After the heavy snowfall, the sky and the earth were white, and the trees had already lost their leaves, leaving only the trunks covered with snow to stretch into the sky. A thick layer of snow was piled up on the windowsill of the small courtyard, and the big red happy words posted on the windows were particularly eye-catching in a snowy color, bathing in the pouring sunlight and casting bright shadows on the ground, adding a bit of joy to the bleak winter day.

"One comb to the end, two combs of white hair to the eyebrows, three combs of children and grandchildren all over the ground." Wei Zifu held the grate comb in his hand, looked at Cai Xi in red clothes in the mirror and said softly, "Cai Xi, you have served me wholeheartedly all these years, and I also regard your good as a habit, for many years I only care about myself but ignore your happiness, and now you are in a hurry to marry to protect my reputation, how can I repay this affection?" ”

Cai Xi shook his head and said: "The queen is serious, the queen has treated me like family all these years, in Cai Xi's heart, the queen is not only the queen, but also a sister!" It's just that Cai Xi can't serve the queen anymore in the future..."

Wei Zifu heard that there were tears in his eyes, and he stroked Cai Xi's shoulder and said movingly: "Cai Xi, my good sister, sister thank you!" ”

"Gongsun Ao and I have been friends for many years, and I am honest and faithful, and I can rest assured that you will marry him." Wei Zifu plucked a green hosta from the bun and inserted it into the bun, "This hairpin was given by an old man many years ago, and now I will give it to you, I only hope that you and Gongsun Ao will rely on each other and grow old together." ”

Cai Xi also said with tears in her eyes: "Thank you, Queen!" ”

-----

At night, the light snow continued, and the cold wind carried the snowflakes everywhere, and Gongsun Ao lingered outside the door for a long time with a heavy heart. This family affair came so suddenly, he didn't have any mental preparation, but he couldn't retreat for half a minute, think about it, a big man, isn't it as strong and brave as a woman?

"Bang... The sound of "Bang" came, and I didn't realize that the night was already two watches, Gongsun Ao's heart became more and more contradictory, looking into the room through the pane, and vaguely saw the big red happy words hanging high in the hall, a pair of dragon and phoenix candles had been burned most of the time, Gongsun Ao sighed lightly, gathered all his thoughts, and pushed the door in.

In the cave room, Cai Xi sat under the red satin curtain on her head, although she couldn't see her face, but Gongsun Ao knew that her mind was no less than his. Gongsun Ao slowly approached, held the scale pole on the side and paused for a while, and finally gently picked up the red lid, and in an instant, a green hosta jumped into Gongsun Ao's eyes, "Where did you come from with this green hosta?" Gongsun Ao looked at the hairpin and asked without thinking.

The face under the red lid is like a peach blossom, the eyebrows are like distant mountains, the cheeks are flushed when he hears the words, and the lips are slowly opened: "This hairpin is a gift from the queen, listen to what the queen said, it was given by an old man of the queen many years ago." ”

"Oh..."Gongsun Ao nodded, as if thoughtful, Cai Xi took off the red satin, and said slowly: "Gongsun Guard, it is Cai Xi who has dragged you down, but now His Majesty has decreed marriage, and the wood has become a boat that cannot be changed. ”

"Pick the girl!" Gongsun Ao hurriedly said, "If it wasn't for the girl who sacrificed herself to protect her, I'm afraid that now Gongsun has already been in a different place, and the girl's kindness to the queen and Gongsun will be remembered by Gongsun." Now that you and I have married your hair, you are my wife, Gongsun will definitely not turn his back on you, but let you marry such a rough person as me, which is really wronged by you. ”

"I don't feel aggrieved." Cai Xi shook his head and said, "Cai Xi is just a maid, what she hopes for is not that her husband is rich and noble, but that she treats each other wholeheartedly, so it is enough!" ”

Gongsun Ao seemed to be touched when he heard this, and said: "Isn't what men and women in the world are looking forward to is the hand of the son, accompanied by the white prime minister, if the wife is like this, what more can the husband ask for?" Gongsun Ao picked up the wine on the table, looked at Cai Xi and said solemnly: "Today's knot, in the future, you and I will hold hands and accompany each other for a lifetime, 釖!" ”

Cai Xi nodded his eyes, greeted the wine, and said softly: "Yu! Then he raised his head slightly and drank the wine, the eyes of the candlelight became more and more bright like stars, and the cheeks lined with reddish were even more charming and moving, Gongsun Ao couldn't help but lean on lightly, the candle flame was extinguished, and the remaining window was beautiful with the snowflakes in the night.

-----

Before dawn, a puff of smoke and dust rolled up far away outside Chang'an City, with a sound of horses' hooves from far and near, a small-scale Xiongnu army appeared not far from the Chang'an City Tower, looking at the high Han city in front, this Huns did not dare to get too close to stop on the spot.

At this time, the guards of the city tower had already discovered the abnormality, and a row of strong crossbowmen lined up, holding bows and crossbows aimed at the Huns under the city tower, and the bows and arrows were fired at the same time as an order.

In the distance, I saw the leader of the Huns jumping off his horse, approaching the city tower alone with his hands raised high, and shouting loudly to the city tower in Xiongnu language. Seeing this, the officer guarding the city tower hurriedly reported, and soon there were generals with personnel who understood the Xiongnu language, and after a Xiongnu conversation, the general asked urgently: "What did he say?" ”

"He said, I am Yu Dan, the prince of the Huns, and I want to see the emperor of the Han Dynasty!"

-----

In the Weiyang Palace, Yin Qi, the lieutenant of the Northern Army guarding the Beijing Division, had told Liu Che the whole matter in detail, and said: "Your Majesty, the Huns have always been cunning, and the people who came claimed to be the princes of the Huns, and the subordinates are probably a trap set by the Huns, Your Majesty should be cautious!" ”

Liu Che bowed slightly, did not express his position, pondered for a long time, and said: "Although the Xiongnu have been enemies of our Han Dynasty for decades, they have always killed and plundered the people, and the looted property will disperse, and no Huns have ever dared to appear in the land of Gyeonggi in such a grand manner. And as you said, the people who came only brought hundreds of people, if there is really a plan, they will not only bring such a small number of people, I think about it, I am afraid that it is really the Xiongnu who changed internally, and this is only when the prince brings his cronies to our court. This matter must not be delayed, you quickly rate the northern army with thousands of elite cavalry, and welcome the prince of Yu Dan into the city, I have my own arrangements! ”

"No!" Yin Qi took the order and hurried away.

Just after the hour, this small group of Huns was welcomed into Chang'an City by the northern army led by Yin Qi. "Perhaps, as Your Majesty expected, this Hun man is indeed here to surrender." Seeing that there were both Hun women and children in this Hun group, Yin Qi secretly speculated in his heart.

Except for Yu Dan, who claimed to be the prince of the Huns, the rest of the people Yin Qi made proper arrangements, and then a carriage came, Yin Qi made a gesture of please to Yu Dan, Yu Dan nodded slightly, jumped into the carriage alone, and went with the carriage and horses, and the sky in the east was already bright.

The carriage went straight from the gate of Zhangcheng into the Weiyang Palace, although Yu Dan was the prince of the Huns, he had also seen the tribute from the Han Dynasty, those exquisite porcelain, gorgeous silk and heavy gold, all showed the wealth of the Han Dynasty, but really one day in this rich country, the grand palace, the magnificent palace, the exquisite pavilion and the splendid wealth of the heavenly family, he was still amazed.

The carriage stopped outside the Chengming Palace, early in the morning there was a small yellow door waiting for Yin Qi here, Yu Dan got off the carriage and followed the small yellow door all the way into the Chengming Palace, behind the long case in the center of the main hall, a man in a black wide-sleeved robe sat up, Yu Dan guessed that this was the son of the Han family, sure enough, Yin Qi stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, the minister has brought the Xiongnu prince!" ”

Yu Dan hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down on one knee, bowed his head and said: "Little King Zuo Tu Qi King Yu Dan knocks to see His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!" ”

When the attendants heard this, they told Liu Che about Yu Dan's words, and Liu Che smiled and said, "Calm down, give me a seat!" ”

Under the guidance of the chamberlain, Yu Dan knelt down like a Han man, and then said: "Your Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, I am Yu Dan, the son of the military minister Shan Yu, my father is dead, and my uncle Zuogu Liwang Yizhi took advantage of the chaos to seize the position of my prince and set himself up as Shan Yu, not only killing my subordinates but also chasing and killing Xiao Wang all the way to the foot of the Great Wall, and now Xiao Wang and his relatives are with more than 100 people, and they are willing to descend to His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!" ”

Yu Dan's remarks were basically the same as Liu Che's thoughts, and when he heard this, he bowed his head slightly and said: "That is the case, the prince should stay in Chang'an City first, and when the messenger in front of me returns, he will settle the prince and his entourage." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty the Emperor!" Yu Dan showed a grateful face, was chased and killed by Yi Zhixian all the way, in desperation, Yu Dan chose to surrender to the Han Dynasty, because of decades of disputes between the Han and the Hungarians, Yu Dan did not have much hope, but now he has been treated well by the emperor of the Han Dynasty, which makes him feel very grateful in fear.

-----

Within a few months after the surrender of the Xiongnu prince, due to the power disputes within the Xiongnu, there was a rare peace on the Han-Xiongnu border.

"Your Majesty!" Xiao Huangmen hurriedly stepped forward, bowed down and said, "Neishi asked to see him outside the hall, saying that there were two men from the official post of Chang'an City, and one of the men was holding a pole and a knot, claiming to be Zhang Qian..."

Before Xiao Huangmen's words were finished, Liu Che stood up and asked urgently: "What, Zhang Qian?" Tell me about the history! ”

Neishi entered the hall in a moment, and Liu Che asked, "Where is that Zhang Qian now?" ”

Nei Shi hurriedly said: "Back to Your Majesty, the matter is very important, and the minister has placed this person in the official post and sent someone to guard it." ”

"Good!" Liu Che said, "Take me with you!" ”

On the way to the official post, Liu Che couldn't help but recall the past more than ten years ago. It was still in the second year of the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, he sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, and united with the Xiongnu had a feud with the Dayue clan to attack the Xiongnu, but Zhang Qian went into the sea like a mud cow and never returned, for many years I thought that Zhang Qian had already been buried in Hudi, but now he is back...

"Your Majesty, this is the guest house where Zhang Qian is placed." Neishi pointed to a guest house on the north side of the official post and said.

"Let's go!" Liu Che pressed down on the fluctuating tide of his heart and hurried over. With the door opened on the left and right, the three people in the guest house stood up, standing in front was a tall man with gray hair and beard, only to see him holding a rod of knots, the knots on the knots had already fallen, only the bare scepter remained, he saw Liu Che and bowed to the ground, restrained his voice and said: "Minister Zhang Qian, knock to see Your Majesty!" ”

"Hurry up!" I vaguely remember the high-spirited young man when he went on the mission, but now he has returned with frosty temples, Liu Che hurriedly stepped forward to support him, and said movingly: "Qing, I have suffered!" ”

Zhang Qian got up and presented the scepter in his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the minister was ordered to send an envoy to the Western Regions to unite the Dayue clan to fight against the Huns, but the minister has not completed his mission, please punish Your Majesty!" ”

Liu Che took over the bare festival and said in a good voice: "Qing has been an envoy to the Western Regions for thirteen years, and now I am glad to be able to come back with the festival, how can I talk about punishment?" ”

"Come!" Liu Che ordered him to sit down and said, "Tell me about the experience of the past ten years, I believe it will be a difficult and tortuous process." ”

Zhang Qian nodded movingly, and slowly talked about the experience of the envoy for more than ten years.

"Your Majesty, when the minister led more than 100 people to the Western Regions, all the way to the west, unexpectedly met the Hun cavalry when passing through Hexi, the ministers were all captured and sent to the royal court of Shan Yu, and the military ministers Shan Yu learned that the ministers wanted to go to the Dayue clan, so they detained the ministers, and this detention was ten years. Ten years later, the minister found an opportunity to escape from the Shan Yu royal court while the Huns were unprepared, but at this time the Dayue clan had been forced to move west, and the ministers immediately searched all the way. When passing through the Western Regions Dawan Kingdom because of the difficulties along the way, the people who went with the ministers have all died, only the ministers and the Tangyi father are left, the king of the Dawan Kingdom and the ministers went to the Dayue Clan, so they sent people to send the ministers to the Dayue Clan, but the land where the Dayue Clan moved west was fertile, and the distance from the Huns was farther, and the Dayue Clan had no intention of revenge against the Huns. Minister many times persuasion to no avail, can only helpless to leave, unexpectedly to return to the Han on the way to the two ministers were captured by the Huns, detained for more than a year, a few months ago the military minister Shan Yu died, the Huns internal war, the two of them took advantage of the chaos to escape back to Chang'an. ”

After listening to Zhang Qian's words, Liu Che had tears hidden in his eyes, and sighed: "I know that this road is difficult, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult!" ”

"The minister's hand is on behalf of my Han Dynasty, and the mission is caused, so why is it difficult!" Zhang Qian's words are frank, talking about the hardships in the past, but in his heart is more of a dedication to the mission.

"Good!" Liu Che praised his head, "I really didn't see the wrong person!" Now that you have returned, you can rest here for a few days, and I have my own arrangements. ”

A few days later, the imperial court ordered Zhang Qianguan to worship Dr. Taizhong, and his father was enshrined as an envoy, and the two of them were given a mansion and a daughter, which was cited as an example for hundreds of officials.