Shuhan

In the late spring of the seventh year of Yanxing, the willow catkins in Luoyang city were flying like white snow. Wisps of green smoke rose from the bronze crane incense burner in front of the Taiji Hall, entwining with the floating catkins in the air.

Liu Chan leaned against the dragon couch, his fingers repeatedly stroking the yellowed memorial on land measurement on the desk. His body became thinner under the twelve-chapter patterned crown, but the flames flickered in his eyes, and he was still full of ambition.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince would like to see you."

The shrill voice of the Yellow Gate Minister broke the silence in the hall.

When Liu Si stepped into the palace, the sun, moon and star patterns on his black court robes flowed in the candlelight, and the dragon on the jade belt buckle around his waist swallowed and spit out a pearl. Compared with three years ago, his eyebrows and eyes were a little more severe, and his appearance became more mature, with the majesty of a true imperial prince.

"It's been three years." Liu Chan looked at the prince kneeling on the steps, his voice seemed to be squeezed out from deep in his chest.

"The land measurement of the thirteen states has finally been completed."

Looking at his son, Liu Chan was very pleased.

"You overcame the Qiang rebellion in Yongzhou and the southern barbarians in Jingzhou."

Crown Prince Liu Si immediately said: "I have fulfilled my mission."

His voice was low and firm, and his eyes swept across the Han flag fluttering in the wind outside the hall.

"It just makes the people of the world suffer."

Memories came flooding back.

In the dead of winter in the fourth year of Yanxing, the land of Yongzhou was shrouded in lead-gray clouds. The ice peaks on the banks of the Wei River were half a person's height, flashing a chilly light in the north wind.

On the watchtower of the Han army's Chencang camp, the sound of black iron armor colliding mixed with the whistling wind. Liu Si tightly gripped the hilt of the dragon-patterned sword at his waist, and his knuckles turned blue and white due to excessive force.

The bonfires of the Qiang tribe in the distance were like ghost fires, flickering in the flying snow, as if they would turn into a prairie fire at any time.

"Report——"

A blood-soaked scout stumbled into the tower, his leather boots slipping on the icy steps, blood still seeping from the broken arrow at his waist.

"Qiang King Miwu has gathered 30,000 troops, has crossed the Wei River, and is approaching Chencang!"

Before he could finish his words, a gust of wind blew gravel onto the cowhide curtain of the watchtower, tearing the second half of the sentence into pieces.

Liu Si leaned over to check the sheepskin map in the scout's arms. There were densely packed arrows marked on it with cinnabar, like a giant net that was about to tighten.

His eyes swept over the scribbled words on the edge of the map: "The Qiang people's war horses are all covered with tiger skins, and they fight like ghosts at night."

A chill ran up his spine and onto the back of his neck. He recalled that when the land measurement order was issued three days ago, the governor of Yongzhou had said worriedly, "The Qiang people value their grazing land as their life, and this time they will probably fight to the death."

"Pass the order."

Liu Si stood up suddenly, the swallowing beast head on the black iron armor glowing in the moonlight, "All troops, get ready, and attack the Qiang camp at 3:30 pm."

His voice was low but carried with it unquestionable majesty, which caused the copper lamp hanging in the tower to shake violently, and the candle wax dripped onto the map, spreading a dark red color.

Lieutenant General Zhang Yi tightly grasped the ring-handled sword at his waist, and the blade and scabbard rubbed against each other, making a harsh sound: "Your Highness, the Qiang people are three times more numerous than us, and they have the advantage of terrain."

His words were interrupted by Liu Si raising his hand.

The moonlight shone through the cracks in the watchtower, casting light and dark shadows on the prince's pale face, but his eyes were surprisingly bright: "It is precisely because the enemy is numerous and we are few that we must take them by surprise. Tonight at midnight, the ice on the Wei River will be at its brittlest."

The sound of clappers at the hour of Yin pierced through the cold night, and five thousand light cavalry quietly left the camp.

The warhorse's hooves were wrapped in thick cotton cloth, but they still made slight squeaking sounds on the ice.

Liu Si took the lead, his black cloak blown up by the wind, revealing the darkly embroidered dragon pattern on the lining.

His eyes were fixed on the Qiang camp ahead, where the bonfire illuminated half the sky red, and the sound of Qiang people drinking and singing could be faintly heard.

When the crisp sound of horses' hooves breaking the ice broke the night, the Han army's shouts and the Qiang people's wolf howls instantly intertwined.

Liu Si's spear was like a silver dragon emerging from the abyss, accurately picking off the head of a Qiang warrior. The warm blood splattered on his goggles, blurring his vision.

The smell of blood mixed with the smell of butter wafting from the Qiang people's tent stimulated his pupils to shrink suddenly.

"kill!"

He roared, shook off the blood on the tip of his spear, turned his horse around and rushed into the enemy camp again.

In the melee, a wolf-tooth arrow flew past his ear, and the sharp arrow head cut off the jade hairpin that bound his hair. His long black hair suddenly fell on his shoulders, dancing wildly in the wind like a flag.

However, he was completely unaware and was only staring at the large banner embroidered with the gray wolf totem in the distance - that was the location of the central army of the Qiang King Miwu.

"Prince be careful!"

Zhang Yi's exclamation came from behind.

Liu Si instinctively turned sideways, and a scimitar brushed past his shoulder and chopped off a piece of dragon scale on the black armor.

He stabbed the attacker in the chest with his backhanded sword, but when he drew his sword, he caught a glimpse of a cold light flashing on the hillside on the left. It was the Qiang archers!
"Shieldmen form a formation!"

Liu Si's voice was torn into pieces by the wind and snow.

The Han army quickly changed its formation, and amid the sound of shields clashing, rain of arrows crackled on the bronze shields.

He wiped the blood off his face and looked at the Han army being suppressed by the rain of arrows, feeling anxious.

Suddenly, he noticed that the Qiang archers' torches began to shake.

It's the wind!

"Follow my orders!" Liu Si took off the horn from his waist, took a deep breath and blew it.

The desolate sound of the horn penetrated the noise of the battlefield. The Han cavalry understood what was meant and took out the sulfur bags they carried with them.

When the strong wind blew past again, countless torches were thrown towards the Qiang people's tents, and the dry cowhide tents instantly caught fire.

In the firelight, Liu Si saw the Qiang people begin to flee in panic.

He gripped his spear tightly and shouted to Zhang Yi: "Follow me and attack the center of the army!"

The black cloak fluttered in the flames as his figure moved through the enemy camp like a ghost.

The Qiang soldiers' scimitars chopped on his black armor, sparks flew, but could not stop him from moving forward.

When Liu Si finally rushed to the Qiang King's tent, Miwu was holding a bronze battle axe and roaring as he ordered the retreat.

This Qiang king was of burly build, wore a tiger-skin helmet, and had ferocious totems painted on his face.

"Han dog!"

He swung his battle axe and the wind whistled.

Liu Si dodged sideways, and his spear shot out like a poisonous snake out of a hole, going straight for the opponent's throat.

Miwu tried to block in a hurry, but his horse was frightened and he lost his balance.

Liu Si took the opportunity to leap up, stepped on the opponent's horse, and pressed the spear against his chest: "Surrender or die!"

At this time, the sky in the east was already turning pale, and more than 2,000 corpses were lying in a mess on the snowy field. The blood seeped into the white snow, dyeing it a shocking dark red.

Miwu stared at the blood-soaked Han youth in front of him, and looked at the pair of eyes burning with flames under his long hair. He suddenly remembered the prophecy of the old shaman in the tribe: "When the wolf meets the dragon, the Qiang people will welcome a new master."

The battle axe in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, and he knelt in front of Liu Sima.

The Qiang people surrendered and Yongzhou was settled.

As the sun rose, the Han army flags on the top of Chencang City fluttered.

The years in Yongliang were turbulent, but the years in Jingzhou are also worth remembering.

In the midsummer of the fifth year of Yanxing, the Wuling Mountains were shrouded in thick, inky miasma.

When the morning mist had not yet dissipated, the rotten leaves on the mountain paths began to give off sticky vapor, which condensed into fine water droplets on the armor of the Han army soldiers.

Liu Si stood on his green horse, looking at the plank road ahead that twisted like a python. His black brocade robe had long been soaked with sweat, sticking to his back, outlining the rugged contours.

Suddenly, a crow flew over my head, and its hoarse cry broke the silence. In the distance, a human head hanging on a dead tree was faintly visible in the fog.

"Report! The fifth batch of land surveying officials." The scout's voice stopped abruptly.

Liu Si rode his horse forward, and a foul smell hit him in the face.

Seven heads were impaled on rusty spears, black blood was still dripping from the broken necks, one of them had his eyes still open, and his eye sockets were crawling with wriggling maggots.

The head in the front had its skin peeled off, revealing a white skull. There was half a green jade hairpin pinned in the hair. It was the new chief clerk from Chang'an. Before leaving, he knelt on the steps of the East Palace, and his fingers were shaking as he held the land measurement book.

"Dog thief!"

Liu Si's horsewhip hit the dead tree hard, and the bark burst.

He dismounted, his black boots plunging into the muddy pile of rotten leaves, splashing muddy sewage.

His nails dug deep into his palms, the smell of blood spread between his teeth, and the memory of suppressing the Qiang rebellion in Yongzhou years ago suddenly surged up: at that time he was facing an enemy army that was armed and arrogance, but at this moment, the southern barbarians used such vicious means to trample the dignity of the Han Dynasty into the mud.

"Your Highness, please calm down!" The deputy general Ma Zhong hurriedly pulled the reins.

"The barbarians are familiar with the mountains and forests, and are good at using poison arrows. We..."

Before he finished speaking, the mountain breeze brought the faint sound of a ballad, mixed with the crisp sound of clay pots colliding.

Liu Si looked up and saw wisps of smoke rising from the valley deep in the fog. The outlines of several stilt houses were looming, and green cloth banners with snake totems painted on them were fluttering above the bamboo buildings.

"Pass my general's order!"

Liu Si suddenly turned around, and the hem of his black robe swept across the blood-stained dry grass.

"Anyone who resists the land confiscation will be sent to the army as a male, the women as slaves, and the old and young as a child to be exiled to the north!"

His voice seemed to be squeezed out from deep in his chest, startling the night owls on the treetops and making them fly around in panic.

Ma Zhong looked at the prince's tense jawline and his Adam's apple rolled. Since he went to the war, he had never seen Liu Si with such a grim expression, as if even his pupils were frozen.

That night, thirty-six bonfires were lit in the Han army camp.

Liu Si squatted in front of the sand table, dipping his fingers in tea and outlining the terrain on the burlap.

As the candlelight flickered, he caught a glimpse of his own shadow reflected on the tent curtain, his shoulders and back bent like a taut string.

"here."

His fingertips pressed heavily on the location of Wuling Valley.

"The barbarians' granary must be hidden in the Shepan Gorge, where the miasma is the thickest."

The third watch gong sounded, and three hundred warriors climbed up the hillside carrying oil-soaked straw on their backs.

Their straw sandals were covered with thick moss as they climbed silently on the slippery rock walls.

Liu Si personally commanded the central army, looking at the Big Dipper twinkling in the sky, and the sweat from his palms soaked the tiger talisman.

Suddenly, a burst of fire rose from the southwest, making the clouds glow a strange orange-red.

"Fire arrows!"

As the command flag was waved, thousands of rockets streaked across the night sky.

The thatched hut collapsed in flames, and the fire illuminated the terrified faces of the barbarians.

Shu Xieman rushed out of the bamboo building with his upper body naked. There was a hideous tattoo on his chest, and the bronze knife in his hand was still dripping with the blood of the people he had robbed last night.

"Han dog!"

He roared like a wild beast, but was shot into a hedgehog by the sudden rain of arrows.

The fire spread rapidly with the help of the wind, and screams and the sounds of weapons colliding mixed together.

The Nanman leader brandished a caltrop bone flower to break out of the encirclement. The leopard skin cloak of this Nanman warrior fluttered in the fire, and the bone ornament on his forehead jingled with his movements.

"Archers, concentrate your fire on the rebels!" Liu Si took off the horn from his waist and blew out a sharp, long note.

The Han army's formation changed instantly, shields were erected like walls, and the rain of arrows formed an impenetrable web of death.

The Nanman leader's mount was shot in the eye, and the man stood up and threw him to the ground.

As he struggled to get up, three sharp arrows pierced his throat. Warm blood splattered on the burning stilt house behind him, dyeing the totem flag dark red.

Three days later, the smell of blood on the top of Wuling City had not yet dissipated.

Liu Si held the battlements with his hands and watched the barbarian captives tied with iron chains being driven towards the north.

Their bare feet walked across the hot cobblestone road, leaving a trail of blood behind them.

An old woman suddenly broke free from her restraints and rushed to the top of the city wall, but was stopped by the Han army's spears.

She raised her head and cursed, revealing her mouth with all her gums missing, and sprayed obscene words mixed with saliva onto the surface of Liu Si's boots.

"remember."

Liu Si bent down and picked up the bone hairpin that the old woman had dropped, and played with it gently in his hands.

"Your blood will become fertilizer for the Han Dynasty's fields."

When he stood up, the mountain breeze lifted the corners of his robe, and the word "Han" embroidered on the lining flashed in the sunlight.

In the distance, the seven large characters "Wuling County Dutiansi" on the newly erected boundary marker were still covered with cinnabar that had not yet dried, blending in with the surging fiery clouds in the sky.

In the midst of blood and fire, Jingzhou completed the land reclamation.

The land in other places was built with blood and fire.

"Now that taxes are plentiful, it's time to march north."

Liu Chan's words brought Liu Si back to reality.

The Emperor of Han sat up straight, and his crown tassels shook violently.

"The Xiongnu and Xianbei, these jackals, have been harassing our border for too long."

There was a gleam of ruthlessness in his eyes.

Liu Si nodded in agreement, but he had already planned for a long time in his mind.

The three-year land survey not only enriched the national treasury, but more importantly, it helped to find out the population, land area and military resources of each state.

He took out a sheepskin map from his sleeve and slowly unfolded it on the table: "Your son proposes that we march north in three routes. The western route will go out of Yumen Pass and attack the Xianbei royal court directly; the central route will attack from Yunzhong County and cut off the Xiongnu's retreat; the eastern route will cross the Yellow River and drive directly to the Xiongnu royal court."

The densely packed red dots on the map mark the garrisons of the Han army, while the blue lines outline the spheres of influence of the Xianbei and Xiongnu.

The emperor and his minister discussed the matter until late at night, and the drum outside the palace had already struck three o'clock in the morning.

When Liu Si left, he looked at the waning moon above the palace wall and thought of the countless nights like this in the past three years, when he studied the habits of the Qiang people in the military tent in Yongzhou, checked the progress of military farming in the rain in Jingzhou, and had long talks with advisers in the study in Chang'an.

Every step is difficult, but we have to take it.

When he returned to the East Palace, on the desk was the battle report sent by King Qin Liu Xuan from the Western Regions.

Looking at his brother's achievements in expanding territory in the Western Regions, Liu Si's mouth curled up slightly, but soon returned to calm.

On the road to power, they are both brothers and rivals.

But at this moment, his gaze passed over the palace wall and looked towards the northern sky - there would be a new battlefield.

In the late autumn of the seventh year of Yanxing, when the flag of the first Northern Expedition army was raised in Yunzhong County, the people of Luoyang City stood on the city wall, watching the mighty army disappear on the horizon.

In the cold wind, the soldiers' desolate singing could be heard: "Whoever openly offends the mighty Han will be punished, even though he is far away!"

This sound seemed to have traveled through time and space, echoing the Han cavalry of hundreds of years ago.

Behind this Northern Expedition, which was related to the fate of the dynasty, was the result of the three years of land measurement under the iron fist of Crown Prince Liu Si, the blood and sweat of countless people, and the prelude to the rise of an empire. (End of this chapter)