My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 336 Where did the cavalry come from?
"Lu Yiru, you traitor, why don't you leave the city and die!"

Yuan Shao was clamoring under the imperial city, but Gao Shun, who was in charge of the defense above the palace, didn't care at all.

"Fire arrows!"

On the one hand, he ordered someone to notify Lu Yi, and on the other hand, he immediately ordered the Bingzhou army to attack.

Although the people under the city were either high-ranking officials like Dong Zhuo or nobles like Yuan Shao, in Gao Shun's view, anyone who dared to insult his lord would be shot to death without mercy.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Under the rain of arrows that was ready to be fired, the coalition forces suffered heavy casualties, with hundreds of bodies falling.

Yuan Shao, who had been shouting and trying to force Lu Yi to surrender, was also in a panic as he waved his sword to block the stray arrows. Although Yuan Shao tried his best to dodge, he was still hit in the right hand by an arrow shot by Gao Shun himself. After being injured, Yuan Shao dared not shout anymore and quickly retreated to a safe place.

"Lü Yi has kidnapped the emperor and is stubborn and unyielding. This is the way to his own death. Quickly attack the city, wipe out Lü Yi's bandits, and welcome the emperor!"

After being temporarily safe, Yuan Shao did not even bother to check his injuries. He immediately became angry and gave orders to the coalition forces.

Although Dong Zhuo disdained Yuan Shao's miserable appearance, the two sides had already made an alliance, so Dong Zhuo immediately ordered his Xiliang soldiers to respond to the siege.

In an instant, arrows rained down from the city walls and swords and spears flew like forests, and the city was caught in a siege melee.

Poor Imperial City of Luoyang has enjoyed peace and prosperity for two hundred years.

This was the imperial palace, which was supposed to be the seat of dignity of the court. However, it was attacked and destroyed one after another in just a few days, and it was suddenly on the verge of collapse.

However, the Imperial City is the Imperial City after all. It was built according to the first-class construction standards, and daily maintenance is not a problem. Although Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo and tens of thousands of others fought desperately to attack the city, they were unable to break through the defenses of the Imperial City in a short period of time.

On the top of the city wall, the serious and warlike Gao Shun led five thousand elite soldiers from Bingzhou to defend the city. This siege did not fail as easily as the last time when the Ten Eunuchs defended the city. Instead, they firmly blocked the offensive of the coalition forces.

Just as Gao Shun was in a stalemate with Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao and others.

When Lu Yi received the news that the coalition forces were attacking the city, he was overjoyed.

However, he did not go to the top of the city wall immediately, but asked to see Emperor Liu Bian first.

When Liu Bian heard that the imperial city was attacked again, he was horrified and quickly met with Lu Yi to ask for details.

"Your Majesty, the governor of Liang Province, Dong Zhuo, the lieutenant of the imperial court, Yuan Shao, and others, together with the ministers and nobles, are attacking the imperial city."

"As a subject, attacking the imperial city repeatedly without the emperor's order is a naked act of treason."

"Please allow me to lead the troops to quell the rebellion!"

Lu Yi never forgot his image as a loyal minister. Although he held all the power, he would report everything to Liu Bian first. Moreover, his attitude towards Liu Bian was always consistent and respectful, so Liu Bian firmly believed in Lu Yi's loyalty.

"Mr. Lu, how many rebels are there attacking the city? How many soldiers do you have under your command?"

As expected, upon hearing that the nobles and aristocrats had once again openly attacked the imperial city and brought along Dong Zhuo, the governor of Liang Province who had just arrived in Beijing, Liu Bian was horrified and filled with deep resentment.

Even a clay man would have some temper, not to mention that Liu Bian was already the common ruler of the country and the supreme emperor who governed the people on behalf of God.

Lu Yi's respectful behavior during this period has allowed him to initially experience the dignity of the emperor, and under a series of setbacks, this weak little emperor is also growing rapidly.

Therefore, Liu Bian was also very disappointed with the nobles and aristocrats, and hoped that Lu Yi could quell the rebellion. However, Liu Bian was unable to change his nature, and was still a little cowardly after all, so he first asked about the military strength of both sides.

"Your Majesty, there are tens of thousands of bandits, and I only have 5,000 Bingzhou soldiers in the imperial city."

Although the coalition forces did have tens of thousands of men, most of them were servants of the nobles and were merely filling the numbers.

The only elite soldiers who could really go into battle were Dong Zhuo's 5,000 Xiliang cavalry and the thousands of elite troops from Luoyang originally controlled by Yuan Shao and others.

Lu Yi deliberately exaggerated the difference in military strength between the enemy and our side in order to show the hardship and heroism of his heroic battle.

Fortunately, after the rebellion was quelled, more political capital was gained.

"Ok?"

"Mr. Lu is extremely brave, and I am very pleased."

"But with such a huge disparity in military strength, isn't it inevitable that they will be defeated?"

As expected, after hearing this, Liu Bian's domineering aura that had just emerged a few days ago was immediately replaced by the cowardice and weakness accumulated over more than a decade, and he asked in panic.

"Your Majesty, be safe. The soldiers guarding the city can always resist enemies several times stronger than you. The imperial city is the strongest city in the world and can serve as a shield for us. Moreover, I have urgently summoned 50,000 Bingzhou cavalry to the capital for support. I am afraid they are about to arrive in Luoyang."

"Your Majesty, please stay in the palace and rest assured. I will be able to put down the rebellion and eliminate the disloyalty within a few days!"

Lu Yi was also worried that Liu Bian would be frightened to death, so he simply told Liu Bian his backup plan.

Liu Bian felt relieved when he heard that Lu Yi had a backup plan and that their numbers were greater than those of the rebels.

He stepped down from the throne, helped Lu Yi up personally, and spoke to Lu Yi with full of dependence and expectation.

"I heard that Lu Qing has been invincible in the army for ten years, so I will entrust the court and the ancestral temple to Lu Qing. I hope Lu Qing will not let me down!"

"I will definitely not disgrace the Emperor's order!"

Lu Yi nodded firmly, then immediately left the harem and came to the palace.

"How's it going?"

After arriving at the palace city, Lu Yi immediately asked Gao Shun, who was in charge of the command, while checking the situation of the palace city below the city.

"My lord, the Luoyang soldiers under Yuan Shao are just showpieces. The reason they were able to break into the imperial city last time was because the Ten Eunuchs were incompetent and there was an insider in the palace who was working together from both inside and outside."

"Now the Lord has already cleared the palace and accumulated a large amount of city defense equipment and food supplies. Except for a few eunuchs and palace maids in the harem, all the people in the imperial city are our Bingzhou soldiers. How can we be easily breached by them?"

"Although Dong Zhuo's Xiliang Iron Cavalry are all elite Qiang and Han soldiers, they can only use infantry to attack the city. Now the cavalry has no horses, which is equivalent to cutting off their own hands. They pose no threat at all."

"If no new enemy troops arrive, I am confident that I can hold out for a year with these men alone!"

Lu Yi's army was stationed in the border area of ​​Bingzhou and suffered from invasions by foreign races all year round. Although the foreign races had poor siege capabilities, they were large in number and had already honed the Bingzhou army's ability to defend the city.

Moreover, Gao Shun is a fierce commander. Now he is defending the imperial palace, the most fortified city in the world, so it will be easy to capture it.

"Gao Shun, I'm naturally relieved that you're guarding the city."

"But we can't be careless. After all, although Dong Zhuo and his ilk have a bad reputation, they are famous generals in the world. They have fought against the Qiang rebellion for several years and the rebellion has subsided. We must be on guard."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi patted Gao Shun on the shoulder to show encouragement and did not forget to give him a reminder.

"My lord reminded me."

Gao Shun immediately nodded in agreement upon hearing this, and then he continued to ask Lu Yi.

"Now that the enemy has begun to attack the city, should we light a signal smoke to call for reinforcements outside Luoyang City?"

"not busy!"

After observing the coalition forces' offensive and finding that their morale was still high, Lu Yi said lightly.

"First, drain their energy and morale. When the weather is hottest at noon and they are exhausted, then send out the signal smoke!"

"Yes!" Gao Shun's eyes lit up when he heard that.

……

Time passed quickly, and after the arduous siege, at noon, the morale of the coalition soldiers was greatly reduced.

Seeing this, Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo knew that they could not capture the imperial capital in a short period of time, so they could only order their troops to withdraw temporarily and start cooking.

Although they said they were cooking, the coalition forces were not in the deserted wilderness at the moment, but in the prosperous and wealthy city of Luoyang.

In such a glamorous world, it is somewhat unsatisfactory to make the soldiers eat tasteless marching meals.

It is no exaggeration to say that the armed forces of the aristocratic children under Yuan Shao's command are the soldiers of the young masters.

The Western Liang Army under Dong Zhuo was mixed with a large number of Qiang people, who were unruly and unruly. Even Dong Zhuo had to spend a lot of money to win them over and appease them.

The two groups attacked the city for a long time but in vain. They failed to capture the city and lost a lot of manpower.

It was noon, and many residents were making fires to cook. Smoke was rising in Luoyang city.

In anger, the two groups of allied soldiers vented their anger on the residents of Luoyang city.

For a moment, the civilians in Luoyang City suffered a disaster, and immediately screams, howls, and cries of humiliation resounded throughout the city.

Even though Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao repeatedly restricted it, it had little effect.

These soldiers were somewhat sensible and only bullied ordinary civilians and did not harm the wealthy and powerful families.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao stopped trying to stop them, so as not to arouse resentment among the soldiers.

"This coalition army is indeed strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Now that they are facing a powerful enemy, they are dividing their forces to plunder. This is a sign of defeat!"

Lu Yi, who had been watching the situation below the city from the top of the city wall, couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this.

After saying that, Lu Yi immediately turned and looked at Gao Shun.

"It's time to light the signal fire and call in reinforcements!"

"promise!"

Gao Shun, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately went down excitedly to make arrangements after hearing this.

Soon, bursts of yellow smoke began to rise above the Luoyang Imperial City.

In the late Han Dynasty, an era without industrial pollution, the smoke rose straight up and could be seen clearly from dozens of miles away.

"Huh? This Lu Yi actually set off a signal fire!"

Dong Zhuo was shocked when he heard this.

But Yuan Shao, who was standing by, burst into laughter when he heard this.

"Hahahaha, it seems that Lu Yi is just a man seeking fame and reputation. His so-called good fighting skills are probably just self-boasting. Now that he sees our fierce offensive, he is frightened and actually sends out signal smoke to summon external aid?"

"But the nearby military forces are now all in my coalition. Even if Lu Yi screams at the top of his lungs, no one will be able to hear him!"

"What Benchu ​​said is very true!"

Dong Zhuo thought so too and couldn't help laughing.

Only Li Ru on the side frowned, feeling vaguely uneasy. Now he had taken many factors into consideration, but he couldn't tell what made him uneasy.

Lu Bu and his companions, who had rested for half a day outside Luoyang City and had gathered their strength, saw the smoke rising and the agreed upon signal. They immediately stood up excitedly, assembled their troops and prepared to attack.

"Haha, the signal smoke finally came after such a long wait. These nobles and aristocrats actually dared to attack my brother. They simply don't take me, Lu Bu, seriously!"

"I will kill them all later!"

Lu Bu was in high spirits, and the generals beside him, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Liao, all looked excited.

Only Tian Feng smiled and shook his head when he heard this, and reminded again.

"Fengxian and the other generals may kill the enemy, but the lord has said that one of the rebels in the city must be killed without a doubt, and the other must be allowed to escape and not be harmed."

"I know, I know!"

Lu Bu couldn't help but grumble when he heard this.

"I don't know what you are thinking, brother. I can understand why you want to kill Dong Zhuo, but why did you let Yuan Shao escape?"

"That person actually dared to disobey my brother in person the other day. If my brother hadn't given me the order, I would have killed him with my own hands!"

"Sixiao must have his own reasons for doing this, Fengxian should stop complaining."

Gongsun Zan, who came to help in the battle, couldn't help but smile and stepped forward to comfort them when he heard the words.

This time he obeyed Lu Yi's orders and led 5,000 Youzhou cavalry to help in the battle.

Although he had only been the governor of Youzhou for a short time and did not have as many soldiers and horses under his command as Lu Yi, these 5,000 Youzhou cavalry were formed by the backbone and elite of his original Baima Yicong. Now with the support of 5,000 sets of armor from Lu Yi, their combat power was in no way weaker than Lu Yi's Bingzhou cavalry.

The Bingzhou Iron Cavalry, trained by famous generals such as Gao Shun and Guan Yu, was well-known for its strict enforcement of orders.

The Youzhou Iron Cavalry had been trained for many years by the famous general Gongsun Zan and was also an elite force for the time.

After a moment of assembly, the assembly was completed immediately.

"Listen, generals. The Lord and the Emperor are both in the Imperial City, and outside the Imperial City are the rebellious enemy troops attacking the city. What should we do in the face of these people?"

Lu Bu sat high on his horse and shouted as he looked at his 45,000 elite soldiers from Bingzhou and 5,000 cavalrymen from Youzhou.

"kill!"

The only answer was a murderous atmosphere as solemn as the forest.

Although Gongsun Zan was only the governor of a state, he was supported by Lu Yi and had long been convinced by him. It was no exaggeration to say that he was Lu Yi's family general. Therefore, he had no resistance to Lu Bu's orders and was the most responsive.

"Good! Raise an army for a thousand days and deploy it for a moment. Follow me to Luoyang and welcome the lord!"

After the simple mobilization, Lu Bu immediately led nearly 50,000 Bingzhou cavalry to attack Luoyang.

They were originally only twenty miles away from Luoyang, and a moment later the wide-open city gates of Luoyang were already in sight.

The Bingzhou cavalry now has three horses per person.

The trampling of hundreds of thousands of horse hooves shocked the people in Luoyang, as if there was an earthquake.

Unlike the civilians and the armed forces of the nobles and aristocrats in Luoyang, Dong Zhuo, who had been dealing with the Qiang cavalry in Xiliang for a long time, immediately understood that a large group of cavalry was advancing here again.

"My Xiliang cavalry will arrive tomorrow. Where did this large group of cavalry outside Luoyang come from?"

(End of this chapter)