Chapter 378: Recruitment to Beijing
This is gunpowder.
Before Qiao Yan took this thing out in Yangzhou, no one had thought that there would be such a thing that could replace manpower, or even replace her well-drilling device, and could produce such power on the ground among the rocks.
"Wang Situ, even if there are still some problems with the performance of this thing now, and half of the explosives often misfire, the other half should be enough." After returning from Mount Hua, Liu Yang handed the other half of the explosives that Zuo Ci gave him to Wang Yun as if he were offering a treasure.
Neither Wang Yun nor Liu Yang had any doubts about Zuo Ci's origins.
From the death of Sun Ce to his old minister Yu Fan's resentment towards Qiao Yan, from Yu Fan to the rescue of Yu Ji who had also left Yangzhou, and from Yu Ji who should have been dealt with together with Zhang Jin to Zuo Ci who indeed had supernatural powers, there seemed to be no problem at all.
If these three people appeared together, Liu Yang might still have doubts as to whether they were undercover agents sent to him by Qiao Yan in order to find out his true strength. But at this moment, not only did he not doubt these three capable people who appeared one after another, his mind and eyes were filled with only the gunpowder in front of him.
"That's enough." Wang Yun replied after listening to Liu Yang's description of the gunpowder test. "But all of this is based on the premise that we will never let Qiao Yeshu escape. If she does, we must hit her with one strike. Otherwise, just using gunpowder as a tool to attack her will be enough to make us criticized."
Qiao Yan's ability to respond to emergencies has been demonstrated in various ways over the years.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion in Yanzhou, the drought and locust plague in Bingzhou, the Dong Zhuo Rebellion in Luoyang, the death of Sun Ce in Yangzhou, there was not a single accident that she could not turn into an opportunity for her to seek benefits from.
Once the tiger was released into the forest, even if Liu Yu really came on stage to admit Qiao Yan's evidence of treason, Wang Yun had no doubt that Qiao Yan would be able to turn her reputation around.
When that time comes, what kind of response will those who set a trap for her get?
They were so greedy that they used the weapons and equipment that the Grand Marshal used to attack Yuan Shao and Cao Cao on her in such a chilling way!
So they must not fail in this matter.
"Don't worry, with gunpowder in hand, our chances of success will increase several times." Liu Yang replied confidently.
If it were only about the mobilization of troops, Liu Yang would still know very well how capable he was.
No one could be sure whether these soldiers would suddenly turn to Qiao Yan, or whether Qiao Yan would be able to break out of the siege with the help of his years of command.
And it is very likely that it will not be possible to take Qiao Yan's life just by relying on a strong bow and crossbow.
After all, as early as when she was still the commander of the Bingzhou Army, defensive weapons such as chain mail had already become a common item for her generals. In the following years, her generals rarely suffered any casualties.
But gunpowder is different.
This thing, which only recognizes the people who use it and has such a penetrating power that can destroy buildings, will not give in because of Qiao Yan's strong behavior, and will only let its enemies be blown to pieces on the spot without any discrimination!
Liu Yang felt that he should not only be grateful to Zuo Ci for improving the semi-finished product into something usable, but he should also be grateful that because of Zuo Ci's existence, Qiao Yan was able to expose such a thing to the public in advance in order to avoid being disturbed once and for all.
Whether Shi Xie, the prefect of Jiaozhi County in Jiaozhou, chose to surrender because of the existence of this thing is not that important. After all, it is really difficult to say how much benefit Jiaozhou can gain in the Central Plains.
But if Qiao Yan could wait until the official war with Yuan Shao to take out such a thing, it would surely cause unexpected casualties to the enemy, and perhaps allow her to pacify the world at a faster speed.
Fortunately, fortunately...
In order to prevent herself from being tricked in front of Zuo Ci, she made this thing appear in that way, which not only made Liu Yang realize that Qiao Yan was not invincible, but also gave him an extra magical weapon in his hands.
Hearing that Wang Yun acknowledged its usefulness and just asked him to be careful and make sure nothing went wrong, Liu Yang couldn't help but reveal a determined smile on his face.
Wang Yun felt helpless about this, but Qiao Yan felt that the situation was irreversible at this point, and Wang Yun felt the same way.
The arrow is on the string and has to be shot. This is the reality now.
He could no longer abandon Liu Yang as an ally and choose someone else to work with. To prevent Liu Yang from being overly proud before taking action, he interrupted his thoughts and said, "Your Highness, what is the situation with Commander Xianyu?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yang's face suddenly darkened.
Liu Yu was ill and had no other sons, so he, the prince, should be regarded as the only heir.
But in fact, as the leader of the personal guards around his father and holding the high position of Weiwei, Xianyu Fu, who was in the position of Weiwei, had much respect for Liu Yang, which was needless to say in Liu Yang's opinion.
He could tell the reason from the attitude of that guy when he ran into him the last time he met his father.
"He is unwilling to help us." After Liu Yang returned to Chang'an yesterday, he thought that he had gunpowder in his hands and had more confidence in defeating Qiao Yan. Liu Yang immediately conspired with Xian Yu Yin to persuade Xian Yu Fu.
Many of the Youfufeng garrison troops under Shisun Rui once served under Zhao Yun, and the uncertainty of their situation is much greater than that of the Youzhou soldiers in the Jinwu Guard.
If the latter can be used, then of course we would use them.
But Liu Yang's confidence was shattered by Xian Yu Fu.
Upon hearing Liu Yang's speech about capturing and killing the traitor, Xianyu Fu immediately asked in a stern voice whether Liu Yang had completely forgotten the promises Liu Yu had asked him to make.
Liu Yang originally thought that this so-called promise was just a few words he said to his confused and aging father on the hospital bed. He never expected that Liu Yu not only took it seriously, but also told Xian Yu Fu about it.
Liu Yang was furious and although he did not dare to execute Xianyu Fu directly, he ordered Xianyu Yin to detain his brother.
Since he is unwilling to cooperate with their actions, there is no need to bother with him.
Those who fail to see the current situation clearly deserve to be kicked out.
After Liu Yang explained the matter to Wang Yun, he asked, "Wang Situ, what should we do now?"
How to do it?
Wang Yun was almost furious at Liu Yang's inability to distinguish between the important and the urgent!
Although it was a correct choice to capture Xianyu Fu, and they must not let him inform Liu Yu or Qiao Yan, the detention of the leader of the Jinwu Guard would inevitably lead to the dysfunction of the garrison in Chang'an. If the situation lasted too long, it might be discovered by the sharp-eyed Cheng Yu and others at any time.
He should have talked about this matter first, instead of talking about the progress of gunpowder, or even being proud of himself!
But Wang Yun knew very well that it was completely meaningless to accuse Liu Yang of inappropriate action at this time. Instead of doing that, it would be better to remedy the situation as soon as possible.
He said quickly: "Immediately let Xianyu Duwei take over the Jinwu Guard. If anyone asks, just say that the Weiwei is ill. However, illness always has a time limit. We only have a few days at most."
Once Xian Yu Fu's incident happened, the few days they originally had to prepare were no longer available.
When Wang Yun thought about how he had originally planned to win over Huangfu Song, but was forced to have less buffer time because of Liu Yang, he thought that instead of taking the risk of falling out with Huangfu Song, it would be better to keep the other party in the dark, which was equivalent to giving up another strong ally. Wang Yun was filled with anger at Huangfu Song for not fighting back.
Although Liu Yang had failed to persuade Lu Zhi earlier, he could still convince himself because Lu Zhi and Qiao Yan still had a master-disciple relationship, which made him unwilling to believe that Qiao Yan would show any ill intentions towards the Han Dynasty.
After all, they managed to persuade Liu Bei to join them by using a jade pendant that was an imitation of Lu Zhi's.
But this time they were forced to act prematurely and missed the opportunity to win over allies, which was really a problem of Liu Yang's ability!
"It can't be said that he is temporarily going to Youzhou..."
Liu Yang was halfway through his words when Wang Yun glared at him and he quickly shut his mouth.
"If we want to go through Bingzhou, do you think it's possible to avoid Qiao Yeshu's eyes? How do you explain that the Weiwei has the ability to fly?"
Liu Yang: “…” It seems that it really can’t be done.
"Don't hesitate any longer. I will immediately send a letter to Liu Xuande to inform him of the time of action. You, Commandant Xianyu, and my men must immediately seize control of the palace and get the emperor's seal."
It was not the imperial seal, but the new seal carved from jade when Liu Yu ascended the throne.
All government decrees issued in Guanzhong during the four years were printed with this jade seal. People had long been accustomed to it replacing the status of the imperial seal and regarded it as the representative of the emperor's legitimacy.
Liu Yang asked: "What happened next?"
"Afterwards, he forged an imperial edict to recall Qiao Yeshu from Luoyang, and at the same time completely controlled the Chang'an garrison. He also ordered the Shisun to mobilize troops back and block the palace gate at any time."
"Remember," Wang Yun said solemnly, "You are just a person who is at a loss because of your father's serious illness. You are not supposed to capture Qiao Yeshu, but wait for the Grand Marshal to return to Chang'an to settle the situation as soon as possible. Your Highness, if you change your plan due to reckless behavior, even if we have a sharp weapon, we will definitely be counterattacked and suppressed, and there will be no room for recovery!"
"Do you understand?"
Wang Yun's expression at this moment was so serious that Liu Yang felt a sense of oppression.
He quickly responded: "Don't worry, Situ Wang, I will be careful."
The simplicity of Liu Yu's harem, from its structure to its personnel, made it not so difficult for Liu Yang to take control of the palace in his own hands.
At this moment, he was extremely grateful to Yu Qiaoyan that although she had interfered with Liu Yu's various actions and made the appointment of official positions develop in the direction she hoped, she did not really treat Liu Yu as a puppet in her hands.
Almost all those guarding the imperial palace were Youzhou followers loyal to Liu Yu, or they were guards recruited by Liu Yu in Chang'an later.
The absence of Qiao Yan's elite soldiers meant that on this seemingly ordinary afternoon, when Xian Yuyin's personal soldiers and Wang Yun's private soldiers disguised themselves as Jinwu Guards to come and take over the shift, and Liu Yang happened to intend to enter the palace under the banner of visiting his father, no one expected that he would be attacked at this moment of surprise, and no one could put up any effective resistance.
The team guarding the palace gathered all the personnel deployed in various places and was about to take the token handed over by the man in front of him, but suddenly he saw a flash of silver light in the other party's sleeve, and a crossbow arrow in the sleeve had hit his throat.
This was not the only person who took action at the same time.
It's not like Xianyu Fu, who holds the post of Weiwei, can be killed by them as a sacrifice in this way.
As Liu Yang raised his hand and gave the order, the soldiers who thought it was their turn to leave the palace for a rest were all dealt a fatal blow in an instant.
Months of drills enabled those who took over to be able to drag the bodies of the killed soldiers to the corners inside the palace walls as quickly as possible.
The still cold winter weather made it convenient for them to cover up all the traces, and the personnel screening and registration of the army guarding the imperial city would also allow Liu Yang's other team to notify the families of these guards to prevent them from panicking due to their family members not returning.
This group of soldiers who completely obeyed him, or rather Xian Yuyin and Wang Yun, quickly took complete control of the Han Palace City.
Although it seemed like just an ordinary handover to people outside the palace gate, and the soldiers guarding the city walls did not have any problems, Liu Yang, who was walking in the palace at the moment, knew clearly that soon, the palace would become a place with traps every five steps, and the most critical place was the place where the explosives were placed!
But that is not enough. He also needs to get the jade seal as Wang Yun said and continue with the other arrangements.
The sound of the door being pushed open suddenly woke Liu Yu who was lying on the bed.
Before he stood up, he saw Liu Yang walking quickly towards the nearby desk.
Without making any concerned inquiries to his sick father, he went straight to his goal, grabbed the jade seal on the desk tightly in his hand, and was about to leave from here immediately, using it as a tool to issue the edict at this moment.
Seeing this scene, Liu Yu would never think that this was his good son wanting to share his worries when he was in poor health. He would only think...
"Asshole! What are you going to do?"
What kind of status does the imperial seal have? Not to mention that Liu Yang is not the crown prince yet, even if he really is the crown prince, he would never do such an presumptuous act.
From his hurried footsteps, Liu Yu could clearly see a guilty conscience in his behavior of taking things without asking.
It would be strange if he could do anything good with the imperial seal.
Liu Yang, who thought his father had taken the medicine and gone to sleep, was startled by this question and almost dropped the jade seal in his hand. However, he took a few steps back and still held it tightly in his hand. Facing Liu Yu's cold gaze, he replied: "I want to do something that my father should have done, but he never had the courage to do!"
As long as Liu Yu was not a fool, he would have understood the subtext of Liu Yang's words.
I don't know where he got the strength from, but he actually forced himself to get out of bed at this moment, intending to stop Liu Yang's actions.
As he walked towards Liu Yang, he shouted, "Are you crazy? Have you forgotten what you promised me?"
The statement that we must never make an enemy of Qiao Yan, does it mean that Liu Yu trusted and was partial to Qiao Yan too much?
That was clearly a protection for Liu Yang.
But for this young man who relied on the gunpowder in his hands and had already taken control of the palace, his inflated confidence at the moment made him regard Liu Yu's words as a suppression of him, rather than any kind of persuasion.
Things have come to this point, there is absolutely no way he can decide to retreat at this moment, he must carry out this deadly siege to the end!
He will prove it to Liu Yu.
Qiao Yeshu is not impossible to eliminate. Making him disappear would be a good thing for the Han Dynasty.
So before Liu Yu could reach him, Liu Yang had already rushed out of the door of the bedroom with his nimble legs, and immediately had the door closed and locked.
Facing the sound of Liu Yu knocking angrily on the door in the bedroom, a flash of fear passed across Liu Yang's face, but he still gritted his teeth and suppressed it.
"Father, getting angry is harmful to your health. Please don't do anything stupid. I will have someone bring you food and will not neglect you."
"With the imperial seal in hand, I will inform all the ministers to temporarily suspend court for a few days, which will also give you a chance to rest and recuperate."
When everything is over, when Liu Yu is able to attend court again, it will be time to change the country.
By then everyone will know that Liu Yang’s judgment is correct!
And now, all that’s missing is someone to join the game!
"Let me enter the capital immediately?"
Qiao Yan looked at Xian Yuyin in front of him and asked.
In order to prevent ordinary messengers from showing weakness in front of Qiao Yan, Liu Yang asked him to act as the messenger.
But even so, facing Qiao Yan's calm yet somewhat questioning gaze, Xian Yuyin felt that he had seen a lot of storms in Chang'an City, and he almost took a step back subconsciously, fearing that Qiao Yan would see something wrong in his expression.
The words "victory in every battle" not only made Liu Yang respect and fear her, but also made him never dare to call her by her full name even when he was plotting against her. Instead, he called her "Qiao Yeshu". It also made Wang Yun rack his brains to design all these plots, for fear that Qiao Yan would escape from the trap they set, which would cause a disaster.
Xian Yuyin was also very afraid of her.
He tried his best to think that if he could really succeed this time, he would have the merit of following the emperor and eliminating the bandits. Even if his brother was released from his current house arrest, his status would be higher than that of his brother.
And if Liu Yang had commissioned him to lead an expedition after he ascended the throne, with the current inventory in the granary of Chang'an and the number of troops in Guanzhong, it would have been a natural and easy task to conquer the four states of Yan, Yu, Qing and Ji. At that time, he would have surely become the number one general in the world!
What does being the commander of the Jinwu Guard count for?
Amidst his boiling ambition, Xian Yuyin also calmed down from the fear of facing Qiao Yan and handed the imperial edict in his hand towards Qiao Yan.
"Yes, the emperor has issued an edict, inviting the Grand Marshal to the court to discuss matters."
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