The border battle situation was urgent, Weng Guimi disregarded his own safety, resolutely went to the front line, and fought side by side with Chang Hui. As Liu Ye expected, the Xiongnu were already seriously injured after the Battle of Mobei, and they could not withstand a strong counterattack at all, nor could they take Wusun in one fell swoop as domineering as in the past.

The Xiongnu adopted a roundabout tactic, when Wusun counterattacked, they withdrew their troops, and when Wusun was slightly negligent, they seized the opportunity to raid. After a long time, the soldiers of Wusun were tired of tossing, but they did not dare to take it lightly, and could only be on guard against the movements of the Huns.

Weng Guimi couldn't figure out the bottom of the Huns, although the strength of the Huns at this time was not good, but they couldn't risk chasing the Huns, for fear that they would have an ambush and fall into the other party's tricks. Judging from Wusun's current strength, he can still afford this roundabout style of play, but if he can't save his anger and mistakenly falls into the opponent's trap, it will be worth the loss.

The cunning style of play of the Xiongnu also shows that they have no certainty of victory, but they are just intent on finding Wusun unhappy. However, with Weng Guimi's understanding of the Xiongnu royal family, there must be a reason behind them doing this. There is a shortage of materials in the Xiongnu, whether it is the royal family or the commoners, life is very tense, how can there be spare troops to mobilize troops to fight against Wusun. Moreover, this kind of back-and-forth tentative attack is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also quite food and grass, and without strong financial reserves, this battle cannot be fought.

The same is true for Wusun, if it weren't for the recent good agricultural production, the imperial court would also be tight after a few rounds. However, even if the treasury can last for a while, no one wants to spend energy on it. It can be seen that the Xiongnu deliberately wanted to drag down Wusun, and seeing that the development trend of Wusun was improving, they simply burned jade.

Weng Guimi couldn't guess where the forces supporting the Xiongnu came from, but it was foreseeable that the Xiongnu couldn't see that Wusun was better than them, so they had to do their best to fight to the end, and even let Wusun completely surrender to the Xiongnu, and then rule the various tribes of Wusun.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Weng Guimi did not dare to relax, he and Chang Hui took turns guarding the army, as long as there was a slight abnormality at the border, they would fight mercilessly, and at the same time they had to preserve their strength. The Han army, which was waiting for support, arrived and defeated the Xiongnu in one go.

The situation on the border was worrisome, and the court was no better, and the elders and ministers who supported the Xiongnu preached the theory of the death of the country every day, and instigated their weak-willed colleagues to demand that the king surrender to the Xiongnu and accept the rule of the Xiongnu. Other elders and ministers who supported Weng Guimi resolutely rejected this act of betraying the country to seek glory, and encouraged everyone to donate their family property to help Weng Guimi tide over the difficulties together.

Every time in the early dynasty, the surrendering faction and the pro-king faction argued endlessly, as if they didn't take Liu Ye, who was in charge of the national seal, in their eyes. Everyone knows that Weng Guimi loves the queen, and the queen is also the expected mother of the country, with a high status in the hearts of the people, and even the entire Western Regions is quite influential.

But then again, in Wusun's territory, they are the elders of the court, and the queen is just the master of the harem, and now that Wusun has such a big thing, how can he pin all his hopes on a woman.

It was another endless quarrel, and the traitorous rhetoric of the capitulationists became more and more arrogant, which was simply a test of the endurance of everyone present.

"The king personally led troops to support the border for more than half a month, but the battle situation was good and bad, and there was no progress. If this continues, it will only drag down the entire imperial court, and make the treasury, which is not rich in the first place, increasingly empty. Clear-eyed people know that the Huns are determined to win this time, if not, why do they insist on holding on for so long and still refuse to give up! Elder Herbie raised his voice to the ministers who supported the king's faction and shouted, "The king's move is too unwise, it is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg, and it is really beyond his own strength. Even if it lasts for three or five years, it will eventually lose to the Xiongnu, so it is better to take advantage of the current pretense to make peace and form an alliance with the Xiongnu, so as to preserve its strength and not let the people suffer. ”

"Elder Hebby, how can you say that, the king has worked tirelessly day and night to boost morale, so as to ensure the safety of Wusun and the peace of the people. The Xiongnu have repeatedly offended our dynasty for many years, but the result is not all in vain. The king is wise and brave, and he will definitely be able to come up with a strategy for pacification, so why should you worry, as for the idea of seeking peace and forming an alliance, it is pure nonsense, the country will not be protected, and it is inevitable that the common people will suffer. Lian Kukao, the minister of the pro-king faction, said, stepped forward and glanced at Elder Herbie with disdain, "Could it be that someone has become a traitor to the Xiongnu, deliberately creating panic in the court, and vainly trying to make Wusun a miasma, so as to achieve his own selfish interests." ”

"Lian Kukao, don't think that you are the king's favorite retainer and can talk to Elder Ben like this. Soon after the king ascended the throne, he did not consider the strength of Wusun and the Xiongnu in depth, and he was young and vigorous, so he always thought that he could cover the sky with one hand and call for wind and rain. As everyone knows, there are people outside the sky, the Xiongnu has always been the most powerful country in the Western Regions, and has ruled Wusun for many years. This is just a stopgap measure, where does the traitor say it? Elder Herbie also took two steps forward and argued directly with Lian Kukao, "You reckless people only know how to incite the king to fight hard, but you don't know that doing so is pushing Wusun to a desperate situation. Since both horizontal and vertical are dead, why not keep some life and save it for turning over in the future? If you drag down the entire Wusun, you can only be enslaved by the Huns for life! ”

"Phew, that's a nice thing to say, you old stubborn, you still have to advocate surrender, thinking that my Wusun is getting stronger and stronger, why should you give in to the defeated country and be willing to degenerate into a vassal country?" Even Ku Kao became more and more angry, and he didn't care about the courtiers' etiquette, and directly scolded him for being stubborn, "How many benefits did the Huns give you, so that you blindly slandered your country without shame, and even moved out of that shameful past." How many hardships did the king go through to get rid of the shackles of the Huns, and how did the king of the king of the hunt be willing to be under house arrest by the Huns, and now it is different from the past, how can you compare the king of Weng Guimi with the king of the hunting arrogance? ”

"Defeated nation? Hmph, don't forget, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, although the Xiongnu lost to the Han, but in the Western Regions, it is still the most powerful country, if the Xiongnu want to annex Wusun, it is only in a single thought. If the king is still obsessed and self-righteous, it will inevitably lead to the ruin of the country and the destruction of the family. Elder Herbie was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, but he also forgot a rule of being a minister, that is, how wrong it is, "The ministers of the dead country still dare to be arrogant and shouting, and they are not afraid of people laughing at them, just because of you rebellious ministers and thieves, they will blind the eyes of the king and make him a sinner of the dead country......"

Before the words fell, Liu Ye picked up a pile of parchment rolls and threw them at Elder Herbie, and said angrily, "Kneel!" ”

Elder Herbie was stunned, turned his head to see Liu Ye's face full of anger, and in a trance heard her reprimand him kneel, and asked, "The queen wants Elder Ben to kneel to you?" ”

"Herbie, the guilty minister, don't kneel down and listen to the training!" Liu Ye doesn't care how old he is, and he doesn't plan to give him a chance to show off his old qualifications, Herbie is the main force of the surrender faction, and he has said some rebellious things many times, Liu Ye has put up with him for a long time, and he can't bear it, it's time to make an example of the chickens.

Hebby's old face suddenly couldn't hang up, he didn't dare to be qualified with Ubujibi back then, but he had also assisted two generations of kings, although the queen Wusun from the Han Dynasty in front of him had successfully cured Ubuji's crimes, but it was because she had a handle to be caught by her. Although he secretly colluded with the Huns and received a lot of benefits, he has always been cautious and cautious, and he is absolutely confident that he will not be discovered by anyone.

Lian Kukao had Liu Ye's support, and immediately became more confident, and glanced at Hebi with his head held high, and the hatred in his eyes was self-evident. This kind of old stubbornness who betrays the country to seek glory must not let him do whatever he wants, and if Queen Wusun, who is in charge of the national seal, does not speak out to teach a lesson, he will really have to complain for the king. Herbie fanned the flames, and had no scruples in front of the queen, not to mention how presumptuous he was in peacetime, the original war situation was urgent, and everyone was panicked, if they couldn't work together at this juncture, some people would definitely be shaken and believe in the words of the country.

Seeing Lian Kukao's eyes full of contempt, Hebi refused to show weakness to Liu Ye, and raised his voice and shouted, "Queen, do you know what you're talking about? Elder Ben has assisted two generations of kings of Wusun, and he does not dare to be proud of his achievements, but he is also an important minister of Wusun! When Elder Ben served Wusun, only Elder Ubuji was a few years older, and the rest were all late-born juniors! When Elder Ben did his best for Wusun and worked hard for the people, you were not born yet, Queen! Now that Wusun is in trouble, the king temporarily handed over the national seal to the queen for safekeeping, and the queen not only can't argue right and wrong, but wants to send down the ministers who have contributed to Wusun, does she also want to take advantage of this war to get a piece of the Han pie? ”

As soon as these words came out, some people whispered, and some people secretly snickered, all speculating about what method Liu Ye would use to deal with Elder Herbie. Anyway, after arguing for so many days, I haven't been able to do anything with him, and now I just say those old words, which may not be able to punish the crime. Therefore, this eighty percent is a farce, and the trouble can't be stopped, but the queen is afraid that people will not accept it, so she plays a prestige.

Herbie knew that there were many people in the court who cared about Liu Ye's identity, and they were willing to bring up the old words again, taking advantage of others' panic about the Han to regenerate incidents.

Liu Ye could naturally see his thoughts, and said unhurriedly: "Elder Hebi is disloyal, unrighteous and unkind, and he is ashamed of the ancestors of the Wusun royal family, and punishing you to kneel down to listen to the training is already a reminder of your past achievements." But instead of repenting, you will slander the royal family inch by inch, and the following sins will be unforgivable. Since the king handed over the national seal to the palace for safekeeping, the palace has the power of life and death! Come on, take Hebby! ”

When the guards heard the order, they immediately stepped forward to grab Hebby and forced him to kneel down to Liu Ye, Hebby shouted angrily: "How can this be reasonable, how can this be reasonable, why do you say that Elder Ben is disloyal, unrighteous and unkind, why are you!" The power of life and death? Even you, dare to condemn Elder Ben? ”

"Hebby, when Wusun was facing war, you instigated your colleagues to surrender to the Xiongnu several times, because you were disloyal; It is disrespectful for you to claim that the king is the king of the fallen country, it is unjust for you to mention that the shame of the Wusun kingdom is compared with the present, and it is unkind for you to insult the arrogant wisdom of the previous king. You, a disloyal, unrighteous, unkind, and disrespectful person, are not worthy of being a courtier of Wusun, and you are not qualified to speak ill of the court. Liu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Hebby, who was still unconvinced, "You think that you can hide the things you have done in private, but you don't know that this palace has already mastered the evidence of your collusion with the Huns." ”

Herbie's expression changed greatly: "Nonsense, you nonsense, if you have evidence, you will punish me, you are simply spreading rumors and slander!" ”

"The reason why this palace is not in a hurry to cure your sins is nothing more than thinking about your years of service to Wusun, and wants to give you a chance to reform your ways. I didn't expect you to betray Wusun first, and spread the talk of the death of the country in public one after another, without the slightest intention of repentance. You claim that the king is the king of the fallen country, and Wusun will definitely be defeated by the Xiongnu, everyone present can hear it clearly, what else do you have to quibble. Liu Ye didn't wait for him to speak, and threw out a parchment scroll, "This is the secret letter you wrote to the king of the Xiongnu right valley, which indicates the number of troops led by the king, the evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to say?" ”

"Impossible, this is impossible......" Herbie panicked, he has always been careful in doing things, this kind of secret letter is handed over to his family to send to the Huns, and every time he comes back, he receives a reply, how can there be a mistake.

"Yes, you think that if you hand it over to your family to deliver the letter, you can guarantee that nothing will go wrong. But what you didn't expect was that even your family couldn't see your family's behavior of betraying the country to seek glory. Liu Ye beckoned, and the nephew who was in charge of delivering the letter to Hebby was brought up, seeing him, Hebby couldn't help but tremble, only to hear Liu Ye continue, "This secret letter has already been sent to the palace, and the reply letter is also written to you by the palace, do you want the palace to tell you the content of the reply." ”

"Beast, you eat things outside the house, you bastard dare to betray me......" Herbie scolded uncontrollably, Liu Ye made a look, the guards took his nephew away again, Herbie sat on the ground, and the whole person trembled.

"Elder Herbie, what else do you have to say now that this is the case?" Liu Ye asked slowly.

Herbie shook his head: "You can't cure me of my sins, I want to see the king, I want to see the king......"

"The king will not see a rebel like you." Liu Ye sneered and said in a deep voice, "Elder Hebi colluded with the Xiongnu to betray state secrets and put the king's safety at risk, which is really a great treachery and unforgivable crime. The king of this palace is in charge of the national seal, and he must not spare such criminal ministers, and now Hebi is beheaded in the afternoon to show the public, confiscated the family property, and the men of the family are enslaved by the army and women. ”

"The queen is wise." Lian Kukao took the lead in kneeling, and the other elders and ministers, you look at me, I look at you, and knelt down one after another, showing loyalty to Liu Ye.

Hebby struggled desperately: "No, I don't accept it, I want to see the king......"

Liu Ye waved his hand, too lazy to say another word to him, and the guards dragged Hebby out, leaving a few wails.

"Elders and ministers, this palace has received a letter from the king, and the border war has been controlled, so there is no need to worry. Herbie spread the rumors of the death of the country on the spot, and I believe that in the future, this palace will not hear any more rebellious words. Liu Ye looked around, and the elder ministers who originally supported Hebby nodded yes one by one, and they didn't even dare to raise their heads.

"In addition, the Han army stationed in the Western Regions will also come to support, and it will only be a matter of time before the Xiongnu are repulsed. I also ask you to do your part and wait for the day of the king's triumph. ”

"Wusun will definitely defeat the Huns, the king and queen will enjoy peace forever, and the ministers will be loyal to their duties."

The crisis created by the capitulation faction is over, Shi Zhong and Feng Yan applaud Liu Ye, and Qing Ling is also very happy.

"Princess, you were so majestic just now, that Elder Herbie is the one who doesn't know the sky, he spreads rumors of the death of the country everywhere, and he has the face to say that he is the hero of Wusun." Qing Ling pursed his lips and couldn't help but count the falls.

Feng Yan also said: "That's it, Hebby is too disagreeable, as a courtier of Wusun, he actually colluded with the Huns." It's a pity that he did all his tricks, but he couldn't even keep the hearts of the people around him, and in the end he ended up betraying his relatives. ”

Liu Ye shook his head and raised his eyes to look at Shizhong, who hurriedly dismissed the surrounding guards, leaving only a few of them, and Liu Ye said: "Hebby's nephew didn't betray him, but Master Shi found out that his whereabouts were strange and intercepted the letter in time." ”

Feng Yan was puzzled: "Then Hebby's nephew also came forward to testify against him?" ”

"He didn't even speak, where did he come from?" Liu Ye smiled bitterly, "Hebby's nephew is very loyal, but he is stupid and loyal, and he doesn't distinguish between right and wrong. No matter how he was interrogated, he refused to admit that he had been instructed by Hebbie. I had no choice but to let Qingling poison him so that he could never speak again. With that letter in hand, I'm afraid I won't be able to cure Hebby's sins! ”

"I see!" Feng Yan sighed lightly.

At this time, the guards outside the tent came to report: "Mrs. Zuo asks to see!" ”

Liu Ye frowned and said, "Let her in." ”

"Princess, she must have come to intercede for Hebby, she has a ......very good relationship with Hebby's daughter-in-law," Qingling was not at ease, and hurriedly reminded.

"Well, I know, don't talk about it later, I'll just talk about it." Liu Ye got up to greet him, exchanged a few words with Xu Qige, and said, "I'm going to ask in the afternoon, do you want my sister to go with me?" ”

Xu Qige was also present at the middle of the teacher, hesitating and hesitating, Liu Ye said clearly: "It's okay, it's all my own people, my sister has something to say." ”

Xu Qige had no choice but to express his intentions: "Actually, I have a reluctant request, and I also ask my sister to open up and spare Elder Herbie this time." Although he was arrogant, he was also unintentional, and after today's events, he must not dare in the future. ”

Liu Ye smiled: "Sister's words are wrong, how can the remarks of the country be easily forgiven with unintentional mistakes." The whole court is not used to what Herbie has done, and if I don't come forward, I will be considered a traitor. It's okay if my sister comes to me to intercede, don't intercede for the Herbie family in front of outsiders, so as not to attract suspicion. My sister is the princess of the Huns, and the king of the right valley is my sister's relative, so it's too late to avoid suspicion at this time, how can I plaster myself! ”

Xu Qige's face changed slightly, and he hurriedly cleared up the relationship: "Queen Mingjian, although I am the princess of the Huns, I always remind myself that I am Mrs. Wusunzuo, and I have no outward heart. I don't know what Elder Herbie has done, and I haven't been in contact with King Liking of the Right Valley for many years, and I only came to intercede on behalf of Herbie's family......"

"My sister knows, my sister is thinking about Wusun, how can she do such a rebellious thing." Liu Ye patted Xu Qige's hand and said softly, "Sister sympathizes with others, but also thinks about your own situation, if you cause trouble for yourself, it will be worth the loss." ”

"Yes, yes, I'll be extra careful." Xu Qige breathed a long sigh of relief and said goodbye in a hurry.

Sending Xu Qige away, Qing Ling said disdainfully: "She is clean, how do I think she is the one who is making a hindrance!" The princess is now Queen Wusun, and she is the most unconvinced! ”

"Don't worry about her now." Liu Ye frowned again, "It's been so long, why hasn't the Han garrison heard back for a long time?" ”