Weiyang Palace.

The emperor returned to Chang'an one step ahead of schedule and asked Dong Xu to pass the decree and call Liu Pengzu, the king of Zhao, to meet him.

After the emperor took his seat, he took the pen and sketched on a piece of paper made of silk, but it was a map of the northern border of the Han Dynasty.

He himself walked through the Northland, and then depicted the northern border with great clarity and delicacy.

The other positions have not been visited, so the emperor kept them blank.

If he has the opportunity, he will personally take a trip to this mountain and river, and show the Han land.

The emperor stared at the depicted Xiongnu border, and the large area of Nuoda has now all returned to the Han Dynasty.

In his mind, he recalled the years of game and confrontation between the Han and the Xiongnu.

After a while, Liu Pengzu's tall and somewhat chubby figure came in from outside under the guidance of Dong Xu.

He was dressed in a royal robe, full of wealth and momentum, and his waist was tied with a checkered dark green jade belt. When people are middle-aged, they are still full of energy and their eyes are blazing.

"Emperor!"

Liu Pengzu greeted, took a seat at the emperor's lower left, spoke first, and said:

"In this blink of an eye, the emperor has been on the throne for nearly 20 years, and you have subdued all ethnic groups, and the border has greatly increased. This kind of deed is already a lifetime of people. ”

The emperor's eyes drooped slightly, still looking at the map of the territory of the Xiongnu annexed to the Han Dynasty that he had drawn.

Liu Pengzu seemed to have a strong desire to express himself, and said:

"When you ascended the throne, I was the first among all the brothers to speak up and agree that you were on the throne.

In recent years, there have been turmoil in Huainan inside, and four Yiyi such as the Xiongnu outside.

An envoy from Huainan once came to my place. Because my feudal country is close to the northern border, the geographical location is especially important.

I didn't know Huainan's purpose at the time, but they were kind and sent me a lot of things.

I refused, because I was very satisfied with the current situation, and despite the internal and external turmoil, I have always firmly supported the emperor and never wavered.

When you first ascended the throne and took power, you were only seventeen years old, and others did not obey you, but I did not. ”

The emperor finally looked up at Liu Pengzu:

"That's why you're sitting on the throne until now."

The emperor's words made Liu Pengzu suddenly feel a chill.

The emperor meant that there were some things that he didn't know, but he left room for Liu Pengzu and took care of his feelings.

Let him sit on the throne until now, the more he tastes these words, the more he feels that there is a hidden murderous intention.

The emperor had the idea of deposing his throne?

Liu Pengzu's thoughts flickered, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt chilled.

There was no need to continue to say a lot of things that I had prepared before.

"Some of my thoughts, I may have been like you in the early years. But I sat in this position and slowly understood a truth.

The people are the foundation of the world and the country, and if the people's hearts are unstable, everything will fail. ”

"I am in harmony with the national fortunes, and I feel it deeply, the national fortunes increase, I will benefit, and the national fortunes will decline, and I will be affected."

Liu Che looked at Liu Pengzu: "I am not afraid of foreign enemies, from the moment I ascended the throne, I made a grand wish to subdue the four emperors, so that my Han will not be humiliated by foreign enemies."

However, the process of rejuvenating the Han Dynasty is not easy to say, one difficulty after another is in front of us, and there are games with other countries outside, and there are small covets inside.

How many threats did a single Xiongnu pose to us back then? ”

"You are from a clan, how dangerous is the siege of Gaozu's Baideng.

At that time, if something happened to Gaozu, the mountains and rivers might also be overturned. When the Han Dynasty was first built, we were waiting for everything to be prosperous, and the soldiers were not strong, so we could only endure humiliation and burden.

For a time, the Huns were so arrogant that they treated our Han people as animal husbandry.

When I first came to power, the Huns asked me for 10,000 cattle and horses, and 20,000 people and animals in the letter of state.

It took me a while to react after reading it, and they equated my Han people with animal husbandry.

At that time, in the Xiongnu, they raised and lived with our Han people and livestock, and let people put on animal skins and climb on the ground, and they were not allowed to stand up and walk, and they were whipped for pleasure if they did not obey. ”

The emperor propped himself on the low seat with one arm, stopped Liu Pengzu from speaking, and continued:

"Foreign enemies are so ferocious, but I have always felt that they are not terrible, because all foreign enemies are on the bright side. Our Han people will never be willing to be oppressed by the Huns, and sooner or later one day they will be defeated and take back everything that is owed to our Han people.

No matter how fierce they came, there were thousands of Han troops on the front line, including General Wei, and Champion Hou.

You and others all think that I value martial arts, and I favored Wei Qing too much in the early years, and in the past few years, I have reused the champion Hou. Have you ever seen them fight on the battlefield, and for more than half of the years they have been out on the battlefield and have not been allowed to return home!

Have you ever seen them personally lead the crowd into battle against the enemy, fighting through the array among the ten thousand armies, and fighting desperately!

What I am afraid of is that the front-line soldiers are using their lives and hundreds of officials are tempered, but there are people behind them who act arbitrarily and recklessly, shaking the hearts of the people and the country.

This is more terrible than any foreign enemy.

In particular, some of them are my relatives, and they are outside the criminal law. Like the Huns, treat the people as livestock! ”

Liu Pengzu said angrily: "The emperor said this, but did Xiao Xiaojin slander this king?"

This king knows that the emperor is referring to me, but please don't listen to slander, emperor. ”

"You didn't listen to what I just said, did you?"

The emperor said: "If you dare to quibble, I will abolish you, and if all branches of the clan dare to support you, I will punish them severely!"

I want to see who dares to stand up and fully support you! ”

Liu Pengzu's face turned pale, he gritted his teeth, and said nothing.

"You're waiting here, waiting for you to come back from HD."

Liu Pengzu had already realized that the emperor was really angry.

At this time, working with the emperor will definitely not lead to good results.

The sun was setting and it was dark.

The emperor bowed his head to deal with the various twists and turns accumulated in the afternoon.

At the beginning of the night, Huo Qu returned to Chang'an and walked into the brightly lit study with a bronze lotus lamp from outside.

He then took out Liu Dan, whose face was covered with blood, from the military mansion beside him.

Liu Pengzu looked at Liu Dan's broken cheeks and broken and bleeding legs sitting on the ground, and his face was filled with shocking anger: "Huo Quai, but you hurt my son?"

I want your life! ”

The emperor glanced at Liu Dan: "Champion Hou, did you beat someone?" ”

"Hit, Liu Dan, the son of King Zhao, gathered the county soldiers to commit murder, and wanted to impact the embroidered people."

Huo Quai's 1510 said: "The minister came back this way, and after inquiry, he was recorded by the person who embroidered clothes, and he gained a lot.

This is Liu Dan's confession, in the past few years, he arbitrarily abducted and plundered the female dependents who came and went to HD, as well as the private minting of bad coins, etc., all signed and pledged, please Your Majesty to investigate. ”

Huo Quzhi handed over a roll of bamboo slips.

The emperor took it, didn't look at it, but threw it to Liu Pengzu on the side.

Liu Pengzu didn't look at it, and said, "He tortured my son, how can his confession be accurate?"

Dan'er, for my father, ask you, but they forced you to make this confession? ”

Liu Dan glanced at his father and said, "Exactly, they not only forced me, but also threatened me and arbitrarily planted charges.

The injuries suffered by the child were all caused by torture, and he had no choice but to admit what he said, otherwise he would be afraid of his life.

The two of the child's servants, and the soldiers of the county, were killed by him.

Please Father, Your Majesty is the master for me. ”

The emperor looked at Huo Quai: "Champion Hou, what do you have to say?" ”

Huo Quzhi Shi Ran said: "On the way back, I have already given an order to the local garrison, and I went to the place where the prince of Zhao confessed to minting bad coins, as well as the place where he hid his female dependents for his own amusement. ”

Liu Pengzu got up abruptly and took a step forward: "Huo Quai, what are you going to do?" ”

Huo Quzhi said: "King Zhao, don't worry, I just received the news before entering the palace that when the garrison arrived at the place, the people you arranged were destroying the evidence."

Your men still dare to confront the Han army, which is like a rebellion.

After being taken down by the garrison, they were 'tortured to extract confessions, and tortured into confessions', and they confessed one by one.

There are hundreds of people who confess their crimes, all of them are slandering King Zhao, King Zhao, you should kill them all and prove your innocence. ”

Huo Quzhi said the opposite.

Liu Pengzu trembled angrily, his lips were flushed with a hint of purple, and his eyes were spewing fire.

The emperor said: "The champion Hou used the punishment privately, and he really made a big mistake. Even if it is meritorious to the country, it cannot be so lawless.

I punish you...... Three months of money.

If there is another war, you will be punished to personally lead the army to destroy the enemy, and fight the enemy on the front line, and if there is any damage, it will be a punishment for the mistakes you made today, and you will not be rewarded for meritorious service. ”

Liu Pengzu almost spurted out a mouthful of old blood and was fined for three months.

He has a fief of 10,000 households, does he care about three months' salary?

And punish him to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy?

Huo Qubing is invincible on the battlefield, and the whole world knows that this is a reward or punishment for his meritorious service?

is also like a point if the meritorious service is not rewarded.

"King Zhao felt that my punishment was unfair, and his face was so ugly.

In this way, I punished King Zhao and his son Liu Dan, and followed Huo Qubing to the battlefield to fight as an overseer. ”

Liu Pengzu's face was pale, and he only felt that his blood was rushing.

If my grandfather really followed him to the battlefield, life and death would not fall into the hands of Huo Quai.

"Champion, go down. I thought about it at home, and punished you for being grounded for five days, and don't keep causing trouble for me. The emperor glanced at Huo Quai.

Huo Quzhi came out of the study and returned home on his own.

In the study, the emperor looked at Liu Pengzu: "You are in the line of King Zhao, you have repeatedly lost your manners, minted coins privately, and there are not a few things that are chaotic. From now on, I will take back your county fiefdom, and you can go back to Chang'an to live.

I will punish you for being grounded for ten years, and you will not be allowed to come out of the palace. The son Liu Dan was deprived of his right to inherit the throne and demoted to a commoner. ”

Liu Pengzu's hands and feet were numb.

Liu Dan was speechless and in disbelief.

The emperor actually wants to uproot his King Zhao and take back the fief and seal the country!

Liu Pengzu was not a stupid person, and immediately thought that the emperor was killing chickens and monkeys, using him to deter the kings from all over the country, and further promoting the matter of recovering the coinage rights.

On a deeper level, the emperor was strengthening his centralized power!

I'm afraid this is just the beginning, and there will be even more turmoil in the future.

The entire clan may usher in a wave.

"I've opened up to you. Know that what you are doing is a capital offense. ”

Liu Pengzu has stood for a long time, and the bargaining chips he can use against the emperor are actually very limited.

The people of the various clans behind him, if the emperor was really angry, would never go all out for him Liu Pengzu and the emperor at this moment.

Especially when Huo Qu's illness was even eliminated, and he mobilized troops to master a series of empirical evidence in a short period of time.

And if the various branches of the clan are mobilized, what will be the result of fighting with all their might?

If you really get to that point, the consequences are almost doomed...... Liu Pengzu bowed slowly: "Minister's order, thank you, Your Majesty." ”

"Go down." The Emperor said.

This is just the beginning.

The emperor is indeed ready to take the opportunity to rectify the feudal kings in various places, which is something he has been planning to prepare since the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms and the Huainan Rebellion not long ago.

Emperor Wu in history also constantly strengthened his control over the kings and was highly centralized.

————

The lights are on.

Huo Qu returned to the house and found that there were guests visiting.

In one of the side halls of the inner house, drums are played.

Liu Qing personally stroked the piano, and Bai Nanyu plucked the pipa.

There was also a woman dancing on a blanket in the middle of the temple.

He was dressed in a long red and gold skirt, which was different from the waist-cinching style of the Han skirt, revealing a small slender waist and arms.

The fair-skinned barefoot wears a golden tassel specially made for dancing, and the tassel sways with the dance steps, reflecting the lights of the temple, and the movements are like flowing clouds and flowing waves.

Its body is undulating, with an inexplicable charm in every move, sometimes bending its legs and leaning over, and its colorful hand posture is like a graceful flower blooming.

The expressions on the face echo the movements, one moment kind and solemn, the other elegant and pure, showing a strong impact in the vision, shocking people's hearts.

Its body is like a wild goose, its arms are soft as boneless, and its feet are full of lotus, like a drop of round dew on a lotus leaf rolling, full of spirituality.

The woman's dance steps advance and retreat, as if reflecting the most graceful truth between heaven and earth, movement and void formed a different kind of torque, as if advancing and retreating, endless changes.

After a song, the singing and dancing in the hall stopped.

The crowd was completely immersed in its moving dance.

"I heard that you are both music and dancing, and it is indeed amazing."

Liu Qing was the first to speak, looked at Huo Qubing who was standing on the porch, and said happily: "Did the husband say yes?" ”

The dancing girl looked back and saw Huo Quzhi standing on the porch, and couldn't help but look slightly pale.

PS: Chapter 389 is in again...... Ask for a ticket, thank you

(End of chapter)