Chapter 574 Chaos
Guo Huai doesn’t understand what it means if there is a demand, there will be a market, but he knows that if there is a benefit, someone will do it.
He visited Longyou at the beginning of spring this time, firstly for spring plowing, and secondly to discourage the powerful Longyou family from being too blatant.
However, the land of Longyou is vast and sparsely populated, and it is a good place for grazing. The aristocratic family enclosed the land for profit. As long as it does not cause chaos between the Qiang and Hu, in Guo Huai's view, it is not a big deal...
Just as he was thinking of this, he suddenly saw smoke and dust billowing up in front of him, and a group of people were galloping towards him.
Upon seeing this, the guards of the Governor's Mansion hurriedly stepped forward with their swords in hand. At the same time, the soldiers nearby rushed up, setting up their bows and crossbows, and surrounded everyone.
The cavalry wandering around not far away gathered together and faced him.
The people of Longyou are fierce. If a small group of ordinary business travelers dare to walk on the open land, bandits will appear from nowhere to rob them.
Although the governor was accompanied by local officials on this trip, it is always right to be careful.
If you meet someone who really has no eyesight, who should you cry to?
The incoming team was intercepted in front. After a while, another rider came over. Before they could reach them, they immediately dismounted and staggered a bit. It was obvious that the rider was in a hurry.
After seeing it clearly, Guo Huai realized that this was the story of his trusted followers who stayed in Shanggui.
The confidant had a look of worry and anxiety on his face. He breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Guo Huai was safe and said, "Your Majesty, it's not good. Zhuge Liang, the fake prime minister of Shu, led an army of 300,000 to invade Guanzhong Longyou."
“Now many counties and counties in Longxi have responded, and rebellions continue. This place is dangerous and it is not advisable to stay for a long time. Please mount your horse and return to the city as soon as possible!”
Hearing this, Guo Huai was like a thunderbolt from the blue. He was shocked and said, "How could the Shu captives suddenly invade the border?"
Remembering that there are not many troops in Guanzhong, and as the governor of Yongzhou, he is far away from Longyou. If Zhuge Liang leads his army to suddenly enter Guanzhong, Guanzhong will be in danger!
According to the laws of the Wei Dynasty, those who fail to defend the city will be guilty of a serious crime.
As soon as he thought of this, Guo Huai was confused and asked urgently, "Where is the Zhuge thief now?"
"We are attacking Qishan City. We say there are 200,000 soldiers and horses, and another 100,000 people are walking down the Xiegu from Hanzhong. Now General Cao has arrived in Guanzhong and is leading his army to Yicheng."
When Guo Huai heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief, "With the general here, there is no need to worry about the pass. I must guard Longyou."
The traitor Zhuge said there were 300,000, which is definitely false, but there should be nearly 100,000, and the troops are divided into two groups, so one group must be the main army and the other group is the partial division.
Just don’t know which way is true and which way is false?
If you are alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to cope.
Fortunately, the imperial court responded quickly and sent General Cao to guard Guanzhong.
Thinking of this, Guo Huai hurriedly ordered, "Come here, bring my horse over."
Then he turned to Ma Zun and said, "Master Ma, the fake Shu Prime Minister Xiangxing led his army to Long, and he came with bad intentions. The situation is critical at this time. You should return to the city quickly, prepare your troops and horses, and guard the city to guard against the invasion of Shu captives."
"Shanggui is an important area. You can go down to Chencang along the Wei River. There is also food and grass in the camp. You must not lose anything. I will go and take charge personally."
Ma Zun was about to speak, but Guo Huai didn't want to wait for a moment. After speaking, he got on his horse and galloped away with his men in a hurry.
The words of the two men had long been heard by the Tianshui officials who were following them, causing a panic and commotion.
Jiang Wei, who joined the Tianshui army, walked up and whispered, "Ming Mansion, the situation in Tianshui counties is unclear at this time, we should return to Hebei County as soon as possible..."
Ma Zun glanced at Jiang Wei in a panic, and then at the people behind him. Wei Wei nodded, "Okay, let's go back to Ji County."
Guo Huai and his entourage rode away most of the horses. The remaining people were short of horses and could not travel fast, so they stayed in a relatively stable small county that night.
At midnight, someone suddenly knocked quietly on the door of Ma Zun's wing.
The door opened with a creak, and the person stepped in, and then the lights lit up in the room.
"how?"
Ma Zun asked anxiously about the person coming.
“Reporting to the Ming Dynasty, not only the counties in Tianshui County have rebelled, but also Nan’an County has rebelled. Now Longyou is full of people who support the puppet Shu, and many county magistrates have even been coerced into joining the thieves.”
The confidant was walking back and forth, breathing heavily from exhaustion, and said to Ma Zun.
“Being a thief under threat?”
When Ma Zun heard this, his face turned pale.
In fact, the county magistrates are not bad, many of them are natives of Longyou, and at most they are people from other counties in Longyou, but their family members are all in Longyou.
But I am different, I am from Guandong.
If you are kidnapped and become a thief, your wife, children and parents at home may be implicated.
Thinking of this, he quickly asked, "Where's the situation in Ji County? How is the situation?"
"Jixian County is too far away and I don't have time to investigate. However, there are rumors that the city gates in Jixian County have been closed and no one can come in or out. I don't know what the situation is."
“I’m afraid he just wants to be a thief.”
Ma Zun murmured.
The more he thought about it, the more likely it became. In recent years, things from the south have become more and more popular in Ji County.
The reason is that several major clans in Tianshui are closely related to the south.
This Ji County is governed by Tianshui County. If all the counties in Tianshui rebel, how can there be any reason for the rebels to let Ji County go?
So, when Jiang Wei persuaded him to return to Ji County, he might not have the best of intentions?
Thinking of this, Ma Zun was startled and said quickly, "Quick, get our people up, lead all the horses, and leave immediately, leave immediately, we can't stay here for a moment."
“No!”
The army from the south is attacking. Not only Ma Zun can't sleep, but Jiang Wei and others are also worried. How can they sleep peacefully? Many people simply don't take off their clothes because they are afraid that something will happen.
At midnight, he suddenly heard the noise of people outside and the neighing of horses. Jiang Wei suddenly woke up. He got up in a flash, grabbed the long sword on the bed and rushed out.
They saw torches waving wildly in the courtyard, and Governor Ma was walking hurriedly outside surrounded by his entourage.
“Where are you going in the middle of the night?”
When Jiang Wei saw this, he suddenly felt something was wrong and shouted quickly.
Ma Zun saw Jiang Wei coming with a long sword, took a few steps back warily, and called out, "Here comes someone!"
Hulala Di followed him and they all surrounded him.
Jiang Wei had no choice but to stop and asked again, "Where are you planning to go in the middle of the night?"
"All counties in Tianshui are rebelling. You want me to go to Ji County, but you have other plans?"
Ma Zun’s eyes flickered and he looked at Jiang Wei and asked.
Jiang Wei became anxious when he heard this, "Why does the Ming government have such an idea? I asked the Ming government to return to Ji County as soon as possible just to make preparations in case the Shu captives attack. What's the purpose?"
Ma Zun didn't believe it at all. He sneered, "I can't believe you! If others don't know, don't I know the situation in Ji County?"
"Jiang, Ren, Yan, and Zhao are the four surnames in Tianshui, and your Jiang family is one of them. In the past few years, which of the big families in Hebei County has not privately traded with Nanbian? That woolen cloth alone is a huge profit."
As he spoke, he lit the fire and saw many people coming out of each room one after another. They were Tianshui Gong Cao Liangxu, Chief Bookkeeper Yin Shang, Chief Bookkeeper Liang Qian and others. They were all members of the Tianshui wealthy family, and he felt even more determined at that moment. own ideas.
"In order to get woolen cloth from the south, you did not hesitate to exchange grain for it. Do you really think I don't know about such things that support the enemy? I'm afraid you are waiting for the arrival of Ji Han's army every night? Otherwise, why is Longyou now? Are all the counties rebelling?"
He knows so clearly because he has received a lot of benefits from these companies in the past two years.
But now he feels extremely regretful. If he had known that these powerful families had the intention to rebel, how could he have dared to do such a thing?
When Jiang Wei heard this, his heart was even more anxious. He immediately wanted to step forward and explain, "The Ming government has done something wrong! Is Wei such a disloyal person?"
"Stop!" Ma Zun made a clang, pulled out the sword from his waist on the spot, pointed at Jiang Wei and shouted sternly, "Jiang Boyue, you and I have finally gotten to know each other, do you really want to fight me with swords?" See you?"
Jiang Wei had no choice but to stop again and sighed, "If the Ming Dynasty doesn't return to Jicheng, where else can it go?"
"Where I go has nothing to do with you and others. If you are really innocent, take people back to Ji County and guard the city until the Shu captives are defeated. It will prove that you are innocent. Then I will plead guilty to you in person. "
“But now, I don’t believe you! Let’s just say goodbye!”
After Ma Zun finished speaking, he was about to take another step and prepare to leave.
Jiang Weiyu persisted in admonishing, "The Ming Mansion is the governor of Tianshui County. If he abandons the county and governs Hebei County, if the court investigates him in the future, he will be guilty of losing the city. Will the Ming Mansion be severely punished? "
Ma Zun wanted to follow Guo Huai, but how could he listen?
He then sneered and said, "The city has been lost a long time ago. It's not my fault, it's all your fault!"
After saying that, he took his followers with him, walked out of the yard, got on his horse, and galloped towards Shanggui overnight.
The prefect left with his cronies, and even the county magistrate who arranged for them to stay disappeared at some point.
Everyone in the guest house was at a loss, not knowing what to do, let alone how much truth or falsehood what the prefect said.
“Bojo, what should we do?”
Liang Xu came over and asked in a low voice.
Jiang Wei did not answer, but stared at Liang Xu and asked a question, "Lehe, what do you think is going on in Jixian County? Is what Governor Ma said true?"
"Probably not. I heard that Zhuge Liang is still attacking Qishan, and the soldiers and horses of Shu have not really entered Tianshui. How can Ji County surrender after hearing the news?"
Liang Xu shook his head.
What I mean is, how could a wealthy family in Jixian County place a bet so easily before the real situation is confirmed?
What if the news is false, wouldn’t it be a big joke?
Jiang Wei didn't pay attention to the subtle meaning in Liang Xu's words. He nodded and said, "But at this time, the prefect has determined that Ji County has rebelled, and we are also accomplices. If my guess is correct, he must have gone to Shanggui to escape. After all, General Guo is there."
"It's not that the Shu people will come, but that the Shu people won't come, or they will just leave after harassing us, but Governor Ma will tell General Guo that we are rebels. If the time comes, we will not be able to argue."
Liang Xu was shocked, "I didn't expect this level!"
"So we can't just let Governor Ma talk nonsense to General Guo. We have to explain it clearly." Jiang Wei looked around at everyone and said firmly, "We'd better divide our troops into two groups, one to go to Shanggui, the other to Guo. , I will report back to Ji County."
"good."
They found the last remaining horses in the county. Jiang Wei and Liang Xu led their men to chase after the prefect, while the rest hurried back to Ji County.
After the news of Zhuge Liang's invasion reached Luoyang, the Luoyang palace was brightly lit for several days.
Cao Rui, whose eyes were bloodshot, sat on the main seat in the east hall, staring at the door. If there was the slightest movement outside the door, he would sit up straight with eagerness and hope.
Below, Chen Qun, Liu Ye, Sun Zi and other important ministers were sitting, but everyone was silent, and there was a heavy atmosphere in the hall.
Everyone has mixed feelings in his heart.
In fact, they had already known about Zhuge Liang's military training in Hanzhong, but after everyone discussed it, they all felt that the Shu Kingdom was now exhausted, and it was good to be able to protect itself. Is An capable of attacking?
If it weren’t for the natural dangers of the Qinling Mountains, the Wei Dynasty would have directly sent its army to the west. How could the Shu Kingdom survive to this day?
So Zhuge Liang’s arrival in Hanzhong did not attract much attention.
Now that it was suddenly heard that Zhuge Liang led his army to invade the border, everyone felt shameless and at the same time a little angry: This Zhuge villager is really not acting according to common sense!
I don’t know how long it took, but I heard a rush of footsteps outside the door, and at the same time there was the sound of the scraping of nails. Cao Rui’s eyes flashed, and he couldn’t help but stand up.
A thin old general in his fifties, wearing armor and carrying a gust of wind, walked into the hall, clasped his fists and said, "I, Zhang He, have seen..."
“General Zhang, no courtesy!”
Cao Rui stepped down from the throne, hurried forward, supported Zhang He, and said excitedly, "I've been waiting for the general to come!"
“I’m late…”
"Not too late, not too late! It's more than a thousand miles from Jingzhou to Luoyang. The general can arrive so quickly, which is beyond my expectation." Cao Rui held on to Zhang He as if holding a life-saving pillar.
"Now the country is in danger, and the Shu captives invade the border. I have looked all over the Wei Dynasty and outside, and only General Zhang can be the supporter of the country. Therefore, Rui invites the general to lead the army to march westward and destroy the Shu captives."
Speaking, Cao Rui bowed deeply.
Among the five generals with foreign surnames during the reign of Emperor Wu, Le Jin was the first to die of illness, Yu Jin was humiliated by the late emperor and died of shame, the remaining Zhang Liao also died of illness in the third year of Huang Chu, and Xu Huang died of illness just last year. Now only Zhang He is still alive.
So this time the general is nominally leading the army to fight against Zhuge Liang, but in fact the most important thing is to look at Zhang He.
Zhang He quickly knelt down on one knee and said, "I am deeply favored by the country and driven by your majesty. That is the right thing to do. How can I say that I am asking your majesty to invite me?"
"General Zhang is truly the pillar of the country! I am very lucky to have a general guarding the border."
Cao Rui said repeatedly, reaching out his hand to help Zhang He up, "Now the Luoyang Central Army has 50,000 infantry and cavalry. It has been assembled. The general can lead the army first. I will call in foreign troops to follow the general."
At the same time, he asked with some worry, "What I'm afraid of now is that Zhuge Liang will raid Guanzhong and Longyou, and the reinforcements will not arrive and the troops in Guanxi will be unable to resist."
Zhang He smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. If Zhuge Liang were to rely on the dangers of the mountains, the Wei Dynasty would not be able to do anything to him. Now that he has abandoned the advantageous location and led his troops out, he has violated a military taboo, so he will undoubtedly be defeated this time." "
When Cao Rui heard this, he seemed to agree, "Yes, I think so too. Now there are people in Longyou Nan'an, Tianshui and Anding who echo Zhuge Liang."
"According to the latest news, in order to take over the land of the three counties, he has actually dispersed all the troops. Even Qishan City has just been captured because there are too few troops. This is too greedy and wants to take over Longyou at the same time. If you eat it, you will know how to advance but not retreat, and the general will be able to break it!"
(End of this chapter)