After all, the infantry he led were not as fast as the light cavalry.
After several days of long journey, Xu Rong set out from Luoyang and had just arrived at Yecheng.
This speed is a normal infantry marching speed. The distance from Luoyang to Yecheng is about 300 kilometers. If you walk 40 kilometers a day, it will take seven or eight days to get there.
So when Hua Xiong's Qingqi caught up with Chen Mu, Xu Rong was still a hundred miles away in Yecheng, and he hadn't even had time to enter the city.
After Xu Rong arrived at Yecheng, Pang Bo, the governor of Wei County, and Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, pretended to come out to greet him.
Now the court has changed. With the young emperor deposed, King Chenliu ascending the throne as emperor, and Queen Mother Dong taking complete control of power, the Xiliang Army has also become a regular central army.
Xu Rong now represents the new imperial court. In history, when Dong Zhuo first came to power, the world obeyed on the surface but resisted secretly.
It was not until the first month of the first year of Chuping, that is, in January next year, that Cao Cao, Qiao Mao and others raised the banner to challenge Dong, and the local resistance to the central court officially began.
But this time it was different, because Dong Zhuo also had the Empress Dowager Dong who represented the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty.
Regents in the name of the Empress Dowager appeared one after another in the history of the Han Dynasty, such as Empress Lu, Empress Dou, Empress Wang, Empress Deng, etc. It can be said that it was the norm in the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, the resistance of local governments to the central government today is naturally not as severe as it was in history.
In addition, during this period, under the deception of undercover agents such as Zhou Ao, Wu Qiong, and He Yong, both Dong Zhuo and the Queen Mother Dong felt that they should win over the party members and ask the party members to help publicize and build momentum to declare the legitimacy of King Chen Liu.
So Empress Dowager Dong ordered the recruitment of dozens of famous party members such as Xun Shuang, Chen Ji, Han Rong, etc., and let them stationed in the central government, temporarily maintaining the political situation.
Historically, these party members were all forced to come here by Dong Zhuo.
But this time it was different. After the struggle, the party members found that it was inevitable to depose the emperor.
As a result, some party members have begun to change their attitudes and decided to cater to Empress Dowager Dong, hoping to persuade Empress Dowager Dong to complete their policy agenda and save the country like the wise Empress Dowager Deng before her.
Therefore, at present, the tension between the central government and the local governments has not reached the point where a fight will begin if they disagree.
Although Dong Zhuo's move to depose the emperor was criticized by many people, there was still Empress Dowager Dong who helped to endorse him. Even if the people of the world objected again, the great righteousness and the late emperor's edict barely blocked the world's mouth.
As for Chen Mu, who was originally a prestigious minister, he was now charged with resisting the edicts of the Empress Dowager and the late emperor. For this crime, he was wanted across the country and was wanted to be taken back to Luoyang for trial.
Among local officials who are party officials, many upright party members will also help them.
First of all, Chen Mu's reputation among the party members was not bad. Even because he helped them many times, Xun He and others spared no effort to help him become famous. As a result, Chen Mu has now become a "model" admired by the world.
Secondly, because most of the party still insisted on their own opinions, they believed that the young emperor, as the eldest son of the late emperor, should inherit the throne and should not be abolished.
Chen Mu's ideas catered to this group of people, making most of the party members very fond of him and would not kill him.
But even after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Party came into contact and a large number of Party members began to serve as officials, but the number is still far behind those officials from aristocratic families or who are not Party members.
Although Jizhou is the headquarters of the party, except for the two county governors and the governor Wang Fen, most of the other county magistrates and other official positions are dominated by powerful families, and the number of party members is very small.
For example, the troops sent out for the Jizhou rebellion this time were all powerful soldiers from these aristocratic families. The party members were only planning behind the scenes, and they actually had no troops.
Just like after Cao Cao assassinated Dong and escaped, even if many officials knew that Dong Zhuo had a problem, they still would not disobey Dong Zhuo's orders and still pursue Cao Cao.
Party members will be open to Chen Muwang, but other officials will still obey the central court's orders.
This means that the central authority of the Han Dynasty has been deeply entrenched. Before asking Dong to break this authority, at least for now, the current political situation has actually returned to stability, and the imperial court still has the power to control local areas.
For example, the imperial court is now sending officials to various places to serve in the hope that these officials can maintain local stability. For example, Yuan Shao is the governor of Bohai, Liu Dai is the governor of Yanzhou, Zhang Miao is the governor of Chenliu, Zhang Zi is the governor of Nanyang, etc. In addition, Han
Fu's fate was also changed and he was appointed as the prefect of Julu.
Han Fu was the last censor Zhongcheng, and together with Chen Mu's Shangshu Ling and Liu Bei's Sili Xiaowei, they were all one of the three independent seats.
Sandu's position in Luoyang was second only to the Sangong and Jiuqing. His official position was not high, just a thousand stones. He would later be appointed as the shepherd of Jizhou, and then Yuan Shao would seize power. This is something everyone knows.
But the current political demands of party members are different from those in history.
Historically, they foresaw that the future situation would change drastically, so they deceived Dong Zhuo into appointing governor Shizhou Mu everywhere, creating a separatist situation.
But now that Empress Dowager Dong is here, she thinks she can maintain the situation and still wants to mend the broken country of the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, they not only opposed the enfeoffment of governors in various places, but also deceived Empress Dowager Dong, hoping to recall Liu Yan, Huang Wan and Liu Bei.
At present, Huang Wan's order has been issued, but Empress Dowager Dong is still hesitant to deal with the two clans. At least for now, the party members are still trying hard to maintain the country.
Here, the previous generation of party members such as Xun Shuang, Chen Ji, and Han Rong entered the DPRK, and the middle-level party members are slowly spreading around the world, trying to save the Han Dynasty.
Dong Zhuo, a guy who didn't play by the rules, was deceived by the party members into doing what they wanted, but on another matter, he just refused to let go.
That is to target the Liu Bei Group.
First of all, Liu Bei was just one of his subordinates at first, but now he is almost on an equal footing with him, which makes Dong Zhuo very unhappy.
Secondly, after Dong Zhuo entered Beijing, Liu Bei's group repeatedly opposed him, making him fearful.
So despite the dissuasion of some people, he insisted on arresting Chen Mu and threatening Liu Bei.
When Xu Rong arrived at Yecheng on this day, Wang Fen and Pangbo went to greet him. Outside the city, they saw an army of 5,000 people heading towards Yecheng quickly.
These five thousand elite infantry were soldiers and horses of the Southern Army. They were now under Dong Cheng's command and were borrowed by Dong Zhuo for use.
After all, Dong Zhuo's troops were complex in composition. Except for his own 5,000 direct line Xiliang Army, the other troops were all powerful troops in the Hexi Guanzhong. These troops had average combat effectiveness and could not be used as a team to pursue the enemy.
After Xu Rong arrived, Wang Fen and Pang Bo took him to the Governor's Mansion to discuss matters.
Although in terms of official positions, Xu Rong is now just newly appointed as the Five-Fun Zhonglang General, with a rank higher than that of Two Thousand Stones. Wang Fen is the six-hundred-shi governor, needless to say, but Pangbo is the two thousand-shi County Sheriff, which is higher than the five-thousand-stone general.
.
But they were still following the central government's decree, so Xu Rong sat on the main seat and asked, "How is Jizhou's military deployment now? Where is Chen Mu?"
He had already sent someone to convey the imperial edict to Yecheng, and asked Wang Fen to summon soldiers from various counties to encircle and suppress them according to the order of the Jizhou Governor's Department.
Although Wang Fen procrastinated, the imperial edict still had to be implemented, and replied: "It has been passed on, but it will take time to mobilize troops and horses from various places. I'm afraid it will be too late to catch up."
Xu Rong shook his head and said: "We can make it in time. Chen Mu and Zhang Fei's troops are all heavy armored cavalry and heavy infantry. They march very slowly every day. I have sent the vanguard Hua Xiong's light cavalry to chase them. They have such a big target and cannot hide it. As long as
If Hua Xiong catches up and entangles them to delay them, we can surround them."
"Haha, since it is what General Xu said, it must be similar. The soldiers from Zhao State's Julu Qinghe and other places have been tightly guarded and cut off all the main roads to the north. Chen Zigui and Zhang Yide have no wings to fly, so there is no need for us to worry.
, today I will take over for General Xu, let’s not talk about military matters.”
Pang Bo chuckled and didn't want to talk to Xu Rong about these things. Anyway, there were not many soldiers and horses left in their Wei County since they were taken away by Zhu Jun. Even if Xu Rong asked their Wei County to send troops, he could always find all kinds of troops.
Various excuses to resist.
But Xu Rong said vigorously and resolutely: "There is no need to have a banquet. Wang Prefect, does he have a map of Wei County and Zhao State?"
As the governor, he not only has the map of the two counties, but also the map of the entire Jizhou.
Wang Fen was surprised and said: "What does General Xu want to do with the map? If you want to march and ask for directions, Jizhou has developed transportation and there are official roads in all directions. All counties and cities can communicate with each other, so it is enough to follow the official roads."
Compared with the northwest region of Guanzhong, the Guandong region is like a paradise. It is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. It is surrounded by several great plains as far as the eye can see. It has a large population and a developed economy. As early as ancient times, it was the main birthplace of mankind. Not only are there roads and roads
It is also very neat. There are roads between counties, counties and even villages, which is very convenient.
If Xu Rong doesn't know the road and wants to go north, he doesn't even need a map. He just needs to walk in one direction, and as long as he doesn't enter the Taihang Mountains to the west, there are official roads everywhere for him to march.
It doesn't matter whether you have a map or not.
However, Xu Rong insisted: "I have my own use. Please help me find these two maps."
Seeing his firm attitude, Wang Fen said, "Then I'll go find him."
After that, he asked the governor to go and get it.
After getting the map, Xu Rong started to observe the map and thought silently in his heart.
According to his speculation on Chen Mu's marching speed and path, Chen Mu's troops should have arrived north of Handan during this period. If they were to move normally, they would have crossed the Ming River in Guangnian, Yiyang, and then headed north to the south and entered Xiangguo.
Changshan Kingdom and Zhongshan Kingdom.
This route is mainly a straight road, you can go directly north to Puyin, and there are relatively few rivers and towns to cross, so you don’t have to worry about exposing traces and wasting time.
If we go to Julu, we have to go to the central area of Jizhou, where there are many water systems and many towns. If the county soldiers and county soldiers from various places accept the orders of the imperial court and instead besiege and harass them, it will be a very troublesome matter.
So even if Xu Rong had made the choice himself, he would have chosen this route to go north. After he had joined his clan, he would then go south through Bohai County to Pingyuan County and then enter Qingzhou. By that time, even if Dong Zhuo wanted to hunt down Chen
Mu, you also have to look at Liu Bei's face.
Therefore, Xu Rong knew that if he wanted to fulfill Dong Zhuo's order, arrest Chen Mu, Zhang Fei and his gang, and threaten Liu Bei, Zhao's generation was the main battlefield and they must not be allowed to continue going north.
"here!"
Xu Rong read the map, pointed to the line Yiyang-Guangnian-Nanhe-Xiangguo and said: "This generation is a crucial area, and troops must be stationed in it. Send an order, Zhao Guo's troops and horses are stationed in Xiangguo.
Julu soldiers and horses are stationed in Yiyang and Guangnian, Qinghe soldiers and horses are stationed in Quliang!"
"only!"
The soldiers on the left and right rushed out to deliver the order. Because they had the edict in hand, all the remaining county soldiers in various places were under the command of Xu Rong. Dong Zhuo also issued a reward. Whoever could catch Chen Mu would be promoted, given a title, and rewarded with gold, silver, and jewels.
Therefore, non-Party officials in other places in Jizhou, and even greedy Party officials, would probably be happy to cooperate with Dong Zhuo's action!