Jinting Han people

Meanwhile, in Luoyang during the third year of the Tai'an era, a quiet winter was underway.

In previous years, this time of year would have been the busiest time in Luoyang. With the autumn campaigns over, the court's busiest affairs were finished, and everyone from high-ranking officials to ordinary farmers breathed a sigh of relief. The powerful and wealthy built mansions, bought and sold servants, bred fine horses, and indulged in plum blossom viewing and horse racing—indulging in all the pleasures of the day. The common people, taking advantage of this off-season, came to Luoyang to find work. Some set up stalls in the streets and alleys to perform, while others worked as laborers at the docks. In short, the city was a scene of unparalleled prosperity and bustling activity, unmatched by any other city in the world.

But Luoyang today is extremely desolate. While the city's scale remains the same, the streets and alleys are deserted, with hardly a pedestrian to be seen. Occasionally, a fox can be seen scurrying through the snow. Near the White Horse Temple, foxes and rabbits roam in groups; soldiers have caught foxes in the woods and skinned them. The canals beside the palace walls are so deep in snow and deserted that even officers have fallen in, only to be discovered the next day.

This was already the result of Lu Zhi's efforts. Although Zhang Fang had occupied Luoyang, he had no idea how to govern it. He focused his energy on military affairs, constantly building fortifications and plundering refugees in the surrounding areas, but he didn't care about the lives of the people at all. As a result, when Lu Zhi took over Luoyang in August, there were bones and corpses lying everywhere inside and outside the city, the fields were deserted, the city walls were in ruins, and there were packs of wild dogs.

Now, the river bridges in Luoyang have been rebuilt, all the corpses in the city have been cleared and buried, and the stray dogs that used to roam the city have been hunted down and killed. He then used work relief to recruit refugees to repair the palace walls and attracted merchants from Henan and Hebei to supply the army with funds. In just three months, his achievements far surpassed Zhang Fang's. Although it was still impossible to restore the city to its former glory, Luoyang had regained some vitality and seemed to have hope again.

However, Lu Zhi was not in a good mood at this moment. The reason was simple: the document he submitted to Sima Ying had been rejected again.

Upon receiving the reply from the King of Chengdu, Lu Zhi raised his head and asked Wang Cheng, who had come to see him, "Is that all? Does my king have anything else to say?"

“That’s all.” Wang Cheng shook his head first, then smiled with feigned composure: “The General hopes that you can focus on managing Luoyang. As for other matters, please leave them to my elder brother for the time being. You don’t need to worry about them for now.”

Lu Zhi remained silent for a long time, staring intently at Wang Cheng until the latter felt uncomfortable. He then chuckled coldly twice and lowered his head again, saying, "Alright, then I wish you all the best in Yanzhou, Your Excellency."

Despite being addressed as a blessing, Lu Zhi's tone lacked any warmth, and Wang Cheng's smile naturally became extremely forced. The two exchanged a perfunctory bow and bid each other farewell. When Lu Chen entered after Wang Cheng left, Lu Zhi had changed completely. He sat listlessly by the window, lost in thought and silent.

At this time, Lu Zhi lived on the city wall of Jinyong City, his window facing the Qianjin Canal. He had even repaired the canal recently; the water flowed swiftly, and he could see the watermills creaking and turning, imagining the laborers on the other side adding rice and threshing it. But what did these threshed rice grains have to do with these commoners? He then thought of himself, wondering what the Chengdu King's hegemony had to do with him.
"Though I have acted with sincerity and devotion, how can I possibly guarantee this?" Lu Zhi felt he had suffered a great setback. This was not the first time that Sima Ying had acted against his plans without authorization.

According to Lu Zhi's plan, he did not intend to interfere in court affairs. If Liu Hong could see the current chaos in the court, how could Lu Zhi not understand? His expedition to Luoyang had only one purpose: to restore Sima Ying's reputation, which had been damaged.

Although the Northern Army had previously offended the Emperor by leading troops south, it had not caused any substantial harm except for its defeat. In contrast, the Western Army's actions in the capital region were nothing short of inhumane: forcing the gentry to commit massacres, slaughtering civilians, and even forcing the court to relocate the capital, leaving Luoyang a desolate wasteland. All of this was sufficient to demonstrate their disrespect for the Emperor and their utter treason.

Lu Zhi believed that if he could lead troops to recover the capital region, thus overcoming the rebellious forces and returning it to the court, it would undoubtedly be an impeccable act of loyalty to the emperor, relieving military pressure in Hebei and worthy of being called a contemporary example of respecting the king and repelling the barbarians. Sima Ying's previous acts of defiance would then be insignificant, and he would be able to regain popular support and return to the path of a sage king that Lu Zhi had laid out for him.

Before undertaking this task, Lu Zhi repeatedly warned Sima Ying that once the Northern Army marched south to Luoyang, it would inevitably cause turmoil in the court. This was unavoidable. However, the more this was the case, the more crucial it was to remain calm and composed in the face of temptations from various forces.

Firstly, the political situation at court was complex and multifaceted, and it was best to avoid getting involved and becoming the target of everyone's criticism. Secondly, marching south to Luoyang would inevitably provoke the Western Army, and he would have to deal with their challenge, leaving him no energy to attend to anything else. Therefore, from both a military and political perspective, it was not advisable to create unnecessary complications, but rather to choose to hold Luoyang.

Sima Ying had readily agreed, but upon hearing the news of Sima Yong's death, Wang Yan, standing nearby, whispered that it was the will of Heaven and that the imperial cause should be accomplished in this way. Sima Ying immediately went back on his word.

He entrusted the 50,000 garrison troops of Ye City to Wang Yan, with Meng Chao as the commander-in-chief. He also drew 70,000 troops from Lu Zhi's 150,000-strong army in Luoyang, bringing the total to 120,000. He appointed Wang Yan as the commander-in-chief, with Wang Kuang and Wang Dun as his deputies, and ordered them to cross the river at Yanjin and march south to Yanzhou. Their plan was to first capture Wang Cui, the governor of Yanzhou, and station their troops at Xiaohuang. Then, when Liu Qiao advanced to Suiyang and Sima Mao advanced to Qiao County, they would divide their forces into three routes and attack Xuchang together.

Lu Zhi vehemently opposed this matter. Upon learning of Sima Ying's edict, he immediately submitted a memorial to Ye City, stating that the matter was inappropriate and hoping that Sima Ying would rescind his order and proceed according to the original plan. However, Sima Ying refused to listen. In his reply, he only called Lu Zhi pedantic and told him to focus on managing Luoyang. Apart from quickly handing over the 70,000 troops to Wang Cheng, he was not required to issue any other orders, which led to the scene just witnessed.

As a strategist, how could Lu Zhi not feel disheartened that he could not get his lord to listen to his advice and that the strategist would repeatedly contradict him?

Seeing his father's dejected expression, Lu Chen was at a loss for words to offer comfort. At the same time, Lu Chen was also puzzled, for he didn't see any fault in Sima Ying's decision. After much thought, he could only conclude that his father was disappointed by his failure in the power struggle. Therefore, he consoled him, saying, "My lord, why be like this? Now that the Prince of Hejian is dead, and Zu Ti is left to fend for himself, this is indeed a golden opportunity to go to court. Even if the princes don't achieve a great victory by going south, surely that won't be a mistake?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi snorted and looked sternly at his eldest son. Lu Chen quickly bowed and said, "Please enlighten me, sir."

Lu Zhi then spoke slowly. His voice was not loud and was slightly hoarse, but his words were extremely penetrating.

He astutely pointed out, "Could Wang Yifu be a loyal minister?"

With just one sentence, Lu Chen was speechless. Wang Yan had served several different rulers and was involved in numerous coups. He was extremely adept at changing his allegiance to the winds of change. Sima Ying had entrusted so many troops to him; who could guarantee that Wang Yan wouldn't switch sides again and again?
Lu Chen hadn't considered this possibility. After pondering for a moment, he hesitated and said, "Sir, aren't you overthinking this? Even if Wang Yan isn't a loyal subject, he has so many veteran generals under his command who have served His Highness for many years. With them around, surely nothing will go wrong?" Lu Zhi lowered his head, flipping through the scroll in his hand, and sneered, "They come for profit, and they'll leave for profit as well. They might not rebel, but if His Highness falls into trouble, will they be loyal to him?"

"How could Your Highness have fallen into misfortune?" Hearing this, Lu Chen became even more confused. Because, judging from the current situation, the situation in Guandong was excellent.

Lu Zhi slammed his fist on the table, unusually gritting his teeth as he cursed, "Zhang Fang is already sharpening his sword! Yet our army is dividing its forces in Yanzhou at this time—isn't that courting death? Who will stop the Western Army's ferocious might?!"

He knew what Lu Chen didn't understand, and after a long sigh, he slowly said, "Many people think that with the death of the Prince of Hejian, Guanzhong will be in chaos, and the Western Army will surely rest for a while. But who is Zhang Fang? He is the kind of person who dared to defy the world and burn Luoyang. Now that Zhang Fang has murdered the emperor and seized the throne, he is eager to establish his power and prestige. How could he possibly let Luoyang go? He will definitely lead his troops back to fight his way back."

"According to my original plan, Zhang Fang led his troops into Luoyang, and I gathered my army, backed by the major city of Ye, to fight him in a decisive battle. With the preparations made during this period, we should have at least an 80% chance of victory. Once we defeat Zhang Fang, our army can advance westward and occupy Guanzhong, and then our great cause will be accomplished! We will control Hebei and Guanzhong, and we will have achieved the great merit of eliminating treacherous villains. As long as we continue to uphold the way of the sage king, respect the king and repel the barbarians, and after several years of preparation, we will win the hearts of the people. Who in the world can rival us?"

“But now…” Lu Zhi couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He looked at all the plans he had carefully designed, which had vanished in an instant because of the Chengdu King’s sudden inspiration. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of powerlessness, and then sighed, “Now Ye City has no spare troops. If the troops I have cannot stop Zhang Fang, can I expect Wang Yan and the others to come to the rescue?”

"The world is in such chaos that it is no longer an era where one can command the feudal lords simply by obtaining the emperor. If we lose this battle, the situation will spiral out of control."

Lu Chen was speechless. Only now did he realize that the situation had become so urgent.

What he didn't know was that Lu Zhi had an even more terrifying conjecture he hadn't voiced: The Yellow River was freezing over again, and he hadn't captured Hangu Pass and Yiyang, so he couldn't stop Zhang Fang's eastward advance. What if the enemy disregarded Luoyang and crossed the river directly to attack Hebei, heading straight for Ye City? If he couldn't find any usable reinforcements, it would be an insurmountable dead end.

What could be done? At that moment, the first person that came to Lu Zhi's mind was Liu Xian. Compared to the King of Chengdu's repeated breaches of promise, this person, who had nothing to do with him and was clearly on a different side, always listened to his plans without question and never questioned his own selfish motives.

To be honest, Lu Zhi's decision to send Liu Xian to Hanzhong was not without its own selfish motives. First, if Liu Xian remained in Hedong to develop his forces, whether successful or not, it would inevitably have a negative impact on the Northern Army's development, and Lu Zhi had to eliminate this factor. Second, he could also use Liu Xian to disrupt the Western Expeditionary Army, buying the Northern Army some time to develop. Third, from a personal perspective, Lu Zhi himself did not want to fight Liu Xian, and therefore preferred that Liu Xian go further away.

But the result was unexpected. All three objectives have been achieved, but problems have arisen on Sima Ying's side.

People often like to cling to outdated methods, assuming that methods that worked in the past will surely succeed in the future. They also believe that methods that failed in the past will inevitably fail in the present, completely ignoring the fact that times have changed and circumstances are vastly different now.

For example, Liu Bang won over the feudal lords by enfeoffing them with numerous titles and achieved a great victory over Western Chu in four years. This was because the imperial system was not yet stable, and he could still use this compromise. However, once the imperial system was stable, this strategy was no longer effective. Another example is Cao Cao, who used the emperor to command the feudal lords and unified the north. He took advantage of the decline of the imperial family and the lack of legitimacy among the feudal lords. However, in today's society, where the system of princes being sent to govern regions has been established and local gentry are deeply entrenched, the effect is barely better than nothing.

Sima Ying made this mistake: he could not understand Lu Zhi's advice that now was the time to rebuild the system and people's hearts, and that he had to rebuild the empire step by step in a down-to-earth manner. The more he tried to take shortcuts, the more shaky he became and the more he would seek his own death.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhi couldn't help but compare it with Liu Xian's choice, and then thought to himself with self-deprecation: Could it be that I really made the wrong choice?
This isn't really a problem. If Lu Zhi were given another chance, he probably still wouldn't choose Liu Xian. Because during the Yuan Kang era, only the Prince of Chengdu could offer him a chance to realize his ideals. Lu Zhi was a pragmatic person; he wouldn't waste years waiting for Liu Xian. And having made his choice, Lu Zhi had no intention of regretting it.

Liu Xian had already gone to Hanzhong, and the journey was long and arduous, making communication extremely difficult, let alone asking him to help contain Zhang Fang. Lu Zhi had no choice but to quickly abandon the idea. Instead, he urgently wrote several orders: first, to transfer troops from General Ning Shuo Wang Jun's forces; second, to transfer troops from Sima Teng, the governor of Bingzhou; and third, to transfer troops from Cui Bi, the governor of Pingzhou and the Commandant of the Eastern Barbarians. The situation was urgent, and he could no longer concern himself with the safety of the border; resisting Zhang Fang was the top priority.

During this period, he hesitated for a time, wondering whether to let Liu Yuan return to Bingzhou and then call upon the five Xiongnu tribes again. But when the pen touched the paper, he hesitated again and again and finally gave up.

Then Lu Zhi wrote another memorial to Sima Ying. This time, he no longer opposed Sima Ying's decision, but only suggested that Sima Ying's military strength was insufficient for the current offensive on all sides, and hoped that Ye City could immediately recruit soldiers to bolster the forces. For this purpose, he recommended two candidates: Ding Shao, the Prefect of Guangping, and Shao Xu, the Military Advisor for the Northern Expedition.

Having arranged everything, Lu Zhi felt no sense of security whatsoever. He knew that Sima Ying was a pleasure-seeker, and without his supervision, he would surely be busy indulging in revelry, leaving state affairs to others. If the ruler himself didn't care, how could others possibly put in their best effort? Even Lu Zhi himself couldn't help but compare himself to Liu Xian, sighing inwardly.

As evening fell, Lu Zhi walked alone atop the city walls of Luoyang. Sometimes he gazed at Mangshan Mountain to the north of the city, sometimes at Xiaoshan Mountain to the west, sometimes at the thick clouds overhead, and sometimes at the boundless land beneath his feet.

Even as the storm approached, he still felt lonely, as if he were all alone despite commanding a vast army. (End of Chapter)