Chapter 268 My Great Achievements
The drizzle of rain covered the city of Chang’an in a thin mist. The light rain in the past few days made the sky always gray, just like the mood of Chang’an at that moment, heavy.

Ten days ago.

News came from Mobei that the fighting on the grassland had stopped and that Xionghe General Zhao Po Nu had led his troops back. It was reported that his troops had gained a lot during the attack to the north.

But the court did not cheer for the news. After all, one route was victorious, but there was still no news from the other route.

“Calculating the time, the General of Cavalry should have arrived in Korea for quite some time, right?” Liu Ju asked intently, looking at the rain outside the high tower of Jiaguan Palace.

“If I could run faster…” Jin Midi beside him thought, “I should be able to run back and forth now.”

Liu Ju frowned.

He was so worried at the moment that he couldn’t help asking about the time. In fact, he was influenced by the emperor.

At the morning court today, the emperor sent an urgent edict to Jinan Governor Gongsun Sui, ordering him to rush to Korea to find out the battle situation on the front line.

“If there is no further improvement in the Korean War, I’m afraid that in a few days, the emperor will have to send more envoys.” Liu Ju exhaled and ordered:
“Order someone to guard the three gates of East City. Come immediately if there is any news…”

“Report——!”

Suddenly, a long shout was heard outside the attic. Eunuch Wei ran and shouted, “Report, the Korean army reported a great victory! A great victory, Your Highness!”

Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao has arrived. Liu Ju’s expression brightened, and he asked the eunuch downstairs loudly: “Where is the victory report? What is the detailed battle situation?”

Wei Sheng, standing in the rain, quickly replied: “The victory report came in through the Bacheng Gate and went to the Weiyang Palace. The details are not known yet.”

“Go and find out quickly!”

“Hey!” Wei Sheng responded from a distance, then turned around and ran to the other end of the palace road in a hurry.

The cavalrymen who reported the victory galloped and shouted all the way. When the battle report was delivered to the Weiyang Palace, the court officials living in Shangguanli and Beidi also received the news one after another.

then.

They did the same thing as Liu Ju and ordered people to go to the Weiyang Palace to inquire. However, the Weiyang Palace had always been unguarded against such news worth publicizing.

Half a minute later, Eunuch Wei came running back, panting, and said happily: “Your Highness, North Korea has surrendered as a whole country. Our army has won a great victory!”

“On the second day after arriving in Korea, the General of Cavalry led his troops to attack and killed the Crown Prince of Korea in battle. Then, he took advantage of the high morale of the troops and attacked the city.”

“The army besieged the city for three days without stopping. The Korean ministers in the city rebelled. Prime Minister Han Yin, Lu Ren, General Wang Yu and others secretly joined forces to kill the Korean king Wei Youqu!”

“Then open the city and surrender!”

Eunuch Wei finished speaking in one breath. After Liu Ju heard it, his eyebrows and eyes suddenly lit up. Even Jin Midi, who was listening, showed a look of surprise.

Guanjun Hou is truly a god.

“The war had been at a stalemate for several months, with no progress at all. But after the arrival of the Champion Marquis, the situation was broken in just one day, and victory was achieved in three days…”

Jin Midi shook his head, not knowing what to say. Fortunately, Marquis Guanjun was the Crown Prince’s cousin, otherwise such a person would have been a great threat.

“it is good!”

Liu Ju didn’t know what his subordinate was thinking. He was still beaming with joy, but it was only for a moment before he darkened his face again and immediately asked:

“Did the military report say which general accepted the surrender of North Korea? General Louchuan or General Zuo?”

“This one……”

Hearing the question, Eunuch Wei, who was happily accompanying the prince, twitched his mouth and looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Liu Ju was displeased, “Tell me quickly! Can the General of the Cavalry come forward?”

“Yes, yes.” Eunuch Wei bowed and said reluctantly, “The one who came forward to accept the surrender was General Yang Pu of Louchuan. As for General Zuo…”

“He was killed by the General of Cavalry in battle.”

Huh? Liu Ju was stunned. His cousin killed his father’s driver?
ho-

His face looked solemn. In the emergency situation, Huo Qubing was given the task and left in a hurry, so Liu Ju’s instructions were rough.

Judging from Huo Qubing’s reply at that time and his report at this moment, Huo Qubing did understand the way of survival in the court, and he also implemented the saying:
‘I know how to do it!’

But, it seems that Huo Qubing may have overdosed his efforts?
“Killing a general on the battlefield, and that general is considered a person secretly brought in by your majesty.” Jin Midi reminded cautiously: “The Champion Marquis is somewhat taboo.”

“Don’t be arbitrary.” After a brief thought, Liu Ju sorted out his thoughts and shook his head, saying, “My cousin is not a person who kills indiscriminately. He would not deliberately kill Xun Zhu just to make a mistake.”

“There must be something on the battlefield that we don’t know yet.” Liu Ju thought for a while and ordered Wei Sheng: “Prepare the carriage, I want to go to the palace.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

There were indeed unexpected events on the battlefield that the ruler and his ministers in Chang’an were unaware of, but the battle report was vague, with only a few words: General Zuo disobeyed orders and was beheaded.

How and why he disobeyed orders was not described in detail, and we have to wait until the army returns to the capital to investigate.

When the victory report was sent to the capital, the army far away in Korea had already set out for the retreat, leaving some infantry stationed there to be supervised by the Liaodong governor.

Five days later.

General Zhao Po Nu of the Xiongnu River was the first to lead his troops back to the court. This time the Han army went north to participate in the war, ostensibly to attack the Xiongnu in the north, but in reality to continue the Xiongnu’s civil strife.

Therefore, the end of this war is also related to the word “civil strife”.

Wuwei wanted to annex Zuoxian King, but the Han army refused; Julihu wanted to attack Wuwei from both sides and destroy his brother, but the Han army was hesitant.

After fighting several tough battles, the royal family members of the Luandi clan also realized that the Han Dynasty was deliberately fanning the flames.

Although they were still enemies and were extremely jealous of each other, they were always uncomfortable being used to fight each other. After fighting for a while, they all tacitly withdrew their troops.

So and so.

Zhao Po Nu had just led his troops back south.

No matter how the Huns planned and understood, the Han army went north, fought in the east and west, and beheaded more than 4,000 people.

At the imperial court, the emperor issued an edict: “Re-enfeoff Zhao Po Nu as Marquis of Xuye, with a fief of 1,300 households!”

After being deprived of his title by Zhuo Jin, Zhao Po Nu was finally granted the title of Marquis again…

It is worth mentioning that.

In this battle, Zhao Po Nu sent troops from Shanggu County. There were also cavalrymen from Shanggu and Yuyang counties participating in the army. Among them was a familiar name who stood out in this battle and was also rewarded in the Xuanshi Hall.

It was none other than Li Ling!
My goodness, Li Guang was so happy and arrogant. If the atmosphere in Chang’an hadn’t been wrong recently, old man Li would have set up two tables and shouted a few words.

But again, it’s not appropriate recently.

The strange atmosphere had been lingering since before Zhao Po Nu returned from his expedition, and it continued after his return, reaching its peak only when another large army returned to the capital.

“I failed in my duty. First I failed in the attack on the city, and then I was deceived by the King of Joseon. Your Majesty, please punish me!”

Inside the Xuanshi Hall.

General Yang Pu of the Louchuan Ship knelt on one knee, looking ashamed and nervous.

All the ministers in the hall were silent. Liu Che leaned on the dragon couch and spoke after a long while. His tone was inaudible, “Tell me, how did you get deceived by such clever words?”

Yang Pu swallowed his saliva, struggled for a moment, and said in a hoarse voice: “After my defeat, I was eager to gain merit, and the King of Joseon deceived me by saying that he would only surrender to me.”

After these words, the hall fell into silence.

Liu Che knocked on the armrest and stared at Yang Pu, “I’m telling you the truth. If you don’t make up for your mistakes later, I will chop you off right now.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing me!”

Almost as soon as the emperor finished speaking, Yang Pu started talking. He knelt on the ground, kowtowed and cried, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing me!”

“roll!”

Liu Che was in no mood to watch his performance. He flicked his sleeves and an eunuch immediately came forward to help Yang Pu out of the hall.

After this person left, there were still five people standing in the hall. One was Huo Qubing, who looked normal. The other four were a little uneasy after seeing what happened to Yang Pu.

But they were overthinking it.

The eunuch beside the emperor took a step forward, unfolded an imperial edict, and read in a sharp voice: “The Korean Wei Youqu was extremely rebellious and drove away the envoys of the upper country. Fortunately…”

“cough!”

The old eunuch coughed heavily halfway through his reading.

The first few polite words in the edict were taken from a story about a Han Dynasty envoy who was rudely expelled from Korea. This story happened before the Han army attacked Korea. As the saying goes: If I want to attack you, I can always find a reason!

The above content belongs to the slightly perfunctory reason…

At this moment, as soon as the eunuch’s cough fell, the four uneasy people realized something, perked up, and stepped forward to listen to the order.

The duck-voiced man continued, “Fortunately, the people of Korea have put order out of chaos. Therefore, Han Yin is enfeoffed as Marquis of Hagu, Wang Xie as Marquis of Pingzhou, and Shen as Marquis of Yuqing.”

“The passerby is a Marquis of Nieyang, and each of them has a fief of 1,000 households

“Respect it!”

The former Korean prime minister and general, and current Han Dynasty marquis Han Yin, Wang Yu and others bowed solemnly, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The emperor on the dragon couch had a less cold and more majestic look on his face than before. He nodded and said, “I will never treat those who serve the Han Dynasty unfairly.”

The four people in the audience bowed again upon hearing this. It was hard to tell whether they looked grateful or lonely. These four “heroes” who knew how to adapt to changing times had very complicated feelings in their hearts.

After receiving the title, the four of them sat down quietly to the side.

At this moment.

Huo Qubing, the main general in the later period of the conquest of Korea, was the only one left in the center of the hall. At this moment, the emperor’s expression changed again.

His attitude gradually became more relaxed, from being cold to Yang Pu, to being dignified towards the surrendered Korean ministers, and finally becoming only amiable when facing Huo Qubing.

“I already know about Xun Zhu’s affairs. He suffered a defeat in the war and it was all his own fault. It’s a good thing that Marquis Guanjun killed him. If you don’t kill him, I will kill him too!” The emperor said firmly.

however.

Opposition also came quickly.

The censors had the power to remonstrate, so the assistant censor Guo Wu naturally stood up and said loudly: “Your Majesty, Xun Zhu is the left general. Even if he is guilty and needs to be executed, he should be tied up in the capital and tried by the court, and then executed by Your Majesty.”

“It is absolutely impossible for a general to act on his own initiative and kill a general without authorization!”

Guo Wu said solemnly: “If there are generals leading troops outside again, and they kill generals and annex soldiers at will, wouldn’t that be allowing private military leaders to be established and disregarding national laws?”

“Your Majesty, please punish Huo Qubing severely to serve as a warning to others!”

Judging from the outcome of the Korean War, there was nothing wrong with what he said. However, it was inappropriate for Huo Qubing to kill Xun Zhui and put his soldiers under the command of someone else.

Slightly better.

Perhaps Huo Qubing did not take over Xun Zhu’s troops himself, but handed them over to Yang Pu.

Of course, the result is like this, but is the process correct?

“The General of the Cavalry holds a staff of authority and a tiger talisman, and has the power to make decisions on the battlefield.” Liu Ju, who was standing by the imperial steps, smiled at Guo Wu and said, “Isn’t the Imperial Censor exaggerating?”

As soon as he said this, something changed in the Xuanshi Hall. The person involved, Guo Wu, felt it most obviously, and more and more eyes were looking at him.

And there is a hint of evil in it!

At this time.

A voice rang out from the dragon couch, “Alright, there is no need to discuss this matter any further. I have said that Xun Zhu brought this upon himself. He is an incompetent general, and his death is not a pity!”

“Even though the General of the Cavalry had no merit in this battle, he still worked hard. How can we punish him severely? I will order the Minister of the Imperial Household to reward him with a thousand gold coins from the treasury.”

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the Attendant Censor Guo Wu glanced at the Chief Censor implicitly. Bu Shi shook his head. Seeing this, Guo Wu bowed and returned to his original seat.

The rewards and punishments for the generals who went to war ended here, and the issue of dealing with North Korea’s territory was seamlessly connected afterwards…

Around 9:00 p.m., the court meeting ended.

On the palace road, several people walked together. One of them asked, “Why did the doctor tell me to stop when I was in the court?”

Bu Shi, who was in the middle and ahead of the others, heard this and asked with a smile, “Why do you think I asked you to impeach the General of the Cavalry?”

amount……

Guo Wu and his colleagues looked at each other. What else could this be? Wasn’t it a conflict between the Qi Wang faction and the Crown Prince faction?

With his hands folded into his sleeves, Bu Shi, who looked more like a wealthy man than an important official of the court, smiled again. He saw the confusion of his subjects.

“Impeaching the General of the Cavalry is only because my position and duties require me to play the role of the villain, but Your Majesty has no such request.”

“Your Majesty wants peace.”

At least that’s the case now…

If Huo Qubing, a dignified General of Cavalry, Marquis of Guanjun, nephew of the Grand Marshal and cousin of the Crown Prince, were to touch him, it would only lead to ripple effects.

Regardless of whether Your Majesty will take action against Huo Qubing, just thinking about the bad influence and drastic fluctuations, the Emperor will not allow it to happen!
Why?

Because the emperor wanted peace and to maintain the prosperity…

The first signs of this “prosperous age” appeared after the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. With Bu Shi’s many years of experience in guessing the emperor’s intentions, he vaguely sensed that the last thing the emperor wanted to see was something that would affect his prosperity.

The war in Korea was not going well before. In a hurry, the emperor did not choose Li Guang but Huo Qubing, just to be on the safe side.

Only victory is allowed, no defeat is allowed.

There must not be any stain at all!

Knowing all of the above, Imperial Censor Bu Shi still instructed his subordinates to impeach Huo Qubing. This is his wisdom in dealing with things. As the saying goes:
I may not agree, but as a member of the Qi Wang Party, you have to come forward to impeach me!

at the same time.

At the other end of the palace road, there was also a group of people leaving the palace, led by three uncles and nephews.

Liu Ju deliberately took a detour to Beique, intending to talk to his cousin and enlighten him so that Huo Qubing would not feel resentful.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his mouth, Huo Qubing said, “I already have two sons. Your Highness, do you think my hair has not grown out yet?”

Hey.

When Liu Ju bared his teeth, Huo Qubing replied to Wei Qing, saying that one should be careful when talking to elders. “Uncle, don’t worry. I am not a reckless person.”

Huo Qubing, who is about to turn 30, is indeed less reckless…compared to his past.

Huo Qubing’s focus was not on rewards and punishments in the court at all. Instead, he mentioned something else. “During this battle, I found that the war horses bred from the fine horses of the Western Regions have extraordinary effects. If they can be popularized throughout the army, the combat effectiveness will be greatly improved!”

“Oh?”

Wei Qing was puzzled and looked at the crown prince on the left. Liu Ju pondered and said, “In recent years, the caravans trading with the Western Regions have been buying good horses, and…”

The secret trade of exchanging salt and tea for horses with the Right Wise King Qu Bi never stopped, but for the sake of secrecy, the scale was not expanded.

If we want to have high-quality war horses that can be widely used throughout the army, we have to plan ahead.

Seeing Huo Qubing mention the war horses, Liu Ju briefly mentioned it. The outer room was not a place for conversation, so everyone agreed to go to Huo’s house. This matter needed to be planned in detail…

Xuanshi Hall.

The emperor escorted the prime minister who had been specially left behind to the outside of the palace and said in a deep voice: “Prime Minister, please work hard on how to arrange the counties, officials, and military merits in the territory of Korea. Please draft a rule as soon as possible.”

These were all expected. Shi Qing nodded in agreement and waited for further instructions.

as predicted.

The emperor paused, and then spoke of his real intention in keeping the prime minister, “I plan to hold a grand sacrifice in the near future to worship the ancestral temple.”

Shi Qing paused in stroking his beard and asked tentatively, “Your Majesty, are you going to take away the title again?”

“That’s not the case.” Liu Che stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, “It’s just that I haven’t seen you uncles and brothers in the royal family for a long time. I miss you so much that I want to invite them to the capital.”

“By the way, let’s also appreciate the achievements of the court.”

Shi Qing weighed it for a moment. His Majesty has said so much, but it can actually be summarized in one sentence – let all the princes and kings see my great achievements!
The platform in front of the palace was quiet for a while.

Prime Minister Shi Qing bowed and said, “Your Majesty has good intentions. Tomorrow I will submit a memorial to invite the kings to come to the capital.”

The emperor nodded, “Thank you for your hard work, my dear.”

“It’s not hard…”

(End of this chapter)