Chapter 96 Capital Crisis (1/2)
Chapter 96 – Capital Crisis
After sending Diao Chan away, Wang Yun, Liu Ping, and his doll remained in the hall alone.
Wang Yun immediately sent out his messengers to call in the ”assumed dead” officials inside. The moment they came in, they passed over the information about the outside world to Liu Ping.
They were discussing the situation at Hongnong City in Zhongyuan Region where Dong Zhuo forces were stationed at the moment.
Hongnong City located in the Si Province, west of Luo Yang and eastward of Chang An. On the way to Luo Yang from Hongnong, there were another two important strategic locations, Xin'an County and Hangu Pass.
Xin'an County was the border between Hongnong City and Luo Yang, while Hangu Pass was the last line of defense if an army from Hongnong wanted to invade Luo Yang.
”From Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun's report, the situation was not very optimistic. Dong Zhuo took over Xin'an County and refused to withdraw his troops.”
”Dong Zhuo's action was clear! He is rebelling against the Han Court!”
The current situation between Hongnong City and Luo Yang was tense. Dong Zhuo occupied Tian Shui, An Ding, Chang An, Hongnong, and now proceeded to Xin'an County, which he had rallied over 200,000 soldiers. Everyone was afraid that he would lay siege on the capital.
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On February, the news about the death of the emperor spread throughout the nearby provinces. Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun heard about the news. They rushed back to the Capital without caring about their duties.
Huangfu Song, who was supposed to guard Chang An, returned to the Capital because he wanted to ensure that the eunuch faction could not cause troubles or use this chance to usurp the throne.
Zhu Jun also returned from Henei. He had the similar reasons as Huangfu Song. Moreover, he did not trust the eldest prince Liu Ping as the second prince was dead and the third prince was sent away.
Their attention was focused on the eldest prince and the eunuchs.
Dong Zhuo forces used this chance when Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun did not pay attention to himself. Li Ru marched his troops toward the city and claimed that he and his men were passing through to the Capital to attend the emperor's funeral in Dong Zhuo's name.
The clueless deputy governor allowed him and his troops to enter. However, the moment they got inside, the deputy governor was captured and killed in secret while Dong Zhuo's men replaced the garrison troops and occupied the city in the process.
Afterward, Niu Fu, Zhang Ji, and Zhang Xiu led their cavalry troops to the nearby army camp under the jurisdiction of Chang An. Niu Fu showed the deputy governor token, which they had stolen from the unfortunate deputy governor, to make the garrison army inside the camp.
Once they got inside, the same thing happened as in Chang An City. Niu Fu Army slaughtered all officers inside the camp and forced the rest of the soldiers to surrender.
Thus, Dong Zhuo forces occupied both Chang An and its army in a flash by the improvised plan of Li Ru.
These forces did not proceed further beyond Chang An. Li Ru ordered his men to resupply and standby for the main army to arrive, which was led by Dong Zhuo himself.
At the end of March, Hua Xiong, Li Jue, Guo Si, and other elite generals under Dong's banner arrived with the main army led by Dong Zhuo. They conscripted over 200,000 militias along the way and forced them to join their marching force.
And from the latest news, the heavy cavalry units under Hua Xiong had occupied Xin'an while the infantry of Dong Zhuo surrounded Hongnong City. The city governor quickly surrendered but was executed by Dong Zhuo.
As a result, the pathway to Luo Yang was only blockaded by the Hangu Pass. Once it fell, Luo Yang would be vulnerable from the hands of Dong Zhuo.
The massive army of Dong Zhuo made the imperial officers in Luo Yang nervous, especially the eunuch faction members.
Meanwhile, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were happy with the news. If Dong Zhuo attacked the Capital, Liu Ping would be in trouble as he was eunuch faction's ally. Once Liu Ping and the eunuch faction were overthrown, they would have the opportunity to rise in power.
The Liu Clan, which included Liu Biao, Liu Yu, and Liu Yan, was in a difficult position as they were neither willing to support Liu Ping nor willing to go against him. However, they were included in Liu Ping's faction in the eyes of others because they shared the blood of Liu. They had no choice but to protect the incompetent prince even if they did not want to.
On the other hand, Cao Cao and the old fox Tao Qian was neutral in this conflict. They were neither happy nor worried about the rebel army. Their eyes were focusing elsewhere on the certain city of the northern region.
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