The next day, on the ninth day of the ninth month of September, Gao Shun ordered Su Shuang to distribute the cotton bedding he had prepared to each family, in order to avoid them asking about the source of the bedding, Gao Shun did not come forward, in order to show the preciousness of the bedding, only gave Zhang Rang and His Majesty ten sets each, as well as Lu Zhi and other four people, each of whom was only four sets of bedding.

This is the most affordable gift for Gao Shun, but it is rare and expensive, and they will definitely like it after receiving it.

In the afternoon of the next day, Zhou Fei and Fang Liang jointly wrote to His Majesty according to the discussed plan, hoping to appoint Guan Yu as the chief general of the Xiongnu Zhonglang, stationed in the Xiongnu Wangting Meiji, supervising the Xiongnu Shan Yu, and containing Xianbei in the west; Guan Hai is the governor of Hedong County; Xu Huang is the Taishou of Shangjun; Unite the three forces to recover Shangjun and cut off the threat of Qianghu to the Sili region.

Liu Hong saw Zhou Fei and Fang Liang's letters, and asked Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang, "What do you two think about this?" ”

Zhao Zhong didn't speak.

Zhang Rang said: "Your Majesty, the two emperors-in-law are dedicated to the country, if they can recover Shangjun, then as they said, whether it is the Huns, Wuhuan or Qiang, they cannot pose a threat to the Luoyang region." ”

Liu Hong said: "I don't mean that, I want to know what you think about the relationship between the champion Hou and the two emperors-in-law, as well as the relationship between the two emperors-in-law?" ”

Zhang Rang said: "Your Majesty, you don't need to think about it to know that their relationship is very close; They are all from border counties, have no background, and have no support from other forces, they can only develop together and support each other. ”

Zhao Zhong said: "Your Majesty, it can be seen from their letter that the Marquis of Guangping supported the Marquis of Guangnian to recover Shangjun, and Xu Huang and Guan Hai were both transferred from Jinan, which shows that the relationship between them must be very close." ”

Zhang Rang added: "Your Majesty, before that, the two emperors-in-law went to visit the Champion Hou together, and they also drank and ate together in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, and they joined hands to write yesterday, so it seems that the Champion Hou must have played an important role in it." ”

Liu Hong was very unhappy about this, his face was pale, and no emperor wanted his courtiers to form factions among themselves, especially among those who held military power.

Zhang Rang guessed Liu Hong's thoughts, and said: "Your Majesty, they have their own faction, the stronger their strength, the greater support they can provide to Your Majesty, otherwise why would they be the opponents of the Shi clan?" ”

Zhao Zhong interjected in time: "Your Majesty, the general and the scholar clan are getting closer and closer, this is not a good thing, the military power of the imperial capital can be all in the hands of the general, and the general has recruited a lot of talents, and his strength should not be underestimated." ”

Liu Hong originally wanted to use this to weaken Gao Shun's strength and make the two emperors-in-law his strength, but if they continued to maintain a close relationship with Gao Shun, but instead strengthened Gao Shun's strength, it would be contrary to his original intention.

If they don't develop together, they can't compete with the nobles and generals.

He was pleased that they were now extremely loyal, and kept a certain distance from the scholars, and they were all appointed by people from the poor people or good families.

Now he is conflicted in his heart that there is an emergency in the capital, and the champion Hou and the two imperial sons-in-law are unable to come to the aid in time; If they suddenly start an incident, the generals and the nobles will not be able to compete with them for a short time; If their strength is dispersed, it will be difficult for them to succeed without backup; If they are allowed to develop together, their strength is too strong and they cannot be checked and balanced, so it is really difficult to grasp.

Zhao Zhong's meaning is very obvious, he supports the champion Hou, at least the champion Hou is not supported like a general, but he has become a white-eyed wolf and has too close contacts with the scholars. The emperor not only became defensive of the general, but also had a disgust for the empress and Liu Wei.

Liu Hong asked: "What has Champion Hou done in the last few days?" ”

Zhang Rang hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, after the Champion Hou arrived in the capital, in addition to reporting, he has been waiting for His Majesty's summons in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and has not gone anywhere. ”

Liu Hong asked, "Didn't go anywhere?" Didn't make friends with officials in Beijing? ”

"Your Majesty, he sent someone to bring ten sets of bedding to Your Majesty, and the minister has ordered someone to send them to Your Majesty's bedroom; In addition, he sent four sets of bedding to the general, Lu Zigan, Cai Bojiao and Zongzheng Liu Bo'an, but he did not show up; Except for the two emperors-in-law who went to visit, no other officials went to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to meet with the champion Hou. ”

At this point, Liu Hong's face became comfortable, and he was very satisfied with Gao Shun's duty.

So, Liu Hong decided: "According to the will of the two emperors, issue a holy decree, order them to recover Shangjun, and strengthen the monitoring of Xiongnu Shan Yu." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhang Rang was very happy to respond, as long as there is His Majesty's reward for Gao Shun's forces, Gao Shun did not miss his benefits, this time Gao Shun gave him the bedding, he liked it very much, this rare thing, than giving him 100 gold, made him more satisfied, which showed Gao Shun's intentions; This time, His Majesty granted the request for his life, and the champion Hou would definitely not lose his benefits.

Zhao Zhong suggested: "Your Majesty, in order to prevent the champion Hou from becoming bigger, you can order him to recover Dingxiang County, Yunzhong County and Jiuyuan County as soon as possible; Let them fight to the death with the Xianbei people, regardless of victory or defeat, it is extremely beneficial to the imperial court. ”

Zhang Rang immediately objected: "Your Majesty, the champion Hou will definitely choose the best time to attack and recover the land according to his strength, just like they have destroyed several Wuhuan tribes in a row, without His Majesty's order, they will choose to take the initiative to attack; If you force your attack when your strength is weak, once you are defeated, the newly restored tranquility and the border will once again fall into chaos, and no one will be able to come forward to clean up the mess; Once there is chaos on the border of Youhe and He, Qianghu will become more rampant, and the situation in Liangzhou will deteriorate rapidly, and the military expenditure will be innumerable. ”

Liu Hong didn't know anything else, but he was very sensitive to the expenditure of money, and immediately nodded in approval of Zhang Rang's words.

Zhao Zhong also suggested: "Your Majesty, you can also order the champion Hou to transfer 5,000 cavalry to strengthen the strength of the Guangnian Hou, so that the recovery of Shangjun is more certain." ”

Zhao Zhong's suggestion this time is very much in line with Liu Hong's appetite, using the strength of the champion Hou to recover Shangjun, which enhances the strength of the imperial court, but does not need to spend the money and food of the imperial court, so he smiled and said: "Haha, okay, Zhao Changshi's suggestion is good, just do it, immediately give an order to the champion Hou, and transfer 5,000 cavalry to support Guangnian Hou"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Liu Hong was in a good mood and asked again: "How long is there until the coming-of-age ceremony of the champion Hou?" ”

Zhang Rang said: "Your Majesty, it is now the tenth day of the ninth month, and the birthday of the champion Hou is the eighth day of the tenth month, and there is still nearly a month to go." ”

Liu Hong asked again: "When will the mother of the champion Hou arrive in the capital?" ”

"Your Majesty, it's not until the beginning of October at the earliest."

Liu Hong ordered: "This matter must be kept strictly confidential from the outside world!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Liu Hong thought to himself, this time he will first do things from Gao Shun's mother, and he must accept Princess Wannian and firmly control Champion Hou in his hands and become a sharp blade in his hands.

After thinking for a while, Liu Hong ordered again: "The wedding time of the two eldest princesses is getting closer and closer, you must make all preparations, and there must be no mistakes." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, Zongzheng Liu Bo'an, Lu Zigan and others are now going all out to deal with this matter."

"The coronation ceremony and the marriage ceremony of the champion Marquis must also be prepared, and there must be no mistakes at that time."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

He is such a daughter, and he must be satisfied with his daughter.

However, his current thoughts and actions are very contradictory, he hopes that Gao Shun will have the strength to compete with the scholars and generals, but he is also afraid that Gao Shun's strength is too strong to be able to counterbalance; In the areas controlled by Gao Shun's forces, the officials were clear, the taxes were rising, the people were happy, and the military was strong, and he did not dare to use too many officials promoted by Gao Shun, for fear that the tail would not be lost.

Now Liu Hong is holding a coronation ceremony for Gao Shun and marrying the princess Yu Gaoshun, hoping to strengthen his control over Gao Shun and make him grateful to the imperial court, hoping that the result will meet his wishes.