Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Soon, with the sound of hurried footsteps echoing from within the State Preceptor's residence, Liu Bei, having received the news, hastily led a group of Han imperial relatives to the entrance.

The moment Liu Bei appeared, before he could even steady himself,

the densely packed crowd of commoners gathered in the street all paid their respects, shouting loudly,

“Greetings, Imperial Uncle.”

This scene surprised Liu Bei, and the Han imperial relatives behind him were equally astonished.

Such spontaneous respect from the people was no ordinary display of popular support.

“Please, rise, my fellow villagers,”

Liu Bei said quickly, personally helping up several elderly men at the front, then raising his voice and saying,

“Why have you all gathered here? Have you encountered some difficulty? Speak freely, and if it is within my power, I will not refuse to help.”

One of the elderly men in front of Liu Bei tremblingly spoke,

“It is not that we are in trouble, but we were shocked to hear that a Han traitor assassinated the Emperor in the street, and another Han traitor has proclaimed himself King, so we have come to see the Imperial Uncle.”

Liu Bei replied loudly, “I am grateful for your concern. I, Liu Bei, will not coexist with Han traitors and will do everything in my power to eliminate them as soon as possible, restoring a clear and bright world to the Han Dynasty.”

“But a country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Even the common people know that the one who can support the Han Dynasty is none other than the Imperial Uncle, but you have repeatedly declined to advance to the throne, which worries us all greatly,” the old man said again.

This caused Liu Bei to frown, and then he said, “Could this be organized by someone behind the scenes?”

As soon as Liu Bei's words fell, a chorus of responses rang out from the crowd.

“Imperial Uncle, please be at ease. We have all come here spontaneously. I am from Shuitian Village. Two years ago, the Imperial Uncle even visited Shuitian Village…”

“Does the Imperial Uncle still remember Ninghua Township? We have not forgotten the Imperial Uncle's kindness in the slightest.”

“If it were not for the Imperial Uncle, my whole family would have starved to death years ago. We came here out of concern for the Imperial Uncle, to make a request.”

… …

Liu Bei had indeed not known about this in advance, and he actually saw many familiar faces in the crowd.

At this moment, Li Ji stepped forward and said loudly,

“For the sake of the world, for the sake of the Han Dynasty, for the sake of the people, please, my lord, ascend the throne and become Emperor, to reassure the hearts of the world.”

The next moment, as Li Ji's words fell, first the civil and military officials who were already prepared, then the Han imperial relatives who had only just realized what was happening behind Liu Bei, and finally the tens of thousands of people gathered here, all shouted in unison,

“Please, my lord, ascend the throne and become Emperor, to reassure the hearts of the world.”

The shouts echoed nine times, and even outside the street, countless people were still shouting, as if the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people were all gathered here.

Yuan Shu, whose residence was on the same street as the State Preceptor's mansion, climbed onto a high platform and happened to witness this scene, his eyes filled with uncontrollable envy.

That's right!

That's right!

This is the scene that I, Yuan Shu, wanted…

Listening to the continuous shouts echoing around him, Yuan Shu, feeling agitated, also shouted loudly,

“Please, my lord, ascend the throne and become Emperor, to reassure the hearts of the world.”

Yuan Shu, who kept shouting, felt that no matter what, he could be considered to have participated in the ascension to the throne.

The sound, which continued to echo in Shouchun City and even seemed to spread outside the city, lasted for almost half an incense stick before it subsided.

Facing countless fervent and expectant gazes, Liu Bei showed a helpless and bitter expression, and said,

“Everyone, doing this is just making things difficult for me.”

“Please, my lord, consider the overall situation and do not decline again,” Li Ji advised.

“Enough, enough…”

Liu Bei sighed deeply a few times, and then said,

“However, my ascension this time is truly a last resort to stabilize the hearts of the people, and I dare not falsely claim the title of Emperor. I only wish to temporarily govern the court as King.”

“When the chaotic world is pacified, the Han traitors are eliminated, and the Imperial Seal is recovered, the officials can choose another person of both virtue and ability from the Han imperial relatives to be Emperor, and I will then return the power to the Emperor.”

These words caused everyone to discuss among themselves, and voices of persuasion were endless, but Liu Bei's attitude remained firm.

In the end, with Liu Yu taking the lead, the Han imperial relatives had no choice but to accept it.

After all, for a group of Han imperial relatives, quickly supporting someone who could shoulder the banner of the Han Dynasty was the only way to gather the hearts of the people and maintain the name of the Great Han.

However, Liu Yu and others chose to take a step back, but under Li Ji's timely suggestion, they demanded that the title of King chosen by Liu Bei must be “Han.”

That is, the one that Liu Bang once used… “King of Han”!

Until Liu Bei reluctantly accepted it, the matter was finally settled, and the crowd gathered outside the State Preceptor's residence slowly dispersed.

With the ascension to the throne settled, what needed to be done next was to quickly announce it to the world and prepare for the corresponding ceremony of ascending to the throne, which would also be one of the major events that Li Ji would be presiding over and responsible for at the moment.

However, when Li Ji returned to his residence after a busy day, he saw Sun Ce, with a face full of helplessness, and Zhou Yu, who had been waiting for a long time.

After Li Ji signaled Sun Ce and Zhou Yu not to stand on ceremony, he asked,

“Bo Fu, what's wrong?”

Sun Ce, covered in sweat and looking nervously around, slowly took out an object wrapped in yellow cloth from his arms and said,

“Teacher, this…”

Li Ji lowered his eyes slightly and easily judged from the shape that it was the Imperial Seal of the State that Sun Ce had been hiding.

However, Li Ji glanced at it, then looked away, took the hot tea that Zhou Yu handed over, and sipped it unhurriedly.

Since experiencing the defeat in Qingzhou, Zhou Yu's impetuosity and arrogance had diminished greatly compared to the past, and he seemed much closer to Li Ji. He said somewhat helplessly from the side,

“I have advised Bo Fu several times, saying that the Marquis has his own plans for this matter, but Bo Fu is still restless and worried, and insists on seeing the Marquis.”

Sun Ce then said,

“Teacher, isn't the thing that the Lord lacks to become Emperor precisely the Imperial Seal of the State? Why not take this opportunity to give this Imperial Seal of the State to the Lord, so that the Lord can rightfully become Emperor?”

Li Ji smiled after hearing this and said, “Bo Fu, what anyone needs to become Emperor is not this Imperial Seal of the State…”

After a pause, Li Ji thought of someone and said, “Apart from some dried bones in the tomb, whether or not to become Emperor, the Imperial Seal of the State has never been the key.”

“You must know that when the First Emperor swept across the six kingdoms and unified the nine provinces, what was the Imperial Seal? The Imperial Seal is nothing more than the name given by the First Emperor.”

“If the Lord pacifies the chaotic world in the future and rebuilds the Great Han, even if he points to a mountain stone as the Imperial Seal, who would not recognize it? And why worry that future generations would not recognize it?”

Sun Ce was stunned when he heard this and said, “In that case, this Imperial Seal is a useless thing?”

“That's not the case…”

Li Ji thought for a moment, then gave up the idea of explaining it in detail to Sun Ce and said,

“The Imperial Seal is temporarily useless to the Lord, but if it falls into the hands of outsiders, it may cause great trouble.”

(End of this chapter)