Chapter 60: The Emperor’s Luck Technique can suppress the country’s destiny!
"Da da da--"

Zhuque brought a box made of golden nanmu wood and rode into the palace at full speed to meet the emperor. Cao Zhengchun immediately reported the matter to Liu Bian, who summoned Zhuque to Deyang Palace late at night.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards have recovered the Imperial Seal!"

Zhuque handed over the box, Cao Zhengchun quickly took it and then handed it to Liu Bian.

Wearing the golden nanmu box, Liu Bian seemed to be able to feel the vibration of the "Imperial Seal" in the box even without opening it!

"How did the Jinyiwei take back the imperial seal?"

Liu Bian asked first.

Suzaku immediately explained everything.

In the end, Xuanwu obtained the imperial seal so easily that it could no longer be described as just picking it up; it was simply given to him for free by the enemy!

Later, enemies such as Murong Long and Yang Hong were surrounded by the Jinyiwei, the five schools of the Northern Army and other troops. They were either killed in battle or captured. The outcome was decided!

Liu Bian laughed dumbly and said, "Xuanwu's disguise is indeed superb. This time, you Jinyiwei have made great contributions!"

"Serving His Majesty is the only duty of us, the Jinyiwei!" Zhuque did not take credit for himself, but instead expressed his humility.

But Zhuque knew that His Majesty was clear about rewards and punishments, and would definitely reward the Jinyiwei, as well as Bao Zheng, Gongsun Ce and others who handled the case according to their merits.

They don't need to ask for rewards, Your Majesty will give them!

Liu Bian encouraged Zhuque and Jinyiwei, and finally opened the golden nanmu box.

"Wow--"

The light of the imperial seal suddenly burst out, and the entire Deyang Palace was as bright as day!

It was now past eleven o'clock in the evening and candles were lit in Deyang Hall.

But because Liu Bian wanted the palace to live frugally, only the area where he worked in the huge Deyang Palace had candles lit, and the rest of the place was shrouded in darkness.

But after the imperial seal was opened, the entire Deyang Palace became bright.

Moreover, this light is very soft, and it seems that it is not dazzling even if you look directly at it. It makes people intoxicated by it, and feel the breath of supreme imperial power!
Of course, this is for Liu Bian, the king of a country and the ruler of the Han Dynasty.

But for Cao Zhengchun and Zhuque, even though they were both unparalleled masters with superb martial arts, after feeling this light, they felt such a pressure that they couldn't open their eyes. This light even made them feel like they were bowing down in worship!

Different people feel different feelings when facing the imperial seal!

Liu Bian reached out and touched the imperial seal. The light on it gradually dissipated, allowing Cao Zhengchun and Zhuque to break free from the pressure that made their backs cold and suffocate, as if they had been rescued.

"call--"

Cao Zhengchun and Suzaku breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously.

The imperial seal is made of Hetian jade, and Liu Bian felt it was icy cold. But one corner was damaged, and it was repaired with gold. There is also a historical story behind this.

This is the end of the Western Han Dynasty, when the two-year-old Ru Ziying ascended the throne and hid the imperial seal in Changle Palace. At that time, Wang Mang usurped the throne and wanted to force Empress Xiaoyuan Wang Zhengjun to hand over the imperial seal. The empress dowager refused and in anger took out the imperial seal and threw it on the ground, breaking off a corner of it.

When Wang Mang saw that the jade seal was damaged, he hurriedly called a skilled craftsman to repair it. The craftsman was smart and came up with the idea of ​​inlaying the missing corner with gold. After the repair, the seal became even more dazzling, so he named it "Jade Seal inlaid with Gold". This is the origin of "Gold inlaid with Jade".

"It's just a seal, but it attracted so many heroes to compete for it!"

The "seal" in Liu Bian's mouth can also be replaced by "rivers and mountains" or "the world". After hearing this, Cao Zhengchun and Zhuque did not dare to agree, and pretended not to hear it.

Liu Bian was just about to ask about the earthquake situation in the southern suburbs, but at this moment, the familiar reminder sound echoed in his mind again -

"Ding dong."

"The host has obtained a chance to draw a lottery."

“Will there be a lottery?”

Before I knew it, it was midnight, or twelve o'clock in the morning.

Liu Bian looked at Zhuque and said, "You two should retreat and rest first."

"promise!!!"

After hearing this, Cao Zhengchun also bowed and retreated, leaving Deyang Palace with Suzaku. Because His Majesty was talking about "you".

Whether His Majesty wants to be alone or has something else to say, they'd better not say anything.

This is also the duty of a subject!

After the two men left, Deyang Hall fell silent again. In the huge hall, only the area around the desk had flickering candlelight, while the rest was all in darkness, looking eerie and scary.

But Liu Bian knew that as long as he shouted, Cao Zhengchun and his guards would be able to rescue him immediately.

Liu Bian silently said in his heart: "Draw a prize!"

The turntable began to rotate again, and the pointer passed over attribute points, weapons and armor, military supplies and combat readiness, auxiliary talents, soldiers and population, martial arts secrets, etc. It turned around and around, and finally stopped gradually from fast to slow.

Stopped on the secret manual of martial arts!
This made Liu Bian's eyes light up!
The "Emperor's Qi-Watching Technique" he obtained last time gave him the ability to distinguish between loyalty and treachery, good and evil, and it worked wonders.

Moreover, the secret manuals of martial arts obtained through system lottery are directly at the maximum level, saving the tediousness and trouble of cultivation.

This also made Liu Bian somewhat looking forward to it!
"Congratulations on drawing the Emperor's Luck Technique!"

"The combination of the Emperor's Qiyun Technique and the Imperial Seal can suppress the country's destiny!"

Liu Bian didn't feel anything. Last time, at least he could feel the numbness in his eyes, but at this moment, there was no change!

Liu Bian thought about it, then reached out to touch the imperial seal again!

The moment the hand grasped the faucet——

Everything has changed!!!

"Shhhhh-"

Images and words flashed through my mind, records of disasters that occurred in the Han Dynasty - earthquakes, floods, droughts, locust plagues, hail disasters, epidemics, and so on.

For example, in the 18th year of Emperor Ming's Yongping reign, it was stated in an imperial edict: "Since spring, the rain has not fallen, the old wheat has been damaged by drought, and the autumn planting has not yet begun."

For example, in the second year of Emperor An's reign, he issued an edict: "It has been seven years since we were attacked by locusts. Now they are flying all over the sky, causing great harm."

In the eighth month of the autumn of Emperor Huan, "floods hit the six states, and the Bohai Sea overflowed, but no one was killed."

Emperor Ping said: "There is a great locust plague all over the country. More than 20 counties in Henan Province have been affected by the plague, but Mi County has not been affected."

In May of the fifth year of Emperor Huan's Yan Xi reign, "an earthquake occurred in the capital, and in August the emperor issued an edict to reduce the salaries of officials by half."

Emperor Ling: "Earthquake, sea overflow."

and many more!

The most serious and frequent ones are earthquake disasters, followed by floods, droughts and locust plagues!
This shocking scene made Liu Bian's expression gradually become solemn!!!
At this moment, Liu Bian finally understood what the "late Eastern Han Dynasty" meant!

The situation of the "last years" was caused by "man-made disasters" - the annexation of land by powerful families and the plundering of property, the huge gap between the rich and the poor, which made the people live in misery and rise up in rebellion.

But there were also "natural disasters" - natural disasters occurred frequently during the Han Dynasty. With the change of climate and the violent movement of the earth's crust, from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the country gradually went from a warm period to a cold period.

China is an “agricultural civilization”!
The mild climate and abundant rainfall have enabled agriculture and water conservancy to flourish in the Central Plains, and the bumper harvest of grain has filled the country's warehouses.

It was precisely thanks to the climate of the "warm period" that the politics, economy, and culture of the Han Dynasty reached the first peak of Chinese feudal society, accompanied by the rule of Wen and Jing.

Only with sufficient logistical support can we "drive the Xiongnu to the northern desert, seal the Wolf's Lair, and engrave the stone at Yanran!"

However, as the temperature dropped, precipitation generally decreased, severe droughts occurred continuously, and droughts were accompanied by locust plagues.

The people have no harvest, but the court has not reduced taxes. If corrupt officials impose heavy taxes and heavy military service and corvee labor, the people will be unable to make a living and will have no choice but to rise up in rebellion!
These desperate peasants are going to revolt and overthrow the "Son of Heaven"!
Because the ruler of a country, who "receives the mandate from Heaven and enjoys long life and eternal prosperity", uses "the divine right of the emperor and his orthodoxy and legitimacy" as his own "mandate from Heaven"!
Then the emperor, the "Son of Heaven", needs to bear the side effects of the feedback from "natural disasters" -

The people will not blame God, they will only think that the emperor has done too many bad things, which has angered God and the people, and has violated "the Way of Heaven and Morality". They want to overthrow the incompetent emperor and replace him with a new one, then everything will be fine!

So, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out!
The Eastern Han Dynasty was counting down to its demise!
The rise and fall of dynasties was greatly influenced by climate change. Some people in the future will claim that "the Ming Dynasty actually fell during the Little Ice Age", but in fact, climate change also had a great impact on the Han Dynasty!

China's climate has gone through three complete "warm-cold" cycles in the past four or five thousand years:
The first warm period occurred during the Yangshao culture period, known as the "Yangshao Warm Period," which corresponds to the Western Zhou Cold Period.

The second warm period occurred during the Qin and Han dynasties, known as the "Qin and Han Warm Period," corresponding to the Three Kingdoms, Wei and Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties cold periods;

The third warm period occurred during the Sui and Tang dynasties, known as the "Sui and Tang Warm Period", which corresponds to the Little Ice Age in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, thanks to its mild climate, the Central Plains had abundant agricultural products and was able to support the manpower and material resources needed for large-scale expansion.

As the temperature gradually dropped, the ability of agricultural civilization to expand its territory also weakened. During the cold climate period, the Central Plains' own production capacity declined and it often fell into the dilemma of internal division. It was not even enough to maintain the status quo, let alone expand its territory.

However, "Han fell because of its strength" because it was too powerful, and there were many princes and warlords, which eventually led to the situation of the Three Kingdoms contending for supremacy.

"I, do I need to use human power to fight natural disasters?!"

Liu Bian fell silent. Not only did he need to subdue the heroes of the world, he also had to face natural disasters and climate change!
However, as an agricultural civilization, how can the Han Dynasty, which has no industrialization and a small population, "man conquers nature"? !

The cold period that began in the late Eastern Han Dynasty took more than 400 years to gradually return to the warm period until the Sui and Tang Dynasties!

Liu Bian couldn't possibly wait for the climate to recover naturally!
In the face of natural disasters, no one can help. Not to mention the Han Dynasty in the third century, even in the future 21st century, in the face of natural disasters, humans are sometimes powerless!
But fortunately, the emperor's luck can suppress the country's destiny!
As long as a country is prosperous, the corresponding natural disasters will be reduced under suppression!
The fate of a country is made up of individual fortunes, as described in the "Emperor's Fortune Technique" -

"Luck, whether it is a small matter or a big matter, is the rise and fall of a country. Luck is formed by the thoughts of the people. The decline of the Han Dynasty's luck is nothing more than the loss of public opinion. When the people lose their will, the luck declines, and the country declines. Reunite the Han Dynasty's luck and revive its national destiny!"

public opinion!!!

At this moment, Liu Bian finally realized what it meant to "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world" and what it meant to "People are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important"!
The fortunes of the common people in the Han Dynasty can affect a country!

And Liu Bian's current popular sentiment——

Less than five hundred thousand!
Considering the Han population of more than 60 million, it is almost negligible!

"It should be because I haven't done anything benevolent to benefit the people since I ascended the throne. Even many places don't know that I am the emperor, or that my name is Liu Bian! And this little luck should be mostly the feedback from the people of the capital!"

Liu Bian quickly figured it out that as long as he implemented benevolent policies that benefited the country and the people, as his luck accumulated, it would gradually affect the country's destiny.

If Liu Bian's current popular support was not 500,000, but 5 million or 50 million, then the Han Dynasty would be prosperous and natural disasters would be reduced accordingly!
Use national destiny to suppress natural disasters!
"I understand!"

Thinking of this, Liu Bian called out softly, "Someone come!"

"The slave is here!!!"

Cao Zhengchun would always appear in front of Liu Bian at the first opportunity. "How is the situation in the earthquake-stricken area in the southern suburbs of the capital? I have decided to go to the disaster area in person, open the warehouse to distribute porridge, and help the people, so that the people in the capital area know that I am with them!" Liu Bian asked directly.

Cao Zhengchun was immediately shocked and advised:

"Your Majesty, a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall! Earthquakes may recur. You can leave these matters to me and others. How can you let your Majesty, who is worth millions of dollars, put yourself in danger?"

"I am the Son of Heaven, governing the whole world. Every common citizen is my subject. If they are far away in a prefecture, I cannot go there in person. But they are in the southern suburbs of the capital, how can I ignore them?"

Liu Bian was determined and said without question: "Get ready immediately. I want to go to the disaster area in the southern suburbs to check on the victims!"

"Your Majesty, why don't you go there tomorrow? It's late at night now, and the officials, soldiers and civilians are busy helping the victims. If Your Majesty rushes to the scene, they will need to divide their troops to protect you, and I'm afraid they won't be able to do it."

Cao Zhengchun put it very tactfully.

Liu Bian understood his hidden meaning and suddenly recalled that it was now midnight, just a little after twelve in the morning.

Thinking of this, Liu Bian nodded and said, "I will change my clothes and go to bed immediately. I will set out for the southern suburbs at the beginning of the morning hour tomorrow! Keep everything simple!"

"Your servant... obeys your order!!!"

Cao Zhengchun immediately accepted the order.

The beginning of the Mao hour, about five in the morning, was at least much better than setting off at twelve in the morning and traveling all night.

Liu Bian changed his clothes and went to bed, and Cao Zhengchun immediately gave the order.

Don't underestimate an emperor's tour. Even though Liu Bian said to keep everything simple, security, imperial carriage and other pomp and defense are still essential.

Because of Liu Bian's order, countless officials in the entire capital were preparing all night long.

Zhuque and other Jinyiwei had been staying up all night for two consecutive days. They thought that the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal had been successfully recovered, so they could sleep well tonight.

But the news about Cao Zhengchun coming from the East Factory in the palace shocked them and they could only prepare for defense immediately.

The defense from the capital to the southern suburbs and preparations for the earthquake-stricken areas in the southern suburbs need to be carried out in advance.

A big mouth above, and running legs to pieces below!

This is another sleepless night!
……

Beimang Mountain.

The Xiliang Army’s garrison.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others arrived at the tent at three quarters past midnight, around one in the morning.

The Han Emperor promoted Liu Bei to be the governor of Qingzhou, and, with the special authorization of the imperial power, gave him 3,000 soldiers, led by Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun respectively.

Of course, these 3,000 soldiers were not drawn from the five schools of the Northern Army, nor were they Wang Fang's direct troops. Instead, they were drawn from the defeated and captured prisoners of war of the Western Liang Army.

After a methane explosion occurred in Yihongyuan in the capital, Wang Fang led his troops to suppress it, and Liu, Guan, Zhang and Zhao temporarily stayed in the Xiliang military camp.

After that, a series of wars took place. After the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal were successfully recovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Liu Bian immediately stamped Liu Bei's appointment edict with the official seal!

Liu Bei also began to select soldiers from the prisoners of war of the Xiliang Army.

This group of prisoners of war numbered more than 30,000 people, all of whom were soldiers of generals such as Niu Fu, Li Jue and Guo Si. They were capable and battle-hardened soldiers of the Western Liang Army.

There is no problem with their abilities, but they are all extremely proud!

These prisoners of war recognized Qin Qiong and other soldiers from the five schools of the Northern Army, respected the officers and soldiers of the Black Armor Army, and were somewhat terrified of Li Siye and the Modao Team. They even expressed their submission to Wang Fang and Xu Rong, who were also officers and soldiers of the Western Liang Army.

But the problem is!

This is because they were defeated by these people!
But Liu, Guan, Zhang and Zhao had never defeated them after all, so they might not be able to subdue these people.

Liu Bei deliberately came to the place where the prisoners of war were held in the dead of night when everyone was sleeping the deepest.

Immediately, he ordered Zhang Fei to beat the gongs and drums, and shouted with a thunderous voice: "The fire is breaking! The fire is breaking!"

Suddenly, there was an uproar in the prisoner-of-war camp. The prisoners woke up immediately and rushed outside frantically in shackles and chains.

But soon, they discovered that Liu, Guan, Zhang and Zhao were leading their troops on high alert, but when they looked around, they did not find any signs of fire or water.

Liu Bei commented: "These people are indeed elite. They woke up in the middle of the night and were able to react immediately!"

"They are already well-trained in their bones!"

Guan Yu stroked his beard and nodded: "As long as we can subdue them, we can immediately join the battle! By then, whether we go north to deal with Yuan Shao or suppress the Yellow Turban bandits in Qingzhou, it will be no problem!"

"I think so too!" Zhang Fei threw away the gongs and drums and nodded.

The conversation between Liu, Guan and Zhang immediately made the Xiliang Army prisoners of war realize that they had been fooled!

These people were sleeping soundly when they were suddenly woken up by someone, and their bodies responded by conditioned alert. This was because they had developed a kind of alertness through years of training!
But when these prisoners of war came to their senses, they suddenly realized that they had been tricked by Liu, Guan and Zhang. They felt as if they were being humiliated by being walked like a dog, which made them so angry that they wanted to eat Liu, Guan and Zhang alive!
"yawn--"

At this time, Bai Hu, who was disguised as "Wang Fang", was also awakened. He thought there was a mutiny in the prisoner-of-war camp, and after waking up and rushing over, he found out that this was a test plan by Liu, Guan and Zhang.

His Majesty asked them to draw troops, and they had to test the elite level of these troops one by one and select the best ones.

No problem!
But can you please choose to come back during the day?!
Baihu also felt a little aggrieved. They had been serving His Majesty day and night.

Now that Liu Bei had done the same thing, he really wanted to ask, "Do you guys in the Liu family never need to sleep?!"

"Wang Fang" led his troops to watch from the sidelines to prevent mutiny in the prisoner-of-war camp!

These are more than 30,000 prisoners of war!
Liu Bei bowed to Wang Fang and expressed his apology. He then looked at the furious prisoners and said loudly:
"Your Majesty has granted me the grace to select three thousand elite soldiers from the Xiliang Army prisoners of war to serve in Qingzhou!
"I know that it is not only me who chooses you, but you who choose us. Now I want to make a promise with you -

“If any of you can defeat these three generals, I ask His Majesty to pardon you and you can stay or go as you please.

"But if you can't defeat these three generals, you must obey my orders and follow me to Qingzhou to guard Qingzhou for His Majesty!"

Liu Bei pointed at Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun and said.

After hearing this, the furious prisoners were stunned for a moment, and then they looked Guan, Zhang and Zhao up and down, and one of them stepped forward.

"Can you remove the shackles?"

"That's natural!"

Liu Bei personally came to Wang Fang to plead guilty. Wang Fang yawned and nodded. The personal guards beside him immediately stepped forward to open the shackles for the prisoner.

The prisoner of war was big and fat, about 1.9 meters tall. After removing his shackles, he rubbed his sore limbs, stretched his shins, and then looked back and forth at Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun.

finally--

"This one with a leopard head and round eyes..."

"boom--"

The prisoner's voice still lingered in the air.

After hearing this, Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, and then he became like a mad bull. His body instantly turned from still to full speed, and with a whoosh, he flew out like an arrow from a bow.

Before the prisoner could finish his words, he was knocked flying by a shoulder collision, and hit a prison van!

"Wow--"

The prisoner car was torn into pieces. The prisoner looked at Zhang Fei with an expression of disbelief, who was still furious. He suddenly lost consciousness and fainted!

"hiss--"

The prisoners of war from the Xiliang Army gasped in shock. Not only did they put away their anger at being woken up in the middle of the night, they also put away their contempt for Zhang Fei and the others!

You can see the leopard in the tube!
Zhang Fei is such a martial arts master, so Guan Yu and Zhao Yun are obviously not ordinary people either!

These people are actually all powerful generals who can defeat thousands of enemies? !
Seeing that Zhang Fei was still furious and wanted to take advantage of the victory to pursue, Guan Yu decisively stepped forward to stop him and easily restrained the crazy Zhang Fei!
This move also strengthened the thoughts of the Xiliang Army prisoners of war!
After being stopped by Guan Yu, Zhang Fei gave up the idea of ​​pursuing the victory. He snorted coldly. The last person who called him a leopard head and round eyes was that guy Lu Bu!

"Who else is willing to fight?"

Liu Bei immediately ordered his soldiers to step forward to treat the wounded soldier, and then stepped forward again to ask.

"I come!"

After his shackles were released, the man chose Zhao Yun.

Having learned from previous experience, he was fully prepared and did not let his guard down or underestimate the enemy!
Even weapons were collected!

However, he was still killed instantly by Zhao Yun in just two or three moves!

"Open the shackles! This man with a two-foot-long beard, dare you to fight?"

Guan Yu killed him instantly with one strike, knocking him out directly.

In this way, the three generals began their journey of fighting each other, being challenged in turns.

Some of the more cunning prisoners of war wanted to wait until the three generals were exhausted and their strength declined after the round-the-clock fighting before taking action.

But Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun seemed to have endless physical strength and showed no signs of exhaustion!

These Xiliang prisoners of war did not know that the three generals were very strong, especially Zhao Zilong of Changshan, who had fought in and out of Changbanpo seven times, and had a long endurance. And they did not really have to fight against 3,000 people.

He only needs to challenge dozens of people, and the momentum of a powerful general who can defeat thousands of enemies is enough to suppress the whole place.

Finally, when the time came to the hour of Yin, around four o'clock, this night battle came to an end!
Liu Bei also selected three thousand elite soldiers from the prisoners of war of the Xiliang Army to join the army!
Wang Fang thought he could go back to sleep, but at this moment, the factory guards sent a message: "Your Majesty will go to the southern suburbs to visit the disaster area at 11:00 a.m., so you should get ready immediately!"

"..."

Wang Fang looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and two lines of tears flowed down his face.

Who can understand their suffering?
On the contrary, Liu Bei was full of energy after hearing this, and he did not look like he had not slept all night. He said:

"Second brother, third brother, Zilong, your majesty is so kind and merciful, we should also go to the disaster area in the southern suburbs to accompany you!"

"That's how it should be!"

……

(End of this chapter)