The Empress Dowager and the Empress did not go to Luoyang in the end, and the Emperor set off and returned to Beijing.

As soon as Han Ruzi got the news, he immediately came out, with only more than a thousand people behind him.

He hopes for a war, but the upcoming war may far outlook. Compared with this, the dispute between the monarch and the minister has become insignificant.

The New Year is coming, and even if the people in the capital heard about the defeat in the West, they would not take it seriously. At most, they would use it as a topic of conversation after dinner, and were still busy purchasing New Year's goods and visiting relatives and friends.

After all, the emperor was the emperor. He could leave Luoyang in a hurry, pass Hangu Pass without stopping, but could not enter the capital casually. The ministers were looking forward to the emperor's return. When the emperor arrived in a hurry, they unanimously opposed the emperor's entry into the capital without a ritual.

"What will the people think? Is the Great Chu so panicked that the emperor didn't even care about the simplest majesty?" Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe led all civil and military officials out of the city to welcome the emperor, and advised the emperor to wait for two days, wait for the Luoyang chariot and the Yiwei arrived before holding a ceremony to enter the city.

Han Ruzi agreed. In fact, when he was still on the road, he had already reflected on whether his reaction was too intense.

But he needs to get first-hand news right away.

Han Ruzi stopped in the Northern Army camp. The Northern Army was stationed outside the Great Wall. The camp was empty and happened to become a temporary palace.

Most of the news from the Western Regions was passed to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Rites. The Ministry of War had not appointed a new secretary. The Minister of Rites Liu Zeqin followed the emperor and had not arrived in the capital yet. Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe appointed another minister of the Ministry of War to report the situation to the emperor.

"On December 13th, the Western Regions reported that there was a war in the West, but the statement was quite chaotic. The Sifangsi of the Ministry of Rites did not report it immediately. On December 17, 18th, and 193th, more news came from the Western Regions, all of which were passed to the Ministry of Rites, saying that several kings fled to Da Chu and begged to enter the pass. But this was just a letter written by a king in the Western Regions, without the seal of my Great Chu official, so it was not reported. In the following days, there were often news that conflicted with each other and the source was unclear. No matter whether they were to the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of War, they did not report it. Until December 22nd, Zhang Yin, the general of the Huju City of Kunlun Mountain, wrote a formal memorial with the Western Regions Protector Shen Jingshi, and finally explained the facts."

The memorial was placed on the table. Han Ruzi had already read it, but she still had many doubts in her heart.

The memorial is not very long, the main content is written by Zhang Yin.

It was about two months ago that Deng Cui led the Western Region coalition to meet the enemy and won both battles. While retreating, the Huns came from nowhere and suddenly joined the battlefield, causing the coalition to be defeated.

When Zhang Yin was writing the memorial, Deng Cui was still missing.

Before Huju City was fully built, Zhang Yin immediately stopped working, divided weapons to the craftsmen, and temporarily pieced together an army. He wrote a memorial, one was to inform the situation, and the other was to ask the court to provide support as soon as possible.

During the days when Han Ruzi was running all the way, a lot of news came from the Western Regions, with extremely complex sources, including officials from the Great Chu, princes and princes from various countries, and business trips. The statements were even more diverse. Deng Cui died and was captured at the same time, and the best news was that he had escaped back to Huju City safely.

The statement about the Huns is even more contradictory. One said that the entire Huns surrendered to the gods and ghosts, and the other said that it was only some of the Huns. The main force of the Huns did not dare to fight, so they had long since escaped.

As the emperor, Han Ruzi only listened most of the time. Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe presided over the court discussion. The Ministry of War had no master and the Minister of Rites had not arrived yet. Zhuo Ruhe appointed ministers to express their thoughts one by one according to their rank and status.

The first statement was Feng Ju, the censor of the Zuo Cha. "I think that General Deng's defeat is a pity, but there is no need to be too panic. The land between Kunlun Mountain and Da Chu is thousands of miles apart. The land in the Western Regions in the middle is barren and cannot support the passing of the army. This is true for the Chu army and the enemy. The Central Plains have never suffered invasion from the Western Regions for thousands of years, which is a clear proof. The Xiongnu is worthy of being vigilant. If the Xiongnu really surrenders to the enemy, the northern border of the Great Chu will be worrying. Fortunately, your Majesty has foresight, and the South and North armies have already stationed in the heavy cities outside the border. The most urgent task at the moment is to clarify the situation of the Xiongnu as soon as possible."

Most of the ministers spoke with Feng Ju. Some ministers felt that the Western Regions should not be given up and should provide support as soon as possible. Otherwise, the countries in the Western Regions would be disinterested and the Huju City would be built in vain.

The court debate lasted throughout the afternoon, and Han Ruzi dismissed all the ministers and left Zhuo Ruhe alone.

"The prime minister is all officials, and the prime minister should also talk about his own thoughts." Han Ruzi said.

The king and his minister had not seen each other for several months, and they had grudges in their hearts. At this time, they pretended that nothing had happened. Zhuo Ruhe bowed and bowed and said, "Your Majesty asked, I dare not refuse to reply, I dared to make a bold statement, and the Western Regions cannot be defended."

“Why?”

"The Western Regions are empty and the journey is long and arduous. The food and grass are left from Da Chu. After reaching the Western Regions, only 10% of the food and grass are left, and it is prolonged. If you don't have time to fight with the enemy, you will become food for the enemy."

"Have you given up on the thirty countries in the Western Regions and the soon-to-be-finished Huju City?"

Zhuo Ruhe bowed again, "Building a city in Kunlun Mountain is indeed the foresight of Your Majesty. If there are three to five years, even if there is only one year, the Great Chu army will continue to enter the Western Regions, relying on the Huju City and backing the Western Regions, you can fight with the enemy. Now the Huju City is an empty city. According to Zhang Yin, the Marquis of Piyuan, there is still a corner that has not been completed, but the enemy is already in the forefront. It is not that Da Chu does not want to save it, but it is really too late to save it."

Han Ruzi nodded and signaled Zhuo Ruhe to continue.

"The opinion of Zuocha Censor Feng is very reasonable. The Great Chu is unable to support the Western Regions, and it is difficult for the enemy to attack the Great Chu through the Western Regions. The threat still comes from the north."

"Is there any news outside the border?"

"It was the middle of winter and there was no sign of the Huns outside the Great Wall. It was probably not until tomorrow's spring and summer that the Huns would do something. The Great Chu still had three or five months to prepare. Instead of trying to protect the Western Regions, it would be better to recruit the Chu people in the Western Regions and instead strengthen the north."

"General Deng's life and death are unknown."

"If General Deng escaped the enemy by chance, he could return to the capital with Marquis Piyuan and the Western Regions Protector. If it was unfortunate, the Great Chu whip would be out of reach and there was no other way. Moreover, he went on a war without authorization and should be punished when he came back."

"Let's talk about it when the news is clear."

"Yes, your Majesty, no matter what, the New Year will be over first."

"Yeah, I'm working on the Prime Minister."

Zhuo Ruhe suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, "I am ashamed of Your Majesty."

"I am the emperor of the Great Chu. You are the prime minister of the Great Chu. You may have different opinions, but you are all thinking about the Great Chu. How can you feel ashamed?" Han Ruzi found several memorials from the table, "The extraterritorial riots should be when the monarch and ministers work together to overcome difficulties together. I hope Zhuoxiang will support him and serve the court for a few more years."

That was all the prime minister’s previous resignation memorial. Zhuo Ruhe kowtowed again, “I dare not refuse, I can only serve Your Majesty with courage.”

If the prime minister is retained, all officials will be retained. A crisis is considered to be a solution, but the root of the crisis is still there. Zhuo Ruhe did not stand up, but still knelt on the ground and asked, "Are external troubles arising, internal troubles still resolved as scheduled?"

Han Ruzi gave three months to ask the wealthy and noble families in the world to make private slaves, either become naturalized or released as the people, and the deadline was about to come.

"Let's talk about it later in the New Year." Han Ruzi said.

Zhuo Ruhe kowtowed and left.

Han Ruzi sat alone for a long time, and he was in a dilemma now. The strong Western enemies came too badly. If they didn’t start to prevent immediately, there would be great trouble. If they wanted to start as soon as possible, they had to rely on the support of ministers and families. The action to purify the court would have to be stopped, leaving a long-term worry.

He misses Yang Feng.

Although Yang Feng did not find "Chunyu Xiao" until the end, he never hesitated and always knew what he should do. No one else could compare with this. Even if Zhao Ruosu and others were still trusted by the emperor, they could not provide help at this time.

The Yijia behind him ran very quickly. The next day, the emperor was able to officially enter the city.

There were also a large number of followers on the road, especially Shufei Deng Yun, who walked slowly.

The first thing Han Ruzi did when she returned to the palace was to visit the two empress dowagers. The empress dowager Shangguan still complained about illness. Empress Dowager Cining acted more politely. There was a gap between the mother and son, which was even more difficult to resolve than the conflict between the monarch and the ministers.

Prince Qing grew up a lot and could already say simple words, but refused to call him "father" and hid in his grandmother's arms and never looked up.

Princess Rujun was very lively, lying on the small bed, dancing to her father.

Cui Xiaojun stood beside the emperor, looked at her daughter, and smiled and said, "Look at her eyes, everyone said it looks very much like His Majesty."

"How could I have such beautiful eyes?" Han Ruzi felt warm in her heart. She reached out and gently pinched the princess' cheek. The princess was not afraid, but laughed out loud.

"Thank you for your hard work outside." Cui Xiaojun looked at the emperor, feeling as much pity as he had for his daughter.

"It's okay." Han Ruzi was still staring at her daughter.

"Your Majesty...is it very difficult?"

"What's the embarrassment?" Han Ruzi turned her head in surprise.

"The internal and external troubles are together. I know that Your Majesty is a person who is unyielding and definitely does not want to give up any plan."

Han Ruzi was speechless.

"Your Majesty might as well start with the Cui family."

Han Ruzi was even more surprised, "Cui Family..."

"Your Majesty has set an example and cut off the royal family's gardens and palaces everywhere in the world. There are not many people who can follow it. That is, they still have doubts in their hearts, thinking that Your Majesty will not be consistent. The Wang and Cui family are both relatives, and the Wang family is weak. One person was convicted. The Cui family is strong, but he has not heard that Your Majesty will be punished. People in the world will feel unfair because of this and think that Your Majesty has a bias."

"I will not punish innocent people."

"The Cui family is not innocent. My father has told me that he colluded with others to find out about His Majesty's thoughts. He had already arranged many official positions for the Cui family for the previous plan."

Han Ruzi actually had a plan, but she felt that the time had not come, but she didn't expect the queen to bring it up.

"Does the queen understand how serious the crime of Grand Tutor Cui is?"

"I understand, so I have a request that the Cui family is willing to confess their guilt, but please ask His Majesty to be very kind and give the Cui family a way out."

Family affairs, state affairs, and world affairs are all together.

Han Ruzi made no decision, so she passed the New Year first.8
Chapter completed!