The West Garden is a private pleasure garden built by Liu Hong after he became emperor. It is also famous for the fact that it is rumored that there is a "Gong Swimming Pool" specially used for swimming.
According to records, Liu Hong and his many concubines liked to play without clothes in the West Garden.
To escape the heat of the summer, he built a swimming pool, had green moss collected, and covered the steps with it, drawing water from the canals around each threshold and through the entire swimming pool.
Liu Hong was very lustful, so he immediately chose a singer with jade-colored skin and a light body to row a boat with a pole and float in the water of the canal.
In the scorching heat of midsummer, he ordered people to sink the boat in the water, watch the jade-like and gorgeous skin of the palace maids who fell into the water, and then play songs such as "Seven Words for Merchants" to attract cold air.
Outside the swimming pool and inside the West Garden, Liu Hong's maids could not wear normal clothes, but had to wear crotchless pants that only children would wear, without any interior, so they were very cool.
It is said that this makes it easier for Liu Hong to do things quickly anytime and anywhere to avoid wasting time.
The emperor's time is very valuable!
Liu Bei didn't know if there were these famous entertainment facilities in the real West Garden. Anyway, what he knew were recorded in history books, which specifically described Liu Hong's debauchery.
As for the truth, it is right in front of us.
Although the palace maid in front of Liu Bei is gorgeously dressed and full of feminine appeal, which can easily attract men's attention, she does not wear crotchless pants.
Of course, it is also possible that those wearing crotchless pants were in the swimming pool, otherwise Liu Hong would not have let her come out and call them into the West Garden.
The buildings in the West Garden are indeed very luxurious, with exotic flowers and plants, rare animals, and creatures that Liu Bei has never seen in Youzhou and Luoyang City everywhere here.
There are not only ordinary hounds, rabbits, monkeys, and geese, but also lions and tigers.
Many diligent young eunuchs are sweating profusely to serve these rare and exotic animals, flowers and plants.
Obviously, their lives are worth far more than theirs.
Liu Bei glanced at it for a few times, then turned his head and stopped looking.
The buildings in the West Garden look like four words: graceful and luxurious. Even if it is just a private royal garden of the declining Eastern Han Dynasty, you can still see some grandeur.
But Liu Bei expressed doubts about whether such a style could enhance the empire's dominance.
At this moment, Liu Hong was listening to music and taking a nap in a small palace not far from the main entrance. He was not in the world-famous swimming pool. It was probably for this reason that he heard Liu Bei's shout outside the West Garden. , so he decided to summon Liu Bei.
When the four people who were introduced to the West Garden saw Liu Hong, Liu Hong was lying on the couch wearing simple casual clothes. Behind him, a similarly colorful palace lady was fanning him. He looked comfortable and comfortable, and did not open his eyes. He looked at the four people entering the hall.
"sit down."
Maybe he heard something, Liu Hong opened his mouth and said two words without opening his eyes, and the four of them saw rows of seats on both sides of the hall, so Liu Bei helped Guo Hong to the side, while Chen Dan and Cao Cao walked towards On the other side, four people faced each other, sitting upright and not squinting.
Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong arrived shortly afterwards, but were unable to enter the palace because they did not have the emperor's permission. They could only stare on the steps outside the palace, straightening their necks and peeking in, as if their necks were struck by some indescribable being. It looks very funny when you pick it up.
Of the four people who entered the palace, Cao Cao was the most frustrated. Although he was sitting upright, he would steal glances at the emperor who was leaning down from time to time, wondering when the emperor would speak.
They have something very important to come to see the emperor.
But when the emperor saw them, he didn't speak or ask anything else. He just lay there and rested... Don't fall asleep, right?
Cao Cao was very anxious.
Among the other three, Chen Dan and Liu Bei were the calmest. Guo Hong, who sprained his foot, seemed calm, but like Cao Cao, he was a little worried in his heart.
What does this emperor mean?
For a while, Liu Hong seemed to have just gotten up, straightened up, stretched, moaned comfortably, and then smacked his lips, looking very comfortable.
"Napping always makes people feel comfortable, so I like naps the most, and I hate people disturbing my nap the most. Who was it just now? Yelling at the door, disturbing my nap?"
Cao Cao immediately looked at Liu Bei worriedly.
Chen Dan and Guo Hong's expressions changed slightly, but they made no move.
"Return to your Majesty, I am your minister."
Liu Bei took the initiative to stand up from his seat, walked to the hall, and saluted Liu Hong.
"My lord, Liu Bei, the magistrate of the Shangshutai, pays homage to your majesty."
"Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, I have heard of you. Your poems are very good. You can write five-character poems well, and you can also write seven-character poems. I have never seen anyone write seven-character poems before. You can write well. The news has spread all over Luoyang, and even reached me."
Liu Hong supported the ground with one hand and arched one leg, looking quite bohemian. He had a frivolous smile on his face, and he did not look like an emperor at all.
"Your Majesty, you praise me so much. Poetry is just a way to entertain people. I only do it occasionally when I have nothing to do."
"Hehehe... your surname is Liu, are you a member of the Han family?"
When Liu Hong asked this question, Liu Bei certainly answered all questions.
"Your Majesty, I am Prince Jing of Zhongshan. My family has lived in Lousang Village, Zhuo County, Youzhou County for generations. My father was once a county official and my grandfather was the county magistrate."
"Oh? Queen Jing of Zhongshan?"
Liu Hong was quite interested in this.
If it were just ordinary Han clan clansmen, there would be ninety-nine thousand if not one hundred thousand in the world, so there would be nothing worth paying attention to.
However, because Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was himself a descendant of Liu Fa, the son of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Prince Ding of Changsha, and Liu Hong was the great-great-grandson of Liu Xiu's grandson, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty Liu Jin, strictly speaking, he was also a descendant of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.
After all, the ancestors of Liu Hong and Liu Bei are still two brothers. If they insist on building a relationship, they can get along.
But then again, with the emperor on one side and the run-down clan on the other, it would be a bit funny to have a relationship.
But after all, the two of them have the same surname and the same clan. There is always something different about this relationship.
So Liu Hong asked again: "How old are you?"
"Your Majesty, I am twenty-one years old."
"Well, is there anyone else at home?"
"My father died young, and I was raised by my mother since childhood. Now my mother is in peace."
"Hmm...why do you want to be an official?"
"I was lucky enough to be favored by Han Taishou of Zhuo County and invited me to be his son-in-law. In the third year of Guanghe, Han Taishou recommended me as Xiaolian. I went to Luoyang and passed the re-examination of the government and was awarded the title of Lang Guan. When the term of Lang Guan expired, I was awarded the title of Shangshu Tailing Shi. , has been performing his duties to this day.”
"Well, he is young and promising."
Liu Hong nodded, quite satisfied with Liu Bei's background.
Since he is promoted through filial piety and integrity, his wealth is innocent and he is not a protégé of someone else's family. He maintains his political independence and will not work to death for a certain minister.
They have greater flexibility in dealing with those who promote filial piety and integrity than those who treat them as officials. They don't have to admit death, are freer, and can be qualified ministers of the emperor.
Such a free minister is the type he likes.
Not to mention that he is a member of the Han clan.
Speaking of which, Liu Hong hates this unspoken rule of officialdom in today's government and the public. If you are someone's protégé and former official, you have to be a hawk and a claw of others for the rest of your life. You can't be independent unless you rebel. So, is he Liu Hong's minister or someone else's minister? ?
Isn't this Erchen?
However, the unspoken rules of society are like this. Even though Liu Hong is the emperor, he has no way to change them.
And even if it changes, scholars are still scholars. They have their own families, their own interests, and their own thinking values. They will not follow the emperor sincerely.
Therefore, in the end, only the eunuchs and the emperor had the same interests, and they would sincerely protect the imperial power, and by the way, they would also protect the emperor.
Liu Hong has a normal IQ and is not stupid. He also summed up some experience after a period of study and observation, and then came to this conclusion. From this, he trusted eunuchs more than noble officials. He always felt that noble officials were more selfish than eunuchs. Even bigger, unworthy of trust and trust.
Compared with eunuchs, scholar-officials, who have many interests and relationships behind them, are much more complicated.
The other three people here, not to mention Situ Chen Dan and Sili Colonel Guo Hong, are all people with strong family backgrounds.
That Cao Mengde came from a family of eunuchs. Although it was not a family of scholars, the family actively moved closer to the scholars, and the family had a big business, and it began to have inheritance. It was far inferior to Liu Bei's small family with only his mother.
The emperor's favorite ministers are those of this origin.
With an inexplicable affection, Liu Hong asked Liu Bei some about his family situation and childhood background.
