Volume 2 Heroes in Troubled Times Chapter 12 The Banner Is Not Scrolled Section 32 (End of the Book)

In the sixth year of Yuanping of the Great Han Dynasty (208 AD).

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On the eighth day of the first month, Jinyang.

Shang Shu ordered Tian Chou, Taichangqing Cui Jun, and Dasi Tian Tianyu to rush to Jinyang to congratulate the general on the New Year.

The three ministers described the current situation of the court in detail, and took out a series of new national policy plans drawn up by Prime Minister Li Wei to consult the general and the eldest princess.

The Chang'an court hesitated on two matters, arguing with the Son of Heaven and the ministers of Xingtai. One is the time for the revival of orthodox Confucianism, and the other is the strategy of counterinsurgency in the south. The Chang'an court believed that the current situation was good, and the Son of Heaven should promptly issue an edict to revive orthodox Confucianism and further enhance the prestige of the Son of Heaven, while Xingtai believed that the current focus was on the conquest of the southern rebellion, and this kind of national policy revision related to the fundamental society should be postponed. In terms of counterinsurgency strategy, Chang'an, starting from the results of this year's calculations, believed that this year's financial resources continued to be tight, and suggested that the Son of Heaven stick to the Huai River line and concentrate his forces to attack Xiangyang, while Xingtai believed that the morale of the army was high, and he should take advantage of the power of Xuzhou's great victory to kill Jiangdong directly.

The two sides disputed, and Xiao Tianzi issued an order to ask Chang'an to send ministers to Jinyang to consult the opinions of the general and the eldest princess, and whichever side Jinyang supports, it will be implemented according to the decision of which side.

The eldest princess, who was pregnant with Liujia, only met them once in courtesy, saying that she no longer cared about political affairs and said nothing. The general is still the prince of the court, and the Son of Heaven has issued an edict to inquire, and it is difficult for him to refuse, but he is unwilling to directly interfere in political affairs, so he gave a courtesy reply, and the court should obey His Majesty's will.

Tian Chou, Cui Jun, and Tian Yu were very dissatisfied with the attitude of the generals, and they directly explained the true intentions of the imperial court. The Son of Heaven spoke. If the world is uneven for a day, he will not be in Chang'an for a day. According to the current situation, it will take at least two or three years to completely quell the rebellion in the south. Two or three years later, the Son of Heaven made outstanding achievements and was powerful in the world, and he could do whatever he wanted after returning to Chang'an. Who can counterbalance him? Therefore, in any case, in the name of "Confucian reform", we must "aid the Tao into Confucianism" and take "external Confucianism and internal Taoism" as the principle formulated by the national policy. As a result, the power of Shangshutai was gradually limited and weakened, and the checks and balances between the imperial power and the relative power were quickly consolidated, so as to maintain the long-term peace and stability of the community.

Li Hong sighed. Whether it is a warrior or a scholar, as long as they control the government, the first thing they face is the distribution of power. The rational distribution of power is directly related to the safety of the community and is the foundation of the stability and sustainable development of the Han Dynasty, and no one can avoid it.

"These years. Did the imperial court's financial support sustain the need for a counterinsurgency war? Li Hong asked the three ministers, "Your Majesty hopes to pacify the world as soon as possible, and this idea is not wrong and beyond reproach." If the imperial court can ensure that the conquest is necessary and does not deliberately delay His Majesty's efforts to pacify the world, I will come forward to advise him. ”

The three of them were overjoyed. Tian Yu said that the power of the new policy of the imperial court is getting stronger and stronger, and the financial income has always shown a strong growth momentum. The imperial court was confident that it would be necessary to secure what was needed for the expedition. Cui Jun also said with a smile that since the general can understand the difficulties of the imperial court, then the imperial court will not embarrass the general, and will definitely work together with Xingtai.

"You are sure that at this moment, the imperial court proposed to revive orthodox Confucianism and comprehensively revise the policy of official learning. Won't it provoke opposition and protest from Confucian scholars? Li Hong was a little uneasy, and asked again.

"With regard to the reform of Confucianism on the basis of reviving orthodox Confucianism, this discussion has been going on for a year, and there is a consensus among the Confucian scholars in the government and the opposition, and we are optimistic that the proposal for the reform of Confucianism has been approved by Confucianism, and the conditions for the imperial court to vigorously revive orthodox Confucianism by revising official scholarship have been met. Tian Chou said solemnly, "Please rest assured that the imperial court will make timely and accurate adjustments to the national policy according to the development of the situation to ensure the stability of the society." ”

"Oh well. Li Hong nodded and smiled. "You and Your Majesty both step back. You agree with Your Majesty to fight the Yangtze River. His Majesty also agreed with the imperial court to implement the policy of reforming Confucianism. ”

"After His Majesty led the army to cross the Huai, the attack did not go well. Tian Chou said. "In the past month, the 130,000-strong army was stubbornly blocked by the rebels on the front line of Shouchun (Shou County), Xiquyang (now Huainan), and Yinling (now south of Fengyang), and the army attacking Shouchun suffered heavy losses. Sun Quan and Zhou Yu resisted to the death and continued to attack when they were facing life and death, but it was just a lose-lose situation, so why bother? ”

"The general should persuade His Majesty not to fight again. Tian Yu also said, "As long as we conquer Xiangyang, Jiangdong loses its barrier, and its defeat is just an overnight matter, Jiangdong will definitely be disheartened and panicked because of this, so that Sun Quan and Zhou Yu will definitely disarm and surrender when they see that the general trend has gone." ”

"Is it so easy in the world?" Li Hong said with a smile, "In the past, there was a Xuzhou between Jiangdong and us, it didn't know how powerful we were, repeatedly betrayed, capricious, this kind of villain at both ends of the head rat didn't beat him scarred and dying, would he surrender?" Hit first, and then talk about it later. ”

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The three of them said goodbye and returned to Beijing, and the general personally sent them outside the city.

Tian Chou and the general shared a car, and he suddenly asked the general something in the car, "Wen'er and Xiu'er have grown up, should the general also consider their marriage?" ”

Li Hong frowned slightly and did not speak.

"Da Sima, Prime Minister, Taifu and a group of ministers and ministers in the DPRK are all discussing this matter. Tian Chou said with a smile, "They want to propose marriage for His Majesty, but they are afraid that the general will misunderstand, so they asked me to ask in private to know what the general thinks." ”

Li Hong smiled, "What misunderstanding will I have?" ”

"Brother, you have to give a word to the court. Tian Chou sighed, "If you don't speak, who dares to speak?" ”

Li Hong pondered for a long time, "Wen'er doesn't want to enter the palace, you should consider Xiu'er." ”

Tian Chou opened his mouth, but stopped talking. Li Hong looked at him and shook his head, "Don't mention Wen'er, I don't want her to be wronged." ”

"Brother, Xiu'er is not afraid of heaven and earth, but the court is afraid......" Tian Chou smiled bitterly, "Please be considerate of the difficulties of the imperial court." ”

Li Hong thought for a moment, "Then let Your Majesty decide for yourself." His Majesty said who to marry. Then who to marry. You go back and tell them that after the family affairs are settled, I will resign from the post of general and retire from the court. ”

"Brother......" Tian Chou said, "Of course Your Majesty will choose Xiu'er, this is needless to say, so the imperial court means ......" Tian Chou glanced at Li Hong nervously. whispered, "The imperial court plans to let Wen'er enter the palace as well." ”

Li Hong's face changed slightly. A hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes.

"Brother, don't be angry...... Tian Chou hurriedly explained, "In this dynasty, Emperor Xiaojing, Empress Wang and her sister Erjiao entered the palace one after another, and both married Emperor Xiaojing, and they were both favored. Emperor Xiaocheng Dynasty, Empress Zhao Feiyan and his sister Hede also entered the palace together. Emperor Xiaoming Dynasty. The three daughters of the minister Ma Yuan all entered the palace, and later the two sisters of the minister Yan Zhang were also nobles, so the matter of the sisters of this dynasty entering the court together is still a lot, please ...... brother"

Li Hong closed his eyes and sighed speechlessly.

"Brother......

"Whatever you want. ”

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Jianghuai battlefield.

On the tenth day of the first month of February, Guan Yu conquered Guangling City and led the army to Jiujiang County. Sun Quan was shocked when he heard the news. He led the army to retreat to the front line of Liyang, Hefei and Lu'an.

On February 18, Cao Ren and Cao Zhang entered Shouchun City to persuade them to surrender. Two days later, Cao Pi and Xiahou Yuan surrendered, and the Han army regained Shouchun.

On February 28, the Son of Heaven led an army to attack Hefei, and the two sides fought a bloody battle.

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Early April. The great Sima Xu Rong and the prime minister Li Wei wrote to the Son of Heaven, hoping that the Son of Heaven would change his attack strategy, retreat to the Shouchun line, and instead gather the main force to attack Xiangyang. Xiao Tianzi was repeatedly defeated, and he was furious, vowing to take Hefei and kill Jiangdong, and rejected Chang'an's suggestion.

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On the sixth day of the fourth month, the eldest princess gave birth to a daughter for the general. The Son of Heaven sent Prime Minister Li Wei and Taiwei Zhang Yan to Jinyang in person to congratulate him. He decreed that the baby should be named Li Ping. The princess of Fengping City.

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On April 12, the general wrote to the little emperor. Please put the overall situation first, stop wasting time in Jianghuai, and quickly turn to attack Xiangyang. This time Xiao Tianzi was obedient, he worshiped Gao Shun as the general of the expedition to the south, Guan Yu as the general of Zuo, Lei Chong as the general of Long Xiang, with Gao Shun as the commander of the army, Guan Yu and Lei Chong as the deputies, sitting on the front line of the Huai River, coercing Jiangdong.

On April 20, Xiao Tianzi crossed the Huai River in the north, rendezvoused in Xingtai, and went to Nanyang together.

The hussar general Zhao Yun and the right guard general Yan Liang led 50,000 main forces to accompany them, and the right general Cao Ren led 30,000 Xuzhou troops to follow.

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Jingzhou battlefield.

In May, the general of the cavalry, Yushi, rushed to the front line of Shangyong and Xicheng with an army of 20,000, and together with Sima Yi on the battlefield of Longnan, he attacked Hanzhong from east to west.

In May, Xiangyang Liu Biao refused to be cared for.

On the tenth day of the sixth month, Xiao Tianzi led an army of 200,000 to attack Xiangyang.

On July 24, Liu Biao died of illness. On the fifth day of the eighth month, Liu Cong, the son of Liu Biao, led the army to surrender. The Han army regained Xiangyang.

When Liu Qi, the eldest son of Liu Biao, heard the news, he escorted the Son of Heaven who had previously evacuated to Jiangling and fled to Bashu.

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On August 12, the Han army moved south. One route was personally led by Xiao Tianzi and killed Jiangling; One route was led by the hussar general Zhao Yun and killed Shaxian (now Wuchang).

On August 23, the Han army conquered Jiangling.

At the same time, Zhao Yun gathered an army of 100,000 foot cavalry and 20,000 Jingzhou sailors to fight with Zhou Yu in Shaxian. In September, Zhou Yu retreated to Echeng (now Huanggang).

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In mid-September, Chang'an and the Son of Heaven had another dispute.

The Son of Heaven wanted to lead the army, go down the river, and join the Gaoshun army on the Jianghuai front line to attack Jiangdong, while Chang'an asked the Son of Heaven to immediately make a truce and fight Bashu or Jiangdong next spring on the grounds that the financial endowment was unsustainable and Xiangyang had just been recovered and was still unstable.

The Son of Heaven was furious and sent Jia Xu and Fu Gan to Chang'an in a hurry to force the great Sima Xu Rong and the prime minister Li Wei to allocate grain and grass to the army, and Chang'an also urgently sent Tian Chou and Zhang He south to Jiangling to persuade the Son of Heaven to immediately make a truce.

At the beginning of October, Li Hong hurriedly wrote to the little Tianzi, asking him to fight steadily and steadily, first recover Changsha, Wuling and other Jingzhou counties, completely occupy Jingzhou, stabilize Jingzhou, and never lose because of arrogance, resulting in a fall short. In the following days, Li Hong wrote letters almost every day, analyzing the situation in detail from all aspects, exhorting the little emperor to guard against arrogance and rashness, rest the army, and hoard grain and grass for the next year's war.

On October 12, Xiao Tianzi wrote to Chang'an, accepting the suggestion of the imperial court to cease fighting and reorganize the army.

On October 18, Wang Dang and Wen Ping led their troops south to attack Changsha, Wuling and other counties.

On October 20, good news came from the battlefield of Longnan that the Han army had captured Hanzhong. In early September, Ma Chao led his army from the Meridian Road to secretly attack the hinterland of Hanzhong and capture Hanzhong in one fell swoop.

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In the seventh year of Yuanping of the Great Han Dynasty (209 AD).

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In the first month, the emperor of the Han Dynasty paid a crown ceremony and officially took charge.

In February, the four auxiliary ministers of the Great Sima Xu Rong, the Prime Minister Li Wei, the Imperial Lieutenant Zhang Yan, and the Hussar General Zhao Yun proposed to the general Li Hong on behalf of the Son of Heaven and asked to marry Li Wen and Li Xiu.

At the beginning of March, the general submitted his resignation from the post of general on the grounds that it was inconvenient for his relatives to serve as the secretary of state affairs. The Son of Heaven accepted the general's resignation and honored Zhao Yun as the general.

In March, Taifu Liu He and the old minister Zhou Zhong rushed to Chaisang to persuade Zhou Yu. Imperial historian Xu Jing and Guanglu doctor Chen Hao rushed to Jiangdong to persuade Sun Quan.

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On April 18, Xiao Tianzi led a large army to attack Bashu on two fronts.

On May, Jade and Sima Yi were blocked by the Sword Gate.

In May, Xiao Tianzi conquered Jiangguan and killed Jiangzhou. In mid-May, the army conquered Jiangzhou and killed Chengdu from the inner and outer waterways.

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In late May, Zhou Yu was appeased and led his army to surrender. In June, Sun Quan was appeased, sacrificed the four counties of Jiangdong, and went north to Chang'an.

In July, Liu Mao (Xiangyang Tianzi) and Liu Bei offered their tables and surrendered.

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In September, the Son of Heaven triumphantly returned to Chang'an.

In October, the Son of Heaven married Li Wen and Li Xiu. Because of the queen issue, the debate between all parties in the court was more intense, and the Son of Heaven finally adopted the suggestion of Prime Minister Li Wei and set up the left and right queens, with Li Wen and Li Xiu both being queens.

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In the eighth year of Yuanping of the Han Dynasty (210 AD), on the first day of the first month, the Son of Heaven held a grand court meeting ceremony in Weiyang Palace to celebrate the pacification of the world.

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On the third day of the first lunar month, Jinyang, Longshan Zhonglietai.

The snow is vast.

Li Hong and Lao Guan supported each other and slowly walked down the mountain.

"When will you go back to Luronse?"

"Spring is here, the flowers are blooming, and we will go back. (End of book.) ）