Chapter 127 The decision to move the capital...
Xu Rong never expected that given Qiao Yan's status as the governor of Bingzhou and the importance of this battle, she would actually choose to come alone.
The boatman who came with her seemed to be just a young man, but not the strong man seen in Luoyang City that year.
He had already prepared for the possibility that Qiao Yan would not come as promised, or that she wanted to use this method to capture the commander guarding the ferry, so he was ready to turn the boat around and leave at any time.
But when he saw Qiao Yan abandon the boat and come ashore alone, Xu Rong realized that what the messenger said was true.
Qiao Hou is actually a man who keeps his promises. He uses the so-called invitation as a cover to launch an attack, but Qiao Yeshu disdains to do it.
He couldn't help feeling somewhat moved. He saw that Lord Qiao was strolling among the flowers and trees on the island in the river. He found a flat and wide place with bluestone and sat down. When he saw that he was approaching, he threw a wine jug in his hand towards him.
Xu Rong took the wine jug and did not move for a while.
"Why? I dared to come here with only one sword and two pots of wine. I am not afraid that General Xu's sword will take my head and ask for credit from that thief Dong. But General, you are afraid that I will put poison and knockout drug in the wine and kill you?"
Qiao Yan shook the wine pot in his hand and said with a smile, "General Xu, please sit down. We won't talk about military affairs today, and I won't mention the thief Dong for now. As the saying goes, a hero is judged by his wine. Let's just talk about wine."
What surprised Xu Rong even more than Qiao Yan's coming here alone was that she said she only wanted to talk about wine, and it seemed as if she really was just talking about wine.
The wine flask that she threw to him contained sorghum liquor, but in order to avoid the suspicion of knocking the enemy down here, Qiao Yan added a lot of water to it.
Of course, even so, compared with the "strong liquor" on the market today, this wine can be considered strong enough.
Xu Rong seldom drank alcohol when he was in charge of the army on weekdays, but today, he drank half a pot of wine while Qiao Yan urged him to drink and evaluated the wine.
But when he watched her return to the boat and leave the river island for the camp on the north shore, he still had an indescribable sense of unreality.
It seemed like she really just treated him to a drink of good wine because she admired his skills?
This is also Niu Fu’s doubt. "She really didn't tell you anything?"
Long before Xu Rong returned, he asked his subordinate Hu Che'er to temporarily take over the patrol work, and he himself ran to Xiaopingjin.
Xu Rong shook his head and replied, "She only asked whether the sorghum was introduced from foreign lands and whether we had used it to make wine in Liangzhou before."
Upon hearing this, Niu Fu threw the cup beside him and said angrily, "Are you treating me like a child? When Qiao Yan sent an envoy to invite you, she mentioned that she was supervising the construction of ships and contacting the Central Plains to start an army. Could it be that she came in person only to taste the wine with you?"
This is not the way the enemy commander and our main general communicate!
So Niu Fu absolutely did not believe that Qiao Yan did not say anything to Xu Rong!
At least it is impossible to discuss the spread of sorghum with others.
This made him suspect that she had actually said something to Xu Rong to win him over, and she couldn't explain such words to him, the son-in-law of the prime minister.
With this doubt in his mind, he felt that something was wrong with Xu Rong's behavior.
Even though Xu Rongyi later replied sternly that he had nothing to say, he looked at the other party for a long time and did not dispel his doubts. Instead, he scooped up the other half of the pot of wine and left Xiaopingjin.
There is no point in talking if there is no agreement. It seems that Xu Rong will not tell him the truth.
It just so happened that he and Xu Rong were both Generals of the Central Army under Dong Zhuo, and did not have the power to directly hold each other accountable.
But there are a lot of things he can do.
For example, supervise Xu Rong's behavior first!
Niu Fu felt that he seemed to have chosen the wrong person to guard this place, and it was his responsibility to keep a close eye on the other party. However, he did not know that his action of leading a team of followers back to the Mengjin camp had also been noticed by those on the other side of the river.
As Guo Jia walked along the river bank with Qiao Yan, he said, "It was a brilliant move for you to say nothing at this moment, instead of recounting Dong's atrocities with Xu Rong and persuading him to defect."
People always have some fixed ideas, especially when Qiao Yan had previously written a manifesto to attack Dong Zhuo.
Who would believe that she was really just tasting wine with someone?
Then we should doubt whether Xu Rong is telling the truth.
Qiao Yan replied, "Xu Rong is indeed a talented person, but unfortunately he was entrusted with the wrong person. Now is a good time for him to see what kind of people he is cooperating with."
If it weren't for the fact that although she already had the tools to cross the river, it would not be the right time for her to take action before the several prefects and governors of Suanzao gathered. She would have wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to lure Xu Rong here and launch a secret attack.
But it doesn't matter now.
Even though Xu Rong had guessed Qiao Yan's intention from Niu Fu's performance, he was unable to influence some people's way of thinking.
The estrangement had already occurred. Since he was not from Liangzhou and had difficulty entering the core group, he had to deal with the subsequent constraints from all sides.
If Dong Zhuo understood this clearly and gave Xu Rong enough trust, then it would be useless even if Qiao Yan risked his life to plan this.
But if Dong Zhuo chooses to trust Niu Fu first during this time of internal and external troubles, then that would be her chance.
Her crossing operation must ensure that the strike is successful! After all, she had friends waiting for her in Luoyang City, across the river and south of Mangshan Mountain, and she also had the mission of exchanging the imperial seal as a bargaining chip.
Guo Jia was a man who dared to speak his mind. He suddenly asked, "I would like to ask you a question. If the old villain Dong Zhuo invited me to drink and did not mention anything about winning me over, but only talked about good food and good wine, what would you think when I came back?"
This question is very real.
Now Qiao Yan has come up with many strange tricks, but what if one day someone uses these tricks on his own people?
Qiao Yan was not surprised by Guo Jia's precautionary question and replied, "If the thief Dong invites you to drink, I will let you taste the true meaning of the wine. Based on what you have seen and heard in Bingzhou, if you cannot refute him one by one, I will not forgive you when you return."
She stopped and looked at Guo Jia, "Fengxiao, since you have seen the clouds across Taihang Mountain and the spirit flowing through the five peaks, why should you go to Beimang and be trapped in the hills? Isn't that the truth?"
Guo Jia was stunned for a moment and then laughed out loud, "My Lord, you are not talking about drinking with Dong Zhuo."
She was clearly talking about vision.
But Guo Jia just accepted this answer!
A fierce general like Lu Bu requires a lord with the heroic spirit to suppress him.
A civil official like him also needs his lord to have a mind as broad as the world.
If Qiao Yan, the governor of Bingzhou, has such confidence and makes the best use of the talents of her subordinates, Bingzhou will be like a majestic mountain. Why should she worry about whether other people's divisive plots will work?
That was the promise she made.
Unfortunately, Dong Zhuo couldn't do that.
He picked up an emperor and the imperial edict supporting him in the north of Luoyang, and happened to encounter an opportunity for him to mediate and take power, but he was essentially still a nouveau riche.
So he killed He Miao, Queen Mother He, and even their mothers one after another, which frightened the already cowardly Liu Bian so much that he almost fell seriously ill.
In this way, he not only ensured that the He Jin and He Miao troops under his command would never have the possibility of causing any trouble, but also ensured that Liu Xie, whom he supported to the throne, would never have any possibility of being replaced.
In Luoyang, he tried his best to make what he said equivalent to the emperor's decree, and bloodily suppressed anyone who might have criticized him.
However, that new manifesto to attack Dong Zhuo, coupled with the condemnation launched by the united states and counties in Guandong, made Dong Zhuo feel an extreme sense of crisis even though he had not yet received the news that they were officially marching towards Chenggao.
It was at this time that he received the military report sent by Niu Fu.
Niu Fu mentioned in the military report that he suspected that there was collusion between Xu Rong and the governor of Bingzhou.
Xu Rong also intended to set up a sentry post on the island in the middle of the river in front of Xiaopingjin.
But Qiao Yan’s military camp was stationed on the other side of Mengjin. If there was any unusual movement, he would naturally be able to detect it. Why should he disperse his troops and station them on the river island!
This is most likely Xu Rong's plan to support Qiao Yan.
When Dong Zhuo saw this, his forehead jumped.
He had just put down the anti-rebelion manifesto written by Cao Cao, and was struck by the words "He has all the five poisons, his guests are like dogs and pigs, he is ferocious and rebellious, his high position is like a tomb of dry bones, he corrupts the country and oppresses the people, he will kill at the slightest grudge, he is truly an unrighteous minister". He was almost angry to the point of having a headache. Now he hasn't heard the situation in Guandong clearly, so why is there going to be problems on the northern defense line again? 1
With the natural barrier of the Yellow River and generals like Xu Rong who were famous for their stability guarding the city, he thought there wouldn't be any problems at least before the ice age.
Considering the length of time that Qiao Yan was in charge of Bingzhou, if he could hold out for a little longer, even if it meant that the enemy ran out of food and grass and was forced to retreat, it would not be impossible.
But Niu Fu swore that even though the wine that Marquis Qiao invited Xu Rong to drink tasted good, it was unreasonable for the leader of the enemy army to only talk about wine tasting with our generals.
Xu Rong didn't dare to say those words, there must be something fishy.
Please understand this matter clearly, Prime Minister. He is definitely not targeting Xu Rong.
Dong Zhuo could not even tolerate Zhou Hui, who really just came to Luoyang for a visit. He was also planning to take action against Huangfu Song who was far away in Xiliang to avenge past grudges. He was definitely not a magnanimous person.
With a gloomy face, he read Niu Fu's accusations against Xu Rong again. Although he had a question mark in his mind as to why Niu Fu knew that the wine that Qiao Yan invited Xu Rong to drink tasted good, he had to admit that in the face of this fact, he was more willing to believe in Niu Fu's loyalty to him and the judgment he made at this time.
Xu Rong...
At a time when the defense lines of the eight passes in Luoyang have been initially constructed and Xu Rong has not officially committed any act of treason, dismissal of him or replacement of him with the defenders of other passes would obviously be detrimental to the current situation.
However, if no action was taken against Xu Rong, Dong Zhuo, who was so petty, would inevitably feel upset.
He pondered for a long time and made a decision. He let Niu Fu take full charge of the garrison of Mengjin and Xiaopingjin. Xu Rong would remain in Xiaopingjin, with Niu Fu controlling Xu Rong's power to lead troops.
On the surface, at least from the north bank of the river where Qiao Yan was, the situation on the opposite side had not changed at all, and the two camps were still the same as before, but Xu Rong was forced to abandon the plan to set up a sentry post on the island in the middle of the lake, which was good news for her.
As for whether she should be worried, Xu Rong would suspect that her plan to alienate the enemy was to use the river island as a springboard, so he was on guard against this place in the camp.
Not necessarily!
Between Mengjin and Xiaopingjin, the landing point she chose never changed from beginning to end.
No matter how strictly we guard against it, there will always be loopholes!
It is May now and the breath of early summer is already in our air.
Even if you are along the Yellow River, it is difficult to reduce the summer heat.
Military camps, places where people gather together, make people feel stuffy and hot.
Qiao Yan's camp had both generals and strategists, and was not limited to the scope of the ferry pass. He had arranged the camp in a proper density and had people bring Ma Jun and Bi Lan from Bingzhou, and temporarily built a manpower-powered mechanical vehicle to sprinkle water in the camp.
In order to prevent the occurrence of summer fever epidemics, a person who studied medicine under Wu Pu in Leping Academy was ordered to strictly control the excretion and diet in the camp.
In comparison, Niu Fu on the other side of the river was in a much more uncomfortable situation.
Most of Xu Rong's subordinates were members of the Five Schools of the Northern Army that Dong Zhuo took over after entering Luoyang, while most of Niu Fu's subordinates were from Liangzhou.
These people can't stay idle.
Before Qiao Yan's troops attacked Luoyang, although they were under Dong Zhuo's instructions not to make things too big so as to prevent him from taking over power smoothly, they were able to obtain enough wealth from the wealthy families in Luoyang.
If they could search the prisons in the outskirts of Luoyang or even further away, they could be even more outrageous.
But what is the situation now?
They had to be trapped in the military camp on the bank of the Yellow River, and every day they could only stare at the group of Bingzhou soldiers on the other side of the river, watching them drag a few newly built boats to the shore.
The prosperous Luoyang is within the protection of Mangshan Mountain in the rear, but they have to do such hard work here. How can this be justified!
What made them even more depressed was that when they asked Niu Fu how long they would defend this place, Niu Fu could not give them a clear answer. He only said that it depended on when the Marquis of Leping on the opposite side would withdraw or advance.
However, those of them who were responsible for inquiring on the other side only saw that the Bingzhou Army had a steady supply of food carts delivered, and the soldiers walking out of the barracks all looked energetic, and it was clear that they would not retreat in a short time.
Then we have to keep defending!
The increasingly hot weather has exacerbated this irritable and impatient mood.
Niu Fu also felt that the situation was very bad at this time. He wished that Qiao Yan on the other side could quickly load the wooden boats with soldiers and cross the river. However, he saw that the other side had no intention of breaking camp and attacking, and it was like a stake on the other side of the river.
Qiao Yan had a clear understanding of the comparison between the two sides at the moment, so he was more stable.
She sat in the commander's tent and looked at Cao Ang, who was sent by Cao Cao as a messenger. She saw that he was wearing light armor and looked much darker than when she saw him in Luoyang City. She smiled and said, "Brother Meng De, it seems that you have been paying close attention to Zixiu's fighting skills recently?"
Thinking of the scene when his father teased him about coming to get the gifts when he came, and then thinking about how Qiao Hou said "Brother Meng De" right after he came up, Cao Ang felt that it made sense for these two people to be able to talk to each other.
Even though he thought so, he still straightened his face and replied, "My father almost lost his life to the generals of Dong's army before. This time he came with my uncles to recruit new soldiers. He knew that Dong was not easy to deal with, so he kept a close eye on me to prevent me from getting into trouble during the battle."
This isn't a bad thing.
Even if Cao Cao did not have the ability to foresee and confirm whether the Dong thief could be wiped out in one battle, he could guess that the current situation could not be settled in one or two years, and it would not hurt for Cao Ang to learn more self-defense skills as a soldier.
Because Cao Cao had arranged for him to eat and live with ordinary soldiers a while ago, he naturally paid more attention to the situation in the military camp. Seeing Qiao Yan asking about his military service, he asked naturally, "I just entered the military camp and saw that the Bingzhou soldiers were strong and their morale was very high. But I remember that Marquis Qiao has been stationed here for nearly ten days. Although it may be a bit presumptuous, I wonder if I can ask about their morale..."
"How do you maintain it?" Qiao Yan asked the second half of the question for him.
Cao Ang was still a little thin-skinned. At that time, there were only Dong Zhuo and the anti-Dong Zhuo factions among the various forces, and there was no clear boundary between the friendly forces within. If Cao Cao himself was here, he would definitely ask directly. But if it were Cao Ang, he would hesitate first.
Seeing Cao Ang nod, Qiao Yan replied: "Because I told them that we will cross the river and attack them within a month at the latest!"
January at the latest?
Her decisive decision on the time of the march surprised Cao Ang.
Before he could ask, he heard her continue, "As far as I know, Yuan Benchu joined forces with Lu Gong and Liu Xuande in Henei. They could have come from Mengjin Ferry, but because I was already here, I joined forces with Brother Mengde and others in Suanzao. Many troops from Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou gathered here. Yuan Gonglu joined forces with Sun Wentai to attack Taigu Pass. They are currently stationed in Luyang. Luoyang is already surrounded."
Cao Ang replied: "That's right."
"Five years ago, I met Sun Wentai once in Changsha. He has a hot temper and he still has that temper today." Qiao Yan did not mention the conflict between Sun Jian and Zhang Zi, but continued, "If we order him to attack Taigu Pass quickly, judging from his behavior when he first went to Nanyang and killed the Yellow Turban rebels, it would be just a quick move."
This is the first route.
"There are several armies at the meeting place of Suanzao. The thief Dong must think that we need to negotiate many times, allocate military rations, and balance the forces, which are all time-consuming. If we send more troops to Chenggao, they will inevitably be slack. It is better to break their strong defense with a quick attack, which is to take advantage of their unpreparedness."
This is the first route.
"I have stationed troops here, firmly guarding the camp, seemingly waiting for the right opportunity, but the commander of the other side of the pass does not know that I can cross the river and attack Luoyang at any time, breaking through the pass and entering, which shows the enemy that they are incapable."
This is the first road.
"And if we give Dong the opportunity to react, let alone how many soldiers he can mobilize, he holds the emperor and important officials in his hands. If we take them as hostages, we will inevitably be cautious and lose sight of the big picture. Take the Yuan family as an example. Yuan Benchu and Yuan Gonglu are raising troops outside, while Yuan Ciyang, Yuan Shiji and others are in Luoyang. If we don't win quickly, they will become bargaining chips for Dong."
That's indeed well said.
The situation of the Yuan family is different from that of the Hongnong Yang family.
Although they are both families with four generations of nobility, their official careers are far more prosperous than that of the Yang family. Although their main family is in Runan, they have a considerable number of direct descendants in Beijing.
It was precisely because of this concern, and because Lu Zhi, the regent appointed by the previous emperor, was present at the meeting, that when Cao Ang left Suanzao and came to Mengjin, the assembled team had temporarily decided that Lu Zhi, rather than Yuan Shao, would be the leader of the alliance.
However, there is still some controversy because the troops under Lu Gong's command were short of manpower and not as many as those recruited by Yuan Shao.
But with Cao Ang's naive thinking, he felt that this was not an unsolvable problem.
He turned back to think, and saw Qiao Yan pointing to the map behind him, "Zi Xiu, take a look!"
The eight passes of Luoyang on the map were highlighted in red. Even though the small words on them were a little unclear, they were enough to recognize these places.
She said: "If Taigu, Xuanmen and Mengjin can be conquered at the same time, I will divide my troops into two groups. One will attack Hangu Pass to block Dong's way, and the other will guard Mangshan to prevent him from escaping to Hedong. The Suanzao allied forces will march westward, and the Luyang coalition forces will attack northward. Dong will have no way out and will have to surrender and be executed."
"This plan should be fast rather than slow."
"If so, is this month the best time?"
Cao Ang looked at it intently and replied confidently: "Yes, it is indeed like that!"
If, as Qiao Yan said, the southern route is to make a concerted effort, the eastern route is to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, and the northern route is to show the enemy its weakness, then this is the best time for the four routes to attack together.
Qiao Yan said, "Please trouble Zixiu to report this idea to Meng De. If Zixiu didn't come, I would have sent someone to Suanzao."
Cao Ang bowed to her and left immediately after receiving the order.
Of course, Qiao Yan had his own way of getting information, and Cao Ang came in person to report the news. A few days later, Dong Zhuo, who was in Luoyang, also received news of the joint attack by Suanzao and Luyang.
Among the officials from various states and counties in Guandong who revolted this time, there were even Liu Dai, Kong Rong, Ying Shao, Zhang Miao and others whom he had previously employed. This had already made him overturn the table once. Now, when he heard that they had appointed Lu Zhi as the leader and the general of chariots and cavalry in the subsequent Suanzao League, he was even more furious. 2
The position of General of Chariots and Cavalry could only be conferred by the imperial court and the emperor. Even though Lu Zhi was a senior official entrusted by the late emperor and could indeed be promoted to the position of General of Chariots and Cavalry and hold the power of military assistance, as Dong Zhuo had already branded himself as the most powerful person in Luoyang, their actions were tantamount to the most direct provocation to him!
But he also had to put aside his anger for the time being and focus on how to solve the current problem.
Qiao Yan would still think of Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji who were still in Luoyang. Because they were previously labeled as traitors by Dong Zhuo, they were under the close surveillance of Dong Zhuo's generals. Dong Zhuo would naturally think of this as well.
Thinking further from the hostage's perspective, he couldn't help but think of the little emperor on the throne.
If he could use the hostages to persuade some of the troops to retreat, it would undoubtedly reduce a lot of pressure on him.
Although his brutal and murderous nature had been fully exposed in his recent actions in Luoyang, he did not think that he could defeat all the coalition forces with punches and kicks and be sure of victory.
Based on the standard thinking of a man who got rich overnight, his decision could be no more than two different ones.
One is to place the hostages in a safer place for protection to ensure that they cannot be rescued easily.
One of them is to defeat these combined forces one by one.
When Dong Zhuo thought that among these groups of people there was a general named Qiao Yan, who had his troops stationed north of the Yellow River and was pressing on Mengjin, and that even today his camp had not shown any signs of decline, he felt a headache coming on!
Perhaps, if he had no way to deal with Qiao Yeshu, the others would not have been so decisive in raising troops!
Thinking of this, he decided to give up thinking about this most troublesome problem for the time being, and instead handed it over to Li Ru to solve, while he himself started thinking about the previous problem.
With the army pressing in, the only way out for him to retreat was to the west, so the most suitable place to send the hostages was also the west.
West! That's Chang'an!
Dong Zhuo did not hesitate to make this decision.
It’s because for him, Chang’an is closer to Liangzhou and provides another layer of security.
With this thought in mind, at the court meeting on May 15th of the first year of Guangxi, Prime Minister Dong, who was a burly man wearing a sword and shoes, did not care about the expression of the young emperor Liu Xie at all, and stood at the head of the ministers and looked at the people behind him. 3
He asked in a manner that was almost like an imperial decree: "I intend to move the court to Chang'an. What do you think?"4
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