Chapter 525 I am a lure
For Han Ruzi, the road ahead was clear, and for ministers, the emperor once again had to take a risk.
"The Ministry of War and the General's Mansion stayed in Jincheng, mobilized the world's troops and horses, and fully supported the Chu army outside the Great Wall. Lai Bingwen, the minister of the Ministry of War, was promoted to the Minister of Defense."
The emperor's first imperial decree surprised all the ministers. Lai Bingwen lacks qualifications and has a low reputation. As a counselor, he has an inescapable responsibility for the fall of Shenxiongguan. The word "Keep" means that this Minister of War is just a vacant post and will be returned after the war, but it also shows the emperor's great trust.
Han Ruzi had no other meaning, the court rules, the lower rank should remain humble in front of the higher, and if Lai Bingwen was to be in charge of the grain collection, he must first be promoted, even temporarily.
"General Chai Yue leads the Chu army outside the Great Wall, waiting for an opportunity to fight the enemy again. All military affairs outside the Great Wall are decided by him cheaply."
The emperor's second imperial decree gave Chai Yue greater power, and at the same time made the ministers suspicious: Is your Majesty trying to give up Guanzhong and the capital? What about the court and the nobles in the palace?
"I will go to Luoyang in person to supervise the situation in Guanzhong. I will never let the enemy troops flow out of Hangu Pass. I hope you will work hard and don't have any worries."
The ministers looked at each other a few times, and those who were a little confused at first understood at this time, and suddenly they all knelt down in unison.
The emperor set the main attack direction outside the Great Wall, but he went to Luoyang to supervise Guanzhong, which is obviously to guard the capital and Hanguguan in person.
The Guanzhong Dynasty was precarious, the main force of the Chu army was in the Chai Yue army outside the Great Wall, and all the troops in the world were mobilized outside the Great Wall, but the emperor had to do the opposite, which was putting himself in danger and death.
"Your Majesty must never leave the protection of the army." Lai Bingwen had just been promoted and became the highest-ranking minister in Jincheng, and he must be the first to persuade the emperor.
Han Ruzi waved his hand, "All the ministers are flat, there is no need to say more. The enemy army has a large number of generals and is divided into two routes. All the way south, it has broken Shenxiongguan, and all the way east, it is blocked by Mayi City. In comparison, the Chu army We are weak and can only attack all the way. Outside the fortress has already won and is well prepared, so it should be the main battle ground. Guanzhong suffered tragically, but the more enemy troops Guanzhong attracts, the better it will be for the Chu army outside the fortress."
The ministers refused to get up.
Han Ruzi continued: "The enemy is eager to fight, the capital can attract the enemy, but it is not enough, the army can attract the army, but there are no more soldiers in Da Chu, the only one who can attract more enemy is me, I want Act as a lure."
The ministers kowtowed, and Lai Bingwen said, "Although Your Majesty's words are correct, but in case..."
"I supervise the battle, or in case, if I stay in Jincheng, it will be difficult for the two Chu troops to win. Lord Lai is in charge of the military, can't you even understand this situation?"
Of course Lai Bingwen understood, but he didn't expect the emperor to be so decisive, touching the ground with his forehead and not daring to look up.
"All the ministers have their families, relatives and friends in the capital. Now the situation in Guanzhong is unclear. I will not make random promises, but only say one sentence: The queen mother and the queen are all in the capital. Tomorrow morning, I will leave."
Han Ruzi returned to the study at the back, saw Zhao Ruosu waiting at the door, and said with a smile, "Do you understand?"
Zhao Ruosu nodded, "According to what Wei Chen has seen and heard, the god and ghost are either extremely arrogant or extremely fearful."
"What do you say?" Han Ruzi entered the study.
Zhao Ruosu looked at Zhang Youcai, and only followed him into the house after obtaining permission, and replied, "As all parties have said, it should not be long before the gods and ghosts unite the Western countries. Looking at their tactics, they should also have a little understanding of the Great Chu, but However, he did not hoard or test, and directly sent a large army to attack. According to this, Wei Chen thought that the gods and ghosts were either too arrogant and looked down on Da Chu after a hundred battles, or they were too fearful, and the army was like a hot iron pill. It must be thrown to the other side as soon as possible.”
"Gods and ghosts are afraid of their own army?" Han Ruzi thought this statement was a bit strange.
Zhao Ruosu gave a deep bow, he is now "sin on top of sin", and can say anything, "Just as when His Majesty first ascended the throne, he was afraid of the ministers, the gods and ghosts are so great that they use the small to control the big, and they lead the army of a hundred countries. It is also a natural thing. When the soldiers of various countries first return to the powerful masters, it is hard to say that they are loyal. If they stay in their own countries, they will inevitably lead to disasters sooner or later.
Han Ruzi thought for a while, then burst out laughing, "Zhao Ruosu, ah Zhao Ruosu, you will see such a thorough understanding of the emperor, it will not benefit you."
"Wei Chen has never asked for a favor."
Han Ruzi put away his smile, "Follow me back to Guanzhong, I want to see whether the god and ghost Danyu is arrogant or fearful."
Zhao Ruosu handed over and echoed "comply with the order" without a word of persuasion.
It wasn't long before dawn, and Han Ruzi did not rest. He selected a thousand old guards. Among the generals, only Fan hit the mountain and left Jincheng before noon for Luoyang. It was not allowed to notify the county in advance on the way. He had to personally go to attract them. The enemy army, but you can't leak it too early, you must first see the situation clearly, determine where to defend, and then reveal your position.
In Luoyang, Han Ruzi finally got more timely and accurate news: most of the cities north of the capital have fallen, and the capital is still holding on.
This made him greatly relieved.
In Luoyang Palace, he met the queen and others, and learned that the queen mother refused to leave the capital.
Cui Xiaojun led his concubines to plead guilty to the emperor. Han Ruzi didn't want to blame anyone, and he didn't have time to stay. Luoyang was still far from the capital after all, and the news was lagging behind. Maybe just when he felt a little at ease, the capital had become an enemy area.
Han Ruzi pardoned the empress and others without guilt, and glanced at the princes and princesses in a hurry. Before they could say anything more, they left immediately and led the army to continue to Hangu Pass.
At Hangu Pass, the news is not so reassuring. There have been no official documents from the capital for three days. The scout in front said that an enemy army is attacking Hangu Pass. I don’t know if it bypassed the capital or captured it. Beijing.
When Cui Hong heard that the emperor was coming, he was taken aback, and when he saw the emperor himself, he was taken aback again.
"Why did Your Majesty come here?"
Han Ruzi explained his plan in general, and finally said: "The Hangu Pass is still there, and there is still hope in Da Chu. If the capital can also be defended, the odds of winning are better. What is the specific situation of the capital? How many soldiers are there? Who is it? General? Is there enough food and grass? Can Mancang City be burned in time?"
Cui Hong hadn't recovered from the surprise, but he answered one by one, only Mancangcheng didn't know the specific situation.
Hearing that Qu Zixi was the general defender of the city, Han Ruzi was also taken aback, and when he learned that Xie Cun and Hua Bin were assisted, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Han Ruzi only rested for less than an hour, and news came that the enemy army was approaching Hangu Pass, about 5,000 people.
Han Ruzi wanted to lead his troops to face the battle in person, but Cui Hong never agreed, "Your Majesty has already visited Hangu Pass in person, so don't take the risk lightly. The enemy army may be ambushing 5,000 soldiers. It's better to stay in the city and wait until the situation is clear before fighting. Even if there is a battle, the minister should lead the troops to attack."
"I feel very at ease with the Taifu guarding the city. It's time to declare to the enemy that I am here, and going out of the city to fight is the best way. As far as I know, the enemy will not set an ambush, and it must be the vanguard army who will take advantage of it. There are not many people, and the foothold is not stable, and it can be broken in one fell swoop.”
The emperor was a stubborn person, but Cui Hong could not compete, so he had to hand over more than half of the army in the city and let the emperor take him to meet the enemy.
Han Ruzi led an army of 8,000 out of the city, holding the Yellow Dragon giant flag high, marching all night, encountering the enemy in the early morning, and in the middle was Yuan Jiuding, the minister of officials who had left the capital privately.
Yuan Jiuding has never been a firm minister. He has courted the Empress Dowager Shangguan and Empress Dowager Ci Ning successively. When the emperor and the minister were in a dispute, he took credit from both sides and supported the minister on the surface, but secretly loyal to the emperor.
This was the last time he wobbled.
Yuan Jiuding recognized the Yellow Dragon Banner, but he didn't see the emperor himself, and he didn't dare to look at it. He looked at the army opposite and felt closer.
He had run for too long, his legs were so weak and numb that he could hardly stand, but he forced himself to step forward and ran towards the completely unfamiliar enemy, shouting: "I am an important minister of Chu, and I am willing to surrender... "
A small group of cavalry came over, Yuan Jiuding was overjoyed, thinking that he was here to protect himself, but after a while, his face changed color, those cavalry raised the weapons in their hands, and speeded up.
Yuan Jiuding fell to his knees and shouted hoarsely, "Surrender! Surrender!"
It was not until the swords and guns fell on him one after another that Yuan Jiuding suddenly realized one thing: these people could not understand the Chu language.
In addition to the prisoners, Han Ruzi saw the enemy army on the battlefield for the first time, and the armor and weapons were really different from the Chu army.
"General Lao Fan will fight." Han Ruzi said.
Fan Zangshan was already impatient, and immediately took orders and led a thousand troops from the headquarters to fight.
The roads were narrow, and the armies of both sides could not line up, so they could only fight in batches.
Fan Zangshan took the lead, the first to contact the enemy, and the first to take the enemy off his horse.
The battle lasted for a whole morning, and Han Ruzi saw with his own eyes how the enemy was advancing and not retreating.
The Chu army did not retreat. The emperor was behind him, and the capital in front was the hometown of many soldiers. They had to charge forward and fight desperately.
Horse battles turned into foot battles, foot battles turned into melee battles, and melee battles turned into bloody battles... Han Ruzi had invested almost all of his troops, and there were only dozens of guards left.
The sun rises high and the enemy army retreats. As Cui Teng said, these people will not die when they attack. Once they collapse, they will die even more, trampling on each other, and if they have deep hatred.
Fan Zangshan, who was covered in blood, returned to his life.
Han Ruzi sat on the back of the horse, bowed slightly to express his gratitude and appreciation, and said nothing else, he ordered: "Get on the horse and continue to the capital."
The enemy used the tiger to drive the wolf, and after Han Ruzi defeated the forward, he would follow the wolf to chase the tiger.
The Chu army rested for a while, ate some of the dry food they carried with them, and continued their march.
Han Ruzi guessed right, the enemy army was just a test, the army did not follow, and he encountered three enemy troops on the way, but the number was not large, and he was timid, and he was defeated at the touch of a button.
After walking for several days, the Chu army finally arrived at the outskirts of the capital, where they were stopped.
The black army that once made Tai Fu Cui Hong feel timid is now besieging the capital, and from a distance, the capital actually looks small.
The capital is still there, but in jeopardy.