Wei Qing once again proved himself with victory, and the weight in Liu Che's heart was further strengthened, and after Liu Che's excited mood calmed down, he always felt a trace of inexplicable panic, and then ordered the confessors around him: "Dai Zhen observes the daily activities of the general, where he goes, who he contacts, and reports to me regularly." ”

"No. ”

Liu Che emphasized again: "Don't let a third party know, otherwise you ......"

"I understand. ”

As soon as Liu Che had arranged this matter, a messenger rushed into the hall and shouted loudly: "Report to Your Majesty, Zhang Qian is back, Report to Your Majesty, Zhang Qian is back." ”

Liu Che thought he had misheard, so he asked, "Let's be clear, who's back?"

The confessor stopped, gasped and said, "Zhang Qian is back." ”

"Ah, really," Liu Che stood up abruptly in excitement, and ordered loudly without thinking: "Xuanwen and Wu's ministers are lined up to greet Zhang Qian. ”

"No. ”

Liu Che came to the Xuanshu Palace, the civil and military ministers stood in a neat line under the hall, only to see Zhang Qian holding a scepter, taking Gan's father and his wife and children into the Xuanshu Hall slowly, as soon as he walked into the door, he fell to his knees and shouted loudly: "Minister Zhang Qian bows to Your Majesty and returns to Your Majesty." Father Gan, his wife and children also bowed down and bowed.

Liu Che couldn't wait to stand up and rush towards Zhang Qian, took Zhang Qian's hand and said, "Aiqing, please," At this time, Liu Che noticed that several people were wearing tattered clothes, and the scepter had already been polished, and Liu Che and his party had tears slid down their cheeks and said, "Aiqing is suffering." ”

Zhang Qian's lips trembled and said, "To complete the mission for Your Majesty and Sheji, it is incumbent on you to die even if you die." Then Zhang Qian pointed to Gan's father, wife and children behind him and said, "This is Gan's father, this is the minister's wife and children." ”

"Hurry up and speak," Liu Che carefully studied a few people, "Aiqing has been on an envoy to the Western Regions for several years, and I thought that Aiqing had already encountered an accident." ”

At this time, Zhang Qian's eyes were a little ruddy and said: "Today is more than thirteen years away from the opening of Chang'an, the minister and Gan's father have been sleeping in the open along the way, and they have been in danger countless times, thanks to the desperate protection of the soldiers to return to Chang'an, but the more than 100 soldiers who brought it have all died in other places, woo woo woo, it is the minister who did not protect them." ”

"Aiqing doesn't have to blame herself, any great achievements need to be earned by the soldiers, and I will definitely give them a good gift to their families. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty. ”

Liu Che turned around and said: "Come on, wait for a few heroes to bathe and change clothes, and I will have a good chat with Zhang Qian about how they have spent the past thirteen years." ”

"No. ”

Zhang Qian and Liu Che talked in detail for three days and three nights, the thirteen years of the story again, Liu Che listened to it fascinated, Zhang Qian led more than 100 people full of silk jewelry on the way to the Western Regions was detained by the Huns, the Huns in order to keep Zhang Qian, for him to marry a wife and have children, where was detained for ten years did not shake Zhang Qian's determination to envoy the Western Regions, a dark night, Zhang Qian and his party took advantage of the Huns' unpreparedness, fled from the Huns. They passed through Cheshiguo (present-day Turpan Basin, Xinjiang), entered Yanqi (present-day Yanqi, Xinjiang), and traced the Tarim River westward from Yanqi, passing through Qiuci (present-day Kuqadong, Xinjiang), Shule (present-day Kashgar, Xinjiang) and other places, crossed the Green Mountains, and arrived at Dawan (present-day Feierganna Basin). Guided by a Dawan guide, you will arrive at Kangju (between present-day Lake Balkhash and the Aral Sea) and finally reach the Dayueshi. At this time, the national conditions of the Otsuki clan have changed a lot. After they moved to the Fushui Valley, they conquered the neighboring country of Bactria (present-day northern Afghanistan), decided to live and work here in peace and contentment, did not want to fight with the Xiongnu again, and on the way back were detained by the Xiongnu for another year, coinciding with the war and the internal chaos of the Xiongnu, they took the opportunity to escape and return to the Han.

Zhang Qian repeatedly forgave Liu Che and said: "The minister did not do his job effectively, did not persuade the Dayue clan to join us to fight against the Xiongnu, and failed to live up to His Majesty's trust, please punish Your Majesty." ”

"Aiqing's words are wrong, Aiqing led the soldiers to sacrifice their lives to understand the situation outside the territory, and it is not Qing's fault that he did not succeed in uniting the Dayue clan to fight against the Huns, not only did I not punish Aiqing, but also rewarded him heavily, I gave Aiqing as the Marquis of Bowang, how about being a doctor in Taizhong?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty. ”

"Father Gan is the envoy, and the families of other soldiers who have died in other places will send people to comfort and protect their lives. ”

"The minister has thanked Your Majesty for Father Gan and the soldiers who died," Zhang Qian continued, "Your Majesty, just now the minister said that he saw the bamboo cane and Shu cloth, the products of Shudi, in Great Xia, didn't Your Majesty feel rare?"

"Oh, Aiqing has nothing to say. ”

"The minister will not sell Guanzi, the merchants of Great Xia said that they bought it from the body poison in the southeast, which shows that the body poison is in our southwest, we are 12,000 miles away from Daxia, and the body poison is 1,000 miles southeast of Daxia, so that the distance from the southwest from the body poison will not exceed the distance from Daxia, Your Majesty should send someone to open the road to the body poison from the southwest, so that you can bypass the Xiongnu control area and find a new road to Daxia. ”

"Well, it makes sense, I think that the candidate who is suitable for opening up the southwest road must be Aiqing, and Aiqing can go to the southwest to promote my grace after recuperating in Chang'an for a period of time. ”

"No, the Lord's Decree. ”

"In the next few months, Aiqing is going to tell the ministers what he has seen and heard outside the territory, increase their understanding, and strengthen the prestige of the Han Dynasty. ”

"No. ”

"Stand down. ”

"No. Zhang Qian turned around and walked a few steps when he suddenly turned around and said, "Your Majesty, the minister suddenly remembered something again, the reason for the sharpness of the Huns' swords may have been found by the minister, and the minister saw that they would use a kind of crumb raw material when forging swords, and the forged swords were sharper than ours. ”

"Oh, hurry up and hand it over to Shang Fangcheng, let the craftsmen study it, if we can improve the forging process of our sword, this will be a great achievement. ”

"No, the minister retired. ”

Liu Che looked at the back of Zhang Qian leaving, and couldn't help but sigh: "With these courtiers supporting me, why don't the big men worry." ”

At this time, a messenger reported forward: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Gongsun Hong asks to see you." ”

"Ask him to come in. ”

"No. ”

Gongsun Hongjin entered the main hall and said: "Your Majesty, the ministers have drafted the Taixue system, please preview and decide." ”

"Oh, bring it on. ”

Liu Che opened a scroll of plates, and asked Gongsun Hong while reading, Gongsun Hong was a knowledgeable and talented person, and the explanation was Liu Che's nod, and then Liu Che smiled and said, This system will greatly improve the way for my Han to select talents, not only to issue this system, but also to personally issue a "Persuasion Edict", so that the world's talents will come to make suggestions for the construction of the Han Dynasty.

"Your Majesty. ”

"Let all the counties and countries in the world establish school officials and carry forward the spirit of Han culture. ”

"No. ”

At this time, the confessor reported again: "Your Majesty, Captain Zhang Tang asks to see you." ”

"Ouch, please let him in. ”

"No. ”

Gongsun Hong immediately said with interest: "The minister will not disturb Your Majesty, and the minister will retire." ”

"Let's go down, this Taixue system has been decided, and the "Edict of Persuasion" will be promulgated later to announce it to the world. ”

"No. ”

Zhang Tang walked into the main hall and knelt on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, in the past few days, the minister has received a case here, which has been undecidable because it involves the county and the country, and I have come to ask Your Majesty for instructions." ”

"Oh, which country is it?"

"Your Majesty, it is the Kingdom of Huainan, and Lei, known as one of the Eight Princes of Huainan, was accused of the King of Huainan for obstructing him from participating in the army against the Xiongnu, against His Majesty's will. ”

"If that's the case, has Aiqing investigated?"

"I haven't investigated, but I'm here to ask Your Majesty for instructions,"

"Investigate it as soon as possible, and give me a conclusion after the investigation. ”

"No. ”

As for the matter of Huainan Kingdom, which could withstand investigation, Zhang Tang immediately learned that Lei was a swordsman with superb swordsmanship, and he missed Liu Qian in a competition with Liu Qian, the prince of Huainan, which angered the prince of Huainan, and later was forced to stay in Huainan Kingdom. Lei was then asked by the king of Huainan to follow the general Wei Qing to fight the Xiongnu. Unexpectedly, after hearing this, King Huainan thought that Lei was betrayed and dismissed from his post. The resentful Lei was simply escaped from the Huainan Palace, and ran here to sue the Huainan King.

Zhang Tang had a bottom in his heart, and went to Liu Che to report and tell Liu Che about the matter.

Liu Che asked: "Well, Lei was done well, according to the Han law, how should King Huainan deal with it?"

"According to the Han law, anyone who obstructs the execution of the edict of the Son of Heaven shall be sentenced to death for abandoning the city. ”

"Oh, it's a bit heavy for Uncle Huang to abandon the city, not allowed. ”

"Otherwise, the five counties of Huainan will be cut down as punishment. ”

This sentence just happened to Liu Che's mind, in fact, he had been doing the thing of cutting the domain, but he felt that a little too many counties would cause unnecessary trouble, so he said: "Cut two counties, cutting two counties is enough for Uncle Huang to remember." ”

"No, the king of Huainan can be exempted from criminal responsibility, but this matter is caused by Liu Qian, the prince of Huainan, and Liu Qian should be arrested and questioned. ”

"That's right. ”

"No, the Lord's Decree. ”

Zhang Tang received the order and turned around and went down to the hall, Liu Che sat there with a calm expression, his heart was churning, he clenched his fists and said to himself: "I hope Uncle Huang can respect himself." ”

When the holy decree reached Huainan Kingdom, Liu An, the king of Huainan, was so angry that he slapped the table and thought, what a thunder quilt, he dared to say that he was urging the king to complete the great cause, and immediately put the holy decree next to him and told the envoys: "The ministers accept the decree, accept the emperor's punishment of the ministers, and warn the courtiers that such mistakes will not be made again in the future." ”

As soon as Liu Qian heard that he was going to be arrested, where could he stay, he smeared oil on the soles of his feet, and the Qincha had no choice but to report to the whole country to pursue it.

Seeing that Liu Che was so strong, Liu An couldn't help clenching his fists and said: "You kid is considered to have grown up, dare to take your uncle today, watch me lead the troops to Chang'an, and also feel the taste of being the emperor." ”

After making up his mind, he ran to Hengshan Kingdom, Liu Ci, the king of Hengshan, was his own brother, and naturally received him warmly, Liu Ci said: "Why is Brother Wang free to come here today, I don't know what advice?"

"Brother Wang, I must have heard about the recent events in my Huainan Kingdom, so I feel unhappy in my heart, so I went to Brother Wang to relax. ”

"Okay, okay, you and my brother haven't seen each other for a long time, and I just need to talk about family life, Brother Wang, please." ”

"Please. ”

After the two of them sat down, the attendants served the tea, and Liu An took the water and drank it all and said, "I'm afraid that in the near future, you and I will have no land." ”

Liu Ci immediately raised his eyebrows and said: "Brother Wang's words are serious, isn't the emperor our nephew, for the sake of the Liu clan, the nephew will not kill his uncle." ”

"It's naïve, it's ridiculous, Brother Wang is thinking too simply, has Brother Wang forgotten the fate of our father?"

"Brother Wang is serious, and my brother doesn't dare to forget. Liu An's words reminded the two brothers of the past when their father died on a hunger strike on the way to Shu County by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty Liu Heng, and they couldn't help but feel sad, Lu An continued, "Emperor Wen and his father are brothers and have not let go, not to mention the relationship between our uncle and nephew." ”

Liu Ci immediately recovered from his sad expression and asked suspiciously, "Brother Wang won't worry too much, right?" ”

"Hahaha, today I started from my Huainan country, and the next thing is this Hengshan country. ”

Liu Ci thought for a moment and nodded, and then asked, "Even if you and my brother know, what can we do?"

Liu An pondered for a moment and said, "Brother has a plan, I don't know if Brother Wang dares to do it?"

"Brother Wang, please speak. ”

Liu An lowered his voice and said: "Now I have a number of elite soldiers in Huainan country, and there are enough strategists, if I can add the strength of my brother Hengshan country and raise the banner, I will definitely respond to it and kill Chang'an, and you and my brother will also try to be the emperor." ”

Liu Ci immediately closed the door and said in a hurried and soft voice: "Brother Wang has already made up his mind, I have been training for many days, just waiting for Brother Wang to summon, I will listen to Brother Wang." ”

"Okay, a word is decided, I will go back to Huainan to prepare to raise the banner, please wait for the good news. ”

"Okay, this matter is decided immediately, don't delay, my side is ready to respond at any time. ”

"Okay, you and my brother will work together to correct the Han family and create the glory of the Liu family. After speaking, the two of them high-fived three times.

The two brothers discussed the cooperation plan and the route to Chang'an in the secret room, and planned for two hours, as if they had seen the light of hope floating in the sky, and after eating a simple meal, Liu An hurriedly returned to Huainan.

As soon as he arrived at the Huainan Palace, he ordered left and right: "Quickly the general will be called." ”

"No. ”

Since Lei was sent to Chang'an to sue the emperor, Wu Fu, who was also one of the eight dukes of Huainan, began to live in fear, he knew that there would be no peace in Huainan from now on, and all he could do was to do his best to appease the king of Huainan and maintain the prosperity of Huainan Kingdom.

Wu was walked into the palace and was recruited by Liu An to the apse, Liu An retreated left and right and asked with a slight smile: "How is Doctor Zhong doing recently?"

Wu was saluted and said: "Thanks to the king's grace, the minister is doing very well." ”

"Well, Doctor Zhong knows that Lei was sent to Chang'an to be the king of Chang'an. ”

"Thunder was really ungrateful, and he hit five thunderbolts that day. ”

"Haha, I don't care what he's happy to do, but what we're going to do still has to be planned. ”

"What does the king mean?" Wu was immediately puzzled.

"Now we have a large number of soldiers in Huainan, and the current emperor is mediocre and unreasonable, and he is controlled by a group of warlike people to fight for many years, and he is unpopular with the people. ”

"What does the king mean?" Wu was said as he continued to pretend to be confused.

"Taking advantage of the opportunity of his emperor to cut off my two counties, he will raise the banner, and he will definitely respond to all the calls, unite all the princes to Chang'an, and reorganize the dynasty. ”

"The king can't, if the son of today wins the hearts of the people in the north, even the people of our Huainan country will be at peace for a long time, and it is not appropriate to start another war. ”

"Doctor Zhong is too worried, go back and prepare well, don't blame this king for not being polite if you don't listen to this king when the time comes. ”

"Please think twice, the king. ”

"This king has been thinking about it for a long time, and I hope that Dr. Zhong can obey this king's orders, and once he succeeds, he will definitely make your family prominent. ”

"King Xie, but the minister still asks the king to think about it again. ”

"Stand down, this king also hopes that the middle doctor will also think about it. ”

Wu was unable to convince Liu An when he saw it, so he said with interest: "The minister retires." ”

Liu An looked at the back of Wu being left, and the first person to be recruited did not agree with his plan, and asked himself a little lonely: "Is this king really wrong?"

At this moment, Liu Qian walked in through the side door and said, "The child greets his father." ”

When Liu An saw the prince, he said with love and hate: "But someone saw you come in?"

"Father rest assured, I didn't see any suspicious people, and that's good. ”

"Father, we were bullied like this by the emperor's child, it is better to start things as soon as possible, once successful, I will be the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, and you will be the emperor of the Han Dynasty. ”

Liu An immediately said with a blue face: "I knew that when I became the prince, I never thought that if I didn't succeed, you and I would go to Huangquan together." ”

"This ......" Hearing that they were going to Huangquan together, Liu Qian's face was timid.

"Go back to your hiding place and stay alive, when you need it, my father will definitely send someone to call you, don't make trouble everywhere, your head is worried about it. ”

"No, the child is leaving, please call the child immediately when something happens. ”

"Go, go back quickly. ”

"No. ”

Liu An sat on the mat a little upset and let out a long sigh, sighing that in addition to this uncompetitive child supporting him, how could it be so difficult to find a caring loyal person.