Mid-Autumn Festival in August of the first year of Chuping.
After the collapse of the Eighteenth Route Princes Alliance, a new alliance was established again.
Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Gong Sun Zan, Bao Xin and others formed a new army to fight against Dong. They were stationed in Luoyang, waiting for the arrival of winter.
Historically, Cao Cao and Sun Jian were indeed the ones who persisted until the end.
Dong Zhuo withdrew his troops, but all the princes were suspicious and refused to advance. Only Cao Cao led his troops to pursue him, but was ambushed and defeated by Xu Rong. He almost died in the rebellion. His cousin Cao Hong saved him.
Sun Jian was even more powerful. He defeated Hua Xiong, Lu Bu, and even Dong Zhuo in person, but was beaten back by him. It was not until Xu Rong took action that he completely lost.
It can be seen that compared to those princes who dare not fight a single battle, Cao Cao and Sun Jian are worthy of being the founders of Wei and Wu, and they indeed have extraordinary courage and belief.
After the new alliance was established, the army began to rest and recuperate in Luoyang. Soldiers were trained every day to adjust their morale and condition. A steady stream of grain and grass was still transported from Jizhou and Qingzhou and stored in warehouses near Hongchi in Luoyang.
Han Fu was a member of Yuan's family, so after Yuan Shao withdrew his troops, Han Fu no longer supplied supplies to the princes' armies.
But the fate of Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, has been changed, and he still holds the post of governor.
How good is Wang Fen in managing people's livelihood?
During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Jizhou was almost crippled, the people's livelihood was in ruins, and everything was in ruins. As a result, in just a few years, he managed to make the state rich and peaceful, and the people were peaceful and peaceful. He can be said to be a truly capable minister in governing the world.
It's a pity that Wang Fen had a bad temper and actually wanted to depose the emperor, leading to the failure and suicide. However, Chen Mu had a long history of collusion with the party members, which had changed his fate.
Now that Wang Fen is still here, with his violent temper, he is certainly not willing to retreat, and is still silently guarding the rear of the coalition forces.
So in fact, the eighteen princes retreated and twelve of them retreated, while six were still fighting.
Among them, Sun Jian is a true war madman. He trains soldiers every day and works hard to exercise. He has strong muscles. Compared with Guan, Zhang, Huang Zhongdian and Wei, he is not far behind. It can be seen that the value of force is still quite high.
Liu Bei let the soldiers rest for half a month before slowly resuming training. After all, it was him who was the main attacker and the one who put out the fire. The soldiers were very tired and could not continue like this.
During this period, the five princes gathered for banquets every day, and their relationship quickly heated up. Soon they all treated each other like brothers, drank wine and sang songs, and were in the honeymoon period.
At this time, no one thought that it would turn into a situation where princes were fighting for hegemony. Everyone thought that as long as the emperor was welcomed back, order would be maintained, and the Han Dynasty would naturally continue for a long time.
Among them, Guan Yu was the one that Cao Cao liked the most. The two had similar interests, and Cao Cao was especially envious of Guan Yu's two-foot-long, neatly combed beard, and even asked him for advice on how to take care of his beard.
Only Chen Mu was ready to resign from Big Brother on the last day of August.
"Fourth brother is leaving?"
In the palace, Liu Bei looked at Chen Mu in surprise.
Chen Mu nodded and said: "This battle was not a one-time achievement. When the Qin Dynasty unified the world, it was only the remnants of the Sixth Dynasty that finally took over the world and ruled the world. Now that the Kwantung Army has left most of it, we have few soldiers, so we are marching forward
Chang'an is difficult and dangerous, and it is likely to be a protracted war. So I plan to return to Qingzhou, firstly, to manage the people's livelihood, and step up supervision of food and grass. Secondly, I also need to start preparing winter clothes, otherwise the soldiers will have no winter clothes and it will be difficult to maintain. I am here
This time I am not asking my eldest brother to resign, but I am going back to the rear to coordinate the overall situation. If I win, I will have backup support, and if I fail, I will have someone to take care of me. This is making preparations for both sides."
"Aren't you in Qingzhou coordinating the overall situation for these matters?"
Liu Bei was puzzled.
These matters were all handed over to Ju Sue. With his talent, Ju Sue had been doing everything in an orderly manner. He even sent a letter a few days ago saying that winter clothes were being prepared and there was no need for him to worry.
Chen Mu smiled and explained: "Although Gong Yu handled it very well, I actually still have to prepare for propaganda work when I go back. Didn't I say it before? We must characterize this matter as a crusade against national traitors.
We must let the world know that our actions are righteous."
"The article "Chasing Dong Ji"?"
"good."
"I see."
Liu Bei tapped his chin to show that he understood.
Raising an army against Dong was definitely a crusade against national traitors in name, but it actually had the same meaning as the Qing monarch.
The problem is that Dong Zhuo controls the emperor after all, so he has the so-called legitimacy.
When various princes were attacking Dong, Dong Zhuo had already issued an order to issue a national edict, stating that the eighteen princes were treasonous and should be punished for their crimes.
Although at the beginning of the discussion against Dong, the Qingzhou Group had already published the edict issued before Liu Xie's "death" and achieved a victory in public opinion.
But this is only an initial victory. If you want to expand the results, you must publicize that the Dong Zhuo alliance is just and Dong Zhuo is evil. Dong Zhuo's glorious deeds should be made public to let the world know his true face.
Some people may say, aren't you guiding public opinion?
But the war of public opinion is to guide public opinion. Otherwise, the world cannot tell who are the good guys and the bad guys. It would be sad to watch this battle in confusion and not understand what the princes are doing.
After understanding this, Liu Bei also affirmed Chen Mu's plan to return to Qingzhou to engage in a public opinion war, saying: "It is indeed necessary to let the world know that our actions are just. However, after the fourth brother leaves, I will ask questions about military matters."
Who are you planning on?"
Chen Mu said: "My senior brother Wang Jingxing, as well as my father-in-law and good friend Tian Yuanhao can be entrusted with important tasks."
Wang Lang is a protégé of Chen Mu who joined the Qingzhou Group.
Tian Feng was invited here because he had a good relationship with Jushou and was famous in Jizhou.
But the status of the two of them in the army is not particularly high. The person Liu Bei trusts the most is still Chen Mu. Except for some issues of principle, such as continuing to challenge Dong, in most cases he is still willing to listen to Chen Mu.
.
Now that Chen Mu is gone, Wang Lang and Tian Feng will have to be reused. To a certain extent, Chen Mu's departure now can be regarded as paving the way for them to improve their status in Qingzhou Group.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Hearing Chen Mu's words, Liu Bei nodded: "Okay, fourth brother, you go back to Qingzhou first, and you take back the seal of my Qingzhou Mu, and mobilize all your strength as soon as possible.
Strengthen the campaign against Dong Dajun."
"I see."
Chen Mu took the seal of Qingzhou Mu and hung it on his waist. This was a sign of 100% trust between him and brother Liu Bei.
After resigning from Big Brother, he left Luoyang with hundreds of people in the late autumn of September.
The bodyguard this time was Zhao Yun, and Chen Mu cherished his life very much. In these troubled times, if he didn't have a bodyguard with a force value of 90 or above, who knows if he would be killed like Cao Song.
Before leaving, he secretly gave instructions to Guan Yu, Zhang Feidian, Wei Huangzhong, Zhang Liao and others.
Let them take good care of Big Brother, and never let him charge forward. Once the war situation changes, withdraw when it is necessary to leave the green hills without fear of running out of firewood, and do not show off for a moment of heroic spirit.
After Chen Mu left, the armies of the five princes continued to drill every day. As time passed day by day, Liu Bei had already sent people to the bank of the Yellow River, waiting for the water flow of the Yellow River to decrease during the dry season. Once the river beaches were all exposed,
Then you can march.
Two months later, it was November in the middle of winter. The princes and armies of the new alliance all put on brand new winter clothes, made of cotton. Cotton was produced in India and was called body poison at this time. As early as three thousand years ago, Dravidian
People have cultivated cotton since ancient times.
Therefore, the use of cotton in ancient India was quite extensive. Qingzhou Group's business was connected to Saibei in the north, Jiaozhi in the south, Shendu in the west, and then east to the Japanese country. In Shendu, cotton was purchased in large quantities, just to prepare for today.
Don’t think that the Han Dynasty was a traffic jam. In fact, although the number of countries visiting the Han Dynasty was not as wide as that of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the surrounding countries were still visited all over, and there were intersections in the Mediterranean area.
Therefore, when Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion a few years ago and used Chen Mu's tax collection strategy to stabilize the situation in the world, the Qingzhou Group used horse merchants from Xiliang to open up business routes in the Western Regions, and then used merchants from the Western Regions
Buy a lot of fresh stuff from Shendu and form a business chain.
Although these cottons are not cultivated and cultivated in Qingzhou, after several years of acquisition and storage, the stock is still considerable. Originally, some far-sighted officials wanted to try to cultivate and cultivate it in Qingzhou, but Chen Mu stopped it because he knew very well that this was a useless effort.
.
Although cotton is a crop with high economic value, first of all, cotton in India is actually coarse staple cotton with low yield. If it is cultivated on a large scale, it will occupy farmland, which is not worth the loss. Secondly, Qingzhou is Shandong, which belongs to the warm temperate zone, and
Cotton requires a subtropical climate and is not climatically suitable.
For example, during the Southern Song Dynasty, when cotton was introduced to my country, it was planted in the Quanzhou area in the south, that is, in Guangzhou. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang forcibly promoted cotton, only in the south of the Yangtze River, because the climate in the north did not allow it.
The Kwantung Allied Forces have new cotton-padded clothes, which have greatly improved their ability to withstand severe cold weather. They are also very effective in improving their combat capabilities in winter. The morale of the soldiers is high and their enthusiasm is surging.
In early November, it snowed heavily in Luoyang.
The sky and the earth are covered in silver, and the vast mountains have turned into a snow-white color.
Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Gong Sun Zan, Bao Xin and other five princes, wearing cotton clothes, cloaks and mink clothes, gathered at the foot of Mang Mountain in the north of Luoyang.
This is in front of the imperial mausoleum of the late Emperor Xiaokang of Han Dynasty.
Dong Zhuo once robbed the imperial tomb, and after taking the funerary objects inside, he sealed the imperial tomb again.
Liu Bei did not disturb the late emperor. He just repaired the outside of the tomb and filled it with new soil to prevent tomb robbers and people like Dong Zhuo from doing such unscrupulous crimes as tomb robberies.
Only Cao Cao looked at the tombs all over the mountain that had been stolen and excavated, and looked at the crimes covered by the snow, and let out a faint sigh.
"Brother Meng De is lamenting the tragic experiences of many late emperors and ministers of the past dynasties?"
Liu Bei saw him sighing and asked curiously.
"It's a pity that Dong Zhuo got there first... Oh no, it's a pity that the evil thief Dong Zhuo destroyed the tombs of the late emperor and all his ministers. That Dong Zhuo is really abominable."
Cao Cao almost spilled the beans and quickly scolded Dong Zhuo to change the subject.
At this point, Cao Cao was a staunch pragmatist.
What's the use of hiding money in a grave?
If you don't bring it with you in life, you won't take it with you in death. It's better to dig it out and circulate it for cash. That's the right way.
It's just that Liu Bei is a staunch defender of the Han Dynasty, so of course he can't tell it in front of him, so Cao Cao can only hide the truth in his heart.
Hearing his words, Liu Bei nodded and sighed: "Unless the thieves in this country are eliminated, the previous emperors will not be able to rest for a day."
"Xuande, let's start the sacrifice!"
Bao Xin said.
"Um."
Liu Bei walked to the open space in front of the mausoleum.
Various sacrificial supplies such as three animals, grains, etc. have been placed here.
The snow is falling heavily and the wind is blowing.
Light the incense candle.
The five people walked to the altar, held incense and said sacrificial words.
Behind them were the princes and generals standing in a row, including Guan Yu, Zhang Feidian, Wei Xiahou, Dunxia Houyuan, Cao Hong and so on.
After Liu Bei finished speaking the sacrificial words, the five people bowed respectfully and put incense into the incense burner.
When offering sacrifices in front of the late emperor's tomb, one is to pray and tell the late emperor that they are about to go on an expedition and hope that the late emperor will bless them.
Secondly, in order to appease the late emperor, they told him that they would soon enter Chang'an, rescue the late emperor's eldest son, and bring Dong Zhuo's head to pay tribute in front of the late emperor's mausoleum.
All these are written in the sacrificial words, so that one day, the promise to the late emperor can be fulfilled.
"Set off!"
When the sacrifice was over, Liu Bei waved his hand.
All the generals got on their horses in unison, and behind them a hundred thousand troops marched toward the west in a mighty and mighty way amid the flying white snow.
Two days later, outside Hangu Pass, the water volume of the Yellow River dropped dozens of times compared to the spring and summer flood seasons. The originally vast and turbulent river now had much smaller water flow, exposing a large plain-like river beach.
Even because of the heavy snow, the river surface in many places was frozen, and the ice layer was three feet thick, enough for people to stand on the ice and pass through.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Seeing this scene, everyone in the coalition was overjoyed.
Many people don't know a little bit of knowledge, that is, the Yellow River is really wide.
Especially in the middle and upper reaches, like Mengjin Ferry, the width can reach five kilometers, which can be described as a truly big river.
Therefore, once the dry season arrives, a lot of exposed ground will be exposed on the riverbanks on both sides.
For example, above Hangu Pass where Liu Bei attacked this time, near Lingbao City in Sanmenxia, there is the famous Sanmenxia Dam. It has been built at the narrowest point of the Yellow River and is still more than 100 meters wide.
If all the rivers were frozen, then Hangu Pass would be completely meaningless, because the coalition forces could cross the river on the ice and there would be no need to confront the enemy head-on in front of the pass.
This place belongs to the Qinling Mountains, with cliffs and mountains on both sides.
If you go from the south bank of the Yellow River, you can reach the back of Hangu Pass in about twenty miles.
Liu Bei stood on a high slope on the south bank, overlooking the hundreds of feet of ice on the Yellow River. He happily said to Cao Cao and others: "Look, everyone, this is the late emperor protecting us. The river is frozen. I'm afraid it will continue to freeze."
The horses can pass by, that’s great.”
Several princes were also very happy, and Sun Jian said excitedly: "Xuande, then I would like to be the vanguard to help you take Hangu Pass first."
"good!"
Liu Bei said: "Brother Wentai, please go first, I will arrive soon."
At that moment, he ordered Sun Jian to be the vanguard, Liu Bei's army to be the front army, Cao Cao's Bao Xin's army to be the middle army, and Gongsun Zan's army to be the rear army. They pulled back and forth for several miles and marched towards Hanguguan.
The reason for this arrangement is that after all, this is the bank of the Yellow River beach. Both sides of the bank are silt areas washed out by the river. The snow is too thick, so Gongsun Zan's troops cannot deploy here.
Although there are frozen rivers where you can walk, the Yellow River is not frozen for thousands of miles. Some places are frozen and some are not.
Therefore, Gongsun Zan's cavalry was basically stationed on the north bank, which was an open space at Hangu Pass of Cao Wei later, and would not follow Liu Bei and others.
In fact, the cavalry also caused chaos in the past. First, they were unable to launch a charge, and second, the snow and mud made the horses easily fall.
Therefore, Liu Bei's order to Gongsun Zan was actually to respond to them, wait until they opened the Hangu Pass, and allow Gongsun Zan to enter from the front of Hangu Pass.
Sun Jian's vanguard soon began to formally enter the river bank, and five to six thousand people slowly moved westward along the south bank of the river bank.
Liu Bei led his army to follow him, about two miles away, to facilitate response and support in case of emergencies.
At least now, the five princes are united as one without any suspicion.
Monkeys and monkeys were chirping in the mountains and forests on both sides of the strait, and migratory birds in the distance flew over the Qinling Mountains. It was quiet all around. Tens of thousands of troops were marching forward, stepping on the half-foot-thick snow. The world was so quiet that there seemed to be no sound.