Great Han Empire

Chapter 954 Chapter [-]
In the sixth year of Jianxing of the Han Dynasty (202 AD), May.

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In the fifth month, the emperor returned to Guanzhong.

The eldest princess held a grand triumphant ceremony in Chang'an City. Surrounded by civil and military ministers such as Baiqi, Huwei General Sima Yi, and Huya General Wei Yan, as well as five thousand Tiger Ben and Yulin Army, amidst the cheers of court officials and Guanzhong people, they returned to the capital in a mighty way.

Inside the city, [-] troops from the South and the North stood in formation to accept the inspection of the emperor.

The emperor rode his horse in front of the battle.General Zhao Yun of Long Xiang, General Tian Chou of Zhonglang of Five Senses, Shi Fugan, Chief of the General's Fu, and General Sima Yi of Huwei were accompanied on the left and right.

For a time, the war drums were like thunder, the banners were like forests, and the deafening cheers resounded through Chang'an City like a tsunami.

The civil and military ministers and the common people were very excited, and everyone was smiling and laughing.

The eldest princess stood at the high place of the ceremony stage, looking at the joyful crowd, with unhappy brows.On such a grand day, she felt very regretful and disappointed that she didn't see General Li Hong, and there was even a bit of unspeakable resentment in her heart.

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At the beginning of this month, Li Hong received a letter from Laoguai, saying that Mrs. Xiaoyu fell ill shortly after Wen'er left Jinyang. Because she was worried about affecting the general, Mrs. Xiaoyu kept hiding it and reported her safety every time, but recently her condition was getting worse. The worse it got, Lao Guai feared that something might happen, so he hurriedly reported it to the general.

Li Hong hadn't seen Xiao Yu for more than three years, and he missed him very much. When he suddenly heard that Xiao Yu was seriously ill, he was anxious and frightened. He immediately asked the emperor and princess to return to Jinyang.Of course the little emperor agreed, and the eldest princess hurriedly issued an order, allowing the general to return to Jinyang, and ordered the imperial physician to order Huang Da to rush to Jinyang to treat the general's wife.

After Li Hong received the edict from the eldest princess, he took his daughter Li Wen to bid farewell to the emperor and traveled northward day and night.He rode a horse during the day and changed to a carriage at the posthouse at night, without resting at all on the way.The longing for Xiaoyu for more than three years turned into deep guilt at this moment. He was worried that Xiaoyu would leave him and lose her.At this moment, Li Hong forgot Sheji, the war, and the court. He only had Xiaoyu in his heart, Fengxue and Xiuer who were far away in the desert. It doesn't matter, you can give up everything.At the beginning, when I bid farewell to Marshal Murong Feng and returned to Dahan, I just wanted to find my relatives, because of the precious family affection that I couldn't give up in my heart, but for more than ten years, I lost my family affection and abandoned my relatives.

Li Hong was filled with remorse. Whenever he sat in the carriage holding his well-behaved daughter late at night and heard her calling mother softly in his arms, he felt unbearable pain and his heart was tormented.He thought of Lu Longsai, and it seemed that Ji Ming's pained cries before he died were still echoing in his ears, and the desolate tears when he first saw the light rain seemed to be still rolling down his eyes.Li Hong was terrified. He looked helplessly at the dark night and prayed over and over again.

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Ten days later at night, Jinyang City finally appeared in Li Hong's expectation.

A hundred black panthers guarded Li Hong and rushed into the city, and rushed to Jinyang Hou's mansion.Ren Ran and several black panthers went back to the mansion first to report the news, Lao Guai was overjoyed and came out of the mansion to welcome him.

Li Hong jumped out of the carriage with Wen'er in his arms, and went straight to the gate of the house. He saw Laoguai at the first sight.

"How is Madam?"

"It's pretty stable now..." Laoguai hurriedly said, "The doctor said that as long as this dangerous period can pass, Madam will gradually recover."

Li Hong handed the sleeping child in his arms to Any Ran, then held Laoguai's hand tightly, and said gratefully: "Thank you, brother, thank you..."

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Xiao Yu lay quietly on the couch, her hair disheveled, her face pale and haggard, probably because of her illness, her brows were furrowed, her small mouth was trembling slightly, as if she was breathing or moaning.

Li Hong sat down on the collapsed bed and stared at it for a long time, the more he looked at it, the more guilty and uneasy he felt.Li Hong sighed, stretched out his hand to smooth out the long hair scattered on her face, and then lovingly stroked Xiao Yu's thin cheek.Xiaoyu seemed to be aware of it, and slowly opened her eyes. She thought she was dreaming, and tears rolled down suddenly, "Brother, is it you?"

Li Hong felt a pain in his heart, leaned over and hugged her tightly, as if he wanted to melt her into his body, with great force, "Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu... I'm really back..."

Xiaoyu felt the pain, and she choked for a while, "Brother..." She burst into tears with excitement, and suddenly hugged Li Hong's neck, crying loudly, crying heartbreakingly, as if she was going to cry The lovesickness and grievances of the past three years poured out in an instant.

Li Hong held her in his arms, hugged her tightly, and pressed her cheek tightly, feeling her heartbeat, afraid that the light rain would disappear like air if he let go.

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For the next ten days, Li Hong stayed in the mansion, took good care of Xiao Yu, and almost never left Xiao Yu's bed.

Li Wen is also obsessed with her parents, sitting in Li Hong's arms when she has nothing to do, chatting with her mother.Xiaoyu is in a good mood, and her condition is gradually improving.Seeing that Li Wen often acted coquettishly in Li Hong's arms, Xiao Yu joked, after you arrived in Luoyang, you have been with your father every day, isn't it enough?Li Wen pouted immediately when she heard this, and said aggrievedly, "Mom, I was in Luoyang, and I only met my father three times in total.The first time I was in Luoyang, my father visited me once at Tianziying, told me to serve His Majesty well, and then disappeared.The second time was in Liyang during the New Year. I missed my mother and wept secretly by myself. Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess saw me. Then my father came, comforted me, and then disappeared again.The third time was in the spring of this year, when I went to Luoyang with Your Majesty, once I accidentally opened the curtain of the car and saw Dad.He was far away from me, and when I called him, he couldn't hear him, and quickly disappeared.

When Li Wen said this, tears filled her eyes, she was so wronged that she was about to cry.Xiao Yu looked at Li Hong resentfully.Li Hong was very ashamed, holding his daughter with shame.

Xiao Yu hurriedly said a few words of comfort, and Li Wen soon turned from crying to laughing again.This time my mother was sick, and my father brought me back. I am the happiest.Every night, my father hugged me and talked to me a lot. When I was sleepy, he hugged me to sleep.Every morning when I open my eyes, I can see my dad.I grew up so big, this is the happiest ten days.

Xiao Yu glared at Li Hong resentfully, "I worked so hard to raise my daughter, but the happiest time for her is not with me, but with you. I'm so mad."

"Mother..." Li Wen immediately threw herself into Xiaoyu's arms, put her arms around her neck, and kissed her face again and again, "I'm just the happiest when I'm with Dad, but when I'm with Mother, it's just the happiest thing." The happiest and happiest."

Li Hong laughed loudly.Xiao Yu hugged her daughter in her arms, her cheek against her cheek, feeling extremely happy.

"Mother, this time I will stay in Jinyang, I will not go to the palace, and I will never leave mother again." Li Wen turned to Li Hong and said, "Father, please go and ask His Royal Highness the Eldest Princess to let me stay in Jinyang." Jinyang bridesmaid?"

"We are all going to Jinyang." Li Hong smiled, "When your mother recovers from her illness and your little mother and Xiu'er come back, we will go to Chang'an together."

"Chang'an is not good. I want to stay in Jinyang. Mother doesn't want to leave Jinyang either." Li Wen whispered.

Li Hong stretched out his hand to pat her, "If you stay in Jinyang, dad won't be able to see you."

"Can dad come back often?" Li Wen asked suspiciously, "won't dad come back to Jinyang in the future?"

Li Hong smiled faintly, "When you grow up, you will understand. You, like Dad, are involuntary and cannot control your own destiny."

"The child is young, don't say these things to her." Xiao Yu shook her hand at Li Hong, then hugged Li Wen tightly, and asked softly, "Why is Chang'an not good? All your good friends have gone to Chang'an, and you are the only one left here." Alone, you'll be lonely."

"I..." Li Wen hesitated, and said in a low voice, "Yan Ba, Zhao Tong, Li Xin, Pang Hui, and your Majesty, they all bully me, they only care about playing by themselves, and they recognize me for all their homework People do it, so I won’t go.”

"What?" Li Hong immediately frowned when he heard this, "Apart from your Majesty, you also did the homework for these little bastards like Yan Ba?"

"Yeah." Li Wen pouted, almost crying with anger, "They lied to me, saying that as long as I do my homework for them, they would take me to the battlefield, but after all the battles were over, they didn't take me once. battlefield."

"A few little bastards..." Li Hong was angry and funny, and slapped his thigh hard in front of his daughter, "I need to find someone to teach them a lesson, how dare they bully my daughter."

"Forget it, the battlefield is bloody, what's there to see?" Xiao Yu raised her head and glared at Li Hong, "It's not good for you to bring these children to the battlefield since childhood. In a few years, you will be able to command an army to unify the world Now, you should let these children study hard, and the world will depend on them to govern in the future."

Li Hong smiled, nodded, and comforted Li Wen, "After returning to Chang'an, I will vent my anger on you."

"You are an adult, what are you doing meddling in children's affairs?" Xiao Yu smiled, "When Xiu'er comes back, let her vent her anger on Wen'er."

"Is Xiu'er so capable?" Li Hong asked in surprise.

"You, when have you ever cared about family affairs?" Xiao Yu gave him a coquettish look, "If our Xiu'er was a boy, he would definitely be a warrior like you in the future, a pity..."

Before Xiao Yu finished speaking, Li Wen suddenly said seriously: "Mother, you should have another younger brother. If I have a younger brother like Xiu'er, no one will dare to bully me."

Xiao Yu blushed, and looked at Li Hong apologetically.Li Hong laughed loudly, hugged Li Wen, and kissed her tender face again and again.After staying with his family for a long time, Li Hong's heart completely calmed down, and he almost stopped thinking about the court affairs.He smiled at Xiaoyu, we have to work hard, our daughter is going to have a younger brother, and we will fulfill her little wish as soon as possible.Embarrassed, Xiao Yu grabbed the collapsed pillow and threw it at Li Hong.

Xiaoyu and Fengxue have never given birth to a son for Li Hong, and they are very disturbed by this.If Li Hong had no heirs, the blood of the Li family would be cut off, which was unimaginable for a high-ranking person like Li Hong.Xiaoyu asked Fengxue to go to Xingyuan to serve Hou Lihong, and there was such a meaning in it, but Fengxue didn't stay in the Central Plains for long, and was sent to the desert by Li Hong, and he went there for more than a year.

Two years ago, when Princess Yang'an was alive, she hinted that Xiao Yu would marry the General again, intending to let the General marry the clan, but the Princess' love for the General was unknown to everyone in the court. , even Xiao Yu didn't dare to offend this Highness.As Xiao Yu and Feng Xue got older, they became more and more worried about the succession of the Li family, so Xiao Yu intentionally or unintentionally mentioned in front of the eldest princess that the general had no heirs.The eldest princess Bingxue was smart and unceremoniously pushed Xiao Yu back.Although the eldest princess didn't say it clearly, the meaning in her words was very clear. The general had a special status. Except for the emperor's close relatives, no one could marry the general.Apart from this aunt, who else has close relatives in today's world?Xiao Yu had no choice but to stop thinking, and continued to work hard on her own and Feng Xue.

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The imperial physician ordered Huang Da to see that the general's wife's condition was stable and gradually improving, so he proposed to return to Beijing to reply.

Very few people knew about the General's return to Jinyang. Many people thought that the iron cavalry was galloping that night to escort the imperial physician Ling Huang Da, so although many people in northern Xinjiang came to visit the General's wife with gifts during this period, But the trace of the general himself has not been exposed.Now that Huang Da was leaving, and the iron cavalry was still in the mansion, there was no way to hide the fact that the general had returned to Jinyang.

After sending Huang Da away, the general immediately went to visit Mr. Zhao Qi.

Last month, Zhao Qi was overjoyed when he heard that Luoyang had been recovered, and now he heard that the general had returned to Jinyang, and he was even more overjoyed, so he went to meet him outside the gate in person.Li Hong held the disciple ceremony, respectfully, and explained to Zhao Qi the process of attacking Luoyang in detail, and then asked the emperor and the eldest princess to ask Zhao Qi to move his family to Chang'an.

Zhao Qi politely declined, "I'm 94 this year, how many days can I live? Maybe if I can't sleep tonight, I will die."

Li Hong smiled and said a few words of comfort.Zhao Qi suddenly asked in a serious manner: "My people, there is something I have always wanted to ask you. You are helping the little emperor wholeheartedly. This is a good way, but in the future when the little emperor grows up, how will he regain his power? The eldest princess How do you solve it?"

Li Hong said with a smile: "When the emperor grows up, that's the emperor's business."

"Subject..." Zhao Qi stroked his white beard with his hand, and sighed softly, "Subject, when the eldest princess arrived in northern Xinjiang, she was only ten years old, a lonely child, she didn't understand anything, she I came to you with hope and asked for your help, and then we watched her grow up until now..." Zhao Qi narrowed his eyes and asked with a pun, "Are you so cruel?"

The smile on Li Hong's face gradually disappeared, his eyes were bitter and sad, and after a long time, he said in a low voice: "I am ashamed of the late emperor's favor, and I will be under the Nine Springs in the future, so I really have no face to face."

"You didn't try your best, my people..." Zhao Qi patted Li Hong on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "Aunt and nephew are killing each other, the tragedy of human relations, this may arouse the wrath of the sky, and then lead to bloody storms and the collapse of the country. .”

Li Hong sighed, bowed his head and remained silent.

"13 years ago, the eldest princess traveled all the way to the northern border, and rushed to Shaling Lake in the snowstorm. For what? In the past 13 years, how much did she sacrifice for the great man? Over the years, she has shown great affection for the general. Don't you know?" Zhao Qi said emotionally, "People's hearts are made of flesh, and the general is also a human being, and the general should help her and support her as in the past, for the big man and the general. Repaying her for the people of the world will make the foundation of ZTE's great cause more stable."

Li Hong smiled wryly, "Do you know? I might die, or be assassinated like Dong Zhuo, or be decapitated like He Jin, or die in battle."

Zhao Qi shook his head. After thinking for a while, he shook his head again. Suddenly he stood up and said loudly, "When you die, northern Xinjiang will be in chaos, and ZTE's great cause will be ruined. How will you fulfill your promise to the late emperor? Go home at night. Take a good look at the late emperor’s edict and think about it carefully. You only live for a few decades, and you may not live to be 90 like me. If you die at 60, you still have 20 years to live. The years of more than 20 years are gone in a blink of an eye. What should you do in the past 20 years? Think clearly, and you must think clearly. You die but one life, but there may be thousands of people who die with you million innocent souls."

Li Hong remained silent.

Zhao Qi was also silent, he walked slowly to the door, looked at the blue sky, and slowly showed a childlike innocent smile on his face, "Thank you, Zimin, thank you for allowing me to die without any regrets, thank you... ..."

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On May 23, Zhao Qi passed away.

The general personally presided over the funeral and buried Zhao Qi at Zhonglie Terrace in Longshan.

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In May, Chang'an.

General Li Hong's memorial caused an uproar in the court, and almost all the ministers opposed the adjustment of the Western Xinjiang strategy.

Taiwei Xun You, Right Chariot General Xu Rong, and Left Guard General Qu Yi even proposed the strategy of sending troops to western Xinjiang immediately.Western Xinjiang is currently in chaos, and the Qiang people in Hexi are held back by Leizi and Kebixiong's cavalry. Now is the best chance to pacify the southern counties of Western Xinjiang.Xu Rong and Qu Yi went to play the Princess Chang and Chaotang. The two were willing to lead an army of [-] to attack Xijiang, and promised to pacify the three counties of Jincheng, Longxi and Wudu in the south of Xijiang before the end of the year, and quickly complete the battle against the Hexi Qiang army. The trend of pinching attack is to ensure the safety of Guanzhong.

The left chariot general Xian Yufu and the right guard general Zhang Yan, who acted as chief ministers, insisted on adjusting the offensive and defensive strategies in western Xinjiang.The top priority of the imperial court is to stabilize northern Xinjiang, Hebei, Guanzhong, and the Central Plains, so that the people can recuperate and restore the vitality of the imperial court.

The court was deadlocked.

At this moment, General Li Hong, who is in charge of making decisions about the military affairs of the Han Dynasty, is in Jinyang. Even if the imperial court wants to send troops to the western borders, Li Hong must agree. Hong returned to Beijing, but at this time news of Zhao Qi's death came.The eldest princess and the court ministers were very sad, and the emperor ordered Li Hong to preside over the funeral and postpone his return to Beijing.

Li Hong will not come back, but the matter in Xijiang needs to be resolved. If Liu Bei is allowed to gain a foothold in Longxi and Wudu counties, Guanzhong will face more and more threats, and it will be extremely troublesome to attack Xijiang in the future.

Da Siong Li Wei supported the adjustment of Xijiang's strategy. He described the crisis of the imperial court's wealth in detail at the court meeting, and believed that the most urgent task is to solve the imperial wealth crisis, not the security problem in Guanzhong.Li Wei said that the 12 troops in Guanzhong are enough to protect Chang'an, and the 12 troops stationed in Guanzhong have already posed a huge threat to Xijiang. Under such circumstances, it is purely alarmist to say that Xijiang poses any threat to Guanzhong.

Li Wei's words had an effect, and the direction of the court's debate immediately changed. The ministers no longer entangled in the strategy of the western border, but instead argued repeatedly about the court's taxation policy.

Some ministers once again proposed to move the capital back to Luoyang, and then some ministers questioned the imperial court’s tax policy and suggested that the imperial court adjust the tax policy. greatly increase.

These two proposals can effectively alleviate the financial crisis of the imperial court, but at the same time they also negate certain policies in the imperial court's New Deal.

This incident angered the eldest princess.If the wealth is not enough, they will attack the New Deal. If it is light, it is a policy dispute, and if it is more important, it is a power struggle.The eldest princess immediately turned to the Da Sima Mansion, firmly supported the decision of the Da Sima Mansion, and ordered to immediately adjust the offensive and defensive strategies of Xijiang.

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In June, the former general Lu Bu, the latter general Yushi, the left general Yan Liang, and the Wuwei general Wen Chou were ordered to return to Beijing.

General Li Feng Jiang Wu and General Changshui Mustafa led two battalions of cavalry back at the same time.

Xian Yufu ordered that with Jiang Wu as the commander and Mustafa as his deputy, he would lead [-] cavalry to Anding and Beidi to join the Xianling Qiang Kuangfengsha Department, and enter Wuwei County along the southern part of Tianqiong Desert. Qiang Qi launched an attack from behind, helping the troops of Yan Rou, Lei Zi, and Kebi Xiong to quickly gain a foothold in the Guzang area in the north of Wuwei County, so that they could free up their hands to attack Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang counties westward.

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At the end of June, Feng Xue, Wang Ze, Tian Yu, Ji Feng and two thousand cavalry returned to Jinyang from the desert.

Li Hong rushed to Juzhu Fortress to meet Feng Xue and his party.

Fengxue is still a white horse, dressed in white clothes, coming from the dust, like a fairy.In front of all the soldiers, Li Hong stepped forward and hugged Feng Xue tightly, ignoring the others.Li Hong was about to whisper something to Feng Xue, when a small head popped out of his chest, and he yelled dissatisfiedly at Li Hong, "Father, have you hugged me enough? It's time to hug me."

Li Hong laughed, let go of the wind and snow, bent down and hugged Li Xiu, "Xiuer, is Damo fun?"

"It's fun." Li Xiu wrinkled her small nose, blinked her big eyes twice, pointed to a group of horses in the distance and said, "It's best to go there once a year, so I can get a lot of good things. Look, those horses are all My uncle gave me the best Pegasus. And the bow, the sharpest bow, was given by Uncle Suli, the fat man, but when he gave it to me, he seemed a bit reluctant and too stingy. By the way, Fuyu The patriarch of the country also gave me a sword."

"Master Patriarch?" Li Hong was stunned for a moment, and then he understood, "That's Master Changfeng. With Master Patriarch, you are not naughty, you are embarrassing your mother?"

Li Xiu waved her little hand very proudly, and said without changing her face and heartbeat: "No. The patriarch praised me, saying that if I stay in the desert for a long time, I will definitely be like my father. There are thousands of people Hunt me with a knife."

Li Hong laughed wildly.Feng Xue angrily twisted Li Xiu's little ears, "You still have the nerve to brag, but you've completely humiliated me along the way."

"General, Xiu'er is now well-known in the desert." Wang Ze walked over, stroked his beard and smiled, "Everyone in the desert ran away when they saw her."

"Why?" Li Hong asked with a smile, "Is my little leopard so powerful?"

"Xiu'er is not a little leopard, but a big tiger." Ji Feng shook his head and smiled, "As long as she likes something, she will immediately say, I want it all, and it's all mine. It's not good if they don't give it to you. Well, I can’t bear it anymore. When I’m satisfied with Xiu’er, Xiu’er just laughs, and I can’t even find people’s flattery. If I’m not satisfied with Xiu’er, Xiu’er messes around with others. If it’s too much to mess around with, she still has a last resort , shed tears, tried a hundred spirits, all the kings and kings on the desert were recruited..." After Ji Feng said, the people around him probably thought of the scene at that time, and they all burst out laughing.

Feng Xue blushed and looked rather embarrassed, while Li Xiu hugged Li Hong's neck with one hand, and waved her hand in the air with disdain, "It's the first time we meet, I can't ask for too much, that would make me look too poor and lose face. Next time I go to the desert, I will bring some things to exchange with them, so that I will have face, and they will not give it to me. By the way..." She suddenly turned to Wang Ze and said, "Grandpa, when I was in Buyeo last time, I saw you I seem to like the red-billed birds of King Fuyu very much, so I got them for you."

Wang Ze was stunned, and then asked in surprise, "Really?" Then he thought that there was probably nothing Li Xiu couldn't get in this world, and his expression immediately became extremely excited, rubbing his hands again and again, looking impatient, "Where is it?" ? Where's the bird?"

Li Xiu jumped out of Li Hong's arms with all his strength.Wang Ze bent down and took her little hand, smiling so hard that his eyes narrowed, "Xiu'er, grandpa likes you so much. Where's the bird? That little guy is so delicate, he can't be suffocated."

Li Xiu's expression changed, "Oh, maybe I'm really suffocated."

Wang Ze was in a hurry, he pulled Li Xiu and ran away, "Quick, quick, good boy, take me to see it quickly, but you must not suffocate to death."

Li Hong, Tian Yu, Ji Feng and others looked at the backs of the old and the young running away, all laughing.Feng Xue was trembling with anger, "This little girl dared to steal Fu Yu's belongings privately, I...I want her to return it immediately."

"Forget it." Li Hong held her back and waved his hands again and again, "She only showed it to Lord Wang now, obviously because she was afraid that you would force her to return it if you found out. Let Xiaolan say something to Wei Qiutai later, Said that I like his bird very much, and thanked him for the gift."

"You are all used to her like this, what will you do in the future?" Feng Xue really wanted to cry but had no tears.

"It'll be fine when I grow up." Li Hong smiled indifferently, "My daughter, of course, is like me. She is being chased and killed now, and she will be chased and killed in the future."

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(End of this chapter)