In Jinyang School, in the courtyard of Cai Yong, Liu Xiu and Cai Yong sat opposite each other, and Wang Yun sat depressedly on the side. He had just reported to Liu Xiu about his trip to Luoyang, which could be said to be a fiasco, and he was finally asked speechless in the face of the questioning of the eunuchs sent by the Three Princes and the Son of Heaven, which was the first time in his life history.

"Except for Lord Situ, there is no one to support it." Wang Yun licked his lips that were a little dry, very embarrassed. "I don't think Your Majesty agrees either, but out of helplessness, I agreed to a three-year contract."

He didn't continue, but the meaning was very clear, if he couldn't defeat Tanshihuai within three years and relieve the pressure brought by the Xianbei people, not only Liu Xiu would be unlucky, but the new deal would also be canceled. The new policy has been implemented for a year now, and although there is no hope of defeating the Xianbei people in an all-round way, the Haoqiang of the state has obtained tangible benefits from it, and it is not easy to let them spit out these benefits.

"I'll talk about Luoyang." Liu Xiu said lightly: "You have been tired in the past few months, take a good rest." ”

Wang Yun answered, bowed, and prepared to leave. Liu Xiu beckoned again, Hao Zhao took a list, Liu Xiu took it and looked at it, and then handed it to Wang Yun: "I've been very tight lately, you see, can you let them lend me a little more money." ”

Wang Yun took the paper and quickly glanced at it, and the corners of his eyes jumped involuntarily: "Three hundred million? ”

"Hmm." Liu Xiu nodded, and looked at Guan Yu who was standing with a knife outside the house: "I am very satisfied with the power shown by the heavy armor warriors in this battle of Guanglu City, but the cost of the heavy armor warriors is too high, and I have only equipped a hundred people, and a hundred people is not enough at all, so I have to borrow money from you." He looked at Wang Yun's face, and said: "Borrow money, you can borrow as much as you want, no matter how much is love, I will not force you." There's a contract written in black and white, and I won't mess around. ”

Wang Yun wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and withdrew with the list.

Cai Yong put down the teacup and glanced at him with a smile: "Deran, you are really insidious enough, do they dare not borrow it at this time?" ”

"Sir, you're not right, I'm just borrowing money, not robbing money." Liu Xiu said seriously: "I will pay it back in the future." ”

Cai Yong smiled and pointed at Liu Xiu with his finger: "You have made Bingzhou a trouble, I think no one in Luoyang will dare to take over, no matter what, you are already invincible, the rest is how to convince those people." ”

Liu Xiu smiled and didn't answer, but instead asked, "Sir, have you found any sage scriptures that can support my practice?" ”

"Nope." Cai Yong shook his head without thinking: "You also know that Confucianism has always been a policy of valuing monarchy, strong cadres and weak branches has always been a self-evident policy, and valuing agriculture and suppressing commerce was originally the idea of Legalism, why was it attracted to Confucianism later?" Isn't it because this policy is conducive to concentrating financial power in the hands of the Son of Heaven? You are now going the other way, according to your method, and the wealth of the state has been divided by the families, and even the private wealth of the Son of Heaven has been divided, how can this be strong and weak? If it weren't for the Son of Heaven asking you to defeat the Xianbei people and want to have a good reputation, I'm afraid you would have been removed from your post long ago. ”

Liu Xiu smiled calmly: "Since the sage's thoughts don't support my approach, then I don't want his support, just go back and sprinkle." The Son of Heaven wants me to fight, and I don't have enough financial support, so is it difficult for me to assassinate Tanshi Huai alone? ”

Cai Yong laughed, clapped his palms and said, "If you want me to say, it is more feasible to assassinate Tanshi Huai." Xianbei people are different from us Han people, whether they can form a whole or not, personal charm has a very big impact, unlike us Han people, even if the Son of Heaven is mediocre, as long as the three dukes are not faint, the court can still support it. ”

Liu Xiu smiled gloomily: "Sir, don't forget, since the exclusive respect for Confucianism, this imperial power has become bigger and bigger, since Emperor Xiaowu, whether it is the prime minister or Situ, it is just an ornament." ”

Cai Yong's face froze, first a little embarrassed, and then retorted angrily, accustomed to arguing with Liu Xiu.

"Ah Weng, Ah Weng ......" Xiao Cai Yan staggered in, opening his red little mouth, and the shiny saliva hung all the way to his neck. She opened her two big black and bright eyes, looked at Liu Xiu, looked at Cai Yong again, opened her hands, and pounced with a smile.

Cai Yongzheng said happily, and when he saw the child coming to make trouble, he couldn't help but be a little unhappy, and glared at the nanny and Mrs. Yang who came later: "Didn't you see that I was talking to Lord Liu about business?" Take the child away. ”

The nanny didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly came to hug Cai Yan, Cai Yan was reluctant to leave Cai Yong's arms, her little hands grabbed his clothes tightly, and she grinned and screamed. Cai Yong was embarrassed and angry, and he was about to hit when he raised his hand, but Liu Xiu hurriedly stopped him. "Sir, we're just gossiping anyway, and it's okay with the kids around. Besides, the child sticks to you, this is called the blessing of family, do you see you like a passerby, you are happy? ”

Cai Yong pursed his lips and put down his hand, but he was still a little unhappy: "People say that children and grandchildren are around their knees, but they don't say daughters and granddaughters." ”

"You're going to have a son." Liu Xiu clapped his hands at Xiao Cai Yan, showing a wolf grandmother-like smile, but Xiao Cai Yan glanced at him and didn't dare to come over, but shrank into Cai Yong's arms, and finally hid his face and no longer looked at Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu was very faceless, and reached over to slap her little buttocks with venting. Cai Yan was so frightened that he cried again with a "wow".

"You tap." Cai Yong said dissatisfiedly: "You, the person who kills people every day, don't know how serious you are. ”

"Uh, I just said that my daughter was useless, why is it distressed now."

"Nonsense, that's my child, not a son, but it's also my flesh and blood." Cai Yong's expression of protecting the calf was very warm, and Liu Xiu couldn't help but think of the daughter he had never met, and couldn't help laughing, he asked Hao Zhao to take a piece of mutton fat white jade, and shook it in front of Cai Yan, Cai Yan stared at a pair of big eyes with tears, looked at the piece of jade, and then looked at Liu Xiu, hesitating.

"Come here, let your uncle hug you, and your uncle will give this to you." Liu Xiu said temptingly.

"Deran, such a good jade, it's a pity to play with children." Cai Yong was well-informed, and saw at a glance that although the jade in Liu Xiu's hand was not big, it was a fine white jade from the Western Regions, and he hurriedly said.

Cai Yan hesitated to take a step, his eyes only stared at the piece of jade in Liu Xiu's hand, and slowly stepped into Liu Xiu's ambush circle. Liu Xiu laughed, hugged Cai Yan in his arms, put the jade on her neck, and pinched her pink little face: "Do you like it?" ”

"I like it." Cai Yan opened his small mouth, took the jade in his mouth and bit it, and said vaguely.

"That's what it sounds like." Liu Xiu hugged her affectionately and pulled the jade out of her mouth: "Okay, just taste it, this thing can't be eaten." ”

Cai Yong looked at the saliva stained jade, and said embarrassedly: "Deran, this gift is too heavy." ”

"Sir, you may have a son in the future, but I believe that this girl will inherit your knowledge in the future." Liu Xiu said very smartly: "You have to educate her well, if I have retired in the future, I will be her husband." ”

Cai Yong only thought that he said a few polite words, but he didn't care, but seeing that Liu Xiu liked his daughter so much, he couldn't help but have some pride that first-time fathers often have, showing how smart his daughter was, and now he can recite a few poems and other deeds.

Although he expected Cai Yan's cleverness, Liu Xiu was still a little surprised that a two-year-old child knew more than 500 words and memorized more than 100 poems, and suddenly thought, is it a pity that such a smart child is just a family, and she should be trained to be a lady Curie.

Liu Xiu strengthened his determination to be Cai Yan's mentor in an instant.

……

In August, Liu Xiu returned to Luoyang, still flowing in the river, he saw the team on the other side of the river, and as soon as he got off the boat, Liu Yunshuang, who loved the orchid, greeted him with a smile, conveying the will of the Son of Heaven to Liu Xiu to enter the palace immediately.

Liu Xiu looked helplessly at Wang Chu, Liu Bei and the others who came to greet him and shrugged his shoulders. After giving birth, Wang Chufeng was a lot richer, the youthfulness of the girl between her eyebrows and eyes was gone, and she was replaced by the charm of a young woman, looking at Liu Xiu, she had a smile on her face, but tears flashed in her eyes.

"Let Mrs. Luo prepare something delicious, and after I see Your Majesty, I will go back and eat with you." Liu Xiu squeezed her hand and said softly. Wang Chu nodded and pulled Liu Xiu aside: "Husband, you have to be careful, Your Majesty is in a very bad mood these days, and you have been angry with the queen a few times." ”

"Queen?" Liu Xiu was very strange, "The queen gave birth to a son-in-law, why doesn't he like it?" ”

Wang Chu frowned: "I don't know why, His Majesty rarely goes to the queen recently, even if he goes, he just looks at the prince and gets angry after saying a few words to the queen." The queen is also in a hurry now, and when you come back, she will definitely summon you to ask questions, and you will see what is going on when the time comes. ”

Liu Xiu got into the car with a stomach full of doubts, and followed Liu Yunshuang directly to the palace. Hao Zhao led the ten tiger benlang who accompanied Liu Xiu to the north, carried the Xianbei and Huns to pay tribute to the Son of Heaven, led the Split Wind and others to go with Liu Xiu, Xu Yu led ten tiger warriors to accompany the protection, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu led the rest of the guards to rush to the Taiji Taoist Hall with Liu Bei.

Fengxue cautiously followed Wang Chu into the car and sat in the corner stiffly. Wang Chu looked at her carefully for a moment, and saw that Fengxue was almost out of breath, so he smiled faintly: "Fengxue girl, goodbye to Ningcheng, I didn't expect us to meet again." ”

"The concubine is in the wind and snow, and I have seen my sister." Fengxue learned the etiquette of the Han people and fell to the ground, Wang Chu looked at her slender neck, tight waist and round buttocks, involuntarily glanced at his hand, quietly retracted his hand into his sleeve, and waved his sleeve: "It's all a family, why be so polite." Aunt Feng, get up. Feng Xue had just straightened up, and before he had time to catch his breath, Wang Chu said softly: "I want to see the eldest princess later, I will tell you the rules first." ”

"Ugh." Fengxue bowed down again: "Please sister, for advice." ”

The corners of Wang Chu's mouth twitched, and he spoke softly, the Luoyang accent in his voice was extraordinarily thick, and he was a little dizzy when he heard the wind and snow, and beads of sweat soaked his golden hair.

Liu Bei is nineteen years old this year, seven feet five inches tall, with a strong physique, sword eyebrows and starry eyes, and a bit of heroism, but the scar on the left eyebrow has not grown, leaving a white spot in the eyebrows, which looks a little defeated. What is surprising is that he has two big ears and a pair of long arms, which have a different phase.

Seeing Zhang Fei, he was naturally affectionate, and when he saw the tall and heroic Guan Yu, he was also admired, and kept approaching Guan Yu. Guan Yu's waist pole stood straight on a tall horse, two heads higher than Liu Xiu, he had to lower his head when he looked at Liu Bei, he was a little indifferent to this enthusiastic and elegant young man, but because Liu Bei was Liu Xiu's younger brother and dressed as a Confucian scholar, he didn't show him a face.

Maybe it's because he has been studying by Lu Zhi's side, Liu Bei's bookish spirit is very strong, and he has a bit of a scribe's reserve in his gestures, which is a little incompatible with Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who have been fighting in the field. As soon as Guan Yu saw his long shirt, he couldn't help but want to speak to him with his nostrils, Zhang Fei was quite envious, saying that Liu Bei had studied with Mr. over the years, and his knowledge must have risen greatly, unlike his studies that were wasted.

……

Liu Xiu entered the palace and came to the Xuanming Palace, the Son of Heaven was wearing a light-colored regular clothes, pacing back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, and when he heard Liu Xiu's footsteps, he stopped, tilted his head and looked at Liu Xiu, who was in a hurry to enter, and bowed in front of him, with a faint smile on his face, and stretched out his hands to support him.

"My Huchen is back, hurry up and tell me about the affairs of the Northern Frontier."

Liu Xiu hurriedly thanked his seat, and said with a respectful smile: "Your Majesty, it is better for Rong Chen to introduce the envoy of the Zhongbei Kingdom first, and after offering tribute, then report the war in the northern Xinjiang to Your Majesty." ”

The Son of Heaven raised his eyebrows and laughed: "The end of the northern country? Where is the small country? ”

"It is said to be in the far north, where the ice and snow do not melt all year round." Liu Xiu said with a smile: "The minister doesn't know if this is true or false, I heard Liu Biao say that Dayu toured the north and once went to such a small country, so he called them the end of the north country." It's up to them to tell them what happened. ”

"Dayu has been there." The Son of Heaven said curiously: "Let them come up and pass Liu Biao into the hall." In addition, bring Dahonglu Han Rong here, and he should take care of this matter. ”

It didn't take long, Split Wind and Liu Biao walked in together, more than a dozen Xianbei people carried the tribute to the Son of Heaven followed, they opened the box, and showed the Beihai ringed seal skin and white bear skin in front of the Son of Heaven, the seal skin is just that, although fresh, there is never a shortage of fresh things in the palace, but the white bear skin is too terrifying, all of them can be five zhang long and wide, it seems that it is definitely not a problem to pack two strong men in. What's even more amazing is that these white bear skins are not white under the Great Palace, but some blue-gray, and they are constantly changing.

"Is there a bear that big?" The Son of Heaven's eyes widened in surprise. There are bears in the Royal Garden, but judging from the bear skin in front of them, this white bear is at least half the size of a common bear.

Cracking Wind spoke in Xianbei language, and then translated it to the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven listened to the customs of the North Kingdom, and was both surprised and a little puzzled, but he was very interested. After a short time, Dahonglu Han Rong rushed over, he listened to a few words, then interrupted the translation, turned his head and asked Liu Xiudao: "How are their customs somewhat similar to those of Xianbei people?" ”

Liu Xiu smiled, "I don't know much about these things, why don't Han Jun ask Liu Jingsheng, his knowledge is much better than mine." ”

Liu Biao took over with a smile: "Han Jun, the Xianbei people are said to have originated from the Great Xianbei Mountain, whether they are or the people of the North Kingdom, it is said that they are all related to the ancient Su Shen people, and in detail, they are actually the descendants of the Yellow Emperor, and it is not surprising that their customs are similar to those of Xianbei." ”

"Then why do you think they are the people of the North Kingdom?" Han Rong asked without hesitation.

"I think the customs he said are very similar to those recorded in the classics, so I think they are from the end of the country."

Han Rong sneered: "It turns out that you just think that since this is the case, it's not an exaggeration to say that you are chasing the wind and shadows, right?" Liu Jingsheng, you are also a very talented scholar, how to do things so sloppily, and dare to talk in front of His Majesty about things that you are not sure of, in case you make a mistake, can you afford this crime of bullying the king? ”

Liu Biao was suddenly dumbfounded, his face was swollen red, and he didn't dare to say another word. Han Rong accused him of not being rigorous in doing things, and then he was charged with bullying the king, he couldn't bear it, and he seemed to have a mirror in his own heart, this was indeed not the Zhongbei Kingdom, but the Xianbei Niutou tribe pretending.

When Liu Xiu saw this posture, he was immediately vigilant. Han Rong accused Liu Biao in front of the Son of Heaven, in fact, he was accusing him, and he also deducted such a big hat for him, what is going on? Strike first?

Liu Xiu coughed: "It's really hard to say whether it's the end of the North Kingdom or not." Whether it is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor or not, in fact, it is difficult to say, not to mention, whether the Yellow Emperor himself really existed is a question. Since Lord Han wants evidence, I would like to ask Lord Han a question, in which classic did the imperial lineage of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors appear before Zhou? ”

Han Rong frowned and was silent.

"We all say that Pangu opened the Heavenly Emperor, the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors to this day, but now we have seen that the classics are all recounted by posterity, and the contradictory ones are not one or two, with the meaning of Lord Han, then do we not even recognize Huang Yanjing?"

Han Rong sneered: "Can this Northern Kingdom be compared to the Yellow Emperor?" If it's just that the evidence is insufficient, what I'm afraid of is that there will be another incident in the country of Yueshang, which will stain Lord Liu's merits and ruin Lu Zigan's reputation. ”

Yue Shang Country? Liu Xiu was confused, what kind of allusion is this? When Liu Biao saw it, he hurriedly came over and told him the origin of Yue Xiangguo. When Liu Xiu heard this, he suddenly realized that the Yue Shang Kingdom was the Yue Shang clan mentioned in the "Book of Shang". It is said that this small country is far away in the south, and when the regency of the Duke of Zhou, the world was peaceful, and they once came to offer white pheasants, saying that China had produced a saint. Later, Wang Mang, the regent, also played such a play, making people pretend to be Yue Shang to offer a white pheasant, comparing him to the Duke of Zhou, but it was later exposed, so it became a scandal.

Han Rong seemed to be saying that Liu Xiu was not down-to-earth, but in fact, he was saying that Liu Xiu was just as cheating and faking auspicious as Wang Mang.

Liu Xiu thought about it quickly, turned around and saluted the Son of Heaven: "Your Majesty, the minister is ridiculous, I really don't know if this is the Zhongbei Kingdom, there is a suspicion of bullying the king, please punish Your Majesty." ”

The Son of Heaven glanced at him, then at Han Rong, and said lightly: "Han Qing's words are serious, although I am not the saint Zhou Gong, I am not Wang Mang. He paused, and then said word by word: "I am the Son of Heaven." ”

Han Rong was stunned and quickly knelt on the ground.

The Son of Heaven turned around and looked at the huge white bear skin: "Is this the end of the North Kingdom and doesn't care about him, but is this white bear skin fake?" ”

Liu Xiu was just about to speak, but the Son of Heaven stopped him with a look, turned to Han Rong and said, "Han Qing, why don't you personally go to the Far North to see if there is a North End Country there, is there such a giant bear?" If not, then this crime of deception will be confirmed, and I will definitely not spare him. ”

Han Rong let out an "ah", sweating like pulp, and didn't dare to say a word, just kowtowed again and again.

"Is Han Qing in poor health? Then you better step back and have a good rest. I will listen to Liu Xiu's nonsense, and then wait for Han Qing to go to the extreme north to check and come back, and then punish them together. ”

Han Rong retreated resignedly, not daring to look at Liu Xiu again.

Liu Xiu knelt on the ground and raised his head to look at the Son of Heaven, just in time to collide with the gaze of the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven smiled and waved his hand: "Get up, he is fake against you, and it is true against me." is so bold that he actually compares me with Wang Mang. ”

Liu Xiu wiped his sweat and stood up: "The ministers are indeed not rigorous enough to do things, and they have caused trouble for Your Majesty." ”

The Son of Heaven sighed: "Alas, if you don't get into trouble, you will come to the door, but such a bear skin will not take the initiative to come to the door." Don't take him seriously, the greatest pleasure of these celebrities now is to make trouble for me, and they will say at every turn that I have violated the teachings of the saints here, and violated the family law of the ancestors there, and I am now to blame at every turn, and it is even more troublesome if I don't move, that is, you can bring me some good news in the northern Xinjiang. Deran, thank you for your hard work. ”

"It is the duty of a minister to serve His Majesty, so why work hard." Liu Xiu saw that the Son of Heaven was bored, and hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, the minister has selected some beauties from the Xianbei people and the Huns, and they will dance some Xianbei people, although they are vulgar and simple, but they are not interesting, when is Your Majesty related, come to appreciate them in person?" ”

"Really?" The Son of Heaven raised his eyebrows, and suddenly came to his senses, he looked at Liu Xiu with a smile: "You still understand my feelings, and know that you do some tricks to make me happy, although you are often a little deviant and cause me trouble, but you really solve a lot of problems." How about it, how many years will it take you to defeat the Xianbei people? Is three years enough? ”

Liu Xiuyi frowned: "Your Majesty, the minister is about to make a specific report to Your Majesty on this matter, and the minister has drawn up a plan, and I want to ask Your Majesty to review it, and ask the three princes and nine secretaries to put forward opinions together." ”

The Son of Heaven's eyes flashed, and the corners of his mouth twitched: "You want to argue with the Three Princes and Nine Qings?" ”

"It's not a court argument." Liu Xiu smiled bitterly and said: "The minister wants to find a famous person who is more capable than the minister, and ask him to take charge of the affairs of the northern Xinjiang instead of the minister." Your Majesty, the minister racked his brains, thought about it, and still felt that it was impossible to promise to solve the Xianbei problem within three years, if it must be said, it was not only self-deception, but also the crime of deceiving the king. ”

The Son of Heaven put away his smile and pondered for a moment: "Don't be in a hurry, slowly talk to me about the affairs of the Northern Frontier, I have heard them a lot, and now I should also listen to the opinion of you, the person in charge." ”

(To be continued)