Chapter 94 Sikong's final whereabouts
Chapter 94 Sikong's final whereabouts (for the leader Gao Lengniao)
Zhang Fang's large army did not arrive until the Double Ninth Festival, and then they set up camp in the north of the city.
Mi Huang sent out scouts to investigate and found that the enemy army had not cut down any trees to build siege equipment, so he felt relieved.
As for why Zhang Fang did not do so, the reason is heartwarming: after so many years of fighting around Luoyang, the nearby forests had long been gone, and he had to search far away, which undoubtedly greatly increased the workload.
Another point is that there are large residential areas around Luoyang, and it is really difficult to deploy military forces there.
Shangguan Si and Zhang Fang had fought in the field before, and they had left the residential area in the north of the city. But now you want to attack the city, so you have to stop at the city gates. What should you do? Demolish the houses? The workload is too large.
Setting fire to the house? Not much point. Because even if you burn out a pile of ruins, you still can't deploy your troops.
The only truly open areas outside the city are near the twelve city gates. This is why when foreign armies attack Luoyang, the battles are always named after the city gates - they may not be fought next to the city gates, but mostly in open areas some distance away from the city gates.
After Zhang Fang set up camp, there was no movement. Perhaps he was also hesitating.
This bird city has no internal support, and unless the defenders cause internal strife, the only option is a long-term siege.
On the top of the northern city wall of Jinyong, Shao Xun, Mi Huang and He Lun climbed up and looked into the distance to observe the enemy situation.
"Neither want to fight nor leave, what does Zhang Fang want to do?" He Lun asked, looking at the densely packed camps in the distance.
"It would be unreasonable to come to Luoyang without fighting a battle, and it would be hard to explain when we go back." Shao Xun smiled and said, "No matter what, Zhang Fang has to come and give up some heads before he leaves."
"My dear, you sound very proud when you say this. If the city walls are not defended, I will hold you accountable." Mi Huang joked.
"Don't worry, Commander." Shao Xun said, "If Zhang Fang tries to lure me out of the city, I will ignore him. If he attacks the city, I will kill him without a single soldier left."
Mi Huang laughed. Although he was still not completely relieved, he was indeed much relieved.
It was difficult to deploy troops outside Luoyang City, so it would be very awkward to attack by force. However, it was convenient to get reinforcements from inside the city. Even if the army was unstable and its combat power was slightly weak, it could still resist with the advantage of location and numbers.
As time goes by, the morale of the army and the people will become more and more stable, and Zhang Fang will find it even more difficult to attack.
"The governor is in a good mood today, is there any good news?" In front of Shao Xun, He Lun wisely did not talk about military affairs, so he focused his attention elsewhere and keenly noticed that Mi Huang laughed several times today and was in a very good mood.
"Indeed, there is good news." Mi Huang smiled from ear to ear. "I was planning to tell you after I got back, but it doesn't hurt to tell you here. The King of Fanyang sent an envoy to Luoyang, saying that the Minister of Works has returned to Xuzhou."
"Really?" He Lun was delighted and asked.
"Absolutely true." Mi Huang laughed out loud, sweeping away the gloom of many days.
Shao Xun also laughed.
A genuine smile, not a fake one.
If Sima Yue died now, it would not be a good thing for him, because Sima Ying would get rid of a big enemy, and Sima Teng of Bingzhou, Wang Jun of Youzhou, Sima Hu of Xuchang, Sima Lue of Qingzhou, and even Sima Shi of Wancheng would not necessarily be able to be organized.
This is the reason why Shao Xun previously thought that Sima Yue was not good at fighting but was good at management.
He has the potential to become a leader of an alliance and can win over various princes, governors, and especially the descendants of Sima Kui to fight the enemy together.
In this huge group, Sima Yue was a key figure at the core. If he died, who would Sima Hu, Sima Teng, Sima Lue and others follow? They were also unwilling to obey each other.
Without this huge force against Sima Ying and Sima Yong, Luoyang would certainly be lost. Either Sima Ying would go south, or Sima Yong would go east. At that time, Shao would have no choice but to flee in disgrace.
"Since the Minister of Works is still here, he can serve as a liaison and organize various armies to defend the king and punish the rebels." He Lun said happily, "Has the Minister of Works convinced the King of Dongping (Sima Mao)?"
Mi Huang's face changed and he sighed, "The Minister of Works fled to Xuzhou with only a hundred followers. The King of Dongping refused to receive him, so the Minister of Works fled to Donghai."
He Lun sighed.
In his heart, he wished that Sikong would fight back to Luoyang immediately. Without Sikong, Shao Xun would be the one to suppress me, and life would be very difficult.
Shao Xun silently savored the complicated relationship between Sima Mao and Sima Yue.
Sima Mao, the governor of Xuzhou, seldom offends anyone, but he is a very cunning man in troubled times.
When Sima Yue was defeated and fled eastward, he did not harm him, but just closed the door and refused to let him in, and advised him to leave. His little look was like a woman saying, "We have nothing to do with each other, leave quickly, don't let XXX misunderstand..."
Sima Yue must have felt quite frustrated at the time. Because before that, Xuzhou responded positively and sent supplies to Luoyang, and its attitude was very good. But once they suffered a defeat, they immediately turned hostile, and the change was too fast, making it difficult for people to adapt.
"I have sent a messenger to Donghai to deliver the message." Mi Huang looked at the two and said, "Sikong is accompanied by generals and staff. He should want to recruit soldiers in Xuzhou and fight back. It won't be long before the righteous armies of all directions besiege Yecheng for the second time."
"Sikong Daye, there is hope for success." He Lun said excitedly.
"Now that things have come to this, all we have to do is guard Luoyang and wait for the Prime Minister's order," said Shao Xun.
"Yes!" Mi Huang said with a smile: "Luoyang is the capital. Even if it is reduced to a blank slate, it still has extraordinary significance in the eyes of the people of the world. We cannot lose this place. We must defend it."
******
Luoyang is not far from Yecheng and can be reached by fast horse in a few days.
The news that Zhang Fang failed to capture the city and stationed his troops in the north of the city quickly spread, but Sima Ying paid no attention to it.
At this moment, he was sitting by the pond, quietly looking at the withered flowers and willows by the pond, just like his mood.
Lu Zhi, Wang Cheng, Yang Zhun, Cui Kuang and other staff members stood by.
Lu Zhi was originally recommended by Sima Ying as the Minister of the Secretariat, but now he cannot go to Luoyang and is still serving as a staff member in Ye Prefecture. His latest position is "participating in the affairs of the Prime Minister's Office", making him Sima Ying's de facto military advisor.
Yang Zhun was the "Military Counselor", which was actually the "Military Counselor" of Yue Prefecture. Since the name "Military Counselor" was banned, many new names were invented in various places, "Military Counselor" and "Military Counselor" being two of them.
Yang Zhun was considered a famous scholar.
After being recruited by Sima Ying, he did not care about official affairs and spent his whole life in a carefree manner. In fact, he was just collecting wages for nothing and wasted his time.
Sima Ying regarded him as a famous scholar, "regarded him but did not blame him", and was very tolerant. Cui Kuang was a military officer from Boling. He had urged Sima Ying to launch the Battle of Dongyin and was trusted by him.
Compared with their lord, the morale of the staff is still good. After all, they don't have to worry about their lives, and they can even transfer to other offices, so they can always have an official position.
"Where is Gu Yanxian?" A gust of cold wind blew, Sima Ying shuddered, turned around and asked.
"Serving the emperor." Lu Zhi replied in a muffled voice.
Sima Ying stared at this former most trusted aide, knowing that he was angry. After a long moment, he shook his head and asked, "Should we send him to Luoyang?"
Gu Yanxian is Gu Rong, a native of Wu.
He once served in the office of Sima Qian, the son of Sima Lun and the general, as chief secretary.
After Sima Lun's defeat, he was transferred to Sima Jiong's mansion and served as chief clerk.
After Sima Jue was defeated, he was transferred to Sima Yi's office and served as Chief Clerk.
After Sima Yi was defeated, he was transferred to Sima Ying's mansion and served as a secretary to the prime minister.
After the Battle of Dangyin, the emperor arrived in Yecheng, and Sima Ying sent Gu Rong to accompany him, so he also took on the position of Shizhong - like Lu Zhi, he had both a staff position and an official position.
Recently, someone in Yecheng proposed to make peace with Sima Yue and send the emperor back to Luoyang. Sima Ying was somewhat tempted and planned to send Gu Rong to do this.
As for why this is the case, we have to talk about the rapidly changing situation in Hebei.
Shao Xun was fighting fiercely with Shangguan Si and Zhang Fang in Luoyang. Sima Ying, after winning in Dangyin, was not at ease either, because soldiers from Bingzhou and Youzhou were coming.
The two sides fought many times, and the Ye army lost more than it won and suffered heavy losses.
Especially in the recent battle at Pingji, Shi Chao killed more than 10,000 people in one fell swoop, so much so that Wang Jun's scouts and cavalry ran to the vicinity of Yecheng to spy on military intelligence.
As soon as the news came out, people in Ye were greatly terrified.
Many staff members and officials fled because they heard that the Xianbei cavalry under Wang Jun were burning, killing and looting everywhere, and they were afraid of being in trouble, so they fled with their families.
As for why the officials and people of Yecheng were so lacking in confidence, the main reason was that there were too few soldiers.
The Battle of Dangyin did not go without losses for the Ye army, especially during the two days of attacking the central army in Luoyang, when casualties were numerous, with a total loss of more than 10,000 men.
This time, they were defeated piecemeal by Sima Teng and Wang Jun in the north, and lost more than 10,000 soldiers.
After the Battle of Pingji, the number of soldiers and horses in Yecheng was less than 20,000, making it difficult for them to cope with the attack from Bingzhou and Youzhou. Not to mention that troops might also be sent from Qingzhou.
Sima Yue has too many followers.
In the battle of Dangyin, he summoned a large number of miscellaneous soldiers from Henan. After they were defeated, Sima Teng, Wang Jun, and Sima Lue were still watching covetously. If they were defeated again, Sima Ying suspected that this guy could persuade Sima Hu, the governor of Xuchang, Sima Shi, the governor of Wancheng, and others to go out again. There would be no end to the fighting.
Sima Ying didn't know where he lost. Maybe he had to blame his father and grandfather. Why were there so few people in their branch?
"Brother, the emperor should return to the capital as soon as possible." Lu Zhi advised: "Once the world's lords hear about this, they may give up the idea of sending troops."
"Brother, please escort the emperor back to the capital." Wang Cheng also advised.
"Brother, we will just return the emperor to the province temporarily. After we get through this difficult time, we can let the emperor tour Hebei again." Cui Kuang said.
The staff's opinions are generally consistent.
When the war situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable, there are many disadvantages to keeping the emperor in one's hands.
The value that should be utilized has been almost fully utilized.
The emperor has just issued an edict to depose Crown Prince Sima Tan and Empress Yang Xianrong, and imprison them in Jinyong City.
The imperial edict will arrive in Luoyang soon. By then, Sima Ying will still be the crown prince and the only heir to the throne of the Jin Dynasty. Perhaps we can use this as an excuse to slowly plot our plan.
Of course, after the emperor returns to the capital, he will fall into the hands of Sima Yue's faction again. It is hard to say whether the prince and queen will be reinstated at that time.
But there is really no way right now.
Serving the emperor back to the capital was actually a gesture of goodwill from Ye Prefecture.
If that didn't work, Lu Zhi suggested that Sima Ying, in his capacity as the Crown Prince, recommend Sima Yue as the Grand Tutor.
To put it bluntly, it was a request for peace - Sima Yue was losing and losing, and was about to win. Nothing is more bizarre than this.
"Zhang Fang is known as a veteran general, but he couldn't even take Luoyang." Sima Ying did not directly answer Lu Zhi's words, but talked about the situation in Luoyang.
If Luoyang was in Zhang Fang's hands, things would be much easier.
"Zhang Fang only has 20,000 soldiers, so a strong attack will not work." Lu Zhi said, "Brother, don't pin your hopes on them. Wang Yan is a famous scholar, Mi Huang is mature and steady, and there is also the brave general Shao Xun who will charge into battle. As long as there is no internal strife in Luoyang, it will be difficult for Zhang Fang to fall into his hands."
"Alas!" Sima Ying slapped his fist, very annoyed. After a moment, he said, "Let Liu Yuanhai go back, quickly prepare, and send five divisions of soldiers to help me."
"Yes." Lu Zhi replied.
Now that things have come to this, we must use every bit of our strength.
After the five Hun tribes sent out their troops, they could at least contain Sima Teng, allowing Yecheng to concentrate on dealing with Wang Jun.
There are still 20,000 soldiers in Yecheng. Their life or death depends on this battle.
(End of this chapter)