lcionline Chapter 707 Sweeping 4 Sides
Chapter 707 Sweeping 4 Sides
In the blink of an eye, it was already the fourth year of Chuping (193 AD).
As Yuan Shu of Runan had delayed returning the imperial seal to Luoyang and had not responded to the imperial edict, the court announced to the world just after the New Year that Yuan Shu of Runan had established his own separatist regime, had disobeyed the imperial edict, and had secretly hidden the imperial seal. His crime was unforgivable, and the general was ordered to send troops to attack him.
At the beginning of February, Zhang He led 30,000 reorganized elite Danyang troops from Xuzhou, and Taishi Ci led 30,000 reorganized Qingzhou troops and his elite troops from Qingzhou. The two armies joined forces, with Guo Jia as their military advisor, to attack Yuan Shu together.
After receiving the news, Yuan Shu sent Ji Ling and Zhang Xun to lead troops to resist, while taking his own trusted men with him and moving his family south in an attempt to avoid the imperial army.
Obviously, Yuan Shu had no hope for himself.
At the same time, Cao Cao, who had already crossed the Yangtze River, was also actively expanding his territory in Wujun, recruiting soldiers and training his navy.
When Liu Biao of Jingzhou learned that the court had sent troops to attack Yuan Shu, he also symbolically sent a troop to attack Runan from the west, responding to the court's call to fight Yuan Shu together.
At this time, Yuan Shu had not completely lost his mind, nor did he have the courage to proclaim himself emperor, but he did not want to hand over the imperial seal. He also attempted to contact Cao Cao, Liu Biao and others to form an alliance to resist the troops sent by Lu Cheng.
As a result, Liu Biao directly sided with the imperial court and sent troops to attack Yuan Shu.
Just as Zhang He and Taishi Ci led their troops to attack Yuan Shu, Ma Teng and Han Sui, who were far away in Liang Province, also rebelled against the court, gathered more than 100,000 Qiang soldiers, and invaded Guanzhong.
After receiving the news in Luoyang, Lu Cheng immediately ordered Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun to lead 8 soldiers each, plus the Xiliang cavalry under Hua Xiong, a total of cavalry and infantry, to fight against the coalition forces of Ma Teng and Han Sui.
Despite sending troops to the south and northwest at the same time, the court still had spare strength.
In Luoyang City, inside the General’s Mansion.
Lu Cheng looked at the map and asked casually, "Wenhe, Yuanzhi has been studying with you for two or three months. How is he doing recently?"
"Yuanzhi is a man of great talent, but he has only learned the orthodox ways, so he finds it hard to accept my methods. However, after these two or three months of communication, Yuanzhi should have made great progress. The Qiang cavalry under Ma Teng and Han Sui are fierce, but they are not wise. With Yuanzhi working with Generals Zilong and Han Sheng, they should be able to defeat Ma Teng and Han Sui and recapture Liangzhou."
In the fourth year of Zhongping (187), Ma Teng, Han Sui, Wang Guo and others rebelled against the imperial court and plundered the land of Sanfu. Later, Wang Guo and others were defeated by the imperial army, and Ma Teng and Han Sui had a dispute, which weakened the power of the Qiang people.
After Dong Zhuo retreated to Chang'an, he contacted Ma Teng and Han Sui to resist the princes in Guandong. Ma Teng and Han Sui saw the chaos in the Central Plains and relied on Dong Zhuo to raise an army.
However, when Ma Teng and Han Sui arrived in Chang'an, Dong Zhuo had already died. Li Jue and Guo Si appointed Ma Teng as the General of the Western Expedition to reassure him.
When Lu Cheng led his troops into Guanzhong, Ma Teng and Han Sui left in advance and avoided Lu Cheng's attack.
Now, seeing that war had broken out again in the Central Plains, Ma Teng and Han Sui wanted to attack Guanzhong again and plunder it.
However, this time they encountered the combination of Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Hua Xiong and Xu Shu, and they were not so lucky.
Although Ma Chao and Pang De are fierce, the result is predictable when facing Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong and Hua Xiong.
Just as Lu Cheng and Jia Xu were chatting about the war ahead in front of the map, the eunuch from the palace suddenly came to deliver the emperor's oral order, summoning the general to the palace.
When Lu Cheng entered the palace, Liu Xie was already waiting.
"Your Majesty, what is the purpose of my entering the palace?"
"General, I heard that Ma Teng and Han Sui from Liang Province took advantage of the court's dispatch of troops to attack Yuan Shu and rebelled again. How will you deal with this?"
"Your Majesty, do not worry about this. I have already sent troops to resist. Within three months, we will be able to quell the rebellion of Ma Teng and Han Sui and recover Liangzhou for the court."
"I feel relieved when the general says this. Actually, I can't help with this. This is all the idea of General Dong Cheng. He asked me for an opportunity to send him out to quell the rebellion."
Lu Cheng nodded slightly, with a faint smile on his face. "So that's how it is. It's commendable that General Wei is concerned about state affairs. However, Liangzhou has been properly arranged, so General Wei doesn't need to worry about it. It just so happens that I am planning to send an envoy to Jingzhou.
Since General Wei is devoted to the country, why don't you send him to ask Jingzhou Governor Liu Biao why he has not come to see the emperor yet? What do you think?"
"Liu Jingzhou is also a relative of the Han Dynasty, so we really need to send an important official to be his envoy. In this case, I will issue an order to let General Wei go to Jingzhou. By the way, I have been studying medical books these days and have gained a lot. My dear minister is a medical expert, can you give me some more advice?"
"Since your majesty has the intention, I shall obey."
After this period of guidance and influence, Liu Xie had developed a great interest in medicine. Every day he discussed medical skills with several imperial doctors and explored effective remedies to cure diseases and save lives.
If Liu Xie could be a doctor peacefully, curing illnesses and saving lives, it would be considered good.
At this time, Dong Cheng did not know that he had been sold out by the emperor. He was still planning to leave Luoyang, contact the princes, and save the emperor from danger.
In March of the fourth year of Chuping, generals Ji Ling and Zhang Xun under Yuan Shu led 50,000 troops to fight Zhang He and Taishi Ci in Runan. After only one battle, Yuan Shu's army was defeated, Zhang Xun was beheaded on the spot by Taishi Ci, and Ji Ling escaped from Zhang He by chance and fled all the way to the south.
Taishi Ci and Zhang He led their troops southward in pursuit, and recaptured cities along the way.
At the beginning of April in the fourth year of Chuping, Yuan Shu's army withdrew from Xuzhou completely, leaving only a small number of troops, and retreated to Lujiang County.
In mid-April, a civil strife broke out in Yuan Shu's mansion in Lujiang County, resulting in many casualties. Sun Ce and his family were also implicated, and the imperial seal was stolen.
Soon after, Taishi Ci and Zhang He led their troops to Lujiang County. Yuan Shu was defeated and committed suicide. Sun Ce fled with his family and eventually took refuge with Cao Cao who was entrenched in Kuaiji County.
At the same time, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun defeated Ma Teng and Han Sui. Han Sui died in the chaos. Ma Teng, Ma Chao and his son, and their general Pang De were besieged by Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong. Seeing that they could not break out of the siege, they had to surrender.
In June of the fourth year of Chuping, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong led their troops into Liangzhou and recaptured the Liangzhou tribes by force, and Liangzhou returned to the rule of the imperial court.
The Liangzhou Rebellion ended, Yuan Shu was destroyed, and Liangzhou, Yuzhou, and parts of Yangzhou were recovered by the imperial court.
In July of the fourth year of Chuping, Zhang He led his troops to approach Jingzhou from the east, and Xu Huang led his troops to approach Jingzhou from the north.
Upon seeing this, Liu Biao of Jingzhou brought his eldest son Liu Qi to the capital to pay homage to the emperor, and Jingzhou surrendered without a fight.
Afterwards, the imperial court issued an edict, which was notified to the whole country, abolishing the system of provincial governors and replacing it with the system of inspectors.
At the same time, the court issued an imperial decree to Hanzhong, Yizhou, Jiaozhi, and Cao Cao, who was entrenched in Kuaiji County, asking them to enter Luoyang and pay homage to the emperor...