Great Han Empire

Chapter 983 Chapter [-]
Changan.

In mid-March, former chief minister Wang Han died of illness.This old man was once the Minister of Agriculture in the Emperor Xiaoling's dynasty, and later served as the governor of Hedong, and made great contributions to the success of farming in northern Xinjiang.After Emperor Xiaoxian went to Jinyang to rebuild the imperial court, he gradually faded out of the imperial court due to physical reasons, but he still made suggestions for the imperial court's new policies.In recent years he has been bedridden and almost forgotten.General Li Hong presided over the funeral in person.There are fewer and fewer older generations in northern Xinjiang, which makes Li Hong very sad.

In April, Cai Yong, the former prime minister, died of illness.In grief, the general once again presided over the funeral in person.On the day of Cai Yong's burial, both the emperor and the eldest princess attended. Li Hong, Li Wei, Xu Rong, and Zhang Yan, the four prime ministers, helped the spirit, and all the civil and military officials accompanied the spirit. There were tens of thousands of mourners. Master Zheng Xuan from Luoyang also went to Chang'an to see his old friend off.

The death of Cai Yong was a great blow to Li Hong. After the old man was buried, he fell ill, and all state affairs were entrusted to Grand Sima Xu Rong.

Light rain and wind and snow take care of them day and night, meticulously.The eldest princess quietly rushed to the General's Mansion every morning, and left slowly at dusk.More than half a month later, Li Hong's illness improved slightly, but at this time news of the defeat of Nanyang came from the Jingzhou battlefield.Li Hongda was taken aback and hurriedly called Xu Rong for questioning.

After Zhang Xiu led his army to conquer Xi'e, he gathered his troops at sunset and stormed Wancheng. However, he still failed to capture the small city of Bowang, which was only ten miles away from Xi'e City, which made the army hesitate to launch a frontal attack with all its strength.There are more and more reinforcements in Jingzhou, but Wang Dang and Liao Lei in the direction of Wuguan are weak in attack, and they are stagnant on the front line of Danshui.Zhang Xiu couldn't get Wang Dang's support, so he quickly fell into a predicament. The inferior force forced him to give up his attack, and instead retreated to Xi'e, attacking Bowang with all his strength, so as to form a confrontation to contain the Jingzhou army and prevent the Jingzhou army from supporting Yuzhou. battlefield.

It was Xu Shu who stood firm in the small town of Bowang. With 2000 troops, he held back Liu Pi and Baoman's [-] troops.Between Xi'e City and Bowang City is the Feishui River, and it was this river that buried Liu Pi's army.At the end of April, Yuan Xi and Han Xun suddenly took the initiative to attack Xi'e, while Kuai Liang and Wenpin led their troops to advance rapidly along the east bank of the Yushui River in the middle of the night, cutting off Liu Pi's retreat route and burning the fire on the Yushui River. The pontoon bridge surrounded Liu Pi.The rebels cooperated internally and externally, and launched a siege with superior forces. Liu Pi and Baoman were killed in battle, and the entire army of [-] soldiers was wiped out.Although Zhang Xiu and Lu Mian tried their best to rescue them, Yuan Xi's army stalked them in the front and the Feishui River in the back, so there was nothing they could do.

Now Zhang Xiu has led his army to retreat to Luyang, Lu Mian retreated to Kunyang, and the Jingzhou army is attacking Luyang with all its strength, trying to break into Yingchuan and rescue Yuan Tan.

"Has Wang Dang made no progress in Danshui?" Li Hong frowned slightly and asked very dissatisfied.When attacking Jingzhou, the diversion attack in the direction of Wuguan is extremely important. The main reason for Zhang Xiu's defeat this time is that Wang Dang's attack was not effective and failed to achieve the purpose of diversion, causing the army to lose its superiority in the Wancheng battlefield.

Xu Rong sighed and shook his head, "It's not like you don't know Wang Heizi's character. He has worked hard in Yingchuan for several years, how could he give the credit to Zhong Yao? This time he didn't show up behind Zhong Yao's back." A black hand is not bad."

Li Hong snorted coldly, and then asked, "Does Master Zhong Yao have the latest battle report?"

"Masters Peng Lie and Lei Zhong are good. They grasped the critical moment and did not confront Zhong Yao." Xu Rong handed a scroll of bamboo slips to Li Hong, "Master Zhong Yao has conquered Chen State and is attacking Runan .At present, Yuan Tan has suffered huge losses, the morale of the army has been lost, and defeat is just around the corner, and Yuzhou will be taken soon."

Li Hong glanced at the battle report hastily, "Lord Zhong Yao refuses to send troops back to aid?"

"Yes, he suggested that Wu Xiong's army from Luoyang should be sent south to support Luyang and help Zhang Xiu defend Yingchuan." Xu Rong said, "In addition, he hopes that the court can urge Wang Dang to break through the Danshui line as soon as possible. As long as Wang Dang makes a breakthrough , threaten Wancheng, and the danger of Luyang will be solved by itself."

"It seems that our choice is not wrong." Li Hong slowly rolled up the bamboo slips, "Master Zhong Yao owes a lot to the quick capture of Yuzhou this time, but..." Li Hong looked up at Xu Rong, "Who are you?" Don't you think that his contribution is too great, and it will be difficult to control in the future, so he will be held back on the Nanyang battlefield?"

Xu Rong looked as usual, without saying a word.Li Hong put the bamboo slips in his hand heavily on the table, "Ten thousand lives, do you dare to do such a thing? Is power more important, or the lives of soldiers?"

"If there is no power, more than [-] lives will be lost?" Xu Rong said indifferently, "Nanyang was defeated, and [-] soldiers were killed. It is indeed an accident. Over the years, victories have been won one after another, and many generals thought they were invincible. Everyone is arrogant and domineering. This time can be regarded as a lesson."

Li Hong smiled wryly, feeling extremely painful in his heart.Everything has changed.Back in the day, in order to find a way out, I rushed left and right, and even secretly killed the little Huangmen Zuo Feng in Jizhou.Now things are reversed, I and a group of brothers back then even took other people's lives for power.When I had no authority, I thought about protecting myself and my brothers every day. Now that I had authority, I was worried about losing it. I was desperate, and even violated my conscience, the law and etiquette to do things that I hated and despised in the past.It has changed. After the people of northern Xinjiang took control of the government, they began to change rapidly, and began to use all means to attack their opponents for the sake of power.The court battle is always so bloody, so shameless, so without conscience and reason.Did I fight for 20 years just to kill my brother?

Li Hong put his hands on his forehead, his hands trembling slightly, he felt his heart was bleeding, and his body was icy cold.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Seeing Li Hong's ugly face, Xu Rong asked worriedly.

Li Hong shook his head, "What are you going to do next?"

"I discussed with Feiyan and decided to reject Zhong Yao's suggestion. Wu Xiong shoulders the responsibility of defending the capital, and the Luoyang army cannot be mobilized. Nanyang has already been defeated. If Wang Dang breaks through the line of Danshui, he will immediately form a lone army and go deep. It is easy to be besieged by the rebels, so we plan to let Wang Dang withdraw to Wuguan immediately. The battle situation in Yuzhou has been set, and Yuan Tan will be defeated overnight. At this moment, Zhong Yao can completely send troops back to Luyang and Kunyang. I don’t want to send troops back to help, because I want to take advantage of the momentum to approach Xuzhou, and attack Lu Bu from east to west, so as to form a momentum to seize Xuzhou, force the court to make another concession, give up this year’s strategy of suppressing the Qiang, and instead fully support him in capturing Xuzhou and making great achievements.”

"Yuzhou has been taken, Xuzhou has been taken, then Zhong Yao will ask the court to change the counter-insurgency policy and support him to continue to go south to counter-insurgency..." Xu Rong's tone gradually became serious, "These people are very serious about the western Xinjiang. They always think that Xijiang is dispensable, they always think that Xijiang can't be kept, and the capital can be moved to Luoyang. They never thought that if the big man wants to truly realize ZTE, he must first firmly control the northwest Two borders. Without the stability of the two borders in the northwest, there would be no rejuvenation of the great Han, and it would be impossible to realize the prosperity of the country.”

"I have written to Zhong Yao, ordering him to send troops back immediately." Xu Rong's tone was unquestionable, "In addition, I also wrote to Lu Bu, asking him to choose an appropriate time to withdraw from Pengcheng. Now that Yuzhou has been captured, Langya Kingdom It has also been won, this year's war in the south is over, and the Western Expeditionary Army will attack Liangzhou at the end of this month, please end the war within the time limit set by the court."

"Does the general have any opinion on the arrangement of the court?" Xu Rong finally asked.

Li Hong hesitated for a moment, then said slowly: "Judging from the battle of Yuzhou this time, Zhong Yao's influence in Yingru area is very great, and he can reach an army of [-] by himself, so I think Zhong Yao should continue to stay. It is most suitable to lead the army in Yuzhou. There are many Yingru scholars in Xiangyang. Zhong Yao can use various means to divide and appease them. In the future, when the army attacks Jingzhou, it can get twice the result with half the effort, just like this time when fighting Yuzhou, it can achieve amazing results .”

Xu Rong remained silent, with a hint of disapproval in his eyes.Apparently, he had planned to transfer Zhong Yao back to the capital after the battle in Yuzhou was over.

"Zi Lie, you asked Wang Dang to withdraw from Wuguan and Lu Bu to withdraw from Pengcheng. Although the reasons are high-sounding, everyone has a plan in mind. This may hurt Yingru scholars and intensify conflicts in the court. On the contrary, if you let Zhong If Yao continues to stay in Yuzhou to lead the military and political power, things will be completely different, and the conflicts in the court will be eased a lot, which is very beneficial for the army to go to the western border."

Xu Rong thought for a long time and said: "General, Feiyan may not agree. With Zhong Yao's strength in Yingru area, as long as he is given time and opportunity, he will quickly cultivate his power in the army, which will seriously affect Our control over the military is a threat to us if it gets stuck in the future."

Li Hong shook his head, "This is just my suggestion, you and Fei Yan should discuss it carefully. In fact, Zhong Yao's cultivation of his own power is nothing more than to win over the generals in the army. This pair of generals in the army will have a lot to do after the end of the rebellion. It is a great benefit. You know, since Guangwu Zhongxing in this dynasty, Yingru scholars have always been the biggest force in the court, if there are a group of generals in the army who can get their support, the future is limitless."

Xu Rong was thoughtful.

=

Yuzhou.

In May, under the continuous attack of the Han army, Pingyu City was in jeopardy, and the morale of the army in the city was scattered. The public arrest of Xu Jing also angered many members of the Xu Clan, and Pingyu City was in danger of rebellion at any time.

Yuan Tan decided to retreat.Although the Han army attacked Pingyu, they did not surround Pingyu. Obviously they wanted to force Yuan Tan to abandon the city and flee.For Zhong Yao, there is not much time left for him. If he wants to quickly occupy the whole territory of Yuzhou, the best way is to drive away Yuan Tan, instead of fighting Yuan Tan to the death in Pingyu City.

Both the east and south gates of Pingyu City can retreat. If you retreat to the south, you will either go to Jingzhou or Yangzhou. Yuan Tan can only live under the fence and watch other people's faces. Attracted to the border of Xuzhou, forcing Cao Cao to advance and retreat hand in hand with himself, so there may be a chance to defend a country and a half of the county, lingering.

In the early morning of the seventh day of May, Yuan Tan led his army to retreat in a panic and rushed to Ruyin City, making the move to go south to Yangzhou.

Zhong Yao knew that the general situation had been decided, and after entering the city, he asked Xu Jing to take the post of prefect of Runan temporarily to appease the cities, and at the same time ordered Li Yun to lead the army to garrison Pingyu.Ask He Kui to temporarily replace Chen Guoxiang, and order Zi to lead the army to garrison Chen County.Ask Liu Xian to act as Liang Guoxiang temporarily, and order Shen Rong to lead the army to garrison Suiyang.Together with Peng Lie, Lei Zhong and others, he led an army of [-] to pursue them.

On the ninth day of the fifth lunar month, the army rushed to Ruyin City.The scouts reported that Yuan Tan's army had crossed the Yingshui River and was fleeing towards Peiguo.

After Zhong Yao thought about it for a while, he immediately told Lu Bu that I have defeated Yuan Tan, captured the three prefectures of Runan, Chen, and Liang, and am now rushing towards Pei State. If there is no accident, within ten days, we can Gathered in Pengcheng, attacked Cao Cao together, took advantage of the momentum and drove the rebels to the south of the Huaihe River.

Peng Lie was very surprised, "My lord wants to fight Xuzhou?"

"This is the best fighter to fight Xuzhou." Zhong Yao said excitedly, pointing to the map, "Xuzhou is surrounded by the sea to the east and Peiguo to the west. As long as Peiguo is captured, Xuzhou's left-wing defense line will be completely exposed. At this moment, Cao Cao's Part of the army is blocking the army of Lu Bu and Gao Shun on the front line of Pengcheng and Tan (tan), and part of the army is stationed on the front line of Hefei and Shouchun to prevent Jiangdong from taking advantage of the fire. However, the Xiapi Kingdom in the central part of Xuzhou has almost no troops and is useless. We only need to fight to the next Pi, cut off Cao Cao's route of retreat, the rebels will inevitably retreat across the board, and Xuzhou will be at your fingertips."

Lei Zhong's face changed slightly, "My lord, since we are going to take down the pit, why don't you tell Lord Lu Bu the truth?"

"Tell Lu Bu to let him continue to attack Pengcheng and support us to attack Xiapi. Then the credit for attacking Xuzhou will not be our own." Zhong Yao smiled and clicked on Xiapi City on the map, "Take Xiapi and capture it. Xuzhou's credit is ours, and although Lu Bu took the opportunity to win Pengcheng, his credit is far less than ours."

"My lord, what if Lord Lu Bu withdraws from Pengcheng suddenly?" Lei Zhong hurriedly reminded, "We have been fighting and marching continuously, and the soldiers are exhausted, and attacking Xiapi in Xuzhou is like going deep alone. At this time, Lord Lu Bu The cooperation in Pengcheng and Tancheng is extremely important, we must not take this risk for greed and risk the lives of tens of thousands of brothers."

"Lü Bu will not withdraw. There is still some time before the deadline set by the court. Before receiving the news that we have captured Yuzhou, Lu Bu will not dare to withdraw." Zhong Yao gave Lei Chong an admiring look, and said solemnly, "We The reason why we have to rush to Xiapi is because as long as we take the stance of attacking Xuzhou and have gained the advantage of capturing Xuzhou, the imperial court will have to agree to our proposal to attack Xuzhou and give us enough time to attack."

Peng Lie and Lei Zhong hesitated.The temptation to win Xuzhou and build meritorious service is too great, and the safety of the army makes them very worried. Once this strategy fails, the trouble will be big.

"What if Lord Lu Bu loses the battle in Pengcheng?" Lei Zhong asked suddenly.

Zhong Yao stood there for a long time without speaking.Zhang Xiu's defeat in Nanyang was mainly due to a serious mistake in the coordination of the left and right armies attacking Wancheng.Zhang Xiu listens to my command, and Wang Dang listens to the imperial court's command, so mistakes are inevitable in coordination, but the left and right armies on the Xuzhou battlefield are under the command of Lu Bu alone, and Lu Bu is on the front line of Pengcheng, and Gao Shun has already reached Tancheng. , the distance between the two armies is only a few hundred miles, and they can support and cover each other. It is difficult to make major mistakes in cooperation, and the possibility of defeat is too small, unless the imperial court asks Lu Bu to withdraw...

Thinking of this, Zhong Yao's vest felt cold, and he broke out in a cold sweat involuntarily.In the defeat of Nanyang, Wang Dang failed to break through the Danshui line in time to contain the rebel forces. Could it be that the imperial court did it intentionally?But I didn't tell the court the detailed strategy of attacking Yuzhou. How did the court know that I would be able to take Yuzhou within the stipulated time limit?Could it be that the general sent me to the Yuzhou battlefield to find an excuse to kill me and wait for an opportunity to severely damage Yingru's forces in the court?
In order to kill me, the general asked ten thousand soldiers to be buried with me?is it possible?

Seeing the uncertain expression on Zhong Yao's face, Peng Lie sneered secretly.

Lei Zhong cupped his hands again and persuaded him: "My lord, please tell Lord Lu Bu the details. After we reach Peiguo, we will have another fight with Yuan Tan, and there is still time. If Lord Lu Bu objects, my lord will give up; Lord Lu Bu agrees, and Lord Lu Bu will go to the imperial court together. Anyway, if the imperial court does not agree to attack Xuzhou, even if we forcefully make a posture of attacking Xuzhou, we still have to withdraw our troops. I have fought for more than ten years, dare to use Your Excellency is the first one to forcibly create a favorable attacking situation by the army and force the court to modify its attack strategy. To some extent, this is to support the troops' self-respect and threaten the court. Your Excellency, without the imperial edict, you attacked Xuzhou without authorization. Have you thought about the consequences?"

Peng Lie sneered, "Your Excellency dared to challenge the court for the first time in command of the army, and the court has already conceded once, but you have gained power and are still pushing forward every step of the way. You think the general is made of mud, do you think so?" You can do whatever you want? If you were a general, would you let this kind of general who brazenly threaten the court continue to lead the army? You want to die, but I don't want to die. Even if you win, you will beheaded I won't fight the battle."

Zhong Yao suddenly understood one thing. He understood why people like Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan were unwilling to be appeased and surrendered.The feeling of controlling the army by yourself, doing whatever you want, and fighting side by side is so fascinating. When the imperial power is lost and the court has no dignity, it is normal for states and counties to support their own troops.If I had owned prefectures and counties like Yuan Shao and Liu Biao back then, I am afraid that I am one of them now.Those who have never commanded an army will not have this feeling of dominating the world, and it is even more difficult to deeply appreciate the great temptation, and they have fallen into this temptation unknowingly, even ignoring the majesty of the court.

The reason why the general can rule the world is because there are Peng Lie and Lei Zhong who have no ambitions, or simple-minded, but absolutely loyal subordinates. It fell apart, and the general had already fled to the desert to herd sheep.

Zhong Yao was dripping with sweat.He suddenly felt that the general was an upright hero. If he didn't have the general's pure mind and absolute loyalty, the big man wouldn't be able to start ZTE.This may be an important reason why Dahan can rise again.It is indeed too difficult for a person to resist endless desires.

=

The team had a dinner at the end of the year. I drank too much. I can't do it anymore. I'm going to sleep.

(End of this chapter)