Chapter 83, Chapter Fourteen: War Erupts
Liu Jun decisively defeated Pu Hong, annihilating over 10,000 enemy soldiers and capturing 2,000 warhorses and 500 cattle and sheep.
Although it wasn't a major victory, it was enough to silence those in the court and the public who had doubted Liu Jun, and to make Du Dan, who had previously overestimated his abilities, even more embarrassed.
But Liu Jun was not in the mood to be complacent. Before he could even celebrate his victory, he led his troops straight to Yanzhou.
Liu Yao's army pressed into Bingzhou, and at the same time, Shi Hu led his army to attack Linzhang (Yecheng) again. Liu Yan fought bravely but was defeated and died when the city fell.
The once wise general Li Ju is old and frail and can no longer even mount a horse. In Yanzhou, the only one who can fight is Xi Jian, but he is ultimately outnumbered and can only struggle to hold on.
It was under these circumstances that Liu Jun, dressed in plain clothes and carrying a horse spear, arrived at the foot of Ye City.
The scene of his last battle with Shi Hu here was still vivid in his mind, but five or six years had passed in a flash, and it was as if the world had changed.
"Before his death, the governor had already urgently ordered people to spread the news everywhere. Now the court and the Minister of Works should know about it," Liu Yan's personal bodyguard said, weeping uncontrollably. "This is his last words before the city fell. He ordered me to personally deliver it to you, my lord."
Liu Jun took the book and read it. He saw words written in blood and tears, words he could not bear to finish. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "If it weren't for my father's kindness and soft heart, this Jie slave would still be a servant! To be so ungrateful and treacherous is worse than a beast!"
"Please, Your Excellency, avenge the governor!" It is unclear who started it, but Liu Yan's former subordinates all knelt down, their wailing shaking the heavens and the earth.
Liu Jun helped them up, saying, "I will never let this Jie slave leave Ye City!"
Liu Jun first ordered all soldiers and civilians to harvest all the grain in the fields and clear the fields. Then he sent people to contact the leaders of the surrounding refugees and asked them to cooperate.
Meanwhile, Zu Ti sent word that shortly after he requested Huan Xuan to be appointed as the Prefect of Qiao, Shi Le dispatched elite troops to besiege Qiao. Sima Rui issued a perfunctory proclamation, ordering Sima Pou, the Prince of Langya, to lead 30,000 soldiers by water and road directly to the rebels' location, but not a single soldier was seen. Sima Rui then recalled Sima Pou to Jiankang.
It's laughable that the proclamation described Shi Hu's fierce army as a "rabble of dogs and sheep." After putting on a show of hypocrisy, it allowed Shi Hu to cross the Yellow River to the south and slaughter the people. What a wise and virtuous king he was!
“Currently, Liu Yao has one force attacking Guanzhong and another attacking Bingzhou, while Shi Le has one force in Bingzhou, one in Qiao, and another in Linzhang.” Liu Jun frowned. “Their forces number no more than 500,000, and now they are divided into five routes. With their forces so dispersed, it’s likely that some routes are feints, while two or three are their main forces. We now know that Linzhang is one of them, with approximately 100,000 troops, leaving 400,000…”
"It must be Guanzhong!"
"Perhaps even the State of Qiao!"
"Could there be Bingzhou as well?"
Liu Jun looked at the map, his gaze sweeping across the map from time to time, and occasionally scrutinizing the intelligence reports that Yin Xiaocheng had previously gathered. After a long silence, he slowly said, "Please ask the leaders of the surrounding refugees, especially Governor Xi, to besiege Linzhang. We will return to Bingzhou!"
“This…” Zhang Jinghou advised, “Your Excellency’s filial piety is known throughout the land. However, Bingzhou is currently under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Works and has the assistance of the Xianbei, making it seem impregnable. On the contrary, both Guanzhong and Linzhang are heavily fortified, especially Linzhang, which has already fallen into enemy hands. I urge Your Excellency not to disregard the fate of the nation for the sake of momentary pride!”
Liu Jun glanced at him and said calmly, "Honest advice is hard to swallow, but you dare to offer your remonstrance, which is absolutely right. However, I am not blindly filial, but merely making a deduction. If we waste our time at Linzhang, we will fall into the trap set by the Jie Hu! Bingzhou is the gateway to Guanzhong. If Bingzhou falls, Chang'an will surely fall. Hear my command and return to aid Bingzhou!"
Liu Jun ordered Liu Yin to lead the elite lynx battalion back to Bingzhou at full speed, but they were too late. They had already heard the news that Liu Kun had led the main force out of the city to prepare for a decisive battle with Shi Le.
No longer daring to delay, Liu Jun traveled almost fifty li a day and finally arrived in Bingzhou before Shi Le. Seeing that his elder brother Liu Zun had also gone to war with Liu Kun, he sighed and said to Yin Xiaocheng, "Quickly ask Liu Dan, the governor of Yuzhou, to send troops to help. In addition, write a letter to our grandfather. Now Tao Kan of Jingzhou has been ousted to Jiaozhou by Wang Dun. Wang Dun's younger brother, Wang Yi, has no talent for commanding troops. Ask him to defend Hanzhong and not let Shi Le take advantage of the emptiness of Jingzhou to descend from Qiao State."
Liu Jun, his hand on his sword, ascended the steps and sat on Liu Kun's throne. He said coldly, "As the heir apparent of the Marquis of Guangwu, I take over the defense of Bingzhou. All of you, heed my orders. Bingzhou now has five city gates. Ji Dan, Liu Shu, and Liu Yin, you will each guard the east, south, and west gates. I will personally lead the guard of the north gate. The affairs of the city will continue to be handled by my late father's staff. From this moment on, any soldier or civilian in Bingzhou who retreats without a fight will be beheaded, and any who colludes with foreign powers will be executed by slow slicing!"
The officials of the Bingzhou shogunate looked at each other, and finally responded in unison: "Yes!"
Although he had been away from Bingzhou for a long time, he had followed Liu Kun in managing Bingzhou since he was a child, so he was very familiar with the terrain and people of this place. In addition, his status as the heir apparent and his prestige from a hundred battles were enough to intimidate people. Therefore, Liu Jun was quite adept at handling the situation. However, the fact that he had not received any news from Liu Kun for a long time was really worrying.
Just when he was extremely anxious, an angel braved a hail of bullets to bring an imperial edict from Chang'an. Sima Ye once again promoted Liu Jun, appointing him as the Commandant of the Capital Region and General of Chariots and Cavalry.
Liu Jun thought inappropriately that Emperor Wu of Wei had received both of these official titles in the Han court, and yet, in just over a century, he had taken them back from Emperor Jin.
"In addition, His Majesty and Wen Zhongshu have a secret letter. Please read it and give it to Bing." The one who came was a rather familiar eunuch. It was unclear whether he knew anything about the dealings between the two of them. Liu Jun's expression was rather ambiguous.
Liu Jun felt a little uncomfortable at that moment. He coughed lightly and watched as the eunuch took out a pair of carp-shaped boxes from the wooden box. He quickly bowed in the direction of Chang'an to hide his expression and said, "Your subject kowtows to thank the Emperor for his grace."
Liu Jun ordered Lu Jing to take his men to rest. He returned to his tent and paused over the two letters. He picked up Wen Qiao's letter first. The few lines of cursive writing had already explained the situation in great detail. His deductions were consistent with Liu Jun's expectations, but it filled in a lot of inside information that Liu Jun did not know.
With Suo Lin and Qu Yun in Chang'an, the rebellions of the Di and Qiang tribes have been quelled. Pingyang also has Liu Dan's troops from Yuzhou. Even if some troops were to be sent to Bingzhou, the army would still be strong and well-equipped. Both Wen Qiao and the Du brothers were able to control the internal affairs, so Liu Jun was relieved.
His fingers traced the letter, slowly opening Sima Ye's letter. His previously furrowed brows relaxed instantly, he chuckled softly, folded the letter neatly, put it back in his pocket, and then walked back to the sand table, bending down to ponder deeply.
That evening, Lu Jing went in to report, only to find Liu Jun writing a reply. The first two lines were: "As the poem says, 'Containing profound thoughts within a small piece of paper, expressing overflowing emotions from an inch of heart…'"
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