Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 152: Chang'an Rebellion, Xu Hua Escapes

Xu Yuan took the lead in raising an army in Longxi and began to gather troops on a large scale. He also summoned the previous reserve military households. Within less than half a month of the uprising, he had an army of 150,000!
Excluding the county soldiers who stayed behind, there were a total of 120,000 troops that could be directly put into use!
You have to know that the regular strength of the two armies in the north and south of Chang'an is only around 250,000. At most 300,000 can be mobilized in a short period of time, and they are scattered in Guanzhong and Luoyang. It will take some time to concentrate them.

Therefore, it is possible that the outcome could be decided in one battle!
"Reporting to the Grand Commander, our troops are all ready and waiting for your order."

Zhang Duan, the Left General, came to the commander's tent and said respectfully.

Xu Yuan changed into military uniform, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked more serious than ever before, but his slightly trembling body was enough to prove his excitement.

"No hurry, no hurry, hold the troops for now, and wait for the prime minister to withdraw before we formally launch the war."

He didn't intend to follow Han Xin's example and sell out his teammates. His elder brother had been very kind to him, and he was also the patriarch of the Xu family. One couldn't be so heartless and ungrateful.

And if you dare to do that, your second brother will tear you to pieces.

Xu Yuan is not afraid of the head of the family, Xu Hua. He is fearless. The only person he is afraid of is his second brother, Xu Zhong.

"Yes, sir." Zhang Duan agreed. His heart was filled with excitement.

This is a rebellion. If it succeeds, then I will not just be a General of the Military Governor's Office, but if it fails, I will die without a burial place!
But excitement still overcame fear and he was extremely belligerent.

"Has General Xu Min given a reply?" Xu Yuan asked again.

He had already told all the people including Xu Zhong, Xu Hua and others the news of killing the "Customs Messenger" and starting an uprising. Of course, Xu Min, the General Zhenbei, was no exception.

"Xu Zhenbei responded and has now lured and killed the officials appointed by Wang Mang, and is ready to march into Hebei at any time."

Zhang Duan replied.

Xu Min's reply was so filthy that he was dragged into this mess before he could even react. This guy is so unkind that he didn't even bother to discuss it with others and acted so rashly!

But there was no other way. If one of the two Xus moved, the whole body would be affected. If Yongliang rebelled, it would obviously not work if others did not follow suit.

So we can only prepare to respond.

"Well...be patient now, there will be plenty of battles for you to fight later."

Xu Yuan nodded. What he had to do now was to be patient. After his eldest brother withdrew from Chang'an and his second brother persuaded Zhu Chun, it would be the moment to raise an army to support the king!

.........

Chang'an, the palace of Duke Jing.

It was late at night, and the moonlight was rustling down.

"Master, there is a letter from Liangzhou."

In the inner room, Xu Li walked in with a serious expression, holding the urgent letter from eight hundred miles away in his hand.

"Tell me." Xu Hua was still reviewing government affairs and had never expected Xu Yuan to rebel like this.

It can even be said that the entire Han Dynasty did not realize that a war affecting the entire country was about to come. It was too sudden. The country was peaceful and the people were prosperous just a second ago.

"Xu Yuan, the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Army, lured Wang Mang's envoy to his death in Longxi and executed Wuwei Governor Wang Fu, thus officially raising the banner of rebellion."

"Youzhou Governor, General Xu Min, the Northern Guardian, has responded."

"What? What did you say?" Xu Hua stood up in shock.

He is the most confused one now. How could it be that he, the head of the family, was completely unaware of such a big thing?

I had clearly told him repeatedly not to act rashly, but he turned a deaf ear to it.

"Xu Yuan has started a rebellion, and the young people just can't keep their cool."

Xu Li also sighed. He knew that Xu Yuan was the representative of the radical faction in the clan, but he did not expect him to be so rash. He did not discuss anything at all and acted on his own without authorization and without reporting to others later.

But the matter was done, and they had to go all the way. What else could they do? Wait for Wang Mang's butcher knife, or help put down the rebellion.

"Well... well, let's arrange to leave the city immediately. We'll go to Nanyang."

Xu Hua sighed softly. Although he was prepared, he still couldn't react when the incident actually happened.

However, as the head of the Xu family, the ability to adapt to changing circumstances is a must. Now is indeed not the right time, but it is not completely impossible. It’s just that the effect is relatively poor.

"As you command, but Master, according to insider intelligence, Wang Mang has already noticed something. He has realized that Yongliang and Youzhou are gathering heavy troops."

"They will definitely be more cautious about us. It may not be that easy to leave the city."

Xu Li also expressed his concerns. They were not the only two who needed to escape. Hundreds of people in Chang'an had to leave!
If it weren't for the intentional or unintentional transfer of family members before, I'm afraid there would be more.
After all, the Xu family has been rooted in Chang'an for hundreds of years, and there are countless clansmen.

"Don't panic. As far as I know, the bandit chieftain Zhao Ming to the west of Chang'an has already been thinking about causing trouble. If you tell him about the uprising in Xiliang, he will definitely lose his temper."

"We can take advantage of the chaos to leave."

Xu Hua has thought of all the measures to deal with emergencies. Even if Zhao Ming doesn't succeed, he has other backup plans!
The Liu clan members in Chang'an had long been fed up with Wang Mang. As long as they were allowed to lead their death squads to attack Chang'an and cause civil unrest, they could also take advantage of the chaos to escape.

I believe they would be happy to cover up for us. After all, the Liu family’s kingdom is the most important.

"By the way, contact Kangdan Hou Liu Wei. He is a general of the Northern Army, so it will be more convenient for him."

Xu Li also understood what the patriarch meant and nodded immediately: "Understood, I'll do it right away."

.........

On June 23rd of the second year of the Jushe Reign, Zhao Ming, a thief west of Chang'an, frequently caused chaos, burning, killing and looting. It turned out that he had been bribed by Xu's spies.

At the same time, an incident broke out in Chang'an that made Wang Mang extremely panic-stricken!
Liu Wei, a general of the Northern Army and a relative of the Liu clan and Marquis of Kangdan, suddenly launched an attack and led 500 soldiers of unknown origin to attack the gate of the imperial palace. Because the incident happened suddenly and they were within their defense zone at the time.

In a short time, they broke through the north gate of the imperial palace with an unstoppable force and headed straight for the Weiyang Palace where Wang Mang was.

At this time, Chang'an could be said to be on the verge of collapse. There were Zhao Ming bandits causing chaos outside, and rebels were advancing like a hot knife through butter inside. The eyes of the entire capital were cast here.

Liu Wei was fearless and launched a crazy attack. Wang Mang was so frightened that he hastily dispatched the Imperial Guards to stop him. If the rebels were killed in Chang'an, it would be a loss.

Xu Hua got a free bargain.

Because his own life was at stake, Wang Mang did not dare to relax at all. He ordered all the troops in Chang'an to move towards the palace together. He would not let the enemy escape and would kill him directly.

As a result, Duke Jing's mansion was quite empty. Xu Hua seized the opportunity, summoned the scattered warriors among the people, and led more than 600 people from the Xu family out of the city in batches.

Basically, it means letting the assassins cause a riot, and then quickly leave the city while the defenders' attention is focused on it.

To be on the safe side, the Xu family members who left Beijing split into two directions, one group headed towards Yongliang, and the other headed towards Nanyang.

Among them, many assassination soldiers were released to confuse the sight.

Xu Hua guessed that Wang Mang would certainly think that he would choose Yongliang, which was shorter in distance, as the entire territory of the Xu family was directly controlled there. Once they entered, the defenders would be helpless.

After all, Xu Yuan had at least 100,000 Northwest Army troops, so he couldn't fight them head-on in a short time. So he did the opposite! He went to Nanyang, which was even farther away, to join forces with the Jingzhou Army.

The new capital is temporarily planned to be established in Wancheng, which is the provincial capital of Jingzhou and the core city of the entire Han Dynasty.

Ever since the Xu family settled here in the late period of Emperor Xiaowu, Nanyang has experienced rapid development. Due to the favorable land policy, many farmers came here to farm, and it gradually became the richest county in the Han Dynasty, without a doubt!

The population exceeds three million and it is extremely wealthy, even surpassing Qinghe. Although Qinghe is definitely stronger per capita, its size is too small.

But the population has reached two million. Of course, Jizhou is still the richest state, and this cannot be changed.

In the Chang'an Palace, Liu Wei, wearing armor and covered in blood, stood there. Beside him stood many soldiers who looked just like him, with determination in their eyes, even though they were at the end of their rope.

"Liu Wei, give up unnecessary resistance. You are a relative of the Han Dynasty. Why do you need to rebel against the court? Isn't this betraying your ancestors?"

The commander of the Imperial Guards, Wang Kuang, stood behind the shield formation and tried to induce surrender.

The main reason was that Dazai had said that he felt that there must be something fishy about this rebellion! Because the hundreds of people used by the other side could not be traced at all, they were probably not soldiers of the Northern Army at all.

Therefore, there must be a mastermind behind this, and this person must have been behind Zhao Ming's rebellion.

Otherwise, why would all the disasters happen at the same time? And this person must have a deeper purpose. All the turmoil in Chang'an may be a cover-up.

Wang Mang realized this only after he had escaped from danger. When one's personal safety is threatened, few people are able to think rationally.

So without thinking too much, he mobilized all the troops over, which resulted in the streets of Chang'an being unguarded and the death soldiers causing enough unrest. Otherwise, the movement would have been strangled in the cradle by thousands of imperial guards before it even started.

So Liu Wei is a good breakthrough point.

Just then, a burst of sneer was heard.

"Hahahaha... Wang is a traitor who plotted to usurp the throne, made irresponsible remarks about his master, and plotted evil! Anyone should be punished!"

"Your ancestors were also Han officials, and they have received the favors of successive emperors. How can you have the nerve to do such a treasonous thing? The traitor Wang Mang should be executed by slow slicing!"

"I regret that I don't have the same martial power as King Jingsheng in the past, so that I can chop off the head of that thief with a single sword!"

When facing death, Liu Wei did not show any fear, but cursed madly. Since he had decided to cover the evacuation of the Xu family, he had no intention of returning alive.

As for really killing Wang Mang, he never dared to hope for it. There were still thousands of imperial guards in the palace. His few men would probably have been killed before they even reached the Weiyang Palace.

So all this was done just to delay time and buy time for the real savior of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Wei intends to use his own life to buy a chance of survival for the Liu family!
"How dare you speak disrespectfully to Dazai? You deserve to be killed!"

The commander of the Imperial Guards, who was a little fan of Wang Mang, certainly could not tolerate this. He gave up the idea of ​​capturing him alive and decided to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys!
The archers behind him immediately prepared to shoot arrows.

In response to this, the assassins stopped resisting, laid down their weapons and quietly waited for death. As assassins raised by the Xu family, they should have this awareness.

Liu Wei also closed his eyes and murmured to himself: "The morning sun has risen. One day, the haze of my Liu family will be completely illuminated..."

call out!
The sound of breaking air resounded through the sky.

Blood slowly flowed out. Liu Wei's body was full of arrows. His eyes were wide open, and he would rather die than surrender to Wang Mang. He was much more courageous than those Liu Han relatives who surrendered.

The commander of the Imperial Guards cut off the opponent's head and prepared to report to Wang Mang.

The farce ended therewith.

Weiyang Palace, the bedroom of the Prime Minister.

Because he was acting on behalf of the emperor, the Prime Minister also lived in the imperial palace, enjoying the most stringent defense in the entire Han Dynasty. If he had lived in the mansion, Liu Wei's rebellion would probably have succeeded.

The new ancestor who usurps the Han Dynasty in the future will no longer exist.

"Grandmaster, the head of the bandit leader Liu Wei has been hung on the gate of Chang'an."

The commander of the Royal Guards knelt on one knee to show his respect.

"It's better to catch him alive. Although he rebelled against the court and plotted to assassinate me, he is still a relative of the Han Dynasty after all. He just misunderstood my intentions."

"I, Wang Mang, have always cared about the Han Dynasty!"

Wang Mang pretended to be compassionate, but as to what he was thinking in his heart, perhaps only he himself knew.

"You are kind, Dazai. I admire you very much."

"Did Liu Wei leave any clues or a sentence?"

"Yes, he said something about the sun rising..."

Listening to these incomprehensible words, Wang Mang's expression gradually changed from calm to nervous. It can be said that Liu Wei revealed all his plans before his death!
It was obvious that this rebellion was just to cover up the escape of one person, and the number of people must be quite large.

Who will it be? Who will flee Chang'an, have a large family, and have the influence to change the world?

Only the Xu family!
As for why he ran away, there is nothing to guess.

"It's bad... Immediately, immediately seal off Duke Jing's mansion! Quickly, we must be quick!"

The commander of the Imperial Guards was still confused: "Taizai, that's Prime Minister Xu's residence, this shouldn't be appropriate."

"...Don't worry about it, Xu Hua wants to rebel against the court!" Wang Mang's face was very ugly.

"As you command, I will do it right away."

The court acted very quickly. In less than an hour, Duke Jing's mansion was surrounded by imperial guards, and the nearby streets and city gates were also strictly controlled by heavy troops.

But it is too late now, the building has been deserted and only an empty house is left!

The Xu family had taken advantage of the chaos during this period to leave the city, and now they were galloping, having already traveled more than dozens of miles.

boom!
"Traitor, traitor! The Xu family has been loyal for generations, yet they dare to plot a rebellion against the imperial court!"

Wang Mang slammed the table in anger. He didn't expect the Xu family to rebel like this, and without any sign at all!
As for the reason why Liangzhou was involved, it has not been considered for the time being.

"Remove Xu Hua from his position as prime minister, and dismiss all local Xu officials. Order the imperial army to pursue him as quickly as possible and bring him back!"

"We must not allow him to reunite with Xu Yuan from Yongliang!"

Sure enough, Wang Mang subconsciously thought that Xu Hua went straight to Yongliang, which was closer.

"Draft an imperial decree to order a collective martial law in Guanzhong and Luoyang, and to assemble the imperial guards to be ready to deal with rebellions in Nanyang and Yongliang at any time."

"The most critical moment is coming soon."

(End of this chapter)