Chapter 206: Liu Bei’s threats are stronger than Yuan Shao’s! The emperor rewards us, and we pay our respects to Uncle Liu! This is a big win!
The imperial edict was about to be implemented.

Xu Sheng was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He reached out his hand in a flash and grabbed the imperial edict firmly before it hit the ground.

"Envoy Dong, don't panic. You must seize the imperial edict."

Xu Sheng returned the imperial edict to Dong Zhao with a hint of sarcasm between his brows.

Dong Zhao felt somewhat embarrassed when he received the imperial edict, and could only cough dryly a few times to cover it up.

Xu Sheng immediately prepared a carriage and escorted Dong Zhao to Jinling City.

"General Xu, when I came here, I heard that Jinling City had been rebuilt for Sun Ce and it was as solid as a rock."

"I wonder what means Envoy Liu used to capture the city so quickly?"

Dong Zhao suppressed his inner shock and confusion and asked out of pretended curiosity.

"Jinling City is indeed the strongest city in the world, but unfortunately it is vulnerable to the attack of my military advisor Xiao."

"With our military advisor Xiao, it will be easy for my lord to quickly capture Jinling."

Xu Sheng's face lit up with pride, so there was no need to hide anything any longer, and he recounted the story of how Nanjing was conquered.

From how Xiao Fang saw through Sun Ce and Cheng Pu's sneak attack and took advantage of the situation to capture the outer city of Jinling, to how Liu Bei used Xiao Fang's plan to arrange for Lu Xun to go undercover in Jiangdong as an insider, and finally launched a mutiny by the Jiangdong nobles to surrender the city and seize the gate, helping Liu Bei capture the inner city of Jinling...

Then Xiao Fang calculated that Sun Ce would not dare to live and die with Jinling, and would definitely cross Zhongshan and flee to Wujun, so he asked Liu Bei to set an ambush first and successfully killed Sun Ce...

Xu Sheng described the entire battle of Nanjing to Dong Zhao in a proud and vivid manner.

Dong Zhao was silent.

He held the imperial edict tightly in his hand, said nothing, but his eyes were full of ups and downs.

"Sir Cao is right. Liu Bei is no longer the same person he was before. He has the potential to be a great leader."

"This Xiao Jinglue's ingenious strategy is truly unrivaled in the world. I'm afraid Xun Wenruo, Guo Fengxiao and his ilk are inferior to him."

"Liu Bei has such a talented person to assist him, which is like a fish in water and a dragon in the sea."

"Now Cao Sikong is still confronting Lu Bu at the Huai River, and Liu Bei has already destroyed Sun Ce. The entire Jiangdong region is likely to be conquered by a single edict. What should we do if we march north?"

"It seems that Cao Sikong is destined to have no chance of conquering Huainan..."

Dong Zhao's mind was full of thoughts, and he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh helplessly.

As my thoughts were surging, the carriage stopped.

Xu Sheng shouted from outside the carriage, "Envoy Dong, my lord has come out of the city to meet you."

When Dong Zhao heard this, he hurriedly put away his emotion, calmed himself, straightened his clothes, and pretended to get off the carriage calmly with the imperial edict in his hand.

At the gate of Jinling City, Liu Bei had indeed come to greet them with his advisers and generals.

"I just conquered Jinling and was busy calming the people. Gongren came from afar, so I was unable to personally go to the ferry to greet him. Please forgive me."

Liu Bei came forward with a smile and bowed slightly.

Dong Zhao was also considered a seasoned man. Seeing that Liu Bei now controlled half of the south of the Yangtze River and could compete with Yuan and Cao, he naturally did not dare to act like an imperial envoy.

"Envoy Liu, you are too kind. Zhao came here in a hurry and did not have time to inform you in advance. I hope you will forgive me."

Dong Zhao also smiled and bowed in return.

After a few pleasantries, Liu Bei asked Dong Zhao to leave the city so that he could burn incense and set up the table to receive the imperial edict.

The two men rode side by side into Jinling City.

The scenes he saw along the way made Dong Zhao feel even more shocked and surprised.

I originally thought that Jinling City had just experienced war, and the city must be littered with corpses, with the common people and merchants closing their doors and windows, a scene of desolation.

Who would have thought that along the way, the vendors had already opened their doors to do business, and the streets were filled with people walking on and off.

In just less than a day, all the people in the city had emerged from the shadow of war.

"I wonder what methods Liu Xuande used to appease the people so quickly."

"Aren't these Jinling citizens afraid of being robbed by the soldiers? Why are they taking to the streets so quickly?"

Dong Zhao's thoughts turned, and his eyes revealed deep confusion and surprise.

Liu Bei was not so sensitive and did not notice the change in Dong Zhao's expression, but Xiao Fang on the side saw it clearly.

"Envoy Dong, there is no need to be surprised. Our lord has always been strict in military discipline. He never harmed the civilians in any city he captured. His reputation for being benevolent and loving the people is well known to everyone in the world."

"What's more, Sun Ce is bloodthirsty and brutal. Every household in Jiangdong has a blood debt with him. They have suffered from Sun Ce for a long time and have been looking forward to our Lord entering Nanjing day and night."

"Now that my lord has conquered Jinling, the people of the city are all excited and excited. They all offer food and drink to welcome our army."

"That's why Envoy Dong can see such a lively scene before his eyes."

Xiao Fang saw through Dong Zhao's thoughts, and slowly explained his doubts to him, and also praised Lao Liu a little.

Another intention was to let Dong Zhao bring back what he saw and heard to Xu Du, so that the court officials and even the people of the Central Plains would be more convinced that Liu Bang was a wise leader.

Such a free ambassador should be put to good use.

"I see."

Dong Zhao suddenly realized and looked at Liu Bei with admiration:

"When I was in Xudu, I had heard of the reputation of Liu Shijun for his benevolence and righteousness. Today, I saw it with my own eyes. It is true that his reputation is well-deserved."

"It is truly a blessing for the people of Jingzhou and Jiangdong to have such benevolent protection from you, Your Excellency." There was a mixture of truth and falsehood in Dong Zhao's praise. Old Liu did not take it seriously and could not help but make self-deprecating remarks and be modest.

After the polite compliments, Dong Zhao frowned quietly and a hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

"This Liu Xuande is not only an extraordinary military strategist, but also a rare benevolent and righteous ruler. This is a combination of the kingly way and the hegemonic way. He truly has the style of Emperor Gaozu."

"This young scholar must be the legendary Xiao Jinglue. I think his wisdom and strategy are inferior to Zhang Liang even if he were alive again."

"If Liu Xuande were Emperor Gaozu's reincarnation, Xiao Jinglue would be better than Zhang Liang. If their leader and his ministers march north in the future, the threat they pose to Cao Sikong would be no less than that of Yuan Shao..."

There was a flicker of fear in Dong Zhao's eyes, and a shadow had covered his face.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the provincial capital.

Dong Zhao had no choice but to put his mind at rest and followed Liu Bei into the provincial government and into the main hall.

At this time, incense had been burned and an altar had been set up in the hall, and the necessary ceremonies to welcome the emperor's will had been completed.

Dong Zhao cleared his throat, unfolded the imperial edict, and read it aloud in front of the public:

Emperor Xuande's uncle suppressed the rebellion and killed the bandits, and made great contributions to the country. He is the pillar of our Han Dynasty, and is specially appointed as the Left General, the Governor of Jingzhou, and promoted to the title of Marquis of Xiangyang County!

Although the imperial edict contains many words, the core content is only contained in these few short sentences.

Inside the palace hall, all the counselors and generals were immediately excited and were all ecstatic with joy and surprise.

Even Liu Bei himself was greatly surprised. He looked up at the imperial edict in surprise.

Left General.

He was ranked among the four generals, only lower than the general of the guards, and higher than the four generals of the expedition and the four generals of the garrison and other generals with miscellaneous titles.

Above the four generals, there are only the General of Guards, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, the General of Hussars, and the General.

Needless to say, the title of Governor of Jingzhou meant that he occupied Jingzhou, was recognized by the emperor, and had legal support, so it could be said that he was legitimate.

There is also the title of Marquis of Xiangyang.

Xiangyang is the capital of Jingzhou. It is extremely rare to use the county seat as a fief to reward an official, let alone using the prefecture seat as a fief, which is even more unique!

The key point is that these rewards were not "self-promotion" by various princes, but real awards from the emperor.

At a time when the hearts of the people in the Han Dynasty are still there, how could Old Liu not know how valuable these rewards from the emperor are?

What's more, the phrase "Imperial Uncle Xuande" represents that the emperor recognized his identity as a relative of the Han royal family and respected him as the emperor's uncle!
This reward is too generous...

Old Liu guessed that he had made great contributions in killing Yuan Shu, and the court would most likely reward him. Even if Cao Cao was reluctant, he would have to show some appreciation.

But he did not expect that the reward from the court would be so great, which was completely beyond his imagination.

For a moment, Lao Liu was caught off guard and a little dazed.

"Cough cough~~"

It was not until Xiao Fang's light cough sounded in his ears as a reminder that Old Liu came back to his senses.

So he hurriedly bowed towards Xudu, and then accepted the imperial edict of great importance.

"Congratulations, lord, congratulations, lord."

"Fang greets General Zuo!"

Xiao Fang took the lead and bowed to Lao Liu.

"Meet General Zuo!"

"Meet General Zuo!"

All the counselors and generals followed Xiao Fang and bowed to Liu Bei with joy on their faces.

Everyone's ecstasy was naturally from the heart.

On the one hand, Lao Liu is the lord, and it is natural for a subject to be happy about his lord's promotion.

Furthermore, Lao Liu became the Left General and Governor of Jingzhou certified by the emperor, which meant that he could legitimately establish a government and appoint officials.

This means that the official positions and titles of these counselors and generals will also rise accordingly.

This is a win-win situation, a big win, so how can anyone not be happy?

Liu Bei held the imperial edict in his hand and accepted the applause of his counselors and generals. Even though he was humble and calm, a smug smile appeared on his face at this moment.

"I wonder if you are the military advisor of General Zuo, Xiao Fang, Xiao Jinglue?"

Dong Zhao suddenly spoke again.

Xiao Fang had no need to deny it, so he nodded slightly:

"It is me. I wonder if Envoy Dong has any advice for you?"

The hall fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to Dong Zhao again.

"The emperor has heard of the name of Military Advisor Xiao for a long time and admires you very much. Here is also an imperial decree to reward you, Military Advisor Xiao."

After saying that, Dong Zhao accepted another imperial edict from his followers and read it out in public.

When everyone heard the contents of the imperial edict, their faces changed immediately.

The smile on Old Liu’s face disappeared and his brows furrowed.

(End of this chapter)