Great Han Empire

Chapter 509 Immediately Shooting the Gun
Under August, Luoyang.

After the news of the ex-general Dong Zhuobing's forced letter to Guguan reached Luoyang, the middle officials were very frightened. Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and other middle-ranking servants sent people to bribe Dong Zhuo with a lot of money, and at the same time sent people to contact Cao Cao, the military school lieutenant. At the same time, they gathered in the Changqiu Palace I begged the queen mother hard.

On the advice of Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and others, the Empress Dowager issued an order to pay homage to the former general Dong Zhuo, who was also in charge of Liangzhou Mu, and to take charge of Xiliang's military affairs, and ordered him to return to Liangzhou immediately after receiving the order.

Sili Xiaowei Fan Ling personally rushed to Hangu Pass to meet Cao Cao.Fan Ling and Cao Cao's father Cao Song are old friends for many years. He watched Cao Cao grow up, and the relationship between the two families is very close.Fan Ling told Cao Cao, your grandfather used to be Da Changqiu and Fei Tinghou, who were in charge of the palace, and Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang were all former officials of your grandfather.I and many ministers in the court were recommended and supported by your grandfather to enter the court as officials, and we are also your grandfather's old officials, so we, Zhao Zhong, and your father belong to the middle official line, this is a fact.Now General He Jin and a group of ministers in the court are going to put the middle officials to death. If the middle officials fall, how long can we people live?Can people like General He Jin and Grand Tutor Yuan Kai trust you and reuse you?Now that you are firmly grasping the military power of the Xiyuan Army, isn't it because you are worried about your life?
"The Marquis in the palace trusts you very much. They even handed over the actual military power of the Xiyuan Army to you." Fan Ling said, "Last month, the General Cheqi led the army to the south to threaten the emperor and the queen mother to eradicate the middle officials. You Forced by the situation in Gyeonggi, the Xiyuan Army led the Xiyuan Army to side with He Jin. The Marquis understood your situation at that time, so they didn't blame you. This time there is no threat of a chariot general to the north of the Yellow River. You should How to do it? You won’t help He Jin deal with Lord Hou, Master Xu and me, as well as some of your grandfather’s old officials, your father’s old friends, will you?”

"Don't worry, my lord uncle. I'm holding on to the Xiyuan army. Of course it's not to deal with the Marquis and the other lords in the palace." Cao Cao said with a smile. This time, as long as a few Hou Ye can persuade the Empress Dowager to resolutely withstand the pressure of the General, the Tai Tuo and some ministers in the court, the situation in Luoyang will change immediately."

Fan Ling asked in surprise: "Meng De, you mean that old bastard Yuan Kai is going to attack the general?"

"Yes, since my uncle has already seen it, the general has a plan in his mind." Cao Cao stroked his beard and smiled, "However, Mr. Taifu will not do anything to the general before he is removed from the middle office. Mr. Taifu will do what he wants." Prudence, this is the critical time to eliminate the middle officials in the palace, so he will not do things that make the general feel that his life is seriously threatened. If the general feels threatened by the scholars, the general must Compromise with the middle officials and join forces to deal with the scholars, and the scholars will be doomed."

"Master Taifu recently met Dong Zhuo in secret at Hangu Pass, and then quietly went to Mengjin to have a long secret talk with Lord Zhijinwu Dingyuan and Hanoi Prefect Wang Kuang." Cao Cao said in a low voice, "Ding Yuan's His father used to be an old official of the Yuan Clan, Wang Kuang was a relative of the Yuan Clan, Qiao Mao, the prefect of Dongjun, was the son of the former Taiwei Qiao Xuan, you know the relationship between Qiao Xuan and Yuan Kai, it is not an ordinary irreversible couple There is also Bao Xin, the captain of the cavalry who recruited troops from Mount Tai, and his father is also an old official of the Yuan Clan. The Seventh Route Army soldiers who returned to the capital have four routes in Mali and the Yuan Clan are inextricably linked. The real reason why General He Jin was reluctant to incorporate these troops into the Northern Army."

"Ding Yuan has been the Zhijinwu for almost a month, but he has not commanded the Northern Army so far, and his army has been stranded in Mengjin, and he has no intention of going to the camp of the Northern Army in Pingli. Wang Kuang is already the prefect of Hanoi The imperial court did not urge him to serve in Hanoi, and he had no intention of crossing the Yellow River. The same is true for Qiao Mao, Luoyang was fine a while ago, so he should go back to Dongjun, but he insisted on staying in Luoyang on the pretext of His Majesty's wedding." Cao Cao whispered Said, "On the surface, these people seem to be members of General He Jin, but in fact they are all under the hands of Master Taifu. He has quietly prepared to deal with General He Jin in secret."

"General He Jin must be aware of all this. If he wants to take power and control Luoyang, he must first firmly control all the troops in the capital area. The Northern Army, the Southern Army, the Xiyuan Army, Dong Zhuo's West He has to fully control the Liang army and the seven troops returning to the capital.” Cao Cao stroked his thick beard, blinked a pair of small eyes, and said softly, “Look, uncle, now General He Jin only had [-] troops from the Northern Army and the three armies of Zhang Liao, Zhang Yang, and Wu Qiuyi. Since the Southern Army's Huben Yulin was the elite guarding the palace, the General and Master Taifu each controlled half. At present, only the Xiyuan Army and Dong Zhuo's Xiliang Army are still in contention. As long as the General can hold Dong Zhuo and control the Xiyuan Army, he will be able to control the situation in Luoyang and completely control the power of the country."

"So..." Cao Cao looked at Fan Ling and said word by word, "The crisis in Luoyang today was completely deliberately created by the general."

Fan Ling's thick eyebrows were frowned, his face was shocked.

===

"Taifu Yuan Kui, Yuan Shao, Wang Yun and others, in order to force the general to kill the middle officials, they ordered the prefectures and counties in the name of the generals to kill the middle officials' relatives, and at the same time hunted and killed the middle officials in the cities of Yin and Luoyang in Henan. Why didn't the general respond for a long time? Why didn't he respond to the scholars' killing of middle officials? Why did he turn a blind eye to Yuan Kai and Yuan Shao's deception? Why did he allow Yuan Kai and Yuan Shao to arrest and kill Zhong Official?" Cao Cao sneered, "The connivance of the general and the killing of the scholars angered the Queen Mother, and she called the Zhongguan back to the palace. After the Zhongguan entered the palace again, what did the general do? He ordered Huben Zhonglang He led Yuan Shu to seal off the palace with the Huben Yulin. He followed Yuan Shao's suggestion and secretly ordered Dong Zhuo to lead his army to approach Hangu Pass. The general had a chance to kill the Zhongguan first, but he didn't. Now that the Zhongguan entered the palace, he But he didn’t hesitate to turn against the queen mother and insist on killing the middle official. Why? The general and the queen mother have turned against each other. Is this good for the general? Isn’t the general too stupid?”

Fan Ling suddenly woke up, "The general is forcing Lord Taifu to make concessions so that he can completely control the Xiyuan Army."

"Yes, Uncle is right." Cao Cao smiled triumphantly, "The Queen Mother and Lord Zhao Hou have always been pawns in the hands of the General, but the Tai Tuo and the ministers in the court thought they were great. They thought that the generals would not be able to govern the country without their scholars, and they looked down on the generals at all, but the generals showed weakness every step of the way and lured them all into a trap." Cao Cao laughed, "The stability of Luoyang is not controlled by anyone. The 11 army in Gyeonggi is the balance of power in the court. Anyone who is not an idiot can see this. Once the middle official dies, there are only two powers left in the court, the general and the scholars. It is bound to be tit-for-tat, and the fight will be bloody. This is like the ten years after the death of the general Dou Wu, the middle officials and the scholars fought against each other, but neither the middle officials nor the scholars controlled the army. No one can do anything about it. It is different now, both sides now control the army, once the power dispute in the court cannot be resolved, the two sides will definitely use the army, so this chaos is unavoidable."

"The general is not an idiot. Of course he knows the desire of the scholars for power. He also knows the importance of maintaining the balance of power in the court to the stability of the country, so he will not kill the middle officials. He will use the middle officials to contain the scholars. Use middle officials to achieve your goal of completely controlling the Gyeonggi army and seizing power."

"The general kept a low profile for many years and deliberately concealed his own strength. As a result, the dignitaries in the court regarded him as a mediocre butcher. In fact, when you think about it carefully, he was able to send the queen mother to the palace and help the queen mother. Throne, how could this kind of person be a mediocre butcher?" Cao Cao shook his head and laughed, "This time the scholars wantonly killed unarmed middle officials, which has completely angered the Empress Dowager, not to mention the fact that the chariot general has already made an expedition to the desert. If there is no deadly threat, the Empress Dowager will not back down no matter what. As long as the Empress Dowager resolutely refuses to give in, the situation in Luoyang will become more and more unfavorable to the scholars, but more and more favorable to the general."

"Dong Zhuo is approaching Hangu Pass. The Xiyuan Army, the Seventh Route Returning to Beijing Soldiers, and the Northern Army stationed troops within the Eighth Pass are threatening the capital. The chaos in Luoyang is imminent. Who is most anxious now?" Cao Cao pointed to the north. General Li Hong is Li Wei from Linfen Xingyuan, General Cheqian's Mansion. If there is no accident, Li Wei will raise another [-] soldiers to march straight to the Yellow River."

Fan Ling had already figured out the situation in Luoyang from Cao Cao's words, so he smiled easily, "It's a little more than 1, isn't Li Wei just posing to threaten Yuan Kai and those scholars with ulterior motives? People will do."

"The important thing is not how many people Li Wei used to threaten Gyeonggi, but his attitude towards the Luoyang crisis." Cao Cao said, "In order to ensure the food and wages of the expeditionary army, Luoyang must not be chaotic now. Li Wei must do everything possible to end it quickly. Due to the chaos in Luoyang today, Li Wei will no longer write to the emperor and the queen mother to ask for the expulsion of middle officials. Call the middle officials into the palace."

"Li Wei is in charge of Linfen Xingyuan, the former general's mansion of the chariot. He is Li Hong's absolute confidant. He can completely represent the chariot general to make all the most beneficial actions for the expeditionary army, so his performance will help the general He Jin get rid of the scholars. Persecuted by the government, he quickly restored relations with the Queen Mother and the Zhongguan, but the Taifu Yuan Wei and the ministers in the court who clamored to kill the Zhongguan fell into a predicament, especially when they killed the Zhongguan and Huben Zhonglang in the name of the general. The fact that Yuan Shu led the Tigers and Feather Forest Army to seal off the imperial palace will push the Yuan Clan directly to a dead end. Once the Yuan Clan falls, the power of Luoyang's clan will be greatly reduced, and the general will be able to take part in the affairs of the Li Shangshu to temporarily manage the state affairs and take sole control of the country's power .”

"Master Uncle, do you think Master Taifu should give in under such circumstances?"

Fan Ling smiled and nodded.

===

"Of the 5000 troops of the Xiyuan Army, Bao Hong and I will each lead three battalions, and Chunyu Qiong will lead two battalions. If Yuan Kui backs down a step, Chunyu Qiong will first leave the Xiyuan Army, and his two battalions will be merged immediately. The Northern Army. Because of Dong Zhuo’s relationship, Bao Hong is expected to be promoted, but his three battalions will also be taken away by the general, and in the end only my three battalions will be left.” Cao Cao said to Fan Ling, “My lord uncle returned to the city. After Li, you must make it clear to the Marquis that my [-] people cannot be given to He Jin, otherwise we will still not be able to gain a foothold in Luoyang after the General Cheqi returns from his expedition in the future."

"I know that this time we were forced by He Jin and Yuan Kai so badly that we almost lost our lives. Of course we have to learn from the pain, and we have to keep some troops no matter what." Fan Ling said with lingering fear, "You don't want to do this. Worry, the Lords of the Marquis understand in their hearts that He Jin won’t be cheap any more. But in this way, He Jin has 5 Northern Army in his hands, and Luoyang will be his world from now on, in the future..."

"In the future, there will be Li Hong, the chariot-riding general in the north, and Dong Zhuo, the former general in the west. The generals will be under the influence of them. It is impossible to reproduce the power of the domineering general Liang Yi in those days." Cao Cao said, "At present, the scholars have With the [-] troops of General Zuo Huangfusong, the others are nothing to worry about. Zhijin Wuding is now an official in the capital, and his army is Hanoi soldiers. The general will ask Hanoi prefect Wang Kuang to take them back to Hanoi immediately. As for Qiao Mao and Bao Xin, naturally they each returned to their own county. In this way, the three major powers of generals, scholars and middle officials have reappeared as a tripartite force, and Luoyang will be settled."

Fan Ling nodded again and again, and said with great admiration: "Meng De, you have grown up, and you are no longer the bastard boy you used to be. We are old and our heads are rotten. We should go back to our hometown to take care of our lives like your father. In this world , it seems to be yours."

He suddenly thought of something, and asked: "Meng De, do you think Dong Zhuo will continue to press Hangu Pass after learning that the Cheqi General's Mansion has changed course? Now, he is a key figure in Gyeonggi. Yuan Kui's order, insisting on intimidating Luoyang, this matter..."

"Uncle's worry is very reasonable." Cao Cao's face showed worry, "If Master Taifu is determined not to give in and joins hands with Dong Zhuo, the crisis in Luoyang will be difficult to solve in the short term. Today, the son is young, the imperial power has fallen, and the big man The law is useless. Think about it, since the chariot and cavalry generals can ignore the majesty of the emperor and lead their troops south to threaten the court, others can naturally follow suit. However, Mr. Taifu always puts state affairs first, so he should be able to judge the situation and take the initiative to retreat. One step to ease the crisis in Luoyang. After all, Dong Zhuo is different from Li Hong, he has been an official for more than 30 years, he is well versed in political affairs, and he is familiar with the law, so he will not have the courage to do that kind of lawless act that blatantly despises the imperial power."

Fan Ling sighed, said goodbye and left with a heavy heart.

===

The queen mother issued three decrees a day, ordering the general to immediately withdraw from the Huben Yulin and lift the blockade of the north and south palaces. At the same time, she recalled all the middle officials who stayed outside the palace to the palace.The Empress Dowager resolutely refused to budge.

At the end of the eighth month, Dong Zhuo's army arrived at Xin'an City.5000 garrison troops from the east of the river were stationed at Fenglingdu, and captain Guo Xun led [-] former troops across the Yellow River.Gyeonggi was shocked.

Li Wei, who was in charge of Linfen Xingyuan, the general's mansion of chariots, played the emperor and the queen mother in the name of the general of chariots, Li Hong. He implored the emperor and the queen mother to take state affairs into consideration, and immediately issued an order to dismiss all the soldiers and horses stationed in Gyeonggi to maintain the capital. stability and safety in Luoyang.Li Wei said in the memorial that as long as the emperor and the queen mother can guarantee the continuous supply of food and salaries for the expeditionary army, he is willing to lead an army of [-] to cross the Yellow River south and drive away all the troops stationed in Gyeonggi.

Li Wei urgently wrote to General He Jin in the name of General Li Hong, saying that he was willing to lead the army across the Yellow River to help the general quickly control the Xiyuan Army and stabilize the situation in Luoyang.Li Wei said that whether the general can fully control the Xiyuan Army will directly affect the safety of Gyeonggi, and this matter must not be delayed any longer, otherwise changes will occur.As for the matter of the traitor entering the palace again, Li Wei thought it was a trivial matter.The rape has been hit hard, and there is no possibility of recovery in the short term.As long as the general controls tens of thousands of troops and controls the power of the country, then these eunuchs can kill them whenever they want, why do they have to kill them now?Now the general not only fell out with the queen mother because of this trivial matter, but also made the situation in Luoyang out of control. Is it necessary?Is it important to kill traitors or eunuchs or to control state power and stabilize Luoyang?

Li Wei urgently wrote to Grand Tutor Yuan Kui in the name of Li Hong, the general of chariots and riders.Li Wei said that today's situation in Luoyang has seriously endangered the safety of the expeditionary army and northern Xinjiang. If Lord Taifu still has no way to help the general quickly control the situation, he will lead the army across the south of the river and directly intervene in the crisis in Luoyang to protect the emperor and the queen mother safety.

Li Wei urgently wrote to Dong Zhuo in the name of the chariot general Li Hong.Li Wei said that the general is now the shepherd of Liangzhou, and the emperor and the queen mother have also ordered the general to lead the army back to Liangzhou, but the general ignored the majesty of the emperor and still stayed in Gyeonggi, so that the situation in Luoyang became more and more tense.Now that the 16 troops from northern Xinjiang have invaded the Xianbei Kingdom, Luoyang urgently needs stability. I implore the general to put state affairs first and lead the army westward immediately to resolve the crisis in Luoyang.

===

Dong Zhuo first received the heavy gift from Zhao Zhong and others, and then saw Li Wei's letter.Dong Zhuo opened the letter and glanced at it hastily, then threw it to Li Ru.

"An ugly kid is so arrogant." Dong Zhuo scolded coldly, "Who does he think he is? Ignore him, we will continue to approach Hangu Pass."

At this time, someone came to report, admonishing the doctor Zhong Shao to come to reward the army and announce the decree.

Dong Zhuo smiled and said to Li Ru: "It looks like we are going back to Xiliang. Zhong Shao is the grandson of my old master. The imperial court sent him to announce the decree. It is self-evident about his intention."

(End of this chapter)