Chapter 141: Dragon Returns to the Sea and Tiger Returns to the Mountain

After much deliberation, the final decision was to respond to the call for troops.

Liu Xuanji led 2,000 cavalry as the vanguard, and Li Yuanhui personally led 4,000 men from Zhu Xingzong, Zhang Zhen'e, Liu Ju, Guo Xing, and He Gui's troops in the rear, heading north along the Ying River.

In addition, Li Yuanhui also ordered Lujiang County to send 1,000 troops, Guangling County to send 1,000 troops, and Huainan County to send 3,000 troops. In other words, the total number reached 11,000.

The Lujiang and Guangling sides were led by county magistrates, while the Huainan County governor Zheng Shandao personally led the troops.

Li Yuanhui left his own army in Hefei, under the pretext of strengthening training, but in fact it was because the officers and soldiers of this army were all his relatives and old friends.

In addition, Zhang Jian was someone he could trust, so he also stayed behind and was specially assigned to guard Jiangdu.

The rest of the departments are on standby at all times.

At the end of May, Jianghuai officially sent out troops. However, the situation on the battlefields of Luoyang and Guanzhong was not optimistic.

After holding out for half a month, Yewang City was finally breached. Tuoba Yuqing then led his army straight to Henei and fought with the governor of Jizhou, King Xia Murong, in Huai County.

Murong Hui was considered a young talent among the royal family, brave and good at fighting, but he still seemed a little immature compared to the previous Duke Tuoba Yuqing, a veteran of the battlefield.

The two armies confronted each other outside Huai County. At this time, Huai County was still in the hands of the Yan army, but there were only more than a thousand defenders in the city. In addition, Henei Prefect Huan Qian also mobilized a thousand militiamen to help defend the city.

Huai County Magistrate Yao Jingfang simply lived on the city wall and kept an eye on the situation outside the city.

Tuoba Yuqing's army consisted of about 60,000 people, of which 20,000 were Turks, and the rest were Tuoba tribal troops and troops taken in along the way.

Xiazhai is located along the south bank of Qin River, about seven or eight miles northwest of Huai County, and extends southward for more than ten miles.

Murong Hui led an army of more than 25,000 and was on the north bank of Qinshui River, about ten miles away from Huai County. The three places seemed to have formed an irregular triangular confrontation situation.

As for Luoyang, Murong Chao was already a little panicked. He issued a series of imperial edicts ordering various places to come to the rescue, and ordered the Left Army General Zhao Yi and the Left General Zheng Guo to lead their troops to return for assistance.

After receiving the order, Zhao Yi hesitated for a while, but finally decided to respond to the edict from Luoyang and leave thousands of soldiers from Xingyang and Chenliu states and counties, and a unit of Yingyang Langjiang Han Bin, stationed in Suanzao.

He then led 40,000 infantry and cavalry across the Yellow River and advanced along the Wei River to the junction with the Qin River.

This caused the situation on the Hanoi battlefield to begin to tilt towards the Yan army.

However, surprisingly, although hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides were stationed on the Hanoi battlefield and confronted each other from a distance, there was never any real fighting.

Both sides were very restrained, and there was a tacit understanding that "no fighting on the Eastern Front".

On the western front, after quickly capturing Anyi, Murong Zan personally led his army across the river from Puban and drove straight to Guanzhong, following the route that Cao Cao took to defeat Ma Chao and Han Sui.

When Murong Zan entered Guanzhong, he did not rush to attack Jingzhao Prefecture in the heart of Guanzhong. Instead, he followed Yuwen She's advice and sent elite cavalry to capture Tongguan.

Although Tongguan is strategically located, it has not experienced a war for a long time. Two years ago, Yang Xun’s rebellion failed to reach Tongguan. This time, it was caught off guard and the rebels seized the city without any preparation.

After taking Tongguan, Murong Zan quickly dispatched troops, successively captured Zheng County and Weinan, and the 100,000-strong army headed straight for Jingzhao Prefecture.

"Chang'an, I'm back." Murong Zan was wearing a gorgeous Ming Guang armor and a phoenix-wing helmet on his head. He looked quite imposing and mighty.

"Is this Chang'an City? Aren't we in Jingzhao Prefecture?" The Turkic general Ashina Chuluo asked in surprise.

Bingzhou Governor Yuwen She explained: "Jingzhao Prefecture refers to this city and several surrounding counties. As for Chang'an, it is not the official name, but the common name of this city. It means long-term peace and stability. I think Mr. Shi Shuhu Xi should understand this."

Shi Shuhu, who was riding with the others, nodded and said, "Actually, a few years ago, I followed a caravan to Chang'an. It was magnificent and prosperous, and it was not like the human world. There were countless rare treasures, which were beyond words."

"Hahaha, wait until I take over this city, and you can choose any rare treasures in the city." Murong Zan said generously.

Shi Shuhu Xi looked at the city meaningfully, but he thanked her: "Thank you very much, Your Majesty. I think it won't be long before I call you a saint?"

"No rush, let's talk about it after we take this place." Murong Zan showed a determined expression, his eyes full of confidence.

At this time, on the watchtower of Tonghua Gate in the east of Chang'an City, Murong He, the commander-in-chief of Yongzhou military affairs, the envoy with special powers, the senior pillar of the country, the chief minister, and the governor of Xijing, Prince Gaoyang, was watching the rebel camp on the south bank of the Weihe River outside the city with his staff and subordinates.

At this moment Murong He felt a little regretful, thinking that if he had listened to Li Erlang's advice, he might not be so passive.

There are only more than 20,000 soldiers and horses in Chang'an at the moment, and all the soldiers from Fufeng County were transferred here to make up the number.

Long before the fall of Tongguan, Li Erlang, the son of Li Yuan, Duke of Tang, suggested to Murong He that he should take the initiative to send troops. He also said that if he was given 2,000 cavalry, although there was no guarantee that he would win a great victory over the rebels, he would certainly be able to delay them until reinforcements arrived from Luoyang.

But Murong He still had too many concerns and finally did not agree with Li Er's suggestion.

Seeing that Murong He disagreed with his strategy and was unwilling to give him troops, Li Er directly proposed to take his family to Shu to avoid disaster.

Unexpectedly, Murong He did not object to this request but agreed to it. He also entrusted his family to Li Er and asked them to go to Shu together.

At the same time, all the nobles who stayed in Chang'an, regardless of their family background, were allowed to leave within five days.

As a result, many families whose members were officials in Luoyang moved directly south with their families, either to Shu or to Jingchu.

Murong He was actually helpless to do so. After all, Chang'an was the Western Capital, where there were a large number of nobles and court officials' families.

Normally, these family members are like hostages, but once Chang'an falls, a large number of family members and in-laws will fall into Murong Zan's hands. Then, the nobles in Luoyang and the governors and commanders-in-chief all over the world will most likely be cautious when facing Murong Zan.

Moreover, if these people are not allowed to leave, it will be unclear what the outcome will be when the other city is breached. Murong Zan also brought the Turks with him. Judging from their behavior, there is a high probability that they will loot and plunder when the city is breached.

Murong He was unwilling to bear the infamy for the suffering of so many people.

Therefore, anyone who wanted to leave, whether official or civilian, would be allowed to go.

As for where to go after leaving, Murong He doesn't care about these things.

However, most people followed Chai Rong and his wife and Li Er and headed towards Shu.

Outside Chencang City, tens of thousands of troops formed a long dragon.

Most of the team are from wealthy families and their guards, in addition there are tens of thousands of civilians with their families.

Such a large team must take the relatively flat Chencang Road. The Baoxiade Road is too steep and not suitable for a large team.

At the fork in the road, Li Er bowed to his elder sister and brother-in-law and said, "Eldest sister, brother-in-law, I will not go to Shuzhong with you."

Chai Rong was surprised and asked, "Erlang, where are you going?"

The eldest sister guessed Li Er's thoughts immediately, "Erlang, are you going to Longyou?"

Li Er smiled and said, "Big sister, you are right. I still have old subordinates in Longyou. The Qiang and Hu vassal tribes in Lintao and Didao obey my orders. Longxi is also the seat of my Li family. My father is in Yizhou, and I am in Longyou. We can form a pincer attack."

The eldest sister sighed and said, "In that case, I won't advise you anymore. It's still hundreds of miles to Longyou, so be careful."

Li Er nodded: "Big sister and brother-in-law, please take care of yourselves. Tell Aye for me. And I'll leave Aning in your care as well."

Chai Rong said, "Don't worry, Erlang. We are all family. I will take care of everything. Just go and don't worry."

The eldest sister sighed, "Big brother is in Luoyang, Silang is in Jianghuai, you are going to Longyou, Sanlang is in Shuzhong, you brothers are really far apart. Go, and be careful on your way."

Li Er smiled, waved to his wife in the carriage, and then rode away. Only a dozen of his trusted warriors followed him. Compared with the team of tens of thousands entering Shu, it was quite desolate and lonely.

But it's like a dragon entering the sea and a tiger returning to the mountains.

(End of this chapter)