Chapter 829 The Glory of the World Finally Comes to an End
The outbreak of war began with the conscription order from the Emperor of Yan!
Murong Ke recalled almost all of Yan's infantry and cavalry stationed in Hedong, Taiyuan, Liaodong, and the grasslands to Jicheng. A large number of siege equipment were pushed to the front of the city. The roaring cavalry crisscrossed Hebei. The Yan army attacked in three routes, targeting Yecheng, the only important city of the Han State in Hebei.
All of the Han Dynasty's defenses in Hebei were based on Yecheng. After capturing Yecheng, the only outcome for the Han army was to feed the fish in the Yellow River, making the fish and shrimp fatter in the coming year.
The Han State was different from the Wei State. The ruling foundation of the Wei State had been completely destroyed. It was like a castle made of sand, which was directly dispersed by Murong Chui's violent push. Even if it still had strength, it could never be gathered together again.
The Han State was a relatively stable country. Although it has various problems now, it will not be overthrown in a single push. Of course, this is all in theory.
An incompetent king can greatly accelerate the demise of a country, while a wise king can delay the destruction of the country. As the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes, and victory or failure ultimately depends on luck.
Murong Chui's conquest of Guanzhong in one battle had a lot to do with the Wei army being outside, which are important factors that cannot be ignored.
The State of Yan has coveted the entire Jizhou for too long and has been waiting for too long. Although the State of Yan has been fighting field battles here, it has practiced siege battles countless times, especially the attack and defense of Yecheng.
From the very beginning of the war, the State of Yan used almost all its strength. The armored men transferred from Liaodong and the most elite infantry of the State of Yan were on the verge of collapse under the attack of countless siege weapons.
Murong Ke was in charge of the central army camp, commanding the attack. His order was very simple, "Capture Yecheng within a month. If you can't, then flood it. We can only spend a maximum of three months here!"
Murong Ke originally hoped to move the capital to Jinyang later, but now it seems that this is not possible. Placing the capital in Jinyang is not suitable for competing with Liang State in the future, and instead puts it in conflict with Guanzhong.
The alternative is Yecheng. Jicheng is too remote and cannot control the large area of land north and south of the Yellow River. From this perspective, Murong Ke is unwilling to destroy Yecheng. Once flooded, Yecheng will no longer be able to serve as the capital for at least several years.
…
Yan's offensive was rapid and fierce, and the Liang in the south also sent a large army to attack, causing Han to be attacked from both sides. The Han officials immediately sensed that the two countries had ill intentions.
The Han emperor blocked his own eyes and ears. The eunuchs, concubines, etc. all went along with him and did not talk to him about military and state affairs until he was forced to attend the court meeting.
Yecheng was besieged by the elite army of Yan State, and there were more and more troops rushing to Yecheng, which might reach tens of thousands of troops. He only then learned the news that Yecheng was in danger.
The Han emperor asked in disbelief: "I have only been in the palace for half a month, why did these things happen?"
Ying Hou Luo Zhenye immediately stood up and pointed at the Han Emperor and shouted: "The ancient sage kings ruled the world with all their heart and soul, but they still worried that they could not bring peace to the people of the world. The supreme Su King did not even have time to eat in order to listen to the advice of the wise.
Is there only one thing in the world?
Do all the rulers and ministers in the world have nothing to do every day?
In a dozen days, if there are a hundred things in a day, that adds up to more than a thousand things. If there are a thousand things in a day, that adds up to more than ten thousand things. The world is so big, how can there be more than a thousand things in a day?
The reason why the ancient sage kings were able to govern the world was that they took the initiative to listen to voices from all sides to prevent themselves from listening to one side only. In this world, we have only heard of treacherous ministers blocking the ears and eyes of the emperor, but we have never heard of an emperor blocking his own ears and eyes.
How ridiculous.
You don't reflect on your mistakes, but you can still ask such questions here. Are you worthy of the difficulties that Emperor Xuanlie faced in starting a business?"
Luo Zhenye's voice echoed in the hall. The emperor was a little angry and ashamed. Luo Zhenye was his teacher and he could only be scolded in vain. Some other ministers were also angry. The emperor's behavior was too outrageous. Some people kept silent and just watched the scene silently.
The emperor could only helplessly cover his face and said, "Marquis Ying, please stop saying these things. Yecheng is in danger now, and Liang State has sent two armies to attack Qingyan. What should we do? Do you have any plans?"
What other strategies are available now? The only thing we can do is to send reinforcements to support Yecheng, and then send reinforcements to resist the attack from Liang State.
The emperor was full of panic and asked: "My lords, Yan and Liang are attacking together. Can our Han Dynasty defeat them?"
Who knows?
The ministers looked at each other, no one dared to make such a promise, and finally it was Luo Zhenye who spoke up: "Although the combined forces of Yan and Liang are powerful, they are the attacking party, and our Han is the defending party. Their casualties are twice as much as ours.
They are on a long expedition, while our army is well-rested. They have to maintain their food supply, while our army can get food locally. This is the reason why our army can win.
As long as our Han defenders can hold on to the city, victory will be ours."
Although Luo Zhenye was filled with anger, he still said a lot of nonsense to appease the emperor. As long as they defended the city, they would be able to win. It was quite correct nonsense, but the problem was that they couldn't defend it.
What if we can’t hold it?
…
If we fail to hold it, we will lose the entire Jizhou!
The long-term confrontation between the Yan and Han states in Jizhou gradually changed from being evenly matched to Yan being strong and Han being weak. The Yan state's wanton military attacks and the long-term life under the Yan state's cavalry led to an entire generation of people witnessing the invincibility of the Yan state's cavalry, which destroyed the people of Jizhou's confidence in the victory of the Han state.
This collapse of confidence would not be noticeable under normal circumstances, but when the State of Yan decided to launch a full-scale attack on the State of Han and indeed swept across Hebei with great force, the people of Hebei collapsed all of a sudden.
Resistance is futile, this idea is everywhere, as the saying goes, "A country cannot be secured by the dangers of mountains and streams, and the world cannot be conquered by the power of weapons." Although this idea has limitations, it profoundly points out that people's hearts are the fundamental factor that determines victory or defeat.
The situation in Hebei can only be described as unstoppable. Wherever the Yan cavalry arrived, the battle line was pushed forward and the Han army was almost defeated. This was not a one-day achievement, but the result of the effect of Yan on Jizhou over many years.
But this scene frightened the Han nobles who were in charge of the Imperial Court. Luo Zhenye read the battle report over and over again, unable to believe his eyes. The emperor even sighed, "What can I do about it?"
Even Xiao Yan, who was in charge of Liang's offensive against Han, was shocked by Murong Ke's speed of fighting. At this rate, Hebei would soon fall completely into the hands of Yan. At that time, Yan would certainly drink from the Yellow River and compete with Liang for the lands of Qingzhou and Yanzhou.
Xiao Yan could only speed up the attack on the one hand, and ask Luo Xianzhi to send more troops to support the attack on two fronts on the other.
…
As a country facing two enemies, especially big countries like Yan and Liang, the Han State was inferior to the other two in terms of money, food, army and generals. Naturally, it could only retreat step by step.
The Han army was defeated in Hebei and died by the Yellow River. It was defeated in Yanzhou. The army that rushed out of Xingyang was no longer an ally but the god of death. It was defeated in Huaisi and the Han State completely lost this place.
This scene is quite similar to the Zhou Dynasty in the past, when various countries formed alliances and no matter how powerful a country was, it would be defeated when facing the alliance of other countries.
The Han State could still hold on relying on its population, but without any means of countermeasures, it would be nothing but a slow death. Even if an accident happened, it could be killed instantly by beheading Feng Gao just like the demise of the Wei State.
Things are interconnected, cause and effect can be transformed into each other, the military is the continuation of politics, but military success and failure will in turn affect the direction of politics.
If the Han Kingdom had won the war with Yanliang, Fenggao would not be in such a silent situation now. The continuous military failures made the political situation in Fenggao high school out of control.
The Han Dynasty is no longer the same as it was when Liu Bei was just established. Even if he failed, he could still maintain internal stability. But it is different now. After a failure, no one will take responsibility. Everyone is passing the buck, blaming each other, and there are trends behind the scenes.
The emperor lamented, "The Yan army is too powerful to resist. Now is the time for the survival of our Han Dynasty. Why is this happening? Is this the fate of our Han Dynasty?"
Luo Zhenye said expressionlessly: "How can fate decide everything in this world?
A wise monarch can seize those fleeting opportunities to make a ruined state prosper and restore the lost ritual system to normal, but what about a foolish monarch?
He was unaware of the difficulties his ancestors had faced in starting their businesses, believed in the illusory fate, ignored the virtues of the ancient sage kings, pursued extravagance and gorgeous palace costumes, was unwilling to listen to the advice of loyal ministers, and surrounded himself with treacherous villains.
Being addicted to beauty and carnal desires, he cannot control himself carefully and is never satisfied.
How ridiculous is it to do this and still expect a prosperous country?
The army has become weak and the people's hearts have collapsed. You have not been rejected by fate, but you have given up on yourself. You can survive the disaster sent by heaven, but the sins committed by people themselves cannot be made up for.
I have advised Your Majesty many times and told you these principles when you were studying, but in the end Your Majesty turned a deaf ear to me and thought that these were useless words. With such an attitude, how can you possibly get good results?
As a result, when the enemy has already breached the city, subdued the people and the army, and the spearhead has pointed at your neck, death is in sight, the country is about to be overthrown, and the ancestral temple is about to be destroyed, you realize your mistake and have a trace of regret. How ridiculous. "
Luo Zhenye is top-notch in terms of hurting people's hearts. These words of his should have been spoken to the emperor as advice, but the emperor did not accept his advice. Since ancient times, there must have been wise kings before there could be wise ministers who could give advice.
At this point, the emperor said in a self-deprecating manner: "If it is too late now, then I should just surrender. What is the point of continuing to fight like this?"
The emperor's words instantly frightened all the ministers. Although the Han Kingdom was in danger, it was not completely beyond recovery. If it surrendered so directly, it would be laughed at by the world.
Luo Zhenye's eyes were filled with complete disappointment. When people are in desperate situations, they will usually burst out with unprecedented strength, both mentally and physically. Even a clay man will get angry.
The thing that an emperor cannot give up the most is his throne. The emperor should have the courage to draw his sword against anyone who wants to seize his throne.
People's abilities are naturally different, but the energy in their bones cannot be lacking. But what is he hearing now?
surrender?
Having said that, Luo Zhenye already believed that there was no chance of a comeback for the Han State.
While living in this world, we should always expect miracles.
Only when people believe in miracles can they create an infinite future. In history, there are countless battles where the weak defeated the strong. It was because the disadvantaged people did not give up and dragged the situation until the enemy themselves had problems that they were able to accomplish great things.
But now the emperor gave up so easily.
Luo Zhenye said angrily: "Your Majesty, you don't like reading, especially history books. As your teacher, I feel ashamed that I have not been able to teach a king who can revitalize the country.
I will teach you one last time today what a monarch should do when he reaches the end of his rope.
It is recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian that when the Zhou Dynasty was destroyed, the Zhou emperor said, "I would rather die in a rainstorm and sing than live in silence." A king, when he reaches the end of his life, must remember one thing: he would rather die in battle and lose his country than give up his throne.
If you surrender just like this, you will be ashamed of Emperor Xuanlie and I will be ashamed of all the heroes of the past generations.
I will never surrender.
If one day you meet Emperor Xuanlie in the Ninth Heaven, you would be unworthy of being a descendant of the Liu family.
That’s all I have to say.
If the emperor wants to surrender, then surrender. I will leave Fenggao today and go to the front line. Since I can't persuade you, there is no point for me to stay here."
After saying this, Luo Zhenye turned and left. He didn't want to see the emperor again.
Is there any king in this world who is not buried with his country?
Does he think he is a king who abdicated?
Luo Zhenye's wild rant against the emperor stunned the courtiers in the palace. After the guards in the palace reacted, they quickly blocked Luo Zhenye's way. Luo Zhenye frowned and shouted, "Are you going to stop me?"
Although he was no longer young, his voice was still loud and clear. Besides, who in the Han Kingdom didn't know Ying Hou? The guards looked at each other for a few seconds and slowly pushed open the door. Luo Zhenye was about to leave when the emperor finally came back to his senses from being stunned by the scolding.
Then the emperor burst into tears.
She cried miserably, saying, "Teacher, who in this world is not afraid of death? Why must I die? Emperor Sheng of Han is still alive."
When he said this, most of the ministers in the hall had their eyes flickering. They were unwilling to die if they could live, especially if the emperor was ready to surrender, which would be unnecessary. But there was also a group of people who raised their heads.
Luo Zhenye turned around and looked directly at the emperor, then glanced at the ministers in the palace and said calmly to the emperor: “If my great Han can win this battle, everything will be fine.
If we cannot win, as long as Your Majesty is willing to die for the country, I am willing to be buried with Your Majesty, and let the title of Marquis of Ying disappear along with the disappearance of the Han Emperor."
After saying this, Luo Zhenye left without looking back, leaving behind a crowd of people looking at each other in bewilderment. Some people followed Luo Zhenye away. The emperor opened his mouth, wanting to ask Luo Zhenye to stay, but he didn't know what to say.
How can it be as simple as saying that the country will die?
If the emperor really had such a strong will, he would not have gone to this step. He only wanted to enjoy himself, write poetry, and indulge in sensual pleasures. Isn't the purpose of life on earth to enjoy oneself?
Luo Zhenye walked out of the hall and looked at the azure blue sky. He seemed to see his father. His memory was very vague. His father went to the grassland when he was very young and never came back.
He walked in the palace. The buildings here were not very majestic. Among several countries, it might be a relatively poor palace, so the emperor always wanted to build a better palace.
All the emperors of the early and late Han dynasties had never visited this city, and it had never been the center of the Han Dynasty.
But as he stepped on the bluestone slabs and looked at the traces left by the passing of time, his steps only felt heavier. Would the last trace of the Han Dynasty end with this city?
Three generations of emperors have struggled here, five generations of heroes have worked hard here, and there is some glory here after all. How can we bear to see it end like this?
…
Regarding the Yinghou line, when Xiao Yan led his army to leave Jianye, he had a frank talk with Luo Xianzhi.
If it were other families, they would have no relationship after being separated for so long, and Xiao Yan would not care, but he knew that the Luo family was different. The importance this family placed on family affection was far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Xiao Yan once asked Luo Xianzhi what he should do with Ying Hou if he led a large army to capture Fenggao.
Luo Xianzhi was silent for a long time, and then he slowly said: "Your Majesty, you will not see a living Ying Hou in Fenggao. The title he carries is tied to the name of Han. When Han is destroyed, Ying Hou will die, that's all."
Luo Xianzhi's tone was filled with deep depression. Xiao Yan had rarely seen Luo Xianzhi with this expression. He asked again: "Then why did you still lead the attack on Han? You could obviously choose to attack Shuzhong."
Luo Xianzhi put his hands behind his back and thought for a long time before saying, "I only do the right thing. The fall of Ying Hou is inevitable, it's just a matter of a little later or a little earlier.
Attacking Han was the right thing for Liang, and eliminating separatist forces was the right thing for the world. Now that we are on the right path, we can move forward with our inner banner in mind.
If we can really capture Fenggao first, that would be a good thing. At least I can save the Yinghou line.
There is no need to worry about them being displaced in the war or even encountering misfortune. A misfortune will actually bring good luck. This is the truth that misfortunes often bring blessings.
Your Majesty, you will protect the safety of Yinghou's family."
Xiao Yan laughed out loud and said, "Of course, they are your people. As long as they don't have hostility towards Daliang, why should I specifically target such a world-famous noble family?"
Luo Xianzhi bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
A fruitful conversation.
The only question is, can Xiao Yan capture Fenggao City first?
After entering Fenggao City, can the army maintain its military discipline?
In this era, except for the Temple Army and the Warriors, no army's military discipline could be considered good. The only difference was between bad and worse.
Even if Xiao Yan could restrain them, what if it was the Yan State that entered the city first?
Which is stronger, Yan or Liang?
This does not seem to be a problem, because everyone knows the answer to this question, which is of course Yan State. Especially in terms of the speed of attack, Yan State, which has a large number of cavalry, has long been able to lead the army to gallop across Qingzhou.
…
Luo Zhenye was not the kind of person who wanted his entire family to follow him to commit suicide. Besides, the Yinghou family had few descendants. Luo Zhenye only had a son in his later years, but he died the year before last.
All the children born before were daughters, two of whom are already married, and the other one is still unmarried and too young to have reached marriage age.
He could not interfere with his two married daughters, but it was different for his younger daughter. He wrote a letter to Luo Xianzhi, asking him to send someone to take his younger daughter to Gusu.
As for the servants in Marquis Ying's Mansion, those who should be disbanded were disbanded, and those who were unwilling to leave followed the three young ladies of the Marquis' Mansion to different places.
No matter what the future holds, the Yinghou Mansion will be disbanded.
The Yinghou, who was once so powerful and had a large following, and the first of the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats in the Han Dynasty, ended up like this. The cruelest thing in the world is probably that a new era has arrived, and although we can clearly see the new era, or even see it right in front of us, we have to bear the shackles of the old era. The new era is not something that can be pursued.
In the war that is now spreading across the country, the decline of a wealthy noble family is nothing. In this war involving hundreds of thousands of troops, countless families rise and fall every moment.
Those powerful families entrenched in the local area were like paper in front of the army. They would be pushed over if they were not careful. Especially when the city was broken, basically many important figures would die, including many famous figures of the state party.
…
The Yan army led by Murong Ke and the Liang army led by Xiao Yan tied up the demoralized Han Kingdom and attacked it. This was the general trend, and it was not something that one person could resist. The collapse of the Han army was not as exaggerated as that of the Wei Kingdom, but the huge rift in the court would definitely affect the middle and lower levels of the country.
If the general defending the city does not know why he is defending the city, he will not have the spiritual will to defend it. In a city, in a war, this group of people will win and this group will also lose. They will win when their morale is high and will fail when their morale is low and confused. If they do not have this kind of will, the city's fall is inevitable.
This is the biggest problem that the Han State is facing now, that is, the emperor himself does not have a strong resistance mentality, which makes officials and generals at all levels very passive.
There are only a very small number of officials in this world who have their own ideas. They are not loyal to the emperor, but to their own ideas. They submit to the emperor only to realize their ambitions. If the emperor goes against these ambitions, they will even oppose the emperor.
The rest of the officials are fence-sitters who will change with the changes in the court. These people have flexible moral bottom lines.
…
After receiving Murong Ke's letter, Murong Chui, who was far away in Guanzhong, read it, held the letter tightly, and then lit it on a candle and burned it to ashes. Then he looked towards Guanzhong and the surroundings.
On the surface, he had two choices, Shuzhong and the four counties of Hexi, but in fact he only had one, which was the four counties of Hexi.
He had just unified Guanzhong, and the foundation of his rule here was still quite weak. The current stability was entirely based on military victory. This kind of rule was quite fragile. If one was not careful, not to mention failure in the war, even a slight setback could lead to a collapse.
For Murong Chui now, the image of being invincible is the key to maintaining the entire Guanzhong area.
So when he was choosing his opponents, he had to pick those who were easier to deal with.
No matter how powerful Shuzhong is, that place is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it is likely to fall into a long tug-of-war. What you will encounter when attacking Shuzhong is really unimaginable.
Especially since the Cao family was still ruling Shuzhong. As the one who destroyed the Wei Kingdom, Cao Lu would definitely fight to the death with Murong Chui. Under such circumstances, it would be a completely impossible task to quickly capture Shuzhong.
If that were the case, Murong Chui would not have chosen Shu as his opponent.
Moreover, for a famous general like Murong Chui, siege warfare is really not cost-effective. Field battles and siege warfare are two completely different types of wars.
Most of the famous generals in ancient times were super masters of field battles, because only field battles can reflect a general's wisdom and bravery, and in siege and defense battles, the bonus of a city and a dangerous pass is really too great.
At that time, the terrain of Hangu Pass was such that one man could block the passage of ten thousand men. Even if a famous general from ancient times came to attack, any second-rate general could make him die outside the city.
The four counties in Hexi did not have this problem. The land there was flat and the most suitable place for cavalry to roam freely. The strongest cavalry under Murong Chui was the Yan cavalry. Moreover, there were generally no fortified cities in the four counties in Hexi, and there were not even any high mountains or obstacles.
Fighting there is entirely a test of the inner strength of the generals, and in this regard Murong Chui is not afraid of anyone. He firmly believes that he is the strongest general in the world.
In the past, Luo Wuzhi set out from Chang'an and rushed thousands of miles to enter the Hexi Corridor. Now Murong Chui also set out from Chang'an, leading more than 10,000 cavalry to Hexi. As for Guanzhong, he left it to Wang Meng to govern, and took Yang Cheng to the front line.
From this arrangement, it can be seen that Murong Chui still has some political ability. Wang Meng's only reliance is Murong Chui, so among the two, Murong Chui values Wang Meng more.
Of course, Wang Meng is indeed better, which is also a very important reason.
…
There are two wars going on in this world at the same time.
The battle in which Murong Chui annexed Liang Province.
The Battle of Yanliang to Conquer Han.
The behemoth becomes even bigger, this is the truth that separation will eventually lead to reunion.
————
In this world, old things are always replaced by new things. When the end of the Han Dynasty was completely gone, when the Wei Kingdom and the Han Kingdom died in disgrace, we all knew that the era of heroes was gone. We named this era with new history books. It was called the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a regime that unified the north and a regime that unified the south, telling the world that this was the era of the Yan Kingdom and the Liang Kingdom. - "Zhu Xia·Southern and Northern Dynasties"
(End of this chapter)
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