Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong marched west, Zhuge Liang marched south, and the families of Guan Yu and Lantian entered Beijing. During this period, the Han army slowed down its external operations. In addition to consolidating the basic base it had recovered, it also worked hard to eliminate the remaining enemies around Luoyang.
At the end of March, several armies including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, etc. crossed the Yellow River and besieged the remaining Wei soldiers in Hanoi County.
At that time, Zhu Ling was stationed in the county to govern Huai County. Zhang He retreated from Luoyang and did not dare to return directly to Yecheng, so he stationed himself in Wude east of Huai County, thinking that the situation would be bad and he would retreat.
Grand Sima and Grand General Guan Yu originally wanted to deal with Zhang He personally, but Zhang Fei took the initiative to ask for help before the battle and said that he had experience in dealing with Zhang He, so he handed over Wude to Zhang Fei and Ma Chao to attack.
The Jingzhou army crossed the river from Wushejin. Pang De led his army to capture Wenxian, Heyang, Bo County and other cities. Guan Ping led his army to capture Pinggao, Zhouxian and Yewang. Lan Ji led his army to capture Yongcheng, Shanyang and other external cities. Guan Yu personally led his troops to besiege Zhuling in Huai County, while Zhang Fei and Ma Chao crossed the river from Hucheng Pavilion to attack Wude.
Zhang Fei successfully crossed the river and reached the north bank of the Yellow River. He divided half of his troops and asked Ma Chao to besiege Wude. He also blocked the Qinshui River south of Wude to prevent Zhang He from escaping to the lower reaches of the Yellow River by water. Zhang Fei himself led his troops to capture Xiuwu and Huojia to completely block it. Zhang He fled back to Yecheng by land.
Last year, the Han army launched a full-scale attack and captured Huainan, Nanyang, Yingchuan, Chenliu and Luoyang. It formed a back-and-forth situation with the Wei State. The soldiers and civilians of Hanoi County on the other side of Luoyang were "trembling". Many people were waiting for an opportunity to return. Returning to the Han Dynasty, except for the two cities of Huai County and Wude where the Wei army gathered, all the other counties surrendered after hearing the news.
When Zhu Ling was defending in Huai County, he was hit by a stray arrow from the Han army and fell into the city and died. The defenders in the city immediately surrendered to Guan Yu. Zhang He, a man of martial virtue, knew that he could not hold on to martial virtue, so he managed to resist Ma Chao for two days before preparing to escape. Unfortunately, all the ships docked in Qinshui were confiscated, and he was forced to flee by land to Yecheng at dusk.
After discovering this, Ma Chao left two thousand men to take over Wude, and then led his troops to pursue Zhang He.
In two days, Zhang He lost more than half of his troops in order to get rid of Ma Chao in the rear. When he fled to Huojia to prepare supplies, he was left with only 3,000 destitute soldiers.
"Zhang He, kid, didn't you expect that? I have laid a dragnet in Huojia. Let's see how you run away this time, hahaha." The city gate of Huojia opened, and what caught Zhang He's eyes was his nightmare Zhang Fei.
Zhang He was frightened by the demonic laughter. He reined up his horse and ran away in a hurry. Because Zhang He pulled the reins too hard, the horse's front hooves slipped at the moment of turning around, and the horse and man fell heavily in front of the city gate. , Zhang Fei shook his head and sighed.
Because Zhang He was not too young, his right leg was broken by a war horse when he fell. He fainted on the spot. Zhang Fei did not kill him on the spot, but prepared to take him to Chang'an for revenge.
Cao Pi moved the capital to Yecheng, and the morale of the Wei state was low. After hearing that Guan Yu's attack on Hanoi might threaten Hebei, he realized later. Cao Pi had no generals available at that time, so he asked his confidant Wu Zhi, who was guarding Jizhou, to lead the army south to meet Zhang He and others. Zhu Ling.
Wu Zhi had a bad temper and was weak in ability. When he led his army to the vicinity of Chaoge, he learned that the enemy general Zhang Fei was in Huojia, so he did not dare to continue south to support him. At this point, all the Hanoi cities west of Huojia fell to the Han army. within the control of.
In addition, Lan Ji followed General Guan Yu's order to pick up Liu Xie in Shanyang and prepared to take him back to Chang'an to fulfill his mission.
When Liu Xie saw Lan Ji's outfit, he almost thought that Lu Bu had resurrected from the dead. He remembered the old days when he was controlled by Dong Zhuo, so he followed Lan Ji away very cooperatively.
Guan Yu left Guanping to guard Luoyang, and Mengda to guard Hanoi and defend Hebei's troops. He arranged for the army to rest and recuperate around Luoyang, and then took Liu Xie and Zhang He away to Chang'an to face the saint.
Zhang He woke up lying on a wooden cart with a broken leg, a crooked head, and slanted eyes. He was diagnosed as hemiplegic by the military doctor. Zhang Fei was unwilling to kill him after looking at it.
Arriving in Chang'an at the end of April, Liu Xie "exposed" the fact that Cao Pi had forced him to usurp the throne in front of all the civil and military officials, and "confirmed" the fact that he had given the throne to his uncle Liu Bei. He then went to the ancestral temple to worship Liu Bang and other ancestors, filling Liu Bei's shoes. The last legal gap in becoming emperor.
The Duke of Shanyang granted by Cao Pi when he usurped the throne did not count. After the process, Liu Bei changed the title of Liu Xie to King Juan (the fiefdom of Juan County), allowing him and his family to live in the capital and enjoy their old age in peace.
Seeing that Liu Bei had regained the old capital of Luoyang, he took back King Liu Xie to make up for his regrets. When Long Xin was overjoyed, he changed his reign name to Yan Yao, which means that Yan Han will shine brilliantly again.
In early May, important figures from the northwest and southwest went to Beijing, and Xu Shu, the governor of Jingzhou, was also recalled.
Immediately afterwards came the appointment of the queen, the wedding of Prince Liu Chan, Lan Ji's marriage to Guan Yinping, etc. Chang'an City continued to be lively for nearly a month.
It was the first time that Liu Bei's veterans had gathered together in Chang'an so neatly. Looking at the old faces who had fought with him in the palace, most of them had gray beards and hair, and their faces were full of vicissitudes of life. Tears welled up in their eyes for no reason.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" Prime Minister Zhuge Liang stood closest and asked curiously.
Liu Bei waved his hand gently: "Time flies so fast. I have only enjoyed a month of fun together. Soon you will lead an army to go on an expedition. I really can't bear to leave you."
"Your Majesty, Cao Pi only has one place left in Hebei. When the generals regain the Han River and Mountains, he will be able to stay in the capital to accompany him, so you don't have to be sad." Zhuge Liang advised.
"Seeing that everyone is getting old, I can't bear it." Liu Bei shook his head gently.
"Your Majesty, please don't say that. The general is probably the oldest in the palace. He was still fighting in Hexi a few months ago. Age is not a problem at all. As long as the fighting spirit in your heart remains, you will always be young. If you don't believe me, ask me. General Long." Huang Zhong was the first to be unconvinced when he heard the word old.
Liu Bei smiled slightly and said, "Old General Huang is as brave as before. I have so many things going on these days that I almost forgot to give you a gift."
"Gift?" Huang Zhong was confused.
After a while, several guards from the Chen Dynasty arrived and carried the hemiplegic Zhang He up to the hall. Huang Zhong almost didn't recognize him because his mouth was crooked, his eyes were slanted, and his complexion was extremely poor.
"This is."
"I know that you have a deep friendship with Old General Yan, and you have always wanted to capture this person for revenge. A few days ago, Yide captured Zhang He in Hanoi, and now he is left to the old General to kill him as he pleases."
Huang Zhong lowered his head and looked at him again and again. Seeing the miserable appearance of the other party, he stood up and shook his head and replied: "I think Zhang He's appearance is actually more satisfying than killing him. I don't know how to deal with it."
"Then..." Liu Bei frowned.
Zhuge Liang proposed a plan and said: "Zhang He is a general of the Wei State. Since General Huang is unwilling to kill him, why not send someone back to Hebei? Cao Pi might be angry to death when he sees him."
"The Prime Minister's words make sense." Liu Bei nodded slightly.
After the morning meeting, ten people, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Fazheng, Xu Shu and Lantian, were left behind.
While everyone was looking at each other, only Lan Tian seemed to understand something.
(End of chapter)
