Chapter 176: Identity Exposed, Indescribable Fear Strikes Yuan Shao

Since arriving in Lecheng County, Yuan Shao has received letters from Liu Xie from time to time, either sending greetings or describing the current situation.

Therefore, even if he was far away in Lecheng County, he could still know every move of Yuan Xi's evil son and everything in Yecheng, as if he had never left.

These included the surrender of the major aristocratic families in the city, Xun Chen's betrayal, Yuan Xi's recruitment of troops, etc. Liu Xie told him all the details, which made him believe in Liu Xie's loyalty more and more, and he also believed that he had not misjudged the person.

"I don't know what's new this time."

In the study, Yuan Shao opened the secret letter sent by Liu Xie in his hand and read it directly.

But the first sentence that caught his eye this time was not the familiar greeting of "seeing the words as if they were faces, spreading the letter and showing the face", but a sentence that made his hair stand on end.

[General, my identity has been exposed]

"What?!"

The moment he saw these words, Yuan Shao's expression changed. An unimaginable panic and fear swept through his heart, and the letter in his hand fell to the ground.

But he had no time to care about this.

There was only one thought in his mind at this time.

He's finished!

Liu Xie's identity is exposed, which means that his pretending to be the emperor is also exposed. He will become the target of public criticism, and he will be the target of all the princes in the world!

Just like Dong Zhuo back then!

No, it's even worse than Dong Zhuo's situation!

"How could...how could this be possible! How could his identity be exposed? He has deceived so many people, even Kong Rong can't tell the difference!"

"How could it be exposed!"

Yuan Shao looked pale and found it difficult to accept this fact.

He even began to see the revolving door of his life before his eyes, from showing his talents at a young age, to planning for He Jin to recruit Dong Zhuo to the capital, to becoming famous by angrily denounced Dong Zhuo in the court, and finally to the highlight moment of leading the eighteen princes to attack Dong.

Later, he conquered Jiqing and merged with the three states, laying the foundation to become the head of the world's princes...

All the glories of the past emerge one by one.

But in the end it all came to nothing.

The last scene of the picture stayed after he executed Yuan Shu, but the person kneeling on the execution platform became him, and the knife-wielding man behind him was Cao Cao!

Cut down with the broadsword!

Yuan Shao trembled all over and suddenly woke up, only to realize that everything just now was just an illusion, but he was sweating profusely at some point.

There was silence in the study.

Yuan Shao gasped slightly and turned his gaze to the letter lying quietly on the ground, as if he was looking at some extremely terrifying scourge.

After a long time, he mustered up the courage to reach out and pick it up again, but his movements were as slow as a dying old man.

With a heavy heart, Yuan Shao continued to read the letter.

[General, my identity has been exposed]

[Not long ago, Yuan Xi suddenly came to me in private and said that he already knew my true identity and told me that I must listen to him, otherwise the matter would be made public. 】

After seeing the second sentence, Yuan Shao was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly felt overjoyed!

He thought that this matter had been spread out and known to outsiders, but he didn't expect that it was only known to Yuan Xi. In this case, there was still room for change!

Yuan Shao couldn't wait to read on.

[I was very scared, so I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted me to declare the general a traitor and make him the new general]

[But I would rather die than obey, so he can only give up, but he has already caught this handle]

[And according to my observation, Yuan Xi and Lu Bu got together at some point. Lu Bu is actually not loyal. He just wants me to have a child with his daughter, and then make him a prince, and finally let him be the regent]

[In order to further convince the people of the world that I am the real emperor, they held a ceremony to worship heaven, fabricated visions, and asked me to issue some kind of recruitment order to recruit talents. 】

[Now Yuan Xi threatens me with my identity again, General, what should I do now? I'm scared]

Yuan Shao quickly read the letter.

The amount of information revealed in this letter shocked him deeply, and he discovered that his previous guesses were all wrong.

Things have taken a new turn.

Yuan Xi knew the emperor's false identity, but due to Liu Xie's unwillingness to die and his lack of prestige and military strength, he was unable to hold the emperor hostage and could only turn to Lu Bu.

And Lu Bu is not loyal to the emperor. Everything he has done so far is to let his grandson ascend the throne so that he can serve as regent!

"Lu Bu...I underestimated him!"

Yuan Shao's face was gloomy, Lu Bu's scheme was simply terrifying!

He has no children, and his reputation is not good. Only by letting his grandson become the emperor can he legitimately take over the power!

And now he is colluding with Yuan Xi, who knows Liu Xie's identity. Does this mean that Lu Bu also knows that Liu Xie is a fake emperor?

"No, that scoundrel Yuan Xi is not stupid enough to hand over this handle to Lu Bu so easily. He wants to use Lu Bu's hand to hold the emperor hostage, and use the handle to blackmail the emperor and secretly check and balance Lu Bu."

"Both of them have their own agenda!"

Yuan Shao thought clearly about the context, and the current situation had become too complicated for him to understand. The only thing that made him feel lucky was that Yuan Xi did not tell the news about the false emperor.

But even thinking about it, this scoundrel wouldn't dare to say anything.

Because the exposure of the emperor's false identity would not only cause a fatal blow to him, but also be of no benefit to Yuan Xi, so Yuan Xi would only use this to coerce Liu Xie.

The only question is... how did Yuan Xi know Liu Xie's identity?

It was clear that only he, Ju Su, and Liu Xie knew about this.

He had never told the fourth person.

Liu Xie was even less likely to do so. Once he told the truth, his life would be over.

Could it be... Ju Su?

Yuan Shao had a little doubt in his heart. Shen Pei and Tian Feng had reported to him. Before that, the emperor summoned Ju Su alone, and Yuan Xi also had a private conversation with Ju Su for one night afterwards.

"But is the truth really as stated in this secret letter?"

Yuan Shao fell into deep thought.

He found that he could not tell

Was it Ju Su who betrayed, or Liu Xie?

The situation was confusing and difficult for him to see clearly.

But in his heart, he vaguely hoped that the person who betrayed was Ju Su, not Liu Xie.

If Liu Xie betrayed, then he would really have no way to heaven and no way to earth.

At this moment, footsteps were heard, and Ju Su hurried into the study, looking flustered.

"My Lord! My Lord! Something big has happened!"

Yuan Shao hid the letter in his sleeves immediately, and then asked calmly: "Gong Yu, why are you so flustered?"

Ju Su said anxiously: "My Lord, news has come back from Yecheng that the fake emperor held a ceremony to worship the heavens, which caused strange phenomena in the heavens and the earth. Now everyone is convinced of his identity as the emperor!"

"And he also issued a decree to recruit talents, breaking the traditional system of selecting filial and honest people, and recruiting talents from all over the world. He is planning to be a real emperor!"

"My Lord! I said that this boy needs to be guarded against, but now he has completely turned from fake to real!"

Ju Su regretted bringing this guy back in the first place, but now he is too big to be removed, and he has turned from fake to real, and he can't get rid of him even if he wants to!

The key to everything is that they were too cautious about this boy at the beginning, thinking that he was just an insignificant refugee, so they only arranged Zhang He and Gao Lan to monitor him, and they thought it was enough, and they didn't put more spies in the palace.

Now it seems that Zhang He and Gao Lan have betrayed him long ago.

"Don't panic, Gongyu." Facing Ju Shou's panic, Yuan Shao's reaction was very calm, "I know about this, you can leave."

Ju Shou was stunned.

He didn't understand why Yuan Shao's reaction was so calm. Shouldn't he be shocked and angry when he heard the news, and then discuss and make decisions immediately.

Why didn't he have any emotional fluctuations at all?

Ju Su couldn't help but say, "My Lord, did you really hear me clearly? That fake emperor is going to become real! He is a wolf with ambitions! My guesses are all right!"

"There is something wrong with your thinking." Yuan Shao frowned and looked at Ju Su, "Hasn't it been our goal to make the world believe that he is the real emperor? Why do you hate him for this?"

"Now that Yecheng is occupied by Lu Bu and Yuan Xi, you should not worry about whether Liu Xie really wants to be the emperor, but should consider how to take back Yecheng from those two thieves!"

Yuan Shao didn't think it was a bad thing that everyone in the world believed that Liu Xie was the real emperor. Instead, it was a good thing, because this was what he had been pursuing.

His biggest worry now is Yuan Xi and Lu Bu, the two thieves who occupied Yecheng.

If he wants to continue to control the emperor, he must take back Yecheng!

"I..."

Ju Su was stunned, and then suddenly realized that he seemed to have been stuck in a dead end. Now it's not the question of whether the fake emperor has become real.

Could they take the initiative to reveal the identity of the false emperor?

This is the ultimate means of mutual destruction. Unless it is absolutely necessary, this step cannot be taken. The focus should be on retaking Yecheng.

"I understand."

Ju Su sighed, bowed to Yuan Shao, and then prepared to leave, but Yuan Shao suddenly called him.

"My Lord."

"My Lord, do you have any other instructions?"

Yuan Shao pinched the letter in his sleeve, hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and said, "Nothing, you can leave."

After Ju Su left, he took out the letter from his sleeve, read it for a long time, and finally burned it to ashes.

...

Yecheng Palace, back garden.

Today the weather is very good. Liu Xie and several concubines came to the back garden to teach them to paint - in fact, at first he only wanted to teach Zhen Mi, but the other concubines also wanted to follow and learn. Liu Xie couldn't favor one over the other, so he had to bring them all.

In the back garden, Liu Xie sat in the pavilion as a model, while Zhen Mi, Xiao Qiao, Da Qiao, and Lu Lingqi, several concubines, were setting up drawing boards in front of them, writing and drawing with charcoal pencils, each of them looking very focused and serious.

"Your Majesty, I've finished the painting."

Zhen Mi was the first to put down the charcoal pencil, blew away the charcoal debris on the silk cloth, picked it up and looked at it repeatedly, showing a satisfied look, and asked Liu Xie for credit.

"Let me see."

Liu Xie's butt was sore from sitting, and he stood up and came to Zhen Mi's side to look at her painting, nodded and said: "It's really good, about 80% of my level."

Liu Xie was completely shameless.

Zhen Mi's painting was not only good, but also better than his painting skills. After all, the foundation was there, and she was also good at painting. Sketching is also a kind of painting skill. The so-called analogy, similar to the painting method of line drawing, of course, progress is very fast.

But Liu Xie, as the emperor, must save face, so he must be tough.

"Your Majesty, I have finished the painting too."

Lü Lingqi on the side also said so, so Liu Xie leaned over to take a look, but when he saw Lü Lingqi's painting, his face suddenly became strange.

"Are you sure... this painting is of me?"

Lü Lingqi's painting can't be said to be unlike him, it can only be said to have nothing to do with him, and it can barely be seen that it is a person.

"Lu Concubine, you..."

Zhen Mi laughed so hard after seeing Lü Lingqi's painting.

Although Zhen Mi had no ill intentions, Lü Lingqi couldn't help blushing when she was laughed at like this. She only knew how to wield a gun and a stick, and painting was really not something she was good at.

"I, I'd better paint it over. It's so ugly, it's too disrespectful to His Majesty."

Lü Lingqi was about to paint the painting with a charcoal pencil, but Liu Xie stopped her and said, "No need to paint, just modify it, it's not a big problem, I'll teach you."

After that, Liu Xie directly grabbed her hand and taught her to modify it.

Lv Lingqi is a martial artist, so her hands are not as soft and delicate as Zhen Mi's, but Liu Xie doesn't care about these details, he just teaches her how to paint, his behavior is very intimate.

This scene makes Zhen Mi jealous, and she steps forward and says: "My painting also needs to be revised, Your Majesty, please teach me."

"My beloved concubine paints very well, no need to revise."

Zhen Mi can only feel helpless when she hears this.

The two sisters, Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao, watched Liu Xie teach Lv Lingqi to paint. Although they envy her, they also know that their status is not comparable to that of the two nobles, and they don't think about competing for favor with them, so they practice obediently by themselves.

At this time, an eunuch walked into the garden and reported to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, Yuan Xi is here."

"Yes."

Liu Xie nodded, stopped his hand, and then said to Zhen Mi and others: "My beloved concubines, continue to practice here, I will be back soon."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The concubines knew that Liu Xie had something to deal with, and they all responded.

Liu Xie stood up and went to Xuanshi.

Yuan Xi had been waiting in Xuanshi early. When he saw Liu Xie coming, he saluted respectfully: "Your Majesty."

Seeing Liu Xie again, Yuan Xi felt only awe in his heart.

The last ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven had shocked him so much. In his heart, Liu Xie, the emperor, would surely become a great emperor like Han Wu and Guangwu in the future.

He had even thought of replacing his father Yuan Shao and holding the emperor hostage to control the princes. Now it was ridiculous to think about it. Such a person was not something he could hold hostage at all!

"Stand up."

Liu Xie walked to the main seat and sat down. He looked at Yuan Xi and asked directly: "I heard that Yuan Qing has been recruiting volunteers recently. How many troops have you recruited now?"

Yuan Xi's eyes lit up immediately.

Xu You really didn't lie to him!

The reason why he was not valued by the emperor before was because he had no value; but recently he has been recruiting soldiers and horses, and finally attracted the attention of the emperor, and even took the initiative to summon him!

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Yuan Xi trembled and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have now recruited a total of 5,126 volunteers, with all kinds of weapons complete, ready to be dispatched by Your Majesty at any time!"

Recruiting these 5,000 volunteers can be said to have cost him countless efforts and money, and it is the only valuable thing in his hands now!

"Not bad."

Liu Xie nodded in approval, and then smiled: "I have seen Yuan Qing's loyalty. Now is the time to use people. I will naturally not neglect such a loyal talent as Yuan Qing."

"I will grant you the title of General of Suppressing Bandits, and lead these 5,000 troops to join General Fenwei."

Yuan Xi was stunned, and then overjoyed!

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Although the General of Suppressing Bandits was just a general of miscellaneous titles, Yuan Xi would have sneered at it in the past, but now he was grateful because it represented the emperor's recognition of him!

Only 5,000 troops can win the emperor's recognition.

What if it was 50,000 or 150,000?

Wouldn't the emperor directly appoint him as a general?

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi couldn't help but have infinite fantasies about the future, and said excitedly: "I will live up to your majesty's trust and do my best to recruit soldiers and expand your army!"

By the grace of heaven, the emperor issued an edict: If you hold monthly tickets but don't vote, it will be a serious crime! From now on, one thousand monthly tickets will increase the number of updated words, and there is no upper limit.