Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 13 Xu Chu: The lord is worried and the minister is humiliated; if the lord is humiliated, the minister will die!
Outside the Changqiu Palace, Liu Bian came from the Yong'an Palace in the prince's carriage.

Chen Lin, the prince's groom, rode his horse to the gate of Changqiu Palace first to pass on the message for Liu Bian to prevent anyone from stopping Liu Bian's carriage.

The post of the Crown Prince's Groom was nominally to lead the way for the Crown Prince, but in reality it was more like that of an usher, with the added duty of asking for advice from the Minister of the Interior.

Of course, with Liu Bian's current prestige and power in the palace, how could anyone dare to stop his carriage?
Soon Chen Lin returned to the prince's carriage, looked at Liu Bian who lifted the curtain, and nodded.

Liu Bian understood and lowered the curtain. The carriage slowly drove through the gate of Changqiu Palace and passed by the palace gate Sima who bowed to salute.

Chen Lin, the Prince's groom, also had another duty: to serve as his scout and scout the way for him. If there was an ambush in the palace, he would immediately alert Liu Bian. The two of them had also agreed on some hand signals and code words.

Unfortunately, these ambushes in the palace were used too often in the Later Han Dynasty, and several foreign relatives and generals died as a result.

Even though Grand Chamberlain Zhao Zhong is his man, it is better to be safe than sorry.

He didn't want to follow in the footsteps of those people, nor did he want to be like the later Ming Dynasty emperors who were easily soluble in water, so he had to be more vigilant.

At the same time, the benefits Liu Bian provided to the eunuchs and palace maids in each palace were also very generous.

Including the Shaofu, as long as they didn't go too far, Liu Bian turned a blind eye to their corruption.

When Liu Bian looked at history in the past, he only thought that the ancient feudal emperors were so stupid that even an egg could be embezzled by the officials in charge of compradors for so much money. But now that he has become the crown prince regent, he also understands the tricks behind it.

As a subordinate, if you earn 2,000 yuan a month with no social insurances or housing fund, and have to abandon your dignity, you'd definitely want your boss to get hit by a car. But if you earn hundreds of thousands a month, you'd definitely set up a longevity tablet for him and pray for his longevity every day. Anyone who tries to harm him would be cutting off his own financial resources!
This is true for eunuchs, palace maids, and even the Shaofu.

Otherwise, why would Guo Sheng and Pan Yin in history reveal information to He Jin and help him avoid the first ambush by the eunuchs?

Is it really just the phrase "old friendship" or the ties of fellow villager that made them take such a huge risk of betraying their class to rescue He Jin?
When they arrived at Changqiu Palace and got off the carriage, Liu Bian saw a middle-aged man wearing a two-beam Jinxian crown and a Jieli hat chatting happily with Empress He and laughing constantly as he entered the palace.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

Chen Lin sang to welcome Liu Bian's arrival the moment before Liu Bian stepped into the palace gate, but he did not see the middle-aged man stand up to greet him, and his face turned cold.

Liu Bian shook his head secretly at Chen Lin. Although he was annoyed, he did not explode immediately.

"My son is here."

Empress He stood up with a smile on her face and approached Liu Bian before he could salute.

"My son pays homage to his mother."

Liu Bian hurriedly bowed and greeted Empress He. Empress He doted on him, but he could not lose his filial duty.

If a child becomes spoiled and arrogant, over time, there will be a rift even between mother and child.

"There are no outsiders here today, so why should Bian'er care about this empty formality?"

Empress He seemed to dislike Liu Bian's false courtesy in her words, but her eyes glanced at the middle-aged man behind her, her eyebrows slightly raised, and her red lips curved into a pretty arc, as if to say, look at how filial my son is. Even after becoming the regent prince, he is still respectful to me, his mother.

"Bian'er, come meet your uncle." Empress He took Liu Bian's hand and introduced him to the middle-aged man in civil servant robes. "He currently holds the positions of Governor of Henan, Chief Architect, and Minister of the Interior. From now on, your uncle will surely assist you in securing your position as Crown Prince. You two must unite as one."

Liu Bian didn't say anything, but turned his head to look at He Jin.

Although He Jin is now wearing the robes of a civil official, he has a strong and sturdy physique. After all, he was born in a butcher's family and has eaten countless meats since he was a child. His physique is not something that ordinary people can match.

But He Suigao, I am waiting for you to pay your respects to me, the prince. What are you waiting for?
The Queen Mother has taken the initiative to come forward to greet you, what are you doing sitting there?
Moreover, I am standing, and you dare to sit down. Are you waiting for me to salute you?
Liu Bian narrowed his eyes slightly. He had a very bad impression of his uncle when they first met.

Liu Bian said nothing, but Xu Chu, standing behind him, could not tolerate He Jin's disrespect. He glared at He Jin with wide eyes and shouted, "How dare you, a mere wretch, fail to pay your respects to the Crown Prince!"

Xu Chu's voice was like thunder, frightening Empress He to the point of paleness. Even He Jin, a skilled archer and horseman since childhood, was slightly taken aback by the bark. "How dare Xu Zhongkang be so disrespectful, scaring my mother!"

Liu Bian glared at Xu Chu fiercely and scolded him, but he only said that Xu Chu was wrong in frightening Queen He, and then comforted his own mother.

However, although Empress He was somewhat annoyed by Xu Chu's behavior, there was more admiration in her eyes.

A loyal and brave guard is extremely important to Liu Bian's personal safety. This man is strong and muscular, and must be a fierce general. He only has the prince in his eyes and no one else. She is reluctant to reprimand such a loyal and brave man.

But Xu Chu was the prince's guard commander of Liu Bian. If it was someone else's guard, even her own or He Jin's guard, she would have had the rude man dragged out and beaten to death. But who made him the guard who protected her son?
"Please forgive me, Queen. I was disrespectful." Xu Chu bowed earnestly to Queen He, his tone sincere, but then he changed the subject and glared at He Jin again with a fierce look. "I accept the Crown Prince's reprimand and am willing to accept the punishment, but I still have to say it!"

"The Crown Prince is the monarch, He Henan is the minister. The Crown Prince and He Henan are uncle and nephew, and moreover, monarch and minister. How dare this minister not pay respect to the monarch?"

"If the master is humiliated, then the minister will die!"

Xu Chu held the sword at his waist and looked at He Jin. Suddenly he took two steps forward, as if he was about to draw his sword and kill He Jin. This made He Jin understand what it meant to be "a common man's anger can make blood splatter five steps away."

Liu Bian was overjoyed. No wonder Xu Zhongkang was so trusted by Cao Cao. He enjoyed the favor of three generations of Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, and always served as the General of Wuwei and was in charge of the palace guards.

Loyalty alone is not enough to gain the trust and favor of the three generations of Cao Wei kings.

Although he seems to be an ignorant and reckless man, Xu Chu is actually no less cunning than those literati and scholars. He directly acts as a mouthpiece and says what Xu Chu is not convenient to say.

Moreover, the sentence "When the lord is worried, the minister is humiliated; when the lord is humiliated, the minister dies" also blocked the opportunity for Empress He and He Jin to make trouble. No matter how dissatisfied they were, they had to admit that Xu Chu was a loyal prince and that was why he behaved so miserably.

He was able to get things done without leaving any room for criticism. Xu Zhongkang is truly an amazing person!
However, although Liu Bian admired Xu Chu's words and deeds in his heart, he could not show it on his face.

"How dare you! How dare a mere prince's guard like you speak here? Get out of here and receive ten military sticks!"

"roll!"

Liu Bian was "very angry" and scolded Xu Chu for driving him out, while secretly making a gesture to Chen Lin.

Chen Lin understood and followed the "indignant" Xu Chu out.

Liu Bian, who was standing beside Empress He, had his chest heaving violently, as if his anger had not yet subsided. He suddenly turned around and looked at He Jin and said, "Don't blame me, uncle. This man doesn't like to read and doesn't know etiquette. If it weren't for his bravery..."

"I have already punished him. Uncle, please don't hold it against me because of a mere guard."

"This fool, even if he doesn't like reading, should know that even in a poor family, a nephew should take the initiative to greet his uncle. He actually tried to alienate the relationship between us. How foolish!"

At first, He Jin was very angry when Xu Chu yelled at him in public. But when he saw Liu Bian punish his subordinates so decisively and explain it to him, he felt that his nephew was sensible and could distinguish between relatives and strangers.

But as he spoke, he always felt that there was something else behind Liu Bian's words.

However, Empress He had long understood that a woman who could compete to become the empress in the harem just didn't want to play tricks when she was with her family, not that she didn't have any tricks.

The person his son was talking about was not the prince's guard named Xu Chu, but He Jin.

He Jin doesn't like to study and is only appointed if he has some martial arts skills. Aren't these all characteristics of He Jin?
As for the last sentence, what does it mean that even in the homes of ordinary people, how can the situation in the homes of ordinary people be compared with that of the royal family?
Although Xu Zhongkang behaved rashly and rudely, what he said made sense.

The prince is the king and you are the subject. Why don’t you, as a subject, take the initiative to pay a visit to the prince?
Slowly, He Jin came to his senses. He glanced at Liu Bian with an unpleasant expression, then bowed slowly and said, "Your Highness, your servant He Jin pays his respects to the Crown Prince."

"Hey!" Liu Bian hurriedly supported He Jin, as if to stop him from continuing to salute, but he did not use any strength to stop He Jin's movements. "Uncle, don't be so polite."

(End of this chapter)