Chapter 162: Insulting the Queen Mother of Chengdu and bullying my ancestors, this thief Li is too arrogant
Hanoi County, Fantian Town, Wen County.

The end of the year is approaching, but there is almost no New Year atmosphere in the whole of Wen County. Sorrow and resentment permeate every household, and everyone has a sad and bitter look on their face.

When the King of Chengdu approached Luoyang, he led his army to march from Wenxian, Mengzhou, Mengjin, etc. Henei County was a large county with 150,000 households and 600,000 civilians. The counties under its jurisdiction had flat terrain, many fertile fields, and the people were quite wealthy. When the Yecheng army marched, they often sent people to the countryside to collect food to supplement military supplies.

The nobles who owned forts had more stored grain, and they could survive by handing over some grain. However, the poor people who lived in villages or scattered in the countryside were in a miserable situation. If they handed over less grain, the soldiers would simply break down the wooden doors and come in to search for food themselves.

Many poor families now have only enough food to get through the New Year. Fortunately, the wheat has been planted, so they don’t have to worry about seeds and grain. They only need to worry about how to survive from the end of the year to the spring thaw.

Under such circumstances, Wang Mi, who led only more than 400 cavalrymen, bypassed the cities of Chaoge and Xiuwu in Ji County, and Huaixian and Pinggao in Henei County, which were controlled by the Jin court, and killed his way to the Sima ancestral tomb in Fantian Town, Wen County. The Jin soldiers in the cities along the way did not even leave the city to investigate the enemy situation.

The Sima family's ancestral tomb is surrounded by the Qin River. The three tombs are arranged in a V-shape. The cemetery with three tombs in the north, southeast and north is triangular as a whole, forming the so-called phoenix single-point wing terrain with the Qin River.

The owners of these three tombs are Sima Yi’s great-grandfather Sima Liang, grandfather Sima Jun, and father Sima Fang.

When Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, built a temple to worship his ancestors, he named Sima Liang, Sima Jun, Sima Fang, Sima Yi, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao as the Three Zhaos and Three Mus.

When Sima Yi's younger brother Sima Fu was the military officer of the Henei Palace, he sent soldiers to repair the embankment of Qinshui River to prevent the Qinshui River from flooding the ancestral tomb. Later, when Sima Yan became emperor, he sent military households to guard the ancestral tomb.

The Sima family was originally a big family in Henei County. No matter how bold the local gentry were, they did not dare to seize the fifty acres of land of the military households guarding the tombs. These thousands of military households guarding the tombs could still make ends meet.

But when the leading General Zhonglang heard that hundreds of cavalrymen from Bingzhou and Jizhou had arrived, he immediately resigned from the responsibility of guarding the mausoleum and fled with his family, Xiaonan, on the pretext of reporting the news.

As soon as the General of the Central Army left, the rest of the soldiers didn't want to fight in vain. Everyone said that General Li had three heads and six arms and could chase and kill thousands of people by himself. The generals under him were also vicious people who killed people without blinking an eye. The imperial army that went there in September and October was also defeated and scattered. With just these few people, they couldn't even be a pie for the bandits to chop down.

If you run too late, the flesh on your body might become a snack for the enemy soldiers and generals.

When Wang Mi led his troops to the three tombs, only a hundred armored soldiers pretended to resist and then fled in all directions.

The rebel cavalry were not here to kill the Jin soldiers, so naturally no one chased them. After occupying the terrain of the Phoenix's Single Wing, General Feibao sent his men to search for tools and able-bodied men in nearby villages and houses.

There were no able-bodied men left, as those who were nimble had already run away. The rest were all old men and women who could not escape, but a lot of tools were found.

The rebel army was still short of war horses, and those who could be selected as cavalrymen had to be strong first. Wang Mi's rebel officers were helpless and ordered the soldiers to dig graves.

Some Han soldiers thought it was unlucky and did not want to dig, but many of the cavalry were soldiers from the Southern Xiongnu, Di people, Qiang and Hu people who were skilled in horsemanship. They did not care much about these things and started to work as soon as they heard the commander give the order.

The smallest of the three tombs in the north, southeast and north has a circumference of more than 20 zhang, and the ground is frozen solid. It took Wang Mi's subordinates five consecutive days to finally dig up the smallest eastern tomb.

Sima Liang's father, Sima Jun, was the General of the Western Expedition in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was the position that the young Cao Cao wanted to be engraved on his epitaph. Sima Liang's three generations successively held the positions of Prefect of Yuzhang, Prefect of Yingchuan, Magistrate of Luoyang, and Prefect of Jingzhao. The burial objects in the tomb are worthy of the position of prefect.

"He has millions of dollars, several bronze mirrors, and countless lacquerware."

The military officer in charge of counting the things dug out from the East Tomb summarized them and moved them in front of General Wang Mi one by one.

"Only over a million? Not even enough to buy a county governor." Wang Mi's grandfather was also a county governor and knew a little about the ins and outs of this.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the position of prefect depended on the state in which it was located. If it was a rich and large county, the position of prefect could be sold for tens of millions of coins. Even if it was a small county, it could still cost several million coins.

"Give the money to the brothers, leave the bronze mirror and the skull to me, and find a few wild dogs to take the rest of the body, bones and dogs, and throw them in front of the south gate of Wen County."

Wang Mi roughly divided the burial objects. His main task was to get the skulls from the three tombs. The rest of the objects were not important.

The soldiers took the order and left. After clearing the East Tomb, Wang Mi's subordinates began to dig the second tomb. With the experience of digging the East Tomb, their excavation speed increased a lot.

While digging the graves, the rebel army also sent people to dig several gaps in the nearby Qinshui embankment.

The water volume of Qinshui River is not large, and the top layer has long been frozen. The water flow under the ice layer is quite small and cannot flood the three tombs at all. But after more than ten days of excavation by the rebel army, the people in the ten counties of Henei County all knew that the ancestral tombs of the Sima family had been dug up and the excellent terrain of the phoenix's single-pointed wings had been destroyed.

This was a much greater blow to the reputation of the Jin court than the rebel army sending troops to capture Yecheng.

Of course, two hundred miles away, in Luoyang City across the Yellow River, many Sima kings and high-ranking officials of the Jin court also heard about the major event that took place in Wen County.

Taiji Hall of Luoyang Imperial Palace.

The arrow wound of the foolish emperor Sima Zhong has almost healed. At least on the surface, he looks much better than his brother Sima Ying.

The officials in the hall were divided into three camps, the Yecheng faction headed by King of Chengdu, the Xuchang faction headed by King of Qi Sima Jiong, and the officials of Luodu with King of Liang Sima Rong and King of Donghai Sima Yue as the core.

When King of Chengdu Sima Ying led his army to approach the city of Luoyang, the officials in the city, under the leadership of General Wang Yu, mobilized the soldiers who were dissatisfied with King Zhao, and jointly arrested Sima Lun, as well as Sun Xiu, Xu Chao, Shi Yi, Sun Bi, Xie Yan and other people who were plotting rebellion for King Zhao.

However, officials of the Zhao Palace, who came from high-ranking aristocratic families, such as Lu Ji, Diao Xie, Xi Jian, Fu Xuan, and Xun Sui, were not in trouble at all. Lu Xun's grandson Lu Ji was even pardoned by the King of Chengdu, who returned the emperor to Luodu, and became an official of the Chengdu Palace.

Logically speaking, the King of Chengdu initiated the attack and killing of Sima Lun, which was the first contribution of the emperor's return to the capital. However, the two major factions of the King of Qi and the King of Liang disagreed with conferring the title of Crown Prince on the King of Chengdu, and advocated making the emperor's only grandson the Crown Prince.

The two sides were deadlocked in the Taiji Hall until the King of Qi sent his subordinates to accuse the King of Chengdu of allowing the bandits to dig up the three tombs of Wen County.

"If the King of Chengdu had not left a large number of troops to garrison Yecheng, how could the bandits have occupied Yecheng, Handan and other major cities, and how could the bandit generals have led their troops to dig up the three tombs in Wen County?"

The speaker was Zu Ti, who came from a prominent family in Fanyang County and was currently a core official under the King of Qi.

Lu Ji, who was on the side of the King of Chengdu, refuted the argument, saying, "The destruction of the three mausoleums was the fault of the soldiers guarding the mausoleums, not the King of Chengdu. At that time, the King of Chengdu was returning to the capital with the emperor's carriage, and Sima Lun had hundreds of thousands of men under his command, so he had to lead a large army south. There was a reason for this."

Lu Ji had just been pardoned. Although he had talent and reputation, he was of low status. The King of Chengdu sent him to refute Zu Ti, which showed that he was disrespectful to Zu Ti.

The King of Qi wanted to pin the blame for the excavation of the ancestral tomb and the loss of Yecheng on the King of Chengdu, but Sima Ying's civil servants tried to argue, and the two sides started to fight in the Taiji Hall in front of the emperor. This was really outrageous.

Sima Yue, the Prince of Donghai, stepped forward to smooth things over: "Now that things have come to this, the only correct thing to do is to find a way to take back Yecheng from the bandits. Please call back your subordinates and sit down to discuss. I heard that Concubine Cheng was insulted and humiliated by the bandits. I am deeply saddened. The court must execute the bandit Li to avenge Concubine Cheng."

The news that Concubine Cheng did not escape from Yecheng had spread among the officials in Luoyang, but they only said a few words in private.

Because everyone knows that the King of Chengdu only values ​​his mother. If he loses his sons or his queen, he can still find another one, but he can only have one mother.

This was the first time someone dared to bring up this matter in front of the King of Chengdu.

"My mother just has no news for the time being. King of the East Sea, if you dare to say another word, I will kill your entire family."

The king of Chengdu stood up suddenly, glaring and shouting.

His eyes were red, not like a disguise. Sima Yue didn't dare to offend him again, so he kept silent.

There are many different opinions about the incident of Concubine Cheng. According to the escapees from Yecheng, Concubine Cheng was raped by Qianxiu, who was escorting her away, but the bandits treated her with courtesy. However, some people said that the rebel soldiers lined up in the Yecheng Governor's Mansion and raped Concubine Cheng. Most officials in Luoyang believed the second version.

No matter what, Concubine Cheng did not end up well, and her son Sima Ying also lost an adult.

After being stimulated by this incident, the King of Chengdu suddenly changed his mind and was willing to lead his troops back to attack Yecheng, on the condition that the Luoyang Yamen Army and the Xuchang Army also had to send troops north.

"Only if we have 200,000 soldiers can we have a chance to defeat the bandits."

Sima Ying asked for 200,000 armored soldiers right away.

The staff and subordinates sitting around King Chengdu were horrified and gathered around their own princes to discuss the matter in detail. After a long time, they put forward new conditions.

"The King of Hejian in the inner reaches of the pass must also send troops to attack Pingyang and Taiyuan counties. Liu Yuan of Jianxing and Yining counties is a subordinate of the King of Chengdu, so he can be promoted to General Pingxi and order the troops of the five tribes of the Southern Xiongnu to attack Pingyang County in the west."

Whether it was the King of Qi, the King of Liang, or the King of Donghai, all the other parties were very satisfied with the King of Chengdu's selflessness and granted him whatever he asked for.

As long as this vassal king was sent away, a large number of official positions would immediately become vacant in Luoyang City.

In the past year, King Zhao Sima Lun had killed more than 100,000 officials and soldiers. One and a half out of ten houses in Luoyang were empty. Without the faction of King Chengdu, the remaining mansions, official positions, and money were enough for King Qi and all the officials in Luoyang to share.

"Insulting the mother of the King of Chengdu and bullying my ancestors' graves, this thief Li is too arrogant." Sima Jiong, the King of Qi, was talking about something irrelevant. "When we recover the lost territory, please ask the King of Chengdu to do his best to kill the bandits in various places. Please also ask the King of Chengdu to put aside the old friendship and kill the officials who surrendered to the rebels in the East Market."

Some situations in Yecheng had already been reported to Luoyang, and the fact that some officials from Shu were serving as officers of the bandit army could not be concealed.

The Jin court had already drafted an edict to punish the families of these officials, but the road to Shu was difficult and it would take some time for the edict to be passed on.

Of course, even if the order was passed on, no one would carry it out. Two months ago, Yizhou Governor Zhao Xin had already killed Qianwei Prefect Li Mi, Wenshan Prefect Huo Gu, Xiyi Commander Chen Zong and others, and raised the flag of rebellion in Chengdu.

The terrain of Yizhou is extremely conducive to separatism, and there are many people who want to be "like Liu Bei". Zhao Xin is about to be defeated, but after him, a group of ambitious members of the Li family are also plotting to rebel in Chengdu. The Jin court's punishment of officials in Shu will never be carried out.

The King of Chengdu glared at Sima Jue fiercely and said, "He Yanyan will be appointed as the governor of Youzhou, Wang Yansheng, the governor of Yanzhou, will be appointed as the governor of Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and Zheng Qiu will be appointed as the governor of Yanzhou. All the states in Jizhou, east, west, south and north will be required to send soldiers and civilians to suppress the bandits."

He filled several key positions in the northern states with his own people.

The governor of Yanzhou originally led his troops to garrison Handan City, but then abandoned the Yanzhou soldiers and returned to Yanzhou with a small number of cavalry. Now he is nominally recruiting volunteers and preparing to counterattack the bandits together with the imperial army.

King Sima Jue of Qi pretended to disagree and only agreed after King Liang and others persuaded him.

After the powerful princes reached an agreement, Henan County where Luoyang was located, Xingyang County to the east, Shangluo and Hongnong counties to the west and other places were successively conscripted, and the soldiers and civilians in Yuzhou were also mobilized.

After a delay of one and a half months, the Jin court finally gathered more than 200,000 troops needed by the King of Chengdu in early February. Among them, there were more than 100,000 armored soldiers, many unarmored soldiers holding swords and halberds, and 50,000 to 60,000 civilians without armor or weapons.

After slowly gathering the vanguard, central and rear armies, the Jin army marched forward in a mighty force towards Ji County, Wei County, Guangping County and other places near Yecheng.

Although Sima Ying was young, he did not want to lead his large army into a head-on attack by the notorious General Li, so the vanguard of the Jin army was led by Lu Ji, the grandson of the famous general.

Lu Xun is Lu Xun, and his grandson is his grandson. Lu Ji did not learn his grandfather's way of employing troops, and only consistently executed the Eastern Wu tactics that he was familiar with.

During the Three Kingdoms period, the Eastern Wu implemented the military unit system, where each general commanded his own private military unit. When the Eastern Wu army went on an expedition, they would often deploy the troops horizontally to face the enemy in order to increase the width of the battle line.

Lu Ji's use of troops was similar. This famous scholar boldly led 80,000 vanguards to the territory of Weijun, and then sent the troops to the four counties of Dangyin, Anyang, Neihuang and Changle.

The four counties naturally could not support so many foreign troops, and the subsequent food and grass had to be supplied to the central army under the command of the King of Chengdu in the south. In order to reduce the supply of military food, Lu Ji divided the vanguard army into the four counties of Dongyu, Fanyang, Yin'an and Wei in Dongyu County in the east.

Although they were called the vanguard, Lu Ji's troops firmly defended the eight county towns south of Yecheng, and only sent a small group of cavalry archers to harass the rebel scouts near Yecheng.

After the central army of King Chengdu reached Chaoge in Ji County, they sent people to order Lu Ji to lead his troops forward. Lu Ji had no choice but to go to Anyang, south of Yecheng in person and give up Dangyin, where he had originally been stationed, to King Chengdu.

Sima Ying then led his central army to station near Dangyin.

The Jin army was hesitant to move forward, but General Li, who had already completed the reorganization of the surrendered soldiers, had an idea. After finding out the enemy situation in the south, he led a part of the rebel army straight to Anyang.

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(End of this chapter)