All the Han soldiers who witnessed the Southern Expedition hated Deng Feng deeply. When they thought of so many of their brothers who died in Nanyang, the soldiers wanted to cut Deng Feng into pieces.
Moreover, Wu Han's attitude was very clear, that is, he wanted to kill Deng Feng, and the soldiers were willing to sell Da Sima a favor.
Liu Xiu looked at the generals who were kneeling together. He turned his eyes and looked at Deng Yu again, asking: "Zhonghua, what do you think?"
There was no personal grudge between Deng Yu and Deng Feng, and they were both members of the same family. Deng Yu had never expressed his opinion on whether Deng Feng should be killed or retained.
Now that His Majesty asked him about it, Deng Yu could no longer remain silent.
He thought about it for a while and said: "The minister believes that it is not an exaggeration to punish the nine tribes for Deng Feng's crime, but Deng Feng did make contributions to the Han Dynasty, so he will temporarily take Deng Feng into custody and bring him back to Luoyang for further discussion.
Wei Chen thinks it is very safe."
Deng Yu was practicing Tai Chi. What he said seemed to be unsaid. It sounded reasonable, but there was no substantive content.
As far as the current situation is concerned, it is indeed difficult for Deng Yu to make a statement.
The relationship between Deng Feng and the Han Dynasty was complicated, layer by layer. If he said that Deng Feng should be killed, he would offend a group of people, and if he said that Deng Feng should not be killed, he would also offend a group of people.
After thinking about it, Deng Yu thought that he should stop being such a prominent person. After all, he still had a lot of impeachments on his head.
He knew how to do Tai Chi, and Liu Xiu could also do Tai Chi. The latter followed Deng Yu's words and said: "Yes, we should wait until we return to Luoyang to discuss how to deal with Deng Feng!"
In his heart, Liu Xiu was unwilling to kill Deng Feng, and he also promised Yan Guang that he would spare Deng Feng's life as long as Deng Feng was willing to surrender.
Liu Xiu has always valued integrity as a person, and he is even more unwilling to go back on his word for a close friend like Yan Guang.
With Deng Feng's surrender, the war that broke out in Nanyang and lasted for nearly a year finally came to an end.
The forces of Deng Feng, Yancen, and Dong Xin who occupied Nanyang and were all colluding were defeated by Liu Xiu, the imperial commander who personally conquered them, and fell apart in one fell swoop.
After the Battle of Nanyang, Dong Xin led his troops to surrender, Yancen was defeated and fled to Nanjun, Deng Feng led his troops to surrender, and the Luoyang court headed by Liu Xiu officially conquered Nanyang in the third year of Jianwu, AD 27.
After so many years of natural and man-made disasters, Nanyang was already riddled with holes. Liu Xiu implemented a series of policies to benefit the people in Nanyang, helping Nanyang revive its industries and recuperate.
Because Nanyang was the hometown of the emperor, many of the princes and heroes in the Jianwu court came from Nanyang. Now that Nanyang was conquered, the Nanyang nobles in the court also returned to their hometowns and bought properties in Nanyang.
During Liu Xiu's period, there were two places that were most difficult to govern in the Han Dynasty. One was Luoyang, which was the imperial capital and the place where the country's powerful people gathered. The other was Nanyang, which was the imperial hometown and where the powerful people gathered.
The rebellion caused by Deng Feng, Yancen, and Dong Xin in Nanyang was put down, but the matter was far from over.
After Liu Xiu and others returned to the Chinese military tent, they all sat down. Liu Xiu looked at Cen Peng and said, "Jun Ran!"
"The humble minister is here!" Cen Peng stepped in and saluted.
Liu Xiu said: "Deng Feng has surrendered. Someone needs to take over the remnants of Deng Feng's army. It is up to you, Jun Ran, to handle this matter!"
After a pause, he reminded again: "Those veterans from Nanyang who are willing to join our Han Army can be incorporated into our army; those who are unwilling to join our Han Army can have their weapons and armor confiscated and be demobilized on the spot.
.”
Cen Peng nodded and said, "Weichen has written it down."
Just as the conversation between Liu Xiu and Cen Peng came to an end, Wu Han leaned over and said, "Your Majesty, during Deng Feng's rebellion, many people in Nanyang counties were funding Deng Feng overtly or covertly, and there were also many people who were willing to work for Deng Feng.
Those who are enemies of the imperial court, and the ministers believe that such things should be liquidated."
Hearing this, Liu Xiu was silent. Cen Peng thought for a while, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that what Grand Sima said is reasonable. Such people with ulterior motives and hidden evil intentions should be punished as soon as possible and permanently.
future trouble!"
Seeing that Cen Peng supported him, Wu Han became more confident and said: "Your Majesty, the chaos in Nanyang is due to these black sheep who do not submit to the Han Dynasty. If your Majesty is merciful to such thieves, Nanyang will be troubled again in the future.
"
Liu Xiu pondered for a while, raised his head and said, "Yan Guang, Jian Dan!"
"Wei Chen is here!" Yan Guang and Jian Dan hurriedly stood up and bowed to Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu said: "Let you two handle this matter!"
It can be seen that Wu Han wanted to win this job, but Liu Xiu couldn't do it.
Wu Han hated Deng Feng with all his heart, and he would never be merciful to those who were related to Deng Feng.
If this job was really left to Wu Han, I don't know how many people would die in vain at the hands of Wu Han.
Liu Xiu has never been a murderous person. Too many people have died in Nanyang. Now that the war is over, you have to be merciful and spare others! This is why Liu Xiu decided to let Yan Guang and Jian Tan handle the matter.
main reason.
Yan Guang is a Taoist, and Liu Xiu's character is gentle enough. Yan Guang is gentler than Liu Xiu. However, it is not appropriate to let Yan Guang, who has too gentle temperament, handle this matter with full authority, so Liu Xiu thought of it again.
Strong tan.
Jiantan is fair, precise and upright. He can just make up for Yan Guang's shortcomings. It is perfect to leave this matter to two people, one soft and one strong.
Seeing that His Majesty did not leave the matter to him, Wu Han was greatly disappointed. He mentioned Deng Feng's matter again and said: "Your Majesty, Deng Feng is the chief culprit of the Nanyang Rebellion. This thief must not be allowed to stay. As long as Deng Feng lives for one day, Nanyang will be destroyed."
The hidden danger will only exist for one more day!"
Seeing that Wu Han was a bastard and was determined to kill Deng Feng, Yan Guang frowned and said: "Da Sima, Deng Feng is willing to surrender, which shows that he has repented!"
Wu Han sneered and said: "Mr. Yan, the reason why Deng Feng surrendered voluntarily is because he was cornered and could not fly. If he did not surrender, he would die. He had no choice but to surrender!"
"Your Majesty governs the world with benevolence and virtue, which attracts knowledgeable people from all over the world to help your Majesty. Benevolence and virtue are the foundation of the Han Dynasty!"
"Severely punishing rebels and killing rebels does not conflict with Your Majesty's benevolence!"
Wu Han and Yan Guang couldn't argue with each other. Liu Xiu pretended to have a headache, rubbed his forehead, waved to the two of them and said: "Okay, okay, I have already said this.
Let’s discuss it later when we get back to Luoyang!”
Seeing Liu Xiu's impatience, Wu Han and Yan Guang stopped arguing at the same time, bowed to Liu Xiu together, and returned to their seats.
Liu Xiu said: "Okay, that's it for today. I'm tired too, so I have to go back to my tent to rest!"
"Weak ministers, please retire!" All the generals stood up one after another, bowed to Liu Xiu, and then filed out of the central military tent.
When Zhu You was about to go out, he was stopped by Liu Xiu. Everyone was accustomed to this. Zhu You had been guarding the army by Liu Xiu's side for many years and was always by Liu Xiu's side.
After everyone left, Liu Xiu smiled at Zhu You and said cheerfully: "It seems that Deng Feng treated Ayou well!" He raised you to be white and fat.
Zhu You scratched his head and grinned: "Although Wei Chen doesn't like Deng Feng, at this time, Deng Feng is really good to Wei Chen."
After a pause, he added: "I have to thank Zi Ling for this. Since Zi Ling visited me, my treatment has been much better. I can still eat a meal of meat every three days."
Hearing this, Liu Xiu burst into laughter. After laughing for a while, he waved to Zhu You and motioned to sit next to him. He asked, "Ayou, do you agree that I should let Deng Feng go?"
Zhu You looked at Liu Xiu, counted on his fingers: "First, Deng Feng is the nephew of his brother-in-law (Deng Chen). Second, Deng Feng has a life-saving grace for Yin Guiren. Third, Deng Feng is an old subordinate of his eldest brother. Fourth, Deng Feng’s rebellion is understandable, and Grand Sima has an unshirkable responsibility for this matter. Fifth, killing Deng Feng will not be good for His Majesty’s reputation.”
Liu Xiu looked at Zhu You pulling his fingers and speaking eloquently. He burst into laughter and asked, "Why does this matter have anything to do with my reputation?"
Zhu You poked his head and asked, "Didn't your Majesty hear that?"
"What did you hear?"
"There are rumors among the people that the reason why Deng Feng rebelled against Your Majesty was because of the Yin nobles. If Your Majesty kills Deng Feng, it will be true for the rumors. The people will definitely think that Your Majesty killed Deng Feng to get rid of his love rival." Feng. This will certainly harm His Majesty’s reputation!”
Liu Xiu blinked, then burst into laughter, shook his head and said, "There are actually such rumors."
"People's words are terrible, and your Majesty must consider them!" Zhu You reminded.
Liu Xiule said: "It seems that I can't kill Deng Feng."
Zhu You sighed and said, "If Your Majesty does not kill Deng Feng, the Chief Sima and the officers and men in the army will all complain about Your Majesty, and the public's anger will be difficult to quell!"
Liu Xiu rolled her eyes at Zhu You and said, "After all, you, like Zhong Hua, are running in circles with me."
Zhu You spread his hands and said: "How to deal with Deng Feng is a headache in the first place."
"Yes!" Liu Xiu sighed deeply. On one side was Deng Feng's relationship with his side, and on the other side were the passionate army officers. Liu Xiu was caught between them, and was in a dilemma.
Zhu You looked at Liu Xiu with sympathy and said with a smile: "Fortunately, I'm not the emperor, so I don't have to worry about so many bad things!"
Liu Xiu was almost angry. He raised his hand and pinched the fat on Zhu You's cheek, and said, "I haven't settled the accounts with you for your defeat and capture! I will fine you at least half a year's salary!"
When Zhu You heard that he was going to be fined a salary, he immediately put on a sad face and muttered: "Half a year's salary fine? Then what will I eat and drink?"
Liu Xiu smiled and said: "You can receive food."
Zhu You's title of Marquis of Duyang was just a name in the past. Now that the imperial court has conquered Nanyang, Zhu You's title of Marquis of Duyang is no longer in name only, and he can claim the food towns of Duyang County. Zhu You's eyes lit up, and he suddenly realized , slapped his forehead repeatedly, and said with a smile: "I have a fief! I also have my own fief now!"
"Yes, Du Yanghou, Du Yang's food is enough to make you fatter and meatier!" Liu Xiu stood up and said, "Okay, I have to go back to my sleeping quarters!"
Lihua must have heard about Deng Feng's coming to surrender. She must be anxious in her bed tent now!
Zhu You said with a smile: "I haven't seen Sister-in-law Lihua for a long time!"
Liu Xiu shook his head at Zhu You and walked out. Zhu You grinned and followed Liu Xiu out of the Chinese military tent like a follower.
