My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 224 Entering Wenxi
Those of lower status would spend their days watching the emperor's morning court session from around the fence, occasionally throwing stones at the civil and military officials to add to the excitement.

Unfortunately, the emperor could not possibly accept such a reward.

He constantly thought about returning east, but when he repeatedly suggested to the White Wave bandits that they return to Luoyang, they were all rejected without hesitation.

I've just heard that a powerful warlord from Guandong has brought 30,000 to 40,000 troops to Hedong to welcome me.

The White Wave bandits sensed something was wrong.

So, with Yang Feng at the head, the four of them got together and started discussing it.

It could be described as gossip; the four of them together had eight ears, four eyes, four noses, and a mouth, but not a single brain.

We looked at each other, and after a long time, we still couldn't come up with a single idea.

"Don't you have any ideas?"

Yang Feng was also getting anxious because he held the highest position, equivalent to the Three Dukes. He could not only establish his own government but also serve as the Minister of State, which was the most important title for participating in government affairs. The other three did not have this title.

Therefore, Yang Feng was the most anxious.

Seeing that Yang Feng was getting anxious, Hu Cai hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about we run north and hide in Pingyang?"

"Nonsense."

Han Xian shook his head and said, "It's not that far. Liu Bei has crossed most of the Central Plains. How can he be afraid of a few steps?"

Pingyang is located in the northeast of Hebei Province, more than 100 kilometers away from Anyi County, which is indeed not far.

"Shall we head further north?"

Li Le thought Hu Cai's idea was good; since they were close by, they should go further away.

Yang Feng shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, "Further north are the Xiongnu and Xianbei people, and do we have that much food to spare?"

Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, Li Le and Hu Cai wanted to refute it, but the second half silenced them.

With another drought looming, last year's harvest was already disastrous, but now it seems the summer harvest is likely to be a total loss. Without food, let alone fleeing, even defending the city is impossible.

Hu Cai, suddenly enraged, shouted, "Then what do we do? Since we can't leave, we have no choice but to fight?"

Li Le also stood up abruptly, echoing Hu Cai, "Fight! Whoever tries to take the emperor away, we'll fight them to the bitter end!"

Seeing Hu Cai and Li Le's reactions, Yang Feng was somewhat tempted, but couldn't make up his mind.

After all, those who manage to get to this position do so entirely because of the troops under their command.

If the army is wiped out, who will still recognize him as the General of Xingyi?

So Yang Feng asked Han Xian, "Bo Yang, what do you think?"

Han Xian gritted his teeth and said, "We fought our way to the throne, so why should we give it to Liu Bei? If he behaves himself, we can share the spoils with him. But if he wants to monopolize the throne, we might have to fight him."

After listening to Han Xian's suggestion, Yang Fengyi slammed his hand on the table: "That's the plan! When Liu Bei arrives, we'll treat him with courtesy. As long as he doesn't mention taking the emperor away, we'll give him whatever official position or title he wants. But if he does want to take the emperor away, then we'll fight him to the bitter end!"

"it is good!"

Han Xian, Hu Cai, and Li Le responded loudly together.

Yang Feng's decision was made out of necessity.

They had no real roots; the only area they could roam was Hedong County. Therefore, they instinctively resisted the suggestion to leave Hedong, much like wild animals don't want to leave their safe dens.

But Yang Feng and the others also knew that their food supplies would not last until the end of the year, or even until the middle of the year.

This made them somewhat uneasy in front of Liu Bei, which is why they ultimately came up with this incoherent contingency plan.

**********
On January 5th, Taishi Ci led the vanguard out of Jiguan Pass and advanced northwest along Wangwu Mountain. The main army, with Zhang Liao as support, followed by Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Pan Zhang, Zhang Yang, Guo Gong, Gao Shun, and other troops, officially entering Hedong territory.

The road Liu Feng chose was the Zhiguan Pass, one of the eight passes of Taihang Mountain since ancient times.

The route begins in Zhixian County, passes through Jiguan Pass, and enters the Yuncheng Basin.

Taishi Ci's troops have greatly increased their fighting strength. Liu Feng had originally arranged for men and horses, and in the past half month, he had gathered 500 horses in Hedong and allocated them all to Taishi Ci's troops, which greatly increased the number of Taishi Ci's cavalry to more than 1,000 and greatly increased their speed.

In just three days, they left Wangwu Mountain and officially entered the Hedong Basin.

Although Ha Dong and Hanoi appear to be almost adjacent on the map, transportation between them is actually not convenient.

Land transportation either has to go through Wangwu Mountain or follow the narrow passage along the Yellow River.

The most convenient route would be to cross the Yellow River, but the area around Sanmenxia is extremely dangerous, and it would also be necessary to control the city of Shaanxi on the other side of the river.

The entire Hedong Commandery was surrounded by the Wangwu Mountains, the Yellow River, and the Lüliang and Taihang Mountains to the north, forming a river valley basin.

In later generations, this river valley basin was divided into two parts, called the Yuncheng Basin and the Linfen Basin. The former is the hometown of Guan Yu, and the latter is the hometown of Xu Huang.

Taishi Ci entered the Yuncheng Basin, which was also Guan Yu's hometown.

Geographically speaking, the Hedong Basin and the Guanzhong Plain should actually be a single entity, but they are forcibly separated by the Yellow River. However, in winter, the Yellow River freezes over, and during this period, the two plains become connected again.

The Hedong Basin has a high elevation advantage over the entire Guanzhong Plain, overlooking the Guanzhong Plain from a superior position.

It borders Bingzhou to the north, connects with Henan to the east, overlooks Guanzhong to the west, and is adjacent to the Yellow River to the south.

Geographically, Hedong has been the father of Guanzhong since ancient times.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Wei gained control of Hedong, which nearly led to the downfall of the Qin state.

After Qin acquired Hedong, it routed the armies of the Three Jin states.

Liu Feng himself was quite pleasantly surprised by his easy journey north to Hanoi and into Hedong, and naturally, he also developed the idea of ​​wanting more after gaining something from Longxi.

If we can seize the opportunity to take over the two prefectures of Hedong and Henei, and then use them as a base, it would be a very good strategy to develop towards Henan Yin or expand into Guanzhong.

But after calming down, he still abandoned the plan without hesitation.

There's no other reason than that Guanzhong has lost its value.

At this time, the population of Guanzhong was almost wiped out, and Hedong was also severely damaged, leaving only Hanoi, which was easy to attack but difficult to defend, and it was a lone pillar that could not hold out.

Moreover, this is not the biggest problem. The real problem is that if we want to cultivate elites in Hanoi and Ha Dong, we must stay in Hanoi.

If I leave my father, and he gets carried away by loyalty and righteousness and doesn't go south to take Yangzhou properly, but just works for the emperor for nothing, then the little I gain in Hanoi will be far less than the power my father squandered.

After leaving Jingxing, Taishi Ci left infantry to guard the pass and personally led cavalry to raid Wenxi County.

By guarding the pass, one can remain invincible.

Given the formidable strength of the Guandong loyalist army, the only chance the Hedong White Wave bandits had to block Liu Feng and his forces was to seal off the exit of Zhiguan Pass.

The raid on Wenxi County was naturally aimed at controlling a foothold and a center for storing grain and fodder.

Wenxi is located north of Anyi County, only forty or fifty li away, and a little over a hundred li from the entrance to Jingxing, making it the best choice.

Subsequently, large numbers of soldiers emerged from Wangwu Mountain and headed towards Wenxi.

When Taishi Ci arrived at the city of Wenxi, he merely displayed the imperial edict ordering Xuzhou to come to the aid of the emperor, and the magistrate of Wenxi immediately opened the city gates to welcome the Xuzhou army into the city.

After Taishi Ci's troops entered the city, they maintained strict military discipline and committed no offenses. Apart from taking over the defense of Wenxi City, not a single soldier disturbed the people. During rest periods, they all stayed in the military camp and were not allowed to leave without orders.

This greatly shocked the magistrate of Wenxi County. After discussing it with the wealthy families in the city, they jointly donated 20 shi of grain, 120 shi of fodder, 20 pigs and sheep, and 30 chickens.

Given the severe drought and poor harvest in Hedong.

This gift list is already quite substantial.

Taishi Ci initially wanted to refuse, as he knew how precious grain was in Hedong at that time.

After careful consideration, he still chose to accept the gift. It would have been easy for him to refuse, but he couldn't stop others from having all sorts of wild thoughts.

At the same time, after receiving the gifts, Taishi Ci also used his wealth to purchase more fodder, timber and other supplies from the magistrate of Wenxi County and local gentry and powerful families in preparation for the subsequent army.

As a result, the magistrate of Wenxi County and the local powerful families all breathed a sigh of relief.

They were afraid that Taishi Ci wouldn't want anything, which would give them a real headache.

Since Taishi Ci accepted the gifts and had a request, they felt a strong sense of security and became even more diligent in helping him procure supplies such as fodder and timber. From then on, new troops arrived in Wenxi every day.

Apart from Guan Yu, Cao Cao, Guo Gong, and Zhang Yang leading their personal guards into the city, the rest of the troops were stationed in military camps outside Wenxi City.

At the same time, Liu Feng officially dispatched envoy Dong Zhao, carrying memorials from the three provinces of Xu, Yan, and Yu, as well as the Henei Commandery, to Anyi to pave the way for the Guandong loyalist army to pay homage to the emperor.

When Dong Zhao arrived in Anyi, the place was already in a state of panic and unease.

The walls were crowded with soldiers. Although the city gate was still open, a military post had set up a checkpoint far away from the gate to check people, making it difficult to get close to the gate. This was obviously to prevent any sneak attacks.

Because of the imperial edict, the military officer outside the city dared not neglect his duties and quickly reported to his superiors.

Soon, the emperor's important ministers also received the news and sent people out to welcome Dong Zhao.

The person who came from Yang Feng's side was Xu Huang, a general under Yang Feng. At this time, he had been appointed as a cavalry captain and enfeoffed as the Marquis of Duting. He could be considered Yang Feng's trusted and beloved general.

The emperor's side had a larger number of people arriving, including Zhong Yao, Zhong Ji, and Liu Ai.

Xu Huang arrived first on horseback and, upon seeing Dong Hao in the distance, spurred his horse forward and shouted, "Is the one who comes the envoy from Xuzhou?"

Dong Zhao refused, saying, "I am an envoy of the Guandong Allied Army, here to pay homage to Your Majesty and present the memorials of the Guandong officials, earnestly requesting an audience with the Emperor."

Xu Huang approached and saw that it was a dark-skinned, fat man. However, the warlords of Guandong were powerful, and he was a loyal and cautious man, so he did not dare to be disrespectful and dismounted to pay his respects.

Following closely behind, Zhong Yao and the others also arrived at the city gate.

Upon seeing Xu Huang, his expression changed slightly. He then stepped forward, bowed to Dong Zhao, and politely asked Xu Huang, "General, the Emperor wishes to summon the provincial envoy. If you have nothing else to do, please allow us to complete the imperial decree first."

Xu Huang hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

Compared to the White Wave Bandits, Xu Huang was actually from a respectable family. It was only because the entire Hedong Commandery was the White Wave Bandits' territory and their power was immense that even the local strongmen in Hedong often used the name of the White Wave Bandits.

Over time, the powerful families of Hedong and the White Wave bandits completely merged, becoming one and the same, and no one could tell them apart.

Xu Huang, due to his martial prowess and skill in battle, distinguished himself under Yang Feng and became Yang Feng's trusted and beloved general.

Yet he remained unyielding and often advised Yang Feng to act accordingly.

Fortunately, Yang Feng was very dependent on and extremely trusting of Xu Huang, so this disagreement did not affect their close relationship.

Xu Huang hesitated because he felt he should take Dong Zhao to see Yang Feng first, but his feelings for the Han Dynasty made him reluctant to do so.

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Huang finally decided to turn a blind eye and let the man go.

Dong Zhao smiled and bowed to Xu Huang before following Zhong Yao into the city.

Anyi was the capital of Hedong. Although it could not compare with Chang'an and Luoyang, it was originally quite prosperous in Hedong.

Due to the war, Anyi changed hands several times, and the city suffered several major fires.

This resulted in a lack of good houses in Anyi City. Even though Yang Feng and others respected the emperor, they still arranged the best houses for them.

Even so, Emperor Xian could only live in civilian houses. When he had to attend court, he would find an open space, fence it off, and then hold court with his ministers inside the fenced area.

This is why the low-ranking soldiers of the White Wave Bandits were able to throw stones at the emperor's ministers during court assemblies.

Every time there was a court assembly, these idle White Wave bandits would treat it like a grand show, circling around the fence and making a ruckus. When they got excited, they would even throw things into the fence. Come to think of it, this should be the earliest live streaming industry in China, and the ministers could even receive real "tips".

Fortunately, Dong Zhao came alone, so the emperor could summon him from a civilian's house, instead of having to suffer at the fence.

At this time, the emperor was just a sixteen-year-old child.

Upon seeing Dong Zhao, their eyes lit up, and joy filled their slightly immature faces.

"The emperor is far too naive."

This was Dong Zhao's first impression upon seeing the emperor, after which he gave a wry smile.

The emperor is only sixteen years old. I can't possibly compare the emperor to that kid from Xuzhou.

That person is someone who always talks about being like brothers to his own.

Despite the nearly thirty-year age difference between Liu Feng and Dong Zhao, it's actually not a big deal.

The relationship between Chen Ji and his son Chen Qun, who served under Liu Bei, and Kong Rong, Liu Bei's close friend, gave rise to a famous idiom: "the friendship between Ji and Qun".

Kong Rong was of the same generation as Chen Ji, but he was 24 years younger than Chen Ji, yet they still became friends.

Later, Kong Rong unexpectedly met Chen Ji's son, Chen Qun. During their conversation, he found that he and Chen Qun got along very well. He immediately asked his friend Chen Ji to be promoted in the generational hierarchy, and then became sworn brothers with Chen Qun, who was more than ten years younger than him.

Therefore, although Dong Zhao seemed to have suffered a loss by being addressed as a brother by Liu Feng, the fat man actually benefited and naturally became Liu Bei's nephew.

Dong Zhao prostrated himself on the ground, performed a grand salute, and then addressed the emperor: “Your Majesty, the armies from Guandong who came to the aid of the emperor have already arrived at Wenxi and have specially ordered me to come before Your Majesty to await Your Majesty’s command.”

"Okay! Okay!"

The emperor was clearly so excited that he lost his composure, repeatedly praising the emperor and even trying to get up and approach Dong Zhao, but was quietly stopped by Zhong Yao and others.

In the short time that followed, the other bigwigs also arrived, including Grand Commandant Yang Biao, Imperial Clan Minister Liu Ai, Commander of the Imperial Guard Fu Wan, Minister of Works Zhao Wen, Commandant of the Guards Zhou Zhong, Grand Herald Rong Shao, and Grand Master of Ceremonies Wang Jiang.

It's quite laughable that these important officials arrived so late.

The reason was that they had gone out of town to dig for wild vegetables.

That's right!

It's about digging for wild vegetables.

These high-ranking officials, who could only survive on thin porridge, would have starved to death in Anyi County long ago if they hadn't gone out to dig for wild vegetables.

The emperor's return journey in this timeline was even more bleak than in the original timeline.

At least Zhang Yang sent a batch of grain into the original sky, but now even that batch of grain has been lost and has become Liu Feng's army's grain.

No one in the Emperor's team has starved to death yet, which is only because Liu Feng arrived quickly enough.

"Has Governor Liu arrived in Wenxi? How many soldiers, cavalry, armor, crossbows, and warriors have he brought with him?"

After Grand Commandant Yang Biao arrived, he bowed to the Emperor and then asked Dong Zhao a question.

Dong Zhao made no attempt to conceal anything, honestly revealing all of Liu Feng's cards.

Upon hearing that the Kwantung Loyal Army numbered nearly 30,000 men, all of whom were battle-hardened elites, they were deeply impressed.

Yang Biao and the others all saw the smugness in each other's eyes.

The next moment, Ding Chong, the Yellow Gate Attendant, stepped forward and petitioned the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please issue an order for Liu Feng to lead the Guandong loyalist army to Anyi to welcome you. Cao Cao, the Governor of Yanzhou, has always been determined to assist the Emperor. Before Dong Zhuo's chaos, among the warlords of Guandong, only Cao Cao bravely advanced westward. Afterwards, he defeated the Black Mountain in Yanzhou, inflicted a great defeat on the Yellow Turbans, pacified the local area, and trained elite troops. Your Majesty may appoint him as the vanguard to come to Anyi to welcome you."

Dong Zhao and Zhong Yao both turned their gazes to Ding Chong.

This person's eating manners are rather unsightly.

Everyone knows that the Guandong loyalist army traveled thousands of miles to Wenxi, and this vanguard deserves the greatest credit.

In terms of contribution, Xuzhou was the furthest away, sent the most troops, and also transported a large amount of grain and military equipment.

In terms of official rank, Liu Bei was General Jianzhong, and later appointed by the imperial court as the Governor of Xuzhou and the Marquis of Guangling County.

In terms of influence, Liu Bei had the strong support of a host of local warlords, including Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou; Guo Gong, the governor of Yuzhou; Chen Gui, the chancellor of Pei; Zang Ba, the chancellor of Rencheng; Chen Yi, the chancellor of Lu; Luo Jun, the chancellor of Chen; and Zhang Yang, the governor of Henan.

Logically and emotionally, it was not Cao Cao's place to be the vanguard.

However, Dong Zhao remained silent, simply lowering his head and ignoring Ding Chong.

Sure enough, the next moment, Zhong Ji stepped forward and addressed the emperor, saying, "Lord Cao is the governor of a province; how can he lightly venture into such a dangerous place? Moreover, I have heard that when Duke Jing of Qi sent an envoy with imperial credentials to pardon Jia, the envoy rushed into the army camp, and the Grand Marshal Rang Ju said, 'A general in the army may disobey the emperor's orders.'"

"Now that the loyalist army has arrived in Wenxi, and the White Wave Army is right under our noses, Your Majesty should not issue any decrees lightly. You should simply sit back and observe the outcome."

After listening to the two men's words, the emperor nodded repeatedly.

Although Liu Xie was young, he was indeed exceptionally intelligent.

He glanced at Ding Chong and Zhong Ji. The latter's words were clearly more impartial than the former's. Ding Chong was obviously suspected of secretly helping Cao Cao steal credit.

(End of this chapter)