The queen mother and the empress did not go to Luoyang in the end, and the emperor drove back to Beijing. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

As soon as Han Ruzi got the news, he immediately set off, with only more than a thousand people behind him.

He hoped for a war, but the coming war might be far more than expected, and the battle between the kings and the ministers would be insignificant.

The New Year is approaching, and even if the people of Beijing hear about the defeat of the West, they do not take it to heart, at most they use it as a conversation after tea and dinner, and they are still busy shopping for New Year's goods and visiting relatives and friends.

After all, the emperor is the emperor, he can leave Luoyang in a hurry, he can go straight through the Hangu Pass without stopping, but he can't enter the capital casually, the ministers have been looking forward to the emperor's return, and when the emperor arrives in a hurry, they are unanimously opposed to the emperor entering Beijing without a ceremonial driver.

What will the people think? Could it be that Da Chu has panicked to such an extent that the Son of Heaven doesn't even care about the simplest prestige? Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe led hundreds of civil and military officials out of the city to greet the emperor, and persuaded the emperor to wait for two days, and wait for Luoyang's chariot and honor guards to arrive, and then hold a ceremony to enter the city.

Han Ruzi agreed, in fact, while he was still on the road, he had already reflected on whether his reaction was too intense.

But he needed to know first-hand right away.

Han Ruzi stopped in the camp of the Northern Army, which was stationed outside the fortress, and the camp was empty, which happened to become a temporary palace.

Most of the news from the Western Regions was transmitted to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of War had not yet appointed a new Shangshu, and Liu Zeqin, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, followed the emperor and had not yet arrived in the capital, so the prime minister Zhuo Ruhe appointed another squire from the Ministry of War to report the situation to the emperor.

"On December 13, news came from the Western Regions that there was a big war in the West, but the statement was rather confusing, and the Quartet Division of the Ministry of Rites took it over and did not report it immediately. On the 17th, 18th, and 193rd of December, more news came from the Western Regions, all of which were sent to the Ministry of Rites, saying that several kings had fled to Dachu and begged to enter the customs. But this is just a letter written by a king in the Western Regions, and it does not have the seal of my Great Chu official, so it has not been reported. In the following days, there were often news coming, contradicting each other, the source was unclear, or to the Ministry of Rites or to the Ministry of War, but they were not reported. It was not until December 22 that Zhang Yin, the general of the Kunlun Mountain Tiger City, and the Western Regions Protector Shen Jingshi jointly wrote an official letter, finally clarifying the facts. ”

The recital was placed on the table, and Han Ruzi had already seen it, but he still had many doubts in his heart.

The cantata is not very long, and the main content is written in sheets.

About two months ago, Deng Cui led the Western Regions coalition army to meet the enemy army, won both battles, and was retreating, the Huns came from nowhere and suddenly joined the battlefield, causing the coalition army to be defeated.

When Zhang Yin was writing the recital, Deng Cui's whereabouts were still unknown.

The city was not yet fully built, Zhang Yin immediately stopped work, distributed weapons to the craftsmen, and temporarily put together an army.

In the past few days when Han Ruzi has been galloping all the way, a large amount of news has come from the Western Regions, the sources are extremely complicated, there are Great Chu officials, there are princes of various countries, there are business travelers, and there are many kinds of theories, Deng Cui will die and be captured, and the best news is that he has escaped safely back to Huju City.

The statement about the Huns is even more contradictory, one says that the entire Huns have surrendered to the gods and ghosts, and the other says that it is only part of the Huns, and the main force of the Huns did not dare to fight, and they don't know where to flee to.

As the emperor, Han Ruzi only listened most of the time, Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe presided over the court meeting, the military department had no owner, and the Ministry of Rites had not yet arrived, and Zhuo Ruhe designated ministers according to their grades and status to express their thoughts one by one.

The first to state his opinion was Zuo Cha Yushi Feng Ju, "The minister thinks that the defeat of General Deng is a pity, but there is no need to be too alarmed, from Kunlun Mountain to Great Chu is thousands of miles apart, the land in the Western Regions in the middle is barren, can not support the army to pass through, this is true for the Chu army, the same is true for the enemy army, for thousands of years, the Central Plains has never suffered from the invasion of the Western Regions, which can be proven." It is worth being vigilant against the Xiongnu, if the Xiongnu really surrender to the enemy, the northern frontier of Great Chu is worried, but fortunately, His Majesty has foresight, and the southern and northern armies have been stationed in the important cities outside the Saiwai. The immediate task at the moment is to find out the situation of the Xiongnu as soon as possible. ”

The ministers spoke one by one, most of them agreed with Feng Ju, and several ministers felt that the Western Regions could not be given up and should be supported as soon as possible, otherwise, the countries of the Western Regions would be centrifuged, and the tiger city would be built in vain.

The court discussion lasted all afternoon, and Han Ruzi dismissed the ministers, leaving Zhuo Ruhe alone.

"The prime minister is the head of a hundred officials, and Zhuo Xiang should also talk about his thoughts." Han Ruzi said.

The two monarchs and ministers have not seen each other for several months, and they have mustard in their hearts, but at this time they pretended that nothing had happened, Zhuo Ruhe bowed and saluted, and said: "Your Majesty asked, the minister did not dare not reply, the minister dared to speak, and the Western Regions could not be defended." ”

"Why?"

"The Western Regions are empty, the road is long and difficult, the grain and grass start from Dachu, and after arriving in the Western Regions, there is only one percent left, and it is protracted, it is too late to fight with the enemy, but it will become the enemy's food."

"More than thirty countries in the Western Regions, as well as the soon-to-be-completed Tiger City, just gave up?"

Zhuo Ruhe bowed again, "Building a city in Kunlun Mountain is really Your Majesty's foresight, if there is another three to five years, even if it is only one year, the Great Chu army will enter the Western Regions one after another, relying on the Tiger City, backed by the Western Regions, you can fight with the enemy." Now the tiger city is an empty city, according to the words of Zhang Yin, the Marquis of Piyuan, there is still a corner that has not been completed, and the enemy army has pressed the border, Da Chu does not want to save, it is really too late to save. ”

Han Ruzi nodded and motioned for Zhuo Ruhe to continue.

"Lord Zuocha Yu Shi Feng's opinion is very reasonable, Great Chu is unable to support the Western Regions, and it is difficult for the enemy army to attack Great Chu through the Western Regions, and the threat is still from the north."

"Is there any news from outside the plug?"

"It's the middle of winter, there is no trace of the Huns outside the Saiwai, it will probably not be until tomorrow spring and summer, the Huns will make a move, Dachu still has three or five months of preparation, instead of trying to protect the Western Regions, it is better to recruit back the Chu people in the Western Regions, and then strengthen the north."

"General Deng's life and death are unknown."

"If General Deng is lucky enough to escape the hands of the enemy, he can return to Beijing with the Marquis of Biyuan and the Protector of the Western Regions, if he is unlucky, the Great Chu Whip is beyond his reach, and there is no other way, and he is going out without authorization, and he should be punished when he comes back."

"Let's wait until the news is clearer."

"Yes, Your Majesty, no matter what, first pass the New Year."

"Hmm. There is Prime Minister Lao. ”

Zhuo Ruhe suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, "Shame on Your Majesty." ”

"I am the son of Great Chu, you are the prime minister of Great Chu, your opinions may be different, but they are all for the sake of Great Chu, why are you ashamed?" Han Ruzi took out a few pieces from the table, "Extraterritorial turmoil, it should be the time for the monarch and the ministers to work together to tide over the difficulties, Wang Zhuo Xiang will support it and serve the court for a few more years." ”

It was the prime minister's previous resignation, Zhuo Ruhe kowtowed again, "The minister doesn't dare to resign, so he can only serve His Majesty." ”

Retained the prime minister, naturally retained hundreds of officials, a crisis is solved, but the root cause of the crisis is still there, Zhuo Ruhe did not get up, still knelt on the ground, and asked: "After the external troubles are born, will the internal worries be solved as scheduled?" ”

Han Ruzi gave three months and asked the rich and noble families in the world to hand over their private house slaves, or naturalize them, or release them to the people, and the deadline was about to come.

"I'll talk about it in a few years." Han Ruzi said.

Zhuo Ruhe kowtowed and retired.

Han Ruzi has been sitting alone for a long time, he is now in a dilemma, the strong enemy of the West is too inopportune, if you don't start to prevent it immediately, there will be a big trouble, if you want to start as soon as possible, you must rely on the support of the ministers and the family, and the action of purging the imperial court will have to be suspended, leaving a long-term worry.

He misses Yang Bong.

Although Yang Feng didn't find out "Chun Yuxiao" until the end, he never hesitated and always knew what he had to do, which no one else could compare, and even if Zhao Ruosu and others were still trusted by the emperor, they couldn't help at this time.

The ceremonial chariot in the back also ran very fast, and the next day arrived, and the emperor was able to officially enter the city.

There are also a large number of entourages on the road, especially Concubine Deng Yun, who walks relatively slowly.

The first thing Han Ruzi did when he returned to the palace was to visit the two queen mothers, the Empress Dowager Shangguan was still sick, and the Empress Dowager Cining behaved more politely, and there was an estrangement between the mother and son, which was more difficult to resolve than the contradiction between the monarch and the minister.

Qinghuangzi has grown up a lot, and he can already say simple words, but he refuses to call him "father", and hides in his grandmother's arms and never looks up.

The princess was very lively, lying on the small bed, dancing at her father's hands.

Cui Xiaojun stood beside the emperor, looked at his daughter, and smiled: "Look at her eyes, everyone says that she looks like Your Majesty." ”

"How can I have such beautiful eyes?" Han Ruzi felt warm in her heart, and reached out and gently pinched the princess's cheek, but the princess was not afraid, but laughed out loud.

"Your Majesty has worked hard outside." Cui Xiaojun looked at the emperor, and there was as much pity in his heart as he did for his daughter.

"It's fine." Han Ruzi was still staring at her daughter.

"Your Majesty...... Embarrassing, right? ”

"What's so embarrassing?" Han Ruzi turned his head in surprise.

"Internal and external troubles are rushing together, I know that Your Majesty is a person who does not admit defeat, and he definitely does not want to give up any plan."

Han Ruzi was silent.

"Your Majesty, it's better to start with the Cui family."

Han Ruzi was even more surprised, "The Cui family ......"

"Your Majesty has set an example by abolishing the royal palaces and palaces in all parts of the world, but there are not many people who can follow suit, that is, there are still doubts in my heart, thinking that Your Majesty will not be consistent. The Wang and Cui families are both relatives, the Wang family is weak, one person was convicted, the Cui family is strong, but he has not heard of His Majesty's guilt, and the people of the world will feel unfair because of this, thinking that His Majesty is biased. ”

"I will not condemn the innocent."

"The Cui family is not innocent, my father has already told me that he colluded with others to listen to His Majesty's thoughts, and arranged a lot of official positions for the Cui family for the sake of the future."

Han Ruzi actually had a plan, but he felt that the time had not come, but he didn't expect the queen to mention it.

"Does the queen understand the weight of Mrs. Cui's crime?"

"Understood, so I have a request, the Cui family is willing to confess, but please Your Majesty can be merciful and give the Cui family a way to live."

Family affairs, state affairs, and world affairs are all rushed together.

Han Ruzi didn't make any decisions, and the year passed first. (To be continued.) )