Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 389: Envoy from Wuwei County

When the autumn rain falls, it rustles at first and then becomes a patter, hitting the soil in the fields and washing away the dust.

Chang'an City had twelve gates on all four sides, with flat roads and numerous streets. Before this, there were the Weiyang Palace, Changle Palace, Guangming Palace, Beigong Palace, Guigong Palace, as well as Gaomiao, Armory, Dongque, Beique, Qiandian, and Taicang.

There are 160 neighborhoods in the city, including Xuanming, Jianyang, Changyin, Shangguan, Xiucheng, Huangji, Beihuan and so on.

However, Li Jue and Guo Si had fought against each other, using Chang'an City as a battlefield. They brazenly set fire to palaces and government offices. The Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace were successively destroyed in the war.

After the two men stopped fighting and made peace, the largest mansion in the city belonged to Li Jue, and Guo Si lived outside the city.

But no one knows where to place the emperor. Guangming Palace is the residence for the Han family to worship immortals and pray for their arrival. Beigong and Guigong are also residences for concubines, and the emperor cannot live there for long.

Fortunately, Jia Xu, the then court secretary, suddenly had an idea and thought of the abandoned Yunyang Palace, 200 miles north of Chang'an City. In addition, there was another resounding name: Ganquan Palace.

During the Qin Dynasty, Ganquan was used as the starting point to build a straight road to Jiuyuan, Yunyang, and Ganquan, which served as a hub for attacking the Huns and pacifying the north.

Although the palace is desolate at the moment, it is better to repair it than to rebuild it. Let the emperor live in the North Palace first, and then move to Ganquan Mountain after Ganquan Palace is thoroughly repaired.

Li Que and Guo Si immediately agreed, as this would undoubtedly save financial resources. However, they changed their minds halfway through the construction, thinking that although Ganquan Palace had geographical advantages, it was too far away from Chang'an, making it difficult to control the emperor and the court.

It would be better to choose an empty lot in Chang'an City and rebuild a smaller palace. So they went around and built a palace in Chang'an City.

It was due to a series of coincidences that Liu Bei's troubles were successfully solved, because at that moment there was no suitable residence for the emperor in either Luoyang or Chang'an.

It would take at least three or four years to build a palace of such a large scale, not to mention the simultaneous construction of Changle Palace, Weiyang Palace in Chang'an and Nangong and Beigong in Luoyang.

The King of Han has always been sympathetic to the people's strength, and the conscription of corvée labor has always been gradual and based on the people's ability. If this continues, it is unknown how long the system will be completed.

As a result, many officials set their sights on the Yunyang Palace on Ganquan Mountain. This was also the place where Emperor Huangdi offered sacrifices to heaven at the Circular Mound. It also had the advantage of terrain, being both offensive and defensive, and was also connected to the Straight Road.

If there is any sign of trouble anywhere, the troops can be reorganized immediately and attacked in all directions along the highway.

From this perspective, Yunyang Palace is very suitable to be the temporary seat of the Han Dynasty's government. After all, there is no better place to spend the time in the short term.

More importantly, most of the repairs had been done before, so it wouldn't take long to complete. This would avoid the dilemma of the two capitals becoming ruins after the Han Dynasty's revival.

Once the palaces in the two capitals are completed, it will not be too late to move back to Chang'an or Luoyang.

After hearing the advice of many officials, Liu Bei thought for several days and then ordered the mobilization of some people from Guanzhong to go to Ganquan Mountain to renovate the Yunyang Palace.

……

"Ta-da-da..." More than ten cavalrymen galloped over from Youfufeng. The sound of horse hooves shook the fields near Chang'an, causing many people working in the farmland to look up.

"Could it be that Ma Teng and Han Sui are invading the Three Auxiliary Territories? What should we do?"

The middle-aged man in his forties saw that the cavalry seemed to be delivering an urgent message, and couldn't help but guess in fear.

"Bullshit!" The old man next to him heard it and immediately blew his beard and glared, glaring angrily, "You vulgar people don't know how to hope for good things. Now that the King of Han has swept across the princes and the army is stationed in various counties, who dares to stir up trouble and march into Guanzhong?"

"Couldn't it be that Ma Teng and Han Sui sent people to surrender?"

"If we allow the bandits from Longyou and Liangzhou to invade, will it benefit you? You are such a fool."

The middle-aged man was scolded with a bitter smile on his face, but he did not dare to refute at all. He bowed his hands and apologized, saying: "Uncle Zhong is right. I was wrong."

"But if there is a war, we should also make more preparations and escape to the mountains as soon as possible." The old man was immediately amused, pointing at himself and saying jokingly: "We are just a family of common people. We have been bowing our heads and serving the rich for years, but we still don't have enough food and clothing. We have worked hard all our lives, and we are worried about being killed in a disaster."

"Even if you flee a foreign land, you will still be a wanderer, marrying off your wife and selling your daughter to survive."

"Now that the King of Han is willing to measure and equalize the land, I am so happy that I can't wait to escape from here."

"Although I am old, I can still draw my bow and shoot arrows. If the bandits from Longyou dare to attack me, I will shoot them. Even if I die in the land of reclamation, I will die with my eyes closed."

Escape from here to the mountains, and then escape from the mountains to somewhere else, serve for life, and be a captive for generations. When will there be a way out?
It would be better to be buried in your own land early in the morning, and sleep forever for a hundred years.

The middle-aged man was slightly stunned after listening to this. He was not as open-minded as Zhongshu. After all, Zhongshu had been an assistant soldier with General Duan in the expedition against the Qiang people and had always been used to seeing life and death.

But he couldn't do it, and he just wanted to escape everywhere and live a peaceful life. He had previously hidden in the mountains. If there was chaos in Guanzhong again, the worst that could happen was that he would escape back.

Even if I lose my land, I can still become a servant of a wealthy family in the future, and at least I won’t starve to death.

I just hope that this world won't force people to that extent...

The middle-aged man looked at the conspicuous yellow rammed earth moat in the distance. That was the outer wall of Chang'an City and the key to resisting the enemy. No matter how fierce the enemy was, he just hoped that the King of Han could keep winning.

Bring a peaceful world to the people...

The middle-aged man hoped silently in his heart.

The cavalry coming from Youfufeng and raising dust made many civilians panic and uneasy, and also attracted the attention of the cavalry troops roaming around Chang'an.

If these people hadn't been carrying the banner of messengers and carrying urgent military intelligence, they would have been stopped at every level.

Even so, any cavalry that wanted to approach Chang'an would be stopped.

"Report!"

"Urgent news from Wuwei County, Yongzhou!"

"I am the leader of General Zhang's team. I have committed a crime and I have a talisman to verify it."

The leading cavalry officer shouted hurriedly.

After a careful inspection, the military officer who was blocking the road waved his hand and ordered the soldiers to put away their crossbows and let them pass. He pointed to another place and asked them to hand over the letters or items to the soldiers of the Ruichong Camp stationed at the city gate, who would then report to the king.

The cavalrymen who had arrived exhausted went directly to the inn outside the city to rest. If the king summoned them, they would be allowed to enter the city.

"This is an urgent matter and must be presented to the king immediately."

The leader of the cavalry took several bundles of packages on horseback and handed them to the officers and military attachés of the Ruichong Camp, giving them numerous instructions.

The envoys of Wuwei Governor Zhang Meng were still behind and had not caught up yet. Under General Zhang's orders, they had to go ahead and deliver the letters and artifacts to Chang'an as soon as possible.

What was sent from afar was nothing else but the head of Li Jue, a thief from Liang Province, and the Snake-Slaying Sword of Emperor Gaozu, which was accidentally found in the chaos of the army and had been taken from the Luoyang armory by the thief Dong.

Zhang Meng was shocked when he suddenly saw this thing, and immediately sent it to Chang'an together with Li the thief's head without stopping.

(End of this chapter)