Ma Teng's oath Liu Xie didn't believe a word. Liu Xie, who came from later generations, was either obedient or personally experienced too many things that broke his word and became fat, the kind of person who swore in person and gave you a knife in the back Liu Xie has seen and heard too much. However, since Ma Teng has made a gesture, Liu Xie naturally has to cooperate.

Liu Xie will not relax his vigilance against the Ma family because of Ma Teng's oath, and if Ma Teng wants to gain Liu Xie's real trust, he will definitely not be able to do it by saying two beautiful words. Everything still depends on the actual actions in the future, just as Liu Xie said to Ma Teng, you live up to me, I live up to you.

The Ma family's army was limited to 20,000, although it was still led by Ma Teng, but Ma Chao, the most restless Ma of the Ma family, was asked by Liu Xie to be by his side as the commander of the guard. Without Ma Chao's Ma Jiajun, there are fewer unsettling internal factors. Ma Teng is a person who is more knowledgeable about current affairs, or his ambition is not very big, and he lacks the idea of becoming a king on his own, and his other two sons, Ma Xiu and Ma Tie, are more honest than Ma Chao.

Without Ma Chao, Ma Jiajun's combat power will indeed be reduced, but doing so can allow Ma Jiajun to integrate into the sequence of imperial court officials and soldiers in a faster time. Ma Chao didn't want to leave Ma Jiajun, but his son Ma Teng made a decision, and he, who was a son, could only obey it.

"Lord, you have Tong Yuan and Wang Yue by your side, why do you have to ask me to be the commander of this personal guard?" Ma Chao was still young after all, and he couldn't help but ask Liu Xie his questions. Liu Xie didn't hide his thoughts from Ma Chao, and raised a finger and replied: "First, the Ma family will be stationed in Wuwei in the future, but all high-ranking officials who are guarding one side need to leave protons in Beijing. I believe in the loyalty of your Ma family, but I also need to use you to stop the civil and military criticism of the Manchu Dynasty. You are the eldest son of Mafubo, and you will not leave anyone behind. ”

"Second, although Master Tong and Master Wang are the two masters in the world, they are old after all, and I don't want to cause them to follow me around in the future. I am going to open a martial arts hall in Chang'an, and the two of them will open the hall and teach apprentices. ”

Ma Chao frowned when he heard this, "Lord, I understand your first reason, but the second reason ......."

"Everyone in this world has something to grow in, and everyone has something to grow. For example, if you are allowed to study and study, it may be more difficult than killing you, but if you are allowed to practice martial arts, then you will definitely be happy. Some people in this world are good at civil affairs, and some are suitable for martial arts, I just want people to have more choices, not only can they have a future as a civil official, but they can also have a bright future as a military general. You don't necessarily understand this when I tell you, anyway, you remember, you just have to listen to me in the future. ”

“…… What if I don't listen? ”

"Then I'll tell your dad and let your dad clean you up."

"......" Ma Chao looked at Liu Xie a little speechlessly.

"Don't be sad, if you are obedient, I will naturally not make a small report to your father, and you will not suffer if you follow me, I am the emperor, you can be my personal guard, and there will be more opportunities to lead an army alone in the future." You don't just want to inherit your father's mantle, do you? Then you're a little too unproductive. Think about it, when you are introduced in the future, will it be said that this is Ma Fubo's descendant or Ma Fubo is his ancestor. ”

"Uh......" Ma Chao didn't understand for a while. Liu Xie didn't care whether Ma Chao understood or not, and asked again: "Your father doesn't object to you marrying that Yang girl, so when are you going to marry someone?" ”

"Uh...... I'm injured right now, and I'm going to wait until healed...... Lord! Ma Chao said that when he saw that Liu Xie's eyes were wrong, he couldn't help but be annoyed.

"What's so angry, I care about you." Liu Xie shrugged, withdrew his eyes and muttered.

"......" Ma Chao was speechless again, he suddenly had a hunch that the lord who followed his father's orders did not seem to be as reliable as he looked.

"Since the girl is willing to marry you, then you should marry you first, this kind of thing will drag on for a long time, and it is inevitable that something will happen."

“…… Did the lord marry? Ma Chao suddenly asked.

"I'm different from you, I'm the Son of Heaven, and basically no one dares to make up my mind about the woman I fancie. And you can't, to put it bluntly, you are the son of the princes, and it is less troublesome to provoke you than to provoke me. ”

“…… When does the lord think I should marry? ”

"The sooner the better, it's not like you have to go to the cave on the day you get married, you can wait until the injury is healed before you go to the cave. By the way, do you know how to cave a house? ”

“…… My lord, do you have experience? ”

"No, but I have a lot of theoretical knowledge, do I want to go back and borrow you?"

“…… Good. ”

……

Ma Chao was injured, injured muscles and bones for a hundred days, Liu Xie gave Ma Chao three months of vacation, before throwing down Ma Chao to recuperate from his injury, Liu Xie presided over the marriage for Ma Chao, and Ma Teng was helpless about it. Although he is still a little dissatisfied with his eldest daughter-in-law, with Liu Xie, the son of heaven, coming forward, this dissatisfaction can only be put down.

Liu Xie arrived in Guzang and saw Jia Xu, who had returned to Guzang to preside over the overall situation, this guy's complexion was not bad, and he had a smile on his face when he saw Liu Xie, and he seemed to have encountered something good.

"Wenhe, have you picked up the gold ingot? Laughing so happily. Seeing this, Liu Xie quipped.

"Huh...... I'm even happier than picking up the gold ingots, my lord, I just received a military report from Fa Jimou, the Western Army has defeated the combined army of the Western Regions countries, and it has now advanced to Chigu City, and more than half of the Western Regions countries have been included in the territory of our Great Han. ”

“…… Don't be too happy, the powerful countries in the Western Regions, such as the Dayue clan and Kangju, are still there, remind Fa Yan and Zhang Liao not to be careless. Liu Xie frowned and said after hearing this.

Seeing this, Jia Xu nodded slightly, "The lord really didn't disappoint Weichen, don't worry, Weichen has already sent a letter to remind them to be careful." ”

"Hmm." Liu Xie nodded when he heard this, and asked, "Did Fa Jimou say how many people there are in the beggar army now?" ”

"Yes, the number of beggars has exceeded 80,000."

"Okay, now that the army has reached Chigu City, it should be time for the Western Regions Protectorate established by the Han Dynasty in the past to reopen."

“…… My lord, this time our army is mainly looting, is it necessary to set up the Western Regions Protectorate? ”

"Yes, the Western Regions are rich in minerals, and it is better to leave it to us to mine it ourselves than to leave it to others. And there is no Western Regions Protectorate, what if people from the west call in the future? With the Western Regions Protectorate as a buffer, we won't be caught off guard. ”

"But the population of the Western Regions is not large."

"This is not a problem, in the future, all condemned prisoners, except for those who must be punished for serious crimes, will be sent to the Western Regions for labor reform, which is also regarded as waste utilization, which is better than a knife."

"I'm afraid it's not enough to be condemned to death."

"And prisoners of war." Liu Xie said and winked at Jia Xu. Jia Xu knew that it was inconvenient for Liu Xie to say something in front of everyone, so he wisely didn't ask any more questions, if he had any questions, he would ask them in private.

"Lord, Han Sui was expelled, Ma Teng returned to obedience, and this Liangzhou is temporarily stable." Jia Xu said to Liu Xie with a smile.

Liu Xie smiled when he heard this, nodded and agreed: "Well, there is no need to worry too much internally, the rest is to deal with the relationship between the Qiang and Han clans." Cherrigi had just been defeated, and he didn't dare to take the initiative to seek revenge in a short period of time, so the main thing Wen He and you have to do next is to appease the people of Liangzhou and let the people resume production as soon as possible. ”

"Don't worry, the lord knows it. By the way, speaking of Cherrigi, he sent Prime Minister Yadan to Guzang a few days ago. ”

"Huh? Send someone to convince you? ”

Jia Xu nodded and replied: "That's pretty much what it means, according to Yadan, this time they were deceived by Han Sui, and I hope Dahan can forgive them." In order to show their sincerity, Yadan brought Han Yin, the son of Han Sui, with the head of the item. ”

"Hmph, they're pretty good at their calculations." Liu Xie snorted coldly.

"Lord, that Yadan is still in Guzang now, do you want to see him?"

"No, you can't be too polite to outsiders, otherwise it's easy to make them pampered and arrogant. You tell Yadan for me, if you want to get Dahan's forgiveness, Han Yin's head is not enough, let him send Han Sui's head, otherwise Hugh will blame Dahan for being unsympathetic to him Cheriji. ”

“…… Lord, Han Sui doesn't seem to have fled to Xiqiang, right? ”

"Yes, I know, so Cherrigi will definitely not be able to hand over Han Sui's head. Wenhe, you are my confidant, so there are some things I can say to you. If you want to completely integrate the Qiang people, you can't let the Qiang people hold together. Cheriji is the king of Xiqiang, and his identity can unite the hearts of the Qiang people, which is not a good thing for our Han to integrate with the Qiang people. ”

"The lord wants the Qiang people to be scattered?"

"Well, that's the only way for my big man to profit from it."

"Weichen understands, please rest assured." Jia Xu understood Liu Xie's intentions, and he also knew what his future focus would be.

"I'm sure you understand. By the way, I have to remind you of one thing, my Han lost a lot of soldiers in this war, and many of those soldiers have settled in Liangzhou. I promised Zhang Yan that I would take good care of those family members, and you should usually take care of one or two. It is also remembered that after the establishment of the village school, regardless of Han and Qiang, as long as the Qiang people are willing to let children study, they will also be taught, and remember to warn the teaching students not to discriminate. ”

"The lord wants to attack the next generation of the Qiang people?"

"Education should start from the baby, if the Qiang people have received the education of the Han people since they were young, and when they grow up, they may have a higher sense of identity with the Han nationality than with the Qiang people, so that after several generations, there will be a few people who remember whether they are Han or Qiang."

“…… Lord, your idea is a bit insidious, did you come up with it yourself? ”

"What do you mean by insidious? It's called being forward-looking, isn't it? Without the contradiction between the two ethnic groups, there will be fewer conflicts, fewer casualties, and this Liangzhou will become the real territory of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xie corrected with some dissatisfaction.

"Yes, yes, Wechen was wrong. But is this really what you came up with? ”

"Nonsense, I didn't come up with it, could it be or did you think of it? Don't worry, I have consulted Zheng Xuan, Cai Yong and other great Confucians about this idea, and they have no objection to it. But this thing can be done and can't be said, you must remember not to leak it out, otherwise you don't blame me for taking you to the pot at that time. ”

"Huh!?"

"Ahh Liu Xie rolled his eyes and said with a smile.

“…… Hehe, Cheng, it can't be celebrated for a hundred years, and it's good to leave a stench for 10,000 years. Jia Xu thought about it, and after a while, he figured it out, and he didn't care about taking the blame for Liu Xie.

Seeing this, Liu Xie smiled and said: "It is estimated that it is unlikely to leave a stench for 10,000 years, but it is certain that it will leave a mark in the history books." If the Han family is really revitalized for the second time, I will leave a name in history, and you minions will definitely not be able to escape. ”

……

After staying in Guzang for nearly half a month, Liu Xie met with officials from all over the country and praised these people for their loyalty to the Han Dynasty. Without the hidden danger of Han Sui, Ma Teng is willing to accept the reorganization of the imperial court, and there is no need for Zhao Yun and Pang De, who were left in Liangzhou by Liu Xie, to continue to stay in Liangzhou.

Liu Xie handed over the defense of Jiuquan and Zhangye to Zhang Yan's Montenegrin army, and asked Zhao Yun and Pang De to each use 3,000 elites as the backbone to select more than 10,000 single young and strong people from the Montenegrin thieves who moved to Liangzhou to settle down to form two new armies. As for Ma Teng's Ma Jiajun, after replenishing the losses of each army, the remaining 20,000 men and horses were left to return to Wuwei with Ma Teng, and continued to monitor the Xiongnu in the north and prevent Han Sui, who fled to the north, from making a comeback.

After the arrangements were made, Liu Xie was ready to leave to return to Chang'an, and the men and horses of the Han An Army and the Xie Fu Army had returned to the garrison in advance, but with the addition of Zhao Yun and Pang De, Liu Xie's return to Chang'an was still very safe.

When the army arrived in Xinping, Liu Xie received an urgent report from Xun Yu's order, and Yuan Shuhe, who had lost successive battles with Cao Cao and Lü Bu, had proclaimed himself emperor in Shouchun a month earlier.

Compared with Pang De and Zhao Yun, who were angry after learning about this, Liu Xie's reaction was very calm. Yuan Shu said that Liu Xie had an impact on the matter of the emperor, and he was already mentally prepared, so the reaction would naturally not be too intense. Yuan Shu's claim to be the emperor is recorded in the history books, and Yuan Shu had the heart to be the emperor long before he got the jade seal. And after getting the jade seal, it made Yuan Shu feel that he was destined to return, so it was logical to take this step boldly.

However, Yuan Shu's claim to be emperor also means the beginning of Yuan Shu's defeat, Liu Xie doesn't know why Yuan Shu chose to be emperor at this time, if he really thinks that he can be the emperor with the jade seal, it is too naïve. Before becoming emperor, Yuan Shu's strength was the strongest, and compared with Yuan Shao, who was dominant in Hebei, Yuan Shu's strength was even stronger. Although he suffered consecutive defeats during this time, Yuan Shu's strength should not be underestimated.

But he became the emperor, which means that he has become the target of public criticism, and what Liu Xie needs to consider now is whether he needs to issue an edict to call on all princes to discuss it as recorded in history. Today's Yuan Shu is sandwiched in the center by Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Liu Bei, Sun Ce, and Liu Biao.

But the question is, even if Yuan Shu is defeated, what benefit can Liu Xie get from it? No profit can not be early, Liu Xie is not surnamed Lei, he does not have a good sentiment to help others.

The army continued to advance and returned to Chang'an in a few days. As soon as Liu Xie arrived in Chang'an, he was surrounded by Xun Yu and others, and the matter discussed was still Yuan Shu's claim to be emperor. The mountain is high and the emperor is far away, and the imperial court is still a little out of reach of Yuan Shu at this time, if the two sides are bordering, then Liu Xie can order Zhao Yun and Pang De to lead the army to find Yuan Shu's bad luck. But now, Yuan Shu is hiding in the southeast, and if the imperial court wants to fight, it must pass through Cao Cao's territory, and Cao Cao's treacherous can be, how can he let tens of thousands of imperial army unimpeded in his territory.

It is not realistic to send troops directly, so the only way to do this is to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. In the past half a month, Yuan Shu's new actions were also told by Xun Yu to Liu Xie, this Yuan Shu is really not a stupid person, after being called the emperor, he gave amnesty to the world, rewarded the ministers, and none of his "neighbors" were left behind, all of them were crowned kings, but none of them publicly said that they accepted the reward.

"It seems that Cao Cao and those people are waiting for the attitude of the imperial court." Liu Xie touched his smooth chin and said to Xun Yu and the others: "The imperial court will definitely not be able to admit that Yuan Shu is the emperor, but the imperial court is beyond the reach of the whip at the moment, and it is not realistic to intervene directly." Wen Ruo, what is the result of your deliberations? ”

"Call on the herds of all states to attack it." Xun Yu replied when he heard this.

"Hmm...... It's not profitable, which of those princes is willing to serve the court sincerely? Wen Ruo, after saying it all, what price do you think the court will pay? ”

"Uh......"

"The speaker is not guilty, if there is anything to say directly, I will not blame you for this."

“…… My lord, after deliberation, I feel that there is nothing to make them tempted except for the official recognition of the current status of those princes by the imperial court. ”

"Hehe, it seems that you and I have thought of a piece this time." Liu Xie smiled and said to Xun Yu: "Just do what you discussed." In addition, I will add that everyone else can be recognized by the imperial court, but Sun Ce can't, he is an accomplice of Yuan Shu's emperor. Back then, his father secretly hid the jade seal, and he dedicated the jade seal to Yuan Shu, and it was not so easy for the Sun family to get forgiveness from the imperial court. ”

Xun Yu and others originally planned to let Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Liu Bei, Liu Biao, and Sun Ce discuss Yuan Shu together. But now without Sun Ce's participation, Liu Biao is estimated to not really contribute, and only Cao, Lu, and Liu are left. In addition, Liu Bei and Sun Ce are fighting for Jiangdong at this time, and I am afraid that Cao Cao and Lu Bu are the ones that the imperial court can really count on.

"Lord, if you can't appease Sun Ce, relying only on the strength of the Cao and Lu families, I'm afraid you won't be able to solve Yuan Shu as soon as possible." Xun Yu said in a deep voice.

"Huh? Not...... In this way, then enlist Sun Ce's brother Sun Quan to come to Chang'an for Lang Guan, then I can consider forgiving the Sun family. Liu Xie thought about it when he heard this, and compromised.

"Sun Quan?" Xun Yu didn't know why Liu Xie named Sun Quan, but after all, Liu Xie was relieved, so he didn't dig deeper, and nodded and agreed to Liu Xie's request.