Overall, the results of this northern expedition were in line with the pre-war plan. Although it cost tens of millions of dollars, in terms of battle losses, Zhou Buyi lost a mere thousand people but gained an astonishing amount of more than 20,000.
Almost half of the young men of Murong's tribe were lost, and the Wuhuan, Ku, and other ministries were also seriously injured. The Yunbei ministries looked at the Hengguo's baggage convoy passing through, and they couldn't help but sigh: Liaodong Lingbei was destroyed by
Did Liwei Shanyu evacuate? Therefore, they also learned the news of the Han army's victory. Before Zhou Busuo withdrew his troops, they sent envoys to offer tribute and congratulate the Han army.
Zhou Buji returned all these tributes to express the strict military discipline and stipulate that no foreign money should be accepted. At the same time, he also said that if he wanted to congratulate him, it would be better to accompany the army to Luoyang, the eastern capital, to meet the emperor of the Han Dynasty together. Naturally, the leaders of various ministries did not dare to delay, such as Wuhuan
Shanyu Tadun, King Fuyu died in peace, and Hetu's neighbor Khan Muluke all expressed their willingness to follow the army to the south to show their support for the superior country. Tuoba Liwei's original intention was just a congratulation, see
In this situation, we had no choice but to follow the current and send our eldest son Tuoba Siming to go south with him.
So the entire Northern Expedition army marched south from Bingzhou in a mighty manner, flags fluttering, bells and drums opening the way, and the frontline sergeants reporting the good news of the victory to the people around them.
Halfway through the journey, Liu Xie had already received the reward. He was playing chess with Wei Xi in the side hall of the Tai Pavilion. After a rough reading, he was so happy that he didn't even care about playing chess. He took the reward and ran away wearing only his socks.
When he arrived at the main hall, he smiled at Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and others and said: "Thanks to the strength of the generals and your hard work, the Northern Expedition has been completed!" Then he circulated the victory report in the Tai Pavilion and said: "This battle can at least defeat the Northern Territory.
Seven years of peace are enough for us to use force in Jiangnan."
Then Liu Xie discussed the celebration ceremony with his ministers and planned to meet Mengda, Zhou Buyi and the kings of Yunbei south of the river bridge. At the same time, they set up a hunting ground nearly twenty miles wide in Mang Mountain to reward the three armies. Even the people of Gyeonggi Province were blessed by this. Yin Yangdan of Henan Province was ordered to impose a night ban in Luoyang for a few days, and gave cattle wine to the elderly. It was the summer harvest in June, and during the busy farming season, the people were harvesting wheat in the streets.
The weather has been good this year, and this year's harvest is naturally excellent. Bundles of wheat are piled on the roadside, like golden mountains. The people were already extremely happy, and when they heard the news of the army's victory, they were naturally even more joyful.
At the same time, Chen Chong was also preparing to organize the wedding of his eldest daughter Asuo. After talking with Dong Bai, he inspected He Yan several times in private. Although as seen before, He Yan was flashy and good at judging people, but short on
I can talk about the effectiveness for several hours and feel energetic, but in the desk room, I often fall asleep after being unable to sit for two moments. But if you think about it carefully, this is the common behavior of young people and the reason for their shallow experience. On the other hand,
It is said that He Yan is a talented person, he speaks well, and getting along with him is like spring breeze. He has not heard of any bad habits. As a son-in-law, there is really nothing to criticize.
The only problem is that he is eager to be rich and honorable, and he also likes to study alchemy. Following people's influence is also a problem common to everyone. With Chen Chong's reputation, he has nothing to worry about. It's just that He Yan often refines stones into powder and takes them for health.
This made Chen Chong not satisfied. So Chen Chong tried to talk to He Yan once. He Yan understood it and immediately there were no more rumors about him refining alchemy and seeking Taoism.
So the marriage was decided. By the time the Northern Expedition returned to Beijing, the two parties had already exchanged betrothal gifts and betrothal gifts, and the specific date of the wedding was set for two months later. As soon as the news came out, hundreds of officials in Beijing congratulated one after another.
, even the emperor sent a pair of South Sea pearls and a "Blue Bird and Western Mountains" to express his feelings. Naturally, these were all based on Chen Chong's identity and status. Many people privately discussed: "He Lang's this
Getting married is like a fish leaping over a dragon's gate!" But how useful it actually is is a story for another day.
And just as the Chen family was making intensive preparations for this, an unexpected guest suddenly came to the house.
The visitor had a beard on his face, a military uniform, and was covered in dust. When he first arrived at the gate of the mansion, he only brought a man and a horse with him, and a pure black long knife was fastened to his waist. After getting off the horse, he held
Holding the knife, he raised his head and looked at the door of the mansion for a moment, with an uneasy look on his face. Finally, he went up the steps to the door, saying that he wanted to enter the mansion to pay a visit.
The guard at the door didn't know his identity, but seeing that he was about thirty years old, and his boots and saddle were covered with mud, he thought he was from the Prime Minister's military career. Although he was shabby, this was not the case among the visitors to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
It was rare, so I asked the person's name and official position. Unexpectedly, when the person was about to answer, he suddenly seemed to be stuck by something. He was silent for a long time, and finally said nothing. The guard asked again and again, and got tired of waiting, and then
I simply sent him away. Unexpectedly, after the man came down the steps, he held the horse and refused to leave, so he stood in front of the house.
It happened that Zhao Qiu came to the mansion to ask Chen Chong. When he passed by the mansion, he felt that the man's figure looked very familiar. He couldn't help but look at it twice and chatted with the guards. As a result, the guards said something strange about this man's words and deeds.
Finally, he turned around to take a closer look, and he suddenly realized something. He pointed at the man and said, "Hanzhen, why are you back? You didn't even send a letter to say anything!" Then he said to the guards, "Come and see the young master!" Only then did the guards realize that the person who came was actually Chen Zhang, the eldest son of Prime Minister Chen Chong! It was just that he had served in the army in Beifu for four years and never returned home. In the past few years, the guards around Chen Chong had changed again. Naturally, there were no
People knew him. But why didn't he take the initiative to give his name? The guards were very surprised. Because Chen Chong kept silent on weekdays, everyone didn't know that the prime minister and his son were at odds. In the end, they could only make unreasonable guesses: It was probably the son's divorce.
I’ve been home for many years, so I’m afraid of being close to my hometown for a while!
When Zhao Qiu and Chen Zhang entered the mansion, they looked up and saw Dong Bai who was pruning branches by the stone spring.
Dong Bai recognized Chen Zhang at a glance. He was very surprised for a moment, but then showed a happy smile. She put down the begonia on her hand, stood up and walked slowly over and asked: "When did you come back? Are you alone? Can you go?"
It was silent all the time, but I still miss Ah Cai very much!" Then he said, "It's like yesterday when you and Chen Shi came to my house to play together when you were a child. Now you are such an adult. Time flies so fast." Facing his stepmother's kindness, Chen Zhang was at a loss and reluctantly agreed. However, he could not call Dong Bai his mother, so he called her aunt because Dong Bai was the adopted daughter of his grandfather Cai Yong.
Dong Bai saw that he was dressed in dust and looked like a traveler, and asked again: "How many days will you stay at home when you come back this time? Have you eaten? You must be very tired from the journey. You go and prepare to take a bath first. I will give you some."
I have some new clothes at home, just in time to change into."
When Chen Zhang heard these kind words, he couldn't help but feel ashamed. He hurriedly whispered: "I can't stay for a few days without my aunt's help. This time I just came to visit. I have made an appointment to stay at Baima Temple. This time it is just
I want to come back and take a look..." But what to look at? He stopped here.
Dong Bai understood what he meant, shook his head slightly and said: "Hanzhen, no matter what, he is your father and you are his son. You have to go see him, and he will not deny you. Life is alive."
, only blood ties are unbreakable, you should always go see him first, he was very lonely during your absence." She was afraid that she would not be able to convince Chen Zhang, so she added: "Besides, the child slave is still in his room.
How about middle school literacy?"
Chen Zhang smiled, then sighed. After a moment of silence, he made up his mind and finally said to Dong Bai: "Then I'll trouble my aunt to lead the way."
As he was walking, a melodious flute sound gradually floated in front of him, like the breeze blowing through the willows and the spring rain moistening the grass buds. Chen Zhang could tell that the tune played was a tune from Chu Ci, adapted from Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs".
The person who came here, don’t tell me more, was his father Chen Chong.
Dong Bai knocked on the door gently, and the flute sound stopped. Then Chen Zhang heard slow footsteps coming from behind the door, as heavy and clear as a drum. With a "squeak", the door opened, and there appeared
It is a soft but old-fashioned face.
When Chen Chong saw Chen Zhang, his eyes showed a little surprise, but his face did not move at all. However, when he looked at Chen Zhang's attire, the corners of his mouth showed some curvature. He stepped aside and said: "It's hot outside, come in and talk.
."
After Chen Zhang came in, he saw a child lying on the table, playing with a straw man, of course it was Chen Xiu. Chen Xiu saw a stranger among the visitors, so he turned to Chen Chong and said, "Father, what is this?"
Who is the uncle?"
Chen Chong didn't answer and turned to look at Chen Zhang. Chen Zhang was also speechless. The atmosphere in the room was extremely depressed. Zhao Qiu on the side was the one who smoothed things over and said, "Silly boy, this is your second brother!"
Chen Zhang then took the conversation, said yes repeatedly, then stepped forward and took out a package of candied fruits from his pocket, handed it to Chen Xiu, and rubbed his head.
Then the father and son sat at the table, planning to chat. But in fact, as soon as they sat down, they felt the huge gap and pain between each other, which almost made both father and son feel suffocated. What should the two of them say?
What? Pretending that nothing happened? Yes, both of them have reached the age where they can hide their emotions. No matter what they have experienced, at least at this moment, they can pretend to be harmonious. So they carefully avoid the gap they once had.
, chat about some topics that are not painful or painful.
Chen Chong asked him: "Why did you return to Beijing this time?"
Chen Zhang said: "The emperor came and asked me to go to Beijing to report on my duties. Next month, I was transferred to Xiangyang. He said that Xiangyang should be separated from Nanyang into a separate county, and I was asked to serve as the prefect."
Chen Chong realized that this was Liu Xie's preparation for the Southern Expedition in advance. He asked again: "I heard that you lost the battle the year before last. Effectiveness is the most important thing in the army. Otherwise, you can't convince the public. Why don't you defend this important place?"
Is it in the way?"
Chen Zhang replied: "Yes, but I also made some friends. When something happened, I would discuss it with everyone, and nothing went wrong from then on."
When Chen Chong heard this, although he didn't show it on his face, he was still somewhat satisfied in his heart. He said slowly: "If you can discuss matters with everyone and learn from everyone's strengths, you won't make any big mistakes. But the war is unusual after all.
For many unexpected situations, you must be prepared yourself and dare to make judgments."
They then talked about some details of military affairs and national strategy. Although Chen Zhang could not say that his answers were fluent, he could still say something meaningful. Before he knew it, it was dinner time. After Chen Zhang had a meal at home, he asked Chen Chong
Dong Bai said goodbye. Chen Chong did not persuade him to stay. When he let Chen Zhang go, he couldn't tell what he felt in his heart. He thought, what would the spirit in heaven think for ten thousand years? Maybe this would be enough, even though he had been gone for a long time.
It has been a long detour, but at least now it seems that this child is finally on the right track. It can be seen that as long as people experience more ups and downs, people can always understand some truths.