Chapter 19: The Wind Rises (4) Section 70

  "What? You don't believe me?" Liu Xie raised his eyes and asked, and Liu Yuan suddenly remembered the blood jade, which was only possessed by the imperial family. He was really confused, and now he realized that in this world, the Han royal family had only one Liu Xie. Thinking of this, he quickly knelt down: "Your humble servant, I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

  Liu Xie helped Liu Yuan up and said lightly: "I have an appointment with Brother Liu today, there is indeed something important to discuss, please ask Brother to help!"

  Yuanyuan wanted to speak, but Liu Xie's words "Big Brother Yuanyuan" stuck in his throat. If it were before, it would be normal, but now that Liu Xie had revealed his identity, he still called him Big Brother Yuanyuan, which made him somewhat at a loss. Moreover, he also guessed the reason why Liu Xie asked for his help, although this was a court affair, it had already been widely spread among the people.

  Liu Xie saw Liu Yuan and did not speak, then said: "Of course, I will not ask my elder brother to help in vain. If the matter is successful, I am willing to grant my elder brother an official position, and also hand over all the trade of our great Han Dynasty to my elder brother!"

  Yuanyuan smiled wryly, Liu Xie had gone from calling him "Big Brother Yu" to directly addressing him as "Big Brother". How could he not understand the implication? Moreover, the conditions Liu Xie proposed were indeed tempting. If all national trade was handed over to the Yu family, wouldn't they become the richest family in the country? Of course, with such enormous profits came unimaginable costs and risks that sent shivers down one's spine! He couldn't help but ask: "What does Your Majesty want me to do?"

  Liu Xie saw Liu Yuan's heart move, his brow slightly relaxed, and he sighed: "I suppose big brother has also heard about the matter between me and the great general. Now Cao Cao is in control of the government, acting arbitrarily, and the three armies only know of the great general but not the emperor. Therefore, I plan to establish my own army, so I need to borrow big brother's merchant team to purchase military equipment, war horses, and recruit refugees to train troops!"

  Liu Yuan was chilled to the bone. Smuggling military equipment and warhorses was a capital offense punishable by beheading, according to the law. Although it was true that many merchants had made their fortunes by smuggling arms and selling them to the troops during this time of warlord chaos, they all had good relationships with various warlords. If one were to rashly take this path and get caught by Cao Cao, knowing that he was smuggling military equipment for the current emperor, his entire family would be doomed. Looking at Liu Xie, a glimmer of sharpness flashed in his eyes, and Liu Yuan suddenly understood. Asking for his help was just a euphemism; it was actually an order. If he didn't comply, Liu Xie could easily use some trick to destroy his family. Moreover, since they were so close, Cao Cao must have already known about their relationship. If he said that his relationship with Liu Xie was ordinary, probably no one would believe him, and in the end, it would be a case of "a hundred mouths can't explain." So retreating was definitely a dead-end path, but if he helped Liu Xie, this person might really become the ruler of the world one day, and he could also achieve his own ambitions. At least this path had some room for maneuvering. Thinking of this, he steeled himself: "Your humble subject is willing to listen to Your Majesty's orders!"