Bai Wenbo pondered for a long time, still with his neck stiff, and said: "Your Highness, why do you have to say so much? I have served the Han Dynasty for more than fifty years, and I am unwilling to betray my master and save my life. Your Highness, if you want to kill me or chop me up, I will do whatever you want!"
Qiu Yizhi was watching Bai Wenbo's character and admired him very much. He was afraid that his adoptive father would kill Bai Wenbo in anger, so he knelt on the ground and said, "General Bai is loyal to his master and has no intention of opposing my adoptive father. Please show some mercy!"
Although Zheng Rong had a strict and upright personality, he was very generous and did not want to embarrass Bai Wenbo. Therefore, when he saw Qiu Yizhi kneeling down to beg for mercy, he took advantage of the situation and did a favor: "Yizhi's words are exactly what I want." He turned around and said to the two trusted guards around him, "You should send General Bai down to the border and choose a comfortable house to live in. Don't offend him in the slightest!"
Bai Wenbo was originally surprised to hear Qiu Yi calling Zheng Rong "godfather", and then he saw that he had such a great deal of face in front of Zheng Rong - he saved himself with just a few words.
He felt more and more suspicious, so he pointed at Qiu Yizhi and asked Zheng Rong: "This young general has come deep into our army alone. He is both wise and brave. I believe he is a capable general under the prince. Please introduce him to him, prince."
Zheng Rong heard that Bai Wenbo's tone had softened a lot, and he felt a little proud, so he smiled and said, "This is Qiu Yizi, the son of a spoiled child who I have kept by my side since childhood. Although he has some talent, he still lacks some experience. I am sorry to make you laugh, old general." He then said to Qiu Yizi, "Why don't you kowtow to General Bai?"
Bai Wenbo was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly said, "Since he is the prince's adopted son, how can I accept his respect?" He sighed and said, "I have been idle for a long time, and my eyes are really dim. I can't even recognize the hero in front of me!"
After Bai Wenbo finished speaking, he sighed again, lowered his head and went down the pass dejectedly.
There is nothing more pleasurable than leading an army into battle and punishing the enemy commander. Zheng Rong watched Bai Wenbo walk away listlessly, and a happy smile immediately appeared on his face. He said to Qiu Yizhi: "The capture of Tongguan was entirely due to Yizhi's brilliant plan. You should be credited with the first merit!"
Qiu Yizhi was very happy to hear Zheng Rong's praise, but he was humble and said, "My skills are just trifles. It was only thanks to my foster father's army and the soldiers' hard work that we were able to capture Tongguan. How dare Yizhi take credit for it?"
Zheng Rong was even happier after hearing what Qiu Yizi said, and said, "You are right. You have made some progress these days, and I am very pleased. Don't worry, I will reward you according to your merits after the mission is accomplished."
Qiu Yizhi nodded and bowed, then said, "There is one more thing I would like to ask. Marshal Dai Luanxiang has been rescued by Yizhi a few days ago. Yizhi was on the arrow tower of Tongguan, and saw him appear in the rear of the imperial army from a distance, and seemed to have said something to shake the morale of the official army. Since Marshal Dai is willing to surrender to my adoptive father, it is not a trivial matter. I hope my adoptive father can meet him in person to reassure him."
Zheng Rong frowned and nodded, saying, "Yizi's words make sense. I'll go see Marshal Dai right away." He then instructed Zheng Miao and Zheng Sen behind him, "You guys clean up the battlefield here. The wounded soldiers must be carefully treated and comforted, and the imperial captives must also be properly resettled." After that, he walked towards Tongguan under the guidance of Qiu Yizi and others.
After walking a few steps, Zheng Rong turned back and reminded Zheng Sen and Zheng Miao, "This is near the capital, the heart of the country, and we must enforce strict military discipline. If we encounter people harassing residents or committing crimes, we must not be lenient and must punish them publicly to serve as a warning to others." After saying that, he turned around and went down the pass.
Today, Qiu Yizi only saw Dai Luanxiang from afar on the Tongguan Arrow Tower which was several meters high, but she did not know his exact whereabouts.
Fortunately, the people accompanying Dai Luanxiang were all the elite soldiers and generals that Zheng Rong had brought from Youyan Road. When they saw that the Youyan army had taken Tongguan and that Zheng Rong had come down from the pass himself, they hurried out of the houses where they were hiding and knelt before Zheng Rong with tears in their eyes.
Zheng Rong saw that these people were all familiar faces, and was also very moved to meet old friends. He comforted them well before setting off to see Dai Luanxiang.
Dai Luanxiang had already gone out to greet him. When he saw Zheng Rong coming, he called him "Prince" and was about to bow down. Seeing this, Zheng Rong hurriedly stepped forward to support him, said a few words of comfort, and then went into the house hand in hand to greet Dai's mother.
Dai Luanxiang had made up his mind to join Zheng Rong and immediately expressed his loyalty. However, Dai Luanxiang was still commanding the imperial guards and was unwilling to turn against him immediately, so he excused himself by saying that he was not feeling well and wanted to rest for a while before serving Zheng Rong.
Zheng Rong was overjoyed that Dai Luanxiang would surrender to him. Zheng Rong was now well-equipped with soldiers and food, and had many generals. He also had no shortage of a famous general like Dai Luanxiang, so he comforted him and told him to rest and recuperate.
It was already Shenpai time and the sun was about to set.
The afterglow of the setting sun reflected on the majestic and tall city walls of Tongguan, seeming to dye the entire wall with a bloody color.
Zheng Rong was overwhelmed with emotion when he saw that he had captured this important pass in just one day after a general attack. After taking Tongguan, the capital city of Luoyang would no longer be defensible. As long as he made one more effort, he could capture the capital and force Emperor Zheng Yao to abdicate. By then, with his prestige and achievements, as well as his status, he would be able to conquer the Han Dynasty with a single order.
Thinking of this, Zheng Rong was excited and ordered a banquet to be held at Tongguan to entertain the officers and soldiers who had made contributions in the battle. The rest of the soldiers, except those who had missions, also drank for a day and opened the warm tents to celebrate their success.
Zheng Rong was strict in his military discipline. Once a war broke out, he strictly prohibited his soldiers from drinking and having fun. The Youyan army was extremely well rewarded for their military exploits, but they rarely had time to relax during the battle. After a bloody battle, most of the soldiers were exhausted. Zheng Rong's arrangement was very much in line with the morale of the army. The Youyan soldiers all cheered when they heard this.
The news of the fall of Tongguan was sent to the capital Luoyang that very night by an express horse with a speed of 800 miles.
When the news reached Emperor Zheng Yao, he was discussing the coronation ceremony with Minister of Rites Shi Liangzhi. After receiving the war report, Zheng Yao was immediately shocked and summoned the ministers in the court in the middle of the night to discuss countermeasures in the Shuli Hall.
The first person to bear the brunt was the Minister of War Fu Kui, but he had always had a good relationship with Youyan King Zheng Rong, and was imprisoned for this reason a few days ago, and suffered a lot. Later, Emperor Zheng Yao had no one else to use, so he reinstated him.
Therefore, Fu Kui was unwilling to help Zheng Yao in the first place. Now Tongguan was easily captured, and they were almost at the end of their rope. There was really no good strategy to resist the enemy. So he just perfunctorily introduced and analyzed the situation, and when he had no more countermeasures to say, he stood back in silence.
The other two Zhongshu Ling and the five Shangshu were all literati and had no knowledge of military affairs. In this dangerous situation, they did not dare to talk nonsense and just looked down at their shoes.
The imperial army had gone out in full force to resist Zheng Rong, and the generals who had left the imperial army behind to guard the capital Luoyang were left with only about 10,000 old and weak soldiers. They thought that even if they increased the number of these 10,000 soldiers tenfold, they might not be able to defeat Youyan King Zheng Rong, so they all kept their heads down and said nothing.
Seeing that the court was filled with death and looked like a country on the verge of destruction, Zheng Yao felt extremely regretful: If he had not made friends with the Heavenly Master in the palace and had not listened to his instigation to kill the king, his father might have passed the throne to him. How could he have ended up in this situation today
Even if he could not ascend the throne and become emperor, his brother Zheng Chang was just a man without great ambitions, and he might not do such a thing as slaughtering his brother. If he was a little soft-hearted and sweet-mouthed, he would still be able to get the title of a prince, and he would be able to live a peaceful and wealthy life, which would be the greatest blessing for a minister.
Thinking of this, Zheng Yao was already extremely regretful. The complacent mentality he had when he saw all the court officials crawling at his feet had disappeared without a trace.
However, he was now the emperor, and Zheng Rong's manifesto had clearly listed all the charges. Even if he could go out and surrender, the best outcome would be to be placed under house arrest for the rest of his life; or, they could find a reason to kill him without any clear reason, and after his death he would bear the infamy of regicide.
Thinking of this, Zheng Yao mustered up his fighting spirit again, thinking that instead of kneeling on the ground and begging for death in a cowardly manner, it would be better to give it a try. Even if he couldn't win, at least he would drag a few people down with him.
Zheng Yao, relying on his long-term command of the imperial guards and his knowledge of military affairs, stood up and issued an order: "Pass on my order, the scattered imperial guards at Tongguan will immediately gather in Luoyang. Order an imperial edict to be issued throughout the country. After receiving the order, the military governors of various regions of the Han Dynasty will bring their own food and grass and immediately enter the capital through Hangu Pass to defend the king. The Ministry of War will set up a military camp outside the city, and soldiers from various regions will gather in the military camp and not enter the city to prevent spies from Youyan from sneaking into Luoyang."
Zhang Chaohe, the Right Secretary of the Central Secretariat, was Zheng Yao's trusted minister. Although he did not understand military affairs, he heard Zheng Yao's calm and confident orders, so he took the pen, ink, paper and inkstone from the eunuch, and quickly drafted three edicts and sent them to Zheng Yao.
Zheng Yao read it through and praised: "Zhang Zhongshu's writing is indeed very good. I think this article is very good. You should copy it on bright yellow paper and publish it to the world!"
Zhang Chaohe felt proud to hear the emperor's personal praise, so he hurriedly copied it and sealed it.
Although Fu Kui, the Minister of War, was also a Jinshi, he had been supervising the army for a long time and had been in charge of the Ministry of War for a long time, so he had also learned some military knowledge. He heard that Emperor Zheng Yao's deployment was right at the crux of the current lack of military strength, but setting up camp outside the capital was a bad move.
The Youyan army is known for winning battles in the field, and its morale is high. How can the imperial guards who have just retreated and the motley local military governors resist the attack of the Youyan army? And if the army outside the city is defeated, should the capital open the gates to welcome them? Or is it better to close the gates and refuse to admit them
Seeing that Fu Kui could not help but frown, Zheng Yao asked, "Minister Fu, what's wrong with my handling of the matter? Why don't the Grand Marshal give me some advice?" Grand Marshal was a respectful title for ministers in charge of military power in ancient times, and it gradually became another name for the Minister of War. Zheng Yao's use of this title at this time seemed to imply sarcasm.
Fu Kui was also a meticulous person. After hearing what Zheng Yao said, he was also stunned. He knew that his close relationship with Zheng Rong was known to everyone in the court and the public. If he said something wrong, he would immediately be accused of treason and might even be beheaded on the spot as a sacrifice.
Thinking of this, Fu Kui hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise and brave, and I am far from being able to match you. However, the army is gathering, and the consumption of food and grass will certainly be very high. Can I ask the Minister of Revenue, Lord Ye, to assist us so that everything will be safe?"
At this critical moment, Zheng Yao had no intention of mocking Fu Kui. Upon hearing his words, he immediately slammed the table and stood up, scaring Fu Kui so much that he broke out in sweat and almost fell to his knees.
But the Emperor Zheng Yao said, "Lord Jiang is right. There is no need for Minister Ye to issue an order in the name of the Ministry of Revenue. I will draft an imperial edict to mobilize grain and grass from charity warehouses and Changping warehouses in various places to enter the capital, and then the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue will distribute them to the armies. The Ministry of Revenue will transfer another 100,000 taels of silver from the treasury, and I will also pay 100,000 taels of silver from the inner treasury to each soldier to give him a salary of one or two taels of silver to boost morale! This little money is squeezed out of my teeth. If you dare to deduct it, don't blame me for not giving you face!"
As soon as Zheng Yao finished speaking, Zhang Chaohe, who was standing beside him, had already carefully drafted two imperial edicts and sent them to Zheng Yao. Zheng Yao took them and read them carefully.
Fu Kui heard that Zheng Yao could make such arrangements, and it was obvious that he was not a foolish ruler. However, he was in the imperial family and had to shoulder all the blessings and disasters. (To be continued)