Han officials

Chapter 140 The Calm Before the Storm [4K]

Late at night, in the domestic city.

The cold moonlight shone through the birch-bark window into the study, shattering into silver scales on the ground. Wei Zhe was seen drawing on a crude sand table with a wooden stick in his hand. When the cold wind blew, the flags around him could be heard rustling, adding an inexplicable murderous aura.

"No, still not!"

After a while, Wei Zhe only sighed softly and threw the stick aside helplessly.

Two months have passed, but Wei Zhe still hasn't captured Maruyama Castle.

It’s not that there was no progress. In fact, during this period of time, the Han army relied on the gradually improved shield carts to capture several mountain walls in succession and gradually approached the mountainside.

However, the Han army also suffered heavy casualties. Almost half of the Goguryeo vassal army was killed or wounded, and even many Han soldiers were killed or wounded.

Wei Zhe couldn't bear to see the team he had accumulated over the years being wasted, so he had no choice but to temporarily suspend the battle.

It can be said that Gao Nanwu's desperate gamble put Wei Zhe in an embarrassing situation.

Otherwise, he would simply withdraw his troops and fight again next year.

Although this resulted in some wasted efforts, it was not entirely in vain. At least Goguryeo had been severely damaged.

However, after this incident, it would not be so easy to successfully block the Goguryeo upper echelons next time.

Once Goguryeo moved its capital further north and lay dormant, it would be a real hidden danger to Liaodong.

Of course, Wei Zhe could also choose to achieve his goal in one go.

But in doing so he would risk seriously damaging his vitality.

All the veteran soldiers he had worked so hard to accumulate over the years might be lost in one day.

If he was just a general of the Han Dynasty or a prefect of a border county, it would not be a big deal.

After all, dying on the battlefield was the fate of the Han soldiers, and at most they would die.

But Wei Zhe is a rebellious person, and this kind of thing is putting the cart before the horse for him.

It's okay to destroy Goguryeo, but it's absolutely not okay if he is asked to gamble all the accumulation of these years!

So under the moonlight, Wei Zhe was seen tossing and turning, unable to sleep for a long time.

……

When Wei Zhe was trapped at the gates of Maruyama City, there was no peace in Youzhou either.

As Zhang Chun's rebellion developed to this point, people of insight realized that Zhang Chun was just a fig leaf for the Wuhuan people. Without dealing with the Wuhuan tribe behind Zhang Chun, the rebellion could not be quelled.

This is also the reason why the Luoyang court sent Liu Yu to be the governor of Youzhou.

Yes, Gongsun Zan was indeed brave, but when Qiu Liju led the Wuhuan tribes to plunder the northern prefectures and counties, Gongsun Zan was unable to resist and could only retreat to Youbeiping and switch from offense to defense.

After all, war cannot be led by bravery alone, it also requires a lot of manpower and material resources.

During the heyday of the Han Dynasty, the Wuhuan could certainly be driven like hunting dogs, but now the country no longer has the national strength it once had.

Faced with such a situation, Liu Yu decisively chose to focus on appeasement after taking office as the governor of Youzhou.

It's not that he is too soft-hearted, nor that he wants to be gentle, but it's the only way!

It must be admitted that as a mature bureaucrat, Liu Yu's decision was not problematic.

Liu Yu was even more convinced of this, especially after the court issued an edict to send Southern Xiongnu soldiers to attack Zhang Chun, which led to the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu being attacked and killed by his own people, and the Southern Xiongnu plundered Hedong County.

If you can't win, you can only surrender, it's that simple!
It’s a pity that the stubborn Gongsun Zan did not agree with Liu Yu’s decision and did not want to understand it.

At first, Liu Yu streamlined the Han army, abolished garrison troops, showed kindness and trust, and sent envoys to the Wuhuan tribes to explain the pros and cons, telling the Wuhuan Qiaowang and other tribal leaders that the court was wise and benevolent, allowed the rebels to surrender, and was willing to give them a way out. This led Qiuliju and others to want to submit.

After all, they have discovered in the past two years that although the Han people have weakened over the years, they are still the same Han people. Otherwise, the rebellious area would not have become smaller and smaller.

For this reason, when the Wuhuan tribes sent envoys to Ji County to contact Liu Yu to discuss surrender, the unwilling Gongsun Zan secretly sent people to intercept and kill these Wuhuan envoys on the way.

As a staunch advocate of war, he believed that even if all industries in Youzhou were destroyed, they should not be appeased.

However, this matter was soon discovered by Liu Yu.

"Your Excellency, Gongsun Zan's actions are a blatant act of rebellion." Inside the governor's mansion, the military officer Wei Dun said sternly, "If we don't punish him severely, it will only embolden this man to become more arrogant. If this continues, it will become a serious threat!"

However, Liu Yu stroked his beard and smiled upon hearing this, saying, "The soldiers were just impulsive. Ziyuan is worrying too much."

Without waiting for Wei Dun to say anything else, Liu Yu paused for a moment before decisively saying, "Recall the troops from all the counties and order them to return to their respective counties. As for Gongsun Zan...order him to lead over 10,000 infantry and cavalry to garrison Youbeiping!"

Although Liu Yu was determined to pacify the Wuhuan tribes, he knew in his heart that he could not really give up his martial arts.

The previous dismissal of the provincial troops was just a show for the Wuhuan people, to show them that he really had no intention of pursuing the matter further.

But in order to prevent the Wuhuan people from causing trouble again, henchmen like Gongsun Zan are still needed.

This is what a mature bureaucrat is like. They can even tolerate rebellious subordinates as long as they are useful.

After being deprived of his command over the troops in various counties of Youzhou, Gongsun Zan had no choice but to give up no matter how reluctant he was.

After all, Liu Yu is the governor of Youzhou, and now he can only obey orders!

After Gongsun Zan calmed down, the experienced Liu Yu quickly reached an agreement with Wuhuan leaders such as Qiuliju, and the Wuhuan tribes began to submit to Liu Yu one after another.

As a result, Zhang Chun's rebels were suddenly left alone.

Having lost the support of the Wuhuan tribes, Zhang Chun's rebel army soon became panic-stricken. In the end, Liu Yu did not even send a single soldier, and the remaining troops under Zhang Chun either surrendered or dispersed. Seeing this, Zhang Chun could only panic and abandon his wife and children, and flee outside the Great Wall with Zhang Ju to join the Xianbei people.

After Liu Yu learned about this, he did not look for the Xianbei people, but offered a large reward for the arrest of Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun.

As a result, in just half a month, Zhang Chun, who had fled to the Xianbei, was killed by his own retainer Wang Zheng.

When Wang Zheng sneaked all the way back to Guangyang County and handed Zhang Chun's head to Liu Yu, he stroked his beard and smiled.

The Youzhou Rebellion that lasted for three years was quelled by Liu Yu through political means!
It has to be said that the Luoyang court was indeed good at appointing the governor of Youzhou.

Liu Yu may not be capable of fighting, but he is good at maintaining local stability, which is exactly what Luoyang needs.

Therefore, when Liu Yu's battle report was sent to Luoyang, both the emperor and the ministers in the court praised Liu Yu highly and believed that he should be rewarded handsomely.

Finally, after discussion, the court decided to grant Liu Yu the position of Grand Marshal and the title of Marquis of Rongqiu for his contribution in quelling the rebellion.

Even Wang Zheng, the retainer who assassinated Zhang Chun, was granted the title of Marquis of Duting for his merits.

On the contrary, Gongsun Zan, who had been fighting desperately, did not receive any reward this time and did not even get the title of marquis.

Perhaps it was because of this that Gongsun Zan, who was stationed in Youbeiping, began to have other ideas.

……

April, summer of the sixth year of Zhongping.

On the Bingwu day, the sun was eclipsed.

Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, bought and killed the Yuyang bandit Zhang Chun, and the Grand Marshal Ma Ritian was pardoned, and Liu Yu was appointed as the Grand Marshal.

When Wei Zhe, who was in the city of Beijing, received the news from Xiangping, he couldn't help but sigh.

To be honest, before setting out on the expedition, Wei Zhe had never expected that the battle would drag on for so long.

He thought that Gao Nanwu would flee to avoid the battle, and he also thought that Gao Nanwu would perish together with him.

But I never thought that he would become a tough guy and would confront me!

The war to annihilate Goguryeo lasted for half a year. If Wei Zhe hadn't discovered it in time and sent people to plunder Goguryeo's food and grass, they would have run out of food by now.

But the situation is not much better now. In fact, Wei Zhe only left 10,000 people to continue besieging Maruyama Castle.

As for the other 10,000 Han troops, they were sent by Wei Zhe to various places in Goguryeo and divided into five groups to seek food.

It would be a waste to stay at Maruyama Castle anyway, so we might as well take the opportunity to clean up all parts of Goguryeo.

It’s true, this move really helped Wei Zhe recover a lot of health.

When the situation developed to this point, all parts of Goguryeo had actually stopped recognizing King Ko Nam-mu, and they had even tacitly accepted the fall of the Goguryeo court in Maruyama Castle.

As a result, two thousand Han troops were often able to drive more than ten thousand Goguryeo people to capture cities and territories.

After the city was broken, the Han army ate meat, while the Goguryeo vassal army drank soup.

So Wei Zhe watched from the foot of Maruyama City as cart after cart of furs, ginseng, pearls, jade and other valuables were delivered to the Han army camp in Guonei City.

After all, Goguryeo had been established for more than two hundred years and had always been on the rise.

The accumulation of a large country like Liaodong over two hundred years is an astronomical figure no matter how small it is.

Of course, it was difficult for the Han army to plunder everything in such a hurry.

Even so, Wei Zhe was very satisfied. At least the military funds for this expedition were recovered.

No, to be precise, he made a lot of money this time.

But then again, no matter how much they robbed, Goguryeo still had to be destroyed.

After several months of exploration, Wei Zhe has finally figured out the situation in Maruyama Castle.

So the next morning, at the foot of Maruyama Castle.

When they saw that the Han army was still pushing out hundreds of shield carts, the Goguryeo defenders on the stone wall also began to throw stones with numb expressions.

Fortunately, Maruyama Castle is a mountain castle, allowing the defenders to use local materials. Otherwise, the defenders would have run out of ammunition and food after several months of siege.

In fact, the defenders of Maruyama Castle have now become a spent force and are just holding on.

Gao Nanwu, who had become increasingly paranoid, had even made up his mind that if the food ran out, he would use people as food.

He started by eating the most useless women and servants, which was enough to keep him going for a long time.

Therefore, facing the Han army's siege, the people of Maruyama Castle did not make a fuss.

However, when Wei Zhe was commanding his soldiers to attack the city from the front, Taishi Ci led more than 300 people around to the northwest.

After such a long period of exploration, Wei Zhe discovered that the mountain on the northwest side of Maruyama Castle was steep and the defense there was the weakest, which was a rare entry point.

So Wei Zhe's tactics today are actually to avoid the strong and attack the weak.

He was responsible for the frontal feint attack, thus creating opportunities for Taishi Ci in the northwest.

As the frontal siege became more and more intense, Taishi Ci, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately took the lead and led more than 300 strong and climbing soldiers, carrying short knives and long ropes, and secretly climbed up the cliff.

In order to avoid being exposed, they even took the initiative to keep their mouths shut before setting off.

In this way, even if a soldier accidentally slips and falls off the cliff, it will not make much noise.

Fortunately, there weren't many accidents along the way.

Although some soldiers fell off the cliff and died or were injured along the way, Taishi Ci and others finally reached the finish line safely.

When Taishi Ci changed his career to become an assassin, the effect was simply too good to be true.

It was not until Taishi Ci was about to kill all the guards in the northwest corner that the other Goguryeo guards realized something was wrong.

But it was too late now.

As Taishi Ci gained a foothold on the top of the mountain, the Han army below quickly climbed up along long ropes.

In just half an hour, more than 2,000 Han soldiers appeared in the heart of Maruyama Castle.

When Wei Zhe, who was under the central army, received the news, he burst into laughter.

"This battle is decided!"

And then it happened as expected.

As the sounds of fighting from the top of the hill grew louder and louder, the Goguryeo defenders in front of Wei Zhe began to fall into panic uncontrollably.

With enemies both in front and behind, many defenders who had been resisting stubbornly were suddenly at a loss as to what to do.

Even though most of the top of the mountain was still controlled by Goguryeo, everyone knew that the situation had changed.

Having lost the absolute geographical advantage, they have absolutely no chance of winning!
So even though Taishi Ci had not yet captured Gao Nanwu, the Goguryeo defenders in front of Wei Zhe had already fallen into a state of defeat, allowing the Han army to attack them from the front with great momentum.

Even at the very end, the Goguryeo soldiers at the back dropped their weapons and knelt down with numb expressions as soon as they saw the Han army, without any intention of resisting.

However, just when Wei Zhe was about to completely take over Maruyama Castle, a fire suddenly broke out in the uppermost bedroom.

Wei Zhe looked around and saw a skinny man who looked like a tall man named Wuhan Zi, dressed in gorgeous clothes, dancing in the middle of the flames and laughing wildly, "Destiny is with me! Destiny is with me!"

Wei Zhe couldn't help but frown when he heard the hysterical laughter.

Because the fire was so big, Wei Zhe could only watch Gao Nanwu gradually die in the fire.

Only after completely conquering Maruyama Castle did Wei Zhe seek out Zuo Fu Yu Su and ask:
"How did he become like this?"

Yu Su: “…”

Yu Su just looked at Wei Zhe with a complicated expression, and everything was said without words.

Wei Zhe choked when he saw this, and realized that he seemed to have asked a stupid question.

You should know that it was Gao Nanwu who caused the fall from a leader of a revival to a ruler of a fallen country.

With this thought in mind, Wei Zhe no longer had the desire to interrogate the prisoner.

"Destroy this city!"

After saying this, Wei Zhe escorted the seized property from Maruyama Castle back to the Han camp at the foot of the city.

Upon hearing this, Xi Zhicai immediately understood, and Taishi Ci also understood.

So after a while, everyone in Maruyama Castle was slaughtered.

As for the Maruyama Castle, which was once as solid as a rock, it soon became a pile of ruins.

After all, Maruyama Castle had resisted the Han army for several months. If they had surrendered and survived, the deterrent power of the Han army in Goguryeo would probably have been greatly reduced in the future.

The barbarians fear power but not virtue, that's how it is!

Even if killing can only deter one generation, without killing even one generation cannot be deterred!
However, even though Wei Zhe reported to Luoyang immediately after taking Maruyama Castle, he was still one step too late.

On the Bingchen day of the fourth month of summer, the emperor died in the Jiade Hall of the Nangong Palace at the age of thirty-four.

When the messenger from Liaodong presented the seal of the King of Goguryeo to the court, it could only be placed in front of Liu Hong's spirit.

For a moment, the entire Han Dynasty began to fall into a strange atmosphere...

(End of this chapter)