Chapter 685: For whom the bell tolls?
The stars and the moon are dim, the wind is howling, and as winter approaches, there are waves of chill.
In the four counties of Hexi in Liangzhou, the cold light of the swords was even brighter than the cold current coming from the Far North.
Ma Teng and Han Sui raised an army together and swore an oath of allegiance in Guzang.
The Guanzhong nobles who had fled to Liangzhou rushed in one after another, with endless anger and hatred, wanting to kill Li Jue and Guo Si.
Fa Zheng, who was originally planning to flee to Yizhou to avoid disaster, joined the two men upon hearing the news.
He was originally a nobleman from Guanzhong. Although the Fa family was not a wealthy family in the world, they were still a noble aristocratic family. But once a turmoil broke out, his family was destroyed. He fled in a desperate situation to survive and suffered a lot of misery.
He hated Li Jue and Guo Si so much that he wanted to eat their flesh and spit on their bones and kill them as soon as possible.
Although he knew that Ma Teng and Han Sui would not be able to achieve great things, he could not care about that now.
The lives of the 573 members of the Fa family were like a heavy, bloody yoke on his back, tormenting him day and night.
Asking him!
"When will you avenge us?!"
In the camp of Ma Teng and Han Sui, Fa Zheng looked at the stars of the world and said, "Today is the day. There will never be a better opportunity than this. Li Jue and Guo Si have committed many injustices.
Previously, people in the world were unwilling to provoke him due to his powerful strength.
But now that the Luo family is willing to fight with blood, there must be a lot of people willing to follow behind and reap the rewards."
How many people like Fa Zheng are there?
Nobody knows!
But Ma Teng and Han Sui trembled all over when they looked at the dukes and marquises and the prominent families in the counties and prefectures who were no less powerful than themselves.
It was daybreak.
The sun's rays fall on the vast wilderness.
The strong Liangzhou man rode a tall Liangzhou horse, wearing slightly tattered clothes, and his face showed traces of weathering.
Holding sharp blades, they came from the vast Hexi Corridor. Under the blue sky, these men who were engaged in farming and herding sang ancient folk songs.
"Crossing Qilian~"
"Yue Yanzhi~"
"The crown of the Han Dynasty is in Chang'an, and the four counties in Hexi have their crowns and tassels."
"The crown of the Han Dynasty was in Luoyang, but it has not been glorious for a hundred years."
"The spirit of the Su Wang is in heaven~"
"Bless the livestock and crops~"
The melodious singing echoed between the narrow mountains.
The former glory of Hexi only existed in historical records, and all they had seen since they were born was continuous war.
Dong Zhuo came out from here, but only brought destruction and shackles, heavy taxes and extreme conscription.
New Han Emperor of Chang'an, who are you?
We came from Hexi, following the will of the previous emperors of the Han Dynasty and punishing the treacherous officials who disrupted the government.
…
Chang'an City.
There was dust everywhere, even broken walls and ruins, and even rotting corpses behind the wall.
After a hundred years of abandonment, this place has long lost the glory it once was as the capital of the Han Dynasty two hundred years ago, but it is still a great city in the world after all.
Although the powerful families in Guanzhong each occupied their own territory, they all left relatives in Chang'an City.
Who could have thought that from the time Dong Zhuo occupied Chang'an to the time Li Jue and Guo Si occupied Chang'an, it had been less than ten years and Chang'an had become so desolate?
Some merchants would rather travel through the grasslands and pay protection fees to the Hu tribes than pass through Guanzhong. You can imagine how terrifying Li Jue and Guo Si were.
At both ends of the wide street, fully armed Xiliang soldiers were confronting each other, with corpses and blackened blood lying on the ground.
This is not a fight, this is a war!
Li Jue and Guo Si both thought they had grasped the truth of the matter. After their invitations to the other party's home were rejected, they even let go of the last bit of doubt.
The two of them once struggled to survive, working their way up from the bottom of Liangzhou, and gradually worked their way out until they were appreciated by Dong Zhuo and Li Ru. Who can say that they had no feelings for each other?
"How could you betray me?"
Li Jue and Guo Si clenched their swords, gnashing their teeth and roaring in a low voice, "Power has corrupted you and made you forget our friendship."
It is not just one person who has been corrupted by power, wealth and glory.
Ever since Dong Zhuo and his generals from Xiliang stepped into Luoyang from Xiliang, the sacred city with its flourishing flowers has captivated everyone's eyes.
It wears away the mind and eats away at the bones.
The heroic spirit that had once fought its way out of the sea of blood and the mountain of corpses had long since disappeared.
Brotherhood?
share weal and woe?
Who remembers those things?
On that day, a great ceremony was held in Changle Palace to confer titles on all the heroes of Xiliang, and dissatisfaction began to grow among them.
That day, when I accepted the Golden Book in the Weiyang Palace, resentment was suppressed deep in my heart.
That day, Li Jue was superior to Guo Si, and the word "why" was stuck in his throat.
Until today.
I have already been inferior to you, but you are still unwilling to let me go and even want to step on my bones and flesh to achieve your own path.
Holding a sharp sword in his hand, murderous intent grew in his heart.
There are millions of troops in front of me, and the world is in my hands.
When the beast in his heart that was unwilling to be inferior to others was released, Guo Si only felt his heart beating more violently than ever before.
He heard his blood rushing wildly in his body, just like the elixir and mercury flowing in the Qin Emperor's underground palace.
He drew his sword and asked Li Jue, among all the generals of Xiliang, besides you Li Jue, there is another one who was given a high title of general and a golden seal as a marquis!
Among the generals of Xiliang, if it weren't for you, Li Jue, who was the leader, my name, Guo Si, would also be above them all.
The Imperial Palace.
The main hall is carved with auspicious clouds and countless auspicious beasts. Except for the phoenix, which represents wisdom, everything else is here.
On the columns, the gold-plated marks look like fresh liquid that may flow at any time.
The remaining ministers in the hall all hung their heads like clay sculptures, and even their breathing became extremely light.
Rows of armored soldiers stood behind the crowd.
The anger in Li Jue's eyes almost burned everything.
He kept pacing heavily in the hall, and the sound of his leather boots hitting the ground was very loud.
The palace door was wide open, and bright sunlight shone in, illuminating the dust rising in the air clearly, each grain was exceptionally sharp.
"Traitor!"
Li Jue stopped pacing and angrily said to the Shangshu Ling of the Shangshutai: "Guo Si is a traitor and all his official positions should be abolished. What can you do?"
Faced with Li Jue's tyranny, no one dared to say a word.
There is an old saying: If God wants to destroy someone, he will first make him crazy!
Li Jue was a complete madman, destined to perish and be infamous for eternity.
The corpses of those ministers who tried to communicate with Li Jue were still lying in Chang'an, and some were even thrown behind the main hall. No one collected them, leaving them to rot and stink, with maggots all over their bodies.
Finally, it turned into a pile of bones in the wind, rain, and frost.
Countless Guanzhong gentry who tried to communicate with Li Jue had their families destroyed and their families exterminated. After those who resisted were defeated, another massacre ensued.
By now, no one was willing to talk to Li Jue, and people of insight knew that Li Jue was about to fall.
Without the assistance of the gentry, the court could not even collect taxes and could only plunder them, and if it plundered the people, they would revolt.
There were endless uprisings like the Taiping Rebellion. No matter how strong the military was, how could it face the fierce rebel forces all over the world?
Faced with a man like Li Jue, what else can we do except obey him?
The Minister of the Chancellery just lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, what you said is very true. All of Guo Si's official titles and positions should be abolished. I have already written the imperial edict. Please use your seal."
Sitting on the throne, looking at the anxious and angry Li Jue, Liu Xie felt extremely refreshed.
You deserve it!
Dog bites dog!
It would be best if they died together, so that I would have the opportunity to seize power.
Suddenly, a sinister voice sounded in Liu Xie's ears, "Emperor, what are you laughing at?"
Liu Xie looked up suddenly and saw Li Jue, wearing armor and holding a sword, walking up to him.
Liu Xie was looking at him with a murderous look on his face. When he heard Li Jue's question, he was so frightened that he felt as if his throat was strangled by a huge hand in the void and he could not speak at all.
Seeing Liu Xie's state, Li Jue changed his previous gloomy voice and shouted angrily: "I asked you what you are laughing at?"
Liu Xie was terrified to the extreme, his body was shaking as if he had the hiccups, and his hands and the corners of his mouth were trembling constantly.
Li Jue, who was already filled with anger, felt extremely annoyed.
"Emperor? Without me, Li Jue, what kind of damn emperor are you?
Not being grateful, but becoming a monster?
You are a traitor too!
You deserve to be beaten!"
Liu Xie only felt a black screen before his eyes, followed by a clear palm wind, and a huge force hit him. He felt a burning pain on his face, and blood flowed from the corners of his mouth. He was like a kite with a broken string, and was instantly knocked to the ground.
quiet!
silence!
Deathly silence!
Li Jue...
Did he slap the emperor?
Did he beat the emperor?
This sudden change shocked everyone in the hall. "Jackassed" was not enough to describe it, and "shocked" was not enough to describe it.
Dong Zhuo never did this back then!
What's this?
The sky is falling!
Like a thunder in a clear sky.
Like a huge rock in a calm lake.
Liu Xie was lying on the ground, with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and his mind was in a mess.
This was something he could not understand.
Li Jue put away his hand and looked at Liu Xie lying on the ground. He was a thin ordinary man.
But he was wearing the emperor's crown and tassels, on which were mountains, rivers, sun, moon, stars, and auspicious beasts. It was the supreme symbol of the empire and represented the highest dignity.
Li Jue suddenly felt a surge of fear in his heart. He looked up at the hall again and saw everyone staring at him in a daze.
There was no fear, no terror, not the slightest fear in those eyes, just deep disbelief and incredibleness.
Even a fool like Li Jue could read a hidden meaning in it.
You are crazy!
He became increasingly uneasy.
A slightly elderly minister fell to his knees with a thud and fainted. The sound was like a meteorite falling, breaking the calm of the lake.
"boom!"
"Li Jue, you will die a miserable death!"
Finally, someone, filled with tears and resentment, said this in the hall, and he gritted his teeth, strode forward, pointed directly at Li Jue and said in hatred: "Li Jue!
Li Jue!
Look, the world’s hatred for you can no longer be tolerated, and you will surely die miserably.”
The gnashing curse and the deep, cold voice made Li Jue feel a chill running through his heart. He drew out the long sword in his hand and threw it out, using a roar to cover up his fear, "How dare you curse the ministers of the dynasty? Damn it!"
The long sword went straight forward like a stream of light, and with a "swish", it pierced directly into the minister's chest.
He lowered his head slightly and looked at the sword on his chest, blood gushing out of his mouth. He knelt on the ground with a thud, the sword supporting his body.
Before he died, a faint voice came, "Li Jue! I'll be waiting for you in the underworld!"
Li Jue took two steps at a time and walked down, pulling out the blood-stained sword. He looked at the courtiers who were filled with resentment, glanced at them coldly, and said in a cold voice: "Execute his entire family!"
As he spoke, he walked out of the palace. When he reached the palace gate, he turned around and said to everyone sinisterly, "After I kill that evil villain Guo Si, I will deal with all of you who have had any dealings with Guo Si."
With that, he strode out of the hall. A group of ministers suddenly rushed upwards and helped Liu Xie up from the ground. The hall was filled with sounds of wailing and crying.
"The late emperor!"
"Please ask the former emperors to send down the gods!"
"How did this big man get to this point?"
"The majesty of the Han emperor!"
Among the countless voices, there is endless bitterness.
The Emperor of the Han Dynasty!
He rules over all the world, and all things in the universe are under the rule of the Great Han Emperor, from Liaodong to Dayuan in the far west, from the glaciers in the north of the desert to the North Sea to Qiongzhou in the south of the sky.
Whoever disobeys the emperor's decree will be wiped out when the heavenly soldiers arrive!
That was an era when the emperor's crown was honored by the Han emperor!
How could this happen?
The soldiers slowly left the hall, and the sound of their armors colliding was like the sound of a bell.
Suddenly, a real bell rang in the palace.
Dull.
long.
Morning bells and evening drums!
Why are the bells ringing at this moment?
The clouds blocked the sun, and the light that shone into the hall slowly faded away. The hall suddenly became dark and depressing.
It's more than just the palace.
The surging shouts and cries of killing in Chang'an City seemed to be endless. Li Jue and Guo Si were too familiar with each other.
Both of them were extremely outstanding cavalry commanders, but Li Jue was able to defeat Guo Si because his military force was stronger than Guo Si's and he was a little smarter than Guo Si.
Although not much!
The two men fought in Chang'an City, resulting in heavy casualties. Naturally, the news could not be concealed and spread in all directions like the wind.
Ma Teng and Han Sui entered the counties of Liangzhou in Guanzhong from the four counties of Hexi. Although this place was considered Liangzhou, it was actually controlled by Li Jue and Guo Si.
Here Ma Teng and Han Sui received the news that Li Jue and Guo Si had become enemies.
The news that Li Jue slapped the emperor in the court and drew his sword to kill someone also spread.
The two looked at each other, their eyes full of sparkling light.
God-given opportunity!
————
The two thieves, Kuai and Si, turned against each other. Kuai accused Si of being rebellious. The emperor saw the two thieves had a quarrel and was happy. Kuai saw this and became furious. He said angrily, "Emperor? Emperor? Dog!"
Kuai then slapped the emperor to the ground. Such humiliation of the emperor was unprecedented in history. The Minister of the Chancellery Wang Cheng was furious and even had Kuai killed with a sword. He also exterminated Kuai's three clans and warned the ministers.
The emperor said sadly, "When God wants to destroy someone, he will make him crazy. Kuai's death is not far away."
The Han dynasty has become so weak and decadent because of the Xiliang generals. - "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Dong Zhuo and Xiliang"
Recommend books~
Ashes of Civilization
After coming out of the morgue, I was back to normal...
(End of this chapter)
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