Great Han Empire

Chapter 1039 The Banner of Heroes in Troubled Times Unrolled
The first month, Xiangyang.

Years ago, Jian Yong and Zhuge Liang from Yizhou, Zhou Yu and Zhang Hong from Jiangdong, Cao Pi and Xun Yu from Xuzhou rushed to Xiangyang one after another to discuss major plans.

Judging from the overall north-south situation, the south has ushered in an excellent opportunity for the Northern Expedition, which is also an important reason why various places sent envoys to Xiangyang.

After Li Hong fell ill in the north, he was worried about losing his power, so he married the eldest princess immediately, and invited Zhang Yan, Li Wei and other trusted ministers to Jinyang, let Xu Rong sit in Xijiang, let Zhao Yun sit in Guanzhong, and Jinyang was the center of power Firmly controlled the government, and at the same time let Yushi and Fu Gan take the little emperor to conquer the south, trying to divert Chang'an's attention and cover up his true face of usurping the community.

But the people of Chang'an are sharp-eyed, and they will never fall into Li Hong's treacherous plot to allow him to succeed in his plot to usurp the country. , hit Li Hong hard, let him lose the reliance of the little emperor, and lose the support of the people, then the army will move northward, and the time to recover the country is just around the corner.

Liu Biao believed that Li Hong's pace of usurping the country was getting faster and faster. He not only forcibly married the eldest princess to control the imperial power, but also impatiently put forward the strategy of "aiding Taoism into Confucianism", intending to revive orthodox Confucianism, and to "receive" for himself. "Mandate of Heaven" seized the great Han society to find a theoretical basis and deceive the people of the world.What he did was exactly the same as Wang Mang back then, and the New Deal he implemented was almost the same as Wang Mang's restructuring.Now the contradictions in the northern court are becoming more and more intense, and the contradictions between the northern court and the opposition are on the verge of breaking out. As long as we take advantage of the momentum to launch an attack on the north and pose a strong threat to the north, all kinds of contradictions in the north will inevitably intensify, and the north will be in chaos. We will also be able to successfully recover the Central Plains, conquer Luoyang and Guanzhong, directly kill Hebei, and drive Li Hong to the desert.

In order to achieve this goal, Liu Biao, Cai Mao and others in Xiangyang came up with a detailed attack plan.

=

On the Nanyang battlefield, relying on Kuai Liang and [-] troops and sufficient food and supplies to stick to Wancheng, dragging the main force of the northern army to Nanyang, causing them to fall into a protracted battle, consuming their money and food to the greatest extent.

In the past few years, there have been frequent rebellions in the northern frontier. Li Hong led his troops from the western border to the northern border, and then to Liaodong, which has emptied the wealth of the Chang'an court. The fundamental reason for the implementation of the restructuring is that they need a lot of money and food to support the army's conquests over the years.Now the north is like a tiger that is scarred, exhausted, and dying of hunger. Although it still looks fierce and fierce, it is actually vulnerable.

Li Hongqiang married the eldest princess and moved the center of power to Jinyang. It was a countermeasure he had to take because he was worried that the situation would get out of control and the chaos in the north. At this moment, the fight against Nanyang was just to deter Chang'an with a victory and temporarily stabilize the situation. However, as for letting the little emperor take charge of the government, let the little emperor personally conquer, it is just a clumsy trick of Li Hong to cover up people's eyes and ears, and try to deceive the people of the world to cover up his usurpation.

In September, the Beijiang Army had just suffered a disastrous defeat on the Nanyang battlefield. In November, regardless of the lack of morale of the army and the many conflicts between the government and the opposition, he made a comeback again. If the situation is not stable, the conquest can be temporarily stopped, and all energy can be transferred to the court and to stabilizing the overall situation in the north.

We can't give him this chance, we have to drag him all the time, turn the Nanyang battlefield into a stalemate, completely smash his wishful thinking, let the north fall into a greater crisis, and make the crisis come to the brink faster.

=

But this was not enough, not enough to give Li Hong a fatal blow, so Liu Biao proposed the strategy of holding back in the middle and attacking from both wings.

The stalemate in the Nanyang battlefield in the middle road can at least hold back the 10,000+ main force of the Northern Xinjiang army. Then the Qingyan battlefield in the east road and the Longnan battlefield in the west road, the strength of the Northern Xinjiang army will not be much.In the past two years, Li Hong has pacified the northwestern borders and the desert by force. All the cavalry troops in his hands are stationed on the front line of the Great Wall. Now the troops on the southern battlefields are all the troops that the northern border army can recruit. With no reinforcements left, it is an excellent opportunity for the Southern Allied Forces to break through from the battlefield on both wings
Liu Biao suggested that Cao Cao of Xuzhou and Zhou Yu of Jiangdong gather all their forces to attack Yanzhou northward, while Sun Quan gathered all the navy of Jiangdong to go northward by sea to attack Qingzhou and restrain Qingzhou's Northern Frontier Army, so as to coordinate Cao Cao and Zhou Yu's attack on Yanzhou.

At the same time, Liu Bei in Yizhou assembled the troops of Bashu and Hanzhong, attacked Longnan all the way to contain them, and attracted the attention of the northern army.After successfully attacking Guanzhong from Baoxie Road, Chang'an must draw troops from the Longnan battlefield to return to aid. At this moment, the Bashu army took the opportunity to capture Longnan, captured Chencang, and entered Guanzhong again.

The situation in Guanzhong is in jeopardy, and the elites and scholars in Chang'an will definitely respond in groups, and the land of Sanfu is very likely to be recovered smoothly.

If Guanzhong is in danger, if Yanzhou is in emergency, the stalemate situation on the Nanyang battlefield will be difficult to maintain, and the northern army will definitely retreat. The first choice is Luoyang, so that Yuzhou can be recovered smoothly.The three battlefields in the south are once again connected, and the armies from all walks of life can support each other and attack Luoyang at the same time.

The key to whether Luoyang can be conquered is not a decisive battle with force, but whether there will be chaos in the north.Under the attack of our three-way army, the crisis-ridden north will find it difficult to sustain its wealth. The contradictions accumulated over the years will definitely break out, and rebellions will follow one after another. Li Hong can't take care of both ends.This is also the reason why he moved the center of power to Jinyang again. He lost his confidence and was already thinking about making a comeback after the failure.This leopard that used to fight all over the world is old, and it doesn't have the courage to go forward, let alone the invincible spirit of the past.Li Hong's demise is in sight. Like Dong Zhuo, he finally embarked on the road of ashes and ashes.

=

Liu Biao's attack strategy was basically agreed by all parties after many days of discussions.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhou Yu and others bid farewell and left. The emperor, Liu Biao and other ministers of civil and military affairs in Xiangyang saw them off at the ten-mile long pavilion.

On the way back to the city, Cai Mao and Liu Biao were in the same car. He was very worried about the situation of the war, thinking that Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Liu Bei and others might not obey the imperial edict and send troops together.

"Each family has its own interests. It is obviously impossible to expect them to spare no effort to revitalize the country." Liu Biao said frankly, "But the current situation is very beneficial to us. If we can take advantage of this opportunity to defeat Li Hong, or take Li Hong rushed back to Hebei to maintain the confrontation between the North and the South, and each family is still very willing."

"Actually, I don't expect Cao Cao and Zhou Yu to reach the Yellow River in one go, nor do I expect Liu Bei to conquer Guanzhong, nor do I expect Sun Quan to command the navy to enter Qingzhou. I only hope that Cao Cao and Zhou Yu can work together to station troops in the Jianghuai River and take Qingzhou The forces of Yan and Yuzhou are dragging on the east road battlefield; I only hope that Liu Bei can threaten Guanzhong, intensify the conflict in Chang'an as much as possible, and make Chang'an chaotic; I only hope that Sun Quan will not break his promise at this time and turn against each other. I can’t thank you enough for the stability on both sides of the Yangtze River.”

Cai Mao sighed, "The three families can really count on Liu Bei. Liu Bei's foothold in Bashu is not stable, he is respectful to Xiangyang, and has always kept his promise to manage Yizhou with Jingzhou. The officials have also given great importance to them. This time, he took the initiative to resign from the governor of Yizhou and invited Liu Qi to go west to Bashu, which is considered to have given Xiangyang enough face. If he can do his best to enter Guanzhong, he will quickly change the situation in the north and help us go north to recover the Central Plains. Very beneficial."

"Xuande has the difficulty of Xuande." Liu Biao shook his head and said with a wry smile, "He first killed Zhao Wei and offended a large group of Bashu clans. In a fit of anger, Pang Yi, Yan Yan and others simply took refuge in Chang'an. Then he He forced Liu Zhang away again, and offended almost all the noble families in Bashu and Dongzhou scholars (residency scholars). At this time, he was able to win over a group of Bashu scholars to stabilize the situation in Yizhou, which is already very rare. I did not accept Xuande's resignation and let Liu Qi go west because I was worried that our mutual suspicion would worsen the situation in Bashu. At this moment, if Xuande commanded the troops of Bashu and Hanzhong to make a large-scale northern expedition, who can guarantee that Bashu will not be chaotic? Who can guarantee that it will not be chaotic? The state's army won't get cold feet?"

Cai Mao looked disappointed and depressed, "So, if we want to stabilize the situation between the north and the south this time, it depends entirely on whether the north will mess up its own way and destroy the Great Wall by itself."

"That's right, Li Hong, Li Wei, Zhang Yan and others made stupid tricks one after another, exacerbating the conflicts between the various forces in the north. It's hard to be undefeated." Liu Biao said, "We can only stand on the sidelines and see if we can win." Picking up a bargain, as for the massive advance, it's just a bluff."

Cai Mao hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "I heard that Li Hong is sending envoys to Xuzhou and Jiangdong. Sun Quan is in a safe corner, with the danger of the Yangtze River, and he has the strength to bargain. He will definitely benefit from both sides. But Cao Cao can't do it anymore. Cao Cao has had a hard time in the past few years. He has Li Hong in the north and Sun Quan in the south. There is Yuan Tan in the middle who has repeatedly struggled with him. Now that Yuan Tan fled to Jiangdong, Zhou Yu took the opportunity to occupy Lujiang again, forcing him to have a headache , if Sun Quan and Zhou Yu take the opportunity..." Cai Mao hesitated to speak.

"Are you worried that he will turn to Li Hong in a fit of anger?" Liu Biao thought for a while and said, "He has too much hatred with Li Hong, and even more so with the Yellow Turban Army. Even if Li Hong doesn't kill him, Zhang Yan, Yang People like Feng will never spare him. If he joins Li Hong, he will die faster. I am not worried about him defecting, but worried about his headache. Recently, his condition has worsened, and the headache He was tortured to death, in great pain, if he died suddenly at this time, it would be over..."

"Cao Cao is dead, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu will soon rob Xuzhou." Cai Mao's face suddenly changed, "Now the north is too busy to take care of themselves and can't afford to go south. How can they miss such a good opportunity?"

"Yes, Hua Tuo and Zhang Ji were snatched by Li Hong. Although Zuo Ci from Lujiang was captured by Cao Cao, he fled in a blink of an eye. Hua Tuo's two disciples, Wu Pu and Li Dang, also disappeared. At present, there are only a few disciples of Zhang Ji in southern medicine who can barely be regarded as masters, but I heard from Cao Pi that they can barely stabilize Cao Cao’s condition and reduce his pain, and they cannot take action like Hua Tuo and Zhang Ji. The condition can be stabilized, so what I am most worried about at the moment is what to do if Cao Cao dies suddenly..."

Cai Mao couldn't help shivering.

"You send people to Chang'an immediately..." Liu Biao leaned on the car seat and said after thinking for a while, "It doesn't matter whether Cao Cao will die or not, and no matter what happens on the battlefield on the east road, as long as Chang'an is in chaos, the north will be in jeopardy. There is a chance to defeat the Northern Army on the Nanyang battlefield. If we win the Nanyang battle, even if Li Hong is talented, he will not be able to save the confrontation between the North and the South."

"But he still has Li Wei, this person is too powerful." Cai Mao said, "Even if Li Hong is dead, with the strength of Xu Rong and Zhang Yan, coupled with Li Wei's talent for managing the world, he can still stick to Hebei , has become the biggest obstacle to our pacification of the world."

"Kill him." Liu Biao said sharply, "Kill Li Wei at all costs. If this person is not eliminated, the country will be in trouble."

"Okay, I will immediately let Wang Jie go to Chang'an to seek refuge with his elder brother Wang Kai, and let Ma Su and Zhang Yun bring assassins to lurk in Chang'an. The three of them will kill Li Wei together."

"Send the best warriors from Jingxiang to Chang'an. If one group is not enough, send ten groups. If 100 people are not enough, send 1000 people. Li Wei must be killed." Liu Biao waved his hand vigorously and made a beheading gesture. , "As long as Li Wei is killed, Chang'an will be in chaos, and a confrontation between the North and the South will be achieved."

=

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the little emperor came to the front line and commanded the army to attack Yuyang.

Yushi, Wang Dang, Yan Liang, Yu Du, Wu Xiong, Peng Lie, Liao Lei, Liang Baiwu and others led an army of [-] to launch a fierce attack on Yuyang.

On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, the Han army conquered Yuyang.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, the army moved to Nieyang.Under the command of Ma Liang, the main force of Nieyang City broke through overnight.The emperor ordered that he was allowed to break through, and ordered Yan Liang to lead an army of [-] to cover up and kill him, forcing him to flee to Wancheng.

On the 21st day of the first lunar month, the army conquered Nieyang.

On the 22nd of the first month, the Han army surrounded Wancheng on all sides.On the same day, Liu Qi and Cai Mao led an army of [-] troops and went north to rescue.Yan Liang immediately led an army of [-] infantry and [-] iron cavalry to station troops on the front line of Xinye and Chaoyang to block the reinforcements from Xiangyang.

=

The first month, Chang'an.

The favorable situation on the Nanyang battlefield not only did not ease the tension in Chang'an, but intensified the conflict in Chang'an.

At the end of the year, the price of grain began to soar, from [-] yuan per hu to [-] yuan per hu. After the New Year, the price of grain rose even more rapidly. Five hundred dollars.Guanzhong, Luoyang, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou and other major grain-producing states and counties have money but cannot buy grain.

The price of grain rose, and rich people from all over the place stopped sending grain to border counties to seek titles, but hoarded grain for sale.Food in Border County is already in short supply. The people need relief, and the army needs food and grass. Now that there is less food sent to Border County, the crisis will come. It is difficult to maintain.

States and counties from all over the country were in a hurry, and memorials flew to Chang'an like snowflakes.

In order to suppress grain prices, Hushi General Zhao Yunzuo asked the emperor to open a warehouse to release grain.Although opening granaries to release grain can curb the rise in grain prices to a certain extent, but when the money is not enough to buy grain, the grain in the official granary is released, and the frontline army rations cannot be guaranteed.For this reason, Zhao Yun suggested to the emperor to delay the attack on Wancheng and open the warehouse to release grain first.If the grain prices are not opened and grain prices are allowed to skyrocket, it will do too much harm to the people, and the people will be emotionally agitated, and the situation in various places will become more and more tense.

The soaring price of food has triggered a crazy price increase of various other materials. Fortunately, salt and iron are currently government-operated, and the stability of salt and iron prices has alleviated the panic and anger of the people to a certain extent.

Now the emperor is eager to attack Wancheng and occupy Nanyang, and Zhao Yun is eager to stabilize the grain price and calm the panic of the people everywhere, so the conflict between Xingtai and Chang'an suddenly intensified.

=

Dozens of ministers, including Taifu Liu He, Yu Shifu Xun You, Taichang Qing Xu Jing, Tai Servant Cui Yan, Ting Weiqing Chen Qun, Zong Zhengqing Zhang Fan, etc. jointly signed a petition, demanding the abolition of five baht coins and the replacement of big coins. Increase the circulation of coins to alleviate the current crisis, and then purchase food to meet the needs of the Nanyang battlefield and help the emperor win the Nanyang battle as soon as possible.

Hussar General Zhao Yun, Shang Shuling Tian Chou, Guang Luxun Zhang He, Wei Weiqing Yang Feng, Da Si Nong Qing Tian Yu, Shao Fu Qing Yu Peng, Sili Xiaowei Zhang Liao and other ministers protested, and the five baht coin is the country The foundation of stability, if the five baht money is abolished, the world will be in chaos. They suggested that the emperor consider withdrawing troops from Nanyang. At present, the army has swept Nanyang, and conquered Yuyang and Nieyang, basically realizing the plan before the war. The target, the army can be withdrawn, there is no need to fall into a siege battle, which makes the situation more critical.

The emperor replied immediately, agreeing to open warehouses to release grain, but rejected the suggestion of withdrawing troops, and ordered Zhao Yun to find ways to transport grain and grass to the front line. If the battle in Nanyang was delayed, he would be severely punished.

Zhao Yun had no choice but to write to Jinyang, asking the prime minister and the Taiwei to return to Chang'an immediately to preside over the overall situation, and to invite the great Sima Xu Rong to return to the court to be in charge.

Lord Taiwei refused to return to Chang'an on the grounds that he was unwell, but Prime Minister Li Wei ignored it at all, and joined forces with Fu Wan, Xiang Kai, Xu Shao, Wang Jian, Wang Ze, Guo Yun and other Confucian and Taoist masters in Jinyang Celebrities, with the theory of "Laozi" and "Zhuangzi" annotating the study of "Yi", openly raised the banner of "aiding Taoism into Confucianism and improving Confucianism".

At the same time, Taixue, Daxuetang, and Confucian scholars in Chang'an, Luoyang, Handan and other places also raised the banner of "improving Confucianism", resolutely opposed the aid of Daoism and Confucianism, and confronted Jinyang head-on.

=

In February, Zhao Yun ordered that all states and counties open warehouses to release grain, and severely crack down on big hoarders and big money merchants. Anyone who hoards grain without selling it and lends money wantonly will be punished as conspiracy and killed without mercy.

On the same day, Zhao Yun ordered that the collection of taxes can be replaced by real objects such as grain and millet, so as to reduce the exploitation of the people by rich merchants.The common people can report to the government the rich merchants who took the opportunity to make a fortune in the country, and the whistleblowers will be rewarded heavily, while the rich merchants who openly resist the order will be confiscated and exiled to the border areas.

Grand Tutor Liu He, Yushi Dafu Xun You and other ministers strongly opposed it, and rushed to the stage to impeach Zhao Yun.

Unmoved, Zhao Yun sent 27 envoys to various places to supervise the case. If any state or county official was found to take the opportunity to corrupt the law, practice favoritism and malpractice, he would be executed on the spot without reporting to the court.

The ruling and opposition parties suddenly fell into chaos, and everyone was in danger.

The impeachment memorials received by Xingtai piled up like a mountain, but the emperor stayed on the battlefield all day, ignoring them.

Grand Tutor Liu He, Zong Zhengqing Zhang Fan, and Doctor Guanglu Yang Qi rushed to Jinyang day and night, asking the eldest princess to come forward to suppress it.

=

I go to work in the afternoon and will not update at night.

(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
(End of this chapter)