Great Han Empire

Chapter 271 The situation changes suddenly
February 187 AD.

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The Son of Heaven is going to return to Jizhou Hejian Kingdom in the middle of this month to worship the ancestors. As the departure time approaches, officials in the inner palace, inner court and outer court are getting more and more busy.The emperor has made it clear that the queen and the eldest prince will stay in Luoyang, and he will only take the queen mother, the little prince and a group of royal family members to Jizhou.

Recently, the generals have been in frequent contact with the powerful families. They gather every day, or recite poems and fus, or comment on current affairs, or set wine and sing songs. The relationship between them is getting more and more harmonious. In the palace, I tried my best to prepare for His Majesty's return home.

The relationship between Luoyang's powerful and aristocratic families suddenly became complicated.The Xu Clan, whose family is headed by Sikong Xuxiang, lost face because his bride was snatched away in broad daylight. The officials are too close, and they don't have any intimate relationship with the general. At the same time, because of differences in academics, regions, and political opinions, the relationship between them and other major powers is also relatively tense.In the past, there were many and complicated factions in the aristocratic family. After Xu Shao made some shocking remarks in Taixue in the New Year, it is even more chaotic now.

General He Jin has had trouble sleeping and eating recently.After the Chinese New Year, the situation on the border suddenly became tense, and emergency documents were sent to the capital one by one like snowflakes.The staff of the General's Mansion stayed in the conference hall all day to analyze the situation and discuss the issue of foreign invasion.

King Xianbei Helian summoned four 10,000+ troops to Chen Bing border this time, and his determination to invade was very firm.

Where is the main direction of the Xianbei people's attack?The staff of the General's Mansion have been arguing about this issue for several days.

Shi Zhaoqi, the head of the general's house, believes that Murongfeng, the central Xianbei master, and Mijia, the eastern Xianbei master, invaded Youzhou the year before last. They were hit hard and lost a lot of personnel. It is difficult to recover in a short time. Chen Bing border, its purpose is very simple, that is to contain our main force.

"Helian's dispatch of troops this time is nothing more than to make contributions and restore the prestige of the Danhanshan royal family, but look, the four masters, except for Tuobafeng, the master of Xianbei in the north, no one listens to Helian." Zhao Qi pointed Youzhou on the map said, "Who is Murong Feng? He will rush to send troops when he is not fully recovered? Now the Karasuma people in Liaoxi and Liaodong are ready to move, and they are very rebellious. In this case, Murongfeng They will never enter Youzhou without permission, risking a confrontation with the Karasuma people, so the intention of the Xianbei people is obvious, they want to attract our attention to Youzhou, and then concentrate their main force to attack Bingzhou by surprise."

Sima He Yong disagreed with Zhao Qi's statement.

"The relationship between the Xianbei people and the Karasuma people living in Bingzhou, and the Xiutu tribes of the Xiongnu has always been good. If the Xianbei people set their main attack direction in Bingzhou, they must form an alliance with the Xiutu tribe and the Karasuma people of the Xiongnu in advance. Otherwise, the Xianbei When the Chinese invaded, we had to fight them first, but we have not received any news about this." He Yong said, "The Xiutu tribe is extremely hostile to us Han people, and they are also obedient to the Qiangqu Shanyu. The rebellion happened this time, so we have been paying close attention to them, especially Qiangqu Shanyu, and we have been keeping a closer eye on them, but we really have not received any news about this.”

He raised his head to look at the Fuchu officials who were sitting around, pointed at Xiliang solemnly and said, "I think Helian and Tuobafeng will attack Xiliang."

General He Jin and everyone in the mansion were stunned. Everyone looked at Xiliang on the map in doubt, and felt that He Yong's words were a bit unbelievable.

"Brother Bo Qiu, Li Hong's [-] troops are currently stationed near Chang'an. Unless Helian is crazy, he will never attack Xiliang." Wang Yun laughed, "Brother Bo Qiu, you are wrong."

"In my eyes, Li Hong's [-] troops are like a mess, without any threat at all." He Yong said with a proud smile.

"Bo Qiu, can you explain it?" He Jin asked solemnly, "If Li Hong's [-] army is scattered, we must reconsider the distribution of troops. If it doesn't work, the Northern Army will go west again. "

He Yong glanced at Yuan Shao.Yuan Shao immediately bowed and replied, "Of Li Hong's 3 troops, 1 are Huangzhong Qiang, Lingling Qiang and other Qiang soldiers. Who can control these [-] people except Li Hong? Li Hong's Fengyun Cavalry Heibao Yicong and Heibao Yicong are both Xianbei and Karasuma people. Except for Li Hong, who can control the [-] people? There are [-] infantry left, some of them are local frontier troops in Xiliang, and some are led by Li Hong from Jizhou. The Yellow Turban soldiers who went to Xiliang. Except for the Xiliang Frontier Army who can completely control them, who dares to use those Yellow Turban soldiers with confidence?"

Everyone was stunned.

"After the Lulongsai War, Li Hong's troops suffered heavy casualties. At that time, battles in Youzhou were very frequent. He had no time to recruit and train soldiers, so he had to recruit horse bandits, Hu people, and even Hu people's captives from northern Xinjiang. This situation has not changed until now.” Yuan Shao continued, “Hu people only obey such ruthless people as Li Hong. If Li Hong dies, the current This [-]-strong army will collapse in an instant. Even if we let the world-renowned Huangfusong command this army, its fate will not change, and the Yellow Turban soldiers will rebel first."

"We think so, and He Lian also thinks so, so Li Hong's safety in Jizhou is very worrying." He Yong laughed, "But we don't discuss this issue now, we are talking about the invasion of Xianbei people. Regardless of Xianbei Whether the direction of attack is Bingzhou or Xiliang, our current defensive force is more than enough, as long as Li Hong is not dead."

"The safer way is to recruit Dong Zhuo's troops from Hedong to Taiyuan to prevent the Xianbei from attacking from the direction of Bingzhou. At the same time, order Li Hong to return to Chang'an immediately to lead the army to prevent the Xianbei from attacking Xiliang."

General He Jin pondered for a long time, then nodded slowly.

"Recently, your majesty and the ministers of the court are busy with your majesty's return to his hometown to worship the ancestors. I am afraid that no one will pay attention to this matter." He Jin looked at Zhao Qi, Wang Yun, and Xun You, and smiled wryly, "My lord, Zishi and Gongda, please go to the Taiwei Mansion, Situ Mansion and Sikong Mansion separately, you try your best to persuade the three adults, and hope that the four mansions can play together, so as to attract enough attention from His Majesty."

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General He Jin was surprised by Xu You's secret letter, and he sent someone to call He Yong and Yuan Shao in a hurry.

"Who is this Song Wen? Why is Ziyuan so careless? Li Hong has the handle on Wang Fen's corruption and perverting the law, so he might be arrested. If Li Hong sends people to arrest him in Jizhou, everything will be exposed. He Yong said angrily, "We gave them hundreds of millions of money secretly, why is there no money to use? Where is the money?"

"They took it all home." Yuan Shao sighed, "Our people reported that Wang Fen took 6000 million yuan himself, and Xu You also took [-] million yuan. Where is the money?"

"Is money that good?" He Yong said angrily, pointing at his clothes, "I have made several patches on the inside and outside of this robe, but it still wears the same? I don't have any servants in my family. Madam cooks for me, don’t I eat the same? As long as it’s warm and full, why do you have to wear brocade clothes? You have to eat delicacies from mountains and seas? These greedy villains should have been killed by Li Hong a long time ago. The reason why our country has declined to this point is because these selfish and greedy officials drank the blood of the country and ate the meat of the country every day, and drank and ate up the country. Now the country is There are a lot of white bones left, and they are still lying on it."

He Jin's face was very ugly.

Yuan Shao patted the excited He Yong, and softly comforted him: "Brother Boqiu, the general is right in front of you, so be careful what you say. Don't get too excited."

"How can I not be excited? Has the ancestral temple of His Majesty's hometown ever been repaired? Has His Majesty's temporary palace ever been completed? Probably they haven't even erected the girders yet? Could it be that for money, they would risk their own lives, their ancestors, and even Don’t they even want their own country of Han? They talk about being loyal to the country of Han, but in fact, they think about swallowing the country of Han all the time, a group of despicable villains.” He Yong cursed loudly, “They should be Drag it out and kill it."

Yuan Shao smiled helplessly, and said, "Bo Qiu, now we have no choice but to kill Li Hong immediately."

He Jin thought for a while and said: "Once Li Hong makes a move against Wang Fen, his scheme will be exposed, and everything will come to naught, and this matter will alarm His Majesty and make him alert. From then on, we will never find such chance."

"Why is it so difficult to eradicate the traitors?" He Yong sighed, "I have worked hard for decades, and my hair is almost gray, but the traitors are still showing off their power in the court, arrogating power and harming the country. Is it true that our big Han country is really angry? exhausted?"

"How is it possible?" Yuan Shao laughed, "Brother Boqiu is exaggerating. With the General here, everything is still under our control."

"Bo Qiu, no more confidence?" He Jin laughed.

He Yong shook his head, smiled wryly and said, "It's up to man to plan things, and God to make things happen. What should I do if I don't do it? I'll write back to Xu You immediately."

"What about Luoyang?" Yuan Shao asked, "The aftermath must be dealt with first."

"There are too many people who want Li Hong to die, just find some reasons, and no one will applaud you." He Yong said, "But Li Hong is dead, we just need to give up Xiliang."

He Jin's heart trembled, and a pain suddenly penetrated into his heart and lungs.If I do this, will ZTE rejuvenate the Han country or harm the Han country?Losing Xiliang, what face do I have to meet my ancestors?He involuntarily put his hand on his forehead and sighed sadly.

"At present, the invasion of the Xianbei people is on the verge of attack, and they are bound to launch. Their attack time should be in March, and it will not exceed April at the latest." Yuan Shao said helplessly: "We originally planned to use the joint name of the four houses to force Your Majesty to attack. Transfer Li Hong back to Xiliang to resist the invasion of the Xianbei people. In this way, even if our affairs cause civil strife in the Central Plains for a period of time, it will not damage the foundation of the Han Kingdom, but now..."

"Is there no way to save it?" He Jin raised his head to look at the two subordinates, and asked for help, "Give up Xiliang, I can't do it."

"We will definitely not be able to recruit Dong Zhuo's troops. The rest is Luoyang's Northern Army." Yuan Shao said hesitantly, "But..."

He Yong thought for a long time, and said: "If the general is unwilling to give up Xiliang, he must give up..." He didn't go on, and he couldn't go on.

"Is the general willing?" Yuan Shao asked in a low voice.

He Jin stared blankly at the table, speechless for a long time.

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Li Hong has been stationed in Xiangyu Mountain camp for five days, but Li Hong still has no intention of leaving Yecheng, Wang Fen is very anxious.

Xu You went to the barracks every day for the past two days to ask Li Hong for military funds. At first Li Hong responded with a few words, but then got annoyed and asked Xie Ming to receive him.Xu You likes to play chess, but he couldn't stand Xie Ming's temptation, so he plunged into the chessboard, completely forgetting about asking for money.He lost two games in a row, got angry, and didn't even return to the city, and wanted to play games with Xie Ming all night long.

Just when Wang Fen was dying of anxiety, he received a secret letter from the bitter chieftain.

"Bo Yan, good news." Wang Fen read the secret letter and said with a smile, "Li Hong died well now."

Chen Yi looked at him strangely and asked, "What good news?"

"Li Hong's captain, Yan Liang, and his two wives are both Yang Feng's younger sisters." Wang Fen said excitedly, "Li Hong secretly conspired with the Yellow Turban Ant Thief, intending to hijack the emperor. The evidence is solid, and he was caught by us." After that, he committed suicide in fear of crime."

"He has three thousand followers of the Black Panther." Chen Yi reminded, "We don't have the power to defeat the Black Panther, so we have no chance of killing Li Hong." He looked sideways at Wang Fen and said listlessly, "This news is good, but for us, it's the same as nothing."

Wang Fen laughed.

"Li Hong won't stay in Xiangyu Mountain all the time. He has to go to Hejian Kingdom, so I guess he will definitely leave in the next two days. Once Li Hong leaves, the Xiangyu Mountain Camp will be left in command. Look at Li Hong Yan Liang is the only captain under his command, and he is the only one who is qualified to lead the army. Besides him, who else can Li Hong keep? He will never keep Yuan Shu from the Northern Army, right? Can he trust Yuan Shu?"

"As for the Black Panther Yicong..." Wang Fen laughed and said, "Yan Liang must bring 2000 people with him when he stays in Xiangyu Mountain, otherwise, what is he going to do to intimidate people? The Black Panther Yicong is divided into two, and his strength is greatly reduced , can only be slaughtered."

Chen Yi nodded again and again, then he thought of something, and asked worriedly: "Brother Yuanshan, it is of course much easier to kill Yan Liang than Li Hong, but Li Hong..."

"I want to discuss with Xu Ziyuan how to kill Li Hong." Wang Fen said with a smile, "Why hasn't Ziyuan come back yet?"

While he was muttering, Xu You ran back excitedly.

"My lord, we will go to the camp tomorrow to collect military funds."

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Li Hong invited Yuan Shu, Captain of Changshui, to discuss who should stay in the camp of Xiangyu Mountain.

"Your Excellency can decide this matter, so why discuss it with me?" Yuan Shu said with a smile, "I only care about Changshuiying, and I don't care about other things."

"According to the military law of the Han Dynasty, other Sima can command the army, so I plan to let other Sima Jiang Wu sit in the Xiangyu Mountain Camp." Li Hong smiled, "Considering the safety of the Xiangyu Mountain Camp, I plan to ask the commander He Feng, the military commander of the water camp, also stayed behind, and asked him to be Jiang Wu's deputy."

Yuan Shu was stunned for a moment, and said, "I thought Lord Yan Liangyan was sitting in the Xiangyu Mountain camp?" Then he cupped his hands and said, "My lord is a very wrong choice."

"Master Yuan, tell me why it's not appropriate? Jiang Wu has commanded an army of thousands of people in Xiliang, and he has a lot of experience in commanding troops." Li Hong asked suspiciously.

"He is from Xiliang. The Jizhou soldiers are not familiar with him, and they can't understand his Xijiang dialect. Everyone may not accept it. Mr. Yan is different. He is a captain, and he is from Changshan, Jizhou. After leading them for several days, the soldiers are familiar with him, so of course he should stay in Xiangyu Mountain." Yuan Shu laughed, "Does your lord have any other purpose?"

"I mainly want to keep He Feng from your northern army. I think He Feng and Jiang Wu get along very well, so I made this arrangement." Li Hong smiled, "Would your lord want to keep He Feng?"

Yuan Shu shook his head and said helplessly, "My lord, before I left Luoyang, the general told me repeatedly that the Changshui Camp is only under your command and not under your control, so..."

"But the number of my troops is too small, if all of them stay in Xiangyu Mountain..."

"Your Excellency doesn't believe me, or do you not trust the five thousand soldiers in the Changshui Camp?" Yuan Shu immediately lowered his face and said unhappily, "Could it be that my five thousand soldiers in the Changshui Camp can't guarantee the safety of Your Excellency?"

"My lord, I misunderstood, I misunderstood." Li Hong hurriedly said with a smile, "In this case, please follow my lord Yuan."

After sending Yuan Shu away, Li Hong sat in the big tent and hesitated.

"My lord, is there anything wrong with Master Yan staying in Xiangyu Mountain?" Li Wei asked, "I think you are hesitant."

Li Hong smiled wryly, and said, "Yang Feng of the Yellow Turban Army is his brother-in-law."

Li Wei and Xie Ming were shocked when they heard this.

"My lord, why are you hesitating? Of course, Zilong or Jiang Wu are sitting in Xiangyu Mountain. Lord Yan must not stay." Xie Ming said, "If Wang Fen uses this to make a fuss, wouldn't we be in a cocoon and ask for trouble? .”

"I'm not worried that Wang Fen will use this to make a fuss, I'm worried about Yan Liang's safety." Li Hong said worriedly, "We originally wanted to force Wang Fen to jump the wall, so whether he is plotting against us or we are plotting against him , is not important, what is important is that we have the strength to defeat him."

Li Wei pondered for a while, and said: "Since my lord has revealed Yuan Shu's tone, of course he can also guess Yuan Shu's thoughts. Now we can't count on Changshuiying. We only have three thousand black panthers, and we are really strong in terms of strength." Check it out, unless..."

Li Hong shook his hands and said with a smile: "Don't do it, just do it, otherwise we are dead."

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(End of this chapter)