Empress Dong was not a fool. How could she not understand the meaning of Yuan Shao's words? They were just telling him that the emperor must go to Hangu Pass with him.
Even though Empress Dowager Dong didn't have high hopes at the beginning, she still wanted to give it a try, just in case Yuan Shao agreed to let the emperor keep Chang'an City.
Unfortunately, the result was a big disappointment for her. Just as Lu Zhi expected, it was impossible for Yuan Shao to keep the emperor in Chang'an City, even if Chang'an City was still under his control.
From this point, we can also see that Yuan Shao valued the emperor, but unfortunately this regard was not what Empress Dowager Dong and the emperor imagined.
With a somewhat dejected look on her face, Empress Dowager Dong waved her hand towards Yuan Shao and said, "Well, since the general has decided, Ai Jia will say nothing more. She just hopes that the general can take good care of the emperor's safety."
Yuan Shao immediately assured Empress Dowager Dong: "I pledge my head to the Empress Dowager. As long as I don't die, the emperor will be safe and sound."
Liu Xie didn't speak at all when Yuan Shao came in. He just sat there like a puppet and watched the conversation between Empress Dowager Dong and Yuan Shao.
When Yuan Shao bowed to Liu Xie, a bit of hatred flashed in Liu Xie's eyes, but when Yuan Shao raised his head, Liu Xie returned to a calm look.
"I will retire and please invite the Queen Mother. Her Majesty will prepare early and be ready to go at any time."
Watching Yuan Shao leave the palace, until Yuan Shao's figure disappeared into the distance, Liu Xie threw himself into the arms of Empress Dowager Dong and cried in fear: "Empress Dowager, this traitor Yuan Shao wants to take me to Hangu Pass.
He wants to keep me under control."
Empress Dowager Dong gently stroked Liu Xie's head, a look of exhaustion appeared on her slightly old face and comforted her: "Xie'er, don't panic. As long as Yuan Benchu still has a use for your majesty, he will not dare to put your majesty to death."
No matter what, there may not be a chance to capture the traitor Yuan Benchu in the future."
Hundreds of thousands of troops gathered outside Chang'an City. This time Yuan Shao had the title of general and nominally commanded hundreds of thousands of troops. Although some of the hundreds of thousands of troops this time were not his direct subordinates, they were relatively
Compared with the previous alliance of princes, the number of troops and horses under Yuan Shao's control this time increased several times.
You must know that in a short period of time, the Chang'an court frantically assembled more than 400,000 troops, almost half of which belonged to Yuan Shao. Not to mention others, the remnants of Zhang Yan's Yellow Turban Army who were surrendered were Yuan Shao's
Provided 100,000 soldiers who had experienced the war.
Although these Yellow Turban soldiers are not elite, they are much stronger than those farmers who were directly recruited. You must know that the number of Yellow Turban soldiers who were recruited this time is no less than hundreds of thousands. If Yuan Shao expands his army crazily, he can at least pull out more than one.
A direct army of four to five million people came.
It's just that Yuan Shao's current strength is simply not enough to feed an army of hundreds of thousands. You must know that the consumption of hundreds of thousands of troops every day is extremely staggering. Without sufficient strength and foundation, crazy expansion of the army is simply courting death.
Even though Yuan Shao had the support of some aristocratic families, he did not dare to expand his army. He could only carefully select 100,000 elites from the Yellow Turban Army.
Coupled with some of the good family members Yuan Shao gathered and some of the manpower supported by some aristocratic families, Yuan Shao once again had an army of 200,000 directly belonging to him after the battle of Hulao Pass.
In addition, needless to say, there are soldiers and horses belonging to some princes such as Gongsun Zan and Han Fu. At any rate, the Chang'an court also raised its banner. Coupled with the influence of the Yuan family and Chu Yi's reputation, a considerable number of Han officials actually
Naturally, Chu Yi was somewhat disgusted with the eunuch-born Chu Yi. On the surface, these people did not dare to confront the Luoyang court, but it did not mean that they would not engage in some small tricks.
It is precisely because of this reason that with the secret support of these officials, the strength of several princes who suffered heavy losses in the Hulao Pass battle expanded like a balloon, and each raised tens of thousands of troops in a short period of time.
There are as many as two hundred thousand horses in total.
Even Sun Ce, whose father died in the battle, was able to raise a team of no less than 20,000 people at a young age with the support of his relatives.
The most important thing is that Sun Ce's best friend, Zhou Yu, who is only a weakling in age, also came from Jiangdong. Not only did he bring scarce food to Sun Ce, but he also recruited Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai, two powerful water warriors for Sun Ce.
.
It can be said that under the banner of the Chang'an court, the strength of several princes who chose to stay with Yuan Shao for the end of the war has skyrocketed, and now one by one has been named a general.
On the high general's platform, Yuan Shao, surrounded by several princes, looked downwards. At a glance, there was no end to the darkness, and they were all troops ready to go.
Looking at the black troops and horses, Yuan Shao felt so high-spirited that he couldn't help but pull out the sword from his waist, raised it high, and shouted at the same time: "Send troops!"
Suddenly the officers and soldiers of the three armies shouted loudly, and the mighty army headed straight towards Hangu Pass like a torrent.
Sun Ce volunteered and led his troops as the vanguard of the army, while Yuan Shao, not to mention leading the army and sitting in the center, was the core of the army.
A huge and luxurious carriage, surrounded by a large army, drove out of the imperial city, out of Chang'an City, and into the Chinese army. Needless to say, the carriage was carrying the emperor Liu Xie.
Regardless of whether the officials have any opinions, at least no one in Chang'an City can compete with Yuan Shao head-on. As long as Yuan Shao insists on the decision made by Yuan Shao, no one can oppose it, not even the emperor.
Hangu Pass
On the high city wall, teams of soldiers and horses were patrolling. Just looking at these soldiers and horses, you can tell that these soldiers can definitely be called elite.
The guard general of Hangu Pass was none other than Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan. Yuan Shao did not appoint Zhang He, who had already shown his prominence, or appointed experienced generals such as Li Jue, Guo Si, and Xu Rong. Instead, he chose Gao Gan. This
Needless to say, it is because the relationship between senior officials and Yuan Shao is extraordinary.
Of course, Yuan Shao is not a fool. He knows better than anyone how important Hangu Pass is to the city of Chang'an, so he appointed Gao Gan as the chief general guarding Hangu Pass, but he also assigned Xu Rong to Gao Gan as the main guard.
He is the lieutenant of a senior cadre and assists the senior cadre in defending the city.
Coupled with the tens of thousands of elite troops stationed in Hangu Pass, including Xu Rong, senior officials and some generals, it can be said that the huge Hangu Pass is absolutely impregnable.
Besides, Chang'an City is not too far from Hangu Pass. If the Luoyang court raises a large army to attack Hangu Pass, Yuan Shao can naturally send troops to Hangu Pass to support it as soon as possible. So regardless of high officials, Xu Rong
The two of them were stationed at Hangu Pass. It seemed that Yuan Shao didn't care that much about Hangu Pass, but this was not the case.
Gao Gan served as the general guarding the city at Hangu Pass, seemingly because of his close relationship with Yuan Shao, but his own talents were not bad, and he could be said to be both civil and military.
Of course, compared to Zhang He and Li Jue, these natural generals are a bit inferior, but they still have the ability to defend the city. Therefore, since the senior officials were stationed at Hangu Pass, the senior officials handed over the power to Xu Rong.
Knowing people and making good use of them, Hangu Pass can be built like a copper wall and an iron wall.
At this time, Gao Gan was wearing armor, and he looked very heroic. There was a general beside him who was not inferior to Gao Gan. He was Xu Rong, the general of the Xiliang Army who had defected to Yuan Shao.
Xu Rong was standing next to the senior official at this moment, pointing to the wide area in front of Hangu Pass and saying: "General, around Hangu Pass, within a radius of several miles, everything that needs to be cleaned has been cleared, although it is not too big.
It works, but it can also cause some trouble to the invading enemy."
Gao Gan nodded slightly. If possible, he would like to clear away all the trees within a dozen miles of Hangu Pass. Unfortunately, there are many mountains and rivers near Hangu Pass. Even if he sends all his soldiers out,
I'm afraid I can't even do this.
Taking a deep breath, Gao Gan looked at Xu Rong and said, "General, I'm in trouble."
Xu Rong said hurriedly: "The general is right, this is just a matter of the last general's duty."
To be honest, Gao Gan couldn't be more impressed by Xu Rong's abilities. He really didn't expect Xu Rong to be so capable at first. He could manage the huge Hulao Pass and tens of thousands of troops without any chaos in his hands.
It was handled in an orderly manner. You must know that even if he were to take over, he might not be able to handle the many affairs in Hulao Pass even if he had to scramble all over the place.
Although Xu Rong's reputation under Dong Zhuo is not as good as that of Li Jue and Guo Si, in terms of ability, he may not be worse than the two. You must know that without Chu Yi's interference, Xu Rong once defeated Cao Cao twice, defeating Cao Cao twice.
Sun Jian's achievements must not be taken lightly.
If Xu Rong had not died early, he might not have been able to create a good story in the troubled times of the Three Kingdoms.
Glancing at Xu Rong, Gao Gan said slowly: "The general and his army have already left Chang'an City and will reach Hangu Pass in a short time. However, the Chu bandits' army is still two days away from Hangu Pass."
, before the general arrives at Hangu Pass, the Chu bandit army may not be able to arrive in time, so you and I can feel at ease."
However, Xu Rong looked at Gao Gan with a solemn expression and said: "General, don't be careless. Under normal circumstances, the general can indeed arrive at Hangu Pass before the Chu thieves, but don't forget, if the Chu thieves send cavalry,
You can reach Hangu Pass in half a day."
The senior officer subconsciously said: "Cavalry? So what if the cavalry arrives before Hangu Pass? Can he still use the cavalry to attack the city?"
Xu Rong said solemnly: "No matter what, before the general arrives, you and I must not be negligent in the slightest. We are not afraid of ten thousand, just in case!"
When Gao Gan heard what Xu Rong said, he took a deep breath, bowed to Xu Rong and said: "I have learned the lesson. I will not miss the letter this time. The general should be credited with the first credit!"
On the road from Luoyang to Hangu Pass, smoke and dust billowed in, and the ground shook with rumbles. Looking around, one could see a mass of black soldiers and horses roaring towards them. It was a group of cavalry.
This cavalry team has no end in sight at a glance. There are no less than ten thousand soldiers and horses. The leader of the cavalry team is holding a Fangtian painted halberd and riding a red rabbit horse. He is Lu Bu.
Lu Bu galloped, and several generals around him followed Lu Bu, but they were not far behind.
Lu Bu looked back at Tai Shici behind him and said, "Ziyi, how long will it take to reach Hangu Pass?"
Taishi Ci pondered for a moment, looked around and said, "If nothing happens, we can reach Hangu Pass in more than an hour's journey at most!"
Lu Bu couldn't help but shine his eyes when he heard this and said: "Okay, pass my order and order everyone to work non-stop. I will arrive at Hangu Pass within an hour."
Chu Yi conquered the Chang'an court and sent 200,000 troops, including tens of thousands of cavalry. As the vanguard, Lu Bu was not the kind of person to follow the rules. After setting off, he led the army straight to Hulao Pass as soon as possible.
He didn't take his duty as a pioneer seriously.
However, Lu Bu's move was also expected by Chu Yi. Chu Yi knew Lu Bu well and could naturally imagine the possibility of Lu Bu leading the vanguard army to reach Hangu Pass first.
Sure enough, when Lu Bu sent out his troops, he was like a wild horse running wild. He sent messengers to the central army to give a shout-out, and he led tens of thousands of cavalry straight to Hulao Pass.
Under normal circumstances, the vanguard army must maintain a certain distance from the central army. On the one hand, it opens the way for the main army, and on the other hand, it also prevents the main army from being attacked. As a result, Lu Bu simply ignored it, and tens of thousands of cavalry suddenly opened up the gap between them and the main army.
The distance between them is like forgetting that they are the vanguard of the army.
There is a checkpoint a few miles before Hangu Pass. This checkpoint is nothing more than a beacon tower and a fortress where more than a hundred people are stationed.
This checkpoint is not to block the enemy, but mainly to detect incoming enemies in advance, and it was established as a warning at Hangu Pass.
There are quite a few checkpoints like this, almost every one or two miles away. Therefore, if there are incoming enemies, no matter how fast they are, it is absolutely impossible to pass through these checkpoints without disturbing them.
The next one appears before Hangu Pass.
There are so many checkpoints, but if one place is disturbed, the smoke billowing instantly can alert the soldiers guarding Hangu Pass.
At this time, at the frontmost checkpoint, there were more than a hundred soldiers, some of whom were resting in the fortress and some of whom were patrolling with sufficient vigilance.
Suddenly the earth shook and smoke billowed. In the fortress, a chief shouted loudly with a horrified look on his face: "Light the smoke to warn us that there is an incoming enemy."
However, a horse came through the air, and it was Lu Bu holding a painted halberd. He saw Fang Tian's painted halberd in Lu Bu's hand slashing down from the air. There was a roar, and with just one blow, the fortress exploded, and more than a hundred soldiers were killed.
He died on the spot without even having time to light the beacon fire.
Lu Bu rode past and looked at the ruins of the checkpoint, with a somewhat solemn look in his eyes. Since he chose to march in a hurry, he naturally knew something about the checkpoint in front of Hangu Pass, so he destroyed this place as soon as he took action.
level.
However, Lu Bu also knew that it would be very difficult for him to reach Hangu Pass without anyone noticing. Not to mention other things, he could not guarantee that he could destroy these passes so smoothly every time.
In particular, the movement of tens of thousands of cavalrymen was too great. The billowing smoke and the shaking of the earth could be detected even from several miles away. If he destroyed this level, the next level might have already noticed the movement.
Of course, since Lu Bu chose to march in a hurry, he had expected all this, so with the speed of the red rabbit horse, Lu Bu was able to advance more than ten miles ahead of the army, taking the first step to clear the obstacles for the army.
