The sun was scorching hot, but the old emperor didn't look afraid at all. He was lying so calmly on the stage of Taikang Hall, with a soft chair and a light shirt. The belt of the robe was not fastened, with his breasts exposed and sunken.
The fat is vaguely visible, no shoes or socks are worn, and a pair of slightly deformed feet are dangling in the air...
What was even more incompatible with the old emperor's temperament was that he was holding a simple cattail leaf fan in his hand, and he was actually fanning it himself. The force was slightly light, and not even his hair moved.
"Guan family, His Highness King Yong wants to see you!"
"Xuan!" Hearing this, the old emperor had an obvious reaction. He paused slightly and ordered: "Bring a deck chair to King Yong as well!"
"yes!"
As the old emperor's dearest and most beloved brother, it was impossible for the old emperor to forget Liu Chengxun in such a good place as Taikang Palace. Not long after, Liu Chengxun came to pay homage: "I see your majesty!"
Liu Chengxun was probably the person with the most unadulterated attitude towards the old emperor. He tilted his head, smiled at him, and pointed with his hand: "Sit!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Soon, two old men were lying down in front of the Taikang Palace. One was slovenly, and the other was more restrained and decent. The cattail leaf fan was still flapping, and the old emperor asked you in an easy-going tone: "Sanlang, you are here after all."
Got it!"
"Your Majesty is not feeling well. It is natural for me to come to visit you." Liu Chengxun's voice was obviously much older.
"There are rumors spreading outside again!" the old emperor said coldly: "Even though we are far away from the imperial city and palaces, there are still so many right and wrongs, so many unpredictable people, and there is no peace! Some of those who requested an audience are
Those who sincerely care about my body are all people with ulterior motives!"
Hearing the old emperor's unkind words, Liu Chengxun just remained silent for a moment, and then sighed softly: "How does your majesty feel now?"
"It's just that I feel a little depressed, but it has been reported as a big deal by some people, stirring up trouble and disturbing people's hearts. If I didn't have a hidden ambition, why would I be jumping up and down like that?"
Listening to the old emperor talking here again, without concealing his suspicion of his ministers, Liu Chengxun finally frowned, glanced at him without any trace, and thought to himself: Second brother, are you really unaware of this and care about yourself?
The biggest problem?
However, even King Yong did not reveal such doubts to his mouth. Liu Chengxun obviously spoke less during this meeting. The old emperor also felt strange and asked: "Why don't you speak? What are you thinking about?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Chengxun sighed slightly and said in a relieved tone: "They are just some dirty officials and cruel officials who are tyrannical and cruel to the people. Now that they have been encountered, they can be dealt with. Why should Your Majesty be so worried about them?"
Hearing what Liu Chengxun said, the old emperor turned around and said calmly: "Sanlang, based on your knowledge, will this trivial matter linger in my heart and be difficult to let go of?"
"Why is that?" Liu Chengxun asked softly.
The old emperor fell silent for a while, but instead of answering, he asked a question that surprised Liu Chengxun: "Sanlang, how many years do you think the Han Dynasty can be passed down?"
In response to this, Liu Chengxun could not hide the astonishment on his face. When he met the old emperor's gaze, he found that it was so deep and focused. Pressing down the waves in his heart, Liu Chengxun replied firmly: "Of course it will last forever!"
"Thousands of generations? Haha!" After hearing this, the old emperor smiled immediately: "Sanlang, ask yourself these four words, do you believe it?"
Of course Liu Chengxun couldn't say he didn't believe it, otherwise he would be bullying the emperor to his face? Moreover, the old emperor's current state was obviously not normal, and the look in the old emperor's eyes showed that he wanted to hear the truth, which was really embarrassing.
After pondering for a while, Liu Chengxun avoided talking and asked instead: "Your Majesty, why are you worried about such issues?"
The old emperor said in a sad tone: "Perhaps he is too idle! Or maybe, in recent years, he has been too slack, degenerated, and has become unconfident!"
"His Majesty"
Liu Chengxun obviously wanted to persuade him to prevent the old emperor from being too immersed in such negative emotions and thoughts, which would be bad for everyone.
However, although the old emperor was in such a deep and depressing atmosphere, his mind was very calm and his thoughts were very clear, without any of the faintness and confusion that he had shown before. This sense of contradiction was particularly prominent in the old emperor at this time.
"Well, there are some things that can't be solved or changed by just a chat between you and me! Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Now that I have repeatedly chewed on this statement, it makes more sense!" The old emperor murmured,
Looking at his state, it is better to say that he is compromised and numb than he is calm and looking away.
"Even if you come to see me a little late, I will always be happy!" The old emperor continued: "I once promised your sister-in-law that I would take her to travel around the world, but I broke my promise; I also promised in the early years that I would travel all over the country.
In the four realms, if you open your eyes and see these great rivers and mountains, you haven’t done it at all!”
"Take the southern Daozhou as an example. Nowadays, its importance to the imperial court is increasing year by year, and its financial and tax contributions account for more than half of the world. However, the furthest I visited was only in Jinling, just across the Yangtze River!" the old emperor muttered.
: "Oh, my mother suddenly left during that southern tour."
As he spoke, the old emperor felt so sad that his words were choked with sobs. He raised his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes, and said to Liu Chengxun: "Remember, in the early years, whether I was going on an expedition or on inspection, I would always choose to keep you to guard the capital or sit here.
I still miss those days when I think about them.
The achievements I have achieved are also due to you, King Yong. You go back and clean up, and then walk with me for a while to see the rivers and lands of the Han Dynasty.
I always feel that time is running out. This trip is always in the name of the southern inspection. While I can still move, I will make another serious inspection."
The old emperor became more and more emotional as he spoke. When Liu Chengxun heard this, his eyes filled with tears, and he asked the old emperor to comfort him.
The two brothers were chatting intimately. They were both very young. They rarely talked about the present, but more about reminiscing about the past. They laughed about happy things and held back tears about sad things. They talked happily for more than an hour.
Just left.
Leaving Taikang Hall, his pace was very slow. It was not until he had gone further that Liu Chengxun turned around. There were some bloodshot eyes in his eyes, and his eyes were particularly complicated. He softly called out in his heart: Second brother.
To continue the southern tour, the old emperor did not decide on a whim, but after careful consideration, he really wanted to go there for snacks and have a look like he did in the early years.
However, the implementation of the emperor's inspection tour is not as simple as one sentence. It is not realistic to think of it as light and simple as a private visit to Luoshan County. After all, the target is the entire southern country.
First of all, there is a question of time. It is midsummer, so it is naturally not suitable to travel. You have to wait at least until autumn, or even longer after the autumn coolness. Of course, the free time is used to prepare.
The number of people accompanying him will also need to be reduced. They are no longer going to travel around the mountains and rivers to escape the summer heat. The old emperor only plans to bring the Ouchi army with him, plus some of the palace attendants, civil servants and generals, and the total number of people will be reduced as much as possible.
to less than five thousand.
As for the other people, they have gone back wherever they came from. They have played and played, Taikang Palace has also seen it, and the scorching summer has passed. They cannot be allowed to stay in Shenzhou "on orders" and cause trouble to the place. Among the concubines, Lao
The emperor even only allowed the two concubines Xian and Yi to accompany him, while the others were all driven back to the capital. From a series of arrangements, it can be seen that the old emperor really wanted to be more careful this time, but it was inevitably too late.
It was postponed until mid-July, when all matters were finalized and the inspection route was studied and determined. The old emperor officially issued an edict to start the southern inspection tour again, with the first target being Ezhou, Jinghu North Road.
However, just the night before departure, the old emperor suffered another blow. Liu Chengxun, King Yong of the Han Dynasty, died of illness in Taikang Palace. When he first heard the bad news, the old emperor still didn't believe it, and his first reaction was to behead the eunuch who had lied about it.
, King Yong passed away. How could this be possible? He was younger than me, and he rarely got sick. He was also planning to continue his southern tour with me. How could he suddenly die?
However, things always happened in a way that caught people off guard. King Yong suddenly developed gangrene, and his condition took a turn for the worse. He died suddenly within three days. He did not even let the old emperor see his last face, and he did not even leave a last word.
Down.
According to reports, King Yong's disease is very similar to the common miasma in Southeast Asia. It may be the root cause of the disease that he contracted when he went to Southeast Asia.
The death of King Yong shocked both the government and the public, and for the old emperor, it cannot be described in any serious words. The old emperor had long been accustomed to the death of his old friends. At this moment, if someone reported to him again, who would die?
Well, when a hero dies, I'm afraid he will have to grieve for a while. At most, he will express one or two words of emotion, and then let the court hold a memorial ceremony according to the rules, and that's it.
However, there are still a few people in this world who can make the old emperor break his heart. When the sad news of King Yong's death was confirmed, the old emperor almost fainted, followed by hysteria, wailing, and so much sadness.
, it was even more serious than when King Qin Liu Xu passed away.
The last time was when Empress Fu passed away. Normally, they might only know that the old emperor was very fond of King Yong, but what may have surprised many people was that Liu Chengxun's status in the old emperor's mind was so high.
To the point where I can disregard my image, burst into tears, and even curse the sky.
Of course, this may also be related to the old emperor's current mental state. There are really more people who can make the old emperor trust him than he can count on one hand.
Liu Chengxun's sudden death naturally delayed the old emperor's southern tour plan. A grand memorial ceremony was held at Jigong Mountain. Hundreds of Taoist priests were invited. The monks performed rituals and almost wiped out the surrounding monks.
, after seven days and nights like this, King Xu was asked to escort the coffin back to Luoyang, where the prince Liu Yang presided over the burial.
The status of King Yong in the Han Dynasty can be seen from one point, that is, among the clan, he is the only one who built a mausoleum during his lifetime. It is a mausoleum! It was built according to the order of the old emperor, and the site was also selected in Mangshan Mountain.
, as one of the accompanying tombs of the old emperor.
As for the old emperor who was hit again, with a heavy heart, he continued his southern tour according to the original plan. He went south from Jigong Mountain and arrived in Ezhou via Anzhou. It took him a full twelve days to arrive.
In Ezhou, there was no more frivolous private visit in disguise. Instead, he showed off his dignity, passed Hanyang, and entered the prefecture to govern Jiangxia.
The old emperor's southern tour was not a random one. He had a very clear goal. It was the first time in his more than 40-year imperial career that he would travel to the southern country.
At the same time, he also briefly inspected the political and public sentiments of the southern states, comforted the southern scholars and people with the dignity of the emperor, lectured the bureaucrats, encouraged the officials, provided peace of mind to the people, and expanded the royal family's influence as much as possible.
Southern influence.
The old emperor thought to himself that this might be the last major thing he did for the Han Dynasty and the Liu family. Thinking about it carefully, it is necessary to go through such a journey, even if he is not the old emperor, the kings of future generations should do the same.
After all, although half of the country in the Southern Kingdom has been ruled by the Han Dynasty for nearly thirty years, nearly two generations, this is really the first time that the supreme ruler has personally taken care of affairs. The old emperor's early southern tour was too short.
It has not gone into depth and its influence is limited.