Although Liu Bei and Chen Cheng argued for a while, after Chen Cheng took the initiative to soften, the atmosphere gradually eased again.

"My brother will live in Guanzhong for a few more days, and now I am a general, and my brother is a pastor of Xuzhou, and they all have a great future, so why make it unhappy for some trivial things?"

Liu Bei shook his head and said, "Cao Cao's comeback, this is not a trivial matter, if it is not good, it may kill and injure hundreds of thousands of people." The last time Cao's army invaded Xuzhou, killing a lot of people, and Xuzhou has not recovered so far. When I came, I passed through Yanzhou, and saw that the armaments there were lax, and the soldiers were not in order, and if Cao Cao raised troops to the north, they would not be able to resist for a long time. ”

The smile on Chen Cheng's face was put away, he sighed, and said: "The rise and fall is just a matter of one family and one surname, but it is always the people who suffer. If Cao Cao really dared to raise troops to attack other states and counties again, then the imperial court would naturally not sit idly by. I have appointed Xu Rong as the commander of the Second Army, and if necessary, he will lead his troops eastward. ”

Liu Bei frowned, then unfolded, and said: "Since you have come to Chang'an, you must not go to meet the Son of Heaven, and ask the general to arrange one or two for me." ”

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "This is simple, my brother will rest in the mansion for a few days, and then go to the court to see the Son of Heaven." ”

Liu Bei said: "Please also try it as soon as possible." ”

After Liu Bei arrived, Chen Cheng gave him and Zhang Fei a lot of things, from weapons to armor, from gold and silver to war horses, all kinds of things, and also prepared a copy for Guan Yu, who stayed in Xuzhou, and took them back when Liu Bei and Zhangli left. In addition, Chen Cheng also held a grand banquet to entertain these former friends.

Zhang Fei was very happy with this treatment, and said loudly: "Wenzheng is really the same as before, there is no change. ”

Liu Bei was not so happy, but looked a little worried. Zhang Fei said: "Big brother, why are you so embarrassed? Wen Zheng now has a large army in his hands, and there are many elite soldiers and good generals under his command, if Cao Thief does not move, it is fine, if he really dares to lead his troops north, Wen Zheng will definitely send troops and horses again! ”

"Why am I worried about this!" Liu Bei sighed, shook his head, and said, "You don't understand, it's better to drink bar." ”

After entertaining Liu Bei and others for several days in a row, the weather has deteriorated rapidly, and heavy snow may fall anytime and anywhere. Chen Cheng ascended to the rank of the Son of Heaven and made Liu Bei enter the Changle Palace to meet the Son of Heaven. Changle Palace is in the southeast corner of Chang'an City, under the escort of hundreds of soldiers, Chen Cheng, Liu Bei, as well as several chief officials of the three provinces and six departments and ministers of the imperial court, all followed the pilgrimage to meet the Son of Heaven.

By the time Liu Bei arrived, the officials and ministers had already arrived. Ascending the long royal road and coming to the main hall, Liu Bei was about to untie his sword, but Chen Cheng grabbed him and said with a smile: "Brother is a hero in the world, why bother with these vulgar rituals?" ”

He put on his shoes, pulled Liu Bei across the threshold, and stepped into the main hall. In the wide Changle Palace, dozens of ministers and officials focused on Liu Bei's body, which made Liu Bei a little embarrassed, but he had to straighten his waist and follow Chen Cheng forward.

When he arrived in front of the Son of Heaven, Liu Bei broke free of Chen Cheng's left hand, bowed to the ground, and said respectfully: "Minister, Xuzhou Mu Liu Bei, please see Your Majesty!" ”

Chen Cheng just arched his hand, his eyes looked at the Son of Heaven, and he saw that Empress Dowager He was looking at this side with eager eyes. Chen Cheng smiled at Empress Dowager He, Empress Dowager He's face was hot, and she couldn't help lowering her head. But then, she raised her head again, glanced left and right, and saw that everyone was looking at Liu Bei, which could be regarded as a relief.

"Uncle Huang, please get up!"

The Son of Heaven Liu Zhi grew a three-inch beard and looked much more mature. He said to Liu Bei: "I am very relieved to hear that Uncle Huang defeated Cao Cao, who was doing evil. Now the world of the Han Dynasty depends on you royal relatives! ”

Liu Bei bowed and said: "Your Majesty, it was the general who led the troops to defeat Cao Cao, and the ministers fought with Cao Cao, winning less and losing more, so I really didn't dare to take the credit." ”

Seeing Liu Bei so respectful, the Son of Heaven liked it more and more, and said: "I haven't seen the clan relatives surnamed Liu for a long time, and the imperial uncle can stay after retiring from the dynasty and talk to me about some outside things, so that I can know what the world is like now." ”

Liu Bian turned his head to look at the Empress Dowager He, his tone became indifferent, and asked, "Queen Mother, is this good?" ”

Empress Dowager He took her eyes off the general's body, "Ah, you are the Son of Heaven, and it is good to keep people to talk." ”

The Son of Heaven turned his head to look at Chen Cheng again and asked, "What does the general mean?" ”

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Since Your Majesty wants to talk to Brother Xuande about something, then it is naturally possible. ”

The Son of Heaven seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, looked at the people in the hall, and said, "What else do you have to say?" ”

The general of the auxiliary country, after the marquis finished lying in the ranks, said loudly: "The minister has this music!" ”

After standing up, the drowsy people suddenly became energetic, and even Liu Bian, the son of heaven, was a little frightened. Wang Yun's daughter married a general and has been expelled from the ranks of righteous gentlemen, and now the leader of the courtiers has naturally become the father-in-law of the Son of Heaven.

However, in the past two years, except for the two sentences of scolding in the newspaper, he has not dared to act out of line. Wang Yue's "Military Horse Statistics Section" was widely distributed, and the courtiers were much more cautious in their actions, for fear of being caught by the general, and then the whole family would enjoy the treatment of traveling to the Western Regions.

Chen Cheng didn't deliberately trouble these ministers, but as long as he grabbed the handle, he sent it to the Western Regions. Those vacant positions were not stuffed with people anymore. His approach seems to be to sweep away all the original ministers of the imperial court, and then replace them with officials from the three provinces and six ministries.

But in fact, there is no difference, what Situ, Sima, Sikong and the like, have become fictitious positions, except for being able to show their existence once a month when they go to the court, there is no other role. Now that Fu Wan suddenly jumped out, it can be said that it was unexpected by many people, but it was reasonable.

Chen Cheng looked at Fu Wan, who plucked up his courage and straightened his waist, as if this would add a lot of courage. He couldn't help laughing and said, "No, the Hou will pick the time, just say it if you have something to say." ”

The Son of Heaven Liu Yan twisted his body on it, and said a little nervously: "What does the auxiliary general have to play?" ”

After looking at Chen Cheng provocatively, he turned around, bowed to the Son of Heaven, and then said loudly: "Your Majesty is now twenty-three years old, and it is time for the Queen Mother and the Great General to return the Great Government to the Son of Heaven!" ”

Liu Bian is twenty-one years old this year, and if he is two years old, he will be exactly twenty-three.

"This ........", Liu Yan swallowed his saliva, looked at Chen Cheng, and then at Empress Dowager He, the expression on his face was nervous and expectant, mixed with a trace of fear and fear, "This..... Queen Mother, what do you think? ”

Empress Dowager He's face sank, her pretty face was covered with frost, and she said coldly: "What else can you look at the mourning family?" Look with two eyes, of course! After the ambush, you are so bold that you dare to separate the mother-son relationship of His Majesty! ”

Fu Wan gritted his teeth and said not to be outdone: "Since Your Majesty has grown up, you should take over the handling of national affairs, and this is also sharing worries for the Queen Mother!" The general commands the soldiers and horses of the world, and exterminates the thieves and traitors with peace of mind, so why bother to grasp everything in his hands? ”

Chen Cheng smiled, and was about to speak, when the Empress Dowager He who was sitting above was already furious: "What is it to mourn the family, I think you want to rebel after you finish the funeral!" Could it be that you want a bachelor? ”

Two years ago, Shisun Duanyin wanted to assassinate the general, but the matter was revealed. On that occasion, there were more than a dozen court ministers who were killed, and the vitality of the righteous men and gentlemen was greatly damaged. Hearing what Empress Dowager He said, Fu Fu's heart was shocked, and he immediately said: "The minister is loyal to His Majesty, and he can learn from it every day!" ”

Chen Cheng shook his head and said, "Don't you think that your majesty can handle the military and political affairs of the imperial court now?" ”

Although he was frightened in his heart, he still raised his head and said, "Exactly! ”

"But Your Majesty has no experience in handling government affairs before, what if there is a mistake?"

"If Your Majesty doesn't understand something, you can consult the courtiers in the court, how can there be a mistake? Even if there is a flaw, so what? The whole world belongs to His Majesty! ”

Chen Cheng looked to both sides, and saw that everyone's expressions were different, and he felt a little greasy in his heart, did these people forget the pain after their scars? Or has it been more than a year since I showed much of my presence, so everyone feels like they have switched to a vegetarian diet? Most of the time he was reasonable, but now he is not reasoning, but there are fundamental differences in everyone's ideas and interests, and words are of no avail.

He pondered for a while and asked Liu Bei, who was standing with his hands tied on the side, "Brother, because it's time for the great government to return?" ”

Liu Bei was silent for a while, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty has no experience in handling government affairs before, and it is indeed a little inappropriate to take over the affairs of the court rashly, but you can let Your Majesty observe for a period of time, so that when Your Majesty is familiar with the affairs of the court, it is not too late to ask Your Majesty to take charge of the government." ”

"Yes, yes, that's what I mean!"

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "Dealing with all kinds of things is hard and troublesome, and ordinary people can't hide." Look at me, although I am a general, but the matter is handed over to Zhongshu Ling, Shangshu Ling and Shizhong Ling to deal with them. Your Majesty, but living in the palace and enjoying life is, why don't you think about it so much, you have to make yourself so hard. ”

Liu Wei hurriedly said: "I am not afraid of hard work!" ”

Chen Cheng said unceremoniously: "Your Majesty is not afraid of hard work, but I am afraid that Your Majesty is working hard." Besides, the Queen Mother is still here, so let the Queen Mother help deal with something else. ”

"The Queen Mother ........", Liu Wei glanced at the Queen Mother He with hatred, and quickly suppressed this hatred in his heart, changed his smile, and said: "I am also afraid that the Queen Mother is tired." Wasn't the Queen Mother very sick some time ago? He also went to the manor outside the city to recuperate for several months. ”