Great Han Empire

Chapter 665
In May of the third year of Chuping in the Han Dynasty (AD 192).

Yuan Shao's army had just set off when bad news came from Yanzhou that Liu Dai, the shepherd of Yanzhou, died in Lucheng, Jibei Kingdom.

Liu Dai led the army all the way to the east, and the army advanced very smoothly.Jinbei Prime Minister Bao Xin dissuaded Liu Dai. Since the King of Jinan was dead, it was better for the army to stick to the front line of Dongping and Lu, and not to go deep alone, so as not to be surrounded by the Yellow Turban Army.Liu Dai refused to listen, insisted on his own opinion, and threatened to enter Qingzhou and drive the Yellow Turban Army to Mount Tai.

At the end of April, when the Yanzhou Army entered Lucheng in the Jibei Kingdom, Sima Ju, Xu He, and Wu Ba suddenly appeared with the main force of the Yellow Turban Army and surrounded Liu Dai in Lucheng.

Both sides fight.The Yanzhou army was short of food and grass, so Liu Dai, Bao Xin, Wu Zi, and Zheng Sui had no choice but to lead their troops to break through.During the breakout process, Liu Dai was very unfortunate and was fiercely blocked by Sima Ju and Wu Ba.Liu Dai was killed by the Yellow Turban Army in the fierce battle, and the entire army of 5000 horses was wiped out.Bao Xin, Wu Zi, and Zheng Sui joined forces and fought to the death to break out of the siege.

Bao Xin and Wu Zi led their troops to retreat to Jiyin County, and Zheng Sui withdrew to Ren Chengguo.The State of Lu in Yuzhou, the State of Dongping in Yanzhou, and some counties and counties in East County of Yanzhou all fell.

Sima Ju led the Yellow Turban Army to continue to attack the three counties of Dongjun, Jiyin and Rencheng in Yanzhou, and Yanzhou was in danger.

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Cao Cao asked Yuan Shao to rush to help Yanzhou, but Yuan Shao refused.

Cao Cao was very angry. He questioned Yuan Shao, did your lord lead the army to Luoyang, did he join forces with the Northern Frontier Army to go west to King Qin of Chang'an, or did he seek hegemony?

Starting from Master Liu in Yanzhou, to the chief officials of various counties and counties, they have been obeying his orders and being loyal to him for several years. However, when Lord Liu was killed in battle and Yanzhou was in critical condition, he ignored the survival of Yanzhou and insisted on entering Luoyang. This is so chilling.

Yuan Shao was filled with grief and indignation. He patted his chest and swore that he had no intention of abandoning Yanzhou.He took out Wang Yun's secret letter, "Meng De, take a closer look, and then think about the changes in the world after Dong Zhuo's death. Compared with the survival of Yanzhou and the survival of Dahan Sheji, which is more important?"

According to Yuan Shao's secret order, Chunyu Qiong killed Zhang Zhong, the messenger from Chang'an, and quietly sent Yuan Shao the imperial decree and Wang Yun's secret letter.In his letter, Wang Yun made a detailed prediction on the future development of the situation. He believed that after Dong Zhuo's death, Li Hong would be the biggest traitor of the Han Dynasty.If this person is not eliminated, the big man will suffer another catastrophe.Wang Yun asked Yuan Shao to do everything possible to quickly enter Luoyang and drive the northern army out of Kansai, so as to ensure that the emperor and the court would no longer be directly threatened by the northern army after they returned to Beijing.

"Meng De, come with me to Luoyang for the great Han's country." Yuan Shao said sincerely.

Cao Cao hesitated.

After Li Hong knew that Dong Zhuo was killed, would he immediately order the northern army to enter Guanzhong and control the emperor and the court?Will Dong Zhuo's former troops in Guanzhong rebel, and if so, can Wang Yun keep Chang'an?
If Wang Yun was unable to defend Chang'an, the northern border troops in Hedong and Guanxi would surely enter Guanzhong quickly, so what effect would Yuan Shao's occupation of Luoyang have besides angering Li Hong at this time?
Li Hong controlled the Son of Heaven and the imperial court, as well as the land of Hebei. He possessed both supreme authority and a solid financial backing. Under such circumstances, what would he want Luoyang to do? He could use this as an excuse, Hold high the banner of counter-insurgency to conquer Yuan Shao and the state officials who refused to respect the current emperor.According to the current situation, Yuan Shao and these state and county officials are not Li Hong's opponents at all, and defeat is a matter of time.

"Brother Benchu, even if we occupy Luoyang and drive the northern army out of Kansai, what will the emperor and the court do?" Cao Cao looked at Yuan Shao and asked worriedly, "We have always refused to recognize the emperor, saying Today's son was not born by the first emperor, and he strongly advocated the restoration of the imperial line, and even killed four recruiting ministers. If..."

Cao Cao didn't continue talking.When the Son of Heaven and the imperial court returned to Luoyang, they would sooner or later kill Yuan Shao and all the state and county officials who had opposed him.

Yuan Shao smiled slightly, "Meng De, as long as we occupy Luoyang, we will immediately rebuild the imperial system. There are many people who can be emperors, and Liu Yu is unwilling. We can find others, such as..." Yuan Shao raised his finger to guide Fang, "Jing Sheng bro..."

Cao Cao frowned and remained silent.

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In the middle of the night, Xun Yu quietly went to Cao Cao's military tent.

"I heard that my lord is not going back to Yanzhou, but going to fight Luoyang?"

Cao Cao nodded preoccupiedly, "Wen Ruo, with Zhu Jun and Xu Rong's army in Kansai, Luoyang is very difficult to fight, and..." He hesitated for a long time, then sighed, "If Li Hong is determined to serve the king, he must be quick To stabilize the country, Luoyang cannot be fought, but I insisted on doing this at first, and I..."

"Your Excellency is worried that Master Yuan's attack will be blocked. He will not be able to occupy Luoyang and lose Yanzhou. In the end, he will lose both ends and have nothing?" Xun Yu asked lightly.

Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu in surprise, and suddenly laughed, "Wen Ruo, you came here tonight to talk nonsense with me, right?"

Xun Yu smiled desolately, and said worriedly: "Lord Yuan is attacking Luoyang at this time, not to put Yanzhou's life at risk, but to bury the last hope of survival of the Dahan community. He will completely push the Dahan into the abyss of overthrow."

Cao Cao covered his mouth with both hands, closed his eyes tightly, and said nothing.

"Master Yuan has already killed the Chang'an messenger, do you know?"

Cao Cao moved his hands up slightly, covering half of his face.

"Yuan Shao's purpose in doing this is obvious. He will neither go west to Chang'an King Qin, nor respect the current emperor and the court. Therefore, he has only one purpose in entering Luoyang at this time, and that is to seek to dominate the world." Xun Yu sat Opposite Cao Cao, with his head lowered, he said to himself, "Master Yuan has changed so much in the past few years, it's hard to believe that he is the high-spirited Yuan Benchu ​​back then."

Xun Yu paused for a moment, as if recalling the past, with a sad expression on his face.

"After the army enters Luoyang, it will first be able to restrain the northern border army. At the same time, Yuan Shu will also mobilize troops to go north, and the Kanto will be in chaos in a blink of an eye. I will do my best to attack Chang'an regardless of everything. Once Chang'an is captured by the rebels, even if the emperor and the court can still survive, they will be held hostage by the rebels and become a complete display, which will no longer have any effect."

"Master Yuan's goal has been achieved, he can rest assured and bold, and rebuild the imperial line without any scruples." Xun Yu sighed, "But will the big man be saved and revitalized by this?"

Cao Cao slowly opened his eyes and shook his head, "Where's Li Hong? What will that leopard do?"

"Li Hong has only two choices. One is to give up Luoyang and enter Guanzhong. The other is to retreat to Hedong to ensure the safety of northern Xinjiang. At the same time, use the land of Hebei as the foundation to form a separate regime and seek hegemony." Xun Yu caressed his long beard, Frowning, he said, "The northern army marched into the Guanzhong, it is very likely that the rebels will be rushed, and the lives of the emperor and the ministers in the court will be ruined. Li Hong may be infamous because of this. Therefore, I think the northern army retreated to Hedong, It is most likely to fully manage Hebei."

"Because of our misjudgment, we failed to lure the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army to Jizhou, which gave Li Hong enough time to defeat Gongsun Zan and stabilize the whole of Jizhou." Xun Yu shook his head regretfully, "Li Hong's luck has always been very good. This time is no exception. With Jizhou, the crisis in northern Xinjiang can be completely resolved in a short period of time. In a few years, Li Hong's strength will develop rapidly, and in the future..."

"What about the future?" Cao Cao asked.

"If we can't contain and severely injure Li Hong in the past few years, the person who will overthrow the great Han society in the future must be this leopard."

Covering his face with his hands, Cao Cao sighed, "The great man is dead."

"My lord, whether it's Li Hong or Master Yuan today, they all use the name of saving the country to seize the state and counties and seek hegemony, but judging from what the two have done, it's not enough for them to save the country, but more than enough to destroy the country." Xun Yu said excitedly, "My lord, don't you very much agree with Master Zhang Miao's plan to save the country? Why don't you take the opportunity to go back to Yanzhou and immediately join forces with Zhang Miao, Bao Xin, Wu Zi, Zheng Sui, and Zi Shao Waiting for your lords to join in the big effort, use the Central Plains as the foundation, plot hegemony, and try our best to save and revitalize the country?"

Cao Cao put down his hands abruptly, grinned bitterly and said, "Wen Ruo, are you talking about me? I'm just a prefect of Dongjun, or half of the prefect of Dongjun. Now even half of my place is occupied by yellow scarf thieves." How can I have the ability to lead Yanzhou?"

Xun Yu shook his hand and said solemnly: "If your lord returns to Yanzhou immediately, Yanzhou will be yours soon. Don't you have such confidence in your lord?"

Cao Cao squinted his eyes and thought for a long time. Suddenly, he punched the desk and shouted, "Okay, let's go back to Yanzhou."

=

In May, Chang'an.

Duan Yao and Huang Fuhong urgently reported to Chang'an, and the rebels suddenly withdrew to Tongguan.

Wang Yun and the court ministers were overjoyed, and everyone agreed that the northern army had finally obeyed the emperor's will and launched an attack on the rebels from the Guanxi direction.The defeat of the rebel army is imminent.

Huangfusong once again raised the proposal of appeasement.Unexpectedly, Wang Yun agreed.

At this time, the rebel army's food and grass have been exhausted, and morale has also dropped to the extreme. If the northern army launches a fierce attack, the rebel army may be defeated in one blow. to hit hard.The imperial army had a limited number of troops. If the northern army suffered heavy losses during the attack, not only would the northern army not be able to drive away Xu Rong, but it might also allow the northern border army in Kansai to take the opportunity to enter Guanzhong.Once the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army meets in Guanzhong, Guanzhong will be controlled by the Northern Xinjiang Army.

In order to preserve the strength of the Northern Army, Wang Yun ordered to stop the attack and sent envoys to Kansai to appease.In Wang Yun's view, as long as the Northern Frontier Army in Kansai and the Northern Army in Guanzhong maintain a deterrent to the rebels, the rebels will soon collapse with no way out and no food.

Wang Yun asked Hu Jie, the former governor of Liangzhou, and Yang Rong, the former prefect of Hanyang, to go to Kansai to appease them.

At this time, Hanyang County in the western Xinjiang rushed to the court. The guerrilla general Han Sui and the partial general Ma Teng heard that there was a mutiny in Chang'an and Dong Zhuo was killed, so they hurriedly led their troops to kill Sanfu.The prefect of Hanyang County said in the urgent play that Han Sui and Ma Teng didn't believe in the emperor's edict at all. They believed that the emperor was in danger, and they insisted on leading the army to kill King Qin in Chang'an.

Wang Yun was furious, and accused Huangfusong of collusion and rebellion in front of the emperor, with ulterior motives and conspiracy.Huangfu Song sneered, without saying a word.

Taiwei Yang Biao, Sikong Chunyujia, Shangshu Lingshi Sun Rui and many officials from Guanzhong and Xiliang couldn't stand it any longer, and they all pleaded for Huangfusong.Without evidence, how can it be said that Han Sui and Ma Teng were called by Huangfusong?

Taiwei Yang Biao immediately asked the emperor to worship Huangfusong as the general who conquered the west, and immediately went west to Liangzhou to persuade Han Sui and Ma Teng to stop their troops.

The emperor did not dare to agree, and turned to look at Wang Yun.

Now the only one in the court who can make Han Sui and Ma Teng stop fighting by himself is Huang Fusong. In addition, Wang Yun didn't want to offend the ministers of Guanzhong and Xiliang at this critical moment, so he reluctantly nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon of the same day, Huang Fusong, the general of Zhengxi, hurried west to Liangzhou with fifty iron cavalry guards.

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In May, Tongguan.

Niu Fu, Hu Zhen, Li Jue, Guo Si and other Xiliang generals quarreled together, and Niu Fu and Li Jue almost drew their swords at each other.

The Beijiang army broke their promises, Xu Rong turned his back on his promises, and the army was almost wiped out.Niu Fu was furious about this. He suspected that Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Jia Xu had secretly surrendered to the imperial court, and wanted to put him and tens of thousands of soldiers to death.

Hu Zhen thinks that Xu Rong is not this kind of person, there must be a reason for this.He took the initiative to ask Xu Rong to talk to Taolin Fortress again.We all fought bloody battles with the Qiang people on the battlefields of Western Xinjiang, and we feel like brothers and sisters. Don’t you even give us a way out today?But Niu Fu didn't trust him, thinking that Hu Zhen had betrayed Dong Zhuo.Just as Hu Zhen walked out of Tongguan, he was killed by Niu Fu's personal guard, Qu Wei.When the head was delivered to the meeting hall, the blood flowing from the skull cavity was still steaming.

Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, and Wang Fang were outraged, and the five rushed out of Tongguan, gathered troops, and surrounded Niu Fu's army.Jia Xu tried every means to dissuade him, but unfortunately it was of no avail.Just when the two sides were on the verge of breaking out, the imperial envoy arrived.

"Wencai (Hu Jie), Renovation (Yang Rong), if you want to persuade me to surrender, you should go back to Chang'an immediately." Li Jue said angrily, "We are friends for many years, I don't want to kill you."

Hu Jie cupped his hands and said, "Zhiran, we are not here to persuade you to surrender, but to help you return to Chang'an."

Li Jue looked up to the sky and smiled wryly, "Forget it, don't die with us, it's not worth it. You go back. I know that Wang Yun and Lu Bu hate Xiliang people to the bone. They almost killed Xiliang officials in Guanzhong, but now We cannot protect ourselves, we are powerless to take revenge."

"Zhiran, Han Sui and Ma Teng are about to reach Chang'an." Yang Rong said, "Xu Rong's army is in Xiagui, only two hundred miles away from Chang'an, but Wang Yun and Lu Bu firmly demanded that the northern army withdraw from Guanzhong. , Xu Rong was very angry. The two sides are currently waiting on both sides of the Weishui River."

"Really?" Li Jue couldn't believe his ears, "Mr. Wenyue and Shoucheng killed Sanfu? Xu Rong is in Xiagui?"

"It's absolutely true." Hu Rong said, "As soon as Dong Zhuo died, Han Sui and Ma Teng became rebels again. Xiliang was about to go to war again. How could the two bear it? So after we wrote the letter, they sent troops immediately. Of course, go back and immediately head towards Chang'an."

"Fight it." Li Jue waved his hands and shouted, "It's the same thing whether it's life or death. Let's fight back..."

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(End of this chapter)