Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 307: Feng Tang and Yu, my uncle

"The land of Jin and Tang?"

Liu Ai lowered his voice and asked, "Are you referring to Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao? Is there anyone among them who can replace the Han Dynasty?"

Wang Li shook his head and said, "I don't know the situation, I only know the hexagrams and astronomy. Tang is located east of the Yellow River and Fen River, and is a hundred miles square. Jin is another name for the Tang State, located in Jinyang, where the Jin River originates and flows east into the Fen River."

Hearing this, the three characters "Tang Shuyu" appeared in Liu Ai's mind, and he said, "In the past, Duke Zhou destroyed Tang, and King Cheng granted Tang the title of Yu. Now that "Yu" exists, Jin and Tang may come from Hedong!"

Tang Shuyu was the son of King Wu of Zhou and the younger brother of King Cheng of Zhou. His full name was Ji Yu, and he was the third oldest in the family, so he was called Shuyu. Yu was granted the land of Tang, so he was called Tang. This is the origin of Tang Shuyu.

"Heaven's Mandate Shu Yu, finally enfeoffed him in Tang. Tonggui was cut, and Hefen was barren." Wang Li sighed and said: "Jin and Tang are Hefen. According to the astrology, the emperor is in Shanxi."

The two discussed with each other and couldn't help but think of Zhang Yu from Hedong.

"This matter cannot be leaked easily!"

Wang Li was afraid of getting into trouble, so he gave a warning.

"Of course it is inevitable!"

Liu Ai responded and then remained silent.

Although Liu Ai was a relative of the Han Dynasty, he was not a die-hard Han loyalist, but a wavering one. When Dong Zhuo was the prime minister, he served as the chief historian and worked for Dong Zhuo.

After Dong Zhuo was killed, Liu Ai resumed his service to the Han Dynasty. Because of his surname Liu, he was valued by Liu Xie. He first served as the prefect of Chaoge and later as the Shizhong.

As Liu and Wang fell silent, the convoy continued on its journey in the dim firelight, with only the rumbling of wheels remaining.

I don't know how long it was, but suddenly I saw a fire dragon emerging in the wilderness in the dark night, rushing straight towards the long caravan. Although the two were far away, the sound of its horse's hooves was crisp and everyone could clearly hear the thunder-like sound.

"not good!"

"Come so fast!"

Seeing this, Liu Bei reacted immediately and said sternly: "Enemy attack, Yunchang, Yide, Shiren prepare for battle!"

"promise!"

As Liu Bei gave an order, the sound of horns resounded through the night sky, and thousands of infantry and cavalry, led by Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, immediately formed a battle line with Liu Xie as the center.

The nobles in the convoy did not dare to put on airs and quickly fled to Liu Xie's side. The nobles who were a little further away hid in the mountains and forests, fearing that they would be affected by the weapons.

For a time, the convoy was in chaos and Liu Bei could not take care of others. He could only prioritize protecting Liu Xie and the surrounding ministers.

The unknown enemy in the dark night was really frightening. Liu Xie suppressed his fear and asked, "But are they Yan Liang's troops under Yuan Shao's command?"

Liu Bei looked grim, shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, maybe it's Yuan Shao's pursuers, or maybe it's Zhang Hou's troops."

Looking at the soldiers who were gathering, Liu Xie became more courageous and said, "Thank you for fighting the enemy!"

"Your Majesty, it is dark and difficult to distinguish between friend and foe. When the fighting breaks out, please do not let the driver act rashly. I will lead the troops to protect Your Majesty." Liu Bei said.

After lowering the curtain, Liu Xie held Empress Dong's cold hand and said comfortingly, "The father-in-law is surrounded by soldiers and horses. Although his whereabouts are unknown, his life is not in danger. At present, General Xuande is guarding him, so the queen does not need to worry."

"Hmm~" Queen Dong responded timidly.

Compared to Liu Xie who was talking in the car, Liu Bei had a heavy burden on his shoulders.

He was not afraid of night battles, and he was even less afraid of fighting with the enemy. But in the dark, he could not recognize people, nor could he recognize generals by flags. He could only distinguish the enemy and us by lanterns and accents, which really gave Liu Bei a headache. Especially now that the troops were in chaos due to the adjustment of the formation, if he fought with the enemy at this time, it would be easy to get separated from them, so he told Liu Xie not to run around.

The cavalry led by Yan Liang were running very fast. Taking advantage of the dim night, the elite cavalry from Hebei suddenly rushed to the front of the chaotic convoy.

In the darkness of night, the cavalrymen did not dare to charge rashly because they did not know the enemy's deployment, but instead shot at them with their horse bows.

Compared with Liu Bei's troops who were lined up with torches, the Hebei cavalrymen shot at people based on the source of the fire. Liu Bei's archers did not dare to change their formation and could only fight back based on the sound and shadows.

Although the arrows whistled in the air and were difficult to discern in the dark, their accuracy was impressive. The arrows shot by the cavalry were blocked by the infantry under Liu Bei's command, while the arrows fired back by the infantry missed.

After shooting for a while, except for the good archers on both sides who performed well, the rest of the soldiers did not show any outstanding performance and instead wasted their arrows.

Seeing that the army formation had not been broken, Yan Liang whipped the cavalry general under his tent and said sternly: "Lead the troops to charge, or I will chop off your head."

The cavalry general was afraid of Yan Liang's power and feared that he would be punished according to Yan Liang's military tactics, so he whistled to call his confidants, signaling his subordinates to follow him in the charge.

Soon, they found an empty corner, and the cavalry general rode his horse, holding a spear, and led the cavalry under his tent to charge towards the army.

The next moment, dozens of cavalrymen rushed out from the darkness. Faced with the fierce cavalry charge, the infantrymen stationed at the corners of the formation were frightened, but they still subconsciously fought back with spears.

"puff!"

A dull collision sound was heard in the dark night, followed by the wailing of war horses and the painful groans of infantrymen.

Then, more than ten cavalrymen rushed into the corner of the formation and fought with the infantrymen. The sounds of commotion, shouting, and roaring rose and fell in the dark night.

In order to prevent the Hebei cavalry from expanding their advantage, Guan Yu gave up the idea of a decapitation charge and instead led hundreds of cavalry to charge out and engage in a fierce battle with Yan Liang's main force.

While running, Guan Yu swung his lance and stabbed the tip of the lance into the waist of Yuan Qi. The red blade came out and rushed to the next target, killing several people in a row and breaking through the formation. He was extremely brave and powerful. Yan Liang was not to be outdone. He also led the way and fought with Guan Yu's cavalry, killing the cavalry and seizing the lance. No one could stop him.

It’s a pity that the night was dark and neither of them found each other. Otherwise, the fight between the two generals would have been fierce. It is hard to know whether Yan Liang would have been killed by Guan Yu as in history.

Under the stars, the two armies fought fiercely. Sometimes, due to the chaotic situation on the battlefield, it was difficult to distinguish between the enemy and us, and even accidental killings occurred.

The battle lasted until midnight. When Yan Liang's cavalrymen were fighting with Liu Bei, Chunyu Qiong and his infantrymen finally arrived. Ten miles away from the battlefield, everyone could see the fire of Chunyu Qiong's troops. Liu Bei secretly groaned in his heart. His troops only had a few thousand people. He was able to fight with Yan Liang's two or three thousand elite cavalrymen for a long time because of the bravery of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Now that Yuan Shao's reinforcements have arrived, he is afraid that he will be defeated here. However, his defeat is a small matter, and the emperor falling into Yuan Shao's hands is a big matter.

Considering that he had no support and the enemy had an endless supply of troops, Liu Bei decisively ordered his troops to withdraw and fled to the mountains with the emperor.

"His Majesty!"

Liu Bei walked to the imperial carriage and said hurriedly: "Yuan's troops are coming to our aid, and I am afraid I can't stop them. Now please get off the carriage and follow me to the mountains for refuge, and leave Hongnong at dawn."

Liu Xie looked out the window at the chaotic battlefield in the dark night and asked fearfully, "Will there be a way to survive after leaving the car today?"

"It's dark at night, and it's hard to see the road without a fire. It's hard to drive away now. But walking in the mountains and forests can hide your tracks and make it easier to find a small path to escape."

Liu Bei was very experienced in escaping, and pointed out to Liu Xie the necessity of abandoning his carriage and fleeing.

"I have prepared good horses. Your Majesty and the Queen, please mount them and set off."

"it is good!"

Liu Xie chose to believe Liu Bei's words, helped Queen Dong get off the car, and got on the horse and left under Liu Bei's arrangement.

Liu Xie held the reins, looked at Guan Yu who was fighting with Yan Liang's troops, and the officials who had disappeared, and asked: "My dear, if I flee to the mountains and forests now, what will General Guan and the others do?"

"Don't send anyone to take care of it!"

Liu Bei got on his horse and said, "As for Yunchang, I have sent someone to inform him to withdraw. He is brave enough to be matched by ten thousand men. Your Majesty does not need to worry about Yunchang."

As he spoke, Liu Bei whipped Liu Xie's mount, signaling everyone to escort Liu Xie and move forward quickly.

"Xuan De, I am Kong Rong, can you help me?"

However, Kong Rong's leg was injured by an arrow at some point, and he was leaning on a crutch and calling for help from Liu Bei.

Considering that Kong Rong was a disciple of Confucius, Liu Bei had to let Wang Long give up his horse and let Wang Long escort Kong Rong and follow closely behind Liu Xie.

"Mr. Kong, please!"

"Thank you, Mr. Xuande!"

Liu Bei saw that Shi Sunrui was not among the officials who accompanied him, so he asked, "Where are the Weiwei (Shi Sunrui), the Grand Chamberlain, and others?"

Kong Rong pointed to the northeast and said, "It is dark at night and difficult to recognize people. I only know that the Weiwei was attacked by cavalry and led some officials to flee to the mountain valley to avoid the enemy."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei originally intended to look for Shisun Rui, but seeing that the situation on the battlefield was chaotic and the enemy cavalry was entangled with him, Liu Bei had to temporarily give up the search for Shisun Rui and fought and retreated with Yan Liang's troops who were pursuing him. It was not until the infantry and cavalry withdrew into the mountains and forests and hid their tracks that he was able to get rid of Yan Liang's cavalry's pursuit.

However, Yan Liang saw that the terrain was rugged and it would be difficult for his cavalry to pursue on horseback, so he reorganized his troops and waited for Chunyu Qiong's troops to come to his support.

After Chunyu Qiong and Yan Liang met up, the Hebei troops took a short rest and then ordered their infantry to pursue along the mountain, hoping to see if they could find the emperor's whereabouts before dawn.

Yan Liang was exhausted. He looked at the soldiers who had been deployed and said, "I heard that Yuan Shu's troops are not far from Luoyang, and Zhang Yu's troops are even in Henei. So if you and I fail to welcome Your Majesty today, the situation will be favorable to Zhang Yu and Yuan Shu."

Chunyu Qiong was clear-headed and said, "We will first find your Majesty's whereabouts, and then we can let the captured ministers persuade your Majesty, hoping that your Majesty will recognize the situation and obey. Otherwise, if you use weapons to seize the emperor, even if you welcome the emperor, you will be dragged down by what you and I have done."

"Just follow what you said!"

The convoy was raided in the afternoon. Although many officials were killed intentionally or unintentionally by the chaotic army, there were still more than ten officials who were on good terms with Yuan Shao who survived, such as Infantry Captain Wei Jie, Palace Attendant Zhu Zhan, Archery Captain Ju Jun, and more than ten others.

Liu Xie rode for a while in the mountains and forests. When he encountered a rugged mountain road, he had to dismount and walk with Empress Dong and Concubine Fu.

The night was pitch black, especially in the woods where one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. Even with the faint light of the fire, the pampered Liu Xie and his concubines still had a hard time walking.

"what!"

Liu Xie missed a step and suddenly sprained his ankle. He cried out in pain and had to squat down, unable to walk.

"His Majesty?"

Liu Bei reached out to support Liu Xie and asked, "What happened?"

"I stepped on empty air and got injured. I can't walk far now!" Liu Xie said in pain with sweat on his forehead.

"Yide, come and carry His Majesty!"

Liu Bei was worried about being pursued, so he asked the tall and strong Zhang Fei to carry Liu Xie on his back.

"General Zhang is a great general, how can he betray me?" Liu Xie said evasively.

"Your Majesty, please get on my back!" Zhang Fei said.

After some reluctance, Liu Xie finally let Zhang Fei carry him. After getting on Zhang Fei's back, Liu Xie couldn't help crying and said, "My dear, your love for me is beyond comparison between a monarch and his subjects. It is really the love of an elder for his nephew."

"Although you are not within my five generations, from now on, you are my uncle!"

"Your Majesty, I dare not accept it!"

"How can my uncle not accept it?" Liu Xie's eyes filled with tears as he said, "The Han Dynasty is in decline, and the only person I can trust is my uncle!"

"I will swear to protect the Han Dynasty until my death!"

(End of this chapter)