The queen mother and queen did not go to Luoyang in the end, and the emperor drove back to Beijing.
As soon as Han Ruzi got the news, he set off immediately, with only a thousand people behind him.
He hopes that there will be a war, but the upcoming war may far exceed expectations. Compared with this, the battle between the ruler and the minister becomes insignificant.
The New Year is approaching. Even if the people in the capital hear about the defeat of the West, they don’t take it to heart.
The emperor is an emperor after all, so he can leave Luoyang in a hurry, he can go straight through Hangu Pass without stopping, but he cannot enter the capital casually. The ministers have been looking forward to the emperor's return. Enter Beijing while driving.
"What will the people think? Could it be that the Great Chu has panicked to such an extent that the emperor doesn't even care about the simplest prestige?" Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe led the civil and military officials out of the city to meet the emperor, persuading the emperor to wait for two days and wait for Luoyang. After the chariots and Yiwei arrived, they held a ceremony to enter the city.
Han Ruzi agreed. In fact, when he was still on the road, he had already reflected on whether his reaction was too violent.
But he needs to know first-hand information right away.
Han Ruzi stopped in the northern army camp. The northern army was stationed outside the fortress. The camp was empty and just became a temporary palace.
Most of the news from the Western Regions was passed to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites. The Ministry of War had not yet appointed a new minister. The minister of ritual, Liu Zeqin, followed the emperor and had not yet arrived in the capital. Therefore, Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe appointed another servant of the Ministry of War to report the situation to the emperor.
"On December 13, there was news from the Western Regions that there was a war in the West, but the statement was confusing. The Sifang Division of the Ministry of Rites took over and did not report it immediately. Then on December 17, 18, and 193 , more news came from the Western Regions, all of which were passed on to the Ministry of Rites, saying that several kings had fled to the Great Chu, and begged to enter the customs. But this is just a letter from a king of the Western Regions, and there is no seal of my Great Chu officials, so It was also not reported. In the following days, there were often contradictory and unclear sources of news, either to the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of War, but they were not reported. Until December 22, the Kunlun Mountain Tiger City General Zhang Zhang Seal, and jointly wrote an official memorial with Shen Jingshi, the Protector of the Western Regions, and finally made the facts clear."
The memorial was placed on the table. Han Ruzi had already seen it, and he still had many doubts in his heart.
The memorial is not very long, and the main content is written by Zhang Yin.
About two months ago, Deng Cui led the Western Regions coalition army to meet the enemy and won both battles. When they were retreating, the Huns came from nowhere and suddenly joined the battlefield, causing the coalition to be defeated.
While Zhang Yin was writing the memorial, Deng Cui's whereabouts were still unknown.
The Huzhu City had not yet been fully built, so Zhang Yin immediately stopped work, distributed weapons to the craftsmen, and assembled an army temporarily.
Han Ruzi has been running all the way these days, and a lot of news has come from the Western Regions. The sources are extremely complicated. There are officials in Great Chu, various kings, and business trips. There are many different explanations. The best news is that he has escaped safely back to Huzhucheng.
The statement about the Huns is even more contradictory. One says that the entire Huns surrendered to the gods and ghosts, and the other says that they were only part of the Huns.
As the emperor, Han Ruzi just listened most of the time. Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe presided over the court meeting.
The first to express his opinion was Feng Ju, the censor of Zuo Cha, "I think that the defeat of General Deng is a pity, but there is no need to be too alarmed. The distance from Kunlun Mountain to Da Chu is thousands of kilometers, and the land in the middle of the Western Regions is barren. The Central Plains have never been invaded by the Western Regions since ancient times, which can be proved. It is the Xiongnu that deserves vigilance. If the Huns really surrendered to the enemy, the great Chu The northern border is worrying, but fortunately Your Majesty has foresight, the southern and northern armies have been stationed in the heavy city outside the Great Wall. The immediate priority is to find out the situation of the Xiongnu as soon as possible."
The ministers spoke one by one, and most of them agreed with Feng Ju. There were also several ministers who felt that the Western Regions could not be given up and should be given support as soon as possible.
The court discussion lasted all afternoon, and Han Ruzi dismissed the ministers and left Zhuo Ruhe alone.
"The prime minister is the head of the hundred officials, and the prime minister should also talk about his own thoughts." Han Ruzi said.
The two monarchs and ministers had not seen each other for several months, and they had grudges in their hearts, but at this time they pretended that nothing happened, Zhuo Ruhe bowed and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty asks, the ministers dare not refuse to return, the ministers dare to speak out, the Western Regions cannot be guarded. ."
"Why?"
"The Western Regions are empty, and the journey is long and difficult. The food and grass start from the Great Chu. After reaching the Western Regions, only 10% of the food and grass are left, and it will take a long time. If it is too late to fight the enemy, it will become food for the enemy."
"The thirty-odd countries in the Western Regions, as well as the soon-to-be-completed Tiger City, just gave up?"
Zhuo Ruhe bowed again, "It is His Majesty's vision to build a city in the Kunlun Mountains. If there is another three to five years, even if it is only one year, the military supplies of the Great Chu will enter the Western Regions one after another, relying on the Tiger City, backed by the Western Regions. Fighting with the enemy army. Now that Tiger City is an empty city, according to what Zhang Yin, Marquis of Piyuan said, there is still one corner left unfinished, but the enemy army is already overrunning the border, so it’s not that Da Chu doesn’t want to save it, it’s really too late to save it.”
Han Ruzi nodded and motioned Zhuo Ruhe to continue.
"Master Feng, the censor of Zuo Cha, is very reasonable. The Great Chu is unable to support the Western Regions, and it is difficult for the enemy to attack the Great Chu through the Western Regions. The threat still comes from the north."
"Is there any news from outside the Great Wall?"
"It is in the middle of winter, and there is no sign of the Huns outside the Great Wall. It will probably not be until tomorrow, spring and summer, and the Huns will take action. The Great Chu still has three or five months to prepare. People, turn to fortify the north."
"General Deng's life and death is unknown."
"If General Deng is lucky enough to escape the enemy's hands, he can return to the capital with the Marquis of Piyuan and the Protector of the Western Regions. If it is unfortunate, there is no other way to do it, and he has gone on an expedition without authorization and should be punished when he returns."
"Let's wait until the news is clearer."
"Yes, Your Majesty, in any case, let's pass the year first."
"Well. There is Prime Minister Lao."
Zhuo Ruhe suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, "I am ashamed of Your Majesty."
"I am the emperor of Great Chu, and you are the prime minister of Great Chu. You may have different opinions, but you are all for the sake of Great Chu. Why do you feel ashamed?" Han Ruzi found a few memorials on the table, "The commotion outside the territory, it should be When monarchs and ministers join hands to overcome difficulties together, Wang Zhuoxiang will work hard to support him and serve the court for a few more years."
Those were the Prime Minister's previous resignation memorial, and Zhuo Ruhe kowtowed again, "This minister does not dare to refuse, he can only serve His Majesty with all his heart and courage."
If the prime minister is retained, the officials will naturally be retained. A crisis can be considered a solution, but the root cause of the crisis is still there. Zhuo Ruhe did not get up, but still knelt on the ground and asked, "Since the external troubles have arisen, the internal troubles must be as scheduled. solve it?"
Han Ruzi gave three months, asking the world's wealthy people to hand over their privately held slaves, or naturalization, or release as a citizen, the deadline is coming soon.
"Let's talk about it after another year," Han Ruzi said.
Zhuo Ruhe kowtowed and retired.
Han Ruzi has been sitting alone for a long time. He is now in a dilemma. The powerful Western enemy is coming at an untimely time. If he does not start to guard against it immediately, there will be serious trouble. , leaving a distant worry.
He misses Yang Feng.
Although Yang Feng didn't find "Chunyu Xiao" until the end, he never hesitated and always knew what he had to do. No one else could compare to this. Even if Zhao Ruosu and others were trusted by the emperor, at this time Can't help either.
The Yijia in the back also ran very fast, and arrived the next day, and the emperor was able to officially enter the city.
There were also a large number of followers on the road, especially Concubine Shu Deng Yun, who walked slowly.
The first thing Han Ruzi did when he returned to the palace was to visit the two empress dowagers. The empress dowager Shangguan was still ill, and the empress dowager Cining was more polite.
Prince Qing has grown up a lot and can already say simple words, but he refuses to call him "father" and hides in his grandmother's arms without raising his head.
Princess Rujun was very lively, lying on the cot, dancing at her father.
Cui Xiaojun stood beside the emperor, looked at his daughter, and smiled: "Look at her eyes, everyone says she looks like Your Majesty."
"How can I have such beautiful eyes?" Han Ruzi felt warm in his heart, reached out and gently pinched the princess' cheek, the princess was not afraid, but instead laughed out loud.
"Your Majesty has worked hard outside." Cui Xiaojun looked at the emperor with as much pity as he felt for his daughter.
"It's okay." Han Ruzi still stared at his daughter.
"Your Majesty... it's very difficult, isn't it?"
"Why?" Han Ruzi turned his head in surprise.
"Internal and external troubles have rushed together. I know that His Majesty is a man who will not admit defeat, and definitely does not want to give up any of his plans."
Han Ruzi was silent.
"Your Majesty, let's start with the Cui family."
Han Ruzi was even more surprised, "The Cui family..."
"Your Majesty has set an example and abolished the imperial palaces all over the world. There are not many people who can follow suit. That is, they still have doubts in their hearts, thinking that His Majesty will not be consistent. The Wang and Cui families are both foreign relatives, and the Wang family is weak. Sin, the Cui family is strong, but they haven't heard of His Majesty's sin, and people in the world will feel unfair and think His Majesty is biased."
"I will not punish innocent people."
"The Cui family is not innocent. My father has already told me that he colluded with others and listened to His Majesty's thoughts. As a plan, he arranged a lot of official positions for the Cui family."
Han Ruzi actually had a plan, but he felt that the time had not yet come, and he did not expect the queen to bring it up.
"Does the Queen understand how much Mr. Cui's crime is?"
"Understood, so I have a request. The Cui family is willing to plead guilty, but please show mercy and give the Cui family a way out."
Family affairs, state affairs, and world affairs all come together.
Han Ruzi didn't make any decision, and it was better to pass the year first.