When Zhao Zhong received the news that Guangchengguan had come to announce the good news, he was filled with hatred, but he did not dare to neglect it and carried the news into Xiyuan despite his displeasure.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Great joy!" Zhao Zhong shouted and ran into the West Garden, but he didn't want to ruin Liu Hong's good deeds. At this moment, Liu Hong and Queen He were chatting with each other and had no intention of paying attention to Zhao Zhong. Zhao Zhong could only feel embarrassed. Stand still.
Fortunately, Queen He said: "Your Majesty, let's hear the good news first!"
It stands to reason that the He family is a lineage of foreign relatives and should be at loggerheads with the eunuch party, but at this time Empress He helped Zhao Zhong out of the siege.
On weekdays, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong frequently presented treasures and wealth to Queen He, as well as Queen He's other brother, He Miao. These two people had already been broken up by the eunuchs, and they did not fight to the death with the eunuchs like He Jin did. It is thought that one can coexist with eunuchs.
Liu Hong listened to Queen He's words, gave Queen He a favor, and looked at Zhao Zhong, "What good news?"
"Your Majesty, someone from Guangcheng Pass reported that Zhu Jun, the right middle man, has wiped out the Nanyang Yellow Turbans, and now the army has returned to Guangcheng Pass!"
Liu Hong stood up excitedly, "Okay, okay! Let Zhu Jun come back soon! Hahahaha! Inform the officials and the people!"
"Here!" Zhao Zhong hurried down to carry out the execution, but the unhappiness in his heart became more and more intense. It was obvious that things had turned around. As long as it was delayed for a few more months, the big thing would be accomplished! But he didn't expect that the Nanyang Yellow Turban had been guarding it for half a year, but it happened like this Lost at the critical moment!
Under Zhao Zhong's running, officials at all levels informed the people down one after another, and soon there was a joyful atmosphere in Luoyang City! The people celebrated on the streets one after another, and the officials also entertained each other and drank and had fun.
Inside the Yuan Mansion.
"Uncle! Zhu Jun has conquered Wancheng and has returned to Guangcheng Pass!" As soon as Yuan Shao received the news at the General's Mansion, he rushed back to Yuan Mansion to share the news.
Yuan Wei's hand holding the tea bowl paused, and his face was obviously excited for a moment, and then it disappeared again, "Okay! Very good, this way, as long as the war in the north is over, I don't have to pretend anymore!"
Yuan Shao was also happy. As long as Yuan Wei could come back, his importance and status would increase, and his career would be much smoother.
After receiving the news, Zhu Jun took Sun Jian, Zhang Chao and others directly to Luoyang.
It is already September, and today's court meeting has not yet begun, but there is a bit of noise in front of the palace, and all the officials are rushing to say hello to Zhu Jun, and it can even be said that they are fawning.
Zhu Jun was born in a poor family, and was transferred to Luoyang for his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion in Jiaozhi. It can be said that he was a man of few people, with almost no one to interact with him. Occasionally, he would be visited by people like Lu Zhi who were not affiliated with the party.
Also popular are Zhang Chao and Sun Jian. Zhu Jun has lived for half his life. He has clearly seen these human affairs in Luoyang and responded to them one by one at this moment. Zhang Chao comes from a wealthy family and has been used to forming cliques for personal gain since he was a child. Respond one by one.
Only Sun Jian was a little different. He was a bit straight-tempered. He would ignore officials who had a bad reputation or disliked them, and would only talk to people he knew well or those he liked.
Soon Liu Hong also came to the court, and everyone was silent.
Liu Hong, who was sitting in the upper seat, was looking at His Highness Zhu Jun, and his face almost turned into a flower with a smile. He was so pleased with Zhu Jun that he completely forgot that he had wanted to replace Zhu Jun twice.
"Zhu Jun! You are really a strong general of our Han Dynasty! You should be the first to defeat the three counties this time!" Liu Hong's voice spread throughout the court.
This evaluation was so high that in the eyes of all the officials, the Emperor's meaning was equivalent to listing Zhu Jun as a guard and general of Huo in the Eastern Han Dynasty!
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
I don’t know who took the lead, but all the officials bowed their heads and paid homage.
"Hahahaha!" Liu Hong couldn't stop laughing, "Zhu Jun stepped forward to accept the seal!"
"I'm here!" Zhu Jun stepped out and said.
"Zhu Jun conquered the Yellow Turbans and pacified the three counties. Now he has been granted the title of Marquis of Xixiang! He suppressed the bandits and led the general! His troops remain unchanged and are stationed in the Hanoi area!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Jun originally had a title. When Jiaozhi suppressed the rebellion, he was granted the title of Tinghou. Now he became a township prince and continued to command the army. He was a real and powerful figure, which also represented Liu Hong's trust in him.
"Sun Jian and Zhang Chao, you two followed Zhu Jun and made meritorious service in defeating the thieves. From now on, you will continue to serve in Zhu Jun's army, waiting to be dispatched."
"Here!"
Zhang Chao and Sun Jian were a little disappointed. The emperor gave them almost no rewards, but only retained military power and positions.
The court meeting ended quickly, and Zhu Jun immediately became the protagonist. People kept coming up to congratulate them, while Zhang Chao and Sun Jian were a little lonely. They had not received the reward just now, so the officials naturally would not care about these two minor characters.
In the palace, Cao Cao also witnessed all this. After the Yellow Turbans in Runan were wiped out, he was recalled to Luoyang by Liu Hong. However, he did not get along well with Sun Jian and did not come forward to talk. He only invited Zhang Chao to accompany him.
The news was sent to the north from Luoyang. By the time he caught up with Huangfu Song, he had already reached the border of Wei County in mid-September.
After Huangfu Song received the news, he was also happy for Zhu Jun from the bottom of his heart. The two had fought side by side before and had become close friends. Now seeing his friend become famous, of course he is happy.
However, there was another letter under this letter. After opening it, Huangfu Song was shocked and handed the letter to Liu Jing.
"Abolish the Anping Kingdom and execute King Anping?" This letter made Liu Jing feel uncomfortable. He was also a prince of the Han Dynasty, and the rabbit was dead and the fox was sad.
Anping State is located on the east side of Julu County, and the two counties are adjacent. When the Yellow Turbans first emerged, Anping King Liu Xu was kidnapped by the Yellow Turbans. Later, Anping State redeemed him with enough money and grain.
Liu Hong wanted to restore the feudal state for him, so he proposed this at the court meeting, but was strongly opposed by Yilang Li Xie.
Li Xie believed that Liu Xu, as the Han Dynasty vassal king, not only failed to fulfill the responsibilities that a vassal king should have, but was kidnapped by the Yellow Turban, which really insulted the reputation of the court!
However, there are too few true blood relatives of the clan in the world, and because he believed the eunuch's instigation to destroy King Bohai, Liu Hong still had some unsolved knots in his heart, and he felt a little guilty towards the clan members.
He rejected Li Xie's remonstrance and restored the Anping Kingdom for Liu Xu. Li Xie still wanted to remonstrate, but Liu Hong was annoyed and sent him to Zuoxiao to do hard labor.
The letter did not actually accuse Liu Xu of committing any crime, only that he was accused of "treason and immorality".
Liu Jing was a little unsure of Liu Hong's thoughts. Sometimes he seemed to be tolerant of his clan members, and sometimes he seemed to be killing them on unfounded charges. Such capriciousness made him worry about his own safety.
"Hey..." In the end, all the emotions turned into a long sigh, which strengthened Liu Jing's determination to be independent. He must take his wealth and life into his own hands!
Huangfu Song just patted Liu Jing on the shoulder and said nothing. This was a family matter of the Liu family, and it was definitely not something that Huangfu Song could discuss.
A few days later, the army felt the border of Wei County, far away from Guangzong City.
Over these days, Zhang Jiao was not silent. He organized his soldiers and people to strengthen the Guangzong city wall and built many fortifications outside the city.
Huangfusong looked at the tall Guangzong city wall and the external fortifications, and then he understood why Lu Zhi chose to besiege rather than attack!
If we want to capture Guangzong, there are still tens of thousands of Yellow Turban bandits in the city. Without 30,000 to 50,000 elite soldiers and strong generals, it will be very difficult to capture.
In Guangzong City, a core member of the Yellow Turbans reported to Zhang Jiaohui: "Great Master, another Han army has arrived outside the city, and it looks like there are nearly 20,000 troops!
At this moment, Zhang Jiao was lying on the bed, his face was dull and withered, his eyes were dim, and his breathing seemed a little rapid.
"Cough cough cough!" The continuous coughing was a bit heart-wrenching to hear. The body lying on the bed was shaking violently, as if it could no longer bear the intensity of the cough.
With two equally withered hands, he forced himself to sit up half-way, "Don't panic... They can't break Guangzong City... Just wait for the weather."
After saying these words intermittently, the hearts of the core believers were filled with sadness, "Great Master, please rest quickly! I will do as you say!"
Zhang Jiao nodded and lay back on the bed again.
In the middle of the night, Zhang Jiao passed away quietly. Only the core members of the cult who had been waiting by his side knew about it. He did not dare to make it public because he was afraid that the news would spread and cause turmoil in the army.
Now that a powerful enemy is outside, as soon as this news comes out, the Han army will be mobilized to attack the city on a large scale.
After sealing Zhang Jiao's residence, he called several congregants and sent them to Guangping to secretly notify Zhang Liang in Zhang Jiao's name to come to discuss matters.
Zhang Liang traveled all day and night from Guangping to Guangzong in one day.
When they arrived, they were faced with a cold corpse, and tears burst out of their eyes instantly. The three brothers had not seen each other for three months in total. They each guarded their side and followed Zhang Jue's orders to wait for the weather.
I never imagined that heaven and man would be separated forever!
"Brother!" Zhang Liang cried in front of Zhang Jiao's bed.
The core believers quickly covered his mouth and said, "General Ren Gong! There are a large number of Han troops outside Guangzong City now. It is not appropriate to spread the news about the great virtuous teacher!"
Zhang Liang also stopped talking after hearing this, closed his eyes and secretly felt sad.
After being silent for a long time, Zhang Liang recovered and ordered Zhang Jiao's body to be buried secretly, and he guarded Guangzong City in Zhang Jiao's place!
Huangfu Song and Liu Jing were stationed for several days, but they couldn't find any way to defeat the enemy, so they finally chose the most primitive method, swearing in the street!
The Han army sent a small group of cavalry to the walls of Guangzong City every day and yelled curses no matter how unpleasant they were. As long as the Yellow Turban Army was forced to come out of the city to fight, it would be considered a success.
"Dog, you bastard of a moth thief! As a citizen of the Han Dynasty, you raised an army to fight against the Han Dynasty. You have no regard for the emperor and are disloyal and unjust!"
"Moth thief! Heaven and earth will not tolerate you!"
"I'm just going to be a coward! If you start a rebellion, why don't you dare to go out of the city to fight?"
There were shouts and curses one after another! The people in the city were scolding so hard that their mouths were dry and their tongues were dry, but there was no movement at all on the top of the city tower, as if they didn't hear anything.
"General Ren Gong, the Han army came down below and started yelling and scolding again." A yellow scarf was reporting the situation to Zhang Liang.
"Don't worry about it, let them scold them if they have the strength! If you continue with the order, everyone will pretend that they didn't hear you and are not allowed to leave the city!"