The second edict of the Son of Heaven was delivered to the camp. The Son of Heaven didn't say much, and ordered him to rush to Luoyang on the twenty-third day of the lunar month, and all the military and political affairs of Xiliang were handled by Captain Xian Yufu.

Li Hong thought about it all night, weighed it carefully, and decided to return to Beijing.

He summoned the generals above the rank of military Sima to announce his decision, and arranged for Xian Yufu to be the governor of Xiliang after he left, Xu Rong to lead the Xiliang government affairs, and Zuo Yan to assist him; The commander-in-chief of Liyi led the military affairs of Xiliang, supplemented by Yan Rou and Nie Xiao. The generals of the other departments stayed in the camp with peace of mind, led the troops to train, and prepared to attack Jincheng and Longxi counties next spring.

Li Hong pointed at Li Wei and said, "Zhong Yuan will follow me to Luoyang." ”

Li Wei was overjoyed, stood up and waved at Li Hong, and thanked him with a smile: "Thank you for your trust." Then he said to the generals, "Your Excellency, rest assured, I should do my best to assist your Excellency and ensure that your Excellency returns to Xiliang intact." ”

Lu Yi smiled: "Zhong Yuan, seeing that you are so happy, it won't be a good girl in Luoyang, right?" ”

Li Wei's expression changed slightly, and he said with a smile: "Brother Yuntian is telling a joke." ”

Li Hong waved his hand to signal Li Wei to sit down, and then said: "Zilong, Zifeng (Jiang Wu's character), Ling Ming, Arc Ding, abandon Shen and follow me to Luoyang." The candidates for Tiqi and the guards were selected from the Xianbei people, the Karasuma people, the Qiang people, and the Black Panther Yi of the three states of Youji, Liang, and Liang. Old man......"

Tian Zhong grabbed his little goatee with a heavy heart, looked up when he heard the sound and said, "I know, I will equip you with the best armor, the best weapon, and the best war horse. ”

Yan Liang stood up, bowed down and said, "My lord, let me go with you." ”

Yan Wuxing, Wen Chou, Lei Zi, Tie Yue, Xiao Lazy, Shooting Tiger and others stood up one after another and asked to go together. Li Hong was very moved in his heart, he motioned to a few people to sit down one by one, and said with a smile: "There are 70,000 troops here, and all of you who are the other divisions of the army have left with me, what should the army do?" You all stay. ”

Here Li Hong is still discussing with his subordinates some things that Xiliang needs to deal with after he leaves, and the holy decree of the Son of Heaven has arrived again. Li Hong had a feeling of being forced out of breath, his heart was heavy, he felt helplessness and fear, he felt his weakness and insignificance for the first time since he could remember, he could not control his own destiny, he could only let a pair of invisible big hands tightly clamp his neck, he was suffocated, he vaguely saw that his future was a dignified darkness, the darkness was full of danger and terror, the fear and uneasiness of the unknown fate haunted him like a nightmare, making him dazed.

Xian Yufu and Xu Rong and other generals were also very nervous by this holy decree one after another, everyone was panicked, and an ominous haze shrouded everyone's hearts.

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Li Hong walked out of the big tent and saw countless soldiers, familiar and unfamiliar, lined up in the camp in the dark.

Li Hong's heart was excited, and his eyes suddenly moistened. He barely calmed down and said goodbye to the generals standing outside the tent one by one.

Li Hong grabbed Xu Rong's big hand, pointed to Fu Gan who was standing beside him and said, "If something happens to me, you must send Fu Gan to the stable Wang family and settle it properly, so as to comfort the spirit of the Marquis in the sky." ”

Xu Rong nodded, and said with a resolute face: "My lord will definitely come back, I will wait for you to return in the camp." ”

Li Hong stretched out his hand and slapped Koji Yi, and said with a smile: "Remember, you still owe me a drink." ”

Koji Yi smiled reluctantly and said: "It is the glory of my life to be able to fight on the battlefield under the command of adults, and I will wait for you to come back." ”

Li Hong grabbed Yan Wuxing with one hand and pulled his beard with the other, and said, "Wuxing, the fist is gone, you can accompany Hu Zi to the military market for a few drinks when you have time." I can come back and be with my two brothers again. ”

Yan Wuxing had tears in his eyes and was choked up. The beard hugged Li Hong, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

Zheng Xin and Xiao Lazy grabbed Li Hong's hand tightly, reluctantly, the three of them have been scouts together since Lu Longsai, born and died together, and bloody battlefields together, never separated. Li Hong put his arm around the shoulders of the two and whispered: "If I can't come back, you remember, when I return to Youzhou in the future, I must go to Hengling and move the tomb of Lisong back to Lulongsai, this is what I promised him." ”

The little lazy heart hurts, and he bows his head and is silent. Zheng Xin barely squeezed out a smile and whispered: "Brother, you will come back, let's go back to Lulongsai together." ”

Li Hong held Zuo Yan's hand, looked at Wei Zheng with a gloomy expression, and whispered: "If the situation is not good, you will go to Youzhou with Brother Yuxing, and don't go up Taihang Mountain again, okay?" The two nodded in agreement.

Heng sacrifice, Lou Lu, shooting Yingtong, Lu Huanyang, shooting tiger saw Li Hong coming, hurriedly knelt on the ground, shooting tiger looked excited, and wanted to cry. Li Hong helped the five people up one by one, hugged them, he looked at the five people, and said solemnly: "What you promised me, you are absolutely not allowed to go back." ”

Lou Lu snorted coldly, and there was a hint of murder in his eyes. Li Hong patted him on the shoulder and said in a firm tone: "If I die in Luoyang, you will immediately return to Shanggu County in Youzhou from Biansai, and you will definitely not be allowed to make trouble." It's not a big deal that you're dead, but what about your tribe? What about tens of thousands of people? ”

Li Hong looked at Nie Xiao, Storm Sand, Baili Yang and other Qiang leaders guiltily, and said helplessly: "I thought I could help you, but now it seems that it can't be done." He looked up at the gray sky and said sadly, "If I die in Luoyang, you can decide to stay for yourself." Lord Xianyu and I are brothers, and he will not embarrass you. ”

Nie Xiao hugged Li Hong hard, pretending to smile and said, "My lord, you are a good person, you won't die, we are waiting for you to come back in Xiliang." ”

Storm Sand also came up and hugged Li Hong, and said sincerely: "You are the same as Master Fu, you are good people among the Han people, and you all regard us Qiang people as brothers, good people have good rewards, you will not die." ”

Tian Zhong solemnly bowed to Li Hong, and said with a smile: "My lord, go all the way, I am waiting for you to come back, you promised me to take me to the sunset plain, you have to fulfill your oath." Li Hong nodded with a helpless smile and said, "Uncle, Xiaoyu will be entrusted to you." ”

Tian Zhong shook his head and said, "How many years can I live?" People, Ji Ming entrusted Xiaoyu to you back then, how can you regret what you promised? ”

Li Hong's heart was suddenly shocked, and Ji Ming's roar before his death suddenly appeared clearly in his ears. "Promise me, you will take care of Xiaoyu for the rest of your life, for the rest of your life." "I promise you, I promise you, you won't die, you won't die!" Li Hong's heart ached, and tears finally couldn't help flowing.

Tian Zhong saw Li Hong's sadness, stretched out his hand to wrap his arms around his shoulders, and whispered comfortingly: "People, if you don't have the will to survive, you will die in Luoyang." Even if the Son of Heaven doesn't kill you, but you are stabbed to death by someone else, it will also cause chaos in Xiliang. Look here, there are tens of thousands of Qiang people, Xianbei people, Karasuma people, you are dead, Western Xinjiang, Northern Xinjiang, how can it not be chaotic? You don't live for you alone, you live for many, you know? ”

Li Hong nodded slightly, and the murderous aura in his heart suddenly surged.

Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Ran surrounded him. Li Hong said goodbye to them one by one.

Xian Yufu stood outside the crowd and kept looking at Li Hong. He remembered that when he first saw Li Hong, Li Hong was lying on the tower of Lulongsai City full of dead corpses, and at that time, in addition to a terrifying murderous aura, he also had a trace of immaturity. Now, after the baptism of war, Li Hong has grown into a generation of famous generals of the Han Dynasty. Think about just a few years, people are not things, everything is like a dream.

Li Honghe Xian Yufu looked at each other speechlessly, everything was silent.

Xian Yufu smiled: "Come, I'll carry you." ”

Li Hong looked at Xian Yufu's sturdy back, remembering that when Xian Yufu went to see him in the camp in Shanggu Ning County, he carried him from the gate into the big tent, and his heart was excited, and tears suddenly rolled down.

"Come on." Xian Yufu turned around and smiled, "I'll carry you to the black panther and let you remember that here in Xiliang, the brothers are waiting for you, and you have to come back." ”

Li Hong lay on Xian Yufu's back, closed his eyes, he thought of many dead comrades-in-arms, he thought of the iron wolf, remembered Gongsun Hu, remembered Tian Jing, pickaxe, Zhao Wen, Wu Zhao, Li Song, iron hammer, stake, fist, his heart suddenly calmed down, he found that he had not thought about life and death for a long time. He suddenly found that he had discarded the belief in his heart, he had always had no intention of life and death, why couldn't he see it this time? So many comrades-in-arms are sleeping among the green mountains and green waters, and they should also accompany them.

Li Hongfei got on the horse.

The drums of war thundered and shook the sky.

Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted: "Send ...... Adult ......"

"Send ...... Big...... People ......"

Li Hong looked at his subordinates and listened to their roars like a tide, and suddenly his heart was surging, and tears came out of his eyes.

Li Hong let out a long roar and rode his horse wildly, and he galloped along the front of the army, waving to the soldiers without stopping. Zhao Yun followed, holding high the Black Panther battle flag.

The soldiers saw the battle flag moving from a distance, and when they knew that the commander was patrolling the formation, they were all excited, and everyone did their best to shout loudly: "Send ...... Big...... People ......"

The roar was earth-shattering, magnificent, and shook the four wilds.

Tears wet Li Hong's clothes, blurring his vision, he used all his strength to wave his hands to the soldiers, and kept shouting: "Thank you...... Thank you ......."

Li Hong drove his horse to Yuanmen, and he could hardly believe his eyes.

Outside the gate, the dense gray crowd could not see the end, the clothes were ragged, and the hungry and cold people surrounded the camp, and the noisy shouts were deafening.

"My lord, you can't go, you're leaving, what are we going to eat in winter? Will we survive the winter? ”

"My lord, don't go, if you leave, what year will this Xiliang battle last?"

"My lord, if you leave, those corrupt officials will eat our flesh and drink our blood, where will we still live."

Li Hong looked at a pair of desperate eyes, listening to a helpless cry, his heart was shocked, he was stunned for a while, his heart was shattered in an instant, and he almost blurted out that I would not leave.

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When Li Hong rushed to Bashang, he received the fifth holy decree from the Son of Heaven.

That night, he met Kyung Zhao Yoon Gae-hoon. Gai Xun came to see him on purpose.

Li Hong bowed and saluted movingly: "Lord Annoyance has come all the way from Chang'an City, which really makes the lower officials dare not be the official." ”

"I heard that when the adults left Yicheng, 70,000 troops lined up to see each other, and tens of thousands of Xiliang people crowded outside the gate, shouting loudly not to let the adults leave Xiliang, blocking the camp to the point of impassing." Gai Xun touched his beard and praised him heartily, "Your Excellency's prestige in Xiliang is now in full swing, and no one can compare with it. ”

Li Hong remembered the tens of thousands of people gathered outside the gate on the day he left Yicheng, and his ears seemed to hear the people's cries of disappointment and helplessness again, his heart was sour, and his eyes couldn't help but turn red.

"My lord, the cold winter has come to Xiliang, and the heavy snow is coming, please be sure to send various relief materials such as grain and grass to Xiliang in time to help the people of Xiliang survive the winter." Li Hong shook his head and sighed, "What's the use of me being so famous?" It can neither be eaten nor clothed, let alone pacify Xiliang and help the people of Xiliang live a stable life. ”

Gai Xun looked at him in surprise and admiration, and said, "It's rare for an adult to be able to see through fame and fortune at a young age. Adults go to Luoyang, don't worry too much about Xiliang. Your Majesty has issued an order to send all the grain and grass reserves of the Sanfu treasury to Xiliang, and wait until the grain and grass from Jizhou, Yuzhou, and Yanzhou are transported to replenish the Sanfu treasury. It's just that this autumn's harvest is average, and there are not many grain and grass reserves, so it is difficult to meet the needs of Xiliang. ”

Li Hong was shocked and said, "So, there will be people in Liangzhou who will freeze to death and starve to death this year?" ”

Gai Xun sighed: "If there is no heavy snow in Xiliang this year, the situation should be a little better than last year." However, the situation for adults is no better than last year. ”

Li Hong smiled bitterly and said: "At this time last year, I was ordered to lead my troops to Jizhou to conquer the Yellow Turban Army, so I knew a little about the situation of the Yellow Turban Army, and I had a bottom in my heart, but this year when I arrived in Luoyang, I didn't have any bottom at all, and I didn't know anything about the situation in Luoyang now." He looked at Gai Xun, saluted again, and said, "I wonder if you can give me some advice?" ”

Gai Xun's resolute wrinkled face showed a deep melancholy, and he sighed bitterly and said, "I came from Chang'an just to talk to you. ”

"In the later stage of Xiliang's anti-corruption, you didn't care about the indiscriminate situation, and all corrupt officials were arrested and killed, offending all the forces in the DPRK and China, at that time we all had thoughts and plans to kill you, but in the end you won, so don't mention the past again, we will write it off."

"The things I'm going to talk about today are related to the safety of my Han Dynasty Sheji, so I want to ask the people first, do you think the heir of the imperial system must be the eldest prince?"

Through Li Wei's Taixue friends, Li Hong has learned in detail about the recent events in Luoyang. Li Wei and Li Wei's Taixue friends all thought that the Son of Heaven summoned Li Hong back to Beijing to report on his work, which must have something to do with the ministers' letter urging the Son of Heaven to be crowned prince as soon as possible. Li Wei and Zuo Yan both carefully explained to Li Hong the imperial succession system of the Han Dynasty many times in the camp, so when Li Hong heard Gai Xun ask this question, he immediately replied without hesitation: "Of course." ”

Gai Xun's face was relieved, and he let out a long breath.

"Okay, okay." Gai Xun said two good things in a row, and then asked tentatively: "People, some people in the court think that the eldest prince is frivolous and has a perverse temperament, and is not suitable for the crown prince, while the little prince is docile and humble, knowledgeable and courteous, and it is more suitable to inherit the unification, which is good for the future of the Han Dynasty." What do the people think? ”

Li Hong was secretly surprised, realizing that his trip back to Beijing was really related to the canonization of the crown prince. This Lord Gai Xun Gai is one of the secretaries, an important minister in the court, and is deeply trusted by the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven consults him in advance with an edict on any major matters in the court, and he naturally knows the Son of Heaven's mind best. Now that Lord Gai is asking like this, he obviously has the intention of testing himself, so does Lord Gai represent the meaning of the Son of Heaven or the meaning of the Gate Lords clan?

Li Hong saw Gai Xun looking at him with bright eyes, as if he was afraid of missing the abnormal expression on his face, his right hand was on his knee, a little trembling, and he looked very nervous. Li Hong immediately replied: "According to the law of the Great Han Dynasty, it is absolutely not allowed to abolish the heirs and establish a concubine. ”

"Good, good, good." Gai Xun laughed excitedly, his body leaned back slightly, relaxed his mood, and nodded again and again, "When the people say so, I will be relieved, and the crisis in front of the Han Dynasty will be gone." ”

Li Hong didn't make a sound, waiting for Gai Xun to continue.

"I don't know the specific reason why Your Majesty suddenly summoned you back to Beijing, but this incident happened after the ministers of the DPRK and China jointly wrote to Your Majesty, asking Your Majesty to canonize the crown prince as soon as possible, and it must be related to the matter of canonizing the crown prince."

Gai Xun immediately explained to Li Hong in detail that the Son of Heaven preferred the little prince to inherit the throne, so the Son of Heaven was reluctant to appoint the crown prince and delayed it again and again.

"If Your Majesty wants to appoint the little prince as the crown prince, you must first solve the two obstacles of the queen and the general. The general has a heavy army, the queen has the support of the eunuch, His Majesty does not move, and there are only two consequences of a move, either he succeeds in solving the problem, or he suffers from it, in short, it is inevitable that there will be a bloody storm. ”

"Your Majesty is very smart, he knows that his idea is ridiculous, except for the Queen Mother, no one supports him, so he wants to cultivate a group of lieutenants and ministers who absolutely support him, and the people are the generals he values the most, otherwise he will protect you with your atrocities of blatantly disobeying the order and wantonly killing thousands of people in Huaili? Will he punish you? ”

"His Majesty has a stubborn personality today, and he likes to do things spontaneously, often insisting on going his own way, and the more deviant things he does, the more he likes to do them. If he wants to abolish his heirs, he will definitely provoke cannibalism, and it will also trigger bloody battles inside and outside the court, which will shock the society and endanger the rise and fall of the country. His Majesty wants to hurt the foundation of the Han Dynasty because of his own selfish interests, and I really don't understand what he thinks. ”

"As a citizen of the Han Dynasty and a minister of the state, of course, we must think about the society and the rise and fall of the Han Dynasty. Now that you have a large army at your hands and a powerful person, your thoughts can directly influence Your Majesty's decision-making. If you support His Majesty's abolition of the throne, there will be chaos in Beijing immediately, and under the bloody rain, it is difficult to say whether this crumbling Han Dynasty will fall apart. ”

Li Hong was taken aback and thought, is my role so great? This guy seems to be alarmist and scaring me, right? But if Your Majesty asks me the same thing as this Lord Gai, how shall I answer? If I say this in front of His Majesty, I will immediately lose my head.

He glanced at Gai Xun, who was still talking, and suddenly thought that his trip to the capital was really a dead end. If you refuse Your Majesty, it will definitely be death, and the new account and the old account will be counted together, and Your Majesty can give yourself a happy gift. Agree to Your Majesty's request and help Your Majesty support the little prince as the crown prince, it is estimated that he will definitely not be able to get out of Luoyang City, whether it is the general He Jin, the gate lord family in the capital, or the traitorous eunuchs in the palace, none of them will let him go. If they don't kill themselves in Luoyang, they will die without a place to bury in the future. If you hum haha and give Your Majesty an ambiguous attitude, what will be the result? Li Hong's heart felt weak for a while.

If you want to mess with the past, your Majesty's opinion must be that this person is unreliable, unfaithful, a grass on the wall, a cowardly mouse, and he may be a disaster in the future. Li Hong shivered up and down, and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Gai Xun continued to talk non-stop, but Li Hong already knew his intentions and had no intention of listening any further. Gai Xun's purpose was nothing more than to dissuade him from supporting His Majesty's abolition of the throne and avoiding a palace battle that would cause trouble to the country, but he did not say anything about the dangerous situation Li Hong was in. As long as Li Hong enters Beijing, whether he advances or retreats, or does not advance or retreat, it is a dead end.

After sending Gai Xun away, Li Hong immediately called Li Wei, Zhao Yun and Pang De, and several people discussed for a night, but they didn't come up with a result. What to do?

Li Hong suddenly slapped the table and shouted: "Forget it, no matter how much, let's go to Luoyang first, and take one step at a time." Since I can escape from Xianbei, I will definitely be able to escape from Luoyang, who in the world can stop me? ”

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