Chapter 68: The Old Father

After several months, I finally returned to Chang'an, ten miles away from the city, and saw the crowds greeting on both sides of the road. Someone came to report, and the military advisor came to greet him in person.

I was shocked, jumped off my horse and walked forward quickly. Sure enough, I could see the elegant figure at the long pavilion - a long shirt with a feather fan swaying gently. I was always relaxed and confident, and there was always an unpredictable smile on my lips. One of the souls of Shu Han, the God of Wisdom in the mouth of the people, was right in front of me, but the gentleman became thinner and thinner.

"Sir!" I knocked down with my head, and I was almost so excited that I couldn't speak.

Kong Ming helped me up with both hands, and waves flashed in his eyes, as if sad and happy: "Your Highness, please get up quickly. Zhuge Liang, the minister, was ordered by the king, and led all officials to welcome the prince's triumphant victory."

Everyone answered in unison: "Welcome the prince to triumph!"

I saluted repeatedly: "Elders, sirs, Liu Chan really dared not take this kind of love. The victory of Liangzhou is actually due to the heroic spirit of the three armies. The soldiers used their lives. General Ma, General Wei and others worked hard to kill the enemy. General Huang and others even stained the battlefield with blood. The horses were wrapped in corpses. Liu Chan dared not be greedy for merit."

For a moment, Ma Chao and Zhang Fei also arrived, and everyone held hands and talked. I looked at Kong Ming's hands carefully and said, "Sir, you have lost weight again. If you should take a rest, don't work hard like this."

Kong Ming smiled and said, "Isn't this the case for the prince?"

I said unhappy: "Sir, don't call me prince, okay? I like to hear you call me Adou."

The gentleman said gently: "The courtesy of the superiors and subordinates should not be abolished. The prince is the prince. If you are accustomed to it or not, you should also get used to it. In addition, I heard that when you command the generals, you regard yourself as a junior, and call Meng Qi and others, even Huang Quan and Yan Pu as uncles. This style cannot be long. In the military formation, the first priority is to name the name, so-called unrighteous words will not be smooth."

I begged for mercy and said, "Yes, yes, sir, I have recorded it. I wonder what my father has to give me to come here this time?"

"This, the king will tell you what you want to listen to."

I clearly saw that my husband's face turned dark. What happened?

Chang'an City is much tighter than when we left. Although it is far inferior to the capital of all countries in the Western Han Dynasty, it is already a hard-to-conquer city and prison. There are more people in the city and there is also a happy face, unlike the panic loss of our army when it first arrived. According to Kong Ming, this autumn is a bumper harvest. Although the stockpiling of food and grass is not too much and it is difficult to support large-scale formations, the spring famine next year can still be dealt with next year.

My father's Hanzhong Palace occupied the original Jingzhao Palace. As for the palaces in Zhangchangyang, my father didn't even go there. This was what I heard later. I was very surprised. With my father's life, why did he remain indifferent when he reached the center of the world?

Ma Chao and others went directly to the inn and had to wait until their father summoned them personally tomorrow before they could go back to their own homes. This is also the meaning of first country and then home.

But for me, the family and country are one. Meeting my father in advance is both a family matter and a state matter. I took the guards to the Hanzhong Palace accompanied by Kong Ming and others. When I arrived in front of the palace, I saw my father. He actually stood at the door of the palace and came to greet me in person. However, the first thing I felt was not excitement, but sadness. At that moment, I deeply felt that the monarch who had once been powerful in the world was old.

After he was seriously ill, he lost weight a lot and looked wider. When the wind blew, the white hair on his head was fluttering. He tried hard to stand straight and mighty, but it was even more like an old bamboo.

The bitter and astringent bitterness surged from my heart. The original fear and doubt flew out of the nine heavens, replaced by deep sadness and guilt. At that time, I forgot to kneel down.

We stood like this and looked at each other. The bright sunshine shone into the gate, as if countless elves were dancing behind my father. The wind blew from the north, soaking the coldness, blew my father's robe and my father's white hair. He looked at me, his lips twitched slightly, but he didn't say a word.

After a long time, I shouted, "Father!" Tears flowed down. I knelt down a few steps before my knees, walked up to him, raised my head and shouted, "Father, my child is back, are you okay?"

My father looked at me silently, as if he was a little confused, as if he had recognized me, and as if he could not recognize me at all. I looked up at him uneasy and calmed down the tears in my eyes. Finally, my father patted my head: "Adou, you have grown up."

I cried, "Father, my child is unfilial and has been away from you for so long. Fortunately, both Yongliang states have been calmed down. My father's health has gradually become increasingly steadily. He can control the universe, regain the yin and yang, and suppress the treacherous and slander for the Han Dynasty, and restore my country."

My father's tears fell, and he hugged my head. He cried, "Where is the country of the great man? Your Majesty died and was killed by Cao Pi! Cao Pi seized power and called himself the Emperor. From then on, the great man was gone. What else can I control the universe and redeem Yin and Yang? My lifelong repatriation and all my wishes have turned into dust, what else can I do!"

Is the crying person in front of me my father? I was inexplicably shocked.

I have imagined meeting my father thousands of times, and the guilt in my heart made me feel that I might face a thunderstorm; I also imagined that my father would laugh and help me up and show off to the ministers; I even imagined that because of my excessive excellence and excessive power, I might be removed from my military power and go with Ma Chao to organize the Liangzhou archives. But I never expected that my father would cry in front of me, regardless of his image.

Father, why are you, who have always been strong, so weak to this point today? Just Cao Pi usurped the throne, can you lose your composure? Can time really change a person?

In short, Cao Pi should have usurped the throne. But in my heart, I never took this matter seriously, because for me who knows history, it seemed like a natural thing and nothing fuss. At this time, I realized that I had ignored its importance. The powerful dynasty in the past that built the Great Wall to expel the Huns and sank the Western Regions was actually an extremely important position in the hearts of many people. Whether it was Cao Cao's wielding the emperor to command the princes, or his father's robbery, he acted in the name of the Emperor of Han. Now, the sky above his head was gone and the country was destroyed, what are we still?

While comforting my father who was crying, I thought: Should I help my father to the throne of the emperor?

In fact, the news about my father was not accurate at this time. Emperor Xian did not die at this time, but was just deposed as the Lord of Shanyang. But do I need to tell others?

The gentleman came over and gently persuaded, "King, the prince is back. This is a happy event. Let's enter the mansion first and then discuss the matter. What do you think."

Hearing Kong Ming's words, my father nodded, stood up and walked in, completely ignoring that I was still kneeling on the ground - he did not let me get up.

Kong Ming smiled bitterly and helped me up.

I bit my lower lip in pain: "How could my father do this?"

Kong Ming said: "It's not always like this. Most of the time, the king is still awake." So, my father's insanity is often the case. Is it because he is old or is he bedridden for too long?

When he arrived, he seemed to have forgotten everything that had just been outside the mansion. He looked at me happily, and his eyes were very much like his father looking at his children, not the king looking at his ministers.

He asked me, "You have suffered in Xiliang."

"It's not hard, my son went to war on behalf of his father, and the military and civilians supported him, and the people fed a pot of slurry to welcome the king's army. Although there were small enemies, they finally succeeded by relying on the reputation of his father and the soldiers' lives."

The father smiled: "You kid, you are still making a fuss with me. I have fought a war for a lifetime, so I don't know what the front line looks like. You have grown up, it's great."

Taking advantage of my father's sanity, I continued to say: "According to the deployment of my father, Liangzhou is decided, Huang Quan and others guard Xiliang, and it is expected that they will be able to achieve great governance soon. However, in this military use, Huang Hansheng and Zhou Cang were killed in battle. The detailed list of soldiers who died in the Western Expedition is here. The hero has left and needs to be comforted by the orphans and weak. Those who have not left will be disappointed." Then he submitted the list.

The father smiled bitterly and said, "You're money, I didn't mention anything when I came back, so I asked me for money first. Kongming, you're going to worry again."

The gentleman said: "I dare not to care for the orphans and the young, it is the responsibility of the weak minister. Liang is already prepared."

The father said, "If it weren't for you, I really don't know how many days I could support you. I'm old and lacking energy. I don't know when I will talk nonsense. Maybe one day I will kill my sons and you will stop me."

My father's joke was really not funny, so I returned from a great victory, but I was embarrassed twice in a row.

The gentleman said, "Where is the king who says? The king just worked too hard. After a good rest, the king will be as heroic as before."

"You just use good words to coax me. When I get old, I don't know how long I can live. No one can beat the knife of fate. The mighty Jiuzhou, the brave and powerful Yun Chang, died when he said he died. Fa Xiaozhi, who was so angry at Hanzhong, such a bad temper, said he would go when he was sick and ignorant, leaving only a note of leaving; Mi Zizhong (Mi Zhu), Sun Gongyou (Sun Qian), Jian Xian and (Jian Yong), who were in the same boat in trouble many times, and those who helped each other in times of crisis, were different in the blink of an eye; this time it was Huang Hansheng again... Alas, Dou'er could pacify Yongliang, how could I not grow old?"

I suddenly heard me and quickly knelt down on my knees: "Father, in the battle between my son and minister, the general is the unity of the general in the front, and the master is the coordinated control of the rear. After all, it depends on the kindness of my father. Otherwise, how could I achieve such a great achievement with my son Ludun? Although the good minister has gone, my father is still there, and my husband is still there, Guan Ping, Zhang Bao, Guan Xing, Jiang Wei, Zhuge Qiao, these are all outstanding people for the time. My father is successor, so my father does not have to worry about this."

My father seemed to have not heard me and ignored me. He continued to say: "Now, Your Majesty is gone, I am incompetent. I can't save Yun Chang, and Your Majesty. I hate it!"
Chapter completed!