Chapter 575 The Best Name (Small Sequel)

  Went to Cai Yong's mansion and sat for a while, also had dinner together. Liu Xuan deliberately left some alone time for Cai Yan and her father. Until the sky got darker, they started heading back.

  On the road, although the weather was not good, the cold wind mixed with snowflakes kept blowing on their faces. For ordinary people, it would feel like their faces were being cut by several knives, but these few people didn't mind at all.

  Liu Xuan was himself strong and didn't feel anything, while Cai Yan was in a great mood, so some of the external discomfort was unconsciously ignored by her.

  Turning his head, he took Cai Yan's hand in his, and in return, he got a sweet smile from Cai Yan, which made Liu Xuan feel much happier. He felt more and more that taking Cai Yan out for a walk was a good idea.

  After returning to the imperial palace, Cai Yan fell asleep early due to fatigue, while Liu Xuan exercised as usual and tempered his internal dragon energy before going to bed. The night passed quietly.

  The next day, after getting up, Liu Xuan would often lie in bed for a while with his wife, chatting and whispering sweet nothings to each other.

  But today he got up early and had Zhong Yao summon Wang Yun into the palace, while also calling for Liu Ye.

  If he really wants to go out of the palace and inspect the northwest, he needs to determine the changes in the situation under heaven first. Liu Ye is responsible for collecting intelligence, so it's natural to ask him.

  Actually, Liu Xuan really wants to go out and have a stroll, this year is the most suitable one.

  Although bandits in Yu Province and Xu Province had risen again, the Heavenly Master sect also rebelled and occupied Hanzhong, cutting off the imperial court's connection with Yi Province.

  However, neither of these two powers has the time to take the initiative to go to war with the imperial court at present.

  The Tian Shi sect still needs to accumulate strength, let alone the Qinling Mountains, which not only make it difficult for the imperial court's horses and soldiers to attack Hanzhong, but also block the Tian Shi sect's horses and soldiers in Hanzhong to a certain extent.

  Now both sides are facing each other across the Qinling Mountains, you can't beat me over here and I also can't beat you over there! If either side launches an attack, they will have to risk suffering heavy losses.

  The imperial court's power has just begun to recover, if we were to launch a strong attack on Hanzhong... whether or not we can take it down is not the issue, under this heavy blow, who knows if the Eastern warlords will seize the opportunity.

  At the same time, Liu Xuan also knew that the imperial court was not stable internally. Although everyone is now united in serving the imperial court, factions still exist vaguely. It's fine when Liu Xuan has troops and generals... he can rely on his hard power to suppress them by force, but what if his army suffers heavy losses and gives those ambitious people an opportunity? Can't help but be another round of turmoil.

  "We can't give them this chance."

  So currently the imperial court's best choice is to continue developing - now that the northwest has just been pacified, people's hearts are settled, and at this time casually starting a war would make the common people panic again, and the civilian life that had just begun to recover would be abandoned once more - because the common people do not have a sense of security... they do not think that the imperial court will definitely win, so their first thought is where they can go to survive.

  In such a situation, the imperial court must first let the people settle down and then it is possible to slowly turn these countless people into the imperial court's combat power.

  Moreover, the so-called dragon energy also attaches great importance to the people's heart. If the people's heart is inclined towards it, the dragon energy will also flourish. Now Liu Xuan can feel that the dragon energy in the northwest is gradually rising... but there is still a considerable distance from flourishing.

  It's been a while since he broke through, and the dragon energy that was originally floating outside the dragon egg has all been absorbed into his body by the small golden dragon. The golden dragon still looks so tiny... it can be seen that the current dragon energy is far from enough to meet his cultivation needs.

  "If we only occupy this world, I'm afraid it will still be impossible to cultivate the Golden Dragon to its mature stage. We must win over the hearts of the people and make them dependent on us, in order to unleash the true mighty dragon energy!"

  No need for farewells, just for the sake of one's own self-cultivation, this world must be well governed!

  So, in the new year, the imperial court that has been confirmed to restore civil power as its main priority is not suitable for launching any wars. In addition, since it has been decided what needs to be done this year, Liu Xuan actually doesn't have too many things to deal with this year.

  In Kanto, various daimyos are standing by... and the Yellow Turban bandits have been defeated. In the southwest, they are also developing their own strength independently. The imperial court only needs to "farm".

  "Farm?"

  She told her words to Cai Yan, the empress of the Han Dynasty, who had just woken up with a puzzled expression, tilting her head and squinting her eyes (as if she hadn't fully woken up yet), with a head of smooth black hair scattered... covering up most of that enticing scenery, while thinking in her mind why did the emperor bring up farming? Are all the civil and military officials going to go farming?

  She didn't know, of course, that Liu Xuan's casual remark was just a euphemism, and Liu Xuan didn't explain either. Instead, he let the palace maid put on his clothes while admiring the tempting scenery in front of him.

  "It's also unclear whether it's due to her cultivation of the Phoenix Power or not, but Wenji's figure has become increasingly perfect."

  She looked him up and down, then turned her head to glance at Diao Chan, who was dressing herself. This unripe fruit was also about to ripen, and he could consider swallowing it into his belly.

  Perhaps feeling Liu Xuan's gaze, Diao Chan, although lowering her head and busy, had a layer of pink on her white neck. After finishing, she didn't dare to look up at Liu Xuan, but instead walked to the bedside with her head down, serving Cai Yan to get out of bed, wash, dress, and lightly laugh. Liu Xuan turned around and left his own palace. At this time, Cao Shuang was already waiting at the door. Seeing Liu Xuan come out, he immediately stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Wang Sifu and Liu Shilang are already waiting in Chengming Hall."

  Liu Xuan nodded and then rushed towards the Chengming Hall. When he arrived, he saw that Wang Yun and Liu Ye had already been waiting for a while.

  After the courtesy was over, Liu Xuan directly said his plan.

  Liu Ye didn't say anything, but Wang Yun was stunned for a moment before strongly objecting: "Your Majesty, as the ruler of the kingdom, how can you abandon important state affairs and go out on your own to have fun?"

  Liu Xuan was displeased as soon as Wang Yun spoke, feeling that he had been unjustly criticized: "As the ruler of this land, is it also a fault for me to inspect my own territory?"

  So, this can be considered as finding a suitable excuse for himself, but Wang Yun did not retreat at all, and directly refuted: "The world is in chaos, the various lords of Guandong are armed with their own weight, and the Yellow Turban bandits have risen again to harm Yu and Xu two states. Your Majesty does not think about how to eliminate the rebels and return the power of the local authorities to the court, but instead ran to inspect the northwest counties... This move is really..."

  Zhang opened his mouth, originally wanting to say something serious, but ultimately remembered that the young emperor in front of him was not a good-tempered master. When speaking, making the meaning clear was enough, and saying too much would be asking for trouble. So Wang Yun stopped talking at the last moment, and the unpleasant words were swallowed back.

  The Han Dynasty had no restrictions on speech, such as during the reign of Emperor Huan, when a county magistrate submitted a memorial directly rebuking the emperor, saying "Are you not willing to be an emperor anymore?" Although he was eventually executed, at the time all the officials in the imperial court petitioned for his pardon and did not think that the county magistrate had committed a crime. The fact that such speech could be written into a memorial shows that there was freedom of speech during the Han Dynasty. However, this person was executed because his memorial rebuking the emperor was not sealed, but rather written on an open letter, which was passed around and read by everyone along the way to the capital.

  There was also Dongfang Shuo seeking official position, the words used in his memorial to the throne were almost no different from those self-praising advertisements of later generations. If this had been put off until several later dynasties, he would have been called a 'crazy scholar' and could not have escaped being disliked by the emperor or some high officials, and would never have been heavily used throughout his life.

  But in the Han Dynasty, all these were normal, so even if Wang Yun had cursed today, he should not have been punished for it, let alone Wang Yun who was also considering the imperial court and the Jiangshan of the Han Dynasty.

  It was also because of this that Liu Xuan, although unhappy in his heart, did not directly rebuke Wang Yun and instead said: "For the entire next year, the court will be busy with the restoration of the people's livelihoods in the northwest and Yongliang regions. There won't be any major changes for a whole year to come. Even if I go out on patrol, it won't affect the overall situation of the court."

  Wang Yun also knew that this was the case, but he thought that the Son of Heaven should sit in the court, and the imperial expedition at the beginning of the year could be said to have demonstrated the majesty of the heavenly family. What about this time? Moreover, what if something unexpected happens?

  "However, the Kanto region is in a state of turmoil, and Hanzhong also has the Heavenly Master Taoist sect plotting rebellion. If bandits come to attack again, what should we do?"

  Liu Xuan wanted to go out, and this problem had also been thought of, so Wang Yun asked him, and he replied very succinctly: "The Imperial Guard has completed its reorganization and is stationed at several strategic locations. Even if bandits come to attack, even if we can't defeat the enemy, blocking them for three or five months will be enough. With such a long time to buffer, can't the Minister of Works and other officials in the court think of an appropriate countermeasure?"

  "If the Tian Shi Dao invades Yong Liang, I can directly rush to the front line. The imperial army is stationed outside Shouguan, and with the assistance of local troops, we can defeat the enemy!"

  Han Zhong came to Yongliang, basically out of Xiegu, he had already sent Xiahou Yuan to lead the army and garrison outside Xiegu. If the Tian Shi Dao killed from here, Liu Xuan could directly block the enemy in the valley.

  Then Chang'an and Liangzhou sent troops from two places, which can directly wipe out the Hanzhong thieves——but as long as Zhang Lu's head is not a problem, he will not come to kill so hastily. With his one county of Hanzhong, relying on the natural danger to defend himself is enough, wanting to offend Yongliang is simply seeking death.

  "If Zhang Lu's head is not a problem, he should march southwest and take over the entire territory of Yi Province..."

  Originally, it was just a casual remark to persuade Wang Yun, and Liu Xuan only put himself in Zhang Lu's position and thought about how he should develop. As a result, as soon as the words came out, he suddenly realized: "I am stationed in Yongliang, with two places relying on each other for military strength. Zhang Lu will not come to seek trouble on his own initiative. Now that he has already shown his hostility, the best choice for development is to take over Shu."

  "If Zhang Lu were to take over the entire territory of Yi Province, it would be difficult to deal with him again! If the Yellow Turban Army were to capture Yu Province and Xu Province, the two rebel armies would form a pincer movement, eyeing the Central Plains... Are these two families thinking of staging a Three Kingdoms scenario ahead of time?"

  P.S. Recently, there have been frequent thunderstorms here, and the thunder seems to be right above my head. Moreover, the news said that yesterday, a nearby district was struck by lightning, resulting in one death. This made me afraid to turn on my computer all day, so I'm late.