The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 505: The Emperor's Clothes and Bones Return to the Sea

Hao Shao slammed his fist on the sand table, causing several flags to fall. He shouted sternly: "Send a message to Chang'an! The Xianbei tribes are joining forces to invade the south, and the entire northern border is in danger!"

The wind and snow howled outside the tent, as if echoing the anger in the general's chest. Deputy General Wang Yan said anxiously: "General, the enemy is coming fiercely, and our troops are scattered. Should we concentrate our forces to defend Taiyuan first?"

"No!" Hao Shao's eyes flashed with brilliance, he grabbed the command arrow and inserted it heavily into the sand table: "Pass my order--"

"Order Zhang Yi of Yanmen to hold out for ten days and hold back Kebineng's main force!"

"Urgently dispatch Han De from Hedong to lead his troops north to support Pingcheng!"

"The Shuofang Army abandons the outer strongholds and retreats to the Wuchuan Fortress!"

He slid his finger across the winding mountains on the map and suddenly stopped at the location of the Tiger Killing Pass: "As for the Duan tribe..." A cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "I will meet them in person!"

That night, three thousand elite cavalrymen in black armor quietly left the city in the snowstorm. Their iron hooves were wrapped in felt, their horses were holding their mouths shut, and their men were silent, stabbing towards the north like a pitch-black dagger.

Three days later, outside Mayi City.

The Duan cavalry were drinking the looted wine in their tent when suddenly the ground began to shake. The sentry had barely uttered a cry when an arrow shot through the air and pierced his throat.

"Tang Army! It's the Tang Army cavalry!"

Hao Shao led the way, his long spear like a dragon, instantly knocking three Xianbei warriors flying. The cavalry torrents crushed the camp like a torrent of wind and rain, and the torches illuminated the general's stern face: "The Duan tribe broke the alliance and invaded the border. Today, you will pay with blood!"

Poor Duan's army. They never imagined that when the Tang Dynasty's northern border front was leaking everywhere, Hao Shao would personally lead the army to attack. In a short period of time, they were killed and suffered heavy casualties, and were forced to withdraw from Mayi.

At this moment, the city of Chang'an was still in the process of resuming production, and the entire court, under the leadership of Qin Shou, quickly began to operate.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty has ascended the throne and has chosen the location of the mausoleum. We have selected thirteen dragon veins, please make your decision." Zuo Ci, the director of the Imperial Observatory, came out.

The emperor's mausoleum is very important, especially for the founding emperor. Generally, the construction of the mausoleum begins when the emperor ascends the throne. Sometimes, the mausoleum is not fully completed when the emperor dies, such as the case of Qin Shihuang.

The cost of building an emperor's mausoleum is also enormous. It is unknown how much financial, material and human resources it will take. It is a great test for the court.

If Qin Shou wanted to build a mausoleum, it would cost even more money and grain.

He looked at the map in front of him. Most of it was in Guanzhong. The mountains were majestic and undulating, like a giant dragon, spanning the land of Guanzhong. It really looked like a dragon vein.

"Looking at the map in front of me, it reminds me of the mausoleums of the emperors of the previous dynasties. In order to plunder gold and silver, Dong Zhuo sent Lu Bu to dig up the imperial mausoleum. I sent people to collect the remains back then. Cao Cao ran out of money from the war, so he sent out the tomb raiders to borrow money from the dead. I don't know how many tombs of kings and princes were robbed by him."

Qin Shou suddenly sighed.

In ancient times, there were countless tomb robbers. The tombs of some wealthy families were basically visited. Although soldiers were sent to guard the emperor's mausoleum, when the imperial power was at its end, the mausoleums of emperors of all dynasties were all robbed. After all, no matter how powerful a dynasty is, it will eventually fall. There are so many emperors in history, and few of their tombs have not been robbed. Sometimes, those tomb robbers will randomly discard the emperor's bones, which is a horrible sight.

Qin Shou's words caused a brief silence in the hall, and the ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. The feng shui map in Zuo Ci's hand trembled slightly, and his snow-white beard and hair fluttered in the breeze.

"Your Majesty." Jia Xu suddenly stepped out of the line, and said in a resounding voice, "I think we should follow the example of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, and use the mountain as the mausoleum, without sealing or planting trees. This can prevent theft and save people's energy."

The Minister of War Lu Su immediately agreed: "Your Majesty, the world is just beginning to settle down, there are still some wars, and the national treasury is tight. If we build a large-scale mausoleum, it may shake the foundation of the country. I ask that the construction be postponed until the world is stable before discussing it again."

Qin Shou chuckled and said, "My Lords, I am not thinking of building a mausoleum. I also don't want to be dug up after my death like the emperors of the previous dynasties. There is no dynasty in this world that lasts for a thousand years. Sooner or later, the Tang Dynasty will disappear in the long river of history. At that time, the mausoleums of emperors of previous dynasties will also be stolen."

In the hall, all the ministers showed a look of horror on their faces when they heard this.

Although they all knew that what Qin Shou said was true, it was simply unimaginable for an emperor to abandon his mausoleum.

"Your Majesty, every emperor in every dynasty has a mausoleum. Your Majesty is a great ruler, how can you not have a mausoleum? Although the Tang Dynasty needs money everywhere now, there are some things that cannot be reduced. I ask Your Majesty to think twice." Jia Xu said solemnly.

He had heard that Qin Shou didn't want to build a mausoleum. This was a terrifying thing, something that could shake the foundation of the country. Although he knew that Qin Shou often did things that were different from ordinary people, he had never thought that he would have such a ridiculous idea.

"Your Majesty, please think twice."

The ministers also reacted at this time and came forward to persuade him.

"In that case, let's build a cenotaph! After I die, my clothes and hat will be buried in the imperial mausoleum, and my bones will return to the sea." Qin Shou immediately patted the dragon throne and said, "I can't control what my descendants will look like, but this is how my mausoleum will be built! There doesn't need to be any gold, silver or jewelry in it, just a dragon robe and a set of armor. That's it."

After hearing this, the ministers wanted to dissuade him, but they heard a hurried voice coming from outside the hall.

"Urgent news from Northern Frontier, urgent news from Northern Frontier."

The faces of all the ministers turned serious and they all looked outside. The matter of the emperor's mausoleum was instantly put aside. The matter of the northern border was the most important.

A dusty messenger stumbled into the hall, his armor covered in dust.

He fell to his knees with a plop, holding up the military report: "Your Majesty! The 200,000-strong coalition army of the three Xianbei tribes marched south, and all the land north of Yanmen Pass was lost. General Hao Shao is leading his troops to defend Yanmen Pass!"

The Minister of War Lu Su took a quick step forward to receive the military report, unfolded it, and his face suddenly changed. He read aloud: "Kebi Neng, Budugen, Duan and Murong surrounded the Yanmen Pass from three directions. More than half of the defenders of Yanmen were killed or wounded. Wangtao and other counties were lost in one day. The whole city was massacred..."

There was an uproar in the court. The Minister of Revenue said in a trembling voice: "The national treasury has just allocated 300,000 shi of military rations to the northern border. I'm afraid they are still on the way and have not yet reached Yanmen."

Qin Shou slammed the table and stood up, and the memorials on the dragon table fell to the ground. He strode down the steps, and his black dragon robe made a sharp sound in the hall: "Send the order! I will lead the army in person. How dare the small Xianbei invade the Central Plains? How dare you be so bold."

(End of this chapter)