Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 358: Soldiers march to Chang'an
Chang'an, as the capital of the Western Han Dynasty, has a rich historical heritage and an important strategic position.

However, at the end of the Western Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Xinmang Dynasty, when Wang Mang's regime collapsed, various rebel forces launched a fierce battle for Chang'an. Warlord forces such as the Green Forest Army and the Red Eyebrow Army successively occupied Chang'an, and brutal wars broke out between them. As a result, Chang'an fell into serious decline, and the ancient imperial capital was almost reduced to ruins.

Therefore, when Feng Yi, a general under Emperor Guangwu of Han, who revived the Han Dynasty, captured Chang'an, the city was only an empty shell, with the people living in misery and everything in need of reconstruction.

It was under such circumstances that Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, gave up the consideration of making Chang'an the capital and chose Luoyang in the heart of the Central Plains as the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Of course, Liu Xiu's choice was not just because of the economy and people's livelihood, but more importantly, it was due to the forces that supported Liu Xiu to ascend the throne and become emperor. This group of forces played an important role in it.

You must know that the reason why Liu Xiu was able to unify the Central Plains in just over a decade was because of his extensive political foundation and military power in Hebei Province. Most of his subordinates were from Nanyang and Hebei, and these people more or less preferred to build the capital in Luoyang.

Moreover, if the Eastern Han Dynasty had established its capital in Chang'an, it would have required a large amount of manpower and material resources to repair the poor and dilapidated old capital of Chang'an. This was not a wise move at the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty when people's livelihood was in decline.

Therefore, Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, chose Luoyang as his capital.

However, Chang'an, as the birthplace of the Western Han Dynasty, is ultimately a lean camel that is bigger than a horse. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Luoyang was called Dongjing and Chang'an was called Xijing. The heads of local counties and kingdoms were generally called prefects of a certain county or prime minister. The only two exceptions were Henan Yin, who had jurisdiction over two counties near Luoyang, and Jingzhao Yin, where Chang'an was located, which had jurisdiction over ten counties near Chang'an.

Although Chang'an was weak, it could still compete with Luoyang.

However, in modern times, Luoyang and Chang'an, the two capitals of the Han Dynasty, have lost their prosperity and golden age.

Luoyang was burned down by the traitor Dong Zhuo when he was trying to avoid the attack of the allied forces from Guandong. The people were displaced, the palaces became ruins, and it became the home of wild foxes and night owls.

Chang'an, the old capital that had suffered from war in the late Western Han Dynasty, had suffered even worse disasters in modern times. The bandits of Liangzhou and the generals of Guanzhong fought each other in the three auxiliary areas, not caring about taking care of the people, but only wanting to enjoy themselves today. Within three to five years, no one in Guanzhong could be heard of, and not one in a hundred of the people survived.

Just like today, when Liu Zhang looked at the city of Chang'an from afar surrounded by infantry and cavalry, what he felt was not the grandeur and majesty of Chang'an, nor the prosperity and greatness of the Western Han Dynasty, but the desolation that penetrated his bones and the desolation and ruin everywhere.

In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Western Han Dynasty had long passed. After more than 200 years of the Western Han Dynasty, only the city of Chang'an remained, standing silently on the land of Guanzhong, silently whispering of its past glory.

Outside the city of Chang'an, there are no pedestrians on the roads, no villages in the wilds, and the world is overgrown with dense undergrowth, as if chaos had just begun. Only the weeds with tenacious vitality and the bushes that grow wildly at the first opportunity remain, exuding vitality without any human interference.

"Hey, Li Jue and Guo Si did a really good job." Liu Zhang's brows were solemn. He sighed directly, as if it was words of praise, but his tone was full of murderous intent towards Li Jue and Guo Si.

If Liu Zhang remembered correctly, historically Li Jue and Guo Si were executed in the third year of Jian'an, that is, in the first, second and third years of Jian'an. Within two or three years, Guanzhong would be ruined by Li Jue and Guo Si. The elders of Guanzhong who could leave fled to Jingzhou and Yizhou, and those who could not leave waited to die in Guanzhong.

And now, outside the city of Chang'an, the scene that seemed like the beginning of the world told Liu Zhang clearly that there was no need to wait until the third year of Jian'an, but in the first year of Jian'an, the vitality of Guanzhong would be almost exhausted.

Zhang Ji and Wei Kang, two people from Guanzhong, accompanied Liu Zhang. Both of them had solemn expressions, and their brows were as serious as Liu Zhang's.

As Zhang Ji and Wei Kang, who did not move to other places but stayed in Guanzhong to defend the country during the turmoil in Sanfu, they were personal witnesses of the evil deeds committed by Li Jue, Guo Si and other Liangzhou bandits. They saw and remembered every bit of it.

The only way to thank the elders of Guanzhong is to kill the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Ji and Wei Kang turned their gaze to Liu Zhang in front of them. At the same time, an idea came to their minds: fortunately, there is a royal family member like Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, who loves the people and cultivates virtue, raises an army to fight the bandits and bring peace to Guanzhong.

"Are there any civilians in Chang'an city now?" Liu Zhang looked back and asked Wei Kang, who was from the Jingzhao Wei family.

Wei Kang shook his head. "In the past, Li Jue and Guo Si were at odds with each other. They fought for months in Chang'an. The people in the city fled or died. No one dared to stay in Chang'an. Now Chang'an is just a military camp."

"Inside and outside the city were Li Jue and Guo Si's Liangzhou soldiers, Guanzhong generals Li Kan, Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Liang Xing and other three auxiliary soldiers, and Liangzhou miscellaneous Hu people who were lured by Li Jue and Guo Si."

Liu Zhang nodded when he heard this. Wei Kang was indeed a local. As a local boss, he had very clear information, which was much more accurate than the information obtained by the scouts.

"My Lord, when you are so close, Li Jue and Guo Si have not even sent out a single soldier to fight you, which shows that they are timid." Wei Kang said with a bow. Today, they came to a place not far from Chang'an to observe the city defense and military deployment, but the people in Chang'an seemed to be oblivious to it and let them observe and observe.

Zhang Ji chuckled, and said in a relaxed tone: "The Qiang and Hu people that Li Jue and Guo Si sent out to plunder the grain route were defeated by the two lieutenants Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu. They were either annihilated or surrendered. How could Li Jue and Guo Si dare to line up to fight against them after such a disadvantageous first battle?"

"That may not be the case." Fa Zheng, a native of Fufeng, hated Li Jue and Guo Si as much as Wei Kang and Zhang Ji, but he did not show any contempt for them. Instead, he made a worse plan: "Li Jue and Guo Si, Guo Si is a fool, not to be worried about, but Li Jue is cunning and has good plans, so we should not take him lightly. This time we were scouting the city, but they did not send out their troops, which might be to make us arrogant."

"The Art of War says that arrogant soldiers will be defeated. They take advantage of their strength and underestimate the enemy. They don't take the enemy seriously, and often become careless and lose their temper, which leads to defeat."

Fa Zheng, the military advisor, was a strategist. Perhaps because of his young age, he had not yet reached the level of having such ingenious strategies as the Battle of Hanzhong between Cao and Liu, when he led his army to kill Xiahou and seize Hanzhong in one fell swoop. However, he still had a good foundation and easily saw through the plans of Li Jue and Guo Si.

Zhang Ji nodded in satisfaction after hearing this. He cupped his hands towards Fa Zheng and said, "What Master Fa said is very true. We should be lenient in estimating the enemy, but this is too superficial."

"The military and the state are in great trouble, and the world is in turmoil." Liu Zhang gave a concluding speech: "Mr. Zhang, Mr. Wei, you must read military books and be involved in military affairs. To quell the chaos in the world, you must be on horseback. If you only know classics and write poetry, it will not help the people of the world to be healthy."

"Kang will follow your teachings." Wei Kang bowed and agreed.

"I will follow your teachings, sir." Zhang Ji agreed.

Although Zhang Ji and Wei Kang were both talents who were more inclined to domestic affairs, Liu Zhang still wanted to hone their military talents. After all, even if they did not engage in war, they would still need them to use military force to suppress the big and small bandits in the local area. In Guanzhong, in addition to the big troublemakers such as Li Que and Guo Si, there were also many small troublemakers, and these small troubles were naturally not worthy of Liu Zhang's attention. Liu Zhang did not have the energy for that. The two guards, Zhang Ji and Wei Kang, should be the ones who should be concerned.

Liu Zhang already had a rough decision in his mind regarding the arrangements for Zhang Ji and Wei Kang, but he would have to defeat Li Jue and Guo Si first.

The top priority at the moment is to wipe out the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si, and to deal with Chang'an, the last city in Guanzhong that has not surrendered to Liu Zhang.

Once Chang'an is conquered and Li Jue and Guo Si are destroyed, the vast Guanzhong area will truly belong to Liu Zhang.

"Return to camp."

As the sun set, a few birds returning to their nests fluttered in the clouds. The scene of the setting sun and the birds returning to the forest came into view. Liu Zhangye began to think about returning to the camp. Even if Li Jue and Guo Si did not come out, he had seen everything he should see, so there was naturally no need to stay.

Following Liu Zhang's order, the infantry and cavalry surrounding him began to return to the camp in an orderly manner. The formation was strict and the movements were slow. Soon, Liu Zhang and his entourage returned to the camp.

After returning to the camp, Liu Zhang first washed his face, wiped off the dust and slight fatigue on his body, and then he hurriedly summoned Xun You.

As the chief clerk, Xun You was in charge of confidential information and needed to extract important information from the vast amount of correspondence and inform Liu Zhang.

"The emperor is returning to Luoyang in the east, and has already arrived in Luoyang City for some time." Xun You reported the emperor's movements.

"But the capital of Luoyang was burned down by Dong Zhuo in the past. The people were displaced, the scholars and civilians fled, and the palaces and halls were burned down. The huge city of Luoyang was turned into a ruin. Although the emperor returned to Luoyang, Luoyang is not a place for the emperor to live for a long time."

Liu Zhang's eyes showed a thoughtful look. He asked Xun You: "In your opinion, where should the emperor go? Or, who will welcome the emperor?"

"According to your opinion, who among the princes in Guandong will welcome the emperor?" Xun You did not answer but asked instead. He raised his eyebrows and asked Liu Zhang. At the same time, he explained the reason for the rhetorical question: "I want to compare it with you to see if our answers are the same."

Liu Zhang stretched out his fingers and tapped the table lightly. After a moment or two, he replied, "Cao Cao of Yanzhou."

Xun You was surprised when he heard this. The Yanzhou Cao Cao that Liu Zhang mentioned was the answer in his mind. Among the princes in Guanzhong, Cao Cao should be the first one who would make the effort to welcome the emperor.

Xun You said, "Liu Biao of Xiangyang, I have been in Jingzhou for some time in the past, and I know a little about Liu Biao. Liu Biao's ambition is to protect Jianghan and not to dominate the world. Naturally, he is not that concerned about the whereabouts of the emperor, so Liu Biao will definitely not go north to welcome the emperor."

"Although Yuan Shao of Jizhou has many counselors and generals under his command, there will definitely be people who suggest that Yuan Shao welcome the emperor to Yecheng, hold the emperor hostage to command the princes, and head south to fight for the world. However, Yuan Shao is a man who is good at making plans but indecisive. He knows things but does not see opportunities. It is difficult for him to make up his mind to welcome the emperor in a short period of time, and he will definitely fall behind."

Xun You, who was born in Zhongzhou and was a famous scholar in Yingchuan, had worked in both the court and the local areas in the past. He was very knowledgeable in analyzing the princes of Guandong.

After focusing on analyzing Yuan Shao, who was powerful in Hebei, and Liu Biao, who was in the south of the Han River, Xun You, with a serious brow, began to talk about Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou.

"As for Cao Cao, Xu Shao, a native of Runan, was famous for his ability to judge people. He once commented on Cao Cao, saying: 'A capable minister in a peaceful era, a treacherous hero in a chaotic era.' Therefore, the Grand Commandant Qiao Xuan also said: 'If the world is about to go into chaos, it cannot be saved without a man of destiny. The one who can keep it peaceful is you!'"

"Xu Shao and Qiao Xuan both saw how much Cao Cao valued them."

"A capable minister in a peaceful era, a treacherous hero in a chaotic era!" Liu Zhang raised his eyebrows and said slowly, "I have seen Cao Cao running rampant in Yan and Yu. Yuan Shu of Yangzhou, Tao Qian of Xuzhou, and Lu Bu of Bingzhou are no match for him. It can be seen that what Xu Shao and Qiao Xuan said is true. I guess the Central Plains may be occupied by Cao Cao."

Xun You gave a long speech, so Liu Zhang naturally had to say a few words to give Xun You a break.

"My lord, you are right. In the Central Plains, no one can rival Cao Cao. Sooner or later, the Central Plains will belong to Cao Cao." Xun You nodded in agreement.

"Cao Cao is a man of both civil and military talents, and his strategies are unmatched. Although he is temporarily attached to Yuan Shao in name only, guarding Henan for Yuan Shao so that Yuan Shao can defeat Gongsun Zan and not have to face enemies from two sides, Cao Cao is not inferior to Yuan Shao in the end, and there will be a war between Yuan and Cao sooner or later."

After finishing his analysis of the future situation, Xun You turned the topic back to the matter of welcoming the emperor: "Cao Cao is good at seeing opportunities and knows how to appoint people to positions. He will definitely not miss the opportunity to conquer the four directions and control the righteousness of the court by serving the emperor."

"Moreover, the land of Yanyu is close to Luoyang, which is convenient for welcoming the emperor... Therefore, You concluded that, on the one hand, Cao Cao had the intention to welcome the emperor, and on the other hand, many of Cao Cao's advisers were wise and would definitely urge Cao Cao to welcome the emperor. With these two forces combined, Cao Cao would definitely take action to welcome the emperor."

"It's hard to say. Cao Cao has sent out a vanguard to welcome the emperor, and they are already on their way."

After Xun You said this, his expression was a little distressed. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty, what a good banner! If his wise master could have it, he could use the Emperor to command the disobedient, and use the Emperor's righteousness to conquer the four directions. Who among the princes of the world could resist?

Unfortunately, they didn't have that chance.

Liu Zhang looked indifferent, without too much concern about gains and losses. As the saying goes, one should accept the situation as if it were fate, knowing that there is nothing one can do about it. There are some things that one knows one cannot do about it, so it is better to accept them calmly. Worrying about gains and losses will only make one disappointed.

There was a hint of teasing in his eyes: "I guess Xun Wenruo, Xun Qing's uncle, who was a counselor under Cao Cao, must have strongly supported Cao Cao to welcome the emperor. It can be said that he was the one who made the decision and was responsible for the decision."

"Ah." Xun You was rarely pale. After he was surprised, he quickly calmed down. He said carefully: "Uncle Wen Ruo has the talent to assist the king. Naturally, he will not fall behind and miss the opportunity to welcome the emperor and control justice."

(End of this chapter)