Great Han Empire

Chapter 949 Troubled Times Heroic Chapter Wins Central Plains
"I gave you this warrant to protect you. You should trust me, just like I trust you, but you obviously didn't do it." Li Hong said with a smile, "You don't trust me, especially after the Guanzhong War is over. , You have completely fallen into the struggle for power in the court, and you are obsessed with controlling power. You are trying to use the modification of the official system to let the people of northern Xinjiang completely control the direction of ZTE's strategy, and then promote the advancement of ZTE's strategy. There is nothing wrong with this approach, but Because you no longer trust me, you concealed from me the crisis that may erupt after the revision of the official system, and deliberately created a crisis in the strategy of attacking Luoyang, so that you and I fell into the trap set up by the foreign court minister at the same time without knowing it. trap."

Li Hong stared at Li Wei, and asked calmly: "I don't understand now, why don't you believe me, and want to deliberately create trouble, so that the forces in Northern Xinjiang will be divided into two?"

"How can the general not understand?" Li Wei looked suspicious, "If the general did not understand, how could he use his tactics to force the emperor to conquest himself, consolidate military power, and win over and split foreign forces in the name of preparing the emperor's strength? ?”

"This is where I am most angry with you." Li Hong's face darkened suddenly, and he said in a cold voice, "Northern people are a whole, no matter whether they are scholars or warriors, they cannot be separated. Indestructible, but you not only caused troubles to split the forces in northern Xinjiang, but also tacitly cooperated with some foreign forces to deal with me. Of course, I can't tolerate it. Fortunately, Master Jia Xu arrived in Luoyang in time to remind me, otherwise I can't do it for a while. I realized the crux of the crisis of the court. I always thought that you were in a daze and wanted to control the power alone, but I didn't expect that with the entry of the Guan and Luoshi people into the court, the power of the foreign court has expanded rapidly, and it has quickly caused damage to the people in northern Xinjiang. Threat. In the past, we always thought that the more factions in the foreign court, the more dispersed the power, the less threat to the people in northern Xinjiang. Now it seems that we have taken them too lightly. The fact is exactly the opposite of what we expected.”

"At the beginning, I opposed the influx of Guan and Luoshi people into the court. I have been in the court for many years. Of course, I know the strength of the Guan and Luoshi people, but the eldest princess and you are impatient, and I have no way to stop it. Actually The people of Guan and Luoshi openly rejected the conquest of the imperial court, and they were unwilling to become an official. Behind them were the support of foreign forces." Li Wei smiled wryly, "In the past, the scholars in Hedong and Hanoi belonged to the line of Guan and Luoshi. .I mean you should understand, right?"

Li Hong nodded slightly, "You don't believe me, is it because I support the eldest princess and the imperial court to expropriate Guan and Luoshi people? Do you think I ignore the interests of people in northern Xinjiang, damage the power of people in northern Xinjiang, endanger the power of people in northern Xinjiang? It’s the safety of people in northern Xinjiang, isn’t it?”

"Yes, I have detailed the reasons several times in my letters. I hope that the general will properly restrict the court's use of scholars in Guan, Luo and other places. The scholars were put into the court at once, but the general was forced by the princess and the court to repeatedly pressure him, and he clearly expressed his support." Li Wei shook his head again and again, "General, you know how passive we were in Jinyang at that time. Is it? After the Guanzhong War, the problem of increasing troops and establishing the capital has not been resolved for a long time. Why? It is very simple. As long as the people of Beijiang are in the court, the people of Beijiang are the opponents of all other forces in the court, or it is more important to call them enemies Appropriate."

"The people from Guan and Luoshi used to be the main force in the Luoyang court, but now they have become the main force in the Jinyang court, then some middle forces in the court will immediately turn around, and we will immediately fall into a passive position." Li Wei sighed, "I couldn't get your support at that time, but the foreign ministers were confident, so I had to find another way to get out of the crisis quickly."

"The key to the crisis of the imperial court is the competition for the power of the foreign dynasty and the restraint of the imperial power. Now that the power of the foreign court is growing, the crisis of the court is becoming more and more serious. The only way to reverse the situation is to divide the power of the foreign court. , and if we want to divide the foreign forces, we must first let the foreign forces lose their common opponent. Without a common opponent, the foreign forces will not be able to work together. If they cannot work together, they will split, and then we will achieve our goal. "

=

"Is this also called tricks?" Li Hong said in a low voice, smiled, then raised his head and said to Xiao Lan, "For so many years, what has the ministers accused Zhong Yuan of the most? Do you know?"

"On this point, although I don't agree with Zhong Yuan's approach, but in consideration of protecting the interests of northern Xinjiang, I still..." Xiao Lan hesitated to speak.She didn't fully understand Li Hong's meaning, so it's not good to say half of what she said.

"Zhongyuan repeatedly suppressed scholars from other places to enter the court as officials. His starting point was indeed good, but the consequences were also very serious. Why did the Guan and Luo scholars concentrate in the court? Could it be that Zhongyuan Is Yuan Yuan not responsible?" Li Hong turned his head to look at Li Wei, and his tone was more severe, "The scholars from the outer courts have become powerful and endangered the safety of people in northern Xinjiang, so you are only trying to make up for it by harming yourself first, and then hurting others. Are you smart? The split of forces in Northern Xinjiang has become a fact, and you and I are powerless to save it, but will the split of forces in Northern Xinjiang lead to the split of foreign forces?" Li Hong shook his head helplessly, "Zhong Yuan, your temper has not changed until now. .To put it nicely, it’s too self-confident. To put it badly, it’s self-righteous. If Master Jia Xu Jia hadn’t reminded me in time this time, I wouldn’t return to court to help you. This is the last time, if you do it again next time If you act recklessly, I will make you disappear in the hall."

Li Hongchu said a few words first, but Li Wei listened respectfully. After hearing this, Li Wei knew that Li Hong had no intention of blaming him, so his demeanor immediately changed, and there was a bit of pride in his eyebrows.

"The forces in the outer dynasty are splitting up." Li Wei said with a smile, "the general doesn't need to worry about this. All we need now is time. Now there are three pillars in the court, the eldest princess, the emperor, and the outer dynasty. In the past The once-prominent forces in northern Xinjiang have become part of these three powers, and the common opponents of the foreign forces have disappeared. Now the foreign forces are not contending with us, but are contending with the eldest princess and the emperor.

"The current big man is ruled by the eldest princess, and ten years later the big man will be ruled by the little emperor. Many unforeseen things will happen in these ten years, so how should the various forces in the outer dynasty choose and whom should they pledge allegiance to? There are some trade-offs, but the split is inevitable and unavoidable."

"General, we have always been worried that you would accept the decision of the imperial court in order to maintain the unity of the people in northern Xinjiang as in the past. In this way, the power of the outer dynasty will become stronger, and the continued implementation of the ZTE strategy will encounter major resistance, and the people in northern Xinjiang will We are struggling under the frontal confrontation of foreign powers." Xiao Lan said with lingering fear, "Fortunately, the general made up his mind this time and wholeheartedly supported the little emperor, thus quickly alleviating the crisis in the court."

"We have been together for more than ten years, and we have made the northern border rise together, and let the big man go to Zhongxing together. There is still a tacit understanding." Li Hong said with a smile, "Zhong Yuan said long ago that everything must be done. Maximize benefits. Northern Xinjiang is a whole, and if it is divided, it will face failure. Zhong Yuan will not fail to understand this. Therefore, when Zhong Yuan joins forces with outsiders to put pressure on me, there must be a way to maximize the benefits of Northern Xinjiang. I think carefully After a while, the only way to do this is to support the little emperor in advance. In this way, some people in northern Xinjiang support the eldest princess and some support the little emperor. Although it seems that the people in northern Xinjiang are divided, the power of the people in northern Xinjiang is even greater. The strategy is the same, and under this premise, no matter what happens in the court in the future, the people of Beijiang will be able to stand upright."

"But..." Xiao Lan said worriedly, "There is a very serious problem here. This strategy has made the eldest princess stronger, and also made the emperor's power develop rapidly from existence to non-existence. Ten years later, the two may be on the same page. A conflict over the issue of power transfer? Because the transfer of power is not just a matter between the eldest princess and the emperor, it is directly related to the vital interests of all the forces in the court, and it is impossible without conflict."

"Are you worried that I will have a confrontation with Zhong Yuan?" Li Hong pointed at Li Wei and said with a smile, "Don't worry, as long as we trust each other as before, there must be a way to avoid this kind of thing."

"In order to avoid the crisis in the court ten years later, we must first ensure that the northern Xinjiang people control the authority." Li Wei said, "From the current incident, the strength of the northern Xinjiang people is obviously not enough. Even if we control the Zhongshujian, We have controlled the army, but we still cannot completely control the court. We must admit and accept this fact. Before the strength of the people in northern Xinjiang is not enough to completely control the court, we can only hide our strength and bide our time, and we can only try to weaken, win over and split other forces , can only use the opportunity of the emperor, the eldest princess and the three powers of the outer court to fight each other to accumulate strength, wait for the time to control the outer court, and then try to control the power as much as possible."

The general agreed with Li Wei's statement. He discussed with Li Wei and his wife about the development of the court situation for a long time, and they didn't send them out of the house until late at night.

When the carriage was about to leave, Li Wei suddenly asked, "General, when will the warrant be returned to you?"

"You keep it." Li Hong waved his hand indifferently, "No one can understand that warrant except He Feng. You keep it, it is my promise to you."

Li Wei saluted deeply gratefully, and drove away.

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After seeing off Li Wei and his wife, Li Hong rushed directly to the study in the Houfu.

In the study room, Xian Yufu, Zhang Liao, Fu Gan, Wang Ling, Jiang Ji and others gathered together, discussing and drafting the memorial for tomorrow's court meeting.

Seeing Li Hong coming in, Xian Yufu rushed to meet him, and asked in a low voice, "What did Zhong Yuan say? He and his wife came to see you at this time, but they took a big risk, and people might misunderstand that you have reconciled. "

"Of course we have to reconcile. We support the little emperor, and he and Gongding (Zhu Mu) and others assist the eldest princess. If there is no reconciliation, how will the government deal with it?" Li Hong said with a smile, "We have reconciled. Accelerate the speed of splitting. The faster the foreign powers split, the more beneficial it will be to stabilize the three-legged power in the court."

"Is this what Zhong Yuan said?" Xian Yufu frowned and said, "During this time in Jinyang, the more I listened to Zhong Yuan's words, the more confused I became. Although I believe in his character, his various actions are incomprehensible. Could it be that the Northern Xinjiang people are split, but their strength is stronger instead? It is hard for me to understand, I have always suspected that Zhong Yuan has ulterior motives."

"Think about the crisis in the court ten years later, and you can understand it." Li Hong sighed, "We are often blinded by the tranquility above the court and ignore the undercurrent surging under the court. Zhong Yuan obviously Seeing the crisis, he resolutely provoked an incident to split the forces in Northern Xinjiang. We don’t need to doubt Zhong Yuan’s loyalty to Northern Xinjiang, and we believe that with his foresight, the court will survive the crisis safely.”

Xian Yufu looked at Li Hong suspiciously, his eyes filled with suspicion.

"Of course, he also has his own plans." Li Hong couldn't hide anything from Xian Yufu, so he could only whisper, "Sooner or later, the eldest princess will return to the emperor, and once the emperor takes power, he and many ministers will return to the foreign court." , and according to the current official system, the authority of the Outer Dynasty has been severely weakened. This kind of official system is very unreasonable and is extremely detrimental to the long-term stability of the country. Therefore, in order to check and balance the imperial power and the prime minister's power, he wants to gradually control the Outer Dynasty. , taking advantage of the struggle for power between the emperor and the eldest princess, revise the official system again, restore the official system to a reasonable state, and let the outer dynasty control all the powers."

Xian Yufu shook his head, "This kid, his mind is too complicated, I can't understand him."

"It's easy to understand. Now in order to lay the foundation for ZTE's great cause, it is necessary to centralize power and put the foreign court aside, so the official system needs to be revised. When the world situation changes in the future, the foundation of ZTE's great cause is stable, and there is no need to centralize power. Power and imperial power need to be checked and balanced, and then the official system will be changed back. In short, it is for the great cause of ZTE and the long-term stability of the country." Li Hong explained, "Now the outer dynasty has been thrown aside, and the people in northern Xinjiang have become the target of public criticism, and the contradictions are getting more and more serious. The more intensified, even centralization of power can't get things done, what should I do? Use the little emperor to help the little emperor reserve strength as an excuse to destroy all the interests of all forces in the court, and let all the forces in the court re-choose for their own interests. Depend on the object, and then transfer the conflict, ease the crisis, and prepare for the proper handling of the biggest crisis in the court in the future."

"The ministers of the foreign court are all idiots? Don't they see the mystery hidden here?"

"Who would have thought that I would support the little emperor now?" Li Hong sneered, "To be honest, if Zhong Yuan hadn't forced me, I wouldn't risk the crime of holding the emperor hostage against the eldest princess to forcefully support the little emperor. I The consequences of doing this are very troublesome. One is that many ministers in the outer dynasty may think that I am holding the little emperor hostage, and instead they all help the eldest princess deal with me, and Li Wei is naturally their first object of wooing and attachment. This is probably why Li Wei is very The main reason is that self-confidence can control the foreign dynasty. The second is that the ministers who are attached to me may not trust me. They may pretend to be attached to me in order to protect the little emperor. That is to say, I am in danger anytime and anywhere just like Dong Zhuo back then. Especially It was when Li Wei took control of the outer dynasty, and the Eldest Princess held the power and was unwilling to return the power to the emperor, I had no choice but to join hands with Li Wei to force the Eldest Princess to return the power, and the result may be..."

"Does Zhongyuan want to die?" Xian Yufu suddenly realized, and said angrily, "After all, he only believes in himself, and doesn't trust the general at all."

"Brother Yuxing, at that time, the little emperor has grown up, whether it is the eldest princess, me, or Zhong Yuan, who can predict who the little emperor will support? By that time, there will be no mutual relationship between Zhong Yuan and I. The issue of trust, but how to make the transfer of power smoothly, how to let the little emperor continue to control the implementation of ZTE's strategy after taking power." Li Hong said with a smile, "Zhongyuan's move is too difficult, and he is still taking one step. Looking at one step, there is no clear direction, but I already know how to do it."

"How to do it?"

"When Master Jia Xu arrived in Luoyang, he said something to me. He said that before the Son of Heaven came to power, if I pacified the world and finished fighting all the battles, it would be difficult for the Son of Heaven to make great achievements and command the army. Under such circumstances, how dare the eldest princess and the ministers of the court hand over power to a cowardly little emperor who is held hostage by me?"

Xian Yufu seemed to have realized something, "Let the little emperor go to pacify the world in ten years? So, we are indeed a little too anxious, but..." Xian Yufu suddenly smiled bitterly, "But what if the rebels surrender one after another after Luoyang is captured? manage?"

"Can you surrender if you want to?" Li Hong snorted, "If he doesn't fight, I will force him to fight."

Xian Yufu sighed bitterly, "After a long time, the rebels regained their vitality, and the battle will become more difficult, and the casualties of the soldiers will be even greater."

"Not necessarily." Li Hong waved his hands, "Compared with the rebels, our strength is much stronger. The longer we recover, the stronger our strength will be, and the rebels will be vulnerable."

"Ten years?" Xian Yufu was silent for a while, but still shook his head with difficulty, "These ten years are so important?"

"Did you forget the lesson of Dong Zhuo's defeat back then?" Li Hong said, "We fought one battle after another, the court was full of crises, the people were overwhelmed, the soldiers were exhausted, and all the conflicts were slowly resolved under the banner of Zhongxing. Accumulation, once the transfer of power fails, the court is in chaos, and the states and counties in various places take advantage of the situation, what should we do? Return to the desert? Or start all over again? Can the Great Han Society withstand such continuous heavy losses?"

"Ten years, no more, no less, we can afford to wait for this time." Li Hong patted Xian Yufu's shoulder vigorously, "It's time for us to enjoy it. Don't you want to enjoy the magnificence and prosperity of Chang'an City?"

It's rare to smile when you stroke your beard.

=

After more than half a month of the court meeting, the court's ZTE strategy began to be fiercely debated around the most critical counter-insurgency strategy.

The anti-insurgency strategy drawn up by the Great Sima General Li Hong in the memorial is still the same as in the past.

After conquering Luoyang, the army turned westward to Liangzhou and Pingqiang to stabilize the western border.After the stability of Western Xinjiang, Shu was controlled by Yuan, entering Bashu from Guanlong, and at the same time sending troops to Jingxiang, striving to capture Yizhou in the shortest possible time.After Yizhou was taken, the army controlled the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Jingxiang area, and then advanced both by water and land to attack Jianghuai and Jiangdong.In this way, the world can be settled.

The basis of this anti-insurgency strategy is to stabilize the western and northern borders. If the two borders are not stable, the army will never go south, so as not to lose sight of the other and gain nothing.

=

Prime Minister Cai Yong, Taiwei Xun You and other ministers opposed the memorial proposed by the general, and they proposed another strategy to counter the rebellion.

After the army conquered Luoyang, they turned to use the power of the desert Hu tribe's iron cavalry to contain or occupy Hexi, and then used Hexi to restrain the Qiang people in Jincheng and Longxi, temporarily maintaining the situation in Western Xinjiang.At the same time, the army concentrated its main force to go south to Jianghuai and Jingxiang to suppress the rebellion, striving to recover Yangzhou, Yuzhou, Jingzhou, Jiaozhou and other counties in the shortest possible time.After the rebels in Jingxiang, Jianghuai, and Jiangdong were all wiped out, the army was divided into two again. One part crossed the Qinling Mountains from the direction of Guanyuan and entered Yizhou, and the other entered Yizhou along the Yangtze River from the direction of Jiangling and Hanguan.After recovering Yizhou, he recuperated for several years, and then concentrated his efforts to march westward to Liangzhou to Pingqiang and solve the Qiang rebellion that had plagued western Xinjiang for a hundred years.

This counter-insurgency strategy is similar to the strategy adopted by Emperor Guangwu to calm the world after he established his capital in Luoyang.In this strategy, the ministers did not propose to abandon the western border, but instead used the Hu nationality cavalry coalition forces in Hexi to restrain the Qiang people in Longxi.Back then, Emperor Guangwu used Dou Rong in Hexi to successfully restrain Kaihuo in Longxi, and controlled Longxi with Hexi, which bought time for the army to recover other states and counties.

The Qiang people in the western Xinjiang could not invade Guanzhong and endanger the capital, and then the army could take advantage of the victory and go south to recover Jingxiang, Jianghuai, Jiangdong and other places in the shortest time, basically pacifying the world.

The reason why the ministers believed that the Hu allied forces could occupy Hexi was all due to the report of General Huben Leizi.In November, Lei Zi led an army to capture Guzang, successfully blocking the Qiang people's way back to the north.Lei Zi said in the memorial that the Xianbei people hoped to move to Hexi. He believed that judging from the current situation, agreeing to the Xianbei people's request and encouraging the Xianbei people to fight Hexi would help the army attack and kill the Qiang people and recover Hexi.

After a little discussion between the eldest princess and the ministers of the DPRK and China, they agreed to Lei Zi's suggestion and issued an order to reward the Hu allied forces. , Let them move the tribes to live in Hexi.

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The focus of the debate is the risk of using troops in western Xinjiang, and the resulting impact on ZTE's great cause.

Xijiang and the Qiang people are the nightmare of this dynasty for a hundred years. Whenever the ministers mentioned Xijiang, they would have lingering fears. , the risk is small.The Qiang people have just entered Liangzhou and have not yet gained a firm foothold, so they can be defeated with one blow.In addition, the general was eager to attack Bashu from the south.

Recently, Hao Zhao, the school lieutenant stationed at Chencang, sent news that two scouts sent to Hanzhong to spy on the military had finally returned. They saw a large number of troops in Hanzhong, Liu Bei, Kuai Liang, Pang Yi, Zhang Ren et al.'s battle flag, and they blocked the plank road. All the post stations on the plank road in Hanzhong were guarded by elite soldiers, and no one could cross the Qinling Mountains and return to Guanzhong.These two scouts followed a disciple of Wu Dou Mi Dao who collected medicines and walked in the Qinling Mountains for more than three months before returning to Dasan Pass.

Liu Bei's disappearance on the battlefields of Jing and Henan caused the generals of the northern border army to have various speculations, but no one except Xu Rong guessed that he would travel all the way to Hanzhong, but Xu Rong was also extremely surprised when he received the news.It took Liu Bei a year to arrive in Hanzhong, and the difficulties and obstacles along the way can be imagined, which shows the determination of the rebels to rescue Luoyang.

Going north from Hanzhong to Guanzhong is too difficult. Except for Chencang Road, the other three plank roads are difficult to walk due to disrepair for a long time, and it is difficult to pose a threat to Guanzhong. The real threat to Guanzhong is Liangzhou Longnan.There are four plank roads in Bashu, Jialing Road, Qishan Road, Tazhong Yinping Road, and Taomin Road leading to Yuannan. If Liu Bei takes advantage of the chaos in western Xinjiang and sends troops to Yuannan, and then captures Yicheng and Shangyu (gui), then If one advances east along the Weishui River and the other is restrained from the direction of Chencang, it will surely enter Guanzhong.

Taking a step back, even if Liu Bei failed to enter Guanzhong, as long as he captured Longnan, the imperial court's strategy of controlling Shu would fail.If the strategy of controlling Shu fails halfway, there are both Qiang rebellion and rebel invasion in Western Xinjiang, and Guanzhong is always in danger, then the army will have to suppress the rebellion in Liangzhou in Western Xinjiang no matter what.

=

Opponents insisted that after conquering Luoyang, the army should take advantage of the victory and go south to suppress the rebellion.

Now the situation in Western Xinjiang is obvious. There are powerful Qiang people, and Liu Bei may also appear in Longnan. Once the army enters the battlefield in Western Xinjiang, it will definitely be a series of hard battles. After getting enough breathing time, it will be even more difficult to go back and play in the future.

As for the safety of Guanzhong, the opponents believed that if they couldn't hold on, the emperor and the court could temporarily move to Luoyang.Chang'an is Xijing of the dynasty, Luoyang is Tokyo of the dynasty, the emperor and the court temporarily live in Tokyo to handle state affairs, why not?After the army regained all the prefectures and counties except Xijiang and Yizhou, they could recuperate for a few years to accumulate strength, and then imitate Emperor Guangwu's attack strategy, first pacify Xijiang, and then settle Bashu, why not?
=

At the end of December, the New Year is approaching gradually, and the Eldest Princess made a decree to have a holiday and celebrate the New Year.

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The first month of the sixth year of Jianxing in the Han Dynasty (202 AD).

On the first day of the first lunar month, the emperor issued a decree to amnesty the world.

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During the first month, because the family members are all in Jinyang, the ministers still gather together to discuss the government affairs every day, but more and more foreign ministers are entering and leaving the residence of the Great General Sima, and at the same time, the residence of Da Si Nong Li Wei is also very lively , There is a constant flow of traffic all day long.

After the first year of the princess, she occasionally caught a cold and got a minor illness. She didn't call the group of ministers to continue the discussion until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Not long after the discussion started on this day, Prime Minister Cai Yong felt that something was wrong. First, his servant Xi Ji suddenly changed his position, and he strongly supported the general's memorial, and then Minister Cui Yan also changed his position.These are all disciples of Master Zheng Xuan, and it is reasonable for them to support the general's memorial.

The next day, Grand Tutor Yang Biao asked for leave on the grounds of a leg attack and did not go to court.Grand Tutor Yang Biao was not there, and Zong Zhengqing Yang Qi remained silent, and the voice of objection immediately died down.

What followed was a feeling of defeat, as Cai Yong and Xun You's memorials gradually lost more supporters.

At the end of this month, the eldest princess decreed that the imperial court's counter-insurgency strategy adopted the general's memorial, and the imperial edict will be implemented immediately.According to this counter-insurgency strategy, many state affairs of the imperial court were adjusted accordingly.

=

In February, General Li Hongzuo invited the emperor to go to Luoyang again for a personal conquest.

The little emperor was elated, and hurriedly informed a group of friends to prepare quickly and go to Luoyang to fight.

On February [-]th, the Son of Heaven rushed to the Luoyang battlefield under the escort of General Li Hong, General Zhang Yan of Right Guard, Former General Lu Bu, General Longxiang Zhao Yun and other ministers.

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(End of this chapter)