Great Han Empire

Chapter 798
The third year of Jianxing of the Han Dynasty (AD 199).

=

The first month, Jinyang.

This year's New Year is spent in an atmosphere of joy and tension.Her Royal Highness the Princess and the ministers of the court and the Central Plains are working hard to prepare for the Central Plains War. At the same time, the whole of Hebei is spreading the news that the imperial court will send troops to conquer the desert again at the beginning of the year, and various states and counties have also begun to recruit civilians after the New Year.

After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Yang Feng and other generals were ordered to return to Hedong.

When General Li Hong and Taiwei Xu Rong bid farewell to Yang Feng and others at the Shili Changting Pavilion, they repeatedly told them that no matter how the war situation in the Central Plains develops, they must work together to defend Hedong.

After the Ma Chao rebellion in western Xinjiang last year, Han Sui had worries about his future. In order to stabilize the situation in Guanzhong, he had a very close relationship with Yuan Shao.Han Sui is a scheming man, and Ma Chao is definitely not his opponent.Now that Pound has gone north to the desert and the threat in Guanzhong is greatly reduced, it is very likely that after defeating Ma Chao, Han Sui will suddenly join forces with Yuan Shao to invade Hedong.

"General, Lord Xu, you go back." Yang Feng cupped his hands and said, "Hedong's [-] army has been raising troops for several years, and the soldiers are strong and strong. Even if we face a force several times larger than mine, we can calmly deal with it. Hedong will not fail. , will be as solid as gold.”

"What we're worried about isn't that you won't be able to defend Hedong." Xu Rong said with a faint smile, "We're worried about the morale of the Hedong army."

"In the past two years, Jinyang's northern and southern armies, the seven battalions of Jizhou, and cavalry from all walks of life outside the Great Wall have fought frequently in Jizhou, the Central Plains and other places, and many have received rewards for their meritorious deeds. A decent battle was fought. The soldiers were very emotional because of this, and they were all eager to make contributions. If the army disobeyed the command during the containment process and disrupted the deployment of the Central Plains War, the consequences would be serious.”

Xu Rong pointed to He Feng and Liang Baiwu and said, "I am most worried about you two. During the last battle in Yizhou, the two of you argued to go to Yizhou, and even wrote to the eldest princess to resign from the commander of the battalion." He said that he would rather go to Yizhou to be a military commander than stay in Hedong to watch the fun. If the commander of the camp is like this, the other generals can be imagined, let alone those junior officers."

He Feng opened his mouth to say something, but when he saw Li Hong standing aside, he swallowed back the words.

Liang Baiwu was quite dissatisfied and hummed softly.Obviously, he is still brooding over his inability to participate in the Great War in the Central Plains.

"The soldiers are looking forward to fighting and being rewarded for their meritorious service. This is a good thing, but it is a bad thing if they want to make meritorious service and affect the morale of the army." I invite you to come to Jinyang, the main reason is to make it clear to you that the Central Plains War is related to the rejuvenation of the country, and it can only be won but not defeated. .”

He Feng glanced at Xu Rong indifferently, and whispered in his mouth: "Since Lord Taiwei is worried about me, why don't you transfer me to the Central Plains battlefield?"

"Hmph..." Li Hong sneered, "After staying in Jinyang for so many days, still haven't figured it out?"

"My requirements are very low, but I just go to the Central Plains to fight, why not?" He Feng gritted his teeth and expressed his complaints, "Others have made great achievements in the Central Plains, and I watched the fun in Hedong. If it were you, you would Comfortable?"

"I transferred you away. Liang Baiwu still wants to stay in Hedong? Can your generals, large and small, fight at ease?" Li Hong shook his head and said angrily, "You are the general of the army, why don't you Don’t know the severity? There have been few wars in Hedong these few years, so I wrote to ask you to study the scriptures, have you learned it?”

He Feng lowered his head and fell silent.

"What's the use of learning that thing? Can it be used for war?" Liang Baiwu said disdainfully.

"It seems that the two of you have ignored my words and haven't learned at all?" Li Hong asked angrily as his face changed.

The faces of the two showed fear, and they dared not answer.

"What about you?" Li Hong asked, pointing to Yang Feng, Hua Xiong, Zhang Baiqi, Sun Qin and others.

"Since the general's letter, we have started to study the scriptures." Sun Qin pointed to Yang Feng and said, "Brother Xi has a good background. In the past year, he often discusses current affairs with famous scholars and students in Hedong in the school. It is very popular. Confucian scholars welcome."

Li Hong's complexion improved slightly, and then his eyes turned to He Feng and Liang Baiwu.

"Let me ask you, when the world is settled in the future, will you still fight? Will the big man still need hundreds of thousands of troops? At that time, there will be frontier troops in the frontiers, battalions in the prefectures and counties, and southern and northern armies in the capital. What about you generals? manage?"

"I'm going home to farm." He Feng waved his hands and said angrily, "Isn't it okay for me to go home and take care of the elderly?"

"Go home?" Li Hong sneered, "Can you go home?"

"Immediately go back and read the "Book of Han" to see what the famous ZTE generals on the battlefield did after Emperor Guangwu was revived." Li Hong pointed to the heads of the two men and said with great dissatisfaction, "I know why After I ask you to study the scriptures, write to me immediately. Otherwise, you should stop going to Hedong, and go to Jinyang University Hall to study history and read scriptures."

Seeing that Li Hong was angry, He Feng and Liang Baiwu nodded hastily.

"Although you were unable to participate in the frontal attack in the Central Plains War, your contribution was not great enough. But after the Central Plains War, you were the ones who fought in Guanzhong, Kanxi, and Luoyang. In the future, the battles in Xijiang and Yizhou will also be yours. Are these credits not enough? Do you? Look farther away, you have a lot of credit, don't be so impulsive, do you know?"

He Feng and Liang Baiwu made noises again and again, not daring to speak indiscriminately anymore.

=

After seeing off all the generals at the Ten Mile Changting Pavilion, Li Hong and Xu Rong felt heavy in their hearts.

There are more and more wars, and the contributions of the soldiers are also increasing, but the rewards are getting less and less.In order to get the few rewards, the phenomenon of the soldiers fighting for merit became more and more serious.As the war continues, this phenomenon will intensify, which may affect the morale of the army in the future, and may even directly affect the outcome of the war.

"Have you read Mi Heng's memorial?" Li Hong asked.

Xu Rong nodded, "Ministers have a lot of opinions in favor of your lord's memorial, but the eldest prince presides over the objection, and his attitude is very firm. She thinks your lord's advice is a theory of disaster for the country. Listen to what your lord said, The Eldest Princess intends to dismiss Your Excellency to warn those ministers who agree."

"It's not necessary at all." Li Hong sighed, "The ministers' appeals are an important way to ensure the long-term stability of the country. How can we punish the ministers for the slightest dissatisfaction? Isn't this blocking the way of exhortations?"

"The eldest princess is good at admonishing." Xu Rong smiled wryly, "it's just that Master Mi Heng has always been arrogant and offended many people in the court. The eldest princess has long since wanted to use him. This time it's just an excuse. .Actually, his remonstrance was good, but the timing of his admonition was not good, and the method he offered was inappropriate. Instead of promoting thrift, he allowed luxury. thing."

Li Hong was silent for a while, and then said: "Find an opportunity, and I will persuade the eldest princess. Not only can this Master Mi Heng not be withdrawn, but he should be reused. His eyes are very sharp and unique, and he is a capable minister." Then he looked at Xu Rong and asked with a smile, "Zi Lie, do you have a better solution?"

"Someone came up to the eldest princess and proposed to re-implement the fifth-class title system." Xu Rong said, "At present, the official titles of many ministers have been promoted to the limit, and there is no room for further promotion. If the court wants to reward, it can only reward more food. City, land and money, but in this way, it will conflict with the new land system implemented by the imperial court, so the imperial court is very passive and embarrassed. It is mean to the imperial court that meritorious persons are not rewarded, and it is a disgrace to the meritorious persons themselves. It was a serious blow, so restoring the fifth-class title is currently the only emergency solution."

"While the fifth-class title system brought glory and wealth to the holders, it also brought many unstable things to the community. It was these unstable things that prompted the Great Qin State to replace the fifth-class title system with the [-]th-class title system. The title system." Li Hong said in surprise, "Didn't the Eldest Princess and the court veto this proposal? How come someone still mentions it?"

"You don't know?" Xu Rong looked at Li Hong in surprise and said, "Isn't this the memorial of the new Minister Zuo Cheng Dong Zhao?"

Li Hong couldn't help laughing, and shook his head again and again, "This Zhong Yuan must have lost his mind and didn't tell me such a big thing."

"After you returned to Jinyang, you still don't care about Shangshutai?" Xu Rong asked in surprise.

"How can I have time to take care of those things?" Li Hong shook his hand, "Shangshutai belongs to Zhongchao, and should be supervised by the eldest princess, I'm just a name. Besides, when I'm not in Jinyang, Zhong Yuan Manage Shangshutai's affairs in an orderly manner, and I don't need to intervene, just let him handle it."

Xu Rong's face showed worry, he hesitated to speak.

Li Hong pretended not to see him, and said with a smile: "Master Dong Zhao is very talented. He followed me to the north of the desert, ran thousands of miles, and helped me solve many difficult things. So when I returned to Jinyang, I immediately He recommended him to the eldest princess. What's his opinion on the speaker princess?"

"The eldest princess is negotiating with us, and her tone has softened." Xu Rong said, "After the modification of the fifth-class title system by Dong Zhao, it is nothing more than an honor. It is no different from the old princes in the past, except that there are a little more food cities. That’s all. At present, among the ministers of Chinese, Chinese and military affairs in the court, there are many people who are ranked as Marquis of Guannei and Marquis of Lie. If five more titles are added to the rank of Marquis, it can alleviate the urgent need of the court.”

Then he looked at Li Hong solemnly and said: "General, you are leaving Jinyang soon, there are some things, I think it's better to tell you."

Li Hong smiled slightly, "Brother Zilie, if it's about the Great War in the Central Plains, I'm all ears. If it's about the court, don't talk about it. Now I don't have the energy to take care of these things. Let the eldest princess do everything. No matter what It is said that the only thing that the imperial court has to do now is the Central Plains War, and in order to win this war, we urgently need the Eldest Princess to take charge of the overall situation."

Xu Rong looked at Li Hong intently, sighed lightly, and stopped talking.

=

Under the first month, Yuzhou, Xuchang.

Cao Cao sent the emperor to Xuchang.Yuan Shao and many officials greeted him.

The two met very happily, chatting and laughing happily.Cao Cao promptly proposed to Yuan Shao the matter of allocating grain, grass and supplies.He was anxious to attack Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shao was very straightforward this time, and immediately invited Chen Guoxiang, Gao Gan, and Runan Taishou Xu Wei to the government office.In front of Cao Cao, the four of them negotiated and agreed to allocate the food and grass in place before the beginning of March.

With Yuan Shao's promise, Cao Cao left immediately and rushed to the front line of Qi (qi).

After Cao Cao left, Yuan Shao hurriedly summoned Ju Shou, Xu You and other senior officials to discuss, secretly deployed troops, and prepared to send troops to the Central Plains when Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were defeated.

=

In February, Yangzhou, Shouchun.

When Yuan Shu received that Yuan Yao had successfully left the Yangtze River and entered the sea with more than 20 large ships and thousands of people, Xu Yu from Runan sent him the last batch of food, grass and military equipment.

However, a bad news also came at the same time, Liu Chong committed suicide.The old man who was forcibly pushed to the throne by Yuan Shu couldn't bear the pain of fratricide, so he hanged himself to death.In the end, he only had one request, and he hoped that Yuan Shu could send his remains to Chen Guo for burial.

Yuan Shu fulfilled his wish and sent a team of people to send the coffin to Chen Guo.

Cao Cao was the first to get the news, and he immediately posted everywhere to discuss Yuan Shu, saying that Yuan Shu killed the king he had built and established himself as emperor, which was the most shameless and despicable rebellion in the world.

The article discussing Yuan Xi vividly described Yuan Shu's crime of killing the king and self-reliance, and Liu Chong's death was a fact, and Yuan Shu's scapegoat was completely rejected from then on.

When Yuan Shu saw this pleading against Yuan, he laughed instead of anger, "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit, let him talk."

Yuan Shu's subordinates were greatly shocked by this call to action against Yuan, and many people who didn't know what was right and wrong fled to Runan to join Xu Qiu.Chen Lan and Lei Bo even went directly to Yuan Shao with their troops.

There are still many subordinates who are loyal to Yuan Shu. Civil officials such as Li Ye, Yang Hong, Xun Zheng, and Yan Xiang, and generals such as Ji Ling, Qiao Rui, Zhang Xun, and He Yi, are actively preparing for battle under Yuan Shu's command and are ready to rely on Jiujiang County. , and Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu swore to the death.

In mid-February, the armies of Cao Cao and Liu Bei began to attack Qicheng.Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's naval divisions began to Chen Bing Liyang.The two sides fought fiercely.

=

In February, Hanoi, Huaicheng.

Babaili Kuaiqi rushed into the city like flying on the cold dew in early spring.

Zhang Liao felt suffocated when he saw the general's handwriting.The great war has begun.

"What is the general's order?" Zhang Xiu asked anxiously from the side.

"Beating the drum..." Zhang Liao roared, and suddenly punched in the air, "Gather the army and attack Pinggao City."

=

Thank you for your concern and comfort, all book friends, I am very grateful.

=

Si Yuke will write a new chapter "Golden Snake" after finishing "I am a Dou, I don't need anyone to help me", please go and read it.

=

(End of this chapter)