Xiaoqi

Chapter 899 Start a dispute and move to Emperor Township

When Yuan Shao led an army of [-] to the city of Luoyang, the city had already been taken over by the Yanzhou army.

Although the Luoyang Imperial Palace has been completely destroyed, the Luoyang Imperial City is still there, with high walls and thick walls, and the main gate tower is as high as six feet. It is still one of the few strong cities in the world.

However, Cao Cao didn't intend to meet Yuan Shao in battle. After hearing the news, he immediately rushed from the ruined Changle Palace to the gate of the city to welcome Yuan Shao into the city in person.

"Brother Benchu ​​has been exhausted all the way, please go to the city to rest. Brother Yu learned that Brother Benchu ​​led an army to pick him up, so he prepared the tent in advance and waited for your arrival."

After exchanging pleasantries, Cao Cao welcomed Yuan Shao into the city, and the two drove side by side, followed by the Jizhou army's brigade.Facing Yuan Shao whose strength had recovered to half, Cao Cao was as humble and polite as ever.

Cao Cao's humility and apologetic smile greatly benefited Yuan Shao. He nodded and said with a smile: "Since Meng De has his own heart, I am ashamed to accept it as a brother. However, this time the soldiers and horses marching under Meng De's command are extremely fast. Two days ago, the scouts reported , Meng De had already set off from the state capital, unexpectedly rushed to greet Sheng Jia in front of Brother Wei. This move really surprised Brother Wei, it is said that Meng De led a newly formed war cavalry, called "Tiger Leopard" Riding'. But the cavalry guarding the city in front of you?"

Cao Cao's expression didn't change at all when he heard the words, as if he had expected Yuan Shao's question, so he smiled calmly and said, "I dare not ask Brother Lao Benchu, there is indeed such a thing. I'm ashamed to say, Brother Yu originally wanted to form a group There are 3 or [-] cavalry, but the counties and counties in Yanzhou have suffered from wars. There is a shortage of money and supplies, and they are unable to purchase high-quality horses. Therefore, they only have [-] cavalry after patchwork. It is really difficult to get into the eyes of the Fang family. Unbelievable."

Speaking of this, Cao Cao pointed to the soldiers standing on the tower, and said with a smile: "Brother Benchu, look, these are the soldiers. All of them have uneven armor, blue or black, or they are wearing heavy armor or light armor. There are so many kinds of things, it really hinders the view, so please don't laugh at me, Brother Benchu."

Yuan Shao looked up at the guards on the tower.Indeed, as Cao Cao said, the armor on these soldiers is of different colors, and there are armors of any color; and the weapons are not uniform, either spears, halberds, or long-handled war knives.Variety.There are all kinds of weapons, it is really a patchwork of cavalry with good and bad.

Seeing this, Yuan Shao smiled heartily: "Meng De is too self-effacing. In just one year, it is not easy for Meng De to be able to form [-] war cavalry. As of today, the number of cavalry under Brother Wei's command is only [-]. Some are unsatisfactory. It's hard to say. In today's world, the high-quality war horses mainly come from the Western Regions, Bingzhou, Youzhou and other frontier states and counties. However, these lands rich in war horses all fall into the hands of Li Thief and Gongsun Old Thief. The situation is so bad , if we want to form tens of thousands of cavalry, it is not easy, we can only look at it and sigh!" Perhaps thinking that what he said was a bit harsh, Yuan Shao ridiculed Cao Cao and then justified himself, so as not to embarrass Cao Cao too much.

However, compared with [-] cavalry and [-] cavalry, the disparity is obvious at a glance. Anyone who is not a fool will not be able to hear the sarcasm in Yuan Shao's words.It can be seen from this that Yuan Shao has always been brooding and bitter about Cao Cao's escape during the Sili War and the fact that he took away [-] soldiers and horses and a large number of food and supplies.

Because of this, irreparable cracks appeared in the unbreakable Yuan-Cao alliance in the past, causing the alliance to break up, mutual suspicion and suspicion, and mutual wariness.Fortunately, the two sides have not officially broken their faces at the moment, so they can still stand together talking and laughing, but there is no trust between each other at all, and the day of meeting each other is not far away.

However, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao came from aristocratic families after all, and they are well versed in the way of acting on the occasion. Before they officially turned their faces, the two were still brothers and sisters, and they were in harmony.But once there is a conflict of interest, don't look at the two people smiling brightly now, they will be ruthless when they actually do it, and they will never be soft.

As a pair of old friends who have been together for more than [-] years, the two know each other's personality very well. Often, with a smile or a casual word between each other, you can immediately guess what the other is thinking, or what is going on Intentions.This is by no means just talking about it, nor is it scaremongering, but it is true.The so-called old friends, if you can't even figure out the character and temper of the other party, they can't be regarded as true friends.

After hearing Yuan Shao's sarcasm, Cao Cao's expression changed slightly, but his face still had a smile on his face. After thinking for a while, he calmly smiled and said, "Brother Benchu's words are very true. Before he paid attention, Thief Li had already The states and counties that are rich in war horses are in their pockets, so we cannot buy high-quality war horses. Most of the cavalry mounts under our command are inferior war horses secretly sold by Xiliang merchants, or old horses and pony horses eliminated by the Xiliang Army. In addition In recent years, it has been rumored that Thief Li has secretly formed an alliance with Gongsun Zan of Youzhou to conduct business with each other. The trading place is located in Yanmen of Bingzhou, passing through the Yin Mountains and across the grasslands, and exchanges are frequent.

At the same time, in recent years, Gongsun Zan has repeatedly donated war horses to Li Thief, and has donated no less than [-] high-quality war horses in four years.Thief Li gave a large amount of winter clothes, bedding and daily necessities, and exchanged silk and satin for iron stones in Youzhou, and then sold a large number of weapons to Gongsun Zan for him to recruit soldiers and quickly grow his strength.In this regard, Brother Benchu ​​has to guard against it! "

Cao Cao avoids the important and ignores the trivial, and seems to be indifferent to Yuan Shao's cynicism, but in fact he is fighting against each other and will not give an inch.What is Yuan Shao's biggest pain point is Gongsun Zan of Youzhou.Gongsun Zan repeatedly sent troops to invade the country, while Yuan Shao led troops to conquer Youzhou many times, but he was always against Gongsun Zan. Instead, he was attacked by Gongsun Zan many times and suffered heavy losses.During the battle of Sili, if Ju Yi hadn't defended properly, Gongsun Zan would have almost cut off Jizhou's lair.

In addition, Yuan Shao owns the largest state in the world, with sufficient money and food, and a large population, but he has been stagnant for many years, stuck in place, unable to make any progress.The fundamental reason is that Gongsun Zan of Youzhou is behind him, restraining him everywhere, forcing him to destroy Gongsun Zan before he can plot other states and counties.Therefore, Gongsun Zan is not only Yuan Shao's confidant, but also his pain point.But Cao Cao chose to mention Gongsun Zan of Youzhou in front of him. Although his words sounded like he was thinking of Yuan Shao, he kindly reminded him.In fact, his intentions are sinister and vicious.

"Hmph! Yuan will attack Youzhou sooner or later, and he will surely tear up the old thief Gongsun!" Yuan Shao said with a blushing neck and gritted his teeth.This is a ruthless sentence that is burning with anger.It sounded completely aimed at Gongsun Zan, but the cold snort meant something else. It was obviously not aimed at Gongsun Zan, but Cao Cao beside him.

"Brother Benchu, calm down. The army tent has arrived, please take a rest, brother Benchu, and I will talk later." Smiling and comforting Yuan Shao, Cao Cao reined his horse in front of the tent.Yuan Shao forcibly suppressed his anger, waved his hands in thanks, and immediately got off his horse.Go straight into the big tent.

After Yuan Shao left, Xu You rode his horse close to Cao Cao, and said in a low voice with a smile on his face: "Why does Meng De have to argue with my lord? We have known each other for many years, and Meng De doesn't know that my lord has a good face. Please bear with me a little bit." What's the matter?"

Cao Cao turned his head when he heard this.The smile on his face faded instantly, and he said in a deep voice with no expression on his face: "Ziyuan's words are wrong. We have known each other for many years. After careful calculation, it has been more than [-] years. For so many years, Cao has been patient everywhere. Everything is based on the principle of the beginning, but what is the result? When Cao was in a desperate situation, did Benchu ​​help him; To him. It’s because he’s old, not because he’s weak and deceitful!” It’s inconvenient to say these words directly in front of Yuan Shao, lest Yuan Shao’s resignation be difficult, but he can say them without any scruples in front of Xu You.

"Meng De doesn't need to get angry, just pretend I didn't say anything." Xu You smiled coyly, then looked around, and saw that Cao Jun's camp was camped on the north side of the ruins of the palace, while Yuan Shao's camp was solitary on the south side of the palace, with a gap between them. Nearly ten miles.In addition, the emperor and the officials were also missing, and they must have been placed in the northern camp by Cao Cao.

"Meng De really is a caring person. He chose the camp for our Jizhou army early. I will thank you first, my lord, and after I have settled down, I will go to see the emperor and all the officials in the court. I still need to arrange for the soldiers to set up a camp. If you are rude, please forgive Meng De a lot, excuse me." After speaking, Xu You bowed his hands and saluted, then reined in his horse and turned around, yelling loudly for the army to set up camp on the spot.

Watching Xu You leave, Cao Cao took a look at Yuan Shao's camp, then reined in his horse and turned around, waving his hands to signal the soldiers behind him to return to the camp.

small dividing line

An hour later, when Yuan Shao led his men and soldiers to Caoying to meet the emperor, the city gate guard hurriedly entered the account and reported that another group of princes and horses came, and there were many soldiers and horses.

Immediately, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao led their generals to rush up the city tower, and they saw about [-] horsemen galloping straight towards the city gate, and the big "Liu" character on the banner was very conspicuous.

"This is the army under Liu Bei's tent in Xuzhou. He also came with Lu Bu, who lives in Xiaopei, and his wolf cavalry army." Cao Cao recognized the army in front of him as the Xuzhou army at a glance. After all, he fought with Xuzhou twice. The battle between the Xuzhou Army and the Lu Bu Army lasted for a year, and it was not long after the battle with Lv Bu's army, so he was very familiar with the weapons and armor of the Xuzhou Army and Lv Bu Army.

"Liu Bei is here to step in again, what is his intention?" Yuan Shao frowned and asked in a bad tone.

Cao Cao smiled slightly: "Brother Ben Chu, why bother to ask? Liu Bei joined the alliance halfway, and his intentions were obvious, but in the end he was defeated and returned with nothing. This time the emperor promulgated the decree of Qin Wang, and the princes from all walks of life successively We have received the edict, you and I are the closest to Luoyang, so we arrived first, and the princes who are a little further away will definitely come later."

Yuan Shao nodded slightly, and said in a deep voice: "What should I do now, refuse to accept or let him enter the city?"

Cao Cao said with a frank smile: "Brother Benchu ​​was joking. The princes from all walks of life are ordered to take over, how can we block it? What's more, this is in the territory of Sili, only more than two hundred miles away from Xingyang camp, and the Xiliang iron cavalry is rushing The speed, within a day, the soldiers can come to the city. Therefore, we must not go to war with the princes from all walks of life, otherwise we will be captured by Li Thief, and no one can escape!"

"Report to the north,,, Mangshan beacon fire message, found Xiliang cavalry fifty miles to the west,,, found Xiliang cavalry!" Cao Cao just finished speaking, and saw a soldier under his command rushing up the tower in panic, his tongue trembling anxiously report.

"Ah!" All the generals cried out in surprise, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's faces turned pale and they were terrified.Immediately, Cao Cao came back to his senses first, and said decisively: "Brother Benchu ​​immediately went out of the city to inform Liu Bei and Lu Bu of this matter, so that they don't have to enter the city, but rest on the spot and guard. Cao then arranged for the emperor and the officials to leave Luoyang and move to Nanyang !"

At this time, Yuan Shao was flustered. After hearing the words, he nodded and agreed without hesitation. He immediately ran downstairs with a group of generals, and Cao Cao also left the tower. Avoid the pursuit of Xiliang cavalry.

As for why Cao Cao chose to retreat to Nanyang, no one raised any doubts at this moment, and it was unanimously agreed.Because, when they learned that the Xiliang iron cavalry had chased them, they were in chaos, and when Cao Cao proposed to retreat to Nanyang, they immediately thought that the only princely force in the world that could confront the Xiliang army head-on was Jingzhou Liu Biao.Therefore, they had no objection at all, and unanimously agreed with Cao Cao's arrangement, and led the army to retreat to Nanyang, the emperor's hometown.

Chapter 900 The Tiger Army, Misfortune Comes from the Sky

Rumble!

Amidst the sound of "da da" horseshoes, there was a loud bang on the official road leading to Luoyang, the earth trembled, the mountains and rivers trembled, birds screamed and flew into the sky, and animals screamed and ran in panic.

In an instant, the earth trembled and the mountains shook, dust filled the sky, and the sky and the earth changed color.

Amidst the thunderous roar, [-] Xiliang light cavalry led the way, followed by [-] heavy-armored cavalry rolling over all the way. Dust filled the sky where the cavalry passed, making both sides of the official road dusty One piece, covered with clouds and sun.

However, these [-] iron cavalry were not all, there was a large group of troops several miles away, followed by [-] light cavalry, and then [-] infantry.

The 12 troops marched for more than [-] miles, like a hovering dragon, sweeping along the official road, with a majestic and earth-shattering momentum.

On the mountain ridge east of the official road, thirty miles away from Beiman Mountain, Li Ligao sat on the Golden Beast King and looked over Luoyang. He saw a bunch of beacon fires lit on Mang Mountain, and the black smoke of the wolf soared upwards, straight into the sky, It is also clearly visible hundreds of miles away.

Seeing this, Li Li smiled brightly, brightly, and purely, innocently like a child. It was intoxicating and refreshing to see, as if all the troubles in the world disappeared immediately, and everything was so beautiful.

"My lord, why are you laughing?" Seeing the sunny and romantic smile on Li Li's face, Jia Xu, whose determination was as firm as a rock, couldn't help but lose his mind for a while, regained his senses after a while, and then asked in a puzzled voice.

Li Li smiled brightly and said, "According to scout reports, the emperor and the officials arrived in Luoyang this morning. At noon, Cao Cao from Yanzhou led his army to arrive first, followed by Yuan Shao from Jizhou. The difference was less than half an hour. Only an hour after Yuan Shao entered the city, Liu Bei and Lu Bu from Xuzhou arrived with their troops, followed by Yuan Shu from Yangzhou.

The princes of the five routes rushed to Luoyang one after another, and the difference between before and after was less than two hours. This section alone explains many problems, and this is the scene we most hope to see.At this moment, the beacon fire was lit on Mount Mang. If I expected it to be correct, it should have been arranged by Cao Cao of Yanzhou in advance.Its purpose is to guard against the sudden attack of my Xiliang iron cavalry, killing them by surprise.And Cao Cao's move shows that he did not take away the emperor and all the officials immediately, but was blocked in the city by Yuan Shao.And Cao Cao was very dissatisfied with Yuan Shao's meddling. He didn't let Yuan Shao meet the emperor and all the officials immediately, which made them delay another hour and missed the best time to leave Luoyang.

When Yuan Shao met with the emperor to express his heart, he invited the emperor and all the officials to move to Jizhou.Liu Bei, Lu Bu, Yuan Shu and other three groups arrived in time.It also destroyed Yuan Shao's plan to coerce the emperor to order the princes.Just at this time, a wolf smoke suddenly rose from Mang Mountain, and our Xiliang army chased them down. This forced them to flee Luoyang and retreat to other counties to discuss the ownership of the emperor and hundreds of officials.

Within two hours, the situation changed again and again, which not only caused the princes from all walks of life to show their hearts, but also prevented them from succeeding.Since then.The situation became extremely complicated, and the princes from all walks of life knew each other's thoughts.It is impossible to compromise with each other, and there is almost no room for relaxation.But this is a very good thing for us, and it is getting more and more interesting.A good show is about to be staged, and I wait for the meeting at the right time, just to join in the fun, sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, one of the great joys in life! "

Jia Xu was stunned when he heard the words, as if he couldn't believe Li Li's words.How can there be such a coincidence in the world, one after another, the princes rushed to Luoyang one by one; just like a group of monkeys snatching a corn cob, no one succeeded, but the old farmer shouted violently , The monkeys fled in panic.Isn't this too coincidental?The lord did not witness it with his own eyes, so why did he speak so clearly and in detail, as if he was actually there?

"My lord, why are you so sure that the beacon fire on Mount Mang must have been done by Cao Cao of Yanzhou? Besides, now that we have come with a large army, if the princes join forces to fight our army, with the advantage of Luoyang city, I am afraid that the outcome is still unknown?" Jia Xu asked softly.

Li Li nodded slightly, and said with a smile: "Wen He is thoughtful, and these two questions point to the key point, which is really the key point. Only Cao Cao and Yuan Shao can do the setting up of the beacon tower on Mount Mang, because they have At this time, the other princes came too late and had no chance to do so. Between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Yuan Shao had always been arrogant and arrogant. He is as meticulous as a human being, and has always acted after making decisions, and has never taken risks lightly, and is even more afraid of our Xiliang army, so he must have done the Beacon Tower, not Yuan Shao."

After a pause, Li Li looked down at the army on the official road at the foot of the mountain, and then said: "As for the matter of the princes joining forces to fight against our Xiliang army, I have already planned this before, just in case, this time I have mobilized The 12 infantry led by the Qinglong Battalion, Feixiong Heavy Armor Battalion, Jin Yiwei, and Bocai totaled [-] cavalry. With this strength, even if the princes joined forces to fight against our army, they would not be afraid. As for Luoyang City, of course it is The city has high walls and thick walls, easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it is the time of spring famine, there is no water source in the city, and the moat and wells are all dry; this alone is enough to trap them to death in the city, and they can only sit and wait to die in the end.

In fact, I really want them to hold on to the city.If this is the case, even if all the strength of our Xiliang Army is mobilized, I will not hesitate to do my best to complete the battle and wipe out the five princes.In this way, within five years, we will be able to wipe out all the powers of the princes and dominate the world.Unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking on my part.Right now these lords are not fuel-efficient lamps, they are not willing to fight head-on with our Xiliang army; only when they are strong enough, will they face a decisive battle with our army. "

Jia Xu nodded in agreement, and thoughtfully said: "It is exactly as what the lord said. Our army's careful work has already found out that Luoyang City has been without water for a long time. From last winter to now, there is no water available in the city; even in some wells If it wasn't dry, it was too filthy to drink.

Since Luoyang City was destroyed by fire, most of the houses in the entire city were burned down, half of the people were forcibly relocated to Chang'an by Dong Xiangguo, and the other half fled to other states and counties one after another.Only a handful of people remained in the city.Unexpectedly, bandits and bandits raged, demolished the Luoyang Imperial Palace, and acted recklessly in the city.Harm the people.Since then, the city of Luoyang has been in chaos, with fewer and fewer people, and only the refugees passing through this place rest here, and because the bandits often come to plunder, the refugees dare not live here; over time, there are no people there. "

Li Li nodded slightly.Thoughtfully said: "Luoyang City is the imperial capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty. After more than two hundred years, it must not be abandoned in our hands. This time we will not only recover the entire territory of Sili, but also rebuild Luoyang City. If it cannot be repaired, it will be demolished and rebuilt, and the palace will not need to be rebuilt. The cost is too high. It is not necessary. After the reconstruction of Luoyang City is completed, the soldiers who participated in the reconstruction and the surrounding people will be given priority to move in, and the occupants must pay a certain amount of commission. The business can be entrusted to the major merchants, and they must be very interested, so the reconstruction costs will be paid for by themselves, and half of the income within the next three years will belong to them, and the tax will be reduced for three years within a hundred miles around Luoyang City."