Shan Yu was lying on the bed peacefully, the wine red on his face had not completely dissipated, he smiled, it seemed that he was not dead, but asleep, and he still did not forget the taste of wine in his sleep.

Hu Zheng sat opposite, his hands clasped tightly, his elbows propped on his thighs, hunched over, his eyes looked at Shan Yu's body in a daze, and he seemed to be disturbed by unexpected sadness, but his cheeks that he bit from time to time revealed his hesitation at the moment.

Anji Pengshi Zhang Xiu roared angrily outside the door, just for such a major event as death, Anji Peng officials have the right to supervise on the side, but when he heard the news and arrived, Hu Zheng did not let him in, which made Zhang Xiu very unhappy. He scolded and threatened to say, "If you don't let me in again, I have the right to suspect that there is a conspiracy in Shan Yu's death."

Hu Zheng was very nervous, he knew that Zhang Xiu and his fifty Han soldiers were not terrible, what was terrible was the Han people behind him, and the newly appointed Beizhong Lang general Liu Xiu was in Meiji. This Beizhong Lang General is not the last Beizhong Lang General Zhang Huan, he is like a wolf, with blood-red eyes staring at the Xianbei people and the Huns on the other.

What's more, whether it's Zhang Xiu or Liu Xiu, they don't like him, and they don't want him to be a new Shan Yu. What if they follow their arrangement and they open a new order? Do you still have to pin your hopes on the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, hoping that he will return Shan Yu's position to him like the last time he denied Zhang Huan?

Not to mention that this hope is too small, Hu Zheng doesn't like the feeling of being in the hands of others. He didn't want to be abolished like his grandfather Yiling's corpse. He wants to be a single man who makes his own decisions.

However, Hu Zheng has no bottom in his heart, once he angers the Han people, can they still live in Bingzhou, if he can't occupy it, and then he will defect from the Sai, he must face the strong pressure of the Xianbei people, and will eventually be swallowed up by the Xianbei people.

How to occupy this land without having to listen to the Han people's dictates is a problem that Hu Zheng has been considering, but before he can think of a countermeasure, this opportunity, and the only opportunity, was suddenly placed in front of him, which caught him a little off guard.

The dressed Yan walked in, gently pressed the warm hand on Hu Zheng's shoulder, Hu Zheng raised his head, met the concerned gaze of the Yan family, the mother and son looked at each other for a while, and the Yan Shi said: "If you don't invite Master Zhang in, you don't have to think about anything." ”

Hu Zheng's face darkened, nodded, lowered his head, rubbed his eyes, brewed his emotions for a while, slowly walked out of the king's tent, knelt down in front of Zhang Xiu, who was pale, and cried loudly: "My lord, my father is ...... went. ”

Zhang Xiu was stunned for a moment, snorted disdainfully, shook off Hu Zheng's hand, strode into the tent, walked directly to Shan Yu's body, looked carefully for a moment, frowned, Hu Zheng followed, and looked at Zhang Xiu with teary eyes: "My lord, my father Shan Yu has returned to heaven, according to the usual practice, please report to the Zhonglang General as soon as possible and receive my father Shan Yu's coffin, so that he can be buried as soon as possible." ”

Zhang Xiu nodded a little absentmindedly, turned around and left. Hu Zheng watched him disappear outside the tent, turned his head, the tears on his face were still there, the sadness had been replaced by a fierce color, and he waved his hand: "Go and look at him." ”

One of the guards hurriedly followed.

Yan Shi crossed his hands in front of his chest, and his eyes showed nervousness: "Do you really want to deal with Qiang Qu?" ”

"It's not that I'm going to deal with him, it's that he won't let me go." Hu Zheng gritted his teeth and said: "Mother, look at it, the first thing Zhang Xiu did when he went out must have been to inform Qiangqu, not to report to Tanaka Lang and Liu Xiu, among the people who rushed to Meiji, Qiangqu must be the first, maybe...... He also led the most soldiers. He thought for a while, and then said, "Don't forget, Auntie, he still has a hundred elites by Liu Xiu's side, this matter ...... Maybe Liu Xiu also knows. ”

Yan Shi was even more nervous: "If Liu Xiu helps him, then this matter will be even more dangerous." ”

"It's not dangerous, it's my own business for the Huns, why should Liu Xiu care about him?" Hu Zheng waved his hand vigorously, and seemed to push Liu Xiu aside: "The more this is the case, the more I can't give in." Otherwise, our Huns will really become their dogs in the future, and they will fight if they want to fight and kill if they want. ”

Yan Shi shuddered, not daring to think about it anymore.

……

When Hu Zheng rushed to the city to report the news, Liu Xiu had just finished practicing martial arts, and when he saw Hu Zheng, he was stunned for a moment: "King Zuo Xian, what's wrong with you?" ”

Hu Zheng shed tears before speaking, and fell to the ground: "My lord, my father has returned to heaven." ”

Liu Xiu was taken aback, stood there for a long time, and then came back to his senses, and hurriedly helped Hu Zheng up with his own hands, let him go to the hall, and let people bring water to let Hu Zheng wash and wash, and comforted him softly. Hu Zheng calmed down for a while, he said, Shan Yu died suddenly, the Huns have no owner, according to the rules, he should succeed Shan Yu, I hope Liu Xiu can support.

Liu Xiu nodded again and again, since it is the rule of your Huns, I have no opinion.

Hu Zheng saw that Liu Xiu agreed very quickly, and he didn't hesitate at all, but he couldn't figure it out. He always felt that Liu Xiu didn't like him, so he ruined the matter of him going to Luoyang, but now it seems that Liu Xiu doesn't seem to have this idea, from another point of view, Liu Xiu didn't let him go to Luoyang, just to save him, otherwise others are in Luoyang, and when he knows the news, Xindan Yu will be on top.

What happened to Shan Yu secretly chasing Liu Xiu after the Great Wizard was punished? After coming back, Shan Yu was in a heavy mood, and there was something wrong with his eyes, what did Liu Xiu tell him?

"Is it safe to walk alone?" Liu Xiu asked suddenly.

Hu Zheng hesitated for a while and shook his head: "Why did your lord say this?" ”

Liu Xiu sighed and took the initiative to say, "Did you say anything to you before Shan Yu returned to heaven?" ”

Hu Zheng shook his head without thinking: "My lord, my father died very suddenly, he was summoned by the gods in his sleep, and he didn't have time to say anything. ”

Liu Xiu frowned, his face showed surprise, and then he suddenly realized. He stood up and walked back and forth in the hall for a few steps, and finally made up his mind and said to Hu Zheng, "King Zuoxian, do you remember the great wizard's curse? ”

Hu Zheng nodded and looked at Liu Xiu vigilantly. If Liu Xiu said something that was not good for him, he would probably be uneasy to do.

"At that time, I had already arrived in Huze, and Shan Yu chased after him overnight, and told me about the great wizard's punishment. I told Shan Yu that I once had a dream when I saw you sitting on Shan Yu's throne surrounded by corpses. I wonder if Shan Yu has told you about it? ”

Hu Zheng held his breath, his face was red and white, he didn't know what Liu Xiu meant, could it be that for this reason, Shan Yu wanted to abolish his inheritance? Is this true or a lie made up by Liu Xiu? If it is true, then why does the god not tell the great wizard of his will, but instead tell a Han man, if it is Liu Xiu who is lying, then why does he have to tell me now, wouldn't it be more useful for him to tell others directly?

Hu Zheng couldn't figure out what Liu Xiu was thinking, his mind turned quickly, and he quickly weighed the intention of Liu Xiu's words, his eyes kept rolling, and a few beads of sweat came out of his forehead, which looked very weird in this still cool morning.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, be prepared, if this dream is really God's will, it may be a sign that you will encounter considerable resistance to your succession." Liu Xiu said with a pleasant face: "I am in charge of the military of the entire northern Xinjiang under the edict of the emperor, and of course I am also responsible for taking care of you Huns. I don't want to see you Huns in chaos, if you need my help, you can just say, although I haven't been with your father for a long time, but we can talk very well, you do Shan Yu, I will definitely take care of you. If you don't need my help, that's better. However, if you can't control the situation in Miji, I'll take action directly. ”

Hu Zheng was taken aback, and shook his hand again and again: "Please rest assured, my lord, I will definitely be able to control the situation in Meiji and will not cause trouble for my lord." Thank you for your kindness, and if there is a need, I will definitely ask for help. ”

Liu Xiu nodded: "That's naturally the best." He thought for a moment and said, "That'...... Are you single now? ”

Hu Zheng waited for this sentence and nodded hurriedly. At the same time, Liu Xiu was asked to report to the imperial court on his behalf, so that Luoyang could send envoys to pay homage to the old Shan Yu who had returned to heaven and participate in the enthronement ceremony of the new Shan Yu.

"I'll do this, of course." Liu Xiu nodded happily in agreement, and then said, I came this time, I was originally going to discuss with Shan Yu about the living arrangements of your Huns in Bingzhou, but I didn't expect him to return to heaven. Since you are now a new Danyu, I will talk to you directly. I would like to redefine the deployment of your Huns troops in the counties and the living arrangements of the common people. We are arranging people to work together, do you have the right manpower, we also have to arrange people to graze, are you interested in working together?

As soon as Hu Zheng heard this, he immediately became vigilant, the adults want to be in the tuntian in Bingzhou, I know, why do the adults still arrange people to graze in the state?

Liu Xiu said naturally, yes, fighting a war requires not only food, but also war horses. And the state has good pastures, why should I waste it? I am going to recruit the population and expand the scale of grazing, so that I can guarantee the supply of at least 5,000 war horses a year. You Huns are good at herding horses, and I hope you can provide me with some people in this regard.

Hu Zheng was taken aback, providing five thousand war horses a year? What does Liu Xiu need so many war horses for, and how many troops does he want to maintain in Bingzhou? With so many people, does he still need us Huns?

A series of questions came to mind, Hu Zheng felt that this matter was too big, and he didn't dare to agree immediately, and said that he would think about it, but don't worry, since you have opened your mouth, I will definitely not refuse your lordship, but I want to discuss it with the kings, so as not to cause disputes due to differences of opinion.

Liu Xiu nodded, and said very arrogantly, then you hurry up, I will wait for your news in Meiji. It's late April now, and you'll be at the Ancestral Hall in May, and I'll stay at the Ancestral Hall in Meiji, and I hope you won't make me wait.

Hu Zheng was sweating profusely, but he only responded and hurriedly retreated.

Long after Hu Zheng left, Zhang Xiu came to report on Shan Yu Guitian's matter, and Liu Xiu didn't say anything, but just asked Zhang Xiu to immediately report the situation to Tian Yan and ask him to rush to Meiji to deal with this matter. After all, he still made the Huns a lieutenant general, and he was directly responsible for the affairs of the Huns.

Zhang Xiu stopped talking and hurriedly went out.

The news of Shan Yu's return to heaven soon spread to the Xiongnu tribes, and the kings and bones of each tribe rushed to worship, and Hu Zheng set up a big tent for hanging sacrifices in Shan Yuting, and at the same time began to prepare for the various ceremonies of the new Shan Yu's accession. Hu Zheng was so busy that Liu Xiu couldn't see his figure for several days, so he was very unhappy and sent someone to ask him.

The first time, there was no response, and the second time, there was still no response.

Liu Xiu was angry, and shouted at the case, asking Hu Zheng to come to see me immediately, otherwise he would not be a single Yu.

The call for recruitment has not yet arrived, but Zhang Xiu has arrived. As soon as he saw Liu Xiu, he first reported two things, first, the number of personal guards brought by various departments this time was more than before, more than thousands, and as few as five or six hundred, which was too much more than the usual rule of two hundred. Second, most of the people who arrived first were Hu Zheng's cronies, and after they arrived in Meiji, they drank and conspired with Hu Zheng every day, and he didn't even know the specific content, and he suspected that they had misdeeds.

Liu Xiu was furious, and rushed to Shan Yuting with Zhang Fei and more than a dozen other personal guards.

The valley was bustling with activity, one tent after another covered the meadows on both sides of the river that had just begun to turn green, some of the soldiers were washing their horses, some were practicing martial arts, some were chatting, and the beautifully dressed women opened their thick leather jackets, revealing the brightly colored spring shirts inside, and smiling and chatting between the tents, only the slaves who were engaged in heavy labor were still wearing dirty and torn winter clothes, sweating like rain.

Seeing the Han people in fresh clothes and angry horses passing by like the wind, almost everyone stopped what they were doing, and turned their envious eyes on these Han people, especially Liu Xiu, who was dressed in a fiery red coat, attracted the most attention, he was so young and became such a big official, and he was also a unique young hero among the Han people, and he looked like a talent, how could he not be impressive.

Rushed to the front of the Shan Yu tent, Liu Xiu got off the horse, angrily rushed in, two guards stepped forward to block the pull, Liu Xiu pointed at the whip, Zhang Fei behind him rushed over, "Woo Woo" two punches, knocking them to the ground. Zhang Fei stepped on the chest of a guard, and shouted in a deep voice: "The Han Beizhonglang will drive Lord Liu here, and those who dare to stop it will be killed." ”

The Huns were startled, and hurriedly went in to report, not for a long time, "bang", the tent door opened, led by Hu Zheng, and more than a dozen Hun leaders came out at once, glaring angrily at Liu Xiu.

Hu Zheng glanced at the guards who were knocked to the ground, forced the unhappiness in his heart, walked in front of Liu Xiu, and arched his hand: "Lord Liu, who are you?" ”

"Zhang Xiu, come and tell him what I'm here for?"

Zhang Xiu walked up to Hu Zheng with his head held high, and said loudly: "The number of guards brought by the Xiongnu tribes is exceeded, and the kings and the marquis of the bones gather at night, and I am not allowed to participate, I suspect that you are plotting against you, so I will report to the lord." ”

When Hu Zheng heard this, his face immediately changed, and he said in a loud voice: "My lord misunderstood, my lord misunderstood, we are discussing the funeral of my father Shan Yu and the matter of the May Dragon Temple, but there is nothing wrong with any intentions." ”

"Really?" Liu Xiu looked at Hu Zheng suspiciously, and then looked at Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu was also taken aback, and said in his heart that Liu Xiu rushed over in such a big formation, how could he be softened by the two words of the call?

"Your Excellency, you can't trust him, he's lying to you."

A hint of cunning flashed in Hu Zheng's eyes, he hurriedly asked Liu Xiu to enter the account, introduced those leaders to him one by one, and then said earnestly: "My lord, we are really discussing the funeral and the May Dragon Temple, which are all internal affairs of our Huns, so we didn't inform Lord Zhang, presumably he was a little angry." If adults don't believe me, you can ask them. ”

The leaders hurriedly chattered to prove Hu Zheng, and Hu Zheng led Liu Xiu to the big tent next to him, and asked him to see all kinds of things prepared for the funeral, and finally pointed to a few young women who were dressed up in fancy clothes but had tears on their faces and said, "My lord, please see, this is the human sacrifice that is going to be sacrificed for my father's funeral." ”

"Human?" Liu Xiu's gaze was a little sluggish for a while, and he stopped on the faces of the women for a long moment before reluctantly moving away. He frowned: "Isn't it a pity to kill such a young life and such a beautiful girl?" ”

Hu Zheng looked at his eyes and hurriedly smiled: "My lord, this is the rule of our Huns, every single return to the sky, you must bring a few women you like, otherwise you will be lonely in the sky." ”

"You Huns, you just don't have culture." Liu Xiu said to Hu Zheng with a big grin, "Such a barbaric thing as killing people and burying them is still being done. Don't you know, we Han people don't have to live people as human animals for a long time. He stretched out his hand and pointed at the trembling human animals, smacked his lips, and said regretfully: "Such a good woman, like a strong mare, can give birth to the strongest baby in the future, and it is not a pity to kill her." Besides, I heard that your father's favorite thing was his Yan clan when he was alive, why didn't you kill the Yan clan and bury him with him? ”

Hu Zheng was suddenly embarrassed, he hesitated for a moment, looked at Liu Xiu, and saw that Liu Xiu's eyes fell on those people and animals again, and he couldn't help but secretly sneer, but a smile appeared on his face: "My lord, then what do you Han people use to accompany the funeral?" ”

"With terracotta figurines." Liu Xiu retracted his greedy gaze and said solemnly: "Using terracotta figurines to replace living people is a symbol of culture and a manifestation of progress. You Huns are now friends with us Han people, and you should learn some culture and not be so barbaric. ”

"That's what the adults say, what the adults say." Hu Zheng said repeatedly: "But we don't have terracotta figurines here, so what should we do?" ”

"It's simple, let each of them make a cloth figurine similar to their own, even if they go to accompany Lao Shan Yu instead." Liu Xiu patted his chest, and reluctantly glanced at the women, before turning to leave.

"It's up to you." Hu Zheng nodded in response, turned around and yelled at those people, and when they heard it, they were surprised and delighted, and rushed over, hugging Liu Xiu's legs and kowtowing repeatedly. Liu Xiu was startled, looked at Hu Zheng with wide eyes, and said, "They...... What does that mean? ”

"They are grateful to the adults and are willing to serve them." Hu Zheng said with a smile on his face.

"This ...... Not suitable, right? Liu Xiu rubbed his hands and said with some embarrassment: "Although I like horses and women, but this is for you Lao Danyu's human animals, how can I want it?" ”

"Nothing to be embarrassed about." Hu Zheng affectionately held Liu Xiu's hand and said, "I'm really busy these days, and I haven't had time to discuss with them about what the adults said. Well, how about I send a few more horses to the adults, and let them take them around the neighborhood to see the scenery, and then come back when it's time for the funeral. ”

Liu Xiu laughed, returned to the big tent side by side with Hu Zheng, and politely said a few polite words to those leaders, and when Hu Zheng prepared the horses and beauties, and brought a rich gift, he left satisfied. Before leaving, he also reprimanded Zhang Xiu with a sinking face, saying that he saw that the wind was rain, and he reported it indiscriminately before he could figure out what was going on, and almost caused an accident.

Zhang Xiu's face was flushed with anger, but he didn't dare to attack, so he had to swallow his mistake and admit his mistake.

Liu Xiu took the good things that had just been blackmailed and left.

After sending Liu Xiu away, Hu Zheng returned to the big tent, his face was gloomy, his eyes were fierce, and he looked around at those leaders: "Everyone has seen how greedy and arrogant these Han people are, he even snatched the human and animal that I prepared for my father." ”

"It's too unusual." General Zuo Nan jumped up all at once. He is a short and fat old man with a rosacea, although he is also a descendant of Shan Yu, but he is too old, and he is as light as the ** of a woman. For him, only good wine is the most important thing in the world to be attached to. He guarded Yanmen, and this time the war was together, he hid far away, and naturally he didn't get any reward, he was very unhappy. He didn't ask if he had fulfilled his responsibilities, but said that the Han people were getting more and more stingy now, and he had a lot of opinions about the Han people.

When Hu Zheng sent him a letter, he gave him a jar of wine, which was not sent by Liu Xiu, but he bought it from the military market at a high price, and sure enough, it hooked General Zuo Nan's heart at once. After arriving at Meiji, Hu Zheng provided a few jars of fine wine, and the mouth of the cannibal was soft, and now General Zuo Nan was drunk, and there was only one thought in his mind, to help Hu Zheng.

There is one person who has started, and the others have more or less benefited from Hu Zheng, and they are indeed very dissatisfied with Liu Xiu's greed and arrogance, so they naturally don't want to fall behind, pat their chests, and draw their knives, and the crowd is excited, wanting to seek justice for Hu Zheng.

Hu Zheng waved his hand and signaled everyone to calm down: "With our strength, we can take advantage of it for a while, but as soon as the Han army arrives, we will still suffer." ”

"So what do you say?"

"We have to think of a way to drive the Han people out in one fell swoop, let them retreat to the south of the Great Wall, here ......" Hu Zheng stomped his feet: "It's our land, it's up to us to decide." ”

Everyone looked at each other, they didn't expect Hu Zheng to have such great ambitions, but under the provocation and temptation of Hu Zheng, they quickly became bold, one louder than the other, one jumped higher than the other, and they wanted to attack and kill now.

"If you are willing to listen to me, I promise that I will not treat you badly." Hu Zheng said loudly: "You believe me, today's Han is no longer the powerful dynasty, he is a big tree that has been bitten empty by ants, as long as you use a little strength, you can push him down." ”

(To be continued)