The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 295 Volume Seducing the Emperor?

The Battle of Changping lasted for three years.

The Qin army led by Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an, won the final victory and killed 450,000 Zhao soldiers after the war, completely clearing the last obstacle for Qin to leave Guanzhong and sweep across the six kingdoms.

But in that battle, Qin won miserably.

As the saying goes, "Although Qin won a great victory at Changping, it took three years to decide the outcome, and the soldiers and people were tired and had no food."

The Battle of Changping not only killed all the young and strong men of Zhao State, but also killed or injured half of the young and strong men of Qin State itself.

In the later stages of the war, King Zhaoxiang of Qin even arrived in Henei in person, granted the people one level of nobility each, and mobilized people over the age of fifteen to gather at the Changping battlefield in order to block the Guandong countries from transporting food to Changping.

After the Battle of Changping, Qin was no longer able to advance and could only allow Han to cede Yuanyong and Zhao to cede six cities to reach a peace agreement.

"I don't want to fight another Battle of Changping!"

Liu Xie refused to see such a brutal war happen again.

If we sacrifice half of the young and strong people in Guanzhong for the sake of Shangdang, it would be a loss.

Moreover, Liu Xie was pursuing a quick victory, which meant he wanted to preserve the power of the Han people as much as possible and prevent the tragedy of the Five Barbarians' Invasion from happening again.

If a Battle of Changping was fought and the strength of the northern Han people was exhausted, that would definitely not be what Liu Xie wanted to see.

Liu Xie stared at the map sand table in the center of the North Palace.

If the "Battle of Changping" was not fought, it would mean giving up the offensive route of fighting from Taiyuan and Hedong and encircling Yecheng from the north and south directions.

If we abandon this route, there will only be one left.

"Leave Hangu Pass and fight your way out along the south bank of the river!"

Occupy the south bank of the river, then cross the river and push forward!
If you want to take this route, there is one place that will become the key to this battle——

Luoyang!

This was the former imperial capital of the Han Dynasty!
When the forces in Guanzhong need to defend themselves, Luoyang is the first line of defense.

When the forces in Guanzhong needed to attack, Luoyang became a bridgehead to the Central Plains.

If Luoyang was occupied, it would be like having a nail in Guandong, which would allow us to control the upper reaches of the river and not have to worry about the enemy troops in Shangdang coming out to cut off the road to attack Hanoi.

"What I want to pursue is Luoyang!"

Although we are still a long way from a full-scale war, we should start preparing for some things from now on.

Liu Xie asked Jia Xu: "What is the current situation in Luoyang?"

……

Jia Xu paused and said, "It's not much better than a thousand miles of barren land."

Luoyang, once the heart of the Han Empire, was also the source of all disputes.

At that time, Dong Zhuo first moved the population of Luoyang to Guanzhong, and then the coalition forces of various princes plundered the local area, and it had already turned into a wasteland.

After that, this place has been in a no-man's land with almost no order.

Even after the salt administration of Hedong came into being, some trade was carried out with Guandong, but it was basically through the passage on the north bank of the river, rather than through Luoyang on the south bank. Therefore, it could not promote the prosperity of Luoyang.

Luoyang today is basically no different from a dead place.

This also means that

If we want to manage Luoyang, I'm afraid we'll need a lot of money and food...

"Dezu, take a few Shangshulang to Luoyang, conduct a detailed investigation, and report the situation in Luoyang to me."

"Here."

Now that we have realized the importance of Luoyang, it is impossible to ignore it.

Moreover, the imperial court was extremely poor. Even if it wanted to manage Luoyang, it did not have the financial strength...

The imperial court now has two more five-zhu coins in its pocket. Although not much, at least they make a sound when carried on the body.

Luoyang was the imperial capital of the Later Han Dynasty after all, and it would not make sense to leave it alone.

"His Majesty……"

Yang Xiu hesitated for a long time, and there was something he didn't know whether he should say or not.

"Aren't we going to discuss whether to save Gongsun Zan?"

amount.

……

In fact, it doesn’t matter whether Gongsun Zan is saved or not.

Because whether we save them or not, it is all for the future all-out war.

Rescuing Gongsun Zan is an option.

Going to Luoyang to do business is also an option.

Everything we did was just for the victory of that war.

However, as Sima Yi pointed out the impact of Shangdang on the war and the possibility of another "Battle of Changping", Liu Xie became extremely reluctant to send troops directly from Bingzhou.

"It's hard to say now. We have to wait until Dezu finds out the specific situation in Luoyang before making any plans."

"As for Gongsun Zan..."

Originally, Liu Xie wanted to send troops from Bingzhou to test Yuan Shao and find out the internal situation in Hebei.

But now, Liu Xie didn't want to be exposed so quickly.

Liu Xie actually did not see this strategy at first - he could send troops from Shangdang to cut off the army that had penetrated deep into Hebei.

But it was Sima Yi who saw it.

Although Liu Xie thought highly of Yuan Shao, he did not think that Yuan Shao could be on par with Sima Yi.

Since he didn't see it at first, Yuan Shao couldn't see it at first glance either.

Even if Yuan Shao wanted to implement Sima Yi's strategy, it would take some time for him to react. If the imperial court sent troops from Bingzhou first, it would actually alert Yuan Shao and make him realize the importance of Shangdang.

But if Yuan Shao had not sent troops from Bingzhou, he might never have thought of being able to intercept the Han army entering Hebei from Shangdang until his death.

What Liu Xie hopes to see most now is actually——

Let Yuan Shao think that the imperial court would send troops directly from Bingzhou to capture Hebei.

But in fact, the imperial court decided to focus its main attack on Luoyang and the Central Plains!

In this way, Yuan Shao's main force can be attracted to the Shangdang area, while the main force of the court will leave Luoyang, occupy the Central Plains, cross the river, and sweep across Hebei from south to north with cavalry!

But this was just a vague thought in Liu Xie's mind.

To turn this idea into reality, a lot of preparations must be made, and many thoughts must be sorted out one by one to put it into practice.

But one thing is certain -

The imperial court must not send troops from Bingzhou at this time, so as to let Yuan Shao realize in advance the restraining effect of Shangdang on the imperial army.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

"The speed of rushing water that can float rocks is its momentum; the speed of a bird of prey that can break bones is its timing. Therefore, those who are good at fighting have a dangerous momentum and a short timing. Their momentum is like a crossbow, and their timing is like a trigger."

"A swift stream of water rushes down so fast that it can wash away rocks. This is momentum! A bird of prey flies so fast that it is broken. This is because the firing rhythm is accurately controlled. Therefore, a man who is good at fighting creates a dangerous situation and launches an offensive with a short rhythm. Momentum is like a bow that is fully drawn and ready to fire, and rhythm is the trigger of the crossbow."

The imperial court now needs to start accumulating "military forces" in Bingzhou.

For a Han crossbow, the most dangerous time is never when it shoots the crossbow arrow, but when it has not yet shot the crossbow arrow.

As long as Liu Xie does not send troops, Yuan Shao will not be able to know the details of Bingzhou.

As long as Liu Xie did not really lead his army deep into Hebei, Yuan Shao would not know the importance of Shangdang to the war.

As long as Liu Xie remained patient, Yuan Shao would have to deploy a large number of troops in Hebei to guard Bingzhou, thus ignoring the direction of the court's real attack at that time.

Once this "momentum" begins to gather, it cannot be easily interrupted.

and so!
"I can only do my best."

"From now on, we need to transport a large amount of military equipment and food to Hedong, and then have the Bingzhou army start large-scale training to prepare for an attack on Hebei!"

Simply put—

Scare Yuan Shao!

Let Yuan Shao think that the imperial court would attack Hebei for Gongsun Zan.

As for whether Gongsun Zan can survive, it all depends on his luck...

Several central officials looked at each other and agreed with this decision.

Try your best to create trouble in Hedong and Taiyuan to attract Yuan Shao's attention.

We cannot let our own men die just to save Gongsun Zan.

Nor could we let Yuan Shao be alerted in advance in order to save Gongsun Zan, thus ruining the court's future plans.

The rest... depends on whether Gongsun Zan can save himself!

As soon as the meeting was over, Yang Xiu immediately set off for Luoyang, wanting to find out what Luoyang was like now.

On the other hand, the situation in Hedong quickly became tense under Zhong Yao's command.

Hedong was the area that Yuan Shao focused his defense on.

Upon seeing the movement in Hedong, the Hebei court was immediately in an uproar!
Many people advised Yuan Shao to give up the expedition against Gongsun Zan and quickly move the army to the south to guard against the imperial court.

after all……

If we defeat Gongsun Zan, the benefits will only belong to you, Yuan Shao.

But if the imperial court attacks, the interests of all Hebei gentry will be harmed!

Yuan Shao did not expect the imperial court to take action at this time, and he was in a dilemma.

Fortunately, Feng Ji offered a suggestion at this time -

"Why do we need to resort to war to resolve this matter?"

Feng Ji was born in Nanyang and was also a direct descendant of Yuan Shao. He knew that this attack on Gongsun Zan was extremely important to Yuan Shao and that he must not withdraw his troops easily.

Feng Ji then said to Yuan Shao: "All matters concerning the court are now decided by the emperor."

"But the emperor is still a teenager after all. Even if he is naturally intelligent, he will always find it difficult to resist the temptations of the world."

"How about letting me act as a lobbyist, bring beauties and treasures, and go to Chang'an to ask the emperor not to send troops at this time?"

By this time, no one would think that Liu Xie was a fool.

But as the saying goes, no one is perfect.

Even when Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Liu Bei were Liu Xie's age, they were all young men who indulged in sensual pleasures and had no lofty ambitions at all.

Wouldn't it be best if we could use beauties and treasures to make Liu Xie obsessed and not use troops in Hebei, thus buying time for Yuan Shao to defeat Gongsun Zan?

When Yuan Shao heard this, he also felt that it made sense!

The emperor is still a teenager after all.

We lack natural resistance to many temptations!
If this trick really works, it would be a huge benefit for Yuan Shao!

"You can choose whatever you want."

"As for the beauty..."

After Yuan Shao thought about it, he had an idea in his mind.

"Zhen Yi's daughter is extremely beautiful. I originally wanted Xian Yi (Yuan Xi's courtesy name) to marry her."

"But if we can confuse the emperor and give this girl to him, it won't be a big deal!"

(End of this chapter)