Liu Bei's caretaker actually didn't have any swordsmanship, and he didn't arrange any swordsmen or axes. It was just a man with a stolen heart who used himself to save others, and he was not ashamed but proud of it.
Liu Bei in history believed in Zhuge Liang, and his sentence "You can take it for yourself", not to mention 100%, at least 90%, was sincere.
There was no way. The Jihan regime at that time, after the battle of Yiling, had lost all its elites and the treasury was empty. The loss of Jingzhou was equivalent to cutting off half of the body of the Han Dynasty. It was considered a miracle among miracles to survive.
Therefore, at that time, Cao Pi and Sun Quan both believed that Ji Han's regime was no longer a threat, and they could just let it fend for themselves and there was no need to take action.
It was also at that time that Cao Pi launched three consecutive campaigns to conquer Sun Quan in the south. Sun Quan also focused on the threat from Cao Wei in the north. No one cared about what trouble a dying man could make.
In this situation, when Liu Bei said "you can take it for yourself", he was really not testing Zhuge Liang. He just didn't want the foundation he had worked so hard to build to be ruined in the hands of himself and his son.
This kind of pattern is really not available to ordinary people, especially the emperors who pay more and more attention to "I am the world" in the future. They really can't understand Liu Bei's pattern.
But in this era, there are not many people who make the same choice.
For example, Sun Ce asked Zhang Zhao to say something similar to Liu Bei - "If Zhongmou doesn't do anything, you will take it yourself. If you can't defeat the enemy, you can return west slowly, and you have nothing to worry about."
Could it be that when Sun Ce asked Gu Zhang Zhao, he also ambushed the swordsman at home? !
So, I went too far and wasted a few hundred words.
At this time and space, the Han Dynasty has already reached Guanzhong, and Ji Han's regime is far from being in danger and may be destroyed at any time. Therefore, Liu Bei has no need to talk to Zhuge Liang about "you can take it for yourself".
This time, Liu Bei's entrustment was carried out in the presence of three important ministers.
To Zhang Fei, Liu Bei recounted the friendship between the three of them in Taoyuan, and talked a lot, while Zhang Fei cried bitterly and listened attentively.
Zhang Fei cried until the end, and Liu Bei felt sad and helpless.
He softly summoned Zhang Fei to the couch. Liu Bei supported his heavy body and stood up. He stroked Zhang Fei's cheek with his own hands, wiped away his tears and said, "You are almost sixty, why?" He is still like a young child. Birth, old age, illness and death are all human beings, why should we be sad?!"
It was okay if he didn't say it, but when he did, Zhang Fei cried even louder, didn't say anything, and lay down in front of Liu Bei's bed, crying loudly.
Liu Bei looked at Zhang Fei with a doting look on his face, caressed Zhang Fei's head with his hand, patted it twice, and said, "Third brother, I am afraid that we three brothers will break the oath we made in Taoyuan in the past. I have no choice but to be a brother." If you are not in good health, you have to take the first step. Don't be sad, and tell your second brother not to abuse yourself, and take care of your health, carry on your brother's ambition, and revive the Han Dynasty. I hope that next time, our brothers will reunite, and the two wise men I can bring you good news about the revival of the Han Dynasty."
Zhang Fei didn't even look up, he just lowered his head in front of Liu Bei's bed, crying, shaking his head and nodding, holding Liu Bei's arm tightly with both hands, but refused to get up.
When Liu Bei saw Zhang Fei's posture, he smiled bitterly, held back the tears in his eyes, and looked at Zhuge Liang.
"I am proud to be the Prime Minister, and I am fortunate to be an emperor. How could I not realize my long-cherished wish with the Prime Minister due to my poor knowledge? Today is not a holiday, and I will die on the eve of the New Year. The heir is weak and I have to entrust him with big things. I hope the Prime Minister will live up to what I have done. Trust."
Zhuge Liang quickly fell to the ground and said with a cry in his voice, "May your Majesty protect the dragon body well so that he can live up to his wish to go to heaven!"
Liu Bei laughed when he said this.
"When will the Prime Minister learn from others to say such meaningless words?!" Liu Bei said to Zhuge Liang, "You and I know each other, the king and our ministers know each other, Prime Minister, don't you know what I am thinking now?! Life, old age, illness and death are natural laws, how can I be afraid of that?! Those who are worried, only the great Han Dynasty Revival, I am incompetent and cannot realize this long-cherished wish, from now on, everything will be entrusted to the Prime Minister!"
Zhuge Liang couldn't bear it any longer. He fell to the ground and choked with sobs and said, "I will live up to your majesty's trust. I can only die with my whole heart."
Liu Bei frowned slightly, somewhat dissatisfied with Zhuge Liang's words "before death". I'm going to die, but how old are you, why are you talking about "before death"? !
But...it must be that the Prime Minister is feeling too sad.
Continuing to turn his head, Liu Bei looked at Zhang Xi.
Zhang Xi's eye circles were also red at this time.
Although the relationship between Zhang Xi and Liu Bei is not as strong as that of Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang, after more than ten years of getting along, if you want to say that they have no feelings at all, it would be false.
And one thing is that Liu Bei really valued Zhang Xi, and he really dared to use him. This kind of kindness was no longer just the feeling of a wage earner towards his boss.
Coupled with the emotional filter of the previous life, now that Liu Bei is dying, it is impossible for Zhang Xi to say that he is not sad.
The only thing that makes Zhang Xi feel relieved is that Liu Bei was raised as an orphan in Chang'an City, not in Baidi City. This makes Liu Bei not too regretful.
Liu Bei didn't know what Zhang Xi was thinking, so he also said to Zhang Xi, "It is a blessing in my life to meet Yuan Chang in Xinye. For more than ten years, Yuan Chang has helped me capture Yizhou, occupy Jingxiang, and defeat the bandits in the Northern Expedition. Xiaguan Zhongyuan Chang, I have treated you badly!"
Zhang Xi's eyes were red and his nose was sore, but when Liu Bei said this, Zhang Xi felt a little stupid.
"Your Majesty. Why did your Majesty say this?!" Zhang Xi asked stupidly.
Liu Bei smiled and explained, "In the past, when Yuan Chang was not married yet in Jingzhou, someone suggested to me that I should marry my daughter to Yuan Chang. I hesitated at that time. Didn't I treat Yuan Chang badly?!"
Zhang Xi blinked, looking confused.
I never expected that the emperor of Han Dynasty would actually tell such old things when he was entrusted with an orphan. This is somewhat out of tune.
Besides, if this word reaches the ears of my wife, it will be hard for me to tell you that you are always fine.
Zhang Xi's dumbfounded look made Liu Bei burst into laughter, and this smile directly weakened the sad atmosphere of Tuogu in the scene.
Zhang Xi still looked stupid and didn't know how to respond, but then, Liu Bei suddenly coughed, interrupting his laughter.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Xi quickly said, "Your Majesty, please take care of the dragon's body."
I really don’t know what to say, so I can only say this snake oil. Now Zhang Xi understands why Zhuge Liang said the same thing just now.
There is really nothing to say, but I have to say it, so I can only say snake oil.
Liu Bei suddenly wanted to laugh again, but his coughing prevented him from doing so. After a while, the coughing stopped. Liu Bei regained his mind a little and accumulated some strength again, and then said, "Why did Yuan Chang learn from the Prime Minister? Forget it, I just made a joke, Yuan Chang, don’t take it seriously.”
Zhang Xi didn't dare to fight anymore, so he could only lie on the ground and say nothing.
Liu Bei paused for a moment and continued, "I have indeed wronged Yuan Chang. With Yuan Chang's achievements in the southern and northern wars over the years, and the plan to determine the Ding Sheji, now he is no longer the former general and the minister of the Ministry of War. It is indeed a bit aggrieved. I sincerely feel wronged. Since he ascended the throne, there have been few awards and honors. In the past few years, only Huang Han was promoted. Fa Xiaozhi was granted the title of Marquis of Guannei due to his merits. Yide was transferred from the Marquis of Xinchengting to the Marquis of Xixiang. Now I am granting the title of Marquis of Bolu to Yuan Chang. , I also hope that Yuan Chang will not disappoint my expectations."
As soon as Liu Bei finished speaking, Zhang Xi was still confused, but Zhuge Liang already raised his head in surprise.
Bo Luhou? !
Turning around again, I saw Zhang Xi's confused look. It seemed that Yuan Chang didn't know what this Bo Luhou meant.
One thing to say, at this time, Zhuge Liang had some mixed feelings in his heart.
Zhang Xi really didn't know the meaning of Bo Luhou, and Liu Bei didn't mean to wear it. It was all up to Zhang Xi to think about it himself, or maybe someone told him.
All in all, Liu Bei can be regarded as completing the last orphan care ceremony in his life. Well, he is still a little short of it.
After Liu Bei explained the matter of entrusting orphans to the three of them, he asked Wu Yi to take Liu Yong and Liu Li inside to have an audience.
Not talking nonsense, he asked the two young sons to help Zhuge Liang, who was still kneeling on the ground, and then asked the two young sons to kneel down in front of Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang was so frightened by this kneeling that he hurriedly tried to help the two young princes up.
But Liu Bei stopped Zhuge Liang's action and said to his two sons, "You all remember my words: after my death, all three of you brothers will serve the prime minister as their fathers. Don't neglect them."
When Zhuge Liang heard this, he immediately knelt down and worshiped on the ground again. The mixed feelings in his heart disappeared instantly without a trace.
"Although I am a messed up person, I can still repay the kindness of knowing you!"
Liu Bei quickly asked people to help Zhuge Liang up again, and then stared at his two sons seriously, asking them to formally salute Zhuge Liang and solidify their relationship.
Then, Liu Bei raised his head, looked at Zhang Xi, Wu Yi, and Zhang Fei, who was still lying in front of his bed, and said, "I order the heir to serve as his father as the prime minister. All the ministers are witnesses, and I also hope that all the ministers will be responsible for the entrustment of the orphan. Don't be negligent or let me down."
At this time, Zhang Xi, Zhuge Liang, and Wu Yi all knelt down on the ground, and Zhang Fei also took half a step back, knelt down in front of the couch, and said in unison, "How dare you not do the hard work of a dog and a horse!"
After saying this, Liu Bei waved his hand for everyone to leave, but he was still lying on the bed.
After that, Liu Bei's physical condition began to become unstable. Sometimes he could get out of bed and walk after he recovered, and sometimes he would fall asleep for several days.
Until early June of the fifth year of Zhangwu, Liu Bei became seriously ill and was unconscious for ten consecutive days.
Finally, on June 17, he died of illness in Chang'an Palace.
(End of chapter)
