Chapter 42: Luoyang is furious
As we all know , Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, killed a white snake with a sword, started an uprising, and eventually seized the world.
Now that Zhang Jiao has slain the Red Dragon with his sword and started an uprising, it is inevitable that people will associate it with Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty.
For a time, even the noble families in the court could not help but have some more careful thoughts.
A boat was leaking, and everyone was willing to repair it for their own safety.
But if another giant ship appeared at this time, many people would want to abandon the ship and escape.
After all, aristocratic families are immortal. Even if Zhang Jiao conquers the world, he still has to rely on aristocratic families to govern it.
On that day, the lights in the capital city of Luoyang were dim and the whole place was peaceful and harmonious. Although the war had spread across the entire Central Plains, it was as if nothing had happened in Luoyang.
But every Luoyang citizen will never forget the scene of rivers of blood some time ago.
“Da da da…da da da…”
A group of cavalrymen from outside Luoyang City rushed straight towards Luoyang City, shouting as they charged, "Jizhou has urgent information from 800 miles away. Open the gate quickly !"
The soldiers guarding the city did not dare to be negligent. Although the defense of the capital was tight, they hurriedly opened the city gate to let people pass because of the urgent information from eight hundred miles away.
In addition, a large number of troops were dispatched to escort the intelligence team into the palace. If the information was fake, they would be executed on the spot. If it was real, the intelligence would naturally be kept safe.
The hurried sound of horse hooves and footsteps woke up countless people in Luoyang. They hid in their homes and trembled. After all, the last time there was such a big commotion, there was a river of blood and countless heads were killed. No one knew what big thing would happen this time.
At the same time, Liu Hong was furious in his bedroom and threw all his beloved gold, silver and jade items to the ground.
The chest tightness and vomiting of blood a few days ago made him understand what had happened. Someone had actually cut off the destiny of the Han Dynasty.
But the intelligence had not yet been reported back. He only knew that these things were closely related to the Yellow Turbans and the aristocratic families.
Now that he had obtained intelligence and learned that it was Zhang Jue who had cut off the destiny of the Han Dynasty, Liu Hong was furious.
"Damn it, damn it, damn Zhang Jue, damn the Yellow Turbans, damn the aristocratic family!"
Inside the bedroom, the concubine who was serving the emperor was disheveled and trembling all over. She was originally favored by Liu Hong, but at this moment she dared not make a sound.
Zhang Rang and the other ten eunuchs lay prone on the ground, not daring to move even though they were scratched by the debris.
If the emperor gets angry, millions of people will die. How can they not be afraid?
That night, the emperor rode out from the palace in all directions and quickly woke up all the court officials from their dreams.
“Dang…dang…”
The night was dark, but the deep sound of bells could be heard throughout the imperial city; the court had begun.
There were still several hours before the usual court meeting began, but the lights in the Golden Palace were already on and all the ministers had gathered. However, the entire hall was dead silent and the atmosphere was depressing.
Inside the hall, all the ministers were silent. They had just learned the intelligence, or rather, they acted as if they had just learned it.
Sitting on the dragon throne, Liu Hong had a gloomy look on his face, which was completely pale. The impact of the country's destiny being cut was greater than he had imagined. He was keenly aware that his health was not as good as before, and it could even be said that he would not live long.
Liu Hong kicked over the table in front of him with a "bang" and said angrily, "Why are you all silent? What use do I have for you!"
"Your Majesty, calm down and take care of your health..."
Liu Hong's eyes widened, and he became even angrier. "Take care of your health? Is this all you can do when the country is in danger? Do you really care about the Han Dynasty?"
Everyone in the court knew how ruthless Liu Hong's methods were. If not, how could Liu Hong have succeeded to the throne as a vassal king?
The ministers in the palace became more and more terrified and bowed down one after another, "We are incompetent, please forgive us, Your Majesty!"
Seeing the panic-stricken looks on the faces of his ministers, Liu Hong's eyes were full of helplessness. They were all old foxes and their disguise was still perfect at this moment.
After venting his anger, Liu Hong managed to calm down and said, "My dear ministers, the situation in Jizhou is critical right now. Do you have any good plans?"
After saying this, he did not wait for the ministers to discuss and directly called out, "Lord Yuan, what good ideas do you have?"
Liu Hong didn't even look at He Jin. He was supposed to be his helper in controlling the court, but now he has been transformed from a relative to him into a puppet of a party member. He is not as trustworthy as Zhang Rang and other ten eunuchs. The ones who really have the final say in the court are the heads of aristocratic families like Yuan Huai.
"Your Majesty, I think it would be better for Jizhou to mobilize the Yulin Guards to go to war..."
At this point, he suddenly stopped the topic and thought of the riots that happened some time ago.
Liu Hong didn't care. He felt that he would die soon and the danger to his life was nothing.
Now the person he cares about the most and hates the most is Zhang Jiao!
Now, as long as he could kill Zhang Jue and restore the country's destiny, he didn't care about anything else.
"anything else?"
The general stepped out. After all, if he pretended to be dead and kept silent at this time, the emperor would inevitably take revenge on him later.
In his eyes, the fate of the country was just a trick of the quacks and Zhang Jue's sorcery. He didn't think that the Yellow Turbans would win.
Yes, He Jin, a great general, did not even have any luck. He was such a complete fool.
"Your Majesty, why don't you open the granaries to provide relief food, and at the same time issue a surrender order, only executing the main culprit Zhang Jue? The Yellow Turbans may seem powerful, but in fact they are a mixed bag. As long as we promise them benefits and appeal to their emotions, we will surely be able to divide them. In this way, all the major states will be able to free up their hands to help Jizhou."
Liu Hong was a little surprised that He Jin could come up with such a good suggestion. It seemed that there was a capable person behind the scenes giving him the advice.
"Approved. Issue an edict to appease the bandits in various states. If anyone responds, past events will be forgiven. At the same time, send the Imperial Guards and the reserve army to Jizhou for support."
Liu Hong's words were ambiguous. It seemed that he was issuing an edict to recruit the emperor, but in fact he was making a promise to the noble families in the court.
"Within a month, I want to see Zhang Jiao's head. Anyone who interferes will be killed along with his entire clan!"
As he spoke, Liu Hong swept away his previous anger and turned gentle, "The war has been going on for several months. Now the treasury is empty and war supplies are stretched. I hope you will put the country first..."
As the saying goes, a cannon shot is worth a fortune. Wars are fought with logistics and money and food.
In order to send out an army of hundreds of thousands, Liu Hong emptied out his own small treasury that he had accumulated wealth over the years. How could the princes and nobles in the court not show any reaction?
Of course, the ministers knew what the emperor meant. They also knew how greedy Liu Hong was. If they were pushed to the limit, they would inevitably find one or two unlucky people and confiscate their property.
They didn't want to gamble whether they were the unlucky ones or not. "It is our duty to support the country..."
Guo Hao was unaware of the intrigues in the court, he was fighting a bloody battle under Julu.
The Battle of Julu began without any prelude. In just a few days, the troops of Sun Jian, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were all severely damaged. Even Sun Jian himself was seriously injured. If it were not for his four generals, Zu Mao, who fought to the death to rescue him, Sun Jian would have died under the city of Julu.
