Great Han Empire

Chapter 809 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
The stars are dim tonight, and the looming crescent moon cautiously appears and disappears in the thick clouds.The night wind blows gently, bringing a cool breeze, and occasionally smelling a faint stench.

Under the night, Xingyang City is like a ferocious monster, lying prone on the bank of Zhan (zhan) and sleeping soundly.There are several piles of burning bonfires on the city tower. The hot flames sway with the wind, and the long pillars of smoke soar upwards, drawing a long trajectory in the night sky until it is swallowed by darkness.

"Boom..."

The deep and violent drumming suddenly tore through the silence of the night, and the fear of death, like a surging cold current, suddenly invaded the bone marrow of every living being with the more and more rapid drumming on the tower.

The sound of killing soared into the sky.

Thousands of civilians shouted in unison and pulled the rope vigorously.Thirty stone cannons fired at the same time, and the earthen jar filled with kerosene rose into the sky, heading straight into the darkness.

"Bang Dang..." The sound of cracking tiles on the city tower was heard endlessly, the terrified shouts of the guards kept coming one after another, the rumbling drums were frightening and uneasy, and the high and low intermittent voices seemed to be low in fighting spirit.

The speed at which the stone cannons were thrown became faster and faster, the sound of cracking urns on the city wall became more and more intense, but the terrified screams of the soldiers guarding the city gradually became inaudible, and the sound of alarm drums gradually faded away.

Stones weighing dozens of kilograms were carried to the iron nest of the stone cannon.One soldier poured oil on the stone, and another set fire to it.

"Let... let... let..."

Groups of burning fireballs were like man-eating monsters roaring out from the darkness, one by one baring their fangs and claws, they rushed towards Xingyang City aggressively.

Yan Liang raised his horsewhip high and roared excitedly, "Beating the drum... beating the drum..."

In an instant, the sound of drums in the city was like a thunderous roar.

Tens of thousands of torches were lit almost at the same time, and the battlefield suddenly became bright as day.

Three thousand archers stood in formation, and the long arrows in their hands ignited the oilcloth wrapped around the arrows with the burning torches.

"Let... let... let..."

The long arrow roared away, and a sea of ​​fiery red stars immediately appeared in the dark night sky, which was gorgeous and dazzling.

The North Tower of Xingyang was engulfed in flames in an instant.

The tall two-story wooden tower was engulfed by the fire in a blink of an eye, and the billowing smoke shot straight into the sky.The flames on the city wall soared into the air, and the soldiers rushed and fled. The helpless screams resounded through the night, making people shudder.

Yan Liang waved his hands and shouted wildly, "Command, Peng Lie in the east and Xu Yan in the west, attack the city immediately, attack the city..."

=

The flames in Xingyang City were soaring to the sky, and the sound of shouting and killing was overwhelming.

"Kuuu..." The door of the study was knocked open by Cao Taoyi, the under-door supervisor.

An unpleasant burning smell rushed into the study, and the deafening killing sounds from the city poured in.

"My lord, the northern border army has come in, let's go."

Han Fan leaned over his desk and wrote a book, as if he had never heard of it, and he didn't even lift his head.

"My lord, let's go." Tao Yi didn't wait for Han Fan's answer, he turned his head and waved to the guards outside the door, "Quick, take your lord out, quick..."

"No need." Han Fan looked up at Tao Yi, shook his head, "I'm not leaving." Then he continued to write letters with his head down.

Tao Yi was so anxious that he ran to Han Fan and yelled, "My lord, I beg you, let's go. I will protect you and kill you when the city is in chaos. That's too late."

"Let's go." Han Fan put down his pen, picked up the wet letter and blew lightly, "Your target is small, and it's easy to escape." Then he rolled up the letter slowly, stood up and handed it to Tao Yi hand, "Remember, immediately head east after leaving the city and flee from the Honggou River. Master Yuan's army will return to Henan to aid Henan, and they will rush to Aocang from the direction of Yangwu. As long as you cross the Honggou River, you will meet The returning army."

"My lord..." Tao Yi took the letter and begged bitterly, "My lord, you can go with us. The officials and brothers swear to protect you and kill you."

The fierce killing sound was getting closer and closer, and the sound of the arrow hitting the roof could be heard clearly.

Han Fan's face darkened, and he pushed Tao Yi hard, "Go, go. The Northern Army may not kill me, but if this letter cannot be delivered, it will be a big mistake."

Tao Yi saw that Han Fan had made up his mind, so he no longer insisted, bid farewell to a group of guards on his knees, and left in a hurry.

Han Fan stood under the eaves, watching the figures of the crowd disappear into the darkness, and remained motionless for a long time.

"Boom..." With a loud noise, the door of the mansion collapsed.Northern Xinjiang soldiers rushed in like a tide.

=

In the early morning, outside the city of Xingyang.

Wang Dang urgently reported again.Jiang Qi's army is approaching step by step, please help.

"Wang Dang has only 500 people now, and the rest of the army has come to fight Xingyang with the adults." Zhang He sat on the grass, spread out the map, pointed to Aocang City and said, "If Aocang is lost, Yuan Shao's army will be cut off. Our east retreat, the cone-shaped formation was broken immediately. At the same time, if the reinforcements from Luoyang capture Chenggao, the army will be surrounded in Xingyang and fall into a desperate situation of being wiped out all year round."

Zhang He rubbed his dry eyes, yawned lightly, and continued, "It's unbelievable that we have been crossing the river to attack Henan for five days, yet the reinforcements from Luoyang have not managed to break out of Hulao Pass. Guo Tu also did not attack for a long time, which gave us enough time to capture Xingyang and complete the conical formation."

"Now that Xingyang has fallen, a conical defensive formation has been formed. As long as we quickly adjust the deployment of troops and consolidate the conical formation, it will not be a problem to defend here for two to three months."

Zhang He pondered for a while, looked at Yan Liang and said, "Let Ding Bo, Lin Jie, and Xue Lan lead their troops back to Aocang first. Cheng Gao currently has an army of [-], so you can send Lord Zhang Xiu's army to Aocang for support first." In addition, the defensive force in Guancheng is already sufficient, and the Yuan army in the direction of Zhongmou will not be able to conquer Guancheng in the short term, so I plan to personally lead an army with Cheng Lian to support Aocang."

Yan Liang frowned slightly, and kept patting his thigh with the horsewhip in his hand, "Although we seized the opportunity and captured Xingyang, our goal was not achieved. Yuan Shao's main force is still on the front line of Baima and Puyang. We spent so much Attacking Henan at a price, only attracted Jiang Qi's [-] troops." Yan Liang shook his head again and again, "We must find a way to attract Yuan Shao's main force to Henan as soon as possible."

Yan Liang walked up to Zhang He, and pointed his whip lightly at Aocang City on the map, "Jun Yi, you gathered 5000 people in Aocang, trying to injure Jiang Qi severely, so as to pull Yuan Shao's main force to Henan. This is a good idea. But have you ever thought that the target of the imperial court's attack this year is the Hu rebels in northern Xinjiang. Once the war in northern Xinjiang starts, we will withdraw to Hanoi. Our time to go south is very limited. Maybe half a month, maybe a month, but at most not After the end of April, we will definitely withdraw from Henan. We can estimate this matter, and Yuan Shao can also guess that it is close to ten. If..." Yan Liang looked at Zhang Yun, and smiled helplessly, "If Yuan Shao encircles and does not attack , confront us here, wait for our withdrawal, Jiang Qi will take the initiative to attack Ao Cang, and fight you decisively?"

Zhang He closed his eyes wearily, and stretched out his hand to pull off his helmet, "If you don't fight, you have to fight. If Jiang Qi doesn't fight Aocang, we will take the initiative to fight him. As long as we defeat Jiang Qi, Xu Huang will go to Hulao again. If Yang Feng from Hedong can take the opportunity to attack Guanxi, Luoyang will fall into crisis on all sides. Luoyang is very important to Yuan Shao, and he will definitely come back to help."

"But our time is running out." Yan Liang said worriedly, "The imperial court will let us withdraw at any time."

"What can you do?" Zhang He asked.

"Kill Han Fan and give his head to Yuan Shao." Yan Liang swung his horsewhip and chopped it off like a sword, "If one head is not enough, kill all the government officials in the three cities. I will not slaughter the cities , to kill these scholars who betrayed the great man."

Zhang Yun was taken aback, "Zishan, Han Fan is a repeat offender of the imperial court, and he must be approved by the imperial court to kill him. If he kills him without an imperial decree, he will bear the responsibility. In addition, Han Fan is a member of the Yingchuan Han clan. His cousin Han Rong is now Right here in Jinyang, killing Han Fan will cause you trouble."

"Kill." Yan Liang stared at him with a murderous look, "The big man is rebellious, everyone can punish him, kill him."

=

In March, Luoyang.

Due to the Northern Xinjiang Army's attack on Henan, Yuan Shao's letter had to detour to Yingchuan and send it to Luoyang from the direction of Zhiyuanguan.

After Jushou received Yuan Shao's letter, he sent someone to send the letter Yuan Shao wrote to Guo Tu to Heyang, and at the same time urged Guo Tu to attack Pinggao immediately.

At this moment, Cheng Gao has been lost, Xingyang's life or death is uncertain, and Shancheng in Kansai is under fierce attack by the Northern Frontier Army. Chunyu Qiong and Wang Xiu have asked for help several times.Ju Shou warned Guo Tu that if Hanoi did not go to war, Luoyang would be in danger.

After Guo Tu received Yuan Shao's order, he still did not order troops to attack Pinggao.He wrote back to Yuan Shao, explaining his understanding of the battle situation in Hanoi and Henan again, and stubbornly believed that sticking to Heyang and Wenxian is the correct strategy to ensure the safety of Luoyang.

Guo Tu lashed out at Jushou in his letter, thinking that the loss of Cheng Gao and the siege of Xingyang were all caused by Jushou's self-willedness, elimination of dissidents, and deliberate preservation of his own strength.If Jushou immediately sent troops to support Cheng Gao when he received Cheng Gao's request for help, the Northern Xinjiang Army would not be able to capture Cheng Gao at all.In addition, he told Yuan Shao that after the Yingtao War, Li Hong had close contacts with Jushou, Shenpei and other officials of Jizhou Prefecture, and the personal relationship between them has been very good for many years.Guo Tu said that now that Hebei is very powerful, people from Jizhou, such as Jushou and Jupei, may sell their masters for glory, and adults must guard against it.Since these people were able to betray Han Fu back then and seek refuge with Your Excellency, why can't they now betray His Excellency and seek refuge with Li Hong instead?
At this time, Jushou also wrote back to Yuan Shao, explaining why he did not send troops to Hulao to rescue Chenggao and Xingyang and prevent the northern army from going south.

Jushou said in the letter that because Yang Feng and Hua Xiong led the army in Hedong to attack Guanxi, Luoyang was under the threat of the Northern Xinjiang Army on three sides.As for the northern border army attacking Henan, Ju Shou didn't care about it. He made an analysis for Yuan Shao and believed that the northern border army attacking Henan would soon retreat in order to avoid fighting on two fronts, which was nothing to worry about.The most urgent task is to take advantage of the northern border army's conquest of the Hu people in the desert, quickly take down the Central Plains, and prepare for the future northward crusade against Li Hong, pacification of the world and revival of the country.However, in order to reduce the heavy losses caused to Luoyang by the Northern Army's crossing of Henan, it is better to force the Northern Army to withdraw from Henan as soon as possible.In order to achieve this goal, the only way is to let Guo Tu open up the situation on the Hanoi battlefield, threaten the retreat of the Northern Army, and force the Northern Army to withdraw to the north bank of the Yellow River.

=

Ju Shou thought that Guo Tu would definitely send troops, but who knew that Guo Tu was still in Heyang when he woke up.Jushou was furious and ordered Guo Tu to be arrested in the name of Yuan Shao.

The news leaked out immediately.After Guo Tu found out, he immediately made preparations.The officials who were ordered to go to Heyang to arrest Guo Tu were arrested as soon as they crossed the Yellow River.

Jushou was mad this time, and he personally led people to rush to Heyang.Guo Tu saw that things were getting worse, and he was a little frightened, but he thought that he had repeatedly disobeyed orders, and if he was arrested by Jushou, his life might be lost, so he simply made up his mind to fight against Jushou to the end.He immediately ordered the blockade of the Yellow River to prevent Jushou from going ashore.At the same time, he rushed to Guanzhong Yuan Tan with a fast ride of [-] miles.The only one who can save him now is Yuan Tan.

Things got more and more troublesome, and Xun Chen and Chen Lin who stayed in Luoyang persuaded Yuan Shao to make peace.After Chunyu Qiong from Kansai heard about it, he brought a team back to Luoyang overnight, fearing that something might happen to Luoyang.After Yuan Tan got the news, he sent Chief History Liu Xian to Luoyang day and night, and urgently wrote to his father Yuan Shao, wantonly attacking Jushou.

=

At the end of March, Chenliu County, Yanzhou, Baima Camp.

Yuan Shao wanted to withdraw his troops and return to Henan.

Xingyang was lost, and the head of Henan Yin Hanfan is now on the case table.There are more than 30 heads outside the big tent, and several of them are the children of the Yuan family.What made Yuan Shao especially angry was that at this critical moment, Luoyang was in chaos.

Tian Feng tried his best to dissuade him.

Feng Ji said coldly: "If the army doesn't withdraw quickly, I'm afraid not only Henan will be lost, but even Luoyang will be given to Li Hong."

Tian Feng snorted, "The matter in Luoyang is very easy to solve. After killing Guo Tu, Luoyang immediately calmed down. As for Henan, it only occupied three cities for the Northern Army. After the Northern Army captured the three cities, it was already at the end of its battle If we advance, we may be surrounded by groups, and if we retreat, we will lose our troops, so we can only hold on to the city. At this time, we only need to make a breakthrough in the Hanoi battlefield, and the northern army has no other choice but to retreat north."

Yuan Shao sneered, and reached out to pick up a few letters from the table, "Yuan Hao, take a look for yourself and see what Han Fan and Guo Tu said?"

Tian Feng glanced at it hastily, and couldn't help trembling with anger, "Guo Tu is a despicable villain, he is greedy for life and afraid of death, and he dares not take the initiative to attack, but he wantonly slanders good people for his own selfishness."

"Then how do you explain Han Fan's words?" Yuan Shao asked Tian Feng angrily.

"Han Fan is purely avenging personal revenge." Tian Feng smashed the bamboo slips in his hand to the ground, "Han Fan has always been bitter about us because of the death of his cousin Han Fu. He said that we had an affair with Li Hong and betrayed the Lord. What evidence? Jushou's refusal to send troops to rescue Xingyang, can it also be used as evidence of fornication with Li Hong?"

"Your Excellency wants to go back to help Henan, why are you trying to stop it?" Feng Ji pointed at Tian Feng, and asked coldly, "Do you think we should return to the army to rescue after the Northern Army occupied Henan and Luoyang? It seems that you are cheating on Li Hong, plotting something wrong."

Tian Feng was about to burst into tears, and pulled out his long sword, "Feng Yuantu, do you dare to spout blood?"

"Take it down..." Yuan Shao jumped up against the case, cursing angrily, "The clean will be clear, and the turbid will be turbid. What are you afraid of? Lock it up in a prison camp first, and wait until the matter in Luoyang is clarified."

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(End of this chapter)