Zhen Jiang said with a smile: "It makes you stand out from the crowd and makes you more famous when we meet."
Liu Xiang was very happy. Even a man would be happy to be praised by a beautiful woman. Just when he wanted to be humble, Zhen Yi hurried into the plum garden and shouted loudly from a distance: "Your Majesty, the imperial court has issued an edict. The situation is urgent."
For Zhen Yi to be so rude, it shows that something is serious. It's almost the twelfth lunar month, what can happen?
Liu Xiang frowned and said goodbye to Zhen Jiangxing: "I'm busy with business and have little time to spare. I'll take my leave now."
"Congratulations to the envoy."
Liu Xiang quickly met Zhen Yi and asked, "Does Mr. Zhen know what is going on?"
"I don't know the details, but Guang Luxun sent someone to escort him, and Huangmen Shilang passed the order, which shows that the matter is not trivial."
It's a blessing, not a curse. It's a curse that cannot be avoided. Listen to the imperial edict first and then talk about it.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Guang Luxun was in charge of the palace guards, the Huben Army, and the Yulin Army. Huangmen Shilang was a close servant of the emperor, not a eunuch.
I had received an edict from the imperial court before and only sent a visitor. This time the edict was escorted by Mr. Habayashi and read out by Mr. Huangmen. As expected, the matter was not trivial.
The imperial edict ordered Liu Xiang to serve as a general and recruit 3,000 sudden cavalrymen to serve under the general Zhang Wen. They must rush to Longguan before the first day of March next year. Those who fail to do so will be killed.
Along with the edict, there was also a letter from Huangfu Song, which solved Liu Xiang's doubts.
In early November, Zhang Wen led his army to repel the Liangzhou rebels. The leader of the rebels, Han Suihuo, and other rebel leaders retreated to Yuzhong County in Jincheng County.
The Han army's cavalry was insufficient in combat strength, so Zhang Wen proposed to mobilize Youzhou's sudden cavalry to quell the rebellion, so Huangfu Song recommended Liu Xiang as a general.
The edict and military symbols arrived first, and the money and grain followed up.
Going to Liangzhou?
There are mixed pros and cons.
By sending troops according to the imperial edict, he truly entered the system of senior generals of the Han Dynasty, but the risk of leaving Youzhou was very high.
If he disobeys the decree, his previous efforts to change his identity will be in vain and will lead to an expedition by the imperial army.
To go or not to go? That's the hard question.
He only had more than three months to lead his troops to the west for more than 2,000 miles, and there was not much time for him to think about it.
"Invoke the generals to discuss matters." Liu Xiang was undecided and wanted to hear the opinions of the military lieutenant general.
When everyone arrived, the imperial edict was circulated around.
Cui Yi couldn't understand, so Guan Yu read it to him. After listening to it, he said impatiently: "My lord, don't pay attention to the people in the court. I grew up in Beidi County. Liangzhou is a poor place. It's okay not to go there."
Only fools go there to eat sand."
Zhao Yun had a different opinion: "If you fail to comply with the imperial edict, the world will look at you and your lord's reputation will be greatly damaged. The imperial court will definitely send troops to conquer. It is difficult to resist in this corner of Youzhou."
"Come just come, don't worry about it." Cui Yi didn't care.
Liu Xiang raised his hand to stop him, looked at the others and said, "Tell me what you think, speak freely, don't worry."
Yan Gang said: "General Qi, I think it's better to go. Let's go there with the cavalry, walk around for a while and then come back. This doesn't count as resisting the order, right? Let's go anyway."
Several other people also spoke one after another. Some suggested going to quell the rebellion and perform meritorious service, some suggested perfunctorily returning, and some suggested staying in Youzhou.
There are different opinions, but there are more people who want to go to Liangzhou. The mainstream voice is to just deal with it and avoid the charge of disobeying the decree.
None of the three parties could convince anyone, and soon they all started to quarrel.
Liu Xiang knocked on the table, stopped everyone's quarrel, and said to Tian Chou: "Send a message to Gong Qichou, the commander of Huwuhuan School who is stationed in Shanggu County, and ask him to dispatch two thousand cavalry to Zhuo County to obey orders, otherwise it will be
If he resists the decree, our army will send troops to destroy him."
Shanggu County is a subordinate of Youzhou. Theoretically speaking, Liu Xiang has the authority to govern, but the power of the governor is not great. But now that he has the great interests of the court, he doesn't care whether he goes to Liangzhou or not. He will use the imperial edict to take advantage first.
It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.
Everyone was stunned. Aren't we discussing whether we should go to Liangzhou? What does it have to do with Gu County?
You can still play like this, it’s a great experience.
Cui Yi laughed loudly and suggested: "How about we fight over them? Just say that they resisted the decree and were disrespectful. They killed Gao Yan and Gong Qichou directly. They have long been displeased with Gu County."
Taishi Ci went out to ask for orders: "General, I am willing to be a vanguard and march into the upper valley to annihilate the enemy chieftains."
"It's freezing cold now. It's not the time to send out troops. Let's see Gong Qichou's reaction first. As for the matter in Liangzhou, let me think about it carefully. You all return to your headquarters and train the soldiers. Don't slack off."
"General, I will obey the order." Everyone bowed and left.
Zhen Yi considered his words and said: "Your Majesty, this is a good opportunity. If we send troops according to the imperial decree, the title of General of the Han Dynasty will be truly worthy of the name. As a clan member of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court will not
Executed without guilt."
Liu Xiang shook his head: "I am leading more than 3,000 horses to the west. It is not difficult to escape. I will not be in too much danger. I am just worried about Youzhou. After traveling more than 2,000 miles, I finally captured the territory.
I’m afraid something might go wrong.”
"There are more than 100,000 troops here. Who dares to make a mistake will cause you to worry too much."
"Let's wait until after the twelfth lunar month. The weather is very cold and it is not the time to mobilize troops."
Liu Xiang carefully considered the pros and cons and decided to obey the imperial edict. Now that the threat of rebels in Liangzhou has been greatly reduced, there are many rebellions in other places, but not many have become popular. The imperial court has been able to mobilize large armies.
You cannot hard top at this time.
Youzhou has received too many people this year and has not yet had time to digest it, and the food reserves are not enough for the war. Only when new grains are harvested this year can we breathe a sigh of relief.
In another two or three years, the reclaimed land will turn into mature fields. By then there will be more than three million people and hundreds of thousands of hectares of fields, and food will no longer be a problem for him.
When Liaodong matures for a season, it will be stable, and people can be dispatched to survey and mine the Anshan Iron Mine and Fushun Coal Mine.
The mineral deposits in various parts of Youzhou have been explored for so long, and the scope is getting smaller and smaller, and the results are about to be released.
Workshops everywhere produce a large amount of output every day, and the output is getting higher and higher.
Cement roads are getting longer and longer, and commerce in various places is becoming more and more prosperous. Dams, canals, irrigation wells, water storage ponds, and more water conservancy projects to irrigate farmland are being built. Coupled with the increase in animal power and the promotion of farmyard manure, the fields
Production is also increasing.
Youzhou is getting stronger every day, and the court is getting weaker every day. The longer it is delayed, the more beneficial it will be.
If the imperial army attacks, even if it wins a few battles, it will fall into endless attrition.
If you cannot develop with peace of mind and cannot accumulate strength, you will eventually be exhausted.
He had to go to Liangzhou, and he had to take the risk. The army had to stay in Youzhou, and he could only lead three thousand barbarians to the west.
The worst case scenario is losing these cavalrymen and escaping back in embarrassment.
As for dying in Liangzhou?
He is not trying his best. He doesn't care whether he can suppress the rebellion or whether he has military merit. If he concentrates on saving his life, he will not have a big problem with surviving.
A man can bend and stretch, but now he needs to be patient.
Without the guidance of a counselor, he could only think over and over again, combined with some historical fragments he still remembered, trying to find a way to go on.
On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Gong Qi Chou wrote a reply, saying that he would like to transfer two thousand cavalry to Liu Xiang's command.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find an excuse to attack Shanggu. He replied and urged that the deadline be one month, and anyone who failed to meet the deadline would be beheaded.
Of course he would not take Gong Qichou's troops to Liangzhou. Wang Xing would wait for them at Juyong Pass, disarm them first, then enter the pass, and then disperse them to various places.