Chapter 627 Seeking Asylum
Chapter 627 Seeking Asylum
Under normal circumstances, the city gates would be closed at 11:00 p.m., but tonight it was the opposite. The city gates were kept closed until around 11:00 p.m., when they were suddenly opened. Thousands of people who had been waiting at the city gates took the opportunity to escape from the city. These were people who were foresighted and were either afraid of being purged or of a war, with the whole city being burned, killed and looted.
Since the gate was not open, most of the people knew nothing and could only go to bed early as usual and wait until the next day to find out what had happened.
The gate of Su Wei's mansion was outside the town, so it was naturally much more convenient for him than for ordinary people. More than a dozen horse-drawn carriages carrying Su Wei, his wives and concubines, family members, and packed belongings drove towards Chunming Gate under the escort of hundreds of servants.
The one riding in the front was naturally his grandson Su Lie, also known as Su Dingfang. He was only twenty years old this year, wielding a tiger-head gilded spear, and had the courage of ten thousand men.
His father Su Yong once served as Sima of Qinghe County. Su Lie followed his father to fight against the rebels who robbed grain at the age of sixteen. He defeated the grain-robbing armies of Dou Jiande, Zhang Jincheng, Liu Badao and others one after another. Although he was only twenty years old, he had led the county soldiers to fight against the rebels for many years and made great contributions.
The previous year, the Western Sui Dynasty was established, and his grandfather Su Wei was appointed prime minister. Su Lie's father was dismissed from office and unfortunately died of illness not long after. Su Lie then carried his father's coffin back to Guanzhong for burial and has been living in his grandfather's mansion ever since.
Soon, they arrived in front of Chunming Gate. Su Lie went forward to check and soon came back and said, "Grandfather, there is no one guarding the city gate!"
Su Wei nodded and said, "Leave the city immediately and go to Gaoling County!"
Su Lie didn't ask any more questions. He escorted the convoy out of the city and headed northeast along the official road.
Emperor Yang Guang's 200,000 main forces entered Tongguan in the morning and marched towards Chang'an with great momentum. Zhang Xutuo's 50,000 troops also entered Puzhou Pass. At this time, the 300,000 Eastern Sui troops had all entered Guanzhong, and the vanguard was the 20,000 cavalry led by Qu Tutong.
At dawn, 20,000 cavalrymen arrived at Bashang. At this time, a spy came to report, "General, there is a young man from the Yuan family who wants to see you."
Qu Tutong ordered the entire army to stop. Not long after, a general came to meet him. "General Qu Tu, I am Yuan Wuda, and I am here to negotiate with you on the orders of General Yuan!"
Qu Tutong knew that the enemy must be Yuanshou's army, so he asked, "Where is your general now?"
"The general has led his army to control Chang'an and ensure order in the city!"
"Where is the fake emperor Chang'an?"
"They fled yesterday afternoon. Their current whereabouts are unknown. Did they go to Bashu or Longyou?"
Qu Tutong nodded and said, "Please tell General Yuan that I have been ordered to take over the defense of Chang'an City. You can continue to maintain the order in Chang'an City, but please leave the gate of Chang'an to me!"
Yuan Wuda clasped his fists in salute, turned around and rode away at full speed. Qu Tutong ordered the army to slow down.
At dawn, 20,000 troops arrived in Chang'an. There was no one guarding the city gates of Chang'an. Qu Tutong ordered his troops to take over the three main city gates: Mingde Gate, Chunming Gate and Jinguang Gate.
At noon, the emperor's army of 200,000 also arrived at Chunming Gate. Emperor Yang Guang set up his royal tent outside the city. Representatives of Guanlong nobles such as Dugu Tuo, Dugu Zuan, Yuan Xiaoju, Yuan Shou, Houmo Chentai, and Dou Wei came to see him.
Yang Guang comforted everyone and praised them for considering the overall situation and saving the city of Chang'an. At the same time, he issued an amnesty order, pardoning all the 150,000 surrendered soldiers and not punishing them for their past deeds.
But he only pardoned the army, but did not include the ministers of the puppet regime. It was obvious that Yang Guang still wanted to liquidate the puppet regime.
Almost at the same time when Qu Tutong's vanguard army arrived in Chang'an, Luo Shixin led more than 30,000 troops to Gaoling County. The Jin Wang army did not participate in or interfere with the court army's takeover of Chang'an, but it did not allow the court army to infringe on the interests of the Jin Wang in Chang'an. Yang Lihua's property had been given to Xiao Xia. There were more than 400 shops and other assets in Chang'an. Previously, the Guanlong nobles promised to protect the safety of these properties. Now Luo Shixin's army is stationed in Gaoling County to deter those who have evil intentions.
Gaoling County also had a military camp that could accommodate 30,000 people, and the food and fodder in the military warehouses were provided to the army in a timely manner.
There were not only 30,000 cavalrymen in the military camp, but also an additional 8,000 troops, which were the troops stationed at Puzhou Pass. After Song Laosheng was defeated by Qu Tutong, he led 3,000 remaining troops to flee to Puzhou Pass and fell into the encirclement of Luo Shixin's army. When Song Laosheng heard that it was the army of King Jin, he decisively surrendered to Luo Shixin.
This is also because Song Laosheng and Xiao Xia are old friends. They went to Tuyuhun together. Song Laosheng knew very well that the emperor would not forgive him, so surrendering to King Jin Xiao Xia was his best way out.
In the big tent, Luo Shixin was talking to Song Laosheng when a soldier came to report, "More than a dozen carriages have arrived at the camp gate, saying that Prime Minister Su Wei has come to surrender!"
Luo Shixin was startled and looked at Song Laosheng. Song Laosheng smiled bitterly and said, "Prime Minister Su will definitely be liquidated by the emperor just like me. He will be the first to suffer. I guess he also wants to surrender to King Jin!"
Another secret mission that Xiao Xia gave to Luo Shixin was to recruit a group of talented and famous ministers and generals. Prestigious old ministers like Su Wei were naturally the focus of Luo Shixin's recruitment.
Luo Shixin hurried out to meet them. From a distance, he saw Su Lie in the front. He was tall and handsome, leading a white horse and holding a gilded dragon spear. He looked murderous. Luo Shixin's eyes lit up and he asked Song Laosheng next to him, "Who is that young man on the white horse?"
Mr. Song knew Su Lie and said with a smile, "He is Su Lie, the grandson of Prime Minister Su. He is known as the Master of the Three Spears and has the courage of ten thousand men. He once killed many bandits in Hebei and frightened them away."
Luo Shixin was overjoyed, and stepped forward and said loudly: "I am Luo Shixin, a general under the command of King Jin. Welcome to Prime Minister Su!"
Su Wei knew that Luo Shixin was the most trusted and beloved general under the King of Jin. He got off the carriage and clasped his fists and said, "To be honest, General Luo, I have been a fake prime minister for a year, and the emperor will definitely not tolerate me. But I don't want to go to Bashu again, so I wonder if the King of Jin can tolerate me?"
Luo Shixin smiled and said, "Mr. Gao has recommended Lord Su to the Prince of Jin many times. Your Highness the Prince of Jin will definitely welcome Lord Su."
The Lord Gao was naturally Gao Jiong. When Su Wei heard that Gao Jiong recommended him to the King of Jin, he felt ashamed and very happy. Luo Shixin quickly ordered the soldiers to arrange for Su Wei's family to live in the camp.
Luo Shixin himself was more interested in Su Lie. He found a chance, walked up to Su Lie and said with a smile: "Brother, your horse seems to be injured?"
Su Lie nodded, "I sprained my ankle on the way, I may need to rest for a few days!"
"We have several veterinarians in our army. Let them take a look at your horse."
Su Lie quickly clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, General!"
"You're welcome. I heard from Master Song that you are a master of spears. I also use spears. Are you willing to spar with me?"
Su Lie was also young and full of vigor. He saw that the other party was not much older than him, only about 20 years old, and had become the commander. He couldn't help but feel competitive, so he smiled and said, "I'd like to ask the general for advice!"
Luo Shixin was overjoyed and immediately ordered his personal soldiers, "Bring a horse for Master Su!"
(End of this chapter)