Chapter 9 Chasing the Central Plains Section 49 Prime Minister Cai Yong, Taiwei Xu Rong, Imperial Historian Liu He, Shangshu Ling Li Wei, and Zhongshu Jian Xun You were summoned to Jinyang Palace overnight to discuss matters.

The eldest princess was pale and melancholy, and sat behind the desk in fear. Zhang Yan and Ko Yi jointly wrote the book, which shows that the situation on the front line is very serious.

The Battle of the Central Plains was at a critical moment, and the general fell suddenly, which was no less than announcing that the war had ended ahead of schedule, and the battle to conquer the Central Plains could almost be said to be on the verge of defeat.

"It's all tiring." Cai Yong looked up and sighed,

"Count the few days he has been in Jinyang in the past few years, and you will know how tired he is." Cai Yong put down the secret music that he had watched several times, and shook his head again and again,

"The general has been ill for more than ten days, if it weren't for the fact that the situation is getting more and more serious, it will be difficult for the two adults to support it, and it is estimated that they will not dare to play for the time being. Once this matter spreads in the imperial court, the consequences are unimaginable. Be confidential, be sure to keep it secret. ”

"No matter what, it can't be done." Xun You said solemnly,

"There is a stir in Jinyang, and Luoyang will know it immediately. As long as the rebels spread the news of the general's illness on the battlefield of the Central Plains, the army will definitely be disheartened, and they will not be able to withdraw when they want to. ”

"Get the general back at once." The eldest princess's voice trembled slightly, and she seemed very flustered in her heart,

"He's so sick that if he doesn't get medical attention, he'll probably die."

"If the general can be sent across the Yellow River, Lord Zhang Yan will not run from Handan to Chenliu." Li Wei smiled bitterly,

"The general can't come back. If the news leaks, even if the general is lying on the carriage and patrolling the army, he can stabilize the morale of the army and inspire the soldiers to fight to the death. ”

"There are still 20,000 Huns on the battlefield in the Central Plains." Liu He also shook his hand again and again,

"Except for the generals, no one in the court can suppress them. Once the general left the Central Plains, the 20,000 Huns were terrified, and there was a chance that something would happen. ”

"Then withdraw the troops." The eldest princess sighed sadly and said helplessly,

"It's too late to withdraw now."

"It's too late." Xu Rong pointed to the secret music on the table,

"The two adults, Lu Yi and Zhang Yan, wrote very clearly in the recital that the two sides were in a tense confrontation at this time, and in the three battlefields of the left, center and right, the rebel forces had the upper hand. It's like two life-and-death fighters, one of whom has a long sword approaching the throat of the opponent. As long as the opponent has the slightest idea of giving up, he will definitely be splashed with blood for five steps, and there will be no chance of survival. Now if the army retreats, it would be very good to have half of them return to Hebei. It was a fiasco. ”

"Why can't you withdraw? We still have more than 100,000 troops, although the general is seriously ill, but the people are still in the Central Plains, and many generals such as Liyi, Zhang Yan, Lu Bu, Yan Liang, and Zhao Yun are fully capable of bringing the army back to Hebei safely. Prime Minister Cai Yong looked at Xu Rong with suspicious eyes,

"Don't you want to leave?"

"We have more than 100,000 troops, but we are in the Central Plains, south of the Yellow River, and more than 200,000 rebels will open their eyes and let us withdraw peacefully? Are Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei all weak Confucian scholars who are powerless? Are they willing to stick their heads out and wait for us to regain our strength before attacking the Central Plains? Xu Rong tried his best to explain,

"On the battlefield, especially when retreating, the soldiers are afraid and uneasy, anything can happen."

"Yes, it's possible for us to withdraw safely, but what if we don't withdraw safely and we fail miserably?"

"In this Central Plains War, under our powerful attack, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and Liu Bei formed an alliance very quickly and decisively to join forces to resist Hebei. Our strength has been fully exposed, and before they can defeat us, they will use their advantages again and again to launch round after round of onslaught on Hebei in order to survive. The Jizhou War the year before last, you still remember it vividly. If such a big war happens two or three more times, how long will Hebei be able to hold out? Hebei has been beaten and scarred, will the Hu people in the desert continue to help us fight? No, they will either fight for hegemony in the desert or go south to attack the border counties, and they will not bow down to a precarious court. Hebei immediately fell into many crises, and it was very difficult for us to survive at that time. ”

"The imperial court cannot do without a general, but when the general falls, the imperial court should try its best to make up for and eliminate a series of serious effects caused by the fall of the general on the battlefield. Xu Rong was a little excited,

"The conquest of the Central Plains to pacify the world is not a battle of the general alone, but a battle of the imperial court and everyone in Hebei. Could it be that if the general falls, we will give up the conquest of the Central Plains, give up pacifying the world, and give up Zhongxing Sheji? The Great War of the Central Plains is the battle of Zhongxing Sheji, the battle of life and death of the Han Dynasty, and the battle of all of us, what reason do we have to give up? Why should we retreat? Why should we take the lives of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers as a child's play? Who gave us such power? ”

"Today, the blood of the Han soldiers is still galloping, the iron bones of the Han soldiers are still high and unyielding, and the strong and loyal soul of the Han is still roaring to the sky. Xu Rong's passionate and generous voice echoed in the hall for a long time, hitting everyone's heart hard.

The sadness on the eldest princess's face gradually faded, and her expression became more and more resolute and excited.

"Fight, we should fight." Li Wei waved his arm vigorously,

"Only fighting, only blood and life, can a strong man be recast."

"If we stop fighting, the period of the Han's revival will be far away." The voice of Xun You, the supervisor of the Chinese book, is firm and powerful,

"This is a battle that we should fight."

"Your Excellency." Imperial Doctor Liu He nodded again and again,

"Bloody battles, we will not retreat until the death, we will continue to fight, until the world is peaceful." Cai Yong let out a long sigh, picked up his sleeve and wiped the moist corners of his eyes,

"Since it's already started, don't stop, let's fight." To continue the decisive battle in the Central Plains, it was necessary to recruit the iron cavalry of the Hu tribe to go south to participate in the war, but the opposition in the court could not be ignored, and the worries of the ministers who disagreed on this matter were not unreasonable.

How to minimize the harm that may be caused by the iron horses of the Hu tribes? How to gain the obedience and trust of the iron cavalry of the Hu tribes, and maximize their power, so as to win the decisive battle of the Central Plains?

"I personally went to northern Xinjiang to lead the iron cavalry army." The eldest princess's delicate voice was like a thunderous knife, which stunned the five powerful ministers of the dynasty.

"In this way, all the problems are solved." The eldest princess said calmly,

"I personally command the iron cavalry of the Hu tribes, and they will obey me, trust me, and obey my orders. The ministers saw the determination of the imperial court to pacify the world, and they could not oppose the imperial court's decision to recruit Hu Qi to go south to the Central Plains to participate in the war. What is especially important is that I personally led the Hu cavalry to participate in the decisive battle of the Central Plains, and after the world is pacified in the future, who dares to say that I will join forces with the Hu people to slaughter the Central Plains? I command Hu Cai, Hu Qi is the iron horse of my Han Dynasty, who dares to point to the Son of Heaven and the court to make irresponsible remarks? When I arrived in the Central Plains, the morale of the army was high, and even if the general was still critically ill at that time, the news of the general's serious illness spread throughout the Central Plains, but it could not affect the morale of our army in the slightest. The eldest princess looked at the five ministers and smiled,

"Do you agree?" The five ministers were still in shock, and none of them reacted. Li Wei suddenly thought of something, and a strong feeling of suffocation rushed straight to his head, and his chest was extremely uncomfortable.

Li Wei involuntarily reached out to cover his mouth and secretly took a few breaths of air. There was a hint of sweet fragrance in the air, which was refreshing, but at this moment, this fragrance smelled in Li Wei's mouth and tongue, but it was like looking at medicine, making his scalp tingle.

The eldest princess personally commanded Hu Qi, just like the Son of Heaven drove his own expedition. After the victory in the Central Plains, the eldest princess will be respected by everyone whether it is in the desert, in Hebei, or in the Northern Xinjiang Army, and her supremacy will be more consolidated with its great prestige, and no one can regret it, and no one can restrain it.

General, although you have been lucky enough to win the decisive battle in the Central Plains, it has also triggered the crisis you are worried about, and the battle in the court will become more and more fierce in the future, and the road to Zhongxing Sheji has become more and more long and bumpy.

What the eldest princess decides, who can stop it today? Those who can enter the Phoenix Terrace are all important ministers of this dynasty, although more than a dozen ministers expressed their opposition in unison.

Since the general was seriously ill, only Cai Yong and the other five ministers knew, so the ministers thought that the eldest princess insisted on recruiting Hu Qi to lead the army to recruit herself, purely for her own selfishness, and disregarded the safety of the society, which was an unbelievable thing.

The eldest princess was not discouraged, and under her coercion, no one persevered to the end in the end. The old minister Cui Lie was really angry, and scolded the eldest princess for messing around, and he was so angry that he had a stroke on the spot.

The eldest princess immediately issued an order in the name of the Son of Heaven to let Prime Minister Cai Yong preside over state affairs, and she was accompanied by the general's wife Fengxue and Li Wei's wife Xiaolan, and took more than a dozen young ministers such as Tian Yu, Liu Fang, and Sun Zi to the north of Youzhou Daijun to meet Yan Wuxing, Lei Zi and Tie Yue generals, and gathered the Hu tribes in Gaoliu and Macheng.

Hu Ben Zhonglang led Duan Xuan, the captain of the city gate Xie Wu to lead three thousand tiger ben, and Yulin guards to accompany him. In mid-June, Yanzhou Chenliu, the general camp.

With Hua Tuo's prescription and the careful diagnosis and treatment of the great camp doctors, the general's illness gradually improved.

Today, Yan Liang and Jia Xu were ordered to rush to the general's camp from Sujube to discuss with the general, Zhang Yan, Lu Bu and others on ways to break the deadlock.

The general only used two words about his condition

"Wind and cold" brought it, but Jia Xu knew that things were not so simple, otherwise the general would not have rushed Zhang Yan to the front line of Chenliu with a fast ride of 800 miles that day.

Sure enough, when Zhang Yan said that the imperial court came to the secret letter, saying that the eldest princess had personally gone to the outside of the Saiwai to recruit the Hu iron cavalry and lead the army to conquer the Central Plains, Jia Xu immediately understood the mystery of this.

He knew that the general had made a lot of efforts in the past two years in order to conquer the Central Plains, but the imperial court still opposed the general's requisition of Hu Cai to the south.

The key to winning the Central Plains War is Hu Cai, Hu Cai could not go south, and the Northern Xinjiang Army would not be able to achieve the goal of inflicting heavy losses on the rebels and seizing the Central Plains, so the requisition of Hu Cai to the south became a problem for the general.

Hearing this good news today shows that the general not only took advantage of his illness to successfully persuade the imperial court to get the much-needed Hu Qi, but also almost achieved the absolute chance of winning the decisive battle in the Central Plains, which Jia Xu could not have imagined.

No wonder when he saw the general, he was smiling, and he could hardly tell that he was a sick person except for a slightly worse complexion.

The eldest princess personally went out to recruit Hu Qi, which was equivalent to helping the general get rid of a potential crisis in the future, that is, the general's guilt of slaughtering the Han people with the help of the Hu people.

Now that the eldest princess is in charge, the eldest princess will go out of the fortress to recruit Hu Qi, which is equivalent to the Son of Heaven personally going out to recruit and transfer, and it has nothing to do with the general.

In addition, the eldest princess's personal expedition to the Central Plains can boost the morale of the army, and the soldiers will do their best in the big war.

The eldest princess alone can be worth 100,000 reinforcements. In the war, no matter how many people Hu Cai killed and how much trouble he caused, it had nothing to do with the generals and the generals of the unified army, and this would also greatly reduce the psychological burden of the generals of the unified army in the war.

"This news should be kept secret and not leaked prematurely." Zhang Yan said with a smile,

"The time for the Hu cavalry to reach the Yellow River south should be in September, and if it leaks too soon, it may cause the rebels to change their strategy and concentrate their forces to launch a decisive battle first. That would be a very bad game for us. ”

"The Central Plains War, it seems that nine out of ten are stable." Jia Xu arched his hand and said to Li Hong,

"When we were drawing up our attack strategy in the desert that day, our biggest concern was that Hu Qi would not be able to go south, and all our efforts would be in vain. Now it seems that the general has successfully solved this biggest problem. ”

"It's not me, it's him." Li Hong pointed to Sima Yi sitting in the distance,

"It was Zhong Da's idea. It's just that none of us expected that His Highness would go to the expedition in person. Your Highness will lead your army to the battlefield in person, and our chances of victory will be greatly increased. Jia Xu glanced at Sima Yi approvingly, raised his hand and praised: "Zhongda, if the Central Plains can win all, you will be the first to take the lead." ”

"He still dares to take the first credit?" Lu Yi immediately interrupted Jia Xu's words, glared at Sima Yi and said,

"If I don't cut off your head, it's cheaper for you." Sima Yi smiled awkwardly and bowed slightly to Jia Xu to thank him.

Everyone chattered and guessed with interest what had happened in Jinyang recently. Recently, the court has been very lively and noisy.

I heard that in order to persuade the eldest princess to go to the army, the old minister Cui Lie was so angry that he suffered a stroke and was paralyzed, and it is estimated that he will say goodbye to the court and go home to retire.

Without him in the court, it will be much more deserted. After chatting and laughing for a while, Yan Liang asked the general, now the rebel army's strategy is very clear, that is, dragging, stalking, and making it clear that they want to compete with us in terms of strength, grain and grass, and want to win without a fight.

We currently do not have superior forces on the three battlefields, and it is difficult to break through the enemy's defenses. If this stalemate cannot be broken, we will not be able to force the rebels to engage in a decisive battle with us at the right time, so the General should give us a means of attacking as soon as possible.

"What can you do?" Li Hong said with a smile,

"You heard in Yancheng that Lord Jia was going to Baima to supervise the battle, and immediately beat Cao Cao through the gutter water. Am I going to go to the sour jujube and force you to force it, so that you will make the effort to hit the chasm water? ”

"Two different things, two different things......" Yan Liang shook his hand,

"General, you better take care of your body first, and you don't want to go to the sour dates. At the end of this month, I will definitely find a way to take Yuanwu and Yangwu, and the troops will enter the chasm. ”

"It's too late at the end of the month." Zhang Yan said with a smile,

"I agreed with Yuntian that I will temporarily transfer 20,000 people from him to you, and hit the chasm water within five days."

"The main people stationed in Yuanwu and Yangwu were Cao Cao and Liu Bei's men. Cao Cao is not much of his men and horses, and if he dies one less, he will never dare to fight with you. Koji sneered,

"As soon as he retreated, Xingyang and Zhongmu were under our attack. In order to ensure the safety of Luoyang, Yuan Shao could only withdraw to the front line of Xingyang and Zhongmu. We will fight him in Zhongmu. ”

"Zhongmu?" Yan Liang frowned,

"If we hit the chasm and you hit Zhongmu, then the rebels will accumulate heavy troops in the area of Guandu and Zhongmu to contend with us." Yan Liang looked up at Koji Yi,

"When we reach the chasm, our two armies will be united, and we will gather 100,000 people to attack the rebels, which is very large."

"If you don't beat Yuan Shao, he won't fight a decisive battle." Li Hong waved his hand and said,

"After the army approached the chasm water, let Gaoshun and Guanhai on the left side retreat to Chenliu and Yongqiu to defend in order to protect the flank of the army, let the main army storm Guandu, and force Yuan Shao to concentrate his forces on the west bank of the chasm water." Wei Yan immediately explained the specific deployment of troops and the time and route of the attack.

"After you hit the chasm water, I will move the camp to Yangwu City." Li Hong said to Lu Yi and Yan Liang,

"We have to make the rebels aware that our outstretched fingers are closing into a fist. When this fist has gathered enough strength, they will be dealt a fatal blow. Ko Yi, Yan Liang and the others immediately took their leave and returned to their respective battlefields to prepare for the attack.

Jia Xu was left behind by Li Hong to continue to discuss the strategy of attack in the later stages of the war.

"Does the imperial court have specific offensive and defensive strategies in the two battlefields of Xuzhou and Guanzhong?"

"Lord Taiwei has already made arrangements." Zhang Yan handed a volume of documents on Cai Ji to Jia Xu,

"Considering that the rebels intend to prolong the confrontation, they must have made great moves in the Guanzhong and Xuzhou battlefields in order to contain our forces and consume our food and grass. Over time, these two battlefields may undergo unexpected changes. Therefore, the decisive battle must start in September and cannot be delayed. Jia Xu took a cursory look at the documents of the imperial court, and then said to Li Hong: "General, there are currently 50,000 iron cavalry on the battlefield, and according to the strategy we set in the past, these 50,000 people must slowly withdraw from the battlefield and spread out to various places to block the counterattack of the rebels. If the Iron Cavalry stays on the main battlefield, even if we retreat in defeat, the rebels may not dare to rush out and pursue at full speed. ”

"When Lu Yi and Yan Liang lead the army to fight the chasm water, we will start to mobilize the iron cavalry." Li Hong said,

"The Iron Cavalry first divided into a part to Hanoi and Ren City. Peng Lie of Hanoi and Wu Dun of Rencheng could immediately lead the army of infantry to the battlefield of Guandu. The iron cavalry to Qingzhou will be a little late, and it must wait until the Xuzhou army attacks Zang Ba, and Zang Ba's army withdraws from Kaiyang and retreats to Jucheng, so as not to let the rebels see the flaws and suspect that we are doing it on purpose. Jia Xu nodded, and was about to ask about the grain and grass, when Sima Yi walked in,

"General, the front line is reporting, Xu You sent someone to shoot a book again, and he wants to see the general."

"Xu Yu?" Jia Xu asked in surprise,

"What is he here for? Negotiate peace? ”

"Yes, he wrote several times, but we rejected it." Sima Yi smiled,

"The first time I went to see him, I persuaded him to surrender, but he ignored me and was very loyal to Yuan Shao."

"Give him a letter back, saying that the general wants to see him." Jia Xu smiled,

"There are many factions under Yuan Shao, especially the Jizhou forces led by Fu Zhi and the Yingchuan forces led by Xu Yu are the largest, and they are fighting fiercely with each other. Before the war, Xu You, Feng Ji, and Xin Ping had teamed up to drive Fu Zhu out of Luoyang, and then instigated Yuan Shao to put Tian Feng in prison. If it weren't for the outbreak of the Central Plains War, Fu Zhu, Tian Feng and their Jizhou forces would almost disappear in Luoyang. Sima Yi immediately understood what Jia Xu meant,

"You want to take advantage of the contradictions between Xu Yu and Fu Zhu, Tian Feng and others to provoke their infighting?"

"It's just a matter of mouth, a gesture." Jia Xu waved his hand and said indifferently,

"Now it is Yuan Xi who is confronting us head-on, and it is Tian Feng who is giving Yuan Xi advice. Knock down Tian Feng first, and it's best to let Yuan Shao kill him. This man is too much of a threat to us, and once he sees through our strategy, I don't know how long the decisive battle will last. Sima Yi suddenly came to the spirit,

"Okay, okay, I'll pick him up right away." Li Hong and Zhang Yan looked at each other, shook their heads, and disagreed.

"Wenhe, you are underestimating Yuan Shao too much." Zhang Yan said with a smile,

"At this critical time, how dare Yuan Shao mess with himself? Although Tian Feng is a native of Jizhou and had a relationship with the general in the past, they have worked together for ten years after all. Ten years of friendship is extraordinary. It can be seen from Yuan Shao's re-use of Tian Feng this time that he still believes in Tian Feng very much, and he will not be fooled. Jia Xu smiled slightly,

"Yuan Shao must be willing to be fooled."

"Really?" Li Hong asked in surprise,

"Yuan Shao is still willing to be fooled?"

"Of course, because Yuan Shao has great ambitions. Soon after Yuan Shao seized Luoyang, the words of 'Yuan Dai Han' and 'Five Virtues Always Said' were widely spread. Who made these things? Why was it made? We all know that. Jia Xu smiled,

"Around Yuan Shao, there are many people who insist on advising Yuan Shao to respect the Son of Heaven, but among them, there are only five people who pose a threat to Yuan Shao's usurpation, Fu Zhu, Xu You, Xian Pei, Tian Feng and Guo Tu." Li Hong, Zhang Yan, Lu Bu, Sima Yi, Wei Yan and others immediately understood what Jia Xu meant.

"So, Yuan Shao's re-use of Fu Zhu and Tian Feng this time has ulterior motives?" Sima Yi realized,

"In this war, he reused Yuan Xi, probably because he intended to cultivate his own strength, so as to completely drive Jizhou, Yingchuan and other forces out of Luoyang."

"Yuan Shao's reputation is now in full swing, if he wins this battle, what he will do next, we all know, Fu Zhu, Xu You, Tian Feng and these people also know. With the current situation of the battle becoming more and more favorable to him, he would be very happy if he could find an opportunity to solve the problems of Fu Xu, Xu You, and Tian Feng without leaving a trace. Jia Xu looked at everyone and asked softly,

"You don't think that Yuan Shao sent Xu Yu to really talk nonsense with us, right?"

"Could it be that Yuan Shao ......" Lu Bu was a little hard to believe,

"Yuan Shao won't be this kind of person, right?"

"Yuan Shao is no longer the Yuan Shao of the past." Jia Xu's face showed mockery,

"Since he wants to kill someone, let's help him. Let Tian Feng die first this time. As soon as Tian Feng died, these Jizhou forces would immediately retaliate, and Xu Yu would be finished. Xu Yu is finished, and the Yingchuan forces such as Xin Ping and Feng Ji will immediately turn around and take revenge on the frustration and trial. ”

"Hmph......" Jia Xu sneered,

"Yuan Shao dug his own grave, and we fulfilled him." The general Li Hong personally went out to greet Xu You.

"It's been 14 years since Jizhou said." Li Hong smiled while accompanying Xu You into the big tent,

"At that point, I almost killed you. If it weren't for Tian Feng and Song Wen reporting to me, I would have been killed by the highway (Yuan Shu) in Xindu. Xu You looked at ease and said coldly: "If the highway had killed you back then, how could the big man become what he is today?" Highway damn it, he should have died a long time ago. Li Hong heard that the tone of his voice was wrong, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "I heard that the road is very sick, and he is ...... now How's it going...... Do you know? ”

"Dead." Li Hong almost suspected that he had heard it wrong, he looked at Xu You, who was expressionless, in shock, and asked again,

"He's not going to do it anymore?"

"Dead, completely dead." Xu You waved his hand vigorously,

"It's a hundred. Now even if people in the world say that he is the biggest and most shameless rebel of the Han Dynasty, he doesn't care, he has become a pile of white bones. Li Hong felt a pain in his heart, and stood there for a long time without speaking, feeling sad.

This person who wanted to kill him at the beginning later became friends with him. Before he died, he entrusted his family to himself, and died alone on the banks of the distant Huaishui River.

"When?" Li Hong asked.

"Five days ago." Xu You said,

"I heard that I vomited blood and died soon after. When he died, he didn't have any relatives by his side, which was very miserable. Li Hong sighed and stretched out his hand to ask Xu You to sit down.

"Is Lord Tian Feng okay?" Li Hong asked,

"I heard that he had an accident and was imprisoned in Beisi Prison in Luoyang."

"He's out." Xu Zhan said,

"After the start of the Central Plains War, he came out and is now in Zhongmu City. Do you want to see him? If you want to see him, let him come next time, I won't come. Li Hong shook his head,

"You go back and tell him that his family is doing well and that he misses him very much. If he can't stay in Luoyang, he can go back to Jizhou, I welcome him, and I can at least let him be a county guard. ”

"He'll go back." Xu You narrowed his eyes, and a sneer lifted at the corner of his mouth,

"As long as he defeats you, he can return to his hometown." Jump to