Zang Hong and Cao Ren have reached a stalemate at this point, and the winner cannot be determined for the time being. As for the war in Guanzhong, because Chang'an was once again surrounded by a large army, the city of Chang'an was already in chaos.
Although the Shu army had blockaded Chang'an before, they did not march directly to the city. This gave Lu Bu time to reorganize his army. While he was plundering rice and grain around Xijing, he was also recruiting strong men and women to replenish the treasury and repair the city wall fortifications. For a time, the villagers of Chang'an were devastated, and many widows and widowers died of starvation due to lack of food and choking on the soil.
There were some unbearable people in the capital who advised Lu Bu that instead of slaughtering the people and defending the city like this, it would be better to set up an ambush outside the city. When the enemy comes, they should cooperate inside and outside, and they will be able to defeat the enemy. Lu Bu ignored it. Since the battle of Duanliuyuan, he had been extremely disappointed with the other armies, and his own formation had suffered heavy losses, so he had no intention of joining the battle with the enemy. Instead, he planned to encircle the city and defend himself until the Shu people retreated.
The situation was not without improvement. When Chen Chong raised troops from Chencang, the capital also received news. The emperor left the matter to the left and right for discussion. Everyone thought that Liu Fan had many soldiers and Chen Chong was strong in wisdom. If the two were combined, they would both suffer. It would be better for the imperial court to sit back and watch the success or failure, and then wait for the disadvantages to be realized before they can achieve success in one battle.
Only Jia Xu remained silent and privately advised the emperor that Guanzhong was no longer a place to stay for a long time. Now that the Shu army had lifted the siege, they should quickly abandon Xijing and go to Wuguan to Nantou Liu Biao, which might be a way out. The emperor could not accept it after all.
Therefore, during this period, while the imperial court imprisoned Chen Chong's relatives, it also sent people to Longshang to contact the soldiers and horses of the three towns. Seeing that they had no intention of returning reinforcements, they took no further action. Lü Bu, on the other hand, continued to act recklessly and took the opportunity to continue plundering money and grain from the emperors' mausoleums. All the gains accumulated by the prominent families in the counties during the Yanxing years were plundered by him. It is precisely for this reason that when Chen Chong led his army to Weiqiao, all areas of Jingzhao were attacked like fire, so that Chen Chong gathered tens of thousands of people within a few days.
Moreover, on the day Chen Chong arrived in the north of the city, the refugees and people in the suburbs heard that Longshou had returned, and they all spontaneously came to help like ants. Chen Chong could not spread his troops to surround the east, west, north, and west, so the people spontaneously gathered on Longshou Plain and refused to let him go. People come and go in the city. For a time, the huge city of Chang'an, which is famous for its grandeur, was surrounded by dense crowds. Everyone discussed that even when 300,000 red eyebrow troops entered the pass and fought a bloody battle with Green Forest, they had never heard of such a spectacular sight.
That night, the emperor and Lu Bu led the civil and military officials to the gate of Chu City. From here, they could see the ant-like soldiers camping outside the city. Farther north, dots of torches at the Wei Bridge extended to the north bank of the Wei River. Volunteer soldiers from all walks of life gathered under the city. On all sides of the city, countless bonfires were burning in the dark, their appearance was terrifying and despairing.
The emperor looked around and sighed, lowered his head and asked Lu Bu what his chances of winning were. Lu Bu Nuonuo did not dare to say anything, which made him extremely disappointed. The rest, such as Fu Wan, Dong Cheng, Yang Biao and other relatives and close relatives, were even more pale and speechless, which was very different from the eloquent demeanor of Shangshu Taichung before.
It was only at this moment that the emperor remembered what Jia Xu had said. After going to the city, he summoned Jia Xu privately and asked, "Is it okay for Wen He to mention Liu Biao in Nantou in his preface?"
Jia Xu replied: "In the past, I advised your majesty that your majesty could ride in a chariot, hold the majesty of the emperor, and go with all the officials. He also had soldiers. Liu Jingsheng would not dare to despise him. But today, when he is leaving, Chen Chong has heavily surrounded the city. Your majesty I can only go away alone, and then return to Liu Jingsheng's hands. I don't know how I am different from a child."
The child mentioned by Jia Xu was Liu Ying, the great-great-grandson of Emperor Xiaoxuan. After Emperor Xiaoping became emperor, Liu Ying was only two years old, so Wang Mang pretended to make him the emperor and replaced him. After gaining power, Liu Ying was isolated from the outside world and put under house arrest in disguise, so that he could not speak and could not see, which was no different from being stupid. It was this example that Jia Xu told the emperor that now Liu Biao in Nantou would probably end up like a prisoner.
Only then did the emperor regret it. He clenched his fists and hesitated in the palace for a long time. He lowered his head and asked, "Sir, what should I do now?"
Jia Xu looked at the emperor for a while and saw that he could not understand the key point. He couldn't help but sigh with disappointment, but in the end he still said: "Why should your majesty be panic? If what I expected is true, Chen Tingjian will lead his troops to break through the city. Even if he kills the ministers indiscriminately, he will not treat him harshly." His Majesty."
The emperor was stunned when he heard this, but he was smart by nature and quickly understood what Jia Xu was referring to: Although Chen Chong had recaptured Guanzhong, his formidable enemies had not been eliminated. Cao Cao was in the east, Liu Yan and Liu Biao were in the south, and they all regarded themselves as Zhengshuo. . Once he was harmed by him, Chen Chong would be known as a traitor, which would be extremely disadvantageous politically. Therefore, if Chen Chong understands the general situation, he can easily blame others and still protect himself.
He figured it out, and his expression suddenly became much more relaxed, but he soon became suspicious again, and still asked uneasily: "But he really doesn't mind if I treat him so poorly?"
Jia Xu said: "If you are an ordinary person, of course I can't guarantee it. But if you look at Longshou's words and deeds, you can see that what you like is more than selfishness, and what you want is more than emotion. Although there are some shortcomings in the world, it is the fault of a saint, and it is never the fault of a saint. It is the fault of a fool." Seeing that the emperor did not agree, he had to continue: "Chen Chong has been operating in Xijing for many years. Once the city is attacked, there will be people in the capital to respond. How can the city be defended? The reason why we have not attacked the city now is Because I don’t want to cause chaos in the capital, I want to negotiate with His Majesty!”
Speaking of this, Jia Xu made a prediction: "I think it won't be long before His Majesty will receive Chen Chong's Arrow Book."
Sure enough, soon a messenger came to the palace to report that the rebels had gone to the city to shoot an arrow book, and took out one to show to the emperor. The content of the Arrow Book is just as Jia Xu said. The whole article only talks about Lu Bu and the evil deeds of his men, and there is no mention of the emperor. On the back of the Arrow Book, there are also some short sentences to advise the garrison in the city to behave anyway. The most conspicuous one is “The first culprit will be punished, and the rest will not be punished.”
After Jia Xu finished reading, he said to the emperor: "The meaning of Longshou is very clear. He wants your majesty to kill Lu Bu and take the initiative to open the city and surrender. What do you think, your majesty?"
The emperor was silent for a while and asked: "Wen He thinks that if I open the city, what will happen to Situ and Jianping? Will they be spared?"
Unexpectedly, Jia Xu was concerned about the life and death of his relatives. He was helpless and had no choice but to say: "It is a matter of life and death, how can it be safe? Your Majesty, please take care of yourself first!"
Unexpectedly, the emperor choked and said: "Sir, I lost my mother when I was a child. My father died early when I was eight years old, and my brother died tragically. I have been alone for a long time. Now that my eldest son is born, how can I leave him without any relatives?" Here, the emperor was so emotional that he burst into tears. He bowed to Jia Xu again and again and said, "Please help me, sir!"
Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has always been known for his calmness and precociousness. His weak posture at this time really shocked and moved Jia Xu. He hurriedly helped the emperor up, and then said: "If your majesty is really determined, how can I dare to refuse?" He thought carefully for a moment and said: "The most urgent task is to kill Lu Bu first. As long as Lu Bu's head is obtained, I am willing to be your majesty's envoy. Ye Min went out of the city to discuss matters with Chen Chong."
The emperor said yes repeatedly, wiped away his tears, and immediately called for an envoy, ordering him to quickly go to the army to summon Lu Bu into the palace. Then he called Zhijinwu Fujun and ordered him to arrange for more than a hundred palace guards to ambush on both sides of the hall with swords and axes. He planned to wait until Lu Bu entered the palace gate, but the guard suddenly closed the palace door. When the other palace guards heard the sound, they swarmed up like a tide and were able to capture him in one fell swoop.
Jia Xu watched the emperor's arrangements from the side, but felt vaguely that something was wrong. In his opinion, if he wanted to capture Lu Bu, the best way would be for the emperor to personally go to Lu Bu's army and capture Lu Bu suddenly. Lu Bu would be defenseless, and the soldiers would be intimidated by his status as emperor, so it would be difficult for them to cause chaos. According to the emperor's arrangement, there are still many variables, at least the comfort of the army is indispensable. But considering that Lu Bu was not a wise man, and the emperor had a body of thousands of gold, there was really no need to risk Lu Bu's death, so Jia Xu didn't say much.
However, the most unpredictable thing about the changes in the world is the human heart. Even if you are as wise as Jia Xu, you will sometimes make omissions and miscalculations. That night, not only did the palace receive the arrow letter, but Lu Bu also had rumors. After he read through it, he heard a report from his subordinates, saying that the bandit army was shooting at the book city, and all the troops were uneasy, and many wanted to escape. This made Lu Bu very nervous. Thinking back to the scene before the Duanliuyuan battle, when Dong Cheng avoided fighting and the three towns fled before the battle, Lu Bu was almost restless, as if he had seen the end of being betrayed.
But in this situation, who should I go to discuss it with? Lu Bu immediately thought of Jia Xu. During the Duanliuyuan war, only Jia Xu came to the rescue, which made Lu Bu very grateful and thought Jia Xu was trustworthy. Unexpectedly, he rode his horse to the front of Jia Xu's house and wanted to discuss the time with him when he entered the house. The gatekeeper Cang Tou informed him that Jia Xu had entered the palace at night to meet the emperor and had not yet returned to the house.
Lu Bu was shuddered when he heard this. He thought to himself: The matter of defending against the enemy has already been discussed. What else does the emperor have to discuss with Jia Xu? And if it was chosen so late at night, we might be talking about shady things! There was a storm in his heart, but his expression remained as usual. He chatted with Cang Tou for a few words and then hurried back to the main camp in the city.
After returning to the camp, Lu Bu sat on the ground and thought about it, but still couldn't figure it out. At this time, soldiers suddenly came to report that there was a decree from the emperor. These words were like a bolt from the blue, making Lu Bu tremble all over, and he guessed the real answer.
Lu Bu stood up, his face as white as stone. Then he called to his trusted knights and walked straight to the angel. He neither knelt down nor saluted. He stared directly at him and asked, "What is your Majesty's will?"
The angel didn't expect Lu Bu to be so rude, and was about to scold him, but when he saw Lu Bu's tall body, which was about nine feet tall, and saw the soldiers behind him who were like tigers and wolves, wearing armor and holding swords, his arrogance suddenly disappeared, and he murmured: "General , the emperor invites you into the palace, saying that we have important military affairs to discuss."
Lu Bu said "hehe", his voice was colder than frost and snow, and he said word by word: "Your Majesty ordered me to go there, I'm afraid it's not for my head!" He then waved his hand and said: "Please tell your Majesty that there are many troublemakers in the city. , for the sake of military affairs, Bu wants to be captured and dealt with first, and has no time to enter the palace. If you have anything to do, please ask your majesty to come to the army to tell you!"
Having said that, he ignored the angels and led the crowd out of the camp gate like a tide. The sound of shaking armor and swords was like a sudden rain that was heartbreaking. This sound made the whole city feel very excited. After the emperor got the news, he thought that Lu Bu planned to attack the imperial palace, and immediately supervised the palace guards to guard the gate. Unexpectedly, Lu Bu did not come, but passed by Weiyang Palace and went straight to the palace. In Xiang Tingwei's mansion.
