When the Red Eyebrow Army conquered Chang'an, Liu Xuan was so frightened that he fled. He ran to Gaoling in Fufeng and temporarily stayed at the post station in Gaoling.
The majestic emperor is now reduced to the point where he has to live in a post station. It is both sad and deplorable.
Yan Ben, the captain of Fufeng, led a large group of troops and surrounded the inn where Liu Xuan was staying. He said it was to protect the emperor, but in fact he was putting Liu Xuan under house arrest.
Yan Ben also had his own plan. Now that Liu Xuan came to his own land, once the Red Eyebrow Army attacked and Liu Xuan escaped, the Red Eyebrow Army would take advantage of him, so how could he explain it?
To be on the safe side, it is better to keep Liu Xuan under guard. When the Red Eyebrow Army reaches Fufeng, he can hand Liu Xuan over. Everything will be fine, and maybe he can get a reward from the Red Eyebrow Army.
After the Red Eyebrow Army took control of Chang'an, it stopped for a while, singing, dancing and having fun every night. Although the people of Chang'an were bullied by the Red Eyebrow Army from time to time, this has not become a common situation.
In Luoyang, the Han army led by Wu Han was still besieging Luoyang for two months. Liu Xiu felt that time was almost up, so he sent a letter to Cen Peng, asking Cen Peng to persuade Zhu to surrender.
Among Liu Xiu's subordinates, Cen Peng and Zhu Kun had the best relationship. Cen Peng used to work under Liu, but after Liu was killed, Cen Peng was recruited by Zhu Kun.
Zhu Tuna admired Cen Peng's abilities very much, and later recommended him to be a local captain. Relatively speaking, Cen Peng was able to speak well in front of Zhu Tuna.
In addition, Cen Peng didn't talk much on weekdays, but when he faced the enemy, he often got to the point when he spoke and was very good at attacking people's minds. In Liu Xiu's opinion, the most suitable person to persuade Zhu Tuna to surrender was
Cen Peng.
The person who sent the letter was Long Yuan. Cen Peng read the letter from beginning to end, then rolled it up, put it aside, looked at Long Yuan, and asked: "Long Jun, I have something to ask you."
Long Yuan smiled and said: "General Cen, if you have anything to say, just say it!"
Cen Peng asked cautiously: "Your Majesty wants to summon Zhu Tuna to surrender. How much of it is true and how much of it is false?"
Zhu Kun was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of Liu Xuan as emperor, and was one of the masterminds behind Liu Xuan's death. Even if the relationship between Liu Xiu and Zhu Kun is described as irreconcilable, it is not an exaggeration.
Now Cen Peng is really curious as to whether His Majesty's call for Zhu Tuna's surrender was an expedient measure or whether he was sincere.
Long Yuan was silent for a moment and said meaningfully: "Yuan dare not speculate on the holy will, but Yuan has heard His Majesty say many times that among Liu Xuan's ministers, Zhu Changshu is the one who is truly worthy of being called a Han minister."
Zhu Tuna was able to resist the temptation of being crowned king, stick to the principles in his heart, and refuse to accept Liu Xuan's proposal to be crowned king. Based on this alone, Zhu Tuna was full of praise for Liu Xiu.
After hearing this, Cen Peng looked thoughtful. Long Yuan glanced at Cen Peng and said: "Your Majesty made a huge promise before he ascended the throne. Now that you are the emperor, you are even more eloquent. Your Majesty's promise will definitely not be fulfilled."
Fake!"
Hearing this, Cen Peng quickly stood up, bowed deeply to Long Yuan, and said: "It's Peng who failed to understand the holy meaning. Please don't blame Mr. Long!"
Long Yuan smiled, cupped his hands and said, "General Cen, I want to return to Gaoyi to resume my duties, so I won't stay any longer."
"I'll send you off to Lord Long!" Long Yuan didn't have a specific official position, but he was one of the most important confidants around Liu Xiu. No one in the whole army dared to despise Long Yuan, including the Grand Sima Wu Han.
"General Cen, you're welcome. Please stay."
Cen Peng sent Long Yuan away, and then went to the Chinese military tent to discuss the matter with Wu Han. If Zhu Kun was willing to surrender, Wu Han would certainly accept it, but the problem was that it would be too dangerous for Cen Peng to persuade him to surrender.
He wandered back and forth in the camp. After walking for a while, he stopped, looked at Cen Peng, and asked: "General Cen, do you think Zhu Tuna will surrender?"
Cen Peng thought for a while and said: "He has no other choice but to surrender."
Wu Han said without concern: "If Zhu Kun has evil intentions when General Cen goes to persuade him to surrender, General Cen's situation will be in danger."
Cen Peng said: "Da Sima is worrying too much! Zhu Kun and I are old acquaintances, and we got along well before. Although our positions are different now, I believe that Zhu Kun will not harm me."
Wu Han thought over and over again and asked: "General Cen must think carefully! Now our army has been besieging Luoyang for more than two months. In a few months, Luoyang City will definitely run out of food. General Cen does not need to take this risk now."
Cen Peng said sternly: "Once Luoyang is out of food and is forced to do nothing, Zhu Jun can only lead his troops out of the city to fight. With more than 200,000 enemy troops, even if our army can win, the casualties will be huge. If Zhu Jun can be persuaded to surrender,
, our army not only conquered Luoyang without a single blow, but also added more than 200,000 troops, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone!"
Wu Han smiled bitterly and took a deep look at Cen Peng. If he could successfully persuade Zhu Tuna to surrender, he would kill two birds with one stone. But what he was worried about was that Cen Peng was like a meat bun beating a dog, and he would never come back.
Seeing that Wu Han was still worried about his own safety, Cen Peng said cheerfully: "Da Sima, if I am not completely sure, I will not take the risk."
After pondering for a while, Wu Han finally nodded and said seriously: "Okay! General Cen is going to persuade Zhu Tuna to surrender this time, and I will personally supervise the formation for General Cen!"
Wu Han led 50,000 Han troops and headed straight for the east city of Luoyang. There was a movement of the Han troops outside the city, and the defenders immediately reported the news to Zhu Kun. Zhu Kun hurried to the gate tower of the east city and raised his eyes.
Looking outside.
I saw the enemy troops outside the city, forming a neat phalanx, slowly advancing towards Luoyang. Zhu Jun's face changed and he ordered: "Command the soldiers, prepare to fire arrows!"
Following his order, the archers on the city wall bent their bows and set arrows, and the ordinary soldiers also picked up their crossbows, preparing to meet the enemy's siege.
However, when the enemy troops outside the city were still a hundred steps away from Luoyang, they stopped one after another. Not long after, a horseman ran out of the Han army camp and headed straight for the city gate.
People looked puzzled and looked at Zhu Tuna. Zhu Tuna squinted his eyes and looked at the enemy general running towards him. He raised his hand and said, "Don't shoot the arrow yet!"
When the visitor was only thirty steps away from the Luoyang city wall, an arrow flew down from the top of the city and nailed to the ground with a snap.
The general on the horse pulled the reins and stopped the horse. He looked up at the city gate tower in front and shouted: "Where is General Zhu Tuna? I'm Cen Peng Cen Junran!"
Hearing the shouts from outside, Zhu Tuna couldn't help but take two steps forward. He held the arrow stack in his hand and took a closer look. Sure enough, the person who ran to the city was really Cen Peng.
He was shocked and said to the left and right: "Give me the order. No one is allowed to shoot arrows without my order!"
The generals in the city gate tower conveyed Zhu Kun's order. Zhu Kun poked his head out of the city gate tower and said, "Jun Ran comes forward and speaks!"
Cen Peng shook the reins, rode his war horse, and moved forward slowly. Not long after, he came to the moat of Luoyang. He raised his head and looked at the red tuna on the top of the city, feeling complicated and filled with emotions.
Zhu Kun killed Liu, which is why Cen Peng hated Zhu Kun, but after Zhu Kun took him in, he took good care of him and recommended him to go to the local area to become the captain of a county. This is why he was grateful to Zhu Kun.
place.
He took a deep breath, raised his hands and said, "General Zhu, I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing?"
Zhu Tuna's face darkened and he asked: "Cen Peng, do you still have the nerve to see me now?"
Cen Peng smiled and said: "Peng Kuang supported the Han Dynasty and followed the emperor of the Han Dynasty, so why did he have the shame to come to see General Zhu?"
Zhu Kun said angrily: "Liu Xiu usurped the throne..."
"When His Majesty ascended the throne, Chang'an had been occupied by Zhang and other rebels, and the emperor's life and death were unknown. A country cannot live without a king for a day. Your Majesty, under the advice of his ministers, ascended to the throne in the 95th year. How could there be any talk of usurping the throne?!
"
For a moment, Zhu Tuna was speechless by Cen Peng.
In fact, until now, he still hasn't figured out what Zhang, Hu Yin and others were doing in Chang'an, and why they suddenly rebelled and gave up the great country they had finally conquered.
Cen Peng said meaningfully: "General Zhu, now that Chang'an has been captured by the Red Eyebrows, what is General Zhu planning to do? Do you want to be loyal to the Red Eyebrows?"
Zhu Tuna said angrily with a gloomy face: "I will never be loyal to the red-browed traitor!" wavv
"But with just an isolated city in Luoyang, General Zhu may not be able to save himself?!" After a pause, Cen Peng added: "Don't talk about counterattacking Chang'an, even the current danger of being trapped is difficult to resolve with General Zhu alone!
ah!"
Zhu Tuna subconsciously clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and said, "Cen Peng, are you here to tease me today?"
Cen Peng said seriously: "No! I'm here to show General Zhu a clear path!"
Zhu Kun frowned and asked, "Can you give me some guidance?"
"Surrender to Your Majesty!"
Zhu Kun was stunned for a moment before he realized who His Majesty he was talking about. Zhu Jun chuckled lightly at first, then smiled, then turned into a laugh on his back.
He suspected that Cen Peng was crazy and wanted to surrender to Liu Xiu himself, and he vowed to show him a clear path.
Doesn't he know that he was one of the culprits who murdered Liu? Liu Xiu may accept the surrender of others, but he will never accept his own surrender. If he surrenders, there will only be one end, and that is death.
Zhu Jun's laughter at this time was an angry laugh. After laughing for a while, he stopped laughing and said word by word: "Cen Peng, when you were my subordinate, I treated you well."
.”
"Peng Youming remembers."
"But you came to harm me today!"
Cen Peng asked in confusion: "Why did General Zhu say this?"
Zhu Kun said angrily: "You, Cen Peng, don't know about the grudge between me and Liu Xiu? You are urging me to surrender to Liu Xiu today. If you are not here to harm me, what are you?"
Cen Peng smiled calmly and said: "General Zhu uses the heart of a villain to judge the heart of a gentleman!"
When Zhu Tuna heard this, his nose was almost crooked with anger. He was about to get angry and scold Cen Peng, who continued: "General Zhu thinks that such a big matter is decided by Peng alone? Without His Majesty's will, how could Peng dare to come and persuade General Zhu?"
, to work together for a great cause?”
Hearing this, Zhu Kun couldn't help but be startled. In this way, Cen Peng came to persuade him to surrender today on Liu Xiu's order. But he was one of the culprits who killed Liu, and the person who murdered Liu Xiu was Liu Xiu's eldest brother. He really
Are you willing to accept your own surrender and tolerate your own existence?
The more Zhu Kun thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. There must be fraud. He took a deep breath and said decisively: "Cen Peng, go back and tell Liu Xiu that even if I, Zhu Kun, fight to the death, I will never surrender to Liu Xiu!"
Cen Peng had already thought that Zhu Tuna would say this, and he said slowly: "That's why I say that General Zhu uses the heart of a villain to judge the heart of a gentleman!"
Zhu Tuna frowned and stared at Cen Peng without speaking. Cen Peng continued: "Perhaps General Zhu has never understood your Majesty's character!"
"Cen Peng, please speak clearly!" Zhu Kun said angrily.
