Chapter 57: The Procrastinating Liu Bian

Wisdom is a fragile thing, sometimes knocked to the ground and brutally beaten by emotions such as greed.

Atop the ramparts of the Palace of Eternal Peace, a garrison commander of the Xiliang army stared with glowing eyes at a massive gold coin. The look of greed upon his face was so blatant that even a blind man could have perceived it. Seizing the coin, he even bit into it with his teeth to test its purity.

The commander remained completely oblivious to how flimsy the excuses were when an old eunuch and a middle-aged eunuch requested permission to leave the palace. Their pretexts—that chaos had broken out in the city and they needed to open a gate to visit their families—were full of glaring flaws. Yet, his mind was entirely captivated by the gold coin before him. Finding the heavy gold in his hand intoxicatingly delightful and heart-stirring, he gave it no further thought and agreed to open the palace gates just a crack to let the two eunuchs out.

After all, they were merely two bollockless eunuchs; what kind of waves could they possibly stir up?

Little did he expect that the very moment the gates were opened a sliver, several more palace attendants emerged from nowhere. Together with the previous two eunuchs, they caught the two or three guards opening the gates off guard and stabbed them to death. Not only did they seize control of the gatehouse, but they also began waving outward!

Immediately, from the street corner opposite the Palace of Eternal Peace, thirty to forty burly men came sprinting wildly toward the palace gates, covering most of the distance in the blink of an eye...

Only then did the commander snap back to his senses. Stretching his neck, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Release the arrows! Release the arrows quickly! Quickly close... quickly close the palace gates!"

Alas, the event had occurred too abruptly. Before the guards atop the ramparts could draw their bows and loose a few arrows, the band of burly men running down the street had already reached the palace gates. Moreover, owing to the desperate resistance put up by the attendants and eunuchs inside the gatehouse, the guards were unable to shut the gates in time, allowing this group of ruffians to charge right in effortlessly...

When Cao Cao and his men finally reached the palace gates, the old eunuch who had earlier used the gold to lure the commander had unfortunately suffered multiple stab wounds. Bathed in blood, he lay aside at his last gasp. Seeing Cao Cao arrive, he barely managed to twitch the corner of his mouth before his head tilted to one side and he expired.

Seeing this, Cao Cao gritted his teeth and ordered his men to split into two groups: one to rush forward and intercept the guards, and the other to charge into the palace in search of the deposed emperor. Yet, as he passed by the fallen old eunuch, his pace slowed for a fraction of a second before he strode forward once more...

Cao Cao recognized him. In his youth, the old eunuch's given name was Li Yi, but after following Cao Teng, he changed his surname to Cao. When Cao Cao was a child, Cao Yi had even visited the Cao household and held him in his arms. By seniority, he was considered an elder of his father's generation. Cao Cao had never expected that Cao Yi, having survived the previous palace upheaval, would meet his end right here...

The Palace of Eternal Peace was neither too large nor too small, but the halls suitable for housing the deposed emperor were limited to the Jingfu, Anchang, and Yanyan grand halls. Thus, shortly thereafter, a report came in that the deposed emperor, Liu Bian, had been found!

When Cao Cao arrived, the deposed emperor Liu Bian and Lady Tang were unaware of what had transpired, believing yet another palace military mutiny had broken out, and were clinging to each other in panic.

Cao Cao hurriedly stepped forward a few paces, dropped to his knees, and prostrated himself, saying in a deep voice, "Your subject, Cao Cao, arrives late in escorting Your Majesty! I beg Your Majesty to leave the palace with your subject immediately!"

"Are... are you... come to take my life?" The deposed emperor Liu Bian asked with a trace of terror.

"Your subject has come to escort Your Majesty and harbors no intent of harm! I beg Your Majesty to depart at once!" Cao Cao grew anxious; every single moment of delay meant an additional layer of risk.

"Where... where are we going?" Liu Bian felt it best to ask clearly.

"Your subject has already made proper arrangements and will surely ensure Your Majesty's safety! I beg Your Majesty to move quickly!"—*To still have the leisure to ask where one is going at a time like this; didn't he know that anywhere was better than staying right here?*

"Can... can Lady Tang... accompany us?"

"Yes!" Cao Cao ground his teeth, rose to his feet, reached out to grab the deposed emperor Liu Bian directly, and began dragging him outward. "I beg Your Majesty to forgive your subject's presumption! The situation is critical; follow me immediately!"—*As for Lady Tang, let her tag along if she can keep up!*

Just as they reached the hall entrance, Liu Bian suddenly halted, turned to Cao Cao, and said, "Wait a moment! The Empress Mother is also here; can she come along?"

"Yes!" Cao Cao felt as though a breath of air was trapped in his chest, nearly choking him. Forcing it down, he instructed one of his men to go search for Empress Dowager He, then turned back to tell the deposed emperor Liu Bian, "The troops of the rebel Dong will be here in a moment! I beg Your Majesty to delay no longer!"

Only then did the deposed emperor Liu Bian snap out of his daze. Ceasing all further demands, he followed Cao Cao and ran outward all the way. Lady Tang gathered her skirts and followed closely behind, stumbling as she fled toward the palace gates...

***************

Just as Cao Cao and his men charged into the Palace of Eternal Peace, several soldiers clad in Xiliang uniforms began patrolling the Buguang and Yonghe neighborhoods, shouting as they walked: "By order of the General! There is bandit unrest within the city, and a state of emergency is declared! All idlers and outsiders must withdraw immediately. Every household shall bar their doors tightly and remain inside without permission. Violators will be treated as accomplices to the bandits!"

Hearing the ferocious shouts of these Xiliang soldiers, a few households that had originally opened their doors to see what was happening hastily scurried back inside, slammed their heavy doors shut, dropped the locking bars, and hid within their homes without daring to let out a single loud breath.

In an instant, pedestrians on the surrounding streets dwindled to almost nothing.

The Xiliang soldiers exchanged glances before dispersing, slowly walking outward while continuing to shout.

Within the inner courtyard of his estate, Lü Bu was practicing his mastery of the Halberd of Heavenly Might. Enjoying his practice immensely, he paid little heed when the city gradually grew noisy; after all, fires sometimes broke out in the city, causing similar turmoil, so he simply continued practicing with his halberd...

However, after a short while, he heard someone shouting at the top of their lungs that there were bandits in the city and commanding every household to bar their doors against thieves. Only then did he realize that the ongoing commotion was actually caused by rebellious outlaws...

Other people might fear trouble, but Lü Bu certainly did not.

"Just in time to warm up!"

Happily wielding the Halberd of Heavenly Might, Lü Bu strode out of his gates. Spotting a Xiliang soldier shouting not far away, he hurried over in a few strides, grabbed the soldier by the collar, and demanded, "Where are the bandits?"

Startled out of his wits, the Xiliang soldier stammered for a moment before pointing toward the Southern Palace under Lü Bu's urging.

Lü Bu spat on the ground and prepared to head toward the Southern Palace with his halberd, cursing inwardly, *I have no idea whose subordinate this armor belongs to, dawdling about like this. If he were under my command, I would whip him to death!*

Just as Lü Bu had walked a few steps, he suddenly heard the sounds of fierce combat echoing from the nearby Palace of Eternal Peace. "Could there be bandits over here as well?" Wondering this, he turned around and prepared to rush toward the Palace of Eternal Peace...

Seeing that his deception had failed to lure Lü Bu away, the Xiliang soldier sneaked up behind him, stealthily drew his blade, and thrust it toward Lü Bu's back—

Hearing the rush of wind behind him, Lü Bu executed a sharp, diagonal sidestep. Without even thinking, he swung the Halberd of Heavenly Might backward in a horizontal sweep. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his attacker—the Xiliang soldier—and swiftly rotated his wrist, turning the lethal strike into a blunt slap. The heavy blow struck the Xiliang soldier with tremendous force, folding him up like a cloth sack with a loud *thud* as he slammed against the wall before sliding limply to the ground.

Lü Bu walked over, hoisted the Xiliang soldier high into the air by his collar, and roared furiously, "Who are you? How dare you ambush me?"

Regrettably, blood was already streaming from the Xiliang soldier's seven orifices, and his internal organs were severely damaged; he could no longer speak. Gurgling sounds escaped his throat as he vomited a mouthful of blood and breathed his last.

"Hmph!" Lü Bu tossed the dead Xiliang soldier aside like a piece of rag under his feet, turned his head to glance first toward the Southern Palace and then toward the Palace of Eternal Peace. Pondering for a moment, he decided to head to the closer Palace of Eternal Peace, and accordingly broke into a stride, racing toward it at full speed...