thin body to Xun You.

"I am now like a dead person, what's the difference?"

Xun You sneered: "The dead will not go to see the emperor."

"Well, I am just a small minister. Since Jia Lingjun wants to take you into the palace, I can't stop him."

Anyway, Li Ru was brought there by Jia Xu, so he had nothing to do with him anyway.

At worst, I can just keep a close eye on him to prevent Li Ru from doing anything wrong.

……

Liu Xie was also a little surprised when he heard that Jia Xu brought Li Ru here.

"Li Ru? He's not dead yet?"

But since it was brought by Jia Xu, there shouldn't be any big problems.

"Let them all come in."

Liu Xie put down the military book in his hand and asked the palace servant to bring it in.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! Your Majesty, your greetings!"

The three of them saluted in unison, and Li Ru's movements were the most exaggerated. His spine seemed to be bent in half, and his face was almost touching the ground. He was like an old dog without dignity, and was extremely submissive.

"I beg you."

But Liu Xie ignored Li Ru, whom he met for the first time, and instead asked Xun You about Xun Yu's family letter.

"Since it is Xun Wenruo who asked, Gongda should tell the truth."

"Especially the methods of equal distribution of land and military personnel, write them in detail without any omissions. Also, write down the current situation in Guanzhong truthfully, without sugarcoating the situation."

Xun You asked: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, won't it expose the true strength of the imperial court and let Cao Cao and other traitors in Guandong know that the imperial court is short of food?"

"Gongda underestimated Cao Cao."

Liu Xie shook his head.

"To find out the truth about Guanzhong, why would we need this small letter? The amount of grain shipped from Jingzhou alone is enough for Cao Cao to infer the truth. Moreover, the previous floods were so severe, and there was a subsequent drought... Cao Cao is not a fool, how could he not know that Guanzhong was short of grain?"

"Therefore, Gongda can just write with confidence and don't worry about the possibility of leaking secrets."

"I understand."

With Liu Xie's approval, Xun You undoubtedly felt much more relaxed.

"If there is nothing else, Gongda and Wenhe can leave first."

?

The emperor actually wants to talk to Li Ru alone?
Xun You was somewhat worried about the emperor's safety.

But Liu Xie gave him a reassuring look, which made Xun You, although worried, still obey the order and walk out of the hall.

"Li Ru, do you still dare to walk out?"

"Should I say that you are extremely daring? Or do you not know how to live or die?"

Before Li Ru could say anything, Liu Xie interrupted him: "You are really bold and reckless in doing such a thing. I asked the wrong question."

"What do you want to do by coming to see me today?"

When Li Ru heard the emperor's question, he slowly put his hands on his belt.

This action undoubtedly made Liu Xie's alarm bells ring!

However, Li Ru did not take out anything from his arms. He just pulled out his belt and took off all his clothes, revealing his body.

When he saw Li Ru's body, even though Liu Xie was mentally prepared, he was still shocked.

There were several thin brambles wrapped around Li Ru's body!
Many of the thorns on the bramble had penetrated into Li Ru's flesh, leaving many holes.

There were also wounds from the thorns rubbing against his skin while he was walking, which were now constantly oozing blood, almost making half of his body stained with blood...

Please forgive me!

Moreover, he had tied the bramble to his body from a very early time, and walked from his home to the Secretariat, and from the Secretariat to the Emperor.

But despite admitting such inhuman pain, Li Ru maintained his calm expression and did not let anyone notice any clues. This kind of character is undoubtedly both admirable and frightening.

"Li Ru, do you want me to forgive the crime you committed?"

Liu Xie frowned, not knowing what Li Ru wanted to gain by doing this.

Forgive the crime of poisoning the emperor?
That's a bit too naive.

And Li Ru obviously knew this too——

"I don't dare to have such extravagant hopes."

"The crimes I committed cannot be counteracted by any punishment."

"I came here not because of the incident with the King of Hongnong, but because the Left General Dong Min had told me that he intended to suppress the emperor, but I did not report it to Your Majesty in time, so I apologize to Your Majesty."

That day, Dong Min cried bitterly and told everything.

This naturally included his inquiry into Li Ru's strategy.

but……

"I didn't even pursue Dong Min, let alone you?"

"If this is all, then your asking for forgiveness today is a bit too much."

Liu Xie did not feel any sympathy for Li Ru's miserable condition, but remained indifferent.

Staring at Li Ru's hunched back, Liu Xie had actually guessed his true purpose -

"Li Ru, you should understand your situation."

"If I hide my identity and never reveal myself to the world, maybe I still have a chance of survival."

"But you came to see me today with such bravado."

"Do you know that when you return, countless people will want to kill you? They will not let you even survive?"

"No matter what you ask for when you come to see me this time, I'm afraid you won't survive."

Now, it is obviously impossible for either Liu Xie or Dong Zhuo to save Li Ru's life.

But those who want to kill Li Ru can line up directly from Chang'an City to Luoyang!
If he shows up today, he might be stabbed to death on the street on his way out.

Since Li Ru is going to use his own life as a bargaining chip, what he is seeking must be more important than his own life.

really.

Li Ru said: "In the past, when he was in Huaili City, Han Sui was desperate and said, 'If a man cannot eat from five cauldrons while alive, he will be cooked in five cauldrons after death.'"

"I recently copied the Book of Han and learned that this was actually what Zhufu Yan, a minister during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, once said."

"Lord Father Yan had four strategies."

"One is the Enfeoffment Order, which allowed the princes to extend their favors to their sons and nephews and make them marquises, thus weakening the power of the princes at that time."

"The second is to build a mausoleum town, to move the world's heroes and wealthy families to Maoling, so that Guanzhong can be strengthened and the branches weakened."

"The third is to establish military farms and set up counties on the border of Shuofang to strengthen the northern border and make it difficult for the Xiongnu to invade easily."

"Fourth, he advised against the establishment of an empress, and established Emperor Xiaowu to establish Wei Zifu as the empress. From then on, the palace was stable, and Wei Qing and Huo Qubing became the emperor's relatives, which stabilized the court at that time."

Having said that, Li Ru suddenly laughed.

It's chilly, but also mournful, like a cuckoo crying blood.

"Logically speaking, such a great talent should have died of old age. But does your majesty know what happened to Lord Father Yan in the end?"

...Liu Xie had also read history books and of course knew the final outcome of Lord Father Yan.

Zhufu Yan's Enfeoffment Order offended the princes of the Liu clan, the construction of the mausoleum town offended the Guandong nobles, the military farming offended the generals in charge of the border army, and the recommendation to establish the empress offended Chen Ejiao and the court forces behind him...

How could such a person who possesses all five vices have a good ending?

Soon after, Liu Pengzu, the King of Zhao at that time, falsely accused Zhufu Yan of taking bribes and forcing the King of Qi Liu Cijing to kill, and was suspected of plotting to murder the princes of the Liu clan...

The cold-blooded Emperor Xiaowu ostensibly wanted to save Lord Father Yan, but his confidant Gongsun Hong, who was then the Imperial Censor, wrote a letter to the emperor, saying that if Lord Father Yan was not killed, it would not be enough to calm the people's hearts.

In other words, even Emperor Xiaowu Liu Che, whom Zhufu Yan relied on the most, completely abandoned Zhufu Yan...

Now that Li Ru suddenly brought up the old story of Lord Father Yan, Liu Xie once again confirmed Li Ru's purpose.

"Would you rather die?"

"I would rather die."

Li Ru knelt down again with the bramble on his back, and crawled on the ground: "I don't want to be like an old dog, dying of illness in a place where no one cares about me!"

"If a man doesn't eat from five cauldrons while alive, he will be cooked in five cauldrons after his death!"

"I beg Your Majesty to allow me to serve you again!"

The world is bustling,

All come for profit;

The world is in turmoil,

All for profit.

It is rare to find people who are indifferent to fame and fortune.

But it is also rare to find someone like Li Ru who is willing to sacrifice his life for fame and fortune.

But no wonder.

If he wasn't such an extreme person, how could he do such a thing as poisoning the emperor?

Of course, Dong Zhuo forced him to go at that time, but why did the person who went was Li Ru and not someone else?
If a man is not eaten from five tripods while alive, he will be cooked from five tripods after his death.

Compared with Han Sui's desperate situation, Li Ru's desperate move is the best interpretation of this sentence.

"What you have done is enough to make you famous in history."

"Your future reputation may not be inferior to that of Lord Father Yan."

"Isn't this kind of fame and fortune enough to make you stop?"

Li Ru looked up, and there was something shy in his smile——

"I am not dead yet!"

not dead!

Does this mean that only death can make Li Ru stop?

It was the first time that Liu Xie saw someone willing to expose the evil in his nature so blatantly in front of others.

Even Liu Xie found it difficult to understand Li Ru's current mental state.

But Liu Xie's judgment was not disturbed.

"No, I will never allow you to appear in the court! And I will never allow you to appear beside me!"

Your Majesty, you must be upright!
The imperial court should be legitimate!
People like Li Ru don't deserve to be in such a place!
Just like Emperor Wu of Han could not tolerate Lord Father Yan.

He, Liu Xie, also could not tolerate Li Ru.

When Li Ru heard the final trial against him, he knew that everything was over.

I just don't know whether Li Ru will die in the canal when he just left the palace, or in the dark alley in front of his neighbor's house.

But it doesn’t matter, at least Li Ru has fought for it.

After closing his clothes, Li Ru bowed slightly, wanting to say goodbye to the emperor.

"I cannot tolerate you, and the court cannot tolerate you, but I did not say that I definitely do not need you, and the court definitely does not need you."

Li Ru originally thought that his heart would not be affected by anything at the moment.

But Liu Xie's words still caused ripples in his heart.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

"Have you ever heard of the story of Su Qin wearing the seals of six kingdoms?"

"Of course I know."

"Then do you know what specific things he has done since Yan entered Qi?"

"I don't know."

Of course Li Ru didn't know.

Because this matter was too secretive, history books do not give detailed details.

Liu Xie glanced over the military strategy he had just read.

"The Military Book of Changguo Jun"!
The Lord of Changguo was Yue Yi.

This military book has long been lost in later generations, but it has been hidden in the Shiqu Pavilion of the Han Dynasty and is available for Liu Xie to read.

It was recorded in detail that Su Qin went to Qi to be a spy in Qi and to gather information for Yan. (Note 1)

Liu Xie ordered the palace servants to hand the military book to Li Ru.

After Li Ru carefully read the records about Su Qin's deeds, he also understood Liu Xie's intention.

"Your Majesty, do you want me to follow the example of Su Qin and go to Guandong to form alliances?"

"Correct."

Liu Xie did not hide his intentions.

"The imperial court is now in decline, just like the Qin State in the past, and it is difficult to compete with the princes in Guandong."

"Although the princes of Guandong also have their own ulterior motives, now that Yuan Shao has established a fake emperor, he has a righteous cause on the surface."

"Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of what happens."

“If Cao Cao, Tao Qian, Yuan Shu, and even Liu Biao were all won over by Yuan Shao again and were willing to support the establishment of a pseudo-dynasty, then the imperial court would be in real danger.”

Liu Xie signaled the palace servants to come forward and take off the whip off Li Ru's body.

"Practicing the art of diplomacy and wandering among the princes is what people who seek fame and fortune should do."

"Besides, Yuan Shao's establishment of a fake emperor is a violation of the imperial court's majesty. He also spread rumors and slandered me. I have long wished that he would tear his bones and tendons apart!"

"It is only because of the ravages of natural disasters that I have no choice but to endure for the sake of the country..."

Liu Xie had indeed been suppressing Guanzhong's desire for war.

Suppress Yang Biao and other court officials, suppress Dong Zhuo and other generals, and also suppress public grievances and public opinion...

But doesn’t Liu Xie want to send troops now, tear off Yuan Shao’s head and offer it to the ancestral temple to comfort his ancestors?
If there were sufficient food and grass in Guanzhong and there hadn't been this natural disaster, why would those officials and generals have to petition? Maybe Liu Xie would have been the first to rush to the front line and lead the army in person!
Although he stopped everyone, Liu Xie was actually the one who wanted to kill Yuan Shao the most!
Just as Liu Xie said, everything is just about tolerance for the sake of the country.

But this does not mean that Liu Xie is really indifferent.

He had previously thought about how to take revenge on Yuan Shao.

But unfortunately, he has never had a suitable knife to use it.

But now, the knife apparently came to the door on its own.

Moreover, it is a poisonous blade!
The palace maid had already taken off Li Ru's clothes and removed the brambles wrapped around his body.

Just now he looked like a dying old dog, but the moment the bramble was removed, he instantly became radiant!

A living Li Ru, reborn!

--------

Note 1:

After Su Qin died, the secret was leaked. When the King of Qi heard about it, he became angry and resentful of Yan. Yan was very frightened. - "Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of Su Qin"

(End of this chapter)