Chapter 594 The situation in Chang'an (two in one)
"What do you think of these two pieces of news?" Bai Tu had already shared the secret report about Wancheng's direct journey to Jinling with other bachelors in the palace.
"The folk rumor is that Liu Xie held a Hongmen Banquet to frame Qi Hou Liu Bei, but Zheng Hou and Sai Hou rescued him, so he attacked Chang'an? Well... Although I know that this possibility is very small, we must pay attention to the reason why 'folks
The rumor is that this is because Zong Zheng's government, including Zong Zheng, is now accusing Liu Xie."
Lu Su doesn't believe any rumors, but he cares about the reasons for the rumors!
This is not a cover-up, but many clan members in the court, including the current Zong Zheng, "support" the news released by Zheng Hou - but the intensity of the support is not clear.
Previously, the Zongzheng in the court was Liu Ai, but later his power was expanded and Liu Ai, who was trusted by Liu Xie, held many positions in the court and the Yulin army, so he resigned as Zongzheng and was replaced by another "reliable" imperial uncle.
He served as Zong Zheng.
Of course, "reliable" refers to Liu Xie's senses. In fact, this reliable uncle had previously expressed support to Liu Bei for his "succession"!
Was he temporarily forced? Or had he secretly communicated with Marquis Zheng for a long time?
Moreover, what is the basis for the cooperation between these clans and Zheng Hou? Are they being bewitched by him, are they relying on Zheng Hou's power to eliminate political opponents, or are they being forced by Zheng Hou?
It's a pity that Bai Tu didn't know that the clan members secretly supported Liu Bei's succession. After all, Liu Bei didn't publicize it everywhere, especially in order to reassure the clan members, he swore not to leak it.
Otherwise, you may be able to guess that these clans are the basis for cooperation with Zheng Hou...or in other words, with Sima Yi!
If you plan to abolish the legislation, but the parties involved do not agree, can you feel at ease as long as you promise them not to leak it?
Obviously these people were still worried, and just when they were on tenterhooks every day, Sima Yi gave them another choice...
He was able to easily break into the city wall because Zhong Yao introduced him to the city gate order, and he was able to blow open the palace gate and easily break into the Chang'an Palace because some of the clan rebelled!
"The second news is obviously not to be believed. Regardless of whether Liu Xie is dead or not, if Liu Bei is really taken into custody by Zheng Hou, whether it is to contain Qing Xu and Long You, or to make a fake show, all the previous
There is no need to declare to the public that the rescue failed." Yu Fan frowned at the information.
Indeed, if the two news channels are exchanged and "Liu Bei's death" is reported from within the palace, it may be true...
After all, if Liu Bei really dies, although Qingxu Province and Longyou will be greatly shocked, Zhenghou, or rather Sima Yi, will face fierce revenge from Qihou's troops.
At this time, it was announced that Liu Bei was still being detained, which could serve as a "delay strategy."
However, on the other hand, if Liu Bei was really captured alive, why would he announce that he was dead?
Of course, this does not mean that there is something wrong with Catching Wind Guard. After all, the latter is just news "from insiders in the palace."
The people in the palace at that time may not have known the actual situation. What was spread was only the news that was available at his level!
But taking the two together, Liu Xieliang is not cool, he is still between 50 and 50.
As for Liu Bei, it is possible that he really died, and it is more likely that he escaped for some reason, and most of the court officials were detained in the palace and were still being deceived by "fake news", so there was a need to punish those detained
By spreading false news to deceive the public, they try to slander Liu Xie as much as possible!
The reason why the news of Liu Xie's death was spread among the officials in the palace was because it had the effect of screening and testing. The channel through which the Chu State news came was not the core of the court, but just a few who could barely enter the palace at the end of the year.
He is just a junior official in the capital.
"It seems that everyone has the same idea, so... from now on, the members of the Enlightenment Department will also give this matter a Level B priority. Even if they bear the risk of exposing their identity and needing to evacuate, they will send back the news! In addition,
Immediately send an order to Hanzhong to prepare... troops to leave Ziwu Valley at any time!" Bai Tu decided.
Ziwu Valley is the place where Wei Yan wanted to send troops in history. According to Wei Yan's imagination, he could quietly pass through Ziwu Valley and go straight to Chang'an...
That's right, the northern end of Ziwu Valley is very close to Chang'an, only thirty miles away, which is closer than Wancheng to Xucheng.
Therefore, the biggest obstacle for troops leaving Ziwu Valley is whether they can avoid being discovered.
Gao Yingxiang's uprising in the late Ming Dynasty was an attempt to get his troops out of the Ziwu Valley. However, he was ambushed and killed in the Ziwu Valley by Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi at the time and an important minister in the late Ming Dynasty.
It can be seen that Ziwu Valley is not conducive to attack, but it is easy to be ambushed.
Zhuge Liang in history obviously did not think that Cao Wei would be unprepared.
Not to mention now, Chang'an is the seat of the Han Dynasty court. If Ziwu Valley is not fortified, Baitu will eat the tungsten steel seal!
In fact, in the Ziwu Valley, the Chu State had already pulled up barbed wire and dug trenches, and the Chu and Han scouts had fought each other more than once or twice - without the effect of a surprise attack, the Ziwu Valley was not a very good place for a battle.
Especially now that it’s the Chinese New Year, the weather is still quite wintery!
However, now that Chang'an is in chaos, Bai Tu thinks that instead of sitting idle, it would be good to put some pressure on him. What if he forces the opponent to make some stupid move?
In addition, there is actually another piece of bad news - the Catching Guards responsible for responding to Hua Xin failed to spread the news!
At this time, obviously no news is bad news...
However, Bai Tu was just worried in his heart and did not bring it to the palace to report. After all, there was no point in worrying about it. It all depended on the performance of Catcher Guard and the local Enlightenment Department.
Forcing "troops out of Ziwu Valley" also meant to deal with Hua Xin who might be in trouble.
Bai Tu and others from the palace also had a hurried meeting during lunch. Afterwards, in order to calm people's hearts, there was no need to accompany the Han Dynasty to the chaos, and they continued the New Year's Day ceremony and speeches in the afternoon as if in a hurry.
At the same time, in the basement of the woodshed of the mansion of a wealthy merchant with a Yang family background in Chang'an City, two people were playing chess without any embarrassment.
It was Hua Xin who was "missing" at the beginning of the New Year's Day banquet, and... Liu Bei, who is still being searched in the imperial city by Zheng Jun!
Hua Xin originally wanted to take advantage of the fact that there was no curfew on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, and with the cooperation of some Han officials who were instigating rebellion from the Catching Guards and the Enlightenment Department, Hua Xin secretly left Chang'an.
Unexpectedly, he caught up with Zhenghou's rebellion and was unable to leave the city. He was even almost killed by the Han army who was on alert at the time!
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Major Zhaofengwei, who was in charge of the matter, urgently contacted the Enlightenment Department - the task of rescuing Hua Xin was already very high-level, and the Enlightenment Department also took the risk of exposure and hid Hua Xin in a room with Yang.
The family has an in-law, a wealthy businessman with a foreign surname, who also handles many business transactions for the Yang family.
Although Yang Xiu defected to Wei, the Yang family had nominally expelled him from the family tree. From Dong Zhuo to Cao Cao, Yang Biao had been diligent and dedicated in protecting the dragon. He was still on the list of Liu Xie's confidants, and his moral reputation was even higher.
It is the level of a pillar of the imperial court today.
Even when Zheng's army entered the city, they did not conduct a thorough search of the families who were related to the Yang family.
Firstly, Sima Yi didn't want to cause any big quarrel with Yang, and secondly... Yang had no motive to protect Liu Bei!
As a "rising star", Sima Yi also wanted to eat the biggest piece of pie in troubled times. Naturally, his ideas were completely different from other princes.
Just like the Sima family in history...it's not so much "Sima usurping the Cao" as "the family usurping the warlord"!
In addition to the planning of the three generations of Sima Yi, the "big background" of the rise of the clan power itself also played a crucial role in the rise of the Sima clan.
Precisely because the Sima family represents a powerful family, naturally the emperor of the Sima family can be said to be the least "powerful" among all the unified dynasties from the Qin to the Qing Dynasty.
Now Sima Yi is in the mood to give it a try, and now he sets his sights on the "family"!
Naturally, the Yang family, a highly respected family that was not yet die-hard loyal to the Han Dynasty, could be regarded as his potential ally.
During the chaos in the palace last night, Liu Bei successfully escaped from the palace under the cover of the Zongwei controlled by Liu Ai. After that... he met members of the Enlightenment Department by chance and was also sent here.
If it were the Wind Guards, they would definitely not do such a thing - they are only responsible for completing the mission. Since the mission is to return Hua Xin, why should they make it more difficult for themselves? Zheng Jun's main search target now is Liu Bei...
However, the Enlightenment Department is different. Their highest mission is to "promote Chu learning", and they will have a higher degree of subjectivity in their actions. When they judge that it will be more beneficial to rescue Liu Bei, or...send Liu Bei back to Jinling together, they will
Act now!
When he first saw Hua Xin, Liu Bei even wondered whether Chu State was also involved - after all, if you go to Ziwu Valley, Hanzhong is not far from Chang'an.
However, when he saw the layout of the secret room here and Hua Xin's state of casual clothes, Liu Bei also gave up his suspicion...
Later, the two even started playing chess because they had nothing to do.
Of course, Liu Bei is always guarded by the Wind Catcher!
Liu Bei was not good at force, and before entering the palace, Liu Bei's military symbols had been confiscated. Now the two gold-plated generals' wind-catching guards were enough to serve as "guards."
"Hey, Mr. Hua is indeed more skilled." Liu Bei was not good at talking with his hands.
"It's a small path, not worthy of the attention of the Marquis of Qi." Hua Xin said modestly.
"Is this the sixth game already? Mr. Hua, have you ever thought about what we will do if we can't leave?" Liu Bei didn't know whether he was really anxious or deliberately testing.
"If there is no hope of escape, we have no choice but to wrong the Marquis of Qi... and die for our country." Hua Xin looked at Liu Bei very seriously and said.
This is actually Liu Bei's "guardian" mission!
Liu Bei and Hua Xin are different. Hua Xin can be "captured" by Zheng Hou alive, but Liu Bei cannot...
Even if Sima Yi catches Hua Xin, he will only treat him with courtesy for the time being, and there will be no loss to the Chu State.
As for Liu Bei... Maybe Sima Yi also hopes to capture Liu Bei alive, but for the Chu State, the first choice is to send Liu Bei back to Jinling, but the second choice is to let Liu Bei fake his death and become his real one.
In this way, even if the Chu State cannot use Liu Bei to "interfere" Qingxu and Longyou, at least the Qi army led by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei will regard Zhenghou as their biggest enemy, and may even immediately send troops to attack them.
Liu Bei takes revenge and gives Chu a chance!
"Hahaha, Mr. Hua is indeed a sincere gentleman and will not deceive me." Liu Bei did not feel angry, but felt very satisfied that Hua Xin did not deceive him.
Hua Xin said it openly at this time, which was actually a warning to Liu Bei not to try to escape from Chu.
At this time in the palace, Sima Yi also had a headache - his best idea was to capture Liu Bei.
It's just that Sima Yi never thought about abolishing Liu Xie and establishing Liu Bei, as he said when he deceived the Han clan clan members. Otherwise, wouldn't it make it more difficult for himself?
The reason why he wanted to control Liu Bei was simply to contain the Qi army.
Of course, this is just the "best idea". Sima Yi admitted that he was gambling, but he was not such a shallow stud. He also anticipated in advance the possibility of Liu Bei dying in battle or even escaping.
"Zhongda, the little emperor is so angry. I'm afraid he can't be saved, and Liu Bei hasn't been found yet. What should we do next?" Zhang Yan asked the depressed Sima Yi.
"Don't worry, my lord... Could you please, my lord, to check Chang'an's defense first and make sure that every important place is ours," Sima Yi ordered.
"Okay!" Zhang Yan agreed quickly.
Well, although Zhang Yan is called the lord, it seems that it is Sima Yi who is "ordering" him!
After ordering his lord to leave, Sima Yi looked at the map again, especially the location of the "upper left corner"...
After all, Qingzhou and Xuzhou are far away, but Longyou... Not to mention what Ma Chao, who just mutinied, thinks, if Liu Bei really "disappears", Guan Yu, who is still in Longyou, will definitely be the first to be unable to sit still.
And Sima Yi's back-ups, including the high-ranking cadres of Bingzhou and the Hetao Xiongnu who accepted Yuan Tan, have all made a secret alliance with Sima Yi. As long as there is chaos in Longyou, the Huns will also send troops to Liangzhou!
There is no need to worry about the Huns breaking the contract, because... if Liangzhou is in chaos, the Huns in Hetao will take action even if there is no covenant!
Sima Yi just made sure their news was more timely.
Sima Yi has even made preparations to send an envoy to Chu and invite Longyou to send troops together - of course, what Chu is more concerned about must be in front of him, but he has not yet vacated "
Go to Nishikawa to eat.
As for Guanzhong, Qingxu is a "gift" given to Cao Wei by Sima Yi...
Not only to muddy the waters, but also because Sima Yi, like in history, once again wanted to "bet" on the family!
Unlike other famous generals, Sima Yi's bet was no longer on a certain country.
On the other hand, Sima Yi has also seen clearly that the Chu State... is no longer a "united force", or that it can be contended by uniting the weak.
"Uniting the weak" may be able to protect oneself for a while, but there is no way to "win" at all. The only way to break the situation is to "eat" more other supplies before the Chu State, and not lose when "face to face" with the Chu State.
too much.
This is probably what Liu Bei thought in history when he just captured Hanzhong and when the pre-Qin state of Qi just started to advance eastward...
If the situation of the Battle of Yiling is rewritten and the Shu Han can enter Jiangdong, or the Qi State can swallow up several surrounding vassal states like the Qin State, it will indeed be possible to win.
Of course, if Sima Yi had been in Wei State before, he might have different ideas. After all... As Zheng Hou's military advisor, although the lord is very convenient to use, he is still weaker after all, and his intelligence sources are limited. He does not know the intelligence of Chu State.