Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 973: Fighting Shenyang Again
Everyone was very curious and pricked up their ears to hear Wang Yun's brilliant plan.

Wang Yun sat up straight, stroked his long beard, and said calmly: "Your Majesty intends to spread the way of learning throughout the world, so that all young people in the Han Dynasty can become well-educated. Do you know?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expressions became a little gloomy.

"How could I not know what the Minister of Justice said? This matter has its pros and cons. The pros are that it will be easier for our nephews and nephews to study and become officials. In addition, they can make more friends with their classmates in the Imperial College, which will naturally be beneficial to their future careers. However, if this is done, the status of our noble families will gradually decline, and the sons of ordinary farmers and peddlers can also study in the same hall and serve in the same court."

"Yes, but at that time, when your majesty's paper book came out, the whole world was shocked, and we didn't consider these details for a while. Now that I think about it, I'm afraid your majesty has been planning for a long time."

"Situ, didn't you say you had a good plan to restore our reputation? Why did you bring this up?"

The ministers were puzzled.

Wang Yun smiled and said, "The mystery lies in the Imperial Academy."

Everyone became more and more confused: "What does this mean?"

Wang Yun said, "In the Han Dynasty, there are millions of people who meet the age requirement for the Imperial College, but how many students can the Imperial College accommodate? Whether it is the Imperial College or the newly established official schools, every time there is an entrance examination, the entrance is always crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder, sweating profusely. Many people want to study, but cannot. The court is already in a period of reconstruction, and now it is expanding its territory. Many Xianbei, Qiang, and Southern Xiongnu tribes have surrendered. In a few years, I am afraid that there will be many more Yunhai counties. Governing the local area, reclaiming wasteland and promoting agriculture, building water conservancy, organizing medical clinics, and opening pharmacies will require countless talents."

"Your Majesty has long been worried. The Imperial College and the official schools can only train more than 10,000 talents each year, and no more than 20,000 at most. How can they meet the needs of the country?"

Among the crowd, those who were a little smarter had already heard the clue.

"What Situ means is... that we should establish a private school, recruit scholars, and compete with the Imperial College?"

Wang Yun's face suddenly turned serious: "Foolish, what do you mean by confrontation? It's to share the worries of the court."

"Ah...yes, yes, yes, this humble official deserves to die. This is to relieve the court of its worries. Hahahaha."

One of them, however, showed a worried look on his face: "But...are we really going to enroll the sons of the common people? Isn't this...a disgrace to society?"

Wang Yun glanced at him and said, "You are short-sighted. This matter is already set in stone. Your Majesty is determined to accomplish this great event, and the people of the world are also looking forward to it. It is beyond the power of you and me to reverse it. In this case, why not go with the flow and recruit talented people for your own use? The establishment and support of official schools by the court is extremely costly. How many can be established? If we work together, within a few years, we will surely make more talented people in the court come from our school. Then, won't you and I be able to rest assured?"

When everyone heard this, they clapped their hands and said in delight: "Excellent! Situ is truly an unparalleled national hero."

"I wonder if His Majesty will agree to this?" someone asked.

"Don't worry, we are doing this to comply with the will of the Holy Spirit. Your Majesty is only happy, how can you disobey? Establishing a private school is the same as an official school. We can conduct regular inspections every year to select talents. This will definitely be accomplished. Everyone go back and make good preparations. When Your Majesty comes out of the tower, ask for His Majesty's order and start immediately."

"In that case, I will go back and make plans."

Everyone was very happy and immediately stood up to say goodbye.

Wang Yun sent them out the door, and then a smug smile appeared on his face.

"Yang Biao, Yang Biao, although this idea is good, you are not as fast as me. When private schools are spread all over the world, my position as the leader of the scholars of the Taiyuan Wang family will be unshakable..."

"Eight hundred miles of urgent news...Sun Jian demands that the court severely punish General Zhennan Cheng Liang, who buried and killed surrendered soldiers, and Luoyang Magistrate Man Chong, who abused punishment, tortured and killed loyal officials, and dismissed Shangshu Ling Xun Yu and Sili Xiaowei Qian Li, who took advantage of the emperor's seclusion and acted recklessly and disrupted the court. In the name of 'clearing the emperor's side', Sun Jian assembled 150,000 infantry in Lujiang and 20,000 naval forces in Chaohu..."

"Eight hundred miles of urgent news... Liu Bei of Xuzhou presented a letter to the people, reported to the court, and severely punished Cheng Liang, Man Chong, Xun Yu, Qian Li and others. At the same time, he ordered his second brother Jiang Huan to lead 100,000 troops out of the East China Sea with the general Taishi Ci and approach Yanzhou. He and his third brother Zhang Fei led 100,000 troops out of Jinan and approached Jizhou..."

"Eight hundred miles of urgent news... Cao Cao claimed to be following the imperial edict to fight against the enemy. He issued a manifesto to the four seas, raised an army of 300,000, and stationed in Runan..."

"Eight hundred miles of urgent news... In order to avenge the previous defeat, Goguryeo's leader, the King of Guguochuan, led 150,000 troops and personally led the army to invade Liaodong..."

Urgent reports were continuously delivered to the imperial study. Even Xun Yu and Qian Li, who were usually calm in the face of emergencies, could not help but break out in cold sweats.

"Not only did Cao Cao prepare a three-party coalition, he also asked Goguryeo to send troops to respond. This is really difficult to deal with."

Qian Li frowned.

Xun Yu looked at the four urgent reports and said, "This was within our expectations."

Qian Li asked nervously, "Should we report this important matter to His Majesty?"

Xun Yu pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Not for now. Apart from Cao's army, there is no need to worry about the rest of the four armies for the time being."

"Why?" Qian Li was puzzled.

"Goguryeo had almost exhausted all its national strength in the previous battle, but was defeated by General Zhao Yun. Now its vitality is greatly damaged. I think most of these 150,000 troops were temporarily recruited and have no fighting power at all. Generals Tian Yu and Tian Chou are also good at fighting. After that battle, they have been strengthening the city defenses for days. Even if General Zhao is not here, with the current strength of Youzhou, it is enough to resist."

"Well... you have a point. However, the armies of Sun Jian and Liu Bei are very aggressive, and they have many strategists and generals. How should we deal with them?"

Xun Yu said: "Although these two have formed an alliance with Cao Cao, they have their own ulterior motives. They will never send troops to directly confront the imperial court until the last moment. That would be equivalent to tearing their relationship apart and there would be no room for maneuver. However, they are still not sure about the outcome of the battle between Cao Cao and the imperial court, so there is no need to worry before that."

Qian Li nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "Every word Wen Ruo said makes sense. However, it is strange that Yizhou did not send troops to respond this time."

"It's not surprising. Liu Yan is already on his last legs and could die at any time. In addition, General Guan and General Ma Chao are stationed in Liang Province. Zhang Ren has launched surprise attacks from Hanzhong several times but has never succeeded. Yi Province is now struggling to take care of itself, so how can it have the energy to join forces with Cao Cao and his men? Moreover, Liu Yan has declared himself emperor, and he is an mortal enemy of Cao Cao."

Qian Li nodded slightly after hearing this: "That's true. In your opinion, we should ignore these rabble for now and make plans after His Majesty comes out of seclusion?"

"No, there is a place where we must send a pigeon immediately to warn people to be on guard."

Xun Yu's words made Qian Li confused again: "Why is it so important?"

Xun Yu pointed to a small city on the map: "Shenyang City."

At this moment, outside the city of Shenyang, the army was besieged and no one could get in or out.

"Damn it, this thief Cao has disturbed my drinking mood, he really deserves to be killed."

Cheng Liang was so angry that he split a corner of the city wall with his halberd.

At this time, a man rode out from the army outside the city, came to a place about 200 steps away from the city gate, and stood still.

"Where is General Cheng Liang? My name is Xiahou Yuan, and I have a few words to say to you." "Talk about your ancestors!" Cheng Liang picked up a piece of broken blue brick that he had just chopped off and threw it over with all his strength, but the distance between them was too far, so it was impossible for him to hit Xiahou Yuan.

"If you want to fight, then fight. Why are you talking so much here?"

Xiahou Yuan was not angry at his attitude. "General Cheng is a hero of the time, the bravest among the three armies, loyal and righteous. My master has admired him for a long time. Now my 60,000 troops have besieged this county, and the general can't escape. If he surrenders early, he can be granted a title and wealth. Why don't you..."

"Bah!" Cheng Liang was furious. "I have followed my elder brother in the battles for more than ten years. How could I be afraid of anyone? Cao is just a eunuch and he dares to bully me. He is simply courting death. He wants me, Cheng Liang, to surrender. Is he worthy of it?"

Xiahou Yuan shouted: "General, even if you don't do it for yourself, you should at least consider the soldiers in the city..."

"Think about your grandma, come on, shoot me an arrow!"

Cheng Liang gave the order directly, and a wave of arrows rose into the sky. Xiahou Yuan did not dodge, but stood where he was, watching the sharp arrows flying towards him, and then falling to the ground dozens of steps in front of him.

"Alas, my master has good intentions and sincerely wants to recruit you, why are you so stubborn?"

Cheng Liang spat at him directly: "Bah, you shameless thing, stop talking nonsense, if you want Shenyang City, then step over me, Cheng Liang!"

Xiahou Yuan shrugged helplessly and sighed, "If that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless. Go ahead!"

A few whistling arrows were suddenly released into the sky. Cheng Liang was puzzled: "What does Xiahou Yuan mean? He released whistling arrows but didn't attack the city. What does he want to do?"

Just as he was looking worried, he suddenly heard shouts coming from the city behind him.

"Put out the fire...put out the fire quickly..."

"It's on fire... someone come quickly..."

Cheng Liang was shocked and quickly ran behind the city wall. Looking around, he saw a tall and majestic building in the center of the city, which was now a sea of ​​fire.

"Oh no! The county government is on fire!"

He hurriedly shouted: "Quick, send a thousand soldiers to put out the fire quickly, quickly..."

However, a general stopped him and said, "General, you can't do that. It's just a county government. It's not a big deal. Just burn it. But you must not disrupt the morale of the army. Otherwise, the enemy will take advantage of this to attack and our army will definitely be unable to resist..."

Cheng Liang pushed him away and said, "Bullshit! The fire is so fierce. If it is not put out, it will spread rapidly. Do you think I am a fool?"

"General, you are wrong. The streets around the county are very wide. We only need to let the people in the city and dozens of soldiers take precautions to prevent the fire from spreading to the surrounding houses. We must not start a war over this..."

"Get out of here!" Cheng Liang pushed the man away. "Do I need you to teach me how to act? Send a thousand men to put out the fire immediately..."

Xiahou Yuan watched the movement on the tower from afar, his face full of sarcasm: "This Cheng Liang is really a reckless man. Sigh, he often fights with Zhang Yong and Gao Shun. Now he is suddenly facing such a waste. This battle is really boring."

Yu Jin came up and said with a smile, "Haha, General, why do you have to do this? Shenyang City is related to whether our army can join forces with the troops of Jingzhou. Once we capture this city, not only will the transportation route for food and grass be completely unblocked, but we can also gather 300,000 troops. Then we can march north together and defeat Zhang Yong and Gao Shun. Then you will naturally have a chance to show your strength."

"Hahaha... Wen Ze is right..."

The fire in the city was getting more and more intense, which made Cheng Liang jump up and down.

Seeing that Xiahou Yuan still hadn't started attacking the city, he shouted again: "Send another thousand men... Oh no, two thousand men. We must put out the fire before the enemy starts attacking the city!"

A total of three thousand soldiers, with the help of many civilians, poured buckets of water into the sea of ​​fire in the county government, and only then was the fire brought under control.

Cheng Liang let out a long breath: "Huh... finally..."

"General, something terrible has happened..." A soldier's shout interrupted the words that were about to come out of Cheng Liang's mouth.

"What's the matter that makes you so flustered? It's really outrageous."

Cheng Liang was already very upset, and became even more irritated when he was yelled at.

"General... granary... our granary..."

When Cheng Liang heard these two words, he tensed up: "What happened to the granary?"

The soldier pointed in a direction: "The granary is on fire...on fire..."

"What? How could this be? This..." Cheng Liang looked in the direction and sure enough, he saw flames coming out from the direction where the granary was. Although it was not as fierce as that in the county government, it was still not weak.

The general who had just spoken said again: "General, this is clearly Xiahou Yuan's strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain."

"What plan?" Cheng Liang asked hurriedly.

The general explained: "The granary in the city has always been heavily guarded, and no one can get close. But the granary is not far from the county government. They deliberately sent spies to set fire to the county government. The granary guards, in a hurry, and with the general's order, they would definitely send troops to put out the fire. That's how they took advantage of the opportunity to break into the granary..."

Hearing this, Cheng Liang gnashed his teeth in hatred: "You bastard...how dare you hurt me like this!"

At this moment, a long and loud horn sounded suddenly outside the city, followed by tens of thousands of Cao's troops rushing towards the city wall with great momentum.

"Damn it... Damn it... Old thief Xiahou, you've gone too far in bullying me! I'll kill this fellow when I get out of the city, and the danger of the city will be solved."

Cheng Liang raised the Tiangang Soul-Chasing Halberd and was about to run down the city wall, but was stopped by the general again.

"General, you must not do that. The enemy is strong, and Xiahou Yuan is a brave general. Although you are brave, you can't beat four hands with two fists. The only way now is to hold on to the city wall. Relying on the city wall and the Jingshen Liannu, we may be able to defend the city with unity. Otherwise, how can you and I explain to His Majesty?"

Cheng Liang was originally very angry at this subordinate who repeatedly obstructed him, but when he heard him mention Liu He, he quickly calmed down.

"Damn you... Xiahou Yuan... I will kill you sooner or later... Pass the order down, don't bother with the fire in the county government, three thousand soldiers will quickly go to the granary to put out the fire, and the rest of you, follow me and defend the city gates. Anyone who dares to leave his post without permission will be punished by military law!"

(End of this chapter)