That night, an envoy entered Beijing and said to Liu Bang that he was leading the army to attack Jing with all his might, and when he heard the news, Liu Bang, who was recuperating on the couch, got up, stared at a pair of terrified old eyes, and was stunned for a long time, and was silent for a long time. At one point, Liu Bangcai asked the envoy about the strength of the envoy at this time, the size of Huainan, the preparation of Liu Jia, the king of Jing, and the strategy adopted by the princely state of Huainan's neighboring counties to raise troops against Dubu. The envoy said that although Liu Jia, the king of Jing, knew that Dubu would attack Jing, he was not an opponent of Dubu; The state of Chu was also gathering troops to help the Han Dynasty; The state of Qi seems to be sending troops south to encircle and suppress Tubu; So far, there has been no movement in Changsha. Liu Bang nodded, and without saying a word, he called the messenger out.

The next day, Liu Bang ascended to the court. Because he was really unwell, he thought about it all night last night, and Mrs. Qi chattered, "Your Majesty is high in spring and autumn, and it is not suitable to go on the expedition, and the illness caused by arrow wounds at this time has not improved." Your Majesty has been fighting for several years, why not take a break? The prince is in his prime, why not send the prince to lead the troops? If Ruyi is old enough, the concubine will definitely ask Ruyi to calm the world on his father's behalf, but unfortunately Ruyi is not the prince, and he is not old enough, which is a pity. Liu Bang thought carefully about Mrs. Qi's words and felt that it was not unreasonable. Liu Bang announced to the ministers that the prince should lead his troops to conquer the cloth. Most of the ministers had no objections, only the prince and the uncle Sun Tong went out to admonish Liu Bang, "The prince is not suitable to go on the expedition, the prince is the foundation of the country, in case the country is damaged, who will be responsible?" ”

Liu Bang's smile faded, glanced at him, and did not speak. At this time, the ministers all had the same idea as Liu Bang, if the prince could really pacify the prince, Liu Bang would not be able to talk about deposing the prince in the future; And there are brave generals such as Guan Ying, Shen Tujia, Jin She, Li Shang and so on as the leading generals, as well as Chen Ping as a military advisor, the rebellion of Tu Bu was originally a rebellion and betrayal, and the Han Dynasty went out to crusade against him, which is also a trip to heaven. All the ministers spoke kind words to their uncle and grandson, and the uncle and grandson felt that it was inappropriate in every way, so he held back his anger and stood in place, turned his head to the side, and never spoke again. There was no objection from the top and bottom of the monarch and the ministers, and it was imperative for the prince to go on the expedition.

After going down to the court, Liu Bang drank the medicine that Mrs. Qi had boiled herself, and then went to Changxin Palace to tell Empress Lu about it. After thinking about it again and again, she did not feel that it was inappropriate, many of the founding heroes of the court and the central government were waiting for instructions under the prince's account, if the prince could pacify the cloth, the position of the prince could be stabilized, and the prince's prestige would spread far and wide, and he could win the hearts of the people in the court. Thinking about it like this, Empress Lu subconsciously chuckled, thinking that what Liu Bang did this time was extremely correct.

Lv Hou was happy that his son could establish the position of the prince with this merit, and Cheng Hou Lu Shizhi was also happy about this matter, Liu Bang went down to the court, and Cheng Hou also deliberately caught up with him, begging Liu Bang to promise him to follow the prince on the expedition, Liu Bang smiled, although he said that he would discuss it tomorrow, but he had already agreed in his heart. Lu Shizhi was excited, and when he returned to the mansion, he ordered someone to make a table of delicious food, and immediately invited Shangshan Sihao, who was a guest in the mansion, to tell the four of them the news. After hearing this, the four of them all frowned in unison, and looked at each other, looking very shocked. When Lu Shizhifang was happy, he saw that the four old men had different faces and looked shocked. Lu Shizhi stopped his wine glass, his smile was lost, and he asked alertly, "What are you shocked?" The prince is on the expedition, aren't you happy? ”

The four of them gathered around and discussed in a whisper, and Cui Guang, the Duke of Xia Huang, said, "I am here to protect the prince, if the prince rashly sends troops, it will be dangerous." The other three nodded in agreement with Cui Guangzhi. Cui Guang mixed the thoughts of the four of them and solemnly advised Lu Shizhi, "Hou Ye is happy, but it will be sooner." Lord Hou invited the four of us to come here in order to preserve the position of the crown prince. The prince goes on an expedition, and if he makes meritorious service, he is no higher than the prince; If you don't succeed, disaster will follow. Moreover, the generals who went out with the prince were all fierce generals who had followed His Majesty to level the world, and the ministers heard that the prince was gentle, if the prince commanded the generals, it would be tantamount to a sheep making a wolf, they would not be willing to contribute to the prince, and the prince would not be able to make meritorious contributions. The minister heard that 'if he loves his mother, he will hold his son', and Mrs. Qi serves His Majesty day and night, and King Zhao Ruyi is often held in front of Liu Bang's arms, doting extraordinarily. King Zhao will take the position of crown prince. Cui Guang's words made Lu Shizhi's throat feel dry, and the original excitement had already been replaced by a burst of worry, so he immediately put down the wine bottle in his hand, bowed his hands to the four old men, opened his eyes and hurriedly asked Cui Guang, "What can I do about it?" ”

"Why don't you ask Empress Lu to find an opportunity to cry to the emperor: Tu Bu is a fierce general in the world, accustomed to using soldiers, and all the generals who go out with the prince are all peers who fight the world with His Majesty, and you let the prince lead them, it is tantamount to a sheep making a wolf, no one is willing to obey the prince, if Di Bu learns this news, he will definitely beat the drum and march westward. Although His Majesty is ill, he can still barely command the army, and the generals dare not be careless. Although His Majesty has worked hard, for the sake of the Han family, for the sake of the concubines and children, he should still reluctantly lead the troops to the battle. Cui Guang said.

Lu Shizhi squinted his eyes and thought about it carefully, and then agreed with the words of the four elders without hesitation, and asked the servants to treat the four elders even more. That night, Lu Shizhi entered the palace to find Lu Hou, and told Lu Hou what Shangshan Sihao said to him as it was, Lu Hou heard it, immediately frowned for a long time, paced up in the hall, and the dim candlelight illuminated Lu Hou's somewhat worried and frowning face, Lu Hou said to Lu Shizhi, "The emperor told me about it, and I agreed." At this time, I cried and begged him again, but it was not good. Lu Shizhi immediately stepped forward, approached Lu Hou, grabbed Lu Hou's wrist, and said solemnly with a fixed gaze, "If not, my nephew is in danger." Empress Lu thought about it again, she didn't think so much, she just thought that the prince could become famous in one fell swoop with this battle and establish his position as the prince. Empress Lu knew that she was not thoughtful, and almost hurt the prince, but she was too limited to thinking too much and didn't notice that she almost stepped on the empty platform under her feet, and almost fell to the ground, but fortunately she was quickly supported by her brother Lu Shi's hand, "Be careful!" ”

"Brother, as the four elders said, I will persuade the emperor." Lu Hou didn't care if she almost fell, but grabbed Lu Shizhi's arm and said soberly, "If it weren't for the four elders, if it wasn't for the elder brother, Ejiao wouldn't dare to imagine the future." Lu Shizhi smiled and patted Lu Hou on the shoulder, Lu Hou asked Lu Shizhi to go back for the time being, and she herself immediately went to Liu Bang, just when the guards said that the emperor was still in the Xuanshu Palace. Empress Lu hurriedly went to the Xuanshu Palace, and just arrived at the gate of the hall, she happened to meet Mrs. Qi and Jing Tian, who had delivered the decoction. Empress Lu and Mrs. Qi looked at each other for a long time, and suddenly their eyes were full of assassination and struggle, and neither was polite to anyone. On weekdays, Empress Lu met the concubines of various palaces, and she was a high queen and was not angry and arrogant; At this time, Mrs. Qi had Liu Bang as her backer, and she had a stiff relationship with Empress Lu, and she was no longer afraid of Empress Lu's so-called queen's might. It seems that Mrs. Qi always feels that something is wrong, so she has to reluctantly give Empress Lu a salute, "Her Royal Highness the Queen has no ...... of happiness"

Before Mrs. Qi finished speaking, Empress Lu and Dai Qing had already walked into the hall quickly, and closed the door of the hall with a bang. Mrs. Qi gritted her teeth for a while, looking at the figure of Empress Lu in the candlelight in the hall, she couldn't help but be angry, I don't know what to think of, but Mrs. Qi laughed contemptuously, and went back to the palace with Jing.

As soon as Empress Lu entered the hall, he saw a faint oil lamp lit on a small case in front of the dark and dim place, and the oil lamp was full of large and small or co-authored or unfolded or half-rolled and half-unfolded, behind the case, a vague figure was illuminated, Liu Bang was resting on a cool couch with his eyes closed, his clothes were idle on his body, his face was very tired, and he seemed to have not rested well for many days. Empress Lu knew that Liu Bang's physical condition was very bad for a while, and seeing that he was tired as if he had lost his spirit, Empress Lu felt uncomfortable. Empress Lu stood in the atrium and watched Liu Bang quietly for a while, a frog in the pond outside the hall was called, and insects squeaked in the grass on the edge of the pond, but the hall was very quiet, and the breeze gently blew into the hall, making the candle flame on the case shake with the wind, but it was not blown out, and finally the candle flame regained its stability, stretching the slender figure behind Empress Lu a lot. Liu Bang, who was squinting, seemed to wake up when he felt a slight coolness, and pulled his clothes up, but he stood in front of him without commenting on Lu Hou, and he was suddenly stunned, "It's late at night, why don't you sleep?" ”

'Poof-', Empress Lu knelt in front of Liu Bang and said straight to the point, "The concubine has been thinking twice, Your Majesty must not let the prince go on the expedition." Liu Bang was stunned again, "Don't you agree?" Why did you change your mind? Isn't it good to let him exercise? He doesn't know anything, how can he inherit my country? Liu Bang took away the clothes on his body, got up to help Empress Lu, and personally went to the back of the palace to bring her a cool mat, and the two sat opposite each other. At this time, Lu Hou didn't say a word, but just cried vigorously, which made Liu Bang very puzzled, so he had to calm her emotions and slowly ask her what was going on. Empress Lu thought that the time had come, so she cried and turned what Shangshan Sihao said into her own words to Liu Bang, crying and begging Liu Bang not to let the prince go on the expedition. When Liu Bang heard this, he immediately became angry, threw a roll of bamboo slips on the case out of the hall, and shouted angrily, "I knew that this stinky boy couldn't be dispatched, Lao Tzu went by himself!" Liu Bang knocked on the case and said to Empress Lu with a heartfelt heart, "What do you think I still expect from him?" can't take on anything, ashamed to be a seven-foot man. "Liu Bang wanted to say that Liu Ying is really not like me, but because of Empress Lu, he had to hold back his anger in his chest. Empress Lu was silent, only adhering to one purpose, the prince would never go on an expedition. Liu Bang glanced at Lu Hou in annoyance, and felt that his heart was very depressed, Liu Bang got up, threw the deep sleeves of the wide robe behind his back and went out angrily. Empress Lu could feel that his anger was not small from the wind fanned by Liu Bang's sleeves, and Empress Lu sighed and returned to the palace.