The war was about to begin, but Emperor Liu, who was staying at Yehuling, was a little more leisurely. He allowed Liu Xi to accompany him, patrolling the Great Wall, climbing Guan Mountain, and surveying the great rivers and mountains of northern Xinjiang.
On the fortress in early winter, everything is desolate, the wilderness is endless, and the world is vast. Of course, the winding Great Wall still rises and falls in the mountains, without fear of wind and cold.
In his early years, Emperor Liu might have been interested in reciting "Scenery of the North Country", but today, there is no need for it. For Emperor Liu, thousands of years later, when descendants gave him a brief introduction, he only needed to be labeled as a statesman and military strategist. As for the other things, it was not necessary. His achievements in rectifying the country and unifying the world were already enough to attract attention. The significance of the emperor who wields all the power is greater than anything else.
"Look at the Great Wall, which has stood for thousands of years without falling. It is still so majestic and majestic today. Many dynasties have added and repaired it, and the same is true for our dynasty. However, when the Liao army came south, they were still able to break through the Great Wall defenses and penetrate deep into the mountains. The sun is causing trouble. Even if this Great Wall does not collapse for a hundred years or fall for thousands of years, what is the use?" Standing on a beacon tower west of Taoshan, Emperor Liu touched the mottled wall and sighed.
"What do you think?" Emperor Liu asked, turning to look at his third son who was always careless.
Liu Xi was obviously taken aback, and then said subconsciously: "I'm not familiar with military affairs, but since all dynasties have worked hard to build it, it makes sense! The wisdom of the ancient sages is not comparable to yours? "
Hearing that Liu Xi started to hide his clumsiness and make jokes again, Emperor Liu became angry and scolded: "Don't act stupid in front of me, tell me your true opinion!"
Hearing the scolding, Liu Xi showed a hint of embarrassment on his face, chuckled, and then became more serious and responded: "I think that the Great Wall is a defensive barrier that stretches for thousands of miles. It is difficult to completely resist a powerful enemy, but without the Great Wall, the North When the Kou go south, they will be more at ease."
Emperor Liu smiled and did not discuss this further. For him, there was no need to continue discussing the pros and cons of the Great Wall. It must be repaired, especially the passes, forts and beacon towers densely scattered along the line. These are what the Han relies on to control northern Xinjiang.
"You are taking Xiao with you when you go on a parade?" Emperor Liu's attention was suddenly attracted by a tube of Xiao worn on Liu Xi's waist, and he asked curiously.
After hearing the question, Liu Xi untied it, which was a short jade tube, and said: "This was a gift from my uncle when I got married. My son liked it very much and took it with him on all his trips."
"Can you play?" Emperor Liu asked.
"If you don't know how to blow, you will become an arty person there!" Liu Xi smiled softly.
Seeing this, Emperor Liu stretched out his hand to signal. Liu Xi didn't pretend to be pretentious. He thought about it for a while and then started playing with it. The melodious whistle, under the influence of the winter wind, became a bit more ethereal. The sky was high, the clouds were vast, and the wilderness was endless. Emperor Liu climbed to the heights, with thousands of miles of mountains and rivers under his feet, looking down at the territory of his empire. He closed his eyes slightly, and the corners of his mouth were unconscious. The ground raised a smile, extremely intoxicated.
After the song, Emperor Liu woke up from his self-indulgence, looked at Liu Xi who was wiping the jade flute, and said, "I never thought you could play the flute, it's quite beautiful!"
Liu Xi responded: "It's just a matter of leisure and elegance. When it comes to music and art, it's far behind my seventh brother!"
"Liu Hui? He can only write some poems and play elegantly, right?" Emperor Liu said lightly: "Does the music sound familiar?"
Liu Xi: "Dad's ears are still so keen. This is "Huang Sha Song" composed by my uncle during the Northern Expedition!"
"Haha!" Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu chuckled and said, "Our Duke An Guo is not only good at galloping on the battlefield and leading troops in battle, he is also quite talented!"
"I wonder how the war in Laiyuan is progressing?" Emperor Liu murmured. At the moment, Gao Huaide was leading the army to deal with the Korean army heading north.
While Shanyang was planning a counterattack, the Han Dynasty's military operations on other fronts were still continuing, and the intensity was not low. Liaodongnan counterattacked against Goryeo. Guo Tingwei had led the navy to land in Goryeo several times, harassing and plundering. On the Tongzhou battlefield, facing Ma Renyu's 100,000-strong army, Yelv Xiezhen lost ground and gradually declined, finding himself in a desperate situation. Including Wang Yanchao's army heading north, it is still tepid, but its desire to break the deadlock is extremely strong.
However, according to the previous plan, since winter has entered, no matter how the progress is, it is time to give up. The retreat of the Liaodong army is also imperative and cannot be delayed any longer.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" While thinking, I suddenly heard a call.
That was Zhang Yong's voice. When he turned around, he saw Zhang Yong climbing up the beacon tower with difficulty, holding his official robes that remained unchanged all year round and holding a memorial in his hand.
Emperor Liu just stared at him until Zhang Yong reached the top. Seeing him panting and steaming, he smiled and said, "Zhang Qing, you have to exercise more. Are you so tired after climbing these stone stairs?"
It can be seen that Emperor Liu was in a good mood, and Zhang Yong was running so fast that he was speechless when he stopped. In order to avoid losing his etiquette, he couldn't take a big breath, which made him feel uncomfortable.
Emperor Liu said: "Take a breath first. If you have anything to do, please tell me slowly!"
"Your Majesty, I have disobeyed you! Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Zhang Yong slowed down, bowed his hands, and said solemnly.
"Still so anxious, what's important?" Emperor Liu asked.
"Your Majesty, Privy Cao has an urgent message!" Zhang Yong respectfully presented the memorial with both hands, and could not conceal his excitement: "Laiyuan, Hezhong, and Tongzhou, there are breakthroughs in all three battlefields!"
"Oh? This must be a tacit understanding. I just mentioned it, and this memorial is here!" Emperor Liu took the memorial and said, "What good news has Cao Bin brought me?"
When Emperor Liu went west to Yehuling, Deputy Privy Councilor Cao Bin stayed in Youzhou to handle military affairs on behalf of Emperor Liu.
While flipping through the pages, Zhang Yong said with excitement: "On September 26, Duke An Guo defeated Goryeo in Laiyuan City. He pursued for more than 70 miles, killed more than 10,000 enemies, and captured more than 10,000 prisoners. They drowned and froze to death. There are countless people in the Yalu River, and Goryeo's 70,000-strong army has completely collapsed! Now we have withdrawn our troops, left troops to guard, and returned with the captured soldiers and prisoners!"
The first one was great news. Emperor Liu was very happy when he heard this. For some reason, he was not excited about killing more than the Liao army. Instead, he felt happy when he heard about the defeat of Goryeo. Perhaps, deep down, Emperor Liu was still anti-Korea.
"Haha!" The laughter was a bit wanton, and Emperor Liu couldn't help but joked: "This Goryeo army seems to have made little progress? Weapons and equipment training have been put in place, why are they so vulnerable? Is our army too strong, or is the opponent too weak? Weak?"
Zhang Yong reported: "Little Goryeo, Yelang is arrogant and dares to cross the border and invade the north. He deserves to be defeated! Before the attack, An Guogong once told the soldiers that after the battle, they should withdraw their troops for the winter. In order to live in peace, the soldiers winter, so the fighting spirit was high, the battle was brave, and the Goryeo army was defeated in one battle..."
"In this way, Korea's troubles have been solved for the time being!" Emperor Liu's smile faded.
Zhang Yongdao: "Privilege Cao reported that our Donghai Navy is still invading the coast of Goryeo and plundering its territory. After the enemy navy is destroyed, it is difficult to control it. Therefore, they were defeated in the battle at Laiyuan. Although they can still have armed troops at home, Horse, but there is no way I can go north to invade the country again!"
"Okay!" Emperor Liu's eyes still stayed on the memorial.
Zhang Yongze continued to report: "Tongzhou reported that Ma Renyu's army had conquered Tongyuan City and wiped out 10,000 enemies. Yelv Xiezhen was defeated again and went north to Huanglong Mansion. The four cities near Tongzhou have been occupied by our army. !”
"The duke of Qin reported that the attacking king Thou Ning had upheld his righteousness and surrendered to the imperial court. He has led his troops to attack Gao Xun from behind and assist our army to break through Hezhong City. At present, our army has advanced into Prince Xi's Mansion City. The thief general Gao Xun is here. General Wang's troops captured him and sent him to Youzhou to offer him as a prisoner to Your Majesty..."
"Haha!" Emperor Liu laughed heartily again. His laughter floated among the beacons on the Great Wall. He looked at Liu Xi and Zhang Yong and raised the report in their hands. He was very proud: "These generals of mine, have you made an appointment?" Come on, let’s make me happy together!”
"It seems that I can live a peaceful life this winter!"
