Great Han Empire

Chapter 492
On Xinyou Day (June [-]th), Emperor Xiaoling was buried in Wenling.He Jin was worried that the traitor would assassinate him on the way, so he claimed to be sick, and neither entered the palace to accompany the funeral, nor escorted Lingdi's coffin to the cemetery.

The next day, the Son of Heaven decreed that he Miao, general of chariots, be general of Huqi, Li Hong, general of Peking University, general of chariots, Xianyufu, general of Fenwei, Xu Rong, general of Jianwei, and Qu Yi General Zhenwei, worship Zhang Yan as General Yanglie, worship Yan Rou as General Yangwu Zhonglang, worship Yang Feng as General Zhechong Zhonglang, worship Yushi as General Wei Lie Zhonglang, worship Zhao Yun as General Li Feng Zhonglang, and worship Yan Liang as General Huwei Zhonglang.According to Li Hong's request, other school lieutenants, captains, and other officers in the Northern Army were promoted to a higher level, and all officers and men of all levels were rewarded with heavy money.

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The rainy season on the grassland came as expected, and the heavy rain fell intermittently for several days, and the air was filled with a refreshing freshness.

Li Hong looked at the dense rain and hazy mist outside the big tent, feeling heavy in his heart.

Just after the Great Qingyuan War ended, Li Hong received an urgent letter from Xian Yufu.In his letter, Xian Yufu reported to him in detail what had happened in Luoyang recently. The little Huangmen Jian Shuo conspired to kill the general and was killed.A few days later, General He Jinbing surrounded Hussar General's Mansion, and Dong Chong committed suicide in fear of crime. A day later, Empress Dowager Dong died suddenly in Yongle Palace.Xian Yufu said that with the successive deaths of Empress Dowager Dong and Dong Zhong, the power of the Dong clan disappeared in the capital, and after General He Jin quickly eliminated the Dong clan that was the greatest threat to the imperial line, he immediately took aim at In order to control the traitor in the inner court, he intends to regain part of the imperial power controlled by the traitor.Now Luoyang is full of dangers, and the three major forces of relatives, scholars, and middle officials are at war, and the situation is very complicated.

Xian Yufu said that the Xiyuan Army is currently under the joint control of the Chariot General He Miao and the traitor, and Dong Zhuo, the governor of Bingzhou, also commanded [-] Xiliang soldiers stationed in Hedong by order, and Ding Yuan, the prefect of Hanoi, also led the army by order. The army was stationed in Heyang on the north bank of the Yellow River, and the number of troops stationed in Luoyang and Gyeonggi reached [-].When General He Jin's troops were weak, he immediately dispatched Zhang Liao, Wang Kuang, Qiao Mao from the General's Mansion, Bao Xin, Wu Qiuyi and others from the General's Mansion early this month to recruit soldiers. Jin finds a suitable opportunity to call back all these men who went out to recruit soldiers back to the capital, the number of troops in the capital area will become larger, and chaos will be imminent.

Regarding the situation in Bingzhou, Xian Yufu also gave a detailed explanation to Li Hong. Now refugees from all over the country are still pouring into Bingzhou. Although the income from salt and iron in Bingzhou and Hedong can barely support the disaster relief, but now Bingzhou is most in short supply. Not money, but food.In May, after the winter wheat was harvested in Juntun and Mintun, the food crisis eased slightly, but this did not solve the fundamental problem.The pressure of the population has made it difficult for the governments of Bingzhou to survive, and there are more and more refugees who cannot be resettled, which may lead to riots at any time.

In view of the crisis situation in Luoyang and the crisis of the population of Bingzhou, Xian Yufu urged Li Hong to end the war as soon as possible in the letter, so as not to cause the turmoil in Luoyang to interrupt the army's food and pay, which would make Bingzhou worse, and riots would occur one after another, which would trigger North Korea. The great chaos in Xinjiang brought chaos to Gyeonggi.
This letter made Li Hong very angry, not for anything else, but for the sudden death of Empress Dowager Dong.Less than a month after the death of the late emperor, General He Jin killed the late emperor's mother impatiently. Is this a human thing?Li Hong thought of his return to Beijing twice, the warm reception he received from the Empress Dowager Dong twice, the kind smile and gentle words of the Empress Dowager Dong, and her greetings and kindness to Xiao Yu. .How are the princess and little Donghou doing now?Was it also killed by He Jin in Yongle Palace?Li Hong couldn't help thinking of the imperial decree sent to Wuyuan by the late emperor before his death. What did the late emperor want to say to me?What does he want me to do?Now that Empress Dowager Dong is gone, and the life and death of the princess and little Marquis Dong are uncertain, what else can I do for the late emperor?
Li Hong sat in the big tent all night, looking at the imperial edict on the case table, and listening to the pattering rain outside the tent, feeling very guilty and painful.I was deeply favored by the late emperor, but I didn't stand by the late emperor when he needed me the most, and I couldn't protect his closest relatives after the late emperor passed away. How can I feel at ease, how can I face the late emperor under the nine springs.

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A few days later, Li Hong received another urgent letter from Xian Yufu.After the news of the great victory in northern Xinjiang reached Luoyang, Dong Zhuo's army immediately went north to garrison in Anyi and Jie County. Huangfu Song led his army to Chang'an and guarded the front line of Tongguan.This move by the emperor and the court is obviously to prevent the troops from northern Xinjiang from going south.Xian Yufu asked Li Hong to make immediate plans for the next step, in case the frontier troops were in danger of being cut off in food and pay.

In his letter, Xian Yufu repeatedly reiterated the difficulties of Bingzhou. He told Li Hong that in case the imperial court blocked the road leading to northern Xinjiang and cut off all food and supplies going to Bingzhou, he had started to organize the refugees to move outside the customs. At the same time, he begged Li Hong to Hong immediately went to the imperial court and sent officials such as prefects to the four northern counties to rebuild the government offices of each county and county to appease the local residents and resettle the refugees who migrated north.

Xian Yufu already knew what was written in the imperial edict to Li Hong before his death, but he didn't know what Li Hong would do after the Northern Xinjiang War, especially in the current situation in Luoyang, Li Hong Should we continue to advance northward or hold back?Or send troops south?Xian Yufu obviously didn't want Li Hong to lead his troops south, and Li Hong had already seen this from Xian Yufu's letters.At this time, Xian Yufu organized the refugees to move north, and his intention was obviously to prevent Li Hong from leading his army southward.Now there are nearly a million civilians outside the pass, plus these hundreds of thousands of refugees, tens of thousands of troops are needed just to protect and resettle them. If you add the soldiers guarding the border counties, almost all of Li Hong's troops will be stranded outside the Great Wall .

If Li Hong does not go south, the imperial court will not interrupt the supply of food and military equipment to the northern Xinjiang troops, nor will it block the road leading to Bingzhou to stop the food and supplies needed by Bingzhou. This is obvious, but once Li Hong Going south, things are hard to say.In the letter, Xian Yufu warned Li Hong that the merchants gathered in Bingzhou are panicking now. Giant merchants such as the Guards from the River East and Xuling Quzhong from Chang’an have sent letters to ask for a clear answer from the General’s Mansion of the Peking University. If Li Hong goes south , the financial support of Bingzhou will be in crisis immediately, and the food for disaster relief or the materials for farming will be cut off immediately, the Yanchi iron mine that is trying to increase production, and the ordnance workshop that is being built will immediately come to a standstill, and the situation in Bingzhou will be unimaginable.

Considering the difficulty of relocating northward to farm in Henan, Xianyu Fu asked Li Hong to consider whether to immediately move all the refugees westward to farm in Beidi and Shuofang.

In the area south of Hetao in Beidi and Shuofang County, there are tens of millions of acres of barren fields and hundreds of silted ditches, which can save a lot of money and time for farming.These fields and ditches were left by the migration of 70 victims to this area during Emperor Wu's reign.At that time, after these victims moved to the south of Hetao, the local government distributed food, clothing, seeds and cattle, dug channels to divert water from the Yellow River, reclaimed wasteland, and planted a large number of grains. Prosperity.Only a hundred years later, due to the weakening of the Han state, the Xiongnu invaded again, causing the people to move inward and the fields to be barren.

(This Hetao area is in Shuofang County. It is different from Henan area. Henan area is in Wuyuan and Xihe County. During the Warring States Qin and Han Dynasties, the Yellow River in Hetao area was in the development stage of two parallel rivers after being cut and straightened. At that time, the old channel was called Beihe, and the newly formed straight channel was called Nanhe. Because the old channel was bent like a rope loop relative to the newly formed straight channel, it was called Hetao. The Hetao area referred to now refers to the Beihe and Nanhe in history. The area in between is very different from today's Yellow River Dahetao area.)
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Li Hong summoned Xu Rong, Qu Yi and Li Wei to discuss matters.

Xian Yufu and Zhang Yan, who stayed in Jinyang, had a clear attitude. For the sake of the future of Bingzhou, they were unwilling to let the northern Xinjiang troops get involved in the disputes in Luoyang.In their view, it is the best strategy to occupy the northern border with a large army and stabilize Bingzhou.

Both Xu Rong and Qu Yi agreed with Xian Yufu Zhang Yan's opinion.Xu Rong said that the current army is exhausted and the political situation is unstable. We have no conditions to go north to attack, and there is no need to go south to Luoyang.Even if the court wants us to go north to attack Xianbei, we have enough reasons to delay until next year or beyond.Qu Yi said that if the various powers in Luoyang can quickly come to a conclusion, then no matter which side wins, the army can go north to attack Xianbei this year. Therefore, he thinks it is better to sit back and wait and see what happens.

Li Wei's attitude is very clear. He believes that judging from the current situation, Luoyang will be chaotic no matter what. Since it is going to be chaotic, why not take the opportunity to go south to eradicate traitors, stabilize Luoyang, and then lead the army north to attack Xianbei?Li Wei resolutely opposed sending troops to the north when Luoyang was in crisis. He thought it was a dead end.

Except for Li Wei, everyone was concerned with the stability of the Han Kingdom and northern Xinjiang, and no one wanted to get involved in the troubled waters of Luoyang. Moreover, the last emperor's edict did not specifically explain what the North Army should do after recovering the border counties, so , everyone firmly demanded to station troops in northern Xinjiang.

Li Hong didn't say anything.After the war in northern Xinjiang, he still doesn't know how the various powers in Luoyang will deal with the huge threat from northern Xinjiang. Judging from Luoyang's current reaction, it is obvious that he is very afraid of him going south, because no one knows what was written in the late emperor's edict What?He planned to wait and see what to do next. Even if he wanted to go north to attack Xianbei, he would need the full support of the court, otherwise what would he use to fight?

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Captain Li Su rushed to Wuyuan Camp.

Li Hong exchanged pleasantries with him, asked about Dong Zhuo's recent situation, and then said, "General Dong stationed troops in Anyi, isn't he planning to enter Jin? He is the shepherd of Bingzhou."

Li Su smiled and said: "My lord should know that I was entrusted by General Dong to go to Jinyang many times to discuss with Mr. Xianyu for this purpose. My lord has no intention of going to Bingzhou to take charge of the government, so I don't plan to enter Jin at all. Don't you think so?" Do you want General Dong to come to Bingzhou?"

Li Hong smiled and said: "The late emperor has gone, and the battle in northern Xinjiang is over here, so I certainly hope that General Dong will come to Bingzhou to take charge. In this way, I will be outside the Great Wall, and General Dong will be on the Great Wall." Inside, the imperial court is relieved of me."

Li Su waved his hands and said, "This is a trick that the court's gang of treacherous villains came up with to deal with your lord and General Dong. How could your lord be fooled? To tell you the truth, General Dong wants to go back to Xiliang. I'm here to see you this time." For this."

Li Hong asked in surprise, "General Dong wants to go back to Xiliang?"

"Your Excellency must know a thing or two about the situation in Luoyang. Now all the powers in Luoyang are using General Dong as a saber, and this saber is specially used to greet your sir." Li Su said, "General Dong is not willing to be this saber. , General Dong said, Master Li and I fought the enemy side by side in Xiliang, and we escaped death thanks to Master Li's timely support in Lingwu Valley, so we will never do anything wrong to Master Li."

Li Su took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Li Hong, "This is a letter from General Dong, please read it."

Dong Zhuo praised Li Hong greatly in his letter, and repeatedly confessed to him that he had no intention of entering Jin Dynasty.Dong Zhuo said that he is in a very difficult situation now, and if he is not careful, he will be wiped out. I hope Li Hong can understand the difficulties he has in stationing troops in Anyi.If Li Hong wants to go south to Beijing to eradicate traitors, he is willing to help and follow him to the death.

After reading it, Li Hong returned the letter to Li Su.Li Su put it away carefully, and said with a smile: "General Dong said, if Your Excellency is worried, he can cross the Yellow River west and stop Huangfusong for Your Excellency when he is heading south."

Li Hong pondered for a long time, and suddenly asked: "Look at what happened in Luoyang, who has the best chance of winning?"

Without even thinking about it, Li Su opened his mouth and said, "Of course it's a traitor in the palace." Then he explained the current situation in Luoyang in detail, especially the matter of the Xiyuan Army.Li Su said that now the Xiyuan Army is nominally the commander-in-chief of He Miao, but the power is actually in the hands of Cao Cao, the captain of the military academy.After Cao Cao took charge of the Xiyuan Army, he replaced dozens of army Sima and fake Sima within a day, and the soldiers of the Eighth Battalion changed their defenses.Now the generals in the Xiyuan Army who don't recognize the soldiers, the generals don't know the soldiers, they all follow orders, and basically they are all controlled by the traitors.The officers at all levels of the Southern Army's Huben and Yulin were also replaced by traitors, and several Zhonglang generals were used as decorations, and all their cronies were transferred outside the palace.

"Great General He Jin has 2000 Northern troops." Li Su said disdainfully, "Sili Lieutenant Yuan Shao also only has [-] or [-] soldiers. Although Henan Yin Wangyun has thousands of soldiers from the county, he is the same as Yuan Shao. The generals are all superficial, and they will not help him fight against the Xiyuan army, so the general will definitely die."

Li Hong was secretly surprised, and hurriedly asked: "I heard that the general sent several capable men to various places to recruit soldiers, if..."

"These people don't dare to return to the capital without the emperor's imperial decree." Li Su laughed, "The general thought that he could control the West Garden Army after returning to Beijing, but he made a mistake, and the result was a crushing defeat. Now he doesn't even have a chance to make money." there is none left."

Li Hong looked at him and asked, "Brother Shaoshen, tell the truth, has the General ever approached General Dong?"

"There is no need to hide this from you." Li Su said, "All the powers in Luoyang have approached General Dong, hmph... these villains, they framed General Dong in front of the late emperor and transferred General Dong from Xiliang to Bingzhou , and deprived him of his military power, now..." He didn't continue, but the murderous look in his eyes was still evident.

Li Hong chatted with him about the situation in Luoyang for a while, and finally said: "Go back and tell General Dong that I will go back to Jinyang soon, and then I will visit him in Anyi and talk about it in detail."

Li Su was overjoyed and left.

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He Jin crossed the Yellow River and braved the heavy rain to rush to Wuyuan Daying.

Li Hong heard that Sima from the General's Mansion was visiting secretly, so he hurriedly ordered the left and right to retreat and talk with him in secret.Through He Yong's contact, Li Hong and the general had several contacts in private, and even had a few tacit understandings, so He Jin didn't shy away from anything, carefully analyzed the situation in Luoyang, and then said: "The reason why the general wants to Killing Hussar General Dong Zhong and Queen Mother Dong was really a last resort. If he didn’t kill people, he would be killed, and Luoyang would be in chaos. At that time, the Lord was leading the army in a bloody battle in northern Xinjiang, and the stability of Luoyang was the most important thing. General For the sake of the country, this is the only way to go."

Li Hong nodded, and asked: "The general is now in charge of the affairs of the Li Shangshu and is in charge of state affairs. He sent you here. What can you say? Will the army defend the frontier or continue northward to attack Xianbei?"

He Jin laughed and said, "Before I came, there was a rumor in Luoyang that Your Excellency would follow the late emperor's edict to lead his troops to the south, and there was a panic in Gyeonggi. The General sent me to the north secretly to ask about this matter. After the great victory in Northern Xinjiang, where will Your Excellency march?"

Li Hong pretended to be angry and said: "It's nonsense. I'm waiting for the emperor's imperial decree. Whether the emperor asks me to guard the frontier or let me lead his troops north to attack Xianbei, I am willing and have no complaints."

Seeing that Li Hong kept silent about the last emperor's edict, He Jin stopped asking. He said that the intention of the emperor and the court was of course to let the Lord take advantage of the victory and go north to continue to attack Xianbei, but considering the situation in Luoyang, the general thought that he would continue to go north The danger of combat is too great, and the Luoyang matter must be completely resolved first, that is to say, the root cause of the disaster must be eradicated first.

Li Hong asked, "What countermeasure does the general have?"

"The general needs troops, and he needs to call back all the troops who have gone out to recruit troops back to Beijing." He Jin said, "So the general hopes that my lord can go south at an appropriate time."

Li Hong smiled and said: "The general did this to ensure that our army can go north to attack Xianbei?"

"The great general said that as long as your lord can help eradicate the traitor, your lord can..."

Li Hong leaned close to He Jin's ear and whispered a few words.He Jin's face was startled, he hesitated for a long time, and then said: "I think the general will help you."

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At the end of June, the imperial decree of reward was delivered to the Wuyuan camp, and 10,000+ soldiers cheered loudly.

(End of this chapter)