The Great Han Dynasty Volume 1: The great wind rises and clouds fly high, sixty battles are sure to win.

  Sun Yu, the imperial physician, whose single name was Zhen, was already over 60 years old. He was the most renowned physician in the Imperial Medical Bureau. A screen separated him from the others, and he put down Zhang Yan's wrist, stroking his beard.

  "How is it?"

  "May I take another look at Zhang's wife's face?"

  "What?" Lu Yuan was still hesitating, when Zhang Yan had already pushed open the screen and poked her head out. "You can look all you want," she said, with the cloak that Tao Meng had just helped her put on draped over her shoulder, her face burning bright red. "If you can't cure my headache, I'll go smash your signboard."

  Sun Yu lost his smile and looked at her complexion before saying, "Madam Zhang, can you stick out your tongue for me to take a look?"

  "Ah." Zhang Yan followed her words and actions.

  Sun Wukong did not look back again, turned around and took up his brush to write a prescription.

  "What's going on with Ah Yan?" Lu Yuan asked as he chased after her.

  "The pulse is rapid and forceful, the tongue coating is dark and smooth, there is latent fire due to deficiency, and the Shaoyang channel is overactive......" Zhun Yu Zhen wrote quickly and neatly, taking his time to explain.

  "Slowly, slowly." Lu Yuan's head was spinning, "What does all this mean?"

  "In plain words," Chun Yu stroked his beard and smiled, turning his head to glance at the girl sitting by the tent, biting her lip. "This young lady is only this old, yet she's thinking so deeply, isn't that a good thing?"

  "To put it simply, Zhang's headache is caused by excessive thinking and overuse of the brain. Once or twice is fine, but if this continues for a long time, it can lead to damage to the heart meridian, which would be a loss that cannot be made up for."

  Jun Yu Zhen had been gone for a long time, and Zhang Yan sat on the bed in a daze. Coming back to her senses, she saw Lu Yuan's face filled with rage.

  "Ah Yan," Lu Yuan's voice dropped for a rare moment. "What are you thinking about?"

  "What's wrong?" Zhang Yan pretended to be silly and said, "That old doctor is talking nonsense, what can I think of?"

  Lu Yuan gazed at her for a long time, then sighed and said, "You still have a headache. I won't force you now. But Ah Yan, I want you to know that as long as you haven't committed murder or arson, no matter what happens, Mother will always protect you. Your thoughts are heavy, how could Mother not know? I just hope you can spare yourself this time and don't harm your own body, making Mother worry and grieve."

  Zhang Yan's expression changed. She looked at Lu Yuan and sighed, instructing the maid to take good care of her mistress before turning around and leaving.

  She gazed at Lu Yuan's back as he disappeared behind the door, and suddenly her eyes welled up with tears, rolling down silently. "What if I had killed someone, or set a fire?" she whispered.

  "Will you hate me to death?"

  She fell back onto the bed with a thud, covering her face with a handkerchief to hide her secretly flowing tears. As her headache lingered vaguely, she smelled the medicinal scent filling the room and saw a familiar face from afar.

  On July 14th, the Crown Prince's Central Army arrived in Huai Bei. They faced off against Huai Nan across the water.

  Among the Han generals who followed the Crown Prince on his expedition to Huainan were Yan Wang Lu, Taiwei Zhou Bo, Quiniao Marquis Chen Ping, Wuyang Marquis Fan Kuai, Gaohou Lü Shang, Duiwei Shen Tujia, Xinwu Marquis Jing Yue and many other generals. They had all followed the High Emperor for many years in battle, and now they were under the command of the Crown Prince. Although they did not have any disloyal intentions, some of them had doubts in their hearts. It was inevitable that they felt Liu Ying was young and could not command the respect of the troops.

  "Now that the army has arrived north of the Huai River," said General Zhou Bo, taking the lead in speaking out, "I don't know what orders Your Highness the Crown Prince has to give regarding the current situation on the battlefield."

  In the military tent, Liu Ying, clad in armor, turned around and smiled. "You are all uncles to me. You have all seen battlefields before, how dare I speak of life and death in front of everyone? However, I do have some trivial insights. Please, uncles, take a look."

  "Gentlemen, please take a look." The young general in white fish-scale armor unfolded the campaign map on the table, pointing to their current location at Huai River and heading south. "Ying Bu occupies Liu'an, and the nine rivers, Lujiang, Hengshan, and Yuzhang counties have rebelled. There are three plans that can be implemented."

  Zhou Bo gave a profound look at the young man in white clothes, "Who is this young general?"

  The young man smiled, and the face under the white armor was handsome and dashing, mixed with the bravery of soldiers, swords, bows, and arrows. Extremely eye-catching, "Young Zhang He, let's take a look along the way."

  "Good," said Lieutenant Chen Ping with a clap of his hands and a smile of praise. "You are indeed the son of General Zhou, and you have your father's spirit."

  Marquis of Liu

  The generals in the account immediately passed on a small voice of praise.

  When Gao Emperor conquered the world, Zhan Liang, Marquis of Liu, was a figure similar to that of a heavenly being in the hearts of the Han army.

  Zhou Bo also seemed to have some unexpected intentions, and slightly respectfully said, "General Zhang, please speak."

  Zhang He's finger rose from the land of Huainan, pointing to the two lands of Wu and Chu. With a composed chest, he said, "If Ying Bu is willing to take Wu in the east and Chu in the west, then take Qi and Lu at the same time, and issue an order to Yan and Zhao to defend their positions firmly. This is his best plan."

  "If he takes Wu in the east and Chu in the west, and takes Han and Wei together, then occupies the grain of Ao Yu and blocks the mouth of Chenggao, it will be a middle strategy. Taking Wu in the east and taking Xiacai in the west, returning to Yue with heavy troops, and personally returning to Changsha, it will be a lower strategy."

  "What is the upper strategy? What is the middle strategy? And what is the lower strategy?" Fan Kuai asked with a smile.

  Zhang Heng sighed and said slowly, "If the superior plan is implemented, then Shandong will no longer be under Han's control; if the middle plan is implemented, it will be uncertain whether the crown prince will win or lose; if the inferior plan is implemented," he smiled slightly with his hands behind his back, "then we can all rest easy."

  It's very much like it, really very much like it.

  Zhou Bo gazed at the two young men sitting and standing beside the desk in the tent, suddenly recalling when they first rose up from Feng Pei.

  Who is the best general in the Han army? It's Marquis of Huaiyin, Han Xin. But who do the soldiers of the Han army trust most? It's Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu.

  Zhang Liang was actually not good at trivial strategies in military operations and battles, what he excelled at was a kind of momentum, battle momentum, and even national momentum.

  He can predict the direction and outcome of a war before it begins. With just a slight analysis, he knows why Chu and Han are gaining momentum. Compared to Zhang Liang, he feels that he and countless generals bleeding and crying on the battlefield are a huge joke.

  Among the many ministers, Emperor Han also trusted Zhang Liang the most. It was as if all others were his subjects, but only Zhang Liang was a friend he could trust. They complemented each other as ruler and minister.

  Zhou Bo glanced at Zhang He, who stood beside the case, pointing to the mountains and rivers with a spirited air, and then glanced at Liu Ying, who sat in front of the case with a smile on his face and clear eyes. In a daze, he seemed to see the confrontation between Chu and Han. In the account, Liu Bang and Zhang Liang talked loudly. In their smiling voices, a new prelude was opened for the world.

  "So," Zhou Bo asked leisurely, "what does the Crown Prince think Ying Bu will do?"

  Liu Ying smiled slightly. "Down."

  "Why?"

  "Ying Bu was originally a convict of Lishan, and he worked hard to become the King of Huainan. He did this for his own wealth and glory, without regard for the people. Considering his descendants, it can be said that he chose a lower strategy."

  Zhou Bo smiled in satisfaction.

  As expected, the war letter arrived, and the King of Huainan, Ying Bu, attacked the State of Jing from the east. The King of Jing, Liu Jia, fought against him but was defeated and fled to Fuling, where he was killed by Bu's soldiers in the chaos. Bu then seized his troops and crossed the Huai River to attack Chu. The Chu army divided into three routes and clashed with Ying Bu between Xu and Zhang, one army was defeated, and the other two armies dispersed. King Liu Jiao of Chu took refuge in the tent of the crown prince.

  Ying Bu continued to advance westward and met with Liu Ying's army at Hui City. The two armies clashed, each suffering casualties. Ying Bu then retreated back across the Huai River, with Han generals pursuing him. Zhou Bo spoke to Liu Ying, "I'm not good at literature, but I remember one sentence clearly: 'A son of a noble family does not sit in a humble position.' Although Ying Bu is known for being skilled in battle, our several tens of thousands of Han soldiers are not weaklings either. With fierce generals gathering, there will come a day when we'll capture Ying Bu. But if the crown prince suffers any harm, how can we explain it to the emperor and empress?" He refused to let Liu Ying take another step forward.

  "Ying'er." Chen Ping also advised him, "Even if you are in the rear, as long as Ying Bu is defeated in the end. The achievement of being the first to launch this attack will be yours. Why must you take risks and go to the front line? If something happens to you, not to mention His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, even Hu'er will worry about you."

  Liu Ying reluctantly divided his troops and ordered several routes to pursue Ying Bu, while he himself led the 1,000 northern soldiers from Chang'an and 3,000 soldiers from Shangjun and Beidi. He set up camp north of the Huai River.

  On this day, Liu Ying was reading "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu in his tent. When he read the sentence: "Hence the skillful in war subdue the enemy's army without battle. They capture their cities without assault and overthrow their kingdom without protracted sieges.", he suddenly said, "With such momentum, our Han army has a great advantage over the enemy with more troops, isn't this battle a bit too simple?"

  "What?" Zhang He turned his head and glared at him, "Does the Crown Prince wish for a more perilous war situation?"

  "No." Liu Ying shook her head, "I'm not so ignorant of the heights and depths. A war tramples on the livelihoods of the common people and spills the blood of soldiers. Of course, it's better to end it as soon as possible. I just think..."

  He clenched his fists, "I made a big decision, persuaded my mother, and then asked the emperor for battle. Finally, I stepped onto the front line, but was protected by the generals behind me, waiting safely for the war to end. This is too far from my expected value."

  Zhang He smiled slightly, "The outcome of this battle was decided before it even began."

  The King of Huainan wants to use this war to fulfill his dream of becoming the emperor; Emperor Gao wants to use this war to decide on a qualified successor for himself; The vassals want to use this war to examine their future masters; As for the Crown Prince,

  Crown Prince Liu Ying, don't you also want to use this war to affirm a brand new self?

  Liu Ying suddenly remembered that not long ago, someone had also told her the same thing.

  Xu Xiang

  That sharp but discerning young man from a family of physiognomy experts.

  The night was as dark as water, he put on his clothes and walked out of the tent to find Xu Xiang's camp. He heard the intermittent sound of the Hu flute. Xu Xiang sat on a hill with disheveled hair and bare feet, striking a wine vessel and singing, "I climb that high hill, looking towards my hometown. A man's ambition, originally was to roam freely."

  "Are you satisfied with your mischief?" Liu Ying asked with a smile.

  Xu Xiang suddenly turned his head, with a hint of drunkenness in his eyes, he slanted his gaze to examine the young man standing behind him. His silver-white armor shone with a crystalline light under the moonlight, yet it was not dazzling, just like the gentle smile on his face.

  "Not enough." The wine emboldened him, and he laughed loudly, stroking the dark blue satin pouch hanging from his waist. "A great man should eat five dou of food while alive, and be cooked in five dou after death. What's the point of hiding and crouching on this mountain, enjoying the moon?"

  Liu Ying waved her hand to stop Zhang Ji's outburst and ordered, "You go down and guard." She sat cross-legged opposite Xu Xiang and asked, "Do you still have wine?"

  "Just this one." Xǔ Xiāng's eyes sparkled with wine, he raised the wine vessel and smiled, "Does Your Highness mind?"

  Liu Ying shook her head, took over the cup, and gulped down a mouthful. The wine splashed onto her robe.

  "What does sir think, will Guan Gong win this battle?"

  Xu Xiang also took a sip of wine, glanced at Liu Ying and said, "If perfection is one hundred, then sixty-five."

  Liu Ying's face flushed with excitement. Her face turned bright red as she laughed and said, "Sixty-five?"

  "I thought it would be even worse."

  The long night, the starlight is faintly pure, and the moonlight is like water. Liu Ying looked up at the starry sky, with a slightly damp grassland beneath her feet. "Alone... I've always been worried about many things. Actually, this battle, I originally wanted to fight it myself. But Lü Lu used the words of Shangshan Si Hao to persuade my mother and father to exempt me from going to war. My mother asked my father to excuse me from going to battle. I really wanted to tell my mother that I'm not afraid of those who have nothing to lose, I want to come and fight this battle myself. But looking at my mother's worried eyes, I couldn't say a word. Until you broke into the Lü residence and threw down shocking words."

  "So, Xu Xiang, it wasn't you who persuaded me, but rather... I had already wanted to fight this battle."

  "No, you've actually encouraged me. I'll personally go to the Lv manor and listen to your words. Not for any other reason, but because I want to find an excuse from you to persuade myself, to persist in my own persistence."

  "As a man, I have the spirit of independence and freedom. I didn't want to give up on it, but General Taoyi persuaded me with his authority and my father-in-law convinced me with reason. I had no choice but to listen to them and give up on taking part in the battle personally. It's clear that this is for the best, everything is fine. But sometimes, one can't help but feel disappointed with oneself."

  Xu Xiang quietly listened to the most noble young man of this great Han Empire whispering his innermost thoughts, the cold wine slid down his throat, soothing his heart. He forcefully smashed the empty wine jug onto the mountain slope below. A dull cracking sound echoed through the night air. Perhaps it was because tonight's moonlight was too gentle that he could finally unburden his heart.

  "No, the Crown Prince has done nothing wrong. It's Xiang who is at fault and intentionally trying to belittle the Crown Prince."

  "What does Your Highness think is most important for a superior to learn?"

  Liu Ying was taken aback and said, "Please speak, sir."

  Xu Xiang learned that he would put his hands under his head, looking at the quiet night sky, the grass mixed with the smell of wine, making people feel dizzy and calm. "I don't think it's a bad thing to have many worries. At least it can make you walk steadily every step. And for a country, stability is much better than impulsiveness. Your Highness, you are a good person."

  "I looked at you for a long time before I could truly believe that your kindness is real, your difficulties are real, and your concerns are also real." He smiled, "I guess Your Highness thinks yourself foolish, but what's the relationship. When one is in a superior position, there isn't a requirement to be particularly clever——this is something I also understood after thinking about it for a long time."

  He suddenly sat up, looking at Liu Ying, and said solemnly, "For those in high positions, the most important thing to learn is not a single skill or technique, but how to control subordinates. The emperor has countless officials, some are clever, some are foolish, some are good, and some are treacherous. These things themselves are not wrong, what the emperor needs to do is to arrange them to the best of his ability, and bring out their greatest effectiveness."

  "You don't need to go and fight battles with Huaiyin Hou, or compare governance with Xiao Shangguo, or clarify the situation with Liu Hou. Because you are neither Huaiyin Hou, nor Xiao Shangguo, nor Liu Hou. You only need to discover them, respect them, listen to their noisy opinions and judge which one is most beneficial to you, drive them to defend this world for you like an iron barrel, and govern it in an orderly manner. Once a day comes when you find that they may endanger your world, ruthlessly eliminate them."

  "Are you startled, Your Highness?" he said with an unchanged expression. "However, that's how those in power are. On the surface, they appear dignified and majestic, but inside, it's all filthy. If you can't see through it, how can you control it to follow your own blueprint? If you don't believe me, let's take your father as an example. Is His Majesty more capable of conquest or more skilled in battle than King Xiang? In the past, King Xiang had great power and many fierce generals under his command, so why did he ultimately lose the empire?"

  "Don't say it's fate." He interrupted, "I was born into a family of divination, but I never believed in such things as fate. I only believe that everything is ultimately due to cause and effect. And I am committed to finding out the causes and effects one by one. I know Your Highness doesn't like listening to my words, but if it weren't for your own good, I wouldn't say these words. The conversation is over, the night is deep, and I should also return to my tent to sleep."

  He turned around, took big strides down the mountain ridge, and sang loudly, "I climb up to that high ridge, looking towards my hometown. A man's ambition, originally should be unrestrained."

  In an instant, the night wind blew up his scattered long hair, and he danced wildly. "So, don't worry about how you survived on the battlefield, as long as you got what you wanted in the end, you're the winner." He never looked back, shouting one last time.

  Liu Ying stood alone on the hill, watching his back disappear into a small dot in the distance. Suddenly, she felt a chill run down her spine and realized that cold sweat had seeped through her skin.

  When news of the victory in Huainan arrived in Chang'an one after another, Zhang Yan was chatting with Chen Hu in the East Palace.

  "I heard you had a headache the other day, that was quite frightening." Chen Hu inserted a newly opened chrysanthemum into the Qingyu vase on the table, using scissors to trim off the excess branches. The fragrance of the chrysanthemum was refreshing and distant. She teased, "What is it that children like you think about every day? You actually got a headache from it."

  "So," Zhang Yan leaned against the edge of the bed, "my mother has been treating me like a pig lately, every day is either eating or sleeping. That's why I came to you to get rid of my boredom." She picked an orange from the lacquer tray, peeled it and put it in her mouth, "What? Are you thinking of your husband?"

  "Ah." Chen Hu suddenly came to, the scissors cutting through her fingertip, a drop of blood falling down, bright red and startling. A bad premonition flashed through her mind.

  "Didn't the letter say that everything was fine?" Ayao continued to mutter, "They clashed several times by the Huai River, both sides suffered losses. But the Han army had the upper hand. The Marquis of Cheng and others have split their troops to pursue them, the Han army is strong in numbers and momentum, what can Uncle do in this situation?" Her voice was like a mixture of comfort and persuasion.

  "The Crown Prince's wife," outside the East Palace, a sudden burst of footsteps came from the corridor, Chen Hu was startled, and the scissors in her hand fell to the floor with a clang. She didn't care, at the gate of the palace, a eunuch in blue clothes rushed in, panting, his face pale, "The latest war news from Huainan has arrived."

  "What's wrong?" Chen Hu asked in a startled voice, leaning forward.

  "A branch of the Ying Bu's rebel army, somehow managed to get behind the Han army." The inner attendant's face was filled with unbearable expression, gritting his teeth and saying, "They have already entered the crown prince's tent, fighting fiercely for half a night. The Han army was caught off guard, and by the time they turned back to chase, it was too late to save the central camp. And as for the crown prince,"

  "---Life and death are unknown."

  Chen Hu felt a wave of dizziness, but she forced herself to calm down. Just as she was about to ask her husband for more details, she heard a thud behind her and turned around to see that Zhang Yan had already fallen to the ground with a pale face.

  This is an extra-large chapter!

  If no one has any objections, from now on, this book will be updated at around 9:40 pm every night.

  This way everyone has a rough idea and doesn't have to open web pages without a fixed number.

  Zhang Yan's headache was indeed caused by overthinking, and a book friend in the comment section guessed it correctly.

  That's my opinion, although it's a traversal, but the restrictive factors of the original body still exist.

  The brain is a complex thing and at 8 or 9 years old many aspects are still not fully developed. It can't handle too much mental burden.

  So, last time Zhang Yan had a headache because of the chess game with Zhang He. This time she has a headache, can anyone see why?

  SA, today's super update, asking for pink votes again.

  But probably won't ask for votes again for a while after today.

  After all, last month's PK was unavoidable. In fact, I'm also annoyed by asking for votes too much myself.

  In addition, regarding the pink ticket, it's actually not necessary to return to the book page homepage to vote, which is quite troublesome.

  If you're reading the authentic version on Qidian, under the chapter list of a novel, there are three button options. The middle one in red is "Female Frequency Monthly Recommended Ticket Ranking", and to its left in black is "Recommendation Ticket Support Author". Clicking this will display a pink ticket voting success message.

  Note: Long-term monthly subscription users (consecutive three months or more) will have 3 pink tickets after the fourth month.

  So press a few more times, lest it goes bad at home and is wasted.

  That's all for now.

  See you tomorrow night.