The Great Han Dynasty Volume 2: The mountain has trees, and the trees have branches; ninety-three barbarian books.

  Outside the city gate, a carriage drawn by four horses slowed down and came to a stop.

  "Master Hou will surely achieve great things on his trip to Chang'an." A middle-aged scholar in the carriage bowed and said.

  "Mr. Guo," Liu Zhong said with a smile, "I'm just a mediocre person, I only hope that my family will be safe and sound, and that my children and grandchildren will have good fortune for generations to come. Who dares to talk about achievements? You're joking, sir."

  Guo Qian moved his lips, wanting to say something, but ultimately sighed and gave up.

  The horse carriage entered the city gate and drove on Zhangtai Street. At the intersection with Xiangshi Street, a large vehicle suddenly came from the side and blocked the way. The coachman shouted, "This is the carriage of King Qi entering the court, please make way quickly."

  Liu Zhong lifted the curtain and shouted, "Is it Fei'er?"

  Before long, Prince Qi Liu Fei awkwardly got down from the luxurious carriage and came forward to pay his respects.

  Although Liu Zhong was only a thorough marquis at the time, in terms of generation, he was Liu Fei's paternal uncle. The Han dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, and even if Liu Fei was the King of Qi, when meeting his uncle on the street, he could only yield as a junior.

  When entering the mansion, Liu Zhong sighed and said, "In a few years to come, this Chang'an city will be more prosperous than before."

  "Yes." Guo Qian smiled and said, "I hope it will always be so prosperous."

  The second year of Emperor Hui, winter, tenth month, first day

  At the seventh watch of the night, the palace sounded the great bell and held a grand ceremony to mark the beginning of the year. The Emperor sat in the front hall of the Un央 Great Temple, receiving congratulations from all officials. The Three Dukes, Marquises, and officials above 2,000 dan, 2,000 dan, 1,000 dan, 600 dan, and 400 dan wore black robes with fish-shaped belts and entered the temple in an orderly manner, filling the hall with a sea of black. Officials above 2,000 dan ascended to the throne and hailed "Long live the Emperor!" The Emperor then raised his cup from his seat. The Grand Justice Zhao Yao presented soup, and the Inner Historian Du Tian presented rice, playing music to accompany the feast. All officials received gifts and enjoyed a grand banquet.

  Marquis of Heyang Liu Zhong stepped forward and bowed, saying: "I obtained new millet in Xin'an, on my way to Chang'an, I took a bundle from the warehouse, especially for Your Majesty to taste."

  Eunuch Han Changyu immediately stepped down and took it over, presenting it before the Emperor.

  Liu Ying stroked the golden millet bundle, smiling and saying, "The Book of Songs says, 'That millet is luxuriant, that millet is abundant.' The Marquis of Heyang has devoted himself to studying the art of planting millet, and should be rewarded. Now, I will increase his fief by a thousand households, and establish the position of Souchu Commander, under the Minister of History, and appoint Xu Xiang as Souchu Commander. He will assist the Marquis of Heyang in experimenting with millet cultivation in the capital area, specializing in improving millet yields."

  "This..." Liu Zhong was momentarily stunned, unable to speak. He stuttered, "Your Majesty, I am only a mediocre person, I can only farm, I don't know how to be an official."

  "Marquis He Yang is being modest." Liu Ying smiled and said, "A person who can increase the yield of millet per mu from three stones to nearly ten stones, how can he be a mediocre person?"

  He stepped down and personally helped Liu Zhong up, saying, "Agriculture is the foundation of the world. This is a matter that concerns the fate of our great Han dynasty for thousands and tens of thousands of generations to come. If we can succeed, countless people will be saved. The Emperor must not decline."

  Liu Zhong remained silent and had no choice but to agree. The other officials also cheered, "Long live Your Majesty, wise and benevolent, loving the people like a father."

  "Thoughts of you are like a visit from an old friend, since we parted ways and went our separate directions, it has been over half a year."

  Zhang Yan was writing letters at her desk.

  "After parting, you sent a letter saying that the pickled plums were ready to be opened on a certain day. The color was golden yellow and sweet as honey. I especially attached a small jar to the letter. My heart was delighted, but unfortunately, the plums were delayed on the way for too long and had turned sour and black, unable to be tasted. What a pity!"

  After leaving Xuanping, Zhang Yan and Sun Mou had been exchanging letters. The clever and charming girl was given the courtesy name Si Fu at her hair-pinning ceremony, derived from the first chapter of the Book of Songs "Guan Ju": A gentle and virtuous maiden, sought in dreams. Sought but not found, dreams of longing for her.

  After Xuanping's reputation as a good girl gradually spread, many rural gentry and nobles came to her door seeking marriage. County Magistrate Sun chose for her the second son of Chengfu Marquis Yin Hui, Yin Jin. As a result, Sun Rou could only sit at home waiting to be married, and in her boredom, she exchanged letters with Zhang Yan even more frequently, asking about the lively events in Chang'an.

  "Chang'an is indeed a bustling place. After the New Year's ceremony, Marquis Heyang and Commandant Xu chose good fields within the three auxiliary regions to build carts with oxen, waterwheels, and plant crops using the method of flooding and planting. They used cattle for plowing, paired oxen for tilling, and wheelbarrows for sowing seeds. By summer, the millet sprouts grew vigorously and beautifully, and if this continues until autumn when the harvest is ripe, production can be increased several times over. This would truly be a blessing for the people of the world."

  She sealed the letter with wax and ordered a servant boy to send it to the post station. Zhang Yan sighed.

  Some lively scenes look grand and joyful, the speaker likes it, the listener is happy, some lively scenes are tinged with bitterness, can only be buried in the heart and quietly savored.

  Last year at the Empress Lü's birthday, Zhang Yan met Prince Xiang of Qi. Afterwards, she repeatedly tried to persuade Empress Lü that she had no affection for Liu Xiang and was unwilling to form a marriage alliance. Emperor Gaozu pitied his daughter and had some intention to relent, but Empress Lü only thought this was her being childish and not understanding the ways of the world, so she paid no attention.

  However, after a year, Liu Xiang lingered on Zhangtai Street and became infatuated with a woman named Man Niang. He got into a fierce fight with Lü Jia, the son of the former Marquis of Zhou, Lü Hou. When Northern Army Lieutenant Qi Bi arrived, the two were still refusing to back down. Qi Bi was greatly annoyed and had no choice but to mediate a truce.

  The news reached Empress Lü's ears, and she flew into a great rage.

  "Liu Xiang is a frivolous man," said Empress Lü sternly, then bent down and spoke softly, "A Yan, let's not have him anymore. Liu Xiang is indeed not worthy of you. Another day, I'll find a good husband for you."

  Zhang Yan let out a sigh of relief in her heart and smiled, "Thank you for your kindness, Auntie. However, I'm still young and want to spend more years with my mother."

  Lü Zhi gave up her plan to form an alliance with Qi through marriage, and so she was no longer as friendly with Liu Fei, the King of Qi.

  In the tenth month of winter, Empress Lü held a family banquet in the Changle Palace and invited Prince Liu Fei of Qi. Since it was a drinking party, Liu Ying followed the etiquette for family members and offered the seat of honor to his elder brother, Liu Fei. Liu Fei thought that as brothers with the emperor, he had also been like a son to Empress Lü in the past, so he didn't decline the offer and took the seat. Empress Lü was furious when she saw this, and ordered someone to pour wine for Prince Qi, intending to harm him. Liu Ying understood his mother's intention, felt sad and indignant, and suddenly grabbed the wine cup, offering to drink it on behalf of his elder brother.

  Lü Zhi was greatly shocked and hastily got up, knocking over the wine cup in the Emperor's hand.

  That day, Lu Yuan returned to the Hou Mansion, his hands were shaking.

  "Ah Di's eyes were cold," she said. "At that time, I even thought he really intended to drink the poisonous wine. Ao Ge, you say," she threw herself into Zhang Ao's arms, "how did my mother and brother end up like this?"

  After King of Qi pretended to be drunk and left the Chang Le Palace, he was worried that this trip would be like King of Zhao's intention, and he could no longer leave Chang'an. His historian Wang Jie advised him, "The Empress Dowager only has Your Majesty and Princess Long as her children. Now, Your Highness has more than 70 cities, while the princess has only a few cities as her fiefdom. If you give one city to Princess Long as her fiefdom and respect her as Queen Mother, the Empress Dowager will be delighted. Then, Your Highness can avoid this disaster."

  Liu Fei reported this to Empress Lü, who then issued an edict willing to give the Principality of Chengyang to Ruyuan and honor her as Princess Dowager of Qi.

  Knowing Liu Fei's intention, Empress Lü was overjoyed, but Lu Yuan was greatly frightened.

  "I have numerous cities and fiefs, which are already sufficient for my use, and do not need more. And as the King of Qi is my elder brother, if he were to honor me as Empress Dowager, would it not be contrary to propriety? This matter must not be done!"

  Every other day, an envoy from the King of Qi came to visit the residence of Marquis Xuanping.

  "The Empress Dowager is kind-hearted and our king is deeply grateful. However, the rules of propriety are important. They cannot be compared to life itself. The king wishes to leave Chang'an safely, please help him achieve this, Your Highness."

  Zhang Yan just looked at him like that, and Lu Yuan's heart sank a lot in an instant. He finally nodded with difficulty.

  King Qi immediately bid farewell to the Emperor and returned to his fiefdom. For the next five years, he never entered the imperial court in Chang'an.

  When Liu Fei left, Liu Ying did not see him off.

  But in the end, he finally managed to protect the person he wanted to protect.

  "Girl, girl." Suddenly someone outside the courtyard called out to her, it was Tong Wei's voice.

  "What's wrong?" Zhang Yan pushed open the window and asked, "Don't you even look at your age. Still so noisy."

  At fourteen, Mu Xi was panting and stopped outside the window, with one hand on the railing, looking up and saying, "Just now, a young servant went to the post station to send a message, heard that...the Hun's something crown Khan."

  "It's Modu Chanyu." Zhang Yan corrected with a smile.

  "Good heavens, what a single Yu!" Xun Xu shouted, "That single Yu brought a national letter."

  The imperial edict, one chi and one fen in length, was tied with a red ribbon and lay quietly on the tray, carried by Xiao Huangmen and sent to Weiyang Palace.

  "What does 'Mòduān' mean?" Liu Ying asked with raised eyebrows in the Xuan Shi Hall.

  After the death of Princess Wang Zhaojun, the relations between Han and Xiongnu had always been lukewarm. In autumn and winter, when water and grass were scarce for Xiongnu, they often plundered the border cities of the Great Han to make up for it. Both sides frequently pulled each other's strings, but neither wanted to trigger a full-scale war.

  This time, Modu sent a letter to the country, but it was not handed over to Emperor Liu Xiang, but was specifically named and handed over to Empress Lü Zhi in Chang Le Palace.

  Xiao He said with reserve, "We have not seen the imperial edict and do not know its contents. It would be better if Your Majesty informs the Empress Dowager first and then reads the edict. After reading it, we can discuss it further."

  Although he still had some resentment towards his mother due to the affair of Prince Qi, Emperor Hui did not dare to be negligent when it came to state affairs, so he brought the national documents and went to Chang Le Palace.

  In the Changxin Hall, Empress Lü coughed and smiled slightly, saying, "I didn't guess what Modu meant. Although it was addressed to me, I am one with the Emperor as mother and son, let alone that Han-Xiongnu relations are a national affair, this is a state letter, Your Majesty is the master of a country, please open it on behalf of your mother."

  Liu Ying's lips curled up slightly, untied the ribbon, and glanced at it, her face changing color involuntarily. She read it again word by word, and was so angry that her face turned black and her hands and feet were icy cold. With a "slap", she fiercely threw down the letter from Modu, saying, "Modu is too deceitful! Summon Prime Minister Xiao He, General Zhou Bo, and Marquis Fan Kuai of Wuyang to enter the palace."

  Lü Hou couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Her son had always been good-tempered, like a saint. What could be written in the imperial edict that would make him so angry? She signaled with her eyes for Su Mo to pick up the imperial edict and unfold it to read:

  "I, a lonely ruler, was born in the midst of a muddy swamp and grew up in the domain of cattle and horses on the flat plains. I have repeatedly reached the border and wish to travel to China. Your Majesty is independent, while I am alone and live in solitude. The two rulers are not pleased with each other, and there is nothing to delight ourselves with. I wish to exchange all that I possess for what I do not have."

  The monarch of the grassland has a bold and unrestrained handwriting, although his words are elegant and refined, but his tone is frivolous and his intention is flirtatious, it's actually a naked tease to himself.

  She hummed and dug her fingernails deep into her palm.

  The Empress of the Great Han was actually teased by a naked Xiongnu barbarian, and for a moment, the faces of all the officials in the hall turned dark, feeling humiliated. "I want to behead the envoy and gather a large army to attack the Xiongnu," Liu Yingxu asked the officials, "What do you think, my dear ministers?"

  Fan Kuai was extremely close to Emperor Hui and his mother, and he was also straightforward in nature. He immediately stepped forward and asked for orders, saying: "I wish to obtain 100,000 elite soldiers and march into the heart of Xiongnu territory."

  "Good." Liu Ying was overjoyed and said, "I will follow General Fan's words."

  Today's chapter is a bit rushed in order to speed up the progress.

  According to historical records, Empress Lü seemed to like playing matchmaker for the women in her family, but due to her own experiences, she demanded that men be faithful and not neglect their wives whom she had arranged for them.

  So Liu Xiangru offended the Lü family (Lü Jia was the nephew of Empress Lü) and also ran into the gunfire of Empress Lü.

  Struck out swinging.

  Besides, Xiao Lü was teased.

  But being teased also proves to be a charming expression, right?

  Sweat!!!!!!!!!!

  Here is the translation:

  "Whatever, I'll continue to sincerely ask for pink tickets. Let's use some pink tickets as motivation. Please click on 'Recommend Monthly Tickets to Support the Author' at the bottom of this page, thank you."