I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 492: Jiujiang Rebellion
Yuan Ji was just entrusting his wife with what to do after he left when he heard her say, "Why do you have to entrust me with your affairs? You are leaving, and your children are too young to follow you. How can I, as your wife, let you go to Jiaozhou alone?"

Afterwards, she bowed to Yuan Wei and said, "My husband has always regarded my uncle as his own father. Now my husband and I are unfilial. Not only can we not take care of my uncle, but we also have to trouble him to take care of our children. This is really a sin..."

After hearing this, Yuan Wei also burst into tears.

Zhang Rang, who was standing by, saw this scene and suddenly felt sad!
When Yuan Ji said goodbye to his family and was about to leave, he suddenly said to Zhang Rang, "There is one thing I am not sure about. It may or may not be true, but please tell Your Majesty to be on guard against the Luoyang army and be careful."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Rang asked with a frown.

Yuan Ji shook his head: "It's just a feeling, there is no real evidence."

Seeing Zhang Rang's scrutinizing eyes, he smiled bitterly again: "I have fallen to this point. Fortunately, I have been forgiven by Your Majesty, so I can go to Jiaozhou with my wife. Why should I lie? Why should I do this?"

Zhang Rang thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed the case.

As to whether Yuan Ji's words are useful, the emperor will judge for himself.

……

"The couple's love is stronger than gold." Liu Bian sighed and asked Zhang Rang, "Yuan Ji reminded me to be careful in the army. What was Yuan Shizhong's reaction to this?"

"I see, Minister Yuan was also surprised when he heard what Yuan Ji said."

"What do you think of Yuan Ji's words?"

Zhang Rang replied, "I noticed that Yuan Ji felt relieved after drinking what he thought was poison. So what he said must be true."

"So he should have noticed something... but for some reason, he didn't know the inside story, or he was afraid to tell it and implicate others." Liu Bian said.

"Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision!" Zhang Rang bowed immediately.

Liu Bian was amused by Zhang Rang's sudden flattery. He said with a smile: "I just had a simple thought. If you really want to analyze this matter, you will find that everyone has their own expertise..."

The number of troops in Luoyang was neither too many nor too few.

As long as you pay more attention, those with ulterior motives will be exposed sooner or later.

……

Just as Yuan Ji was heading south, the rebellion-suppressing army led by Huang Zhong had already arrived in Jiujiang County.

This was the second time that Huang Zhong led an army of over 10,000 as a commander-in-chief.

The last time was when he was serving as the Protector of the Qiang and encountered a rebellion by the Lu Shui Hu people in the four counties of Hexi. At that time, he led his own troops and the troops from Liangzhou and counties to defeat the enemy and achieved great success.

Now that he is leading the army into battle again as a commander, Huang Zhong cherishes this opportunity very much.

He knew that the emperor sent out an army of such a scale just to establish his authority, and to establish his authority, he must deal with the rebels cleanly and efficiently!
On the way to Jiujiang, he stopped for a while to help Runan and Lujiang counties clear out the bandits near his marching route so that the two counties could transfer more soldiers for him to dispatch.

When he arrived in Jiujiang, Taishi Ci was already there to greet him.

Taishi Ci had never expected that his petition for help would elicit such a big reaction from the emperor.

Huang Zhong, Lu Bu, Duan Wei - Taishi Ci, who knew the abilities of these three men well, looked to the south, thinking that the Wu army entrenched there would be blessed.

"Ziyi, tell me what's going on in Hefei?" Taishi Ci had been busy during this period, and he answered Huang Zhong's question confidently, "General, since Wu Fang started the rebellion, he has received help from nearby powerful people, and he also coerced the people to join the army. After he defeated Jiujiang and made the governor surrender, he advertised that he had 100,000 troops. Now, if we count the people who were forced to join, there are really 100,000!"

"How dare you do that, you bastard!" Huang Zhong slammed the table in front of him.

Because Huang Zhong had been promoted by Shangshu Lang Gai Xun, he had always had a good relationship with Gai Xun. He also knew that the current emperor cared most about the livelihood of the people, so the people who were being held hostage by the bandits must be rescued if possible.

Therefore, in this battle, it would be best to directly attack Wu Fang and eliminate the bandit leader!
After he finished scolding, Huang Zhong said to Taishi Ci again, "Ziyi, continue."

"According to my investigation, Wu Fang mostly uses military force to suppress others. Although his subordinates have more and more people under their control, he is unwilling to give up power. Now most of his troops are concentrated in Hefei County."

"In recent months, not only have we moved food and fodder from the surrounding counties to Hefei, we have also been strengthening and expanding the city walls of Hefei..."

After Huang Zhong heard the intelligence Taishi Ci had summarized, he said, “I have 3,000 elite soldiers from Xiyuan, 10,000 elite soldiers from Sanhe, and more than 20,000 soldiers from various counties.”

"Only our elite troops in Xiyuan can defeat ten of them with one, and the people in Wu are not of one mind. In my opinion, we should lead the army to Hefei to quell the rebellion immediately, and spread the word that only the ringleaders will be punished in this battle, and those who surrendered after being coerced by the rebels will be spared."

Logically speaking, as the main general, Huang Zhong could have made a summary speech at the end when he led Lu Bu and others into battle for the first time, so as to prevent his subordinates from making any reasonable suggestions and damaging the general's dignity.

But Huang Zhong still stated his decision first.

He had his own considerations - although he had military achievements, so did his companions Lu Bu and Duan Wei, especially Lu Bu, who also had experience in commanding large armies.

But Lu Bu had a shortcoming: he was too impatient and too eager for quick success.

Huang Zhong felt that this was probably the reason why he was able to defeat Lu Bu and become the main general.

After he announced his decision, Lu Bu was the first to stand up and agree, just as he expected: "These rats are enough. Taking their heads is as easy as taking something out of a bag!"

"Everyone, Wu Fang's head belongs to me!"

After Lu Bu finished speaking, Duan Wei, who was always steady and low-key, also expressed Huang Zhong's agreement.

Taishi Ci said no more.

Afterwards, the army took a short rest and then headed towards Hefei.

There is no need to mention the county soldiers and others who were left behind along the way to guard the grain route.

By the time Huang Zhong led his army to the city of Hefei, the rebels were clearly outnumbered by 100,000 to 30,000, and they even advertised to the outside world that they had an army of 200,000, giving them an absolute advantage in numbers.

However, faced with the army led by Huang Zhong, the Wu side actually withdrew its troops into the city, relying on food and fodder looted from nearby counties, and acted like a coward.

Seeing that the enemy was afraid to fight in the field, Huang Zhong had to set up camp outside Hefei City and send people to build siege equipment.

Only then did he realize that the rebels had been well prepared. The trees in the mountains and forests close to Hefei were either cut down or burned.

If you want to build siege equipment, you have to go to a farther place, and time is wasted.

Enraged, Lu Bu rode his horse to Hefei city every day to curse Wu Fang's ancestors.

At the beginning, Wu Fang, who was angry because of the scolding, organized people to shoot arrows at Lu Bu who dared to approach the city wall. However, he did not expect that Lu Bu was so skilled and brave that even with the great disadvantage of being on the upper and lower walls, he was able to shoot people on the city wall from within an arrow's reach. Wu Fang was so scared that he didn't even dare to expose his head.

(End of this chapter)