Chapter 86 Planning and Change

Chapter 86 Planning and Change

Chapter 86 Planning and Change

After Shangguan Si entered Luoyang, he looked at the city gate, which had not yet been closed, with shock.

A ridiculous rout!
In fact, not many people died, but the retreat was unstoppable.

Everyone was fleeing, with the mentality that they would take the benefits and let you die. As soon as they heard the slightest sign of trouble, they turned around and ran away.

Some people stopped running and watched the wind.

Some people ran all the way south without stopping.

Some people bravely marched north, seemingly wanting to take back the emperor, but there were too few of them. In the end, most of them were surrounded by the angry Ye army and would be wiped out in less than a day.

Fortunately, I'm not that stupid!
"General Chen--" Shangguan Si turned around and looked at General Chen Jing of the Left Guard who returned with him, and said.

"General Shangguan, we bid farewell now." Chen Jing clasped his fists and bowed on horseback, saying, "I will take my men to find a place to stay, so you don't have to worry about it."

He was a higher rank than Shangguan Si, but his old troops were basically wiped out in Dangyin, and now he had less than a thousand soldiers. On the other hand, Shangguan Si's troops were seriously injured, but many of them escaped, no less than three thousand. He also captured all the defeated soldiers he had taken in along the way, and now his troops had swelled to more than seven thousand, which was beyond his ability to deal with.

Chen Jing left after performing the ceremony, as if he couldn't avoid Shangguan anymore.

Shangguan Si's eyes struggled for a while, but finally did not give the order to start a fight.

Now is not the right time. It will scare many people, such as -

"General Shangguan, now that we have entered the city, should we..." Prince Sima Qin, who was sitting in the carriage, suddenly spoke up.

The prince was only ten years old, but that did not prevent him from seeing Shangguan Si's ambition.

This man was very caring and polite to him along the way, but he would not let him leave alone. He also sent his confidants to keep a close eye on him and prevent him from contacting anyone.

Isn't it clear what he is planning?
"Haha." Shangguan Si laughed and said, "Don't worry, Prince. I will bring you into the palace right away."

The prince's face turned pale and he stammered a few times. After seeing the shining swords and guns around him, he became afraid and finally stopped talking.

Shangguan Si glanced at the prince with ill intent, then turned to Miao Yuan who was walking over and asked, "How many soldiers do you have left?"

"More than 4,000 people." Miao Yuan replied.

He originally had only two thousand troops, but recently he took in some defeated soldiers and expanded his force to just over four thousand.

"You and I will join forces." Shangguan Si laughed softly, "We don't know whether the King of Donghai is alive or dead. The emperor and the officials are far away in Yecheng, so it's time for someone else to take charge of Luoyang."

Miao Yuan was somewhat excited, but also a little hesitant.

"What? Are you scared?" Shangguan Si asked with a changed expression.

"General, have you forgotten Zhang Fang?" Miao Yuan asked. "Some of the defeated soldiers mentioned that they saw the Western troops turning around and heading towards Luoyang. If Zhang Fang is not eliminated, everything will end."

"This is indeed something to worry about." Shangguan Si restrained his ambitions a little after hearing this, and said seriously: "You and I have more than 10,000 soldiers together, and there are also Man Fen and Mi Huang's troops in the city, which is not a small number. How many soldiers does Zhang have? In my opinion, it is better to pull the whole army out and defeat the Western Army. This will be a great achievement. With such a great victory, who in the city will not be convinced? Even the governor Mi Huang will probably surrender here. Sima Yue's life and death are unknown, has he never thought about what to do in the future?"

After hearing this, Miao Yuan seemed to think that it made some sense.

The deserters they took in came from a variety of sources, but if you look carefully, you can still find that there are quite a few veteran soldiers from the Central Army. Not to mention that Shangguan Si has more than 3,000 veteran Central Army soldiers under his direct command, and their combat effectiveness is very strong.

Last year, when Zhang Fang's army of 70,000 was approaching, Sima Yi led the central army to victory after victory, beheaded 20,000 people, and forced the western soldiers to retreat to their camps and dare not go out to fight.

From this perspective, it seems that he can fight with Zhang Fang?
Shangguan Si saw the change in Miao Yuan's expression and knew that he was persuaded. He immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry about the low morale of the men."

"Oh? General, what method do you have to boost morale?" Miao Yuan asked.

"Look——" Shangguan Si pointed with his whip and laughed towards the sky.

Miao wanted to go, but saw team after team of soldiers rushing into the street, chopping with swords and axes, and even directly breaking down doors.

There were bursts of screams and the crying of women and children coming from behind the door.

Miao Yuan's face turned pale, and he immediately knew how Shangguan Si wanted to boost morale: looting.

"Let's go and escort the prince into the palace." Shangguan Si hugged Miao Yuan and said with a smile.

Miao Yuan laughed dryly and followed helplessly.

It seems that he is reluctant, but if he has no ambition, why would he bother getting involved in this muddy water with Shangguan Si?

There is no news about Sima Yue, King of Donghai. Maybe he became panicked while fleeing and was assassinated in a village.

Furthermore, even if he survived and managed to escape, could he ever rise again?

Judging from Miao Yuan's "rich" political experience, this is unlikely.

So, why not take a gamble? They can call the shots in Luoyang and control their own power, isn't that wonderful? Even if the prince returns with the emperor in the future, they can surrender Luoyang, which will be another great achievement.

Thinking of this, Miao Yuan strengthened his determination.

******
It’s not easy to clean up such a big mansion.

However, the host can leave first.

When Shao Xun led the front and rear armies of more than a thousand soldiers to Sikong Mansion, Concubine Pei had been waiting inside the door for a long time, holding the prince's hand.

"It seems very messy outside?" After all, she is a woman, and when she encountered such a scene, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Yes, Concubine Pei is very smart and very skillful. But some people don't play this game with you.

Zhang Fang, Shangguan Si and others, they really can't beat you in terms of conspiracy and tricks, so they switch to using knives.

How do you respond?

"Princess, please be at ease. I have a plan to deal with it." Shao Xun was already fully armed, with a bow in his left hand and a sword in his right hand, and a heavy sword stuck behind his back. He looked like he was ready to kill.

"Yes." Concubine Pei responded cheerfully and pulled the prince into the carriage.

She was very happy.

The first time I met Shao Xun was two years ago. At that time, the team leader Yang Bao secretly reported Shao Xun as a "secret boy". Mi Huang sent someone to inform him and was really shocked.

By some strange coincidence, I decided to let him go. Unexpectedly, two years later, I got rich rewards.

What was my state of mind at that time? I was frightened by the news brought by my cousin and niece, and made that decision out of fear.

If they hadn't come to visit me at that time and hadn't mentioned the terrible things that happened in Bingzhou, perhaps the ending would have been different?

Things in the world are mostly like this. I'm just lucky.

"Go!" Shao Xun jumped on his horse and gave the order.

Officers shouted orders, and soon more than a thousand soldiers lined up in four columns and headed for Jinyong City.

The streets were empty, and the rustling sound of footsteps echoed everywhere. In the distance, in the East City area, a huge fire had already started. Luoyang was once again in disaster, and this time it was their own people who started it.

Shao Xun suddenly felt it was ridiculous.

He had carefully planned to maintain the difficult balance in Luoyang City, trying to save the city for the local forces in Luoyang when the Northern Expedition was defeated - to some extent, many generals including Sima Yue, Mi Huang, and Shao Xun were part of the local forces in Luoyang.

The Shangguan Si's troops that are currently causing chaos may also be a local force in Luoyang, but they are too short-sighted and self-indulgent. After discovering that they have become the biggest military leader in Luoyang, their first reaction is to rob.

Are you used to being poor?

"Sima Shao, can the royal army fight? Can they defeat Shangguan Si, Miao Yuan and others?" Concubine Pei suddenly asked as the carriage was moving.

"My princess, Shangguan Si and Miao Yuan are very alert. They set up barricades and roadblocks at the intersections and sent soldiers to guard them, making it difficult to capture them in a hurry. Their troops are mostly strong soldiers from the central army and have strong combat power. There are too many new members of the royal army. If we attack and kill them, the outcome will be unpredictable." Shao Xun said.

"If the Wang Guojun can control the overall situation in Luoyang and repel Zhang Fang, it can also reserve a retreat route for Sikong." The princess sighed and stopped talking.

Upon hearing this, Shao Xun couldn't help but think seriously about it.

If Mi Huang can successfully defend Luoyang, will Sima Yue come back? It's hard to say, at most it's fifty-fifty.

Besides, there is still no news from him till now. What if he is dead?
Today, history can only be used as a reference and cannot be fully trusted. He even suspected that the time when Sima Yue set out on the Northern Expedition was different from that in history, so it was possible that an accident might have happened.

He once sent Chen Yougen to the north to inquire, and repeatedly questioned the defeated soldiers, but he did not get any definite news.

But no matter what, he still plans to wait and see for a while.

The plan to control Luoyang and gain military merit and fame has completely failed. Now we are implementing Plan B: defending Jinyong City.

He wanted to see what Shangguan Si would do with a stubborn person like him stuck in the northwest of Luoyang.
Jinyong City was soon reached.

He Lun and Wang Bing went out of the city to greet them. When they saw the princess and the prince, they immediately paid their respects with great ceremony.

"Generals, please don't be so polite." Concubine Pei held the prince's hand and said, "Sikong's northern expedition was on the verge of success or failure, and we don't know whether he will live or die. Now I am an orphan and a widow, and I am in a state of panic. I have to rely on you generals a lot."

At the end, his voice trembled and he choked slightly.

When He Lun and Wang Bing heard this, their eyes turned red.

He Lun sighed and said, "We have come from the East Sea, so we should work together. Since Sikong is not here, all matters in Jinyong City will be decided by the princess and the prince."

"Whether to stay or to leave, it's up to the princess and the prince to make the decision, and I will obey you." Wang Bing also said.

"I intend to hold on and wait for a turning point. What do you two generals think?" asked Concubine Pei.

"We will follow the princess's orders." He Lun and Wang Bing said in unison.

Concubine Pei nodded slightly and took the prince into the city.

Shao Xun walked up to He Lun and Wang Bing. The three of them looked at each other for a moment and sighed.

The current situation is confusing and no one can see the future clearly.

Under such circumstances, the three people from the same hometown subconsciously became closer. The minor conflicts and disputes in the past were so insignificant at this time.

He Lun and Wang Bing no longer thought about the position of general of the imperial guards.

Shao Xun no longer fantasized about defending Luoyang on his own and achieving immortal merit.

In this chaotic world, plans cannot keep up with changes and we can only adapt to the circumstances.

Weakness is the original sin, and their strength is ultimately not enough.

(End of this chapter)