My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 834: Conquering Chencang, Conquering Jieting, and Crossing Longshan

"Your Majesty, the head of Cao is here. I have sent troops to guard it outside the north gate of Chang'an. The body of Cao is still there. No one dares to dispose of it without authorization. Please issue an order to make it clear, Your Majesty."

Half an hour later, Guan Yu hurried to the residence of Jingzhao Yin in Chang'an City and handed Cao Cao's head to Liu Bei in person.

Ever since Liu Bei entered the outer city of Chang'an, he has been stationed in the government office of the former Jingzhao Yin as his temporary residence. These days, when he discussed military and political affairs with the Zhuge brothers and other civil and military officials, they were all handled here.

So when Guan Yu came in, many ministers were there, and when they saw this, they all congratulated Liu Bei.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. The destruction of the ringleader who usurped the Han Dynasty is finally enough to comfort the previous emperors of our Han Dynasty!"

The civil servants, led by the Zhuge brothers, all looked solemn.

Liu Bei didn't show much joy on his face, probably because he was mentally prepared. But he was still trembling a little, and couldn't stand steadily. He supported himself on the temporary imperial desk in front of him with both hands, and then walked towards Guan Yu with firm steps.

The attendant around him wanted to help him take the wooden box containing Cao Cao's head from Guan Yu, but was pushed away by Liu Bei.

Liu Bei wanted to go and pick him up in person.

He shook the hem of his robe, then walked over slowly and firmly, took the wooden box, and placed it on the desk with his own hands.

He took a deep breath before slowly opening the lid.

Liu Bei didn't want to breathe when facing the filthy head of his mortal enemy, so he took a deep breath in advance so that he could only exhale without taking in air later.

"You have come to this day. After all, you are far inferior to Xiang Yu, but you are similar to Wang Mang."

Liu Bei said these words in one breath. He closed the lid again, put it aside, and asked his attendant to bring a basin to wash his hands.

After cleaning up, Liu Bei asked, "What's the situation in the palace? Have the enemy troops in the inner city officially surrendered?"

Guan Yu: "I dare not act on my own before the formal surrender. After I get Cao's head, I will come back and report immediately. They are still surrounding us. Your Majesty, please make the decision yourself."

Liu Bei waved his hand and said, "Let's go and take a look together."

After a while, Liu Bei rode his horse with a large group of cavalrymen and had someone carry the box containing Cao Cao's head to the south gate of the inner city.

After all, there are still more than 10,000 people in the inner city. Although Cao Cao is dead, the news did not spread so quickly, and there are always people who don't believe it.

Liu Bei would not risk his life to go to the front line in person, but he would definitely come. Otherwise, how could he allow his civil and military officials to enter the inner palace in Chang'an when the enemy was clearly willing to surrender?
After arriving at the palace gate, Liu Bei asked someone to make a call and also asked someone to come forward with a box containing Cao Cao's head.

In fact, many soldiers in the inner city and the north city had seen Cao Cao's death, but the news had not yet spread to the inner city, and some of them still did not believe it. Now that they saw the real thing, and Liu Bei also announced some pardons in person, the defenders all collapsed and surrendered.

"Let people arrest Xi Lu, Hua Xin and other thieves who helped to usurp the throne. As for the rest who are not members of the Cao family, they can all be ignored."

With just one sentence, Liu Bei announced the death sentence of Xi Lu and Hua Xin, as well as the fate of all the Cao family members in Chang'an City.

Of course, when Liu Bei said "not asking", he just meant that the crime was not punishable by death. But Liu Bei could remove the fake officials who followed Cao Cao at will, and most of them were dismissed, which was inevitable.

A considerable number of them would be imprisoned or exiled, but they would not be subjected to humiliating corporal punishment or flogging, which was already a great mercy.

When the guards heard that it had nothing to do with them, they naturally did as they were told and quickly captured Xi Lu and others in the palace.

Liu Bei ordered that he be detained and tried before executing him, and he ordered people to take him away first.

When Guan Yu announced the conditions to Cao Cao in the morning, he only mentioned Jia Xu and Sima Yi, and did not mention these people. This was because these people were all in Chang'an and did not flee to Tianshui or Wuwei, so there was no need to mention them at all.

As long as Chang'an City is captured, Liu Bei can kill any criminals at hand if he wants. Is there anything else to say?

After dealing with the surrender, Liu Bei asked Zhao Yun to bring the guards into the palace to inspect it first, and then Liu Bei brought the civil servants in to observe.

The capital of the Han Dynasty was in Luoyang. Chang'an was moved here by Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao. These people were traitors to the country, so the status of Chang'an will definitely decline further in the future. The palace here does not need to be inhabited. Liu Bei just needs to take a general tour and keep a souvenir.

Liu Bei had never been to Chang'an before in this life, so naturally there were many new and interesting things to see.

Before the chaos in the early years, he only went to Luoyang to hang out, and Guanzhong was already very devastated at that time. This was because of the bad climate in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the insufficient population carrying capacity of Guanzhong, and the long-term Qiang rebellion.

At that time, there was already a group of scholars and officials in the court who were even discussing the issue of "whether to give up Guanzhong". They felt that the economic benefits brought by keeping Guanzhong and ruling it were far less than the extra expenses caused by fighting the Qiang rebellion.

If we gave up Guanzhong and directly defended Tongguan, leaving the Qiang people to fend for themselves, the productivity of the Qiang people was also low. As long as the passes were closed and the roads were blocked, within a few years the Qiang people would have nowhere to rob and would have no choice but to kill each other, and the population would drop sharply. During the time of Emperors Huan and Ling, there were really scholars and officials in the court who thought this way, which was why they had such a bad relationship with Dong Zhuo and his ilk.

Dong Zhuo, Huangfu Song and other Xiliang people made their fortunes by pacifying the Qiang, but the imperial court was not willing to heal this wound that continued to bleed. Their military achievements were not respected, and they were facing the possibility of their hometown being abandoned by the imperial court. Naturally, they would be dissatisfied.

This is a bit far-fetched, but it can be seen from this that the desolation of Guanzhong was deeply rooted long before the chaos in the world. Coupled with the later destruction by Li Jue and Guo Si, even after Cao Cao moved the capital and rebuilt it a little, it was still very dilapidated.

When Liu Bei entered the inner city of Chang'an this time, he hardly used any weapons, and the buildings were basically kept in the state they were in during Cao Cao's lifetime. But even so, you can still see that the walls of the imperial palace are extremely mottled, with potholes everywhere and no one repairing them.

"Does Cao usually live in a palace like this? But he has only lived here for less than two years. The war situation must have been critical, so he didn't have the money or energy to pay attention to these things."

After Liu Bei wandered around the old palace in Chang'an for quite some time and saw everything he should see, he couldn't help but sigh like this.

This is good, at least the outer appearance is still there, but the inner side is a little damaged, which actually stops Liu Bei from wanting to come to Chang'an again.

After the visit, Liu Bei hastily set up a banquet in the Weiyang Palace to entertain civil and military officials to celebrate his success.

We are still in wartime and supplies in Guanzhong are not abundant, so let's keep things simple and take care of it when we return to Luoyang in the future.

After three rounds of drinking, Liu Bei asked Zhuge brothers and the generals what to do next and whether he should lead an army in person as soon as possible to completely wipe out Cao Pi.

Naturally, all the generals requested to fight. There was no disagreement on how to quickly destroy Cao Pi. The key point of disagreement was whether Liu Bei himself needed to lead the army.

Finally, it was Zhuge Jin who took the lead and said, "Your Majesty, a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall. With your dignity, if you want to mobilize the world's troops and kill Cao Cao, the chief culprit of the usurpation of the Han Dynasty, you can lead the army in person. If you only want to pacify Longxi and Liangzhou, it will be a long and tiring expedition. If you use too many troops, the world will be exhausted. If you use too few troops, it is not worthy of your Majesty to do it in person. Just send a general. I think that Xiliang is not difficult to attack, but the journey is long. You can just send a famous cavalry general to lead tens of thousands of cavalry to fight and retreat and slowly destroy the enemy."

Because the battle of Chang'an was delayed, it was now the end of August and almost September. Liu Bei crossed the Yellow River in early May and began to attack Chang'an in June, which took two months in total.

Calculating the time, it is still possible to capture Longxi before winter comes. But to reach the deep land of Xiliang, especially the Hexi Corridor, the time is not enough.

The key there is not fighting, but traveling and logistics, and also considering the consumption and delay of the local Qiang people. In short, it cannot be accomplished overnight.

When the world was still unified, the Qiang rebellion had been going on for so many years. It didn't make sense that the Qiang rebellion could be killed instantly after the chaos ended.

Liu Bei also knew this truth, so he did not insist any more. In the end, he just said that before he left, he would go to Chencang, but would not cross Longshan in person. He would return to Luoyang as long as he took Chencang.

Seeing that His Majesty had also taken a step back, a civil servant immediately stood up to endorse Liu Bei's decision: "Chencang is also an important place in Guanzhong. It is reasonable for Your Majesty to visit Guanzhong instead of Xiliang. When King Wen of Zhou saw Fengming Qishan, it was in Chencang. Your Majesty can also meet with the generals who are heading north from Yizhou in Chencang and appease them."

Gan Ning and Wang Ping had been stationed in Shu for many years. Gan Ning did not have the chance to make great contributions in the final cause of destroying Cao, so he must have some resentment in his heart.

Over the years, due to the difficult terrain of the Qinling Mountains, Yizhou could only play the role of a money and grain provider in Liu Bei's unification cause. Every year, a large amount of grain, Shu brocade, and materials were produced and transported to Jingzhou along the Yangtze River before being used in the Northern Expedition.

The people of Yizhou must be unwilling to be able to only contribute money and food but not directly gain military merit. For the sake of political balance, Liu Bei should let them show their skills and appease them at the same time.

Liu Bei also thought of this, and immediately made a decision: "After the army opens the road, we can take Xingba, Zichu and others out of the pass. At that time, whether it is Chencang City or Tianshui County, let Xingba and his troops lead the attack. Anyone who has made meritorious service will be rewarded heavily, and the civil and military talents in Shu can also show their strengths to the fullest.

As for the troops from other states, after they have surrounded Chencang, except for the cavalry, they can gradually return eastward, leaving behind the rations and supplies they brought with them, and the Yizhou soldiers will take over the expenses. "

No one objected to this decision. All the troops coming from Guandong, no matter from Henan, Hebei, Jing or Xu, felt that it was enough for them to make great contributions this time. Chang'an and Jinyang were conquered by the troops from Guandong.

In the end, only Chencang and Tianshui were left. It was reasonable for them to make contributions to the Yizhou soldiers who had not won a battle for many years. There was nothing to envy.

Liu Bei stayed in Chang'an for more than ten days, mainly dealing with the taking over of the army, civil and military officials, and treasury left behind by Cao Cao, as well as quickly trying the captured criminals. Those who should be beheaded were beheaded, and those who should be exiled or imprisoned were dealt with accordingly.

By the beginning of September, all aspects had been finalized. Cao Cao's body was cremated and not preserved. Only his head was left as a temporary warning, but Liu Bei would also burn it in the future and would not keep it for a long time like Liu Xiu kept Wang Mang.

Liu Bei was still a man of his word. Since he had hinted to Cao Cao that he had promised something, he would definitely do it. This had nothing to do with whether or not conditions were discussed; it was purely a matter of trust.

Wang Mang's head was also burned. "It is said" that Cao Cao ordered it to be burned before his death. It had nothing to do with Liu Bei, but Liu Bei did not intend to delve into the matter. It was like a symbol of the end of an era and it was better to just let it pass.

The world lies in virtue, not in the tripod. Relying on keeping heads to ward off evil spirits and deterring those with ulterior motives will not have much effect. The future Han Dynasty will need a new set of narrative logic to prove its legitimacy.

The old will not go, and the new will not come.

After all this was done, the trial of Xi Lu, Hua Xin and others was also over. The evidence was sufficient and the charges were solid. They, as representatives of the treasonous ministers, were executed in the city of Chang'an to serve as a warning to others.

The seven or eight unknown sons of Cao Cao who were left in Chang'an were also among those executed. Cao Cao did the same to Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi. Liu Bei's revenge was a fair and equal one.

After executing the prisoners, Liu Bei sent back a small part of the troops, first sending them back to Guandong to get food, to relieve the pressure of logistics supply in Guanzhong. Then he took the remaining half of the troops, less than 100,000 people, to Chencang for a tour.

However, ten days later, Liu Bei appeared outside Chencang City. He surrounded the city and sent his troops south to completely disperse Cao's army at the entrance of Dasan Pass and force them to surrender. Then he sent the cavalry south along Chencang Road to deliver the message.

In fact, there was no need for Liu Bei to send a message, Gan Ning had already known that the imperial army had already taken Guanzhong. As soon as Liu Bei opened up the Sanguan Pass, Gan Ning and Wang Ping brought their troops to pay a visit.

Liu Bei held a banquet to appease them, and also expressed his "gratitude to the people of Yizhou for their support to the court in suppressing rebellions and suppressing rebellions over the years", and then slightly promoted some people from Yizhou, including Zhang Song, Fa Zheng, Yang Hong and others.

Fa Zheng was a native of Guanzhong and just fled to Yizhou. However, he had also been working in Yizhou in recent years, so naturally he was also among those who received rewards.

Afterwards, Liu Bei gave the task of attacking Chencang to Wang Ping, who was supervised by Fa Zheng. As for Gan Ning, he was given the task of pacifying Longxi in the future, and he was allowed to make enough contributions so that he could be ranked among the generals in the future.

In this life, Gan Ning followed Liu Bei very early, but because of the division of labor, he missed the second half of the war. Liu Bei was a nostalgic person and always wanted to compensate these old people.

Gan Ning and Wang Ping were naturally overjoyed when they received the order. They conveyed the situation to the soldiers below, and everyone rushed forward and cherished this opportunity to make meritorious service.

The morale was so high that it could even be said that they underestimated the enemy.

Because everyone thought that this was a merit gained for nothing. Cao Cao was dead, and the Cao army in Longxi must have lost its will to fight. How long could Cao Pi's flag alone hold out?

In fact, it was just as they expected. After a few days of hasty preparation, Wang Ping collected enough Ge Gong vehicles and other heavy equipment and launched a full-scale attack.

When a lion fights a rabbit, he also uses all his strength.

Amid the deafening shouts and cries of killing, the Yizhou soldiers, who had been gathering their strength for many years, attacked with all their might and with great momentum.

Although Cao Pi ordered the Chencang defenders to defend the city to the death, Cao Pi was now a pseudo-emperor. The dead Cao Cao was only the emperor emeritus, and the emperor's will should still have appeal to the army.

Unfortunately, the gap between reality and expectations is too big. Because Cao Pi himself did not stay in Chencang City to supervise the battle and defend it personally, the morale of Cao's army was low in the face of such a desperate offensive.

Wang Ping attacked fiercely for only one day before Chencang fell.

The Chencang defenders were worthy of Cao Pi. After Liu Bei's army passed Longshan, Gan Ning continued to attack with great momentum. Jixian, Tianshui and other places were not as good as Chencang, and almost surrendered at the sight of the enemy.

Gan Ning and Wang Ping finally caught the last train of the war of unification, and finally quickly gained a wave of military merit in Longxi, which made up for the resentment of defending the land for several years.

Liu Bei personally supervised Gan Ning and Wang Ping to break the Longshan defense line, ensuring that Cao's bandits were left with only the dangerous and remote Hexi Corridor. Then Liu Bei paid tribute to the relics left by King Wen of Zhou in Chencang, and then led the remaining infantry and navy back to Luoyang.

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PS: I decided to take a leave on the weekend and continue to update in the next two days. Yesterday, I just died Cao Cao, so it was awkward to stop there.

(End of this chapter)