Chapter 254: Adding authority
In mid-October, Yang Anxuan quietly returned to Xinxi City, and half a year had passed. He came to live in the shed in front of the tomb and asked his elder brother Yang Anshen about Runan's situation.
Yang Anshen told him that after Yin Dun took office as the prefect, he continued Yang Anxuan's policies, encouraged farming, established schools, built inns, etc.
However, the officials sent by Yang Anxuan to check the registration status in various counties were called back. Many nobles praised Yin Dun, thinking that Yin Dun was better than Yang Anxuan and was more tolerant and kind.
Yang Anxuan smiled bitterly, even if he and Yin Dun were as close as brothers, there was no guarantee that Yin Dun would do everything he wanted.
When asked about the recruitment of troops, Yang An knew that it was unknown, so Yang Anxuan sent someone to invite Zhao Tian.
When Zhao Tian arrived, Yang Anxuan first asked about the horses, "Have the horses from Longcheng been delivered?"
Zhao Tian nodded and said: "These two hundred horses are very good and can afford horse armor. I am already practicing the method of charging into the formation with heavy riding."
Yang Anxuan felt relieved and asked about recruiting soldiers again.
What Zhao Tian said made Yang Anxuan frown. Except for the two counties of Runan and Henan that supported the recruitment of troops, the recruitment of troops in Xiangcheng, Yingchuan, and Xingyang was not going well.
Yang Zijing was in charge of recruiting troops in Xiangcheng. Yang Zijing thought that he was an old friend of Sima Xiuzhi, the prefect of Xiangcheng, and he had official documents from the Fifth Ministry of War, so Sima Xiuzhi would strongly support him.
When they arrived at Xiangcheng, Sima Xiuzhi warmly entertained them. When they talked about recruiting soldiers, Sima Xiuzhi said, "Xiangcheng is responsible for recruiting soldiers. We will not bother to look after them with due diligence."
When Yang Zijing wanted to say more, Sima Xiuzhi stopped him by toasting him repeatedly.
The next day when Yang Zi woke up from drinking and came to see Sima Xiuzhi, the officials in the government told him that Sima Taishou had gone to inspect the county, so Yang Zijing had to go back disappointed.
In August, Yang Zijing went to Xiangcheng again. Sima Xiuzhi sent someone to leave a message. He had asked Sima Shangzhi, the governor of Yuzhou, for instructions. Xiangcheng recruited troops and took care of it himself.
Yang Zijing had no choice but to return to Xinxicheng and help Yang Siping train new soldiers.
Yin Ji went to Yingchuan to recruit troops. Wen Xiang, the prefect of Yingchuan, and Ma Guang, the commander-in-chief of the county, sent people to expel him, but there was no one in Yin Dun to recruit troops. Yin Ji had no choice but to go to Henan and recruit soldiers and horses in Luoyang and Yanshi together with Yang Anyuan and Cen Minghu.
Yan Ke and Pei Qiang, who went to Yangyang to recruit troops, also received a cold reception and returned to Pingbai Valley. They have the support of the clan, so it is not difficult to recruit soldiers, but it is not a small burden to support more than a thousand soldiers.
It seems that Huanxuan occupied Jiang, Jing, and Yong, and Sun En caused chaos in the three Wu areas. Many people had strange thoughts about violating the imperial decree.
Yang Anxuan said: "First be courteous and then be prepared for war. In the name of General Yu Guangwu, send a document to the three counties of Xiangcheng, Yingchuan, and Yingyang, reiterate the official document of the Fifth Ministry of War, and ask them to each transport ten thousand stones of grain and grass to Xinxicheng for the new army."
Zhao Tian frowned and said, "I'm afraid these three families won't comply."
Yang Anxuan smiled coldly and said: "Be polite first and then fight. If you don't agree, don't blame me for leading the army to go and get it for myself."
Zhao Tian was startled and said: "Master, are you going to lead an army to attack these three counties? I'm afraid the court will not allow it."
"You just led your troops to eat in these three counties. The court will not blame you." What Yang Anxuan was thinking about was that the chaos in Sanwu would not be quelled, and Huanxuan's separatist regime was eyeing Jiankang. Even if the court did not agree, it would be powerless. Deal with yourself.
Now that Zhao Tian reminded him, Yang Anxuan thought for a while and said: "In the name of Du Tinghou and General Guangwu, he appealed to the Fifth Military Department of the imperial court and King Qiao of Yuzhou to impeach Xiangcheng and other three counties for not complying with the imperial court's decree and for recruiting soldiers. He went against his will and claimed that Yu wanted to lead the new army to eat in these three counties."
It takes time for the memorial to be sent back and forth. I am afraid it will be December when the court replies. By then, the rice may have turned into porridge. The court will at most rebuke it. It is unreasonable to demote officials and demotes. Strength is paramount. Yang Anxuan will no longer let go of the court officials. In the heart.
When the situation got out of hand and the court wanted to use him, he would inevitably have to be granted official titles. Without you, Huan Xuan took over Jing and Xiang and appointed officials on his own, and the court could only acquiesce.
Zhao Tian muttered: "There are 2,000 county troops in Runan. The three generals brought back 1,000 people from Panlong Mountain. Together they have 3,000 soldiers and horses. Luoyang and Yanshi have recruited more than 1,600 people. Together they are here." There are less than 5,000 people in one place. I'm afraid it won't be enough to attack three counties with this small number of troops."
Yang Anxuan
He smiled and said, "Kill the chicken to scare the monkey. Let's go to Yingchuan County."
Sima Xiuzhi, the prefect of Xiangcheng, was the governor of Yuzhou and the fourth brother of King Qiao. Sima Yuanxian relied heavily on him and it was difficult to provoke him. Yingyang was too far away from Xinxi, and it was difficult to supply food and grass. Persimmons were too soft to pick, so Yang Anxuan naturally chose Yingchuan City.
Zhao Tian also smiled and said: "The year before last, I took two hundred light cavalry and recaptured the war horses from the Yingchuan Army Camp. The Yingchuan County Army was really incapable of fighting."
Yang Anxuan said: "Don't be careless. If Yingchuan defends the city and does not fight behind closed doors, you will not be able to lead an army to rob the people."
Zhao Tiandao said: "My lord, please be polite first and then fight. Yingchuan will probably close the city without fighting as my lord said."
"You first organize your troops and horses, prepare the baggage, and in seven days send out two thousand troops, half old and new, to train the new army." Yang Anxuan said: "Let Xu Xiaozhong, Ding Quan, and others lead the fifty-seven pioneer battalion. We sneaked into Wancheng first and waited for the army to arrive. At the right time the next day, we opened the north gate and joined forces inside and outside."
Zhao Tian clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Then everything is foolproof."
On October 28, Dutinghou and General Guangwei led 2,000 soldiers and horses to attack Yingchuan, while Yang Siping stayed behind in Runan.
Upon hearing the news, Yingchuan prefect Wen Shen and Sima Guang ordered all counties to close their city gates and not allow supplies, and summoned the county troops into Xuchang City to prepare for the attack.
At the same time, Wen Xiang wrote to the court and the governor of Yuzhou, impeaching Yang Anxuan for sending troops to cross the border to plunder, which was tantamount to rebellion, and asked the court to issue an order to severely punish him.
On November 5, Yang Anxuan led his army to the south gate of Xuchang City.
At the top of Xuchang City, Ma Guang watched two thousand Runan County troops camped five miles away. He said warmly to the somewhat uneasy prefect, "The Art of War says: The method of using troops is to encircle it at ten points and attack it at five points." Yang Anxuan said in a simple way Just wanting to besiege Xuchang City with two thousand soldiers and horses is just a dream. I think he was dazzled by the record of defeating Qin Division for the second time, but I want to see how he takes Xuchang City."
Wen Xiang said uneasily: "The messenger to the imperial court has been on his way for three days. As long as Xuchang City can hold on for twenty days, the imperial court's decree will come. Yang Anxuan is waiting to be questioned."
Since the army of Runan County took away his war horse, Wen Xiang deeply felt that Sima Shangzhi was biased towards Yang Anxuan, so he sent someone to the capital to give gifts to Zhang Fashun and asked him to speak well of him in front of Sima Yuanxian.
Yang Anxuan and Dingyou resigned, and Wen Xiang breathed a sigh of relief, finally the evil neighbor was gone. Unexpectedly, the Fifth Ministry of War sent another official document, asking Yang Anxuan to recruit troops, and asked Yingchuan County to provide food for thousands of people.
There is only so much food in the pot. If you scoop out a portion for Yang Anxuan, you will have less for yourself.
Ma Guang jumped out first and firmly expressed his opposition, claiming that he could recruit troops from the county, so why should it go through Yang Anxuan's hands.
Then the news came that Sima Shangzhi, the governor of Xiangcheng, refused Yang Zijing's recruitment of troops. Wen Xiang gained confidence and communicated with his friend Tao Qing, the governor of Yingyang. The three counties worked together to refuse to recruit troops for Yang Anxuan. Chinese website
After the horse robbery incident, Ma Guang knew that Yang Anxuan was not easy to deal with, so he sent someone to Xinxi to find out the news.
After receiving the official document from Yang Anxuan to eat at Yingchuan, the spies reported the news that Runan had raised 2,000 troops. Wen Xiang and Ma Guang made preparations in advance. They deployed the county troops in the city and prepared a large amount of defense materials. Defend the city.
Yang Anxuan saw that the gates of Xuchang City were closed, military flags were flying on the city towers, and soldiers in military uniforms were patrolling the city.
Xuchang City was once the former capital of Cao Cao. The city is high and the pond is deep. It is almost impossible to attack the city with 2,000 soldiers and horses. Even if the city can be captured, I am afraid that most of the 2,000 soldiers and horses will be lost.
After setting up camp, Yang Anxuan ordered his soldiers to go to the mountains to cut trees and prepare to build siege equipment.
All the trees around the city were cut down. If you want to cut down the trees, you have to go to the mountains and forests seven or eight miles away.
Wen Xian sneered at the top of the city and ordered the Wanjun Divine Crossbow to be moved out of the warehouse and put away, preparing to teach the Runan County Army a heavy lesson to avenge the previous horse robbery.
The atmosphere in Xuchang City suddenly became tense. Soldiers with knives and guns hurried past from time to time, and the streets became deserted.
At the Chengjia Inn not far from the north gate, Ding Quan and more than ten people pretended to be merchants heading to Yingyang and were trapped in the inn.
Xu Xiaozhong and others stayed in two other inns respectively. They had agreed in advance that they would go to the north gate to open the city gate at the right time tomorrow to welcome the army into the city.
Ma Guang did not dare to take it lightly, so he lived under the south gate of the city and visited the city from time to time.
At the time of Hai Zheng, Ma Guang climbed up the city wall and looked at the Runan military camp outside the city. The camp was brightly lit, and someone could still vaguely be seen building siege equipment.
"Don't be careless at night. Always pay attention to the movements of soldiers and horses in Runan." Ma Guang ordered.
The captain next to him laughed and said, "General Ma, the Runan Army wants to attack Xuchang City with 2,000 men. Isn't this a joke?"
Ma Guang said with a straight face: "Whether it's a joke or not will be discussed later. The last time the camp was taken over by Runan's two hundred Qingqi, we were also a joke."
The captain said calmly: "What the general taught me is that your servants will always pay attention to the movements of soldiers and horses in Runan."
Accompanying Ma Guang for a walk around Nancheng, the captain smiled and said: "The general ordered in advance to cut down a lot of trees around the city. If the Runan Army wants to build equipment, they will probably have to go to the mountains far away. When they finish building the equipment, they will probably It will take seven or eight days."
Upon hearing the news that Runan's army was approaching, Ma Guang mobilized the county army and the people in the city to cut down the trees around the city and pile them at the top of the city to fill with rolling logs.
"The way to be a general is to anticipate the enemy's opportunities." Ma Guang stroked his beard and looked at the city with a proud smile.
At the camp, Yang Anxuan, Meng Longfu, Zhao Tian and others were ready. They quietly left the camp with 600 soldiers and took a detour to the north of Xuchang City.
It was already three o'clock in the morning, and Yang Anxuan and others were lurking outside the north of Xuchang City. There was no moon in the sky, everything was dark and silent.
On top of the city, figures could be seen swaying in the firelight, which were patrolling soldiers.
Counting the time, Yang Anxuan stood up and led his soldiers forward in the dark. When he approached the city gate, he saw that Chouzheng had arrived.
There were shouts of killing and the clash of weapons from the top of the city, and Xu Xiaozhong and others had already begun to seize the city gate.
Ma Guang obviously focused on the defense of the south gate. There were only 200 guards at the north gate and only fifty people on duty.
Xu Xiaozhong and other soldiers from the vanguard battalion were elites in the army. They quietly entered the city, confronted the soldiers on duty, and soon occupied Chanlou.
Turning the mechanism, the suspension bridge was lowered, the city gate was opened, and Yang Anxuan led his army into the city easily.
Ma Guang was awakened and learned that Runan County troops had entered the city from the north gate. His face was ashen, and he hurried to the north gate with his soldiers and horses.
On the street, he collided with Yang Anxuan, who was rushing to the south gate. Naturally, he wanted to make a move. As a result, Ma Guang's knife was knocked away in two or two blows.
When Yang Anxuan put the knife on his neck, Ma Guangda shouted "I'm willing to surrender", and Xuchang City was easily captured.
It was said that they were fighting in a den, so Yang Anxuan restricted his subordinates not to harm their lives, and ordered Ma Guang to open the south gate to let the troops in the camp enter the city. When Governor Wen woke up the next day and went to the lobby, he found that the owner of the place in the middle had changed.
Wen Xiang and Ma Guang thought that Yang Anxuan would lead his army to leave after collecting some money and food, but they were wrong. Yang Anxuan knew that the court was in dire straits and would not take this opportunity to expand his power.
Once here, I don’t plan to leave.
