Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 428 Betrayal

Wuchang.

Liu Yi held the imperial edict without moving, his face showing neither anger nor fear, but utter calm.

In fact, he had long anticipated this day and had been secretly preparing for it for many years.

"If I obey, will Liu Daogui let me go?" Liu Yi's voice was low and deep, like a suppressed leopard.

Military advisor Yang Sui said, “Liu Daogui might spare us, but he will never spare you, my lord. Have you not seen what happened to the Langya Wang clan? Their direct descendants were all beheaded, and their collateral descendants were exiled to the south, where they were living a life worse than death. If you submit to him, my lord, you may be safe for three to five years, but after that, it will be inevitable.”

Zhuge Changmin angrily said, "How can a great man remain subservient to others for long? Your Excellency commands 50,000 elite troops, while Liu Daogui has only 10,000 men under your command. Now that Liu Yu is dead, he can hardly stand alone. The scholars of the world have suffered under Liu Yu and Liu Daogui for too long. If Your Excellency were to raise your arm and call out, many would surely respond and surrender to him. Their lives would be out of their own hands, and a great man would not do that!"

A burly man stepped forward from behind him. He was eight feet tall and stood like an iron tower. His eyes flashed with a fierce light as he said, "Liu Yu is dead. Who in the world is my match now!"

This man is Zhuge Limin, the younger brother of Zhuge Changmin. He is brave enough to fight ten thousand men, but he has never had the opportunity to make a name for himself over the years.

Lu Zongzhi cupped his hands and said, "Liu Daogui only has ten thousand cavalry under his command. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Your Excellency should cross the Yangtze River to the south with lightning speed, capture Jiankang, raise the banner of righteousness, and support the Jin Dynasty. Heroes from all over the world will surely rise up in response. Even if all else fails, you can still dominate Jiangdong!"

Liu Daogui not only left his elite troops in the north, but also concentrated his navy in the Jiangling area. The Guangling navy was just right to "escort" the emperor and his civil and military officials northward.

Jiankang was in a state of emptiness.

If we take Jiankang, we can simply establish a member of the Sima family clan and use the name of the Jin dynasty to fight against Liu Daogui.

These days, three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged Sima families are plentiful; the Sima family is famous for its fertility.

However, Liu Yi coldly glanced at everyone.

There are many who are good at planning, but few who are good at making decisions.

Raising the "banner of righteousness" was easy, but Liu Yi's head was now tied to it. Others could surrender if they lost, at least preserving their clan, but Liu Yi had no way out.

Moreover, he knew better than anyone the strength of Wuchang and Nanyu.

It was said to have an army of 50,000, but in reality, less than 8,000 were elite troops; the rest were garrison troops, similar to Liu Daogui's garrison soldiers.

Liu Daogui's conquest of Wei and Qin made him unparalleled in power and influence. He also held the imperial court in his hands, and it took immense courage to fight against him.

"Back then, Xiahou Xuan abandoned Yong and Liang and joined Sima Yi. In less than three years, he was cut in half at the waist by Sima Shi. Since you, my lord, have no fighting spirit, we should disperse and live in seclusion in the mountains and fields. I'm afraid you will not be able to escape even if you grow wings!"

Yang Sui added the final fuel to the fire. As a member of the Yang clan of Mount Tai, he was very knowledgeable about the history of the aristocratic families since the Wei and Jin dynasties.

Liu Daogui's knife was already at Liu Yi's neck.

Liu Yi lowered his head, his face terribly gloomy, but Liu Fan beside him was already furious. With a clang, the long sword at his waist was drawn and held to his own neck in the astonished gaze of the crowd. "Brother does not wish to raise an army, so I will commit suicide here today to prevent myself from falling into Liu Daogui's hands and dying without a burial place."

Liu Yi grabbed Liu Fan's hand and said, "Then let's have a good fight! Liu Daogui is a sleeping dragon, and I am a coiled dragon. What do we have to fear from him? Quickly send someone north to contact the Prince of Qiao and the Prince of Langya. Let's move from three places together and turn the world upside down!"

"Your Excellency is truly wise!" All the generals were overjoyed.

No matter how many battles Liu Daogui won or how powerful he became, these people didn't care.

"This humble general is willing to be the vanguard and attack Jiankang!" Lu Gui, son of Lu Zongzhi, stepped forward with his hands clasped.

Yang Sui said, “Jiankang is a fortified city, and Liu Daogui’s eight thousand elite cavalry are guarding Gushu. Once we move south, they will cut off our retreat. I think we should never cross the river. The best strategy is to go straight to Shouchun, blockade the Jianghuai region, and take Pengcheng. The middle strategy is to take Xinye first, then Xiangyang and Jiangling, and advance into Bashu. The worst strategy is Jiankang.”

Taking Pengcheng would be tantamount to severing Liu Daogui's foundation.

But this requires immense courage and combat power. Liu Yi's tens of thousands of troops have not experienced any bloody battles since the chaos of the demon bandits began.

Liu Yi was really not confident.

The worst option, attacking Jiankang, would mean facing Liu Daogui's 10,000 cavalry, which made Liu Yi even more uncertain.

The Northern Army has fought many battles over the years, and every time they have won with fewer troops, they have won. It is even rumored in the north that the Northern Army is invincible if it has fewer than 10,000 troops, but more than 10,000 troops.

Liu Daogui's more than 10,000 cavalrymen successively defeated Daxi Jin and Gongsun Biao, captured Ye City, and killed Gongsun Fei in battle. His achievements were no less brilliant than the Battle of Fei River.

"The middle option!" Liu Yi chose the middle option without the slightest hesitation.

Taking Xiangyang and advancing into Sichuan would allow us to control at least half of the country, and then we could observe the situation in the world and plan our next move.

“Sigh…” Lu Gui sighed deeply.

Within half a day, all the soldiers in Wuchang City were mobilized.

But it wasn't heading east to Jiankang, nor north to Xuchang, but westward...

Gushu.

"It is said that Heaven's justice is clear: traitors will surely be punished. Ministers of the state should uphold loyalty and filial piety; how can the throne be held by wolves and jackals? Now, the brothers Liu Yu and Liu Daogui harbor the wicked intentions of beasts. Outwardly they claim to be the regent of the Duke of Zhou, but inwardly they are doing what Wang Mang did to usurp the Han throne. They forced the imperial family to move north, abducted countless officials, and arbitrarily killed key ministers. This is an outrage against both gods and men, and cannot be tolerated by Heaven and Earth!"

His crimes are too numerous to count; his heart is so cruel that he is worse than a jackal or tiger, and far surpasses even a snake or viper...

This is not merely the work of traitors to the Jin dynasty; it is a scourge upon the rites and music of Chinese civilization!

"Heaven above, earth below, Liu Yi, the governor of Yuzhou, has received a secret edict from the Emperor to issue a proclamation throughout the land, calling upon all to jointly punish the traitors of the state..."

Liu Yi indeed rebelled, and even issued a grand proclamation denouncing the traitor. However, he made no mention of Liu Yu and Liu Daogui's achievements in suppressing the Celestial Masters sect, destroying Huan Chu, defeating the Wei state, destroying the Southern Yan, recovering Shu, and conquering Yao Qin.

When Huan Xuan usurped the Jin throne, the Jin dynasty had already perished. Over the years, it was Liu Yu, Liu Daogui, and the generals of the Northern Army who forcibly dragged its remains out of the grave and put it on the throne.

"This humble general is willing to lead troops to attack Wuchang!" The brothers Tan Shao and Tan Zhi could no longer contain themselves.

Liu Daogui said calmly, "No rush. Let this proclamation spread further and I want to see how many people respond."

"Report! Liu Yi is leading an army of 30,000 straight towards Xinye!" a scout reported.

Liu Daogui couldn't help but laugh, "Liu Yi, you're a coward."

Jiankang was sparsely populated, and there were few elite troops left in the entire Jiangzuo region. Liu Yi dared not go south, but instead went straight to Jingxiang, which shows that he was tough on the outside but weak on the inside.

The idea was good, but Jingzhou and Xiangyang were not so easy to conquer.

Xiangyang has Tan Pingzhi, Jiangling has Wang Zhen'e, Xuchang has Xin Gongjing, and Wancheng has Zhao Lunzhi.

Liu Yi has kicked a hornet's nest.

However, by the afternoon, the battle report came back that Xinye had been captured by Liu Yi's fierce generals Lu Gui and Zhuge Limin.

"How could Xinye have been captured?" Liu Daogui asked in utter astonishment.

Although Xinye is not as fortified as Xiangyang and Wancheng, it is still a gateway to Jingchu.

Meng Gan said, "Governor Tan should withdraw his troops to Fancheng and let Liu Yi's army enter Nanyang!"

"Bring me the map," Liu Daogui said, intrigued.

Tan Pingzhi was known for his filial piety and brotherly love. He trained Tan Shao, Tan Zhi, and Tan Daoji, and he also fought alongside Liu Yu.

Birds of a feather flock together; someone who could become sworn brothers with Liu Yu must have been quite capable in military strategy.

On the map, the Nanyang Basin is shaped like the bottom of a pot, cut off by the Han River to the south, with Wancheng to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the west.

It is obvious that Tan Pingzhi is luring the enemy deep into his territory.

After Liu Yi's army entered Nanyang, Wuchang was left with few troops.

A few days later, Liu Yi successively captured Chaoyang, Caiyang, Rangxian, Zanxian and other places, but when he attacked Fancheng, he encountered fierce resistance from Tan Pingzhi.

Liu Yi turned to attack Wancheng, but was blocked by Zhao Lunzhi.

For a month, not a single person responded to Liu Yi's call.

Sun Chu, the governor of Guangzhou, submitted his resignation, claiming that he was old and frail and requested Liu Daogui to appoint a general to guard Guangzhou so that he could return to Yongxing County in Kuaiji to live out his retirement.

Du Huidu, the governor of Jiaozhou, beheaded Zhuge Yumin, Liu Yi's envoy, and sent his head a thousand miles to Gushu.

Liu Yi was of the same clan as Liu Cui, the Prefect of Jibei, who personally went to Gushu to apologize.

Liu Daogui immediately promoted Sun Chu to Marquis of Houguan County, with a fief of a thousand households, and added him to the title of General of the Southern Central Army. Du Huidu was appointed General of Guangwu, holding the imperial insignia and overseeing all military affairs of Jiaozhou. Liu Cui was enfeoffed as Marquis of Jian'an County and General Yangwei.

At the same time, an edict was issued stripping Liu Yi, Liu Fan, Zhuge Changmin, Lu Zongzhi, and Yang Sui of all their titles and ranks, effectively turning Liu Yi into a rebel.

"Report! Sima Guofan, Huan Shisui, and the leader of the displaced people, Chen Xi, have raised an army of 30,000 and marched out of Hutao Mountain, heading straight for Hefei!"

Not all forces sided with Liu Daogui.

Liu Yiwu asked in surprise, "The Huan family's people are still alive? And who is this Sima Guofan?"

"In the Battle of Fuzhou Mountain, Duke Song defeated the Huan clans. Huan Qian retreated to Jingxiang, and Huan Shisui led his troops to retreat to Dabie Mountain in order to attack Jiankang. However, Huan Chu's army suffered a crushing defeat and has been in hiding ever since. Sima Guofan was a descendant of Sima Fu, the Prince of Anping. Huan Chu usurped the Jin throne, and the Prince of Anping's lineage was worried about being slaughtered by the Huan clan, so they fled with their people and their whereabouts have been unknown for many years."

Of all those present, Yin Zhongwen was most familiar with the origins and backgrounds of these demons and monsters.

The Dabie Mountains stretch across the four prefectures of Henan, Yangzhou, Jiangnan, and Jingzhou, covering an area of ​​thousands of miles, and are strategic locations in all directions.

If the capital were still in Jiankang, then this force hidden in the Dabie Mountains would be like a sharp arrow hanging over Jiankang.

Nowadays, the land is vast and sparsely populated, with the population concentrated around the cities and counties. Between the prefectures and counties, there are still many uninhabited areas that have become gathering places for bandits, refugee armies, and beggar armies.

Not all the refugee armies and beggar armies were loyal to the Jin dynasty.

"Liu Yi is quite capable; this battle should not be underestimated." Liu Daogui stared at the map for a long time, and based on his understanding of Liu Yi, he was certain that he had more than just these methods.

Two armies, one heading west and the other northeast.

Hefei is also a strategic point in the Jianghuai region, with Shouchun behind it, and Pengcheng behind Shouchun!
Abandoning the attack on Jiankang was the wisest choice, avoiding a decisive battle with Liu Daogui's 10,000 elite cavalry.

“Hefei is a strategic point in the Jianghuai region, and Sima Guofan, Huan Shisui, and Chen Xi are heading straight for Pengcheng!” Liu Yiwu’s eyes were burning with apprehension.

"How dare they!" Liu Elang, Zhai Guang, Yao Yongcuo, Dou Ba, and other newly promoted Tiger Guard generals were filled with righteous indignation.

(End of this chapter)