Chương 64: The court assembly begins, and rewards are distributed based on merit.

At this point, Zhang Rang wisely shut his mouth, stood aside with his hands at his sides, and left the emperor with space to think.

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong unconsciously tapped his fingers on the table, pondered for a moment, and then waved his hand:

"Hmm... what you said makes some sense... Alright, you may leave. I'm tired and need some peace and quiet."

Zhang Rang bowed and withdrew, while Liu Hong sat there alone, pondering:

"Zhang Rang's words... reminded me that Liu Ce is a good fighter, a member of the imperial clan, and one of our own."

Placing him on the border of Youzhou will not only help us defend against foreign invaders and protect the people, but also allow him to hold military power in place of me and the Han Dynasty...

It just so happens that General He Jin, whose family originated from a butcher background, has recently become increasingly powerful and difficult to control.

Using Liu Ce, this powerful "royal card," to counterbalance him is a good move...

As Liu Hong pondered, his thoughts drifted further afield, a mysterious smile even appearing on his face as he began to revel in his own thoughts.

"Even... when the time is right in the future, I might as well follow the example of my ancestor, Emperor Wu! If the enemy can go, so can I! Let Liu Ce launch a counterattack against the Xianbei and Wuhuan, and expand our territory!"

Haha... It seems that I also have the potential to become a monarch with great talent and ambition like Emperor Xiaowu!

Liu Ce is my Wei Qing and Huo Qubing!

The more he thought about it, the more brilliant the idea seemed. He immediately perked up, spread out the silk, picked up his brush, and began to ponder how to write the imperial edict of reward for Liu Ce so that it would both demonstrate the emperor's boundless grace and achieve his own political goals.

The next day, it was still as dark as the bottom of a pot, and the chickens hadn't crowed yet.

Liu Ce was having a wonderful dream, dreaming that he was surrounded by beautiful women... well, he was dreaming that he was enjoying a life of luxury in Youzhou, when he was gently woken up by a servant from the Zhen family.

"General, General, someone from the palace has come to inform you that there will be a grand court assembly today. His Majesty will be rewarding those who have rendered meritorious service. Please prepare to enter the palace immediately."

Liu Ce groggily opened his eyes, looking out at the pitch blackness, and felt a million thoughts racing through his mind:

"Holy crap! Are you kidding me?! What time is it? Three in the morning? Four in the morning?"

Don't these officials ever sleep? Are they made of iron? They're more eager to attend court than to clock in for work! They're like cattle!

Despite his complaints, Liu Ce dared not delay. With the efficient and gentle care of the maids in the Zhen household, he washed up, changed clothes, and tied his hair. After going through the whole process, he finally felt much more awake.

Wearing the court robes prepared in advance by the Zhen family, befitting his status, Liu Ce looked at his respectable appearance in the bronze mirror and sighed.

Before leaving the manor, he casually woke up Zhao Yun and Dian Wei, under the pretext of:

"If you're brothers, you should share the good times and the bad."

He then set off for the palace, treading through the deepest darkness before dawn.

Upon arriving at the palace, a large group of officials were already standing in the square outside the massive Deyang Hall.

Dressed in court robes and holding tablets, they stood like cattle and horses waiting to attend court in the dim lantern light.

Liu Ce glanced around and recognized none of the people except for Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Cao Cao, and others who had returned with him the day before.

Just as he was getting a little bored, he suddenly saw an old man who looked somewhat familiar, Cai Yong, also known as Cai Bojie.

This renowned scholar was famous and had been visited by Liu Ce in Luoyang before, so Liu Ce quickly went to meet him.

Cai Yong also saw him, a slight smile appearing on his serious face. Liu Ce secretly lowered his voice and asked:

"Lord Cai, how much longer do we have to wait? My legs are numb from standing."

Cai Yong replied softly, "There's still a while, Bo Lue."

His tone turned serious, "Your successive annihilation of the Yellow Turban rebels and the annihilation of their main force have truly saved the people from dire straits!"

Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the provinces of You and Ji have suffered terribly, and the court has been filled with worry day and night. Now, thanks to your valiant efforts to turn the tide, it is truly a blessing for the nation and for the people!

Liu Ce quickly replied modestly, "Lord Cai, please don't flatter me! I only won by luck thanks to His Majesty's good fortune and the soldiers' valiant efforts."

The people we should truly thank are the soldiers who fought valiantly and the ordinary people who silently supported us from the rear.

As the two were chatting in hushed tones, Liu Ce spotted Huangfu Song and the others and strolled over to greet them.

During this time, he could feel countless gazes falling on him, and he could hear various whispers in his ears:

"That's Liu Ce? He's so young!"

"I've heard he's a cunning strategist; even the Zhang brothers fell to him..."

"It's hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse that such a person has emerged from the imperial family..."

"Let's see how His Majesty bestows rewards later..."

Not long after, General He Jin also arrived.

This powerful relative of the emperor, who came from a butcher background, was burly and had a rough, uncouth air about him.

Name: He Jin, courtesy name Suigao Gender: Male Age: 40 [Strength]: 72 (Third-rate) [Commander]: 71 (Third-rate) [Politics]: 70 (Third-rate) [Intelligence]: 61 [Appearance]: 75cm Special skills: [Indecisiveness]: When faced with critical choices, they tend to hesitate for a long time, significantly delaying their actions and making the wrong or most unfavorable decisions with a very high probability.

[Inviting a Wolf into the House]: Permanently and significantly reduces the security of your own faction and has a very high probability of triggering the "Cuckoo in the Nest" event, leading to the destruction of your faction.

He walked straight up to Liu Ce and exchanged a few pleasantries with great enthusiasm, nothing more than polite words like "General, you are young and promising" and "You have made great contributions to the country," and his attitude was quite normal.

What He Jin was really thinking was: "It's a good thing that Liu Ce came out of nowhere and cleaned up the mess that was the Yellow Turbans. Otherwise, His Majesty would be nagging me about this every day, and I would be in a real bind."

This person... we need to be careful of him in the future. It would be best if we could win him over, but if we can't, we still need to be wary of him.

After waiting for quite a while, the eastern sky finally began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

The palace gates slowly opened, and under the guidance of the ceremonial officials, civil and military officials lined up in two rows according to their rank and whether they were civil or military, and entered Deyang Hall in an orderly manner.

The generals who made great contributions were naturally arranged to stand at the front and receive the attention (or perhaps scrutiny) of the masses.

Liu Hong finally arrived and sat on the dragon throne amidst the loud greetings of the eunuchs.

All the officials bowed in unison and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

During this time, Liu Ce originally thought that "Long live the Emperor" was just a slogan, but when he secretly looked up, he saw the water clock in the corner of the palace dripping a new moment. It turned out that "Long live the Emperor" in the Eastern Han Dynasty was not a grand gesture for the emperor to hear, but a solemn gesture that made even time stand still.

After a set procedure was completed, the main event—the distribution of rewards for meritorious service—began.

The eunuchs began reading the list of conferments and rewards. (Historically, this was done by the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat or the Attendant-in-Ordinary.) Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were granted the title of Marquis of a Township, and their fiefs increased, but compared to their original titles (Marquis of a County) in history, it was significantly "reduced".

Cao Cao was appointed Chancellor of Jinan, which was considered a normal promotion.

Guan Yu was granted the title of Marquis of Ting and General Who Vanquishes Bandits.

Other meritorious generals were also rewarded, but none of them were particularly outrageous.

Liu Ce stood below listening, and had a general idea of what was going on:

"It seems that because of my appearance, Zhang Jiao and others were dealt with, and Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun's credit has been reduced."

Finally, it was his turn.

"Announcing—Liu Ce, General of the Southern Army, Bearer of the Imperial Credentials, and Prefect of Zhuo Commandery, step forward to receive your investiture!"

Liu Ce's spirits lifted, and he quickly stepped forward from the ranks, walked to the center of the hall, and bowed to receive the imperial decree.