In the sixth year of Guanghe, December 3rd.
The Han army in Henan began to gather troops and stationed them in the eastern suburbs of Tan, eight miles away from Kyoto.
The eastern suburbs were the place where the Han Dynasty welcomed spring and where they worshiped Jumang, the Qing Emperor. It was supposed that in two months' time, at the beginning of spring, Liu Hong would come here with the princes and ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, dressed in blue robes and ornaments, to perform the Eight Hundred Dance and pray for the health of the world.
But unfortunately, Liu Hong will probably not be able to come this time.
Since returning south in mid-November, the Han army in Henan has been overwhelming and has encountered almost no resistance. They went south from Chaoge and galloped all the way to Juanjin to cross the river, and then joined the 20,000 Henan powerful troops in Xingyang.
The two armies combined, with a strength of several to thirty thousand. After taking Aocang millet and resting for three days, the Han army in Henan marched westward to Hulao.
On November 25th, He Jin opened Hulao's closed door and joined the rebels.
The powerful people in Henan supported He Jin as the general of Fengtian's crusade against rebellion, and they used the banner of clearing the emperor's side and destroying the eunuch temple.
There was a sudden tremor in the pass, and Luoyang was even more frightened every day, and the whole court was in chaos. Because, on the 120-mile stretch from Hulao to Kyoto, there are only three city gates at Gongxian, Baigu, and Yanshi, and they don't have many troops.
Facing the unexpected rebels, Liu Hong urgently summoned the three princes to the palace to discuss the strategy of attacking He Jin.
Liu Hong was worried that He Jin would use his title as General of the Han Dynasty to recruit all the armies in the pass. After all, the political banner he used was indeed very confusing, so he urgently asked Sangong what countermeasures he had.
The three princes at this time were Situ Cui Lie, Sikong Xuxiang, and Taiwei Zhang Yan.
Among them, Cui Lie was from Hebei, and Cui Jun, the acting general of Youzhou Tuqi, was his son. At this time, Cui Lie did not know that his son had died in Hebei.
Then Prime Minister Xu was from Runan. He was the son of Xu Xun, the second-year-old Situ of Jianning in this dynasty. Now he succeeded his father and became Sikong. It can be said that he is a father and a son.
Finally, there is Zhang Yan, a martial arts cultivator in Hanoi. He is the son of the old Situ during the reign of Emperor Huan of the previous dynasty. A few months ago, the old Taiwei Deng Sheng became old and frail. Zhang Yan, who was the servant at the time, succeeded Deng Sheng as the Taiwei.
Among the three, Prime Minister Xu is the youngest and most energetic. Moreover, he knew that the main force of the rebels this time were from Yuzhou aristocratic families. As a Runan native, he could only take a tough stance.
Therefore, Prime Minister Xu asked the state to issue an edict to send the Southern Army, the Eight Pass School Lieutenants, and the Zhenjun in the west of Beijing to guard the Yanshi Division at the east gate of Luoyang.
With Prime Minister Xu setting the tone at the beginning, Lieutenant Zhang Yan directly asked for orders, willing to lead 3,000 Southern troops to Yanshi first.
The Taiwei was already in charge of military matters, so Zhang Yan naturally did his part.
But what is surprising is that Liu Hong did not comment, but said this:
"The officers and soldiers of the Southern Army may not be useful enough if they have not practiced fighting for a long time."
At this time, Zhang Rang, who had been waiting beside him, suddenly interrupted:
"It's better to patrol Chang'an. With the strength of Wei Han, we can resist the enemy."
The three princes all saw the singing and harmony of the monarch and his ministers, and knew that the country must have made an agreement with the eunuch to abandon Luoyang and flee to Chang'an.
So Xu Xiang advised:
"Luoyang is the most important thing for the country. If it is given to the rebels without resistance, it will lose the hearts of the world."
Zhang Yan over there also tried to persuade:
"If we go west and the rebels choose a clan to establish, I'm afraid that the world will no longer be able to be owned by the country."
Just when Liu Hong was about to relax after being persuaded by these two people, Cui Lie, who had been silent until now, said:
"The rebels are strong, and the southern army is too weak to resist them. In addition, the towns in the west of Beijing are far away, and it is difficult to save the fire nearby. It is better to move the princess of the clan west to Guanzhong, use the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong to merge with the rich Shu land, and regain Luoyang Just around the corner.”
Prime Minister Xu and Zhang Yan never expected that Cui Lie would say such words, especially when Prime Minister Xu angrily rebuked in front of the court:
"Please kill Cui Lie, and the world will be safe."
Cui Lie didn't dare to say anything when he saw Mr. Xu's cannibalism. In the final analysis, Cui Lie's position as Situ was wrong because he spent five million to get out of it.
Years ago, when he was still a court lieutenant, through the relationship between Liu Hong's nanny, Mrs. Cheng, he spent five million to get the official position of Situ.
At that time, Liu Hong was reluctant to part with it. He felt that Sangong was making a loss by selling it for five million, as the market price was around tens of millions. That is to say, for the sake of his mother-in-law, and Cui Lie, who was indeed a famous person, he was only one step away from becoming the Third Lord, so he let go.
Although everyone pays money, it is paid after they are appointed or dismissed. How can you directly run for office like Cui Lie? Therefore, Xu Xiang and Zhang Yan have long been ashamed of each other.
Cui Lie felt sad when he saw the devouring eyes of the two people.
To be honest, he didn't want to either. But Zhang Rang had approached him before and asked him to stand by his side during court discussions.
Is Cui Lie afraid of Zhang Rang? Not really. The reason why he stood by Zhang Rang was because he knew that it must be Liu Hong's idea to move westward.
Because everyone knows the current situation in Gyeonggi.
The Northern and Southern armies were deployed to put down the rebellion, and the powerful people in Gyeonggi Province were deployed to put down the rebellion. What other soldiers does Liu Hong have now? Even if all the people in Kyoto are armed, tens of thousands can be obtained, but how can these people be the opponents of the main force of the Han army, which is good at conquering and fighting?
Moreover, after the rebels captured Hulao Pass, Cui Lie noticed a letter of appointment and dismissal.
The former imperial physician ordered Zhang Feng to be sent to Chang'an to serve as Jing Zhaoyin.
Who does this gift belong to?
He is Zhang Rangshou's adopted son.
Therefore, Cui Lie already knew that the matter of moving westward was settled.
Now that it's all settled, why would he, Cui Lie, fight to the death? Anyway, his reputation in Shilin was ruined, so he might as well seek some practical benefits.
However, that Xu Xiang was really fierce. When he said that he would move westward, he crashed into the courtyard pillar and died.
Liu Hong didn't want to cause an ugly scene, and he also knew that giving up Kyoto without any resistance would definitely lose the hearts of the people and cause the Liu family's descendants to lose face.
Therefore, Liu Hong temporarily changed his decision at the court meeting and no longer talked about moving westward. Instead, he decided to send troops to the south to guard the front lines of Gongxian, Baigu, and Yanshi.
November 27, Dan.
Liu Hong, accompanied by Sangong, Jiuqing, Shi Changshi and others, observed the troops in the Eastern Suburbs Altar to boost the morale of the Southern army.
After that, Liu Hong appointed Zhao Qian as the left colonel of the Southern Army in charge of Yanshi, Chunyu Jia as the lieutenant colonel in charge of Baigu, and Guan Qiuyi as the right colonel in charge of Gong County. The three of them unified the 3,000 soldiers of the Southern Army and marched to Kyoto. Four thousand of his disciples rushed to Hulao immediately.
At the same time, Liu Hong also made Huangmenling Jian Shuo the captain of the military academy and the marshal of the Xiyuan Army. Select soldiers from Kyoto City to organize and train the fifty-four divisions of Xiyuan, which is a new army establishment of 54,000 people.
Liu Hong has no soldiers now. Whether it is for safety or to fight back in the future, it is impossible to have no soldiers.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in Kyoto now, and they cannot be given to the rebels for nothing. He wanted to take away the 54,000 most capable people inside first, and then used his treasury and horses from the Western Garden, coupled with the armor from the Kyoto arsenal, to be able to escort Liu Hong to Chang'an safely.
Liu Hong also thought about how to compile the fifty-four volumes of Xiyuan.
The number of soldiers is 54,000, and one for every thousand people is the battalion head of the fifty-four divisions. Then the two units on the left and right form an army, which is the organization of ten armies. Each army has one school lieutenant, which is the ten school lieutenants in Xiyuan.
As for who the ten captains are, Liu Hong hasn't figured it out yet, and will see when the time comes.
These ten armies were organized and trained with Liu Hong's money. They were Liu Hong's private army. Of course, they could also be called the Forbidden Army. Liu Hong believed that with the help of the New Tenth Army, he would eventually be able to come back. Just as he was thinking of starting anew, Liu Hong was naturally not very willing to put many elite troops on the Eastern Front. Otherwise, the combat effectiveness of the new army behind will not be guaranteed.
Therefore, the so-called Southern Army soldiers and horses given to Zhao Qian, Chunyu Jia and Guan Qiuyi are very watery.
Liu Hongbing did not expect that the tens of thousands of troops on the eastern front could stop the rebels. Anyway, as long as they could hold on and buy enough time for him to patrol the west, it was enough.
But Liu Hong didn't want to think about it. Can these dissolute children from Kyoto, who are completely untrained in military affairs, stop the rebel tigers and wolves?
Moreover, even the so-called Southern Army is unreliable.
The Southern Army is different from the Northern Army. The Northern Army was mostly selected from good warriors from all over the country, and since then it has been conquering various places. Its combat effectiveness is naturally the highest among all armies.
However, most of the Southern troops were descendants of Kyoto for generations, and they only did some ceremonial work. These people like to have light fur and precious belts, and beautiful clothes and crowns. They know how to fight cocks and move horses, but they don't know how to use swords, guns, swords and sticks. They know how to wander around and enjoy themselves, but they don't know how to fight in battle. You can carry wine and beauty, but you cannot bear a halberd and armor.
Therefore, as soon as the Confederate army knew that they had been drafted, nine out of ten were not happy and paid money and hired knights from the market to go out on their behalf.
Finally, when Zhao Qian and other three generals went out into battle, their subordinates were almost exclusively poor children of Kyoto.
The three generals went out together and arrived at Gong County in only two days.
At that time, Gong County was still resisting.
Gong County is one hundred and ten miles away from Kyoto. It is the first level of Luoyang's outer city defense. Its city defense is naturally very tight.
And what is Gong in Gong County? That is a solid foundation. It is named after this place because of its strong mountains and rivers.
It is bounded by a large river to the north, Shouyang Mountain to the east, and is divided into Luoshui River, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Originally, the number of soldiers in Gongxian County was a thousand, but before the Battle of Xingyang, He Jing mobilized 500 soldiers from Gongxian County to leave Hulao eastward. These latter people never came back, so now there are only 500 soldiers in the city.
The county magistrate of this city is called Qi Ke. Under siege by tens of thousands of rebels, the city is short of troops and food.
Originally, they were not short of food, because Luokou outside Gong County was the boundary between Luoshui and Dahe, and the grain from the east would be transferred here.
However, the warehouses in Luokou had long fallen into the hands of the rebels. The Gongxian soldiers could only defend the city with all their strength, and there was no way they could take it back. Therefore, we can only hope that reinforcements can send food.
But unfortunately, Zhao Qian and others also have no food.
Liu Hong and the others had already made plans to abandon Kyoto and prepare to enter Guanzhong westward. The reserves in Taicang will naturally be transported to Guanzhong. So apart from giving Zhao Qian 20 days of food, there was no more supplies after that.
Therefore, it is conceivable that when Zhao Qian and other generals arrived in Gongxian with ten thousand Eastern Front troops, their morale was very low.
But Zhao Qian is really loyal to state affairs.
He was the prefect of Runan before, but was defeated by the Yellow Turbans of Runan. He himself was also sent to Beijing and imprisoned. Zhao Qian was naturally extremely grateful for the country's use of him this time, and was determined to live up to the country's high regard.
So when he saw that the morale of the troops was low, Zhao Qian spent all his money as a monk to reward the three troops. Then inspire everyone with loyalty and righteousness.
Not to mention, these wandering children in Kyoto all want to do big things, and when stimulated by this, they really have some courage to fight.
But the spirit can never be eaten.
When the army supplies were no longer available, Zhao Qian tried to lead his army to rescue the Gongxian soldiers in the city, so that they could all retreat to Baigubi and continue to hold on.
The Cypress Valley Wall is a barrier set up by the Luo River to pass through the Cypress Valley. It was the place where Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came here for a brief trip and was embarrassed by his father. This place is an important place on the western Henan Passage. There is no turning point in the valley and it is sandwiched by a plateau. It is an important fortress.
But unfortunately, Zhao Qian overestimated his ability.
His army wanted to attack the rebels outside Gong County at night, but Cao Cao led his cavalry to attack the fortress. Before Zhao Qian could capture the rebel wall, the camp behind him had already been breached by Cao Cao.
Amidst the fire, Zhao Qian's army collapsed.
Subsequently, Gong County was destroyed and Qi Ke committed suicide.
Zhao Qian led the remaining troops to retreat to the wall of Baigu, but Huangfu Li led his cavalry to chase and kill him. The dead man rested on the road and the Luoshui River was cut off.
The disciples of Fulang, who had lost any fighting spirit, supported Zhao Qian, who still had prestige, and marched all the way to the west, bypassing the wall of Baigu, leaving Yanshi behind.
When they were defeated outside Yanshi, they encountered the five hundred soldiers of Xuanyuan Pass who had been ordered to go north.
Knowing that there was a huge defeat in the front and all the western Henan passages were lost, these Guan soldiers could only follow Zhao Qian and others back to Kyoto, intending to enter the city to defend.
But when they arrived at the altar in the eastern suburbs, they met the Southern Army officials stationed here.
Looking at these Southern army officers and soldiers wearing bright clothes and angry horses, and thinking that they died on the battlefield for these people, the wandering children in Zhao Qian's army became furious.
Not only did they beat these people up, they also looted them.
At this time, Zhao Qian and others were coerced into causing chaos and could no longer return to Luoyang City. So in the end, the Eastern Front Army of less than 3,000 people was stationed in the eastern suburbs and sat on the wall to watch.
The news of the collapse of the troops on the Eastern Front accelerated the retreat of Liu Hong and others.
They didn't expect Zhao Qian to be so reluctant. He bought them five days, let alone ten days.
At this time, Liu Hong had no time to compile and train Xiyuan Fifty Parts. After setting up a framework of a hundred people for each department, Liu Hong hurried out of the city with the ten permanent attendants, harem and others.
Zhao Qian's rebel army outside the city saw a team coming out of the west gate and wanted to plunder them. But seeing the long queue, escorted by more than 5,000 well-dressed military officials, the rebel army stopped thinking and had no choice but to focus on the city.
They wanted to take the opportunity to enter the city and plunder it.
But unfortunately, before they even entered the city, the city gate was closed.
At this time, the only way out for the rebels was to join the rebels behind.
So they spontaneously went east to meet the Henan rebels and served as their guides. On December 2, they arrived in the eastern suburbs to watch.
After Liu Hong moved westward, the ministers who stayed in Kyoto were Sikong Xuxiang and Taiwei Zhang Yan.
They organized the troops of various ministers to go to the city to defend the city in units of districts.
In addition to being Kyoto, Luoyang is also a huge fortress.
The Henan rebels stationed in Dongjiaotan also had different ideas and did not want to send troops to attack.
After all, we are here. After losing our strength, how can we discuss profit sharing later? None of the generals who have the mindset of a military leader is stupid.
In the end there was only one way to persuade them to surrender.
So, two days after Liu Hong moved westward and the second day after the Henan rebels arrived, Zhong Yao, the envoy elected by the generals, entered Luoyang City, pulled by a basket.
This day happens to be December 3rd, the sixth year of Guanghe.