The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 292: Brutal attack

Yecheng.

"Mr. Yang, this piece of meat is so delicious, I can't bear to eat too much."

Sima Zhao placed the piece of meat in front of Yang Zong with a smile on his face and a very respectful look.

Yang Zong looked much more haggard than when he was in Yuancheng. Looking at the steaming piece of meat in front of him, Yang Zong was speechless.

Yang Zong's dilemma at this moment is indescribable.

He originally followed Cao Shuang, but Cao Shuang did not listen to his advice, which led to his defeat at the hands of Sima Yi.

Sima Yi pardoned his crimes, and was later demoted by Sima Shi to a local official, staying by Cao Mao's side.

Later, Cao Mao became emperor, and he was kept by Sima Zhao.

Sima Zhao treated him with utmost kindness and did not seek any responsibility. Even when Cao Mao was causing the most trouble, he did not doubt whether he was colluding with Cao Mao.

After Yang Zong surrendered to Sima Zhao, he spent the whole day drinking and taking medicine without offering any advice. Sima Zhao did not blame him and continued to treat him well as usual.

Yang Zong looked at Sima Zhao helplessly and said, "General, please don't do this. I really can't accept such a kindness from you."

Sima Zhao said gently, "Mr. Yang, I know you once served under His Majesty. You are a man who values gratitude. I do not want to embarrass you, so I have not summoned you to participate in these matters."

"But now, the situation is a little different."

Sima Zhao frowned and said seriously, "Perhaps you don't know yet, but the ministers took advantage of my absence from Luoyang to attack Your Majesty. The person I sent to investigate the situation never returned."

"The people in the city haven't contacted me for a long time."

"Du Yuankai has already left here, saying he would personally persuade the ministers not to cause unrest. Now, you are the only one by my side who can offer advice."

"what?"

Yang Zong was horrified, "Are the ministers attacking His Majesty?"

Sima Zhao explained, "You don't know. These traitors in the court want to kidnap the Queen Mother and cause chaos. The Queen Mother is close to Your Majesty, which makes the ministers extremely unhappy. Your Majesty's confidants are constantly suppressing the ministers. This time, I led the troops to suppress the rebels, but I didn't want to give them an opportunity."

Sima Zhao looked a little depressed. "If I had known this would happen, I should not have left Luoyang."

"If your majesty makes a mistake, it's my fault!"

Yang Zong frowned. He knew that even if Sima Zhao did not tell the truth completely, he would not lie to him when it came to such a major matter involving the emperor.

"Has the situation actually come to this?"

Sima Zhao hurriedly informed Yang Zong of the situation analyzed by Du Yu. Due to the delay in information, even Du Yu could not correctly predict what was happening in Luoyang. Combining useful knowledge, all they could guess was that the emperor was confronting his ministers, the ministers controlled the area outside the city, and the emperor controlled the palace.

After listening to these analyses, Yang Zong agreed with them.

Sima Zhao asked again, "Mr. Yang, how should we resolve the current situation?"

Yang Zong was no longer playing dumb. His entire demeanor had changed. He said seriously, "General, this matter cannot be delayed."

"To deal with the ministers, we cannot delay. The longer we delay, the more dangerous it will be. We must strike immediately while they are still struggling to gain a firm foothold."

"If they occupy Luoyang, they will surely issue an edict to all foreign generals, forcing us to surrender."

"I thought I could take control of the Hebei army first."

Yang Zong and Du Yu are different. When Du Yu was thinking of a solution, he preferred to solve it through political means, while Yang Zong, who had experienced many wars, would choose a more brutal approach.

However, this method is what Sima Zhao appreciates the most.

After all, such an extremely brutal method as killing the emperor in the street only happened in the hands of Sima Zhao.

When Sima Zhao heard about the army, he immediately became interested. "What does Yang Gong suggest we do?"

"He Zeng and Chen Ben, although they appear to be following your orders, are actually from prominent families and are deeply connected to the court officials. This is especially true for their officers."

"General, you must remove these two men from their positions while the court officials have not yet contacted them."

"what??"

Sima Zhao showed the same expression as An Shi. If Cao Mao were here, he would definitely exclaim that he was worthy of being An Shi's father.

Sima Zhao could not be said to be cowardly, but he was still frightened when he heard Yang Zong's words.

"Lord Yang, how can we dismiss Zhengbei and Zhenbei at the same time? This will cause even more trouble. No way, no way!"

Sima Zhao's eyes were full of fear. Even he felt that Yang Zong's idea was too extreme.

Yang Zong said seriously, "General, how critical is the situation now? All the ministers dare to fight against His Majesty, but you dare not fight against the foreign generals?!"

Sima Zhao hesitated for a moment, then continued, "But they have never been friends with me, and Chen Ben has never been rude. If I were to attack them, which foreign general would be willing to follow me?"

"Even if you don't take action, which foreign generals are willing to follow you?"

"He Zeng, though close to you, is a shrewd man. He never reveals his true position, always adapting to the changing circumstances and playing both sides. If he knew the situation was hopeless, he would immediately jump to the side of the ministers and become your enemy."

"As for Chen Ben, don't think that just because he's at odds with his brother Chen Qian, you can use him for your own benefit."

"Many of the great clans are at odds with one another. The general should be aware of whether they are truly at odds, or just pretending to be." "But the general now leads the four most elite battalions of the central army. If you can add the Hebei army to that, you will never be at a disadvantage against anyone. The ministers alone cannot resist the general with the central army."

"No matter what kind of conspiracy it is, it is far less real than the army in our hands."

After hearing Yang Zong's words, Sima Zhao was immediately shaken.

After all, he was Sima Shi's younger brother, so he was not lacking in courage. He gritted his teeth and asked, "If we want to attack them, what is the reason?"

"It's definitely not okay to attack without any reason."

Yang Zong stroked his beard and chuckled as he said, "General, there has never been any conflict between you and Chen Ben."

"These two men were unable to control their generals, and a fierce fight ensued. As the general of the guards, you naturally have to temporarily dismiss them and let them reflect on their actions within the palace. During this period... Um, General, are there any rebels around here?"

"There are some in Hanoi. They previously attacked the Yang family but were unsuccessful, so they robbed several powerful people in the surrounding area."

"Well, while they were reflecting on this, a rebellion suddenly broke out, and General Wei led his troops to war. This all happened naturally."

Yang Zong told his plan.

Sima Zhao glanced at him. Compared with the counselors of the new era, the strategies of these old guys were usually rough and courageous. They would never do small things, but would do big things. It was just that they handled the details poorly.

However, Yang Zong's proposal inexplicably suited Sima Zhao's taste.

Sima Zhao immediately narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you."

The very next day, a captain under He Zeng met a group of people under Chen Ben. The two sides quarreled over the issue of spoils and then fought each other, resulting in more than ten soldiers being killed or injured.

When this incident spread, it immediately caused an uproar in Hebei.

Chen Ben appeared in front of Sima Zhao angrily that day.

"General!!"

Chen Ben gritted his teeth, his eyes full of anger.

Sima Zhao frowned, his expression also looking very ugly.

"General Chen, why did your men fight with General Zhengbei's men?"

Chen Ben was almost defeated. He gritted his teeth and said, "General, I followed your orders and sent people to escort the prisoners. He Zeng's men actually dared to rob them! They even killed my subordinates!"

"This is too much! I will never forgive him!"

Sima Zhao didn't say anything. At this moment, another person appeared in front of Sima Zhao in a hurry.

The person who came was He Zeng.

He Zeng walked in and was about to say something when he looked up and saw Chen Ben with an angry face. He looked even angrier than Chen Ben.

"Chen Ben! You delayed my important task earlier, and I didn't pursue the matter. Now you dare to send people to attack and kill my people and seize the spoils! You are not a son!"

"What? I robbed you? You shameless old thief!!"

The two men immediately started arguing and were about to fight in front of Sima Zhao. Sima Zhao could no longer bear it and punched the table in front of him.
"Could it be that you feel that the killing of your subordinates is not enough, and you want to fight to the death in front of me?!"

After Sima Zhao got so angry, the two men didn't dare to say anything more.

He Zeng lowered his head, feeling a little guilty, while Chen Ben had a stern face and was very angry.

"General He, as the General of the Northern Expedition, why would a captain under your command do such a thing?!"

"General, it was Chen Ben's men who started it first."

"Stop talking nonsense!!"

"Do you dare to confront me?!"

"Shut up!"

Sima Zhao interrupted them again, saying unhappily, "I already know about this. The two of you are at odds, and this has caused strife among your subordinates. These are turbulent times, how can we allow the army to be in such chaos?"

"From today on, both of you must return to your residence and reflect on your mistakes. Only when you understand your mistakes and are willing to negotiate peace can you lead the army!"

"Everyone, get out!"

Sima Zhao waved his hand, and immediately armored soldiers rushed behind the two men. Both of them looked a little unconvinced, but still walked out of here with their heads down.

Sima Zhao heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the two men leave, and quickly sent someone to summon his generals.

The two men walked out of Sima Zhao's mansion, and their carriages stopped here, one on the left and one on the right.

The two men came to their respective carriages and looked at each other.

At this moment, there was no anger or hostility in the eyes of the two men.

It's just some bitterness, the pain of sympathy.

(End of this chapter)