Thousands of miles away, the situation is rising, and the situation has become very critical. In Chang'an, the Han Dynasty, with the arrival of various news one after another, it was finally inevitable to fall into panic at multiple levels.

In many legends of the ancient East, there is a truth that blessings and misfortunes depend on each other, and the will of heaven is difficult to pity. Countless examples show that human affairs are full of the most variables. Even if you are a person who is unparalleled in the world and swallows heaven and earth, it is difficult to calculate everything. Because behind everything that is missing, there is often a providence in the dark. This is full of mysteries that cannot be resisted by human beings.

The moon is missing and the moon is full, and the flowers are blooming. The yellow leaves all over the city have fallen, and in the blink of an eye, the snow is drifting. The magnificent Chang'an City is like a historical witness, silently observing and remembering what happened in front of its eyes.

His Majesty, the Emperor of the Han Empire, never liked to wear royal clothes symbolizing the Son of Heaven on days when he was not in the court or had important events. Deep down, it always felt like it was a heavy constraint.

Although in the eyes of those court doctors, there is some impropriety. But Liu Ju still goes his own way, wearing a loose green shirt, which is the most comfortable for him to wear. In a sense, this is the only thing he can do freely, so he insists and persists.

Some courtiers and ceremonial officials of the imperial court, although there were many criticisms of this. But after many ineffective exhortations, he had to turn a blind eye and reluctantly gave up the restraint on His Majesty the Emperor.

In any case, the emperor's personal freedom still had to be had. In this regard, Liu Ju was in a much better environment than several previous emperors. At least you don't have to make a mess of it for a little freedom of movement, and then you can get what you want.

There is a saying in the market that the reason why today's son likes light robes and slow belts or even simple cloth clothes is inseparable from his previous years. Rather, it is deeply influenced by a single person.

The person who even influences the emperor's thinking in these details, not only Chang'an, but the whole world knows who it is. However, unlike the fear and hatred of powerful ministers in any previous era, in the hearts of the subjects of the Han Empire, they felt more than gratified by such a harmonious relationship between monarchs and ministers.

Because, that person is Yuan Zhao.

When today's Zi and Yuan Zhao met in Weishi, the story has long been widely circulated and everyone knows. Although no one has spoken out publicly, everyone in the world knows it. The reason why Liu Ju and the Wei clan behind him were able to survive the bloody storm safely and get to where they are today under the huge shadow of Emperor Wu is largely due to the absolute support of Yuan Zhao.

It can be said that without Yuan Zhao, the Han Dynasty might still be able to develop into a relatively strong situation. But Liu Ju could not ascend to the throne of the emperor so smoothly. And Wei's fate will become even more unpredictable. With the emperor's affection and desire to control power, no one knows what unexpected things he will do in the last years of his life.

And in the depths of most people's hearts, they are still very satisfied with what Liu Ju has done sitting on the throne of Hanyuan Hall in the past few years. Although it is said that he is lucky at the right time, his benevolent side is also an undeniable fact. In time, he will be a virtuous king. Even if it surpasses Emperor Wen of Han in terms of achievements, it is not impossible.

Such a king is naturally very popular

The support and love of the people. What's more, he is also very studious, gentle and polite, and is also highly praised among the scholars.

Perhaps, the only fly in the ointment is that His Majesty the Emperor still has no heirs. When this issue is discussed, it is inevitable that many people will be worried all night. However, there is no way for the people of the world to help with such a thing, so they can only pray for blessings in secret.

Since the elimination of the hidden dangers of the princes and kings and the suppression of the Xiongnu, after these years of steady development, almost overnight, the Han Empire seems to have entered an eventful autumn. And the cause of all this began with the westward conquest of the Persian Empire.

In a sense, the westward expedition launched by the Han Empire was a very influential military operation. It involved all aspects of the dynasty and involved the interests of many social classes. It is not only related to the century-old national fortune of the Han Empire, but also a unique feat even in thousands of years of Chinese history.

It is precisely because of these reasons that such an important action must not be missed. If there are twists and turns, it will undoubtedly attract the attention of many people.

The 130,000 male soldiers of the Han Dynasty, since leaving the Yumen Pass, can be described as a momentum like a broken bamboo, the wind and clouds, one after another big victories, and the good news is frequent. When hundreds of thousands of Persian troops were wiped out in the Western Regions, and the king of Persia was rumored to be the head of Chang'an, everyone rejoiced, thinking that the overall situation had been decided and the thousand-year-old cause would be accomplished.

However, things in the world are so unpredictable. Who would have thought that as the army moved westward and entered the western continent, time would pass and the situation of the battle would begin to change gradually.

When the news of the request for assistance from the Western Expeditionary Army was received, the imperial court was quite surprised from top to bottom. The military victory of the Western Expeditionary Army, in the face of the Great Plague, became vulnerable. The emperor and his ministers made an emergency response at the first time, almost at the cost of mobilizing the power of the state, traveling mountains and seas and providing assistance from thousands of miles.

Since then, some bad news has come one after another. Although Chang'an is still the same as usual, it can't afford to make waves. But in the hearts of many people who know the inside story, they have become loud and quiet, and whenever there is an envoy from the Western Regions, they are afraid of hearing worse news.

However, what should come will come after all, and it is not something that can be avoided by fear. Dressed in dusty flying horses entering the gate of Chang'an, the officials who stayed behind in Shangshutai finally received the military information they least wanted to know.

After all, the Great Plague still caused certain losses to the Han army. Many soldiers lost their lives because of this. Because of special reasons, they can only bury their bones in other places, and their souls cannot return. It's sad to say.

And compared with such casualties, the subsequent war casualties are even more regrettable. The last frantic struggle of the Persians, though eventually extinguished. But in the process, the Han army also paid the price of blood. There are many valiant soldiers who gave their lives in battle. This included Su Jian, Marquis of Pingling, and several other generals.

Such a huge loss is undoubtedly shocking. The officer on duty in Shangshutai did not dare to slack off, and immediately reported it to Lord Shangshuling. Dongfang Shuo was taken aback when he heard the news, and he hurriedly summoned the messenger to learn more about the situation. After he listened to the detailed report with a solemn demeanor, because of the nervousness in his heart, his fingers crumpled the letters on the desk, and he didn't even notice it.

"In this way, isn't the Western Expeditionary Army a great loss of vitality? Han Guogong ...... How so? ”

has always been in the eyes of everyone

Dongfang Shuo, who is wise and versatile, can no longer care about maintaining a calm demeanor. He stared intently at the exhausted messenger, his tone tinged with irrepressible anxiety.

"When I set out from Yumen Pass and came east, the instructions given by the general were written on the letter...... As for the rest, I don't know much. If there is the latest military information, I believe that the general will definitely send someone to transmit Chang'an as soon as possible. ”

Yumen Pass to Chang'an, along the way there is a special fast horse station. It is possible to deliver emergency military information in the shortest possible time. Since the Western Regions and the Xiongnu Steppe belonged to the Imperial Court, all the major matters in the west and northwest reported to the imperial court from the Yumen Pass General's Mansion.

This time, the messenger was a straightforward man in the army. Speak straight and don't think too much. Dongfang Shuo frowned, he didn't get the information he wanted to know most, and he was always a little uneasy in his heart.

After letting the messenger rest, he went through the urgent letters over and over again. These messages were all transmitted from the Western Continent Flying Eagle to Yumen Pass, and then sent to Chang'an after being sorted out by the General's Mansion. It seems a bit general, after all. However, this attentive and wise man found many unusual things in it.

Dongfang Shuo, who is very familiar with the general Wei Qing, can easily see that this information has been filtered, and there is Wei Qing's breath in it.

"Why didn't you mention how Yuan Zhao is now? The situation is so urgent, as the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army, his every move is crucial...... With the general's prudence and meticulousness, he shouldn't have made such an omission. Odd....... ”

Dongfang Shuo, who was skeptical, walked out of Shangshutai with his hands in his hands. Looking up, the sky was overcast and it was snowing again. He sighed slightly, turned around and walked towards the gate of Weiyang Palace. Originally, I wanted to go to the imperial historian Sima Xiangru to discuss, but then I thought that this best friend had been suffering from thirst and sickness since the winter, and he had been recuperating for a while, so he still didn't bother him for the first time.

Sima Xiangru's illness is still the root of the disease planted when he traveled the world when he was young. Although it is not very serious, once it starts, it is very torturous.

For a long time, Dongfang Shuo and Sima Xiangru, as the most important allies and assistants of Yuan Zhao, have played an irreplaceable role in the stability of the political situation in the world and the implementation of various policies and guidelines. Especially during the time when Yuan Zhao was out on the expedition, the two of them were even more responsible, shouldering all the big and small affairs in the court, and almost never made any mistakes. Now, Yuan Zhao has no return date, Sima Xiangru's body is overwhelmed, and the general Wei Qing is guarding the border, and Dongfang Shuo is left alone in Chang'an. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel that his mood was hesitant, and for no reason, he felt that he was alone.

When Dongfang Shuo, who was full of gloom, walked into the emperor's residence, he didn't know that there was a top-secret urgent letter that had already been delivered to His Majesty the Emperor. And so far, in the entire territory of Chang'an and the Great Han Dynasty, only the emperor alone has known the shocking news.

The heavy snow was silent, and it began to fall all over Chang'an again.