Chapter 22 In the second quarter, the division goes south

The next day, Han Hong woke up from his drunkenness, regretting inexplicably.If the rebellious complaints made last night were heard by the imperial court, he might be condemned to death.When Han Hong saw Liu Xiu, he tentatively said, "I was very drunk last night, and I may have made a slip of the tongue during the dinner. I hope Da Sima will forgive me." Liu Xiu saw through Han Hong's mind and said with a smile, "Brother Han and I were just reminiscing about the wine last night. Unexpectedly, we talked At the moment of joy, but with a plop, Brother Han fell to the ground. Look at your head, there is still a big bag."

Han Hong stroked the bag on his head and secretly heaved a sigh of relief.It seems that Liu Xiu didn't intend to tell the court what he said last night.However, Han Hong thought about it again, but felt sad. Liu Xiu didn't stab him now, but it didn't mean he wouldn't stab him in the future. In short, Liu Xiu's handle fell into Liu Xiu's hands. The edict has clearly stated that Liu Xiu is ordered to raise troops immediately to crusade against Handan.Han Hong's mission was tied to Liu Xiu's hands, urging Liu Xiu to leave quickly.Liu Xiu casually said: "The mobilization of soldiers and horses, and the preparation of food and grass are not done in a day. Brother Han, please be patient."

In fact, whether to continue to take Youzhou from the north, or go south to Handan according to the order, Liu Xiu is also having a big headache.All the generals under his command lacked respect for the imperial court. After hearing what Han Hong said about the chaotic situation in Chang'an, they became even more disheartened towards the imperial court. Take Youzhou as your base camp.Deng Yu put it more bluntly: "There is only one Wang Lang, and it will be gone after the fight." The implication is that we should love and cherish Wang Lang, and while Wang Lang is still alive, we should quickly strengthen our power and influence. territory.

Han Hong waited and waited. Three days had passed, and seeing that Liu Xiu was still silent, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and press again.Liu Xiu was still hesitating, Han Hong said anxiously: "If Liu Gong doesn't send troops again, as an envoy of the imperial court, I will have no face to return to Chang'an. Please thank me with death." After speaking, he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide.Liu Xiu quickly stopped him. It happened that Feng Yi returned from Hejian County with more than 8,000 soldiers. At the same time, he also brought back news that Wang Lang was urging Peng Chong, the prefect of Yuyang, and Geng Kuang, the prefect of Shanggu, to send troops.All the generals were shocked, Yuyang and Shanggu counties are well-known in the world for riding, if these two counties fall to Wang Lang, the situation will undoubtedly be severe.

Seeing that everyone was uneasy, Liu Xiu laughed and said, "Wang Lang sent soldiers from the second county, and I also sent soldiers from the second county to see who has more face." After speaking, he pulled Han Hong over and said, "As long as Han Hong My brother edited two books for me, and I will go south to Handan immediately." Han Hong was overjoyed and said: "As long as Mr. Liu is willing to go south under the imperial edict, not to mention writing two books, even ten books are not a problem." Liu Xiudao: "Peng Chong, the prefect of Yuyang, and Geng Kuang, the prefect of Shanggu, are both worshiped by Brother Han. Speaking of them, Brother Han has the kindness of knowing each other and supporting them. Thank you Brother Han for writing books. Use momentum, move with emotion, let them raise troops to help, and attack Handan together."

Liu Xiu grinds the ink himself, Han Hong picks up the pen, and the letter is written in no time.Before the ink was dry, the envoy had already set off on the road with the book, and left in the dust.The generals knew that Han Hong was actually the great benefactor of Peng Chong and Geng Kuang, so they felt at ease. For Han Hong's sake, even if Peng Chong and Geng Kuang didn't lead the troops to the meeting, they must be ashamed to be ungrateful , defected to Wang Lang, and turned against his benefactor. The reason why Liu Xiu decided to go south was that on the one hand, the situation in Youzhou had suddenly become complicated and could not be deepened; on the other hand, it was far from the time to break with the imperial court, so it was better to sell Han Hong's favor and follow orders.

Hearing that Liu Xiu decided to attack Handan in the south, Liu Yang was overjoyed, gritted his teeth, and gave Liu Xiu three thousand soldiers and horses as a wedding gift for his nephew and son-in-law.Liu Yang was worried that Liu Xiu would insist on taking Youzhou north, because in that case, he would be directly exposed to Wang Lang's troops.When Liu Xiu attacked Handan in the south, it happened that he could hide behind Liu Xiu and watch the changes. Liu Xiu beat Wang Lang, and he sat back and enjoyed the success. Liu Xiu reorganized the three armies, joined forces in one place, and sent his troops southward to attack Yuanshi and Fangzi.The county magistrate of Yan County offered a letter to ask for surrender, and Liu Xiu Xuzhi, reined in the troops outside the city, went to the city to comfort the officials and elders in person, and stayed in the city for the night.

Su Gong, a local tyrant of the city, heard that Liu Xiu was passing on the house in the city, and he was immediately excited——Liu Xiu's head is worth 100,000 households!Su Gong sent his servants out of the city overnight, secretly reported to Li Yun, the general of Wang Lang's department, and invited him to steal into the city, while he himself acted as an internal response in the city. Li Yun knew in his heart that Liu Xiu's tens of thousands of troops were just outside the city, and a strong attack would be tantamount to death. Under the city of Yancheng.Su Gong had already bribed the gatekeeper, opened the door to allow Li Yun and others to enter, and directly killed Liu Xiu's Chuanshe.

When Liu Xiu entered the city, only Geng Chun led dozens of people to guard him.Geng Chun was charged with protecting the Lord, so he didn't dare to close his eyes all night, and led the people to patrol outside the Chuanshe, when Li Yun came to attack.The number of the two sides is equal, and it will be a fierce battle to meet them.Geng Chun was so brave that he killed Li Yun and Su Gong with his hands, and killed several people in a row. The rest of them broke up, so he escorted Liu Xiu out of the city and stayed in the army. The next day, the news of Liu Xiu's assassination spread throughout the city, and the people in the city were all terrified, thinking that Liu Xiu would be angry now, and maybe he would massacre the city to vent his anger.When Liu Xiu heard about the news, he ordered people to declare in the city: "The traitor, Mr. Su, has been given the head. The common people are safe in their careers, and there is no need to disturb them." Everyone in the city shouted long live.

The city of Yan was fixed, and Liu Xiu moved to Julu to force the Bairen.Li Yu, the Bairen guard, went out of the city to fight because he had a large number of soldiers.The two armies clashed, and Li Yu was defeated. He retreated to the city and guarded behind closed doors. Liu Xiu was attacking the city and couldn't go down for several days. He was worrying in the camp when a man rushed in and shouted, "Well, Uncle Liu Wen, how many medicines have you sold recently?"