Hanhou

Above the court hall, petitions to the princes and kings continued one after another, especially the king of Linjiang.

At first, the clan nobles in Chang'an City didn't take this matter to heart.As the situation intensified, I began to realize that something was wrong.

After the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, Chao Cuo died, and the imperial court did not propose to cut down the vassals, but strengthened the control of the princes and kings, it is better to let them go before.It is not uncommon for whistleblowers to happen from time to time.However, like King Linjiang, he would be accused if he invited state officials to a banquet in the palace, and if there was any trouble in the palace, he would report to Chang'an, which is really very rare.

Although Emperor Jing suppressed all the memorials, he has not spoken out to reprimand, let alone summoned the King of Linjiang to meet the reconciliation, many people still smelled something unusual.

The officials of the feudal state sued the king of Linjiang for occupying the land of the ancestral temple to build a palace. If the evidence is solid, the crime is not light.How to deal with it in the end depends on Emperor Jing's will.

Since the founding of the dynasty, there has never been a precedent for the emperor to kill his son.However, King Linjiang was once a prince, older than Liu Che, and supported by his brothers. Many relatives were worried and visited Changle Palace for several days, hoping that Empress Dowager Dou could persuade Emperor Jing not to blame King Linjiang for this crime.If you really want to ask for a crime, you must not go to the lieutenant's mansion.

"This case must not be opened!"

Empress Dowager Dou and her clan have the same position. The emperor can cut Linjiang King's authority, reduce his feudal state, or even seize his throne, but he must not take his life.Not to mention how the historians record it, once this initiative is made, and the future emperors follow suit, wouldn't the Han Dynasty be in chaos!

Emperor Jing was invited to Changle Palace, Empress Dowager Dou made it clear that she would never agree to imprison King Linjiang!

"Linjiang Wang Zhongxiao, how could he invade the ancestral temple wall? This must be a false accusation!" Empress Dowager Dou's words were very straightforward, and did not give Emperor Jing a chance to excuse, "This is a crime of false accusation!"

"Mom, I have my own concerns about this matter."

"Arguing? What are you arguing about? Conquering the King of Linjiang to enter Chang'an, and going to the Lieutenant's Mansion to register?" Empress Dowager Dou said coldly, "If you refuse to plead guilty, will you still have to use torture?"

"Why did Grandmother say that? Ah Rong is my son, how could it be like this!"

"No?" Empress Dowager Dou suddenly opened her eyes, her gray pupils did not see a gleam of light, but she gave people endless pressure, "The family members know that you want to blame Linjiang King, what do you want me to think, what can I think?! Aqi, I know you are thinking of the prince, but the king of Linjiang is also your son, how can you bear it!"

Empress Dowager Dou got really angry and almost pointed at Emperor Jing's nose to scold him for being confused.

Emperor Jing's face was slightly condensed, and he was about to speak to explain, when the Shaofu walked into the hall, followed by people from Weiyang Palace.

"Doctor Yushi, please see Your Majesty, you are now in front of Weiyang Palace."

Seeing Liu She at this time, it should not be a trivial matter, Empress Dowager Dou managed to restrain her anger, and said to Emperor Jing: "The Son of Heaven will go, and the matter of the King of Linjiang will be discussed again."

Emperor Jing didn't say much, got up and left Changle Palace.

A few steps away from the gate of the palace, Emperor Jing suddenly stopped, and said in a deep voice: "Mum, Ah Rong is my eldest son, how can I not kiss him. However, the country is important, the crown prince is important, and what should be done should not be done."

"Son of Heaven!" Empress Dowager Dou called to stop Emperor Jing, saying word by word, "Confer the crown prince's younger brothers as kings."

The king of Linjiang has the same mother and brother to help him. Although Liu Che has no same mother and brother, he has four brothers from his aunt.

Emperor Jing sighed and shook his head.

Not to mention that Wang's sons are young and have limited help to the prince. It is because of Wang Yan alone that the four of Liu Yue and the prince are alienated. It is destined that they will not have relatives of Linjiang Wang Hejian.

"Aunt, I have my own discretion in this matter."

Without giving Empress Dowager Dou a chance to speak, Emperor Jing stepped out of the palace gate.

The footsteps gradually faded away, and the empty hall returned to silence.

Empress Dowager Dou sat on the couch, her face getting older and older.The eunuchs and palace people stood with their heads bowed, not daring to vent their breath, almost silent.

In front of Weiyang Palace, Liu She waited for a long time, and was finally summoned by the emperor.Entering the announcement room, after saluting, he said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the envoys of the Huns want to return to the north."

"The marriage charter has been decided?" Emperor Jing looked surprised.Without his nodding, the Da Xing Ling would not let go. Could it be that the Huns agreed to the conditions proposed by the Han Dynasty?

"Undecided." Liu She shook his head and said, "The matter will not be settled for a long time. He said that he should return to the grassland and ask Shan Yu for instructions."

Lan Ji's reason was very legitimate, and his intention to leave was quite firm.Da Xingling tried to stabilize the Xiongnu and his party, and sent someone to inform Liu She, asking him to report to Weiyang Palace and ask Emperor Jing for his intentions.

"What do you think?" Emperor Jing looked at Liu She.

"Your Majesty, Bianjun enters winter very early, and there will be heavy snow within ten days. I think that we can suspend the marriage and order the Bianjun to prepare troops for drills. If the Huns don't come next year, it will be fine. If they come, it will also be an opportunity for military training. .”

A few months ago, Liu She would never have made such a suggestion.It is inevitable that Emperor Jing would be persuaded to relax the conditions and give the Xiongnu more silk to facilitate this marriage, in order to delay the Xiongnu and buy time for the preparation of the frontier.

Today, the situation is quite different.

A large number of new harnesses were produced, and the speed and results of military training far exceeded expectations.The supply of soldiers in the border county is sufficient, and there is news that the grassland has sent back. Liu She's thinking began to change, from procrastinating time to procrastinating, and fighting if you can't procrastinate, killing the courage of the Huns, and tempering the army .

The Han style favors martial arts, and military exploits are a necessary condition for officials to be promoted.

Don't look at Liu She's pale face, his appearance of immortality, his ancestors are the Xiang family, who have been generals of Chu for generations, with outstanding military exploits.He also has a famous relative, Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu who competed with Han Gaozu for the world!

His family background meant that Liu She was well versed in warfare and had unique insights into the art of war.If not, he and Wei Shang would not have become close friends, and the relationship is so close that it is not much worse without wearing a pair of pants.

The appearance of saddles and stirrups gave Liu She the hope of destroying the Huns cavalry; the training reports sent by Bianjun made this hope continue to grow.

This alone is not enough.

In Liu She's view, strong soldiers are not trained with wooden sticks, but should be killed with knives.There are limitations in the martial arts arena, you must be able to kill the enemy on the battlefield, and fight the opponent several times with real swords and guns, in order to forge a strong soldier who can sweep the grassland.

Even if the Huns knew about the saddle and stirrup, the Han army was still not afraid.

Under the same conditions, the strong soldiers of the Han army were by no means weaker than the Xiongnu, and when they really fought, the outcome was fifty-five points.As long as the courage of the Xiongnu is defeated and the command is dispatched with a strong general, the chance of winning will be more than [-]%.

Standing at different heights, you are destined to see things differently.

In Zhao Jia's view, problems that were difficult to solve were nothing to Liu She.

In the early stage, the secrecy work was done well, and in the later stage, relying on the national treasury, a large number of craftsmen were recruited, and the frontier army was armed at the fastest speed. With the number of craftsmen in Longcheng, even a horse could not catch up.Coupled with the gap between each other's weapons, unless the officials capable of fighting in the Han Dynasty died out, they would never give the Xiongnu a chance to breathe if they seized the opportunity to fight.

"You mean, let him go?" Emperor Jing said.

"Your Majesty, I think Lanji has already made up his mind to go, so we can't keep it." Liu She replied.

So what if you let Lan Ji go?

When the road is blocked by heavy snow and the sky is freezing, going south is to die.When Xue Rong comes to attack next year, Bian County will be able to train more than ten thousand strong soldiers.

What's more, the Xiongnu's internal struggles continued, and the military minister Shanyu thought he was in control, but in fact he added fuel to the fire and strengthened the signs of division.The other departments in the headquarters have their own ideas, unless the danger is imminent, if they don't twist into a rope, they will die. Don't think they will unanimously defend the banner of the king's tent.

It's not that Liu She underestimated the Xiongnu, but that's the truth.

If Mao Dun Shanyu were alive, the situation might be different.Now, even if the various ministries are reluctantly assembled, the military minister Shan Yu can't do what he wants.

The most important thing is that the barbarian tribe suffered a big loss when they went south to reduce the population. If they want to send troops to the Han territory, the headquarters will not send troops, and more tribes will choose to preserve their strength.One or two tribes can kill chickens and monkeys, and they all work without any effort. Can they kill all other tribes and barbarians?If you really do this, the grassland must catch fire.

That being the case, reconciliation or not becomes irrelevant.

As for sending people to Shan Yu, you can use other means, such as caravans traveling from south to north.The Xiongnu was on guard against the Han people, so it might as well send out the Hu people who defected to the Han Dynasty, and it would be easier to inquire about the news.As for the fickle Hu people, there are ways to make them obedient.

After Liu She's explanation, Emperor Jing pondered for a long time and finally made up his mind.

"Tomorrow's court meeting, allow Qi to return to the north."

"Respect!"

Liu She left Weiyang Palace and quickly sent someone to deliver a letter to Da Xingling.When the latter received the news, he ordered his family boy to prepare food and wine, and handed over to his subordinate officials to send them to the residence of the Huns.

The food and wine were put on the table, and Pi Xiaowang, who pretended to be loyal to Lanji, asked people that the Han court would allow them to return north.

The interpreter was fluent in Hu, but seeing that his Chinese was not fluent, he replied directly in Xiongnu: "Tomorrow there will be a court meeting, and the envoy can wait for the news."

"The two locked up in the Lieutenant's Mansion?" Pi Xiaowang asked tentatively.

The interpreter's face turned cold, and he said firmly: "Breaking the law, the evidence of the crime is convincing, how can he be released before the prison term expires!"

Pi Xiaowang turned his head to look at Lan Ji, and found that the latter's complexion was not good, and he immediately showed "anxiety", so he asked the interpreter to help him speak.The interpreter didn't show any face, flicked his sleeves, and walked away.

Seeing Lan Ji's angry face, Pi Xiaowang was secretly happy.He didn't think at all that the prisoner was a Hun just like him, and he just thought that God helped him to achieve his success.

The two people who were arrested were from the Lan clan, and they were both Lanji's confidantes.Without these two brave chiefs, Lan Ji would lose a layer of protection, and he would be no match for four hands. It would be much easier to kill him on the way home.

Not to mention Lan Ji's gloomy face, nor to mention that Xiao Wang is full of calculations. After the Huns know that they will return to the north, it will be difficult to taste the delicious wine and food in Chang'an. Regardless of Lan Ji's warning, they compete for the wine sent by the translator. Altar, one by one drunk.

The next day, when the Huns were still hungover, an official came to announce the decree. The emperor Yun Lanji invited him, and handed over the letter of credence with the military minister Shanyu, asking him to bring it back.

The charter for the resumption of the marriage has not yet been determined, and the credentials are mostly greetings, with basically no substantive content.

Lan Ji received the letter of credence and was very respectful in person. After the Han officials left, he threw them aside and kicked up the drunken attendants one by one, ordering them to immediately prepare their luggage and set off today.

"Whoever dares to procrastinate and delay the important event, I will take his head!"

Under Lan Ji's intimidation, the attendants did not dare to delay and acted quickly.But listening to the order belongs to the order, and the anger is not going well in the end.The Huns were in a bad mood and did not dare to trouble Lanji, so they could only vent their anger on the officials of other ministries who were traveling with them.

After everything was ready, Lan Ji found that there were five or six more carts in the team, and the carts were full of silk and rare gold and jade in the grassland.Thinking that I had brought a lot too, it was not easy to scold others, so I waved my whip immediately, and led the crowd to leave the place where I stayed, and ran towards the city gate.

Pi Xiaowang peeped at Lan Ji's back, subconsciously clenched the handle of the knife.

Behind the team, the officials from other ministries with whips had gloomy faces, and occasionally looked at the Huns in front, their eyes full of cruelty.

Yunzhong County

Zhao Jia and his party arrived at the livestock farm, and all the cattle, sheep and camels they brought back were driven into the new pen.Since they brought back far more livestock than expected, Uncle Xiong and Qing Zhuang didn't rest all night and hurriedly erected a new fence.

"Uncle Xiong, let everyone eat first, and go to rest after eating." Zhao Jia walked to the newly built sheep pen and asked everyone to stop working and rest.

There was no way last night. In order to guard against wild animals and ensure the safety of cattle and sheep, the wooden fence must be erected as soon as possible.Now the work is more than half done, and there are people called from the village temporarily, so there is no need for the young and strong to continue working, so it is natural to catch up on sleep.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry, I have strength. Not to mention staying up all night, when I went to the grassland in my early years, it was common for me to not close my eyes for three or four days." Uncle Xiong grabbed the cloth towel and wiped his face with cold water.

Zhao Jia looked cold, but Uncle Xiong yelled happily, threw the cloth towel into the basin, and was soon caught by another young man.

"If you don't rest, you have to eat first." Zhao Jia was firm.

"Close this area, wait and go."

While speaking, Uncle Xiong supported a thigh-thick wooden stake, and inserted it into the soil hole dug in advance.Two young men held stone hammers and smashed on the wooden pile in turn, wedged the wooden pile into the soil firmly.Another young man brought a plank and fixed it to the stake with hemp rope and nails.Then use the body to hit it to make sure that the wooden pile is always firm and the plank will not break easily, and everyone is satisfied with the work.

Uncle Xiong cupped his hands to his mouth and called everyone back, his voice was heard far away.

The young and strong put down their tools one after another, huddled next to the barrel, cleaned their faces, washed their hands, and wiped the sweat from their necks.

Mrs. Sun brought the woman steamed stuffed buns, steamed cakes, millet rice, roasted rabbit and mutton, and large jars of pickled vegetables.

The leader and the Wuhuan merchants have already returned to the city, and the guards have also left. Wei Wu and the scouts stayed behind. Apart from the leather armor, they were all dressed in short brown and did not wear leather jackets. Steamed cakes, squatting with Qing Zhuang and munching.

Women and children brought back from the grasslands live in new houses.

Mrs. Sun and the healthy women boiled hot water and brought it into the house. The woman and the children washed it, and then changed into the clothes and leather jackets taken from the warehouse.

Suddenly there were more than 20 children around, and the teenagers and boys were very curious.When eating, they all gathered by the fence and kept looking in the direction of the wooden house.

"They are sheep slaves."

Xin Zhao leaned against the stake and saw a boy who was struggling to climb, so he picked it up and put it on the ground.The boy puffed up his cheeks. If he wanted to go up or down, all his strength was in vain!

"Sheep slave?" Wei Qing sat on the fence, holding a mutton stuffed bun, frowning.

Zhao Puonu came over, jumped over the fence, stood beside Wei Qing, and tried to bite the bun in Wei Qing's hand with his head, but Gongsun Ao grabbed him by the collar on the spot.

"Don't bully Ah Qing!"

Zhao Ponu curled his lips, turned his head and bared his teeth at Gongsun Ao.

"We are regarded as wild beasts. We wander in the grasslands. We will be shot when we encounter herdsmen. They are locked in the sheepfold, and their life is worse than death." Zhao Xin leaned against the stake, looked up at the sky, clasped his left hand On the right shoulder, fingers continue to exert force.

"Ashin, is that the injury on your back?" Gongsun Ao asked.

Xin Zhao nodded and said nothing more.

The cold wind blows from the north, rolling the broken grass.

The teenagers and children leaned against the fence, looking at the direction of the wind, their temples were constantly being blown, and the buns and steamed cakes in their hands seemed to be tasteless.

After eating, the young and strong continued to work. The teenagers and children fed the cattle and sheep, and gathered in a corner of the livestock farm to practice arrows.There were three rows of newly erected targets, and some scarecrows into which many wooden arrows had been pierced.

Seeing the children drawing their bows, Zhao Jia recalled the teachings of Uncle Hu and Uncle Xiong, giving pointers from time to time.At the same time, use one mind and two tasks, think about the weapons that came to mind on the way, prepare to write down the required materials, and head to Cloud City tomorrow.

Outside the livestock farm, several fast horses are coming at a gallop.

Seeing the livestock farm from a distance, Danghu Li pulled the reins and said with a smile, "Ah Yue, who will arrive first?"

Wei Yue smiled slightly, nodded, and kicked the horse's belly with his heel, and the black horse galloped out like lightning.

Li Danghu ate his mouth full of dust, and after a while he realized that he rode his horse and whipped his whip to catch up, shouting: "A Yue, you are lying!"

Zhao Jiazheng instructed Wei Qing to draw the bow, when he heard the sound of horseshoes, he looked up curiously, just in time to see the dust billowing towards him, the two horses galloped wildly, even though there was no winner, they bit each other on the spot.

Looking at Wei Yue, who was jolting with the black horse, and the strange young man who was almost thrown to the ground, a row of question marks appeared above Zhao Jia's head.

Who will tell him what's going on?