At the beginning of the second year of Guangxi's reign, the imperial court, with Chu King Chu Yi as its commander, sent 200,000 troops out of Luoyang City and headed straight for Chang'an.
Hangu Pass is located on the plateau in the west, bordering Juejian in the east, Qinling Mountains in the south, and the Yellow River in the north. It can be said to be the earliest Xiongguan fortress built. It was built in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is the throat of Luoyang in the east and Chang'an in the west. It is known as the "open sky"
"In the middle of Hangu Zhuang Pass, thousands of valleys are shaking and turning to the north sky." It is said that "with twin peaks towering beside the river, Hangu has been a battlefield since ancient times." It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.
As the gateway to Chang'an, Hangu Pass is now in the hands of the Chang'an imperial court. If Yuan Shao and others had not fought hard to break Hangu Pass and suffered huge losses, I am afraid that as soon as the news of the new establishment of the Chang'an imperial court came out,
, Chu Yi, who returned to Luoyang, had already sent his generals to lead the troops to Chang'an City.
It was precisely because Hangu Pass was occupied by Yuan Shao's men that there was a barrier in Chang'an City, so Chu Yi chose to restore his strength instead of rushing to attack Chang'an City.
After all, Hangu Pass is in Yuan Shao's hands. Even if he really sends troops to attack, he doesn't know how much he will have to pay to capture this great pass.
The existence of Hangu Pass is also the biggest reliance for Yuan Shao and others to face the Luoyang court and fight against Chu Yi.
They had attacked Hulao Pass before, but they had personally experienced how high a price they had to pay to break through a mighty pass.
If not for Hangu Pass, Yuan Shao and others might not be so confident and dare to resist the Luoyang court's attack.
Just like the Luoyang imperial court had spies in Chang'an, with the connections of Yuan Shao and other princes, there were many spies in Luoyang city, so the news of Chu Yi's dispatch of troops had just passed through the court, and in less than half a day,
Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan and others in Chang'an City had already received the news.
Chang'an court
As the old capital of the Han Dynasty, Chang'an City was not much worse than Luoyang City. The majestic palace was also full of endless majesty, conveying the power of the Han Dynasty.
As the young emperor, Liu Xie sat on the dragon throne, with hundreds of civil and military officials standing below him. It can be said that all officials were present, and it looked like a normally functioning court.
At this time, an official was coming out of the queue and said to Liu Xie who was sitting there: "Your Majesty, according to the news from our spy in Luoyang, the traitor Chu Yi is about to send 200,000 troops to conquer our country."
When the coalition of princes attacked Hulao Pass, Liu Xie was like a puppet in the coalition. Although he was young, he had seen Chu Yi's power.
It was also at that time that Chu Yi left a huge shadow in Liu Xie's heart. It can be said that when Chu Yi was mentioned, Liu Xie was slightly frightened.
When Liu Xie heard that Chu Yi was sending 200,000 troops to attack Chang'an City, his expression suddenly changed and he turned his attention to General Yuan Shao, who was standing in the first place on the left.
As the general in charge of the army and horses in the court, Yuan Shao can be said to be one man below ten thousand people in the court.
Seeing the little emperor turning his attention to him for help, Yuan Shao, who was filled with satisfaction, slowly walked out, first saluted Liu Xie, and then said with a serious face: "Your Majesty, don't panic, the Chu thieves only have 200,000 soldiers."
A horse dares to come here to die, it's really overestimating one's own capabilities."
At the court, many officials were not as relaxed as Yuan Shao. After all, Chu Yi left a deep impression on them. Just like Liu Xie, he was naturally panicked when he heard that Chu Yi was coming with an army.
Liu Xieshang said with a somewhat childish voice: "With the general here, I feel at ease."
Yuan Shao raised his hand to Liu Xie and said, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. This time I want Chu Yi to come, but not back!"
Zhong Yao, one of the nine ministers newly appointed by the emperor, stood among the ranks of civil servants and glanced at Yuan Shao lightly.
Liu Xie was the young emperor, and Yuan Shao had all the power of military and horse power. Therefore, the court in Chang'an City seemed to be dominated by Liu Xie. In fact, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the person who really held the power was Yuan Shao, who was the great general.
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For example, although Lu Zhi, Zhong Yao and some of the ministers in the court knew that Yuan Shao was needed to fight against Chu Yi, they were quite blind to some of Yuan Shao's actions.
As the saying goes, people will always change when they have great power. It is normal for Yuan Shao to change when he ascends to a high position.
Acting arrogantly and domineering will naturally make some upright ministers look down upon him. Fortunately, Yuan Shao has not lost his head yet, and at least he maintains some respect for the emperor. Otherwise, the newly established court might have been in chaos.
There are many elephants. After all, the hearts of the Han people are still there, and there are still a group of loyal ministers.
General's Mansion
When Yuan Shao returned to the General's Mansion from the court, the first thing he did was to summon his civil and military officers to discuss matters.
I remember that Yuan Shao once served in the palace of General He Jin, and he was secretly jealous of the power of the general. Now that he has become a general, he is very proud of himself.
Looking at the civil and military men who had been summoned, Yuan Shao couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in his heart.
Ever since Yuan Shao launched his crusade against Chu Yi, heroes from all over the world came to join him. Especially after they occupied Chang'an City and proclaimed Liu Xie as emperor, talented people came almost every day. Just looking at these talents in the hall,
Yuan Shao felt that most of the heroes in the world were already in my hands.
With a slight cough, Yuan Shao straightened his body and said with a flash of light in his eyes: "Everyone, the Chu bandits have sent 200,000 troops. What should we do?"
A rising tide lifts all boats. Yan Liang and Wen Chou, as the most relied-upon generals under Yuan Shao, are naturally high and powerful now.
Yan Liang, who was standing in the top three positions among the generals, suddenly stepped forward and said: "Please send troops, the general. The last general is willing to be the vanguard. I will make sure that the Chu thieves never come back."
Yuan Shao smiled at Yan Liang with satisfaction, and secretly praised him in his heart. He was indeed his right and left arm.
If Yan Liang and Wen Chou are talented generals, then Zhang He and Xu Rong and other generals can be said to be talented commanders. Zhang He and Xu Rong are not as optimistic as Yan Liang and Wen Chou.
They had fought against Chu Yi's troops more than once. Naturally, unlike Yan Liang, Wen Chou and the others, they didn't think too much. The more steady a general is, the more cautious he is in his actions.
At this moment, Yuan Shao happened to notice Zhang He. Xu Rong looked solemn and turned to Zhang He with a thought: "Jun Yi, do you have any opinions?"
Zhang He took a deep breath, walked out from the ranks of military generals, cupped his hands towards Yuan Shao and said: "General General, in my view, since the Chu thieves have set up an army, they must not be underestimated. Not to mention other things, just his subordinates."
All the generals have to deal with it carefully, not to mention that the Chu thief is not an ordinary person. Since he dares to come, he must have someone to rely on. The final general thinks that the best choice for us is to defend, with Hangu Pass in hand, unless
It is the Chu thieves with an army of 200,000 who can fly over Hangu Pass with both wings and ribs. Otherwise, they will have to risk their lives to capture it. If Hangu Pass is not lost, Chang'an City will be safe!"
Wen Shangangyan couldn't help but said angrily: "Zhang Junyi, according to what you said, you want us to be a coward? Do you think that we have an army of one million, but we are still afraid of Chu Yi's army of only 200,000?"
It has to be said that the Chang'an imperial court recruited Zhang Yan's Yellow Turban Army, coupled with the recruitment of soldiers and horses by several princes and the full support of some aristocratic families, the Chang'an imperial court now has as many as 500,000 to 600,000 troops, known as one million. The army.
Zhang He just smiled. If there are more people in the battle, then there will be more elites, and what else will the general do? Everyone just lines up and counts which side has the most heads.
Yuan Shao coughed lightly and waved his hand towards Wen Chou.
At this moment, Yuan Shao looked at the group of scribes on the other side. Xu You, Shen Pei, Chen Gong, Feng Ji, and Li Ru formed Yuan Shao's think tank.
Yuan Shao looked at the group of people and said, "I don't know if these gentlemen have any different opinions."
Xu You, Shen Mate, Feng Ji and the others have a good relationship, there is nothing dirty between them, and with a strong enemy like Chu Yi by their side, no one wants to fight among themselves.
Together with Chen Gong, Li Ru and others, it can be said that Yuan Shao's think tank is absolutely top-notch. In terms of intelligence alone, even Chu Yi's Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Xun Yu, Lu Su and others may not be able to do it. Press one end hard.
After all, Chen Gong is definitely no less than Guo Jia, Lu Su's top strategist. With one person's strategy and Lu Bu's courage, he almost overturned Cao Cao's backyard. As for Li Ru, let alone one person's strategy. , almost caused Dong Zhuo to cut off hundreds of years of Han Dynasty inheritance.
Now that there are these outstanding people on the side, if the two sides really want to make plans, to be honest, some conspiracies and tricks really won't have much effect.
Xu You stroked his beard and smiled and said: "General, judging from what I have seen, we will fight the Chu thieves as an upright division."
Yuan Shao's eyes lit up, and Chen Gong nodded at this moment and said: "What Xu Ziyuan said is exactly what a certain person thought. He was not boasting about the Chu thieves' subordinates Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Xun Yu and others. The talents of these people are not mine. Wait, the other side will definitely be able to think of all the strategies we can think of, so if you want to play any conspiracy, I am afraid that you will only end up humiliating yourself in the end. In this case, it is better to face the enemy with an upright teacher."
Yuan Shao naturally knew Chu Yi's advisers well. After hearing what Chen Gong said, Yuan Shao nodded and said, "What Gongtai said is true. Do you gentlemen have any other opinions?"
Li Ru stroked his beard and smiled slightly: "I have a word of advice for the general."
Yuan Shao raised his eyebrows, looked at Li Ru and said, "Mr. Wen first, please speak!"
Li Ru chuckled and said: "In my opinion, if the emperor can visit Hangu Pass in person, he will surely boost the morale of the army and this battle will be won!"
As soon as Li Ru said this, Xu You, Chen Gong, or Shen Pei all changed their expressions, while Yuan Shao was just stunned for a moment, a strange look flashed in his eyes, and he bowed to Li Ru solemnly. Said: "If sir hadn't reminded me, I would have almost made a big mistake!"
Li Ru didn't seem to notice the strange look in the eyes of Xu You and Chen Gong and others when they looked at him. He just cupped his hands at Yuan Shao with a calm look and said, "It's just a subordinate's duty to check for leaks and fill them up." A share!"
