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

Chapter 32 The situation is anxious

Liu Ruyi personally led an army of 260,000 across Hangu Pass and entered Guanzhong. Because the counties were short of troops, the rebels quickly captured Xin'an and approached Chang'an.

At this time, the entire Chang'an garrison had only more than 10,000 troops. Even if there was sufficient food and grass, it would be useless because the gap in troop strength was too great.

Liu Qi was very frightened when he learned that Xin'an had fallen. He ordered the garrison to strengthen the defense and immediately summoned all his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

"Now the traitor Liu Ruyi has already broken through Xin'an and is getting closer and closer to us."

"Chang'an has few soldiers and it is difficult to resist such a large rebel army, so we urgently need a general to take full charge of the defense. Who is willing to volunteer?"

Liu Qi knew that his military talent was limited and that he might not be able to stop the Zhao army's offensive, so he chose to give command to someone more talented.

But it was obvious that there were not many people in the court who understood military affairs. Most of the veteran generals and Xu's sons who were capable of taking charge had already gone to war, and there were not many military generals left in Chang'an.

"Prince, I am willing to serve as your general to guard Chang'an."

Finally, someone volunteered. It was Zhou Yafu, the second son of Marquis of Jiang Zhou Bo, the once famous "General Xiliu". He was now appointed lieutenant for his meritorious service in defending the territory.

Liu Qi was very happy to see Zhou Yafu recommend himself. He had heard of this great general before, so he shook his hand and said, "General Zhou is worthy of being the descendant of Marquis Jiang. He is really brave and extraordinary."

"With General Zhou leading the army to garrison, I can rest assured that my Han dynasty can be preserved. I will temporarily appoint General Zhou as the General of Guards to lead the military and political affairs to defend against the rebels."

Zhou Yafu was deeply moved after hearing this, and bowed, saying, "I will definitely live up to your expectations, Your Majesty, and will defend the city until the day when Your Majesty leads the troops back!"

After that, Liu Qi handed over the military command to the acting general Zhou Yafu, and put him in charge of the defense of the capital.

As a famous general who later quelled the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, Zhou Yafu demonstrated extraordinary military ability at a young age. He easily took over the army by relying on his prestige as the governor of Henei, Jun Xiliu.

Then he adjusted the military deployments that had loopholes, asked the civilians to spread thorns on the outer perimeter of the city wall, and added a lot of crossbows and bunkers, determined to fight a protracted war with the rebels.

Zhou Yafu also stipulated that the soldiers defending the city should be wary of all ministers and princes except himself and the prince, and no one could get close to the city gate. He had also learned from Xu Yuan's previous lesson, so it was not surprising that a traitor appeared at this time.

"Great! With the general here, the rebels will have no chance of success." Liu Qi, accompanied by his guards, climbed up the city wall and carefully observed the various arrangements. He felt more and more satisfied.

"I will try my best to live up to your majesty's grace." Zhou Yafu accompanied him. He had already made a lot of preparations. It would not be a problem for him to resist 200,000 rebels for two months.

This time is enough for Your Majesty to return from Taiyuan.

.........

Taiyuan.

Emperor Wen Liu Heng was leading 200,000 main forces of the Han Dynasty and was still fighting with the Donghu people. He was going to make a big gamble!
He was betting that Liu Qi could hold on. Xu Zhao was leading his troops back to provide support, so he would focus on attacking Taiyuan, which was occupied by the Hu people.

If he led the troops back to provide support now, he could indeed defeat the rebels in one battle. After all, these were the most elite border troops of the Han Dynasty, all of them veterans who had experienced hundreds of battles. This would be a dimensionality reduction attack on the rebels.

But if he leaves now, the enemy will completely control Taiyuan, and if Yan is taken over by them, the consequences will be disastrous.

In the past, Maodun's strategic goal was actually just to swallow Taiyuan, and then use it as a base to increase the frequency of plundering the Central Plains. In this way, he could attack when advancing and defend when retreating, and the rich counties of the Han Dynasty would be exposed under the iron hoofs of foreign races.

It would be even worse if Yan was captured. This would completely destroy the defense barrier against the Huns. Zhao, Qi, and even the Central Plains would become their targets. Liu Heng would then be the eternal sinner of the Han Dynasty. He would not be able to wash away his guilt even if he jumped into the Yellow River. He would not have the face to see his father and Grand Tutor Xu in the afterlife.

"Your Majesty, the resistance of the Hu people is very fierce. Now a large number of reinforcements are on the way, and there are even children aged thirteen or fourteen among them. It seems that they have noticed the changes in our dynasty and are planning to... take advantage of the situation to rob."

The general gnashed his teeth and said that the Hu people were too rampant. They had previously planned to lead the troops back north, but in recent days they suddenly began to defend with all their might. It seemed that they had heard about the internal rebellion of the Han Dynasty.

Now they are just trying to delay time as much as possible in order to force the Han army back.

Liu Heng was dressed in military uniform, his face was very solemn: "The more this happens, the more we cannot withdraw our troops. We must take Taiyuan back! After that, we will go to Yan to encircle and suppress the Hu people."

"But your majesty, are we going to ignore Chang'an? The rebels are coming with great force, and the prince only has more than 10,000 soldiers. It is impossible to stop them."

"Also, I heard that the rebels have occupied Luoyang, breached Hangu Pass, and reached Xin'an."

The generals still hope to return to Chang'an as soon as possible to quell the rebellion. Otherwise, once Liu Ruyi captures Chang'an, it will be the time for a change of dynasty. Even if they can fight, it will become a protracted war.

By then, all the foundation accumulated over the years of light taxation and low levies would have been lost.

"Chang'an is important, but the border is even more important! Although Liu Ruyi is a traitor, he is the descendant of Emperor Gao. If things really don't work out, I can give the throne to him to ensure the stability of the world."

"But the Donghu people are different. They are a foreign race. We Han people need to shed countless blood and tears to take back every inch of land. We cannot give up no matter what."

"I would rather give up my own family and take care of everyone!"

Liu Heng's words were deafening to everyone. They did not expect that His Majesty would be so selfless. It seemed that they were too short-sighted.

"Your Majesty is benevolent."

Everyone said in unison.

"Okay, let's organize a new siege right away, and we must resolve this situation within three months!" Liu Heng waved his hand and ordered the generals to fight quickly and decisively.

"I will obey your orders!"

.........

An army dressed neatly, with a solemn appearance and carrying the Han army flag stopped outside Xin'an City.

"Brother, Xin'an has been captured. It seems that the rebels are getting closer and closer to Chang'an."

Xu Gong said with a serious expression that it seemed that Liu Ruyi's speed was even faster than they had imagined, and this time he was estimated to be less than 200 miles away from Chang'an.

"Yes, but there is no need to rush. Our best chance is to wait until the rebels' siege reaches its climax and then launch a surprise attack! Only in this way can we catch them by surprise!"

Xu Zhao had already made a plan in his mind. Now that the enemy was outnumbered, it was obviously unwise to directly confront them head-on. He had to attack them from behind! It would be best to directly attack the central army and capture the king first. If he killed King Zhao Liu Ruyi first, everything would be solved naturally.

"Pass the order, keep moving forward." Xu Zhao then gave the order. He planned to observe the terrain and situation in advance, knowing both ourselves and the enemy so that we can fight every battle with no danger of defeat.

(End of this chapter)