Chapter 133 Division of Troops
Since that day when Yang Xuangan explained his philosophy that this action was not for wealth, fame or status but only to help the world out of its urgent need, the effect was very good. The gentry and elders from the surrounding counties competed to offer cattle, sheep, wine and food, and the number of young men who went to the military gate to offer their services numbered in the thousands every day.

In this way, Yang Xuangan's army soon expanded to more than 50,000 people, and the conflicts in Luoyang City became more and more intense. Although Fan Zigai relied on killing people to establish his authority and concentrate power, he could not stop people from changing their minds.

What was even more unstoppable was that Yang Xuangan's side was growing in momentum. The two armies fought fiercely during the siege, but as the battle went on Fan Zigai discovered that Yang Xuangan actually had many more sons of noble families under his command.

Some were defeated and captured in battle, some did it on purpose, and some directly joined Yang Xuangan's army. Most of these people had no reputation themselves, but their fathers were pillars of the Sui Dynasty, such as Han Qinhu, Yang Xiong, Yu Shiji, Lai Huer, Pei Yun, Zheng Shanguo, and Zhou Luohou.

Or they are the legitimate sons of aristocratic families, such as Longxi Li, Qinghe Cui, Rongyang Zheng, Langya Wang, Hedong Pei, Lanling Xiao, Henan Lu...

So far, there are more than forty people. It is conceivable that if Yang Xuangan can still capture Luoyang, there may really be a grand scene of changing dynasties.

It's a pity that Fan Zigai was like a turtle. He didn't care what the officials and nobles in the city thought, nor did he count on them. He firmly held the military power and defended the city.

Although Yang Xuangan had slightly more troops, if he just launched a brute force attack, it would be difficult to break into the city even if he had two or three times more troops.

"We can't continue the assault. We need to capture the surrounding passes first. Otherwise, the army will surround us and we won't even have a place to defend."

The highest-ranking person under Yang Xuangan's command is Li Zixiong, to whom he had defected. He is the Duke of Jianchang County and the Right General of Wuhou in the imperial court, and is also the support that Yang Su left for his son in the army.

However, since Li Zixiong had already reached this level, how could he be willing to work for Yang Xuangan? After Yang Su's death, he severed ties with the Yang family, but Yang Xuangan directly dug out his past evidence, causing the emperor to be furious and dismiss him.

Li Zixiong, who had lost his official position, was suspected by the emperor. Not only was his official position and title in danger, but even his life was in danger. Naturally, he had no choice but to follow Yang Xuangan to the end.

Hearing Li Zixiong's suggestion, Li Mi also nodded and said, "That's right, we can't continue to be deadlocked, time is running out!"

After listening to everyone's opinions, Yang Xuangan gave the order: "Divide 5,000 men to guard Cizhen Road, 5,000 to guard Yique Road, Han Shigao will lead 3,000 men to besiege Xingyang, and Gu Jue will lead 5,000 men to capture Hulao!"

Those whose names were called immediately stepped out and received orders. Most of them were not the eldest sons, and if they could really follow Yang Xuangan to achieve great things, then the family business would not have fallen into their hands.

Therefore, we are still doing our best at the moment, especially when we are getting responses from all over the country.

Yang Xuangan's rebellion had a greater impact than any of the rebellions of ten or twenty Wang Bo. Naturally, there were many supporters among the bandits in the world, and some who had originally planned to rebel took advantage of the favorable situation.

There are always some people who want to follow Yang Xuangan but cannot go because of the long journey. These people nominally respect Yang Xuangan and expand their power in his name.

Yang Xuangan also accepted everyone who came to him. As long as the number of followers reached more than 10,000, Yang Xuangan would not be stingy with official positions.

It was at this time that as Wei Wensheng's army approached, news of his actions naturally spread. When Yang Xuangan learned that his father's body had turned to ashes, he was furious and his eyes were bloodshot. For a moment, his whole body was so tense that he couldn't speak.

Li Mi and others did not know how to comfort them for a moment. This was a deadly feud that required them to kill the entire family of the other party and dig up all the ancestral graves!
But since he had already embarked on the path of rebellion, Yang Xuangan controlled himself and did not recall all the troops to fight Wei Wensheng. He just whispered: "A thousand cuts will not be enough to relieve the hatred in my heart. I swear I will not be a human being if I don't take revenge!"

Li Mi breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course, their entire clan will be executed in the future."

"But should we still follow the original plan..." Their original plan was naturally to rely on the Yang family's connections to make the troops coming to Chang'an to provide support fall apart on their own. Yang Xuangan had more than 40 noble relatives in Luoyang who would join him.

He had been operating in Chang'an for many years and could naturally influence more people, so he did not deliberately ambush the reinforcements coming from Chang'an.

But that assumes this didn't happen.

Yang Xuangan suppressed his grief and said, "As usual, I will only punish Wei Wensheng, and will not implicate the others."

Everyone looked equally grim. This was no longer a question of whether they were willing to be magnanimous or not, but whether the other party dared to believe it. Anyway, if it were them, they would never think of surrendering and would fight to the death.

Wei Wensheng, this old bastard, is really vicious.

...............

"You have been eating my salary in vain, and you can't even protect the food and grass in the rear. What's the point of keeping you here?"

The emperor was furious in Zhuo County at this time because a large amount of stockpiled food and grass was burned down before he arrived. The million-strong army had finally returned to the country, but still had no food to eat.

"Your Majesty, the incident happened suddenly, and the enemy had two thousand elite cavalrymen attacking at night. It was obviously deliberately arranged by the traitor Yang Xuangan. There are only a few thousand garrisons in Zhuo County, and they are distributed everywhere. It is difficult to defend against them."

The governors of several surrounding counties also came and were pleading for Li Jing. Firstly, it was Li Jiancheng's order, and secondly, the granaries in their counties had also been burned down. If it was a heavy punishment, they would all be punished severely, and if it was a light punishment, they would all be punished lightly. Everyone should work together to overcome the difficulties.

Li Jing's hair and beard were all burnt and curled, and he looked pitiful. Although the emperor was furious, he also knew that it was not appropriate to punish officials at this time.

At this time, Lai Huer also rushed back. He was about to reach Luoyang, but the emperor issued several edicts, ordering him to hand over the military power to his deputy general and rush back to the emperor alone.

Lai Huer was unwilling, but he did not dare to disobey the order. Otherwise, even if he rushed to Luoyang to provide assistance and pacify Yang Xuangan, what would be the use?

For a general who does not even obey the imperial order, no matter how great his abilities or achievements are, his death sentence will only be aggravated.

Lai Huer rushed over without caring about the dust on his face, and rushed straight to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the Eastern Capital is in danger, why are you calling me back so quickly!"

When Yang Guang saw Lai Huer coming back alone, he had already trusted him again. Should he obey the order or make excuses by saying that a general is not subject to orders from the emperor when he is away from home? This was the best way to test the loyalty of his subjects.

But just because Lai Huer was fine didn't mean he could question his father like that. The emperor rebuked him harshly, "Who allowed you to withdraw your troops without my permission?
You are already a criminal, how dare you act like this? Even if you want to serve the country, you should immediately send someone to explain the reason to me. Do you still have me in your eyes?"

…………

(End of this chapter)