Great Han Empire

Chapter 498
Standing on the embankment of the Yellow River, Li Hong looked at the gloomy sky and the endless water of the Yellow River, feeling very hesitant.

What does Master Zhu Jun's last sentence mean?Does it mean that He Jin didn't understand the true meaning of the government and didn't make up his mind to kill the little Chenliu king, so that he left the seeds of disaster?Does it mean that He Jin's butcher background caused deep-rooted conflicts between him and the scholars, and finally they had to fight each other in order to fight for imperial power?Does it mean that He Jin lacked foresight and was unable to correctly understand and deal with the situation in Luoyang, which made the situation in Luoyang worse and more dangerous?
Zhu Jun's words obviously disagreed with his expedition to the desert. This was completely different from the ministers of the court, the generals in northern Xinjiang, and his own ideas. Could it be possible that the situation in Luoyang could be reversed today?Even though the emperor entrusted Yuan Kui with Gu, the Xiyuan Army, which the emperor relied on, had been controlled by the general after the deaths of Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong. What could Yuan Kai use to counter the great general's strength?Taking a step back, even if there are many generals in the Xiyuan Army who take orders from scholars, can this shake the foundation of the generals?The seven reinforcements recruited by the general are all the confidantes the general has cultivated in the past few years. Can the scholars still control the warriors like Zhang Liao, Zhang Yang, Wu Qiuyi?
Zhu Jun said that the biggest lesson learned by scholars from the Beigong Incident 21 years ago is to control the army, to control their own army. Where is this army now?Zhu Jun did not say that Li Hong could not be found on the ground in Gyeonggi, so whose army is the army of the scholars themselves?Huang Fusong?Or Dong Zhuo?Yuan Shao and Wang Yun's strength is too weak to be vulnerable, obviously not enough to be relied on by scholars to fight against the generals.Who on earth is it?

Li Hong walked back and forth on the embankment with his head down, trying to figure out a clear idea from the chaotic situation in Luoyang.

Everyone knows the harm of the disaster of foreign relatives. It is understandable that the scholars do not believe in the generals and want to kill the root cause of the future disaster of the Han Dynasty in the early days before it is fully fledged.Although I led the army to the south to help them eliminate traitors, but at the same time helped the general take control of the country and broke the balance between the three powers in Luoyang. This must be the result that scholars do not want to see.The ministers racked their brains and came up with many compromises based on the laws of the Han Dynasty, and finally reluctantly agreed to their own conditions, but their ultimate goal was not for the safety of northern Xinjiang and the stability of Luoyang, but eagerly hoped that they would immediately Start the expedition to the desert.Are they impatient to take action against General He Jin?
Zhu Jun didn't want to go on an expedition to the desert by himself because he was worried that the situation in Luoyang would get out of control. The expedition would end in a disastrous failure, which would eventually endanger the safety of the Northern Xinjiang and the Dahan community. So he was very contradictory and his words were slurred.

If Luoyang is not stable, he cannot make an expedition to the desert, and if the general cannot grasp the absolute advantage, Luoyang will be in chaos sooner or later, even if he gives up the expedition, the result will be the same.How can we stabilize Luoyang?
As long as the Great Han Kingdom has an emperor, a queen mother, and queens, there will be relatives.Compared with unfamiliar noble ministers, the emperor, queen mother, and empress trust their relatives more.As wise as Emperor Wu of this dynasty, he also reused Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, as well as his uncle Tian Fing. This is an unavoidable fact.Could it be that the Han Kingdom would be safe and secure if the scholars ruled the government?The strife among the scholars has already been learned by Li Hong when he was in Luoyang. Their power will make the power struggle in the court more intense and cruel, and the blood in the court will bring turmoil to the Han Dynasty.In comparison, letting foreign relatives take power, and the family dominates, the court will be much quieter. This is not necessarily the best but also the most helpless choice for the Great Han Kingdom.

As long as the general stands firm, there will be no chaos in Luoyang.

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When Li Hong returned to the camp, he immediately wrote to General He Jin urgently.

He told He Jin that the general wanted to take advantage of this good opportunity to kill the traitor quickly, in order to gain the hearts of the people in the world, and to deter the scholars with bloody means and firmly control the power.If the general moves slowly and hesitates like this again, things in Luoyang may become more complicated.Luoyang is unstable, and the safety of northern Xinjiang is not guaranteed. How can I dare to go on an expedition with confidence?Similarly, Luoyang is unstable, how can the general ensure the imperial order?Secure your authority?

The letter had just been sent away, and Li Hong thought of something again, and rushed to write again.Now the military power of the Xiyuan Army has been controlled by the General, but are the soldiers of the Eighth Battalion of the Xiyuan Army also controlled by the General?Please the General must rectify the West Garden Army in the shortest possible time to ensure that the West Garden Army is completely controlled by the General.Li Hong said, I will not cross the Yellow River south, please don't worry about it, the general, and rest assured to rectify the West Garden Army.Li Hong suggested that all the officers above Sima level of the former Xiyuan Army be replaced in order to quickly and completely control the Xiyuan Army.

After the second letter was sent away, light rain started to fall.The weather this year is very strange. From mid-June to the present, from the frontier to the Central Plains, the rain has never stopped.

Li Hong looked at the drizzle outside the big tent, thinking about the situation in Luoyang, feeling uneasy.He picked up a pen and wrote the third urgent letter to He Jin.After all the traitors are eliminated, the situation in Luoyang is clear at a glance. The general should be very aware of his situation. Maintaining a strong strength is the only way to control and stabilize Luoyang.Now that Huangfusong is in Chang'an, the threat to Luoyang is obvious. Will the general consider keeping the former general Dong Zhuo in Gyeonggi during my expedition to the desert to prevent accidents?

Li Hong then wrote a letter to Huangfusong, the left general in Chang'an, seeking Huangfusong's opinion on the expedition to the desert.

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General He Jin did not reply after receiving three letters from Li Hong, so he immediately summoned Yuan Shao and asked him to return to Beijing with Wang Kuang and Zhang Liao's troops, and once again besieged Zhongchang Shi's mansion.

At the same time, He Jin rushed to the Queen Mother and promised to guarantee the life of the dismissed middle official.He said, as long as the Queen Mother drives all the eunuchs below Zhongchangshi and Zhongchangshi out of the palace, I absolutely guarantee that they will not be held accountable for their crimes, but these middle officials must leave Beijing and return to their hometowns.

In the afternoon, the emperor issued a decree to dismiss Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and other nine regular servants. At the same time, Situ Dinggong, Jizhou Mu Yangqi and Qingzhou governor Cui Jun were dismissed on the grounds of continuous flooding and ineffective disaster relief.

General He Jin, Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and others knew that the dismissal of Situ Dinggong must have been the idea of ​​Zhao Zhong and others. The purpose was to warn the ministers not to threaten the emperor anymore.The emperor can dismiss middle officials, as well as noble ministers.Yuan Kai and the ministers were very angry, and they wrote to General He Jin that although the traitors and eunuchs had been eradicated, the power of middle officials had not been uprooted, and they had to be forced to the palace again.

General He Jin then jointly signed a letter with Grand Tutor Yuan Kai, Sikong Liu Hong, and Cheqi General Li Hong, asking the Empress Dowager to dismiss 74 middle officials including Huang Menling Yuan She.

On this day, Henan Yin Wangyun, Dongjun Taishou Qiaomao, and Duwei Wuqiuyi led an army into Hulao Pass and rushed to Kyoto.

Dong Zhuo's army rushed three hundred li to Mianchi.Dong Zhuo wrote a letter, reiterating that the eradication of eunuchs is related to the great Han society, and the frontier soldiers begged the prince and queen mother to eliminate all evil.

The situation in Gyeonggi is unprecedentedly tense.

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At the end of July, seeing that the overall situation in Luoyang was about to be settled, Li Hong ordered General Yang Lie Zhang Yan and Captain Peng Lie of Feihu Fortress to lead their troops northward to Macheng in Dai County to join Yang Wu Zhonglang General Yan Rou and King Shanggu Karasuma After Lou Lu, with Zhang Yan as the commander and Yan Rou as the deputy, he was ready to go out to fight.

Secretly ordered Jianwei General Xu Rong and Xiaowei Huaxiong to lead their troops to Lingwu Valley in Beidi County to gather.

Secretly ordered Zhenwei General Qu Yi, Li Feng Zhonglang General Zhao Yun, and Huwei Zhonglang General Yan Liang to lead their troops to assemble in Ural Mountain in Wuyuan County.

Secretly ordered Fenwei General Xian Yufu, Wei Lie Zhonglang General Yushi, and Zhechong Zhonglang General Yang Feng to immediately lead their troops northward to gather at Shaling Lake in the clouds.

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On the same day, Li Hong urgently set up a chariot and ride to the General's Mansion in Hedong, and set up a car and ride to the General's Mansion in Linfen, with Li Wei, the chief minister, sitting in charge.In Taiyuan, Jinyang Xingyuan was set up in Taiyuan, and Zhao Qi, the general of Hutian Zhonglang, led the chariot and cavalry general to sit in the military.In Wuyuan, Jiuyuan Xingyuan, the mansion of the Great General of Chariots and Riders, was set up, and Sima Zhumu was in charge.The garrison of the states and counties south of the Great Wall was under the full responsibility of Zhang Baiqi, the general of Diannong Zhonglang, with [-] garrison soldiers.The garrison of the prefectures and counties north of the Great Wall was fully responsible for the [-] garrison troops led by Wei Zheng, who was changed from assassin to captain Jiuyuan.

Li Hong appointed Yushi Songwen as the prefect of Beidi County, Yushi Tangfang as the captain of Tuntian in the Tuntian District of Hetao and also led the prefect of Shuofang County, Weizheng of Jiuyuan Xiaowei and the prefect of Wuyuan County, and the former chief Shi Zuoyan as Yunzhong County Taishou, former Yanglie General Zhang Yan's Chief Shi Huang Ting was Dingxiang County's Taishou, and Zhao Qi's son Zhao Jian went to Changshan Kingdom to serve as Diannong Duwei.Li Hong ordered the six people to take office immediately after receiving the appointment without delay.Especially Duwei Zhao Jian, Li Hong ordered him to immediately set up the Duwei Mansion of Diannong, and organize the disaster victims who were stranded in Taiyuan to go to Changshan and Zhongshan to garrison fields.

It was originally planned that Xiangjun Taishou and Xiaowei Sun would lead his troops to Macheng to join Zhang Yan.The former Wuyuan, the prefect of Yunzhong, and the school lieutenant Zhang He Gao Lan led his troops to assemble in the Ural Mountains.

Li Hong wrote to the imperial court, recommending the famous scholar Cai Yong as the governor of Bingzhou, the famous scholar Xu Shao as the governor of Taiyuan, the former Mu Yangqi of Jizhou as the governor of Shangdang, the former governor of Qingzhou Cui Du as the prefect of Xihe, and the former governor of Taiyuan Tian Wan as the prime minister of Changshan. Kong Xuan, the prefect of Shangdang, was transferred to be the prime minister of Zhongshan, and the prefects of other places such as Hedong, Shanggu, and Daijun were still in their original posts.

Tian Wan, the former governor of Taiyuan, and Kong Xuan, the governor of Shangdang, were both appointed by Zhang Yan and belonged to the Yellow Turban Army. Li Hong discussed with Zhang Yan several times and asked for Zhang Yan's opinion.Considering the overall situation, Zhang Yan resolutely decided to give up control of Taiyuan and Shangdang, and agreed to be appointed by Li Hong.Now, no matter the Yellow Turban Army or the refugees, everyone's fate is tightly tied to Li Hong and Beijiang, so it is no longer necessary to maintain the independence of the Yellow Turban Army.

===

These appointments were all decided by Li Hong, the general of chariots and riders, after sitting alone on the bank of the Yellow River for a long time.

He knew that after his list was played in the court, the ministers in the court would applaud and agree without making any changes.Although he coerced the emperor to grab a lot of benefits for northern Xinjiang, in the end, these benefits belonged to the scholars, the court, and the Han Dynasty.This was also Li Hong's original intention. He had no intention of gaining power, let alone separatist rule. As long as the northern border can be stabilized and the disaster victims can survive, he will be satisfied.

This time he is determined to go on an expedition to the desert. Even if he loses, he will die with the Xianbei Kingdom, fighting for a larger living area in northern Xinjiang, and buying more recovery time for the crumbling Han.He couldn't repay the kindness of the late emperor, he couldn't repay the loyalty of the soldiers, he could only do this for the late emperor and his brothers.

After the expedition, the power of the General Cheqi was divided into three, with the boss Zhao Qi as the governor of the Northern Xinjiang military administration, and the talented Li Wei and Zhu Mu sitting in the north and south of the Great Wall. It will also receive support and development under the court's favor.

Under Li Hong's planning, the garrison in northern Xinjiang was led by the boss, Zhao Jian, Tang Fang, and Zhang Baiqi, and the political affairs of the counties in northern Xinjiang were led by Cai Yong, Xu Shao, Wang Han, Yang Qi, Guo Yun, and Cui Yong. With a group of celebrities in charge, plus 20 field soldiers, northern Xinjiang can be said to be as solid as gold.If the desert war fails, it will not deal a fatal blow to northern Xinjiang.

Li Hong believed that even if he died in the battle, these mainstays of the Han Kingdom would still make Northern Xinjiang prosperous within ten years.

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Li Hong's performance surprised Taifu Yuan Wei and the ministers in the court.

In this expedition to the desert, Li Hong recruited all the troops in northern Xinjiang, including 13 frontier troops, 16 Xiongnu cavalry, and [-] Karasuma cavalry, a total of [-] troops. His determination to conquer Xianbei is astonishing.In order to ensure the victory of the war, he handed over all the military and political affairs of northern Xinjiang to the scholars.Among these scholars were Cai Yong, Xu Shao, Wang Han, Zhao Qi and his son, Zhu Jun's son, son-in-law and several disciples, Yang Qi of the Yang family, Cui Jun, the son of the former Taiwei Cui Lie, and his disciple Tang Fang.This long list made the ministers very happy.Fighting back and forth, it was the forces of scholars who occupied the entire northern border.Shangshu Han Fu even joked with a smile, if we knew that Li Hong would hand over the whole northern Xinjiang to us, why would we still bargain with him?Give him ten years of Jizhou taxes.

Grand Tutor Yuan Kui shook his head again and again, he said with a wry smile: "The Cheqi General's move is ruthless."

"Zhao Qi led the chariot and cavalry general in charge of the military administration in northern Xinjiang, Cai Yong was the governor of Bingzhou, and Xu Shao, Yang Qi, and Wang Han were the prefects of the three counties of Taiyuan Shangdang and Hedong. What does this mean?" Lu Zhi sighed. "This means that if the northern border is lost, the responsibility rests with a few adults. If the northern border is to have no worries, the imperial court must do its best to support the northern border. It was all caused by us, do you adults know?"

"16 people go to the desert, do you think it's possible? 16 people go to the desert and go to the desert for a distance of two thousand miles. How much military resources are needed? How much food and supplies are needed? How many civilians are needed?" Shang Shu He Yong smiled wryly, "This is more than ten years of Jizhou taxation. , He simply wanted to completely empty out the late Emperor’s Wanjintang.”

"If it takes five months for 16 people to go to the desert, at least 100 billion military funds will be needed." Guang Luxun Liu Bo said, "During the time of Emperor Wu, Huo Qubing led an army of [-] to go to the expedition. I got Yanran Mountain, lived in Wolf Mountain Xu, beheaded tens of thousands of people, and forced King Hunxie of the Huns to surrender more than [-] people, but exhausted the country's financial resources. It took more than ten years for me to recover from being a big man. The problem now is , more than ten years later, the chariot general has full wings, who can be the enemy in the world?"

"Is the national strength of the Han Dynasty now comparable to that of Emperor Wu? If it weren't for the late emperor's Wanjintang, would this battle be possible?" Liu Bo said angrily, "General Cheqi first took advantage of the opportunity to go south to eradicate treacherous traitors. The empress dowager Dong’s Yongle Palace was completely removed by garrisoning the fields, and now they are using the excuse of an expedition to the desert to remove the former emperor’s Wanjin Hall. The more than 200 billion yuan was gone in a blink of an eye. If you add the cost of the Northern Xinjiang War In the past few months, he has exhausted all the property accumulated by the late Emperor and Empress Dowager Dong for more than ten years, and the treasury of our Great Han Kingdom is once again empty."

Liu Bo looked at the ministers, and asked sadly, "Is it still necessary to fight this battle?" He pointed to Li Hong's memorial and said loudly, "Now, Li Hong's goals have all been achieved, and we have nothing to do. losses, and the northern border can gradually stabilize, is this battle still necessary?"

"Of course we have to fight this battle." Sikong Liu Hong said, "If the general Cheqi is defeated in the expedition, he will no longer be able to control Beijiang, and what will be left for him and the soldiers of Beijiang will be a dead end."

"Even if he loses, he will not suffer a disastrous defeat, let alone die." Liu Bo said, "Since last year, the imperial court and General Zhengbei have been preparing for the Northern Xinjiang War. From the current point of view, Li The supplies and civilians that Hong conscripted at that time were not only for the recovery of Bianjun, he may have been planning for the expedition to the desert. After the Bianjun was recovered, he immediately went to the desert. That said, it can be seen that he has been planning the expedition."

"It is unrealistic for an army of 16 to go on an expedition to the desert. It is useless for Wan Jintang to have money. In the past few years, our Han Kingdom has been plagued by disasters, and there is not so much food and supplies to supply the expeditionary army, so Li Hong entered the desert with an army of 16. Afterwards, a considerable number of infantry must have stayed on the prairie in the northern Xianbei area. In addition, from the perspective of the purpose of Li Hong's expedition, he was mainly to occupy the northern Xianbei territory, drive the Xianbei people to the extreme north, and Protect the Han side from intrusion. Therefore, Li Hong will only use tens of thousands of cavalry to attack two thousand miles away, and will never be stupid enough to lead 16 horses into the depths of the desert."

"That is to say, even if Li Hong's iron cavalry is defeated in Yanran Mountain, Langjuxu Mountain or Sunset Plain, he can retreat calmly, and will never be wiped out like you imagined."

There was no sound in Shangshu's room.

"Although what Master Liu said is very reasonable, it is not up to us to decide whether to go on an expedition, but the emperor and the queen mother." Yuan Kai sighed, "Although you have lived in the frontier fortress for a long time, you may not know what is going on in the depths of the desert. .Who among us can know whether the Cheqi General can defeat the Xianbei people? Can he defeat Murongfeng? Can he retreat unscathed?"

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On the last day of July, the Emperor and Empress Dowager He decreed that 74 middle officials in the palace were dismissed according to the performance of the four senior officials of the Han Dynasty.

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(End of this chapter)