Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 585: Battle of Luoyang (VIII)

"Luoyang! The heart of the former Han Dynasty! We are back! We will rescue you from the hands of the usurpers and traitors!"

As the Shenwu Camp slowly entered the south gate of Luoyang, Feng Xi took out his iron trumpet and shouted loudly to encourage his soldiers.

Luoyang was once the gathering place for numerous dignitaries. It was a place of decadence and extravagance during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling. Later, it experienced the chaos of Dong Zhuo, and only in the era of Cao Cao did Luoyang slowly recover its former appearance.

It was not until Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty that Luoyang was once again the capital. As a result, Luoyang became prosperous again, and it was almost impossible to tell what it looked like when Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang.

After learning the news that the Han army had entered the city, more and more Wei soldiers tried to return to the south gate of Luoyang. It was impossible for them to retake the south gate. Now that the Han army had basically entered the city, they started fighting on the city walls and on the ground.

As for the Wei army, Cao Zhen learned about the current situation after being awakened by his soldiers. While he was unconscious, the Han army had actually broken through the south gate and rushed into the city, starting fierce street fighting with the Wei army.

"General, His Majesty asked me to ask you, what is the current plan?"

While Cao Zhen was still thinking about a plan, Cao Li, who knew that the South Gate had been breached, couldn't wait to send people to find Cao Zhen. Now that the situation was critical, Cao Li naturally hoped that Cao Zhen could come up with a plan.

"This……"

Cao Zhen was silent for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

"General, His Majesty has an oral order, but it cannot be made known to others."

When the guard saw Cao Zhen's reaction, he just whispered this to Cao Zhen. Cao Zhen was a little confused, but since it was Cao Li's oral order, he naturally had to obey.

"Your Majesty has given an oral instruction. I have heard that the Han army cherishes its people. If the situation is impossible, simply take the people of Luoyang as hostages. The Han army will surely be cautious."

The guard who delivered the order whispered in Cao Zhen's ear.

"Varied……!"

Cao Zhen's eyes widened in disbelief. Cao Li's actions were really immoral, because the people of Luoyang were not under the rule of the Han Dynasty, but were Cao Wei's own people. Cao Li actually asked Cao Zhen to hold the people of Luoyang hostage, which was a desperate move.

"I understand. Please go back and tell His Majesty that I will fight to the last moment."

Cao Zhen calmly sent the guards away and couldn't help but sigh.

"General, the Han army has already attacked the city's southern market. Their bows and crossbows are very powerful. Brothers, we can hardly hold out even in a street fight."

When Fei Yao saw Cao Zhen wake up, he could not help but approach Cao Zhen to ask for countermeasures. Originally, the Wei army had a hard time defending the city against the Han army, and now the Wei army had no advantage at all in the street fighting in the city. Even many Wei soldiers who were originally servants took advantage of the chaos to escape, making the order of the Wei army even more chaotic.

"Fei Yao, Dai Ling, go and capture some civilians. If the Han army dares to continue the attack, use them as human shields."

Cao Zhen thought about it again and again, and finally gritted his teeth and gave the order.

"General, this..."

Fei Yao and Dai Ling were a little bit unbelievable. They could never have imagined that the general would actually issue such an order. Cao Zhen naturally couldn't say that this was Cao Li's intention. Why did Cao Li only give an oral order? Wasn't it just to let Cao Zhen take the blame? So this matter could only be Cao Zhen's personal idea.

"Didn't you hear my order?! Go now!"

Cao Zhen's face was dark, and his voice was somewhat unquestionable. Fei Yao and Dai Ling looked at each other, and could only accept Cao Zhen's order helplessly, letting his soldiers go to hold the people in the city hostage.

At this time, most of the people who were still fighting in the city were the Guanzhong troops brought back by Cao Zhen. They did not know the people from Luoyang. Although it was a little difficult to accept holding them hostage, it was not completely impossible. At least there would be no situation where all the family members were here.

"Han army, hold on! Do you see the hostages we have? If you dare to attack again, we will kill them!"

Feng Xi found that the Han army's advance speed had slowed down significantly, so he went to the front line in person and discovered this ridiculous scene: the Wei army actually took the people in Luoyang city as hostages.

"Are you Wei soldiers mentally ill? Aren't these people from Luoyang? Why are you holding them hostage?"

Feng Xi couldn't quite understand the other party's thinking, so he simply used his tin loudspeaker to ask the other party.

"You... I heard that you Han soldiers love the people. If you continue to advance, don't blame us for killing these people in Luoyang!"

Stumped by Feng Xi's question, Fei Yao didn't know how to answer. To be fair, the other party really didn't need to pay attention to him, but Fei Yao had no choice but to continue pretending to be calm.

"You Wei soldiers are really crazy. Be a man and pick up your weapons now, kill these barbaric Wei soldiers and rescue your loved ones!"

Feng Xi looked at the people hiding in the houses on both sides of the street, threw some confiscated weapons in the middle of the road, and let the young and strong people in Luoyang choose for themselves.

Those who were brave chose to take up weapons and fight together with the Han army, while those who were cowardly could only continue to hide and hope for a miracle to happen.

"My great general, the Han army is not frightened by us at all. Instead, they are inciting the people of Luoyang to oppose us."

Fei Yao was complaining bitterly at this time. He had hoped to shift the blame to the Han army with just a few words, but the Han army ignored him completely.

Although Feng Xi is more people-oriented, if he gives in for the sake of a few Luoyang citizens at this critical juncture, he would be playing with the lives of the remaining Han soldiers.

Feng Xi is a man of firm determination. He is not someone who can be restrained by the trolley problem. As long as he has a clear conscience, he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.

When facing hostages, you must not fall into the other side's steps, otherwise it is very likely that you will end up blocking both ends. In addition, Feng Xi's two words spread some of the dirty water thrown by the Wei army to the people themselves, so the Han army actually did not face many problems.

Feng Xi had also thought about it, and later told Zhuge Liang that the people in this urban area would be exempted from taxes for one year and reduced taxes for two years, just like the people in Hefei, as some compensation.

Although the soldiers under Fei Yao did kill some civilians, this action did not threaten the Han army. Instead, it made the people's hatred towards the Wei army reach its extreme. Many Wei soldiers were beaten to death by the civilians after being defeated by the Han army. Moreover, under the propaganda of these people, the people hated the Wei army even more.

"People of Luoyang, lock the doors! Don't let the Wei army in. They are starting to capture people as human shields!"

Feng Xi also took the opportunity to fish in troubled waters and asked the Han soldiers to shout out the immoral deeds of the Wei army, which greatly hindered the Wei army's attempt to capture hostages. They still felt very uncomfortable when they really kicked down the door and arrested the people under their command.

(End of this chapter)