Let's talk about Chang'an City. Situ Wang Yun originally wanted to pay tribute to the former chariot general Huangfu Song to boost the morale of the army. Unexpectedly, shortly after leaving the palace, he was actually designed by an assassin to trip over a chariot, and then entered the chariot to assassinate Situ. As a result, Situ died. , the assassin was also killed on the spot.
When this matter reached the court, which was discussing the labor force, there was an immediate uproar. The Liang army outside the city was still attacking the city day and night, and dead and injured soldiers were carried out of the city from time to time. It was an extremely critical moment, and the emperor was young at this time, so he especially needed someone to take control of the overall situation. But now the assistant minister who killed Dong Zhuo died unexpectedly. Who will take control of the court?
Many people wanted to invite Fenwu General Lu Bu back, but Guanglu doctor Yang Biao refuted it on the spot: "Now the war is tense, and the Liang people are fierce, and the army is quite afraid, but our army can still defend the city, only relying on Fenwu. Just because Fenwu is the courage of the army, if the imperial court summons Fenwu to the palace at this time, the soldiers of the Northern Army will be frightened, how can they still resist the enemy?"
These words convinced the twelve-year-old emperor. He looked calm and asked Yang Biao: "With your advice, who should be in charge?" Yang Biao immediately replied: "Your Majesty, Situ died suddenly, so naturally he should be in charge." The other three princes assisted the government, namely Ma Taiwei (Ma Rixi), Chunyu Sikong (Chun Yujia), and the two generals Fenwu and Jianping (Dong Cheng) of Enciyitong. If Fenwu could not come in person, he would It’s up to the three of them to discuss priorities.”
It stands to reason that this should be the case. But who would have expected that Ma Rixi and Chunyu Jia were assassinated by Wang Yun, and they were already discouraged from resisting the Liang army. Fearing in his heart that he would end up like Wang Yun, he immediately declined and recommended Dong Cheng to take charge on the grounds that he was a distant relative of the Empress Dowager Dong. But when did Dong Cheng hold such an important responsibility? Although he was willing to contribute to the imperial court, he did not dare to accept it. After Yang Biao repeatedly persuaded him and agreed to serve as his staff, he reluctantly agreed.
After they had such exchanges in the palace, one day passed. When all the officials in the court saw this situation, they were all worried and sighed privately: They all said that in the past, when Cui Wu killed the king of Qi because of love, Yan Zi said that the king was If the country dies, it will die with it; if it dies for the country, it will die with it. The king of Qi did not die for the sake of the country, so it would be difficult for Yanzi to survive. Now that Wang Yun is dead, his comrades have no intention of harming the king. How cold and cruel.
Dong Cheng obviously had the same idea. At night, he asked Yang Biao, Zhao Qian, Liu He and others, saying: "I am an ordinary person. I am lucky enough to be an official of the emperor's family and follow Dong Zhuo in the war. I have never understood government affairs. I only know how to fight. Thanks to the good fortune of the common people, I have the position of assisting the government now, but I don’t know that the country is in trouble, how can I protect it? I hope you can teach me."
Everyone present looked at each other. They had already discussed this matter once. It was up to them to see who would speak up. In the end, Liu He, the son of Liu Yu, the shepherd of Youzhou, stepped forward and said: "Ming Gong, the current plan is still in stable."
"stable?"
"Stabilize the government, stabilize the Northern Army, and stabilize people's hearts."
He first mentioned three "stabilities", and then explained: "Now that Bingzhou Mu has sent troops, we don't need to worry about how to defeat the rebels. Being anxious can make mistakes easily. As long as Chang'an can be stabilized, everything can be saved." The so-called stabilizing the situation of the court means stabilizing the peace talks between the court and the central government. Now that Situ is dead, they must suggest that the emperor negotiate peace with the Liang army. This must not be done, and it is just a failure to the emperor. The so-called stabilizing the northern army means that the northern army's war intention is unstable. The Ming Gong should reward the brave men with heavy rewards, make the warriors famous, make the soldiers aware of the country's kindness, and repay the emperor. The so-called stabilizing people's hearts is actually the people's hearts. Situ's governance failed to be strict during his lifetime, and the Ming Gong's administration must make up for the mistakes, show people generosity, and strengthen the people's hearts. It’s all attached.”
Dong Cheng was overjoyed when he heard this, so he agreed and said, "It's all as Liu Jun said."
It was midnight that night, and they had just experienced a long and fierce battle. In the south of Chang'an City, there was deathly silence both above and below the city. Both the Liang people and the Northern Army were already quite tired. The Liang people who were attacking the city retreated, only looking at the camp on the ridge of Longshouyuan. It was bright and many people could be seen coming out. It was obvious that it was only a short rest at this time and would not last more than two hours. , the attack will begin again.
The Northern troops who had just escaped from the war ignored the dirty and painful city gates. Most of them lay on the city wall with the smell of blood and sweat, and soon fell asleep tiredly. Regardless of his fatigue, Erlu Bu was insisting on patrolling the Chang'an city tower to prevent the Liang people from making any arrangements at night and then sneaking up the city from elsewhere.
After a while, the imperial envoy found him on the city, but looking from a distance, the envoy was frightened and did not dare to move forward. It turned out that he had killed so selflessly today that the armor on his body was soaked with the enemy's blood. His followers said that he probably killed more than thirty people today. It's a pity that he couldn't cut off the heads and ask for the reward. Otherwise, at least he could Exchange food for a hundred stones.
But Lu Bu turned around and saw their firelight first, then rode back and looked up and down for a while before he recognized someone from the imperial court and asked, "What's the matter with the imperial court?"
The envoy endured the stench of blood and flesh on Lu Bu's body and conveyed to him the news that Wang Yun had been assassinated and that Dong Cheng was appointed as the assistant in the court. Lu Bu was furious when he heard this and said: "It was Wang Situ who proposed the plan to kill Dong Zhuo, but I personally took the risk." Only by fighting with the enemy can we save the Han Dynasty from danger. Who is Dong Cheng? It's just what I held after my death, but today I can get the power to assist the government. And now that Situ has been killed by a thief, it would be unavoidable for the court not to announce the funeral and not to investigate. That's too callous!" After saying that, Lu Bu was about to ride down to the city and go to the palace to meet the emperor. At least he was caught by the messenger.
The envoy comforted him and said, "Why doesn't the court know what the general said? It's just that all the ministers praised the general and said that the city cannot be defended for a day without a general, just as a person cannot be without a heart for a day. It is for fear that the city defense will be lost when the general leaves. Therefore, That’s why I didn’t tell the general immediately. Jianping ordered me to tell the general that early tomorrow morning, he would come to the city in person to reward the sergeants. The general asked for anything, and Jianping did not refuse.”
Lu Bu then turned from anger to joy and said with a smile: "If this is the case, you know the severity." But when the war came up, his head that had just been dizzy from the heat calmed down again, and he sighed and said: "But the Liang people are really crowded, and the North There are too many new soldiers in the army. If we continue to be trapped like this, our morale will not last long." At this point, he couldn't help but touch his knife and said angrily: "It's a shame that someone made such random remarks and caused me to leave by mistake. The end of the road is to abandon most of the elite troops in the Wei River. If I have 20,000 soldiers here, and the Liang army has one hundred thousand more, what should I fear?" He had never suffered such a defeat in his life, and he was furious at the Liang people outside the city. They have surpassed Sun Jian who left scars on his face.
The day is over when both sides set a time for reward.
At Chen time, the emperor held another court meeting. Dong Cheng petitioned the emperor for amnesty. He not only released the officials who had been imprisoned by Wang Yun during his lifetime, but also ordered that the officials who were trapped in prison be punished and banished, and the remaining officials were ordered to be exonerated. The two thousand prisoners on death row were sent into the army. As long as they survive this battle, they can regain their freedom.
The emperor is accurate.
At this time, it was the ministers' turn to speak. The first ones to speak were the Yuan family members. They were afraid that Dong Cheng would settle accounts with them after releasing those officials. They strongly advocated that all evil deeds should be eradicated to show the imperial court's toughness. Otherwise, the rebels would think that the imperial court was weak and could be bullied. . Later, someone else came forward, as Liu He said in the preface, arguing that Wang Yun was dead at this time, and in line with the conditions of the Liang people mentioned by Zhong Yao before, it was better to negotiate peace with the Liang people for the time being, and wait until the Bingzhou Mu army approached before making any plans.
Without Wang Yun, the two sides attacked each other without scruples. Soon one side would accuse the other side of being weak and a traitor, and the other side would accuse the other side of being extreme and helpless. More and more officials got involved, and the court meeting became chaotic.
It was Dong Cheng who asked the palace guards to take away five officials with lower official rank and who were causing trouble on the grounds of being disrespectful. Only then did the court return to calm. The ministers who were thinking about the overall situation all lamented in their hearts when they saw this: Jianping's The response was still slow. Under this current situation, the estrangement between the two sides has been exposed, and it is impossible to unite.
Dong Cheng's final opinion was that peace should not be discussed, but the pardon should still be carried out. He also asked the emperor to move his carriage after the meeting and go with him to the city wall to reward the soldiers.
This proposal was beyond the expectations of Liu He and others. They only suggested that Dong Cheng should inspire people by himself, and never thought of letting the emperor do it. After all, today's emperor is young, and he is the only remaining bloodline of the late emperor. If something unexpected happens, the Han Dynasty is in danger of being saved. Obviously Dong Cheng came up with this himself. Yang Biao was worried about the emperor's safety and signaled the emperor's refusal with his eyes. However, the emperor hesitated a little, but actually agreed and said he was willing to go with Dong Cheng.
When the emperor moved, hundreds of officials would naturally accompany him. When all the adults heard that they were going to the battlefield in person, they were all frustrated and timid. Yang Biao privately asked Dong Cheng why he suddenly came up with this plan. Dong Cheng was silent for a while and replied: "Brother Wen has a lot of plans, but he has never been on the battlefield. I am not in charge of the shogunate, but I have been on the battlefield several times and know what the military morale needs. At this time, morale is low. At the end of the day, money alone cannot raise morale. Only the emperor's presence can do something." Hearing this, Yang Biao was speechless.
Soon, the twelve-year-old emperor put on a slightly larger red military uniform and came out of the palace riding a tall maroon horse. He was not proficient in riding skills, but he chose a good horse with great dignity. Liu He walked beside him and personally held the reins of the horse and led the way to prevent accidents. Behind the emperor, a group of tiger guards held bright yellow caps for the emperor to show his identity as emperor.
When Yang Biao rushed over, he saw a beauty dressed in men's clothing among the palace attendants carrying rewards. He recognized it as Princess Wannian. She was carrying a case of Shu brocade to check for anything inappropriate. Seeing this, Yang Biao quickly stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Why is Your Highness accompanying you? If ordinary people know about it, it may damage His Highness' reputation."
However, Princess Wannian refused to leave and insisted: "This is my family matter. Why should Mr. Yang worry too much? If the emperor is harmed, I will not live alone. What is the importance of honor?" Yang Biao couldn't resist and had to give orders. The rest of the palace people asked them to protect the princess.
After preparations were completed and the set time arrived, the emperor's procession slowly set off from the palace and walked towards the fighting place in the south of the city. Along the way, many officials' legs were trembling and their faces were as pale as paper, but the emperor's face was calm and he calmly walked towards Looking around. So much so that the loyal ministers sighed in their hearts: The emperor was so courageous at such a young age. If in the past, the emperor would not have been able to achieve a great cause like Zhongzong, he would have become a wise master like Xianzong. Dong Zhuo was not wrong in this regard.
But to the emperor, it didn't matter what his ministers thought. There was only one main motivation for his trip: this was the first time since he ascended the throne that he had the opportunity to leave the palace on his own initiative.
Chapter 20 Disputes
