Great Han Empire

Chapter 321 The rain is coming
The imperial edict was delivered to Longshan Camp.

I heard that Li Hongqian was promoted to be the general of Xingzhenbei, Marquis of Pingting, holding Jieyue, supervising the military affairs of Bingzhou, Hedong, and Hanoi, and restraining the [-] troops in the three places. All the generals came to congratulate him one after another.However, Li Hong wasn't happy at all, instead he was worried.The emperor suddenly reused it, and his intention is self-evident, but let alone the dispute over the emperor's command in the capital, it is difficult for him to bear the heavy responsibility of suppressing the rebellion and imperial border. When will this battle be fought?
All the generals congratulated Li Hong, and then congratulated Xian Yufu.Xianyu Fuqian was promoted to protect the Xiongnu Zhonglang general, Marquis of Guannei, and everyone was convinced.Earlier, many generals were aggrieved that Shao Yufu was granted too light a title.In the army, Xian Yufu was the commander in chief of the army second only to Li Hong, with a high reputation.The direct commander of the Yicheng battle was actually Xian Yufu; after Li Hong arrived in Luoyang, the army was also under the command of Xian Yufu; General, but because Li Hong, the commander-in-chief of the army, was repeatedly squeezed out and suppressed by the court, he was naturally implicated and has not been reused.This time the emperor finally gave him the grace to grant him the important task of taking care of the Southern Huns, which was regarded as an added kind of favor, but he was not very happy, he saw the crisis in it.

Li Hong was reused not because of his achievements and abilities, but because of the needs of the emperor.It can be seen from the fact that the emperor appointed Li Hong as the acting general of Zhenbei, the emperor was not at ease with Li Hong, and he did not grant him the complete authority of Zhenbei general.According to the old rule, the General Department of Zhenbei was to supervise the military affairs of the three prefectures of Bing, You, and Ji, but the emperor changed him to one prefecture and two prefectures, and they were still two prefectures in Gyeonggi. The purpose was obviously to use Li Hong's army to deter powerful officials in Luoyang. .This puts Li Hong on the top of the wave. Regardless of whether Li Hong succeeds or fails, he will fall into the valley of the wave in the future.If Li Hong falls, as Li Hong's subordinate, no matter how big the official position is, no matter how strong the background is, he will be implicated.There have been too many such things in the past dynasties.

If Li Hong was still the general who sought captives, and still led the army to conquer the north and the south, he would be fine, because he had not yet been caught in the power vortex of the court, and he was still out of power disputes, but the emperor just made a decree , pulling him into this vortex of no return.What Li Hong is doing now has not changed, he is still leading the army to conquer everywhere, but just because he changed his official position and sat in the position of General Xingzhenbei, in charge of the military affairs of one state and three counties, he again He is not a pure martial artist, but a power minister who is deeply involved in power struggle.

Xian Yufu went out of Xihe, Xu Rong went to Yanmen, Qu Yi went to Hanoi, the three generals went their separate ways, Li Hong's army was immediately divided into four.On the surface, it seems that Li Hong controls a large number of troops and a large area, as well as great power, but once the war is settled and the imperial power is stabilized, Li Hong's role will be over. .

But that's where the problem lies.When Li Hong was in power, the emperor would reward Li Hong's subordinates, and the various powers would do everything possible to win over and split Li Hong's subordinates for their own interests, in an attempt to weaken Li Hong's power, but if Li Hong fell, no matter whether it was the emperor Either way, the powers of all parties will gradually cut off Li Hong's former officials and children, even if you are an important town, you will not be spared. Let me ask you, who will believe in your loyalty at that time?At that time, everyone pushed the wall down, especially those who betrayed the old master, and the fate was even worse. No one would let a despicable and shameless person go.So everyone had a plan in mind, Xian Yufu, Xu Rong, and Qu Yi each held the imperial decree, and their hearts were heavy.From the day they were restrained by Li Hong, the fates of several people were tightly tied together, and no one could do without the other, because Li Hong was involved in the struggle for imperial lineage, and because there was a supreme leader on their heads. emperor.

Since ancient times, all powerful officials who have been dragged into the battle for imperial lineage have not had a good end.

Li Hong looked at the three of them apologetically, and forced a smile: "I didn't expect things to turn out like this, you..."

"My son, it's not your fault, you can't help yourself." Xian Yufu interrupted him with a wave of his hand, and comforted him: "The rest of us are also involuntary, we can only resign ourselves to fate."

Xu Rong looked calm, and said slowly: "As a subject of the Han Dynasty, it is understandable to contribute to the Han Dynasty, share the worries and solve the problems for His Majesty, as long as everything we do is worthy of the Han Kingdom, we will have no regrets. As for life or death, that is a matter of heaven, and has nothing to do with us."

Qu Yi laughed, pointed at Xu Rong and said, "Brother Zilie is right. Death is inevitable. As long as you are worthy of the Han Kingdom, you will die. What are you afraid of?"

Li Hong was very moved, and said with a smile: "Then I won't talk about it. Now that I have become General Zhenbei, I only have one idea, and that is to regain the four northern counties. If I can regain the lost territory, I will have no regrets when I die."

"The general is so proud." Qu Yi said with a smile, "Then the division of troops..."

"Not considering it for the time being." Li Hong said, "If the matter of recruiting the Yellow Turban Army cannot be settled, we cannot divide the troops. I will write to His Majesty and explain the reasons in detail."

===

Li Hong immediately called Xiao Lan and asked her to write a memorial.

Li Hong believes that the Zhang Yan Department of the Yellow Turban Army in Taiyuan County is very powerful now, and the Yang Feng Department of the Yellow Turban Army in Shangdang County can go north to support, so if force is used immediately to put down the rebellion, enough troops and a certain amount of time are needed in order to win the war. It is decided to completely wipe out the rebels and never cause future troubles, but in this way, His Majesty's proposal to divide the troops cannot be implemented for the time being.

In addition, the army has been chasing the enemy northward since the Battle of Boluogu, and there is no time for the whole army to rest. The soldiers are very tired, and the Xianbei prisoners recruited are not well trained. Their loyalty and morale are worrying.If the three adults went out with such iron cavalry, not only would they have no fighting power, they might even have accidents.Especially for Master Qu Yi's southward army, if the Hu soldiers rebelled in Hanoi, the capital would be in danger.

Li Hong suggested that His Majesty send some elite soldiers from the Northern Army to cross the Yellow River to the north and join up with the soldiers from the prefectures and states in Hanoi to jointly pacify the Yellow Turban in Heishan in order to temporarily stabilize the situation in Gyeonggi.

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Li Hong's proposal to appease the Yellow Turban Army caused an uproar in Luoyang.

Li Hong said in the memorial that Zhang Yan, the commander-in-chief of the Yellow Turban Army, currently has the largest number of people and the most powerful force in the Yellow Turban Army. capital.

After the Yellow Turban Army is appeased, its hundreds of thousands of troops can be streamlined, and then let them implement military settlements in Bingzhou.Firstly, the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army can be placed, secondly, the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army can participate in the border defense battle nearby, thirdly, it can provide a steady stream of soldiers for the frontier army, and fourthly, it can solve the problem of self-sufficiency of food and grass for the frontier army.With these strong guarantees, in the future, the army will not only be able to recover the four northern counties, but also attack outside the Great Wall and attack the barbarians from afar, so as to make great achievements for His Majesty forever.

In addition, after the Yellow Turban Army was appeased, the millions of refugees stranded in Taihang Mountain would go down the mountain with them.Once the refugee problem is resolved, the source of soldiers for the rebels and the root cause of the rebellion will disappear, so appeasing the refugees is the most important thing to appease the Yellow Turban Army.In the memorial, Li Hong put forward the appeasement method of reclaiming land and farming.He said that Taiyuan and Shangdang counties are vast and sparsely populated, which is just suitable for the strategy of reclaiming land and farming, and defending against the enemy with a strong frontier.

Shangshutai was the first to see Li Hong's memorial. Huangfusong and Lu Zhi were surprised and delighted, and they had an audience with the emperor overnight.After listening to the explanations of the two, the emperor was very interested in saving military funds and making contributions.Now the Dasinong Mansion has no money, and the military resources are all subsidized by the Shaofu, so saving military funds is actually saving money for the emperor.As for making world-wide achievements, that is of course the emperor's happiest thing.He carefully read Li Hong's memorial twice, and asked with a smile: "Didn't Zhuqing say that Li Hong is a barbarian? I think he is very knowledgeable? What do you think of Li Hong's proposal?"

Huang Fusong said: "Your Majesty, now that Youzhou has been lost, Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun's rebels are attacking Jizhou on a large scale. The most urgent task is to drag Zhang Yan's Yellow Turban Army to Bingzhou to prevent them from working together to cause chaos in the Central Plains. In addition, if at this time It is true that the imperial court cannot bear the huge military expenditure if the two states go to war at the same time, therefore, the general’s proposal of Xing Zhenbei is very timely, and it can just solve the urgent need of the imperial court.”

The emperor was a little nervous when he heard that, and hurriedly asked: "Has the ants attacked Hejian country?" The emperor owned a lot of land and mansions in Hejian country, so he was very worried.

Lu Zhi said: "Your Majesty, the Youzhou army is standing firm in the area of ​​Gaoyang City in the Hejian Kingdom. The rebels have not yet reached the hinterland of the Hejian Kingdom, but they may go directly south to attack Xindu City in the Anping Kingdom."

"Where's Liu Yu? Has Liu Yu rushed to Xindu City?"

"Lord Liu is gathering troops in Xindu City. At present, [-] soldiers from Bohai County of Jizhou and Qinghe Kingdom have rushed to Xindu City one after another, while Captain Zou Jing of Qingzhou is on the way with [-] soldiers from Jinan Kingdom and Pingyuan County. It will be there in a few days.”

Hearing this, the emperor let out a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, the matter of Bingzhou..."

"After tomorrow's court meeting, regardless of what the Sangong and Jiuqing say, the Shang Shutai will immediately issue an order to appease you quickly."

In the court hall, the Sangong and Jiuqing suddenly heard that the emperor wanted to appease the yellow-turban ant thief, and there was a great chaos, and the voices of persuasion kept coming and going.

For decades, the Great Han Kingdom, no matter in the western Xinjiang or in the Central Plains, has adopted a strategy of killing the rebels, and only after the former Taiwei Zhang Wen went to Xiliang, he was really powerless to put down the rebellion, so he came up with a way to appease the rebels. Policy.At that time, Li Hong, as Zhang Wen's subordinate, even went to Jincheng County to serve as a consolation envoy, but in the end, it proved that this method was useless and could only make the rebels more arrogant and confident.

Taiwei Cui Lie and Situ Xu equaled a group of ministers who opposed it fiercely.

They believed that Zhang Yan's initiative to be caressed had a purpose.If Zhang Yan proposes a series of conditions that the court cannot accept, the matter of appeasement will be delayed again and again.As long as it is delayed until October, when the grains are ripe, the ants will have food.At that time, if Zhang Yan suddenly refused to be appeased, and raised his troops to rebel, things would be complicated.Moreover, even if Zhang Yan is appeased, even if the Yellow Turban Army is stationed in the fields, thieves are thieves. If their desires cannot be satisfied, they may rebel at any time.

It would not take three to five years to resettle the millions of refugees on the Taihang Mountains, and it would be impossible to complete them at all. However, in these three to five years, the imperial court will need to spend at least tens of billions of money to support them. Where will the imperial court get this money?This money is several times more than what is needed to suppress the rebellion, and it is far less than the speedy suppression of the rebellion.The imperial court spent tens of billions of money to reclaim land and farmland, but who benefited the most in the end?It was Zhang Yan and his Yellow Turban Army.After Zhang Yan's success in farming, his strength is strong and his wings are full. If he raises troops to make trouble again, who will restrain him?Li Hong avoids the important and ignores the minor, and only talks about the benefits of farming, but never talks about the harm of farming, which is obviously deceiving the emperor.

Another more important question is who will preside over the matter of recruiting the Yellow Turban Army?To appease the Yellow Turban Army and to appease the refugees is actually one thing, and whoever presides over it must be in charge of the military administration of Bingzhou, otherwise there will be no discussion.The ministers are of course unwilling to let General Xing Zhenbei take charge of the military administration of Bingzhou, so Li Hong will be even more dangerous to the Han Dynasty.But to appease the Yellow Turban Army, there must be a strong general like Li Hong as the backing, otherwise, the Yellow Turban Army would not pay attention to the imperial court's appeasement.However, now that Li Hong is in the top position, how many people in the Han Dynasty can command?Looking at the imperial court, who is willing to do such a thankless thing?

Therefore, all the ministers who opposed the proposal of appeasement believed that now is the best time to suppress the rebels and must not be missed.Li Hong's brain was broken and he didn't understand anything, so he fell into the plan of the ant thief Zhang Yan to delay the attack.The ministers suggested that His Majesty once again issued an order to strictly order Li Hong to put down the rebellion quickly and go north to Youzhou as soon as possible.

When the quarrel was raging in the court hall, the general He Jin went out and said: "Your Majesty, in order to drag Zhang Yan's rebels from going east to Changshan, we should first appease them. Zhang Yan can't go to Jizhou to join Youzhou rebels. The critical situation in Jizhou can be greatly alleviated, and the Youzhou rebels lose strong support, and it is unlikely that they will continue to go south. In addition, the army of General Zhenbei has fought repeatedly, and the soldiers are exhausted and need a period of rest. , accumulating strength."

"Whether Zhang Yan's voluntary appeasement is a tactic to slow down the army or not, we have no loss. Once October comes, if Zhang Yan rebels again, he will seek his own death. Strike and completely annihilate the rebels."

What General He Jin needed was time, and he wished that Li Hong and Zhang Yan would toss slowly in Bingzhou, the longer the toss, the better.

If the appeasement is unsuccessful, the two sides will fight, and the counter-insurgency will take a long time.If the appeasement is successful, it will be even better. With so many Yellow Turbans stationed in Bingzhou, Li Hong must send a large army to guard against the Yellow Turbans' rebellion. In this way, even if Li Hong wants to go south according to the order, he has to weigh it again and again. .In addition, the court must not be able to afford the money needed to cultivate land in Bingzhou. After a long time, the Yellow Turban Army did not see the sincerity of the court's appeasement, but deliberately deceived them, and they will surely rebel again.

"Haha..." He Jin laughed when he thought of Li Hong's embarrassing appearance leading the army to put down the rebellion.As long as Li Hong is so busy in northern Xinjiang that he can't afford to look south, then he will have plenty of time.

Situ Cui Lie asked: "General, what if Zhang Yan doesn't rebel?"

He Jin laughed and said, "Then cultivate the land and cultivate the fields. Following the advice of General Zhenbei will benefit the country and the people, but will not cause any harm."

"What about the money?" Cui Lie continued to ask.

He Jin spread his hands and said, "Peace first, why do you think so far? Hold Zhang Yan first."

"Then who is going to appease?"

"Of course it's General Xingzhenbei."

"Then who will appease the refugees?"

"Of course it is Mr. Zhang Yi, Inspector of Bingzhou." He Jin said, "He is the Inspector of Bingzhou, so it must be him."

"Zhang Yi?" Cui Lie said with wide-eyed eyes, "General Xing Zhenbei will listen to him? Let two ministers do one thing, can it be done?"

He Jin rolled his eyes and fell silent.He hoped that Zhang Yi and Li Hong would fall out immediately, so that he would have a chance.

===

The emperor ignored the objections of the ministers, and ordered Li Hong, the general of Xingzhenbei, to appease the Yellow Turban Army, and Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou, to appease the refugees.

The edict had just been sent out, and Li Hong's memorial arrived again.

The emperor was not happy when he saw it.That's why you're appointed as a General of Zhenbei, you won't listen to me, is that okay?
Huangfu Song persuaded with a smile: "Your Majesty, there is no war in Bingzhou now, so it doesn't matter if you move troops slowly. General Li's caution is very reasonable. Please think about it, Your Majesty. The land of Gyeonggi is at stake."

The emperor was taken aback, and then changed his mind and asked General He Jin to send troops to Hanoi to suppress the rebellion.After He Jin received the order, he immediately let Liu Biao, the Marquis of the Northern Army, and Yuan Shao, the censor of the Northern Army, command the Yueqi battalion to cross Hebei.

===

After Li Hong received the order, he was overjoyed and immediately notified Zhang Yan, and the two parties immediately agreed to build a camp in Dalong Mountain for negotiation.

A few days later, Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou, rushed from Yanmen Pass to Longshan Daying.Zhang Yi is in his 40s, with a thin body, a white face and long beard, and elegant manners.This person has extraordinary knowledge and integrity. He has been an official in Bingzhou for many years and has a good reputation.Zhang Yi hated the Yellow Turban Army very much. He believed that the main reason for the decline of the Han Dynasty was that the Yellow Turban Army raised its flag and rebelled, burning, killing and looting everywhere.So when he saw Li Hong for the first time, he immediately expressed his anger and dissatisfaction bluntly. He said that he would write a letter to His Majesty, refusing to appease the Yellow Turban Army.

Li Hong thought this would be better, and I was worrying about how to kick you away.

Seeing Zhang Baiqi and Huang Ting again, Li Hong was very excited. He took their hands and said with a smile, "Last year, you two said you would go back to the Taihang Mountains to grow vegetables. How are you doing?"

Huang Ting said embarrassingly: "Are you still growing vegetables? As soon as we returned to Taihang Mountain, we were forced to do things by the commander-in-chief. We didn't even grow a single grass."

Li Hong laughed and said: "This time the negotiation is over, I will give you a piece of land for growing vegetables."

Zhang Baiqi held Li Hong's hand and said emotionally, "Thank you!"

Li Hong patted him on the shoulder hard, and said seriously: "No matter how difficult it is this time, we must make a deal, otherwise, I will stay in Taiyuan and not go there."

On the first day of the talks, the two sides quarreled.

Zhang Yi, governor of Bingzhou, didn't want to talk about it at first, but when he saw Huang Ting and him talking about the land matter in a serious manner, he became very angry.

Li Hong was furious, and immediately ordered Pang De to lead someone to take Zhang Yi to the camp and lock him up.

"Here, who is the most powerful?" Li Hong looked at the group of governors of Bingzhou Governor's Mansion that Zhang Yi had brought, and asked in a cold voice.

A 24-year-old, elegant-looking, gentle young man stepped forward.

"The next official and the state capital don't drive to work on Tang Fang Tang Muyun."

"Then you continue to talk. If you deliberately provoke again, I will kill you with a knife."

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(End of this chapter)