At the beginning of autumn, at the foot of Sheep Head Mountain, Emperor Liu and his entourage held a solemn memorial ceremony. The powerful and deep sounds of ritual music echoed at the foot of the mountain, comforting the spirits of those who died.
After the memorial ceremony, Emperor Liu led people to climb the mountain and personally set foot on the battlefield where the fierce battle was fought. Over the past twenty years, earth-shaking changes have taken place, and only a few crude relics of the battlefield from that time remain. We can only compare the scene with vague memories. Even so, as time goes by, the remaining traces will be covered by dense vegetation.
"We can build a temple here and let the local officials and people take care of it. We can offer some incense at times. It's a token of my gratitude to the court!" Emperor Liu ordered after a brief stroll.
"I will be writing about Gaoping County later, and the temple will be erected before this winter!" Li Guojiu, who was accompanying him, immediately agreed.
"Don't carry out large-scale construction!" Emperor Liu glanced at Li Ye and did not forget to warn him.
"yes!"
"The lush vegetation is unforgettable!" Emperor Liu couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "That Geng Chongmei taught me a lesson at the time. At least it made me understand that in everything, strength must speak for itself!"
"Your Majesty, I still remember how high-spirited I was when I was ordered to attack the enemy!" Sun Li, as one of the accompanying ministers, also participated in that battle, and he also felt this at this time.
As a veteran general under Emperor Liu in his early days, Sun Li did not have any outstanding abilities. He relied solely on his bravery and obedience to serve as the senior general of the Forbidden Army. However, as he grew older and his strength declined, the unruly commander back then also entered a state of twilight.
"Sun Li, I still remember that your nephew Sun Han and Yang Ye had a dispute over the victory of killing the general and capturing the flag!" Emperor Liu's expression showed a trace of reminiscence: "The Battle of Luancheng, Pan Fight to the death in your intestines and die a heroic death!"
"Your Majesty, please remember my nephew!" At the mention of this, Sun Li's old face also showed sentimentality, and he responded with a sigh.
"Sun Han's performance also touched me a lot!" Emperor Liu asked: "Does Sun Han have any heirs?"
"It's a pity that my nephew has lived for twenty years and has never even tasted a woman..." Sun Li shook his head and started talking about naughty things. After saying this, he noticed the eyes of the people around him and reacted, He hurriedly apologized: "I dared to make a mistake and made a mistake. Please punish me!"
"Haha!" Emperor Liu naturally didn't care and said, "What you said is true. I forgive you for your rudeness!"
Sun Li continued: "I adopted my second grandson to Sun Han to continue his lineage. The crown on my head is also due to his contribution!"
"Remember, after returning to the capital, give Sun Han a reward. It's hard to get a title, so give him more money and food!" Emperor Liu ordered the prince Liu Yang.
"Yes!" Liu Yang responded.
After hearing Sun Li refer to him as "an old minister" and noticing the white hair on his temples, Emperor Liu said, "Time flies! You are getting old too!"
It has been some years since Sun Li retired from the army. He resigned because of his old age and illness. Of course, it may also be because of seeing the general trend of upgrading in the military. Sun Lidao: "I have to obey my old age!"
After admiring the surrounding scenery for a while, Emperor Liu said: "The old men who sent troops to Hedong are also withering away. I am here now. It's a pity that Duke Wei has passed away, Duke Ying is ill, Han Tong stays behind, Yang Ye is here, and only your grandson. Come on, stay here and mourn with me!"
"By the way, Li Wanchao is working in Luzhou now!" Emperor Liu asked.
Among the generals of the "King of Zhou Dynasty" in the early years, Li Wanchao was not the most famous, but he was also a backbone force. The awe-inspiring army he led at the time also made numerous military exploits.
At that time, after he retired from Fengzhou, Emperor Liu allowed him to rest in Taiyuan for two years. Later, he resumed his duties and was appointed governor of Luzhou. Today, Li Wanchao is sixty-six years old, getting stronger with age.
When asked by Emperor Liu, Liu Yang took the initiative to answer: "The Marquis of Jiuyuan marches and fights, opens up territories, and is a capable general. He who governs prefectures and counties and takes care of the people is an official." In the past few years, the official reputation has been very good. I heard that the people are called 'Li Enhou'..."
"It's not easy to get old!" Emperor Liu couldn't help but smile, looked around, and instructed: "Let's get started! I will rule Luzhou with others. There is no need to greet the driver. Just let Li Wanchao come to camp. I want to see him!" "
"yes!"
...
The emperor drove north, passed Luzhou and went north, basically following the route that Emperor Liu led his army to the south, which was equivalent to walking all over again. After more than 20 years of development, road traffic has been greatly improved, and the damaged and narrow ones have also been repaired.
However, no matter how much it changes, there are still some familiar scenes. Of course, there was also a stop along the way, and Emperor Liu also had a lot of emotions and memories. By the time Emperor Liu arrived in Taiyuan, it was already late July, and autumn was getting stronger.
After all, it is the land of Longxing, and it has received no less attention from the imperial court. The majestic city of Jinyang still stands on the bank of Fen River and will last forever. It has been thirteen years since the last time I visited this place. It was during my last northern tour.
Speaking of which, Emperor Liu went on several tours over the years and visited many places. However, it was only so many years before he visited Taiyuan again. Obviously, with the current territory of Dahan, his idea of traveling all over Dahan Daozhou can only become a wish in the end.
Hedong is the place where three generations of dynasties flourished, from the Later Tang Dynasty, the Later Jin Dynasty, and now the Han Dynasty. Its unique advantages have made it the deepest foundation for the three families of Li, Shi, and Liu to strive for hegemony in the world.
However, the former also mentioned that continuous attacks produced three generations of dynasties and almost exhausted the potential of one or two generations. When the great ancestor Liu Zhiyuan aspired to conquer the world, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians moved into Henan, almost using Hedong and entering its weakest period in half a century.
Up to now, although many people in Gyeonggi Province have changed their place of origin, they are all from Hedong and are inextricably linked with it. During Liu Chong's reign, the development of Hedong was extremely restricted. Even if Hezhong, Jin, Jiang and other places in the south were included, the population of the whole province was less than 270,000 households.
It was not until Liu Chong was dismissed from office and the imperial court directly administered Hedong that its recovery and development speed became normal. With the support of the imperial court, after seventeen years, Hedong finally regained its former prosperity.
Especially in the Jinzhong Basin, it is rich in resources and people, and densely populated. It is connected to Shanyang in the north, Heluo in the south, and Hebei in the east. Although it is in a kind of "surrounding" in terms of topography, it is in the middle and northern part of the Han Dynasty. , Hedong's political, economic, and military status have been strengthened. Just like Taihang, Hedong was the backbone of the Han Empire and played an important role.
According to the previous statistics, the population of Hedong Province has climbed to 530,000 households, which is more than doubled from the beginning. Among them, Taiyuan Prefecture has more than 70,000 households, and Jinyang is a large city with a population of more than 100,000.
If the current Han Dynasty were ranked according to politics, economy, and population ratio, Jinyang could also be ranked among the top ten.
