The army was on the way back, and the messenger from Chang'an brought the emperor's order at the same time, asking the general Zhou Yafu to return to Chang'an as soon as possible, and His Majesty the emperor was very worried about him.

Changle Palace.

The moment Liu Che saw the battle report, he was afraid for a while, and couldn't help but say: "This battle is too difficult and dangerous, I thought that even if it was a small defeat, it would not affect the overall situation, but who would have thought that the general would be seriously ill and almost cause our army to be leaderless."

If it weren't for Zhaogong going to the grassland, the casualties of the army would have been at least more than half, or even all of them would have perished on the grassland. ”

Luo Jing's hair was already full of gray, he also had palpitations, the connection between Dong'e and the Han was very close, and when he heard the emperor's words, he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the prince of Zhaogong is an unprecedented figure in the Luo family, and now he is very old, if this is the case next time, I am afraid that no one will be able to save the army from fire and water, and he should be cautious in the future." ”

Liu Che asked with some curiosity: "Zhaogong Dajun's meritorious participation in the creation, as well as the grace of the Su King, can't it still exist in the world?" ”

Luo Jing was stunned when he heard this, and said without hesitation: "Of course there is no longevity in this world, at least Luo's doesn't know, Zhaogong Dajun is a rare long-lived person in Luo's family, and most of Luo's sons have a lifespan similar to ordinary people, which is not as good as those who live long." ”

A look of joy and disappointment flashed in Liu Che's eyes, he was glad that Luo's was still a mortal, and he was disappointed that Luo's might really not have a way to live forever.

"Your Majesty, the Great General is back."

The attendant hurriedly walked into the hall, and when Liu Che heard this, he immediately said, "Please invite the general to come in immediately." ”

The three people in the hall waited quietly, and then the princes personally carried Zhou Yafu in, and from time to time someone made a sad voice, Zhou Yafu was placed on the seat, and said weakly: "Your Majesty, the minister has failed to live up to your expectations and failed to break the Huns." ”

Liu Che waved his hand when he heard this: "The first time the general attacked, he broke the Xiongnu Zuoxian Wang Department without knowing anything about the Xiongnu, and won more than 8,000 Xiongnu heads, isn't this a great achievement?"

Later, it was just because of a sudden serious illness, which was a disaster from heaven, and it didn't cause any major losses, so how can I blame you, the general?

You are very old, and I still let you go on the expedition, this is my fault, and I should reward all the soldiers heavily.

In addition to the military merits that should have been obtained, I will give all the soldiers who have gone on this expedition a knighthood, and then reward them with rice, grain, and goods, and exempt them from conscription for three years, and exempt them from taxes for one year.

Prime Minister, please write it all down, and promulgate it when you return, and urge each county to give a reward, and report the subsequent results to me, and I will personally review it, and if any county fails to carry it out, I will punish it severely.

Among the princes who went on this expedition, the general added 500 households, and the rest of the ministers added 200 households, which is all I could do. ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

Almost all the princes in the palace knelt on one knee, tears in their eyes, and thanked the emperor for his grace.

When everyone left the room, leaving only Zhou Yafu and Liu Che, Liu Che asked, "General, who do you think should take over the position of General after you?" ”

The general is the second most important minister after the prime minister, and ranks second among the three princes of the prime minister, the general, and the imperial historian, and the candidate is extremely important.

Zhou Yafu muttered: "If it is Emperor Xiaowen, there are many people who can serve as generals, but Your Majesty must want to fight with the Huns, then you have to look for someone who is more familiar with the Huns, Your Majesty may be able to temporarily let the Marquis of Huaiyin take the position, and then replace it, the Marquis of Huaiyin is a person who does not love the position of power, and it will not cause any waves."

Your Majesty, the minister is a general, and there is a high emperor given the position of the marquis, for the country to recommend is the responsibility of the minister, this time to the grassland, the minister got a fierce general, named Wei Qing, he personally killed the vice king of the king of Zuoxian, and killed the Huns of thousands of households, hundreds of households and several other people, is the highest meritorious person.

The minister talked to him on the way back to Chang'an, and found that this person was resolute and resolute, guarded the border for a long time, and knew the tactics of the Xiongnu steppe very well.

The minister heard that the brave generals all came out of the army, so I recommend him to you. ”

Liu Che didn't expect that Zhou Yafu would not recommend his in-laws, and he actually recommended the Marquis of Huaiyin, a prince who was not very close, and a nobody, which surprised him very much.

Zhou Yafu knew that the emperor must be puzzled, and sighed: "The minister was reused by the first emperor and was able to serve as a general, and he went to the grassland to repay the kindness of the first emperor and you, but now it is only half done.

The relatives and friends of the ministers have been extremely prosperous and rich, and the grace of the royal family is higher than Mount Tai and deeper than the East China Sea.

Your Majesty asked the minister to recommend, the minister has no selfishness, I hope to be able to recommend talents for Your Majesty, if you can defeat the Huns one day, let the commander of my Han Dynasty go to the minister's tomb to inform it. ”

Liu Che said emotionally when he heard this: "Qing is really the minister of my Han Dynasty, I should treat your family well and let them be rich and prosperous for a long time until the end of the Han Dynasty." ”

Zhou Yafu said with a smile: "The minister always remembers that as long as he is loyal to His Majesty, the more prosperous the Han Dynasty is, the more prosperous the Marquis Kingdom will be." ”

Liu Che praised when he heard this: "General, you said it well, you understand this truth, this is probably the reason why the Marquis of Jiangguo is rich." ”

The two exchanged for a long time, Zhou Yafu told Liu Che in detail all the things he saw and heard on the grassland, and Liu Che said in a cold sweat when he listened: "The general is really worthy of being the general of the first emperor's trust, so dangerous can still have a slight advantage, if it is not for the sudden serious illness, the Huns will definitely be defeated." ”

Zhou Yafu was a little sad when he heard this, he had already prepared a plan for the Huns to lure the enemy deeper, but an accident turned everything around, and he almost lost his life in the grassland.

……

After Zhou Yafu received a lot of rewards, just like Liu Che's bones, Liu Che removed him from the position of general and let Zhou Yafu recuperate, but Zhou Yafu's body deteriorated, and anyone with a discerning eye knew that he was really not good.

At this time, the Marquis of Huaiyin received the will of the imperial court and entered the palace, and after the ceremony, Liu Che got straight to the point and said: "The Marquis of Jiang is seriously ill, and I want to appoint you as a general and the commander of the Han Dynasty." ”

The Marquis of Huaiyin was shocked when he heard this, his face was full of doubts, and he didn't understand why the emperor would appoint him, so he was shocked: "Your Majesty, the minister has heard that people should do what they are good at, in order to get good results, although the minister was born in the general's family, and the art of war is preserved in the family, but he is not good at leading the troops to fight, if the minister leads the army and horses, he can still serve His Majesty, if he is a general, the minister is only worried about delaying His Majesty's great cause, and please think about it." ”

Liu Che smiled when he heard this: "You don't have to be like this, I won't let you lead the army to the battle." ”

The Marquis of Huaiyin understood, it was precisely because he didn't want to be a general that the emperor let himself occupy the position first, and then replace him when there was a suitable candidate, and the relationship between the Marquis of Huaiyin was still hard, and there would not be so many obstacles for him to be a general, which was regarded as the royal family's trust in the Marquis of Huaiyin, so he bowed down directly and said: "Your Majesty is trustworthy, and the minister will die." ”

With Zhou Yafu coming to Wei Qing in Chang'an, he soon learned that Zhou Yafu recommended himself to the emperor in the palace, and he killed the deputy king of Zuo Xian, as well as those beheadings.

Liu Che generously rewarded all the soldiers, and all the soldiers shouted the emperor Shengming, not to mention Wei Qing, who had great merit and recommendation, directly entered the forbidden army.

He also set up a small house in Chang'an, and the head of the vice king can be said to have helped him turn over.

This is today's big man, as long as he has military merits, he can instantly turn over and become a master, if there is a nobleman's recommendation, it is only a matter of time before he becomes a master.

For example, today's Wei Qing, if it goes well, can gradually accumulate military merits and qualifications, and then make similar contributions as now, he will be able to be a marquis, and after being a marquis, he can serve as a high-ranking official like the Three Princes and Nine Secretaries, and even become a general, this time is as short as ten years, and I don't know if it is more, after all, a well-known general has not been able to be a marquis in his life.

A month after Zhou Yafu returned to Chang'an, the obituary from the Jianghou Mansion finally spread to the four directions, and the general, who had not died well in real history, ushered in the end of his life in endless sorrow.

When Liu Che got the news, even though he had been mentally prepared for a long time, he still sighed slightly and said: "Drop out of the dynasty for three days as a condolence, and ask all the important ministers to discuss the name of the general." ”

Zhou Yafu's nickname was quickly decided, and he was called "Jiangzhong Yihou" with "Danger to benefit the country and say loyalty, and kill the enemy to achieve success".

There were a lot of people who went to the Jianghou Mansion to worship, and Liu Che also sent people to mourn, Zhou Yafu was different for Liu Che, when Liu Che had just ascended the throne, he didn't like those ministers of the previous emperor, because these people were an obstacle to him exerting power.

Zhou Yafu's deathbed words gave Liu Che a great shock, making him understand that these ministers of the former emperor could also treat him loyally, and this change even made Liu Che let down some of his guard against other former emperor's ministers.

Zhou Yafu is Wei Qing's master, of course Wei Qing has to come to mourn, this is a grand scene that Wei Qing has never seen in the previous master's family, it can only be said that there is also a gap between the powerful, and the Marquis of Jiang, a famous family that has been famous since Emperor Gao, is really different.

Luo Jing did not come to mourn, but sent one of his sons, and he himself went to Zhaocheng again, this time it was Luo Ling who gathered everyone, and he had already felt his limit.

(End of chapter)