Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 72 Liu Ziyang, Cao Cao's Spy?
The carriages rumbled and the horses neighed. Pedestrians carried bows and arrows at their waists. Liu Ye followed Yuan Yao's carriage northward, pondering for a long time but still unable to come up with a solution.

He seemed to be trapped in a logical dead end.

He continued to persuade Yuan Shu to declare himself emperor, thus becoming the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and completely bound to the war chariot, sharing weal and woe with the pseudo-emperor regime.

But if he says he won't encourage them to go, it contradicts his previous actions. Everything is ready, so why change his mind all of a sudden? What else could this be but ulterior motives?

Moreover, now that he has become Yuan Yao's teacher, whether or not he is urged to ascend the throne seems unimportant. Sooner or later, he will likely become the Crown Prince's tutor.

The Yuan family's generosity left Liu Ye speechless with grief.

Xi Zhicai ruined me!
Liu Ye arrived at the outskirts of Xu County in a daze. As Yuan Yao led him into Yuan Shu's central military tent, Liu Ye was pondering how to explain himself and escape this calamity. He saw that on the high platform, the man ignored Yuan Yao in front of him and only coldly scrutinized him.

"Liu Ziyang of Huainan?"

Raising his eyes to meet that high and mighty gaze, Liu Ye became wary, maintaining Yuan's image of loyalty and righteousness, and answered respectfully.

"I have long admired your illustrious name, my lord. I am honored to meet you today."

I've heard of you.

He said this with a smile, but Liu Ye did not understand the unfathomable meaning behind the smile. He was simply following his own plan, determined to carry out the theory of becoming emperor to the end first, and then find another way to extricate himself later.

He bowed deeply and said:
"The Han dynasty declined, the fate of Heaven changed, and the imperial regalia changed hands. This is the constant course of Heaven, the principle of Yao and Shun."

Now, I have come to offer my strategy for defeating Cao Cao, and I present three documents with me. The first is "A Petition of the People," and the second is…

However, the person on the high platform seemed to pay no attention to what he was saying. He raised his hand and pointed, and with a light laugh, his words were like a thunderclap in his ears, making him feel cold all over.

"Men, seize this traitorous spy!"

At this moment, everyone in the tent, whether they were in favor of becoming emperor or the probationary emperor, was shocked!

They had received news from Shouchun long ago and thought that this time it would be initiated by Liu Ye, and a debate on whether or not to declare himself emperor would immediately begin, thus settling this major issue that had been hanging in the balance in Yuan's camp for a long time.

Everyone had prepared their arguments and were eager to fight, but who would have thought that their lord would call Liu Ye a spy from Cao Cao's camp and arrest him on the spot?

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

The pro-emperor faction was unsure whether they should speak up for this traitor from Cao Cao's camp, while the pro-imperial faction, seeing that the pro-emperor faction had already lost their nerve before even fighting, also hesitated to speak up.

The atmosphere in the venue froze for a moment!
Only one person was utterly terrified.

It was Liu Ye!

Am I a spy for Cao Cao's camp?

But how could Yuan Shu possibly know this!
Even the Yuan family has recognized him and wants him to be the Crown Prince's tutor. He is also Yuan Yao's teacher now, making him a true loyal and virtuous figure in the Yuan family.

Yuan Shu had never seen him before, so how could he see through the disguise at a glance and conclude that he was a spy from Cao Cao's camp?
Suddenly, almost like a flash of inspiration!
His thoughts drifted back to the brief exchange he had with Yuan Shu since entering the large tent.

[Liu Ziyang from Huainan?] [I've heard of you.]

"Men, seize this traitorous spy!"

The exchange was brief; Yuan Shu only uttered three sentences, yet those three short sentences almost determined life and death.

But Liu Ziyang was exceptionally talented. The moment those three sentences came to mind, he seemed to have grasped the mystery and finally understood the enigmatic smile Yuan Shu gave him when he looked him up and down.

Yuan Shu had never met him, but he had heard of him.

This wasn't because he was a renowned scholar from Huainan, but because someone had specifically mentioned him to him.

That's why he became convinced of the third statement: a traitor to Cao Cao's camp!

No wonder they didn't give him a chance to finish speaking before arresting such a loyal member of the Yuan family the moment they met. It turns out that none of this had anything to do with what he said, whether he would become emperor or not, or even with his actions in Shouchun City.

Yuan Shu had already formed a prejudice against him and concluded that he was a spy for Cao Cao's camp.

Or perhaps Yuan Shu, though he had never met him, knew beforehand that the name Liu Ziyang of Huainan must be that of a spy.

Therefore, once he admitted his identity in the first question, he couldn't escape this ordeal.

In a flash, having figured out the reason for all this, Liu Ye struggled desperately against the armored soldiers escorting him and cried out:

"My lord, you've been wronged!"
I don't know who slandered me to the lord, trying to frame and harm me.

But my loyalty to you is as clear as heaven and earth, and my devotion is as firm as the sun and moon.

"Ye, please have that person confront us in court."

"Confrontation in court?"

He did know in advance that Liu Ye was a member of Cao Cao's camp, but that was later. At this point in time, Liu Ye had not yet joined Cao Cao's camp, and his political stance was originally unclear.

But all of this changed when he heard from Yan Xiang's urgent letter that Liu Ye was clamoring for the throne in Shouchun, and that he should not believe anything he said, as now was definitely not the time to declare himself emperor.

Why would you, Liu Ye, come here for no reason to stir up trouble and advocate for becoming emperor?
If someone doesn't know you, Liu Ziyang, they might actually be fooled by your image as a loyal and virtuous member of the Yuan family.

However, Yuan Shu clearly knew from his past life's memories that Liu Ye helped Liu Xun establish himself because he knew that the original owner of the body was not a wise ruler and that attempting to become emperor was a path to death. Later, after being defeated by Sun Ce, he took Liu Xun with him to join Cao Cao.

What? Even if he behaves differently in this life, showing the appearance of a wise ruler, Liu Ye changed his mind and wanted to become a loyal subject of the Yuan family.

Knowing full well that Liu Ziyang's attempt to become emperor was a path to certain death, why would he not offer advice but instead actively promote the emperor's ascension to the throne in order to invite Yuan Shikai to his death?
Such self-contradictions and malicious intentions—if you, Liu Ziyang, are not a spy for Cao Cao's camp, then what are you?
Amidst his racing thoughts, Yuan Shu smiled upon hearing Liu Ye's demand for a confrontation in court.

He only ordered someone to summon one person, and said to Liu Ye:

"Ziyang, look, who is this person?"

(End of this chapter)