Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 384 A Mansion

When Yuan Jian's report of victory was delivered to Luoyang, the officials of Luoyang were excited again.

Shizhong Li Daoyuan immediately wrote a letter to the Empress Dowager Hu, requesting her to reward Yuan Jian and reward the soldiers on the front line.

But when things got to this point, they changed quietly.

Prince Anle was already a prince of the clan, and the only reward he could be given was an honorary reward such as "increase of fiefdoms". After all, after the reforms of Emperor Xiaowen, the fiefdoms of the princes of the Northern Wei Dynasty were just nominal titles, and they did not really have their own territories.

In addition, the titles of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Shizhong, and General of the Cavalry were awarded to Yuan Jian free of charge.

However, in his letter requesting credit, Yuan Jian also asked Empress Dowager Hu for the mansion of Qinghe Prince Yuan Yi.

The mansion of Qinghe Prince Yuan Yi is the largest mansion in Luoyang. It is fully equipped with pavilions and towers. The tower in the mansion is the second tallest building in Luoyang. One can overlook the entire city from the top.

After the death of Prince Qinghe, Prince Jiangyang Yuan Yi wanted to occupy the mansion, but within a few days of moving in, he encountered supernatural things one after another. He invited the eminent monk Bian Ji to perform a ritual. After chanting some scriptures, Bian Ji said that it was the ghost of Prince Qinghe that was haunting the mansion, and Yuan Yi was so scared that he moved out of the mansion.

After Empress Dowager Hu regained control of the government, she gave the Qinghe Palace to her male favorite Zheng Yan.

After Zheng Yan was jointly killed by the kings, this mansion became vacant again.

There was a dispute among the prime ministers about awarding the former Qinghe Palace to Yuan Jian.

The princes, led by Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong, all opposed awarding the palace to Yuan Jian.

Yuan Yong's idea was actually very simple. He had competed with Prince Qinghe for wealth in the past, but the scale of his own mansion was not as large as that of Prince Qinghe's mansion.

Now that the Qinghe Palace is ownerless, his own mansion is the largest and most imposing one in Luoyang. Yuan Yong doesn't want Yuan Jian to put pressure on him.

The other princes had similar ideas and did not want Yuan Jian to be in the spotlight anymore.

Among the ministers, only Li Daoyuan had the most resolute attitude. He believed that Empress Dowager Hu should not be stingy with an empty palace. As long as Yuan Jian could defeat Ge Rong, he should be given any reward he wanted.

Empress Dowager Hu was somewhat reluctant to part with the palace, and in the imperial edict commending Yuan Jian, she did not give the palace to Yuan Jian.

In November, news came from the front that Ge Rong was short of food. Yuan Jian, who had recovered Yecheng, attacked again and defeated several of Ge Rong's generals.

By this time, the local nobles who had been temporarily dormant in Jizhou and surrendered to Ge Rong changed their flags one after another. Even the nobles who had been squeezed out of Jizhou, including Gao Yi, the governor of East Jizhou, led their troops back to Jizhou.

It seemed that overnight, the entire Jizhou was back in the hands of the government troops.

However, after the imperial envoy arrived in Yecheng and read out the court's reward to Yuan Jian, Yuan Jian became dissatisfied again.

I have made such great contributions and can be said to be a pillar of the Wei Dynasty, but they are not even willing to reward me with a royal palace?

Thinking about the various absurd actions taken by Empress Dowager Hu during her reign, he realized that he was also a descendant of the Yuan family. Why should he obey Luoyang's orders?
Seeing the emperor's ceremonial procession left by Ge Rong, Yuan Jian had other thoughts.

Jizhou is the heart of Hebei. If we occupy Jizhou and then control the Qi and Lu regions, it will be equivalent to owning the most essential regions of Wei.

Ge Rong's rebels are vulnerable. By the time they recapture Dingzhou and Yingzhou, they will control half of the world.

Yuan Jian called his younger brother Yuan Binzhi and asked for their opinions.

When Yuan Binzhi heard that Yuan Jian wanted to become emperor, he immediately expressed his agreement.

Yuan Jian's branch was a distant relative of the royal family, and Yuan Bin did not even have the title of king.

Yuan Jian also withheld the rewards given by the court to his generals and sent his confidants to spread rumors in the army, saying that the court was harshly treating meritorious officials and was unwilling to reward the officers and soldiers.

After all this operation, when Pei Yan and Yuan Ziyong were about to arrive in Yecheng, they heard the news that Yuan Jian occupied Yecheng and proclaimed himself emperor in rebellion!
Now, Pei Yan and Yuan Ziyong will not be able to deal with it? Your army, Yuan Jian, relies on the court for supplies, and the local nobles only rebelled against Ge Rong for the sake of the court's legitimacy. How can you, a prince with no prestige and no ability, claim to be an emperor and rebel?
Pei Yan and Yuan Ziyong put aside their long-standing differences and continued to march towards Ye City under the banner of suppressing the rebellion.

Yuan Jian thought that Pei Yan and Yuan Ziyong would surrender to him, but he did not expect that both of them killed the messengers he sent. He could only hurriedly send his younger brother Yuan Binzhi to stop them.

However, Yuan Binzhi, like Yuan Jian, was ambitious but incompetent and only good at talking on paper. He was quickly defeated by Yuan Ziyong.

But this is not the most abstract. After Yuan Binzhi was defeated, he did not return to Yecheng to join his brother Yuan Jian, but instead surrendered to Ge Rong.

Even Yuan Binzhi understood that there was no hope for his brother's rebellion. Yuan Jian could not hold out for a few days in the ruined Yecheng. He was deserted by his friends and relatives and the city was broken into by Pei Yan and Yuan Ziyong. He himself was killed by the sword of his subordinates.

However, Pei Yan and Yuan Ziyong did not feel happy for long as they heard the news that Xindu was captured by Ge Rong's vanguard Yuwen Luosheng.

The entire government army fell into chaos again.
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"Good! The capture of Xindu this time is largely due to Yuwen Lang's contribution! Confer Yuwen Luosheng the title of King of Yuyang!"

Ge Rong sat high up in the seat and promised a reward to Yuwen Luosheng, who was dressed in military uniform.

All the generals and soldiers congratulated Yuwen Luosheng.

In the siege of Xindu, Yuwen Luosheng led the troops and took the city which had just been recaptured by the Northern Wei army.

Xindu was the western gateway of Jizhou. After the capture of Xindu, the government troops remaining in Jizhou lost their retreat route back to Xiangzhou, and also lost Xiangzhou's food and fodder support for the government troops.

After the death of his father and brother, Yuwen Luosheng quickly stood out in several battles and made great contributions this time. Before each battle, the soldiers in the army shouted him "King Luosheng" and were willing to charge forward to the death for him.

It was only natural that he was crowned king this time. Yuwen Luosheng returned to his tent amid the congratulations of the crowd. "Brother, you are taking too much limelight."

Yuwen Tai looked at his brother and couldn't help but persuade him.

Yuwen Luosheng didn't care and said:
"The emperor treated my father and I with sincerity, so I will also repay him with sincerity. Moreover, there is no turning back for our Yuwen family."

Yuwen Tai's expression also darkened. Given the Yuwen family's low reputation among the immigrants from the Six Garrisons, there would be no way for them to survive if they surrendered to the government troops. They could only follow Ge Rong till the end.

Fortunately, Ge Rong is now on the rise. The capture of Xindu this time has cut off the retreat of Pei Yan and Yuan Ziyong. If the two can be annihilated in Jizhou, the vitality of the Northern Wei court will be completely destroyed.

Yuwen Luosheng said:

"As long as we defeat the government troops, the emperor will truly conquer the world!"

But Yuwen Tai was not so optimistic.

When the news came that Gao Huan, who was stationed in Jingxing last time, had defected to Erzhu Rong, there was not much sensation in Ge Rong's army.

When Gao Huan surrendered, he only took a few thousand of his own troops with him, which was nothing compared to Ge Rong's army of hundreds of thousands.

Gao Huan was a double-faced person and was not liked by Ge Rong.

However, Yuwen Tai saw the hidden elephant in this - Erzhu Rong.

During these days, the Six Garrisons Volunteer Army was capturing cities and engaging in several major battles with the government troops.

Erzhu Rong, who was originally just a chieftain of Xiurongchuan, had quietly occupied Bingzhou and Sizhou, and attracted people like Gao Huan to join him.

In addition to Erzhu Rong, Yuwen Tai was also concerned about the situation in Guanzhong. Su Ze had also pacified Qinzhou and Jingzhou, and almost occupied the entire Guanzhong area.

In his opinion, the Wei Dynasty was indeed on the verge of extinction.

But it does not mean that the Six Garrisons Rebellion, which was the first to cause trouble, can seize the world.

Since Ge Rong started his rebellion, he has won many military victories, but the local situation is still a mess, and the army has not had a stable supply of food and fodder.

The reason why Ge Rong had to bring his hundreds of thousands of troops with him every time he went on an expedition was because no matter where these troops were stationed, they would not be able to keep up with the supply of food and fodder.

The passage of hundreds of thousands of troops is even more terrifying than a swarm of locusts. It can really drain all the resources of a place.

Therefore, Ge Rong had to constantly migrate his army, just like the refugee army, to places with food to feed the army.

Ge Rong’s previous defeat in Jizhou was also because Jizhou had been almost plundered and could not afford to support Ge Rong’s army, so he was defeated by Yuan Jian.

After the capture of Xindu and the receipt of food and fodder from the government army, Ge Rong felt that he was capable again.

But in Yuwen Tai's view, such an army of rebels could not last long.

But his family's future has long been tied to Ge Rong.
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In Yongle City, Su Ze, the Duke of Gaoping, personally saw off Dugu Xin who was leaving for Wuyuan outside the city.

When facing this brother-in-law, Su Ze is still very confident in his abilities.

The only thing that made Su Ze feel uncomfortable was that Dugu Xin was so handsome. Also, seeing that his sister's eyes were full of love for her, Su Ze still felt a little uncomfortable.

However, Su Ze still had to explain a few military and national affairs to Dugu Xin.

"Winter is coming soon. The grasslands are more likely to move south. We must deploy scouts and do more exploration."

Dugu Xin nodded quickly. In fact, Dugu Xin, who grew up in Liuzhen, knew all the things Su Ze told him.

The turn of autumn and winter is the peak period for nomadic people to migrate south.

Livestock and war horses are in their best condition in the late autumn when they gain weight.

This is also the autumn harvest period in the Central Plains farming areas, when there is the most food in the homes, making it a good time to rob.

In addition, there is another important factor - ice.

The north was very cold during this era. The Yellow River near Wuyuan began to freeze around October. At this time, nomadic peoples could walk across the ice and cross the natural barrier of the Yellow River to invade areas further south.

One of the tactics used by the Central Plains dynasties to passively defend against the nomadic peoples in the north was to break up the ice and prevent these nomadic cavalry from walking south on the ice.

"I have read your strategy many times. I am not worried about the general direction, but everything is difficult at the beginning. You have to get through this fall and winter."

Dugu Xin immediately put on an expression of learning.

"Yuyao will stay in Yongle City first. When Wuyuan City is built, let her go to reunite with you."

(End of this chapter)