magic high school

Chapter 91 The Third Han Empire is Formally Established (Seeking First Subscription)

Sima Zhao and Jia Chong hurriedly mobilized their troops and rushed back to Luoyang.

Because of the urgency of the situation, they didn't even have time to make arrangements for things at Jiange. After simply assigning a trusted confidant to guard the area, they immediately led 3000 elite light cavalry back to Luoyang.

Even at this moment, the merit of conquering Shu was of no use; all they wanted was to risk their lives and get back to Luoyang as quickly as possible!

The day after Sima Zhao left, after scouts reported that Sima Zhao and his army had left Hanzhong, hundreds of thousands of banners bearing the characters "Zhong" and "Sima" arrived near Jiange.

This puzzled the Wei soldiers guarding the area. Hadn't Prime Minister Sima gone north back to Luoyang yesterday? Why was he here again today, and in the southern part of Jiange?

At this time, the person in charge of Jiange was named Yang Hu, who came from the Yang clan of Mount Tai. He was also one of the most valued military advisors of Sima Zhao among the middle-aged generation. In the original history, he was also the greatest contributor to the future destruction of Wu. Jin destroyed Wu and seized the Yangtze River in one battle thanks to his strategy.

What puzzled him even more was that Yang Hu actually saw "Sima Zhao" riding a horse, swaggering up to the foot of Jianmen Pass and saying, "Uncle Yang, open the gates immediately! Luoyang is in chaos, we've fallen into a trap! Gather their troops and march on Luoyang!"

Yang Hu: ?

He was genuinely bewildered. Firstly, he was Sima Zhao's confidant and knew that trouble had broken out in Luoyang, prompting Sima Zhao and Jia Chong to rush back. However, he didn't know the specifics of the trouble.

Secondly, why does this army look like the one that destroyed Shu?

However, looking down at Sima Zhao, the Prime Minister Sima, who looked exactly like him, Yang Hu temporarily suppressed his simple suspicions and immediately said, "My men, open the city gates! Welcome Prime Minister Sima!"

He couldn't believe that there were people in this world who could mimic another person exactly, and that there was even something like an academy network that allowed Li Ge to instantly transmit messages to his teammates in Shu Han, even though they were thousands of miles apart.

During the time that Li Ge and Xiao Ye were waiting, he told them everything about the chaos in Luoyang and how he tricked Sima Zhao out of the city. Therefore, the Shu Han spies only needed to confirm that Jiange was guarded by Yang Hu to complete the scheme of tricking Sima Zhao into opening the city gate.

Despite some doubts, Yang Hu assumed that Sima Xiangguo's light cavalry had been ambushed and that Sima Xiangguo had rushed back for help. Perhaps he had just encountered a group of Shu troops returning to the Central Plains and thus they had come together.

However, the moment Yang Hu opened the city gates and the army entered, everyone immediately drew their swords and roared, "Revive the Han!"

"Revive the Han!"

The soldiers drew their swords instantly, and in that instant, Yang Hu, a figure who would later go down in history for destroying Wu, was hacked to death. The Shu army immediately seized the city gates, and then the main force rushed into the city.

The Wei army inside Jiange was greatly alarmed. However, just as they were preparing to engage the enemy, they discovered that the leader of the opposing force was none other than "Sima Zhao," who held high his "Sima" banner and roared, "Luoyang is in chaos! The rebels have taken the Emperor hostage! My sons, follow me back to Luoyang to defend the Emperor! We must purge the court of corrupt officials!"

The Wei army at Jian Ge was initially confused, but when Jiang Wei and his men ransacked the Jian Ge treasury again and gave out large amounts of gold, silver, and silk as rewards, they instantly understood.

The so-called "purging the emperor's inner circle" was probably just a pretext for Prime Minister Sima to use the victory over Shu to complete his ascension to the throne without any pretense.

Those who thought of this were all very excited. After receiving their rewards, they immediately shouted "Revive Han!" and instantly joined the original army, rushing back to Luoyang.

The Shu army, which originally numbered less than 20, swelled to more than 30 in an instant. After crossing Jiange, they offered no resistance and occupied Hanzhong in a single day. Jiang Wei did not allow these men any rest. After only one night of rest, he added a large amount of painkillers to their breakfast and then immediately set off to launch a lightning attack on Chang'an.

This is blitzkrieg, a war of attrition, where troops quickly occupy territory and then offer no defense, instead using all the money and grain in the treasury as rewards, while simultaneously coercing all the local Wei troops to join the war effort.

These gold, silver, and silk fabrics were originally wealth that Sima Zhao had plundered from various government treasuries. However, Jiang Wei showed no remorse for this wealth and distributed it all. Now, even the lowest-ranking soldiers in the army received money, and their daily food and drink were unimaginably plentiful.

There's no porridge left, just solid rice and lots of meat! We can eat our fill of meat and rice, why would we need porridge?

This made the Wei soldiers excitedly shout, "Revive Han!" and "Loyalty!"

Even the soldiers at the very front were all marching with great force and attacking cities with ruthlessness.

After taking over Sima Zhao's army in Hanzhong, this army, which essentially comprised a large portion of the Jin Dynasty's strength, was now entirely in Jiang Wei's hands.

Even at this point, Jiang Wei began to panic.

Because the loyalty of these people is entirely unfounded, to put it simply, this group of Wei troops is similar to Li Zicheng's Shun army, an army gathered purely through rewards, deception, and coercion.

If the lie is exposed, or if the siege encounters obstacles, the entire army will be thrown into chaos instantly, and the resulting losses and damage will be unimaginable even to Jiang Wei himself.

However, Yi Lian didn't seem to think so. Instead, he excitedly advised, "General, Li Ge and the others have completed their mission and are on their way to Chang'an! Let's try to meet up with them in Chang'an! What we need is a blitzkrieg, a swift and decisive victory!"

Jiang Wei understood in an instant, and disregarded all that, leading the Wei army he had been carrying towards Chang'an in a mighty and unstoppable march.

They even ignored nearby cities like Guangyuan and Tianshui, heading straight for Chang'an, which was 500 li away.

After marching for several days, the army arrived directly at Chang'an, leaving the governor of Chang'an completely bewildered.

Therefore, Chang'an was no longer on the front line at this time, so the entire garrison of Chang'an was less than ten thousand. When they saw the vast Wei army being swept up, they were instantly terrified. In particular, after seeing "Sima Zhao", they were slightly puzzled, but finally opened the city gate.

The army used the same trick again, immediately seizing the gate, killing the governor and his cronies, taking control of the military, opening the treasury and granary, and holding a grand banquet for the entire army.

In just a few hours, this blitzkrieg-style rapid marching army completely occupied Chang'an.

At that moment, Jiang Wei was stunned. When he arrived at Weiyang Palace, tears streamed down his face.

"Prime Minister, Prime Minister! Boyue has returned to the old capital! Boyue has led the Han Dynasty back to the old capital!"

This is the former capital of the Western Han Dynasty, and also the capital of Liu Xie, who was once controlled by Dong Zhuo and Wang Yun.

At that moment, he even felt an indescribable excitement.

At this time, it was also the time when Li Ge and Xiao Ye were heading to Chang'an.

If it were just Li Ge and Xiao Ye, they could have reached Chang'an in half a day. However, because they had Liu Xuan with them, it took them several days to arrive.

After all, this little guy has probably just been weaned and can't withstand the wind, sun, and bumps, as well as the occasional crying and fussing, which has wasted a lot of time.

However, Li Ge eventually arrived in Chang'an and successfully reunited with Yi Lian.

At Weiyang Palace in Chang'an, Jiang Wei, Zhuge Jing, and other Shu Han officials waited for their former master to return. However, when Li Ge and Xiao Ye were holding only an infant, Jiang Wei and the others' expressions froze instantly.

"General, I have been entrusted with a heavy responsibility! This is His Majesty's secret letter." Li Ge did not wait for their questions and confusion, but directly took out Liu Shan's secret letter.

Jiang Wei looked at the secret letter and was shocked to find that it was the very letter he had personally written to Liu Shan!

However, when he saw the back of the secret letter, the cloth was written in blood: "Bo Yue will appoint this grandson as his successor and assist him with the respect due to a prime minister, so as to restore the Han Dynasty."

At the same time, Li Ge slowly recounted how Liu Shan committed suicide by burning himself and how the surrendered generals of Shu Han still did their best to disrupt Luoyang.

At that moment, Jiang Wei completely lost control of his expression, and tears streamed down his face.

Upon seeing this, Zhuge Jing hurriedly said, "General, His Majesty has finally shown the qualities of the late Emperor. We must not fail His Majesty's aspirations!"

This Zhuge Jing was the grandson of Prime Minister Zhuge and the youngest son of Zhuge Zhan. Historically, he did not surrender to the Western Jin Dynasty, but instead hid in the Central Plains to prepare to become a farmer. However, he was still found by Sima Yan and hired as an official.

"General, please acknowledge the title of Chancellor here and recognize the Prime Minister and the General!" Zhuge Jing said.

On March 3, 264 AD, the Third Han Dynasty was established in Chang'an, with Jiang Wei, Zhuge Jing, Zhang Yi, and Jiang Bin among its leaders.

Fei Gong and others supported Liu Xuan as emperor, among whom Jiang Wei served as the emperor's father, prime minister of the third empire of the Han Dynasty, and general.

Zhang Yi was appointed as the commander-in-chief, Jiang Bin was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat to handle documents, Fei Gong was appointed as the Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat to provide advice and strategies, and Zhuge Jing was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat to handle daily affairs, thus forming a very basic makeshift team.

Sima Zhao was the Chancellor of the Third Han Dynasty, etc.

Sima Zhao, Liu Xuan, Jiang Wei, and others offered sacrifices to Heaven at Weiyang Palace in Chang'an, thus officially establishing the Third Han Dynasty, also known as the Shu Han.

Perhaps only the more than 300,000 Wei soldiers who were temporarily stationed around Chang'an had some doubts.

He used to be a Wei soldier, but now he's a Han soldier?

It didn't matter. At this time, they probably just thought that Sima Zhao wanted to completely overthrow the Great Wei, so he randomly found a descendant of the Han Dynasty to be the emperor, preparing to completely overthrow Cao Wei and restore the Han Dynasty.

Hey, after all this time, we're back in the Han Dynasty.

This is the biggest thought among the soldiers who have received a lot of rewards during this period, and it is also the result of the brainwashing and propaganda that Jiang Wei and others have been constantly instilling in them.

Meanwhile, Sima Zhao and Jia Chong were in a terrible predicament.

When Sima Zhao and Jia Chong rushed back to Luoyang overnight, they found the city gates tightly closed and archers pointing their weapons at them.

"Sima Anshi, you traitor! You villain! You rebel! Why have you destroyed the Sima family's foundation, destroyed everything that is the foundation of my Great Jin Dynasty—"

"Damn it!" Sima Zhao's roar echoed up the city wall.

At this moment, Sima Yan stood on the city wall without any regret and roared, "Why has Father rebelled?"

"You!" Sima Zhao almost vomited three liters of blood immediately because of these words, and his old illness relapsed.

But before they could react, Sima Yan roared, "Fire arrows! Fire arrows! Die, all of you!"

His men immediately unleashed a hail of arrows, nearly striking Sima Zhao, whose old ailment had flared up again. He was forced to dodge the arrows with difficulty, his voice laced with curses as he dodged: "Why did I ever give birth to such a wicked beast as you!"

Sima Yan immediately retorted: "Shut up! You shameless old thief! You've lived over fifty years in vain! During the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, you, this traitor, openly broke your oath and murdered the emperor in the street, incurring the wrath of the entire world! How can you still stand between heaven and earth today! You have the ambition of a wolf, the heart of a dog! I am furious to be associated with you! You are a snarling dog, daring to bark and howl before my army's lines. I have never seen such a shameless person!"

Sima Yan truly lived up to his reputation as the greatest admirer of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang in history. He probably studied Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's works and words every day. When he opened his mouth at this moment, Sima Zhao was immediately stunned.

"puff!"

Blood gushed from Sima Zhao's mouth. He pointed at the city wall and roared, "You—you—you!"

Ugh!

Yes, Sima Zhao was a scoundrel. He was involved in the Gaopingling Incident and the killing of Cao Mao in the street, but all of this was for the sake of the Jin Dynasty! For the glory and honor of the Sima family!

Even the war to conquer Shu was due to the significant negative impact of Cao Mao's public execution a few years earlier. He had to use overwhelming military achievements to silence public opinion, and he even had to kill Deng Ai.

This is all for the Sima family!

But now, what am I doing this for? What am I bearing the infamy for for all eternity?

Sima Zhao's old illness relapsed, and he was so angry that he vomited blood again.

"Prime Minister! Prime Minister! Retreat, retreat quickly!" Jia Chong shouted immediately. He hadn't expected that such a favorable situation would suddenly turn out like this. Why had Sima Yan, the prodigy of the Sima family, become a loyal minister of Wei?

What exactly happened? What's real, and what's fake? I can't tell, I just can't!

"Prime Minister, Prime Minister!" However, when Jia Chong checked Sima Zhao's breathing, he found that he was only breathing in and not out. The Prime Minister was actually cursed to death by his own son in front of the army!

In an instant, morale collapsed, and Jia Chong lost all will to fight. He could only rush back to Chang'an to make a decision.

However, this exhausted army was halfway there when it suddenly received news that Sima Xiangguo had led all the Wei troops that had conquered Shu to occupy Chang'an, recognized Liu Xuan as emperor, and established the Third Han Empire.

Jia Chong at this moment: "???"

Not a buddy, huh?

Sima Xiangguo occupied Chang'an and established the Third Empire of the Han Dynasty. He recognized every single word in it, so why couldn't he understand it at all when they were put together?

If Prime Minister Sima is in Chang'an, then who is this Sima Zhao in my hands who was just cursed to death?

Who exactly is he? Is he real or fake?

I can't tell them apart! I can't tell them apart! Prime Minister Sima, I can't tell them apart!

"Hehe, hehehehehehe!" Jia Chong laughed wildly.

The anxiety of the past few days, coupled with worries about the fate and future of the Jia family, and the tireless marching day and night, along with the chaotic scenes and intelligence gathered, drove Jia Chong to utter madness.

"Hehe, the one in Chang'an is the real Prime Minister Sima. This petty, narrow-minded man who was cursed to death is just a stand-in! Hehe, let's go and pledge allegiance to Prime Minister Sima! Let's go and pledge allegiance to Prime Minister Sima!"

With a wild laugh, Jia Chong led the last 3000 personal guards of the Sima family to Chang'an to seek refuge with the Prime Minister Sima, whom he believed had established the third empire of the Han Dynasty!

Jia Chong: Hehe, I must survive! I must ensure the survival of the Jia family!