Chapter 1333 Choice (2)
The Han army recaptured Luoyang, forcing the Wei monarchs and ministers to move the capital again. Oh no, it should be said to patrol farther east again.
This incident not only set off a storm in the Wei court, but the aftershocks of the news also affected most of Guandong.
It is even foreseeable that the aftershocks will continue to spread until they reach Wu State.
Those who are as keen as Cao Zhi know that the situation is irreversible and seek a retreat without delay.
Even those who are not as good as Cao Zhi, the Cao family has already fallen into a state of confusion and doubt - Wei, is there really any hope of salvation?
The loss of Luoyang was a huge blow to the entire Wei State.
But the bigger blow was that the Wei Dynasty was forced to move its capital twice in a row, and its fear of thieves was clearly revealed.
One has to wonder how much courage the soldiers of the Wei Dynasty still have to face the rebels.
As for General Cao's incompetence in pulling his hips this time, it further highlighted the ability and excellence of Taifu Sima.
Although Sima Taifu failed to capture Taiyuan, he at least captured Shangdang.
Although Luoyang was lost, at least they defeated the elite cavalry of the Han army, which was said to be invincible in the world, in Youzhou and killed five thousand thieves.
At the same time, a large number of horses and livestock were captured, which was a great victory.
Rather than pinning their hopes on Sima Yi, more and more people are turning their attention to Chang'an in the west.
Could it be that the Han Dynasty is really about to prosper?
Anyone who knows the importance of Luoyang knows what kind of situation Guandong will face next.
This cannot be said to be exactly the same as the eve of the Qin Dynasty's unification of the six kingdoms, but it can only be said that there is not much difference.
Even to the south of Wei State, there was also a Wu State similar to Qi State.
No, Qi State just stayed out of the matter, but Wu State wanted to respond to Han State at any time.
Yang Hu, who had been studying behind closed doors for some time, was also shocked and speechless after receiving the news.
At the same time, I couldn't help but feel deep admiration for my sister.
After returning from Han, he originally thought about traveling to Hebei and taking the opportunity to observe Taifu Sima.
Let's see if Taifu Sima is really a pillar of the Wei Dynasty as rumored.
I just didn’t expect that my sister’s scolding would actually scold herself seriously.
Now it seems that what my sister said to herself was indeed far-sighted.
So he went to find Yang Huiyu again and said:
“Luoyang has been lost, and the general trend of the world is indeed as my sister said, it is irreversible.”
Yang Huiyu knew her brother well. When she saw Yang Hu say this, she asked:
“What do you want to do?”
“Sister, I still know me.” Yang Hu first flattered Yang Huiyu, and then said:
"In my opinion, if the Han Dynasty captured Luoyang, it would be equivalent to capturing the world's chess eye."
“I want to see the chess players and then see the players.”
Yang Huiyu's originally peaceful face was slightly disturbed: "Have you made a decision?"
Yang Hu nodded first, then shook his head:
"Last time I went back to Chang'an, I was undecided. I was in a hurry and didn't get to know the Han Dynasty carefully. This time, I want to go there and have a good look."
“Just traveling?”
Yang Huiyu knows Yang Hu, and Yang Hu doesn’t know his sister.
Hearing that something was wrong with her tone at this time, he couldn't help but asked strangely:
“Sister, it sounds like you mean something?”
Yang Huiyu’s face looked a little unnatural:
"What are you talking about? I'm just a woman. Most of what I said to you before was brought up by my aunt (Xin Xianying) when she was chatting with me in private."
"You went to Han Dynasty last time and visited your aunt's ancestral land. If you really want to go this time, you'd better go see your aunt and see what advice she has."
Yang Hu nodded: "Even if sister doesn't say anything, I will go. Let's see if my aunt wants me to deliver the letter."
Although the Xin family in Longxi has declined, it is still under the rule of the Han Dynasty.
And some of his children have already participated in the imperial examinations of the Han Dynasty.
And it is still unknown what will happen to the Xin family in Yingchuan, Wei State.
Having made the decision, Yang Hu no longer hesitated.
Shandong Yang family is also very concerned about the affairs of Luoyang and Qiao County.
More importantly, compared to the last implicit temptation.
This time, Shandong Yangshi's attitude has changed, and they need to urgently open up the channel to the west.
Yang Hu, who has been to Chang'an once and even dealt with Feng, is naturally the best choice.
So it is only natural for Yang Hu to go west again.
However, when Yang Hu went to see his aunt Xin Xianying, Xin Xianying reminded Yang Huiyu:
“Previously, you were escorting the Xiahou clan to Chang’an out of friendship, so you will naturally receive preferential treatment.”
"But this time is different from that time. You went here this time because you wanted something. In addition, you rejected Feng Mingwen's solicitation."
"With this person's current status, even if he doesn't care, there will be people below who don't like you. If you go on this trip, the treatment you receive will be much worse than before."
Yang Hu nodded and said with a wry smile:
“Thank you, aunt, for reminding me. My nephew is already mentally prepared.”
As he spoke, he pretended to smile lightly:
“Actually, the last time I went there, my nephew had wanted to enter the Royal Academy in Chang’an to study.”
“I heard that there are many great Confucian scholars there, and even Feng Mingwen brought the arithmetic and investigation of things from Shanmen.”
“This time I went, in addition to traveling, I just wanted to see if I could fulfill my wish.”
After the development of the Royal College over the years, the faculty of the college has changed from what it used to be.
Coupled with the fact that the Han Dynasty continued to regain lost territory, the momentum was soaring.
When the emperor moved the capital to Chang'an, he must have the world in mind.
Therefore, the Royal Academy naturally needs to keep pace with the times. It has released a limited number of places to allow non-academic students to pass the academic assessment and enter the academy to audit.
Of course, most of the auditors came to listen to the classics explained by great Confucian scholars.
After all, there is basically no way to understand arithmetic and inquiry without a certain foundation.
“Oh? So you already have an idea?”
Xin Xianying was a little surprised, and then asked doubtfully:
"I have heard the name of the Royal Academy a long time ago. It is probably similar to Taixue, right? You are passing by Wei State, can you go in?"
After thinking about it for a moment, it suddenly dawned on me:
“Perhaps you want to ask your uncle for help?”
Although the college can pass additional assessments to audit, in fact, the number of places is limited, and even if you are an audit, you must have a recommendation.
The Xiahou family is considered a descendant of the Han Dynasty.
If they are willing to help, it shouldn't be a problem.
Unexpectedly, Yang Hu hesitated for a moment and then said:
“If it doesn’t work out in the end, I will naturally ask my uncle if there is any way.”
It is different from what outsiders think.
Yang Hu also went there and found out that his uncle had not served as an official in the Han Dynasty in these years.
Even had a rather bad relationship with Feng Mingwen.
Anyway, Yang Hu himself knew that whenever Feng Mingwen was mentioned, his uncle's face would look very ugly.
Seeing Yang Hu's appearance, Xin Xianying couldn't help but feel a little strange:
“In addition to your uncle, do you have a better way?”
Yang Hu hesitated a little, not knowing what he was worried about. After thinking for a while, he decided to confess to his aunt:
“My aunt also knows that my nephew once visited the Prince’s Mansion in Jibei after returning from Chang’an.”
"Actually, my nephew was on that trip to deliver a message for Feng Mingwen. My nephew had heard with his own ears that the King of Jibei called Feng Mingwen his uncle." Xin Xianying's face suddenly showed surprise, and it could even be said to be a look of horror. :
“Uncle? Did the King of Jibei call Uncle Feng Mingwen?”
“Exactly.”
Xin Xianying still didn’t believe it: “Did you hear wrongly?”
"No." Yang Hu shook his head, "He said it in front of me, and he said it more than once, so he can't be wrong."
After receiving the affirmative answer, Xin Xianying couldn’t help but think deeply:
“There are rumors in the world that King Chen (i.e. Cao Zhi) personally admitted that Feng Mingwen far surpassed him and had eight points of talent in the world. It seems that this is indeed true.”
"If the friendship between the two had not reached this point, how could the King of Jibei call Uncle Feng Mingwen?"
Then she looked at Yang Hu again and finally understood:
“Do you want to go and seek help from the King of Jibei?”
Yang Hu nodded: "My aunt's words are exactly what my nephew wants."
The princes and kings of the Wei Dynasty were so severely restricted that they could even be said to be in captivity. Even relatives and in-laws did not dare to ask each other.
If the King of Jibei wanted to reply to Feng Mingwen, it would not be very convenient.
When the time comes, I can come to the door myself and help out by the way.
"This method is very good." Xin Xianying praised, "Even if there is no reply, you can still take the opportunity to ask him to write a letter of recommendation."
If you want to become an official, it would be a shame to ask for recommendation.
But studying is not a shabby job.
As a scholar, no matter how much you ask, you will not be ashamed.
Otherwise, how can we call it studying?
Before Mr. Feng established Nanxiang College, who among the poor children who wanted to acquire knowledge would not be able to ask for it?
As for Cangtou Qianshou, he didn’t even have a chance to ask for help.
Xin Xianying heard Yang Hu’s explanation and nodded slowly:
“That being said, I don’t have to worry about you anymore.”
The friendship between Feng Mingwen and King Chen is a good story in the literary world.
As long as the King of Jibei is willing to recommend him, Feng Mingwen will not embarrass his nephew, whether it is because of King Chen's reputation or the "uncle".
After the discussion, Yang Hu no longer hesitated and asked people to pack their luggage and get ready.
He himself went to the neighboring Kingdom of Jibei again to visit the King of Jibei.
Cao Zhi was very happy to learn about Yang Hu’s intention:
“I have a letter that I want to send to Chang’an. My uncle came just in time!”
As for the letter of recommendation, although Cao Zhi said that he did not know the situation of the Royal Academy, it was still okay to write a letter to praise Yang Hu.
This is true anyway.
Because Uncle Yang is indeed quite famous in Guandong.
Yang Hu got the letter he wanted and couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly thanked Cao Zhi and promised:
“Your Highness, please rest assured that Hu will do his best to get this matter done for Your Highness.”
Cao Zhi looked grateful: "Then Uncle Lao will be here."
Yang Hu didn’t know that the letter on his body was actually a cover.
The real secret message belongs to Cao Miao.
Moreover, Cao Miao was already in the caravan in disguise.
With Uncle Yang as cover along the way, the King of Jibei believed that his brother's safety would be more secure.
After all, the heritage of the Shandong Yang Family is many times richer than that of the Prince of Jibei.
A few days later, a small caravan met up with Uncle Yang's team and headed west together.
Just as Cao Zhi expected, with the loss of Luoyang, the Han army threatened Guandong. General Cao took the emperor and fled to Qiao County overnight.
The Central Plains area suddenly fell into turmoil and chaos.
Yang Hu and his party headed west along the river, and all the counties they passed were filled with panic.
Even the county soldiers close to Luoyang County have been dispersed.
Especially in Chenliu, which is adjacent to Luoyang, not only the defenders, but even the people fled with very few people left because they were afraid of the disaster of war.
Looking at the lifeless Suanzao County, Yang Hu couldn't help but sigh with sadness:
“In the past Emperor Wu raised his troops in Chenliu and met with the princes in Suanzao to attack Dong Zhuo.”
“After decades of hard fighting, the foundation of the Wei Dynasty was laid.”
“In just over twenty years, the Wei Dynasty has become like this.”
"This can be said to be that later generations do not know the difficulties of their ancestors in founding a country, and they abandon the country like grass and mustard."
The Han Dynasty's move to capture Luoyang was indeed a cruel move.
Not only did it completely open the gate to Kanto, it was also stuck on the edge of the river, in the transition zone between the spheres of influence of Taifu Sima and General Cao.
Furthermore, Chenliu County was originally considered an inner county of the Wei Dynasty and had not had many troops stationed there for many years.
Once in Luoyang, General Cao was just escaping, but why did he think of sending troops to Chenliu?
And suddenly, he couldn't muster enough troops.
Whether it is Nanyang or Yangzhou, it is impossible to easily deploy garrison troops.
Unless General Cao sends all 30,000 imperial troops from Xuchang - this is of course impossible.
Otherwise, he would not have ordered Wang Ling to send troops and horses to Qiao County to protect him.
As a result, before the Han army arrived, there were almost no people in Jujube.
Thinking of this, Yang Hu couldn't help but let out a long sigh: "It's really hard to rise but easy to die!"
Standing not far away, Cao Miao, disguised as a caravan manager, couldn't help but have a sad look on his face.
After passing Suanzao, we arrived at Guandu.
If Chenliu is where Cao Cao raised his troops, then Guandu is where Cao Cao established his northern hegemony.
The Guandu at this time is no longer the Guandu of the past - just like the Wei Dynasty at this time is no longer the Wei Dynasty in the past.
With an increasingly sad mood, he continued to head west, with Xingyang and Chenggao in sight.
At that time, Emperor Gaozu was defeated repeatedly in battles. Finally, he withstood Xiang Yu in the areas of Xingyang and Chenggao, and was able to turn defeat into victory.
Especially Chenggao, which can be said to be the most important city east of Luoyang and also a fortress.
The name Cheng Gao may not be familiar to some people.
But if you talk about Hulao Pass, you should know it.
Xingyang and Chenggao actually belong to the same defense system.
Not far to the west of Xingyang City is the Songshan Mountains.
Chenggao is located at the intersection of Si River and Yellow River.
It faces the Si River in the front, the Yellow River in the north, and Songshan Mountain in the south. It is the most dangerous place.
Xingyang and Chenggao are integrated into each other, forming an echoing horn.
If you want to capture Luoyang from the east, both must be captured.
Yang Hu and his party originally thought that all the officials in Suanzao and other places had fled, and probably not even a single person could be seen in Xingyang, which is the closest place to Luoyang.
Who would have expected that when they just arrived at the foot of Xingyang City, they would be stunned by the scene in front of them.
(End of this chapter)