Chapter 66: Aid from the Dukes of the Imperial Court
Zhao Lin had long been drawn into the Military Intelligence Department by Chen Mu, and her current status in Chang'an is second only to Yan Zhong.
Although Taishi Ci and Hou Xu were sent to Guanzhong by Chen Mu in August, they are currently hiding in the dark and only have single-line contact with Yan Zhong. Even Zhao Lin does not know they are here.
There is no way, Zhao Lin is just an ordinary person in terms of intelligence and cannot compare with Yan Zhong. Naturally, she will not be able to take on some of the important tasks that Chen Mu will do in the future.
But Chang'an is not completely without manpower from the Military Intelligence Department, it's just that it's relatively small, only a few dozen people.
So Zhao Lin sent people out of Chang'an City to look for Liu Bei at Zuo Fengyi.
It had been two days since Liu Bei had stationed himself in Zuofengyi, and the army's food and grass supplies were only two or three days old. According to the original plan, the army should appear at Chang'an City at this time.
However, Xu Rong's blocking did have a great impact on the Kwantung Army, so today Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Bao Xin, and Sun Jian were discussing whether to withdraw their troops.
"In my opinion, we still have to withdraw our troops. Our food supply has reached the bottom. If we don't leave, our troops may be unstable and may mutiny."
"Chang'an is close at hand. As long as we attack the city, we will be able to get food immediately. If we take over Chang'an and welcome back the emperor, the world will be stable. How can we not advance in doubt and miss a good chicken?"
"But this is too risky. If Chang'an cannot be breached within a few days, we are afraid..."
"Hey, you two brothers are too worried. Niu Fu is trapped in the east of Hedong, and the battle with General Wei is in full swing. Dong Zhuo has few soldiers, so it will be difficult to maintain it. Chang'an City is so big, there are always places that are difficult to defend, let alone...
....”
"Not to mention what?"
"What's more, you have never been to Chang'an City, so you don't know the specific situation."
"Mengde knows?"
"I came here several times with my uncle in my early years."
Cao Cao smiled slightly and said: "Like Luoyang, Chang'an is also divided into inner and outer cities. The three palaces in the city are Mingguang Palace, Changle Palace, and Weiyang Palace, which occupy the vast majority of the land. The second one is Beigong and Guigong.
The rest are the East and West Municipalities in the northwest corner, and then the Xuanpingmen Common People’s District in the northeast corner.”
"You may not know that the east and west cities of Chang'an, plus the Xuanpingmen Common People's District, occupy an area as large as Mingguang Palace. Although Chang'an has a population of one million less than Luoyang, it still has a population of five to six hundred thousand people all year round.
Think about it, can Xuanpingmen alone be accommodated?"
"What does Meng De mean?"
Bao Xin asked: "Are the real people and markets outside the city?"
"good."
Cao Cao nodded: "Outside the Xuanping Gate, outside the Zhicheng Gate, and outside the Qingming Gate are the main residential areas. If we can attack Chang'an City, we can get food on the spot."
Get food locally?
Isn’t that just robbing the people?
Several people looked at each other.
Three months ago in Luoyang, I was still talking about the Five Kings in the World.
If you rob people in the blink of an eye, you may not be able to gain a bad reputation.
A moment of silence.
Sun Jian suddenly noticed that Liu Bei was a little absent-minded and asked: "Xuande, Xuande?"
"oh."
Liu Bei came to his senses and said blankly: "What's wrong?"
Bao Xin said unhappily: "We are discussing whether to retreat or continue the attack. At this critical moment, how can Xuande be distracted?"
"Forehead."
Liu Bei apologized: "I am thinking about something. What do you brothers think we should do now?"
Bao Xin said: "Mengde said that we can continue to fight. Wentai and I both think that retreating is the best strategy. What does Xuande think?"
Liu Bei thought for a while and said with a wry smile: "Our army has no food and grass and must withdraw."
There are still two or three days of food and grass in the army. If we withdraw our troops immediately, we can barely return to Huayin County and wait until the first batch of food and grass arrives.
If the fight continues, big problems will really arise.
Cao Cao was dissatisfied and said, "Didn't I tell you before? As long as we reach Chang'an City, we can get food on the spot."
"Get food locally?"
Liu Bei's expression changed slightly and he said, "What does this mean?"
"I......"
Cao Cao hesitated for a moment, and then he remembered that Liu Bei had always been benevolent and righteous. If he wanted to get food on the spot, he would probably not agree at all.
The Kwantung Army is now at the end of its tether. If there are internal differences, it may fall apart on the spot.
For a moment, Cao Cao did not speak, and the scene fell into silence.
Fortunately, the silence was quickly broken.
Dian Wei burst into the hall and said happily: "Ming Gong, good news."
"What good news?"
Liu Bei quickly looked over. Did Zhu Jun win?
When Dian Wei saw everyone in the hall, he hesitated for a moment because this was related to the secret agency of the Military Intelligence Department.
But he was not too stupid. After thinking about it, he immediately changed his words and said: "The princes of the Chang'an court heard that the coalition forces were calling and sent people to contact them. I thought the army was short of food and could I ask them for help."
"It's really good news."
Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he asked, "Where is he?"
"Just entered the city."
"Call me."
"only."
Dian Wei went to call the people over.
That man was actually a spy from the Military Intelligence Department. He was ordered by Dian Wei on the way and knew how to deal with it.
After a while, he came to the hall, and the man saluted and said, "I have met you envoys."
"Whose slave are you?"
Liu Bei asked.
The man replied: "I am a servant of the Zongzheng family."
"It turns out to be a clan uncle."
Liu Bei nodded. He was admitted into the clan and qualified to be called Uncle Liu Yu.
The man added: "Zong Zhengyan, I want to contact all the ministers in the court to help you, but I'm afraid I won't be convinced. I hope you can write a letter stating the key points and see if we can be of help."
"forage!"
Cao Cao said impatiently: "If there is food and grass, our army can attack the city quickly."
"Please write a letter of divorce."
The man responded.
"I come."
Cao Cao immediately ordered people to get paper and pen.
Since Zuobo paper was produced in Qingzhou, now the military's accounting and document transfers are all written on paper.
As a great writer who wrote countless popular poems, Cao Cao's literary quality was still very high. He wrote a letter eloquently in just a moment.
At that moment, everyone stamped their seals.
Liu Bei's Qingzhou Mu Seal was in Chen Mu's hand, and the Dahonglu Seal hadn't been collected yet, so he couldn't seal it for a while.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Fortunately, he did not bring the seal of Qingzhou Mu, but he did bring the seal of his princes.
You must know that he is still a county prince and his seal is gold, which is more convincing than the silver seal of Qingzhou Mu.
After putting the big seal on it, the man put it away carefully, cupped his hands and said, "Please wait patiently for the good news."
"Thank you, warrior!"
Liu Bei replied: "Please explain our plight to Zong Zheng. It would be best if we can get more food and grass."
"clear."
The spy from the Military Intelligence Department looked calm on the outside, but was shocked in his heart.
Liu Bei is the eldest brother of Chen Mu, the big boss of the Military Intelligence Department, so he is really surprised that he is actually saluting a low-level military officer like him.
I thought about the rumors that Corporal Liu Qingzhou Lixian was very benevolent and righteous, and I couldn't help but be convinced that it was indeed the case.
But now that he had obtained the items and completed his mission, it was time to go back and resume his life.
Chang'an is currently in a war period, but no matter what, Chang'an has now become an extremely bloated and chaotic city.
The Military Intelligence Department was at home among them, because there were countless outsiders like them inside and outside the city.
Dong Zhuo had no time or ability to take care of this, and he didn't even dare to close the city gate.
Because the Xuanping Gate in the city is full of wealthy people, and the east and west markets are also prosperous business districts.
Once the city gate is closed, the entire city will be paralyzed. If not all of the nearly one million disaster victims outside the city can be killed, or they can be rushed into the city, and when the Kwantung Army reaches the city, a large amount of troops and food can be replenished nearby.
Therefore, Xu Rong did not dare to bring the war to Chang'an. He only hoped to wait for another day in Yangling and then move to Changling to fight, and then the final decisive battle would be near Wei Bridge in the north of Luoyang.
But this was all in Xu Rong's plan, because on the day of the decisive battle, the Kwantung Army would almost run out of rations.
As long as he can withstand it for a day or two, Xu Rong will become the final winner.
It's a pity that Xu Rong only thought about the tactical arrangements, but forgot about the support of the people.
At least in the eyes of the princes of the Manchu Dynasty, the people of Luoyang, and even the people of Chang'an, Dong Zhuo's cruelty and ruthlessness have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. If they were not afraid of his cruelty, perhaps the people of Chang'an would have eaten the pot of juice and come to
Zuo Fengyi welcomed Master Wang happily outside the city.
Zuo Fengyi was already less than seventy miles away from Chang'an. One location was in Gaoling in later generations, and the other was about ten kilometers northwest of Xi'an in later generations.
But going from Chang'an to Zuofengyi is very troublesome, but returning to Chang'an is very fast.
Just take a boat from the Wei River and go south along the Jishui River.
In just over an hour, the spies had returned to Chang'an. It was almost evening, and there were only a few people on the streets of Xuanpingmen in the northeast of Chang'an.
The Xuanpingmen residential area was originally the residence of various dignitaries, princes and ministers. Most of the princes who moved from Luoyang lived here. The spies did not go to Liu Yu first, but to Yang Biao first.
.
Yang Biao is Chen Mu's senior brother, and there are also spies from the Military Intelligence Department in his mansion, so at least someone can report it without worrying about being stopped outside the door.
At this time, Yang Biao was teaching Yang Xiu at home. When he heard the news, he was shocked and quickly invited someone in.
This time the spy pretended to be Liu Bei's messenger and sent the letter.
Yang Biao believed this letter when he saw it, because the official seal of the Han Dynasty was not a carrot seal. Each official position corresponded to a seal, and each had a unique style. Even if Dong Zhuo wanted to make a copy, he couldn't.
Comes exactly the same.
In fact, even if Dong Zhuo blocked the news, all the princes had their own ears and eyes. They had already heard that the Kwantung Army was in overwhelming power and was about to reach Chang'an. However, they did not dare to contact him proactively because of Dong Zhuo's power.
Now that the coalition forces have taken the initiative to ask for help and have fallen into a food and grass crisis, Yang Biao did not dare to neglect and immediately went to his friend Liu Yu to discuss the problem.
After the two discussed, they decided that the Hongnong Yang family would pay for the first batch of grain and grass to help the coalition tide over the difficulties.
But how to transport grain and grass out of the city under Dong Zhuo's nose was a big trouble.
According to later archeology, there are a large number of remains in the nine cities of Chang'an, including inside and outside Xuanping Gate, which prove that the people mainly lived outside the city at that time.
In addition to the east and west cities in the inner city, like Luoyang, there are commercial markets in Qingmingmen, Zhichengmen, Bachengmen and other places in the outer city.
Nowadays, the price of grain in Chang'an has skyrocketed, and many people can only buy small amounts of grain. If they suddenly buy in large quantities, once someone notices it and reports it to Dong Zhuo, big problems may arise.
So after discussion, the two decided to unite a group of upright officials to buy grain and grass together, break them into parts, and then send them to the Kwantung Army through the Wei River.
Liu Yu and Yang Biao discussed the decision and took action immediately.
The population increased dramatically overnight, and now Chang'an is in chaos. They are fishing in troubled waters, and no one would have thought that behind the chaos, someone was secretly transporting food and grass to the Kwantung Army.
In fact, with Dong Zhuo's military strength, it was no longer possible to carry out a blockade. Xu Rong only had 20,000 troops in total, garrisoning Yangling, Duan Suan 10,000, and garrisoning Baqiao.
The topography of Yangling Baqiao and Zuofengyi forms a triangle, with the Wei River and Ba River flowing through it.
There is still a depth of thirty kilometers between Yangling and Baqiao.
This was in the era of cold weapon warfare. Even if Dong Zhuo sent all the tens of thousands of people left behind in Chang'an, he would not be able to stop everyone.
Because this area is Hubei Village in later generations, and the area around Shanxi Village is a vast plain. Even if you guard the main traffic road and walk through the wilderness, you can still reach the Wei River, so you can't prevent it at all.
Therefore, Liu Yu and Yang Biao's plan went extremely smoothly. In just two or three days, the first batch of grain and grass had been collected and began to be transported out of the city towards Zuo Fengyi.