Now that Luoyang is under constant pressure and the Zhou emperor is preoccupied with his own affairs, with various forces emerging from all directions, the Wang family should make a decision as soon as possible.
"Given the current power dynamics, which side does Father favor?"
The head of the Wang family shook his head as he looked at his eldest son, Wang Congqi. Apart from Wu Jiliang and Chu Guanzhi, who had officially raised the banner of rebellion in Yuyang, no one else had formally declared war on the Great Zhou, even though they harbored rebellious intentions.
After all, no one wants to be accused of a crime when they have no legitimate reason to act against them.
Most of them secretly built up their strength, waiting for the future.
But after this rescue of the emperor, the official start of war is probably not far off.
The Zhou dynasty comprised a total of thirty-six commanderies, of which seven are now occupied by Wu Jiliang and Chu Guanzhi.
In addition to the six counties surrounding Luoyang, twenty-five other counties have been summoned to Luoyang by the Zhou emperor, but only ten counties have gone to Luoyang to provide relief this time.
Some of them, like Taiyuan Prefecture, were combined with several other prefectures into one army, but many more were ordered to delay sending troops.
In Luoyang, Emperor Zhou received the various armies that had come to his aid.
Among them, Sheng Xiao of Changsha Commandery, Gu Yucheng of Langya Commandery, Jiang Yu of Shang Commandery, Li Tong of Julu Commandery, and Liao Ziquan of Shu Commandery led 100,000 troops each into Yingchuan. Other commanderies brought at most 50,000 troops, and the fewest brought only 20,000 troops.
Emperor Zhou only met with them briefly before sending them to Julu. He appointed Sheng Xiao of Changsha Commandery as General of the Cavalry, Gu Yucheng and Jiang Yu as Generals of Chariots and Cavalry, and Li Tong and Liao Ziquan as the left and right vanguards.
He also dispatched the eunuch Huang Han as the military supervisor, while the commander-in-chief was the court military officer, General Pan Yi, who led 100,000 troops from Luoyang.
The Zhou Emperor ordered them to proceed to Julu immediately, to which Jiang Yu and the others had no objections.
Sheng Xiao of Changsha County can be considered a veteran of three dynasties of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He has been fighting for the Great Zhou on the battlefield. He came to the rescue with the determination to die. After seeing the generals sent by various counties, he was dissatisfied but could only sigh.
Among them, Jiang Yu and Gu Yucheng are the youngest. Jiang Yu looks to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, while Gu Yucheng is only around twenty years old. Even Li Tong and Liao Ziquan look very young.
They didn't seem like veterans; instead, they were all quite young and energetic.
As for the people sent by other prefectures, although there were familiar faces, the people they brought were nothing more than a rabble.
It is clear that none of the prefectures took this rescue seriously, and only Emperor Zhou was still complacent.
Sheng Xiao clasped his hands in a fist salute to Jiang Yu and the others, saying, "Your Majesty, since you trust us so much, I urge you all to fight to the death to defend the nation, so as not to betray Your Majesty's trust."
The group exchanged glances, then clasped their hands in a fist salute to Sheng Xiao and said in a resounding voice, "We will fight to the death and live up to the Emperor's grace."
Regardless of whether it's true or not, what needs to be said still needs to be said.
A total of 800,000 troops set off from Yingchuan towards Julu.
"Fine wine in a luminous cup, I long to drink, but the pipa urges me on. Do not laugh at me, drunk and lying on the battlefield; how many have returned from ancient battles? Thank you all for coming to rescue Julu."
Julu Jun's Li Tong raised his wine glass to the group and said.
The group raised their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.
Commander-in-Chief Pan Yi, General Sheng Xiao, and Supervisor Huang Han were discussing matters in the tent. Only these generals from various prefectures were here. In the palace, they had only exchanged fleeting glances with each other. Now they had the opportunity to have a proper conversation.
The rebels had already reached Julu and were eyeing it covetously. However, Julu was not so easy to attack, so Li Tong, who came from Julu, was not in a hurry. Instead, he had the leisure to drink, make merry, and socialize with others.
His rebel army was nothing but a rabble, and the reason they were able to occupy seven counties so quickly was simply because these counties had no will to resist.
Although he followed his father's instructions to come to Luoyang for help, he didn't take it seriously and instead felt that his father was worrying too much.
Although Jiang Yu's eyes were on the wine in her glass, her mind was on everyone else, and the others were no exception.
Compared to Jiang Yu and Gu Yucheng's subtlety, Liao Ziquan was much more direct.
"It is my great honor to meet you all here today. I, Liao Zicheng from Bashu, would like to offer you a toast first."
After saying that, he downed the wine in his glass in one gulp and looked intently at the others.
"Brother Liao, you are too kind. It is my honor to meet with all of you outstanding individuals. I am Gu Yucheng, and I would also like to offer you all a toast."
Liao Ziquan watched as he drank with such elegance and spoke with such grace, truly befitting a scion of a prominent family.
His gaze then fell on Jiang Yu, who was sitting alone to the side. His eyes were scrutinizing, but not offensive.
The two players on the field were exceptionally young and good-looking, making them stand out from the crowd.
He had long heard of Gu Yucheng from the Gu family.
Liao Ziquan's gaze fell on Jiang Yu from Shangjun. He had never heard of Jiang Yu before, and this person who suddenly appeared did not seem to be a simple character.
Gu Yucheng's gaze also fell on Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu naturally noticed their gazes, picked up the wine in his hand, nodded in their direction, and then drank it all in one gulp, the overflowing wine flowing down the corner of his mouth.
Jiang Yu gently wiped her eyes with her hand, her gaze calm as she looked at the two of them.
Seeing this, the others also raised their glasses.
The scene was very lively.
Gu Yucheng and Jiang Yu's eyes met, and a spark seemed to flash between them before returning to calm, like a pebble splashing in a deep, cold pool, creating a ripple that quickly disappeared.
Jiang Yu.
Liao Ziquan may not know Jiang Yu, but that doesn't mean Gu Yucheng doesn't know that Jiang Yu is a direct descendant of the Jiang family, someone the Jiang family had left behind, or someone the Jiang family had intentionally kept hidden away.
When Jiang Qi returned from Shangjun, he had talked about this person. He was deep and reserved, decisive in his actions, and had remarkable skills. In just a few words, Gu Yucheng knew that Jiang Qi was wary of this person.
This might also be partly because he is a member of the Jiang family, but Gu Yucheng never underestimates anyone.
Jiang Yu had heard of Gu Yucheng before, having learned about him from both Song Jingning and Lord Fu.
Come to think of it, they all seem to have lived in Yuyang.
This person is extremely cunning. On the surface, he appears virtuous and upright, but in reality, he plans every step carefully. Every step may seem unexpected, but in fact, it has been arranged in advance.
Ye Sheng left with this person.
Ever since he learned of this from Lord Fu, he sent someone to Gu Yucheng.
Qi Nuan has something strange about her, and so does her sister Ye Sheng. According to the information he sent people to investigate, Gu Yucheng has brought out many strange and unusual things.
These things must be inseparable from Ye Sheng.
He also knew that Ye Sheng had been looking for A Nuan, but now he had lost her.
But it's okay, he will find her, she belongs to him.
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