Chapter 935 Entering the City

Chapter 935 Entering the City

Chapter 935 Entering the City (Part )

"General Jin."

"Captain Hou."

The two men greeted each other outside Duanmen.

Jin Zhun first looked at Hou Feihu.

This was a man in his late forties, of medium build, neither tall nor short, and not very strong, probably about the same size as an ordinary soldier.

His eyes were gentle, without much fierceness or violent emotion.

He won't stare at people for a long time, but he will observe you and try to figure you out from the corner of his eyes from time to time - this is Jin Zhun's own feeling.

When Hou Feihu stood, his body was straight, his left hand hanging naturally, his right hand gently stroking his beard, and he casually looked at the scene in Chang'an.

At this time, he also had some preliminary impression of Jin Zhun.

The first feeling was: this boy looks like a scholar.

He was a little older than him, tall, handsome and elegant.

To be honest, even in the Central Plains, Jin Zhun's good looks would deceive many people if he didn't go crazy.

No wonder all three daughters are targeted. Handsome boys and beautiful girls are probably the characteristics of the Jin family.

But Jin Zhun gave him a bad second impression. His eyes were too deep, lacking in moderation and peace, and he was prone to extremes, whether good or bad.

In short, he likes to act on impulse, or as King Liang said, he easily gets "overwhelmed." Jin Zhun actually knows everything, and knows what to do and what not to do, but knowing is one thing, and it's useless if you can't control your emotions.

This is the kind of person who does jaw-dropping things under passion.

Once his blood was boiling, nothing could stop him.

"General Hou, when will King Liang enter Chang'an?" Jin Zhun asked.

"Don't be impatient." Hou Feihu said with a smile: "Your Majesty's army has just crossed the Wei River and is heading towards Chang'an. They will arrive tomorrow."

"They actually set up camp in Weibei." Jin Zhun was stunned, then sighed.

Hou Feihu understood what he meant.

The army besieging the city is so disorganized that it is not impossible for the camp to collapse accidentally. The Huns would then take advantage of the situation to attack, which would exacerbate the chaos. The various tribes would run around in disarray, and the Liang Wang's own troops might even be disrupted.

But he camped in the north of Wei River, and there was a river between him and the army besieging the city. Even if his entire army collapsed, it would be difficult to disrupt the 50,000 troops on the north bank.

King Liang's experience in military operations is not just talk.

As the two were talking, carriage after carriage drove into the palace.

When he went in, the carriage was empty, and when he came out, it was full of treasures: silks, satins, swords, spears, halberds, tripods, cauldrons, incense burners, and so on.

There were even quite a few rare Western goods in Luoyang, which were becoming increasingly scarce.

Obviously, most Western merchants could not go east after reaching Chang'an, and could only exchange goods with Liu Han's merchants and return home. Liu Han did not know how much money he made from this alone.

Jin Zhun just glanced at the treasures and didn't take them seriously at all. Then he followed Hou Feihu into the Duanmen Gate.

Inside the gate, a group of Xiongnu officials stood respectfully, and Jin Zhun introduced them one by one.

Hou Feihu listened quietly, nodding occasionally. He was neither too cold nor too enthusiastic, finding the right balance.

When hearing the names of Qi Wuyuan and Jin Ming, Hou Feihu said one more sentence: "The king has ordered that Qi Wuyuan can be the Sima of the Lieutenant General to protect the Xiongnu, and Jin Ming should be the governor of Chang'an."

When the two heard this, they were delighted.

No matter what happened with the Huns before, it doesn’t count anymore.

The two officials, General Sima, the General of the Central Army, and the Magistrate of Chang'an, were not high-ranking officials, but they were not low-ranking officials either. More importantly, they had successfully "landed".

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward."

"I am grateful and willing to go through fire and water."

The two expressed their opinions one after another.

You Ziyuan, Hu Xun, Wang Guang and others were a little anxious, but they all held back and said nothing.

"You will be assigned to other positions." Hou Feihu nodded at them and said.

Only then did a few people feel relieved.

At this moment, it’s either eat or be eaten.

If you don't get a position, even if it's just the lowest level of ninth-rank official, it means that you may be liquidated. Then, don't blame others for showing ill will towards you.

Hou Feihu continued to move forward.

The palace was filled with soldiers from the Fifth Battalion of the Yellow Head Army. There was a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps. The palace was packed with soldiers.

The bloodstains in the palace had been almost cleaned up, except that there were fewer palace servants, probably because they had been killed.

When he arrived in front of the Taiji Hall, Hou Feihu went around the west side and carefully checked the defenses.

Jin Zhun and his group followed behind respectfully like subordinates.

From time to time, someone came to Jin Zhun to report, and Jin Zhun did not avoid Hou Feihu, but deliberately asked loudly and gave orders.

He was the General of the Guards against the Xiongnu, and before that he was the General of the Cavalry of the Han Dynasty. All the troops inside and outside the city of Chang'an were under his command.

Now, after counting, he had recruited nearly 19,000 soldiers and horses around Chang'an and within the city, and more than 8,000 servants from wealthy families who were temporarily conscripted, all of whom had been disbanded.

There was a mutiny in the army of Prince Guangping Liu Yue in the south of the city. He led troops to suppress it, but was forced by Zhao Gu. So he broke out with those loyal to him. In the end, only a hundred people escaped and their whereabouts disappeared.

This was the matter he had just reported to Jin Zhun, who said that Liu Yue's whereabouts had been found in Shiping County and he seemed to have headed for Nanshan.

Jin Zhun did not hesitate and sent out Jin's own troops to pursue, demanding that they must bring back Liu Yue's head.

After hearing this, Hou Feihu asked, "General Jin, I wonder if there are any members of the Liu Han clan in the city?"

"It used to exist, but it's gone now," Jin Zhun reported.

Hou Feihu was stunned.

"They all committed suicide." Jin Zhun said.

Hou Feihu glanced at Jin Zhun again and said, "There is not a single living person?"

"No one is alive." Jin Zhun said seriously, "This generation does not know their destiny, and they deserve to die."

"Okay, very good." Hou Feihu was numb, thinking that Jin Zhun was really cruel.

In his opinion, those reasons for rebellion were not valid.

They are just women. Is it worth rebelling over such trivial matters?
But Jin Zhun rebelled and killed Liu Can and his son, and slaughtered all the royal family members.

This kind of person is so vicious that Hou Feihu wondered whether he should be given the post of Lieutenant General of Protecting the Xiongnu. It was not because he was afraid that Jin Zhun would rebel, but because he felt that this person might not be able to command the remnants of the Xiongnu in Guanzhong.

He had lost all his prestige among the Huns - too high prestige was not good, and too low was not good either.

After Hou Feihu completed his inspection, he returned from Huanglong Gate.

Further north was the harem, but he was reluctant to go in for fear of suspicion.

Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something. Hu Xun, the Guanglu doctor of the Han Dynasty, reported to him secretly: the day before yesterday, Jin Zhun suddenly decided to kill all of Liu Can's concubines for some unknown reason, leaving only his daughter Jin Yuehua, but was finally dissuaded by them.

When Cao Wei conquered Shu, all the women in Liu Chan's harem, except the queen, were given as rewards to meritorious soldiers.

After Sima Jin conquered Wu, Sun Hao's harem was either incorporated into Sima Yan's harem or given as rewards to officials or generals.

When Prince Liang conquered Pingyang, he only wanted the empress, regardless of her appearance, and gave most of the rest away as rewards. Hou Feihu, the governor of the various troops besieging the city, got a concubine.

To be honest, the enemy's harem is a very important trophy, and beautiful women are the most important wealth, not to mention the bonus of the enemy's noble lady's status. The victorious party will covet them so much - it's not that they lack women, but that there is a shortage of women of this status.

Identity is something that many people tend to overlook. I don’t know how much interest it can bring to men. If you kill them all, won’t you be hated to death?

Jin Zhun thought about it for a long time and finally gave up.

After hearing the secret report, Hou Feihu laughed secretly.

Jin Zhun's actions were really inexplicable. Just like you wouldn't have thought that he would suddenly rebel, you wouldn't have thought that he would suddenly kill all the members of the Liu Han royal family, and even spared Liu Can's harem.

"General Jin, you lead your troops out of the city and camp outside the gates. You don't need to worry about what's going on inside the city." Hou Feihu ordered as they were leaving Duanmen. "Yes, sir." Jin Zhun agreed straightforwardly.

******
On August 25th, the sound of hurried horse hooves was heard on the northern horizon.

Xuchu Quanqu and Xuchu Yiyu, father and son, climbed up the high platform in the camp and watched from afar.

The first thing that came into view was a group of soldiers in shining armor, a total of about 1,500 people.

The horses were covered in iron armor and the men in heavy armor, looking majestic and insolent.

They held thick and long horse lances, shouted loudly, and drove away the Di and Qiang soldiers who blocked the road.

If someone moved a little slower, dozens of riders would immediately rush over, pointing their lances as thick as young trees at them from a distance.

The Diqiang soldiers shouted, threw away their miscellaneous baggage, and ran wildly to the rear.

After driving back one group of people, the armored cavalry continued to advance.

The horse's hooves hit the ground like heavy hammers.

The armor leaves clang and are as majestic as mountains.

The horse lance is thick, long and powerful, with incredible power.

Wherever the armored cavalry passed, the troops retreated and quickly cleared a large area.

Thousands of light cavalry followed closely behind, neither hurried nor slow.

When they reached the outside of the camps, they dispersed far away and circled the camps.

Even though they knew these people would not really do anything to them, Xu Chuquan Qu and his son still broke out in cold sweats.

He brought 50,000 men with him, half of whom were stationed in the north of the city and the other half in the west.

And just yesterday, Shan Zhi of Shangjun suddenly arrived in Chang'an with 10,000 people, headed straight to the west of the city, and took over the command of that group of people.

Most of the Di and Qiang people in the west of the city came from Fengyi, but to be honest, they didn't care whether they were with Quan Qu and his son or the Shan family.

Although the Xuchu clan was a large family in Fengyi, it was not large enough to send out 50,000 soldiers. To put it bluntly, most of them were instigated and coerced by him, and were not his own people.

For those people, the status and reputation of the Xuchu and Shan families are similar, so what's the difference in following either one?

With half of their people taken away at once, Xu Chuquan and his son became much more sober and no longer as arrogant as before.

Today, I was frightened by the armored cavalry of Youzhou Tuqidu, and my heart was awed. For a moment, all my resentment disappeared, and my expectations were lowered a lot.

I don’t know how long it took, but the sound of drums and horns could be heard again in the distance.

Xuchu Quanqu and his son opened their eyes wide and looked carefully, only to see an endless infantry brigade appearing.

They formed a huge square formation, closely guarding dozens of gorgeous carriages in the center, as well as a large banner flying high and more than a dozen general flags.

The large formation itself is composed of more than a dozen small square formations, with thirty steps between each formation on the left and right, and ten steps between each formation in front and back.

In the open space between the formations, messengers were running back and forth non-stop.

Outside the formation, smoke and dust filled the sky, and the figures of the cavalry were looming.

Every time they walked a certain distance, the entire formation would pause.

Someone blew a horn on the gorgeous carriage.

All the formations stood at attention, responded to the horn sounds one after another, and began to adjust their formations.

Not only should the formation of your own square be aligned left and right and moderate front and back, but adjacent squares should also be aligned with each other.

Under the banner of the central army, someone was watching each phalanx carefully. Whoever did not blow the horn in response or who was slow to adjust the formation would be supervised immediately by cavalry.

The speed at which the entire formation adjusted its formation was extremely fast.

People in the distance only saw the endless black shadow wriggling rapidly, and soon it stood at attention and stopped.

On the chariot under the central army's banner, twelve drums beat in unison.

The drumming knights in the various formations immediately responded by beating their drums.

Accompanied by the officers' loud shouts, tens of thousands of people shouted "Kill" in unison and moved forward again.

Xuchu Quanqu and his son looked at each other and found that the other was swallowing.

The formation was as solid as a mountain, the advance and retreat were orderly, the movements were quick, and the morale was high.

Compared with them, all our troops have to be thrown away.

Several more riders came running over from the main formation and directly attacked the Tuqi commander of Youzhou and the Jie riders surrounding the Di and Qiang tribes.

A moment later, they rushed over and shouted, "Back off!"

"Back off! Back off!" Voices rang out one after another.

The Di and Qiang tribes retreated in a hurry, even causing a small-scale stampede.

Xu Chuquanqu blushed and turned away angrily, not wanting to watch anymore.

The sounds of drums and horns were still ringing, and the rustling footsteps were getting closer and closer. Finally, the short horn sounds were close to my ears.

"Kill!" Tens of thousands of people stood a hundred steps away and shouted in unison.

There was a commotion in the Di Qiang camp, and some people couldn't help shouting, almost thinking that Shao Bing was about to launch an attack.

Fortunately, it was not a false alarm.

Suddenly, the formation began to change again.

Thousands of people at the front advanced with weapons and headed straight for Pingshuo Gate.

The central army's banner began to move.

Under the protection of two thousand warriors in Ming Guang armor, they followed the thousands of soldiers in front of them and moved forward slowly.

Behind them, the various formations also began to adjust.

The square formation changed into a horizontal formation, and the horizontal formation changed into a vertical formation, and one battalion after another followed.

The gorgeous carriage slowly passed through the open space cleared in the middle of the Zahu camp.

When the Hu people saw this, they didn't know who started it first, but they all bowed to the ground.

The carriage did not stop and slowly entered the Pingshuo Gate.

The army advanced silently and in an orderly manner.

The Hu people knelt on the ground until they could no longer see the carriage, and then they slowly stood up.

No one spoke because no one was in the mood.

When people are frightened, they always appear silent.

At this time, everyone will remember something they had deliberately forgotten: the Huns could defeat the Di, Qiang, Ba and Jie people in a crushing defeat by sending out any troops, whether it was Liu Can himself or his generals.

And these Huns who once rode on their heads were defeated by the army in front of them.

Two hundred thousand soldiers surrounded the city, and they were all very excited, thinking they could reach the sky. Now they know that there are always people better than you.

If these tens of thousands of people had beaten the drums to attack, would the troops present have been able to withstand it? It would have been a disastrous rout.

King Liang said that the troops should retreat and not enter the city.

Do you still want to enter the city now?

"The king will hold a banquet in Luziyuan tomorrow to reward people according to their merits. The nobles from all tribes can bring two or three personal followers to the banquet..." Another sound of horse hooves was heard, and the knights shouted loudly as they walked.

When the Hu people heard this, they were delighted.

The atmosphere, which was somewhat gloomy and solemn just now, suddenly became lively.

Over the past few days, their mood had changed from happiness to confusion and dissatisfaction, then to panic and fear, and now to joy.

In a word, it is under strict control.

(End of this chapter)