Liu Xuande would never be a succubus of the Eastern Han Dynasty!

Bingzhou: Chapter 42: Emperor Liu Hong

Luoyang, the capital of the Han Dynasty, has towering palaces and magnificent splendor, but it exudes a chilling coldness under the night sky.

Inside the Yongle Palace, the lights were bright, and the gilded bronze cranes were emitting wisps of incense, making the interior of the palace look like a dream.

The emperor Liu Hongduan was dressed in a dark dragon robe, with a jade belt around his waist, and his eyes were full of heroic spirit.

Although she is a woman, she has a masculine appearance, with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips tightly pursed, exuding a sense of majesty.

Her long hair was tied up with a golden crown, and a tourmaline pendant hung from her earlobe, swaying slightly, making her skin look even whiter.

At this moment, she supported the dragon table with both hands, her eyes fixed on the map spread out in front of the table, her brows furrowed.

On the map, the northern border line winds like a dragon, and the location of Dingxiang County is circled in red, making it particularly conspicuous.

The hall was silent except for the curling of sandalwood incense from the incense burner. The palace maids stood there with bated breath, not daring to make a sound.

"His Majesty."

An eunuch walked slowly forward. He was wearing a purple robe, had a white face and no beard, and had a sinister look in his eyes.

Liu Hong glanced at him and smiled, "So it's Marquis Zhang."

Zhang Rang bowed slightly, then whispered, "Your Majesty, are you worried about the soldiers on the front lines? If so, I have something to say."

Liu Hong raised his eyes, gazing calmly at the eunuch who had served him for a long time, and said slowly, "...Speak."

"As ordered."

Zhang Rang cleared his throat, pointed to Dingxiang County on the map, and spoke slowly:

"Your Majesty, although Liu Bei defeated the Xianbei overlord Tan Shihuai, the other three Han armies were completely annihilated. This is a serious matter."

"These three defeats will undoubtedly embolden the Xianbei people and make them even more rampant."

He paused, his finger moving towards the northern grasslands. "Tan Shihuai has three major tribes under his command, each with a force of approximately 200,000 to 400,000 soldiers."

"However, most of them stayed behind to defend the main camp against other barbarians. The number of troops available was approximately 100,000 each."

"Even so, the Marquis of ** only has a mere 10,000 cavalrymen. Compared to them, the disparity is enormous."

Zhang Rang narrowed his eyes, his tone growing graver, "The reason the Marquis was able to defeat Tan Shihuai earlier was entirely due to his foresight."

"Building high walls, storing abundant food supplies, and clearing the fields left the Xianbei cavalry with no food to plunder and no supplies to resupply, leading to their natural defeat."

"But now, the noble families are forcing him to fight. This is tantamount to asking him to abandon his own advantages and run to the Hu people's home turf to duel."

"It's difficult, really difficult to win!" Zhang Rang shook his head, and his sigh echoed in the hall.

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong's eyes were deep and he tapped the dragon table lightly with his fingertips without saying a word.

Although Zhang Rang was a servant with little knowledge, he had the experience of serving two emperors. In addition, he was smart, so he could naturally understand some of the things through what he saw and heard.

But is that all?

This is a game called thrones. Once it starts, it cannot be stopped because the loser will lose everything.

"..."

There was silence in the hall for a moment. Liu Hong suddenly stood up, walked slowly to the map, and stared at the north.

She whispered, "What about a surprise attack? I heard that Xuande's two great victories were both achieved through surprise attacks."

"Just like Huo Qubing in ancient times, he penetrated deep behind enemy lines and took them by surprise, thus defeating the enemy with a smaller force."

She turned to look at Zhang Rang, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

Zhang Rang shook his head without hesitation, his tone firm, "Your Majesty, the situation now is very different from that of Huo Qubing."

"Huo Qubing's successful surprise attack relied on his bravery and precise timing on the battlefield."

"More importantly, he has Wei Qing to hold the enemy back head-on, which allows him to launch a long-distance attack."

"But now..." Zhang Rang smiled bitterly, "I have never heard of such a powerful general in the north."

"Even if there were, the three Han armies have been annihilated, and there's no one to stop the enemy head-on. How could the Marquis launch a surprise attack?"

"This plan is difficult!" He spread his hands, his tone full of helplessness.

Liu Hong was silent, his eyes lingering on the map, his fingertips running across Dingxiang County, as if he was thinking.

Suddenly, a hint of madness flashed in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth rose slightly, as if she was crazy.

But the next moment, she took a deep breath, forced herself to suppress her emotions, and said in a deep voice: "...In your opinion, where is our chance of victory now?"

Liu Hong's voice was low and a little anxious.

She must quickly support an obedient general, give him military power, and turn him into a long sword to deal with the aristocratic families.

In this way, she can rest assured and enjoy more time. As for the big and small matters inside and outside the house...let them do as they please.

Anyway, once I have the intention to change, which minister under me would not try his best to persuade me, and I wish I could kill myself with all of them?

In that case, I can just enjoy myself peacefully, but in the meantime I still have to intimidate some guys who have ulterior motives.

And Liu Bei is a more suitable candidate.

In her opinion, Liu Bei was just a rootless duckweed with no foundation in the court.

All his power comes from her prestige.

If he disobeys one day, replacing him will be a matter of a snap.

What's more, his surname is Liu.

"Raising a tiger is a disaster?" Liu Hong sneered in his heart, "I'm not afraid."

She leaned against the dragon throne, her eyes fixed on Zhang Rang, waiting for his reply.

Zhang Rang pondered for a long time, sweat oozing from his forehead, before he slowly spoke:

"If Your Majesty truly wishes to win this battle, you might as well send food and clothing directly to the Xianbei people."

"The Hu people invaded the south simply because they were cold and hungry. If we satisfy their needs, they will naturally obey."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Hong slammed the dragon table, his eyes wide open, and said in a cold voice:

"Ridiculous! I'm just crazy, not a fool!"

"This is tantamount to raising a tiger to harm oneself. How can the Hu people's appetite be easily satisfied?"

"Today they send us food and clothes, tomorrow they will demand gold, silver and beauties, and the day after that they will demand our great Han territory!"

"Even if we can win temporarily, it's just drinking poison to quench thirst. Once they recover, they'll come back even worse!"

"For the country, this is a great crime!"

Liu Hong's tone was sharp, with murderous intent in his eyes.

Zhang Rang knelt hastily, bowed his head, and said, "Your Majesty is wise, and I am stupid. I deserve death!"

Liu Hong snorted coldly. Although she was beating him, she didn't want to blame him too much. She waved her hand and said, "Get up."

Zhang Rang stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and whispered, "Your Majesty is quite right, but..."

He paused, a sly look flashing in his eyes: "Although the Hu people are rampant, it will be difficult for them to enter the Sili."

"It's just wagging its tail and begging in the border counties. It poses no threat to the heartland of our dynasty."

"Besides, who says we have to deliver food and clothing ourselves?"

Hearing this, Liu Hong narrowed his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, having understood his hidden meaning.

She nodded slowly and whispered, "You mean... to kill someone with a borrowed knife?"

Zhang Rang sneered, "Your Majesty is wise! Why not let Liu Bei oppress those aristocratic families and the common people?"

"All it takes is a secret decree ordering him to levy additional taxes and hand them over to the military supervisor sent by Your Majesty."

"This way, we can enrich the national treasury, weaken the aristocratic families, and allow the Marquis to achieve victory."

"Your Majesty, isn't it wonderful to reap the benefits while you sit back and do nothing?" Zhang Rang became more and more proud as he spoke, with a sinister glint in his eyes.

After hearing this, Liu Hong glanced at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. But in the end, he slammed the table and said, "Okay! Just as you say!"

Then she stood up, walked to the desk, picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote a secret decree.

The decree read: "My Lord, obey my command. From this day forward, increase taxes on the common people and noble families of Dingxiang County, and all grain, fodder, gold, and silver shall be handed over to the military supervisor."

"If anyone disobeys, it will be treated as disobeying my order, and I will punish them myself!"

After she finished writing, she blew the ink dry, stamped it with the imperial seal, and handed it to Zhang Rang.

"Zhang Rang, I appoint you as military supervisor. Proceed to Dingxiang County immediately and carry out this order!"

Zhang Rang accepted the secret order and knelt down, kowtowed, "I obey your command!"

He stood up, holding the secret decree tightly in his hand, his eyes full of sinister intent.

Liu Hong waved his hand and said lazily, "...You can leave now. I'm tired."

Zhang Rang bowed and left. The palace maids in the hall came forward and put a brocade robe on Liu Hong.

She leaned back against the dragon throne, gazing at the night outside the palace. She thought to herself, "Everyone knows Zhang Rang's greed for wealth, but if I don't use such an ignorant and arrogant villain, how can I check and balance the ministers in the court? At least the former will give me money, but the latter won't."

"...Liu Bei, Liu Bei, I sincerely hope that you can successfully survive this ordeal and become the sharp sword in my hand..."

Bingzhou: Chapter 43: Zhang Rang's Heartache

Outside Luoyang City, the morning mist was thick as Zhang Rang set out with a group of troops.

He was wearing a purple robe and a tall hat, riding on a fat and strong white horse, looking quite proud.

On the surface, he was going to the border county to supervise the army, but in reality he was using the emperor's secret decree to make money to fill his own pockets.

"Hmph, Liu Bei, ah Liu Bei, you fight your war and I collect my money, we have nothing to do with each other!" He narrowed his eyes and smiled like an old fox.

Behind him followed a group of servants, carrying empty boxes, all of them bowing and nodding with fawning expressions.

"Zhang Zhong Chang Shi, your idea is really brilliant! If we just grab a handful of the money from the noble families and the common people, it would be enough to live on for several lifetimes!"

"...Humph, everything that can be gained in the capital has been divided up. Instead of fighting to the death with others here, it's better to go to the border counties to make some money!"

Zhang Rang stroked his nonexistent beard and said proudly, "Your Majesty trusts me, so how could he not benefit from us?"

But they hadn't been gone a day when a scout arrived, breathlessly calling out, "Emperor Zhang, there's good news from the front!"

Zhang Rang frowned and said impatiently, "What's the matter? Don't disturb my interest!"

The scout swallowed his saliva and whispered, "Lü Fengxian led 3,000 men and slaughtered Hu Yanlie, who was leading 10,000 cavalrymen, in one fell swoop. He also captured several thousand Xianbei people!"

"What?!" Zhang Rang almost fell off his horse, his eyes wide open like bells.

He steadied himself and patted his chest, saying, "This... these Xianbei people must have underestimated the enemy!"

"Three thousand men killing ten thousand? What a joke! By the time they realize what's happening, our Han army will still have to kneel!"

Zhang Rang waved his hand, feigning composure. "Let's go! Keep going! Ignore these rumors! Only we can bring victory to Lord Liu!"

So the team walked leisurely for another half a day. At this time, Zhang Rang was dozing with his eyes closed and humming a little tune.

Suddenly, there was another sound of horse hooves, and another scout rushed up to him with sweat all over his forehead.

"Emperor Zhang, there's more news from the front!" The scout's voice trembled.

"..."

Zhang Rang rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "What's wrong? Stop ruining my mood!"

The scout stammered, "Guan Yu... Guan Yu led several thousand cavalrymen, took advantage of Lu Bu's distraction, and went around to burn the Xianbei base camp!"

...Could it be that you really are Huo Qubing?

"What what what?!" Zhang Rang's hand shook and the horsewhip fell to the ground.

"...She also personally killed Wuertai, the leader of the Central Xianbei, and his followers, and looted so much supplies that it would have taken hundreds of oxen to transport them back!"

Hearing this, Zhang Rang opened his mouth wide enough to fit an egg, and babbled incoherently: "Burned... burned the base camp? And killed... killed Wuertai?"

He was stunned for a long time, then slapped his thigh: "Lucky! This is definitely lucky!"

"Besides, even if the Central Xianbei leader is dead, he still has 100,000 cavalrymen outside!"

"By the time those 100,000 cavalrymen come to their senses, our Han army will be finished!"

"When the time comes, I will bring victory!"