The fifth year of Yongjia, the end of March.
Yanzhou, Gaoping, Changyi.
More than 20,000 Qingzhou soldiers led by Liu Yu were stationed here at this time.
Since Yanzhou Governor Yang Mao's troops collapsed twice in Dongping territory, the Qingzhou Army led by Liu Yu fought without blood and occupied several counties in the southeast of Yanzhou.
Although he did not suffer much losses along the way, after entering Changyi City in Gaoping State, Liu Yu ordered the army to temporarily stop advancing and station in Changyi.
The reason why they did not continue to advance was entirely because the Qingzhou Army was moving too fast. There were too many cities that needed to be taken over at once, and many Qingzhou soldiers had to stay behind to ensure the safety of the supply line.
After all, Yanzhou's military and civilians are now exhausted, and it is very difficult to get food locally. Food logistics must be transported by Jibei County.
In this way, we have to stay temporarily and wait for the logistics and transportation supplies to be extended to Changyi.
However, these things had long been expected by Liu Yu and did not cause much trouble. Now what really troubled Liu Yu was the so-called secret edict of Emperor Sima Chi brought personally by Xun Kui as the secret envoy. impact.
Especially when Yang Mao, the governor of Yanzhou, sent his confidants to express their submission to Liu Yu with his own seal and ribbon, Liu Yu knew that the impact of this matter was not just as simple as the appointment of a "general and governor".
In the temporary military department in Changyi City, several of the accompanying trusted generals and subordinates were discussing the matter with Liu Yu.
"Now, what is the rank of the general in the imperial court?" Liu Xuan asked Hua Xiu, who was familiar with official official books.
"General, anyone who opens a government office is a military attaché, with the highest rank." Hua Xiu said.
Because Liu Yu planned to recruit some available high-ranking scholars this time, he brought out Hua Xiu, the original assistant and second officer, and left Dong Ping, Li Feng and his brother Liu Yi to guard Qingzhou.
After hearing Hua Xiu's words, Liu Yu frowned slightly and continued to ask.
"How does it compare with the Three Dukes?" Liu Yu asked again. The official positions in Wei and Jin were complicated and complicated, and he still finds it very troublesome.
In particular, the big and small issues between the three princes, Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong, and the common official positions of General and Grand Sima are even more confusing.
"Well, according to the old system of the Han and Wei dynasties inherited by our dynasty, the general is higher than the three princes. However, when Emperor Jing's Sima Shi served as the general, Emperor Jing's uncle Sima Fu, the prince of Anping County, served as the Taiwei, so he took the position of the general. The position was changed to be under the rank of Taiwei, and this continued until the Wei Dynasty established the Jin Dynasty. Later, it was changed to the position of general under the rank of Taiwei, and it was repeated again soon."
When Hua Xiu said this, he said with some helplessness, "After repeated replacements several times, the position of the general should be above that of the three princes now. However, it is uncertain whether the court in Luoyang will change again and again."
"It's not good. If this happens, doesn't it mean that the position of general is now above that of Taiwei, Situ and Sikong?" Liu Yu said.
When Taifu Sima Yuedong left Luoyang and moved to Xiangcheng, he appointed Situ Wang Yan as Taiwei to take charge of the military affairs in Taiwan, and appointed Wang Jun, the governor of Youzhou, as Situ, in order to win over Wang Jun again. After all, Sima Yue's slogan at the time was still to crusade against the Qingzhou traitor Liu Yu.
Now, the secret edict brought by Xun Kui appointed Liu Yu as the general. In an instant, he suppressed the Situ position that Wang Jun had just put on his head.
This is really not good. Liu Yu knows that his father-in-law is famous for being paranoid and narrow-minded, and he attaches great importance to false reputation. Doesn't this mean there will be a rift between him and Wang Jun?
"Since the secret edict brought by Xun Kui is true, and Yang Mao, the governor of Yanzhou, has also obeyed the edict, it means that all civil and military officials in various prefectures and counties will obey the edict. This is an edict written by the emperor himself. Even if some people are dissatisfied, It's okay." Hua Xiu knew what Liu Yu was referring to, but still offered words of comfort.
After all, even if Wang Jun was dissatisfied, it was the intention of the court and the emperor, not Liu Yu's. This Lao Shizi "general and governor" was not begged by Liu Yu, but by Emperor Sima Chi who sent Xun Kui sent it himself.
"Dissatisfaction will definitely show up. I'm afraid I have to be more careful in dealing with Youzhou in the future." Liu Yu had no confidence in Wang Jun's open-mindedness.
"Let me tell you, since Emperor Lian personally recognized Duke Qi and the general, what are you afraid of? Anyone who opposes the general is disobeying his orders and disrespecting his superiors." Zhao Kun said on the side. He only felt that the great general was disloyal. The titles of generals and governors sound powerful and domineering. As for attracting hatred from others, they don't care much. In Zhao Kun's opinion, the theory that not attracting jealousy is mediocre is the most correct one.
"Be afraid, this is not what the current emperor means."
At this time, Liu Xun, who was sitting beside him, said.
Hearing this, Liu Yu's eyes lit up and he suddenly thought of something.
"Ah Xun, what do you think?"
Liu Xun carefully sat sideways and said.
"Sir, I think this must be done deliberately by someone in order to create discord between the master and the prince, so that the two families can no longer be as they used to be."
"Then who do you think it could be?"
"The emperor is sitting in the palace. It is said that he is not familiar with the outside world at all, and he may not understand the conduct of the princes. It is impossible to issue such an edict with other intentions. Let me tell you, who brought this edict. , that’s who wants to make it happen.”
After listening to Liu Xun's words, several people in the room felt that it made sense.
Because, in this way, Xun Kui, who brought the edict, and Sikong Xunfan behind him, became the implementers of this purpose.
As for the purpose, Liu Yu guessed that it should be that Sikong Xunfan saw that the situation in Luoyang would not last long and was destined to change in another way in the future. Sima Yue also arbitrarily determined the direction of the government, which had long been the object of dissatisfaction with Xun and others, and the other You However, Wang Jun of Qingzhou and Liu Yu of Qingzhou supported each other, so they used an edict to appoint Liu Yu as the general and Duke of Qi, which reversed the previous superiority relationship between Liu Yu and Wang Jun. Jun's temperament will inevitably create dissatisfaction with Liu Yu. In this way, the scholars headed by Xun Fan can continue to sell the emperor in their hands.
However, in Liu Yu's opinion, this kind of calculation and manipulation of the court's political situation, no matter what the outcome, is still too narrow-minded in the current environment.
The current situation in the world is all about those with strong soldiers and horses doing whatever they want. Sima Chi, who has only the title of emperor, will soon become a useless sign and a target to attract Huns and barbarians.
"These court bastards are just alienating themselves from Youzhou. This kind of thing is inevitable sooner or later. If it happens earlier, it won't be a big deal." Liu Yu smiled softly and said very Let this matter go quickly.
"Now, the most critical thing is Sima Yue's journey. Haven't you found out where he went?"
The purpose of Liu Yu's trip was to find Sima Yue's platform and the Chinese army, and then at the right time, appear in front of these soldiers and officials who were on the verge of despair, and subdue these people as a savior.
However, since the Qingzhou Army was temporarily stationed in Changyi, they began to inquire about Sima Yue's march to Taiwan and the marching position of the Chinese Army, but there was no result for several days.
"General, I sent more than a dozen groups of people to go out to investigate. I just know that since Xiang Cheng left, he has been heading east. As for the specific where he went, I haven't found out yet, because the distance between this section is , are full of Hulu rangers, and some ordinary scout cavalry cannot go too deep at all, and can only get some information from some scattered refugees who have escaped from the vicinity of Liang State."
As the cavalry of Liu Yu's Qingzhou Army Yamen Army, these cavalry trained by Wu Xin have always been the eyes and ears of the Qingzhou Army.
"However, I just heard from some soldiers who escaped that since they left Xiangcheng, Xingtai and his 100,000-strong Chinese army have been short of food and grass, and their daily journey is not fast. According to my estimation, now It shouldn’t be too far from Xiangcheng.”
Cao Yi, another veteran in charge of the former army's exploration, said.
During this expedition, Cao Yi, as the general of the Black Crow Army in Chengyang County, had been working as a vanguard with Wu Xin, responsible for the vanguard exploration along the way.
Ever since he knew that Xiangcheng's army and nearly 100,000 Chinese troops were marching eastward immediately, Liu Yu guessed that Sima Yue, the king of the East China Sea, had died just like in history. After all, he was already an old man in his fifties or sixties. , it is difficult to resist the fateful ending.
"Is there any news about Sima Yue?" Liu Yu asked.
"No, the soldiers who escaped are just state and county soldiers near Xiangcheng. They are not soldiers of the Chinese army. They don't know much about the situation of the Chinese army and Xingtai."
Wu Xin said.
Hearing this, Liu Yu was a little helpless, although the purpose of his trip was these Xingtai and the Chinese army. After all, these were the last elite and core of the one hundred thousand Western Jin Dynasty.
However, in the vast land of thousands of miles in the east of Yuzhou, it is not easy to find these people at once, because according to the sporadic news from the front, the distance and speed of these people's travel are different from Liu Yu's estimate. Too same.
Even Liu Yu was not sure whether these officials and soldiers of the Central Army would be overtaken by Shi Le's Hu cavalry in the bitter city of Liang State, and then be chased and killed by cavalry and archery, as happened in history.
In the vast land of thousands of miles, it is difficult for the 20,000 soldiers and horses in Liu Yu's hands to spread out over a large area to find them, and he also has to guard against the Hulu Zhao Gu in Xuzhou in the east and Shi Le in the west.
"In this case, let's send more cavalry to investigate. Even if we don't know the approximate location of Xingtai and the Chinese army, we still have to explore Sima Yue's movements, because I suspect that Sima Yue is already dead. At this time, The officials and the Chinese army in Xingtai must have kept the mourning secret for fear of being chased by the powerful enemies around them."
Liu Yu's words immediately surprised the generals present, because one of their purposes here was to defeat the treacherous minister Sima Yue.
And Liu Yu said that he guessed that Sima Yue was dead, which gave them the feeling of hitting the silk with all his strength.
Regarding everyone's surprise, Liu Yu did not give any explanation, because this kind of thing could not be explained at all. Liu Yu could not tell them. I saw it said in the book that after Sima Yue died, there was no mourning secretly, and then the entire army was annihilated. In Bucheng.
In this case, Liu Yu will either be a lunatic or a bastard in the future, neither of which is a very good role model.
It would be better to just say something and keep a mysterious posture, leaving these generals and subordinates confused.
After hearing Liu Yu's order, Wu Xin and Cao Yi quickly accepted the order and said that they would send more cavalry to Yuzhou in the south to find out any news about Sima Yue's platform and the location of the Chinese army. Of course, they will also examine Liu Yu's question about whether Sima Yue, King of the East China Sea, is alive or dead.
Finally, Liu Yu said again.
"Not only that, but any other questions about Shi Le's movements should be investigated more. I heard that Shi Le has more than 40,000 Hu cavalry under his command this time. Such a large number of cavalry must be the best of the Hu people in Bingzhou, whether it is to guard against them. No matter whether you want to inflict serious damage on them or not, we must find out their situation as soon as possible.”
"I heard that Shi Le has been leading troops to plunder Yingchuan County. Wang Mi's headquarters is near Xiangcheng County. There have been rumors for a long time that Wang Mi and Shi Le are going to join forces and march towards Xiangyang. I'm afraid You won’t come to the east of Henan, right?” said one of the servants.
"Impossible. Between Xiangyang and Xiangcheng is the refugee army led by Gou Xi. Under the leadership of Gou Xi, these people are also difficult to chew. Wang Mi and Shi Le are both bandits who robbed homes and houses. How could they attack Gou Xi? Xi is their nemesis, and Gou Xi's life is not easy. I heard that due to lack of food, some of his refugees have continued to flee south to join Jingzhou Governor Wang Cheng."
Liu Yu immediately refuted this rumor.
At this time, the Jingzhou area was not yet the fertile land that "Huguang cooked the world enough" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Although it was also a fertile land, it was because it was the war zone between Wu and Jin before, and the recent remnants of Gou Xi's army , Guanzhong refugees have been in chaos for a long time, and it has long been in ruins. How could bandits like Wang Mishile, who robbed homes and homes, go to beggar's dens to rob.
Yuzhou, Yingchuan County, Xuchang.
After plundering Xuchang, Shi Le and his group of barbarians all fell in love with Xuchang.
This is the essence of Yingchuan. Although it has suffered from natural disasters for several years, compared with other states and counties, the wealth here is still very satisfactory to these bandits.
However, now it is time for these Hu and Han soldiers to leave Xuchang.
In today's Hu and Han army, everyone's waist has been robbed. Not only are they covered with gold, silver and silk, but many of them also have a miserable Jin woman tied to their horses.
"Why are there so many burdens!?"
Shi Le, who was riding a black horse, became furious when he saw the Hu and Han cavalry ready to go outside Xuchang City.
"Didn't I already say that this pursuit is of great importance. If we let go of Jin's officials, even if we conquer ten cities, we won't be able to compensate for it."
Shi Le had already learned through the news from the rangers from the Liang Kingdom that Sima Yue, the Taifu of the Jin Dynasty, had died of illness. The remaining Xingtai officials and the Chinese army, led by Taiwei Wang Yan, had left Xiangcheng and wanted to go east. Return to Donghai Kingdom.
"But, general, these are the harvests that the men have worked so hard to get. Wouldn't it be a pity to just throw them away like this." Diao Ying advised from the side. On the back of a dozen cavalry not far away, What he was carrying was Diao Ying's wealth and two beautiful singers. If it were true as Shi Le said, if he threw away all the burdensome gold, silver and women, it would cost Diao Ying half his life.
Guo Heilue and others next to him were about to echo Diao Ying, but suddenly they saw Shi Le raising his riding whip and beating Diao Ying violently, causing Diao Ying to scream and fall off his horse.
After Shi Le beat him violently, he threw away his riding crop and shouted sternly.
"All the cavalry, except weapons, all gold, silver and silk must be thrown away. As for the captured Jin women, they are all pitiful people."
"Give them a good time!"
