Chapter 20: Seeking A Way Out, Yan Seeks To Join Forces

  It must be said that Liu Yan's vision is not bad, Huang Zhong is indeed loyal and brave, a rare general talent. If he were not Liu Zhang's guard, I'm afraid even Emperor Liu Xiu would come to poach him with envy. However, now Liu Xiu can't afford to lose face, after all, Liu Zhang is his cousin, and also the brother of his beloved concubine, he doesn't want to have a fire in his backyard.

  The news of Liu Zhang's assassination quickly spread throughout Luoyang, and it was inevitable that Emperor Liu Hong would find out. In the imperial capital of Luoyang, someone had actually mobilized such a large force to surround and kill a member of the royal family, which made Emperor Liu Hong furious. He summoned Cao Jie for the first time and scolded him severely. Although Cao Jie held great power, he still had to give face to the emperor and understood the emperor's mood.

  "Your Majesty, don't be angry. According to my speculation, whoever dares to mobilize such a large-scale manpower and resources in Luoyang must not be an ordinary person. But with such great power, they would actually target a five-year-old child? Doesn't Your Majesty find it strange?" Cao Jie deliberated for a moment, and since the Yuan family was also his enemy, whether or not it was true, he was ready to splash dirty water on the Yuan family!

  "You're referring to... the Yuan family?" Liu Hong felt somewhat disheartened. The Yuan family had produced three high-ranking officials over four generations, and their descendants and former subordinates were scattered all over the world. Such a powerful force was not something he could currently contend with.

  "Your Majesty, since the young master entered the capital, apart from having conflicts with the Yuan family, what else has happened?" Cao Jie smiled and said: "If we say that the other party is targeting Lord Zongzheng, they will definitely harm Lord Zongzheng's eldest or second son, not his youngest son. From this, it can be seen that the other party's harming of Liu Zhang was premeditated! A great power plotting against a small child, this explains everything!"

  Liu Hong's face turned pale and white, his tightly clenched fists betrayed the anger in his heart. As the emperor, everything under heaven was his, yet the Yuan family dared to defy him! Liu Hong slammed his fist on the imperial desk: "Cao Qing, is this matter just going to be dropped like this?"

  "If Your Majesty is not angry, it would be possible to teach the Yuan family a lesson and make them behave! After all, the Yuan family has many officials in important positions. If we take down a few of them, it will also be easy to install Your Majesty's trusted followers!"

  "Liu Hong was slightly moved, he was 17 years old and had no real power in the imperial court."

  Cao Jie understood Liu Hong's mind, and he smiled: "Your Majesty can rest assured, I will take care of this matter. Just provide me with the list of trusted people, and I will definitely share your worries!"

  "Cao Qing..." Liu Hong was somewhat moved, it was Cao Jie who had welcomed him into the imperial palace back then and allowed him to take the throne. Now Cao Jie was again doing his best for him. Liu Hong grasped Cao Jie's hand and said: "Cao Qing is truly a loyal and upright person, with you assisting me, I am extremely fortunate! I've heard that your Cao family also has many talented individuals, why not..."

  "Your Majesty..." Cao Jie knelt down and said: "My family has received Han's salary for generations, how can I not be loyal to Your Majesty? Your Majesty is being too harsh on an old minister!"

  Liu Hong knew that he had to have Cao Jie's support in the court, so he quickly helped him up and said: "Then it's all thanks to Minister Cao! Come, issue an edict appointing Cao Jie as Chancellor and Marquis of Yuyang!"

  "Your Majesty, I thank you!" Cao Jie bowed his head again and said: "In that case, I will take my leave!"

  "En!" Liu Hong nodded and said: "Go! Later, send someone to comfort the imperial brother and let him rest assured. As for Cai Taifu's side, I will have someone inform him!"

  The next day, Cao Jie began to take drastic actions, as if there would be another disaster like the Party Purge. However, it was the students and officials of the Yuan family who were unlucky, while Yuan Wei and Yuan Fang had a hard time speaking out. They knew that if they didn't let the emperor vent his anger, the Yuan family's future days would be difficult! Of course, they also did not expect Liu Zhang to be so favored by the emperor.

  After returning home, Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei gathered all the young men in their family and told them not to provoke Liu Zhang again in the near future. The aristocratic families in Luoyang also saw the clue from this matter and strictly forbade the younger generations in their families from provoking Liu Zhang. For a time, Liu Zhang became a taboo for the aristocratic families in Luoyang, and it had reached the point where people changed color when mentioning his name!

  At the same time when all of Luoyang was worried about Liu Zhang, this great hero was having tea with Liu Yan in his living room. Liu Yan had been granted a few days off by the emperor because of Liu Zhang's influence. The two were leisurely sipping their tea, but the person standing below them felt uneasy at heart - it was none other than Yan Yan, the one who had saved Liu Zhang's life!

  "Ah, Yan!" Liu Yan took a sip of tea, looked up to see Yan still standing, and immediately smiled: "Sit! Sit down and talk!"

  "I dare not!" Yan's face was stern, but his heart was bitter. "There is no seat for a junior general here. If you have any orders, please speak directly, Lord Zongzheng!"

  "It's not an order!" Liu Yan glanced at Yan Yan and said: "To be honest, you are just a school lieutenant, and according to the governor of Yi Province, your position as a school lieutenant was also obtained through connections. If it were in peacetime, I wouldn't have invited you here. However, I don't know where my son heard that you have some bravery, so he asked me to invite you to be his bodyguard. This time you saved my son's life, and I couldn't bear to make things difficult for you. So, if you are willing to be my son's bodyguard, you can stay; if not, I will ask the governor of Yi Province to give you a deputy general position as a reward for your meritorious service, what do you say?"

  "This..." Yan's face was filled with hesitation. Becoming a bodyguard would be equivalent to dedicating himself to the Imperial Clan, and from then on, no matter where he went, he would be labeled as Liu Yan's man. If he refused, he knew what the consequences would be - his highest achievement in life would be that of a deputy general! Looking at Liu Yan's smiling face, Yan's cold sweat had soaked through his clothes. After thinking for a moment, Yan suddenly knelt down and said: "This subordinate is willing to serve as the young master's bodyguard, but which young master does sir want me to guard?"

  "It's the young master!" Liu Yan pointed at Liu Zhang with a smile and said: "Since you're willing, I'll hand you over to him! I have something else to attend to, I'll take my leave first!" Since Yan had agreed, he wasn't worried about him going back on his word. As for subduing him, that was still up to Liu Zhang to do.

  After Liu Yan left, Liu Zhang also didn't pretend to be polite. He helped Yan up and smiled: "Yan Zhuang Shi, I've troubled you! Don't worry, since you chose to stay, I absolutely won't let you regret it!"

  "Your Highness!" Yan Yan bowed with a fist and said: "Since I am already your bodyguard, please treat me as one of your subordinates, there is no need to be so polite!"

  "Alright! I'll take you to meet the others!" Liu Zhang said, leading Yan Yan to the training grounds behind the courtyard. This was a special area opened up by Liu Yan for Liu Zhang to practice martial arts. Huang Zhong and Shi Aluo were already there, practicing and sparring.

  "See the young master!" Huang Zhong and Shi Alu immediately stopped and saluted when they saw Liu Zhang.

  "Hey! We're all family, no need to be so polite!" Liu Zhang pulled over Yan Yan and said: "This is Yan Zhuang Shi, you've all met him before! Actually, he's just like Han Sheng, both of whom were invited by my father as bodyguards! Yan Yan, this is Huang Zhong, also known as Han Sheng, skilled in archery and horseback riding, with the bravery to stand alone against ten thousand men! This is Shi Ah, a disciple of the great hero Wang Yue from Yanshan, his swordsmanship is beyond words, and he's both my teacher and friend! As for those dozen or so people over there, they're the Imperial Guards given to me by His Majesty!"

  "Imperial Guard?! " Yan Yan's heart skipped a beat, thinking that Liu Zhang was just the son of the Imperial Secretary, but he didn't expect him to receive the Emperor's favor. To think that the Imperial Guard was the Emperor's personal bodyguard, and yet the Emperor had bestowed it upon Liu Zhang, showing his position in the Emperor's heart. Yan Yan secretly rejoiced: "Looks like I've made a good bet this time!"

  "Yan Yan!" Liu Zhang saw Yan Yan's daze and suddenly smiled: "Why don't you and Han Sheng have a duel?"

  "Good!" Yan Yan's eyes blazed with excitement as Liu Zhang spoke. Even if Liu Zhang hadn't said anything, Yan Yan and Huang Zhong would have fought anyway. As two of Liu Zhang's trusted followers, they had to have a leader in case of an emergency. The way warriors decided their status was simple: the strong ruled supreme!

  Yan and Huang Zhong each took down a ring-headed knife from the weapon rack, just as they were about to clash, Shi Ah suddenly shook his head and said: "Yan has lost!"

  "Ah?" Liu Yan looked at Shi Ah with great confusion, the battle had just begun, how could they have lost already?

  "My master said that Huang Zhong's momentum is like a mountain, if I were to fight him, I must use cunning or else there would be no chance of winning. If we're talking about martial arts, unless one can surpass him in terms of momentum, then there's no chance of winning!" Shi Ah pointed at Yan Yan and said: "Now Yan Yan's momentum has reached its peak, but Huang Zhong's momentum is still rising. The difference between them is so great, how could we not lose?"

  As expected, as soon as Sha's voice fell, Yan Yan couldn't withstand Huang Zhong's momentum and launched a fierce attack on him. However, Yan Yan had already been forced by Huang Zhong's momentum, and his martial arts skills were reduced to 70%. With just one knife, Huang Zhong knocked the blade out of Yan Yan's hand. Yan Yan looked at his trembling right hand and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I lost! General Huang's martial arts are powerful, and I am indeed overestimating myself!"

  Huang Zhong chuckled and said, "It's natural to have wins and losses in martial arts exchanges. From now on, Brother Yan and I will be serving the same lord together, why must we make such a big deal out of it? Besides, I'm older than you, winning by a move or two is just a coincidence, Brother Yan shouldn't take it to heart!" In fact, considering Yan's martial arts skills, he shouldn't have lost so easily. However, as the son of a wealthy family, he had always looked down on Huang Zhong since they were young, and this time, underestimating him again, how could he not lose?

  Yan Yan's defeat was within Liu Zhang's expectations, but he didn't think Yan Yan would lose so decisively. However, Liu Zhang's goal was also achieved. He let Huang Zhong and Yan Yan compete to see the discontent in Yan Yan's heart. Since he was dissatisfied, he fought until he submitted! In Liu Zhang's mind, Huang Zhong was much more important than Yan Yan. After all, Liu Zhang valued Yan Yan for his integrity and loyalty, but valued Huang Zhong for his bravery and talent!

  Yan Yan's haughty air was knocked off, and he truly merged into Liu Zhang's small group. To celebrate Yan Yan's joining, Liu Zhang ordered someone to prepare a table of wine and food. At the banquet, Huang Zhong and Shi Alu told Yan Yan about the reason for Liu Zhang's attack, which made him admire him greatly. It is worth noting that Yan Yan was a strong and arrogant young master, with a sense of chivalry in his heart, and he had a deep dislike for those who bullied the good and feared the evil. However, Liu Zhang's chivalrous behavior made him very sympathetic. After a banquet, Yan Yan knew about the extraordinary nature of the young master and gradually identified with the identity of the guardian!