I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 431 I Remember...

"Brother, tell me first, how did Master Gu win such a great victory?"

While the postmaster led several minor officials to hurriedly change horses for the messenger, Dongfang Yu had no time to care about his own horse change. He quickly ordered someone to bring a bowl of water and went to the messengers to inquire.

"Who are you?"

The leading messenger drank the water in a few gulps, wiped it roughly with his sleeve, then asked with a sidelong glance.

"I am the official appointed by His Majesty, Dongfang Yu. I am honored to be here."

Dongfang Yuliang waved his staff without putting on any airs.

"So it's your superior. I'm so sorry!"

Upon hearing this, several messengers' faces changed and they saluted quickly.

"In reply to your Excellency, the news I received is that after His Royal Highness captured the Gushi King City without a fight, he led the Han army to fight against the 20,000 Xiongnu cavalry of the Right Rizhu King outside the Gushi City."

"The Xiongnu were then badly defeated. The King of Yourizhu and four princes were captured. Another five princes died in the chaos. More than 9,000 people were killed in battle, more than 6,000 were captured, and the rest fled in all directions."

"Our troops suffered very little damage, with casualties not exceeding a thousand."

"Isn't this a stunning victory?"

"Wait a minute?!"

After hearing the messenger's words, Dongfang Yu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. They were even more exaggerated than when he heard Zhao Qian's imperial edict just now. He couldn't believe his ears at all.

In fact, in this battle, Liu Ju only killed more than 7,000 people in the battle, and 2,000 of them were killed by Sima Qian and Su Wu in an ambush before the battle.

But even so, this number is too exaggerated, and is not much different from the annihilation of 20,000 Hun cavalry.

Just relying on the thousands of Han cavalry under Liu Ju?
As for the 30,000 infantrymen, others did not know, but Dongfang Yu knew it well. Apart from those who stayed in Loulan to farm and garrison, there were also those who cooperated with Yanqi, Shanguo and Yuli to transport food and military supplies. The number of troops that Liu Ju could actually mobilize to participate in the war would definitely not exceed 10,000.

So with only a few thousand cavalry and no more than 10,000 infantry, Liu Ju was able to almost wipe out 20,000 Xiongnu cavalry and even captured the Xiongnu Right Riju King alive? !

What level is this?
Dongfang Yu carefully recalled the battle achievements of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, the two great heroes of the Han Dynasty, and felt that only the phrase "the Han Dynasty has gained another great hero" could describe this event. When people talk about it in the future, they will probably have to put Liu Ju, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing together and call them the "Three Great Legends of the Han Dynasty", right?
Moreover, these "Three Great Masters of the Han Dynasty" have one thing in common: they all have some of the same blood flowing in their bodies!
Among them, Liu Ju's bloodline is the most exaggerated, with half of Wei's bloodline and half of royal bloodline... This is not just icing on the cake, it is no exaggeration to say that it is adding fuel to the fire!

Speaking of which...it seems that there was a Gongsun Jingsheng who "achieved three merits in one battle" two years ago.

What kind of monsters are these people?
"What did you say?!"

Just as he was exclaiming, Zhao Qian, who had heard the noise, had already walked out of the inn. He just happened to hear the words of the messenger and immediately exclaimed.

"This one is..."

The messenger glanced at Zhao Qian again.

Do!
Zhao Qian also raised his staff and puffed out his chest, saying:
"The envoy appointed by His Majesty to go to the Western Regions to deliver the imperial edict is Zhao Qian."

"So you are also my superior. I am so sorry for your disrespect."

The messenger's momentum suddenly weakened again.

They might never have the chance to see two officials holding the emperor's scepter in their lifetime like they did today. It was as if the emperor's scepter had already become a cabbage on the street and only they didn't have it.

However, several messengers still patiently repeated what they had just said to make sure that the superior also heard it clearly.

They could only say these briefing data, and there was no need to hide it. They had to shout it all the way back to Chang'an, even if they changed people along the way.

As for the other details of this great victory, they were all written in the imperial edict, which was not something they could explain clearly.

"This, this, this... Brother Dongfang, is this what the eldest prince is capable of?"

Zhao Qian was also "this" for a long time after hearing this, and finally confirmed that he was not deaf. He hesitated for a long time, and waited until several messengers changed horses and left the official post station, and then he asked himself the most critical question for him:

"Then do I still need to deliver this imperial edict?"

Apart from the edict that had already been announced to Dongfang Yu, the rest of his edicts were announced to Liu Ju, Zhao Po Nu and others.

The most important content was to order Liu Ju to abandon the war on the front line and immediately return to Yumen Pass to report to the capital with him. Zhao Po Nu and others were asked to lead their troops back to Loulan to garrison. After all, Loulan had invested a lot of manpower and material resources in farming and garrisoning troops, so it naturally could not be easily abandoned.

Moreover, before the news of Gu's victory was known, this imperial edict would most likely never be delivered.

After all, in Zhao Qian's opinion, this war would definitely not have any good outcome, and Liu Ju, Zhao Po Nu and others would definitely be in danger this time.

Guess what happened.

Liu Ju, Zhao Po Nu and others actually defeated the Xiongnu reinforcements in Gushi State and almost wiped them out. In this case, is there any need for him to continue sending this edict?

"I'm afraid the eldest prince's abilities are more than that..."

Dongfang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. This time he would definitely not have to go on a diplomatic mission to the Huns, kowtow to them, or even be forced to agree to some humiliating demands, asking them to release his people or rescue him.

"Brother Dongfang, what do you mean?"

Zhao Qian was surprised and doubtful when he heard this. If such a great victory could not demonstrate Liu Ju's full ability, then how much more ability did he have?
"It's hard to explain it clearly, but in my opinion, Brother Zhao should still go with me and continue to the Western Regions to deliver the imperial edict."

Dongfang Yu thought for a moment and said,

"Your Highness's target for this expedition is Gushi. Now that the battle with Gushi has been settled, I believe it is time for Your Highness to return to the court. Regardless of whether this imperial edict is still necessary, we will return to the capital with Your Highness, and it will be considered that His Majesty's mission has been fulfilled. Maybe... When Your Highness meets Brother Zhao, he will give Brother Zhao some 'local specialties' from the Western Regions. By then, Brother Zhao may understand Your Highness's ability."

……

Chang'an, Weiyang Palace.

"Su Wen, go to the General's Mansion and urge Wei Qing to ask him how many days it will take to send out the troops!"

Liu Che seemed to be calmly reading the memorials, but suddenly he pushed over the bamboo slips piled on the desk as if he was going mad, and his tone was more annoyed and angry than ever before.

Upon hearing this, Su Wen immediately knelt on the ground and answered carefully:
"Your Majesty, five days ago, the general led more than 10,000 elite soldiers drawn from the southern and northern armies to leave the west of the capital..."

In recent days, Liu Che's condition has been a little abnormal, and the most obvious manifestation is forgetfulness.

Su Wen also knew that Liu Che was concerned about the affairs of the Western Regions. He had no appetite and often stayed up late at night. Naturally, his condition could not be good.

However, his forgetfulness, which became more and more frequent day by day, still made him very troubled.

Just like now, he could even forget such a big thing as Wei Qing's expedition. This seems to be more than just ordinary forgetfulness...

Su Wen did not dare to tell Liu Che directly, so he had to seek advice from a familiar imperial physician in private. The physician said that this might be due to anger, or it might be due to the imbalance of yin and yang in old age, which led to the invasion of evil fire.

As for the solution, it can only be to take some decoctions that calm the nerves and nourish the brain.

Su Wen still didn't dare to say anything about this. Liu Che was nearly fifty years old now, and he hated it most when someone said he was old...

"Oh, Wei Qing has gone. I remember now... He has indeed gone. That's good, that's good!"

Liu Che was silent for a long while, and seemed to finally remember this matter. He nodded slowly, and his expression finally relaxed a little.

at this time.

"Good news——!"

"Master, you have won a great victory! Master, you have won a great victory!"

(End of this chapter)