Chapter 840 Recovery
Never forget that when the Hedong soldiers were fishermen in Chang'an City, there was another party outside the Hedong side who was also watching the situation at all times and was already taking action.
This force is Yu Jin and his 20,000-strong Western Expedition Army.
While the Kansai court and the Hedong soldiers thought that Yu Jin was still far away, they didn't know that Yu Jin was closer to Chang'an than they thought.
And this is all due to Duan Xuan who is stationed at the foot of Lishan Mountain.
This commander-in-chief of Xizhou, who was considered by all forces in Kansai to be the gatekeeper of Guanzhong, unexpectedly led his troops to surrender to the Taishan Army, contrary to everyone's expectations, even Yu Jin's.
It was his good friend Jia Xu who prompted Duan Xuan to make up his mind to surrender.
He only told Duan Xuan this truth:
"The Taishan Army has a good reputation and has never killed or surrendered. There are even many surrendered generals in the Taishan Army. After the general is loyal and good, he is used in border affairs. If the Taishan Army ignores the past grudges, the general will have a share of wealth in the future. Even if Otherwise, you can still be a rich man.”
Duan Yan understood what Jia Xu meant, that is, if he did not jump ship to the Taishan Army in time at this time, it would be difficult for him to become a rich man.
But Duan Xuan was still unwilling to accept it. How could he not know the situation on the Taishan Army side? Someone with his status, who comes from a wealthy family and has a powerful army under his command, will definitely have no future with the Taishan Army.
But what can be done? Does Duan Xuan have any other options at this time? If someone gives you this opportunity to jump ship, consider it a favor.
In other words, he had accepted his fate, so Duan Yan decided to join the Taishan Army without any hesitation.
In fact, in the East, in addition to Duan Xuan, there is another person who the Kansai side has high hopes for. It is the former Sikong Zhao Qi, who together with Zhao Wen and Zhao Qian is known as one of the Three Zhaos.
After Dong Zhuo abolished the Three Dukes and returned the power to the Prime Minister's Palace, Zhao Qi was appointed as the host defense envoy and was stationed in Huayin.
But at that time, the emperor transferred troops from Tongguan back to the capital. When the Taishan Army attacked Tongguan, Zhao Qi and Duan Xuan were unable to resist and had to retreat to the west of Tongguan.
Later, it was from Lishan that we gained local support and stabilized our position.
As soon as Duan and Zhao arrived at Lishan, Liu Xie ordered Zhao Qi to return to Beijing alone.
Zhao Qi originally thought he was going to be reprimanded and punished, but he didn't expect the emperor to ask him what he thought of Dong Zhuo.
At that time, Zhao Qi felt his heart pounding.
In fact, Zhao Qi has always been a moderate and has a good relationship with Dong Zhuo. He has a clear view of the current situation and knows that fighting between public and military forces can only lead to losses for both sides.
But Zhao Qi was unwilling to directly oppose the emperor, because he was originally a guilty person, so he expressed his opinions tactfully.
When the little emperor asked him:
"How do you think I should treat the Prime Minister?"
At that time, Zhao Qi reported directly:
"Thunder, rain, and dew are all your kindness, and Your Majesty deserves it no matter what. As a minister, the Prime Minister should understand Your Majesty."
The emperor was noncommittal and asked again:
"I heard that Zhao Qian and Duke Zhao had submitted a petition before, saying that they shared the same hatred with the enemy and were unanimous in dealing with the outside world. I heard that you also agreed."
But Zhao Qi has always been a chameleon in officialdom. Hearing this, he shook his head:
"This is Zhao Qian's intention. I have only heard of it, but I have never agreed."
After several rounds, Liu Xie agreed that Zhao Qi was suitable for his needs, and when he saw that he had his own way of dealing with the Taishan army entering the Pass, he promoted all the armies to the east to his command and accepted his control.
In fact, Zhao Qi did not know that when the news of the Taishan Army's breakthrough at Tongguan reached Chang'an, Liu Xie actually hesitated and was not sure whether to take action against Dong Zhuo.
But it was precisely because of his and Zhao Qi's spying that Liu Xie mistakenly believed that the emperor's actions were supported both internally and externally, and that the governors of the eastern counties had the confidence to defend the territory. This made the emperor make up his mind.
After that, he gave the emperor Jiedu to Zhao Qi, and the army in the east was to take advantage of Duan Xuan, who he was not very relieved about.
Then the emperor also gave Zhao Qiqian the honor of not only giving Jiedu, but also the yellow ax in the palace. Knowing that Zhao Qi could not ride a horse, he also gave Zhao Qi his own special golden root chariot.
This shows how deeply the emperor trusted Zhao Qizhi.
But what about Zhao Qi? As soon as he left the palace, he went to visit Zhao Qian, the leader of the moderate faction.
The two of them stood back and talked secretly. Zhao Qiqi told Zhao Qian everything he heard in the palace, and finally said worriedly:
"Your Majesty is too eager. Now that the Taishan Army has entered the pass, no matter what you do, don't you have to defeat this thief first? And you and I both know how powerful the Taishan Army is. This time, your Majesty will leave all matters to the east to me. , I really have no confidence and can only prepare to die.”
When Zhao Qian heard what Zhao Qi said, he thought that the other party had already tried to persuade His Majesty in the palace, but His Majesty refused to listen and continued to have his own way.
So he could only sigh helplessly:
"Your Majesty is too young. Zhao Wen and others only said a few words about the people's support in Han, and Your Majesty did not think about other responses at all. I am afraid that this time will be the last time you and I meet."
After saying that, the two hugged each other and cried.
After that, Zhao Qi left in a hurry and embarked on the westward journey with the emperor's Jiedu, Huang Yue and Jingen chariot.
Perhaps Zhao Qi, who returned to Lishan Camp again, didn't know that it was his flattery on this matter that brought the matter to an irreversible point.
Of course, it was unnecessary to blame all the blame on Zhao Qi for things to develop to this point.
In fact, Zhao Qi himself made a very good statement. He was praised by the people of Guanzhong for his integrity as a soldier. Coupled with his hatred of evil and his behavior of destroying his family and serving the country, he can be said to be a direct minister.
But Zhao Qi was able to be straight in the arena, but when it came to the court, the flavor of this chameleon became more and more intense.
However, Zhao Qi himself is not a bottomless compromise. He actually has his own considerations.
That is, he expressed toughness to the emperor, hoping that the emperor could maintain the dignity of the Han family and not always be on the retreating side in the relationship with Dong Zhuo.
And when he went to Zhao Qian's house in private to express his weak attitude, he actually hinted that Zhao Qian would correct the emperor more when he was in the court, and could be there to cool down the emperor when his head was hot.
But the cruelty of fate is that good intentions end up doing bad things.
Reality soon gave Zhao Qi a big slap in the face. Not only was the Taishan Army unstoppable after entering the pass, but even Chang'an also became more and more fierce after he left.
What Zhao Qi didn't even know was that just when he left Lishan Camp and returned to Chang'an, a stranger was also welcomed to another place, the tent where Duan Xuan was.
That person was Shi A who came to Lishan to discuss with Duan Xuan despite the ban.
It was this omission that caused the entire situation to collapse.
……
On the day when the emperor held a Yinhuo discussion in the front hall, the Taishan Army, which had been stationed in Zheng County, suddenly attacked in the direction of Lishan.
At that time, Zhao Qi and his three thousand officials formed a formation on the south bank of the Wei River to meet the enemy.
To the east of them, eight thousand Liangzhou soldiers led by Duan Xuan were arrayed at the foot of Lishan Mountain.
But no one expected that just after Zhao Qi's team was lined up, they suddenly heard that the Liangzhou soldiers in front of Lishan had surrendered.
Shocked, Zhao Qi wanted to continue to hold on, but was quickly broken by the Taishan Army.
Because no bases were set up, all the armies retreated one after another, and the chaos suddenly broke down the formation. At that time, Zhao Qi, regardless of his old age, kowtowed to the retreating officials and asked them to inspire their conscience and fight for the Han Dynasty again.
However, all the defeated troops were frightened and lost their courage before even seeing the shadow of the Taishan Army. Therefore, they all ignored Zhao Qi and dispersed towards the south.
Zhao Qi was unable to survive alone, so he had no choice but to retreat with the defeated army to the Baling area, where there were still 20,000 Hedong soldiers who could continue to resist.
But when they retreated to Ba Ling in the afternoon, they saw that the place was empty. After asking, they found out that the Hedong soldiers had already gone westward.
At this time, Zhao Qi was desperate, knowing that the big man had no chance, so he swallowed gold and committed suicide in the pavilion next to Ba Ling.
Before his death, he left a handwritten letter to say goodbye to his family and friends.
He wanted to tell history and future generations that the fault of this battle was not that of Zhao Qi, but of Duan Xuan's betrayal of the imperial court and loss of conscience.
After writing these false words, Zhao Qicai left a true message at the end:
"With this defeat, all important things are gone."
Zhao Qi understood his last words before his death.
Not long after Zhao Qi died, Yu Jin and others who had been chasing behind finally arrived at Ba Ling.
Yu Jin, who originally planned to continue fighting here, saw that the troops in Hedong were empty, and he was overjoyed and asked the low-key Duan Xuan next to him:
"The troops in Hedong are all gone. Does this mean that Chang'an is in chaos?"
Duan Xuan had already told Yu Jin all aspects of Chang'an before, but at this moment he still replied cautiously:
"Commander, this is very possible."
Yu Jin was really happy now.
Originally, in his plan, he was here to meet Duan You's troops. He was not even prepared to attack Lishan because he knew that there were 20,000 Hedong soldiers behind Lishan.
Yu Jin was deeply afraid that he would offend the enemy, so he attracted Hedong soldiers to him, and then stopped going to Chang'an.
But who would have known that they had just accepted Duan Xuan's troops when they saw Zhao Qi's troops arrayed to the west collapse on the spot.
What else is there to say? Chase first.
When they arrived at Ba Ling, Yu Jin was already ready for battle, and even deliberately slowed down his marching speed in order to conserve enough energy.
But who knew that when they arrived at Baling, Zhao Qi committed suicide, but Hedong Bing didn't see anyone.
In other words, not even anyone on Yu Jin's side died, and they fought all the way to Ba Ling, which was only ten miles away from Chang'an.
And now? Yang Mao is still trapped in Zuo Fengyi all the way? Who are you talking to about this good luck?
Yu Jin understood that Tian Yu would not take it, but would be blamed for it. He knew that the opportunity to take Chang'an was right in front of him.
There was no hesitation, and he immediately ordered his 20,000 Taishan troops and 8,000 surrendered Liangzhou troops to rest and recuperate in Baling.
At dawn tomorrow, the troops will head west into Chang'an!
That night, Yu Jin couldn't sleep all night.
……
At midnight on the same day, Hedong soldiers finally arrived at the east gate of Chang'an.
At that time, Dong Huang did not deploy his troops at the four gates of Chang'an, because there was a steady stream of Liangzhou soldiers rushing into the city to enjoy this feast.
But precisely because of this, when Hedong soldiers suddenly appeared in Dongcheng, everyone at the city gate thought they were Liangzhou soldiers.
As soon as Fan Xian and other three generals entered Chang'an City, they began to join the team that robbed the officials.
Because they arrived relatively late, a large amount of wealth had actually been occupied by the Liangzhou people at that time, so the Hedong soldiers, who were so red-eyed and irrational, started to attack the Liangzhou soldiers in the city.
At that time, the Liangzhou soldiers were scattered, and it was already dark, so they suffered a big loss from the Hedong soldiers from the beginning.
But Liangzhou soldiers reacted quickly, and Dong Huang's side had completely captured Weiyang Palace at that time. But no trace of the emperor was found.
Therefore, Dong Huang vented his anger on the Hedong soldiers and began to personally dispatch troops to encircle and suppress the Hedong soldiers.
The two sides fought all night in Chang'an City until dawn.
And until dawn, some more serious news began to reach Dong Huang's ears.
That is, the Taishan Army, which was supposed to be north of Lishan Mountain, had already reached Baling. Now Dong Huang was dumbfounded.
If at other times, he would have had the confidence to lead the Liangzhou soldiers to resist the Taishan Army, but what about now? He didn't dare to have this idea at all.
Before anyone else in the city could react, Dong Huang decided to retreat from Chang'an City.
On the one hand, he asked his men to gather the Liangzhou troops scattered throughout the city, and on the other hand, he collected the chariots and horses, grain, and cloth that could be seen, and began to move toward the west gate one after another.
Dong Huang decided to retreat with the remaining soldiers to the Fufeng Chencang area. Since Chang'an was already in such a mess, the Taishan Army could leave it to them if they wanted.
Because Dong Huang's military order to retreat was too hasty, many troops had no time to gather the scattered officials, so they had to rush through the west city with the looted baggage.
So the streets in the early morning, before the bloody smell of yesterday had dissipated, were already filled with carriages and horses.
Along the way, in order to build momentum, these Liangzhou soldiers recruited everyone they saw into the army, and then rushed to Xicheng on foot.
There, there were already troops heading west.
This pair of carriages and horses was accompanied by cries all the way. This Liangzhou army with great martial arts was really disheartened.
It was probably around noon that the Hedong soldiers entrenched in Dongcheng finally realized that they had lost the Liangzhou army to the east. It was also at that time that they realized that the Liangzhou soldiers had escaped.
Before the three generals could react, the Taishan Army had already appeared outside the city on the road they came from.
At first, the three generals led the Hedong soldiers out of the city to fight the Taishan Army in the Dongpingguan area, but they were defeated shortly after.
The Hedong soldiers who were so frightened by the defeat did not even want the heavy goods in the city, and retreated directly towards Lantian in the south.
Liu Xiong is very prestigious in Lantian, where they may be able to find a place to stay.
In this way, on the second day of October in the third year of Taiwu, Yu Jin, the commander-in-chief of the Taishan Army's Western Expedition, defeated the Hedong Army in Dongpingguan and entered Chang'an from the east gate on the same day.
This second capital of the Han Dynasty finally fell into the hands of the Taishan Army.
Because Luoyang and Chang'an, the two capitals of the Han Dynasty, were recovered by the Taishan Army.
So starting from this day, the big man died in the true sense.
The reign name of the world was officially unified as Taiwu.