Volume 1 I Want to Be an Emperor Chapter 76 See and Experience

  Liu Xuan's ability to predict the outcome of battles was uncertain, but by afternoon, a battle report came from the vanguard that Lü Bu and Li Jue's army had clashed, resulting in a great victory.

  When this battle report arrived, the people who had always felt strange around Liu Xuan suddenly looked at the emperor with a few more points of reverence - such a person who could know everything in advance was really frightening, fortunately, this person was the current emperor, and they were all loyal to the emperor.

  Liu Xuan himself was also surprised and asked the messenger soldier: "This battle had almost no casualties, how did we win?"

  This question didn't just pique Liu Xuan's interest, but also that of several other generals nearby.

  Lü Bu clashed with Li Jue's vanguard and emerged victorious, which was not unexpected. What was astonishing was Lü Bu's achievement: he killed 800 enemies, captured over a thousand, and his own side suffered only a few deaths and minor injuries to several men. Such an accomplishment had never been seen or heard of before. As a result, everyone perked up their ears, eager to learn how the world's greatest warrior commanded his troops and achieved such remarkable results.

  But when the messenger spoke up, everyone was speechless.

  "General Lü rode alone into the enemy's army, killing them until they were terrified and routed. The Tiger Riders then took advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack, and the enemy had lost all will to fight, only fleeing in panic. As a result, our army did not suffer any casualties.

  This campaign was launched because Li Jue and Guo Si disobeyed the imperial court's orders, controlled their troops for personal gain, and harbored treasonous intentions. Therefore, they were referred to as bandits."

  “……”

  Several people listened to the explanation and felt speechless, but Liu Xuan didn't feel surprised. Instead, he suddenly thought of something - what the soldier said wasn't very clear, but vaguely, Liu Xuan still guessed that Lü Bu had made a major breakthrough in his cultivation, which was why he could achieve such an exaggerated military achievement.

  He glanced at the reactions of a few people beside him, and saw that Zhang Liao was calm and collected, seemingly having no opinion on this matter. On the other hand, Liu Bei's eyes lit up, but it was unclear what he was thinking.

  Behind him, Guan Yu's face was red with anger, his eyes narrowed, seemingly expressionless, but a hint of disdain could still be detected, perhaps thinking that Lü Bu's victory was not impressive at all, and it could only be said that Li Jue's army was too sloppy, being routed by a single charge.

  As for Zhang Fei's reaction, it was even more direct.

  "I thought Lü Bu had some extraordinary abilities, but it turns out he's nothing special after all. If I were in his place, Zhang Fei could have done the same thing."

  This remark was too attention-grabbing, and since everyone was listening to the soldier's words, the surroundings were already quiet. When Zhang Fei opened his mouth, almost everyone turned their heads around, staring at this 'big talker'.

  "Third brother, don't talk nonsense!"

  Liu Bei hastily rebuked him with a sentence, and then immediately bowed his hands to Liu Xuan: "Your Majesty, don't be surprised, my third brother is a fool."

  However, Liu Bei was worried that Zhang Fei's words were too detestable and especially since the object of his ridicule was the famous general Lü Bu, who was highly valued by the current emperor. What's more, Zhang Liao, who was standing beside him, used to be under Lü Bu's command. The two most trusted troops in the imperial court had direct or indirect connections with Lü Bu. If they were to offend Lü Bu for no reason, it would be asking for trouble.

  Although Liu Bei gained the recognition of the Emperor and obtained the title of Imperial Uncle, he still had no power in the court. The only person who could have some connection with him and help each other was his teacher Lu Zhi.

  Apart from this, there are no close relatives, and at this time, it is not a wise choice to be unfriendly with the actual power holders instead of being friendly.

  Although Liu Xuan couldn't completely guess what was on Liu Bei's mind, he didn't really care. After all, as for Zhang Fei's character, he had already made a rough guess - this was a straightforward and honest man. He said these words without any malice, so it wasn't worth having any dislike because of it.

  It was he who thought of something and said to Zhang Fei: "In that case, I'll give Yide a chance to make merits, how about it?"

  Liu Bei's eyebrows furrowed, thinking that the Emperor was dissatisfied with his sworn brother. He was about to speak up to explain when the Emperor turned to him and said: "Don't worry, Uncle Liu. I've heard that your sworn brother has the bravery of a thousand men, able to behead a general in the midst of a million soldiers as easily as taking something from his pocket. A brave general like him is wasted staying by my side as a bodyguard. This time, there's an opportunity for him to make achievements. If he can do so, I won't hesitate to grant him the title of General."

  Those few words of praise were spoken by Liu Xuan with great sincerity, without any pretence. Liu Bei looked at the Emperor and felt that he was not being sarcastic, so he put his mind at ease.

  At the same time, thinking deeply, although he was appointed as Zhong Hu Jun by the emperor and got a great power, this position sounds good but is actually subject to many restrictions.

  If the two sworn brothers were to follow me, I'm afraid it would be even harder for them to make progress due to our relationship. If they could establish their merits on the battlefield and gain fame, and thus get promoted to generals, then it wouldn't be in vain that I brought my brothers all the way to the capital.

  Moreover, the power of this Zhonghu Jun was also snatched from Huangfu Song's hands, and Liu Bei could see that Huangfu Song didn't get along with him - as the Supervisor of the Imperial Secretariat, he had the power to supervise all officials in the imperial court, if he always looked for trouble with himself, he couldn't bear it.

  If the two sworn brothers were to obtain the imperial seal, then he would also be able to obtain their protection and his days would become much better - Liu Bei had already understood this world, only those with troops in hand have the right to speak; without troops, one can only wait to be bullied.

  "Your Majesty attaches great importance to it, which is also a blessing for Yide."

  As soon as this was said, Zhang Fei, who was standing beside him, could no longer hold back his words and asked excitedly: "I wonder what Your Majesty has ordered?"

  These days in the capital, they lived a low-key life. Later, although Liu Bei had established his own identity and was promoted to Zhong Hu Jun, their lives improved, but he and Guan Yu only got a Ya Jiang's title.

  Although their status is much higher than when they were in the plains, but in the Imperial City's Forbidden Army, the two of them are extremely unpopular among those soldiers. If it weren't for the brothers' exceptional bravery and having taken care of a few disobedient soldiers, perhaps this position would not be stable at all.

  But even so, the two of them are not doing well now. After all, there are more than 10,000 imperial guards who have been reorganized, and it's impossible to beat them one by one, right? Moreover, being able to beat these soldiers doesn't count as a skill; if you really want to make them submit, you should either win a few battles beautifully or kill a few famous generals in single combat on the battlefield.

  So when the Emperor issued an order to go on a punitive expedition against Li Jue and Guo Si, Zhang Fei became particularly excited. At that time, he said to his elder brother: "Achieving merits and establishing achievements, making a name for oneself is just at this moment!"

  He was still dreaming of charging into the battlefield and capturing flags, but Liu Bei's words shattered his fantasy: "Second brother, third brother, this time you will follow me to guard the emperor on both sides, I'm afraid it will be difficult to go to the front line."

  The emperor's personal expedition is absolutely not a trivial matter. Although there have been many instances of emperors personally leading expeditions across several dynasties, there has never been an instance where the emperor truly appeared on the front lines of the battlefield - if the emperor was already in a position where they could be attacked by the enemy at any time, it would prove that the situation had deteriorated to a considerable extent.

  If it really gets to that point, I reckon there won't be any thoughts of making achievements or establishing a career.

  Therefore, whenever the emperor goes on an expedition, a large number of elite soldiers and fierce generals will be arranged to guard him, while staying away from the front line... Zhang Fei and Guan Yu heard that they would follow the emperor's side, immediately understood that this time even if they went on an expedition, it was estimated that there would be no great opportunity to make a name for themselves.

  He didn't want it to be because of this one sentence that the Emperor would intentionally give himself a heavy responsibility, if it came true, wouldn't it just fit Zhang Fei's intention? Earlier when he saw Liu Bei open his mouth, he was anxious in the back and wanted to take over the responsibility, but his second brother kept pulling him - although Zhang Fei sometimes acted rashly, he was extremely respectful of his two elder brothers and didn't dare disobey them in the slightest.

  Fortunately, in the next few sentences of dialogue, his older brother seemed to no longer object, at which point he could no longer hold back and spat out the words that had been stuck in his throat for half a day.

  Liu Xuan didn't beat around the bush and directly ordered: "Have Yue Yi lead a thousand soldiers and horses to go to the vanguard army, to help them set up their camp."

  Zhang Fei heard this and scowled, muttering: "Running off to help with chores, what kind of heavy responsibility is that?"

  Next to them, Guan Yu and Liu Bei felt a moment of awkwardness. Liu Bei, being far away, could only cough to remind him, while Guan Yu poked Zhang Fei from the side. Although Zhang Fei understood what was going on, his facial expression remained unchanged.

  Liu Xuan didn't think there was anything wrong with that, and instead laughed: "Fengxian captured so many prisoners of war, it would be troublesome to guard them. Moreover, the previous urgent march followed by a big battle has left our soldiers exhausted. If Li Jue's army comes to attack now, or if they launch a surprise night raid, we might suffer losses, so..."

  The more he spoke, the better Zhang Fei's complexion looked. By the time he finished speaking, Zhang Fei's dark face was smiling like a flower. Finally, he couldn't help but speak out: "I will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty."

  In fact, what he was thinking in his mind at this time was: Since Your Majesty said that you can fight against Li Jue, it also means that you can take the initiative to find trouble with Li Jue. As long as he leads the troops over, this battle is basically a done deal.

  While thinking in his head, he was delighted to mobilize the troops and then rushed forward to leave the main team, the soldier who had previously passed on the message didn't particularly like this black-faced man, but it was the emperor's task, and he was going to help, so he quietly led the way ahead.

  Zhang Fei led his troops away, and Liu Xuan secretly smiled to himself. Then he ordered the army to halt and set up camp in a suitable location - they would not be leaving anymore.

  In fact, he sent Zhang Fei ahead of time, not only to let Zhang Fei help Lü Bu, but also for another important reason: since Lü Bu had already broken through, the strength that Lü Bu could now show was enough to shock people.

  Let Zhang Fei go and make merits or not, it doesn't matter. The key is to let Zhang Fei pass by and see the power of the kung fu he has imparted.

  "Go broaden your horizons and gain more experience, so that you can work for me wholeheartedly."

  I arrived home in the middle of last night, and I'm not feeling very well today, so I'll just take a day to adjust. Normal updates will resume tomorrow. Consider today's update five chapters owed to everyone, and I'll make them up as soon as possible.