Chapter 17 Crisis

  Dongguan in Nangong is a truly royal library, with a wealth of books that cannot be compared to ordinary families. Even Liu Bian, who was used to seeing large libraries in later generations, couldn't help but sigh at the sight of row upon row of bookshelves that seemed endless.

  Due to the writing materials, all the books in Dongguan put together would probably amount to just one CD, but this momentum is not something that can be compared to a thin CD.

  Most of the books in Dongguan were official archives, which were the original materials for writing history later. Liu Bian was not interested in these, and he followed Lu Zhi to those collections of books collected over the generations. The books were all wrapped up in silk bags of different colors, neatly placed on bookshelves, with titles and volumes marked by bones or ivory signs. Along the way, Liu Bian saw countless ancient books that later generations had only heard of but never seen, and a wave of sadness surged in his heart.

  Most of the books here will be destroyed by war, and the most recent fire was set by Dong Zhuo. Not only these books, but also the entire city of Luoyang was burned to ashes by him. Now, he has traveled through thousands of years and barely held back Dong Zhuo's momentum, but the crisis is far from being resolved. If things get out of control, heaven knows whether history will repeat itself.

  In fact, large-scale book burnings in Chinese history did not stop at this one time. Those who escaped this time may not be able to escape the next time. The vast majority of China's civilization records were destroyed by its own people. Later generations can only look at the book titles and sigh, hoping to find some originals underground to fill in the blanks of memory.

  Lu Zhi didn't have the same feeling as Liu Bian, he led Liu Bian into a room and instructed a small official who had come to pay his respects. Before long, the official brought in a green pouch. Inside the pouch was a yellowed silk book with twelve human figures drawn on it, and beside them were densely packed small characters that weren't even clerical script or seal script, but rather large seal script.

  Liu Bian was stunned once again.

  Lu Zhi furrowed his brow: "I remember there's a modern script copy, bring that one over."

  "What is this document copied from?" The minor official was perplexed: "Please instruct me clearly, your humble servant has never seen it before."

  Lu Zhi was very angry and loudly rebuked: "Nonsense! I clearly saw it, how can you say there isn't? Bring the name list to take a look."

  The little official didn't move, but straightened up his body, with his hand on the hilt of his sword, and said word by word: "Master Lu, you come from a famous family, and have thoroughly studied the Three Rites. You are a renowned Confucian scholar, yet you bellowed in front of me. I don't know where your manners are? Although I am not clever, I dare to ask Master Lu for instruction."

  Liu Bian looked at this unknown minor official in surprise. The man pressed the hilt of his sword and questioned Lu Zhi, with a straightforward and majestic tone, which didn't seem like a minor official, but rather like Lu Zhi's superior. On the other hand, Lu Zhi was also stunned by this sentence and couldn't respond for a long time. He bowed and retreated to Liu Bian's side in silence.

  This is a bit strange. Liu Bian saw it in his eyes, but didn't put it on his face. He coughed lightly: "I want to take this book away, Lu Qing, you handle it."

  "Alright!" Lu Zhi bowed his head in response and said to the little officer who was still pressing his hand on the hilt of his long sword, "Let's go."

  The little official looked at Liu Bian, didn't dare to argue, loosened his grip on the hilt, bowed and retreated two steps, following Lu Zhi. Liu Bian looked at his back and asked in a low voice: "How is this man's swordsmanship?"

  Shi Ya shook his head behind him and whispered in Liu Bian's ear, "Your Majesty, what subdued Lu Shang is not swordsmanship, but the Tao."

  Liu Bian somewhat understood. "Go and find out what kind of background this person has and who he is in close contact with."

  Shi A looked at Liu Bian with a hint of surprise, then nodded again.

  Liu Bian knew what Shi Ah was thinking, even though he didn't turn his head. He didn't explain to Shi Ah, but he could sense that this little official might not be able to clear himself of any connection with Yuan Wei. Yuan Wei's counterattack had probably already begun.

  ……

  Got the "Huangdi Twelve Forms" but still useless, just looking at pictures, can't understand the text on it, still equal to zero. Lu Zhi is a great Confucian scholar, but he is also helpless with this ancient script, can only recommend Cai Yong again and then leave.

  The night was already deep, Liu Bian washed and sat on the bed, but couldn't fall asleep for a long time. This was his second night in the Great Han, yet he had experienced too many things. From the attitude of that little official towards Lu Zhi, he felt a thread of gradually approaching crisis.

  Compared to the Yuan family of the fourth generation of three public officials, the old and cunning Yuan Wei is easier to deal with than Dong Zhuo who only knows how to act recklessly. At present, due to insufficient military strength, Dong Zhuo does not dare to act arbitrarily, and with the restriction of his former official identity, he is at a disadvantage when facing Yuan Wei. Lu Zhi is not only an official with insufficient rank, but also a Shangshu, and has the identity of being born into the Ma family, which is equally insufficient to confront Yuan Wei. The only one who can truly confront Yuan Wei is Yang Bi, who is also a fourth-generation three-public official.

  The question is whether Yang Biao, although loyal and faithful, can afford to have a falling out with the Yuan family and formally oppose them. Don't forget that his wife comes from the Yuan family, she is Yuan Shu's sister and Yuan Wei's niece.

  Even if Yang Feng could be impartial, would Yuan Shao not guard against him and allow him to ascend smoothly? The three suggestions made by Jia Xu were good, but whether they can be implemented is still hard to say.

  Every step is difficult.

  "Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Tang Ying woke up and opened her blurry eyes with a lazy expression. Although Liu Bian was the emperor, in fact, he only had one imperial concubine, Tang Ying. It was unclear whether it was because of his young age or because Empress Dowager and General-in-Chief were busy fighting for power and profit that no one thought to find him some consorts.

  Liu Bian suddenly felt a little sexy, as if some part of his body had suddenly come to life, and a small flame was flickering wildly in his heart.

  "Yingzi..." Liu Bian unconsciously used his familiar tactics from past lives, saying intimately: "I was just thinking, since Zhang Jiao can defeat Lu Zhi and Dong Zhuo with ease, his magic must be somewhat useful? Why don't we give it a try?"

  Tang Ying was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly understood and became so ashamed that her face turned bright red. She flipped over, turning her back to Liu Bian, curled up her body, hiding her head under the quilt, and hummed: "Your Majesty, it's late at night."

  "It's better that it's late at night, no one will disturb us." Liu Bian leaned forward and pressed himself against Tang Ying's back, wrapping one arm around her slender waist and slowly moving upwards. He held a jade rabbit in the palm of his hand, while the other hand slipped under her belt and stroked her flat abdomen, his fingertips carefully probing into the valley between her legs.

  "Your Majesty..." Tang Ying suddenly gasped, she grasped Liu Bian's hand, but had no strength at all, and instead seemed to be encouraging Liu Bian. Liu Bian was overjoyed, and wrapped his arms around Tang Ying, whispering in her ear as red as jade: "Yingzi, this is what it means to cling to each other like cicadas, isn't it?"

  Tang Ying's face flushed with shame, she nodded slightly, her voice soft and delicate, like the chirping of a cicada.