My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 248: Seeking Death
Sometimes words need to be heard backwards.

Words that are known to everyone are not necessarily earth-shattering, and whispers that fall in silence are not necessarily insignificant.

Collude with the Huns and communicate with the enemy country.

This matter is not trivial, and there is no way it can be trivial!
However, after Liu Ju learned about this, he did not take any drastic action. He just wrote a letter to Shi Gong, the governor of Liangzhou, and then did what he had to do.

Ten days later, the 'brother-in-law' sent someone back with a message: "The feud between Xianling and Fengyang has been resolved, the reason is unknown."

He didn't know, but Liu Ju knew...

The beginning of winter.

Snowflakes were flying everywhere, scattering here and there. The snow in Chang'an was not as violent as that in Mobei, and there was a sense of comfort in the falling snow. However, it had snowed for several days in a row, and the high walls and green tiles of the Weiyang Palace were still covered with a layer of white.

"I have met my father and my mother."

In the Pepper Room, Liu Ju bowed and saluted.

"Don't be so polite, take a seat." Wei Zifu smiled warmly and waved, "You always make it in time for dinner, come and taste the soup cooked by my mother."

"Thank you, mother."

Liu Ju grinned, sat down at the table generously, and ate and drank without any courtesy. This was always the way Liu Ju acted when he was in the Pepper Room.

The queen also liked her son's behavior. As the saying goes, there is no family affection in the royal family, but at least in her case, her son took care of her feelings as a mother.

As the mother and son were in love, the emperor sitting in the main seat said unhappily, "How can you eat this little thing in the Crown Prince's Palace? You come to the Pepper Room Palace every day to eat and drink for free."

"Tsk."

Before Liu Ju could even open his mouth, the queen rolled her eyes at her husband and said, "Let's have a meal together, it's fun. I don't need a bite to eat here."

"He's already that old, but he's still yelling 'juer, juer'."

"I only have this one son, can't I call him?"

"I only have this one prince..."

Very good, now the scene has transitioned from the affection between mother and son to the flirting between husband and wife. Liu Ju, holding a bowl of meat soup, watched with a smile on his face, without interrupting.

When the two men noticed this, Wei Zifu immediately slapped Liu Ju and said angrily, "Eat!"

"Yes Yes."

Liu Ju took the millet rice handed to him by the queen and nodded repeatedly.

The emperor on the throne snorted, and no one knew whether he was unhappy or enjoying this kind of family happiness. In any case, the emperor kept maintaining the airs of a king and a father.

After the meal, Wei Zifu was embroidering on the side, while Liu Che and Liu Ju, father and son, set up a chessboard and played chess.

While the emperor was thinking about the next move, Liu Ju said, "There was news from the north that the Qiang people were going to rebel."

"Oh?"

Liu Che looked up, with some surprise and some displeasure, but not much. He only glanced at it, then lowered his head and focused on the chess game again: "Tell me in detail."

"After Wu Wei's incident, his reputation in the grasslands rose. In order to keep up with the others, his brother Ju Lihu also wanted to make some noise for the other tribes on the grasslands to hear."

"The two Qiang tribes in the south of Wuwei, Xianling and Fengyang, were both persuaded by Julihu to resolve their hatred. They may take action after the spring."

After Liu Ju finished his narration, the empress looked normal, but the emperor looked cold.

"Humph!"

"When the Hexi Corridor was in the hands of the Xiongnu, the Qiang people were their subordinates. It is not surprising that their former masters stepped forward to resolve the feud."

As he spoke, the emperor placed a black piece on the chessboard.

It is obvious that Liu Che didn't care whether the Qiang people would rebel or not. The coldness on his face was only caused by hearing the word "Wuwei".

To be realistic, the reasons have to do with size, military strength, national destiny, inheritance, the discussion of the four barbarians, and so on.

But to put it simply, it can be summed up in four words:

Disdainful!
In the emperor's mind, the Qiang rebellion was of the same nature as the rebellions of Nanyue and Dongyue. Whoever jumped would be beaten. The only difference might be their value.

Is it worth being absorbed?

The terrain of Nanyue is acceptable, so we will swallow it up and set up a county there. The mountains and rivers of Dongyue are dangerous, so we will relocate all its people there.

The Qiang people had neither a Gou Jian as their ancestor nor had they ever been exposed to the ethics and morals of the Central Plains. The area they lived in was even more bitter and cold. To be honest, Liu Che had no interest in them at all.

Even the desire to conquer cannot arise.

As early as the time of Qin Xiaogong, the Qin State had "subdued the Qiang and Rong tribes with its power". When the First Emperor came to power, "Meng Tian was sent west to drive the Rong tribes away, and the Qiang tribes no longer crossed the south."

After the establishment of the Han Dynasty.

The Qiang people shared borders with both the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty, so some of them surrendered to the Xiongnu and some surrendered to the Han Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Jing.

The leader of the Yan Qiang tribe petitioned the emperor to move eastward to Longxi County and submit to the Han Dynasty.

Today, the Hexi Corridor has completely fallen into the hands of the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty is the only one left of the vast empire bordering the Qiang people.

In such a situation, they were still willing to follow their old master. What could Liu Che say? He just wanted them to get what they wanted and die what they wanted...

Regarding the Qiang rebellion, Liu Ju agreed with his father that if they dared to rebel, they should draw their weapons.

This was not the main purpose of his visit today.

"Intelligence from the grasslands shows that the Han people acted as middlemen during the Xiongnu's efforts to persuade the Qiang people." Liu Ju whispered across the chessboard.

Hear this.

The emperor paused as he placed his pieces. The empress, who was sewing the needle beside him, looked stern and put down her embroidery. Wei Zifu asked sternly, "Have you figured it out?"

"The news came from the son of the Xiongnu Chanyu, so it is probably true. Besides, the four counties in Hexi are all important border towns. Without help from insiders, it will be difficult for the Xiongnu to establish contact with the Qiang people." Liu Ju told the truth.

As soon as he finished speaking, a voice came from the other end:
Snapped!
Da da da da…

The chess piece in the emperor's hand was thrown heavily to the ground, making a series of crisp sounds, and the atmosphere in the hall became solemn.

Liu Che's eyes were grim. "Who is colluding with the Huns?"

Liu Ju said seriously: "I don't know yet, but I have already put pressure on the grassland."

The emperor heard the hidden meaning and raised his index finger, pointing, "Whatever the son of the Great Chanyu wants, give it to him first."

At this point, the emperor gnashed his teeth, his bulging cheeks were clearly visible, his eyes wandered for a while, and he said in a deep voice:
"It seems that the princes of our Han Dynasty are never at peace for a moment!"

Yes.

The first people the emperor suspected were the princes. They had the manpower and material resources, and most importantly, they had very strong motives!
Since there were no outsiders in the room, Liu Che spoke without hesitation, "Back then, the King of Huainan allowed his daughter to make friends with the rich and powerful in Chang'an, and the court officer investigated afterwards."

"We discovered that Liu Ling, with the help of Zhang Cigong, had contact with the north!"

The north naturally refers to the Huns.

This was the first time Liu Ju had heard of this. No wonder the emperor immediately thought of the princes when he heard about the spy. There was indeed an old precedent!
this moment.

Wei Zifu was stern, while Liu Ju was indifferent.

The emperor's expression kept changing, but in just a moment, he suppressed all his emotions, stood up, and walked out, motioning for the prince to follow.

"What do you think we should do about the Qiang rebellion?" Liu Che asked after leaving the hall.

Liu Ju walked and thought, and after a while he replied: "No matter how weak the Qiang people are, they can gather tens of thousands of soldiers. When it comes to fighting, we cannot underestimate them."

"We should first secretly mobilize a large army and station it near Wuwei and Longxi to prepare for any unexpected events, and then send envoys to the Qiang tribe to test their strength."

"Whether fighting or not, the court can take the initiative."

The corridor.

With a group of eunuchs and palace maids in the back and the emperor and the crown prince in the front, Liu Che thought for a moment and asked, "The strategy is fine, but are there any details that I should pay attention to?"

Liu Ju frowned, "The mobilization of the army must be kept secret to prevent spies from leaking military information..." "This is one of them."

The emperor kept walking, his expression stiff and cold as he said, "I will teach you, secondly, you must send an envoy who is domineering and arrogant by nature!"

"It would be best if the Qiang people decisively rebel. If they hesitate to rebel, we can help them. The imperial court will mobilize troops once, but will it return empty-handed?"

"If you dare to rebel, you will die!"

This strong man was as strong as ever. The emperor asked about the strategy and gave his comments, but he did not make a decision on whether to do so, at least not now.

The emperor only said to let Liu Ju go first, as he had his own plans for the matter.

A quarter of an hour later.

Greenhouse Palace.

The man in embroidered clothes stood below with his head bowed.

"Send people to investigate the movements of the Qiang tribe in the west. Remember, don't alert the enemy." A deep, deep voice sounded.

"Yes." The man in embroidered clothes clasped his fists.

Liu Che asked again: "I asked you to place people in the grasslands before. How is the placement going?"

"It has achieved initial results." The man replied, "Through a small tribe of Xiongnu, I have contacted several Chanyu Yanshi and am negotiating with them."

This route is similar to the "Chen Pingce" during the Siege of Baideng. It seems a bit shameful, but Liu Che doesn't care.

No matter whether the cat is black or white, a cat that can catch mice is a good cat.

"Has the Julihu tribe made any progress?"

"Not much progress." The man in embroidered clothes looked up and said solemnly, "If your majesty wants to investigate something in a short period of time, it will cost a lot of money!"

"From the treasury."

The emperor did not hesitate at all and said directly: "I have given you enough gold. There is someone in the Han Dynasty who is communicating with Ju Lihu. Go and find out. I want to know his name!"

"Here!"

The man in embroidered clothes had left for a long time, but the greenhouse hall was still as quiet as before.

Liu Che narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression sometimes gloomy, sometimes fierce. Although the hall was warm and pleasant, the eunuch standing beside him still felt hot and cold...

……

Night, western suburbs of Chang'an.

In a certain manor, two people sat opposite each other and talked in a dim secret room.

"Where the garrisons in Longxi County are weak are marked on this map. You and the Qiang people can decide where to attack, but I will give you a suggestion."

"Please say."

"The closer to Chang'an, the better."

"Why?"

"The closer we are to the capital, the greater the noise we will make. Let the Qiang people attract attention, and then you can concentrate your forces to attack Dunhuang and Jiuquan counties from the Western Regions and Juyan Lake. It is better to cut off one finger than to injure ten!"

"..." After a moment's silence, the man sitting on the right put away the map.

"I will convey this to the Great Chanyu."

As he was talking, the man was about to get up and leave, but the owner of the house opposite stopped him and said in a gloomy tone: "Wait!"

"Anything else?"

"I'll give you a piece of information for free, Great Chanyu. The prince has spies in the north, you'd better check for yourselves."

"really!?"

"The last time Wu Wei went south, the battle report was still unclear, but the prince concluded in the court meeting that the person coming was not your Great Chanyu. The spy hiding beside your Great Chanyu who could control his whereabouts so accurately must be extraordinary."

"This is a matter of great importance. I need to report it as soon as possible. Goodbye!"

There was a sound of people hurriedly leaving the secret room, and soon, several figures disappeared into the dark night...

……

In the late winter month, the end of winter is still approaching, but the snow has gradually disappeared from south to north, and soon, human activities have recovered before the plants and trees.

As the world was filled with the sound of melting snow, something happened quietly in the city of Chang'an.

First of all.

The emperor once again thought of the former governor of Hedong County who "fell off his horse to avoid the battle". Although he had committed suicide and his entire family was executed, the emperor still felt angry when he thought of him.

After angrily cursing in the court, he sent an order to the Grand Marshal's Mansion, stating that after the snow melted, all counties had to conduct another "capital examination", especially the border counties, which must not slack off!
Then, starting from Tianshui County and moving all the way to the north, the sky was covered with flags and the army was frequently mobilized.

Second.

In order to test the effectiveness of the eight colonels of the Northern Army, General Huo Qubing was ordered to lead his troops north to Shuofang County, one for testing and the other for demonstration.

In addition to these two major events, there were also several less noticeable smaller events.

E.g.

Grand Coachman Gongsun He was impeached by the censor, who accused him of neglecting his duties and ruining the horse administration. Gongsun He was reprimanded by the emperor and left Beijing a few days later to inspect the military horse farm.

For example, Li Gan, the Praetorian Guard, returned to his hometown to visit the graves of his ancestors. Of course, this is even less worth mentioning.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the court, a similar scene was played out again.

On the banks of the Weishui River.

Liu Ju reiterated: "Have you decided to go?"

Jin Lun clasped his fists solemnly and said, "Your Highness, as the clerk of the imperial court, I have the duty of being an envoy. Besides, the Qiang tribes such as Xianling Qiang belonged to the Xiutu tribe back then."

"It is time for me to go!"

"Okay." Liu Ju nodded, "You know what to do, be careful."

"I will definitely live up to your trust!"

Jin Lun did not disappoint Liu Ju, nor did he disappoint Liu Ju's evaluation of him. He was young, vigorous and full of enthusiasm.

To put it another way,

So domineering!
When he was young, Jin Lun was a prince of the Xiongnu tribe and lived a life of luxury. After arriving in Chang'an, he did not suffer any hardship because of the care of his brother.

Everything was going smoothly for him, and since he was going to a tribe that was formerly affiliated with the Qiang people, it was easy for Young Master Jin to be domineering!

Actually.

The emperor thought too much. He didn't need the Han envoys to provoke the Qiang people. Under the instigation of the Xiongnu, the Qiang people's rebellion was decisive...

When Jin Lun was chased all the way to the city of Fuhan by Qiang cavalry with two bloody heads hanging on the back of his horse, the decision of whether to fight or not had already been made.

this moment.

The Western Regions merchant caravans, which had been traveling safely on the Hexi Corridor for many years, witnessed for the first time the horrificness of this important military route and the terror of the Han cavalry.

Southeast of Fuhan, the cavalry came out of Angu City, and the banners of the troops read:

plum!
To the northwest of Fuhan, cavalry came out of Guzang City, with the following inscription on their banners:

Gongsun!

Northeast of Fuhan, outside the city of Jincheng.

The merchants tried their best to control the restless camels, and as they retreated in embarrassment, their horrified eyes unconsciously turned to the city gate, where a torrent of steel was rushing out.

On the leading flag, there was a word written:
Ho!
(End of this chapter)