Liu Hong, the Son of Heaven, succeeded to the throne in 168 AD (at the age of twelve).

The Son of Heaven is Chinese New Year's Eve years old today, he is very tall, thin, with a slender neck, a small face, and a pair of small eyes. He does not smile, has no expression on his face, does not pay attention when he speaks, and has a cold and withdrawn temperament.

"Today, you Aiqing don't go home." The Son of Heaven stood up, casually put the books on the desk to the ground, looked coldly at the ministers in the main hall, and said in a low voice, "When will Li Zhonglang's matter be resolved, and when will I go back." With that, he shook his hand and left.

The ministers looked at each other.

Zhang Rang, a regular attendant who had stayed behind on behalf of the emperor to discuss matters, leaned over and picked up the bamboo slips on the ground, and recited the contents of Li Hong's book aloud.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is neither a stove nor food here, and it will be uncomfortable for a long time. Ha ha...... Hurry up and talk about it. Zhang Rang laughed heartbrokenly.

Zhang Rang is in his fifties, and because he has been in the palace all the year round, he is well maintained, but he is very thin, and his body is dry, like an air-dried orange peel.

Dasi Nong Wang Han hesitated for a moment, and said slowly: "Master Hou, if Li Zhonglang's troops make a detour to Hongnong County......

Zhang Rang waved his big hand and said in a resolute tone, "Lord Wang, didn't I tell you, there is no room for negotiation in this matter. You know that His Majesty has purchased a large amount of land in Hongnong, who dares to say this? Lord Wang, why didn't you say it when Your Majesty was here just now? ”

Wang Han sighed and didn't make a sound.

When today's son is rich, it is famous all over the world, followed by stinginess, very, very stingy. Last year, the Son of Heaven spent a lot of money to build a Wanjin Hall in the West Garden, and after the completion of the construction, he ordered the great Si Nong Wang Han to move a lot of money and silk stored in the palace and the treasury to the Wanjin Hall. After a while, he was worried that the money would be stolen by the people around him or embezzled by the ministers, so he converted all the money into tens of millions of dollars and transferred them to the homes of Xiaohuangmen and Zhongchang attendants. But he was not at ease in this way, he ordered the Zhongchang servants and the little yellow men to help him buy a large number of fields and properties in Jizhou Hejian County, Yanzhou East County, Hongnong County and other prefectures and counties, and build mansions and mansions, with the intention of preserving the value of money.

Hedong County has the private property of princes and nobles, imperial relatives and middle attendants, and Hongnong has the fields of the emperor, ministers, and lords, and no one wants to let the westward army step on their own land. If you let them pass, you will suffer a great loss. Therefore, neither side wants to give way, and neither side is willing to take a step back. Now the ministers and gate lords in Beijing are relieved, as long as the emperor is willing, everyone will pay for it. But who would dare to say it to the emperor? It's good that the emperor doesn't lose his temper, but if he loses his temper, wait for his bad luck, he will definitely have his head cut off by this emperor who loves money like his life. Zhang Yan, the recently dismissed lieutenant, is an example. Zhang Yan just said a few words that the emperor didn't like to hear, and as a result, he was dismissed and went home.

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Situ Cuilie said: "Lord Wang, let the westward troops make a detour to Hongnong, firstly, it will increase the itinerary of the troops, and secondly, it will also increase the loss of grain and grass for the troops. In my opinion, it is more appropriate to walk from Hedong County. ”

Zhang Rang smiled: "So, Lord Cui is willing to donate alone?" ”

Cui Lie glared and said angrily: "My money has been donated to the West Garden Wanjin Hall, where is it?" ”

Today, when I want to make money, I want to go crazy, and I clearly mark the price of every official position, and whoever doesn't give money will get out. Although Cui Lie is a celebrity and a court lieutenant in the past, he can't do it without giving money. This Situ was bought by him for five million dollars. After the Son of Heaven sold it, he regretted that he had discounted it too low and sold it cheaply, and he had been complaining. Although Cui Lie got his wish and sat in Situ's position, because he spent a huge amount of money to buy officials, his reputation seriously affected, causing his reputation to plummet, and he was often ridiculed.

"Do you have any opinions, Lord Situ?" Guanglu Doctor Zhu Jun asked.

"Give money. Convert the grain and grass into money and hand it over to Li Zhonglang, and let them buy it themselves in Hedong County. Cui Lie said.

"Where does the money come from?" Wang Han was in charge of the treasury, so he immediately shouted, "Lord Situ, where does the money come from?" ”

"Deduction from the military salary allocated to the Xiliang battlefield." Cui Lie said loudly, "They don't even say that they have lost the battle, and they still urge reinforcements every day, just like this, why should they be given double salaries?" They had 100,000 men living in Chang'an and Fufeng County for several months, neither fighting the rebels nor Qianghu, and consuming food all day long. Look at Li Zhonglang. Since October last year, he has led 15,000 iron horsemen to the south to attack the army of hundreds of thousands of ant thieves, all the way like a bamboo, fighting successive victories, destroying more than 300,000 enemies, and killing Zhang Niujiao, the leader of the ant thieves. You see, the two battlefields, whether it is the comparison of forces or the comparison of strength, are too disparity. Why was Li Zhonglang able to win the battle? Did the imperial court pay them military salaries? ”

"What do you think?" Cui Lie asked while looking at Sikong Xu Xiang, the general He Jin, the Zhongchang servant Zhang Rang, the Taichang Liu Yan and several other ministers.

"Okay." Zhang Rang was the first to exclaim, "Good idea. Starve the Xiliang army first. Zhang Taiwei is too gentle, and those Xiliang's subordinates are not inferior, so he may not be able to hold it down. An army of 100,000 can't defeat a bunch of rebels, which is indeed a bit incredible. Let them eat two meals a day and punish them well. Good idea. ”

The general He Jin and Sikong Xu Xiang also expressed their approval one after another. Cui Lie's idea was overwhelming, he didn't offend anyone, no one's interests were harmed, only the poor 100,000 soldiers on the Xiliang battlefield were harmed. If Taiwei Zhang Wen knew, I am afraid that his lungs would explode.

Hearing Cui Lie's suggestion, most of the officials were happy. Lord Situ's idea saved them a lot of money, and such good things don't happen every day, and many people high-fived and applauded. Although Guanglu Taifu Zhu Jun, Shangshu Liu Yu, Lu Zhi and others had different opinions, they naturally didn't dare to say anything when they saw that several high-ranking adults said that it was feasible, lest they would cause extraneous branches and delay the trip of the westward troops.

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The general He Jin is of medium stature, with a burly physique and a white face and short beard. He looked at Cui Lie, who was vigorously criticizing the Xiliang war situation, and said, "Lord Cui, what do you propose for the formation of Li Zhonglang's westward troops?" ”

"General, Li Zhonglang's trip is a drudgery, a drudgery of nine deaths, whether he wins or loses, it is unlikely that he will return to Jizhou alive, so you might as well be a favor and arrange a few captains for him?" Cui Lie said with a smile.

He Jin shook his head and said, "Li Zhonglang himself is just a lieutenant, and he will only be a false position, with no rank and no rights, so he ......"

"So you just play Your Majesty and promote him to Zhonglang General. Zhonglang will have the right to arrange the military Sima and recommend the captain, you call Li Zhonglang all these headaches, let him arrange it himself, you just need to stamp the big seal on the paperwork, wouldn't you be happy. ”

He Jin suddenly realized and said with a smile: "Since the madman Fu left Luoyang, Lord Situ's demeanor has reappeared, which is gratifying. ”

Cui Lie heard the sarcasm in He Jin's words, immediately lowered his face, and said very unhappily: "I have been wise all my life, and I have been planted in the hands of this Fu madman. The Great General shall not mention this man in front of me again. Then he pursed his lips and sneered: "The general probably thought about arranging a few cronies to go to Li Zhonglang's troops, so he forgot that there was such a simple way." ”

"Why do you say that?" He Jin was also unhappy.

"Hmph......" Cui Lie sneered: "The general probably forgot that this is going to Xiliang, right?" If your people go, they will be sent to death, and there is no hope of surviving at all. What is the difference between the rebellion in Western Xinjiang and the rebellion in Qianghu in Western Xinjiang? Huangfu Song can't win the battle, how many people in this world can win? I Chaoliangzhou 'Sanming' is the three famous generals, Huangfu Gui Huangfu Weiming, Zhang Huan, Zhang Ranming, Duan Cheng Duan Jiming, they have fought in Liangzhou for decades, after thousands of battles, killed more than 100,000 Qianghu heads, obtained millions of cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, and the imperial court spent more than 40 billion money, how? Qianghu is still fighting. You think this is to kill a few Yellow Turban ant thieves? Is the Xiliang battlefield a place where you can casually make military achievements? Even Li Zhonglang went, he was also blood-stained with yellow sand, and there was no return date. ”

He Jin said angrily: "Lord Situ seems to have forgotten that this Li Zhonglang was jointly recommended by you, Lord Sikong, Lord Taichang and more than a dozen other important ministers. What did you say to Your Majesty at that time? You said that as long as Li Zhonglang led 50,000 men to support Xiliang, under the command of Lord Taiwei, he would definitely be able to defeat the rebels and pacify the western frontier. Now you are spreading rumors here that you are invincible and that there is no return. ”

Sikong Xu Xiang immediately interjected: "The general's words are different. Lord Situ meant that the battle on the battlefield of Xiliang was fierce, and it would take a process to quell the rebellion, so the general should not misunderstand. ”

Guanglu Doctor Zhu Jun hurriedly stepped forward and said, "The two adults, Lord Taiwei and Li Zhonglang are all urging, let's immediately ask to see Your Majesty and settle the matter." ”

Shangshu Lu Zhi also said: "The Xiliang battlefield is full of crises and urgently needs troop support, so a few adults should hurry up and ask to see the emperor, and immediately order Li Zhonglang to lead his troops westward after getting His Majesty's approval." ”

Cui Lie probably noticed that he had scolded He Jin for a while, but He Jin grabbed the handle, so he hurriedly stopped talking.

"However, it is very inappropriate to promote Li Zhonglang to Zhonglang General." Sikong Xu Xiang said calmly.

The hall suddenly resounded with a sound of harmony.

"A slave of a Xianbei person, I heard that he can't even write, if he becomes a Zhonglang general, won't he lose the face of my Han Dynasty."

"I have only been in the army for more than a year, and I am already a fourth-class captain, and I am a general in the middle of the line, and it is the first time for a common man to do such a big official in my Han country. How much merit does he have? What merit? ”

"I've been in the dynasty for more than 20 years, not to mention the merits and hard work, but I'm just a 600-stone Zhongsan doctor. He only killed tens of thousands of people, that is, a captain of more than 2,000 stones, what kind of world is this? ”

"The cavalry he brought were all brute-bearded, and I heard that the killing of our Han people was particularly bloody. With this kind of person, what great credit can he have? I suspect that he is a spy of the Xianbei people. ”

"He colluded with the ant thieves, the evidence is conclusive, and he should be arrested and sent to Beijing for trial."

"The deaths of Lord Mu Guo of Yizhou and Lord Feng of Julu County, as well as the fact that all the ant thieves in Jizhou suddenly fled to Taihang Mountain, are all suspicious, and the general should send someone to investigate carefully."

"When this kind of person arrives on the Xiliang battlefield, if he is in cahoots with traitors, he should cooperate with the outside world, and Chang'an will not be in danger."

The general He Jin was dizzy by a group of ministers. Liu Yu and Lu Zhi looked at each other and smiled bitterly, they didn't dare to speak for Li Hong at all, they would be angry.