Chapter 11: The Sunset of the Long River, Section 1

In the sixth year of the Han Dynasty (202 AD), May.

In May, the Son of Heaven returned to Guanzhong.

The eldest princess held a grand triumphal ceremony in Chang'an City, and the little emperor returned to Kyoto in the left guard general Lu Yi, the right guard general Zhang Yan, the right general Yang Feng, the dragon general Zhao Yun, the guard army general Jia Xu, the town army general Zhang Baiqi, the Huwei general Sima Yi, the Huya general Wei Yan and other civil and military ministers and five thousand tiger ben and Yulin army, in the cheers of the court officials and the people of Guanzhong.

In the city, 50,000 troops from the north and south stood in formation to be reviewed by the Son of Heaven.

The Son of Heaven rode his horse in front of the battle. Long Xiang General Zhao Yun, Wuguan Zhonglang General Tian Chou, General Shi Fugan, General Huwei Sima Yi were arranged to accompany him on the left and right.

For a time, the war drums were like thunder, the flags were like forests, and the deafening cheers resounded like a tsunami through Chang'an City.

The ministers of civil and military affairs and the people were very excited, and everyone was smiling and laughing.

The eldest princess stood on the top of the platform, looking at the joyful crowd, her eyebrows grunting with unhappiness. On such a grand day, not seeing the general Li Hong made her feel very regretful and disappointed, and she felt a little unspeakable resentment in her heart.

At the beginning of this month, Li Hong received a letter from Lao Gui, saying that Mrs. Xiaoyu fell ill shortly after Wen'er left Jinyang, and because she was worried about affecting the general, Mrs. Xiaoyu had been hiding it and reported her safety every time. But recently, his condition has become more and more serious, and Lao Guan is afraid that there will be three longs and two shorts, so he hurriedly reported to the general.

Li Hong hadn't seen Xiaoyu for more than three years, and he missed it very much. This time, when he suddenly heard that Xiaoyu was seriously ill, he was anxious and afraid, and he was panicked, so he immediately asked the Son of Heaven and the eldest princess to return to Jinyang urgently. Of course, the little emperor agreed, and the eldest princess also hurriedly issued an order to allow the general to return to Jinyang, and asked the imperial doctor to order Huang Da to personally rush to Jinyang to treat the general's wife.

After Li Hong received the edict from the eldest princess, he took his daughter Li Wen to bid farewell to the Son of Heaven and went north day and night. He rode horses during the day and changed carriages at the inn at night, without any rest on the way. The longing for Xiaoyu for more than three years turned into deep regret at this moment, and he was worried that Xiaoyu would leave him from now on, and that he would lose her from now on. He prayed that God would have mercy on him and not take Xiaoyu's life so mercilessly. At this moment, Li Hong forgot about Sheji, forgot about the war, forgot about the court, he only had a light rain in his heart, only the wind and snow and Xiu'er in the desert. At this moment, he suddenly realized that nothing in this world was important except for his relatives, and he could give up everything. At the beginning, he said goodbye to the handsome Murong Feng and returned to Dahan, in order to find his relatives, and for the precious family affection in his heart that could not be abandoned. But for more than ten years, he has lost his family affection, but abandoned his relatives.

Li Hong was full of remorse, every time he sat in the carriage late at night and hugged his well-behaved daughter, and heard her whispering to his mother in his arms, he was in pain and his soul was tormented. He thought of Lu Longsai, Ji Ming's painful cry before his death seemed to still echo in his ears, and the sad tears when he first saw Xiaoyu seemed to be rolling down in front of his eyes. Li Hong was frightened, he looked helplessly at the dark night, praying over and over again.

Ten days later, on the night, Jinyang City finally appeared in Li Hong's anticipation.

One hundred black panther servants rushed into the city with Li Hong and hurried to the Marquis of Jinyang's mansion. Arbitrarily and several black panthers returned home to report the news first, and the old man was pleasantly surprised and went out of the house to greet him.

Li Hong jumped out of the carriage with Wen'er in his arms and went straight to the door of the mansion, and he saw the old crutch at first sight.

"How's Madame?"

"It's pretty ......stable for now," said Lao Guan hurriedly, "The doctor said that as long as this dangerous period can be passed, Madame will gradually recover." ”

Li Hong handed the sleeping child in his arms to Any, then held Lao Liu's hand tightly, and said gratefully: "Thank you, brother, thank you......"

Xiaoyu lay quietly on the couch, her hair was scattered, her face was pale, and her expression was haggard, probably because of the pain, her moth brows were furrowed, and her small mouth trembled slightly, as if she was breathing, as if she was moaning.

Li Hong sat on the couch and stared at it for a long time, and the more he looked at it, the more sorry he felt in his heart. Li Hong sighed, reached out to straighten the long hair scattered on her face, and then stroked Xiaoyu's emaciated cheeks lovingly. Xiaoyu seemed to be aware of it, and slowly opened her eyes, she thought she was dreaming, and tears suddenly rolled down, "Brother, is it you?" ”

Li Hong felt a pain in his heart, leaned over and hugged her tightly in his arms, as if he wanted to melt her into his body, very hard, "Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu...... I'm really back......"

Xiaoyu felt the pain, she was suffocated for a while, "Brother......" She was so excited that tears rained down, and suddenly hugged Li Hong's neck, and cried loudly, crying heartbreakingly, as if she wanted to pour out all the lovesickness and grievances of the past three years in an instant.

Li Hong took her in his arms and hugged her hard, clinging to her cheek, feeling her heartbeat, for fear that as soon as he let go, the light rain would disappear like air.

In the following ten days, Li Hong stayed in the house, taking care of Xiaoyu carefully, and almost never left Xiaoyu's sickbed.

Li Wen is also obsessed with her parents, and she sits in Li Hong's arms when she has nothing to do, chatting with her mother. Xiaoyu was in a good mood and her condition gradually improved. Seeing that Li Wen often relied on Li Hong's arms to be coquettish, Xiaoyu quipped, after you arrived in Luoyang, you and your father were together every day, haven't you been intimate enough? Li Wen pouted immediately when she heard this, and said very aggrievedly, Mother, I am in Luoyang, and I have only met my father three times in total. The first time I went to Luoyang, my father went to the camp of the Son of Heaven to see me once, told me to serve His Majesty well, and then disappeared. The second time was in Liyang during the New Year, I missed my mother, I cried secretly alone, and was seen by Her Royal Highness the eldest princess, and then my father came, comforted me a few words, and then disappeared again. The third time was in the spring of this year, I accompanied His Majesty to Luoyang, and once I accidentally lifted the curtain and happened to see my father. He was far away from me, and when I called out to him, he couldn't hear him and quickly disappeared.

When Li Wen said this, she was full of tears, and she was so aggrieved that she was about to cry. Xiaoyu looked at Li Hong resentfully. Li Hong was very ashamed, holding his daughter shamelessly.

Xiaoyu hurriedly comforted a few words, and Li Wen quickly turned into laughter again. This time, my mother was sick, and my father brought me back, and I was the happiest. Every night, my father hugged me and talked to me a lot. I was sleepy, so he hugged me to sleep. Every morning when I open my eyes, I can see my father. I've grown this big, and it's been the happiest ten days.

Xiaoyu glared at Li Hong with resentment, "I worked hard to raise my daughter, but when she was the happiest, she was not with me, but with you, and I was so angry." ”

"Mother......" Li Wen immediately threw herself into Xiaoyu's arms, hugged her neck, and kissed her on the face, "I am only the happiest with my father, but with my mother, I am the happiest." ”

Li Hong laughed. Xiaoyu held her daughter in her arms, face to face, extremely happy.

"Mother, this time I stayed in Jinyang, I won't go to the palace, I will never leave my mother again." Li Wen turned her head to Li Hong and said, "Dad, you go and beg Her Royal Highness the eldest princess, let me stay in Jinyang to accompany my mother." ”

"We're all going to Jinyang." Li Hong smiled, "When your mother is well, your little mother and Xiu'er come back, and we will go to Chang'an together." ”

"Chang'an is not good, I want to stay in Jinyang. My mother didn't want to leave Jinyang. Li Wen whispered.

Li Hong stretched out his hand and patted her, "If you stay in Jinyang, Dad won't be able to see you." ”

"Daddy can come back often?" Li Wen asked suspiciously, "Dad won't return to Jinyang in the future?" ”

Li Hong smiled faintly, "When you grow up, you will understand." Like your father, you can't help yourself, and you can't control your own destiny. ”

"The child is small, don't say these things to her." Xiaoyu shook her hand at Li Hong, then hugged Li Wen tightly, and asked softly, "Why is Chang'an bad?" All your good friends have gone to Chang'an, and you will be left alone here, and you will be very lonely. ”

"I ......" Li Wen hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Yan Ba, Zhao Tong, Li Xin, Pang Hui, and Little Majesty, they all bullied me, they only cared about playing by themselves, and let me do all the homework alone, I won't go." ”

"What?" When Li Hong heard this, his brows immediately furrowed, "In addition to Your Majesty, you also did the homework of these little bastards for them?" ”

Wen pursed her lips and was so angry that she was about to cry, "They lied to me and said that as long as I did my homework for them, they would take me to the battlefield, but the battle was over, and they didn't take me to the battlefield once." ”

"A few little bastards...... Li Hong was angry and funny, and slapped his thigh hard in front of his daughter, "I want to find someone to teach them a lesson, I dare to bully my daughter." ”

"Forget it, the battlefield is bloody, what's there to see?" Xiaoyu raised her head and glared at Li Hong, "You brought these children to the battlefield from an early age, it's not good for them." In a few years, you will be able to command a large army to unify the world, and you should let these children study well, and in the future the world will be counted on to govern. ”

Li Hong smiled, nodded, and then comforted Li Wen: "After returning to Chang'an, I will be angry for you." ”

"What are you doing as an adult, mixing with children?" Xiaoyu smiled, "When Xiu'er comes back, let her be angry for Wen'er." ”

"Xiu'er has such a great ability?" Li Hong asked in surprise.

"When have you ever cared about your family?" Xiao Yu glanced at him coquettishly, "This Xiu'er in our family, if it is a boy, he will definitely be like you in the future, he will be a fierce warrior on the battlefield, but it's a pity that ......"

Before Xiaoyu finished speaking, Li Wen suddenly said seriously: "Mother, you have another brother." If I had a younger brother like Xiu'er, no one would dare to bully me. ”

Xiaoyu blushed and looked at Li Hong apologetically. Li Hong laughed, hugged Li Wen, and kissed her little tender face. After staying with his family for a long time, Li Hong's heart completely calmed down, and he almost stopped thinking about the affairs of the court. He smiled at Xiaoyu and said, We have to work hard, our daughter wants a younger brother, we will fulfill her little wish as soon as possible. Xiaoyu was embarrassed, grabbed the pillow on the couch and smashed it at Li Hong.

Xiaoyu and Fengxue have never given birth to a son for Li Hong, and the two are very uneasy about this. Li Hong has no heirs, and the bloodline of the Li family will be broken, which is unimaginable for a person like Li Hong who is in a high position. The light rain makes the wind and snow go to the line to serve Li Hong, which has this meaning. Who knew that Fengxue didn't stay long in the Central Plains, and was sent to the desert by Li Hong, and he went there for more than a year.

Two years ago, when the eldest princess of Yang'an was alive, she had put forward a hint of letting Xiaoyu marry the general again, intending to let the general marry the clan. But the eldest princess's love for the general is known to everyone in the court, even if it is a light rain, she does not dare to anger this highness. As Xiaoyu and Fengxue got older and older, the two became more and more worried about the Li family's heirs, so Xiaoyu said in front of the eldest princess that the general had no heirs. The eldest princess Bingxue was smart and unceremoniously pushed the light rain back. Although the eldest princess did not say it explicitly, the meaning of her words was very clear, the general had a special status, and no one could marry the general except for the closest relatives of the Son of Heaven. In addition to this aunt today, where are the closest relatives? Xiaoyu had no choice but to break off her thoughts, and continued to work herself and Fengxue.

The imperial physician Ling Huang Da saw that the general's wife was in stable condition and gradually improving, so he proposed to return to Beijing to reply.

Very few people know about the general's return to Jinyang, and many people think that the iron horse galloped that night, escorting the imperial physician Ling Huang Da. So during this time, although many people in northern Xinjiang came to visit the general's wife with gifts, the general's own traces were not exposed. Now that Huang Da is leaving, and the iron cavalry is still in the mansion, there is no way to hide the general's return to Jinyang.

After sending Huang Da away, the general immediately went to visit Zhao Qi.

Last month, Zhao Qi was elated when he heard that Luoyang had recovered, and now he was overjoyed when he heard that the general had returned to Jinyang, and he personally went to the gate of the mansion to greet him. Li Hong held the disciple salute, respectfully and respectfully, and described in detail to Zhao Qi the process of attacking Luoyang, and then turned the meaning of the Son of Heaven and the eldest princess, and asked Zhao Qi to move his family to Chang'an.

Zhao Qi politely declined, "I'm ninety-four this year, how many days can I live?" Maybe I can't sleep tonight and I'll go home. ”

Li Hong smiled and comforted a few words. Zhao Qi suddenly asked seriously: "Zimin, there is something I have always wanted to ask you, you are now wholeheartedly assisting Xiao Tianzi, this method is good, but in the future, when Xiao Tianzi grows up, how will he get back his authority?" How do you solve the matter of the eldest princess? ”

Li Hong said with a smile: "The Son of Heaven has grown up, and that is the matter of the Son of Heaven." ”

"Zimin......" Zhao Qi stroked his white beard and sighed softly, "Zimin, when the eldest princess arrived in Northern Xinjiang, she was only ten years old, a lonely child, she didn't understand anything, she came to you with hope and asked for your help." Then, we watched her grow up until now......" Zhao Qi narrowed his eyes and asked with a pun, "Are you ruthless enough to do this?" ”

The smile on Li Hong's face gradually dissipated, his eyes were bitter and sad, and after a long time, he whispered: "I am ashamed of the favor of the first emperor, and I will come to the Nine Springs, and I am really shameless." ”

"You didn't do your best, people's ......" Zhao Qi patted Li Hong on the shoulder and whispered, "Aunt and nephew cannibalism, human tragedy, this may provoke the wrath of the heavens, and then lead to bloody rain and the defeat of the society." ”

Li Hong sighed, bowed his head and said nothing.

"Thirteen years ago, the eldest princess traveled thousands of miles to the north of Xinjiang and rushed to Shaling Lake in the wind and snow, for what? How much has she sacrificed for Dahan in the past thirteen years? Over the years, she has a deep affection for the general, don't you know? Zhao Qi said emotionally, "People's hearts are flesh and blood, and generals are also people, so it is reasonable to be reasonable, and the generals should help her, support her, repay her for the Han Dynasty and the common people in the world, and make the cornerstone of Zhongxing's great cause more stable." ”

Li Hong smiled bitterly, "You know what? I may die, or be assassinated like Dong Zhuo, or be beheaded like He Jin, or die on the battlefield. ”

Zhao Qi shook his head, after thinking for a while, he shook his head again, and suddenly he stood up and said loudly: "If you die, the northern Xinjiang will be in chaos, and the great cause of Zhongxing will be defeated, how can you fulfill your promise to the first emperor?" Go home at night, take out the edict of the first emperor, take a good look at it, and think about it. Life is only a few decades, and you may not live to be 90 years old like me. If you die at sixty, you have more than twenty years to live. More than 20 years are gone in a blink of an eye, what should you do in the past 20 years? If you think clearly, you must think clearly. You can't die for a single life, but with you may be thousands of innocent beings. ”

Li Hong was silent.

Zhao Qi was also silent, he slowly walked to the door, looked at the clear blue sky, and slowly showed a childlike innocent smile on his face, "Zimin, thank you, thank you for letting me die without any regrets, thank you......"

On May 23, Zhao Qi died.

The general personally presided over the funeral and buried Zhao Qi in Longshan Zhonglietai.

May, Chang'an.

The general Li Hong's recital caused an uproar in the court, and almost all the ministers opposed the adjustment of the western Xinjiang strategy.

Taiwei Xun You, the right chariot cavalry general Xu Rong, and the left guard general Lu Yi even put forward the policy of immediately sending troops to the western Xinjiang. Western Xinjiang is currently in chaos, and the Qiang people in Hexi are again dragged by the iron horses of Leizi and Kirby Bear. Now is the best chance to pacify the southern counties of western Xinjiang. Xu Rong, the eldest princess of Liyi and the imperial court, the two were willing to lead an army of 50,000 to attack and kill Western Xinjiang, and promised to pacify the three counties of Jincheng, Longxi and Wudu in the south of Western Xinjiang by the end of the year, and quickly complete the attack on the Qiang army in Hexi to ensure the safety of Guanzhong.

Xian Yufu, the general of the left chariot cavalry, and Zhang Yan, the general of the right guard, insisted on adjusting the offensive and defensive strategy of the western Xinjiang. The top priority of the imperial court is to stabilize northern Xinjiang, Hebei, Guanzhong and the Central Plains, so that the people can recuperate and restore the vitality of the imperial court.

The court is at an impasse.

At this moment, Li Hong, the great general of the Great Sima who was in charge of the decision-making power of the Han Dynasty's military affairs, was in Jinyang, and even if the imperial court wanted to send troops to the western frontier, Li Hong's consent was required. For this reason, the eldest princess, Prime Minister Cai Yong, and Xian Yufu repeatedly urged Li Hong to return to Beijing, but at this time, the news of Zhao Qi's death came. The eldest princess and the ministers of the court were very sad. The Son of Heaven ordered Li Hong to preside over the funeral and postpone his return to Beijing.

Li Hong will not come back, but the affairs of Western Xinjiang must be resolved, if Liu Bei is allowed to gain a foothold in Longxi and Wudu counties, the threat to Guanzhong will become greater and greater, and it will be extremely troublesome to attack Western Xinjiang in the future.

Li Wei, the great Si Nong, supported the adjustment of the strategy in the western Xinjiang, and he elaborated on the crisis of the imperial court's wealth at the court meeting, believing that the top priority was to solve the crisis of the imperial court's financial wealth, rather than to solve the security problem in Guanzhong. Li Wei said that now the 120,000 troops in Guanzhong are enough to protect Chang'an. The 120,000-strong army stationed in Guanzhong has already posed a huge threat to Western Xinjiang, and in this case, it is purely alarmist to say that Western Xinjiang poses any threat to Guanzhong.

Li Wei's words had an effect, and the direction of the court's controversy immediately changed, and the ministers no longer dwelt on the western Xinjiang strategy, but instead debated the imperial court's tax policy.

Some ministers again proposed that Kyoto be relocated to Luoyang, and then another minister questioned the imperial court's tax policy and suggested that the imperial court adjust its tax policy. They believed that if heavy taxes were imposed on merchants, or if the official sale of salt and iron was reintroduced, the taxes of the imperial court would increase greatly.

These two proposals could effectively alleviate the financial crisis of the imperial court, but at the same time, they were also a repudiation of some of the policies in the new policy of the imperial court.

This incident infuriated the eldest princess. If the financial endowment is insufficient, they will attack the New Deal, saying that the light is a battle of policies, and that the key point is a struggle for power. The eldest princess immediately fell to the Great Sima Mansion, resolutely supported the decision of the Great Sima Mansion, and ordered to immediately adjust the offensive and defensive strategies of the Western Frontier.

In June, the former general Lu Bu, the later general Yushi, the left general Yan Liang, and the Wuwei general Wen Chou were ordered to return to Beijing.

General Jiang Wu of Li Feng and General Mustafa of Changshui led two battalions of iron cavalry to return at the same time.

Xian Yufu ordered, with Jiang Wu as the commander and Mustafa as the deputy, to lead 10,000 iron cavalry to rush to the Anding and Beidi areas, rendezvous with the Xianlingqiang Wind and Sand Division, and attack Wuwei County along the southern part of the Tianqiong Desert, and attack from behind the Qiang cavalry in Hexi, helping the armies of Yan Rou, Lei Zi, and Kirby Xiong to quickly gain a foothold in the Guzang area in the north of Wuwei County, so as to free up their hands to attack the three counties of Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang to the west.

In late June, Fengxue, Wang Ze, Tian Yu, Sai Feng and two thousand iron horsemen returned to Jinyang from the desert.

Li Hong rushed to the Juzhu fortress to greet Fengxue and his party.

The wind and snow are still a white horse, dressed in white, and come from the dust, like an immortal. In front of all the soldiers, Li Hong stepped forward and hugged Fengxue tightly, ignoring everyone else. Li Hong was about to whisper a few words to Fengxue, when a small head suddenly squeezed out of his chest, and shouted at Li Hong dissatisfiedly: "Dad, have you hugged enough?" It's time to hug me. ”

Li Hong laughed, let go of the wind and snow, and bent down to hug Li Xiu, "Xiu'er, is the desert fun?" ”

"It's fun." Li Xiu wrinkled her little nose, blinked her big eyes twice, pointed to a group of horses in the distance and said, "It's best to go once a year, so that I can get a lot of good things." You see, those horses were given to me by my uncle, and they are the best Pegasi. There was also a bow, the sharpest of all, which was given by the fat man Uncle Suli. But when he gave it to me, he seemed a little reluctant and too stingy. By the way, the ancestor of Buyeo gave me a sword. ”

"Master Zu?" Li Hong was stunned for a moment, and then immediately understood, "That's Master Changfeng." In Master Zu's place, you didn't be naughty and embarrassed your mother, right? ”

Li Xiu waved his little hand very angrily, and said without changing his face and without a beat: "No." Master Zu praised me, saying that if I stayed in the desert for a long time, I would definitely be like my father, and thousands of people would chase me with knives. ”

Li Hong laughed wildly. Feng Xue twisted Li Xiu's little ears angrily, "You are embarrassed to blow, along the way, I have lost all my face to you." ”

"General, Xiu'er is now famous in the desert." Wang Ze walked over, brushed his beard and said with a smile, "When the people on the desert saw her, they all scattered and fled." ”

"Why?" Li Hong asked with a smile, "Could it be that my little leopard is so powerful?" ”

"Xiu'er is not a little leopard, she is a big tiger." Sai Feng shook his head and smiled, "As long as she likes something, she immediately says, I want it all, it's all mine." It's not good if people don't give it, give it, and it's reluctant. satisfied Xiu'er, Xiu'er laughed, and couldn't find anyone who flattered her. Not satisfied with Xiu'er, Xiu'er will mess around with others, it's really not good to mess around, she still has one last trick, shed tears, tried and tried, and all the kings on the desert were hit......" Sai Feng said Later, the people around him probably thought of the scene at that time, and they all laughed.

Feng Xue blushed and looked quite embarrassed, while Li Xiu hugged Li Hong's neck with one hand and waved it into the air disdainfully with the other, "The first time we meet, you can't ask for too much, it will seem that I am too poor and lose face." The next time I go to the desert, I will bring something to exchange with them, so that I will have face, and people will not give it. By the way......" She suddenly turned to Wang Ze and said, "Grandpa, last time I was in Buyeo, I saw that you seemed to like those red-billed birds of Buyeo King very much, and I got them for you." ”

Wang Ze was stunned, and then asked in surprise, "Really?" Then he thought that there was probably nothing in this world that Li Xiu couldn't get, and his expression immediately became extremely excited, rubbing his hands again and again, looking impatient, "Where is it?" Where are the birds? ”

Li Xiuyi used his strength and jumped out of Li Hong's arms. Wang Ze bent down and grabbed her little hand, and smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed into a slit, "Xiu'er, grandpa likes you so much." What about birds? That little guy is delicate, but he can't suffocate. ”

Li Xiu's face changed, "Oh, maybe it's really suffocating." ”

Wang Ze was in a hurry, and pulled Li Xiu and ran, "Quick, quick, good boy, take me to see it, but you can't suffocate to death." ”

Li Hong, Tian Yu, Sai Feng and others looked at the backs of the old and the young rushing away, and they were all laughing. Feng Xue trembled with anger, "This little girl dares to steal King Fuyu's things privately, I ...... I want her to return it immediately. ”

"Forget it." Li Hong grabbed her and shook her hand again and again, "She only took it out to Lord Wang now, obviously because she was afraid that you would find out and force her to go back." Turning around, I asked Xiao Lazy to give a word to Wei Qiutai, and said that I like his bird very much, thank him for the gift. ”

"You're all used to her like this, what will you do in the future?" The wind and snow really want to cry without tears.

"When you grow up, it's fine." Li Hong smiled indifferently, "My daughter, of course, is like me." If you are being chased and killed now, you will be chased and killed in the future. "Jump to