Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Liyang.

It is located on the north bank of the Wei River, east of Xianyang.

Liu Ying and his entourage entered Guanzhong, traveled for a while, crossed the Wei River, and finally arrived at Liu Bang's capital, Liyang.

During this period, Xiao He had not yet repaired Chang'an, and Liu Bang had pacified the Three Qin regions and established his capital in Liyang.

"This is so outdated." Liu Ying, riding on horseback, opened his eyes wide and looked at Liyang.

Liyang is not a large city, with a circumference of about twenty li, roughly the size of a prefectural city in Shandong. The city walls are high and thick, making it very sturdy, but it is extremely old.

This is quite different from Liu Ying's expectation of Liu Bang's capital.

"This city is over a hundred years old, how can it not be like this?" Liu Bang glanced at Liu Ying.

"More than a hundred years?" Liu Ying was unfamiliar with Liyang.

"Liyang was the old capital of Qin, built by Duke Xian of Qin. Later, Shang Yang's reforms succeeded, and Xianyang was renovated. Duke Xiao of Qin moved the capital there, and Liyang became the old capital of Qin." Liu Bang explained, "It has been more than 170 years since then."

Duke Xian of Qin was the father of Duke Xiao of Qin.

Although Liyang is old, it is very sturdy, which shows that a lot of effort was put into its construction.

The people of Qin truly had quality issues ingrained in their very being.

We passed through the city gate and entered Liyang City.

Liu Ying discovered that Liyang City still implemented the neighborhood system, with crisscrossing roads dividing the city into square blocks, each block being a neighborhood.

The ground was clean and dry, even better than Xiayi.

"These houses are so new!" Liu Ying noticed that the houses in the city were brand new, recently built and not very old. Compared with the old city walls, the contrast was too strong, they were completely different.

"When Xiang Yu entered Guanzhong, he carried out a massacre, and Xianyang was reduced to ashes. The fire raged for three months." Liu Bang gritted his teeth and cursed, "How could Liyang, the former capital of the Qin Dynasty, be spared? It was burned to the ground in the fire."

"Did you fix it?" Liu Ying asked Liu Bang.

"That traitor Sima!" Liu Bang gritted his teeth, his murderous intent directed at Sima Xin, who had just betrayed him: "That scoundrel Xiang Yu has enfeoffed that traitor Sima as King of Sai, ruling over the area east of Xianyang to the Yellow River, with his capital at Liyang."

Liu Ying understood: Sima Xin's capital was in Liyang, so naturally he wanted to rebuild it from the ruins.

The city wall could not have been reduced to ashes in the fire. All that was needed was to clear the ruins and rebuild the houses, which resulted in the striking contrast between the old and new that we see today.

"I will pacify the Three Qin regions. If that traitor Sima surrenders to me, I will naturally accept Liyang with a smile." The anger in Liu Bang's eyes did not subside.

The royal palace was located in the north of the city. Liu Ying and his entourage followed the main road straight to the palace.

The royal palace was surrounded by a high and thick city wall, guarded by Han soldiers dressed in iron armor and carrying iron swords, who were on high alert.

"No wonder Xiao He was stationed here!" Liu Ying thought to himself, praising the place in his mind.

The Han soldiers guarding the palace gates, upon seeing Liu Bang's carriage, hurriedly paid their respects and allowed the group to enter. Others rushed off to report to Xiao He.

The palace was newly built, and it lacked both in terms of layout and architectural skills, appearing rather hasty.

Just as they arrived at the palace gate, a man in his forties, dressed in brocade robes, wearing a scholar's cap, and with a sword at his left hip, came galloping towards them.

"Xiao He, I've missed you so much!" Liu Bang lifted the carriage curtain, climbed out of the carriage, stood on the carriage shaft, saw Xiao He, jumped down from the carriage, and ran towards Xiao He, shouting from afar.

"This is Xiao He?" Liu Ying was particularly curious about this head steward and stared at him closely.

Xiao He had fair skin and was full of energy. He exuded an air of authority in his every move, unlike Liu Bang, who was rather unruly.

"Greetings, King of Han!" Xiao He clasped his hands together and bowed.

His voice was loud, powerful, and magnetic, with a strong rhythm in his speech.

"Xiao He, no need for formalities!" Liu Bang rushed over, took Xiao He's hands in his own, and said with a smile, "We are very close friends, there's no need for such formalities."

"King of Han, do not speak of the past," Xiao He insisted.

"What's the past? Friendship is friendship." Liu Bang held Xiao He's hand tightly, insisting on reminiscing about their friendship.

Xiao He had no choice but to comply.

Although Liu Bang came from humble beginnings and was a rogue, he was also a social butterfly. He managed to become close friends with Xiao He. Xiao He was the chief clerk of Pei County, in charge of the promotion and demotion of officials—equivalent to the head of the county's personnel bureau. In terms of both status and position, he was far superior to Liu Bang. The fact that the two could become friends speaks volumes about Liu Bang's exceptional social skills.

Moreover, Xiao He was genuinely good to Liu Bang. When Liu Bang sent his disciple to Mount Li, everyone saw him off and gave him three coins, but Xiao He alone gave him five coins.

This touched Liu Bang deeply. Years later, after he became emperor, he still brought up the matter, saying, "Xiao He gave me an extra two coins back then, and today I will repay your kindness by granting you an extra two thousand households."

"Uncle, Uncle!" Liu Le popped out of the carriage, his face full of excitement, and shouted at Xiao He.

"Liu Le?" Xiao He had a good eye and recognized Liu Le at a glance. He was overjoyed, shook off Liu Bang's hand, and quickly came over. He reached out his hands, picked Liu Le up, rubbed her head, and smiled: "It's been four years since I last saw you. You've grown so much."

Four years ago, when Xiao He followed Liu Bang from Pei County to compete for the throne, Liu Le was only five years old. Four years had passed, and Liu Le had changed considerably, yet Xiao He still recognized her at a glance.

"Uncle, I missed you so much," Liu Le said with a grin, hugging Xiao He's neck.

"Uncle missed you too." Xiao He kissed Liu Le on the cheek, his expression full of affection, then turned to look at Liu Ying: "Is this Liu Ying?"

"Greetings, Uncle." Liu Ying jumped off his horse, clasped his hands in greeting to Xiao He.

"You've grown so much." Xiao He put Liu Le down and gently rubbed Liu Ying's head with his left hand, showing great affection.

"Greetings, Prime Minister." Xiahou Ying dismounted from the carriage, clasped his hands in greeting to Xiao He.

"Xiahou Ying, no need for that." Xiao He was very easygoing.

"Thank you, Prime Minister." After exchanging greetings, Xiahou Ying quickly stepped forward, stood before Xiao He, widened his eyes, looked Xiao He up and down, and smiled, "Not bad, no white hair yet."

"Xiahou Ying, what do you mean by that?" Xiao He asked, puzzled.

"You're in charge of all the government affairs, I thought you were about to die from exhaustion," Xiahou Ying said with a grin.

"How about you help me share the cost?" Xiao He grinned, a hint of malice in his eyes.

"Forget it, you know me. I'm only good at driving, I can't do this kind of thing." Xiahou Ying was startled.

Xiahou Ying and Xiao He were both clerks in Pei County, but their positions were vastly different. Xiao He was the chief clerk, while Xiahou Ying was a coachman, responsible for driving and transporting officials who came to Pei County on official business.

This is how he met Liu Bang, and whenever they passed by the Sishui Pavilion, he would boast to Liu Bang. Over time, the two became close friends and talked about everything.

Sometimes, they even play pranks.

Liu Bang made a mistake and injured Xiahou Ying.

This was reported to the authorities, and Liu Bang was arrested, interrogated, and subjected to severe torture.

According to Qin law, this was a private fight. As everyone knows, Qin law's prohibition of private fights had reached an abnormal level. If this were confirmed, Liu Bang's future would be ruined, and his generation would be finished.

Even Liu Bang's survival was in question.

Therefore, Liu Bang stubbornly refused to admit it.

Unable to get Liu Bang to talk, they arrested Xiahou Ying and interrogated him under torture. Xiahou Ying was a loyal and tough man, and he refused to confess. He was severely tortured for over a year, but still remained silent.

The Qin officials believed that since the torture had been carried out to such an extent and neither of them confessed, there must be no truth to the matter, so they released them.

Liu Bang thus escaped a calamity.

Because of this incident, Liu Bang regarded Xiahou Ying as a brother in life and death. In addition, Xiahou Ying was a skilled driver, so he became his personal driver and had to drive the carriage wherever he went.

When they fled from Pengcheng, Xiahou Ying was required to drive the carriage; when they seized the army at Xiuwu, Xiahou Ying was required to drive the carriage.

"Let's go in." Liu Bang held Xiao He's hand in his right hand and Xiahou Ying's hand in his left, his face full of smiles, and headed towards the palace.

Liu Le and Liu Ying followed behind.

Upon entering the palace, instead of going to the central court hall, they went to the government office on the right, which was where Xiao He conducted official business.

The room was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

The passageway served as a dividing line, with short tables set up on both sides. Behind these tables, officials were on official business. When they saw Liu Bang and his entourage enter, they quickly stood up to greet them.

Liu Bang waved his hand, telling them to continue their official duties.

Liu Bang pulled Xiao He and Xia He straight to the long table in front of them. This was the long table that Xiao He used for official business, and it was filled with bamboo slips and wooden tablets, all neatly arranged without a trace of disorder.

Liu Bang strode behind the long table, lifted the hem of his robe, and knelt down. He picked up a ceramic bowl, used a wooden ladle to scoop hot water from the ceramic pot on the stove beside him, poured it into the bowl to rinse it, and then poured it into the ceramic pot next to him to collect water. He then ladled hot soup into the bowl, held it with both hands, and handed it to Xiao He, smiling as he said, "Prime Minister, you've worked hard. Have some hot soup."

Xiao He refused, staring wide-eyed at Liu Bang: "Speak, what do you want this time?"