Volume 1: Kyoto Wind and Cloud Chapter 25: Slashing Snake Sword, Overlord Gun

  After Liu Zhang left, Emperor Xian and Liu Yan had a long conversation in the palace. Originally, Liu Yan was not willing to go to Youzhou, which was not only cold and bitter but also very dangerous. However, through Emperor Xian's sincere advice, Liu Yan not only accepted the appointment but also willingly accepted it, after all, this was the emperor's trust, which others could hardly obtain. Nevertheless, Emperor Xian still felt somewhat guilty in his heart, how could Youzhou be compared to the prosperous capital? Moreover, since even Liu Zhang had to go to Youzhou, as the emperor, he should show some courtesy. Originally, he wanted to grant Liu Zhang a higher official position, but Cao Jie reminded him that with Liu Zhang's ability, he would eventually hold a high-ranking position, so he thought of giving Liu Zhang other compensation.

  "Cao Qing, the imperial brother is going to Youzhou, but I'm reluctant to part with him. If he weren't always wholeheartedly devoted to me, he wouldn't have been squeezed out by the Yuan family!" After Liu Yan and Liu Zhang left, Liu Hong was only surrounded by Cao Jie, Zhao Zhong, and Zhang Rang, all of whom were his trusted personal servants, so he didn't need to hide anything.

  Cao Jie smiled and said: "Your Majesty, Mencius once said: 'When Heaven is about to confer a great office on a man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil. It exposes his body to hunger, and confines it in prison. It stimulates him with distress and fear, so as to rouse his mind and strengthen his nature.' Now that the young master has gone to Youzhou, who knows whether this is not Heaven's way of testing and tempering him?"

  "What torture, what trials, are all the doing of that accursed House of Yuan!" Liu Hong's face was twisted in anger as he said: "With Lu Zhi and Lu Zigang's abilities, they could have taken care of some foreign tribes, why did they have to involve the imperial relatives of the Han? In the end, I, the Emperor, couldn't even protect my own trusted officials... Alas..."

  "Your Majesty needn't worry, perhaps on this trip to Youzhou, the Duke of Song will bring Your Majesty unexpected joy?"

  "Never mind, don't try to comfort me! That Youzhou is a land of tigers and wolves, I really can't bear to let my little brother go..." Liu Hong's face was full of displeasure and worry, making Cao Jie's old face twitch. Cao Jie understood that Liu Hong loved Liu Zhang very much, and this love also made Liu Hong feel a twinge of guilt towards Liu Zhang.

  Cao Jie smiled and said, "Your Majesty is worried about the young prince. Why not send more guards? I see that Huang Zhong, Yan Yan, and Shi Ah Wu are outstanding in martial arts, but there are no other powerful guards. The young prince only has these three people and fifty or sixty imperial guards by his side. It would be better for Your Majesty to select some elite soldiers to go and protect the young prince!"

  "Cao Qing's words are reasonable, the imperial edict orders Yue Qi to select 500 elite soldiers as guards for the Emperor's younger brother!" Liu Hong was overjoyed, he had finally thought of a way to make up for Liu Zhang.

  "I obey your orders!" Cao Jie smiled and said, "Your Majesty, let me say one more thing. The young master has the ambition to become the Huo Qubing of this dynasty, but until now he hasn't had a suitable divine weapon. That day I saw the young master practicing swordplay, using only an ordinary iron sword, which is not as good as..."

  "Right! Cao Qiang didn't say, I had forgotten!" Liu Hong laughed and said: "Go! Issue an edict to let Liu Zhang enter the palace, I'll take him to select a few good weapons! Those iron things in my treasury are almost rusty!"

  "Yes! I will send someone right away!"

  In the Zhongzheng government, Liu Zhang and Liu Yan were packing things up. Liu Yan was a bit unhappy about it. In his opinion, Liu Zhang didn't need to go to Youzhou to suffer. However, Liu Zhang wanted to go, and he couldn't oppose him. Although Liu Yan didn't say anything, he wasn't comfortable with the idea in his heart. Liu Zhang saw that his father's face was gloomy, like Mount Changbai, and understood what he was thinking. Just as he was about to speak up to comfort him, a servant rushed in and said, "There is a regular attendant from the palace who wants to see you!" This attendant was different from the usual ones, and they couldn't leave the palace unless there were imperial orders to be transmitted. Liu Zhang had no choice but to go see the person from the palace first, and then find time to persuade Liu Yan later!

  As soon as he entered the hall and took a look, the visitor turned out to be Zhang Ren. Liu Zhong opened his mouth and smiled: "Zhang Changshi, why did His Majesty send you here?"

  "The young master is leaving the capital, how could I not come to see him off? Originally, His Majesty had instructed Cao Gong to simply call a yellow gate guard to suffice, but I and the young master have gotten along quite well, so I took the initiative to come. For my impertinence, I hope the young master will forgive me!" Zhang Rang understood Liu Xuan's position in Liu Hong's heart, and since Liu Xuan did not have the problem of looking down on eunuchs like some aristocratic families, he was extremely polite to him.

  "Not at all, Lord Zhang is someone who doesn't visit the Three Treasures Hall for nothing. If there's anything that requires my humble service, please don't hesitate to speak directly, Lord Zhang!"

  "Your Majesty has decreed that the young master is to enter the palace at once!"

  "My father and I just came out of the palace, Your Majesty. Is there something you need?"

  "This is beyond what I can know! However, it's said to be a good thing!"

  Liu Zhang rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "Isn't this nonsense? His Majesty treats me with great kindness, so inviting me must be a good thing. Even if I've done something wrong, His Majesty won't hold it against me, a mere child!" Although Liu Zhang wasn't satisfied with Zhang Rang's explanation, he still followed him into the palace. Before they left, he had Liu Yan give Zhang Rang a large red envelope.

  The Zhongzheng Mansion was not far from the imperial palace, and Liu Zhang soon saw Liu Hong.

  "Has the imperial brother arrived?" Liu Hong warmly grasped Liu Zhang's hand.

  "Imperial brother, I am preparing my luggage, what instructions do you have for me?" Liu Zhang felt a bit strange about Liu Hong's attitude. As the saying goes: "No news is good news, otherwise it's either deceit or theft." Although Liu Hong was the emperor, Liu Zhang, who had seen and experienced much in his previous life, noticed that Liu Hong was different from before.

  "Imperial brother! In the past, you aspired to be the Han dynasty's Huo Qubing, I was overjoyed. Now that you're going to Youzhou, it's a place of war and chaos. Without good guards and weapons, armor, it's truly perilous. As your imperial brother, there's nothing else I can give you, so I'll just send you some weapons and armor. When you see these things, consider them as seeing me!" Liu Hong's face showed reluctance, which moved Liu Zhang somewhat. Emperors are emotionless creatures; the better the emperor, the more ruthless they are. For a moment, Liu Zhang didn't know whether to be grateful for encountering a foolish ruler or lament the decline of the great Han!

  Liu Zhang stared blankly at Liu Hong, but the faint emotion on his face made Liu Hong misunderstand. Although Liu Zhang was about to leave, Liu Hong did feel a little sad, but to say that Liu Hong missed Liu Zhang dearly was utter nonsense. Thinking back to Liu Hong's past actions, he could even abandon his own biological son, what was Liu Zhang to him? He just wanted to take advantage of Liu Zhang's youth and manipulate him into sacrificing himself for him, this was also a kind of imperial tactic! Liu Zhang understood after some thought. However, as long as Liu Hong didn't make things difficult for him, he had no intention of betraying Liu Hong, after all, according to his memories from past lives, the struggle among the vassals at the end of the Han Dynasty only began after Liu Hong's death!

  Seeing Liu Zhang and Liu Hong's "tender" gaze, Cao Jie smiled and said: "Your Majesty, let me take the young master to the armory!"

  Liu Hong knew that Cao Jie wanted to use the troops in the inner warehouse to get rid of Liu Zhang, but Liu Hong had already decided to win over Liu Zhang and would not give him any rubbish. Winning people over is also a kind of knowledge, at least Liu Hong understood that high investment yields high returns.

  "Cao Qing, what divine weapon is in the inner warehouse? Go and take a look at my collection instead!" Liu Hong waved his hand and vetoed Cao Jie's decision.

  "This..." Now it was Cao Jie's turn to hesitate, Liu Hong had said that this was a collection of emperors throughout the ages, and giving it to an eight-year-old child was spending a bit too much! Cao Jie furrowed his brow and said: "Your Majesty, the young master is only eight years old, isn't your collection a bit..."

  Liu Hong waved his hand and smiled: "Those things are of little use to me, besides, my younger brother is still young now. In ten or twenty years, won't he be able to use them? I'm only twenty years old myself, do you think I won't live for another ten or twenty years? I want my younger brother to help me expand the territory, so of course I'll give him the best things!"

  Liu Hong's words had reached this point, and if Cao Jie still opposed it, then he was a donkey who kicked his own head. Under Cao Jie's leadership, Liu Hong and Liu Zhang arrived at a room. Just as Cao Jie opened the door and was about to lead them in, Liu Zhang suddenly said: "Imperial brother, wait!"

  "What's wrong?" Seeing Liu Zhang's expression was somewhat strange, Liu Hong couldn't help but ask: "Is there something wrong with my private treasury?"

  "No!" Liu Zhang asked in surprise: "Didn't imperial brother hear? Someone is calling me!"

  "How is this possible!" Liu Hong and Cao Jie looked at each other in dismay, they hadn't heard any sound.

  "No, there is indeed a voice calling me!" Liu Zhang closed his eyes and walked in the direction of the sound. Liu Hong and Cao Jie followed behind him until they reached a sword rack, where Liu Zhang finally stopped. Liu Hong looked at the rack with a puzzled expression. It turned out that this rack only held one precious sword, which was the same sword used by the great ancestor to slay the snake! Apart from the great ancestor, the only other person who had wielded this sword was General Huo Qubing of Emperor Wu of Han. When Huo Qubing took command of the army at a young age, Emperor Wu specially bestowed this sword upon him to intimidate the entire army and granted him the right to execute first and report later.

  Liu Hong saw Liu Zhang standing in front of the sword, motionless, and couldn't help but ask: "Imperial brother, you wouldn't be telling me that it's this sword that's summoning you, would you?"

  "I don't know!" Liu Zhang said with some confusion: "The voice can't be heard from here!"

  Liu Hong felt a sudden relief in his heart when he heard Liu Zhang say this. The beheading sword was after all the property of the ancestors, and although Liu Zhang was also a descendant of the ancestors, using it would be somewhat inappropriate, especially the right to behead first and report later, which made Liu Hong quite wary. It's worth knowing that Liu Hong had been with Liu Zhang for three years and deeply understood his lawlessness. If he were to bestow the beheading sword upon him, heaven knows whether he would use it to get rid of the two old men of the Yuan family!

  Just as Liu Hong was slackening, the beheading sword on the frame suddenly made a humming sound and fell down. What made Liu Hong even more stunned was that Liu Zhang didn't move at all, but the sword seemed to have come alive and was inserted into Liu Zhang's waist with a whoosh.

  "What's going on?" Not just Liu Hong, even Liu Zhang was stunned.

  "In the name of the emperor, I grant you the sword that slays snakes to protect the Great Han!" In the darkness, a stern yet calm voice echoed, but only Liu Zhang and Liu Hong heard it!

  "Clang!" Another loud noise, the large spear placed next to the snake-beheading sword suddenly crushed the rack and fell to the ground. Liu Hong took a closer look and was shocked again - lying on the ground was indeed the Hegemon-King Spear that Emperor Wu of Han had bestowed upon Huo Qubing!