Volume 1: Kyoto Winds and Clouds Chapter 27: Change of Heart, Encounter with Enemy in Youzhou

  Liu Yan stared straight at the treasured sword held in Liu Zhang's hand and asked, "My son, isn't that the Snake-Slaying Sword once wielded by our great ancestor?"

  "Exactly!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "The weapons that the Emperor gave me are a large spear and this sword. I heard that the large spear was the Hegemon Spear used by Huo Qubing back in the day!

  "Cut! What's the Emperor's Sword? Don't say you don't know, even Liu Hong doesn't know what the Snake-Slaying Sword represents!" Liu Yan smiled and said: "Liu Hong is just a minor branch of the imperial family. If it weren't for coincidence, how could he ascend to the throne? Since the founding of our great dynasty by our ancestors, do you know how many emperors have been able to use this Snake-Slaying Sword? Bestowed upon you? Do you think Liu Hong is like Emperor Gaozu or Emperor Wu?"

  "Huh?!" This time it was Liu Zhang's turn to be surprised. It seemed that the Snake Slayer Sword still had secrets.

  Liu Yan looked at his son and said with a proud face: "The sword that beheads the snake is the treasure of our ancestors. It can't be used by anyone outside of the Liu family, and to others, it's just an excellent divine weapon! But to us Lius, although it's not as precious as the imperial jade seal, it's been passed down through generations in my Liu family, and only its rightful owner can wield it!"

  "Unless it's its master, it can't be used?" Liu Zhang exclaimed in surprise: "Could it be that this sword can still recognize its master?"

  "Nonsense!" Liu Yan rolled his eyes and said: "Haven't you heard that divine objects have their own masters? If they can't recognize their master, how can they be mastered?"

  "Father said that if I can wield this sword, it means he acknowledges me as his master?"

  "That's so easy!" Liu Yan smiled and said: "You first tell me about how you got this sword!"

  Liu Zhang carefully told him about his encounter with Liu Hong, and then Liu Hong took him to retrieve the sword. As he recounted the mysterious events surrounding the sword, Liu Yan's eyes gradually lit up. Of course, the voice in the void was naturally dismissed as an illusion and not mentioned. After listening, Liu Yan burst out laughing: "My son is a born king! Fortunately, that little Liu Hong had no parents and did not receive the secrets of the Liu family, otherwise you might not have been able to leave the palace today!"

  "Why?" Liu Zhang's face was filled with confusion, just like someone saying that the one who obtains the imperial jade seal will rule the world. A broken sword, its impact on the world is limited. In Liu Zhang's view, the snake-beheading sword was at most a practical token.

  Liu Yan smiled and said, "This involves a legend! In the past, our ancestor obtained the beheading snake sword, which was only three feet long. Before our ancestor's uprising, a white snake appeared in front of him. Our ancestor relied on his martial arts to fight against the white snake, but he found that the sword was too short! Our ancestor then sighed and said, "If only the sword could be longer!" Who would have thought that the sword in our ancestor's hand actually grew four feet, becoming a seven-foot-long sword? Only then did our ancestor use this sword to behead the white snake! Therefore, there is a legend among the Liu family: only those born to be emperors can wield this sword! I said you are a natural-born king, but I'm still being cautious!"

  When Liu Yan said that, Liu Zhang understood! Perhaps Liu Hong knew about the ancestor's beheading of the snake and uprising, but didn't know that this broken sword had so many twists and turns. Adding to that, Emperor Wu of Han had once lent it to Huo Qubing for use, plus Huo Qubing's large spear, and Liu Zhang's determination to become like Huo Qubing since he met Liu Hong, which allowed Liu Zhang to escape this disaster. Otherwise, regardless of whether Liu Zhang was born to be an emperor or not, Liu Hong would not have spared him. Emperors are ruthless, all threats must be eliminated in their budding state. However, Liu Zhang looked down on Liu Bang's story of fighting with the white snake using martial arts, in his mind, ancestor Liu Bang was just a rascal who bullied good people and was capable of anything, but fighting? Unless he had changed his ways!

  Liu Zhang laughed to himself about Liu Bang, and suddenly thought of a question, he couldn't help but ask: "Isn't it said that Emperor Wu of Han once gave the Zhansnake Sword to Huo Qubing? Why could Huo Qubing use this sword? And why would Emperor Wu give this sword to Huo Qubing?"

  "This involves another secret!" Liu Yan smiled and said: "In the past, Emperor Wu was favored by Emperor Jing because when he was as old as you, he secretly entered the imperial treasury alone and was called by the sword of snake slaying. He obtained it, but Emperor Jing thought that Emperor Wu had moved the treasure sword on his own initiative and was very angry. You should know that the relics left by our ancestors are not something that anyone can touch. When Emperor Jing wanted to take down the sword from Emperor Wu's waist, a strange thing happened. A grown man couldn't take the treasure sword away from a child! Even if he took it down and put it back on the rack, the sword would return to the child's waist. At the same time, a strange and majestic voice came from the sky: "In my name, grant you the sword of snake slaying, protect the great Han!" Only then did Emperor Jing understand that this child was chosen by our ancestors as their successor. From then on, no matter what, Emperor Jing loved Emperor Wu very much, even when Empress Dowager Dou pressured him many times, Emperor Jing never had the heart to change his heir."

  Liu Zhang was stunned upon hearing this, as he had the same experience as Emperor Wu of Han. Could it be that he could reach the heights of Emperor Wu? Although Emperor Wu had many shortcomings in dealing with the Xiongnu problem, he was still a towering figure among the emperors of the Han dynasty and even later generations. Now someone was telling Liu Zhang that his achievements would not be inferior to those of Emperor Wu, how could he not be shocked? Even if he had once thought of becoming an emperor, or had once thought of taking over the world for himself, he did not have the determination to surpass Emperor Wu. Under Liu Yan's narration, Liu Zhang was lost in thought!

  Liu Yan did not notice Liu Zhang's abnormality, and he was still telling Liu Zhang why the sword that killed the snake was used by Huo Qubing. It's actually very simple, it's just that Emperor Wu of Han lent this sword to Huo Qubing to intimidate the small. For this reason, Huo Qubing also lost a lot of his life, otherwise how could he die at the age of 24? The things of the emperor are not what ordinary people can use. It's like when an elder gives a younger generation a head butt, that is to fold their fortune! However, this is a secret, so it was passed down through the ages that Huo Qubing died from contracting the plague.

  In a daze, Liu Zhang returned to his own room, but his heart was still in turmoil. At first, he knew that after arriving at the end of the Han Dynasty, he just wanted to find a backer in this chaotic era of the Three Kingdoms, and not die as miserably as in history. Maybe he could be like Liu Bei, straddling Jing and Yi, achieving great things, but he never thought of surpassing Emperor Wu of Han. Now he was shocked, his ambition slowly growing, and it was unstoppable!

  Sitting on the couch, Liu Zhang was thinking: "Is it that heaven let me come to the end of Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, I'm willing to spend my whole life as a pawn, and then my descendants will be ruled by others, even cut off the family line? No! Since I came, I cannot let history repeat itself! What about Sun Quan, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, I'll dig up all your family's secrets, see how you can still fight with me! What is Han Wudi? If I can integrate the power of the Three Kingdoms, it will be easy to clean up a few alien tribes!"

  At this thought, Liu Zhang's heart became determined! Originally he just wanted to be an advisor, but his life goal suddenly shifted towards becoming the Emperor. When the Emperor needs something, it is only natural that people are needed! Donglai Taishi Ci, Yingchuan Guo Jia, Gaoyou Zhang Fei, Hedong Guan Yu, Xu Huang, these great generals and advisors' names flashed before Liu Zhang's eyes one by one.

  Liu Zhang made up his mind, and when he arrived in Youzhou, he sent someone to find these civil officials and military generals. However, he suddenly remembered that he was only eight years old, and some of them had not yet been born. Even if they were born, they would be only three or four years old. If their lives and studies were affected, and they couldn't reach great heights in the future, it would be a waste even if they were found! Liu Zhang looked at his small arms and legs and suddenly felt that life was really helpless!

  After several days of preparation, the official document for Liu Yan to take office as the Governor of Youzhou also arrived! This time, Liu Yan only brought his wife and Liu Zhang with him. His eldest and second sons already had official positions and it was inconvenient for them to leave, while his third son Liu Mao did not want to go to the harsh and cold place of Youzhou. However, Liu Yan did not force him either. Compared to his other three sons, Liu Yan valued Liu Zhang more, especially after Liu Zhang obtained the Snake-Slaying Sword. Moreover, with Liu Zhang's position in the Emperor's heart, as long as Liu Mao did not commit a major mistake, there was basically no problem, and Liu Yan also felt at ease leaving his third son in Luoyang.

  Although Liu Yan only brought his wife and Liu Zhang, his convoy was not small. The 500 Imperial Guards sent by Emperor Ling, plus the nearly 100 guards he originally had, were divided into three teams by Liu Zhang. Huang Zhong and Yan Yan each led a team as escorts, while Shi Ah led a team as personal bodyguards. Of course, each team usually had 200 people, but Shi Ah's team was not yet full. Liu Yan wanted to let the slaves go in to make up the numbers, but Liu Zhang refused. These well-trained Imperial Guards, with dozens of slaves added, were not just making up the numbers!

  Liu Zhang rode on horseback, looking at the scenery outside the city, feeling quite good. Beside him, Huang Zhong and Yan Yan wore the armor bestowed by the emperor, one holding a large summer halberd, the other holding a dragon scale spear, looking majestic. Outsiders thought they were trying to show off for Liu Zhang, but Liu Zhang knew that these two had slept with their armor and weapons for several days, still not recovering from the excitement. However, when Liu Zhang saw them like this, he couldn't help but touch the snake-cutting sword at his waist, feeling a strange pressure in his heart.

  A large group of people set out from Luoyang, and as soon as they left the city, two suspicious individuals ran back to report. It turned out that these two were sent by the Yuan family to spy on Liu Zhang, and when they heard that Liu Zhang had chosen to leave voluntarily, the two old men of the Yuan family were overjoyed. To prevent it from being a rumor spread by Liu Zhang in order to catch the Yuan family off guard and kill them, the old man of the Yuan family had to be extremely cautious. After all, the Yuan family had been outsmarted by Liu Zhang many times before, and they still had some lingering fear. Meanwhile, some small aristocratic families in Luoyang were rejoicing and celebrating the departure of Liu Zhang, the tyrannical ruler who cared about the common people but not the dignity of the nobility.

  Luoyang to Youzhou is not a short distance, Liu Yan's team took more than a month to arrive at the seat of Youzhou, Ji County. However, when Liu Zhang arrived in Ji County, he found that it seemed to have been ravaged by someone recently. Everywhere was ruins, and there were even places with black smoke rising. Liu Yan frowned as he came to the gate of Ji County city and shouted for the door to be opened. The soldiers guarding the city knew that the governor had arrived and immediately wanted to open the door to welcome him. Who would have thought that not far away, a hundred riders suddenly rushed over, were they friend or foe?

  During the Han Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, although there were many cavalrymen, the general casualty rate in battles against foreign cavalry was around two to one, while infantry often had to reach three to one and five to one. Of course, this still relied on the power of armor and weapons. The commander of Ji County saw the cavalry rushing from a distance and closed the half-open city gate again.