Great Han Empire

Chapter 919 Troubled Times Heroic Chapter Wins Central Plains
Xu Rong and Simpi carefully discussed some details about the surrender and reorganization of the [-] army.During the conversation, Xu Rong mentioned that some of Yuan Jun's generals who did not want to submit to the court could return to Luoyang, and promised that he would guarantee their safety.Xu Rong's friendliness and tolerance moved the panic-stricken Simpi very much.

"Forget it." Simpi sat there for a long time, and said painfully, "I have no face to go back, I really have no face to see Brother Benchu. Guanzhong was defeated, the entire army of 4 people was wiped out, and Luoyang was in danger of being surrounded on all sides. I will go back What are you doing?"

"What about the others?" Xu Rong asked slowly with a smile on his face, "Go back and ask. If General Zi and the others want to go back, I can send someone to send them out of Wuguan after a month."

"I can still save my life when I go back." Xin Pi shook his head, his tone was difficult, "My family is from the high school of Yingchuan, and I have been friends with the Yuan family for generations. Others will surely die when they go back. The defeat in Guanzhong means that Luoyang is about to fall. How can Brother Benchu ​​spare them when he is furious? Stay here, they and their families in Luoyang can survive, go back, It is inevitable that the body will be decapitated and the relatives will be harmed." Simpi paused for a while, and continued, "Even if they want to go back, I will not agree."

"Okay then." Xu Rong said, "If you don't want to go back and submit to the imperial court, then I will send you to Jinyang and let the imperial court punish you according to the law."

Simpi nodded sadly.

"Brother Zuo Zhi, don't worry, you'll be fine." Chen Wei said with a smile, "When you get to Jinyang, get together with some old friends, look around, and learn more about Hebei, and your mind will change immediately. Remember When Han Hao was captured, he vowed not to surrender, but after staying in Jinyang for half a year, he wrote a letter to plead guilty, sincerely repented, and was soon reused by the court. I believe that we will soon become fellow ministers."

Simpi smiled wryly, with an extremely sad expression on his face.Both he and Chen Wei are celebrities in Yingchuan, and they had known each other in the early years, but they unexpectedly reunited under such circumstances today, which made Xinpi very embarrassed.Chen Wei's words were meant to comfort him, but at the moment, it felt like a knife was twisted in Xin Pi's ears, which made him feel extremely painful.

=

Qu Yimei fell asleep, and was not called up by the guards until dusk.

Xu Rong specially prepared some food and wine to reward him.At the table, Xu Rong had a serious expression, he didn't say a word, and just tasted it, but Qu Yi ate and drank too much, turning a blind eye to Xu Rong's indifference.Chen Wei and his personal guards felt that the atmosphere was not right, so they avoided it.

"Can you explain why I ordered Zhang Baiqi and Yang Ming to stop chasing, and let Han Yi and Yang Qiu's troops calmly withdraw from the right-wing battlefield, so that I failed to encircle and wipe out Han Sui on the left-wing battlefield?" Qu Yi suddenly gnawed half Throwing the leg of lamb on the table, he asked in a cold voice, "Why did you do this? Why did you let my men sacrifice in vain?"

Xu Rong hummed dissatisfiedly, and reached out to pick up the leg of lamb on the table and handed it to Qu Yi, "It's over, don't waste it."

Qu Yi glared at Xu Rong, snatched the leg of lamb, and took a bite, "Why? You said before the start of the war that you gave up the idea of ​​preserving the Xiliang Army and tried your best to kill the rebels. Why did you suddenly die again?" change idea?"

"We have held back the Xiliang Army on the right-wing battlefield, severely damaged our opponents on the central battlefield, and taken the initiative on the left-wing battlefield. We have already controlled the entire battle situation. Why can't I make the battle situation the most favorable for rapid stability? The direction of development in Guanzhong?" Xu Rong tapped the case hard, "Even if you can wipe out Han Sui and the Xiliang army, how much will you have to pay? If Han Sui and the Xiliang army are wiped out, and the northern Xinjiang cavalry The loss is astonishing again, what about Xijiang? Are you going to defend alone?"

Qu Yi opened his mouth to refute, but Xu Rong immediately reached out to stop him, "Stop talking, you can disregard the court's will, but I can't, I am the Taiwei of this dynasty, I must obey the court's order, I can't Because he was greedy for the victory in front of him and the credit for killing Han Sui, he left the great cause of ZTE behind."

"Are you blaming me?" Qu Yi's face suddenly changed.

"Yes, I am blaming you." Xu Rong stared into Qu Yi's angry eyes, and said bluntly, "You are greedy for meritorious service, disregarding the safety of the country, disregarding the lives and deaths of soldiers, acting recklessly, and going your own way. It will definitely bring immeasurable losses to the great cause of ZTE." Xu Rong turned around and picked up a roll of bamboo slips from behind and threw it on the ground, "Look for yourself, this is the loss of various ministries in this war. Although this is only a preliminary estimate, But the gap with the actual casualties will not be too big."

"Zhang Baiqi, Wei Jun, and Yang Ming on the right-wing battlefield lost about 4000 cavalry. He Feng on the middle battlefield lost about [-] cavalry. Yan Rou and Duan Xuan also lost nearly a thousand cavalry in the process of encircling Ma Chao and Yan Xing pawn casualties."

"The casualties on the left-wing battlefield were astonishing. In order to lure the enemy, Yang Feng, Hua Xiong, and Liang Baiwu took the initiative to attack before the army of high-ranking officials attacked, and lost about 4000 people. After the high-ranking officials attacked, the battle formation was severely damaged. Casualties increased sharply. Yang Feng said in the battle report that his 7000-strong army lost [-] people, nearly half of it.”

"You led the army to support the left-wing battlefield. After you surrounded the high-ranking officials, you had more than 6 cavalry troops in your hands. The strength of the troops was almost double that of the high-ranking officials. It was enough to surround the high-ranking officials and prevent Han Sui's rescue. At that time, you deployed in the southwest direction of the battlefield. Although the Youzhou army and the Huns suffered great losses under the attack of the rebels, because Lei Zi, Tie Yue and Nie Xiao's 5000 troops arrived in time, Gao Gan failed to break through and Xiliang The reinforcements also began to retreat." Xu Rong glared at Qu Yi and shook his head again and again, "If at this time you decisively order the main force to encircle the high officials and chase the Xiliang people with an iron cavalry, then our losses in the entire war can be controlled at [-] There are people around, but you didn't do that, you actually ordered to surround Xiliang's reinforcements, trying to eat two groups of enemies in one bite."

"Do we have enough troops to take down two groups of enemies at once?" Xu Rong waved his hand vigorously and asked angrily, "Even if Yang Feng's army goes to the battlefield again, you will only have less than 7 troops in your hands. Can your troops eat about 7 enemies? You have fought for so many years, and at this critical moment, you made such an incredible move, are you crazy?"

Qu Yi's face was red and his ears were red, speechless.

"Han Sui personally led the army to support, Gao Gan broke through again, and our army suffered heavy losses. Although Yan Rou, Huangfu Li, and Duan Xuan led the army to arrive, we have actually lost the initiative on the battlefield. If Gao Gan did not die suddenly The consequences would be unimaginable." Xu Rong patted the table hard, "You still think you have the strength to encircle and wipe out Han Sui, have you ever thought that our army has reached its limit at that time, too many soldiers died in battle, and the strength is great At a discount, even if the armies of Han Yi and Yang Qiu do not come to support, Han Sui may successfully break through at night."

"Even if he fails to break through, we will have to pay a higher price to wipe out the Xiliang army, but the more serious problem is that Han Sui and the Xiliang army are wiped out. Who will guard Xijiang? Will you go? At that time We don't have many iron cavalry anymore, what do you bring to defend the western border?"

"The encirclement and annihilation of the Xiliang army caused us to lose about 8000 more people, bringing the total loss to 3000 in the entire war." Xu Rong lamented, "But our actual loss far exceeds the loss of troops on the battlefield."

"It will be a matter of time before the Xiliang people retreat, as long as they give them a way home, but the northern Xinjiang cavalry has suffered too much loss. Once the Huns, Qiang, Xianbei and Duliao battalion retreat beyond the Great Wall, they will only rely on Ula Iron cavalry can't deter Xijiang at all."

"In addition, our infantry losses are also great, and the [-] captive soldiers cannot be used immediately. The fight against Kansai is bound to be delayed. The longer the fight against Kansai is delayed, the stronger Yuan Shao's defense will be. The west will be more difficult to fight. If Guanxi cannot be taken for a long time, we will not be able to cooperate with the armies of the Central Plains to attack Luoyang."

"You know the strength of Luoyang. If Yuan Shao is given enough time to hoard food, grass and military equipment to strengthen the city defense, if we can't conquer Luoyang in about half a year, we will withdraw from Kanto." Xu Rong's expression gradually eased, and he sighed deeply. "Don't you know how long Hebei's wealth can support an army of 20?"

"You are enjoying the battle now, but it has brought a lot of unforeseen troubles to the court. Although there are some things we can do our best to avoid, some things have already become facts and can no longer be changed."

=

Qu Yi disagreed, "Isn't it just that the casualties were higher? As for the seriousness as you said? I admit that after this battle, things in western Xinjiang are indeed a bit tricky, but according to the original plan of the imperial court, we will not fight in Kansai this year. Why did you suddenly think of fighting Kansai?"

"The Guanzhong War ended early, creating an excellent opportunity for us to fight Guanxi." Xu Rong pulled out the map from the document file behind him, and spread it out on the table, "Yuan Shao would never have thought that the Guanzhong War would end with just one battle." , let alone think that the entire army of high-ranking cadres will be wiped out, so his strength in Kansai will not be too many, and the defenses of the cities and passes in Kansai will not be very strong. The battlefield in Sichuan has been attracted, and the troops are also moving to the south of Luoyang. Once he learned that Guanzhong was lost, what was Yuan Shao's first thought?"

"Take back Yingchuan, ensure the connection between Luoyang and Jing and Henan, and ensure that Luoyang is not lost." Qu Yi said without hesitation.

"Yes." Xu Rong pressed his hand on Yingchuan on the map, "When we fought Guanzhong, Yingchuan was holding back the battlefield, but the unexpected end of the Guanzhong War quickly changed the current situation. We can immediately Attack Guanxi, use Guanxi as a containment battlefield, let the general quickly increase troops in Yingchuan, occupy Yingchuan, and completely cut off the connection between Luoyang and Jing and Henan. As long as the general takes Yingchuan, the army can be on the spot Take food, and the war can continue forever, and then all the troops of Luoyang Yuan Shao, Jingzhou Liu Biao, and Yuzhou Liu Bei will be dragged to the Yingchuan battlefield."

"Yuan Shao cares about one thing and loses another. He is in a hurry, and the deployment of troops is bound to be chaotic. At this time, we still have two months of food and grass. As long as we can kill Guanxi quickly and quickly, Kanxi will surely be defeated." Xu Xu Rong looked a little excited, and punched Hongnong County on the map with his fist, "If Guanxi goes down, we can attack from three directions: Hongnong, Henan, and Hanoi, and at the same time use the Yingchuan battlefield to drag Yuan Shao down." With reinforcements, we will strive to break through the Eight Passes of Gyeonggi and enter Luoyang next year."

Qu Yi's face was a little ugly.If Chang'an City can be defeated without a fight as Xu Rong expected, now is the best opportunity to attack Kansai by surprise.Attacking Kansai requires a sufficient army of infantry, and the infantry army suffered too many casualties in the first battle of Zheng Baiqu, and it took time to rest and replenish, so it was very difficult to attack Kansai immediately.However, the losses caused by his own command mistakes were mainly cavalry pawns. A large loss of cavalry pawns is not good for deterring Xijiang, but it seems to be harmless to the fight against Kansai.

"Zi Lie, what do you mean? You don't want me to fight in Kansai?"

Xu Rong frowned deeply, and looked at the excited Qu Yi in silence, but the expression on his face clearly told Qu Yi that he didn't want Qu Yi to command the Kansai battlefield.

"Yesterday, I was only irritated by Han Sui." Qu Yi was in a hurry, and beat the leg of lamb on the table repeatedly, "When I was in Xiliang, I was pressed and beaten by him all the time, and I was so useless. When Guan Zhongqin was king, he got in the way again and failed. I have held my breath for more than ten years, can I bear it?"

Xu Rong shook his head resolutely.

"I am willing to submit a petition to plead guilty, and I am willing to bear all the responsibilities for Zheng Baiqu's heavy damage in the war." Qu Yi was furious, and smashed the lamb leg that had been smashed to pieces on the ground, "Zi Lie, let me go to Kansai."

"I can let you go to Kansai, but you must promise me one condition." Xu Rong finally let go.

"I know." Qu Yi said with a smile, "How do you say, how do I fight, there will never be any violations of orders."

"First of all, we must minimize the loss of the army." Xu Rong slowly rolled up the map and said in a low voice, "Secondly, you must ask me for reinforcements very frequently. If I don't give you, you can ask the court for one day. Three letters, call for reinforcements day and night."

Qu Yi was stunned for a moment, "Zi Lie, Guanzhong also needs troops. Xiliang, Yizhou, and Nanyang are all likely to attack Guanzhong. After Chang'an is conquered, the iron cavalry will return to outside the Great Wall one after another. If I transfer all the troops away at this time, What about Guanzhong?"

Xu Rong smiled slightly, picked up the wine bar on the case table and took a sip, without speaking.

Qu Yi suddenly thought of something, and exclaimed in a low voice, "Increasing troops?"

Xu Rong put down the wine jue, reached out and picked up a piece of minced mutton from the table, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed slowly, "Now you know why I am so angry? If Han Sui's army threatens Guanzhong in the west, and beacon smoke in the east In the rolling Kansai war, is there any reason for the eldest princess and the imperial court to reject our proposal to increase troops?"

Qu Yi was stunned for a while, with a look of guilt on his face, "I'm sorry, Zilie, I didn't know things would be so complicated, I..."

"Forget it, the general won't blame you." Xu Rong glared at him, "You are indeed good at fighting, but you are now Shangqing, General Zuowei, and your every move is directly related to the fate of the country. When you command an operation on the battlefield, you have to think more about the things behind the battlefield, so that you can truly use the battlefield to defend the country and the Han Dynasty."

Qu Yi smiled awkwardly, approached Xu Rong and asked, "How much do you plan to increase your troops?"

Xu Rong stretched out a hand, then turned it in the air, and shook the back of his hand towards Qu Yi's face.

"One hundred thousand?" Qu Yi was shocked.

"A lot?" Xu Rong said with a smile, "I still think there are too few. Now there are more and more places to fight, but our troops are getting smaller and smaller. An increase of 50 troops is only enough to take down Luoyang. If we have With an army of [-], would Han Sui still dare to fight against us? I should have told you earlier if I knew you were so reckless."

"Will the eldest princess and the court agree?" Qu Yi asked hesitantly.

"I want to have a good talk with Han Sui." Xu Rong said confidently, "The other thing depends on your ability. Within two months, you will not only take Kansai, but also upset the imperial court."

Qu Yi absent-mindedly gave a "hmm", then raised his head and drank a big gulp of wine, "Zi Lie, can you explain to me a little more clearly? I'm at a loss for what to do."

Xu Rong smiled, stretched out his right index finger and waved it in front of Qu Yi's eyes, "You have to keep in mind that the pillar of the great man's revival is us from Northern Xinjiang."

=

After the Great War in the Central Plains, General Da Sima Li Hongzuo asked the Son of Heaven, Princess Chang and the court to build five more large barracks on both sides of the Yellow River in order to attack Luoyang, but Princess Chang and the court only agreed to build three more. Thirty thousand.

The court's reason was that the total military strength of the Han Dynasty had reached 27, and the military expenditure was huge, and the wealth could not afford it.Although the Han Dynasty now implements the "soldier household" system, there is no need to pay soldiers' salaries, and soldiers also bring some horses, armor and weapons when fighting, but the court believes that the war is becoming more and more intensive now, and more and more soldiers are killed in battle. The number of people is also rapidly expanding, and the land and pastures in the hands of the imperial court are limited, and they are no longer able to support them.

In fact, this reason is simply an excuse.After the Great War in the Central Plains, the imperial court recovered two prefectures, and there were countless unowned lands. In order to restore the Qing and Yan prefectures quickly, the imperial court deliberately moved more than 200 million people from northern Xinjiang, Hebei and other places to the south.The reason why the imperial court rejected the general's proposal to increase troops was to put it bluntly because he was worried that the military power in the hands of the general would be out of control.The military power in the hands of the general is too great, and too many troops are under his control. It is a huge threat to both the court and the country. A little carelessness will be the disaster of subjugation.

In the letter to the general, the eldest princess also made a special explanation, saying that the increase in troops involves too much, involving land system, taxation, border guards, etc., and it does not mean that the increase can be increased. It is better to maintain the existing troops.The eldest princess also said that in the Luoyang war, if the troops are not enough, they can be transferred from outside the Great Wall to the south again.The transfer of troops from outside the Great Wall can not only consume the strength of the tribes of the Hu tribe, but also benefit the stability of the desert, and can also reduce a series of troubles caused by the imperial court's increase in troops. Why not do it?But the general really needs troops to attack Luoyang, and after the army regains the Central Plains, it will go south to Jianghuai, Jingyu, and may even go to Yizhou. In these places, the northern Xinjiang cavalry is not very useful, what is needed is infantry army.In addition, after the main force of the army goes south to fight, the stability of northern and western borders is extremely important. At this time, it is impossible for the northern border cavalry to go south with the army to fight. They need to concentrate on defending the frontier.

However, now the general can't even increase his troops to attack Luoyang. After Luoyang is captured in the future, let alone increase his troops to recover the north and south banks of the Yangtze River.

The increase in troops will cause a series of problems. This is what the eldest princess and the imperial court are right about. But without increasing the number of troops, relying solely on the existing strength, when more and more states and counties are recovered, the battlefield is getting farther and farther, and the war is getting worse and worse. Under intensive circumstances, the pace of pacifying the world will be greatly slowed down, and the eldest princess and the court require the general to pacify the world as soon as possible. The contradiction between the two makes the general anxious.

The eldest princess trusts the general and the gentry bureaucrats in northern Xinjiang, but with the slow start of the great cause of ZTE and the continuous recovery of states and counties by the army, the eldest princess not only needs the army and the victory of the army, but also needs more and more gentry bureaucrats Help her promote the great cause of ZTE together.At this time, there are more and more forces entering the court, and various conflicts and power struggles come one after another. The eldest princess needs to balance the interests of all parties to maintain the stability of the court and the continuation of the New Deal. It has become inevitable to suppress and damage the interests of the most powerful northern Xinjiang.

Therefore, it was a helpless move for the eldest princess to prevent the general from increasing his troops, and it was also a helpless move for her to go outside the Great Wall to recruit Hu tribe cavalry to go south to participate in the Central Plains War.The general could understand the difficulty of the eldest princess, but at the same time he also felt a deep crisis coming to his face.

Immediately afterwards, a wave of "land enclosure and land speculation" broke out in Qingyan and Yanzhou. The proposal to establish the capital Chang'an encountered great resistance. Then it broke out, that is to say, after the Great War in the Central Plains, with the continuous expansion of the actual control of the imperial court and the rapid increase of the forces entering the court, the princess's dependence on the people of northern Xinjiang is gradually decreasing, and the people of northern Xinjiang are gradually losing their support. Control of authority.

The incident in the court finally inevitably exceeded the bottom line that the general could tolerate, so he decided to take action.

The general told his thoughts to Zuo Cheqi General Xian Yufu, Taiwei Xu Rong, Shang Shuling Li Wei, Right Guard General Zhang Yan, Sili Xiaowei Zuo Yan, and asked Hanbei County Prefect Zhu Mu and Liaodong Governor General Yu Peng to protect him. He wrote to the imperial court and returned to Jinyang to report on his work.

=

"Gongding (Zhu Mu) and Bohan (Yu Peng) are coming back?" Qu Yi asked in surprise, "So, why did the general invite Brother Yuxing (Xian Yufu) and Brother Junyi (Zuo Yan) to come to Dingtao?" In order to discuss this matter? It is also for this matter that Lou Lu, She Yingtong, Lu Huanyang and a group of Hu clan kings came to Dingtao?"

"Yun Tian, ​​don't you find it surprising that the general married Cao Cao's daughter to Ji Feng?" Xu Rong answered irrelevantly.

"It's not surprising." Qu Yi smiled, "I think it's very suitable. But hearing what you said, Ji Feng seems to have taken a big advantage."

"If Yuxing, Gongding, and Bohan all come back, there will only be fearless (Yan Wuwei) in the desert, and only Xiaolan (Li Su) in Liaodong. It will be too difficult for the two of them to support the entire northern border. In order to ensure the safety of northern border, the general , so I invite Lou Lu and She Yingtong to come to the Central Plains to discuss the defense of the northern border."

"The general should have done this a long time ago." Qu Yi curled his lips in dissatisfaction, "In these years, the people of northern Xinjiang have either counted the stars in the desert, or fought bloody battles on various battlefields. There is only one Li Zhongyuan (Li Wei) in the court hall It's hard to stand alone. How far are the people of Northern Xinjiang reduced now? They can't even increase their troops to fight Luoyang, but they still have to look at the faces of the bastards in the court? Who are we fighting for? For the general? For the eldest princess? For The big man is fighting the world for these bastards." Qu Yi cursed a few times angrily, "By the way, the eldest princess will not turn against the general this time, will she?"

Xu Rong shook his head, "For the establishment of the capital Chang'an, the eldest princess cried many times in secret. She can no longer stand the endless debates between the ministers in the court. The New Deal has been able to be formulated and implemented over the years mainly because of the Thanks to the full support and help of old ministers such as Zhang Wen, Cui Lie, and Yuan Pang, but now they are gone, the eldest princess has lost a strong support, the government is gradually deviating from the original direction, and the new policy is becoming more and more difficult. Maintain it. If we don’t find a way in time, things like Qingyan and Yanzhou’s land enclosure and land speculation will emerge one after another, and the New Deal will be destroyed by those self-righteous mercenaries in the DPRK and China.”

"The general has made up his mind this time?"

Xu Rong pondered for a moment, with a look of worry on his face, "The general is extremely cautious, and he is very careful in his actions. So far, he has not taken any action."

Qu Yi was so angry that he slammed the Jiu Jue on the table, "The general is careful in everything he does now, looking forward and backward, how can he have the domineering spirit that led us across the desert back then? What is he afraid of? Is he afraid that the people in Jinyang will rebel?" ? There are nearly [-] disabled veterans of Laoguai in the Longshan camp in Jinyang, and as long as the general gives an order, Jinyang can be killed and blood will flow into rivers."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xu Rong scolded angrily, "The general didn't let me tell you in advance because he was worried that you would ruin the big event. How many nobles are there in northern Xinjiang? How many people can enter the court? Do you think anyone can leave? Enter the imperial court to govern the world? In the future, when the country is pacified and the Han Dynasty is rejuvenated, all scholars in the world can enter the imperial court as long as they have the ability. So what we have to do now is not a matter of ten or 20 years, but 100 or 200 years. For [-] years, of course we must be cautious, and we will come step by step.”

"What are you talking about? Why can't I understand?" Qu Yi asked with staring eyes.

"It's very simple. Now the people of northern Xinjiang want to completely control the government and let the great cause of ZTE advance according to our vision. In the future, our descendants must continue to control the government so that the great cause of ZTE can be maintained and developed continuously. After a few generations, the great Han Dynasty will prosper. Wealth is strong, the people live and work in peace and contentment, the world is peaceful, and our wish will come true." Xu Rong looked at Qu Yi and said solemnly, "So, this is not something that can be solved by killing people and bloodshed, do you understand?"

Qu Yi laughed, "I know. Increase the number of troops first. As long as there are military households, the people of Beijiang will have an army. As long as there is an army, the people of Beijiang can control the government. As long as they control the government, the people of Beijiang can do whatever they want." .”

"This is the end of this matter, let's not talk about it anymore." Xu Rong waved his hand and said, "Tomorrow, together with Zhang Yun and Gao Lan, you will lead the army to Huayin and quickly capture Tongguan. Yang Feng and Zhang Baiqi will lead the army to follow Follow up. Sun Qin and Yang Hua's army will start to attack Fenglingdu after receiving my order and help you capture Tongguan."

"What about you? How many people did you bring to attack Chang'an?"

"Two or three thousand is enough." Xu Rong said with a smile, "I want to have a good talk with Han Sui. Things will go very smoothly, don't worry."

=

(End of this chapter)