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Chapter 806: The Northern Army Mobilizes
Chapter 806: The Northern Army Mobilizes
September 25, 2017
Although Emperor Ling of Han had mentally prepared himself and knew that the Western Garden Army might lose, he never imagined they would be so utterly defeated. Losing was one thing, but not a single soldier of Lu Hai Kong's army was injured. How could this be considered the elite of the Great Han?
In a fit of rage, Emperor Ling spat out a mouthful of blood, yet he still managed to stand up with vigor. He drew his sword and slashed at the little eunuch who couldn't speak properly.
That little eunuch was truly unlucky. At a critical moment, he couldn't catch his breath, and when he finally spoke, he was rudely interrupted by the Emperor. Being beheaded in such a situation was an expected outcome.
Seeing the little eunuch, who had been slashed by Emperor Ling and was now struggling to breathe, Zhang Rang, standing nearby, couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. If not for this eunuch taking the blow for him, he might have met the same fate.
"Where is He Jin? How did he fight in this battle? Didn't he tell me that the Western Garden Army was the best in the world? Is this what they call the best?"
Perhaps it was because he was in the Imperial Palace, blessed by the Great Han's fortune, that after spitting out a mouthful of old blood, Emperor Ling did not lie down again but instead roared with newfound energy.
Zhang Rang, standing beside him, kept his head low, not daring to breathe. He waited for Emperor Ling to finish his tirade.
Emperor Ling roared for a while, and after finally catching his breath, his energy seemed to wane. He slumped slightly, and with a bloody sword in hand, he threw it aside and sat down.
Seeing this, Zhang Rang signaled for his subordinates to take care of the necessary tasks, and then cautiously approached Emperor Ling to attend to him.
Under Zhang Rang's care, Emperor Ling gradually regained his composure. As he looked at Zhang Rang, who was serving him with utmost caution, his eyes revealed a complex expression.
Gazing at the elderly man with white hair, who dared not even breathe as he served him for decades, Emperor Ling recalled Zhang Rang's words of comfort regarding Lu Hai Kong. Upon hearing this disheartening news, a hint of regret crept into Emperor Ling's heart.
At this moment, he felt a sense of bewilderment. How did things gradually escalate to this point?
Recalling his original intentions and the vision of that breathtakingly beautiful and elegant woman, Emperor Ling's heart trembled.
In truth, he had often thought about it. The reason things had escalated to this extent was partly due to his own indulgence and that woman's involvement. If he hadn't remained silent from the start, perhaps this matter wouldn't have reached its current state.
He knew he might have made mistakes in handling this matter. If he had been more cautious, perhaps things wouldn't have come to this.
But Emperor Ling was not one to blame himself for every mistake. In his view, Lu Hai Kong was also largely responsible for the situation.
If Lu Hai Kong had been stronger, the assassination attempt would have failed. If he had been more loyal, he wouldn't have acted as he did. Ultimately, Lu Hai Kong was neither strong enough nor loyal enough!
This was a ridiculous notion, but in Emperor Ling's eyes, it was the truth!
Emperor Ling had never been a wise and mighty ruler. He was a foolish emperor, forever etched in history's shame. In his imperial perspective, all mistakes in this world were someone else's fault. He was the emperor, the master of this realm, and the only one who could never err. Even if he made a mistake, it was someone else's fault.
With this mindset, even as things gradually escalated to this point, and even if they were to escalate further, potentially leading to undesirable consequences, and despite being clearly trapped in someone else's scheme, Emperor Ling still refused to submit to Lu Hai Kong. Moreover, he hadn't reached the point where he needed to bow down.
Emperor Ling's gaze, deep in thought, gradually sharpened, and he finally spoke, issuing his latest command: "Tell Huangfu Song that I'm giving him one day. Within that time, I want to see Lu Hai Kong standing before me!"
...
After the Yellow Turban Rebellion ended, Huangfu Song was initially to be awarded the title of Left Charioteer General and Governor of Jizhou, with the title of Marquis of Huaizhou. However, due to various reasons, Huangfu Song missed out on this reward. Nonetheless, in the past few years, Huangfu Song had risen to the rank of Charioteer General, and currently, the Northern Army was under his command.
Emperor Ling's decree was swiftly delivered to Huangfu Song, who, upon reading it, fell into a long silence.
In fact, Huo Fuping had been paying close attention to Lu Hai Kong's situation from the very beginning when it started to ferment.
As one of the few people in Luoyang who had frequent interactions with Lu Hai Kong and even clashed with him directly, Huo Fuping understood Lu Hai Kong better than most.
Regarding Lu Hai Kong's strength and character, Huo Fuping couldn't claim to know everything, but he had a rough idea.
So, when this matter first began to brew, Huo Fuping had considered using his power to quell the situation. However, when he actually tried to take action, he realized that the matter was far more complex than he had imagined.
Not only did it involve the dispute over the Crown Prince's succession, the conflict between the imperial relatives and the eunuchs, but there were also hints of the influence of the aristocratic families in the background. It was a massive vortex.
Although Huo Fuping wasn't particularly sensitive to politics, after spending several decades in the court, he wasn't a novice either. He knew that he couldn't, and shouldn't, get involved in such matters. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the situation unfolded in an absurd manner, step by step, until the day when Lu Hai Kong's troops arrived at the city gates. Huo Fuping had foreseen this day.
In fact, when the Xiyuan Eight Schools clashed with Lu Hai Kong, he witnessed from the city walls how Lu Hai Kong's army crushed the Xiyuan Eight Schools effortlessly.
After witnessing that battle, Huo Fuping fell into deep contemplation. Upon returning, he continuously pondered how to deal with Lu Hai Kong's cavalry. If he were to command, he would never choose to confront Lu Hai Kong head-on. Instead, he would simply close off Luoyang and its surrounding cities, implementing a scorched earth strategy to deplete Lu Hai Kong's logistics and supplies.
This might seem like a cowardly tactic, but for those who had witnessed Lu Hai Kong's strength, it was the most effective approach. If this strategy could be executed, Huo Fuping had ample room for tactical maneuvers, and he was confident in defeating Lu Hai Kong's cavalry.
This was the perfect tactic he could think of to deal with Lu Hai Kong, but unfortunately, his plan couldn't be put into action.
In the 169th year, when he read the book, he found no mistakes!
It was too cowardly, even if Emperor Ling of Han agreed, the entire court of civil and military officials would not!
Lu Hai Kong only had a mere three thousand troops, while Luoyang had tens of thousands of soldiers. His Northern Army was the elite among the elites of the Great Han Empire, with substantial funding allocated annually. At this moment, they needed to demonstrate their prowess. If they had to resort to such a cowardly method to deal with Lu Hai Kong's three thousand men, what value did the Northern Army hold?
Especially after the Xiyuan Eight Schools were defeated, the court's reputation had taken a hit. They desperately needed a decisive and swift victory to restore their image. Emperor Ling of Han's edict was clear: he wanted to see Lu Hai Kong within a day!
When all these factors were presented to Huo Fuping, he had no choice.
He sadly realized that even though he knew a direct confrontation was the most foolish tactic, he had to fight in this manner.
When a war becomes entangled in politics, its victory becomes as elusive as the moon in the water or the flower in the mirror.
Huo Fuping sighed in his military camp, but in the end, he assembled the Northern Army's Tunqi, Yueqi, Infantry, Changshui, and Shesheng camps, along with the Northern Army's garrison troops, a force of about sixty thousand marched towards the outskirts of Luoyang.
The Northern Army's Tunqi, Yueqi, Infantry, Changshui, and Shesheng camps were entirely different from the Xiyuan Eight Schools. They were the true elite, with a combined strength of only around twenty thousand, but they were the cream of the crop.
These soldiers had emerged from the battlefield, many of them veterans of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Whether in terms of quality, experience, or equipment, these five camps were the pinnacle among the indigenous NPC soldiers of the Great Han Dynasty.
With these five camps as the core, supplemented by the Northern Army's garrison troops, a legion of about sixty thousand marched towards Luoyang.
Although it wouldn't be easy to defeat Lu Hai Kong's Bloodbath Legion through a direct confrontation, Huo Fuping was confident that it would be equally challenging for Lu Hai Kong to defeat him.
Huo Fuping couldn't choose the method of warfare, but he wasn't so rigid as to aim for a one-day victory over Lu Hai Kong. His sole objective was not to defeat Lu Hai Kong but to suppress the momentum Lu Hai Kong was currently displaying...
(End of Chapter)
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