After all, Tao Qian took office with great ambition. He was born in a frontier place like Danyang and was fond of martial arts since he was a child. He was extremely willing to do such an errand as the Western Expedition to Liangzhou... Not to mention, the Yellow Turbans had previously suppressed the rebellion.
After that, countless heroes were promoted. Not only were the three main heroes each awarded the title of general, but their respective subordinates also completed their career transitions.
And with Tao Qian's qualifications, if he makes a small achievement during this expedition, he will definitely enjoy a large county when he comes back. And if he can make a big contribution, he will not be able to win both the counties.
However, Tao Gongzu was so satisfied that he went all the way south. As soon as he arrived in Luoyang at the end of June, he heard the news that the imperial court was creating a large number of marquises...but it was not for him, but for the twelve ministers.
As the saying goes, those who have a marquis will be added to the household, and those who do not have a marquis will be replaced. Among the twelve regular servants, none of them are now available, so they are known as the Twelve Marquises!
What's the reason? The answer is that he had meritorious service in conquering the Yellow Turbans last year... According to the rules of the Han Dynasty, no one can be made a marquis except for military merit.
Of course, it was rumored among the people in Luozhong that this was a reward given by the emperor for their merit in building a nude swimming pool for the emperor to escape the summer heat. According to more rumors, the emperor said bluntly when he went in for the summer vacation on the first day.
about:
"If this happens for thousands of years, it will really be comparable to a god!"
However, this news is unclear, not everyone can go to the harem, maybe it is just a rumor... More evidence shows that the plan of Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others to make money for the emperor has achieved certain results, and a large amount of money has been made.
They entered Luoyang from the prefectures and counties, and finally gathered in Xiyuan, which made the emperor extremely satisfied.
A clear proof is that the emperor took the initiative to ask Da Si Nong to move the money, silk and silk in the official treasury under his control to Xiyuan Hall, and named it Wanjin Hall... Although it is not clear what the meaning of this waste of manpower is,
But it is said that the emperor found it very pleasing to the eye after seeing it, and he was very satisfied.
The imperial court is fighting a war, and the emperor is amassing money... Just think that he is amassing money for the country, let's not mention it for the moment. But what on earth does it mean to confer marquisships on twelve eunuchs in the name of Ping Huangjin?! Tao Gongzu has ten thousand
Dissatisfied.
You must know that after the Yellow Turban was defeated that day, the whole country, that is, a few chastity-minded commanders, gave rewards based on titles, and further down, such as Guo Dian, who was a marquis after his death... But now, twelve eunuchs
, what on earth did you do to be granted a title of marquis just for your military merits?! If you really want to be granted the title of marquis, how will those captains, lieutenants, Fu Xie who served as the councilor in the court, Cao Cao who returned home, and the several prefects who died for the country take turns?
It’s not the turn of these twelve eunuchs, right?
Therefore, not only Tao Qian is dissatisfied, but also all the military personnel in the world are dissatisfied!
In fact, some people have put the emperor's action together with the previous increase of gifts, saying that the increase of gifts was a breach of trust by the emperor to the people, while the granting of a prince this time was a breach of trust by the emperor to the scholars.
However, the military affairs on the front line were urgent. Tao Qian did not have time to join his former colleagues in scolding the eunuchs for ruining the country, so he hurriedly hung up the seal and ribbon of his Yangwu Commandery, took his subordinates, and hurried to the west of Chang'an to join Huangfu Song.
.
However, in mid-July, when Tao Gongzu worked hard to lead his troops to Fufeng, he received another blow - it turned out that the leader of his expedition, General Huangfu Song of the Zuo Chariot and Cavalry, had been dismissed because of the locust plague!
Not only was he dismissed, he also took away the seal and ribbon of his left chariot and cavalry general, and also reduced his title. The county marquis became a rural marquis again, and the eight thousand households became 600. Huangfu Song went home to retire with only one title.
...In this situation, I can only say that Gongsun Xun and Zhu Jun were really foresighted. They did not reduce their titles no matter what, especially Gongsun Xun, who had avoided the hot-handed cavalry general at the beginning.
You can also hang a general's seal and farm at home.
Of course, there are rumors in the army that the emperor no longer wants Huangfu Song to be his commander in order to avoid having too much power; or it is like the legend in Luozhong that Huangfu Song impeached Zhao Zhong for exceeding the regulations. , triggering revenge... The only certainty is that the former Yellow Turban heroes, either actively or passively, coincidentally or deliberately, have now been hidden by the court; at the same time, the power of the eunuchs has risen again, completely controlling the court situation!
But no matter what, the Western Expedition was imminent, and Tao Gongzu, who was already angry about the situation, waited in Chang'an for a month, and finally waited for the main force of the imperial court.
Sikong Zhang Wen was given the chariot and cavalry general seal because Huangfu Song was deposed and Zhu Jun kept his filial piety and became the commander-in-chief of the army; Zhi Jinwu and Yuan Pang were the deputy commanders; Dong Zhuo, the general of Lang, was appointed as the general who broke the captives; Zhou, the governor of Yuzhou, was appointed. Shen was the general of the bandits; he also ordered Fufeng, Hedong, and Liangzhou prefectures and governors along the way to allocate and dispatch two thousand stones... Of course, Yangwu Captain Tao Qian, as an old kinsman of Huangfu Song, was also included in it; at the same time, Zhao Qi, a famous scholar from Kansai who had been imprisoned by the party for more than ten years, was also promoted to the chariot general's house as a long history.
Finally, including Sun Jian who was stationed in Nanyang and other elite soldiers from various counties and states, as well as the five schools of the Northern Army who had specifically eliminated those who had contributed to the Yellow Turbans in the past, as well as the knights of Xiliang and Sanhe, the whole army was huge, with nearly ten thousand people. All the way out of Kansai.
In late August, the army was assembled, and commander Zhang Wen took Fufeng Meiyang as his base camp and began to put down the Xiliang rebellion.
Meiyang is located at a three-way intersection, which leads to Hanyang County of Liangzhou to the west, Anding County of Liangzhou to the north, and behind it is the Weihe Plain, which is the heart of Guanzhong... so there must be no place. Wrong choice.
However, after a series of internal political struggles, Han Sui and Bian Zhang, who gradually gained command of the rebels, showed no intention of being intimidated by the 100,000 imperial army. They actually mobilized on a large scale and united the Xianbei, Qiang, Zahu, and A hundred thousand people were gathered together, and then they took the initiative to lead the army along the west road. The two sides faced off in Meiyang.
Moreover, in repeated battles, the imperial court was defeated.
One more thing to say here is that Sun Wentai, who has always been indomitable, suffered a big loss this time. Shortly after the war, he led more than a thousand cavalry to encounter the main force of the rebels in the north of Meiyang. Not to mention that the entire army was beaten and annihilated. Tiger himself almost died in the battle, and after being rescued by his subordinates at the risk of his own life, he found that he had lost all his official seals. Fortunately, the war was critical, and no one wanted to punish him, but he was only allowed to be a counselor in military affairs and was not allowed to lead the army independently.
Of course, the imperial court is still confident after all. Not only are the sergeants on Zhang Wen's side more elite than those on the opposite side, but the quality and quantity of the generals are also much higher than those on the opposite side, such as Han Sui and others. As for being backed by the Wei River, the logistics and supplies are much better. They were much better than those miscreants... So, after a month of fighting, I saw various miscreants in the rebel army gradually getting separated due to logistical problems, and went to Zuofengyi, Hedong and other counties to plunder. The main force of the army was getting smaller and smaller, so Zhang Wen finally accepted the suggestion and divided the troops to face each other.
One way is for Zhao Qi, leading troops out of the north road to Anding, trying to contact the loyal Han forces who are still guarding the city in Liangzhou, and sweeping away the miscellaneous Hus who invade Hedong, and Feng Yi from the left; all the way for Dong Zhuo, leading troops from the right Fufeng walked along the south bank of the Wei River, trying to catch the rebels from flanking them.
By the way, the road to the north is far away, and Zhao Qi himself is almost eighty, so it is difficult to obtain obvious results for a while; but Dong Zhongying has experienced hundreds of battles, and this time he fought in Kansai, which he is familiar with, and also fought with the locals.
Fufeng Prefect Bao Hong cooperated well, so this journey was almost a success!
As soon as the two sides fought, Dong Zhuo, who led the army independently, defeated Han Sui, Bian Zhang and other rebels and retreated steadily! It is said that Li Jue and Guo Si were particularly outstanding. Dong Zhuo's chief historian Liu Ai even openly took the entire army in the army.
Sun Jian, who had been defeated, came out to make comparisons. The so-called flattering two and stepping on one... made Sun Jian the laughing stock of the army for a time.
The war turned around. Next, Zhang Wen led his army behind and Dong Zhuo in front. He followed the western route where the rebels had marched and fought in succession. He drove the enemy like sheep. Within one month, he actually defeated Han Sui and Bian Zhang.
These rebels were driven all the way back to Liangzhou.
But the good things for the Han army were not over yet. Just when Han Sui and Bian Zhang stabilized their positions on the border between Liangzhou and Sili and prepared to continue the confrontation, that night, something magical happened to the rebel camp.
.
"Bian Gong." Outside the Chinese army's tent, Li Wenhou's face was almost pale. "What is this?!"
"Mr. Bian, Mr. Han, you two must make up your mind on this matter." Beigong Boyu, who was born in Huangzhong Yi Cong, also had no master.
"Wen Yue, this...how do you say this?" Bian Zhang's hands were trembling and he looked up at the sky in shock, but he was helpless.
Han Sui's face turned pale and he was speechless. Even Cheng Gongying beside him, who was always known for his calmness, also looked frightened to the point of being at a loss.
It was already dark, but no one in the rebel army fell asleep. They all came out of the camp and looked at the sky speechless.
It turns out that in the night sky in November, there are countless shooting stars, like rain, and such beautiful scenery is a terrifying celestial phenomenon to Han Sui, Bian Zhang, and even tens of thousands of Liangzhou rebels... They are not afraid
Swordsmen are not afraid of life and death, but they are afraid of divine punishment!
"I……"
Just as Han Sui was about to say a few words of encouragement, suddenly, a bright starlight slid across the sky and disappeared in an instant. This bright light not only alarmed the mules and horses in the army, but also caused bursts of neighing sounds in the army.
The army was completely at a loss, and Han Sui and Bian Zhang, who had studied classics and were extremely superstitious, instinctively thought of the past events of Liu Xiu, the founder of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Guangwu.
"Let's go!" Bian Zhang couldn't hold it anymore. "Let's go! This is a sign that the destiny of the Han Dynasty is still alive. If you insist on staying and fighting, I'm afraid that like Wang Mang's army in the Kunyang battle, they will end up in pieces.
The consequences of not staying alive."
"But, where are we going?" Han Sui looked at the chaotic military camp and his mind went blank. "Isn't Liangzhou behind?"
"Go to Jincheng County." Beigong Boyu on the side heard the words "Pian Jia Ba Bu" and gritted his teeth quickly. "The terrain there is already difficult, and we originally raised our troops from Jincheng County, and Jujun was there.
They are all our people, even if it is a divine punishment, it is just because God does not want us to fight in Chang'an, right? What if we get home?"
"Where are the rest of the Qiang people who finally gathered together?" Han Sui was still a little reluctant to give up. A month ago, they still had an army of 100,000. They fought against the Han army and won many battles. Han Wenyue even made a plan to go to court to execute him.
It is a dream to be an eunuch, to be sealed as a general, and then Huangfu Song, Gongsun Xun and others will bow before him.
"Let them each return to their own county." Cheng Gongying reluctantly advised. "Jincheng is barren. Even if we fight in the county, we can only raise 20,000 soldiers at most."
Han Sui was helpless, and so were the rest of the people... Until now, the rebellion still felt a bit forced and coerced at the beginning, but at this time they had already been supported by their tens of thousands of troops to develop their personal ambitions. Who is not doing something now?
What about those big spring and autumn dreams? But the more they were like this, the more frightened and helpless they became looking at the sky where meteors were still constantly coming.
In the final analysis, it is not just the limitations of the times, nor is it just ignorance, the more important point is that this group of Liangzhou people, like most people in the world, still think that the big man is the one with destiny, and they themselves
They are rebels and bandits! Religious lunatics like Zhang Jiao are still in the minority.
In fact, on the other side, the vanguard of the Han army who was blocked by the rebels in Liangzhou and Wuyue Mountain on the Sili border saw the sky full of shooting stars but their morale was greatly boosted. They all believed that this was a sign of the destiny of the Han Dynasty.
As a result, Dong Zhuo, the commander of the vanguard and the Polu general, made an immediate decision and immediately invited his deputy, Bao Hong, the governor of Fufeng County.
The two hit it off immediately and decided to send troops overnight.
In this battle, the morale of the Han army was high, but the rebels were about to flee and had no intention of fighting. Therefore, as soon as the two sides engaged in battle, the rebels fled and the battle quickly degenerated into a pursuit battle...not to mention
Dong Zhuo and Bao Hong beheaded thousands of people before the battle. More importantly, the rebels withdrew quickly. The Qiang people turned around and returned to their own counties. Only more than 20,000 rebels were left in the main force and they returned to Jincheng in panic.
, and defended Yuzhong City, the gateway to Jincheng County. Correspondingly, Hanyang County, the easternmost and most central part of Liangzhou, was fully recovered in an instant. Zhang Wen also personally led the army into Hanyang, and then stationed in Jicheng, the capital of Hanyang County.
So far, it can be said that the Han army's counter-insurgency operation has been successful for eight points, while the Liangzhou rebels are correspondingly in a desperate situation.
At this time, Sikong and Cavalry General Zhang Wen also formally gathered the generals in Jicheng to discuss the next march strategy and prepare to completely wipe out the Liangzhou rebellion.
Hundreds of thousands of people, in the halls, in the palaces, and at one time two thousand stones, more than a thousand stones, more than a hundred people, all sat in line and listened to orders? Zhang Wen was also very satisfied, and walked in with his beard stroked.
However, as soon as he took his seat, before all the generals could pay homage, there was a strong man in the first position on the left making a loud noise: "Sikong, why do you need to do this extra thing and waste time by gathering people in vain? I handled it well on the front line, please do it again
With my 20,000 troops and 50,000 troops, attack directly on Jincheng and Liangzhou will be leveled!"
Zhang Wen was furious for a moment, but he saw that the person speaking was Dong Zhuo, who had made great achievements. He was also a rough man and had never studied... How could he argue with him? He just ignored him and sat there with a straight face.
Arriving at the first seat
Unexpectedly, since Dong Zhuo defeated the Yellow Turban last year, he has been unlucky in many wars and was even imprisoned for a time. This time he was so proud and proud, but after all, he was a little careless and naturally a little more arrogant, so he kept talking in public and even left the meeting directly.
In the hall, he praised his merits with the generals and said:
"According to me, if 20,000 soldiers can't fight with me, my 30,000 troops are not impossible, but I need 20,000 soldiers as backup... It's not that I'm afraid of war, but I visited Jincheng many times when I was young, so I know
The terrain, as long as we cut off the rebels' food route and capture Yuzhong, then..."
Dong Zhuo was unscrupulous and gesticulating. Everyone looked at each other and looked at Zhang Wen. They found that although Zhang Wen's face turned pale, he actually didn't interrupt the other party. So they thought that the other party had the same opinion as Dong Zhuo, so they really listened.
Dong Zhongying said his plan was gone.
But on the other side, the senior officers who had been following Zhang Wen in the Chinese Army all knew that Dong Zhuo's words were not what Zhang Wen meant at all, and were even the opposite. The reason why this cavalry general could tolerate Dong Zhuo's arrogance was not
Because he has a broad mind, not because he respects the other party's military exploits, but because he doesn't dare to do it.
It should be noted that Zhang Wen is a typical bureaucrat. On the one hand, his attainments in Confucian classics have not been compromised. On the other hand, he has never been aggressive with eunuchs. He is willing to pay for promotion. In addition, he was recruited by Cao Cao in his early years.
His grandfather Cao Teng valued him and promoted him, so he was reluctantly recognized by the scholars and eunuchs at the same time as the cavalry general and commander.
However, this kind of person is destined to be a person who cannot be relied on... He was worshiped as a general of chariots and cavalry in Luoyang. When he was preparing for the Western Expedition, a celebrity he deliberately recruited persuaded him to take the opportunity to kill him. He was so scared that he almost lost his mind.
No more; before in Meiyang, Dong Zhuo was quite confident about becoming the head coach after Huangfu Song left, so he was very unhappy with Zhang Wen. He was quite rude when he met with him at that time. At that time, Sun Jian suggested that Zhang Wen immediately
He killed Dong Zhuo to establish his authority, but Zhang Wen was also frightened.
It’s not that it’s really time to kill the eunuch at this time, nor that it’s really possible to kill Dong Zhuo as soon as he arrives in Meiyang to establish his authority, but the question is, isn’t this a war? As the commander of an army, you can decide matters of life and death. How can you not?
What about Stop He Xini? Seeing that he was unwilling to be punished, the famous scholar wanted to take medicine and commit suicide, but was persuaded to go down and live in seclusion. Sun Jian advised him not to kill Dong Zhuo, but he should also deal with Sun Jian if he didn't kill Dong Zhuo, but he just advised Sun Jian to go back quickly and don't do it.
Make Dong Zhuo suspicious.
This kind of person is destined to be unconvincing as the commander of an army.
After Dong Zhuo finished speaking, he turned around and seemed to remember that Zhang Wen was the cavalry general, so he formally bowed his head and asked for battle: "Please Sikong and my 20,000 troops, we will put an end to this chaos within two months!"
Zhang Wen couldn't help but sigh: "General Polu, please be patient. As for sending troops, you have already made a decision before... There are other choices for those who will go to Yuzhong."
"Who?" Dong Zhuo was furious.
"I!"
Zhou Shen, the bandit general sitting in the first place on Zhang Wen's right, raised his sword and stood up. He asked solemnly, "With a hundred thousand troops going out, does General Polu want to monopolize the victory?"
Dong Zhuo, who had been arrogant because of his winning streak before, hesitated to speak, but instantly calmed down... because this bandit general Zhou Shen was not a bastard, not to mention that he was almost the same as Dong Zhongying, the so-called bandit general.
Polu, they are parallel at first sight; and their qualifications are similar, Zhou Shen was also the governor of Yuzhou, he was over forty years old; more importantly, this person came from a famous family in Liangzhou, not to mention that he was a native of Liangzhou.
, but his family background is much higher than his!
"Do you want to make a meritorious service, General Dang Kou?" Dong Zhuo was depressed for a while, but he finally suppressed his anger and asked.
"I am trying to eliminate the bandits from my hometown." Zhou Shen couldn't help but add another sentence. "Dong Gong, you have been working hard after fighting continuously."
Dong Zhuo calmed down and laughed, but he couldn't help it, so he went back to the table. As expected, with Zhang Wen's statement and Zhou Shen's initiative, everyone in the audience was more inclined to have a higher family background.
The bandit general Zhou Shen went to attack the main force of the Han army in Yuzhong.
"That's the case." Dong Zhuo saw this and tried to smile again. "So what if I lead 20,000 troops to provide backup for the generals who are attacking the bandits?"
"It doesn't have to be like this." Zhang Wen, the superior, suddenly said kindly. "In the past, many gentlemen came to my tent to ask for battle, but now I feel that you should all share some of the credit, plus the expedition, money, food, and labor.
There are countless of them, and it’s difficult to support them from the rear... Therefore, I thought of an excellent idea."
Dong Zhuo rarely had heart palpitations.
"I want to divide our troops into six groups and defeat Xiliang in one battle." Zhang Wen took action on several cases and announced loudly and proudly. "General Dang Kou can lead 30,000 troops to Yuzhong to deal with Han Sui.
, the two thieves of Bianzhang."
"My subordinates take orders!" Zhou Shen took the initiative to step out of the queue and respectfully accepted the order.
"General Polu, your headquarters remains unchanged at 30,000 troops. You might as well lead troops to Anding County in the north to overthrow the Xianling Qiang who had separated from the rebels before!" Zhang Wenfu looked at Dong Zhuo kindly. "Then let Zhao Gong and Tao Gong.
Lord, they will each lead ten thousand people, and then go to Beidi, Wudu and other places..."
Hearing this, Dong Zhuo finally became furious: "Why did Sikong make a fool of the military? Is this something that anyone who can see has a share in? Don't talk about anything else, just talk about the Qiang who have lived in peace and stability for many years. They have deep roots and people."
With so many people, even if 30,000 people go to conquer it, it may not be effective. But if we can quickly sweep Yuzhong and destroy the rebels, we can easily recruit them to surrender..."
"That's the case." Zhang Wen finally became impatient. "General Zhou led 30,000 people to destroy Han Sui. After Bian Zhang, General Dong went to recruit surrender... Why did he keep losing his temper? There were only 20,000 remaining rebels in front of him.
, are you the only one who can destroy them?"
Dong Zhuo wanted to speak again, but he saw Zhou Shen standing there, holding his sword and looking at him, but he had nothing to say.
————I am the dividing line holding the knife and watching with disdain————
"In November, there was a shooting star like fire at night, reflecting the bandits' camp. Han Sui and Bian Zhang all looked ominous and returned to Jincheng. Dong Zhuo, right Fufeng, Bao Hong and others attacked Zhang with their troops, and then they defeated Zhang. Then they left for Yu.
