Great Han Empire

Chapter 252 The situation changes suddenly
The emperor's second edict was delivered to Daying.The emperor didn't say much, and ordered him to rush to Luoyang on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, and all military and political affairs in Xiliang were handled by the school lieutenant Xian Yufu.

Li Hong thought about it all night, and after careful weighing, he decided to return to Beijing.

He summoned generals above Sima rank to announce his decision, and arranged for Xian Yufu to be the governor of Xiliang's military affairs after he left, Xu Rong to be in charge of Xiliang's government affairs, Zuo Yan to assist him; Qu Yi to be in charge of Xiliang's military affairs, Yan Rourou and Nie Xiao to assist .The generals of the other ministries stayed in the camp with peace of mind, led troops to train, and prepared to attack Jincheng and Longxi counties next spring.

Li Hong pointed to Li Wei and said, "Zhong Yuan followed me to Luoyang."

Li Wei was overjoyed, stood up and bowed to Li Hong again and again, and thanked with a smile: "Thank you for your trust." Then he cupped his hands and said to the generals, "Don't worry, my lords, I will do my best to assist you to ensure that you return intact. to Xiliang."

Qu Yi smiled and said: "Zhong Yuan, seeing you are so happy, you can't be a girl with good friends in Luoyang, right?"

Li Wei's expression changed slightly, and he said with a smile: "Brother Yuntian told a joke."

Li Hong waved his hand to signal Li Wei to sit down, and then said: "Zilong, Zifeng (Jiang Wu's word), Lingming, Huding, Qichen follow me to Luoyang. The candidates for Tiqi and personal guards are from Xianbei Wuwan The Qiang people and the Black Panthers from the three prefectures of Hebei and Liangzhou choose from them. Old man..."

Tian Zhong grabbed his little goatee preoccupied, raised his head and said, "I know, I will equip you with the best armor, the best weapons, and the best horses."

Yan Liang stood up, bowed and said, "My lord, let me go with you."

Yan Wuwei, Wen Chou, Lei Zi, Tie Yue, Xiao Lan, She Hu and others all stood up and asked to go with them.Li Hong was very moved. He motioned for several people to sit down one by one, and said with a smile, "There are [-] troops here. All of you other Sima who lead the army have left with me. What about the army? You all stay here."

Here Li Hong is still discussing with his subordinates some things that need to be dealt with in Xiliang after he left, and the emperor's edict has arrived over there.Li Hong had a feeling of being out of breath. His heart was heavy, and he felt helpless and fearful. This was the first time since he could remember that he felt his own weakness and insignificance. He could not control his own body. Fate, he could only let a pair of invisible hands tightly clamp his neck, he was suffocated, he vaguely saw his future was a solemn darkness, the darkness was full of danger and terror, that kind of confrontation The fear and uneasiness of an unknown fate haunted him like a nightmare, leaving him at a loss.

The generals such as Xian Yufu and Xu Rong were also very nervous by the imperial edicts one after another. Everyone was panicked, and an ominous haze shrouded everyone's heart.

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Li Hong walked out of the big tent and saw countless soldiers, familiar and unfamiliar, lined up in the big camp.

Li Hong felt excited for a while, and his eyes immediately became moist.He managed to calm down and bid farewell to all the generals standing outside the tent.

Li Hong took Xu Rong's big hand, pointed to Fu Gan who was standing beside him and said, "If something happens to me, you must send Fu Gan to the stable Wang's house and arrange it properly, so as to comfort the spirit of Zhuang Jiehou."

Xu Rong nodded, and said with a determined face: "Your Excellency will definitely come back, I will wait for your return in Daying."

Li Hong stretched out his hand to beat Qu Yi, and said with a smile, "Remember, you still owe me a drink."

Qu Yi forced a smile and said, "It is the honor of my life, Qu Yi, to be able to fight on the battlefield under the command of your lord. I will wait for your return."

Li Hong held Yan Wuwei with one hand, and Huzi with the other, and said, "Wuwei, your fist is gone. If you have time, you can accompany Huzi to the military market for a few drinks. If I come back with my life, I will accompany the two brothers."

With tears in Yan Wuwei's eyes, he choked up and remained silent.Huzi hugged Li Hong tightly, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Zheng Xin and Xiaolan held Li Hong's hand tightly, reluctant to let go. The three had been scouts together since Lulongsai.Li Hong put his arms around the shoulders of the two of them and said in a low voice: "If I can't come back, please remember that when I return to Youzhou in the future, I must go to Hengling and move Li Song's tomb back to Lulongsai. This is what I promised him of."

Little Lazy felt hurt in her heart and bowed her head in silence.Zheng Xin forced a smile, and said in a low voice, "Brother, you will come back, let's go back to Lulongsai together."

Li Hong held Zuo Yan's hand, looked at Wei Zheng with a gloomy expression, and whispered: "If the situation is not good, you can go to Youzhou with Brother Yuxing, and don't go to Taihang Mountain again, okay?" Nod yes.

Heng Ji, Lou Lu, She Yingtong, Lu Huanyang, and She Hu saw Li Hong approaching, and hurriedly knelt down on the ground. She Hu looked excited and wanted to cry.Li Hong helped the five people up one by one and hugged them. He looked at the five people and said solemnly: "You must not go back on what you promised me."

Lou Lu snorted coldly, with a murderous look in his eyes.Li Hong patted him on the shoulder and said firmly: "If I die in Luoyang, you should immediately return to Shanggu County, Youzhou from the frontier fortress, and you must not make trouble. It's nothing special for you to die, but what about your tribe? What about the Wanzu people?"

Li Hong looked at Nie Xiao, Kuangfengsha, Baili Yang and other Qiang leaders guiltily, and said helplessly, "I thought I could help you, but now it seems that I can't." He looked up at the gray sky, feeling sad He said calmly, "If I die in Luoyang, you decide to stay. Mr. Xianyu and I are brothers, and he will not make things difficult for you."

Nie Xiao hugged Li Hong vigorously, pretended to smile and said: "Master, you are a good person, you will not die, we will wait for your return in Xiliang."

Kuang Fengsha also came up to hug Li Hong, and said sincerely: "You, like Mr. Fu, are good people among the Han people. They all regard us Qiang people as brothers. Good people get rewarded, and you will not die."

Tian Zhong solemnly bowed to Li Hong and said with a smile, "Go all the way, my lord. I'll wait for your return. You promised me that you would take me to the setting sun. You must fulfill your oath." Li Hong nodded with a helpless smile and said, "Old man, Xiao Yu will be entrusted to you."

Tian Zhong shook his head and said, "How many more years can I live? People, Ji Ming entrusted Xiao Yu to you back then. How could you go back on what you promised?"

Li Hong's heart skipped a beat, and Ji Ming's roar before dying suddenly appeared in his ears clearly. "Promise me, you will take care of Xiaoyu for the rest of your life, forever." "I promise you, I promise you, you won't die, you won't die!" Li Hong was heartbroken, and finally couldn't hold back the tears.

Seeing Li Hong's grief, Tian Zhong put his arms around Li Hong's shoulders and comforted him in a low voice: "My son, if you lose the will to live, you will die in Luoyang. Even if the emperor doesn't kill you, but you are assassinated by others If you die, it will also cause chaos in Xiliang. Look here, there are tens of thousands of Qiang people, Xianbei people, and Wuwan people. After you die, how can there be no chaos in Xijiang and Beijiang? You are not for you Live for one, but live for many, you know?"

Li Hong nodded slightly, and the murderous aura suddenly surged in his heart.

Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan surrounded him.Li Hong said goodbye to them one by one.

Xian Yufu stood outside the crowd and kept looking at Li Hong.He remembered that when he first saw Li Hong, Li Hong was lying on the Lulongsai city tower full of dead bodies, sleeping soundly. At that time, besides his terrifying murderous aura, he was also immature.Now, after the baptism of war, Li Hong has grown into a famous general of the Han Dynasty.Think about the short period of time, people are different, everything is like a dream.

Li Hong and Xian Yufu looked at each other speechlessly, everything was in silence.

Xian Yufu smiled and said, "Come on, I'll carry you on my back."

Looking at Xian Yufu's strong back, Li Hong recalled that when Xian Yufu went to see him in Daying, Shanggu Ning County, carrying him through the gate into the big tent, his heart was agitated, and tears rolled down his face.

"Come on." Xian Yufu turned back and smiled, "I'll carry you to the Black Panther to remind you that here in Xiliang, brothers are waiting for you, you want to come back."

Li Hong lay on Xian Yufu's back, closed his eyes, he thought of many comrades who died, he thought of Iron Wolf, Gongsun Hu, Tian Jing, Pickaxe, Zhao Wen, Wu Zhao, Li Song, Hammer, stake, fist, his heart suddenly calmed down, and he found that he hadn't thought about life and death for a long time.He suddenly realized that he had abandoned the belief in his heart. He had never intended to live or die, so why couldn't he see it this time?So many comrades-in-arms are buried in the green mountains and rivers, so I should go to accompany them.

Li Hongfei got on his horse.

The war drums were beating loudly, and the sound shook the sky.

Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted wildly: "Send... Your Excellency..."

"Send... big... people..."

Li Hong looked at his subordinates and listened to their roar like a tide, his heart was surging and tears rolled down his eyes in an instant.

Li Hong screamed loudly and galloped on his horse. He galloped along the front of the army, waving to the soldiers non-stop.Zhao Yun followed closely behind, holding high the Black Panther battle flag.

The soldiers saw the movement of the battle flag from a distance and knew that the commander was patrolling the formation. They were all excited. They tried their best and shouted loudly: "Send... big... people..."

The roar was earth-shattering, majestic, and shocked the whole world.

Tears wet Li Hong's clothes and blurred his vision. He waved his hands to the soldiers with all his strength and kept shouting, "Thank you...thank you..."

Li Hong drove his horse to the gate, he couldn't believe his eyes.

The dense gray crowd outside the gate could not be seen at a glance, their clothes were ragged, and the hungry and cold people surrounded the camp, and the loud shouts were deafening.

"My lord, you can't go, you go, what do we eat in winter? Can we survive in winter?"

"My lord, don't leave. If you leave, how long will the Xiliang war last?"

"My lord, if you leave, those corrupt officials will eat our flesh and drink our blood. There is no way for us to survive."

Li Hong looked into the pair of despairing eyes and heard the helpless cries. His mind was shocked, and he was stunned for a moment.

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When Li Hong rushed to Bashang, he received the fifth imperial decree from the emperor.

That night, he met Jing Zhaoyin Gaixun.Gai Xun specially ran to Bashang to see him.

Li Hong bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty has come all the way from Chang'an City, it really makes me afraid to be an official."

"I heard that when your lord left Yicheng, [-] troops lined up to send them off, and tens of thousands of Xiliang people gathered outside the gate, shouting loudly not to let your lord leave Xiliang, and blocked the camp completely." Gai Xun touched himself. The bearded man praised sincerely, "My lord's prestige in Xiliang is now at the height of the sky, and no one can compare to it."

Li Hong thought of the tens of thousands of people who had gathered outside the gate the day he left Yicheng, and he seemed to hear the disappointed and helpless cries of the people in his ears. His heart was sour, and his eyes were red.

"My lord, the cold winter has come to Xiliang, and the heavy snow is coming soon. Please deliver food, grass and other relief materials to Xiliang in time to help the people of Xiliang survive the winter safely." Li Hong shook his head and sighed, "I want such a false name What's the use? It can't be used as food or clothing, and it can't calm Xiliang and help the people of Xiliang live a stable life."

Gai Xun looked at him in surprise and admiration, and said, "It's rare for an adult to be able to see through fame and fortune at such a young age. Your Excellency is going to Luoyang, so don't worry too much about Xiliang. Your Majesty has ordered me to transfer the third assistant warehouse The grain and grass reserves are all sent to Xiliang, and the treasury of Sanfu will be replenished after the grain and grass from Jizhou, Yuzhou and Yanzhou arrive. It’s just that the harvest this autumn is mediocre, and the grain and grass reserves are not much, so it is difficult to meet Xiliang’s needs.”

Li Hong was startled, and said, "So, this year, people in Liangzhou will freeze to death and starve to death?"

Gai Xun sighed: "If Xiliang didn't have continuous heavy snow this year, the situation should be better than last year. However, the situation of adults is not better than last year."

Li Hong smiled wryly, and said: "At this time last year, I was ordered to lead my troops to Jizhou to suppress the Yellow Turban Army. At least I knew a little about the situation of the Yellow Turban Army, and I had a solid foundation in my heart. But when I came to Luoyang this year, I had nothing at all. I don't know anything about the situation." He looked at Gai Xun, bowed again, and said, "I wonder if my lord can give me some pointers?"

Gai Xun's resolute wrinkled face showed deep worry, he sighed bitterly, and said, "I came from Chang'an just to talk to you."

"In the later stage of Xiliang's anti-corruption campaign, you captured and killed all corrupt officials regardless of injustice, and offended all forces in the DPRK and China. At that time, we all had thoughts and plans to kill you, but in the end you won, so the past Don't mention the matter again, we will write it off."

"The things I'm going to talk about today are related to the safety of our Han Dynasty, so I want to ask the people first, do you think the heir to the imperial line must be the eldest prince?"

Li Hong has learned in detail what happened in Luoyang recently through Li Wei's Taixue friends.Both Li Wei and Li Wei's Taixue friends believed that the emperor called Li Hong back to Beijing to report on his duties, which must have something to do with the fact that the ministers wrote a letter to urge the emperor to appoint a prince as soon as possible.Both Li Wei and Zuo Yan explained to Li Hong the imperial succession system of the Han Dynasty many times in the camp, so when Li Hong heard Gai Xun ask this question, he immediately replied without hesitation: "Of course."

Gai Xun's face relaxed, and he let out a long breath.

"Okay, okay." Gai Xun said two good things in a row, and then asked tentatively: "Mystery, some people in the court think that the eldest prince is frivolous and playful, with a perverted temperament, and is not suitable to be a prince, while the little prince is meek and modest, knowledgeable and gentle." Knowing the etiquette, it is more appropriate to inherit the great rule, which is good for the future of the Han Dynasty. What do the people think?"

Li Hong was secretly surprised, and realized that his trip back to Beijing was indeed related to the matter of registering the crown prince.This Lord Gai Xungai is one of the ministers, an important minister in the court, and is deeply trusted by the emperor. If there are any important matters in the court, the emperor will ask his opinion first with a hand edict. He naturally knows the emperor's mind best.Now that Mr. Gai asked such a question, he obviously meant to test himself, so did Mr. Gai mean it on behalf of the emperor or the noble family?

Li Hong saw Gai Xun looking at him with piercing eyes, as if he was afraid of missing the abnormal expression on his face. His right hand was resting on his knee, trembling slightly, showing that he was very nervous.Li Hong immediately replied: "According to the law of the Han Dynasty, it is absolutely not allowed to abolish a concubine and establish a concubine."

"Okay, okay, okay." Gai Xun laughed excitedly, he leaned back a little, relaxed his mood, and nodded again and again, "I am relieved when the people say that, the crisis in front of the Han Dynasty is also very serious. It's gone."

Li Hong didn't make a sound, waiting for Gai Xun to continue.

"Why did Your Majesty suddenly call you back to Beijing? I don't know the specific reason, but this happened after the ministers of the DPRK and China jointly wrote to His Majesty, requesting His Majesty to register the crown prince as soon as possible. It must have something to do with the appointment of the crown prince."

Gai Xun then explained in detail to Li Hong that the emperor wanted the little prince to inherit the throne, so the emperor was reluctant to register the prince for a long time, and delayed again and again.

"If your majesty wants to make the little prince the crown prince, you must first solve the two obstacles of the empress and the general. The general holds a heavy army, and the empress has the support of the eunuch. If your majesty does not move, there are only two consequences. Successfully solved the problem, otherwise he would suffer from it, and a bloody storm would be unavoidable."

"Your Majesty is very smart. He knows that his ideas are ridiculous. No one supports him except the Queen Mother, so he wants to cultivate a group of middle officials and ministers who absolutely support him. The people are the important generals he likes the most. Otherwise Considering that you blatantly violated the order and wantonly killed thousands of people in Huaili, will he protect you? Will he punish you?"

"Your Majesty has a stubborn personality today, and he likes to make great achievements. He likes to do things rashly, and he often goes his own way. The more deviant things he likes to do, the more he likes to do them. The bloody fights inside and outside the palace have shaken the country and endangered the country's rise and fall. Your Majesty wants to hurt the foundation of the great man because of his own self-interest. I really don't understand what he thinks."

"As a citizen of the Han Dynasty and a minister of the country, of course you have to think about the country and the rise and fall of the Han Dynasty. Now that you have a large army in your hands and a prominent figure, your thoughts can directly affect His Majesty's decision-making. There will be great chaos in China, under the bloody wind, it is hard to say whether the crumbling Han Dynasty will fall apart."

Li Hong was taken aback and thought to himself, is my role so great?This Mr. Gai seems to be scaremongering, scaring me, right?But if His Majesty asks me like this Mr. Gai, how should I answer?If I say that in front of His Majesty, I will lose my head immediately.

He glanced at Gai Xun who was still talking, and suddenly thought that his trip to the capital was really a dead end.Rejecting His Majesty, it must be death, new and old debts will be settled together, and it will be a great favor for His Majesty to give himself a good time.Agreeing to His Majesty's request, helping His Majesty to support the little prince as the crown prince, I guess I will definitely not be able to get out of Luoyang City, no matter whether it is the great general He Jin, the powerful families in the capital, or the traitors in the palace, none of them will let me go.If they don't kill themselves in Luoyang, they will die without a burial in the future.If I hum haha ​​and give His Majesty an ambiguous attitude, what will be the result?Li Hong felt guilty for a while.

If I want to fool around, I will give His Majesty the impression that this person is unreliable, unfaithful, a coward, a wimp, and I may be a disaster in the future. If he is so useless, it is better to cut the mess immediately , killed cleanly.Li Hong shuddered all over his body, and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Gai Xun continued to talk non-stop, but Li Hong already knew what he was thinking, so he didn't want to listen anymore.Gai Xun's purpose was nothing more than to dissuade him from supporting His Majesty's abolition of his wife and establishment of his concubine, and to avoid a court battle, so as not to bring disaster to the country, but he did not say anything about the dangerous situation Li Hong was in.As long as Li Hong enters Beijing, no matter whether he advances or retreats, or does not advance or retreat, it will be a dead end.

After sending Gai Xun away, Li Hong immediately called Li Wei, Zhao Yun and Pang De. They discussed all night, but they didn't reach a result.How to do it?

Li Hong suddenly slapped the table vigorously, and shouted: "Forget it, no matter how much we have, let's go to Luoyang first, and take one step at a time. Since I can escape from Xianbei, I will definitely be able to escape from Luoyang. Can you stop me?"

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(End of this chapter)