When Yan Guang walked into the Zhongjun tent, Liu Xiu immediately waved to him and said with a smile: "Ziling, come and sit, come and sit quickly!"
Yan Guang first bowed deeply and respectfully and said: "Your Majesty!" Then, he followed Liu Xiu's instructions and sat on Liu Xiu's right side.
Liu Xiu looked a little drunk and asked, "Did Ziling come from Xinye?"
"Exactly!" Yan Guang nodded and said: "His Majesty's policies in Xinye have begun to bear fruit. The people who had fled Xinye have gradually returned. In addition, many outsiders have moved to Xinye to settle down."
After hearing this, Liu Xiu nodded repeatedly, smiled and said, "That's great!"
Wu Han's face on the side looked a little unnatural. He had been criticized for massacring the city of Xinye, and he bears the main responsibility for Xinye's current miserable situation.
He coughed dryly, picked up the wine glass, and said: "Your Majesty, I have done something improper in Xinye. I will drink three glasses of wine as a penalty!"
As he spoke, Wu Han drank three glasses of wine in one breath, and his flushed face became even redder. Liu Xiu waved his hand to him and said with a smile: "Zi Yan, drink more slowly! Drinks in the army are all
You almost drank it all by yourself!"
Hearing this, everyone present laughed. Wu Han scratched his head and laughed non-stop.
When Yan Guang saw this, he couldn't help but sigh secretly. Your Majesty really loved Wu Han to the extreme.
If someone else had done something like massacre in Nanyang, His Majesty would have punished him severely given his character. But when Wu Han did such a thing, His Majesty would rather issue an imperial edict to blame everyone and take all the responsibility on himself.
Punish Wu Han.
In fact, Yan Guang only saw one side. Liu Xiu did favor Wu Han, but there was another very important reason why he did not punish Wu Han.
As the emperor, you ask your subordinates to be loyal to you and to go to the battlefield for you to fight against the enemy. You cannot push your officials out whenever something goes wrong and let them shoulder all the responsibilities and become the target of public criticism.
Liu Xiu was disgraceful to kill the donkey in this way, and it was not the way to control people.
Liu Xiu will bear the responsibilities that should be borne by him, and he will try his best to help his ministers bear the responsibilities that should not be borne by him.
Doing so will not only not undermine the majesty of the emperor, but will also establish the emperor's prestige and make his ministers more loyal and devoted to him.
Like Wu Han, Deng Yu, Geng Yan, Jia Fu, Kou Xun, Cen Peng, Feng Yi, etc., which of these ministers is not the best among men? The reason why so many talented people of the generation gathered around Liu Xiu is because
Unite around Liu Xiu, willingly serve Liu Xiu and sacrifice their lives. Why?
Not only because Liu Xiu is talented, kind-hearted, and charming, but also because Liu Xiu will sincerely protect them.
The foreign king's orders will be ignored. On the battlefield, the situation changes rapidly. As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, every decision he makes is under tremendous psychological pressure.
If there is no emperor above them who is willing to do their best to protect themselves, they will be hesitant and hesitant when making many decisions, and it will be difficult to make decisive decisions.
But unlike Liu Xiuqian, even if his decision was wrong or he did something wrong, His Majesty would protect him in every possible way and protect him under the wings of the emperor.
This approach seemed to be protecting shortcomings, but in fact, Liu Xiu gave his ministers a strong sense of security and belonging.
At this time, Yan Guang was about to speak. Wu Han burped, shook his head, raised his hand to Liu Xiu, and said: "Your Majesty, tomorrow, I would like to take the lead in attacking Xiao Chang'an and take off the head of Deng Feng's son.
Dedicated to His Majesty!"
Liu Xiu laughed and said jokingly: "Ziyan may not be able to stand firmly now!"
When everyone present heard this, they burst into laughter.
Wu Han's face turned redder, and he turned to the outside of the tent and shouted: "Come here, bring my halberd! I want to dance the halberd for Your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu smiled and waved to him repeatedly, indicating that he should stop for a while! Liu Xiu turned his head and looked at Deng Yu and Yan Guang, and couldn't help but sigh: "It's rare that we get together again. It's a pity that there are so few people this time."
Mr. Zhong, speaking of which, the four of us have not been together for a long time."
Deng Yu showed emotion, and Yan Guang replied: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhong is now in the Yuan army. Everything is fine."
Before Liu Xiu could speak, Wu Han said angrily: "Deng Feng is now a turtle in a urn. If he dares to touch a hair of Zhongxian, I, Wu Han, will cut his body into five pieces, smash his bones and spread ashes, leaving him dead without a place to bury him!"
Wu Han's words immediately aroused the resonance of everyone present. People all said at once: "Even if Deng Feng is a child, he wouldn't dare to do anything to General Zhu?!"
Yan Guang originally had something to say to Liu Xiu, but seeing everyone's attitude, he swallowed his words and decided to talk to Liu Xiu privately.
The celebration banquet ended with the laughter of all the soldiers. Liu Xiu also specially asked Long Yuan to arrange a larger tent for Yan Guang to stay.
Liu Xiu returned to his sleeping tent and just sat down when Long Yuan walked in from the outside and whispered: "Your Majesty, Mr. Yan wants to see you."
"Invitation." Liu Xiu was not surprised by Yan Guang's arrival. At the banquet just now, he could see that Zi Ling was absent-minded and hesitated to speak.
Not long after, Yan Guang walked in from outside. He saluted Liu Xiushen and said, "Your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu smiled and said, "You don't need to be so polite in private. Zi Ling is too jealous of me." As he spoke, he waved his hand to the side, indicating that Yan Guang should take a seat.
Yan Guang thanked him and just sat down when Yin Lihua also walked out of the compartment inside. Seeing Yin Lihua, Yan Guang leaned over again and said, "Noble Yin!"
"Mr. Yan!" Yin Lihua nodded in return, then walked to Liu Xiu's side and knelt down.
Liu Xiu looked at Yan Guang happily and asked with a smile: "I heard that Zi Ling and Deng Zijun have been engaged. How are the preparations for the marriage?"
Yan Guang lowered his head and said with some embarrassment: "I made His Majesty laugh."
Liu Xiu looked up and smiled and said: "Marrying a wife and having children is how life should be. If Zi Ling has to live alone, then I will be worried!" After a pause, he said seriously: "Zi Ling, your marriage to Deng Zijun,
Just come to Luoyang to do it, you don't have to worry about anything, Lihua and I will help you take care of it ourselves!" As he spoke, his hands naturally hooked Yin Lihua's slender waist.
Yin Lihua twisted her body unnaturally and glanced at Liu Xiu secretly. In front of outsiders, such a hookup was too un-Emperor-like.
Liu Xiu saw Yin Lihua's thoughts and said with a smile: "Zi Ling is not an outsider. Zi Ling and I are called classmates and best friends, but in fact we are as close as brothers."
For Deng Yu, Yan Guang, and Zhu You, three old classmates and old friends, Liu Xiu indeed regarded them as his brothers.
Yan Guang suddenly stood up and left the table, knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Xiu. His sudden move shocked both Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua. The latter quickly pulled Liu Xiu's hand away and asked in surprise: "Mr. Yan, what are you doing?"
What is it for?"
Liu Xiu also reacted, quickly stood up, pulled Yan Guang up from the ground, and asked, "Ziling?"
Yan Guang said: "I have something to ask of you."
Liu Xiu's eyes flashed, and he pulled Yan Guang back to sit on the mat. He said quietly: "Is it because of Deng Feng?"
Yan Guang did not beat around the bush, bowed and said: "Your Majesty is wise." After a pause, he lowered his head and said: "I know that the mistakes Yuan Zhi made are unpardonable. I hope your Majesty can be lenient and spare them."
Yuan Zhi’s life.”
Hearing this, Yin Lihua also looked at Liu Xiu nervously. Seeing that Liu Xiu was silent, Yin Lihua whispered: "Your Majesty, Yuan Zhi is the hero after all. Even if he makes up for his mistakes, he can still be spared from death!"
Liu Xiu looked at Yan Guang, then at Yin Lihua, and smiled bitterly. Deng Feng's rebellion actually made it difficult for Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu had always hated rebels, but Deng Feng had a deep relationship with him.
He was an old subordinate of his eldest brother, his brother-in-law's nephew, his wife's childhood sweetheart, and now he was going to become Yan Guang's uncle. With so many relationships, even if Liu Xiu wanted to kill Deng Feng, he couldn't do it.
After being silent for a while, Liu Xiu slowly said: "Even if I want to let Deng Feng go, I still need Deng Feng to give me a chance to let him go. Now that Deng Feng is in a desperate situation, he still refuses to surrender.
I have to fight the big man to the end, so how can I spare his life?"
Yan Guang's eyes lit up, and he immediately raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to go to Xiao Chang'an to persuade Yuan Zhi to surrender!"
Liu Xiu shook his head and said, "Ziling, do you think Deng Feng will listen to you?"
Before Yan Guang could speak, Yin Lihua said first, "If Yuan Zhi is unwilling to listen to Mr. Yan's advice, I would like to persuade him!"
Liu Xiu frowned and looked at Yin Lihua meaningfully. The implication was that he had already done this once before and he wanted to make the same mistake again this time?
Yin Lihua also suddenly remembered what happened last time, and lowered her head in shame. Yan Guang said sternly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will definitely persuade Yuan Zhi to surrender this time, and let him come and apologize to Your Majesty in person!"
As he spoke, he stood up and made a gesture to walk out.
Liu Xiu hurriedly raised his hand to stop him and asked, "Where is Ziling going?"
"Without further ado, Wei Chen will go to Xiao Chang'an now!"
Liu Xiu was almost angry. He waved his hand to Yan Guang and said sternly: "Tonight, Zi Ling, you will stay in the army and rest for the night. Now you are so blind and blind, you rush to the small town."
Chang'an, they are shooting you as a jobber!"
Yan Guang's face turned red when he heard this. He felt that he was indeed too impatient. He smiled awkwardly at Liu Xiu and said, "Your Majesty, it's better to think carefully."
Liu Xiu suddenly had a desire to gossip, and he asked curiously: "Ziling, you...are you really attracted to Deng Zijun? In other words, do you have any clues that fall into other people's hands, or do you do something to them?"
What happened that made me have to take responsibility for others?"
When Yin Lihua heard this, she almost laughed out loud. It was too unseemly for the majestic emperor to say such words.
Yan Guang blushed and explained: "I...what can I have to do with it? Zijun and I are innocent now, I...we..."
"Okay, okay, okay! I get it!" Seeing Yan Guang stammering anxiously and speaking incoherently, which was too damaging to Ziling's image in his mind, Liu Xiu quickly stopped him and prevented him from going any further.
Said below.
He raised his head and said: "Ziling, you go and have a rest earlier. You have been very tired during this period. You will be busy in the future!"
"Yes! Wei Chen, please retire!" Yan Guang was about to turn around and walk out when he suddenly realized that what His Majesty said was wrong! He looked at Liu Xiu in confusion and asked: "Your Majesty said that I will be busy in the future. What does this mean?
"
Liu Xiu said happily: "Nanyang has suffered from the disaster of war and is in need of reconstruction. It is in urgent need of a governor with both political integrity and talent. Ziling can rebuild Xinye, and I believe that Ziling can also rebuild Nanyang. From now on, the burden of reviving Nanyang will be
I’ll leave it to you, Zi Ling.”
Yan Guang heard that he was the elder of the two. He did not want to be an official in the court. He yearned for a free life. Now that His Majesty wants him to be the governor of Nanyang, he is really unwilling to do so.
He said awkwardly: "Your Majesty..."
Liu Xiu suppressed his smile and said meaningfully: "Ziling, you have to help me this time no matter what."
He racked his brains and couldn't think of anyone more suitable to be the governor of Nanyang than Yan Guang. Yan Guang led the local people to rebuild Xinye. The matter had already spread, and Yan Guang's reputation among the people of Nanyang was getting more and more popular.
high.
People all admired Yan Guang from the bottom of their hearts. Letting Yan Guang serve as the governor of Nanyang would not only appease the people, but also win over them, which would be very beneficial to the court.
