Liu Xiu woke up in the first ray of morning light, touched his side, it was already empty, remembering the madness of last night, he couldn't help laughing, still in a dream. It is surprising that the dignified and steady eldest princess would have such a bold side.

The door was pushed open with a "squeak", and the neatly groomed eldest princess walked in, glanced at Liu Xiu, and said with a smile: "Awake?" Did you sleep well? ”

"It's okay, it's just that I was bitten by a wolf in my dream at night, and I was very tired."

"Wolves?" The eldest princess frowned, reached over and touched his forehead, and said worriedly: "Does the headache hurt, could it be that the injury is not good and I have a nightmare?" ”

Liu Xiu shook his head, grabbed her hand and kissed her on the lips: "It's okay, it's just a female pervert, I can still deal with it." ”

The eldest princess came to her senses at this time, and couldn't help blushing, and pinched his face coquettishly: "I know nonsense." ”

Liu Xiu laughed, pulled her over, hugged her to his chest, and kissed her: "Since they are husband and wife, and they are in their own home, what can't be said." ”

The eldest princess reluctantly knelt on his chest, and said leisurely: "You still know that you have a family, then don't fight with people anymore, you are now a general, no longer an ordinary soldier, don't do anything to fight for your life." ”

"Alas-" Liu Xiu sighed, thinking of the battle with Tanshi Huai, he still had palpitations. Tanshi Huai was obviously exhausted, but he didn't expect to die in the end, and he almost wanted his surname. "You don't know, that Tanshi Huai killed seventy-three tiger warriors alone, and in a moment, he injured Zhong Kang, defeated Yide and Wang Daochang, and defeated Mrs. Lu twice, if I didn't make a move at that time, I was afraid that Mrs. Lu would be trampled to death by him."

"Is there really such a brave man?"

"Well, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it." Liu Xiu looked at the morning sun outside the window in a daze: "Do you know, he is very fast, so fast that people don't have time to hide." You make a move with him, you are just about to exert your strength, he may have already attacked, it is a little bit worse, but that point is enough to distinguish the winner from the loser. ”

The eldest princess nodded as if she didn't understand, she didn't understand anything about martial arts, and she wasn't interested at all.

"Did you get enough sleep? If you have slept enough, get up, Sir is waiting for you to have breakfast, as if he has something to say to you. ”

Liu Xiu nodded, knowing that Lu Zhi had a lot to say to him now. The eldest princess helped Liu Xiu up and personally helped him get dressed, originally these things were just for the maid to wait, but she knew that Liu Xiu was different from others, he was very reluctant to treat the maid as a concubine, and he was not even willing to be bathed by them, nor would he show his body in front of them.

"Is there anything going on in the palace lately?" Liu Xiu got dressed, and the maidservant helped him comb his hair, and asked the eldest princess casually. The eldest princess sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him quietly, a little distracted for a while. Liu Xiu didn't hear the answer, and looked back at her: "What are you thinking?" ”

The eldest princess covered her lips and smiled: "It's nothing, I'm just thinking about praising you after my brother-in-law comes back." Do you know that after the brother-in-law's victory document was sent back, everyone knew about the heroic deeds of the great victory of Luoyuyuan, and the vicious battle between you and the Xianbei King Tanshi Huai. In the article, my brother-in-law said that you are like a dragon with soldiers, there is no trace, less is more, nothing is light, and the hair is in the middle, which is simply a famous general who is not in the world. ”

Liu Xiu smiled disapprehantly, the article was well written, but it was more of his imagination and fiction, he only saw his own victories again and again, but he didn't know how entangled he was before every decision, how much effort it took to spend and how many times he had to discuss and deduce with Xun You, Jia Xu and the generals. Of course, there may be another meaning when Fu Wan writes like this, that is, to compare Yuan Shao to him. In terms of the number of beheadings, Yuan Shao has more than him this time, with more than 40,000 beheadings in two vicious battles, and Yuan Shao is the most beheaded in the three-way army. If he hadn't killed Tanshi Huai in the end, it would be a question of whether he could get the first merit.

"What's the reaction in the palace?"

"Your Majesty is happy, the queen is also happy, the queen mother is also happy, only He Guiren is not happy." The eldest princess said lightly. He Miao followed Yuan Shu on the expedition, and it is said that he also went into battle, but he did not have the credit of beheading, so he could only follow the Yuan family brothers. After the war, His Majesty thought that she and Yuan Meiren were too close, and reprimanded her a few times, how could she be happy. ”

"The Queen and Your Majesty are still like that?"

"I can't tell. The Empress seemed to be a different person now, a little deserted, and did not stare at His Majesty as she used to. The eldest princess sighed: "If Your Majesty doesn't come, she won't ask, and when Your Majesty comes, she won't refuse." When you are not studying, you can draw two strokes, or you will sit alone, and you will sit for a long time, but you are more like a Taoist than a Taoist. ”

Liu Xiu didn't say anything, and he couldn't figure out what was wrong with Queen Song.

"Your Majesty is okay, maybe it's because he likes the emperor's concubine, he goes to the Jiaofang Hall every once in a while to sit, play the piano, talk to the queen about calligraphy and painting, and sometimes make a new pot that he is satisfied with, and he also takes it to appreciate with the queen."

"Isn't that good?" Liu Xiu breathed a sigh of relief: "What about Yuan Meiren?" ”

The eldest princess pursed her lips: "The day your report arrived, Your Majesty never went to Lantai again. However, I think this is not the reason for Yuan Meiren, but that His Majesty has no good impression of the Yuan family. Yuan Meiren is a rare smart woman, whatever His Majesty likes, she is not proficient, that is, even political affairs are stronger than ordinary men. If it weren't for the surname Yuan, I don't think anyone in the palace would be her opponent. ”

"Yuan Feng gave birth to several good children, especially two daughters, who are even more heroes among women."

"Yes, it's a pity that she has a hard life, maybe she's too smart." The eldest princess sighed regretfully, and teased again: "Husband, why did you refuse to marry in the first place?" If she marries you, she will help you much better than a few of us. ”

Liu Xiu frowned and thought for a moment very seriously: "I don't like the arrogance of the Yuan family that exudes from the bones. ”

"Hehe, it turns out that you pity a few of us."

"Not really." Liu Xiu changed his hippie smile, "Actually, as soon as I saw you, I fell in love with it, but at that time, I just arrived in Luoyang, and my foothold was not stable, and I didn't have the confidence to approach you." Later, the Yuan family wanted to take away my noodle restaurant, so I pushed the boat down the river and went to ask you for help, at first I thought that you might not agree, but I didn't expect it to be a little hooked up. ”

The eldest princess was embarrassed by him, pursed her lips and chuckled, feeling very satisfied with her promise to Liu Xiu at that time, otherwise there would be no marriage today. As the daughter of Emperor Xiaohuan, she was already hopeless at that time, and she was ready to stay alone for the rest of her life like her second sister Princess Yingyin, but for the princess, in fact, most of their marriages were unhappy.

"When do you see that it is convenient, we will take the imperial concubine into the palace to see the queen?"

"Okay." Liu Xiu nodded, stood up, took a cursory look at his appearance with the bronze mirror in the handmaiden's hand, and walked out with the eldest princess.

Lu Zhi sat in front of the desk, looking at the porridge bowl and side dishes in front of him in a daze. Liu Xiu walked quickly in front of him and saluted: "Morning, sir." ”

"Ah...... Ah, early, early. Lu Zhi hurriedly beckoned, "Sit down and eat." ”

Liu Xiu took a seat, took a bowl of porridge and drank two sips, and ate two more pieces of pickles, and Lu Zhi spoke impatiently. "Deran, Zixing has a letter from home, saying that the army of the Northern Expedition has not been evacuated for a long time, the food in Shanggu is tight, those soldiers have made meritorious contributions, but they have not been rewarded, the army's morale is unstable, and many soldiers have plundered everywhere, making people panic."

Liu Xiu put down the porridge bowl, picked up a piece of steamed cake, took a bite, and chewed it slowly. "They should have a document to report to the court, right?"

"It's here, but Your Majesty hasn't issued an edict, I don't know what they're thinking." Lu Zhi sighed and looked sad, "Bo Jue also wrote a letter, saying that Liaoxi was too guarded by Zhao Bao to sacrifice for the country, and the court had no explanation, so it would not work like this." ”

Liu Xiu was silent for a moment, and selectively relayed what the Son of Heaven said to him yesterday, implying that Lu Zhi Tianzi might want to make a move against the Ruying family, and in this case, the reward would definitely be delayed for a while.

Lu Zhi was anxious when he heard this, "How can this be done, if you have merit or not, you have to be held accountable, then the world is not in chaos?" Even Emperor Guangwu Dutian failed, can he do it well? ”

"I think the meaning of the Son of Heaven is probably preparing for chaos." Liu Xiu shook his head with a wry smile, "On the one hand, he is arranging reliable people to serve as Taishou in Runan and Yingchuan, and on the other hand, he may want to reorganize the forbidden army and ensure the safety of Luoyang. ”

"Nonsense!" Lu Zhi was furious and slapped the bamboo chopstick on the case: "Why don't you dissuade him?" ”

"I can't persuade you." Liu Xiu said very depressedly: "Emperor Guangwu failed to do it, the population was not large at that time, and it could be delayed for a while, but now it can't be delayed." The family and Haoqiang unscrupulously competed with the Son of Heaven for population and land, and the financial resources of the imperial court dried up, and they couldn't even come up with money for a war like the Northern Expedition, and they had to raise it by themselves. Is this an expedition by the imperial court, or by the Yuan family? Yuan Shao has made meritorious contributions, it is definitely not okay not to reward them, but if he wants to reward them, the strength of the Yuan family is stronger, who else will be able to govern them in the future? ”

Lu Zhi glared at Liu Xiu angrily: "Then you mean to support the Son of Heaven?" ”

"I don't know." Liu Xiu said innocently: "I can't think of any other way than to support the Son of Heaven." I would like to ask my husband, what do you think it should be now? ”

Lu Zhi opened his mouth to speak, but then found that he had no choice. Supporting the Son of Heaven is to bring about self-inflicted chaos, if you don't support the Son of Heaven, do you support the Yuan family? The Yuan family is menacing, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that they are another Wang family who intends to usurp the Han. If it weren't for Liu Xiu taking the first credit this time and killing Tanshi Huai, who else would be able to compete with the Yuan family with the merits of the Northern Expedition? With the strength of the Yuan family, it is a matter of course for Yuan Meiren to ascend to the throne of the queen, and another relative will appear in the court of the Han Dynasty.

This relative is unprecedentedly powerful, and the overall strength of the Yuan family far exceeds that of any previous relative, and even better than Wang Mang: not only the connections of the Yuan family exceed that of the Wang family, but Yuan Shao's ability is far greater than that of Wang Mang, he is not just a scholar, judging from his two wars in Saibei this time, he is far from being comparable to Wang Mang, a nerd who was brainwashed by Confucianism.

Liu Xiu is right, there seems to be no better way than to support the Son of Heaven, take precautions as much as possible, and control the conflict within a minimum range. However, when he thought that the Son of Heaven was going to raise the butcher's knife against the Yuan family and the famous people of Ruying, the result would be another disappointment of the scholars to the imperial court, and the damage would be no less than another party rebellion, he was still anxious.

Liu Xiu lowered his head and drank porridge, not wanting Lu Zhi to see his eyes. For him, no matter what the Son of Heaven does, the disintegration of the Han Dynasty is already difficult to avoid, the Yuan family has taken this step, they have been forced to the cliff, there is no way to retreat, they will not be willing to let the Son of Heaven slaughter. The Son of Heaven didn't want to just watch the Yuan family hollow out his foundation and take over the power of the court step by step, so he could only risk his death, and no one dared to guarantee whether it would push the Han into ruin. With the self-righteous surname of the Son of Heaven, he probably thought that he could still control the situation, but he certainly did not think that this was playing with fire by the pyre, and once the fire was lit, the situation might be out of his control.

For the Yuan family, if they don't advance, they will die, and for the Son of Heaven, this is playing with fire [***], but for him, it is undoubtedly an opportunity. Maybe no one has seen this opportunity yet, but for him, the signs of chaos in the world are already very obvious, since there is no way to save it, then he can only go with the flow, wait and see what happens, and even if necessary, he might as well add fuel to the fire.

But such words must not be said to Lu Zhi, this is tantamount to rebellion.

In fact, it is indeed rebellious.

Lu Zhi was at a loss, and sat there stunned for a while, seeing that Liu Xiu couldn't bear it, but there was no way to relieve him. This kind of mentality of watching himself instinctively defend a person, but can only watch him go to perdition, he once had.

"Sir, it's not that there is no way, it's just ...... I don't think there's much to do. ”

Lu Zhi blinked, and it took a lot of effort to recover from that sluggish state: "You say." ”

"Let the Yuan family raise another batch of money to help the Son of Heaven get through this difficult situation in front of him, but don't use this as a condition to blackmail the Son of Heaven, and try not to touch the military power as much as possible, as you know, the military power is a three-inch reverse scale under the throat of the Son of Heaven, and it can't be touched. Of course, the Yuan family can also be officials, but they should no longer obstruct the Son of Heaven's big examination, and stop trying to monopolize their careers. Liu Xiu sank his face and said angrily: "If it weren't for the Yuan family making trouble inside, there would not have been a large number of scholars who were awarded the big exam the year before last who were greedy for ink, everyone knows that the salary of the county magistrate is too low, and if you want to talk about greedy ink, those people recommended by the Yuan family are no better." ”

Lu Zhi listened expressionlessly, and after a while, he got up and left without saying a word.

"Will Mr. really go to Yuan's house?" The eldest princess turned around from behind and asked worriedly.

Liu Xiu pinched the steamed cake in his hand and chewed it slowly: "It's very likely." ”

The eldest princess glanced at him, "Aren't you insulting Mr. Yuan, can the Yuan family agree to such conditions?" ”

"I don't think they will agree, but how can he die if he doesn't let him try?"

"Alas-" The eldest princess sighed, her face full of sadness: "This great victory, why do I feel panicked." ”

Liu Xiu smiled silently, but his laughter was more ugly than crying.

Lu Zhi never came back, and he didn't hang his head until dinner, and quietly entered the house, and as soon as he returned to the house, he went into his yard and didn't even eat dinner. Liu Xiu was not at ease and rushed to meet him, but Lu Zhi refused to see him. Lu Shen felt very embarrassed, and specially came to apologize to Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu also estimated the situation, and didn't say a word, just patted Lu Shen on the shoulder: "Accompany Mr. more these days, don't leave him." ”

Lu Shen replied with a heavy face.

Three days later, the Son of Heaven convened a meeting and convened his ministers to discuss the issue of rewarding meritorious soldiers for the Northern Expedition. At the beginning of the meeting, Yuan Kui proposed that Liu Xiu, the former general of Beizhonglang, first ran thousands of miles in this battle, first exterminated the crazy sand, then slaughtered the wild wolf, and then killed Tanshi Huai in Luoyueyuan, solving the border turmoil that had plagued the Han for many years, and was seriously injured as a result. Therefore, he suggested that the reward for Liu Xiu be revisited.

As soon as Yuan Kui's voice fell, he echoed it.

The Son of Heaven sat on the throne and watched coldly. Of course, he knew that Yuan Kui said that he was using the topic to play, and Liu Xiu was the first merit, if Liu Xiu was not promoted high, it would be difficult to discuss Yuan Shao's credit.

"Then what kind of official does Situ think Liu Xiu should award?"

Yuan Kui looked left and right and said to him, "Military affairs are the duty of the Tai Lieutenant, and the minister is just talking about it in his heart, and has no other meaning, please ask Your Majesty to consult the Tai Wei Qiao Gong, presumably he will definitely have mature suggestions." Ministers can participate in the discussion, but they dare not take the initiative. ”

The Son of Heaven smiled coldly and turned his face to Qiao Xuan. Qiao Xuan coughed: "Lord Situ is modest, Situ Mansion is like a cloud, and there are many talents, how can there be no mature suggestions?" It's just that His Majesty inquired, and military affairs are indeed the duties of the ministers, so the ministers will not be presumptuous, and put forward a few superficial suggestions for His Majesty to consult with the sages. ”

Yuan Kui's face flushed, and he pretended not to understand the ridicule implied in Qiao Xuan's words.

Qiao Xuan glanced at the people behind him, and then said loudly: "This northern expedition is a great victory that has not been achieved since Duan Cheng leveled Dongqiang, and the head of the thief was killed in a battle, and the Xianbei people, who had been arrogant for thirty years, have fallen apart since then, and the results of the battle are not brilliant. More importantly, this war has emerged several young people with the potential of famous generals, in the service of His Majesty's heavenly authority, and they are not satisfied, although His Majesty is wise and the ministers are serving, it is enough to show that my great Han fire is not declining. ”

The Son of Heaven frowned, clenched his fists, and sat up straight. He didn't know what Qiao Xuan wanted to say, but he was very unhappy when he heard Qiao Xuan mention that Yuan Shao had the potential to be a famous general.

"Liu Xiu, the general of Zhenbei, first attacked Xianbei in the west with 10,000 horses, won both battles, and then ordered the Liangzhou Department to attack, and broke the Xianbei Golden Eagle Tribe, and then escorted the grain and grass with the five colonels of the Northern Army and the Liangzhou elite cavalry, and received the return journey of the general army of the Northern Expedition, avoiding the defeat of the main force of the Northern Expedition, which is a well-deserved first merit." After Qiao Xuan listed Liu Xiu's merits one by one, he said loudly: "The minister thinks that he can be a general." ”

As soon as his words fell, there was an uproar in the court. General Wei is second only to the general and the hussar general, the chariot general of the high-level military position, under the three dukes, above the nine qing, Liu Xiu at this age as the Wei general, this kind of exceptional promotion is probably only the history of the Wei general Wei Qing can be compared. You must know that Zhang Huan broke the Huns, Duan Cheng broke Dongqiang, and after returning to Beijing, he was only appointed to the Jiuqing-level position, and they are all famous generals who have been guarding the frontier for many years.

The Son of Heaven furrowed his thin eyebrows and remained silent. Yuan Kui was also a little surprised, but he was very happy, the higher Liu Xiu mentioned, the higher Yuan Shao and the others could rise.

"Yuan Shao, the general of the expedition to the north, has a good command, is good at capturing fighters, and twice broke the main force of Xianbei, and the minister thinks that he has made outstanding achievements in war, and he should be rewarded, and he can be awarded the post of former general."

Qiao Xuan didn't care what others thought, and said Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Huangfu Song in one breath, saying that these people are all great merits and should be rewarded, according to his meaning, Liu Xiu can be a general of Wei, and the other three can be named the four generals before and after. After he finished speaking, he generously returned to his position, his eyelids drooped, and he returned to that confused state.

The courtiers were discussing, and the Son of Heaven was also discussing with Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong around him, but he did not come to a final conclusion for a while. The Son of Heaven decided, you can discuss, I will go out to rest first, and then tell me the result when you have discussed, and then flick my sleeves and leave.

Zhang Rang was ordered to stay overseer, and Zhao Zhong followed the Son of Heaven out of the main hall and went straight to the side hall where the Son of Heaven often made pottery. The little yellow door on duty saw that the Son of Heaven had come to do pottery again, and hurriedly stepped forward to wait, and when the Son of Heaven was ready, he dismissed them all and sat there alone to play in the mud.

Zhao Zhong stood quietly on the side.

The Son of Heaven slammed the mud hard, until he was sweating profusely, he stopped, looked at the mud in his hand thoughtfully, and suddenly asked thoughtlessly: "What do you think?" ”

Zhao Zhong replied: "The minister thinks that with Liu Xiu's ability, he will definitely be able to restrain the Yuan family brothers, and his majesty will not have to worry about it." ”

"General Wei?" The Son of Heaven groaned, "Isn't it too fast to be promoted from a Beizhong Lang general to General Wei?" ”

Zhao Zhong shook his head: "Your Majesty, Yuan Shao is the general of the expedition to the north, if you want to be rewarded, at least one of the four generals before and after." Liu Xiu's credit is greater than him, so he can't be subservient, right? If you want to say fast, in fact, it's not fast, in the past few years, when did he not send good news to His Majesty? Supposedly, he should have been promoted to general a long time ago. Without...... If it weren't for the lack of money, it would be Yuan Shao's turn to be the general of the expedition to the north. ”

This sentence provoked the most sensitive place of the Son of Heaven, he furrowed his brows, and his fingers stained with dirt slowly tightened into a fist. He raised his head and looked at the bright and warm sunlight outside the hall, but his eyes were unusually cold.

"Your Majesty, if the reward can't satisfy the Yuan family, Yuan Shao will always stay in the northern Xinjiang, and he still has nearly 30,000 troops in his hands, and he has fought with him. Once these people ...... was bewitched by them, but I was afraid that Liu Xiu would not be able to restrain them. Zhao Zhong said worriedly: "Originally, there were Gongsun Chan and Zhao Bao in Liaodong and Liaoxi, but now that Zhao Bao was killed in battle and Gongsun Chan was seriously injured, they no longer have the ability to balance Yuan Shao." ”

"Zhao Bao is your younger brother, right?"

"Yes." Zhao Zhong lowered his head, and his eyes turned red.

"Only with that kind of mother can there be such a filial son. Only with such a filial son can there be such a loyal minister. He is the pillar of my Han, but it's a pity that the sky has no eyes, and he doesn't bless good people, he just had the opportunity to show his skills, but he encountered such a thing, which is really sad. ”

"His mother and son can know His Majesty's words under Jiuquan, and they are blind to death."

The Son of Heaven sighed for a long time. "It's okay, I hope he won't live up to my hard work."

(To be continued)