Chapter 1317

Outside the Xi'an Gate, the Liangzhou Army camp.

Duan Yu, who had just returned from the Wei Bridge, had now arrived at the Liangzhou Army camp.

After returning to Chang'an, Duan Yu did not enter Chang'an immediately.

He only sent He Lingsi, He Lingman, and Duan Tian into Chang'an City.

They were sent directly into the Weiyang Palace from the Xi'an Gate.

Although Chang'an City was the auxiliary capital of the Eastern Han, known as the Western Capital, it had undergone reconstruction and destruction due to the chaos in the world after Wang Mang usurped the throne.

When Wang Mang had just established the Xin Dynasty, he demolished the Jianzhang Palace, the largest palace outside Chang'an City.

The Jianzhang Palace was built by Emperor Wu of Han when he was at his most powerful; it occupied a vast area and was extremely luxurious and grand.

The first thing Wang Mang did after replacing the Han Dynasty and ascending the throne was to rename Chang'an to 'Chang'an' and demolish the Jianzhang Palace, which symbolized the Han Dynasty's first peak.

But as Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty was overthrown, Chang'an City was captured twice by the Green Forest Army and the Red Eyebrow Army, and the palaces in the city were also mostly destroyed.

The only one that was considered well-preserved was the Weiyang Palace.

After Emperor Guangwu established the Eastern Han, he made Luoyang the capital, making Chang'an completely an auxiliary capital.

At the same time, he ordered the repair of the Weiyang Palace and other palaces in Chang'an.

But the Eastern Han was still in the midst of wars in all directions at the beginning of its establishment, and there was simply no power or spare money to repair Chang'an too much.

This led to the fact that apart from the Weiyang Palace being repaired, the Northern Palace, Gui Palace, Guangming Palace, and Changle Palace were basically not repaired.

After Guangwu, the century-long Rebellion of the Qiang began, and the Western Capital of Chang'an was always within the threat range of the Qiang people, making it even less possible to repair.

Coupled with the fact that some time ago, Li Ru set many fires in Chang'an City in order to capture it, some of the buildings in the already dilapidated Chang'an were destroyed.

Therefore, the only palace currently used in Chang'an City is the Weiyang Palace.

As a court official, Duan Yu naturally cannot overstep his bounds.

This is to shut the mouths of the people of the world.

Therefore, after sending He Lingsi, He Lingman, and Duan Tian into the Jiaofang Hall of the Weiyang Palace, Duan Yu left the city and arrived outside the Xi'an Gate of Chang'an City.

When Li Ru captured Chang'an, he only used a thousand people, using a surprise attack.

It was mainly because of insufficient troops.

The Liangzhou troops were still on their way back from the Western Regions at this time; the thirty-thousand-strong army had only reached Dunhuang Commandery, and it would take another two months to return to Ji County.

Li Ru had recruited more than ten thousand troops in Liangzhou at that time and transported them to the Sili Colonel's Department in a decentralized manner, but they were divided into four branches.

One of them captured Chencang, serving as the first important town for transporting troops and grain.

Chencang is located in the middle of Youfufeng and is also an important town guarding the entrance to the Sili Colonel's Department from Hanzhong, close to San Pass.

With Chencang, it is equivalent to establishing a transit station here that can transport grain at any time.

It can also serve as an outpost for advancing into Hanzhong and defending against Hanzhong's troops, having extremely important strategic significance.

In later generations, the Martial Marquis Zhuge Liang launched several northern expeditions, and Chencang was a place that had to be contested every time.

Li Ru led troops with Li Jue and Guo Si to set out from Longxi Commandery, occupy Chencang, and drive a solid nail into Chencang, ensuring the grain base for the Liangzhou troops in the future.

And they have already begun to transport grain, troops, and supplies from Hanyang Commandery and Wudu Commandery to Chencang.

The second important location is Huayin.

Huayin is located at the junction of Zuofengyi, Hedong Commandery, and Hongnong Commandery.

It is also the second important town defending against troops from outside the pass, besides Hangu Pass, and is also a key point for transporting grain, troops, and equipment to Hangu Pass.

If Chencang is an outpost for attacking the Sili Colonel's Department from Liangzhou and an iron nail inserted into the Sili Colonel's Department.

Then the importance of Huayin is equivalent to a sharp blade cutting through the middle of the Sili Colonel's Department.

Huayin is located at the junction of the three commanderies and is also in the very middle of the entire Sili Colonel's Department.

It can advance to attack and retreat to defend.

Establishing a stronghold here is also the forefront for breaking through Hangu Pass and advancing into Luoyang in the future.

It can directly attack Hedong Commandery to take Bingzhou and Taiyuan Commandery, and it can become the second line of defense for Chang'an.

It can also deter Hongnong Commandery at the same time.

Knowing the importance of this place, Li Ru directly used Gao Shun to capture Huayin.

Gao Shun was one of the first to follow Duan Yu when he started his career and was also the person Duan Yu trusted the most.

Having Gao Shun guard Huayin is also to defend the rear of Hangu Pass.

As for the third important place, it is Hangu Pass.

Liangzhou is currently short of troops, and it is the autumn harvest season. Moreover, Liangzhou still needs to keep a large number of troops to deter the Qiang people from causing chaos, so manpower is what Liangzhou lacks the most right now.

Troops should be simple and elite.

They can only guard such a dangerous place as Hangu Pass to prevent a large-scale counterattack from Luoyang after occupying Chang'an.

As the first pass of the former Qin State, and also the first pass in the world, the importance of Hangu Pass is self-evident.

Therefore, the person guarding Hangu Pass must also be of the utmost importance.

Fortunately, Duan Yu had broken through Hangu Pass once under He Jin's order.

And because of the Jade Ball case, Duan Yu did not let Dong Zhuo stay in Chang'an, but had already started laying out Hangu Pass early on.

As Duan Yu's father-in-law, Dong Zhuo was the most suitable person to guard Hangu Pass.

And with the cooperation of Tie Shitou and Wang Erhu, plus their troops, although there were only a few thousand people, it was enough for simple defense.

Chencang is a nail outpost for Liangzhou to break through the Sili Colonel's Department, while Huayin is a horizontal blade cutting through the middle of the Sili Colonel's Department, and Hangu Pass is an indestructible shield standing in front.

The three places are connected together, just like a main artery, ensuring Liangzhou's control over half of the Sili Colonel's Department.

Of course, the most important of these is Chang'an.

Therefore, Li Ru used Chen Qingan, Zhang Liao, Cao Hong, and Xia Houyuan to capture and guard Chang'an.