As night fell, Youzhou walked in the halls, the lights were bright, and he held a grand reception banquet for the two brothers Liu Yang and Liu Xu. The bells rang and the dishes were eaten. The imperial concubines, princes and princesses were all present in rich clothes, talking and laughing, and they were all enjoying themselves. scene.
Apart from the absolute protagonist of the banquet, Emperor Liu, the one who attracted the most attention was of course the Crown Prince Liu Yang. After returning from the war, the emperor cared for her, the queen protected her, and everyone else could only keep their envy and jealousy in their hearts.
The waiter carried a roasted sheep and the whole family shared it. Emperor Liu was very interested and slaughtered it himself, demonstrating his skills in removing the tendons and bones.
When there were foreign ministers around, Emperor Liu still paid great attention to etiquette and rules, but in private, he was much more relaxed. The family enjoyed delicious food, drank wine and talked freely.
"Second brother traveled thousands of miles and returned with great honors. He is indeed a role model for all brothers. I will cooperate with you. I would like to take this cup to show my respect!" The seventh prince Liu Hui drank some wine, his face was glowing, and he walked up to Liu Yang with a cup of wine. In front of him, he smiled and said.
Upon seeing this, Liu Yang immediately responded with a warm smile, showing his brother's gentle demeanor, and said: "I can't live up to the reputation of seventh brother! But I have also read the "Eastern Expedition Ode" you wrote, and it is very impressive. My great Han Dynasty spreads the word to all the troops, and the soldiers are also inspired. One article can reach tens of thousands of troops, this is not what I can do!"
Although Liu Yang's words were somewhat true or false, they were extremely pleasant to the young ears of Liu Hui. He hurriedly expressed his humility, but the smile on his green face betrayed his mood.
"Have you written any good poems recently? I should read it when you have time!" Liu Yang invited him with a cup.
Liu Hui responded quickly: "Second brother is busy with business, so I can't disturb you. If you have some free time, you must come to ask for advice!"
Liu Yang nodded slightly and drank with Liu Hui.
The one who paid the most attention to Liu Hui's actions was Liu Shu, the ninth old man who did not deal with him. Seeing his intimate conversation with the prince, he couldn't stand it. The smile on Liu Hui's mouth made him feel even more dazzled. He picked up the wine glass, took a long sip, and groaned: "Look at this seventh child, he behaves well in front of his father, and he is very active in asking for favors in front of his second brother. Ah! He is so talented and outstanding in literature. I think he is sanctimonious and extremely hypocritical..."
"Ninth brother, everyone is happy that the eldest brother and the second brother are back. On this occasion, you should say less. If it reaches dad's ears, you will be punished!" Hearing his extreme words, he sat next to him. The eighth prince Liu Ming could not help but whisper a word of advice.
However, Liu Shu didn't seem to appreciate it. He turned his head and looked at Lao Ba, who had never had any special skills and had a very low sense of presence. He smiled lightly and said, "Why, does Ba Ge also want to learn from his elder brother and teach us younger brothers a lesson?"
Liu Yan seemed to be a person with really no temper. He choked at Liu Shu's sarcastic tone, but he didn't get angry. His eyelids drooped, and he still smiled and said softly: "That's it, I can't persuade you anymore. I can't persuade you anymore." Why talk so much! When my brothers return, I should also respect them, so you can do as you please."
Seeing Liu Ai's reaction, Liu Shu felt embarrassed. Among the brothers, the eighth prince Liu Ai, who was born to Concubine Zhe, was usually the most low-key. He did not fight or grab, and paid no attention to anyone. No one would envy him. Naturally, the relationship with the brothers is also good.
Feeling that his words hurt Liu Yan, Liu Shu couldn't help scratching his head. Seeing him getting up, Liu Shu immediately picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Bag, wait, I'll go with you..."
Emperor Liu was not unaware of some of the conflicts and struggles among his heirs, and had even secretly investigated them, especially the incompatibility between Lao Qi and Lao Ninth, which was even more obvious.
However, he had no intention of directly intervening in the disputes between the brothers. First, he had too many heirs, and he felt exhausted from intervening in military affairs, so he could not devote more energy to his heirs.
The second is that in ordinary people's homes, there are still conflicts of temperament and conflicts of interest between brothers and sisters, not to mention the Tian family. As long as the troubles don't go too far, Emperor Liu will not interfere too much. He will not interfere too much with the prince's education. A set of rules has been established, and any conflicts within the rules are acceptable.
"Official, Privy Cao wants to see you!" While Emperor Liu was smiling and enjoying the warm affection on the surface of the royal family, Yantuo entered from outside the hall, trotted around the banquet table and came forward, squatting and reporting.
"It's this hour, what is he doing here?" Obviously, he felt unhappy about being disturbed, so he took a sip of wine and asked sideways.
After hearing the question, Yantuo quickly explained: "Privy Cao's expression was heavy, and he said something important was going on!"
Frowning seemed to have become a habit of Emperor Liu. On the side, Dafu also heard it. He kept a kind smile and gently pushed Emperor Liu: "Privy Cao is here to meet you at this time. It is an important matter, so don't neglect me!"
Da Fu spoke, and Emperor Liu's little unhappiness dissipated. He gave her a simple explanation, then stood up and left the table: "Let him go to the study!"
"yes!"
Emperor Liu first washed his face to get rid of the alcohol smell on his body, and then went to the study. In the meantime, Cao Bin was pacing back and forth with a serious face, his expression looking more rigid than usual.
"See your Majesty!" Upon seeing Emperor Liu, Cao Bin's expression melted slightly like ice.
"No courtesy! Sit down!" While serving tea, Emperor Liu looked at Cao Bin and asked, "Cao Qing came to see you at night. What do you mean? Is there something going on in the war ahead?"
"Your Majesty, just now I have received the battle report from Shanyang. With Li Shijun's support, Liu Tinghan's army has successfully withdrawn to Xuanhua Mansion!" Cao Bin reported.
"Just pull out!"
After hearing what he said, Emperor Liu subconsciously relaxed a little, but seeing that his expression was still solemn, he probably knew that Cao Bin was not just here to announce the good news.
Asked: "You look so ugly, what's wrong? Are there many casualties?"
"Yes!" Cao Bin nodded and sighed: "Liu Tinghan's troops plus Li Shijun's reinforcements totaled more than 70,000 cavalry, and more than 30,000 were lost. Liu Tinghan's cavalry suffered nearly half casualties. Li Shijun was on the way to rescue. We were also attacked by the Liao army, and many people lost their lives! In the battle of Monan, our army suffered too many casualties, its combat strength was greatly damaged, and it was completely unable to support the battle. The army in the middle road was broken!"
"Liu Tinghan was defeated and lost his army, so he will plead guilty!" Cao Bin presented the battle report and a memorial to plead guilty.
Emperor Liu paused while holding the teacup, lowered his head and took a sip, and then said: "The Liao Kingdom was very patient and well-planned. They did not hesitate to send the entire army south and attack thousands of miles in order to plot against our army. They succeeded and could not avoid it." , Liu Tinghan cannot be entirely blamed.
On my side, I didn't expect it, and I didn't receive the news beforehand, so I was negligent! Liu Tinghan fought fiercely with the Liao army on the grassland for so long with a mere 30,000 troops, firmly restraining the Liao army in Shangjing and Monan, and created a good environment for victory in Liaodong. It is not easy to persist until now... ....”
Hearing what Emperor Liu said, Cao Bin had to sigh in his heart. The emperor's trust in Liu Tinghan was too deep, and it was almost catching up with Yang Ye. If another general had such a defeat, would he have the same reaction? I'm afraid otherwise!
Apart from the majestic events on the Liaodong battlefield, in the past two months, the Saibei grasslands have been slightly calmer, and there have been few battles in the Monan Desert.
With the experience of spring and summer, Liu Tinghan led the army and has been active in the Monan and Mozhong areas. He neither advanced rashly to avoid getting into crisis nor retreated. He always let the Liao army on the grassland fight and stalemate, and occasionally led the way. The army advanced, pretending to be in-depth, and then broke camp and returned south the next day, always maintaining a safe position and being at ease.
It has been the same since the beginning of autumn. Both sides sent out a large number of light cavalry scouts to fight for spies and collect information, but there was basically no large-scale contact combat, not even a battle involving more than 500 people.
Liu Tinghan's tactics did cause a lot of trouble for the Liao army and involved a lot of their energy. However, after a long time and becoming a habit, they would inevitably be caught by the opponent's surprise.
After the Liaodong War ended, the angry and frightened Yelvxian could no longer hold back, and Handerang's plan to plot against Liu Tinghan's army was finally put into action.
This time, the elite of the Liao Kingdom came out to attack the Han army in three groups. Han Kuangmei still led his men to deal with Liu Tinghan. Yelvxian led the Chinese army as backup, and the key line was led by his uncle Yelu Daoyin. , from west to south, circled for thousands of miles, outflanked them, and completely avoided the eyes and ears of the Han army.
At that time, Liu Tinghan's army did go a little deeper and was more than 300 miles away from Xuanhua Prefecture in the middle and upper reaches of the Luan River in the eastern part of the desert. Who often walks along the river without getting his shoes wet. This time, Liu Tinghan's keen sense of smell failed to help him and he was caught by the Liao army. Even though he decisively withdrew his troops to break out of the encirclement and retreated while fighting, he was still caught early. The well-prepared Liao army was forced to stop at Tianling, south of Yangchengluo and west of Tanshan Mountain, and fell into a tight siege.
After learning Liu Tinghan's letter asking for help, Emperor Liu also decisively ordered to send troops to the north to help. More than 10,000 troops were gathered in Yanshan and Xuanhua Mianjiao, and 30,000 troops were urgently mobilized from the Shanyang and Hedong Bianzhou armies. The land was handed over to Li Chuyun, the chief envoy of Shanyang who provided logistical support for Liu Tinghan, and asked him to go to the rescue.
It took nearly a month, but now the results are finally there. Li Chuyun lived up to his mission and successfully completed this extremely dangerous task, although the price he paid was somewhat heavy.
