Volume 2: The Han Dynasty's Rivers and Mountains Chapter 1: Change in Heaven

  In the Warm Chamber Hall, even in winter, it will not feel cold. This palace was specially built for the emperor to spend the winter, and a lot of thought was put into its construction. When Liu Xuan moved the capital to Chang'an, repairs were even more time-consuming, until this autumn, when the Warm Chamber Hall was finally restored to its original appearance.

  Stepping on the thick carpeted floor, I didn't feel the slightest chill of winter, even in the corridor it just felt slightly cool.

  But if standing in the courtyard, no matter how magnificent the palace is built, it may not be able to withstand the severe cold of winter, especially when the snowflakes gently fall and slowly cover the ground with a layer of white snow, Liu Xuan can feel the arrival of winter most intimately.

  "Your Majesty, be careful not to catch a chill."

  Liu Xuan wore very little, just a simple tunic, and there was nothing special about him standing in the courtyard staring blankly into the sky. In this era, there was no greenhouse effect, and winter was extremely cold compared to later generations. Ordinary people would freeze to death or get frostbite if they stood like that for too long, so every time winter arrived, it was a disaster for many people, and whether they could survive the winter depended on their luck.

  Of course, he himself did not have this worry. As the emperor of the Han Dynasty, he could live in a warm palace, and there was no shortage of clothes to keep out the cold. Even if he really fell ill, there were the best doctors to treat him.

  What's more important is that Liu Xuan is a cultivator, and his body was originally robust. Now that he has made some breakthroughs in his cultivation, although he still hasn't truly reached the point where he is impervious to cold and heat, this bit of wind and chill really doesn't faze him. To say nothing of the fact that he's still wearing clothes, even if he were standing here stark naked for a whole day and night, he wouldn't be affected in the slightest.

  Turning back to look at Cai Yan holding a thick and heavy coat, her small face, no bigger than the palm of a hand, was red and puffy, it was obvious that she was frozen.

  Compared with Liu Xuan, Cai Yan's cultivation time was not long, and her physical body was average. She couldn't withstand the cold and heat, so she still needed to rely on clothes to keep warm like ordinary people.

  Liu Xuan directly took the large cloak and wrapped it around Cai Yan's body: "You also know that I have been cultivating for a long time, this bit of cold is not in my eyes, but you should be careful, don't freeze your body."

  In a daze, the thick cloak had already been wrapped around her body, enveloping her entire self within it. Cai Yan only felt that the strong cold wind and the biting icy snow were suddenly blocked out to another world, the heavy feeling from the cloak made her feel very warm.

  It's been a while since she became close to the emperor, and Liu Xuan is usually polite and gentle towards her, but such intimate gestures are rarely seen. Suddenly encountering this, Cai Yan was stunned for a moment, and it wasn't until after a while that she came back to her senses.

  He lifted his head and found that Liu Xuan was also looking up at the sky with his head raised, but he didn't know what was so good about that gloomy sky.

  "What is Your Majesty looking at?"

  Followed by watching for a long time, still can't see anything special, had no choice but to ask Liu Xuan proactively.

  Liu Xuan didn't hide it either. After more than a year of getting along with Cai Yan, Liu Xuan had already gained enough understanding - a very quiet girl, and also very gentle and obedient to herself, but in her heart, she also had her own views and intentions.

  She is kind-hearted and has accepted her current identity as the queen, Liu Xuan's wife. Just by looking at how she now speaks to him without being as stiff as before, he knows that she is slowly adapting to life with him.

  This is a truly trustworthy person. Liu Xuan directly told her what he was looking at: "Looking at the sky above the Han Room's mountains and rivers."

  "What's so good about this gloomy sky?"

  Actually, there is another little fox spirit beside her - girls develop especially fast at this age. At the beginning of the year when Liu Xuan went on an expedition, Diao Chan looked like a little girl, but now she has grown up and become a big girl, although her face still retains some childishness.

  Liu Xuan's teacher was startled when he came back and felt that it proved the saying: A girl changes eighteen times after she turns eighteen!

  He didn't expect Diao Chan to be like this, and it also had something to do with the set of techniques he gave her. Because Diao Chan's cultivation progress was quite fast, it also stimulated her own development, so Liu Xuan was scaring himself in a different way.

  This little girl, no matter where she goes now, has a nine-section whip wrapped around her waist. It was a small gift given to her by Liu Xuan before he went on an expedition, and he said that when he came back, he would test how well she had practiced it. So the little girl practices every day and every night.

  Can't help but say that Diao Chan's innate talent is indeed not ordinary, not only can she wield the nine-section whip with ease, but also incorporate it into her own dance. Nowadays, the nine-section whip on Diao Chan's waist can be used as a weapon to fight with others, and also as a prop to perform exquisite dance moves. This is something that Liu Xuan didn't expect, but he naturally wouldn't object to it. In his daily life, he would often ask Diao Chan to dance for him - although this guy's intention is not in the wine itself.

  But today Liu Xuan didn't have the heart for it. He gazed at the gloomy sky and finally muttered a sentence: "The heavens... are going to change greatly!"

  Cai Yan was initially unclear, but after thinking for a moment and connecting many things, she suddenly realized: "Your Majesty is worried about the Han dynasty's rivers and mountains..."

  Today is overcast and rainy, the times are turbulent, and the various princes have all risen up.

  Although the imperial court had eliminated Li Jue and Guo Si, Ma Teng and Han Sui surrendered to the imperial court. However, Ma Teng and Han Sui still maintained their autonomous stance, and it would take another strategy to truly subdue them.

  The situation in the Guandong region became increasingly chaotic, with dozens of warlords recruiting and training soldiers. The atmosphere was tense, and a major conflict seemed imminent. Yuan Shao took advantage of this opportunity to conquer Qingzhou and also had ambitions for Yizhou. Meanwhile, Gongsun Zan, who had solidified his control over Youzhou after Liu Yu's departure, also set his sights on Yizhou.

  The situation in Hebei is extremely tense and a big war may break out at any time.

  However, this is not the most noteworthy. In this year, apart from Emperor Xian's personal expedition to conquer Li Jue and Guo Si, what people are most concerned about is that Sun Jian, the fierce tiger of Jiangdong, had a conflict with Liu Biao on his way back to Jiangdong.

  Because Liu Biao had ambushed him on his way back, Sun Jian escaped with a grudge in his heart. After barely running to his hometown, he immediately gathered soldiers and horses to seek revenge against Liu Biao.

  This war did not last long. It started after Liu Xuan defeated Li Jue and Guo Si, but before he returned to his base, the outcome had already been decided.

  Sun Jian was ambushed and suffered heavy casualties, with countless soldiers and generals killed or wounded. What's more devastating is that Sun Jian himself died in this battle from an arrow wound, and his body couldn't even be retrieved. It wasn't until Sun Ce traded Huang Zu for his father's corpse that they were able to preserve Sun Jian's body and transport it back home for burial.

  Thus, a generation of Jiangdong's mighty tiger fell. When Liu Xuan learned about it, he also sighed and asked Liu Ye, who had gone to the Ministry of War as Left Servant Gentleman: "Where is his son now?"

  According to the news from Liu Biao's side, his eldest son Sun Ce was buried after his father and went to Yuan Shu's account.

  Liu Xuan nodded and did not continue to ask questions. He knew that Sun Ce would not stay in Yuan Shu's place for long and would soon set out on his own. And he could also be sure that the dragon energy obtained by the Jiangdong Sun family was indeed on Sun Ce's body. Now that Sun Jian is dead, it just happens that Sun Ce has stepped onto this stage. If there are no variables, then the Sun family will inevitably dominate Jiangdong.

  Although there is a phenomenon called butterfly effect, when something is almost inevitable, then any other effect will not have much impact.

  Unless Liu Xuan rushes over and wipes out Sun Ce right now, but Liu Xuan really doesn't have the energy to do that at present.

  "To say that Sun Ce was also a ruthless man who had no good feelings towards the aristocratic families, just look at how he almost exterminated the entire Lu family later on."

  He shook his head and put Sun Ce's matter aside, he didn't have the mind to take care of it now, the things on hand were enough to keep him busy for a while.

  But Liu Ye's report did not end there, and he cautiously brought up another matter: "Today the color is gradually cold, and the various lords of Guandong have some thoughts in their hearts, but they all press down strongly, focusing on passing the winter. However, I have received some news from my subordinates in recent days, which is very strange."

  "Oh?"

  "There are signs of large-scale human migration in various places such as Pingzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou and Yuzhou. Although they seem to be ordinary refugees, the fact that these situations have suddenly occurred simultaneously in all regions cannot help but raise suspicions." Liu Ye has not been in the Ministry of War for a long time, and he has not yet established a complete intelligence system.

  However, Liu Ye's abilities were on full display at this time, as what he saw was all the things that the imperial court had sent out scouts to collect during this period and then discarded there without anyone paying attention.

  He then analyzed some important intelligence from these seemingly ordinary messages and immediately came to report to Liu Xuan, hoping to alert the emperor.

  Liu Xuan listened and indeed felt uneasy, and asked Liu Ye to say something. In the end, Liu Xuan came to a conclusion: "The old thief of Nanhua still has not died, it seems that he is gathering the remnants of the Yellow Turbans! I estimate that it won't be long before the Yellow Turban thieves rise again."

  Liu Ye may not know that Liu Xuan had contact with Nan Hua, and he roughly guessed the plan of Nan Hua, but as for how the emperor came to such a conclusion, he couldn't make sense of it at all.

  But since the emperor has made up his mind, he can be said to have accomplished his task. As for how the emperor plans to deal with it, that is no longer his current job.

  After Liu Xuan left, he strolled into the courtyard and said to Cai Yan: "The sky... is going to change greatly!"

  If the Yellow Turbans were to rise again, they would definitely not be as easily pacified as during Emperor Ling's time. Since Huangfu Song dared to stir up another war, he must have had some backing. Thinking back to how Huangfu Song had stolen a portion of his own transmitted techniques from Lü Bu... Liu Xuan already had some suspicions in mind.

  "It seems that recovering this Han dynasty's rivers and mountains isn't such an easy matter after all!"

  A new chapter... still working hard...