Chapter 11: The Long River Sets the Day, Section 30, Chang'an. In mid-March, Wang Han, the former great Si Nong, died of illness. This old man was the great Si Nongqing of the Xiaoling Emperor Dynasty, and later served as the Taishou of Hedong, and made great contributions to the success of Tuntian in northern Xinjiang.

After Emperor Xiaoxian went to Jinyang to rebuild the imperial court, he gradually faded out of the court due to physical reasons, but he still made plans for the new policy of the imperial court.

In recent years he has been bedridden and almost forgotten. General Li Hong personally presided over the funeral. There are fewer and fewer older generations in northern Xinjiang, which makes Li Hong very sad.

In April, former Prime Minister Cai Yong died of illness. In addition to grief, the general once again personally presided over the funeral. On the day of Cai Yong's burial, the Son of Heaven and the eldest princess participated, Li Hong, Li Wei, Xu Rong, Zhang Yan four auxiliary ministers helped the spirit, civil and military officials accompanied the spirit, the mourners were as many as tens of thousands, and Master Zheng Xuan, who was far away in Luoyang, also went to Chang'an to see off his old friend.

Cai Yong's death hit Li Hong very hard, and he fell ill after the old gentleman's funeral, and all the state affairs were entrusted to the great Sima Xu Rong.

Light rain and wind and snow take care of it day and night. The eldest princess quietly rushed to the General's Mansion every morning, and only left after entering the curtain.

More than half a month later, Li Hong's illness improved slightly, but at this time, the news of the defeat of Nanyang came from the battlefield of Jingzhou.

Li Hong was taken aback and urgently summoned Xu Rong to inquire. After Zhang Xiu led the army to conquer Western Hubei, the troops gathered at sunset and stormed Wancheng, but he has not been able to take the small city of Bowang, which is only ten miles away from Western Hubei City, causing the army to dare not launch a frontal attack with all its might.

There were more and more reinforcements in Jingzhou, but Wang Dang and Xiaolei in the direction of Wuguan did not attack effectively and were stuck on the Danshui front.

Zhang Xiu could not get Wang Dang's support and quickly fell into trouble. The disadvantage in troops forced him to give up the attack, and instead retreated to Xi'e and attacked Bowang with all his might, so as to form a confrontation to contain the Jingzhou army and prevent the Jingzhou army from supporting the Yuzhou battlefield.

Defending the small city of Bowang was Xu Shu, who with a force of 2,000 men held back the 10,000-strong army of Liu Pi and Baoman.

There is a river between Xi'e City and Bowang City, and it is this river that buried Liu Pi's army.

In late April, Yuan Xi and Han Xun suddenly took the initiative to attack Western Hubei, while Kuai Liang and Wen Ping led their troops to advance rapidly along the east bank of the Shushui River late that night, cutting off Liu Pi's retreat, burning the floating sedan chair on the Shuishui River, and surrounding Liu Pi.

The rebels joined forces inside and outside and launched a siege with superior forces. Liu Pi and Bao Man were killed, and 10,000 soldiers were wiped out.

Although Zhang Xiu and Lu Mian went all out to rescue, Yuan Xi's army was stalking in front of them, and there was the Shushui River in the back, so they couldn't help it.

Now Zhang Xiu has led the army to retreat to Luyang, Lu Mian has retreated to Kunyang, and the Jingzhou army has gone all out to attack Luyang, trying to enter the territory of Yingchuan and rescue Yuan Tan.

"Hasn't Wang Dang made any progress on the front line of Danshui?" Li Honghui frowned slightly and asked very dissatisfied.

The main reason for the defeat of Zhang Xiu this time was that Wang Dang's attack was not effective and did not achieve the purpose of containment, which caused the army to lose its strength advantage on the battlefield of Wancheng.

Xu Rong sighed and shook his head,

"You don't know Wang Heizi's character. He has worked hard in Yingchuan for several years, how can he give the credit to Zhong Xuan? It's good that he didn't make a black hand behind Zhong Xuan's back this time. Li Hong snorted coldly, and then asked, "Does Lord Zhong Xuan have the latest battle report?" ”

"Peng Lie and Lei Zhong are all good, they can grasp the critical moment, and they don't work against Zhong Xuan." Xu Rong handed a roll of bamboo slips to Li Hong,

"Lord Zhong Xuan has conquered the state of Chen and is attacking Runan. At present, Yuan Tan has suffered huge losses, the military spirit has been lost, defeat is just around the corner, and Yuzhou will soon be able to take it. Li Hong hurriedly glanced at the battle report,

"Lord Zhong Xuan refuses to send troops back to help?"

"Yes, he suggested that Luoyang Wuxiong's army should be urgently transferred south to support Luyang and help Zhang Xiu hold Yingchuan." Xu Rong said,

In addition, he hoped that the imperial court could urge Wang Dang to break through the Danshui line as soon as possible. As long as Wang Dang makes a breakthrough and threatens Wancheng, the danger of Luyang will be solved. ”

"Looks like we didn't make a mistake." Li Hong slowly rolled up the bamboo slips,

"I can quickly take Yuzhou this time, Lord Zhong Xuan has made great contributions, but it's just ......" Li Hong looked up at Xu Rong,

"Do you think that his credit is too great and it will be difficult to control in the future, so you will drag him back on the battlefield in Nanyang?" Xu Rong's expression was as usual, and he didn't say a word.

Li Hong put the bamboo slip in his hand heavily on the desk,

"10,000 lives, you dare to do such a thing? Is power important, or is it the lives of the soldiers that matter? ”

"If there is no power, what is the death of 10,000 lives?" Xu Rong said lightly,

"The defeat of Nanyang and the death of 10,000 soldiers were indeed an accident. For so many years, winning one battle after another, many generals thought that they were invincible in the world, and they were arrogant and arrogant. This is also a lesson. Li Hong smiled bitterly, feeling full of pain in his heart.

It's changed, everything has changed. Thinking back then, in order to find a way to live, he rushed left and right, and even secretly killed Xiaohuangmen Zuofeng in Jizhou.

Now things are reversed, and he and a group of brothers back then have taken other people's lives for the sake of power.

When I had no authority, I thought every day about protecting myself and my brothers, but now that I have authority, I am afraid of losing my authority, and I am desperate to do things that I used to hate and despise in the past, even against my conscience and against the law and etiquette.

changed, after the people of Northern Xinjiang took control of the government, they began to transform rapidly, and began to do everything possible to attack their opponents for the sake of authority.

The court dispute is always so bloody, so shameless, so conscienceless and unreasonable. Did I fight for twenty years to slaughter my brother?

Li Hong put his hand on his forehead, his hands trembled slightly, he felt his heart dripping blood, and his body was cold.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Xu Rong saw that Li Hong's face was ugly, and asked worriedly. Li Hong shook his head,

"What are you going to do next?"

"I discussed it with Feiyan and decided to reject Zhong Xuan's suggestion. Wu Xiong shouldered the responsibility of defending Gyeonggi, and the Luoyang army could not be mobilized. Nanyang has been defeated, and if Wang Dang breaks through the Danshui line, he will immediately form a lone army to go deep, and it is very easy to be besieged by the rebels, so we plan to let Wang Dang immediately withdraw to Wuguan. The battle situation in Yuzhou has been decided, Yuan Tan will be defeated overnight, and at this moment, Zhong Miao can completely divide his troops to return to the front line of Luyang and Kunyang. The reason why he was reluctant to divide his troops to return to help was that he wanted to take advantage of the situation to approach Xuzhou and attack Lu Bu from the east and west, so as to form a momentum to seize Xuzhou, force the imperial court to make concessions again, give up the policy of advancing west to Pingqiang this year, and instead fully support him to capture Xuzhou and make meritorious achievements. ”

"Yuzhou has been taken, Xuzhou has been taken, then next, Zhong Xuan will ask the imperial court to change the counterinsurgency strategy and support him to continue to go south to quell the rebellion......" Xu Rong's tone gradually became cold,

"These people have a deep-rooted view of Western Xinjiang, always thinking that Western Xinjiang is dispensable, always thinking that Western Xinjiang cannot be preserved, and Kyoto can still be moved to Luoyang. They never thought that if the Han Dynasty wanted to truly realize Zhongxing, they would first have to firmly control the northwest and northwest frontiers. Without the stability of the two northwestern frontiers, there would be no Zhongxing of the Han Dynasty and no prosperity of the community. ”

"I have written to Zhong Xuan and ordered him to immediately divide his troops to help." Xu Rong's tone was unquestionable,

"In addition, I also wrote to Lu Bu and asked him to choose an appropriate time to withdraw from Pengcheng. Now that Yuzhou has been taken, Langya has also been taken, and the battle in the south has been fought this year. The Western Expeditionary Army will attack Liangzhou at the end of this month, asking them to end the war within the time limit set by the imperial court. ”

"What is the general's opinion on the arrangements of the imperial court?" Xu Rong finally asked. Li Hong hesitated for a moment, and said slowly: "Judging from this battle of Yuzhou, Zhong Xuan's influence in the Yingru area is very large, and he alone can reach an army of 100,000, so I think it is most appropriate to continue to leave Zhong Xuan in Yuzhou to lead the army." There are many Yingru people in Xiangyang, Zhong Xuan can divide and appease them by various means, and in the future, when the army fights Jingzhou, it can get twice the result with half the effort, just like this time when it fights Yuzhou, it can achieve amazing results. Xu Rong was silent, with a hint of disapproval in his eyes.

Obviously, he had planned to transfer Zhong Xuan back to the capital after the end of the Yuzhou War.

"Zilie, you let Wang Dang withdraw from Wuguan and let Lu Bu withdraw from Pengcheng, although the reason is high-sounding, but everyone knows it in their hearts, which may hurt Ying Rushi and intensify the contradictions in the court. On the contrary, if you let Zhong Xuan continue to stay in Yuzhou to lead the military and political power, things will be completely different. As a result, the contradictions in the court will be eased a lot, which is very conducive to the expedition of the army to the western frontier. Xu Rong thought about it for a long time and said, "General, Feiyan may not agree. With Zhong Xuan's strength in the Yingru area, as long as he is given time and opportunity, he will quickly cultivate his own power in the army, which will seriously affect our control over the army. If we don't lose the tail in the future, it's a threat to us. Li Hong shook his head,

"This is just my suggestion, you and Feiyan will discuss it carefully. In fact, Zhong Xuan's cultivation of his own power is nothing more than to win over the generals in the army, which is of great benefit to the generals in the army to join the court after the end of the counterinsurgency. You must know that since the rise of Guangwu in this dynasty, the Yingrushi people have always been the biggest force in the court, and if there are a group of generals in the army who can get their support, the future is also limitless. Xu Rong was thoughtful.

Yuzhou. In early May, under the continuous attacks of the Han army, the city of Pingyu was in danger, and the army in the city was disheartened.

What is particularly terrifying is that Pingyu is the foundation of Xu Valve, and there has always been a deep grudge between Xu Valve and Yuan Valve.

Recently, Yuan Tan openly arrested Xu Jing, which angered many Xu lords, and Pingyu City was in danger of rebellion at any time.

Yuan Tan decided to retreat. Although the Han army attacked Pingyu, it did not surround Pingyu, apparently trying to force Yuan Tan to abandon the city and flee.

For Zhong Xuan, there is not much time left for him, and if he wants to quickly occupy the entire territory of Yuzhou, the best way is to drive Yuan Tan away, instead of fighting with Yuan Tan in Pingyu City.

The east and south gates of Pingyu City can be retreated, and the south retreat is either to Jingzhou or Yangzhou, Yuan Tan can only send people under the fence to see other people's faces to live.

And retreating to the east is Peiguo, which can attract the Northern Xinjiang Army to the border of Xuzhou and force Cao Cao to advance and retreat hand in hand with himself, so that there may still be a chance to hold a country and a half county and survive for a long time.

In the early morning of the seventh day of the fifth month, Yuan Tan led the army to retreat in a panic, rushed to Ruyin City, and made a move south to Yangzhou.

Zhong Xuan knew that the general trend had been decided, and after entering the city, he asked Xu Jing to temporarily take the post of Taishou of Runan to pacify the cities, and at the same time ordered Li Yun to lead the army to garrison Pingyu, and asked He Kui to temporarily replace Chen Guoxiang, and ordered Zi to lead the army to garrison Chen County, and asked Liu Xian to temporarily replace Liang Guoxiang, and ordered Xianrong to lead the army to garrison Suiyang.

Together with Peng Lie, Lei Zhong and others, he led an army of 40,000 to pursue him. On the ninth day of the fifth month, the army rushed to Ruyin City.

The scouts reported that Yuan Tan's army had crossed the Yingshui River and was fleeing in the direction of Peiguo. After a little consideration, Zhong Xuan immediately wrote to Lu Bu that I had defeated Yuan Tan and captured the three counties of Runan, Chen, and Liang, and was now rushing towards Peiguo.

If nothing else, within ten days we can rendezvous at Pengcheng, strike at Cao Cao, and drive the rebels south of the Huai River with a single blow.

Peng Lie was surprised,

"Your Excellency wants to fight Xuzhou?"

"This is the best fighter to fight Xuzhou." Zhong Xuan pointed to the map and said excitedly,

"Xuzhou is the sea to the east and Peiguo to the west, as long as Peiguo is captured, the left flank defense line of Xuzhou will be exposed. At this moment, part of Cao Cao's army is blocking Lü Bu and Gao Shun on the front line of Pengcheng and Tancheng, and part of it is preventing Jiangdong from taking advantage of the fire to rob on the front line of Hefei and Shouchun, while the Xiapi State in the middle of Xuzhou has almost no troops, which is useless. As long as we go to Xiapi in one go and cut off Cao Cao's retreat, the rebels will inevitably retreat on all fronts, and Xuzhou will be at our fingertips. Lei Chong's face changed slightly.

"My lord, since we are going to defeat Pi, why don't you tell Lord Lu Bu the truth?"

"After telling Lu Bu and letting him continue to storm Pengcheng and instigate us to defeat Pi, the credit for beating Xuzhou is not our own." Zhong Miao smiled and clicked on the map of Xiapi City,

"The credit for taking Xiapi and capturing Xuzhou is ours. And although Lu Bu can take the opportunity to take Pengcheng, his credit is much smaller than ours. ”

"My lord, what if Lord Lu Bu suddenly withdraws from Pengcheng?" Lei Zhong hurriedly reminded,

"We fought continuously, marched continuously, the soldiers were exhausted, and fighting Xuzhou Xiapi was equivalent to a lone army going deep, at this time, Lord Lu Bu's cooperation in Pengcheng and Tancheng was extremely important, and we must not take this risk for the sake of greed, and disregard the lives of tens of thousands of brothers."

"Lu Bu will not withdraw. Now there is still some time before the deadline set by the imperial court, and Lu Bu does not dare to withdraw his troops until he receives the news that we have captured Yuzhou. Zhong Xuan glanced at Lei Chong appreciatively and said solemnly,

"The reason why we want to rush to Xiapi is because as long as we have made a posture of attacking Xuzhou and have already achieved the advantage of capturing Xuzhou, then the imperial court has to agree to our proposal to attack Xuzhou and give us enough time to attack." Peng Lie and Lei Chong hesitated.

The temptation to take Xuzhou and make another meritorious feat is too great, and the safety of the army makes them very worried, once this strategy fails, the trouble will be great.

"What if Lord Lu Bu loses the battle in Pengcheng?" Lei Zhong asked suddenly. Zhong Xuan stood for a long time and did not speak.

Zhang Xiu's defeat in Nanyang was mainly due to the serious mistakes in the coordination of the left and right armies attacking Wancheng.

Zhang Xiu listened to my command, and Wang should listen to the command of the imperial court, and it was inevitable that there would be mistakes in cooperation. But the left and right armies on the battlefield in Xuzhou are under the command of Lu Bu alone, and Lu Bu is on the front line of Pengcheng, Gao Shun has also been killed in Tancheng, the distance between the two armies is only a few hundred miles, 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 his troops...... Thinking of this, Zhong Xuan's vest was cold, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

The defeat of Nanyang, Wang Dang's failure to break through the Danshui line in time to contain the rebel forces, was it intentional by the imperial court?

But I didn't tell the court the detailed plan to attack Yuzhou, how did the court know that I would definitely be able to take Yuzhou within the specified time limit?

Could it be that the general sent me to the battlefield in Yuzhou with the intention of finding an excuse to kill me and waiting for an opportunity to inflict heavy damage on the Yingru forces in the court?

In order to kill me, the general actually asked 10,000 soldiers to bury me with me? Is this possible? Peng Lie saw the uncertain expression on Zhong Xuan's face, and secretly sneered.

Lei Chong once again gave up his hand and persuaded him: "My lord, let's tell Lord Lu Bu the details." After we arrived in Peiguo, we still had a fight with Yuan Tan, and we had time to do it. If Lord Lu Bu objected, the Lord would give up; If Lord Lu Bu agrees, Lord Lu Bu will go to the court with Lord Lu Bu. In any case, if the imperial court does not agree, even if we forcibly make a posture of attacking Xuzhou, we still have to withdraw our troops. I have fought for more than ten years, and you are the first to dare to use the army to forcibly create a favorable attack posture, so as to force the imperial court to revise its attack strategy. To some extent, this is a threat to the imperial court. My lord, in the absence of the imperial court's holy decree, attacking Xuzhou without authorization, have you thought about the consequences? Peng Lie sneered,

"The first time my lord commanded the army, he dared to argue with the imperial court. And the court has already given up a step, but you are unforgiving, and you are still pressing step by step, do you think the general is made of mud, you can pinch it as much as you want? If you were a general, would you let such a general who unscrupulously threatens the imperial court continue to command the army? You want to die, I don't want to die, this kind of battle that will cut off your head even if you win, I won't fight. Zhong Miao suddenly understood one thing, he understood why 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 being in a position to do whatever you want is so fascinating. In the case of the decline of imperial power and the lack of prestige of the imperial court, it is too normal for states and counties to support their own troops.

If he had owned the state and county like Yuan Shao and Liu Biao back then, I am afraid that he would be one of them now.

People who have never commanded the army will not have this feeling of dominating the world, and it is even more difficult to deeply appreciate the great temptation in it, and they themselves have unknowingly fallen into this temptation, and they have ignored the prestige of the imperial court.

The reason why the general can dominate the world is because of Peng Lie and Lei Chong, who have no ambitions, or simple-minded, but absolutely loyal subordinates.

On the contrary, if there were more people like himself, it is estimated that the Northern Xinjiang Army would have been torn apart long ago, and the general would have fled to the desert to herd sheep.

Zhong Miao was sweating profusely. He suddenly felt that the general was a hero who stood up to the sky. Without the general's simple mind and the general's absolute loyalty, the Han would not have started the pace of Zhongxing.

This may be an important reason why Dahan can rise again. It is indeed too difficult for a person to resist the endless **.

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