"Coming to Beijing this time, the carriage and horses are tiring. It's been a hard journey!" Liu Chengyou's words and expressions were gentle and concerned. He looked at He Fujin and said, "Especially He Qing, compared to the second year of Qianyou's reign when I visited the north, he has aged much. Got it!"
At this time, He Fujin was old and frail, and his complexion was somewhat uglier than Liu Ci's. There was a strong morbidity on his face with grooves and grooves, and he looked like he was exhausted.
After listening to Liu Chengyou's words, Li Jun took the initiative and said: "Your Majesty, Commander He has been commanding troops and guarding the border for these years, working hard without complaint. In his sixtieth year, he has been guarding the peace of the north for the Han Dynasty. Even though he is seriously ill, he has not slackened off. Until now, even I can no longer ride a horse. Such virtue is admirable..."
Li Jun's words were full of compliments and praise for He Fujin. But his intention is almost obvious. Translating his words, it is very straightforward: He Fujin is old and frail and sick. He is no longer suitable to command Beiguan and act as border defense. Your Majesty, please replace him quickly!
Liu Chengyou understood and glanced at Li Jun, but his attention was focused on He Fujin, and his words became more sincere: "Old general, he has worked so hard to guard the country's borders! It was my negligence. If I had known that you were seriously ill, I should have let you go. Don’t rest in Ying to recuperate and don’t suffer from the pain of traveling south!”
"I have been guarding the border for many years, and I should report to His Majesty about the military affairs on the border!" He Fujin responded.
"Now that I'm back, I'll stay in Tokyo for a few more days to recuperate. I also have a lot of questions to ask you!" Liu Chengyou's eyes almost overflowed with smiles.
In fact, He Fujin was seriously ill, and didn't Liu Chengyou know?
"You are the same. They all say that Tokyo is prosperous and you are working hard in town. Take the opportunity to enjoy it to comfort yourself from the hard work of the army!" Liu Chengyou looked at Li Jun and others again, with a look of concern: "If you have any difficulties or requests in Beijing, If you don’t feel comfortable with it, feel free to speak out!”
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The imperial banquet at the Long Live Palace dispersed very quickly. Within half an hour, Liu Chengyou left the palace. For the generals who came to the capital for the banquet, their moods were different. Except for those who were relieved, most of them were worried, hesitant, and lucky. In short, the banquet was not a good one.
"Your Majesty!" Li Hongwei caught up with Liu Chengyou.
There is also a family banquet over at Ciming Hall. Wait for him to follow, and naturally go to the harem with him.
"Why does uncle hesitate to speak?" Liu Chengyou asked, noticing Li Hongwei's expression.
As if waiting for Liu Chengyou to ask, Li Hongwei smiled at him and said directly: "Your Majesty, do you want me to resign as the military governor of Pinglu Army?"
Liu Chengyou had long realized that among the Queen Mother's brothers, only Li Hongwei was worthy of reuse. At this time, it was not unusual for him to ask this question directly. Instead of answering, he asked: "What do you think, uncle?"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" Li Hongwei responded simply. Perhaps he felt that this answer was too direct. After thinking about it for a moment, he added: "The power of a vassal town to control the military and political affairs of a place is indeed too heavy, and it is incompatible with the current imperial court. It is contrary to the general policy and is not conducive to the stability of the country. The decentralization of power and the separation of military and political affairs are policies that follow the will of nature and the people and ensure long-term stability of the country. No one should go against the trend.
Furthermore, with the current situation of the Han Dynasty and the current authority of the imperial court, anyone who dares to disobey will be ignorant of the general situation and will bring about their own destruction! "
Hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but smile: "I am very pleased that my uncle has such knowledge. He should be a general of the Han Dynasty!"
"The banquet at Long Live Hall is probably not very interesting!" Liu Chengyou looked at Li Hongwei and said, "Let's go to Ciming Hall and have a few drinks as a family!"
"Yes! Your Majesty, please." Li Hongwei said with a beaming smile and cupped his hands.
It was late at night, and the Ciming Hall was brightly lit and in a lively atmosphere. There were dozens of clan members and relatives, and these were just close relatives. In the harem, except for Concubine Gao and her son who had just given birth, there were other concubines, princes and daughters.
King Yong Liu Chengxun and Princess Yongning were chatting with Queen Mother Li, one on the left and the other on the right. Empress Fu took Princess Yong with her and, in her capacity as sister-in-law, had some private words with her. Fu Yanqing and Zhe Congruan, two old abbots, sat together and talked. Half-year-old children were playing in the hall. His uncles gathered around Li Ye, laughing and chatting with him. They were quite cheerful and burst into laughter from time to time. ....
When Liu Chengyou arrived, the atmosphere became somewhat depressed. He waved his hands and told everyone who stood up to greet him: "There is no need to salute. Today is a family dinner. It is rare for everyone to get together, so there is no need to be restrained!"
He walked up to Queen Mother Li, bowed, looked at the food table where the chopsticks had not been touched, and said, "Didn't I say hello in advance? You don't have to wait for me!"
Mrs. Li glanced at Liu Chengyou angrily and responded: "This family banquet is supposed to celebrate your birthday. How can you start it if you haven't already?"
After taking his seat, Liu Chengyou glanced around. It can be said that there was a large crowd. The power of the royal family has obviously grown a lot after the development of the past few years. Especially the little princes and the grown-up King Yong gave people a feeling of peace of mind.
He stretched out his hand to summon the fourth prince Liu Fang, and started chasing and quarreling with him. He was the most lively and energetic. After pinching his cheek, Liu Chengyou asked, "Tell daddy, are you hungry?"
"Hungry!" Liu Fang looked directly at Liu Chengyou and replied loudly.
"Then let's start!"
It is both a family banquet and a state banquet. It is impossible for everyone to relax and be carefree. However, compared to the Long Live Hall, the atmosphere was always a bit warmer.
As for Liu Chengyou, as the head of the family, he expressed some emotion. Taking this opportunity, Murong Yanchao stepped forward, offered Liu Chengyou a glass of wine, and said, "Your Majesty, my family is gathered together tonight, but it's a pity that some people are missing!"
After taking a sip, Liu Chengyou looked at Murong Yanchao and saw his face was red, and said: "Uncle, your words have a certain meaning!"
Mrs. Li was listening, and she pointed at Zongzheng Liu Chengyun who was drinking alone and said: "Your uncle passed away, and your cousins are all in Luoyang."
Liu Chong and his disciples are now basically restricted to the Luoyang economy. The family is not as wealthy as before, let alone enjoy themselves. Although Liu Chengyou gave a lot of land, no one except Liu Chengjun worked.
That is to say, Liu Chengjun, as the elder brother, controlled the disciples so that they would not get into trouble. However, those who had served as officials in various places found it really unbearable to live in a state of near confinement. The contrast was so great that they complained a lot. There were also rumors among the government and the public that the emperor treated the clan poorly.
At this time, after listening to Li's words, Liu Chengyou responded perfunctorily: "Well, when I go on a western tour and pass by Luoyang, I should meet him!"
Seeing his reaction, Li sighed slightly. Murong Yanchao added: "Your Majesty, Liu Xin's family has been guarding Ruiling for five years. After all, he is your uncle!"
It can be seen that the relationship between Murong Yanchao and Liu Xin is really good. After all these years, I still miss interceding for Liu Xin. After thinking about it for a moment, Liu Chengyou just smiled: "Uncle, come, I'll toast you too..."
Paying attention to the emperor's reaction, Murong Yanchao was inevitably disappointed. It seemed that he still had no intention of pardoning Liu Xin.
The family banquet at Ciming Hall lasted much longer. Even if he drank lightly, Liu Chengyou would inevitably get drunk in the end. After the banquet, Liu Chengyou specially called King Yong Liu Chengxun.
"Your Majesty, you have drunk too much, you should go back to the palace and rest early!" Seeing that the emperor was shaking a little, Liu Chengxun personally supported him and advised him.
Putting his arms around Liu Chengxun, Liu Chengyou looked drunk and blurred, and chuckled: "I am drunk in body, but not in heart! It doesn't matter!"
"It's just that in recent years, it's hard to take a break from governing and governing the country, and I'm tired. I want to take this opportunity to be lazy and have a good sleep..." Liu Chengyou said with a smile on his face.
Hearing this, Liu Chengxun couldn't help but sigh: "Second brother, it's not easy for you either!"
"Since you came back to Beijing, I haven't had time to have a deep talk with you!" Under the influence of wine, Liu Chengyou thought of something and said: "You have performed well in Beijing for more than two years, and you have brought glory to the royal family. Reputation, I’m very happy!”
"I still have to rely on my brother for his many years of teaching!" Liu Chengxun was very respectful.
"My body has grown a lot, and I can rely on you now!" Liu Chengyou had a drunken expression on his face, and his entire weight was almost resting on Liu Chengxun's body, and he kept saying: "You are already twenty years old. We don’t have any children yet, so we still need to work hard! You know, I was less than eighteen, but I gave birth to Liu Xu..."
"Of course I can't compare to Your Majesty!"
After walking a long way and confiding a lot of heartfelt words to Liu Chengxun, Liu Chengyou only let him go after the drunkenness subsided. However, when he left, King Yong's expression was a little solemn.
"Officials, do you want to display the Yaohua Palace?" Zhang Dejun asked for instructions.
"No need!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand: "It's not convenient for me to be so drunk when my concubine gives birth!"
"Then where will we stay tonight?"
"Don't go anywhere, go back to Chongzheng Hall!" Liu Chengyou said.
