Great Han Empire

Chapter 926 Troubled Times Heroic Chapter Wins Central Plains
In August, Jingzhou, Jiangxia.

After the news of the defeat in the Guanzhong War reached Jingzhou, Liu Biao immediately ordered the army to withdraw from the battlefield and return to guard Jiangxia.The morale of the people in Jiangdong was like a rainbow, and thousands of warships went up against the current to directly kill Jiangxia, with an astonishing momentum.

Cai Mao led his army to withdraw to E County, and then turned back to fight again.Under the command of Lu Su, the Jiangdong Army advanced by land and water, and the two armies immediately clashed fiercely.The Jingzhou army lost its spirit first. Although it had a certain advantage in strength, it was unable to stop the Jiangdong army.Cai Mao withdrew again and stopped the Jiangdong Army until he retreated to Shaxian (now Jinkou, Wuchang) and received support.

Most of Jiangxia County was lost.Liu Biao was furious and ordered Cai Mao's army to counterattack and drive Jiangdong's army out of Jingzhou.

In mid-August, Liu Biao received a second letter from Yuan Shao.Liu Biao, Kuai Yue and other Jingzhou officials carefully discussed Yuan Shao's defensive strategy, and believed that although Yuan Shao's offensive and defensive strategy was good, it was too difficult to implement, and letting Liu Bei go west to Shu would harm the interests of Jingzhou, which needs to be discussed.

The situation in Jingzhou is very bad now.The northern border army has approached Nanyang, and Nanyang will become the main battlefield of Jingzhou in the next few years.Sun Quan and Zhou Yu in Jiangdong are eyeing Jingzhou covetously. If they decide to join Hebei, there will be wars in Jiangxia direction in the future.Yizhou Liu Zhang is also a wolf. Last year, Jingzhou skillfully took advantage of the internal contradictions in Yizhou and provoked the war in Yizhou, which temporarily eased the threat of Yizhou to Jingzhou. However, in order for Jingzhou to gain an advantage in the future situation and control Yizhou is the only way.Yuan Shao let Liu Bei enter Shu at this moment, apparently with the intention of using Liu Bei to contain Jingzhou and prevent Jingzhou from multiplying its strength.

Although the current situation in Yizhou is very favorable for the Jingzhou army to enter Shu, the main force of the Jingzhou army is dragged on the two battlefields of Nanyang and Jiangxia at the moment, unable to advance westward, and can only watch the great opportunity pass by.

Liu Biao didn't want to give up.Liu Bei's troops were limited and he had no food and grass. If he wanted to enter Shu from the west, he had to get the support of Jingzhou, otherwise he would be beaten by the people of Bashu.It is impossible for Liu Biao to personally cultivate an opponent who is a potential threat to Jingzhou, so he wants to take advantage of Liu Bei's lack of strength and Yuan Shao's eagerness to open up the west road battlefield, and join forces with Liu Bei to advance westward to Bashu. In this way, he can at least control Yizhou. Eastern counties, thus ensuring the safety of Jingzhou.

Kuai Yue agreed with Liu Biao's approach. He suggested that Liu Biao take advantage of the moment when Luoyang was surrounded by the northern army and Nanyang was attacked by the northern army, and force Yuan Shao to move the emperor to Xiangyang, so that the emperor could get rid of Yuan Shao's control.

Now part of the Nanyang Army has been completely wiped out in Guanzhong, and some are stationed in Hanzhong to join forces with Zhang Lu to open up the West Road battlefield. not enough.The safety of Luoyang and Nanyang largely depends on Jingzhou's support.At this time, if Liu Biao proposed to move the emperor to Xiangyang, even if Yuan Shao was unwilling, he would have no reason to refuse, unless he wanted to be trapped to death in Luoyang by the northern army.

Liu Biao was overjoyed when he heard the words, and he was brooding over the loss of the opportunity to occupy Yizhou.The current chaotic situation in Yizhou was created by himself. As a result, he didn't benefit from it, but Liu Bei got a big deal for nothing, so he was very depressed.Kuai Yue's suggestion made Liu Biao suddenly enlightened.If you can move the emperor to Xiangyang, Jingzhou will not only double its strength, but also minimize the threat of Jiangdong and Yizhou to Jingzhou.Although the two boys Sun Quan and Zhou Yu are despicable and shameless, considering Jiangdong's own interests, they will not openly raise the banner of rebellion to attack the emperor like Hebei.

Based on Luoyang's current predicament, Jingzhou is fully capable of snatching the emperor to Xiangyang, but the consequences of doing so are unpredictable. It may anger Yuan Shao, cause the coalition forces to kill each other, and the society will be overthrown overnight.The longer Yuan Shao persists in Luoyang, the better it will be for the coalition forces to recover their strength.Only when the strength of all parties in the coalition forces is strong can it be possible to jointly counterattack and turn defeat into victory.Therefore, Liu Biao could not rob by force, but could only use his current advantage to force Yuan Shao to give up the emperor, so that Yuan Shao could continue to maintain a high fighting spirit and fight to the death with the northern army. Do your best to help Yuan Shao.Of course, from the perspective of Jingzhou's security, this is also necessary, but now that the main force of Jingzhou is in the Jiangxia battlefield, Liu Biao's top priority is to end this battle immediately.

=

In August, Yangzhou, Lujiang County.

After Yuan Yaobei went to Runan, his traces were quickly exposed.Yuan Tan, Liu Xian and others felt that going south to attack Lujiang County was a good opportunity to force Jiangdong to withdraw troops and facilitate peace talks among all parties. However, the battle situation in Yingchuan was very tense at this time. His own troops were too small, so Yuan Tan gave up after thinking twice.However, he did not throw his limited troops into the Yingchuan battlefield, but quietly approached Runan with the army.He wanted to wait until Liu Bei's military strength was damaged and quickly stationed in Runan, taking advantage of the situation to drive Liu Bei out of Yuzhou.Yuan Tan is bound to win Yuzhou.Once Luoyang is lost in the future, the Yuan family can only rely on the foundation of Yuzhou to make a comeback.

In August, Yuan Shao's letter was delivered to Yuan Tan.Yuan Shao clearly told him in the letter that he would immediately attack Lujiang County, facilitate peace talks among all parties as soon as possible, and help Jingzhou get rid of the entanglement in Jiangdong.

Almost at the same time, Cao Cao's letter also arrived.I am currently negotiating with Hebei and Jiangdong, and it is not good to fight Lujiang directly. If you are willing to help, I will help you defend Yuzhou.

Yuan Tan no longer hesitated, and personally led the army south to Lujiang, and asked Cao Cao to help him secretly.

Cao Cao ordered Man Chong and Liu Xun to disguise themselves as Yuan Jun and Yuan Tan with 5000 troops to attack Shucheng and other places together.Cao Hong was ordered to lead his army to set off from Hefei and approach Caishiji to contain the Jiangdong army.

When Sun Quan and Zhou Yu heard that Cao Jun was approaching Caishiji suddenly, they hurriedly ordered the troops in Shucheng, Juchao and other places to take precautions, and ordered the navy from all over the river to gather at Caishiji.

At the end of the eighth month, Yuan Tan's army took down Longshu in a swift and swift manner, and then took advantage of the victory to attack, including Kejuchao, Shucheng and other places.The Jiangdong Army was caught off guard, lost in a row, and retreated across the board. In the end, only Wancheng, Linhu and Caishiji Ferry were left in their hands.

Yuan Tan's soldiers were facing Linhu, and the forward army pointed directly at Caishiji.At this time, Yuan Tan ordered to stop the attack, and urgently wrote to Sun Quan and Zhou Yu, detailing the current situation in the world, expressing his willingness to intervene and let Cao Cao, Liu Biao and Jiang Dong shake hands and make peace.

Sun Quan and Zhou Yu never expected that their opponent would suddenly change from Yuan Yao to Yuan Tan.

They estimated that Yuan Yao might have taken refuge with Yuan Shao. After all, they are a family, blood is thicker than water, and any enmity can be resolved, and Cao Cao must be an accomplice.In a word, Lujiang cannot be taken back.

Lujiang fell, and Jiangdong was seriously threatened. The main force of the Jiangdong army could no longer attack Jiangxia, but the Jiangdong people did not want to return empty-handed like this.

At the end of August, Zhou Yu rushed to Caishiji to meet Yuan Tan.Zhou Yu put forward the terms of the peace negotiation. Yuan Tan immediately returned to Lujiang County, and Liu Biao gave up Jiangxia to Jiangdong. Otherwise, there will be no negotiation, and we will fight again.

Zhou Yu demanded a lot of money, and Yuan Tan smiled wryly. He neither refused in person nor agreed outright. He said that as long as you are willing to talk, it is fine. When I invite Cao Cao and Liu Biao, we will sit down and talk slowly.

Yuan Tan wrote to Cao Cao and Liu Biao, asking them to send people to discuss peace immediately.Considering that Jingzhou is too far away from the Lujiang River, Yuan Tan suggested that people from the four parties go to Pengze to discuss.

=

In September, Pengze, Yuzhang County, Yangzhou.

Yuan Tan, Zhou Yu, Cai Mao, and Cao Hong met in Pengze, and more than a dozen officials from all directions sat together, discussing day and night.

Liu Biao was eager to get away from the Jiangxia battlefield, so he gritted his teeth and gave up half of Jiangxia to Jiangdong.In his view, Jiangdong will not be able to achieve anything after all, especially after Sun Ce's death, and it will be even more difficult to sustain. As long as the situation is stable, the Jingzhou army will be able to make a comeback, and it will be easy to retake half of Jiangxia.

Since Jingzhou swallowed his anger and was willing to suffer humiliation and give up half of Jiangxia County, Jiangdong couldn't bully others too much, so the two sides shook hands and made peace.

Lujiang County is equally important to Cao Cao and Sun Quan, and no one wants to take a step back.Zhou Yu forced Yuan Tan to return it immediately, while Cao Hong threatened Yuan Tan that if you dare to abandon Lujiang, I will leave immediately, and we will not talk about it.

Cai Mao was in a hurry to return to Xiangyang, so he immediately came out to smooth things over. Lujiang was temporarily led by Yuan Tan.Yuan Tan was even more anxious. He was worried about the situation in Yingchuan, and he was eager to withdraw his troops and go north to defend Yuzhou. He had no time to stay in Lujiang.

Seeing that Zhou Yu refused to give in, Cao Hong had to cry and beg Zhou Yu, saying that Xuzhou is directly facing the threat of 10,000+ troops from Hebei, without a safe and stable rear, how can it resist?If Xuzhou is conquered by the Northern Xinjiang Army, how many days can you survive in Jiangdong?

Zhou Yu weighed the pros and cons carefully, and finally decided to make a concession. He took the three riverside cities of Wancheng, Linhu and Xiang'an and the Caishiji Ferry, and gave up the rest to Cao Cao.These three cities and ferry crossings are the necessary places to attack Jiangdong from Lujiang River, especially the Caishiji ferry crossing is the most important.As long as the Jiangdong Army defends these places, it will not be so easy for Cao Cao to attack Jiangdong even if he wants to.

In September, the Quartet successfully negotiated a peace and a secret alliance in Pengze.Now that Cao Cao and Sun Quan are weak, they dare not openly break up with Hebei.Keep this matter secret for a while, so as not to be retaliated by Hebei and cause unnecessary trouble.

=

In mid-September, in Dingtao, the general went to the gate.

Hebei, Xuzhou and Jiangdong finally reconciled after arduous negotiations.

Hebei returned Langya Kingdom to Xuzhou.

Cao Cao and Sun Quan have been unable to reach an agreement, and finally Mao Jie came up with an idea to marry first. After the marriage, the two parties became relatives, and some things were easier to talk about.So Cao Cao married Cao Ren's daughter to Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Kuang, and married his son Cao Zhang to Sun Ben's daughter.Mao Jie's idea had immediate effect, the relationship between the two parties was close, and the negotiation went smoothly.First of all, Cao Cao admitted that the two counties of Jiangbei belonged to Sun Quan, but before the world was settled, considering the safety and stability of the Jianghuai area, Cao Cao decided to lease the two counties of Jiangbei from Sun Quan, and pay a certain amount of money and food to Jiangdong every year as compensation, while Jiangdong was in Lujiang. Three cities and one ferry in the county stationed troops to ensure the safety of Jiangdong.

The three parties in this peace talk have their own interests, and everyone is happy.

At this time, Li Hong had stabilized Qingyan and Yanzhou, occupied Yingchuan, and ensured the advantage of seizing Luoyang.Sun Quan has basically stabilized Jiangdong and passed the most dangerous moment in Jiangdong safely.Although Cao Cao lost the opportunity to seize Jiangdong, he got the two counties in Jiangbei, which basically ensured the stability of Jianghuai.

At the end of September, Cao Ren, Mao Jie, Cao Zhang, Sun Ben, Zhang Hong, and Zhu Zhi bid farewell to General Li Hong and left the Central Plains.Before Sun Ben and others returned to Jiangdong, because they had to negotiate with Cao Cao about the wedding of the two families, they went to Xuzhou with Cao Ren first.

=
Hebei ended this difficult negotiation, but another difficult negotiation has just begun.

Li Hong sent invitations to both Yuan Shao and Liu Bei for peace talks, but contrary to Li Hong's expectations, it was not Yuan Shao who refused the peace talks, but Liu Bei.Liu Bei wrote back to Li Hong, gnashing his teeth and scolding bitterly, but Yuan Shao sent Yuan Zhong and Shen Pei to Dingtao.

It is too difficult to negotiate with Yuan Shao, and the possibility of success is very small, but since Yuan Shao sent someone, we must treat it with caution, even if it fails, it doesn't matter, because now Hebei, like Luoyang, urgently needs time.Hebei needs time to stabilize the court and western Xinjiang, and it needs time to make all preparations for conquering Luoyang, including making Chang'an the capital.If Yuan Shao was pushed into a hurry during this period, forcing him to abandon Luoyang suddenly, burn Luoyang with a torch, and transfer all his troops to Jingzhou and Yuzhou to hold on, then he would be in big trouble.

Back then, Li Jue and Guo Si were insane and burned down the Weiyang Palace. Now, who can guarantee that Yuan Shao will not be insane and burn down Luoyang?

Although Hebei intends to establish Chang'an as its capital, Luoyang has been the capital for 200 years after all. Many things in Luoyang City are priceless treasures of the Han Dynasty, such as the millions of volumes of books in Dongguan, Lantai and other places. If they are burned, they will be burned. , I can never get it back again, and the loss to the big man is unimaginable.In addition, if Luoyang is destroyed, Kanto will become ruins, and Hebei will lose its solid rear to attack Jing and Yu in the south, and will not be able to go south to suppress the rebellion in the short term. In order to restore Kanto and rebuild Luoyang, Hebei will spend an astonishing amount of money, which will also be a heavy blow to the great cause of ZTE. hit.

Li Hong still had a hope in his heart, he was looking forward to a miracle.If Yuan Shao is willing to respect the emperor and submit to the court, the world will soon be peaceful, and the great cause of ZTE will be successful soon.Li Hong didn't dare to say this idea, he thought it was too ridiculous, and everyone would definitely despise him if he said it.

Li Hong cherished this opportunity very much. While reporting to the court, he personally participated in the talks. He wanted to do his best to find, discover and create miracles.

=

Li Hong was very happy to be able to reunite with Shen Pei again.On the evening when Yuan Zhong and his trial partner arrived at Xingyuan, Li Hong hosted a banquet for them in the military tent, and invited his wife Feng Xue to the banquet to toast them.Yuan Zhong was very surprised. Although he knew that Li Hong and the judge had a good relationship, he never thought that their friendship was so deep.

The next day Li Hong listened carefully to Yuan Shao's peace negotiation conditions, but he did not express any opinion.In the evening, Li Hong, in his private capacity, once again invited the judges to gather in the tent.

The two drank wine and chatted casually.

"Back then, when you went to northern Xinjiang, you said that Yuan Shao is the only person who can save the great man in the world." Li Hong repeated the old story, "Now, tell me, is Yuan Shao really sincere in peace talks?"

The examiner smiled, "Of course I'm sincere, otherwise what would I do here?" He looked at Li Hong and asked solemnly, "What about you? Are you sincere?"

Li Hong hesitated for a moment, "I can ask the emperor to issue an order to stop the army from attacking in the Guanxi and Yingchuan battlefields, but the premise is that Yuan Shao must recognize the emperor and the court of Jinyang, otherwise..."

"Is this your sincerity?"

"If Yuan Shao is the only one who can save the big man in today's world, then he should accept this condition." Li Hong said with a smile, "Besides that, how else can he save the big man?"

The trial partner took a sip of the wine, stroked his long beard and thought for a while, then suddenly said: "Han Sui is dead."

Li Hong nodded, "Things in Xijiang are indeed very complicated, which we did not expect before launching the Guanzhong War."

"Things in the world are so unpredictable." The examiner looked at the dim candlelight and said with emotion, "When Lord Huangfusong attacked Guangzong, if Zhang Jiao hadn't died of illness suddenly, would the Yellow Turban Rebellion have been put down quickly? ?During the Battle of Yingtao, if Zhang Niujiao hadn’t been killed suddenly by an arrow, would you have led the army to the western border? Han Sui’s sudden death in the Guanzhong War has caused the situation in Luoyang to deteriorate extremely, but for Hebei, this is another What does it mean?"

Li Hong smiled slightly, "Brother Zhengnan, the rebellion in Xijiang may delay the northern army from attacking Luoyang, but it will not change his fate."

"What if you die suddenly?" The judge said surprisingly.

Li Hong frowned slightly, his eyes involuntarily looked at the long sword at Shen Pei's waist.The judge laughed, "The world is unpredictable, who can know what will happen tomorrow? If He Jin knew that he would die, would he still enter the palace? If Dong Zhuo knew that he would be assassinated, would he still go to Chang'an?" Han Sui If he knew he was going to die, would he go to the battlefield himself?"

"After I die, Hebei will not be in chaos, and the Northern Army will not collapse. The eldest princess and the imperial court will still command the army to calm the world." Li Hong said calmly and calmly.

"But what about the desert? What about the barbarians in the desert? Will northern Xinjiang still be stable?" The judge raised his head and took a sip of wine, and said loudly, "Northern Xinjiang is in chaos, can the Qiang people in western Xinjiang be far from Chang'an? "

Li Hong shook his head repeatedly with a smile, "Indeed, if I die, Yuan Shao still has a chance to stand up, but what if Yuan Shao dies suddenly?"

"So we should all have sincerity." The judge put down the wine bar, stretched out his right index finger to wipe the wine stains on the corner of his lips gracefully, and said slowly, "Look, should we put the emperor and the court in the same place?" Let’s talk about something practical?”

Li Hong pondered for a moment, staring at the white hair on the sideburns of the judge, and suddenly asked: "Yuan Shao killed Tian Feng and forced Jushou to death, why did you stay?"

There was a trace of pain in the judge's eyes, and the right hand holding the wine jue trembled slightly, and he didn't speak for a long time.

"Can you tell me the secret here?"

=

I recommend Takeshi's "Super Affair", anyone who is interested should check it out, I am very grateful.

I recommend Zhulei's "Wu De" again, which is a good historical fiction.

(End of this chapter)