On September 23, the defenders of Luoyang City fulfilled their agreement, opened the three city gates on the east side of Luoyang in the early morning, and led Jiangdu soldiers and horses into the city.

Jiangdu soldiers and horses are immense, although it is claimed that there are 100,000 troops, but there are only six or seven thousand soldiers and horses who can be alone, and many rebels are mixed in it, wanting to fish in troubled waters when they enter Luoyang City.

The first batch of Jiangdu soldiers and horses entered Luoyang City before noon. After the soldiers and horses entered the city, they immediately controlled the gates and palaces of Luoyang, and summoned the generals stationed in the city to talk. Take over the defense.

At the same time, the streets of Luoyang City are under martial law, the people are not allowed to go out without permission, and even the city gate is closed first.

Luoyang City was originally almost in a state of no defense, and after the soldiers and horses of Jiangdu entered the city, the defense of each city gate was strengthened, and the armed defense department was temporarily set up to coordinate the soldiers and horses in the city. In fact, Jiangdu's soldiers and horses were also waiting for the arrival of more important generals, as the supreme commander sent by Han Jian to meet Luoyang, the cavalry led by Zhang Xing had already arrived at Luoyang City. With Zhang Xing's 10,000 soldiers and horses as the backing, Luoyang City can be stable in a short period of time.

Between September 23 and the end of September, the people of the city were in a state of panic. First there was Yang Yu rebellion, and then there were rebels plotting rebellion, the outer city of Luoyang was turned upside down by the rebels in the previous months, and at this time it was still ruins and broken walls everywhere. Luoyang, as the political center of the north, has lost its prosperity in this year, and even if there is no martial law, the streets are also depressed.

At this time, it is not the people in the city who are most worried about their fate. After all, the people just want to live a stable life, and whoever is in power, as long as they are not here to loot and burn, has nothing to do with them. At this time, the city did not flee north with Yang Yu, but those who participated in Yang Yu's rebellion or rebelled after it felt that the deadline was approaching, and before Jiangdu's soldiers and horses entered the city, the city guards had raided the mansions of some important officials in the city in exchange for this, and some officials of Yang Yu's faction were also imprisoned. Waiting for the ruling of the Jiangdu side.

Between September 23 and the end of September. Although Luoyang City has been "recovered", the actual person in charge is only a general of the Eastern Palace, named Han Qi. The huge Luoyang City, Han Qi is like an emperor. Feel free to give orders. And he issued a series of orders. Ling Ran also felt his arbitrariness, including blocking the rebels who were waiting for a piece of the pie with King Qin's army outside Luoyang City, including his sending troops to occupy the palace. Including that he did not care about political affairs, allowing the refugees in the city to be displaced and only caring about martial law.

In Luoyang City, everyone knows that there is no one who can call the shots at the moment, and everyone is afraid that this Han Qi will become the second Yang Yu, taking advantage of the lack of control in Luoyang City, and set himself up as the emperor. At that time, Luoyang City will be completely plunged into a place of no return.

However, on September 27, after Zhang Xing, an important general of the Eastern Prince's Mansion, arrived in Luoyang City, people's fears were gradually lifted.

When Zhang Xing led his troops to Luoyang City, the soldiers and horses of the Northern Wangfu were only 200 miles away from Luoyang, and they would be killed under Luoyang City at any time.

After Zhang Xing arrived in Luoyang, the first thing he did was to send troops to take over the counties around Luoyang, and he used this as a base to prepare for a contest with the murderous Northern Wang Army.

Subsequently, Zhang Xing made a series of policies to reassure the people, all of which were issued in the name of the Eastern Palace, announcing that Luoyang City would still be loyal to the empress, and the country name would still be Yuanfeng, which would be the sixth year of Yuanfeng. Originally, Yang Yu's Longning era name does not exist, and the old system when the empress was in power will be restored, and for the officials who participated in Yang Yu's rebellion, those who were detained will be sent back to the palace for house arrest for the time being, and those who are not detained will not be blamed in the past.

Zhang Xing posted a post announcing the officials in the city, and those who rebelled but woke up in time were not guilty, but they had to think about their own mistakes. For a time, many officials submitted their "letters of repentance" to the Yamen of the Department of Armed Defense in order to obtain forgiveness.

After Zhang Xing arrived, martial law in the city was immediately lifted, but the gates of Luoyang were closed, and a post was posted to inform that the war was coming. A series of "rabble" who had previously responded to King Qin's army were temporarily resettled in several counties around Luoyang. According to Han Jian's meaning, these soldiers and horses have always been a scourge around Luoyang, and they must be gradually divided and disintegrated, and these "100,000 soldiers and horses" must be gradually disbanded, and the stability of Luoyang City cannot be damaged when the Northern Wang Army and the Western Wang Army arrive in Luoyang City.

Among the measures implemented by Zhang Xing to reassure the people, it also included relief for the people displaced by the war in the city and help the people in the outer city to rebuild their homes. The main reason is that Luoyang City is short of materials, and Yang Yu fled north, not because he didn't want to keep the throne, but because Luoyang City was full of holes and was already stormy. Luoyang City was already a mess, and Yang Yu threw it to Dongwangfu, also wanting to withdraw as soon as possible to protect himself.

The city was extremely short of supplies, and relying only on military rations and supplies was not enough to appease the displaced people. At this time, the war was approaching, and Luoyang City had to block the city gate and isolate it from the outside world. The original wealthy merchants in the city were either plundered by the rebels or forcibly requisitioned by Yang Yu and his party, and everyone in the city was hungry and waiting. Now that the soldiers and horses of the Dongwangfu are coming, they have to feed hundreds of thousands of people in Luoyang at once, and some of them are unable to support it.

On September 28, the vanguard of the soldiers and horses of the Northern Wangfu was less than fifty miles away from Luoyang. Luoyang City became tense at the moment, and many people had not forgotten the shadow of the raging rebels before, and it seemed that they were about to face a new war.

At this time, the soldiers and horses sent by the Eastern Wangfu had already begun to approach the direction of Luoyang. Judging from the signs, the Dongwang Mansion is determined to keep Luoyang City.

……

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On September 26, in the Xiwang Mansion in the western capital of Guanzhong, Yang Pingju, the king of the west, had just received a message from Jiangdu. This coincides with the information he obtained before, that is, the soldiers and horses of Jiangdu have entered Luoyang City and recovered the imperial capital.

Yang Pingju was very angry in his heart, the praying mantis catching cicadas and yellow finches were behind, and he thought that the Eastern Wangfu had suffered a great injury after the battle of Jiangdu, and it was no longer enough to compete with the Western Palace, so in terms of arrangement strategy, he chose to get rid of the Southern Wangfu first, and then occupy Luoyang. Who knew that Yuzhou had not yet been captured, so Jiangdu sent troops on both sides, and sent troops to Yuzhou on the other. actually sent troops to attack Luoyang behind his back, and it was successful.

"Yang Yu'er, such a wretch. The imperial city of thousands of years was so abandoned by him? ”

Yang Pingju's anger in his heart also lies in the fact that the Xiwang Mansion also sent soldiers and horses to kill Luoyang before, but Yang Yu at that time did not have the slightest intention of fleeing north to give up Luoyang City. As soon as the soldiers and horses of the Eastern Wangfu left, less than 10,000 soldiers and horses, with a group of miscellaneous soldiers, scared Yang Yu away.

Originally, it didn't matter who Luoyang City was. Yang Pingju is also ready for gradual encroachment. After pacifying Xiliang. Xiwangfu has been preparing for today's battle for more than ten years, and the grain, grass, materials and soldiers are very sufficient, and before that, Xiwangfu occupied the land of Guanzhong in one fell swoop, and the granary of Guanzhong was in hand. Advance can be attacked, retreat can be defended. Even if it is the head of Luoyang City. It will not affect Guanzhong in the slightest.

Originally, Yang Pingju felt that even if the East Wangfu occupied Luoyang, as long as Yuzhou was conquered first. The problem was solved, and when the time came, the soldiers and horses of the Western Wangfu took the opportunity to enter Jiangdu in the east, and the soldiers and horses of the Eastern Wangfu had to withdraw from Luoyang, and the Luoyang problem was solved. Who knew that at this time, the Beiwangfu couldn't help it first, thinking that the potatoes in hand could not be handed over to others, so they actually withdrew their troops to Luoyang first. This made the Xiwang Army very embarrassed on the Yuzhou front, and it may be possible to attack Yuzhou, but the soldiers and horses of the Dongwangfu are eyeing the south of Yuzhou.

After Yang Pingju received Jiangdu's message, he immediately summoned some generals and strategists of the Western Prince's Mansion to discuss countermeasures.

Yang Pingju has a lot of capable people under him, and he asks himself that he has the strength to conquer the world. These people are also the ministers he is preparing to conquer the south and the north, and it can be said that he is wholeheartedly enveloped by them.

The generals and strategists entered the Xiwang Mansion, and when they saw Yang Pingju's evil face, they knew that the rumors that Jiangdu had sent troops to attack Luoyang had settled. Luoyang, the capital of the millennium, fell into the hands of the East Prince's Mansion, and the East Prince's Mansion occupied the right time, place and people, after all, Jiang has the empress, and the empress is now the orthodox royal family of the Wei Dynasty, and the people are wanted.

"This is the edict drafted by the East Wangfu on behalf of the heavens, look at it!" Yang Pingju directly threw the proclamation from Jiangdu on the table.

The generals and strategists next to him knew how disdainful Yang Pingju was of this edict. Even he characterized this edict, and it was already an edict drafted by the Eastern Wangfu on behalf of the heavens, clearly saying that Jiang Du coerced the Son of Heaven to respect himself and was ready to use it to blackmail the Western Wangfu.

The generals and strategists circulated Jiang Dulai's proclamation, in which the Eastern Palace, in the name of the empress, ordered the King Qin of the Western Palace, to rebel, and the rebellion was Yang Yu, who fled to the Northern Palace, and also characterized the Northern Palaces as a rebellion that aided and abetted. This changed the attitude of Jiangdu when he signed an armistice agreement with Beiwangfu before, and everyone felt that this was a little "self-conscious" after Dongwangfu occupied Luoyang City.

"You ...... How to see? Yang Pingju looked around at everyone and asked coldly.

"Back to the lord, according to your subordinates, this is the best time for our western generals to capture Luoyang. Dongwangfu has just sent troops to Luoyang, even if the new emperor fled north, leaving an empty city and allowing Dongwangfu to occupy it, Dongwangfu is also unstable. After all, the main soldiers and horses of the Dongwangfu are all in Yuzhou, and at this time, our army will withdraw, and the Dongwangfu will inevitably withdraw from Luoyang and go all out to capture Yuzhou. Luoyang is at your fingertips. ”

The strategist who spoke was named Li Yu, and he was a person who Yang Pingju didn't see much on weekdays. But this Li Yu is his in-law, and his prestige in the army is not low.

"Nonsense." Yang Pingju said coldly, "Xiao'er, surnamed Han, sent 60,000 soldiers and horses to Yuzhou, thinking that he was going to fight Yuzhou?" Turn your face, and he will help Yang Luochuan attack my camp. At this time, if he withdraws his troops and does not fulfill his wish, then the South Wangfu and the East Wangfu will send troops to the north at the same time, not only Luoyang City will not be able to take it, but even the land of Kanto will fall into his hands.

Even if the East Wangfu and the South Wangfu are fighting in Yuzhou, isn't there still Yang Ke'er? Do you think that Luoyang City's fat will be let go lightly? ”

Li Yu no longer spoke, although he was not welcomed, he always wanted to prove himself in the past. But at this time, he also heard Yang Pingju's words, that is, the soldiers and horses in Yuzhou could not be withdrawn first, and as for Luoyang, they could not fight, but they had to solve the Yuzhou problem first.

"My lord, if you have any send, why don't you send me and others directly. Whether it is to fight Yuzhou or Luoyang, it is the main attack. ”

The speaker, very young, named Li Dai, is also surnamed Li, and is also Yang Pingju's in-laws. This Li Dai was very appreciated by Yang Pingju on weekdays, thinking that Li Dai was brave and strategic, could lead troops to the front line, and obeyed his orders very much, and was a leader among young talents. He is also ready to marry his youngest daughter to Li Dai, and close to him to win this person.

"That's it. That King ...... He sent Li Duwei. Lead 50,000 troops, go to Yuzhou, and conquer Yuzhou in one fell swoop! Yang Ping raised his hand and slapped the table, as if he was in a big rage.

The generals under his command first received the order, but they were also muttering in their hearts. Since the king of the west had already made a conclusion, why bother to summon his subordinates to discuss, but let Li Dai "show his face" in front of Yang Pingju. said that showing his face is just a timely slap. At this time, Li Dai changed from a lieutenant general to the level of a commander all of a sudden. Take 50,000 soldiers and horses out to fight. Once Yuzhou City is taken, isn't this Li Dai one step to become a general?

Yuzhou is already precarious, if the East Wangfu does not help, with more than 100,000 soldiers and horses to fight. The grain and grass and baggage of the West Wangfu are complete. It won't take more than a month to conquer it. Everyone couldn't help but feel a little "angry" at Li Dai. Isn't this a waste of merit for someone else to pick it up? Just because he "can talk"?

Some people couldn't help but gloat in their hearts, it was best for Jiangdu soldiers and horses Li Dai to dismount and let him come back. Let's see who can keep him!

……

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On September 28, in the palace of the south of Yuzhou, Yang Luochuan found Huang Shilang, the marquis of Zhennan, saying that there was an urgent matter to discuss.

"Lord Yue, this is a secret letter from Mr. Dou from Jiangdu, you can take a look first." Yang Luochuan directly handed over a secret letter to Huang Shilang.

Huang Shilang took the secret letter and looked at it, and sighed: "The East King is so resolute, it seems that the rumors in Luoyang are not far from ten." How is Nanwang going to deal with it? Do you really want to go to Jiangdu in person? ”

Yang Luochuan sighed: "This is what I am most worried about. I don't believe that the king of the east dares to do anything to me, but if I leave, the soldiers and horses of the west palace will attack the city at any time, and then the soldiers of Jiangdu will be eyeing me carelessly. If the Dongwang Mansion just wants to transfer the tiger away from the mountain, then Yuzhou will be in danger. ”

Huang Shilang nodded and said, "But the soldiers and horses of the Northern Prince's Mansion have been withdrawn." In the military camp of the Western Capital, there has been no movement these days, and it seems that they are all waiting for news from Luoyang. If the king of the south wants to go, he will also take advantage of these days. There is an old man in Yuzhou, and the king of the south can rest assured. ”

Yang Luochuan thought for a while, and finally nodded, but he seemed to sigh with some emotion: "Now that the royal family is in exile, the Yang family is weak, whether it is the king of the west or the king of the north, and the king of the north is dominant, it can be regarded as an explanation to the ancestors of the Yang family." The only thing that can not make the Han clan steal the country and stand on its own. I don't know if I'll be able to come back. ”

Huang Shilang naturally heard that Yang Luochuan didn't want to go, but now in this situation, Yang Luochuan didn't go, and the predicament of Yuzhou could not be lifted.

"King Nan can rest assured, the East King is young and vigorous after all, and now the East King Mansion is thriving, but there are staff behind the scenes to help, and there are several county princesses of the East King Mansion from behind. When he is full-fledged in the future, he will inevitably be stubborn and self-serving, so why worry that he will stand on his own? ”

Yang Luochuan smiled helplessly, Huang Shilang's words seemed to be comforting himself. Now that the Dongwang Mansion has taken the lead everywhere, even if the Dongwang Mansion has the weakest reserve of soldiers and horses, it can thrive in such a chaotic world.

"This can only be said that the East Wangfu has its own uniqueness." Yang Luochuan sighed for the last time, and said, "The news just came from Guanzhong that the King of the West is preparing to send troops to continue attacking my Yuzhou. This time it was Li Dai who was sent, with forty or fifty thousand soldiers and horses, and all of them were elite generals. ”

Huang Shilang sneered: "The king of the west is annoyed and angry, on the one hand, he is beating me Yuzhou, but he gave up Luoyang to the East Wangfu, he is naturally unwilling in his heart, and sends troops to fight." It is estimated that Yuzhou will be next, and he will not go to Luoyang, but to take Jiangdu directly. ”

"Jiangdu?" Yang Luochuan laughed, as if laughing at himself, and said, "In this way, Yuzhou and Jiangdu are also suffering from the same disease." ”

……

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On September 29, in the Jinling Grand Teahouse, Xiao Ling and Zhu Tongjing entered the Grand Teahouse one after the other.

At this time, in the big teahouse, the southern opera is being staged, the first and second floors of the teahouse are bustling with guests, and the drama on the stage is performing with one mind, and no one will notice the "big man" coming from the door.

Xiao Ling is just wearing an ordinary Confucian shirt, holding a fan, like a literary and elegant son. Entering the big teahouse, he carefully identified the person in front of him, until he was sure that it was Zhu Tongjing, who had just confronted him in the court.

"Why is he here too?" Xiao Ling muttered, turned to the staircase, went up the stairs, and in front of the elegant seat on the second floor next to the railing, Sima Yi knocked melon seeds while watching the southern opera below.

"King Hui is back?" Sima Yu patted the melon seed skin on his hand and said hello.

"It's tiring. Really, I still like the happy days I used to have. Xiao Ling said casually and sat down on the chair in front of the table. I poured a cup of tea and drank it myself. After he finished drinking tea, his eyes couldn't help but search everywhere on the second floor, and he found that Zhu Tongjing had also sat down about two feet away from them, and he didn't seem to notice him.

"It's Master Zhu." Sima Yi looked at Xiao Ling's gaze and whispered.

Xiao Ling sighed: "People are no longer teachers. Now the court is very arrogant, and when they meet, they don't even say hello. He also looked angry when he spoke. ”

Sima Yi smiled and said: "King Hui is not an idler now, and there is a small conflict in the court. Unavoidable. ”

"Humph! This Zhu Tongjing. The last time I asked him about the crown prince of the Northern Dynasty, did he actually say something about it? It's like I'm going to ask him for someone! This Zhu Tongjing, now I look down on him the most, and I used to flatter my imperial sister-in-law very much. Now he is also cold to the imperial sister-in-law. I don't know how the imperial sister-in-law still values him. ”

Sima Yi smiled. How can the current Zhu Tongjing still be "valued" by the Empress Dowager He as before? Empress Dowager He gave Zhu Tongjing a good face, but she just put on a show for Xie Rumo. made Xie Rumo think that he and Zhu Tongjing were still in the same group. But Xie Rumo is not a fool, the current situation is understandable to everyone, after Zhu Tongjing secretly signed an agreement with Xie Rumo, and then the military power was not returned, Zhu Tongjing has become the second Xie Rumo.

Sima Yi thought to himself, probably Zhu Tongjing didn't want to support the army and become a thorn in the side of the queen mother. It's just that the current situation is forced to go on, and he has no way out, so he has to make mistakes.

"Huh? Who is that? Not my imperial niece? How can the emperor's niece still walk with the surname Zhu? Xiao Ling looked at the people sitting next to Zhu Tongjing and watched the play together, and couldn't help muttering.

Sima Yi took a closer look, and sure enough, it was Princess Xiao Zhan of Yongdan. At this time, Xiao Zhan was dressed in men's clothes, and Xiao Zhan himself was heroic, wearing men's clothes, and his heroic appearance was no worse than Zhu Tongjing, who was born in a "little white face".

Sima Yi looked at it, then turned his head and asked, "The Queen Mother summoned today, but did you ask about your transfer of troops?" ”

"It's the same as Brother Sima said, I didn't ask. It should be that the imperial sister-in-law wants to hide people's eyes and ears and doesn't want people to know that there is such a thing as transferring troops. It's also strange to say, I violated the yang and yin this time, and I didn't even adjust the soldiers and horses, didn't the emperor's sister-in-law find out? ”

"Probably your imperial sister-in-law found out, and she has to pretend not to know. After all, you are still her most trustworthy person, and it will not do her any good to turn your face with you at this time. ”

Xiao Ling said with emotion: "The affairs in the court are complicated, you talk about it, what you think in your heart and what you say are two different things. While hating the itchy teeth, but also smiling to greet each other, this world is really hypocritical. ”

Sima Yi smiled, Xiao Ling had only been in the court for more than a month, and he already had such a big emotion. This also shows that Xiao Ling is developing in the direction of a politician, but she has not yet adapted to her new identity.

"By the way, Brother Sima, this time the imperial sister-in-law came to us to talk about the affairs of the north. Your good friend Dongwang has already sent troops to take Luoyang, and in the past few days, the imperial court has been busy with this matter......" Xiao Ling picked up the teacup, and at this time, the southern opera downstairs happened to reach a small climax, and the applause continued, so that Xiao Ling's words behind him were also drowned in the applause.

After the applause subsided temporarily, Sima Yi sighed: "If you want to come to Jiangdu, it won't be too smooth in the future." ”

"That's right. Xie Rumo proposed the matter of the army to the imperial sister-in-law again, this time the surname is Zhu, but on Xie Rumo's side, you say, how unimaginable was this before? If it weren't for the struggle between me and the king of Linjiang, and the imperial sister-in-law said that this matter would be discussed later, maybe the matter of sending troops to Jiangdu would have been decided. ”

"King Linjiang?"

Sima Yi hesitated for a moment and said, "Shouldn't he stand on Xie Rumo's side?" ”

"Who knows. Anyway, he made a statement to the imperial sister-in-law, saying that it was not suitable to send troops at this time, and said that he would wait for the north to be more chaotic before sending troops. Brother Sima, don't worry, I promised you at the beginning, as long as I am there for a day, I will never go to war with Jiangdu, but sometimes...... As you know, what I said was not easy to use in the court, so ...... You still have to understand. ”

Sima Yi nodded and said, "King Hui can have a heart." ”

At this moment, Zhu Tongjing, who had finished talking to Xiao Zhan, suddenly got up and went downstairs. At this time, Xiao Zhan looked at this side and walked over to the table of Sima Yi and Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling muttered again: "The emperor's niece actually came over, is she going to say hello?" (To be continued......)