The Great Han Dynasty Volume 1: The great wind rises and clouds fly high.

  Volume 2: In the mountains there are trees, on the trees there are branches.

  Ninety-fourth Winter Snow

  "It is not permissible for Your Majesty."

  Zhonglang Jiang Jibu's eyes widened in anger, he took a step forward and said in a loud, clear voice.

  "Fan Kuai has the bravery of a lone warrior, but he mistakenly handled the great affairs of the state. He should be executed."

  "Ah?" A voice came from behind the curtain, and Lü Hou emerged from it, asking, "General Ji, what do you mean by this?"

  Ji Bu cupped his hands and said, "In the past, Emperor Gaozu led over 300,000 Han troops to fight a great battle against the Xiongnu at Pingcheng. At that time, Fan Kuai was also among them, but he could not break through the siege to rescue the emperor from danger, causing the people of the world to sing: 'Under Pingcheng, it is indeed bitter! Seven days without food, unable to bend a bow.' The sound of this song is still in my ears. Those who were wounded have not yet recovered, and yet Fan Kuai boasts that he can defeat the Xiongnu with 100,000 troops. This is deceiving the emperor."

  Lü Hou's expression changed, and she saw Fan Kuai's face reveal a hint of embarrassment. Many officials in the palace also showed cautious attitudes towards going to war with the Xiongnu. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking, "Forget it, forget it."

  "Your Majesty," she turned to Liu Bing and said, "General Ji is right, this matter of attacking the Xiongnu should be carefully considered."

  "I refuse."

  All the ministers looked up in shock, seeing the Emperor suddenly standing up from his throne, his voice slightly sharp, "Meng Tian dared to write such a rebellious letter, this insult, I will not let it go like this."

  "Your Majesty," Ji Bu remonstrated bluntly, "this battle cannot be fought."

  "Liu Ying said loudly, 'When the lord is humiliated, the minister dies. Don't you understand this principle?'"

  Ji Bu knelt down on the palace floor and said, "I understand the principle of a minister dying for his lord's shame. I am also willing to die for Your Majesty, but the people of the world cannot be made to flee because of this."

  The officials in the hall knelt down one after another and paid homage to the king.

  "You," Liu Ying felt a dizziness in front of him and turned to look at Xiao He, "does Chancellor Xiao also think so?"

  Xiao He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty wants to fight this battle, it's not impossible. I'd like to ask Your Majesty a few questions."

  "How much money is there in the Ministry of Finance now? How many cavalry and horses does our Great Han have, and how is the grain stored in the Ever-Normal Granary now? Which general of the Great Han is good at fighting on the grasslands?"

  He mentioned a problem and Liu Ying's face sank a little, until it finally became as gloomy as the bottom of a pot.

  "Alright." He waved his hand, "Even so, will he have a good life? Winter is approaching soon, the Xiongnu has little grain in autumn and winter, thin horses and tired people. If they really fight, it would be easy for them?"

  Xiao He's heart was racing. Just as he was about to speak again, he suddenly felt his whole body surge with energy like a tidal wave, and everything in front of him began to blur. After swaying two or three times, he finally collapsed to the ground. Several people nearby shouted in alarm, "Prime Minister Xiao!"

  Premier's residence

  Xiao He slowly came to.

  "Father," said Xiao Yan, who was attending to his illness by the bed, supporting him as he sat up, with a look of joy on his face, "you've been sleeping for half a day, you're finally awake."

  Xiao He suddenly felt like a lamp that had burned out of oil and was about to dry up.

  "As for my life, it will not last long. Your elder brother died early, and over the years, all the properties and houses in our family have been declining. I have never renovated or repaired them on a large scale. If future generations are virtuous and capable, they will naturally learn from my thriftiness. If they are unworthy, then they can also avoid being deprived of their rights by those in power."

  Xiao Yan then wept and rose to his feet, kneeling down and saying, "Your son humbly accepts your teachings."

  In the autumn of the second year, Xiao He, the Chancellor, fell seriously ill and refused to see guests.

  On the day of Xin Chou, a palace carriage drove into Beidi and stopped in front of the Xiangfu gate.

  The young man in blue clothes handed over the name card. He smiled and said to the gatekeeper, "Give it to the young master of the mansion and he will know." His voice was elegant but with a hint of sharpness.

  Before long, the main gate of the Xiangguo Mansion opened wide and Xiao Yan hastily came out from inside. He bowed in front of the carriage and said, "I didn't know Your Majesty had come in person, I'm afraid I've failed to greet you from afar."

  Liu Ying walked into the Xiang Mansion and saw Xiao He sitting by the lake fishing from a distance.

  It is unknown when this veteran minister of two dynasties became emaciated, a solitary figure with white hair and an old face.

  Liu Ying suddenly felt heartache.

  This old man dedicated all his talent and energy throughout his life to the Liu imperial court, making arrangements for two generations of father and son. Although his achievements were great, he was humble and prudent, diligent and low-key throughout his life. In the end, he fell exhausted in the Xuan Shi Hall due to national affairs.

  "With a splash, the water rippled and it seemed that a fish had bitten the hook. Xiao He's face lit up with joy, and he hastily lifted the rod, but due to his illness and weakness, he couldn't lift it up. The fishhook, along with the fish, fell back into the water, somehow managing to wriggle free, flapping its tail and swimming away."

  Xiao He was stunned for a moment, and his face showed a disappointed look. He listlessly put down the fishing rod. Turning around, he unexpectedly saw someone who shouldn't be there.

  "Your humble servant pays his respects to Your Majesty."

  Xiao Xiangguo was excused from paying his respects. Liu Ying hastily helped him up.

  The Premier looks well today.

  "The weather is fine, but it's just sunny. Yan Er doesn't know how to advance or retreat, knowing that Your Majesty has come forward, yet he didn't even inform me."

  Liu Ying smiled slightly, "It's not Xiao Qing's fault, it's just that I didn't let him call you Prime Minister."

  "Your Majesty," Xiao He said with a calm smile, looking at Liu Ying's slightly guilty gaze, "this old minister's illness is due to his age and has been accumulating for a long time. It has nothing to do with the beauty of the Xuan Shi Hall."

  "Many thanks, Chancellor. I still want to discuss the Xiongnu with you."

  "Does Your Majesty still want to fight against Xiongnu?" Xiao He asked with a smile.

  "Yes." Liu Ying turned his back, straightened his shoulders, "In the past, Emperor Wu left me with a grudge over Pingcheng, now Shanyu Modu has sent a letter that is utterly rebellious and insulting to my parents. I am determined to avenge this! If I do not avenge it, I would be unworthy of being called a human son."

  Xiao He burst out laughing and said, "Your Majesty must not forget what I said in the Xuan Shi Hall that day. These four matters have not been resolved for a single day, and this war between Han and Xiongnu has not been mentioned for a single day."

  "I haven't forgotten."

  Liu Ying interrupted him.

  "I will not be impulsive, I will not demand to fight the Xiongnu immediately. I just want to know when the time is ripe." His eyes were filled with a warm and eager light, looking at Xiao He intently, "In the past, King Goujian of Yue State spent ten years recovering and rebuilding, and eventually defeated Wu State. If I can also endure humiliation and wait patiently, twenty years later, Han and Xiongnu will be able to have a decisive battle."

  Xiao He was momentarily stunned, no one understood more clearly than he did that the great Han Dynasty which had risen from the ruins after the fall of Qin was still in its infancy. On the surface it seemed prosperous, but actually its foundation was too shallow and it had not yet passed safely through its period of crisis.

  In his view, in order to have a decisive battle with the Xiongnu, at least fifty years of preparation were still needed.

  But seeing this young emperor in front of him, he suddenly felt a sharpness and vitality that had been lost from their generation for too long.

  "Your Majesty has great ambitions, which is a good thing." He coughed and said, "If the whole of Great Han works together in harmony and there are talented individuals who work diligently for Your Majesty, then perhaps twenty years from now it may come to fruition. However, this old minister will not live to see that day. If twenty years from now Great Han can truly gallop across the great desert and avenge the shame of Pingcheng, I ask that you send an envoy to pour a cup of wine at my grave. This old minister will be able to rest in peace beneath the nine springs."

  "However, war is a cruel thing for the world. If Your Majesty wants to start a fight, you should listen more to your humble servant's opinion. Don't act impulsively."

  Liu Ying suddenly calmed down and promised, "I understand."

  "The Single does not forget the humble village. He bestows upon it a book, and the humble village is fearful. It retreats to self-reflection, with age and declining energy, hair and teeth falling out, steps losing balance. The Single's excessive listening is insufficient for self-pollution. The humble village has no crime, it should be seen as pardoned. I secretly have two imperial carriages, two teams of horses. To offer to the regular carriage."

  This is Empress Lü's final draft of a reply to Modu.

  "Your Majesty." When handing the letter to Liu Xiang, Empress Lü smiled and said, "You're so humble as a queen mother, aren't you very angry? Be angry, but you can only put it in your heart. This is the second lesson that Queen Mother wants to teach you. In the past, Queen Mother taught you to be ruthless, but you never wanted to learn; so, this second lesson: endurance. Can you learn it?"

  But I have been enduring for too long. So I got used to it, and didn't feel the torture. And Ying'er, you are too young, too smooth-sailing, so you're always impulsive, never mature enough. A jade stone must be carved to become a useful vessel. Mother is willing to be that whetstone, to grind off those useless edges of yours one by one. Even if I'm worn out in the end, I won't regret it!

  In June of the sixth month, when the first batch of millet outside the palace was ripe, Marquis He Yang Liu Zhong died with a smile. However, the respect and attention to the way of farming that he ignited will be inherited by Xu Xiang and his subordinates, and passed down from generation to generation.

  In autumn, Xiao He, the Marquis of Zixiang, died and was given the posthumous name Wen Zhong. This is the first two-character posthumous name given to a minister's son, representing the emperor's respect for the diligent life of the Chancellor.

  Before long, it was the third year of Emperor Hui of Han, and Liu Ying's filial piety had lasted for three years.

  The emperor was nearly twenty years old and it was time for him to establish an empress, so he married Empress Lü with great fanfare.

  Liu Ying himself was extremely unwilling to marry Lü Wei.

  "What's wrong with Ah Wei?" Lü Hou asked in annoyance, "She is your own cousin, grew up well, and is intelligent, why won't you marry her?"

  "Ahuai is already nineteen years old, not young anymore." Lü Hou said with a bitter tone, "She has been waiting for you for three years, a girl's youth is limited, and can't afford to be delayed any longer."

  "Then let Jian Chenghou marry her off." Liu Xian said calmly.

  "You——" Lü Hou's breath quickened, and she raised her palm to hit him.

  Liu Ying gazed straight at his mother, with a hint of tiny dark clouds in his eyes, as if the stubborn vines were spreading out. "I have never wanted to delay her," his tone gradually became a bit cold, "The one who delayed her is not me, but you, Mother Empress, and my uncle."

  Lü Hou's expression changed slightly, "You dislike her so much that you refuse to marry her?"

  Liu Ying fell silent for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No."

  He didn't dislike Lv Wei, he just wasn't willing to marry her.

  At that time, Chen Hu died unexpectedly, and when he came to his senses from grief, all the people, things, and objects of the past had been cleaned up spotlessly, leaving nothing behind.

  He could no longer find anything in it.

  However, it was precisely because nothing had been left behind that more seeds of doubt were sown in his heart. Why did Chen Hu sleep so soundly during those days? Why did his mother, the empress dowager, arrive late to the Eastern Palace where his wife had lain on a bloody bed for so long? And why couldn't he find any trace of the palace maid who had attended to Chen Hu that day in the palace afterwards?

  He refused to delve deeper, and in fact, he couldn't delve deeper, but that one thorn had already grown horizontally across his heart.

  With such a thorn in his heart, he refused to remarry after the death of his beloved wife, and was resolute in rejecting Lv Wei. Although he knew that his pure and proud cousin-in-law herself had done nothing wrong.

  In November, the Xiongnu envoy knocked on the gate again, conveying Modu Chanyu's apology. He said that the Xiongnu had a long-standing custom of brother succeeding brother, and in the past, at Mount Bai Deng, Emperor Gaozu of Han Liu Bang had formed an alliance with Modu Chanyu as sworn brothers. When the Chanyu heard that the Han emperor had passed away, he was worried about his "widowed sister" and young nephew, and wanted to take care of them. However, due to the vastly different customs between the Han and Xiongnu, this good intention was misunderstood, which is truly regrettable!

  The most eloquent words were spoken with a grand tone, but Empress Lü was so angry that she gritted her teeth, yet still had to put on a smiling face and say, "I see."

  The envoy suddenly changed his tone, "It has been many years since the death of Princess Pingyang. Recently, our Shanyu had a dream in which he saw Jingzhao, and she was crying pitifully. After waking up, the Shanyu felt a deep sense of regret, and thus wanted to resume the marriage alliance with the Great Han. In the past, Liu Jing, the envoy sent by the Great Han for the marriage alliance, told our Shanyu that Princess Ru Yuan had a daughter named Yān, who was beautiful and virtuous, and could be suitable as the wife of the Shanyu. Now that Zhang Nüshi has grown up, if Your Majesty is willing to marry her off to Xiongnu, then Modun Shanyu is willing to treat her with the courtesy due to a son-in-law."

  The first snow of the third year of Emperor Hui's reign fell heavily.

  I seem to be stuck somehow.

  Cover one's head and weep.

  Continue to canvass for pink votes.

  Above.

  Cover one's face.