Knowing the relationship between Lian Zixuan and Lian Jingshu, Liu Xiu felt more at ease with Lian Zheng and Lian Zixuan. He smiled at Lian Jingshu and said, "Jingshu came just in time to play a game of chess with me."
Lian Jingshu was blessed and stepped forward. Xin Linglu understood the situation and moved her position away from Lian Jingshu, standing aside to watch the battle.
Lian Zixuan was very curious, this was Weiyang Palace, how could Lian Jingshu come in? How did she know the emperor?
Seeing the doubtful look on her face, Liu Xiu said with a smile: "Jingshu is now the Yuefu Order of Chang'an."
When Lian Zixuan heard this, she was even more surprised and asked subconsciously: "Can women be officials?"
Lian Jingshu smiled sweetly at Lian Zixuan and said, "It's just a false position, making my cousin laugh."
The conversation between the two sisters was very polite, but too polite and seemed very unfamiliar.
In fact, this is easy to understand. Lian Zixuan comes from a branch of the Lian family, and although Lian Jingshu comes from the same family, she is also a concubine and has no status. Although they are cousins, they may not see each other every year.
When Liu Xiu played chess with Lian Jingshu, he was much more serious than when he played with Xin Lingling. He looked at the chessboard with all his attention and analyzed the game carefully.
While the two of them were playing chess, Zhang Kun walked into the hall, holding a bamboo slip in his hand. He came to Liu Xiu, cleared his throat first, and then whispered: "Your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu didn't even raise his head, he just waved his hand in his direction, indicating that he had something to do and would talk to him later.
This game of chess was played very quickly. Lian Jingshu was a little messy in the middle game and made several mistakes. When it came to the end, she couldn't stand it anymore and Liu Xiu took advantage of her. She finally surrendered.
Liu Xiu was very happy after defeating the master Lian Jingshu. He happily picked up the tea cup and said with a smile: "Jingshu's chess skills have deteriorated a bit in the past month!"
"Your Majesty has promoted it!" Lian Jingshu leaned forward and said. When she spoke, she also glanced at Zhang Kun.
During the chess game, Liu Xiu didn't notice, but Lian Jingshu did. Zhang Kun was obviously anxious. Under such circumstances, she still tried her best to play chess with the emperor. For an hour or two, she was obviously delaying things.
, if the officials know about it, they will definitely criticize His Majesty for playing with things and losing his ambition. How can the emperor make mistakes, then in the end, the fault will only fall on her head.
As a child of a commoner, she was always trembling and cautious at home. This also made Lian Jingshu extremely capable of observing words and emotions, and her mind was extremely sharp.
Liu Xiu was in a good mood. He turned to look at Zhang Kun and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, this is a letter from Luoyang, please read it!" As he spoke, Zhang Kun respectfully handed the bamboo slip to Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu took the bamboo slip and looked at it carefully. As soon as he read the beginning, he raised his eyebrows.
The bamboo slips were written by Deng Yu, and they were mainly about two things, both of which were related to foreign affairs. The first was that Prince Xiaguli was coming to Luoyang to pay homage to the emperor. The second was that the Kushan capital secretly sent an envoy to the Han Dynasty.
Xiagouli is also Goguryeo, but during Wang Mang's reign, he changed the name of Goguryeo to Xiagouli.
As for the Kushan Dumi, we have to start with the Kushan. The country of Dayuezhi is divided into five major ethnic groups, and each ethnic group is ruled by Xihou. In the Han Dynasty, Xihou is called Dumi. Kushan is one of the five major ethnic groups.
one.
Among the Dayue clan, the Kushan ethnic group was the strongest. Later, it was the Kushan people who unified the five major ethnic groups of the Dayue clan and established the famous Kushan Empire.
The Han Empire, the Roman Empire, the Kushan Empire, and the Parthian Empire were the four major empires in Eurasia at that time.
If rated in terms of strength, the Han Empire is six, the Roman Empire is five, the Kushan Empire is two, and the Parthian Empire is one point and five.
In the heyday of the Kushan Empire, its territory included Xinjiang, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, the Indus River Basin, etc., and it was considered very powerful.
At present, Guishan has not yet unified the Da Yueshi, and is only one of the five major ethnic groups, but its ambitions have already appeared. You can see the clues by sending envoys to the Han Dynasty.
Deng Yu said in his letter that Prince Xiaguli would go directly to Luoyang, and the Kushan envoy would probably pass through Chang'an. Deng Yu asked Liu Xiu whether he should meet the Guishang envoy in Chang'an first, or return to Luoyang and meet with Xiaguli.
The prince met.
In fact, in terms of original intention, Liu Xiu did not want to see the Kushan envoy, nor did he want to see Prince Xiaguli.
Liu Xiu was not familiar with the Western Regions. He had never heard of the name Kuishang before. He even had no idea who Kushan Dumi was.
What's there to see from such a messenger who appears out of nowhere?
As for Prince Haguryeo, no need to ask, Liu Xiu also knew the other party’s purpose. Wang Mang changed the name of Goguryeo to Haguryeo and reduced the kingdom to a princely state. This was undoubtedly a great shame and humiliation for them. Of course they wanted to name the country
Change it back again.
If they change their name on their own, it doesn't count. In the Heavenly Kingdom, you are still a good person. Only when the Heavenly Kingdom issues a formal edict can this name change be considered legal.
Now the emperor of the Han Dynasty is no longer Wang Mang, but Liu Xiu. Of course, Xiagouli hopes to change the name of the country back through Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu's impression of Xiagouli was very bad. During his stay in Wang Mang, Xiagouli continuously attacked Lelang County and took away more than a thousand people from Lelang County as slaves. After Liu Xiu became emperor, Xiagouli
It didn't stop either.
In the fourth year of Jianwu's reign, Xiagouli once again sent troops to Lelang County. The governor of Liaodong could not bear it anymore and sent the county army to fight. He defeated the invading enemy forces. Then, taking advantage of the victory, he pursued the troops and entered Xiagouli, trapping the king.
Maruto Mountain Castle lasts for three months.
Fortunately, the king of Xiagouli was clever enough. When he was running out of ammunition and food, he suddenly sent people to send good wine and meat to the Han army. This led the Liaodong prefect to think that Wandu Mountain City had enough food and grass, and immediately led the county army to withdraw.
Liaodong.
It's just such a beast. It's not very good at fighting. If you don't fight it, it will always harass you. It's a shameless and skinless piece of meat. It's strange that Liu Xiu had a good impression of it.
After reading Deng Yu's letter, Liu Xiu sighed softly, then rolled up the letter and handed it back to Zhang Kun. The latter asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, do you want to reply to the right general?"
Liu Xiu murmured: "Xiaguli's prince? Humph, Xiaguli has been demoted from king to marquis by the thieves, so where can he be a prince? It's ridiculous to come to see me in the name of a prince!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Kun subconsciously bowed.
Liu Xiu said: "Zhang Kun, just reply to Zhonghua and let him meet you. As for what the other party wants, he will not grant it."
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
"As for the envoy from Guishan Dumi... from the small country of Fanbang, I will receive him in Chang'an!"
No matter how weak the other party is, the Han Dynasty is a kingdom of heaven and a state of etiquette. Since the other party has sent an envoy, Liu Xiu, as the emperor of the Han Dynasty, still has to meet him, but it does not need to be as formal as an interview in Luoyang. An interview in Chang'an is enough.
.
Zhang Kun nodded while listening. When Liu Xiu finished speaking, he bowed and said, "I will reply to the right general according to your majesty's wishes."
"Go for it!"
"Slave, please leave!"
After Zhang Kun left, Liu Xiu said to Lian Jingshu: "Come on, Jingshu, let's play another game."
Lian Jingshu said with some worry: "Jingshu heard that His Majesty was injured at Zhongling Mountain. I wonder if His Majesty's injury has recovered?"
Liu Xiu smiled and said: "This time in Zhongling Mountain, it is really thanks to Ling Lu. If Ling Lu hadn't saved me, I'm afraid I wouldn't be sitting here now."
Lian Jingshu subconsciously glanced at Xin Linglu beside her, bowed to her, and said seriously: "Miss Xin saved your majesty, which is a great kindness to the big man!"
Xin Lingling was a little embarrassed, bowed and returned the gift, saying, "Miss Lian has given me the award."
Liu Xiu and Lian Jingshu played another game of chess, and finally their chess addiction was over.
Deng Yu was indeed right. The Kushan envoy did arrive in Chang'an first. After learning that the emperor of the Han Dynasty was in Chang'an, the Kushan envoy stopped going to Luoyang and asked to see Liu Xiu in Chang'an.
The next day, Liu Xiu summoned the envoys at Jianzhang Palace.
In terms of grandeur and scale, the most impressive palace in Chang'an is Jianzhang Palace. The scale of Jianzhang Palace is much larger than that of Weiyang Palace. It spans more than 20 miles in a circle and is known as "thousands of households" inside.
.
The famous Taiye Pond is located in Jianzhang Palace. This artificial lake is far superior to the Cang Pond in Weiyang Palace. There are three rockeries built in the lake, namely Fangzhang Mountain, Penglai Mountain, and Yingzhou Mountain. They are magnificent.
, like a fairyland.
When receiving foreign envoys, Liu Xiu still wanted to demonstrate the strong national power of the Han Dynasty, so Jianzhang Palace was naturally the most ideal place to receive them.
The Kushan envoy did not come empty-handed. When he entered the palace, he was followed by a large carriage. Behind the carriage was pulling a very large thing. Because of the curtains outside, it was impossible to see what it was.
Under the guidance of the palace guards, the Kushan envoy entered the main hall. In the main hall, Liu Xiu sat in the middle, and below were Wu Han, Geng Yan, Gai Yan, Yao Qi, Lai She, Liu Zhang and other ministers.
The Kushan envoy has a typical appearance from the Western Regions, with slightly dark skin, medium height, wearing a fur felt hat, two-piece clothes, a belt around his waist, and leather boots.
Looking at the face, you can see deep features, deep-set eyes, a pair of yellow eyes, and a full beard.
Liu Xiu didn't know many people from the Western Regions, and he couldn't tell how old they were.
The envoy walked to the main hall and looked at this tall, majestic and majestic palace, with an uncontrollable look of surprise on his face.
He took a few steps forward, took off his fur felt hat, held his chest and saluted Liu Xiushen, and said in half-baked Chinese: "I am the envoy Dirang sent by Qiujiu, the Marquis of Guishuang, here to pay homage to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!
"
Liu Xiu'an sat on the throne and did not respond. Liu Zhang on the side showed displeasure and shouted in a deep voice: "Why don't you kneel down when you see the Emperor of Han?"
The envoy named Dirang said sternly: "In Kushan, kneeling and worshiping is not allowed."
Liu Zhang snorted coldly and raised his voice: "Envoy of Kushan, don't forget, this is not Kushan, but a Han Dynasty, Chang'an!"
Di Rang raised his eyes to Liu Xiu and said loudly: "I am the envoy of Kushan. I come to see your majesty today. I represent Guishan and the Marquis of Qiujiurexi. If I kneel down and worship, wouldn't it be equal to Guishan?"
Bow down to the big man?"
Liu Zhang wanted to speak, but Di Rang continued: "Of course, my visit to the Han Dynasty this time is because of the order of Qiujiu Quexihou to make good friends with the Han Dynasty. If the Han Dynasty really has the strength to impress me, I can also do something to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty.
The ceremony of prostrating."
Liu Xiu, who was sitting on the throne, finally spoke and asked: "The Qiu Jiuque you are talking about, is his surname Qiu?"
Dirang smiled, shook his head and said, "No, Your Majesty has misunderstood. The full name of Marquis Qiujiuche is Qiujiuche Kadphises."
After a pause, he added: "The Marquis of Qiujuque is as young as your Majesty."
Liu Xiu smiled and asked: "Dirang, you said that a big man has the strength to impress you, so you will bow down. What strength do you mean?"
Dirang turned sideways, turned back to the carriage that had been parked outside the hall, and said, "Your Majesty, please take a look!" As he spoke, he clapped his hands.
The Kushan servant standing next to the carriage pulled down the curtain behind the carriage, and Liu Xiu and everyone in the hall looked out.
People took a closer look and found that there was a large iron cage pulled behind the carriage. Inside the iron cage, there was a lion (in the Han Dynasty, the lion was called Shizi, but for the convenience of reading, it was still written as lion).
Everyone present was shocked when they saw this big lion. The guards in the square had never seen a lion before. Suddenly seeing such a beast, even if it was locked in a cage, they still gasped.
Liu Xiu had never seen a real lion, but he had seen a portrait of a lion. When Emperor Zhang succeeded to the throne, the Parthian Kingdom sent a congratulatory gift, including a lion.