roccoschili Chapter 548 Liu Bei Shows Off His Acting Skills Again
Chapter 548 Liu Bei Shows Off His Acting Skills Again
what?
Did Cao Pi become emperor?
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang was overjoyed. He took the letter and ran towards Liu Bei's tent without even reading it. As he ran, he ordered his men to call Guan Yu, Zhang Zhao, Mi Zhu, and others. However, he did not call Zhang Fei, because Zhang Fei had already gone to invite the divine physician Dong Feng to treat Liu Shan and Guan Xing. Even Liu Bei's messenger, who was fast, could not catch up with him, so he could not participate for the time being.
Zhuge Liang sprinted into Liu Bei's tent at top speed, startling Liu Bei so much that he jumped up as if he had risen from the dead and hurriedly asked, "What is it now? Has that brat Anguo caused trouble again?"
He was truly terrified of Guan Xing. When that kid did cause trouble, it was nothing serious, but when he did, it was earth-shattering and incredibly torturous.
Zhuge Liang handed over a letter saying, "News has come from Luoyang that Cao Pi has usurped the throne and declared himself emperor."
Liu Bei's head exploded with a bang, and he was instantly enveloped by an unprecedented and enormous joy. Every pore on his body opened up, and he was so excited that he wished he could take off on the spot.
Damn Cao Zihuan, you've finally declared yourself emperor! Now that you're emperor, I have no more scruples.
With the unification of Jiangnan, Emperor Liu Xie became his biggest obstacle and the biggest stumbling block on his path to becoming emperor. As long as Liu Xie was still sitting on the dragon throne, Liu Bei would always be a subject.
It was for this reason that he abandoned the suggestion to attack Guan Xing and block Cao Cao's escape route at Wuguan in the three eastern counties, and then head straight for Luoyang, thus missing a great opportunity to recapture Luoyang.
However, Cao Pi has now removed Emperor Liu Xie, the biggest obstacle on his path to becoming emperor, which led to the demise of the Han Dynasty. In this way, it would be natural for him, a member of the Han imperial family with the bloodline of Emperor Gaozu, to ascend the throne and continue the Han Dynasty.
Cao Pi really did me a huge favor; he was much better than my dead father.
Thinking of the scene of Cao Pi becoming emperor, Liu Bei was so excited that he wanted to run to Luoyang and kiss Cao Pi, but he didn't dare to show it. Instead, he was furious and overturned the table, cursing: "Damn Cao Zihuan, how dare you! This is treason! You deserve to be cut into a thousand pieces! Send troops! Send troops! I want to launch a northern expedition to avenge His Majesty!"
Upon receiving the news, Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, Mi Zhu, Sun Quan, Zhang Zhao, Sun Shao, and others rushed to the scene. Before they even entered the tent, they heard Liu Bei's furious roar. They exchanged glances and entered the tent at the same time. In perfect unison, they all knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Please take care of your health and don't let anger ruin your life."
Upon hearing this, Liu Bei roared at an even louder volume: "How can I not be angry that Cao Pi has openly plotted rebellion? The Northern Expedition is imperative!"
Only then did Zhuge Liang have time to open the letter, secretly glance at it, and then quietly put it away, not intending to make it public. The letter said that Emperor Liu Xie had been demoted to Duke of Shanyang, which was not very favorable for Liu Bei's ascension to the throne. They hoped that Liu Xie had already passed away, rather than being alive and well as Duke of Shanyang.
Zhuge Liang put away the letter, knelt down and advised, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Cao Pi has defied the world by openly declaring himself emperor, which is a crime of treason. As a Han official, Your Majesty should send troops to punish him. However, as you know, the situation in Jiangnan is currently dire. The war has just ended, and the soldiers and civilians are exhausted. Furthermore, the continuous battles have depleted our supplies, and we are truly unable to launch another campaign."
Liu Bei roared forcefully, "We must fight! As a subject of the Han Dynasty, I have received the Emperor's great favor. Now that the Emperor is in trouble, how can I sit idly by?"
Zhang Zhaosun Shao then wailed, "Your Majesty, we cannot fight! Jiangnan has just experienced several fierce battles, many wounded soldiers have not yet recovered, and our food supplies have not been replenished. We really cannot afford to fight!"
Mi Zhu, Lü Dai, and others also joined in, earnestly persuading Liu Bei to abandon his idea of a northern expedition.
Everyone present was shrewd and knew that Liu Bei's so-called Northern Expedition was just empty talk. He had no intention of taking any real action. The louder the slogan, the lower the probability of a Northern Expedition. Otherwise, he would have just started fighting directly. What was he yelling about?
Although everyone knew Liu Bei's true intentions, they all pretended not to know and then put themselves in the position of advisors to persuade him, presenting facts and reasoning, analyzing the difficulties of the Northern Expedition from all aspects, and trying their best to persuade Liu Bei to give up the idea of the Northern Expedition.
Liu Bei knew they knew his intentions, and instead of calming down in the face of their persuasion, he shouted even louder.
At this point, we must put on an act and let the world know that we did not want to abandon the Northern Expedition, but that we had no choice but to give it up due to real difficulties.
Therefore, these cunning old foxes all put on their best acting skills, constantly pulling and tugging inside the tent, making noises that could be heard for miles around.
After nearly a quarter of an hour of this back and forth, Zhuge Liang finally said, “Your Majesty, it’s not that we don’t want to follow Your Majesty on the Northern Expedition, but we simply can’t afford it. The people of Jiangling are still living in tents, and when it rains, they don’t even have a place to shelter from the rain. We simply don’t have enough food to support Your Majesty’s Northern Expedition. Your Majesty, please have pity on the people of Jiangnan.”
Liu Bei collapsed to the ground as if paralyzed, pounding his fist on the ground and weeping, "Liu Bei is incompetent. I have failed His Majesty, failed the previous emperors of the Han Dynasty, and failed the ancestors of the Liu family. What am I to do? How can I face the previous emperors of the Han Dynasty and the ancestors of the Liu family after my death?"
Zhuge Liang said with great sorrow, "Your Majesty, although I am unwilling to admit it, the Han Dynasty has already perished after Cao Pi became emperor. There is no more Han Dynasty in the world. The only way now is to follow the example of Emperor Guangwu and let Your Majesty ascend the throne and continue the Han Dynasty."
"What?" Liu Bei, as if greatly shocked, sprang up on the spot, pointing at Zhuge Liang and shouting, "Absurd! How can I, a Han official, commit such a treasonous act? If I were to do so, how would I be any different from the traitor Cao Pi? Zhuge Kongming, are you trying to put me in a position of disloyalty and injustice?"
Zhuge Liang quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I..."
Liu Bei didn't give him a chance to explain. Before he could finish speaking, he raised his hand to shoo them away, saying, "Get out, get out! Get out of my sight! I don't want to see anyone right now."
After saying this, he personally took charge, roughly pushing everyone out of the royal tent and closing the tent door with his own hands. When he turned around and faced away from the tent door, he finally couldn't suppress his joy and grinned, but dared not make a sound, causing his face to distort and his features to be squeezed together, looking particularly incongruous.
Liu Bei knew this was not the time to celebrate, so his contorted expression only lasted a moment before returning to normal. He then continued to kneel on the ground and wail, "Your Majesty, I have failed your trust. I have been carrying out the imperial edict to punish the traitor for so many years, yet I have still failed to eliminate the rebels and restore order to the court. I am incompetent, and I have failed to live up to your trust."
Liu Bei cried so hard in his tent that he fainted, but before he collapsed, he reached out and knocked away the pottery jar on the table. The poor jar smashed to the ground and broke into eight pieces with a loud bang.
Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and the others who were pushed out of the tent did not leave but stood outside the tent listening. When they heard the sound of the pottery jar breaking, they rushed into the tent and saw Liu Bei lying unconscious on the ground. They quickly carried him to Sun Shangxiang's tent and sent someone to call Cheng Li to come over quickly.
Poor Cheng Li was busy brewing medicine for Liu Shan, Guan Xing, and the other elders. He had just finished brewing the medicine and sent someone to deliver it. Before he could even rest, he received the news that Liu Bei had fainted. Helpless, he had no choice but to drag his exhausted body to the hospital.