"Mr. He, it's you?"
"I thought the gentleman had been taken away!"
When He Jin saw He Yong, whose clothes were torn to shreds and whose face was covered in bruises, appear before him, he was overjoyed.
"Luckily, I was quick-witted and escaped from the jaws of death. Otherwise, the General would have had to spend 2,500 taels of gold to ransom me!"
Fortunately, they weren't kept imprisoned by Liu Wei's men who demanded a ransom. Otherwise, if they had only offered 250 taels of gold to buy their freedom, wouldn't they have become a laughingstock among their colleagues?
"It's good that you've returned safely, sir. What did you mean when you said you knew where they went?"
"General, just now, I pretended to be asleep and overheard Liu Wei and his men talking. They were going to cross the river at Fuxian!"
He Yong, of course, did not forget his business and recounted everything he had just heard.
"That was close! We almost ended up in Mengjin!"
He Jin secretly felt lucky. "Zhu Ying, you take the troops of the Henan Prefect to Mengjin. The rest of the main force, come with me to Fuxian!"
"Yes, General!" Zhu Ying hurriedly accepted the order and led his men, numbering about three hundred, toward Fu County.
"Guards, escort Mr. He back to Luoyang City first!"
After giving instructions to Zhu Ying, He Jin ordered someone to send He Yong back to the city, while he himself led the remaining troops to pursue Liu Wei.
"General, may I speak to you in private?"
Watching the army surge away, He Yong suddenly remembered General Yuan, whom Liu Wei had mentioned to his men.
"Um, Mr. He, is there anything else?"
After dismissing his attendants, He Jin looked at He Yong with a puzzled expression.
"General, we still need to be wary of Yuan Shao. Just now in the woodshed, I overheard that Liu Wei was able to leave the city smoothly because Yuan Shao sent people to help him!"
He Yong said mysteriously.
hiss!
He Jin's eyes narrowed immediately.
When Liu Wei was demoted to Shuofang, He Jin sent Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to hunt him down.
However, instead of killing Liu Wei at Yanmen Pass, the two rescued him from Li Mao, the deputy general of Yanmen Pass.
Later, due to shared political interests, He Jin needed the support of the Yuan family, which led to an alliance with Yuan Shao.
"Why would he send someone to release Liu Wei secretly?" He Jin couldn't quite understand.
"Perhaps the Yuan family also doesn't intend to put all their eggs in one basket!"
He Yong uttered these words leisurely.
He Jin suddenly realized.
Although Liu Hong has now established himself as the crown prince, He Jin's actions in forcing him to abdicate have instilled fear in Liu Hong.
At the grand court assembly, he and Liu Wei performed a charade, clearly demonstrating his desire for Liu Xie to succeed to the throne.
The decision to make Liu Bian the crown prince was probably made under pressure.
Now, it seems that Empress Dowager Dong's faction and the imperial clan's faction have also come together.
As long as Liu Hong is alive, the successor remains uncertain.
The Yuan family has already demonstrated its formidable power at the grand court assembly; they are a force to be reckoned with, second only to the eunuchs, maternal relatives, and imperial clansmen.
At the same time, they also represented the largest and most powerful aristocratic group in the Han Dynasty.
They have their own sons, protégés, and former subordinates at both the central and local levels.
Once He Jin and the Yuan family have an irreconcilable conflict over political interests, they will definitely abandon Liu Bian and choose someone else!
After Yuan Shao took control of Ji Province, he planned to join forces with Cao Cao to support Liu Yu as the new emperor.
However, Cao Cao was unwilling to collude with him, and Liu Yu resolutely refused, so the matter was dropped.
He Yong's reminder immediately alerted He Jin:
“Mr. He, I understand about this matter. You may go back first, and I will arrest Liu Wei first.”
After saying this, he led his army to pursue Mengjin.
at the same time.
Wang Fangyi and Yan Da, who were on Mount Beiman, saw the signal in the distance from the mountaintop and immediately retreated under the cover of night.
The remaining three hundred troops remained in the separate courtyard, not daring to move. They simultaneously went down the mountain to report to Yuan Shao, who was in the main camp directing the battle.
"They actually let them slip away from the north slope, what a waste!"
"Six times the size of the enemy, and still suffering heavy losses—I don't know how they led their troops!"
Upon hearing the news, Yuan Shao flew into a rage.
"Order them to give chase immediately, without delay!"
"Chunyu Qiong, Zhao Rong, and Bao Xin, the three of you gather your cavalry and follow me to the main passage down the northern slope of Beiman Mountain to launch a pincer attack on the troops on the mountain!"
The three captains immediately returned to camp, woke up the sleeping soldiers, and each gathered between one hundred and three hundred light cavalry.
Yuan Shao himself had fifty guard cavalrymen, a group of Wuhuan people, who were very brave.
The commander of these guards was named Murong Hua, a skilled archer with exceptional archery abilities.
Soon, a cavalry force of about a thousand men was hastily assembled.
Yuan Shao could no longer wait. With a command, he lit torches and went around to the west of Beiman Mountain.
At this moment, it was already past midnight, and the night was deep!
Inside Yong'an Palace.
Empress He arranged for He Miao to lead more than 100 wandering swordsmen to confront Liu Wei, who was leaving the palace near the East Gate.
She felt that Liu Wei had only brought two guards with him when he entered the palace this time.
He Miao led over a hundred swordsmen in an ambush; they were absolutely certain of victory!
She had already bathed her body in the flower-strewn pool and lay down on the phoenix bed.
The main hall was warm and cozy.
Her jade-like hands gently caressed her full body, gliding over her delicate skin, and Empress He's eyes were glazed over.
But the thought of the sickly Liu Hong filled Empress He with sorrow, and a sense of emptiness lingered in her body, desperately needing something to fill it.
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