March 187 A.D.

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He Miao led the counterinsurgency army to storm Zhongmu City.

The Yellow Turban leader Bai Huan led his army to attack Chaoge City, so at the same time, the Yellow Turban leader Yu Poison led his army to capture Shanyang City, and the forward only pointed to Hanoi County Zhihuai City.

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More than 40,000 horsemen from the Xianbei tribe in the west, the tribes of the Dongqiang tribe, and the Xiongnu tribe suddenly crossed the Lingwu Valley, invaded the Beidi County of Xiliang, and captured Liancheng. Now the Xianbei people, Qiang people, and Xiongnu people are assembling on the north bank of the Yellow River, preparing to cross the river to attack Lingzhou City and Fuping City.

The wild wolf tribe of Xianbei in the west attacked Wuwei County and Zhangye County in Xiliang with 20,000 horsemen.

The 30,000 troops of the Xianbei King and Lian Danhan Mountain, and the 30,000 troops of the northern Xianbei Tuoba Feng appeared in Shuofang County, Bingzhou, and after they captured Linrong City, the county governor of Shuofang County, they quickly moved in the direction of Shangjun.

At the same time, King Xianbei and Lian's nephew Kuitou led an army of 30,000 tribes of Danhan Mountain and Tuoba tribe to attack Yunzhong County, Yanmen County, and Dingxiang County all the way. The Hu people attacked the city and pulled out the village, and the momentum was like a bamboo, approaching Yanmen Pass.

Yuyang County, Youzhou. The army of Murong Feng, the Xianbei Lord in the central part of the country, stopped in the area of Guangping and did not continue to attack Yuyang City, and the situation in Yuyang County eased a little, but the Karasuma people in Liaodong and Liaoxi took the opportunity to rebel and became more and more powerful.

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The leaders of the Xiliang rebels, Wang Guo, Han Sui, Ma Teng and others, united some of the Xiqiang tribes, gathered about 50,000 horses, and attacked Hanyang County again.

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Youzhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Hanoi, and Chang'an's urgent documents flew in, and the atmosphere in Luoyang became unprecedentedly tense.

Taiwei Zhang Wen, Situ Cuilie, Sikong Xu Xiang and the nine secretaries of the DPRK and the Central Committee gathered in the Jiade Hall to discuss matters.

The main battle faction led by Taiwei Zhang Wen demanded that the Son of Heaven immediately transfer Zhonglang and Li Hong back to Xiliang, and take full responsibility for resisting the invasion of the Hu people and pacifying the rebels.

"Your Majesty, at present, it seems that although the scale of the Hu people's invasion is very large, there is only one focus of the attack." Zhang Wen played, "That's Chang'an and Sanfu." Earlier, Murong Feng, a Xianbei person, attacked Youzhou, and Tuoba Feng infested and annexed the state, obviously trying to trick us into transferring Li Hong's army stationed in Xiliang to the battlefield in northern Xinjiang, so that Xiliang's troops were empty, and they could take advantage of the weakness. ”

"However, the Hu people made serious mistakes in cooperation." Zhang Wen showed a look of luck on his face, and said with a smile, "Xian Yufu's army has not yet moved, and the Hu people who attacked Xiliang couldn't hold back, so they launched an attack in advance, and as a result, their purpose of invasion was exposed. The Hu people are now getting more and more bold, and they even dare to fight Chang'an. ”

Zhang Wen immediately said impassionedly and loudly: "Your Majesty, today we should annihilate the barbarians with heavy troops and drive them out of the border of our Han Dynasty, so as to protect our Han Dynasty for thousands of miles." ”

As soon as Zhang Wen's voice fell, Cui Lie immediately retorted.

"Your Majesty, the words of Lord Taiwei are very inappropriate." Cui Lie said, "Now that the country is in an eventful season, the conquest is continuous, the treasury is empty, and we simply do not have the financial resources to support this protracted war." The top priority now is to pacify the rebels in Nam and Hanoi counties to ensure that Gyeonggi has no worries. However, the counterinsurgency military expenditure in these two places alone is about 2 billion yuan, which has basically emptied the national treasury. ”

"According to the suggestion of Lord Taiwei, with Li Zhonglang as the general, he will lead an army of 70,000 people to meet the barbarian Hu, so how much money will this cost?" Cui Lie looked around at his colleagues and said with a wry smile, "Without three or four billion dollars, can this battle be fought?" If Li Zhonglang fights for a long time without success, or if he loses a few more battles, where will we get money? ”

Cui Lie sighed: "From the minister's point of view, let's give up the border county for the time being and stick to the land of Sanfu." ”

"Let's look at Xiliang. The Xiliang rebellion has lasted for two years, although we have suffered heavy losses to the rebels, but so far we have not completely put down the rebellion, we have spent tens of billions of military resources in that barren place, what did we get in the end? If we had given up Xiliangbian County in the first place, we would have saved that huge amount of military money, we could have reduced taxes, we could appease the displaced people scattered all over the country, and we could have allowed the war-torn people to recuperate, so that there would be no ant thief rebellion now. ”

"The more wars are fought, the poorer the country becomes, the poorer the country, the more bitter the people, the more bitter the people, the more rebellions, and so on, when will my Han Kingdom be at peace, and when will it recover?"

"The border counties are vast and have few people, such as Beidi County in Xiliang, which has a population of just over 20,000, and Shuofang County in Jizhou Province, which has a population of just over 10,000, and the relief we allocate to them every year in these counties is dozens of times higher than the taxes they pay. If we abandon these counties for the time being, not only will it not hurt the country's finances, but it will also allow the country to temporarily escape the scourge of war and have time to recuperate. ”

"Once our national strength is strong and the treasury is full, Your Majesty can order several generals to lead their troops north to attack Hu, one can recover the country, and the other Your Majesty can rebuild the immortal achievements of Emperor Wu back then."

As soon as Cui Lie finished speaking, Yang Qi immediately came out and scolded Cui Lie for his nonsense, which was the theory of the death of the country.

Yang Qi is the great-grandson of Yang Zhen, the former imperial lieutenant of the dynasty, and Yang Biao is a cousin. Yang Qi has few ambitions, does not take the name of family power, likes to be friends with talented and handsome people, and hates to associate with the rich and powerful. He was proficient in scriptures, intelligent and perceptive, and had a doctorate in Taixue and had 200 disciples. This person does not flatter and seek glory, but dares to speak out, and even the Son of Heaven resists it. The Son of Heaven likes him very much, and once said in front of the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu that Wenbo's neck is stiff and straight, and he does not bow his head and bend his neck, and he is really the descendant of Yang Zhen.

When the Son of Heaven saw that it was him, he hurriedly said, "Aiqing, don't scold." Tell me first, why is what Lord Situ said about the destruction of the country? ”

"Your Majesty, Emperor Wu ordered Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to go north to fight against the Xiongnu successively, not only recovering the northern part of the five counties of Longxi, Beidi, Shangjun, Yunzhong and Yanmen, but also recovering Henan, placing Shuofang and Wuyuan two counties, and the northern border border reached the north of Yinshan. In the western Xinjiang, the Han Kingdom continued to advance westward, expanding a large territory, and successively set up five counties in Hexi, including Jiuquan, Zhangye, Dunhuang, Wuwei, and Jincheng. Emperor Wu also ordered the army of our Great Han State to expedition to the Dawan Kingdom in the Western Regions, and won a complete victory. Therefore, we set up the Western Regions Protectorate in Wulei City, and tuntian in Luntai (now southeast of Luntai, Xinjiang), Quli (now Korla) and other places, occupying the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and the territory was unprecedentedly vast. ”

"Since Emperor Wu, the state of my Great Han has gradually weakened, and the territory has gradually shrunk, and in this dynasty, the Western Regions Protectorate no longer exists, and the border counties have been encroached upon by the Xianbei, Xiongnu, Karasuma and Qiang people, and the border land has long been unrecognizable, and the Great Han State has been humiliated for a long time."

"In the first year of Zhongping, the Yellow Turban ant thieves rebelled, and the dynasty had no time to take care of the north, so the barbarian Hu had no fear, and invaded frantically, resulting in the internal relocation of the six counties of Dingxiang, Yunzhong, Wuyuan, Shuofang, Shangjun, and Beidi, and the northern territory of the six counties and the north of Hengshan in Yanmen County, Dai County, and a large area north of the Sanggan River in Shanggu were all owned by the Hu people. To the north of Chaona in Anding County and north of Lishi in Xihe County, they are all occupied by Xianbei and Qianghu. In the northeast, due to the growing strength of Goguryi, the Xuansu County moved inward, and a large area of land east of Daeyeong (the central mountain range of the Korean Peninsula) in Lelang County has been completely discarded. ”

"We have given up so much land, but how can the Hu invasion stop? We have been recuperating for so many years, but how can we have the power to recover the lost territory in the north and retake the Western Regions? If we blindly tolerate and give up, where is the territory of my Great Han Kingdom? Where are the martyrs of my Han Kingdom? Where is the Tianwei of my Great Han Kingdom? ”

Yang Qi faced the ministers and said loudly: "The vast amount of the country that our ancestors fought with blood and sweat was lost in our hands in vain, let me ask you, don't you have the slightest guilt in your hearts?" What face do we have to meet the ancestors under the Nine Springs? As subjects of the Han Dynasty, we should take it as our responsibility to protect our family and defend the country, not give up an inch of land, fight for every inch of land, and have no regrets even if we die in battle, otherwise, how can we be people, how can we be people of the Han Kingdom? ”

There was silence in the court, and only Yang Qidi's voice echoed in the empty hall.

Yang Qi faced the Son of Heaven again, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Situ's proposal to give up the border county and exchange the land for a short period of peace is simply the theory of the death of the country. In this way, although we could avoid the scourge of this war, we connived at the invasion of the Hu people and fueled their arrogance. We watched the Hu people occupy our cities, rob our property, kill our people, and ravage our Han country, but we were not ashamed to say that this was for the rise and fall of the Han Kingdom, what is this not the theory of the death of the country? ”

"If you give up a county today, you will give up a county tomorrow, so what about the day after tomorrow? The Hu people are leaping horses and whipping in the land of our Han country, showing off their might, wantonly killing and plundering, they see that my Han is weak and vulnerable, and they are bound to be more arrogant and domineering, inch by inch, step by step, do we have to give up the land of a state the day after tomorrow? ”

"If you don't kill Hu today, you will be killed by Hu tomorrow, don't Lord Situ understand such a simple truth?"

Yang Qi glanced at Cui Lie and continued: "Your Majesty, Fu Xie, the Marquis of Zhuangjie in the past, once said: 'Kill Situ, and the world will be safe. Today, I, Yang Qi, want to say it again. ”

Yang Qi suddenly held his head high and roared loudly: "Kill Situ, then the world will be safe!" ”

The shouts shook the hall and were thrilling.

The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty are all terrifyingly discolored. Situ Cuilie looked ashamed and was silent.

"The minister is willing to make an envoy, personally go to Jizhou to issue an order, and urge Li Hong, the general of Huqiang Zhonglang, to go west to Liangzhou immediately, kill the barbarian Hu, protect my country's land, and revitalize my Han Tianwei!"

The Son of Heaven was full of excitement, and for a while he was arrogant, he shot the case, and raised his arms and shouted: "Kill, kill, kill all the barbarians!" ”

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Li Hong walked back and forth in the big tent, very depressed in his heart.

The Han Dynasty was worried about domestic and foreign troubles, and wars were frequent, which made Li Hong feel dizzy. How could the Great Han Kingdom fall to such a stormy state?

Li Hong remembered that when he was in Xianbei, many Xianbei people were full of admiration and fear for the Han Kingdom, and at that time, he was still very proud of being a Han person. But after he carried the sword all the way back, he did not feel the strength and might of the Han Dynasty for half a minute, from the beginning of his footing on this land, he fought on the battlefield, fought on different battlefields, the Han country was devastated, the people's livelihood withered, mourning all over the wilderness, everywhere were traces left by the war, everywhere were homeless displaced people. Could it be that this is the great Han country that is powerful in the world in his mind, the home on which he lives?

Li Hong felt lost, confused, and exhausted.

"My lord......" Song Wen's shout pulled Li Hong's thoughts back from the thick melancholy, and he turned his head to look.

"My lord, if this piece is handed over, do you know the consequences?" Song Wen put down his pen and said worriedly, "Your Excellency will at least be dismissed." The scheming and precision of the manipulators behind this are staggering. ”

Li Hong shook his head indifferently and said, "You can watch it." The king of Hefei is dead, we must always give His Majesty an explanation, and we can't hide it. ”

Li Wei smiled bitterly: "My lord, how do you explain?" It's too hard. Since Emperor Jing of the previous dynasty quelled the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, the kings of the vassal states were not allowed to leave the fiefdom without the permission of the Son of Heaven, otherwise they would be complicit in rebellion. Although the king of Hefei left the country without forgiveness, whether he killed or not, who killed him, was decided by the Son of Heaven, and no one else had the right to deal with it. Those who violate this law are also rebelling. Now that the king of Hefei is dying in Taoqiu, the scene is our black panther righteous servant, how do you tell us to justify ourselves? ”

"A few days ago, Lord Liu sent a letter, saying that Xu You had submitted a note of impeachment, revealing all of Wang Fen's tricks, and everyone in Luoyang knew that Xiangkai of Pingyuan County and the King of Hefei were involved in the matter, but we did not mention anything in the recital, so that the bureaucrats in Luoyang wrote to impeach Lord for deliberately concealing the facts and punishing them ineffectively. Now that the people of Xiangkai and Dazhitang have been let go by adults, there is only one dead king of Hefei left, and things have become like this, no matter how you explain it, it is not good for adults. Xie Ming frowned and said, "Let's not talk about how the King of Hefei died, just the death of the King of Hefei on the way to our pursuit is enough for adults to lose their heads." ”

"There are people in the DPRK who want to take advantage of this incident to put adults to death, so we can't get away with the guilt of what we do." Song Wen sighed, "Xiangkai is reluctant to say, my lord is not willing to make it too difficult for him for the stability of Jizhou, otherwise we can take back a little initiative." ”

"Write quickly." Li Hong smiled, "If you kill it, you will kill it, who am I afraid of?" The king of Hefei has ill intentions, plots wrong, and is innocent, and he should be killed! ”

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The news that the king of Hefei died in Taoqiu was sent to Luoyang by the Taishou of Jiyin County, Yanzhou, with a fast ride of 800 miles, and the court was in an uproar, and the call for Li Hong to be killed suddenly rose, so that no one mentioned the matter of Li Hong leading the army to resist the enemy.

The Son of Heaven ignored the clamor of the ministers of the court, and he said loudly above the court: "This is my secret decree to Li Zhonglang, do you Aiqing have any dissatisfaction?" ”

Taichang Liu Yan asked in surprise: "Your Majesty, is there any solid evidence to prove that the king of Hefei rebelled?" ”

"Do you need any evidence for this?" The Son of Heaven sneered, "When there is evidence, I will already be in a different place." ”

"Your Majesty, killing the king of Hefei without evidence will cause the princes and kings to be dissatisfied and cause trouble for no reason." Liu Yan advised, "Li Hongmu has no king's law, and he violated the law to kill the king of Hefei, which is a heinous crime, so it is better to punish him heavily." ”

"Didn't someone say that the king of Hefei rebelled?" The Son of Heaven said, "Li Zhonglang is acting on orders, what is the crime? ”

"Your Majesty, Li Hong did not catch the Jizhou Mansion and did not seize Xu You, nor did he catch Xiangkai of Pingyuan County, and there was no evidence that the King of Hefei participated in the rebellion, what reason did he have to kill the King of Hefei?"

"When did Li Zhonglang kill the king of Hefei? Wasn't the king of Hefei killed by his attendants? ”

"Your Majesty, do you believe this? This is the same as Xu Yu's false accusation, which is groundless. ”

"False accusations?" The Son of Heaven gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "False accusations are also killed." Whoever wants to kill me, I will kill whomever I want. ”

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The Son of Heaven's secret decree asking Li Hong to kill the king of Hefei was finally sent to the camp of Xiangyu Mountain. Li Hong and his men let out a long breath.

The reason why this secret letter came belatedly was because the messenger was accidentally caught by the Yellow Turbans while passing through Hanoi County. When Bai Huan saw this secret letter, he immediately ordered his subordinates to release the messenger, and by the way, asked the messenger to bring a letter to Li Hong. Bai Huan said that he wanted to talk to Li Hong.

Li Hong immediately ordered someone to bring the bitter chieftain and Lin Xun and others to the big tent. Li Hong showed them Bai Huan's letter, and then said: "Bai Huan's meaning is obvious, he wants me to let you go." ”

The bitter chief sneered, "Is the adult willing? What did Bai Huan take in exchange for our lives? If you want to kill adults, kill them early, don't be so wordy, it's very unpleasant. ”

Li Hong smiled: "I called you here, of course I am willing to meet with Bai Huan." ”

"Your Excellency is willing to swap?" Lin Xun asked in surprise, "What are the conditions?" ”

"As long as Bai Huan and Yu Poison's army immediately retreats to Montenegro, I will release the bitter chieftain." Li Hong said, "But I can only let go of the bitter chieftain alone, and the others must follow me to Xiliang." ”

"Why?" Panta asked loudly, "This condition is too harsh, Bai Shuai will not agree." ”

Li Hong didn't speak, and quickly spread out the map on the desk. His large hand slowly swept along the northern border of the Great Han Kingdom.

"At the beginning of this month, the Xianbei people, the Huns, and the Dongqiang people had an army of about 100,000 people, divided into several ways to invade our Han Kingdom......" After Li Hong gave a detailed introduction to the military situation in the frontier, he said resolutely, "Bai Huan and Yu Yu must return to Montenegro and give me a shortcut to enter Liangzhou in the west." ”

"Everyone is a member of the Han Dynasty, and when the Hu people invaded our Han Kingdom on a large scale, we should share the same hatred for the enemy, kill the enemy together, and have no distinction between each other."

He looked at Lin Xun, Panta, Liao Lei, and Ding Bo, and said in a stern tone: "If you still have the blood of the Han people flowing in your body, you should follow me north to resist the enemy without hesitation, instead of hiding in the deep mountains and old forests to be a rebel, and let the thieves burn and plunder the land of the Han Dynasty." ”

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