Capital Crisis
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.
…
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.
…
Back into Liu Ping's private hall, everyone was reporting the situations outside.
After the reports had been read, Wang Yun stepped forward to give his suggestion.
"Your Highness. The situation outside is dire. We will need your military prowess, just like what you did when you were young again."
Liu Ping touched his chin and pondered. He was too busy dealing with otherworlders and Wang Li. As a consequence, his reputation was at rock bottom and his authority was limited to this group of assumed dead people.
Despite the effort to make peace with the other royalist factions, everyone still looked at Liu Ping in contempt. Some had already quit their job and returned to their birthplace.
Aside from Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, none of the generals was willing to follow his order. All of them claimed that they were loyal to the previous emperor. Until Liu Ping properly went through the coronation ceremony, they would swear their loyalty to him.
Though he was frustrated by the tradition of the native people, he understood where they came from. His past actions were indeed despicable for a royalty. He had to recover his reputation by using this conflict as a stepping stone.
"I understand. I shall lead the troops to confront those rebels myself! I also want all of you to reveal yourself. You'll also tell the rest of the officials that I pretended to be stupid to bait Dong Zhuo into action because I knew he was up to no good!"
The officials cheered. The days of secrecy and conspiracy was over. They could finally face the sun and did not have to sneak around again.
Watching the excited crowd, Liu Ping showed no emotion. He had many ways to get rid of Dong Zhuo and his army. However, he was still thinking about how to reap the most benefits out of this crisis.
After two minutes of scheming in his mind, Liu Ping smirked.
"Wang Yun, how are Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao?"
"The Yuan is still planning something in secret. But Cao Cao isn't doing anything in particular, your highness."
"How are my step-mother and my step-uncle? Did they make any more movement?"
"Both of them moved to Henan County, your highness. He Jin was helping Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun resisting Dong Zhuo's army while the Empress was still under their protection."
"What about those eunuchs? Zhang Rang and the likes?"
"They are still the same, your highness. Abusing their power to kill random minor government employees and embezzled gold from the royal treasury."
Liu Ping laughed after he heard that those eunuchs were still as rotten as ever.
"Good. I want you to keep recording what those eunuchs are doing. Don't forget to exaggerate a few words in the records. Once I give you an opportunity, you will read those records out loud in the public. For now, help me prepare an army. I only want men that are willing to serve me. I don't want any of those that tag along against their free-will."
"I will prepare it at once, your highness. However, you might not be able to come back in June. The coronation ceremony might delay."
"I don't mind. I will give everyone a good show that if this prince is serious, I can be a benevolence ruler, too."
Wang Yun and the rest of the officials smiled and bowed.
"We will follow your majesty till death!"
Liu Ping nodded with a smile on his face. He turned around and left the hall with soulless Wang Li following behind.
He had made a lot of mistakes for years after he had reincarnated into this world. Because of those mistakes, he slowly learned about the way of the world bit by bit. He utilized his previous life experience of how his father dealt with his subordinates combining with his own experiences.
'The custom and lifestyles are different, but the rotten core of those people are still the same. Too bad I can't rope in hoodlums and gangsters in this world into my goons. But I can draw in those moronic greedy politicians.'
'Dong Zhuo. You'll be my puppet, too!'
'You'll be my greatest chess piece for my world domination!'