Han: The witchcraft disaster begins, I fight against Emperor Wu of Han

Chapter 88 Liu Che’s transformation!
Changan.

It took less than half a month from the time Liu Che left to the time he came back.

However, for Liu Che, the scenes he saw during this half month were completely different from what he saw during his grand tour around the world.

The impact of the disaster victims on him was too great!
The people were starving and even ate all the bark off the trees. They just went to Liangzhou, but some of the victims flirted with the Xiongnu...

And just when Liu Che was thinking about it.

The ministers, who had been worried, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw His Majesty finally return safely.

after all……

The current situation in the Han Dynasty requires everyone to be cautious.

The position of crown prince is still undecided!
The slightest risk of the emperor being away from home is a serious threat to the foundation of the country!

Without staying outside Chang'an for too long, the group headed straight to the Weiyang Palace...

There are many things happening inside and outside the Han Dynasty now, and every one of them is like a huge stone weighing on everyone's heart.

Don’t think that Liu Jing seems to have solved a lot.

However, the aftermath of the disaster victims - the court could not supply unlimited food and grass. The temporary solution to the crisis was the result of all parties making every effort to raise food and grass.

But what will happen to these disaster victims? Those who own land are better off, as the rains will at least give them hope that their land can be cultivated.

But what about those who have no land?

You know, the biggest reason why the victims fled was that they had no land... The Han court truly felt the harm caused by the refugees sweeping across thousands of miles.

We also need to investigate the Liangzhou incident, and be wary of the Xiongnu's surprise attack...

Although Liu Jing made it clear to the emperor that the Huns would retreat.

But before seeing the results of military affairs, who would believe the words of a grandson of the emperor who has never fought on the battlefield? That person is really crazy.

All the way back to Weiyang Palace, Liu Che did not utter a word.

What I saw before me was the prosperity of Chang'an, which reminded me of the "grand scenes" where many alchemists had been before, including Shanglin Garden, Jianzhang Palace, Ganquan Palace, and now Chang'an, the symbol of the power center of the Han Dynasty...

This time,
He seemed to have returned to the fairyland from hell!

But Liu Che no longer felt happy.

……

Carriages and horses run side by side.

Liu Ju came to Liu Jing and seemed to have something to say, but he sighed several times. Seeing this, the latter was relieved:

"Father, why are you sighing? The external threat has disappeared. Now we just need to deal with the victims."

"Jing'er, you don't know military affairs, so don't talk nonsense!" At this time, Liu Ju said, "Do you think I'm talking about the Xiongnu for you? The Xiongnu issue is a foregone conclusion. At worst, we can just stop them with troops and block them with earth. As long as the route is open, the Han Dynasty is not afraid!"

"I heard about the martial arts competition between you and Li Guangli!"

So that's why.

Liu Jing said, "This day will come sooner or later. The seeds were sown when I first used him as an example to point out that Your Majesty has been militarizing in recent years."

"What's more, Li Guangli deliberately stayed on the way for two days. If I hadn't appeared at the critical moment, I'm afraid it would have caused a disaster!"

"After the incident, His Majesty did not deal with it, but tolerated it instead."

Liu Ju said helplessly: "Father has tolerated Li Guangli more than once or twice, so there is no need to say more."

"Just talking about the martial arts competition you and he had planned."

"Jing'er, even though you have God's blessing, I have to say that you still fell into Li Guangli's trap!"

"Mr. Shi has already told me that Li Guangli will not compete with you alone, but will choose a thousand men to compete with you in many aspects. Even if he is mediocre on the battlefield, he has won several battles after all, and Your Majesty wants to protect him openly!"

"Over the years, he has controlled the elite troops of the Han Dynasty. Even the elite troops left by my uncle have joined him openly or secretly. He only needs to select the elite among the elite. A thousand experienced warriors, where can you choose these people to fight against them?"

"This... is beyond the control of Tianyou! It's all human power!"

Liu Jing knew that what his father said was true.

This time, no matter how great God’s blessing is, it cannot interfere.

After all, everyone in the same Shanglin Garden has the same environment.

"Well, I will select some skilled guards from among the former Crown Prince's Palace guards and guests for you. I hope you can use them..."

Before Liu Ju could finish his words, he saw the former shaking his head, "No, I already have another choice."

Liu Ju was stunned for a moment, then relaxed and said with a smile: "You think the same as your father, right, you want to go find the orphan of Yulin?"

Behind him, Shi De had been listening. When he heard this, he hurriedly said, "I knew that the grandson of Emperor Jing must have been prepared. Although the Yulin orphans are not as good as the Qimen Army, because Your Majesty has been obsessed with immortality and has built many palaces in Shanglin Garden in recent years, he has not been able to train these Yulin orphans as before."

"But after all, they are the reserve force of the Imperial Guards, and have obvious advantages over others."

"More importantly, His Majesty values ​​military talents the most. He has zero tolerance for others, but he treasures military commanders who can truly fight on the battlefield and make military achievements."

Shi Dexi said: "Grandson Jing doesn't even have to win this time. Under extreme conditions, it doesn't matter if it's a tie. No! Even a slight loss is fine. In the eyes of His Majesty, it is probably considered that Li Guangli lost."

It can be seen that although Shi De was not optimistic about Liu Jing, he had an extraordinary expectation for this martial arts performance.

But it’s normal to think about it.

The Han Dynasty was now in a period of transition among its generals, and Liu Che himself was an extreme "warmongerer". In his eyes, the four words "good at fighting and conquering" were probably equivalent to "prolonging life".

However, just when the two were happy.

Liu Jing, however, poured cold water on him.

"Although Yulin orphans are good, His Majesty cannot give me too many. One hundred is already the limit."

Yes.

The two of them quickly came to their senses and felt that they were too happy too early.

While he was in a daze, Liu Jing suddenly asked, "How many young and strong people are there among the disaster victims around the capital?"

In an instant.

Liu Ju looked at Liu Jing in a daze, and an incredible thought slowly emerged in his mind.

……

All the way to Weiyang Palace.

All the ministers entered the hall and waited, while Liu Che changed his clothes and immediately came into the hall.

Liu Jing’s guess was correct.

The first thing the ministers did was to blame themselves for having persuaded the emperor to go to Liang Province, which almost caused a major change in the emperor and the Han Dynasty.

After an impassioned speech, Liu Jing just stood there quietly. With just one sentence, he made all the officials present fall silent.

"If I don't go, what will happen to Yinmi City now? Should I kill the victims and stir up uprisings in the capital? Or should I just watch the Xiongnu invade the Han Dynasty?"

Soon no one talked about this topic anymore.

Next, the minister asked Di Chun, the governor of Liangzhou, about the current situation in Liangzhou as he monitored it.

Liu Che also asked all officials to check the number of victims and how long the court could sustain the disaster relief.

Until finally...

After talking about everything, it was dusk again.

Liu Che and Jin Midi and others who were accompanying him were already starving.

Even many of the three dukes and nine ministers felt dry mouth.

however.

The crowd had not yet left because there was one thing that made them far more worried than the completion of the disaster relief, including the worry that the Huns still had the intention of moving south.

"Your Majesty, may I ask the grandson of the Emperor Jing and General Ershi whether there really was such a martial arts performance?"

The person who mentioned this matter was Honglu Qing Shangqiu Cheng.

When these words were spoken, all the ministers were startled.

In fact, whether it is Liu Jing or Liu Ju just now.

When they talked about this matter, they seemed to have subconsciously overlooked the fact that should not have been ignored - the gains behind the fight with Li Guangli!
What's the point of superficial confrontation?
Li Guangli's personal success or failure was just a mere martial arts performance and didn't seem to mean anything.

But behind it, there is a huge issue——

Crown prince!

Now, it is true that the crown prince was deposed, but it is also true that His Majesty made him regent for King Huaide. The "consequences" after the success or failure of the two are also very interesting.

One is that the old prince's palace and everything else should go to Lingnan immediately...

The other one was what Li Guangli said himself, that he went to see his brothers who died on the battlefield.

Invisibly, everyone had already seen the flashes of swords and the shadows of sabers appearing on the vacant throne of crown prince.

"You all seem to know it? This time, I went on a tour incognito, hoping to tour half of the country and see more. But I never thought that just traveling between the capital and Liangzhou would make me see how poor and weak my Han Dynasty has become!"

"In Liangzhou, the people who defected to the Xiongnu are rampant. The Xiongnu were defeated by me in the early years and never recovered. Now they are eyeing us covetously again?"

"I have said in the past that the attack and defense are different, but now... the Han Dynasty should not be like this! It just so happens that the grandson of the emperor has committed crimes several times and mentioned the negligence of General Ershi in leading the troops to fight."

"For many years, the country has not held a proper martial arts performance. This time, let me see how much of the Han Dynasty's elite troops still have the heroic spirit of the past?"

Liu Che said here.

Suddenly he looked at Liu Jing and Li Guangli.

"So, they said before that they would give them a thousand soldiers?"

"I thought about it again on the way back. One thousand soldiers are too few. It's not fun to watch. Three thousand or five thousand is about right."

"They all fought as cavalry, and they all regarded their opponents as the Huns. Let me take a good look at them... Is Emperor Jing's grandson the Zhao Kuo who only talks big but does nothing?"

"Or maybe General Ershi is really as he said?"

Liu Che glanced at the ministers, as if he knew what they were thinking. He sneered and said, "Are you satisfied with my answer?"

The ministers bowed their heads quickly.

Dare not say any more.

Your Majesty has said so, the meaning is very clear.

Li Guangli was even more delighted. His Majesty had increased the number of people again, which was simply favoring him.

After all, it was easy for him to find three to five thousand elite soldiers in the army.

The grandson of Emperor Jing only had a little interaction with Qimen and Yulin, but Your Majesty would not transfer his own Qimen Army to him.

Therefore, the outcome of this battle has actually been decided now.

When Liu Ju heard this, he was already worried because of the previous conversation.

When his father suddenly increased the number of people, he completely despaired!
even.

Including Liu Jing himself, no one was surprised by Liu Che's sudden change.

It is said that the power of heaven is unpredictable. After returning to the capital, Liu Che seemed to have become his former self again...

Liu Ju quickly said, "Your Majesty, if it is 5,000, the number will increase and the cost will be high. Now is the time for disaster relief. If we spend less, we can save more victims."

He wanted to lighten Liu Jing's burden and also really wanted to reduce expenses.

however.

This attitude also gave the ministers an opportunity to attack.

"King Huaide, military affairs have always been about military merit. If you lose the battle, no matter how little you spend, you are still helping the enemy. If you win the battle, no matter how much you spend, you can get back five or ten times as much," said Li Guangli.

Liu Ju wanted to refute.

"Whatever." Liu Jing suddenly nodded, "Five thousand is five thousand!"

He wanted to say more.

But after thinking about it, there is no point in saying more at this time.

He already had his own methods.

Soon, all the officials dispersed.

……

Liu Che left the court and had his meal.

He then asked Huo Guang and other ministers to come again.

The discussions with the "outer court" followed the official procedure of providing disaster relief and preparing for the Huns in advance.

It was in the inner court that he truly finalized his "strategy".

"These past few days, I asked you to discuss the "Shen Ming Fa". How is the discussion going?"

However, after seeing the disaster victims in Liangzhou, Liu Che had already asked Huo Guang, Jin Midi and others to discuss the matter.

Now that I am asking, I actually have the answer in my heart.

"Your Majesty, perhaps it is true as Grandson Jing said..."

Liu Che nodded and said, "If this law really makes local officials slack and collude with local bandits, it must be abolished as soon as possible."

"promise!"

Once the decision was made, Liu Che felt as if he felt a lot more relaxed.

He looked at the ministers in front of him, who were basically the ones he trusted the most.

"I have previously visited famous mountains and hermits, but never before have I seen such a profound scene of the people as I did during my visit to Liangzhou."

"Do you think what the disaster victims along the way said is true?"

Huo Guang and others lowered their heads and said, "Your Majesty, those people said too much, and most of them were disrespectful. Your Majesty should not take it to heart."

When Liu Che saw that he couldn't get any answers, he suddenly became annoyed.

"Since you said so, it is right?"

Huo Guang dared not say anything more.

Liu Che suddenly waved his hand and talked about another matter, "What do you think of Emperor Jing's grandson?"

Having learned the lesson from the previous question, Huo Guang did not dare to answer again this time.

But His Majesty's sudden question at this time made them think deeply.

It was Jin Midi who said, "He is a man blessed by God. We dare not judge him."

"Don't you dare?"

Liu Che closed his eyes. The next question was enough to frighten them.

"So you think that what he said about my fault is correct?"

This time, no one dared to speak.

However, Liu Che did not investigate further.

Instead, after a long while, he asked again: "Who do you think will win this time?"

Hear the words.

The three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief. They knew the answer very well.

They immediately said in unison: "Of course it is General Ershi."

Liu Che seemed relieved, and said with a deeper meaning:
"I will let him see this time, let me see, let the ministers and the world see... Without God's blessing, what is the true ability of this grandson of the Emperor Jing?"

……

The first thing Liu Jing did when he returned home was not to have dinner with his father and others.

Instead, he returned to his room.

Write and draw on the silk book.

Finally, the masterpiece is complete.

He immediately found the craftsman who had planned with him the "divine turtle emerging from the water" and told him a few things.

He just went to have his meal.

This time.

He seemed to be competing with Li Guangli.

But to some extent, isn't it also a competition with His Majesty?

(End of this chapter)