Chapter 197: Passing Wencheng

On the morning of June 11, Jialan led his army across the Qinshui River and continued to advance westward. Li Jiancheng and Feng Yi led the Xitu Tribute Division into the river, followed the river upwards, and headed straight for Heyang.

At around noon, the Imperial Guards arrived in Wencheng.

Officials in Wencheng had already been waiting outside the city. The Xue family, who was temporarily living in Wencheng, also went out to greet them. This time, the Xue family was able to return to their hometown safely from Tulunchuan, relying entirely on the protection of Jialan and his brothers. I thought there would be no time for each other to meet again, but I expected that after only a few months, the Xue family was even more happy. However, due to the current embarrassing situation, although I was willing to repay them, I was unconditional.

Jialan and Song Zhengben first met officials in Wencheng, and then went to meet the seventh wife of the Xue family, Sima Lingyu.

Perhaps because she survived the disaster and returned home, Sima Lingyu swept away the sadness and depression, and was refreshed and elegant. However, behind her heart's joy and excitement, she could not hide her forced anger and disappointment.

The first thing about Jialan was passed on to Wencheng by Sima Lingyu. Mrs. Gao attached great importance to it and immediately asked the monks in the northwest to verify it. The target of the verification was the head of the White Horse Temple in Luoyang. The monks in the northwest did not hide it. Mingjia not only confirmed Jialan's identity in person, but also sent evidence about Jialan's life experience that had been hidden for many years to Wencheng. But what happened next made Sima Lingyu angry.

The grudge between the Sima family in Hanoi and the royal family of Yang family originated from the "war" between Sima Xiaomeng and the previous emperor, and this war affected the establishment of the empire and the unification of the Middle Earth. Therefore, the containment and attack of the Sima family by the Yang family of the royal family continued to this day. Although the Sima family once rose in the middle of the Kaihuang period, with the deposition of the former crown prince Yang Yong and the succession of the current throne, and the fierce game between radical and conservative political concepts, the Sima family went against the historical process again and again in decision-making, and its decline speed was like a water breaking through the dam, and it was out of control.

The great families of Zhongtu have passed on their families through classics and arts, and have been in charge of their talents for generations. In other words, knowledge is the first and the foundation. Not only should their descendants be knowledgeable, but they should also be taught to disciples and disciples. However, development depends on being an official. Not only should their descendants become officials, but their disciples and disciples also have to form cliques. If the Sima family wants to rise again today, they must become officials, become major officials, and hold prominent positions in the center.

How can we enter the center? Today, we are determined to reform. The target of reform is the aristocratic group with vested interests. This is contrary to the political philosophy of the Sima family, so the Sima family cannot enter the center. However, once the empire's national policy becomes conservative, conservative aristocratic bureaucracy gains the upper hand, the possibility of Sima family entering the center will greatly increase.

From this standpoint, the Sima family naturally supports the conservative forces headed by Yang Xuangan, but as long as the royal family exists, the grudge between the Yang family and the Sima family will inevitably become an obstacle to the development of the Sima family. Therefore, the Sima family must have chosen to be neutral in this storm, watching coldly, and even secretly fueling the fire, causing the emperor and Yang Xuangan to suffer both losses, causing the Hongnong Yang family to suffer a heavy blow, and even causing the empire to fall apart, allowing Zhongtu to enter the era of heroes competing for hegemony again. Changing the world is actually more in line with the interests of the Sima family.

In this case, is it beneficial to the Sima family to recognize Galan's surname and let Galan return to Taishitang and stand on the side of the emperor? Will it help the Sima family's rise? Or, is it going to bring unpredictable crises and disasters to the Sima family?

There was a fierce dispute within the Sima family, and this matter was directly related to Sima Ziru's lineage, so Mrs. Gao was inconvenient to express her opinions. Fortunately, Sima opened the door to Jialan for his own interests, but Jialan saw through Sima's "sincere intentions" and flatly refused, which led to Taishitang closing the door to him without hesitation. The reason for closing the door and the secret of Jialan's life experience. In fact, only the decision makers of Taishitang knew that most of the Sima family's children knew nothing. Sima Lingyu was married and was not qualified to learn about Taishitang's secrets. It was just that the incident of Jialan originated from her, and she was very concerned. Mrs. Gao leaked some of it, but it was precisely because of these messages that she had just thought that Sima refused to recognize Jialan, so she was both angry and disappointed.

After seeing Sima Lingyu, Jialan asked with concern about what happened after the breakup between Jinchengguan.

That day, Su Hexiang was very "cold" to Jialan, just a few words. Jialan could understand that Su Hexiang was forced to do so. On the one hand, she was unwilling to "expose" to avoid causing unnecessary trouble to Su. In addition, the interests between Su and various forces were too deep, so she couldn't help but get involved in it. Many things were hard to explain, so Su Hexiang not only did not appear in the Imperial Guard Dragon Guard, but also met Jialan.

Sima Lingyu briefly said that it was mainly about Shi Penglai, Xueer and Yuchi Pianpian. She knew that Jialan was most concerned about these people. Shi Penglai had shops, wineries and hotels in Fengdu, Luoyang, and was one of the several famous barbarians in Luoyang. Now Xueer and Yuchi Pianpian are by Shi Penglai and will definitely receive the best care. But when she heard that Yang Xuangan had rebelled, she was about to reach Dongdu, Sima Lingyu was very worried about their safety. When the war was in chaos, the nobles and bureaucrats could not protect themselves, let alone those barbarians who had no foundation.

"Are you going to Dongdu?" Sima Lingyu asked tentatively.

Galan nodded slightly, looking very firm.

Sima Lingyu hesitated for a moment, but could not help but persuade, "This is the location of Kyoto, the capital of the capital, not the western territory, nor the Tulun River. Every move must be followed by the emperor's orders and there must be no disobedience. If the general is still as willful as in the past, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Jia Lan frowned slightly, and seemed dissatisfied with Sima Lingyu's persuasion. Sima Lingyu ignored it and added a more serious tone, "You can not think about yourself, but you must plan a way out for your brother's robes. They follow you unswervingly, without regrets when they travel thousands of miles away, you must repay them."

Galan thought for a moment and bowed to thank him, "I have no choice but to cross the river."

Sima Lingyu sighed secretly. In the Tulun River and Qiemo River, in order to save them, Jialan was not afraid of life and death. Today, the person he was closest to was trapped in Dongdu, and he was in danger. How could he not save him when he saw death? He must cross the river, even if it was broken into pieces.

"What can I do for you?" Sima Lingyu asked in a low voice with his eyes red.

Galan shook her head, bowed to thank her again, and then turned around and left.

"Galan..." Sima Lingyu looked at his back and suddenly shouted, "Galan, you must come back alive."

Jialan paused, turned around and looked at Sima Lingyu with a sad expression, smiled slightly, nodded, and strode away.

The Sima family did not appear. Judging from the anger and disappointment expressed by Sima Lingyu, the disputes within the Sima family were very fierce. Neither Mrs. Gao nor the elders of Sima Tongxian and other clans could form a unified strategy within the Sima family. It can be seen that the conservative position still prevailed, and most of the Sima family's children were willing and dared not to bet on their entire lives.

Liu Xuan did not show up either. One of his disciples sent a message that he would stay in Wencheng for a while. Obviously, Liu Xuan tried to persuade Sima to help Jialan, but because the current situation changed rapidly, after Yang Xuangan received support from the Heluo noble group and Henan local forces, the fall of Dongdu was a foregone conclusion. At this time, it would be too difficult to convince Sima to fully support Jialan to enter the Dongdu battlefield.

In order to protect his own interests, Galan was unwilling to return to Taishitang. In terms of future strategies, he insisted on crossing the river and fighting, and had to take the initiative from beginning to end, which made the differences between him and Sima's family unbridgeable.

The Imperial Guards came and walked faster. Half an hour later, the people in the northwest rode their horses and galloped towards Heyang.

On August 11, Yang Xuanting captured Luokou Cang and Yang Jishan captured Heishi Pass.

On August 12, Yang Xuanting and Yang Jishan captured Yanshi, and then the troops were divided into two groups. Yang Xuanting led his army to cross Mangshan from Bai Simaban to kill Jinyong City, and pointed his sword at the palace city and imperial city of the Eastern Capital; Yang Jishan advanced along the south bank of the Luoshui River and killed the outer capital of the Eastern Capital. Yang Xuangan, Li Zixiong, and Li Mi led the main force to follow closely and quickly advance to the Eastern Capital.

King Yang Tong of Yue ordered the capital and its nearby counties to rush to the eastern capital to help, and asked Chang'an for help in a hurry.

Fan Zigai, the left-behind capital, ordered Henan Lingda Xi Shanyi to lead 5,000 troops to advance along the Luo River, and set up a battle in the area of ​​Hanwang Temple to fight Yang Jishan; and ordered the general to serve as the supervisor, and the inspector of Henan Zanwu Pei Hongce led 8,000 troops to Baisimaban, Mangshan, to fight Yang Xuanting.

On the afternoon of the 12th, Galan led the imperial guards to Heyang City.

The Heyang Duke Dugu Wudu went out of the mansion to greet him, giving him enough face.

There is no way, Yang Xuangan's attack speed is too fast, and there are too many noble bureaucrats and troops supporting Yang Xuangan. In just a few days, the Dongdu was in danger. Heyang and Dongdu were only separated by a river. Yang Xuangan could attack Heyang while attacking Dongdu, so as to attack Heyang from Liyang to capture Henoi. When Hanoi fell, Yang Xuangan could connect Jinzhong, Henan and Hebei into one, and could firmly control the waterway of the river, and he could not worry about advancing and retreating. Dugu Wudu had no soldiers available, could not defend Heyang City, and he was even more unable to guard Henoi. At this time, Jialan brought an elite soldier of 300 cavalry, which was a timely help for Dugu Wudu.

The Heyang Duwei is the fourth-rank military officer, and Dugu Wudu is also a royal relative, and his power is great enough. Unfortunately, the Heyang Duwei is the commander of the local army, while Jialan is the commander of the imperial guards, and the Xiaoguo Dragon Guard directly obeys the orders of the prepared mansion. The two sides have no affiliation, so Dugu Wudu can only surrender and lower his posture, hoping to win Jialan's cooperation.

However, Jialan opened her mouth and broke Dugu Wudu's fantasy.

"I want to cross the river."

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Chapter completed!