Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 356 The Sixth Year of Yuanshuo
When Zhang Qian left,
Wang Sheng went to see him off.

Although the two really don't get along.
But from a certain perspective, they can also be considered friends.

"The journey is long and there are many barbarians along the way. You mustn't die on the road!"

Wang Sheng said this to Zhang Qian.

Zhang Qian retorted without hesitation, "If I can come here safely, I can naturally return to Chang'an safely!"

"Just be careful, you don't ruin your health in that Egyptian queen's bed!"

After Wang Sheng resolved to dedicate himself to the country,

Zhang Qian heard about this from somewhere and liked to use it to provoke Wang Sheng.

Upon hearing this, the other party's face fell, giving off an impression that he was very angry but had no choice but to endure it.

While the two seized their last chance and were busy hurting each other,

A group of convicts were being driven past.

Zhang Qian pointed to those people wearing shackles and looking miserable, and said:
"Even when the tyrannical Qin Dynasty reached foreign lands, it still oppressed the people under its rule!"

Wang Sheng craned his neck to look, and after recognizing the convict, he smirked at Zhang Qian and said:
"Where can one be considered a subject under the rule of my Great Qin?"

"These guys are uncivilized barbarians!"
“They have no land or merit whatsoever, yet they often rely on their wealth to hoard goods and speculate on prices when the country is in trouble. They also try to collude with officials to seek personal gain.”

"When the king learned of this, he ordered them to be punished."

Zhang Qian was somewhat surprised by Wang Sheng's explanation:
"Why weren't these merchants and their entire families executed?"

In the Han Dynasty,
Due to Emperor Wu of Han's centralized power...
The restrictions and suppression of merchants have become increasingly severe.

After all, some merchants had become quite arrogant during the previous decades of laissez-faire governance.

Wang Sheng told him, "The king is merciful. After confiscating their property, he only executed three generations of their families, and exiled the rest."

Zhang Qian felt some regret, but he was too lazy to interfere much in the internal affairs of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty.

The Han envoy simply took his ever-present tally and rode the magnificent horse gifted to him by the King of Qin, then turned and headed east.

When Zhang Qian overcame all the hardships and returned to Chang'an, it was already the sixth year of Yuanshuo.

He reported to the emperor the results of his mission abroad.

The emperor was very pleased with the wealth he brought from beyond the borders and confirmed that trade with the West would indeed benefit the Han Dynasty.

But when he heard about the current situation of the Qin and Xia states to the west...

The emperor, who had just amassed a considerable fortune, was displeased again.

Especially when he learned that the King of Qin still harbored ambitions of becoming emperor and was launching further provocations against the Han Dynasty, which resided in the Central Plains and represented the legitimate dynasty,
He angrily threw his exquisite wine glass.

The wine was spilled all over the ground, flowing like the emperor's anger.

The now mature Han emperor no longer stomped his feet in anger as he had before.

But he still raised his eyebrows and launched a scathing attack towards the west.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Watch me go to war and subdue these rebellious nations one by one!"

Huo Qubing, who was standing nearby, picked up the wine cup and patted his chest to comfort his uncle, the emperor.

On her face, which was only eighteen years old (by Chinese reckoning),

Because of his wealthy and stable life from childhood, he was full of vigor and confidence.

He said, "Once my uncle and I have dealt with the Xiongnu, we'll go and conquer the Western Regions!"

"After we've conquered the Western Regions, we'll go conquer the even more distant Xia and Qin states!"

"Anyway, whoever makes His Majesty unhappy, I'll make them unhappy too!"

The emperor's anger turned to joy.

He was very fond of his nephew, Huo Qubing.
Aside from the fact that the other child was someone she had raised in the palace and watched grow up, she was certain that...
It also depends on the other person's personality—

How similar was Huo Qubing's confidence, which he developed from being born into wealth and privilege, to his confidence when he was young!

Moreover, due to the unique maternal lineage of the Wei family, Huo Qubing inherited his uncle's military talent.

This made the emperor value him even more.

Because when the emperor was young
There were several plans for the emperor to personally lead an expedition.

His innate confidence, outstanding talent, and the abilities carefully cultivated by the late emperor...
This prevented the emperor from fearing war.

But he was always the emperor, the monarch of the Han Dynasty.

He can be willful in many things, but he cannot risk his life to recklessly venture to the frontier.

Therefore,
When his good brother Wei Qing won victory after victory on the battlefield
The emperor could only reluctantly head to the Shanglin Garden, where he sought the thrill of conquest.

When Huo Qubing grew up and started school,
The emperor, recognizing his talent, personally taught him military strategy, hoping he could make up for his own shortcomings.

right now,

Huo Qubing had grown up and had already honed his skills in the Hexi Corridor alongside his uncle Wei Qing. He was about to head to the northern frontier to fight against the Xiongnu. The emperor had high hopes for him.

"it is good!"

"I'm just waiting for the day you run off to the outer realms and avenge me!"

The emperor patted Huo Qubing on the shoulder and let out a hearty laugh.

The latter smiled and then left the palace to find his uncle and prepare for the expedition together.

Wei Qing, who had grown a beard, looked very composed.

His accumulated military achievements and marriage ties with the royal family did not make him arrogant; on the contrary, he became even more cautious.

He also liked his nephew Huo Qubing very much, but he had some concerns about his personality.

“The situation in the northern deserts is different from that in the Hexi Corridor.”

"When the time comes, you must obey military orders and not run around again!"

The grasslands are so vast that one can easily lose oneself within them.

Unlike the Hexi Corridor, whose terrain and location had already been thoroughly investigated by the Han people through Zhang Qian's mission.

"I definitely understand that!"

When his uncle brought up his habit of wandering off during military campaigns again, Huo Qubing pouted and said, "You'd be more worried about that fellow Liu Yong than about me wandering off and not finding my way back!"

The heir apparent of the Liang Kingdom will also be going on this expedition with the army.

original,

After the Rebellion of the Seven States, the imperial court continued to suppress the feudal lords, and did not allow them to interfere in military and political affairs.

However, the Liang King's faction has always been close to the imperial court.

When the emperor officially issued the edict of grace, requiring the feudal lords to implement it, it was the King of Liang who was the first to stand up and support it.

not to mention,
Crown Prince Liu Yong grew up with the emperor, and even after he came of age, he was kept in Chang'an as a special member of the imperial family.

Therefore,
When Liu Yong rolled on the ground begging the emperor to allow him to go to war with Wei Qing...
The emperor hesitated for a moment before granting his request.

"Don't die on the battlefield and hold Wei Qing back!"

"I'm not that incompetent!" Liu Yong chuckled, having received special permission. "Anyway, with Wei Qing leading the way, there won't be any problems!"

right now,

Huo Qubing, who was personally delivered by Liu Yong, was also going to participate in the great battle as a general, and Liu Yong took the opportunity to stick to him.

He said to his godson, "I'm so worried about you!"

Huo Qubing was still puzzled, "What right do you have to worry about me?"

Wasn't Liu Yong's military achievement all thanks to his uncle?

Moreover, Huo Qubing remembered that when he was five years old, he could already easily defeat his "godfather" in the game of Chinese chess.

Liu Yong said anxiously, "I'm worried that you'll get credit and won't take me with you!"

"look!"

"Given our relationship, even if you refuse to acknowledge me as your father, you should at least acknowledge me as your brother, shouldn't you?"

"If there's a chance to make a great contribution, wouldn't you help your brothers out?"

Huo Qubing thought what he said made sense, but still said, "Didn't you become sworn brothers with my uncle?"

"Isn't it a bit confusing to tell me this now that we're in the right generation?"

Eager to make a name for himself and only thinking about currying favor with powerful figures to dominate the grasslands, Liu Yong waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's alright!"

"Let's each talk about our own issues!"

Liu Yong was a very dashing man.
Unbound by worldly constraints.

Huo Qubing also liked this elder very much and did not mind calling him a brother.

Wei Qing knew how the two interacted, so he didn't scold Huo Qubing for his disrespect towards his elders. He simply instructed him, "If you run around, don't take Liu Yong with you."

He was very bad at riding a horse.

It might hinder Huo Qubing's career.

Huo Qubing nodded, thinking to himself that he would have to wait and see.

How can we draw a conclusion so quickly?
When the Yellow River God, who had just returned from the Yunmeng Marsh, heard about this, he couldn't help but come over, wanting to curry favor with the powerful.

Huo Qubing,
Fenglangjuxu, ye
Having lived on the grasslands for so many years.
But it hasn't been moistened there yet!

Just right,

Changjiang is not willing to accept He Bo at the moment.

He wouldn't mind taking a trip to the north first, to try something different, and standing on the ancestral tombs of the Xiongnu at Langjuxu Mountain, a sacred mountain of the Xiongnu, to soothe his wounded soul.

(End of this chapter)