Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The emperor suddenly felt a little embarrassed and could only say to the crowd, "That's not the case. No matter what, it's not that I have to get close to her, but I have to make such a gesture. In fact, she has failed me, not that I don't want to be close to her. Only in this way can we stop these people from talking nonsense. Regardless of whether she is finally crowned as empress or not, I will not get close to her anyway. As long as she doesn't give birth to an heir, she will always be just an empty shell of an empress. I hereby promise you, Marquis Ji, that when the prince born to me and Concubine Gongsun is born, I will immediately crown him as crown prince. At that time, it will only be the title of empress. Once my rule is stable, it will be up to me to depose the empress or not. Just think about it, Marquis Ji, the crown prince will be your grandson in the future. In that case, is the position of empress really that important?"

After the emperor finished speaking, Gongsun Zan's face suddenly became uncertain. He seemed to be weighing the pros and cons in his mind, and for a moment he no longer had the anger he had just had.

Seeing that Gongsun Zan's originally angry expression had softened slightly, the emperor struck while the iron was hot and quickly continued, "Marquis Ji, my arrangement this time is not to have you go through so much trouble to come here and do something useless. Please calm down and listen to me carefully analyze the current situation with you.

The world is now in chaos, with widespread disrespect for the imperial court. The vassal states in Guanzhong are all disobeying the imperial court's orders. The root cause is Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, relying on their prominent status as officials from four generations of three generations of high officials, openly opposing the imperial court. For various reasons, I am currently unable to launch a large-scale campaign against them. This has led other vassal states to follow suit, each one pretending to obey me, secretly acting in disobedience. This is a real headache for me.

Your arrival now presents me with an opportunity. I can seize this opportunity to request Ma Chao to dispatch troops to attack Yuan Shu in Huainan. Furthermore, with the combined power of you and Ma Chao, I can also leverage this opportunity to request Lü Bu of Bingzhou to join you in a joint campaign against Yuan Shao in Jizhou. By then, both Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao will be firmly contained by our forces, making them dare not act rashly. In that case, how many of the other vassal states in Guanzhong will dare to act recklessly?

If we can do our best to defeat these two traitors, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, then the other princes, even if they have any rebellious intentions, will surely stop and restrain themselves. Then I can keep them and deal with them slowly.

Imagine this: in the future, when peace reigns, if I and Concubine Gongsun can give birth to a prince and make him Crown Prince, then I will be in charge of all the troops in the world, with you and the Emperor's uncle by my side. Even if Ma Chao becomes powerful, he will only occupy a small area in the northwest. How much trouble can he stir up?

By that time, the Han Dynasty will have achieved a revival, and my position will be incomparably secure. By then, even deposing Concubine Lu as Empress will be a piece of cake. Think about it: if your grandson can become the Crown Prince, wouldn't this vast empire be a solid foundation laid for him? All the efforts you're making now are actually for the benefit of your descendants.

Therefore, it is better not to fight for this momentary impulsive dispute. As the saying goes, 'He who does not plan for the world is not qualified to plan for a region.' I hope that you, Marquis Ji, can understand my painstaking efforts."

As the emperor spoke with such sincerity, tears welled up in his eyes. He looked straight at Gongsun Zan with a sincere gaze, as if he wanted to convey his painstaking efforts to him completely.

Such genuine emotion moved even the resentful Gongsun Zan. He cupped his hands, bowed deeply to the emperor, and said sincerely, "Your Majesty's thoughts are far more profound than mine. I have only now truly understood your good intentions. Since this is the case, I will no longer compete with Ma Er for this momentary attention. However, Your Majesty, we must not so easily show weakness before Ma Er. Otherwise, it will appear as if Ma Er has the final say in all matters of the court, and that we all depend on him for our actions. That would greatly undermine your dignity, Your Majesty."

At this time, Gongsun Zan was deeply moved by the beautiful blueprint painted by the emperor. Unconsciously, he automatically stood in the same camp with the emperor and began to consider things for the emperor sincerely.

The emperor was filled with joy upon seeing this. He sincerely extended his hands, one hand tightly grasping Gongsun Zan, the other holding the Gongsun Imperial Consort. With moving emotion, he said, "I am truly delighted to have you and I treat each other so well. When peace reigns supreme, I will ensure that your Gongsun family enjoys unparalleled glory and becomes a prestigious family envied by the world. I hope you will bear with this momentary indignation. In the future, I will certainly not let you down for your loyalty and friendship."

Liu Bei watched Gongsun Zan and Consort Gongsun's faces, moved, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He thought to himself, "This senior brother is truly extraordinary. He's been easily swayed by the Emperor's mere words. He's truly been blinded by the allure of power."

Looking at the emperor's behavior, Liu Bei was deeply concerned. He was obsessed with power, treating his civil and military officials with anything but integrity, relying solely on manipulation and manipulation. Liu Bei couldn't help but wonder: even if he could eventually restore the Han Dynasty's glory, would Brother Gongsun and his daughter still be able to maintain their seemingly prosperous status?

Liu Bei, watching the scene unfold, found the emperor's actions difficult to agree with, and he worried deeply about the court's future. Acting like this was undoubtedly like dancing on the edge of a knife, a dangerous act. The emperor, conceited about his talent, treated his civil and military officials like mere clowns to be played with. Could such behavior truly restore the Han Dynasty to its former glory?

The more Liu Bei thought about it, the more confused he became, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. But no matter what, he understood that the emperor ultimately wanted to restore the glory of the Han Dynasty, even if his methods were inappropriate. Never mind, never mind. I'll wait until the Han Dynasty is revived, and then I'll come back to give him some serious advice. For now, I have no choice but to support him for now. If I withdraw my support, I'm afraid this situation, which has just begun to improve, will fall back into darkness.

The emperor patiently discussed the remaining details with Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei, and the others. After everything was finalized, the turbulent banquet was finally concluded, and everyone was allowed to leave.

The next day, the emperor hurriedly sent a messenger to Ma Chao, informing him that he had successfully appeased Gongsun Zan and that the ceremony to enthronize the empress would proceed as planned on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month. Furthermore, the emperor recounted in detail the many arguments and hardships he had endured in the process. He earnestly pledged his commitment to Ma Chao's wishes and earnestly hoped that Ma Chao would not let his efforts down and would continue to serve the Han Dynasty loyally and tirelessly, striving to restore its glory.

Ma Chao frowned slightly, lost in thought. After a moment, he said to Xu Shu, "Yuan Zhi is absolutely right. The emperor's actions this time are indeed quite suspicious. Although he has stated that the enthronement will proceed as planned, there may be hidden secrets hidden within this. We must not be careless."

Xu Shu nodded gently and continued his analysis with a serious expression, "General, think about it. Gongsun Zan's presence this time was quite strange. And the scene at the banquet clearly showed that the emperor was instigating us, deliberately trying to pit us against Gongsun Zan and his group. We must be on guard against the deeper meaning behind this. Even if he agrees to the enthronement and proceeds as usual, we are already at a disadvantage in terms of righteousness and cannot stand our ground. After all, your previous use of power to coerce the emperor is a fait accompli. Now, whether it is rumors or public opinion, it is extremely disadvantageous to you."

Ma Chao showed helplessness and responded thoughtfully, "Alas, the emperor's mind is becoming more and more deep and unpredictable. I always feel that no matter what we do, he can't really feel at ease. Even though I have never changed my original intention from beginning to end and have always wanted to serve the court, but judging from the current situation, I am afraid that the gap between the emperor and I will only become deeper and deeper." After that, Ma Chao sighed softly, with a bit of worry in his eyes.

Xu Shu's face was filled with worry, and he said to Ma Chao in a serious tone, "General, you must be doubly careful in the future. The emperor's actions this time are clearly intended to use the Gongsun Zan incident to warn us. After all, everyone in the world can now clearly see that our Xiliang forces are quite powerful. He must have been extremely dissatisfied with your previous pressure on the emperor to appoint a queen, but his current manipulation of the situation is a means to fight you. Although he was forced to compromise with you in the end, on the surface, it seems that you have won the confrontation with the emperor. But to be honest, we really don't know what excuses the emperor will find to deal with us later.

"What's more, the situation in Guanzhong is already unstable. The emperor has taken the righteous position and asked us to do this and that. If we don't want to openly oppose the emperor, we have no choice but to swallow our anger and accept it."

Ma Chao listened to Xu Shu's words, bowed his head, and pondered for a moment, feeling that this was indeed the case. However, he was still reluctant to allow this matter to create such a deep rift with the court. After all, it had been quite difficult to maintain the current stability. If he became wary of the emperor simply because of his suspicion of him, it would not be a good sign either.

Ma Chao had no choice but to speak to Xu Shu, "I understand all you've said, Yuanzhi. The Emperor certainly has a deep prejudice against me, but now that things have come to this, as long as we work diligently for the court and achieve more meritorious service, I believe the Emperor will not be too suspicious of us. We will simply serve diligently in the future. As long as we can maintain the current relative stability, that will be the best. At least for now, we haven't had any disputes with Gongsun Zan, and the ceremony of enthroning the empress can proceed as planned. We can find ways to remedy the situation later. After all, the Han Dynasty is in turmoil right now. The fact that the Emperor is still prioritizing the overall situation shows that he understands the importance of weighing the pros and cons. We will simply serve diligently in the future."