In the imperial palace, in the royal study.
With a loud bang, Liu Hong smashed the porcelain bottle on the table to pieces.
"What did you say? Say it again!"
He Jin wiped away the cold sweat and kept complaining in his heart, why do I have to talk about these things?
"Your Majesty, the latest battle report came from Guanzhong. Zhang Wen was defeated in the battle with the Xiliang Army. He was ambushed by the enemy and lost tens of thousands of troops!"
Although helpless, He Jin did not dare to resist the order and reported the defeat to Liu Hong again.
"Is Zhang Wen a pig? Huangfu Song was ambushed just now, he will fall into an ambush again! Does he have a pig brain?"
"How many soldiers and horses were lost!"
He Jin looked at Liu Hong and lowered his head, not daring to answer the question.
"Tell me! How many people have been killed!"
Liu Hong slammed the table again, obviously extremely angry.
"More than 40,000 yuan was lost..."
He Jin's voice was very weak, for fear that Liu Hong would take out his anger on him again.
However, to He Jin's surprise, Liu Hong only gasped and did not get angry again.
"Where is Liu Zhang? Did he join the war?"
He Jin was slightly stunned, thinking of Liu Zhang filled his head with hatred, but it was a pity that this guy had made great achievements again!
Zhang Rang didn't say anything when he saw He Jin, and took the initiative to report to Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty, when Zhang Wen went to fight the Xiliang Army, General Hou had just arrived at Meiyang City with his army. The sergeants were exhausted and unable to fight, so they took the initiative to take over the important task of guarding the city."
"But in the end, General Hou turned the tide and led an army to attack the Xiliang rebels. Only then did he rescue Zhang Wen and tens of thousands of soldiers. Otherwise, Zhang Wen and his troops would have been completely annihilated!"
"That's not all. The general later also made arrangements in the city to defeat the Xiliang rebels who came to attack the city and killed countless thieves!"
Liu Hong relaxed a little after hearing Liu Zhang's military exploits.
"General, is that what happened?"
He Jin didn't expect Liu Hong to ask him for confirmation. He wanted to say no, but what Zhang Rang said was true without any praise. He could only nod depressedly.
"Your Majesty, Changshi Zhang is right. It was indeed the general who turned the tide..."
Liu Hong nodded, but he started to have trouble again. What should he do next? Is it still necessary to promote Liu Zhang?
"His Majesty!"
At this time, Yuan Wei stood up and put forward his opinions to Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty, I think it's time to remove Zhang Wen from his position as Chariot and Cavalry General, escort him back to the capital for questioning, and select another talented person to continue the Western Expedition!"
"Oh? Do you have a candidate for Taifu?"
Liu Hong had no objection to removing Zhang Wen, but he was troubled by not having the right person to appoint him.
"Haha, why did your majesty give up the beautiful jade for the stubborn stone? The general behind is a good general in the world, and there are many better than Zhang Wen! Why not entrust him with full authority for the Western Expedition?"
After Yuan Wei finished speaking, Liu Hong was still fine. He Jin suddenly became anxious and glared at Yuan Wei, constantly insulting him in his heart.
Are you crazy, old guy? And give Liu Zhang an official title? Have you forgotten that he is openly against you, Mr. Yuan?
Liu Zhang is only sixteen years old and already he is a general, and you still want to promote him!
Lift what? General Wei? Cavalry General? Or should I hand over the general to him?
When he gets to that position, why not sit on your head, Mr. Yuan, and shit!
"Your Majesty, although the general is brave, he is still young after all. In my humble opinion, it is not appropriate to entrust him with such a heavy responsibility!"
Liu Hong was also in trouble at this moment, but He Jin came to his rescue unexpectedly.
"Yes, Liu Zhang is brave and always victorious, but I'm worried that he will inevitably become arrogant and end up underestimating the enemy and missing important matters!"
"I wonder if there is a candidate for the general?"
He Jin was originally very happy. Liu Hong, like himself, did not want to promote Liu Zhang. But the moment the question was asked, I didn’t know how to answer it.
"This...this..."
He Jin hesitated and said something. In fact, it was not that he had no candidate, but that he did not want to take on this responsibility.
Huangfu Song was beaten to the point of losing his armor, and Zhang Wen once again lost tens of thousands of troops! Is this Xiliang army so easy to deal with?
It's easy to send someone there. After all, He Jin also has many generals under his command, but there are very few who can truly serve as commanders!
He Jin did not dare to name a person casually. If the war was defeated and the Xiliang army invaded and occupied Sanfu and invaded the cemetery, could He Jin be able to shoulder the responsibility? He has several heads that Liu Hong can chop off!
"Your Majesty, there is no good candidate for the minister..."
Liu Hong snorted lightly, not disappointed at all. He had despaired of He Jin's ability and knew in his heart that he would definitely not be able to count on him.
"That's it for now, please step aside and let me think about it carefully."
The ministers said nothing more and resigned one after another. Especially He Jin, relieved, was the first to walk out.
"Your Majesty, in the future the general's talents will be enough to quell the rebellion. Why did your Majesty give him the important task of the Western Expedition?"
Seeing no one around, Zhang Rang expressed his thoughts.
Liu Hong smiled, then shook his head gently.
"How could I not know Liu Zhang's talents! But now I really can't promote him."
"I don't understand what your Majesty means."
Liu Hong's attitude towards Zhang Rang was obviously much better, and he didn't care at all about his questions.
"Liu Zhang is still too young, he is not yet in his prime! Last time I gave him the post of general, I was under a lot of pressure!"
Zhang Rang also had a heavy look on his face. He knew about this matter. Since Liu Zhang was canonized in public, many ministers had approached Liu Hong privately and felt that this matter was inappropriate. However, they were all refuted one by one by Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty is the emperor of the day, so he is sure to keep his word! There is nothing wrong with promoting a general for national affairs!"
Liu Hong sighed softly. Although he was an emperor, he still had a lot of helplessness!
"Having said that, not everything can be done in my own way! This is true for the family, this is true for my relatives, and this is especially true for Liu Zhang!"
"If he were ten years older, I wouldn't have so many worries!"
"But Huo Qubing was also promoted to General Hussar at the age of nineteen back then. Although the general is young, he is still six out of ten this year, almost the same as Huo Huoqi!"
Zhang Rang didn't know what was going on, but today he especially wanted to say something for Liu Zhang and continue to speak to Liu Hong.
"Haha, do you know how old Huo Qubing was when he died?"
Liu Hong looked at Zhang Rang and gave him a meaningful smile.
"this..."
Zhang Rang broke into a cold sweat instantly. How could he not know when Huo Qubing died? Huo Qubing's hussar general only served for five years before he passed away!
"Promoting him too quickly will only do harm to him, and will eventually lead to death! Do you think Yuan Wei is really so kind? He sincerely promotes Liu Zhang?"
Zhang Rang secretly sighed that he was confused and almost missed Liu Hong's important event!
"Your Majesty, forgive me, I am really confused!"
"It doesn't matter, I haven't lost my sight yet! As long as I'm here, the Yuan family won't be able to make any waves!"
Liu Hong in Zhang Rang's eyes suddenly became different, and he couldn't help but doubt himself.
Do you really understand Liu Hong? The ruler of the Han Dynasty?
It seems that I have never seen this kind of domineering attitude!
