Daming Super Dimension Company, President Zhu Yuanzhang!

Listening to what Xiao Ran said, Liu Bang said in a deep voice: "The fate of this Red Eyebrow army has come to an end."

With repeated defeats and no food support, the outcome was obvious at a glance.

Liu Xiu nodded and spoke slowly, "At that time, the Red Eyebrows army had nowhere to go and finally surrendered to me. Guanzhong was successfully recovered."

"Later, we moved to Guandong and began the Eastern Expedition. The King of Liang who was guarding Guandong at that time was also a descendant of the royal family."

Liu Yong, the Prince of Liang, was the eighth-generation grandson of Liu Wu, the Prince of Liang in the Western Han Dynasty. During Wang Mang's New Deal, his father, Liu Li, the Prince of Liang, was killed by Wang Mang. Later, when Liu Xuan, the Emperor of Gengshi, came to power, Liu Yong was again canonized as the Prince of Liang.

Later, the regime of Emperor Gengshi was abolished, Liu Yong raised an army, proclaimed himself the Son of Heaven, and ascended the throne in Suiyang.

At this time, Liu Yong was a constant threat to Liu Xiu's capital, Luoyang.

It was for this reason that Liu Xiu launched the Eastern Expedition.

Xiao Ran said: "Since the second year of Jianwu, Liu Yong, who ruled Suiyang, and Zhang Bu, who ruled Qingzhou, were successively captured. Liu Xiu also personally conquered the King of Haixi, Dong Xian. By the sixth year of Jianwu, Guandong was pacified. After six years of fighting, Liu Xiu controlled the Central Plains except Longyou and Bashu, and formed a tripartite situation with the two places."

"Then, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu wanted to attack Shu from Longxi, but Wei Xiang opposed it and sent generals to stop the Han army's attack. The Han army was defeated, so Liu Xiu transferred Wu Han to advance westward from Luoyang. Wei Xiang took advantage of the victory to attack but was defeated. Dou Rong, who ruled Hexi, had already surrendered to Liu Xiu and attacked Wei Xiang, leaving him vulnerable to attack from both sides. When Wei Xiang proposed to rebel against the Han, the generals in the army immediately surrendered to the Han army. Liu Xiu took this opportunity to divide and disintegrate Wei Xiang's army from within. Wei Xiang pretended to surrender but failed, so he turned around and became a vassal of Gongsun Shu."

Having said this, Xiao Ran suddenly stopped.

He almost forgot that it was only the fourth year of Jianwu.

Looking at Liu Xiu's thoughtful expression, Xiao Ran asked, "What is the current situation of the Eastern Expedition?"

"Gai Yan is leading his army to pursue Zhou Jian and Su Mao, and Dong Xian intends to stop them. Now the battle has started outside the city of Liu County on both sides. A few days ago, we received a victory report that Dong Xian's army was defeated by Gai Yan." Liu Xiu replied.

"It won't be long before the generals around Dong Xian surrender."

After thinking about it for a while, Xiao Ran told what was about to happen and mentioned Liu Xiu's needs.

"Guo Shengtong is the niece of the King of Zhending in Hebei. If she is deposed hastily, it will certainly alarm the King of Zhending. If this political marriage is to be dissolved, perhaps the breakthrough lies in the King of Zhending."

As a pawn in the marriage, Guo Shengtong had no say at all.

"Why do you say so?" Liu Xiu was quite puzzled.

"The prince was born to the queen. If I depose her, how can the King of Zhending agree?"

Xiao Ran raised his eyebrows. "You two got married for the purpose of forming an alliance. As you expand your territory, you will no longer be restricted by Hebei because you have a large army. The biggest problem in deposing the queen now is that you cannot let the world think that you are a person who will destroy the bridge after crossing the river. Therefore, the matter of deposing the queen must be brought up by the King of Zhending himself."

"Instead of waiting for Guo Shengtong to make a mistake, it is better to fool King Zhending."

After Xiao Ran said this, Liu Xiu was still very hesitant.

"I'm not sure I can convince King Zhending."

Liu Bang snorted coldly, "Don't you know how to use coercion or inducement?"

"I will summon King Zhending to the capital right now." Liu Xiu had already made up his mind.

But he didn't rush to get up. "Mr. Xiao, can you continue to talk about what happened later?"

Xiao Ran did not refuse and continued, "In the seventh year of Jianwu, Gongsun Shu established Wei Xiao as King of Shuoning and sent troops to reinforce him. They attempted to seize Guanzhong, but failed repeatedly. The following year, Lai She attacked and occupied Lueyang, and Wei Xiao's counterattack failed. Liu Xiu took the opportunity to advance his troops, and Dou Rong came to join forces. Not long after, Wei Xiao's generals and thirteen others led their troops to surrender, and Wei Xiao fled to Xicheng."

"At the same time, the remnants of the peasant army rose up again, and Liu Xiu rushed back to Luoyang. In the same year, Cen Peng flooded Xicheng with water, and Wang Yuan and others from Weixiao's army rushed to support and caught the Han army off guard. Wang Yuan and others were able to welcome Weixiao into Ji. The Han army was forced to withdraw from Longxi because of its food shortage. Weixiao gathered the remnants and recaptured Longxi, but unfortunately, Weixiao died in the blink of an eye, and his people supported his son Wei Chun as king." "After that, the Han army and Longxi fought for many years, until the tenth year of Jianwu, when the Han army broke through the first city of Gaoping and then broke through Luomen. Wang Yuan defected to Gongsun Shu, Wei Chun and others surrendered, and Longxi was recovered."

Liu Xiu frowned, "It took so long."

"We have occupied Longxi for many years, and with the help of Gongsun Shu, we can naturally compete with the Han army."

The three-way balance of power is not so easy to break.

Xiao Ran sighed, "The triangular relationship is the most stable, but it is not impossible to take over both places in one fell swoop."

"Please speak, Mr. Xiao." Liu Xiu was immediately attracted.

Liu Bang, who was standing by, guessed what Xiao Ran was thinking, "You can pay him to help."

"How much do you need?" Liu Xiu asked excitedly.

Xiao Ran said calmly, "Don't worry, let's deal with the issue of the deposed queen first."

It would take some time for King Zhending to arrive in Luoyang, so Xiao Ran and Liu Bang simply went back first.

……

Jimo ancient city
Liu Bang asked curiously, "How many years did it take to recover Longxi? How long did it take to recover Sichuan where Gongsun Shu was?"

"Two years."

"After recovering Longxi, Liu Xiu launched an encirclement and suppression campaign against Gongsun Shu from both the south and the north."

"In the 11th year of Jianwu, Grand Marshal Wu Han led his troops to meet Cen Peng at Jingmen, and then went west to Sichuan. Lai Xi and Gai Yan led the troops south to Sichuan, and they attacked successfully at an extremely fast speed, and marched straight into Jiangguan."

"In the 12th year of Jianwu, Wu Han besieged Wuyang, broke Guangdu, and approached Chengdu. Wu Han was eager to win but was defeated, so he changed his tactics and turned defeat into victory. After that, the Han army annihilated a large number of Gongsun Shu's troops and approached the city of Chengdu. After all the Han troops were united, Gongsun Shu recruited death squads to prepare for a decisive battle. Wu Han lured the enemy, and Gongsun Shu attacked rashly. The Shu army was defeated, and he was seriously injured and died. The defending general Yan Cen led the Chengdu army to surrender."

"After Liu Xiu ascended the throne, he spent twelve years to recover the country, but the Central Plains was ravaged by war and the foundation of the country was shaky."

Having also founded his country through war, Liu Bang understood the difficulties best.

The world has been at war for a long time and the people are suffering terribly. The most important thing is to comfort the people and allow them to recuperate.

Xiao Ran suddenly sighed, "From the chaos caused by Wang Mang's new policies to the unification of the country by Liu Xiu, it has been nearly 20 years. Countless people died in battles, diseases and starvation, and the population of the world has become even more sparse."

"As a result, in the 16th year of Jianwu, two Jiaozhi women named Zheng Ce and Zheng Er rebelled and proclaimed themselves kings, known in history as Queen Zheng."

This was one of the neighboring countries in later generations and the predecessor of the Kingdom of Annan.

But he didn't last long, as Liu Xiu simply sent a general to solve the problem.

"Speaking of the matter of deposing the queen, did Liu Xiu fail?" Liu Bang asked again.

Xiao Ran said, "She succeeded, but it was already the 17th year of Jianwu. She was deposed on the grounds that the celestial phenomena were unlucky and Guo Shengtong was jealous of the concubines in the harem."

After enduring for many years, Liu Xiu finally succeeded in handing over the position of empress to his beloved Yin Lihua. (End of this chapter)