Chapter 31 Chapter Thirty-One

During the days when Liu Che offered sacrifices to the Five Emperors, Huainan King Liu An made an appointment with Wu Bei and climbed Bagong Mountain outside Shouchun City. The ancient trees here are towering, the springs are densely covered, and the scenery is pleasant. Walking up the steps along the mountain road, Liu An's heart is very uneasy. Back then, following the example of Qin Prime Minister Lu Buwei, he invited three thousand well-educated people from all over the world to compile "Hong Lie" here, when he was only 33 years old.Among these heroes, his favorites were Zuo Wu, Li Shang, Su Fei, Tian You, Mao Quiet, Lei Bei, Wu Bei, and Jinchang, who were known as the "Eight Dukes of Huainan" at that time.

Time flies like a white horse, twenty years have passed in a blink of an eye, and he has passed the year of knowing his destiny. Hachiko, who was always on the left and right, walked and left, and now only left by his side, who has been ill in bed all year round. Wu and Wu were caught. What made Liu An most sad was Lei Bei. In the fifth year of Yuanshuo, because of his discord with Liu Qian, he even ran to Chang'an to sue under the pretext of responding to the imperial court's edict to recruit warriors, which caused Liu Che to order the removal of the two counties of Huainan. What Liu An felt distressed was not just the two counties, but the crisis he saw through this phenomenon.He felt more and more that he couldn't wait any longer, and the result of waiting could only be a situation where people were fighting for the knife and I was for the fish.

Now, standing on Bagong Mountain, he and Wu Bei continued the topic that had been going on for many years-when will they win Chang'an?How to order the world? "In the past, the generals always thought that raising troops with widows was the result of abandoning a thousand chariots and bestowing a book of death. Do you still see it this way now?" Wu Bei didn't speak, waiting for Liu An to continue. "Now the widow is absolutely sure of Cheng Gao's mouth. Based on the danger of the three rivers, we are recruiting soldiers from Shandong. Zuo Wu, Zhao Xian, Zhu Jiao and others all think that if they raise troops at this time, they will be 90% sure of success. What does the general think?"

Wu Bei's mood is very complicated.When the emperor cut off the second county of Huainan country, he knew that the king of Huainan would never let it go.Since then, he has been faced with difficult choices. He can report Huainan King's conspiracy to the court, but it is so difficult to take that step, after all, Liu An has the kindness to know him. He can also choose to rebel with Liu An, but this is clearly a road of no return. So for more than a year, he has always found various excuses to avoid this difficult problem.However, today he had no room for maneuver anymore, so he asked back: "Is your majesty really going to turn against the court?"

Liu An sighed and said: "Liu Che first tweeted, intending to dismember Huainan; then he cut the county into the county, pressing every step of the way, I have no choice but to do it!" "If it's really a last resort, then I have a plan." This was the first time Liu An heard Wu Bei take the initiative to offer advice for the uprising, and his eyes lit up immediately: "What clever plan does the general have, tell me quickly!" "Has your majesty ever heard of the story of King Jibei presenting Mount Tai to the emperor?" "How can you not know this? This boneless thing is in vain as the queen of King Qi."

"The king of Jibei is the nephew of the king, and he is so loyal to the emperor, it can be seen that most of the princes with the surname Liu have no dissatisfaction with the court." "This kind of mediocre people is not enough to plan. The widow can achieve great things by relying on Huainan alone." "Your Majesty's words are wrong! Why did Emperor Gao force Xiang Yu to slay himself in Wujiang? It's not because of anything else, but because the princes of the world are salty and return to his command." "According to the general, does the widow have to surrender to Shouchun?"

"No! I think that if you want to gain their support, the king can order someone to tell the prime minister and the doctor of the censor to write a letter saying that the emperor will move to the county and the country is stronger than Shuofang. When they are gathered together, they will be arrested. , as a hostage. Once this news is spread, there will be no one in the world who is not afraid. At that time, when the king raises an incident, are you afraid that they will not respond?" Liu An nodded and said: "This is a clever strategy, and it is not difficult to implement. I have already prepared the seals of the prime minister and the imperial doctor, which just come in handy."

"Just these are not enough! Your majesty is in trouble, do you know what the biggest threat is?" "Needless to say? Isn't that the smug emperor?" "No! If there were no Wei Qing, Gongsun Hong, Ji An and others, what would an emperor do?" Wu Bei broke a twig from the pine tree beside him and said. "Don't hesitate, general. If you have any tricks, tell me quickly." Liu An stretched his neck long. "Send assassins to assassinate Wei Qing, Ji An and others. The so-called leaves will fall, and they will fall. In this way, the government and the public will be in chaos, and Chang'an will be at your fingertips!"

"The general will rule the world with one plan! A few generals is better than ten Gongsun Honger!" Liu An was intoxicated by Wu Bei's plan, as if Chang'an had opened the door to him. The originally bright sunlight lost its luster. When Wu Bei looked up, he saw a gray halo around the sun—the halo of the sun makes rain, and the halo of the moon makes wind. This is a harbinger of rain and wind! Wu Bei had an ominous feeling in his heart, but he couldn't take away Liu An's interest, so he turned around and said, "The king's discussion today is about the survival of Huainan, but..."

"Does the general have any concerns?" Wu was pondered for a moment before saying: "The minister is considering, such a thorough plan, the character of the prince..." "Oh! Let the general handle this matter, just keep him from knowing." "That's very good! I'm leaving." Wu was walked away for a while, then turned back to Liu An and said, "When the king is free, I also want to invite Huainan Prime Minister, Nei Shi and others to the palace to drink and play chess, and try to create a harmonious atmosphere. .” Liu An immediately understood Wu Bei's intention, and said with a treacherous smile, "This widow understands..."

After returning from Bagong Mountain, Wu was locked in the study alone, and suddenly a kind of fear arose in his heart... In November, the secret letters issued in the names of Gongsun Hong and Li Cai departed from Shouchun and flew to various vassal states.The messengers, without exception, wore Chang'an costumes and spoke Chang'an accents. The content of the letter is alarmist.Liu An believed that, not to mention the princes and kings, but the rich and powerful of the prefecture and the country, who would be willing to be moved to Shuofang?Soon, the world will be ignited with raging flames, and that Liu Che, who knows nothing about the heights of the sky and the earth, will end his life in the sea of ​​flames. When Liu An met Liu Qian every day, he still admonished him to learn to be patient, and stop spreading those crazy words that are not beneficial to Huainan, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the court. Wu Bei knew very well that Wei Qing was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also because of his outstanding martial arts, he commanded the three armies and was heavily guarded, so it was not easy to assassinate.Therefore, his choice of assassins is very cautious. After hesitating for many days, he finally thought of a person, that is Shan Hanru, a ranger wandering in the Jianghuai area. The ancestor of Shan Hanru was Wang Meng, a knight-errant in Emperor Jing's time. He was punished by the court for participating in the assassination of Yuan An and other courtiers, and his disciples also had a grudge with the court.Wu felt that it was perfect to choose such a character to go to Chang'an. Their meeting is simple and practical.Shan Hanru accepted Wu Bei's large sum of money, and agreed without hesitation: "Please rest assured, General, I am going to Chang'an, and I am determined to bring back the heads of Liu Che and Wei Qing." "No!" Wu Bei waved his hand and said, "A strong man must not spy on Weiyang Palace. You only need to kill Wei Qing, Ji An and others, and the rest is up to the king." That night, Wu Bei hosted a banquet in honor of Shan Hanru in the mansion.When the wine was half full, Shan Hanru raised his sword and danced, accompanied by a dull chant: Huai water soup and soup flow eastward run to the sea and not return I know the rough road ahead go alone without regret Shed blood in Chang'an Xi turn a long-cherished wish into a rainbow The singing voice was desolate and generous, wandering in the hall with the waving of the long sword. For Rangers, every attack means setting foot on the point of no return.They are human beings too, don't look at their cold faces, when it comes to taking risks, their hearts are still very complicated. Wu was stepped forward to hold down the sword and said: "If there is anything a strong man needs to entrust to the officer, feel free to bring it up, and the officer will send someone to take care of it carefully." Shan Hanru poured a cup of wine into his stomach, wiped the corners of his mouth and said with a sneer, "Wandering people, don't worry about the general, and go to Chang'an in the next few days." In a blink of an eye, it was February of the first year of Yuanshou.The envoys sent to the various vassal states did not bring them any encouraging news. Except for the response from King Hengshan, the other kings surnamed Liu either waited indifferently, or made vague remarks and dealt with it. Since Shan Hanru left Shouchun, she has been like a stone sinking into the sea, and there is no news at all. Wu was clear that as long as one of these "false books" in the name of the prime minister and the censor falls into the hands of the court, or Shan Hanru betrays, Shouchun will not escape the bloody disaster. Liu An, who has always been secretive and discreet, couldn't sit still.On this day, he summoned Liu Qian, Wu Bei and Liu Jian to discuss matters in the palace. "The widow has a feeling that a crisis is approaching. Don't you feel that the current silence is inexplicable?" Liu Qiandao: "Father Wang is too worried, so calm, it just shows that the court has not noticed Huainan's actions at all." "Idiot! This is the silence before the battle." Liu An glanced at the prince dissatisfied, and his brows became even more gloomy, "Now the arrow is on the string, and we have to launch it. The widow is determined not to wait for the response of the kings, and prepares to attack in advance. " His eyes flicked over every face in front of him, and he saw completely different expressions: Liu Qian's excitement, Wu Bei's confusion and Liu Jian's silence. Wu Bei was surprised that Liu An decided to start the incident without discussing with him, but according to the current situation, instead of waiting for things to be revealed, it is better to fight to the death. Liu Jian, who was valued by the king, was full of ridicule and sneer, and his words were also very scary: "Does the king really think that he can replace him?" "But Huainan Kingdom is now in crisis!" Liu Jian stood up slowly and said, "Doing what you know is impossible, it will only bring disaster to Huainan. If your majesty wants to protect the country and the people, you might as well listen to your grandson." "you say!" "After killing Tu, tie Liuqian to Beijing to plead guilty, and maybe it can keep Huainan from being expelled." "What did you say? You want someone to kill the queen and give up the prince?" Liu An felt a chill running down his spine and straight to the back of his head. The moment Liu An raised his head, there was a "thud" in Liu An's heart, not only "ah", "Could it be you..." "Does your majesty want to ask who told the court the secret? That's right! As early as the first year of Yuanshou, my grandson reported the actions of the Huainan Kingdom to the court." Liu Jian said without any concealment. "you……" "Not only that, but my grandson also reported to the imperial court that the king bribed Yan Zhu and placed his aunt in the capital to spy on the news. It is estimated that the two of them are now in prison!" After Liu Jian finished speaking, he looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: "Father! The child finally got angry for you. Hahaha! Hahaha..." Wu Bei and Liu Qian's minds went blank, their mouths were opened wide, and they didn't know how to deal with the sudden change.After a while, Liu Qian jumped up, pulled out the sword from the sword stand, and stabbed behind Liu Jian. "The prince will kill you, the traitor, first today." Liu Jian did not resist, as if he had been waiting for this sword for a long time.The sword pierced through his chest, and a rush of hot blood spurted out from Liu Jian's mouth. There was only a brief pain on his face, which soon calmed down.It seemed that the moment the long-accumulated blood spurted out of his chest, his soul could leave his body and seek a pure land without disputes. Liu Qian picked up Liu Jian's robe, wiped off the blood on the blade, kicked his foot contemptuously and said, "It's the father who tolerated and raised traitors on a daily basis, and that's the reason for today's mistake. This is the end of the matter, reverse and reverse, not reverse Also reversed. Please also ask the father to speed up the three armies of the country and rush to Chang'an." Supported by the guards, Liu An stood up with difficulty and said, "The matter is urgent! What do you think, the general?" Wu Bei said: "The situation is changing rapidly, and this is the only way to go now. The most important thing right now is to arrest the prime minister and the internal historian sent by the court." Liu An was about to send officials with more than 2,000 shi into the palace, but he saw a military guard who was guarding the city running in from outside the palace. He was holding a long arrow in his hand and a piece of white silk on the arrowhead. Panting, he said, "To Your Majesty, a letter from the imperial court has been sent from outside the city." Liu An unfolded the silk, full of sharp words and reprimands. "...Now Liu Ling and Yan Zhu subdue the law, the three counties of Lujiang, Linhuai, and Runan gathered in Shouchun, and the Huainan dynasty was in danger...Tang was ordered to arrest the prince of Huainan. If the prince of Huainan took the prince himself, he went to Beijing to plead guilty. The emperor or You can be kind outside the law, and you can avoid death..." "It's over! It's all over." Liu An threw the book aside, looked up to the sky and sighed: "What a Liu Che, he acted so secretly. The soldiers and horses from the three counties gathered in the country, and the king didn't know anything about it. This day, no one will be left alone." Wu was persuaded: "Why is your majesty messing with himself? Now that the soldiers are overwhelming the country, first detain the officials of the court, maybe there is still room for mediation." Before the words were finished, another military marquis guarding the palace stumbled into the palace and said: "Master Neishi and the lieutenant led the subordinates to open the city gate, and the Han army has rushed into Shouchun City and is coming towards the palace." The news caused chaos in the palace. The chaotic footsteps of the guards guarding the palace, the cries of the yellow gate and the palace maids, the neighing of horses outside the palace wall and the sound of the wheels of the cars, echoed in Liu An's ears one after another. He didn't believe that the Huainan Kingdom, which had been painstakingly managed all his life, would collapse in an instant.The imperial dream he had cast with patience and scheming was shattered with the opening of the city gate.The instinct of survival made him shout to the yellow gates and guards around him: "Quickly close the palace gate and defend yourself." Liu Qian was awakened by Liu An's roar, shouting and waving his sword, rushed towards the palace gate. "My servant, go and urge the troops to protect the king." After Wu was said, he left in a hurry. In the huge palace hall, only Liu An was left alone.Looking at the display in the Mandian Palace which is not inferior to Weiyang Palace, he suddenly felt that the palace was too big and he was too small. For the first time in decades, he found a sharp conflict between his behavior and the Huang-Lao theory he held. He once sat face to face with Liu Che in the Proclamation Hall of Weiyang Palace and talked about his favorite work "Hong Lie". But looking back at where he came from, how has he ever had a day of peace and ease? Now that I think about it, maybe Liu Che saw his thoughts when they met for the first time in the second year of Jianyuan, and his mistake was precisely because he underestimated the young emperor over and over again. Shouchun City was broken, how could a palace wall be able to defeat the imperial army, the matter has come to this point, instead of being escorted to Chang'an by Zhang Tang, it is better to end this life.Liu An turned around and ran to the inner hall, took out the sword from the sword stand, closed his mournful eyes, and was about to kill himself, but was startled by crying from behind. Liu An turned around and saw that it was Tu Hou who rushed to the main hall with a few court ladies.Tu Hou stepped forward and grabbed the sword and threw it on the ground, threw her head into Liu An's arms, and cried, "It's easy for the king to die, so what should I do if I leave my concubines behind? My lord... my lord ..." "Queen! Widow..." Liu An's heart was broken. Even though the woman in front of him is unscrupulous in the fight for favor, her beauty has moved Liu An's heart many times.But right now, he no longer has the ability to take care of the woman he loves. Liu An stretched his sleeves, gently wiped away the tears from the corners of the Queen's eyes, and said, "You don't have to be sad, how can you leave the Queen behind? The Widow and the Queen are together for life and death. Hurry up and prepare some wine and vegetables. The queen drinks." After a while, the wine and dishes came out, Liu An said: "Usually the queen serves the widow, but today the widow has to pour wine for the queen herself." "Please, Your Majesty." Because he drank too much wine, the veins on Liu An's forehead quickly popped up, moving with the flowing blood. "It seems that the widow can no longer enjoy the Jiaofang Palace with the queen." After hearing this, the queen burst into tears.With tears in her eyes, she was amazed that this talented man, full of poetry and books, had aged suddenly, and his former sword eyebrows and beard were all white. "Kings……" "Queen, don't do this, the queen's tears are heartbreaking for the widow!" Liu An put down the wine cup, held up the face wet with tears and powder after tea, and said, "Come on, smile, the widow likes to see the queen's smile." The smile squeezed out from the corner of Tu Hou's mouth was bleak, and when Liu An hid the helpless smile in his heart, he said to her, "How about I dance a song for the queen to cheer you up?" Tu Hou nodded with tears in his eyes. They used the sound of shouting and killing outside the palace as a golden drum, and made the sound of wind into music.Liu An vaguely felt that the clouds above the palace floated down, lingering around them, and the Suzaku and Xuanwu engraved on the palace wall also stepped down from the wall and joined their ranks. They twirled happily, laughed wildly, their bodies rose slowly with the clouds, and arrived at the top of Chang'an City, overlooking the dust. That was the scene where Liu Che led his group of officials and knelt down in front of Weiyang Palace to welcome them. "I am the emperor of the big man... Hahaha! Hahaha..." Suddenly, Liu An roared angrily, "I'm going to kill you traitors who oppose me." He yelled wildly and chased after the maids.The maids looked at Liu An's deformed face and blood-red eyes in horror, and they ran in panic in the palace, avoiding his pursuit. But how can a delicate daughter avoid a man's pursuit?Some of them were pierced through the back by sharp sword blades without taking a few steps; some had their heads fall from their shoulders and fell to the ground with a dull sound at the moment they looked back in fear; some knew they couldn't hide In this catastrophe, before Liu An came to the front, he bumped into the pillar of the hall, and his brains were scattered everywhere... The royal palace is no longer the glitz and gold of the past, but corpses are everywhere. Tu Hou couldn't cry anymore, and knelt in front of Liu An limply: "Your Majesty! What's wrong with you? They are all innocent children!" Liu An turned around with a sinister smile and asked angrily, "Who are you? Aren't you just Liu Che? You ignorant child." "Your Majesty! It's a concubine... Your Majesty, look, it's a concubine..." "Concubine... Humph... You are also a descendant of the Liu family, why can you be the emperor? You don't have to ask me, I will never forgive you." Liu An waved the sword in his hand and approached Tuhou step by step. This may be retribution, Tu Hou no longer begged for mercy, stared coldly at the blood-stained sword in Liu An's hand, stretched his neck and said: "The concubine will fulfill the king's wish!" Because of killing too many people, the sword was no longer so sharp. Liu An failed to pierce the queen, but the severe pain became Jianfeng's help. At the moment the queen twitched, blood gushed out from the queen's back. "Your Majesty..." The queen leaned forward and landed on Liu An's shoulder. Liu An woke up... What's wrong?Why are they all dead?Has the imperial army breached the palace?When he hugged Tuhou who had died, he vaguely saw the fire outside the palace. "Queen... queen..." Calling out, Liu An pulled out the sword from Queen Tu, and looked at the inscription on the hilt, which read "Sword of the King of Huainan". He seemed to understand at once that he killed his beloved queen and transformed the palace. Became a slaughterhouse bathed in blood, and it was this blood that sang the elegy of the kingdom's perdition: Thousands of miles away, there is no place to find the soul The spring dream of Sheji is wiped out in ashes and smoke Full of anger and pride The sand fell to the ground, empty and sad tears How lingering, how warm The beautiful woman dies, leaving her fragrant soul alone What is there to care about in this world?Liu An's heart was completely dead.He gently bent down, hugged the gradually cold queen's body, and muttered in his mouth: "The queen is waiting, the widow is coming soon..." He raised his sword and dropped it, and finally he said goodbye to the woman who had troubled him all his life. world…… After Zhang Tang, Gongsun He and Zongzheng were welcomed into Shouchun City by Huainan Neishi and Lieutenant, they quickly took control of Huainan Prince's Mansion and found a lot of evidence of treason. According to the laws of the Han Dynasty and Liu Che's will, the conviction of the princes and kings must be negotiated by the Tingwei Mansion and Zongzheng Temple before being reported to the court for disposal. Now, Liu Qian is closing the gate of the palace city and resisting stubbornly. The situation in the palace is still unclear, and everything will be known only after the palace is broken.Gongsun He sent people to detain all the people, big and small, in the prince's mansion, and made it a temporary Xingyuan. Going deep into the tiger's lair, Zhang Tang and Gongsun He finally understood what it means to resist Wancheng with courtesy.Not to mention the royal palace, the prince's mansion alone is full of secret passages, full of mysteries, and if you are not careful, you will fall into danger. Several soldiers have gone astray during the search and were killed by hidden weapons. Gongsun He sent an order from the prince's mansion, and after repeated interrogations, he could only get 70% to 80% clear.Therefore, he strictly ordered his subordinates not to act rashly. Like the Prince's Mansion, the Prince's Mansion is a city within a city of Shouchun.Climbing up to the tower, not only can you face the palace from a distance, you can have a panoramic view of the big and small alleys in Shouchun City, and everything on Bagong Mountain outside the city is within sight. Looking from the tower, Zhang Tang and Gongsun He admired the emperor's strategizing very much, but the troops from the three counties were in ambush on Bagong Mountain, and Liu An didn't notice until the city was broken, so they couldn't help marveling at the emperor's wisdom. Zhang Tang said: "My lord servant is familiar with the art of war, why do you think the emperor chose this place to ambush?" Gongsun Heli straightened his shirt and said: "As the saying goes, soldiers never tire of deceit. The emperor concluded that Liu An would never believe that the imperial court would ambush the army at the place where he and the eight alchemists planted gold. In addition, our army pulled out the checkpoints along the way, which is equivalent to Blindfolded Liu An's eyes." "Our army has besieged the palace for three days, and Liu An still refuses to surrender. Does he still imagine that the emperor will forgive him?" Gongsun He said: "Liu An is no better than other princes and kings. On the one hand, he was highly valued by the Empress Dowager when he was young; on the other hand, he is knowledgeable and talented, and has written tributes to the emperor many times. Therefore, before the emperor left, he repeatedly told him to surround him. If you don’t kill them, urge them to submit, and then the court will dispose of them. As for the memorial, that’s the responsibility of Lord Zongzheng. You and I only need to quell the rebellion according to the emperor’s order, so that we can return to Beijing as soon as possible to restore the order.” Zhang Tang nodded: "What your lord said is true."