Chapter 813: Martial Law in the City
Chapter 813: Martial Law in the City
Emperor Ling of Han had entrusted Lu Hai Kong's matter to He Jin, but he couldn't simply set this issue aside.
After all, Lu Hai Kong was right outside Luoyang City, and every day since He Jin started his preparations, Lu Hai Kong's men had been consistently chanting their demands in a fixed location.
With such a bold display of presence, how could Emperor Ling ignore him?
However, Emperor Ling truly had no choice but to bide his time with Lu Hai Kong. While the North and South Armies had suffered minimal casualties against Lu Hai Kong, their morale had taken a severe blow. Engaging in another battle so soon would be akin to seeking humiliation, and even Emperor Ling himself had little confidence in their ability to succeed.
As for Luoyang City's last trump card, the Imperial Guard, this force was the royal family's elite protection. It included the Imperial Guard and the Royal Forest Army, and in terms of equipment and personnel quality, they were truly top-notch.
But the problem was that Emperor Ling didn't feel secure enough to deploy this force.
He was well aware that Princess San wasn't someone he could suppress, and he feared that she might suddenly launch an attack. So, he kept this army at the ready.
In this situation, Emperor Ling could only watch as Lu Hai Kong continued his ruckus outside," he thought.
Fortunately, Luoyang City's defense system was formidable, and Lu Hai Kong couldn't breach it. Meanwhile, He Jin's plan was proceeding in an orderly manner, and it was estimated that Lu Hai Kong's rebellion would be quelled soon.
On this matter, He Jin's thoughts mirrored those of Emperor Ling. From the start of his plan, all the news he received from Li Hui's side was good.
Within a few days, the troops from the three counties of Henan, Hedong, and Hedong had been mobilized. Once they were ready, they could directly surround Lu Hai Kong from behind with a single order.
The North and South Armies within Luoyang City had also been reorganized, and if they were to engage in battle again, the issue would be minor. However, relying on these two armies to subdue Lu Hai Kong was challenging. Fortunately, Dong Zhuo had already led his elite Xiliang Cavalry and was estimated to arrive in Luoyang within two to three days.
Although the journey from Bingzhou was quite distant, and some information had yet to reach them, He Jin believed there shouldn't be any problems. So, everything was basically ready, awaiting Dong Zhuo's arrival. It was laughable that Lu Hai Kong didn't realize his impending doom!
As He Jin chuckled at Lu Hai Kong's predicament, he was unaware that Lu Hai Kong's forces had been highly active within Luoyang City for some time.
Lu Hai Kong had always enjoyed a strong reputation among the commoners.
The reasons were simple: his background and his experiences.
Lu Hai Kong's humble origins made the commoners feel a sense of closeness and empathy. In this incident, the commoners had stood by Lu Hai Kong's side from start to finish because, from any angle, Lu Hai Kong held the moral high ground.
The unfair treatment Lu Hai Kong had endured evoked a deep sense of indignation among the commoners.
Additionally, Lu Hai Kong's subordinates had been guiding the commoners, and for some time, they had stirred up significant public anger within Luoyang City.
This public anger had gone unnoticed by anyone. Some felt that these commoners from the lower classes had no right to interfere, and others didn't believe that these commoners would take action for Lu Hai Kong.
Moreover, their attention had been drawn to Lu Hai Kong and He Jin's plans, leaving little room for them to focus on the commoners.
However, at this moment, this group of commoners made a powerful appearance on the fifth day of Lu Hai Kong's siege of Luoyang City.
In Luoyang City, there were occasional shouts in support of Lu Hai Kong, and outside the General's Mansion, a large crowd of commoners had gathered, chanting slogans like 'Eliminate corrupt officials! Support the Emperor! Listen to the people!'
When these slogans emerged, He Jin was so furious he nearly spat blood. He ordered the South Army to capture these 'rabble-rousers.'
But before the South Army could arrive, the crowd had vanished without a trace. Once the South Army left, the commoners gathered again, leaving He Jin with no choice but to dispatch troops to guard the General's Mansion.
He Jin initially thought that was the end of it, but soon, another incident occurred.
Another group of commoners, holding the 'Support the Emperor' banner, appeared. They didn't surround He Jin's General's Mansion, but their method was far more extreme. They directly stormed into the mansion of one of He Jin's ministers, seized the mansion, and raised the 'Support the Emperor' banner.
This incident infuriated He Jin, and he immediately dispatched troops to deal with it.
This time, Li Hui's actions were swift. As soon as He Jin gave the order, Li Hui sprang into action.
Li Hui's troops moved with lightning speed, and they swiftly captured most of the commoners who had taken part.
Initially, He Jin thought it was just a malicious incident, and capturing these commoners to make an example of them would quieten down the unruly elements in Luoyang City.
However, He Jin soon discovered that the matter was far more complex than he had imagined.
The man who had been captured by Li Hui revealed a piece of information; they had actually colluded with Lu Hai Kong, planning to open the city gates from the inside to let Lu Hai Kong's forces in.
Upon hearing this news, He Jin was shocked. He immediately took this information to Emperor Ling.
Emperor Ling, who was also planning to defeat Lu Hai Kong, was startled by this sudden development. He never expected Lu Hai Kong to make such a move at this critical moment.
He Jin was well aware of the consequences if Lu Hai Kong's forces entered the city. Although he wasn't afraid of Lu Hai Kong's attack on the palace, he couldn't help but worry about other possible methods Lu Hai Kong might use to breach the palace defenses.
Considering the gravity of the situation, Emperor Ling couldn't afford to be careless. He immediately ordered a thorough investigation throughout the city, placing the entire Luoyang under martial law. Both the Southern and Northern Armies were deployed, and any suspicious individuals were to be apprehended. The entire city was in a state of panic.
In a residential area of Luoyang.
A middle-aged man named Xu Li, a subordinate of Lu Hai Kong in charge of operations in Luoyang, observed the movements of the Southern and Northern Armies outside with a grave expression.
Xu Li was originally supposed to cooperate with Lu Hai Kong's plan, mobilizing the citizens to open the city gates at a specific time to allow Lu Hai Kong's forces entry. However, he never expected that they would be exposed at such a critical moment.
Xu Li was perplexed by this turn of events. He had been extremely cautious in this matter, so how could they have been discovered?
He couldn't understand; this must have been Li Hui and the Black-Robed Man's doing.
These two originally planned to assist Lu Hai Kong, but after learning about the extent of Lu Hai Kong's influence in Luoyang, they reconsidered. They felt that Lu Hai Kong's entry into the city would introduce too many variables, potentially affecting their plans. So, they decided to expose Lu Hai Kong's scheme.
Not only did they expose Lu Hai Kong's plan, but they did it in a particularly ruthless way, revealing all of Lu Hai Kong's key figures in Luoyang.
Amidst the city-wide search, a purge of Lu Hai Kong's subordinates also commenced.
Xu Li was unaware of this.
He was waiting for the arrival of the little beggar, knowing that he must quickly inform Lu Hai Kong about the current situation. At this moment, he could only rely on the little beggar to deliver the message.
Xu Li had been waiting for nearly half an hour, and the little beggar should have arrived by now. Why was he late?
Xu Li had a bad feeling, and he was right. Before he served under Xin Ping, he had received some training in intelligence gathering and could sense something unusual.
He should have left the moment he sensed something amiss, but instead, he cautiously took out a token and hid it carefully within the house. Just as he finished hiding it, the door was violently kicked open, and a dozen elite soldiers rushed in.
Xu Li seemed to have expected this, remaining relatively calm. He stood up, preparing to escape, but he found the house surrounded by a tight formation of soldiers.
There was no escape!
Understanding the situation, Xu Li didn't hesitate. He took out a short dagger coated with poison and stabbed it into his own chest.
Without hesitation or shouting any slogans, Xu Li's face showed a hint of nostalgia as the dagger pierced his chest.
It had been several years since he left the Flaming Yellow Mountain Fortress, and he had thought he would soon have the chance to return. He never expected that he would die in Luoyang.
However, he didn't regret it much. If not for his lord, he would have died years ago. Compared to his fellow tribesmen who died under the whips of the Xianbei as slaves, Xu Li felt fortunate to die for his lord.
"Another suicide, how many is this now? Every time we capture them, they commit suicide," the leading general said, feeling deflated. He was about to kick Xu Li's corpse but stopped himself.
"Regardless, this kind of man is quite admirable. Search him, see if he has anything valuable. If not, let's wrap up and leave," the general ordered.
At the general's command, the soldiers turned Xu Li's residence upside down, quickly finding a token from a hidden spot.
The token, crafted from fine iron, bore the character 'Lu' engraved on it. Just as the soldiers discovered the token, a small figure darted out from somewhere, snatching the token from a soldier's hand and fleeing...
(End of Chapter)
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