Chapter 97: The Golden Summit! Liu Wu is the crown prince of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 097: The Golden Summit! Liu Wu is the crown prince of the Han Dynasty!

"Prime Minister, be careful!"

At the critical moment, an armored figure suddenly stood in front of Cao Mengde. It was Cao Ren.

Poof! ~
The eagle-feather arrow shot towards him and pierced through Cao Ren's armor!
The bloody sharp arrow pierced through Cao Ren's shoulder!

"Uh!~"

Humph~
Cao Ren groaned. The overwhelming force of the Eagle Feather Arrow caused him to retreat involuntarily, and he fell backwards with his head tilted up to the sky...

Cao Mengde, who was blocked by Cao Ren behind him, was still in shock when he was knocked to the ground by Cao Ren who fell backwards.

“Zixiao?!” Cao Cao didn’t care about himself and hurriedly helped Cao Ren up: “Zixiao, are you okay?!”

"No, it's okay, I won't die..." Cao Ren's face was pale, and blood was gushing out from his shoulder where the eagle feather arrow was stuck. "I hope the Prime Minister is fine."

Having said that, the blood flowing from under Cao Ren's shoulder was already piling up, making Cao Mengde tremble with fear.

"Quick! Someone come quickly, send Zixiao down to treat his injuries!"

The soldiers who had surrounded him immediately carried Cao Ren down from the city.

Cao Mengde breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stood up again tremblingly. If it weren't for his cousin who risked his life to save him, he would probably be dead or alive now.

A chill ran down Cao Cao's back...

What a bold Liu Zilie!

He really dares to attack himself!
"Open the city gate!"

boom! ~
At Prime Minister Cao's command, the gate of Xiangyang city opened with a bang.

"Liu Zilie!" Cao Cao gritted his teeth and shouted at the people below the city wall, "You shot an arrow at me outside Xiling City, and now you are shooting an arrow at me outside Xiangyang City again!"

"What kind of hero is he if he can only shoot from behind?!"

"Aren't you brave..."

Prime Minister Cao pointed to the wide-open city gate and asked, "Do you dare to enter the city?!"

Liu Wu, sitting in a carriage at the foot of Xiangyang City, was not at all provoked by Cao Mengde: "Prime Minister Cao is the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. If you have the courage, come out."

Cao Mengde: "I am here on the orders of the Emperor to deliver the imperial edict to you! The imperial edict is in the city, how dare you not enter the city to receive it?!"

Liu Wu: "This must be a forged imperial edict! Cao Mengde, you dare to forge an imperial edict, it is a great rebellion! Liu Zilie will return to Xiling, form an alliance with Liu Bei and Jiangdong, first lead the Jiangdong navy to the north from Hefei, and then join forces with Liu Bei to attack your Xiangyang!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Wu's carriage driver actually waved the whip and ordered several horses to pull the carriage and prepare to turn around.

Xilulu! ~
The five hundred knights surrounding the carriage also turned their horses around.

"This bastard!!" On the top of the city wall, Prime Minister Cao saw that the carriages and horses of Xiling were actually about to turn around. Suddenly, he felt a sense of rage in his chest, and his back teeth creaked with hatred.

He originally wanted to lure Liu Zilie into Xiangyang City and then kill him to dampen his arrogance.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zilie didn't buy it at all and just turned around and left.

Moreover, Liu Zilie has always acted recklessly, and I am not sure whether what he just said is true or not. What if he really comes back...

Prime Minister Cao was silent for a moment, then turned and went down the city wall: "Prepare the sedan chair!"

……

Outside Xiangyang City, Liu Wu's carriage had not yet gone far...

Rumble, rumble~
At the gate of Xiangyang City, a canopy chariot with a large banner with the word "Cao" on it rushed out of the city gate with a loud bang.

Hundreds of cavalrymen, surrounded by a canopy-covered chariot, chased after Liu Wu and his entourage.

For a moment, smoke and dust billowed...

"Liu Zilie, slow down. The imperial edict is here!" The voice of Prime Minister Cao came from behind Liu Wu's carriage.

Liu Wu didn't seem surprised that Prime Minister Cao bowed his head.

He said softly: "Turn around."

"Yes! Go~"

Howling!
The driver quickly waved the whip again, and the huge carriage slowly turned around again. The five hundred light cavalry also turned their horses' heads.

Now,

The two carriages stopped facing each other. Cao Mengde looked at the familiar young face opposite him. He took a deep breath, stepped down from the carriage, and slowly raised the imperial edict in his hand: "Liu Zilie, accept the order!"

Liu Wu also got off the car, and with the help of Sun Shangxiang, he walked step by step to stand opposite Cao Cao.

He did not kneel down, but simply bowed forward and said, "Your Highness Liu Zilie accepts your order."

Cao Cao looked at Liu Wu's actions and his face turned ugly...

He was the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, and at this moment he was announcing the emperor's decree. In Cao Mengde's view, Liu Wu's refusal to kneel after receiving the decree was not only a contempt for the emperor of the Han Dynasty, but also an embarrassment to him as the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty in public.

Cao Mengde: "Liu Zilie! The emperor's decree is here again, why don't you kneel down and kowtow?"

Liu Wu: "When the Prime Minister attacked Xiling last time, Zilie was seriously injured. Now he is still seriously injured and cannot perform the ceremony of kneeling. I think the emperor will understand."

"Are you treating me like a child?" Prime Minister Cao looked at Liu Wu coldly, "Just now you had the strength to shoot an arrow to the top of the city wall, but now you can't even kneel down and bow?!"

Seriously injured and still not recovered?

The arrow that Liu Zilie shot just now flew from the bottom of the city to the top, and even penetrated Zixiao's armor and pierced through Zixiao's shoulder!

Liu Zilie was able to shoot through iron armor with one arrow, but now he tells himself that he is seriously injured and cannot perform the kneeling ceremony?
Absolutely ridiculous!
Liu Wu's expression remained unchanged: "It was the arrow that just hit him that triggered his old injury, causing Zilie to be unable to bow down at this moment... If the emperor knew, he would surely understand that Zilie could not bow down, but could it be that the Prime Minister could not understand?"

The two exchanged sharp words.

No matter how Cao Cao accused and threatened him, Liu Wu never knelt.

Cao Cao had no way to deal with Liu Wu, so he could only swallow his anger and helplessly pointed at Liu Wu from a distance: "What a coward!"

"Listen to my orders, young man..."

Cao Cao unfolded the imperial edict: "To order Liu Zilie, I have heard that Sun, the daughter of General Sun Jian, the former general who defeated the enemy, the governor of Yuzhou, and the Marquis of Wucheng, is virtuous, generous, kind, honest, and of outstanding character and appearance..."

"Xi Ling Liu Zilie has made great contributions to the country..."

Every word in the imperial edict spread far and wide after being spoken by Cao Cao.

It also reached Sun Shangxiang's ears...

The hands of the Jiangdong princess holding the reins were covered in sweat, and her bright eyes had unknowingly turned red.

Her second brother initially disagreed with her marriage to Liu Wu. Even though he agreed later, it was only reluctantly because Liu Wu was willing to exchange Hefei for her. Jiangdong didn't care about her marriage at all.

Although Liu Xuande of Gong'an City is Liu Wu's father, the two of them have a feud.

In addition, she was originally the object of marriage between Sun and Liu, and Liu Wu now wanted to marry her, which not only insulted Liu Xuande, but also ruined the alliance between Sun and Liu.

None of Liu Wu’s elders would come to Gong’an City.

Although she didn't care about these things and would be satisfied as long as she could be with Liu Wu, in today's world, which marriage was not arranged by parents and matchmakers?

Without the approval of the elders on both sides, this marriage would certainly be criticized and ridiculed by the world.

But now,
Zilie actually got the Emperor of Han to personally grant him marriage!

With the approval of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, who in this world would dare to make irresponsible remarks about this marriage? !

Thinking of this, tears kept falling from Sun Shangxiang's eyes. They were tears of joy...

"This refers specifically to the daughter of the Sun family and Liu Zilie of Xiling..."

Cao Cheng faced each other.
Liu Wu bowed and listened to Cao Cao reciting the long imperial edict, his thoughts surging.

For such a trivial matter as reading the imperial decree granting marriage to her, Cao Mengde actually came in person. I'm afraid he has other intentions for coming here.

Although he had explained the matter of marrying the Princess of Jiangdong very clearly in the letter to Cao Cao, Prime Minister Cao was suspicious by nature. If he didn't come in person to find out the truth, he would probably be unable to sleep or eat.

But Xiling had no intention of joining forces with Jiangdong to move north at the moment, so no matter how Cao Mengde investigated, he could not find anything.

"... The ruler said, yes!"

Prime Minister Cao finally finished reading the lengthy imperial edict. He subconsciously took a breath and said, "Liu Zilie, accept the edict."

Liu Wu bowed and took the imperial edict with both hands: "Your Highness Liu Zilie, I accept your order."

Then he didn't even look at it and just turned sideways and handed it to Sun Shangxiang beside him.

"Be careful." Sun Shangxiang took it carefully as if she had found a treasure. This imperial edict was related to her future reputation and was of great significance to her.

After receiving the imperial edict he wanted, Liu Wu was too lazy to deal with Cao Cao any more: "This matter is over, Liu Zilie will take his leave first."

"Wait!" Liu Wu was about to turn around and leave, but was stopped by Cao Cao's voice.

Cao Cao took out another piece of yellow silk from his sleeve, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "Liu Zilie, this imperial decree was requested for you."

The imperial edict that Cao Mengde requested for himself?

What does Prime Minister Cao want to do?
A trace of surprise flashed through Liu Wu's mind, and he bowed forward again.

Cao Mengde unfolded the yellow silk and said, "Issue an imperial decree to Liu Zilie to guard Jiangbei and put down the rebellion and violence for the country!"

"You have made the rebels afraid to cross the river and cause trouble. Your contribution is immense. I now appoint Liu Zilie as the governor of Jingzhou..."

Governor of Jingzhou?
Cao Mengde actually obtained an imperial decree to confer the title of Governor of Jingzhou on himself? !
Liu Wu was slightly startled, then looked at Cao Cao with a strange expression. The imperial edict that Prime Minister Cao asked for for him was really a timely relief.

He was about to attack the four southern counties of Jing. With this imperial edict, his expedition would be more legitimate. It would be reasonable for the Governor of Jingzhou to recover the four southern counties of Jing.

This time, Prime Minister Cao went south not just to announce the emperor's will, but he was eager to instigate a fight between himself and Liu Bei...

"Liu Zilie, God's grace is great, please accept it." Cao Mengde handed the imperial edict to Liu Wu.

A sense of complacency flashed through his mind. Even if Liu Zilie was really colluding with Eastern Wu, he had nothing to fear.

With this imperial edict, there is no need to worry about him and Liu Xuande not fighting. As long as they fight, Jiangdong will not be able to stand up unscathed. If the three families fight each other, the situation on both sides of the river will still be under his control!
"Your Majesty, I accept your order." Liu Wu took the imperial edict again and looked at the yellow silk in his hand. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something: "Prime Minister Cao, has the emperor sent me a private letter?"

Cao Mengde took out the letter written by the emperor from his bosom and handed it to Liu Wu. Liu Wu just stretched out his hand to borrow it, but Cao Cao's hand holding the letter suddenly retracted...

"Liu Zilie." Prime Minister Cao looked directly into Liu Wu's bright eyes and said, "What is your relationship with the emperor?"

A letter can make the emperor cry.

Another letter directly asked the emperor to grant the marriage.

The two even addressed each other as brothers in their letters...

What is the relationship between these two people with such different identities? !

Cao Mengde had a vague guess in his mind, but it was too absurd...

Liu Wu said calmly, "I call the emperor my brother. What do you think is the relationship between me and the emperor?"

Who else can call the emperor his royal brother?

Prime Minister Cao stared at Liu Wu with his hawk-like eyes, and finally said out his absurd guess: "Are you a descendant of the Han Dynasty?"

Liu Wu: "Even if it is so."

As expected, I guessed it right!

Prime Minister Cao said in a low voice: "Since the decline of the Han Dynasty, a few decent figures have emerged among the Han royal family..."

"Even if the emperor doesn't mention it, the former governor of Jingzhou Liu Biao, the governor of Yizhou Liu Zhang, the former governor of Youzhou Liu Yu... I used to think that the most capable of the Han royal family was the big-eared thief Liu Bei."

"But now it seems that you, Liu Zilie, are the most capable one!"

He held the small Xiling and resisted nearly 100,000 troops from both sides. He even captured him alive in front of the battle line and forced him to cede the land north of the Yangtze River to serve as his foundation...

Liu Xuande's talent is far inferior to this person's!
There are such heroes in the Han Dynasty. Could it be that... the Han Dynasty is still alive?

Cao Mengde looked dazed as he handed the emperor's imperial letter to Liu Wu.

Liu Wu took the letter and said, "Goodbye."

Rumble, rumble~
A moment later, five hundred light cavalrymen had escorted Liu Wu's carriage away.

On the canopy carriage, Cao Cao looked at the back of Liu Wu's carriage with a complicated expression: "If this man is the emperor today, how can I, Cao Mengde, not be a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty..."

……

In the carriage heading to Xiling, Liu Wu was looking down at the emperor's imperial letter, not missing a single word...

[Awu is getting married. Brother is not very happy to hear about it...]

[The imperial decree granting the marriage has been handed over to Prime Minister Cao, and the Prime Minister will announce it on his behalf...]

[Time flies by, and the events of that night on the Golden Summit are still vivid in my mind...]

[It is said that a gentleman's words are as good as his bond. As the Son of Heaven, I will never speak falsely! The promise we made on the Golden Summit is still fresh in my mind, and Ah Wu must never forget it! ]

The Golden Summit...

call! ~
outside the car,

Suddenly a strong wind swept in from heaven and earth.

The wind made the carriage curtains flutter and Liu Wu's long black hair fly!
In the sound of the wind, Liu Wu vaguely saw that night again...

The moon was bright in the sky. The young man climbed to the top of the palace with the Emperor of Han. Everywhere they looked, they saw Cao's minions everywhere in the palace!

That night,
The young man asked the emperor: "If one day I lead my army north, wipe out the traitors, and restore the peace and prosperity of the Han Dynasty, how will Your Majesty repay me?"

Wow! ~
Outside the carriage, as the horses galloped, the sound of the armors of the five hundred cavalrymen colliding was like a tide, gathering around Liu Wu's ears...

That night, the emperor jokingly made a promise to the young man beside him: "If Ah Wu really has such ability, then I will simply adopt you into the lineage of the Han Dynasty!"

"On that day, I will definitely make Ah Wu my crown prince and heir to the throne of my great Han dynasty..."

The Crown Prince...

The Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty...

The emperor’s brother!
The crown prince of the Han Dynasty!

He murmured to himself: "The Golden Summit..."

On the land of Jingxiang,
Liu Wu's carriage was running faster and faster.

The big red sun shines on Liu Wu's carriage, and also makes the blood in his body boil!

……

Jiangdong, Jianye.

Somewhere on a pier.

"How strange! Why does Liu Xuande suddenly want to meet me in person at this time?" Sun Quan's blue eyes were full of surprise and doubt.

At this moment, the Marquis of Jiangdong Wu was standing on the dock, with Zhou Yu and Lu Su standing on each side.

There were only dozens of guards farther away, keeping watch in case of any accidents.

Not long ago, Sun Quan received news from Liu Bei, who suddenly asked to meet with him in person, catching Sun Zhongmou off guard.

Jiangdong has not had any contact with Jingnan recently. What big thing happened for no reason that Liu Bei had to go to Jiangdong to meet him in person?
Could it be...

The more Sun Quan thought about it, the more guilty he felt: "Could it be that Liu Bei knew about our invitation to Liu Zilie to attack southern Jing?"

Lu Su was stunned, then frowned: "I'm afraid... it's hard to say."

"Although we have kept this a secret, we don't know the situation on Liu Zilie's side. It's possible that he leaked the news."

Most likely!

Marquis Wu of Jiangdong looked uneasy. Apart from the fact that the news had leaked out, he really couldn't think of any other major event that would make Liu Xuande go to Jiangdong in person.

"My Lord, Zijing, please don't worry for now..." Seeing that the king and his minister were already feeling guilty, Zhou Yu could only comfort them: "Liu Xuande's men haven't arrived yet, so we can't lose our composure first."

"Besides, we not only sent a letter to Liu Zilie, but also to Liu Bei, inviting him to attack Xiling together! He may have come here to discuss with us about attacking Liu Zilie together..."

Yes indeed,

Jiangdong not only sent letters to Liu Zilie, but also sent letters to Liu Bei!
Sun Quan and Lu Su breathed a sigh of relief. They were so guilty that they almost forgot about it...

Jiangdong’s original plan was to bet on both sides and help whoever wins!
Liu Bei personally crossed the river at this time and discussed with him to attack Liu Zilie together...

Still not right!

Lu Su hesitated and said, "Gongjin, Jiangdong has already sent a letter to invite Liu Xuande to fight Liu Zilie together, and the two families have no objection..."

"Even if Liu Bei wanted to discuss this matter with Jiangdong in detail, he could just send a trusted person across the river. It would be far from Liu Xuande crossing the river in person to meet him."

"Moreover, Su is more worried that if this matter is leaked, Liu Bei and Liu Zilie will join forces in anger..."

Sun Quan was actually relaxed at this moment. He was full of confidence: "It doesn't matter. Even if the two Lius join forces, I am not afraid! It will just be that Jiangdong will side with Cao Mengde."

"At that time, Jiangdong was still invincible!"

At this moment,

A large ship with a flag bearing the Chinese character "Liu" appeared on the river and was heading towards the dock.

Zhou Yu: "My lord, Liu Xuande and his men are here!"

The hearts of the king and his ministers subconsciously lifted.

We will soon find out what Liu Xuande is here for.

Wow! ~
Amid the sound of rippling water, the large ship slowly approached the shore.

A thick wooden board was placed on the shore. Uncle Liu got off the boat with an expressionless face, followed closely by Zhuge Kongming.

Sun Zhongmou greeted him with a smile on his face: "How are you, Lord Xuande?"

Unexpectedly,

Liu Bei passed by Sun Quan without saying a word and walked forward on his own.

What does Liu Bei mean by this?
Sun Quan was stunned, and Zhou Yu and Lu Su were also shocked.

Lu Su saw that something was not right and hurriedly followed him. He gritted his teeth and said, "I haven't seen you for a long time, Uncle Liu. You are still as charming as ever. I am glad to see you."

Liu Bei still ignored him.

"Uncle Liu, wait a minute!" Zhou Yu strode to stop Liu Bei. He was too lazy to pretend to be polite and asked, "Uncle Liu, why did you come to Jiangdong in person this time?"

Finally, Liu Bei stopped.

He turned his head and looked at Sun Quan on the side: "May I ask how many sisters you have, Lord Wu?"

How many sisters do you have?
Sun Quan was even more confused: "Of course there is only one sister, her nickname is Shangxiang."

Liu Bei: "How many princesses are there in Jiangdong?"

Sun Quan: "Uncle, you are joking. Of course there is only one."

After the words fell, Sun Quan, Lu Su, and Zhou Yu seemed to understand something...

It turned out that this Uncle Liu came because of his younger sister's regret of breaking off the engagement.

Sun Quan finally let go of his worry. He was about to explain why Sun Shangxiang was kidnapped by Liu Zilie and could not marry Liu Bei.

suddenly,

Snap! ~
Zhuge Liang, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly threw two red invitations at Sun Quan. He said in a cold voice: "How can a woman marry two husbands?!"

"What a great deed done by Lord Wu!"

"You actually promised your sister to your father first, and then to your son!!"

(End of this chapter)