Chapter 109, Part Two: A Bond of Kindness
"Your subject requests permission to send troops to annihilate Shi Le!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sima Ye was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Good! Since the Yongjia era, we and the various Hu tribes have mainly focused on defense, but now we are finally taking the initiative to attack!"
After saying that, he looked at Liu Jun cautiously and asked, "I wonder how many cities you intend to capture this time?"
Liu Jun raised an eyebrow. "In the past, Your Majesty would often urge me to go on a campaign and fight Shi Le to the death. Why is it that now that I am finally going, Your Majesty is hesitant and timid?"
“What do you mean by being timid and hesitant?” Sima Ye casually picked up a ruyi scepter and tapped him with it. “In the past, I was young and ignorant, unaware of the hardships of state affairs, and thus acted rashly. After being emperor for so many years, how could I still be so naive? You suddenly chose this time; is there any news from Shi Le?”
“That’s right,” Liu Jun smiled. “I heard he was seriously ill before the New Year. Although he recovered after the spring, his health has been damaged. He’s getting on in years, and he’s not as healthy as he used to be.”
"And what about his generals?" Sima Ye asked again.
Liu Jun patiently explained, “What Shi Le lacks now is not generals, but commanders. Shi Hu was originally capable, but he was killed by me. Now, his heir Shi Hong is weak and incompetent, and he is fond of Confucianism and literature. How can he stabilize the court? Once Shi Le dies, the Jie people will surely be in chaos. Zhang Bin is dead, and most of the original Youyun Sixteen Riders are old. Cheng Xia, Shi Kan, and other relatives of the emperor are not the same as Ge Liang and Guan Zhong.”
"Furthermore," Liu Jun, seeing Sima Ye listening intently, continued, "after the Battle of Luoyang, although Shi Le strengthened his army and allowed his people to recuperate, he still faced frequent incursions from the Xianbei in the north and constant raids from Xi Jian and Liu Dan in the south, making his situation difficult. Moreover, he did not fully control Ji and Yan provinces. In contrast, Your Majesty holds Guanzhong and Hanzhong, Yuzhou and Jingxiang, most of Yan province, a small portion of Ji province, and nominally also Liang province and Jiangnan..."
Sima Ye's lips curled into a smile, then fell back down. "Another war of annihilation. You may not return for another time..."
“Once the world is pacified, Your Majesty will see my aging face every day. Perhaps soon your beauty will fade and your love will wane, and you will grow tired of seeing me.” Liu Jun said jokingly. Seeing the slight anger in Sima Ye’s eyes, he said slowly, “Your Majesty, rest assured, I will not only win a great victory but also return unharmed.”
Sima Ye wrapped his arms around his neck and buried his face in his chest. "Shi Le is not long-lived and is not a cause for concern. Reclaiming lost territory is not something that can be accomplished in a day. You are the commander of an army, and you cannot afford to make any mistakes."
"With Your Majesty guarding the rear, I have no worries about the army's supplies and provisions," Liu Jun said sincerely.
Sima Ye took a deep breath and raised his head. "Very well. The most important matters of state are sacrifice and war. You know how to deploy troops. I have ordered the Secretariat to take full responsibility for the provisions and supplies. Tomorrow I will go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to pray for your well-being. In addition, regardless of whether there are any clues or not, the matter of your assassination attempt today must be thoroughly investigated by the Magistrate of Chang'an."
Liu Jun also solemnly replied, "Your subject obeys the decree."
Although there has been no large-scale military campaign in recent years, there has been constant harassment from all sides. Therefore, while cultivating the land, the training of troops has never been neglected. Liu Jun first took stock of the troops under his direct control, and then began to write letters to Liu Dan and others to inform them in advance. Finally, he issued a formal edict through the Secretariat.
At the same time, Liu Jun also asked Sima Ye to issue an edict to Jiangdong, in the name of the emperor, to mobilize troops to jointly attack Zhao. It was unknown whether Wang Dao and others would send one or two thousand to appease the court.
After everything was settled, Liu Jun returned to his headquarters. After a moment's thought, he ordered Lu Jing to summon his three sons, along with the rest of his nephews and nieces in Chang'an, to Huaiyuan Hall.
Now that his brothers Liu Zun, Liu Yan, and Liu Yi have died in battle, only Liu Yin, Liu Qi, and Liu Shu remain. Liu Shu is in Yongzhou, and Liu Qi is first in Liangzhou and then in Jiangzhou. Therefore, Liu Jun simply brought all his sons and nephews to Chang'an Prefecture to be raised together.
In terms of literature, the family invited renowned scholars and experts; in terms of military affairs, the family had many battle-hardened generals who personally taught them riding and archery. As a result, the Liu family's children grew up one after another, showing signs of flourishing prosperity.
Liu Yan's sons: Liu Fu, Liu Yi, and Liu Liang.
Liu Zun's son, Liu Yuan.
Liu Yi's sons, Liu Gang and Liu Wen.
Liu Yin's sons, Liu Ji and Liu She.
Liu Qi's sons were Liu Wei, Liu Yun, Liu Zhi, and Liu Jue.
Liu Ren was the son of Liu Shu.
Apart from Liu Wei, who was the eldest son and accompanied his father in Jiangzhou, and Liu Ren, who was still an infant, all the other sons, along with their own sons Liu Yong, Liu Liang, and Liu Qin, stood in the hall, crowding it full.
"I intend to attack the Jiehu; who is willing to accompany me on this expedition?"
Before the words were even finished, almost all the young men knelt down, shouting, "I'm willing to go!"
Liu Jun's eagle swept over them one by one, revealing their hesitation, determination, anger, and cowardice.
“Liu Yuan, Liu Gang, and Liu Wen, your fathers all died at the hands of Shi Le. If I don’t take you with me, it would be against filial piety. But if anything happens to you on the battlefield, how can I face my brothers in the afterlife?” Liu Jun said in a deep voice. “Yuan, you are my only son. Although I can take you with me this time, you must stay in the central command tent. Gang and Wen, only one of you can go.”
Liu Gang pressed down on his younger brother, whose face was full of dissatisfaction, and said, "As the eldest son, I am willing to avenge our father and share our uncle's burdens!"
"Good!" Liu Jun looked at him with expectant eyes, "He's a son of the Liu family!"
He then looked at the remaining men and said in an unyielding tone, “No matter which one of you goes to the army, you must remember that you are sent to the army for the sake of your family and country, to avenge your family and country, not to spend your days leisurely and collect military merits! If I find out that you have misbehaved, violated military discipline, or disobeyed orders, I will personally beat you to death with sticks without anyone else having to lift a finger, and clean house!”
"only!"
Liu Yong glanced at his brothers beside him, then stepped forward: "Father, may I ask about my two brothers..."
Liu Jun said calmly, "Since he is my own son, he will naturally accompany the army. What, does anyone not want to go?"
Before Liu Yong could speak, Liu Qin muttered in a very low voice, "As your son, all you need to do is have ears. What's there to say about wanting or not wanting?"
Liu Jun had excellent hearing, but he didn't want to waste time arguing with him. He simply grabbed the pen rest from the table and threw it at him. "Second son, you are the heir apparent, serving in the central army with A-Yuan. Eldest son, you are the eldest son, so go to the front army to serve. As for you..."
His gaze swept over Liu Qin's high nose and deep-set eyes. "Go find Governor Ji. He has plenty of Youzhou cavalry from your mother's clan there. Don't learn the recklessness and destructiveness of barbarians every day."
"Let's go and learn from their bravery and skill in battle!"
“Father, Yuan Gui did not mean that…” The words were too harsh, and Liu Liang, who was usually close to him, immediately began to plead for leniency.
Liu Jun interrupted him with a smile, "Alright, I'm not some kind of golden word, so what I said is fine. There's no imperial recorder or official here, so can't a father say a few words to his son? He's been spoiled by you."
Liu Qin didn't seem to care much, and smiled at his worried brothers, "I obey!"
Liu Jun said to Lu Jing, "Let them make more 'Liu' banners."
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