At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

At the beginning of April, the coalition forces of the three caught up with Liu Xie's convoy escorted by Yang Ding, Dong Cheng and others in Dongjian. The two sides fought a battle, "Wang Shi" was defeated and Yang Ding was captured and beheaded.

Dong Cheng led a small army and a group of ministers to escort Liu Xie to the north to cross the Yellow River to escape, and fled into Hedong County. As a result, he was chased by the coalition forces of Li, Guo and Zhang in Hedong County, and Liu Xie fell into Li Jue, Guo Si and Zhang again. Ji and others are in the hands of the Liangzhou Army.

In this battle, Master Wang lost really badly.

Yang Ding died, five people including Wei Weishi, Sun Rui, Da Changqiu Miaosi, Wei Jie, Shizhong Zhu Zhan, Shesheng Captain Jujun, and many other officials who accompanied him died, and even saw the corpses They couldn't even call out their names, and the servants and maids suffered heavy casualties.

Of course, the heaviest loss was that Liu Xie was once again captured by the army of Li, Guo, and Zhang.

In fact, before this, Dong Cheng, Yang Ding and others had sent people across the Yellow River to the north, intending to go to Hedong County and Hanoi County to find reinforcements willing to escort them.

Originally this was possible.

But things have changed.

The Baibo Army and the Southern Huns' troops that were originally active in Hedong County were previously driven by Jia Xu to attack Guo Peng, and then they were completely wiped out by Guo Peng.

They couldn't find helpers in Hedong County, so they had to run to Hanoi, trying to seek Guo Peng's help, but they were attacked by bandits on the way, and all died in the north of the Yellow River.

Mr. Guo's arms can be regarded as relatively thick among mantises, so he pushed hard, which made the heavy cart slightly deviate from its original course by less than one centimeter.

It's just a gap of less than one centimeter.

The Liu Xie Group could not find reinforcements or anyone who could assist them, and fell apart under the attack of the fierce Liangzhou Army.

Yang Ding died, and Dong Cheng managed to escape under the protection of his own soldiers. Unable to gain a foothold in Guanzhong, he could only flee south to Jingzhou, where he was never seen again.

The 13-year-old Liu Xie was once again captured by the Liangzhou Army. This time, there was no reliable force around him anymore.

Chapter 383 .380 II Liu Xie gradually developed feelings of despair

Liu Xie originally had his own ideas and his own layout.

He learned to take advantage of his marriage and the status of the emperor to marry the daughter of his ministers, so as to promote his relatives who can be loyal to him and serve him, and then use the status advantages of his relatives to expand his power, thereby indirectly enhancing the power of the emperor.

This is feasible, this is the means of the emperor, Liu Xie understood the truth at a young age, and took the initiative to promote two relatives - Dong Cheng and Fu Wan.

Dong Cheng has military experience, he was a general outside, and Fu Wan was an internal minister. He had no military experience, so he served as Zhijinwu inside and protected Liu Xie at close range. These two people, as the emperor's cronies, were in charge of certain soldiers and horses, as the emperor's security. .

If Liu Xie can be given a certain amount of time, maybe he can really create a reliable soldier of the emperor.

But history did not give Liu Xie more time, and Guo was unwilling.

Therefore, in this chaotic battle, all the hard-working kings and teachers were wiped out, the general Dong Cheng disappeared, Zhi Jinwu himself was a civil servant, and he chased ducks to the shelves to become Zhi Jinwu. He still lacked courage and faced the fierce Liangzhou army. Turning into a quail can't protect Liu Xie at all.

Once again, Liu Xie completely became a loner. His whole body was guarded by the Liangzhou army, and he was completely isolated from the surviving officials and concubines, and he was not allowed to see anyone.

Then, the five bigwigs of the Liangzhou Group had a discussion that was close to a battle.

Duan Yao, Zhang Ji, Jia Xu, Li Jue, Guo Si.

Because Li Jue and Guo Si lost a lot of strength in the internal fighting and previous wars, their strength is far inferior to that of Zhang Ji and Duan Yan's coalition forces. Under the joint deterrence of Zhang Ji and Duan Yan, the two had to surrender Liu Xiehe group of officials.

So Liu Xie and his group of officials were controlled by Duan Yan and Zhang Ji, who were strong and strong, and Duan Yan and Zhang Ji finally decided to take Liu Xie to Hongnong County, making Hongnong County their future base.

Because the surrounding area of ​​Chang'an is really dilapidated, the plague is rampant, and there are no living people left.

Moreover, the new leading force is Zhang Ji and Duan Yan, whose strength is still intact. These two decided to take Liu Xie to Hongnong County to live and guard. Li Jue and Guo Si couldn't stop them, so they had to follow along. Then choose a station around Hongnong County.

During this period, because of being completely disappointed with Li Jue and Guo Si, Jia Xu left Li Jue, and joined Duan Yan, who had a bottom line in doing things and had a certain loyalty to the Han Dynasty, to advise Duan Yan.

Duan Yan was a member of the former Taiwei Duan Jiong's family, and his education level was much higher than that of Li Jue, Guo Si and other big bosses, so it was easier to do work and reason.

Jia Xu, who was exhausted in Chang'an and failed to prevent the tragedy from happening, felt that it was better for Duan Yan to communicate.

So Jia Xu suggested that Duan Yan join forces with Zhang Ji to suppress Li Jue and Guo Si with an absolutely superior force, take the emperor in his hands, and control Hongnong County, so as to start a new chapter of the Liangzhou Group.

The main reason is that the emperor is still in his hands, so the political life of the Liangzhou Group still has a chance to continue, but the two chief culprits, Li Jue and Guo Si, must be punished, and the world must be appeased in the name of the emperor, otherwise the new A round of crusade war is bound to start.

Zhang Ji and Duan Wei felt that what Jia Xu said was reasonable, so they immediately united and asked the lonely Liu Xie for the imperial edict.

They announced that Li Jue and Guo Si would be removed from the positions of Da Sima and Hussar General, and demoted to General Anji and General Xingyi, who were previously held by Dong Cheng, Yang Ding and others. No. General, to show severe punishment.

After that, Jia Xu felt that it was not enough, so Liu Xie demoted Li Jue and Guo Si to the ranks of school lieutenants.

Then Zhang Ji was promoted to General Hussars, and Duan Yan was promoted to Generals of Chariots and Lieutenant of Sili. The two of them were the new leadership core of Liangzhou Group.

Zhang Ji and Duan Yan wanted to promote Jia Xu to be the chief minister, but Jia Xu firmly refused.

"I don't have any credit for Sheji, so how can I hold such a position?"

So Jia Xu only accepted the position of Minister of Shangshutai, and nothing else.

After changing a group of people, Liu Xie originally thought that he might be treated more harshly, but in the end he was not treated very harshly.

After arriving in Hongnong County, Queen Fushou returned to his side, and the ministers were also received by Liu Xie.

Although the nobleman Dong's father, Dong Cheng, was defined as a traitor, Dong Guiren was not implicated and returned to Liu Xie.

The three real power factions, Zhang Ji, Duan Yan, and Jia Xu, also wore official uniforms and stood in the queue of ministers, treating Liu Xie respectfully and rigorously.

Having said that, when Liu Xie proposed the idea of ​​continuing to Luoyang, he was resolutely rejected.

"Luoyang is dilapidated. There are no more than a hundred households. Bears and tigers can be seen in the daytime. The land is deserted and no one cultivates it. The rivers are deserted and no one repairs it. It is no longer suitable for living."

Jia Xu said calmly.

"The tombs of the ancestors are all in Luoyang. I want to go there to pay homage. Isn't that okay?"

Liu Xie looked at Jia Xu very unhappy.

"The ancestors have passed away, and now His Majesty is the most important thing. Your Majesty is responsible for the country and the country. You must take care of your health and don't move rashly."

Liu Xie hit a soft nail and looked at the other ministers, only to find that they all lowered their heads and could not speak a word.

And those who can speak up, such as Taiwei Yang Biao, are all under house arrest at home and not allowed to go to court.

The position is reserved, the honor is reserved, that is, they are not allowed to go to court, and they are not allowed to see Liu Xie.

Not only that, Liu Xie no longer has foreign relatives, generals and guards from Habayashi, all the guard work is arranged by Jia Xu himself, and the soldiers and horses used are Zhang Ji and Duan Yan's personal guards, which are absolutely reliable.

Fu Wan was transferred to be the titular prince's young teacher, and he was not allowed to see Liu Xie.

Only then did Liu Xie realize that although he met a more civilized group of people, this was still under control.

Although it looks a lot softer and more elastic than before, it is more difficult to break free.

The three of Jia Xu were completely non-violent and non-cooperative. Apart from visiting the court once every ten days, Liu Xie never saw the ministers at all. Even the eunuchs and court ladies were personally selected by Jia Xu to serve Liu Xie.

Liu Xie doesn't know how many eyeliners there are.

Liu Xie gradually developed a feeling of despair.

He felt that he might be under the control of this group of people for the rest of his life, and it was difficult to escape.

Luo Yangming was right in front of him, but he was trapped in Hongnong and couldn't move.

The imperial capital of the Han Dynasty was also moved to Hongnong County.

The news was quickly learned by Guo Peng.

The battle that took place on the north and south banks of the Yellow River quickly spread in Guo Peng's territory, and then spread everywhere from south to north to east.

Master Wang suffered a disastrous defeat, and Liu Xie once again fell under the control of the people of Liangzhou, who also made Hongnong their new imperial capital.

The emperor Liu Xie also issued an edict to the princes of the world in his own name, announcing a new round of rewards, and asked the princes of the world to pay tribute to the Hongnong Central Committee and provide what he needed.

Chapter 384. 380 Three, aren't you a bit too good for the emperor?

When I was in Chang'an before, many princes including Liu Biao and Guo Peng paid tribute to Chang'an, basically stopping the hostile situation.

After Yuan Shao was wiped out, Guo Peng cut off the court's tribute relationship because of Jia Xu's instigation of the war in Bingzhou, and declared Li, Guo and Fan to be three thieves and would no longer pay tribute.

This time, the imperial court announced that Li Jue and Guo Si were defined as sinners, and they were directly demoted from heavy-ranked generals to school lieutenants to show severe punishment, while the big men in power became Duan Yan and Zhang Ji.

Speaking of which, the relationship between Guo Peng and Duan Yan is not bad. During the crusade against the Yellow Turban earlier, the relationship between Guo Peng and Dong Zhuo was also good. At that time, the person responsible for contacting Guo Peng for Dong Zhuo was Duan Yan.

In the following years, until Guo Peng and Dong Zhuo became enemies, Duan Yan wrote to Guo Peng.

So this time, when the imperial edict arrived, Duan Yan also wrote a personal letter to Guo Peng, telling Guo Peng in a relatively low-key manner that the previous incidents were all misunderstandings and were led by Li Jue and Guo Si. .

Now that Li Jue and Guo Si have lost power, he and Zhang Ji are in power, and they are very willing to have a good relationship with Guo Peng.

Therefore, in the new round of rewards, Guo Peng was promoted to be the general of the Northern Conquest, and at the same time, the position of Qingzhou Mu remained unchanged, and the Governor Ji Qingyou was merged with Yanwuzhou Military Administration.

Then change Yangzhai County Marquis to Puyang County Marquis, add [-] households in Shiyi, and seal [-] households before.

Guo Peng’s title of Marquis of Yangzhai County was changed to his father Guo Dan, who granted six thousand households, his stepmother Yang was also given the title of wife, and Guo Peng’s half-brother Guo Yang was also given the title and was also given A military post of riding captain.

His wife Cao Lan, concubines Mi Zhen, Xia Houlin, and Tian Rou also received awards from the imperial court.

It is equivalent to the whole family being rewarded.

Then, Bao Xin, the governor of Yanzhou, Cao Cao of Jizhou, Xianyufu of Youzhou, and Zang Hong, the governor of Bingzhou, who were appointed by Guo Peng, were officially awarded the seals and ribbons of the governors, recognizing their status in the name of the emperor.

That's not enough, and all the official positions appointed by Guo Peng were approved, so that all the positions that were announced before but did not respond to the imperial court were all implemented.

Next, Duan Yan also told Guo Peng, what position do you want to seal for your subordinates, despite the above, the Hongnong court will not prohibit you from playing.

Such generous conditions really made Guo Peng never think that his own family would not be counted, but he would also give big gift packages to the civil and military under his command. It seems that this civil strife has really hurt the vitality of the Liangzhou Group. I was afraid that Guo Peng would immediately send his army to attack them and take away the emperor.

The Liangzhou people are basically really cold.

Am I stupid if I don’t take advantage of it?

Now is not the time to turn against them, so of course they have to take such a big advantage.

Guo Peng has never denied the legal status of the Son of Heaven, so of course it is "Your Majesty is wise" when it is beneficial, and "the Han thieves hold the Son of Heaven and the world will attack him" when it is not beneficial.

So Guo Peng thanked the emperor for his kindness, and gave his subordinates who made contributions to each of them a title of title, and gave some rewards to their families, and asked the court to officially recognize it.

Then he announced the resumption of tribute, paying taxes to the court, and paying tribute. Of course, this amount is worth considering. Anyway, it is not a great amount.

Because if you don't do this, the Han Dynasty will really be in turmoil.

Although Guo Peng also expressed his surrender, these days, with the spread of news, Guo Peng's ears and eyes have brought back some very interesting news to him.

The Wang Shi was defeated, the Liangzhou Group once again took charge of the government, and the emperor fell into the control of the Liangzhou people again. This was a fatal blow to the prestige of the emperor and the dignity of the Han Dynasty.

Originally controlled and manipulated by the three thieves, Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou, the emperor had lost all prestige. Now, on the way back to Luoyang in the east, the king was defeated and the emperor almost became a prisoner. This is the only remaining dignity of the Han Dynasty. Is there any more?

An unexpected defeat dealt a great blow to the prestige of the Han Dynasty.

You can't play against others in politics, and you can't play with them in military affairs. You are defeated and captured, and the emperor's prestige is lost. Are you a little too good as an emperor?

At this moment, almost everyone remembered the story of Zhou Tianzi's master being defeated by the army of the princes.

Zhou Tianzi's prestige plummeted, and the world began to fall apart, that is, from that defeat.

The long Spring and Autumn and Warring States period began.

But now, everyone began to wonder whether that era is coming again.

If Guo Peng's elimination of Yuan Shao has not made everyone clearly aware of the coming of troubled times, then the defeat of the king and the emperor's captivity this time will truly let all insightful people know history Realized that troubled times have really come.

This is the meaning of the emperor's defeat.

And this is what Guo Peng didn't expect at the beginning. He didn't expect that his defeat of Yuan Shao and his occupation of Hebei indirectly prompted Jia Xu to use the Baibo army and the Southern Huns' army to deal with him.

This coalition of Baibo and the Southern Huns was originally an important military force for Liu Xie to return to Luoyang, but this military force was wiped out by him, and all the heads and heads were beheaded for public display. It no longer existed, and Liu Xie could not find it. The helpers, Dong Cheng and Yang Ding, were really too good, and they were captured by the Liangzhou Group after a disastrous defeat.

Before falling into the hands of Dong Zhuo, it could not be said to be a failure, because it was helpless, but this time, it was a real failure, a real defeat, the emperor's defeat.

Troubled times are coming.

Because such sentiments are widely circulated, a considerable number of officials who miss the Han Dynasty are very worried.

For example, Xun Yu felt very anxious and came to visit Guo Peng specially to tell his worries about this matter. He felt that if this emotion was not contained in time, once it spread, it might lead to unimaginable consequences.

"If it continues to spread like this, I'm afraid there will be a lot of people who are not ministers, the world will be bustling with people, there will be no peace, wars and disasters will continue, people will die, and the great Han country and society may be overthrown. I hope the Ming Dynasty will see clearly."

"Wen Ruo is right. You shouldn't talk about the emperor like this. After all, the emperor is only 13 years old."

As a very important political official under Guo Peng's command, he has shared a considerable part of the government affairs for Guo Peng, so Guo Peng attaches great importance to Xun Yu's opinion.

Guo Peng righteously agreed with Xun Yu's opinion, and then announced a tribute to the Hongnong court, becoming the first prince to announce a reconciliation with the Hongnong court, expressing his own gesture.