Chapter 10: Among all the civil and military officials in the court, who is Liu Bei? Who is Cao Cao?

"Fifty taels? He really dares."

Emperor Qing held a book in his hand, and there seemed to be a hint of smile in his eyes.

The wonderful book "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" written by Li Chengde has now spread in the court.

It’s just that the way it’s sold is very special.

You can only buy the first volume on the first day. If you want to read the subsequent content, you can only wait until the next day.

As a result, more than half a month passed before the fifth volume of the book was released, which was about the three heroes fighting Lu Bu at Hulao Pass.

On average, only one volume is released every three days.

During this period of time, the appetite of all the ministers in the court has been whetted.

Unlike many books, Romance of the Three Kingdoms uses a large number of illustrations, making it look more vivid.

Coupled with the book's vivid portrayal of the characters, many characters have become deeply rooted in people's hearts in a very short period of time.

However, at first, the court officials all thought that this was a story specially made up in response to the current situation of three sons competing for the throne.

But after seeing it, they were surprised to find that the Fourth Prince had a grand vision, and he was in the world rather than in the temple!
The book briefly depicts a powerful and prosperous Han Empire, but unfortunately, in the last years of the dynasty, the emperor was incompetent and treacherous, and treacherous officials were rampant.

Then there was the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the rise of various warlords.

Although no one knows the subsequent content except the Fourth Prince, the title of the book has actually spoiled the development of the story... Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there must be three countries.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Han Empire will eventually split into three forces with varying strengths.

Of course, combined with the preface at the beginning of the first volume, the country will eventually be restored and the world will be unified.

But it is hard to say who those three forces belong to and who will eventually rebuild the Han Empire.

At present, the two most likely people are Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and the Yuan family.

What a coincidence, doesn’t this correspond to reality?
The Yuan family had three officials in four generations, and their students and former officials were spread all over the country. They occupied a high position, which was somewhat similar to the Northern Qi Dynasty.

The Northern Qi Dynasty succeeded the Northern Wei Dynasty. When the Northern Wei court was still in existence, there was a tendency for it to unify the world.

After the rise of the Qing Dynasty, the Northern Wei Dynasty was devoured and became the current Northern Qi Dynasty.

But even today, scholars all over the world still have their hearts set on Northern Qi.

In fact, many court officials of Qing Kingdom returned to Qing Kingdom to serve as officials only after they achieved fame in Northern Qi.

Isn’t this the Yuan family in the book?
With one call, a hundred people will respond and you can conquer the world at any time.

As for Liu Bei and Cao Cao...it seems that no one can match them at the moment.

If we have to pick two forces, they would only be Qing and Dongyi.

The ending of the book is self-evident, everything will eventually return to unification, but what about the real world?

Who will be better, Qing or Northern Qi?
No one in the court knew about it.

"Your Highness's book has a magnificent narrative and beautiful illustrations, so it is normal to price it at fifty taels."

Chen Pingping answered with a smile.

Emperor Qing glanced at him lightly and said, "You are right. Most people don't have the courage to write a book like his."

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms... Which Three Kingdoms? Am I Cao Cao or Liu Bei?"

Chen Pingping smiled calmly, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven."

Emperor Qing retracted his gaze and said, "Forget it, I'll just ask him myself."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chengde slowly walked in from outside the palace, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Emperor Qing turned around and looked directly at him, "Li Chengde, let me ask you, am I Cao Cao or Liu Bei?"

Li Chengde didn't think about it and blurted out, "Your Majesty, you are Emperor Ling of Han."

"What?" Emperor Qing was immediately furious. "Li Chengde, you are so brave!"

Emperor Ling of Han is not portrayed in a positive light in the book. As the culprit who indirectly caused the chaos in the late Han Dynasty, he is undoubtedly an indisputable tyrant.

Comparing a tyrant emperor with Emperor Qing, Eunuch Hou shuddered with fear when he heard this.

Li Chengde was not in a hurry and said calmly: "Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Yuan Shao and others are all ministers, but Emperor Ling of Han is the emperor of the Han Dynasty no matter what he did."

"If I, your son, use the words of a minister of the Han Dynasty to describe Your Majesty, that would be treasonous."

There is nothing wrong with what he said, but it sounds a bit weird.

But since Li Chengde has compared Emperor Qing to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, it is naturally difficult for Emperor Qing to blame him.

After all, the Han Dynasty was a unified and powerful empire, while the Qing Kingdom could only be regarded as a relatively powerful separatist force and could not be equated with the Han Empire.

Putting them together, it undoubtedly elevated the status of Emperor Qing and made it believed that Qing would eventually unify the world.

So even though Emperor Qing felt uncomfortable, he had no choice but to accept Li Chengde's statement.

However, Emperor Qing then stared at Li Chengde and asked, "Who do you think is Liu Bei, who is Cao Cao, and who is Yuan Shu among all the civil and military officials in the court?"

Li Chengde glanced casually into the hall, then pointed at Chen Pingping who was sitting in a wheelchair next to him, "I think Dean Chen looks a lot like Cao Cao."

The smile on Chen Pingping's face froze, but he did not open his mouth to refute immediately.

"You mean that President Chen is a traitor, right?" Emperor Qing looked at Chen Pingping carefully.

A trace of doubt appeared in Li Chengde's eyes, "Your Majesty, Cao Cao is a loyal minister."

Emperor Qing recalled the contents of the book, "I would rather let the world betray me than let the world betray me... You said he was a loyal minister? Where is his loyalty?"

Li Chengde looked righteous as he analyzed, "Dong Zhuo deposed the emperor. He is undoubtedly a traitor."

"And Cao Cao was only a lieutenant, yet he dared to pretend to offer a knife to assassinate Dong Zhuo. Isn't this disloyalty?"

"As for Cao Cao's killing of Bo She, it was to cover up his whereabouts. Only by surviving first could he have the opportunity to continue to fight against Dong Zhuo and be loyal to the Han Dynasty."

"Such a loyal minister is rare in the world!"

After hearing this, Emperor Qing laughed out loud, "Li Chengde, you are really good at speaking."

"Since Dean Chen is my "Cao Cao", are there still Liu Bei and Yuan Shao in the court?"

Li Chengde thought without hesitation, "Of course there is. Prime Minister Lin is Yuan Shao, and I am Liu Bei."

After saying this, Emperor Qing was silent for a moment, "Who did you learn this from? Aren't you too shameless?"

Li Chengde remained calm and said, "That's why I say I am Liu Bei."

Chen Pingping immediately echoed, "Liu Bei is kind-hearted, and so is the Fourth Prince. It is a blessing for Your Majesty that Daqing has such wise ministers. I congratulate Your Majesty!"

Emperor Qing flicked his sleeves and said, "Forget it."

Then, he looked back at Li Chengde, "I asked you to come here today because I have a question that I can't figure out."

"Since the Han Empire will be divided into three parts, how can we restore unity?"

Li Chengde hesitated for a moment and gave an answer, "I think you should learn from Emperor Ling of Han."

"Ok?"

(End of this chapter)