Xia Houshang finally obtained the specific details of the Battle of Tongguan through careful work and reconnaissance, and at the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief.
There is a saying that this time Xiahou Shang was indeed a little bit crazy because of such a big thing as the fall of Tongguan. In other words, it was because the news was too important that he lost his previous calmness.
If Xiahou could still calm down a little and figure out what happened when Tongguan fell, he wouldn't rush into the palace in such a hurry to ask the emperor to move.
Now that he was fine, Xia Houshang took the information he had obtained and when he went to see Cao Rui again, he knelt on the ground again.
It's not that I'm sorry, but I'm really embarrassed to see others.
But after reading the information sent by Xia Houshang, Cao Rui became even more angry! ! !
"Three thousand Shu thieves attacked Tongguan, and Cao Tai actually abandoned the pass and fled?!" Cao Rui said in an unbelievable but slightly amused tone, "Where is this person?! Why don't we kill him quickly? To enforce military law?!"
Cao Rui was really angry, and he didn't care whether Cao Tai was his uncle or not.
When the late emperor fought in the Battle of Guanzhong, he met a deceitful Xiahou Mao. When he fought in the Battle of Guanzhong, he met a deceptive Cao Tai. The old Cao family and the old Xiahou family really felt that the Emperor of Wei would not kill. One of your own? !
Cao Rui felt that if he continued to protect his relatives and generals like the late emperor did, then sooner or later the Wei Dynasty would be defeated by these people.
Therefore, Cao Rui didn't show mercy at all, and directly said "kill him with military law".
But no one answered the question.
Xiahou Shang is not easy to accept. The Xiahou family and the Cao family have been related by marriage for generations. The two families are basically the same family. If Cao Rui wants to kill Cao Tai today, he can also kill any unlucky person in the Xiahou family tomorrow.
As for Chen Qun and Liu Ye, who were summoned by Cao Rui to discuss matters, they had an attitude that it had nothing to do with them.
You, the old Cao family, can just decide your own affairs, and we foreign ministers will not interfere.
In fact, Chen Qun did not pick up on Cao Rui and said directly to Cao Rui, "Now that Tongguan has been lost, the emperor must not take it lightly and must deal with it carefully to prevent Shu thieves from invading the Central Plains."
Compared with whether Cao Tai died or not, Chen Qun was more concerned about whether the Central Plains region would suffer war as a result.
Don't forget that Chen Qun also served under Liu Bei when he was in Xuzhou. Even now, Chen Qun has a high opinion of Liu Bei.
But if the Shu Han really led the army into the Central Plains and caused war in the Central Plains, Chen Qun would be the first to refuse.
The reason is simple. Chen Qun is from Yingchuan, and his family's roots are in Yingchuan. Especially after Cao Cao regained Xuzhou, Chen Qun and his family moved back to Yingchuan from Xuzhou.
When Chen Qun gave up Liu Bei and chose Cao Cao, it was actually the same as the reason why Chen Deng and his son gave up Liu Bei. They were both from big families, and their first consideration must be the interests of their own family.
Just like Chen Deng admired Liu Bei very much, when Liu Bei left Xudu and returned to Xuzhou, Chen Deng immediately helped Liu Bei cheat the chariot inside and outside.
But when Cao Cao's army arrived, Chen Deng saw that Liu Bei could not save the overall situation, so he did not flee with Liu Bei, but turned to join Cao Cao.
In the same way, Chen Qun has a good relationship with Liu Bei, but if the Shu thieves want to burn the war into the Central Plains, then Chen Qun will definitely stand up and defend the Central Plains. At least defend Yingchuan.
Not for the Wei Dynasty, but for the interests of the Yingchuan Chen family in various parts of the Central Plains.
Therefore, after understanding the actual situation of Tongguan's fall, Chen Qun immediately suggested to Cao Rui to choose a general to lead the troops to Tongguan.
Firstly, it can block the Shu bandits' route to Hongnong or even invade Luoyang. Secondly, it can also cooperate with General Cao Zhen to launch a two-sided attack on Tongguan and recapture Tongguan as soon as possible.
There is a saying that although Chen Qun's plan is somewhat selfish, it is very much in line with Cao Rui's wishes.
Cao Rui never wanted to leave Luoyang. After learning that there were only three thousand Shu bandits in Tongguan, his first reaction was to retake Tongguan.
As for what Chen Qun said about "selecting a general," Cao Rui also had a candidate as soon as possible.
It was none other than Xia Houshang, the current leader of the Forbidden Army and the general of the Chinese Army.
Although Xia Houshang seemed to be babbling about the fall of Tongguan before, as if he was mentally retarded, Cao Rui has always seen Xia Houshang's ability to manage the imperial army in recent years and is very satisfied.
Regarding the previous incident, Cao Rui probably thought that Xia Houshang was too concerned about his own safety and was in a hurry, so he lost his judgment.
Now, Cao Rui didn't mind giving Xiahou Shang another chance, leading 10,000 forbidden troops to take the initiative to attack Tongguan and defend Luoyang.
But Xiahou still dared not obey the imperial edict.
The reason is very simple - now, only these 10,000 forbidden troops are left to guard Luoyang and protect Cao Rui's safety.
If Xiahou Shang is taken away, who will protect the emperor's safety? !
Cao Rui's approach also shocked Chen Qun.
Although I suggested to retake Tongguan, I did not let the emperor transfer all the troops. I mean, we can transfer troops from other directions to Luoyang, and then send troops to counterattack Tongguan.
Then Cao Rui asked Chen Qun, where to mobilize the troops? !
Chen Qun was also stunned. He carefully thought about the current situation in various parts of the Central Plains. After hesitating for a long time, he mentioned a place - Yanzhou.
There is no way. There are 30,000 people in Wancheng to resist the siege of 90,000 people. It is already unreasonable to not provide reinforcements. We can't still send troops from Wancheng, right? !
Xuchang? !
That's even more impossible. Xuchang is in Yingchuan County. If the defenders of Yingchuan County are transferred, then why on earth did Chen Qun suggest that the emperor counterattack Tongguan? !
The remaining county soldiers from Hongnong, Hedong, Luoyang, Hanoi and other places were all led by Cao Zhen to counterattack the pass. Now they are all trapped to the west of Tongguan and cannot return at all.
Then only Yanzhou in the east is left.
What Chen Qun meant was to transfer 20,000 soldiers from the nearest Chenliu County to Luoyang, and then let Xiahou Shang take 20,000 Chenliu County soldiers to counterattack Tongguan.
Just a bit far.
It took at least ten days to go back and forth from Chen Liu to mobilize troops to Luoyang, from issuing the imperial edict to gathering troops, preparing logistics, and finally marching to Luoyang, and the trip to Tongguan was even longer.
Chen Qun also knew that under the current situation, the counterattack on Tongguan must be against time. It would be better to mobilize Chen Liubing to come over than to let the emperor send his last imperial guards to counterattack Luoyang.
Then Cao Rui told Chen Qun angrily that Chen Liubing didn't have 20,000 troops to come now, and he only had 10,000 to support him. He had to garrison in various counties, and he couldn't assemble them at all for a while.
Don't ask. If you ask Cao Rui, you will be disappointed. Neither of his two clan uncles is a fuel-efficient lamp.
Chen Qun was also speechless. How could such a bad thing happen in the middle? Isn't Cao Wenlie too bold? !
Let's talk about it, the relationship between Chen Qun and Cao Xiu is actually quite good.
It was not easy to speak ill of Cao Xiu in front of the emperor, so Chen Qun naturally had no choice but to shut up and stop mentioning the dispatch of troops from other places.
Cao Rui once again ordered Xiahou Shang to lead the imperial guards to the expedition.
Moreover, Cao Rui also said, "You and others will fight with their lives to repel the Shu thieves. Even if there is no one around me to protect me, I can still sit in Luoyang. If you and others are defeated by thieves, even if there are thousands of imperial guards around me to protect me, I'm in danger. Please go away, don't think of me."
It must be said that Cao Rui was really courageous. In this way, he forced Xiahou Shang to accept the order to organize the imperial army and prepare to send troops to Tongguan.
At this point, the matter should have come to an end, but Liu Ye, who had been silent, suddenly interrupted.
"I ask your Majesty to mobilize Jizhou troops to the Central Plains to prepare for emergencies!" Liu Ye said.
When Liu Ye said this, Cao Rui still didn't react, and Chen Qun wanted to frown.
What does this old boy mean? What kind of trouble are you going to make by letting those Hebei guys lead troops to Luoyang? !
Could it be that Liu Ziyang, who never takes sides, has chosen the side of the Hebei people and wants to compete with us Yingchuan people for territory? !
I really don’t blame Chen Qun for thinking this way. The main reason is that the relationship between the Yingchuan faction and the Hebei faction in the DPRK over the past few years cannot be said to be very harmonious.
There had been considerable conflicts between them, and the competition for the right to speak in the imperial court had never stopped. Now Liu Ye has allowed Jizhou soldiers to enter the Central Plains. This is something that the Central Plains families represented by the Yingchuan faction are difficult to accept. .
In fact, this is a bad trend that has been passed down since the Eastern Han Dynasty. Obviously everyone was a courtier of the same dynasty, but there was very serious internal fighting and regional prejudice.
The Central Plains and Hebei are a little better. Everyone recognizes that the other is a wealthy family with heirlooms of poetry and calligraphy. What if you try it instead as a Liangzhou warrior or a southeastern country turtle? !
Therefore, when Liu Ye made such a suggestion, Chen Qun, before Liu Ye could explain the reason for doing so, immediately stood up and objected, saying, "Jizhou is too far away from Luoyang. If we rashly transfer him here, it will be difficult to deal with distant water and close fire. In addition, when the military is in danger and the war is dangerous, using the military in one place to mobilize the entire country's troops is a waste of people's strength. I hope the emperor will think twice."
Chen Qun was giving face to the emperor and to the wealthy families in Hebei. Otherwise, Chen Qun would have said, "I'm afraid the Dong Thieves Rebellion will happen again."
At that time, the general He Jin did not listen to Emperor Taizu Wu's dissuasion and insisted on transferring troops from other counties to Beijing, which resulted in Dong Zhuo's rebellion. But to put it this way, Chen Qun was too offending and showed his political intelligence. too low.
Therefore, Chen Qun put it more euphemistically, and it was more appropriate to describe it as "military danger and war danger".
As soon as he said this, Cao Rui was a little hesitant. Originally, he thought what Liu Ye said was quite reasonable.
In fact, Cao Rui also understood what Liu Ye meant. The purpose of transferring Jizhou troops to Luoyang was to prevent the situation of having no available troops on hand when troops were needed again. This was just in case.
Apart from anything else, the war in Wancheng is very tight. If Sima Yi really can't bear it and asks for reinforcements, and if Luoyang can't send reinforcements, he can only let Wang Ling of Xuchang weaken Yingchuan County's defense and lead The soldiers went to support.
At this time, if the Shu thieves have enough energy to sneak attack Xuchang, it is also possible that the Central Plains will be opened wide.
But if there are Jizhou soldiers at hand that can be mobilized, the problem will not be big.
But when Chen Qun said this, Cao Rui really thought of a lesson learned from the past - Dong Zhuo's rebellion.
The complete collapse of the Han Dynasty at the end of the Han Dynasty began with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but it was the Dong Zhuo Rebellion and the Li Jue and Guo Si Rebellion that really took shape. These were the consequences of foreign soldiers entering Beijing and taking control of the emperor.
Although Cao Rui felt that he was not like Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Hebei was also a place managed by the Cao family for three generations, and there was no single-minded separatist force.
But now Xiahou Shang has taken away all his last guards, and Cao Rui has no soldiers and horses to protect him. If the Jizhou commander who led the troops into Luoyang has any personal ambitions, it will be very troublesome.
Therefore, Cao Rui hesitated again and again, and finally followed Chen Qun's suggestion and rejected Liu Ye's suggestion.
Liu Ye didn't say anything about this, sighed silently, and retreated.
There was nothing Liu Ye could do. He had already fulfilled his duties, but as a descendant of the previous clan, Liu Ye's life became increasingly sad as Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen who trusted him passed away one after another.
After all, in the eyes of some people, the Shu Han in the west is also a Han! ! !
(End of chapter)
