Chapter 132: Fire of Beigong
Bingzhou Mu Qiao Hou was ordered to fight against the enemy!
There is no doubt about which thief we are targeting!
The residents of Shangshangli rushed out of their houses and evacuated to the east for a while. Then, some curious people climbed to the top of the houses and looked towards the north gate of Luoyang.
What they saw was a large cloud of dust rising from the mountain road of Mangshan, and teams of soldiers and horses rushed straight to the northern city wall. The soldiers in the front had already reached the city gate, while the soldiers in the back were still connected to Mangshan, and were spreading out quickly along the northern city wall.
The people of Luoyang have never seen such a scene before.
Even when Dong Zhuo entered the capital a while ago, he brought only more than 3,000 followers with him. The number of men he later controlled reached tens of thousands. After they were assigned to guard the eight passes, he cut the tens of thousands of people into several teams. How could there be such a shocking sight of tens of thousands of people attacking the city?
Bingzhou Mu!
Perhaps because Qiao Yan was too young, the process of her promotion to nobility was even more legendary. The residents of Luoyang Guoqu often told her story to their children, but none of these stories were as good as the one at this moment when she was directly ordered to fight against the enemy. It made people realize that this was a powerful official in charge of a region, and not just a young genius.
The order "Fight the enemy in accordance with the imperial edict" gave them time to evacuate, and was also the most direct provocation and declaration of war against Dong Zhuo.
The northern wall of Luoyang is much thicker than any other wall on the other side. It is impossible to break it open by digging or bombarding it, and it can only be climbed.
When the last command that shook the night sky sounded, a dense rain of arrows had already flown towards the city wall, and the Bingzhou soldiers in iron armor were already carrying ladders and rushing towards the city wall.
When the people of Luoyang looked up, in the light of dawn, they saw another group of troops on the high ground of Mangshan Mountain, close to the northwest of Luoyang, who obviously wanted to break into the city from the direction of Xiamen in the northwest corner of Luoyang.
Or perhaps they were heading towards the Pleated Dragon Garden.
Gardens are often not so densely guarded, which may be an opportunity to break through the city gates.
Originally, this place was where the five schools of the Northern Army camped. However, now that all the soldiers guarding the eight passes have been dispatched, there are not many people left in the camp.
It happened that those who passed by this place were the soldiers from the five schools who surrendered to Qiao Yan along with Xu Rong.
So when those who stayed behind saw their colleagues they knew, they immediately joined the siege team and formed another stream of people.
The only thing that can stop them is this line of city wall.
Unfortunately, the slope of Mang Mountain near the north of the city is gradually gentler, otherwise it would be possible to attack by shooting arrows at the top of the city from the mountain.
But the current situation is enough to shock people!
Even though Dong Zhuo had deployed a large number of soldiers on the front line north of Luoyang City, these people did not face the harsh garrisoning environment like the one at Mengjin Pass, and the guards were quite tight. However, the sudden large-scale attack still caught them off guard.
You know, this was a scene of tens of thousands of people attacking a city.
Most of Luoyang's one million residents live outside the city but in the inner city and suburbs.
The defenders in the city were originally only 2,000 to 3,000 people, scattered on various city walls. The number has only recently increased to 7,000. The one near the north city wall only has one-fifth of the invading enemy forces, and not everyone is at their post at this time.
The arrows shot from the rear of the siege team towards the top of the city wall formed a suppressive firepower that almost made people dare not show their heads easily, precisely because of this numerical advantage.
Although the climbing team encountered some restrictions, they had already climbed more than half of the way.
The north wall is in danger!
Even if the attacking troops shouted that command very politely, it could not change this fact!
Since Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he occupied the North Palace of Luoyang on the pretext of wanting to keep an eye on His Majesty to prevent him from being harmed by bad guys, as most of the South Palace in Luoyang was burned down by fire and it was really troublesome to repair it. At this time, he was not far from the place where the Bingzhou army was attacking the city.
Without having to wait for his subordinates to call him, he was already awakened from his drowsy dream by the sounds.
His many years of military experience in Liang Province were enough for him to estimate the number of attackers based on the sounds of fighting in the distance and the shaking of the ground.
But this was obviously not good news for him.
At least 10,000 people are coming!
As he put on his armor to protect himself, he cursed at the soldiers who came to report: "How did you defend the city? You were discovered by the Bingzhou Army right under our noses! You are all a bunch of good-for-nothings!"
The soldier who reported the news also felt very aggrieved.
Although Qiao Yan used "courtesy" first and then force, there was not much distance from the Mangshan Pass to the city of Luoyang, and there was not even time for the slower soldiers to adjust their chain mail. At most, they could only prepare their weapons as a reserve team, and the ones who actually fought with them first were the night guards.
Fortunately, none of them took advantage of the situation, otherwise it would not be him who came to inform Dong Zhuo at this time, but Luoyang would have been directly breached.
The fact that the other side was able to send out so many soldiers to attack the city, and that they did not encounter any obstruction during the passage through the Mangshan Pass, and that no one arrived in Luoyang to report the news before them, was definitely a major mistake made by the defenders of Mengjin Pass and Xiaopingjin Pass, and we cannot blame them alone!
Dong Zhuo also reacted to this problem later.
Qiao Yan doesn’t have wings to fly!
No, even if these eleven marquises and fourteen governors really grew a pair of wings that allowed them to fly, the tens of thousands of soldiers under her command did not have such luck and ability. It was impossible for them to fly directly from one end of the Yellow River and skip over Mangshan Mountain and land directly outside the city of Luoyang.
The only explanation is that Mengjin and Xiaopingjin were lost without any suspense.
"What are Niu Fu and Xu Rong doing!" Dong Zhuo put on a helmet and scolded again.
The soldier who reported the news whispered back, "We don't know where General Niu is, but Xu Zhonglang is... in the siege team."
"Asshole!" Dong Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then blurted out with a ferocious look, "I treated Xu Rong well, but he treated me like this? Does he really think he can save the emperor by attacking Luoyang?"
But the soldiers in front of him were only there to report the news. They were not personal witnesses of the battle of crossing the river, nor were they the worms in Xu Rong's stomach. They could not give Dong Zhuo a truly factual explanation.
Faced with this imminent danger, Dong Zhuo temporarily did not have the energy to pay attention to what Xu Rong was thinking behind this decision.
He immediately asked someone to call Li Ru over.
He arranged almost all the generals and colonels under his command to guard the passes, except for Yique and Huanyuan passes where the pressure of guarding was not great. He also dispatched Guo Si and Zhang Ji back, and there were hardly many available generals around him.
At most, there is Dong Min who is guarding Nan Guo.
This undoubtedly caused him to feel an unprecedented sense of crisis.
Even when we were besieged by the Qiang people in the past, the sense of crisis was not as strong as it is now!
Li Ru was speechless about Dong Zhuo's behavior of not listening to his advice and killing people indiscriminately some time ago, but Luoyang was in danger today and he was tied to the same chariot with Dong Zhuo. No matter what unpleasantness he had before, he had to put such thoughts aside now and plan a way out for Dong Zhuo.
He quickly replied: "Please ask the Prime Minister to pretend to defend the North Palace first, and use the two lines of defense of Luoyang's north wall and the North Palace wall to wear down a part of the Bingzhou army, and then burn the North Palace, go out from the east gate, and walk to Guangli."
"East Gate?" If he wanted to meet Duan Wei who was already in Huayin, he should at least go through the West Gate.
Li Ru said, "The Prime Minister's idea of moving the capital has long been announced in Luoyang. If Qiao Yan is interested, he will naturally wait at the West Gate. I heard that the soldiers attacking the North City came from Zhelong Garden. It is possible that they took the Upper West Gate."
Seeing that Dong Zhuo thought his analysis was reasonable, Li Ru continued, "So why don't you go east first, take the road from the Three Dukes' Residences, go through the straight road in front of the South Palace, and then turn west and exit from Guangyang Gate. Even if our plan is discovered, there are Bingzhou troops guarding the east gate of the North Palace. At least the opponent's numerical advantage is not much in the streets of Buguangli, and the battle in the streets is nothing more than courage. This is where the chance for the Prime Minister's Xiliang Army to counterattack lies."
"Good, good..." If the scope of the battle and the number of combatants were limited, he might not be too passive.
only--
"But we are heading straight out of Guangyang Gate to Chang'an. Then moving the capital..."
The relocation of the capital became completely impossible.
What's the difference between this and being driven out of Luoyang!
Dong Zhuo still has a lot of soldiers under his control. If he uses soldiers to drive the civilians as a barrier to stop Qiao Yan's pursuit, I don't know if it is a feasible method?
Before he could finish his words, Li Ru interrupted him quickly: "Prime Minister, didn't you hear what Qiao Yan shouted when she ordered the siege? She was ordered to fight the enemy! What imperial edict did she obey? Prime Minister, just look at the style of her anti-enemy manifesto and you will know that she is definitely not a person who likes to exaggerate the facts. The only possibility is that she really has the last emperor's edict in her hand."
Based on Qiao Yan's identity and his career track record of being promoted, this is very possible.
"The enemy has an imperial edict and cavalry. The Prime Minister has no advantage in driving out the residents of Luoyang. He may even be a burden to them!"
"No matter how dilapidated Chang'an is, there are still 280,000 people. If the prime minister holds the emperor in his hands, he can recruit soldiers and refugees later. There is no need to worry about having no one to use. There is no need to mind the current loss." Li Ru said anxiously, fearing that Dong Zhuo would do something unwise because of his recent assumptions.
Now is not the time for him to let his nouveau riche mentality take over.
Fortunately, Dong Zhuo finally followed his advice.
Li Ru heaved a sigh of relief, and after getting a positive response from the other party, he said, "When the time comes, we will go out from Guangyang Gate and enter Prince Square, and the Prime Minister will take a few more hostages. In order to make the Bingzhou Army afraid to act rashly, these people will be much more useful."
"You are right. Quickly send someone to bring His Majesty and Prince Bian... No, only bring His Majesty and kill Prince Bian. Let this show the rebels who attacked Luoyang that King Hongnong was scared to death by them!" Dong Zhuo said in a deep voice.
After Liu Xie ascended the throne, Liu Bian was granted the title of King of Hongnong.
Dong Zhuo killed He Miao, Queen Mother He and others one after another, but he did not really kill Liu Bian as well, in order to avoid being charged with killing the prince. But now it is okay.
Anyway, Liu Bian had been frightened sick since Dong Zhuo entered the capital and the foreign relatives died tragically. If he died of illness at this time, it would not be unreasonable, and he could even put the blame on the people who entered the city.
If we bring one less prince, we can save a lot of trouble on the journey.
"And those noble families who are still in Luoyang, aren't they waiting for someone to come and save them? It may be too late for others! The descendants of the Runan Yuan family, one in the east and one in the south, don't care about the lives of their fathers and ancestors at all. These relatives are better off being buried with King Hongnong!"
Dong Zhuo took the long sword handed to him by the servant.
He is now a little more prosperous than in previous years, and he has indulged himself a lot in the past two months in Luoyang City, but he is not someone who will surrender at this time.
Li Ru knew that it was not easy to persuade Dong Zhuo not to take the residents of Luoyang with him and to escape with only the emperor. It was almost impossible to persuade him to take the Prince of Hongnong with him and not to make a mortal enemy with the Yuan family when he suddenly heard that Qiao Yan was attacking the city and Xu Rong had rebelled. So he could only suppress this idea.
After all, Liu Xie is still too young...
Li Ru was somewhat worried.
Even though he is already eleven years old, in today's post-war environment with frequent epidemics and the poor conditions in Chang'an, he is very likely to be killed by some disease. Taking King Hongnong with him would provide a second-hand preparation.
What a pity...that's all! The worst that could happen is that we could find a few more members of the Liu clan in the vicinity of Chang'an!
As for those from the Runan Yuan family in Beijing, it would be no pity to kill them!
Without people like Yuan Wei who could serve as disciples and disciples to Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, the power they could mobilize would have been greatly reduced. The performances of these two in the previous burning of Nangong Palace and the current Suanzao Alliance were not as outstanding as Qiao Yan's, and they could not cause any waves.
Just in order to keep watch nearby, Yuan Shikai, except for Ma Lun, the Grand Historian appointed by Liu Hong, took all the others to the corner of the North Palace for custody by Dong Zhuo. They were originally intended to be used as hostages to confront the coalition forces of Suanzao and Luyang, but now it was convenient for them to take action!
Dong Zhuo issued the order and sent someone to carry it out, then he took Li Ru to the northern wall of the Beigong Palace.
The Beigong city wall is only a straight road away from the northern city wall of Luoyang at its closest point, which is enough to clearly see the soldiers attacking in the direction of Xiamen.
These Bingzhou troops were indeed brave and had already gained the upper hand on the northern city wall.
Dong Zhuo ordered his men to shoot arrows from the north palace wall, killing many of the Bingzhou soldiers who climbed up the wall. However, as the number of people on the opposite side increased, there were also many counterattacks from that side.
Especially after the heavy armored soldiers also climbed onto the city wall, relying on shields and armor to protect themselves, they were able to block a lot of arrows and gain a foothold.
Because the range of attack from Xiamen to Beigong was too narrow and the Bingzhou army could not expand with their numbers, they spread out to both sides and then opened the Valley Gate, allowing more Bingzhou soldiers to enter Luoyang City through this northern gate.
As the crowd surged, the battlefield of attack and defense shifted from the north city of Luoyang to the Beigong City.
Dong Zhuo gritted his teeth and watched the Bingzhou soldiers who came in one after another. They were well-trained and put their shields in front of them. The attacking troops were deployed inside the northern city wall and slowly spread out from outside the Yong'an Palace.
This method of marching meant that the damage that a counterattack launched from the North Palace wall could cause to the enemy was extremely limited.
Unless they launch an attack at this moment.
But obviously, they were still waiting for an order.
Dong Zhuo could only watch as a group of more elite soldiers came out of the Valley Gate, followed by dozens of cavalrymen riding tall and fine horses, and then, the ones riding on red horses entered Luoyang City.
Qiao Yan!
Dong Zhuo had never had a formal meeting with her before, but it was not difficult for him to identify her identity from this one encounter.
Although she was wearing armor and a helmet, and was taller than other young men of her age, it did not prevent Dong Zhuo from recognizing her gender.
There could be no other person other than Qiao Yan who was fifteen or sixteen years old!
As the two people on the city wall and below gazed at each other, the other party's overly leisurely yet extremely sharp expression undoubtedly formed a sharp contrast with Dong Zhuo's expression at the moment.
In Qiao Yan's opinion, although this Liangzhou bandit had experienced a lot, which allowed him to remain calm at this time, the anxiety underneath his calmness was not difficult to detect.
Come to think of it, he had finally accumulated such a fortune, but at this moment, someone suddenly appeared from the sky and took away his outermost layer of protection. He was about to put his hand into his pocket. How could he remain absolutely calm?
Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun, Qu Yi, who followed Qiao Yan, and Xu Rong, who had just defected to her, all gave Dong Zhuo the most direct impression of their elite soldiers and powerful generals at this time.
Needless to say, the youth of Qiao Yan and the generals around her gave him another heavy blow at this time.
perhaps! Maybe he is old!
No, Dong Zhuo suppressed the hesitation in his heart. It was not time for him to admit defeat yet!
If he follows Li Ru's advice, he can still rise again in Chang'an, wait for Li Jue, Dong Yue, Hu Zhen and others to withdraw their troops and join him, and wait for Duan Wei in Huayin to form a barrier outside Chang'an. He will hold the emperor in his hands and still be the prime minister!
Seeing the desperate look on Dong Zhuo's face, Qiao Yan had already pointed his gun in Dong Zhuo's direction, "Old thief! You only have this palace as your shelter now, why do you still want to resist like this? You were originally a former general. If the late emperor ordered you to be transferred, you could be the governor of Qingzhou, just like me. If you govern according to the rules, in a few years, Qingzhou will surely be passed down with wisdom and virtue, and you will be rid of your reputation as a common man from Xiliang. Why did you end up in this situation today?"
"If you surrender now, you may still be able to keep your body intact."
Dong Zhuo was filled with hatred, but his expression remained unchanged. He replied in a loud voice, "So I would also like to ask Lord Qiao, why don't you and your generals and soldiers cooperate with me and garrison in Luoyang under the command of the emperor? I can advise the emperor to appoint you as the General of Chariots and Cavalry, which is more legitimate than the inappropriate self-proclaimed title of the Sour Jujube Alliance. When the emperor takes power, your reputation as a wise man will spread, which is also a good thing!"
Qiao Yan laughed immediately, and the sarcasm in his laugh was enough for Dong Zhuo to see clearly without any explanation.
"What a joke! If I were really like you said, would I be a general of the emperor or a lackey of your thief Dong? Do you really think I don't know? You might as well ask, even if you offer a huge amount of wealth, who among the people behind me is willing to obey your orders."
Of course not.
It is better to follow Qiao Yan, a promising general in the future, than to follow Dong Zhuo.
She even asked the next question in a decisive tone: "How dare you, a disloyal, unjust, unkind and unforgiving person, occupy the government and monopolize power, destroying the foundation of the Han Dynasty!"
She put down the gun in her hand and stretched out her hand to the side. Lu Bu beside her tactfully handed over the bow and arrow in his hand.
Lu Bu's three-stone bow is not something that ordinary people can use, but during the march on the Mangshan Mountain Road, she improved her physical fitness and archery skills, so she can do it!
The girl in black armor, who was still some distance away from the northern palace wall of Luoyang, bent her bow and drew her arrow. As the blood-red jade braid on her thumb was retracted and released, the white feather arrow on her fingertips immediately flew through the air with a hissing sound.
Along with the cracking sound of the stretched bowstring, it was like a flash of white light, rushing straight towards Dong Zhuo!
He wanted to dodge but then realized that the opponent was obviously aware that the shield soldier in front of him was no pushover. The arrow flew straight over his head and hit the city wall without any hindrance.
The arrow feathers trembled slightly, just like a slap on Dong Zhuo's face.
And this is obviously just the beginning.
The girl on horseback with a determined look shouted loudly: "Everyone - follow me to break the city!"
In the past, General He Jin's threat to the Nan Palace was actually untenable, but when Qiao Yan's troops came to the Bei Palace, he had more evidence than anyone else.
The imperial edict held up by someone behind her was reflected in the morning light, and the red horse she was riding was almost blurred into a ball of fire.
The rising sun is as blazing as fire!
fire……
A fire really broke out at this moment!
Just as Dong Zhuo was about to fight, he heard a cry for help coming from the Bei Palace behind him.
When he looked back, he saw that several rooms in the North Palace were on fire, as if reflecting the team outside the palace.
But at this time——
It was not yet time for him to set fire before evacuating!
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