Great Han Empire

Chapter 980 Chapter [-]
The second year of Yuanping in the Han Dynasty (AD 204), February.

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At the beginning of February, Da Sima Mansion.

General Qu Yi, General Zhao Yun, General Yushi, General Yushi, General Yan Liang, General Wen Chou, General Hua Xiong, General Pang De, General Liang Baiwu, General Ma Chao, General Huwei, Huya General Wei Yan and more than [-] generals gathered in Da Sima's Mansion to participate in the Western Expedition.

This time against Qiang, the little emperor personally marched, and Guang Luxun Xianyu assisted the Huben Yulin army to escort him.

"The purpose of the Western Expedition is not just to pacify the Qiang." Grand Sima Fuchang Shi Chenwei stood in front of a huge map and waved his hand to draw a big circle on the map of Longxi and Longnan. "The main purpose of this Western Expedition The purpose is to realize the counter-insurgency strategy of suppressing Shu, the army must not only occupy the counties of Liangzhou, but more importantly, form an attack advantage over Bashu, so that after the war in Western Xinjiang is over, the army will quickly go south to attack Bashu."

"In order to achieve the purpose of the attack, the imperial court plans to attack Liangzhou in three ways."

"The first army marched directly to the west, attacking Hanyang, Jincheng, and Longxi counties. This army was commanded by the general, and the chariot general Qu Yi was the deputy."

"The second army is led by General Zhenbei Yan Rou and Huben General Lei Zi. They will march from the southwest of Hebei to attack the city in the northern part of the Yellow River in Jincheng County. They will contain the strength of the Qiang people and help the main force advance quickly to the Hehuang area."

"The third army is led by the right guard general Zhao Yun..." Chen Wei looked at Zhao Yun and pointed to Dashan Pass on the map, "Master Zhao's army left Dashan Pass to attack Wudu County and cut Liu Bei's way back to Bashu , to block the rescue of the Bashu rebels, and strive to wipe out Liu Bei's rebels in the Longnan area."

"Are you attacking Hanzhong?" Zhao Yun asked.

"Wudu County is very difficult to fight, you must not underestimate the enemy." Xu Rong waved his hand, "Wudu County is located between Longxi and Bashu, and its position is extremely important. Liu Zhang, Liu Bei, Yang Song, and Wei Duan are all stationed here. Heavy troops. Your first goal is to occupy Wudu County, force Liu Bei back from Longxi as much as possible, reduce the attack resistance for the main army advancing westward, shorten the time for the main army to pacify the Qiang to the greatest extent, and save the imperial court's wealth consumption. Once the main force arrives After the army has quelled the Qiang rebellion, we can carry out a two-pronged attack and completely annihilate Liu Bei in Wudu." Xu Rong paused for a moment, then continued, "As for whether we will fight Hanzhong or not, we cannot be sure now, but if the situation permits, the court will of course I hope to recover Hanzhong as soon as possible.”

Zhao Yun nodded, understanding.

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After Chen Wei explained the attack strategy, he immediately began to deploy the troops of the three-way army.

The three battalions of the Northern Army led by the former general Yushi, the three battalions of iron cavalry led by the general Pang De who conquered the West, the general Wei Jun who defended the Qiang, and the general Ma Chao who protected the Qiang.

Zhenbei General Yan Rou will lead at least [-] cavalry to the south, including two battalions of cavalry from General Li Feng Jiang Wu and General Changshui Mustafa.

After the two armies meet on the Hehuang battlefield in Longxi, the total strength will reach 7.

The army attacking Wudu County consisted of the fourth battalion of the Northern Army led by General Yan Liang on the left and General Wen Chou on the right, General Hua Xiong of the Town Army, General Liang Baiwu of Wu Feng, General Sima Yi of Huwei, and General Wei Yan of Huya, with a total of [-] troops.

On the entire battlefield in Western Xinjiang, the court invested a total of 11 cavalry troops.

"In mid-February, your lords will lead their troops to assemble in Chen Cang, waiting for the imperial court's order to attack." Xu Rong stood up and waved his hand and said, "I am waiting for your lord's good news in Chang'an."

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In the first month of February, General Li Hong met with Han Song, Kuai Liang, Wang Lang, Hua Xin and other special envoys from Xiangyang in Qilin Hall, and passed on the emperor's decree to choose a day to attack.

Han Song and the others were terrified, worried that their heads would be used by Li Hong as a sacrifice for the swearing-in flag.Li Hong tried to comfort them, hoping that they could stay in Chang'an and serve the great man.

A few days later, Han Song, Wang Lang, and Hua Xin pleaded guilty and were willing to stay in Chang'an. Only Kuai Liang and Lu Fan asked to return to the south.

The Son of Heaven ordered to worship Han Song as Yilang and repatriate Kuai Liang and Lu Fan.

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In mid-February, General Long Xiang rushed to the court and asked to be transferred from Yingchuan.On the same day, Zhong You, the general who conquered the South, also urgently wrote to General Li Hong, Grand Sima Xu Rong, and Taiwei Zhang Yan, detailing all the criticisms he encountered in Yingchuan.

After careful discussion, Li Hong and Zhang Yan decided to transfer Wang Dang and Liao Lei to the Gyeonggi garrison, and transferred Li Yun, Zi Sui, Su You, and Shen Rong to the Yingchuan battlefield.

At the end of February, the imperial decree was passed to Yingchuan.At this moment, Zhong Yao was on tour in Xuchang. He was overjoyed when he heard the news, and urgently wrote to Lu Bu, the general of the left guard, asking to meet him in Changyi.

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In early March, Yanzhou, Changyi.

Lu Bu flew to Changyi to meet Zhong Yao.As early as in Luoyang, the two were ministers in the same palace, but at that time Lu Bu was charged with killing Ding Yuan, and was despised and spurned by the ministers. Until three years later, Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo in Chang'an, and the ministers It was only then that Lu Bu was accepted and gave him a high evaluation.It was at that time that the relationship between Zhong Yao and Lu Bu improved.

This time, the general was uncharacteristically, and strongly recommended Zhong Yao to Yingchuan to lead the army to attack Jingzhou, which became a major event that shocked the court.Lu Bu was also very surprised. He didn't like scholars to lead the army, but before leaving, the three commanders of the army, Li Hong, Xu Rong and Zhang Yan, all solemnly asked him to give up prejudice, trust and cooperate with each other, and complete the southward attack as soon as possible. Target.

Zhong Yao cut to the chase and went straight to the point, "The Son of Heaven will lead the army to conquer the western borders in April or May, that is to say, we have at most two months left to complete the goal set by the court. Judging from the current situation, we are Can Xuzhou or Jingzhou win a victory?"

Lu Bu pondered for a while, then shook his head, "Since the rebels dared to split up their fiefdoms and dominate each side, of course they have made sufficient precautions. The Xuzhou army in Langya Kingdom, Donghai, Pengcheng and other places has already been waiting in full force. No matter if we attack Langya Kingdom from the southeast, , or directly go south to fight Pengcheng, we will not be able to achieve satisfactory results in the short term. I have discussed with Gao Shun, Zang Ba, Wei Xu and other adults for a long time, but I feel that I have no way to start. How is the situation in Yingchuan?"

"Who is General Wang Dang, you don't know yet?" Zhong Yao said with a wry smile, "With his personality, whenever he had the opportunity, he would have fought out. To the west of Yingchuan is Nanyang, to the south is Runan, and to the east is Chen If we attack Nanyang, Yuan Tan will go north to contain it; if we attack Runan and Chen, Yuan Xi will attack and help. No matter how we fight, we will be caught in the predicament of fighting on two fronts, with no chance of winning."

"Does Master Zhong have any suggestions?" Lu Bu asked.Zhong Yao traveled hundreds of miles to meet with himself, of course not to complain to himself.With Zhong Yao's reputation in Jing and Henan, there must be many people who helped him, either overtly or secretly, and maybe he already had an attack plan.

"Can you trust me?" Zhong Yao answered irrelevantly.

"Of course." Lu Bu said without hesitation, "Since the imperial court sent you south to fight Jingzhou, of course it has considered all aspects of the situation and has absolute confidence in you. If you have a plan to defeat the enemy, I will help you with all my strength. No matter where you are Jingzhou opened the situation, or I opened the situation in Xuzhou. As long as we win a battle and severely injure the rebellion, we will complete the mission entrusted by the court, and it will also help the emperor to go west. .”

"That's good." Zhong Yao spread out the map on the desk, "Let's go to Yuzhou."

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Zhong Yao suggested that Lu Bu send a large army to pretend to attack Pengcheng, and he himself sent a large army to pretend to attack Nanyang. The two wings quickly inserted and made a strong attack posture.

At this moment, Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Cao Cao of Xuzhou will urge Yuan Tan of Yuzhou to take the initiative to attack Yingchuan in order to contain the Han army and ease the crisis on the two wings of the battlefield.

As long as Yuan Tan comes out and his army no longer sticks to the city, we have a chance to encircle him and solve the problem in the shortest time.Attacking cities is protracted and consumes a lot of money. This kind of battle cannot be fought at present.

"Yuan Tan's strength is the weakest. If we can lure him out and severely damage his army, we can quickly go south, occupy the three counties of Runan, Chen State, and Liang State, and suppress him to the south of Pei State. In this way, we not only separated Xuzhou and Jingzhou, obtained a more favorable offensive terrain, but also obtained a large piece of fertile land, eased the financial difficulties of the court, and helped the frontline army hoard more food to prepare for the attack in October this year. Prepare."

"What's the matter? In autumn, Lord Zhong still wants to grab food?" Lu Bu greatly appreciated Zhong Yao's strategy, and his confidence in winning a battle in the near future was greatly increased.When I am in a good mood, I can’t help but speak up casually.

"The intention of the imperial court is to extend the battlefield to the counties and counties of Xu, Jing, and Henan, and to attack and consume the enemy to the greatest extent. During the period when the emperor conquered the western border, it is impossible for us to launch a second war, so we can only rely on this This method can severely injure the enemy army, destroy the will of the rebels, and divide and weaken the enemy as much as possible." Zhong Yao said with a smile, "Every time we attack, you and I will jointly attack, so that the enemy will be surrounded by enemies and unable to resist."

Lu Bu's eyes lit up, his thoughts suddenly became clear, and he said hello repeatedly.

Zhong Yao planned to send 4 people to attack Wancheng in Nanyang and Pengcheng in Xuzhou on the east and west battlefields, and gather 7 people in Yanling and Xuchang to encircle and wipe out Yuan Tan. , it is also possible to go north to attack Chenliu, so I suggest to go to the court and ask General Lei Chong who is stationed in Xingyang to go south to help."

Lu Bu was slightly surprised.If Lei Zhong's army was also transferred to the southern battlefield, then 17 troops would be deployed on the eastern, central, and western battlefields, which was quite different from the imperial court's requirements.The imperial court only asked Lu Bu and Zhong Yao to fight a small-scale battle to combat the arrogance of the rebels, instead of launching a full-scale attack of such a scale.

Lu Bu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the energetic Zhong Yao, feeling a little unhappiness in his heart.Zhong Yao's intentions are obvious. He wants to use his own strength to make a great contribution in the shortest time to establish his position in the army. This involves the power struggle in the court.With Zhong Yao's calmness, would he do such a thing that might anger the general?He pulled me in probably because he wanted to avoid angering the General, so that even if the General disagreed, he wouldn't take full responsibility.

Lu Bu was a little annoyed, and secretly cursed a few words.Every time there is a battle between the courts, it is me who is unlucky in the end, how can this be reasonable?Don't you think I'm a turtle if I don't show off my power?
Zhong Yao saw Lu Bu's hesitation, and immediately gave a wonderful explanation.

The main reason why the general gave us two months is to rush to lead the army westward in May, hoping to end the war in western Xinjiang within this year, but this possibility is actually very small.The great general's prestige is known to everyone in the world. When the Qiang people saw the great general leading the great Han cavalry into the western border, what was the first thought?If they wanted to escape, the farther they could escape, the better. They would no longer foolishly fight the general to the death like Thunderstorm in June for more than ten years. It was purely courting death.

Of course, the Qiang people would not flee to the West Sea, Xiqing Mountain, and Min Mountain immediately. They would still have to deal with the Han army in the areas of Hehuang, Huanghan, and Yugu. At the same time, the people who moved back to Liangzhou had to be resettled. It will take time to rebuild the prefectures and government offices in Hanyang, Jincheng, Longxi and other places, so it is impossible to end the war in Western Xinjiang within one year, and it will take at least two years or even more.

The longer the war in Western Xinjiang drags on, the heavier the court's burden will be, and the tighter the wealth will be. Therefore, if we take Yuzhou first, it will greatly ease the financial tension of the imperial court, and the imperial court's recovery of Western Xinjiang will be greatly reduced. play a decisive role.

Zhong Yao's words made sense, but Lu Bu had no way to refute them. After hesitating for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and agreed, "Okay, let's play quickly."

"Time waits for no one." Zhong Yao persuaded, "We are deploying troops while playing."

"Let's fight immediately on the battlefield on both wings." Lu Bu went all out, "Fight first."

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In March, the joint memorial of Lu Bu and Zhong Yao was sent to Chang'an.

Da Sima Xu Rong was very disturbed after receiving the memorial.Mr. Zhong Yao is eager to make contributions.Yuzhou's position in the North-South confrontation is extremely important. Will Liu Biao, Cao Cao and others be unprepared?Yuan Tan would be so stupid?After losing Yuzhou, Yuan Tan will be begging for food.At such a critical moment of life and death, Yuan Tan would not dare to send troops hastily anyway.

Zhong Yao turned a small battle into a big one, and the consumption of wealth suddenly doubled. Once the southern war drags on for a long time, it is very likely that the Qing Dynasty will be delayed until next year.Liu Bei, Han Yi, and the Qiang people had another year in western Xinjiang to manage their respective territories, and the future battles will be even more difficult to fight.

Xu Rong hurried into the palace and rushed to Shangshutai.Contrary to his expectations, General Li Hong was not angry, but ordered someone to invite Taifu Yang Biao and other ministers and the new Secretary of Agriculture Tian Yu.

Li Hong listened carefully to Yang Biao and Xun You's analysis of the situation, then asked Li Wei carefully about the income and expenditure of wealth, and then asked Tian Yu.Tian Yu said that if Yuzhou can be captured, it will indeed greatly increase the imperial court's wealth and income, which will be beneficial without any harm.

That night, at the request of the general, the eldest princess convened a meeting of ministers and ministers in the Qilin Hall to seek advice on Lu Bu and Zhong Yao's southern attack strategy.

Most of the ministers agreed with Lu Bu and Zhong Yao's memorial.The century-long war in Western Xinjiang was a painful lesson for the imperial court. Without sufficient financial guarantee, it is indeed risky to go to Western Xinjiang. It is necessary to be steady and slow down.If the Western Expedition fails, or is abandoned halfway, and the court's wealth is in crisis, it will not only be too late to go back to Yuzhou, but it will also be more difficult.

The general accepted the opinions of the ministers and decided to do his best to attack Yuzhou first.

Seeing that the general did not object, the eldest princess immediately agreed to Lu Bu and Zhong Yao's proposal to attack Yuzhou first, but the time should not be too long. The 17 troops attacked at the same time, and the court could not afford to delay.

The eldest princess decreed that Lu Bu and Zhong Yao had a clear deadline. Within three months, Yuzhou must be captured, otherwise they would be held accountable and severely punished.

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I go to work in the afternoon and will not update at night.

(End of this chapter)