In the ninth year of the Empress Dowager Lu in the year of the Han Dynasty, Ding You (the fourth day of the first month) in the summer and June, there was only one last day left before Liu Hong led the army to Xiaoguan to explain to the acting king Liu Heng that the crown prince was 'dead'.

At noon tomorrow, Liu Hong will lead a total of 5,000 troops from the south (strong crossbow) and the north army, as well as 10,000 soldiers temporarily transferred from Guanzhong, after worshipping his ancestors in the high temple of Chang'an, and officially go to Xiaoguan from Baqiao in the north of Chang'an City.

It was different from the last time when the infant army went east to Hangu: Liu Hong was about to drive the imperial expedition in person, so that the atmosphere in Chang'an City was gradually enveloped by a burst of depression.

Liu Hong can probably guess the reason.

- The general led the army to the battle, which was a counterinsurgency; Follow the general, that is to make a contribution!

But His Majesty drove the expedition in person...

Thinking of this, Liu Hong had to sigh helplessly and smile bitterly.

Compared with later generations, public opinion at this time did not have much opposition to the emperor's outing, or even the imperial conquest.

After all, more than ten years ago, Liu Bangdu was still in his sixties and drove his own expedition to suppress the rebellion of the princes and kings.

For the emperor's personal expedition, the people of the early Han Dynasty should be the most calm and the most accustomed to it.

And Liu Hong's personal expedition, the reason why it caused the subtle emotions of the people of Chang'an, returned to a shortcoming that made Liu Hong helpless.

"That's the age..."

In such an era when the people hoped that the monarch would charge into battle, and even take the lead, Liu Hong really couldn't think of any reason why the people of Chang'an would not feel happy about their own royal expedition in addition to being too young and not looking majestic.

However, this incident only made Liu Hong laugh at himself in his heart, and he was immediately thrown aside.

Not to mention that Liu Hong lived for more than 30 years in the two lifetimes together, even if he is really tall and mighty, and his force is worth the sky, the values of later generations are unlikely to let Liu Hong take the risk of going into battle and fight on the battlefield as an emperor.

It is good to drive the expedition in person, but as a king, it is better for the emperor to play the role of a 'handsome' on the premise of not adding to the chaos.

As for charging into battle, that's a matter of 'general'.

For his first royal expedition, Liu Hong had some expectations in his heart, but at the same time he was a little disappointed.

——Like the Suiyang Defense Line, the Infant Irrigation and the Qidi rebels, Liu Hong's expedition is most likely an armed parade, or even a trip.

However, this did not affect Liu Hongman's enthusiasm and the summoning of military generals in a similar manner, and set off with the possibility of 'acting the king not listening to persuasion', and carried out the deduction and plan of the campaign.

- If you can't fight, it's good to have a good time with your brain!

After the 'battle plan' was completed, Liu Hong focused his attention on the preparations for the army.

Under the orders of the Empress Dowager Zhang Yan (Liu Hong), the Central Committee of the Han Dynasty carried out the second large-scale war mobilization within two months.

Countless weapons and ordnance were taken out of the arsenal and distributed to the newly recruited young soldiers; Shaofu, on the other hand, completed the preparation of grain and grass for the army on the 15th, and then began the production of 'arsenal filling'.

It must be mentioned that because the growth of Guanzhong Youth was taken away by the infant army, the war potential of Guanzhong was tapped a little deeper, so Liu Hong's personal expedition this time was quite rare without a warning people's team.

Liu Hong still has his own considerations for this matter.

First of all, in a practical sense, from the perspective of the country - under the premise that this year's farming in Guanzhong has been greatly affected by the rebellion of the sons of King Hui, it is undoubtedly very unwise to recruit people to accompany the army and further intensify the cultivation of the people in Guanzhong this year by overdrawing the war potential of Guanzhong.

It is true that as the emperor of the early Han Dynasty, Liu Hong can pat his chest and blow to his colleagues in later generations: As long as I am willing, I can arm hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Guanzhong in minutes!

But whether you can do it or not is one thing, whether you want to do it or not depends on whether it is worth it and whether it is necessary.

If the Huns were to invade the border in the overall situation, and the Han dynasty reached the point where they would lose a large area of territory if they did not conquer the young and strong, then it would be necessary to overdraw the war potential and pay the price of the poor harvest of the year.

But the current situation has not yet reached that point.

Take Emperor Jing Liu Qi, who faced the Wu Chu Rebellion in history, for example: The Wu and Chu coalition forces totaled no more than 300,000 miscellaneous troops, can they really make the Han family like a great enemy and fall to the point where the country is about to change color?

Of course not-if you talk about the strength of the cards, the seven rebel princes of the Wu Chu Rebellion together and multiply them by two, they may not be able to bargain in front of the five major field armies of the Jing Emperor Dynasty and the Han Dynasty!

But even so, the Wu-Chu coalition army still miraculously hit the foot of Suiyang City, and even climbed to the head of Suiyang City several times; If it weren't for the flying general Li Guang to feel Suiyang's rescue, there would still be a question mark over whether Suiyang City could be defended.

Even so, King Liang Xiao was also embarrassed in the defense of Suiyang, and did not hesitate to send seven blood letters in a day, asking Chang'an to send troops to reinforce Suiyang, and impeached Zhou Yafu, who was a bystander and only dug a trench in Changyi.

At this point in time, when the tragic war was going on in Suiyang City, hundreds of miles outside Hangu Pass, there was an undercurrent surging in Chang'an City; Whether it is a wealthy businessman or a noble minister, there is no shortage of smart people who 'once the city of Suiyang is broken, they will eat pot pulp to welcome the royal family'.

When the Han family was in such a crisis, and Emperor Jing even had to tear his tears to kill the emperor's division, why didn't the four most elite field armies in the early Han Dynasty join the defense of Suiyang?

As the commander of the first field army, the Xiliu Battalion, why couldn't even the Xiliu Battalion be brought to Suiyang, but recruited tens of thousands of troops from Guanzhong before leaving for the Suiyang defense line?

As long as he wants, Emperor Jing Liu Qi can even send five major field armies to Suiyang together, and wipe out the rebels without much effort; Chao Cuo doesn't have to be killed, Zhou Yafu doesn't have to become a captain, and Liu Qi doesn't have to face such a difficult situation.

Then why did Emperor Jing Liu Qi not use such a powerful force, but he had to go through great pains and painstaking efforts, and even smashed most of the treasury that the Han family had accumulated for decades for the decisive battle between Han and Hungary?

Speaking of which, we have to mention the embarrassment that the central government will face when facing the rebellion of the separatist forces.

As a challenger, the rebels need to consider a very simple problem: how to enter the imperial city from the place of attack and force the opponent to abdicate.

It's as simple as that.

Even if it is more specific, it is only the combat effectiveness of the army, and the problem of logistics and grass.

Compared to the problems faced by the central government, the rebels are really relaxed.

On the other hand, the central government, such as Emperor Jing Liu Qi, who faced the rebellion of Wu Chu in history, what needs to be considered?

- Wu Chu is all opposed, so what can be done to ensure that other princes do not interfere in this turmoil?

This consideration alone made Emperor Jing Liu Qi appoint his maternal uncle Dou Ying as a general, and stationed in Xingyang on the fake Son of Heaven Festival to supervise Zhao soldiers and horses!

During the Wu Chu Rebellion, the 200,000 horses and horses stationed in Xingyang by Dou Ying's army alone consumed a million stones of corn!

In addition, Liu Qi also faced the same problem that every feudal emperor was likely to face when facing internal rebellions: foreign races.

And Liu Qi, as a feudal emperor whose level was above the qualification line, finally made the choice that most emperors would make: as long as the situation did not develop to an uncontrollable step, he resolutely could not give up the border wall defense!

Just like at the beginning of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's rebellion, Rao was in a faint with the Qin court, and he still did not withdraw the Great Wall Army; It was not until the princes rose up everywhere and King Huai of Chu established an alliance that the Great Wall Army returned to China at the point when the Qin Dynasty was about to be destroyed to suppress the rebellion.

Therefore, Emperor Jingdi Liu Qi did not have the armed forces to solve the rebellion, but this part of the elite troops, shouldering a more arduous and sacred mission than 'suppressing the rebellion': garrisoning the border wall.

When the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms broke out and the Wu-Chu coalition army arrived at Suiyang City, as the four most elite armed forces of the Han Dynasty, the Flying Fox Army was stationed at the border pass in Feihu Junction, the Xiliu Battalion and the Bashang Army were guarding Chang'an in the Guanzhong, and the Thornmen Army was sent to Yanmen by Emperor Jing Liu Qi to guard against the Xiongnu.

The forbidden army, the northern and southern armies, which are separated from the four major field armies, has increased its manpower several times to maintain the safety of Chang'an City, Weiyang Changle Palace, Gaomiao, Sheji, and even the arsenal.

Therefore, there will be such a saying in later generations: It is easy to fight the country, but it is difficult to defend the country.

If you look at this sentence specifically, it is nothing more than this: there is very little to do in the rebellion, but there is much to do to stop it...

And the situation that Liu Hong is facing now is far more optimistic than the Wu Chu Rebellion faced by Emperor Jing Liu Qi in history.

Although the Han dynasty was not yet strong enough to the point that the rope of stringing money rotted and broke', the Xiongnu next door had also not attracted the peak period of Lao Shangdan Yu - on the contrary, the current Xiongnu not only did not sweep away the Yueshi and did not completely unify the grassland, but even faced a period of power transition.

So in a sense, the comparison of today's Han-Hungarian strategic pattern is roughly the same as the comparison of the Han-Hungarian situation in the Jingdi Dynasty: the Han family is not afraid of decisive battles, but they cannot afford decisive battles that span too long; The Huns were not afraid of losing a decisive battle, but they were not very willing to fight a decisive battle.

Even the final diplomatic result was surprisingly the same - Liu Hong, like Liu Qi, the historical Emperor Jing, chose to exchange peace for precious development time.

On the other hand, internally, Liu Hong is much luckier than Emperor Jing Liu Qi.

Although the central Han family is not as powerful as the Jingdi Dynasty, it is not about the same; On the other hand, the Kwantung princes who had not yet enjoyed the dividends of the 'Chi Shan Ze Order' were completely incomparable to Wu Chu, who was strong and strong during the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion.

Moreover, the initiator of the rebellion was not the 'clan elder' who made Liu Hong feel much pressure: after all, Liu Zhang, Marquis of Zhu Xu, was the grandson of Taizu Liu Bang and the same generation as Liu Hong.

The nominal leader of the rebels in the Kwantung direction: Liu Ze, the king of Qi, not to mention - if you talk about the elders and youngsters of the clan, Liu Ze has to call Liu Hong a cousin!

Moreover, Liu Hong also has an absolute weapon of killing, so that any rebellious prince with ill intentions cannot suppress Liu Hong from the level of 'seniority'.

- King of Chu, Liu Jiao.

As the younger brother of Emperor Taizu Gao Liu Bang, Liu Jiao's status within the clan is not an exaggeration to describe it with a sentence of 'old bodhisattva'!

Even in the face of the Queen Mother Zhang Yan, Liu Jiao has to obediently call the Queen Mother in public, but in private, Liu Jiao can calmly face Zhang Yan as an elder.

As for the second generation of the old Liu family, Liu Hong is also basically in control.

Liu Bang's eldest brother Liu Xin has a line, and only Liu Xin, the Marquis of Tangjie, is left; And now, there is no longer a Marquis of Tangjie named Liu Xin in the Han family - there is only one King Yan who sits on a territory of thousands of miles, surnamed Liu Mingxin.

Liu Bang's second brother, Liu Xi, the king of Daiqing, is also the king of Wu Liu Biao pinching mud in the coastal land - without the 'Xu Min Chi Shan Ze Order' to endorse the mineral mining rights of the princes, even if Liu Biao in this life has a rebellion, he will never have the ability to rebel.

But as long as Liu Bi can make the people of Wu no longer have to worry about going out, they may be sucked into the ground by the swamp pond in his lifetime, and Liu Hong respects Liu Bi as a man!

Liu Bang's fourth brother, Liu Jiao, has now joined Liu Hong's camp; The second son, Liu Yingke, is now serving as the crown prince in Chang'an.

Even after Liu Yingke inherited Liu Jiao's throne as the king of Chu, the Zongzheng who was left behind was the successor of the Ya, and Liu Hong had already had a candidate in advance - Liu Jiao's third son: Liu Li.

The second generation in the lineage, that is, the son of Emperor Gao Liu Bang, is still alive, and only Liu Heng, the king of Huainan, and Liu Chang, the king of Huainan, are still alive.

Among them, Liu Heng, the acting king, as the 'responder' of this rebellion, is actually the 'hand of God' laid out by Liu Hong in this game of chess.

As for Liu Chang, the king of Huainan who gathered the eyes of the world and everyone thought that he would be opposed, he was actually not on Liu Hongdi's 'hostile list'.

Liu Hong is really not very sure whether those who say that Liu Chang will be against him really have a bubble in their brains, or whether they deliberately use this kind of rhetoric to encourage Liu Chang to raise troops.

- Liu Chang, it was brought up by Empress Lu himself!

At the time when Liu Hong is now reigning and respects Empress Lu as the 'source of the imperial system', if Liu Chang still has a little brains and doesn't want to bear the infamy of 'unfilial piety', he will inevitably kowtow to Liu Hong.

In fact, long before deciding to plan and instruct Liu Heng, the acting king, to raise troops outside Xiaoguan, Liu Hong had already probed the tone of Liu Chang, the king of Huainan.

It is not much different from Liu Hong's expectations: this imperial uncle does not have the arrogant appearance in history at all, he opens his mouth and closes his mouth 'Weichen', and even mentions the story of Liu Hong's childhood, trying to pull in the relationship between the two!

Although what was said was the original owner's business, and Liu Hong didn't know whether it was true or not, it did not affect Liu Hong's judgment at all: In history, the reason why Liu Chang was called 'powerful' was probably because of Empress Lu, which made Liu Chang have a grudge against Liu Heng or Chen Ping and Zhou Bo.

Therefore, the actors in Liu Hong's plan this time are not only Liu Heng, the acting king of 'raising troops and rebelling', but also Liu Chang, the king of Huainan, who 'wanted to raise troops and was stopped by the king of Chu'.

Up to now, Liu Hong has considered all the possibilities, and tested them one by one, counting every person and force that may appear in this incident.

The stage has been set up, the horns have been on stage, and next, the show is about to begin.

But before setting out on the expedition, Liu Hong had one last thing to do: gather the team and explain all the matters after he left Chang'an City.

So tonight, it will be a farewell party for Liu Hong's royal expedition, and it will also be a briefing for Liu Hong to make work arrangements for his henchmen.

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