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

Chapter 396 The city is broken
Wang Ling may not be famous in the history of the late Han Dynasty where all the stars gathered, but his legendary experience is not far behind Gao Rou.

After Cao Pi became emperor, Wang Ling was named the governor of Yanzhou. He participated in the Battle of Dongkou, defeated the Wu army with Zhang Liao and others, and killed more than ten Soochow generals including Qin Huang. Wang Ling was also granted the title of Marquis of Nanxiang. Soon he was moved to the general of chariots and cavalry, and the three divisions of Yitong were established. There were 1,350 households living in the city.

A few years later, Wang Ling replaced Gao Rou as Sikong and officially reached the peak of Cao Wei's power.

Wang Ling's smooth career was not only due to his reputation and military exploits, but also to General Cao Shuang's win-over and promotion. Wang Ling also deeply felt the kindness of Cao Shuang.

After the Gaoping Ling Incident, Sima Yi imprisoned and executed Cao Shuang, although he was appointed as a Taiwei in order to win over Wang Ling, Wang Ling still felt grateful for Cao Shuang's support.

At that time, Wang Ling and his nephew Ling Huyu, the governor of Yanzhou, were in charge of a large number of troops. They were dissatisfied with Sima Yi's monopoly and planned to raise troops to support Cao Cao's son, King Cao Biao of Chu, as emperor.

The two of them planned this matter in secret, but things didn't work out as they wished. Linghu Yu died suddenly of a serious illness before the matter came to fruition.

Ling Huyu's sudden death made his staff Yang Kang feel fearful and worried that he would be implicated if the incident failed, so he reported to Situ Gaorou to expose Wang Ling and Ling Huyu's rebellion plan.

After Gao Rou learned about this, he quickly reported it to Sima Yi.

At that time, Wang Ling was a high-ranking official in the border area and held a large number of troops. Sima Yi did not dare to attack Wang Ling without concrete evidence, so he took precautions secretly and did not make any move.

It's a pity that he overestimated Sima Yi's lower limit. How could a person like this, who could even break Luo Shui's oath, really pardon Wang Ling?
The results speak for themselves.

At this time, although Wang Ling asked for surrender, he and Sima Yi still looked at each other across the boat.

Wang Ling looked at Xia Houyuan and said: "Although Yuan Benchu ​​usurped the Han Dynasty, there are still many people in Taiyuan City who are loyal to the Han Dynasty. When they heard that the troops from heaven were arriving, they all wanted to rebel against Yuan to meet the general. They knew that I was Wang Situ Cong's son, so they raised me As envoy, come to see the general."

At this time, Wang Ling had not yet reached the heights he had achieved in history, but he had already begun to rise to prominence.

At that time, Wang Ling did not know that his plan had been leaked, and was still planning to obtain the tiger talisman to seize military power in Yangzhou. He also wanted to use the excuse that Soochow led his troops to block Tu Shui to get the tiger talisman and mobilize troops to teach Soochow a lesson.

Fortunately, Wang Ling wasn't stupid enough yet, so he knew how to test it first.

Sima Yi was also good at reading people's hearts. On the one hand, he threatened Wang Ling with his military strength, and on the other hand, he issued an edict to pardon Wang Ling for his crime of rebellion, in order to shake his resistance.

After listening to Xia Houyuan's words, Wang Ling fell silent.

If Sima Yi continues to press forward, Wang Ling will fight to the death with him at all costs.

After Wang Ling was captured, he committed suicide. He and his nephew Linghu Yu were both brutally murdered for three days. Those who participated in the rebellion were all implicated in the three clans.

Unexpectedly, Sima Yi sent people on board the ship to untie Wang Ling and return the official seals and ceremonial guards that Wang Ling had handed over before. Wang Ling misjudged the situation and believed that Sima Yi had really pardoned his crimes, so he took the ship. The boat went to meet Sima Yi.

"The fourth and fifth princes of the Yuan family did not want to serve the imperial court, but instead usurped the Han Dynasty and established themselves. How could you, with your background, be in conflict with him?"

He was born into a famous family and already had the aura of aristocratic family. He talked with Xia Houyuan and quickly gained Xia Houyuan's trust.

Wang Ling first sent his subordinate Wang Yu to hand over the official seal and honor guard to Sima Yi, and then he went to Qiutou and surrendered in front of Sima Yi's ship.

When it comes to the lower limit, it can be said that there is no lowest limit for Sima, only lower.

Unfortunately, the matter has been exposed. Sima Yi knew Wang Ling's plan, so he naturally refused to grant him military power, and suddenly mobilized tens of thousands of troops southward, approaching Shouchun.

Xia Houyuan did not doubt that he was there, and said: "If it were anyone else, I might not be able to trust him. However, Mr. Wang is the son of Wang Situ. The Wang family has lived in Han Dynasty for generations and is loyal to the emperor and patriotic. Wang Situ and Cao Gong once even conspired with Dong's thieves. Like-minded people.”

"If the general can be trusted, I will raise a fire at the south gate as a signal at the third watch tonight. At that time, I will personally lead the city center to open the city gate to the Han Dynasty and welcome the general into the city!"

Wang Ling was already wavering at this time. If he raised his army to fight to the death, he would definitely not be a match for Sima Yi. Sima Yi happened to issue an edict to pardon his crime. Even with Sima Yi's oath at Luoshui, Wang Ling still had some luck.

"Now Mr. Cao has raised a righteous army to fight against the rebels. He has a small army but few generals. He also has the heart to help the country and the ambition to revive the Han Dynasty. Now that I have the help of Mr. Cao and the righteous men in the city, why worry about failure to achieve great things and the failure of the Han Dynasty?"

At that time, Wang Ling failed to obtain the Tiger Talisman and could not mobilize the entire Yangzhou army. With only his own troops and horses, he was no match for Sima Yi, and he was instantly in a dilemma.

He stood up, bowed deeply to Xia Houyuan, and said, "It's getting late, I'll go back to the city, make preparations, and say goodbye!"

However, Xia Houyuan stood up in a hurry and said, "Let me personally escort Mr. back to the city!"

Wang Ling waved his hand and said: "The general is the commander-in-chief of the three armies, and he also has to plan the siege, so there is no need to send him off."

However, Xia Houyuan still insisted on his opinion and said sincerely: "A certain person is a rough man. There are not many people who respect him, and Wang Situ is one of them. Mr. Situ is the son of Situ Cong, and he also narrowly escaped death in Luoyang back then."

"This time, your husband is not afraid of life and death and wants to open the city to welcome our troops. How can I let you return alone?"

When Wang Ling saw that Xia Houyuan had gone so far as to say what he said, he couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart and did not continue to shirk it.

In this way, Xia Houyuan did not dare to disturb the defenders in the city, so he only brought a few personal guards with Wang Ling. He did not stop until he was sent not far from the city wall.

Xia Houyuan turned over and dismounted, held Wang Ling's hands tightly, and said sincerely: "After you are a loyal and good man, if you can't do anything, don't put yourself in danger. Compared with my husband's life, why does Jinyang matter?"

Wang Ling said nothing, turned around and walked towards the direction of the city wall.

Xia Houyuan was still worried. He hid in the darkness and stared at Wang Ling's back, refusing to leave for a long time.

Seeing Wang Ling getting closer and closer to the city wall, he suddenly stopped moving forward, turned around under Xia Houyuan's surprised eyes, and then walked slowly but firmly in front of Xia Houyuan.

"Sir suddenly changed his mind, but what else did he forget to explain?"

Looking at Xia Houyuan's doubtful eyes, Wang Ling sighed heavily, and then bowed deeply.

Xia Houyuan was shocked when he saw this. He hurriedly stepped forward to support Wang Ling and asked, "Why do you do this great gift, sir?"

Wang Ling stood up, then smiled bitterly and said: "The general treats me sincerely, and I can't bear to deceive the general anymore. The reason why I left the city this time was actually because I was instructed by the senior officials to deliberately lure the general into leading troops into the city at midnight."

"The high official is sure that the general is eager to break the city. He also knows that I am Wang Situ's son. If I go out of the city to lure him, the general will not doubt his presence and go ahead to seize the city."

"After the general enters the city and the gate is lowered, the general will die in the chaos!"

Suddenly hearing this, Xia Houyuan couldn't help but turn pale with shock.

After he received Cao Cao's letter, he was really anxious and wanted to conquer Taiyuan as soon as possible.

Wang Ling's identity did not make him too wary.

After all, in Xia Houyuan's view, Wang Situ was so loyal to the Han Dynasty, and his son would not casually commit himself to Yuan Shao, the usurper of the Han Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, the senior official had seen through Xia Houyuan's psychology and actually planned to trap him and kill him.

After the shock, Xia Houyuan did not get angry. Instead, he bowed deeply to Wang Ling and said, "If you hadn't informed me of this in advance, I would have died tonight!" Wang Ling supported Xia Houyuan and sighed: " My uncle sacrificed his life to revive the Han Dynasty. Although I am not talented, I am willing to inherit my uncle's legacy and do not want to commit myself to thieves."

"Now I have a plan that can help the general to attack Jinyang. I wonder if the general is still willing to believe me?"

The reason why Wang Ling changed his mind before the battle was not only unwilling to insult his uncle Wang Yun's reputation and Xia Houyuan's sincere treatment of him, but also a very important reason was because Wang Ling actually did not think highly of Yuan Shao.

Previously, the most powerful prince in the world was Yuan Shao.

However, since Yuan Shao was defeated at Guangling, even Cao Cao dared to attack Zhao, which shows how weakened Yuan Shao's strength was.

Today, among the four major princes in the world, Liu Bei is undoubtedly the last one, followed by Cao Cao, Yuan Shao again, and Zhou Qi is undoubtedly the strongest.

Who is Xia Houyuan?
Not only was he a general under Cao Cao, he was a brother-in-law with Cao Cao, but he was also the uncle of the wife of Zhou Ji, the crown prince of Chu.

If Wang Ling really plans to kill Xia Houyuan today, it will mean that he has cut off his own retreat. From now on, he can only rely on the Yuan family. No matter whether Zhou Qi or Cao Cao wins the world, they will have no place for themselves.

Wang Ling was not a stupid person, he naturally knew how to make a choice, so he decided to switch sides at the last moment.

Xia Houyuan said sternly: "Sir, if you want to take someone's life, as long as you don't tell the senior officials about the plan, someone will definitely die tonight. In this case, how can you not trust sir?"

But after Wang Ling returned to the city, Gao Gan and Gao Rou hurriedly summoned him and asked, "Did it go smoothly to Cao's army camp?"

Wang Ling said: "Everything is ready, just wait for the third watch to raise the fire signal!"

Gao Gan and Gao Rou looked at each other with joy in their eyes.

However, when Gao Rou saw Wang Ling's face, she couldn't help but have some doubts in her heart and asked: "The plan is done, why does Yan Yun look so uninterested?"

Wang Ling sighed and said: "That Xiahou Miaocai was very respectful to me, but he couldn't bear it."

Gao Gan laughed when he heard this and said: "Ci does not control troops. Xia Houyuan treated Yan Yun like this just to seize Taiyuan City."

"Yan Yun, there is no need to think too much. After I capture and kill Xia Houyuan and defeat Cao's army, I will definitely show my merits to your majesty!"

Wang Ling bowed, "In that case, I'd like to thank you, General."

"However, I deceived Xiahou Miaocai. After all, I still feel unbearable, so I will not participate in tonight's trapping plan. The two generals are doing things cheaply!"

Gao Gan and Gao Rou didn't think much about this matter.

It would be best if Wang Ling did not participate, as they would get more credit.

When the third watch came, someone raised a fire as a signal above the south gate of Taiyuan City, and the torch was raised in the air three times.

After Cao Jun, who was ambushing outside the city, saw the signal, he immediately sneaked to the city gate, and the city gate was opened as promised.

"Brothers, follow me into the city and seize Jinyang today!"

The first general, wearing elite armor, leaping on his horse and raising his spear, was Xia Houyuan, the commander-in-chief of Cao's army.

"kill!"

Cao Jun shouted loudly and rushed toward the city.

Gao Gan and Gao Rou, who were hiding on the city wall, saw Xia Houyuan taking the lead in rushing into the city. They were also worried that something might happen if too many Cao troops entered the city. So they waved their flags and the gate suddenly fell to the ground, killing Cao Jun who was still below. Crushed into a pulp.

At the same time, Xia Houyuan and hundreds of Cao troops who had entered the city suddenly became a lone army.

As the high-ranking officials issued the order, the Yuan army ambushing in the city immediately swarmed out and soon surrounded Xia Houyuan and others.

Gao Gan was very high-spirited and stood on the city wall and shouted to the surrounded Xiahou Yuan: "You are in my plan. Why doesn't General Xiahou dismount and surrender?"

Xia Houyuan was already furious at this time. He pointed his spear at the senior officials on the city wall and cursed: "You can't count heroes with this trick. Do you dare to go down to the city and fight with someone for three hundred rounds?"

But the senior official smiled and shouted: "Soldiers are not afraid of deceit, and tactics are also a kind of military art."

"If General Xiahou understands the destiny and sees the situation clearly, he will surrender immediately. My Lord is merciful, and the general will not lose his position as a prince at that time."

"If not, when I give the order, thousands of arrows will be fired, and today next year will be your memorial day!"

Faced with the intimidation and inducement of the senior officials, Xia Houyuan laughed out loud, then suddenly took off his helmet, pointed at his head and said: "A senior official, please see clearly who I am?"

When Gao Gan saw Xia Houyuan's performance, he vaguely felt that something was not right.

He looked attentively and looked at Xia Houyuan in the light of the fire. After examining him for a long time, his face suddenly changed and he shouted out loud: "You are not Xia Houyuan, who are you?"

Although this person is five points similar to Xia Houyuan, he is indeed not Xia Houyuan.

He was mistaken before because he was riding Xia Houyuan's horse, and even his weapons and equipment were exactly the same as Xia Houyuan's.

It's night now and the light is not very good. Even acquaintances may not be able to tell the authenticity when wearing a helmet.

"Kill!"

Just at this time, the senior officials who were frightened and angry heard faint shouts of killing from the north gate, and their expressions changed greatly.

He said to Gao Rou, who also had a gloomy expression next to him: "There are shouts of killing coming from the north gate. I'm afraid we have fallen into a trap. We should go quickly to attract reinforcements!"

Gao Rou took a deep breath, shook his head and said: "All the soldiers and horses in the city have been mobilized to the south gate. There are not many defenders left at the north gate. Even if we lead troops to rush to the north gate at this time, I am afraid it will be too late."

"If my prediction is correct, Wang Ling must have rebelled and planned all this with Xia Houyuan. I am afraid that by now he has teamed up with Li Ying Wai to capture the North Gate."

"The city gate has been broken. Jinyang cannot be defended. Brother, please lead your troops and withdraw immediately. Otherwise, once Xia Houyuan controls the entire Jinyang, it will be difficult for you and me to withdraw."

Gao Gan's eyes were bloodshot at this moment, and he wanted to cut Wang Ling into pieces with a thousand knives.

It's a pity that he can't do anything but escape now, otherwise Xiahou Yuan's cavalry would not be easy to deal with.

"Give me the order to retreat!"

Although the senior officials still looked unwilling, they still decisively issued the retreat order.

(End of this chapter)