I Can Control My Ancestors-Chapter 211 - 13: Beheading Sun Jian and Bowing to the Capital Region, Liu and Cao Step into Jizhou State_3

Chapter 211: Chapter 13: Beheading Sun Jian and Bowing to the Capital Region, Liu and Cao Step into Jizhou State_3

Not only did Yuan Shu make a move.

The influential families who benefited from this incident also contributed a great amount of resources and manpower to it.

They first rebuked Gu Chen in the Emperor’s name through Liu Dai and proclaimed to the world that Gu Chen was rebelling.

Some even secretly spread the cause of Empress Dowager He’s death.

They wanted to use power to force Gu Chen to submit.

But in the current chaos, who would care about these things?

Let alone Empress Dowager He, even Emperor Liu Hong meant little to the common people.

To put it bluntly, compared to the current Great Han court, the common people were more willing to trust the Gu Clan.

Moreover, the most crucial point was that Gu Chen’s prestige was now extremely high.

The news of the battles in Liangzhou and Bingzhou had gradually spread.

By now, countless people were comparing Gu Chen to the embodiment of Gu Xiao.

They claimed he was Marquis Zhongwu, who had sensed the chaos in the world and descended again to save it.

This title was spread widely across the land. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Superstition in omens was an irremovable factor of this era.

The news of Gu Chen’s surprise attack on Longyou added more credibility to this rumor.

It was spreading wildly across the land, unstoppable.

Gu Chen, of course, paid no attention to these rumors.

His determination was like iron and would not waver for anything.

If he truly cared about these things, he wouldn’t have chosen to kill Empress Dowager He directly from the start, nor would he remain completely indifferent to Liu Hong’s two children.

For him, the most important thing was to pacify the world and complete what Gu Xi couldn’t finish.

Other than that, nothing could shake him.

——The sixth year of Han Xing, February.

Gu Chen officially began his campaign against the entire Shangdang Commandery.

Within a month, several cities had already fallen one after another.

Whether it was the defenders of Shangdang or the private soldiers sent by the elite families,

they were utterly unable to stop the current elite under Gu Chen’s command.

Gu Chen’s forces marched directly toward the key town of Shangdang, Changzi, threatening Henei.

For a moment, the Capital Region was in shock!

Gu Chen’s swift offensive made everyone feel terrified.

Especially Liu Dai, this Emperor.

He could imagine the consequences for him, the so-called Emperor, if the Gu Clan returned to the court one day.

But what could he do?

――No troops, no power, no influence.

This was his current predicament.

Endless regret kept flooding him, and living in constant fear daily, his health was worsening.

As the news continued to come in.

The people of the Capital Region also seemed to finally realize something.

Many who favored the Gu Clan began to stir up trouble in various places, trying to help Gu Chen and hasten his arrival.

But this was destined to be a futile effort.

Though the elite families seemed powerless against Gu Chen, they were still quite capable of suppressing some unruly people.

Not until Sun Jian arrived with his army did this public panic gradually subside.

The noble families of the Capital Region gave Sun Jian considerable support, even Liu Dai, the Emperor, personally came to see him.

This took Sun Jian by surprise.

He was initially troubled by the issue of supplies.

Yuan Shu had apparently grown suspicious of him, and the supplies he provided were getting less and less. Yet he didn’t expect such great support from the noble families.

This instantly dissipated all of Sun Jian’s dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will certainly block the rebels in Shangdang, and not allow them to step into the Capital Region even a step!"

He promised earnestly.

He then immediately led his forces to Shangdang.

Unlike Lu Bu.

Though both Sun Jian and Lu Bu were brave warriors, Sun Jian was not arrogant enough to be totally unguarded.

Upon arriving in Shangdang,

He immediately deployed heavy troops along the Taiyue Mountain range, positioning the private soldiers of the elite families and the original defenders of Shangdang Commandery there.

He intended to use the terrain to level the playing field between these forces and Gu Chen’s troops.

And he himself led the elite forces, stationed at Changzi, without intending to confront Gu Chen head-on.

He was aware of Gu Chen’s rapid progress.

And he understood the current situation.

As long as Gu Chen could be held here, waiting for Yuan Shao to gain leverage after the Yan Province battle, then Gu Chen would have no escape.

Clouds of contention arose across the land, with battles incessantly occurring.

――The sixth year of Han Xing, May;

Gu Chen’s forces reached Taiyue Mountain.

Using Ma Chao as the vanguard, they repeatedly broke through several of Sun Jian’s passes.

Sun Jian dispatched Cheng Pu and Huang Gai to support, barely stabilizing the situation at Taiyue Mountain using the terrain.

Then Sun Jian sent Han Dang to lead the army from Yudu, intending to bypass Taiyue Mountain and cut off Gu Chen’s supply line.

But he was detected and intercepted by Gu Chen.

Both sides fought a major battle across the entire Taiyue Mountain range.

June;

Cao Liu and Yuan Shao clashed at Fan Yang of the Wei Commandery.

Lu Bu personally led the charge, and Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army also made his move.

Yuan Shao dealt Cao Liu a crushing defeat at Fan Yang.

Stabilized the Jizhou State situation and pushed Cao Liu back to Yan Province.

The two sides stood off at Pu Yang and Fan Yang, falling into a stalemate.

July;

Cao Ren feigned defeat and abandoned the city at Chenliu, tricking Ji Ling, a general under Yuan Shu, into entering the city.

He suffered nearly ten thousand casualties, causing total chaos in the army.

Yuan Shu, upon hearing the news, was furious.

He wanted to execute Ji Ling but was persuaded against it by Yan Xiang and others, and could only continue to dispatch troops to Yan Province.

August;

Yuan Shao broke the deadlock and, again, with an army of two hundred thousand, attacked Pu Yang.

Cao Cao convinced Liu Bei to adopt a strategy of feigning an attack in the east while striking in the west.

Exploiting Yuan Shao’s eagerness for success, making it seem like they intended to bypass Fan Yang and directly attack Jizhou State.

They divided their forces with Liu Bei.