Chapter 34 Cao Cao is released from prison! Qiao Mao issues a manifesto to purge the emperor's entourage!

The two armies were facing each other.

Bai Hu, disguised as 'Wang Fang', estimated the strength of the two armies in his mind, and suddenly realized that they had the advantage!
There were thousands of men under Wang Fang, troops like Xu Rong, and troops like Yang Feng and Xu Huang, totaling tens of thousands of troops.

In addition, although Qin Qiong's Black Armor Army only had more than 500 soldiers, in yesterday's battle, the Black Armor Army defeated the Feixiong Army, which shook the morale of the Xiliang Army!
When two armies fight, the most important thing is morale. As the saying goes, the first attack is strong, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted.

If they could use Qin Qiong to lead the Black Armor Army's vanguard to charge, and Bai Hu to lead his army to follow closely, they could completely defeat and annex the troops of Niu Fu and other generals, and resolve this hidden danger in one fell swoop.

Thinking of this, Baihu, who was disguised as "Wang Fang", glanced at Qin Qiong and suddenly found that Qin Qiong was also looking at him. The two of them understood each other tacitly and obviously had the same tactical idea.

This immediately made them hit it off!
But at this moment, Niu Fu suddenly asked in a deep voice:
"Qin Qiong, why did you lead your troops to my Xiliang military camp?
"Your Majesty, you just pardoned us yesterday, but you are going to settle the score today? You are a man of honor, how can you go back on your word?!

"Otherwise, it would disappoint all the soldiers!!!"

As soon as Niu Fu said this, tens of thousands of soldiers behind him shouted:

"You are not kidding!!! How can you go back on your word!!!"

These questions immediately made Qin Qiong look solemn!

It’s absolutely amazing!!!
Niu Fu's words are too absolute!!!
Emperor Liu Bian of the Han Dynasty pardoned the Xiliang Army yesterday, pardoning the Xiliang Army for their rude act of deposing and enthroning the emperor.

But if Qin Qiong and other troops attack the Xiliang Army today, no matter what the reason is, even if it is because the Xiliang Army surrendered and then rebelled again, the aristocratic families behind the Xiliang Army will confuse right and wrong and put the blame on the wrong person.

People would say that Emperor Liu Bian of the Han Dynasty settled scores after the event and broke his promise!
If a king of a country is stigmatized as "untrustworthy", he would be tantamount to cutting himself off from the world!

Who will dare to serve the court from now on? Who will dare to serve the Han emperor? Even the aristocratic families can deceive the civil and military officials. Those rebels will fight to the death. Who dares to surrender? !

I have to say, Niu Fu's question and his justification were simply amazing!

With Niu Fu's intelligence, it is impossible for him to be so clever.

Unless the top strategist Li Ru was still alive, it would be possible to intimidate Qin Qiong and other Han emperor's subordinates with just the reason of "pardon"!
For the sake of the Han emperor's reputation, even if they wanted to join forces to besiege him, they dared not act rashly!

This made Qin Qiong suddenly alert that there must be an expert behind Niu Fu!
He must be a master who has close ties with the Yuan family and other noble families!

Qin Qiong said in a deep voice:

"Niu Fu, please do not defame your majesty's reputation. I am not only the fifth commander of the Northern Army, but also the commander of the Sili Army. I have the responsibility to supervise the officials of the capital and guard the security of the capital.

Your Xiliang army has suffered countless casualties in this battle, which has affected the people around Beimang Mountain, the security of the capital, and the internal unity of the army. As an inspector, don't I have the right to ask about it?"

...

White Tiger, disguised as Wang Fang, said at the right time:

"Captain Qin, you have to make the decision for us!

"Niu Fu attacked us without asking any questions, disregarded military rules and regulations, destroyed the unity of the soldiers, and even turned black into white to slander the reputation of Your Majesty. I suspect that Niu Fu has ulterior motives and has no regard for the emperor!"

...

Niu Fu, however, confuses right and wrong and says:

"Captain Qin, I treated Wang Fang graciously, but after drinking, he wanted to capture and kill me and take full control of the Xiliang Army.

"If it weren't for my personal soldiers who swore to protect me, I would have been beheaded. The bodies of these dead and wounded soldiers are the best proof of this!"

...

Wang Fang was so angry that he started laughing:
"I went to your camp alone to capture and kill you? Don't you feel ashamed to tell a lie? It was clearly you who pretended to reconcile and tricked me into coming to your camp to drink, but you ambushed and killed me in secret!

"If I hadn't been so skilled in martial arts, I would have died on the spot!"

...

"Humph, you were clearly showing weakness to the enemy. It was precisely because you came alone that I let my guard down and almost got tricked by you. I treated you as a brother, but you wanted to assassinate me!"

Niu Fu immediately retorted.

...

The two generals engaged in a verbal battle, each accusing the other of plotting to murder them.

The white tiger who was disguised as 'Wang Fang' was suddenly shocked!
Baihu didn't expect that Niu Fu, a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, now has such deep scheming. He is confusing right and wrong, and telling lies without hesitation.

With Niu Fu's intelligence, he definitely doesn't have such ability. There must be an expert guiding him behind the scenes.

Generals such as Guo Si and Fan Chou who were standing beside Niu Fu also immediately echoed Niu Fu, accusing Wang Fang of fighting for power and killing the brothers of the Western Liang Army, which was an unforgivable crime. They hoped that Qin Qiong would conduct a thorough investigation.

...

The two armies each had their own opinions and neither side gave in.

But after Niu Fu's distortion of the truth, Qin Qiong and Baihu were unable to take any strong action!
If they act at this time, it will further prove that it is the Han Emperor Liu Bian who is coming to settle the score!

Because during the dethronement controversy yesterday, Bai Hu, who was disguised as "Wang Fang", acted as a tainted witness, turned against his own side, and stabbed Yuan Wei and the Xiliang Army in the back!
Now everyone believes that 'Wang Fang' is the traitor planted by the Han Emperor in the Xiliang Army!

If we follow Niu Fu's statement——

In order to fight for power, Wang Fang wanted to take the opportunity to kill him, seize the military power, and control the Xiliang Army. Isn't this just taking advantage of the situation to point out that the Han Emperor behind Wang Fang is unfaithful and will settle accounts later? !
...

Qin Qiong and Wang Fang looked at each other, their eyes seemed to say: "Now is not the best time to take action. This concerns your majesty's reputation, so we can only hold back for the time being."

The two of them agreed tacitly!

We cannot take action at this time. If we force action, people will confuse right and wrong and say that Emperor Han, Liu Bian, is untrustworthy and will settle scores later!
Qin Qiong immediately looked at Niu Fu and other generals and said:

"I will report this to His Majesty and have this case investigated strictly! I will not let any person who spreads lies to confuse the public go, but I will not wrongly accuse any good person either!"

...

"Captain Qin, you must report this to His Majesty as soon as possible!

"Your Majesty just pardoned our Xiliang Army yesterday, and today someone presumptuously attacked us.

"Those who know the inside story think that the royal party is fighting for power and profit, while those who don't think that Your Majesty is getting rid of the donkey after it has served its purpose and settling scores after the autumn!"

Niu Fu said in a sarcastic tone, and then looked at Qin Qiong and the Black Armor Army:

"Captain Qin, if there is nothing else to do, why not go and inform His Majesty of the decision immediately?"

...

"I came to the Xiliang Army Camp for one more thing!"

Qin Qiong explained the real reason, and then waved his hand behind him. Li Jue and other remnants of the Feixiong Army were immediately brought up:

"We are here to exchange Cao Cao and others!"

...

"General Li!!!"

After seeing Li Jue, Yang Feng and Xu Huang's subordinates immediately looked towards Li Jue. These people were Li Jue's subordinates.

The reason why they followed Wang Fang to fight against Niu Fu and other generals was because Li Jue was still in Qin Qiong's hands and they were afraid to act rashly.

...

Niu Fu looked at Li Jue deeply.

If Li Jue and the Feixiong Army had not been defeated or even captured when the emperor was deposed and enthroned yesterday, the soldiers of the Xiliang Army would not have been so passive.

However, because Li Jue and the remnants of the Feixiong Army were defeated and captured, the soldiers under Li Jue were afraid to act rashly, so the generals of the Western Liang Army did not dare to act rashly, which gave the Han emperor a chance to turn the tables.

Therefore, Li Jue’s crime is extremely serious!
Niu Fu's face showed a struggle, and it seemed that he was reluctant to exchange Li Jue back. The same was true for Guo Si, Fan Chou and other generals.

However, after a long time, Niu Fu seemed to have figured it out, and said to his guards: "Bring out Cao Cao and other rebels who are trying to assassinate Dong Zhuo!"

The generals of the Xiliang army were pardoned, but the chief culprit, Dong Zhuo, was convicted and his entire family was executed. Therefore, Niu Fu called Dong Zhuo instead of Dong Gong, even though he was his father-in-law.

...

In the prison of the Xiliang Army camp, because of the death of Dong Zhuo, the Xiliang Army soldiers went crazy and arrested many people when searching for the assassin.

In addition to Cao Cao, the "real murderer", there were also Huangmen Shilang Xun You, Yilang Zheng Tai, Shizhong Zhong Ji and others.

"Uncle Bao!!!"

When Cao Cao saw the light of day again, he felt a little uncomfortable for a moment.

But when he first glanced at the two armies, he was a little surprised and suspicious when he saw the Xiliang army confronting each other. The second time he saw Qin Qiong leading the way, he was immediately moved!
Looking at Li Jue and other Feixiong Army soldiers who were tied up by Qin Qiong, Cao Cao had no idea about the turmoil that had taken place in the past two days.

But one can guess that Qin Qiong was trying to save himself, and he was immediately moved.

"Um?!"

Xun You and others planned to assassinate Dong Zhuo, but unfortunately they were discovered before they succeeded and were thrown into prison.

But Xun You spoke and ate calmly, as if he was calm and composed even when facing a collapse of Mount Tai.

But being in prison, I have no idea what is happening outside.

He was suddenly released from prison, only to discover that a civil war had broken out among the Xiliang army. The scene was bloody and corpses were everywhere. He could not guess the reason for a moment.

...

Just as Cao Cao, Xun You and others were in confusion, Qin Qiong ordered his soldiers to release Li Jue and other remnants of the Feixiong Army. More than a dozen people immediately walked towards the opposite side in tacit understanding.

At the same time, Niu Fu also ordered his men to release Cao Cao, Xun You and others. They did not delay and quickly walked towards Qin Qiong.

When the two sides passed each other, both sides actually thought about launching a sudden attack, but in the end they both held back!

Exchange hostages and end smoothly!

...

When Cao Cao arrived near Qin Qiong, he immediately ordered his soldiers to untie him: "Shubao, what happened these days?"

"Let's talk about it when we get back!"

Qin Qiong saw that Cao Cao did not have any serious injuries. Apparently, due to the twists and turns of the dethronement incident, the Western Liang army had no time to interrogate Cao Cao and others, which made him feel relieved.

However, Cao Cao took a quick look at the current situation. Although he was touched, he frowned and said:

"Shubao, I am very touched by your loyalty, but it is unwise for you to let Li Jue go! This is like letting a tiger go back to the mountain, which will cause endless troubles! What if I sacrifice my life for justice? At least I have to keep the country safe!"

"Why not drive the tiger to devour the wolf?" Qin Qiong asked back.

Cao Cao said: "I see that the two armies are headed by the Xiliang general Wang Fang, assisted by Xu Rong, Yang Feng and others, and also Shu Bao, who is in a standoff with Niu Fu, Guo Si and others.

"I don't know what happened in the past two days, but Shubao is loyal to the emperor and patriotic, so Wang Fang and other generals have obviously abandoned the dark and joined the light and will no longer help the tyrant.

"But Shubao, General Yang Feng and others are Li Jue's old subordinates! If you let the tiger go back to the mountains, will General Yang Feng and others side with Your Majesty? Or will they return to their old leader?"

...

"I have already said to surrender Li Jue!"

Qin Qiong said concisely:
"Yesterday, the Xiliang army tried to depose the emperor, and Li Jue led the Feixiong army to stop them at Yongmen, but I led the Xuanjia army and annihilated them!
"It was precisely because of his defeat and capture that the Xiliang Army became cautious and ultimately failed!

"He lost face in the Xiliang army and had no choice but to surrender to Your Majesty! So after careful consideration, I decided to drive the tiger to devour the wolf!"

...

"Rumble--"

It was like a bolt from the blue. Cao Cao, Xun You and others looked at Qin Qiong in disbelief, and then looked at the Black Armor Army that Qin Qiong was pointing at.

In fact, when they came back from exchanging hostages, the first thing they saw was the elite troops behind Qin Qiong, who were well-disciplined and well-organized!

This is a fully armed cavalry, even the horses are fully armed. Just by looking at the gleam of the black iron armor, one can guess that it is made of fine steel, worth a thousand gold!
Each of these armors weighs at least tens or hundreds of kilograms. The fact that knights can wear them in battle is a testament to their strength. And the fact that war horses can carry these loads and charge into battle is an even stronger BMW!

This is the elite!

Real elite!
An elite force that can be compared with the "Flying Bear Army" of the Xiliang Army and the "Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry" of the Bingzhou Army!
But they didn't expect that the Feixiong Army led by Li Jue, the world's best heavy cavalry known as "the Xiliang Army is the best in the world, the Feixiong Army is the best in Xiliang", would be completely wiped out by this "Black Armor Army"? !
What on earth happened in these two days? !
Was it because the Black Armor Army was too powerful?! Or was it because the commander Qin Qiong was good at fighting?! Or was it because of both, that they completely annihilated the Feixiong Army led by Li Jue?!
...

Just when Cao Cao and others were shocked by the Black Armor Army, an accident suddenly happened!
When Li Jue and other defeated soldiers of the Feixiong Army who were exchanging hostages returned to the vicinity of Niu Fu, soldiers of the Xiliang Army also untied them.

But after the untying was completed, Li Jue knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice:

"Yesterday was the second great humiliation in my military career. I am no longer qualified to lead the Xiliang Army and command an area. I am willing to be demoted to a deputy general and let General Niu take command!"

"it is good!!!"

Niu Fu was overjoyed. "Victory and defeat are common in the military. Zhiran (Li Jue) should not take it too seriously! Yesterday's battle was not your responsibility alone! We will discuss the details later! Get up!"

"Thank you, General!"

Li Jue stood up immediately.

This was Li Jue's submission to Niu Fu. With Li Jue's support, after Dong Zhuo's death, Niu Fu would become the largest force and could naturally take over the Xiliang Army.

Even though generals such as Guo Si and Fan Chou on the side had some dissatisfaction in their eyes, the situation was not right now, so they did not say anything to avoid disrupting their formation.

Since yesterday's battle, Li Jue has lost his prestige and opportunity to "ascend to the throne". He was decisive and chose to surrender directly to Niu Fu, Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, who was the best candidate for the new commander of the Xiliang Army.

Indeed, Qin Qiong used threats and inducements to force him to surrender, and Li Jue also pretended to surrender, just to be able to smoothly return to the Xiliang Army and regain his freedom.

In fact, Qin Qiong didn’t know that Li Jue had his reasons for not surrendering!

Because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184, he was also one of the generals who followed Dong Zhuo to the northern front.

They deliberately let the Yellow Turbans grow stronger and sweep across the country. This was a conspiracy by Yuan Wei and other noble families to use the Yellow Turbans to threaten the court. In this way, they gained military power and lifted the ban on party imprisonment!

Finally, the imperial court had no choice but to delegate military power and lift the ban on political parties. Scholars were able to serve as officials, and noble families could legitimately recruit soldiers!
In this matter, Yuan's former officials: Dong Zhuo and his Xiliang army and other generals were all accomplices. This is a serious crime that will implicate the entire nine clans. How could the Han emperor let them go? !
Furthermore, the Xiliang army recklessly deposed and enthroned the emperor, and the Han emperor seemed to have pardoned them, but who knows if he would take revenge on them later? !
After assessing the situation, Li Jue decided to go all the way. After he stood up, he looked at Yang Feng and other generals who were still behind Wang Fang and shouted in a deep voice:

"Brothers, why don't you come back?!"

This shocked Wang Fang, Qin Qiong and other generals!

Qin Qiong said that he would surrender to Li Jue, and he also agreed to submit to the Han Emperor. But Qin Qiong did not expect that Li Jue would stab him in the back so decisively? !
Even though they had already guessed that Li Jue had ulterior motives and might let the tiger go back to the mountains after returning, Qin Qiong still did not expect that he would turn against him on the spot and submit to Niu Fu so decisively!
This made Qin Qiong and Bai Hu confused and uncertain. What on earth was wrong with these generals of the Xiliang Army? !

The situation is so clear, why are they still stubborn? !

What kind of leverage did Yuan Wei have on them that made them so stubborn and unyielding even at this point? !

Generals such as Yang Feng behind Wang Fang, despite their hesitation, still led their troops to behind Li Jue!
They were Li Jue's old subordinates, equivalent to his disciples and former officials. It would be difficult for them to rebel without a legitimate excuse!
With the addition of Li Jue's troops, the momentum of Niu Fu, Guo Si and Fan Chou suddenly increased.

Qin Qiong and Wang Fang decisively joined forces, but even so, they still seemed outnumbered and outnumbered.

The two armies confronted each other again, and the situation changed.

General Niu Fu and others had tens of thousands of troops behind them, while Wang Fang had only about 10,000 soldiers. Having lost Li Jue's old subordinates such as Yang Feng, it was difficult to form a balance of power.

But in fact, Qin Qiong is quite looking forward to Niu Fu taking action!
As long as Niu Fu relied on his large numbers and attacked them, Qin Qiong would have a legitimate reason to do so!

If we take action against Niu Fu and other Western Liang troops at this time, it would not be Your Majesty's act of settling scores after pardoning them or breaking your promise.

Instead, Niu Fu and others will be seeking their own death!

However, during the confrontation between the two armies, Niu Fu ordered the war to stop. At the end, he said:

"Captain Qin, why don't you go back and report to His Majesty?"

...

Qin Qiong looked at Niu Fu deeply, and finally led his troops to retreat.

After thinking about it, Wang Fang and Xu Rong and other generals led the Xiliang army to leave the camp. After this battle, there was no place for them to stay here.

They were stationed near the Five Schools of the Northern Army and completely sided with the Han Emperor, thus forming a rift with the Western Liang Army.

In order to distinguish themselves, they changed their flag and called themselves the "Southern Liang Army" to distinguish themselves from the "Northern Liang Army" led by Niu Fu and other generals, so as to avoid indiscriminate use of swords and guns on the battlefield and injuring friendly forces.

After settling the soldiers, the sky gradually darkened as dusk fell. However, Qin Qiong, Bai Hu and others rushed to the palace to meet the Han emperor.

...

Cao Cao, Xun You and others were naturally not qualified. Even if they wanted to meet the emperor, they had to wait for the summons from the Han emperor first.

So they went home.

However, the first thing they did after returning home was not to bathe, change clothes, burn incense and pray, but to use their personal and family energy to investigate what had happened in the past two days.

Immediately afterwards, I was shocked!
Even talented people like Cao Cao and Xun You were shocked by the twists and turns of the dethronement and enthronement controversy in the past two days, and their hearts were filled with turmoil!

Grand Tutor Yuan Wei is the mastermind behind this? !
Your Majesty has been hiding his power to such an extent, nurturing so many terrifying forces? !
The factory guards suddenly launched an attack...

Cao Zhengchun who defeated Lu Bu...

The Black Armor Army led by Qin Qiong almost completely annihilated the Flying Bear Army led by Li Jue...

Xiliang Army General Wang Fang betrayed his Grand Tutor Yuan Wei...

The city gate captain Wu Qiong, who was willing to abandon his family and clan to testify against Yuan Wei, dealt a fatal blow...

His Majesty promised "pardon" and ordered the Xiliang and Bingzhou armies to withdraw...

Three days later, all members of Yuan Wei's family will be executed... By the way, it's already two days later!
Today, the students of the Imperial College were paraded through the streets... Yang Biao led all the officials to knock on the door and cry...

Wu Kuang, one of the five commanders of the Northern Army, attempted a mutiny but was suppressed, and Yuan Ji was captured alive...

Civil war breaks out in the Xiliang army...

All these incidents made Cao Cao, Xun You and others who were imprisoned for attempting to assassinate Dong Zhuo feel as if they were in another world!

In just these few days, the capital's situation has changed dramatically, and so many things have happened. It can be said to be full of twists and turns and unpredictable situations!

They saw the undercurrent and felt a sense of crisis that a storm was about to come!

Your Majesty seems to be in control of the situation, but the storm is coming!

Your Majesty's trial of Yuan Kui disregarded the Han Dynasty law and the rites and rites that "beheaded after the autumn", and instead conducted a trial of "beheaded after three days"...

Your Majesty has dealt with Yang Biao and other officials who were crying loudly today with thunder and lightning, and the Chongde Hall has become a river of blood...

All of them fully demonstrate your Majesty's authority that cannot be refuted or questioned!

however!
This also created a gap between His Majesty and the court officials!
Just like the "Party and Faction Persecution" initiated by Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, the scholar-official group seemed to be cursing the eunuchs, but they were also making veiled innuendos, expressing their dissatisfaction with the imperial power behind them!
The rift between imperial power and the literati has deepened even further!

But behind the literati are the aristocratic families. What will they do?
——If the king makes a serious mistake, you should advise him. If he still does not listen after repeated advice, then you should replace him!
Thinking of this possibility, their faces suddenly changed color with horror!!!
"Gongda, Uncle is calling you."

When Xun You was summoned by Xun Shuang, he immediately went to pay his respects to his great-uncle, the new Sikong, but saw that his uncle, the Palace Guard Xun Yu, was already present in the palace.

"Uncle, uncle."

Xun You was actually a little embarrassed at first about Xun Yu, his uncle who was younger than him, but he got used to it after a while:

"I wonder what important matter Uncle summoned me for?"

pat-

Xun Shuang just finished reading a secret letter, slapped the table, and said gloomily:
"Dongjun Governor Qiao Mao used the excuse that treacherous officials were rampant, slandered the emperor, killed loyal officials, and disrupted the government. He used the letter from the Grand Tutor to issue a manifesto to purge the emperor's side and punish treacherous officials, calling on the princes to come to the capital to resolve the country's difficulties!"

Rumbling--

It was like a bolt from the blue, and Xun You and Xun Yu were stunned.

Both of them are talented people of the Xun family. Xun Yu is even evaluated as a "talent who can assist the king". Scholars pay more attention to calming their minds and not being alarmed in emergencies.

However, this incident was so shocking that they were all a little dazed!

The Qiao family was an ally of the Yuan family, and Qiao Mao had an even closer relationship with Yuan Shao. He issued a manifesto to purge the emperor's side and punish treacherous ministers. It seemed that he was solving the country's problems, but in fact he was denouncing His Majesty for Yuan Wei's affairs!

In fact, it is very likely that Yuan Shao was behind this!

Because, when He Jin wanted to kill the Ten Eunuchs, Yuan Shao also proposed to summon Dong Zhuo and other foreign troops into the capital!

Now it’s just the same old trick again!

At the beginning, Yuan Shao wanted to use foreign troops to intimidate Empress Dowager He and take action against the eunuchs!
And now, holding an alliance in the name of "clearing the emperor's side and punishing treacherous ministers" is actually putting pressure on the emperor to force him to retract his decision!
These people finally took action!

I wonder how many people will rise up in response? !

The capital is in turmoil, the Xiliang Army and Bingzhou Army are hesitant, and now Qiao Mao has issued a manifesto, and there is a possibility that the aristocratic families will besiege the capital.

With difficulties both internally and externally, will Your Majesty choose to temporarily avoid the limelight? !

Thinking about how Yang Biao led hundreds of officials to bang on the door and cry today, and His Majesty's thunderous decision, Xun You and Xun Yu both sighed in their hearts!

I’m afraid Your Majesty will not give in easily!

……

(End of this chapter)