Great Han Empire

Chapter 514 Immediately Shooting the Gun
On the morning of August 26th, Taifu Mansion.

After a night of bloody wind and rain, Luoyang City has gradually calmed down.Nangong also gradually returned to normal after being cleaned up by thousands of tigers and feathers.In the entire Luoyang City, apart from the burnt Suzaku Gate and the infantry patrolling around, there is no trace of chaos and blood. The streets are deserted and deserted, and the prosperity of the past is gone.

The Shangshu ordered Lu Zhi to enter the Deyang Hall of the North Palace to meet the emperor, and discuss a solution with Zhang Rang, Duan Gui and others who were abducting the emperor.Lu Zhi said, now that the general is dead, and He Miao is also dead, should you adults think about your own way out?If you send the emperor back to the Changqiu Palace right now, it can be said that you have made meritorious service in escorting him, so that he will not be decapitated.When Zhang Rang heard that He Miao had died, he immediately despaired, and his last hope of survival was completely shattered.

"You killed He Miao?" Zhang Rang said angrily, "Do you think that you can take power alone? Can the Queen Mother let you go?"

"The one who killed He Miao was the general's subordinates, and has nothing to do with us." Lu Zhi sneered, "Let the emperor and King Chen Liu go immediately, and you will live."

Zhang Rang and Duan Gui didn't believe Lu Zhi's words at all.If He Miao was still alive and still in control of the Northern Army, the Empress Dowager He would probably pardon their crimes considering her need to be in charge of the court and her years of friendship, but now that He Miao is dead, the military power of the Northern Army has fallen to the Grand Tutor In the hands of Yuan Kai, the queen mother and the emperor lost their last support. In the future, the orphans and widows can only be slaughtered by the Tai Tuo and a group of gentry ministers in the court.As for the now desperate middle-ranking officials, there is no other way but death.

Zhang Rang thought for a long time, and made a request that stunned Lu Zhi.He will take the emperor and King Chenliu to Youzhou to vote for Taiwei Liu Yu.

Lu Zhi and Zhang Rang glared at each other, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly became extremely tense.Duan Gui drew out his long sword violently, pointed at Lu Zhi furiously and said, "Go quickly, prepare the car for His Majesty, we are leaving Luoyang."

Lu Zhi snorted coldly and walked away.

Duan Gui looked at the back of Lu Zhi leaving in a hurry, and asked very puzzled: "Why do you want to go to Youzhou? Although Liu Yu is honest and won't kill us, Liu Yu still wants to escort him back to Beijing. What will we do in the future? ?”

"The future? Do we have a future?" Zhang Rang sighed, "Not only are we dying, but so are the queen mother and the emperor. Can't you see? The general died, and Yuan Kai took the opportunity to kill He Miao. The Northern Army has been controlled by Yuan Wei, and this Luoyang is already under the control of Yuan Wei and the scholars."

"You mean, Yuan Kai wants to depose the young emperor?" Duan Gui suddenly came to his senses.

"Yuan Kai allowed the rebels to attack the palace, burn the Suzaku Gate, and kill He Miao. He has committed a heinous crime." Zhang Rang said, "Although we killed He Jin, the chief culprit for today's situation is Yuan. Kui, doesn't the queen mother know? Therefore, if Yuan Kui and those scholars want to survive, there is only one way, and that is to kill the queen mother and the emperor."

"We are done for. Yuan Kai probably killed his family and relatives, but before he dies, how can he not avenge this revenge? As long as we bring the emperor and King Chen Liu to Youzhou, Yuan Kai will not dare to kill the queen mother, let alone depose her." Young Emperor, re-establish a new emperor." Zhang Rang said through gritted teeth, "When we arrived in Youzhou, we immediately forced Taiwei Liu Yu and General Li Hong to escort him back to Beijing. As long as the emperor returns to the capital, Yuan Kai and the gang will Partisans just wait to die."

Duan Gui said worriedly: "Li Hong has the last emperor's edict in his hand, if he takes the opportunity to depose the emperor and support King Chenliu as emperor..."

"No matter who is the emperor, Liu Yu and Li Hong will send the emperor back to the capital." Zhang Rang sneered, "If Liu Yu and Li Hong protect the young emperor back to the capital, will they still let Yuan Wei live? If Li Hong deposes the Young Emperor, how can Yuan Kai let Liu Yu and Li Hong return to Beijing? He is worried that he will not have the chance to kill Li Hong. If the two sides fight because of this, do you think Li Hong will win or Yuan Kai will win?"

Duan Gui shook his head, "Li Hong is now on an expedition to the desert, and he needs Yuan Wei to help him stabilize Luoyang and provide him with food, grass and supplies. How could he turn against Yuan Wei at this time?"

Zhang Rang said with a smile: "Luoyang is already in chaos, and the expedition of the chariot general is over."

===

Because Zhang Rang and Duan Gui refused to release the emperor, Tai Fu Yuan Kui, Lu Zhi and other ministers decided to temporarily abandon the rescue of the emperor after urgent consultations, and first concentrate on controlling the northern army.

At this time, Zhijinwu Dingyuan and Hanoi prefect Wang Kuang, who were the first to rush to Ping Optimism, sent urgent letters saying that Dong Zhuo's army had entered the northern camp and controlled [-] northern troops.

Grand Tutor Yuan Kui, Lu Zhi and other ministers looked at each other pale, unbelievable.

Yuan Kui's military order ordering all armies to encircle Ping Optimism was sent out in the early morning. Even if Dong Zhuo didn't delay for a moment, he would not be able to arrive at the Northern Army camp at noon. Obviously, Dong Zhuo got the news of the great change in Luoyang earlier. But the problem is, he has neither imperial decree nor talisman, how can he control the [-] Northern Army?It is impossible for Dan Dingyuan and Wang Kuang to create something out of nothing, and this news cannot be wrong.

Feeling that the situation was out of control, Yuan Kai and Lu Zhi immediately summoned the ministers to the Taifu's Mansion to discuss matters, and at the same time ordered Zhu Jun, Liu Bo, and Zhou Shen to rush to the Northern Army Camp with the Queen Mother's order to investigate the truth.

Ping Optimistic is only ten miles away from Luoyang City, and the news is transmitted very quickly.When the ministers were still arguing and at a loss in Taifu's mansion, Ding Yuan sent someone to send news again, saying that Dong Zhuo's army was coming from Hangu Pass, and there were only a few thousand Xiliang cavalry in the Northern Army camp. .Ding Yuan asked Yuan Kai if he would launch an attack immediately to drive Dong Zhuo out of the northern camp.

Most ministers approved of the attack.Yuan Shao said that Dong Zhuo was short of troops now, if he launched a surprise attack, he would be able to defeat Dong Zhuo quickly.Dong Zhuo did not have an imperial decree, even if he controlled the Northern Army, he would use bloody means, and the soldiers of the Northern Army would not willingly obey.Shangshu He Yong said that if Dong Zhuo was allowed to control the Northern Army, the situation in Luoyang would become more complicated, and it would be better to drive him out of Gyeonggi immediately.

Lu Zhi, Shangshu Xu Jing and others resolutely opposed it.Now the situation is unclear, no one knows whether Dong Zhuo has completely controlled the Northern Army, and what method he used to control the Northern Army.If there is a fierce conflict between the two sides, the [-] Northern Army with unstable morale will be in chaos, and the situation in Luoyang will be out of control.Lu Zhi said that as long as the Northern Army is not chaotic, Luoyang will be able to stabilize quickly. This is the most important thing, so no matter who controls the Northern Army at present, it is a good thing.

Xu Jing said that Dong Zhuo was an important general in the dynasty, with profound qualifications and high prestige, and there was nothing wrong with letting him temporarily control the Northern Army.After Luoyang was stabilized, the soldiers and horses who entered the capital had to return to the prefectures and counties, and Dong Zhuo, as the shepherd of Liangzhou, also had to go back.

"What if he doesn't go back?" Shang Shu Zheng Tai asked.

"In Chang'an, there is General Zuo Huangfusong, in Hedong there is Li Wei who rides in Linfen, the General's Mansion, and in the capital there are soldiers from all walks of life. If Dong Zhuo is wise, it is better to leave as soon as possible." Xu Jing said.

Yuan Kui didn't want to give up control of the Northern Army. In his opinion, Dong Zhuo had no possibility of controlling the Northern Army.If he could not control the Northern Army, he would not be able to control the situation in Luoyang, and in the future Luoyang would not be able to proceed step by step according to his plan, so he desperately hoped to regain control of the Northern Army.Although Duan Yan of the Northern Army and Bao Hong, who was stranded in the Northern Army camp, might help Dong Zhuo temporarily restrain their subordinates, what about the other Northern Army generals?Would he also succumb to Dong Zhuo's power?
"Master Ding Yuan is ordered to approach the Northern Army's camp immediately." Yuan Kai said, "If Dong Zhuo shows the emperor's edict and talisman ordering him to restrain the Northern Army, then forget it. If not, invite him out of the Northern Army Camp."

===

At noon, Zhu Jun, Liu Bo and Zhou Shen flew back on horseback.

"What's going on?" Yuan Kai hurriedly went up to meet him and asked.

"That is the imperial decree given to He Miao by the emperor." Zhu Jun said angrily, "Although the imperial decree was so stained with blood that the handwriting could hardly be seen, the seal was very clear. Dong Zhuo is too bold. He dared to do such a thing.”

"Imperial decree for He Miao?" Yuan Kai came to his senses suddenly, "It turns out that Dong Min, Captain of Fengche, lied to us. Then how did Dong Zhuo fool the generals of the Northern Army?"

"I don't know what he did with the imperial decree." Zhu Jun said, "I asked Zhang Liao, the Marquis of the Northern Army privately, and all the generals of the Northern Army have carefully checked the imperial decree. He seemed to have doubts about the authenticity of the imperial decree, and was killed by Dong Zhuo. Now Cao Cao, Bao Hong, and dozens of officers from the original Xiyuan Army have been persuaded by Dong Zhuo and are helping him stabilize the morale of the army. The Northern Army has been exhausted by Dong Zhuo Take control."

Yuan Kui groaned silently, terrified in his heart.

"Master Zhu saw that the generals of the Northern Army had no doubts about Lord Dong Zhuo's leadership of the Northern Army, so he immediately gave up the idea of ​​reading the Queen Mother's order." Liu Bo said, "Master Zhu lied about going to the Northern Army's camp under the order of the Grand Tutor. To appease the hearts of the soldiers, I said a few casual words to Master Dong Zhuo, and then I took my leave and came back."

"My lord, what we urgently need now is to stabilize Luoyang, and it is not suitable for another accident." Zhu Jun bowed and said, "I will make my own decisions, and I am willing to be punished."

"Gong Wei handled it properly, what is the crime?" Yuan Kai smiled, "Go back and rest first."

===

In the study, Yuan Wei and Lu Zhi looked at each other and smiled wryly.

"Dong Min was asked to kill He Miao. The original intention was to strengthen Dong Zhuo's determination to dethrone him, but who knew that something went wrong." Yuan Kai shook his head and said, "If I had known about this, I wouldn't have let Dong Min go."

"Dong Zhuo's control of the northern army does not affect our plan to dethrone. On the contrary, when he becomes stronger, he will be more determined to dethrone the emperor and establish a new emperor. This may not be a bad thing." Lu Zhi said, "It's just that our The strategy needs to be revised, otherwise it will be difficult to force Dong Zhuo out of the capital in the future."

"You mean to recruit the army of the General of Chariots and Cavalry?" Yuan Kai asked with a frown.

"By the time Dong Zhuo has completely controlled Luoyang, he will have at least [-] troops in his hands. At present, no one can compete with Dong Zhuo except the chariot general." Lu Zhi sighed, "In two days, so many earth-shattering things have happened. Who would have thought? The situation in Gyeonggi is developing so fast that it is beyond our control, nor our prediction and imagination."

"Now it seems that the first emperor was right. If there is no chariot and cavalry general, what will we do in the future? I will go north in person, first go to Jinyang to meet Zhao Qi, Cai Yong and Xu Shao, and then go to Youzhou to talk to Liu Yu .”

"Zigan, if we force Dong Zhuo away and Li Hong comes again, it will be even more troublesome." Yuan Kai said hesitantly.

"Master Taifu, why did Li Hong lead his troops to the south? Why did he go on an expedition to the desert under such difficult circumstances? We have thoroughly discussed these matters in the past, and we know that the increasingly serious crisis in northern Xinjiang forced Li Hong to Go south to intimidate the imperial court, go north to conquer the desert." Lu Zhi said, "I don't know if you have noticed that if Li Hong succeeds in his expedition to the desert, although he can temporarily escape the crisis in northern Xinjiang, he will also drag himself into a bigger crisis , that is the upcoming Hanbei County.”

"We can foresee the victory of the expedition to the desert, because Li Hong only wants to occupy the territory of Xianbei and Danhan Mountain in the north, and only wants to open up a huge buffer area to the north of the northern frontier county to protect the inner county. The possibility is very small, but in order to defend this huge territory, Li Hong needs at least 20 troops and countless money and food. He will no longer be able to pose a great threat to Gyeonggi in the next ten years. "

"Now I'm not worried about Li Hong going south to threaten Gyeonggi, but I'm worried that he won't be able to go south to support us. If he goes south with a large army, what will happen to the safety of Hanbei County and Beijiang Frontier County?" Lu Zhi sighed, "In the future , Dong Zhuo is unwilling to go, and Li Hong may not be willing to go south. This is the reason why I plan to go north in person. I must supervise Li Hong to go south at the right time, and then I must ensure that he can quickly retreat after Dong Zhuo is forced to retreat. Return to Northern Xinjiang."

Yuan Kui thought for a long time and asked, "When will you come back?"

Lu Zhi smiled and said, "This winter at the latest."

Yuan Kai nodded, "Then look, are we going to surround Ping Optimistic now?"

"Of course we have to surround him. If we don't surround him, he thought we were afraid of him, and thought we didn't know how he deceived the generals of the Northern Army to seize the command of the army." Lu Zhi said, "Surround him and let him Feeling precarious, we can talk to him."

"Who is the right person to talk about?" Yuan Kai asked, "How was it at the beginning?"

"Ben Chu is not good. His status is special and it is easy to reveal your intentions. I think it is better to let Boqiu go." Lu Zhi said, "As for Ben Chu, you should let him leave the capital as soon as possible according to the original method."

Yuan Kai stood up and said, "Okay, let's do this. Hurry up, the sooner Luoyang stabilizes, the better."

===

Zhi Jinwu is one of the ministers, and his authority is to command the Northern Army, so Ding Yuan is bold and confident, and wants to lead the army into the Northern Army camp and verify the authenticity of the imperial decree in Dong Zhuo's hand.Dong Zhuo ignored him and did not agree with him entering the camp.Now the northern army is under his control, and no one is allowed to enter the northern army camp.Ding Yuan was furious and ordered the soldiers to forcibly ram the gate.The soldiers of both sides clashed immediately, and Captain Lu Bu took the lead, beating the soldiers of the northern army who came to block them and fled in embarrassment, even knocking open the closed gate.

Surrounded by the generals of the Northern Army, Dong Zhuo looked at the soldiers from both sides fighting around the Yuanmen from a distance, pointed at the brave and invincible Lu Bu and asked, "Who is that?"

Zhang Liao bowed and replied, "This man is Lv Bulu Fengxian, the captain under Lord Ding Yuanding. When the officer was at Yanmen Pass, he used to fight the enemy side by side with him. He is a fierce general."

Dong Zhuo nodded repeatedly, appreciatively.

"Wen Yuan, are you familiar with him?"

"It's not just acquaintance." Zhang Liao said with a smile, "He saved the life of the lower official."

Dong Zhuo smiled and said, "Okay then, you can visit him tonight and make an appointment with him, I want to meet him."

Soon, Ding Yuan received a military order from Tai Fu Yuan Kui.Yuan Kui ordered him to retreat five li, and together with Wang Kuang, Qiao Mao, Bao Xin, and Yuan Shao and Wang Yun who had just led their troops out of the city, surrounded Ping Optimistic.

At dusk, Niu Fu, Hu Zhen and other Xiliang generals led an army of [-] to Pingoptimism.They were blocked by Yuan Shao, so they had to camp near Xianyang Garden to rest.

===

After dark, Shangshu He Yong, under the escort of a dozen guards, rushed to Pingoptimism on a flying horse.

Although Dong Zhuo controlled the military power of the Northern Army with false imperial edicts, he was uneasy.He was not afraid of the soldiers and horses who surrounded Ping Optimism, but the emperor.In the morning, when Zhu Jun, Liu Bo and Zhou Shen brought people to the camp, he was nervous for a long time.If Zhu Jun had taken out the imperial decree and talisman to restrain the Northern Army, he had only two choices, either kill Zhu Jun, or honestly hand over the military power he got.The soldiers of the Northern Army were not his Xiliang soldiers. They were absolutely loyal to the emperor. Even his old friend Duan Yan only recognized the imperial decree but not others, so Dong Zhuo had no choice but to kill Zhu Jun.Fortunately, Zhu Jun turned around and left after casually looking at the blood-stained imperial decree.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo and Li Ru believed that the turmoil in Luoyang City was not over yet, and the emperor and queen mother were still in the hands of the eunuchs.

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed, and immediately rectified the Northern Army.He vigorously bought the generals of the Xiyuan Army and let them command the various ministries, and recruited all the more than a dozen army Sima of the Northern Army to his tent to temporarily serve in the military.Of the [-] soldiers of the Northern Army, [-] belonged to the original Xiyuan Army. In these Xiyuan Army, there are more than a dozen army commanders and military marquises who were originally Dong Zhuo's subordinates. They all followed Dong Min to Beijing to join the Xiyuan Army last year. Xiliang military officer.After a big transfer, Dong Zhuo felt much more at ease in his heart.

The arrival of He Yong confirmed the conjectures of Dong Zhuo and Li Ru.He Yong was blunt, explained the situation in Luoyang in detail, and then said: "Although my lord has controlled the Northern Army by illegal means, my lord Taifu is still very grateful to my lord for his timely help. matter?"

(End of this chapter)