Now, the only person who truly has the strength to compete with Liu Xiu is Gongsun Shu of Yizhou. When wars and wars broke out in the Central Plains, Yizhou had always been peaceful.
Gongsun Shu has been king and hegemon in Yizhou for more than a day or two. As early as Wang Mang's period, Gongsun Shu was the prefect of Shu County.
Later, Liu Xuan proclaimed himself emperor in Nanyang. Heroes from all over the country were greatly inspired and rose up one after another, holding high the banner of rebellion. Among them was Gongsun Shu.
Taking advantage of the fierce fighting between Wang Mang and the Green Forest Army and the Red Eyebrow Army, Gongsun Shu proclaimed himself king of Shu, proclaimed himself King of Shu, and established his capital in Chengdu.
From then on, Gongsun Shu began to painstakingly manage the Shu territory. After Liu Xuan took control of Chang'an, Gongsun Shu refused to surrender. Liu Xuan sent Li Bao, the Marquis of Zhugong, and Zhang Zhong, the governor of Yizhou, to lead a large army to conquer Gongsun Shu.
However, Shu is famous for its natural dangers. In addition, Gongsun Shu was very popular in Shu and was deeply loved and supported by the local people. Gongsun Shu's army defeated Liu Xuan's army.
After this battle, Gongsun Shu's position in Shu became more stable and difficult to shake.
The land of Shu has natural dangers and can resist foreign enemies. The land within the territory is fertile, and the grain and various resources are extremely rich. It can be said that it is uniquely blessed by nature. In April of the 25th AD, Gongsun Shu proclaimed himself emperor in the land of Shu and named the country
Start a family.
Speaking of which, Gongsun Shu proclaimed himself emperor two months earlier than Liu Xiu, who proclaimed himself emperor in June.
After Gongsun Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Shu, all the counties and counties in Yizhou surrendered one after another. Before long, Gongsun Shu actually controlled the entire Yizhou.
After several years of management, Gongsun Shu's strength has grown by leaps and bounds, becoming more and more powerful. Not only does he have the capital to compete with Liu Xiu, but his strength is even stronger than Liu Xiu's.
When Qin Feng wooed Tian Rong, Tian Rong was faced with two choices, either accepting Qin Feng's wooing or surrendering to Liu Xiu. He himself was undecided about this matter.
A considerable number of Tian Rong's subordinates advised him to submit to Liu Xiu, while another group of people opposed him to submit to Liu Xiu. The reason was that if he really wanted to seek refuge with a strong man, it would be better to seek refuge with Gongsun Shu.
From the statements of Tian Rong's subordinates, it can also be seen that at that time, Gongsun Shu's strength was only above Liu Xiu, not below him.
Now that the dead soldiers of Si'a reappeared, Liu Xiu almost immediately concluded that Mo Yan had probably gone to Yizhou and took refuge under Gongsun Shu.
An assassination occurred and Liu Xiu's trip was delayed. Xuying and others sent a large number of spies to the front to investigate.
Before the spies brought back the news from the front, three imperial doctors had already bandaged Long Yuan's wounds. Long Yuan was hit by three arrows, and the arrows were all quenched with poison. Logically speaking, his injuries were serious, but miraculously, he
Instead he woke up.
When Liu Xiu came to visit Long Yuan, he raised his head and gestured to get up. Liu Xiu quickly took a few steps, came to the carriage, held Long Yuan's shoulders and said: "Lie down and don't move!"
"
An envoy came to Liu Xiu with three arrows and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, the arrows used by the assassins are all painted with 'blood seals throat' on the arrowheads."
It is a kind of poison that seals the throat when you see blood. There is a very appropriate description of this poison, "seven up, eight down, nine down", which means that you can take seven steps if you walk up, and eight steps if you go down.
In short, if you cannot reach the ninth step no matter what, you will die. It is an extremely powerful poison.
The imperial doctor sighed: "Fortunately, Your Majesty took the antidote to General Long in time, otherwise..."
He shook his head, and his meaning was obvious. If Liu Xiu hadn't detoxified him in time, but had waited for imperial doctors like them to detoxify him, he would have run out of breath.
Liu Xiu nodded and didn't say anything else. In fact, Liu Xiu himself couldn't tell whether Pi Tong's antidote was used or his own blood vessels were used, but it didn't matter, as long as the person was fine.
.
He said to Long Yuan: "During this period, you only need to recover from your injuries."
"His Majesty……"
Liu Xiu waved his hand to him and said seriously: "I will let Xuying take over for you. Now, your task is to calm down and heal your injury as soon as possible."
Long Yuan smiled helplessly, raised his arms, clenched his fists, and whispered: "Your Majesty, my body feels better than when I was not injured..."
Liu Xiu ignored him and asked the imperial doctor to change Long Yuan's dressing and clean the wound in time. Then he walked back to his carriage. Yin Lihua had already returned to the carriage, and Xueying and Hongjian were accompanying her in the carriage.
, Li Xiu'e stood outside the car.
Seeing Liu Xiu approaching, Li Xiu'e saluted and said: "Your Majesty!"
Xueying and Hongjian in the car hurriedly came out and saluted: "Your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu waved to the three of them and motioned for them to leave. After the three women left, Liu Xiu got into the compartment of the carriage, took Yin Lihua's cold little hand, and asked: "Did I scare you just now?
"
"Your Majesty, who are these assassins?"
"They're just some shady little people, Lihua doesn't need to worry too much!"
Yin Lihua looked at Liu Xiu, her eyes slightly red, and whispered: "Is this concubine a drag on Your Majesty?"
Liu Xiu smiled, caressed her soft hair, and said: "There is no need to be a drag between husband and wife!"
After hearing this, Yin Lihua's nose felt sore and her tears fell uncontrollably.
Suddenly, she felt that she had only caused trouble for her husband, but had never done anything to help him. She did not need to compare with Guo Shengtong and Xu Xiling, and she could not even compare with Hua Feiyan and Xi Cheying.
Seeing Yin Lihua crying, Liu Xiu panicked and asked with concern: "Did Lihua get injured just now?"
Yin Lihua said nothing, leaned into Liu Xiu's arms, and shook her head slightly.
Just as Liu Xiu was about to speak, Xuying strode over and said, "Your Majesty..."
Seeing the two people hugging each other in the carriage, Xuying was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned around, with his back to Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua, and said: "Your Majesty, the scout reported that there is no ambush ahead."
"Yes!" Liu Xiu hugged Yin Lihua, responded, and said, "Let's continue on our way!"
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Xuying agreed and left quickly.
Soon, the team began to move forward again. Perhaps because of the assassination that had just occurred, the team moved much faster, and Yin Lihua lost interest in admiring the scenery along the way and sat quietly in the carriage.
Liu Xiu looked at Yin Lihua who suddenly became quiet and smiled helplessly. This time he took Lihua out of the palace mainly because he wanted her to come out and relax, but this happened.
When passing by the mountain lake, Liu Xiu specifically asked the team to stop. He pulled Yin Lihua out of the carriage, looked at the lake in front of him like a huge mirror, and said with a smile: "Lihua, let's go over and have a look!"
Yin Lihua looked around nervously and whispered: "Your Majesty, it's better not to go."
Liu Xiu smiled nonchalantly and said: "If there are still assassins hiding here, then I would like to thank them. At least I don't have to search for their traces anymore!"
Yin Lihua was amused by Liu Xiu's words, and her gloomy mood became lighter. The two of them held hands and walked towards the lakeside.
The two of them were relaxed and leisurely, but the guards did not dare to be careless in the slightest. The Zhonghuang Gate was stationed about ten steps away from the two of them, the Yulin Guard was stationed at a distance of thirty steps away from the two of them, and the Huben Army was stationed at a distance of fifty steps from the two of them. Set up defenses outside the area.
Zhonghuangmen, Yulin, Huben, and three layers of guards protected Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua tightly.
The two walked to the lake. The water was clear. You could see the bottom of the lake at a glance, and you could see many fish in it. Yin Lihua couldn't help but take a deep breath, facing the beautiful and picturesque lake, smelling the fresh air, and let She felt quite refreshed. Liu Xiu was the same, and said with a smile: "When passing through Nanyang, we can pay a visit to Ziling. After meeting Ziling, we must let him come to Yanggan Mountain to visit."
Yin Lihua smiled and said: "I think Mr. Yan has been here long ago!"
Liu Xiu shrugged, without comment, turned around and waved to Xuying, who stepped forward, bowed his hands and saluted, and said: "Your Majesty!"
"Bring me two spears, both new!"
Xuying was stunned for a moment, then responded quickly, and then walked away quickly. After a short time, Xuying came to Liu Xiu with two spears.
Liu Xiu took it and weighed it in his hands. It felt firm enough and nodded with satisfaction. Then he sat down and began to take off his shoes and socks.
Seeing this, Yin Lihua was startled and asked in confusion: "Your Majesty?"
Liu Xiu raised his head, grinned at Yin Lihua, and said, "We can have grilled fish for lunch!" As he spoke, he took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trouser legs, and walked in barefoot with two spears in his hand. In the lake.
Seeing this, Yin Lihua also became interested. She followed Liu Xiu's example and took off her shoes and socks, then held up her skirt and walked into the lake.
The lake water is cold, but it doesn't make people feel cold. The coolness spreads from the soles of the feet to the whole body, making people feel more comfortable.
Liu Xiu was staring at a carp in the lake, and slowly raised the spear in his hand. Just as he was about to stab it down, he heard a pop, water splashed, and the fat carp suddenly swam far away. Liu Xiu Looking back, I saw Yin Lihua standing in the lake, grinning at her.
No need to ask, she must have thrown the stone just now. Liu Xiu was angry and funny, but looking at Yin Lihua's smile, he was stunned unconsciously.
Since the two got married, he couldn't remember how long it had been since Lihua smiled like this. When they just got married, his eldest brother was killed, and he was suppressed by Liu Xuan. It could be said that it was precarious, and the invisible pressure almost suffocated the couple. .
Lihua and he shared joys and sorrows. Later, he went to Hebei, and they were separated from Lihua for more than two years. When they met again, they were already in Luoyang, and he had become the emperor of the Han Dynasty.
Although Lihua had never complained in front of him, he knew that Lihua was not very happy in the palace. At least in the palace, he had never seen Lihua smile like this.
Plop! Another stone splashed near him, splashing all over his face. At the same time, a laughter like a silver bell came.
Liu Xiu threw away the two spears in his hands, bent down, took out a stone from the bottom of the lake, and threw it towards Yin Lihua.
At this time, Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua, who were playing in the lake, were either emperors or nobles, but just an ordinary young couple who were very playful.
The guards all had their backs to the lake, each with a stern face, and their eyes were scanning the surroundings like lightning, as if they didn't hear the sound of the play behind them at all.
After playing in the water for a long time, Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua's clothes were almost soaked, and they walked out of the water. Xueying, Hongjian, and Li Xiu'e walked over quickly holding two pajamas.
Draped on both of them.
Pajamas are not clothes, but quilts. There was no such name as quilts in the Han Dynasty. One kind was called quilt and the other was called pajamas. Quilts were thick quilts with more stuffing inside, while pajamas were thin quilts with only thin layers.
layer.
Liu Xiu asked the three women to leave their pajamas, and then waved his hand to signal them to leave. After the three women left, he knelt down in front of Yin Lihua, picked up a clean silk handkerchief, and gently wiped her hair.
"Your Majesty, just let me do it myself."
"I'll help you wipe it!" Liu Xiu's mind drifted back to the past and murmured: "In the past, I helped Lihua wipe it."