Chapter 162 Kunyang! Kunyang!! Yunchang, I seem to have seen Emperor Guangwu of Han...

Chapter 162: Kunyang! Kunyang!! Yunchang, I seem to have seen Emperor Guangwu of Han...

Xuchang City,
It was deserted and sparsely populated.

Apart from the soldiers patrolling the streets from time to time, there were almost no other people to be seen.

Since the loss of Nanyang and the fall of Wancheng, Xuchang has been under martial law. The Central Plains is on the verge of turmoil and the world is changing. How can those Han officials who hate Cao Mengde so much remain indifferent?
Cao Cao was naturally aware of this. Wasn't the matter of the secret decree done right under his nose, Cao Mengde?
But the most important thing for him now is to stop Liu Wu. He can't take care of Xuchang at all. Imposing martial law in the entire Xuchang to prevent those Han officials from connecting with each other is the only solution Cao Cao can think of.

But this method doesn't seem to be very useful.

Somewhere deep in the house,

A group of men in official hats and robes were gathered in the back garden. They had one thing in common: they were all Han officials and children of aristocratic families in the city of Xuchang.

"Haha, Cao Mengde thinks that imposing martial law on the entire city will prevent us from meeting? He really underestimates the foundation of our noble family."

"Cao Aman is really anxious this time. Xuchang now only has 20,000 soldiers and horses left. This time he is leading 15,000 soldiers directly to Nanyang. Xuchang is weaker than ever before."

"Cao Cao has stationed his troops in Kunyang now. I think he is going to have a fierce battle with Liu Zilie in Kunyang..."

Kunyang is only two hundred miles away from Xuchang. Various military reports are continuously sent back to Xuchang City from the front. Even if you want to hide it, you can't. Almost any military intelligence of Cao Mengde in Kunyang is known clearly in Xuchang City.

the most important is,

It is very likely that Liu Wu will go to war with Cao Cao in Kunyang. That is Kunyang!
That was when Emperor Guangwu of Han defeated Wang Mang and received the Mandate of Heaven!
Is this famous scene from history going to be repeated here?

"Nanyang is the emperor's hometown..." An old voice sounded slowly.

Everyone present looked in the direction of the voice, and all of them had expressions of respect on their faces.

The person who spoke was the current head of the Hongnong Yang family, Yang Biao Yang Wenxian...

The Hongnong Yang family was a prominent family in the world, on par with the Runan Yuan family. Yang Biao inherited his family's education at a young age and was later promoted to the position of Jingzhao Yin during the Xiping period of Emperor Ling of Han.

During the Guanghe period, it was revealed that Huangmen Ling Wang Fu had extorted more than 70 million yuan in property from the counties and prefectures. Emperor Ling then executed Wang Fu, and Yang Biao's reputation spread throughout Luoyang. He later served in various important positions, including Sikong, Situ, Taiwei, and Shangshu Ling.

Eighteen princes besieged Dong Zhuo, who wanted to move the capital to Chang'an. All the civil and military officials in the court were angry but dared not speak out. It was Yang Biao who openly opposed it in anger. Dong Zhuo had no choice but to dismiss him from office because of Yang Biao's reputation as the Hongnong Yang family.

During the rebellion of Li Jue and Guo Si, Yang Biao defended Emperor Liu Xie with all his heart.

Later, Cao Cao welcomed the emperor in Xuchang, and Yang Biao escorted him all the way. Cao Cao was extremely afraid of Yang Biao's prestige. Not long after, Yuan Shu usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. Cao Cao used the excuse that Yang Biao and Yuan Shu were relatives and wanted to collude with Yuan Shu to depose Emperor Xian. He imprisoned Yang Biao and intended to kill him.

Unexpectedly, there were too many people in the court who wanted to protect Yang Biao, and even a large number of advisers under Cao Cao pleaded for Yang Biao.

In desperation, Cao Cao had to release Yang Biao.

Until a few years ago, Yang Biao retired from the court on the pretext of a leg disease. Even so, Yang Biao is now recognized as the top Han minister and the leader of the Han family.

Yang Biao continued, "Back then, Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty. Emperor Guangwu of Han raised an army in Nanyang to support the Han Dynasty. All the heroes of Nanyang followed him, and his power grew stronger..."

"Wang Mang then sent an army of 400,000 to capture Nanyang, and his troops laid siege to Kunyang in ten layers."

"At the time of Emperor Guangwu of Han, he was only twenty-nine years old, and he had only three thousand soldiers under his command..."

Yang Biao's low voice suddenly rose: "It was these 3,000 people who defeated Wang Mang's 400,000-man army!"

"The fate of the Han Dynasty has not yet ended, and Emperor Guangwu of Han has been appointed by heaven! Strong winds and thunderstorms have descended from the sky, and there are also meteorites and star showers to help... This battle has laid the foundation for the revival of our great Han Dynasty!"

"This battle continued the Han Dynasty's fortune for hundreds of years after the fall of the Former Han Dynasty!"

In the Battle of Kunyang, Emperor Guangwu of Han defeated a larger force with a smaller one, and almost broke the backbone of Wang Mang, who was at the peak of national strength.

When Yang Biao brought up this matter, how could everyone present not understand the deep meaning behind it?
Wow! ~
Yang Biao stood up suddenly, and there was no sign of him suffering from leg disease at all.

The brilliance in those old eyes could hardly be suppressed: "Although Emperor Guangwu of Han was a descendant of the Han Dynasty, he was only raised among the grass-roots and was born in a mere peasant family..."

"At that time, Wang Mang was extremely arrogant and powerful. When he conquered Nanyang, he had many generals and counselors. But in the end, his 400,000-man army was completely wiped out in one battle, defeated by the 3,000 soldiers of Emperor Guangwu of Han!"

"Why?"

"This is because the Han Dynasty has not yet died out, and the Mandate of Heaven still belongs to the Han Dynasty!"

Yang Biao was a Confucian disciple. He read the books of sages since he was young and believed in the ethical principles of ruler-subject and father-son relations. He also believed that gentlemen and scholars had the obligation to help the emperor govern the country.

What is a gentleman and scholar?

Of course it’s these children from noble families!
When Dong Zhuo was in power and Li Que and Guo Si hijacked the emperor, Yang Biao fought hard because they not only abandoned the moral principles of ruler and subject, father and son, but also deprived the children of aristocratic families of their obligation to help the emperor govern the country.

How can it be possible for a bunch of warriors to rule the country?

Dong Zhuo fell, Li Que and Guo Si dispersed, and Cao Mengde came.

But this thief Cao is even more cruel than Dong Zhuo!
He killed civil officials.

Kill the children of the noble family,

Kill the famous scholar Bian Rang,

After killing Confucius, Kong Rong

He even killed the imperial concubine, harmed the queen, and even spared the unborn royal heir!

What's even more hateful is that he actually vigorously promoted and employed children from poor families. As the sage said, "the noble and the humble are arranged in order." Cao Mengde reversed the noble and the humble in this way. Sooner or later, the Han Dynasty would perish in his hands.

Yang Biao wanted to fight with Cao Cao, but he was no match for Cao Cao. He became disheartened and retired from the court to write books.

But now, he saw another opportunity.

"Gentlemen!" Yang Biao's eyes were filled with increasing enthusiasm: "This moment is just like that moment."

"Liu Wu is also a descendant of the Han Dynasty, and he is just a family that is good at weaving mats and selling shoes. But now he has also made great achievements. The power under his command has spread to both sides of the Yangtze River, and he has even taken control of Jingzhou!"

"The momentum has been established!"

"At that time, Emperor Guangwu of Han had few soldiers and generals in Kunyang, while Wang Mang had an army of 400,000..."

"At the moment, Kunyang is attacking and defending aliens!"

"Jingzhou Mu Liu Zilie is not weaker than Cao Mengde. I predict that Cao will lose this battle. Once Cao loses, Liu Wu will leave Nanyang and Cao Mengde will follow in Wang Mang's footsteps!"

……

call! ~
On the top of Kunyang City, there was a strong wind and several large banners with the word "Cao" on them were flying in the wind.

Cao Cao was fully armored and stood on the top of the city wall with his generals.

They are waiting.

Waiting for Liu Wu's arrival and waiting for a face-to-face meeting with Liu Wu.

Whether or not this battle can be fought today depends on how the meeting with Liu Wu goes later. If the meeting goes well, everyone will be happy. If it doesn't go well...

I’m afraid Liu Wu will attack the city today!
Now, there are only less than 30,000 soldiers gathered in Kunyang City. Once the war breaks out, if I defend the city by myself... I think I should be able to stop Liu Zilie's troops?
Cao Mengde suddenly felt unsure. Liu Zilie was extremely cunning. Who knew what tricks he had up his sleeve to break into the city?
Now, it would take several days for the governors of various states under his command to arrive in Fancheng for rescue. Who could be sure that nothing would change during these few days?
The emperor's mind has also changed. Once he and Liu Wu are in a stalemate in Kunyang, it is possible that the emperor will secretly plot with those Han officials like the old incident of the Yidaizhao...

The more Cao Cao thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and the more regretful he became.

Everything that happened now was just because I didn't allow Liu Wu to bring 10,000 soldiers into Xuchang.

Because of these ten thousand soldiers,

I lost Xiangfan!

We lost several trusted generals! We lost 80,000 elite soldiers!

Nanyang was lost!

Now we have to face this dilemma where if we make a mistake, we will lose everything...

If I had known this would happen, I would have just agreed to that bastard Liu Wu's offer to lead the troops north.

Cao Cao was just regretting and feeling bitter when Xu Chu's urgent voice rang out: "Prime Minister, Liu Zilie's troops are coming!"

Boom! ~
Far outside the city, yellow dust was rolling in like a tide!

The flags are flying, and the army is marching forward with great momentum.

The smoke and dust slowly dissipated, revealing a large crowd of soldiers.

Under the scorching sun, spears and swords were like flowing water and the huge shields were like heavy walls.

All I see are dazzling weapons and murderous aura!
The footsteps of tens of thousands of people stepped on the land outside Kunyang City. The sound made the gravel on the ground jump up and the surrounding grass and trees tremble.

Shashasha~
On the Kunyang city wall, dust flew up from the eaves and fell onto Cao Cao and his generals.

But no one cared. All of their eyes were on that army and on the figure of the rider holding a halberd at the front of the army.

Liu Wu is here!

boom! ~
Break Xiangfan!
Capture Cao Ren, Yu Jin, and Xu Huang!
Take Wancheng, capture Nanyang, and seize the three counties in northern Jing!

The army seized the Central Plains and aimed at Xuchang! !

Although still very far away, Liu Wu's invincible and unstoppable momentum seemed to have come towards him like a strong wind.

All the generals on the city walls had their hair standing on end, just like sheep or deer encountering tigers and leopards, or meeting their natural enemies!
Boom! ~
Liu Wu's army advanced like waves, heading straight for the city of Kunyang.

Getting closer,

It's getting closer and closer, with no sign of stopping!
On top of Kunyang City, the generals' expressions changed drastically:
"Is he, Liu Zilie, planning to take advantage of the situation and attack the city?!"

"It's bad! There are not enough defensive equipment in Kunyang City!"

"Now the reinforcements from the governors of various states have not yet arrived, and our army is far inferior to his. What should we do?"

"Why don't we just charge out while his army is still under attack..."

"Stupid! In a field battle outside the city, who among us can be a match for Liu Zilie?!"

On top of the city,
The generals of Cao's army were in chaos.

Liu Wu's shadow on Cao's generals was too deep, especially after he captured Xu Huang, Cao Ren and other generals alive, and successively captured Xiangfan and Wancheng, taking over the three counties in northern Jing and heading north.

That feeling of fear shrouded the hearts of most of Cao's generals.

Can I and others be Liu Wu's opponents?

Cao Mengde's face turned pale, but he managed to remain calm. He said softly, "Liu Wu is only here to talk to me today. Why are you so nervous?!"

The words fell,

The soldier holding a halberd in the front of the army outside the city raised his hand...

boom! ~
Tens of thousands of troops slowly stopped behind the figure, like slowing waves.

Liu Wu stopped.

He rode out alone without stopping, and rode slowly towards the city of Kunyang.

On top of the city,
In the sight of all the generals, the young and familiar face became clearer and clearer.

Those bright eyes scanned the many Cao generals...

Wherever they looked, all the generals subconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to look Liu Wu in the eye.

Xu Chu lowered his big head, and that half of his face seemed to be in slight pain.

Cao Hong stared at the ant under his feet. He would rather count ants than look Liu Wu in the eye.

Cao Zhen's arms couldn't stop shaking. He had blocked Liu Wu's halberd outside Xiling City, and now his arms ached every time it rained...

The actions of the other main generals were similar. They would not meet Liu Wu's gaze no matter what.

The other person's gaze was like a heavy mountain pressing on their hearts, making it almost impossible for them to breathe!

Jia Xu and other counselors looked at the scene before them and looked at each other in bewilderment.

They suddenly remembered the Battle of Julu fought by the King of Western Chu.

They recalled the scene recorded in the history book of Taishigong: "After defeating the Qin army, Xiang Yu summoned all the princes and generals. When they entered the camp, they all knelt and walked forward, and no one dared to look up!"

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, righteous armies rose up one after another to resist the tyranny of Qin.

The State of Zhao was trapped by Zhang Han's 400,000-man army. The coalition forces of more than 100,000 princes went to Julu to rescue it. Unexpectedly, the coalition forces were afraid of the power of the Qin army and stayed outside Julu for forty days and dared not move forward.

Xiang Yu was furious, so he beheaded the coalition leader Song Yi and led 40,000 Chu troops alone to meet Zhang Han's 400,000 troops!
The Chu army burned their boats and cut off their own retreat to show that they were fighting to the death. They fought one against ten and won nine battles in a row, defeating Zhang Han and returning victorious.

The allied forces of the princes who had been watching from the sidelines were all terrified. When Xiang Yu entered the camp gate, they all knelt on the ground and marched forward on their knees to welcome the triumphant return of the Overlord of Western Chu...

How similar is the current situation to the scene at that time?

In the eyes of Cao's generals, Liu Wu's power is probably no less than that of the King of Chu back then!
boom! ~
Those bright eyes swept towards Cao Mengde.

As soon as their eyes met, Cao Cao felt as if he was looking directly at the scorching sun in the sky, and a sharp pain pierced his eyes...

He hurriedly closed his eyes, his body swayed, and he subconsciously held onto the wall.

"Prime Minister Cao!" Guan Yu, who was standing beside him, hurriedly supported Cao Cao and asked, "Prime Minister, are you in trouble?"

"I'm fine..." Cao Cao waved his hands, his breathing rapid.

Kunyang,

At that time, Emperor Guangwu of Han defeated Wang Mang in Kunyang.

Now Liu Wu's power is far greater than that of Han Guangwu at that time. Could it be that Cao Mengde...

Cao Cao swallowed hard and said, "Yun Chang, I, I seemed to have seen it just now, I saw Emperor Guangwu of Han!"

Han, Emperor Guangwu of Han?
Guan Yu was stunned.

He subconsciously looked at the figure riding outside the city...

then,

It was outside this city that Emperor Guangwu of Han defeated Wang Mang and eventually established his empire.

Now Liu Wu has also fought his way out of the city. He has established a base by the river and controls the northern gateway. One step further, he will reach the Central Plains, just like Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty...

In a trance,
Guan Yu suddenly woke up, feeling terrified!

He stared blankly at Liu Wu outside the city. Has his nephew come to this point? !

(End of this chapter)