Great Han Arrow God

Chapter 514 The Past

The emperor wanted to borrow a boat from Liu Ling.

Liu Ling showed a look of embarrassment. "I have already transferred all the buildings to my father."

The emperor was disappointed and rubbed his fingers.Seeing this, Empress Chen asked, "Why did you transfer your building to your father? Although you married into the Liang family, your fief is still there. Could it be that the business on your fief..."

Liu Ling nodded, and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, before I get married, I can enter Beijing and go out to sea. I can come and go freely, and the building boat is very useful. Now I am married as a woman, and the husband and the child, the building boat is useless. The double-faced brocade and the Liuli workshop were given to my father. There are gains and losses, and this is an inevitable price."

The queen looked at the emperor, not knowing how to persuade him.The emperor worked tirelessly and came to Maoling to meet Liu Ling. The main purpose was to borrow a building boat.Unexpectedly, all Liu Ling's buildings and boats had been transferred to King Huainan.But who can blame this?Although Liu Ling didn't say anything, everyone knew it in their hearts.Liu Ling's so-called price is not with Huainan King, but with the Son of Heaven.

She didn't want the emperor to be afraid of Liang Xiao, so she stopped going out, helping her husband and raising her children, and transferring the building and boat was just one of many measures.In the past, Liu Ling was a famous figure in Chang'an City, and the lecture salon in Huainan Mansion flourished under her hands.After marrying into the Liang family, she no longer showed her face in public, Huainan Mansion was no longer in the limelight, and now the most famous lecture salon is her Chen family's, and even many rising stars have surpassed the Huainan Mansion, which was the first to open up the trend.

Liu Ling tentatively asked: "If your Majesty needs it, I can borrow it from my father. However, I only have three buildings, are they enough?"

"If it is used to transport troops and food, how many people can the three buildings carry?"

Liu Ling thought for a moment: "It depends on where you are going, the length of time you stay at sea, and whether there are any supply points that you can stop along the way."

The emperor squinted his eyes and remained silent, like a clay puppet.Seeing this, Liu Ling had a rough idea, and then said: "If you go to Kuaiji, excluding the sailors, a large boat can carry about 200 people. If you go to Panyu, because of the long distance, it can only carry about [-] people."

"So few?" The emperor was surprised. "That can't carry much cargo."

"Loading goods is different from carrying people." Liu Ling explained: "As long as there is enough space for carrying goods and the weight does not exceed it, it is fine. Carrying people is different. Not only must there be room for activities, but also carry food and drinking water. Adrift at sea is impossible without water."

"Do you still need to bring water when you go out to sea?"

Liu Ling smiled. "Your Majesty, the sea water is bitter and salty, you cannot drink it."

The emperor suddenly realized and slapped his forehead. "Yes, yes, I heard Zhu Fuyan talk about this. It turned out to be the case. In other words, this boat really can't hold a few people, three or four hundred people, and it's useless."

Liu Ling raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "That's not necessarily the case."

The emperor tilted his head, looked at Liu Ling, and picked up the tea bowl on the case to sip tea.He knew that Liu Ling was smart, and he could tell where he was going by borrowing a boat with just a few words.However, it was precisely because Liu Ling was smart and wouldn't speak out, that's why he didn't decide to hide it from her.Listening to her take the initiative to ask questions now, I can't help being a little surprised.

"Your Majesty, when my husband went to the Western Regions, there were only a dozen or so of us." Liu Ling lowered his eyebrows, looked pleasing to the eye, picked up the lid of the glass bowl, and lightly knocked on the side of the bowl, making a crisp sound. "Three or 400 people, if they are all elites and used properly, they can win by surprise." She glanced at the emperor, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly. "It's like a master's competition, sometimes a seemingly inadvertent move can kill with a single blow."

The emperor laughed silently. "Then is your husband such a master?"

"He's just a hawk." Liu Ling shook his head. "And a somewhat proud eagle dog."

The emperor's eyes flickered, and he fell silent.Liu Ling's meaning, he understood immediately.However, he did not have such confidence.Can I control Liang Xiao, a proud eagle dog?If you can't control it, you will hurt yourself.

However, the emperor couldn't help but be moved.Liu Ling was right, if Liang Xiao commanded three or four hundred elites, it would be possible to win by surprise.Judging from Liang Xiao's arrangements for Qin Ge and others to learn the tactics of South Vietnam, he probably also longed for the opportunity to return to the battlefield, and made a lot of preparations.For now, he is the most suitable person for this task.

The emperor hesitated.

-

The emperor bid farewell to Liu Ling, got into the car, and drove to Chang'an City.

It was midsummer, and the trees on the side of the road were densely green and lush, like a green city wall stretching all the way to Chang'an City in the distance.

The emperor sat in the car, leaning against the wall of the car, resting his chin, watching the shadows of trees passing by outside the car window, but his eyes were a little erratic, obviously out of state.

Empress Chen Ajiao held the other hand of the emperor, and sat quietly by the side, her body swaying slightly as the carriage moved forward.The luan bell is crisp, as if it came from the depths of memory.She was in a daze for a moment, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"What's the matter with you?" The emperor turned his head, seeing the strange expression on the queen's face, he couldn't help asking.

The queen came back to her senses, her face flushed, and she lowered her head. "It's nothing. When I heard the sound of the bell, I remembered my childhood. At that time, we didn't have a marriage contract. Whenever we went out for a walk in the city, you liked to stay by my side."

The emperor raised his eyebrows, but hesitated to speak.His impression is somewhat different from that of the queen.At the beginning, he liked to stay by her side, simply because he liked her.Later, she stayed by her side, but it was taken care of by the queen mother, because the fight for the crown prince was not as the queen thought, it just happened naturally.

What he missed even more was the time before he wanted to fight for the crown prince.Unfortunately, those days are gone forever.

Suddenly, the emperor felt a little sad.From Queen Chen Ajiao, he thought of Liu Ling.Once upon a time, he and King Huainan were also very close.Whenever the King of Huainan entered the court, he liked to pester the King of Huainan and listen to him tell some fairy tales and magic tricks. At that time, Liu Ling was still young, and sometimes he would listen in and look at him with a pair of shiny black eyes.When they are free, they also get together and say something full of childish things.

Now that he has become the emperor, he belittles Huang Lao, and his relationship with Huainan King has become estranged.Liu Ling was married as a married woman, and she devoted herself to working hard for her husband Liang Xiao, and wasted no time in fighting for a chance for Liang Xiao to come back, but he had to be vigilant all the time to avoid falling into her trap.

I'm really tired.

"Liang Xiao...is it available?" The emperor thought about it again and again, and finally opened his mouth.He originally didn't want to discuss these matters with the queen, but looking around the palace, except for the queen who knows a little bit, other women can't provide him with any reference advice at all.

Liang Xiao married a good wife.

Empress Chen turned her head with surprise in her eyes. "His Majesty?"

"It's nothing, just talk about it." The emperor hid the jealousy in his heart, and smiled softly: "Ling'er wants Liang Xiao to re-lead the army. Do you think I can trust Liang Xiao?"

Empress Chen blinked her eyes and didn't speak for a long time.She didn't know if she should answer.The emperor is very disgusted with the harem's meddling in politics. There was an empress dowager before, and now there is an empress dowager. He has been constrained by the harem for a long time.After being married for so many years, except for some special circumstances, this was the first time he took the initiative to ask her opinion.

"I do not know how to say it."

"You can say what you think." The emperor leaned back, put his hands behind his head, looked at the profile of Empress Chen, and suddenly noticed a problem.One of the white hairs on Empress Chen's sideburns was gone.He was taken aback for a moment, and then he was attracted by Empress Chen's pensive appearance.

Empress Chen bit her nails, her long eyelashes flickering, revealing a bit of a naive air.When she was a child, she often showed such an expression when she encountered a problem that she couldn't answer.Whenever at this time, he would stand up bravely and proudly to protect her and help her answer the questions, and then she would giggle, glance at him secretly, and wink her eyes to show her gratitude.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of the relationship between Liang Xiao and Weng Lord?"

The emperor said nothing.Empress Chen turned her head, seeing the Son of Heaven staring at her in a daze with blurred eyes, she felt a little embarrassed for a moment.She pushed the emperor and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

"Oh, nothing, what did you just say?"

"Let me tell you, what do you think of Liang Xiao and Lord Weng's feelings?"

"That's needless to say, of course it's very good." The emperor curled his lips. "She is a majestic lord, and she did not hesitate to wait for several years, from the time when Liang Xiao was a commoner, until he became a marquis. Liang Xiao is not bad, he is desperate to marry her. There are so many troubles. It doesn’t matter which Lord he marries, even if he wants to marry a princess, it doesn’t matter, must he marry Lord Huainan?”

"Then you say, will Liang Xiao abandon the Lord?"

The emperor was silent, a little regretful.He already knew what Empress Chen meant.However, his understanding was slightly different from Queen Chen's.In this regard, women's thinking is always different from men's.It was wrong to ask the Queen about this question from the beginning.

"Probably not." The emperor said slowly.

The queen looked at the emperor puzzled.The emperor's expression puzzled her.Is there any doubt about this question? Liang Xiao and Liu Ling have such a good relationship, how could Liang Xiao abandon Liu Ling?Now that he is rich and honorable, if he has a wife like this, what extravagant expectations can he have.

Men's minds are really weird.

-

The emperor returned to Weiyang Palace, and before he could sit down, he received a memorial from Yan An from South Vietnam.

In the memorandum, Yan An suggested that the imperial court requisition buildings and ships to enhance the water warfare capabilities of Han Anguo and Wei Qing.If possible, let Wei Qing lead his troops to attack Panyu City.Even if there are only more than a thousand people, it can deter the monarchs and ministers of South Vietnam and force them to accept hostages and become ministers.

The emperor is both happy and worried.Happily, Yan An's suggestion coincided with his. He went to Liu Ling, hoping to surprise Panyu with naval forces and put pressure on the Nanyue monarchs and ministers.What is worrying is that this suggestion obviously came from Liang Xiao, Yan An not only failed to suppress Liang Xiao, but was influenced by him and became his mouthpiece.

The emperor was somewhat disappointed.

The emperor immediately called Dou Ying and others to discuss the matter.

Dou Ying clearly supports Yan An's suggestion.He said that in the case of floods in Shandong, it is impossible for the imperial court to send heavy troops to attack South Vietnam, and the current conditions are not met.If a partial division can be used to intimidate South Vietnam and make them accept their surrender, this is a plan that requires the least amount of effort but has a large enough impact.As the last king with a different surname, Nanyue sent a proton to the imperial court, which means that his history of separatist rule outside Lingwai has ended and he has become a real vassal state.

In a sense, this is tantamount to expanding territory.You know, South Vietnam is nominally a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, but the Han Dynasty has never been able to exert real influence on him.South Vietnam is an independent kingdom, not even as good as Dawan and Yuezhi.Dawan and Yueshi at least still have protons in Chang'an.

As for how many people to send, Dou Ying also made a suggestion: to requisition the buildings and soldiers of Huainan Kingdom, but assign them to Han Anguo to command.According to the imperial court system, the King of Huainan did not govern the people, let alone the army. The soldiers of Huainan Kingdom originally belonged to the imperial court, so it was logical for the imperial court to recruit them now.

The emperor was very satisfied, and immediately sent Dou Ying as an envoy to Huainan to announce the edict, and recruited Huainanlou boatmen to go to Kuaiji to reinforce Han Anguo and Wei Qing.

Dou Ying took the opportunity to put forward another suggestion: recruit the children of Liehou and let them join the army to conquer.Liehou was granted the title of Lietu, and he was originally obliged to contribute to the imperial court's expedition.Now that Liehou's children are all in the capital, bored and causing trouble, it's better to drive them out to fight, even if they don't make meritorious service, they can open their eyes.

The emperor hesitated for a moment, but also accepted.He was originally worried that Liehou's children would rebuild a military group after joining the army. After this period of time, he felt that he was too worried.The founding hero has already passed away, and most of the current Liehou's children have never been in battle, and they have no influence in the army at all.Allowing them to join the army can not only balance commoner generals like Liang Xiao, but also reduce military expenditures.

Liehou joined the army with their own weapons and pommel horses, and only needed the court to provide food and salaries. The biggest expenditure was rewards after meritorious service.However, that will have to wait until they have done their work.

Both of Dou Ying's suggestions were approved by the emperor, and she was in such a good mood that she even raised her voice a little bit.

The emperor then handed over the ship models and blueprints brought back from the Liang family to the Examination Order, and asked him to go to Huainan with Dou Ying.According to Liu Ling, although there are many large-scale boats in Huainan, the best ones are the three she used.The three building ships have been rebuilt to be more resistant to wind and waves.If you want to carry soldiers to sea, it may be necessary to modify the existing building ships in Huainan.With these ship models and drawings, the examination order can avoid detours.

In order to be safe, the emperor sent people to Maoling again, and borrowed Deng Guobin and other Huainan guests from Liu Ling.After talking with Deng Guobin, he admired Deng Guobin's skills very much. He wanted to recruit him as an official, but Deng Guobin refused.If there is Deng Guobin's assisted examination order, the renovation of buildings and ships will be smoother.

Liu Ling readily agreed.A few days later, Deng Guobin and two other disciples rushed to Chang'an, joined Dou Ying and others, and rushed to Huainan together.

At the same time, the emperor issued an edict to the prime minister's mansion, ordering the prime minister to cooperate with Zongzheng to enlist the children of Liehou.In order to ensure the smooth progress of this matter, the emperor personally rushed to Pingyanghou's mansion, and asked Pingyanghou Cao Shou to set an example for Liehou and lead the army.

Cao Shou readily obeyed.
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(End of this chapter)