At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 137 The three armies are wiped out, Gai Xun keeps the festival

The argument that suddenly broke out between the two men frightened all the officials present.

They did not expect that Captain Zhou, who had always been humble and easy to talk to, would actually choose to be with the new Liangzhou governor.

But after listening to the conversation between the two, and thinking about Zhou Qi's past achievements, most of these county officials chose to trust Zhou Qi.

But now in a time of war, the governor's order is a military order.

Although he could not deal with Zhou Qi, a military officer with a rank of two thousand shi, officials with a rank of less than [-] shi were still quite wary of the authority of the governor.

After Zhou Qi was imprisoned, Yang Yong set his sights on Gai Xun and said solemnly: "Can Gai Chief Shi be willing to lead troops to rescue the Qiang Colonel?"

Gai Xun hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.

The cell was clean and tidy, and the jailer's attitude was very kind.

Even if a high-ranking official like Zhou Qi was imprisoned, he would not be offended by these jailers.

of course.

Presumably any jailer would become humble when seeing Dian Wei and Xu Chu who were tall and armed.

Zhou Qi didn't deliberately make things difficult for these jailers by relying on his status, but treated everyone very kindly.

"The governor himself is not knowledgeable in military affairs, but he wants to put the captain in prison. It is simply unreasonable!"

Xu Chuhu's eyes widened, and he was obviously filled with anger.

Zhou Qi was sitting in the cell, but he didn't have the vigor to argue with Yang Yong just now, instead he seemed quite relaxed and comfortable.

"Captain, aren't you angry?"

Seeing Zhou Qi's appearance, Dian Wei couldn't help asking.

Zhou Qi sighed and said: "So what if you are angry, what if you are not angry?"

"The situation in Liangzhou is so chaotic, the three governors sent by the imperial court have no knowledge of military affairs at all."

"The so-called incompetence of one general exhausts the entire army to death."

"If the imperial court had sent a governor who was proficient in military affairs earlier, the situation would not have reached this level."

In the beginning, Zhou Qi had the ability to change the situation in Liangzhou.

However, he was hampered by others, including the governor of Liangzhou. He did not have the right to lead troops alone, so what could he do if he had a gap in his chest?

Sometimes, he still misses when he led the army under Zhao Qian.

Although Zhao Qian's ability in commanding troops was not very good, at least the other party was willing to delegate power and had great trust in Zhou Qi.

It is precisely because of this trust and decentralization that Zhou Qi can flex his muscles.

But since he came to Liangzhou, although he was nominally the captain of Hanyang County, he was able to take charge of the entire county's troops.

However, there is an assassin who is suppressing him, but he can't do anything, isn't it aggrieved?

Dian Wei and Xu Chu were silent when they heard the words.

At this moment, footsteps came.

The three of them turned around and saw Gai Xun, who was walking towards the cell with a sad face.

"gentlemen."

Even though Zhou Qi had a higher official position than Gai Xun, he always remained respectful. Therefore, when he saw Gai Xun coming, he immediately stood up to greet him.

Gai Xun looked at Zhou Qi and asked, "Why is Ziyi so abnormal today?"

Zhou Qi was slightly shocked when he heard this.

According to Zhou Qi's past personality, he belonged to the kind of capable, humble and rather stubborn type, and it is basically unlikely to turn his face against the governor in person.

Others may not be able to tell, but Gai Xun sensed Zhou Qi's abnormality.

Zhou Qi showed a wry smile on his face and said: "The situation in Liangzhou has become so chaotic, but I am overwhelmed and unable to do anything. I hope the imperial court can send a truly capable governor."

"I never thought that the three governors in succession would not know anything about military matters."

"If this continues, the rebels' strength will inevitably continue to expand, and eventually they may become uncontrollable."

Having said this, Zhou Qi looked at Gai Xun and said: "This time the rebels surrounded Xia Yu, the captain of the Qiang Protector, it is obviously a trap. I must be able to see it, sir."

"Wouldn't it be foolish for the governor to ask us to go to the rescue even though he knew it was a trap?"

When Gai Xun heard this, he was silent for a while, and then sighed: "There may be something hidden here."

Zhou Qi's expression moved slightly and asked, "Sir, please elaborate."

Seeing that the cell was very clean, Gai Xun led Zhou Qi to sit on the bed together and began to talk.

"You can tell from Ziyi, who is Xia Yu, the new Qiang Guard Captain?"

Zhou Qi said: "This man is Taiwei Duan's former hero. He accompanied Taiwei Duan in the northern and southern expeditions and defeated countless enemies. It can be said that he has achieved great military exploits."

Gai Xun asked again: "How did Taiwei Duan die?"

When Zhou Qi heard this, he immediately fell silent.

Zhou Qi single-handedly handled Duan Jiong's case, and was given a plan to pacify the Qiang by Duan Jiong. He watched Duan Jiong die in prison.

Duan Jiong, who had great military exploits, ended up like this because of party strife.

When Gai Xun saw that Zhou Qi was silent, he immediately thought to himself and said: "Although Taiwei Duan has made great achievements in battle, he turned to the eunuchs for promotion. Xia Yu, as a former general under Duan Taiwei, is naturally a pawn of the eunuchs."

"Due to party disputes in the past, the eunuchs secretly encouraged His Majesty to send troops to attack Xianbei. He ordered Xia Yu, Tian Yan, and Zang Min to lead tens of thousands of troops, advance in three directions, and go more than [-] miles beyond the Great Wall to annihilate Xianbei."

"In the end, the three generals fell into a heavy siege, and the entire army of tens of thousands of fine cavalry was wiped out. The three fled back with a few cavalry each, and were all demoted to common people."

Speaking of this, Gai Xun's mouth was full of sighs.

This war took place in the sixth year of Xiping, not long after Zhou Qi traveled through time.

This was also an extremely rare defeat for the Han Dynasty in foreign wars. For the sake of face, the imperial court did not publicize this matter widely, and there were not even many historical records.

Therefore, Zhou Qi didn't know much about this battle, he only knew that it was true.

Gai Xun's next words gave Zhou Qi a clearer understanding of the Han army's tragic defeat.

Speaking of this war, it is actually related to Duan Jiong.

Duan Jiong had been dismissed from office due to illness. Xia Yu and Tian Yan, as Duan Jiong's old tribe, began to prosper because they were attached to the eunuchs.

But after there was no war, and the backer was dismissed from office, the life of the two of them in the court became more and more difficult.

After Tian Yan committed a crime and was punished, he also wanted to fight a war and make achievements.

At that time, Xianbei was growing in power in the north and had been marching south to invade the border for many years, so the two bribed the eunuch Wang Fu and requested to go out to conquer Xianbei.

This is fine.

After Wang Fu heard the two men's suggestions, he felt that this was an opportunity to strengthen his own party members. If he could really go out to annihilate Xianbei, it would be enough to leave a name in history, and it would also be good for the eunuch's reputation.

The emperor Liu Hong happened to kill the king of Bohai at that time, and also exterminated the whole family of the empress of Song Dynasty.

At this time, attacking Xianbei in the north could not only divert internal conflicts, but also expand territory and go down in history.

Ever since, the emperor insisted on launching this war against Xianbei regardless of everyone's opposition.
Although the scholar-bureaucrat group felt that Xia Yu and Tian Yan were unlikely to achieve great feats, they were also worried that they would be able to defeat Xianbei and boost the eunuchs' reputation.

After much deliberation, they finally introduced their own spokesperson Zang Min and asked him to lead the troops out of the border with Xia Yutian Yan.

It is estimated that Xia Yu and Tian Yan were worried that Zang Min would come and take credit for their achievements, so they simply suggested that the troops be divided into three groups, and each lead their troops to attack the large Xianbei tribe.

Then, the whole army was wiped out.

When Zhou Qi heard this, he couldn't help but secretly clicked his tongue.

Good guy.

There are not many soldiers and horses in the imperial court, and if the soldiers are divided into three groups and go out for more than [-] miles to attack the thieves, isn't that a proper way to deliver food to the Xianbei people?
Tens of thousands of elites were defeated in the north, but it cannot be said that these people are not good at fighting.

It can only be said that they died unjustly, due to party disputes in the court, and due to the great success of the eunuchs and the emperor.

Perhaps it was precisely because of that tragic defeat that Wang Fu completely fell out of favor with the emperor, and Yang Qiu wanted to arrest Wang Fu and destroy his entire family.

Many things that happened in the late Han Dynasty are actually inextricably linked, which can be described as a link.

Logically speaking, after Xia Yu's disastrous defeat, his political career may have come to an end.

Wang Fu and Cao Jie died one after another. After Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others came to power, they found that they had no foreign aid to lead the army.

So ever.

Xia Yu, who was originally abandoned, once again had a chance to take off.

It's a pity that he failed to use the opportunity given to him. In the end, he was besieged by the rebels on the grassland and his life was in danger.

If Xia Yu hadn't been the general recommended by Zhang Rang and others, he would have died. Even if the whole army was wiped out, Yang Yong might not have sent troops to rescue him.

However, Xia Yu was a general recommended by Zhang Rang and other eunuchs.

If he was killed by the rebels so easily, the eunuchs recommended by Zhang Rang would also be jointly and severally responsible.

It is impossible for them to take the blame for this.

If Yang Yong didn't do anything, then Zhang Rang and others would definitely slander, saying that the governor of Liangzhou sat and watched the friendly army besieged, but did not send troops to rescue, and then threw the pot on Yang Yong's head.

Yang Yong is not stupid, he knows the risks involved.

Therefore, even if he knew it was a trap set by the rebels, he would send people to rescue it with great fanfare.

He didn't really want to rescue Xia Yu, he just wanted to block the eunuch's mouth and prevent the other party from throwing the blame on him in the end.

After all.

No matter Zhou Qi or Gai Xun, or those soldiers who were sent to rescue Xia Yu, they were just victims of political struggle.

The reason why Yang Yong targeted Gai Xun in this way was actually not without reason.

First of all, Gai Xun's reputation in Liangzhou is too high, and Yang Yong is difficult to control, so he naturally wants to borrow a knife to kill someone.

Secondly, Gai Xun impeached two governors of Liangzhou one after another, and they were all dismissed from office and punished. This kind of behavior of restraint is easy to be suspected by others.

As the new governor of Liangzhou, Yang Yong naturally didn't want himself to fall into the hands of Gai Xun in the end.

After Zhou Qi learned the details of the matter, he immediately gritted his teeth angrily, and said to Gai Xun, "Whether the court or the governor, they regard our lives as bargaining chips in the game."

"Sir, since you know what Yang Yong is planning, you can't do what you want."

When Gai Xun heard this, he said seriously: "Whether it's party fighting or calculations, I don't want to get involved. I just want to do my best for this country."

"The former Colonel Protecting Qiang, Ling Zheng, has been killed by the rebels, and the Governor of Jincheng, Chen Yi, also died at the hands of the rebels. If the new Colonel Protecting Qiang, Xia Yu, is killed by the rebels again, the rebels will be unstoppable, and the imperial court will The majesty will be wiped out.”

"Therefore, there is nothing wrong in sending troops to rescue Xia Yu."

Zhou Qi raised his voice and said, "However, the thieves have tens of thousands of soldiers, and most of them are cavalry, who are good at grassland warfare."

"Why bother sending troops to help when you know you are going to die?"

Gai Xun said calmly: "If you know you can't do it, why don't you do it?"

Zhou Qi was stunned on the spot when he heard the words, not knowing how to respond.

After all, he and Gai Xun are not the same kind of people.

Although Zhou Qi has the idea of ​​helping the world, he appears to be more rational. He thinks about himself first and then the world. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is selfish.

As for Gai Xun.

But he is a completely benevolent gentleman and an idealist. He can be regarded as an example of scholar-bureaucrats in this era. If what he does is beneficial to the country, he will never retreat even if he knows that he will die.

In terms of character, integrity and consciousness, Zhou Qi is indeed inferior to Gai Xun.

Perhaps it is precisely because of Gai Xun's character of purely serving the country and the people that he can gain the trust of the emperor in the future.

Looking at Zhou Qi's silence, Gai Xun stood up and patted him on the shoulder, saying: "You don't need to worry about me. Since it's known to be a treacherous plot by a thief, I will pay more attention to it."

"As for you, you are a disciple of the Yuan family. As long as I lead the troops to rescue Xia Yu, Yang Yong will not be too embarrassed with you."

Hearing this, Zhou Qi was silent for a long time, then looked at Gai Xun and said, "Sir, you have experienced so much, don't you understand? The root of the downfall of the great man is the court, not the place."

"We fought tooth and nail to quell the rebellion in the local area and sacrificed our lives. No matter how many rebels we killed, I'm afraid it wouldn't be as good as an imperial edict."

"How many people can rise up with one edict."

"How many people can be made to lay down their weapons with an edict?"

"This trip is dangerous and unpredictable. I hope your husband will not go. Maybe going to Luoyang would be more suitable for you."

Gai Xun frowned slightly when he heard this, and took a deep look at Zhou Qi. Without saying anything, he stood up and walked to the door of the cell. He said to Dian Wei and Xu Chu, "Take care of the captain."

Watching Gai Xun leave the prison, Dian Wei looked at Zhou Qi, and said hesitantly: "Mr. is going to be very dangerous. If I go with you, I might be able to protect him well."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he shook his head first, and then sighed deeply.

He knew that Gai Xun's trip was bound to be defeated, and the entire army would be annihilated.

Gai Xun had his own aura, and neither the rebels nor the Qiang people dared to kill him. The same could not be said for Dian Wei and Xu Chuke.

Although they are brave, but fighting with 10,000+ rebels on the grassland, what does personal bravery mean?
The rebels would not kill Gai Xun, but they would not care about the life and death of Dian Wei and Xu Chu.

The more rebels they kill and the more hatred they draw, the less likely they are to survive.

Zhou Qi didn't want the two of them to die.

But Yang Yongzheng, the governor of Liangzhou, dispatched 2 soldiers and horses from the prefecture and county, and ordered Gai Xun to lead him to rescue Xia Yu, the Qiang school lieutenant.

Even though Gai Xun was prepared in advance, he still encountered Qiang rebels when he arrived at Hupan.

Fortunately, Gai Xun was not surrounded by rebels.

However, the rebel army had a large number of troops, and most of them were cavalry. Gai Xun was soon divided and surrounded by the rebel army, cut off the food road, and burned the luggage.

Gai Xun was besieged for three days and ran out of food, so he had to lead his troops to break out of the siege, but was defeated by the rebels, and all the soldiers under his command died in battle.

Gai Xun collected more than a hundred remnants of his troops, and set up an array of fish and beauty, wanting to fight to the death and die for the country.

The Qiang cavalry besieged from all sides, and most of Gai Xun's soldiers died in battle. Gai Xun himself was wounded three times, but he was not afraid at all. Instead, he pointed to a tree beside him and said, "Today, I will lay my dead body here."

There is a saying from time to time about planting Qiang Dianwu, who has always been favored by Gai Xun. Seeing that Gai Xun's subordinates are dead and wounded, and still fighting to the death, he immediately waved his weapons to drive away the rebels who wanted to rush up to kill Gai Xun, and shouted: " Gai Changshi is a virtuous man, if Rucao kills him, it will be against the heavens."

Gai Xun's subordinates were all gone, and he was determined to die. He did not appreciate it. Instead, he pointed at Dian Wu and cursed: "You are rebelling against the captors. How did you know? Come and kill me!"

Seeing this, the rebels looked at each other in shock.

Dian Wu was pointed at and yelled at, but he was not angry. Instead, he got off his horse and wanted to give his good horse to Gai Xun and let him go.

Gai Xun looked at the corpse of Pao Ze beside him, his heart was filled with grief and indignation, he already had the will to die, he closed his eyes and stood where he was, refusing to mount his horse.

When Dianwu saw this, he was worried that after he left, even if Gai Xun was not killed by the rebels, he might kill himself to apologize.

After thinking about it, he simply ordered Gai Xun to be tied up and brought him back to the camp.

The Qiang Rong respected Gai Xun's bravery and did not dare to harm him, so they sent fine cavalry to return him to Hanyang.

However, after Gai Xun led troops to rescue Xia Yu, Zhou Qi was in a daze every day in prison, feeling extremely worried. He was worried that because of his time travel, he would change the original historical trajectory and cause Gai Xun to be killed by the rebels.

He asked Dian Wei and Xu Chu to inquire about the battle reports from the front line every day.

When he learned that Gai Xun was defeated by the Qiang people in Hupan and all his soldiers were wiped out, his heart immediately sank to the bottom of his heart.

"How is sir?"

Dian Wei said in a deep voice: "Sir, I was captured by the Qiang people and I don't know whether I am alive or dead."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

With Gai Xun's reputation, as long as he didn't die on the battlefield, presumably the Qiang people would not harm him.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

However, when news came that Gai Xun was ambushed and the entire army of [-] prefectures and counties under his command had been wiped out, Liangzhou Inspector Yang Yong's face turned ashen.

Although he heard Zhou Qi's words, he still underestimated the strength of the rebel army after all, and thought about sending [-] state troops to rescue Xia Yu. Even if he couldn't succeed, he might be able to protect himself.

I never imagined that it would end like this.

Although Gai Xun led the troops this time, he was ordered by Yang Yong, and before the troops were sent out, Zhou Qi, the commander-in-chief of the county, strongly opposed it.

Now that such a big event happened, Yang Yong cannot escape the blame.

Before he could think of a response, he learned that state and county officials gathered at the governor's office. Many officials even questioned him regardless of their status as governor.

"The soldiers and horses of the [-] prefectures and counties were all wiped out. Gai Changshi was loyal and brave, and he was held by the bandit army. It was all because the governor did not listen to Zhou Duwei's words."

"More than half of the soldiers and horses in the prefectures and counties were killed and injured, and the rebels are even more powerful. Liangzhou is at stake."

"The governor is not knowledgeable in military affairs, so why not release Zhou Duwei and let him lead the troops to put down the rebellion?"

"Captain Zhou is a young hero who knows how to fight. I would like to ask you to release Captain Zhou and lead the troops of the state and county to take charge of the overall situation!"

"Twenty thousand soldiers and horses in all prefectures and counties have been wiped out. How can the governor explain to the families of those soldiers!"

Looking at the state and county officials who came to question aggressively, Yang Yong only felt a headache, but he didn't dare to play the prestige of the governor.

After all.

He was just an airborne governor with no connections in Liangzhou. This time he put Gai Xun in danger and wiped out [-] soldiers and horses from the state and counties, which obviously angered the Liangzhou officials.

They were all thinking at this time that if Yang Yong had followed Zhou Qi's advice earlier, he would not have been so defeated, and Gai Xun would not have been captured by the thieves.

Faced with the crowd's pressure, Yang Yong had no choice but to order Zhou Qi to be released.

In fact.

As Gai Xun said before leaving, as Zhou Qi's protégé, Yang Yong didn't intend to embarrass him.

It's just that Yang Yong's new official took office, but Zhou Qi didn't give him face, contradicting him in public made him unable to step down, so Yang Yong was furious and sent Zhou Qi to prison.

After Zhou Qi was released from prison, he was received grandly by state and county officials, and their attitude towards Zhou Qi was obviously better than before.

If it is said that they were friendly with Zhou Qi before, it was because of Gai Xun.

So this time, Zhou Qi has won the favor of Liangzhou officials by speaking out righteously and confronting the governor in order not to lose the soldiers and horses of the state and county. They have also begun to accept Zhou Qi sincerely.

Zhou Qi knew that he was released because of everyone's persecution, so he greeted everyone present one by one.

Zhou Qi thanked all the officials regardless of their rank, and his humility immediately became popular among the people.

Xin Zeng, an officer of Hanyang County, said: "Twenty thousand soldiers and horses from all states and counties were wiped out. Gai Changshi was also captured by the thieves, and his life and death are unknown. The thieves are so powerful now that the states and counties are terrified. Can the captain have a good strategy to defeat the enemy?"

Zhou Qi pondered for a long time, and finally sighed: "Now there are only more than [-] soldiers and horses in Hebei County, and there are not many soldiers and horses in other counties and counties. It is not enough to defend the city, how can we expect to defeat the enemy?"

Kong Chang asked: "Then the captain thinks, what should we do now?"

Zhou Qi pondered for a while, and said: "For the present plan, order the counties and counties to strictly guard the city, and then report to the imperial court to ask for reinforcements."

He looked at the people with frightened faces and said, "You don't need to worry too much."

"The rebels defeated the soldiers and horses of the Liangzhou prefecture, captured the Qiang school captain Xia Yu and Gai Changshi alive, and entered the land of the three assistants. The intention was in Chang'an, the western capital, not in Liangzhou."

"We only need to defend the city, and the imperial court will send a large army to encircle and suppress the rebels."

When Zhou Qi was arranging his troops to prepare for war, he suddenly heard that Gai Xun had been sent back by the Qiang people, and he hurriedly led people out of the city to greet him.

When he saw Gai Xun himself, he almost didn't recognize him.

Gai Xun, who used to attach great importance to appearance, is now slovenly, slovenly like a beggar.

His eyes were sunken, his eyes were dark, and his body was shriveled as if he had experienced a great famine. His eyes, which were originally full of wisdom, became very dull at this time, and he looked like a walking dead.

Zhou Qi rubbed his eyes and found out that the person who came was indeed Gai Xun. He hurriedly ran up to hold him up and asked, "Why are you doing this, sir?"

When Gai Xun saw Zhou Qi, his dull eyes showed a little light, and then two lines of muddy tears flowed out.

Seeing Gai Xun's appearance, Zhou Qi was heartbroken and angry.

He drew his sword in his hand, pointed at the Biao Qiang cavalry who sent Gai Xun back, and shouted sharply: "Gai Chang's history is famous in Liangzhou, how can he be treated like this by you!"

Dian Wei, Xu Chu and the soldiers in the city were also furious when they saw Gai Xun's appearance.

They all pulled out their weapons one after another, and as soon as Zhou Qi gave the order, they were ready to rush out and kill all the Qiang cavalry.

When the Qiang leader saw this, he hurriedly explained: "We have always respected Gai Changshi, how can we dare to mistreat him?"

"We brought clean water, but Gai Changshi refused to wash up; we gave him clean clothes, but Gai Changshi didn't want to change into them; we gave him fine wine and food, but Gai Changshi didn't even take a bite."

"We were worried that Gai Changshi would starve to death in the camp, so we traveled all day and night to send him back to Hebei County."

After hearing this, Zhou Qi set his sights on Gai Xun.

"I am a general of the Han Dynasty. I was defeated and captured. How can I be fed and fed by the thieves?"

A hoarse voice came from Gai Xun's cracked mouth, and Zhou Qi withdrew his sword.

He saluted those Qiang cavalry and said sternly: "Today I will repay Gai Changshi's kindness, and there will be a generous reward someday!"

(End of this chapter)