Chapter 248: Bloody Edict, Borrowing a Knife to Kill the King

The Xu family cavalry shook the world. During the Spring and Autumn Wars, their military force was unstoppable, fighting all the way from north to south and then from south back to north.

The Beiliang Iron Cavalry is the best in the world, the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry is the best in Beiliang, and now there is also the Han Mo Lin Cavalry.

This time, the horses marched southwards, galloping through the Central Plains again after nearly twenty years, and their military power was three times stronger.

A few days later, the news that Beiliang had marched south to seize three states spread everywhere, and Xu Chunlin never thought of blocking this news.

The noble families, royal relatives and loyal officials of the court all denounced Beiliang's wolfish ambitions, taking advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos in the world and showing obvious rebellious intentions.

For a moment, Li Yang's mind was in turmoil.

Among them, the local princes were the worst!

Coupled with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, they either waited and watched or sharpened their knives, but almost all of them took the opportunity to recruit soldiers and gather food to strengthen themselves, and they were already secretly preparing to split the world.

At this time, Xu Chunlin was sitting in the big tent in Jizhou City, playing with the chess pieces representing Beiliang in his hands and practicing on the sand table.

He is waiting.

Wait for an opportunity.

The lord of Qingzhou is King Jing'an Zhao Heng, a sinister and cunning old fox with great scheming.

He was once the emperor's closest royal relative and the empress dowager's favorite sixth prince. When he was young, he wielded a spear and rode a horse. He flew out of the formation and was unstoppable, with unparalleled style.

In the battle for the throne, Zhao Heng was only one step away from becoming the emperor, but unfortunately he was born at the wrong time, which was also the biggest regret in his heart.

After being named a vassal king, Zhao Heng was always enduring, and was therefore ridiculed by others as "Old Woman Zhao Heng".

He was indeed too tolerant. In the original novel, his son Zhao Xun was slapped by Xu Fengnian and lost all face, but Zhao Heng suppressed his murderous intent and still greeted Xu Fengnian with a smile.

Later, for his own safety and for his future plans, he gave his beloved woman Pei Nanwei to Xu Fengnian, even at the risk of being ridiculed by the world.

It is no exaggeration to say that Zhao Heng was a coward for most of his life, but it would be a big mistake to say that he was useless.

A person who can endure the pain can remain calm even when his heart is raging like thunder and waves. He is truly a man of integrity.

In fact, King Jing'an Zhao Heng was a very cunning man, and he was very thoughtful in his work. He had always wanted to rebel, but unfortunately he never waited for the right opportunity.

But now it’s different. Xu Chunlin personally delivered this opportunity to King Jing’an Zhao Heng.

"Jia Xu!"

Xu Chunlin called out.

He walked out from where he had landed, his gloomy face faintly fanatical, bowed, and replied, "I am here!"

"The fire is almost out. We can send out the edict we prepared!"

"understand!"

Jia Xu smiled sinisterly, bowed and retreated.

A day later, Beiliang suddenly issued an imperial edict and spread it throughout the world, declaring that it was following the emperor's order to quell the crisis and purge the court of corrupt officials.

I saw a notice posted on the city wall.

The Emperor issued an edict:
I am a person of low moral character, and I have inherited the sacred artifacts. I want to govern with benevolence and comfort the people. However, the world is not at peace, the Yellow Turban Rebellion is raging, the people are suffering, and the world is in turmoil.

I am worried about it and can't sleep day or night.

However, during the period of internal and external troubles, Prime Minister Zhang Julu, Minister of War Gu Jiantang and others took advantage of the emptiness of Tai'an City, colluded with each other, plotted evil, and wanted to undermine the imperial power and steal the sacred artifacts of the country.

These thieves may seem innocent, but they actually harbor evil intentions and are the thieves who steal our country.

I think of Xu Xiao, the King of Northern Liang, who rose from humble beginnings, was brave and good at fighting, and had a close relationship with me when I was young. Later, he received my favor and became the King of Northern Liang, guarding the area, protecting the people, and making outstanding contributions.

Whenever I think of Xu Xiao's loyalty, I am touched by his kindness and want to trust him even more. Now I am trapped in the palace, imprisoned by the thieves, and all methods are in vain, as if I were trapped in a well.

I specially dispatched Princess Suizhu, Zhao Fengya, to bring this imperial edict to Beiliang and marry her to the Crown Prince of Beiliang to show my sincerity.

I have ordered the Northern Liang King Xu Xiao to raise an army immediately, obey the will of Heaven and quell the rebellion, purge the emperor's side, wipe out the treacherous bandits and rebels, eradicate the Yellow Turbans, support the country, save me and the world from the dire straits.

I have every confidence that Xu Xiao is loyal and will live up to my expectations, quell the rebellion, and bring peace back to the world.

All my officials and people should work together to face the national crisis. I will reward them handsomely to commend their merits. If anyone disobeys my will and helps them to commit atrocities, he will be severely punished and will not be tolerated!

When the imperial edict arrives, follow it immediately without any mistakes!

Admire this. 】

As soon as the imperial edict was issued, there was an uproar in the court and the country.

However, Princess Suizhu Zhao Fengya really appeared on the city wall of Jizhou, and even personally proclaimed that the edict was true, and it was a blood-stained edict.

Li Yang Emperor Zhao Dun was so angry that he cursed loudly in the court. Even though he issued an order to the whole country, he was still slandered by Beiliang as having been forged by the traitor Zhang Julu and others.

In addition, the Yellow Turban rebels intended to rob and kill, so only one in ten of the troops sent out to deliver the messages survived. Some aristocratic families even applauded.

Because there was nothing that Zhang Julu did that did not harm the interests of their family?
He opened up the imperial examination system, rectified the administration of officials, promoted grain transport, and regulated the salt and iron industries, cutting into the flesh of their aristocratic families one by one, not to mention that Zhang Julu also advocated the reduction of the power of the feudal lords.

All the princes in the world wanted to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.

Sometimes, something fake can become real as long as most people believe in it and support it.

Emperor Zhao Dun of Liyang still wanted to summon the troops of the vassal kings to come to his aid and punish the rebels in Beiliang, but were these vassal kings really willing to do it?
One by one, they put the imperial edict of Liyang Emperor Zhao Dun on the shelf, pretending that they had not seen it, guarding their own little piece of land, minding their own business, and not worrying about the troubles of others.

After all, in the current situation, self-preservation is the most important thing. Who would want to provoke the powerful Beiliang? Moreover, once the beast called ambition is released, it will never stop. After much deliberation and the indirect advice of Zhou Yu, the commander-in-chief of the Qingzhou Navy, Jing'an King Zhao Heng directly raised the banner of defending the territory and maintaining stability in the world and began to expand his troops.

And said it was a temporary measure and a convenient measure.

His heart is as clear as day.

All I can say is that he is indeed an old fox. He did not really oppose Beiliang, nor did he confront Tai'an City. He only said that as a member of the royal family and the Prince of Jing'an, he had the responsibility to defend the territory.

I am helping Li Yang maintain peace in the world.

In fact, everyone knew that Zhao Heng just wanted to take advantage of the situation and set his sights on that position.

After Zhao Heng took the lead, the rest of the vassal kings followed suit and responded one after another. Normally, these vassal kings did not care for their people. Instead, they were extravagant and wasteful and oppressed the common people.

The world is in chaos now, and people are coming out one after another to say that they love the people like their own children. Seeing such an expression on their faces makes Xu Chunlin feel sick.

But it is better this way. The more chaotic Beiliang is, the greater benefit it can gain. It will not be targeted by the world, and it can occupy the righteous position and recover lost territory under the banner of the emperor.

However, since Xu Chunlin wanted to move south and east, he naturally could not do it by himself. In his eyes, these vassal kings were just fat pigs that he had raised, waiting to be slaughtered and harvested with a knife.

And this sword is the Yellow Turban!

---

"Your Majesty, according to your arrangements, there are nine groups of Yellow Turbans, with a total of 1.8 million refugees heading straight for Qingzhou. The city of Xiangfan will be difficult to defend." Jia Xu reported.

"hehe!"

Xu Chunlin chuckled, walked out of the tent, and looked at the Xiangfan City in the distance, as if he was recalling and sighing: "Back then, the world's number one defender Wang Mingyang was stationed there for a full ten years, which is why he is now sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai.

There are not many guys who can make Xu Xiao grit his teeth in hatred. The Western Chu scholar who truly understands the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period can be ranked among the top three, even if the Western Chu imperial capital behind the Western Fortress is broken, even if the entire Jiangnan region is lost.

Both this city and Diaoyutai remain standing, but unfortunately, no matter how strong Xiangfan is, it cannot influence the overall situation in the world.

When the food in the city ran out, they ate the horses. When the horses were gone, they caught birds and dug up rats. When the birds and rats were gone again, they ate people.

At this point, Xu Chunlin could not help but sigh: "The soldiers knew they would die, and the soldiers defending the city fought to the last man, and no one survived. This is the war in the Spring and Autumn Period.

These tragedies are unimaginable to those who are arguing with each other in Shangyin Academy.

The majestic city of Xiangfan is 186 feet high, 30 feet wide at the base, and has a city wall that is 11 miles long. The base is made entirely of granite and limestone slabs, and the walls are built with huge bricks of the Three States variety. The side of each brick is printed with the place of manufacture, the supervisor, and the name of the brickmaker.

When laying bricks, a mixture of glutinous rice juice, sorghum juice, lime and tung oil was poured into the gaps. Steamed soil was used to build the city. The chief architect in charge of the Xiangfan city-building project held a sharp awl. If the awl penetrated an inch, the builder would be killed and the city would be built together. Therefore, the city was as strong and dense as iron. Historians at that time all called it cruel and brutal.

When Xu Xiao attacked the city and Wang Mingyang defended it, each was preparing for battle. This scholar, who came from a Jixia Academy, fortified the city and cleared the fields. All the food and supplies outside the city were transported into the city. Even the houses were demolished and the wood and bricks were moved into the city.

In order to prevent Xu Xiao from digging tunnels, one hundred wells were dug along the foot of the city in advance. Large clay pots covered with leather were placed in the wells, and people with good hearing were asked to lie down in the pots and listen.

Not to mention the 50,000 defending soldiers, the 150,000 people of Xiangfan were divided into different classes, with monks, craftsmen, and rangers each performing their duties, and the necessary supplies for defending the city were divided into two categories: official and civilian supplies.

He then selected skilled fighters from the martial arts world to patrol the city day and night to prevent spies in the city from setting fire and opening the city. He made all the plans and put all his military skills learned in Shangyin Academy to full use in the past ten years.

Xu Xiao once said in person that if everyone in Shangyin Academy was like this, it would be fine for him to become a scholar at Jixia Academy.

To attack a city, one must first cross the river and the trench, then take the city wall, and then comes the most tragic climbing the city wall, which is also known as ant climbing. Looking at the top of the city wall, one can imagine the scene of thousands of people climbing up on ladders, bearing arrows, boulders, rolling logs, and kerosene.

It was during this battle that the monks in the city invented the demon-subduing pestle, and the old Taoist priest with an ox nose created the golden molten furnace that would cause festering upon touching the skin.

After climbing the city wall, street fighting broke out. A large number of gangsters and green forest heroes gathered in Xiangfan at that time. They vowed to defend this important town for the Three Kingdoms in the Central Plains to the death. They shared a common hatred for the enemy.

Before the street fighting, they had repelled the Northern Liang army countless times in close combat on the city walls. If it weren't for them, it would have taken only three years to capture Xiangfan instead of ten years.

People only know that the Northern Liang army was the best in cavalry combat, but they don't know that they were also good at infantry combat and siege warfare. They were always invincible in the Spring and Autumn Wars. However, when they reached Xiangfan, most of their elite troops were killed, including 300 tomb diggers who were skilled in digging underground, and all of them died.

In this attack and defense that lasted ten years, who knows who was right and who was wrong?

But it was during these ten years that Xu Xiao, a vengeful man throughout his life, truly forged a feud with the underworld.

The moat was unusually wide, and the suspension bridge over the river was not retracted. Xiangfan had a strict night curfew, but the suspension bridge had been laid flat all these years, and even the main gate had never been closed overnight. It seemed that according to the instructions of the Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain, after the Zhoutian Grand Ceremony of more than 30,000 rituals to save the souls of the nine underworld and remove their sins, the Ghost Gate was left open, allowing the wronged souls to leave Fengdu Xiangfan.

Legend has it that before leaving the city, Huang Zi Tianshi of Longhu Mountain personally walked around the city drawing talismans and writing scrolls, and finally hung a Taoist talisman on the rooftop of Diaoyutai.

Inscription: All the Tiangang have returned to Tiangang, and the Disha should return to the ground.

It is said that when the wandering souls of Xiangfan are all gone, this talisman will burn out to blazing glory.

However, the Heavenly Talisman has been written for many years but has never disappeared, and has undoubtedly become an indelible shadow in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people in Xiangfan City.

I wonder how many more bones are buried under the city of Xiangfan today.

Ten thousand people? One hundred thousand? One million?

The Qingzhou navy is not easy to deal with either. It depends on how capable King Jing'an Zhao Heng is.

It is impossible to be on par with Wang Mingyang, but it is no problem to hold out for half a year or ten months.

The marshland and the mountains are included in the battle map, how can the people live happily? Please don't talk about becoming a marquis, because the success of a general is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers.

It is said that a war will cause all gods to worry, and the strong soldiers on both sides of the strait have not stopped. Who said that the Cangjiang River is always peaceful, and it has been a bloody battle recently. "

"Youyou~"

"A kind army cannot be commanded!"

(End of this chapter)