Chapter 644: Sinister
"This is a great opportunity right in front of us. If we miss this opportunity, there will never be another chance to reach the top directly like this!"
"Time waits for no one. If you hesitate for a moment, something unexpected may happen."
"How can you keep going forward if you know you have a way out? Have you forgotten the story of King Xiang who burned his boats and broke his cauldrons?"
"Put all your energy, spirit, and life force into this battle. If you don't move forward now, when will you wait?"
"Wait until the strength of the nobles in Luoyang recovers, then you will roll back to Liangzhou in disgrace, be looked down upon, be called a frontier county warrior, and stay on that bloody battlefield forever?"
"Don't you want to sit in Luoyang peacefully and get everything by pointing fingers?"
"If you don't fight hard now, in the next hundred or two hundred years, your descendants will be looked down upon by the descendants of the nobles!"
Li Ru's voice rang in the ears, hearts and minds of the Xiliang generals, and everyone who heard it felt their blood boiling. "Are you willing to live that kind of life again?"
"No!"
"No!"
Every word and sentence of Li Ru struck heavily on the hearts of the generals of Xiliang. Li Ru's words brought out the anger that had been suppressed in the entire Liangzhou for a hundred years, and brought out the unwillingness in everyone's hearts.
Is there anyone in this world who can drive the general trend forward by his own strength?
How could Li Ru ask the entire Xiliang to avenge him when he had been humiliated?
It is because all the people of Xiliang are unwilling to give in. It is precisely because of this unwillingness in their hearts that they can endure hunger and starvation and forge a strong will in difficult and harsh circumstances.
Today, seeing the prosperous Luoyang, it is time to change roles. Starting from the time Emperor Guangwu was given another mandate, a hundred years of wealth and prosperity will be enough.
The ministers take turns to sit, and today we go to Xiliang!
If you ask what we rely on, it’s the iron cavalry marching into Luoyang!
Li Ru was very satisfied with the reactions of the Xiliang generals. If they kept this spirit, where in the world would they not be able to go?
Dong Zhuo laughed loudly, drew his sword, and roared, "Go and attack the city. Let the nobles in Luoyang see the bravery of our Xiliang men. Let them know who has been protecting them for the past hundred years."
His extremely strong body, against the backdrop of the sun, looked as majestic as a god of war. Li Ru looked at the high-spirited Dong Zhuo with satisfaction. Recalling the words of Wushuang Hou Luo Kong, he shook his head and thought to himself, "Wushuang Hou, with a Dong Zhongying like this, who in the world can stop our Xiliang Iron Cavalry?"
“Yes!”
The generals of Xiliang drew their swords and organized their soldiers to attack the city.
Liu Bian looked at this scene and felt his whole body go cold. He asked Luo Kong tremblingly, "Sir, why are these Xiliang soldiers like this?"
Luo Kong held Liu Bian's hand and said seriously: "Your Majesty, if there is a chance in the future.
If you have the opportunity to rule the world, remember to listen to half of what the Xiliang soldiers said just now, and the other half are just excuses.
There is no fairness in this world, but we must try to be as fair as possible.
In the past, Guanzhong oppressed Guandong, and Emperor Guangwu finally raised his army with the help of Guandong. Even though he successfully took over Guanzhong, he still had to abandon Guanzhong in the end.
This is called an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, blood for blood.
The past hundred years have been a time of paying off debts. Now that Kansai is being oppressed and the warriors in the border counties are bleeding continuously, they naturally hate Kanto and even the royal family.
They want the royal family and nobles to pay back the blood."
Luo Kong’s words showed his hatred for the royal family, and Liu Bian and Tang Ji were terrified when they heard it, “There is a scale in the hearts of people all over the world.
Why the Luo family has never been accused of this? Because the Luo family has been sacrificing and bleeding all the time.
Things like power and status can only bring false support, only blood and sacrifice can create true immortality! "
Liu Bian listened in confusion, but Tang Ji's eyes lit up. Luo Kong touched Liu Bian's head and said nothing more.
Liu Bian would not be an emperor who could hold great power. These words were just some emotions that Luo Kong wanted to express.
In this world that is even more unwilling to tolerate, this kind of obvious injustice can only lead to one outcome, and that is mass rebellion.
The confrontation between regions was too intense. Between Guanxi and Guandong, between Liangzhou in Guanxi and the Western Regions, between Guanzhong and Liangzhou, between the states in Guandong, and even in the counties of each state, in the environment where the counties were the country, there were cracks of dissatisfaction everywhere.
The nobles intermarried in the county and made friends with each other in the state, but that was all; they couldn’t leave if they wanted to, and others couldn’t come in if they wanted to.
No one knew how to fill this gap, after all, it was the emperor who took the lead in doing so.
Now is the time for backlash. Small-scale resistance is no longer effective. These warriors holding knives have rebelled.
Of course, if Luo Xiao had not pushed the military power of the gentry into the abyss, these brief resistances would have been difficult to succeed.
But it’s really hard to say now.
The nobles also have extremely strong foundations, how strong are they?
It can be said that if Luo Xiao were still alive, he would also start using the gentry. Although it would be impossible for them to be as powerful as during the Later Han Dynasty, it would not be a problem for them to control about a quarter of them.
As long as these nobles are given time, within three years at most, they will be able to rearm themselves and be able to compete with the border county armies. Moreover, through a steady supply, they will be able to exhaust the elite troops of the border counties and then defeat them.
…
In Luoyang city, the new letter sent by the Xiliang Army spread, causing quite a stir, and the hearts of the people in the city suddenly became complicated.
In any war, there is no unity among the people. There will always be those who fight to the death, those who sit on the fence, and those who surrender.
Moreover, these factions will change. It is not enough to just kill those who are willing to surrender in advance, because new surrender factions will emerge as the situation changes.
To put it bluntly, some of the die-hard fighters fight to the death because the situation does not allow them to surrender. They want to surrender but cannot gain any benefits.
Only when the benefits given by the enemy are sufficient can one change sides faster than anyone else.
This is the reason why it is said that a city will be lost if it is defended for too long. Those powerful generals defending the city, in addition to being strong in military, are usually political strongmen who can settle internal differences.
Are there such people in Luoyang City today?
have!
But no power.
Those who have power all have their own ideas in their minds. It's okay for Empress Dowager He to play palace fighting, but it would be a joke to ask her to deal with these things.
The most pro-war group in the city was naturally the Taiping Army. In addition to the Taiping Army, the top wealthy families also opposed Dong Zhuo's entry into the city, especially the Yuan family.
"We don't know what the consequences of Dong Zhuo entering the city will be, and we absolutely cannot take any risks.
The news of the death of Tianyi Taoist Master spread everywhere, and the news of Dong Zhuo's siege of Luoyang would also soon spread to all the states and counties. At that time, naturally, righteous men from all over the world would lead their troops to come.
By that time, even if Dong Zhuo really had some evil intentions, there would still be someone who could control him."
Who exactly is this so-called hero?
Everyone knows that now Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu of the Yuan family have returned to their hometown in Runan, one and entered Jizhou respectively. Isn't this just waiting for their own people to enter Luoyang?
But many people kept silent. After all, your Yuan family is not the only one with a promising future in this world.
Given the current situation, I don’t believe that the Luo family of Zhaocheng can still sit back and relax.
Moreover, although our families are not as prominent as your Yuan family, we are not made of clay. It is still uncertain who will gain the benefits in the end.
With this in mind, these people righteously agreed with the opinion of the head of the Yuan family. In Luoyang City, dramas were constantly being played out.
These ministers who had connections outside did not want to let Dong Zhuo into the city, at least until their external aid arrived. Those who had not benefited before, or those who had always stood on the opposite side of these pro-war factions, did not want to see their family reputations become more and more prominent, and were preparing to find a way to lure Dong Zhuo into the city to break the current situation that could not be reversed.
As for whether letting Dong Zhuo in would lead to the destruction of Luoyang, no one thought about this question at all. This is the holy city of Luoyang, a city built by the Emperor Su Wang himself. The most that can be done is looting. Who dares to do anything to the city?
Besides, even Zhang Jue didn't plunder the city. No matter how shameless Dong Zhuo was, he was still a Han minister. He couldn't be worse than a rebel like Zhang Jue, right?
If he really did something like that, who would still accept him?
Doesn't he want to establish a stable rule in Luoyang City?
…
The Western Liang Army displayed tenacious fighting spirit and outstanding combat capabilities. Several counterattacks by the Luoyang City army were repelled and did not cause any damage to the Western Liang Army.
Along with the Xiliang army came a large number of siege equipment, weapons and equipment, as well as reserve troops. A large number of cannon fodder were sent to the city walls to consume the armaments in the city.
Three days of fierce attack made the city of Luoyang seem to be shaking, but the Xiliang Army did not waver at all. After the fierce attack, the Xiliang Army briefly began to rest. The city of Luoyang took a breath, and then received a letter from the Xiliang Army.
"I came from Liangzhou. The late emperor trusted me, and Your Majesty has entrusted me with an important task. How can I not be grateful?
I led 500,000 warriors from Liangzhou, marched 2,000 miles, galloped day and night, and came to Luoyang City. Was it for the so-called power and status?
That really underestimates me. I am trying to revive the Han Dynasty and restore the Han ancestral temple!
The Empress Dowager is the Emperor's mother. How honorable is your status?
After the emperor ascended the throne, he honored you as the empress dowager and conferred titles of king on both princes.
But I didn't expect that there would be wicked people who would sow discord between you and the emperor. How could it be possible in this world that the eldest son and the eldest son from another family are still alive, but the second son is allowed to succeed to the throne?
The eldest son is the heir, isn't this the principle of heaven and morality taught by the saints?
Minister Zhuo fought for the moral principles, why was he criticized?
Isn't this the rebellion of evil people?
Zhuo also believed that the vast majority of the officials in the court were loyal to the court. After Zhang Jue entered the city of Luoyang, he slaughtered people wantonly. But he heard that the slaughterers were all treacherous people who had connections with the Ten Attendants, so he thought that the officials were all innocent.
But is there something missing?
Otherwise, why was Zhuo blocked outside when he brought 500,000 soldiers and civilians from Liangzhou to escort His Majesty back to the imperial capital?
Isn't this something that someone did on purpose?
We are from the border area, and there is some dissatisfaction in the army.
So I wanted to enter Luoyang City and personally catch those treacherous people who framed us, so I resorted to this desperate measure.
Please don't mind, Queen Mother, King, and other gentlemen."
On the one hand, the letter describes the strength of the Xiliang Army in a slightly strong tone, and on the other hand, it explains in a gentle manner that the Xiliang Army wants to save the Han Dynasty and is willing to work with you to make the Han Dynasty great again!
It's just that some treacherous people in the court tried to stop it and even coerced the Queen Mother, which led to the two sides going to war. This was all the conspiracy of the treacherous people.
After this letter, the gloom in the city became even worse. Although Dong Zhuo was a military man from a border county, at least so far, he had not done anything particularly out of line, and not everyone was wary of him.
Only some people who had come into contact with Dong Zhuo knew that this man was cruel by nature, and many people who had worked with Dong Zhuo at the time did not have a high opinion of him.
For the first time, support for Dong Zhuo was expressed in the court. This was a very bad sign and was quickly suppressed. Bu Cai and the other two also received a letter from Dong Zhuo.
Dong Zhuo apologized to the three men in the letter, saying that it was his subordinates who did not know that Zhang Jue did not cause trouble in Luoyang, which led to the misunderstanding. What impressed Bu Cai and the other two the most was Dong Zhuo's words, "Three heroes, I have something to say.
The three of you all rebelled against the Taiping Rebellion, but ask yourself, how do you think the officials in the court truly view you?
Do you think they will truly treat you as their own?
Even the Queen Mother whom you are protecting now, does she really trust you very much?
It’s just because they have to rely on you now. I’m afraid that when you can’t see it, they are still calling you thieves.
Is this Zhuo Zai deliberately trying to sow discord?
Zhuo is a Han minister. He has worked hard in the border counties for more than ten years and has made many contributions. But in the mouths of those ministers, who am I?
He is a warrior from a border county who is similar to a barbarian!
The three of you are in the imperial court, and Zhuo does not believe that you have not openly despised Zhuo. This is absolutely not a lie.
Even a Han official like me with a clean family background was looked down upon just because I came from a remote county. How could your identity as a Taiping Army be accepted?
Even if they are unwilling to join my Liang Province, why should they let their brothers die in order to protect those ministers?
Where is there any empathy in this world?
Only those of us who have been discriminated against can best understand each other's feelings!
If Zhuo Neng enters Luoyang City, all your power will remain unchanged, your army will still be under your command, and you will still enjoy endless wealth and glory.
That’s all I have to say. Please think carefully, three heroes.”
Dong Zhuo's words were like stabbing a knife into the hearts of Bu Cai and the other two. Those who were unwilling to believe it but had to admit it had their bloody truth dug out by Dong Zhuo.
"What should I do?"
(End of this chapter)
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