"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The emperor roared repeatedly, swaying his sword to slash the wooden stake. With a "punch", the sword wedged deeply into the wooden stake. The emperor did not pull it out at once. In a rage, he pulled it hard, "Ding!" The sword broke, and the emperor staggered, almost fell, and took a few steps back.

Wang Yue stepped forward, gently held the emperor's back, and took the opportunity to say in the emperor's ear: "Your Majesty, please control your anger, and those who defeat yourself will be strong."

The emperor looked back at him, his eyes twitched, and he threw the half-cut knife to the ground, looking at Ma Chao standing beside him. "My dear, I heard that your knife was made by Nanyang, can you borrow it from me?"

Ma Chao was stunned for a moment, and quickly took off the leather belt at his waist and presented it to the emperor. The emperor did not take the leather belt, held the handle of the knife, pulled out the long sword, held it in front of him and looked at it. He bent his fingers and roared the sword, making a dragon roar, for a long time.

"Good knife." The emperor played a sword and walked towards the wooden stake. When Ma Chao saw it, he was panicked and opened his mouth wide to shout. The words were on the way, and he swallowed it back. The emperor valued him very much. He married a princess for him as soon as he returned to Chang'an. After marriage, he promoted him to the Yulin Central Army General and commanded the Yulin Cavalry. Now the emperor is in a bad mood. He can't ruin his bright future because of a knife. However, this knife is a good knife made by Nanyang's fine arts. Only a dozen servants and knights around Sun Ce were there. He begged Sun Ce for a long time, and Sun Ce gave him a gift. If this was cut off by the emperor, he would not have the chance to ask for another one.

Watching the emperor slashing the knife hard, the wooden stake shaking, Ma Chao's hand trembled. Finally, the knife was broken with a jingle, leaving only half of it in the emperor's hand. The emperor looked at the blade biting the wooden stake, and then looked at the remaining knife in his hand, frowned.

"Nanyang Knife is just like this."

Ma Chao was so angry that he stomped his feet. No matter how good the knife was, it could not be used like this. Do you think it was chopping wood? Seeing the emperor looking over, he squeezed out a smile that was ugly than crying. "Your Majesty is so...a lot of strength."

The emperor glanced at Ma Chao sideways. "Do you mean that I am not good at swordsmanship and can only use brute force?"

"How dare you?" Ma Chao took a breath of air conditioning and forced himself to calm down so as not to get angry for a moment and beat the self-righteous little brat. "Your Majesty doesn't know that the Nanyang sword is not only sharp, but can cut thirty armor without rolling the blade, but also has excellent toughness. Even if you want to break it, you can't break it. Your Majesty can break this sword, and the arm strength is not comparable."

The emperor was skeptical and tried it with the broken knife in his hand. The blade was still slit. It was not until he used the strength to feed his breasts that the broken knife was slightly bent, but he let go and returned to its original state. It can be seen that what Ma Chao said was true. He handed it to Wang Yue again, and Wang Yue also tried it, nodding and echoing what Ma Chao said. The emperor finished venting, and felt a little relaxed. He returned the broken knife to Ma Chao, and ordered someone to get the long sword made by Fang Shangfang.

"I failed for a moment and damaged my dear sword. I will reward you with this knife as compensation."

"I dare not, thank Your Majesty for giving the knife." Although Ma Chao was unhappy, he could only take the long sword and bow to salute.

Liu Ye appeared at the palace gate and glanced at the situation in the hall, especially the two blades embedded on the wooden stake. The emperor waved his hand and asked Ma Chao to retreat. Ma Chao passed by Liu Ye. Liu Ye looked at the Imperial War Knife in his hand, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He came to the emperor, bowed and bowed, and chuckled, "Your Majesty, how about the Nanyang Knife?"

The emperor glanced at the wooden stake. Wang Yue stepped forward and held the blade gently, took it down, looked it in his hand, and sent it to the emperor. The emperor took it in his hand and looked around for a while. The blade was nearly three feet long. Although it was broken, the blade was still straight and as bright as a mirror.

"Similar to Baipi Sword, but the advantages are limited." The emperor patted his palm with the blade, and handed it to Wang Yue, asking Wang Yue to send the Shangfang Iron Works for the craftsmen to test and imitate. Wang Yue turned around and went. The emperor turned to the palace, and Liu Ye followed quickly and said softly: "Your Majesty, Zhao Wen has news."

"Are you agreed?"

"not yet."

"Not yet?" The emperor raised his eyebrows and stopped. "What does Sun Ce want to do? Do you want me to abdicate to him?"

Liu Ye smiled. "Your Majesty, this is not the case. Sun Ce did not make such a request. He has three conditions: one is to announce Yuan Shao's charges, the second is to establish a country, and the third is to worship his father Sun Jian as the governor of Jiaozhou. Except for the last one, it did not exceed His Majesty's request."

The emperor sneered: "Governor of Jiaozhou? His reaction was very fast. As soon as something happened in Jiaozhou, he wanted Jiaozhou."

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Your Majesty said so much. Sun Ce is as cunning as a fox and as greedy as a wolf. He acts when he sees the opportunity, without waiting for the whole day."

The emperor's eyes flashed slightly, and he was a little surprised by Liu Ye's reaction. He wanted to speak but stopped, so he started to go to the hall and gave Liu Ye to sit down. Liu Ye handed over the Zhao Wen urgent documents he had just received. The emperor unfolded and looked at it. The eyebrows trembled twice. Sun Ce set off to Qingxu and entrusted the negotiations to Zhang Hong. Zhao Wen followed Zhang Hong on the way back to Nanyang. Zhao Wen used the 600-mile emergency to pass the message. In addition to informing Sun Ce's bottom line, there was only one suggestion: I hope the emperor would consider it carefully. Zuo Chuan Yun Weiming and Wei cannot be faked. Once this position is given to Sun Ce, Sun Ce will control the five states legitimately, and it will be difficult to come back in the future.

"This Zhao Wen is really pedantic." The emperor threw Zhao Wen's letter on the desk and snorted dissatisfiedly. "Didn't he explain it very clearly before he went? Why do he have to go back and forth and waste time?"

Liu Ye bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I think Zhao Wen handled it properly. Since Sun Ce's request did not exceed His Majesty's edict, it would be a matter of time before an agreement was reached. But Sun Ce entrusted the matter to Zhang Hong and led his troops north. If Zhao Wen was eager to reach an agreement, wouldn't it make Sun Ce despise the court and not take the court's intention?"

The emperor smiled bitterly. "Can Sun Ce have the court in his heart like this?"

"Your Majesty, although Sun Ce is strong, he is not as strong as he can sweep the world. Your Majesty cannot challenge him, nor can he attack Guanzhong. It is not only beneficial to the court, but also to him. If your Majesty is anxious, he will not be anxious. If your Majesty is anxious, he will be anxious."

"What's he anxious about?"

"Your Majesty, Youzhou and Jiaozhou are at the same time. Sun Ce goes to Qingxu, but he is afraid that he will be in Youzhou. Sun Jian wants to go to Jiaozhou again, one south and one north, and war will start at the same time. Even if Sun Ce holds the five states, he will be unable to do so. At this moment, how dare he engage in evil with the court?"

The emperor frowned slightly and pondered for a moment. "You mean, he wants to get it, so he can't help it?"

"Your Majesty's wiseness."

The emperor stood up, looked at Liu Ye, with a smile on his face, and an uncontrollable excitement. He paced back and forth for two steps, and then quickly walked to Liu Ye. "Zi Yang, do you think he would underestimate the enemy and attack Youzhou in person?"

"It's hard to say now. It's only possible, and the possibility is not great. Although Sun Ce was young, he was quite able to tolerate it, even more than his father Sun Jian. He would not be careless about such a major move." Liu Ye bowed again, and a rare smile appeared on his face. "If he was just in charge of Qingxu and looking at Youzhou from afar, the situation would not be out of control. If Sun Jian went to Jiaozhou and he himself set foot on Youzhou again, how the situation would develop would probably be impossible. Whether it was south or north, as long as there was a setback, he might be greatly damaged. When Qin Shihuang used the power to pacify the world, Meng Tian, ​​the northern envoy to drive Hu, Ren Xiao, and Zhao Tuo pacified Yue, and even suffered major losses, causing the world to collapse. Sun Ce had decided on the five prefectures at the beginning, but was not at ease, so he went across the south to conquer Jiaozhou, and crossed the north to conquer Youzhou. How could he not defeat him?"

Liu Ye immediately analyzed the situation for the emperor. Sun Ce owned five states and did have more money, grain and wealth, but his financial resources were still not enough to support two battlefields at the same time. Jiaozhou was a Yue people and Youzhou was a Hu people. These people were barbarians. They had no cost to fight, but only a life. Moreover, they fought locally, and the defeated general lost their place to live and had no way to retreat, so they would definitely be entangled with Sun Jian and Sun Ce at all costs. However, Sun Ce would not do so. During the expedition, the logistics supplies would be consumed very much. If there were casualties, the soldiers' pensions would be a heavy burden. In the battle of Guandu, he had more than one billion yuan in debt. At the same time, the consumption of Youzhou would be several times higher than that, even Sun Ce could not afford it.

Therefore, what we have to worry about now is not Sun Ce's capture of Jiaozhou and Youzhou, but that he will not attack and force others with power. If he can use the tricks and find ways to lure him into action, as long as the war breaks out, he will not care about the court, and even stabilize the court, so the court will have a chance to breathe.

The emperor repeatedly weighed the pros and cons, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Liu Ye was right. His eyes flashed, and a smile that could not be suppressed appeared on the corner of his mouth. "Or... follow Liu Yu's story and allow him to control the seven states?"

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. However, I think this bait is not sweet enough and may not be able to lure him into the trap."

The emperor couldn't help laughing. "Then tell me, what kind of bait can make him moved?"

"Your Majesty, didn't Sun Ce want to establish a country? There are many types of states, and the title of marquis is also a country, but Sun Ce obviously did not intend to do so. What he wanted was to enthrone a king. However, it was impossible for him to enthrone a king in a different surname to enthrone a king, and even he himself knew it was unlikely. So he just wanted to establish a country, but did not clearly propose to enthrone a king. I think that the old ministers in the court can oppose him first and then negotiate with him. If he can pacify Youzhou for the court, he will be appointed as king."

The emperor's eyes rolled. "Will he agree?"

"Your Majesty, the five states are rich, but they lack war horses. Sun Ce took Youzhou for war horses. Now that Youzhou is in chaos, Yuan Tan is eyeing him, Sun Ce will never want Yuan Tan to control Youzhou. Even if he does not have the promise of being a king, he will do his best. If he can be crowned as a king, it will be a fuel to him, adding icing on the cake, and it is even more difficult to defeat him. Even if it fails, what harm will it do to Your Majesty? Three or five months later, the Liangzhou family, the Qiang leader and the court have been married. The Qiang people moved in Guanzhong and Guanzhong is stable. Your Majesty can shine their troops in Guandong, and retreat can be in seclusion and self-defense. Watch the changes in the times. What can Sun Ce do to Your Majesty?"
Chapter completed!