Yang Anxuan was not in a hurry to launch an offensive. He was waiting for news from Chang'an City. As early as November, Huang Fu entered Chang'an City disguised as a merchant. Zhu Lingshi seized the Aoguan Pass and Chang'an City was closed under martial law. Huang Fu had no chance to send news out of the city.
The war was at a stalemate, and there was a shortage of firewood in the city. In mid-December, Chang'an City sent people out to collect firewood. Huang Fu sent people out of the city to send intelligence. Yang Anxuan learned that Qin Lord Yao Xing was critically ill, and Yao Hong was in charge of Chang'an City.
Yang Anxuan had collected information about Yao Hong and knew that the Prince of the Later Qin Dynasty was kind and generous, liked Confucianism, and was taught by Chun Yuqi, the father of the great Confucian Chun Yuzong of Hongwenzhuang in Xiangyang.
Yang Anxuan once asked Chun Yuzong about Yao Hong. Chun Yuzong had a good impression of this junior, saying that he respected teachers and valued teaching, was erudite and eloquent, but had no talent for governing the country and was not liked by Yao Xing.
Yao Bi showed his intention to seize the throne, but Yao Hong treated him as usual without any suspicion on the surface. As a result, the courtiers of the Later Qin Dynasty were divided into two extremes. Some people thought that the prince was magnanimous and kind and must be a benevolent king; some thought that Yao Hong was weak and incompetent and could not rule the Qin Dynasty. .
Prince Yao Hong was supported by Duke Yao Yi of Taiyuan, General Yao Chen of Zhenxi, Duke Yao Hui of Qi, Minister Youshe Liang Xi, Shizhong Ren Qian, Jingzhao Yin Yinzhao, and Yanzhou governor Wei Hua.
Chenliu Gong Yao Yu, Nanyang Gong Yao Min, Dongping Gong Yao Shao, Yao Xing's youngest son Yao Geng'er, as well as the chief agricultural officer Dou Wen, Situ Zuo Changshi Wang Bi, General Wei Yin Yuan, as well as Yin Chong, the minister of Huangmen, and Shi Tang, the minister of bookkeeping. Sheng and a group of officials in important positions supported Yao Bi.
Yang Anxuan and Wang Zhene analyzed Yao Hong carefully and believed that this person was by no means as weak and generous as he appeared, and was mostly tolerant.
Later Qin destroyed the former Qin and established the country. When Yao Xing took over, the Later Qin was unstable. After his efforts to govern, the Later Qin became a powerful country. For the Later Qin, Yao Xing was a wise king who was both civilized and martial.
As the eldest son, Yao Hong was frail and sick since childhood and could not go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. He would definitely not like the talented and resourceful Yao Xing. In his eyes, the third son Yao Bi, who was both talented in civil and military affairs, was the most suitable person.
Yao Hong knew that he was not pleased by his father, so he had to do something if he wanted to gain a firm foothold and prevent the emperor's eldest son from being left behind.
Although he was not good at martial arts, he worked hard in literature, worshiped the great Confucian scholar as his teacher, treated the virtuous and corporal officers with humility and benevolence, and was regarded by many people as generous and benevolent. In the end, he succeeded in getting Yao Xing to appoint him as his prince.
Faced with the aggressiveness of his third brother Yao Bi, Yao Hong seemed to have no fight and allowed him to compete for favor. Secretly, he lived in harmony with his half-brothers Yao Yi, Yao Chen and others, and got the support of upright ministers in the court. He was actually able to fight against Yao Bi in a separate court, but he did not put the contradiction in the open, often giving in and guarding secretly.
It can be seen from the intelligence sent by Huang Fu that after Yao Xing became seriously ill, Yao Hong took advantage of Yao Bi's leadership to secretly replace the imperial army guarding the palace and the generals in the imperial palace with people loyal to him.
Calculating the time, the firewood in Chang'an City was almost exhausted, and Yang Anxuan decided to wait for the arrival of Huang Fu's next spy report.
.........In Jiangling City, fierce fighting has been going on for ten days starting from the second day of the first lunar month. Surrounded by ten, although the imperial troops and horses were several times that of Jiangling City, it was almost impossible to break the city in a short time.
However, Liu Yu's stratagem worked. Even though Jiangling City was patrolled day and night, there were still people who quietly knocked down from the city and fled to the imperial troops.
In the big tent, Liu Yu received the messenger who had sneaked out of the city. The letter was written by Huang Wu, a nobleman from Jiangling. Huang Wu was a member of the Nanman Military Command. In the letter, he disclosed in detail the distribution of soldiers and horses in Jiangling City and the uneasy situation in Jiangling City. He was willing to serve as an internal agent to welcome the imperial soldiers and horses into the city.
Huang Wu said that he was on duty at the west gate of Jiangling on the 22nd of the first lunar month, and he opened the city gate at about the time of Yin to let the officers and soldiers enter the city.
Liu Yu was overjoyed. The key to breaking Jiangzhou City was internal response. When his second brother Liu Daogui was appointed as governor, he made friends with scholars, and now it has paid off.
Liu Yi moved from Panlongzhai to the Governor's Mansion. There is also an inner city in Jiangling City, called Jincheng. The Governor's Mansion, Sima Mansion and other official offices are concentrated in the inner city. Another point is that there are no residences for nobles in the inner city.
Liu Yi was on guard against the nobles in the city. After he became the governor of Jingzhou, he personally visited the residences of Zong, Huang, Chen, Cai and other noble families. These nobles were grateful for Liu Daogui's kindness in burning books and were neither salty nor indifferent to Liu Yi. Liu Yi knew that his time as governor was still short and he was too confident. This situation will change in the past two years.
Unexpectedly, Liu Yu didn't follow the routine. Less than a year after he was appointed as the governor, he led an army to attack, disrupting all his steps. Liu Yu's army pressed on the border, and the clansmen at the city gate were afraid of surrendering.
In the lobby, Liu Yi expressed his worries about the nobles. General Ning Shuo Zhao Hui said: "My lord, maybe someone has sneaked out of the city to report to Liu Yutong. Yu led his people to kill all these nobles to prevent them from causing trouble. "Xie Chun scolded: "It's nonsense. How can you kill people indiscriminately? It's absolutely impossible." Liu Yi's son Liu Sumin said: "Your Excellency, you might as well bring the heads of the powerful families and their relatives to live temporarily in the inner city to protect their safety. ." Liu Yi nodded and said: "This is a very appropriate proposal. Xie Changshi, you take people to invite the nobles and their families to live in the inner city, and comfort them to tide over the difficulties together. Zhao Hui, you go to help; Huituo, please clean up Teng. Provide some houses to accommodate them." Xi Sengshi said: "There are limited official residences in the inner city, so I'm afraid we can only accommodate close relatives of these families. There are not enough guards in the city, so it is better to enlist the tribes of these families to help defend the city." Liu Yi said: "Yes. Let Sima of the Guards and Mao Xiuzhi, the general of the auxiliary army, lead their troops southward and raise the flag of Yongzhou into the city. It will be said that the advance reinforcements of Yongzhou have arrived." After Huang Wu learned that Liu Governor ordered the family members of the noble clans to move into the inner city for temporary residence, Huang Wu Knowing that the opportunity has been lost, if the city gate is opened again as agreed, the lives of the whole family may not be guaranteed.
What's more, the central part of the clan was taken away by Liu Yizheng. Even if he wanted to abandon his family, he could not open the city gate. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Yongzhou soldiers and horses entered the city from the north gate. Liu Yi personally led the civil and military forces to greet them. The people in the city felt a lot more at ease when they learned that the Yongzhou army was coming to help.
Liu Yu heard the report and sneered: "Yang Anxuan is attacking Qin with all his strength. How can he have any spare time to care about Liu Xile's life and death? I guess Liu Xile summoned Mao Xiuzhi who was stationed in Dangyang to enter the city. Tan Zhi, you bring 1,500 troops to occupy it. Dang Yangcheng, in case the Yongzhou army really goes south."... In Pingcheng, the Wei lord Tuoba Si gathered together for several days
The "Eight Gongs" secretly discussed that the Eight Gongs were Nanping Gong Changsun Song, Shanyang Hou Xijin, Beixin Hou Antong, Baima Hou Cui Hong, Shouguang Hou Shusun Jian, Wuyuan Hou Wang Jian, Rencheng Hou Jiba, and Yuancheng Hou Tuoba Qu.
White Horse Marquis Cui Hong was born in the Cui family of Qinghe. During the former Qin Dynasty, Fu Jian served as the minister of Yangping State and had outstanding political achievements. Later, he was detained by Ding Ling and Zhai Wei. Murong Chui destroyed Zhai Wei. He was transferred to the post of Yan and served as the Minister of Libu Lang and Shangshu Zuocheng. Tuoba Gui destroyed Later Yan and became the Minister of Huangmen and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in the Northern Wei Dynasty. He won Tuoba Gui's trust.
Tuoba Gui was killed by Tuoba Shao, king of Qinghe. Tuoba succeeded to the throne and appointed Cui Hong as his successor.
One of the "Eight Dukes", he was responsible for prisons and investigating and punishing unjust officials. Soon after, Tuoba Si was promoted to Lord Tianbu.
Cui Hong's son Cui Hao was appreciated by Tuoba Si for his extraordinary intelligence and was promoted to doctor. Tuoba Si was good at yin and yang magic, and ordered Cui Hao to teach the Book of Changes and predict good and bad luck. Cui Hao took the opportunity to recommend the immortal master Kou Qianzhi to him.
Tuoba Si summoned Kou Qianzhi to the palace several times to preach, and ordered the construction of Baiyun Temple in the southeast of Pingcheng. Tianshi Taoism was given equal importance to Buddhism in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Cui Hong was old, and his energy for discussion had been sluggish for several days. Tuoba Si ordered Cui Hao to accompany him. Only then did Cui Hao know that the king intended to take advantage of Jin's attack on Qin to seize Yanzhou.
The Eight Dukes had different opinions. Changsun Song, Xijin, and Shusun Jian thought that they should take advantage of the situation and seize Jin Guosi, Yan, Beiyi, Beiqing and other places; An Tong, Tuoba Qu, and Ji Ba thought that they should sit back and watch what happens, and do not Wang Jian and Cui Hong were anxious to send troops; Wang Jian and Cui Hong believed that Rouran in the north and Daxia in the west were serious dangers, and there was insufficient food and grass in the country. If they went south and the country was empty, Rouran would take the opportunity to attack and it would be difficult to stop them.
Tuoba Si agreed with the suggestion of sending troops. Last year during his northern tour, he reached an agreement with Feng Ba of Northern Yan, which appeased the enemies in the northeast. After Rouran was defeated by the Wei army one after another, he had already fled far away. Daxia Helian was ambitious and would probably take the opportunity to attack him. Qin.
Finally, Tuoba Si decided to order his eldest son, Sun Song, to lead his army to Yewang City, deploy 40,000 troops and horses, and order all the states to transport grain and grass to the Yewang City to stock up, and find the right time to attack.
After working for half a month, Cui Hao rarely took a break and drove to Baiyun Temple to listen to Master Kou's sermons and meditate.
After burning incense and worshiping gods and praying for blessings, the little Taoist boy led Cui Hao to Kou Qian's quiet room to wait for tea. As usual, Cui Hao would come to Baiyun Temple to burn incense and worship the gods on the second day of the first lunar month, but this time it was delayed by more than ten days.
Kou Qianzhi did not ask any questions, but only answered the questions Cui Hao encountered while practicing taking food to nourish his nature. Kou Qian's second disciple, Li Jiao, came in and reported: "Master, there is not enough food in Guanzhong. I went to the market to buy food and found that the price of food had nearly doubled. The cloth I brought could only be exchanged for sixty shi of food. The day after tomorrow, the master will go to the altar. After the lecture, the believers will fast, and the food may not be enough." Kou Qianzhi frowned slightly and said, "Let Cheng He count the incense money received these days and buy as much food as possible." Waiting for Li Jiao to exit. , Cui Hao said: "I will ask someone to send two hundred stones of corn tomorrow, so the master does not have to worry about it." Kou Qianzhi sighed: "The Heavenly Master's Taoism, Boyuan recommended it to the Emperor, and more and more believers came, and Taoists continued to join the temple. , the corn consumption has tripled, and the wheat fields in the temple have failed due to frost and drought, and it is difficult to support the consumption of so many people. Pindao intends to let Li Jiao lead some Taoist disciples to go south to Xuzhou, firstly to preach, and secondly to reduce some of the burden." Cui Hao heard from Kou Qianzhi that the third brother Ning preached in Liangzhou of Jin and built a temple in Shehong Jinhua Mountain in Suining. There were many believers. It seems that the immortal master believed that the foundation of Jin's preaching was better than that of Wei.
After thinking for a moment, Cui Hao said vaguely: "The Jin Kingdom is still fighting. Your Majesty intends to take the opportunity to go south. The second brother's missionary work should be slowed down a little. I will try my best to raise money due to the lack of food in the temple. I will not let the brothers starve." ." The Wei army gathered in Yewang City, and the secret guard sent the information to Wang Huilong, the prefect of Xingyang.
There were only two thousand defenders in Xingyang, and Pei Qiang, the general of Chenggaoguan Town, had 1,800 soldiers. However, at this time, 40,000 garrison troops had arrived, and Wang Huilong felt a little at ease.
It was reported that Yanzhou did not drive to open up frontiers, and all the weapons and armor in Yanzhou's inventory were distributed to the incoming garrison, equipped with nearly ten thousand people.
Wang Huilong divided the soldiers into five groups. Every day thousands of people entered Xingyang, Chenggao and other places, and quietly left the city at night to act as suspicious soldiers.
Immediately afterwards, the well-equipped soldiers and horses were allowed to practice on the river bank. More than ten thousand people waved flags, ran and shouted, with great momentum.
In the evening, Wang Huilong ordered people to light torches, which stretched for dozens of miles. The Wei people watched the fire from the other side, and they were all surprised.
In Yewang City, Changsun Song didn't take it seriously before. As the intelligence kept coming, Changsun Song became suspicious. Didn't the Jin army go to attack Chang'an?
Where did the soldiers and horses come from? Could it be that Liu Yu was preparing to send the Beifu army across the river to attack Wei? In the Western Qin Dynasty, Qifu Chipan finally decided to lead his army to rescue Chang'an, and sent his troops to Chencang.
The country is like a chess game, with lots of moves.
