Straight man of steel

Chapter 428 Wei Qing returns to Chang'an

It rained continuously for more than half a month in Lantian Mountain.

There are canals everywhere in Guanzhong, and the Weihe River has dozens of tributaries, large and small. Although such heavy rain is detrimental to the growth of crops, it greatly alleviates the heat in the hot summer.

However, the situation in Guanzhong is far from reaching the level of a disaster, but the North China Plain in the lower reaches of the Yellow River is once again flooded.

In recent years, the Yellow River has shown signs of changing its course since it burst once. However, during the summer rainstorm, the downstream crops will always suffer.

Fortunately, there were no natural disasters in other parts of Dahan, and such a situation could be dealt with.

It's just that the heavy rain had a certain impact on Zhang Yuan's business.

It is impossible to transport paper in such a season. Even the warehouse must be built on high ground and prepared to be moisture-proof.

Even the minted five-baht coins cannot be transported, and carts full of copper coins must be stuck in thick mud as long as they go out of the city.

As soon as the business of the sub-bank was launched in the Inner History area, it stagnated.

Wealthy households and rich people in the Neishi area basically lived around Chang'an City, and in other places there were more wealthy farmers.

These people are not very interested in exchanging copper coins, but they can contribute a lot to the business of Ziqian Zhuangzi.

When the rain stopped, the horse-drawn carts and ox-carts all over the place began to move.

Zhang Yuan's business began to spread rapidly in the inner history realm like a plague.

Zhuo Wangsun in these cities has shops, and there are also managers who know business.

The only thing Zhang Yuan needs is to ship the money and then the paper.

But these two things have been handed over to Zhuo Wangsun since he arrived, otherwise Zhang Yuan would not be able to spend tea with Jifu and watch the rain at the foot of Lantian Mountain.

After the Tweeting Order was promulgated, it did not have much impact on the nobles of the big man. Everyone should eat and drink.

There are only a few hundred princes, and there are only a dozen or so princes and kings.

If you put this group of people among the tens of millions of big men, you won't even be able to stir up a splash.

The princes will not have much influence yet. The eldest son is still a marquis. As long as the princedom is not abolished, the title can be passed down.

Because Hou can always be entrusted to Tinghou, when there is no seal, the effect of the Tweeting Order is minimal.

But when those kingdoms were entrusted for the first time, there would be big problems. Except for the eldest son, all the sons of the princes and kings had to be granted the title of marquis.

So who did the enfeoffed land come from?It must have been plucked from the kingdom.

The kingdom originally governed several counties, but once the kingdom was entrusted, even the counties disappeared.

Those kingdoms that were originally the size of a county were even worse. If the territory was small, they might not even be able to keep the title of princes and kings. A group of brothers collectively became lords.

But with this Tweeting Order, one person is as uncomfortable as he is uncomfortable, and as happy as he is happy.

After this measure was issued, those princes and grandchildren who were not eldest sons and legitimate sons were still very excited.

These decrees have subtle effects that cannot be seen at the moment. Only those who are familiar with politics can know their effects.

It seems that it is already June, because the cool weather brought by the rainy season some time ago is also over.

Heat waves can be clearly seen in the air.

Fortunately, at home, Zhang Yuan resumed his original dress.

Wearing only a pair of big pants, he moved the lounge chair in front of the airy main building, with ice-cold watermelon juice beside him.

When the time comes in the afternoon, when the sun is in the west, we set up a screen to block it in front of us.

Anyway, the body must always be in the shadows, with the mountain wind blowing, listening to the birdsong, and the sound of children playing and crying from time to time.

Close your eyes, days like this are heaven.

Half asleep and half awake, a voice rang in Zhang Yuan's ear.

"Master Hou."

Zhang Yuan opened his eyes and saw that it was Xiaoya.

Lao Zhao, Xiaoqing and Zhuo Wenjun are all in Chang'an City.

The person who served Zhang Yuan at home naturally became Xiaoya.

"what happened?"

"The messenger from the palace is here, saying that the emperor will summon the marquis to the palace tomorrow to discuss matters."

After Zhang Yuan heard it, he suddenly stood up from his chair.

"Go and prepare the carriage for me, and leave immediately."

"Here."

Liu Che asked Zhang Yuan to enter the palace tomorrow, not to let Zhang Yuan leave tomorrow.

When the weather is hot, the friction between the double span and the saddle will be extremely uncomfortable. Although the carriage is bumpy, it is still much more comfortable than riding a horse.

Zhang Yuan rested his head on Xiaoya's lap, and arrived in Chang'an City after just sleeping.

In terms of extravagant enjoyment, Zhang Yuan still has a long way to go from other dignitaries.

As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw Zhuo Wenjun and Zong Xing waiting at the gate of the Hou Mansion.

"Master Hou, Marquis Changping returned to Chang'an City this morning."

Zong Xing immediately told Zhang Yuan the news that he didn't know yet.

"Young brother came back this morning?"

"Yeah, the city gate just opened and a hundred cavalry entered the city.

There were a lot of discussions in the city, saying that the war in Northern Xinjiang might have changed. "

"Only brought a hundred people, which means that the large army is still staying in the northern border, don't worry, the Huns' army is powerless to invade the south at the moment.

The military minister is just out for revenge, and it doesn't matter to him whether the revenge is successful or not. "

Just as Zhang Yuan guessed, the military ministers spoke fiercely to the people below, but the battle was just a lot of thunder and rain.

The Han army hid behind the Great Wall, or was in the strong city.

The Huns did not have siege equipment, and now the Han army still has a defensive weapon, the three-bow bed crossbow.

Mounted directly on the city wall, the Huns' cavalry could not withstand the lethality of crossbows. Therefore, most of the wars in northern Xinjiang were small-scale battles carried out by the Huns against the Han army's beacons.

Fengsui was a scout stronghold used by the Han army to detect the movements of the Huns.

I don’t know how many beacons there are in the north of the Great Wall. Many people have stayed in the beacons for a lifetime since they went to the frontier.

Either die in battle, or die of old age.

The Han army fought with the Xiongnu army around these beacons.

Neither side is willing to launch an all-out war at this time.

The military officials were unwilling because they thought they might not be able to win.

Wei Qing's unwillingness was based on the assumption that he was not sure of victory. Even if he won, he would suffer heavy losses and would probably be devastated.

To put it bluntly, without Zhang Yuan by his side, his self-confidence suddenly dropped a lot.

Zhang Yuan knew that Wei Qing was back and that he would see Wei Qing at Jianzhang Palace the next day, so he did not go to meet Wei Qing.

Early the next morning, Zhang Yuan put on his court clothes and went to Jianzhang Palace early.

At the gate of the palace, I learned that Liu Che was going to rest for a day.

Many ministers who wanted to go to court were all stopped at the gate of the palace.

However, everyone also guessed that it was related to Wei Qing's return to Beijing. They did not disperse for a long time but were discussing outside the palace gate, hoping to get first-hand news.

After Zhang Yuan came, everyone saluted Zhang Yuan one after another.

Zhang Yuan smiled back and strode into Jianzhang Palace.

All of a sudden, those ministers who couldn't get in felt a little uncomfortable.

Among the crowd, the master father Yan flashed a gloomy look.

At this time, he was the most popular figure in court who presented Liu Che with the order of favor, but even he was stopped outside the palace gate.

Not long after Zhang Yuan entered the palace, Wei Qing arrived at the palace gate wearing a suit of armor.

No one outside dared to stop Wei Qing, so Wei Qing rode into the palace.

It is said that Liu Che gave Wei Qing special treatment yesterday.

Some people can go directly outside the palace in a carriage, such as Tian Fu and Tian Qianqiu, the last prime minister of Emperor Wudi's dynasty.

Some people can ride horses in the palace.

This all represents great favor and favor.

Not long after Wei Qing came in, Gongsun He, Li Xi, Gongsun Ao and other generals also entered the palace.

Zhang Yuan was the first to come, and was taken directly to Yutang Hall by the eunuch.

Liu Che also sat on his dragon chair early on.

"I pay homage to Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty."

"The Marquis of Xin'an is exempt."

After the initial greetings, there was nothing left to say between the monarch and his ministers.

If Liu Che hadn't summoned Zhang Yuan to discuss the war with the Xiongnu, he wouldn't have bothered to see Zhang Yuan.

And Zhang Yuan was the one who was summoned, and he himself had nothing to say to Zhang Yuan.

But soon Wei Qing came in, and after saluting Liu Che, Wei Qing stood next to Zhang Yuan.

Although no one spoke, the atmosphere was better than before.

As more generals came in, Liu Che's expression became more and more solemn.

Gongsun Ao was the last to enter the hall, and Liu Che stood up immediately.

"Everyone has arrived."

"Your Majesty has been waiting for a long time."

"I didn't wait long, since everyone is here, let's get down to business."

A few small yellow doors came out on both sides, and a huge map was spread in the center of Yutang Hall.

It seemed that Zhang Yuan was the only one who came and didn't know what was going on.

"Everyone, Grand Sima Weiqing has obtained extremely important information from the Huns.

In desperation, he returned to Chang'an City alone, and the war in northern Xinjiang was handed over to Han Anguo.

Now we have to do something with this information, or we will miss this golden opportunity. "

Zhang Yuan was confused for a while, what kind of information could he get from this?

At this moment, Wei Qing suddenly continued what Liu Che had said.

"Everyone, I have received news that the Xiongnu Grand Chanyu sent people to Hexi to look for King Hunxie and King Xiutu.

He ordered them to set off for Tuidang City, where they joined the main force of the Xiongnu and attacked Wuhuan together. "

The straightforward Gongsun Ao didn't understand what this meant, so he asked in front of Liu Che.

"What does it matter to us that the Huns want to attack the Wuhuan people?
Wouldn't it be better if we wait until they both lose? "

Gongsun He was familiar with military books and history books, and knew a lot about the Xiongnu. Seeing that the rest of the people were unwilling to talk to him, a fellow clansman, he explained.

“The reason why the Xiongnu grew stronger was that they continued to merge with the nomadic peoples on the grasslands.

The former Xiutu King Hunxie and the dead Aries King Loufan were not from the tribe of the Huns either.

They were all nomads who were forcibly merged together by the Huns. "

Gongsun Ao is a descendant of Yiqu, and Gongsun He is also a descendant of Hu people.

After the nomadic people in the north were Hanized, most of them changed their surname to Gongsun.

Usually they regard themselves as a clan, so the power is huge.

"You mean to say that the military officials want to merge Wuhuan into the Xiongnu?"

Gongsun Ao didn't understand the intention of the military minister until this time.

"I'm afraid it's not just the Wuhuan, it is said that the Wuhuan of Xianbei are ready to make a move, and there are also the Qiang people.

The military ministers have been attacking Yuyang County all the time, and they must find a new breakthrough to establish the dominance of the Huns on the grassland. "

Zhang Yuan, who had been silent all this time, also spoke.

If Wei Qing didn't get this information, if the military officials were to integrate the nomads like Maodun, it would definitely cause a new round of impact and greater pressure on the big man.

The Han's current military strength alone was not enough to deal with the Huns after the merger of the three tribes.

For the Xianbei clan alone, there may be more than 20 clansmen who can mount a horse and fight.

The Xianbei are probably the nomads with the best combat effectiveness and the most patience in Chinese history.

The Qiang people just keep going, whoever is stronger will be the boss.

Otherwise, the Qiang people would not be able to survive in such a bitter cold place like the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

As for Baiyue, it basically belongs to the existence of the five scum of war, which is also the reason why the alien races in the south are unable to send troops to the north.

However, those with stronger combat effectiveness will perish faster, and some will be Sinicized faster.

The Han people are tolerant that other ethnic groups do not have.

Foreigners do not agree with the culture of the Han people, and basically do not want to rule the Han people.

The Xianbei Wuhuan and the Xiongnu are indeed the three strongest nomadic peoples in the north of the Han Dynasty.

Previously, the Huns had been suppressing the Xianbei and Wuhuan people, and the Han Dynasty only needed to target the Huns.

At present, the thoughts of the military officials will definitely cause a huge crisis to the big man.

But when Liu Che mentioned it, he said it was an opportunity.

"Yes, Marquis Xin'an is right.

So I want to stop it with all my strength, Da Sima can't stay in Chang'an for a long time.

He must go back to Yuyang County and involve the main army of the Huns. Who among you is willing to take up the important task of stopping King Xiutu and King Hunxie? "

Liu Che stared at Zhang Yuan and the others.

But no one dared to answer the words. On the vast prairie, who can guarantee that they can intercept the reinforcements of the Huns.

Who knows what the marching route of King Xiutu and King Hunxie is.

None of these can be guaranteed, so agreeing to Liu Che is not asking for death.

"Your Majesty, did Da Sima know the marching routes of King Xiutu and King Hunxie?"

Gongsun He is a little helpless, his qualifications here are considered old, so he can only ask this question.

Wei Qing shook his head.

"I'm afraid even the military officials don't know the marching route of King Xiutu and King Hunxie.

It's just that they are limited to arrive in Tide Dang City before August. "

August?

In Zhang Yuan's mind, he instantly thought of the military minister's intentions.

August is autumn, and both nomads and Han people will hold some sacrificial ceremonies in autumn.

The Han Dynasty sacrificed in August. The Xianbei people and the Wuhuan people didn't know it, but it was either July or August.

The Huns wanted to make a time difference.

Zhang Yuan guessed but didn't say anything. He couldn't show his face at this time unless he wanted to be 100% sure about the dynamics of King Xiutu and King Hunxie.

Liu Che and others were discussing, hoping to come up with a personal choice, but no one wanted to take over this matter, so such discussions would be in vain.

Zhang Yuan didn't want to waste time, and kept looking at the map, hoping to find something.

The rivers on the grassland run north-south.

And summer?
"Brother, how is the weather on the grassland lately?"

Zhang Yuan suddenly called Wei Qing, making the others stunned.

Especially Liu Che's eyes were about to burst into flames.

Zhang Yuan was also nervous for a moment, he seemed to have really ignored the fact that Liu Che was here just now.

(End of this chapter)