Great Han Empire

Chapter 513 Immediately Shooting the Gun
August Wuchen Day (25th), late at night, at Hangu Pass.

Chang Shi Liu Ai and Sima Li Ru read the urgent book sent by Fengche Duwei Dong Min (min), and neither of them spoke.The two looked at each other in blank dismay, uncertain.Dong Zhuo paced around the room with his hands behind his back, his expression stern.

Li Ru frowned deeply, touched the long scar on his face with his right hand, and walked slowly to the messenger who was kneeling on the ground.This messenger has always been Dong Zhuo's personal bodyguard in the past, and his martial arts are very good.Last year when the late emperor formed the West Garden Army, Dong Min was ordered to take a group of people to the capital to join the West Garden Army.Considering Dong Min's safety, Dong Zhuo specially asked him to follow Dong Min to the capital.If there are no special circumstances, Dong Min will not send him out of the city to deliver the letter.

"Tell me what happened in Luoyang again."

The messenger knew that the matter was important, and immediately told him everything that happened in Luoyang. "After the captain killed He Miao, he immediately sent me out of the city to report. Feng Junhou, who was stationed at the west gate of Luoyang, was a friend of the captain. He didn't dare to open the gate, so he let me down from the city wall with a rope. I swam across the moat, ran to the other residence of Lord Captain outside the city, and drove eighty miles overnight to Hangu Pass. I was planning to leave the pass tomorrow morning, but I didn’t expect that the lord has already entered the pass.”

"Did you see the general's head?"

"I see." The messenger said, "Master Yuan Shu was worried that it was a fake, so he even wiped off the blood on the head. It is indeed the head of the general."

"It was Yuan Shao who ordered you to attack and kill General Hushi's mansion and He Miao? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"It is indeed Yuan Shao." The messenger said, "I saw Master Yuan Shao coming on a flying horse, and he called the captain aside and talked for a long time. The captain was hesitant all the time, as if he was not willing, but later He was still persuaded by Master Yuan. We collided with He Miao on the way to General Hussar's Mansion. Everyone rushed up and killed him immediately. When we cleaned up the scene, we found three eunuchs and searched them. The imperial decree and the talisman were issued. After seeing these things, the Captain personally sent me out of the city. The Captain said that this thing may be of some use to the General.”

Li Ru looked back at the imperial decrees and talismans placed on the case table, and a hint of excitement suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"When you left, was the fire at Suzaku Gate still burning?"

"When my flying horse galloped to Xianyang Garden, I could still see the flames soaring into the sky in the city."

"Okay, you have made great achievements this time, and the general will reward you heavily." Li Ru waved his hand and said, "Go down and rest first."

===

Dong Zhuo looked at the messenger who disappeared into the darkness, and suddenly heaved a long sigh, "They're all dead, these people are all dead. Whether it's a traitor or a general, they fought each other to the point of bloodshed, but in the end they ended up with a We will die together." He shook his head and shook his strong body, "Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang have known each other for more than ten years, and we can be regarded as friends. I think they had great glory back then, but what about now? Now there are no bones left, It has become a passing cloud.”

"Death is more than worthwhile." Li Ru cursed a few times, and then asked, "What do you plan to do, sir? Leave Gyeonggi and return to Xiliang?"

"I do have that intention." Dong Zhuo smiled desolately, "Look at Luoyang tonight, how many people have died? They have spent their entire lives fighting, but they ended up decapitated and killed by all their families. What's the point of that?" Why not go back to Xiliang and have a good death."

"Does your lord think that you still have a chance of a good death?" Li Ru sneered, "Luoyang is sure, your lord Taifu and the ministers of the gentry are in charge of the power. Based on what your lord has done in the past, they will let you go back to Xiliang? Will you become the second uncontrollable disaster like Li Hong? Now Huangfusong is in Chang'an, his forward cavalry is in Tongguan, and Li Wei is in Hedong. His forward soldiers have already stationed troops on the south bank of the Yellow River. One before the other, it has completely cut off our return to Xiliang."

"Changsheng is right, my lord." Liu Ai gently put down the imperial decree on the case table, his face was full of worry, "The relationship between your lord and the traitor is well known in the world, and later, in order to survive, your lord secretly asked you The general showed his goodwill, and at the same time made great efforts to make friends with the elites in the capital. As a result, these things were later known by the dignitaries in the court. Because of this, your lord lost his trust in all parties in the court and was hated by the dignitaries in Luoyang. The late emperor deprived you of military power when he was alive. It's a proof."

"Master Taifu and the ministers of the gentry in the court need your help to get rid of the traitors and generals, so they don't hesitate to abandon the past, and even promise you the position of Sangong, but what happens after the matter is done? Why is Master Taifu General Zuo Huangfusong was never allowed to lead his army into the pass? Why did Bao Hong lead the Xiyuan army to Pinglian, but let Chunyuqiong stay at Hangu Pass?"

"Cao Cao and Bao Hong's Xiyuan Army were all merged into the Northern Army last night. Once Master Taifu controls the 2 Northern Army, plus Ding Yuan, Wang Kuang, Bao Xin, and Qiao Mao outside Luoyang City, They have [-] to [-] troops outside Luoyang City, and we only have [-] people, so we are no match at all. If we don't know that Luoyang has undergone tremendous changes, and the traitors and relatives are dead, we should continue to follow the orders of the Taifu. If we advance to Ping Optimism and encircle the northern army, we will soon be surrounded by all the troops in the capital, and by that time, what else can my lord do besides arresting us?"

Liu Ai looked at Dong Zhuo and said dejectedly: "My lord, now we are in a dilemma, we must think of a way to survive, otherwise the [-] soldiers will be considered dead."

===

"Li Hongxiong occupies the northern border and does whatever he wants. He has long been a disaster for the Han Dynasty, but he is so powerful that the court has nothing to do." Li Ru continued Liu Ai's words, "Master Taifu and the ministers will never let the Han Dynasty appear again. An important general who occupies one side and threatens the country's society, so they will take advantage of the opportunity of adults to lead troops into the capital, and will try their best to trap you in the capital, seize your military power, and may even kill you. The excuse to kill you is too much If there are too many, Master Taifu will just find a reason to tell the world that you are a traitor, and you will die without a place to die."

"I'm going back to Xiliang now, who can stop me?" Dong Zhuo sneered disdainfully, "You guys are thinking too much. If the traitor and the general are not dead now, how can I be surrounded and in danger?"

"After my lord was seized of the military power by the late emperor, the late emperor first asked you to return to Beijing to serve as a young mansion, and then let you go to Bingzhou to serve as a state shepherd. Since then, your lord has been in deep siege and perilous." Li Ru asked, "Why is your lord Dare not to return to Beijing to serve as the Shaofu? Why dare not go to Bingzhou and stay in Hedong? Why did you respond first to General Cheqi Li Hong and send troops south to threaten the emperor and the court? Are you determined to push Luoyang? Has your lord forgotten your purpose?"

"My lord can return to Xiliang, there is no doubt about it, but even if my lord returns to Xiliang, under the attack of the Xiliang rebels and Chang'an Huangfusong, my lord is still not enough to protect himself, how can I have the energy to have a car and a big man?" As strong as a general? Now that traitors and relatives are all wiped out, and scholars are in charge of the court alone, once the emperor wants to deprive you of military power, can you still openly disobey the imperial edict like the first emperor did when he was alive?" Li Ru looked at Dong Zhuo's hesitant eyes , said loudly, "If you retreat, you will die, if you advance, you will still have a glimmer of hope."

Dong Zhuo shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Hope, where is there hope?"

"What was our purpose of going south to Gyeonggi at first? What was the purpose of our soldiers entering Hangu Pass later? To eradicate traitors, stabilize Luoyang, help the general hold power alone, and then we took the opportunity to return to Xiliang. Now we are waiting for the opportunity to enter the court I don’t want to think about it anymore. Look at the chariot generals, it’s good to be able to dominate one side and do whatever they want, it’s much better than being a prime minister and fighting each other all day long.”

"Li Wei has already dispatched troops to the Yellow River for the food and pay of the expeditionary army. The purpose is nothing more than to ensure the stability of Luoyang. I accept the proposal of the Tai Tuo and advance to the level of optimism. It is also to ensure the stability of Luoyang. As long as the general controls the West Garden Army , Luoyang is considered to be completely stable. As for Master Taifu’s strategy of forcing the general to kill the traitor and then taking the opportunity to kill the general, it is simply a delusion of overestimation, which is impossible. I will not help Master Taifu, don’t ask me to be a Sangong, even if you ask me to be a general, I won’t do it, he has no chance of success.”

"But he succeeded." Dong Zhuo sighed, "After the death of the traitor and the general, the situation in Luoyang took a turn for the worse. Now that the Tai Tuo is in power alone, he can not only quickly control the Northern Army and stabilize Luoyang, but also bring my 2 Ten thousand people also solved it together, so continuing to go to Beijing now is definitely a dead end, and the only way to survive is to return to Xiliang."

"Li Wei is right. If I had left earlier, I wouldn't be as helpless as I am now." Dong Zhuo said regretfully, "I want to make more money after the general stabilizes the situation so that I can reward the soldiers. Who would have thought that such a shocking change would occur in Luoyang, causing twenty thousand soldiers to follow me into a predicament."

===

There was silence in the room.

Li Ru took two steps back and forth, and suddenly asked, "If your lord can control the northern army, will you still insist on withdrawing from Gyeonggi?"

Dong Zhuo looked back at the imperial edicts and talismans on the case table, but said nothing.

Liu Ai said: "Once the general dies, the first thing the Master Taifu will do is not to kill the eunuchs, but to control the [-] Northern Army outside the city. Controlling the Northern Army is equivalent to controlling Luoyang and the country. Don’t Master Taifu and those noble ministers know about the authority? Especially now that the Fifth Battalion of the West Garden Army has just been merged into the Northern Army, Ping is optimistic and chaotic. These [-] soldiers are seriously threatening the safety of Luoyang City. To stabilize Luoyang, we must do everything possible to control the Northern Army first."

"That's the problem." Li Ru picked up the imperial decree on the table and said to Dong Zhuo, "My lord, please think about it. If Master Tai Tuo didn't have the imperial decree and talisman of the emperor, how would he win the trust of the generals of the northern army? How would he lead the northern army?" Army? How to explain the death of the general to the soldiers of the Northern Army? How to ensure that the soldiers of the Northern Army will not make trouble and rebel?"

"My lord Tai Tu doesn't know the situation in the camp of the Northern Army, but I know that there are many soldiers in Xiyuan and few soldiers from the North. If there is a turmoil, the Northern Army's camp is likely to collapse in an instant. I believe Master Taifu is very clear about the consequences of the [-] army bombing the camp, so if he is not absolutely sure, he will not send people to control the Northern Army. Then, Master Taifu will Under what circumstances can we be absolutely sure? One is to have the emperor’s imperial decree and talisman in hand, and the other is to have enough troops to encircle the northern army in peace, so that nothing will go wrong.”

"The general's men and Huben Yulin attacked the palace to punish the rape, and the rape must threaten the emperor and the queen mother in order to save their lives." Li Ru asked, "If your lord sits in Luoyang and sees the rape kidnapping the emperor and the queen mother, what would you do? Do you dare to order to enter the Changqiu Palace? No one dares to do this, let alone the Taifu. Therefore, I think that the Taifu will not be able to solve the matter of the palace tonight. Talisman. He has to wait until dawn to solve many things."

"Currently, among the various armies outside Luoyang City, Ding Yuan of the Jin Dynasty and Wang Kuang, the prefect of Hanoi, are the closest to Ping Optimism, and the Lord is the farthest from Ping Optimism. Calculated by the distance, if Ding Yuan and Wang Kuang receive the order from the Grand Tutor now, They won’t be able to arrive at the Northern Army’s camp until noon tomorrow at the earliest.” Li Ru raised the imperial decree in his hand, looked at Dong Zhuo confidently, and said word by word, “Therefore, the Northern Army has no one to command before dawn, my lord. Not only do we have the time, but we also have the absolute certainty of controlling the Northern Army."

Liu Ai widened his eyes in surprise, pointed to the imperial decree in Li Ru's hand and said, "It clearly says that Hussar General He Miao will lead the Northern Army. How did we deceive the Northern Army general?"

Li Ru slowly opened the imperial decree, and stopped about halfway through.The vermilion jade seal was completely exposed, and a few lines of writing could still be seen. The top line clearly read "The general restrains the northern army..."

Liu Ai was dumbfounded, with a look of fear on his face, Dong Zhuo's eyes suddenly lit up, revealing his murderous aura.

"What if a general of the Northern Army raises a question? What if he doesn't obey your command?" Liu Ai asked eagerly.

"Kill!" Li Ru waved decisively.

"What if the general of the northern army hears that the general is dead and raises troops to rebel in private?"

"Duan Yan, the captain of the Northern Army Tuen Cavalry School, is a native of Wuwei, Xiliang. He used to serve under General Duan Jiong (jiong) with Your Excellency. He has been friends with Your Excellency for more than ten years. With him, ten thousand soldiers of the Northern Army will surely have nothing to lose." Worrying. Bao Hong is still calm and optimistic, not to mention his friendship with the adults. With him, the soldiers of the two battalions of the West Garden Army will definitely follow the adults. The rest is Cao Cao’s third battalion of the West Garden Army. Cao Cao belongs to Cao Teng The grandson, a traitor, is now in danger of his life. If he does not follow us, we will kill him, and all his subordinates, so as not to cause trouble. If he knows the affairs and is willing to follow the adults, he can continue to lead The West Garden Army. In this way, all the 5 troops of the Northern Army will be ours."

===

Dong Zhuo walked slowly to the door, looking at the dark night sky with his hands behind his back, silent.Li Ru's plan was extremely risky. If it succeeded, Luoyang would be under his control. If it failed, the whole army would be wiped out.

"What method can you use to get the army to reach Pingoptimism before dawn?" Liu Ai continued to ask: "We are eighty miles away from Pingoptimism, and the army cannot reach the Northern Army camp before dawn, and it will not be until noon tomorrow at the earliest." , but at that time Ding Yuan and Wang Kuang's troops had already arrived, and the Northern Army may have been controlled by the Taifu. Also, in order to ensure the retreat of the army, we must firmly control the Hangu Pass, so Before the army departs, Chunyu Qiong and his three battalions of the West Garden Army must be completely eliminated. This will take time. After Chunyu Qiong and his West Garden Army have been dealt with, we still need to leave a large number of troops to garrison Hangu Pass and guard the West Garden Army."

Liu Ai looked at Li Ru, and said helplessly, "Chang Sheng, how many people can we free up to follow the adults to Ping Optimism?"

Li Ru thought for a long time, then waved his hand decisively and said: "My lord and I only brought three thousand cavalry to Pingliang. You take Dong Yue, Niu Fu, Hu Zhen, Li Su and others to deal with Chunyu Qiong first. If your lord and I succeed in controlling the Once the Northern Army is defeated, you will lead people to follow up."

Liu Ai's face changed drastically, and he blurted out in surprise: "You are crazy..."

"You're right, the army can't reach Pingoptimum before dawn, and it's very risky. If we don't succeed, we will have to quickly withdraw from Gyeonggi and return to Xiliang, so the army should not follow us to Pingoptimism." Li Confucianism said, "My lord and I will first go to Pingliang to see if Lord Taifu has controlled the Northern Army. If the Northern Army has been controlled by Lord Taifu, we will come back. If there is still a chance, we will do our part."

"But you only bring three thousand cavalry..."

"I can use the strategy of suspicious soldiers and let three thousand cavalry run wildly outside the camp. The soldiers of the Northern Army are all inside the camp, so it is impossible to know how many troops we have brought." Li Ru said, "Whether we succeed or not, we will all be safe." Come back, you don't have to worry about our safety."

Li Ru turned to face Dong Zhuo, and shouted loudly: "My lord, please make a decision early. As long as the northern army is in hand, even if we cannot control Luoyang, we can safely retreat to Xiliang and dominate the western border."

Dong Zhuo turned around abruptly and said sharply, "Let's go."

===

Three thousand cavalry rushed out of Hangu Pass and fell into darkness in an instant.

Chun Yuqiong, a Lieutenant of the Xiyuan Army, was captured by Niu Fu in his sleep.

Li Su ran towards Fenglingdu with Dong Zhuo's autographed letter.Dong Zhuo had to think about his future, so he discussed with Li Ru for a long time, and wrote an urgent letter to Li Wei, telling the truth about the great changes in Luoyang.

If Dong Zhuo controls the Northern Army, what he needs most urgently is that his Xiliang Army can quickly rush to Pingliang for support, so he can only deal with Chunyu Qiong and his Third Battalion Xiyuan Army tonight, but if he fails, he will This practice at Hangu Pass will inevitably anger the Taifu and the ministers in the court. The Xiliang Army will be surrounded by Huangfu Song who came from Chang'an in the area of ​​Hongnong County in Gyeonggi and followed by all the troops of the court. At this time, he had only one choice, and that was to cross the Hebei River from Fenglingdu and Maojindu to Hedong, and then return to Xiliang by way of Bingzhou.

Li Ru believed that Li Wei would help the court eliminate Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo didn't think so.The [-] Xiliang army plus its own [-] personal guard battalion are soldiers who have fought a hundred battles. In addition, Hongnong County has a large population, rich and powerful merchants, rich people, and there are several strong cities such as Hongnong and Mianchi. There is the danger of Xiaoshan, if the two sides fight here, it is bound to be a protracted war.Gyeonggi will be in chaos because of this, and the imperial court will not be able to supply food and grass to the expeditionary army.For the safety of the expeditionary army and the stability of northern Xinjiang and Luoyang, Li Wei could only choose to help himself and send himself back to Xiliang early.

Dong Zhuo said in the letter that for the safety of Luoyang, he had obeyed the order of the Grand Tutor, gave up returning to Liangzhou in the west, and led the army to approach Pingliang. However, considering the current huge crisis in Luoyang, the number of troops in Gyeonggi may be seriously insufficient. So, is Master Li considering leading his army to Hangu Pass as soon as possible, so as to help Master Taifu quickly stabilize the situation in Luoyang?

===

August 26, early morning.

When the sky was not yet bright, Dong Zhuo rushed to the camp of the Northern Army in Pingliang with three thousand riders.

Dong Zhuo ordered the [-] riders to be divided into four, and they galloped around along the Pinglian, so as to roll up smoke and dust, pretending to be an army of tens of thousands, and deter the soldiers of the Northern Army in the camp.He and Li Ru quickly arrived at the gate of Daying with thirty riders.

When the patrol officer learned that it was the former general Dong Zhuo who had come here, he hurriedly opened the gate and sent someone to report to the superior.

Li Ru casually asked, "Did anyone come from the city at night?"

"No." The military officer replied, "It seems that something happened in the city."

Dong Zhuo and Li Ru looked at each other, feeling ecstasy in their hearts.Dong Zhuo asked gently, "What happened in the city?"

"I don't know." The Marquis replied, "Yesterday afternoon, the gate of the city was suddenly closed, and then a fire broke out in the city. Several adults sent people into the city to inquire, but they were blocked."

Soon, a group of people rushed out from the camp, Duan Yan, the captain of the Tuen cavalry school, and Zhang Liao, the middle marquis of the Northern Army, came to greet them.

Duan Yan is in his 40s, tall and strong, with piercing eyes and a full smile, and looks very gentle and friendly.Dong Zhuo was overjoyed, and hurried up to greet him, and both sides greeted each other affectionately.Duan Yan asked: "Isn't your lord at Hangu Pass? Is there something urgent here in the morning?"

"Yes, there is something urgent." Dong Zhuo said in a low voice, "I was ordered to come here to announce the decree, you quickly summon all the officers above the Sima rank in the Northern Army camp to the big tent."

Duan Yan immediately ordered his men to do it.Dong Zhuo asked, "Who else is in the camp? Are Cao Cao and Bao Hong still there?"

"It's still there." Zhang Liao replied, "There are more than 30 army Sima and fake Sima from the original Xiyuan Army."

Several people walked towards the big tent while chatting and laughing.Suddenly, the sound of war drums for the alarm sounded from all over the camp, and the rapid drum sounded over Ping Optimism.Duan Yao and Zhang Liao turned pale with shock.

Dong Zhuo said with a smile: "My lords, don't panic, those are Xiliang iron cavalry. Yesterday, the emperor ordered me to lead an overnight march to station outside Pinglian. My army just arrived and woke up the soldiers of the Northern Army. Offended."

Duan Yan and Zhang Liao immediately thought of the fire in Luoyang City last night, their faces changed drastically, and they were terrified and uneasy.

===

The large account of the Northern Army's Central Army.

Dozens of Northern Army officers were stunned. The general died and was killed by rape.The sudden shocking news shocked them, and they all knelt on the ground without responding for a long time.

Li Ru rolled up the imperial decree and said, "My lords, get up. From today onwards, the Northern Army will be led by General Dong..."

"My lord, I want to verify the imperial decree..." Wu Fu, the captain of the Yueqi school, jumped up and said loudly, pointing at the imperial decree in Li Ru's hand.

Dong Zhuo waved at Li Ru.Li Ru smiled slightly, and said to Duan Yan, Zhang Liao, Wu Qiuyi, Zhang Yang and others who were kneeling in the front row: "You all come and see, this is a big event after all."

Li Ru did not spread the imperial decree on the table, but slowly opened it in his hand.

"This is the emperor's seal, have you seen it clearly?"

Duan Yan took a closer look at the seal, and immediately said hoarsely to the people behind him: "The imperial decree is true, the general was indeed raped and killed."

Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang felt sore and burst into tears.Someone in the big tent wept softly.

Li Ru saw that Wu Fu was staring at the imperial decree closely, wishing to snatch it from him, so he moved a little closer, "Master Wu has bad eyesight?"

Wu Fu forced a smile and said, "Why didn't Mr. Li open up all the imperial edicts?"

Li Ru smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll open it now." He turned his head and winked at the guard standing behind him.The guard understood, stepped over to Wu Fu's side, and quietly grasped the handle of the knife with his right hand.

Li Ru shook the imperial decree away violently, before Wu Fu could see it clearly, the imperial decree flew into Wu Fu's arms suddenly.Li Ru yelled: "Forcibly stealing the imperial decree is an unforgivable crime, kill him."

Before the sound of killing fell, Wu Fu's head shot up into the sky.The bloody head rolled a few times in the air, and then fell to Dong Zhuo's feet.Dong Zhuo looked sad, as if he hadn't seen him.

Blood spurted out, instantly staining the imperial decree red.Li Ru frantically snatched the edict back before Wu Fu's body fell to the ground.The imperial decree was covered with blood, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Captain Yueqi was killed.

There was chaos in the large tent of the Chinese army. The generals of the northern army looked angry and cursed everywhere. Some people had already drawn their weapons.

Dong Zhuo snorted coldly, and said murderously, "What? Want to plot rebellion?"

At this time, horn horns sounded one after another outside the big tent. The sound of the horn was long and powerful, as if tens of thousands of cavalry roared from outside Pingtan.

Duan Yan, Zhang Liao and others hurried forward to dissuade them.The Northern Army officers immediately calmed down.Many officers in the tent had fought with Huangfusong and Zhang Wen in Xiliang. They knew Dong Zhuo's cruelty and blood. Offending such a superior officer would mean courting death. It is better to swear allegiance as soon as possible.Dong Zhuo was very satisfied, comforted them a few words, and then ordered people to bring over a dozen large skin bags.The leather bag was full of money, and Dong Zhuo ordered each officer to be rewarded heavily.

Outside the big tent, Li Ru ordered Kuai Ma to rush back to Hangu Pass immediately to recruit reinforcements.

===

(End of this chapter)