Chapter 478 Conspiracy

While Yang Biao was looking brightly at the front hall, the courtiers in the hall were also thinking about the ministers outside.

Perhaps out of reluctance, Liu Hong still refused to take his last breath at this time.

Gradually, he became tired, his breathing became lower and lower, and finally fell into a deep sleep.

Over there, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and Jian Shuo were also writing next to the bed.

A group of strong and regular attendants, such as Duan Gui, knelt and sat outside to isolate themselves from outsiders.

The reason why they were talking in writing and in isolation was because the things Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and Jian Shuo talked about in writing were really shocking.

This time they want to completely eradicate the Kansai ministers outside.

Are Zhang Rang and these people crazy?

Among the people outside, such as Ma Ri, Zhao Qian, Zhao Wen, Yang Biao, Zhao Qi, Pei Ye, etc., none of them are from the wealthy families in Guanxi. The Guanxi court can only survive now because of these local aristocratic families.

If Zhang Rang and others kill these people, all the counties in Guanxi will immediately rebel.

But don’t these Zhang Rang know? Of course he knows, which is why they have been forbearing.

But it's a pity that they can't care about the future now, because they have to live first before they can have a future. If they all die, what does the future have to do with them?

Zhang Rang and others have received clear news that tonight, as soon as the country collapses, the officials of Guanxi will purge all the eunuchs like them.

The dog jumped over the wall when he was anxious, not to mention that Zhang had allowed them to be a master of human beings for so long.

So, they prepared to fight back.

On the surface, the strength of Zhang Rang and others is very advantageous.

The most important among them is Jian Shuo, who is now the lieutenant of the 54th Xiyuan Department of the Emperor's New Army. He holds the largest armed force in Chang'an City today.

The Fifty-Fourth Division of Xiyuan was the emperor's new army that Liu Hong started to form when he was in Kyoto.

However, because He Jin allowed the rebels to enter Hulao Pass at that time, Liu Hong was in a hurry and could only take the yellow-headed army carriage with no more than 5,000 troops to the west.

As soon as he established a foothold in Chang'an, Liu Hong began to expand the Xiyuan Army.

First, we seized 3,000 soldiers from Gai Xun, and then transferred 3,000 guards from each tomb, and then we had a slight framework.

After that, the Kansai court received great cooperation from the powerful people in Kansai, especially the grain and fodder support from Yizhou that was continuously sent to Chang'an, and the Xiyuan Army's troop strength began to expand explosively.

And Liu Hong was known for his power, so he knew that the most important thing now was to strengthen the branches and strengthen the branches.

So he consciously transferred elite soldiers from Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Liujun, and Yizhou to the capital to serve as the Xiyuan Army.

For example, Ding Yuan, the military commander of Bingzhou, had Zhang Liao, Zhang Yang, and Lu Bu under his command. They were all tiger generals. After his troops were transferred to the south, they were transferred from the Bingzhou frontier army to the 54th Xiyuan Division.

In addition, there were Yizhou generals Zhang Ren, Yan Yan, Gan Ning, Shen Mi, Lou Fa, Deng Xian, Leng Bao, etc., all of whom were Yizhou heroes and fierce generals. They were also transferred to the 54th Department of Xiyuan by bus.

These were not only the ones who were transferred the most, but those who were recruited the most by Liu Hong were the children of Liangzhou and six counties. For example, Pang Yan in Fufeng, Yang Fu in Tianshui, Hu Zun in Anding, Pang Qiao in Jiuquan, Zhang Gong in Dunhuang, and Zhou Lie, all of them were famous for their bravery.

These people were all warriors who emerged from the battles with the Qiang people in the previous two years. Originally, their list was sent to Chang'an for awards, but Liu Hong directly let these meritorious people enter Chang'an, and he wanted to award them in person.

Where can I go from here? They are all included in the 54th Department of Xiyuan by Liu Hong.

Some of the above were rebellious, such as Gan Ning, Shen Mi, Lou Fa and others, who were known as thorns in Yizhou. Liu Yan pushed these people out of Sichuan and gave them to the court.

But people like Zhang Liao, Lu Bu, Yang Fu and others were the mainstays of various places, and various places were quite dissatisfied.

For this reason, Liu Hong also specially opened a group of candidates for various families in Guanxi, such as Jiang Xu, Zhao Ang, Liang Kuan, Zhao Qu and other Liangzhou scholars, Pang Xi, Wen Hui, Wang Ji, Wang Gai, Wang Jing , Wang Ding, Wang Chen, Wang Ling and other Bingzhou officials were all stationed in Lang's Office.

As a result, Kansai scholars were spread throughout the bureaus and offices, and the relationship with the Kansai court was deeply bound.

Of course Liu Hong knew that this situation still required checks and balances.

So he recruited the foreigners who were stranded in Chang'an.

Since the Han Dynasty cleared the Western Regions, the reputation of the Han Dynasty has spread as far as Central Asia. Every year, countless Hu people come to Chang'an to do business with precious spices, Hu women, and gold ornaments. Some of these people return to their hometowns, and some are nostalgic for them. The prosperity of Chang'an was lost.

In the past four hundred years, these people have also taken root in Chang'an and become the natives of Chang'an.

Liu Hong saw that these Hu people had grown taller and thought they were good soldiers, so he recruited them into the army and got more than 4,000 soldiers. Moreover, these people were generally local nobles, with abundant wealth and proficiency in bow and horse, which greatly improved their skills. The combat power of the Xiyuan Army.

But what Liu Hongwan would not have thought of was that the reason why the barbarians from the Western Regions rushed to Xiyuan was not to work for Liu Hong, but to do business with the help of the Xiyuan Army.

Since these barbarians joined the Xiyuan Army, the Xiyuan Army's loss of food, fodder and weapons has greatly accelerated.

The composition of the officials in the 54th Department of Xiyuan is very complex.

In addition to the sergeants from Bing and Liangbian, there are also many prisoners from the market who are the three assistants of Jingzhao. These people were originally traders and butchers, and they happened to mix with the barbarians from the Western Regions and started to work in the army. Business.

If the Xiyuan Army had not been newly formed and based on brave warriors from the frontier army, it could still remain simple. With the business methods of the Western Regions barbarians and market prisoners, this combat effectiveness would have collapsed long ago.

But this has to be said at both ends.

The soldiers from Bing, Liang and Yizhou were generally in the establishment of the Five Armies outside Xiyuan, stationed in Xiyuan and Dongpingguan. These camps were far away from the city and trained in the camps all day long. Their combat effectiveness was definitely guaranteed.

But the situation is different for the Internal Army. Already in the hustle and bustle of the city, they have recruited a large number of these evil young men from Chang'an. They collude with both internal and external forces, so they may not be able to do much business.

As an emperor for twenty years, Liu Hong's abilities and intelligence are naturally of a high standard.

He also knew that the officials in the fifty-four divisions of Xiyuan were mixed, good and bad. After these people with different backgrounds joined the Xiyuan Army, how to control this army became a top priority.

Of course he remembered how he was forced to go to Chang'an.

So, this time he handed over his troops to the eunuchs who never failed him.

Liu Hong could not forget that when he was away from Chang'an and struggling to survive, it was Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Jian Shuo and other regular attendants who were busy providing food and clothing.

So of course Liu Hong had to learn his lesson and decided to make Jian Shuo a lieutenant, and to control the Xiyuan Army inside and outside.

After Jian Shuo took office, knowing Liu Hong's intentions, he naturally started to solve the hidden dangers of the Xiyuan Army.

The Xiyuan Army is already the last field army in Kansai, and it is a life-protecting force that Liu Hong spent the last of his family wealth to build. If these generals who command the army unite with the noble officials of Kansai families, then Liu Hong can still have

Are you going to run away again?

Therefore, Jian Shuo adhered to Liu Hong's spirit and began to carry out drastic transformation of the Xiyuan Army.

All in all, the purpose of this transformation is to allow the eunuchs in the inner dynasty to fully grasp this elite army and truly use it for Liu Hong.

Jian Shuo, assisted by a group of staff, made three moves.

The first move is to change the Xiyuan Army's organization to fifty-six units to weaken the larger organization. These fifty-six units will be placed at various transportation nodes inside and outside Chang'an.

And if there is a large-scale recruitment, the position of general will be established, and it will be controlled by the eunuchs who supervise the army.

The second move is to put eunuchs in all aspects of the fifty-six ministries. From the decision-making generals to the logistics officials, eunuchs must be in key positions.

The third trick is to support them intensively. Their fifty-six supplies and military supplies are the best among all the armies. Jian Shuo even suggested giving money to these people, but he only did so because Liu Hong felt distressed.

But even so, the treatment of Xiyuan Army is the best.

All of these were personally sent by the eunuchs of the Inner Dynasty to the military officers and soldiers in the West Garden.

Jian Shuo felt that if this was done, the Xiyuan Army would be managed like an iron barrel and would not be interfered with by foreign ministers.

But unfortunately, Jian Shuo thought he was wrong.

…

At this time, Jian Shuo looked at the sentence written by Zhang Rang and felt sad. This sentence is:

"Are the Xiyuan troops available?"

Seeing that Zhang Rang still had unrealistic intentions of using the Xiyuan Army to eradicate the ministers outside, Jian Shuo shook his head ruthlessly.

The three of them were silent again.

It's not that Jian Shuo has poor abilities, it's that he didn't wait for the time.

No matter how good his system was, it only lasted a year or two. None of the original Xiyuan military officials had returned to their original mission, and they were still greatly influenced by the ministers.

Humans are identity animals. We can only replace the old identity with a new identity. There is no such thing as a person without social relationships.

If Liu Hong persisted for a few more years, Jian Shuo thought that he could still replace the officials of the fifty-four divisions with new identities, but unfortunately, it was too late.

At present, the internal army in Xiyuan insists on not helping each other, and is only waiting for the new emperor to take the throne. The external army in Xiyuan, because they are all sons of the wealthy Kansai families serving as military officials, will undoubtedly fall to the ministers of Nangong.

This is also the reason why people like Yang Biao had the courage to kill Liu Honggang when they died.

But Zhang Rang and the others were not helpless.

The first one is that Zhang Rang and other internal court officials have soldiers.

That is the Jinwu Guards of the Inner Dynasty, and the two armed guards who patrol day and night. These people are firmly in the hands of Zhang Rang and others.

In addition, the great eunuchs went out of Xiu Mu Palace every year, and there were also troops in the palace. In order to protect themselves in the past two years, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and Duan Gui also recruited hundreds of Chang'an knight-errant heroes.

But compared with the foreign troops in Xiyuan outside the city, this number of people is simply unbearable.

Therefore, Zhang Rang had already sent people to Hedong to contact Dong Zhuo and ask Dong Zhuo to lead troops into the city. By now, Dong Zhuo should have crossed the river.

There is a reason why eunuchs like Zhang Rang never lost in countless power struggles.

Because they are ruthless and decisive enough.

Yang Biao and others conspired to eradicate them, but the matter was not kept secret, allowing Zhang Rang to get the news. After that, Zhang Rang issued an edict to Dong Zhuo in the name of Liu Hong, apparently reshaping him as the governor of Liangzhou and taking charge of Liangzhou.

Prefecture counter-insurgency affairs. In fact, Zhang Rang sent a secret message to Dong Zhuo, asking him to lead troops to Beijing.
To be continued...