(a)

Before you know it, it has been 20 years since the new dynasty was founded.

Liu Shen and I have also entered middle age. I have a group of children, and I am no longer the young girl who was like a flower and jade, and Liu Shen has grown a beard, and his hair has gradually turned gray.

When his first gray hair appeared, he was very surprised. Concubine Rong Xian helped him pull it out. He looked at the prematurely grown gray hair, was stunned for a long time, and then accepted the fact that he was starting to age. He sighed and said: "Yes, before you know it, the children have grown up and started a family, how can we not be old." In this world, we are going to end soon, and it is the turn of the next generation to take the stage and perform their time. ”

Concubine Rong Xian said: "Wouldn't it be nice to let the sons worry about it, we can be idle in the palace for a while and enjoy the next spring flowers and autumn moon?" ”

Liu Shen took her hand and said, "Who said this to you first?" ”

Concubine Rong Xian replied honestly: "It's the queen who often talks about it." ”

Liu Shen smiled and said, "It's Qin'er." I knew she was the one who said it. ”

Concubine Rong Xian said, "Isn't that right? ”

Liu Shen said: "That's right, it's right. This world, sooner or later, is not ours, no matter how reluctant we are, it will quickly leave us. There will always be a day when you can let go of the heavy burden on your shoulders. We should trust our sons. Facing their new world, they will have new ideas and new methods. We should be like the sunset that goes down, vigorous and shining, and then quietly sinks down the mountain, leaving the world with the last ray of light. ”

Concubine Rong Xian looked at Liu Shen, didn't know how to answer, thought about it, and said, "The emperor is wise." ”

Liu Shen listened to this answer, smiled again, and said, "This is an answer that can not be wrong at any time. ”

Liu Shen always felt in his heart that the woman who could deeply resonate with him on these topics and talk deeply with him was the only one in the harem.

As we grow older and our children and grandchildren grow up, the love between us is turning into a growing friendship.

(b)

In the 13th year of Jianyuan, Liu Shen suffered another angina attack and fell ill, seriously ill and almost endangered. Liu Shen himself felt that he would definitely die this time, so he summoned the crown prince and the ministers who took care of his life, explained his will, and entrusted them with the fate of the country and the government.

The atmosphere between the government and the opposition was tense, the people were grieving, and the people were looking forward to Liu Shen's recovery, and they went to the temple to pray for the king's recovery.

After the news spread, the Beji Hankel tribe far north decided that Liu Shen would definitely die this time, and as soon as he lost his breath and the new monarch ascended the throne, the court of the Han people would have some turmoil.

The surprise attack of these Beji people was ferocious, and after the offensive was launched, they rushed for thousands of miles overnight, swept 300 miles of border fronts, and swept through 26 counties in the northern grasslands. Because of the suddenness of the incident, the border counties were taken by surprise, the local defenders were defeated and retreated, the Han people were killed and plundered, and suffered heavy losses, and many civil and military officials died in this round of raids.

For a time, the northern frontier was full of smoke.

Liu Shen was dying and could not be a director, so the crown prince acted as the supervisor of the country, and ordered Yang Biao to lead his troops to attack and meet the Beji cavalry.

(c)

After the establishment of the Taiping New Dynasty, the world was stable, the sword could not afford to fight, and the Han army, which was powerful in the past, had no place to play. Liu Shen also insisted on cherishing national strength, paying attention to the people's livelihood, and giving the people all kinds of rest and recuperation, and did not agree to continue to expand the territory and expand the territory to the south and west, triggering wars with the more remote ethnic groups in the Western Regions and the southwest. As a result, the Han army has been in a state of idleness for more than 10 years. As the supreme military commander of the Han army, Yang Biao's status gradually declined, from a glorious position comparable to that of the emperor when you led the Han army, to the status of an ordinary aristocratic vassal. Although Liu Shen has always attached great importance to the Han army, however, after all, this time is different from the past, and many of Yang Biao's opinions have not been adopted by the imperial court.

The northern front was full of smoke, and Yang Biao's spirit was immediately for a while. He felt very happy, because the Han army once again showed its talents, and the time for the achievements to attract the attention of the whole country has finally come.

He led the crown prince with great dignity and led 100,000 cavalry to fight in the grassland.

Two elite and large armies met head-on in the middle of the Begi steppe, and a fierce head-to-head battle ensued.

Hankel was surprised to find that although you have been dead for many years, the fierceness of the Han cavalry has not diminished in the slightest, and under the command of Yang Biao, whether it is frontal combat or roundabout, all kinds of tactics are still as skillful and flexible as before, and the ability to attack from a distance is even more powerful than before with the further development of iron smelting and gunpowder technology.

The cavalry units of the two sides fought many times in the grassland for about half a year, and Yang Biao seized the command of the war with great momentum, and divided and surrounded the Beji troops and pursued them for a long distance.

In the end, the armies of both sides fought a large-scale decisive battle at a place called Wuling. The decisive battle lasted 8 days. The final result was that Yang Biao completely annihilated Hankel's department, and Hankel would rather die in the bloody battle, resisting until the last moment, bleeding all over his body, and finally being killed by the Han army's random arrows. This round of attacks by the Beji people was completely defeated, and most of the troops participating in the battle were annihilated and captured, which is known as the "Wuling Victory" in history. Yang Biao achieved a comprehensive victory.

Another complete victory of the Han army once again shook the entire northern and western regions.

After this war, for more than 100 years, whether it was in the north of the Han Dynasty or in the Western Regions across the Hexi Corridor, no national army dared to take the initiative to challenge the new dynasty.

The peaceful and prosperous situation of the new dynasty has been vigorously maintained and consolidated. Yang Biao once again succeeded you and made immortal contributions to the new dynasty.

(iv)

However, Yang Biao's performance is far from being as good as yours.

He was carried away by the great victory and decided to take revenge for the snub and neglect of him by the imperial court some time ago.

He returned triumphantly, flying all the way, not paying attention to the local officials who came to greet him, arbitrarily bullying and neglecting, sneering in his words, and behaving arrogantly and rudely.

Accompanied him all the way back to Yunjing from the northern route, and the excerpts of his impeachment along the way also flew to Liu Shen's desk like snowflakes.

Liu Shen flipped through the notes of local officials condemning Yang Biao's impeachment along the way.

Then, he still decided to go out of the city in person and lead the civil and military officials and people in the capital to greet Yang Biao's triumph with a full set of grand honor guards.

He decided to give Yang Biao the supreme glory that you have never enjoyed.

Wei Guoqing, the dying prime minister, decided that it was very inappropriate for Liu Shen to do this, and entered the palace at night, met with Liu Shen alone, and advised Liu Shen not to give Yang Biao any more honors.

Liu Shen said to Wei Guoqing: "Wei Qing, do you still remember the agreement between the late general and me when they swore an oath in Jinfeng Village. At that time, I promised Qin'er and the Han army that I would never start with Liu Shen. This is my promise to the late general, and it is also my promise to the entire Han army. The Han army has made immortal contributions to the country, so Yang Biao should be given supreme glory. Liu Shen should do everything he should do. As for how General Yang faced Jun En and how he faced this extremely high honor, it was his own business. Liu Shen will not owe him what he should give. ”

Wei Guoqing heard that Liu Shen had already understood Yang Biao's domineering attitude, and he was mentally prepared to deal with it, so he no longer bothered him.

So, when Yang Biao triumphantly arrived in Yunjing, the north gate of the whole city was opened, and millions of people welcomed him.

Yang Biao rode all the way and advanced until he was only 30 steps away from Liu Shen's standing position, before turning over and dismounting, bowing to Liu Shen and bowing to him.

Liu Shen announced all kinds of grand rewards for Yang Biao and meritorious officials.

Yang Biao was satisfied with Liu Shen's reward, so he kowtowed and thanked him.

Liu Shen took a few steps forward, helped Yang Biao up, greeted him for his hard work all the way, personally took his arm, and joined hands in the palace to participate in the celebration banquet.

After Yang Biao thanked him, he calmly accepted the emperor's arm, walked almost side by side with the emperor all the way, entered the gate of Yunjing, and accepted the warm welcome of the military and people of Yunjing.

In the meantime, Yang Biao was so proud that he forgot his sense of proportion, and even walked slightly ahead of Liu Shen for a while.

When the courtiers of the central royal court in Yunjing heard and witnessed his arrogance, they couldn't help but think of the late general's kneeling and pleading guilty with a wounded leg when facing the king after the victory of Druhu, and even more remembered that after the Battle of Entu and the victory of Sulong, the general repeatedly asked for reprimands because the death rate was too high. The contrast between the present and the past is so stark, the courtiers can't help but feel all kinds of emotions and sighs in their hearts. There were indignant imperial historians and civil and military courtiers who drafted a fiercely worded impeachment note overnight, denouncing Yang Biao's dereliction of honor in front of the monarch.

Liu Shen left these pieces in the palace, did not review them, and did not return them to the center, leaving them to sink to the bottom.

Yang Biao was unhappy with Liu Shen's handling and thought that Liu Shen should severely punish those officials who dared to slander him. He even used self-justification as an excuse in the court, and criticized and ridiculed Liu Shen a lot between his words and sentences.

Liu Shen let him speak freely in the court, and then, in a gentle tone, told his subordinates that he should respect those who have made great contributions to the peace of the world, and that for a country, nothing is more important than the peace and contentment of all people. Then, he issued a decree commending a large number of central and local officials who had made meritorious contributions in stabilizing the rear, organizing military quarters, organizing medical care, and other follow-up services during the war, and commended them, saying that it was precisely because of the unity of the whole country and the fulfillment of their responsibilities by the civil and military generals that this war could be so brilliant. Liu Shen expressed his deep gratitude to all the officials and, on behalf of the country, gave them a grand toast, expressing his willingness to work together to carry forward and sustain the peace of the people and the surrounding environment in peace and contentment.

In an atmosphere of unity and progress, the grand triumphal celebration came to an end.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Liu Shen euphemistically reminded Yang Biao in his final concluding speech that although he made great contributions to the victory of the war, it was by no means his own credit, nor was it the unique credit of the Han army. Without the strong support of all parties, victory would not have come so quickly.

However, Yang Biao did not see Liu Shen's intentions. On the contrary, he felt that Liu Shen had diluted the role of the Han army in the war by muddying the water and mud in this way, and he was not in awe of himself and had no sincerity in gratitude.

He had a dissatisfied knot with Liu Shen from then on. (To be continued.) )