Liu Yu's health has actually started to get worse and worse in the past few years.
Every year I get cold and cough constantly.
Since autumn this year, his old illness has relapsed. Once the temperature drops, he will cough incessantly.
Although the Imperial Physician Ling, together with the Imperial Physician Cheng, and the Imperial Physician Fang Cheng jointly conducted consultations, they had already begun to help Liu Yu recuperate his body a few years ago.
But at this age, chronic diseases of old age are inevitably damaging Liu Yu's body, making his health worse day by day, but it is more obvious in autumn and winter.
In the era without antibiotics, the life span of even high-ranking officials and nobles was always low. Except for Liu Xiu, few emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty lived beyond the age of forty.
Historically, Liu Yu and Tao Qian served as the governor of Youzhou, which means that their ages are not very different. Even if Liu Yu is five years younger than Tao Qian, he is already 64 years old this year.
Compared with the 62-year-old ancestor Liu Xiu, the 64-year-old Liu Yu was obviously a rare longevity among the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which raised the average lifespan of the Eastern Han emperors.
However, no matter how long he lived, he could not withstand the ravages of time. The imperial doctor once warned him not to be overjoyed or sad. However, he was too happy to hear the news of Yuan Shao's death yesterday, and today he heard about Liu Bei's defeat at Xian Yu Fu, which still affected him emotionally.
And vomiting blood.
Of course, the great joys and sorrows of the elderly coupled with some chronic diseases will not lead to death at once. As long as the body is properly maintained, warmed up with some benign drugs, and a good mentality is maintained, it may not be a big problem for another three to five years.
.
However, the emperor's vomiting of blood was a big deal, and the court meeting ended quickly in a panic. Many courtiers quickly gathered around the emperor and went to the apse to rest. At the same time, they summoned the imperial doctor to come for diagnosis, and many important matters in the court were naturally delayed.
At this time in Jizhou, the news that Shexian County was occupied by Xu Huang and Zhuge Liang has never spread. This is because all the people sent by Shexian County to ask for help were intercepted by Zhuge Liang, and Yuan Shao and Gao Gan are still kept in the dark until now.
Five days later, Guo Yuan in Wu'an County realized something was wrong. He sent people to Bingzhou the day before yesterday and asked the rear to deliver a new batch of grain and grass to the front. After all, the high-ranking soldiers left Handan and did not carry much grain and grass, so they needed the rear.
Continuous supply.
But it stands to reason that even if there is no reply from Shangdang within two or three days, Shexian and Luxian should have received a reply, informing the front line whether their food and grass are ready and when they can be shipped.
wait for news.
However, there has been no feedback so far, which is suspicious.
Guo Yuan was Zhong Yao's nephew and later became a general under Yuan Shao. He was sent by Yuan Shao to Bingzhou and Gaogan to attack Hedong. This time he came back from Bingzhou to support Yuan Shao and he was ordered to guard Wu'an.
At this time, in the room of Guo Yuan's residence, there were several letters on his desk from his uncle, to the effect that it would be better for him to surrender as soon as possible.
After reading these letters, Guo Yuan immediately burned them and didn't bother to reply. He thought about it and called the guard outside to ask: "Has the person who went to the Party to urge the grain transportation not come back yet?"
"General, not yet."
the guard replied.
"Call Zhong Changtong to come over."
Guo Yuan said.
"only."
The guard then walked out.
After a while, a young scholar came out.
This man is called Zhong Changtong, also known as Zhengzheng. He is a man from Gaoping in Shanyang. He is twenty years old this year. After he attained the imperial title, he traveled around the world. When he was studying in Bingzhou, he was valued by senior officials and was recruited as a military staff member.
Historically, after the high officials surrendered to Cao Cao, they asked him whether they could take advantage of the Wuhuan rebellion in the north to rebel against Cao Cao. Zhong Changtong expressed his opposition and believed that the matter should be carefully considered. As a result, the high officials did not listen to him and eventually
Encountered destruction.
Seeing Zhong Changtong come in, Guo Yuan said straight to the point: "Justice, now that Duke Ming and General Gao have defeated the imperial army, they need food and grass to pursue the victory. The general has asked me to send people to urge them, but the day before yesterday I sent
If someone went to Shexian County, logically speaking, there should be news back yesterday, but why is there no news today?"
"Is something delayed?" Zhong Changtong asked.
Guo Yuan shook his head: "There are military orders. If the soldiers I send out cannot come back as scheduled, they will be dealt with according to military law. And they cannot be deserters. They are all my personal guards, so there is no problem with their loyalty."
"That means we have encountered a dangerous situation. Now that the Qingzhou Army and the Youzhou Army have been defeated, it is impossible to bypass us and attack Shexian County, so I guess it is most likely the work of mountain bandits."
Zhong Changtong said: "When I traveled to Bingzhou before, I passed by the Five Elements Mountains and knew that there were countless bandits and bandits hiding there. Their large army did not dare to provoke them, but if the number was very small, they might encounter an ambush by them.
If they had done it, it would have been very dangerous."
The total distance from Shexian County to Wu'an is only over 60 kilometers. Although transportation was underdeveloped in the Han Dynasty, Fukouxing Road has been developed since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is a mature Taihang Mountain passage with relatively wide official roads and three roads.
The cities are connected to each other.
Therefore, it takes at most two days to come back. And if none of the people sent there come back, and if the two factors of delay and desertion are excluded, then in the speculation of normal people, they will naturally think that they have encountered a situation.
.
The problem was that Liu Bei and Xian Yufu had just been defeated, and it was impossible to bypass Wu'an and attack Shexian County. Therefore, no matter how smart Zhong Changtong was, he could only think that it was the work of the numerous bandits in the Taihang Mountains, and did not think of the Qingzhou Army.
After all, Chen Mu was the person sent out before the Battle of Handan. No one has the ability to predict the future. Who would have thought that he had already arranged for people to attack Shexian County when Yuan Shao faked his surrender?
Guo Yuan said with a gloomy face: "These bandits are really hateful. They have delayed our military mission. It's fair to say that you come with me to Shexian County in person."
Zhong Changtong smiled bitterly and said, "Okay."
The two of them did not hesitate at that moment. There were about 6,000 defenders in Wu'an, and Guo Yuan led 3,000 people. He thought that he should be able to deal with the bandits.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Except for Zhang Yan, there are currently few relatively large forces in the Taihang Mountains that can threaten the regular army, and the 36th Route Black Mountain Army, which was once prosperous in recent years, has been destroyed
Most of them were annexed. Zhang Yan annexed the Montenegrin Army to the north of the Taihang Mountains, and the imperial court annexed the Montenegrin Army to the south of the Taihang Mountains. Therefore, there are very few Montenegrin Army still holding the banner of independence.
Now, except for the scattered bandits, there are not many major forces left. According to Guo Yuan’s knowledge, the Fukou Xingshan Road Pass in the south is still in their hands. Although the north faces the threat of Zhang Yan, Zhang Yan
He has been guarding his own three-quarter acre of land and dare not come out, so he is confident.
Three thousand people from Wu'an City left the city and headed all the way to Shexian County along the official road to the west. They almost passed the Xiangtang Mountain Scenic Area in later generations. When they arrived at the northwest of Longfeng Valley where Chen Mu ambushed Xu Rong, the sky turned dark.
Gradually dimmed.
In later generations, the location here was northwest of Cishan Town, between Yangyi Town and Cishan Town. Most of the area was a flat plain, but the further west you went, the more mountainous areas there were, with overlapping mountains.
This place is the only way from Wu'an to Shexian County. Zhuge Liang had already sent people to place sentries on several mountains around this place. From a high position, he could see the road conditions.
After discovering that a large number of soldiers were coming from the direction of Wu'an, the sentries immediately rushed to Wu'an overnight to report the situation to Xu Huang and Zhuge Liang.
At midnight, Xu Huang and Zhuge Liang had gone to bed early. After hearing the news, they quickly summoned the generals to discuss the matter.
As the commander-in-chief, Xu Huang sat high on the throne, Zhuge Liang sat first below, followed by Wen Su and other captains.
Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army returned to the camp after becoming tool men. Now in Shexian County, Xu Huang and Zhuge Liang have joined forces with more than 10,000 people and occupy the pass. Their strength cannot be underestimated.
"There are people coming from the direction of Wu'an. The specific number does not seem to be very large. There are only a few thousand people. If Yuan Shao sends such a small number of people here, isn't he going to die?"
Xu Huang looked around, finally fixed his eyes on Zhuge Liang, and asked the doubts in his heart.
Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and suddenly laughed: "General, this is because they were not sent by Yuan Shao. They should be the troops of Guo Yuan, the guard in the direction of Wu'an. Guo Yuan may not know that Shexian County has fallen."
"Then what is he doing here?"
Xu Huang said in surprise.
Zhuge Liang explained: "The day before yesterday, several scouts were sent from the direction of Wu'an to urge the rear to transport grain, but I stopped them. I'm afraid Guo Yuan thought that these scouts had been robbed by bandits in the mountains, and came down to suppress the bandits in anger."
Xu Huang laughed and said: "This Guo Yuan is so stupid. Shexian County has not contacted Wu'an for several days. Has he not responded yet?"
Zhuge Liang said: "Other than the master's miraculous calculation, who else could have thought that when Yuan Shao was pretending to surrender, we were already attacking She County? After all, no one knew at that time that the high-ranking army had left She County and the rear was empty.
It’s a very normal thought.”
"Well, what should we do now?"
Xu Huang asked.
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Since they are enemies who have come to our door, there is no reason not to eat them. They think they are here to suppress bandits and have underestimated us. I am afraid they are not very vigilant. We can attack the camp tonight. I heard that Guo Yuan
He is the nephew of Shangshu Ling, but he did not listen to Shangshu Ling's repeated advice. It is just a good time to capture him and send him to Huai County, so as not to fall into the den of thieves. The day he dies, Shangshu Ling will be sad."
This is emotional intelligence and relationship network. Zhong Yao has already joined Qingzhou in the first year of Xingwu, that is, 192 AD. His qualifications are relatively old. If the Qingzhou Group takes power in the future, it will be a matter of time for him to ascend to a high position. And
Zhuge Liang is just a rising star. Without the support of a network of relationships between the DPRK and China, it will be difficult for him to develop rapidly.
Today, if Guo Yuan is captured and sent to Zhong Yao, Zhong Yao will have to accept his relationship with Xu Huang. Favor sometimes seems useless, but at critical moments, without harming one's own interests, one can use the favor
For most people, paying off debts is not a problem.
Therefore, sometimes a little effort may not be rewarded one day in the future.
Xu Huang felt it was very reasonable after hearing this, nodded and said: "It's wonderful, then we will follow Kong Ming's words and send troops tonight."
Soon the troops and horses in the county were mobilized, and Xu Huang personally led five thousand troops to the east.
As mentioned before, Shexian County is more than 60 kilometers away from Wu'an, and it takes at least two days to go back and forth. Guo Yuan set off after noon, so it got dark halfway through, and he had to camp on the spot.
But he was going to Shexian County, and he was not camping in this place for a long time, so he only took a temporary rest, put up a tent and slept there, without even a fence.
By the time Xu Huang's army arrived, it was already late at night, almost four or five o'clock in the morning, and close to dawn.
However, this was also a time when people were sleeping relatively deeply. Even the night guards at Guo Yuan camp were already drowsy, and there were only a few people who were still awake.
After Xu Huang went to investigate in person, he sent some scouts to approach the sentries outside Guo Yuan's army and dealt with them quietly.
After getting rid of the sentry, the army officially entered the camp.
Guo Yuan was still sleeping and became a prisoner. Soon the whole camp was filled with screams, but they soon subsided. All the soldiers didn't even have a chance to touch their weapons before they were held at knifepoint.
on the neck.
The commotion continued until dawn. Zhuge Liang came from behind and saw Xu Huangzheng sending people to tie up Guo Yuan and prepare to send him to Huai County from the southern footpath of Fukouxing in the south of Shexian County. There was also a man with a full face standing next to him.
The young man with a bitter smile went up curiously and asked: "General, did you win?"
"It's easy to win."
Xu Huang pointed at Guo Yuan who was tied up like a pig and said: "This guy is Guo Yuan. I will send him to his uncle later."
Guo Yuan was still there shouting: "Let me go, you surnamed Xu, if you have the guts to fight me to the death."
"Snapped!"
Xu Huang stepped forward and kicked him: "Be honest, you must be mentally ill. Your family is from the Pei Kingdom, and your uncle is still a court official. There is nothing you can do except follow Yuan Shaona and other thieves."
"Loyal ministers do nothing..."
Before he could finish his words, he was gagged and carried away by the soldiers.
Zhuge Liang looked at the young man again, and Xu Huang introduced him: "This is the military staff member who was recruited by Gao Gan. His name is Zhong Changtong. He is from Gaoping, Shanyang. I saw that he came from a noble family, so I didn't bind him."
"oh?"
Zhuge Liang thought for a while and said: "Could it be Zhongchang of Shanyang? I remember that there was a Mr. Zhongchang teaching in the academy. Although he never taught me, I heard that Zhongchang taught in "Li" and "Yi"
"The book was passed down from generation to generation, and I have learned from my family. I have also read Mr.'s works."
"That's my uncle."
Zhong Changtong said: "I have been to Qingzhou a few years ago, traveled around, and studied with my uncle in the academy. Speaking of which, I can be regarded as a disciple of the academy."
Although the Shanyang Zhongchang clan did not have any high-ranking officials, they were once a duke of Qi State, had family canons passed down from generation to generation, and were considered a prominent family in Shanyang County, so they still had some fame.
When he heard that Zhong Changtong had studied in Taishan Academy, Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "I didn't expect that he was the senior. My subordinate Zhuge Liang, named Kong Ming, is now following my master as the chief clerk in the army. If you don't dislike it, senior, you can follow me."
Head to Shexian County.”
"Then it will be hard work."
Zhong Changtong originally went to Bingzhou for a trip, but was forcibly conquered by senior officials. Naturally, he had no loyalty at all, so he immediately left with Zhuge Liang.
As Guo Yuan was captured alive by Xu Huang, Wu'an soon fell. When the news reached Handan, it was already two days later.